15. You can have no rest at the abode of the vile people in yonder village, which is mostly peopled by the Pamara villains; thirst is not appeased, but increased by a beverage of briny water. (So it is said:—The unquenchable appetite of the greedy, is never quenched by nourishment, but it nourishes it the more, as the fuel and butter serve to kindle and feed the fire).
16. These huts and hamlets shelter the cowardly cow-herds (Pallava Gopas) under them, and them that are afraid to walk in the paths of men, as the timid deer are averse to rove beyond their own track. (So these solitary swains are as the savage beasts of the forests).
17. They have no stir or agitation of reason, nor any flash of understanding or mental faculties in them; they are not afraid of or averse to base actions, but remain and move on as stone-mills and wheels:—
18. Their manliness consists in the emotions of their passions and affections, and in exhibitions of the signs of their cupidity and aversion, and they delight mostly in actions, that appear pleasant at the time being or present moment. (They are occupied with the present only, being forgetful of the past and careless of the future).
19. As there is no appearance of a body of rainy clouds, over the dry and parched lands of the desert, so there is no shadow of pure and cooling knowledge ever stretched out on the minds of these people. (i.e. They have never come under the benign influence of civilization).
20. Rather dwell in a dark cave as a snake, or remain as a blind worm in the bosom of a stone; or limp about as a lame stag in the barren desert, than mix in company of these village people.
21. These rude rustics resemble the potions of poison, that are mixed with honey; they are sweet to taste for a moment, but prove deadly at last. (Such are the robbers of deserts and woods).
22. Again these villainous villagers are as rude as the rough winds, which are blowing with gusts of dust amidst the shattered huts, built with grassy turfs and tufts of the dried leaves of trees. (The word trina means straw also or a straw built hut).
23. Being thus spoken unto by me, the traveller felt himself as glad, as if he was bathed in ambrosial showers.
24. The passenger said:—Who art thou sir, with thy magnanimous soul, that seemest to me to be full and perfect in thyself, and full of Divine spirit in thy soul. Thou lookest at the hustle of the bustle of the world, as a passer is unconcerned with the commotion of the villages beside his way.