10-01
धनहीनो न हीनश्च धनिकः स सुनिश्चयः ।
विद्यारत्नेन हीनो यः स हीनः सर्ववस्तुषु ॥ १०-०१ ॥
A man devoid of wealth is not truly poor; the man who is wealthy is indeed so in the truest sense. He who is poor in the gem of learning is indeed poor in all things.
10-02
दृष्टिपूतं न्यसेत्पादं वस्त्रपूतं पिबेज्जलम् ।
शास्त्रपूतं वदेद्वाक्यं मनःपूतं समाचरेत् ॥ १०-०२ ॥
One should set foot in a place that has been purified by sight; one should drink water that has been purified by a cloth; one should speak words that are purified by the scriptures; and one should act in a way that is purified by the mind.
10-03
सुखार्थी चेत्त्यजेद्विद्यां विद्यार्थी चेत्त्यजेत्सुखम् ।
सुखार्थिनः कुतो विद्या सुखं विद्यार्थिनः कुतः ॥ १०-०३ ॥
If one is a seeker of pleasure, one should abandon learning; if one is a seeker of learning, one should abandon pleasure. How can there be learning for a seeker of pleasure, and how can there be pleasure for a seeker of learning?
10-04
कवयः किं न पश्यन्ति किं न भक्षन्ति वायसाः ।
मद्यपाः किं न जल्पन्ति किं न कुर्वन्ति योषितः ॥ १०-०४ ॥
What do poets not see? What do crows not eat? What do drunkards not blabber? What do women not do?
10-05
रङ्कं करोति राजानं राजानं रङ्कमेव च ।
धनिनं निर्धनं चैव निर्धनं धनिनं विधिः ॥ १०-०५ ॥
Fate makes a pauper a king, and a king a pauper; it makes a rich man poor, and a poor man rich.
10-06
लुब्धानां याचकः शत्रुर्मूर्खानां बोधको रिपुः ।
जारस्त्रीणां पतिः शत्रुश्चौराणां चन्द्रमा रिपुः ॥ १०-०६ ॥
A supplicant is the enemy of the miserly; a teacher is the enemy of fools; a husband is the enemy of an adulterous woman; and the moon is the enemy of thieves.
10-07
येषां न विद्या न तपो न दानं
ज्ञानं न शीलं न गुणो न धर्मः ।
ते मर्त्यलोके भुवि भारभूता
मनुष्यरूपेण मृगाश्चरन्ति ॥ १०-०७ ॥
Those who have no learning, no austerity, no charity, no wisdom, no character, no virtue, and no righteousness — they move about on this mortal earth as a mere burden, as beasts in human form.
10-08
अन्तःसारविहीनानामुपदेशो न जायते ।
मलयाचलसंसर्गान्न वेणुश्चन्दनायते ॥ १०-०८ ॥
Instruction does not arise for those who are hollow within. A mere bamboo does not become sandalwood simply by being in proximity to the Malaya mountain.
10-09
यस्य नास्ति स्वयं प्रज्ञा शास्त्रं तस्य करोति किम् ।
लोचनाभ्यां विहीनस्य दर्पणः किं करिष्यति ॥ १०-०९ ॥
For one who has no wisdom of his own, what can a treatise do? What can a mirror do for one who is bereft of eyes?
10-10
दुर्जनं सज्जनं कर्तुमुपायो नहि भूतले ।
अपानं शतधा धौतं न श्रेष्ठमिन्द्रियं भवेत् ॥ १०-१० ॥
There is no means on the face of the earth to make a wicked man a good one. Even if the excretory organ is washed a hundred times, it does not become a noble sense organ.
10-11
आप्तद्वेषाद्भवेन्मृत्युः परद्वेषाद्धनक्षयः ।
राजद्वेषाद्भवेन्नाशो ब्रह्मद्वेषात्कुलक्षयः ॥ १०-११ ॥
From the enmity of a trusted confidant, death may come; from the hatred of strangers, loss of wealth; from the king's displeasure, utter ruin; and from the hatred of a Brahmin, the destruction of one's lineage.
