जीवनं स्वं परार्थाय नित्यं यच्छत मानवाः। इति सन्देशमाख्यातुं समुद्रं यान्ति निम्नगाः॥
jīvanaṃ svaṃ parārthāya nityaṃ yacchata mānavāḥ । iti sandeśamākhyātuṃ samudraṃ yānti nimnagāḥ ॥
PM's MessageThe ceaseless flow of rivers teaches us how we can use our capabilities for the good of humanity. This very spirit of selfless service, dedication and benevolence gives the nation a new direction.
Meaning of Jīvanaṃ Svaṃ Parārthāya Nityaṃ
O human beings, dedicate your lives to the service and welfare of others. Just as rivers flow ceaselessly and selflessly, sustaining countless lives with their waters before ultimately merging into the ocean, so we should devote our time, abilities and resources to the well-being of others. The true purpose and fulfilment of human life lies in selfless service, compassion and the welfare of all.
Word by word
- जीवनम्jīvanam
life
√जीव
- स्वम्svam
one's own
स्व
- परार्थायparārthāya
for the sake of others
पर + अर्थ
Dative of the compound parārtha.
- नित्यम्nityam
always
नित्य
- यच्छतyacchata
give
√यम्
Second-person plural imperative of yacchati.
- मानवाःmānavāḥ
O human beings
मानव
Vocative plural.
- इतिiti
thus
- सन्देशम्sandeśam
message
सम् + √दिश्
Sandhi: sandeśam + ākhyātum gives sandeśamākhyātum.
- आख्यातुम्ākhyātum
to declare
आ + √ख्या
- समुद्रम्samudram
to the ocean
समुद्र
- यान्तिyānti
they go
√या
- निम्नगाःnimnagāḥ
rivers
निम्न + √गम्
Literally those that flow downward.
Commentary
The verse speaks in the vocative: mānavāḥ, O human beings. What it asks is not a feeling but a gift. Jīvanam svam parārthāya nityaṃ yacchata: give your own life, always, for the sake of others. Parārtha is the hinge. It names a purpose that belongs to someone else. Nityam keeps the giving from being a single act of charity. The second line then shows the teachers. Iti sandeśam ākhyātum samudram yānti nimnagāḥ: in order to declare this message, rivers go to the ocean. Nimnagā, one that goes downward, is the old name for a river. The verse does not describe rivers as scenery. It makes their whole course a public teaching. They do not keep their water. They carry it to the sea, and that carrying is the message. The X post reads the same image for the present. The ceaseless flow of rivers, it says, shows how we can use our strength for the good of humanity, and that spirit of selfless service, dedication, and benevolence gives the nation a new direction. The quoted Sanskrit does not name a nation. It names humans, a message, rivers, and the ocean. The modern application is fair, but it is an application. The supplied meaning adds that rivers sustain countless lives before they merge into the ocean. That is a natural reading of a river's work, yet the second line says only that they go to the ocean to proclaim the teaching. The teaching itself stays exact: dedicate your own life to others, always. The original author and textual source remain unidentified.
Original Post
More subhashitams on Selfless Service
View topic pageभस्मीकृतस्वार्थसौख्यपरिचर्चितविग्रहाः। स्वराज्ययोगनिर्मग्ना धन्यास्ते वीरयोगिनः॥
bhasmīkṛtasvārthasaukhyaparicarcitavigrahāḥ । svarājyayoganirmagnā dhanyās te vīrayoginaḥ ॥
The verse praises heroic practitioners who renounce personal comforts and devote themselves fully to self-rule.
नित्यं परिचरेच्चैव तद्वै सुकृतमुत्तमम्। कीर्तिं पुण्यं यशो लोकान् प्राप्स्यसे राजसत्तम॥
nityaṃ paricareccaiva tadvai sukṛtamuttamam । kīrtiṃ puṇyaṃ yaśo lokān prāpsyase rājasattama ॥
Daily service is praised as an excellent deed that brings merit, renown and higher realms.
ज्ञानवांश्च तथा वाग्मी कर्मस्वपि च निष्ठितः। एवं युक्तोऽपि न श्रेयान् यदि शीलविवर्जितः॥
jñānavāṃśca tathā vāgmī karmasvapi ca niṣṭhitaḥ । evaṃ yukto'pi na śreyān yadi śīlavivarjitaḥ ॥
Knowledge, eloquence, and skill in work do not make a person worthy of esteem if good character is absent.