सत्यं ब्रूयात्प्रियं ब्रूयान्न ब्रूयात् सत्यमप्रियम् ।
प्रियं च नानृतं ब्रूयादेष धर्मस्सनातनः ॥

Speak the truth and speak to please; speak not the truth to
displease; speak not untruth to please; this is eternal virtue.



शुक्लाम्बरधरं विष्णुं शशिवर्णं चतुर्भुजम् ।
प्रसन्नवदनं ध्यायेत् सर्व विघ्नोपशान्तये ॥

I meditate on the glorious lord (Vinayaka) clad in sparkling white
robes, omnipresent, bright white in hue, endowed with four arms
and a benign smiling face to ward off all kinds of impediments.



धूमेनावृयते वह्निर्यथादर्शो मलेन च ।
यथोल्बेनावृतो गर्भस्तथा तेनेदमावृतम् ॥

As a flame is covered by smoke, mirror by dirt and embryo by the
amnion, so is knowledge covered by desire.



उत्साहः साहसं धैर्यं बुद्धिः शक्तिः पराक्रमः ।
षडेते यत्र तिष्ठन्ति तत्र देवोऽपि तिष्ठति ॥

Perseverance, daring, courage, wisdom, strength and valor.
Where these six are, there is god.



आदित्याय च सोमाय मङ्गलाय बुधाय च ।
गुरु शुक्र शनिभ्यश्च राहवे केतवे नमः ॥

Salutations to the great Lords (Navagrahas or the nine planets).
The nine planets, which are worshipped by the mankind are Aaditya
(Sun), Soma (Moon), Mangala (Mars), Budha (Mercury), Guru (Jupiter),
Shukra (Venus), Shani (Saturn), Rahu and Ketu.



कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
मा कर्मफल हेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोस्त्वकर्मणि ॥

Your right is to work only, but never to the fruit thereof.
Be not instrumental in making your actions bear fruit, nor
let your attachment be to inaction.



पुस्तकेषु च या विद्या परहस्ते च यद्धनम् ।
समये तु परिप्राप्ते न सा विद्या न तद्धनम् ॥

Knowledge which is in the form of a book is not knowledge.
Money in the hands of another is not money. The reason is both
the knowledge in the book and the money with somebody else are of
no use in time of your need.



वसुदेवसुतं देवं कंसचाणूरमर्दनम् ।
देवकीपरमानन्दं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥

I salute the great Lord Krishna, the preceptor of the worlds,
the beloved son of Devaki and Vasudeva and the suppressor of
Kamsa and ChAnoora.



कृषितो नास्ति दुर्भिक्षं जपतो नास्ति पातकम् ।
मौनेन कलहो नास्ति नास्ति जागरतो भयम् ॥

Cultivation eliminates famine. Sins by reciting the name of God.
Quarrels are eliminated by maintaining silence and fear by taking
proper precautionary measures.



प्रस्तावसदृशं वाक्यं स्वभावसदृशीं क्रियाम् ।
आत्मशक्तिसमं कोपं यो जानाति स पण्डितः ॥

A person is said to be a Scholar, who Speaks accordingly, works
to the interest of others and knows one's limitations in anger.



वेदमूलमिदं ज्ञानं भार्यामूलमिदं गृहम् ।
कृषिमूलमिदं धान्यं धनमूलमिदं जगत् ॥

Veda is the root of knowledge; wife is the root of family;
agriculture is the root of grain; wealth is the root of this world.



वृश्चिकस्य विषं पुच्छं मक्षिकस्य विषं शिरः ।
तक्षकस्य विषं दंष्ट्रा सर्वाङ्गं दुर्जने विषम् ॥

The poison of a scorpion is in it's tail; the poison of a fly
is in it's head; the poison of a snake is in it's fangs; the
poison of a wicked person is in his whole body.



