The Vulture and the Jackal: A Dead Child at the Cremation Ground

Verse 1 (12.152.1)

कच्चित्पितामहेनासीच्छ्रुतं वा दृष्टमेव च । कच्चिन्मर्त्यो मृतो राजन्पुनरुज्जीवितोऽभवत् ॥

kaccitpitāmahenāsīcchrutaṃ vā dṛṣṭameva ca | kaccinmartyo mṛto rājanpunarujjīvito'bhavat

Have you ever heard of it, grandsire, or seen it yourself: has a mortal who had died, O king, ever been brought back to life?

Note on the text: Corrected च्छ्रुवं → च्छ्रुतं (misprint in Wikisource; श्रुव is not a word here; the critical edition's star passage reads śrutam). Not in the critical edition's constituted text: the CE has this question only as star passage 12.149.000*0383_01-02 (kaccit pitāmahenāsīc chrutaṃ vā dṛṣṭam eva vā / kaccin martyo mṛto rājan punar ujjīvito bhavet; a longer alternative is 12.149.000*0384). Wikisource's second line ends -ऽभवत् against CE bhavet (recension variant, kept).

Verse 2 (12.152.2)

शृणु पार्थ यथावृत्तमितिहासं पुरातनम् । गृध्रजम्बुकसंवादं यो वृत्तो वैदिशे पुरे ॥

śṛṇu pārtha yathāvṛttamitihāsaṃ purātanam | gṛdhrajambukasaṃvādaṃ yo vṛtto vaidiśe pure

Listen, son of Pritha, to an ancient tale: the dialogue of a vulture and a jackal, which took place in the city of Vidisha.

Verse 3 (12.152.3)

कस्यचिद्ब्राह्मणस्यासीद्दुःखलब्धः सुतो मृतः । बाल एव विशालाक्षो बालग्रहनिपीडितः ॥

kasyacidbrāhmaṇasyāsīdduḥkhalabdhaḥ suto mṛtaḥ | bāla eva viśālākṣo bālagrahanipīḍitaḥ

A certain brahmin had a son, won with great hardship, who died. He was only a child, wide-eyed, struck down by the spirits that seize children.

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition's constituted text: both lines are the CE star passage 12.149.001d*0385_01-02 (kasya cid brāhmaṇasyāsīd duḥkhalabdhaḥ suto mṛtaḥ / bāla eva viśālākṣo bālagrahanipīḍitaḥ), which the alignment did not match.

Verse 4 (12.152.4)

दुःखिताः केचिदादाय बालमप्राप्तयौवनम् । कुलसर्वस्वभूतं वै रुदन्तः शोककर्शिताः ॥

duḥkhitāḥ kecidādāya bālamaprāptayauvanam | kulasarvasvabhūtaṃ vai rudantaḥ śokakarśitāḥ

Some of his grieving kinsmen picked up the boy, who had not yet reached youth, the very treasure of the family, and, weeping, wasted with sorrow,

Note on the text: Corrected प्राप्तयोवनम् → प्राप्तयौवनम् (misprint in Wikisource; the au-mark is dropped; the word is यौवन, CE aprāptayauvanam).

Verse 5 (12.152.5)

बालं मृतं गृहीत्वाऽथ श्मशानाभिमुखाः स्थिताः । अङ्गेनाङ्गं समाक्रम्य रुरुदुर्भृशदुःखिताः ॥

bālaṃ mṛtaṃ gṛhītvā'tha śmaśānābhimukhāḥ sthitāḥ | aṅgenāṅgaṃ samākramya rurudurbhṛśaduḥkhitāḥ

they took the dead child and stood facing the cremation ground. Clasping limb to limb, they wept bitterly in their anguish.

Note on the text: Corrected समाक्रस्य → समाक्रम्य (misprint in Wikisource; स्य for म्य, the verb is आ-क्रम्; CE saṃkramya, and the page's own footnote reads समाक्रम्य).

Verse 6 (12.152.6)

शोचन्तस्तस्य पूर्वोक्तान्भाषितांश्चासकृत्पुनः । तं बालं भूतले क्षिप्य प्रतिगन्तुं न शक्नुयुः ॥

śocantastasya pūrvoktānbhāṣitāṃścāsakṛtpunaḥ | taṃ bālaṃ bhūtale kṣipya pratigantuṃ na śaknuyuḥ

Grieving again and again over the words he had spoken before, they laid the boy on the ground, and still they could not bring themselves to turn back.

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition's constituted text: both lines are the CE star passage 12.149.003d*0386_01-02 (śocantas tasya pūrvoktān bhāṣitāṃś cāsakṛt punaḥ / taṃ bālaṃ bhūtale kṣipya pratigantuṃ na śaknuyuḥ), which the alignment did not match.

Verse 7 (12.152.7)

तेषां रुदितशब्देन गृध्रोऽभ्येत्य वचोऽब्रवीत् । प्रेतात्मकमिमंकाले त्यक्त्वा गच्छत माचिरम् ॥

teṣāṃ ruditaśabdena gṛdhro'bhyetya vaco'bravīt | pretātmakamimaṃkāle tyaktvā gacchata māciram

At the sound of their weeping a vulture came up and said: "Leave this dead thing now and go, without delay.

Verse 8 (12.152.8)

इह पुंसां सहस्राणि स्त्रीसहस्राणि चैव ह । समानीतानि कालेन हित्वा वै यान्ति बान्धवाः ॥

iha puṃsāṃ sahasrāṇi strīsahasrāṇi caiva ha | samānītāni kālena hitvā vai yānti bāndhavāḥ

Here, thousands of men and thousands of women have been brought together by time, and their kinsmen leave them behind and depart.

Verse 9 (12.152.9)

संपश्यत जगत्सर्वं सुखदुःखैरधिष्ठितम् । संयोगो विप्रयोगश्च पर्यायेणोपलभ्यते ॥

saṃpaśyata jagatsarvaṃ sukhaduḥkhairadhiṣṭhitam | saṃyogo viprayogaśca paryāyeṇopalabhyate

Look at the whole world, ruled by pleasure and pain: union and separation come in turn.

Verse 10 (12.152.10)

गृहीत्वा ये च गच्छन्ति येऽनुयान्ति च तान्मृतान् । तेऽप्यायुषः प्रमाणेन स्वेन गच्छन्ति जन्तवः ॥

gṛhītvā ye ca gacchanti ye'nuyānti ca tānmṛtān | te'pyāyuṣaḥ pramāṇena svena gacchanti jantavaḥ

Those who carry the dead away, and those who follow behind, they too, each according to the measure of his own life, go the same way.

Verse 11 (12.152.11)

अलं स्थित्वा श्मशानेऽस्मिन्गृध्रगोमायुसंकुले । कङ्कालबहुले घोरे सर्वप्राणिभयंकरे ॥

alaṃ sthitvā śmaśāne'smingṛdhragomāyusaṃkule | kaṅkālabahule ghore sarvaprāṇibhayaṃkare

Enough of staying in this cremation ground, crowded with vultures and jackals, thick with skeletons, dreadful, a terror to every living creature.

Verse 12 (12.152.12)

न पुनर्जीवितः कश्चित्कालधर्ममुपागतः । प्रियो वा यदि वा द्वेष्यः प्राणिनां गतिरीदृशी ॥

na punarjīvitaḥ kaścitkāladharmamupāgataḥ | priyo vā yadi vā dveṣyaḥ prāṇināṃ gatirīdṛśī

No one who has gone to the law of time has ever lived again, whether loved or hated. Such is the way of all creatures.

Verse 13 (12.152.13)

सर्वेण खलु मर्तव्यं मर्त्यलोके प्रसूयता । कृतान्तविहिते मार्गे मृतं को जीवयिष्यति ॥

sarveṇa khalu martavyaṃ martyaloke prasūyatā | kṛtāntavihite mārge mṛtaṃ ko jīvayiṣyati

Everyone born into the world of mortals must die. On the road laid down by Death, the Ender, who will bring a dead man back to life?

Verse 14 (12.152.14)

दिशान्तोपचितो यावदस्तं गच्छति भास्करः । गम्यतां स्वमधिष्ठानं सुतस्नेहं विसृज्य वै ॥

diśāntopacito yāvadastaṃ gacchati bhāskaraḥ | gamyatāṃ svamadhiṣṭhānaṃ sutasnehaṃ visṛjya vai

The sun has reached the edge of the sky and is sinking toward its setting. Give up your love for your son and go back to your homes."

Verse 15 (12.152.15)

ततो गृध्रवचः श्रुत्वा विक्रोशन्तस्तदा नृप । बान्धवास्तेऽभ्यगच्छन्त पुत्रमुत्सृज्य भूतले ॥

tato gṛdhravacaḥ śrutvā vikrośantastadā nṛpa | bāndhavāste'bhyagacchanta putramutsṛjya bhūtale

Then, O king, hearing the vulture's words, the kinsmen wailed aloud and started away, leaving the boy lying on the ground.

Verse 16 (12.152.16)

विनिश्चित्याथ च तदा विक्रोशन्तस्ततस्ततः । मृत इत्येव गच्छन्तो निराशास्तस्य दर्शने ॥

viniścityātha ca tadā vikrośantastatastataḥ | mṛta ityeva gacchanto nirāśāstasya darśane

Having made up their minds, they went off in every direction, wailing, thinking, "He is dead," with no hope of ever seeing him again.

