Words Well Worth 14: The Best Fame Is One's Own Name Poem by Aniruddha Pathak

The best fame is one's very own,
Medium, being by father known,
Lower, known by maternal name,
Worst is to lean on in-law's fame.
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The transliteration of the subhāśhita is given below:

uttamā ātmnā khyātāhpituh khyātāh cha madhyamā |
adhamā mātulātkhyātāh shvashurāh cha adhama-adhamāh ||

uttamā: the best, the highest, the most ideal; ātmanā: of the self, dependent on the self;
khyātāh: known by one's own identity, of reputation, renown; pituh: of the father, paternal (known by one's father): cha: and; madhyamā: of medium rating, neither best, nor worst, middling; adhamā: of the lower level, worse; mātulāt: of one's maternal uncle's side (known): shvashurāt cha: and (those known by)one's in-law's; adhama-adhamāh: the worst of all, worse than worse.
Topic: self, identity