The Fowler Takes Shelter in the Storm

Verse 1 (12.143.1)

पितामह महाप्राज्ञ सर्वशास्त्रविशारद । शरणागतं पालयतो यो धर्मस्तं ब्रवीहि मे ॥

pitāmaha mahāprājña sarvaśāstraviśārada | śaraṇāgataṃ pālayato yo dharmastaṃ bravīhi me

“Grandfather, you of great wisdom, versed in all the treatises, tell me the dharma of one who protects those who come to him for refuge.”

Verse 2 (12.143.2)

महान्धर्मो महाराज शरणागतपालने । अर्हः प्रष्टुं भवांश्चैनं प्रश्नं भरतसत्तम ॥

mahāndharmo mahārāja śaraṇāgatapālane | arhaḥ praṣṭuṃ bhavāṃścainaṃ praśnaṃ bharatasattama

“Great, O great king, is the dharma of protecting one who has come for refuge. You are right to ask this question, best of the Bharatas.”

Verse 3 (12.143.3)

शिबिप्रभृतयो राजन्राजानः शरणं गतान् । परिपाल्य महात्मानः संसिद्धिं परमां गताः ॥

śibiprabhṛtayo rājanrājānaḥ śaraṇaṃ gatān | paripālya mahātmānaḥ saṃsiddhiṃ paramāṃ gatāḥ

“Shibi and other kings, O king, protected those who had come to them for refuge, and those great-souled men reached the highest perfection.”

Note on the text: The critical edition reads Nṛga (nṛgaprabhṛtayo rājan …) where Wikisource has शिबिप्रभृतयः (recension variant, kept).

Verse 4 (12.143.4)

श्रूयते च कपोतेन शत्रुः शरणमागतः । पूजितश्च यथान्यायं स्वैश्च मांसैर्निमन्त्रितः ॥

śrūyate ca kapotena śatruḥ śaraṇamāgataḥ | pūjitaśca yathānyāyaṃ svaiśca māṃsairnimantritaḥ

“And it is heard that a dove received an enemy who came to him for refuge, honoured him as was proper, and invited him to eat of his own flesh.”

Verse 5 (12.143.5)

कथं कपोतेन पुरा शत्रुः शरणमागतः । स्वमांसं भोजितः कां च गतिं लेभे स भारत ॥

kathaṃ kapotena purā śatruḥ śaraṇamāgataḥ | svamāṃsaṃ bhojitaḥ kāṃ ca gatiṃ lebhe sa bhārata

“How did a dove, long ago, receive an enemy who came to him for refuge? And that one, fed on the dove's own flesh, what end did he reach, O Bharata?”

Verse 6 (12.143.6)

शृणु राजन्कथां दिव्यां सर्वपापप्रणाशिनीम् । नृपतेर्मुचुकुन्दस्य कथितां भार्गवेण वै ॥

śṛṇu rājankathāṃ divyāṃ sarvapāpapraṇāśinīm | nṛpatermucukundasya kathitāṃ bhārgaveṇa vai

“Listen, O king, to a divine tale that destroys all sins, told to King Muchukunda by Bhargava.”

Verse 7 (12.143.7)

इममर्थं पुरा पार्थ मुचुकुन्दो नराधिपः । भार्गवं परिपप्रच्छ प्रणतः पुरुषर्षभ ॥

imamarthaṃ purā pārtha mucukundo narādhipaḥ | bhārgavaṃ paripapraccha praṇataḥ puruṣarṣabha

“Long ago, O Partha, King Muchukunda, bowing low, questioned Bhargava on this very matter, O best of men.”

Verse 8 (12.143.8)

तस्मै शुश्रूषमाणाय भार्गवोऽकथयत्कथाम् । इमां यथा कपोतेन सिद्धिः प्राप्ता नराधिप ॥

tasmai śuśrūṣamāṇāya bhārgavo'kathayatkathām | imāṃ yathā kapotena siddhiḥ prāptā narādhipa

“To him, eager to listen, Bhargava told this tale, of how perfection was won by a dove.”

