08-01
अधमा धनमिच्छन्ति धनमानौ च मध्यमाः ।
उत्तमा मानमिच्छन्ति मानो हि महतां धनम् ॥ ०८-०१ ॥
The lowest desire wealth; the middling desire both wealth and honour; but the highest desire honour alone, for honour is the great wealth of the noble.
08-02
इक्षुरापः पयो मूलं ताम्बूलं फलमौषधम् ।
भक्षयित्वापि कर्तव्याः स्नानदानादिकाः क्रियाः ॥ ०८-०२ ॥
Even after consuming sugarcane, water, milk, roots, betel leaf, fruit, and medicine, one must still perform the prescribed duties of bathing, charity, and so forth.
08-03
दीपो भक्षयते ध्वान्तं कज्जलं च प्रसूयते ।
यदन्नं भक्षयते नित्यं जायते तादृशी प्रजा ॥ ०८-०३ ॥
A lamp devours darkness, yet it produces soot as a residue. Whatever kind of food a man constantly eats, that very nature is born in his offspring.
08-04
वित्तं देहि गुणान्वितेषु मतिमन्नान्यत्र देहि क्वचित्
प्राप्तं वारिनिधेर्जलं घनमुखे माधुर्ययुक्तं सदा ।
जीवान्स्थावरजङ्गमांश्च सकलान्संजीव्य भूमण्डलं
भूयः पश्य तदेव कोटिगुणितं गच्छन्तमम्भोनिधिम् ॥ ०८-०४ ॥
Give your wealth, O wise one, to those who are endowed with virtues, and not anywhere else. The water received from the ocean is always endowed with sweetness in the mouth of the clouds. Having nourished the whole circle of the earth, with all its moving and stationary beings, behold, that very same water returns to the ocean multiplied a million times over.
08-05
चाण्डालानां सहस्रैश्च सूरिभिस्तत्त्वदर्शिभिः ।
एको हि यवनः प्रोक्तो न नीचो यवनात्परः ॥ ०८-०५ ॥
Even with a thousand outcastes or with seers who perceive the truth, a single Yavana has been declared the standard; none is lower than a Yavana.
08-06
तैलाभ्यङ्गे चिताधूमे मैथुने क्षौरकर्मणि ।
तावद्भवति चाण्डालो यावत्स्नानं न चाचरेत् ॥ ०८-०६ ॥
With oil massage, the smoke of a funeral pyre, sexual intercourse, and the act of shaving, a man remains an outcast as long as he has not performed his bath.
08-07
अजीर्णे भेषजं वारि जीर्णे वारि बलप्रदम् ।
भोजने चामृतं वारि भोजनान्ते विषापहम् ॥ ०८-०७ ॥
Water is the medicine for indigestion; water is a promoter of strength for one who has digested; water is nectar during a meal; and water is the antidote to poison at the end of a meal.
08-08
हतं ज्ञानं क्रियाहीनं हतश्चाज्ञानतो नरः ।
हतं निर्णायकं सैन्यं स्त्रियो नष्टा ह्यभर्तृकाः ॥ ०८-०८ ॥
Knowledge devoid of practice is destroyed; a man without knowledge is destroyed; an army without a commander is destroyed; and women without husbands are ruined.
08-09
वृद्धकाले मृता भार्या बन्धुहस्तगतं धनम् ।
भोजनं च पराधीनं तिस्रः पुंसां विडम्बनाः ॥ ०८-०९ ॥
A wife who dies in old age, wealth that has passed into the hands of kinsmen, and food that depends on another — these are the three indignities for a man.
08-10
नाग्निहोत्रं विना वेदा न च दानं विना क्रिया ।
न भावेन विना सिद्धिस्तस्माद्भावो हि कारणम् ॥ ०८-१० ॥
The Vedas are fruitless without the Agnihotra sacrifice; even a rite is fruitless without charity; perfection is fruitless without proper disposition. Therefore, the right disposition is indeed the cause.
08-11
न देवो विद्यते काष्ठे न पाषाणे न मृण्मये ।
भावे हि विद्यते देवस्तस्माद्भावो हि कारणम् ॥ ०८-११ ॥
God is not present in a piece of wood, nor in stone, nor in a clay image; God is present in one's true disposition. Therefore, the right disposition is the cause.
