Slokas

|| || This is the ‘un-edited' collection of Kedar's postings of pratidinaM subhaashitaM on the sanskrit-digest mailing group archives. If you would like to edit and format these for posting on the sanskrit documents web site, please write to [email  protected] com. | Any good endeavour is begun be a prayer to Ganesh or Saraswati. Hence this second subhhaashita of ASAD' is dedicated to Saraswati : | || One who is as white as a garland of kunda flowers and waterdrops, who has worn white apparel, whose hand is placed on the stem of the vINA, who is sitting on a white lotus, and who is always worshipped by Gods such as Brahma, Achyuta (Vishnu) and Shankara, that Sarasvati, who completely steals (one's) lethargy may bless me ||. In this third verse of ASAD, learn three things from the donkey||. ? ? | | (He) carries loads without rest, is not deterred by the heat or cold, is always content these three things should be learnt from the donkey | | This subhaashita is a prayer to Shankara. It has a nice verbal composition | ? || Equipped with a spear(pinAka), snake(phaNi), the crescent of the moon(bAlendu), ashes and the ganga, may this idol composed from the ‘pa varga' (the consonants pa, pha, ba, bha, ma) lead us to heaven (apavarga). here is a riddle ) | ? || The apparent meaning : O Lotus eyed, I wish to drink water from you. If you give it to me, I do not want it, but if you dont give it, I shall drink it !!! (which obviously makes no sense||) The solution : the trick is in the word â€Å"dAsyasi† which has been interpreted above as the future tense form of the verb ‘dA' meaning to give. However it is correctly interpreted as the sandhi dAsi + asi Hence the second line actually means, if you are a dAsi, I dont want it, but if you are not a dAsi I shall drink it. Perhaps this goes back to the times where braAhmins would note accept even water if it was touched by untouchable dAsis|| | || (There are many verses that praise the effects of good company. However this is my favourite among them ) ? | || You cant even notice a hint of a drop of water fallen on hot iron. The same drop shines like a pearl on a lotus leaf. And in the ‘swati' nakShatra fallen inside a sea shell, it becomes a pearl ||Usually excellent, medium and bad states (of a person) are dependent on company. Again as Marathi speaking people will recognise, this is exactly identical to the following marathi verse : ? ! | || | (I think many people know this verse that praises knowledge) ? ? ? ? ? ? | || It cannot be stolen by thieves, cannot be taken away by the king, cannot be divided among brothers and does not cause a load. If spent, it always multiplies. The wealth of knowledge is the greatest among all wealths. ? ? | || When in combat against each other we are 5 and they are hundred. But when against others, we are a hundred and five ||. (obviously refers to Kauravas and Pandavas. I believe this is supposed to be said by Dharma. ) ? | || The wise man acquires knowldge and wealth as if he is never going to die. And he practices relegion as if he is tightly held in his hair by death. Here's another one I believe accredited to Kalidasa ? | || The birth of one lotus on another has neither been seen nor heard of. Little girl, how is it that on your lotus face there are these two lotuses ? (her eyes) One more subhashitam that starts with â€Å"kamale† | ? | || On the lotus sits Goddess Kamalaa (Laxmi), Hara (Lord Shiva) resides in the Himaalayaas. In the vortex of the churning ocean resides Hari (Lord VishNu), I know this precisely. = Brahma (seated on a lotus) = Vishnu (lotus eyed) = Shiva? (crowned by the enemy of the lotus (moon? )) = the sun (lit. husband of the lotus) = praised = praised ? May Laxmi, whose lotus like feet are praised by the trinity and the sun(? ) make me her lotus (ie, abode) your interpretation of kamalArikirITa is perfect. the moon is the enemy of the lotus because when the moon rises, the lotus closes itself. : = = to carry; = = carrier hence kamalabhRidvAha is the carrier of the carrier of a lotus, which is the cloud or the lord varuna. there is no special reason for using both stuta and nuta ||stuta means praised, and nuta means saluted|| however, the best part is â€Å"karotu me kamalaM† the word ka has many meanings. one among them is â€Å"evil†. â€Å"alaM† means enough. Hence k arotu me kaM alaM means may she end all my evil ||. | || As all the water fallen from the skies goes to the sea, similarly salutations to any God finally reach Keshava. | ? || Reactions to calamities should be considered well in advance. It is no good to start digging a well when the house is on fire ! | | = really = spring = sweet = it should actually be virauti : means cries. = beautiful = cha + Amra (Amra = mango) = petal = (is this correctly transliterated ? ) = intention overall meaning : the sweet crying of the cuckoo in spring has the intention of the â€Å"nikraika† of the beautiful mango petal || This shloka was poorly transliterated||please refer the following transliteration guidelines when transliterating sanskrit into English. This will result in others understanding your shlokas more easily ||and hence responding quicker||. | || What can a wicked person do to someone who has the weapon of fogivance in his hands ? Fire fallen on ground without any grass extinguishes by itself. | : ? | || forgivance is the strength of the weak. forgivance is the ornament of the mighty. f the world is conquered by forgivance, what cannot be accomplished by