Yudhishthira Defends Dharma

Verse 1 (3.31.1)

वल्गु चित्रपदं श्लक्ष्णं याज्ञसेनि त्वया वचः । उक्तं तच्छ्रुतमस्माभिर्नास्तिक्यं तु प्रभाषसे ॥

valgu citrapadaṃ ślakṣṇaṃ yājñaseni tvayā vacaḥ | uktaṃ tacchrutamasmābhirnāstikyaṃ tu prabhāṣase

Yajnaseni, we have heard the words you have spoken, charming, finely phrased and gentle; but what you are saying is unbelief.

Verse 2 (3.31.2)

नाहं धर्मफलाकाङ्क्षी राजपुत्रि चराम्युत । ददामि देयमित्येव यजे यष्टव्यमित्युत ॥

nāhaṃ dharmaphalākāṅkṣī rājaputri carāmyuta | dadāmi deyamityeva yaje yaṣṭavyamityuta

I do not practise dharma out of longing for its fruit, princess. I give because it ought to be given, and I sacrifice because sacrifice ought to be offered.

Note on the text: Corrected चराम्भुत → चराम्युत (misprint in Wikisource; चरामि उत, as in the critical edition's carāmy uta).

Verse 3 (3.31.3)

अस्तु वाऽत्र फलं मा वा कर्तव्यं पुरुषेण यत् । गृहे निवसता कृष्णे यथाशक्ति करोमि तत् ॥

astu vā'tra phalaṃ mā vā kartavyaṃ puruṣeṇa yat | gṛhe nivasatā kṛṣṇe yathāśakti karomi tat

Whether it brings fruit or not, Krishna, whatever a man living as a householder ought to do, that I do to the best of my power.

Verse 4 (3.31.4)

धर्मं चरामि सुश्रोणि न धर्मफलकारणात् । आगमाननतिक्रम्य सतां वृत्तमवेक्ष्य च ॥

dharmaṃ carāmi suśroṇi na dharmaphalakāraṇāt | āgamānanatikramya satāṃ vṛttamavekṣya ca

I practise dharma, fair one, not for the sake of its reward, but without transgressing the scriptures and with my eyes on the conduct of the good.

Note on the text: These two lines are the critical edition's 3.32.4ab–cd; its third line (4ef) opens the next verse.

Verse 5 (3.31.5)

धर्म एव मनः कृष्णे स्वभावाच्चैव मे धृतम् । धर्मवाणिज्यको हीनो जघन्यो धर्मवादिनाम् ॥

dharma eva manaḥ kṛṣṇe svabhāvāccaiva me dhṛtam | dharmavāṇijyako hīno jaghanyo dharmavādinām

My mind, Krishna, is set on dharma alone, and by its very nature. The man who makes a trade of dharma is base, the lowest of those who speak of dharma.

Note on the text: Removed the square brackets around the second line (editorial marks in Wikisource) and set the line punctuation. The first line is the critical edition's 3.32.4ef; the second is not in its constituted text (found in the vulgate recension; it appears in the apparatus as 3.32.4f*111).

Verse 6 (3.31.6)

न धर्मफलमाप्नोति यो धर्मं दोग्धुमिच्छति । यश्चैनं शङ्कते कृत्वा नास्तिक्यात्पापचेतनः ॥

na dharmaphalamāpnoti yo dharmaṃ dogdhumicchati | yaścainaṃ śaṅkate kṛtvā nāstikyātpāpacetanaḥ

He who seeks to milk dharma for gain does not obtain its fruit, nor does the man of sinful mind who, having practised it, doubts it out of unbelief.

Verse 7 (3.31.7)

अतिवादान्मदाच्चैव मा धर्ममभिशङ्कथाः । धर्मातिशङ्की पुरुषस्तिर्यग्गतिपरायणः ॥

ativādānmadāccaiva mā dharmamabhiśaṅkathāḥ | dharmātiśaṅkī puruṣastiryaggatiparāyaṇaḥ

Do not, out of overbold speech and pride, cast doubt upon dharma. The man who doubts dharma is bound for birth among the beasts.

