Shloka 18
Discernment and Wisdom — Chanakya Niti
गीर्वाणवाणीषु विशिष्टबुद्धि- स्तथापि भाषान्तरलोलुपोऽहम् ।
यथा सुधायाममरेषु सत्यां स्वर्गाङ्गनानामधरासवे रुचिः ॥
gīrvāṇavāṇīṣu viśiṣṭabuddhi-
tathāpi bhāṣāntaralolupo'ham |
yathā sudhāyām amareṣu satyāṃ svargāṅganānām adharāsave ruciḥ ||
Though my intellect is distinguished in the language of the gods, I still yearn for other tongues—just as heavenly maidens, though ambrosia exists among the immortals, delight in the nectar of lips.
FAQs
In the broader nītiśāstra milieu, Sanskrit is frequently idealized as a prestige register (“gīrvāṇavāṇī”), yet many intellectual environments in premodern South Asia were practically multilingual. The verse can be read as preserving a literary acknowledgment that competence in elite Sanskrit did not preclude curiosity about, or attraction to, other linguistic traditions used in administration, learning, and regional culture.
Multilingual interest is framed as “bhāṣāntaralolupatā” (eagerness for other languages) even when one is “viśiṣṭabuddhi” in gīrvāṇavāṇī. The formulation treats such interest as an enduring preference rather than a necessity, emphasizing desire and taste rather than utility.
The verse uses a cosmological and eroticized simile (sudhā among immortals versus “lip-nectar”) to contrast an exalted, canonical good with an alternative object of relish. Philologically, “gīrvāṇavāṇī” operates as a metonym for classical Sanskrit prestige, while “bhāṣāntara” generalizes non-Sanskrit linguistic registers; the trope underscores that cultural value hierarchies do not eliminate competing tastes.