Sanskrit quote nr. 31 (Maha-subhashita-samgraha)

Sanskrit text:

अकलङ्को दृढः शुद्धः परिवारी गुणान्वितः ।
सद्वंशो हृदयग्राही खङ्गः सुसदृशस्तव ॥

akalaṅko dṛḍhaḥ śuddhaḥ parivārī guṇānvitaḥ |
sadvaṃśo hṛdayagrāhī khaṅgaḥ susadṛśastava ||

⏒⏒⏒⏒¦⏑⎼⎼⏒¦¦⏒⏒⏒⏒¦⏑⎼⏑⏒¦¦
⏒⏒⏒⏒¦⏑⎼⎼⏒¦¦⏒⏒⏒⏒¦⏑⎼⏑⏒¦¦

Meter name: Śloka; Type: pathyā (‘normal’); 8 syllables per quarter (pāda).

Primary English translation:

“Your sword befits you like your noble family—they who are free from stain, firm, pure, protecting, and of good merits and pleasing to the mind (reaching the enemy’s heart).”
(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.

Akalanka (akalaṅka, अकलङ्क): defined in 6 categories.
Dridha (drdha, dṛḍha, दृढ): defined in 13 categories.
Shuddha (suddha, śuddha, शुद्ध): defined in 23 categories.
Pari (परि): defined in 8 categories.
Var (vār, वार्): defined in 6 categories.
Vari (vāri, वारि, vārī, वारी): defined in 18 categories.
Gunanvita (guṇānvita, गुणान्वित): defined in 4 categories.
Sadvamsha (sadvamsa, sadvaṃśa, सद्वंश): defined in 3 categories.
Hridayagrahin (hrdayagrahin, hṛdayagrāhin, हृदयग्राहिन्): defined in 1 categories.
Kham (खम्): defined in 3 categories.
Khanj (khañj, खञ्ज्): defined in 1 categories.
Ga (ग): defined in 9 categories.
Susadrisha (susadrsa, susadṛśa, सुसदृश): defined in 1 categories.
Yushmad (yusmad, yuṣmad, युष्मद्): defined in 3 categories.

Defined according to the following glossaries/dictionaries: Sanskrit, Shaktism (Shakta philosophy), Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy), Theravada (major branch of Buddhism), Marathi, Kannada, Jainism, Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism), Purana (epic history), Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy), Yoga (school of philosophy), Ayurveda (science of life), Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism), Hindi, Ganitashastra (Mathematics and Algebra), Buddhism, Pali, Jyotisha (astronomy and astrology), Vyakarana (Sanskrit grammar), Dharmashastra (religious law), India history, Prakrit, Kavyashastra (science of poetry), Biology (plants and animals), Gitashastra (science of music), Arts (wordly enjoyments), Hinduism, Tamil, Kavya (poetry), Nepali, Chandas (prosody, study of Sanskrit metres)

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: “akalaṅko dṛḍhaḥ śuddhaḥ parivārī guṇānvitaḥ”
akalaṅko* -
akalaṅka (noun, masculine)

[nominative single]
dṛḍhaḥ -
dṛḍha (noun, masculine)

[nominative single]
śuddhaḥ -
śuddha (noun, masculine)

[nominative single]

√śudh -> śuddha (participle, masculine)

[nominative single from √śudh class 1 verb], [nominative single from √śudh class 4 verb]
pari -
pari (indeclinable adverb)

[indeclinable adverb]

pari (indeclinable)

[indeclinable]
vārī -
vārī (noun, feminine)

[compound], [nominative single]

vār (noun, neuter)

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

vāri (noun, feminine)

[nominative dual], [vocative dual], [accusative dual]
guṇānvitaḥ -
guṇānvita (noun, masculine)

[nominative single]
Line 2: “sadvaṃśo hṛdayagrāhī khaṅgaḥ susadṛśastava”
sadvaṃśo* -
sadvaṃśa (noun, masculine)

[nominative single]
hṛdayagrāhī -
hṛdayagrāhin (noun, masculine)

[nominative single]
khaṅ -
kham (indeclinable)

[indeclinable]

khañj (noun, masculine)

[compound], [adverb], [nominative single], [vocative single]

khañj (noun, neuter)

[compound], [adverb], [nominative single], [vocative single], [accusative single]
gaḥ -
ga (noun, masculine)

[nominative single]
susadṛśas -
susadṛśa (noun, masculine)

[nominative single]
tava -
yuṣmad (pronoun, none)

[genitive single]

Sources

This quote is contained within the following Sanskrit literary sources:

Subhāṣitāvalī 2471: This is a compilation of Collection of 3527 subhāṣita verses authored by 360 poets. The book was compiled by Vallabhadeva in 1417-67 A.D..
More info

Authorship

Vallabhadeva (15th century) is the compiler of the Subhāṣitāvalī, into which he included this quote.

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 31 and can be found on page 6. (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: 14 May, 2017