Vyasa on the Two Paths: Action and Knowledge

Verse 1 (12.247.1)

यदिदं वेदवचनं कुरु कर्म त्यजेति च । कां दिशं विद्यया यान्ति कां च गच्छन्ति कर्मणा ॥

yadidaṃ vedavacanaṃ kuru karma tyajeti ca | kāṃ diśaṃ vidyayā yānti kāṃ ca gacchanti karmaṇā

This Vedic saying, "Perform action," and again, "Renounce": to what quarter do men go by knowledge, and to what by action?

Verse 2 (12.247.2)

एतद्वै श्रोतुमिच्छामि तद्भवान्प्रब्रवीतु मे । एतच्चान्योन्यवैरूप्ये वर्तेते प्रतिकूलतः ॥

etadvai śrotumicchāmi tadbhavānprabravītu me | etaccānyonyavairūpye vartete pratikūlataḥ

This I wish to hear; please tell it to me. For these two stand opposed, each contrary to the other.

Note on the text: Wikisource एतच्चान्योन्यवैरूप्ये वर्तेते प्रतिकूलतः against CE etat tv anyonyavairūpye vartate pratikūlataḥ is a recension variant, kept.

Verse 3 (12.247.3)

इत्युक्तः प्रत्युवाचेदं पराशरसुतः सुतम् । कर्मविद्यामयावेतौ व्याख्यास्यामि क्षराक्षरौ ॥

ityuktaḥ pratyuvācedaṃ parāśarasutaḥ sutam | karmavidyāmayāvetau vyākhyāsyāmi kṣarākṣarau

Thus addressed, the son of Parashara answered his son: "These two, the perishable and the imperishable, are made of action and of knowledge, and I shall explain them."

Note on the text: Line 1 is the narrator Bhishma's introduction; line 2 begins Vyasa's reply (the page prints no new heading), so the verse stays with Bhishma, the speaker of the heading on the page (12-247-3x).

Verse 4 (12.247.4)

यां दिशं विद्यया यान्ति यां च गच्छन्ति कर्मणा । शृणुष्वैकमना वत्स गह्वरं ह्येतदन्तरम् ॥

yāṃ diśaṃ vidyayā yānti yāṃ ca gacchanti karmaṇā | śṛṇuṣvaikamanā vatsa gahvaraṃ hyetadantaram

The quarter to which men go by knowledge, and the one to which they go by action: listen with a single mind, my child, for the difference here is a deep one.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: Vyasa's direct speech, continuing his reply begun in the second line of verse 3, with no printed heading; it fills the whole verse (CE has the whole of 12.233.4 in Vyasa's speech). Wikisource वत्स against CE putra is a recension variant, kept.

Verse 5 (12.247.5)

अस्ति धर्म इति ह्युक्त्वा नास्तीत्यत्रैव यो वदेत् । तस्य पक्षस्य सदृशमिदं मम भवेदथ ॥

asti dharma iti hyuktvā nāstītyatraiva yo vadet | tasya pakṣasya sadṛśamidaṃ mama bhavedatha

One who says "there is dharma" and then, on that very matter, says "there is none": this saying of mine may seem like the position of such a man.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: Vyasa (no printed heading). Wikisource अस्ति धर्म इति ह्युक्त्वा against CE asti dharma iti proktaṃ is a recension variant, kept.

Verse 6 (12.247.6)

द्वाविमावथ पन्थानौ यत्र वेदाः प्रतिष्ठिताः । प्रवृत्तिलक्षणो धर्मो निवृत्तौ च व्यवस्थितः ॥

dvāvimāvatha panthānau yatra vedāḥ pratiṣṭhitāḥ | pravṛttilakṣaṇo dharmo nivṛttau ca vyavasthitaḥ

There are these two paths, on which the Vedas rest: dharma marked by action, and dharma established in cessation.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: Vyasa (no printed heading). Wikisource व्यवस्थितः against CE subhāṣitaḥ is a recension variant, kept.

Verse 7 (12.247.7)

कर्मणा बध्यते जन्तुर्विद्यया तु प्रमुच्यते । तस्मात्कर्म न कुर्वन्ति यतयः पारदर्शिनः ॥

karmaṇā badhyate janturvidyayā tu pramucyate | tasmātkarma na kurvanti yatayaḥ pāradarśinaḥ

By action a creature is bound; by knowledge he is set free. Therefore the ascetics who have seen the farther shore do not perform action.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: Vyasa (no printed heading).

Verse 8 (12.247.8)

कर्मणा जायते प्रेत्य मूर्तिमान्षोडशात्मकः । विद्यया जायते नित्यमव्ययो ह्यक्षरात्मकः ॥

karmaṇā jāyate pretya mūrtimānṣoḍaśātmakaḥ | vidyayā jāyate nityamavyayo hyakṣarātmakaḥ

By action he is born again after death, embodied, made of sixteen parts; by knowledge he is born ever as the undying, whose nature is the imperishable.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: Vyasa (no printed heading). Wikisource अव्ययो ह्यक्षरात्मकः against CE avyayo hy avyayātmakaḥ is a recension variant, kept.

