Vasishtha's Greatness and the Need for a Priest

Verse 1 (1.190.1)

स गन्धर्ववचः श्रुत्वा तत्तदा भरतर्षभ । अर्जुनः परया भक्त्या पूर्णचन्द्र इवाबभौ ॥

sa gandharvavacaḥ śrutvā tattadā bharatarṣabha | arjunaḥ parayā bhaktyā pūrṇacandra ivābabhau

Hearing those words of the Gandharva, bull of the Bharatas, Arjuna glowed like the full moon with the deepest devotion.

Verse 2 (1.190.2)

उवाच च महेष्वासो गन्धर्वं कुरुसत्तमः । जातकौतूहलोऽतीव वसिष्ठस्य तपोबलात् ॥

uvāca ca maheṣvāso gandharvaṃ kurusattamaḥ | jātakautūhalo'tīva vasiṣṭhasya tapobalāt

And that great archer, best of the Kurus, his curiosity keenly roused by what he had heard of Vasishtha's power of austerity, spoke to the Gandharva.

Verse 3 (1.190.3)

वसिष्ठ इति तस्यैतदृषेर्नाम त्वयेरितम् । एतदिच्छाम्यहं श्रोतुं यथावत्तद्वदस्व मे ॥

vasiṣṭha iti tasyaitadṛṣernāma tvayeritam | etadicchāmyahaṃ śrotuṃ yathāvattadvadasva me

"You have spoken of this seer by the name of Vasishtha; I wish to hear about him. Tell me truly as it is.

Note on the text: Speaker set to Arjuna: his question fills verses 3–4 (no speaker line in Wikisource).

Verse 4 (1.190.4)

य एष गन्धर्वपते पूर्वेषां नः पुरोहितः । आसीदेतन्ममाचक्ष्व क एष भगवानृषिः ॥

ya eṣa gandharvapate pūrveṣāṃ naḥ purohitaḥ | āsīdetanmamācakṣva ka eṣa bhagavānṛṣiḥ

"Lord of the Gandharvas, tell me this: who is this blessed seer who was the priest of our forefathers?"

Verse 5 (1.190.5)

ब्रह्मणो मानसः पुत्रो वसिष्ठोऽरुन्धतीपतिः । तपसा निर्जितौ शश्वदजेयावमरैरपि ॥

brahmaṇo mānasaḥ putro vasiṣṭho'rundhatīpatiḥ | tapasā nirjitau śaśvadajeyāvamarairapi

"Vasishtha, the husband of Arundhati, is the mind-born son of Brahma. Desire and anger, ever unconquerable even by the immortals, were conquered by his austerity,

Note on the text: The first line is not in the critical edition (found in the vulgate recension; star passage 1748*, placed there before the speaker line); the second line = 1.164.5ab. Wikisource's verse division runs half a verse behind the critical edition's here.

Verse 6 (1.190.6)

कामक्रोधावुभौ यस्य चरणौ समुवाहतुः । इन्द्रियाणां वशकरो वशिष्ठ इति चोच्यते ॥

kāmakrodhāvubhau yasya caraṇau samuvāhatuḥ | indriyāṇāṃ vaśakaro vaśiṣṭha iti cocyate

"and both of them massaged his feet. Because he brings the senses under his control, he is called Vashishtha.

Note on the text: The first line = 1.164.5cd of the critical edition; the second line is not in it (found in the vulgate recension; star passage 1749*). The spelling वशिष्ठ, from वश "control", is deliberate and kept.

Verse 7 (1.190.7)

यथा कामश्च क्रोधश्च निर्जितावजितौ नरैः । जितारयो जिता लोकाः पन्थानश्च जिता दिशः ॥

yathā kāmaśca krodhaśca nirjitāvajitau naraiḥ | jitārayo jitā lokāḥ panthānaśca jitā diśaḥ

"Since he conquered desire and anger, which men cannot conquer, for him enemies are conquered, the worlds are conquered, and the paths and the quarters are conquered.

Note on the text: Removed stray wiki marks (` and ') and a doubled danda. Not in the critical edition (found in the vulgate recension; star passage 1750*).

Verse 8 (1.190.8)

यस्तु नोच्छेदनं चक्रे कुशिकानामुदारधीः । विश्वामित्रापराधेन धारयन्मन्युमुत्तमम् ॥

yastu nocchedanaṃ cakre kuśikānāmudāradhīḥ | viśvāmitrāparādhena dhārayanmanyumuttamam

"Noble-minded, he did not exterminate the Kushikas, though he bore the deepest anger at Vishvamitra's offence.

