Verse 18

Yagyavalkya

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

केशकज्जलधारिण्यो दुःस्पर्शा लोचनप्रियाः ।

दुष्कृताग्निशिखा नार्यो दहन्ति तृणवन्नरम् ॥१८॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

केश-कज्जल-धारिण्यः । दुः-स्पर्शाः । लोचन-प्रियाः ।

दुष्कृत-अग्नि-शिखाः । नार्यः । दहन्ति । तृण-वत् । नरम् ॥१८॥

IAST Transliteration

keśakajjaladhāriṇyo duḥsparśā locanapriyāḥ |

duṣkṛtāgniśikhā nāryo dahanti tṛṇavan naram ||18||

Translation

কেশ ও কাজলধারিণী, স্পর্শে দুর্লভ অথচ দৃষ্টিতে প্রিয়—দুষ্কৃত্যের অগ্নিশিখার ন্যায় নারীরা পুরুষকে তৃণসম জ্বালিয়ে দেয়॥১৮॥

Academic Translation

Women, bearing hair and collyrium, hard to touch yet pleasing to the eyes—like flames of the fire of misdeeds—burn a man as if (he were) grass.

Verse Context

• Kāma–rāga as bondage; vairāgya and indriya-nigraha (sense-control) as aids to mokṣa
• Mahavakya: Indirect: emphasizes removal of obstacles (rāga-dveṣa) so that mahāvākya contemplation can culminate in aparokṣa-jñāna; no direct mahāvākya content.
• Yajur
• Śukla-Yajurveda (Vājasaneyī) Shakha
• Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (śloka)