Verse 8 (3.31.8)

धर्मो यस्यातिशङ्क्यः स्यादार्षं वा दुर्बलात्मनः । वेदाच्छूद्र इवापेयात्स लोकादजरामरात् ॥

dharmo yasyātiśaṅkyaḥ syādārṣaṃ vā durbalātmanaḥ | vedācchūdra ivāpeyātsa lokādajarāmarāt

The weak-souled man who doubts dharma, or the word of the seers, is shut out from the world that knows neither age nor death, as a shudra is shut out from the Veda.

Verse 9 (3.31.9)

वेदाध्यायी धर्मपरः कुले जातो मनस्विनि । स्थविरेषु स योक्तव्यो राजभिर्धर्मचारिभिः ॥

vedādhyāyī dharmaparaḥ kule jāto manasvini | sthavireṣu sa yoktavyo rājabhirdharmacāribhiḥ

One who studies the Veda, is devoted to dharma and is born of a good family, wise lady, should be counted among the elders by kings who follow dharma.

Verse 10 (3.31.10)

पापीयान्स हि शूद्रेभ्यस्तस्करेभ्यो विशिष्यते । शास्त्रातिगो मन्दबुद्धिर्यो धर्ममतिशङ्कते ॥

pāpīyānsa hi śūdrebhyastaskarebhyo viśiṣyate | śāstrātigo mandabuddhiryo dharmamatiśaṅkate

But the dull-witted man who oversteps the scriptures and doubts dharma is more sinful than shudras, and outdoes even thieves.

Verse 11 (3.31.11)

प्रत्यक्षं हि त्वया दृष्ट ऋषिर्गच्छन्महातपाः । मार्कण्डेयोऽप्रमेयात्मा धर्मेण चिरजीविता ॥

pratyakṣaṃ hi tvayā dṛṣṭa ṛṣirgacchanmahātapāḥ | mārkaṇḍeyo'prameyātmā dharmeṇa cirajīvitā

You have seen with your own eyes the great ascetic, the sage Markandeya of immeasurable soul, coming here, long-lived through dharma.

Verse 12 (3.31.12)

व्यासो वसिष्ठो मैत्रेयो नारदो लोमशः शुकः । अन्ये च ऋषयः सर्वे धर्मेणैव सुचेतसः ॥

vyāso vasiṣṭho maitreyo nārado lomaśaḥ śukaḥ | anye ca ṛṣayaḥ sarve dharmeṇaiva sucetasaḥ

Vyasa, Vasishtha, Maitreya, Narada, Lomasha and Shuka, and all the other sages, are pure of mind through dharma alone.

Verse 13 (3.31.13)

प्रत्यक्षं पश्यसि ह्येतान्दिव्ययोगसमन्वितान् । शापानुग्रहणे शक्तान्देवेभ्योऽपि गरीयसः ॥

pratyakṣaṃ paśyasi hyetāndivyayogasamanvitān | śāpānugrahaṇe śaktāndevebhyo'pi garīyasaḥ

You see them before your eyes, endowed with divine yoga, able to curse and to bless, weightier even than the gods.

Verse 14 (3.31.14)

एते हि धर्ममेवादौ वर्णयन्ति सदाऽनघे । कर्तव्यममरप्रख्याः प्रत्यक्षागमबुद्धयः ॥

ete hi dharmamevādau varṇayanti sadā'naghe | kartavyamamaraprakhyāḥ pratyakṣāgamabuddhayaḥ

These men, equal to the immortals, whose understanding rests on what they have seen and on scripture, always declare first of all that dharma must be practised, sinless one.

Note on the text: Corrected सदाऽनधे → सदाऽनघे (misprint in Wikisource; अनधे is no word, and the vocative अनघे, "sinless one", is evident; the critical edition reads sadā mama here).

Verse 15 (3.31.15)

अतो नार्हसि कल्याणि धातारं धर्ममेव च । रजोमूढेन मनसा क्षेप्तुं शङ्कितुमेव च ॥

ato nārhasi kalyāṇi dhātāraṃ dharmameva ca | rajomūḍhena manasā kṣeptuṃ śaṅkitumeva ca

So, fair lady, you ought not, with a mind clouded by passion, to revile the Ordainer and dharma, nor to doubt them.

Verse 16 (3.31.16)

उन्मत्तान्मन्यते बालः सर्वानागतनिश्चयान् । धर्मातिशङ्की नान्यस्मिन्प्रमाणमधिगच्छति ॥

unmattānmanyate bālaḥ sarvānāgataniścayān | dharmātiśaṅkī nānyasminpramāṇamadhigacchati

The fool thinks that all who have reached certainty are mad. One who doubts dharma recognises no authority outside himself.

Note on the text: The first line is not in the critical edition's constituted text (it appears in its apparatus as 3.32.14d*112); the second line is 3.32.15ab. The critical edition's 3.32.15cd (ātmapramāṇa unnaddhaḥ śreyaso hy avamanyakaḥ) has no counterpart in this Wikisource text.

Verse 17 (3.31.17)

इन्द्रियप्रीतिसंबद्धं यदिदं लोकसाक्षिकम् । एतावन्मन्यते बालो मोहमन्यत्र गच्छति ॥

indriyaprītisaṃbaddhaṃ yadidaṃ lokasākṣikam | etāvanmanyate bālo mohamanyatra gacchati

Only this world, bound up with the pleasures of the senses and witnessed by everyone, does the fool accept; about anything beyond it he is lost in delusion.

Verse 18 (3.31.18)

प्रायश्चित्तं न तस्यास्ति यो धर्ममतिशङ्कते । ध्यायन्स कृपणः पापो न लोकान्प्रतिपद्यते ॥

prāyaścittaṃ na tasyāsti yo dharmamatiśaṅkate | dhyāyansa kṛpaṇaḥ pāpo na lokānpratipadyate

There is no atonement for one who doubts dharma. That wretched sinner, brooding, does not attain the higher worlds.

Verse 19 (3.31.19)

प्रमाणाद्धि निवृत्तो हि वेदशास्त्रार्थनिन्दकः । कामलोभानुगो मूढो नरकं प्रतिपद्यते ॥

pramāṇāddhi nivṛtto hi vedaśāstrārthanindakaḥ | kāmalobhānugo mūḍho narakaṃ pratipadyate

The fool who turns away from authority, who reviles the meaning of the Vedas and scriptures and follows desire and greed, goes to hell.

Verse 20 (3.31.20)

आर्षं प्रमाणमुत्क्रम्य धर्मं न प्रतिपालयन् । सर्वशास्त्रातिगो मूढः शं जन्मसु न विन्दति ॥

ārṣaṃ pramāṇamutkramya dharmaṃ na pratipālayan | sarvaśāstrātigo mūḍhaḥ śaṃ janmasu na vindati

Overstepping the authority of the seers and failing to uphold dharma, the fool who transgresses every scripture finds no peace in any of his births.

Note on the text: Corrected उत्क्राम्य → उत्क्रम्य (misprint in Wikisource; the gerund of उत् + क्रम् is उत्क्रम्य, as in the critical edition's utkramya). धर्मं न प्रतिपालयन् is a recension variant of the critical edition's dharmān aparipālayan and is kept. In the critical edition this verse follows 3.32.19, which Wikisource places after it.

Verse 21 (3.31.21)

यस्तु नित्यं कृतमतिर्धर्ममेवाभिपद्यते । अशङ्कमानः कल्याणि सोऽमुत्रानन्त्यमश्नुते ॥

yastu nityaṃ kṛtamatirdharmamevābhipadyate | aśaṅkamānaḥ kalyāṇi so'mutrānantyamaśnute

But he who, with settled mind, always holds to dharma without doubting, fair lady, attains the endless in the world beyond.

Verse 22 (3.31.22)

यस्य नार्षं प्रमाणं स्याच्छिष्टाचारश्च भामिनि । न वै तस्य परो लोको नायमस्तीति निश्चयः ॥

yasya nārṣaṃ pramāṇaṃ syācchiṣṭācāraśca bhāmini | na vai tasya paro loko nāyamastīti niścayaḥ

For one to whom neither the word of the seers nor the conduct of the cultured is authority, lovely lady, there is surely neither the other world nor this one.

