Shloka 12
अलर्क उवाच इयं स्वादून् रसान् भुक्त्वा तानेव प्रतिगृध्यति । तस्माज्जिद्धां प्रति शरान् प्रतिमोक्ष्याम्पहं शितान्,अलर्कने कहा--यह रसना स्वादिष्ट रसोंका उपभोग करके फिर उन्हें ही पाना चाहती है। इसलिये अब इसीके ऊपर अपने तीखे सायकोंका प्रहार करूँगा
alarka uvāca: iyaṃ svādūn rasān bhuktvā tān eva pratigṛdhyati | tasmāj jihvāṃ prati śarān pratimokṣyāmy ahaṃ śitān ||
Alarka said: “This tongue, having enjoyed sweet flavors, keeps craving those very tastes again. Therefore I shall now release my sharp arrows against the tongue itself.” In ethical intent, he identifies the organ of taste as a root of repeated desire and resolves to strike at the source of craving rather than chase its objects.
अलर्क उवाच
Educational Q&A
Repeated desire is sustained by the senses themselves; ethical discipline targets the source of craving (the tongue/appetite) rather than endlessly pursuing pleasurable objects.
Alarka personifies the tongue as a persistent seeker of pleasure and declares a dramatic resolve to ‘shoot arrows’ at it—an image for forcefully restraining appetite and conquering desire through inner austerity.