This form is completely worn out, a nest of diseases, fragile; this heap of putrefaction breaks apart, for life has death as its end.

Parijiṇṇamidaṃ rūpaṃ — this form is completely worn out: parijiṇṇa is worn out, aged, deteriorated. Rūpa is material form, the body. The aging process is not something that happens to the body; it is what the body is — a continuous process of change and deterioration.

Roganīḷaṃ pabhaṅguraṃ — a nest of diseases, fragile: roganīḷa is literally “nest of diseases.” The body does not harbor diseases occasionally — it incubates them constantly. Pabhaṅgura is what breaks easily, what is fragile.

Bhijjati pūtisandeho — this heap of putrefaction breaks apart: pūtisandeha is literally “accumulation of putrefaction.” The terminology does not seek repulsion for its own sake but the rupture of the illusion of permanent beauty that the body projects.

Maraṇantañhi jīvitaṃ — for life has death as its end: maraṇa-anta — the end of life is death. This simple and direct statement is the axis around which the entire vagga on old age turns.