Garuda Purana

न सा सभा यत्र न सन्ति वृद्धाः वृद्धा न ते ये न वदन्ति धर्मम् । धर्मः स नो यत्र न सत्यमस्ति नैतत्सत्यं यच्छलेनानुविद्धम् ॥ १,११५.

That is not an assembly where there are no elders; those are not elders who do not speak of dharma; that is not dharma where there is no truth; and that is not truth which is mixed with deceit.

ब्राह्मणोऽपि मनुष्याणामादित्यश्चैव तेजसाम् । शिरोऽपि सर्वगात्राणां व्रतानां सत्यमुत्तमम् ॥ १,११५.

Among men, the Brahmin is foremost; among lights, the sun is supreme; among all limbs, the head is chief; among vows, truth is the highest.

तन्मङ्गलं यत्र मनः प्रसन्नं तज्जीवनं यन्न परस्य सेवा । तदर्जितं यत्स्वजनेन भुक्तं तद्गर्जितं यत्समरे रिपूणाम् ॥ १,११५.

That is auspicious where the mind is serene; that is life where one does not serve another; that is wealth which is enjoyed by one's own people; that is glory which is won over enemies in battle.

सा स्त्रीया न मदं कुर्यात्स सुखी तृष्णयोज्झितः । तन्मित्रं यत्र विश्वासः पुरुषः स जितेन्द्रियः ॥ १,११५.

He is happy who does not become intoxicated by women, who is free from craving; that is friendship where there is trust; that man is self-controlled who has conquered his senses.

तत्र मुक्तादरस्नेहो विलुप्तं यत्र सौहृदम् । तदेव केवलं श्लघ्यं यस्यात्मा क्रियते स्तुतौ ॥ १,११५.

That alone is praiseworthy where there is no attachment to pearls and gold, where friendship is lost; that alone is to be praised where a person is praised by his own self.

नदीनामग्निहोत्राणां भारतस्य कलस्य च । मूलान्वेषो न कर्तव्यो मूलाद्दोषो न हीयते ॥ १,११५.

One should not seek the source of rivers, sacrificial fires, the Bharata lineage, or the age of time; for the fault does not diminish from the root.

लवणजलान्ता नद्यः स्त्रीभेदान्तं च मैथुनम् । षैशुन्यं जनवार्तान्तं वित्तं दुः खत्रयान्तकम् ॥ १,११५.

Rivers end in salt water, sexual union ends in separation, youth ends in old age, and wealth ends in three kinds of suffering.

राज्यश्रीर्ब्रह्मशापान्ता पापान्तं ब्रह्मवर्चसम् । आचान्तं घोषवासान्तं कुलस्यान्तं स्त्रिया प्रभो (भुः) ॥ १,११५.

Royal fortune ends with a Brahmin's curse, sin ends with Brahminical splendor, ritual ends with the sound of the conch, and a family ends with a woman, O lord.

सर्वे क्षयान्ता निलयाः पतनान्ताः समुच्छ्रयाः । संयोगा विप्रयोगान्ता मरणान्तं हि जीवितम् ॥ १,११५.

All dwellings end in decay, all heights end in a fall; all unions end in separation, and life itself ends in death.

यदीच्छेत्पुनरागन्तुं नातिदूरमनुव्रजेत् । उदकान्तान्निवर्तेत स्निग्धवर्णाच्च पादपात् ॥ १,११५.

If one wishes to return again, one should not go too far; one should turn back from the edge of the water and from trees with glossy leaves.

अनायके न वस्तव्यं न चैव बहुनायके । स्त्रीनायके न वस्तव्यं वस्तव्यं बालनायके ॥ १,११५.

One should not dwell where there is no leader, nor where there are too many leaders; one should not dwell where a woman is the leader, but should dwell where a child is the leader.

पिता रक्षति कौमारे भत्ता रक्षति यौवने । पुत्रस्तु स्थविरे काले न स्त्री स्वातन्त्र्यमर्हति ॥ १,११५.

The father protects during childhood, the husband protects in youth, and the son protects in old age; a woman is not entitled to independence.

त्यजेद्वन्ध्यामष्टमेऽब्दे नवमे तु मृतप्रिजाम् । एकादशे स्त्रीजननीं सद्यश्चाप्रियावादिनीम् ॥ १,११५.

One should abandon a barren woman in her eighth year, a woman whose children have died in her ninth, a woman who gives birth only to daughters in her eleventh, and immediately one who speaks unpleasantly.

अनर्थित्वान्मनुष्याणां भिया परिजनस्य च । अर्थादपेतमर्यादास्त्रयस्तिष्ठन्ति भर्तृषु ॥ १,११५.

Because of the lack of benefit to people and out of fear for the household, three types of women, who have departed from propriety due to wealth, remain with their husbands.

अश्वं श्रान्तं गजं मत्तं गावः प्रथमसूतिकाः । अनूदके च मण्डूकान्प्राज्ञो दूरेण वर्जयेत् ॥ १,११५.

A wise person should avoid from afar a tired horse, a mad elephant, cows in their first calving, and frogs when there is no water.

अर्थातुराणां न सुहृन्न बन्धुः कामातुराणां न भयं न लज्जा । चिन्तातुराणां न सुखं न निद्रा क्षुधातुराणां न बलं न तेजः ॥ १,११५.

For those afflicted by poverty, there is no friend or relative; for those consumed by desire, there is no fear or shame; for those troubled by anxiety, there is no happiness or sleep; for those afflicted by hunger, there is no strength or vigor.

कुतो निद्रा दरिद्रस्य परप्रेष्यवरस्य च । परनारीप्रसक्तस्य परद्रव्यहरस्य च ॥ १,११५.

How can there be sleep for a poor person, for one who serves another, for one attached to another's wife, or for one who steals another's wealth?

सुखं स्वपित्यनृणवान्व्याधिमुक्तश्च यो नरः । सावकाशस्तु वै भुङ्क्ते यस्तु दारैर्न सङ्गतः ॥ १,११५.

A man who is free from debt and disease sleeps happily; but one who is not united with his wife eats with constraint.

अम्भसः परिमाणे उन्नतं कमलं भवेत् । स्वस्वामिना बलवता भृत्यो भवति गर्वितः ॥ १,११५.

When the water is abundant, the lotus rises high; a servant becomes proud when his own master is powerful.

स्थानस्थितस्य पद्मस्य मित्रे वरुणभास्करौ । स्थानच्युतस्य तस्यैव क्लेदशोषणकारकौ ॥ १,११५.

For a lotus that remains in its place, the sun and Varuna are friends; but for that same lotus, once uprooted, they cause its drying and decay.

ये पदस्थस्य मित्त्राणि ते तस्य रिपुतां गताः । भानोः पद्मे जले प्रीतिः स्थलोद्धरणशोषणः ॥ १,११५.

Those who are friends to one established in his place become enemies when he is displaced; the sun delights in the lotus in water, but dries it up when it is taken out onto land.

स्थानस्थितानि पूज्यन्ते पूज्यन्ते च पदे स्थिताः । स्थानभ्रष्टा न पूज्यन्ते केशा दन्ता नखा नराः ॥ १,११५.

Those who remain in their place are honored, as are those who remain in their position; but those who have fallen from their place—hair, teeth, nails, and people—are not honored.

आचारः कुलमाख्यति देशमाख्याति भाषितम् । सम्भ्रमः स्नेहमाख्याति वपुराख्याति भोजनम् ॥ १,११५.

Conduct reveals one's family, speech reveals one's country, attentiveness reveals affection, and the body reveals one's food.

वृथा वृष्टिः समुद्रस्य वृथा तृप्तस्य भोजनम् । वृथा दानं समृद्धस्य नीचस्य सुकृतं वथा ॥ १,११५.

Rain over the ocean is in vain, food for one who is already satisfied is in vain, giving to one who is already wealthy is in vain, and good deeds for a base person are also in vain.

दूरस्थोऽपि समीपस्थो यो यस्य हृदये स्थितः । हृदयादपि निष्क्रान्तः समीपस्थोऽपि दूरतः ॥ १,११५.

Even if far away, one who dwells in the heart is near; but one who has departed from the heart is distant, even if physically close.

मुखभङ्गः स्वरो दीनो गात्रस्वेदो महद्भयम् । मरणे यानि चिह्नानि तानि चिह्नानि याचके ॥ १,११५.

A fallen face, a weak voice, sweating of the limbs, and great fear—these are signs of death, and also signs of a beggar.

कुब्जस्य कीटघातस्य वातान्निष्कासितस्य च । शिखरे वसतस्तस्य वरं जन्म न याचितम् ॥ १,११५.

For a hunchback, a killer of insects, one driven out by the wind, and one living on a peak, it is better to die than to beg.

जगत्पतिर्हि याचित्वा विष्णुर्वामनतां यतः । कान्योऽधिकतरस्तस्य योर्ऽथो याति न लाघवम् ॥ १,११५.

For even Vishnu, the Lord of the world, when he begged, assumed the form of Vamana; what other purpose could be greater than his, for which humility is not required?

माता शत्रुः पिता वैरी बाला येन न पाठिताः । सभामध्ये न शोभन्ते हंसमध्ये बकायथा ॥ १,११५.

A mother is an enemy, a father is a foe, for those children whom they do not educate; such children do not shine in an assembly, like a crane among swans.