All Shlokas | Sanskrit.Today

अस्थाने ताडितो वाजी बहून् दोषानवाप्नुयात्।
तावद्भवन्ति ते दोषा यावज्जीवत्यसौ हयः॥

A horse unjustly beaten acquires faults that weren’t there before — so too does unjust punishment spoil the noble.

justice (151) punishment (78) horse (23) training (22) ethics (803) karma (500) human nature (88) fault projection (1) compassion (359) wisdom (1611)

अस्थानेऽभिनिविष्टान् मूर्खानस्थान एव संतुष्टान्।
अनुवर्तन्ते धीराः पितर इव क्रीडतो बालान्॥

Wise men tolerate ignorant ones indulging in unworthy delights like fathers letting their children play aimlessly.

tolerance (37) wisdom (1611) foolishness (88) ignorance (301) playfulness (86) parenthood (6) compassion (359) forbearance (9) perspective (44) patience (122)

अस्थाने ह्यपि च स्थाने सततं चानुगामिनि।
क्रुद्धो दण्डान् प्रणयति विविधांस्तेजसा वृतः॥

The powerful, if enraged, punish both the guilty and innocent alike — such is the burden of their fiery temperament.

power (396) anger (185) injustice (73) punishment (78) emotional rule (1) authority (35) fear (252) discretion (65) leadership (279) misjudgment (43)

अस्थिक्षोदवतीव कुन्दमुकुलैः फुल्लैः पलाशद्रुमैः
साङ्गारप्रकरेव धूमकलुषेवोत्पातिभिः षट्पदैः।
रक्ताक्षद्युतिभिः सशेषदहनालातेव पुंस्कोकिलैर्
दृष्टा प्राणसमाचितेव पथिकैराराद् वनान्तस्थली॥

The forest gleams like smoldering ash — white buds, red blossoms, fluttering bees, and flaming foliage all conjure death’s beauty.

forest imagery (1) death (241) beauty (1797) nature (950) fire (219) symbolism (947) blossoms (10) bees (131) transition (25) metaphor (1632)

अस्थि नास्ति शिरो नास्ति बाहुरस्ति निरङ्गुलिः।
नास्ति पादद्वयं गाढम् अङ्गमालिङ्गति स्वयम्॥

Boneless, headless, armless, footless — yet it embraces fully. Such is desire, attaching even when form is incomplete.

attachment (102) embrace (93) symbolism (947) desire (898) incompleteness (2) paradox (167) poetic mystery (1) longing (690) devotion (933) abstract form (1)

अस्थिरं जीवितं लोके यौवनं धनमस्थिरम्।
अस्थिरं पुत्रदारादि धर्मः कीर्तिर्द्वयं स्थिरम्॥

Life, youth, and wealth are fleeting; only dharma and fame endure.

impermanence (242) life (126) dharma (540) wealth (447) fame (166) youth (261) constancy (25) ethics (803) transience (62) prioritization (1)

अस्थिरः कुलसंबन्धः सदा विद्या विवादिनी।
मदो मोहाय मिथ्यैव मुहूर्तनिधनं धनम्॥

Lineage is unstable, knowledge contentious, wealth fleeting — pride and delusion often accompany it.

knowledge (279) wealth (447) lineage (79) delusion (175) conflict (90) pride (317) instability (44) human nature (88) transience (62) wisdom (1611)

अस्थिरमनेकरागं गुणरहितं नित्यवक्रदुष्प्रापम्।
प्रावृषि सुरेन्द्रचापं विभाव्यते युवतिचित्तमिव॥

Just like Indra’s bow seen in the monsoon sky, a woman’s heart is often fickle, unreachable, and filled with shifting desires.

love (1567) fickleness (12) rainbow (6) desire (898) illusion (355) woman’s mind (1) youth (261) metaphor (1632) elusiveness (2) romance (506)

अस्थिरेण शरीरेण स्थिरं कर्म समाचरेत्।
अवश्यमेव यास्यन्ति प्राणाः प्राघूर्णका इव॥

With a fleeting body, perform actions of lasting value — for life is ever on the edge of ending.

mortality (89) action (258) transience (62) dharma (540) urgency (63) life purpose (4) spiritual duty (3) philosophy (290) impermanence (242) noble effort (2)

अस्थिवद् दधिवच्चैव शङ्खवद् बकवत् तथा।
राजंस्तव यशो भाति पुनः संन्यासिदन्तवत्॥

Your fame, O King, shines in paradoxes — like bones, curd, conch, and cranes — at once ordinary, yet sacred and renounced.

fame (166) symbolism (947) paradox (167) king (200) renunciation (267) yogic imagery (1) bone (3) curd (1) crane (7) sacredness (44) dissonance (1)