What is a burden for those who are clever?
What is too distant for those who endeavor?
Where is too foreign for well-rounded folk?
Who is a stranger to people who joke?

ko hi bharah samarthanam kim duram vyavasayinam |
ko videshah suvidyanam kah parah priyavadinam ||

The silence of the wise is wise.
Like cuckoos under rainy skies,
Where frogs are croaking off their lungs,
It’s best for us to hold our tongues.

bhadram bhadram kritam maunam kokilairjaladagame |
vaktaro darduro yatra tatra maunam samacharet ||

The cuckoo’s black and so’s the crow.
The birds are identical, no?
When lovely spring is here, one knows:
The cuckoo coos, the crow just crows.

kakah krishnah pikah krishnah ko bheda pikakakayoh |
vasantasamaye prapte kakah kakah pikah pikah ||

Fight anger with serenity
And nastiness with amenity.
Fight selfishness with charity
And lies with truth and clarity.

akrodhena jayet krodhamasadhum sadhuna jayet |
jayet kadaryam danena jayet satyena chanritam ||

In autumn, clouds may loudly rumble,
But not a drop of rain will tumble.
When monsoons come, the clouds are silent
And yet they rain down hard and violent.

The fools who thunder, boom and roar
Accomplish nothing, nothing more.
The wise and calm and thoughtful one
Acts silently and gets things done.

sharadi na varshati garjati varshati varshashu nihsvano meghah |
nicho vadati na kurute vadati na sadhuh karotyeva ||

Like trees that bow down, full of fruits,
The wise are humble, head to boots.
Like dried out trees that never bend
The fools are pompous till the end.

namanti phalino vrikshah namanti gunino janah |
shushkakashthashcha murkhashcha na namanti kadachana ||

Speak the truth but speak it kindly.
Do not speak a truth unkindly.
Pleasing lies are not okay.
That’s the True Eternal Way.

satyam bruyatpriyam bruyat na bruyat satyamapriyam |
priyam cha nanritam bruyat eshadharmassanatanah ||

Between a villain and a snake
The snake is better for your sake.
The snake may bite you once a while.
The villain bites you every mile.

sarpa durjanayormadhye varam sarpo na durjanah |
sarpam danshati kalena durjanastu pade pade ||

At the camel’s wedding party,
The donkey sings, aloud and hearty.
They praise each other all night long:
“O what a beauty!” “What a song!”

ushtranam vivaheshu gitam gayanti gardabhah |
parasparam prashansanti aho rupam aho dhvanih ||