Sanskrit quote nr. 8900 (Maha-subhashita-samgraha)

Sanskrit text:

कर्म चात्महितं कार्यं तीक्ष्णं वा यदि वा मृदु ।
ग्रस्यतेऽकर्मशीलस् तु सदानर्थैरकिंचनः ॥

karma cātmahitaṃ kāryaṃ tīkṣṇaṃ vā yadi vā mṛdu |
grasyate'karmaśīlas tu sadānarthairakiṃcanaḥ ||

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.

Ca (च): defined in 8 categories.
Mahita (महित): defined in 7 categories.
Karya (kārya, कार्य): defined in 12 categories.
Tikshna (tiksna, tīkṣṇa, तीक्ष्ण): defined in 15 categories.
Va (व, vā, वा): defined in 11 categories.
Var (vār, वार्): defined in 6 categories.
Yadi (यदि): defined in 6 categories.
Yad (यद्): defined in 3 categories.
Mridu (mrdu, mṛdu, मृदु, mṛdū, मृदू): defined in 14 categories.
Shil (sil, śīl, शील्): defined in 4 categories.
Shila (sila, śīla, शील): defined in 22 categories.
Tu (तु): defined in 6 categories.
Artha (अर्थ): defined in 22 categories.
Akincana (akiñcana, अकिञ्चन): defined in 6 categories.

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

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: “karma cātmahitaṃ kāryaṃ tīkṣṇaṃ yadi mṛdu
  • karma -
  • karman (noun, neuter)
    [compound], [adverb], [nominative single], [vocative single], [accusative single]
  • cāt -
  • ca (noun, masculine)
    [adverb], [ablative single]
    ca (noun, neuter)
    [adverb], [ablative single]
  • mahitam -
  • mahita (noun, masculine)
    [adverb], [accusative single]
    mahita (noun, neuter)
    [adverb], [nominative single], [accusative single]
    mahitā (noun, feminine)
    [adverb]
    mah -> mahita (participle, masculine)
    [adverb from √mah]
    mah -> mahita (participle, neuter)
    [adverb from √mah]
    mah -> mahitā (participle, feminine)
    [adverb from √mah]
    mah -> mahita (participle, masculine)
    [accusative single from √mah class 1 verb], [accusative single from √mah class 10 verb], [accusative single from √mah]
    mah -> mahita (participle, neuter)
    [nominative single from √mah class 1 verb], [accusative single from √mah class 1 verb], [nominative single from √mah class 10 verb], [accusative single from √mah class 10 verb], [nominative single from √mah], [accusative single from √mah]
  • kāryam -
  • kārya (noun, masculine)
    [adverb], [accusative single]
    kārya (noun, neuter)
    [adverb], [nominative single], [accusative single]
    kāryā (noun, feminine)
    [adverb]
    kṛ -> kārya (participle, masculine)
    [adverb from √kṛ]
    kṛ -> kārya (participle, neuter)
    [adverb from √kṛ]
    kṛ -> kāryā (participle, feminine)
    [adverb from √kṛ]
    kṛ -> kārya (participle, masculine)
    [accusative single from √kṛ class 1 verb], [accusative single from √kṛ class 2 verb], [accusative single from √kṛ class 5 verb], [accusative single from √kṛ class 8 verb], [accusative single from √kṛ]
    kṛ -> kārya (participle, neuter)
    [nominative single from √kṛ class 1 verb], [accusative single from √kṛ class 1 verb], [nominative single from √kṛ class 2 verb], [accusative single from √kṛ class 2 verb], [nominative single from √kṛ class 5 verb], [accusative single from √kṛ class 5 verb], [nominative single from √kṛ class 8 verb], [accusative single from √kṛ class 8 verb], [nominative single from √kṛ], [accusative single from √kṛ]
    kṛ -> kārya (participle, masculine)
    [accusative single from √kṛ class 3 verb], [accusative single from √kṛ class 6 verb]
    kṛ -> kārya (participle, neuter)
    [nominative single from √kṛ class 3 verb], [accusative single from √kṛ class 3 verb], [nominative single from √kṛ class 6 verb], [accusative single from √kṛ class 6 verb]
    kṝ -> kārya (participle, masculine)
    [accusative single from √kṝ class 5 verb], [accusative single from √kṝ class 9 verb]
    kṝ -> kārya (participle, neuter)
    [nominative single from √kṝ class 5 verb], [accusative single from √kṝ class 5 verb], [nominative single from √kṝ class 9 verb], [accusative single from √kṝ class 9 verb]
  • tīkṣṇam -
  • tīkṣṇa (noun, masculine)
    [adverb], [accusative single]
    tīkṣṇa (noun, neuter)
    [adverb], [nominative single], [accusative single]
    tīkṣṇā (noun, feminine)
    [adverb]
  • vā* -
  • vār (noun, masculine)
    [adverb], [nominative single], [vocative single]
    vār (noun, neuter)
    [adverb], [nominative single], [vocative single], [accusative single]
    va (noun, masculine)
    [nominative plural], [vocative plural]
    (noun, feminine)
    [nominative plural], [vocative plural], [accusative plural]
  • yadi -
  • yadi (indeclinable conjunction)
    [indeclinable conjunction]
    yadi (indeclinable relative)
    [indeclinable relative]
    yadi (indeclinable)
    [indeclinable]
    yad (noun, masculine)
    [locative single]
  • vā* -
  • vār (noun, masculine)
    [adverb], [nominative single], [vocative single]
    vār (noun, neuter)
    [adverb], [nominative single], [vocative single], [accusative single]
    va (noun, masculine)
    [nominative plural], [vocative plural]
    (noun, feminine)
    [nominative plural], [vocative plural], [accusative plural]
  • mṛdu -
  • mṛdu (noun, masculine)
    [compound], [adverb]
    mṛdu (noun, neuter)
    [compound], [adverb], [nominative single], [vocative single], [accusative single]
    mṛdū (noun, feminine)
    [adverb], [vocative single]
  • Line 2: “grasyate'karmaśīlas tu sadānarthairakiṃcanaḥ
  • grasyate' -
  • gras (verb class 1)
    [present passive third single]
  • akarma -
  • akarman (noun, masculine)
    [compound]
    akarman (noun, neuter)
    [compound], [adverb], [nominative single], [vocative single], [accusative single]
  • śīlas -
  • śīl (noun, masculine)
    [nominative plural], [vocative plural], [accusative plural], [ablative single], [genitive single]
    śīla (noun, masculine)
    [nominative single]
  • tu -
  • tu (indeclinable particle)
    [indeclinable particle]
  • sadān -
  • sada (noun, masculine)
    [accusative plural]
  • arthair -
  • artha (noun, masculine)
    [instrumental plural]
    artha (noun, neuter)
    [instrumental plural]
  • akiñcanaḥ -
  • akiñcana (noun, masculine)
    [nominative 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 8900 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.

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