त्यजेदेकं कुलस्यार्थे ग्रामस्यार्थे कुलं त्यजेत् ।
ग्रामं जनपदस्यार्थे आत्मार्थे पृथिवीं त्यजेत् ॥

One should abandon a person who brings bad name to the family.
For the sake of a village, a family which brings bad name, can be
abandoned. A village, which causes disrespect to the country,
can be abandoned. One should abandon the place he is living,
if it brings troubles to oneself.



अङ्कूर कारणमपि तुषहीनश्चेत्तण्डुलो न रोहति हि ।
अतिचतुरोऽपि सहायाद्विना न कर्माणि निर्वहति लोके ॥

The rice grains cannot sprout without the husk covering it.
Similarly, people capable of doing great things cannot perform
without the help of others.



साधुजनयोपकृतिः कलिता भाति हि शिलालिपि समाना ।
जलविलिखित लिपि तुल्या सन् रचिता सा विशुष्क हृदयाय ॥

The help done to a noble person will be like writing on the rock.
But the help done to a heartless person will be like writing on the
surface of water.



विषादप्यमृतं ग्राह्यं बालादपि सुभाषितम् ।
अमित्रादपि सद्वृत्तममेध्यादपि काञ्चनम् ॥

Nectar should be taken even out of poison, a maxim should be
received even from a child, good nature should be acknowledged
even in an enemy and gold should be taken even out of filth.



शर्वरिर्दीपकश्चन्द्रः प्रभाते दीपको रविः ।
त्रैलोक्यदीपको धर्मः सुपुत्रः कुलदीपकः ॥

The moon is the light of the night, the sun is the light of the day,
virtue is the light of the three worlds and a good son is the
light of the family.



स्वगृहे पूज्यते मूर्खः स्वग्रामे पूज्यते प्रभुः ।
स्वदेशे पूज्यते राजा विद्वान् सर्वत्र पूज्यते ॥

A fool is honored in his own house, a landlord is honored in his
own village, a king is honored in his own country and a scholar is
honored everywhere.



चलच्चित्तं चलो वित्तं चलज्जीवन यौवनम् ।
चलाचलमिदं सर्वं कीर्तिर्यस्य सजीवति ॥

Mind is unstable. It loves to think of a variety of subjects at
a time. Wealth is transitory. It changes hands frequently.
Life is unstable. It goes through the aging process and fades
out finally. Youth is transitory. It ends with the age. However,
name and fame are stable. Only he who has acquired name lives for ever.



कोकिलानां स्वरोरूपं पातिव्रत्यं तु योषिताम् ।
विद्या रूपं विरूपानां क्षमा रूपं तपस्विनाम् ॥

The voice is the beauty of cuckoos, Character is the beauty of women,
Learning is the beauty of the deformed and patience is the beauty of ascetics.



दातृत्वं प्रियवक्तृत्वं धीरत्वमुचितज्ञता ।
अभ्यासेन न लभ्यन्ते चत्वाराः सहजागुणाः ॥

Liberality, sweetness of speech, courage and judgement are the
four natural qualities, which can not be attained by practice.
They come naturally.



उद्योगिनं पुरुषसिंहमुपैति लक्ष्मीः
दैवेन देयमिति कापुरुषा वदन्ति ।
दैवं निहत्य कुरु पौरुषमात्मशक्त्या
यत्नेकृते यदि न सिध्यति कोऽत्र दोषः ॥

Fortune favors the persevering and stouthearted man. Most of
the dejected blame the destiny and say 'Destiny must give us'.
Exercise all your powers regardless of destiny. If your hard
work fails there will be nothing to blame.



उत्तमा मानमिच्छन्ति धनमानौ हि मध्यमाः ।
अधमा धनमिच्छन्ति मानो हि महतां धनम् ॥

Men can be classified into three categories. Uttama or the best,
Madhyama or the mediocre and Adhama or the least. Best of the men
seek honor. Mediocre seek wealth and honor. Those in bottom seek
wealth. Honor is wealth to great men.