forgivance ? | : ? | || forgivance is the strength of the weak. forgivance is the ornament of the mighty. if the world is conquered by forgivance, what cannot be accomplished by forgivance ? wrong in the first half of second line of the above verse itself ! Even to get the meaning â€Å"In the world, forgivance has the power of conquering†, the words look odd |||Does â€Å"vashikrute† give th is meaning ? = conquered. vashI+kRi = to conquer = conquered. ShamAvashIkRite loke is a â€Å"sati saptami† usage. it is to be interpreted as yadA lokaH kShamAvashIkRitaH tada (when the world is conquered by forgivance) In the sati saptami usage, the saptami vibhaki is used to denote the temporal relationship between two successive events so basically it means, even when the world can be conquered by forgivance, what else remains | || Laxmi resides at the tip of the hand, sarasvati in the middle, Govinda at the root. Hence one should take â€Å"darshan† of one's hand in the morning. | || If I rememeber the sloka it is â€Å"karamule tu gouricha† it's not govondaH. Laxmi resides at the tip of the hand, sarasvati in the middle, Gouri(Parvati) at the root. Hence one should take â€Å"darshan† of one's hand in the morning. Hi Padma. glad to see you on the list. you are probably right about â€Å"karamUle tu gauri cha† this makes a more consistent subhaashita but sometimes there are more than one versions of a subhaashita in existence with small differences and both of them are â€Å"correct† again, gauri makes a better paaTh than govindaH |||| hanks ! kedar (fwd) Thanks for the sholka. This shoka about Kshama and the line of thinking. and other features that go with it were adopted by Gandhiji for our freedom. There was the other group (jahal) who asked questions like what should be done for the person who is determined to kill you regardless of what you are thinking. Examples were given from the 2nd war and how a cretain group of people was removed by force etc. So the jahals justified their line of thinking. | || If I rememeber the sloka it is â€Å"karamule tu gouricha† it's not govondaH. Laxmi resides at the tip of the hand, sarasvati in the middle, Gouri(Parvati) at the root. Hence one should take â€Å"darshan† of one's hand in the morning. Hi Padma. glad to see you on the list. you are probably right about â€Å"karamUle tu gauri cha† this makes a more consistent subhaashita but sometimes there are more than one versions of a subhaashita in existence with small differences and both of them are â€Å"correct† again, gauri makes a better paaTh than govindaH |||| I have come across â€Å"karamulethu govinda† in my child hood. ecently I heard even the other one † karamu lethu gauri cha†. So obviously the subhashitham was subjected to changes as time passed , We cannot argue which is correct as we don't know the exact source of this work||Let us accept both, as both are having good meanings. | â€Å"At the top of the hand resides Laxmi. | I n the middle of the hand resides Sarasvati. | At the bottom of the hand resides Brahma. | In the morning, the sight of the hands | (is auspicious). | â€Å"O goddess with the mantle of oceans. | adorned with the breasts of mountains. | O the consort of Vishnu, salutations to thee! | pardon me for touching thee with my feet. † Note: The above prayers are generally recited as soon as one gets up from the bed. In the first sloka, Laxmi stands for spiritual wealth, Sarasvati for spiritual knowledge and Brahma for spiritual wisdom. According to the Hindu mythology, God Vishnu has two wives, Sri Devi (Laxmi) and Bhoomi Devi (Earth). They are supposed to be residing on His chest. For defiling the Earth with our feet and also with our body fluids, we beseech Her pardon. This concludes the Earth Day specials. | || The crow is black, and the cuckoo is black. What is the difference between the two ? It is when spring arrives that the crow is identified as the crow, and the cuckoo, the cuckoo. | , || Poets say that the heart of a good man is like butter, but that is not correct. The heat (frustration/sorrow/ etc. ) residing in another body does not melt butter, but it does melt the good man. I do not know whether the following two verses were indeed like a sawaal jawaab, but it definitely seems so | || | || The first verse : What is so strange about women tying glass, beads and gold all on one thread ? Even the great thinker paNini tied the dog, the youth and Indra on the same string ||(pun on the word suutra) The second verse : Gautam's wife was forcibly molested by the youth Indra. (who acted) like a dog. the great thinker pAnini tied the dog, the youth and Indra on the same string ||. I guess I should have clarified. the three words : shvA (dog) yuvA (youth) and maghavA (indra) belong to the same grammatical class ||they are declined identically, and there is a suutra (rule) in Panini's grammar that ties them together. ||. hence the pun on suutra||. | || The penniless man wishes for a hundred, the onw who has hundred wants a thousand, the one with a thousand , a lakh. The one with a lakh wants to be the king, the king wants to be the emperor, and the emperor wants to be Indra (king of Gods), Indra want's brahma's position, brahma shiva's and shiva viShNu's |||who has ever been able to kill desire ? | ? ? || Whether the philosophers prais e him or criticize, whether lakShmi enters the house or goes away as she wishes, whether death is today itself or after an eon, great men never step a foot away from the path of justice. for marathi readers : | ? || Hi. Padma pointed out a typo I had made. Instead of paJNcha, I had just written paJNa |||The corrected shloka is as follows : | ? || ive mouthed himself(Shiva), and sons the elephant mouth (Ganesh) and the one with six mouths (Kartikeya) ||how would shiva survive if Annapurna (Parvati) was not at home ? | || Himself the great lord, his father in law the king of mountains, his friend the king of wealth, his and his son the lord of the gaNas. even then roaming around begging for food is shiva's destiny only god's wish is powerful ||. ? | ? || O cloud, you roar, but do not give water. I, the chatak bird am thirsty. If fatefully the southern winds blow here, where shall you be , where shall I be and where shall it rain ? ! | || O chatak, my friend, listen for a moment with an alert mind. there are many clouds in the sky, not all of them are alike. Some wet the earth by their showers, whereas some just roar. Dont beg pitifully in front of each and every one you come across ! | || The night shall go away and it shall be dawn. The sun will rise and the lotus will smile ! While the bumblebee trapped in the lotus was thinking this, Alas ! an elephant uprooted the lotus ! I believe this is the first piece of verse in Sanskrit ; composed by Valmiki | || O niShaada, you will not come to glory till the end of eternity. or you have killed one from a pair of krauncha birds, enraptured in love. This is the first shloka in Ramayana as Krishna told me some time ago. As the mea ning indicates, Valmiki was inspired to write this shloka when he saw a hunter shooting one of two krauncha birds who were engaged in rati. I believe this is the first piece of verse in Sanskrit ; composed by Valmiki | || O niShaada, you will not come to glory till the end of eternity. for you have killed one from a pair of krauncha birds, enraptured in love. This is the first shloka in Ramayana as Krishna told me some time ago. As the meaning indicates, Valmiki was inspired to write this shloka when he saw a hunter shooting one of two krauncha birds who were engaged in rati. This was one of the first shlokas that I learned in my Sanskrit class in the 5th grade, and all the info below is based on what I learned then. most of the people on this net may already be familiar with the significance of this shloka. ever composed by aadikavi (first poet) vaalmiiki. He was in a peaceful state of mind (either meditating or taking a walk) when this niShaada (hunter) killed the male krauncha (swan? . vaalmiiki got angry with the actions of the hunter and this shloka came out of his mouth. After vaalmiiki emerged out of his rage, he realized that he had gone out of the state of equanimity and cursed the hunter out. It was then that someone else (naarada? ) appeared and told him that he had uttered the first piece of poetry and explained to him that th ere was a second meaning behind the shloka. I don't remember what the other interpretation of this shloka is except that the hunter is raama and the krauncha(s) are raavaNa and mandodarii, and that raama kills raavaNa. I don't remember what the second interpretation of the shraapa (curse) is when applied to raama. So this is how the shloka fits into the raamayaNa. ? | || No one knows what will happen to whom tomorrow. So a wise man should do all of tomorrow's tasks today. ( ||||) tomorrow = day after tomorrow = 2 days after tomorrow = yesterday = day before yesterday = 2 days before yesterday = ? | ? || Inferior men do not start (any endeavor) with the fear of obstructions. Average men , stop an endeavor when they are faced with problems. However. even though they are struck again and again by disaster, superior men never give up an endeavor that they have undertaken. | ? || The lion, even when a cub, attacks jumps upon the cheek of an intoxicated elephant. It is indeed the nature of the courageous : the age of the glorious ones is never relevant. nd for the marathi crowd, here's a marathi translation : | || â€Å" † | | || a~Nkura means the first sprout. yathA bIjastathA~NkuraH is a very famous proverb. it basically means as you sow, so you reap ||. ? ? | ? ? | || ? ? | ? || As two logs of wood come together in the ocean, and immediately go away from each other, so much alike is mankind ||. and for the marathi people, another translation : this one from the geeta rAmaayana by madgulkar in the song â€Å" . † : . | || One should not steal anything belonging to anyone, should not utter a sensitive sentence, should remember (bow down to) Vishnu's feet, and thus swim the ocean of life with ease. This ASAD is a small tribute to my sanskrit teacher, Shri Vasant Nanivadekar. He resides in Bombay, and is very well versed with the sanskrit classics as well as conversational sanskrit. He is an active â€Å"kAryakartA† in many sanskrit related projects and activities in Bombay. Above all, along with my mother he is the one who has introduced me to this great world of Sanskrit verse and literature. What follows is his translation of Tennyson's â€Å"Home they brought her warrior dead† into sanskrit verse. ? ? ? ? | || Home they brought her warrior dead She nor swooned nor uttered cry All her maidens watching said â€Å"She must weep or she will die. † | || Then they praised him soft and low Called him worthy to be loved Truest friend and noblest foe Yet she neither spoke, nor moved. ? Stole a maiden from her place Lightly to the warrior stept Took the face cloth from the face Yet she neither mov ed, nor wept. , ! Rose a nurse of nintey years Set his child upon her knee Like summer tempest came her tears â€Å"Sweet my child, I live for thee ! † There were two errors in the first paragraph in my earlier posting. This is the corrected version : ? ? ? ? | || | ? || The man without (love of) literature music or the arts is indeed an animal without a tail or horns. The fact that he survives even without eating grass is indeed a great piece of luck for the other animals. This one is similar to ASAD[32] in meaning : ? ? ? ? ? ? | || Those who do not have learning, perseverence, are not charitable, do not have wisdom, character, good qualities or relegion, are indeed a burden to on the earth in the mortal world, and live as animals in the form of man. | || The teachers who distribute knowledge among the students after getting it from their gurus, and who are storehouses of love and knowledge , are indeed like God to me. | || peed is the ornament of the horse, the intoxicated state is the ornament of the elephant. Cleverness is the ornament of a woman, and industriousness is the ornament of a man. | || I bow to you, O Sarasvati who is the giver of boons and giver of knowledge. Give me untainted wisdom and be pleased and all endowing (to me) | || In the boundless world of poetry, PrajApati (Brahma) is the only one poet. He changes the universe as and when he thinks best || | ? || The ink may be like a black mountain, the sea may be the inkpot, A branch of the tree of gods (kalpataru / mandAra ||. I believe there are five of them) may be used as a pen, and the whole earth be used as the paper. If even Sharada (Goddess Sarasvati) writes for all the time using all this material, even then, O lord, she will not come to the end of describing your good qualities. | || I haven't heard this one before, so the following may be off the mark to some extent Giving, return of courtesy, sharing secrets, asking [for one's welfare? ] eating [with one? ] , feeding, these are six characteristics of love. Need meaning of subhaaShita | || I believe this may be originally in some Purana; it's in Pancha tantra as well as in UpadeSaamRita of Ruupa Goswami. â€Å"Six symptoms of affection are giving, receiving, explaining in confidence and enquiring, accepting food and feeding. † Henry Groover (Agraahya daasa) | || I haven't heard this one before, so the following may be off the mark to some extent Giving, return of courtesy, sharing secrets, asking [for one's welfare? ] eating [with one? ] , feeding, these are six characteristics of love. you are almost right. here is the accurate meaning : gives, takes, tells and asks secrets, eats (from you) and feeds (you) are the six characteristics of love |||(friendship would perhaps be more approp riate here ||) | || When the money is gone (become poor), the hunger increases At the time of trouble, the enemities crop up when you are divided (without unity), problems become plenty. I do not know the meaning of â€Å"abhIkShNaM†. The meaning of first line depends upon this word. I think â€Å"samud. hbhada. nti† should be â€Å"samud. hbhava. nti†. Basically, the Subhaashita is trying to tell us that problems crop up only when you are devoid of the solution ! (Murphy's law ? ) I do not know the meaning of â€Å"abhIkShNaM†. The meaning of first line depends upon this word. Dictionary gives the meaning of abhiikShNam as â€Å"every moment†; it fits here, but is somewhat puzzling. With this meaning, the first pada means When wounded, blows fall every moment [The wounded get hit repeatedly] IF it is abhikShNaM, the first line will not obey the meter of the shloka. besides that everything makes sense. (it is basically a version of † when it rains, it pours † ||. | | One of the let me catch my breath shlokas? Actually this is a fairly famous one. The â€Å"correct† interpretation : Notice that ke and shava have been separated. The word â€Å"ka† means water (among several other meanings). Hence ke means in water. pANDava also means fish; kaurava also means crow. hence the interpretation is : Seeing the cadaver (shava) fallen in water, the fish were overjoyed. ALl the crows however started crying ||† O the cadaver in water !! † | ? || O vaidya (doctor), brother of Yama, I bow do wn to you. Yama only steals away one's life, but the vaidya steals one's life as well as money ! ? ? | || Not a horse, not an elephant, and never a tiger. It is the son of a goat that is sacrificed ! God is indeed a betrayer of the weak |||! | ? || The reaction to calamity must be considered before hand. IT is no use to start digging a well after your house is afire !! | ? || Even a single second in life cannot be obtained by alll precious jewels. Hence spending it without purpose is a great mistake. | || = self = satisfaction = poet = poetry = master = doorstep = light = similar = other = favour The poetry of poets is always for their own satisfaction, However, like the light on the porch of the master's house, it is also beneficial to others. (light from the porch illuminates the inside as well as the outside of a house |||) | || = seeing = twice ( + ) = said = speaking brahmA = eye = two = tongue = created S eeing is given twice as much importance as speaking by Brahma. Man has two eyes, however, only one tongue was created. ? | ? || = effort = to be accomplished = work = wish = asleep = lion + = to enter = mouth = deer/animal Work is accomplished by effort, not by wishing. Deer do not enter the mouth of a sleeping lion. Vivek Khare asked me the meaning of