Sanskrit quote nr. 1 (Maha-subhashita-samgraha)

Sanskrit text:

अंशवस्तव निशाकर नूनं कल्पितास्तरुणकेतकखण्डैः ।
येन पाण्डुरतरद्युतयो नः कण्टकैरिव तुदन्ति शरीरम् ॥

aṃśavastava niśākara nūnaṃ kalpitāstaruṇaketakakhaṇḍaiḥ |
yena pāṇḍurataradyutayo naḥ kaṇṭakairiva tudanti śarīram ||

⎼⎼⏑¦⎼⎼⏑¦⏑⎼⏑¦⎼⎼¦¦⎼⎼⏑¦⎼⎼⏑¦⏑⎼⏑¦⎼⎼¦¦
⎼⎼⏑¦⎼⎼⏑¦⏑⎼⏑¦⎼⎼¦¦⎼⎼⏑¦⎼⎼⏑¦⏑⎼⏑¦⎼⎼¦¦

Meter name: Rathoddhatā; Type: Akṣaracchanda (sama); 11 syllables per quarter (pāda).

Primary English translation:

“Surely, Oh moon, your rays are made of the young leaves of the ketakī flowers: hence your very white rays pain my body as if with thorns (of the flowers).”

(translation by A. A. Ramanathan)

Index

  1. Introduction
  2. Glossary of terms
  3. Analysis of Sanskrit grammar
  4. Sources
  5. Authorship
  6. About the Mahāsubhāṣitasaṃgraha

Presented above is a Sanskrit aphorism, also known as a subhāṣita, which is at the very least, a literary piece of art. This page provides critical research material such as an anlaysis on the poetic meter used, an English translation, a glossary explaining technical terms, and a list of resources including print editions and digital links.

Glossary of Sanskrit terms

Note: Consider this as an approximate extraction of glossary words based on an experimental segmentation of the Sanskrit verse. Some could be superfluous while some might not be mentioned.

Amshu (amsu, aṃśu, अंशु): defined in 10 categories.
Yushmad (yusmad, yuṣmad, युष्मद्): defined in 3 categories.
Nishakara (nisakara, niśākara, निशाकर): defined in 6 categories.
Nunam (nūnam, नूनम्): defined in 6 categories.
Kalpita (कल्पित, kalpitā, कल्पिता): defined in 8 categories.
Tarunaka (taruṇaka, तरुणक): defined in 2 categories.
Taka (तक): defined in 10 categories.
Khanda (khaṇḍa, खण्ड): defined in 19 categories.
Yena (येन): defined in 2 categories.
Ya (य): defined in 10 categories.
Yah (yaḥ, यः): defined in 1 categories.
Yat (यत्): defined in 2 categories.
Pandura (pāṇḍura, पाण्डुर): defined in 10 categories.
Tarad (तरद्): defined in 1 categories.
Na (न): defined in 12 categories.
Asmad (अस्मद्): defined in 2 categories.
Kantaka (kaṇṭaka, कण्टक): defined in 12 categories.
Iva (इव): defined in 4 categories.
Sharira (sarira, śarīra, शरीर): defined in 18 categories.

Defined according to the following glossaries/dictionaries: Jainism, Sanskrit, Pali, Purana (epic history), Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology), Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy), Marathi, Prakrit, Hindi, Kannada, Vyakarana (Sanskrit grammar), Ayurveda (science of life), Shaktism (Shakta philosophy), Tamil, Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy), Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism), India history, Biology (plants and animals), Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism), Theravada (major branch of Buddhism), Chandas (prosody, study of Sanskrit metres), Ganitashastra (Mathematics and Algebra), Buddhism, Vastushastra (architecture), Rasashastra (chemistry and alchemy), Kavya (poetry), Nepali, Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma), Yoga (school of philosophy), Nyaya (school of philosophy)

Analysis of Sanskrit grammar

Note: this is an experimental feature and only shows the first possible analysis of the Sanskrit verse. If the system was successful in segmenting the sentence, you will see of which words it is made up of, generally consisting of Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, Participles and Indeclinables. Click on the link to show all possible derivations of the word.

