This is the 'un-edited' collection of Kedar's postings of pratidinaM

subhAshitaM 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 sanskrit at cheerful.com.
%ASAD[2]

Any good endeavour is begun be a prayer to Ganesh or Saraswati. Hence this

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 ...
%ASAD[3]

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
%ASAD[5]

This subhAshita 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).
%ASAD[6]

(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 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..
%ASAD[7]

(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

%ASAD[8]

(I think many people know this verse that praises knowledge)

It cannot be stolen by thieves, cannot be taken away by the king, cannot

divided among brothers and does not cause a load. If spent, it always
multiplies. The wealth of knowledge is the greatest among all wealths.

be

%ASAD[8 1]

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
said by Dharma.)

be

%ASAD[9]

The wise man acquires knowldge and wealth as if he is never going to die.
he practices relegion as if he is tightly held in his hair by death.
%ASAD[10]

And

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)
%ASAD[10 1]
One more subhashitam that starts with kamale

On the lotus sits Goddess KamalA (LakShmi), Hara (Lord Shiva) resides in the
HimAlayAs. 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
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 karotu me kamalaM
the word ka has many meanings. one among them is evil. alaM means
enough. Hence karotu me kaM alaM means may she end all my evil ...
%ASAD[11]

the

As all the water fallen from the skies goes to the sea, similarly
salutations to any God finally reach Keshava.
%ASAD[12]

Reactions to calamities should be considered well in advance.

It is no good to start digging a well when the house is on fire !
%ASAD[11 1]

= 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 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...
%ASAD[13]

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. if the world is conquered by forgivance, what cannot be accomplished
by forgivance ?
%ASAD[13 1]

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 In the world, forgivance has the power of conquering,
the words look odd ... Does vashikrute give this meaning ?
= conquered. vashI+kRi = to conquer
= conquered.
kShamAvashIkRite loke is a 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
??
%ASAD[14]

Laxmi resides at the tip of the hand, sarasvati in the middle, Govinda at the
root. Hence one should take darshan of one's hand in the morning.

If I rememeber the sloka it is 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 darshan of one's hand in the morning.
Hi Padma.
glad to see you on the list. you are probably right about karamUle tu
gauri cha this makes a more consistent subhAshita but sometimes there
are more than one versions of a subhAshita in existence with small
differences and both of them are correct again, gauri makes a better
pATh than govindaH ....
thanks !

kedar
%ASAD[13]
(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.
%ASAD[13]

If I rememeber the sloka it is 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 darshan of one's hand in the morning.
Hi Padma.
glad to see you on the list. you are probably right about karamUle tu
gauri cha this makes a more consistent subhAshita but sometimes there
are more than one versions of a subhAshita in existence with small
differences and both of them are correct again, gauri makes a better
pATh than govindaH ....
I have come across karamulethu govinda in my child hood.
recently 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.

. At the top of the hand resides LakShmi.

. In 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).

. 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, LakShmi 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
(LakShmi) 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.
%ASAD[15]

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.
%ASAD[16]

,
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.
%ASAD[17]
I do not know whether the following two verses were indeed like a
sawAl jawAb, 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 sUtra)
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 sUtra (rule) in Panini's grammar that ties them
together. ...
hence the pun on sUtra...

%ASAD[18]

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 ?
%ASAD[19]

Whether the philosophers praise 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.

%ASAD[20]
Hi.
Padma pointed out a typo I had made. Instead of pa~ncha, I had just

five 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 ?
%ASAD[21]

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 ...
%ASAD[23]

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 ?
%ASAD[22]
!

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 !
%ASAD[24]

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 !
%ASAD[25]

I believe this is the first piece of verse in Sanskrit ; composed by Valmiki

O niShAda, 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.
I believe this is the first piece of verse in Sanskrit ; composed by Valmiki

O niShAda, 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 Adikavi (first poet) vAlmIki.
He was in a peaceful
state of mind (either meditating or taking a walk) when this niShAda
(hunter) killed the male krauncha (swan?). vAlmIki got angry with
the actions of the hunter and this shloka came out of his mouth. After
vAlmIki 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 (nArada?) appeared and told him that he
had uttered the first piece of poetry and explained to him that there
was a second meaning behind the shloka.
I don't remember what the other interpretation of this shloka is
except that the hunter is rAma and the krauncha(s) are rAvaNa and
mandodarI, and that rAma kills rAvaNa. I don't remember what the
second interpretation of the shrApa (curse) is when applied to rAma.
So this is how the shloka fits into the rAmayaNa.
%ASAD[26]

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 =
%ASAD[27]

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.
%ASAD[28]

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.

a~Nkura means the first sprout. yathA bIjastathA~NkuraH is a very famous

proverb. it basically means as you sow, so you reap ...

%ASAD[29]

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
rAmAyana by madgulkar in the song

%ASAD[30]

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.
%ASAD[31]
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 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 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

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 moved, nor wept.

Rose a nurse of nintey years

Set his child upon her knee
Like summer tempest came her tears
Sweet my child, I live for thee !
%ASAD[31]
There were two errors in the first paragraph in my earlier posting. This is the

%ASAD[32]

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.
%ASAD[33]
This one is similar to ASAD[32]

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.
%ASAD[34]

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.
%ASAD[35]

speed 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.
%ASAD[37]

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)
%ASAD[40]

In the boundless world of poetry, PrajApati (Brahma) is the only one poet.
He changes the universe as and when he thinks best ..
%ASAD[41]

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.
%ASAD
Need meaning of subhAShita

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
I believe this may be originally in some Purana; it's in
Pancha tantra as well as in UpadeSAmRita of RUpa Goswami.
Six symptoms of affection are giving, receiving, explaining in
confidence and enquiring, accepting food and feeding.
Henry Groover (AgrAhya dAsa)

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.
gives, takes, tells and asks secrets, eats (from you) and feeds (you) are the
six characteristics of love ... (friendship would perhaps be more appropriate
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 abhIkShNaM. The meaning of first line
depends upon this word.
I think samudbhadanti should be samudbhavanti.
Basically, the SubhAshita 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 abhIkShNaM. The meaning of first line

depends upon this word.
Dictionary gives the meaning of abhIkShaNam as ``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 abhikShaNaM, 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 ...
%ASAD[keshavaM patitaM dR^iShTvA]

One of the let me catch my breath shlokas?

notive that ke and shava have been separated. The word ka means water

(among several other meanings). Hence ke means in water. pANDava also

Seeing the cadaver (shava) fallen in water, the fish were overjoyed. ALl
the crows however started crying .. O the cadaver in water !!
%ASAD[46]

O vaidya (doctor), brother of Yama, I bow down to you. Yama only steals
one's life, but the vaidya steals one's life as well as money !
%ASAD[47]

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 ... !
%ASAD[49]

The reaction to calamity must be considered before hand. IT is no use to

start digging a well after your house is afire !!
%ASAD[51]

Even a single second in life cannot be obtained by alll precious jewels.

Hence spending it without purpose is a great mistake.
%ASAD[54]

= self
= satisfaction
= poet

away

 = 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 ... )
%ASAD[56]

= seeing
= twice
( + ) = said
= speaking
= brahmA
= eye
= two
= tongue
= created
Seeing is given twice as much importance as speaking by Brahma. Man has
two eyes, however, only one tongue was created.
%ASAD[ASAD]

= 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.
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

O king, (rajendra), get up get up ! (uttiShTha) mukhaM prakShAlayasva

(wash your face !) The rooster cries out in the morning (prabhAte roditi
kukkuTaH )
the problem was after uttishThottiShTha rAjendra, mukhaM prakShAlayasva
left one letter less for the eight letter anuShTubh Chanda, and prabhAte
roditi kukkuTaH had one letter extra ! so this grandmaster took the TaH
from kukkuTaH and placed it at the end of the first line ! And now he had
three out of four parts, and he just coud not think of anything for the
last part of the verse hence cha vai tu hi cha vai tu hi !!!
%ASAD[59]

= 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.

Between 'ChintA' (worry) and 'ChitA' (pyre) the only difference

is dot (anuswAra bindu in chintA, that 'n'). Pyre burns the
dead, while worry burns the living. DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY :)
Ganapthi.

The difference betn CHINTA and CHITA is just a dot.

PYRE burns the dead, while 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 going to result in increase of their poison.
%ASAD[61]
uttamA AtmanA khyAtAH pituH khyAtAshcha madhyamAH .
adhaMA mAtulat khyAtAH shvashurAChAdhamAdhamAH ..

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 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 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
%ASAD[subhAshita sangrahaH 1]




= effort
sAhasam = adventure

= courage
buddhiH = knowledge
= strength
parAkramaH = 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.
%ASAD

= 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 UdyamasAhasaM .... etc..
Hemali Vyas disagreed with the meaning of the two words Dhairyam and SAhasam
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 sAhasaM 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.
sAhasaM 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
in that sense SAhasaM should imply serious adventurous pursuit in contrast to
DhairyaM sAhasaM 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 SAhasaM
Just an intellectual curiosity If I have all the 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.
%ASAD[Subhashita Sangrah 3]

= no
= Certainly
= I am

= wish

= kingdom
= heaven
= na + punarbhavam = salvation

= for grief ridden

= for living beings
= kaShTam, sorrow
= destruction, removal
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
subhAshita from Sri Krishna Shastry during the Speak Sanskrit Classes.
Will share with you someday soon.
%ASAD

(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.]
%ASAD[Subhashita Sangraha 5]

= 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 ?
%ASAD[Subhashita Sangraha 7]

= and, even though

= covered with gold, full of gold
= no
= for me
= appeal
= mother

= motherland
= heaven
= grander, higher
O LakShmana, 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 ]
%ASAD[Subhashita Sangraha 7]

= 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.
%ASAD[Subhashita Sangraha 8]

= na + mantram, non mantra (mantra = divine poem).

