The Cilappatikaram Quotes

“When I went to the sage Aravana adigal I was heartbroken and distraught. The words he gave me then were these: "Know these — to be born in this world is to experience sorrow. To end the cycle of birth is to achieve happiness. The first of these is the result of desire; the second is achieved by those who no longer are ensnared by desire.”
― Lakshmi Holmstrom, Silappadikaram and Manimekalai

“11
Good woman with striped bangles!
This makes me laugh: Mother who hasn’t heard
The village gossip thinks I am possessed by Katampan.
She has called the shaman to perform the dance
To rid me of this illness caused by the man
From the cool mountain on which peppercorns grow.

12
Good woman with the fair bangles!
This make me laugh: if the lord who brought down
The Kuruku mountain comes here, he is a bigger fool
Than the shaman who comes to rid me of the illness
Caused by the man from the high mountain.

13
Good woman with arms ringed with bangles!
This make me laugh: if the son of our lord
Who drank poison and sat under the banyan tree
Comes here, he is a bigger fool than the shaman
Who comes to rid me of the illness caused
By the man from the mountain of strong fragrance.

14
Good woman with the fine ornaments!
This make me laugh: if our lord with a wreath
Of cadamba flowers that blossom in the rains
Comes here, he is a bigger fool than the shaman
Who comes to rid me of the illness
Caused by the chest of the man from the mountain.”
― இளங்கோ அடிகள், Shilappadikaram

“அடியிற் றன்னள வரசர்க் குணர்த்தி
வடிவேல் எறிந்த வான்பகை பொறாது
பஃறுளி யாற்றுடன் பன்மலை யடுக்கத்துக்
குமரிக் கோடுங் கொடுங்கடல் கொள்ள [20] வடதிசைக் கங்கையும் இமயமுங் கொண்டு
தென்றிசை யாண்ட தென்னவன் வாழி”
― இளங்கோ அடிகள், சிலப்பதிகாரம்

“Shall I tell you what dharma means, truly? It means nothing other than this : that you should feed, house and clothe all living beings. Never forget.”
― Lakshmi Holmstrom, Silappadikaram and Manimekalai

“My friends, what is evil? It is to give in to three kinds of action — murder, theft and lust; to indulge in four kinds of speech — lies, slander, harsh or useless talk; to allow desire, anger and delusion to sway the mind. 'What then is good? It is to be free of these ten evils; it is to practise the rules of morality; it is always to be charitable.”
― Lakshmi Holmstrom, Silappadikaram and Manimekalai

“Those who seek true knowledge do not drink because it confuses the mind, and they do not eat meat because to do so is to take life. Listen, friend. Those who are born in this world must die, and those who die must be reborn. Truly, it is like sleeping and waking. We have to avoid wrong-doing such as killing and drinking because we must all reap the results of our deeds.”
― Lakshmi Holmstrom, Silappadikaram and Manimekalai

“If you place flowers there with your mind fully given over to a god, those flowers will surely reach that deity's feet. But if you put them there without any deity in mind, they will not move from that place. This is to prove that our deeds will not bear fruit unless they are intended.”
― Lakshmi Holmstrom, Silappadikaram and Manimekalai

“Aravana adigal also spoke to me of the tranquillity that can be achieved by observing the five silas or rules of conduct, that is, to refrain from destroying life, from lying, from stealing, from intoxicants, and from sexual misconduct.”
― Lakshmi Holmstrom, Silappadikaram and Manimekalai

“the four Noble Truths. These are— that all life is sorrowful ; that suffering is caused by ignorant craving ; that the end of suffering can indeed be achieved ; and that the way to that end is through the noble eight-fold path of right view, right aspiration, right speech, right conduct, right means of livelihood, right endeavour, right mindfulness and right contemplation.”
― Lakshmi Holmstrom, Silappadikaram and Manimekalai

“Youth and wealth and this bodily life are all fleeting, Neither can you number the days of your life, nor escape your fate. Therefore seek only that which is good And so you may at last reach your goal of heaven.”
― Lakshmi Holmstrom, Silappadikaram and Manimekalai

“A virtuous life is good in itself, but it may not prevent the sins of a past life from bearing fruit.”
― Lakshmi Holmstrom, Silappadikaram and Manimekalai

“You know that no one ever escaped the effect of his own good or evil deeds. For each of our actions is like a seed that is sown and is bound to bring a harvest of its own kind.”
― Lakshmi Holmstrom, Silappadikaram and Manimekalai