सर्व्वस्यौषधमस्ति शास्त्रविहितं, मूर्खस्य नास्त्यौषधम्॥५॥

There is a prescribed remedy in the scriptures for everything;
For a fool, there is no remedy.

Pañcaratnam is a strikingly perceptive and at times almost humorous collection of aphorisms. It is sharp yet compassionate. Many of us have experienced relationships that leave us perpetually unsettled. No matter how sincerely we try, some connections simply cannot be repaired. We may attempt, again and again, to show someone how their actions or beliefs are harming them in the long run, even when it is often others who suffer most because of them. Yet such efforts frequently fail, not because we lack clarity or our arguments do not hold any strength, but because the other is unwilling or unable to see.

There is a painful truth often repeated all over social media, hurt people, hurt people. When a person is governed almost entirely by unconscious patterns and reactive habits, reflection itself becomes difficult, if not impossible. In such cases, trying to correct or reform them is not only futile, it slowly begins to damage us. Prolonged resistance breeds anger, resentment, conflict, and emotional exhaustion. Worse, we risk absorbing the very qualities we find most troubling in them. Your inner qualities (patience, self-control, true friendship, genuine knowledge, humility, creativity) are superior to material safeguards or status symbols. Do not sacrifice them at any cost.

Each person sees the world through their own inner lens. No amount of explanation can change that unless there is willingness from within. This is why Rumi’s insight feels so enduring, at least to me, once I was clever and wanted to change the world; now I am wise and I want to change myself. Recognising this is not defeat but discernment which this blog, my channel, and this poetry is all about anyway. So instead of second guessing before creating distance with anything or anyone not reciprocating an iota of energy or trust you are putting in, read this poem and then, fire the incompetent doctor, leave that toxic workplace with bad leadership, and divorce an unfaithful spouse. The wise don’t waste time trying to fix what is fundamentally broken.

Pañcaratnam reminds us is that it is not our responsibility to rescue those who do not wish to change. Their journey is theirs. Ours becomes simpler, and cleaner, when we learn to step back, maintain distance where needed, and protect our inner balance. This small poem made me smile when I read it. It could have been written centuries ago, yet it describes human dynamics that feel entirely contemporary. Its message also echoes what Baba says in the Sri Sai Satcharita, to keep away from those who persistently turn away from what is true and ennobling. Saint Surdas expressed the same wisdom, chhāḍ man Hari-bimukhan ko saṅg, leave the company of those who draw the mind away from the divine.

This is not exclusion born of arrogance. I have spent so many years tolerating so much because I thought it was against oneness, whereas it is self-respect which springs only when we become discerning and cut down on all things, people, places, and circumstances which create unnecessary ripples in our still mind. Anything that consistently pulls us away from our path, entangles us in needless conflict, or drains our energy into fruitless engagement, must be treated like poison. Life is far too short, even a hundred years is not enough, to spend it on anything other than aligning oneself with the Self/divinity.

Pañcaratnam (the five gems) – Anonymous

Introductory Verse

नागः, पोतस्तथा वैद्यं, क्षान्तिः, शक्यो, यथाक्रमम्।
पञ्चरत्नमिदं प्रोक्तं विदुषामपि दुर्लभम्॥

An elephant, a ship, a physician, patience, and a capable person, in that order. These five gems are declared to be rare even among the wise.

• “Nāga” here means a majestic elephant (especially a tusker in rut), not a snake.

1

नागो भाति मदेन, कं जलरुहैः, पूर्णेन्दुना शर्व्वरो,
शीलेन प्रमदा, जवेन तुरगो, नित्योत्सवैर्मन्दिरम्।
वाणी व्याकरणेन, हंसमिथुनैर्नद्यः, सभा पण्डितैः,
सत्पुत्रेण कुलं, नृपेण वसुधा, लोकत्रयं विष्णुना॥१॥

An elephant shines with its rut, a lake with water-lilies, the moon-god with the full moon,
A woman with good character, a horse with speed, a temple with constant festivals.
Speech with grammar, rivers with pairs of swans, an assembly with scholars,
A family with virtuous sons, the earth with a good king, the three worlds with Viṣṇu.

