Sahasā vidadhīta na kriyām: do not act rashly
सहसा विदधीत न क्रियाम् अविवेकः परम् आपदां पदम् ।
वृणते हि विमृश्यकारिणं गुणलुब्धाः स्वयम् एव सम्पदः ॥
sahasā vidadhīta na kriyām avivekaḥ param āpadāṃ padam |
vṛṇate hi vimṛśyakāriṇaṃ guṇalubdhāḥ svayam eva sampadaḥ ||
Translation
Do not act rashly; lack of discernment is the chief abode of misfortunes. Fortunes, eager for merit, choose of their own accord the one who acts after reflection.
Meaning
Bhāravi's Kirātārjunīya (6th century) is one of the great court epics. In its second canto the Pāṇḍavas argue about whether to take up arms at once; this verse, a plea for patience and thought, is one of the most quoted lines of the poem. The Hitopadeśa quotes it too (4.104 in the GRETIL text).
The second line turns fortunes (sampadaḥ, feminine) into brides choosing a husband, as in a svayaṃvara: they pick, "of their own accord", the man who looks before he leaps.
Tradition praises Bhāravi for arthagaurava, "weight of meaning", and this verse shows why: two lines hold a rule, its reason and an image.
Word by word · 15 words
| Devanagari | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| सहसा | sahasā | rashly, on the spur of the moment |
| विदधीत | vidadhīta | one should do, undertake (3rd sg. optative middle of vi + √dhā) |
| न | na | not |
| क्रियाम् | kriyām | an action, a deed (acc. sg. f.) |
| अविवेकः | avivekaḥ | lack of discernment (nom. sg. m.) |
| परम् | param | supreme, chief (nom. sg. n., with padam) |
| आपदाम् | āpadām | of misfortunes (gen. pl. f.) |
| पदम् | padam | place, abode (nom. sg. n.) |
| वृणते | vṛṇate | choose (3rd pl. present middle of √vṛ) |
| हि | hi | for |
| विमृश्यकारिणम् | vimṛśyakāriṇam | one who acts after reflecting (acc. sg. m.) |
| गुणलुब्धाः | guṇalubdhāḥ | eager for good qualities (nom. pl. f.) |
| स्वयम् | svayam | by themselves |
| एव | eva | indeed |
| सम्पदः | sampadaḥ | fortunes, successes (nom. pl. f.) |
Pronunciation
sahasā vidadhīta na kriyām avivekaḥ param āpadāṃ padam |
vṛṇate hi vimṛśyakāriṇaṃ guṇalubdhāḥ svayam eva sampadaḥ ||
- vimṛśyakāriṇam: vi-mṛś-ya-kā-ri-ṇam; ṛ is a vowel, ś the soft "sh".
- vṛṇate: v + vowel ṛ, then retroflex ṇ: vṛ-ṇa-te.
- ṛ is a vowel, a short syllabic r (like the "ri" in "rhythm" said quickly): mṛ-tyu, not mar-tyu.
- A final visarga ḥ is a soft "h" breath that echoes the vowel before it: namaḥ sounds like "nama-ha" (lightly).