The Wheel of Time and the Householder's Duties

Verse 1 (14.45.1)

बुद्धिसारं मनस्तम्भमिन्द्रियग्रामबन्धनम् । महाभूतारविष्कम्भं निमेषपरिवेष्टनम् ॥

buddhisāraṃ manastambhamindriyagrāmabandhanam | mahābhūtāraviṣkambhaṃ nimeṣapariveṣṭanam

Having the intellect for its core, the mind for its pillar, and the bonds of the senses for its binding, with the great elements for its spokes and props and the winking of the eye for its encircling rim,

Verse 2 (14.45.2)

जराशोकसमाविष्टं व्याधिव्यसनसञ्चरम् । देशकालविचारीदं श्रमव्यायामनिःस्वनम् ॥

jarāśokasamāviṣṭaṃ vyādhivyasanasañcaram | deśakālavicārīdaṃ śramavyāyāmaniḥsvanam

beset by old age and sorrow, moving amid disease and misfortune, surveying place and time, resounding with weariness and toil,

Verse 3 (14.45.3)

अहोरात्रपरिक्षेपं शीतोष्णपरिमण्डलम् । सुखदुःखान्तसंश्लेषं क्षुत्पिपासावकीलकम् ॥

ahorātraparikṣepaṃ śītoṣṇaparimaṇḍalam | sukhaduḥkhāntasaṃśleṣaṃ kṣutpipāsāvakīlakam

girt about by day and night, circled by cold and heat, joined with the ends of pleasure and pain, and pegged down by hunger and thirst,

Verse 4 (14.45.4)

छायातपविलेखं च निमेषोन्मेषविह्वलम् । शोकमोहजराकीर्णं वर्तमानमचेतनम् ॥

chāyātapavilekhaṃ ca nimeṣonmeṣavihvalam | śokamohajarākīrṇaṃ vartamānamacetanam

traced with lines of shade and sunlight, shaken by the opening and closing of the eyes, crowded with sorrow, delusion and old age, ever present yet insentient,

Verse 5 (14.45.5)

मासार्धमासगुणितं विषमं लोकसञ्चरम् । तमोनिचयपङ्कं च रजोवेगप्रवर्तकम् ॥

māsārdhamāsaguṇitaṃ viṣamaṃ lokasañcaram | tamonicayapaṅkaṃ ca rajovegapravartakam

reckoned in months and half-months, uneven, wandering through the world, with a mire of heaped darkness and driven on by the force of passion,

Verse 6 (14.45.6)

सत्त्वालङ्कारदीप्तं च गुणसंघातमण्डलम् । विरतिग्रहणाभीकं शोकसंहारवर्तनम् ॥

sattvālaṅkāradīptaṃ ca guṇasaṃghātamaṇḍalam | viratigrahaṇābhīkaṃ śokasaṃhāravartanam

shining with the ornament of goodness, a circle made of the aggregate of the qualities, with cessation and seizing for its hub, and turning amid the gathering-in of sorrows,

Note on the text: Wikisource reads विरतिग्रहणाभीकं; the critical edition has svaravigrahanābhīkaṃ ('with sound and body for its hub'). The compound is unclear in the vulgate reading; kept as printed and translated as 'with cessation and seizing for its hub'.

Verse 7 (14.45.7)

क्रियाकारणसंयुक्तं रागविस्तारमायतम् । लोभेप्सापरिविक्षोभं विविक्तज्ञानसम्भवम् ॥

kriyākāraṇasaṃyuktaṃ rāgavistāramāyatam | lobhepsāparivikṣobhaṃ viviktajñānasambhavam

joined with action and cause, widely spread through the extension of attachment, agitated by greed and desire, and arising from distinct knowledge,

Note on the text: Page label is 14-45-14, a mistyped number (the row stands between 14-45-6 and 14-45-8, and 14-45-14 is the label of the verse that comes after 13); the text is verse 7 in sequence, so wikisource_number is given as 7. The division of the page is otherwise correct.

Verse 8 (14.45.8)

भयमोहपरीवारं भूतसंमोहकारकम् । आनन्दप्रीतिचारं च कामक्रोधपरिग्रहम् ॥

bhayamohaparīvāraṃ bhūtasaṃmohakārakam | ānandaprīticāraṃ ca kāmakrodhaparigraham

ringed round by fear and delusion, bewildering all beings, moving amid joy and affection, and seizing on desire and anger,

Verse 9 (14.45.9)

महदादिविशेषान्तमव्यक्तं प्रभवाप्ययम् । मनोजवनमश्रान्तं कालचक्रं प्रवर्तते ॥

mahadādiviśeṣāntamavyaktaṃ prabhavāpyayam | manojavanamaśrāntaṃ kālacakraṃ pravartate

reaching from the great principle down to the particulars, unmanifest, the source and the dissolution of all, swift as the mind and untiring: so the wheel of time turns.

