This is an index of every Sanskrit verse quoted anywhere on this site — 52 of them, drawn from 25 texts and discussed across 31 articles, chapters and journals. Each entry gives the verse in Devanagari, its transliteration where one exists, a plain English rendering where the article supplies one, and the reference: which text, and where in it.
It is worth being clear about what this is not. It is not a scripture library, and it is not a translation project. There is no attempt here to present the Ṛgveda or the Gītā whole. What you are looking at is narrower and, I hope, more useful: the verses this site actually leans on, each one carried back to the place where it is explained. A verse quoted without a source is an assertion. A verse with its address attached is something you can go and check — against the text, against a translator you trust, against me.
Where the editions disagree about a number, both are given rather than one chosen quietly. Where a verse belongs to a text this site has no reference page for yet, the citation stands without a link. Both of those are visible on purpose.
52 verses
उषसः पूर्वा अध यद्व्यूषुर्महद्वि जज्ञे अक्षरं पदे गोः । व्रता देवानामुप नु प्रभूषन्महद्देवानामसुरत्वमेकम् ॥
uṣasaḥ pūrvā adha yad vyūṣur mahad vi jajñe akṣaram pade goḥ vratā devānām upa nu prabhūṣan mahad devānām asuratvam ekam
"When the earlier dawns broke, the great imperishable was born in the track of the cow. The observances of the gods are upheld. Great and one is the asura-hood of the gods."
तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि । धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥
tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo nah prachodayat
तमु ष्टुहि यः स्विषुः सुधन्वा यो विश्वस्य क्षयति भेषजस्य । यक्ष्वा महे सौमनसाय रुद्रं नमोभिर्देवमसुरं दुवस्य ॥
tam u ṣṭuhi yaḥ sviṣuḥ sudhanvā yo viśvasya kṣayati bheṣajasya yakṣvā mahe saumanasāya rudraṃ namobhir devam asuraṃ duvasya
"Praise him of the sure arrow and the strong bow, who rules over every healing herb. Sacrifice to Rudra for great favour. Honour with obeisance the deva, the asura."
त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनम् । उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मामृतात् ॥
Om tryambakam yajamahe sugandhim pushti-vardhanam, urvarukam iva bandhanan mrityor mukshiya mamritat.
सहस्रशीर्षा पुरुषः सहस्राक्षः सहस्रपात् । स भूमिं विश्वतो वृत्वात्यतिष्ठद्दशाङ्गुलम् ॥
sahasraśīrṣā puruṣaḥ sahasrākṣaḥ sahasrapāt sa bhūmiṃ viśvato vṛtvāty atiṣṭhad daśāṅgulam
"Puruṣa, who has a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet, investing the earth in all directions, exceeds it by a space measuring ten fingers." (H. H. Wilson's translation of Sāyaṇa's reading.)
नासदासीन्नो सदासीत्तदानीं नासीद्रजो नो व्योमा परो यत् । किमावरीवः कुह कस्य शर्मन्नम्भः किमासीद्गहनं गभीरम् ॥
"Then was not non-existent nor existent: there was no realm of air, no sky beyond it. What covered in, and where? and what gave shelter? Was water there, unfathomed depth of water?"
को अद्धा वेद क इह प्र वोचत्कुत आजाता कुत इयं विसृष्टिः । अर्वाग्देवा अस्य विसर्जनेनाथा को वेद यत आबभूव ॥ इयं विसृष्टिर्यत आबभूव यदि वा दधे यदि वा न । यो अस्याध्यक्षः परमे व्योमन्सो अङ्ग वेद यदि वा न वेद ॥
ko addhā veda ka iha pra vocat, kuta ājātā kuta iyaṃ visṛṣṭiḥ arvāg devā asya visarjanenāthā ko veda yata ābabhūva
"Who really knows, and who can here declare it, whence it was born, whence came this creation? The gods are later than this world's creation, so who truly knows from where it first arose. Whence this creation came to be, whether it was made or was not, the One who watches over it from the highest heaven, he alone knows, or perhaps even he does not know."
