Chapter 15
महद्गुणानात्मनि कर्तुमीश: क: स्तावकै: स्तावयतेऽसतोऽपि । तेऽस्याभविष्यन्निति विप्रलब्धो जनावहासं कुमतिर्न वेद ॥ २४ ॥
Transliteration
mahad-guṇān ātmani kartum īśaḥ kaḥ stāvakaiḥ stāvayate ’sato ’pi te ’syābhaviṣyann iti vipralabdho janāvahāsaṁ kumatir na veda
Synonyms (Word-for-Word)
mahat — exalted; guṇān — the qualities; ātmani — in himself; kartum — to manifest; īśaḥ — competent; kaḥ — who; stāvakaiḥ — by followers; stāvayate — causes to be praised; asataḥ — not existing; api — although; te — they; asya — of him; abhaviṣyan — might have been; iti — thus; vipralabdhaḥ — cheated; jana — of people; avahāsam — insult; kumatiḥ — a fool; na — does not; veda — know.
Translation
“How could an intelligent man competent enough to possess such exalted qualities allow his followers to praise him if he did not actually have them? Praising a man by saying that if he were educated he might have become a great scholar or great personality is nothing but a process of cheating. A foolish person who agrees to accept such praise does not know that such words simply insult him.”