Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday shared a Sanskrit verse from Maharaja Bhoja’s Samarangana Sutradhara, underlining the enduring importance of character and ethical conduct alongside knowledge and skill.
The verse comes from Chapter 44, Verse 16 of the classical Sanskrit treatise. It states that knowledge, eloquence and proficiency in one’s duties cannot make an individual truly worthy of esteem if the person lacks good character.
PM Modi shared a 60-second video featuring the Sanskrit shloka, followed by its Hindi meaning and English translation.
The message clearly distinguishes between outward abilities and the moral qualities that give those abilities genuine value. The verse reads: “ज्ञानवांश्च तथा वाग्मी कर्मस्वपि च निष्ठितः। एवं युक्तोऽपि न श्रेयान् यदि शीलविवर्जितः॥”
The accompanying interpretation stresses that a knowledgeable, articulate and capable person cannot earn true appreciation without integrity and upright conduct.
The teaching appears in the 11th-century Samarangana Sutradhara, an extensive Sanskrit work attributed to Paramara ruler Bhoja that deals primarily with architecture, arts and related disciplines.
The verse’s message places shila, or good character, at the heart of personal worth. Another verse immediately following it says that a person of character earns respect, gains the esteem of the virtuous and becomes worthy of responsibility.
Prime Minister Modi’s post continues his practice of sharing Sanskrit subhashitas to foreground classical Indian philosophical and ethical ideas. The latest message presents character not as an accessory to knowledge and achievement, but as the foundation that makes them meaningful.
ज्ञानवांश्च तथा वाग्मी कर्मस्वपि च निष्ठितः।
एवं युक्तोऽपि न श्रेयान् यदि शीलविवर्जितः॥ https://t.co/zy52VOPp0M
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 6, 2026
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