= na + kSharam, imperishable, a letter of the alphabet
= no
= is
= root
= na + auShadam, 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 !
%ASAD[63]

= one
= wheel
= 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 !!
%ASAD[subhAShita sangraha 9]
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.
%ASAD[64]

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.
%ASAD[65]

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 )
%ASAD[66]

shabdArtha
= rise
= sun
= red
= fall (set)
= prosperity
= calamity
= great man
= one
= form
bhAvArtha
The sun is red at sunrise and red at sunset : During prosperity as well as
calamity the great men have the same form.
%ASAD[67]

shabdArtha

= 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 )
%ASAD[68]

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)
%ASAD[69]

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 !

he to satpuruSha svakArya tyajuni anyArta hI sAdhitI

he to madhyama je nijArtha karunI anyArtha sampAditI
he to rAkShasa je svakArya viShayI anyArtha vidhva.nsitI
je kA vyartha parArthahAni kariti te koNa kI durmatI ?
%ASAD[70]

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 .. !
%ASAD[71]

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 !
%ASAD[72]

shabdArtha
= dependent only one onself
= end
= benefit
= the creator
= covering
= ignorance

 = especiAly

= one who knows everything

= society / company
= ornament, asset
= silence
= someone who is not a scholar
bhAvArtha
A selfdependent covering 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.

%ASAD[73]

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
%ASAD[74]

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.
%ASAD[75]

shabdArtha

= kalpa vRikSha : the tree that will give you anything you
can
imagine
= imagined
= to produce

= kAmadhenu : the cow who can milk out anything you wish
= something one has wished for
= milks (from duh : 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 kalpavRikSha 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)
%ASAD[76]

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
%ASAD[77]

shabdArtha

= full
= pot
= noise
= half
= pot
= 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.

%ASAD[78]

shabdArtha
= coconut
= form
= to look
= good man
= other

= the jujube fruit (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).
%ASAD[79]

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 .. !

drishyante api
shabdArtha
= coconut
= form
= to look
= be seen
= also
= good man
= other

= the jujube fruit (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 drishyante api means they (coconuts) are also seen. i.e.
if you look for them hard enough, you DO find them i.e. they are scare
to find. In contrast the bera (Hindi) or 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 MitralAbh
Another related shubhashita from HitopadeshaH in the related topic.
manasya anyat vachasya anyat karyam anyat durAtmanAm
mansya ekam vachasya ekam karmaNya ekam mahAtmanAm
i.e the evil people think 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
Well, we think something, say something else, do something else and
something else happens!! Beats me!! :))
ShashiKant Joshi
%ASAD[80]

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 : )
%ASAD[81]

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.
%ASAD[82]

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 hold, 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).
%ASAD[83]

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, What's in one's
apparel ?. 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)
%ASAD[84]

shabdArtha
= qualities
= greatness
= to go
= tall
= seat
= palace
= tip, peak
= crow
= eagle
bhAvArtha
One 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
%ASAD[85]

shabdArtha
= food
= dwelling
= wife
= mine
= one who does
= time
= wolf
= man
= goat

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 !)
%ASAD[SUBHASHITAM from GarudapurAna]

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.
%ASAD[86]

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)
%ASAD[87]

shabdArtha
= gone
= sorrow
= should be done
= future
= to think / to worry
= present
= to operate (causal from vart)
= 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.
%ASAD[89]

shabdArtha
= mind
= confusion
= liqour
= drinking
= sin

= practise / observance
+ = to approach
= misfortune
= foolish man
= to go

= hence
= should be drunk

Drinking of liqour causes confusion of the mind. Once the mind is

confused one starts practising a sinful life. After practising sin, the
foolish men suffer misfortune. Hence liqour should not be drunk ! should
never be drunk !
%ASAD[ Sanskrit saying]

= real, visible, directly in front

= poet
= Composition/poetry/literary work
= and

= One who brightens the family(?) (meaning house wife?)

= Her beauty
= family doctor's
= knowledge
= do they

= ever
= shine/please/appeal?
The composition of a contemporary poet and the beauty of one's own wife do not
appeal to man, and it is indeed true generally that neither a saint nor an
artist is ever recognized and honoured in his own time or clime.
%ASAD[90]

Could not resist this one after having said tasmAt madyaM naiva
peyaM na peyaM in the previous shloka.

shabdArtha
= but
= liqour
= nature
= medicine
= remembered
= utility ; proportion
= used
= disease

But liqour is known to be medicinal by nature. If not taken in the

correct proportion it leads to disease ; taken in the correct proportion
it leads to what is known about it.. (that it is medicinal)...
%ASAD[91]

shabdArtha
+ = to distribute
= water
= cloud (one who gives water)
= water
= anxious
= permanently
= thirsty
= chAtaka bird
= young one of an animal
= something that has started

= wind
= in a moment

 = where
= water

O cloud, distribute water among the ever thirsty young ones of the
chAtaka bird ! Otherwise when in a moment the wind starts blowing.
where shall you be, where shall the water be and where the chataka
birds ?
%ASAD[92]

shabdArtha
= forest
= one that burns

= fire
= friend
= wind
= lamp : here a small one wick light
= destruction
= weakness
= friendship

The wind becomes the friend of fire that burns forests. The same
wind causes destruction of fire in the form of a lighted wick.
Who indeed has friends in times of weakness ?
%ASAD[Another clipping from India D]
Today's Beautiful Gem: `The Passage of Time' by BhartRhari.

In a certain house, where there were once many, there is one now;
Where there were many, at the end none remains!
With night and day as two alternating pieces of dice.
On the chessboard of the world, Time plays with living beings as pawns.