• “Rut” (mada) is the intoxicating fluid secreted from an elephant’s temples during musth, a periodic state of heightened aggression and sexual drive. A rutting elephant was seen as the pinnacle of majesty and power in ancient India.
• “Śarva” is another name for Śiva (the moon-god here refers to him wearing the crescent moon).

2

पोतो दुस्तर-वारिराशि-तरणे, दीपोऽन्धकारागमे,
निर्वाते व्यजनं, मदान्धकरिणां दर्पोपशान्त्यै शृणिः।
इत्थं तद् भुवि नास्ति, यस्य विधिना नोपायचिन्ता कृता
मन्ये दुर्ज्जनचित्तवृत्तिहरणे धातास्ति भम्नोद्यमः॥२॥

A ship for crossing impassable oceans, a lamp for the arrival of darkness,
A fan in still air, a goad for calming the pride of rut-maddened elephants.
Thus, there is nothing on earth for which the Creator has not devised a remedy,
I think the Creator made no effort to devise a cure to reform/control the minds/hearts of wicked/evil-minded people.

3

वैद्यं पानरतं, नटं कुपठितं, स्वाध्यायहीनं द्विजं,
युद्धे कापुरुषं, हयं गतरयं, मूर्खं परिव्राजकम्।
राजानञ्च कुमन्त्रिभिः परिवृतं, देशञ्च सोपद्रवं,
भार्य्यां यौवनगर्व्वितां पररतां मुञ्चन्ति शीघ्रं बुधाः॥३॥

A physician addicted to drinking, an actor who is poorly skilled, a brāhmaṇa lacking self-study,
A coward in battle, a horse that has lost its speed, a foolish wandering ascetic,
A king surrounded by evil ministers, a country plagued by troubles,
A wife proud of her youth and inclined toward others, the wise quickly abandon these.

4

क्षान्तिश्चेत्, कवचेन किं? किमरिभिः? क्रोधोऽस्तिचेद्देहिनां,
ज्ञातिश्चेदनलेन किं? यदि सुहृद दिव्यौषधैः किं फलम्।
किं सर्पै? यदि दुर्ज्जनः, किमु धनै? र्विद्यानवद्या यदि,
ब्रीड़ा चेत् किमु भूषणेन? कविता यद्यस्ति राज्येन किम्?॥४॥

If there is patience, what need for armour? If there is anger in embodied beings, what need for enemies?
If there is a relative, what need for fire? If there is a true friend, what use for divine medicines?
If there is a wicked person, what fear of serpents? If knowledge is flawless, what need for wealth?
If there is modesty, what need for ornaments? If there is poetry, what need for a kingdom?

5

शक्यो बारयितुं जलेन हुतभुक्, छत्रेण सूर्य्यातपः,
नागेन्द्रो निशिताङ्कुशेन, चपलो दण्डेन गो-गर्द्दभो।

व्याधिर्वैद्यकभेषजैरनुदिनं, मन्त्रप्रभावाद विषं,
सर्व्वस्यौषधमस्ति शास्त्रविहितं, मूर्खस्य नास्त्यौषधम्॥५॥

Fire can be extinguished with water, the sun’s heat with an umbrella/parasol,
A lordly elephant with a sharp goad, a restless cow or donkey with a stick.

Disease with daily medical remedies, poison with the power of mantras,
There is a prescribed remedy in the scriptures for everything;
For a fool, there is no remedy.

|| OM SAI SHRI SAI JAI JAI SAI || 

|| SHRI SATCHIDANANDA SADGURU SAINATH MAHARAJ KI JAI ||

Note: These verses are part of the Kāvyasaṅgraha, a nineteenth-century Sanskrit poetry collection preserved in archival records of GoI. It brings together subhāṣitas, hymns, and reflective poems that explore life, conduct, desire, devotion, and inner clarity. I don’t necessarily resonate with every view expressed in these texts, especially some social attitudes of their time, including those that speak about women in ways I don’t agree with. I share them not as beliefs to be adopted, but as thoughtful voices from another age, many of which still carry insight worth reflecting on. The translations are my own, done with care and respect for the originals. Mistakes are possible, and I welcome corrections or alternative readings if necessary and share them in the hope that whatever wisdom they carry may reach those who find value in it.