gifts for Sanskrit teachers

[Madhav Deshpande]

Thanks for all sorts of gifts coming my way.  When I was a student in
Pune, we had a convenient interpretation of a verse of the Bhagavad-gita:

abhyaase 'py asamartho 'si, mat-karma-paramo bhava /
mad-artham api karmaa.ni kurvan siddhim avaapsyasi //

In modern Marathi, the word abhyaasa refers to study.  Hence the verse was
interpreted as a teacher saying to a student:

"Even if you are incapable of study, be dedicated to carrying out some
work for me (such as taking the cows to graze? or washing my laundry?).
Doing even such tasks for me, you will succeed (= I will give you a
passing grade in this class?)."

                                        Madhav Deshpande