“True wealth lies in wisdom, not material possessions.”
The verse: Bhartrihari Niti Shataka 16
The quote above is our paraphrase. This is the verse as it reads in the B. Hale Wortham translation (1886):
“O kings! cast off your pride before those who have the inward treasure of wisdom: they are not despoiled by robbers, but their treasure, always increasing, grows greater when it is shared with the needy: not even at the end of the world does it perish. Who indeed may compare with them?”
About the poet: Bhartrihari
Bhartrihari is the Sanskrit poet to whom the Shatakatraya is attributed: three collections of about 100 verses each, usually dated to around the 5th century CE. They cover worldly conduct (Niti), love (Shringara) and renunciation (Vairagya), often in a wry, sceptical voice.