With the endless cycle of sunrise and sunset, life shortens;

Engrossed in mundane tasks, man fails to notice the passage of time!
Nor anxiety is felt at witnessing birth, advance of years, suffering
and finally death;
Oh, the world becomes intoxicated after drinking the wine of delusion!
%ASAD[93]

shabdArtha
= if
= to go
= Lord KRishna

= the city of mathura

= friend
= rAdhA ? : )
= eye
= couple
= name
= inversion
= streams (of tears)

If indeed does Govinda go away from Mathura, then from the eyes of
rAdhA will flow the inversion of rAdhA ( dhArA = streams)
%ASAD[94]

shabdArtha
= precious stones
= big
= deserving
= great (those that deserve to be called great)
= to be satisfied
= god

 = to take recourse (my guess is that bhejire is a past tense

form from the root bhaj)
= terrible
= fear
= the nectar of immortality
= to go
= stop
= determined, ascertained
= end, aim, objective
+ = to stop
= courageous, steadfast

(This sloka describes the churning of the ocean by the gods)

The gods did not get satisfied by great precious stones, nor
did they take recourse to fear because of the terrible poison. THey did not
go to a stop until they got the nectar of immortality. THe steadfast men do
not stop until they have achieved the determined objective.
%ASAD[95]

Today is Makar SankrAnti. Here is a subhAshita for the occasion

composed by my teacher Shri Vasant Nanivadekar

shabdArtha
= sesame seeds
= affectionate; also oily,greasy
= mind
= language
= jaggery
= sweetness
= laddoo, a sweet ball
= relation

 = the principle of goodness

= thought
= good, auspicious
= concurrence, coming together
= auspicious
= glory
= blessedness, goodness, auspiciousness
= the festival of makara sa~NkrAnt
= always
+ = to wish, to hope, to desire

May the mind be affectionate like sesame seeds, may there be

sweetness in your words as in jaggery and may there be goodness in
your relations as is in the relation of sesame and jaggery in a laddoo.
May there be in your thoughts a concurrence towards auspicious glory, I
always desire that the festival of sankrant may prove to be blessed and
auspicious for you all.
%ASAD[subhAshitam]

= grapes
= sullen / dry
= (having) face (like)
= went / became

= sugar
= and

= stone
= went / became
= is meaning neede ??? subhAshita (good words)
= taste / power / effect
= having seen / seeing
= nectar / amrutA
= (being) afraid (of)
= (to) heaven
= went
Seeing the taste of subhAshita, the grape became sullen faced (dry/wrinkled
face), sugar became stone (as in big sugar crystals) and the nectar was afraid
and ran to heaven.
mahesh
%ASAD[96]

shabdArtha

= everwhere
= country

= a man with good qualities

= to look beautiful
= famous, celebrated
= gem
= head
= neck
= arm

A famous man with good qualities is considered an asset anywhere in

on the head, in the neck or on the arm..
%ASAD[97]

shabdArtha
= way
= man
= satisfaction
= to to be born or produced

= causal form from jan meaning should generate

= wise man
= god
= worship

By some way or the other the wise man should cause the satisfaction of
some one or the other ; that itself is the worship of God.
id AA821902673; Wed, 17 Jan 96 10:17:37 EST
%ASAD
priaya samskruta bAndhavAh.
following is a subhAshita we studied in 10th grade (I think by bhartruhari)

which speaks the power of association with ritious people.

guNavarjana samsargAt yAsti nIchOpi gouravam .
pushpamAlA prasangena sUtram shirasidhAryate ..

= virtuous (good) qualities

= people
= association
= rouge / person of poor(bad ?) quality
= respect

= garland (of flowers)

= because of / along with
= thread
= head
= climbs / (being)worn
bhAvArtha
Just like the thread being worn in the head (respected) along with the flowers
in a garland, a rouge will also acquire respect (for himself) with the
association of (being with) good people (sajjana).
guNavarjana samsargAt yAsti nIchOpi gouravam .
guNavajjana
yAti nicho.api (transliteration)
note : yAti means goes

shirasi dhAryate (two separate words)

= virtuous (good) qualities

= people
= association
= rouge / person of poor(bad ?) quality
= respect

= garland (of flowers)

= because of / along with
= close association. prasa~Ngena = because of close association

= thread
= head
(original noun is shiras : shirasi is the locative singular, meaning on the
head)
= climbs / (being)worn
bhAvArtha
Just like the thread being worn in the head (respected) along with the flowers
in a garland, a rouge will also acquire respect (for himself) with the
association of (being with) good people (sajjana).
%ASAD[116]

shabdArtha
= to read
= to write
( ) = to see
+
= to enquire
= learned man
+ +
= to take shelter in
= sun
= ray

= lotus
= leaf
= expanded
= intellect

One who reads, writes, sees, enquires, lives in the company of learned
men, his intellect expands like the lotus leaf does because of the rays of the
sun.
%ASAD[118]

shabdArtha
= child
= also

= sun
= foot
= to fall
= mountain
= brilliance
= born
= age
= where
+
= use

Even the feet of a young sun can fall on the top of mountains ..
For those born with brilliance, where indeed is age used (The age is not
relevant for great deeds by the brilliant)
%ASAD[101]

= money
= bridegroom
= one from a good family

= knowledgeable
= one who knows qualities (one who is a patron of good qualities)
= orator
= handsome
= all
= quality
= gold
+
= to take shelter

