6.6. Indian Ethical Values and Conduct

[Full title: Human values: A mirror to Indian culture (6): Paropakara, Titiksa (Ksama), Udyoga (Udyama), Santosa, Sauca, Sila]

Indian tradition lays great emphasis on cultivating certain values like paropakara, doing good to others, titiksa, tolerance, ksama, forgiveness, dama, self-control, indriyanigraha, control over the senses, dhrti or dhairya, fortitude, sauca, purity, mrdubhasita softness in speech etc. which could form ingredients of sila, an umbrella for all the good qualities. In the human existence the best situation is when one has not to live only for oneself, that being just an animal instinct. A human being has to outgrow himself to reach out to others, to be of any service to them, to help them, should they require it, to provide succour to them. That is as it should be. That will elevate him mentally and spiritually by opening him up to the wider world which he would then come to look upon as an extension X of himself. That will impart to him the feeling that his begetting the birth is of some worth: parahitasampadanam ca janmaphalam'. This is the real goodness that comes to the fore among the noble people of their own volition, santah svayam parahite vihitabhiyogah2. That is the barometer of goodness. It is that which does not make good people insolent in prosperity: anuddhatah satpurusah samrddhibhih. To do good to others becomes the very part of their being: svabhava evaisa paropakarinam³. If a person is learned, his learning should be such as to be useful to others: sa vaidusi phalam yasya na paropakrteh param¹.

Paropakara, Titiksa, Udyoga, Santosa, Sauca, Sila 141 This is easily noticeable in the way of the scientific and technological discoveries. The medical researchers who toil day in and day out in inventing new drugs to fight diseases or to relieve distress or pain or make these bearable are not doing so just for themselves. They toil for the good of humanity at large. That is true of scientists as well who devote long hours in their laboratories to make life of the common people more comfortable and easy. The prerequisite to doing good to others is to be good to oneself, to be a satpurusa. It is the satpurusas who engage themselves in doing good to others. It is about them that it is said that their prosperity is for the good of others. It is they who are compared with rivers which drink not their own waters or the trees which eat not their fruits or the clouds which partake not themselves the grains (though germinating them): pibanti nadyah svayam eva nambhah khadanti na svadu phalani vrksahi payodharah sasyam adanti naiva paropakaraya satam vibhutayah51 One has therefore to cultivate the quality of goodness to do good to others which leads to merit that every sane person desires to acquire. The gist of the vast Puranic literature, comprising eighteen works, as declares an old stanza in the most unequivocal terms, is to do good to others and not to cause trouble to them: paropakarah punyaya papaya parapidanam. For doing good to others, paropakara, a strong will is necessary. A chicken-hearted man would think of his own self first. To move out of oneself needs determination, a resolute will. It is possible that in the course of doing good to others one may court trouble to oneself, even risk one's own life and invite penury and misery to oneself. Still, if one persists in one's efforts, that betokens one's strong will. Maybe, while doing good or thinking of doing good one may have to dissuade the other person from following a course which may be harmful to him. For this one may have to invite his harsh words. One is however not to be deterred by them:

dhirah sada racayate hi paropakaram vakyam kathoram api tasya dayardragarbhami nirvantatoyanivahair jaladair visrsta varsopala dadhati sitalavarigarbham 11 "A strong-minded person always does good to others. Even his harsh words have in them an element of kindness. The hailstones showered by clouds after they have emptied themselves of their mass of water have in them cool water." Paropakara is a high watermark of a cultured person. He will go out of his way to share his wealth with the poor and the needy and thus win for himself undying fame. Kalidasa refers to this very fact when he says that the loss of digits by the moon which is sucked digit by digit by gods is more appealing than the gaining of them: paryayapitasya surair himamsoh kalaksayah slaghyataro hi vrddheh'. The really good people never even speak of the good turn they do to others; lest it were to cause hurt to their selfesteem. They would prefer to keep themselves in the background and just do good. An interesting anecdote connected with the a well-known savant Ishvarchandra Vidyasagar bears reproduction here. He was in the habit of going for morning walk. One morning he noticed a person crying at his sad fate. Vidyasagar approached him and asked him as to what was wrong with him. The man brushed him aside with the remark that he better mind his own business and leave him alone. When the latter persisted, the man was more insolent. 'Do you have means to help me', said he. 'Leave me to my fate', said he. With Vidyasagar still persisting, he told him that he had mortgaged his house for the marriage of his daughter and with him unable to pay the mortgage amount his house would have to be auctioned as per the court orders. The next day the auctioneer came at the appointed hour and told him to his surprise that his house would no longer require auction, somebody having paid the mortgage amount for him already, leaving him to infer that it must have been the same person who had accosted him the previous morning and with him he had been so harsh. This is paropakara in the true sense of the term.

