Maitreya on the Learned Brahmin and the Gift

Verse 1 (13.183.1)

एवमुक्तः प्रत्युवाच मैत्रेयः कर्मपूर्वकः । अत्यन्तं श्रीमति कुले जातः प्राज्ञो बहुश्रुतः ॥

evamuktaḥ pratyuvāca maitreyaḥ karmapūrvakaḥ | atyantaṃ śrīmati kule jātaḥ prājño bahuśrutaḥ

Bhishma said: Thus addressed, Maitreya, who honoured good deeds, replied. He was born in a very prosperous family, and was wise and learned.

Verse 2 (13.183.2)

असंशयं महाप्राज्ञ यथैवात्थ तथैव तत् । अनुज्ञातश्च भवता किञ्चिद्ब्रूयामहं विभो ॥

asaṃśayaṃ mahāprājña yathaivāttha tathaiva tat | anujñātaśca bhavatā kiñcidbrūyāmahaṃ vibho

O greatly wise one, it is beyond doubt just as you say. With your leave, my lord, I will say something.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: the whole verse is Maitreya's own speech (the page's heading is Bhishma's, which governs the narrative line before it; the input had Bhishma).

Verse 3 (13.183.3)

यद्यदिच्छसि मैत्रेय यावद्यावद्यथायथा । ब्रूहि तत्त्वं महाप्राज्ञ शुश्रुषे वचनं तव ॥

yadyadicchasi maitreya yāvadyāvadyathāyathā | brūhi tattvaṃ mahāprājña śuśruṣe vacanaṃ tava

Vyasa said: Whatever you wish, Maitreya, as much as you wish and in whatever way, speak out the truth, O greatly wise one; I am eager to hear your words.

Note on the text: Corrected तत्वं → तत्त्वं (misprint in Wikisource; broken conjunct). Not matched by the aligner; = CE 13.122.3 (Wikisource 'ब्रूहि तत्त्वं' against CE 3c 'brūhi tāvan', a recension variant; line 1 'यावद्यावद्यथायथा' against 'yāvad yāvad yathā tathā').

Verse 4 (13.183.4)

निर्दोषं निर्मलं चैव वचनं सत्यसंहितम् । विद्यातपोभ्यां हि भवान्भावितात्मा न संशयः ॥

nirdoṣaṃ nirmalaṃ caiva vacanaṃ satyasaṃhitam | vidyātapobhyāṃ hi bhavānbhāvitātmā na saṃśayaḥ

Maitreya said: Your words are faultless and pure, and rest on truth. There is no doubt that you are one whose self has been perfected by learning and austerity.

Verse 5 (13.183.5)

भवतो भावितात्मत्वाल्लाभोऽयं सुमहान्मम । भूयो बुद्ध्याऽनुपश्यामि सुसमृद्धतपा इव ॥

bhavato bhāvitātmatvāllābho'yaṃ sumahānmama | bhūyo buddhyā'nupaśyāmi susamṛddhatapā iva

This great gain is mine because your self is perfected; and on reflection I seem to see you as one whose austerity has grown rich indeed.

Verse 6 (13.183.6)

अपि मे दर्शनादेव भवतोऽभ्युदयो महान् । मन्ये भवत्प्रसादोऽयं बुद्धिकर्मस्वभावतः ॥

api me darśanādeva bhavato'bhyudayo mahān | manye bhavatprasādo'yaṃ buddhikarmasvabhāvataḥ

By the mere sight of you a great rise has come to me. I take this to be your favour, arising from the nature of the mind and its deeds.

Note on the text: Not matched by the aligner; = CE 13.122.6 (Wikisource 'बुद्धिकर्मस्वभावतः' against CE 6c 'tad dhi karma svabhāvataḥ', a recension variant; base reading kept).

