The Many-Branched Dharma and the Limits of a King's Severity

Verse 1 (12.142.1)

यदिदं घोरमुद्दिष्टमश्रद्धेयमिवानृतम् । अस्तिस्विद्दस्युमर्यादा यामयं परिवर्जयेत् ॥

yadidaṃ ghoramuddiṣṭamaśraddheyamivānṛtam | astisviddasyumaryādā yāmayaṃ parivarjayet

“What you have set out is dreadful, so harsh that it seems almost an untruth, hard to believe. Is there, in the matter of robbers, some limit that a king ought to keep clear of?”

Verse 2 (12.142.2)

संमुह्यामि विषीदामि धर्मो मे शिथिलीकृतः । उद्यमं नाधिगच्छामि कुतश्चित्परिचिन्तयन् ॥

saṃmuhyāmi viṣīdāmi dharmo me śithilīkṛtaḥ | udyamaṃ nādhigacchāmi kutaścitparicintayan

“I am bewildered and sunk in dejection; my dharma has grown slack. However I turn it over in my mind, I find no strength to take it up.”

Note on the text: Corrected विपीदामि → विषीदामि (misprint in Wikisource; ष misprinted as प, giving a non-word; CE 12.140.2 viṣīdāmi).

Verse 3 (12.142.3)

नैतच्छ्रुत्वागमादेव तव धर्मानुशासनम् । प्रज्ञासमभिहारोऽयं कविभिः संभृतं मधु ॥

naitacchrutvāgamādeva tava dharmānuśāsanam | prajñāsamabhihāro'yaṃ kavibhiḥ saṃbhṛtaṃ madhu

“This instruction in dharma that you speak of does not rest on scripture alone; it is a gathering of insight, honey collected by the wise.”

Verse 4 (12.142.4)

बाह्याः प्रतिविधातव्याः प्रज्ञा राज्ञा ततस्ततः । बहुशाखेन धर्मेण यत्रैषा संप्रसिध्यते ॥

bāhyāḥ pratividhātavyāḥ prajñā rājñā tatastataḥ | bahuśākhena dharmeṇa yatraiṣā saṃprasidhyate

“A king must apply his judgment in outward matters, now here, now there; and this succeeds only through dharma, which has many branches.”

Verse 5 (12.142.5)

बुद्धिं संजनयेद्राज्ञां धर्ममाचरतां सदा । जयो भवति कौरव्य सदा तद्वृद्धिरेव च ॥

buddhiṃ saṃjanayedrājñāṃ dharmamācaratāṃ sadā | jayo bhavati kauravya sadā tadvṛddhireva ca

“One should awaken understanding in kings who always follow dharma. Then victory comes, O Kaurava, and its growth with it, always.”

Verse 6 (12.142.6)

बुद्धिश्रेष्ठा हि राजानो जयन्ति विजयैषिणः । धर्मः प्रतिविधातव्यो बुद्ध्या राज्ञा ततस्ततः ॥

buddhiśreṣṭhā hi rājāno jayanti vijayaiṣiṇaḥ | dharmaḥ pratividhātavyo buddhyā rājñā tatastataḥ

“Kings who excel in understanding, eager for victory, conquer. A king must manage dharma with understanding, case by case.”

Verse 7 (12.142.7)

नैकशाखेन धर्मेण राज्ञो धर्मो विधीयते । दुर्बलस्य कुतः प्रज्ञा पुरस्तादनुदाहृता ॥

naikaśākhena dharmeṇa rājño dharmo vidhīyate | durbalasya kutaḥ prajñā purastādanudāhṛtā

“A king's dharma is not laid down by a dharma of a single branch. How could the weak have the wisdom described earlier?”

Verse 8 (12.142.8)

अद्वैधज्ञः प्रतिद्वैधे संशयं प्राप्तुमर्हति । बुद्धिद्वैधं विधातव्यं पुरस्तादेव भारत ॥

advaidhajñaḥ pratidvaidhe saṃśayaṃ prāptumarhati | buddhidvaidhaṃ vidhātavyaṃ purastādeva bhārata

“One who knows only a single course is bound to fall into doubt when faced with a conflict of two; so, O Bharata, the mind must be prepared beforehand to see both sides.”

