Text 33
yad asthibhir nirmita-vaṁśa-vaṁsya-
sthūṇaṁ tvacā roma-nakhaiḥ pinaddham
kṣaran-nava-dvāram agāram etad
viṇ-mūtra-pūrṇaṁ mad upaiti kānyā
yat — which; asthibhiḥ — with bones; nirmita — constructed; vaṁśa — the spine; vaṁśya — the ribs; sthūṇam — the bones in the hands and legs; tvacā — by skin; roma-nakhaiḥ — by hair and nails; pinaddham — covered; kṣarat — oozing; nava — nine; dvāram — doors; agāram — house; etat — this; viṭ — stool; mūtra — urine; pūrṇam — full of; mat — besides me; upaiti — devotes oneself to; kā — what woman; anyā — other.
This material body is like a house in which I, the soul, am living. The bones forming my spine, ribs, arms and legs are like the beams, crossbeams and pillars of the house, and the whole structure, which is full of stool and urine, is covered by skin, hair and nails. The nine doors leading into this body are constantly excreting foul substances. Besides me, what woman could be so foolish as to devote herself to this material body, thinking that she might find pleasure and love in this contraption?
The nine doors leading into and out of the body are the two eyes, the two nostrils, the mouth, the two ears, the genitals and the anus. Vaṁśa, or “spine,” also means “bamboo,” and indeed the skeleton appears to resemble a bamboo construction. Just as bamboo can be immediately burned to ashes or chopped into pieces, similarly, the material body, which is constantly deteriorating, may at any moment be crushed into powder, cut into pieces, drowned, burned, suffocated, and so on. Eventually the body must disintegrate, and therefore there is certainly no one as unfortunate as one who has dedicated himself heart and soul to this flimsy body, which is filled with unpleasant elements.