Bhartruhari Sataka Trisati - Srungaara Satakam - Sinhala

භර්තෘහරි is celebrated for the ශතක-ත්රිශති - three collections of roughly a hundred verses each: නීති ශතකම්, ශෘංගාර ශතකම්, and වෛරාග්ය ශතකම්. These are among the most quoted සුභාෂිතානි in Sanskrit literature because each ශ්ලෝක is compact, memorable, and psychologically sharp.

ශෘංගාර ශතකම් explores ශෘංගාර (love/beauty/romance) in many shades: the first spark of attraction, playful conversation, the language of glances, union (සංභෝග), separation (විරහ), and the way desire can both uplift and unsettle the mind. It is not only about physical beauty; it is also a study of longing, imagination, vulnerability, pride, and reconciliation - the inner choreography of relationship.

The text remains timeless because the emotions it depicts are timeless. The setting may be a palace or a forest-grove, but the dynamics are familiar: how a half-smile can change a conversation, how uncertainty magnifies small signals, how distance reshapes memory, and how seasons mirror moods. Verses like සමස්තභාවෛඃ ඛලු බංධනං ස්ත්රියඃ, ස්මෘතා භවති තාපාය, and තාවදේවාමෘතමයී are remembered and quoted because they capture these patterns with precision.

A good way to read ශෘංගාර ශතකම් is as a mirror for චිත්ත (mind): notice what in the verse is about the beloved, and what is actually about the observer's own projections, cravings, and sensitivities. When relevant, some verses also hint at විවේක (discernment) - seeing how attachment forms and how it can be handled with maturity.

ශංභුස්වයංභුහරයෝ හරිණේක්ෂණානාං
යේනාක්රියංත සතතං ගෘහකුංභදාසාඃ ।
වාචාං අගෝචරචරිත්රවිචිත්රිතාය
තස්මෛ නමෝ භගවතේ මකරධ්වජාය ॥ 2.1 ॥

ඡංදඃ (වසංතතිලකා): This is in වසංතතිලකා (සම-වෘත්ත) Chandas/Meter: 4 පාදාඃ, 14 අක්ෂරාඃ per පාද; ලඝු/ගුරු pattern (per පාද) is `GGLGLLLGLLGLGG`.

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ශංභුඃ - Shiva
ස්වයංභුඃ - Brahma (self-born)
හරිඃ - Vishnu
ශංභුස්වයංභුහරයෝ - Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu (sandhi: ශංභුඃ + ස්වයංභුඃ + හරිඃ)
හරිණ - deer; doe
ඊක්ෂණ - eye; glance
හරිණේක්ෂණාඃ - doe-eyed women (in verse: හරිණේක්ෂණානාං)
යේන - by whom
ආක්රියංත - were made; were compelled to become
යේනාක්රියංත - were made by whom (sandhi: යේන + ආක්රියංත)
සතතං - always; constantly
ගෘහ - house; household
කුංභ - (water-)pot
දාසඃ - servant; one made to do errands
ගෘහකුංභදාසාඃ - household pot-servants; domestic errand-runners
වාචාං - of speech; of words
අගෝචරඃ - beyond reach; not accessible
චරිත්රං - conduct; deeds; "play" of action
විචිත්රිතා - wondrous; astonishing; variegated
අගෝචරචරිත්රවිචිත්රිතාය - to him whose wondrous deeds are beyond speech (compound)
තස්මෛ - to him
නමඃ - salutations
භගවතේ - to the Lord; the glorious one
මකර - the මකර (sea-creature motif)
ධ්වජඃ - banner; sign
මකරධ්වජඃ - Cupid ("whose banner is the මකර"); in verse: මකරධ්වජාය

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Salutations to Cupid, whose wondrous play is beyond words - he by whom even Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu are made ceaseless household errand-servants for doe-eyed women.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
භර්තෘහරි opens with a deliberate exaggeration to set the theme: කාම (desire) is not "a small weakness" but a power that can bend even the mightiest. In everyday life, the same truth appears when highly capable people become irrational for the sake of attention, validation, or infatuation - a senior leader making poor decisions to impress, a student derailing studies for a relationship, or someone compromising values to keep a fragile bond. The practical අනුසංධාන is not to fear love, but to add විවේක (discernment) and සංයම (self-restraint): keep boundaries, avoid secrecy, and check whether your actions are serving your deeper priorities or merely serving a moment of fascination.

One more layer is this: Let beauty become reverence rather than grasping. ආදි ශංකරාචාර්ය opens සෞංදර්ය ලහරී with ශිවඃ ශක්ත්යා යුක්තෝ යදි භවති ශක්තඃ ප්රභවිතුම්, hinting that beauty and power are inseparable from awareness. Seen that way, admiration can refine the heart. When respect is present, beauty uplifts; when entitlement is present, beauty binds.

ස්මිතේන භාවේන ච ලජ්ජයා භියා
පරාණ්මුඛෛරර්ධකටාක්ෂවීක්ෂණෛඃ ।
වචෝභිරීර්ෂ්යාකලහේන ලීලයා
සමස්තභාවෛඃ ඛලු බංධනං ස්ත්රියඃ ॥ 2.2 ॥

ඡංදඃ (වංශස්ථ): This is in වංශස්ථ (සම-වෘත්ත) Chandas/Meter: 4 පාදාඃ, 12 අක්ෂරාඃ per පාද; ලඝු/ගුරු pattern (per පාද) is `LGLGGLLGLGLG`.

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ස්මිතේන - by a smile
භාවේන - by an emotion; by an expressive mood
ච - and
ලජ්ජයා - by modesty; by bashfulness
භියා - by fear; by coy apprehension
පරාණ්මුඛෛඃ - with faces turned away; with an averted look
අර්ධ - half
කටාක්ෂ - sidelong glance
වීක්ෂණ - seeing; look
අර්ධකටාක්ෂවීක්ෂණෛඃ - with half-sidelong glances
වචෝභිඃ - by words; by speech
ඊර්ෂ්යා - jealousy
කලහේන - by quarrel; by playful dispute
ලීලයා - by play; by teasing sport
සමස්ත - all; entire
භාවෛඃ - by moods; by emotional states
ඛලු - indeed; surely
බංධනං - bondage; a binding snare; an entanglement
ස්ත්රියඃ - women

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
By smiles and moods, by modesty and coy fear, by averted faces and half-sidelong glances, by words, jealousy, quarrels, and playful teasing - by all these moods indeed women become a binding snare for the mind.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This verse is a compact psychology of attraction: not a single "weapon", but a whole spectrum of signals - smile, silence, shyness, irritation, reconciliation - that keeps attention captured. In modern relationships too, much of bonding happens through micro-signals: a delayed reply, a sudden warmth, a playful argument, a half-compliment that invites reassurance. The practical lesson is විවේක (discernment): notice when your peace is being outsourced to another person's changing expressions. Healthy love deepens steadiness; unhealthy attachment creates dependency on emotional fluctuations. A simple practice is to communicate clearly, interpret charitably, and keep your core routines intact, so that affection enriches life instead of hijacking it.

A helpful way to apply this is: Timing matters. Do not try to resolve everything at peak emotion. Pause, cool down, then speak. When you repair quickly and gently, love becomes a place of safety; when you turn small quarrels into ego battles, romance becomes exhaustion. Let the verse nudge you toward calmer repair.

භ්රූචාතුර්යාත්කුෂ්චිතාක්ෂාඃ කටාක්ෂාඃ
ස්නිග්ධා වාචෝ ලජ්ජිතාංතාශ්ච හාසාඃ ।
ලීලාමංදං ප්රස්ථිතං ච ස්ථිතං ච
ස්ත්රීණාං ඒතද්භූෂණං චායුධං ච ॥ 2.3 ॥

ඡංදඃ (ශාලිනී): This is in ශාලිනී (ත්රිෂ්ටුභ් class) Chandas/Meter: 4 පාදාඃ, 11 අක්ෂරාඃ per පාද; ලඝු/ගුරු pattern (per පාද) is `GGGG GLGGLGG`; යති (pause) is after the 4th syllable in each පාද (and sometimes also after 7).

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
භ්රූ - eyebrow
චාතුර්ය - cleverness; skill; dexterity
භ්රූචාතුර්යාත් - from/through clever eyebrow-play
කුචිත - bent; slightly contracted
අක්ෂ - eye
කුෂ්චිතාක්ෂාඃ - with slightly contracted eyes
කටාක්ෂාඃ - sidelong glances
ස්නිග්ධාඃ - tender; affectionate; warm
වාචඃ - words; speech (in verse: වාචෝ)
ලජ්ජිත - bashful; modest
අංතඃ - ending; concluded
ලජ්ජිතාංතාඃ - ending in bashfulness (as of a smile or laugh)
හාසාඃ - laughter; smiles
ලීලා - play; graceful sport
මංදං - slowly; gently
ප්රස්ථිතං - (their) going forth; gait; walking
ස්ථිතම් - (their) standing; posture
ස්ත්රීණාං - of women
ඒතත් - this
භූෂණං - ornament; adornment
ච - and
ආයුධං - weapon

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Sidelong glances shaped by clever eyebrow-play and slightly contracted eyes, affectionate speech, laughter that ends in modesty, and a gentle playful gait - whether walking or standing - these are for women both ornament and weapon.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse highlights "soft power": charm is not only beauty, but timing, expression, and presence. In modern settings, this can be seen in how a well-placed look, a warm tone, or a playful pause can change a tense conversation more effectively than arguments. The ethical point is important: the same skills can heal or manipulate. If you have influence, use it as දයා (kindness) and සත්ය (honesty), not as control. If you are on the receiving side, remember that attraction can cloud judgment; take decisions (commitments, money, boundaries) when the mind is calm, not when it is intoxicated by charm.

To carry this wisely: Charm is power, so bring අහිම්සා (non-harm) into speech. Teasing can be sweet, but sarcasm and manipulation create long shadows. Choose words that leave the other person with dignity. That is how attraction matures into intimacy.

ක්වචිත්සභ්රූභංගෛඃ ක්වචිදපි ච ලජ්ජාපරිගතෛඃ
ක්වචිද්භූරිත්රස්තෛඃ ක්වචිදපි ච ලීලාවිලලිතෛඃ ।
කුමාරීණාං ඒතෛර්මදනසුභගෛර්නේත්රවලිතෛඃ
ස්ඵුරන්නීලාබ්ජානාං ප්රකරපරිකීර්ණා ඉව දිශඃ ॥ 2.4 ॥

ඡංදඃ (ශිඛ්හරිනී): This is in ශිඛ්හරිනී (සම-වෘත්ත) Chandas/Meter: 4 පාදාඃ, 17 අක්ෂරාඃ per පාද; ලඝු/ගුරු pattern (per පාද) is `LGGGGG LLLLL GGLLLG`; යති (pause) is after the 6th and 11th syllables in each පාද.

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ක්වචිත් - somewhere; at times
ස - with
භ්රූ - eyebrow
භංග - bend; arch; movement
සභ්රූභංගෛඃ - with eyebrow-bends
ක්වචිදපි - somewhere/at times also (sandhi: ක්වචිදපි = ක්වචිත් + අපි)
අපි - also
ලජ්ජා - modesty; shyness
පරිගත - surrounded by; accompanied by
ලජ්ජාපරිගතෛඃ - accompanied by modesty
භූරි - much; greatly
ත්රස්ත - frightened; startled
භූරිත්රස්තෛඃ - greatly frightened (looks)
ලීලා - play; grace
විලලිත - sportive; playfully moving
ලීලාවිලලිතෛඃ - with playful movements
කුමාරීණාං - of young maidens
ඒතෛඃ - by these
මදන - Cupid; love
සුභග - auspicious; pleasing; attractive
මදනසුභගෛඃ - pleasing to Cupid; love-stirring
නේත්ර - eye
වලිත - rolling; moving; turning
නේත්රවලිතෛඃ - with rolling eyes; with eye-movements
ස්ඵුරත් - flashing; shining
නීල - blue
අබ්ජ - lotus
නීලාබ්ජ - blue lotus
නීලාබ්ජානාං - of blue lotuses
ප්රකරපරිකීර්ණාඃ - scattered with clusters
ඉව - as if; like
දිශඃ - the directions; quarters

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
With eyebrow-bends, with modesty, with startled innocence, and with playful grace - with these love-stirring movements of the maidens' rolling eyes - the very directions seem as though they are strewn with clusters of flashing blue lotuses.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The poetic image is vivid: eyes like blue lotuses "scatter" across the world because the observer's attention keeps following them. In today's relationships, this is how fascination works: the mind keeps returning to a single stimulus and begins to color the whole environment with it. A practical use of this insight is to recognize සංස්කාර (impressions) forming in real-time: repeated attention strengthens a groove. If you want love to be healthy, let admiration be paired with respect and restraint; if you sense obsession, widen your focus deliberately - work, friends, sleep, and values - so that beauty remains a joy, not a captivity.

A mature reading suggests: From an inner standpoint, remember that the rush is a wave in the mind. ආදි ශංකරාචාර්ය reminds us in ආත්ම ෂටකම්, මනෝ බුද්ධ්යහංකාර චිත්තානි නාහම් (I am not the mind, intellect, ego, or mind-stuff). Returning to that witness does not kill love; it makes love workable, so you can act with dignity instead of being driven.

වක්ත්රං චංද්රවිකාසි පංකජපරීහාසක්ෂමේ ලෝචනේ
වර්ණඃ ස්වර්ණං අපාකරිෂ්ණුරලිනීජිෂ්ණුඃ කචානාං චයඃ ।
බක්ෂෝජාවිභකුංභවිභ්රමහරෞ ගුර්වී නිතංබස්ථලී
වාචාං හාරි ච මාර්දවං යුවතීෂු ස්වාභාවිකං මංඩනම් ॥ 2.5 ॥

ඡංදඃ (ශාර්දූලවික්රීඩිතම්): This is in ශාර්දූලවික්රීඩිතම් (සම-වෘත්ත) Chandas/Meter: 4 පාදාඃ, 19 අක්ෂරාඃ per පාද; ලඝු/ගුරු pattern (per පාද) is `GGGLLGL GLLLG GGLGGLG`; යති (pause) is after the 7th and 12th syllables in each පාද.

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
වක්ත්රං - face
චංද්ර - moon
විකාසි - blooming; expanding; shining forth
චංද්රවිකාසි - moon-blooming; blooming like the moon
පංකජ - lotus
පරීහාස - mockery; playful superiority
ක්ෂමේ - capable of; able to
ලෝචනේ - eyes
පංකජපරීහාසක්ෂමේ - capable of "mocking" the lotus (outshining it)
වර්ණඃ - complexion; color
ස්වර්ණං - gold
අපාකරිෂ්ණුඃ - stealing away; removing; eclipsing
අලිනී - a swarm of bees; black bees
ජිෂ්ණුඃ - conquering; surpassing
කචානාං - of the hair
චයඃ - mass; collection
අලිනීජිෂ්ණුඃ කචානාං චයඃ - a mass of hair that surpasses the bees (in blackness and beauty)
වක්ෂෝජ - breast
අවිභක්ත - unseparated; paired
කුංභ - jar; pot
විභ්රම - bewilderment; delusion; astonishment
හරෞ - removing; taking away
බක්ෂෝජාවිභකුංභවිභ්රමහරෞ - (her) paired breasts like jars that steal away the mind's composure
ගුර්වී - heavy; weighty
නිතංබ - hips; buttocks
ස්ථලී - region; place
නිතංබස්ථලී - the hip-region
වාචාං - of speech
හාරි - captivating; charming
ච - and
මාර්දවං - softness; gentleness
යුවතීෂු - in young women
ස්වාභාවිකං - natural; innate
මංඩනං - ornament; adornment

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
In young women, the natural adornment is this: a face blooming like the moon; eyes that outshine the lotus; a complexion that eclipses gold; hair that surpasses the swarm of bees; paired breasts like jars that bewilder the heart; a weighty curve of the hips; and speech whose softness captivates.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse is classic ශෘංගාර: it celebrates beauty through comparisons to nature - moon, lotus, gold, bees - and shows how perception is shaped by imagery. In real-world settings, it reminds us that attraction is partly sensory and partly imaginative: the mind overlays meaning on what it sees. The mature way to carry this is මර්යාදා (respectful boundaries): admiration should not become objectification, and poetic praise should not become entitlement. If you are in love, let appreciation make you more considerate and more responsible, not more impulsive. If you are admired, remember that charm is power; use it with සත්ය (truthfulness) and අහිම්සා (non-harm), not as a way to toy with another's emotions.

If you want this verse to uplift you: Enjoy beauty without losing balance. Keep the basics steady: sleep, work, friendships, and self-respect. If attraction is mutual, clarity and pace protect it; if it is not, restraint protects you. This is how the verse becomes practical wisdom instead of mere description.

ස්මිතකිංචින්මුග්ධං සරලතරලෝ දෘෂ්ටිවිභවඃ
පරිස්පංදෝ වාචාං අභිනවවිලාසෝක්තිසරසඃ ।
ගතානාං ආරංභඃ කිසලයිතලීලාපරිකරඃ
ස්පෘශංත්යාස්තාරුණ්යං කිං ඉව න හි රම්යං මෘගදෘශඃ ॥ 2.6 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ස්මිත - smile
කිංචිත් - a little; slight
මුග්ධං - innocent; charmingly naive
ස්මිතකිංචින්මුග්ධං - a slightly innocent smile
සරල - simple; straight; uncontrived
තරලඃ - trembling; restless; moving
සරලතරලඃ - simple and restless
දෘෂ්ටි - gaze; sight
විභවඃ - wealth; splendor; richness
දෘෂ්ටිවිභවඃ - richness of the gaze
පරිස්පංදඃ - quiver; tremor; subtle vibration
වාචාං - of speech
අභිනව - new; fresh
විලාස - graceful play; charm
උක්ති - utterance; phrase
සරසඃ - juicy; delightful
අභිනවවිලාසෝක්තිසරසඃ - delightful with fresh playful speech
ගතානාං - of movements; of gait
ආරංභඃ - beginning; start
කිසලයිත - tender like a sprout; budding
ලීලා - play; grace
පරිකරඃ - paraphernalia; set of gestures/expressions
කිසලයිතලීලාපරිකරඃ - a budding set of playful gestures
ස්පෘශංත්යාඃ - of one who is touching; approaching (in verse: ස්පෘශංත්යාස්තාරුණ්යං)
තාරුණ්යං - youth
කිං ඉව න හි රම්යං - what indeed is not lovely?
මෘගදෘශඃ - of the doe-eyed girl

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
An innocent smile, a simple yet restless richness of gaze, a tremor in speech that is sweet with fresh playful phrases, the first budding start of movements and gestures - when youth touches the doe-eyed maiden, what is there that is not lovely?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This verse captures the freshness of early youth - not "perfect beauty", but the charm of newness: slightly awkward smiles, quick glances, and spontaneous speech. In lived experience, it reminds us that connection often grows through authenticity more than polish. When you stop performing and let your natural warmth show, relationships become easier and more real. The caution is also implicit: youth is powerful and fragile; it deserves රක්ෂණ (protection) and සෞශීලය (gentle respect), not exploitation. Admiration should increase responsibility: be mindful of consent, context, and emotional impact, so that affection becomes a blessing, not a wound.

From a broader perspective: Let beauty become reverence rather than grasping. ආදි ශංකරාචාර්ය opens සෞංදර්ය ලහරී with ශිවඃ ශක්ත්යා යුක්තෝ යදි භවති ශක්තඃ ප්රභවිතුම්, hinting that beauty and power are inseparable from awareness. Seen that way, admiration can refine the heart. When respect is present, beauty uplifts; when entitlement is present, beauty binds.

ද්රෂ්ටව්යේෂු කිං උත්තමං මෘගදෘශඃ ප්රේමප්රසන්නං මුඛං
ඝ්රාතවේෂ්වපි කිං තද්ආස්යපවනඃ ශ්රව්යේෂු කිං තද්වචඃ ।
කිං ස්වාද්යේෂු තද්ඕෂ්ඨපල්ලවරසඃ ස්පෘශ්යේෂු කිං තද්වපුර්ධ්යේයං
කිං නවයෞවනේ සහෘදයෛඃ සර්වත්ර තද්විභ්රමාඃ ॥ 2.7 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ද්රෂ්ටව්යේෂු - among things to be seen
කිං - what?
උත්තමං - best; highest
මෘගදෘශඃ - of the doe-eyed maiden
ප්රේම - love
ප්රසන්නං - clear; bright; serene; pleased
මුඛං - face
ඝ්රාතවේෂු - among things to be smelled
අපි - also
තත් - that; her
ආස්ය - mouth
පවනඃ - breath; breeze
තද්ආස්යපවනඃ - her mouth-breath (the verse uses for a join; read as තදාස්යපවනඃ)
ශ්රව්යේෂු - among things to be heard
තද්වචඃ - her words; her speech
ස්වාද්යේෂු - among things to be tasted
තද්ඕෂ්ඨ - her lips (read as තදෝෂ්ඨ)
පල්ලව - fresh sprout; tender bud
රසඃ - taste; juice; essence
ඕෂ්ඨපල්ලවරසඃ - the "sprout-juice" of her lips (tender sweetness)
ස්පෘශ්යේෂු - among things to be touched
තද්වපුඃ - her body
ධ්යේයං - to be meditated on; contemplated
නවයෞවනේ - in fresh/new youth
සහෘදයෛඃ - by the tender-hearted; sensitive people
සර්වත්ර - everywhere
තද්විභ්රමාඃ - her graces; her charming gestures

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Of all things to be seen, what is best? - the doe-eyed beloved's face, bright with love. Of all scents, what? - her breath. Of all sounds? - her words. Of all tastes? - the sweetness of her lips. Of all touch? - her body. And what is to be contemplated? - her fresh youth; for the tender-hearted, her graces are "best" everywhere.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This is romantic hyperbole: when love is young, the beloved becomes the "best of everything." It is beautiful as poetry, and it also reveals a psychological pattern: the mind concentrates value on one object and then tastes the whole world through it. In ordinary situations, this can be healthy devotion or unhealthy obsession. The practical balance is මධ්යමතා (the middle way): cherish the relationship, but keep your self-respect, friendships, work, and inner stability intact. When you notice compulsive thinking, bring in විවේක (discernment): ask whether your attention is coming from love or from insecurity and craving. Love that matures moves from "I need you to feel whole" to "I choose you, and I can still stand steady within myself."

On a subtler level: Poetry delights, but real love must go beyond features. If you feel enchanted, translate it into care: listen well, keep promises, and honor consent. Admiration that becomes service is ennobling; admiration that becomes possession is painful. Use the verse to remember dignity - yours and the other's.

ඒතාශ්චලද්වලයසංහතිමේඛලෝත්ථඣංකාර
නූපුරපරාජිතරාජහංස්යඃ ।
කුර්වංති කස්ය න මනෝ විවශං තරුණ්යෝ
විත්රස්තමුග්ධහරිණීසදෘශෛඃ කටාක්ෂෛඃ ॥ 2.8 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ඒතාඃ - these
චලත් - moving; trembling; swaying
වලය - bangle; bracelet
සංහති - collection; cluster
මේඛලා - girdle; waist-belt
උත්ථ - arising from
ඣංකාර - jingling sound
චලද්වලයසංහතිමේඛලෝත්ථඣංකාර - jingling arising from swaying bangles and girdle
නූපුර - anklet
පරාජිත - surpassed; defeated
රාජ - royal; noble
හංස - swan
නූපුරපරාජිතරාජහංස්යඃ - whose (gait/sound) surpasses the royal swan because of anklets
කුර්වංති - make; render
කස්ය න - whose (mind) not?; whom do they not?
මනඃ - mind
විවශං - helpless; overpowered
තරුණ්යඃ - young women
විත්රස්ත - frightened
මුග්ධ - innocent; artless
හරිණී - doe
සදෘශෛඃ - resembling; like
කටාක්ෂෛඃ - with sidelong glances

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
With jingling from swaying bangles and girdle, with anklets whose music outshines the royal swan, and with sidelong glances like frightened innocent doe - which mind do these young women not overpower?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
භර්තෘහරි shows how attraction is multisensory: sound (anklets, bangles), movement (gait), and sight (glances) work together to flood attention. In practical terms, "presence" works similarly: tone of voice, body language, and timing often matter more than literal words. If you want to build healthy relationships, use this insight to become more attentive and considerate: listen well, show warmth, and be mindful of how you show up. And if you feel overpowered by someone's charm, pause and return to your own center - sleep, food, and routine - because a tired mind is easier to capture than a steady one.

A gentle practice is: Notice the role of attention. What you repeatedly contemplate becomes your inner landscape. So train attention not only on appearance but also on character - kindness, steadiness, truthfulness. This keeps romance from becoming fragile, because it is rooted in values, not only in sensation.

කුංකුමපංකකලංකිතදේහා
ගෞරපයෝධරකංපිතහාරා ।
නූපුරහංසරණත්පද්මා
කං න වශීකුරුතේ භුවි රාමා ॥ 2.9 ॥

ඡංදඃ (මාත්රා-චංදස්): This is in a මාත්රා-based Chandas/Meter (not a fixed අක්ෂර-count වෘත්ත): in this verse, the written segments carry approximately 16 + 16 + 14 + 16 මාත්රාඃ (total 62); treat ලඝු=1 මාත්රා and ගුරු=2 මාත්රාඃ, and keep the natural pauses at the segment ends marked by `।`/`॥` (do not confuse දංඩ with internal යති).

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
කුංකුම - saffron; vermilion
පංක - paste; clay; smear
කලංකිත - marked; stained; adorned (lit. "spotted")
දේහා - body; having a body (fem.)
කුංකුමපංකකලංකිතදේහා - whose body is streaked/marked with saffron paste
ගෞර - fair; white
පයෝධර - breast (lit. "water-bearer")
කංපිත - trembling; shaken
හාරා - necklace
ගෞරපයෝධරකංපිතහාරා - whose necklace trembles on her fair breasts
නූපුර - anklet
හංස - swan
රණත් - ringing; tinkling
පද්මා - lotus(-like); having lotus(-feet) (fem.)
නූපුරහංසරණත්පද්මා - whose lotus-feet ring with anklets like swans
කං - whom?
න - not
වශීකුරුතේ - brings under control; enchants; subdues
භුවි - on earth
රාමා - a lovely woman; beloved

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
With her body streaked with saffron paste, her necklace trembling on her fair breasts, and her lotus-feet ringing with anklets like swans - whom on earth does such a lovely woman not enchant?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This is a celebration of beauty as a lived, moving experience: fragrance and color, the rhythm of ornament, the music of footsteps. In the way we live now, the verse can be read as an insight into "aura": people are drawn not just to looks, but to the total atmosphere - grooming, confidence, and grace. Used well, this becomes self-care and artistry; used poorly, it becomes manipulation through appearances. The mature takeaway is to enjoy beauty without letting it override judgment: keep your promises, your priorities, and your ethical boundaries steady, even when the senses are delighted.

One more layer is this: A deeper use of ශෘංගාර is refinement. When something is beautiful, pause and notice the mind soften. Then let that softness turn into generosity, patience, and gratitude. In this way, beauty becomes a doorway to a better self, not a doorway to restlessness.

නූනං හි තේ කවිවරා විපරීතවාචෝ
යේ නිත්යං ආහුරබලා ඉති කාමිනීස්තාඃ ।
යාභිර්විලෝලිතරතාරකදෘෂ්ටිපාතෛඃ
ශක්රාදයෝऽපි විජිතාස්ත්වබලාඃ කථං තාඃ ॥ 2.10 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
නූනං - surely; indeed
හි - indeed
තේ - those
කවි - poet
වරාඃ - excellent ones; "great" ones (often ironic here)
විපරීත - contrary; reversed
වාචාඃ - words; speech (in verse: විපරීතවාචෝ)
යේ - who
නිත්යං - always
ආහුර් - say (sandhi: ආහුඃ is base; ආහුර් before a consonant)
අබලාඃ - weak (fem. pl.)
ඉති - thus
කාමින්යඃ - women; beloveds (in verse: කාමිනීස්තාඃ)
තාඃ - those (women)
යාභිඃ - by whom; with which (fem. inst. pl.)
විලෝලිත - rolling; wandering
රතාරක - stars (lit. "night-lights"; in the pupils/eyes)
දෘෂ්ටි - sight; gaze
පාත - fall; casting (as of a glance)
විලෝලිතරතාරකදෘෂ්ටිපාතෛඃ - with glances whose star-like pupils are playfully rolling
ශක්රාදයඃ - ශක්ර (Indra) and others
අපි - even (verse: ශක්රාදයෝऽපි = ශක්රාදයඃ + අපි)
විජිතාඃ - conquered; defeated
තු - but; indeed
අබලාඃ - weak?
කථං - how?
තාඃ - those (women)

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Surely those "great poets" speak upside-down who keep calling women weak; by the playful casting of their rolling, star-like glances even Indra and the gods are conquered - how then are they weak?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse pushes back against a lazy stereotype by pointing to the reality of influence: "strength" is not only physical force, it is also charm, intelligence, and the ability to move another's mind. At home and at work, this reads as a reminder to respect emotional and social power - the ability to persuade, inspire, calm, or unsettle. It also warns us about self-deception: people who think they are "in control" can still be swayed by desire, flattery, or attention. A healthy application is to build relationships on mutual respect, and to recognize that what looks "soft" on the surface can carry real leverage underneath.

A helpful way to apply this is: Enjoy beauty without losing balance. Keep the basics steady: sleep, work, friendships, and self-respect. If attraction is mutual, clarity and pace protect it; if it is not, restraint protects you. This is how the verse becomes practical wisdom instead of mere description.

නූනං ආජ්ඤාකරස්තස්යාඃ සුභ්රුවෝ මකරධ්වජඃ ।
යතස්තන්නේත්රසංචාරසූචිතේෂු ප්රවර්තතේ ॥ 2.11 ॥

ඡංදඃ (අනුෂ්ටුභ්): This is in අනුෂ්ටුභ් (ශ්ලෝක) Chandas/Meter: 4 පාදාඃ, 8 අක්ෂරාඃ per පාද (32 total; commonly written/recited as two 16-syllable half-verses separated by `।`); පථ්යා cadence often ends as pAda 1/3 = `x x x x L G x G`, pAda 2/4 = `x x x x L G L G`; a common යති (pause) is after the 4th or 5th syllable in each පාද (separate from the natural pauses at `।` and `॥`). ලක්ෂණ ශ්ලෝක: ශ්ලෝකේ ෂෂ්ඨං ගුරු ජ්ඤේයං සර්වත්ර ලඝුපංචමම් । ද්විචතුෂ්පාදයෝඃ හ්රස්වං සප්තමං දීර්ඝමන්යයෝඃ ॥ - this mnemonic says the 6th syllable is ගුරු and the 5th is ලඝු in all පාදාඃ; the 7th is ලඝු in pAda 2/4 and ගුරු in pAda 1/3.