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition (found in the vulgate recension); it appears in the critical edition's apparatus as 3.32.20d*113.

Verse 23 (3.31.23)

शिष्टैराचरितं धर्मं कृष्णे मास्मातिशङ्कथाः । पुराणमृषिभिः प्रोक्तं सर्वज्ञैः सर्वदर्शिभिः ॥

śiṣṭairācaritaṃ dharmaṃ kṛṣṇe māsmātiśaṅkathāḥ | purāṇamṛṣibhiḥ proktaṃ sarvajñaiḥ sarvadarśibhiḥ

Krishna, do not doubt the dharma practised by the cultured, the ancient dharma declared by the all-knowing, all-seeing seers.

Verse 24 (3.31.24)

धर्म एव प्लवो नान्यः स्वर्गं द्रौपदि गच्छताम् । सैव नौः सागरस्येव वणिजः पारमिच्छतः ॥

dharma eva plavo nānyaḥ svargaṃ draupadi gacchatām | saiva nauḥ sāgarasyeva vaṇijaḥ pāramicchataḥ

Dharma alone, Draupadi, and nothing else, is the raft for those who are bound for heaven, as a ship is for a merchant who wishes to reach the far shore of the ocean.

Note on the text: Corrected सैवः → सैव (misprint in Wikisource; a stray visarga before नौः).

Verse 25 (3.31.25)

अफलो यदि धर्मः स्याच्चरितो धर्मचारिभिः । अप्रतिष्ठे तमस्येतज्जगन्मज्जेदनिन्दिते ॥

aphalo yadi dharmaḥ syāccarito dharmacāribhiḥ | apratiṣṭhe tamasyetajjaganmajjedanindite

If dharma, practised by the righteous, bore no fruit, faultless one, this whole world would sink into bottomless darkness.

Verse 26 (3.31.26)

निर्वाणं नाधिगच्छेयुर्जीवेयुः पशुजीविकाम् । विघातेनैव युज्येयुर्न चार्थं कंचिदाप्नुयुः ॥

nirvāṇaṃ nādhigaccheyurjīveyuḥ paśujīvikām | vighātenaiva yujyeyurna cārthaṃ kaṃcidāpnuyuḥ

People would never attain peace. They would live the life of beasts, they would meet only with ruin, and they would gain nothing at all.

Verse 27 (3.31.27)

तपश्च ब्रह्मचर्यं च यज्ञः स्वाध्याय एव च । दानमार्जवमेतानि यदि स्युरफलानि वै ॥

tapaśca brahmacaryaṃ ca yajñaḥ svādhyāya eva ca | dānamārjavametāni yadi syuraphalāni vai

If austerity, celibacy, sacrifice, study of the Veda, charity and straightforwardness were all without fruit,

Verse 28 (3.31.28)

नाचरिष्यन्परे धर्मं परे परतरेऽपि च । विप्रलम्भोऽयमत्यन्तं यदि स्युरफलाः क्रियाः ॥

nācariṣyanpare dharmaṃ pare paratare'pi ca | vipralambho'yamatyantaṃ yadi syuraphalāḥ kriyāḥ

then the men of old, and those older still, would never have practised dharma. If deeds were without fruit, it would all be the grossest deception.

Note on the text: Restored from the critical edition (3.32.26cd): Wikisource repeats the previous verse's second line (दानमार्जवमेतानि यदि स्युरफलानि वै) here in place of this verse's own, so the second line is restored from the critical edition. The first line is Wikisource's, with its variant परतरेऽपि च.

Verse 29 (3.31.29)

ऋषयश्चैव देवाश्च गन्धर्वासुरराक्षसाः । ईश्वराः कस्य हेतोस्ते चरेयुर्धर्ममादृताः ॥

ṛṣayaścaiva devāśca gandharvāsurarākṣasāḥ | īśvarāḥ kasya hetoste careyurdharmamādṛtāḥ

Why else would the seers and the gods, the gandharvas, asuras and rakshasas, mighty lords as they are, practise dharma so devotedly?

