The Dove's Lament and His Wife's Counsel

Verse 1 (12.144.1)

अथ वृक्षस्य शाखायां विहंगः ससुहृज्जनः । दीर्घकालोषितो राजंस्तत्र चित्रतनूरुहः ॥

atha vṛkṣasya śākhāyāṃ vihaṃgaḥ sasuhṛjjanaḥ | dīrghakāloṣito rājaṃstatra citratanūruhaḥ

Now on a branch of that tree there lived a bird with his kinsmen, O king — long settled there, many-coloured in his plumage.

Verse 2 (12.144.2)

तस्य कल्यगता भार्या चरितुं नाभ्यवर्तत । प्राप्तां च रजनीं दृष्ट्वा स पक्षी पर्यतप्यत ॥

tasya kalyagatā bhāryā carituṃ nābhyavartata | prāptāṃ ca rajanīṃ dṛṣṭvā sa pakṣī paryatapyata

His wife had gone out in the morning to feed and had not come back. Seeing that night had fallen, the bird was tormented.

Verse 3 (12.144.3)

वातवर्षं महच्चासीन्न चागच्छति मे प्रिया । किंनु तत्कारणं येन साऽद्यापि न निवर्तते ॥

vātavarṣaṃ mahaccāsīnna cāgacchati me priyā | kiṃnu tatkāraṇaṃ yena sā'dyāpi na nivartate

“A great storm of wind and rain has come, and my beloved is not coming back. What can the reason be, that she has not returned even now?”

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: the male dove's own words, with no printed heading (the page heads only Bhishma's verses before it).

Verse 4 (12.144.4)

अपि स्वस्ति भवेत्तस्याः प्रियाया मम कानने । तया विरहितं हीदं शून्यमद्य गृहं मम ॥

api svasti bhavettasyāḥ priyāyā mama kānane | tayā virahitaṃ hīdaṃ śūnyamadya gṛhaṃ mama

“I hope all is well with my beloved in the forest! Without her this house of mine is empty tonight.”

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: the male dove's own lament, with no printed heading (the page heads only Bhishma's verses before it).

Verse 5 (12.144.5)

पुत्रपौत्रवधूभृत्यैराकीर्णमपि सर्वतः । भार्याहीनं गृहस्थस्य शून्यमेव गृहं भवेत् ॥

putrapautravadhūbhṛtyairākīrṇamapi sarvataḥ | bhāryāhīnaṃ gṛhasthasya śūnyameva gṛhaṃ bhavet

“Though filled on every side with sons, grandsons, daughters-in-law and servants, a householder's house is empty without his wife.”

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition proper (found in the vulgate recension); the CE has it only as star passage 12.142.4d*0364_01–02 (following 12.142.4). Speaker supplied: the male dove's own lament, with no printed heading (the page heads only Bhishma's verses before it).

Verse 6 (12.144.6)

न गृहं गृहमित्याहुर्गृहिणी गृहमुच्यते । गृहं तु गृहिणीहीनमरण्यसदृशं मतम् ॥

na gṛhaṃ gṛhamityāhurgṛhiṇī gṛhamucyate | gṛhaṃ tu gṛhiṇīhīnamaraṇyasadṛśaṃ matam

“They say the house is not the house; the housewife is what is called the house. A house without its housewife is held to be like a wilderness.”

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition proper (found in the vulgate recension); the CE has it only as star passage 12.142.4d*0364_03–04 (following 12.142.4). Speaker supplied: the male dove's own lament, with no printed heading (the page heads only Bhishma's verses before it).

Verse 7 (12.144.7)

यदि सा रक्तनेत्रान्ता चित्राङ्गी मधुरस्वरा । अद्य नाभ्येति मे कान्ता न कार्यं जीवितेन मे ॥

yadi sā raktanetrāntā citrāṅgī madhurasvarā | adya nābhyeti me kāntā na kāryaṃ jīvitena me

“If she of the red-cornered eyes, with her many-coloured limbs and sweet voice, my beloved, does not come today, I have no use for my life.”

Note on the text: Corrected रक्तेत्रान्ता → रक्तनेत्रान्ता (misprint in Wikisource; dropped न, which also shortens the line; CE 12.142.5 raktanetrāntā). Speaker supplied: the male dove's own lament, with no printed heading (the page heads only Bhishma's verses before it).

