चिता चिंता समाप्रोक्ता बिंदुमात्रं विशेषता।
सजीवं दहते चिंता निर्जीवं दहते चिता॥
सजीवं दहते चिंता निर्जीवं दहते चिता॥
Chitā chintā samāproktā bindumātraṃ viśeṣatā |
Sajīvaṃ dahate chintā nirjīvaṃ dahate chitā ||
This is a verse from the book “Subhashita Ratna Bhandagara” a collection of more than 10,000 subhashitas, arranged subject-wise. Subhashitas are short, memorable Sanskrit verses that mean "well-spoken" or "good advice". They act as nuggets of wisdom, maxims, and moral lessons. These subhashitas have been compiled by Shri Kashinath Sharma from Sanskrit literature.
Word meaning:
Chitā (चिता): Funeral pyre
Chintā (चिंता): Worry / Anxiety
Samāproktā (समाप्रोक्ता): Said to be equal / identical
Bindumātraṃ (बिंदुमात्रं): Only a dot (anusvāra)
Viśeṣatā (विशेषता): The difference / distinction
Sajīvaṃ (सजीवं): The living person
Dahate (दहते): Burns
Nirjīvaṃ (निर्जीवं): The non-living / dead
Chintā (चिंता): Worry / Anxiety
Samāproktā (समाप्रोक्ता): Said to be equal / identical
Bindumātraṃ (बिंदुमात्रं): Only a dot (anusvāra)
Viśeṣatā (विशेषता): The difference / distinction
Sajīvaṃ (सजीवं): The living person
Dahate (दहते): Burns
Nirjīvaṃ (निर्जीवं): The non-living / dead
Meaning:
"A funeral pyre (Chitā) and worry (Chintā) are said to be almost identical, differing only by a single dot (bindu). However, worry burns the living, whereas the funeral pyre burns only the dead."