February 4th

Sanskrit Pearl of the day:
यदीच्छसि वशीकर्तुं जगदेकेन कर्मणा ।
परापवादसस्येभ्यः गां चरन्तीं निवारय ॥
- चाणक्य नीति

Transliteration:
yadīcchasi vaśīkartuṃ jagadekena karmaṇā ।
parāpavādasasyebhyaḥ gāṃ carantīṃ nivāraya ॥
- cāṇakya nīti

Meaning of the subhAShita:

If desirous of captivating the world with just one action, avert the cow grazing on the pastures of berating others.

Commentary:

Everyone wants to capture the hearts of his fellow beings.  To do that, what if there is one magic trick that doesn't cost any money or talent yet yields the same results!!  What if it promises one that it will lead one towards a successful life filled with acceptance, admiration and acclaim!  It doesn't need one to acquire degrees from prestigious colleges nor win accolades from reputed universities! Doesn't it sound enticing?  Wouldn't everyone flock to acquire it?!

There really is one such mantra!  If there is one thing that a person has to acquire to be adored by one and all around him, all he needs to do is ward himself from the tongue-enticing habit of castigating others!  When gossip, criticism and chiding others come as easy as breathing, one can not expect to be a front-runner in the good books of others.

In this verse, the poet wonderfully compares this habit to the grazing of a cow.  To a cow, grazing is a natural instinct and so it does not think twice before it heads out to the pastures.  The poet says, ward off that cow who mindlessly grazes on the pastures of berating others!  Then, life shall become a bed of roses very easily.  Passing the buck around is the easiest task.  When one takes responsibility for his actions, the way he sees himself will change.

Blame is just a lazy man's way of making sense of the chaos around him.  Someone once said, a man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.  Let everyone be their own success story.  One doesn't have to pull down the rest to be on top of the world.  He can feel on top of the world only by being in harmony with the world around him.  Otherwise, he will be a lonely man stuck with only himself!

pada vigrahaH:
यदि इच्छसि वशीकर्तुं जगत् एकेन कर्मणा ।

yadi icchasi vaśīkartuṃ jagat ekena karmaṇā ।

पर-अपवाद-सस्येभ्यः गां चरन्तीं निवारय ॥
para-apavaada-sasyebhyaH gaaM charantIM nivaaraya ॥

Alternate Transliteration:
yadIchChasi vashIkartuM jagadekena karmaNaa ।
paraapavaadasasyebhyaH gaaM charantIM nivaaraya ॥
- chaaNakya nIti

yadi ichChasi vashIkartuM jagat ekena karmaNaa ।

para-apavāda-sasyebhyaḥ gāṃ carantīṃ nivāraya ॥