Sanskrit quote nr. 4085 (Maha-subhashita-samgraha)
Sanskrit text:
अहिंसा परमो धर्मो ह्यहिंसैव परं तपः ।
अहिंसा परमं दानम् इत्याहुर्मुनयः सदा ॥ahiṃsā paramo dharmo hyahiṃsaiva paraṃ tapaḥ |
ahiṃsā paramaṃ dānam ityāhurmunayaḥ sadā ||
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.
Ahimsa (ahiṃsā, अहिंसा): defined in 13 categories.
Parama (परम): defined in 16 categories.
Dharma (धर्म): defined in 25 categories.
Hi (हि): defined in 7 categories.
Param (परम्): defined in 7 categories.
Para (पर): defined in 20 categories.
Tap (तप्): defined in 4 categories.
Tapa (तप): defined in 13 categories.
Tapas (तपस्): defined in 11 categories.
Paramam (परमम्): defined in 2 categories.
Dana (dāna, दान): defined in 23 categories.
Iti (इति): defined in 6 categories.
Itya (इत्य, ityā, इत्या): defined in 1 categories.
Muni (मुनि): defined in 18 categories.
Defined according to the following glossaries/dictionaries: Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sanskrit, Pali, Purana (epic history), Yoga (school of philosophy), Dharmashastra (religious law), Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism), Theravada (major branch of Buddhism), Marathi, Prakrit, Hindi, Shilpashastra (iconography), Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma), Shaktism (Shakta philosophy), Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy), India history, Kannada, Tamil, Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism), Arthashastra (politics and welfare), Kavya (poetry), Mimamsa (school of philosophy), Ayurveda (science of life), Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology), Vyakarana (Sanskrit grammar), Pancaratra (worship of Nārāyaṇa), Vaisheshika (school of philosophy), Nyaya (school of philosophy), Nepali, Biology (plants and animals), Mantrashastra (the science of Mantras), Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy), Jain philosophy, Nirukta (Sanskrit etymology), Arts (wordly enjoyments), Ganitashastra (Mathematics and Algebra)
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: “ahiṃsā paramo dharmo hyahiṃsaiva paraṃ tapaḥ”
- ahiṃsā -
-
ahiṃsā (noun, feminine)[nominative single]
- paramo* -
-
parama (noun, masculine)[nominative single]
- dharmo* -
-
dharma (noun, masculine)[nominative single]
- hya -
-
hi (indeclinable particle)[indeclinable particle]
- ahiṃsai -
-
ahiṃsā (noun, feminine)[nominative single]
- aiva -
-
√i (verb class 2)[imperfect active first dual]
- param -
-
param (indeclinable)[indeclinable]para (noun, masculine)[adverb], [accusative single]para (noun, neuter)[nominative single], [accusative single]
- tapaḥ -
-
tapas (noun, neuter)[compound], [nominative single], [vocative single], [accusative single]tap (noun, masculine)[nominative plural], [vocative plural], [accusative plural], [ablative single], [genitive single]tap (noun, neuter)[ablative single], [genitive single]tapa (noun, masculine)[nominative single]
- Line 2: “ahiṃsā paramaṃ dānam ityāhurmunayaḥ sadā”
- ahiṃsā -
-
ahiṃsā (noun, feminine)[nominative single]
- paramam -
-
paramam (indeclinable)[indeclinable]parama (noun, masculine)[adverb], [accusative single]parama (noun, neuter)[adverb], [nominative single], [accusative single]paramā (noun, feminine)[adverb]
- dānam -
-
dāna (noun, masculine)[adverb], [accusative single]dāna (noun, neuter)[adverb], [nominative single], [accusative single]
- ityā -
-
iti (indeclinable particle)[indeclinable particle]iti (noun, feminine)[compound], [adverb], [nominative dual], [vocative dual], [accusative dual], [instrumental single]itya (noun, masculine)[compound], [vocative single]itya (noun, neuter)[compound], [vocative single]√i -> itya (absolutive)[absolutive from √i]ityā (noun, feminine)[nominative single]√i -> itya (participle, masculine)[vocative single from √i class 2 verb]√i -> itya (participle, neuter)[vocative single from √i class 2 verb]√i -> ityā (participle, feminine)[nominative single from √i class 2 verb]
- āhur -
-
√ah (verb class 5)[perfect active third plural]
- munayaḥ -
-
muni (noun, masculine)[nominative plural], [vocative plural]
- sadā -
-
sadā (indeclinable)[indeclinable]sad (noun, masculine)[instrumental single]sad (noun, neuter)[instrumental single]sadā (noun, feminine)[nominative 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 4085 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.