Living

Epigram XLVIII

by Bhartrihari traditionally 5th–7th century AD

Translated by Paul Elmer More (1898) · From A Century of Indian Epigrams (1898)

Living

An old man bald as a copper pot,
Because one noon his head grew hot,
Crawled to a spreading bilva-tree
To seek the shade. By Fate's decree
A fruit just then came tumbling down,
And cracked the old man's brittle crown
With loud explosion — which was worse.
Ill dogs us everywhere when Fate's averse.

MLA

Bhartrihari. “Epigram XLVIII.” Translated by Paul Elmer More. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/bhartrihari/46/.

Chicago

Bhartrihari. “Epigram XLVIII.” Translated by Paul Elmer More. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/bhartrihari/46/.

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