किञ्चित् कान्तान्नपानादिकलिलं कोमलं गृहे । व्रणे कीट इवाऽऽस्वाद्य वयः कार्यं न भस्मसात् ॥ १७ ॥
kiñcit kāntānnapānādikalilaṁ kōmalaṁ gṛhē | vraṇē kīṭa ivā’’svādya vayaḥ kāryaṁ na bhasmasāt || 17 ||
Translation
One should not burn one's youth to ashes, tasting at home a little of what is soft and oozing, women, food, drink and the like, like a worm in a wound.
Word by word
- kiñcit
- a little
- kāntā
- women
- anna
- food
- pāna
- drink
- ādi
- and the like
- kalilaṁ
- oozing
- kōmalaṁ
- what is soft
- gṛhē
- at home
- vraṇē
- in a wound
- kīṭa
- (kīṭaḥ) a worm
- iva
- like
- āsvādya
- tasting
- vayaḥ
- youth
- kāryaṁ
- should
- na
- not
- bhasmasāt
- burn to ashes
Meaning
A harsh image. A worm (kīṭa) lives in a wound (vraṇa), feeding on the fluid there, and thinks it a feast. So a man at home tastes a little of the soft, wet pleasures, women, food and drink, and wastes his youth (vayaḥ), the best time for every aim of life. The commentary: as the worm in a wound tastes pus, so one should not waste youth, the means to all human aims, tasting such things. The image is meant to disgust. It asks the reader to see the comforts he lives for from outside, as one sees the worm.