Note on the text: Removed the square brackets Wikisource prints around line 2 and the stray doubled daṇḍa inside them. The alignment found no match: line 1 is CE 12.149.13a (viniścityātha ca tataḥ …) with the second half replaced by star 13a*0388_01 (vikrośantas tatas tataḥ); line 2 is the CE star line 12.149.013a*0388_02 (mṛtam ity eva gacchanto nirāśās tasya darśane).

Verse 17 (12.152.17)

निश्चितार्थाश्च ते सर्वे संत्यजन्तः स्वमात्मजम् । निराशा जीविते तस्य मार्गमावृत्य धिष्ठिताः ॥

niścitārthāśca te sarve saṃtyajantaḥ svamātmajam | nirāśā jīvite tasya mārgamāvṛtya dhiṣṭhitāḥ

All of them, resolved on this, abandoned their own child and, hopeless of his life, took to the road.

Note on the text: Line 1 joins the CE star 12.149.012d*0387_01 (niścitārthāś ca te sarve …) to the second half of CE 13a (saṃtyajantaḥ svam ātmajam); line 2 = CE 12.149.13c. Together with verse 16 this covers CE 12.149.13 and its star lines.

Verse 18 (12.152.18)

ध्वाङ्क्षपक्षसवर्णस्तु बिलान्निःसृत्य जम्बुकः । गच्छमानान्स्म तानाह निर्घृणाः खलु मानुषाः ॥

dhvāṅkṣapakṣasavarṇastu bilānniḥsṛtya jambukaḥ | gacchamānānsma tānāha nirghṛṇāḥ khalu mānuṣāḥ

Then a jackal, dark as a crow's wing, came out of his burrow and said to them as they went: "Cruel indeed are human beings!

Verse 19 (12.152.19)

आदित्योऽयं स्थितो मूढाः स्नेहं कुरुत मा भयम् । बहुरूपो मुहूर्ताच्च जीवेदपि च बालकः ॥

ādityo'yaṃ sthito mūḍhāḥ snehaṃ kuruta mā bhayam | bahurūpo muhūrtācca jīvedapi ca bālakaḥ

The sun is still up, you fools. Show love, not fear. This child, so changeable in form, may even live within a moment.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: the jackal's direct speech, begun at the end of verse 18; Wikisource prints no heading before the vulture's at verse 32 (the input carried भीष्म). The CE too has Bhishma's narration resume only at 12.149.27.

Verse 20 (12.152.20)

दर्भान्भूमौ विनिक्षिप्य पुत्रस्नेहविनाकृताः । श्मशाने सुतमुत्सृज्य कस्माद्गच्छत निर्घृणाः ॥

darbhānbhūmau vinikṣipya putrasnehavinākṛtāḥ | śmaśāne sutamutsṛjya kasmādgacchata nirghṛṇāḥ

Having spread darbha grass on the ground, stripped of love for your son, why do you leave your child in the cremation ground and go, you pitiless people?

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: the jackal's direct speech, begun at the end of verse 18, with no printed heading (the input carried भीष्म).

Verse 21 (12.152.21)

न वोऽस्त्यस्मिन्सुते स्नेहो बाले मधुरभाषिणि । यस्य भाषितमात्रेण प्रसादमधिगच्छत ॥

na vo'styasminsute sneho bāle madhurabhāṣiṇi | yasya bhāṣitamātreṇa prasādamadhigacchata

You have no love for this child, so sweet of speech, at whose mere words you used to be filled with gladness.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: the jackal's direct speech, begun at the end of verse 18, with no printed heading (the input carried भीष्म).

Verse 22 (12.152.22)

न पश्यध्वं सुतस्नेहो यादृशः पशुपक्षिणाम् । न तेषां धारयित्वा तान्कश्चिदस्ति फलागमः ॥

na paśyadhvaṃ sutasneho yādṛśaḥ paśupakṣiṇām | na teṣāṃ dhārayitvā tānkaścidasti phalāgamaḥ

You do not see what love beasts and birds have for their young, and yet no one gains any reward from rearing them.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: the jackal's direct speech, begun at the end of verse 18, with no printed heading (the input carried भीष्म).

Verse 23 (12.152.23)

चतुष्पात्पक्षिकीटानां प्राणिनां स्नेहसङ्गिनाम् । परलोकगतिस्थानां मुनियज्ञक्रियामिव ॥

catuṣpātpakṣikīṭānāṃ prāṇināṃ snehasaṅginām | paralokagatisthānāṃ muniyajñakriyāmiva

Four-footed beasts, birds and insects are creatures bound by affection; it is as though their care for the young were a sage's sacrifice, done for the world beyond.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: the jackal's direct speech, begun at the end of verse 18, with no printed heading (the input carried भीष्म).

Verse 24 (12.152.24)

तेषां पुत्राभिरामाणामिह लोके परत्र च । न गुणो दृश्यते कश्चित्प्रजाः संधारयन्ति च ॥

teṣāṃ putrābhirāmāṇāmiha loke paratra ca | na guṇo dṛśyate kaścitprajāḥ saṃdhārayanti ca

Delighting in their offspring, they see no merit in it, either in this world or the next, and still they go on sustaining their young.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: the jackal's direct speech, begun at the end of verse 18, with no printed heading (the input carried भीष्म).

Verse 25 (12.152.25)

अपश्यतां प्रियान्पुत्रान्येषां शोको न तिष्ठति । न ते पोषणसंप्रीता मातापितर एव हि ॥

apaśyatāṃ priyānputrānyeṣāṃ śoko na tiṣṭhati | na te poṣaṇasaṃprītā mātāpitara eva hi

Where beloved sons are no longer seen, grief does not rest; parents are not satisfied merely by being provided for.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: the jackal's direct speech, begun at the end of verse 18, with no printed heading (the input carried भीष्म).

Verse 26 (12.152.26)

मानुषाणां कुतः स्नेहो येषां शोको न विद्यते । इमं कुलकरं पुत्रं त्यक्त्वा क्व नु गमिष्यथ ॥

mānuṣāṇāṃ kutaḥ sneho yeṣāṃ śoko na vidyate | imaṃ kulakaraṃ putraṃ tyaktvā kva nu gamiṣyatha

How can there be love in human beings who feel no sorrow? Leaving behind this son, who will carry on the family, where will you go?

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: the jackal's direct speech, begun at the end of verse 18, with no printed heading (the input carried भीष्म).

Verse 27 (12.152.27)

चिरं मुञ्चत बाष्पं च चिरं स्नेहेन पश्यत । एवंविधानि हीष्टानि दुस्त्यजानि विशेषतः ॥

ciraṃ muñcata bāṣpaṃ ca ciraṃ snehena paśyata | evaṃvidhāni hīṣṭāni dustyajāni viśeṣataḥ

Weep a while longer, look at him with love a while longer. Dear ones such as this are especially hard to give up.

Note on the text: Corrected स्नेहेनन → स्नेहेन (misprint in Wikisource; doubled न; CE snehena). Speaker supplied: the jackal's direct speech, begun at the end of verse 18, with no printed heading (the input carried भीष्म).

Verse 28 (12.152.28)

क्षीणस्याथाभिशस्तस्य श्मशानाभिमुखस्य च । बान्धवा यत्र तिष्ठन्ति तत्रान्यो नाधितिष्ठति ॥

kṣīṇasyāthābhiśastasya śmaśānābhimukhasya ca | bāndhavā yatra tiṣṭhanti tatrānyo nādhitiṣṭhati

When a man is wasted, ill-starred and turned toward the cremation ground, only his kinsmen stay by him there; no one else does.

Note on the text: Corrected अथामिशस्तस्य → अथाभिशस्तस्य (misprint in Wikisource; मि for भि, the word is अभिशस्त). Corrected यत्र तिष्ठति → यत्र तिष्ठन्ति (misprint in Wikisource; न् dropped, a plural verb is needed for बान्धवाः; CE tiṣṭhanti). Speaker supplied: the jackal's direct speech, begun at the end of verse 18, with no printed heading (the input carried भीष्म).

Verse 29 (12.152.29)

सर्वस्य दयिताः प्राणाः सर्वः स्नेहं च विन्दति । तिर्यग्योनिष्वपि संतां स्नेहं पश्यत यादृशम् ॥

sarvasya dayitāḥ prāṇāḥ sarvaḥ snehaṃ ca vindati | tiryagyoniṣvapi saṃtāṃ snehaṃ paśyata yādṛśam

Life is dear to everyone, and everyone feels love. Look at the affection there is even among creatures born as animals.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: the jackal's direct speech, begun at the end of verse 18, with no printed heading (the input carried भीष्म).

Verse 30 (12.152.30)

त्यक्त्वा कथं गच्छथेमं पद्मलोलायतेक्षणम् । यथा नवोद्वाहकृतं स्नानमाल्यविभूषितम् ॥

tyaktvā kathaṃ gacchathemaṃ padmalolāyatekṣaṇam | yathā navodvāhakṛtaṃ snānamālyavibhūṣitam

How can you go, leaving this boy with his long lotus-petal eyes, bathed and garlanded and adorned like a bridegroom newly wed?"

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: the jackal's direct speech, begun at the end of verse 18, with no printed heading (the input carried भीष्म).

