The abundance of yes-men - सुलभाः पुरुषा राजन्

O King, abundant are yes-men, always pleasant spoken,
Rare are the speakers and listeners of the unpleasant but medicinal (truth).

सुलभाः पुरुषा राजन्, सततं प्रियवादिनः ।
अप्रियस्य तु पथ्यस्य, वक्ता श्रोता च दुर्लभः ॥

sulabhAH puruShA rAjan, satataM priyavAdinaH |
apriyasya tu pathyasya, vaktA shrotA cha durlabhaH ||

Yes-men are great! They make you feel more better, when you are feeling good. Similarly, when you are feeling down, they will take you even further down :) For they will simply say what you want to hear, not what you should hear!

It is like yelling in an echo well! Or watching yourselves in the mirror.

In corporates and administration, if you get yes-men, they are not even your eyes - to see the current or the future. It is like glasses on the eyes of a blind man.

But such yes-men are abundant. people don't want to offend others, specially if it is not in a large public place, where you could care less for others! For a king, a CXO, it could be dangerous. Render you aimless, submarine without periscope, ship without rudder, sailor without compass.

This shloka first appears in Ramayana (rAmAyaNa) [3:37:2] , when Maricha (marIcha) warns Ravana (rAvaNa) against his plans of abducting Sita (sItA). Later, in Yuddha Kanda, Vibhishana (vibhIShaNa) warns Ravana again to return Sita and avoid the war. Both times, the speaker dares to defy and go against the will of a King gone mad.

This shloka is also told by the very wise Vidura in the epic Mahabharata (mahAbhArata) to the blind emperor Dhritarashtra (dhRitarAShTra). One day the emperor calls for Vidura late at night to his palace, and complains of sleeplessness. Vidura says that "one who challenges a stronger foe, the helpless, the one who has been robbed of everything, one in affair or a thief - these suffer from lack of sleep, and asks if the emperor has any of the situation applicable."

After a long and stimulating counsel on what should a good king, statesman, leader do, he goes on to say this warning.

Reminds me of a much later saying - "We don't always love all whom we praise." Read it again, yes! There are lot of actors in the world, who would do anything to please you, as long as you have some muscle or money or power.

But for a leader, king, CEO it is important to get the real perspective, real clarity of thought. But such people who would say even unpleasant truths as long as like they are medicinal in value, would do long term good. A good king should surround himself with a panel of really learned, simple, truthful people who won't be scared to say they can't see the emperor's clothes.

Next time someones gives you criticism, or tells you the real truth about matters, thank them. For their truthfulness in feedback will help you improve.

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And now the language aspects of the shloka -

sulabhAH = easily available
labh = to gain
lAbha = profit
lobha = greed
su-labha = easily available su- prefix for indicating good.

puruShA = man

rAjan = o king

satataM = always


priyavAdinaH = sweet spoken.

apriyasya = of (-sya suffix) apriya (unpleasant)
priya = dear, pleasant; a- prefix negates it

tu = but; short of kintu

pathyasya = of (-sya) medicine (pathya)

vaktA = speaker; from vAk - speech

shrotA = listener

cha = and

durlabhaH = scarce; not easy to obtain




(c) Shashikant Joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।

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Two types of knowledge - विद्या शस्त्रस्य शास्त्रस्य

learning of the weapons [and] of the sciences - there are two types of knowledge for dignified living |
first is a matter of laughing in old age, second is respected always ||

विद्या शस्त्रस्य शास्त्रस्य द्वे विद्ये प्रतिपत्तये ।
आद्या हास्याय वृद्धत्वे द्वितीयाद्रियते सदा ॥

vidyA shastrasya shAstrasya, dve vidye pratipattaye |
AdyA hAsyAya vRiddhatve, dvitiyA_Adriyate sadA ||

this shloka is also part of the preface to hitopadesh (practical counsel)
in which the importance of knowledge is propounded.

here, it compares the knowledge of weapons and sciences. on the surface it may seem the intention of using shastra and shAstra is merely for poetic, alliteration purpose, just had to say something. for it is difficult to find much depth in it.

unless we consider this:
1. this is being taught to princes - the future kings - it is like their BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration) course.
2. a king has to be a soldier as well - adept at some weapons personally.
3. every king aspires to grow, like modern corporations.

by saying knowledge of weapons, it implies, how to actually use the weapon, e.g. how to best shoot with a bow, rifle, cannon, missile launcher etc.

but is that enough?