Verse 7 (13.183.7)

तपः श्रुतं च योनिश्चाप्येतद्ब्राह्मण्यकारणम् । त्रिभिर्गुणैः समुदितः स्नातो भवति वै द्विजः ॥

tapaḥ śrutaṃ ca yoniścāpyetadbrāhmaṇyakāraṇam | tribhirguṇaiḥ samuditaḥ snāto bhavati vai dvijaḥ

Austerity, learning and birth are the causes of brahminhood; a twice-born who possesses these three qualities is truly a snataka.

Verse 8 (13.183.8)

अस्मिंस्तृप्ते च तृप्यन्ति पितरो दैवतानि च । न हि श्रुतवतां किञ्चिदधिकं ब्राह्मणादृते ॥

asmiṃstṛpte ca tṛpyanti pitaro daivatāni ca | na hi śrutavatāṃ kiñcidadhikaṃ brāhmaṇādṛte

When such a one is satisfied, the ancestors and the gods are satisfied; for among the learned there is nothing greater than a brahmin.

Verse 9 (13.183.9)

असंस्कारात्क्षत्रवैश्यौ नश्येते ब्राह्मणादृते । शूद्रो नश्यत्यशुश्रूषुराश्रमाणां यथार्हतः ॥

asaṃskārātkṣatravaiśyau naśyete brāhmaṇādṛte | śūdro naśyatyaśuśrūṣurāśramāṇāṃ yathārhataḥ

Without a brahmin, kshatriyas and vaishyas perish for want of the sacraments; and a shudra perishes if he does not serve the stages of life as each deserves.

Note on the text: Removed the stray backtick before line 1, the closing quote mark and the page's doubled danda; verse-end mark normalised. Not a numbered verse of the critical edition: lines 1-2 are the CE star passage 13.122.008d*0612_01-02 (exact), printed after 8d.

Verse 10 (13.183.10)

अन्धं स्यात्तम एवेदं न प्रज्ञायेत किञ्चन । चातुर्वर्ण्यं न वर्तेत धर्माधर्मावृतानृते ॥

andhaṃ syāttama evedaṃ na prajñāyeta kiñcana | cāturvarṇyaṃ na varteta dharmādharmāvṛtānṛte

All this would be blind darkness, and nothing could be known; the four orders would not carry on, and dharma and adharma, truth and falsehood, would be lost.

Note on the text: Removed the editor's square brackets and the page's doubled danda before the closing bracket; verse-end mark normalised. Not a numbered verse of the critical edition: lines 1-2 are the CE star passage 13.122.008d*0611_01-02 (exact), printed after 8d (before the passage of verse 9).

Verse 11 (13.183.11)

यथाहि सुकृते क्षेत्रे फलं विन्दति मानवः । एवं दत्त्वा श्रुतवते फलं दाता समश्नुते ॥

yathāhi sukṛte kṣetre phalaṃ vindati mānavaḥ | evaṃ dattvā śrutavate phalaṃ dātā samaśnute

As a man reaps fruit from a field that has been well tilled, so a giver reaps the fruit when he gives to a learned man.

Verse 12 (13.183.12)

ब्राह्मणश्चेन्न विन्देत श्रुतवृत्तोपसंहितः । प्रतिग्रहीता दानस्य मोघं स्याद्धनिनां धनम् ॥

brāhmaṇaścenna vindeta śrutavṛttopasaṃhitaḥ | pratigrahītā dānasya moghaṃ syāddhanināṃ dhanam

If there were no brahmin to be found, endowed with learning and good conduct, to receive the gift, the wealth of the wealthy would be wasted.

Verse 13 (13.183.13)

अन्नं ह्यविद्वान्हन्त्येवमविद्वांसं च हन्ति तत् । तच्चान्यं हन्ति यच्चान्यत्स भुक्त्वा हन्यतेऽबुधः ॥

annaṃ hyavidvānhantyevamavidvāṃsaṃ ca hanti tat | taccānyaṃ hanti yaccānyatsa bhuktvā hanyate'budhaḥ

An unlearned man destroys the food he eats, and the food in turn destroys him; and it also destroys the one whose food it was, and the fool, having eaten, is himself destroyed.

