A light-hearted post today — because hey, it’s a long weekend and our brains deserve a break from adulting! 😄

As always, I stumbled upon a deceptively simple verse that made me go, “Hmm… nothing much to unpack here.” But of course, one hour and a mini existential crisis later, here I am, typing away like a seasoned philosopher with too much chai in my system.

At first, I genuinely thought, “There’s nothing to write about this!” But clearly, I’ve reached that stage in life where I can turn even the simplest Sanskrit verse into a not-so-short post. Talent? Overthinking? Who knows. 😁

हंसः श्वेतः बकः श्वेतः को भेदो बकहंसयोः।नीरक्षीरविवेके तु हंसः हंसो बको बकः।।

हंसः अपि श्वेतवर्णीयः बकोपि तर्हि अनयोः भेदः कः इति प्रश्ने सति (यतोहि कदाचित् दर्शनेन भेदः न ज्ञायते), कविः वदति यत् नीरात् क्षीरस्य पृथक्करणे कः हंसः कः बकः इति ज्ञातुं शक्येत। बकस्य नास्ति इदृशं सामर्थ्यमतः विद्वज्जनः झटिति एव उत्तमाननुत्तमेषु जानीयादिति। वस्तुतः हंसस्य तादृशः प्रभावो वर्तते किमिति प्रश्ने सति न जाने इत्येव वाच्यम्। प्रायोयं कविसमयः स्यात् परमनेकेषु श्लोकेषु हंसस्येदं सामर्थ्यं वर्णितमतः इदं सर्वसम्मतमिति मन्ये।

यद्यपि एतत् सर्वं श्रोतुं सम्यक् भवति तथापि जीवने सर्वे बकं दृष्ट्वैव मोदन्ते , हंसान् तर्जयन्ति अपि। तादृशेषु सन्दर्भेषु प्रायः अस्मिन् जगति मूर्खाः एव आधिक्येन वसन्ति यस्य सामर्थ्यं नास्ति बकस्य स्वाभाविकम् अभिज्ञातुमिति चिन्तयित्वा तस्मात् स्थलात् पलायनीयमस्माभिः हंससदृशैः। इदमेव मत्सुभाषितं भवतां कृते।

So, the poet asks: What’s the difference between a swan and a crane when both are white? At first glance, not much, right? (Well, at least for us common folks — not those bird-watching experts who probably have a PhD in spotting feather differences!) But the real test comes when you throw in a bowl of milk mixed with water — apparently, the swan has this VIP superpower to extract only the milk, leaving the water behind. Crane’s just like, “Wait, what?”

Now, you might ask — Is that even true? Honestly… no idea! But I’ve seen this line show up in enough Sanskrit verses to think, “Okay, maybe it’s a poetic license thing — kavi-samaya — where poets just agree to roll with it.”

The hidden message? Don’t be fooled by appearances. Just because two people look equally polished on the outside doesn’t mean they’re the same on the inside. The wise will know who’s got the real substance — and who’s just pretending to be all that.

That said, while this verse is kind of comforting — like, “Don’t worry, true worth will shine through” — I still feel like there are way too many people out there falling for outer glitter. So, to all the wise Swan ones out there: if you find yourself stuck in a room full of cranes pretending to be swans, and people are falling all over themselves to praise those cranes, maybe it’s time to just waddle on out.

And with that, folks — here’s your subhāṣita of the day. Stay classy, stay swan-like!