kākaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ pikaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ ko bhedaḥ pika-kākayoḥ |
vasanta-samaye prāpte kākaḥ kākaḥ pikaḥ pikaḥ ||
(Unknown source)
“A crow is black, and a cuckoo is black. What is the difference between a crow and a cuckoo? When spring time arrives, a crow is a crow, a cuckoo is a cuckoo.”
apasaraṇam eva śaraṇaṁ maunaṁ vā tatra rajahaṁsasya |
kaṭu raṭati nikata-vartī vācālaṣ ṭiṭṭibho yatra |
(Unknown source)
“A royal swan simply retreats or takes recourse to silence there where a nearby talkative ṭiṭṭibha (lapwing, Vanellus indicus) bitterly bawls.”
kas tvaṁ lohita-locanāsy acaraṇaḥ haṁsaḥ kuto mānasāt
kiṁ tatrāsti suvarṇa-paṅkaja-vanāny aṁbhaḥ sudhā-sannibham |
ratnānāṁ nicayāḥ pravāla-maṇayo vaidūrya-rohāḥ kvacit
śambūkā api santi neti ca bakair ākarṇya hīhīkṛtam ||
(Unknown Source)
“[Cranes inquire:] ‘Who are you, O red-eyed one? You are legless.’
‘I am a swan [whose legs are invisible while floating on water].’
‘From where?’
‘From Mānasa [Sarovara].’
‘What is there?’
‘Clusters of golden lotuses, water like nectar, stores of gems, coral ingots, and lodes of cat’s-eye.’
‘Are there also snails there?’
‘No.’
Hearing this, the cranes laughed [at the swan].”
haṁsās sarvāṅga-śucayaḥ padmebhyo bahir āsate |
antarviśānti madhupāḥ śrīmatāṁ gatir īdṛśī ||
(Unknown source)
“Swans, who are white all over their body, remain outside lotus flowers. Bees [lit. “nectar-drinkers”] enter within [them]. The way of the exalted is such.”
haṁsaḥ śveto bakaḥ śvetaḥ ko bhedo baka-haṁsayoḥ |
nīra-kṣīra-viveke tu haṁso haṁso bako bakaḥ ||
(Unknown source)
“A swan is white; a stork is white.
What is the difference between a swan and a stork?
In discriminating between water and milk,
A swan is a swan, and a stork is a stork
[i.e., one can do so and the other cannot].”
ambhojinī-vana-vihāra-vilāsam eva
haṁsasya hanti nitarāṁ kupito vidhātā |
na tv asya dugdha-jala-bheda-vidhau prasiddhāṁ
vaidagdhī-kīrtim apahartum asau samarthaḥ ||
(Nīti-śatakam: 18)
“Vidhātā [i.e., Brahmā, or, destiny], [even] when exceedingly angered,
may destroy a swan’s fun
of playing in a cluster of lotuses,
but he cannot destroy
the widely renowned fame
of its skill in separating milk from water.”
aneka-śāstraṁ bahu-veditavyam
alpaś ca kālo bahuvaś ca vighnāḥ |
yat sāra-bhūtaṁ tad upāsitavyaṁ
haṁso yathā kṣīram ivāmbhum adhyāt ||
(Cāṇakya-nīti-darpanam: 15.10)
“There are various texts and so many things to be known. Time is short, and obstacles are numerous. Therefore, the essence is to be appreciated, as a swan can extract milk for the midst of water.”
ananta-pāraṁ kila śabda-śāstraṁ
svalpaṁ tathāyur bahavaś ca vighnāḥ |
sāraṁ tato grāhyam apāsya phalgu
haṁsair yathā kṣīram ivāmbum adhyāt ||
(Pañcatantra: Kathā-mukham, 6)
“Endless indeed are words and texts. Life is short, and obstacles are numerous. Therefore, the essence is to be grasped and the insubstantial set aside, just as milk can be extracted from water by swans.”
haṁsasya corddhva-gamane gatir bhavati niścalā |
tattvātattva-viveko’sti jala-dugdha-vibhāgavat |
ajñāna-jñānayos tattvaṁ vivecayati haṁsakaḥ ||
(Śiva Purāṇa: Rudra-saṁhitā, Sṛṣti-khaṇḍa, 15.10–11)
“A haṁsa’s [i.e., a swan-like sādhu’s] upward movement is unwavering [like a swan’s flight], and he has the ability to discriminate between the real and the unreal as though separating milk from water [like a swan]. A haṁsa ascertains the nature of ignorance and knowledge.”
haṁsāḥ sārāsāra-viveka-caturāḥ |
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.3; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 326)
“Haṁsas [lit., “swans”] are those who are expert in discriminating between the essential and non-essential.”
