Five Discourses on Worldly Wisdom

By Viṣṇuśarman
Translated by Patrick Olivelle

Five Discourses on Worldly Wisdom

The king despairs of his idle sons, so he hires a learned brahmin who promises to make their lessons in statecraft unmissable. The lessons are disguised as short stories, featuring mainly animal protagonists. Many of these narratives have traveled across the world, and are known in the West as Aesop’s fables.

There’s no other treasure like giving alms.
No pleasure compares to a content heart.
Is there an adornment like good conduct?
No gain on earth can compare with good health.

If it weren’t for that splendid medicine,
the company of friends,
Is there a man who could endure the loss
of wealth or of loved ones?

Not in mother or wife, brother or son,
Does one find the sort of relaxation
that one finds in a friend.

MITRA—
These two syllables of the word for ‘friend’,*
Who is it that has created this gem?
A shelter against sorrow, grief, and fear,
A vessel of love and trust.’ [95]

562 pp.  |  ISBN-13: 978-0-8147-6208-0  |  ISBN-10: 0-8147-6208-5  |  Co-published by New York University Press and JJC Foundation

Excerpts

“On War and Peace: The Story of the Crows and the Owls”
(Book III, pp. 353–375)
(32 pp, 3.83mb)

Download Excerpts (pdf)
Download CSL Front Matter (pdf)
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Download the title page and table of contents and one chapter of the book (in English and Sanskrit on facing pages), bundled together as a .pdf file. You can also download the CSL Front Matter (6pp, 1.3mb). It describes how we transliterate the Sanskrit text in the Roman alphabet and includes a guide to pronunciation. It also explains our system of representing phonetic fusion (sandhi).

You can set Adobe Acrobat Reader to display the Sanskrit text and translation in facing page view. Simply go to “View” in the toolbar, select “Page Layout” and click on “Facing.”

About the Translator

Professor of Sanskrit and Indian Religions, University of Texas. He has also translated Life of the Buddha for the CSL.

eCSL Word Frequency Counts

Top 50 Verbs

RankUnique WordsNumber of Occurrences
1Said255
2Come97
3Asked67
4Say67
5Came64
6Go64
7Heard62
8Went62
9Get60
10Saw60
 
11Became55
12See52
13Replied51
14Happen51
15Know44
16Find44
17Saying44
18Killed44
19Take42
20Lived42
 
21Think42
22Seeing40
23Happened40
24Told39
25Began36
26Live35
27Kill35
28Give35
29Look32
30Become31
 
31Thinking31
32Going29
33Got27
34Turn26
35Turned26
36Took25
37Cut25
38Started24
39Bring24
40Fell23
 
41Found22
42Speak22
43Seen22
44Want22
45Returned22
46Gone22
47Gave20
48Remained20
49Given20
50Remain19

Top 50 Nouns

RankUnique WordsNumber of Occurrences
1Man (men)347
2One200
3Friend(s)191
4King116
5Damanaka99
6Crow(s)94
7People88
8Way73
9Lion72
10Heart68
 
11Water62
12Day62
13Place62
14Story60
15Hiranyaka60
16Wife59
17Food58
18Pingalaka57
19Lord55
20Tree55
 
21Life55
22Two54
23Word(s)52
24Brahmin50
25Reason47
26Sanjivaka45
27World45
28Wealth45
29Money45
30Jackal42
 
31House42
32Mind41
33Body40
34Majesty40
35Death39
36Enemy(ies)39
37Karataka38
38Forest37
39Chiranjivin37
40Hand35
 
41Thing35
42Power34
43Fortune32
44End32
45Three31
46Hunter31
47Mouse30
48Monkey29
49Manner29
50Ass29