  • Line 1: “aṃśavastava niśākara nūnaṃ kalpitāstaruṇaketakakhaṇḍaiḥ
  • aṃśavas -
  • aṃśu (noun, masculine)
    [nominative plural], [vocative plural]
  • tava -
  • yuṣmad (pronoun, none)
    [genitive single]
  • niśākara -
  • niśākara (noun, masculine)
    [compound], [vocative single]
  • nūnam -
  • nūnam (indeclinable)
    [indeclinable]
  • kalpitās -
  • kalpita (noun, masculine)
    [nominative plural], [vocative plural]
    kalpitā (noun, feminine)
    [nominative plural], [vocative plural], [accusative plural]
    kḷp -> kalpita (participle, masculine)
    [nominative plural from √kḷp], [vocative plural from √kḷp]
    kḷp -> kalpitā (participle, feminine)
    [nominative plural from √kḷp], [vocative plural from √kḷp], [accusative plural from √kḷp]
  • taruṇake -
  • taruṇaka (noun, masculine)
    [locative single]
    taruṇaka (noun, neuter)
    [nominative dual], [vocative dual], [accusative dual], [locative single]
  • taka -
  • taka (noun, neuter)
    [compound], [vocative single]
    tak (verb class 1)
    [imperative active second single]
  • khaṇḍaiḥ -
  • khaṇḍa (noun, masculine)
    [instrumental plural]
    khaṇḍa (noun, neuter)
    [instrumental plural]
  • Line 2: “yena pāṇḍurataradyutayo naḥ kaṇṭakairiva tudanti śarīram
  • yena -
  • yena (indeclinable)
    [indeclinable]
    ya (noun, masculine)
    [instrumental single]
    yaḥ (pronoun, masculine)
    [instrumental single]
    yat (pronoun, neuter)
    [instrumental single]
  • pāṇḍura -
  • pāṇḍura (noun, masculine)
    [compound], [vocative single]
    pāṇḍura (noun, neuter)
    [compound], [vocative single]
  • taradyu -
  • tarad (noun, feminine)
    [locative single]
  • utayo -
  • naḥ -
  • na (noun, masculine)
    [nominative single]
    asmad (pronoun, none)
    [accusative plural], [dative plural], [genitive plural]
  • kaṇṭakair -
  • kaṇṭaka (noun, masculine)
    [instrumental plural]
  • iva -
  • iva (indeclinable adverb)
    [indeclinable adverb]
    iva (indeclinable)
    [indeclinable]
  • tudanti -
  • tud -> tudat (participle, neuter)
    [nominative plural from √tud class 6 verb], [vocative plural from √tud class 6 verb], [accusative plural from √tud class 6 verb]
    tud -> tudantī (participle, feminine)
    [vocative single from √tud class 6 verb]
    tud (verb class 6)
    [present active third plural]
  • śarīram -
  • śarīra (noun, neuter)
    [adverb], [nominative single], [accusative single]

Sources

This quote is contained within the following Sanskrit literary sources:

Śrīkaṇṭhacarita 11.57: The Śrīkaṇṭhacarita is a Sanskrit work in the genre Mahākāvya (Indian epic poetry) written somewhere in the 12th century. The book was written by Maṅkhaka in the 12th century A.D..
More info

Subhāṣitāvalī 1123: This is a compilation of Collection of 3527 subhāṣita verses authored by 360 poets. The book was compiled by Vallabhadeva in 1417-67 A.D..
More info

Authorship

Maṅkhaka (12th century) is the author of the Śrīkaṇṭhacarita. Maṅkhaka was an author of classical Sanskrit poetry from Kashmir, who was well-versed in grammar and ethics. He is known for his detailed reflection on his personal life and his dynasty. He was also known as Maṅkha or Maṅkhuka.

Vallabhadeva (15th century) is the compiler of the Subhāṣitāvalī, into which he included this quote, ascribing the authorship to Maṅkhaka (also known as: Maṅkha, Maṅkhuka).

About the Mahāsubhāṣitasaṃgraha

This quote is included within the Mahāsubhāṣitasaṃgraha (महासुभाषितसंग्रह, maha-subhashita-samgraha / subhasita-sangraha), which is a compendium of Sanskrit aphorisms (subhāṣita), collected from various sources. Subhāṣita is a genre of Sanskrit literature, exposing the vast and rich cultural heritage of ancient India.

It has serial number 1 and can be found on page 1. (read on archive.org)

Sanskrit is the oldest living language and bears testimony to the intellectual past of ancient India. Three major religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism) share this language, which is used for many of their holy books. Besides religious manuscripts, much of India’s ancient culture has been preserved in Sanskrit, covering topics such as Architecture, Music, Botany, Surgery, Ethics, Philosophy, Dance and much more.

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