Paropakara, Titiksa, Udyoga, Santosa, Sauca, Sila 143 The other human value which goes well with paropakara is titiksa, forbearance, endurance. It could be defined as withstanding the bad turn or harm done to one by another person. This requires a strong moral fibre. Normally the tendency is to pay back in the same coin. Not to do so is the highest virtue. It is this which can bring about many a gain that otherwise would be impossible. No means would equal it to achieve them: na titiksasamam asti sadhanam. If a person strong enough otherwise to retaliate or to inflict punishment were not to go in for it, he would earn the goodwill of the opponent and win him over. Rightly has it been said: titiksakavacenaikah sarvam jayati samvrtah, "protected by the armour of endurance one conquers everything". By everything what is meant is not just the hostility of the other party but also his own unease born of the desire for revenge and the agony caused by the opponent. It is a measure of one who is in a position to repay the insults, the abuses and the mental and physical injury. An instance here would bear it out. Once the wife of the well-known Maharashtrian saint Tukaram got angry with him and hit him with a sugar cane. The saint picked up the cane, broke it into two, gave one part of it to his wife and began to chew the other part himself much to the shame of the former who felt utmost remorse for her thoughtless action. Mahatma Gandhi, even though fighting the British rule never even for a moment bore ill-will for the British people. Titiksa or endurance is a quality which leads in tandem with qualities like sama, tranquillity, dama, self-control, uparati, withdrawal, etc. to the realization of the self: tasmad evamvic chanto danta uparatas titiksuh samaratir bhutva' tmany evatmanam pasyati. Ksama is another name for titiksa. The Ramayana proclaims it to be (the greatest of the) gifts. According to it it is the truth, it is sacrifice, it is a man's true glory, it is dharma, the whole world is sustained by it: ksama danam ksama satyam ksama yajnas ca putrikahi ksama yasah ksama dharmah ksamayadhisthitam jagat'11

Nothing, no curse, no exercise, no fire, no poison, missiles or weapons are sharper than ksama¹0. He is said to be a real man who controls his rising anger with forbearance like a snake a worn out slough¹¹. The real knowledge consists in ksama. It is the ignorant, the unwise who would fall a prey to intolerance which is the source of all troubles, all strifes and dissentions. If only one were to give a chance to it, it would be a more pleasant world to live in. It is this which lends sheen to knowledge. It provides the healing touch to frayed tempers. The knowledge needs to be tempered with it. That will be its ornament: narasyabharanam rupam rupasyabharanam gunahi gunasyabharanam jnanam jnanasyabharanam ksama¹² 11 "A handsome figure is the ornament of a man, the ornament of a handsome figure is quality, the ornament of a quality is knowledge and the ornament of knowledge is forbearance". Knowledge needs will power to back up. Even when realizing that one should control one's emotions, one may not actually be able to do so. A determined effort is a sine qua non for this. As a matter of fact, effort or initiative is a desideratum for all human activities. Man has been so designed by nature that he cannot sit idle even for a moment, not doing anything: na hi kascit ksanam api jatu tisthaty akarmakrt. He is forced to indulge in some activity or the other compulsively as it were: karyate hy avasah karma sarvah prakrtijair gunaih¹³. This spontaneous/involuntary activity like eating drinking, talking, walking, sleeping, is one thing and the conscious activity to engage productively in some thing or the other is another thing. It is this activity which is extolled throughout Sanskrit literature. Udyoga, udyama or abhiyoga as it is called there brings prosperity to a person who engages himself in it: udyoginam purusasimham upaiti laksmih 14. It is through this only that one achieves everything and not by mere pious wishes: udyamena hi sidhyanti karyani na manorathaih. The deer do not gallop into the mouth

