________________
JANUARY, 1875.]
BHARTRIHARI'S NITIŚATAKAM.
From Heaven to Siva's head, and thence to
Himalaya's snows, To India's plain, thence to the main, the sacred
Ganges flowsA sad descent! bat rivers go astray, like fool
ish men, From heaven's crown they tumble down, and
never rise again. Deem him who verse and music scorns A beast without the tail and horns ; What though he never feed on grass, I hold him none the less an ass. Those slaves who neither fast nor give, Onjust, unthinking, idle live, Are beasts, though men by rigat of birth,
Unwieldy burdens, cumbering earth. I'd sooner live in mountain caves with lions,
bears, and apes, Than dwell in Indra's heavenly halls with • brainless human shapes. (Here ends the section devoted to the censure of
fools.)
SECOND SECTION. Here follows the praise of the wise man. Kings iri whose country tunefal bards are found Naked and starving, though for lore renowned, Are voted dullards by all men of sense; Poets are ever lords, though short of pence, And he who spurns the diamond's flawless ray Himself degrades, not that he flings away. Those who possess that treasure which no thief
can take away, Which, though on suppliants freely spent, in
creaseth day by day, A source of inward happiness which shall out
last the earth To them o'en kings should yield the palm, and
own their higher worth. Scorn not those sages who have scaled the
topmost heights of truth, Nor seek to bind their might with bands of
straw, For lotus-strings will never hold in awe Th' infuriate sovereign of the herd, drunk with
the pride of youth.
Heaven, if the swan deserve no quarter, May drive him from his lotus-bower,
But cannot take away the power By which he severs milk from water.* Neither rings, bright chains, nor bracelets, per
fumes, flowers, nor well-trimmed hair, Grace & man like polished language, th' only
jewel he should wear. Knowledge is man's highest beauty, knowledge
is his hidden treasure, Chief of earthly blessings, bringing calm con
tentment, fame, and pleasure ; Friends in foreign lands procuring, love of
mighty princes earning; Man is but a beast without it: such a glorious
god is Learning. Better silence far than speaking,
Worse are kinsmen oft than fire, There's no balm like friendly counsel,
There's no enemy like ire, Rogues have keener teeth than vipers,
Brains outweigh the miser's hoard, Better modesty than jewels,
Tuneful lyre than kingly sword. Ever liberal to kinsmen, to the stranger ever
kind, Ever stern to evil-doers, ever frank to men of
mind, Ever loving to the virtuous, ever loyal to the
crown, Ever brave against his foemen, ever honouring
the gown, Womankind distrusting ever such the hero I
would see, Such uphold the world in order ; without them
'twould cease to be. What blessings flow from converse with the wise! All dulness leaves us, truth we learn to prize, Our hearts expand with consciousness of worth, Our minds enlarge, our glory fills the earth. Those bards of passion who unfold
The secrets of the heart, Their glory never groweth old,
Nor feels Death's fatal dart. A duteous son, & virtuous wife, a lord to kind
ness prone, A loving friend, a kingman true, a mind of
cheerful tone,
• According to Dr. Kielhor on the Panchatantra, I. p. 2, L. 16, it is only the heavenly swans that possou thin power.
