15-01
यस्य चित्तं द्रवीभूतं कृपया सर्वजन्तुषु ।
तस्य ज्ञानेन मोक्षेण किं जटाभस्मलेपनैः ॥ १५-०१ ॥
Of what use are matted locks and the smearing of ashes for one whose heart has melted with compassion towards all living beings? What is the use of that knowledge and liberation?
15-02
एकमप्यक्षरं यस्तु गुरुः शिष्यं प्रबोधयेत् ।
पृथिव्यां नास्ति तद्द्रव्यं यद्दत्त्वा सोऽनृणी भवेत् ॥ १५-०२ ॥
He who does not reveal even a single syllable to his disciple, the teacher remains indebted to him for it; there is no wealth on this earth by giving which he can become free from that debt.
15-03
खलानां कण्टकानां च द्विविधैव प्रतिक्रिया ।
उपानन्मुखभङ्गो वा दूरतो वा विसर्जनम् ॥ १५-०३ ॥
For the wicked and for thorns, there are only two remedies: either crushing their faces with a shoe, or dismissing them to a great distance.
15-04
कुचैलिनं दन्तमलोपधारिणं
बह्वाशिनं निष्ठुरभाषिणं च ।
सूर्योदये चास्तमिते शयानं
विमुञ्चति श्रीर्यदि चक्रपाणिः ॥ १५-०४ ॥
A man who wears shabby, filthy clothes, who has unclean teeth, who is a voracious eater, speaks harshly, and sleeps after sunrise and before sunset — even if he is the lord of the discus, Viṣṇu himself, Fortune abandons him.
15-05
त्यजन्ति मित्राणि धनैर्विहीनं
पुत्राश्च दाराश्च सुहृज्जनाश्च ।
तमर्थवन्तं पुनराश्रयन्ति
अर्थो हि लोके मनुष्यस्य बन्धुः ॥ १५-०५ ॥
Friends abandon a man bereft of wealth, as do sons, wife, and dear companions. When he becomes wealthy again, they seek him out. In this world, wealth alone is a man's true kinsman.
15-06
अन्यायोपार्जितं द्रव्यं दश वर्षाणि तिष्ठति ।
प्राप्ते चैकादशे वर्षे समूलं तद्विनश्यति ॥ १५-०६ ॥
Wealth acquired through unrighteous means remains for ten years; in the eleventh year, it perishes along with its very root.
15-07
अयुक्तं स्वामिनो युक्तं युक्तं नीचस्य दूषणम् ।
अमृतं राहवे मृत्युर्विषं शङ्करभूषणम् ॥ १५-०७ ॥
That which is inappropriate for a master is appropriate for his servant; that which is a fault in a low-born person is praised in a noble one. Nectar became death for Rāhu, while poison became the ornament of Śiva's throat.
15-08
तद्भोजनं यद्द्विजभुक्तशेषं
तत्सौहृदं यत्क्रियते परस्मिन् ।
सा प्राज्ञता या न करोति पापं
दम्भं विना यः क्रियते स धर्मः ॥ १५-०८ ॥
That alone is true food which is the remnant of what a Brahmin has eaten; that is true friendship which is rendered to another; that is true wisdom which does not commit sin; and that alone is true righteousness which is practiced without hypocrisy.
15-09
मणिर्लुण्ठति पादाग्रे काचः शिरसि धार्यते ।
क्रयविक्रयवेलायां काचः काचो मणिर्मणिः ॥ १५-०९ ॥
A genuine gem rolls at the foot, while a useless piece of glass is worn on the head. At the time of buying and selling, glass is glass and a gem is a gem; true worth is always recognized.
15-10
अनन्तशास्त्रं बहुलाश्च विद्याः
स्वल्पश्च कालो बहुविघ्नता च ।
यत्सारभूतं तदुपासनीयं
हंसो यथा क्षीरमिवाम्बुमध्यात् ॥ १५-१० ॥
Countless are the scriptures, and manifold are the sciences; scanty is the time, and many are the obstacles. Therefore, one should absorb only that which is the essential essence, just as a swan extracts the milk from amidst the water.
15-11
दूरागतं पथि श्रान्तं वृथा च गृहमागतम् ।
अनर्चयित्वा यो भुङ्क्ते स वै चाण्डाल उच्यते ॥ १५-११ ॥
A guest who has come from afar, weary from the road, and one who arrives at the house unseasonably — he who eats without first honouring such a guest is truly called an outcast.
