10 Sanskrit Shlokas With Hindi and English Meaning
Ten well-known Sanskrit shlokas on learning, effort and character, each with transliteration, Hindi and English meaning, source and context.
By Sanskritam Academy Editorial TeamPublished 6 min read
A shloka (श्लोक) is a verse, most often in the anuṣṭubh metre of four quarters of eight syllables each. Short, rhythmic and complete in itself, a shloka is easy to memorise and is one of the most pleasant ways to build Sanskrit vocabulary. The ten verses below are among the best known. Two are from the Bhagavad Gita, one is an Upanishadic prayer, and the rest are subhāṣitas, 'well-said' verses of practical wisdom that have been taught to students for generations.
Many popular subhāṣitas circulate in several collections and their first source is not always certain. Where that is the case, the source is given simply as a traditional subhāṣita.
How to learn a shloka
- Read the verse aloud slowly, one quarter (pāda) at a time, using the transliteration to check long and short vowels.
- Read the meaning, then go back and find each word of the meaning in the Sanskrit.
- Recite a half-verse from memory, then the whole verse.
- Repeat it the next morning. One verse a week, learnt well, is better than one a day learnt badly.
Two verses from the Bhagavad Gita
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācanamā karmaphalahetur bhūr mā te saṅgo 'stv akarmaṇi
- Hindi meaning
- तुम्हारा अधिकार केवल कर्म करने में है, उसके फलों में कभी नहीं। तुम कर्मफल की इच्छा से कर्म करने वाले मत बनो, और कर्म न करने में भी तुम्हारी आसक्ति न हो।
- English meaning
- Your right is to action alone, never to its fruits. Do not let the fruit of action be your motive, and do not be attached to inaction.
- Context
- Kṛṣṇa's instruction to Arjuna on the battlefield, and the best-known statement of karma-yoga: do your duty fully without being anxious about the result.
उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् ।आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः ॥uddhared ātmanātmānaṃ nātmānam avasādayetātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ
- Hindi meaning
- मनुष्य अपने द्वारा अपना उद्धार करे, अपने को नीचे न गिराए; क्योंकि वह स्वयं ही अपना मित्र है और स्वयं ही अपना शत्रु है।
- English meaning
- One should raise oneself by oneself and not let oneself sink; for one is one's own friend, and one is one's own enemy.
- Context
- From the chapter on meditation. The verse places responsibility for one's progress on one's own effort and self-control.
More verses from the Gita, with word-by-word meanings, are collected in Bhagavad Gita Shlokas With Meaning.
Shlokas on knowledge
विद्या ददाति विनयं विनयाद्याति पात्रताम् ।पात्रत्वाद्धनमाप्नोति धनाद्धर्मं ततः सुखम् ॥vidyā dadāti vinayaṃ vinayād yāti pātratāmpātratvād dhanam āpnoti dhanād dharmaṃ tataḥ sukham
- Hindi meaning
- विद्या विनय देती है, विनय से मनुष्य योग्यता पाता है, योग्यता से धन प्राप्त करता है, धन से धर्म और उससे सुख मिलता है।
- English meaning
- Knowledge gives humility; from humility one attains worthiness; from worthiness one gains wealth; from wealth comes dharma, and from that, happiness.
- Context
- A chain of causes showing that real learning shows itself first as humility, and that everything else follows from that.
न चोरहार्यं न च राजहार्यंन भ्रातृभाज्यं न च भारकारि ।व्यये कृते वर्धत एव नित्यंविद्याधनं सर्वधनप्रधानम् ॥na corahāryaṃ na ca rājahāryaṃna bhrātṛbhājyaṃ na ca bhārakārivyaye kṛte vardhata eva nityaṃvidyādhanaṃ sarvadhanapradhānam
- Hindi meaning
- विद्या रूपी धन को न चोर चुरा सकता है, न राजा छीन सकता है, न भाई बाँट सकते हैं और न ही यह बोझ बनता है। खर्च करने पर यह सदा बढ़ता ही है। विद्या का धन सब धनों में प्रधान है।
- English meaning
- It cannot be stolen by thieves or taken by kings, it cannot be divided among brothers, and it is no burden to carry. When spent, it only grows. The wealth of knowledge is the foremost of all wealth.
- Context
- A favourite verse in schools. Unlike the others here it is in a longer metre of eleven syllables to the quarter, so it is shown in four lines.
