All Shlokas | Sanskrit.Today

कंसारातेर्वद गमनं केन स्यात्
कस्मिन् दृष्टिं संलभते स्वल्पेच्छुः।
कं सर्वेषां शुभकरमूचुर्धीराः किं
कुर्यास् त्वं सुजन सशोकं लोकम्॥

The poet poses philosophical and moral questions: Who guides one away from evil? Who can restrain desires? What brings universal good? And what should...

philosophy (290) ethics (803) sorrow (325) righteousness (134) reflection (267) questions (8) virtue (726) noble path (4) dharma (540) self-restraint (24)

कंसारिचरणोद्भूतसिन्धुकल्लोललालितम्।
मन्ये हंस मनो नीरे कुल्यानां रमते कथम्॥

The poet wonders how the mind, likened to a swan, could find peace in muddy waters, when it has once danced in the waves touched by Krishna’s feet. A ...

metaphor (1632) krishna (233) purity (356) mind (176) longing (690) swan (53) spiritual (51) waters (1) detachment (573) divine association (1)

कंसो रावणो रामश्च राजा दुर्योधनस् तथा।
चत्वारोऽपि महामूर्खाः पञ्चमः शालिवाहनः॥

A bold satirical shloka branding even noble or powerful figures as fools, including Ram. It reflects extreme criticism of power and heroism, likely fr...

satire (211) kings (49) criticism (79) boldness (30) inversion (5) power (396) heroism (93) perspective (44) contrarian (1) literary provocation (1)

कः कं शक्तो रक्षितुं मृत्युकाले
रज्जुच्छेदे के घटं धारयन्ति।
एवं लोकस् तुल्यधर्मो वनानां काले
काले छिद्यते रुह्यते च॥

Who can save whom at the time of death? Who can hold water in a broken pot? Life is like a forest—cut and regrown with time. A reflection on impermane...

mortality (89) helplessness (100) impermanence (242) metaphor (1632) forest (145) rebirth (102) death (241) philosophy (290) time (242) reflection (267)

कः कः कुत्र न घुर्घुरायितघुरीघोरो घुरेत्
सूकरः कः कः कं कमलाकरं विकमलं कर्तुं करी नोद्यतः।
के के कानि वनान्यरण्यमहिषा नोन्मूलयेयुर्यतः
सिंहीस्नेहविलासबद्धवसतिः पञ्चाननो वर्तते॥

A highly complex and playful verse filled with rhetorical alliteration and absurd imagery, implying the chaotic unpredictability of nature, desire, an...

playfulness (86) alliteration (5) absurdity (9) nature (950) chaos (59) animals (45) unpredictability (46) literary wit (1) divine play (96) poetic fancy (3)

कः कण्टकानां प्रकरोति तैक्ष्ण्यं
विचित्रभावं मृगपक्षिणां च।
माधुर्यमिक्षौ कटुतां च निम्बे स्वभावतः
सर्वमिदं हि सिद्धम्॥

Who gives thorns their sharpness, or sweetness to sugarcane, bitterness to neem? It’s their nature. So too with people—each behaves per their innate q...

nature (950) innate traits (1) comparison (402) metaphor (1632) thorns (12) sugarcane (7) neem (3) essence (70) truth (300) personality (10)

कः कर्णारिपिता गिरीन्द्रतनया कस्य प्रिया कस्य
तुक् को जानाति परेङ्गितं विषमगुः कुत्रोदभूत् कामिनाम्।
भार्या कस्य विदेहजा तुदति का भौमेऽह्नि निन्द्यश्च कस्
तत्प्रत्युत्तरमध्यमाक्षरपदं सर्वार्थसंपत्करम्॥

A riddle-packed shloka with hidden meaning in each word; when read via middle letters, it unveils answers. A classic Sanskrit pun-verse blending wit, ...

riddle (24) pun (31) wordplay (33) wit (31) linguistics (7) sanskrit (17) middle-letter puzzle (2) philosophy (290) poetic technique (1) hidden meaning (4)

कः कस्य पुरुषो बन्धुः किमाप्यं कस्य केनचित्।
यदेको जायते जन्तुर् एक एव विनश्यति॥

No one is inherently bound to anyone; all beings are born and perish alone. It preaches non-attachment and the lonely truth of birth and death.

detachment (573) birth (57) death (241) individuality (16) existentialism (3) solitude (41) renunciation (267) non-attachment (11) samsara (74) truth (300)

तस्मान् माता पिता चेति राम सज्जेत यो नरः।
उन्मत्त इव स ज्ञेयो नास्ति कश्चिद्धि कस्यचित्॥

He who clings to “my mother, my father” is like a madman. No one truly belongs to anyone. A radical call for detachment and universal vision.

detachment (573) family (165) madness (32) samsara (74) renunciation (267) illusion (355) maya (36) self-realization (37) monism (2) disillusionment (23)

कः कान्तारमगात् पितुर्वचनतः संश्लिष्य कण्ठस्थलीं
कामी किं कुरुते च गृध्रहठतश्छिन्नं प्ररूढं च किम्।
का रक्षः कुलकालरात्रिरभवच् चन्द्रातपं द्वेष्टि को
रामश्चुम्बति रावणस्य वदनं सीतावियोगातुरः॥

A humorous yet tragic riddle of Ramayana moments: Who kissed Ravana, who disliked moonlight, who cut and regrew heads? Each surreal question conveys R...

ramayana (52) riddles (8) humor (128) grief (129) sita (37) separation (258) surrealism (3) emotional depth (20) poetic wit (16) symbolism (947)