January 28th


Sanskrit Pearl of the day:
नित्यं क्रोधात्तपो रक्षेत् धर्मं रक्षेच्च मत्सरात् ।
विद्यां मानापमानाभ्याम् आत्मानं तु प्रमादतः ॥

- महाभारत, वनपर्व

Transliteration:
nityaṃ krodhāttapo rakṣet dharmaṃ rakṣecca matsarāt ।
vidyāṃ mānāpamānābhyām ātmānaṃ tu pramādataḥ ॥
- mahābhārata, vanaparva

Meaning of the subhAShita:
Always protect penance from anger; save righteousness from jealousy; defend knowledge from (the clutches of) pride and contempt; protect oneself (soul) from misdeeds.

Commentary:
In the scriptures is proof of maharṣi dūrvāsa's rage. There are stories where his anger brought down the strength of his numerous penances. Penance (tapas) does not just imply the act of penance (performing rigorous rituals). It is a depiction of any kind of austerity. It could be as simple as vāktapas - the discipline of speech, which we follow in our day to day lives. Anger breaks this discipline. Anger and penance are two things that don't go hand in hand. Therefore, penance needs to be protected from anger.

Virtue and righteousness are life essentials. If one gets into the grip of jealousy, his sense of righteousness gets thrown to the wind. He would go to any levels in order to satiate his jealousy. But he forgets one point - that jealousy is like a fire, a fire that is inside himself. It burns the bearer first and then everyone else around him. To reach higher goals in life, one needs to follow the path of dharma. The biggest obstacle on the path of dharma is jealousy. One must save dharma from jealousy.

Knowledge is the one tool that makes us different from animals. However, with the accumulation of knowledge come the aspects of pride and contempt. Pride, because 'I know all these things', or contempt, because 'someone doesn't'. Contempt can come from the learned towards the less learned too. But these factors should not deter the resolve of the vidyārthī (student). If he is too proud of his prowess, his growth will be curtailed. Or if he lets someone's contempt discourage him, this too, will curtail his growth. Vidyā should be saved from the clutches of pride and contempt.

All in all, one should beware of misdeeds. A misdeed is considered as any action that is not proactive towards the betterment of the soul. One should protect himself and his soul from misdeeds at all costs.

pada vigrahaH:
नित्यं क्रोधात् तपः रक्षेत् धर्मं रक्षेत् च मत्सरात् ।
nityaṃ krodhāt tapaḥ rakṣet dharmaṃ rakṣet ca matsarāt ।

विद्यां मान-अपमानाभ्याम् आत्मानं तु प्रमादतः ॥
vidyāṃ māna-apamānābhyām ātmānaṃ tu pramādataḥ ॥

Alternate Transliteration:
nityaM krodhaattapo rakShet dharmaM rakShechcha matsaraat ।
vidyaaM maanaapamaanaabhyaam aatmaanaM tu pramaadataH ॥
- mahaabhaarata, vanaparva

nityaM krodhaat tapaH rakShet dharmaM rakShet cha matsaraat ।
vidyaaM maana-apamaanaabhyaam aatmaanaM tu pramaadataH ॥

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