Verse 8 (12.144.8)

न भुङ्क्ते मय्यभुक्ते या नास्नाते स्नाति सुव्रता । नातिष्ठत्युपतिष्ठेत शेते च शयिते मयि ॥

na bhuṅkte mayyabhukte yā nāsnāte snāti suvratā | nātiṣṭhatyupatiṣṭheta śete ca śayite mayi

“The virtuous one does not eat when I have not eaten, and does not bathe when I have not bathed; she does not overstep my wishes but waits upon me, and she lies down only when I have lain down.”

Note on the text: Corrected नातिष्ठत्युपतिष्ठेन → नातिष्ठत्युपतिष्ठेत (misprint in Wikisource; final न for त gives a non-word; CE star passage 12.142.5d*0365_02 nātiṣṭhaty upatiṣṭheta; the sense of the phrase नातिष्ठत्युपतिष्ठेत is uncertain). Not in the critical edition proper (found in the vulgate recension); the CE has it only as star passage 12.142.5d*0365_01–02 (following 12.142.5). Speaker supplied: the male dove's own lament, with no printed heading (the page heads only Bhishma's verses before it).

Verse 9 (12.144.9)

हृष्टे भवति सा हृष्टा दुःखिते मयि दुःखिता । प्रोषिते दीनवदना क्रुद्धे च प्रियवादिनी ॥

hṛṣṭe bhavati sā hṛṣṭā duḥkhite mayi duḥkhitā | proṣite dīnavadanā kruddhe ca priyavādinī

“When I am glad, she is glad; when I am sad, she is sad; when I am away, she is downcast; and when I am angry, she speaks gently.”

Note on the text: Corrected प्रोपिते → प्रोषिते (misprint in Wikisource; ष misprinted as प, giving a non-word; CE star passage 12.142.5d*0365_04 proṣite). Not in the critical edition proper (found in the vulgate recension); the CE has it only as star passage 12.142.5d*0365_03–04 (following 12.142.5). Speaker supplied: the male dove's own lament, with no printed heading (the page heads only Bhishma's verses before it).

Verse 10 (12.144.10)

पतिधर्मव्रता साध्वी प्राणेभ्योऽपि गरीयसी । यस्य स्यात्तादृशी भार्या धन्यः स पुरुषो भुवि ॥

patidharmavratā sādhvī prāṇebhyo'pi garīyasī | yasya syāttādṛśī bhāryā dhanyaḥ sa puruṣo bhuvi

“Devoted to her husband's dharma, virtuous, dearer than life itself — the man who has such a wife is blessed on earth.”

Note on the text: Line 1 = CE 12.142.6a; line 2 corresponds to CE 12.142.7cd (yasya vai tādṛśī bhāryā dhanyaḥ sa manujo bhuvi), in a recension form. The input found no critical-edition match for the verse as a whole. Speaker supplied: the male dove's own lament, with no printed heading (the page heads only Bhishma's verses before it).

Verse 11 (12.144.11)

सा हि श्रान्तं क्षुधार्तं च जानीते मां तपस्विनी । अनुरक्ता स्थिरा चैव भक्ता स्निग्धा यशस्विनी ॥

sā hi śrāntaṃ kṣudhārtaṃ ca jānīte māṃ tapasvinī | anuraktā sthirā caiva bhaktā snigdhā yaśasvinī

“That good soul knows when I am tired and hungry. She is devoted, steady, faithful, tender and renowned.”

Note on the text: Line 1 = CE 12.142.6cd; line 2 corresponds to CE 12.142.7ab (anuraktā hitā caiva snigdhā caiva pativratā), in a recension form. The input found no critical-edition match for the verse as a whole. Speaker supplied: the male dove's own lament, with no printed heading (the page heads only Bhishma's verses before it).

Verse 12 (12.144.12)

वृक्षमूलेऽपि दयिता यस्य तिष्ठति तद्गृहम् । प्रासादोऽपि तया हीनः कान्तार इति निश्चितम् ॥

vṛkṣamūle'pi dayitā yasya tiṣṭhati tadgṛham | prāsādo'pi tayā hīnaḥ kāntāra iti niścitam

“Where the beloved stays, even at the foot of a tree, that is the home; a palace without her is surely a wilderness.”