Verse 31 (12.152.31)

जम्बुकस्य वचः श्रुत्वा कृपणं परिदेवतः । न्यवर्तन्त तदा सर्वे बालार्थं ते स्म मानुषाः ॥

jambukasya vacaḥ śrutvā kṛpaṇaṃ paridevataḥ | nyavartanta tadā sarve bālārthaṃ te sma mānuṣāḥ

Hearing the jackal's piteous lament, all those people turned back for the sake of the child.

Verse 32 (12.152.32)

अहो बत नृशंसेन जम्बुकेनाल्पमेधसा । क्षुद्रेणोक्ता हीनसत्वा मानुषाः किं निवर्तथ ॥

aho bata nṛśaṃsena jambukenālpamedhasā | kṣudreṇoktā hīnasatvā mānuṣāḥ kiṃ nivartatha

"Ah! You have been addressed by a cruel, dull-witted, petty jackal, and you, weak-hearted humans, turn back?

Verse 33 (12.152.33)

पञ्चभूतपरित्यक्तं शुष्कं काष्ठत्वमागतम् । कस्माच्छोचथ निश्चेष्टमात्मानं किं न शोचथ ॥

pañcabhūtaparityaktaṃ śuṣkaṃ kāṣṭhatvamāgatam | kasmācchocatha niśceṣṭamātmānaṃ kiṃ na śocatha

Abandoned by the five elements, dried up, turned to wood: why grieve for this lifeless thing, and why do you not grieve for yourselves?

Verse 34 (12.152.34)

तपः कुरुत वै तीव्रं मुच्यध्वं येन किल्बिषात् । तपसा लभ्यते सर्वं विलापः किं करिष्यति ॥

tapaḥ kuruta vai tīvraṃ mucyadhvaṃ yena kilbiṣāt | tapasā labhyate sarvaṃ vilāpaḥ kiṃ kariṣyati

Practise fierce austerity, by which you may be freed from sin. Everything is gained through austerity; what will weeping achieve?

Verse 35 (12.152.35)

अनिष्टानि न भाग्यानि जानीत स्वंस्वमात्मना । येन गच्छति बालोऽयं दत्त्वा शोकमनन्तकम् ॥

aniṣṭāni na bhāgyāni jānīta svaṃsvamātmanā | yena gacchati bālo'yaṃ dattvā śokamanantakam

Know that misfortunes and good fortunes alike come from one's own self. By that law this boy has gone, leaving endless sorrow.

Verse 36 (12.152.36)

धनं गावः सुवर्णं च मणिरत्नमथापि च । अपत्यं च तपोमूलं तपो योगाच्च लभ्यते ॥

dhanaṃ gāvaḥ suvarṇaṃ ca maṇiratnamathāpi ca | apatyaṃ ca tapomūlaṃ tapo yogācca labhyate

Wealth, cattle, gold, gems and jewels, and children too: all are rooted in austerity and are won through austerity and yoga.

Verse 37 (12.152.37)

यथा कृता च भूतेषु प्राप्यते सुखदुःखिता । गृहीत्वा जायते जन्तुर्दुःखानि च सुखानि च ॥

yathā kṛtā ca bhūteṣu prāpyate sukhaduḥkhitā | gṛhītvā jāyate janturduḥkhāni ca sukhāni ca

As one has acted toward other beings, so one receives pleasure and pain. A creature is born carrying its deeds, with its sorrows and its joys.

Verse 38 (12.152.38)

न कर्मणा पितुः पुत्रः पिता वा पुत्रकर्मणा । मार्गेणान्येन गच्छन्ति बद्धाः सुकृतदुष्कृतैः ॥

na karmaṇā pituḥ putraḥ pitā vā putrakarmaṇā | mārgeṇānyena gacchanti baddhāḥ sukṛtaduṣkṛtaiḥ

A son does not travel by his father's deeds, nor a father by his son's. Each goes by his own path, bound by his own good and evil acts.

Note on the text: Corrected पिता व्रा → पिता वा (misprint in Wikisource; व्रा for वा; CE vā).

Verse 39 (12.152.39)

धर्मं चरत यत्नेन तथाऽधर्मान्निवर्तत । वर्तध्वं च यथाकालं दैवतेषु द्विजेषु च ॥

dharmaṃ carata yatnena tathā'dharmānnivartata | vartadhvaṃ ca yathākālaṃ daivateṣu dvijeṣu ca

Practise dharma with effort and turn away from adharma. Conduct yourselves rightly, in due season, toward the gods and the twice-born.

Verse 40 (12.152.40)

शोकं त्यजत दैन्यं च सुतस्नेहान्निवर्तत । त्यज्यतामयमाक्रोशस्ततः शीघ्रं निवर्तत ॥

śokaṃ tyajata dainyaṃ ca sutasnehānnivartata | tyajyatāmayamākrośastataḥ śīghraṃ nivartata

Give up grief and despair, and turn away from love for your son. Put aside this outcry, and then go back quickly.

Verse 41 (12.152.41)

यत्करोति शुभं कर्म तथा कर्म सुदारुणम् । तत्कर्तैव समश्नाति बान्धवानां किमत्र ह ॥

yatkaroti śubhaṃ karma tathā karma sudāruṇam | tatkartaiva samaśnāti bāndhavānāṃ kimatra ha

Whatever good deed one does, and whatever terrible deed, the doer alone reaps it. What share have kinsmen in it?

Verse 42 (12.152.42)

इह त्यक्त्वा न तिष्ठन्ति बान्धवा बान्धवं प्रियम् । स्नेहमुत्सृज्य गच्छन्ति बाष्पपूर्णाविलेक्षणाः ॥

iha tyaktvā na tiṣṭhanti bāndhavā bāndhavaṃ priyam | snehamutsṛjya gacchanti bāṣpapūrṇāvilekṣaṇāḥ

Kinsmen do not stay behind with a dear kinsman they have left here; they go away, giving up their love, with eyes full of tears.

Verse 43 (12.152.43)

प्राज्ञो वा यदि वा मूर्खः सधनो निर्धनोऽपि वा । सर्वः कालवशं याति शुभाशुभसमन्वितः ॥

prājño vā yadi vā mūrkhaḥ sadhano nirdhano'pi vā | sarvaḥ kālavaśaṃ yāti śubhāśubhasamanvitaḥ

Wise or foolish, rich or poor, everyone, bound up with his good and evil deeds, comes under the power of time.

Verse 44 (12.152.44)

किं करिष्यथ शोचित्वा मृतं किमनुशोचथ । सर्वस्य हि प्रभुः कालो धर्मतः समदर्शनः ॥

kiṃ kariṣyatha śocitvā mṛtaṃ kimanuśocatha | sarvasya hi prabhuḥ kālo dharmataḥ samadarśanaḥ

What will you do by grieving? Why mourn the dead? Time is lord of all, and by the law of dharma sees all alike.

Verse 45 (12.152.45)

यौवनस्थांश्च बालांश्च वृद्धान्गर्भगतानपि । सर्वानाविशते मृत्युरेवंभूतमिदं जगत् ॥

yauvanasthāṃśca bālāṃśca vṛddhāngarbhagatānapi | sarvānāviśate mṛtyurevaṃbhūtamidaṃ jagat

The young, children, the aged, even those still in the womb: death enters them all. Such is this world."

Note on the text: Corrected बृद्धान् → वृद्धान् (misprint in Wikisource; बृ for वृ; CE vṛddhān).

Verse 46 (12.152.46)

अहो मन्दीकृतः स्नेहो गृध्रेणेहाल्पबुद्धिना । पुत्रस्नेहाभिभूतानां युष्माकं शोचतां भृशम् ॥

aho mandīkṛtaḥ sneho gṛdhreṇehālpabuddhinā | putrasnehābhibhūtānāṃ yuṣmākaṃ śocatāṃ bhṛśam

"Ah, how the dull-witted vulture has weakened your love, when you are overcome with love for your son and grieving so bitterly!

Verse 47 (12.152.47)

समैः सम्यक्प्रयुक्तैश्च वचनैर्हेतुदर्शनैः । सर्वमेतत्प्रपद्याशु कुरुध्वं वा विचारणां । यद्गच्छथ जलस्थानं स्नेहमुत्सृज्य दुस्त्यजम् ॥

samaiḥ samyakprayuktaiśca vacanairhetudarśanaiḥ | sarvametatprapadyāśu kurudhvaṃ vā vicāraṇāṃ | yadgacchatha jalasthānaṃ snehamutsṛjya dustyajam

With words that are even, rightly used and backed by reasons, take in all this quickly, or else reflect upon it: you are going to the water, casting off a love that is so hard to cast off.

Note on the text: Removed the backticks and quote marks Wikisource prints around line 2. Line 1 = CE 12.149.43a (praśrayottaraiḥ against Wikisource हेतुदर्शनैः, a recension variant); line 2 is the CE star line 12.149.043b*0389_01 (sarvam etat prapadyāśu kurutāṃ mā vicāraya); line 3 = CE 12.149.43c.

Verse 48 (12.152.48)

अहो पुत्रवियोगेन मृतशून्योपसेवनात् । क्रोशतां वा भृशं दुःखं विवत्सानां गवामिव ॥

aho putraviyogena mṛtaśūnyopasevanāt | krośatāṃ vā bhṛśaṃ duḥkhaṃ vivatsānāṃ gavāmiva

Ah, from the loss of a son and from sitting by a body dead and empty, there comes a bitter grief for those who cry out, like cows bereft of their calves.