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
නූනං - surely; indeed
ආජ්ඤා - command; order
කරඃ - doer; maker; agent (here: one who executes orders)
ආජ්ඤාකරඃ - command-executor; obedient servant
තස්යාඃ - of her
සු - good; beautiful
භ්රූ - eyebrow
සුභ්රුවඃ - of the fair-browed woman
මකරධ්වජඃ - මකරධ්වජ (Cupid)
යතඃ - because; for
තත් - her; that
නේත්ර - eye
සංචාර - movement; roaming
සූචිත - indicated; signaled
ඒෂු - in these (matters)
ප්රවර්තතේ - proceeds; acts; sets about

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Surely Cupid is the obedient servant of that fair-browed woman, because he acts according to the signals given by the movements of her eyes.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse playfully reverses the power-dynamic: instead of Cupid commanding lovers, Cupid himself becomes the servant of the beloved's subtle cues. These days, this is a reminder of how much communication happens without words - through eye contact, pauses, posture, and micro-expressions. When attraction is mutual and respectful, such cues create tenderness; when it is not, the same cues can be misread or forced. The practical guidance is to keep සංයම (self-restraint) and clarity: do not build fantasies from ambiguous signals, and do not pressure someone into giving signals they do not mean. Let desire follow consent and honesty, not guesswork.

To carry this wisely: Treat desire as a signal, not a verdict. Attraction shows what the mind likes, but it does not decide what is right. Pause and ask: will this increase trust or reduce it; will it make tomorrow lighter or heavier? That small pause is විවේක (discernment). When you choose transparency and boundaries early, love stays dignified and does not turn into compulsion.

කේශාඃ සංයමිනඃ ශ්රුතේරපි පරං පාරං ගතේ ලෝචනේ
අංතර්වක්ත්රං අපි ස්වභාවශුචිභීඃ කීර්ණං ද්විජානාං ගණෛඃ ।
මුක්තානාං සතතාධිවාසරුචිරෞ වක්ෂෝජකුංභාවිමාවිත්ථං
තන්වි වපුඃ ප්රශාංතං අපි තේරාගං කරෝත්යේව නඃ ॥ 2.12 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
කේශාඃ - hair
සංයමිනඃ - of self-controlled ones; of ascetics (also: "restrained/controlled")
ශ්රුතේරපි - even beyond the ear (here ශ්රුති = ear; sandhi: ශ්රුතේඃ අපි)
පරං - beyond; further
පාරං - far shore; limit; end
ගතේ - having reached (dual sense with ලෝචනේ)
ලෝචනේ - the two eyes
අංතර්වක්ත්රං - the inside of the mouth
අපි - even
ස්වභාව - natural; innate
ශුචි - pure; clean; bright
ස්වභාවශුචිභීඃ - naturally pure/bright
කීර්ණං - filled; crowded
ද්විජ - "twice-born"; in poetry: a tooth
ද්විජානාං ගණෛඃ - with rows/groups of teeth
මුක්තානාං - of pearls
සතත - always
අධිවාස - residence; dwelling
රුචිරෞ - beautiful (dual)
වක්ෂෝජ - breast
කුංභෞ - the two jars (dual)
වක්ෂෝජකුංභෞ - the two "jar-like" breasts
ඉමෞ - these two
ඉත්ථං - thus; in this way
තන්වි - O slender one
වපුඃ - body; form
ප්රශාංතං - calm; composed
අපි - even
තේ - your
රාගං - passion; attachment
කරෝති - creates; produces
ඒව - indeed
නඃ - in us; for us

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Your hair looks like that of the self-controlled; your eyes seem to extend even beyond the ear; your mouth, naturally bright, is filled with rows of teeth; your two breast-jars are ever beautified by pearls resting on them. O slender one, even though your form is composed, it still awakens passion in us.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This verse is packed with poetic shorthand: long eyes "reach the ear", teeth are called ද්විජ (twice-born) because a second set appears, and pearls "reside" on the bosom as a necklace. The deeper point is about how the mind selects details and turns them into a story of beauty. When you look around today, we can recognize this as the power of attention: what you repeatedly notice becomes what you "live in". If you want love to be steady, train attention not only on appearance, but also on character - kindness, reliability, and respect. Otherwise, the mind becomes a slave of surface impressions and keeps generating රාග (attachment) without grounding.

A mature reading suggests: Poetry delights, but real love must go beyond features. If you feel enchanted, translate it into care: listen well, keep promises, and honor consent. Admiration that becomes service is ennobling; admiration that becomes possession is painful. Use the verse to remember dignity - yours and the other's.

මුග්ධේ ධානුෂ්කතා කේයං අපූර්වා ත්වයි දෘශ්යතේ ।
යයා විධ්යසි චේතාංසි ගුණෛරේව න සායකෛඃ ॥ 2.13 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
මුග්ධේ - O innocent one; O charming naive girl
ධානුෂ්කතා - archery; the skill of a bowman
කා - what?
ඉයං - this
කේයං - what is this?
අපූර්වා - unprecedented; new; rare
ත්වයි - in you
දෘශ්යතේ - is seen
යයා - by which
විධ්යසි - you pierce; you strike
චේතාංසි - minds; hearts
ගුණෛඃ - by qualities; by virtues
ඒව - alone; indeed
න - not
සායකෛඃ - by arrows

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
O innocent one, what new kind of archery is seen in you - by which you pierce hearts with your qualities alone, and not with arrows?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
Here භර්තෘහරි praises attraction that comes from ගුණ (virtue/quality) rather than force. In modern terms, this is the pull of character: sincerity, warmth, humor, competence, and emotional intelligence. The practical lesson is encouraging: if you want to be loved deeply, invest less in performance and more in genuine qualities. And if you feel "pierced" by someone, ask what exactly is drawing you - is it real ගුණ, or is it your projection? This reflection prevents blind attachment and leads to healthier choices.

If you want this verse to uplift you: Notice the role of attention. What you repeatedly contemplate becomes your inner landscape. So train attention not only on appearance but also on character - kindness, steadiness, truthfulness. This keeps romance from becoming fragile, because it is rooted in values, not only in sensation.

සති ප්රදීපේ සත්යග්නෞ සත්සු තාරාරවීංදුෂු ।
විනා මේ මෘගශාවාක්ෂ්යා තමෝභූතං ඉදං ජගථ් ॥ 2.14 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
සති - when present; while existing
ප්රදීපේ - in a lamp; in the lamp-light
සත්ය - true; real; blazing
අග්නෞ - in fire; with fire
සත්සු - when present; among existing things
තාරා - stars
රවි - sun
ඉංදු - moon
තාරාරවීංදුෂු - among stars, sun, and moon
විනා - without
මේ - my
මෘග - deer
ශාවා - fawn
අක්ෂි - eye
මෘගශාවාක්ෂ්යා - (my beloved) with fawn-like eyes
තමෝභූතං - become darkness; turned dark
ඉදං - this
ජගථ් - world

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Though lamp-light, fire, stars, sun, and moon are present, without my fawn-eyed beloved this world becomes darkness to me.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse describes how love changes perception: the same world can feel bright or dark depending on inner mood. In common experience, we recognize this as emotional coloring - when you miss someone deeply, everything feels dull; when you feel connected, the same day feels luminous. The practical advice is to honor the feeling but not be ruled by it: grief and longing are natural, yet your well-being cannot depend entirely on external presence. A quiet අනුසංධාන is to cultivate an inner lamp - routines, friendships, meaning, and (when relevant) contemplation of ආත්මන් (the inner light) so that external love enriches life without becoming the only source of light.

From a broader perspective: A deeper use of ශෘංගාර is refinement. When something is beautiful, pause and notice the mind soften. Then let that softness turn into generosity, patience, and gratitude. In this way, beauty becomes a doorway to a better self, not a doorway to restlessness.

උද්වෘත්තඃ ස්තනභාර ඒෂ තරලේ නේත්රේ චලේ භ්රූලතේ
රාගාධිෂ්ඨිතං ඕෂ්ඨපල්ලවං ඉදං කුර්වංතු නාම ව්යථාම් ।
සෞභාග්යාක්ෂරමාලිකේව ලිඛිතා පුෂ්පායුධේන ස්වයං
මධ්යස්ථාපි කරෝති තාපං අධිකං රෝමාවලිඃ කේන සා ॥ 2.15 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
උද්වෘත්තඃ - raised; lifted; prominent
ස්තන - breast
භාරඃ - burden; weight
ස්තනභාරඃ - the weight of the breasts
ඒෂ - this
තරලේ - unsteady; tremulous (dual sense with නේත්රේ)
නේත්රේ - the two eyes
චලේ - moving; dancing (plural/dual sense with brows)
භ්රූලතේ - eyebrows (lit. "brow-creepers")
රාග - redness; passion; color
අධිෂ්ඨිතං - seated on; established on
ඕෂ්ඨ - lip
පල්ලවං - tender bud; sprout
ඕෂ්ඨපල්ලවං - lip-bud
ඉදං - this
කුර්වංතු - let (them) do; let (them) cause
නාම - indeed; surely
ව්යථාං - pain; disturbance
සෞභාග්ය - good fortune; auspiciousness
අක්ෂර - letter; syllable
මාලිකා - garland; string
අක්ෂරමාලිකා - a garland/string of letters (as in a written line)
ඉව - as if; like
ලිඛිතා - written
පුෂ්ප - flower
ආයුධ - weapon
පුෂ්පායුධේන - by the flower-weaponed one (කාම/Cupid)
ස්වයං - himself
මධ්යස්ථා - situated in the middle
අපි - even though
කරෝති - causes; does
තාපං - heat; torment; burning longing
අධිකං - more; excessive
රෝමාවලිඃ - the line of fine hair (on the abdomen)
කේන - why? by what?
සා - that (line)

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Let the raised weight of the breasts, the tremulous eyes, the dancing eyebrows, and the lip-bud set with color indeed cause disturbance; but why does the delicate line of abdominal hair, though placed in the middle, produce even greater burning longing - as if Cupid himself wrote it like an auspicious garland of letters?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse observes something subtle: desire does not always arise from the obvious features; sometimes a small detail becomes the strongest trigger. In contemporary life, this matches how attention works - a tiny habit, a particular laugh, a small gesture can become the "signature" that the mind fixates on. The practical lesson is to see how the mind manufactures තාප (burning agitation) through repeated attention. If you want to enjoy beauty without losing peace, keep awareness broad and grounded; do not let one detail become an obsession that drains energy and clarity. And in relationships, remember that what you amplify in your mind becomes your reality - choose what you amplify wisely.

On a subtler level: Enjoy beauty without losing balance. Keep the basics steady: sleep, work, friendships, and self-respect. If attraction is mutual, clarity and pace protect it; if it is not, restraint protects you. This is how the verse becomes practical wisdom instead of mere description.

මුඛේන චංද්රකාංතේන මහානීලෛඃ ශිරෝරුහෛඃ ।
කරාභ්යාං පද්මරාගාභ්යාං රේජේ රත්නමයීව සා ॥ 2.16 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
මුඛේන - by the face
චංද්ර - moon
කාංත - beloved; shining; also the moonstone gem (චංද්රකාංත)
චංද්රකාංතේන - with moonstone-like radiance (lit. "moon-beloved")
මහා - great; deep; intense
නීල - blue; dark
මහානීලෛඃ - with deep blue (in verse: describing hair)
ශිරඃ - head
රුහ - growing
ශිරෝරුහෛඃ - with hair (lit. "head-grown")
කරාභ්යාං - with the two hands
පද්මරාග - ruby (lit. "lotus-color gem")
පද්මරාගාභ්යාං - with ruby-like (hands)
රේජේ - shone; appeared splendid
රත්නමයී - made of jewels
ඉව - like
සා - she

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
With a moonstone-like face, deep-blue hair, and ruby-like hands, she shone as though she were fashioned from jewels.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The poet strings together colors and materials - moonstone, sapphire-blue, ruby - to suggest that beauty feels like a rare harmony of elements. In everyday life, we can read this as a reminder that attraction is often about "composition": how a person carries themselves, how they speak, how they dress, and how their presence feels as a whole. Appreciation becomes healthier when it is paired with gratitude and respect, not possession. If you admire someone, let it refine you: be more attentive, more courteous, and less reactive, so that beauty turns into better behavior rather than restless craving.

A gentle practice is: Let beauty become reverence rather than grasping. ආදි ශංකරාචාර්ය opens සෞංදර්ය ලහරී with ශිවඃ ශක්ත්යා යුක්තෝ යදි භවති ශක්තඃ ප්රභවිතුම්, hinting that beauty and power are inseparable from awareness. Seen that way, admiration can refine the heart. When respect is present, beauty uplifts; when entitlement is present, beauty binds.

ගුරුණා ස්තනභාරේණ මුඛචංද්රේණ භාස්වතා ।
ශනෛශ්චරාභ්යාං පාදාභ්යාං රේජේ ග්රහමයීව සා ॥ 2.17 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ගුරුණා - by something heavy; also a pun on ගුරු (Jupiter)
ස්තන - breast
භාර - burden; weight
ස්තනභාරේණ - by the weight of the breasts
මුඛ - face
චංද්ර - moon
මුඛචංද්රේණ - by the moon-like face
භාස්වතා - shining; radiant
ශනෛශ්චරඃ - ශනෛශ්චර (Saturn; "the slow-mover")
ශනෛශ්චරාභ්යාං - with the two (things like) Saturn; here: with the two Saturn-like feet
පාදාභ්යාං - with the two feet
රේජේ - shone; appeared splendid
ග්රහ - planet
මයී - made of; consisting of
ග්රහමයී - made of planets
ඉව - like
සා - she

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
With the heavy "guru" of her breast-weight, with a radiant moon-like face, and with two Saturn-like feet, she appeared as though she were made of planets.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This is a playful example of ශ්ලේෂ (double-meaning): words like ගුරු, චංද්ර, and ශනෛශ්චර simultaneously point to body-features and to celestial planets. In day-to-day living, this reminds us that language can hold multiple layers; what you say can carry humor, affection, and imagery together. It also hints at a practical truth: charm is not only in features, but in how a person is described and remembered. Choose your words with care in relationships - a thoughtful phrase can become a lasting ornament, while a careless one can become a lasting wound.

One more layer is this: Poetry delights, but real love must go beyond features. If you feel enchanted, translate it into care: listen well, keep promises, and honor consent. Admiration that becomes service is ennobling; admiration that becomes possession is painful. Use the verse to remember dignity - yours and the other's.

තස්යාඃ ස්තනෞ යදි ඝනෞ ජඝනං ච හාරි
වක්ත්රං ච චාරු තව චිත්ත කිං ආකුලත්වම් ।
පුණ්යං කුරුෂ්ව යදි තේෂු තවාස්ති වාංඡා
පුණ්යෛර්විනා න හි භවංති සමීහිතාර්ථාඃ ॥ 2.18 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
තස්යාඃ - of her
ස්තනෞ - the two breasts
යදි - if
ගනෞ - compact; firm; full
ජඝනං - hips; buttocks
ච - and
හාරි - charming; captivating
වක්ත්රං - face
ච - and
චාරු - beautiful; lovely
තව - your
චිත්ත - O mind
කිං - why?
ආකුලත්වං - agitation; restlessness
පුණ්යං - merit; good fortune earned by right action
කුරුෂ්ව - do; perform; cultivate
යදි - if
තේෂු - toward those; in those (objects)
තව - your
අස්ති - there is
වාංඡා - desire; longing
පුණ්යෛඃ - by merits (instrumental pl.)
විනා - without
න හි - indeed not
භවංති - happen; become
සමීහිත - desired
අර්ථාඃ - objects; aims; outcomes
සමීහිතාර්ථාඃ - desired outcomes

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
O mind, if her breasts are full, her hips charming, and her face lovely, why are you so agitated? If you truly desire such things, cultivate merit - without merit, desired outcomes do not come to pass.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
Behind the romance is a grounded message: longing alone does not produce results. If you want something in life - love, stability, success - you must become worthy of it through right effort and right conduct. In modern terms, do not chase; build: improve your character, communication, health, and responsibility, so that you naturally attract what you seek. The verse also cools impulsiveness: when the mind is agitated by desire, it is easy to make foolish promises or compromises. Returning to පුණ්ය (merit; right action) means returning to values.

A helpful way to apply this is: Notice the role of attention. What you repeatedly contemplate becomes your inner landscape. So train attention not only on appearance but also on character - kindness, steadiness, truthfulness. This keeps romance from becoming fragile, because it is rooted in values, not only in sensation.

ඉමේ තාරුණ්යශ්රීනවපරිමලාඃ ප්රෞඪසුරතප්රතාප
ප්රාරංභාඃ ස්මරවිජයදානප්රතිභුවඃ ।
චිරං චේතශ්චෝරා අභිනවවිකාරෛකගුරවෝ
විලාසව්යාපාරාඃ කිං අපි විජයංතේ මෘගදෘශාම් ॥ 2.19 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ඉමේ - these
තාරුණ්ය - youth
ශ්රී - beauty; splendor
තාරුණ්යශ්රී - the splendor of youth
නව - new; fresh
පරිමලාඃ - fragrance; charm (lit. perfume)
තාරුණ්යශ්රීනවපරිමලාඃ - bearing the fresh fragrance of youthful beauty
ප්රෞඪ - mature; fully developed
සුරත - love-play; amorous union
ප්රතාප - intensity; heat
ප්රාරංභාඃ - beginnings; onsets
ප්රෞඪසුරතප්රතාපප්රාරංභාඃ - onsets of the intensity of mature love-play
ස්මර - Cupid; love
විජය - victory
දාන - giving; grant
ප්රතිභුවඃ - sources; creators; causes
ස්මරවිජයදානප්රතිභුවඃ - sources that grant victory to Cupid
චිරං - for a long time
චේතඃ - mind
චෝරඃ - thief
චේතශ්චෝරාඃ - thieves of the mind
අභිනව - new
විකාර - transformation; emotion; change
ඒක - unique
ගුරවඃ - teachers; masters
අභිනවවිකාරෛකගුරවඃ - unique teachers of new emotions/transformations
විලාස - graceful play; charm
ව්යාපාරාඃ - activities; dealings
විලාසව්යාපාරාඃ - activities of charm and play
කිං අපි - something indescribable; somehow; wondrously
විජයංතේ - triumph; prevail
මෘගදෘශාං - of doe-eyed women

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
These activities of doe-eyed women - fragrant with the fresh splendor of youth, beginning the heat of mature love-play, granting victory to Cupid, long-time thieves of the mind, and unique teachers of ever-new emotions - triumph in some indescribable way.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse names what many experience: charm is not one thing, it is a moving field of gestures and moods that keeps the mind learning "new" feelings. In today's relationships, this shows up as novelty and emotional intensity: the mind gets addicted to the freshness of experience. The practical balance is to enjoy romance without becoming a novelty-seeker; depth grows when you value steadiness, not constant stimulation. If you notice your mind becoming a චේතශ්චෝර (thief of itself), repeatedly stolen by the same triggers, bring attention back to what actually sustains relationship: trust, respect, and consistency.

To carry this wisely: From an inner standpoint, remember that the rush is a wave in the mind. ආදි ශංකරාචාර්ය reminds us in ආත්ම ෂටකම්, මනෝ බුද්ධ්යහංකාර චිත්තානි නාහම් (I am not the mind, intellect, ego, or mind-stuff). Returning to that witness does not kill love; it makes love workable, so you can act with dignity instead of being driven.

ප්රණයමධුරාඃ ප්රේමෝද්ගාරා රසාශ්රයතාං ගතාඃ
ඵණිතිමධුරා මුග්ධප්රායාඃ ප්රකාශිතසම්මදාඃ ।
ප්රකෘතිසුභගා විස්රංභාර්ද්රාඃ ස්මරෝදයදායිනී
රහසි කිං අපි ස්වෛරාලාපා හරංති මෘගීදෘශාම් ॥ 2.20 ॥

ඡංදඃ (හරිණී): This is in හරිණී (සම-වෘත්ත) Chandas/Meter: 4 පාදාඃ, 17 අක්ෂරාඃ per පාද; ලඝු/ගුරු pattern (per පාද) is `LLLLLG GGGG LGLLGLG`; යති (pause) is after the 6th and 10th syllables in each පාද.

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ප්රණය - affection; intimate love
මධුරාඃ - sweet
ප්රණයමධුරාඃ - sweet with affection
ප්රේම - love
උද්ගාරාඃ - outpourings; expressions
ප්රේමෝද්ගාරාඃ - expressions of love
රස - taste; aesthetic flavor; emotional essence
ආශ්රයතාං - having taken refuge in; resting upon
ගතාඃ - gone; become
රසාශ්රයතාං ගතාඃ - having become full of රස
ඵණිති - speech; utterance
මධුරාඃ - sweet
ඵණිතිමධුරාඃ - sweet in speech
මුග්ධ - innocent; naive
ප්රායාඃ - mostly; for the most part
මුග්ධප්රායාඃ - mostly innocent
ප්රකාශිත - displayed; revealed
සම්මදඃ - delight; joyful excitement
ප්රකාශිතසම්මදාඃ - showing delight
ප්රකෘති - nature; innate disposition
සුභගාඃ - charming; pleasing
ප්රකෘතිසුභගාඃ - naturally charming
විස්රංභ - trust; confidential ease
ආර්ද්රාඃ - moist; tender; softened
විස්රංභාර්ද්රාඃ - softened by trust
ස්මර - Cupid; love
උදය - arising
දායිනී - giving; producing
ස්මරෝදයදායිනී - producing the rise of love
රහසි - in private; in secrecy
කිං අපි - something indescribable
ස්වෛර - free; unrestrained
ආලාපාඃ - conversation; talk
ස්වෛරාලාපාඃ - free private talk
හරංති - steal away; captivate
මෘගීදෘශාං - of doe-eyed women

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Sweet with affection, rich in outpourings of love and the flavor of emotion; sweet in speech and mostly innocent; naturally charming and softened by trust - the free private conversations of doe-eyed women kindle love and steal the heart.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This verse points to something timeless: intimacy grows through private conversation - unguarded talk where trust is felt. In modern relationships, the practical application is simple: make space for genuine, unhurried dialogue (without phones, without performance). When විස්රංභ (trustful ease) is present, love naturally deepens; when it is absent, even grand gestures feel hollow. The caution is also there: do not outsource your self-worth to another's attention; let conversation be a bridge, not a drug. Build trust through consistency and kindness, and keep romance aligned with respect.

A mature reading suggests: Enjoy beauty without losing balance. Keep the basics steady: sleep, work, friendships, and self-respect. If attraction is mutual, clarity and pace protect it; if it is not, restraint protects you. This is how the verse becomes practical wisdom instead of mere description.

විශ්රම්ය විශ්රම්ය වනද්රුමාණාං
ඡායාසු තන්වී විචචාර කාචිත් ।
ස්තනෝත්තරීයේණ කරෝද්ධෘතේන
නිවාරයංතී ශශිනෝ මයූඛාන් ॥ 2.21 ॥

ඡංදඃ (උපජාති): This is in උපජාති Chandas/Meter: 4 පාදාඃ, 11 අක්ෂරාඃ per පාද; this meter commonly mixes ඉංද්රවජ්රා (`GGLGGLLGLGG`) and උපේංද්රවජ්රා (`LGLGGLLGLGG`) patterns across පාදාඃ.

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
විශ්රම්ය - having rested; resting
විශ්රම්ය විශ්රම්ය - resting again and again
වන - forest
ද්රුම - tree
වනද්රුමාණාං - of forest trees
ඡායාසු - in the shades
තන්වී - a slender woman
විචචාර - wandered; moved about
කාචිත් - a certain (woman)
ස්තන - breast
උත්තරීය - upper cloth; shawl
ස්තනෝත්තරීයේණ - with the upper cloth (at the bosom)
කර - hand
උද්ධෘත - lifted; raised
කරෝද්ධෘතේන - raised by the hand
නිවාරයංතී - warding off; shielding
ශශිනෝ - of the moon (ශශින්)
මයූඛාන් - rays

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
A slender woman wandered, resting again and again in the shade of forest trees, shielding herself from the moon's rays with an upper cloth raised by her hand.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
In ශෘංගාර poetry, the moon is not always "cool": for a love-struck mind, moonlight can intensify longing and feel like heat. So the beloved tries to reduce stimulation by seeking shade and by covering herself. In lived experience, this resembles emotional self-regulation: when you are vulnerable - missing someone, overwhelmed, or anxious - even gentle triggers (a song, a place, a memory) can hurt. The practical takeaway is compassionate pacing: take breaks, change environment, and choose what you consume (music, media, conversations) so your mind can settle rather than spiral.

If you want this verse to uplift you: Let beauty become reverence rather than grasping. ආදි ශංකරාචාර්ය opens සෞංදර්ය ලහරී with ශිවඃ ශක්ත්යා යුක්තෝ යදි භවති ශක්තඃ ප්රභවිතුම්, hinting that beauty and power are inseparable from awareness. Seen that way, admiration can refine the heart. When respect is present, beauty uplifts; when entitlement is present, beauty binds.

අදර්ශනේ දර්ශනමාත්රකාමා
දෘෂ්ට්වා පරිෂ්වංගසුඛෛකලෝලා ।
ආලිංගිතායාං පුනරායතාක්ෂ්යාමාශාස්මහේ
විග්රහයෝරභේදම් ॥ 2.22 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
අදර්ශනේ - in not-seeing; in absence
දර්ශන - seeing; sight
මාත්ර - merely; only
කාමා - desiring (fem.)
දර්ශනමාත්රකාමා - desiring only a sight
දෘෂ්ට්වා - having seen
පරිෂ්වංග - embrace
සුඛ - happiness; pleasure
ඒක - only
ලෝලා - eager; restless for
පරිෂ්වංගසුඛෛකලෝලා - eager only for the pleasure of an embrace
ආලිංගිතායාං - when (she is) embraced
පුනර් - again
ආයතාක්ෂී - the long-eyed woman (in verse: ආයතාක්ෂ්යාම්)
ආශාස්මහේ - we hope for; we long for
විග්රහයෝඃ - of the two bodies
අභේදං - non-separation; non-difference; complete union

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
When we cannot see her, we long only for a sight; once we see her, we long only for the pleasure of an embrace; and when embraced, we again long for the complete non-separation of the two bodies.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse traces the escalation of desire: the mind moves from "just one look" to "just one touch" to "never let there be distance." This is a gentle warning as well as a romantic truth: the appetite of attachment can be endless. In ordinary situations, we can use this as විවේක (discernment): notice when love is becoming hunger and when closeness is becoming control. A mature relationship honors intimacy and also honors space; it does not treat separation as a threat. From an අද්වෛත (non-duality) angle, the longing for "no difference" can also be read as the soul's deeper thirst for wholeness - and that wholeness ultimately has to be found inwardly, not demanded from another person.

From a broader perspective: Poetry delights, but real love must go beyond features. If you feel enchanted, translate it into care: listen well, keep promises, and honor consent. Admiration that becomes service is ennobling; admiration that becomes possession is painful. Use the verse to remember dignity - yours and the other's.

මාලතී ශිරසි ජෘංභණං මුඛේ
චංදනං වපුෂි කුංකුමාවිලම් ।
වක්ෂසි ප්රියතමා මදාලසා
ස්වර්ග ඒෂ පරිශිෂ්ට ආගමඃ ॥ 2.23 ॥

ඡංදඃ (රථෝද්ධතා): This is in රථෝද්ධතා (ත්රිෂ්ටුභ් class) Chandas/Meter: 4 පාදාඃ, 11 අක්ෂරාඃ per පාද; ලඝු/ගුරු pattern (per පාද) is `GLGLLLGLGLG`.

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
මාලතී - jasmine (a fragrant flower)
ශිරසි - on the head
ජෘංභණං - blooming; opening (also: a blossoming smile)
මුඛේ - on the face
චංදනං - sandal paste
වපුෂි - on the body
කුංකුම - saffron; vermilion
ආවිලං - mixed with; tinged; smeared
කුංකුමාවිලං - tinged with saffron
වක්ෂසි - on the chest
ප්රියතමා - the beloved woman
මදාලසා - intoxicated and languid; pleasantly drowsy
ස්වර්ගඃ - heaven
ඒෂ - this
පරිශිෂ්ටඃ - remaining; leftover
ආගමඃ - arrival; attainment; what is to come

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Jasmine on the head, a blooming smile on the face, sandal paste on the body tinged with saffron, and the beloved lying languid on the chest - this is heaven; anything "to come" is only the remainder.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse is a bold claim: paradise is not somewhere else; it is the lived sweetness of love, fragrance, and closeness in the present. In practical terms, this can be read as an invitation to stop postponing happiness into an abstract future and to learn to honor simple moments of togetherness. At the same time, maturity asks for balance: do not confuse fleeting pleasure with lasting well-being. Let love become a source of gratitude, gentleness, and responsibility - then even ordinary days carry a touch of "heaven" without making you careless or addicted.

On a subtler level: Notice the role of attention. What you repeatedly contemplate becomes your inner landscape. So train attention not only on appearance but also on character - kindness, steadiness, truthfulness. This keeps romance from becoming fragile, because it is rooted in values, not only in sensation.

ප්රාඞ්මාං ඒති මනාගනාගතරසං ජාතාභිලාෂාං තතඃ
සව්රීඩං තදනු ශ්ලථෝද්යමං අථ ප්රධ්වස්තධෛර්යං පුනඃ ।
ප්රේමාර්ද්රං ස්පෘහණීයනිර්භරරහඃ ක්රීඩාප්රගල්භං තතෝ
නිඃසංගාංගවිකර්ෂණාධිකසුඛරම්යං කුලස්ත්රීරතම් ॥ 2.24 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ප්රාඞ්මාං - forward; toward the front
ඒති - goes; moves
මනාග - a little; slightly
නාගත - attained; arrived at (here: "just reached")
රසං - taste; emotional flavor
මනාගනාගතරසං - having just begun to taste රස
ජාතා - arisen; born
අභිලාෂා - desire; longing
ජාතාභිලාෂාං - with desire awakened
තතඃ - then
ස - with
ව්රීඩා - bashfulness; modesty
සව්රීඩං - with bashfulness
තදනු - after that
ශ්ලථ - slack; loosened
උද්යමං - effort; attempt
ශ්ලථෝද්යමං - effort slackened
අථ - then
ප්රධ්වස්ත - destroyed; shaken down
ධෛර්යං - courage; steadiness
ප්රධ්වස්තධෛර්යං - courage collapsed
පුනඃ - again
ප්රේම - love
ආර්ද්රං - softened; tender
ප්රේමාර්ද්රං - tender with love
ස්පෘහණීය - desirable; worth longing for
නිර්භර - intense; overflowing; abundant
රහඃ - secrecy; private moment
ස්පෘහණීයනිර්භරරහඃ - a deeply desirable, intense private moment
ක්රීඩා - play; sport
ප්රගල්භං - bold; confident
ක්රීඩාප්රගල්භං - bold in playful sport
තතඃ - then
නිඃසංග - without attachment; detached
අංග - limb
විකර්ෂණ - drawing back; pulling away
නිඃසංගාංගවිකර්ෂණ - detached teasing withdrawal of limbs
අධික - greater
සුඛ - pleasure; ease
රම්යං - delightful
අධිකසුඛරම්යං - delightful with increased pleasure
කුල - noble family; respectable household
ස්ත්රී - woman; wife
රතං - love-play; intimacy
කුලස්ත්රීරතං - the love-play of a respectable woman

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
The love-play of a respectable woman is uniquely delightful: the mind first moves forward and just begins to taste emotion, desire arises; then bashfulness appears and effort slackens, courage collapses again; then it becomes tender with love, then an intensely desirable private moment, then bold play - and finally, playful withdrawals of the limbs that heighten delight.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This is not merely description; it is an observation about pacing. Intimacy often becomes deeper when there is trust, modesty, and a natural rhythm of approach and retreat, rather than rush and demand. In the way we live now, the practical application is to prioritize safety and consent: let comfort lead, communicate clearly, and respect pauses without taking them as rejection. When affection is patient, it creates room for genuine closeness; when it is impatient, it creates pressure and anxiety. Read this verse as a reminder that the most satisfying connection is not forceful but mutually tuned.