X Paropakara, Titiksa, Udyoga, Santosa, Sauca, Sila 145 of a lion by themselves when it is asleep: nahi suptasya simhasya pravisanti mukhe mrgah¹5. 15 The emphasis on effort, initiative, application goes as far back as the Vedic literature which proclaims in no uncertain terms that the deities do not make friends with a man who does not toil: na rte srantasya sakhyaya devah16. It is not untrue that the gods protect one who works hard: na mrsa srantam yad avanti devah¹7. Prosperity does not come to one who does not work hard. It is not effort casually made once that would lead to success. It is the persistence in it, the nairantarya, that matters. It is with this that even the most difficult things are accomplished. Even a rock gets thinner with the repeated fall of water: durlabhany api sidhyanti karyani prodyamena hi sila 'pi tanutam yati prapatenarnaso muhuh1811 This is best illustrated by an old anecdote. As it goes, a Brahmin of Bengal of the name of Bopadeva invited the wrath of his teacher because of his slow wit. He would not follow the lesson even when it was repeated to him a number of times. The cussed teacher threw him out of the school much to his chagrin. While coming out of it he noticed a well and some round potholes near it. On enquiry from the village belles drawing water from the well, he came to know that these were there because of the repeated placement of the pitchers on particular spots. This set him athinking. "If this could happen to the inert matter, could it not happen to him?" This proved to be the turning point in his life. He repaired back to the school and assiduously pursued the lessons till they got soaked into his mind. With this he won back the confidence of the teacher and rose to be one of the greatest of the scholars of his time. Constant application is, therefore, the key to success. Asvaghosa from whom a stanza had been quoted above follows up that stanza with another one where he reproduces another mundane phenomenon in illustration of this. A person, says he, who does not stop in the midst of an act of rubbing fire sticks alone gets fire, the same is the case with the spiritual attainment (siddhi):

aranimanthane jatu yo virantum na cestate! sa eva labhate vahnim evam siddher api sthitih19|| Persistence in an activity can bring success even to one who may otherwise be weak in constitution. As per an old subhasita even an ant, if on the move, though slow, covers thousands of yojanas (a measure of distance in old times) while a garuda, if sitting idle, does not move even a step forward: yojananam sahasrani yati gacchan pipilika agacchan vainateyo 'pi padam ekam na gacchati 20|| In no case is one to give up initiative, even if success were not to attend one's efforts. "That is my fate" kind of approach is no good or "whatever has to come has to come anyway", "what fate has ordained for one, that one has to bear" kind of thinking would get a person nowhere. Fate or no fate, one should continue with one's efforts. One can never get oil from sesame seeds without exertion: na daivam api sancintya tyajed udyogam atmanahi anudyogena tailani tilebhyo naptum arhati 21|| To a person who exerts repair all fortunes impulsively as do frogs to a pond and birds to a full lake: nipanam iva mandukah sarah purnam ivandajahi sodyogam naram ayanti vivasah sarvasampadah221|| So a person should take to exertion like a friend and negligence as an enemy for it leads to great achievement: udyamo mitravad grahyah pramadam satruvat tyajeti Xudyamena para siddhih 23 Not only should one exert, one should exert quickly (without loss of time) in matters that one has to accomplish: karyesv avasyakaryesu siddhaye ksiprakarita²4 Intimately connected with the quality of paropakara is the quality of audarya, magnanimity, liberality which forms the bedrock to it. Without it one cannot really get ready to provide help to others . It is that which makes a person look upon the whole earth as one family, vasudhaiva kutumbakam 25.

