Yayati Recounts His Counsel to Puru

Verse 1 (1.81.1)

स्वर्गतः स तु राजेन्द्रो निवसन्देववेश्मनि । पूजितस्त्रिदशैः साध्यैर्मरुद्भिर्वसुभिस्तथा ॥

svargataḥ sa tu rājendro nivasandevaveśmani | pūjitastridaśaiḥ sādhyairmarudbhirvasubhistathā

Having gone to heaven, that king of kings dwelt in the abode of the gods, honoured by the Thirty gods, the Sadhyas, the Maruts and the Vasus.

Verse 2 (1.81.2)

देवलोकं ब्रह्मलोकं संचरन्पुण्यकृद्वशी । अवसत्पृथिवीपालो दीर्घकालमिति श्रुतिः ॥

devalokaṃ brahmalokaṃ saṃcaranpuṇyakṛdvaśī | avasatpṛthivīpālo dīrghakālamiti śrutiḥ

Moving between the world of the gods and the world of Brahma, the self-controlled doer of good deeds, protector of the earth, dwelt there a long time; so it is heard.

Verse 3 (1.81.3)

स कदाचिन्नृपश्रेष्ठो ययातिः शक्रमागमत् । कथान्ते तत्र शक्रेण स पृष्टः पृथिवीपतिः ॥

sa kadācinnṛpaśreṣṭho yayātiḥ śakramāgamat | kathānte tatra śakreṇa sa pṛṣṭaḥ pṛthivīpatiḥ

Once Yayati, best of kings, came to Shakra, and at the end of their talk Shakra questioned the lord of the earth there.

Verse 4 (1.81.4)

यदा स पूरुस्तव रूपेण राज- । ञ्जरां गृहीत्वा प्रचचार भूमौ । तदा च राज्यं संप्रदायैव तस्मै । त्वया किमुक्तः कथयेह सत्यम् ॥

yadā sa pūrustava rūpeṇa rāja- | ñjarāṃ gṛhītvā pracacāra bhūmau | tadā ca rājyaṃ saṃpradāyaiva tasmai | tvayā kimuktaḥ kathayeha satyam

When Puru took your old age in your own form, O king, and went about the earth, and you handed the kingdom over to him, what did you tell him? Tell me truly.

Verse 5 (1.81.5)

गङ्गायमुनयोर्मध्ये कृत्स्नोऽयं विषयस्तव । मध्ये पृथिव्यास्त्वं राजा भ्रातरोऽन्त्याधिपास्तव ॥

gaṅgāyamunayormadhye kṛtsno'yaṃ viṣayastava | madhye pṛthivyāstvaṃ rājā bhrātaro'ntyādhipāstava

[I told him:] "All this land between the Ganga and the Yamuna is yours. You are king in the middle of the earth, and your brothers are lords of the borderlands.

Note on the text: Corrected कृत्स्नोयं → कृत्स्नोऽयं (misprint in Wikisource; missing avagraha, कृत्स्नः अयम्, as in the critical edition).

Verse 6 (1.81.6)

न च कुर्यान्नरो दैन्यं शाठ्यं क्रोधं तथैव च । जैह्म्यं च मत्सरं वैरं सर्वत्रेदं न कारयेत् ॥

na ca kuryānnaro dainyaṃ śāṭhyaṃ krodhaṃ tathaiva ca | jaihmyaṃ ca matsaraṃ vairaṃ sarvatredaṃ na kārayet

A man should not give way to meanness, deceit or anger; nor should he ever practise crookedness, envy or enmity.

Note on the text: Removed a wiki quote mark (`). Corrected जैहयं → जैह्म्यं (misprint in Wikisource; broken conjunct, the noun is जैह्म्य "crookedness", as in the critical edition's apparatus jaihmyaṃ). Not in the critical edition (found in the vulgate recension).

Verse 7 (1.81.7)

मातरं पितरं ज्येष्ठं विद्वांसं च तपोधनम् । क्षमावन्तं च राजेन्द्र नावमन्येत बुद्धिमान् ॥

mātaraṃ pitaraṃ jyeṣṭhaṃ vidvāṃsaṃ ca tapodhanam | kṣamāvantaṃ ca rājendra nāvamanyeta buddhimān

A wise man should never slight his mother, his father, his elder, a learned man, one rich in austerity, or one who is forgiving, O king of kings.

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition (found in the vulgate recension).