10-12
वरं वनं व्याघ्रगजेन्द्रसेवितं
द्रुमालयं पत्रफलाम्बुसेवनम् ।
तृणेषु शय्या शतजीर्णवल्कलं
न बन्धुमध्ये धनहीनजीवनम् ॥ १०-१२ ॥
Better is a forest inhabited by tigers and mighty elephants, with trees for shelter and leaves and water for sustenance, sleeping on blades of grass with bark garments worn and tattered, than to live among kinsmen, utterly destitute of wealth.
10-13
विप्रो वृक्षस्तस्य मूलं च सन्ध्या
वेदः शाखा धर्मकर्माणि पत्रम् ।
तस्मान्मूलं यत्नतो रक्षणीयं
छिन्ने मूले नैव शाखा न पत्रम् ॥ १०-१३ ॥
The Brahmin is a tree; his daily prayers are its root; the Veda is its branches; righteous deeds are its leaves. Therefore, the root must be carefully protected, for if the root is cut, neither the branches nor the leaves remain.
10-14
माता च कमला देवी पिता देवो जनार्दनः ।
बान्धवा विष्णुभक्ताश्च स्वदेशो भुवनत्रयम् ॥ १०-१४ ॥
The goddess Kamalā is the mother; the god Janārdana is the father; those devoted to Viṣṇu are the kinsmen; and the entire three worlds are one's own country.
10-15
एकवृक्षसमारूढा नानावर्णा विहङ्गमाः ।
प्रभाते दिक्षु दशसु यान्ति का तत्र वेदना ॥ १०-१५ ॥
Many birds of various colours perch together on the same tree; at dawn, they scatter in all ten directions. What sorrow is there in that?
10-16
बुद्धिर्यस्य बलं तस्य निर्बुद्धेश्च कुतो बलम् ।
वने सिंहो यदोन्मत्तः मशकेन निपातितः ॥ १०-१६ ॥
For one who has intelligence, that is his strength; what strength is there for an unintelligent man? In the forest, a lion, though powerful, when intoxicated with pride, was brought down by a mosquito.
10-17
का चिन्ता मम जीवने यदि हरिर्विश्वम्भरो गीयते
नो चेदर्भकजीवनाय जननीस्तन्यं कथं निर्ममे ।
इत्यालोच्य मुहुर्मुहुर्यदुपते लक्ष्मीपते केवलं
त्वत्पादाम्बुजसेवनेन सततं कालो मया नीयते ॥ १०-१७ ॥
What worry have I in life if Hari, the sustainer of the universe, is sung of? If not, how could a mother's breast produce milk for the sustenance of an infant? Reflecting thus again and again, O Lord of the Yadus, O Lord of Lakṣmī, I spend my time solely in constant service to Your lotus feet.
10-18
गीर्वाणवाणीषु विशिष्टबुद्धि-
स्तथापि भाषान्तरलोलुपोऽहम् ।
यथा सुधायाममरेषु सत्यां
स्वर्गाङ्गनानामधरासवे रुचिः ॥ १०-१८ ॥
Though my intellect is especially devoted to the speech of the gods, Sanskrit, yet I am eager for another tongue, just as the gods, though they have nectar, still have a taste for the honeyed liquor from the lips of the celestial damsels.
10-19
अन्नाद्दशगुणं पिष्टं पिष्टाद्दशगुणं पयः ।
पयसोऽष्टगुणं मांसं मांसाद्दशगुणं घृतम् ॥ १०-१९ ॥
From food, flour is ten times more nourishing; from flour, milk is ten times more nourishing; from milk, meat is eight times more nourishing; and from meat, ghee is ten times more nourishing.
10-20
शोकेन रोगा वर्धन्ते पयसा वर्धते तनुः ।
घृतेन वर्धते वीर्यं मांसान्मांसं प्रवर्धते ॥ १०-२० ॥
Through grief, diseases increase; through milk, the body increases; through ghee, virility increases; and through meat, the flesh itself grows.