Note on the text: Corrected प्राप्नुमर्हति → प्राप्तुमर्हति (misprint in Wikisource; न for त gives a non-word; CE 12.140.8 prāptum arhati).

Verse 9 (12.142.9)

पार्श्वतः कारणं राज्ञो विषूच्यस्त्वापगा इव । जनास्तूच्चरितं धर्मं विजानन्त्यन्यथाऽन्यथा ॥

pārśvataḥ kāraṇaṃ rājño viṣūcyastvāpagā iva | janāstūccaritaṃ dharmaṃ vijānantyanyathā'nyathā

“A king finds reasons for action on every side, spreading out in all directions like rivers; and people understand the dharma that is proclaimed now in one way, now in another.”

Note on the text: Corrected विजान्त्यन्यथाऽन्यथा → विजानन्त्यन्यथाऽन्यथा (misprint in Wikisource; the syllable नन् dropped from the verb विजानन्ति, which also breaks the metre; CE 12.140.9 vijānāty anyathānyathā).

Verse 10 (12.142.10)

सम्यग्विज्ञानिनः केचिन्मिथ्याविज्ञानिनः परे । तद्वै यथायथं बुद्ध्वा ज्ञानमाददते सताम् ॥

samyagvijñāninaḥ kecinmithyāvijñāninaḥ pare | tadvai yathāyathaṃ buddhvā jñānamādadate satām

“Some understand rightly, others wrongly. Knowing each for what it is, one takes up the knowledge of the good.”

Verse 11 (12.142.11)

परिमुष्णन्ति शास्त्राणि धर्मस्य परिपन्थिनः । वैषम्यमर्थविद्यानां निरर्थाः ख्यापयन्ति ते ॥

parimuṣṇanti śāstrāṇi dharmasya paripanthinaḥ | vaiṣamyamarthavidyānāṃ nirarthāḥ khyāpayanti te

“Enemies of dharma plunder the treatises of their meaning; being themselves worthless, they proclaim the inconsistencies of the sciences of worldly gain.”

Verse 12 (12.142.12)

आजिजीविषवो विद्यां यशः कामौ समन्ततः । ते सर्वे नृप पापिष्ठा धर्मस्य परिपन्थिनः ॥

ājijīviṣavo vidyāṃ yaśaḥ kāmau samantataḥ | te sarve nṛpa pāpiṣṭhā dharmasya paripanthinaḥ

“Those who want to live by their learning, and who crave fame and pleasure on every side — all of them, O king, are the worst of sinners, enemies of dharma.”

Note on the text: Corrected समन्तनः → समन्ततः (misprint in Wikisource; न for त gives a non-word; CE 12.140.12 samantataḥ). Wikisource's यशः कामौ (CE yaśaskāmāḥ) is kept as printed.

Verse 13 (12.142.13)

अपक्वमतयो मन्दा न जानन्ति यथातथम् । तथा ह्यशास्त्रकुशलाः सर्वत्रायुक्तिनिष्ठिताः ॥

apakvamatayo mandā na jānanti yathātatham | tathā hyaśāstrakuśalāḥ sarvatrāyuktiniṣṭhitāḥ

“Dull-witted, with unripe judgment, they do not know things as they are; unskilled in the treatises, they are fixed everywhere on what is unreasonable.”

Verse 14 (12.142.14)

परिमुष्णन्ति शास्त्राणि शास्त्रदोषानुदर्शिनः । विज्ञानमथ विद्यानां न सम्यगिति मे मतिः ॥

parimuṣṇanti śāstrāṇi śāstradoṣānudarśinaḥ | vijñānamatha vidyānāṃ na samyagiti me matiḥ

“They plunder the treatises, seeing only the faults in them; and my view is that their grasp of the sciences is not sound.”