Verse 9 (12.143.9)

धर्मनिश्चयसंयुक्तां कामार्थसहितां कथाम् । शृणुष्वावहितो राजन्गदतो मे महाभुजः ॥

dharmaniścayasaṃyuktāṃ kāmārthasahitāṃ kathām | śṛṇuṣvāvahito rājangadato me mahābhujaḥ

“Listen attentively, O king, O mighty-armed, as I tell a tale full of firm judgments of dharma and joined with profit and desire.”

Note on the text: Corrected धर्मिश्चय → धर्मनिश्चय (misprint in Wikisource; dropped न and a stray ि, giving a non-word; CE 12.141.9 dharmaniścaya). The page's speaker heading उशनोवाच is the regular sandhi of उशना उवाच; the speaker is Ushanas (Bhargava), speaking to Muchukunda.

Verse 10 (12.143.10)

कश्चित्क्षुद्रसमाचारः पृथिव्यां कालसंमितः । चचार पृथिवीपाल घोरः शकुनिलुब्धकः ॥

kaścitkṣudrasamācāraḥ pṛthivyāṃ kālasaṃmitaḥ | cacāra pṛthivīpāla ghoraḥ śakunilubdhakaḥ

“There was a man of petty conduct, living a measured span on earth, who roamed about, O ruler of the earth — a dreadful bird-catcher.”

Verse 11 (12.143.11)

काकोल इव कृष्णाङ्गो रूक्षः पापसमाहितः । यवमध्यः कृशग्रीवो ह्रस्वपादो महाहनुः ॥

kākola iva kṛṣṇāṅgo rūkṣaḥ pāpasamāhitaḥ | yavamadhyaḥ kṛśagrīvo hrasvapādo mahāhanuḥ

“He was black-limbed like a crow, rough, intent on sin, shaped like a barley-grain at the middle, thin-necked, short-legged, with a huge jaw.”

Verse 12 (12.143.12)

नैव तस्य सुहृत्कश्चिन्न संबन्धी न बान्धवाः । बान्धवैः संपरित्यक्तस्तेन रौद्रेण कर्मणा ॥

naiva tasya suhṛtkaścinna saṃbandhī na bāndhavāḥ | bāndhavaiḥ saṃparityaktastena raudreṇa karmaṇā

“He had no friend, no relative, no kinsman; because of that cruel way of life he had been abandoned by his kin.”

Verse 13 (12.143.13)

नरः पापसमाचारस्त्यक्तव्यो दूरतो बुधैः । आत्मानं यो न संधत्ते सोऽन्यस्य स्यात्कथं हितः ॥

naraḥ pāpasamācārastyaktavyo dūrato budhaiḥ | ātmānaṃ yo na saṃdhatte so'nyasya syātkathaṃ hitaḥ

“A man of sinful conduct should be shunned from afar by the wise. One who cannot hold himself steady — how could he be of good to anyone else?”

Note on the text: Corrected सोन्यस्य → सोऽन्यस्य (misprint in Wikisource; avagraha dropped; CE so 'nyasya). Not in the critical edition proper (found in the vulgate recension); the CE has it only as star passage 12.141.12d*0361_01–02 (following 12.141.12).

Verse 14 (12.143.14)

ये नृशंसा दुरात्मानः प्राणिप्राणहरा नराः । उद्वेजनीया भूतानां व्याला इव भवन्ति ते ॥

ye nṛśaṃsā durātmānaḥ prāṇiprāṇaharā narāḥ | udvejanīyā bhūtānāṃ vyālā iva bhavanti te

“Cruel, wicked men who take the lives of living creatures become, like beasts of prey, a terror to all beings.”

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition proper (found in the vulgate recension); the CE has it only as star passage 12.141.12d*0361_03–04 (following 12.141.12).