The bridegroom who has a lot of money is the one who is from a good
family. He only is the one who is a scholar, who is knowledgeable and is a
patron of good qualities. He only is the great orator and he is the most
handsome : All qualities take refuge in gold... !( Once someone is known to
be rich he is praised for all other qualities whether or not they really exist
in him)
%ASAD[102]

shabdArtha

= snake
= child
= moon
= ashes

= the ganges
= equipped with
= heaven, liberation
(

+ ,
) = one that bestows
= idol
= how
(
) = may be

shiva ! Your form is full of pa varga. (Parvati, phaNi, bAlendu, bhasma and
mandAkinI) How shall that form be the bestower of a pavarga (mokSha) ?
He has no a pavarga. How will He give what He does not have? Now the sennse
of apavarga changes to mokSha. He is known to be the bestower of mokSha;
but how can he give that?
%ASAD[103]
The king was walking by the shore of the ocean along with the court poet who

= dasharath's wife, laxman's mother
= child
= friend
= happiness
= attached
= (from idaM) this
= king
= to see
= weak
= body
= sea/ ocean
= to cry

What fear makes you cry?

Is it because seeing the king who is ever intent on pleasing his good friends
(su mitrAnandana) or on seeing me the dwarf?
sumitrAnandana can also be broken up as su mitra Anandana (happiness of
good friends.
Why should the ocean cry on seeing them? No, It is the king rAma, who is
attached (Asakta) to lakShmaNa (sumitrAnandana) and the dwarfish person is
agastya himself. The ocean mistakes the poet to be agastya.
Ocean is afraid of rAma as he once threatened to dry him up when attempting
to cross over to lanka. The dwarfish sage agastya is said to have drank the
ocean. Hence the cause for fear.
Composer V. VAsuNNi moos (kerala)
%ASAD[102]
This is a different version of the subhAshita sent as asad[5]. This was kindly
provided by Shri Mahalingam.

shabdArtha

= snake
= child
= moon
= ashes

= the ganges
= equipped with
= heaven, liberation
(

+ ,
) = one that bestows
= idol
= how
(
) = may be

shiva ! Your form is full of pa varga. (Parvati, phaNi, bAlendu, bhasma and
mandAkinI) How shall that form be the bestower of a pavarga (mokSha) ?
He has no a pavarga. How will He give what He does not have? Now the sennse
of apavarga changes to mokSha. He is known to be the bestower of mokSha;
but how can he give that?
%ASAD[103]
The king was walking by the shore of the ocean along with the court poet who

= dasharath's wife, laxman's mother

= child
= friend
= happiness
= attached
= (from idaM) this
= king
= to see
= weak
= body
= sea/ ocean
= to cry

What fear makes you cry?

Is it because seeing the king who is ever intent on pleasing his good friends
(su mitrAnandana) or on seeing me the dwarf?
sumitrAnandana can also be broken up as su mitra Anandana (happiness of
good friends.
Why should the ocean cry on seeing them? No, It is the king rAma, who is
attached (Asakta) to lakShmaNa (sumitrAnandana) and the dwarfish person is
agastya himself. The ocean mistakes the poet to be agastya.
Ocean is afraid of rAma as he once threatened to dry him up when attempting
to cross over to lanka. The dwarfish sage agastya is said to have drank the
ocean. Hence the cause for fear.
Composer V. VAsuNNi moos (kerala)
%ASAD[102]
This is a different version of the subhAshita sent as asad[5]. This was kindly
provided by Shri Mahalingam.

shabdArtha

= snake
= child
= moon
= ashes

= the ganges
= equipped with
= heaven, liberation
(

+ ,
) = one that bestows
= idol
= how
(
) = may be


shiva ! Your form is full of pa varga. (Parvati, phaNi, bAlendu, bhasma and
mandAkinI) How shall that form be the bestower of a pavarga (mokSha) ?
He has no a pavarga. How will He give what He does not have? Now the sennse
of apavarga changes to mokSha. He is known to be the bestower of mokSha;
but how can he give that?
%ASAD[103]
The king was walking by the shore of the ocean along with the court poet who

= dasharath's wife, laxman's mother
= child
= friend
= happiness
= attached
= (from idaM) this
= king
= to see
= weak
= body
= sea/ ocean
= to cry

What fear makes you cry?

Is it because seeing the king who is ever intent on pleasing his good friends
(su mitrAnandana) or on seeing me the dwarf?
sumitrAnandana can also be broken up as su mitra Anandana (happiness of
good friends.
Why should the ocean cry on seeing them? No, It is the king rAma, who is
attached (Asakta) to lakShmaNa (sumitrAnandana) and the dwarfish person is
agastya himself. The ocean mistakes the poet to be agastya.
Ocean is afraid of rAma as he once threatened to dry him up when attempting
to cross over to lanka. The dwarfish sage agastya is said to have drank the
ocean. Hence the cause for fear.
Composer V. VAsuNNi moos (kerala)
%ASAD[105]


= life
= to live
= this world
= friend
= relative
= fruitful
= one's own ends

In this world, Only that man, because of whom

friends and relatives are able to live, has lived (in the true sense of the
word). Otherwise, who in this world does not live solely to meet one's own
ends ?
%ASAD[104]

= the ever thirsty chAtaka bird that lives only on raindrops
= smoke
= group
= to see
= to run
= water
= water carrier(cloud )
= here
= to be

= you
= eye
= couple
= flood

O chataka, seeing the group of smoke clouds do not run to them thinking
they are water carriers ! Here there indeed shall flow from your own eyes a
flood of water !
Subject: ASAD[106]
This verse is a compliment to the great sanskrit author BAnabhatta who
was known for his rather complex style of writing with sentences lasting for
pages together.