Recipe for disaster - यौवनं धनसम्पत्तिः

youth, prosperity of wealth,
power of authority and lack of right judgment;
each one is enough for catastrophe/disaster,
what to say where all four are present.

यौवनं धनसम्पत्तिः प्रभुत्वमविवेकिता ।
एकैकमप्यनर्थाय किमु यत्र चतुष्टयं ॥

yauvanaM dhana-sampattiH, prabhutvam-avivekitA |
ekaikamapyanarthAya kimu yatra chatuShTayaM ||


this shloka is the second of the shlokas that king sudarshan heard on his morning walk by the river gangA (no, Ganges is NOT the right name). see the first shloka here. (hitopadesh kathAmukhaM)

four situations that may cause mishaps, misfortune, catastrophe, wrongdoing.

youth -
youth think they are immortal, nothing is impossible (or should i use the copyrighted - impossible is nothing!), nothing can hurt them. they would do craziest things like para-sailing, driving motorcycles on rear wheel at 130 miles per hour, or any such adventure sport (add you favorite crazy thing here), which someone with family and secure job and a bit of age would consider - insane!

Green, bountiful, mother earth - समुद्र-वसने देवि

o ocean-draped, o adorned with mountain breasts |
o consort of viShNu, forgive me for stepping on you ||

समुद्र-वसने देवि, पर्वत-स्तन-मंडिते ।
विष्णु-पत्नि नमस्तुभ्यं, पाद-स्पर्शं क्षमस्व मे ॥

samudra-vasane devi, parvata-stana-maNDite |
viShNu-patni namastubhyaM, pAda-sparshaM kShamasva me ||


this is the second of the morning shloka. as mentioned in the previous shloka, when the two shlokas are said at a relaxed pace - with 'aum' before and after, and then a minute to reflect on the morning to come, and your good fortune to be alive ... - it would take a minute or two, which is good enough to get the blood pressure stabilized for the brain.

so in the first one, we thanked our stars that we have our hands intact, figuratively meaning that our fate and future is in our hands to make or destroy. now the day has begun, and we need to 'make' the most of it. but how? no matter where we go, we will have to step on the ground. if you live on the 9th floor of an apartment complex or something ultra modern like that, think of the time a few hundred/thousand years back, when people lived closer to earth, even in ultra modern metropolis of the times.

now we all know and accept today, that mother earth needs to be saved green! aha, we do call her 'mother' earth, even though we have assumed we are given 'dominion' over her! imagine abusing one's own mother to the extent we have done! but here, in this shloka, the reciter says -
o mother earth, forgive me for i have to step on you, trample/touch you with my feet, for i have to go around my daily chores to make my destiny, my fate!

so three questions?
1. why is she called ocean-draped?
2. why is she called mountain-breasted?
3. and why wife/consort of viShNu?

you may want to take a pause and think about them

today we know that 70-75% of the earth surface is covered with water. i guess that much of the body is covered with clothes in any civilized traditional society (not at mardi gras or cancun for sure!) and water flows like a flowing garment of a woman. there is a beautiful poem where the river is like the flowing scarf on the beautiful lady earth, which she is trying to clutch with the fingers (in the form) of the moving bamboo shoots on the river bank! and water's "dharma", characteristic, is to flow, so it is apt to think of earth as ocean-clad.

and interestingly, india has had a LONG tradition of sea-faring traders. 'lothal' was a great port of saraswatI-sindhu (indus valley) civilization or the harappa civilization. this is fast being accepted as continuation of the actual vedic civilization. its farming practices are still practiced by farmers in eastern pakistan and rajasthan (western india). then later the sea faring indians went to trade all the way to south eastern asia - the mighty rAja rAja chola of the chola dynasty; cambodia, angkor vAT temple etc.

going along with the metaphors, the mountains are like her breasts, the nourishing source of the mother!

but why these two aspects and why wife of viShnu?

viShNu is the divinity of sustenance, the all pervading sustainer, the provider. and what do we need for sustenance? resource, wealth! and that is why lakShmI, the goddess of prosperity (material and spiritual) is viShNu's consort.

but why earth?

well, where do WE get all our resources and wealth? the food, the cloths, the minerals, metals, oil, medicines, gems, diamonds, sheep, cows, horses, whatever it maybe? everything we have, we get in this world, and leave behind in this world! we get all these resources from the earth. even the things we make in the factories, their raw materials come from the earth. in that sense, a non-hindu may say - what lakShmI? but universally it has to be accepted that earth is the giver of resources, i.e. vasudhA.

vasu = wealth; -dhA = treasure chest (fem.); vasudhA = treasure of wealth!

so even if we don't believe in lakShmI per se, we have to accept earth as the resource provider, and hence as the consort of viShNu.

and where are these resources found? although they are found many places, the mountains and oceans are special treasure places. after the churning of the ocean, the deva and dAnava (cousins) got the various celestial treasures - moon, lakShmI, celestial nymphs, ambrosia, indra's elephant airAvata etc. but the first thing that came out was the black thick poisonous fluid called halAhala accompanied with dense clouds. somehow this always reminds me of the petroleum extraction - natural gas on top, and dark black oil!

even today lot of important resources are obtained from ocean, including petroleum.
and don't forget that rains are caused due to the oceans

the mountains are also a special source of resources- medicinal plants as well water for rivers. in rAmayaNa, hanumAn has to go to himAlaya for getting the life saving medicine for lakShmaNa. lot of mountains are formed due to colliding tectonic plates and bring out things that were otherwise deep within the earth. that is how himAlaya is formed.

so at a macro level these are used to go along with the feminine image of earth, on the micro level, these are chosen because of the largest treasures of resources.


next time you think of environment, and green peace and recycling and think of this shloka which encapsulates the deeper understanding of our planet than meets the eyes.

and yes, say these two shlokas in the morning, thank the hands, ask for forgiveness and start day humbly! happy making your fate and destiny.

if you find this article enlightening, interesting or worth your time, i request you to leave comment so i know you read and liked.

[photos: himalaya - courtesy JP Gupta; sunrise - courtesy shashikant joshi; space - nasa]

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and now the shloka at hand -

samudra-vasane = o, ocean-draped
samudra = ocean
vasanaM = garment, cloth
vasanA = one who is garmented, clothed
samudra-vasanA = clothed with ocean
vasane = o vasanA; like sItA -> sIte, durgA -> durge, kamalA -> kamale etc.


devi = o female divinity (addressing)
devI = female divinity
compare the shloka on saraswatI for all feminine words ending in -I (-ee) changing to -i in addressing.
divya = illuminated, brilliant, from which comes the english word - divine
deva = male divinity

parvata-stana-maNDite = o one adorned with mountain breasts
parvata = mountain
pArvatI = of the mountain; daughter of himAlaya (king himavAn); another name for gaurI, shaktI
stana = breast
maNDita = adorned (masc); maNDitA (fem.)
maNDite = o maNDitA

viShNu-patni = wife of viShNu
viShNu = the all pervading; the second of the trinity, the sustainer
patnI = wife
patni = o wife (note the change of vowel to short -i)

namastubhyaM = bowing, salutations (namaH) for you (tubhyaM)
twaM = you
namaskAra, namaste all are coming from this root
namaskAra = act of saluting, bowing
namaste = namaH + te

pAda-sparshaM = touching (sparshaM) (by) feet (pAda)
pAda = foot; one-fourth -> cow has four feet, all mammals have four 'limbs', a shloka has four parts.

kShamasva = please forgive

me = my (touching you with feet, walking on you)




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"The Force" is in your hands - कराग्रे वसते लक्ष्मीः

lakShmI in the finger tips, saraswatI on the palm |
shaktI is situated in the wrist, it is auspicious to see the hands ||

कराग्रे वसते लक्ष्मीः, करमध्ये सरस्वती ।
करमूले स्थिता गौरी, मंगलं करदर्शनम् ॥

karAgre vasate lakShmIH, kara-madhye saraswatI |
kara-moole sthitA gaurI, mangalaM kara-darshanam ||

there is another variation as it appears in AchAra-pradeepa as follows -
करमूले स्थितो ब्रह्मा, प्रभाते करदर्शनम्
but i think it makes more sense to use the gaurI. more on that below.

this shloka is to be recited in the morning. when you get up, just sit in the bed, don't rush out to get ready. say this shloka with eyes still closed, and open them by the fourth part (ma~NgalaM karadarshanam) and see your hands and smile. after this still don't rush out, say another shloka (coming up in next post), and THEN get down from the bed.

this exercise is so good, that it helps you stabilize your blood pressure. if after lying for 6-7 hours, you suddenly get up, there can be a pressure drop in the brain and this is known to be the most important factor in early morning strokes. both shlokas when said slowly will take about 1-2 minutes which is sufficient to get your brain used to new blood pressure.
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there are many beliefs, faiths and for many we don't know the reason or there might be no reason but to simply strengthen the faith (maybe superstition?)

