Words Well Worth 43: What If Poem by Aniruddha Pathak

Those in despair bow to divinity,
The sickly resort to austerity,
The poor hope to get charity,
An old woman vouching chastity!
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Transliteration of the subhāśhita along with the meanings of Sanskrit words is given as under:

ārtā devān namasyanti tapah kurvanti rogiņah |
nirdhanā dānam ichċhanti vŗddhā nārī pati-vratā ||

ārtā: men in despair, those suffering
devān: gods, deities
namasyanti: bow down, worship, pray (in expectation)
tapah:tapas, austerity and penance, penitence
kurvanti:do, perform
rogiņah: those in disease, the sick (by fasting, suffering, etc)
nirdhanā:those without money, the poor
dānam: charity
ichċhanti: wish for
vŗddhā: old, aged
nārī:woman
pati-vratā: (is)faithful to the husband, vouching chasity

These things if done, alas, are too little too late.

Topic: vain