ādiśaṅkaraviracita bhajagovindaṃ stotram
aṅgaṃ galitaṃ palitaṃ muṇḍaṃ
daśanavihīnaṃ jātaṃ tuṇḍam
vṛddho yāti gṛhītvā daṇḍaṃ
tadapi na muñcatyāśāpiṇḍam
agre vahniḥ pṛṣṭe bhānū
rātrau cubakasamarpitajānuḥ
karatalabhikṣastarutalavāsa
stadapi na muṅcatyāśāpāśaḥ
aṅgaṃ galitaṃ palitaṃ muṇḍaṃ - His limbs are shrunken, his head has turned grey,
daśanavihīnaṃ jātaṃ tuṇḍam - his mouth has gone toothless,
vṛddho yāti gṛhītvā daṇḍaṃ - the old man moves holding a walking stick,
tadapi na muñcatyāśāpiṇḍam - but (alas), even then, he doesn't let go of (the food parcel of) desires.
agre vahniḥ pṛṣṭe bhānuḥ - In his front is the sacrificial fire, on his back beats the hot sun, (i.e. he practises severe austerities),
rātrau cubakasamarpitajānuḥ - at night he sits with his knees buckled under his chin (foregoing sleep),
karatalabhikṣaḥ tarutalavāsaḥ - he holds a begging bowl in his palm, he lives but under a tree;
tadapi na muṅcatyāśāpāśaḥ - and yet, alas, he is not freed from the bondage of his desires.
Bhajagovindam is described as the combined work of Adi Shankara and his disciples while camping at Kashi.
In the shlokas, he severely admonishes our worldly way of life clinging to desires and material hope , and our not realising the truth of life's impermanence and not resorting to prayer.
We grow old. We even practise austerities. Of what avail is it when we don't develop wisdom and detachment?
