Sanskrit quote nr. 3212 (Maha-subhashita-samgraha)
Sanskrit text:
अल्पे वयसि हे बाले कुचयोः पतनः कुतः ।
अधस्तात् खनने मूढ गिरयो न पतन्ति किम् ॥alpe vayasi he bāle kucayoḥ patanaḥ kutaḥ |
adhastāt khanane mūḍha girayo na patanti kim ||
Index
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.
Alpa (अल्प, alpā, अल्पा): defined in 11 categories.
Vayas (वयस्): defined in 5 categories.
Ha (ह, hā, हा): defined in 8 categories.
Bala (bāla, बाल, bālā, बाला): defined in 30 categories.
Kuca (कुच): defined in 10 categories.
Patana (पतन): defined in 17 categories.
Kutah (kutaḥ, कुतः): defined in 1 categories.
Kuta (कुत): defined in 19 categories.
Adhastat (adhastāt, अधस्तात्): defined in 2 categories.
Mudha (mūḍha, मूढ): defined in 15 categories.
Giri (गिरि): defined in 16 categories.
Na (न): defined in 12 categories.
Patanti (patantī, पतन्ती): defined in 1 categories.
Patat (पतत्): defined in 5 categories.
Kim (किम्): defined in 4 categories.
Defined according to the following glossaries/dictionaries: Sanskrit, Vastushastra (architecture), Purana (epic history), Yoga (school of philosophy), Ayurveda (science of life), Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology), Pancaratra (worship of Nārāyaṇa), Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism), Marathi, Hindi, Kannada, Arts (wordly enjoyments), Vyakarana (Sanskrit grammar), Biology (plants and animals), Tamil, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Pali, Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism), Shilpashastra (iconography), Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma), Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy), Kavya (poetry), Shaktism (Shakta philosophy), Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy), Dharmashastra (religious law), Rasashastra (chemistry and alchemy), Theravada (major branch of Buddhism), India history, Prakrit, Kavyashastra (science of poetry), Ganitashastra (Mathematics and Algebra), Jain philosophy, Mantrashastra (the science of Mantras), Nepali
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: “alpe vayasi he bāle kucayoḥ patanaḥ kutaḥ”
- alpe -
-
alpa (noun, masculine)[nominative plural], [locative single]alpa (noun, neuter)[nominative dual], [vocative dual], [accusative dual], [locative single]alpā (noun, feminine)[nominative dual], [vocative single], [vocative dual], [accusative dual]
- vayasi -
-
vayas (noun, neuter)[locative single]√vay (verb class 1)[present active second single]
- he -
-
ha (noun, masculine)[locative single]ha (noun, neuter)[nominative dual], [vocative dual], [accusative dual], [locative single]hā (noun, feminine)[nominative dual], [vocative single], [vocative dual], [accusative dual]√as (verb class 2)[present middle first single]
- bāle -
-
bāla (noun, masculine)[locative single]bāla (noun, neuter)[nominative dual], [vocative dual], [accusative dual], [locative single]bālā (noun, feminine)[nominative dual], [vocative single], [vocative dual], [accusative dual]
- kucayoḥ -
-
kuca (noun, masculine)[genitive dual], [locative dual]
- patanaḥ -
-
patana (noun, masculine)[nominative single]
- kutaḥ -
-
kutaḥ (indeclinable interrogative)[indeclinable interrogative]kutaḥ (indeclinable)[indeclinable]kuta (noun, masculine)[nominative single]
- Line 2: “adhastāt khanane mūḍha girayo na patanti kim”
- adhastāt -
-
adhastāt (indeclinable)[indeclinable]
- khanane -
-
khanana (noun, neuter)[nominative dual], [vocative dual], [accusative dual], [locative single]
- mūḍha -
-
mūḍha (noun, masculine)[compound], [vocative single]mūḍha (noun, neuter)[compound], [vocative single]√muh -> mūḍha (participle, masculine)[vocative single from √muh class 4 verb]√muh -> mūḍha (participle, neuter)[vocative single from √muh class 4 verb]
- girayo* -
-
giri (noun, feminine)[nominative plural], [vocative plural]giri (noun, masculine)[nominative plural], [vocative plural]
- na -
-
na (indeclinable particle)[indeclinable particle]na (noun, masculine)[compound], [vocative single]na (noun, neuter)[compound], [vocative single]
- patanti -
-
patantī (noun, feminine)[adverb], [vocative single]patat (noun, neuter)[nominative plural], [vocative plural], [accusative plural]√pat -> patat (participle, neuter)[nominative plural from √pat class 1 verb], [vocative plural from √pat class 1 verb], [accusative plural from √pat class 1 verb]√pat -> patantī (participle, feminine)[vocative single from √pat class 1 verb]√pat (verb class 1)[present active third plural]
- kim -
-
kim (indeclinable interrogative)[indeclinable interrogative]kim (indeclinable)[indeclinable]kim (pronoun, neuter)[nominative single], [accusative single]
About the Mahāsubhāṣitasaṃgraha
buy this bookThis 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 3212 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.