Bhartrihari Poems

A man may tear a jewel
From a sea monster's jaws,
Cross a tumultuous sea
Of raging tides,
...

Sweet maid, you perform a singular feat
With the archer's bow.
You pierce hearts without arrows,
But with strands of your beauty.
...

I have travelled in many countries, hard to travel in,
And got no result;
Giving up pride of birth and position,
I have served all.
...

A bald-headed man, his pate
Pained by the rays of the sun,
Desiring a shady spot,
Went by fate to the foot
...

While his body's vigor is whole
And old age is remote;
While his sensuous powers are unimpaired
And life not yet exhausted;
...

ONE law there is: no deed perform
To others that to thee were harm;
And this is all, all laws beside
With circumstances alter or abide.
...

She who is always in my thoughts prefers
Another man, and does not think of me.
Yet he seeks for another's love, not hers;
...

Apathy is ascribed to the modest man,
Fraud to the devout,
Hypocrisy to the pure,
Cruelty to the hero,
...