From dawn to dusk and from dusk to dawn, whatever I do O Lord of the World, may it be an offering to You.
[prAthaha prabhrthi sAyAntham sAyAdhi prAtharanthathaha / yath karOmi jagannATHa thadhasthu thava pUjanam //
प्रातः प्रभृति सायान्तं सायादि प्रातरन्ततः / यत् करोमि जगन्नाथ तदस्तु तव पूजनम् //]
O Lakshmana, though Lanka is decked in gold, I do not feel any great liking for it. The pull of one’s mother and motherland are so great that even heaven cannot compete with it.
[Rama, prince of Ayodhya, tells these words to his brother, Lakshmana, when he sets out to battle with Ravana, the king of Lanka]
api svarNamayI lankA na mE lakSHmaNa rOchate / jananI janmabhUmishcha svargAdhapi garIyasI //
अपि स्वर्णमयी लङ्का न मे लक्ष्मण रोचते / जननी जन्मभूमिश्च स्वर्गादपि गरीयसी //
Indulge a child for the first five years of his life, for the next ten years deal firmly with the child. Once the child is sixteen, treat him as a friend.
[lAlayEth pancha varSHANi dasha varSHANi thAdayEth / prApthE thu SHOdashE varSHE puthram mithravadh AcharEth //
लालयेत् पञ्च वर्षाणि दश वर्षाणि ताडयेत् / प्राप्ते तु षोडशे वर्षे पुत्रं मित्रवदाचरेत् //]
There is just one difference between people who are good and those who are not. The thoughts, words and deeds of the bad do not match one another. The thoughts, words and deeds of the good people are all identical.
[manasyEkam vachasyEkam karmaNyEkam dhurAthmanAm / manasyEkam vachasyEkam karmaNyEkam mahAthmanAm //
मनस्येकं वचस्येकं कर्मण्येकं दुरात्मनाम् / मनस्येकं वचस्येकं कर्मण्येकं महात्मनाम् //]
Since Shakunthala is leaving today, my heart is turbulent, unshed tears constrict my throat and anxiety blurs my sight. If affection causes such agitation in a person like me who lives in the forest, how much will the sadness of separation from a just married daughter trouble a householder?
[yAsyathyadhya shakunthalEthi hrdhayam samsprSHtam uthkaNTayA kaNTaha sthambithabASHpavrththikaluSHashchinthAjadam dharshanam / vaiklavyam mama thAvadhIdhrsham idham snEhAdh araNyaukasaha pIdyanthE grhiNaha kaTHam nu thanayAvishlESHadhuhkhairnavaihi //
यास्यत्यद्य शकुन्तलेति हृदयं संस्पृष्टमुत्कण्ठया कण्ठः स्थम्बितबाष्पवृत्तिकलुषैश्चिन्ताजडं दर्शनम् / वैक्लव्यं मम तावदीदृशमिदं स्नेहादरण्यौकसः पीड्यन्ते गृहिणः कथं नु तनयाविश्लेषदुःखैर्नवैः // ]
[Note: This slokam is from Kalidasa's play Abhignyana Shakuntalam. Sage Kanva says these words to himself before Shakuntala's departure to her husband Dushyanta's kingdom]
Trees give shade to others while themselves standing in the sun. They bear fruits for others to enjoy as do those who follow the path of goodness. [A verse from Chanakya's Niti Shastram]
[CHAyAm anyasya kurvanthi thiSHTanthi svayam AthapE / phalanthi cha parasyArTHE sathpaTHasTHA iva dhrumAha //
छायाम् अन्यस्य कुर्वन्ति त्तिष्ठन्ति स्वयम् आतपे / फलन्ति च परस्यार्थे सत्पथस्था इव द्रुमाः //]
The grains that are saved by an ant, the honey collected by a bee and the wealth stored up by a miser are lost forever (if calamity strikes).
[pipIlikArjitham DHAnyam makSHikA sanchitham maDHu / lubDHEna sanchitham dhravyam samUlam hi vinashyathi //
पिपीलिकार्जितं धान्यं मक्षिका सञ्चितं मधु / लुब्धेन सञ्चितं द्रव्यं समूलं हि विनश्यति // ]
To her whose feet are washed by the ocean, who wears the Himalaya as her crown, and is adorned with gems in the form of saintly scholars and kings, to Mother India, do I bow down in respect.
[rathnAkaraDHauthapadhAm himAlayakirItinIm / brahmarAjarSHirathnADyAm vandhE bhArathamAtharam
रत्नाकरधौतपदां हिमालयकिरीटिनीम् / ब्रह्मराजर्षिरत्नाढ्यां वन्दे भारतमातरम् //]
On reading these [100 verses] a scholar will get strength of speech; a warrior will become a ruler of the earth; traders will make their fortune; and the worker will get eminence.
[Note: This is the last verse of the first section of the first chapter of the Indian epic, Ramayana. It is also the one hundredth verse. This section is a precis of the whole epic of 24,000 verses. It is recited by the sage Narada to Valmiki, the author of the epic.]
paTan dvijO vAgrSHabhathvam IyAth syAth kshatriyO bhUmipathithvam IyAth / vaNigjanaha paNyaphalathvam IyAth janashcha shUdhrOpi mahathvam IyAth
पठन् द्विजॊ वागृषभत्वमीयात् स्यात् क्षत्रियो भूमिपतित्वमीयात् /
वणिग्जनः पण्यफलत्वमीयात् जनश्च शूद्रोपि महत्त्वमीयात् //
O Bharadwaja, these waters are clear, beautiful and calm just as is the mind of a good person.
[Note: Valmiki, the author of the Indian epic Ramayana, describes the river Tamasa to his student in this verse.]
akardhamam idham thIrTHam bharadhvAja nishAmaya / ramaNIyam prasannAmbu sanmanuSHyamanO yaTHA
अकर्दममिदं तीर्थं भरद्वाज निशामय / रमणीयं प्रसन्नाम्बु सन्मनुष्यमनो यथा //
