Tanu Names the Hopes That Are Thinner Than He

Verse 1 (12.128.1)

वीरद्युम्न इति ख्यातो राजाऽहं दिक्षु विश्रुतः । भूरिद्युम्नं सुतं नष्टमन्वेष्टुं वनमागतः ॥

vīradyumna iti khyāto rājā'haṃ dikṣu viśrutaḥ | bhūridyumnaṃ sutaṃ naṣṭamanveṣṭuṃ vanamāgataḥ

I am the king known as Viradyumna, renowned in all quarters. I have come into this forest to search for my lost son, Bhuridyumna.

Note on the text: The speaker heading राजोवचा that had slipped into the verse text is removed and made the speaker (misspelled on the page; the standard form is राजोवाच, i.e. राजा उवाच, so the speaker is राजा). CE 12.126.27 (rājovāca; 27a, 27c).

Verse 2 (12.128.2)

एकः पुत्रः स विप्राग्र्य बाल एव च सोऽनघः । न दृश्यते वने चास्मिंस्तमन्वेष्टुं चराम्यहम् ॥

ekaḥ putraḥ sa viprāgrya bāla eva ca so'naghaḥ | na dṛśyate vane cāsmiṃstamanveṣṭuṃ carāmyaham

He was my only son, O best of brahmins, a mere boy and without fault. He is nowhere to be seen in this forest, and I wander about searching for him.

Verse 3 (12.128.3)

इत्युक्ते तेन वचने राज्ञा मुनिरधोमुखः । तूष्णीमेवाभवत्तत्र न च प्रत्युक्तवान्नृपम् ॥

ityukte tena vacane rājñā muniradhomukhaḥ | tūṣṇīmevābhavattatra na ca pratyuktavānnṛpam

When the king had spoken so, the sage, with his face bent down, fell silent there and gave the king no answer.

Note on the text: Speaker per the page's heading ऋषभ उवाच (12-128-3x); CE 12.126.29.

Verse 4 (12.128.4)

स हि तेन पुरा विप्रो राज्ञा नात्यर्थमानितः । आशाकृतश्च राजेन्द्र तपो दीर्घं समाश्रितः ॥

sa hi tena purā vipro rājñā nātyarthamānitaḥ | āśākṛtaśca rājendra tapo dīrghaṃ samāśritaḥ

For that brahmin, O king of kings, had once been given little honour by that king, and, struck down by hope, he had taken up long austerity.

Note on the text: Recension variant, kept: आशाकृतश्च (CE 12.126.30c āśākṛśaṃ ca, "lean with hope").

Verse 5 (12.128.5)

प्रतिग्रहमहं राज्ञां न करिष्ये कथंचन । अन्येषां चैव वर्णानामिति कृत्वा धियं तदा ॥

pratigrahamahaṃ rājñāṃ na kariṣye kathaṃcana | anyeṣāṃ caiva varṇānāmiti kṛtvā dhiyaṃ tadā

"I shall never accept a gift from kings, nor from the other classes" - having set his mind so at that time,

Verse 6 (12.128.6)

आशा हि पुरुषं बालमालापयति तस्थूषी । तामहं व्यपनेष्यामि इति कृत्वा व्यवस्थितः । वीरद्युम्नस्तु तं भूयः पप्रच्छ मुनिसत्तमम् ॥

āśā hi puruṣaṃ bālamālāpayati tasthūṣī | tāmahaṃ vyapaneṣyāmi iti kṛtvā vyavasthitaḥ | vīradyumnastu taṃ bhūyaḥ papraccha munisattamam

"Hope, standing fast, makes a man babble like a child; I shall drive it out" - so resolved, he held his course. But Viradyumna questioned that best of sages once more.

Note on the text: Removed the square brackets Wikisource prints round line 3 and the stray double daṇḍa inside them. Lines 1-2 are CE 12.126.32a, 32c; line 3 is the CE star line 12.126.32d*0292_01 (vīradyumnas tu taṃ bhūyaḥ papraccha munisattamam), not in the constituted text. Line 1 has आलापयति for CE lālāpayati, a recension variant, kept.

Verse 7 (12.128.7)

आशायाः किंच वृत्तं वै किंचेह भुवि दुर्लभम् । ब्रवीतु भगवानेतत्त्वं हि धर्मार्थदर्शिवान् ॥

āśāyāḥ kiṃca vṛttaṃ vai kiṃceha bhuvi durlabham | bravītu bhagavānetattvaṃ hi dharmārthadarśivān

What is the nature of hope, and what in this world is hard to obtain? Please tell me this, venerable sir, for you are one who sees dharma and profit.