Verse 8 (1.81.8)

शक्तस्तु क्षमते नित्यमशक्तः क्रुध्यते नरः । दुर्जनः सुजनं द्वेष्टि दुर्बलो बलवत्तरम् ॥

śaktastu kṣamate nityamaśaktaḥ krudhyate naraḥ | durjanaḥ sujanaṃ dveṣṭi durbalo balavattaram

The strong man always forgives; it is the weak man who flies into anger. The wicked hate the good, and the weak hate the stronger;

Note on the text: Corrected ळशक्तस्तु → शक्तस्तु (misprint in Wikisource; a stray ळ, the critical edition's apparatus reads śaktas tu). Not in the critical edition (found in the vulgate recension).

Verse 9 (1.81.9)

रूपवन्तमरूपी च धनवन्तं च निर्धनः । अकर्मी कर्मिणं द्वेष्टि धार्मिकं च न धार्मिकः ॥

rūpavantamarūpī ca dhanavantaṃ ca nirdhanaḥ | akarmī karmiṇaṃ dveṣṭi dhārmikaṃ ca na dhārmikaḥ

the ugly hate the handsome, the poor the rich, the idle the active, and the unrighteous the righteous;

Note on the text: Corrected नधार्मिकः → न धार्मिकः (misprint in Wikisource; missing word break, "one who is not righteous"; the critical edition's apparatus has the same sense with cāpy adhārmikaḥ). Not in the critical edition (found in the vulgate recension).

Verse 10 (1.81.10)

निर्गुणो गुणवन्तं च पुत्रैतत्कलिलक्षणम् । विपरीतं च राजेन्द्र एतेषु कृतलक्षणम् ॥

nirguṇo guṇavantaṃ ca putraitatkalilakṣaṇam | viparītaṃ ca rājendra eteṣu kṛtalakṣaṇam

and the worthless hate the worthy. This, my son, is the mark of the Kali age; and the reverse of all this, O king of kings, is the mark of the Krita age.

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition (found in the vulgate recension).

Verse 11 (1.81.11)

ब्राह्मणो वाथ वा राजा वैश्यो वा शूद्र एव वा । प्रशस्तेषु प्रसक्ताश्चेत्प्रशस्यन्ते यशस्विनः ॥

brāhmaṇo vātha vā rājā vaiśyo vā śūdra eva vā | praśasteṣu prasaktāścetpraśasyante yaśasvinaḥ

Whether brahmin, king, vaishya or shudra, those who give themselves to what is praiseworthy are praised and win renown.

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition (found in the vulgate recension).

Verse 12 (1.81.12)

तस्मात्प्रशस्ते राजेन्द्र नरः सक्तमना भवेत् । अलोकज्ञा ह्यप्रशस्ता भ्रातरस्ते ह्यबुद्धयः ॥

tasmātpraśaste rājendra naraḥ saktamanā bhavet | alokajñā hyapraśastā bhrātaraste hyabuddhayaḥ

Therefore, O king of kings, a man should set his mind on what is praiseworthy. Your brothers know nothing of the world; they are unworthy of praise and lacking in sense.

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition (found in the vulgate recension).

Verse 13 (1.81.13)

अन्त्याधिपतयः सर्वे ह्यभवन्गुरुशासनात् ॥

antyādhipatayaḥ sarve hyabhavanguruśāsanāt

It is by their father's command that they have all become lords of the borderlands."

Note on the text: Wikisource prints इन्द्र उवाच after this line, in the middle of its verse 13; the verse is divided there. Not in the critical edition (found in the vulgate recension).

Verse 14 (1.81.14)

त्वं हि धर्मविदो राजन्कत्थसे धर्ममुत्तमम् । कथयस्व पुनर्मेऽद्य लोकवृत्तान्तमुत्तमम् ॥

tvaṃ hi dharmavido rājankatthase dharmamuttamam | kathayasva punarme'dya lokavṛttāntamuttamam

You, O king, as one who knows dharma, speak highly of the supreme dharma. Tell me once more today the finest account of the ways of the world.

Note on the text: Wikisource 13b–c, spoken by Indra after the speaker line that Wikisource prints in the middle of its verse 13. Corrected धर्मसुत्तमम् → धर्ममुत्तमम् (misprint in Wikisource; स for म, as in the critical edition's apparatus dharmam uttamam). Not in the critical edition (found in the vulgate recension).

Verse 15 (1.81.15)

अक्रोधनः क्रोधनेभ्यो विशिष्ट- । स्तथा तितिक्षुरतितिक्षोर्विशिष्टः । अमानुषेभ्यो मानुषाश्च प्रधाना । विद्वांस्तथैवाविदुषः प्रधानः ॥

akrodhanaḥ krodhanebhyo viśiṣṭa- | stathā titikṣuratitikṣorviśiṣṭaḥ | amānuṣebhyo mānuṣāśca pradhānā | vidvāṃstathaivāviduṣaḥ pradhānaḥ

One who does not give way to anger is greater than the angry, and the patient greater than the impatient; men stand above beings that are not human, and the learned above the unlearned.

