Bhartrhari: The Three Stages of Life Through Poetry
The poetry of Bhartrhari is not merely literature; it is a life lived, felt, broken, understood, and finally transcended. Few poets in world literature have left behind a body of work that mirrors the full arc of human experience so completely.
His three famous collections — Śṛṅgāra Śataka, Nīti Śataka, and Vairāgya Śataka — are not separate books. They are three stages of a soul’s journey.
They are the story of how a human being matures.
Love → Wisdom → Renunciation.
The First Stage: Falling in Love with Life
Śṛṅgāra Śataka — The Poetry of Attraction
Every life begins in fascination.
The world appears radiant.
People appear beautiful.
Emotions feel intense and real.
Bhartrhari’s love poems are tender and observant. They capture the tiny gestures that begin great attachments — a smile, a glance, a soft word. Love transforms perception itself. When the heart is touched, the entire world glows.
Yet even in these verses, a subtle truth peeks through: love brings both joy and restlessness. The beloved becomes heaven in union and hell in separation. The heart learns its first lesson — happiness tied to circumstances is fragile.
The poet has not yet renounced.
But the seeds of questioning have been planted.
The Second Stage: Understanding the World
Nīti Śataka — The Poetry of Wisdom
After fascination comes experience.
Life teaches:
Who stays and who leaves
What lasts and what fades
What is real and what is appearance
In this phase, Bhartrhari becomes practical and sharp. He speaks of friendship, character, knowledge, and human nature. He reminds us that learning is the greatest wealth, that company shapes destiny, and that adversity reveals truth.
This is the stage where illusions begin to thin.
The young lover becomes a thoughtful observer of society.
The heart is still engaged with the world — but now the eyes are open.
Here, Bhartrhari teaches a quiet but powerful truth:
Wisdom is born when experience meets reflection.
The Third Stage: Rising Above the World
Vairāgya Śataka — The Poetry of Awakening
Finally comes the most profound stage: disillusionment that becomes illumination.
Bhartrhari does not reject life out of bitterness. He renounces it after understanding it deeply. Having tasted pleasure, power, and attachment, he sees their limitations.
His famous insight echoes across centuries:
We believe we enjoy pleasures —
but slowly we discover that pleasures consume us.
Time does not pass; we pass.
Desire does not age; we age.
These are not pessimistic thoughts. They are liberating ones. When the illusion of permanence dissolves, the search for the eternal begins.
The restless lover becomes the contemplative sage.
The worldly king becomes the inward yogi.
The Hidden Unity of the Three Śatakas
It is tempting to see the three collections as separate moods. But they are deeply connected.
Śṛṅgāra without Nīti becomes obsession.
Nīti without Vairāgya becomes dry intellect.
Vairāgya without Śṛṅgāra becomes lifeless renunciation.
Bhartrhari shows that all three are necessary.
To renounce meaningfully, one must first love deeply.
To love wisely, one must understand life.
To understand life fully, one must eventually transcend it.
This is the rhythm of spiritual maturation.
Why Bhartrhari Speaks to Us Today
Modern life often moves fast but rarely moves deep.
We experience the first stage intensely — love, ambition, achievement.
We sometimes reach the second stage — learning and discernment.
But the third stage — reflection and detachment — often waits quietly in the background.
Bhartrhari invites us to pause and see the larger arc of existence.
His poetry whispers:
Enjoy the world, but do not lose yourself in it.
Learn from life, but do not become hardened by it.
Rise above attachment, but do not become cold to beauty.
The Journey Continues
Bhartrhari’s work ends in stillness, not sadness.
After love and wisdom comes peace.
His life and poetry reassure us that every stage of life has meaning — even disillusionment. In fact, disillusionment may be the doorway to truth.
For the soul that seeks,
love becomes wisdom,
and wisdom becomes freedom.
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