Entry 009 · 13 verses to return to
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भोगा न भुक्ता भुक्ताः
न तप्तं तप्ताः।
न यातो याताः
तृष्णा न जीर्णा जीर्णाः॥
Bhartrihari, Vairagyashataka · verse numbering varies by edition
What it means
It is not pleasures we have consumed, but we who have been consumed. Time stays; it is we who move through it. Desire has not grown old; we have.
A reflection
Every line changes who is acting.
Each line begins with an ordinary claim, then reverses it: we do not simply consume pleasure, outlast time, or outgrow desire. The verse makes us the ones being changed, spent, and carried along. Its repetition gives that reversal a slow, unavoidable weight.