A gentle practice is: A deeper use of ශෘංගාර is refinement. When something is beautiful, pause and notice the mind soften. Then let that softness turn into generosity, patience, and gratitude. In this way, beauty becomes a doorway to a better self, not a doorway to restlessness.

උරසි නිපතිතානාං ස්රස්තධම්මිල්ලකානාං
මුකුලිතනයනානාං කිංචිද්උන්මීලිතානාම් ।
උපරි සුරතඛේදස්වින්නගංඩස්ථලානාමධර
මධු වධූනාං භාග්යවංතඃ පිබංති ॥ 2.25 ॥

ඡංදඃ (මාලිනී): This is in මාලිනී (සම-වෘත්ත) Chandas/Meter: 4 පාදාඃ, 15 අක්ෂරාඃ per පාද; ලඝු/ගුරු pattern (per පාද) is `LLLLLLGG GLGGLGG`; යති (pause) is after the 8th syllable in each පාද.

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
උරසි - on the chest
නිපතිත - fallen; lying down upon
උරසි නිපතිතානාං - of those who have fallen on the chest
ස්රස්ත - loosened; fallen apart
ධම්මිල්ල - a braided/bound hair-knot; hair arrangement
ස්රස්තධම්මිල්ලකානාං - of those whose hair-knots are loosened/disheveled
මුකුලිත - closed like a bud; shut
නයන - eye
මුකුලිතනයනානාං - of those with closed eyes
කිංචිත් - slightly
උන්මීලිත - opened
කිංචිද්උන්මීලිතානාං - of those with eyes slightly opened (read as කිංචිදුන්මීලිතානාං)
උපරි - above; on top
සුරත - love-play; amorous union
ඛේද - fatigue; weariness
ස්වින්න - sweating; perspiring
ගංඩස්ථල - cheek-region
සුරතඛේදස්වින්නගංඩස්ථලානාං - of those whose cheeks are moist with the fatigue of love-play
අධර - lower lip
මධු - honey; nectar
අධර් මධු - the honey of the lips
වධූනාං - of young women; brides
භාග්යවංතඃ - fortunate ones
පිබංති - drink

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
The fortunate drink the honey of the lips of women who lie upon their chest, hair disheveled, eyes closed yet slightly opening, cheeks moist with the fatigue of love-play.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This verse focuses less on action and more on tenderness after intensity - the closeness, the softness, the quiet satisfaction. At home and at work, this points to the importance of aftercare: affection that continues after passion, through gentle touch, kind words, and presence. Relationships become safer and happier when intimacy is not treated as a transaction but as a shared experience that includes care and respect. The deeper teaching is simple: love is not only excitement; it is also warmth, protection, and attentiveness in the quiet moments.

One more layer is this: Enjoy beauty without losing balance. Keep the basics steady: sleep, work, friendships, and self-respect. If attraction is mutual, clarity and pace protect it; if it is not, restraint protects you. This is how the verse becomes practical wisdom instead of mere description.

ආමීලිතනයනානාං යඃ
සුරතරසෝऽනු සංවිදං භාති ।
මිථුරෛර්මිථෝऽවධාරිතමවිතථම්
ඉදං ඒව කාමනිර්බර්හණම් ॥ 2.26 ॥

ඡංදඃ (මාත්රා-චංදස්): This is in a මාත්රා-based Chandas/Meter (not a fixed අක්ෂර-count වෘත්ත): in this verse, the written segments carry approximately 14 + 16 + 21 + 16 මාත්රාඃ (total 67); treat ලඝු=1 මාත්රා and ගුරු=2 මාත්රාඃ, and keep the natural pauses at the segment ends marked by `।`/`॥` (do not confuse දංඩ with internal යති).

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ආමීලිත - half-closed; shut (as the eyes)
නයන - eye
ආමීලිතනයනානාං - of those whose eyes are half-closed
යඃ - which; that (thing)
සුරත - love-play; amorous union
රසඃ - taste; රස (aesthetic flavor)
සුරතරසඃ - the flavor of love-play
අනු - along with; in accordance with; after (verse: සුරතරසෝऽනු = සුරතරසඃ + අනු)
සංවිදං - mutual understanding; shared inner communication
භාති - shines; appears; becomes evident
මිථුනෛඃ - by couples; by pairs
මිථෝ - mutually; between each other (verse: මිථෝऽවධාරිතං = මිථෝ + අවධාරිතං)
අවධාරිතං - determined; ascertained
අවිතථං - true; not false
ඉදං - this
ඒව - alone; indeed
කාම - desire; love
නිර්බර්හණං - completion; fulfilment; bringing to full measure
කාමනිර්බර්හණං - fulfilment of desire/love

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
That which shines as the shared, unspoken understanding within love-play - when eyes are half-closed - and which couples mutually recognize as true: this alone is the fulfilment of love.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse points to a subtle dimension of intimacy: beyond words, there is සංවිද් (shared understanding), a quiet mutual attunement that only the two involved can fully know. These days, this translates to emotional presence: listening, responding, and being sensitive to comfort and consent. The practical takeaway is that love is not merely performance; it is mutuality. When communication is honest and respectful, closeness becomes nourishing; when it is absent, even outward romance can feel empty.

A helpful way to apply this is: Treat desire as a signal, not a verdict. Attraction shows what the mind likes, but it does not decide what is right. Pause and ask: will this increase trust or reduce it; will it make tomorrow lighter or heavier? That small pause is විවේක (discernment). When you choose transparency and boundaries early, love stays dignified and does not turn into compulsion.

ඉදං අනුචිතං අක්රමශ්ච පුංසාං
යදිහ ජරාස්වපි මන්මථා විකාරාඃ ।
තදපි ච න කෘතං නිතංබිනීනාං
ස්තනපතනාවධි ජීවිතං රතං වා ॥ 2.27 ॥

ඡංදඃ (මාත්රා-චංදස්): This is in a මාත්රා-based Chandas/Meter (not a fixed අක්ෂර-count වෘත්ත): in this verse, the written segments carry approximately 18 + 19 + 16 + 19 මාත්රාඃ (total 72); treat ලඝු=1 මාත්රා and ගුරු=2 මාත්රාඃ, and keep the natural pauses at the segment ends marked by `।`/`॥` (do not confuse දංඩ with internal යති).

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ඉදං - this
අනුචිතං - improper; not fitting
අක්රමඃ - out of order; not appropriate to the stage
ච - and
පුංසාං - for men; of men
යදි - if
ඉහ - here; in this world
ජරාසු - in old age; in aging (loc. pl.)
අපි - even
මන්මථා - of මන්මථ (Cupid); of desire
විකාරාඃ - changes; stirrings; transformations
තදපි - even so; nevertheless
ච - and
න - not
කෘතං - done; applied; (here) "not so"
නිතංබිනීනාං - of women with shapely hips
ස්තන - breast
පතන - falling; drooping
අවධි - limit; until
ස්තනපතනාවධි - until the breasts droop (a sign of age)
ජීවිතං - life
රතං - love-play; delight; attachment
වා - or; indeed

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
It is improper and out of order for men if the stirrings of desire persist even in old age; yet, for women of shapely hips it is not said to be so - as though their life remains love and delight until the signs of age appear.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This verse reflects an old poetic voice and the social assumptions of its time, so it should be read with caution rather than as a universal judgment. A useful modern reading is to notice the broader theme: desire does not simply obey age, and society often polices it differently for different people. The healthier approach is මර්යාදා (dignity and boundaries) and mutual respect: affection and intimacy can exist at any age when there is consent, care, and responsibility. When a verse carries a biased lens, we can still extract විවේක (discernment) by separating cultural stereotype from the underlying psychological observation.

To carry this wisely: Poetry delights, but real love must go beyond features. If you feel enchanted, translate it into care: listen well, keep promises, and honor consent. Admiration that becomes service is ennobling; admiration that becomes possession is painful. Use the verse to remember dignity - yours and the other's.

රාජස්තෘෂ්ණාංබුරාශේර්න හි ජගති ගතඃ කශ්චිදේවාවසානං
කෝ වාර්ථෝऽර්ථෛඃ ප්රභූතෛඃ ස්වවපුෂි ගලිතේ යෞවනේ සානුරාගේ ।
ගච්ඡාමඃ සද්ම යාවද්විකසිතනයනේංදීවරාලෝකිනීනාමාක්රම්යාක්රම්ය
රූපං ඣටිති න ජරයා ලුප්යතේ ප්රේයසීනාම් ॥ 2.28 ॥

ඡංදඃ (ස්රග්ධරා): This is in ස්රග්ධරා (සම-වෘත්ත) Chandas/Meter: 4 පාදාඃ, 21 අක්ෂරාඃ per පාද; ලඝු/ගුරු pattern (per පාද) is `GGGGLGG LLLLLLG GLGGLGG`; යති (pause) is after the 7th and 14th syllables in each පාද.

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
රාජඃ - royal splendor; power; worldly glory
තෘෂ්ණා - thirst; craving
අංබු - water
රාශිඃ - heap; mass; ocean-like expanse
රාජස්තෘෂ්ණාංබුරාශිඃ - the ocean of craving for royal/worldly splendor
න හි - indeed not
ජගති - in the world
ගතඃ - gone; reached
කශ්චිත් - anyone
ඒව - ever
අවසානං - end; limit
කඃ - what?
අර්ථඃ - meaning; use
අර්ථෛඃ - with wealth; with riches
ප්රභූතෛඃ - abundant; plentiful
ස්ව - one's own
වපුෂි - in the body
ගලිතේ - slipping away; decaying; melting down
යෞවනේ - when youth is present (or: when youth is passing)
සානුරාගේ - with passion; with love present
ගච්ඡාමඃ - let us go
සද්ම - house; home
යාවත් - while; as long as
විකසිත - opened; blossomed
නයන - eye
ඒංදීවර - blue lotus
ආලෝකිනීනාං - of those who look; the lotus-eyed women
ආක්රාම්ය - approaching; stepping into; going to
ආක්රාම්ය ආක්රාම්ය - again and again; repeatedly
රූපං - beauty; form
ඣටිති - quickly
න - not
ජරයා - by old age
ලුප්යතේ - is destroyed; is lost
ප්රේයසීනාං - of beloved women

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
There is no end, in this world, to the ocean of craving for power and splendor. What is the use of abundant wealth when youth and passion slip away from the body? Let us go, again and again, to the homes of lotus-eyed beloveds while their beauty is not yet quickly taken away by old age.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This is "carpe diem" ශෘංගාර: it reminds us that youth is fleeting, so the mind argues for enjoyment now. A mature reading keeps both sides: yes, impermanence is real; and yes, chasing pleasure without විවේක can create suffering. In daily interactions, the wiser application is to value what youth enables - health, learning, meaningful work, and loving relationships - without reducing life to endless consumption. Let the awareness of time passing produce gratitude and urgency toward what is wholesome, not reckless indulgence.

A mature reading suggests: Notice the role of attention. What you repeatedly contemplate becomes your inner landscape. So train attention not only on appearance but also on character - kindness, steadiness, truthfulness. This keeps romance from becoming fragile, because it is rooted in values, not only in sensation.

රාගස්යාගාරං ඒකං නරකශතමහාදුඃඛසංප්රාප්තිහේතුර්මෝහස්යෝත්පත්ති
බීජං ජලධරපටලං ජ්ඤානතාරාධිපස්ය ।
කංදර්පස්යෛකමිත්රං ප්රකටිතවිවිධස්පෂ්ටදෝෂප්රබංධං
ලෝකේऽස්මින්න හ්යර්ථව්රජකුලභවනයෞවනාදන්යදස්ති ॥ 2.29 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
රාගස්ය - of passion; of attachment
ආගාරං - house; abode
ඒකං - one; only
නරක - hell
ශත - hundred
මහා - great
දුඃඛ - suffering; sorrow
සංප්රාප්ති - attainment; coming upon
හේතුඃ - cause
නරකශතමහාදුඃඛසංප්රාප්තිහේතුඃ - cause of many hell-like great sufferings
මෝහස්ය - of delusion
උත්පත්ති - origin; birth
බීජං - seed
මෝහස්යෝත්පත්තිබීජං - the seed of delusion's birth
ජලධර - cloud
පටලං - mass; layer
ජලධරපටලං - a mass of clouds
ජ්ඤාන - knowledge
තාරාධිප - lord of stars (moon)
ජ්ඤානතාරාධිපස්ය - of the "moon" of knowledge (poetic image)
කංදර්පස්ය - of Cupid; of desire
ඒක - one; sole
මිත්රං - friend
කංදර්පස්යෛකමිත්රං - Cupid's sole friend
ප්රකටිත - manifest; revealed
විවිධ - various
ස්පෂ්ට - clear; evident
දෝෂා - faults; defects
ප්රබංධං - chain; connected series
ප්රකටිතවිවිධස්පෂ්ටදෝෂප්රබංධං - a connected chain of clearly evident faults
ලෝකේ - in the world
අස්මින් - in this
හි - indeed
අර්ථ - wealth
ව්රජ - crowd; retinue; multitude
කුල - family; clan
භවන - house; home
යෞවන - youth
අන්යත් - other
අස්ති - exists
අර්ථව්රජකුලභවනයෞවනාද් අන්යද් අස්ති - there is something other than wealth, retinue, family, home, and youth (used in the verse to say: there is nothing else)

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Youth is the sole abode of passion; the cause of countless hell-like sufferings; the seed from which delusion is born; a mass of clouds that hides the moon of wisdom; Cupid's closest friend; and a chain of clearly visible faults. Indeed, in this world people seem to know nothing beyond wealth, retinue, family, home, and youth.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This verse flips the romantic lens and shows youth as a double-edged power: it fuels joy and also fuels මෝහ (delusion). In common experience, we see this in the way youth can intensify comparison, impulsiveness, and identity built on appearances. The practical takeaway is not cynicism but විවේක: use youth for what lasts - learning, skill, health, and relationships grounded in respect - rather than being swept away by රාග (attachment) and status-hunger. When the verse says "clouds hide the moon of knowledge", it is pointing to a timeless pattern: desire can dim clarity unless we consciously protect it.

If you want this verse to uplift you: From an inner standpoint, remember that the rush is a wave in the mind. ආදි ශංකරාචාර්ය reminds us in ආත්ම ෂටකම්, මනෝ බුද්ධ්යහංකාර චිත්තානි නාහම් (I am not the mind, intellect, ego, or mind-stuff). Returning to that witness does not kill love; it makes love workable, so you can act with dignity instead of being driven.

ශෘංගාරද්රුමනීරදේ ප්රසෘමරක්රීඩාරසස්රෝතසි
ප්රද්යුම්නප්රියබාංධවේ චතුරවාඞ්මුක්තාඵලෝදන්වති ।
තන්වීනේත්රචකෝරපාවනවිධෞ සෞභාග්යලක්ෂ්මීනිධෞ
ධන්යඃ කෝऽපි න වික්රියාං කලයති ප්රාප්තේ නවේ යෞවනේ ॥ 2.30 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ශෘංගාර - romance; love; beauty
ද්රුම - tree
නීරද - cloud (lit. "water-giver")
ශෘංගාරද්රුමනීරදේ - in the raincloud of the love-tree (poetic image for youth)
ප්රසෘමර - spreading; flowing forth
ක්රීඩා - play; sport
රස - flavor; emotional essence
ස්රෝතසි - in the stream
ප්රසෘමරක්රීඩාරසස්රෝතසි - in the stream of flowing playful රස
ප්රද්යුම්න - ප්රද්යුම්න (associated with Cupid in tradition)
ප්රිය - dear
බාංධව - relative; friend; ally
ප්රද්යුම්නප්රියබාංධවේ - dear friend/kinsman of ප්රද්යුම්න (i.e., of Cupid; love)
චතුර - clever; skillful
වාක් - speech
මුක්තා - pearl
ඵල - fruit
උදන්වති - abounding; like an ocean (lit. "watery")
චතුරවාඞ්මුක්තාඵලෝදන්වති - an ocean abounding in the pearl-fruits of clever speech
තන්වී - slender woman
නේත්ර - eye
චකෝර - the චකෝර bird (mythically drinks moonlight)
පාවන - purifying
විධි - rite; method
තන්වීනේත්රචකෝරපාවනවිධෞ - as if the rite that refreshes/purifies the චකෝර of a slender woman's eyes (poetic image)
සෞභාග්ය - fortune; good luck
ලක්ෂ්මී - prosperity; beauty
නිධෞ - in the treasure
සෞභාග්යලක්ෂ්මීනිධෞ - in the treasure-house of fortune and beauty
ධන්යඃ - blessed; fortunate
කඃ අපි - anyone at all
න - not
වික්රියාං - change; transformation; agitation
කලයති - experiences; produces
ප්රාප්තේ - when attained; when it arrives
නවේ - new; fresh
යෞවනේ - in youth

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
When fresh youth arrives - like a raincloud nourishing the tree of romance, like a stream overflowing with playful delight, like an ocean rich with pearl-like clever speech, like a treasure-house of fortune and beauty - who, even among the blessed, does not undergo a transformation?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This verse acknowledges an obvious truth: youth alters everyone. It changes how we speak, how we dream, what we chase, and what we fear. In contemporary life, this can be used wisely: channel youth's energy into skills, creativity, and meaningful relationships rather than wasting it in constant distraction. The poet's lush metaphors also hint at responsibility: what is abundant now will not remain forever, so use it well. When you treat youth as a resource to cultivate විවේක (discernment) and character, it becomes a blessing rather than a storm.

From a broader perspective: Enjoy beauty without losing balance. Keep the basics steady: sleep, work, friendships, and self-respect. If attraction is mutual, clarity and pace protect it; if it is not, restraint protects you. This is how the verse becomes practical wisdom instead of mere description.

සංසාරේऽස්මින්නසාරේ කුනෘපතිභවනද්වාරසේවාකලංකව්යාසංග
ව්යස්තධෛර්යං කථං අමලධියෝ මානසං සංවිදධ්යුඃ ।
යද්යේතාඃ ප්රෝද්යද්ඉංදුද්යුතිනිචයභෘතෝ න ස්යුරංභෝජනේත්රාඃ
ප්රේංඛත්කාංචීකලාපාඃ ස්තනභරවිනමන්මධ්යභාජස්තරුණ්යඃ ॥ 2.31 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
සංසාරේ - in worldly life; in සංසාර (the cycle of becoming)
අස්මින් - in this (verse: සංසාරේऽස්මින් = සංසාරේ + අස්මින්)
අසාරේ - without essence; tasteless
කු - bad; base
නෘපති - king; ruler
කුනෘපති - a petty/bad ruler (lit. කු + නෘපති)
භවන - house; palace
ද්වාර - door; gate
සේවා - service; attendance
කුනෘපතිභවනද්වාරසේවා - humiliating service at the gate of a petty ruler's palace
කලංක - stain; disgrace
ව්යාසංග - strong attachment; clinging
කලංකව්යාසංග - disgraceful clinging (to such service)
ව්යස්ත - scattered; disordered
ධෛර්යං - courage; steadiness
ව්යස්තධෛර්යං - with courage scattered
කථං - how
අමල - pure; stainless
ධියාඃ - minds/intellects; the discerning (verse: ධියෝ = ධියාඃ)
අමලධියාඃ - the pure-minded; the discerning (verse: අමලධියෝ = අමලධියාඃ)
මානසං - mind
සංවිදධ්යුඃ - would compose; would set in order
යදි - if
ඒතාඃ - these (women)
ප්රෝද්යද්ඉංදු - rising moon (the verse uses for a join; read as ප්රෝද්යදිංදු)
ද්යුති - radiance
නිචය - heap; multitude
භෘතඃ - bearing; possessing (verse: භෘතෝ = භෘතඃ)
ප්රෝද්යද්ඉංදුද්යුතිනිචයභෘතඃ - bearing a heap of radiance like a newly risen moon
අංභෝජ - lotus
නේත්රාඃ - eyes
අංභෝජනේත්රාඃ - lotus-eyed
ප්රේඞඃඅත් - swaying; moving about
කාංචී - girdle (often with bells)
කලාපඃ - cluster; collection
ප්රේඞඃඅත්කාංචීකලාපාඃ - with swaying, tinkling girdles
ස්තන - breast
බර - burden; weight
විනමත් - bent down
මධ්ය - waist; middle
භාජඃ - possessing; having
ස්තනභරවිනමන්මධ්යභාජඃ - having waists gently bent by the weight of the breasts
තරුණ්යඃ - young women
න ස්යුඃ - were not; did not exist

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
In this essence-less world, tainted by humiliating service at the gates of petty rulers, how could the minds of the pure-hearted ever stay composed - if these young women did not exist: lotus-eyed, shining like a newly risen moon, their girdles swaying, their waists gently bent beneath youthful fullness?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The poet calls සංසාර (worldly life) අසාර (without lasting essence) because it can demand compromise, flattery, and the slow scattering of ධෛර්ය (steadiness). Yet he admits that beauty and affection keep people engaged with life: love can make hardship bearable. In everyday life, this can be noble (working hard to support a family and build a home together), but it can also become corrosive if attraction pushes us into කලංක (loss of integrity) - staying in environments that erode self-respect just to please someone. The practical අනුසංධාන is to let love inspire effort while letting විවේක (discernment) guard boundaries and values.

On a subtler level: Many of these verses describe the dance of closeness and distance. In real relationships, small signals carry meaning, but they are often ambiguous. Replace assumption with conversation. When pride arises, soften it with kindness; when fear arises, address it with honesty. Clarity makes love lighter.

සිද්ධාධ්යාසිතකංදරේ හරවෘෂස්කංධාවරුග්ණද්රුමේ
ගංගාධෞතශිලාතලේ හිමවතඃ ස්ථානේ ස්ථිතේ ශ්රේයසි ।
කඃ කුර්වීත ශිරඃ ප්රණාමමලිනං ම්ලානං මනස්වී ජනෝ
යද්විත්රස්තකුරංගශාවනයනා න ස්යුඃ ස්මරාස්ත්රං ස්ත්රියඃ ॥ 2.32 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
සිද්ධ - the accomplished; perfected beings
අධ්යාසිත - inhabited; occupied
කංදරේ - in the cave
සිද්ධාධ්යාසිතකංදරේ - in a cave inhabited by සිද්ධs
හර - ශිව
වෘෂ - bull
ස්කංධ - shoulder
අවරුග්ණ - broken; rubbed down; battered
ද්රුමේ - on the tree
හරවෘෂස්කංධාවරුග්ණද්රුමේ - on trees battered by the shoulders of Shiva's bull
ගංගා - the river ගංගා
ධෞත - washed; cleansed
ශිලා - rock; stone
තලං - surface; ground
ගංගාධෞතශිලාතලේ - on rock-surfaces washed by the ගංගා
හිමවතඃ - of the Himalaya
ස්ථානේ - in the place
ස්ථිතේ - situated
ශ්රේයසි - auspicious; excellent
කඃ - who
කුර්වීත - would do; would make
ශිරඃ - head
ප්රණාම - bowing; salutation; prostration
මලිනං - soiled; dirty
ප්රණාමමලිනං - soiled by prostrations
ම්ලානං - wilted; drooping
මනස්වී - spirited; high-minded
ජනඃ - person
විත්රස්ත - frightened
කුරංග - deer
ශාව - fawn
නයනා - eyes (f.)
කුරංගශාවනයනා - having eyes like a frightened fawn
ස්මරාස්ත්රං - Cupid's weapon; love's arrow
ස්ත්රියඃ - women
න ස්යුඃ - were not

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Even in a most auspicious Himalayan retreat - caves inhabited by spiritual adepts, rocks washed by the river Ganga, and forest traces of Shiva's bull - what spirited person would let the head be soiled by repeated bowing and the mind droop, if women with frightened-fawn eyes were not Cupid's weapons?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse is a reminder that changing place does not automatically change the mind. Even in sacred, quiet surroundings, attraction can make us bend, plead, and lose inner brightness. In day-to-day living, this shows up when we think a new city, a new job, or even a retreat will fix restlessness - but the same tendencies (වාසනා, latent habits) travel with us. The antidote is inner training: සංයම (self-restraint) and ධ්යාන (steady attention) so that a moment of fascination does not collapse dignity. Outer purity helps, but true freedom is an inside skill.

A gentle practice is: Poetry delights, but real love must go beyond features. If you feel enchanted, translate it into care: listen well, keep promises, and honor consent. Admiration that becomes service is ennobling; admiration that becomes possession is painful. Use the verse to remember dignity - yours and the other's.

සංසාර තව පර්යංතපදවී න දවීයසී ।
අංතරා දුස්තරා න ස්යුර්යදි තේ මදිරේක්ෂණාම් ॥ 2.33 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
සංසාර - worldly life; the cycle of becoming
තව - your; for you
පර්යංත - end; limit
පදවී - path; road
දවීයසී - far; distant
න - not
අංතරා - in between; the interval
දුස්තරා - hard to cross; difficult to pass through
න ස්යුඃ - would not be
යදි - if
තේ - your
මදිරා - wine; intoxication
ඊක්ෂණං - look; glance; eyes
මදිරේක්ෂණා - wine-eyed (voc.); one whose glance intoxicates

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
The road through this worldly life does not feel long, and the stretch in between does not feel hard to cross, if your intoxicating eyes are with me.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
Companionship changes the felt weight of time. Hard journeys become lighter when there is affection, shared laughter, and a sense of being seen. In our daily routines, even tedious responsibilities - commuting, caregiving, building a career - can feel meaningful when there is a loving partner at the center. At the same time, the verse hints at how powerful a "glance" can be: attraction can make us underestimate difficulties. The practical අනුසංධාන is to let love encourage endurance, while still planning realistically and not letting romance erase prudence.

One more layer is this: Notice the role of attention. What you repeatedly contemplate becomes your inner landscape. So train attention not only on appearance but also on character - kindness, steadiness, truthfulness. This keeps romance from becoming fragile, because it is rooted in values, not only in sensation.

දිශ වනහරිණීභ්යෝ වංශකාංඩච්ඡවීනාං
කවලං උපලකෝටිච්ඡින්නමූලං කුශානාම් ।
ශකයුවතිකපෝලාපාංඩුතාංබූලවල්ලීදලම්
අරුණනඛාග්රෛඃ පාටිතං වා වධූභ්යඃ ॥ 2.34 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
දිශ - give; offer; grant
වන - forest
හරිණී - doe (female deer)
වන-හරිණීභ්යඃ - to the forest does
වංශ - bamboo
කාංඩ - stalk; stem
ච්චවි - color; appearance
වංශකාංඩච්ඡවි - having the color of a bamboo-stalk
කවලං - a mouthful; morsel
උපල - stone
කෝටි - edge; tip
ච්ඡින්න - cut
මූලං - root
කුශානාං - of කුශ grass
උපලකෝටිච්ඡින්නමූලං - with roots cut by the edge of a stone
ශක - ශක (name of a people, used poetically)
යුවති - young woman
කපෝල - cheek
පාංඩු - pale
තාංබූල - betel; betel-leaf
වල්ලී - creeper
දලං - leaf
ශකයුවතිකපෝලාපාංඩුතාංබූලවල්ලීදලම් - a betel-leaf pale like the cheeks of ශක maidens
අරුණ - reddish
නඛාග්ර - nail-tip
අරුණනඛාග්රෛඃ - with reddish nail-tips
පාටිතං - torn; split
වා - or
වධූභ්යඃ - to brides; to young women

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
To deer, offer a morsel of sacred grass, pale as bamboo-stalks and with roots cut clean by stone; to brides, offer a betel-leaf, pale as a maiden's cheek and torn by the reddish tips of nails.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
භර්තෘහරි's ශෘංගාර often works by letting the same object be seen in two worlds at once: the natural world (deer, grass, bamboo) and the human world (cheeks, nails, betel). Love sharpens perception and association - you start noticing small details, and ordinary things begin to echo a beloved's features. In today's relationships, this is the psychology of memory: a color, a scent, or a song becomes a "hook" that brings someone to mind instantly. The verse invites us to appreciate that poetic sensitivity, while also remembering that strong associations can both enrich life and make longing sharper.

A helpful way to apply this is: A deeper use of ශෘංගාර is refinement. When something is beautiful, pause and notice the mind soften. Then let that softness turn into generosity, patience, and gratitude. In this way, beauty becomes a doorway to a better self, not a doorway to restlessness.

අසාරාඃ සර්වේ තේ විරතිවිරසාඃ පාපවිෂයා
ජුගුප්ස්යංතාං යද්වා නනු සකලදෝෂාස්පදං ඉති ।
තථාප්යේතද්භූමෞ නහි පරහිතාත්පුණ්යං අධිකං
න චාස්මින්සංසාරේ කුවලයදෘශෝ රම්යං අපරම් ॥ 2.35 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
අසාරාඃ - without essence; worthless
සර්වේ - all
තේ - those; these
විරති - dispassion; turning away
විරසාඃ - tasteless; devoid of රස
පාප - sinful; harmful
විෂයාඃ - objects (of sense); pursuits
ජුගුප්ස්යංතාං - let them be detested
යද්වා - or else; even if
නනු - indeed
සකල - all
දෝෂාස්පදං - a seat/abode of faults
ඉති - thus
තථාපි - even so; nevertheless
ඒතද් - on this
භූමෞ - on earth
නහි - there is not
පරහිත - welfare of others
පුණ්යං - merit; virtue
අධිකං - greater
න ච - nor
අස්මින් - in this
සංසාරේ - world; worldly life
කුවලය - blue lotus
දෘශඃ - eyes; the one with such eyes
කුවලයදෘශඃ - the lotus-eyed (woman)
රම්යං - delightful; beautiful
අපරං - other; different

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Let all sense-objects be declared worthless, tasteless to the dispassionate, and to be shunned as an abode of faults; yet on this earth there is no virtue greater than working for others' welfare, and in this world there is no delight greater than the eyes of a lotus-eyed beloved.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This verse offers a surprisingly balanced take: even if worldly pursuits can be පාපවිෂය (harmful when misused) and empty to someone with විරති (dispassion), life still has two undeniable lights. One is පරහිත - acting for others' good - which becomes the highest පුණ්ය (merit). The other is the intimate joy of beauty and love, symbolized by the lotus-eyed glance. In real-world settings, this reads as a wise pairing: build a life that serves (family, community, honest work) and also a life that loves (tenderness, art, relationships). From an අද්වෛත lens, පරහිත naturally arises when the boundary between "me" and "other" softens; compassion becomes practical, not sentimental.