the word â€Å"hi† in the subhAshita : udyamena hi sidhyanti |||| The word hi means nothing. Perhaps it could be interpreted here as an emphasizer, but otherwise, it means literaly nothing. The words cha vai tu and hi are used in sanskrit by poets to fill up the meter. the words cha and tu have meanings, (and and but respectively) but the word vai has no meaning, and the word hi may be interpreted as something that emphasizes a point. In fact I am sure many of you know the famous first attempt by a quack poet : | ? ? || The poet thought up these three lines : O king, (rajendra), get up get up ! uttiShTha) mukhaM praxAlayasva (wash your face ! ) The rooster cries out in the morning (prabhAte roditi kukkuTaH ) the problem was after uttishThottiShTha rAjendra, mukhaM praxAlayasva left one letter less for the eight letter anuShTubh chhanda, and prabhAte roditi kukkuTaH had one letter extra ! so this grandmaster took the â€Å"TaH† from kukkuTaH and placed it at the end of the first line ! And now he had three out of four parts, an d he just coud not think of anything for the last part of the verse hence cha vai tu hi cha vai tu hi !!! | ? || = excellent = too much = speaker = inferior = to speak = gold = sound = bronze + = to be born The great man is rarely somone who talks too much, but the inferior man talks too much. There is no sound from gold as there is from bronze. | , || Meaning: Between ‘Chintaa' (worry) and ‘Chitaa' (pyre) the only difference is dot (anuswaara bindu in chintaa, that ‘n'). Pyre burns the dead, while worry burns the living. DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY 🙂 Ganapthi. | || The difference betn â€Å"chintA† and â€Å"chitA† is just a dot. â€Å"PYRE† burns the dead, while â€Å"WORRY† burns the living. | || + = to do a favor = lowly + = to harm = milk / water = snake = only = posion = increase Even a good turn done to a bad man results in evil. Drinking of milk by snakes is only goi ng to result in increase of their poison. uttamA AtmanA khyAtAH pituH khyAtAshcha madhyamAH | adhaMA mAtulat. khyAtAH shvashurAchhAdhamAdhamAH || : ? | ? || shabdArtha = most superior = famous = father = medium/average = maternal uncle = father in law = inferior = the worst among the inferior The great ones are famous by their own efforts, The average are famous because of their father. The inferior men are famous because of their uncle. and the worst among them are famous because of their father in law. I Thought you may like this subhashitha. .? .? ?. ..? | , || | , ?. || Bhavartha: A scholor even if he is from a backword class, is recognised and respected even in the company of the people who are most beautiful. who have great family background, and even among the gods. | || : ? | ? || shabdArtha = most superior = famous = father = medium/average = maternal uncle = father in law = inferior = the worst among the infer ior The great ones are famous by their own efforts, The average are famous because of their father. The inferior men are famous because of their uncle. and the worst among them are famous because of their father in law. I interpreted this in a different way. This shubhashita intends to convey the wealth Most respected weath is the one you earn That you inherit from your father is just OK One you get from your mother is not good And, the one you aquire from wife is the worst I am not sure if that were a different version of this shubhashita | || = effort saahasam. h = adventure = courage buddhiH = knowledge = strength paraakramaH = bravery = six ete = these = where vartante = exist = there devaH = god = helpful God will help provided the six qualities effort, adventure, courage. knowledge, strength and bravery exist. ? | ? || = Sun = Moon = air = fire = sky = earth = water = soul = Lord Yama ? = and = morning = night = both = righteousness = knows = man's = character Lord Sun, Lord Moon, Lord Vayu (air), Lord Agni (fire), the Sky, mother Earth. the water (Lord Varuna), the soul, Lord Yama, both the Day and the Night. and Dharma (the Righetousness) each one of these will know a man's character. Every moment, you are being watched atleast by one of the above ! The discussion is with reference to recent Subhashitam posted by Raghavendra the one with UdyamasaahasaM ||||etc|| Hemali Vyas disagreed with the meaning of the two words Dhairyam and Saahasam Ramakrishna from Tokyo disagreed with the Hemali's comments. Here is my opinion for whatever it is worth. DhairyaM means Dheeratwa bhavaM dhee is buddhi or intellect so in contrast to saahasaM dhairyaM must involve intellectual conviction. So in a way Hemali Vyas is right Raghavendra's meaning that it is courage is also right It should be courage born of intellectual conviction not emotional outburst. We all know what is right but many a time we do not have the guts to follow what is right we do what we feel (emotional driven) like doing. DhairyaM is the courage to do what is based on right understanding. SaahasaM I will split as sa + a + hasam ( I donot have a dictionary at my computer desk this may be my imagination). has if I remember rightly means to smile or to laugh at with a in front it means opposite to be serious that one to take things seriously not jokingly with prefix sa it could mean samyak that is total or with seriously or daringly jumping into action there is no joking around n that sense SaahasaM should imply serious adventurous pursuit in contrast to DhairyaM saahasaM need not involve intellectual conviction it could be based