December 29th

Sanskrit Pearl of the day:
पिपीलिकार्जितं धान्यं मक्षिकासञ्चितं मधु ।
लुब्धेन सञ्चितं द्रव्यं समूलं हि विनश्यति ॥
-सुभाषितरत्नभाण्डागार

Transliteration:
pipīlikārjitaṃ dhānyaṃ makṣikāsañcitaṃ madhu ।
lubdhena sañcitaṃ dravyaṃ samūlaṃ hi vinaśyati ॥
-subhāṣitaratnabhāṇḍāgāra

Meaning of the subhAShita:
Grain collected by an ant, honey collected by the bees, and wealth accumulated by avarice—will all be destroyed along with their source.

Commentary:

Ants gather grains continuously; bees tirelessly collect honey from flowers. The greedy hoard money and wealth incessantly.

If we really think about it, what happens in nature to the ants and the bees is exactly what happens to stingy people. As a result of their hard work and perseverance, the ants are able to build their ant hill.  They collect enough food to feed the whole colony and then some! But one fine day, a snake enters the hole and destroys everything, along with the colony. Similarly, honeybees work constantly to build their hive and make sweet honey. However, one day a human being or animal (i.e., a bear) will bring down the whole hive along with all the bees just to acquire the honey. Neither the ants nor the bees enjoy their own hard work! 

The same kind of destruction is attained by the wealth of a greedy, stingy, avaricious individual (albeit a redundancy of words). He spends his entire life accumulating wealth. He doesn't revel in it; neither using it for his own enjoyment or the benefit of others. Such a person's wealth will be destroyed one fine day. It will be lost or stolen. Even if he succeeds in protecting his possessions, Death, the leveler, will even it all out. When one dies, there is no guarantee that his wealth will be used for good causes, and he certainly can't carry it with him to the netherworld.

In the end, "it's not what was gathered, but what was scattered mindlessly, that illustrates the kind of life that was lived!"  

pada vigrahaH:
पिपीलिका-अर्जितं धान्यं मक्षिका-सञ्चितं मधु ।
pipīlikā-arjitaṃ dhānyaṃ makṣikā-sañcitaṃ madhu ।

लुब्धेन सञ्चितं द्रव्यं समूलं हि विनश्यति ॥
lubdhena sañcitaṃ dravyaṃ samūlaṃ hi vinaśyati ॥

Alternate Transliteration:
pipIlikaarjitaM dhaanyaM makShikaasa~nchitaM madhu ।
lubdhena sa~nchitaM dravyaM samUlaM hi vinashyati ॥
- subhaaShitaratnabhaaNDaagaara

pipIlikaa-arjitaM dhaanyaM makShikaa-sa~nchitaM madhu ।

lubdhena sa~nchitaM dravyaM samUlaM hi vinashyati ॥