Subhashithaani-Quotable quotes

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30. aarogyam bhaaskaraath icCheth

Sriyam icCheth huthaaSanaath

jnaanam maheSvaraath icCheth

moksham icCheth janardhanaath

One should ask the Sun god for good health, wealth from Agni the fire god, wisdom from Siva and moksham from the Lord Narayana.

 

Surya is the adhidhevatha for health. Suryanamaskara is supposed to bring the well being and also Sun is the deity for eyes. Even scientifically speaking the sun light is important for the growth of all beings. We have read in our school days how a plant placed in a dark room withers without sunlight. So do the human beings who do not get enough sunlight. One may ask how is that the people living in cold climates where they never even sea the Sun for days manage to keep good health. It is because the near frozen temperature of those regions act as a sort of insulation from infection.

 

Agni is the carrier of the havis , the sacrificial offering to all the devas and hence by propitiating Agni one can be assured of the blessings of all the devas who bestow the prosperity on earth. The Lord says in the Gita, `dhevaan bhaavayathaanena the dhevaa bhaavayanthu vaH,' (BG .4.11)please the devas with this( yajna) and they will in turn give you happiness. Agni is the gate way to the devas as the offerings are made to the fire in yajnas.

 

Siva is portrayed as Dhakshinamurthi, the guru who gives wisdom to those who ask for it. Siva means pure, the pure knowledge.

 

Narayana is the mokshakaraka, one who gives salvation to His devotees. That is why He is called mukundha, moksham dhadhaathi ithi mukundhaH.

 

Does this mean that Lord Narayana will give moksha only and therefore to be worshipped only by those who wish for salvation? NO. He gives all to His devotees and moksha to boot without their asking for it. He says in the Gita, `ye api anyadhevathaabhakthaaH yajanthe Sraddahayaanvithaah the api maameva kountheya yajanthi aviDhipoorvakam.' (BG.9.23), "Even those who worship other gods with full faith, worship Me only by different means." Here Narayana is to be understood as the Brahman of Visishtadvaita as He is said to be the giver of Moksha.

 

31.aachaaraH kulam aakhyaathi dheSam aakhyaathi

bhaashaNam

 

sambhramah sneham aakhyaathi vapuH aakhyaathi

bhojanam

 

The behaviour reveals the clan of birth, speech reveals the native place, the spontaneous reaction speaks of friendship and the body denotes the nature of food.

In Tamil there is a saying kulatthaLave aagum guNam. Whether one is of noble birth or of low birth, he behaves accordingly. The attributes and behaviour are formed according to the family back ground and the environment under which one is brought up. But there can and will be exceptions. There are examples of noble parents getting a son of the opposite nature and vice versa, right from the time of the puranas. Vena , a vicious prince born to Anga who was dharmik and Prajhlada born to Hiranyakasipu were the examples of this fact. It is the karma of the parents and of the offspring that decides the nature of the children. In kaliyuga, nandanar charithram is an example of a noble soul born in a slum and the examples of the other nature, namely the children of good family behaving in a ignoble manner are plenty.

 

The speech is the indication of the place of birth. One can make out the country, or state or town from the speech of an individual, especially in their mother tongue .Even if the language is the same the dialects are different for different regions in all countries. Again there may be exceptions. We often hear a yankee accent even more pronounced from Indians than an American! Similarly like the place of birth the place of residence also plays an important part in speech. With some who are brought up in a metropolitan city you can never make out which is their native place.

 

Sambhramam may mean agitation or exciltement but here as it is used to denote the true character of a friend it is the spontaneous reaction to or reflection of anything connected with a friend. That is, a true friend is known by his immediate reaction to prosperity or calamity that happens to us. If he reacts with happiness on hearing some good that has happened to us or if he spontaneously comes to our rescue when we have a problem he is a true friend. There are different words in Sanskrit that are translated as `friend ` in English. Suhrth, mithram, sakhaa, vayasya etc. But each has a different connotation. Except the word suhrth the others mean a friend for some reason or in particular circumstances whereas suhrth means the one who has a good heart towards us, Sobhnam hrdh asya asthi ithi. This is the connotation of the word sneham, friendship or attachment to be exact, used in this sloka.

 

The body reveals the food eaten which is very obvious as the one who eats good food has the appearance of being well fed. The body is made of food and the well being or the sickness is the indication of the kind of food eaten by the person.