Note on the text: Corrected प्रासादोपि → प्रासादोऽपि (misprint in Wikisource; avagraha dropped; CE prāsādo 'pi). Not in the critical edition proper (found in the vulgate recension); the CE has it only as star passage 12.142.7d*0366_01–02 (following 12.142.7). Speaker supplied: the male dove's own lament, with no printed heading (the page heads only Bhishma's verses before it).

Verse 13 (12.144.13)

धर्मार्थकामकालेषु भार्या पुंसः सहायिनी । विदेशगमने चास्य सैव विश्वासकारिका ॥

dharmārthakāmakāleṣu bhāryā puṃsaḥ sahāyinī | videśagamane cāsya saiva viśvāsakārikā

“In the seasons for dharma, wealth and pleasure a wife is a man's helper; and when he travels abroad she alone gives him trust.”

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition proper (found in the vulgate recension); the CE has it only as star passage 12.142.7d*0366_03–04 (following 12.142.7). Speaker supplied: the male dove's own lament, with no printed heading (the page heads only Bhishma's verses before it).

Verse 14 (12.144.14)

भार्या हि परमो ह्यर्थः पुरुषस्येह पठ्यते । असहायस्य लोकेऽस्मिँल्लोकयात्रासहायिनी ॥

bhāryā hi paramo hyarthaḥ puruṣasyeha paṭhyate | asahāyasya loke'smim̐llokayātrāsahāyinī

“A wife is declared the supreme possession of a man; to one without helpers in this world she is the helper in the course of life.”

Note on the text: Corrected पट्यते → पठ्यते (misprint in Wikisource; ठ misprinted as ट, giving a non-word; CE 12.142.8 paṭhyate). WS परमो ह्यर्थः differs from CE paramo nāthaḥ (recension variant, kept). Speaker supplied: the male dove's own lament, with no printed heading (the page heads only Bhishma's verses before it).

Verse 15 (12.144.15)

तथा रोगाभिभूतस्य नित्यं कृच्छ्रगतस्य च । नास्ति भार्यासमं मित्रं नरस्यार्तस्य भेषजम् ॥

tathā rogābhibhūtasya nityaṃ kṛcchragatasya ca | nāsti bhāryāsamaṃ mitraṃ narasyārtasya bheṣajam

“So too for one stricken by disease and ever in hardship, there is no friend like a wife, no medicine for an afflicted man.”

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: the male dove's own lament, with no printed heading (the page heads only Bhishma's verses before it).

Verse 16 (12.144.16)

नास्ति भार्यासमो बन्धुर्नास्ति भार्यासमा गतिः । नास्ति भार्यासमो लोके सहायो धर्मसंग्रहे ॥

nāsti bhāryāsamo bandhurnāsti bhāryāsamā gatiḥ | nāsti bhāryāsamo loke sahāyo dharmasaṃgrahe

“There is no kinsman like a wife, no refuge like a wife, no helper like a wife in the gathering of dharma.”

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: the male dove's own lament, with no printed heading (the page heads only Bhishma's verses before it).

Verse 17 (12.144.17)

यस्य भार्या गृहे नास्ति साध्वी च प्रियवादिनी । अरण्यं तेन गन्तव्यं यथाऽरण्यं तथा गृहम् ॥

yasya bhāryā gṛhe nāsti sādhvī ca priyavādinī | araṇyaṃ tena gantavyaṃ yathā'raṇyaṃ tathā gṛham

“He who has no good, sweet-spoken wife at home should go to the forest; for the house is just like the forest.”

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition proper (found in the vulgate recension); the CE has it only as star passage 12.142.10d*0368_01–02 (following 12.142.10). Speaker supplied: the male dove's own lament, with no printed heading (the page heads only Bhishma's verses before it).

Verse 18 (12.144.18)

एवं विलपतस्तस्य द्विजस्यार्तस्य वै तदा । गृहीता शकुनिघ्नेन भार्या शुश्राव भारतीम् ॥

evaṃ vilapatastasya dvijasyārtasya vai tadā | gṛhītā śakunighnena bhāryā śuśrāva bhāratīm

As that afflicted bird lamented thus, his wife, caught by the bird-killer, heard his words.

