acharyat padamadatte padam shishya svamedhaya |
padam sabrahmacharibhya: padam kala kramena cha ||

A part we learn from those who teach us,
A part from our own reason's reaches,
A part we learn from friends and peers,
The rest from passing days and years.

pibanti nadyah svayameva nabhyah svayam na khadanti phalani vrikshah |
nadanti sasyam khalu varivahah paropakaraya satam vibhutayah ||

A river never sips or drinks
The water flowing by its brinks.
A tree won’t eat the fruits it flowers,
A cloud won't reap the crops it showers.
The worthy share their worth with others:
Their fellow sisters, fellow brothers.

ayam bandhurayam neti ganana laghuchetasam |
udaracharitanam tu vasudhaiva kutumbakam ||

The narrow-minded people think this way,
“Here’s my friend and there’s my enemy.”
The noble-hearted ones among us say,
“All the world is my own family.”

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

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.

gate shokam na kurvita bhavishyam naiva chintayet |
vartamaneshu kaleshu vartayanti vichakshanah ||

Don’t think about the past and cry
Nor think of all that’s next and sigh.
The one who sees with open eyes,
In today’s moment lives and dies.

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

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

akinchanye na moksho'sti kinchanye nasti bandhanam |
kinchanye chetare chaiva janturjnanena muchyate ||

A simple life of poverty
Is not a path to salvation.
A lavish life with property
Is not a path to damnation.
It’s neither wealth nor misery
It’s knowledge that will set you free.

na choraharyam na cha rajyaharyam na bhratribhajyam na cha bharakari |
vyaye krite vardhata eva nityam vidya dhanam sarvadhanapradhanam ||

It can’t be stolen by a thief
Nor plundered by a king or chief.
It can’t be divvied up by brothers
Or be burdensome for you and others.
The more we share, the more its measure.
Our knowledge is our greatest treasure.

yasyasti vittam sa narah kulinah sa panditah sa shrutiman gunajnah |
sa eva vakta sa cha darshaniyah sarve gunah kanchanamashryanti ||

A wealthy man with lots of gold
Is well-bred, well-read, golden-souled,
Is versed in scriptures thousandfold,
Is silver-tongued, and lo behold,
Is handsome too! Let truth be told:
All virtues simply follow gold.

tyajanti mitrani dhanairvihinam putrashcha darashcha suhrijjanashcha |
tamarthavantam punarashrayanti artho hi loke manushasya bandhuh ||

The man who loses wealth in life
Will lose his friends on cue.
He'll also lose his sons and wife
And acquaintances too.

But when he becomes rich again
They all come running back.
Your only friend on earth is then
Money, white or black.

arambha gurvi kshayini kramena
laghvi pura vriddhimatishcha pashchat |
dinasya purvardha parardha bhinna
chhayeva maitri khala-sajjananam ||

The one that’s long at first gets smaller.
The other, starting short, grows taller.
Our shadows change in distinct ways
In the first and second halves of days.
And so our friendships start and end
With a fickle friend and a faithful friend.

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

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

ashvaM naiva gajaM naiva vyAghraM naiva ca naiva ca |
ajAputraM baliM dadyAddevo durbalaghAtakaH ||

Not the horse, the elephant neither,
Surely not the tiger either.
Sacrifice the lamb, the meek.
God too coldly kills the weak.

prarabhyate na khalu vighna-bhayena nichaih
prarabhya vighna-vihata viramanti madhyah |
vighnaih sahasra-gunitair api hanyamanah
prarabdham uttama-guna na parityajanti ||

The common ones won't start a venture;
They fear a hard and tough adventure.
The mediocre start but see
A sign of trouble, stop and flee.

The best are those who start and then,
When hardship strikes, and strikes again,
And a thousand hurts and hurdles hit,
Will never waver, never quit.

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

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!”

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

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.

ayushah khandamadaya ravirastamayam gatah |
ahanyahani boddhavyam kimetat sukritam kritam ||

The sun has gone to set and taken
A little slice of life away.
So day and night, think! awaken!
“What’s the good I've done today?”

annadanam param danam vidya danam atah param |
annena kshanika triptih yavajjivam cha vidyayo ||

A gift of food is good for the getter.
A gift of knowledge, even better.
Delight in eating's rather fleeting
But knowledge lasts while the heart is beating.

nabhisheko na sanskarah sinhasya kriyate vane |
vikramarjitarajasya svayameva mrigendrata ||

The lion isn’t appointed,
Nor crowned, by rituals anointed.
He earns himself his nobility
With courage, grit and ability.

amantram aksharam nasti nasti mulamanaushadham |
ayogyah purusho nasti yojakastatra durlabhah ||

There’s not a single word that can’t
Become a sacred word to chant.
There’s not a root that isn’t meant
To be a healing ointment.
There's not a person that can be
A useless one, a nobody.
But rare indeed is one who brings
Together all these different things.

durastho'pi na durasthah yo yasya manasi sthitah |
yo yasya hridaye nasti samipastho'pi duratah ||

The one who’s far is not that far
If right inside your heart they are.
If one is neither close nor dear
Then they are far when even near.

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

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.

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

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.

prithivyam trini ratnani jalamannam subhashitam |
mudhaih pashanakhandeshu ratnasanjna vidhiyate ||

The gems on earth without a price
Are water, food and wise advice.
And yet this world has priceless fools
Who think that scraps of stones are jewels.

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

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.

svagrihe pujyate murkhah svagrame pujyate prabhuh |
svadeshe pujyate raja vidvan sarvatra pujyate ||

A fool is praised on his own turf,
A feudal lord by village serf,
A king is hailed by those he orders,
The wise are honored beyond borders.

paropadeshe pandityam sarvesham sukaram nrinam |
dharme svayamanushthanam kasyachittu mahatmanah ||

The world is full of experts who
Tell other people what to do.
The noble soul is one who does
The moral thing without a fuss.

udyamena hi sidhyanti karyani na manorathaih |
na hi suptasya sinhasya pravishanti mukhe mrigah ||

To succeed you must try and try
And not just dream and wish and sigh.
A lion's prey won't go exploring
Within his mouth while he is snoring.

adhishthanam samichchhanti hyachalam nirbale sati |
sansare sarvabhutanam trinabinduvadasthire ||

The weak will wish that they could walk
Upon a base of solid rock.
But all of life on earth must pass
Like water drops on blades of grass.

yuktiyuktam vacho grahyam baladapi shukadapi |
ayuktamapi na grahyam sakshadapi brihaspateh ||

Welcome a logical, rational word
From even a child and even a bird.
Question illogical points of views
Even from Socrates, Plato and Zeus.

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

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?

sarvam paravasham dukham sarvamatmavasham sukham |
etad vidyat samasena lakshanam sukhaduhkhayoh ||

What’s in someone else’s hands is pain.
What’s in your own pair of hands is pleasure.
That explains in language brief and plain
Grief and joy in full and perfect measure.

pustakastha tu ya vidya parahasta gatam dhanam |
karyakale samutpanne na sa vidya na taddhanam ||

With knowledge that’s in books and verses
And money that’s in others’ purses,
In times of need, when times are funny,
You’ve zero knowledge, zero money.