DAY 273
Speech Alone Is the True Ornament
기원후 5세기경(바르트리하리 니티샤타카)
ORIGINAL
केयूरा न विभूषयन्ति पुरुषं हारा न चन्द्रोज्ज्वला न स्नानं न विलेपनं न कुसुमं नालङ्कृता मूर्धजाः । वाण्येका समलङ्करोति पुरुषं या संस्कृता धार्यते क्षीयन्तेऽखिलभूषणानि सततं वाग्भूषणं भूषणम् ॥ (keyūrā na vibhūṣayanti puruṣaṃ hārā na candrojjvalā na snānaṃ na vilepanaṃ na kusumaṃ nālaṅkṛtā mūrdhajāḥ, vāṇyekā samalaṅkaroti puruṣaṃ yā saṃskṛtā dhāryate kṣīyante'khilabhūṣaṇāni satataṃ vāgbhūṣaṇaṃ bhūṣaṇam)
📜 THE VERSE
Bracelets do not adorn a person, nor moon-bright necklaces, nor bathing, nor perfume, nor flowers, nor elegant hair — only well-cultivated speech adorns a person. Every other ornament wears away, but the ornament of speech remains forever.
❓ TODAY'S QUESTION
Today, what did I put the most care into adorning — my appearance, or my speech?
📝Reflection
This poem lists one gleaming ornament after another, only to overturn them all in a single line — true beauty lies in speech. Jewels can age and be lost, but well-cultivated words neither age nor wear thin. Even today, what makes us remember someone for a long time is not their appearance but the words they left behind.
— ONGO · Curator
🌱Apply It Today
Take one thing you say today and polish it once more than usual before speaking it.
📖 Source:
Subhashita (Traditional Sanskrit Maxims).
Sanskrit original with public-domain translations consulted; rendered independently by ONGO.
This verse is read as universal humanistic wisdom, not religion — no faith is promoted, and the reflection is 100% original ONGO content.
This verse is read as universal humanistic wisdom, not religion — no faith is promoted, and the reflection is 100% original ONGO content.