Note on the text: Not matched by the aligner; = CE 13.122.11 (recension variant: CE 11a 'adan hy avidvān hanty annam adyamānaṃ ca hanti tam', 11c 'taṃ ca hanyati yasyānnaṃ sa hatvā hanyate 'budhaḥ').

Verse 14 (13.183.14)

प्राहुर्ह्यन्नमदन्विद्वान्पुनर्जनयतीश्वरः । स चान्नाज्जायते तस्मात्सूक्ष्म एष व्यतिक्रमः ॥

prāhurhyannamadanvidvānpunarjanayatīśvaraḥ | sa cānnājjāyate tasmātsūkṣma eṣa vyatikramaḥ

They say that a learned man who eats food begets again, as a lord does; and he is born in turn from that food, so the lapse here is a subtle one.

Verse 15 (13.183.15)

ब्राह्मं ह्यनुपयोगी यो ददंश्चान्नमसंशयम् । यस्तारयति वै विद्वान्पितॄन्देवान्सदाऽमृतान् ॥

brāhmaṃ hyanupayogī yo dadaṃścānnamasaṃśayam | yastārayati vai vidvānpitṝndevānsadā'mṛtān

Whoever gives food to a brahmin without fail, not keeping it for his own use, is a learned man who carries across the ancestors and the gods, ever immortal.

Note on the text: Removed the stray backtick before line 1 and the closing quote mark. Not a numbered verse of the critical edition: the verse corresponds to the CE star passage 13.122.012d*0613_01-02 ('prabhur hy anupabhogī syād adattvānnam asaṃśayam / yas tārayati vai vidvān pitṝn devān samādṛtān'); Wikisource's line 1 is corrupt or a different recension reading, and the line 2 variants are सदाऽमृतान् for samādṛtān. Kept as printed; the translation follows the printed words as far as they will bear.

Verse 16 (13.183.16)

यदेव ददतः पुण्यं तदेव प्रतिगृह्णतः । न ह्येकचक्रं वर्तेत इत्येवमृषयो विदुः ॥

yadeva dadataḥ puṇyaṃ tadeva pratigṛhṇataḥ | na hyekacakraṃ varteta ityevamṛṣayo viduḥ

The merit that comes to the giver is the same as comes to the one who receives; for a cart with a single wheel would not move — so the sages know.

Verse 17 (13.183.17)

यत्र वै ब्राह्मणाः सन्ति श्रुतवृत्तोपसंहिताः । तत्र दानफलं पुण्यमिह चामुत्र चाश्नुते ॥

yatra vai brāhmaṇāḥ santi śrutavṛttopasaṃhitāḥ | tatra dānaphalaṃ puṇyamiha cāmutra cāśnute

Where there are brahmins endowed with learning and good conduct, there the merit of a gift is gained, both in this world and in the next.

Verse 18 (13.183.18)

ये योनिशुद्धाः सततं तपस्यभिरता भृशम् । दानाध्ययनसम्पन्नास्ते वै पूज्यतमाः सदा ॥

ye yoniśuddhāḥ satataṃ tapasyabhiratā bhṛśam | dānādhyayanasampannāste vai pūjyatamāḥ sadā

Those of pure birth, always deeply devoted to austerity and rich in giving and study, are ever the most worthy of honour.

Verse 19 (13.183.19)

तैर्हि सद्भिः कृतः पन्था देवयानो न मुह्यते । ते हि स्वर्गस्य नेतारो यज्ञवाहाः सनातनाः ॥

tairhi sadbhiḥ kṛtaḥ panthā devayāno na muhyate | te hi svargasya netāro yajñavāhāḥ sanātanāḥ

The path of the gods was made by those good men, and it is not lost; for they are the leaders to heaven, the everlasting bearers of sacrifice.