ప్రశ్నోత్తరరత్నమాలికా
Prasnottara Ratna Malika in Telugu · తెలుగు
మీ భాష/లిపిలో చదవండి
మూలం & కథ
Didactic prakarana ascribed to Adi Shankaracharya · Adi Shankaracharya (traditional attribution) · Classical (traditionally 8th century CE)
The Prasnottara Ratna Malika is a beloved short work of Sanskrit gnomic verse cast as a dialogue of questions and answers. Tradition attributes it to Adi Shankaracharya, who is said to have composed it as a 'garland of gems' of wisdom that any seeker might wear at the throat — that is, keep ever in memory. Each crisp answer crystallizes a lesson of ethics, discrimination or the spiritual path. Its blend of worldly prudence and Vedantic insight has kept it popular for centuries as a guide for students and seekers alike; some manuscripts also associate it with the Jain teacher Vimala or with King Amoghavarsha, but the Advaita tradition holds it as Shankara's.
✦ శాస్త్రాలలో చెప్పినట్లు
It is traditionally said that whoever keeps this 'gem-garland' at the throat — committing its question-and-answer verses to heart — is adorned more truly than by any jewel, for its wisdom quietly guards him from folly and ripens, verse by verse, into the discrimination that leads to liberation.
అర్థంతో పూర్తి పాఠం
ఏ పంక్తిపైన అయినా లేదా ▶ బటన్పై తాకి వినండి
కః ఖలు నాలఙ్క్రియతే దృష్టాదృష్టార్థసాధనపటీయాన్। అముయా కణ్ఠస్థితయా ప్రశ్నోత్తరరత్నమాలికయా॥౧॥
kaḥ khalu nālaṅkriyate dṛṣṭādṛṣṭārtha-sādhana-paṭīyān | amuyā kaṇṭha-sthitayā praśnottara-ratna-mālikayā ||1||
అర్థం:Who, indeed, skilled in attaining the goals both of this world and the next, is not adorned by this gem-garland of questions and answers, worn ever at the throat (kept in memory)? (1)
భగవన్ కిముపాదేయం గురువచనం హేయమపి కిమకార్యమ్। కో గురురధిగతతత్త్వః శిష్యహితాయోద్యతః సతతమ్॥౨॥
bhagavan kim upādeyaṃ guru-vacanaṃ heyam api kim akāryam | ko gurur adhigata-tattvaḥ śiṣya-hitāyodyataḥ satatam ||2||
అర్థం:O Lord, what is worth accepting? — the word of the guru. What ought to be shunned? — every forbidden deed. Who is a true guru? — one who has realized the Truth and is ever intent on the welfare of his disciples. (2)
త్వరితం కిం కర్తవ్యం విదుషాం సంసారసన్తతిచ్ఛేదః। కిం మోక్షతరోర్బీజం సమ్యగ్జ్ఞానం క్రియాసిద్ధమ్॥౩॥
tvaritaṃ kiṃ kartavyaṃ viduṣāṃ saṃsāra-santati-cchedaḥ | kiṃ mokṣa-taror bījaṃ samyag-jñānaṃ kriyā-siddham ||3||
అర్థం:What should the wise do without delay? — cut through the chain of birth and death. What is the seed of the tree of liberation? — right knowledge fulfilled in action. (3)
కః పథ్యతరో ధర్మః కః శుచిరిహ యస్య మానసం శుద్ధమ్। కః పణ్డితో వివేకీ కిం విషమవధీరణా గురుషు॥౪॥
kaḥ pathyataro dharmaḥ kaḥ śucir iha yasya mānasaṃ śuddham | kaḥ paṇḍito vivekī kiṃ viṣam avadhīraṇā guruṣu ||4||
అర్థం:Which is the most wholesome dharma? (that which harms none). Who is pure here? — one whose mind is pure. Who is learned? — the man of discrimination. What is poison? — disrespect toward one's teachers. (4)
కిం సంసారే సారం బహుశోఽపి విచిన్త్యమానమిదమేవ। కిం మనుజేష్విష్టతమం స్వపరహితాయోద్యతం జన్మ॥౫॥
kiṃ saṃsāre sāraṃ bahuśo'pi vicintyamānam idam eva | kiṃ manujeṣv iṣṭatamaṃ sva-para-hitāyodyataṃ janma ||5||
అర్థం:What, though pondered again and again, is the (only) essence in worldly life? — just this (the wisdom taught here). What is most worth having among men? — a birth devoted to the good of oneself and others. (5)
మదిరేవ మోహజనకః కః స్నేహః కే చ దస్యవో విషయాః। కా భవవల్లీ తృష్ణా కో వైరీ యస్త్వనుద్యోగః॥౬॥
madireva moha-janakaḥ kaḥ snehaḥ ke ca dasyavo viṣayāḥ | kā bhava-vallī tṛṣṇā ko vairī yas tv anudyogaḥ ||6||
అర్థం:What attachment intoxicates and deludes like wine? — excessive fondness. Who are the thieves? — the objects of the senses. What is the creeper of worldly bondage? — craving. Who is the (true) foe? — one's own lack of effort. (6)
కస్మాద్భయమిహ మరణాదన్ధాదిహ కో విశిష్యతే రాగీ। కః శూరో యో లలనాలోచనబాణైర్న చ వ్యథితః॥౭॥
kasmād bhayam iha maraṇād andhād iha ko viśiṣyate rāgī | kaḥ śūro yo lalanā-locana-bāṇair na ca vyathitaḥ ||7||
అర్థం:Of what should one be afraid here? — of death (i.e. of the bondage that leads to repeated death). Who is more blind than the blind? — the passion-driven man. Who is the (real) hero? — he who is not wounded by the arrow-like glances of women. (7)
పాతుం కర్ణాఞ్జలిభిః కిమమృతమిహ యుజ్యతే సదుపదేశః। కిం గురుతాయా మూలం యదేతదప్రార్థనం నామ॥౮॥
pātuṃ karṇāñjalibhiḥ kim amṛtam iha yujyate sad-upadeśaḥ | kiṃ gurutāyā mūlaṃ yad etad aprārthanaṃ nāma ||8||
అర్థం:What nectar is fit to be drunk through the cupped hands of the ears? — good counsel. What is the root of (true) greatness? — to ask nothing (of anyone). (8)
కిం గహనం స్త్రీచరితం కశ్చతురో యో న ఖణ్డితస్తేన। కిం దుఃఖమసన్తోషః కిం లాఘవమధమతో యాచ్ఞా॥౯॥
kiṃ gahanaṃ strī-caritaṃ kaś caturo yo na khaṇḍitas tena | kiṃ duḥkham asantoṣaḥ kiṃ lāghavam adhamato yācñā ||9||
అర్థం:What is unfathomable? — the ways of the deceitful. Who is (really) clever? — he who is not deceived by them. What is sorrow? — discontent. What is (real) degradation? — begging from a base person. (9)
కిం జీవితమనవద్యం కిం జాడ్యం పాఠతోఽప్యనభ్యాసః। కో జాగర్తి వివేకీ కా నిద్రా మూఢతా జన్తోః॥౧౦॥
kiṃ jīvitam anavadyaṃ kiṃ jāḍyaṃ pāṭhato'py anabhyāsaḥ | ko jāgarti vivekī kā nidrā mūḍhatā jantoḥ ||10||
అర్థం:What life is blameless? — (one free of fault). What is dullness? — failure to practise even what one has studied. Who is awake? — the man of discernment. What is the sleep of a creature? — its delusion. (10)
నలినీదలగతజలవత్తరలం కిం యౌవనం ధనం చాయుః। కథయ పునః కే శశినః కిరణసమాః సజ్జనా ఏవ॥౧౧॥
nalinī-dala-gata-jalavat taralaṃ kiṃ yauvanaṃ dhanaṃ cāyuḥ | kathaya punaḥ ke śaśinaḥ kiraṇa-samāḥ sajjanā eva ||11||
అర్థం:What is as fickle as a water-drop on a lotus leaf? — youth, wealth and life. And tell again, who are cool and gracious as the rays of the moon? — the virtuous, and they alone. (11)
పదం-పదం అర్థం
ఉచ్చారణ వినడానికి ఏ పదంపైన అయినా క్లిక్ చేయండి
Prasnottara Ratna Malika పారాయణ ప్రయోజనాలు
Imparts practical wisdom and ethical discrimination (viveka) in an easy question-and-answer form
Each verse is a memorable maxim, ideal for daily reflection on right conduct and values
Guides the seeker toward the 'seed of liberation' — right knowledge fulfilled in action
Cultivates contentment, self-effort and dispassion by naming the real enemy, foe and sorrow
Excellent for teaching children and students the essentials of dharma and discernment
Steadies the mind in sattvic values and turns it gently toward the goal of moksha
Prasnottara Ratna Malika పారాయణ విధి
Read or recite the question-and-answer verses slowly, pausing after each to absorb the lesson it teaches. Because the work is meant to be 'worn at the throat' (kept in memory), it is best learned by heart a few verses at a time and recalled through the day as a guide to conduct. Reflect on each answer and apply it to your own life; a single thoughtful reading is more valuable than rapid repetition.
తరచూ అడిగే ప్రశ్నలు
ఇవి కూడా చదవండి
ॐ
పూర్తి Prasnottara Ratna Malikaను శ్లోకం-శ్లోకం అర్థంతో చదవండి, లేదా మరిన్ని పవిత్ర పాఠాలు చూడండి