Verse 15 (12.143.15)

स वै क्षारकमादाय वने हत्वा च पक्षिणः । चकार विक्रयं तेषां पतङ्गानां जनाधिपः ॥

sa vai kṣārakamādāya vane hatvā ca pakṣiṇaḥ | cakāra vikrayaṃ teṣāṃ pataṅgānāṃ janādhipaḥ

“Taking his snare, he killed birds in the forest and sold those winged creatures, O ruler of men.”

Note on the text: Line 1 differs from CE 12.141.13a (sa vai kṣārakam ādāya dvijān hatvā vane sadā), a recension variant kept as printed.

Verse 16 (12.143.16)

एवं तु वर्तमानस्य तस्य वृत्तिं दुरात्मनः । अगमत्सुमहान्कालो न चाधर्ममबुध्यत ॥

evaṃ tu vartamānasya tasya vṛttiṃ durātmanaḥ | agamatsumahānkālo na cādharmamabudhyata

“While that wicked man went on living by this trade, a very long time passed, and he never realised that it was wrong.”

Verse 17 (12.143.17)

तस्य भार्यासहायस्य रममाणस्य शाश्वतम् । दैवयोगविमूढस्य नान्या वृत्तिररोचत ॥

tasya bhāryāsahāyasya ramamāṇasya śāśvatam | daivayogavimūḍhasya nānyā vṛttirarocata

“With his wife as his companion, taking constant delight, deluded by fate, no other livelihood appealed to him.”

Verse 18 (12.143.18)

ततः कदाचित्तस्याथ वनस्थस्य समन्ततः । पातयन्निव वृक्षांस्तान्सुमहान्वातसंभ्रमः ॥

tataḥ kadācittasyātha vanasthasya samantataḥ | pātayanniva vṛkṣāṃstānsumahānvātasaṃbhramaḥ

“Then one day, as he was in the forest, a mighty rush of wind rose all around, as though hurling those trees to the ground.”

Verse 19 (12.143.19)

मेघसंकुलमाकाशं विद्युन्मण्डलमण्डितम् । संछन्नस्तु मुहूर्तेन नौसार्थैरिव सागरः ॥

meghasaṃkulamākāśaṃ vidyunmaṇḍalamaṇḍitam | saṃchannastu muhūrtena nausārthairiva sāgaraḥ

“The sky was crowded with clouds, ringed with lightning, and in a moment it was covered over, as the sea is covered by fleets of ships.”

Verse 20 (12.143.20)

वारिधारासमूहेन संप्रहृष्टः शतक्रतुः । क्षणेन पूरयामास सलिलेन वसुंधराम् ॥

vāridhārāsamūhena saṃprahṛṣṭaḥ śatakratuḥ | kṣaṇena pūrayāmāsa salilena vasuṃdharām

“Indra, delighted, filled the earth with water in a moment through a mass of streams of rain.”

Verse 21 (12.143.21)

ततो धाराकुले लोके संभ्रमन्नष्टचेतनः । शीतार्तस्तद्वनं सर्वमाकुलेनान्तरात्मना ॥

tato dhārākule loke saṃbhramannaṣṭacetanaḥ | śītārtastadvanaṃ sarvamākulenāntarātmanā

“Then, with the world drowned in torrents, he stumbled about, bewildered and senseless, numb with cold, all through that forest, his mind in turmoil.”

Verse 22 (12.143.22)

नैव निम्नं स्थलं वाऽपि सोऽविन्दत विहंगहा । पूरितो हि जलौघेन तस्य मार्गो वनस्य तु ॥

naiva nimnaṃ sthalaṃ vā'pi so'vindata vihaṃgahā | pūrito hi jalaughena tasya mārgo vanasya tu

“That bird-killer could find neither low ground nor high; his path through the forest was flooded by the rush of water.”

Note on the text: Corrected जलौघेनन → जलौघेन (misprint in Wikisource; doubled न; CE 12.141.20 jalaughena).

