1. Low class men desire
wealth; middle class men both wealth and respect; but
the noble, honour only;
hence honour is the noble man's true wealth.
2. The lamp eats up the
darkness and therefore it produces blackened lamp;
in the same way
according to the nature of our diet (sattva, rajas, or tamas)
3. O wise man! Give your
wealth only to the worthy and never to others. The
water of the sea
received by the clouds is always sweet. The rainwater
enlivens all living
beings of the earth both movable (insects, animals, humans,
etc.) and immovable
(plants, trees, etc.), and then returns to the ocean where
its value is multiplied
a million fold.
4. The wise who discern
the essence of things have declared that the yavana
(meat eater) is equal in
baseness to a thousand candalas (the lowest class),
and hence a yavana is
the basest of men; indeed there is no one more base.
5. After having rubbed
oil on the body, after encountering the smoke from a
funeral pyre, after
sexual intercourse, and after being shaved, one remains a
chandala until he
bathes.
6. Water is the medicine
for indigestion; it is invigorating when the food that is
eaten is well digested;
it is like nectar when drunk in the middle of a dinner;
and it is like poison
when taken at the end of a meal.
7. Knowledge is lost
without putting it into practice; a man is lost due to
ignorance; an army is
lost without a commander; and a woman is lost without
a husband.
8. A man who encounters
the following three is unfortunate; the death of his
wife in his old age, the
entrusting of money into the hands of relatives, and
depending upon others
for food.
9. Chanting of the Vedas
without making ritualistic sacrifices to the Supreme
Lord through the medium
of Agni, and sacrifices not followed by bountiful gifts
are futile. Perfection
can be achieved only through devotion (to the Supreme
Lord) for devotion is
the basis of all success.
10. There is no
austerity equal to a balanced mind, and there is no happiness
equal to contentment;
there is no disease like covetousness, and no virtue like
mercy.
11. Anger is a
personification of Yama (the demigod of death); thirst is like the
hellish river Vaitarani;
knowledge is like a kamadhenu (the cow of plenty); and
contentment is like
Nandanavana (the garden of Indra).
12. Moral excellence is
an ornament for personal beauty; righteous conduct,
for high birth; success
for learning; and proper spending for wealth.
13. Beauty is spoiled by
an immoral nature; noble birth by bad conduct;
learning, without being
perfected; and wealth by not being properly utilised.
14. Water seeping into
the earth is pure; and a devoted wife is pure; the king
who is the benefactor of
his people is pure; and pure is the brahmana who is
contented.
15. Discontented
brahmanas, contented kings, shy prostitutes, and immodest
housewives are ruined.
16. Of what avail is a
high birth if a person is destitute of scholarship? A man
who is of low extraction
is honoured even by the demigods if he is learned.
17. A learned man is
honoured by the people. A learned man commands
respect everywhere for
his learning. Indeed, learning is honoured everywhere.
18. Those who are
endowed with beauty and youth and who are born of noble
families are worthless
if they have no learning. They are just like the kimshuka
blossoms ( flowers of
the palasa tree) which, though beautiful, have no
fragrance.
19. The earth is
encumbered with the weight of the flesh-eaters, winebibblers,
dolts (dull and stupid)
and blockheads, who are beasts in the form of
men.
20. There is no enemy
like a yajna (sacrifice) which consumes the kingdom
when not attended by
feeding on a large scale; consumes the priest when the
chanting is not done
properly; and consumes the yajaman (the responsible
person) when the gifts
are not made.
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