To carry this wisely: Enjoy beauty without losing balance. Keep the basics steady: sleep, work, friendships, and self-respect. If attraction is mutual, clarity and pace protect it; if it is not, restraint protects you. This is how the verse becomes practical wisdom instead of mere description.

ඒතත්කාමඵලෝ ලෝකේ යද්ද්වයෝරේකචිත්තතා ।
අන්යචිත්තකෘතේ කාමේ ශවයෝරිව සංගමඃ ॥ 2.35.1 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ඒතත් - this
කාම - love; desire
ඵලං - fruit; result
ලෝකේ - in the world
යද් - which; that
ද්වයෝඃ - of two (people)
ඒක - one
චිත්තතා - one-pointedness; being of one mind
ඒකචිත්තතා - being of one mind; mutual attunement
අන්ය - other
චිත්ත - mind
කෘතේ - when done; when made (i.e., directed elsewhere)
අන්යචිත්තකෘතේ - when one's mind is elsewhere
කාමේ - in love
ශවයෝඃ - of two corpses
ඉව - like
සංගමඃ - union; meeting

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
The real fruit of love in this world is two people becoming of one mind; when love is with someone whose mind is elsewhere, their union is like the meeting of two corpses.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
ශෘංගාර is not just about physical closeness; it insists on ඒකචිත්තතා - mutual presence and attunement. A relationship where one person is emotionally absent can feel lifeless even if the outer forms remain. In our daily routines, this shows up when partners share space but not attention: one is always scrolling, always elsewhere, always "busy". The verse pushes a practical ethic: if you want love to be living, bring your mind to where your body is - and ask for the same in return through honest conversation and boundaries.

මාත්සර්යං උත්සාර්ය විචාර්ය කාර්යමාර්යාඃ
සමර්යාදං ඉදං වදංතු ।
සේව්යා නිතංබාඃ කිං උ භූධරාණාමත
ස්මරස්මේරවිලාසිනීනාම් ॥ 2.36 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
මාත්සර්යම් - envy; jealousy
උත්සාර්ය - casting away; removing
විචාර්ය - reflecting upon; considering
කාර්යං - what is to be done; what is worthwhile
ආර්යාඃ - the noble; cultured people
සමර්යාදං - with propriety; within bounds
ඉදං - this
වදංතු - may they say
සේව්යාඃ - to be served; worthy of pursuit
නිතංබාඃ - hips; buttocks
කිං උ - whether indeed
භූධරාණාං - of mountains
අත - or rather
ස්මර - Cupid; love
ස්මේර - smiling
විලාසිනීනාං - of playful, graceful women
ස්මරස්මේරවිලාසිනීනාං - of women whose play is smiling with love

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Let the noble, setting aside envy and thinking clearly about what is worth pursuing, say this with propriety: are the hips we should "serve" those of mountains - or rather those of love-smiling, playful women?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse is playful, but it begins with a serious prescription: drop මාත්සර්ය (jealousy) and think about what truly deserves your energy. Envy makes us chase status and comparisons; love makes us notice beauty and closeness. In lived experience, this can be read as a shift from competitive obsession to relational joy: instead of burning time proving ourselves to others, invest in the warmth of partnership, art, and a life with මර්යාදා (healthy limits). The humor also reminds us to keep desire civilized: ශෘංගාර should elevate, not degrade.

A mature reading suggests: Treat desire as a signal, not a verdict. Attraction shows what the mind likes, but it does not decide what is right. Pause and ask: will this increase trust or reduce it; will it make tomorrow lighter or heavier? That small pause is විවේක (discernment). When you choose transparency and boundaries early, love stays dignified and does not turn into compulsion.

සංසාරේ ස්වප්නසාරේ පරිණතිතරලේ ද්වේ ගතී පංඩිතානාං
තත්ත්වජ්ඤානාමෘතාංභඃප්ලවලලිතධියාං යාතු කාලඃ කථංචිත් ।
නෝ චේන්මුග්ධාංගනානාං ස්තනජඝනඝනාභෝගසංභෝගිනීනාං
ස්ථූලෝපස්ථස්ථලීෂු ස්ථගිතකරතලස්පර්ශලීලෝද්යමානාම් ॥ 2.37 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
සංසාරේ - in worldly life; in සංසාර
ස්වප්න - dream
සාරේ - having as its essence; resembling (verse: ස්වප්නසාරේ = dream-like)
පරිණති - change; outcome; ripening
තරලේ - unstable; fickle
ද්වේ - two
ගතී - paths; ways
පංඩිතානාං - of the learned
තත්ත්ව - reality; principle
ජ්ඤාන - knowledge
අමෘත - nectar; immortal
අංභඃ - water
ප්ලව - boat; raft
ලලිත - delighting in; playing in
ධියාං - of minds/intellects
තත්ත්වජ්ඤානාමෘතාංභඃප්ලවලලිතධියාං - whose minds delight in the raft-like nectar-water of truth-knowledge
යාතු - let it pass/go
කාලඃ - time
කථංචිත් - somehow; in some way
නෝ චේත් - otherwise; if not
මුග්ධ - innocent; naive
අංගනානාං - of women
ස්තන - breast
ජඝන - hip; buttocks
ගන - mass; heaviness
භෝග - enjoyment; fullness
සංභෝගිනීනාං - of those who are enjoyed/embraced
ස්ථූල - broad
උපස්ථ - lap; loins
ස්ථලීෂු - in places/regions
ස්ථගිත - hidden; placed
කර-තල - palm of the hand
ස්පර්ශ - touch
ලීලා - play
උද්යමානාං - striving; engaged in

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
In this dream-like and ever-shifting world, the learned have only two meaningful ways for time to pass: either through minds delighting in truth-knowledge - a raft of nectar - or else (if not that) amid the intimate play of innocent young women, rich in youthful abundance.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
භර්තෘහරි draws a sharp line: in a world that is ස්වප්නසාර (dream-like) and තරල (unstable), do not waste your limited කාල (time) on trivialities. Choose depth - either the depth of තත්ත්වජ්ඤාන (knowledge of what is real), or the depth of committed love. In ordinary situations, this reads as a call to stop living in scattered half-attention: either cultivate inner clarity (study, meditation, honest self-inquiry) or cultivate a relationship with presence and devotion. The verse is not telling everyone to renounce; it is asking everyone to be intentional.

If you want this verse to uplift you: Poetry delights, but real love must go beyond features. If you feel enchanted, translate it into care: listen well, keep promises, and honor consent. Admiration that becomes service is ennobling; admiration that becomes possession is painful. Use the verse to remember dignity - yours and the other's.

ආවාසඃ ක්රියතාං ගංගේ පාපහාරිණි වාරිණි ।
ස්තනද්වයේ තරුණ්යා වා මනෝහාරිණි හාරිණි ॥ 2.38 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ආවාසඃ - dwelling; residence
ක්රියතාං - let it be made
ගංගේ - in the ගංගා
පාප - sin; impurity
හාරිණි - removing; stealing away
පාපහාරිණි - that which removes sin
වාරිණි - in water; in the waters
ස්තනද්වයේ - in the pair of breasts
තරුණ්යාඃ - of a young woman
වා - or
මනස් - mind
හාරිණි - stealing; captivating
මනෝහාරිණි - stealing the mind; captivating

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Let your dwelling be made either in the sin-removing waters of the river Ganga, or in the mind-stealing bosom of a young woman.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse plays with a deliberately provocative equivalence: two kinds of refuge. One is sacred and purifying, the other intimate and emotionally absorbing. In modern terms, we all seek "places" where the mind rests - in prayer, in nature, in art, or in a trusted relationship. The practical අනුසංධාන is to choose refuges that actually cleanse rather than agitate: affection that increases kindness and steadiness is closer to පාපහාරිණි (removing impurity), while obsession that makes us restless does the opposite.

From a broader perspective: Notice the role of attention. What you repeatedly contemplate becomes your inner landscape. So train attention not only on appearance but also on character - kindness, steadiness, truthfulness. This keeps romance from becoming fragile, because it is rooted in values, not only in sensation.

කිං ඉහ බහුභිරුක්තෛර්යුක්තිශූන්යෛඃ ප්රලාපෛර්ද්වයම්
ඉහ පුරුෂාණාං සර්වදා සේවනීයම් ।
අභිනවමදලීලාලාලසං සුංදරීණාං
ස්තනභරපරිඛින්නං යෞවනං වා වනං වා ॥ 2.39 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
කිම් - what (use) is
ඉහ - here; in this world
බහුභිඃ - with many
උක්තෛඃ - words; sayings
යුක්ති - reasoning; good sense
ශූන්යෛඃ - empty of; devoid of
යුක්තිශූන්යෛඃ ප්රලාපෛඃ - pointless chatter devoid of reason
ද්වයම් - two things
පුරුෂාණාං - for men; of people
සර්වදා - always
සේවනීයං - worthy of pursuit; to be embraced
අභිනව - fresh; new
මද - intoxication; passion
ලීලා - play
ලාලසං - eager; craving
සුංදරීණාං - of beautiful women
ස්තන - breast
බර - burden; weight
පරිඛින්නං - wearied; bent
යෞවනං - youth
වනං - forest (life of seclusion)
වා ... වා - either ... or

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Why so much senseless talk? In this world, there are only two pursuits that people truly cling to: either the fresh, passionate youth of beautiful women, or the solitude of the forest.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This is another "two-paths" verse: stop justifying and pick a direction. Some choose භෝග (worldly enjoyment); some choose වන (simplicity, restraint, inner work). The problem is not which path you choose; the problem is drifting in ප්රලාප (aimless chatter) and indecision while time slips away. In the way we live now, this can mean: either build a committed relationship and household life, or deliberately make space for solitude and study - but do not pretend to choose one while feeding the other in secret.

On a subtler level: A deeper use of ශෘංගාර is refinement. When something is beautiful, pause and notice the mind soften. Then let that softness turn into generosity, patience, and gratitude. In this way, beauty becomes a doorway to a better self, not a doorway to restlessness.

සත්යං ජනා වච්මි න පක්ෂපාතාල්
ලෝකේෂු සප්තස්වපි තථ්යං ඒතත් ।
නාන්යන්මනෝහාරි නිතංබිනීභ්යෝ
දුඃඛෛකහේතුර්න ච කශ්චිදන්යඃ ॥ 2.40 ॥

ඡංදඃ (ඉංද්රවජ්රා): This is in ඉංද්රවජ්රා (ත්රිෂ්ටුභ් class) Chandas/Meter: 4 පාදාඃ, 11 අක්ෂරාඃ per පාද; ලඝු/ගුරු pattern (per පාද) is `GGLGGLLGLGG`.

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
සත්යං - truly
ජනාඃ - people
වච්මි - I say
න - not
පක්ෂපාතාත් - out of bias; partiality
ලෝකේෂු - in worlds
සප්ත - seven
අපි - even
තථ්යං - true
ඒතත් - this
න අන්යත් - nothing else
මනෝහාරි - mind-stealing; captivating
නිතංබිනීභ්යඃ - from women with shapely hips (lit. "hip-possessors")
දුඃඛ - sorrow; pain
ඒක - single; only
හේතුඃ - cause
න ච - and not
කශ්චිත් අන්යඃ - any other

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
People, I say this truly and without bias: across all the seven worlds, there is no other single cause of sorrow than captivating women.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
Taken literally, the verse sounds like blame; read more carefully, it is really about රාග (attachment) and how it manufactures දුඃඛ (sorrow). Beauty is not a problem by itself - the problem is when the mind makes it "the one thing without which I cannot be happy". At home and at work, heartbreak, jealousy, and distraction often come less from a person and more from our own unexamined stories and expectations. භර්තෘහරි's hyperbole is a nudge toward විවේක: enjoy ශෘංගාර without surrendering inner freedom.

A gentle practice is: Enjoy beauty without losing balance. Keep the basics steady: sleep, work, friendships, and self-respect. If attraction is mutual, clarity and pace protect it; if it is not, restraint protects you. This is how the verse becomes practical wisdom instead of mere description.

කාංතේත්යුත්පලලෝචනේති විපුලශ්රෝණීභරේත්යුන්නමත්පීනෝත්තුංග
පයෝධරේති සමුඛාංභෝජේති සුභ්රූරිති ।
දෘෂ්ට්වා මාද්යති මෝදතේऽභිරමතේ ප්රස්තෞති විද්වානපි
ප්රත්යක්ෂාශුචිභස්ත්රිකාං ස්ත්රියං අහෝ මෝහස්ය දුශ්චේෂ්ටිතම් ॥ 2.41 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
කාංතා - beloved
ඉති - thus (as a form of address)
උත්පල - blue lotus
ලෝචන - eyes
උත්පලලෝචන - lotus-eyed (address)
විපුල - broad; large
ශ්රෝණී - hips; waist
භරඃ - load; heaviness
විපුලශ්රෝණීභරා - broad-hipped (address; verse: විපුලශ්රෝණීභරේති)
උන්නමත් - raised; uplifted
පීන - full; firm
උත්තුංග - lofty; high
පයෝධරා - breasts (lit. "milk-holders")
උන්නමත්පීනෝත්තුංගපයෝධරා - with high, full, lofty breasts
සමුඛ - well-faced; charming
අංභෝජ - lotus
සමුඛාංභෝජ - lotus-like face (address; verse: සමුඛාංභෝජේති)
සුභ්රූ - beautiful-browed
දෘෂ්ට්වා - seeing
මාද්යති - becomes intoxicated; loses sobriety
මෝදතේ - rejoices
අභිරමතේ - delights (verse: මෝදතේऽභිරමතේ = මෝදතේ + අභිරමතේ)
ප්රස්තෞති - praises
විද්වාන් - learned man; scholar
අපි - even
ප්රත්යක්ෂ - directly visible
අශුචි - impure
බස්ත්රිකා - bag; skin-bag
ප්රත්යක්ෂාශුචිභස්ත්රිකා - a plainly visible bag of impurities
ස්ත්රියං - the woman
අහෝ - alas!
මෝහ - delusion
දුශ්චේෂ්ටිතං - bad conduct; distorted action

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Calling her "beloved", "lotus-eyed", "broad-hipped", "high and full-breasted", "lotus-faced", "beautiful-browed" - merely seeing her, even a scholar becomes intoxicated, rejoices, delights, and praises, though she is plainly a bag of impurities. Alas, what a mischief of delusion!

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This verse is not a denial of beauty; it is a diagnosis of මෝහ (delusion) - the mind's habit of projecting permanence, purity, and "ultimate value" onto what is visibly a changing body. ආදි ශංකරාචාර්ය often points to the same mechanism as අධ්යාස (superimposition): we overlay our fantasies onto what we see, then suffer when reality does not cooperate. These days, the effect is amplified by filters, curated images, and comparison-culture: the "look" becomes a story, and the story becomes obsession. The practical අනුසංධාන is to enjoy ශෘංගාර with විවේක - appreciate the form without letting the mind forget impermanence, boundaries, and the deeper qualities that sustain love.

ස්මෘතා භවති තාපාය දෘෂ්ටා චෝන්මාදකාරිණී ।
ස්පෘෂ්ටා භවති මෝහාය සා නාම දයිතා කථම් ॥ 2.42 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ස්මෘතා - remembered
භවති - becomes
තාප - heat; burning; torment
තාපාය - for torment
දෘෂ්ටා - seen
ච - and
උන්මාද - madness; frenzy
කාරිණී - causing (f.)
උන්මාදකාරිණී - causing frenzy
ස්පෘෂ්ටා - touched
මෝහ - delusion; bewilderment
මෝහාය - for delusion
සා - she
නාම - indeed; by name
දයිතා - beloved
කථං - how

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Remembered she burns; seen she drives one into frenzy; touched she bewilders. How then is she called a "beloved"?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse describes how obsession works: memory becomes තාප (inner heat), sight becomes agitation, and touch becomes මෝහ (bewilderment). When you look around today, the same pattern appears with a "crush" that hijacks attention: you replay messages, interpret every glance, and lose calm. The practical අනුසංධාන is not to suppress love, but to keep it integrated with life: do your duties, keep your friendships, sleep well, and do not let a single person become the only axis of meaning.

A helpful way to apply this is: Poetry delights, but real love must go beyond features. If you feel enchanted, translate it into care: listen well, keep promises, and honor consent. Admiration that becomes service is ennobling; admiration that becomes possession is painful. Use the verse to remember dignity - yours and the other's.

තාවදේවාමෘතමයී යාවල්ලෝචනගෝචරා ।
චක්ෂුෂ්පථාදතීතා තු විෂාදප්යතිරිච්යතේ ॥ 2.43 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
තාවත් - so long; until then
ඒව - only
අමෘතමයී - full of nectar; like nectar
යාවත් - as long as
ලෝචන - eye
ගෝචරා - within range; accessible
ලෝචනගෝචරා - within the range of sight
චක්ෂුඃ - eye
පථඃ - path
අතීතා - gone beyond
චක්ෂුෂ්පථාතීතා - gone beyond the path of the eyes (out of sight)
තු - but
විෂ - poison
අපි - even than
විෂාද් අපි - even than poison
අතිරිච්යතේ - exceeds; becomes greater

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
She is nectar only as long as she remains within sight; once she goes beyond the eyes' reach, she becomes worse than poison (through the pain of longing).

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This is a crisp description of attachment: presence feels sweet, absence feels toxic. The same object that delighted you becomes a source of agitation when it is out of reach. In daily interactions, this plays out in long-distance relationships, unanswered messages, and the anxiety of "not knowing". The practical අනුසංධාන is to build steadiness that does not depend entirely on proximity: cultivate trust, communicate clearly, and keep your mind anchored in work and inner practice rather than constant rumination.

To carry this wisely: Notice the role of attention. What you repeatedly contemplate becomes your inner landscape. So train attention not only on appearance but also on character - kindness, steadiness, truthfulness. This keeps romance from becoming fragile, because it is rooted in values, not only in sensation.

නාමෘතං න විෂං කිංචිදේතාං මුක්ත්වා නිතංබිනීම් ।
සෛවාමෘතලතා රක්තා විරක්තා විෂවල්ලරී ॥ 2.44 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
න - not
අමෘතං - nectar
න - not
විෂං - poison
කිංචිත් - anything at all
ඒතාං - this
මුක්ත්වා - leaving aside; except
නිතංබිනීං - the hip-bearing woman; the beloved
සා - she
ඒව - indeed
අමෘත-ලතා - a creeper of nectar
රක්තා - attached; affectionate (also "red")
විරක්තා - detached; indifferent
විෂ-වල්ලරී - a creeper of poison

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Except for this beloved, nothing is really nectar or poison: when she is affectionate she is a vine of nectar, and when she turns indifferent she becomes a vine of poison.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse points to how relationship "weather" is experienced: affection tastes like අමෘත (nectar), coldness feels like විෂ (poison). In common experience, this can become a trap if we outsource our emotional stability to someone else's mood. A mature අනුසංධාන is to build two things at once: emotional self-reliance (so you do not collapse when someone is distant) and skillful communication (so distance is addressed, not hidden). Love becomes steadier when it is less about mood and more about mutual values and care.

A mature reading suggests: A deeper use of ශෘංගාර is refinement. When something is beautiful, pause and notice the mind soften. Then let that softness turn into generosity, patience, and gratitude. In this way, beauty becomes a doorway to a better self, not a doorway to restlessness.

ආවර්තඃ සංශයානාං අවිනයභුවනං පට්ටණං සාහසානාං
දෝෂාණාං සන්නිධානං කපටශතමයං ක්ෂේත්රං අප්රත්යයානාම් ।
ස්වර්ගද්වාරස්ය විඝ්නෝ නරකපුරමුඛ සර්වමායාකරංඩං
ස්ත්රීයංත්රං කේන සෘෂ්ටං විෂං අමෘතමයං ප්රාණිලෝකස්ය පාශඃ ॥ 2.45 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ආවර්තඃ - whirlpool; vortex
සංශයානාං - of doubts; of indecision
අවිනය - lack of discipline; impropriety
භුවනං - world; realm
පට්ටණං - city
සාහසානාං - of rash acts; ventures
දෝෂාණාං - of faults
සන්නිධානං - storehouse; constant presence
කපට - deceit
ශතං - a hundred
මයං - full of; made of
ක්ෂේත්රං - field
අප්රත්යයානාං - of distrust; of unreliability
ස්වර්ග - heaven; higher state
ද්වාරස්ය - of the gate
විඝ්නඃ - obstacle
නරක - hell; suffering
පුර - city
මුඛං - mouth; entrance
සර්ව - all
මායා - illusion; the power of appearance
කරංඩං - basket; container; hive-like store
සර්වමායාකරංඩං - a container of every illusion
ස්ත්රීයංත්රං - the "woman-device" (a metaphor for overwhelming fascination)
කේන - by whom
සෘෂ්ටං - created
විෂං - poison
අමෘතමයං - appearing like nectar; made of nectar
ප්රාණිලෝකස්ය - of the world of living beings
පාශඃ - noose; snare

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Who created this "woman-device" - a whirlpool of doubts, a realm of indiscipline, a city of rashness, an abode of faults, a field made of a hundred deceits, an obstacle at heaven's gate and the doorway to hell, a basket of every illusion - a poison that appears as nectar, a snare for living beings?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This is one of භර්තෘහරි's fiercest outbursts. If we read it as hatred of women, we miss the deeper target: uncontrolled fascination and the chaos it can create - doubt, rash action, secrecy, and loss of direction. The verse uses මායා (the power of appearance) deliberately: what seems like අමෘත (nectar) can behave like විෂ (poison) when pursued without විවේක. In contemporary life, the same pattern appears in any seductive fixation - an affair that destroys trust, an addiction that ruins health, or a "too good to be true" promise that becomes a trap. The practical අනුසංධාන is to honor attraction with ethics and boundaries, so that love becomes nourishment rather than a snare.

If you want this verse to uplift you: A simple daily practice is to check intention: am I trying to connect, or am I trying to win? The verse reminds us that relationship is built by small choices - listening, truthfulness, and respect for boundaries. When those are steady, even strong emotions become beautiful instead of chaotic.

නෝ සත්යේන මෘගාංක ඒෂ වදනීභූතෝ න චේංදීවරද්වංද්වං
ලෝචනතාං ගත න කනකෛරප්යංගයෂ්ටිඃ කෘතා ।
කිංත්වේවං කවිභිඃ ප්රතාරිතමනාස්තත්ත්වං විජානන්නපි
ත්වඞ්මාංසාස්ථිමයං වපුර්මෘගදෘශාං මංදෝ ජනඃ සේවතේ ॥ 2.46 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
නෝ සත්යේන - not truly
මෘගාංකඃ - the moon
ඒෂඃ - this
වදනී - face (as in "having a face")
භූතඃ - has become
න ච - nor
ඉංදීවර - blue lotus
ද්වංද්වං - pair
ලෝචන - eye
තාං ගතං - has become
න - not
කනකෛඃ අපි - even with gold
අංගයෂ්ටිඃ - the body; the figure
කෘතා - made
කිංතු - but
ඒවං - thus
කවිභිඃ - by poets
ප්රතාරිත - deceived; tricked
මනාඃ - mind
තත්ත්වං - reality
විජානන් අපි - even knowing
ත්වක් - skin
මාංස - flesh
අස්ථි - bone
මයං - made of
වපුඃ - body
මෘගදෘශාං - of deer-eyed women
මංදඃ - dull; undiscerning
ජනඃ - person
සේවතේ - serves; clings to; worships

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Truly, the moon has not become her face; nor have blue lotuses become her eyes; nor is her body made of gold. Yet the dull person, though knowing reality, still clings to the deer-eyed woman's body made of skin, flesh, and bone - his mind deceived by poets.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse exposes poetic exaggeration as a mirror for our own self-deception. We know, at some level, that the body is ත්වක්-මාංස-අස්ථි (skin-flesh-bone), yet we let language and imagery turn it into "moon", "lotus", and "gold". In everyday life, this is the same mechanism behind glamour and branding: a curated surface becomes "truth" in the mind. අද්වෛත texts call this kind of mis-seeing අධ්යාස (superimposition): we project and then get bound by what we projected. The practical අනුසංධාන is to enjoy poetry and beauty while staying anchored in reality - and to value character, kindness, and steadiness more than metaphor.

ලීලාවතීනාං සහජා විලාසාස්ත
ඒව මූඪස්ය හෘදි ස්ඵුරංති ।
රාගෝ නලින්යා හි නිසර්ගසිද්ධස්තත්ර
භ්රම්ත්යේව වෘථා ෂඩ්අංඝ්රිඃ ॥ 2.47 ॥

ඡංදඃ (මාත්රා-චංදස්): This is in a මාත්රා-based Chandas/Meter (not a fixed අක්ෂර-count වෘත්ත): in this verse, the written segments carry approximately 20 + 16 + 22 + 14 මාත්රාඃ (total 72); treat ලඝු=1 මාත්රා and ගුරු=2 මාත්රාඃ, and keep the natural pauses at the segment ends marked by `।`/`॥` (do not confuse දංඩ with internal යති).

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ලීලාවතීනාං - of playful women
සහජාඃ - natural; inborn
විලාසාඃ - graces; coquetries; playful gestures
ත ඒව - those alone
මූඪස්ය - of the fool
හෘදි - in the heart
ස්ඵුරංති - flash forth; appear vividly
රාගඃ - redness; passion; attachment
නලින්යාඃ - of the lotus
හි - indeed
නිසර්ග - nature
සිද්ධඃ - established; inherent
නිසර්ගසිද්ධඃ - naturally inherent
තත්ර - there; in that
භ්රම්ත්යා - by delusion
ඉව - as if
වෘථා - in vain; futilely
ෂඩ්අංඝ්රිඃ - the bee (lit. "six-footed"; the verse uses for a join; read as ෂඩංඝ්රිඃ)

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
In a fool's heart, the inborn graces of playful women alone keep flashing. The lotus's redness is natural; still the six-footed bee, deluded, buzzes about it in vain.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The analogy is subtle: the lotus does not become red because of the bee; the redness is නිසර්ගසිද්ධ (inherent). Likewise, a charming person's gestures may be natural, not targeted - yet the infatuated mind reads them as special signals. In day-to-day living, this is the common misreading of friendliness as intimacy, or charisma as a private invitation. The practical අනුසංධාන is to check projections: observe behavior over time, seek clarity through respectful communication, and do not let රාග (attachment) write stories faster than reality.

සංමෝහයංති මදයංති විඩංබයංති
නිර්භර්ත්ස්යංති රමයංති විෂාදයංති ।
ඒතාඃ ප්රවිශ්ය සදයං හෘදයං නරාණාං
කිං නාම වාමනයනා න සමාචරංති ॥ 2.47.1 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
සංමෝහයංති - they delude; they bewilder
මදයංති - they intoxicate
විඩංබයංති - they mock; they deceive
නිර්භර්ත්ස්යංති - they scold; they rebuke
රමයංති - they delight; they please
විෂාදයංති - they sadden; they cause despondency
ඒතාඃ - these (women)
ප්රවිශ්ය - entering
සදයං - tender; compassionate; soft
හෘදයං - heart
නරාණාං - of men; of people
කිං නාම - what indeed
වාම - beautiful; pleasing
නයනාඃ - eyes (f. pl.)
වාමනයනාඃ - beautiful-eyed women
න - not
සමාචරංති - do; perform

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
They bewilder, intoxicate, deceive, scold, delight, and sadden - once these beautiful-eyed women enter a man's tender heart, what is it that they do not do?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse captures the emotional range that intimate relationships can evoke: joy and hurt can alternate, sometimes within the same day. The poet is not listing "faults" so much as naming the power of closeness over the psyche. In lived experience, the lesson is not cynicism but maturity: if you let someone into the හෘදය (heart), you must also develop communication, patience, and ක්ෂමා (forbearance), otherwise normal fluctuations feel like chaos. Love becomes stable not by eliminating emotion, but by learning to hold it wisely.

යදේතත්පූර්ණේංදුද්යුතිහරං උදාරාකෘති පරං
මුඛාබ්ජං තන්වංග්යාඃ කිල වසති යත්රාධරමධු ।
ඉදං තත්කිං පාකද්රුමඵලං ඉදානීං අතිරසව්යතීතේऽස්මින්
කාලේ විෂං ඉව භවිෂ්ය්ත්යසුඛදම් ॥ 2.48 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
යත් - which
ඒතත් - this
පූර්ණ - full
ඉංදු - moon
ද්යුති - radiance
හරං - stealing; taking away
පූර්ණේංදුද්යුතිහරං - stealing the radiance of the full moon
උදාර - expansive; noble
ආකෘති - form; shape
පරං - excellent
මුඛ - face
අබ්ජං - lotus
මුඛාබ්ජං - lotus-face
තන්වී - slender woman
අංගී - the woman with limbs (a poetic term for the beloved)
තන්වංගී - the slender beloved
තන්වංග්යාඃ - of the slender beloved
කිල - indeed
වසති - dwells
යත්ර - where
අධර - lip
මධු - honey
අධරමධු - the honey of the lips
ඉදං - this
තත් - that
කිම් - what
පාක - ripe; cooked
ද්රුම - tree
ඵලං - fruit
පාකද්රුමඵලං - a ripe fruit of a tree
ඉදානීං - now
අතිරස - excessive sweetness; intense flavor
ව්යතීතේ - when passed; after it has gone
අස්මින් - in this (verse: ව්යතීතේऽස්මින් = ව්යතීතේ + අස්මින්)
කාලේ - in time
විෂං ඉව - like poison
භවිෂ්යති - will become
අසුඛ-දං - causing unhappiness

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
This splendid lotus-face of the slender beloved, stealing the shine of the full moon, where the honey of her lips resides - is it not a ripe fruit? Yet when its excessive sweetness has passed with time, it will turn, as it were, into poison and bring pain.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse is a meditation on impermanence inside pleasure. What is sweet now can become bitter later - not because beauty is "wrong", but because time changes everything, and clinging turns change into suffering. In our daily routines, the same is true of novelty: the first phase of attraction is intense, but if the relationship is built only on අතිරස (over-sweetness), the later phases can feel like poison when reality arrives. The practical අනුසංධාන is to deepen love beyond the first sweetness: build trust, shared values, and a capacity to face change together.