= born, become (from jan, to be born, or created)
= a long time ago
+ = to comprehend, understand
= development, depth, maturity
= to obtain
= language
= became (from bhU, to become)

Just as shikandini, a long time ago became shikhandi, similarly I now

realize that in order to acquire more maturity, the language (of sanskrit)
itself became re incarnated as the author bANa !
%ASAD[107]

= right side
= left side
= king Janaka (father of Sita)

= daughter
= in front
= to pray
= child

I bow down to that child of the Raghus to whose right is lakShmana.

to whose left is the daughter of Janaka and in front of whom is Maruti.
%ASAD[109]

= shouold be given
= should be used, enjoyed
= money
= collection
= should be done
= see (from dRish)
= here
= bee
( ) = to steal
= other

It should be given or enjoyed and spent. As far as money is concerned

it should never be stocked up. Look here, the collected savings of the bees
are stolen by others.
%ASAD[110]

= to leave
= friend
= money
= bereft of
= wife
= affectionate

= one with money

+ = to take refuge in
= world
= man
= brother

Friends leave the man without money, so do wives, sons and other
affectionate people. They all come back after the man is again wealthy : Wealth
is the only real brother of man in this world.
%ASAD[111]

= grass
= air
= begger

= small / inferior / light

= wind
= taken
= him (from adas)
= him (from idaM)
= to beg / pray

Air is lighter (inferior to) grass, and a beggar is inferior to air.

Why indeed can then the beggar cannot be taken by the wind ? He will beg me
too ! (says the wind) ......
%ASAD[113]

= this (man)
= one's own
= foreign, distant
= consideration

= small
= mind
= generous
= nature

= earth

 = family

This man is mine and this one is not is a way of thinking adopted
only by the narrow minded. For those who are generous in nature, the whole
world is like their own family.
%ASAD[113]

= this (man)
= one's own
= foreign, distant
= consideration

= small
= mind
= generous
= nature

= earth
= family

This man is mine and this one is not is a way of thinking adopted
only by the narrow minded. For those who are generous in nature, the whole
world is like their own family.
%ASAD[112]

= excessive
= familiarity

= contempt
= repeated
= going
= disrespect

 = malaya mountain
= tribal
= wofe
= sandal
= tree
= log
= fuel
= does (from kRi)

Excessive familiarity breeds contempt, Going repeatedly (to someone else's

house) causes disrespect to you. On malaya mountain (which is very rich in
sandalwood trees) the wife of a tribal uses sandalwood even for the daily fuel
needs.
%ASAD[112]

= excessive
= familiarity

= contempt
= repeated
= going
= disrespect
= malaya mountain
= tribal
= wofe
= sandal
= tree
= log
= fuel
= does (from kRi)

Excessive familiarity breeds contempt, Going repeatedly (to someone else's

house) causes disrespect to you. On malaya mountain (which is very rich in
sandalwood trees) the wife of a tribal uses sandalwood even for the daily fuel
needs.

%ASAD[114]

= shade
= others
= do (from kRi)
= stand (from sthA)
= themselves
= heat
= fruit
= others
= benefit
= tree
= good
= man

They make shade for others and stand in the heat themselves. Even
fruits are for the good of others: Trees are indeed like good men.
%ASAD[114]

= shade
= others
= do (from kRi)
= stand (from sthA)
= themselves
= heat
= fruit
= others
= benefit
= tree
= good
= man

They make shade for others and stand in the heat themselves. Even
fruits are for the good of others: Trees are indeed like good men.

%ASAD[115]

= to pamper
= five
= year
= ten
= to hit
= reached
= sixteen
= son
= friend
+ = to behave, interact

One should pamper one's son for five years then discipline him for
ten years. However once he reaches the age of sixteen one should treat him
as a friend
%ASAD[ VaidhyAn prati (On Doctors)]

Salutations to you, Doctor, the brother of Yama (God of death)

Yama steals (takes away) the life; a Doctor life and wealth as well.

Seeing the burning pyre the Doctor became worried

(He thought) Neither did I attended to this person
Nor did my brother, whose handiwork is this
Dear Friends.
The real Humor or Joke is that the following verses are literally true. The
practice and theory of medicine is completely wrong in its basis. This is
true of all medicine, western, eastern, oriental or otherwise. Because, as
you know, the nature follows an immutable cause and effect relationship for
everything that happens. The disease is produced by its causes. The
practice of medicine does not at all deal with the cause of a disease, but
it only deals with palliating the symptoms of a disease, further letting the

causes to continue. Another, real but sad joke is that even very
intelligent people, who would otherwise investigate/reasearch everything
before they practice, subscribe to the practice of medicine without
questioning the logic.
%ASAD[117]

= hand
= clap
+ + = to become
= effort
= deprived of
= work
+ = to obtain
= fruit

Just as a clap cannot happen with just one hand, similarly any
work deprived of effort will not obtain fruit.
%ASAD[117]

= hand
= clap
+ + = to become
= effort
= deprived of
= work
+ = to obtain
= fruit


Just as a clap cannot happen with just one hand, similarly any
work deprived of effort will not obtain fruit.
%ASAD[124]

(Dear Sanskrit Lovers)

= eighteen
= essence
= to tell
= benefitting others (para upakAra)
= purification acquired by virtuous deeds
= sin
= other
= harrasment

Benefitting others leads to purification and harassing others leads to sin.

%ASAD[125]

(Dear Sanskrit Lovers)

= money
= arrival
= always
= diseaselessness

 = dear
= she who speaks
= under control
= son
= knowledge
= six
= the mortal world
= king

O King, The arrival of money, incessant good health, a dear and sweet speaking
wife, a son under one's control (a son who has not strayed from the right
path), and knowledge capable of earning money are the six happinesses of the
mortal world.
%ASAD[126]

(Dear Sanskrit Lovers)

= without doing (from kRi)

= without going (from gam)

= harrasment
= evil person
= abode
= good man
= path
+ = to follow
= little

= a lot

Without harassing others, without going to the abode of evil men.

and following the path laid down by good men, whatever achieved, evem if
little, is indeed a lot.
%ASAD[129]

(Dear Sanskrit Lovers)

Apad =
mitra =

parIkShA =
shUra =
raNa =
a~NgaNa =

vinaya =
va.nsha =
shIla =
dhana =
kShaya =
,

A friend's test is in calamity, the test of a valiant person is on

the battlefield. The test of a family is in its' humility and the test
of one's character is in poverty.

%ASAD[131]

(Dear Sanskrit Lovers)

= scholarliness
= The title of king
= comparable
= one's own country
= to worship
= king
= scholar

= everywhere

Being a scholar and being a king are never ever comparable. A king is
worshipped in his own country whereas a scholar is respected everywhere.

%ASAD[133]

(Dear Sanskrit Lovers)

A couple of subhAshitas from the hard working farmers

= to count, to consider
= sun
= rain
= cold
= farmer
= to strive
= grain
= acquirement, acquisition
= with
= to live

The farmers do not consider the heat from the sun or rain or the cold
winters but consistently strive for acwuiring grain. I (God ?) indeed
live with them.
For marathi readers : nase rAuLI vA nase mandirI
jithe rAbatI hAta tethe harI .... ?
%ASAD[136]

(Dear Sanskrit Lovers)

= fool
= five

 = sign
= vanity
= wicked statements
= anger
= unrelenting
= argument
= other
= sentence
= lack of respect

There are five signs of a fool : Vanity, wicked conversation, anger, stubborn
arguments, and a lack of respect for other people's opinions.
%ASAD[139]

(Dear Sanskrit Lovers)

= eight
= qualities
= man
= to adorn, to grace

= intellect
= good character
= self control
= knowledge

= valor

= too much
= to speak
= the act of giving
= strength
= gratitude

Eight qualities adorn a man : Intellect, good character, self control.

knowledge, valor, not talking too much, being charitable as per his (financial)

strength and gratitude.

%ASAD[141]

sandhi vigraha
= to go
= control
= this world
= mouth
= morsel of food
= to fill
= drum
= mouth
= smearing
= sweet
= sound

In this world who indeed wont come under control once his/her
mouth is filled with food ? Even the mRida~Nga makes a sweet sound after
its mouth is smeared.

= unity
= strength
= society
= weak
+ = to praise
= strongly
= nation
= one who wishes good

Unity is the strength of any society and it (society) is weak without

it. Hence those who wish the good of the nation strongly praise unity.
%ASAD[144]
We had a big thread on Ramayana in a Stanza Here is the bhAgavata

= First
= womb
= birth
= house
= growing up
= life
= stealing
= lifting up
= cutting
= killing
= son
= protection
= told
= legend (?)

First the birth of the lord in the womb of devaki, then the growing up in the
house of gopis, the stealing of life from the deceitful pUtana, the lifting up
of the
govardhana mountain, the cutting (beheading) of kansa,the killing of the
kauravas etc. and the protection of the sons of kunti : This is the BhAgavat
as told in the purANas and which is immortal because of the legends of
Shri Krishna.
%ASAD[146]

= preceptor
= brother / kin
= one who does not have any brothers / kinmen

= eye

= one without an eye

= father
= mother
= everyone
= justice

= one who lives / behaves

The teacher is the brother to those who dont have any kinmen, the
teacher is an eye through which the blind can see. The teacher is a father
and mother to everyone who lives on the path of justice.
%ASAD[149]

= vanity

= harrasment of others
= wicked person
= money
= power
= good man
= act of giving , charity
= protection
= always

The wealth and power of a wicked person are for vanity and harrasment
of others respectively. However with a good man they are always (used) for
charity and for protection.
%ASAD[155]

= mother
= pArvatI

 = father
= knowledge
= to give
= to bless
= elephant
= mouth

May the elephant faced one (Ganapati) whose mother is umA devi.
whose father is sha~Nkara and who gives knowledge to everybody, bless us.
%ASAD[156]

= glory
= to obtain
= giving
= money
= collection
= position
= up
= cloud (one who gives water)

= sea (one that stores water)

= down

Fame is obtained by giving money, not collecting it. Clouds (givers

of water) have a high position whereas the seas (storers of water) have
a low position.
%ASAD[160]





= industriousness
= adventure
= courage
= intelligence
= strength
= adventurous accomplishment

