Kālidāsa

autsukya-mātram avasāyayati pratiṣṭhā​

autsukya-mātram avasāyayati pratiṣṭhā​
kliśnāti labdha-paripālana-vṛttir eva​ |
nātiśramāpanayanāya na ca śramāya​
rājyaṁ sva-hasta-dhṛta-daṇḍam ivātapatram​ ||
(Abhijñāna-śākuntalam: 5.6)​

“[Mahārāja Duṣyanta:] Position (pratiṣṭhā) reduces only eagerness [i.e., the longing to attain it], and the task of maintaining the acquired [position] causes only distress. Kingship, like an umbrella the pole of which is held in one’s own hand, leads neither to hardship nor to any great removal of hardship.”

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yathā śrutaṁ vedavidāṁ vara tvayā

yathā śrutaṁ vedavidāṁ vara tvayā
jano’yam uccaiḥ pada-laṅghanotsukaḥ |
tapaḥ kiledaṁ tad-avāpti-sādhanaṁ
manorathānām agatir na vidyate ||
(Kumāra-sambhava: 5.64)

[Parvatī speaking to a sādhu:] “O knower of the Veda, what you have heard is correct. This person [i.e., I] is intent upon attaining a high position [i.e., that of the wife of Lord Śiva], and this austerity [I am performing] is indeed the means of attaining that. [Since it is such that] Desires have no unapproachable object.”

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athāṅga-rājād avatārya cakṣur yāhīti janyām avadat kumārī

athāṅga-rājād avatārya cakṣur yāhīti janyām avadat kumārī |
nāsau na kāmyo na ca veda samyag-draṣṭuṁ na sā bhinna-rucir hi lokaḥ ||
(Raghu-vaṁśa: 6.30)

“Then, lowering her eyes from King Aṅga, the girl said to her mother’s friend, ‘Please go.’ It was not that he was not desirable, and it was not that she did not know how to see properly; people are just of varied taste.”

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riktaḥ sarvo bhavati hi laghuḥ pūrṇatā gauravāya

riktaḥ sarvo bhavati hi laghuḥ pūrṇatā gauravāya |
(Megha-dūta: 1.20)

“All that is empty [i.e., devoid of substance] becomes light [i.e., trifling, neglected, etc.]. Fullness [i.e., quality and abundance] leads to weightiness [i.e., importance, respect, desirability, etc.].”

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api kriyārthaṁ sulabhaṁ samit-kuśaṁ

api kriyārthaṁ sulabhaṁ samit-kuśaṁ
jalāny api snāna-vidhi kṣamāṇi te |
api sva-śaktyā tapasi vartase
śarīram ādyaṁ khalu dharma-sādhanam ||
(Kumāra-sambhavam: 5.33; cited in Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 2016)

[Śiva in the form of a young boy asks Pārvatī the following questions as she is performing ongoing penance to attain Śiva as her husband:] “Are samit and kuśa for your rites easy for you to obtain? Do you have suitable water for your regular baths? Are you engaging in austerities according to your ability? The body, indeed, is the primary means of [following] dharma.”

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kasyaikāntaṁ sukham upanataṁ duḥkham ekāntato vā

kasyaikāntaṁ sukham upanataṁ duḥkham ekāntato vā |
nīcair gacchati upari ca daśā cakranemi-krameṇa ||
(Kālidāsa’s Megha-dūta: 106)

“Who has experienced constant happiness or constant suffering? [No one.] One’s condition goes up and down like the movement of the rim of a wheel.”

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aloka-sāmānyam acintya-hetukaṁ

aloka-sāmānyam acintya-hetukaṁ
dviṣanti mandāś caritaṁ mahātmanām ||
(Kumāra-sambhava: 5.75)

“Fools deride the character of great souls because it is extraordinary and its cause is incomprehensible [to them].”

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