Verse 19 (12.144.19)

अहोऽतीव सुभाग्याऽहं यस्या मे दयितः पतिः । असतो वा सतो वाऽपि गुणानेवं प्रभाषते ॥

aho'tīva subhāgyā'haṃ yasyā me dayitaḥ patiḥ | asato vā sato vā'pi guṇānevaṃ prabhāṣate

“How very fortunate I am, that my beloved husband speaks so of my virtues, whether I have them or not!”

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition proper (found in the vulgate recension); the CE has it only as star passage 12.142.11d*0370_01–02 (following 12.142.11; the CE also prints the heading kapoty uvāca there, *0370_00).

Verse 20 (12.144.20)

सा हि स्त्रीत्यवगन्तव्या यस्य भर्ता तु तुष्यति । तुष्टे भर्तरि नारीणां तुष्टाः स्युः सर्वदेवताः । अग्निसाक्षिकमप्येतद्भर्ता हि शरणं परम् ॥

sā hi strītyavagantavyā yasya bhartā tu tuṣyati | tuṣṭe bhartari nārīṇāṃ tuṣṭāḥ syuḥ sarvadevatāḥ | agnisākṣikamapyetadbhartā hi śaraṇaṃ param

“She alone is to be known as a wife with whom her husband is pleased. When the husband is pleased, all the gods are pleased with women. This too has fire as its witness: the husband is the supreme refuge.”

Note on the text: Three lines in Wikisource. Line 1 corresponds to CE 12.142.12a (na sā strīty abhibhāṣā syād yasyā bhartā na tuṣyati; the page's apparatus records that variant), in the opposite (affirmative) recension form; line 2 is not in the critical edition proper (star passage 12.142.12b*0371_01); line 3 = CE 12.142.12cd.

Verse 21 (12.144.21)

दावाग्निनेव निर्दग्धा सपुष्पस्तबका लता । भस्मीभवति सा नारी यस्या भर्ता न तुष्यति ॥

dāvāgnineva nirdagdhā sapuṣpastabakā latā | bhasmībhavati sā nārī yasyā bhartā na tuṣyati

“Like a creeper with its clusters of flowers burnt by a forest fire, that woman is reduced to ashes whose husband is displeased.”

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition proper (found in the vulgate recension); the CE has it only as star passage 12.142.12d*0372_01–02 (following 12.142.12), where the second line has bhasmībhavatu for WS भस्मीभवति.

Verse 22 (12.144.22)

इति संचिन्त्य दुःखार्ता भर्तारं दुःखितं तदा । कपोती लुब्धकेनापि गृहीता वाक्यमब्रवीत् ॥

iti saṃcintya duḥkhārtā bhartāraṃ duḥkhitaṃ tadā | kapotī lubdhakenāpi gṛhītā vākyamabravīt

Thinking thus, the dove, grieving and caught in the fowler's hold, spoke these words to her sorrowing husband.

Note on the text: Speaker corrected to the narrator: the verse reports her speech ("the dove … spoke these words") and is not itself her speech, though the page's last heading is the dove's.

Verse 23 (12.144.23)

हन्त वक्ष्यामि ते श्रेयः श्रुत्वा तु कुरु तत्तथा । शरणागतसंत्राता भव कान्त विशेषतः ॥

hanta vakṣyāmi te śreyaḥ śrutvā tu kuru tattathā | śaraṇāgatasaṃtrātā bhava kānta viśeṣataḥ

“Come, I shall tell you what is for your good; hear it and act accordingly. Be, my dear, especially a protector of one who has come for refuge.”

Verse 24 (12.144.24)

एष शाकुनिकः शेते तव वासं समाश्रितः । शीतार्तश्च क्षुधार्तश्च पूजामस्मै समाचर ॥

eṣa śākunikaḥ śete tava vāsaṃ samāśritaḥ | śītārtaśca kṣudhārtaśca pūjāmasmai samācara

“This fowler lies here, having taken shelter in your dwelling, tormented by cold and hunger. Honour him as is due.”

