Sanskrit quote nr. 8469 (Maha-subhashita-samgraha)

Sanskrit text:

कथमद्य कथं च श्व इति जीवनचिन्तया ।
या कृथा हा वृथा दैन्यम् आयुरन्तं प्रयच्छति ॥

kathamadya kathaṃ ca śva iti jīvanacintayā |
yā kṛthā hā vṛthā dainyam āyurantaṃ prayacchati ||

Index

  1. Introduction
  2. Glossary of terms
  3. Analysis of Sanskrit grammar
  4. About the Mahāsubhāṣitasaṃgraha

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.

Katham (कथम्): defined in 2 categories.
Adya (अद्य): defined in 11 categories.
Ca (च): defined in 8 categories.
Iti (इति): defined in 6 categories.
Jivana (jīvana, जीवन): defined in 18 categories.
Cinta (cintā, चिन्ता): defined in 14 categories.
Ya (yā, या): defined in 10 categories.
Ha (ह, hā, हा): defined in 8 categories.
Vritha (vrtha, vṛthā, वृथा): defined in 11 categories.
Dainya (दैन्य): defined in 8 categories.
Ayu (āyu, आयु): defined in 9 categories.
Ayus (āyus, आयुस्): defined in 10 categories.
Antam (अन्तम्): defined in 4 categories.
Anta (अन्त): defined in 16 categories.
Prayat (प्रयत्): defined in 1 categories.
Shati (sati, śatī, शती): defined in 16 categories.
Shatin (satin, śatin, शतिन्): defined in 2 categories.

Defined according to the following glossaries/dictionaries: Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism), Purana (epic history), Ayurveda (science of life), Vyakarana (Sanskrit grammar), Shaktism (Shakta philosophy), Marathi, Hindi, Kannada, Ganitashastra (Mathematics and Algebra), Biology (plants and animals), India history, Tamil, Jainism, Yoga (school of philosophy), Shaivism (Shaiva philosophy), Rasashastra (chemistry and alchemy), Nyaya (school of philosophy), Prakrit, Gitashastra (science of music), Mantrashastra (the science of Mantras), Nepali, Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy), Vedanta (school of philosophy), Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism), Theravada (major branch of Buddhism), Kavyashastra (science of poetry), Arts (wordly enjoyments), Dharmashastra (religious law), Buddhism, Pancaratra (worship of Nārāyaṇa), Hinduism, 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: “kathamadya kathaṃ ca śva iti jīvanacintayā
  • katham -
  • katham (indeclinable interrogative)
    [indeclinable interrogative]
    katham (indeclinable)
    [indeclinable]
    kathā (noun, feminine)
    [adverb]
  • adya -
  • adya (indeclinable adverb)
    [indeclinable adverb]
    adya (noun, masculine)
    [compound], [vocative single]
    adya (noun, neuter)
    [compound], [vocative single]
  • katham -
  • katham (indeclinable interrogative)
    [indeclinable interrogative]
    katham (indeclinable)
    [indeclinable]
    kathā (noun, feminine)
    [adverb]
  • ca -
  • ca (indeclinable conjunction)
    [indeclinable conjunction]
    ca (noun, masculine)
    [compound], [vocative single]
    ca (noun, neuter)
    [compound], [vocative single]
  • śva -
  • śvan (noun, masculine)
    [compound]
  • iti -
  • iti (indeclinable particle)
    [indeclinable particle]
    iti (noun, feminine)
    [compound], [adverb]
  • jīvana -
  • jīvana (noun, masculine)
    [compound], [vocative single]
    jīvana (noun, neuter)
    [compound], [vocative single]
  • cintayā -
  • cintā (noun, feminine)
    [instrumental single]
  • Line 2: “ kṛthā vṛthā dainyam āyurantaṃ prayacchati
  • -
  • (indeclinable relative)
    [indeclinable relative]
    (noun, feminine)
    [nominative single]
    (pronoun, feminine)
    [nominative single]
  • kṛthā* -
  • kṛ (verb class 1)
    [injunctive middle second single]
    kṛ (verb class 2)
    [injunctive middle second single]
    kṛ (verb class 5)
    [injunctive middle second single]
    kṛ (verb class 8)
    [injunctive middle second single]
  • hā* -
  • ha (noun, masculine)
    [nominative plural], [vocative plural]
    (noun, feminine)
    [nominative plural], [vocative plural], [accusative plural]
  • vṛthā -
  • vṛthā (indeclinable)
    [indeclinable]
  • dainyam -
  • dainya (noun, neuter)
    [adverb], [nominative single], [accusative single]
  • āyur -
  • āyus (noun, masculine)
    [compound], [adverb], [nominative single], [vocative single]
    āyus (noun, neuter)
    [compound], [adverb], [nominative single], [vocative single], [accusative single]
    āyu (noun, masculine)
    [nominative single]
    āyu (noun, feminine)
    [nominative single]
  • antam -
  • antam (indeclinable)
    [indeclinable]
    anta (noun, masculine)
    [adverb], [accusative single]
    anta (noun, neuter)
    [adverb], [nominative single], [accusative single]
    antā (noun, feminine)
    [adverb]
  • prayacch -
  • pre -> prayat (participle, neuter)
    [nominative single from √pre class 2 verb], [vocative single from √pre class 2 verb], [accusative single from √pre class 2 verb]
  • śati -
  • śatī (noun, feminine)
    [adverb], [vocative single]
    śatin (noun, masculine)
    [compound], [adverb]
    śatin (noun, neuter)
    [compound], [adverb], [nominative single], [vocative single], [accusative single]

About the Mahāsubhāṣitasaṃgraha

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 8469 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.

< Back to list with quotes

Like what you read? Consider supporting this website: