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

ಕೇಶ ಮತ್ತು ಕಾಜಲವನ್ನು ಧರಿಸಿದವರು, ಸ್ಪರ್ಶಿಸಲು ದುಸ್ತರವಾದರೂ ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಪ್ರಿಯರು—ದುಷ್ಕೃತ್ಯದ ಅಗ್ನಿಶಿಖೆಯಂತೆ ಸ್ತ್ರೀಯರು ಪುರುಷನನ್ನು ತೃಣದಂತೆ ದಹಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ॥೧೮॥

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)