वैराग्यशतकम् - आशा - 1

आशा नाम नदी मनोरथजला तृष्णातरङ्गाकुला
रागग्राहवती वितर्कविहगा धैर्यद्रुमध्वंसिनी।
मोहावर्तसुदुस्तरातिगमना प्रोत्तुङ्गचिन्तातटी
यस्याः पारगता विशुद्धमनसः नन्दन्ति योगीश्वराः॥१०॥

āśā nāma nadī manorathajalā tṛṣṇātaraṅgākulā
rāgagrāhavatī vitarkavihagā dhairyadrumadhvaṁsinī|
mohāvartasudustarātigamanā prottuṅgacintātaṭī
yasyāḥ pāragatā viśuddhamanasaḥ nandanti yogīśvarāḥ||

This sloka is one of the many that I must have read atleast a thousand times. The imagery is beautiful comparing hope to a flowing river.

आशा नाम नदी मनोरथजला - आशा can be translated as hope or wish. Both have the same result. It is like flowing river with desire as the ever present water. Water takes the name of river only when it is ever present and flowing, like desire the ever present underlying element for hope.

तृष्णातरङ्गाकुला - तृष्णा or thirst is like the waves that surface now and then. Keen longing is present but surfaces now and then, hence compared to waves.

रागग्राहवती - attachment to objects is like the animals of prey, crocodile etc that pull one inside the river of hope.

वितर्कविहगा - thoughts of doubt and uncertainty are like the aquatic birds which abound the river.

धैर्यद्रुमध्वंसिनी - a very beautiful comparison. द्रुम tree is extremely strong and rooted to the ground but near a river, it can very easily be uprooted. Thus by nature courage or dhairya a strong quality, even that is destroyed by desire.

मोहावर्तसुदुस्तरातिगहना - ignorance is like a whirlpool, once caught in it, one cannot come out easily. The ignorance here is the cycle of birth and death which keeps going round and round like a whirlpool. Hence सुदुस्तर, very tough to cross and अतिगहना, very deep.

प्रोत्तुङ्गचिन्तातटी - Now all of the above may not seem so miserable, if deliberation and discrimination was possible. But, the banks of deliberation are very high.

विशुद्धमनसः - the pure-minded
तस्याः पारगता - who have crossed this river of hope
योगीश्वराः नन्दन्ति - such yogis enjoy supreme felicity.

{Ref. Translation by Swami Madhavananda}

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