Note on the text: Corrected ऋषयस्चैव → ऋषयश्चैव (misprint in Wikisource; the sandhi of ऋषयः + च is ऋषयश्च).

Verse 30 (3.31.30)

फलदं त्विह विज्ञाय धातारं श्रेयसि स्थितम् । धर्मं ते ह्याचरन्कृष्णे स हि धर्म सनातनः ॥

phaladaṃ tviha vijñāya dhātāraṃ śreyasi sthitam | dharmaṃ te hyācarankṛṣṇe sa hi dharma sanātanaḥ

Knowing that the Ordainer grants the fruit here and stands for what is good, they practised dharma, Krishna; for that is the eternal dharma.

Note on the text: Corrected तेऽव्यचरन् → ते ह्याचरन् (misprint in Wikisource; अव्यचरन् is no form, since the augment cannot precede the prefix वि; the critical edition reads te hy ācaran). श्रेयसि स्थितम् and स हि धर्म सनातनः are recension variants and are kept.

Verse 31 (3.31.31)

स चायं सफलो धर्मो न धर्मोऽफल उच्यते । दृश्यन्तेऽपि हि विद्यानां फलानि तपसां तथा ॥

sa cāyaṃ saphalo dharmo na dharmo'phala ucyate | dṛśyante'pi hi vidyānāṃ phalāni tapasāṃ tathā

This dharma does bear fruit; dharma is never said to be fruitless. The fruits of learning and of austerity too are plain to see.

Verse 32 (3.31.32)

त्वय्येतद्वै विजानीहि जन्म कृष्णे यथाश्रुतम् । वेत्थ चापि यथा जातो धृष्टद्युम्नः प्रतापवान् ॥

tvayyetadvai vijānīhi janma kṛṣṇe yathāśrutam | vettha cāpi yathā jāto dhṛṣṭadyumnaḥ pratāpavān

Know this from your own birth, Krishna, as you have heard of it; and you know too how the valiant Dhrishtadyumna was born.

Verse 33 (3.31.33)

एतावदेव पर्याप्तमुपमानं शुचिस्मिते । कर्मणां फलमस्तीति धीरोऽल्पेनापि तुष्यति ॥

etāvadeva paryāptamupamānaṃ śucismite | karmaṇāṃ phalamastīti dhīro'lpenāpi tuṣyati

This much is example enough, bright-smiling one. The wise man, knowing that deeds bear fruit, is content even with a little.

Verse 34 (3.31.34)

बहुनाऽपि ह्यविद्वांसो नैव तुष्यन्त्यबुद्धयः । तेषां न धर्मजं किंचित्प्रेत्य कर्मास्ति शर्म वा ॥

bahunā'pi hyavidvāṃso naiva tuṣyantyabuddhayaḥ | teṣāṃ na dharmajaṃ kiṃcitpretya karmāsti śarma vā

But the ignorant and thoughtless are not content even with much. For them nothing born of dharma remains after death, neither good deeds nor happiness.

Note on the text: Corrected ध्मजं → धर्मजं (misprint in Wikisource; a dropped र्, as in the critical edition's dharmajaṃ).

Verse 35 (3.31.35)

कर्मणामुत पुण्यानां पापानां च फलोदयः । प्रभवश्चाप्ययश्चैव देवगुह्यानि भामिनि ॥

karmaṇāmuta puṇyānāṃ pāpānāṃ ca phalodayaḥ | prabhavaścāpyayaścaiva devaguhyāni bhāmini

How the fruit of deeds, meritorious and sinful alike, ripens, and how deeds arise and pass away, lovely lady, are secrets of the gods.

Verse 36 (3.31.36)

नैतानि वेद यः कश्चिन्मुह्यन्त्यत्र प्रजा इमाः । अपि कल्पसहस्रेण न च श्रेयोऽधिगच्छति ॥

naitāni veda yaḥ kaścinmuhyantyatra prajā imāḥ | api kalpasahasreṇa na ca śreyo'dhigacchati

No one knows these things; the creatures of this world are bewildered about them. Even in a thousand aeons one does not attain the highest good.