08-12
काष्ठपाषाणधातूनां कृत्वा भावेन सेवनम् ।
श्रद्धया च तथा सिद्धिस्तस्य विष्णुप्रसादतः ॥ ०८-१२ ॥
Having rendered service to wood, stone, and metals with devotion, and likewise with faith, success is achieved through the grace of Viṣṇu.
08-13
शान्तितुल्यं तपो नास्ति न सन्तोषात्परं सुखम् ।
न तृष्णायाः परो व्याधिर्न च धर्मो दयापरः ॥ ०८-१३ ॥
There is no austerity equal to tranquility; there is no happiness greater than contentment; there is no disease worse than craving; and there is no righteousness higher than compassion.
08-14
क्रोधो वैवस्वतो राजा तृष्णा वैतरणी नदी ।
विद्या कामदुधा धेनुः सन्तोषो नन्दनं वनम् ॥ ०८-१४ ॥
Anger is King Yama himself; craving is the river Vaitaraṇī; learning is the wish-fulfilling cow; and contentment is the garden of Nandana.
08-15
गुणो भूषयते रूपं शीलं भूषयते कुलम् ।
सिद्धिर्भूषयते विद्यां भोगो भूषयते धनम् ॥ ०८-१५ ॥
Virtue beautifies one's form; character beautifies one's lineage; success beautifies learning; and enjoyment beautifies wealth.
08-16
निर्गुणस्य हतं रूपं दुःशीलस्य हतं कुलम् ।
असिद्धस्य हता विद्या ह्यभोगेन हतं धनम् ॥ ०८-१६ ॥
The beauty of one devoid of virtue is destroyed; the family of one of bad character is destroyed; the learning of one without success is destroyed; and wealth without enjoyment is destroyed.
08-17
शुद्धं भूमिगतं तोयं शुद्धा नारी पतिव्रता ।
शुचिः क्षेमकरो राजा सन्तोषो ब्राह्मणः शुचिः ॥ ०८-१७ ॥
Pure is the water that lies in the ground; pure is a woman who is devoted to her husband; a king who ensures welfare is pure; and a Brahmin who is content is pure.
08-18
असन्तुष्टा द्विजा नष्टाः सन्तुष्टाश्च महीभृतः ।
सलज्जा गणिका नष्टा निर्लज्जाश्च कुलाङ्गना ॥ ०८-१८ ॥
Discontented Brahmins are ruined; kings who are content are ruined; a courtesan with a sense of modesty is ruined; and a noble woman without modesty is ruined.
08-19
किं कुलेन विशालेन विद्याहीनेन देहिनाम् ।
दुष्कुलं चापि विदुषो देवैरपि स पूज्यते ॥ ०८-१९ ॥
What is the use of a vast and noble lineage for one devoid of learning? A learned man, even if born of a bad family, is worshipped even by the gods.
08-20
विद्वान्प्रशस्यते लोके विद्वान् सर्वत्र पूज्यते ।
विद्यया लभते सर्वं विद्या सर्वत्र पूज्यते ॥ ०८-२० ॥
A learned man is praised in the world; a learned man is honoured everywhere. Through learning, one gains everything; learning is honoured everywhere.
08-21
ऋणकर्ता पिता शत्रुर्माता च व्यभिचारिणी ।
भार्या रूपवती शत्रुः पुत्रः शत्रुरपण्डितः ॥ ०८-२१ ॥
A father who is a debtor is an enemy; a mother who is unchaste is an enemy; a wife who is excessively beautiful is an enemy; and a son who is unlearned is an enemy.
08-22
मांसभक्ष्यैः सुरापानैर्मुखैश्चाक्षरवर्जितैः ।
पशुभिः पुरुषाकारैर्भाराक्रान्ता हि मेदिनी ॥ ०८-२२ ॥
By meat-eaters and wine-drinkers, by those whose mouths are devoid of proper syllables, by animals in human form, this earth is heavily burdened.
08-23
अन्नहीनो दहेद्राष्ट्रं मन्त्रहीनश्च ऋत्विजः ।
यजमानं दानहीनो नास्ति यज्ञसमो रिपुः ॥ ०८-२३ ॥
A king who lacks food burns his kingdom; an officiating priest who lacks proper hymns burns the sacrifice; a patron who lacks charity burns his own merit. There is no enemy equal to a sacrifice improperly performed.