अन्नदानात्परं दानं न भूतं न भविष्यति ।
अन्नेन धार्यते सर्वं जगदेतच्चराचरम् ॥

Donating food is a great deed and there can be nothing equivalent to
this-neither in the past nor future. This whole world of animate and
inanimate depend on food



खलानां दुर्जनानां च द्विविधैव प्रतिक्रिया ।
उपायान्मुखभङ्गो वा दूरतो वा विसर्जनम् ॥

There are two methods to handle wicked and evil. One is to
disgrace them by a strategy or to leave them at a distance.



यस्य नास्ति स्वयं प्रज्ञा शास्त्रं तस्य करोति किम् ।
लोचनाभ्यां विहीनस्य दर्पणः किं करिष्यति ॥

(this shloka poses two questions, for which answers are obvious
and the questions are as follows:)
What will the shAstra do for him who has no sense of his own?
What will a mirror do for him who has lost his eyes?



परोक्षे कार्य हन्तारं प्रत्यक्षे प्रियवादिनम् ।
वर्जयेत्तादृशं मित्रं विषकुम्भं पयोमुखम् ॥

A person, though a friend, who causes damage to the business from
behind but speaks sweet words on the face should be shunned.  That
person is compared to a vessel of poison covered with milk on the
top.



रामो राजमणिः सदा विजयते रामं रमेशं भजे
रामेणाभिहता निशाचरचमूः रामाय तस्मै नमः ।
रामान्नास्ति परायणं परतरं रामस्य दासोस्म्यहं
रामे चित्तलयस्सदा भवतु मे भो राम मामुद्धर ॥

Lord Sri Rama, the jewel among kings, always emerges victorious.
I contemplate on Rama, the lord of RamA (LakShmi-Sita Devi).
Rama destroyed the mighty armies of the demons. I salute him
i.e. Lord Rama. There is no greater refuge than lord Rama.
Indeed I am a humble servant of Rama. Let my mind ever meditate
on Rama. O lord Rama! Kindly grant me salvation.



दैवे तीर्थे द्विजे मन्त्रे दैवज्ञे भिषजे गुरौ ।
यादृशी भावना यस्य सिद्धिर्भवति तादृशी ॥

In God, in pilgrimage, in a Brahmin, in mantra, in an astrologer,
in a doctor (medicine) and in a Guru, as is the perception, so
is the fulfilment.



जाढ्यं धियो हरति सिञ्चति वाचि सत्यं
मानोन्नतिं दिशति पापमपाकरोति ।
चित्तः प्रसादयति दिक्षु तनोति कीर्तिं
सत्सङ्गतिः कथय किं न करोति पुंसाम् ॥

What does not good association do for men? It removes the dulness
of their intellects, it sprinkles truth in their speech, it brings
the highest honors for them, expels sin from them, it purifies
their minds and spreads their fame in all the directions.



नरमृगपतिः वर्ष्मालोकनभ्रान्त नारी
नरदनुज सुपर्व व्रात पाताललोकः ।
करज कुलिश पालि भिन्न दैत्येन्द्र वक्षाः
सुररिपु बलहन्ता श्रीधरोस्तु श्रिये वः ॥

May Lord Vishnu (the bearer of LakShmi), the destroyer of the armies
of the demons, be the bestower of prosperity on us. The Lord,
at the sight of whose man-lion (Narasimha) form multitudes of men,
women, gods, demons and the denizens of the netherworld were
frightened, and who tore as under the chest of the king of
demons Hiranyakasipa with the thunder-bolt like sharp nails.



पङ्कैर्विना सरो भाति सदः खलजनैर्विना ।
कटुवर्णर्विना काव्यं मानसं विषयैर्विना ॥

A lake without mire (mud), a meeting without fools and wicked
persons, a kAvya (an epic) without harsh words and the mind
without wordly pleasures shine well in the world.



