Shloka 9
Vetasa-Nīti: The Reed and the Flood (वेतस-नीति)
वेतसो वेगमायातं दृष्टवा नमति नापरे | सरिद्वेगेडव्यतिक्रान्ते स्थानमासाद्य तिष्ठति
vetaso vegam āyātaṃ dṛṣṭvā namati nāpare | sarid-vege ’py atikrānte sthānam āsādya tiṣṭhati ||
Sāgara dit : «Voyant l’élan du courant qui s’avance, le roseau se courbe, tandis que les autres arbres ne le font pas. Ainsi, lorsque la force du fleuve a passé, il retrouve sa place et se dresse de nouveau, ferme.»
सागर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Flexibility in adversity is a form of strength: by yielding when an overwhelming force arrives, one avoids ruin and can return to one’s rightful position once the danger passes.
Sāgara illustrates a moral point with a natural image: the reed bends before the river’s surge while rigid trees resist; after the current subsides, the reed rises and stands again in its place.