acts themselves; why, then, should we worship either the god or destiny? Let us pay adoration to those works over which fate has no power.

95. By means of destiny Brahma was constrained to work like an artificer in the interior of his egg; by means of destiny Vishņu was compelled to pass through ten incarnations of great difficulty; by means of destiny Śiva was forced to live as a mendicant, bearing the skull in his hands for a pot; by means of destiny the sun is compelled to travel his daily course in the heaven. Adoration, therefore, be to works.

96. Neither beauty, nor greatness of family, nor force of character, nor learning, nor service, though performed with care, but merit alone, gained from penances in a former state, will bring forth fruit to a man as a tree in its

season.

97. A man may be in a forest, or in war, or in the midst of fire, or among a host of enemies, or in the ocean, or upon a high mountain; he may be asleep or mad; or he may be surrounded by difficulties; yet the good actions. performed in a former state will profit him.

98. O wise man! cultivate constantly divine virtue; for that makes evil men good, the foolish wise, enemies well disposed, invisible things visible; in a moment that turns poison into nectar; that will give you the desired fruit of your acts. O virtuous man! do not vainly spend labour on acquiring mighty gifts with great pain!

99. The wise man, at the beginning of his actions, looks carefully to the end of them, that by their means he may be freed from births in another state. Actions performed with excessive haste are even as an arrow piercing the heart.

100. The man who, placed in the world of action, does not walk piously, regarding his state hereafter, is as one who cooks the lees of sesame over a sandal-wood fire in a caldron of lapis-lazuli, or as one who ploughs with a golden share to cultivate swallow-wort, or as one who

cuts down a grove of camphor to fence in a field of kodrava.

IOI. A man may dive into the sea, he may ascend to the top of Mount Meru, he may be victorious over his enemies, he may devote himself to merchandise, he may plough the earth, he may study all learning and all art, he may travel on the wings of a bird from one end of heaven to the other, but yet he shall suffer that which is fated him on earth, neither shall that fail which is destined for him.

102. A terrible wood becomes a splendid city, and the whole world is filled with jewels, to that man who has performed righteous acts in his former existence; all men reverence his virtues.

Supplementary Ślokas.

103. What is most profitable? Fellowship with the good. What is the worst thing in the world? The society of evil men. What is the greatest loss? Failure in one's duty. Where the greatest peace? In truth and righteousness. Who is the hero? The man who subdues his senses. Who is best beloved? The faithful wife. What is wealth? Knowledge. What is the most perfect happiness? Staying at home. What is royalty? Command.

104. The man who possesses intelligence, like the jasmin flower, has two courses open to him: he may flourish in the sight of the world, or he may wither away in the desert.

105. The earth is variously adorned in various places; by poor men whose words are of no account-by rich men whose words are admired-by those contented with their own wives-by men who refrain from passing censure upon others.

106. The constant man loses not his virtue in misfortune. A torch may point towards the ground, but its flame will still point upwards.

107. The mind of the constant man is not pierced by the arrows shot from the glances of love; he is not consumed by the fire of anger: worldly objects do not ensnare him in the net of covetousness; he is the lord of the three worlds.

108. The mighty earth, trodden by the feet of one hero, is lightened up with his exceeding great glory as though by the shining of the sun.

109. Through the power of constancy fire becomes. even as water, the ocean becomes but a rivulet, Mount Meru becomes only a small stone, a lion becomes as harmless as an antelope, a savage beast becomes a garland of flowers, poison is turned into nectar. The constant man, by his constancy, turns the savage things in nature into the most gentle.

110. Honourable men may cast aside life and happiness, but inasmuch as they are intent upon truth, they do not cast off their truthfulness, the cause of modesty and of all the virtues, following them wherever they may go, pure in heart, even as dear to them as their own mother.

Miscellaneous Satakas.

1. A morose heart, a face exalted with inward pride, a nature difficult as an exceedingly narrow mountainpass-this is known as the character of women: their mind is said by the wise to be as changeable as the drop of dew which rests upon the lotus leaf. Faults indeed develop in a woman together with her growth, as the poisonous shoots sprout in the creeper.

2. Whether a brave man who is killed in the foremost of the fight obtain heaven or victory, he will gain great glory from both armies; and this is the aim of one who desires fame.

3. Of all the exceeding marvels which I behold, the Boar and Rahu bear away the palm. The one bore the drowned earth on his tusks, which dripped with water;

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the other, who has only a head, swallows his foe and then lets him go again.

4. The earth is bounded by the ocean, the ocean extends but a thousand yojanas, the sun always measures his course through the sky; these objects then are bounded by certain definite limits. There is nothing exceeding them in greatness but the intelligence of wise men, which has no limits.

5. There is one divinity, Kesava or Śiva; one friend, a king or an ascetic; one dwelling, in a town or in the forest; one wife, handsome or ugly. [It matters not which a man may choose.]

6. The world, though it be supported on the king of the serpents, on the elephants that bear it up, on the great mountains, and on the tortoise, shakes; but that which has been promised by men of pure minds never fails, even though ages have passed away.

7. The tortoise is pained through the weight of the earth; why then does he not cast it off? The sun feels fatigue in his course; why then does he not stand still? Looking on these examples, a noble man is ashamed to fail in his promises; he faithfully keeps his word. Thus are vows kept in the family of a good man.

8. When a man is satisfied with food, he enters into subjection to the world; even so a drum sends forth an agreeable sound when its surface is covered with flour.

9. Low-minded men are occupied solely with their own affairs, but noble-minded men take special interest in the affairs of others. The submarine fire drinks up the ocean to fill its own insatiable interior; the rain-cloud, that it may relieve the drought of the earth, burnt up by the hot season.

10. The counsellor truly, like the poet, is never free from a load of trouble;

afar, and avoids all

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II. Whatever has been appointed by fate in this life for each man, that shall be his lot, be it great or small. The cloud rains day by day, filling all things, but only a few little drops fall into the châtaka's mouth.

12. The wise must be respected, even when the advice they give us is not suitable. The ordinary converse of such men is like Holy Writ.

13. A good man may fall, but he falls as a ball; an ignoble man falls like a lump of clay.

14. If, by the decree of fate, the world were ever to become deprived of lotuses, would the swan scratch in the dust-heap like the cock?

15. Elephants, filled with passion, heavy with sleep, may stand at the gate; horses, adorned with golden ornaments, may gallop about filled with spirit; their owner may be wakened from his sleep by the sound of drums, conchs, cymbals, fifes, and lutes: all this, a state like that of the lord of the deities, is the reward, outwardly displayed, of religious merit (gained in former births).

16. The joy of those whose minds are alive to the happiness of content is perfect, but the desire of those who are disturbed by the lust after riches never ceases. For whose sake was Meru created by fate full of wealth as it is? Meru pleases me not, though it is filled with an abundance of gold and silver, since it is satisfied with itself alone.

17. The red colour of the lotus, the care for others displayed by the good, the want of respect shown by the bad; this is the triad of qualities brought to perfection in each class by means of its own innate disposition.

18. Faithfulness in promises is the noblest quality among men; leanness is the best quality for a female