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anirvedaḥ śriyo mūlyaṁ duḥkha-nāśe sukhasya ca |
mahān bhavaty anirviṇṇaḥ sukhaṁ cātyantam aśnute ||
(Mahābhārata: 5.39.45; Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha)
“Perseverance [lit., non-despondence] is the root of fortune, elimination of suffering, and happiness. One who is perseverant [alt., non-despondent] is great and enjoys the greatest happiness.”
Read on →: anirvedaḥ śriyo mūlyaṁ duḥkha-nāśe sukhasya ca
ye nāma kecid iha naḥ prathayanti avajñāṁ
jānanti te kim api tān prati naiṣa yatnaḥ |
utpatsyate tu mama ko’pi samāna-dharmā
kālo hy ayaṁ niravadhir vipulā ca pṛthvī ||
(Bhavabhūti’s Mālāti-mādhava: 1.8)
“Some may deride me. What do they know? This work [i.e., this book] is not for them. Someone of similar nature to me [i.e., an appreciator of my work], however, will come along [some day], since time is endless and this earth is vast.”
Read on →: ye nāma kecid iha naḥ prathayanti avajñāṁ
sahasā vidadhīta na kriyām
avivekaḥ param āpadāṁ padam |
vṛṇate hi vimṛśya-kāriṇaṁ
guṇa-lubdhāḥ svayam eva sampadaḥ ||
(Kirātārjunīyam: 2.30; cited in Sāhitya-darpaṇa: 643, Hitopadeśa: 4.104; the Vṛtti on Hari-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇa: 780; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-śeṣa: 90)
“One should not act rashly. Indiscrimination is a cause of severe misfortune. Desirous of [such] virtue, good fortune personally worships one who acts after having deliberated.”
Read on →: sahasā vidadhīta na kriyām
nāpṛṣṭaḥ kasyacid brūyān na cānyāyena pṛcchataḥ |
jānann api hi medhāvī jaḍaval loka ācaret ||
(Manu Smṛti: 2.110)
“Unless asked, do not speak to anyone, and do not speak to someone who asks improperly. Even while knowing, an intelligent person should act like a dullard [when it is unbefitting to disclose one’s knowledge].”
Read on →: nāpṛṣṭaḥ kasyacid brūyān na cānyāyena pṛcchataḥ
dharmārtham api neheta yātrārthaṁ vādhano dhanam |
anīhānīhamānasya mahāher iva vṛttidā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.15.15)
“A person devoid of wealth should not desire [alt., endeavor for] wealth even for the sake of dharma or one’s sustenance. Desirelessness [alt., non-endeavoring] [itself] provides the livelihood of one who is desireless [alt., non-endeavoring], as it does for a large snake [i.e., python].”
Read on →: dharmārtham api neheta yātrārthaṁ vādhano dhanam
ye sarva-nairapekṣyena rādhā-dāsyecchavaḥ param |
saṅkīrtayanti tan-nāma tādṛśa-priyatā-mayāḥ ||
anyeṣām iva teṣāṁ ca prāpyaṁ ced hṛn na tṛpyati |
aho nanda-yaśodāder na sahe tādṛśīṁ gatim ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.1.21–22)
“If the attainment of those who, without regard for all of this [i.e., all the aforementioned sādhyas and sādhanas of karmīs, jñānīs, and other bhaktas], desire only servitude to Rādhā and engage in saṅkīrtana of his name [i.e., the name of Kṛṣṇa, the relisher of the rāsa dance], filled with such fondness [i.e., the extraordinary prema of the gopīs, the recipients of the very essence of Bhagavān’s grace], is like that of others [i.e., is the same as that of the Yādavas, Pāṇḍavas, and so forth], then my heart is not satisfied. Aho! I cannot tolerate such a destination [being that meant] for Nanda, Yaśodā, and others [i.e., for the people of Vraja led by Nanda and Yaśodā, since an equal result for those who are great and those who are lesser is not befitting].”
Read on →: ye sarva-nairapekṣyena rādhā-dāsyecchavaḥ param