Great Sanskrit Shlokas

Sanskrit has in its womb some of the finest creations of the human mind, in the form of shlokas. Some are religious, but most are spiritual in nature. The entire literature in Sanskrit is an ocean, from which we can find priceless pearls now and then.

Three of the most profound Sanskrit shlokas that I have come across in my limited exposure to the language, are -

(1) TRUTH ALONE SHALL PREVAIL

India's national emblem

सत्यमेव जयते नानृतं        
सत्येन पन्था विततो देवयानः 
येनाक्रमन्त्यृषयो ह्याप्तकामा   
यत्र तत् सत्यस्य परमं निधानम्

satyameva jayate nānṛtaṁ
satyena panthā vitato devayānaḥ
yenākramantyṛṣayo hyāptakāmā
yatra tat satyasya paramaṁ nidhānam

Literal meaning -Truth alone triumphs, not falsehood
Through truth the divine path is spread out
by which the sages whose desires have been completely fulfilled, reach
where that supreme treasure of Truth resides.

Importance -This beautiful mantra is from the Mundaka Upanishad (mantra 3.1.6), written more than 2500 years ago! Upanishad literally means "to sit at the feet of the teacher and gain knowledge". The Upanishads contain utterances that can help humans understand the nature of cosmic, undivided Brahm, and hence, the path to salvation.

Satyamev Jayate is also part of India's emblem, as the motto.

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(2) THE CORE MESSAGE OF BHAGWAD GITA

इति ते ज्ञानमाख्यातं गुह्याद्गुह्यतरं मया  
विमृश्यैतदशेषेण यथेच्छसि तथा कुरु।।18.63।।

iti te jnaanamaakhyaatam guhyaadruhyaataram mayaa
vimrishyaitadasheshena yathechhasi tathaa kuru

Literal meaning -Thus the knowledge, the mystery of mysteries, has been declared to you be Me. Reflecting on it fully, do what you will.

You shall live on. And on. And on.

Importance -
The Shrimad Bhagwad Gita remains the source of mystical knowledge that the Supreme Godhead Krishna offered Arjun, on the battlefield of Mahabharat. While the whole Gita is full of gems, this particular one (Chapter 18, Verse 63) stands out. It is so because Krishna is not asking Arjun to do this or do that, he is only asking Arjun to apply his mind and do what he thinks now is right - यथा इच्छसि तथा कुरु.

For common-folk like us, this means that Hinduism does not force any path upon us. It gives us a window into the eternal Brahm reality, and then leaves it to our choice. Isn't that beautiful? If we choose the right path, we may escape the cycle of birth and death permanently! If not, we'll return, time and again.

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(3) THE INFINITY OF CREATION

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदम् पूर्णात् पूर्णमुदच्यते |
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ||
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ||

Om poornam-adah poornam-idah poorna-aat poornam-udachyate
Om poorna-asya poornam-aadaaya poornam-evaa vashishyate
Om shaantih shaantih shaantih

Infinite.

Literal meaning - Om, That is complete, This is complete, From the completeness comes the completeness; If completeness is taken away from completeness, Only completeness remains; Om, Peace peace peace

Importance - This is the Shanti mantra (invocatory verse) of Isha Upanishad (IshaVasya Upanishad) which is a part of the (Shukla) Yajurveda. What this tries to tell us is that Creation is infinite. Even if we take away an infinite amount from that original infinite, all that will be left is infinite itself. The world we live in is Maya, everything contained in it, is infinite and projected from Brahm infinite. Thus, the mind of the Creator is unfathomable with our limited faculty. Acccept it thus, and seek peace.

This clearly reflects on the nature of those who visualised it. They could see the depth that the cosmos was, the futility of trying to bind it with one's efforts, and the unending nature of Prakriti and Sansar. Modern science now tells us that there could be infinite parallel universes, and our universe itself is expanding. This seemingly limited "world" we live in opens up unknown secrets on a daily basis.

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