O to please the half-baked know all

Easy to please an ignorant,
Easier still, man of talent, 
But too hard ‘tis a call
To please half-baked know all,
Whom, even gods of heaven can’t. 
_______________________ 
Translation | | please, ignorant, intelligent

Poet’s Note: Bhartruhari was a poet king in central India in the seventh century CE, who when disillusioned in love renounced kingdom and became an ascetic. Neeti Shatakam, a compilation of hundred verses on moral values was written by him along with Shringar Shatakam on romance, and Vairagya Shatakam on dispassion and renunciation. This verse on fools is taken from Neeti Shatakam.

Ajnyah sukham aradhyah sukhataram aradhyate visheshajnyah |
Jnyana-lava-durvigdham brahma api naram na ranjayati || 3 || Metre: Arya
Copyright © | Year Posted 2024

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