Note on the text: Speaker per the page's heading राजोवाच (12-128-7x); CE 12.126.33 (the first line differs: CE āśāyāḥ kiṃ kṛśatvaṃ ca kiṃ ceha bhuvi durlabham, a recension variant, kept).

Verse 8 (12.128.8)

ततः संस्मृत्य तत्सर्वं स्मारयिष्यन्निवाब्रवीत् । राजानं भगवान्विप्रस्ततः कृशतनुस्तदा ॥

tataḥ saṃsmṛtya tatsarvaṃ smārayiṣyannivābravīt | rājānaṃ bhagavānviprastataḥ kṛśatanustadā

Then, calling all that to mind, as though to remind the king of it, the blessed brahmin, that lean-bodied sage, spoke to him.

Note on the text: Speaker per the page's heading ऋषभ उवाच (12-128-8x); CE 12.126.34.

Verse 9 (12.128.9)

कृशत्वेन समं राजन्नाशाया विद्यते नृप । तस्या वै दुर्लभत्वाच्च प्रार्थितः पार्थिवो मया ॥

kṛśatvena samaṃ rājannāśāyā vidyate nṛpa | tasyā vai durlabhatvācca prārthitaḥ pārthivo mayā

O king, there is nothing that equals hope in thinness; and it was because its object is so hard to get that I once petitioned a king.

Note on the text: Speaker kept as the page prints it: ऋषिरुवाच (12-128-9x), the sage Tanu replying; the CE prints no heading here (its Rishabha heading at 12.126.34 carries on). CE 12.126.35 has prārthitāḥ pārthivā (kings), Wikisource पार्थिवो (a king): recension variant, kept.

Verse 10 (12.128.10)

कृशाकृशे मया ब्रह्मन्गृहीते वचनात्तव । दुर्लभत्वं च तस्यैव वेदवाक्यमिवाद्विजे ॥

kṛśākṛśe mayā brahmangṛhīte vacanāttava | durlabhatvaṃ ca tasyaiva vedavākyamivādvije

From your words, O brahmin, I have grasped what is lean and what is not, and how hard that very thing is to gain - as hard as a Vedic text for one who is not twice-born.

Note on the text: Speaker per the page's heading राजोवाच (12-128-10x); CE 12.126.36.

Verse 11 (12.128.11)

संशयस्तु महाप्राज्ञ संजातो हृदये मम । तन्मुने मम तत्त्वेन वक्तुमर्हसि पृच्छतः ॥

saṃśayastu mahāprājña saṃjāto hṛdaye mama | tanmune mama tattvena vaktumarhasi pṛcchataḥ

A doubt has arisen in my heart, O man of great wisdom; therefore, O sage, you should tell me truly what I ask.

Verse 12 (12.128.12)

त्वत्तः कृशतरं किंनु ब्रवीतु भगवानिदम् । यदि गुह्यं न ते विप्र लोके किंचेह दुर्लभम् ॥

tvattaḥ kṛśataraṃ kiṃnu bravītu bhagavānidam | yadi guhyaṃ na te vipra loke kiṃceha durlabham

What is thinner than you? Let the blessed one tell me this; and, brahmin, if it is no secret, tell me too what in this world is hard to obtain.

Verse 13 (12.128.13)

दुर्लभोऽप्यथवा नास्ति योऽर्थी धृतिमवाप्नुयात् । स दुर्लभतरस्तात योऽर्थिनं नावमन्यते ॥

durlabho'pyathavā nāsti yo'rthī dhṛtimavāpnuyāt | sa durlabhatarastāta yo'rthinaṃ nāvamanyate

It is hard to find - or rather there is none - a petitioner who attains contentment; and harder still to find, my child, is the man who does not slight a petitioner.

Note on the text: Speaker per the page's heading कृश उवाच (12-128-13x); the CE heads this speech कृशतनुरुवाच. CE 12.126.39.

Verse 14 (12.128.14)

सत्कृत्य नोपक्रियते परं शक्त्या यथार्थतः । या सक्ता सर्वभूतेषु साऽऽशा कृशतरी मया ॥

satkṛtya nopakriyate paraṃ śaktyā yathārthataḥ | yā saktā sarvabhūteṣu sā''śā kṛśatarī mayā

Hope that clings to all beings - the hope of the petitioner who is received with honour and yet is not helped, as far as the giver's power truly reaches - is thinner than I.

Verse 15 (12.128.15)

कृतघ्नेषु च या सक्ता नृशंसेष्वलसेषु च । अपकारिषु चासक्ता साऽऽशा कृशतरी मया ॥

kṛtaghneṣu ca yā saktā nṛśaṃseṣvalaseṣu ca | apakāriṣu cāsaktā sā''śā kṛśatarī mayā

The hope that clings to the ungrateful, the cruel, the idle and those who do wrong - that hope is thinner than I.

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition's constituted text (found in the vulgate recension); the critical edition records it as the star passage 12.126.40d*0293 (lines 01–02). It follows CE 12.126.40.

Verse 16 (12.128.16)

एकपुत्रः पिता पुत्रे नष्टे वा प्रोषितेऽपि वा । प्रवृत्तिं यो न जानाति साऽऽशा कृशतरी मता ॥

ekaputraḥ pitā putre naṣṭe vā proṣite'pi vā | pravṛttiṃ yo na jānāti sā''śā kṛśatarī matā

A father whose only son is lost or gone abroad, and who cannot learn what has become of him - that hope is held to be thinner.

Verse 17 (12.128.17)

प्रसवे चैव नारीणां वृद्धानां पुत्रकारिता । तथा नरेन्द्र धनिनां साऽशा कृशतरी मता ॥

prasave caiva nārīṇāṃ vṛddhānāṃ putrakāritā | tathā narendra dhanināṃ sā'śā kṛśatarī matā

The hope of women in childbirth; the old, and likewise, O lord of men, the rich, who long to have sons - that hope is held to be thinner.

Note on the text: Wikisource has साऽशा where the other verses have साऽऽशा; read as सा + आशा, left as printed.

Verse 18 (12.128.18)

प्रदानकाङ्क्षिणीनां च कन्यानां वयसि स्थिते । श्रुत्वा कथास्तथायुक्ताः साऽऽशा कृशतरी मता ॥

pradānakāṅkṣiṇīnāṃ ca kanyānāṃ vayasi sthite | śrutvā kathāstathāyuktāḥ sā''śā kṛśatarī matā

The hope of maidens who long to be given in marriage now that they have come of age, as they hear talk to that effect - that hope too is held to be thinner.

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition's constituted text (found in the vulgate recension); the critical edition records it as the star passage 12.126.42d*0294 (lines 01–02). It follows CE 12.126.42.

Verse 19 (12.128.19)

एतच्छ्रुत्वा ततो राजन्स राजा सावरोधनः । संस्पृश्य पादौ शिरसा निपपात द्विजर्षभे ॥

etacchrutvā tato rājansa rājā sāvarodhanaḥ | saṃspṛśya pādau śirasā nipapāta dvijarṣabhe

Hearing this, O king, that king, together with his royal women, touched the feet of the best of brahmins with his head and fell before him.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: narration by Rishabha (CE heads this verse ऋषभ उवाच); the page prints no heading after कृश उवाच at 12-128-13x, but the verse tells what the king did.

Verse 20 (12.128.20)

प्रसादये त्वां भगवन्पुत्रेणेच्छामि संगमम् । यदेतदुक्तं भवता संप्रति द्विजसत्तम । वृणीष्व च वरान्विप्र यानिच्छसि यथाविधि ॥

prasādaye tvāṃ bhagavanputreṇecchāmi saṃgamam | yadetaduktaṃ bhavatā saṃprati dvijasattama | vṛṇīṣva ca varānvipra yānicchasi yathāvidhi

I seek your favour, venerable sir; I long to be reunited with my son. As for what you have just now said, O best of the twice-born - choose, brahmin, whatever boons you wish, as is fitting.

Note on the text: Speaker per the page's heading राजोवाच (12-128-20x). The page prints four lines in this row; the last line is Rishabha's narration and is made a verse of its own (the next verse), so this verse is split from it. Lines 1 and 3 are CE 12.126.44a, 44c; line 2 is the CE star line 12.126.44b*0295_01 (yad etad uktaṃ bhavatā saṃprati dvijasattama).

Verse 21 (12.128.21)

अब्रवीच्चैव तद्वाक्यं राजा राजीवलोचनः ॥

abravīccaiva tadvākyaṃ rājā rājīvalocanaḥ

And the king, whose eyes were like lotuses, spoke those words.

Note on the text: Split from the previous verse (the last line of Wikisource's four-line row 20): it is Rishabha's narration between two speeches of the king, not part of the king's speech. It is CE 12.126.45a; the CE pairs it with the line that Wikisource prints as the next verse (45c).

Verse 22 (12.128.22)

सत्यमेतत्त्वया विप्र यथोक्तं नान्यथा मृषा ॥

satyametattvayā vipra yathoktaṃ nānyathā mṛṣā

What you have said is true, O brahmin; it is not otherwise, nor false.

Note on the text: A one-line verse on the page (12-128-21a only). It is CE 12.126.45c (satyam etad yathā vipra tvayoktaṃ nāsty ato mṛṣā); nothing is lost, since CE 45a stands as the last line of the preceding row on the page.

Verse 23 (12.128.23)

ततः प्रहस्य भगवांस्तनुर्धर्मभृतां वरः । पुत्रमस्यानयत्क्षिप्रं तपसा च श्रुतेन च ॥

tataḥ prahasya bhagavāṃstanurdharmabhṛtāṃ varaḥ | putramasyānayatkṣipraṃ tapasā ca śrutena ca

Then the blessed Tanu, best of upholders of dharma, smiled and quickly brought back the king's son by his austerity and by his learning.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: narration by Rishabha (CE heads this verse ऋषभ उवाच); the page prints no heading after राजोवाच at 12-128-20x.

Verse 24 (12.128.24)

स समानीय तत्पुत्रं तमुपालभ्य पार्थिवम् । आत्मानं दर्शयामास धर्मं धर्मभृतांवरः ॥

sa samānīya tatputraṃ tamupālabhya pārthivam | ātmānaṃ darśayāmāsa dharmaṃ dharmabhṛtāṃvaraḥ

Having brought the son and reproached the king, that best of upholders of dharma showed himself to be Dharma.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: narration by Rishabha.

Verse 25 (12.128.25)

स दर्शयित्वा चात्मानं दिव्यमद्भुतदर्शनम् । विपाप्मा विगतक्रोधश्चचार वनमन्तिकात् ॥

sa darśayitvā cātmānaṃ divyamadbhutadarśanam | vipāpmā vigatakrodhaścacāra vanamantikāt

Having shown himself in that wonderful divine form, free of sin and free of anger, he went off to roam the forest nearby.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: narration by Rishabha.

Verse 26 (12.128.26)

एतद्दृष्टं मया राजंस्त्वत्तश्च वचनं श्रुतम् । आशामपनय त्वाशु ततः कृशतरीमिमाम् ॥

etaddṛṣṭaṃ mayā rājaṃstvattaśca vacanaṃ śrutam | āśāmapanaya tvāśu tataḥ kṛśatarīmimām

This I have seen, O king, and your words I have heard; therefore quickly cast out this hope, which is thinner than any.

Note on the text: Corrected एतदॄष्टं → एतद्दृष्टं (misprint in Wikisource; the vocalic ॄ for द्द; CE etad dṛṣṭaṃ) and कृषतरीमिमाम् → कृशतरीमिमाम् (misprint; ष for श; CE kṛśatarīm imām). Speaker supplied: Rishabha's closing words to Sumitra (the input carried over राजा).

Verse 27 (12.128.27)

स तथोक्तस्तदा राजन्नृषभेण महात्मना । सुमित्रोऽपानयत्क्षिप्रमाशां कृशतरीं ततः ॥

sa tathoktastadā rājannṛṣabheṇa mahātmanā | sumitro'pānayatkṣipramāśāṃ kṛśatarīṃ tataḥ

Thus addressed then, O king, by the great-souled Rishabha, Sumitra quickly dismissed that thinner hope.

Note on the text: Speaker per the page's heading भीष्म उवाच (12-128-26x).

Verse 28 (12.128.28)

एवं त्वमपि कौन्तेय श्रुत्वा वाणीमिमां मम । स्थिरो भव महाराज हिमवानिव निश्चलः ॥

evaṃ tvamapi kaunteya śrutvā vāṇīmimāṃ mama | sthiro bhava mahārāja himavāniva niścalaḥ

So you also, son of Kunti, having heard these words of mine, be steady, great king, unshaken as the Himalaya.

Verse 29 (12.128.29)

त्वं हि श्रुत्वा च पृष्ट्वा च कृच्छ्रेष्वर्थेषु तेष्विह । श्रुत्वा मम महाराज न संतप्तुमिहार्हसि ॥

tvaṃ hi śrutvā ca pṛṣṭvā ca kṛcchreṣvartheṣu teṣviha | śrutvā mama mahārāja na saṃtaptumihārhasi

For you have heard and have asked about all these hard matters here; having heard me, great king, you should not torment yourself.

Note on the text: The page ends with its colophon (adhyaya 128); only Wikisource's commentary glosses follow, not added.