काममाश्रित्य दुष्पूरं दम्भमानमदान्विताः ।मोहाद्गृहीत्वासद्ग्राहान्प्रवर्तन्तेऽशुचिव्रताः ॥
kāmam āśritya duṣpūraṃ dambhamānamadānvitāḥ |mohād gṛhītvāsadgrāhān pravartante 'śucivratāḥ ||
- कामम् · kāmam
- desire
- आश्रित्य · āśritya
- taking refuge in
- दुष्पूरम् · duṣpūram
- insatiable
- दम्भमानमदान्विताः · dambhamānamadānvitāḥ
- filled with hypocrisy, pride, and conceit
- मोहात् · mohāt
- from delusion
- गृहीत्वा · gṛhītvā
- having seized
- असद्ग्राहान् · asadgrāhān
- false notions
- प्रवर्तन्ते · pravartante
- they proceed, act
- अशुचिव्रताः · aśucivratāḥ
- of impure vows, foul practices
“Sheltering in insatiable craving, stuffed with hypocrisy, pride, and conceit, they clutch false notions from delusion and act with foul resolve.”
— Original plain-language translation
Craving becomes their fortress — the word for refuge, elsewhere used for God, is bitterly inverted here. Delusion supplies the slogans; pride supplies the energy. The verse shows how vice organizes itself into a way of life.
— Reader's notes (original)