Verse 15 (12.142.15)

निन्दया परविद्यानां स्वविद्यां ख्यापयन्ति च । वागास्तिक्यानुनीताश्च दुग्धविद्याफला इव ॥

nindayā paravidyānāṃ svavidyāṃ khyāpayanti ca | vāgāstikyānunītāśca dugdhavidyāphalā iva

“By running down the learning of others they advertise their own; swept along by mere professions of belief in words, they are like men whose fruit of learning has been milked dry.”

Note on the text: The input found no critical-edition match; both lines correspond to CE 12.140.15ab–cd (nindayā paravidyānāṃ … dugdhavidyāphalā iva), with recension variants (WS yaḥ/ca, vāgāstikyānunītāḥ for CE vāgastrā vākchurīmattvāt).

Verse 16 (12.142.16)

तान्विद्यावणिजो विद्धि राक्षसानिव भारत । व्याजेन कृत्स्नो विहितो धर्मस्ते परिहास्यते ॥

tānvidyāvaṇijo viddhi rākṣasāniva bhārata | vyājena kṛtsno vihito dharmaste parihāsyate

“Know them, O Bharata, as peddlers of learning, like demons. Through their sophistry the whole of your dharma, as it has been laid down, will be laughed away.”

Note on the text: Line 1 = CE 12.140.15 (third line, tān vidyāvaṇijo viddhi rākṣasān iva bhārata); line 2 = CE 12.140.16a (vyājena kṛtsno vidito dharmas te parihāsyate), with the variant विहितो for vidito.

Verse 17 (12.142.17)

न धर्मवचनं वाचा नैव बुद्ध्येति नः श्रुतम् । इति बार्हस्पत्यविज्ञानं प्रोवाच मघवा स्वयम् ॥

na dharmavacanaṃ vācā naiva buddhyeti naḥ śrutam | iti bārhaspatyavijñānaṃ provāca maghavā svayam

“‘Dharma is taught neither by speech alone nor by intellect alone’ — so we have heard. Thus Maghavan himself declared the wisdom of Brihaspati.”

Note on the text: Line 1 = CE 12.140.16cd; line 2 = CE 12.140.17ab (iti bārhaspataṃ jñānaṃ provāca maghavā svayam).

Verse 18 (12.142.18)

न त्वेव वचनं किंचिदनिमित्तादिहोच्यते । स्वविनीतेन शास्त्रेण ह्यविद्यः स्यादथापरः ॥

na tveva vacanaṃ kiṃcidanimittādihocyate | svavinītena śāstreṇa hyavidyaḥ syādathāparaḥ

“Yet no statement is ever made here without a reason. One man may become ignorant through a treatise of his own devising, and another in some other way.”

Note on the text: Corrected न त्यव → न त्वेव (misprint in Wikisource; broken conjunct; CE 12.140.17c na tv eva). Line 1 = CE 12.140.17cd; line 2 = CE 12.140.18a (svavinītena śāstreṇa vyavasyanti tathāpare), with the variant ह्यविद्यः स्यादथापरः.

Verse 19 (12.142.19)

लोकयात्रामिहैके तु धर्मं प्राहुर्मनीषिणः । समुद्दिष्टं सतां धर्मं स्वयमूहेत् पण्डितः ॥

lokayātrāmihaike tu dharmaṃ prāhurmanīṣiṇaḥ | samuddiṣṭaṃ satāṃ dharmaṃ svayamūhet paṇḍitaḥ

“Some wise men say that dharma is simply the conduct of worldly life; but a learned man should work out for himself the dharma declared by the good.”

Note on the text: Line 1 = CE 12.140.18cd; line 2 = CE 12.140.19a (samuddiṣṭaṃ satāṃ dharmaṃ svayam ūhen na paṇḍitaḥ); WS reads स्वयमूहेत् पण्डितः where the CE has na paṇḍitaḥ (recension variant, kept).

Verse 20 (12.142.20)

अमर्षाच्छास्त्रसंमोहादनिमित्तादिहोच्यते । शास्त्रं प्राज्ञस्य वदतः समूहे यात्यदर्शनम् ॥

amarṣācchāstrasaṃmohādanimittādihocyate | śāstraṃ prājñasya vadataḥ samūhe yātyadarśanam

“Out of anger and confusion about the treatise, and for no reason, things are said here. When a wise man expounds the treatise in a crowd, it passes out of sight.”