Verse 25 (12.144.25)

यो हि कश्चिद्द्विजं हन्याद्गां वा लोकस्य मातरम् । शरणागतं च यो हन्यात्तुल्यं तेषां च पातकम् ॥

yo hi kaściddvijaṃ hanyādgāṃ vā lokasya mātaram | śaraṇāgataṃ ca yo hanyāttulyaṃ teṣāṃ ca pātakam

“Whoever kills a Brahmin, or a cow, the mother of the world, or one who has come for refuge — the guilt of these is the same.”

Verse 26 (12.144.26)

अस्माकं विहिता वृत्तिः कापोती जातिधर्मतः । सा न्याय्याऽऽत्मवता नित्यं त्वद्विधेनानुवर्तितुं ॥

asmākaṃ vihitā vṛttiḥ kāpotī jātidharmataḥ | sā nyāyyā''tmavatā nityaṃ tvadvidhenānuvartituṃ

“The way of life ordained for us is that of doves, by the duty of our kind. A self-possessed one like you should always follow it.”

Verse 27 (12.144.27)

यस्तु धर्मं यथाशक्ति गृहस्थो ह्यनुवर्तते । स प्रेत्य लभते लोकानक्षयानिति शुश्रुम ॥

yastu dharmaṃ yathāśakti gṛhastho hyanuvartate | sa pretya labhate lokānakṣayāniti śuśruma

“The householder who follows dharma as far as he is able attains, after death, imperishable worlds — so we have heard.”

Note on the text: Corrected शुश्रुम् → शुश्रुम (misprint in Wikisource; a stray halanta gives a non-word for the verb "we have heard"; CE 12.142.18 śuśruma).

Verse 28 (12.144.28)

स त्वं संतानवानद्य पुत्रवानपि च द्विज । त्वं स्वदेहे दयां त्यक्त्वा धर्मार्थौ परिगृह्य वै । पूजामस्मै प्रयुङ्क्ष्व त्वं प्रीयेतास्य मनो यथा ॥

sa tvaṃ saṃtānavānadya putravānapi ca dvija | tvaṃ svadehe dayāṃ tyaktvā dharmārthau parigṛhya vai | pūjāmasmai prayuṅkṣva tvaṃ prīyetāsya mano yathā

“You now have offspring and a son, O bird. So set aside pity for your own body, take up dharma and wealth, and show him such honour that his heart is pleased.”

Note on the text: Corrected परिगृह्य य → परिगृह्य वै (misprint in Wikisource; वै printed as य, giving a non-word and a short line; CE 12.142.19 parigṛhya vai). A three-line verse in Wikisource, = CE 12.142.19a, c, e; WS reads त्वं स्वदेहे where the CE has tat svadehe.

Verse 29 (12.144.29)

शरीरे मा च संतापं कुर्वीथास्त्वं विहंगम । शरीरयात्रावृत्त्यर्थमन्यान्दारानुपैष्यसि ॥

śarīre mā ca saṃtāpaṃ kurvīthāstvaṃ vihaṃgama | śarīrayātrāvṛttyarthamanyāndārānupaiṣyasi

“Do not torment yourself over your body, O bird; to keep your life going you will take other wives.”

Note on the text: Corrected विहगंम → विहंगम (misprint in Wikisource; the anusvara is misplaced, giving a non-word; CE star passage 12.142.19f*0373_01 vihaṃgama). Not in the critical edition proper (found in the vulgate recension); the CE has it only as star passage 12.142.19f*0373_01–02 (following 12.142.19), where line 1 reads matkṛte mā ca saṃtāpaṃ and line 2 śarīrayātrākṛtyartham (recension variants).

Verse 30 (12.144.30)

इति सा शकुनी वाक्यं पञ्जरस्था तपस्विनी । अतिदुःखान्विता प्रोक्त्वा भर्तारं समुदैक्षत ॥

iti sā śakunī vākyaṃ pañjarasthā tapasvinī | atiduḥkhānvitā proktvā bhartāraṃ samudaikṣata

Having spoken thus, the dove in the cage, that good soul, afflicted with great sorrow, looked at her husband.

Note on the text: Speaker corrected to the narrator: the verse reports her action ("having spoken … she looked at her husband"), not her speech, though the page's last heading is the dove's.