क्लीबाः हि दैवमैवेकं प्रशंसन्ति न पौरुषम्

क्लीबाः हि दैवमैवेकं प्रशंसन्ति न पौरुषम्।

दैवं पुरुषकारेण घ्नति शूराः सदोद्यमाः॥

इन्दिश्चे स्प्रूचे ३९८९ अग्निपुराणे॥

klībāḥ hi daivamaivekaṁ praśaṁsanti na pauruṣam|

daivaṁ puruṣakāreṇa ghnati śūrāḥ sadodyamāḥ||

indiśce sprūce 3989 agnipurāṇe||

“दैवं पुरुषकारेण daivam purshakaarena” ..is an adage in Sanskrit with eternal relevance. Fate and serendiipty should be countered applying hard work and initiative.

The slokam is located to Agni Puranam in my persisitent reading. But I have no doubt that the same couple would be found in another dozen of texts. The message is more important that the source.

Only weaklings, only those lack manliness would just live on their life facing setbacks and misfortunes, attributing such reversals to fate or bad luck. They would ever heap praises on luck and chance. They cannot think of taking some initiative and think and talk in approval of concerted action, persistent hardwork.

However, men of character, the bold, strong persons who never turb their backs from hard labour, men with initiative, real heroes, just stand up and face the vagaries of fate, and ultimately destroy the effects of adverse fate and come out successful.

This quote is too great.. though you may think it is clched

K v a

क्लीबाः weaklings, people with no strength of mind or character, also could mean people with no manliness ( here it is not intended to look down upon unfortunate beings who are deficient in manliness for genetic reasons) हि alone दैवं एकं एव only and exclusinvely fate or chance or luck alone प्रशंसन्ति..praise पौरुषं concerted action with continude hardwork न प्रशंसन्ति..does not appove of as the path for achievemnt सदा ever, uninterruptedly उद्यमाः engaged in well directed, positive action, having infinite initiative शूराः the heroes, people with strong mind and character and initiative दैवं पुरुष कारेण labour, action applying hard work befitting a human being घ्नन्ति. Defeat, destroy.

नास्ति विष्णुसमं ध्येयं तपो नानशनात्परम्

नास्ति विष्णुसमं ध्येयं तपो नानशनात्परम्।

नास्त्यारोग्यसमं धन्यं नास्ति गङ्गासमा सरित्॥

अग्निपुराणे

nāsti viṣṇusamaṁ dhyeyaṁ tapo nānaśanātparam|

nāstyārogyasamaṁ dhanyaṁ nāsti gaṅgāsamā sarit||

agnipurāṇe

There can be nothing that would equal to Lord Vishnu the Narayana as the object of contemplation and meditation

There can be no penance that would yield greater results than the vow of complete fasting

There can be no better, fulfilled state of existence than being in a state of robust health, without any diseases or ailment

And

There can never be a holy, ever-flowing water front that would be equal to River Ganga..

rarest among the rare

नरत्वं दुर्लभं लोके विद्या तत्र सुदुर्लभा। 

शीलं च दुर्लभा तत्र विनयस्तत्र सुदुर्लभः॥ 

अग्निपुराणे 

naratvaṁ durlabhaṁ loke vidyā tatra sudurlabhā| 

śīlaṁ ca durlabhā tatra vinayastatra sudurlabhaḥ|| 

agnipurāṇe 

Even a mild dose of perfection is rarely given to us human beings. The quote extracted from Agnipuranam, and referred with acclaim by Visvanatha Kaviraja in his monumental work Sahitya Dapranam, just reveals this fact.

Meaning of the couplet.

The state of being born as a human being is rare among the living beings of this world 

Getting reasonably educated in that human existence is even rarer

To find people with good conduct and character among such educated persons is even more rare

And to find people with reasonable humility among human beings as described above is indeed rarest of the rare.

നരത്വം ദുര്‍ലഭം ലോകേ വിദ്യാ തത്ര സുദുര്‍ലഭാ

ശീലം ച ദുര്‍ലഭാ തത്ര വിനയസ്തത്ര സുദുര്‍ലഭ:

അഗ്നിപുരാണത്തില്‍ നിന്ന് 

വിശ്വനാഥ കവിരാജന്‍ തന്റെ ഉത്കൃഷ്ട കൃതിയായ സാഹിത്യ ദര്‍പ്പണത്തില്‍ ഈ ശ്ലോകം ഉദ്ധരിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്

അര്‍ത്ഥം 

ഈ ഭൂമിയില്‍ മനുഷ്യ ജന്മം കിട്ടുന്നതുതന്നെ വിരളമാണ്

മനുഷ്യനായി പിറന്നവന് വിദ്യ ലഭിക്കുന്നത കൂടുതല്‍ വിരളം 

അങ്ങനെ വിദ്യ നേടിയവര്‍ നല്ല സ്വഭാവത്തോടെ ജീവിക്കുന്നത് അതിലേറെ വിരളം 

മേല്‍പ്പറഞ്ഞത് എല്ലാം നേടിയവരില്‍ വിനയത്തോടെ മുന്നോട്ടു പോകുന്നവര്‍ തികച്ചും വിരളമാണ്