Note on the text: Line 1 = CE 12.140.19cd (amarṣāc chāstrasaṃmohāt, with variants); line 2 = CE 12.140.20a (śāstraṃ prājñasya vadataḥ samūhe yāty adarśanam).

Verse 21 (12.142.21)

आगमागतया बुद्ध्या वचनेन प्रशस्यते । अज्ञानाज्ज्ञानहेतुत्वाद्वचनं साधु मन्यते ॥

āgamāgatayā buddhyā vacanena praśasyate | ajñānājjñānahetutvādvacanaṃ sādhu manyate

“By an understanding that comes from the tradition, speech is praised; but out of ignorance, since speech is a source of knowledge, a man thinks any statement good.”

Note on the text: Line 1 = CE 12.140.20cd (āgatāgamayā buddhyā vacanena praśasyate); line 2 = CE 12.140.21a (ajñānāj jñānahetutvād vacanaṃ sādhu manyate).

Verse 22 (12.142.22)

अनुपागतमेवेदं शास्त्रमेवमपार्थकम् । दैतेयानुशना प्राह संशयच्छेदनं पुरा ॥

anupāgatamevedaṃ śāstramevamapārthakam | daiteyānuśanā prāha saṃśayacchedanaṃ purā

“‘This treatise is out of reach and therefore useless’ — that is how it is thought. Yet long ago Ushanas told the Daityas what cuts away doubt.”

Note on the text: Line 1 = CE 12.140.21cd (anapāhatam evedaṃ nedaṃ śāstram apārthakam; WS अनुपागतमेवेदं शास्त्रमेवमपार्थकम्, a variant); line 2 = CE 12.140.22a.

Verse 23 (12.142.23)

ज्ञानमप्यपदिश्यं हि यथा नास्ति तथैव तत् । तेन संच्छिन्नमूलेन कस्तोषयितुमिच्छति ॥

jñānamapyapadiśyaṃ hi yathā nāsti tathaiva tat | tena saṃcchinnamūlena kastoṣayitumicchati

“‘Knowledge that cannot be pointed to is as good as non-existent.’ Who would wish to please a man whose roots have been cut in this way?”

Note on the text: Line 1 = CE 12.140.22cd (jñānam avyapadeśyaṃ hi yathā nāsti tathaiva tat); line 2 = CE 12.140.23a (tena tvaṃ chinnamūlena kaṃ toṣayitum arhasi).

Verse 24 (12.142.24)

पुनर्व्यवसितं यो वा नेदं वाक्यमुपाश्नुते । उग्रायैव हि सृष्टोऽसि कर्मणे तत्त्वमीक्षसे ॥

punarvyavasitaṃ yo vā nedaṃ vākyamupāśnute | ugrāyaiva hi sṛṣṭo'si karmaṇe tattvamīkṣase

“Or whoever, having made up his mind again, does not take in this saying: you were created only for fierce action, yet you look for the essence of things.”

Note on the text: Line 1 corresponds to CE 12.140.23cd (atathyavihitaṃ yo vā nedaṃ vākyam upāśnuyāt), a recension variant; line 2 = CE 12.140.24ab (ugrāyaiva hi sṛṣṭo 'si karmaṇe, with the variant तत्त्वमीक्षसे for na tv avekṣase).

Verse 25 (12.142.25)

अग्रे मामन्ववेक्षस्व राजन्योऽयं बुभूषते । यथा प्रमुच्यते त्वन्यो यदर्थं न प्रमोदते ॥

agre māmanvavekṣasva rājanyo'yaṃ bubhūṣate | yathā pramucyate tvanyo yadarthaṃ na pramodate

“First look to me, O king: this prince wishes to become such that another is set free, and takes no joy in the thing for whose sake he acts.”