in hinduism a central idea is that the creator entered the creation, and enlivened it! that is why we say that there is the divine in all of us, all life forms, even inanimate things। that is why the supreme is also called 'antar-yAmI' (अन्तर्यामी) i.e. one who moves inside (us, living things).


the shine of the diamond, the stickiness of the gecko feet, the long snapping tongue of a frog, the "7 tons a day feeding frenzy" of an orca whale are all the same divine shining! but what does it mean to say that the divine is in us?

and what about the trinity of creator, sustainer and the transformer (also called the destroyer)? how do we interpret them in tangible ways, for those who are more into GYaan yoga (ज्ञान-योग) than bhakti yoga (भक्ति-योग) ?

there are three phases of a thing - creation (coming into existence), sustenance and destruction (going out of existence). destruction is just a type of transformation.

creation needs knowledge, hence the creator brahmA's (ब्रह्मा) consort is saraswatI (सरस्वती) - the divinity of knowledge. sustenance needs resources, hence the sustainer viShNu's (विष्णु) consort is lakShmI (लक्ष्मी) - the divinity of wealth, resource, prosperity. transformation needs energy, hence the transformer shiva's (शिव) consort is shakti (शक्ति) - the divinity of energy, also called as pArvatI (पार्वती) gaurI (गौरी) etc.

now the shloka!
lakShmI is in our fingers. why? because all we do to make resources, create or earn them, to type in a blog, to make a space shuttle or to plough the fields, we do it because of the opposable thumbs! because we can HOLD things in our hands and make tools etc. imagine if we didn't have the fingers and opposable thumbs! any progress ever? see the pigs and lions, still as they were!

the palm like a book! the destiny on our palms! we make our own destiny with knowledge! or maybe they just didn't find a better place for saraswatI :) but there lies saraswatI.


and the wrist, the power to use the hands is from the wrist, where lies the shakti, pArvatI. also, just like shiva is mahAdeva ('greatest god', explanation in later posts), pArvatI being shakti is the most important one! she powers the other two! imagine without energy to work or think would your body or brain be of any use? you first need energy, only then can you do anything.

the divine manifestation is divided in three main categories - creation (kartA, कर्ता) , sustenance (bhartA, भर्ता), transformation (hartA, हर्ता) . and all these are powered by the three goddesses! and all these three powers are right there in your hand.

so when you get up in the morning, don't whine, but rise and shine!
the entire power of this universe - create, sustain and transform - is in your hands!
be glad you have your hands, think for a moment if you didn't! it will be like you were without the divine force!

while you have this faith in the divine, please do not let anyone take advantage of you because of your faith. that is not faith anymore, that is your foolishness and others' selfishness! beware of fake gurus, and fake godmen! the real ones don't ask for any favors, they don't try to save god or truth. we all HAVE to pay for our actions!

so why is the version with "gaurI" better than that with "brahmA"? well, the other two are the goddesses, and wrist goes well with power, energy.

[sun photo,courtesy Karasán Krisztina]

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and now the shloka at hand:

kara = hand
agra = front, ahead; agre = in the front (-e suffix for in, on) [careful, it is not the same as the city Agra of the Taj Mahal, that should be correctly written as AgarA (आगरा)]
karAgre = in the front of the hand i.e. fingers
other words: agra-ja = born (ja) ahead (agra) = elder brother
agra-jA = elder sister (jA = born, feminine)

vasate = lives; root vas, vasati - singular, third person

lakShmIH = the divinity of prosperity (material and spiritual); consort of divine lord viShNu, the sustainer
from the word lakShya = goal
----

kara-madhye = palm;
madhya = middle, (of hand); madhy-e = in middle

saraswatI = divinity of learning, knowledge; consort of divine lord brahmA, the creator
----

kara-moole = in wrist
moola = base, root; mool-e = in the base
kanda-moola-phala = stems, roots and fruits (diets during fasting that avoid grains)

sthitA = situated
gaurI = pArvatI, shaktI, consort of shiva; fair colored; consort of shiva the transformer.
mangalaM = auspicious
kara-darshanaM = looking at hands




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Science is the only eye - सर्वस्य लोचनं शास्त्रं

It blasts many doubts, foresees what is not obvious |
Science is the eye of everyone, one who hasn't got it, is like a blind ||

अनेकसंशयोच्छेदि, परोक्षार्थस्य दर्शकम् ।
सर्वस्य लोचनं शास्त्रं, यस्य नास्त्यन्ध एव सः ॥

aneka-saMshayo_chchhedi, paroksh_Arthasya darshakam |
sarvasya lochanam shAstram, yasya nAstyandha eva saH ||

[ _ and - used for pronunciation help only. see below ]

It would come as a surprise to many that unlike Europe, where there was a constant friction between religion and science, in India both went together.

