Sanskrit Quote : Good Poem

सुभाषितं हारि विशत्यधो गलान्न

दुर्जनस्यार्करिपोरिवामृतम्।

तदेव धत्ते हृदयेन सज्जनो

हरिर्महारत्नमिवातिनिर्मलम्॥

English Translation of Sanskrit Quote:

" A good poetic composition is not taken in ( lit: does not enter the throat of) by a wicked man just as the nectar did not get down the throat of ( Rahu) the enemy of the Sun". A literary-connoisseur sports the same on his chest (keeps it close to his heart) just as Lord Vishnu keeps sports the purest of the gems Kausthubha on his chest"

Commentary:

This sloka occurs in Banabhatta's 'Kadambari'. Banabhatta is a brightest star in the horizon of Sanskrit literature. He is an uncrowned monarch in the field of Sanskrit prose-literature. His celebrated work "कादम्बरी" goes down in the history of Sanskrit literature as unsurpassed in beauty and scholarship. Here, in one of his shlokas, which precede his Kadmabari, he dwells on the idea of a poetic composition being either accepted or rejected, depending on the literary background of a person.

A good literary composition, in order to be appreciated, presupposes a good number of Connoisseurs of literary art. Otherwise, it is an act in futility. Those who are not acquainted with the the basics of literary appreciation fail to grasp the core of the work. We find a puranic allusion here, where it is described that the "wicked planet" Rahu had his throat cut off when he tried to gobble up the nectar which emerged upon the churning of the "Milky Ocean". It simply means that he wasn't yet ready for the appreciation of a new thing.

On the other hand,there are those, who are fully equipped and qualified for the occasion- those who have read, appreciated and composed literary compositions of various types themselves. Lord Vishnu sports the purest gem called Kausthubha on this chest, close to this heart. This is indicative of the fact that good literary works are always treasured by cultured people.