Verse 10 (14.45.10)

एतद्द्वन्द्वसमायुक्तं कालचक्रमचेतनम् । विसृजेत्संक्षिपेच्चापि बोधयेत्स्वापयेज्जगत् ॥

etaddvandvasamāyuktaṃ kālacakramacetanam | visṛjetsaṃkṣipeccāpi bodhayetsvāpayejjagat

This insentient wheel of time, joined with the pairs of opposites, may let go, may draw in, may wake and may put to sleep the world with its gods.

Note on the text: Corrected स्वापयेज्जगम् → स्वापयेज्जगत् (misprint in Wikisource; the critical edition has jagat and the page's own footnote variant reads जगत्). The footnote variant 'मोहयेत्सामरं जगत्' printed on the page is not adopted.

Verse 11 (14.45.11)

कालचक्रप्रवृत्तिं च निवृत्तिं चैव तत्त्वतः । यस्तु वेद नरो नित्यं न स भूतेषु मुह्यति ॥

kālacakrapravṛttiṃ ca nivṛttiṃ caiva tattvataḥ | yastu veda naro nityaṃ na sa bhūteṣu muhyati

The man who truly knows, always, the going forth and the turning back of the wheel of time is not bewildered among beings.

Verse 12 (14.45.12)

विमुक्तः सर्वसङ्क्लेशैः सर्वद्वन्द्वातिगो मुनिः । विमुक्तः सर्वपापेभ्यः प्राप्नोति परमां गतिम् ॥

vimuktaḥ sarvasaṅkleśaiḥ sarvadvandvātigo muniḥ | vimuktaḥ sarvapāpebhyaḥ prāpnoti paramāṃ gatim

The sage, freed from all afflictions and passing beyond all pairs of opposites, freed from all sins, reaches the highest goal.

Verse 13 (14.45.13)

गृहस्थो ब्रह्मचारी च वानप्रस्थोऽथ भिक्षुकः । चत्वार आश्रमाः प्रोक्ताः सर्वे गार्हस्थ्यमूलकाः ॥

gṛhastho brahmacārī ca vānaprastho'tha bhikṣukaḥ | catvāra āśramāḥ proktāḥ sarve gārhasthyamūlakāḥ

The householder, the student, the forest-dweller and the mendicant: four orders of life are declared, and all of them have the householder's life for their root.

Verse 14 (14.45.14)

यः कश्चिदिह लोकेऽस्मिन्नाश्रमः परिकीर्तितः । तस्यान्तगमनं श्रेयः कीर्तिरेषा सनातनी ॥

yaḥ kaścidiha loke'sminnāśramaḥ parikīrtitaḥ | tasyāntagamanaṃ śreyaḥ kīrtireṣā sanātanī

Whatever order of life has been proclaimed in this world, it is best to reach its end; this is the eternal glory.

Verse 15 (14.45.15)

संस्कारैः संस्कृतः पूर्वं यथावच्चरितव्रतः । जातौ गुणविशिष्टायां समावर्तेत वेदवित् ॥

saṃskāraiḥ saṃskṛtaḥ pūrvaṃ yathāvaccaritavrataḥ | jātau guṇaviśiṣṭāyāṃ samāvarteta vedavit

Purified beforehand by the rites of sanctification and having properly kept his vows, a knower of the Veda should return home to a lineage distinguished by good qualities.

Verse 16 (14.45.16)

स्वदारनिरतो नित्यं शिष्टाचारो जितेन्द्रियः । पञ्चभिश्च महायज्ञैः श्रद्दधानो यजेदिह ॥

svadāranirato nityaṃ śiṣṭācāro jitendriyaḥ | pañcabhiśca mahāyajñaiḥ śraddadhāno yajediha

Devoted always to his own wife, of good conduct and master of his senses, he should perform sacrifice here with faith, offering the five great sacrifices.

Verse 17 (14.45.17)

देवतातिथिशिष्टाशी निरतो वेदकर्मसु । इज्याप्रदानयुक्तश्च यथाशक्ति यथाविधि ॥

devatātithiśiṣṭāśī nirato vedakarmasu | ijyāpradānayuktaśca yathāśakti yathāvidhi

He should eat what remains after the gods and guests have been served, be devoted to the Vedic rites, and be given to sacrifice and giving, according to his ability and the rule.

Verse 18 (14.45.18)

न पाणिपादचपलो न नेत्रचपलो मुनिः । न च वागङ्गचपल इति शिष्टस्य गोचरः ॥

na pāṇipādacapalo na netracapalo muniḥ | na ca vāgaṅgacapala iti śiṣṭasya gocaraḥ

A sage is not restless of hand or foot, not restless of eye, nor restless in speech or limb: this is the way of the cultured.

Verse 19 (14.45.19)

नित्यं यज्ञोपवीती स्याच्छुक्लवासाः शुचिव्रतः । नियतो यमदानाभ्यां सदा शिष्टैश्च संविशेत् ॥

nityaṃ yajñopavītī syācchuklavāsāḥ śucivrataḥ | niyato yamadānābhyāṃ sadā śiṣṭaiśca saṃviśet

He should always wear the sacred thread, dress in white, keep his vows pure, be disciplined by restraint and giving, and always keep company with the cultured.

Verse 20 (14.45.20)

जितशिश्नोदरो मैत्रः शिष्टाचारसमन्वितः । वैणवीं धारयेद्यष्टिं सोदकं च कमण्डलुम् ॥

jitaśiśnodaro maitraḥ śiṣṭācārasamanvitaḥ | vaiṇavīṃ dhārayedyaṣṭiṃ sodakaṃ ca kamaṇḍalum

Master of his belly and his appetites, friendly, endowed with good conduct, he should carry a bamboo staff and a water-pot filled with water.

Verse 21 (14.45.21)

त्रीणि धारयते नित्यं कमण्डलुमतन्द्रितः । एकमाचमनार्थाय एकं वै पादधावनम् । एकं शौचविधानार्थमित्येतत्त्रितयं तथा ॥

trīṇi dhārayate nityaṃ kamaṇḍalumatandritaḥ | ekamācamanārthāya ekaṃ vai pādadhāvanam | ekaṃ śaucavidhānārthamityetattritayaṃ tathā

Unwearied, he always keeps three things with his water-pot: one for rinsing the mouth, one for washing the feet, and one for purification. Such is this triad.

Note on the text: Removed the stray backtick, quote mark and double danda around these three lines, and gave them the usual verse-end marks. This triple-line verse is a star passage in the critical edition: 14,045.020d*0084_01-03 (printed after 14.45.20d, hence ce_ref 14.45.20); the aligner found no match.

Verse 22 (14.45.22)

अधीत्याध्यापनं कुर्यात्तथा यजनयाजने । दानं प्रतिग्रहं वाऽपि षङ्गुणां वृत्तिमाचरेत् ॥

adhītyādhyāpanaṃ kuryāttathā yajanayājane | dānaṃ pratigrahaṃ vā'pi ṣaṅguṇāṃ vṛttimācaret

Having studied, he should teach; likewise he should sacrifice and officiate at sacrifices, give and accept gifts: he should follow a livelihood of six duties.

Note on the text: = CE 14.45.21 (Wikisource's numbering is one ahead of the CE after the star passage).

Verse 23 (14.45.23)

त्रीणि कर्माणि जानीत ब्राह्मणानां तु जीविकाः । याजनाध्यापने चोभे शुद्धाच्चापि प्रतिग्रहः ॥

trīṇi karmāṇi jānīta brāhmaṇānāṃ tu jīvikāḥ | yājanādhyāpane cobhe śuddhāccāpi pratigrahaḥ

Know that three actions are the livelihood of brahmins: officiating, teaching, and accepting gifts from the pure.

Verse 24 (14.45.24)

अथ शेषाणि चान्यानि त्रीणि कर्माणि यानि तु । दानमध्ययनं यज्ञो धर्मयुक्तानि तानि तु ॥

atha śeṣāṇi cānyāni trīṇi karmāṇi yāni tu | dānamadhyayanaṃ yajño dharmayuktāni tāni tu

And the other three actions that remain, giving, study and sacrifice, are bound up with dharma.

Verse 25 (14.45.25)

तेष्वप्रमादं कुर्वीत त्रिषु कर्मसु धर्मवित् । दान्तो मैत्रः क्षमायुक्तः सर्वभूतसमो मुनिः ॥

teṣvapramādaṃ kurvīta triṣu karmasu dharmavit | dānto maitraḥ kṣamāyuktaḥ sarvabhūtasamo muniḥ

One who knows dharma should be unremitting in these three actions; self-controlled, friendly, patient, and the same to all beings, he is a sage.

Verse 26 (14.45.26)

सर्वमेतद्यथाशक्ति विप्रो निर्वर्तयञ्शुचिः । एवं युक्तो जयेत्स्वर्गं गृहस्थः संशितव्रतः ॥

sarvametadyathāśakti vipro nirvartayañśuciḥ | evaṃ yukto jayetsvargaṃ gṛhasthaḥ saṃśitavrataḥ

The pure brahmin, accomplishing all this as far as he is able, thus disciplined, a householder of strict vows, wins heaven.