Below are ten Sanskrit verses and sayings worth knowing, each with the Devanagari, a plain-English meaning and the exact text it comes from.
A quick note on words: a shloka is strictly a verse in metre, usually of two lines. Some of the most famous lines below, like Aham Brahmasmi, are sentences from prose Upanishads instead. We say which is which, because the source matters.
1. Aham Brahmasmi
अहं ब्रह्मास्मि
ahaṃ brahmāsmi
“I am Brahman.” One’s innermost self is the same reality that underlies everything.
Source: Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10 (prose). Read the full meaning, or in Hindi.
2. Tat Tvam Asi
तत्त्वमसि
tat tvam asi
“You are That.” The subtle essence of all things is your own self.
Source: Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7 (prose). Read the full meaning.
3. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam
अयं बन्धुरयं नेति गणना लघुचेतसाम् ।
उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् ॥
“This one is mine, that one is not” is how the small-minded keep count. For the generous, the whole earth is family.
Source: Maha Upanishad 6.71; also the Hitopadesha. Read the full meaning, or in Hindi.
4. Anitya: the Gita on things that come and go
मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय शीतोष्णसुखदुःखदाः ।
आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितिक्षस्व भारत ॥
“O son of Kunti, contact of the senses with their objects brings cold and heat, pleasure and pain. These come and go; they are impermanent (anitya). Endure them patiently, O Bharata.”
Source: Bhagavad Gita 2.14.
5. Karmanye vadhikaraste
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥
“Your right is to the action alone, never to its fruits. Do not let the fruit be your motive, and do not cling to inaction either.”
Source: Bhagavad Gita 2.47.
6. Yogah karmasu kaushalam
बुद्धियुक्तो जहातीह उभे सुकृतदुष्कृते ।
तस्माद्योगाय युज्यस्व योगः कर्मसु कौशलम् ॥
“One whose understanding is steady lets go, here and now, of both good and bad deeds. So devote yourself to yoga: yoga is skill in action.”
Source: Bhagavad Gita 2.50.
7. Asato ma sadgamaya
असतो मा सद्गमय । तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय । मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय ॥
“Lead me from the unreal to the real. Lead me from darkness to light. Lead me from death to immortality.”
Source: Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28 (a prayer, prose).
8. Satyameva jayate
सत्यमेव जयते नानृतं सत्येन पन्था विततो देवयानः ।
येनाक्रमन्त्यृषयो ह्याप्तकामा यत्र तत् सत्यस्य परमं निधानम् ॥
“Truth alone wins, not falsehood. By truth the path of the gods is laid out, on which sages whose desires are fulfilled travel to the supreme treasure of truth.” The first words are India’s national motto.
Source: Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.6.
9. Dharmo rakshati rakshitah
धर्म एव हतो हन्ति धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः ।
तस्माद्धर्मो न हन्तव्यो मा नो धर्मो हतोऽवधीत् ॥
“Dharma, when destroyed, destroys; dharma, when protected, protects. So dharma must not be destroyed, lest destroyed dharma destroy us.”
Source: Manusmriti 8.15.
10. Matru devo bhava
मातृदेवो भव । पितृदेवो भव । आचार्यदेवो भव । अतिथिदेवो भव ॥
“Treat your mother as divine. Treat your father as divine. Treat your teacher as divine. Treat your guest as divine.” The last line, Atithi Devo Bhava, is now India’s tourism slogan.
Source: Taittiriya Upanishad 1.11.2 (prose, the teacher’s parting advice to students).
Why we always give the source
Sanskrit lines travel widely and often lose their origin on the way. A verse with its source can be checked, read in context and understood properly. That’s why every Saadhu tee carries the verse, its reference and its meaning. Browse our Sanskrit t-shirts.
We add a full meaning guide for a new verse regularly. This page links to each one as it goes up.