Verse 49 (12.152.49)

अद्य शोकं विजानामि मानुषाणां महीतले । स्नेहं हि कारणं कृत्वा ममाप्यश्रूण्यथापतन् ॥

adya śokaṃ vijānāmi mānuṣāṇāṃ mahītale | snehaṃ hi kāraṇaṃ kṛtvā mamāpyaśrūṇyathāpatan

Today I understand the sorrow of human beings on this earth. Seeing such love, tears have fallen from my own eyes too.

Verse 50 (12.152.50)

यत्नो हि सततं कार्यस्ततो दैवेन सिद्ध्यति । दैवं पुरुषकारश्च कृतान्तेनोपपद्यते ॥

yatno hi satataṃ kāryastato daivena siddhyati | daivaṃ puruṣakāraśca kṛtāntenopapadyate

Effort must always be made, and then, with fate, it succeeds. Fate and human effort alike are brought about through the Ender.

Verse 51 (12.152.51)

अनिर्वेदः सदा कार्यो निर्वेदाद्धि कुतः सुखम् । प्रयत्नात्प्राप्यते ह्यर्थः कस्माद्गच्छथ निर्दयम् ॥

anirvedaḥ sadā kāryo nirvedāddhi kutaḥ sukham | prayatnātprāpyate hyarthaḥ kasmādgacchatha nirdayam

One should never lose heart; from despair, where is happiness? Through effort a goal is reached. Why do you go away so mercilessly?

Verse 52 (12.152.52)

आत्ममांसोपवृत्तं च शरीरार्धमयीं तनुम् । पितॄणां वंशकर्तारं वने त्यक्त्वा क्व यास्यथ ॥

ātmamāṃsopavṛttaṃ ca śarīrārdhamayīṃ tanum | pitṝṇāṃ vaṃśakartāraṃ vane tyaktvā kva yāsyatha

Nourished on his father's own flesh, a body that is half his father's body, the one who will carry on the line of the ancestors: leaving him in the forest, where will you go?

Note on the text: Corrected शरीरार्धमर्यी तनुम् → शरीरार्धमयीं तनुम् (misprint in Wikisource; र् for य and the anusvāra dropped; CE śarīrārdhamayīṃ tanum).

Verse 53 (12.152.53)

अथवाऽस्तं गते सूर्ये संध्याकाल उपस्थिते । ततो नेष्यथ वा पुत्रमिहस्था वा भविष्यथ ॥

athavā'staṃ gate sūrye saṃdhyākāla upasthite | tato neṣyatha vā putramihasthā vā bhaviṣyatha

Or else, when the sun has set and evening has come, then you may carry your son away, or you may stay here."

Note on the text: Corrected नेष्यश्च वा → नेष्यथ वा (misprint in Wikisource; श्च for थ, the future verb नेष्यथ is needed; CE neṣyatha vā).

Verse 54 (12.152.54)

अद्य वर्षसहस्रं मे साग्रं जातस्य मानुषाः । न च पश्यामि जीवन्तं मृतं स्त्रीपुंनपुंसकम् ॥

adya varṣasahasraṃ me sāgraṃ jātasya mānuṣāḥ | na ca paśyāmi jīvantaṃ mṛtaṃ strīpuṃnapuṃsakam

"A full thousand years have passed since my birth, you humans, and I have never seen a dead man, woman or eunuch come back to life.

Verse 55 (12.152.55)

मृता गर्भेषु जायन्ते जातमात्रा म्रियन्ति च । चंक्रमन्तो म्रियन्ते च यौवनस्थास्तथा परे ॥

mṛtā garbheṣu jāyante jātamātrā mriyanti ca | caṃkramanto mriyante ca yauvanasthāstathā pare

Some die in the womb, some die as soon as they are born, some die while crawling about, some in youth, and others at other times.

Verse 56 (12.152.56)

अनित्यानीह भाग्यानि चतुष्पात्पक्षिणामपि । जङ्गमाजङ्गमानां च ह्यायुरग्रेऽवतिष्ठते ॥

anityānīha bhāgyāni catuṣpātpakṣiṇāmapi | jaṅgamājaṅgamānāṃ ca hyāyuragre'vatiṣṭhate

Fortunes in this world are fleeting, even for beasts and birds. For moving and unmoving beings alike, the limit of life stands waiting ahead.

Verse 57 (12.152.57)

इष्टदारवियुक्ताश्च पुत्रशोकान्वितास्तथा । दह्यमानाः स्म शोकेन गृहं गच्छन्ति नित्यशः ॥

iṣṭadāraviyuktāśca putraśokānvitāstathā | dahyamānāḥ sma śokena gṛhaṃ gacchanti nityaśaḥ

Deprived of their beloved wives and weighed down with grief for their sons, burning with sorrow, they go home, day after day.

Verse 58 (12.152.58)

अनिष्टानां सहस्राणि तथेष्टानां शतानि च । उत्सृज्येह प्रयाता वै बान्धवा भृशदुःखिताः ॥

aniṣṭānāṃ sahasrāṇi tatheṣṭānāṃ śatāni ca | utsṛjyeha prayātā vai bāndhavā bhṛśaduḥkhitāḥ

Thousands of those not loved and hundreds of those loved have been left behind here, as their kinsmen, bitterly grieving, went away.

Verse 59 (12.152.59)

त्यज्यतामेष निस्तेजाः शून्यः काष्ठत्वमागतः । अन्यदेहविषक्तं हि शिशुं काष्ठमुपासथ ॥

tyajyatāmeṣa nistejāḥ śūnyaḥ kāṣṭhatvamāgataḥ | anyadehaviṣaktaṃ hi śiśuṃ kāṣṭhamupāsatha

Leave him: he is lifeless, empty, turned to wood. The one who lived in him has clung to another body; it is only a log of a child that you are tending.

Verse 60 (12.152.60)

त्यक्तजीवस्य वै बाष्पं कस्माद्धित्वा न गच्छत । निरर्थको ह्ययं स्नेहो निष्फलश्च परिश्रमः ॥

tyaktajīvasya vai bāṣpaṃ kasmāddhitvā na gacchata | nirarthako hyayaṃ sneho niṣphalaśca pariśramaḥ

Why do you not leave your tears for one who has lost his life, and go? This love is pointless, and the labor fruitless.

Verse 61 (12.152.61)

न चक्षुर्भ्यां न कर्णाभ्यां च शृणोति स पश्यति । कस्मादेनं समुत्सृज्य न गृहान्गच्छताशु वै ॥

na cakṣurbhyāṃ na karṇābhyāṃ ca śṛṇoti sa paśyati | kasmādenaṃ samutsṛjya na gṛhāngacchatāśu vai

He neither sees with his eyes nor hears with his ears. Why do you not leave him at once and go home?

Note on the text: Corrected न च क्षुर्भ्यां → न चक्षुर्भ्यां (misprint in Wikisource; stray space inside चक्षुर्भ्याम्; CE na cakṣurbhyāṃ). Corrected सप्नुत्सृज्य → समुत्सृज्य (misprint in Wikisource; प् for म्; CE samutsṛjya).

Verse 62 (12.152.62)

मोक्षधर्माश्रितैर्वाक्यैर्हेतुमद्भिः सुनिष्ठुरैः । मयोक्ता गच्छत क्षिप्रं स्वं स्वमेव निवेशनम् ॥

mokṣadharmāśritairvākyairhetumadbhiḥ suniṣṭhuraiḥ | mayoktā gacchata kṣipraṃ svaṃ svameva niveśanam

I have spoken to you with words based on the teaching of liberation, reasoned and very stern. Go quickly, each to his own house.

Note on the text: Corrected भयोक्ता → मयोक्ता (misprint in Wikisource; भ for म; CE mayoktā).

Verse 63 (12.152.63)

प्रज्ञाविज्ञानयुक्तेन बुद्धिसंज्ञाप्रदायिना । वचनं श्राविता नूनं मानुषाः संनिवर्तथ ॥

prajñāvijñānayuktena buddhisaṃjñāpradāyinā | vacanaṃ śrāvitā nūnaṃ mānuṣāḥ saṃnivartatha

Told by one endowed with wisdom and knowledge, who awakens understanding, you have surely heard my words; now, people, turn back.

Note on the text: Corrected वच्चं → वचनं (misprint in Wikisource; वच्चं is not a word; CE vacanaṃ).

Verse 64 (12.152.64)

शोको द्विगुणतां याति दृष्ट्वा स्मृत्वा च चेष्टितम् । इत्येतद्वचनं श्रुत्वा सन्निवृत्तास्तु मानुषाः । अपश्यत्तं तदा सुप्तं द्रुतमागत्य जम्बुकः ॥

śoko dviguṇatāṃ yāti dṛṣṭvā smṛtvā ca ceṣṭitam | ityetadvacanaṃ śrutvā sannivṛttāstu mānuṣāḥ | apaśyattaṃ tadā suptaṃ drutamāgatya jambukaḥ

Grief doubles when one sees him and remembers his ways." Hearing this, the people turned back; and the jackal, hurrying up, saw the boy lying there asleep.

Note on the text: Removed the square brackets Wikisource prints around the whole verse and the stray doubled daṇḍa inside them. Not in the critical edition's constituted text: the three lines are the CE star passage 12.149.059d*0391_01-03. The page prints the verse under the vulture's heading, which is kept (line 1 is the vulture's closing remark; lines 2-3 are narration).

