Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha

gatānugatiko mūrkhaḥ śāstronmādaś ca paṇḍitaḥ

gatānugatiko mūrkhaḥ śāstronmādaś ca paṇḍitaḥ |
nitya-kṣībāś ca veśyānāṁ jaṅgamāḥ kalpa-pādapāḥ ||
(Samaya-mātṛkā: 5.67; cited in Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 7755)

“A fool is an imitator [lit., ‘a goer after that which has gone,’ i.e., just an uncritical follower of what those before them have done], a scholar (paṇḍita) is crazed by śāstra [i.e., undone as a result of pedantry, excessive concern for theory that results in a lack of practical application, etc.], and the ever-debased [alt., weak-minded] are the mobile desire-trees of prostitutes.”

Read on →

aṣṭādaśa-purāṇeṣu vyāsasya vacana-dvayam

aṣṭādaśa-purāṇeṣu vyāsasya vacana-dvayam |
paropakāraḥ puṇyāya pāpāya para-pīḍanam ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 3587)

“Throughout the eighteen Purāṇas, Vyāsa has [just] two [fundamental] statements: benefiting others leads to merit (puṇya) and troubling others leads to sin (pāpa).”

Read on →

asāre khalu saṁsāre sukha-bhrāntiḥ śarīriṇām

asāre khalu saṁsāre sukha-bhrāntiḥ śarīriṇām |
lālāpānam ivāṅguṣṭhe bālānāṁ stanya-vibhramaḥ ||
(Samayocita-padya-mālikā; Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 3742)

“In verily essenceless saṁsāra, the embodied have a false impression of happiness (sukha), just as a child sucking its thumb has the misperception of a breast.”

Read on →

antas-timira-nāśāya śābda-bodho nirarthakaḥ

antas-timira-nāśāya śābda-bodho nirarthakaḥ |
na naśyati tamo nāma kṛtayā dīpa-vārtayā ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 1661)

“Knowledge of words [i.e., grammar, śāstra] is useless for dispelling inner darkness, as darkness is not dispelled just by engaging in discussion of a lamp.”

Read on →

anyāyopārjitaṁ dravyam artha-dūṣaṇam ucyate

anyāyopārjitaṁ dravyam artha-dūṣaṇam ucyate |
apātra-dānaṁ pātrārtha-haraṇaṁ tasya lakṣaṇam ||
(Mahābsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 1806)

“An object acquired unjustly is called polluted wealth. Its characteristics are giving [wealth] to an underserving person and taking away the wealth of a deserving person.”

Read on →

anirloḍita-kāryasya vāg-jālaṁ vāgmino vṛthā

anirloḍita-kāryasya vāg-jālaṁ vāgmino vṛthā |
nimittād aparāddheṣor dhānuṣkasyeva valgitam ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha)

“The net of words [i.e., verbosity] of a speaker who has not thoroughly deliberated on the subject [meant to be addressed] is as vain as the swaggering [alt., boasting] of an archer who has missed his mark.”

Read on →

apsu plavante pāṣāṇā mānuṣā ghnanti rākṣasān

apsu plavante pāṣāṇā mānuṣā ghnanti rākṣasān |
kapayaḥ karma kurvanti kālasya kuṭilā gatiḥ ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha)

[Rāvaṇa:] “[In time] Stones float on water, men destroy fiends (rākṣasas), and monkeys perform duties. The course of time is crooked [i.e., no one can predict what will happen].”

Read on →

aneka-saṁśayocchedi parokṣārthasya darśakam

aneka-saṁśayocchedi parokṣārthasya darśakam |
sarvasya locanaṁ śāstraṁ yasya nāsty andha eva saḥ ||
(Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha, Hitopadeśa: 1.10)

“The remover of numerous doubts and revealer of the invisible, śāstra is the eye of everyone. One without it is certainly blind.”

Read on →

api sahavasatām asatāṁ jalarūha-jalavad bhavaty asaṁśleṣaḥ

api sahavasatām asatāṁ jalarūha-jalavad bhavaty asaṁśleṣaḥ |
dūre’pi satāṁ vasatāṁ prītiḥ kumudenduvad bhavati ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 2078)

“Even by living together with the impious, like water on a lotus leaf, there is no connection [i.e., no real bond or friendship], yet even by residing afar from the sādhus, like a lily afar from the moon, amity [i.e., friendship, affection, love, and joy] develops.”

Read on →

Type your query and press enter

Scroll to Top