Here, in the opening chapter of Hitopadesha, the king who was on a morning stroll along the river, hears some students reciting their homework early in the morning. they recited two shloka-s, one of which is this, the second we will cover later.

It shows the importance of shAstra, science, fields of study.
shAstra is a field of science, study like - rasAyana-shAstra (chemistry), khagola-shAstra (astronomy), artha-shAstra (economics, politics), chhanda-shAstra (study of verses, meter, poetry), nATya-shAstra (dramatics, theater). Some classics works are called xyz-sUtra. These are part of the shAstra, but composed in form of tight formulae, like kAma-sUtra, yoga-sUtra, chhanda-sUtra.

So not only were there names for various branches, which shows they were highly developed, their importance well accepted.

Science, unbiased pursuit of truth, is the only path to find facts. These could be hard sciences with labs and apparatus. or it could be soft sciences like the study of society, mind, behavior, philosophy. Science is finally the method, not the field.

One has to be a bit careful today about science. Because of multi-million dollar funding, many times facts of science (truths) are hidden, released at 'appropriate' times. e.g. Phillip Morris knew of the addictive nature of nicotine (science), but they distorted it, hid it (incomplete picture of science). Same goes for formula/powder milk for babies, synthetic diapers, and many other views of so called experts. That is not the fault of science, but of scientists and big corporates.

If we have a doubt, and science has uncovered it so far, then the doubts are blasted, cleared, settled, quickly. Else, some research and the doubts can again be blasted. Well, not for some chronic doubters! Because as they say, there is no medicine for doubt :)

And what about prophecy? Future telling? Well, science can tell us the results of somethings without having to do it every time. E.g. if we chop off the trees for urban development, the local climate will change. Science is used to guide our social policies and how it will impact our future. It can foresee our path of success or doom, we rarely care about that is a different story :)

This science is the true eye of people. Those who merely think of the physical eye as the eye, are actually like blind people. They can't see the future, the far reaching effects of their deeds.

There are many examples of science found scattered in "religious" texts of Sanskrit. We will touch upon those as time comes and if their Sanskrit is simple!

If you found this post interesting, helpful, please do comment below to let know.

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Now the shloka at hand:

the use of - and _ is only for pronunciation aid. Sanskrit itself doesn't have either.

- where two words break properly. e.g. aneka-saMshaya
_ where the words don't break exactly, but approximately.
e.g. paroksha + arthasya = parokshArthasya --> too long to pronounce. so paroksha_Arthasya


aneka = an + eka = not one = many; an- prefix
eka = one. it is used in chemistry's periodic table as well! Elements as eka-mercury, eka-bismuth, eka-lead.


saMshayo_chchhedi =
saMshaya = doubt
uchchhedi = blaster
chhed = hole; chhidra = hole, loophole
chhidrAnveShI = chhidra (loop-hole) + anveShi (discoverer) = loophole discoverer
uchchheda = ut + chheda = tear through the hole, blast, explode (like a pricked balloon)

paroksh_Arthasya = paraH + aksha + arthasya
paraH = not here, in front, other, else where
aksha = eyes
paroksha = not in front the eyes, (future), elsewhere
parokshArtha = paroksha + artha (meaning) = meaning of the future, the (yet) unseen
darshakaM = viewer, spectator, one who sees;

parokshArthasya darshakaM = viewer of the unforeseen, what is not obvious (in front of the eyes)

sarvasya = of (-sya suffix) all (sarva)

lochanaM = eye

shAstraM = science; see the post on shastraM, shAstraM

yasya = whose; yaH = who + -sya suffix

nAstyandha = na + asti + andhaH = is (asti) not (na);

eva = like

saH = he (generic, group pronoun)
sA = she
tat = it

[Thank you Srinivasn for pointing out the error, it has been corrected]

If you found this post interesting, helpful, please do comment below to let know.




