Chapter 2 of the NCERT Class 10 Sanskrit textbook "शेमुषी" (Shemushi) is called बुद्धिर्बलवती सदा, which means "Wisdom is always powerful" or "Intelligence is always stronger than might". The sentence is made of बुद्धिः (intelligence) + बलवती (powerful, feminine) + सदा (always). The chapter is a famous story taken from the हितोपदेशः (Hitopadesha), the great Indian collection of animal fables written by नारायणपण्डितः. The story tells of a proud lion (सिंहः) who terrorised all the animals of a forest by killing them daily. The deer, oxen, jackals and other animals decided to send one animal each day as the lion's food so that the rest could live in peace. But when it was the turn of a small, clever hare (शशकः), he used his sharp intelligence instead of force. He tricked the mighty lion into jumping into a well where he drowned. The story proves the moral given in the title — बुद्धिः (wisdom) is always stronger than बलम् (physical strength). The chapter is valuable for its simple narrative Sanskrit, its moral teaching, and its rich grammar of compounds, pronouns and verb forms. This note gives the complete story in English with word meanings, grammar, revision tables, a mind map, SVG diagrams, common mistakes and exam tips.
There lived in a forest a ferocious lion (सिंहः) who every day killed many animals (मृगाः) — deer, oxen and other creatures — and ate them. Because he killed without any need, the animals of the forest became very frightened. The lion's cruelty made life impossible for them. So the animals held a meeting and made a plan. They decided to approach the lion humbly and say, "O King of animals! Do not kill us all daily. We ourselves will send one animal to you every day as your food." The lion agreed to this arrangement. From that day, one animal went daily to the lion as his meal, and the forest lived in peace.
Now, in that forest there lived a very clever hare (शशकः). One day the turn came for the hare to go to the lion as food. The hare thought, "If I go to the lion today, I will die. I must use my intelligence to escape and to save the forest as well." So the clever hare delayed his journey. He walked slowly, stopped here and there, and reached the lion's den very late. The lion, who was very hungry and angry, roared and asked, "Who are you, and why have you come so late? You have been sent as my food today, and I am extremely hungry. Why did you delay?" The hare replied with great politeness and humility: "O King! I am not to blame. On the way, another lion stopped me and said, 'I am the real king of this forest. Why are you going to that old lion with food? That lion is weak and old; I am stronger.' He challenged me and claimed that this forest and its food belong to him. That is why I am late."
Hearing this, the real lion became furious. His pride (अभिमानः) was hurt. He roared, "Where is that other lion? Show me immediately! I will punish him for claiming my forest." The clever hare bowed respectfully and said, "O King! Please come with me, I will show you where that lion lives." The hare led the lion to a deep well (कूपः) nearby. He said, "O King! Look into this well. Your rival lion lives inside." The lion, full of anger and pride, looked down into the water of the well. He saw his own reflection (प्रतिबिम्बम्) in the water and thought it was another lion. He roared loudly; the echo (प्रतिध्वनिः) from the well sounded like another lion roaring back. Enraged, the lion jumped into the well to attack his rival, and he drowned in the water.
In this way, the small and weak hare destroyed the powerful and arrogant lion by the strength of his intelligence. He did not use any weapon or physical force. The story proves the chapter's title: बुद्धिर्बलवती सदा — intelligence is always stronger than might. The forest animals lived happily again, and the hare was praised as the wisest of all.
| Sanskrit Word | English Meaning |
|---|---|
| बुद्धिः | intelligence, wisdom |
| बलवती | powerful (feminine) |
| सदा | always |
| सिंहः | lion |
| मृगः | deer, wild animal |
| शशकः | hare, rabbit |
| वनम् | forest |
| भयम् | fear |
| भोजनम् | food |
| क्षुधा | hunger |
| अभिमानः | pride, arrogance |
| क्रोधः | anger |
| कूपः | well |
| प्रतिबिम्बम् | reflection, image |
| प्रतिध्वनिः | echo |
| छलम् | trick, deceit |
| विचारः | thought, plan |
| नियमः | agreement, rule |
| वधः | killing |
| उद्धारः | rescue, deliverance |
| वीरः | brave |
Compound words (समासाः): The title itself is a full sentence, but the text contains compounds such as वनमध्ये (वन + मध्ये), नियमेन, मृगराजः (मृग + राजः), बुद्धिमती (intelligent — the hare is called बुद्धिमान्). Understand how these are joined and split for the grammar section.
Pronouns (सर्वनाम): The story uses अहम् (I), माम् (me), सः (he), तम् (him), एषः (this), कः (who) frequently. Learn which pronoun refers to which character — this is asked in exams. For example, in "सः अवदत्" the pronoun सः refers to the hare or the lion depending on context.
Verb forms (धातुरूपाणि): Important verbs are अवदत् (said), अगच्छत् (went), अकरोत् (made), अपश्यत् (saw), उदपतत् (jumped), ममार / निपपात (died/ fell). These are forms of the past tense (लङ् लकार) of the roots वद्, गम्, कृ, दृश्, पत्. In the present tense (लट् लकार) the story would use अवदति, गच्छति, etc. Practise the difference.
Cases (विभक्तयः): The hare's dialogue uses the vocative (सम्बोधन) for the lion — "भोः सिंहराज!" and the lion addresses the hare as "भो शशक!" The genitive is used in compounds like सिंहस्य भोजनम् (the lion's food).
Sandhi (सन्धिः): Words like शशक + इव = शशक इव, and बुद्धिर्बलवती show vowel joining. The title's split is बुद्धिः + बलवती + सदा.
बुद्धिर्बलवती सदा teaches a timeless value: physical strength and pride can be defeated by calm intelligence and cleverness. The weak hare could not fight the lion, but he could think. He used his mind, kept his courage, spoke politely, and turned the lion's own anger and pride against him. The story also warns against अभिमानः (pride) and blind anger, which made the lion act foolishly and die. For students, the message is clear — always use your brain (बुद्धिः), stay calm under fear, and never underestimate anyone, however small.
| Step | Event | Key Word |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The lion kills many animals daily | सिंहः, वधः |
| 2 | Animals make an agreement to send one animal daily | नियमः, भोजनम् |
| 3 | The clever hare gets his turn | बुद्धिमान् शशकः |
| 4 | The hare comes late and tells a story of another lion | छलम्, विलम्बः |
| 5 | The lion sees his reflection in the well | कूपः, प्रतिबिम्बम् |
| 6 | The lion jumps into the well and drowns | क्रोधः, पतनम् |
| 7 | The forest is free; wisdom wins | बुद्धिः, उद्धारः |
| Character | Quality | Sanskrit Word |
|---|---|---|
| सिंहः | proud, strong, angry | अभिमानी, बलवान् |
| शशकः | clever, wise, calm | बुद्धिमान्, धीरः |
| मृगाः | frightened, weak | भीताः, दुर्बलाः |
| Sanskrit | English |
|---|---|
| बुद्धिः | intelligence |
| बलम् | strength |
| सिंहः | lion |
| शशकः | hare |
| कूपः | well |
| प्रतिबिम्बम् | reflection |
| अभिमानः | pride |
| भयम् | fear |
बुद्धिर्बलवती सदा is a delightful and instructive story from the Hitopadesha about a proud lion and a clever hare. The mighty lion terrorised the forest, but he was defeated not by a stronger animal but by the small hare's intelligence. By delaying his arrival, inventing a rival lion, and showing the lion his own reflection in a well, the hare made the arrogant lion destroy himself. The chapter teaches that wisdom is always stronger than physical strength, that pride and anger lead to downfall, and that even the smallest person can overcome a great problem with calm thinking. Students who learn the story sequence, the word meanings, the pronouns, and the past tense verbs will score full marks in the comprehension and grammar questions of this chapter.