anāgata-vidhātā ca pratyutpanna-matiś ca yaḥ |
dvāv eva sukham edhete dīrgha-sūtrī vinaśyati ||
(Mahābhārata: 12.135.1)
“A provisioner for the future and one endowed with presence of mind—these two certainly live happily. A procrastinator perishes.”
dharmārthaṁ yasya vittehā varaṁ tasya nirīhatā |
prakṣālanād dhi paṅkasya dūrād asparśanaṁ varam ||
(Mahābhārata: 3.2.49; cited in Hitopadeśa: 1.174)
“For one who desires [alt., pursues] wealth for the sake of dharma, desirelessness [alt., non-pursuit] is better, just as remaining untouched by mud from afar is better than washing [it off after touching it].”
yat pṛthivyāṁ vrīhi-yavaṁ hiraṇyaṁ paśavaḥ striyaḥ |
nālam ekasya tat sarvam iti matvā śamaṁ vrajet ||
(Hari-vaṁśa Purāṇa: 22.38; Mahābhārata: 5.63.11; cited in the Sārārtha-varṣiṇī-ṭīkā and Gītā-bhūṣaṇa-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 3.37)
“All the rice, barley, gold, animals, and women on earth are not sufficient for one [person]. Deliberate on this and take to equanimity.”
harṣa-sthāna-sahasrāṇi bhaya-sthāna-śatāni ca |
divase divase mūḍham āviśanti na paṇḍitam ||
(Mahābhārata: Svargārohana Parva, 5.48)
“Thousands of occasions for joy, and hundreds of occasions for fear day by day affect the foolish but not the wise.”
anāhūtaḥ praviśati apṛṣṭo bahu bhāṣate |
aviśvaste viśvasiti mūḍha-cetā narādhamaḥ ||
(Mahābhārata: 5.33.36; Vidura-nīti: 38; Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha)
“One who enters uninvited, speaks at length without being asked, and trusts the untrustworthy is a fool and the lowest of men.”
mūrkho hi jalpatāṁ puṁsāṁ śrutvā vācaḥ śubhāśubhāḥ |
aśubhaṁ vākyam ādatte purīṣam iva sūkaraḥ ||
prājñas tu jalpatāṁ puṁsāṁ śrutvā vācaḥ śubhāśubhāḥ |
guṇavad-vākyam ādatte haṁsaḥ kṣīram ivāṁbhasaḥ ||
(Mahābhārata: 10.69.9–10)
“A fool, having heard a person’s beneficial and unbeneficial words, extracts the unbeneficial statements just as a hog extracts excrement [from mud]. One who is wise, however, having heard a person’s beneficial and unbeneficial words, extracts the valuable statements just as a swan extracts milk from water.”
pranaṣṭaḥ śāśvato dharmaḥ sadācāreṇa mohitaḥ |
tena vaidyas tapasvī vā balavān vā vimohyate ||
(Mahābhārata: 12.254.21)
“The eternal dharma is completely lost when one is deluded by sadācāra. [Even] A learned person, or an ascetic, or a powerful person, may be deluded by this.”
na tat-parasya saṁdadhyāt pratikūlaṁ yadātmanaḥ |
saṁgraheṇaiṣa dharmaḥ syāt kāmād anyaḥ pravartate ||
(Mahābhārata: 5.39.57; 13.114.8)
“That which is objectionable to one’s self should not be done to others. This, in summary, is dharma. Behavior contrary to this arises from kāma [i.e., selfish desire].”
tasmād dharma-pradhānena bhavitavyaṁ yatātmanā |
tathā ca sarva-bhūteṣu vartitavyaṁ yathātmani ||
(Mahābhārata: 12.161.8)
[Vidura to Yudhiṣṭhira:] “Therefore, with dharma as one’s chief object, one should be self-controlled. And one should treat all beings as oneself [i.e., one should treat others as one would treat oneself].”
yasmin yathā vartate yo manuṣyas
tasmiṁs tathā vartitavyaṁ sa dharmaḥ |
māyācāro māyayā vartitavyaḥ
sādhv-ācāraḥ sādhunā pratyudeyaḥ ||
(Mahābhārata: 5.37.7, 12.110.27)
“Dharma is that which is to be acted out in relation to, and accord with, how a person acts [towards oneself, i.e., one should treat others as others treat oneself]. Deceitful behavior is to be employed with one who is deceitful, and honest behavior is to be requited with one who is honest.”