 = six
= to exist
= god
= help

God provides help where these siz qualities exist : industriousness, adventure.
courage, intelligence, strength and adventurous accomplishment.
%ASAD[161]

= advice
= idiot
= aggravation
= calmness
= milk
= drinking
= snake
= poison
= growth

Advising an idiot leads to more aggravation than peace. Feeding milk

to a snake only serves to increase its poison.
%ASAD[163]

= self
= mouth
= fault
= parrot
= a bird (nightingale / cuckoo ? )
= stork
= to trap, to tie down.
= silence
= all
= objective

 = instrument

Nightingales and parrots are trapped because of the fault of their own mouths.
However, storks are not caught. Silence is indeed the instrument that
achieves all ends.
%ASAD[169]

By his(its) own mouth he (it) injures (pounds) in many ways other

people (a lot of grain). My salutations to the pestle and to the wicked
man whose character is to fall down.
(The first line is interpreted in two ways depending on how the sandhi
in bahudhAnyasya is broken)
First all of you must take a sigh of relief that I am not
translating this in Russian. I have a valid comment. The interpretation
is just not right. The word khala has two meanings. Kedar gives only
one a wicked man. The second is a mortar. Those partisans of this list
who were born in cities would not know what this article and its use
is/was. It is a piece of stone, preferably, granite which is carved like
a mortar. Mortar and pestle are two components of a commonly used
pounding mechanism used in ages all over the world. Pounding removes
chaff from grain. Its use in India declined after mechanical grain
brayers were made available in cities in British rule. The use continued
for some time in numerous villages or inaccessible regions. My father's
house and that of all my relations had at least one. My mom, auntie and
sisters would wake up early in the morning and do their chores with
mortar and pestle singing songs.
The meaning as given by Kedar lacks certain truth. Why would
poet, or for that matter, anybody thank a wicked man whose character is
to fall down?. In chaturvarNya scheme four classes were assigned certain
duties and responsibilities. When they performed such social obligations
they earned the social acceptance. On this background poet takes a case
of a habitually misbehaving person patanshIla and examines his
contributions to the society. Even though he lacks social acceptance due
to his nature, the poet opines, his peculiar behavior, actually
contributes to the social needs.
Ancient Indians were taught to be polite to each other.
respectful to each other, friendly and forgiving to each other. These
codes of conducts brought social harmony, but created a situation where
blunt, bold actions were frowned upon. People, therefore, would get away
with murder, so to say, and nobody would criticize or check their
actions. Remember politeness rules. Our patanshIla was exception to this

rule. Therefore, when he got mad at sombody or something he would lash

out at them and separate their true selves from their alter egos. In
other words he would tear the masks of dichotomous, contradictory.
personalities. Poet, obviously is paying compliments to such a person.
However, he cannot openly come out and praise such a man or his actions.
Therefore, the poet resorts to the double talk, ambiguity.
double entendre technique. Smart person would find the true meaning
behind the obvious.
Nobody writes a couplet praising mortar and pestle, they are so
By his own mouth he, patanshIla, pounds most of the times people
hiding behind veneers and exposes their true nature, salutions to him
and his brute force 'musala'.
%ASAD[170]

= wicked man
= bad deed
= really
= to bear fruit
= good man
= ten
= face
= to steal
= retriction
= great
= sea

The wicked man does a bad deed and really it bears fruit among the
good. The ten faced one (Ravana) stole Sita, and it was the ocean that had to
be restriced ! (by Rama's bridge)
%ASAD[170]

= wicked man
= bad deed
= really
= to bear fruit
= good man
= ten
= face
= to steal
= retriction
= great
= sea

The wicked man does a bad deed and really it bears fruit among the
good. The ten faced one (Ravana) stole Sita, and it was the ocean that had to
be restriced ! (by Rama's bridge)
%ASAD[201]

= one whose inent is getting one's work done
= to pray, propitiate
= the world
= work
= to be accomplished
= crossed
= other
= bank of a river
= boat
= use

The world (men of the world) intending to get its work done.
prays (to you) only until the task is not accomplished. Once you have
crossed over to the other bank, what is the use of the boat ?
%ASAD[203]

= mind
= bee
= cloud
= drunkard
= bed bug

= wind
= the goddess of wealth, Laxmi
= pride, arrogance, conceit
= monkey
= fish
= something starting with the letter ma
= ten
= fickle, unsteady

The mind, the bee, the cloud, the drunkard, the bed bug, the wind,
wealth, pride, the monkey and the fish are the ten things starting with
the letter ma that are always unsteady.
-------These postings by Kedar have been taken from the sanskrit-digest archives.

% Text title

: subhaashhita postings by Kedar Naphade

% File name

: subhaashhita_kedar.itx

% itxtitle

: pratidinaM subhAShitam

% engtitle

: A Subhashita A Day - with translation

% Category

: subhAShita

% Location

: doc_z_misc_subhaashita

% Sublocation

: subhaashita

% Author

: Kedar Naphade

% Language

: Sanskrit

% Subject

: philosophy/hinduism/culture

% Transliterated by

: Kedar Naphade

% Proofread by

: Kedar Naphade

% Latest update

: June 1, 2007

% Send corrections to

: [email protected]

% Site access

: http://sanskritdocuments.org

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