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The four poisons - अनभ्यासे विषं विद्या

when not practiced, knowledge is poison; in indigestion, food is poison |
poison is gathering/festivities of poor; old man's young wife is poison ||

अनभ्यासे विषं विद्या अजीर्णे भोजनं विषम् ।
विषं सभा दरिद्रस्य वृद्धस्य तरुणी विषम् ॥

anabhyAse viShaM vidyA, ajIrNe bhojanaM viShaM |
viShaM sabhA daridrasya, vRiddhasya taruNI viShaM ||

half knowledge is dangerous. and the knowledge not remembered properly is decaying like radioactive material, reaching its half life in a few years or months if we don't use it, practice it. e.g. how many of us remember what is "Pb" or "Ag" or "Mn" in chemistry? or what is "d" energy level in an atom? but when we base our discussion, decision, argument on half remembered facts or knowledge without adding "i think so, or maybe" but with full authority, we can have a difficult situation!


the same food which gives us nourishment and energy to live, the most essential thing in this life after air, the same food can become poison, worse, in indigestion! the best medicine for indigestion is lot of water, and fasting. a day or two of minimal, simple food and lot of water, cures most stomach ailments. one of the main reasons for fasting is this. it is not to please god, god doesn't need pleasing, s/he is already "sat-chit-Ananda" i.e. "truth-consciousness-bliss".

prayers are for us, fasting is for us, vows are for us, austerity is for us. it purifies us, sets a goal for us, hardens our resolve. some words for fasting have nothing to do with fasting. "vrata" means a pledge. and "upa-vAsa" means 'to be next to'. the idea of 'upavAsa' is to forget about food (and mortal) worries, and spend the extra time near god, in thoughts of the higher issues, beyond just the material needs. that can be done by studying spiritual texts, or the religious texts (if they are not constipated texts), or in the company of wise, selfless people.

even that is a boon - to meet selfless, wise, content, enlightened people - also called "santa" in sanskrit and hindi and saint in english. 'one gets to meet santa, sajjan only by the grace of god' - so says tulasi-dAsa.


why is gathering of poor called poison? don't they have rights to enjoy, or unite? surely this is a sign of extreme oppression and bias against the less privileged sections of the society! one should avoid such readings, such writers, such texts, such society or 'religion' that says such things.

this type of questioning and conclusion are so dangerous! the true intent has to be understood without presumptions. else we may miss out on a treasure trough of wisdom.

there are two versions of this shloka, one uses 'sabhA' (assembly, gathering, senate, council), other uses 'goShThi', (party, function).

using the first one, means that gathering of resource-less people doesn't accomplish much. using the second means that the poor should not waste time and money in useless extravagant partying maybe in imitation of the 'rich'. they should rather find jobs, work harder and become better off economically.


a young wife of an old man is poison for him. sometimes literally! if the old man is stinking rich as well! but the expectations of a young woman might be too much to keep up with for an old (not just older) man. there is a lot of mismatch - physical stamina, mental maturity, perspectives in life. and per kAmasutra, and many other sources, an unsatisfied wife goes astray, which then ruins the reputation of the involved parties! it is again a matter of matching up the person and skill sets :) as covered in the other shloka (ashvaH, shastraM, shAstraM...)

---

now the shloka at hand -

anabhyAse = in (-e) not (an-) practice (abhyAsa)

viShaM = poison, bad for

vidyA = knowledge, studies

ajIrNe = in indigestion, from a + jIrNa = not jIrNa
jIrNa = decaying, tattered. jIrNa-avasthA = old age, tattered stage.
food is broken down in the stomach for absorption of nutrients. this also hints at a deeper understanding of the human body and metabolism, which has a long tradition in ayurveda and yoga (all diseases start with bad metabolism). there are many, many references to this.

bhojanaM = food
root bhuk, to consume. other words - bhog (use, consumption, offering of food sample to the divine), bhojya (that which can be consumed); in hindi, bhojana = food, bhookha = hunger

sabhA = gathering

daridrasya = of (-sya) the poor (daridra)

vRiddhasya = of (-sya) the old (vRiddha)

taruNI = young woman (wife) [masc. taruNa]

hitopadesh has gathered lot of simple and good wisdom from various sources, as declared in its preface itself. taking the structure of panchatantra, and wisdom from everywhere. a lot from chANakya is inevitable for neeti works. and to be honest, wherever this lifting is done, the author changes some little thing to indicate the reference.

there is another, older version of this shloka attributed to chANakya:
durAdhItA viShaM vidyA ..
and durAdhItA means badly undertaken/understood.

