September 9th


Sanskrit Pearl of the day:
किमप्यस्ति स्वभावेन सुन्दरं वाप्यसुन्दरम् ।
यदेव रोचते यस्मै तद्भवेत्तस्य सुन्दरम् ॥

- हितोपदेष, सुहृद्भेद

Transliteration:
kimapyasti svabhāvena sundaraṃ vāpyasundaram ।
yadeva rocate yasmai tadbhavettasya sundaram ॥
- hitopadeṣa, suhṛdbheda

Meaning of the subhAShita:
Is there anything that is beautiful or ugly inherently? Whatever appeals to whomever, that looks beautiful to him.

Commentary:
Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder!

There is nothing on earth that comes bearing a 'beautiful' or 'ugly' tag. The inherent nature of anything does not include this tag. In the creator's eye, everything is equally beautiful and each has its own special place and requirement in this world. Else, He would not have put in the time and energy needed to create it.

However, to the onlooker's eye, some things are appealing, some are not. No object is so beautiful that, it will not look ugly or vice versa. Who is most beautiful in this world? There is no way to answer this question. To someone, the person voted as the most beautiful in the world may not be as appealing as their simple looking spouse. One does not love a person because of their beauty.  The person looks beautiful because of their love!

All said and done, physical beauty is only skin deep. The real beauty of a person comes from the inner depths of his existence. It is a blend of his integrity, solidarity, modesty, kindness and humility. Cultivate those traits to make yourself beautiful!

pada vigrahaH:
किम् अपि अस्ति स्वभावेन सुन्दरं वा अपि असुन्दरम् ।
kim api asti svabhāvena sundaraṃ vā api asundaram ।

त् एव रोचते यस्मै तत् भवेत् तस्य सुन्दरम् ॥
yat eva rocate yasmai tat bhavet tasya sundaram ॥

Alternate Transliteration:
kimapyasti svabhaavena sundaraM vaapyasundaram ।
yadeva rochate yasmai tadbhavettasya sundaram ॥
- hitopadeSha, suhRudbheda

kim api asti svabhaavena sundaraM vaa api asundaram ।
yat eva rochate yasmai tat bhavet tasya sundaram ॥

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