काम एष नरेन्द्राणां मोघ: स्याद् विदुषामपि । येन फेनोपमे पिण्डे येऽतिविश्रम्भिता नृपा: ॥ २ ॥
kāma eṣa narendrāṇāṁ moghaḥ syād viduṣām api yena phenopame piṇḍe ye ’ti-viśrambhitā nṛpāḥ
- kāmaḥ
- lust
- eṣaḥ
- this
- nara-indrāṇām
- of the rulers of men
- moghaḥ
- the failure
- syāt
- becomes
- viduṣām
- who are wise
- api
- even
- yena
- by which (lust)
- phena-upame
- comparable to ephemeral bubbles
- piṇḍe
- in this lump
- ye
- who
- ati-viśrambhitāḥ
- perfectly trusting
- nṛpāḥ
- the kings
“Great rulers of men, even those who are learned, meet frustration and failure because of material lust. Driven by lust, these kings place great hope and faith in the dead lump of flesh called the body, even though the material frame is as fleeting as bubbles of foam on water.