15-12
पठन्ति चतुरो वेदान्धर्मशास्त्राण्यनेकशः ।
आत्मानं नैव जानन्ति दर्वी पाकरसं यथा ॥ १५-१२ ॥
Many recite the four Vedas and the Dharma Śāstras in countless ways, yet they do not know their own Self, just as a ladle does not know the taste of the food it cooks.
15-13
धन्या द्विजमयी नौका विपरीता भवार्णवे ।
तरन्त्यधोगताः सर्वे उपरिष्टाः पतन्त्यधः ॥ १५-१३ ॥
Blessed is that boat which is made of the twice-born, though it appears upside down in the ocean of worldly existence. Those who are at the bottom cross over; those who are on top fall down.
15-14
अयममृतनिधानं नायकोऽप्योषधीनां
अमृतमयशरीरः कान्तियुक्तोऽपि चन्द्रः ।
भवति विगतरश्मिर्मण्डलं प्राप्य भानोः
परसदननिविष्टः को लघुत्वं न याति ॥ १५-१४ ॥
Even the moon, the lord of medicinal herbs and repository of nectar, whose body is made of immortality and who is possessed of radiance, loses his lustre when he enters the sun's disc. Who does not experience insignificance upon entering another's abode?
15-15
अलिरयं नलिनीदलमध्यगः
कमलिनीमकरन्दमदालसः ।
विधिवशात्परदेशमुपागतः
कुटजपुष्परसं बहु मन्यते ॥ १५-१५ ॥
This bee, lying in the heart of a lotus petal, languid with the honey of the lotus, when forced by fate to go to a foreign land, highly esteems even the juice of the Kuṭaja flower.
15-16
पीतः क्रुद्धेन तातश्चरणतलहतो वल्लभो येन रोषा
दाबाल्याद्विप्रवर्यैः स्ववदनविवरे धार्यते वैरिणी मे ।
गेहं मे छेदयन्ति प्रतिदिवसमुमाकान्तपूजानिमित्तं
तस्मात्खिन्ना सदाहं द्विजकुलनिलयं नाथ युक्तं त्यजामि ॥ १५-१६ ॥
O Lord, my father was drunk in anger and struck with his foot; my beloved husband was enraged and hit me on the head; out of childishness, the best of Brahmins hold my rival wife's hand over their own mouth; and every day they destroy my house for the sake of worshipping Umā's consort. Therefore, O Lord, I am always distressed and deem it fitting to abandon this dwelling of the Brahmin family.
15-17
बन्धनानि खलु सन्ति बहूनि
प्रेमरज्जुकृतबन्धनमन्यत् ।
दारुभेदनिपुणोऽपि षडंघ्रि-
र्निष्क्रियो भवति पङ्कजकोशे ॥ १५-१७ ॥
Many indeed are the bonds that exist, but different is the bond forged by the rope of love. Even the bumblebee, which is skillful in cutting through wood, remains motionless and helpless inside the bud of a lotus.
15-18
छिन्नोऽपि चन्दनतरुर्न जहाति गन्धं
वृद्धोऽपि वारणपतिर्न जहाति लीलाम् ।
यन्त्रार्पितो मधुरतां न जहाति चेक्षुः
क्षीणोऽपि न त्यजति शीलगुणान्कुलीनः ॥ १५-१८ ॥
Even when cut down, the sandalwood tree does not lose its fragrance; even when aged, the lordly elephant does not abandon his graceful gait; even when put into a machine, sugarcane does not lose its sweetness; and even when utterly impoverished, a man of noble lineage does not abandon the virtues of his character.
15-19
उर्व्यां कोऽपि महीधरो लघुतरो दोर्भ्यां धृतो
लीलया तेन त्वं दिवि भूतले च सततं गोवर्धनो गीयसे ।
त्वां त्रैलोक्यधरं वहामि कुचयोरग्रे न तद्गण्यते
किं वा केशव भाषणेन बहुना पुण्यैर्यशो लभ्यते ॥ १५-१९ ॥
O Keśava, was there any mighty mountain on earth that was not held up lightly and playfully by your two arms? By that very act, you are constantly sung of in heaven and on earth as Govardhana, the lifter of the mountain. I bear you, the sustainer of the three worlds, on the tips of my breasts — that is not even accounted as anything. What then can be gained by many words? Glory is achieved only through accumulated merit.