Note on the text: Removed the square brackets and the inner double danda around the second line (editorial marks in Wikisource). The first line is the critical edition's 3.32.34ab; the second is not in its constituted text (found in the vulgate recension; it appears in the apparatus as 3.32.34b*114, reading naraḥ śreyo).

Verse 37 (3.31.37)

रक्ष्याण्येतानि देवानां गूढमाया हि देवताः । कृशाङ्गाः सुव्रताश्चैव तपसा दग्धकिल्विषाः । प्रसन्नैर्मानसैर्युक्ताः पश्यन्त्येतानि वै द्विजाः ॥

rakṣyāṇyetāni devānāṃ gūḍhamāyā hi devatāḥ | kṛśāṅgāḥ suvratāścaiva tapasā dagdhakilviṣāḥ | prasannairmānasairyuktāḥ paśyantyetāni vai dvijāḥ

These things are guarded by the gods, for the deities keep their maya hidden. Only brahmins lean of limb and firm in their vows, whose sins are burnt away by austerity and whose minds are serene, perceive them.

Note on the text: Corrected सुब्रताः → सुव्रताः (misprint in Wikisource; the word is सुव्रत, as in the critical edition's suvratāś). Three-line verse: the first line is the critical edition's 3.32.34cd, the other two are 3.32.35.

Verse 38 (3.31.38)

न फलादर्शनाद्धर्मः शङ्कितव्यो न देवताः । यष्टव्यं च प्रयत्नेन दातव्यं चानसूयता ॥

na phalādarśanāddharmaḥ śaṅkitavyo na devatāḥ | yaṣṭavyaṃ ca prayatnena dātavyaṃ cānasūyatā

Dharma must not be doubted, nor the gods, merely because the fruit is not seen. One should sacrifice with diligence and give without envy.

Note on the text: Corrected फलादर्सनाद्धर्मः → फलादर्शनाद्धर्मः and चानमूयता → चानसूयता (misprints in Wikisource; दर्शन with श, and अनसूयता "without envy", as in the critical edition). यष्टव्यं च प्रयत्नेन is a recension variant of the critical edition's yaṣṭavyaṃ cāpramattena and is kept.

Verse 39 (3.31.39)

कर्मणां फलमस्तीह तथैतद्धर्मशासनम् । ब्रह्मा प्रोवाच पुत्राणां यदृषिर्वेद काश्यपः ॥

karmaṇāṃ phalamastīha tathaitaddharmaśāsanam | brahmā provāca putrāṇāṃ yadṛṣirveda kāśyapaḥ

Deeds bear fruit in this world: such is the teaching of dharma, which Brahma declared to his sons and which the seer Kashyapa knows.

Verse 40 (3.31.40)

तस्मात्ते संशयः कृष्णे नीहार इव नश्यतु । विमृश्य सर्वमस्तीति नास्तिक्यं भावमुत्सृज ॥

tasmātte saṃśayaḥ kṛṣṇe nīhāra iva naśyatu | vimṛśya sarvamastīti nāstikyaṃ bhāvamutsṛja

So let your doubt vanish like the mist, Krishna. Reflect, conclude that all this is true, and give up this attitude of unbelief.

Verse 41 (3.31.41)

ईश्वरं चापि भूतानां धातारं मा च वै क्षिप । शिक्षस्वैनं नमस्वैनं मा तेऽभूद्बुद्धिरीदृशी ॥

īśvaraṃ cāpi bhūtānāṃ dhātāraṃ mā ca vai kṣipa | śikṣasvainaṃ namasvainaṃ mā te'bhūdbuddhirīdṛśī

And do not revile the Lord, the Ordainer of all beings. Learn of him, bow down to him, and let your mind not be like this.

Verse 42 (3.31.42)

यस्य प्रसादात्तद्भक्तो मर्त्यो गच्छत्यमर्त्यताम् । उत्तमां देवतां कृष्णे मातिवोचः कथंचन ॥

yasya prasādāttadbhakto martyo gacchatyamartyatām | uttamāṃ devatāṃ kṛṣṇe mātivocaḥ kathaṃcana

Never, Krishna, speak slightingly of that highest deity, by whose grace a mortal who is devoted to him attains immortality.