विद्वत्त्वं च नृपत्वं च नैव तुल्यं कदाचन ।स्वदेशे पूज्यते राजा विद्वान् सर्वत्र पूज्यते ॥vidvattvaṃ ca nṛpatvaṃ ca naiva tulyaṃ kadācanasvadeśe pūjyate rājā vidvān sarvatra pūjyate
- Hindi meaning
- विद्वत्ता और राजत्व कभी बराबर नहीं हो सकते। राजा केवल अपने देश में पूजा जाता है, जबकि विद्वान् सब जगह पूजा जाता है।
- English meaning
- Scholarship and kingship are never equal. A king is honoured in his own country; a learned person is honoured everywhere.
- Context
- A reminder that respect earned by learning does not depend on position or place.
Shlokas on effort
उद्यमेन हि सिध्यन्ति कार्याणि न मनोरथैः ।न हि सुप्तस्य सिंहस्य प्रविशन्ति मुखे मृगाः ॥udyamena hi sidhyanti kāryāṇi na manorathaiḥna hi suptasya siṃhasya praviśanti mukhe mṛgāḥ
- Hindi meaning
- कार्य परिश्रम से ही सिद्ध होते हैं, केवल इच्छा करने से नहीं। सोए हुए सिंह के मुँह में हिरण अपने आप प्रवेश नहीं करते।
- English meaning
- Tasks are accomplished by effort, not by mere wishes. Deer do not walk into the mouth of a sleeping lion.
- Context
- Even the strong must act. The image of the sleeping lion makes the verse easy to remember.
अलसस्य कुतो विद्या अविद्यस्य कुतो धनम् ।अधनस्य कुतो मित्रममित्रस्य कुतः सुखम् ॥alasasya kuto vidyā avidyasya kuto dhanamadhanasya kuto mitram amitrasya kutaḥ sukham
- Hindi meaning
- आलसी को विद्या कहाँ? विद्याहीन को धन कहाँ? धनहीन को मित्र कहाँ? और मित्रहीन को सुख कहाँ?
- English meaning
- Where is learning for the lazy? Where is wealth for one without learning? Where are friends for one without wealth? And where is happiness for one without friends?
- Context
- Four questions that trace unhappiness back to laziness. The repeated कुतः (from where?) makes it good practice for the sixth case ending -स्य.
Shlokas on a generous outlook
अयं निजः परो वेति गणना लघुचेतसाम् ।उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् ॥ayaṃ nijaḥ paro veti gaṇanā laghucetasāmudāracaritānāṃ tu vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam
- Hindi meaning
- यह अपना है और यह पराया है, ऐसी गिनती छोटे मन वालों की होती है। उदार चरित्र वालों के लिए तो पूरी पृथ्वी ही परिवार है।
- English meaning
- 'This one is mine, that one is a stranger' is the reckoning of the small-minded. For those of generous character, the whole earth is one family.
- Context
- The source of the much-quoted phrase vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam, 'the earth is indeed one family'.
सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः ।सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु मा कश्चिद्दुःखभाग्भवेत् ॥sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ sarve santu nirāmayāḥsarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu mā kaścid duḥkhabhāg bhavet
- Hindi meaning
- सब सुखी हों, सब रोगमुक्त रहें, सब मंगल देखें और कोई भी दुःख का भागी न बने।
- English meaning
- May all be happy, may all be free from illness, may all see what is good, and may no one have a share in sorrow.
- Context
- Commonly recited at the close of prayers and gatherings. The verbs भवन्तु, सन्तु and पश्यन्तु are all imperative plurals expressing a wish.
A prayer from the Upanishads
असतो मा सद्गमय ।तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।मृत्योर्मामृतं गमय ॥asato mā sad gamayatamaso mā jyotir gamayamṛtyor māmṛtaṃ gamaya
- Hindi meaning
- मुझे असत्य से सत्य की ओर ले चलो। मुझे अंधकार से प्रकाश की ओर ले चलो। मुझे मृत्यु से अमरता की ओर ले चलो।
- English meaning
- Lead me from the unreal to the real. Lead me from darkness to light. Lead me from death to immortality.
- Context
- Strictly a prose mantra rather than a metrical shloka, but among the most widely recited lines in Sanskrit. Here मा means 'me', not 'do not'.
Using these verses in study
Each verse above is also a small grammar lesson. Try to pick out the verb in every line, notice which words share an ending, and look for places where two words have been joined by sandhi, such as आत्मैव (ātmā + eva) and वसुधैव (vasudhā + eva). Children in particular respond well to learning this way; see How Children Can Improve Sanskrit Skills.
Correct recitation is best learnt by listening and repeating after a teacher. The Sanskrit Shlokas course teaches verses with pronunciation, meaning and word-by-word explanation in live online classes.