Verse 23 (12.143.23)

पक्षिणः वर्षवेगेन हता लीनास्तु पादपात् । मृगसिंहवराहाश्च ये चान्ये तत्र पक्षिणः ॥

pakṣiṇaḥ varṣavegena hatā līnāstu pādapāt | mṛgasiṃhavarāhāśca ye cānye tatra pakṣiṇaḥ

“Birds, beaten down by the force of the rain, lay huddled against the trees; the deer, lions and boars, and the other creatures there too …”

Note on the text: Corrected पक्षिणं → पक्षिणः and मृगसिह → मृगसिंह (misprints in Wikisource; visarga printed as anusvara, and a dropped anusvara that breaks the conjunct; CE 12.141.21 pakṣiṇo, siṃhā). Line 1 corresponds to CE 12.141.21ab (pakṣiṇo vātavegena hatā līnās tadābhavan) and line 2 to 21cd, in a recension form (WS ये चान्ये तत्र पक्षिणः, not the CE's sthalāny āśritya tasthire).

Verse 24 (12.143.24)

महता वातवर्षेण त्रासितास्ते वनौकसः । भयार्ताश्च क्षुधार्ताश्च बभ्रमुः सहिता वने ॥

mahatā vātavarṣeṇa trāsitāste vanaukasaḥ | bhayārtāśca kṣudhārtāśca babhramuḥ sahitā vane

“Terrified by that great storm of wind and rain, those forest-dwellers, tormented by fear and hunger, roamed the forest together.”

Verse 25 (12.143.25)

स तु शीतहतैर्गात्रैर्जगामैव न तस्थिवान् । ददर्श पतितां भूमौ कपोतीं शीतविह्वलाम् ॥

sa tu śītahatairgātrairjagāmaiva na tasthivān | dadarśa patitāṃ bhūmau kapotīṃ śītavihvalām

“With limbs numbed by the cold he kept walking and did not halt. He saw a dove lying on the ground, helpless with cold.”

Note on the text: Line 1 = CE 12.141.23ab; line 2 is not in the critical edition proper (found in the vulgate recension; the CE has it only as star passage 12.141.23b*0362_01).

Verse 26 (12.143.26)

दृष्ट्वाऽऽर्तोऽपि हि पापात्मा स तां पञ्जरकेऽक्षिपत् । स्वयं दुःखाभिभूतोऽपि दुःखमेवाकरोत्परे ॥

dṛṣṭvā''rto'pi hi pāpātmā sa tāṃ pañjarake'kṣipat | svayaṃ duḥkhābhibhūto'pi duḥkhamevākarotpare

“Though himself in distress, that sinner, seeing her, put her into his cage; though overcome by suffering himself, he went on causing suffering to another.”

Note on the text: Corrected दृष्टवाऽऽर्तोपि → दृष्ट्वाऽऽर्तोऽपि (misprint in Wikisource; broken conjunct in दृष्ट्वा and a dropped avagraha; CE dṛṣṭvārto 'pi). Not in the critical edition proper (found in the vulgate recension); the CE has it only as star passage 12.141.23b*0362_02–03 (following 12.141.23ab).

Verse 27 (12.143.27)

पापात्मा पापकारित्वात्पापमेव चकार सः । सोऽपश्यत्तरुषण्डेषु मेघनीलं वनस्पतिम् ॥

pāpātmā pāpakāritvātpāpameva cakāra saḥ | so'paśyattaruṣaṇḍeṣu meghanīlaṃ vanaspatim

“Being a doer of evil by nature, that evil-minded man did only evil. Then, among the clumps of trees, he saw a tree dark as a rain-cloud.”

Note on the text: Corrected पापकारित्वत् → पापकारित्वात् (misprint in Wikisource; dropped ā, giving a non-word and a short line; CE 12.141.23b*0362_04 pāpakāritvāt). Line 1 is not in the critical edition proper (star passage 12.141.23b*0362_04); line 2 = CE 12.141.23c (so 'paśyad vanaṣaṇḍeṣu meghanīlaṃ vanaspatim), with the variant तरुषण्डेषु.

