Subhashita

A subhashita (Sanskrit: सुभाषित, subhāṣita) is a literary genre of Sanskrit epigrammatic poems and their message is an aphorism, maxim, advice, fact, truth, lesson or riddle.^[1] Su in Sanskrit means good; bhashita means spoken; which together literally means well spoken or eloquent saying.^[2]

Subhashitas in Sanskrit are short memorable verses, typically in four padas (verses) but sometimes just two; but their structure follows a meter. Subhashitas are one of many forms of creative works that have survived from ancient and medieval era of India, and sometimes known as Suktis.^[3] Ancient and medieval Indian literature created tens of thousands of subhashitas covering a vast range of subjects.^[4]

These epigrammatic verses and their anthologies are also referred to as Subhashitavali or Subhashitani.^[5]

^ L. Sternbach (1973), Subhashita - A forgotten chapter in the histories of Sanskrit literature, in Indologica Taurinensia, Torino, Vol I, pp. 169-254
^ subhASita Sanskrit English Dictionary, University of Koeln, Germany
^ Cite error: The named reference didactic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Kashinath Sharma (1952), Subhashita Ratna Bhandagara - A collection of over 10,000 subhasitas, Nirnaya Sagar Press
^ A Haskar (2007), Subhāshitāvali: An Anthology of Comic, Erotic, and Other Verse, Penguin, ISBN 978-0143101369, page 190

[1] L. Sternbach (1973), Subhashita - A forgotten chapter in the histories of Sanskrit literature, in Indologica Taurinensia, Torino, Vol I, pp. 169-254

[2] subhASita Sanskrit English Dictionary, University of Koeln, Germany

[didactic-3] Cite error: The named reference didactic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[4] Kashinath Sharma (1952), Subhashita Ratna Bhandagara - A collection of over 10,000 subhasitas, Nirnaya Sagar Press

[5] A Haskar (2007), Subhāshitāvali: An Anthology of Comic, Erotic, and Other Verse, Penguin, ISBN 978-0143101369, page 190

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