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  • ajñāna-nivṛtteḥ prāk pauruṣa-tyāgo māndyam eva |
    (Bhāvārtha-dīpikā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 8.19.13)

    “Giving up exertion [alt., valor] before the cessation of ignorance is simply foolishness.”

    Read on →: ajñāna-nivṛtteḥ prāk pauruṣa-tyāgo māndyam eva

  • udyoginaṁ puruṣa-siṁham upaiti lakṣmīr
    daivena deyam iti kāpuruṣā vadanti |
    daivaṁ nihatya kuru pauruṣamātma-śaktyā
    yatne kṛte yadi na sidhyati ko’tra doṣaḥ ||
    (Hitopadeśa: 1.33)

    “An endeavoring, lion-like person attains good fortune (lakṣmī). Wretches say, ‘Fortune must be given by destiny.’ Set aside destiny and exert yourself with your full energy. If you make an effort but are not successful, what fault is there in that?”

    Read on →: udyoginaṁ puruṣa-siṁham upaiti lakṣmīr

  • na dharma-śāstraṁ paṭhatīti kāraṇaṁ
    na cāpi vedādhyayanaṁ durātmanaḥ |
    svabhāva evātra tathātiricyate
    yathā prakṛtyā madhuraṁ gavāṁ payaḥ ||
    (Hitopadeśa: Mitra-lābha, 17)

    “Neither reciting dharma-śāstras nor studying the Veda are means for [reforming] a wicked person. The svabhāva [i.e., one’s conditioned nature] alone prevails herein, just as cows milk is naturally sweet.”

    Read on →: na dharma-śāstraṁ paṭhatīti kāraṇaṁ

  • muhūrtam api jīveta naraḥ śuklena karmaṇā |
    na kalpam api kṛṣṇena loka-dvaya-virodhinā ||
    (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍārgāra)

    “Let a person live for even a moment engaged in virtuous conduct and not for even a kalpa (epoch) in wickedness which is detrimental to both worlds [i.e., one’s present life and one’s afterlife].”

    Read on →: muhūrtam api jīveta naraḥ śuklena karmaṇā

  • vidyā vivādāya dhanaṁ madāya
    śaktiḥ pareṣāṁ paripīḍanāya |
    khalasya sādhor viparītam etaj
    jñānāya dānāya ca rakṣaṇāya ||
    (Subhāṣita-saṅgraha)

    “A wicked person’s knowledge is [only used] for disputation, wealth is [only used] for conceit, and power is [only used] for troubling others. It is the opposite with a virtuous person [sādhu], where these are [used only] for understanding, charity, and protection [of others].”

    Read on →: vidyā vivādāya dhanaṁ madāya

  • durjanena samaṁ sakhyaṁ vairaṁ cāpi na kārayet |
    uṣṇo dahati cāṅgāraḥ śīto kṛṣṇāyate karam ||
    (Hitopadeśa: 3.81)

    “Make neither friendship nor enmity with a wicked person, who is comparable to a piece of coal, which when hot burns your hand and when cold turns it black.”

    Read on →: durjanena samaṁ sakhyaṁ vairaṁ cāpi na kārayet

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