Sūkti Sudhākara

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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sama-doṣaḥ samāgniś ca sama-dhātu-mala-kriyāḥ

sama-doṣaḥ samāgniś ca sama-dhātu-mala-kriyāḥ |
prasannātmendriya-manāḥ svastha ity abhidhīyate ||
(Suśruta-saṁhitā: Sūtra-sthāna, 15.10)

“One whose doṣas [bodily humors, i.e., vāta, pitta, and kapha] are balanced, fires [of digestion and so forth] are balanced, dhātus [seven bodily elements] are balanced, functions of excretion are balanced, and whose self, senses, and mind are tranquil, is said to be healthy.”

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vanaspater apakvāni phalāni pracinoti yaḥ

vanaspater apakvāni phalāni pracinoti yaḥ |
sa nāpnoti rasaṁ tebhyo bījaṁ cāsya vinaśyati ||
(Vidura-nīti; Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra)

“One who picks the unripened fruits of a tree does not get any juice (rasa) from them, and its [i.e., the tree’s] seed is also destroyed.”

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puruṣa-prayojanaṁ tāvat sukha-prāptir duḥkha-nivṛttiś ca

puruṣa-prayojanaṁ tāvat sukha-prāptir duḥkha-nivṛttiś ca |
puruṣa-prayojanaṁ tāvat sukha-prāptir duḥkha-nivṛttiś ca | śrī-bhagavat-prītau tu sukhatvaṁ duḥkha-nivartakatvaṁ cātyantikam iti | etad uktaṁ bhavati—yat khalu parama-tattvaṁ śāstra-pratipādyatvena pūrvaṁ nirṇītaṁ, tad eva sad-ananta-paramānandatvena siddham | … nānā-svarūpa-dharmato’pi tasya kevalānanda-svarūpatvam eva ca darśitam | tathā-bhūta-mārtaṇḍādi-maṇḍalasya kevala-jyotiṣṭvavat |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 1)

“The aim (prayojana) of an embodied being (puruṣa), fundamentally, is the attainment of happiness and elimination of suffering, and only in prīti for Śrī Bhagavān are happiness and elimination of suffering absolute. Thus, this is said: only that Supreme Entity (Parama-tattva), who was ascertained previously [i.e., in the first four sandarbhas] as being the object to be taught by the śāstra, is established [by the śāstra] as being eternal, infinite, paramount bliss. … Although possessed of various inherent characteristics, his [i.e., that Supreme Entity’s] verily being of the nature of bliss alone is also shown [in śāstra, i.e., his fundamental nature, upon which all of his other attributes are based, is bliss (ānanda) alone], just as the sun, which has [within it] the there existent Mārtaṇḍa [i.e., the devatā Sūrya] and so forth [i.e., as well as Sūryadeva’s chariot, horses, etc.], is [fundamentally] of the nature of light alone.”

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vayam iha parituṣṭā valkalais tvaṁ dukūlaiḥ

vayam iha parituṣṭā valkalais tvaṁ dukūlaiḥ
sama iha paritoṣo nirviśeṣo viṣeśaḥ |
sa tu bhavatu daridro yasya tṛṣṇā viśālā
manasi ca parituṣṭe ko’rthavān ko daridraḥ ||
(Vairāgya-śatakam: 53)

“Here [i.e., in the forest], we [i.e., ascetics] are fully satisfied with bark garments, and you [O King, are fully satisfied in your palace] with fine raiments. In this regard, the full satisfaction [we both feel] is the same. The distinction [between the means of our satisfaction] is insignificant. He, rather, should be [considered] poor whose desires are vast. When the mind is fully satisfied, who is rich? Who is poor?”

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mṛga-tṛṣṇāṁ yathā bālā manyanta udakāśayam

mṛga-tṛṣṇāṁ yathā bālā manyanta udakāśayam |
evaṁ vaikārikīṁ māyām ayuktā vastu cakṣate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.73.11)

“As the childish [i.e, the unintelligent] consider a mirage to be a reservoir of water, so the inattentive [i.e., the undiscerning] see transformed māyā [i.e., māyā in its state of being transformed into the manifest elements of sound, touch, sight, and so on] to be a reality.”

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aprārthitāni duḥkhāni yathaivāyānti dehinām

aprārthitāni duḥkhāni yathaivāyānti dehinām |
sukhāny api tathā manye daivam atrātiricyate ||
(Tantrākhyāyika: 121; cited in ṭīkās to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.5.18)

“As unrequested sufferings certainly come to the embodied, so too do pleasures. I consider that destiny prevails in this regard.”

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tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido

tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido
na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ |
tal labhyate duḥkhavad anyataḥ sukhaṁ
kālena sarvatra gabhīra-raṁhasā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.5.18)

“A wise person should endeavor for the sake of that which is not attained by those [jīvas] wandering above [up to Brahmaloka] and below [down into inanimate lifeforms], as [sensual] happiness is otherwise attained [as a result of one’s previous karma] everywhere [throughout saṁsāra, even in Naraka], just like suffering, as a result of the deep force of time.”

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