Known by name
Famous Verses and Mantras
The mantras, verses and sayings people know by name, each opening where it lives in the text, with the original words, a translation and word-by-word meaning.
Vedic mantras and suktas
- Gayatri MantraRig Veda 3.62.10We meditate on the radiance of Savitar, the sun; may it inspire our minds.
- Mahamrityunjaya MantraRig Veda 7.59.12We worship the three-eyed Lord; as a ripe fruit leaves its vine, may he free us from death, not from immortality.
- Purusha SuktamRig Veda 10.90The hymn of the cosmic Person, thousand-headed, from whose sacrifice the worlds arise.
- Sri RudramKrishna Yajur Veda 4.5The Namakam, the Yajurveda's litany of salutations to Rudra, Shiva, in eleven anuvakas.
- Om Bhur Bhuvah SvahShukla Yajur Veda 36.3The Gayatri Mantra as it is chanted, opened by the three sacred utterances.
- Shanti PathShukla Yajur Veda 36.17Peace in the sky, the air and the earth, in the waters and the plants: the Vedic prayer for peace.
- RudradhyayaShukla Yajur Veda 16The Shukla Yajurveda's salutations to Rudra, the heart of the Rudri chanted at Rudrabhishek.
- Gananam Tva GanapatimRig Veda 2.23.1We call on you, lord of the hosts: a hymn to Brahmanaspati now chanted to Ganesha.
- Nasadiya SuktaRig Veda 10.129The Hymn of Creation: there was neither being nor non-being then, and who truly knows?
- Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha VadantiRig Veda 1.164.46Truth is one; the wise call it by many names.
- Devi SuktaRig Veda 10.125Vak, the divine Word, speaks as the power that moves all the gods.
- ChamakamKrishna Yajur Veda 4.7The companion to Sri Rudram, asking for every good thing with its refrain, cha me.
- Vishvani Deva SavitarRig Veda 5.82.5God Savitar, drive away all that is wrong and bring us what is good.
- SangachhadhvamRig Veda 10.191.2Walk together, speak together, let your minds be of one accord.
- Om Bhadram Karnebhih ShrinuyamaRig Veda 1.89.8May we hear what is good with our ears, O gods: the peace chant before the Mundaka and Prashna Upanishads.
- A No Bhadrah Kratavo Yantu VishvatahRig Veda 1.89.1Let noble thoughts come to us from every side.
- Mata Bhumih Putro Aham PrithivyahAtharva Veda 12.1.12The Earth is my mother and I am her son: the heart of the Atharvaveda's hymn to the Earth.
- Shiva Sankalpa SuktaShukla Yajur Veda 34.1May my mind be of auspicious resolve: the first of six verses on the mind.
- Agnim Ile PurohitamRig Veda 1.1.1I praise Agni, the household priest: the first verse of the Rig Veda.
- Hiranyagarbha SuktaRig Veda 10.121In the beginning arose the Golden Embryo: to which god shall we offer worship?
- Vivaha SuktaRig Veda 10.85The wedding of Surya, daughter of the sun, whose verses are still chanted at Hindu weddings.
- Vishnu SuktaRig Veda 1.154The hymn to Vishnu's three strides, which measure out the worlds.
- A Brahman Brahmano BrahmavarchasiShukla Yajur Veda 22.22The Vedic prayer for the nation: learned teachers, brave rulers, rain in season and ripe harvests.
- Bhagya SuktaRig Veda 7.41The dawn hymn to Bhaga, giver of fortune, chanted for prosperity.
- Tad Vishnoh Paramam PadamRig Veda 1.22.20The wise ever behold the highest step of Vishnu, like an eye spread across the sky.
- Pashyema Sharadah ShatamShukla Yajur Veda 36.24May we see a hundred autumns, live a hundred autumns: the Vedic prayer for a long, full life.
- Ratri SuktaRig Veda 10.127The hymn to Ratri, the starry goddess of night, asking for safe passage until dawn.
- Gambler's HymnRig Veda 10.34The gambler laments the dice that ruined him and resolves to till the soil instead.
- Sahridayam SammanasyamAtharva Veda 3.30.1I give you one heart and one mind, free of hatred: the Atharvaveda's hymn of harmony.
- Shraddha SuktaRig Veda 10.151The hymn to Shraddha, faith, invoked at morning, noon and sunset.
- Stuta Maya Varada VedamataAtharva Veda 19.71.1Praised by me is the boon-giving mother of the Vedas: a prayer for long life, offspring and wisdom.
Bhagavad Gita
- Yada Yada Hi DharmasyaBhagavad Gita 4.7Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises, Krishna says, I bring myself forth.
- Karmanye VadhikarasteBhagavad Gita 2.47You have a right to your work alone, never to its fruits.
- Paritranaya SadhunamBhagavad Gita 4.8To protect the good, end the wicked and establish dharma, I come in every age.
- Now I Am Become DeathBhagavad Gita 11.32Krishna reveals himself as Time, destroyer of worlds: the line Oppenheimer recalled at the first atomic test.
- BrahmarpanamBhagavad Gita 4.24The offering is Brahman, the oblation is Brahman: the verse many recite before a meal.
- Sarva Dharman ParityajyaBhagavad Gita 18.66Let go of every dharma and take refuge in me alone; do not grieve.
- Yogakshemam VahamyahamBhagavad Gita 9.22To those who worship me alone, I bring what they lack and keep what they have: the LIC motto.
- Dharmakshetre KurukshetreBhagavad Gita 1.1Dhritarashtra asks Sanjaya what happened on the field of dharma: the first verse of the Gita.
- Nainam Chindanti ShastraniBhagavad Gita 2.23Weapons cannot cut the Self, fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it, wind cannot dry it.
- Krodhad Bhavati SammohahBhagavad Gita 2.63From anger comes delusion, from delusion lost memory, and from that the ruin of reason.
- Na Jayate Mriyate Va KadachinBhagavad Gita 2.20The Self is never born and never dies; it is not slain when the body is slain.
- Yogah Karmasu KaushalamBhagavad Gita 2.50Yoga is skill in action.
- Uddhared AtmanatmanamBhagavad Gita 6.5Lift yourself by your own self; you are your own friend and your own enemy.
- Vasamsi JirnaniBhagavad Gita 2.22As we cast off worn clothes for new ones, the Self casts off worn bodies for new ones.
- Shreyan Svadharmo VigunahBhagavad Gita 3.35Better your own duty done imperfectly than another's done well.
- Samatvam Yoga UchyateBhagavad Gita 2.48Act steady in yoga, the same in success and failure: evenness is called yoga.
- Patram Pushpam Phalam ToyamBhagavad Gita 9.26A leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, offered with love, I accept.
- Divi Surya SahasrasyaBhagavad Gita 11.12If a thousand suns blazed at once in the sky: the verse Oppenheimer recalled at the Trinity test.
- Aham Vaishvanaro BhutvaBhagavad Gita 15.14As the fire of digestion in every body, I digest the four kinds of food: a verse said before meals.
- Man Mana Bhava Mad BhaktoBhagavad Gita 18.65Fix your mind on me, be devoted to me, worship me, and you will come to me.
- Yad Yad Acharati ShreshthahBhagavad Gita 3.21Whatever the great do, others follow; the standard they set, the world pursues.
- Jatasya Hi Dhruvo MrityuhBhagavad Gita 2.27Death is certain for the born and birth for the dead, so do not grieve over what cannot be avoided.
- Abhyasena Tu KaunteyaBhagavad Gita 6.35The restless mind is hard to hold, but it is held by practice and detachment.
- Yatra Yogeshvarah KrishnoBhagavad Gita 18.78Where Krishna and Arjuna are, there are fortune, victory and lasting right: the last verse of the Gita.
- Matra Sparshas Tu KaunteyaBhagavad Gita 2.14Heat and cold, pleasure and pain come and go; bear them patiently.
- Urdhva Mulam Adhah ShakhamBhagavad Gita 15.1The eternal ashvattha tree with roots above and branches below, whose leaves are the Vedas.
- Klaibyam Ma Sma GamahBhagavad Gita 2.3Krishna's first words of counsel: yield not to weakness, Arjuna; arise.
- Dehino Smin Yatha DeheBhagavad Gita 2.13As the embodied self passes through childhood, youth and age, so it passes to another body.
- Bandhur Atmatmanas TasyaBhagavad Gita 6.6The self is a friend to one who has mastered it, and an enemy to one who has not.
- Trividham NarakasyedamBhagavad Gita 16.21Desire, anger and greed: the three gates of hell that ruin the self.
- Tad Viddhi PranipatenaBhagavad Gita 4.34Learn the truth through humility, questioning and service from those who have seen it.
- Yathecchasi Tatha KuruBhagavad Gita 18.63Having taught everything, Krishna leaves the choice to Arjuna: reflect, then do as you wish.
- Aham Atma GudakeshaBhagavad Gita 10.20I am the Self seated in the heart of all beings, their beginning, middle and end.
- Aham Sarvasya PrabhavoBhagavad Gita 10.8I am the source of all; from me everything proceeds.
- Adveshta SarvabhutanamBhagavad Gita 12.13One who hates no being, friendly and compassionate, free of ego: such a devotee is dear to me.
- Prakriteh KriyamananiBhagavad Gita 3.27All actions are done by the forces of nature; deluded by ego, one thinks, I am the doer.
- Vidya Vinaya SampanneBhagavad Gita 5.18The wise see the same Self in a learned sage, a cow, an elephant, a dog and an outcast.
- Vasudevah Sarvam ItiBhagavad Gita 7.19After many births the wise come to me, knowing that Vasudeva is all; such a soul is rare.
- Na Hi Jnanena SadrishamBhagavad Gita 4.38Nothing in this world purifies like knowledge.
- Shraddhavan Labhate JnanamBhagavad Gita 4.39One with faith, devoted and self-controlled, gains knowledge and soon finds supreme peace.
Upanishad sayings
- Hare Krishna Maha MantraKali-Santarana Upanishad 2The sixteen names, Hare Rama and Hare Krishna, given as the way across the age of Kali.
- Ganapati AtharvashirshaGanapati UpanishadThe Upanishad that hails Ganesha as Brahman itself, recited at the start of worship.
- Satyameva JayateMundaka Upanishad 3.1.6Truth alone triumphs, not falsehood: the line on India's national emblem.
- Aham BrahmasmiBrihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10I am Brahman: one of the great sayings of the Upanishads.
- Asato Ma SadgamayaBrihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality.
- Atithi Devo BhavaTaittiriya Upanishad 1.11.2Treat your mother, father, teacher and guest as divine: the teacher's parting words to the student.
- Tat Tvam AsiChandogya Upanishad 6.8.7You are that: Uddalaka's teaching to his son Shvetaketu, a great saying of the Upanishads.
- Om Purnamadah PurnamidamBrihadaranyaka Upanishad 5.1.1That is whole, this is whole; take the whole from the whole and the whole remains.
- Devi AtharvashirshaDevi UpanishadThe Goddess declares herself Brahman, the source of all the gods; recited in Navaratri worship.
- Uttishthata JagrataKatha Upanishad 1.3.14Arise, awake, and learn from the great ones: the call Vivekananda made his own.
- Ishavasyam Idam SarvamIsha Upanishad 1All this is pervaded by the Lord; enjoy by letting go, and covet no one's wealth.
- Prajnanam BrahmaAitareya Upanishad 3.3Consciousness is Brahman: one of the great sayings of the Upanishads.
- Neti NetiBrihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.3.6Not this, not this: the Upanishad's way of pointing to Brahman beyond all description.
- Ayam Atma BrahmaMandukya Upanishad 2This Self is Brahman: one of the great sayings of the Upanishads.
- Om Sham No MitrahTaittiriya Upanishad 1.1.1May Mitra be gracious to us, and Varuna: the peace chant that opens the Taittiriya.
- Sarvam Khalvidam BrahmaChandogya Upanishad 3.14.1All this is indeed Brahman: Shandilya's teaching.
- Ekam EvadvitiyamChandogya Upanishad 6.2.1In the beginning this was Being alone, one without a second.
- Om Ity Etad AksharamMandukya Upanishad 1Om is this whole world: past, present, future and what lies beyond time.
- Damyata Datta DayadhvamBrihadaranyaka Upanishad 5.2.3Be self-controlled, give, be compassionate: the thunder's teaching that T. S. Eliot echoed.
- Dva SuparnaMundaka Upanishad 3.1.1Two birds on one tree: one eats the fruit while the other only watches.
- Satyam Jnanam Anantam BrahmaTaittiriya Upanishad 2.1.1Brahman is truth, knowledge, the infinite.
- Hiranmayena PatrenaIsha Upanishad 15The face of truth is hidden by a golden disc; uncover it, O Pushan, that I may see.
- Na Karmana Na PrajayaKaivalya Upanishad 3Not by work, not by offspring, not by wealth, but by renunciation alone is immortality won.
- Vedaham Etam Purusham MahantamShvetashvatara Upanishad 3.8I know that great Person, radiant as the sun beyond darkness; knowing him alone, one passes beyond death.
- Annam BrahmaTaittiriya Upanishad 3.2.1Bhrigu learns that food is Brahman, the first step toward knowing the Self.
- Atmanam Rathinam ViddhiKatha Upanishad 1.3.3Know the self as the rider, the body as the chariot, the intellect as the charioteer and the mind as the reins.
- Na Tatra Suryo BhatiKatha Upanishad 2.2.15There the sun does not shine, nor moon nor stars; by its light all this shines.
- Kamamaya Evayam PurushahBrihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.5As your desire is, so is your will; as your will, so your deed; as your deed, so you become.
- Dve Vidye VeditavyeMundaka Upanishad 1.1.4Two kinds of knowledge are to be known, the higher and the lower.
- Kena Ishitam PatatiKena Upanishad 1.1By whose will does the mind go forth? The question that opens the Kena Upanishad.
- Nayam Atma Pravachanena LabhyoKatha Upanishad 1.2.23The Self is not won by teaching, intellect or much learning; it reveals itself to the one it chooses.
- Na Jayate Mriyate Va VipaschitKatha Upanishad 1.2.18The knowing Self is not born and does not die; it is not slain when the body is slain.
Hymns and stotras
- Vishnu SahasranamaMahabharata 13.135The thousand names of Vishnu, taught by Bhishma to Yudhishthira (13.149 in older editions).
- Durga SaptashatiMarkandeya Purana 81The first chapter of the Devi Mahatmya, the seven hundred verses on the Goddess that run to chapter 93.
- Aditya HridayamValmiki Ramayana 6.107The hymn to the sun that Agastya teaches Rama before his battle with Ravana (6.105 in the Gita Press edition).
- RudrashtakamRamcharitmanas, Uttara KandaEight verses in praise of Shiva, opening Namami Shamishan, from Tulsidas's Uttara Kanda.
- Om Namo Bhagavate VasudevayaSrimad Bhagavatam 1.1.1The twelve-syllable mantra to Krishna, with which the Bhagavatam opens.
- Ya Devi SarvabhuteshuMarkandeya Purana 85.18To the Goddess who dwells in all beings as power, salutations again and again.
- Sarva Mangala MangalyeMarkandeya Purana 91.9Salutations to Narayani, the auspiciousness of all that is auspicious, who fulfils every aim.
- 12 Jyotirlinga StotramShiva Purana, Kotirudra 1.21The twelve shrines of Shiva's light, from Somnath on, named in four verses.
- Gajendra MokshaSrimad Bhagavatam 8.3The elephant king, caught by a crocodile, prays to Vishnu and is set free.
- Krishnaya Vasudevaya HarayeSrimad Bhagavatam 10.73.16Salutations to Krishna, Vasudeva, Hari, who ends the sorrows of all who bow to him.
- Narayana KavachamSrimad Bhagavatam 6.8The armour of Narayana, the protective prayer Vishvarupa teaches Indra.
- Gopi GitaSrimad Bhagavatam 10.31The gopis' song of longing for Krishna when he vanishes from the rasa dance.
- Shiva SahasranamaShiva Purana, Kotirudra 35The thousand names of Shiva, as the Shiva Purana gives them.
- Brahma Murari TripurantakariVamana Purana 14.23The morning prayer to the three gods and the nine planets for an auspicious day.
- Sarva Svarupe SarvesheMarkandeya Purana 91.24Goddess of every form, ruler of all, endowed with every power, save us from fear.
- Kunti StutiSrimad Bhagavatam 1.8.25The heart of Kunti's prayer: may hardships come again and again, for in them we see you.
- Brahma StutiSrimad Bhagavatam 10.14Brahma's prayer to the child Krishna after hiding away the calves and the cowherd boys.
- Prahlada StutiSrimad Bhagavatam 7.9Prahlada's prayer that calms Narasimha after the death of Hiranyakashipu.
Ramayana and Ramcharitmanas
- Sundar KandRamcharitmanasHanuman's leap to Lanka, his meeting with Sita and the burning of Lanka, in Tulsidas's Awadhi.
- Mangal Bhavan Amangal HariRamcharitmanas, Bala KandaRama, home of all that is auspicious and remover of all that is not, playing in Dasharatha's courtyard.
- Kausalya Supraja RamaValmiki Ramayana 1.23.2Vishvamitra wakes young Rama at dawn: the line that opens the Venkateswara Suprabhatam.
- Dhol Ganwar Shudra Pashu NariRamcharitmanas, Sundara KandaThe ocean, yielding to Rama, speaks one of the most debated lines Tulsidas wrote.
- Raghukul Reet Sada Chali AayiRamcharitmanas, Ayodhya KandaEver the way of Raghu's line: give up life, never a promised word.
- Hoi Hai Soi Jo Ram Rachi RakhaRamcharitmanas, Bala KandaWhatever Rama has ordained will come to pass: Shiva's words as Sati sets out to test Rama.
- Siya Ram May Sab Jag JaniRamcharitmanas, Bala KandaKnowing the whole world to be full of Sita and Rama, I bow with folded hands.
- Bhay Binu Hoi Na PreetiRamcharitmanas, Sundara KandaWhen the ocean ignores his plea for three days, Rama says love does not come without fear.
- Hari Anant Hari Katha AnantaRamcharitmanas, Bala KandaHari is endless, and endless are his stories, told and heard in many ways.
- Parhit Saris Dharam Nahi BhaiRamcharitmanas, Uttara KandaThere is no dharma like doing good to others, and no sin like causing them pain.
- Ram Naam Mani DeepRamcharitmanas, Bala KandaSet Rama's name like a jewelled lamp at the threshold of the tongue, for light within and without.
- Ma Nishada PratishthamValmiki Ramayana 1.2.15Valmiki's curse on the hunter who shot a mating bird: the first shloka, born of grief.
- Shabari Navadha BhaktiRamcharitmanas, Aranya KandaRama teaches Shabari the nine forms of devotion.
- Ram Kaju Kinhe Binu Mohi Kahan BishramRamcharitmanas, Sundara KandaOffered rest by Mount Mainaka, Hanuman asks how he can rest before Rama's work is done.
- Sakal Sumangal Dayak Raghunayak Gun GaanRamcharitmanas, Sundara KandaSinging Rama's virtues brings every blessing: the closing doha of Sundar Kand.
- Binu Satsang Bibek Na HoiRamcharitmanas, Bala KandaWithout good company there is no discernment, and good company comes only by Rama's grace.
- Ramo Vigrahavan DharmahValmiki Ramayana 3.37.13Rama is dharma in bodily form: Maricha's warning to Ravana.
- Rama PattabhishekamValmiki Ramayana 6.131Rama is crowned in Ayodhya, and the blessings of his reign are told.
- Sankshepa RamayanaValmiki Ramayana 1.1Narada tells Valmiki the whole story of Rama in brief: the opening sarga of the Ramayana.
- Sakrid Eva PrapannayaValmiki Ramayana 6.18.32Rama's vow of safety to anyone who comes to him even once, made as he receives Vibhishana (often cited as 6.18.33).
- Ramo Dvir NabhibhashateValmiki Ramayana 2.18.30Rama never speaks twice: his word, once given, stands.
- Tapah Svadhyaya NiratamValmiki Ramayana 1.1.1Valmiki questions Narada, devoted to austerity and study: the first verse of the Ramayana.
Puranas and others
- Vidura NitiMahabharata 5.33Vidura's counsel to the sleepless Dhritarashtra on wisdom, folly and right rule, opening here.
- Ahimsa Paramo DharmaMahabharata 1.11.12Non-violence is the highest dharma, the line as the critical edition gives it.
- Dharmo Rakshati RakshitahManusmriti 8.15Dharma protects those who protect it; destroyed, it destroys.
- Yatra Naryastu PujyanteManusmriti 3.56Where women are honoured, the gods rejoice; where they are not, every rite bears no fruit.
- Navadha BhaktiSrimad Bhagavatam 7.5.23Prahlada's nine forms of devotion: hearing, singing, remembering, serving and more.
- Yaksha PrashnaMahabharata 3.297The Yaksha's riddles at the lake, and the answers of Yudhishthira that bring his brothers back to life.
- Yato Dharmas Tato JayahMahabharata 6.21.11Where there is dharma, there is victory: the motto of India's Supreme Court.
- Dhriti Kshama Damo AsteyamManusmriti 6.92The ten marks of dharma: patience, forgiveness, self-control, honesty and six more.
- Pita Rakshati KaumareManusmriti 9.3The much-debated verse on a woman's guardianship by father, husband and son.
- Lalayet Pancha VarshaniChanakya Niti 3.18Indulge a child for five years, discipline for ten, and treat a son of sixteen as a friend.
- Satyam Bruyat Priyam BruyatManusmriti 4.138Speak the truth and speak it kindly; never an unkind truth, never a kind lie.
- Uddhava GitaSrimad Bhagavatam 11.7Krishna's last teaching, to his friend Uddhava, which opens here and runs to chapter 29.
- Chatushloki BhagavatamSrimad Bhagavatam 2.9.33The four verses in which the Lord gives Brahma the whole Bhagavatam in seed, opening here.
- Vidya Mitram PravaseshuChanakya Niti 5.15Knowledge is a friend abroad, a spouse at home, medicine in sickness and dharma after death.
- Ati Sarvatra VarjayetChanakya Niti 3.12Sita's beauty, Ravana's pride and Bali's generosity all went too far: avoid excess everywhere.
- Krishnas Tu Bhagavan SvayamSrimad Bhagavatam 1.3.28The avatars are portions, but Krishna is the Lord himself.
- Kaler Dosha Nidhe RajanSrimad Bhagavatam 12.3.51The age of Kali is an ocean of faults with one great virtue: chanting Krishna's name sets one free.
- Mukta Abhimani Mukto HiAshtavakra Gita 1.11One who thinks himself free is free, and one who thinks himself bound is bound: as you think, so you become.
- Nama Sankirtanam YasyaSrimad Bhagavatam 12.13.23I bow to Hari, whose name sung together destroys all sin and ends all sorrow.
- Kokilanam Svaro RupamChanakya Niti 3.9A cuckoo's beauty is its voice, and the beauty of the learned is their learning.
- Mata Shatru Pita VairiChanakya Niti 2.11Parents who do not educate their child fail it: among the learned it is a crane among swans.
- Lokanam Tu VivriddhyarthamManusmriti 1.31The much-debated verse on the four varnas arising from the creator's mouth, arms, thighs and feet.
- Muktim Icchasi Chet TataAshtavakra Gita 1.2If you seek freedom, shun the objects of the senses like poison, and drink forgiveness and truth like nectar.
- Pustakastha Tu Ya VidyaChanakya Niti 16.20Knowledge left in books and wealth in others' hands are of no use when you need them.
- Shochanti Jamayo YatraManusmriti 3.57Where the women of a family grieve, it soon perishes; where they do not, it thrives.
- Yad Ihasti Tad AnyatraMahabharata 1.56.33What is here may be found elsewhere; what is not here is found nowhere: the epic's claim to completeness.
- Bhramara GitaSrimad Bhagavatam 10.47The gopis' song to a bumblebee, standing in for Krishna, when Uddhava brings his message.
- Rupa Yauvana SampannaChanakya Niti 3.8Beauty, youth and noble birth without learning are like a flower with no scent.
- Dushta Bharya Shatham MitramChanakya Niti 1.5A cruel spouse, a false friend, an insolent servant and a house with a snake in it are death itself.
- Venu GitaSrimad Bhagavatam 10.21The gopis' song of Krishna's flute as he enters the forest of Vrindavan.
- Gate Shoko Na KartavyoChanakya Niti 13.2Do not grieve over the past or worry over the future; the wise act in the present.
- Ahimsa Satyam AsteyamManusmriti 10.63Non-violence, truth, not stealing, purity and self-restraint: the dharma common to all.
- Vedo Akhilo DharmamulamManusmriti 2.6The whole Veda is the root of dharma, then tradition, the conduct of the good and one's own conscience.
- Apadarthe Dhanam RakshetChanakya Niti 1.6Save wealth against hard times, but give it up to protect your family, and both to protect yourself.
- Ekenapi SuvrikshenaChanakya Niti 3.14One flowering, fragrant tree scents a whole forest, as one good child graces a family.
- Acharah Paramo DharmahManusmriti 1.108Right conduct is the highest dharma, as scripture and tradition teach it.
- Na Manushat Shreshthataram Hi KinchitMahabharata 12.288.20There is nothing higher than the human: a secret teaching of the Shanti Parva.