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काके कार्ष्ण्यमलौकिकं धवलिमा हंसे निसर्गस्थितो
गांभीर्ये महदन्तरं वचसि यो भेदः स किं कथ्यते।
एतावत्सु विशेषणेष्वपि सखे यत्रेदमालोक्यते के काकाः
खलु के च हंसशिशवो देशाय तस्मै नमः॥

Even if the crow is black with mystical beauty and the swan is naturally white, there's a vast difference in their essence and voice. Despite external...

symbolism (947) crow (45) swan (53) essence (70) discrimination (65) appearance vs nature (1) inner quality (4) metaphor (1632) wisdom (1611) discernment (142)

काके शौचं द्यूतकारेषु सत्यं
सर्पे क्षान्तिः स्त्रीषु कामोपशान्तिः।
क्लीबे धैर्यं मद्यपे तत्त्वचिन्ता राजा
मित्रं केन दृष्टं श्रुतं वा॥

Purity in crows, truthfulness in gamblers, patience in serpents, passionlessness in women, courage in eunuchs, philosophical thoughts in drunkards, or...

sarcasm (74) traits (19) irony (348) purity (356) truth (300) philosophy (290) friend (28) behavior (249) criticism (79) values (171)

काकैः सह विवृद्धस्य कोकिलस्य कला गिरः।
खलसङ्गेऽपि नैष्ठुर्यं कल्याणप्रकृतेः कुतः॥

A cuckoo, raised among crows, learns to speak in harsh tones. This implies that even those with inherently good nature may be influenced by bad compan...

company (17) influence (94) cuckoo (46) crow (45) speech (345) virtue (726) environment (29) character (259) corruption (65) morality (248)

काकैः सार्द्धं वसन् हंसः क्षोभते चावसीदति।
गतः कोमल एवाऽसो जिह्मो दुष्टो न काकवत्॥

A swan living among crows becomes disturbed and deteriorates, not because it changes its inner nature, but due to the unpleasantness of its environmen...

swan (53) crow (45) environment (29) influence (94) gentleness (44) nobility (253) character (259) poetic metaphor (101) values (171) association (65)

काकैरिमांश्चित्रबर्हान् मयूरान्
पराजैष्ठाः पाण्डवान् धार्तराष्ट्रैः।
हित्वा सिंहान् क्रोष्टुकान् गूहमानः प्राप्ते
काले शोचिता त्वं नरेन्द्र॥

O King! You abandoned brave lions for cowardly jackals (i.e., noble allies for inferior ones), and now you grieve. When the time of reckoning comes, e...

kingship (164) regret (87) betrayal (168) allies (7) choices (10) consequence (118) valor (156) wisdom (1611) poetic rebuke (3) reflection (267)

काकैर्निष्कुषितं श्वभिः कबलितं वीचीभिरान्दोलितं
स्रोतोभिश्चलितं तटान्तमलिनं गोमायुभिर्लोडितम्।
दिव्यस्त्रीकरचारुचामरमरुत्संवीज्यमानः कदा द्रक्ष्येऽहं
परमेश्वरि त्रिपथगे भागीरथि स्वं वपुः॥

When shall I see the divine form of the Ganges — now polluted by dogs, jackals, and waves — once again fanned by celestial women? The poet expresses d...

ganga (83) pollution (6) longing (690) devotion (933) sacred river (5) desecration (2) divine (346) imagery (157) purity (356) yearning (59)

काकोदुम्बरिकायां वल्मीको दृश्यते शिरा तस्मिन्।
पुरुषत्रये सपादे पश्चिमदिक्स्था न सा वहति॥

The fig tree with a crow and an anthill appears ominous. When found with three men and a vein on it in the west direction, it’s inauspicious and unyie...

omen (58) fig tree (1) crow (45) symbolism (947) astrology (51) superstition (30) direction (34) signs (31) belief (43) inauspiciousness (3)

काकोलः कलकण्ठिका कुवलयं कादम्बिनी कर्दमः
कंसारिः कबरी कृपाणलतिका कस्तूरिका कज्जलम्।
कालिन्दी कषपट्टिका करिघटा कामारिकण्ठस्थली यस्यैते
करदा भवन्ति सखि तद्वन्दे विनिद्रं तमः॥

A dark, sleepless night is filled with many dark things: crows, poison-throated ones, mud, darkness, snakes, and collyrium — all symbolic of night’s d...

darkness (138) symbols (9) crows (6) poison (101) night (145) metaphor (1632) destruction of ignorance (1) fear (252) imagery (157) praise (189)

का खलेन सह स्पर्धा सज्जनस्याभिमानिनः।
भाषणं भीषणं साधु दूषणं यस्य भूषणम्॥

What competition does a good person have with a wicked one? The latter wears insults as ornaments and makes fearsome speech his style. Virtue doesn’t ...

virtue (726) vice (45) humility (596) character (259) insult (44) comparison (402) ethics (803) nature (950) ego (153) philosophical contrast (1)

का गणना विषयवशे पुंसि वराके वराङ्गना स्पृहया।
व्याजेन वीक्षमाणा ध्यानधियां स्पृशति सज्ज्ञानम्॥

Why should a virtuous soul long for a lowly person under sense-control just because they have beauty? Even in disguise, an insightful mind detects the...

virtue (726) desire (898) disguise (39) insight (55) wisdom (1611) temptation (79) discrimination (65) beauty (1797) detachment (573) ethics (803)

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