vidyā dadāti vinayaṁ vinayād yāti pātratām |
pātratvād dhanam āpnoti dhanād dharmaṁ tatas sukham ||
(Hitopadeśa: Maṅgalācaraṇam, 6)
“Knowledge gives one humility [alt., discipline]. Through humility one attains worthiness. Through worthiness one acquires wealth, and through wealth come dharma and thereafter happiness.”
ālasyaṁ hi manuṣyāṇāṁ śarīrastho mahān ripuḥ |
nāsty udyama-samo bandhuḥ kurvāṇo nāvasīdati ||
(Nīti-śataka: 86)
“The great enemy situated in the body of human beings is laziness, and there is no friend [to them] like endeavor. One who acts never comes to ruin.”
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].”
na ca paśyati janmāndhaḥ kāmāndho naiva paśyati |
na paśyati madonmatto hy arthī doṣān na paśyati ||
(Cāṇakya-nīti-darpaṇa: 6.8)
“Neither can one who is blind from birth see, nor can one who is blinded by lust see, nor one can one who is intoxicated by pride see, nor can one who seeks wealth see faults [in one’s actions and their consequences].”
kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobho harṣo māno madas tathā |
ṣaḍ-vargam utsṛjed enaṁ tasmiṁs tyakte sukhī nṛpaḥ ||
(Hitopadeśa: Sandhi, 102)
“Give up the six enemies: lust, anger, greed, pleasure, egotism, and pride. O King, one who rejects them is happy in this world.”
upadeśo hi mūrkhānāṁ prakopāya na śāntaye |
payaḥ-pānaṁ bhujangānāṁ kevalaṁ viṣa-vardhanam ||
(Pañcatantra: 1.420)
“Advice leads [only] to angering fools, not pacifying them. Drinking milk only increases the poison of snakes.”
śāstrāṇy adhītyāpi bhavanti mūrkhā
yas tu kriyāvān puruṣaḥ sa vidvān |
sucintitaṁ caiṣadham āturāṇāṁ
na nāma-mātreṇa karoty arogam ||
(Hitopadeśa: 1.164)
“Even after studying the śāstras, fools remain [fools], whereas a person who engages in practice [of the knowledge they have studied] becomes [truly] learned, just as a well-considered medicine for sick persons does not remove a disease with only its name [i.e., the medicine has to actually be taken properly, and so also knowledge has to actually be put into practice properly for it to be realized and one to attain the benefit such knowledge produces].”
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.”
abhyāsād dhāryate vidyā kulaṁ śīlena dhāryate |
guṇair mitrāṇi dhāryante akṣṇā krodhaś ca dhāryate ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 2390)
“Knowledge is maintained by practice. A family is maintained by good conduct. Friends are maintained by good qualities. And anger is maintained by the eyes.”
yo’rtha-tattvam avijñāya krodhasyaiva vaśaṁ gataḥ |
sa tathā tapyate mūḍho brāhmaṇo nakulād yathā ||
(Hitopadeśa: Sandhi, 102)
“Without ascertaining the facts of the matter, one who becomes captivated by anger later repents, like the brāhmaṇa on account of a mongoose.”
