eternal glory for himself.

What is the use of digging a

well when the house is on fire?

89. We have not studied knowledge while upon the earth-knowledge which tames the hosts of disputants and is suitable for a well-trained man: our fame has not been exalted to the skies by the sword-point which splits the hard forehead of the elephant; we have not tasted the juice of the lower lip of the soft mouth of the beloved one at the time of moon-rising. Alas! youth has passed

fruitlessly, like a lamp in an empty house.

90. In good men knowledge is the destruction of pride; in others it is the cause of haughtiness: a solitary dwelling frees ascetics from attraction to objects of sense; it is the cause of extreme attraction towards desire in those who are wounded by it.

91. The desires in our own minds have faded: youth has passed into old age: even the very virtues in our own bodies have become barren since they are no longer recognised as virtues. What can we do? All-powerful time is hastening on, and death is coming on us to end our lives. What can we do but resort to the feet of Śiva? There is no other means of salvation for us.

92. When the mouth is dry, a man drinks water which is sweet to him; when pained with hunger, he eats rice and other vegetables. But he is mistaken if he imagines that the removal of the pain caused by hunger and thirst is a pleasure.

93. I will bathe in the waters of Ganges: I will honour thee, O lord! with pure fruits and flowers. I will meditate upon thee; I will sit on a couch of stone in a mountain cave; I will feed on fruits with peaceful mind; I will reverence the voice of my spiritual father. When shall I, lying at thy feet, O enemy of love! by thy favour be freed from the pain of desire, seeking alone the path of meditation?

94. Thou whose bed is a slab of rock; thou whose dwelling is a cave, whose clothes are the bark of trees, whose

companions are the antelopes, whose food is the tender fruits, whose drink is water from the cascades, whose wife is the sciences: such as these are indeed the supreme lords; they pay homage to no man.

95. While there is the Ganges near us, whose rays kiss the head of Śiva, and furnishes us abundant livelihood, with bark garments made from the banyan trees that grow on its banks, what sage would even look at the face of women as they sit filled with extreme misery, and with pain produced by the fever of calamity, unless he felt compassion for his distressed family?

96. If wise men forsake Benares, alas! to what other place should they resort? For in the gardens of Benares are manifold pleasures, and penances practised of exceeding difficulty; a small ragged piece of cloth is looked upon as a splendid garment, and food without end may be gained by begging. Death in that place is even as a festival.

97. "Our lord sleeps; now is the time for his rest: you may not enter, for if he wake up and see you, he will be angry." So say the guardians at the palace gate. Pass them by and enter the temple of that lord who is the ruler of the universe—that shrine which gives boundless bliss, full of love, where the speech of rough doorkeepers is not heard.

98. Dear friend! unyielding destiny, like an almighty potter, places the mind of man upon the wheel of care like a lump of clay and makes him revolve, that wheel which is ever moving through all the manifold evils of life, visiting men as though with the rod of affliction.

99. There is no difference for me between Śiva, the lord of the world, the slayer of Janu, and Vishņu, the soul of the universe; therefore I worship the deity who bears the moon-crest.

100. I am satisfied with the divine voice which sheds forth words over my mind sweeter than honey, richer than butter. Alms content me; bark clothing satisfies me; I care nothing for wealth gained in a state of slavery to objects of sense.

IOI. The ascetic may be clothed in rags; he may beg his livelihood; his bed may be in the grove of a cemetery; he may cease to care for friend or foe; his habitation may be desolate; but he dwells in peace, rejoicing because the intoxication of pride has disappeared.

102. The many pleasures of which this world is made. up are all transitory; why then, O men! do you roam about? why take such pains to pursue them? Free your soul from the numberless bonds of desire, and let it enter into the abode of peace which is destined for it, if you believe my words.

103. Blessed are those who dwell in the mountain caves meditating on the glory of the Supreme. In their laps the birds perch fearlessly, and drink the tears of joy flowing from their eyes. As for us, our life passes away while we enjoy ourselves in the groves or on the river-banks, building castles in the air.

104. Every living thing is subject to death. Youth passes into old age; contentment is destroyed by covetousness after riches; peace of mind by the glances of beautiful women; the just are slandered by envious men ; forests are infested by serpents; kings are ruined by evil counsellors. Even the divine virtues themselves are unstable; so everything in the world suffers loss and damage.

105. The health of men is undermined by sicknesses of various kinds when fortune has departed, then disasters. come in as if by the open door. Death truly brings all things under his sway. Destiny has made nothing abide firmly.

106. Men have dwelt in the narrow womb of their mother, suffering pain; youth, with its separations from one we love, is full of sorrow; old age, exposing men to the contempt of women, is an evil thing. Alas! when one reckons

it

up, what pleasure is there to be found in the world?

107. The life of man endures a hundred years; half is spent in night; of the remainder, half is spent in childhood. and in old age. Servitude, pain, separation, sickness, fill

up that which is left. What pleasure then can there be in the life of man, which is as uncertain as the bubbles on the stream?

108. Pure-minded men, possessed of right judgment, through their union with the Supreme Spirit perform things hard of performance; for they entirely cast off worldly riches, which are the source of all pleasure. As for us, neither what we had formerly nor that which we have now is really in our own power. That which we have only in wish we cannot abandon.

109. Old age menaces the body like a tiger; diseases carry it off like enemies; life slips away like water out of a broken jar; and yet man lives an evil life in the world. Truly this is marvellous.

110. The Creator makes a jewel of a man, a mine of virtues, an ornament to the earth - and then in one moment destroys him. Alas! what want of knowledge does the Creator display!

III. The body is bent with age, the steps fail, the teeth are broken, the sight becomes dim, deafness grows on one, the mouth dribbles, servants cease to obey one's orders, one's wife is not submissive, one's son is even one's enemy-such are the evils of old age.

112. For a moment one is a child; for a moment a youth full of love: in one minute wealth is abundant; in the next it has all vanished. A man comes to the end of life, and then, with his limbs worn by age and covered with wrinkles, as an actor disappears behind the curtain, so he enters the abode of death.

113. Whether a man wear a serpent or a string of pearls, whether he be surrounded by powerful enemies or friends, whether he be the owner of jewels or possesses merely a lump of mud, whether his bed be flowers or a stone, whether he be encircled by grass or by a multitude of women, it is all the same to him while, dwelling in a sacred grove, he invokes Śiva.

MISCELLANEOUS ŚLOKAS.

1. The whole world is filled with delight to the poor man, to the man whose passions are subdued, to the man who is calm, and whose mind is ever equal, who is filled with contentment.

2. Final emancipation-death-is approaching, but yet no thought is bestowed upon these things. The various states of life have been passed through: calamity—happiness-falls-dangers-these have been endured. What more shall we say? Alas! what injury have you not inflicted on yourself over and over again!

3. The belly is a pot difficult to fill it scorches up a man's virtue, even as the moon scorches up the beds of lotuses: it is like a thief that steals one's purse it is even as a flashing axe cutting down the tree of virtue.

4. Let us eat the food we have gained by begging: let the sky be our only garment: let the earth be our couch: why should we be a slave to harsh masters?

5. "O my friend! rise up, endure the heavy weight of poverty let me, overcome with weariness, enjoy at length the rest which thou hast gained in death." Thus was the corpse on the way to the burying-ground addressed by the man who had lost his wealth. The corpse remained in silence, knowing that death is better than poverty.

6. Vide Niti Sataka, Miscellaneous, śloka 4.

7. Vide Nîti Śataka, Miscellaneous, śloka 6.

8. Hara, who rejoices because his beloved spouse is half of his own being, shines resplendent in those who are given over to passion: the same deity, who has no superiors, manifested in his absence of union with his wife, rules in those who are freed from passion. He who is filled with confusion through the various snake-poisoned arrows of love, hard to be endured, cheated by Kâma, can neither abandon nor enjoy objects of sense.