Quotes from the Hitopadesha
Sanskrit collection of fables and maxims. The library holds 193 of them, drawn from Hitopadesa. Here are the 60 most quoted; search the library in the maker for the rest.
Often about: life, money, nature, family, war, time
The 60 best known
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Through avarice a man loses his understanding, and by his thirst for wealth he gives pain to the inhabitants of both worlds.
Hitopadesa -
He is a great and a good man from whom the needy, or those who come for protection, go not away with disappointed hopes and discontented countenances.
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No man should strive to precede his fellows; for, should the work succeed, the booty is equal, and if it fail, the leader is punished.
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Like an earthen pot, a bad man is easily broken, and cannot readily be restored to his former situation; but a virtuous man, like a vase of gold, is broken with difficulty, and easily repaired.
Hitopadesa -
A bad man, though raised to honour, always returns to his natural course, as a dog’s tail, though warmed by the fire and rubbed with oil, retains its form.
Hitopadesa -
No one is by nature noble, respected of any one, nor a wretch. His own actions conduct him either to wretchedness or to the reverse.
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The mind of a fool is empty; and everything is empty where there is poverty.
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The natural qualities pass over all others and mount upon the head.
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To those by whom liberality is practised, the whole world is but as one family.
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A stranger who is kind is a kinsman; an unkind kinsman is a stranger.
Hitopadesa -
The people of this world having been once deceived, suspect deceit in truth itself.
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What, is any one, simply by birth, to be punished or applauded?
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A man eminent in learning has not even a little virtue if he fears to practise it. What precious things can be shown to a blind man when he holds a lamp in his hand?
Hitopadesa -
Good actions lead to success, as good medicines to a cure: a healthy man is joyful, and a diligent man attains learning; a just man gains the reward of his virtue.
Hitopadesa -
Whatever may be the natural propensity of any one, it is very hard to overcome. If a dog were made king, would he not gnaw his shoe-straps?
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Learning is the source of renown, and the fountain of victory in the senate.
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The wise man should study the acquisition of science and riches as if he were not subject to sickness and death; but to the duties of religion he should attend as if death had seized him by the hair.
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The precepts of philosophy effect not the least benefit to one confirmed in fear.
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One who is out of his own country is defeated by a very trifling enemy.
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There is no one the friend of another: there is no one the enemy of another: friends, as well as enemies, are created through our transactions.
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Truth being weighed against a thousand Aswamedha sacrifices, was found to be of more consequence than the whole thousand offerings.
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There is no ordinance obliging us to fight those who are stronger than ourselves. Such fighting, as it were, with an elephant, is the same as men’s fighting against rocks.
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One should not lift the rod against our enemies upon the private information of another.
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Servants and houses should be suited to the situation. A gem should not be placed at the feet. The same is to be understood of an able man.
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The potter forms what he pleases with soft clay, so a man accomplishes his works by his own act.
Hitopadesa -
He by whom the geese were formed white, parrots stained green, and peacocks painted of various hues—even He will provide for their support.
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In times of necessity the words of the wise are worthy to be observed.
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Having sown the seed of secrecy, it should be properly guarded and not in the least broken; for being broken, it will not prosper.
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No wise man should make known the loss of fortune, any malpractices in his house, his being cheated, or his having been disgraced.
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Good fortune is the offspring of our endeavours, although there be nothing sweeter than ease.
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The disputes of two of equal strength and fortune are worthy of attention; but not of two, the one great, the other humble.
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In times of misfortune men’s understandings even are sullied.
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Youth, abundant wealth, high birth, and inexperience, are, each of them, the source of ruin. What then must be the fate of him in whom all four are combined?
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Meat is devoured by the birds in the air, by the beasts in the fields, and by the fishes in the waters; so, in every situation, there is plenty.
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The risings and sinkings of human affairs are like those of a ball which is thrown by the hand.
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To the strictly just and virtuous person everything is annexed.
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The man who listens not to the words of affectionate friends will give joy in the time of distress to his enemies.
Hitopadesa -
One may give him a hundred instances from Holy Writ that he should not dispute; still, it is the character of a fool to make a disturbance without a cause.
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There are a thousand occasions for sorrow, and a hundred for fear that day by day assail the fool; not so the wise man.
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The peevish, the niggard, the dissatisfied, the passionate, the suspicious, and those who live upon others’ means, are for ever unhappy.
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Is it not the same to whoso wears a shoe as if the earth were thatched all over with leather?
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He who is not possessed of such a book as will dispel many doubts, point out hidden treasures, and is, as it were, a mirror of all things, is even an ignorant man.
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Those who first study fate, and say, Fate is the only cause of fortune and misfortune, terrify themselves.
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One who is master of ever so little art may be able, on a great occasion, to root up trees with as much ease as the current of a river the reeds and grass.
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When a husband is embraced without affection, there must be some reason for it.
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When a man is in indigence, picking herbs is his philosophy; the enjoyment of his wife his only commerce, and vassalage his food.
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Store of grain, O king! is the best of stores. A gem cast into the mouth will not support life.
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Rivers flow with sweet waters; but, having joined the ocean, they become undrinkable.
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A hundred long leagues is no distance for him who would quench the thirst of covetousness; but a contented mind has no solicitude for grasping wealth.
Hitopadesa -
Who is a stranger to those who have the habit of speaking kindly.
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Learning dissipates many doubts, and causes things otherwise invisible to be seen, and is the eye of everyone who is not absolutely blind.
Hitopadesa -
Where there is a splashing of dirt, it is good not to meddle and to keep far away.
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Skill in advising others is easily attained by men; but to practise righteousness themselves is what only a few can succeed in doing.
Hitopadesa -
It is a virtue in hermits to forgive their enemies as well as their friends; but it is a fault in princes to show clemency towards those who are guilty.
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To a child in confinement its mother’s knee is a binding-post.
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It is a maxim of those who are esteemed perfect, that abundance is the perverter of reason.
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Subdue fate, and exert human strength to the utmost of your power; and if, when pains have been taken, success attend not, in whom is the blame?
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Great attention to what is said and sweetness of speech, a great degree of kindness and the appearance of awe, are always tokens of a man’s attachment.
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The wise man may strive to conquer, but he should never fight; because victory, it is observed, cannot be constant to both combatants.
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What a rich man gives and what he consumes, that is his real worth.
Hitopadesa