khila — an appendix hymn, not in the 1,028-hymn Śākala saṃhitā
हिरण्यवर्णां हरिणीं सुवर्णरजतस्रजाम् । चन्द्रां हिरण्मयीं लक्ष्मीं जातवेदो म आवह ॥
hiraṇyavarṇāṃ hariṇīṃ suvarṇarajatasrajām candrāṃ hiraṇmayīṃ lakṣmīṃ jātavedo ma āvaha
ईशावास्यमिदं सर्वं यत्किञ्च जगत्यां जगत् । तेन त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीथा मा गृधः कस्य स्विद्धनम् ॥
isha vasyam idam sarvam yat kincha jagatyam jagat | tena tyaktena bhunjitha ma gridhah kasya svid dhanam
"All this, whatsoever moves on earth, is to be hidden in the Lord (the Self). When thou hast surrendered all this, then thou mayest enjoy. Do not covet the wealth of any man!" (Isha 1, tr. Müller)
स तस्मिन्नेवाकाशे स्त्रियमाजगाम बहुशोभमानामुमां हैमवतीं तां होवाच किमेतद्यक्षमिति ॥
sa tasminn evākāśe striyam ājagāma bahuśobhamānām umāṃ haimavatīm; tāṃ hovāca kim etad yakṣam iti
"In that very space he came upon a woman, greatly shining: Uma Haimavati. To her he said, what was that spirit?"
सा ब्रह्मेति होवाच ॥
sā brahmeti hovāca
"She said: that was Brahman."
प्रज्ञानं ब्रह्म
prajñānaṃ brahma
रसो वै सः । रसं ह्येवायं लब्ध्वाऽऽनन्दी भवति ॥
Raso vai sah. Rasam hy evayam labdhva anandi bhavati.
He, truly, is rasa. Obtaining this rasa, one becomes blissful.
स आत्मा तत्त्वमसि श्वेतकेतो
sa ātmā tat tvam asi śvetaketo
"That which is the subtile essence, in it all that exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and thou, O Svetaketu, art it."
द्वया ह प्राजापत्या देवाश्चासुराश्च । ततः कानीयसा एव देवा ज्यायसा असुरास्त एषु लोकेष्वस्पर्धन्त ।
dvayā ha prājāpatyā devāś cāsurāś ca. tataḥ kānīyasā eva devā jyāyasā asurās ta eṣu lokeṣv aspardhanta
"Two were the offspring of Prajapati, the devas and the asuras. Of these the devas were the fewer, the asuras the greater; and they contended over these worlds."
अहं ब्रह्मास्मि
aham brahmāsmi
"Whosoever knows this, 'I am Brahman,' becomes all this, and even the Devas cannot prevent it, for he becomes their Self." (Brihadaranyaka 1.4.10, tr. Müller)
ईशकेनकठप्रश्नमुण्डमाण्डूक्यतित्तिरिः । ऐतरेयं च छान्दोग्यं बृहदारण्यकं तथा ॥
isha-kena-katha-prashna-munda-mandukya-tittirih | aitareyam cha chandogyam brihadaranyakam tatha
The Isha, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, the Aitareya, the Chandogya, and likewise the Brihadaranyaka. (Muktika Upanishad 1.30)
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन । मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥
Your business is with action alone; not by any means with fruit. Let not the fruit of action be your motive (to action). Let not your attachment be (fixed) on inaction.
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत । अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥
Whensoever, O descendant of Bharata! piety languishes, and impiety is in the ascendant, I create myself. I am born age after age, for the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil-doers, and the establishment of piety.
परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् । धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥
paritranaya sadhunam vinashaya cha dushkritam / dharma-samsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge
सहस्रयुगपर्यन्तमहर्यद् ब्रह्मणो विदुः । रात्रिं युगसहस्रान्तां तेऽहोरात्रविदो जनाः ॥
sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ rātriṃ yuga-sahasrāntāṃ te 'ho-rātra-vido janāḥ
"Those who truly know the day and night of Brahmā know his one day to span a thousand yuga-cycles, and his night to last a thousand yuga-cycles too."
कालोऽस्मि लोकक्षयकृत्प्रवृद्धो लोकान्समाहर्तुमिह प्रवृत्तः । ऋतेऽपि त्वां न भविष्यन्ति सर्वे येऽवस्थिताः प्रत्यनीकेषु योधाः ॥
I am death, the destroyer of the worlds, fully developed, and I am now active about the overthrow of the worlds.
सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज । अहं त्वां सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ॥
Forsaking all duties, come to me as (your) sole refuge. I will release you from all sins. Be not grieved.
इदं च श्रूयते पार्थ युद्धे देवासुरे पुरा । असुरा भ्रातरो ज्येष्ठा देवाश्चापि यवीयसः ॥
idaṃ ca śrūyate pārtha yuddhe devāsure purā asurā bhrātaro jyeṣṭhā devāś cāpi yavīyasaḥ
"This too is heard, Partha, of the ancient war of devas and asuras: the asuras were the elder brothers, and the devas the younger."
