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.”

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

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.

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

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

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

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 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.

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

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 ||

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.

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

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 ||