jñātibhir vibhajyate naiva coreṇāpi na nīyate |
dāne naiva kṣayaṁ yāti vidyā-ratnaṁ mahādhanam ||
(Unknown source)
“It is not dividable by relatives, it cannot be taken away even by a thief, and it is not depleted even by giving [it away]. The jewel of knowledge is the greatest wealth.”
ghṛṣṭaṁ ghṛṣṭaṁ punar api punaś candanaṁ cāru-gandhaṁ
chinnaṁ chinnaṁ punar api punaḥ svādu caivekṣu-khaṇḍam |
dagdhaṁ dagdhaṁ punar api punaḥ kāścanaṁ kānta-varṇaṁ
prāṇānte’pi prakṛti-vikṛtir jāyate nottamānām ||
(Unknown source)
“Even when ground and ground,
Again and again,
Sandalwood has a beautiful fragrance.
Even when pressed and pressed,
Again and again,
Sugarcane has a sweet taste.
Even when smelted and smelted,
Again and again,
Gold has a beautiful color.
[Similarly,] Even at death
[alt., Even in the face of death],
No aberration in nature
Of the exalted arises.”
gatānugatiko lokaḥ na loko pāramārthikaḥ |
piṇḍa-dvaya-pradānena gataṁ me tāmra-bhājanam ||
(Unknown source)
“People are imitative [i.e., they tend to follow what those before them have done]. People are not [even] interested in the greater significance [of the actions they or others perform]. My copper vessel is gone [just] because of making two mounds [of sand]!”
gatānugatiko lokaḥ kuṭṭanīm upadeśinīm |
pramāṇayati no dharme yathā goghnam api dvijam ||
(Hitopadeśa: Mitra-lābha, 10)
“People, who are imitative [lit., ‘goers after that which has gone,’ i.e., just followers of what those before them have done], do not accept an advising procuress [i.e., a procuress who gives good advice] as a source of knowledge in regard to dharma as they do even a cow-killing twice-born [i.e., a highly sinful brāhmaṇa who severely transgresses the dharma or behaves in a way that clearly demonstrates he is ignorant of it].”
kva kasya karma saṁvīkṣya karoty anyo’pi garhitam |
gatānugatiko loko na lokaḥ pāramārthikaḥ ||
(Pañcatantra: 373)
“After observing the contemptible act of someone somewhere, another also does it. People are imitative [lit., they just follow, that is, blindly copy, those who have gone before them]. People are not seekers of a higher object [alt., the ultimate attainment, i.e., they do not really care for virtue, truth, ideals, or a spiritual end].”
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).”
amantram akṣaraṁ nāsti nāsti mūlam anauṣadham |
ayogyaḥ puruṣo nāsti yojakas tatra durlabhaḥ ||
(Unknown source)
“There is no phoneme that is not a mantra [i.e., that cannot function as a mantra]. There is no root that is not a medicine [i.e., that cannot function as a medicine for some ailment]. There is no person that is incapable [i.e., that cannot somehow perform some sort of useful function]. Rare then is the employer [i.e., it is rare to find someone who knows the potential of things and how to make good use of them under varying circumstances].”
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.”
śīlaṁ saṁvasatā jñeyaṁ śaucaṁ saṁvyavahārataḥ |
prajñā saṁkathanāj jñeyā tribhiḥ pātraṁ parīkṣyate ||
(Unknown source)
“Character is to be known by living together, cleanliness [is to be known] by working together, and wisdom is to be known by conversing together. A recipient is to be examined in these three ways.”