Paropakara, Titiksa, Udyoga, Santosa, Sauca, Sila 147 It is only when a person accepts others as one's own can he help them. Limiting oneself to one's own self or to one's near and dear one limits one's vision. With limited vision paropakara is simply impossible. It is only when one opens up that one can pray for all that they cross all hurdles, that they have all their desires fulfilled, that they get happiness everywhere: sarvas taratu durgani sarvo bhadrani pasyatul sarvah kaman avapnotu sarvah sarvatra nandatu 2611 With audarya also goes santosa, contentment. With this one loses greed. One is satisfied with what one has. With that comes peace of mind which simply is invaluable: sada santustamanasah sarvah sukhamaya disahi sarkarakantakadibhyo yatropanatpadam sivam²711 "For a person who has contentment in mind all the quarters give happiness all the time like the comfort to the one well protected with shoes from gravel and thorns". A person could be very rich, still he could be very mean, not sharing his wealth with others, not even spending on himself. The real richness lies in the magnanimity of the mind which simply is invaluable: adhyatvam nama tad idam cittaudaryam pragiyatel nadhyatvam dhanavattvam yad akincanasamam matam²811 Santosa, contentment is said to be the greatest treasure, the only one at that, of man, param nidhanam. There could be, as indeed there are, other treasures as well but they are all transitory, ksayantah, as they are described. They come and go but certainly not santosa, contentment. It reflects the mental health. Once in it, one does not hanker after material things which in any case cannot provide real happiness which can come about only through tranquillity going with contentment. Rightly says the Padmapurana: santosamrtatrptanam yat sukham santacetasami kutas tad dhanalubdhanam itas cetas ca dhavatam 29 11

"How can those who run about in greed of wealth have that happiness that those tranquil in mind satiated with the nectar of contentment have?" One of the five niyamas, the duties prescribed for a man (which are not obligatory, a point that distinguishes them from the other types of duties, the yamas), santosa means not to crave for more than that which can be managed within the means available, sannihitasadhanad adhikasyanupaditsa. It is a mental state which could be just inborn in a man, sahaja or could be acquired through association with the good people. In no case it means loss of desires; it only signifies limiting them to means available, to derive the same comfort and ease even within one's limited resources as one would have derived in prolific ones. It is this that would not make a person eye with jealousy the rich life-style of the neighbour and lose his equanimity. A wise man has rightly said that if fate is to bestow crown, it bestows it in the form of contentment. One who suffers from craving even hundreds of miles is no distance while for a contented person even an object come to hand means nothing: na yojanasatam duram badhyamanasya trsnayal santustasya karaprapte 'py arthe bhavati nadarah³0|| Whatever is just needed to maintain themselves (lit. by which the stomach could be filled) is what the people can call their own. One who takes more than that to be so is a thief deserving of punishment: yavad bhriyeta jatharam tavat svatvam hi dehinami adhikam yo 'bhimanyeta sa steno dandam arhati³¹ Nature has provided enough for everybody on the earth. One who appropriates to oneself a larger share of its resources, deprives others of the same to that extent which is at the source of all deprivation , misery and distress. It is advisable for such a person to share the excess resources with his less fortunate brethren to bring back to them which is rightfully theirs. Such a person will have in his mind unlimited happiness, saukhyam atulam, no botheration , na duhkham, no mental torture, tapah, no enemy, na ca ripuh³2

Paropakara, Titiksa, Udyoga, Santosa, Sauca, Sila 149 The present discussion on santosa could well be closed with its definition, a rare one indeed in Sanskrit literature which the Jabalayoga furnishes in the following words: yadrcchalabhato nityam pritir ya jayate nrnam! tat santosam viduh prajnah parijnanaikatatparah³311 "The pleasure that people derive from what comes to them as a matter of course, the wise who are solely devoted to the W/ pursuit of knowledge know as santosa" • One of the other niyamas along with santosa of the ten of them enumerated by Atri: saucam ijya tapo danam svadhyayopasthanigrahah vratamaunopavasam ca snanam ca niyama dasa³4 is sauca, purity. It has been defined as avoiding a prohibited article of food, x associating with the non-defamed ones and sticking to right conduct: abhaksyapariharas ca samsargas capy aninditaihi acare ca vyavasthanam saucam etat prakirtitam³5|| According to the Canakyarajanitisastra it is of five types: compassion for all beings; control over the senses; truthfulness; mental purity and, the fifth one, purification by water: sarvabhutadaya saucam saucam indriyanigrahahi satyam saucam manah saucam jalasuddhis tu pancamam³611 In more compact form it is divided into three categories: physical, mental and intellectual: svadehamalanirmokso mrjjalabhyam mahamune! aham suddham iti jnanam saucam ahur manisinah "According to the wise, O great sage! The removal of the dirt of the body by the earth and the water is external purification. Cogitation is the mental purification while (the feeling that) 'I am pure' is intellectual purification." Of these the knowledge purification stands at the apex. It is this which should be assiduously sought. External purification is all right but it has to be followed up by internal one:

bahyasaucena yuktah sans tatha cabhyantaram caret 38, "After purifying oneself externally (by bath etc.) one should also purify oneself internally." As is clear from the above, in the order of purification, the physical purification comes first. That is the sine qua non of any kind of purification, however lower in gradation it may be. Indian tradition lays great store by bath, the primary source of physical purification, for it is this which can make a person feel fresh after the night's sleep or the afternoon slumber or after the day's hard toil, particularly so in a tropical country like India where for most part of the year it is hot and humid with all the perspiration and body odours. A shower or a swim in a pool or pond or a river takes away the sloth. One feels thereby more active and alert. That is why it is said that "one may ignore a thousand things but bath one must have", (satam vihaya bhoktavyam) sahasram snanam acaret! With the root meaning connected with bath the words connected with rivers or their banks or their currents though ostensibly used in different meanings such as snataka, abhiseka, paravara, parina, anukula, pratikula, anupa, pratipa, etc. point to the act of bathing and the need of water for the same and the physical purity thereby. With freshness achieved by physical purity the mental purity is just a step further. With mental purity the intellect would shine out and the true realization of oneself attained. The ancient texts emphasize that one has to continue with the follow up steps and not stop at physical purity only which howsoever good and desirable is not the be end and all end of life. One has to go on to the final step of knowledge purification. Says the Jabalayoga: jnanasaucam parityajya bahye yo ramate narahi sa mudhah kancanam tyaktva lostham grhnati suvrata 3911 "O Suvrata, one who is given to (lit. takes delight) in external purification in preference to the knowledge purification, that ignorant one, is just picking up a lump of earth in preference to gold."

Paropakara, Titiksa, Udyoga, Santosa, Sauca, Sila 151 If a person is impure, is prone to evil thoughts, is subject to baser instincts, his physical purity has no meaning. He may have washed his body clean but his mind may continue to be unclean even if following rigorously the regimen of hygiene. That is what the Lingapurana purports to say when it declares "Do the best of the Brahmins, get clean by regular (lit. always) bath in water? So one should always carry out, as per the procedure, internal cleansing: sadavagahya salile visuddhah kim dvijottamahi tasmad abhyantaram saucam sada karyam vidhanatah4011 The internal cleansing has been explained as saumukhyad abhisampritir arthinam darsane sada satkrtis canasuya ca tada suddhir iti smrta" || "To always receive supplicants with pleasant face on seeing them, to honour them and not to have ill-will for them". The Baudhayana Dharmasutra explains as to which things are purified by what * adbhih sudhyanti gatrani buddhir jnanena sudhyati ahimsaya ca bhutatma manah satyena sudhyati¹² || "The limbs are purified by water, the intellect by knowledge, the self by non-violence (as per the Manusmrti by knowledge and austerities: vidyatapobhyam bhutatma) and the mind by truth." The purification automatically goes with certain objects, like people who follow the conduct which is ideally expected of them. Underground water, a woman devoted to her husband, a king solicitous of (the welfare) of his subjects and a contented Brahmin are pure: suci bhumigatam toyam sucir nari pativratal sucih ksemankaro raja santosi brahmanah sucih 43 There is much talk of corruption these days. To stay clean in financial matters was very well recognized by ancient thinkers of India. That man is pure who is pure in financial matters: yo 'rthe sucih sa sucih.44