Verse 65 (12.152.65)

इमं कनकवर्णाभं भूषणैः समलंकृतम् । गृध्रवाक्यात्कथं पुत्रं त्यक्ष्यध्वं पितृपिण्डदम् ॥

imaṃ kanakavarṇābhaṃ bhūṣaṇaiḥ samalaṃkṛtam | gṛdhravākyātkathaṃ putraṃ tyakṣyadhvaṃ pitṛpiṇḍadam

"This boy shines like gold, richly adorned, and he would offer the funeral rice-balls to his forefathers. How can you abandon him on the vulture's word?

Verse 66 (12.152.66)

न स्नेहस्य च विच्छेदो विलापरुदितस्य च । मृतस्यास्य परित्यागात्तापो वै भविता ध्रुवम् ॥

na snehasya ca vicchedo vilāparuditasya ca | mṛtasyāsya parityāgāttāpo vai bhavitā dhruvam

There is no end to love, nor to weeping and lamenting; from abandoning this dead child you will surely suffer burning grief.

Verse 67 (12.152.67)

श्रूयते शम्बुके शूद्रे हते ब्राह्मणदारकः । जीवितो धर्ममासाद्य रामात्सत्यपराक्रमात् ॥

śrūyate śambuke śūdre hate brāhmaṇadārakaḥ | jīvito dharmamāsādya rāmātsatyaparākramāt

It is heard that when the shudra Shambuka was slain, a brahmin's child was brought back to life through dharma, by Rama of true prowess.

Verse 68 (12.152.68)

तथा श्वैत्यस्य राजर्षेर्बालो दिष्टान्तमागतः । मुनिना धर्मनिष्ठेन मृतः संजीवितः पुनः ॥

tathā śvaityasya rājarṣerbālo diṣṭāntamāgataḥ | muninā dharmaniṣṭhena mṛtaḥ saṃjīvitaḥ punaḥ

So too the son of the royal sage Shvaitya, who had met his end, was brought back to life by a righteous sage.

Verse 69 (12.152.69)

तथा कश्चिद्भवेत्सिद्धो मुनिर्वा देवतापि वा । कृपणानामनुक्रोशं कुर्याद्वो रुदतामिह ॥

tathā kaścidbhavetsiddho munirvā devatāpi vā | kṛpaṇānāmanukrośaṃ kuryādvo rudatāmiha

So there may be some perfected sage, or even a god, who will show compassion to you, pitiable as you are, as you weep here."

Verse 70 (12.152.70)

इत्युक्तास्ते न्यवर्तन्त शोकार्ताः पुत्रवत्सलाः । अङ्के शिरः समाधाय रुरुदुर्बहुविस्तरम् । तेषां रुदितशब्देन गृध्रोऽभ्येत्य वचोऽब्रवीत् ॥

ityuktāste nyavartanta śokārtāḥ putravatsalāḥ | aṅke śiraḥ samādhāya rurudurbahuvistaram | teṣāṃ ruditaśabdena gṛdhro'bhyetya vaco'bravīt

Thus addressed, they turned back, stricken with grief and loving their son. Laying the child's head in their laps, they wept at great length. At the sound of their weeping the vulture came up and spoke.

Note on the text: Speaker set to Bhishma: this verse is narration, and the page prints no heading (the input carried जम्बुक under the heading at verse 65); the CE has bhīṣma uvāca before 12.149.065. Lines 1-2 = CE 12.149.065a, 065c; line 3 is the CE star line 065d*0393_01 (teṣāṃ ruditaśabdena gṛdhro 'bhyetya vaco 'bravīt).

Verse 71 (12.152.71)

अश्रुपातपरिक्लिन्नः पाणिस्पर्शप्रपीडितः । धर्मराजप्रयोगाच्च दीर्घनिद्रां प्रवेशितः ॥

aśrupātapariklinnaḥ pāṇisparśaprapīḍitaḥ | dharmarājaprayogācca dīrghanidrāṃ praveśitaḥ

"Wet with falling tears, hurt by the touch of hands, he has been sent into the long sleep by the working of Dharmaraja.

Note on the text: Speaker corrected to the vulture: the page prints no heading between the jackal's heading at verse 65 and the next at verse 85, so the input carried जम्बुक, but these verses are the vulture's reply (the CE has gṛdhra uvāca before 12.149.066; verse 75 speaks of the jackal in the third person and verse 79 says "I and the jackal").

Verse 72 (12.152.72)

तपसाऽपि हि संयुक्तो जनः कालेन हन्यते । सर्वस्नेहावसक्तानामिदं हि स्नेहवर्तनम् ॥

tapasā'pi hi saṃyukto janaḥ kālena hanyate | sarvasnehāvasaktānāmidaṃ hi snehavartanam

Even one rich in austerity is struck down in time. This is the way of love for all who cling to those they love.

Note on the text: Removed the backticks and quote mark Wikisource prints around the verse and the stray doubled daṇḍa. A recension variant of CE 12.149.67 (tapasāpi hi saṃyukto na kāle nopahanyate / sarvasnehāvasānaṃ tad idaṃ tat pretapattanam; the page's footnote cites a similar reading), kept. Speaker corrected to the vulture: the page prints no heading between the jackal's heading at verse 65 and the next at verse 85, so the input carried जम्बुक, but these verses are the vulture's reply (the CE has gṛdhra uvāca before 12.149.066; verse 75 speaks of the jackal in the third person and verse 79 says "I and the jackal").

Verse 73 (12.152.73)

बालवृद्धसहस्राणि सदा संत्यज्य बान्धवाः । दिनानि चैव रात्रीश्च दुःखं तिष्ठन्ति भूतले ॥

bālavṛddhasahasrāṇi sadā saṃtyajya bāndhavāḥ | dināni caiva rātrīśca duḥkhaṃ tiṣṭhanti bhūtale

Kinsmen have always left behind thousands of children and old people, and for days and nights they sit sorrowing on the ground.

Note on the text: Speaker corrected to the vulture: the page prints no heading between the jackal's heading at verse 65 and the next at verse 85, so the input carried जम्बुक, but these verses are the vulture's reply (the CE has gṛdhra uvāca before 12.149.066; verse 75 speaks of the jackal in the third person and verse 79 says "I and the jackal").

Verse 74 (12.152.74)

अलं निर्बन्धमागत्य शोकस्य परिवारणम् । अप्रत्ययं कुतो ह्यस्य पुनरद्येह जीवितम् ॥

alaṃ nirbandhamāgatya śokasya parivāraṇam | apratyayaṃ kuto hyasya punaradyeha jīvitam

Enough of this stubbornness, which only keeps grief around you. Where is any assurance that he will live again here today?

Note on the text: Speaker corrected to the vulture: the page prints no heading between the jackal's heading at verse 65 and the next at verse 85, so the input carried जम्बुक, but these verses are the vulture's reply (the CE has gṛdhra uvāca before 12.149.066; verse 75 speaks of the jackal in the third person and verse 79 says "I and the jackal").

Verse 75 (12.152.75)

नैष जम्बुकवाक्येन पुनः प्राप्स्यति जीवितम् । मृतस्योत्सृष्टदेहस्य पुनर्देहो न विद्यते ॥

naiṣa jambukavākyena punaḥ prāpsyati jīvitam | mṛtasyotsṛṣṭadehasya punardeho na vidyate

He will not regain life through the jackal's words. For one who is dead, whose body has been given up, there is no body again.

Note on the text: Removed the backticks and quote mark Wikisource prints around line 1. Speaker corrected to the vulture: the page prints no heading between the jackal's heading at verse 65 and the next at verse 85, so the input carried जम्बुक, but these verses are the vulture's reply (the CE has gṛdhra uvāca before 12.149.066; verse 75 speaks of the jackal in the third person and verse 79 says "I and the jackal").

Verse 76 (12.152.76)

नैव मूर्तिप्रदानेन जम्बुकस्य शतैरपि । न स जीवयितुं शक्यो बालो वर्षशतैरपि ॥

naiva mūrtipradānena jambukasya śatairapi | na sa jīvayituṃ śakyo bālo varṣaśatairapi

Not by giving him a form, not by the jackal's talk a hundred times over, can that boy be brought to life, even in a hundred years.

Note on the text: Speaker corrected to the vulture: the page prints no heading between the jackal's heading at verse 65 and the next at verse 85, so the input carried जम्बुक, but these verses are the vulture's reply (the CE has gṛdhra uvāca before 12.149.066; verse 75 speaks of the jackal in the third person and verse 79 says "I and the jackal").

Verse 77 (12.152.77)

अथ रुद्रः कुमारो वा ब्रह्मा वा विष्णुरेव च । वरमस्मै प्रयच्छन्ति ततो जीवेदयं शिशुः ॥

atha rudraḥ kumāro vā brahmā vā viṣṇureva ca | varamasmai prayacchanti tato jīvedayaṃ śiśuḥ

Only if Rudra, or Kumara, or Brahma, or Vishnu were to grant him a boon could this child live.

Note on the text: Speaker corrected to the vulture: the page prints no heading between the jackal's heading at verse 65 and the next at verse 85, so the input carried जम्बुक, but these verses are the vulture's reply (the CE has gṛdhra uvāca before 12.149.066; verse 75 speaks of the jackal in the third person and verse 79 says "I and the jackal").

