महद्गुणानात्मनि कर्तुमीश: क: स्तावकै: स्तावयतेऽसतोऽपि । तेऽस्याभविष्यन्निति विप्रलब्धो जनावहासं कुमतिर्न वेद ॥ २४ ॥
mahad-gunan atmani kartum isah kah stavakaih stavayate ’sato ’pi te ’syabhavisyann iti vipralabdho janavahasam kumatir na veda
- mahat
- exalted
- gunan
- the qualities
- atmani
- in himself
- kartum
- to manifest
- isah
- competent
- kah
- who
- stavakaih
- by followers
- stavayate
- causes to be praised
- asatah
- not existing
- api
- although
- te
- they
- asya
- of him
- abhavisyan
- might have been
- iti
- thus
- vipralabdhah
- cheated
- jana
- of people
- avahasam
- insult
- kumatih
- a fool
- na
- does not
- veda
- know.
How could an intelligent man competent enough to possess such exalted qualities allow his followers to praise him if he did not actually have them? Praising a man by saying that if he were educated he might have become a great scholar or great personality is nothing but a process of cheating. A foolish person who agrees to accept such praise does not know that such words simply insult him.