Note on the text: The sense of this verse is uncertain; it corresponds to CE 12.140.24cd–ef (aṅgemām anvavekṣasva rājanītiṃ bubhūṣitum / yayā pramucyate tv anyo yadarthaṃ ca pramodate), in a heavily changed recension form.

Verse 26 (12.142.26)

अजोऽश्वः क्षत्रमित्येतत्सदृशं ब्रह्मणा कृतम् । तस्मान्नतैक्ष्ण्याद्भूतानां यात्रा काचित्प्रसिद्ध्यति ॥

ajo'śvaḥ kṣatramityetatsadṛśaṃ brahmaṇā kṛtam | tasmānnataikṣṇyādbhūtānāṃ yātrā kācitprasiddhyati

“‘Goat, horse, kshatriya’: the Creator made these alike. Therefore, where there is no sharpness, no way of life for living beings succeeds.”

Verse 27 (12.142.27)

यस्त्ववध्यवधे दोषः स वध्यस्यावधे स्मृतः । एषा ह्येव तु मर्यादा यामयं परिवर्जयेत् ॥

yastvavadhyavadhe doṣaḥ sa vadhyasyāvadhe smṛtaḥ | eṣā hyeva tu maryādā yāmayaṃ parivarjayet

“The fault ascribed to killing one who must not be killed is ascribed equally to not killing one who deserves death. This, indeed, is the limit that a king must keep clear of.”

Verse 28 (12.142.28)

तस्मात्तीक्ष्णः प्रजा राजा स्वधर्मे स्थापयत्युत । अन्योन्यं भक्षयन्तो हि प्रचरेयुर्वृका इव ॥

tasmāttīkṣṇaḥ prajā rājā svadharme sthāpayatyuta | anyonyaṃ bhakṣayanto hi pracareyurvṛkā iva

“Therefore a sharp king sets his subjects in their own duty. Otherwise they would roam about devouring one another like wolves.”

Verse 29 (12.142.29)

यस्य दस्युगणा राष्ट्रे ध्वाङ्क्षा मत्स्याञ्जलादिव । विहरन्ति परस्वानि स वै क्षत्रियपांसनः ॥

yasya dasyugaṇā rāṣṭre dhvāṅkṣā matsyāñjalādiva | viharanti parasvāni sa vai kṣatriyapāṃsanaḥ

“The king in whose realm bands of robbers roam about plundering the property of others, as crows snatch fish from the water, is the disgrace of the kshatriyas.”

Verse 30 (12.142.30)

कुलीनान्सचिवान्कृत्वा वेदविद्यासमन्वितान् । प्रशाधि पृथिवीं राजन्प्रजा धर्मेण पालयन् ॥

kulīnānsacivānkṛtvā vedavidyāsamanvitān | praśādhi pṛthivīṃ rājanprajā dharmeṇa pālayan

“Make well-born ministers, versed in the Vedas and the sciences, and rule the earth, O king, protecting your subjects by dharma.”

Verse 31 (12.142.31)

विहीनजन्मकर्माणि यः प्रगृह्णाति भूमिपः । उभयस्याविशेषज्ञस्तद्वै क्षत्रं नपुंसकम् ॥

vihīnajanmakarmāṇi yaḥ pragṛhṇāti bhūmipaḥ | ubhayasyāviśeṣajñastadvai kṣatraṃ napuṃsakam

“A king who takes up men deficient in birth and in deeds, not telling the one from the other — that kshatriya power is truly impotent.”

Verse 32 (12.142.32)

नैवोग्रं नैव चानुग्रं धर्मेणेह प्रशस्यते । उभयं न व्यतिक्रामेदुग्रो भूत्वा मृदुर्भव ॥

naivograṃ naiva cānugraṃ dharmeṇeha praśasyate | ubhayaṃ na vyatikrāmedugro bhūtvā mṛdurbhava

“In dharma neither the fierce nor the mild is praised. A king should overstep neither: being fierce, become gentle.”

