Sanskrit quote nr. 2526 (Maha-subhashita-samgraha)

Sanskrit text:

अमृतं दुर्लभं नॄणां देवानामुदकं तथा ।
पितॄणां दुर्लभः पुत्रस् तक्रं शक्रस्य दुर्लभम् ॥

amṛtaṃ durlabhaṃ nṝṇāṃ devānāmudakaṃ tathā |
pitṝṇāṃ durlabhaḥ putras takraṃ śakrasya durlabham ||

Index

  1. Introduction
  2. Glossary of terms
  3. Analysis of Sanskrit grammar
  4. 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.

Amrita (amrta, amṛta, अमृत): defined in 20 categories.
Durlabha (दुर्लभ): defined in 15 categories.
Nri (nr, nṛ, नृ): defined in 6 categories.
Deva (देव, devā, देवा): defined in 19 categories.
Udaka (उदक): defined in 13 categories.
Tatha (tathā, तथा): defined in 6 categories.
Pitri (pitr, pitṛ, पितृ): defined in 14 categories.
Putra (पुत्र): defined in 14 categories.
Takra (तक्र): defined in 6 categories.
Shakra (sakra, śakra, शक्र): defined in 17 categories.

Defined according to the following glossaries/dictionaries: Hinduism, Jainism, Sanskrit, Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism), Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma), Purana (epic history), Ayurveda (science of life), Vedanta (school of philosophy), Shaktism (Shakta philosophy), Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy), Dharmashastra (religious law), Rasashastra (chemistry and alchemy), Pancaratra (worship of Nārāyaṇa), Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism), Nirukta (Sanskrit etymology), Marathi, Chandas (prosody, study of Sanskrit metres), Hindi, Kannada, Biology (plants and animals), Yoga (school of philosophy), India history, Nepali, Vastushastra (architecture), Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology), Buddhism, Pali, Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy), Theravada (major branch of Buddhism), Prakrit, Ganitashastra (Mathematics and Algebra), Arthashastra (politics and welfare), Shilpashastra (iconography), Jain 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: “amṛtaṃ durlabhaṃ nṝṇāṃ devānāmudakaṃ tathā
  • amṛtam -
  • amṛta (noun, masculine)
    [adverb], [accusative single]
    amṛta (noun, neuter)
    [adverb], [nominative single], [accusative single]
    amṛtā (noun, feminine)
    [adverb]
  • durlabham -
  • durlabha (noun, masculine)
    [adverb], [accusative single]
    durlabha (noun, neuter)
    [adverb], [nominative single], [accusative single]
    durlabhā (noun, feminine)
    [adverb]
  • nṝṇām -
  • nṛ (noun, masculine)
    [genitive plural]
  • devānām -
  • deva (noun, masculine)
    [genitive plural]
    deva (noun, neuter)
    [genitive plural]
    devā (noun, feminine)
    [genitive plural]
  • udakam -
  • udaka (noun, neuter)
    [adverb], [nominative single], [accusative single]
  • tathā -
  • tathā (indeclinable correlative)
    [indeclinable correlative]
    tathā (indeclinable)
    [indeclinable]
  • Line 2: “pitṝṇāṃ durlabhaḥ putras takraṃ śakrasya durlabham
  • pitṝṇām -
  • pitṛ (noun, masculine)
    [genitive plural]
  • durlabhaḥ -
  • durlabha (noun, masculine)
    [nominative single]
  • putras -
  • putra (noun, masculine)
    [nominative single]
  • takram -
  • takra (noun, neuter)
    [adverb], [nominative single], [accusative single]
    takrā (noun, feminine)
    [adverb]
  • śakrasya -
  • śakra (noun, masculine)
    [genitive single]
    śakra (noun, neuter)
    [genitive single]
  • durlabham -
  • durlabha (noun, masculine)
    [adverb], [accusative single]
    durlabha (noun, neuter)
    [adverb], [nominative single], [accusative single]
    durlabhā (noun, feminine)
    [adverb]

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 2526 and can be found on page . (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.

< Back to list with quotes

Like what you read? Consider supporting this website: