Entry 004 · 13 verses to return to
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परोपदेशे पाण्डित्यं सर्वेषां सुकरं नृणाम्।
धर्मे महात्मनः॥
Hitopadesha, Mitralabha, verse 107
What it means
This is not cynical about advice. It simply notices a familiar gap: we often see clearly what another person should do, yet make exceptions when the same standard reaches us. The verse calls integrity the moment when what we recommend can survive contact with our own life.
A reflection
Advice needs words. Practice needs a life.
The first half is almost effortless: being learned in advising others is easy for everyone. Then the verse turns. Following one’s own dharma is not presented as impossible, only rare. That contrast gives the final word, महात्मनः, its weight. Greatness here is not grand achievement. It is the difficult alignment of what one says and what one does.