July 22nd


Sanskrit Pearl of the day:
रात्रिर्गमिष्यति भविष्यति सुप्रभातम्
भास्वानुदेष्यति हसिष्यति पङ्कजश्रीः ।
इत्थं विचिन्तयति कोशगते द्विरेफे
हा हन्त हन्त नलिनीं गज उज्जहार ॥

- कुवलयानन्द

Transliteration:
rātrirgamiṣyati bhaviṣyati suprabhātam
bhāsvānudeṣyati hasiṣyati paṅkajaśrīḥ ।
itthaṃ vicintayati kośagate dvirephe
hā hanta hanta nalinīṃ gaja ujjahāra ॥
- kuvalayānanda

Meaning of the subhAShita:
"The night shall pass, dawn shall arrive, the sun shall rise and the lotus shall bloom" - even as the bee stuck in the lotus bud, was thinking; alas, alas, an elephant uprooted the lotus!!

Commentary:
Timing is everything or destiny has the final say?!

This verse is the height of poetic fiction!  Here, he narrates the story of a busy little bee who was anxious to get the last sip of nectar before the fall of the day.  He hovered over a lotus and settled down for the sip.  But since it was almost dusk, the lotus closed its petals to rest for the day and the bee got stuck inside the petals.  There was no way it could get out from the grasp of the tender petals of the closed lotus bud!  So, the bee consoled itself thus, "the night shall pass, daybreak shall come, the sun shall rise and the lotus shall bloom..." - so that when the flower opened the petals, it could fly away.  But alas, what luck!  Even as the bee was thinking this, a rut elephant uprooted the closed lotus bud!!  Now that the lotus wasn't rooted anymore, neither the rise of the sun nor the midday scorch can bring a difference in the petals.  The bud shall never ever open again, hence trapping the bee inside, to draw its last breath! :(

Like they say, 'it is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped'!  Perhaps, the outcome would have been different if the bee had judged the time of the day better.  Perhaps, the bee would have been spared if he wasn't greedy for that one last sip.  Perhaps, the consequence would have been different if the bee was swift enough to fly out when the bud was closing up.  Perhaps..., perhaps... These can only be speculations.

Many times in life, one would never know what would have happened differently if he made different choices.  Perhaps, it is the choices and not chances, that determine one's destiny?!!  It is probably for oneself to decide...

pada vigrahaH:
रात्रिः गमिष्यति भविष्यति सुप्रभातम्
rātriḥ gamiṣyati bhaviṣyati suprabhātam

भास्वान् उदेष्यति हसिष्यति पङ्कजश्रीः ।
bhāsvān udeṣyati hasiṣyati paṅkajaśrīḥ ।

इत्थं विचिन्तयति कोश-गते द्विरेफे
itthaṃ vicintayati kośa-gate dvirephe

हा हन्त हन्त नलिनीं गज उज्जहार ॥
hā hanta hanta nalinīṃ gaja ujjahāra ॥

Alternate Transliteration:
raatrirgamiShyati bhaviShyati suprabhaatam
bhaaswaanudeShyati hasiShyati pa~nkajashrIH ।
itthaM vichintayati koshagate dvirephe
haa hanta hanta nalinIM gaja ujjahaara ॥
- kuvalayaananda

raatriH gamiShyati bhaviShyati suprabhaatam

bhaaswaan udeShyati hasiShyati pa~nkajashrIH ।
itthaM vichintayati kosha-gate dvirephe
haa hanta hanta nalinIM gaja ujjahaara ॥

18 comments:

  1. excellent verse. height of poetic fiction.

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    1. Yes, that's the beauty of Samskrutam 😊. Glad you enjoyed it.

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  2. Really thanks to posted this meaningful slokam

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  3. My father taught me this shlok when i was in class 6, many times i m relating myself with this verse. Timing is everything.

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    1. Very nice to hear that. Things learnt in childhood go a very long way!

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  4. My father always croons these sholokas and explain the meaning in simple Hindi. Today he asked me to buy ShivPuran for him but I thought of buying this book instead which is a collection of all brilliant sholokas with simple English. Thanks a lot mam'm for writing this excellent book.

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    1. Thank you for your kind words, Deepesh Singh ji. Glad you are enjoying the content in the book! Do watch out for the next volume in the coming months.

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  5. यह मेरा सर्वप्रिय छंद /श्लोक है यह किस पुस्तक में वर्णित है किसे द्वारा रचित है

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    1. Dr. Premlata ji, yeh shlok कुवलयानन्द se li gayi hain. jis kisi subhaaShit kaa mool granth ki jaankaari hain, uskaa ullekh shlok ke neeche di gayi hain.

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  6. thank you very much mam, your are doing beautiful work. I love to read and understand sanskrit from my childhood and i like tgis kind of detailed work in the depth of each and every aspect of the language. Thanks a lot again.

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    1. Happy to here that!
      You may also enjoy the free classes I'm offering online.
      Do check out

      https://sanskritpearls.blogspot.com/register

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  7. Amazing explanation.thankbyou for giving us the pearls of wisdom..

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  8. अत्यंत सुंदर अर्थपूर्ण बारकाव्यानिशी रसग्रहण केलं आहे . खूप खूप आभार .

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  9. Which chapter and shlok number can we find it at?

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