apakāra-daśāyām apy upakurvanti sādhavaḥ |
chindantam api vṛkṣaḥ sva-chāyayā kiṁ na rakṣati ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 1876)
“Even in a condition of [receiving] harm, sādhus help [those who harm them]. Does a tree even while being chopped down not offer protection [to those who are cutting it] with its own shade?”
apriya-vacanāṅgārair dagdho’pi na vipriyaṁ vadaty āryaḥ |
kiṁ dahyamānam agaru svabhāva-surabhiṁ parityajati ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 2194)
“Even if burnt by the coals of unpleasant words, a noble person do not say something unpleasant [in response]. Does [even] a burning piece of aloewood give up its natural fragrance?”
tyajed ekaṁ kulasyārthe grāmasyārthe kulaṁ tyajet |
grāmaṁ janapadasyārthe svātmārthe pṛthivīṁ tyajet ||
(Cāṇakya-nīti-darpaṇa: 3.10; Hitopadeśa: 1.143; Pañcatantra: 1.386)
“Give up an individual for the sake of a family. Give up a family for the sake of a village and a village for the sake of a nation. Give up [however] the earth for the sake of one’s self.”
abhimāna-dhanaṁ yeṣāṁ ciraṁ jīvanti te narāḥ |
abhimāna-vihīnānāṁ kiṁ dhanena kim āyuṣā ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha: 2306)
“People who have the wealth of self-respect live long. What can wealth and what can life do for those who have no self-respect?”
ātmā nadī saṁyama-puṇya-tīrthā
satyodakā śīla-taṭā dayormiḥ |
tatrābhiṣekaṁ kuru pāṇḍu-putra
na vāriṇā śuṣyati cāntarātmā ||
(Hitopadeśa: Sandhi, 93)
“The self is a river: discipline is its auspicious bathing places, truth its water, character its banks, and compassion its waves. Bath there, O son of Pāṇḍu. The inner self is not purified by water.”
na svalpam apy adhyavasāya-bhīroḥ
karoti vijñāna-vidhir guṇaṁ hi |
andhasya kiṁ hasta-tala-sthito’pi
prakāśayaty artham iha pradīpaḥ ||
(Hitopadeśa: 1.165)
“Application of knowledge [alt., of the faculty of discrimination] does not do even a little good for one who is afraid of determined action [i.e., putting one’s knowledge and conclusions into practice in the face of obstacles]. What object in this world does even a lamp present in the palm of the hand illuminate for a blind person?”
anirvedaḥ śriyo mūlyaṁ duḥkha-nāśe sukhasya ca |
mahān bhavaty anirviṇṇaḥ sukhaṁ cātyantam aśnute ||
(Mahābhārata: 5.39.45; Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha)
“Perseverance [lit., non-despondence] is the root of fortune, elimination of suffering, and happiness. One who is perseverant [alt., non-despondent] is great and enjoys the greatest happiness.”
ye nāma kecid iha naḥ prathayanti avajñāṁ
jānanti te kim api tān prati naiṣa yatnaḥ |
utpatsyate tu mama ko’pi samāna-dharmā
kālo hy ayaṁ niravadhir vipulā ca pṛthvī ||
(Bhavabhūti’s Mālāti-mādhava: 1.8)
“Some may deride me. What do they know? This work [i.e., this book] is not for them. Someone of similar nature to me [i.e., an appreciator of my work], however, will come along [some day], since time is endless and this earth is vast.”
sahasā vidadhīta na kriyām
avivekaḥ param āpadāṁ padam |
vṛṇate hi vimṛśya-kāriṇaṁ
guṇa-lubdhāḥ svayam eva sampadaḥ ||
(Kirātārjunīyam: 2.30; cited in Sāhitya-darpaṇa: 643, Hitopadeśa: 4.104; the Vṛtti on Hari-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇa: 780; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-śeṣa: 90)
“One should not act rashly. Indiscrimination is a cause of severe misfortune. Desirous of [such] virtue, good fortune personally worships one who acts after having deliberated.”
ko’tibhāraḥ samarthānāṁ kiṁ dūraṁ vyavasāyinam |
ko videśaḥ savidyānāṁ kaḥ paraḥ priyavādinām ||
(Pañcatantra)
“What is too heavy for the capable? What is far for the assiduous? What is a foreign land for the learned? Who is a stranger for those who speak kindly?”