Note on the text: Dropped the speaker line "ययातिरुवाच'" (with a stray quote mark) that had slipped into the verse text; the speaker of this and the following verses is corrected from इन्द्र to ययाति.

Verse 16 (1.81.16)

आक्रुश्यमानो नाक्रोशेन्मन्युरेव तितिक्षतः । आक्रोष्टारं निर्दहति सुकृतं चास्य विन्दति ॥

ākruśyamāno nākrośenmanyureva titikṣataḥ | ākroṣṭāraṃ nirdahati sukṛtaṃ cāsya vindati

When reviled, one should not revile in return. The anger of one who bears it burns up the reviler, and he gains the reviler's merit.

Note on the text: Corrected नाकोशेत् → नाक्रोशेत् (misprint in Wikisource; dropped र, as in the critical edition's nākrośen).

Verse 17 (1.81.17)

नारुन्तुदः स्यान्न नृशंसवादी । न हीनतः परमभ्याददीत । ययाऽस्य वाचा पर उद्विजेत । न तां वदेद्रुशतीं पापलोक्याम् ॥

nāruntudaḥ syānna nṛśaṃsavādī | na hīnataḥ paramabhyādadīta | yayā'sya vācā para udvijeta | na tāṃ vadedruśatīṃ pāpalokyām

One should not wound others to the quick or speak cruelly, nor get the better of another by base means. One should not utter harsh words that distress another, words that lead to the worlds of sinners.

Verse 18 (1.81.18)

अरुन्तुदं पुरुषं तीक्ष्णवाचं । वाक्कण्टकैर्वितुदन्तं मनुष्यान् । विद्यादलक्ष्मीकतमं जनानां । मुखे निबद्धां निर्ऋतिं वहन्तम् ॥

aruntudaṃ puruṣaṃ tīkṣṇavācaṃ | vākkaṇṭakairvitudantaṃ manuṣyān | vidyādalakṣmīkatamaṃ janānāṃ | mukhe nibaddhāṃ nirṛtiṃ vahantam

The man who wounds to the quick, sharp of tongue, who pierces people with the thorns of his words, should be known as the most luckless of men, carrying Nirriti, the goddess of ruin, bound in his mouth.

Note on the text: Corrected मनुष्यन् → मनुष्यान् (misprint in Wikisource; dropped vowel sign of the accusative plural, as in the critical edition).

Verse 19 (1.81.19)

सद्भिः पुरस्तादभिपूजितः स्या- । त्सद्भिस्तथा पृष्ठतो रक्षितः स्यात् । सदाऽसतामतिवादांस्तितिक्षे- । त्सतां वृत्तं चाददीतार्यवृत्तः ॥

sadbhiḥ purastādabhipūjitaḥ syā- | tsadbhistathā pṛṣṭhato rakṣitaḥ syāt | sadā'satāmativādāṃstitikṣe- | tsatāṃ vṛttaṃ cādadītāryavṛttaḥ

Let a man be honoured by the good to his face and guarded by the good behind his back. Let him always bear the insults of the wicked and, noble in conduct, follow the ways of the good.

Verse 20 (1.81.20)

वाक्सायका वदनान्निष्पतन्ति । यैराहतः शोचति रात्र्यहानि । परस्य ये मर्मसु संपतन्ति । तान्पण्डितो नावसृजेत्परेषु ॥

vāksāyakā vadanānniṣpatanti | yairāhataḥ śocati rātryahāni | parasya ye marmasu saṃpatanti | tānpaṇḍito nāvasṛjetpareṣu

Arrows of words fly from the mouth, and one struck by them grieves night and day. A wise man should not loose upon others those that fall on their vital spots.

Verse 21 (1.81.21)

नहीदृशं संवननं त्रिषु लोकेषु विद्यते । दया मैत्री च भूतेषु दानं च मधुरा च वाक् ॥

nahīdṛśaṃ saṃvananaṃ triṣu lokeṣu vidyate | dayā maitrī ca bhūteṣu dānaṃ ca madhurā ca vāk

There is nothing in the three worlds that wins hearts like compassion and friendliness toward all beings, generosity and sweet speech.

Verse 22 (1.81.22)

तस्मात्सान्त्वं सदा वाच्यं न वाच्यं परुषं क्वचित् । पूज्यान्संपूजयेद्दद्यान्न च याचेत्कदाचन ॥

tasmātsāntvaṃ sadā vācyaṃ na vācyaṃ paruṣaṃ kvacit | pūjyānsaṃpūjayeddadyānna ca yācetkadācana

Therefore one should always speak gently and never harshly. One should honour those who deserve honour, give, and never beg.