अम्भसा भिद्यते सेतुः तथा मन्त्रोऽप्यरक्षितः ।
पैशुन्याद्भिद्यते स्नेहः वाचा भिद्येत कातरः ॥

A bridge or a barrage will be damaged by rapid flow of water.
A mantra (a mystic word) will be spoiled without practice.
The friendship will be lost with vicious nature or tale-bearing
nature and a
timid person will be conquered even by a word.



या देवि सर्वभूतेषु बुद्धिरूपेण संस्थिता ।
नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमोनमः ॥

I offer repeated salutations to that devi (Durga) who resides in
all the living beings in the form of the intellect.



आकारैः इङ्गितैः गत्या चेष्टया भाषणेन च ।
नेत्र वक्त्र विकारैश्च लक्ष्यतेऽन्तर्गतं मनः ॥

The inherent nature of a person is revealed by his appearance,
gestures, behaviour, actions, the way he talks, by the contractions
of the face and by the movements of the eyes.



उपदेशोहि मूर्खाणां प्रकोपाय न शान्तये ।
पयः पानं भुजङ्गानां केवलं विषवर्धनम् ॥

Milk consumed by snakes increases their poison. Similarly advice
given to fools make them even more furious instead of pacifying them.



वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटि समप्रभ ।
निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा ॥

O Lord, the one with a looped trunk, a body of gigantic proportion
and as resplendent as the combined lusture of a crore suns, kindly
do make all my enterprises free from any obstacles always.



आलस्यं मदमोहौ च चापलं गूष्टिरेव च
स्तब्धता चाभिमानित्वं तथाऽत्यागित्वमेव च ।
एते वै सप्त दोषाः स्युः सदा विद्यार्थिनां मताः ॥

Laziness, pride, ignorance, fickle mindedness, talking to each other
(gossiping), idleness, possessive altitude are the seven drawbacks
found in
students.



भृत्यैर्विना स्वयं राजा लोकानुग्रहकार्यपि ।
मयूखैरिव दीप्तांशुः तेजस्यपि न शोभते ॥

A king (leader), though he looks after the welfare of the people,
does not
shine without the help of his subordinates. Though the sun is
radiant, it does
not shine without its rays.



दुर्जनः प्रियवादि च नैतद्विश्वासकारणम् ।
मधु तिष्ठति जिह्वाग्रे हृदि हालाहलं विषम् ॥

A wicked person who speaks sweet is not trustworthy. On the tip of
his tongue
there is honey but dreadful poison in his heart.



बुद्धिर्यस्य बलं तस्य निर्बुद्धेस्तु कुतो बलम् ।
पश्य सिंहो मदोन्मत्तः शशकेन निपातितः ॥

A person who has wisdom, has strength.
How can there be strength to a person who has no wisdom?
Even a story says that a strong lion was drowned by a hare.



समुद्रमन्थने लेभे हरिर्लक्ष्मीं हरो विषम् ।
भाग्यं फलति सर्वत्र न विद्या न च पौरुषम् ॥

At the churning of the ocean, Hari (Lord Vishnu)obtained LakShmi
and Hara
(Lord Shiva)obtained poison.
Hence fortune is fruitful everywhere, neither learning nor human
efforts.



सरस्वति महाभागे विद्ये कमललोचने ।
विद्यारूपे विशालाक्षि विद्यां देहि नमोस्तुते ॥

O most auspicious Goddess of knowledge!
The one with beautiful and big eyes that resemble the lotus petals,
O bestower
of wisdom, mother Saraswathi, kindly bless me with knowledge.
I salute you.



यो न वेत्ति गुणान् यस्य न तं सेवेत पण्डितः ।
न हि तस्मात्फलं किञ्चित्सुकृष्टादूशरादिव ॥

A scholar should not serve a person who does not recognise his
virtues,
ploughing a barren land is futile.



स्वभावो नोपदेशेन शक्यते कर्तुमन्यथा ।
सुतप्तमपि पानीयं पुनर्गच्छति शीतताम् ॥

It is not possible to change the nature of a person by a good
advice, though
water is boiled, it invariably cools down.