November 26th


Sanskrit Pearl of the day:
गच्छत्पिपीलिका याति योजनानां शतान्यपि ।
अगच्छन् वैनतेयोऽपि पदमेकं न गच्छति ॥

Transliteration:
gacchatpipīlikā yāti yojanānāṃ śatānyapi ।
agacchan vainateyo'pi padamekaṃ na gacchati ॥

Meaning of the subhAShita:
A moving ant can conquer a thousand miles. Despite being an eagle, he won't traverse a foot if immobile.

Commentary:
An ant is small and covers a very tiny amount of ground with every step. But if he keeps at it, he can traverse miles together. (A 'yojana' is a measure of about 9 miles, hence a 100 yojanas were rounded off to 1000 miles here.)
On the other hand,  an eagle has a majestic glide. His wingspan allows him to reach quite a distance very quickly. However, if he is immobile and lazy, just the fact that he is an eagle won't do much good! He has to put his prowess and skills to use.  Only then can he achieve his goal. This is almost like the 'hare and the tortoise' race where 'slow and steady wins the race'.  Laziness has no room among the determined.

The message here is - Industriousness will help one achieve his goals in life. Just possessing the means and power required to achieve them is not enough!

pada vigrahaH:
गच्छत्-पिपीलिका याति योजनानां शतानि अपि ।
gacchat-pipīlikā yāti yojanānāṃ śatāni api ।

अगच्छन् वैनतेयः अपि पदम् एकं न गच्छति ॥
agacchan vainateyaḥ api padam ekaṃ na gacchati ॥

Alternate Transliteration:
gachChatpipIlikaa yaati yojanaanaaM shataanyapi ।
agachChan vainateyo.pi padamekaM na gachChati ॥

gachChat-pipIlikaa yaati yojanaanaaM shataani api ।
agachChan vainateyaH api padam ekaM na gachChati ॥

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