A rare anti tobacco campaign in Sanskrit..

दरिद्रोपि नरो नूनं तमाखुं नैव मुञ्चति।

निवारितोपि मार्जारस्तमाखुं नैव मुञ्चति॥

सुभाषितरत्नसमुच्चये॥

daridropi naro nūnaṁ tamākhuṁ naiva muñcati|

nivāritopi mārjārastamākhuṁ naiva muñcati||

subhāṣitaratnasamuccaye||

==============================

A fellow will not ever give up tobacco, even if he is driven to utter poverty..

Just like a cat, once it has seen a rat would not leave it at any cost even if it is being driven away from the place..

**************

Addiction to tobacco is so great that even a fellow with little cash would manage to get the taste of it somehow or other.. His struggle at times would be almost amount to a life and death attempt..

The favourite dish and staple food for a cat is a rat..

The rat spends most of its hungry time in search of the rodent..

If it finds one, hidden or holed up, it would be sitting or walking around the place eagerly waiting for its food to emerge..

If someone drives away the cat from the area, it might withdraw temporarily but would come back and wait for the rat..

The struggle of the can is understandable.. It persists on getting the rat because rat is its staple food..

But man seeks and gets tobacco to smoke or chew himself to death..

=========================

Meaning of words.. in general..

नरः man

दरिद्रः सन् अपि even if he is driven to utter poverty

तमाखुं न मुञ्चति एव would not give up tobacco

मार्जारः a cat

निवारितः अपि even if he is driven away

तं आखुं that rat

न मुञ्चति एव.. would not give up

A rare anti tobacco campaign in Sanskrit..