Words Well Worth 53: In This Vain World Poem by Aniruddha Pathak

In this world, vacuous, all so vain,
A sole thing of substance seems just one—
Doe-eyed damsel to date!
If I wish wealth for that,
What if no charity's ever done?
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Transliteration of the subhāśhita along with the meanings of Sanskrit words is given as under:

a-sāra eśhah samsārah sāram sāranga-lochanāh |
tat artham dhanam ichċhanti na tyāgena dhanena kim ||

a-sāra: meaningless, of no substance, illusive, vain
eśhah: this
samsārah: phenomenal world, creation of God, the wheel of life
sāram: (the only)meaningful thing, a thing of substance
sāranga-lochanāh: (is)a beautiful woman, a doe-eyed damsel
tat: to that
artham: purpose, end
dhanam: wealth, money
ichċhanti: (people)want/wish to have
na tyāgena: by not sacrificed, forsaken, given off
dhanena: by the wealth
kim: what, of what avail

This is another verse on the same theme, on living life happily.

Topic: life, happy, money