Devanagari
योपयाति शनैर्माया योषिद्देवविनिर्मिता ।
तामीक्षेतात्मनो मृत्युं तृणै: कूपमिवावृतम् ॥ ४० ॥
Verse text
yopayāti śanair māyā
yoṣid deva-vinirmitā
tām īkṣetātmano mṛtyuṁ
tṛṇaiḥ kūpam ivāvṛtam
Synonyms
yā
—
she who
;
upayāti
—
approaches
;
śanaiḥ
—
slowly
;
māyā
—
representation of māyā
;
yoṣit
—
woman
;
deva
—
by the Lord
;
vinirmitā
—
created
;
tām
—
her
;
īkṣeta
—
one must regard
;
ātmanaḥ
—
of the soul
;
mṛtyum
—
death
;
tṛṇaiḥ
—
with grass
;
kūpam
—
a well
;
iva
—
like
;
āvṛtam
—
covered .
Translation
The woman, created by the Lord, is the representation of māyā, and one who associates with such māyā by accepting services must certainly know that this is the way of death, just like a blind well covered with grass.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Māyā in the form of a woman, created by the Lord, approaches the man gently. One should see her as death, like a well covered with grass.
Knowing a person’s detachment, the woman shows off her own lack of desire, and approaches him in the guise of service. She then becomes a source of disturbance. Īkṣet stands for īkṣeta (one must see). Concerning a well covered with grass, the well is thinking, “Let men fall into me!” Therefore no one should even go near that blind well. Whether one is completely indifferent, having bhakti, jṣāna or vairāgya, whether one is unconscious from madness or sleeping, or even dead, one should avoid women completely. That is the implication of the blind well.
Purport
Sometimes it happens that a rejected well is covered by grass, and an unwary traveler who does not know of the existence of the well falls down, and his death is assured. Similarly, association with a woman begins when one accepts service from her, because woman is especially created by the Lord to give service to man. By accepting her service, a man is entrapped. If he is not intelligent enough to know that she is the gateway to hellish life, he may indulge in her association very liberally. This is restricted for those who aspire to ascend to the transcendental platform. Even fifty years ago in Hindu society, such association was restricted. A wife could not see her husband during the daytime. Householders even had different residential quarters. The internal quarters of a residential house were for the woman, and the external quarters were for the man. Acceptance of service rendered by a woman may appear very pleasing, but one should be very cautious in accepting such service because it is clearly said that woman is the gateway to death, or forgetfulness of one’s self. She blocks the path of spiritual realization.