උන්මීලත්ත්රිවලීතරංගනිලයා ප්රෝත්තුංගපීනස්තනද්වංද්වේනෝද්ගත
චක්රවාකයුගලා වක්ත්රාංබුජෝද්භාසිනී ।
කාංතාකාරධරා නදීයං අභිතඃ ක්රූරාත්ර නාපේක්ෂතේ
සංසාරාර්ණවමජ්ජනං යදි තදා දූරේණ සංත්යජ්යතාම් ॥ 2.49 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
උන්මීලත් - opening; blossoming
ත්රිවලී - the three folds/lines on the belly
තරංග - wave
නිලයා - abode; bed
උන්මීලත්ත්රිවලීතරංගනිලයා - whose bed is waves of blossoming ත්රිවලී (poetic image)
ප්රෝත්තුංග - very lofty; very prominent
පීන - full; firm
ස්තන - breast
ද්වංද්වං - pair
ස්තනද්වංද්වං - pair of breasts
උද්ගත - arisen; sprung forth
චක්රවාක - the චක්රවාක bird (a poetic emblem of lovers)
යුගලං - pair
චක්රවාකයුගලා - having a pair of චක්රවාකs (poetic image)
වක්ත්ර - face
අංබුජ - lotus
උද්භාසිනී - shining
වක්ත්රාංබුජෝද්භාසිනී - shining with a lotus-face
කාංතා - beloved
ආකාර - form; shape
ධරා - bearing
නදී - river
අයම් - this
කාංතාකාරධරා නදී - this river bearing the form of a beloved
අභිතඃ - on all sides; thoroughly
ක්රූරා - cruel
අත්ර - here (verse: ක්රූරාත්ර = ක්රූරා + අත්ර)
න අපේක්ෂතේ - does not care; does not show regard
සංසාර - worldly life
අර්ණව - ocean
මජ්ජනම් - drowning
යදි - if
තදා - then
දූරේණ - from far away
සංත්යජ්යතාං - should be abandoned

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
This river shaped like a beloved - with waves like the soft lines of her waist, with a pair of love-birds rising from lofty, full breasts, shining with a lotus-like face - is cruel and shows no regard. If you wish to avoid drowning in the ocean of worldly life, abandon it from far away.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The poet turns attraction into a warning-sign: what looks enchanting can also be a current that pulls you under. The imagery is not anti-beauty; it is anti-blindness. In today's relationships, a relationship can become a "river" that drains you if it is built on compulsion, secrecy, or constant turmoil. The practical අනුසංධාන is early discernment: if you see patterns that reliably lead to loss of integrity, peace, or purpose, step back while you still can - because later the pull of රාග (attachment) makes quitting far harder.

ජල්පංති සාර්ධං අන්යේන පශ්යංත්යන්යං සවිභ්රමාඃ ।
හෘද්ගතං චිංතයංත්යන්යං ප්රියඃ කෝ නාම යෝෂිතාම් ॥ 2.50 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ජල්පංති - they chatter; they speak
සාර්ධං - with
අන්යේන - with one (person)
පශ්යංති - they look at
අන්යං - another (person)
සවිභ්රමාඃ - with coquetry; with playful charm
හෘද්-ගතං - gone into the heart; within the heart
චිංතයංති - they think of
අන්යං - another (person)
ප්රියඃ - dear; beloved
කඃ - who
නාම - indeed
යෝෂිතාං - of women

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
They chat with one, glance at another with playful charm, and think of yet another in the heart - who, indeed, is the beloved of women?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
Read as a social observation, the verse points to fickleness and divided attention - a pattern not limited to any gender. When desire is shallow, attention jumps: conversation here, fantasy there. In real-world settings, this is intensified by endless options and constant messaging, where people keep one foot in and one foot out. The practical අනුසංධාන is to look for ඒකචිත්තතා (one-mindedness): if you want trust and stability, choose relationships where attention, intention, and commitment align.

මධු තිෂ්ඨති වාචි යෝෂිතාං හෘදි හාලාහලං ඒව කේවලම් ।
අතඒව නිපීයතේऽධරෝ හෘදයං මුෂ්ටිභිරේව තාඩ්යතේ ॥ 2.51 ॥

ඡංදඃ (මාත්රා-චංදස්): This is in a මාත්රා-based Chandas/Meter (not a fixed අක්ෂර-count වෘත්ත): in this verse, the written segments carry approximately 32 + 30 මාත්රාඃ (total 62); treat ලඝු=1 මාත්රා and ගුරු=2 මාත්රාඃ, and keep the natural pauses at the segment ends marked by `।`/`॥` (do not confuse දංඩ with internal යති).

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
මධු - honey
තිෂ්ඨති - stays; abides
වාචි - in speech; on the tongue
යෝෂිතාං - of women
හෘදි - in the heart
හාලාහලං - deadly poison (හාලාහල, from the ocean-churning story)
ඒව - indeed; only
කේවලං - merely; solely
අතඒව - therefore (the verse uses for a join; read as අතඒව)
නිපීයතේ - is drunk; is sipped (poetically: is kissed)
අධරඃ - lip (verse: නිපීයතේऽධරෝ = නිපීයතේ + අධරඃ)
හෘදයං - heart
මුෂ්ටිභිඃ - with fists
තාඩ්යතේ - is struck; is beaten

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Honey sits on women's tongues, but only poison in their hearts; therefore the lip is "drunk" (kissed), while the heart is, as it were, struck with fists.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse is deliberately harsh to make a psychological point: sweetness in words is not proof of sweetness in intention. The image of හාලාහල (the deadly poison that emerged during the churning of the ocean) is a warning against being intoxicated by flattery or surface charm. In lived experience, the same caution applies in romance and in business: love-bombing, empty promises, and performative kindness can hide manipulation. The practical අනුසංධාන is to measure people by consistency - speech aligned with action - and to keep boundaries so that attraction does not make you ignore red flags.

To carry this wisely: Let beauty become reverence rather than grasping. ආදි ශංකරාචාර්ය opens සෞංදර්ය ලහරී with ශිවඃ ශක්ත්යා යුක්තෝ යදි භවති ශක්තඃ ප්රභවිතුම්, hinting that beauty and power are inseparable from awareness. Seen that way, admiration can refine the heart. When respect is present, beauty uplifts; when entitlement is present, beauty binds.

අපසර සඛේ දූරාදස්මාත්කටාක්ෂවිෂානලාත්
ප්රකෘතිවිෂමාද්යෝෂිත්සර්පාද්විලාසඵණාභෘතඃ ।
ඉතරඵණිනා දෂ්ටඃ ශක්යශ්චිකිත්සිතුං ඖෂධෛශ්චතුර්
වනිතාභෝගිග්රස්තං හි මංත්රිණඃ ॥ 2.52 ॥

ඡංදඃ (මාත්රා-චංදස්): This is in a මාත්රා-based Chandas/Meter (not a fixed අක්ෂර-count වෘත්ත): in this verse, the written segments carry approximately 25 + 25 + 30 + 18 මාත්රාඃ (total 98); treat ලඝු=1 මාත්රා and ගුරු=2 මාත්රාඃ, and keep the natural pauses at the segment ends marked by `।`/`॥` (do not confuse දංඩ with internal යති).

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
අපසර - move away; withdraw
සඛේ - O friend
දූරාත් - from far; far away
අස්මාත් - from this
කටාක්ෂ - side-glance
විෂ - poison
අනල - fire
කටාක්ෂවිෂානල - the poison-fire of a sidelong glance
ප්රකෘති - nature
විෂම - venomous; harmful
යෝෂිත් - woman
සර්පඃ - snake
යෝෂිත්සර්පඃ - woman-snake (metaphor for dangerous fascination)
විලාස - coquettish play; graceful charm
ඵණා - hood (of a snake)
භෘතඃ - bearing; wearing
විලාසඵණාභෘතඃ - bearing the hood of charm
ඉතර - other
ඵණී - snake (lit. "hooded one"; verse: ඵණිනා)
දෂ්ටඃ - bitten
ශක්යඃ - possible
චිකිත්සිතුං - to treat; to cure
ඖෂධෛඃ - with medicines
චතුර් - clever; skilled
වනිතා - woman
භෝගී - snake (lit. "coiled one")
ග්රස්තං - seized; swallowed; overpowered
හි - indeed
මංත්රිණඃ - for the expert/healer; even for the skilled one

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Move away, my friend, far from this poison-fire of a sidelong glance, from the naturally venomous woman-snake whose hood is coquettish charm. A bite from another snake can be treated with medicines, but one seized by the woman-snake cannot be cured even by the skilled.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This is hyperbolic, but the practical warning is clear: know your vulnerabilities and keep distance from what predictably burns you. Some temptations are easier to treat after the fact; others are easier only to avoid at the beginning. In ordinary situations, this can mean setting boundaries with someone who repeatedly pulls you into drama, or keeping space from environments that trigger addiction. The point is not to demonize people; it is to take responsibility for your own mind and not walk willingly into a "poison-fire" you already recognize.

විස්තාරිතං මකරකේතනධීවරේණ
ස්ත්රීසංජ්ඤිතං බඩිශං අත්ර භවාංබුරාශෞ ।
යේනාචිරාත්තද්අධරාමිෂලෝලමර්ත්ය
මත්ස්යාන්විකෘෂ්ය විපචත්යනුරාගවහ්නෞ ॥ 2.53 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
විස්තාරිතං - spread out; cast
මකරකේතන - Cupid (මකර-bannered)
ධීවරඃ - fisherman
ධීවරේණ - by the fisherman
ස්ත්රී - woman
සංජ්ඤිතං - named; called
බඩිශං - fishhook
අත්ර - here
භව - becoming; worldly existence
අංබු-රාශිඃ - ocean; mass of water
භවාංබුරාශෞ - in the ocean of worldly existence
යේන - by which
අචිරාත් - very soon
තද්අධර - her lip (the verse uses for a join; read as තදධර)
ආමිෂං - bait (lit. "meat")
ලෝල - greedy; eager
මර්ත්යඃ - mortal
මත්ස්යාන් - fish (pl.)
විකෘෂ්ය - pulling out; drawing forth
විපචති - cooks
අනුරාග - passion; attachment
වහ්නිඃ - fire
අනුරාගවහ්නෞ - in the fire of passion

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Cupid, the fisherman, casts into the ocean of worldly life a hook called "woman"; with it he soon drags out the mortal fish, greedy for the bait of her lips, and cooks him in the fire of passion.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The metaphor is sharp: desire is a hook, and a small "bait" can pull a person out of balance. In practical terms, the same mechanics exist in many forms: ads designed to trigger craving, apps designed to keep you scrolling, or flirtation that pulls you into choices you later regret. The practical අනුසංධාන is to notice the bait early - the thought that says "just one more" - and to regain agency before the hook sets. Attraction can be joyful, but when it becomes අනුරාග (binding attachment), it starts cooking peace itself.

කාමිනීකායකාංතාරේ කුචපර්වතදුර්ගමේ ।
මා සංචර මනඃ පාංථ තත්රාස්තේ ස්මරතස්කරඃ ॥ 2.54 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
කාමිනී - amorous woman; beloved
කාය - body
කාංතාර - wilderness; forest
කාමිනීකායකාංතාරේ - in the wilderness of a woman's body (metaphor)
කුච - breast
පර්වත - mountain
දුර්ගමේ - difficult to traverse
කුචපර්වතදුර්ගමේ - difficult because of the mountains of breasts (metaphor)
මා - do not
සංචර - wander; roam
මනඃ - O mind
පාංථ - traveler
තත්ර - there
ආස්තේ - dwells
ස්මර - Cupid; desire
තස්කරඃ - thief; robber

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
O mind, traveler - do not wander in the wilderness of a woman's body, hard to cross with its "mountains" of breasts; for there the thief called desire lies in wait.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse speaks to the mind as a restless traveler: the real danger is not the object, but the inner thief - ස්මර (desire) - that steals attention, energy, and clarity. In the way we live now, this can be seen in compulsive fantasizing that drains productivity and peace. The practical අනුසංධාන is simple: do not feed thoughts that you already know will spiral. Redirect early, keep healthy routines, and remember that self-control is not repression; it is choosing where the mind should live.

From a broader perspective: Separation teaches that the root of pain is clinging, not love itself. When you broaden your identity beyond one bond, you suffer less and you love better. Keep friendships, work, and inner practices alive. This does not reduce love; it stabilizes it.

ව්යාඩීර්ඝේණ චලේන වක්ත්රගතිනා තේජස්විනා භෝගිනා
නීලාබ්ජද්යුතිනාහිනා පරං අහං දෘෂ්ටෝ න තච්චක්ෂුෂා ।
දෘෂ්ටේ සංති චිකිත්සකා දිශි දිශි ප්රායේණ ධනාර්ථිනෝ
මුග්ධාක්ෂක්ෂණවීක්ෂිතස්ය න හි මේ වෛද්යෝ න චාප්යෞෂධම් ॥ 2.55 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ව්යාඩ - snake
ඊර්ඝ - long
ව්යාඩීර්ඝ - snake-long; very long
ව්යාඩීර්ඝේණ - by the snake-long one (verse: ව්යාඩීර්ඝේණ)
චලේන - moving; restless
වක්ත්ර - face; head
ගති - movement
වක්ත්රගතිනා - by the head-movement
තේජස්විනා - radiant; shining
භෝගිනා - by the serpent (lit. "coiled one")
නීල - blue
අබ්ජ - lotus
ද්යුති - luster
නීලාබ්ජද්යුතිනා - with the luster of a blue lotus
අහිනා - by the snake
පරං - indeed
අහං - I
දෘෂ්ටඃ - seen (verse: දෘෂ්ටෝ = දෘෂ්ටඃ)
න - not
තත්-චක්ෂුෂා - by those eyes
දෘෂ්ටේ - when seen/affected; when the case happens
සංති - there are
චිකිත්සකාඃ - physicians
දිශි දිශි - in every direction; everywhere
ප්රායේණ - generally
ධනාර්ථිනාඃ - wealth-seeking; fee-seeking (verse: ධනාර්ථිනෝ = ධනාර්ථිනාඃ)
මුග්ධ - innocent; simple
අක්ෂ - eye
මුග්ධාක්ෂ - innocent-eyed
ක්ෂණ - moment
වීක්ෂිතං - a look; glance
මුග්ධාක්ෂක්ෂණවීක්ෂිතස්ය - of the momentary glance of the innocent-eyed (girl)
න හි - indeed not
මේ - for me
වෛද්යඃ - physician
න ච අපි - nor also
ඖෂධං - medicine

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
I have never been looked at by a radiant serpent - long, restless in its head-movement, gleaming like a blue lotus. And even if I were, physicians are found everywhere, generally seeking fees; but for the momentary glance of an innocent-eyed girl, I have neither doctor nor medicine.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse says a romantic wound can feel more incurable than a physical one. For bodily pain, we have systems - doctors, medicines, protocols. For the mind's agitation caused by a single glance, the cure is slower: time, self-restraint, and re-centering the mind. At home and at work, this is why "closure" is not a quick fix; emotional attachment is a habit-pattern. The practical අනුසංධාන is to treat lovesickness like any other mental loop: reduce triggers, avoid rehearsing the fantasy, and replace it with meaningful work, friendships, and inner practice.

ඉහ හි මධුරගීතං නෘත්යං ඒතද්රසෝऽයං
ස්ඵුරති පරිමලෝऽසෞ ස්පර්ශ ඒෂ ස්තනානාම් ।
ඉති හතපරමාර්ථෛරිංද්රියෛර්භ්රාම්යමාණඃ
ස්වහිතකරණධූර්තෛඃ පංචභිර්වංචිතෝऽස්මි ॥ 2.56 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ඉහ - here; in this (world)
හි - indeed
මධුර - sweet
ගීතං - song
නෘත්යං - dance
රසඃ - aesthetic flavor; pleasure
අයම් - this
රසෝऽයං - this රස (verse: රසෝऽයං = රසඃ + අයම්)
ස්ඵුරති - shines forth; appears vividly
පරිමලඃ - fragrance
අසෞ - that
පරිමලෝऽසෞ - that fragrance (verse: පරිමලෝऽසෞ = පරිමලඃ + අසෞ)
ස්පර්ශඃ - touch
ඒෂඃ - this
ස්තනානාං - of breasts
ඉති - thus
හත - destroyed; ruined
පරමාර්ථ - highest purpose; true goal
පරමාර්ථෛඃ - with true goals (instrumental pl.)
ඉංද්රියෛඃ - by the senses
භ්රාම්යමාණඃ - wandering; being deluded
ස්ව-හිත - one's own welfare
කරණ - doing; making
ධූර්තෛඃ - by rogues; tricksters
ස්වහිතකරණධූර්තෛඃ - by rogues pretending to work for my good
පංචභිඃ - by the five
වංචිතඃ - cheated
අස්මි - I am
වංචිතෝऽස්මි - I am cheated (verse: වංචිතෝऽස්මි = වංචිතඃ + අස්මි)

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Here are sweet song and dance, all this delight; here is that fragrance, this touch of breasts - and so, my senses, having ruined my higher purpose, make me wander; I have been cheated by the five rogues that pretend to act for my welfare.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This is an honest confession about the senses (ඉංද්රිය): they promise happiness, but often steal time and clarity. The poet calls them ධූර්තs (rogues) because they pretend to be "for my good" while pulling the mind outward. These days, this is not only about romance; it is also about endless entertainment and distraction that feels sweet in the moment and empty afterward. The practical අනුසංධාන is ඉංද්රිය-නිග්රහ (training the senses): consciously choose what you consume, set limits, and keep a higher aim in view so that pleasure supports life rather than replacing it.

න ගම්යෝ මංත්රාණාං න ච භවති භෛෂජ්යවිෂයෝ
න චාපි ප්රධ්වංසං ව්රජති විවිධෛඃ ශාංතිකශතෛඃ ।
භ්රමාවේශාදංගේ කං අපි විදධද්භංගං අසකෘත්
ස්මරාපස්මාරෝऽයං භ්රමයති දෘශං ඝූර්ණයති ච ॥ 2.57 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
න - not
ගම්යඃ - reachable; curable; amenable
මංත්රාණාං - by mantras
න ච - nor
භවති - becomes
භෛෂජ්ය - medicine
විෂයඃ - object; domain
භෛෂජ්යවිෂයඃ - a case for medicine
න ච අපි - nor even
ප්රධ්වංසං - destruction; ending
ව්රජති - goes
විවිධ - various
ශාංතික - pacifying rite
ශතෛඃ - by hundreds
භ්රමා - delusion
ආවේශාත් - by possession/entry
අංගේ - in the body
කං අපි - someone; something
විදධත් - producing; causing
භංගං - disturbance; break
අසකෘත් - repeatedly
ස්මර - Cupid; desire
අපස්මාරඃ - epilepsy (used here as a metaphor)
අයම් - this
ස්මරාපස්මාරෝऽයං - this Cupid-epilepsy (verse: ස්මරාපස්මාරෝऽයං = ස්මරාපස්මාරඃ + අයම්)
භ්රමයති - makes wander; makes reel
දෘශං - the sight; the eyes
ඝූර්ණයති - makes whirl; makes spin
ච - and

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
It cannot be cured by mantras, it is not a case for medicine, and it does not go away even with hundreds of pacifying rites. Entering the body like delusion and repeatedly causing disturbance, this "Cupid-epilepsy" makes the eyes reel and whirl.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
භර්තෘහරි uses අපස්මාර (epilepsy) as a metaphor for lovesickness: the mind loses steadiness, and perception itself "spins". When you look around today, we sometimes try to treat emotional obsession with quick fixes - advice, rituals, distractions - but the deeper cure is inner work: reducing triggers, cultivating calm routines, and rebuilding self-respect and purpose. The practical අනුසංධාන is to recognize when desire has become a disturbance-pattern, and to respond with disciplined care rather than drama.

ජාත්ය්අංධාය ච දුර්මුඛාය ච ජරාජීර්ණා ඛිලාංගාය ච
ග්රාමීණාය ච දුෂ්කුලාය ච ගලත්කුෂ්ඨාභිභූතාය ච ।
යච්ඡංතීෂු මනෝහරං නිජවපුලක්ෂ්මීලවශ්රද්ධයා
පණ්යස්ත්රීෂු විවේකකල්පලතිකාශස්ත්රීෂු රාජ්යේත කඃ ॥ 2.58 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ජාත්ය්අංධඃ - blind from birth (the verse uses for a join; read as ජාත්යංධඃ)
ජාත්ය්අංධාය - to one blind from birth
ච - and
දුර්මුඛඃ - ugly-faced
දුර්මුඛාය - to an ugly-faced one
ජරා - old age
ජීර්ණඃ - worn out
ජරාජීර්ණාය - to one worn out by age
ඛිලාංගඃ - crippled; deformed
ඛිලාංගාය - to a crippled one
ග්රාමීණඃ - rustic; uncultured
ග්රාමීණාය - to a rustic one
දුෂ්කුලඃ - of bad/low family
දුෂ්කුලාය - to one of low family
ගලත් - falling; oozing
කුෂ්ඨ - leprosy
අභිභූතඃ - afflicted; overcome
ගලත්කුෂ්ඨාභිභූතාය - to one afflicted by leprosy
යච්ඡංතීෂු - when (they are) giving
මනෝහරං - charming; attractive
නිජ - their own
වපුඃ - body
ලක්ෂ්මී - beauty; splendor
ලව - a small portion
ශ්රද්ධයා - with confidence; with faith
නිජවපුලක්ෂ්මීලවශ්රද්ධයා - trusting even a little in their body's beauty
පණ්ය - for sale
ස්ත්රීෂු - among women
පණ්යස්ත්රීෂු - among women for sale (courtesans)
විවේක - discrimination; discernment
කල්පලතිකා - wish-fulfilling creeper; here: a creeper-like metaphor
ශස්ත්රං - weapon; sword
ශස්ත්රීෂු - among those who are like weapons
විවේකකල්පලතිකාශස්ත්රීෂු - among women who act like a weapon against the creeper of discernment
රාජ්යේත - would rule; would remain sovereign
කඃ - who

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
When courtesans, trusting even a little in their bodily beauty, offer charms even to the born-blind, the ugly, the age-worn, the crippled, the rustic, the low-born, and the leprous - who could remain sovereign (in self-control) before such women, like weapons that cut down discernment?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse is really about the market-power of desire and how it can erase විවේක (discernment). When attraction becomes transactional, it can become indifferent to dignity on both sides: the buyer is driven by craving, the seller by profit, and both are reduced. In daily interactions, the same dynamic exists anywhere desire is monetized - not only in sexuality, but in any industry that profits from addiction. The practical අනුසංධාන is to protect විවේක: notice manipulation, avoid feeding compulsions, and choose relationships that honor personhood rather than treat people as objects.

වේශ්යාසෞ මදනජ්වාලා
රූපේऽංධනවිවර්ධිතා ।
කාමිභිර්යත්ර හූයංතේ
යෞවනානි ධනානි ච ॥ 2.59 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
වේශ්යා - courtesan; prostitute
අසෞ - this
මදන - Cupid; desire
ජ්වාලා - flame
මදනජ්වාලා - a flame of desire
රූප - beauty; form
ඉංධනං - fuel
රූපේऽංධන - fuel of beauty (verse: රූපේऽංධන = රූපේ + ඉංධන)
විවර්ධිතා - increased; fanned
කාමිභිඃ - by lovers; by the desirous
යත්ර - where
හූයංතේ - are offered into fire; are sacrificed
යෞවනානි - youth (pl.)
ධනානි - wealth (pl.)
ච - and

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
This courtesan is a flame of desire, fanned by the fuel of beauty; into her fire, lovers pour their youth and wealth.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse is a moral metaphor: when pleasure becomes a paid addiction, it can burn both යෞවන (youth) and ධන (wealth). In common experience, "flames" like this are not only courtesans; they can be any habit that consumes time, money, and health while promising relief. The practical අනුසංධාන is to track what your pleasures cost you over months and years, not over minutes - and to redirect resources toward what builds you rather than burns you.

කශ්චුංබති කුලපුරුෂෝ වේශ්යාධරපල්ලවං මනෝජ්ඤං අපි ।
චාරභටචෝරචේටකනටවිටනිෂ්ඨීවනශරාවම් ॥ 2.60 ॥

ඡංදඃ (මාත්රා-චංදස්): This is in a මාත්රා-based Chandas/Meter (not a fixed අක්ෂර-count වෘත්ත): in this verse, the written segments carry approximately 31 + 27 මාත්රාඃ (total 58); treat ලඝු=1 මාත්රා and ගුරු=2 මාත්රාඃ, and keep the natural pauses at the segment ends marked by `।`/`॥` (do not confuse දංඩ with internal යති).

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
කඃ - who
චුංබති - kisses
කුල - noble family; respectable lineage
පුරුෂඃ - man; person
කුලපුරුෂඃ - a respectable person
වේශ්යා - courtesan
අධර - lip
පල්ලවං - bud; tender shoot
වේශ්යාධරපල්ලවං - the bud-like lip of a courtesan
මනෝජ්ඤං - charming
අපි - even
චාර - spy
භ්හට - soldier
චෝර - thief
චේටක - servant
නට - actor; performer
විට - rake; parasite
නිෂ්ඨීවනං - spittle
ශරාවං - bowl; dish
නිෂ්ඨීවනශරාවං - a bowl of spittle (metaphor for promiscuity)

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
What respectable person would kiss even the charming, bud-like lip of a courtesan - a "spittle-bowl" for spies, soldiers, thieves, servants, actors, and rakes?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse is intentionally shocking: it tries to break romantic glamour by forcing a thought of hygiene, promiscuity, and self-respect. In contemporary life, the underlying point can be read as a warning about casual intimacy without care: it carries health risks and also emotional consequences. The practical අනුසංධාන is to bring dignity and responsibility into desire: choose relationships where trust, exclusivity (if promised), and mutual respect exist - and do not let momentary craving override long-term wellbeing.

ධන්යාස්ත ඒව ධවලායතලෝචනානාං
තාරුණ්යදර්පඝනපීනපයෝධරාණාම් ।
ක්ෂාමෝදරෝපරි ලසත්ත්රිවලීලතානාං
දෘෂ්ට්වාකෘතිං විකෘතිං ඒති මනෝ න යේෂාම් ॥ 2.61 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ධන්යාඃ - blessed; fortunate
තඃ - those (verse: ධන්යාස්ත = ධන්යාඃ + තඃ)
ඒව - indeed
ධවල - bright; white
ආයත - long; wide
ලෝචනානාං - of eyes
ධවලායතලෝචනානාං - of women with bright, wide eyes
තාරුණ්ය - youth
දර්ප - pride; boldness
ගන - abundance; mass
පීන - full; firm
පයෝධරාණාං - of breasts
තාරුණ්යදර්පඝනපීනපයෝධරාණාං - of women with full, firm breasts (swollen with youthful pride)
ක්ෂාම - slender; thin
උදර - belly
උපරි - upon
ලසත් - shining; sporting
ත්රිවලී - the three folds/lines (on the belly)
ලතා - creeper; vine
ත්රිවලීලතානාං - of vine-like triple folds
ක්ෂාමෝදරෝපරි - upon a slender belly
ක්ෂාමෝදරෝපරි ලසත්ත්රිවලීලතානාං - of women whose slender bellies bear shining, vine-like triple folds
දෘෂ්ට්වා - having seen
ආකෘතිං - form; shape
විකෘතිං - distortion; change; agitation
ඒති - goes to; becomes
මනඃ - mind
න - not
යේෂාං - of whom

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Blessed indeed are those whose minds do not become distorted even after seeing the captivating forms of such women - bright-eyed, full with youthful pride, and slender-waisted with the triple folds on the belly shining like vines.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse praises an inner stability that is rare: the ability to see beauty without being pushed into compulsion. In everyday life, this is not only about romance - it is the same skill we need with anything that can hijack attention (social media, luxury, status, flattery). The practical අනුසංධාන is සංයම (self-restraint): you can appreciate what is attractive while choosing your response deliberately. This protects both your dignity and the dignity of others.

බාලේ ලීලාමුකුලිතං අමී මංථරා දෘෂ්ටිපාතාඃ
කිං ක්ෂිප්යංතේ විරමවිරම ව්යර්ථ ඒෂ ශ්රමස්තේ ।
සංප්රත්යන්යේ වයං උපරතං බාල්යං ආස්ථා වනාංතේ
ක්ෂීණෝ මෝහස්තෘණං ඉව ජගජ්ජාලං ආලෝකයාමඃ ॥ 2.62 ॥

ඡංදඃ (මංදාක්රාංතා): This is in මංදාක්රාංතා (සම-වෘත්ත) Chandas/Meter: 4 පාදාඃ, 17 අක්ෂරාඃ per පාද; ලඝු/ගුරු pattern (per පාද) is `GGGG LLLLLG GLGGLGG`; යති (pause) is after the 4th and 10th syllables in each පාද.

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
බාලේ - O young girl
ලීලා - playfulness; sport
මුකුලිතං - half-closed like a bud
ලීලාමුකුලිතං - playfully half-closed (about the eyes/glance)
අමී - these
මංථරාඃ - slow; languid
දෘෂ්ටි - sight; glance
පාතාඃ - falls; castings
දෘෂ්ටිපාතාඃ - glances
කිම් - why
ක්ෂිප්යංතේ - are thrown/cast
විරම - stop
විරම - stop (repeated for emphasis)
ව්යර්ථඃ - futile
ඒෂඃ - this
ශ්රමඃ - effort
තේ - your
සංප්රති - now
අන්යේ - different; other
වයං - we
උපරතං - ended; ceased
බාල්යං - childishness; immaturity
ආස්ථා - taking up; abiding; residence
වනාංතේ - in the forest; at the forest's edge
ක්ෂීණඃ - diminished; worn out
මෝහඃ - delusion
තෘණං - grass; straw
ඉව - like
ජගත් - world
ජාලං - net; web
ජගජ්ජාලං - the world's net; worldly entanglement
ආලෝකයාමඃ - we look upon; we behold

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
O girl, why do you keep casting these slow, playfully half-closed glances? Stop, stop - your effort is futile. We have now left childishness behind and taken up life in the forest; delusion has faded, and we behold the world's net as mere straw.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse describes a shift in priorities: when මෝහ (delusion - the mind's spell of "this alone will fulfill me") weakens, the same attractions lose their grip. In day-to-day living, this can happen when someone commits to a higher aim - disciplined study, service, or spiritual practice. The practical අනුසංධාන is honest boundaries: if you have chosen a path, do not keep one foot in flirtation and one foot in renunciation. Clarity is kinder than mixed signals.

ඉයං බාලා මාං ප්රත්යනවරතං ඉංදීවරදලප්රභා
චීරං චක්ෂුඃ ක්ෂිපති කිං අභිප්රේතං අනයා ।
ගතෝ මෝහෝऽස්මාකං ස්මරශබරබාණව්යතිකරජ්වර
ජ්වාලා ශාංතා තදපි න වරාකී විරමති ॥ 2.63 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ඉයං - this
බාලා - young girl
මාං - me
ප්රති - toward (verse: මාං ප්රති)
අනවරතං - continually; without pause
ඉංදීවර - blue lotus
දල - petal
ප්රභා - radiance; luster
ඉංදීවරදලප්රභා - radiance like a blue-lotus petal (about her glance/eyes)
චීරං - for a long time
චක්ෂුඃ - eye; glance
ක්ෂිපති - throws; casts
කිම් - what
අභිප්රේතං - intended
අනයා - by her
ගතඃ - gone
මෝහඃ - delusion
අස්මාකං - of us (verse: මෝහෝऽස්මාකං = මෝහඃ + අස්මාකං)
ස්මර - Cupid; desire
ශබර - hunter
බාණ - arrow
ව්යතිකර - crowd; shower; barrage
ජ්වර - fever
ජ්වාලා - flame
ස්මරශබරබාණව්යතිකරජ්වර - fever born of Cupid-the-hunter's shower of arrows
ශාංතා - cooled; quenched
තදපි - even then
න - not
වරාකී - the poor girl
විරමති - stops; ceases

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
This young girl keeps casting, again and again, her blue-lotus-petal-like gaze toward me for a long time - what does she intend? Our delusion is gone; the fever-flame born of Cupid-the-hunter's shower of arrows is quenched, and yet the poor girl does not stop.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse shows two different inner worlds meeting: one side still speaks through glances and longing, the other has moved on. In our daily routines, this mismatch happens when one person seeks attention and the other has clearly shifted priorities - or when someone continues to flirt after another person has stepped away. The practical අනුසංධාන is to respond with respect: do not exploit attention, and do not shame vulnerability. Where possible, give clarity; where not, keep distance without cruelty.

On a subtler level: Let romance be powered by values, not by secrecy. What feels thrilling in the moment can become harm if it breaks සත්ය (truthfulness) or trust. A practical step is to slow down the first surge: wait, reflect, and speak honestly. Love that respects truth becomes a blessing; love that hides becomes a burden.

කිං කංදර්ප කරං කදර්ථයසි රේ කෝදංඩටංකාරිතං
රේ රේ කෝකිල කෝමලං කලරවං කිං වා වෘථා ජල්පසි ।
මුග්ධේ ස්නිග්ධවිදග්ධචාරුමධුරෛර්ලෝලෛඃ කටාක්ෂෛරලං
චේතශ්චුංබිතචංද්රචූඩචරණධ්යානාමෘතං වර්තතේ ॥ 2.64 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
කිම් - why
කංදර්ප - Cupid; desire-personified
කරං - hand; here: Cupid's grasp/assault (a force that "handles" the mind)
කදර්ථයසි - trouble; torment; abuse
රේ - O! (interjection)
කෝදංඩ - bow
ටංකාරිතං - made to twang/resound; ringing
රේ රේ - O! O!
කෝකිල - cuckoo
කෝමලං - soft; sweet
කලරවං - gentle sound; cooing
කිම් - why
වා - or
වෘථා - in vain
ජල්පසි - you sing/prattle
මුග්ධේ - O innocent one
ස්නිග්ධ - affectionate; smooth
විදග්ධ - clever; artful
චාරු - lovely
මධුරෛඃ - sweet
ලෝලෛඃ - playful; restless
කටාක්ෂෛඃ - with sidelong glances
අලං - enough!
චේතඃ - mind
චුංබිත - kissed; touched
චංද්රචූඩ - moon-crested Lord Shiva
චරණ - feet
ධ්යාන - meditation
අමෘතං - nectar
චේතශ්චුංබිතචංද්රචූඩචරණධ්යානාමෘතං - the nectar of meditation on Shiva's feet, "kissed" by the mind
වර්තතේ - remains; abides; is engaged

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Why, Cupid, do you still trouble me with your bow's twang? O cuckoo, why sing your sweet notes in vain? O innocent girl, enough with your affectionate, clever, lovely, sweet, playful side-glances - my mind abides in the nectar of meditation on the feet of moon-crested Shiva.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse points to a principle found across භක්ති and යෝග: a lower pull weakens when a higher taste becomes real. When the mind is absorbed in ධ්යාන (steady contemplation), even springtime triggers - birdsong, flirtation, the climate of desire - lose their power. In today's relationships, this is the difference between willpower and purpose: sheer resistance is exhausting, but a clear inner anchor makes restraint natural. The practical අනුසංධාන is to build that anchor intentionally through daily practice.

A gentle practice is: From an inner standpoint, remember that the rush is a wave in the mind. ආදි ශංකරාචාර්ය reminds us in ආත්ම ෂටකම්, මනෝ බුද්ධ්යහංකාර චිත්තානි නාහම් (I am not the mind, intellect, ego, or mind-stuff). Returning to that witness does not kill love; it makes love workable, so you can act with dignity instead of being driven.

විරහේऽපි සංගමඃ ඛලු
පරස්පරං සංගතං මනෝ යේෂාම් ।
හෘදයං අපි විඝට්ටිතං චේත්
සංගී විරහං විශේෂයති ॥ 2.65 ॥

ඡංදඃ (මාත්රා-චංදස්): This is in a මාත්රා-based Chandas/Meter (not a fixed අක්ෂර-count වෘත්ත): in this verse, the written segments carry approximately 13 + 18 + 14 + 15 මාත්රාඃ (total 60); treat ලඝු=1 මාත්රා and ගුරු=2 මාත්රාඃ, and keep the natural pauses at the segment ends marked by `।`/`॥` (do not confuse දංඩ with internal යති).

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
විරහේ - in separation
අපි - even (verse: විරහේऽපි = විරහේ + අපි)
සංගමඃ - union; meeting
ඛලු - indeed
පරස්පරං - mutually
සංගතං - united; joined
මනඃ - mind
යේෂාං - of whom
හෘදයං - heart
අපි - even
විඝට්ටිතං - broken; shattered
චේත් - if
සංගී - one united; a companion (one whose mind is joined)
විරහං - separation
විශේෂයති - makes special; intensifies; heightens

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Even in separation there is union for those whose minds are mutually united; and even if the heart is broken, that very union only heightens the poignancy of separation.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse captures a paradox: emotional closeness can make absence feel more intense. In real-world settings, this is the psychology of long-distance love - the bond remains, but the distance amplifies longing. The practical අනුසංධාන is to support the bond with clear communication and shared routines (regular calls, mutual plans, trust), so that විරහ (separation) does not become needless suffering.

One more layer is this: Longing magnifies: the mind replays memories and interprets everything through absence. Give longing a wholesome outlet - write, create, pray, or serve - so it becomes expression rather than rumination. If you are in relationship, turn longing into reliability and communication rather than suspicion.

කිං ගතේන යදි සා න ජීවති
ප්රාණිති ප්රියතමා තථාපි කිම් ।
ඉත්යුදීක්ෂ්ය නවමේඝමාලිකාං
න ප්රයාති පථිකඃ ස්වමංදිරම් ॥ 2.66 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
කිම් - what (use) is
ගතේන - by going; by returning
යදි - if
සා - she
න - not
ජීවති - lives
ප්රාණිති - breathes; lives
ප්රියතමා - the beloved
තථාපි - even then
කිම් - what (use)
ඉති - thus
උදීක්ෂ්ය - having looked at; having seen
නව - new
මේඝ - cloud
මාලිකාං - row; garland
න - not
ප්රයාති - goes
පථිකඃ - traveler
ස්ව - own
මංදිරං - home

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Thinking, "What is the point of going back if she is not alive? And even if the beloved is alive, what then?" - on seeing a garland of fresh clouds, the traveler does not go to his home.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse portrays how longing can paralyze action: the mind spins scenarios, and even a simple return home becomes impossible. In lived experience, this is the avoidance that comes from fear - fear of rejection, change, or what we will find when we return. The practical අනුසංධාන is to stop feeding hypothetical misery and take the next honest step: communicate, show up, and accept whatever truth is present rather than living inside anxious imagination.

A helpful way to apply this is: Separation teaches that the root of pain is clinging, not love itself. When you broaden your identity beyond one bond, you suffer less and you love better. Keep friendships, work, and inner practices alive. This does not reduce love; it stabilizes it.

විරමත බුධා යෝෂිත්සංගාත්සුඛාත්ක්ෂණභංගුරාත්
කුරුත කරුණාමෛත්රීප්රජ්ඤාවධූජනසංගමම් ।
න ඛලු නරකේ හාරාක්රාංතං ඝනස්තනමංඩලං
ශරණං අථවා ශ්රෝණීබිංබං රණන්මණිමේඛලම් ॥ 2.67 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
විරමත - desist; refrain
බුධාඃ - O wise ones
යෝෂිත් - woman
සංගාත් - from association; from company
සුඛ්හාත් - from pleasure
ක්ෂණ - moment
භංගුර - fragile; quickly broken
ක්ෂණභංගුරාත් - fleeting; lasting only a moment
කුරුත - do; cultivate
කරුණා - compassion
මෛත්රී - friendship; loving-kindness
ප්රජ්ඤා - wisdom; insight
වධූ - bride (metaphor here)
ජන - people
සංගමං - association; company
කරුණාමෛත්රීප්රජ්ඤාවධූජනසංගමං - company of compassion, friendship, and the bride named wisdom
න - not
ඛලු - indeed
නරකේ - in hell
හාර - necklace
ආක්රාංතං - encircled; covered
ඝන - dense; heavy
ස්තන - breast
මංඩලං - orb; circle
ඝනස්තනමංඩලං - a heavy orb of breasts (poetic)
ශරණං - refuge
අථවා - or
ශ්රෝණී - hips
බිංබං - orb; round fruit (poetic for rounded hips)
රණන් - jingling
මණි - jewel
මේඛලා - girdle
රණන්මණිමේඛලං - a jingling jeweled girdle

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Wise ones, refrain from the fleeting pleasure found in women's company; cultivate instead the company of compassion, friendship, and wisdom. For in hell, neither necklace-clad heavy bosoms nor rounded hips with jingling jeweled girdles will be your refuge.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse contrasts short-lived thrills with long-lived virtues. It uses sensual imagery as a symbol for ක්ෂණික (momentary) pleasure: when consequences arrive, beauty cannot protect you. In ordinary situations, the same pattern shows up when impulse overrides ethics - an affair, an addiction, or a dishonest shortcut. The practical අනුසංධාන is to actively invest in කරුණා (compassion), මෛත්රී (friendship), and ප්රජ්ඤා (wisdom): these are the supports that remain when circumstances become difficult.

To carry this wisely: Timing matters. Do not try to resolve everything at peak emotion. Pause, cool down, then speak. When you repair quickly and gently, love becomes a place of safety; when you turn small quarrels into ego battles, romance becomes exhaustion. Let the verse nudge you toward calmer repair.

යදා යෝගාභ්යාසව්යසනකෘශයෝරාත්මමනසෝරවිච්ඡින්නා
මෛත්රී ස්ඵුරති කෘතිනස්තස්ය කිං උ තෛඃ ।
ප්රියාණාං ආලාපෛරධරමධුභිර්වක්ත්රවිධුභිඃ
සනිශ්වාසාමෝදෛඃ සකුචකලශාශ්ලේෂසුරතෛඃ ॥ 2.68 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
යදා - when
යෝග - yoga
අභ්යාස - practice
ව්යසන - intense habit; absorbed pursuit
කෘශ - thin; lean (i.e., desires weakened; body/mind made light)
යෝගාභ්යාසව්යසනකෘශයෝඃ - of (one) made lean by intense yoga-practice
ආත්ම - self
මනසෝඃ - of the self and the mind (dual)
අවිච්ඡින්නා - unbroken; uninterrupted
මෛත්රී - friendship; harmony
ස්ඵුරති - shines forth; appears
කෘතිනඃ - of the accomplished one
තස්ය - for him
කිං උ - what indeed (need)
තෛඃ - by those
ප්රියාණාං - of loved ones
ආලාපෛඃ - with conversations; talk
අධර - lip
මධු - honey
අධරමධුභිඃ - with honey of the lips
වක්ත්ර - face
විධු - moon
වක්ත්රවිධුභිඃ - with moon-like faces
නිශ්වාස - breath; exhalation
ආමෝද - fragrance
සනිශ්වාසාමෝදෛඃ - with the fragrance of breath
කුච - breast
කලශ - pot (metaphor for rounded breasts)
ආශ්ලේෂ - embrace
සුරත - lovemaking; intimacy
සකුචකලශාශ්ලේෂසුරතෛඃ - with intimate embraces of the "pot-like" breasts

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
When, through intense meditative discipline, an unbroken harmony between the self and the mind shines in an accomplished person, what need has he of lovers' talk, honey-lips, moonlike faces, fragrant breaths, and intimate embraces?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This verse describes a shift from outward sweetness to inward fullness. When the mind becomes a friend to the ආත්ම (Self), it no longer begs the world for constant stimulation. In practical terms, this shows up when someone experiences deep contentment from meditation, meaningful work, or service: external pleasures are still seen, but they are no longer necessities. The practical අනුසංධාන is to build that inner friendship gradually through daily practice rather than expecting desire to disappear by mere moral effort.

A mature reading suggests: This is also an invitation to අනුසංධාන (contemplative linking): notice how the same object looks different when you are agitated versus when you are calm. That observation itself is freedom. As calm grows, the world is still beautiful, but it no longer owns you.

යදාසීදජ්ඤානං ස්මරතිමිරසංචාරජනිතං
තදා දෘෂ්ටනාරීමයං ඉදං අශේෂං ජගදිති ।
ඉදානීං අස්මාකං පටුතරවිවේකාංජනජුෂාං
සමීභූතා දෘෂ්ටිස්ත්රිභුවනං අපි බ්රහ්ම මනුතේ ॥ 2.69 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
යදා - when
ආසීත් - was
අජ්ඤානං - ignorance
යදාසීදජ්ඤානං - when there was ignorance (verse join)
ස්මර - Cupid; desire
තිමිර - darkness
සංචාර - roaming; movement
ජනිතං - produced
ස්මරතිමිරසංචාරජනිතං - produced by the roaming darkness of desire
තදා - then
දෘෂ්ට - seen
නාරී - woman
මයං - made of; consisting of
දෘෂ්ටනාරීමයං - seen as "made of woman" (everything looked like her)
ඉදං - this
අශේෂං - entire; without remainder
ජගත් - world
ඉති - thus
ඉදානීං - now
අස්මාකං - of us
පටුතරා - very sharp
විවේක - discernment
අංජන - collyrium; eye-ointment (metaphor: clarifying medicine for the eye of understanding)
ජුෂාං - of those who use/possess
පටුතරවිවේකාංජනජුෂාං - of us who are anointed with sharp discernment
සමීභූතා - become even; steady; balanced
දෘෂ්ටිඃ - vision; way of seeing
ත්රිභුවනං - the three worlds
අපි - even
බ්රහ්ම - බ්රහ්මන් (the Absolute)
මනුතේ - considers; understands

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
When ignorance, produced by the roaming darkness of desire, prevailed, this entire world seemed nothing but the beloved - as if it were "made of woman". But now, with sharp discernment, our vision has become steady: we see even the three worlds as the one Absolute Reality.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This verse is a direct bridge to අද්වෛත: obsession is not only an emotion, it is a filter that colors reality. When අජ්ඤාන (ignorance) and ස්මර (desire) dominate, everything is interpreted through one craving. When විවේක (discernment) arises, perception becomes balanced and begins to recognize the underlying whole. In the way we live now, this is the difference between "everything reminds me of one person" and "I can see life as it is". The practical අනුසංධාන is to notice when perception is being hijacked and to return to clarity through disciplined habits and self-inquiry.

If you want this verse to uplift you: Here භර්තෘහරි hints that perception is colored by desire and clarified by විවේක. This is central to අද්වෛත: the mind projects, and freedom begins when projection is seen. A simple practice is to watch your own stories and ask, "What am I adding to what is happening?" That question loosens obsession.

තාවදේව කෘතිනාං අපි ස්ඵුරත්යේෂ
නිර්මලවිවේකදීපකඃ ।
යාවදේව න කුරංගචක්ෂුෂාං
තාඩ්යතේ චටුලලෝචනාංචලෛඃ ॥ 2.70 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
තාවත් - so long
ඒව - only
කෘතිනාං - of the accomplished; the capable
අපි - even
ස්ඵුරති - shines forth; appears
ඒෂඃ - this
නිර්මල - pure; stainless
විවේක - discernment
දීපකඃ - lamp
නිර්මලවිවේකදීපකඃ - the lamp of pure discernment
යාවත් - as long as
ඒව - only
න - not
කුරංග - deer
චක්ෂුෂාං - of the eyes; of the deer-eyed (women)
තාඩ්යතේ - is struck; is beaten
චටුල - fickle; playful
ලෝචන - eye
අංචලෛඃ - by the corners/ends (of the eyes); by glances
චටුලලෝචනාංචලෛඃ - by playful, darting glances

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Even in the accomplished, the lamp of pure discernment shines only so long as it is not struck by the playful, darting glances of doe-eyed women.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse is a warning about overconfidence: talent and intelligence do not automatically protect us from temptation. At home and at work, the mind gets struck not only by a glance, but by carefully designed stimuli - flirtation, attention, curated images, and praise. The practical අනුසංධාන is humility and preventive discipline: reduce exposure to triggers, keep your schedule and values strong, and do not assume that being "smart" makes you immune.

From a broader perspective: ආදි ශංකරාචාර්ය's refrain චිදානංදරූපඃ ශිවෝऽහං ශිවෝऽහම් points to the Self as awareness-bliss. When you rest even briefly in that, attraction and aversion stop being dictators. Love remains, but it is no longer desperate. Let the verse remind you to keep one foot in inner clarity.

වචසි භවති සංගත්යාගං උද්දිශ්ය වාර්තා
ශ්රුතිමුඛරමුඛානාං කේවලං පංඩිතානාම් ।
ජඝනං අරුණරත්නග්රංථිකාංචීකලාපං
කුවලයනයනානාං කෝ විහාතුං සමර්ථඃ ॥ 2.71 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
වචසි - in speech; in words
භවති - becomes; happens
සංගති - association; attachment
ත්යාගඃ - abandonment; renunciation
සංගත්යාගඃ - renunciation of attachment (in verse: සංගත්යාගං)
උද්දිශ්ය - aiming at; with reference to; about
වාර්තා - talk; discussion
ශ්රුති - ශ්රුති (Vedas)
මුඛර - resounding; noisy
මුඛානාං - of mouths
ශ්රුතිමුඛරමුඛානාං - of those whose mouths resound with ශ්රුති
කේවලං - merely; only
පංඩිතානාං - of scholars
ජඝනං - hips; buttocks
අරුණ - red
රත්න - gem
ග්රංථිකා - knot
අංචී - girdle; waist-chain
කලාපඃ - cluster; arrangement
අරුණරත්නග්රංථිකාංචීකලාපං - a waist-girdle arrangement knotted with red gems
කුවලය - blue lotus
නයනානාං - of eyes
කුවලයනයනානාං - of lotus-eyed women
කඃ - who
විහාතුං - to abandon; to give up
සමර්ථඃ - capable; able

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Scholars whose mouths resound with the Vedas may speak of "renouncing attachments" - but who is actually capable of giving up the lotus-eyed woman's hips adorned with a waist-girdle knotted with red gems?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse points to the gap between talk and transformation. It is easy to recite lofty ideas about සංග (attachment) and ත්යාග (letting go) in a safe setting; it is harder when the senses are directly invited. These days, this looks like preaching minimalism while still craving status symbols, or speaking about boundaries while still chasing attention in subtle ways. The practical අනුසංධාන is honesty: admit what pulls you, reduce triggers, and choose small consistent disciplines so that your actions match your words.

ස්වපරප්රතාරකෝऽසෞ
නිංදති යෝऽලීකපංඩිතෝ යුවතීඃ ।
යස්මාත්තපසෝऽපි ඵලං
ස්වර්ගඃ ස්වර්ගේऽපි චාප්සරසඃ ॥ 2.72 ॥

ඡංදඃ (ආර්යා): This is in ආර්යා (මාත්රා-චංදස්) Chandas/Meter: 12+18 මාත්රාඃ in the first half (30 total) and 12+15 මාත්රාඃ in the second half (27 total); treat ලඝු=1 මාත්රා and ගුරු=2 මාත්රාඃ, and use the 12-මාත්රා splits as the natural යති (pauses).

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ස්ව - self
පර - others
ප්රතාරකඃ - deceiver; cheat
ස්වපරප්රතාරකඃ - one who deceives both self and others
අසෞ - that person (verse: ස්වපරප්රතාරකෝऽසෞ = ස්වපරප්රතාරකඃ + අසෞ)
නිංදති - criticizes; condemns
යඃ - who (verse: යෝ = යඃ)
ලීක - false; hypocritical
පංඩිතඃ - scholar
ලීකපංඩිතඃ - a false scholar; hypocritical "pandit"
යුවතීඃ - young women
යස්මාත් - because
තපස් - austerity
ඵලං - fruit; result
තපසඃ - of austerity (verse: තපසෝ = තපසඃ)
අපි - even
ස්වර්ගඃ - heaven
ස්වර්ගේ - in heaven
ච - and
අප්සරසඃ - අප්සරස් (heavenly nymphs)

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
That hypocritical "scholar" who condemns young women is a deceiver of both himself and others; for even austerity bears the fruit of heaven - and even in heaven there are celestial nymphs.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse is not defending indulgence; it is attacking hypocrisy and scapegoating. Desire does not vanish just because we speak against it, and blaming women is an easy way to avoid owning one's own කාම (desire). When you look around today, this appears as moralizing that hides private compulsions, or "virtue signaling" that collapses under pressure. The practical අනුසංධාන is self-responsibility: acknowledge attraction, set clear boundaries, and practice discipline without turning it into judgment of others.

A gentle practice is: Timing matters. Do not try to resolve everything at peak emotion. Pause, cool down, then speak. When you repair quickly and gently, love becomes a place of safety; when you turn small quarrels into ego battles, romance becomes exhaustion. Let the verse nudge you toward calmer repair.

මත්තේභකුංභදලනේ භුවි සංති ධීරාඃ
කේචිත්ප්රචංඩමෘගරාජවධේऽපි දක්ෂාඃ ।
කිංතු බ්රවීමි බලිනාං පුරතඃ ප්රසහ්ය
කංදර්පදර්පදලනේ විරලා මනුෂ්යාඃ ॥ 2.73 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
මත්තේබ - intoxicated/maddened elephant
කුංභඃ - temple (forehead globes of an elephant)
දලනං - splitting; breaking
මත්තේභකුංභදලනේ - in splitting the temples of a maddened elephant
භුවි - on earth
සංති - are; exist
ධීරාඃ - brave; steady
කේචිත් - some
ප්රචංඩ - fierce
මෘග - beast
රාජඃ - king
මෘගරාජඃ - lion (king of beasts)
වධේ - in killing
අපි - even (verse: වධේऽපි = වධේ + අපි)
දක්ෂාඃ - skilled; capable
කිංතු - but
බ්රවීමි - I say
බලිනාං - of the strong
පුරතඃ - in front of; in the presence of
ප්රසහ්ය - boldly; forcibly
කංදර්ප - Cupid; desire-personified
දර්පඃ - pride; arrogance
දලනං - crushing; breaking
කංදර්පදර්පදලනේ - in crushing the pride of Cupid
විරලාඃ - rare
මනුෂ්යාඃ - humans; men

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
On earth there are heroes who can split the temples of a maddened elephant, and some who are skilled even at slaying a fierce lion; but I say boldly, even before the strong: rare indeed are those who can crush the pride of Cupid.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
Outer courage is visible, but inner mastery is harder. The "pride of Cupid" is the mind's insistence: "I must have this now." In daily interactions, we may win debates, close deals, or endure hardship, yet lose to impulses - compulsive scrolling, addiction, flirtation that becomes secrecy, anger that ruins relationships. The practical අනුසංධාන is to train ඉංද්රියනිග්රහ (sense-discipline) like any other skill: reduce triggers, build habits, and keep accountability so that desire does not quietly overthrow your values.

One more layer is this: Let romance be powered by values, not by secrecy. What feels thrilling in the moment can become harm if it breaks සත්ය (truthfulness) or trust. A practical step is to slow down the first surge: wait, reflect, and speak honestly. Love that respects truth becomes a blessing; love that hides becomes a burden.

සන්මාර්ගේ තාවදාස්තේ ප්රභවති ච නරස්තාවදේවේංද්රියාණාං
ලජ්ජාං තාවද්විධත්තේ විනයං අපි සමාලංබතේ තාවදේව ।
භ්රූචාපාකෘෂ්ටමුක්තාඃ ශ්රවණපථගතා නීලපක්ෂ්මාණ ඒතේ
යාවල්ලීලාවතීනාං හෘදි න ධෘතිමුෂෝ දෘෂ්ටිබාණාඃ පතංති ॥ 2.74 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
සත් - good; right
මාර්ගඃ - path
සන්මාර්ගේ - on the good path
තාවත් - so long as
ආස්තේ - remains; stays
ප්රභවති - prevails; is effective
ච - and
නරඃ - a man
ඒව - only
ඉංද්රියාණාං - of the senses
ලජ්ජාං - modesty
විධත්තේ - maintains; establishes
විනයං - humility
අපි - also
සමාලංබතේ - holds on to; sustains
භ්රූ - eyebrow
චාපඃ - bow
භ්රූචාපඃ - eyebrow-bow
ආකෘෂ්ට - drawn (as an arrow)
මුක්තාඃ - released; shot
ශ්රවණ - ear
පථඃ - path
ගතඃ - gone to; reaching
ශ්රවණපථගතාඃ - reaching the path of the ear (coming into awareness)
නීල - dark/blue
පක්ෂ්මාණඃ - eyelashes
නීලපක්ෂ්මාණඃ - dark-lashed
ඒතේ - these
යාවත් - as long as
ලීලාවතීනාං - of playful women
හෘදි - in the heart
න - not
ධෘති - firmness; steadiness
මුෂඃ - stealing
දෘෂ්ටි - glance
බාණාඃ - arrows
දෘෂ්ටිබාණාඃ - arrows of glance
පතංති - fall; strike

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
A man stays on the right path, keeps mastery of the senses, and maintains modesty and humility - only so long as the dark-lashed glance-arrows of playful women, drawn from the eyebrow-bow and released, do not strike the heart and steal away steadiness.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This is not "women are the enemy"; it is "temptation tests everyone." The poet uses the "glance-arrow" as a symbol for small stimuli that suddenly hijack attention. In common experience, the arrows can be a flirtatious message, curated images, or the thrill of being wanted - and once ධෘති (steadiness) is stolen, people rationalize actions they would otherwise reject. The practical අනුසංධාන is preventive: avoid situations that predictably weaken you, keep transparency and accountability, and let major decisions be made when the mind is calm, not when it is dazzled.

A helpful way to apply this is: Bhakti poetry often borrows romance to teach surrender. In ආදි ශංකරාචාර්ය's ශිවානංද ලහරී, intensity is redirected into devotion, showing a principle: love becomes peaceful when ego stops demanding and starts giving. Apply that here by practicing gratitude, not control.

උන්මත්තප්රේමසංරංභාද්
ආරභංතේ යද්අංගනාඃ ।
තත්ර ප්රත්යූහං ආධාතුං
බ්රහ්මාපි ඛලු කාතරඃ ॥ 2.75 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
උන්මත්ත - mad; intoxicated
ප්රේම - love
සංරංභඃ - impetuous outburst; agitation
උන්මත්තප්රේමසංරංභාත් - from an impetuous surge of mad love
ආරභංතේ - begin; undertake
යදා - when
අංගනාඃ - women
යද්අංගනාඃ - when women (verse join: යදා + අංගනාඃ)
තත්ර - there
ප්රත්යූහං - obstacle; hindrance
ආධාතුං - to place; to put
බ්රහ්මා - Brahma
අපි - even
ඛලු - indeed
කාතරඃ - helpless; powerless

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
When women, driven by an impetuous surge of mad love, begin something, then even Brahma is indeed helpless to place an obstacle in their way.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse praises the momentum of passion, and also warns about its force. When සංරංභ (impetuous agitation) takes over, advice and consequences feel distant. In contemporary life, this is when someone rushes into secrecy, makes promises they cannot keep, or burns bridges because the emotion feels "destined". The practical අනුසංධාන is to slow the first surge: wait a day before major decisions, speak to a trusted friend, and check whether the action will still look wise when the intensity settles.

තාවන්මහත්ත්වං පාංඩිත්යං
කුලීනත්වං විවේකිතා ।
යාවජ්ජ්වලති නාංගේෂු
හතඃ පංචේෂුපාවකඃ ॥ 2.76 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
තාවත් - so long
මහත්ත්වං - greatness; eminence
පාංඩිත්යං - scholarship; learning
කුලීනත්වං - noble lineage; good family
විවේකිතා - discernment; good judgment
යාවත් - as long as
ජ්වලති - burns; blazes
න - not
අංගේෂු - in the limbs; in the body
නාංගේෂු - not in the limbs (sandhi: න + අංගේෂු)
හතඃ - struck; smitten
පංච - five
ඒෂුඃ - arrow
පංචේෂුඃ - the five-arrowed one (Cupid)
පාවකඃ - fire
පංචේෂුපාවකඃ - the fire of the five-arrowed Cupid

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Greatness, scholarship, noble lineage, and discernment last only so long as the fire of the five-arrowed Cupid, once it strikes, does not blaze in one's limbs.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse is a sober observation: under strong desire, we can temporarily lose what we take pride in - judgment, reputation, and even basic decency. In everyday life, this can look like an accomplished person risking a career for a short-lived affair, or someone intelligent making reckless financial and relational choices because they feel "consumed". The practical අනුසංධාන is to treat desire as fire: enjoy its warmth, but build guardrails - boundaries, transparency, and time to think - so it does not burn down what you value.

ශාස්ත්රජ්ඤෝऽපි ප්රථිතවිනයෝऽප්යාත්මබෝධෝऽපි බාඪං
සංසාරේऽස්මින්භවති විරලෝ භාජනං සද්ගතීනාම් ।
යේනෛතස්මින්නිරයනගරද්වාරං උද්ඝාටයංතී
වාමාක්ෂීණාං භවති කුටිලා භ්රූලතා කුංචිකේව ॥ 2.77 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ශාස්ත්ර - scripture
ජ්ඤඃ - knower
ශාස්ත්රජ්ඤඃ - knower of scripture
අපි - even (verse: ශාස්ත්රජ්ඤෝऽපි = ශාස්ත්රජ්ඤඃ + අපි)
ප්රථිත - renowned; well-known
විනයඃ - humility; good conduct
ප්රථිතවිනයඃ - renowned for humility
අපි - even (verse: ප්රථිතවිනයෝऽපි = ප්රථිතවිනයඃ + අපි)
ආත්ම - Self
බෝධඃ - knowledge; awakening
ආත්මබෝධඃ - self-knowledge
අපි - even (verse: ආත්මබෝධෝऽපි = ආත්මබෝධඃ + අපි)
බාඪං - indeed; certainly
සංසාරේ - in the world
අස්මින් - in this
සංසාරේऽස්මින් - in this world (sandhi)
භවති - becomes; is
විරලඃ - rare
භාජනං - vessel; fit receptacle
සත් - good
ගතිඃ - path; destiny
සද්ගතීනාං - of the good path / good destinies
යේන - by which; because of which
ඒතස්මින් - in this
නිරය - hell
නගර - city
ද්වාරං - gate
නිරයනගරද්වාරං - the gate of the city of hell
උද්ඝාටයංතී - opening; unbolting
වාමා - lovely; charming (also: "woman")
අක්ෂී - eye
වාමාක්ෂීණාං - of lovely-eyed women
කුටිලා - crooked
භ්රූ - eyebrow
ලතා - creeper; vine
භ්රූලතා - eyebrow-vine
කුංචිකා - key
ඉව - like

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Even a knower of scripture, even one famed for humility, and even one established in self-knowledge is, in this world, rarely a vessel fit for the good path - because the crooked eyebrow-vine of lovely-eyed women becomes like a key that opens the gate to the city of hell.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse is hyperbole, but its point is practical: knowledge has to be assimilated, not merely collected. In අද්වෛත, this is why ජ්ඤාන (knowledge) is paired with වාසනා-kShaya (wearing down latent impressions) and steady අභ්යාස (practice). In day-to-day living, you can be educated, respected, and even spiritually informed, yet still be undone by a small trigger - a flirtation, a private chat, a "harmless" secret. The practical අනුසංධාන is humility and structure: treat your weak points seriously, avoid feeding them, and make your life transparent enough that your better intentions can actually win.