on just emotional outburst. So there is a possibility of one getting burned if it is not based on sound intellectual judgment. Hence the subhashitaM says one needs both the DhairraM and SaahasaM Just an intellectual curiosity If I have all t he six of them listed why do I need the help of the Deva The truth of the matter is if I have all of them I already have the help of the Deva. Having all the six of them itself is by the grace of Deva too. In Vedanta Shastra, there is a preceding deity for each of the faculties like Indra for Bhuddi etc. Hence having these qualities is a grace of God too! Hari Om! Sadananda What you have is His gift to you and what you do with what you have is your gift to Him. ? ? | || ? = no = Certainly = I am = wish = kingdom = heaven = na + punarbhavam. h = salvation = for grief ridden = for living beings = kaShTam. h, sorrow = destruction, removal â€Å"Certainly I do not wish for kingdom. I do not wish for heaven. I do not even want salvation. My humble wish is for removal of sorrow from all the grief ridden living beings. † King Rantideva asks this wish from the God. This is considered as the one of the great shlokas representing our culture. I heard the story behing this subhaashita from Sri Krishna Shastry during the â€Å"Speak Sanskrit Classes†. Will share with you someday soon. ! (See the sarcasm here) | ? || = goat = fight = sage = post death rituals = in the morning = cloud noise, thundering = of the couple = quarrel ? = and = indeed = in the result ? = no = something Fighting between the goats, post death rituals for the sages, the thundering of clouds in the morning and the quarrel between the couple there is no useful outcome (result) in any one of these : ) [`Sages' refers to those who have already attained salvation. Hence rituals for them are unnecessary. ] ? | || = minute = minute by minute = grain, bit = bit by bit = knowledge = money = and = accomplish, achieve = abandon, renounce = from where Knowledge should be persued with minute by minute efforts. Money should be earned utilising each and every grain. If you waste time, how can you get knowledge ? If you waste resources, how can you accumulate the wealth ? ? | || = and, even though = covered with gold, full of gold ? = no = for me = appeal = mother = motherland = heaven = grander, higher O Laxmana, even though Lanka is a golden land, it does not appeal to me. One's mother and motherland are greater than heaven itself. [ Said by Lord Rama upon viewing Lanka ] | || = assistance to others = give fruits (plural) = trees = flow (plural) = rivers = give milk (plural) = cows = this = body Trees give fruits to assist others. Rivers flow to help others. Cows produce milk to feed others. In the same way, our own human body should also be employed for the assistance of others. | || = na + mantram. h, non mantra (mantra = divine poem). = na + xaram. h, imperishable, a letter of the alphabet ? = no = is = root = na + auShadam. h, non medicine = useless = person = co ordinator (one who organizes, plans) = there = difficult to get, scarce There is no letter in the alphabet that cannot be used in divine poems (mantra). There exists no root which cannot be used as a medicine. Likewise, there is no useless person. The scarcity is for the one. who knows how to use them ! | || | || = one = whe el = chariot = charioteer = disabled = odd (as in odd or even) = horse ? + = to attack = only = one who has tej (brilliance) = sun = sky the bhAvArtha He has a chariot with one wheel, a charioteer who is disabled (it is believed that aruNa, the sun's charioteer was a cripple), and an odd number (i think it is seven) of horses to drive the chariot. Even then the briliant sun always attacks the sky !! So, let me wind up this small series with a subhAshita I wrote. Please excuse me for the mistakes. . | || = honey = pasted with = neem = wooden piece, stem = milk = fed with = snake = one who has taken bath = too = bad person = character, quality ? = No = indeed = leave, discard Honey paste on a bitter neem stem, milk feeding for a poisonous snake and Ganga bath for a bad person none will change their character. The bad qualities do not vanish just by changing outer look. We had to change our inner self. | || | || shabdArtha = also = tree = one that has flowered = one that has a nice fragrance = made fragrant = forest = good son = family = As bhAvArtha Even by one good tree that has flowered and has a nice fragrance, the whole forest is made fragrant, just as a whole fmaily is benefitted by one good son. ? | ? || ? ? | ? || shabdArtha = debt = remainder = fire = enemy = again + = to grow fast = hence = protect / maintain bhAvArtha Any remainder of debt, fire and enemy grow rapidly again and again, hence no remainder should be maintained||(debts should be completely paid of. and fire or enemies should be completely destroyed ) | ? ? || | ? ? || shabdArtha = rise = sun = red = fall (set) = prosperity = calamity = great man = one = form bhAvArtha The sun is red at sunrise and red at sunset : During prosp erity as well as calamity the great men have the same form. | ? ? | ? ? habdArtha = industrious = man = lion + ? = to approach = destiny = contemptible fellow = to speak + = destroy = do = manliness, virility, courage, effort = self strength = effort = done = if = to be accomplished = here = fault bhAvArtha Laxmi goes to the industrious man like a lion. Only contemptible cowards say that destiny should give. Overcome your destiny and excercise your