वैराग्य शतक

( ४ )

It is perhaps superfluous to add that every one of the ślokas of the Niti, Vairagya and Shringar Shatakas, compiled by MAHARAJA BHATRIHARI is worth lacs of Rupees. His slokas have a peculiar charm which no other author's slokas have. It is impossible to describe the unspeakable pleasure it produces in the minds of its readers. The pleasure can better be imagined than described. I request every literate person to read it once or twice every week, so that he may think about the transitoriness of the world, and give up worldly desires and may fix his mind in the meditation of the Supreme Being and may devote his life and time in philanthropic and benevolent works.

There are lots of translations of VAIRAGYA SHATAK, but the translators seem not to have taken sufficient pains to explain the deep philosophy underlying its slokas. The present work has been undertaken with the sole object of making it easy to be understood by ordinary literate people and hence it is that its language has been made as easy as possible. The purport has been taken into consideration and not the meanings of the words only and in order to make it as easy as possible, free translation has been made and not literal.