Verse 78 (12.152.78)

नैव बाष्पविमोक्षेण न वा श्वासकृतेन च । न दीर्घरुदितेनायं पुनर्जीवं गमिष्यति ॥

naiva bāṣpavimokṣeṇa na vā śvāsakṛtena ca | na dīrgharuditenāyaṃ punarjīvaṃ gamiṣyati

Not by shedding tears, not by sighing, not by long weeping will he come back to life.

Note on the text: Speaker corrected to the vulture: the page prints no heading between the jackal's heading at verse 65 and the next at verse 85, so the input carried जम्बुक, but these verses are the vulture's reply (the CE has gṛdhra uvāca before 12.149.066; verse 75 speaks of the jackal in the third person and verse 79 says "I and the jackal").

Verse 79 (12.152.79)

अहं च क्रोष्टुकश्चैव यूयं ये चास्य बान्धवाः । धर्माधर्मौ गृहीत्वेह सर्वे वर्तामहेऽध्वनि ॥

ahaṃ ca kroṣṭukaścaiva yūyaṃ ye cāsya bāndhavāḥ | dharmādharmau gṛhītveha sarve vartāmahe'dhvani

I, the jackal, and you who are his kinsmen: all of us walk this road, carrying our dharma and adharma with us.

Note on the text: Speaker corrected to the vulture: the page prints no heading between the jackal's heading at verse 65 and the next at verse 85, so the input carried जम्बुक, but these verses are the vulture's reply (the CE has gṛdhra uvāca before 12.149.066; verse 75 speaks of the jackal in the third person and verse 79 says "I and the jackal").

Verse 80 (12.152.80)

अप्रियं परुषं चापि परद्रोहं परस्त्रियम् । अधर्ममनृतं चैव दूरात्प्राज्ञो विवर्जयेत् ॥

apriyaṃ paruṣaṃ cāpi paradrohaṃ parastriyam | adharmamanṛtaṃ caiva dūrātprājño vivarjayet

A wise man keeps far away from unkindness and harshness, from harming others, from another's wife, from injustice and falsehood.

Note on the text: Speaker corrected to the vulture: the page prints no heading between the jackal's heading at verse 65 and the next at verse 85, so the input carried जम्बुक, but these verses are the vulture's reply (the CE has gṛdhra uvāca before 12.149.066; verse 75 speaks of the jackal in the third person and verse 79 says "I and the jackal").

Verse 81 (12.152.81)

धर्मं सत्यं श्रुतं न्याय्यं महतीं प्राणिनां दयाम् । अजिह्नत्वमशाठ्यं च यत्नतः परिमार्गत ॥

dharmaṃ satyaṃ śrutaṃ nyāyyaṃ mahatīṃ prāṇināṃ dayām | ajihnatvamaśāṭhyaṃ ca yatnataḥ parimārgata

Seek out with effort dharma, truth, learning, justice, great compassion for living beings, straightforwardness and honesty.

Note on the text: Speaker corrected to the vulture: the page prints no heading between the jackal's heading at verse 65 and the next at verse 85, so the input carried जम्बुक, but these verses are the vulture's reply (the CE has gṛdhra uvāca before 12.149.066; verse 75 speaks of the jackal in the third person and verse 79 says "I and the jackal").

Verse 82 (12.152.82)

मातरं पितरं वाऽपि बान्धवान्सुहृदस्तथा । जीवतो ये न पश्यन्ति तेषां धर्मविपर्ययः ॥

mātaraṃ pitaraṃ vā'pi bāndhavānsuhṛdastathā | jīvato ye na paśyanti teṣāṃ dharmaviparyayaḥ

Those who do not look after mother, father, kinsmen and friends while they are alive, for them dharma is turned upside down.

Note on the text: Corrected ये न पश्यति → ये न पश्यन्ति (misprint in Wikisource; न् dropped, a plural verb is needed after ये; CE paśyanti). Speaker corrected to the vulture: the page prints no heading between the jackal's heading at verse 65 and the next at verse 85, so the input carried जम्बुक, but these verses are the vulture's reply (the CE has gṛdhra uvāca before 12.149.066; verse 75 speaks of the jackal in the third person and verse 79 says "I and the jackal").

Verse 83 (12.152.83)

यो न पश्यति चक्षुर्भ्यां नेङ्गते च कथंचन । तस्य निष्ठावसानान्ते रुदन्तः किं करिष्यथ ॥

yo na paśyati cakṣurbhyāṃ neṅgate ca kathaṃcana | tasya niṣṭhāvasānānte rudantaḥ kiṃ kariṣyatha

For one who sees nothing with his eyes and stirs in no way, when his course has come to its end, what will you do, weeping?"

Note on the text: Corrected रुदन्ताः → रुदन्तः (misprint in Wikisource; ा for the short vowel, nominative plural of the participle रुदन्; CE rudantaḥ). Speaker corrected to the vulture: the page prints no heading between the jackal's heading at verse 65 and the next at verse 85, so the input carried जम्बुक, but these verses are the vulture's reply (the CE has gṛdhra uvāca before 12.149.066; verse 75 speaks of the jackal in the third person and verse 79 says "I and the jackal").

Verse 84 (12.152.84)

इत्युक्तास्ते सुतं त्यक्त्वा भूमौ शोकपरिप्लुताः । दह्यमानाः सुतस्नेहात्प्रययुर्बान्धवा गृहम् ॥

ityuktāste sutaṃ tyaktvā bhūmau śokapariplutāḥ | dahyamānāḥ sutasnehātprayayurbāndhavā gṛham

Thus addressed, they left the boy on the ground and, drowned in sorrow, burning with love for their son, the kinsmen went home.

Note on the text: Speaker set to Bhishma: this verse is narration, and the page prints no heading (the input carried जम्बुक under the heading at verse 65); the CE has bhīṣma uvāca before 12.149.079.

Verse 85 (12.152.85)

दारुणो मर्त्यलोकोऽयं सर्वप्राणिविनाशनः । इष्टबन्धुवियोगश्च तथेहाल्पं च जीवितम् ॥

dāruṇo martyaloko'yaṃ sarvaprāṇivināśanaḥ | iṣṭabandhuviyogaśca tathehālpaṃ ca jīvitam

"Cruel is this world of mortals, destroyer of all creatures: separation from loved ones and kin, and a life so short.

Verse 86 (12.152.86)

बह्वलीकमसत्यं चाप्यतिवादाप्रियंवदम् । इमं प्रेक्ष्य पुनर्भावं दुःखशोकविवर्धनम् । न मे मानुषलोकोऽयं मुहूर्तमपि रोचते ॥

bahvalīkamasatyaṃ cāpyativādāpriyaṃvadam | imaṃ prekṣya punarbhāvaṃ duḥkhaśokavivardhanam | na me mānuṣaloko'yaṃ muhūrtamapi rocate

Full of deceit and falsehood, of slander and harsh speakers: seeing this rebirth, which increases sorrow and grief, I do not like this human world even for a moment.

Note on the text: Three-line verse, as on the page (labelled 12-152-86a/b/c): line 1 = CE 12.149.081a (prativādāpriyaṃvadam against Wikisource अतिवादाप्रियंवदम्, a recension variant), line 2 = CE 081c, line 3 = CE 082a. The alignment found no match.

Verse 87 (12.152.87)

अहो धिग्गृध्रवाक्येन यथैवाबुद्धयस्तथा । कथं गच्छथ निःस्नेहाः सुतस्नेहं विसृज्य च ॥

aho dhiggṛdhravākyena yathaivābuddhayastathā | kathaṃ gacchatha niḥsnehāḥ sutasnehaṃ visṛjya ca

Shame on you, who like senseless people have followed the vulture's words! How can you go away loveless, abandoning your love for your son?

Note on the text: Line 1 joins the first half of CE 12.149.082c (aho dhig gṛdhravākyena) to the second half of 083a (yathaivābuddhayas tathā); line 2 = CE 083c (sasnehāḥ against Wikisource निःस्नेहाः, a recension variant). The alignment found no match.

Verse 88 (12.152.88)

प्रदीप्ताः पुत्रशोकेन सन्निवर्तथ मानुषाः । श्रुत्वा गृध्रस्य वचनं पापस्येहाकृतात्मनः ॥

pradīptāḥ putraśokena sannivartatha mānuṣāḥ | śrutvā gṛdhrasya vacanaṃ pāpasyehākṛtātmanaḥ

Burning with grief for your son, yet you are going away, people, having listened to the speech of the vulture, that sinner of unformed mind!

Note on the text: Line 1 joins the first half of CE 12.149.083a (pradīptāḥ putraśokena) to the second half of 082c (saṃnivartatha mānuṣāḥ); line 2 = CE 083e. The alignment found no match.

Verse 89 (12.152.89)

सुखस्यानन्तरं दुःखं दुःखस्यानन्तरं सुखम् । सुखदुःखावृते लोके नास्ति सौख्यमनन्तकम् ॥

sukhasyānantaraṃ duḥkhaṃ duḥkhasyānantaraṃ sukham | sukhaduḥkhāvṛte loke nāsti saukhyamanantakam

After happiness comes sorrow, and after sorrow, happiness. In a world made up of happiness and sorrow, there is no happiness that is endless.

Verse 90 (12.152.90)

इमं क्षितितले त्यक्त्वा बालं रूपसमन्वितम् । कुलशोभाकरं मूढाः पुत्रं त्यक्त्वा क्व यास्यथ ॥

imaṃ kṣititale tyaktvā bālaṃ rūpasamanvitam | kulaśobhākaraṃ mūḍhāḥ putraṃ tyaktvā kva yāsyatha

Leaving on the ground this beautiful boy, the glory of your family, you fools, where will you go, abandoning your son?