Verse 28 (12.143.28)

सेव्यमानं विहंगौघैश्छायावासफलार्थिभिः । धात्रा परोपकाराय स साधुरिव निर्मितः ॥

sevyamānaṃ vihaṃgaughaiśchāyāvāsaphalārthibhiḥ | dhātrā paropakārāya sa sādhuriva nirmitaḥ

“It was resorted to by flocks of birds seeking shade, shelter and fruit — made by the Creator for the good of others, like a good man.”

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition proper (found in the vulgate recension); the CE has it only as star passage 12.141.23d*0363_01–02 (following 12.141.23c).

Verse 29 (12.143.29)

अथाभवत्क्षणेनैव वियद्विमलतारकम् । महत्सर इवोत्फुल्लं कुमुदच्छुरितोदकम् । कुसुमाकारताराढ्यमाकाशं निर्मलं बहु ॥

athābhavatkṣaṇenaiva viyadvimalatārakam | mahatsara ivotphullaṃ kumudacchuritodakam | kusumākāratārāḍhyamākāśaṃ nirmalaṃ bahu

“Then in a moment the sky was clear, with spotless stars, like a great lake in bloom, its waters strewn with white night-lotuses; the heavens, utterly pure, rich with stars like flowers.”

Note on the text: Three lines in Wikisource. Lines 1–2 are not in the critical edition proper (found in the vulgate recension; the CE has them only as star passage 12.141.23d*0363_03–04); line 3 corresponds to CE 12.141.24ab (tārāḍhyaṃ kumudākāram ākāśaṃ nirmalaṃ ca ha), in a recension form.

Verse 30 (12.143.30)

घनैर्मुक्तं नभो दृष्ट्वा लुब्धकः शीतविह्वलः । दिशो विलोकयामास वेलां च सुदुरात्मवान् ॥

ghanairmuktaṃ nabho dṛṣṭvā lubdhakaḥ śītavihvalaḥ | diśo vilokayāmāsa velāṃ ca sudurātmavān

“Seeing the sky freed from clouds, the fowler, shivering with cold, looked around in all directions and judged the hour of the night — that exceedingly wicked man.”

Note on the text: Line 1 = CE 12.141.24cd; line 2 corresponds to CE 12.141.25a (diśo 'valokayām āsa velāṃ caiva durātmavān), in a recension form.

Verse 31 (12.143.31)

दूरे ग्रामनिवेशश्च तस्मात्स्थानादिति प्रभो । कृतबुद्धिर्द्रुमे तस्मिन्वस्तुं तां रजनीं ततः ॥

dūre grāmaniveśaśca tasmātsthānāditi prabho | kṛtabuddhirdrume tasminvastuṃ tāṃ rajanīṃ tataḥ

“‘The village is far from this place, my lord.’ So he made up his mind to spend that night in that tree.”

Note on the text: The input found no critical-edition match; the verse corresponds to CE 12.141.25cd–ef (dūre grāmaniveśaś ca tasmād deśād iti prabho / kṛtabuddhir vane tasmin vastuṃ tāṃ rajanīṃ tadā), with the variant द्रुमे for vane.

Verse 32 (12.143.32)

साञ्जलिः प्रणतिं कृत्वा वाक्यमाह वनस्पतिम् । शरणं यामि यान्यस्मिन्दैवतानीति भारत ॥

sāñjaliḥ praṇatiṃ kṛtvā vākyamāha vanaspatim | śaraṇaṃ yāmi yānyasmindaivatānīti bhārata

“With folded hands he bowed and said to the tree, ‘I take refuge in whatever deities dwell in you,’ O Bharata.”

Verse 33 (12.143.33)

स शिलायां शिरः कृत्वा पर्णान्यास्तीर्य भूतले । दुःखेन महताऽऽविष्टस्ततः सुष्वाप पक्षिहा ॥

sa śilāyāṃ śiraḥ kṛtvā parṇānyāstīrya bhūtale | duḥkhena mahatā''viṣṭastataḥ suṣvāpa pakṣihā

“Resting his head on a stone and spreading leaves on the ground, that bird-killer, overcome with great misery, then fell asleep.”