अधर्मरूपो धर्मो हि कश्चिदस्ति नराधिप । धर्मश्चाधर्मरूपोऽस्ति तच्च ज्ञेयं विपश्चिता ॥
adharmarūpo dharmo hi kaś cid asti narādhipa dharmaś cādharmarūpo 'sti tac ca jñeyaṃ vipaścitā
"There is a dharma that wears the shape of adharma, O ruler of men, and an adharma that wears the shape of dharma. The discerning must know this."
रामो विग्रहवान् धर्मः ।
Rāmo vigrahavān dharmaḥ.
Rama is dharma given a body.
अनमिल आखर अरथ न जापू।
anamila ākhara aratha na jāpū
Ill-matched letters; no settled meaning, and no japa.
अनमिल आखर अरथ न जापू।
anamila ākhara aratha na jāpū
Ill-matched letters; no settled meaning, and no japa.
प्रगट प्रभाउ महेस प्रतापू॥
pragaṭa prabhāu mahesa pratāpū
Their power is manifest, by the majesty of Maheśa.
सपनेहुँ साचेहुँ मोहि पर जौं हर गौरि पसाउ। तौ फुर होउ जो कहेउँ सब भाषा भनिति प्रभाउ॥१५॥
sapanehũ sācehũ mohi para jauṁ hara gauri pasāu, tau phura hou jo kaheũ saba bhāṣā bhaniti prabhāu
If in dream and in waking Hara and Gaurī are gracious to me, then let all I have said of the power of a vernacular composition come true.
सपनेहुँ साचेहुँ मोहि पर जौं हर गौरि पसाउ। तौ फुर होउ जो कहेउँ सब भाषा भनिति प्रभाउ॥१५॥
sapanehũ sācehũ mohi para jauṁ hara gauri pasāu, tau phura hou jo kaheũ saba bhāṣā bhaniti prabhāu
If in dream and in waking Hara and Gaurī are gracious to me, then let all I have said of the power of a vernacular composition come true.
कलि बिलोकि जग हित हर गिरिजा। साबर मंत्र जाल जिन्ह सिरिजा॥ अनमिल आखर अरथ न जापू। प्रगट प्रभाउ महेस प्रतापू॥३॥
kali biloki jaga hita hara girijā, sābara mantra jāla jinha sirijā anamila ākhara aratha na jāpū, pragaṭa prabhāu mahesa pratāpū
Seeing the Kali age, for the good of the world, Hara and Girijā created the jāla of sābara mantras: ill-matched letters, no meaning and no japa, their power manifest by the majesty of Maheśa.
शिवेन कीलिता चेयं तदुत्कीलनमुच्यते ।
śivena kīlitā ceyaṃ tadutkīlanam ucyate
And this [vidyā] has been locked by Śiva; that [rite] is called its utkīlana.
सोऽयं ते विधिकर ईश विप्रशप्तस्तस्येदं निधनमनुग्रहाय विद्मः ॥
so 'yaṃ te vidhikara īśa vipra-śaptas tasyedaṃ nidhanam anugrahāya vidmaḥ
"He was your own servant, O Lord, cursed by the brahmins. This killing of his, we understand, was for his grace."
योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः ॥
yogash citta-vritti-nirodhah.
Yoga is the stilling of the movements of the mind.
क्लेशकर्मविपाकाशयैरपरामृष्टः पुरुषविशेष ईश्वरः ॥
klesha-karma-vipakashayair aparamrishtah purusha-vishesha ishvarah.
Ishvara is a special purusha, untouched by afflictions, by actions, by their ripenings and their residues. (1.24)
स्वाध्यायादिष्टदेवतासंप्रयोगः ॥
Svadhyayad ishtadevata-samprayogah.
विभावानुभावव्यभिचारिसंयोगाद्रसनिष्पत्तिः ॥
Vibhava-anubhava-vyabhicari-samyogad rasa-nishpattih.
From the joining of the Determinants, the Consequents, and the Transient states, rasa is brought forth.
