Don't axe your good projects - आम्रं छित्त्वा कुठारेण

आम्रं छित्त्वा कुठारेण निम्बं परिचरेत् तु कः |
यश्चैनं पयसा सिञ्चेन्नैवास्य मधुरो भवेत् ||
Amram chhittvA kuThAreNa, nimbam paricharet tu kaH |
yash_chainam payasA si~nchennaivAsya madhuro bhavet ||

Who after cutting a mango tree, should take care of a Neem tree (i.e. no one)? Whosoever may water the Neem tree even with milk, indeed the Neem doesn't become sweet.

Mango

Neem

In the epic rAmAyaNa रामायण, kaikeyI कैकेयी had asked for her boons. Exile to rAma राम, throne to bharata भरत. The king, dasharatha दशरथ was unconscious, his charioteer sumantra सुमन्त्र too fell unconscious. All the ladies and residents of the palace were wailing.

When sumantra सुमन्त्र regained consciousness, he was very angry. Rubbing his hands together, clenching his teeth, with red eyes, he started to torment kaikeyI कैकेयी with his word-arrows. Among the many things he said, was this.

Here he compares dasharatha's दशरथ decision to enthrone rAma राम as the mango and to give throne to bharata भरत plus exile to rAma राम as nimbam निम्बम् (Neem tree). No matter how much you pour milk in the Neem tree, it doesn't acquire sweetness.

Similarly, when starting a project, task, if it is a bad intentioned project to begin with, no amount of masking, faking, misleading PR stunts will make it a good project. Some day, sooner than later, the scam will be exposed, the illness of the project will be out. And as Vidura विदुर warns, when the secret of one bad project done with illegal means come out, then come all other that were done with the same illegal wealth. One may see that happening in the current political news-sphere in India or US or world, 2010 seems the year of the scamsters.

The leaves of Neem are very similar to that of a mango tree, the fruit of Neem is similar to that of a mango when it starts out. Mango grows to be a luscious sweet pulpy juicy big fruit, Neem fruit remains small and very bitter.

The Neem is a very medicinal tree, and its benefit as a medicinal tree is NOT under dispute or criticism. It is only the sweet and bitter characteristics of the fruits being compared. This in no way should make Neem a villain!

Mango

Neem

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and now the language aspects of the shloka -

आम्रं = Amram = [to] mango [tree]
used as object in the sentence (dvitiyA vibhakti)


छित्त्वा = chhittvA = after having chopped, cut down
छित् chhit = to cut
-त्वा -tvA suffix to indicate 'after having done so and so'


कुठारेण = kuThAreNa = by axe
kuThAra = axe
-eNa suffix to indicate instrument, by (third vibhakti)


निम्बं = nimbam = to Neem tree
used as object (see Amram above)

परिचरेत् = paricharet = should serve
char चर् verb = to walk about
pari-char = to walk around, as in taking care
pari-charyA परिचर्या = nursing, taking care of

तु = tu = word meaning 'pray tell me!' (used for emphasis)

कः = kaH = who

यश्चैनं = yash_chainam = and who, to this
यः + च + एनम् = yaH + cha + enam = one who + and + to this
यः yaH = one who
एनम् enam, comes from etad एतद् ('this', used for very close by thing)
for the second vibhakti (to this), both etam एतम् and enam एनम् are used.

पयसा = payasA = by milk
पयस् payas = milk
payasA = by milk, using milk (instrument, third vibhakti)

सिञ्चेन्नैवास्य = si~nchennaivAsya = should water (as verb), not, indeed, of it
सिञ्चेत् + न + एव + अस्य = si~nchet + na + eva + asya
सिञ्चेत् si~nchet = should water (as in watering a plant)
न na = not
एव eva = indeed (used for emphasis, has many shades of meaning)
अस्य asya = [fruit] of it

मधुरो = madhuro = sweet
मधुरः madhuraH = sweet
संधि sandhi makes the -aH to -o

भवेत् = bhavet = should become, becomes


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