Patience

सहसा विदधीत न क्रियाम्
अविवेकाः परमापदाम् पदम।
व्रुणुते हि विम्रुश्य कारिणम्
गुणलुब्धाः स्वयमेव सम्पदाः॥

The above sloka (verse) was composed by Bharavi. It mainly portrays patience. It says:

“Nothing should be done in a hurry. Fools hasten in their deeds and end up in mess. Prudent people analyze the circumstances and take sagacious decisions and are thus very happy and prosperous.”

Bharavi writes this verse with a very deep sense of realisation. Bharavi was a great intellect. But as is the case with most intelligent people, Bharavi had no respect for other scholars and used to look down upon them.  One day his father gets upset of his very attitude and scolds him for having it. Bharavi’s ego get hurt. He decides to kill his father the very same day and hides under the bed of his father’s bedroom.  When Bharavi was about to slash his father, his mother just then asks his father about the way Bharavi’s father behaved with him earlier. His father replies that, no doubt our son is a genius, but with that he also needs to develop certain respectful and good qualities that only honour intelligence. He says that he loves his son too much and would not like to hear him being called as a “know-it-all”.  Bharavi gets taken aback. He confesses his blunder and punishes himself with 8 years (not sure ! ) of exile. During that time he stays at his father-in-law’s home. He then started to write one his greatest works, “Kiratarjuniyam” (not sure !) . It is believed that Bharavi wrote this verse, deriving the inspiration from what happened on that day when his father scolded him.

Regardless, the above verse has a very strong meaning to convey. This fast changing world forces us to do work sometimes without even thinking about the consequences. Some amount patience might just work out !