All these qualities and others add up to what sila is. It is an enigmatic term which is all-comprehensive as should be clear from the following stanza of the Nitisataka (No. 80) of Bhartrhari: aisvaryasya vibhusanam sujanata sauryasya vaksamyamo jnanasyopasamah srutasya vinayo vittasya patre vyayahi akrodhas tapasah ksama prabhavitur dharmasya nirvyajata sarvesam api sarvakaranam idam silam param bhusanam 4511 "Goodness is the ornament of prosperity, restraint in speech of that of bravery, tranquillity of that of knowledge, humility of that of learning, investment in a deserving case of that of money, absence of anger of that of austerities, forgiveness of that of the mighty, absence of pretension of that of dharma, sila, the all round source of all these, is the best of the ornaments". This very point is reinforced when it is said that there is no ornament like sila: vibhusanam silasamam na canyat 46 It is for this reason that it is praised sky high all through Indian tradition. One who lives while observing it lives in reality: silasya palanam kurvan yo jivati sa jivati 47 It is like a guide in a dreary forest: silam hi saranam saumya kantara iva desikah48. Sila removes stigma of the family as also the dirt (mala) of sin. It adds to merit, spreads fame, bends the deities, removes the host of obstacles and leads to the attainment of heaven as also salvation with ease. " Sila is lack of hostility towards all beings in word, mind and action, compassion and charity: adroham sarvabhutesu karmana manasa giral anugrahas ca danam ca silam etat prasasyate 49 11 One who does not have it, knowledge, learning, austerities, riches , the spreading fame-all are like the bath of an elephant: vidya srutam tapo va 'py aisvaryam va yasahprakarso va silarahitasya pumso dviradasnanopamam bhavati 5011 At this point it is pertinent to pause and think as to what this sila which is spoken of in superlative terms means. The Amarakosa explains it at two places. At one place it interprets it (A)

0 This Paropakara, Titiksa, Udyoga, Santosa, Sauca, Sila 153 as pure conduct, sucau tu carite silam 51 while at another as nature or good conduct, silam svabhave sadvrtte 52 (III.3.202). It, however, appears that sila is much more than just good conduct. It is an innate goodness in man, a reservoir of good qualities that imparts him rare strength of character. It is not easy to define it nor is it easy to translate it. It is that sublimity that is felt to exist but which is difficult to describe. Right or good conduct is a poor rendering of it, not able to capture its spirit that goes far beyond it. It is this that makes a person easily approachable, abhigamya and impossible of being overawed, adhrsya. It is inner strength born of a myriad qualities that propels a person to follow the right path and shun the wrong one. It is this strength that imparts a rare equanimity to a person which makes him impervious to the totally contrary situations in life and facing them with the same evenness. The great remain the same when favoured by fortune or visited by adversity: sampattau ca vipattau ca mahatam ekarupata, like the sun which is red when it rises and red when it sets, udayan savita raktah rakta evastam eti ca. When told first that he was to be anointed a king and then that he was to be exiled, Rama's face showed no expression, nalaksayata ramasya kancid akaram anane 53 (akara = expression). There was no perturbation in his mind as he was preparing to leave for the forest forsaking (the rule over) the earth as if he was different from all others: na vanam gantukamasya tyajatas ca vasundharami sarvalokatigasyeva laksyate cittavikriya 5411 It is this quality which makes a person look out of the ordinary. Where the devils would not dare to tread, the angels would walk easily. In the Mahabharata once Yudhisthira asked Bhisma as to why it is that while describing dharma everybody first talks of sila and that he should explain it to him as to what it is. The latter told the former that the same question Duryodhana had put to his father Dhrtarastra when he (Duryodhana) was seething with jealousy at your excessive prosperity in former days at Indraprastha. Dhrtarastra had told him that it is possible to