duH- dur- prefix for bad, wrong e.g. durjana, durbhAgya
adhItA = that which was studied (fem.). other words - adhyayana (study), adhyApana (teaching), adhyApaka (teacher), adhyAya (chapter).
aShTAdhyAyI = eight chaptered (pANinI's classic work on linguistics and sanskrit grammar)

another famous place where adhItaM is used is:
om, saha nAvavatu [nau avatu], saha nau bhunaktu, saha vIryaM karvAvahai,
tejasvI nAvadhItamastu ...

this is a shAntI pATha (peace invocation) where the students (and possibly including the guru in the prayer) are praying for their togetherness and success.

here bhunaktu comes from bhunk. "me we eat, enjoy the fruits, together"
tejasvI (brilliant) nau (our) adhItaM (studies) astu (may/let be) = let our studies (undertakings) be brilliant (successful)


PS: photos are for visual appeal only and bear no other connection or importance to the article!




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Worthiness of men and women- अश्वः शस्त्रं शास्त्रं वीणा

horse, weapon, science, musical instrument, speech, and man and woman.
(they all) become worthy or unworthy, based on who gets to use (employ/utilize) them.

अश्वः शस्त्रं शास्त्रं वीणा वाणी नरश्च नारी च ।
पुरुषविशेषं प्राप्य भवन्ति योग्यायोग्याश्च ॥

ashwaH shastraM shAstraM vINA, vANI narashcha nArI cha |
puruSha-visheShaM prApya, bhavanti yogyAyogyAshcha ||


the arabian horse lost the race.
the gun misfired.
the science of nuclear weapons.
Cacophonix the bard (Asterix comics anyone?)
the politician lost election after the bad speech.
he failed.
she failed.

whose fault is it?

in mahAbhArata, a horse trader from west (arabia?) comes to court of emperor shAntanu, to see if anyone could ride his fine horses, specially one uncontrollable white steed. everyone failed, but devavrata, the future grandsire bhIShma, did it. so, whose fault? horse's? you need a special person to control a wild horse.

why the control on deadly weapons? without proper security and training, they might get stolen or misused/abused. that is why the CTBT and IAEA controlling the world's nuclear weaponry.

what percent of the population is scientist? not everyone can discover or invent new things. and how are the inventions used? chemical weapons don't make chemistry bad, but it the bad user (terrorist/dictator/or super power).

it is not the fault of the lute that Cacophonix can't play it. if you don't tune the musical instrument, the guitar, how can you get good music?

similarly for people. if the person and skill sets are not matched properly, how can anyone be successful? if the credit for success goes to the leader, the blame for failure should also go to the leader.

here is the big management mantra!
proper resource allocation doesn't mean just the head count, but the head "content" as well! it is very important to recognize the skills properly, and then assign people. the talents need to be recognized and used appropriately.

there are few more related shlokas, and we will cover them as time comes.

---

now the shloka at hand:

ashwaH = horse; other words - haya, turanga

shastraM = weapon; instrument, apparatus, iron, steel
weapons were made of iron and steel. indian steel, wootz steel, was perfected even before the roman empire and was used to supply swords to the roman army!
[from root 'shas' to cut, kill, destroy.]
compare to astraM - a weapon that is thrown like arrow, spear etc.

shAstraM = science.
interesting note:

from root shAs = rule, reign. [cf. shAsanaM = rule, reign of a king]
so shAstraM = the science, the pursuit of truths, are like command of the king.
i.e. how can truth be disobeyed!
interesting insight into the fact that science and "religion" or "god-stuff" was never in confrontation. shAstra-ukti - statement of science - was respected, revered.
shAstrI = one who is adept in the shAstra. also a degree in sanskrit studies, like paNDita, viSharada, shAshtrI etc.

vINA = one of the earliest musical instrument of india; divine saraswatI is shown holding it, celestial sage nArada carries it. music has a very long tradition in india.

vANI = speech. from root 'vAk' - speech.
other words - vAgdevI - divinity of speech (saraswatI), vAda = -ism; vAda-vivAda = debate.

