Sanskrit quote nr. 4 (Maha-subhashita-samgraha)

Sanskrit text:

अंशुकेन जघनं तिरोदधे क चुकेन च कुचौ मृगीदृशाम् ।
पीयमानमनिशं प्रियेक्षणैः क्षामतामिव जगाम मध्यमम् ॥

aṃśukena jaghanaṃ tirodadhe ka cukena ca kucau mṛgīdṛśām |
pīyamānamaniśaṃ priyekṣaṇaiḥ kṣāmatāmiva jagāma madhyamam ||

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

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

Primary English translation:

“The hips of the deer-eyed damsels were concealed by the silk dress and the bosom by the jacket (and, being unconsumed, grew in size); but the waist became thin as it was drunk in (gazed at) frequently by the glances of the lovers.”
(translation by A. A. Ramanathan)

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.

Amshuka (amsuka, aṃśuka, अंशुक): defined in 5 categories.
Jaghana (जघन): defined in 7 categories.
Udadhi (उदधि): defined in 10 categories.
Ka (क): defined in 15 categories.
Ca (च): defined in 9 categories.
Kuca (कुच): defined in 10 categories.
Mrigidrish (mrgidrs, mṛgīdṛś, मृगीदृश्): defined in 2 categories.
Anisham (anisam, aniśam, अनिशम्): defined in 2 categories.
Anisha (anisa, aniśa, अनिश): defined in 8 categories.
Pri (prī, प्री): defined in 2 categories.
Priya (प्रिय, priyā, प्रिया): defined in 11 categories.
Kshana (ksana, kṣaṇa, क्षण): defined in 13 categories.
Kshamata (ksamata, kṣāmatā, क्षामता): defined in 3 categories.
Iva (इव): defined in 4 categories.
Madhyama (मध्यम): defined in 20 categories.

Defined according to the following glossaries/dictionaries: Hinduism, Sanskrit, Pali, Purana (epic history), Kannada, Ayurveda (science of life), Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy), Marathi, Prakrit, Buddhism, Shaktism (Shakta philosophy), India history, Hindi, Ganitashastra (Mathematics and Algebra), Nepali, Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism), Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology), Vyakarana (Sanskrit grammar), Biology (plants and animals), Tamil, Arts (wordly enjoyments), Jainism, Yoga (school of philosophy), Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy), Kavya (poetry), Chandas (prosody, study of Sanskrit metres), Rasashastra (chemistry and alchemy), Pancaratra (worship of Nārāyaṇa), Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism), Shilpashastra (iconography), Arthashastra (politics and welfare), Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma), Dharmashastra (religious law), Shiksha (linguistics: phonetics, phonology etc.), Gitashastra (science of music)

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: “aṃśukena jaghanaṃ tirodadhe ka cukena ca kucau mṛgīdṛśām”
aṃśukena -
aṃśuka (noun, neuter)

[instrumental single]
jaghanam -
jaghana (noun, masculine)

[adverb], [accusative single]
tiro -
√tṝ (verb class 1)

[imperative active second single]

√tṝ (verb class 6)

[imperative active second single]
udadhe -
udadhi (noun, masculine)

[vocative single]

udadhi (noun, feminine)

[vocative single]
ka -
ka (noun, neuter)

[compound], [vocative single]
Cannot analyse cukena*ca
ca -
ca (indeclinable conjunction)

[indeclinable conjunction]

ca (noun, masculine)

[compound], [vocative single]

ca (noun, neuter)

[compound], [vocative single]
kucau -
kuca (noun, masculine)

[nominative dual], [vocative dual], [accusative dual]
mṛgīdṛśām -
mṛgīdṛś (noun, feminine)

[genitive plural]
Line 2: “pīyamānamaniśaṃ priyekṣaṇaiḥ kṣāmatāmiva jagāma madhyamam”
pīyamānam -
√pā -> pīyamāna (participle, masculine)

[accusative single from √pā class 1 verb], [accusative single from √pā class 2 verb]

√pā -> pīyamāna (participle, neuter)

[nominative single from √pā class 1 verb], [accusative single from √pā class 1 verb], [nominative single from √pā class 2 verb], [accusative single from √pā class 2 verb]

