Two Poems from Bhartrihari (Sanskrit)
What haven’t we done for the sake of this life
as light as water on a lotus leaf?
All discrimination lost –
we shamelessly parade the fault
of praising our virtues before the rich,
their senseless minds maddened by wealth.
Happy are those who live in mountain caves
and contemplate the light of heaven. Birds
perch lightly on their lap and do not fear
to drink their blissful tears.
But we who while away our time in play
and sex, furnishing our pleasure gardens with
fantastic palaces and pools, put out
the light which lives within us.
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