मुक्ताभिमानी मुक्तो हि बद्धो बद्धाभिमान्यपि । किंवदन्तीह सत्येयं या मतिः सा गतिर्भवेत् ॥
muktābhimānī mukto hi baddho baddhābhimāny api | kiṃvadantīha satyeyaṃ yā matiḥ sā gatir bhavet ||
"If one thinks of oneself as free, one is free, and if one thinks of oneself as bound, one is bound. Here this saying is true: 'Thinking makes it so.'" (1.11)
ब्रह्म सत्यं जगन्मिथ्या जीवो ब्रह्मैव नापरः ।
brahma satyam jagan mithya jivo brahmaiva naparah.
Brahman is real. The world is mithya. The self is none other than Brahman.
चितिः स्वतन्त्रा विश्वसिद्धिहेतुः ॥
citih svatantra vishva-siddhi-hetuh
शिवः शक्त्या युक्तो यदि भवति शक्तः प्रभवितुं न चेदेवं देवो न खलु कुशलः स्पन्दितुमपि ।
sivah saktya yukto yadi bhavati saktah prabhavitum / na ced evam devo na khalu kusalah spanditum api
शिवः शक्त्या युक्तो यदि भवति शक्तः प्रभवितुं न चेदेवं देवो न खलु कुशलः स्पन्दितुमपि ।
śivaḥ śaktyā yukto yadi bhavati śaktaḥ prabhavituṃ na ced evaṃ devo na khalu kuśalaḥ spanditum api
"Shiva, joined with Shakti, becomes able to create. Otherwise the god is not able even to stir."
या देवी सर्वभूतेषु शक्तिरूपेण संस्थिता । नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमस्तस्यै नमो नमः ॥
ya devi sarvabhuteshu shakti-rupena samsthita namas tasyai namas tasyai namas tasyai namo namah
विश्वं दर्पणदृश्यमाननगरीतुल्यं निजान्तर्गतं पश्यन्नात्मनि मायया बहिरिवोद्भूतं यथा निद्रया । यः साक्षात्कुरुते प्रबोधसमये स्वात्मानमेवाद्वयं तस्मै श्रीगुरुमूर्तये नम इदं श्रीदक्षिणामूर्तये ॥
The universe is like a city seen in a mirror, arising within oneself, yet appearing as if outside, the way things appear in a dream. He who, at the moment of awakening, directly realises his own non-dual Self, to him, the guru made form, to Sri Dakshinamurti, this salutation.
चित्रं वटतरोर्मूले वृद्धाः शिष्या गुरुर्युवा । गुरोस्तु मौनं व्याख्यानं शिष्यास्तुच्छिन्नसंशयाः ॥
Chitram vata-taror mule vriddhah shishya gurur yuva
A wonder: under the banyan tree, the disciples are old and the guru is young. Guros tu maunam vyakhyanam shishyas tu chhinna-samshayah The guru's teaching is silence, and the disciples' doubts are cut.
निधये सर्वविद्यानां भिषजे भवरोगिणाम् । गुरवे सर्वलोकानां दक्षिणामूर्तये नमः ॥
To the treasure-house of all knowledge, the physician for those sick with becoming, the guru of all the worlds, to Dakshinamurti, salutation.
केशव धृतमीनशरीर जय जगदीश हरे ।
keshava dhrta-mina-sharira jaya jagadisa hare.
O Keshava, who took the form of a fish, O Lord of the universe, O Hari, glory to you.
सौराष्ट्रे सोमनाथं च श्रीशैले मल्लिकार्जुनम् । उज्जयिन्यां महाकालम् ॐकारममलेश्वरम् ॥१॥
Saurashtre Somanatham ca Shrishaile Mallikarjunam, Ujjayinyam Mahakalam Omkaram Amaleshvaram.
परल्यां वैद्यनाथं च डाकिन्यां भीमाशंकरम् । सेतुबंधे तु रामेशं नागेशं दारुकावने ॥२॥
Paralyam Vaidyanatham ca Dakinyam Bhimashankaram, Setubandhe tu Ramesham Nagesham Darukavane.
वाराणस्यां तु विश्वेशं त्र्यंबकं गौतमीतटे । हिमालये तु केदारं घुश्मेशं च शिवालये ॥३॥
Varanasyam tu Vishvesham Tryambakam Gautamitate, Himalaye tu Kedaram Ghushmesham ca Shivalaye.
एतानि ज्योतिर्लिङ्गानि सायं प्रातः पठेन्नरः । सप्तजन्मकृतं पापं स्मरणेन विनश्यति ॥४॥
Etani Jyotirlingani sayam pratah pathen-narah, Sapta-janma-kritam papam smaranena vinashyati.
Whoever recites these jyotirlingas evening and morning, the sins of seven births are destroyed by the very remembrance.
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