Verse 9 (1.190.9)

पुत्रव्यसनसंतप्तः शक्तिमानप्यशक्तवत् । विश्वामित्रविनाशाय न चक्रे कर्म दारुणम् ॥

putravyasanasaṃtaptaḥ śaktimānapyaśaktavat | viśvāmitravināśāya na cakre karma dāruṇam

"Burning with grief for his sons, though able, he behaved as if powerless, and did no terrible deed to destroy Vishvamitra.

Verse 10 (1.190.10)

मृतांश्च पुनराहर्तुं शक्तः पुत्रान्यमक्षयात् । कृतान्तं नातिचक्राम वेलामिव महोदधिः ॥

mṛtāṃśca punarāhartuṃ śaktaḥ putrānyamakṣayāt | kṛtāntaṃ nāticakrāma velāmiva mahodadhiḥ

"Though able to bring his dead sons back from the realm of Yama, he did not overstep the bounds of death, as the ocean does not overstep its shore.

Verse 11 (1.190.11)

यं प्राप्य विजितात्मानं महात्मानं नराधिपाः । इक्ष्वाकवो महीपाला लेभिरे पृथिवीमिमाम् ॥

yaṃ prāpya vijitātmānaṃ mahātmānaṃ narādhipāḥ | ikṣvākavo mahīpālā lebhire pṛthivīmimām

"Having gained him, the self-mastered and great-souled, the Ikshvaku kings, lords of the earth, won this earth.

Verse 12 (1.190.12)

पुरोहितमिमं प्राप्य वसिष्ठमृषिसत्तमम् । ईजिरे क्रतुभिश्चैव नृपास्ते कुरुनन्दन ॥

purohitamimaṃ prāpya vasiṣṭhamṛṣisattamam | ījire kratubhiścaiva nṛpāste kurunandana

"Having gained this Vasishtha, best of seers, as their priest, those kings performed sacrifices, joy of the Kurus.

Verse 13 (1.190.13)

स हि तान्याजयामास सर्वान्नृपतिसत्तमान् । ब्रह्मर्षिः पाण्डवश्रेष्ठ बृहस्पतिरिवामरान् ॥

sa hi tānyājayāmāsa sarvānnṛpatisattamān | brahmarṣiḥ pāṇḍavaśreṣṭha bṛhaspatirivāmarān

"For that brahmin seer, best of the Pandavas, conducted the sacrifices of all those best of kings, as Brihaspati does for the immortals.

Verse 14 (1.190.14)

तस्माद्धर्मप्रधानात्मा वेदधर्मविदीप्सितः । ब्राह्मणो गुणवान्कश्चित्पुरोधाः प्रतिदृश्यताम् ॥

tasmāddharmapradhānātmā vedadharmavidīpsitaḥ | brāhmaṇo guṇavānkaścitpurodhāḥ pratidṛśyatām

"Therefore let some virtuous brahmin be found to be your priest, one whose soul is devoted to dharma, who knows the Vedas and dharma, and who is acceptable to you.

Verse 15 (1.190.15)

क्षत्रियेणाभिजातेन पृथिवीं जेतुमिच्छता । पूर्वं पुरोहितः कार्यः पार्थ राज्याभिवृद्धये ॥

kṣatriyeṇābhijātena pṛthivīṃ jetumicchatā | pūrvaṃ purohitaḥ kāryaḥ pārtha rājyābhivṛddhaye

"A Kshatriya of noble birth who wishes to conquer the earth must first appoint a priest, Partha, for the growth of his kingdom.

Verse 16 (1.190.16)

महीं जिगीषता राज्ञा ब्रह्म कार्यं पुरःस्कृतम् । तस्मात्पुरोहितः कश्चिद्गुणवान्विजितेन्द्रियः । विद्वान्भवतु वो विप्रो धर्मकामार्थतत्त्ववित् ॥

mahīṃ jigīṣatā rājñā brahma kāryaṃ puraḥskṛtam | tasmātpurohitaḥ kaścidguṇavānvijitendriyaḥ | vidvānbhavatu vo vipro dharmakāmārthatattvavit

"A king who seeks to conquer the earth must put the brahmin before him. So let some brahmin be your priest: virtuous, master of his senses, learned, and knowing the truth of dharma, kama and artha."

Note on the text: Lines = 1.164.14ab, 1.164.14cd (in a variant form) and star passage 1752* of the critical edition's apparatus; the third line is not in the critical edition (found in the vulgate recension).