Verse 91 (12.152.91)

रूपयौवनसंपन्नं द्योतमानमिव श्रिया । जीवन्तमेव पश्यामि मनसा नात्र संशयः ॥

rūpayauvanasaṃpannaṃ dyotamānamiva śriyā | jīvantameva paśyāmi manasā nātra saṃśayaḥ

Handsome, in the bloom of youth, shining as if with glory: in my mind I see him alive, and of this there is no doubt.

Verse 92 (12.152.92)

विनाशेनास्य न हि वै सुखं प्राप्स्यथ मानुषाः । पुत्रशोकाभितप्तानां मृतमप्यद्य वः क्षमम् ॥

vināśenāsya na hi vai sukhaṃ prāpsyatha mānuṣāḥ | putraśokābhitaptānāṃ mṛtamapyadya vaḥ kṣamam

You humans will not find happiness in his loss. For you, scorched by grief for your son, it is right to keep him even dead.

Verse 93 (12.152.93)

दुःखसंभावनं कृत्वा धारयित्वा सुखं स्वयम् । त्यक्त्वा गमिष्यथ क्वाद्य समुत्सृज्याल्पबुद्धिवत् ॥

duḥkhasaṃbhāvanaṃ kṛtvā dhārayitvā sukhaṃ svayam | tyaktvā gamiṣyatha kvādya samutsṛjyālpabuddhivat

Having borne the burden of sorrow and made him the support of your own happiness, where will you go now, casting him away like men of little sense?"

Verse 94 (12.152.94)

तथा धर्मविरोधेन प्रियमिथ्याभिधायिनाम् । श्मशानवासिना नित्यं रात्रिं मृगयता नृप ॥

tathā dharmavirodhena priyamithyābhidhāyinām | śmaśānavāsinā nityaṃ rātriṃ mṛgayatā nṛpa

So, with words against dharma yet pleasing and false, the jackal, who lives in cremation grounds and hunts by night, O king,

Verse 95 (12.152.95)

ततो मध्यस्थतां नीता वचनैरमृतोपमैः । जम्बुकेन स्वकार्यार्थं बान्धवास्तत्र वारिताः ॥

tato madhyasthatāṃ nītā vacanairamṛtopamaiḥ | jambukena svakāryārthaṃ bāndhavāstatra vāritāḥ

brought them with his nectar-like words to a state of wavering, and for his own ends held back the kinsmen there.

Verse 96 (12.152.96)

अयं प्रेतसमाकीर्णो यक्षराक्षससेवितः । दारुणः काननोद्देशः कौशिकैरभिनादितः ॥

ayaṃ pretasamākīrṇo yakṣarākṣasasevitaḥ | dāruṇaḥ kānanoddeśaḥ kauśikairabhināditaḥ

"This is a wild place, crowded with the dead, haunted by yakshas and rakshasas, dreadful, with owls hooting.

Verse 97 (12.152.97)

भीमः सुघोरश्च तथा नीलमेघसमप्रभः । अस्मिञ्शवं परित्यज्य प्रेतकार्याण्युपासत ॥

bhīmaḥ sughoraśca tathā nīlameghasamaprabhaḥ | asmiñśavaṃ parityajya pretakāryāṇyupāsata

It is dark and most terrible, the color of a dark storm cloud. Leave the corpse here and see to the rites for the dead.

Verse 98 (12.152.98)

भानुर्यावन्न यात्यस्तं यावच्च विमला दिशः । तावदेनं परित्यज्य प्रेतकार्याण्युपासत ॥

bhānuryāvanna yātyastaṃ yāvacca vimalā diśaḥ | tāvadenaṃ parityajya pretakāryāṇyupāsata

Before the sun reaches its setting, while the quarters are still clear, leave him and perform the rites for the dead.

Verse 99 (12.152.99)

नदन्ति परुषं श्येनाः शिवाः क्रोशन्ति दारुणम् । मृगेन्द्राः प्रतिनर्दन्ति रविरस्तं च गच्छति ॥

nadanti paruṣaṃ śyenāḥ śivāḥ krośanti dāruṇam | mṛgendrāḥ pratinardanti ravirastaṃ ca gacchati

Hawks cry out harshly, she-jackals howl dreadfully, lions roar in answer, and the sun is going down.

Verse 100 (12.152.100)

चिता धूमेन नीलेन संरज्यन्ते च पादपाः । श्मशाने च निराहाराः प्रतिनर्दन्ति देवताः ॥

citā dhūmena nīlena saṃrajyante ca pādapāḥ | śmaśāne ca nirāhārāḥ pratinardanti devatāḥ

The trees are reddened by the dark smoke of the funeral pyres, and in the cremation ground the hungry spirits roar in reply.

Verse 101 (12.152.101)

सर्वे विकृतदेहाश्चाप्यस्मिन्देशे सुदारुणे । युष्मान्प्रधर्षयिष्यन्ति विकृता मांसभोजिनः ॥

sarve vikṛtadehāścāpyasmindeśe sudāruṇe | yuṣmānpradharṣayiṣyanti vikṛtā māṃsabhojinaḥ

In this terrible place, all the misshapen, flesh-eating creatures will fall upon you.

Verse 102 (12.152.102)

क्रूरश्चायं वनोद्देशो भयमद्य भविष्यति । त्यज्यतां काष्ठभूतोऽयं मुच्यतां जाम्बुकं वचः ॥

krūraścāyaṃ vanoddeśo bhayamadya bhaviṣyati | tyajyatāṃ kāṣṭhabhūto'yaṃ mucyatāṃ jāmbukaṃ vacaḥ

This forest is cruel, and danger will come tonight. Leave this body, which has become like wood, and put aside the jackal's talk.

Verse 103 (12.152.103)

यदि जम्बुकवाक्यानि निष्फलान्यनृतानि च । श्रोष्यथ भ्रष्टविज्ञानास्ततः सर्वे विनङ्क्ष्यथ ॥

yadi jambukavākyāni niṣphalānyanṛtāni ca | śroṣyatha bhraṣṭavijñānāstataḥ sarve vinaṅkṣyatha

If you listen to the jackal's words, which are fruitless and false, you will lose your wits and every one of you will perish."

Verse 104 (12.152.104)

स्थीयतां वो न भेतव्यं यावत्तपति भास्करः । तावदस्मिन्सुते स्नेहादनिर्वेदेन वर्तत ॥

sthīyatāṃ vo na bhetavyaṃ yāvattapati bhāskaraḥ | tāvadasminsute snehādanirvedena vartata

"Stay. You have nothing to fear while the sun is still shining. Until then, hold on to your love for this boy and do not despair.

Verse 105 (12.152.105)

स्वैरं रुदन्तो विस्रब्धाश्चिरं स्नेहेन पश्यत । दारुणेऽस्मिन्वनोद्देशे भयं वो न भविष्यति ॥

svairaṃ rudanto visrabdhāściraṃ snehena paśyata | dāruṇe'sminvanoddeśe bhayaṃ vo na bhaviṣyati

Weep freely, unafraid; gaze on him with love for as long as you like. In this dreadful forest no fear will come to you.

Note on the text: Removed the backtick Wikisource prints before line 2. Line 1 = CE 12.149.100a; line 2 is the CE star line 100b*0395_01 (dāruṇe 'smin vanoddeśe bhayaṃ vo na bhaviṣyati). With verse 106 this fills the four-line CE verse 12.149.100.

Verse 106 (12.152.106)

अयं सौम्यो वनोद्देशः पितृणां निधनाकरः । स्थीयतां यावदादित्यः किंवः क्रव्यादभाषितैः ॥

ayaṃ saumyo vanoddeśaḥ pitṛṇāṃ nidhanākaraḥ | sthīyatāṃ yāvadādityaḥ kiṃvaḥ kravyādabhāṣitaiḥ

This is a gentle place in the forest, where the ancestors lie. Stay as long as the sun lasts; what use are the words of a flesh-eater to you?

Note on the text: Removed the quote mark Wikisource prints after line 1 and the extra daṇḍa. Line 1 is the CE star line 12.149.100b*0395_02 (ayaṃ saumyo vanoddeśaḥ pitṝṇāṃ nidhanākaraḥ); line 2 = CE 12.149.100c. With verse 105 this fills the four-line CE verse 12.149.100.

Verse 107 (12.152.107)

यदि गृध्रस्य वाक्यानि तीव्राणि रभसानि च । गृह्णीत मोहितात्मानः सुतो वो न भविष्यति ॥

yadi gṛdhrasya vākyāni tīvrāṇi rabhasāni ca | gṛhṇīta mohitātmānaḥ suto vo na bhaviṣyati

If you take to heart the vulture's words, which are harsh and rash, you who are deluded, your son will not live."

Verse 108 (12.152.108)

गृध्रो नास्तमितेऽभ्येति तिष्ठेन्नक्तं च जम्बुकः । मृतस्य तं परिजनमूचतुस्तौ क्षुधान्वितौ ॥

gṛdhro nāstamite'bhyeti tiṣṭhennaktaṃ ca jambukaḥ | mṛtasya taṃ parijanamūcatustau kṣudhānvitau

The vulture does not come out once the sun has set, while the jackal stays about at night. So these two, gripped by hunger, spoke to the dead boy's people.

