July 1st


Sanskrit Pearl of the day:
प्रामाण्यबुद्धिः स्तोत्रेषु देवताबुद्धिरात्मनि ।
कीटबुद्धिर्मनुष्येषु नूतनायाः श्रियः फलम् ॥
- कलिविडम्बन

Transliteration:
prāmāṇyabuddhiḥ stotreṣu devatābuddhirātmani ।
kīṭabuddhirmanuṣyeṣu nūtanāyāḥ śriyaḥ phalam ॥
- kaliviḍambana

Meaning of the subhAShita:
Authoritativeness in one's own praises; perceiving oneself as the Almighty; discerning other humans as insects - these are the results of newfound wealth. 

Commentary:
Generally, people value material wealth and desire lots of it to gain a sense of accomplishment. If that wealth came overnight, what to ask of such a person!  He would be constantly boasting of his possessions.  Rejoicing upon one's own praises isn't a very pleasant trait.  It is easy for him to think of himself as superior to the rest.  This is followed by even more bragging and thinking of himself as God!  As a counter effect, he regards the rest of the human species as 'insignificant insects'!!

There is a saying from another language, which can be closely translated to this - 'when a mediocre person gets wealth suddenly out of nowhere, he wakes up in the middle of the night and holds out an umbrella'!  The reason is, he suddenly remembers that he is wealthy and wants to show off.  While being inside the home, there is no requirement for an umbrella even if there is torrential rain outside! But he will still hold it out just to show that he owns an umbrella now!

Someone even said 'self-praise is almost slander!'  Why demean oneself when one can use his newfound resources for the betterment of society?  It takes a lot of humility to do this!  But nothing else can lead a person on the right path.

Someone born into wealth may be able to deal with affluence. But for someone who suddenly experiences prosperity out of nowhere, it takes very strong morals to keep him from becoming arrogant!  Keep your head on your shoulders at all times!  Everything else shall follow.

pada vigrahaH:
प्रामाण्य-बुद्धिः स्तोत्रेषु देवता-बुद्धिः आत्मनि ।
prāmāṇya-buddhiḥ stotreṣu devatā-buddhiḥ ātmani ।

कीट-बुद्धिः मनुष्येषु नूतन-आयाः श्रियः फलम् ॥
kīṭa-buddhiḥ manuṣyeṣu nūtana-āyāḥ śriyaḥ phalam ॥

Alternate Transliteration:
praamaaNyabuddhiH stotreShu devataabuddhiraatmani ।
kITabuddhirmanuShyeShu nUtanaayaaH shriyaH phalam ॥
- kaliviDambana

praamaaNya-buddhiH stotreShu devataa-buddhiH aatmani ।
kITa-buddhiH manuShyeShu nUtana-aayaaH shriyaH phalam ॥

3 comments:

  1. So true.I see examples around.
    There should be a comment column for not just liking your posts but loving them as well. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. anonymous,nk10/2/11, 7:45 PM

    I really like your blog. You explain the subhaashitaas very well Rashmiji.

    ReplyDelete