conquer all the worlds with sila. He had underlined its importance in the following words: silena hi trayo lokah sakya jetum na samsayahi nahi kincid asadhyam vai loke silavatam bhavet 55 || "There is no doubt that with sila (all) the three worlds are possible of conquest. For people possessed of sila there is nothing impossible of achievement in this world." Proceeding further he recounts to him the story of Prahlada and Indra. By means of sila Prahlada wrested the kingdom of heaven from Indra which made him repair to Brhaspati which gave him knowledge to bring peace to his distraught mind. When Indra wanted more of it, Brhaspati asked him to go to Sukracarya, who when approached, asked Prahlada to pass on his sila to Indra which he did. One by one a quality after quality like truth, satya, might/lustre, tejas, strength, bala came out of the body of Prahlada and entered into that of Indra. With sila gone, the royal fortune forsook him. On being asked as to why she was doing so, she said: silena hi trayo lokas tvaya dharmajna nirjitahi tad vijnaya surendrena tava silam hrtam prabho 5611 "O ye, the knower of dharma, thou had conquered the three worlds through sila. Having come to know of it, O Lord, Indra has wrested your sila from thee." It is no wonder then that sila is proclaimed as the best of the ornaments, param bhusanam. Leave aside the worldly ornaments which are prone to decay and disappearance unlike sila which is constant, even the ornaments in the form of qualities severally would not stand up before sila, that being an aggregate of them and more. Sila is not unoften referred to by the term vrtta. Overwhelming importance is attached to its observance. It is said that one should keep it up assiduously while wealth vitta, (a word phonetically close to vrtta but miles apart in sense) comes and goes. One does not lose anything if one loses wealth, vitta, but

Paropakara, Titiksa, Udyoga, Santosa, Sauca, Sila 155 with the loss of character (that is the nearest equivalent of it, everything is lost: vrttam yatnena samraksyam vittam ayati yati cal aksino vittatah ksino vrttatas tu hato hatah571 As said earlier, it is not possible to give a single line definition of sila. Sila is like sila just as we say sky is like sky or ocean is like ocean, gaganam gaganakaram sagarah sagaropamah. It is a great fortune to come together with a person endowed with sila. Rightly does a Subhasita say: kim madhuna kim vidhuna kim sudhaya kim ca vasudhaya 'khilaya yadi hrdayaharicaritah purusah punar eti nayanayor ayanamil "What has one to do with honey, the moon, the nectar as also with the whole earth, if a person with captivating character and conduct comes to view (lit. comes within the range of eyes). REFERENCES 1. Kuttinimata, 724 2. Vikramarkacarita, 11 3. Nitisataka, 71 4. Srikanthacarita, 25.115 5. Nitisataka, 66. 6. Suktimuktavali, 125. 7. Raghuvamsa, V.16 8. Subhasitanivi, 7.6 9. Ramayana, 5.55.6 1. 33. 8-9 10. Sankalpasuryodaya, 8.79 11. Ramayana, 5.55.6 check it op 12. Narabharana, 2. 13. Gita, 3.5. 14. Pancatantra, 2.137 15. Kavitamrtakupa, 57 d., 2, 138- 16. Rgveda, 4.33.11 17. ibid, 1.179.3 18. Buddhacarita, 26.63.

Pl 156 Society and Culture 19. ibid, 26.64. 20. Markandeyapurana, 18.39. 21. Hitopadesa, Prastavana, 32. 22. Hitopadesa, 167. 23. Buddhacarita, 26.73. 24. Kumarasambhava, 10.25. 25. Hitopadesa, Mitralabha, 70. 26. Vikramorvasiya, V.25. 27. Srimadbhagavatapurana, 7.15.7. 28. Nitikalpataru, 74.8. 29. Padmapurana, 5.19.260. 30. Hitopadesa, 150. 31. Srimadbhagavatapurana, 8.14.8. 32. Manoduta, 87. 33. Jabalayoga, 2.5. 34. Atri Samhita, 49 35. Bhavisyapurana, 1.2.160. 36. 3.42. 37. Jabalayoga, 1.22. 38. Lingapurana, 8.32. 39. Jabalayoga, 1.22. 40. Lingapurana, 8.35. 41. Skandapurana, Ma.Kau., 4.6. 42. Baudhayana Dhramasutra, 1.5.1. 43. Canakyaniti, 2.37. 44. Manusmrti, 5.106. -45. Nitisataka, 80 46. Pancatantra, 2.155. 47. Padmapurana, 46.95. 48. Saundarananda, 34.47. iche 49. Mahabharata, Santiparvan, 124.66. 50. Nitidvisastika, 33. 51. Amarkosa, 1.6.26. 52. ibid., 3.3.202. 53. Ramayana, 2.19.36. 54. ibid., 2.19.36 - 3 55. Santiparvan, 124.15. 56. ibid., 124.61. 15 57. Mahabharata, Udyagaparvan, 66.30. Also see Vikrama -1 rkacarita, 17