narashcha = naraH (man) + cha (and)
nArI = woman

puruSha-visheShaM prApyaM = 'gotten by'/'given in charge of' (prApyaM) the special/specific (visheSham) person (puruSha)

bhavanti = happen, become (plural) [from bhava - to be, happen]

yogyAyogyAshcha =
yogya + ayogya -> yogyAyogya
plural -> yogyAyogyAH ; + ch -> yogyAyogyAshcha

yogya = worthy; from yoga-> yogya, i.e. worthy of union/use/utilization
ayogyaH = not worthy
cha = and

note:
the second line of the shloka appears in hitopadesh (2-75) as:
पुरुषविशेषं प्राप्यं हि, भवन्ति योग्या अयोग्याश्च ॥
the problem with this is that now the number of vowels (or sounds, varNa) is 6+2+1=9 and 3 + 2 + 4 = 9
instead of 8 and 8. i think it is an error, and the way to make it 8 + 8 would be as i have put it.
if someone has the correct definite form of the shloka, please let me know.

also, this shloka might be from vidura-neeti, but i am unable to find it in my copy of the same.
vidura-neeti is another master gem of a book, but its sanskrit is not always simple. so i will have to cherry pick only those that have vocab and simple sanskrit.




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Practical Sanskrit radio appearance

on friday 17th july, 9:30pm there was a brief on air discussion on practical sanskrit, on AIR bangalore 101.3 radio rainbow,

the talk is available on slideshare, the quality of sound is not the greatest since i was not able to manage a good recording device in time.

the shlokas used in the talk are being put on the blog as well. one is already posted (cranes among swans), second one is coming.

thank you for your support, please do give your suggestions, comments, feedback, whether you like or not like something, what else would you like to see.

please use this link to give general suggestion on the site: http://practicalsanskrit.blogspot.com/2009/06/comments.html





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Crane among swans - हंसमध्ये बको यथा

mother is enemy, father is competitor, by whom the child is not educated |
(who) doesn't grace the (august) assembly, as the crane amongst swans||
माता शत्रुः पिता वैरी, येन बालो न पाठितः ।
न शोभते सभामध्ये, हंसमध्ये बको यथा ॥ ०-२९

mAtA shatruH pitA vairI, yena bAlo na pAThitaH |
na shobhate sabhAmadhye, haMsamadhye bako yathA ||

the importance of education has been a hallmark of indian culture and tradition. even today we find indians go abroad to many countries, and no matter where they go, they flourish and thrive and add to the local economy and society. president obama is even asking the american children to stand up and measure up to the indian and chinese students in competition.

education and knowledge have always been important. there are many shlokas on the importance of education itself. and even today, in modern india, when education is fast becoming a business, the thirst of the parent to send the children to good school, or just to school is so strong that now it is sometimes difficult to distinguish which school is good school!

why this importance of education? and what kind of education?
there are two types of "education" - one is to acquire a skill to help in livelihood, the other is a much more in depth study of a topic, with more abstract or far reaching effects. either one, needs education, a trainer, teacher, an environment where one can learn.

so it is not just for the "upper class" engineers, bankers, lawyers, doctors etc. that education is important. even the child of a glass-smith, farmer, factory worker, coal miner needs education. and contrary to modern beliefs that education was only the right of the "upper class", there were types of education and students chose according to their own needs and capacity.

here in this shloka from hitopadesh, of course, the king is thinking about his useless princes who are not worthy yet of being a king. and he is thinking that as a parent it is his responsibility to educate his children, else they will be like crane among swans.

---

now the shloka at hand:

mAtA = mother, from mAtri, root of word like mother, mader, madri, mater (alma mater), matriarchal, matri-mony

shatruH = enemy

pitA = father, from pitRi, root of words like father, padre, paternal, patri-cide, patriarchal

vairI = opponent, from veera = brave. one who has a posture of bravery against you, as if your opponent, competitor.
so a father who doesn't educate the child, is like a jealous competitor who doesn't want the child to excel the father. and a true father is always happy to see his children excel him, just like a true leader is happy to see his people excel himself.

yena = by whom
bAlo = bAlaH, child, boy

na = not
pAThitaH = (the one who) is educated, taught

shobhate = graces
sabhAmadhye = sabhA + madhye
sabhA = assembly, gathering (of august people)
madhya = center, among, between
madhye = in the center

haMsamadhye = haMsa + madhye
haMsa = swam

bako = bakaH, crane. this is an interesting word.
vaGk (vank) = crooked, a bend in a river course.
[*G is the nasal of the ka-group, sounds like n in gang, slang, sang]
a crane is a crooked bird in design as it dupes the fish and grabs them in its claws.
any person of such nature is called bakaH in sanskrit or "bagulA" in hindi.
there is also the story of the crane and crab!
there is an Asana in yoga named after it, bakAsana.

yathA = as, like




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