√pā -> pīyamāna (participle, masculine)

[accusative single from √pā class 3 verb]

√pā -> pīyamāna (participle, neuter)

[nominative single from √pā class 3 verb], [accusative single from √pā class 3 verb]

√pai -> pīyamāna (participle, masculine)

[accusative single from √pai class 1 verb]

√pai -> pīyamāna (participle, neuter)

[nominative single from √pai class 1 verb], [accusative single from √pai class 1 verb]

√pi -> pīyamāna (participle, masculine)

[accusative single from √pi class 1 verb], [accusative single from √pi class 2 verb], [accusative single from √pi class 3 verb]

√pi -> pīyamāna (participle, neuter)

[nominative single from √pi class 1 verb], [accusative single from √pi class 1 verb], [nominative single from √pi class 2 verb], [accusative single from √pi class 2 verb], [nominative single from √pi class 3 verb], [accusative single from √pi class 3 verb]

√pī -> pīyamāna (participle, masculine)

[accusative single from √pī class 1 verb], [accusative single from √pī class 2 verb], [accusative single from √pī class 3 verb], [accusative single from √pī class 4 verb]

√pī -> pīyamāna (participle, neuter)

[nominative single from √pī class 1 verb], [accusative single from √pī class 1 verb], [nominative single from √pī class 2 verb], [accusative single from √pī class 2 verb], [nominative single from √pī class 3 verb], [accusative single from √pī class 3 verb], [nominative single from √pī class 4 verb], [accusative single from √pī class 4 verb]

√pīy -> pīyamāna (participle, masculine)

[accusative single from √pīy class 1 verb]

√pīy -> pīyamāna (participle, neuter)

[nominative single from √pīy class 1 verb], [accusative single from √pīy class 1 verb]
aniśam -
aniśam (indeclinable)

[indeclinable]

aniśa (noun, masculine)

[adverb], [accusative single]

aniśa (noun, neuter)

[adverb], [nominative single], [accusative single]

aniśā (noun, feminine)

[adverb]
priye -
prī (noun, masculine)

[dative single]

prī (noun, feminine)

[dative single]

priya (noun, masculine)

[locative single]

priya (noun, neuter)

[nominative dual], [vocative dual], [accusative dual], [locative single]

priyā (noun, feminine)

[nominative dual], [vocative single], [vocative dual], [accusative dual]

√pṛ (verb class 3)

[present passive first single]

√pṛ (verb class 9)

[present passive first single]

√pṛ (verb class 5)

[present passive first single]

√pṛ (verb class 6)

[present middle first single], [present passive first single]
kṣaṇaiḥ -
kṣaṇa (noun, masculine)

[instrumental plural]

kṣaṇa (noun, neuter)

[instrumental plural]
kṣāmatām -
kṣāmatā (noun, feminine)

[accusative single]
iva -
iva (indeclinable adverb)

[indeclinable adverb]

iva (indeclinable)

[indeclinable]
jagāma -
√gā (verb class 3)

[imperative active first plural]

√gam (verb class 1)

[perfect active first single], [perfect active third single]

√gam (verb class 2)

[perfect active first single], [perfect active third single]

√gam (verb class 3)

[perfect active first single], [perfect active third single]
madhyamam -
madhyama (noun, masculine)

[adverb], [accusative single]

madhyama (noun, neuter)

[adverb], [nominative single], [accusative single]

madhyamā (noun, feminine)

[adverb]

Sources

This quote is contained within the following Sanskrit literary sources:

Sūktimuktāvalī 185.58: A Sanskrit anthology containing general information on poets and poetry and several ethical verses on subjects such as happiness, charity, fate, wickedness etc. There are two versions of the Sūktimuktāvalī, a small and a large one. The book was compiled by Bhagadatta Jalhaṇa in 1257 A.D..
More info

Authorship

Bhagadatta Jalhaṇa (13th century) is the compiler of the Sūktimuktāvalī, into which he included this quote, ascribing the authorship to Mādhavamāgadha. He was also known as Jahlaṇa.

About the Mahāsubhāṣitasaṃgraha

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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 4 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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Last Updated: 13 April, 2017