කෘශඃ කාණඃ ඛංජඃ ශ්රවණරහිතඃ පුච්ඡවිකලෝ
ව්රණී පූයක්ලින්නඃ කෘමිකුලශතෛරාවෘතතනුඃ ।
ක්ෂුධා ක්ෂාමෝ ජීර්ණඃ පිඨරකකපාලාර්පිතගලඃ
ශුනීං අන්වේති ශ්වා හතං අපි ච හංත්යේව මදනඃ ॥ 2.78 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
කෘශඃ - thin; emaciated
කාණඃ - one-eyed
ඛංජඃ - lame
ශ්රවණ - ear
රහිතඃ - deprived of; without
ශ්රවණරහිතඃ - without ears
පුච්ඡ - tail
විකලඃ - deficient; missing
පුච්ඡවිකලඃ - without a tail
ව්රණී - wounded
පූය - pus
ක්ලින්නඃ - soaked; wet
පූයක්ලින්නඃ - soaked with pus
කෘමි - worm
කුලං - group; multitude
ශතෛඃ - with hundreds
කෘමිකුලශතෛඃ - with hundreds of worms
ආවෘත - covered
තනුඃ - body
ආවෘතතනුඃ - body covered
ක්ෂුධා - by hunger
ක්ෂාමඃ - withered; emaciated
ජීර්ණඃ - worn; old
පිඨරක - broken pot-shard; potsherd
කපාලං - shard; bowl; skull-piece
අර්පිත - placed; fastened
ගලඃ - neck
පිඨරකකපාලාර්පිතගලඃ - whose neck is trapped/fastened in broken pot-shards
ශුනීං - a female dog
අන්වේති - follows
ශ්වා - a dog
හතං - struck; destroyed
අපි - even
ච - and
හංති - strikes; destroys
ඒව - indeed
මදනඃ - මදන (Cupid); desire

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Thin, one-eyed, lame, earless, tailless, wounded, oozing pus, his body covered with hundreds of worms, withered by hunger and worn with age, his neck trapped in broken pot-shards - even such a dog still follows a female dog. Thus does desire indeed destroy even one who is already destroyed.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This verse is intentionally shocking to show how blind compulsion can be. මදන here stands for craving itself, not romance: the mind runs toward a stimulus even when it is clearly painful and degrading. In our daily routines, this is any addiction-loop - pornography, gambling, substances, doom-scrolling - or any toxic relationship pattern where the same harm repeats. The practical අනුසංධාන is to treat compulsion as a real problem, not as "destiny": name it, reduce access to triggers, seek support, and rebuild the mind through healthier routines.

From a broader perspective: Let romance be powered by values, not by secrecy. What feels thrilling in the moment can become harm if it breaks සත්ය (truthfulness) or trust. A practical step is to slow down the first surge: wait, reflect, and speak honestly. Love that respects truth becomes a blessing; love that hides becomes a burden.

ස්ත්රීමුද්රාං කුසුමායුධස්ය ජයිනීං සර්වාර්ථසංපත්කරීං
යේ මූඪාඃ ප්රවිහාය යාංති කුධියෝ මිථ්යාඵලාන්වේෂිණඃ ।
තේ තේනෛව නිහත්ය නිර්දයතරං නග්නීකෘතා මුංඩිතාඃ
කේචිත්පංචශිඛීකෘතාශ්ච ජටිලාඃ කාපාලිකාශ්චාපරේ ॥ 2.79 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ස්ත්රී - woman
මුද්රා - seal; sign; stamp
ස්ත්රීමුද්රාං - the "seal/sign" of womanhood (metaphor for love/pleasure)
කුසුම - flower
ආයුධඃ - weapon
කුසුමායුධඃ - the flower-weaponed one (Cupid)
කුසුමායුධස්ය - of Cupid
ජයිනීං - victorious; conquering
සර්ව - all
අර්ථ - aims; purposes
සංපත් - prosperity
කරීං - making; producing (f.)
සර්වාර්ථසංපත්කරීං - producing prosperity for all aims
යේ - those who
මූඪාඃ - fools
ප්රවිහාය - abandoning; giving up
යාංති - go
කු - bad
ධියඃ - of intellects
කුධියාඃ - of dull/bad understanding
මිථ්යා - false
ඵලං - fruit; result
අන්වේෂිණඃ - seekers
මිථ්යාඵලාන්වේෂිණඃ - seeking false "fruits"
තේ - they
තේන - by that (Cupid/desire) itself
ඒව - indeed
නිහත්ය - striking down; destroying
නිර්දයතරං - most mercilessly
නග්නී - naked (f.)
කෘතඃ - made
නග්නීකෘතාඃ - made naked
මුංඩිතාඃ - shaved
කේචිත් - some
පංච - five
ශිඛී - tuft of hair
කෘතඃ - made
පංචශිඛීකෘතාඃ - made into (ascetics) with five tufts
ච - and
ජටිලාඃ - matted-haired ascetics
කාපාලිකාඃ - skull-bearing ascetics
ච - and
අපරේ - others

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Fools of dull understanding abandon the conquering "seal" of Cupid - womanhood, which seems to bring prosperity to all aims - and go seeking false fruits. That very force strikes them down mercilessly: some are made naked and shaved, some turned into five-tufted ascetics, others into matted-haired wanderers, and some into skull-bearing ascetics.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The target is confused renunciation: running away from desire without understanding the mind. When craving is only suppressed, it often returns as obsession, bitterness, or spiritual show. In today's relationships, this can look like someone publicly declaring detachment while privately being consumed by the same longing - or swinging between indulgence and harsh self-punishment. The practical අනුසංධාන is integration: treat desire with clarity and ethics, not denial; channel it into commitment and responsibility, or consciously step back with honest self-work.

On a subtler level: From an inner standpoint, remember that the rush is a wave in the mind. ආදි ශංකරාචාර්ය reminds us in ආත්ම ෂටකම්, මනෝ බුද්ධ්යහංකාර චිත්තානි නාහම් (I am not the mind, intellect, ego, or mind-stuff). Returning to that witness does not kill love; it makes love workable, so you can act with dignity instead of being driven.

විශ්වාමිත්රපරාශරප්රභෘතයෝ වාතාංබුපර්ණාශනාස්තේऽපි
ස්ත්රීමුඛපංකජං සුලලිතං දෘෂ්ට්වෛව මෝහං ගතාඃ ।
ශාල්යන්නං සඝෘතං පයෝදධියුතං යේ භුංජතේ මානවාස්තේෂාම්
ඉංද්රියනිග්රහෝ යදි භවේද්විංධ්යඃ ප්ලවේත්සාගරේ ॥ 2.80 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
විශ්වාමිත්ර - විශ්වාමිත්ර
පරාශර - පරාශර
ප්රභෘතයඃ - and others like them
විශ්වාමිත්රපරාශරප්රභෘතයඃ - විශ්වාමිත්ර, පරාශර, and the like
වාත - air
අංබු - water
පර්ණ - leaf
ආශනාඃ - eating; subsisting on
වාතාංබුපර්ණාශනාඃ - subsisting on air, water, and leaves
තේ - they
අපි - even (verse: තේऽපි = තේ + අපි)
ස්ත්රී - woman
මුඛං - face
පංකජං - lotus
ස්ත්රීමුඛපංකජං - a woman's lotus-face
සු - very
ලලිතං - charming; graceful
දෘෂ්ට්වා - having seen
ඒව - merely; just (verse: දෘෂ්ට්වෛව = දෘෂ්ට්වා + ඒව)
මෝහං - delusion
ගතාඃ - gone into; fallen into
ශාලි - rice
අන්නං - food
ශාල්යන්නං - rice-food
ස - with
ඝෘතං - ghee
සඝෘතං - with ghee
පයස් - milk
දධි - curd
යුතං - joined with; accompanied by
පයෝදධියුතං - accompanied by milk and curd
යේ - those who
භුංජතේ - eat
මානවාඃ - humans
තේෂාං - of them (verse: මානවාස්තේෂාම් = මානවාඃ + තේෂාං)
ඉංද්රිය - senses
නිග්රහඃ - restraint; control
ඉංද්රියනිග්රහඃ - sense-control
යදි - if
භවේත් - would be (verse: භවේද්විංධ්යඃ = භවේත් + විංධ්යඃ)
විංධ්යඃ - the Vindhya mountain
ප්ලවේත් - would float
සාගරේ - in the ocean (verse: ප්ලවේත්සාගරේ = ප්ලවේත් + සාගරේ)

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Even sages like Vishvamitra and Parashara, who subsist on air, water, and leaves, fell into delusion merely by seeing a woman's graceful lotus-face. If humans who eat rice with ghee and milk/curd could truly restrain the senses, then the Vindhya mountain would float in the ocean.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse argues for humility about self-control. If even disciplined ascetics can stumble, ordinary people should neither be smug nor despairing. In real-world settings, willpower alone is often not enough; environment and habits matter. The practical අනුසංධාන is to train ඉංද්රියනිග්රහ (sense-discipline) gradually: choose what you consume (media, company, impulses), create distance from predictable triggers, and build supportive routines rather than relying on momentary resolve.

A gentle practice is: A simple daily practice is to check intention: am I trying to connect, or am I trying to win? The verse reminds us that relationship is built by small choices - listening, truthfulness, and respect for boundaries. When those are steady, even strong emotions become beautiful instead of chaotic.

පරිමලභෘතෝ වාතාඃ ශාඛා නවාංකුරකෝටයෝ
මධුරවිරුතෝත්කංඨා වාචඃ ප්රියාඃ පිකපක්ෂිණාම් ।
විරලසුරතස්වේදෝද්ගාරා වධූවදනේංදවඃ
ප්රසරති මධෞ රාත්ර්යාං ජාතෝ න කස්ය ගුණෝදයඃ ॥ 2.81 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
පරිමල - fragrance
භෘතඃ - bearing; carrying
පරිමලභෘතඃ - fragrance-bearing
වාතාඃ - winds
ශාඛා - branches
නව - new
අංකුර - sprout
කෝටයඃ - tips; points
නවාංකුරකෝටයඃ - tips of new sprouts
මධුර - sweet
විරුතං - sound; cooing; song
උත්කංඨා - longing; yearning
මධුරවිරුතෝත්කංඨා - longing stirred by sweet calls
වාචඃ - voices; calls
ප්රියාඃ - dear; beloved
පික - cuckoo
පක්ෂිණාං - of birds
පිකපක්ෂිණාං - of cuckoo birds
විරල - sparse; slight
සුරත - lovemaking; intimacy
ස්වේද - sweat
උද්ගාරඃ - exudation; emission
විරලසුරතස්වේදෝද්ගාරාඃ - (having) only slight sweat due to lovemaking
වධූ - bride; young woman
වදනං - face
ඉංදුඃ - moon
වධූවදනේංදවඃ - moonlike faces of women
ප්රසරති - spreads; unfolds
මධෞ - in spring (මධු season/month)
රාත්ර්යාං - in the night
ජාතඃ - arisen; produced
න - not
කස්ය - of whom
ගුණඃ - quality; excellence
උදයඃ - rise; awakening
ගුණෝදයඃ - awakening/rising of qualities

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Fragrance-bearing winds blow; branches show tips of fresh sprouts; the cuckoo's sweet calls kindle yearning; and women's moonlike faces show only faint beads of sweat from intimacy. When spring spreads into the nights, whose good qualities do not bloom?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse captures how ඍතු (season) changes the mind: the same world feels freshly alive, and even ordinary people become more affectionate, poetic, and expressive. In lived experience too, weather and atmosphere affect mood - spring can increase sociability and romance, and small sights/sounds become emotional triggers. The practical අනුසංධාන is to enjoy this uplift consciously: let the season inspire creativity and warmth, while keeping විවේක (discernment) so excitement does not turn into impulsiveness.

One more layer is this: These seasonal images show how mood is shaped by climate. When you feel more restless or nostalgic, treat it as a natural rhythm, not as a command. Use it to deepen appreciation: be kinder, write more, reach out more. But do not let mood drive reckless choices; let it become beauty with discipline.

මධුරයං මධුරෛරපි කෝකිලා
කලරවෛර්මලයස්ය ච වායුභිඃ ।
විරහිණඃ ප්රහිණස්ති ශරීරිණෝ
විපදි හංත සුධාපි විෂායතේ ॥ 2.82 ॥

ඡංදඃ (ද්රුතවිලංබිත): This is in ද්රුතවිලංබිත (සම-වෘත්ත) Chandas/Meter: 4 පාදාඃ, 12 අක්ෂරාඃ per පාද; ලඝු/ගුරු pattern (per පාද) is `LLLGLLGLLGLG`.

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
මධුරයං - sweetening; making sweet
මධුරෛඃ - by sweet things; with sweetness
අපි - even
කෝකිලා - the cuckoo (here: cuckoo birds)
කල - soft; melodious
රවෛඃ - with sounds
කලරවෛඃ - with melodious calls
මලයස්ය - of the Malaya mountain (source of fragrant breeze)
ච - and
වායුභිඃ - by winds
විරහිණඃ - of the separated; of love-lorn people
ප්රහිණස්ති - strikes; torments
ශරීරිණඃ - embodied beings
විපදි - in misfortune; in adversity
හංත - alas
සුධා - nectar
අපි - even
විෂං - poison
ආයතේ - becomes
විෂායතේ - becomes poison

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
With its melodious calls - and with the Malaya winds - the cuckoo makes even sweet things sweeter; but it torments the love-lorn. Alas, in adversity, even nectar turns into poison.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse is about context: the same stimulus can feel like medicine or like torture depending on the heart's condition. A song, a fragrance, or a festival can be joy for one person and pain for another who is in විරහ (separation). In ordinary situations, this is why after a breakup even "happy places" can feel heavy. The practical අනුසංධාන is compassion and patience: reduce triggers while healing, do not force yourself to "be fine", and gradually create new associations through supportive routines and friendships.

A helpful way to apply this is: A season changes the outer world and the inner weather. Pay attention to that inner weather. If you are lonely, a rainy night can push you into old loops; if you are content, it can become poetry. Build small practices that keep you grounded - sleep, movement, and a little silence.

ආවාසඃ කිලකිංචිතස්ය දයිතාපාර්ශ්වේ විලාසාලසාඃ
කර්ණේ කෝකිලකාමිනීකලරවඃ ස්මේරෝ ලතාමංඩපඃ ।
ගෝෂ්ඨී සත්කවිභිඃ සමං කතිපයෛර්මුග්ධාඃ සුධාංශෝඃ කරාඃ
කේෂාංචිත්සුඛයංති චාත්ර හෘදයං චෛත්රේ විචිත්රාඃ ක්ෂපාඃ ॥ 2.83 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ආවාසඃ - dwelling; staying
කිලකිංචිතස්ය - of playful soft sounds/gestures (කිලකිංචිත)
දයිතා - beloved
පාර්ශ්වේ - by the side
දයිතාපාර්ශ්වේ - by the beloved's side
විලාස - play; amorous sport
අලසාඃ - languid; relaxed
විලාසාලසාඃ - languid with play
කර්ණේ - in the ear
කෝකිලා - cuckoo
කාමිනී - female; beloved
කලරවඃ - melodious call
කෝකිලකාමිනීකලරවඃ - the melodious call of the female cuckoo
ස්මේරඃ - smiling
ලතා - vine
මංඩපඃ - pavilion
ලතාමංඩපඃ - vine-pavilion
ගෝෂ්ඨී - gathering; conversation circle
සත් - good
කවිභිඃ - with poets
සත්කවිභිඃ - with good poets
සමං - together
කතිපයෛඃ - with a few
මුග්ධාඃ - gentle; soft; charming
සුධා - nectar
අංශුඃ - ray
සුධාංශුඃ - the nectar-rayed one (the moon)
සුධාංශෝඃ - of the moon
කරාඃ - rays
කේෂාංචිත් - for some
සුඛයංති - make happy; gladden
ච - and
අත්ර - here
හ්ऱ්දයං - heart
චෛත්රේ - in the month of Chaitra (spring)
විචිත්රාඃ - varied; charming
ක්ෂපාඃ - nights

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
For some, these charming Chaitra nights gladden the heart: staying by the beloved's side amid playful murmurs, languid in love's play; the female cuckoo's call in the ear; a smiling vine-pavilion; a gathering with good poets and a few friends; and the soft rays of the nectar-moon.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse shows that happiness is often a crafted atmosphere: companionship, beauty, art, and unhurried time. In practical terms, the same elements appear as a quiet evening with someone you love, music that feels intimate, or a circle of friends where conversation is nourishing. The practical අනුසංධාන is to create such spaces deliberately and ethically: choose relationships that deepen trust, avoid distractions that fragment attention, and let pleasure be connected to presence rather than to excess.

To carry this wisely: Such verses also teach that pleasure is relational: fragrance, sound, and moonlight become delightful when the heart is open. If the heart is closed, the same stimuli irritate. So care for the heart: reduce resentment, practice forgiveness, and keep gratitude alive.

පාංථ ස්ත්රීවිරහානලාහුතිකලාං ආතන්වතී මංජරීමාකංදේෂු
පිකාංගනාභිරධුනා සෝත්කංඨං ආලෝක්යතේ ।
අප්යේතේ නවපාටලාපරිමලප්රාග්භාරපාටච්චරා
වාංතික්ලාංතිවිතානතානවකෘතඃ ශ්රීඛංඩශෛලානිලාඃ ॥ 2.84 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
පාංථ - traveler
ස්ත්රී - wife; beloved woman
විරහඃ - separation
අනලඃ - fire
ස්ත්රීවිරහානලඃ - the fire of separation from the beloved
ආහුති - oblation
කලා - art; skill
ආහුතිකලාං - the art of offering oblations
ස්ත්රීවිරහානලාහුතිකලාං - the art of offering oblations into the fire of separation
ආතන්වතී - spreading; performing; extending
මංජරී - blossom cluster
මාකංදඃ - mango tree
මාකංදේෂු - in mango trees
පික - cuckoo
අංගනා - woman
පිකාංගනාඃ - female cuckoos
පිකාංගනාභිඃ - by female cuckoos
අධුනා - now
සෝත්කංඨං - with longing
ආලෝක්යතේ - is looked at; is seen
අපි - even
ඒතේ - these
නව - new
පාටලා - the පාටලා flower
පරිමලඃ - fragrance
ප්රාග්භාරඃ - heavy load; excess
පාටච්චරාඃ - roaming about; moving around
නවපාටලාපරිමල්ප්රාග්භාරපාටච්චරාඃ - roaming about bearing the heavy load of fresh පාටලා fragrance
වාංති - blow
ක්ලාංතිඃ - fatigue; weariness
විතානඃ - canopy; spread
තානඃ - stretching; extension
වකෘතඃ - cutting off; removing
ක්ලාංතිවිතානතානවකෘතඃ - removing the stretched canopy of fatigue (relieving weariness)
ශ්රීඛංඩ - sandalwood
සෛලඃ - mountain
අනිලඃ - wind
ශ්රීඛංඩශෛලානිලාඃ - the winds from the sandalwood hill

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
O traveler, now the mango blossom-clusters are seen with longing by the female cuckoos, as if they were an offering into the fire of separation. And these sandalwood-mountain winds, roaming about laden with the heavy fragrance of fresh spring blossoms, blow and relieve the spread of weariness.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This verse mixes beauty with pain: spring comforts the body and simultaneously sharpens longing. In the way we live now, travel or distance can do the same - a beautiful place can still feel empty when someone important is missing. The practical අනුසංධාන is to recognize the mind's double movement: allow the ache of විරහ (separation) without dramatizing it, and also let nature and rest genuinely restore you, so you return to your responsibilities and relationships with steadier energy.

A mature reading suggests: Let nature's beauty remind you of balance. Seasons come and go; moods also come and go. When you learn to enjoy without clinging, you gain both joy and freedom. That is the quiet wisdom hidden inside these descriptions.

ප්රථිතඃ ප්රණයවතීනාං
තාවත්පදං ආතනෝතු හෘදි මානඃ ।
භවති න යාවච්චංදනතරු
සුරභිර්මලයපවමානඃ ॥ 2.85 ॥

ඡංදඃ (මාත්රා-චංදස්): This is in a මාත්රා-based Chandas/Meter (not a fixed අක්ෂර-count වෘත්ත): in this verse, the written segments carry approximately 13 + 19 + 15 + 13 මාත්රාඃ (total 60); treat ලඝු=1 මාත්රා and ගුරු=2 මාත්රාඃ, and keep the natural pauses at the segment ends marked by `।`/`॥` (do not confuse දංඩ with internal යති).

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ප්රථිතඃ - well-known; established
ප්රණයඃ - love; affection
ප්රණයවතීනාං - of loving women
තාවත් - so long
පදං - place; foothold
ආතනෝතු - may take; may assume
හෘදි - in the heart
මානඃ - pride; sulkiness (lover's offended pride)
භවති - becomes; is
න - not
යාවත් - until
චංදන - sandalwood
තරුඃ - tree
චංදනතරු - sandalwood tree
සුරභිඃ - fragrant
මලය - Malaya mountain
පවමානඃ - wind
මලයපවමානඃ - the Malaya breeze

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
The pride/sulking of loving women holds its place in the heart only until the Malaya breeze becomes fragrant with sandalwood trees.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
In ශෘංගාර, මාන (the lover's proud "sulk") is not hatred; it is part of intimacy's rhythm. The verse says even that pride melts when the atmosphere turns soft and fragrant. At home and at work, timing matters similarly: a difficult conversation goes better when both people are rested and the environment is calm. The practical අනුසංධාන is to de-escalate first - lower stress, speak gently, and let warmth return - then resolve the issue without turning it into a power struggle.

සහකාරකුසුමකේසරනිකර
භරාමෝදමූර්ච්ඡිතදිග්අංතේ ।
මධුරමධුරවිධුරමධුපේ
මධෞ භවේත්කස්ය නෝත්කංඨා ॥ 2.86 ॥

ඡංදඃ (මාත්රා-චංදස්): This is in a මාත්රා-based Chandas/Meter (not a fixed අක්ෂර-count වෘත්ත): in this verse, the written segments carry approximately 16 + 15 + 17 + 16 මාත්රාඃ (total 64); treat ලඝු=1 මාත්රා and ගුරු=2 මාත්රාඃ, and keep the natural pauses at the segment ends marked by `।`/`॥` (do not confuse දංඩ with internal යති).

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
සහකාර - mango tree
කුසුමං - flower
කේසරඃ - pollen; stamen
නිකරඃ - heap; cluster
සහකාරකුසුමකේසරනිකරඃ - clusters of mango blossoms and pollen
භරා - load; weight
ආමෝදඃ - fragrance
භරාමෝදඃ - heavy fragrance
මූර්ච්ඡිත - swooned; intoxicated
දිග් - direction
අංතඃ - end; quarter
දිගංතේ - in the directions/quarters
දිග්අංතේ - in the directions (verse join)
භරාමෝදමූර්ච්ඡිතදිගංතේ - when the quarters are intoxicated by heavy fragrance
මධුරං - sweetly
මධුර - sweet
විධුරං - plaintively; piteously
මධුපඃ - bee
මධුපේ - O bee
මධුරමධුරවිධුරමධුපේ - O bee, sweetly-sweetly and plaintively (your humming)
මධෞ - in spring (මධු season)
භවේත් - would be
කස්ය - of whom
න - not
උත්කංඨා - longing; yearning

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
When the quarters are intoxicated by the heavy fragrance of clusters of mango blossoms and pollen, and when the bee hums sweetly and plaintively, who would not feel yearning in spring?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse describes how the senses are "tuned" by the environment: spring fragrances and sounds naturally intensify උත්කංඨා (yearning). These days, the same is true of certain places, music, or memories - they can amplify longing instantly. The practical අනුසංධාන is to use this wisely: choose environments that support wholesome love and creativity, and be cautious of settings that predictably push you toward impulsive choices.

From a broader perspective: A season changes the outer world and the inner weather. Pay attention to that inner weather. If you are lonely, a rainy night can push you into old loops; if you are content, it can become poetry. Build small practices that keep you grounded - sleep, movement, and a little silence.

අච්ඡාච්ඡචංදනරසාර්ද්රතරා මෘගාක්ෂ්යෝ
ධාරාගෘහාණි කුසුමානි ච කෞමුදී ච ।
මංදෝ මරුත්සුමනසඃ ශුචි හර්ම්යපෘෂ්ඨං
ග්රීෂ්මේ මදං ච මදනං ච විවර්ධයංති ॥ 2.87 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
අච්ඡාච්ඡ - very clear; very clean
චංදන - sandalwood
රසඃ - juice; paste
ආර්ද්ර - moist
තරා - more (comparative)
චංදන - sandalwood
රසාර්ද්රතරාඃ - more moist with sandalwood paste
මෘගාක්ෂ්යඃ - doe-eyed women
ධාරා - stream; jet
ගෘහං - house; pavilion
ධාරාගෘහාණි - water-pavilions; shower-houses
කුසුමානි - flowers
ච - and
කෞමුදී - moonlight; moonlit night
ච - and
මංදඃ - gentle
මරුත් - wind
සුමනසඃ - flowers
මරුත්සුමනසඃ - winds and flowers
ශුචි - clean
හර්ම්ය - palace; mansion
පෘෂ්ඨං - terrace; roof
හර්ම්යපෘෂ්ඨං - the mansion-terrace
ග්රීෂ්මේ - in summer
මදං - intoxication
ච - and
මදනං - desire; Cupid
ච - and
විවර්ධයංති - increase; intensify

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
In summer, doe-eyed women made even more moist with clear sandalwood paste, water-pavilions, flowers and moonlight, gentle winds, and clean mansion-terraces - all intensify intoxication and desire.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
Bhartruhari notes a simple truth: comfort and sensuous atmosphere can intensify craving. When you look around today, the same happens when we are relaxed, surrounded by beauty, and feeling physically good - desire feels stronger and self-control can weaken. The practical අනුසංධාන is balance: enjoy pleasures without letting them dictate decisions; keep your commitments and boundaries steady, especially in settings where the senses are strongly stimulated.

On a subtler level: Such verses also teach that pleasure is relational: fragrance, sound, and moonlight become delightful when the heart is open. If the heart is closed, the same stimuli irritate. So care for the heart: reduce resentment, practice forgiveness, and keep gratitude alive.

ස්රජෝ හෘද්යාමෝදා ව්යජනපවනශ්චංද්රකිරණාඃ
පරාගඃ කාසාරෝ මලයජරජඃ ශීධු විශදම් ।
ශුචිඃ සෞධෝත්සංගඃ ප්රතනු වසනං පංකජදෘශෝ
නිදාඝඍතාවේතද්විලසති ලභංතේ සුකෘතිනඃ ॥ 2.88 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ස්රජාඃ - garlands
හ්ऱ්දි - in the heart
ආමෝදඃ - fragrance
හ්ऱ්ද්යාමෝදාඃ - pleasing fragrance
ව්යජනං - fan
පවනඃ - breeze
ව්යජනපවනඃ - fan-breeze
චංද්ර - moon
කිරණාඃ - rays
චංද්රකිරණාඃ - moon-rays
පරාගඃ - pollen
කාසාරඃ - lake; lotus-pond
මලය - Malaya mountain
ජ - born from
රජඃ - dust; powder
මලයජරජඃ - sandalwood-dust (from Malaya)
සීධු - wine; fermented drink
විශදං - clear; pure
ශුචිඃ - clean; pure
සෞධඃ - mansion
උත්සංගඃ - lap; ledge; terrace-seat
සෞධෝත්සංගඃ - the clean ledge/terrace of a mansion
ප්රතනු - thin; delicate
වසනං - garment
පංකජ - lotus
දෘශ් - eye; sight
පංකජදෘශඃ - of the lotus-eyed woman
නිදාඝ - summer
ඍතෞ - in the season
ඒතද් - this
විලසති - sport; delight
ලභංතේ - obtain; enjoy
සුකෘතිනඃ - the meritorious; the fortunate

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
In the summer season, the fortunate enjoy these delights: garlands with pleasing fragrance, fan-breezes, moon-rays, pollen, lotus-ponds, sandalwood dust from Malaya, clear wine, the clean ledge of a mansion, and the thin garment of a lotus-eyed beloved.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse is a catalogue of "cooling" pleasures - things that soothe the body and, by that very soothing, make sensual enjoyment easier. In daily interactions, comfort and luxury can either become healthy rest or become a slippery slope into excess. The practical අනුසංධාන is to enjoy comfort with awareness: let it restore you, not numb you; and remember that the mind can become dependent on external arrangements unless it also learns inner contentment.

A gentle practice is: Let nature's beauty remind you of balance. Seasons come and go; moods also come and go. When you learn to enjoy without clinging, you gain both joy and freedom. That is the quiet wisdom hidden inside these descriptions.