manliness. If there is no accomplishment inspite of effort where is the fault? (If there is no success inspite of e ffort, it is not your fault ) | || | || shabdArtha prefix verb meaning = force = somewhere else ( ) = to take away ( ) = to steal + = to hit ? + = to eat + = to completely destroy + = to roam + = to abandon bhAvArtha The meaning of a verb is forcibly taken elsewhere by a prefix. Just like the meaning of the verb hRi (to steal) is changed by the following prefixes : pra, A, saM, vi, pari |||(meanings given above) | ? || | ? || shabdArtha = these = good man = foreign / other = benefit = component = one's own purposes + = to sacrifice = those who = common = effort = one who carries = opposition = no opposition = = man = demon = wellbeing + = to destroy = needlessly = who ( , ) to know bhAvArtha These, who are engaged in benefitting others after sacrificing their own purposes are the great men. Those who benefit others without opposing their needs are the common men. Those who destroy others' well being for doing good to themselves are demons in human form. However those who destroy other peoples' well being without any cause whatsoever, we do not know who they are ! Here is a marathi equivalent for the above shloka : e to satpuruSha svakArya tyajuni anyArta hI sAdhitI he to madhyama je nijArtha karunI anyArtha sampAditI he to r Axasa je svakArya viShayI anyArtha vidhva. nsitI je kA vyartha parArthahAni kariti te koNa kI durmatI ? | ? || | ? || shabdArtha = following = daily = trouble = troubled, frustrated = highest, the utmost, most excellent = pity, sympathy = temptation = to cut, cutoff = unreality; the illusion by virtue of which one considers the unreal universe as really existent and distinct from the supreme spirit = come together with = this = extremely = fickle, unstable = mind = (roughly) not easy to control = too much = sorrow = without = to run = immediately bhAvArtha O Rama, I am extremely tormented by the daily struggle of life. O most sympathizing one, cut away the temptation that has come to me with mAyA. This very fickle mind of mine is difficult to control. There is a lot of sorrow without you ! Run to me immediately ! And I am sure the marathi readers will recognize this as the sanskrit version of this verse ! ? ? ? | || It had never happened before , or been heard of before. A golden deer had never been seen before. Inspite of that, Rama desired it : At the time of destruction, one's judgement goes bonkers ||! | || shabdArtha = golden ( + ? ) = lotus ( one that is born in a lake) + = to create = sculptor = fragrance = capable / skiled/ clever = four = face bhAvArtha The sculptors are there to create golden lotuses. But onlythe four faced one (Brahma) is clever enough to produce fragrance in them ! | || | || shabdArtha = dependent only one onself = end = benefit = the creator = covering = ignorance = especiaaly = one who knows everything = society / company = ornament, asset = silence = someone who is not a scholar bhAvArtha A selfdependent coverin g of ignorance has been created by the creator with the one intention of benefitting. Especially in the company of the knowledgeable silence is an asset to those who are ignorant. And again, a marathi version : | || | ? || shabdArtha = teacher = service = knowledge = a lot = money = fourth + = to obtain bhAvArtha Knowledge (is acquired) by serving the teacher, or by a lot of money or by (exchange of) knowledge. A fourth (path) is not available | ? || | ? || shabdArtha = to walk ( ) = to stand = one = the wise man + = to examine = other = place = previous = abode, resting place = to leave, sacrifice bhAvArtha The wise man walks with one foot and stands on one foot. (never steps onto a new place without examining it ) Without examining the next place, he does not leave the previous abode. , | | || | || shabdArtha kalpa vRixa : the tree that will give you anything you can imagin e = imagined = to produce = kAmadhenu : the cow who can milk out anything you wish = something one has wished for = milks (from duh. h : to milk ) = the gem that gives you anything you can think about = something one has thought about = to give = the good men = company = everything bhAvArtha The kalpavRixa produces only what you can imagine, The kAmadhenu milks only what you want. The chintAmaNi give you only what you have thought about. However good company produces everything. Its benefits are not limited by your thoughts desires or imagination) ? | ? || ? | ? ? || shabdArtha = truth = to speak = dear, nice = false = practice = ancient bhAvArtha One should speak the truth, and say nice things. One should not say things that are true if they are not nice. And nor should one say nice things if they are not true : This is the ancient practice ? | ? || ? | ? || shabdArtha = full = pot = noise = half = p ot = noise + ? = to go = really = learned = one who is from a good family = pride = foolish person = to babble = quality = bereft of bhAvArtha A full pot does not make anynoise, however a half full pot really makes noise. A learned respectable person is never vain, but foolish people bereft of any good qualities babble incessantly. | || | || shabdArtha = coconut = form = to look = good man = other = the jujube fruit (â€Å"bora† in marathi) = outside = beautiful bhAvArtha The good men seem to be like coconuts. (Tough on the outside but soft inside). Others are like the jujube fruit, beautiful only on the outside (but sour inside). ? ? | || shabdArtha = happened = previously = news = gold = deer = desire = Rama = destruction = time = inverted, contrary to rule, wrong = intellect, judgement bhAvArtha It had never happened before , or been heard of before. A golden deer had never been seen before. Inspite of that, Rama desired it : At the time of destruction, one's judgement goes bonkers ||! As KEDAR S NAPHADE said: | || | || â€Å"drishyante api† shabdArtha = coconut = form = to look = be seen = also = good ma n = other = the jujube fruit (â€Å"bora† in marathi) = outside = beautiful bhAvArtha The good men seem to be like coconuts. (Tough on the outside but soft inside). Others are like the jujube fruit, beautiful only on the outside (but sour inside). The phrase â€Å"drishyante api† means they (coconuts) are also seen. i. e. if you look for them hard enough, you DO find them i. . they are scare to find. In contrast the â€Å"bera† (Hindi) or â€Å"bora† (Marathi) or berry (English) is seen a lot. i. e. good people are like coconuts, hard outside, soft inside and are scarce to find, bad people are like berries, soft outside, hard inside, and are found a lot. This is shlok 93 in HitopadeshaH's first chapter â€Å"Mitralaabh† Another related shubhashita from HitopadeshaH in the related topic. shloka 100 same chapter is: manasya anyat vachasya anyat karyam anyat duraatmanaam mansya ekam vachasya ekam karmaNya ekam mahaatmanaam i. e the evil people thi nk something else, say something else and do something else. The great (good) people think, say and do the same thing. Reminds me of a joke I read a long time back. A reporter asked the political figure his secret of success, and the politician replied: â€Å"Well, we think something, say something else, do something else and something else happens!! Beats me!! † :)) ShashiKant Joshi | ! ! shabdArtha = other's, foreign = food + = to get, obtain = stupid person, idiot = life = pity = to do = rare = birth bhAvArtha You idiot, dont show any pity for your life if you are getting food from someone else (free food). (Go on, stufff yourself ! fall sick ! ) Free food is rare , whereas as far as lives are concerned, you will get one at every birth !! (I am sure all our fellow grad students will strongly agree with this : ) ? | ? || ? | ? || shabdArtha = wicked person = good man + ? = to go to = many = way = to serve = repeatedly = sprayed = milk = ghee = neem = tree = sweetness bhAvArtha A wicked person shall never become good even if served in many ways. A neem tree, even if repeatedly sprayed with milk and ghee shall never become sweet. ? ? ? ? ? | || ? ? ? ? ? ? | || shabdArtha = armlet (bracelet worn on upper arm) + = to decorate = man = garland = moon = radiant = bath = smearing = flower = decorated / ornamented = head = hair (from the head) = language/ gift of speech = refined ( ; ) = to ho ld, carry, bear. = to dimnish = ornament = speech bhAvArtha Armlets do not (really) decorate a person, neither do garlands as radiant as the moon. Nor again, does the act of bathing or smearing, or flowers, or ornamented hair. Bearing a gift of refined speech is the only one thing that really ornaments a man. All other ornaments always diminish the ornament of speech is the (only) ornament (that counts). : | || | || shabdArtha = what ? = apparel / clothes ? + = to think = important = appropriateness = yellow = cloth = gave (from dA : to give) = one's own = daughter ( ) = directions + = to see = sea bhAvArtha One should indeed ponder upon the question, â€Å"What's in one's apparel ? â€Å". Apparel is indeed important for appropriateness. After looking at the one dressed in a rich yellow cloth (vishnu), the sea gave him his daughter (laxmi) and looking at the one dressedin nothing, (Shiva) the sea gave poison ! (halAhala) | || ? | ? || shabdArtha = qualities = greatness = to go = tall = seat = palace = tip, peak = crow = eagle bhAvArtha O ne achieves greatness because of one's qualities, not because of a high position. Even is placed at the top of the palace. a crow does not become an eagle | || | || habdArtha = food = dwelling = wife = mine = one who does = time = wolf = man = goat â€Å"The food is mine, the dwelling is mine, the wife is mine† : The wolf of time kills the man in the form of a goat who is always doing may may ! (mine ! mine ! ) ? . For the lion, nobody need place him on the throne by performing certain ‘samskAras. ‘ By the power of his self won might alone, he has become the lord of the animal kingdom. This position has come naturally to the lion. The poet, through the example of the lion's might and natural abilities. is simply giving us a simile to paint a picture of the great qualities of great people (mahApurushAs). They too, by their own strength, carry themselves forward. These people need no intermediaries to make their case. | || | || shabdArtha = small, little = work = one who does = man = a lot = one who talks = autumn = cloud = really = to roar = only Those men who talk too much are ones who do little work. THey are the clouds of autumn; they really only roar. (but do not give any rain) ? | || ? ? | || shabdArtha = gone = sorrow = should be done = future = to think / to worry = present = to operate (causal from vart. h) = wise One should not be sorrowful about what is past, nor should one worry too much about the future. The wise men operate by the present times. | ? || | ? ? || shabdArtha = mind = confusion = liqour = drinking = sin = practise / observance + ? = to approach = misfortune = foolish man = to go = hence = should be drunk