Verse 33 (12.142.33)

कष्टः क्षत्रियधर्मोऽयं सौहृदं त्वयि मे स्थितम् । उग्रकर्मणि सृष्टोऽसि तस्माद्राज्यं प्रशाधि वै ॥

kaṣṭaḥ kṣatriyadharmo'yaṃ sauhṛdaṃ tvayi me sthitam | ugrakarmaṇi sṛṣṭo'si tasmādrājyaṃ praśādhi vai

“Hard is this duty of a kshatriya; my affection rests on you. You were born for fierce deeds, so rule the kingdom.”

Verse 34 (12.142.34)

अरुष्टः कस्यचिद्राजन्नेवमेव समाचर । अशिष्टनिग्रहो नित्यं शिष्टस्य परिपालनम् । एवं शुक्रोऽब्रवीद्धीमानापत्सु भरतर्षभ ॥

aruṣṭaḥ kasyacidrājannevameva samācara | aśiṣṭanigraho nityaṃ śiṣṭasya paripālanam | evaṃ śukro'bravīddhīmānāpatsu bharatarṣabha

“Without anger toward anyone, O king, act just so: always restrain the wicked and protect the good. Thus the wise Shukra said, O best of the Bharatas, for times of calamity.”

Note on the text: Removed stray wiki marks (the backtick and quote marks around line 1, and the extra ।). A three-line verse in Wikisource. Line 1 is not in the critical edition proper (found in the vulgate recension; the CE has it only as star passage 12.140.32d*0360_01); lines 2–3 = CE 12.140.33 (aśiṣṭanigraho nityaṃ … iti śakro 'bravīd dhīmān …), where CE reads śakraḥ (Shakra) and Wikisource शुक्रः (Shukra).

Verse 35 (12.142.35)

अस्ति चेदिह मर्यादा यामन्यो नातिलङ्घयेत् । पृच्छामि त्वां सतां श्रेष्ठ तन्मे ब्रूहि पितामह ॥

asti cediha maryādā yāmanyo nātilaṅghayet | pṛcchāmi tvāṃ satāṃ śreṣṭha tanme brūhi pitāmaha

“If there is indeed a limit here that another should not overstep, I ask you, best of the good: tell me that, Grandfather.”

Verse 36 (12.142.36)

ब्राह्मणानेव सेवेत विद्यावृद्धांस्तपस्विनः । श्रुतचारित्रवृत्ताढ्यान्पवित्रं ह्येतदुत्तमम् ॥

brāhmaṇāneva seveta vidyāvṛddhāṃstapasvinaḥ | śrutacāritravṛttāḍhyānpavitraṃ hyetaduttamam

“He should serve only the Brahmanas — the learned, the ascetics, rich in scripture, conduct and character. This is the highest means of purification.”

Note on the text: Corrected विद्याबृद्धांस् → विद्यावृद्धांस् (misprint in Wikisource; ब for व; CE 12.140.35 vidyāvṛddhāṃs).

Verse 37 (12.142.37)

शुश्रूषा तु महाराज सान्त्वं विप्रेषु नित्यदा । क्रुद्धैर्हि विप्रैः कर्माणि कृतानि बहुधा नृप ॥

śuśrūṣā tu mahārāja sāntvaṃ vipreṣu nityadā | kruddhairhi vipraiḥ karmāṇi kṛtāni bahudhā nṛpa

“Obedient service and gentle words to Brahmanas, always, O great king; for angry Brahmanas have brought about many things, O king.”

Note on the text: Line 1 differs from CE 12.140.36a (yā devatāsu vṛttis te sāstu vipreṣu sarvadā), a recension variant kept as printed; line 2 = CE 12.140.36cd.

Verse 38 (12.142.38)

तेषां प्रीत्या यशो मुख्यमप्रीत्या परमं भयम् । प्रीत्या ह्यमृतवद्विप्राः क्रुद्धाश्चैव यथोरगाः ॥

teṣāṃ prītyā yaśo mukhyamaprītyā paramaṃ bhayam | prītyā hyamṛtavadviprāḥ kruddhāścaiva yathoragāḥ

“Their favour is the chief source of renown; their displeasure, the greatest danger. When pleased, Brahmanas are like nectar; when angered, like serpents.”