किं पुनर्ब्राह्मणाः पुण्या भक्ता राजर्षयस्तथा ।अनित्यमसुखं लोकमिमं प्राप्य भजस्व माम् ॥
kiṃ punar brāhmaṇāḥ puṇyā bhaktā rājarṣayas tathā | anityam asukhaṃ lokam imaṃ prāpya bhajasva mām ||
- किम् पुनः · kim punaḥ
- how much more then
- ब्राह्मणाः पुण्याः · brāhmaṇāḥ puṇyāḥ
- holy brahmins
- भक्ताः · bhaktāḥ
- devoted
- राजर्षयः · rājarṣayaḥ
- royal sages
- तथा · tathā
- likewise
- अनित्यम् · anityam
- impermanent
- असुखम् · asukham
- joyless, unhappy
- लोकम् इमम् · lokam imam
- this world
- प्राप्य · prāpya
- having obtained
- भजस्व माम् · bhajasva mām
- worship me
“How much more, then, holy brahmins and devoted royal sages! Having come into this impermanent, joyless world — worship me.”
— Original plain-language translation
From the lowliest to the highest the argument runs: if refuge lifts the excluded, how much more the favored. The world is named plainly — fleeting and sorrowful. Given such a lodging, devotion is the only sensible reply.
— Reader's notes (original)