සුධාශුභ්රං ධාම ස්ඵුරද්අමලරශ්මිඃ ශශධරඃ
ප්රියාවක්ත්රාංභෝජං මලයජරජශ්චාතිසුරභිඃ ।
ස්රජෝ හෘද්යාමෝදාස්තදිදං අඛිලං රාගිණි ජනේ
කරෝත්යංතඃ ක්ෂෝභං න තු විෂයසංසර්ගවිමුඛේ ॥ 2.89 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
සුධා - nectar
ශුභ්රං - white; bright
ධාම - radiance; light
සුධාශුභ්රං ධාම - nectar-white radiance
ස්ඵුරද් - shining
අමල - spotless; pure
රශ්මිඃ - ray
ස්ඵුරද්අමලරශ්මිඃ - shining with pure rays (verse join)
ශශධරඃ - the moon
ප්රියා - beloved
වක්ත්රං - face
අංබුජං - lotus
ප්රියාවක්ත්රාංභෝජං - the beloved's lotus-face
මලයජ - sandalwood
රජඃ - dust
අති - very
සුරභිඃ - fragrant
මලයජරජඃ - sandalwood dust
චාතිසුරභිඃ - very fragrant
ස්රජාඃ - garlands
හ්ऱ්ද්යාමෝදාඃ - pleasing fragrance
තද් - that
ඉදං - this
අඛිලං - all; entire
රාගිණි - in one full of passion
ජනේ - in a person
කරෝති - makes
අංතඃ - within
ක්ෂෝභං - agitation; disturbance
න - not
තු - but
විෂය - sense-objects
සංසර්ගඃ - contact; association
විමුඛේ - in one turned away; detached

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
The moon's nectar-bright radiance, the beloved's lotus-face, the very fragrant sandalwood dust, and garlands with pleasing scent - all this creates intense inner agitation in a passionate person, but not in one who has turned away from sense-objects.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse makes a subtle psychological point: the world does not "do" the same thing to everyone. The same moonlight that stirs longing in one mind can be simply beautiful and quiet for another mind that is විමුඛ (turned away) from craving. In common experience, this is why the best change is internal: when attachment loosens, triggers lose power. From an අද්වෛත (non-duality) angle, reducing රාග (clinging) and ද්වේෂ (aversion) makes perception clearer and less agitated.

One more layer is this: Here භර්තෘහරි hints that perception is colored by desire and clarified by විවේක. This is central to අද්වෛත: the mind projects, and freedom begins when projection is seen. A simple practice is to watch your own stories and ask, "What am I adding to what is happening?" That question loosens obsession.

තරුණීවේෂෝද්දීපිතකාමා
විකසජ්ජාතීපුෂ්පසුගංධිඃ ।
උන්නතපීනපයෝධරභාරා
ප්රාවෘට්තනුතේ කස්ය න හර්ෂම් ॥ 2.90 ॥

ඡංදඃ (මාත්රා-චංදස්): This is in a මාත්රා-based Chandas/Meter (not a fixed අක්ෂර-count වෘත්ත): in this verse, the written segments carry approximately 16 + 16 + 16 + 16 මාත්රාඃ (total 64); treat ලඝු=1 මාත්රා and ගුරු=2 මාත්රාඃ, and keep the natural pauses at the segment ends marked by `।`/`॥` (do not confuse දංඩ with internal යති).

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
තරුණී - young woman
වේෂඃ - attire; dress
උද්දීපිත - kindled; intensified
කාමඃ - desire
තරුණීවේෂෝද්දීපිතකාමා - desire kindled by young women's attire
විකසත් - blooming
ජාතී - jasmine
පුෂ්පං - flower
සුගංධිඃ - fragrant
විකසජ්ජාතීපුෂ්පසුගංධිඃ - fragrant with blooming jasmine flowers
උන්නත - high
පීන - full
පයෝධරඃ - breast
භාරඃ - weight; burden
උන්නතපීනපයෝධරභාරා - with the burden of high, full breasts
ප්රාවෘට් - the rainy season
තනුතේ - produces; spreads
කස්ය - for whom
න - not
හර්ෂං - joy

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
The rainy season - with desire kindled by young women's attire, fragrant with blooming jasmine, and heavy with the fullness of their breasts - produces joy for whom does it not?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
Bhartruhari links ප්රාවෘට් (monsoon) with romance: clouds, fragrance, and closeness make desire feel natural and widespread. In contemporary life, seasons and settings still shape behavior - rainy evenings can make people nostalgic, intimate, and more impulsive. The practical අනුසංධාන is to let the mood deepen connection, not lower ethics: enjoy romance with clarity, consent, and responsibility, so that seasonal emotion becomes sweetness rather than regret.

වියද්උපචිතමේඝං භූමයඃ කංදලින්යෝ
නවකුටජකදංබාමෝදිනෝ ගංධවාහාඃ ।
ශිඛිකුලකලකේකාරාවරම්යා වනාංතාඃ
සුඛිනං අසුඛිනං වා සර්වං උත්කංඨයංති ॥ 2.91 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
වියත් - sky
උපචිත - filled; accumulated
මේඝං - cloud(s)
වියද්උපචිතමේඝං - the sky filled with clouds (verse join)
භූමයඃ - the earth; grounds
කංදල - fresh shoot; sprout
කංදලින්යාඃ - full of shoots/sprouts
නව - new
කුටජ - the කුටජ tree
කදංබ - the කදංබ tree
ආමෝදිනඃ - fragrant; perfuming
නවකුටජකදංබාමෝදිනාඃ - fragrant with new කුටජ and කදංබ
ගංධවාහාඃ - winds (bearers of fragrance)
ශිඛි - peacock
කුලං - group
ශිඛිකුලං - flocks of peacocks
කලකලඃ - chattering sound; noisy calls
ඒකාරාවඃ - a single cry/call
රම්යාඃ - charming
ශිඛිකුලකලකේකාරාවරම්යාඃ - charming with peacocks' calls and chatter
වනාංතාඃ - forest-groves
සුඛිනං - the happy one
අසුඛිනං - the unhappy one
වා - or
සර්වං - everyone
උත්කංඨයංති - stir longing; make eager

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Cloud-filled skies, earth thick with new shoots, winds perfumed by fresh blossoms, and forests made lovely by peacocks' calls - all these stir yearning in everyone, happy or unhappy.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This verse says some moods are "in the air". In monsoon, nature becomes dramatic and sensual, and even people who feel fine can suddenly feel උත්කංඨා (yearning). In everyday life, weather and music can work similarly: a rainy evening can make you nostalgic, romantic, or restless without any clear reason. The practical අනුසංධාන is to notice the mood as a wave, not as a command - enjoy it, express it creatively, but do not let it push you into choices that you will regret.

උපරි ඝනං ඝනපටලං
තිර්යග්ගිරයෝऽපි නර්තිතමයූරාඃ ।
ක්ෂිතිරපි කංදලධවලා
දෘෂ්ටිං පථිකඃ ක්ව පාතයති ॥ 2.92 ॥

ඡංදඃ (මාත්රා-චංදස්): This is in a මාත්රා-based Chandas/Meter (not a fixed අක්ෂර-count වෘත්ත): in this verse, the written segments carry approximately 12 + 18 + 13 + 16 මාත්රාඃ (total 59); treat ලඝු=1 මාත්රා and ගුරු=2 මාත්රාඃ, and keep the natural pauses at the segment ends marked by `।`/`॥` (do not confuse දංඩ with internal යති).

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
උපරි - above
ඝනං - dense; massed
ඝන - cloud
පටලං - layer; mass
ඝනපටලං - mass of clouds
තිර්යක් - sideways
ගිරයඃ - mountains
අපි - even; also (verse: ගිරයෝऽපි = ගිරයඃ + අපි)
නර්තිත - dancing
මයූරාඃ - peacocks
ක්ෂිතිඃ - the earth
අපි - also
කංදල - sprouts; shoots
ධවලා - white; pale
කංදලධවලා - pale with fresh shoots
දෘෂ්ටිං - gaze
පථිකඃ - traveler
ක්ව - where
පාතයති - casts; drops

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Above is a dense mass of clouds; sideways, even the mountains have dancing peacocks; the earth too is pale with fresh shoots - where does the traveler cast his gaze?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse is about being surrounded by beauty: attention wants to jump everywhere. In day-to-day living, we can feel the same in a new city, a festival, or even a "feed" full of stimuli - the eyes do not know where to rest. The practical අනුසංධාන is to slow down and savor one thing at a time. Pleasure becomes deeper when attention is steady, not scattered.

ඉතෝ විද්යුද්වල්ලීවිලසිතං ඉතඃ කේතකිතරෝඃ
ස්ඵුරන්ගංධඃ ප්රෝද්යජ්ජලදනිනදස්ඵූර්ජිතං ඉතඃ ।
ඉතඃ කේකික්රීඩාකලකලරවඃ පක්ෂ්මලදෘශාං
කථං යාස්යංත්යේතේ විරහදිවසාඃ සංභෘතරසාඃ ॥ 2.93 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ඉතඃ - here; from this side
විද්යුත් - lightning
වල්ලී - creeper; vine
විලසිතං - flashing play
විද්යුද්වල්ලීවිලසිතං - the play of lightning-vines
ඉතඃ - here
කේතකී - the කේතකී plant
තරුඃ - tree
කේතකිතරෝඃ - of the කේතකී tree
ස්ඵුරත් - throbbing; spreading
ගංධඃ - fragrance
ස්ඵුරන්ගංධඃ - spreading fragrance
ප්රෝද්යත් - rising; swelling
ජලදඃ - cloud
නිනදඃ - sound; roar
ස්ඵූර්ජිතං - thunderous roar
ජලදනිනදස්ඵූර්ජිතං - the thunder-roar of clouds
ඉතඃ - here
කේකි - peacock
ක්රීඩා - play
කලකලඃ - noisy chatter
රවඃ - sound
කේකික්රීඩාකලකලරවඃ - the noisy calls of peacocks at play
පක්ෂ්මල - long-lashed
දෘශාං - of the eyes; of the doe-eyed women
පක්ෂ්මලදෘශාං - of the long-lashed (women)
කථං - how
යාස්යංති - will pass; will go
ඒතේ - these
විරහ - separation
දිනසාඃ - days
විරහදිනසාඃ - days of separation
සංභෘත - full; heaped up
රසඃ - feeling; emotion
සංභෘතරසාඃ - full of intense feeling

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Here the lightning-vine flashes; here fragrant blossoms spread their scent; here the swelling thunder of clouds; here the noisy calls of peacocks at play - how will these days of separation pass for the long-lashed ones, full of longing?

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse explains why certain seasons make loneliness feel sharper: they are full of sensory reminders. In our daily routines, this is why a rainy playlist, a smell, or a place can suddenly reopen longing - the mind links stimuli with memory. The practical අනුසංධාන is to work with triggers: if you are healing, reduce exposure; if you are in a long-distance bond, use the same triggers intentionally (a shared song, a planned call) to convert longing into connection rather than rumination.

If you want this verse to uplift you: These seasonal images show how mood is shaped by climate. When you feel more restless or nostalgic, treat it as a natural rhythm, not as a command. Use it to deepen appreciation: be kinder, write more, reach out more. But do not let mood drive reckless choices; let it become beauty with discipline.

අසූචිසංචාරේ තමසි නභසි ප්රෞඪජලදධ්වනිප්රයේ
තස්මින් පතති දෘශදාං නීරනිචයේ ।
ඉදං සෞදාමින්යාඃ කනකකමනීයං විලසිතං
මුදං ච ග්ලානිං ච ප්රථයති පථිෂ්වේව සුදෘශාම් ॥ 2.94 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
අසූචි - needle(-like)
සංචාරඃ - movement; roaming
අසූචිසංචාරේ - where needle-like streaks move (rain-streaks)
තමසි - in darkness
නභසි - in the sky
ප්රෞඪ - dense; intense
ජලදඃ - cloud
ධ්වනිඃ - sound; thunder
ප්රායඃ - mostly; filled with
ධ්වනිප්රයේ - filled with thunder
තස්මින් - in that
පතති - falls
දෘශද් - stone; hail
දෘශදාං - of hailstones
නීර - water
නිචයඃ - heap; collection
නීරනිචයේ - in the collection/pool of water
ඉදං - this
සෞදාමිනී - lightning
සෞදාමින්යාඃ - of lightning
කනක - gold
කමනීයං - charming; beautiful
විලසිතං - flash; play; shining
මුදං - joy
ච - and
ග්ලානිං - fatigue; weariness
ච - and
ප්රථයති - spreads; produces
පථිෂු - on the roads
ඒව - indeed
සුදෘශාං - of beautiful-eyed women

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
In the dark sky where needle-like streaks move, filled with the thunder of dense clouds, and where hail and water fall into pools, this golden-beautiful flash of lightning produces both joy and weariness in the beautiful-eyed women on the road.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse captures mixed emotion: a storm can be thrilling and also tiring. In today's relationships, intense experiences often produce both - excitement and exhaustion, joy and a kind of ග්ලානි (weariness). The practical අනුසංධාන is to respect that blend: after high stimulation, rest and ground yourself, so that beauty does not turn into burnout.

ආසාරේණ න හර්ම්යතඃ ප්රියතමෛර්යාතුං බහිඃ ශක්යතේ
ශීතෝත්කංපනිමිත්තං ආයතදෘශා ගාඪං සමාලිංග්යතේ ।
ජාතාඃ ශීකරශීතලාශ්ච මරුතෝරත්යංතඛේදච්ඡිදෝ
ධන්යානාං බත දුර්දිනං සුදිනතාං යාති ප්රියාසංගමේ ॥ 2.95 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ආසාරඃ - rain; shower
ආසාරේණ - because of rain
න - not
හර්ම්යතඃ - from the mansion
ප්රියතමෛඃ - by/with beloved ones
යාතුං - to go
බහිඃ - outside
ශක්යතේ - is possible
ශීත - cold
උත්කංපඃ - shivering
නිමිත්තං - cause
ශීතෝත්කංපනිමිත්තං - because of shivering from cold
ආයත - long
දෘශා - by the long-eyed woman
ගාඪං - tightly
සමාලිංග්යතේ - is embraced
ජාතාඃ - become
ශීකරඃ - spray; mist
ශීතලාඃ - cool
ච - and
මරුතඃ - winds
අත්යංත - extremely
ඛේදඃ - fatigue; distress
ච්ඡිදඃ - cutting; removing
අත්යංතඛේදච්ඡිදඃ - removing great fatigue
ධන්යානාං - of the fortunate
බත - indeed; alas
දුර්දිනං - a gloomy/bad day
සුදිනතාං - becomes a good day
යාති - goes; becomes
ප්රියා - beloved
සංගමඃ - union; meeting
ප්රියාසංගමේ - in union with the beloved

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Because of rain, the beloveds cannot go outside from the mansion. Shivering from cold, the long-eyed beloved is held in a tight embrace; the winds, cooled by spray, cut away fatigue. For the fortunate, a gloomy rainy day becomes a good day in the union of lovers.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This verse is about turning constraint into closeness. When the world forces a pause, lovers can use it to be present with one another. In real-world settings, a storm that cancels plans can become an evening of warmth, conversation, and repair - if we choose it. The practical අනුසංධාන is to create "good days" not only by external events, but by how we meet the moment: attention, kindness, and shared time.

අර්ධං සුප්ත්වා නිශායාඃ සරභසසුරතායාසසන්නශ්ලථාංගප්රෝද්භූතාසහ්ය
තෘෂ්ණෝ මධුමදනිරතෝ හර්ම්යපෘෂ්ඨේ විවික්තේ ।
සංභෝගක්ලාංතකාංතාශිථිලභුජලතාවර්ජිතං කර්කරීතෝ
ජ්යෝත්ස්නාභින්නාච්ඡධාරං පිබති න සලිලං ශාරදං මංදපුණ්යඃ ॥ 2.96 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
අර්ධං - half
සුප්ත්වා - having slept
නිශායාඃ - of the night
සරභස - hurried; impetuous
සුරතං - lovemaking; intimacy
ආයාසඃ - exertion; fatigue
ආයාසසන්නඃ - exhausted by exertion
ශ්ලථ - slack
අංගඃ - limbs
සන්නශ්ලථාංගඃ - limbs grown slack from exhaustion
ප්රෝද්භූත - arisen
අසහ්ය - unbearable
තෘෂ්ණා - thirst
ප්රෝද්භූතාසහ්ය තෘෂ්ණා - unbearable thirst that has arisen
මධු - wine; intoxicant
මදනඃ - Cupid; desire
මධු මදන - wine and desire
මධුමදනිරතඃ - given to wine and desire
හර්ම්ය - mansion
පෘෂ්ඨං - terrace; roof
හර්ම්යපෘෂ්ඨේ - on the mansion-terrace
විවික්තේ - in solitude
සංභෝගඃ - union; enjoyment
ක්ලාංතා - tired
කාංතා - beloved woman
ශිථිල - slack
භුජඃ - arm
ලතා - creeper; vine
බුජලතා - arm-vines
ආවර්ජිතං - drawn around; encircling
සංභෝගක්ලාංතකාංතාශිථිලභුජලතාවර්ජිතං - embraced by the beloved's slack arms after union
කර්කරී - a water-vessel/pitcher
ඉතඃ - from
කර්කරීතෝ - from the කර්කරී
ජ්යෝත්ස්නා - moonlight
භින්න - split; broken by
අච්ඡ - clear
ධාරා - stream
ජ්යෝත්ස්නාභින්නාච්ඡධාරං - a clear stream broken by moonlight
පිබති - drinks
න - not
සලිලං - water
ශාරදං - autumnal
මංද - little
පුණ්යඃ - merit; good fortune
මංදපුණ්යඃ - of little fortune; unfortunate

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
After sleeping half the night, limbs slack from the fatigue of hurried lovemaking, unbearable thirst arises. Given to wine and desire, alone on the mansion-terrace, the "unfortunate" man does not drink the autumn water - a clear stream split by moonlight, poured from a water-pitcher - because he is held in an embrace by the beloved's tired, slack arms.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This verse is playful irony: he has water in front of him and still cannot drink, because love has "captured" him. In lived experience, we also miss simple, nourishing things because we are caught in an absorbing experience - sometimes beautiful, sometimes addictive. The practical අනුසංධාන is to keep balance: let intimacy be deep, but also take care of basic needs (sleep, health, clarity) so pleasure does not become depletion.

හේමංතේ දධිදුග්ධසර්පිරශනා මාංජිෂ්ඨවාසෝභෘතඃ
කාශ්මීරද්රවසාංද්රදිග්ධවපුෂශ්ඡින්නා විචිත්රෛ රතෛඃ ।
වෘත්තෝරුස්තනකාමිනෝජනකෘතාශ්ලේෂා ගෘහාභ්යංතරේ
තාංබූලීදලපූගපූරිතමුඛා ධන්යාඃ සුඛං ශේරතේ ॥ 2.97 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
හේමංතේ - in winter
දධි - curd
දුග්ධ - milk
සර්පිඃ - ghee
අශනා - eating
දධිදුග්ධසර්පිරශනා - eating curd, milk, and ghee
මාංජිෂ්ඨ - red dye (මාංජිෂ්ඨ)
වාසඃ - garments
භෘතඃ - wearing
මාංජිෂ්ඨවාසෝභෘතඃ - wearing මාංජිෂ්ඨ-colored garments
කාශ්මීර - saffron/Kashmir
ද්රවඃ - liquid; paste
සාංද්ර - thick
දිග්ධ - smeared
වපුෂඃ - bodies
කාශ්මීරද්රවසාංද්රදිග්ධවපුෂඃ - bodies smeared with thick saffron paste
චින්නාඃ - ended; spent
විචිත්රෛඃ - with various
රතෛඃ - acts of love; pleasures
වෘත්ත - round
ඌරුඃ - thigh
ස්තනඃ - breast
කාමිනී - woman
ජනඃ - person
කෘතඃ - made; done
ආශ්ලේෂඃ - embrace
වෘත්තෝරුස්තනකාමිනෝජනකෘතාශ්ලේෂාඃ - those who have embraced women with round thighs and breasts
ගෘහ - house
අභ්යංතරඃ - inside
ගෘහාභ්යංතරේ - inside the house
තාංබූලී - betel leaf
දලං - leaf
පූගඃ - areca nut
පූරිත - filled
මුඛා - mouths
තාංබූලීදලපූගපූරිතමුඛාඃ - mouths filled with betel leaves and areca
ධන්යාඃ - the fortunate
සුඛං - happily
ශේරතේ - lie down; sleep

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
In winter, the fortunate - eating curd, milk, and ghee; wearing deep red garments; bodies smeared with thick saffron paste; their pleasures spent in varied lovemaking and embraces of women with round thighs and breasts; mouths filled with betel leaf and areca - sleep happily inside the house.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse describes warmth, luxury, and intimacy as a seasonal rhythm: when it is cold outside, people seek heat and closeness within. In ordinary situations, winter often increases "nesting" - home, comfort food, and private connection. The practical අනුසංධාන is moderation: enjoy warmth and intimacy, but keep health in mind and avoid turning comfort into excess that leaves the body and mind dull.

ප්රදුයත්ප්රෞඪප්රියංගුද්යුතිභෘති විකසත්කුංදමාද්යද්ද්විරේඵේ
කාලේ ප්රාලේයවාතප්රචලවිලසිතෝදාරමංදාරධාම්නි ।
යේෂාං නෝ කංඨලග්නා ක්ෂණං අපි තුහිනක්ෂෝදදක්ෂා මෘගාක්ෂී
තේසාං ආයාමයාමා යමසදනසමා යාමිනී යාති යූනාම් ॥ 2.98 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
ප්රදුයත් - shining
ප්රෞඪ - full; intense
ප්රියංගු - the ප්රියංගු plant/flower
ද්යුතිඃ - radiance
භෘතිඃ - bearing
ප්රියංගුද්යුතිභෘති - bearing the radiance of ප්රියංගු
විකසත් - blooming
කුංද - කුංද flower
මාද්යත් - intoxicating; maddening
ද්විරේපඃ - bee ("two-drinker")
මාද්යද්ද්විරේපේ - where bees are intoxicated
කාලේ - in the season/time
ප්රාලේය - frost; snow
වාතඃ - wind
ප්රචල - moving; shaking
විලසිතං - play; swaying
ඕදාර - splendid
මංදාර - the මංදාර tree
ධාමන් - abode; region
මංදාරධාම්නි - in the region of මංදාර
ප්රාලේයවාතප්රචලවිලසිතෝදාරමංදාරධාම්නි - in the splendid මංදාර groves swaying in the frosty wind
යේෂාං - of those (for whom)
න - not
උ - indeed; even
නෝ - not indeed (poetic)
කංඨඃ - neck
ලග්නා - clinging
ක්ෂණං - a moment
අපි - even
තුහින - frost; snow
ක්ෂෝදඃ - rubbing; crushing
දක්ෂා - skilled
තුහිනක්ෂෝදදක්ෂා - skilled at rubbing away the cold
මෘගාක්ෂී - doe-eyed woman
තේසාං - for those
ආයාමඃ - long
යාමා - night (watch)
ආයාමයාමා - the long night
යම - Yama (lord of death)
සදනං - abode; house
සමා - like
යමසදනසමා - like Yama's abode
යාමිනී - night
යාති - goes; passes
යූනාං - for youths

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
In the season when blossoms glow, bees grow intoxicated, and splendid groves sway in the frosty wind - for those youths whose doe-eyed beloved, skilled at rubbing away the cold, does not cling to their neck even for a moment, the long night passes like death's abode.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse says absence is not abstract; it is felt in the body. Cold makes the need for warmth immediate, so separation feels harsher. In practical terms, loneliness often intensifies at night, in winter, or during quiet moments when there is no distraction. The practical අනුසංධාන is to not romanticize suffering: build support, routines, and honest connection, so that longing does not turn into despair.

චුංබංතෝ ගංඩභිත්තීරලකවති මුඛේ සීත්කෘතාන්යාදධානා
වක්ෂඃසූත්කංචුකේෂු ස්තනභරපුලකෝද්භේදං ආපාදයංතඃ ।
ඌරූනාකංපයංතඃ පෘථුජඝනතටාත්ස්රංසයංතෝऽංශුකානි
ව්යක්තං කාංතාජනානාං විටචරිතභෘතඃ ශෛශිරා වාංති වාතාඃ ॥ 2.99 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
චුංබංතඃ - kissing
ගංඩඃ - cheek
භිත්තිඃ - wall
ගංඩභිත්තී - cheek-walls
අලකඃ - curl; lock of hair
වති - possessing
අලකවතී - curly-haired
මුඛේ - on the face/mouth
සීත්කෘතානි - hissing sounds (made in passion)
ආදධානාඃ - producing; adopting
වක්ෂඃ - chest
උත්කංචුකඃ - tight bodice
සූත්කංචුකේෂු - in tight bodices
ස්තනඃ - breast
භරඃ - weight
පුලකඃ - goosebumps
උද්භේදඃ - rising; manifestation
ස්තනභරපුලකෝද්භේදං - making goosebumps rise on the breasts
ආපාදයංතඃ - causing; producing
ඌරූන් - thighs
ආකංපයංතඃ - making tremble
පෘථු - broad
ජගනං - hips
තටා - slope/bank
පෘථුජඝනතටා - the slope of broad hips
ත්ස්රංසයංතඃ - loosening; making slip down
අංශුකානි - garments
ත්ස්රංසයංතෝऽංශුකානි - loosening garments (sandhi)
ව්යක්තං - clearly
කාංතාජනානාං - of beloved women
විටඃ - libertine; gallant
චරිතං - behavior
භෘතඃ - bearing
විටචරිතභෘතඃ - bearing the behavior of a libertine
ශෛශිර - winter
ශෛශිරාඃ - the winter (winds)
වාංති - blow
වාතාඃ - winds

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Surely the winter winds, bearing the behavior of a libertine among beloved women, blow: kissing the cheek-walls of their curly-haired faces and making them hiss; causing goosebumps to rise on breasts within tight bodices; making thighs tremble; and loosening garments from broad hips.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
Bhartruhari uses playful personification: cold wind "flirts" by forcing closeness. In the way we live now, weather can change relationship dynamics too - winter makes people seek warmth, sit closer, and become more affectionate. The practical අනුසංධාන is to let such natural moods deepen tenderness, while keeping respect and consent central; intimacy grows when it is mutual, not forced.

කේශානාකුලයංදෘශෝ මුකුලයන්වාසෝ බලාදාක්ෂිපන්නාතන්වන්
පුලකෝද්ගමං ප්රකටයන්නාවේගකංපං ශනෛඃ ।
බාරං බාරං උදාරසීත්කෘතකෘතෝ දංතච්ඡදාන්පීඩයන්
ප්රායඃ ශෛශිර ඒෂ සංප්රති මරුත්කාංතාසු කාංතායතේ ॥ 2.100 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
කේශාන් - hair
ආකුලයන් - making disordered
දෘශඃ - the eyes
මුකුලයන් - closing (like a bud)
වාසඃ - garment
බලාත් - forcibly
ආක්ෂිපන් - pulling away
ආතන්වන් - producing
පුලක - goosebumps
උද්ගමඃ - arising
පුලකෝද්ගමං - arising of goosebumps
ප්රකටයන් - manifesting
ආවේගඃ - sudden impulse; rush
කංපඃ - trembling
ආවේගකංපං - trembling from a sudden rush
ශනෛඃ - slowly
බාරං බාරං - again and again
උදාර - strong; loud
සීත්කෘත - hissing sound
කෘතඃ - making
උදාරසීත්කෘතකෘතඃ - making loud hissing sounds
දංත - teeth
ච්ඡදඃ - covering (lip)
දංතච්ඡදාන් - the lips
පීඩයන් - pressing; biting
ප්රායඃ - as if; almost
ශෛශිර - winter (cold season)
ඒෂඃ - this
සංප්රති - now
මරුත් - wind
කාංතාසු - among beloved women
කාංතායතේ - behaves like a lover; becomes "beloved-like"

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
Now this winter wind behaves like a lover among women: it dishevels hair, closes eyes, snatches clothes by force, brings out goosebumps and tremors; again and again it makes loud hissing sounds and makes them bite their lips.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse shows Bhartruhari's eye for embodied detail: emotion is not only in the mind, it is in skin, breath, and reflex. At home and at work, we can notice how environment shapes behavior - cold makes people hold one another tighter, heat makes people restless, music changes posture and mood. The practical අනුසංධාන is to be mindful of these forces so you can respond consciously instead of being pushed unconsciously.

යද්යස්ය නාස්ති රුචිරං තස්මිංස්තස්ය ස්පෘහා මනෝජ්ඤේऽපි ।
රමණීයේऽපි සුධාංශෞ න මනඃකාමඃ සරෝජින්යාඃ ॥ 2.101 ॥

ඡංදඃ (මාත්රා-චංදස්): This is in a මාත්රා-based Chandas/Meter (not a fixed අක්ෂර-count වෘත්ත): in this verse, the written segments carry approximately 30 + 28 මාත්රාඃ (total 58); treat ලඝු=1 මාත්රා and ගුරු=2 මාත්රාඃ, and keep the natural pauses at the segment ends marked by `।`/`॥` (do not confuse දංඩ with internal යති).

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
යදි - if
අස්ය - of him; of a person
න - not
අස්ති - is
රුචිරං - liking; taste; attraction
තස්මින් - in that
තස්ය - of him
ස්පෘහා - longing; desire
මනෝජ්ඤේ - in what is pleasing/beautiful
අපි - even (verse: මනෝජ්ඤේऽපි = මනෝජ්ඤේ + අපි)
රමණීයේ - in what is delightful
අපි - even (verse: රමණීයේऽපි = රමණීයේ + අපි)
සුධා - nectar
අංශුඃ - ray
සුධාංශුඃ - the nectar-rayed one (the moon)
සුධාංශෞ - in the moon
න - not
මනඃ - mind
කාමඃ - desire
මනඃකාමඃ - desire of the mind
සරෝජිනි - lotus (water-lily)
සරෝජින්යාඃ - of the lotus

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
If a person has no liking for something, then there is no longing for it, even if it is beautiful. Even though the moon is lovely, the lotus has no desire for it.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
The verse is a reminder that attraction depends on රුචි (inner taste), not only on objective beauty. These days, we see this when a job, a lifestyle, or even a relationship that looks "perfect" from the outside does not pull us inwardly - and forcing ourselves usually creates resentment. The practical අනුසංධාන is to respect genuine inclination: choose environments and commitments that align with your nature, and allow others to have different tastes without judging them.

If you want this verse to uplift you: Treat desire as a signal, not a verdict. Attraction shows what the mind likes, but it does not decide what is right. Pause and ask: will this increase trust or reduce it; will it make tomorrow lighter or heavier? That small pause is විවේක (discernment). When you choose transparency and boundaries early, love stays dignified and does not turn into compulsion.

වෛරාග්යේ සංචරත්යේකෝ නීතෞ භ්රමති චාපරඃ ।
ශෘංගාරේ රමතේ කශ්චිද්භුවි භේදාඃ පරස්පරම් ॥ 2.102 ॥

Meaning (පදාර්ථ):
වෛරාග්යේ - in dispassion; renunciation
සංචරති - moves about; lives
ඒකඃ - one person
නීතෞ - in නීති (ethics/practical wisdom)
භ්රමති - wanders
ච - and
අපරඃ - another
ශෘංගාරේ - in love/romance (ශෘංගාර)
රමතේ - delights
කශ්චිත් - someone
භුවි - on earth
භේදාඃ - differences
පරස්පරං - among one another

Translation (භාවාර්ථ):
One lives in renunciation, another wanders in practical ethics, and someone else delights in romance; on earth, people differ from one another.

Commentary (අනුසංධාන):
This is a calm closing: human minds are not uniform. When you look around today, this means we should not force one template on everyone - some value solitude and simplicity, some value duty and strategy, and some value relationship and beauty. The practical අනුසංධාන is to discern your own stage and temperament, and to relate to others with respect rather than comparison. When we stop demanding sameness, we cooperate better and suffer less.

Browse Related Categories: