Jagat

This is the first of three centuries, or works of a hundred verses each, written by the very influential Sanskrit poet Bhartrihari. Many legends are told of this Bhartrihari and perhaps I will later recount some of them. His style of writing subhāṣitas , or "well-turned verses," have affected many poets throughout the history of Sanskrit literature, including most notably for Gaudiya Vaishnavas, Prabodhananda Saraswati. Bhartihari’s three śatakas have the themes of nīti (moral philosophy) , śṛṅgāra (love) and vairāgya (renunciation). I translated these many years ago, but I never posted them on this blog, though I did post them on-line a few years ago and reposted on Speaking Tree in 2012 ). I have made a few changes. The first theme of the Nīti-satakam is “the fool.” dik-kālādy-anavacchinnānanta-cin-mātra-mūrtaye | svānubhūty-eka-mānāya namaḥ śāntāya tejase || 1 || I bow down to the Supreme Lord whose form is infinite and spiritual, unrestricted by time and space, ...