Verse 109 (12.152.109)

स्वकार्यबद्धकक्षौ तौ राजन्गृध्रोऽथ जम्बुकः । क्षुत्पिपासापरिश्रान्तौ शास्त्रमालम्ब्य जल्पतः ॥

svakāryabaddhakakṣau tau rājangṛdhro'tha jambukaḥ | kṣutpipāsāpariśrāntau śāstramālambya jalpataḥ

Both of them, O king, the vulture and the jackal, girded up for their own ends, worn out with hunger and thirst, spoke leaning on the scriptures.

Verse 110 (12.152.110)

तयोर्विज्ञानविदुषोर्द्वयोर्मृगपतत्रिणोः । वाक्यैरमृतकल्पैस्तैः प्रतिष्ठन्ते व्रजन्ति च ॥

tayorvijñānaviduṣordvayormṛgapatatriṇoḥ | vākyairamṛtakalpaistaiḥ pratiṣṭhante vrajanti ca

Those two, a beast and a bird, skilled in knowledge, spoke words like nectar, and by them the people now stood still and now went on.

Verse 111 (12.152.111)

शोकदैन्यसमाविष्टा रुदन्तस्तस्थिरे तदा । स्वकार्यकुशलाभ्यां ते संभ्राम्यन्ते ह नैपुणात् ॥

śokadainyasamāviṣṭā rudantastasthire tadā | svakāryakuśalābhyāṃ te saṃbhrāmyante ha naipuṇāt

Sunk in grief and despair, they stayed where they were, weeping, bewildered by the cleverness of the two who were so skilled in their own aims.

Verse 112 (12.152.112)

तथा तयोर्विवदतोर्विज्ञानविदुषोर्द्वयोः । बान्धवानां स्थितानां चाप्युपातिष्ठत शंकरः ॥

tathā tayorvivadatorvijñānaviduṣordvayoḥ | bāndhavānāṃ sthitānāṃ cāpyupātiṣṭhata śaṃkaraḥ

While the two knowers of wisdom were thus disputing, Shankara appeared before the kinsmen who stood there.

Verse 113 (12.152.113)

देव्या प्रणोदितो देवः कारुण्यार्द्रीकृतेक्षणः । ततस्तानाह मनुजान्वरदोऽस्मीति शंकरः ॥

devyā praṇodito devaḥ kāruṇyārdrīkṛtekṣaṇaḥ | tatastānāha manujānvarado'smīti śaṃkaraḥ

Urged on by the Goddess, the god, his eyes moist with compassion, said to those people, "I am the giver of boons."

Note on the text: The alignment found no match. Line 1 is the CE star line 12.149.106d*0396_01 (devyā praṇodito devaḥ kāruṇyārdrīkṛtekṣaṇaḥ); line 2 = CE 12.149.107a (varado 'smīti śūlabhṛt against Wikisource वरदोऽस्मीति शंकरः, a recension variant).

Verse 114 (12.152.114)

ते प्रत्यूचुरिदं वाक्यं दुःखिताः प्रणताः स्थिताः । एकपुत्रविहीनानां सर्वेषां जीवितार्थिनाम् । पुत्रस्य नो जीवदानाज्जीवितं दातुमर्हसि ॥

te pratyūcuridaṃ vākyaṃ duḥkhitāḥ praṇatāḥ sthitāḥ | ekaputravihīnānāṃ sarveṣāṃ jīvitārthinām | putrasya no jīvadānājjīvitaṃ dātumarhasi

Grief-stricken, they stood bowed low and answered him thus: "We have lost our only son, and all of us long to live. By giving our son his life, you ought to give us life."

Note on the text: Corrected वाक्य → वाक्यं (misprint in Wikisource; anusvāra dropped after वाक्य; CE vākyaṃ). Corrected सर्वेष्नां → सर्वेषां (misprint in Wikisource; ष्नां for षां; CE sarveṣām). Three-line verse, as on the page (labelled 12-152-114a/b/c): lines 1-3 = CE 12.149.107c, 108a, 108c. The alignment found no match.

Verse 115 (12.152.115)

एवमुक्तः स भगवान्वारिपूर्णेन पाणिना । जीवं तस्मै कुमाराय प्रादाद्वर्षशतानि वै ॥

evamuktaḥ sa bhagavānvāripūrṇena pāṇinā | jīvaṃ tasmai kumārāya prādādvarṣaśatāni vai

Thus addressed, the Blessed Lord, with his hand full of water, gave that boy life for a hundred years.

Verse 116 (12.152.116)

तथा गोमायुगृध्राभ्यां प्राददत्क्षुद्विनाशनम् । वरं पिनाकी भगवान्सर्वभूतहिते रतः ॥

tathā gomāyugṛdhrābhyāṃ prādadatkṣudvināśanam | varaṃ pinākī bhagavānsarvabhūtahite rataḥ

And the Lord Pinaki, who delights in the good of all beings, granted the jackal and the vulture also a boon that ended their hunger.

Verse 117 (12.152.117)

ततः प्रणम्य ते देवं श्रेयोहर्षसमन्विताः । कृतकृत्याः सुसंहृष्टाः प्रातिष्ठन्त तदा विभो ॥

tataḥ praṇamya te devaṃ śreyoharṣasamanvitāḥ | kṛtakṛtyāḥ susaṃhṛṣṭāḥ prātiṣṭhanta tadā vibho

Then, bowing to the god, full of joy and good fortune, their purpose fulfilled and exceedingly glad, they departed, O mighty king.

Verse 118 (12.152.118)

अनिर्वेदेन दीर्घेण निश्चयेन ध्रुवेण च । देवदेवप्रसादाच्च क्षिप्रं फलमवाप्यते ॥

anirvedena dīrgheṇa niścayena dhruveṇa ca | devadevaprasādācca kṣipraṃ phalamavāpyate

By long perseverance, by firm resolve, and by the grace of the God of gods, the fruit is quickly won.

Verse 119 (12.152.119)

पश्य दैवस्य संयोगं बान्धवानां च निश्चयम् । कृपणानां तु रुदतां कृतमश्रुप्रमार्जनम् ॥

paśya daivasya saṃyogaṃ bāndhavānāṃ ca niścayam | kṛpaṇānāṃ tu rudatāṃ kṛtamaśrupramārjanam

See how fate worked, and the resolve of the kinsmen: the tears of the pitiable weepers were wiped away.

Note on the text: Corrected बान्धवाना च → बान्धवानां च (misprint in Wikisource; anusvāra dropped; CE bāndhavānāṃ ca).

Verse 120 (12.152.120)

पश्य चाल्पेन कालेन निश्चयान्वेषणेन च । प्रसादं शंकरात्प्राप्य दुःखिताः सुखमाप्नुवन् ॥

paśya cālpena kālena niścayānveṣaṇena ca | prasādaṃ śaṃkarātprāpya duḥkhitāḥ sukhamāpnuvan

See how, in a short time, by resolve and seeking, the afflicted gained the grace of Shankara and found happiness.

Note on the text: Corrected निश्चयाध्वेषणेन → निश्चयान्वेषणेन (misprint in Wikisource; ध्वे for न्वे, the word is अन्वेषण; CE niścayānveṣaṇena).

Verse 121 (12.152.121)

ते विस्मिताः प्रहृष्टाश्च पुत्रसंजीवनात्पुनः । बभूवुर्भरतश्रेष्ठ प्रसादाच्छंकरस्य वै ॥

te vismitāḥ prahṛṣṭāśca putrasaṃjīvanātpunaḥ | babhūvurbharataśreṣṭha prasādācchaṃkarasya vai

They were amazed and overjoyed, O best of the Bharatas, at the restoring of their son to life, by the grace of Shankara.

Verse 122 (12.152.122)

ततस्ते त्वरिता राजंस्त्यक्त्वा शोकं शिशूद्भवम् । विविशुः पुत्रमादाय नगरं हृष्टमानसाः ॥

tataste tvaritā rājaṃstyaktvā śokaṃ śiśūdbhavam | viviśuḥ putramādāya nagaraṃ hṛṣṭamānasāḥ

Then, O king, putting away the grief that the child had caused, they quickly entered the city with their son in their arms, glad at heart.

Note on the text: Lines = CE 12.149.116a, 116c (tvaritā rājañ śrutvā śokam aghodbhavam against Wikisource त्वरिता राजंस्त्यक्त्वा शोकं शिशूद्भवम्, a recension variant). The alignment found no match; the verse's third line is verse 123.

Verse 123 (12.152.123)

एषा बुद्धिः समस्तानां चातुर्वर्ण्येन दर्शिता ॥

eṣā buddhiḥ samastānāṃ cāturvarṇyena darśitā

This is the wisdom that has been shown to all, to the four classes alike.

Note on the text: Single-line verse, as on the page (labelled 12-152-123a): it is the third line (116e) of the CE verse 12.149.116 whose first two lines are verse 122, so nothing is lost. The alignment found no match.

Verse 124 (12.152.124)

धर्मार्थमोक्षसंयुक्तमितिहासं पुरातनम् । श्रुत्वा मनुष्यः सततमिहामुत्र प्रमोदते ॥

dharmārthamokṣasaṃyuktamitihāsaṃ purātanam | śrutvā manuṣyaḥ satatamihāmutra pramodate

Hearing this ancient tale, which joins dharma, wealth and liberation, a man is always happy, here and hereafter.