The poor man's truth is scorned!

Alas it does embitter poverty --

"That then our friends grow deaf to our desires,

And lend a keener anguish to our sorrows.

The poor man's turth is scorned; the tender light

Of each mild virtue languishes; suspicion

Stamps him the perpetrator of each crime

That others are the authors of: no man seeks

To form acquaintance with him, nor exchange

Familiar greeting or respectful courtesy.

If e'er he find a place in rich men's dwellings

At solemn festivals, the wealthier guests

Survey him with disdainful wonder -- and

Whene'er by chance, he meets upon the road,

With state and wealth, he sneaks into a corner,

Ashamed of his scant covering, till they pass,

Rejoicing to be overlooked. -- believe me ---

He who incurs the guilt of poverty,

Adds a sixth sin to those we term most heinous.

In truth I mourn e'en poverty for thee,

Whose cherished dwelling is this wasting frame,

And oft I sadly wonder, what asylum,

        When this shall be no more, shall hten receive thee."

Poverty is the sixth Great Sin.

The five Great Sins in the Hindu Code are (1) Stealing gold, (2) Drinking spirituous liquors, (3) Murder of a brahman, (4) Adultery with the wife of a spiritual teacher, and (5) Association with a person guilty of either of those crimes.

(Excerpts from "Mrichchakati or The Toy Cart)

It is the excerpts of translation from the original Sanscrit by Horace Hayman Wilson, Esq. in 1826)