अवहेलितशास्त्रार्थैरवज्ञातमहाजनैः । कष्टामप्यापदं प्राप्तो न मूढैः समतामियात् ॥ १२ ॥
avahēlitaśāstrārthairavajñātamahājanaiḥ | kaṣṭāmapyāpadaṁ prāptō na mūḍhaiḥ samatāmiyāt || 12 ||
Translation
Even when fallen into hard calamity, one should never come to be like the deluded, who disregard the sense of scripture and slight the great.
Word by word
- avahēlita
- who disregard
- śāstra
- of scripture
- arthair
- (arthaiḥ) the sense
- avajñāta
- and slight
- mahājanaiḥ
- the great
- kaṣṭām
- hard
- api
- even
- āpadaṁ
- calamity
- prāptō
- (prāptaḥ) fallen into
- na
- not
- mūḍhaiḥ
- the deluded
- samatām
- to be like
- iyāt
- one should come
Meaning
This is advice for the worst day. It is easy to respect wise counsel while things go well. Under real pressure many people drop their principles, and the verse names that as the moment when one joins the deluded. The commentary takes mahājana, the great, as the worthy knowers of truth. So the instruction is: however bad it gets, keep the company of what you know.