icchec ced vipulāṁ maitrīṁ trīṇi tatra na kārayet |
vāg-vādaṁ artha-sambandhaṁ tat-patnī-paribhāṣaṇam ||
(Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāram)
“If you desire a great friendship, then do not engage in these three therein: (1) disputes, (2) financial agreements, or (3) intimate conversation with their spouse.”
karāv iva śarīrasya netrayor iva pakṣmaṇī |
avicārya priyaṁ kuryāt tan-mitraṁ mitra ucyate ||
(Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāram)
“Like the hands of the body and the lids of the eyes, that friend who without deliberation does what is kind is said to be a [real] friend.”
muhūrtam api jīveta naraḥ śuklena karmaṇā |
na kalpam api kṛṣṇena loka-dvaya-virodhinā ||
(Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍārgāra)
“Let a person live for even a moment engaged in virtuous conduct and not for even a kalpa (epoch) in wickedness which is detrimental to both worlds [i.e., one’s present life and one’s afterlife].”
apūrvaḥ ko’pi kośo’yaṁ vidyate tava bhārati |
vyayato vṛddhimāyāti kṣayamāyāti sañcayāt ||
(Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra)
“How extraordinary is this treasury of yours, O Bhāratī (Sarasvatī)! By spending [i.e., distributing it], it increases, and by stocking [i.e., keeping it to yourself], it depletes!”
nāguṇī guṇinaṁ vetti guṇī guṇiṣu matsarī |
guṇī ca guṇarāgī ca viralo saralo janaḥ ||
(Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra: 45.13)
“The unqualified do not recognize the qualified, and the qualified are [often] envious of the [others who are] qualified. A sincere person who is both qualified and appreciative of qualities [in others] is rare.”
ekā bhūr ubhayor aikyam ubhayor dala-kāṇḍayoḥ |
śāliśyāmākayor bhedaḥ phalena paricīyate ||
(Mahāsubhāṣita-saṅgraha; Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra)
“Both have the same soil, and both have identical shoots and stalks. The difference between rice and millet is known by the result.”
divā paśyati nolūkaḥ kāko naktaṁ na paśyati |
apūrvaḥ ko’pi kāmāndhaḥ divā naktaṁ na paśyati ||
(Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra)
“An owl cannot see during the day, and a crow cannot see during the night, but indeed how peculiar is it that one who is blinded by kāma cannot see during the day or the night.”
laukikānāṁ hi sādhūnām arthaṁ vāg anuvartate |
ṛṣīṇāṁ punar ādyānāṁ vācam artho’nudhāvati ||
(Uttara-rāma-carita of Bhavabhūti; Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra)
“The speech of ordinary adepts [i.e., kavis] follows the object [they describe], whereas the object runs after the speech of the original ṛṣis.”
darśane sparśane vāpi śravaṇe bhāṣaṇe’pi vā |
yatra dravaty antaraṅgaṁ sa sneha iti kathyate ||
(Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāram)
“That wherein the inner self melts upon seeing, touching, hearing, or conversing [with someone] is called sneha (affection).”
he hema-kāra para-duḥkha-vicāra-mūḍha
kiṁ māṁ muhuḥ kṣipasi vāra-śatāni vahnau |
sandīpyate mayi suvarṇa-guṇātireko
lābhaḥ paraṁ tava mukhe khalu bhasma-pātaḥ ||
(Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Suvarṇa-kāraḥ, 23)
[A golden ornament says to a goldsmith:] “O goldsmith incapable of understanding others’ suffering! Why do you repeatedly cast me into the fire hundreds of times? An abundance of golden hue is shining brightly in me, while you have attained the opposite: soot has fallen all over your face.”