Verse 9 (12.247.9)

कर्म त्वेके प्रशंसन्ति स्वल्पबुद्धितया नराः । तेन ते देहजालानि रमयन्त उपासते ॥

karma tveke praśaṃsanti svalpabuddhitayā narāḥ | tena te dehajālāni ramayanta upāsate

Some men of small understanding praise action; through it they remain, taking their pleasure in the snares of bodies.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: Vyasa (no printed heading). Wikisource स्वल्पबुद्धितया against CE svalpabuddhitarāḥ is a recension variant, kept.

Verse 10 (12.247.10)

ये स्म बुद्धिं परां प्राप्ता धर्मनैपुण्यदर्शिनः । न ते कर्म प्रशंसन्ति कूपं नद्यां पिबन्निव ॥

ye sma buddhiṃ parāṃ prāptā dharmanaipuṇyadarśinaḥ | na te karma praśaṃsanti kūpaṃ nadyāṃ pibanniva

Those who have reached the highest understanding and see the subtlety of dharma do not praise action, like one who drinks from a well when a river is at hand.

Note on the text: Corrected धमैर्नपुण्यदर्शिनः → धर्मनैपुण्यदर्शिनः (misprint in Wikisource; the letters of धर्मनैपुण्य are scrambled; the critical edition reads dharmanaipuṇyadarśinaḥ). Speaker supplied: Vyasa (no printed heading). Wikisource ये स्म against CE ye tu is a recension variant, kept.

Verse 11 (12.247.11)

कर्मणः फलमाप्नोति सुखदुःखे भवाभवौ । विद्यया तदवाप्नोति यत्र गत्वा न शोचति ॥

karmaṇaḥ phalamāpnoti sukhaduḥkhe bhavābhavau | vidyayā tadavāpnoti yatra gatvā na śocati

From action one gets its fruit, pleasure and pain, being and non-being; through knowledge one reaches that to which, having gone, one grieves no more.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: Vyasa (no printed heading).

Verse 12 (12.247.12)

यत्र गत्वा न म्रियते यत्र गत्वा न जायते । न जीर्यते यत्र गत्वा यत्र गत्वा न वर्धते ॥

yatra gatvā na mriyate yatra gatvā na jāyate | na jīryate yatra gatvā yatra gatvā na vardhate

Having gone there, one does not die; having gone there, one is not born; having gone there, one does not age; having gone there, one does not grow.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: Vyasa (no printed heading).

Verse 13 (12.247.13)

यत्र तद्ब्रह्म परममव्यक्तमचलं ध्रुवम् । अव्याहतमनायासममृतं चावियोगि च ॥

yatra tadbrahma paramamavyaktamacalaṃ dhruvam | avyāhatamanāyāsamamṛtaṃ cāviyogi ca

There is that supreme Brahman, unmanifest, unmoving, firm, unobstructed, effortless, immortal, and never parted from.

Note on the text: Corrected ध्रवम् → ध्रुवम् (misprint in Wikisource; the vowel sign ु is dropped; the critical edition reads dhruvam). Speaker supplied: Vyasa (no printed heading). Wikisource अचलम् against CE ajaram (the page's footnote cites पुराणमचलम्) is a recension variant, kept.

Verse 14 (12.247.14)

द्वन्द्वैर्न यत्र बाध्यन्ते मानसेन च कर्मणा । समाः सर्वत्र मैत्राश्च सर्वभूतहिते रताः ॥

dvandvairna yatra bādhyante mānasena ca karmaṇā | samāḥ sarvatra maitrāśca sarvabhūtahite ratāḥ

There they are not troubled by the pairs of opposites, in mind or in deed; they are even toward all, friendly, and delighting in the good of all beings.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: Vyasa (no printed heading).

Verse 15 (12.247.15)

विद्यामयोऽन्यः पुरुषस्तात कर्ममयोऽपरः । विद्धि चन्द्रमसं दर्शे सूक्ष्मया कलया स्थितम् । विद्यामयं तं पुरुषं नित्यं ज्ञानगुणात्मकम् ॥

vidyāmayo'nyaḥ puruṣastāta karmamayo'paraḥ | viddhi candramasaṃ darśe sūkṣmayā kalayā sthitam | vidyāmayaṃ taṃ puruṣaṃ nityaṃ jñānaguṇātmakam

One person is made of knowledge, my child, and another of action. Know the moon at the new moon, set in a single subtle digit. Know that person made of knowledge to be ever of the nature of the quality of knowing.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: Vyasa (no printed heading). Lines 1–2 are CE 12.233.15a and 15c; line 3 is the CE star line 12.233.15d*0682_01 (vidyāmayaṃ taṃ puruṣaṃ nityaṃ jñānaguṇātmakam), which the page prints in quotation marks as a third line of the same verse. Removed the stray wiki quote marks and the page's double danda inside line 3; the three lines are kept as one verse, following the page's single verse number (12-247-15a–c).

Verse 16 (12.247.16)

तदेतदृषिणा प्रोक्तं विस्तरेणानुमीयते । नवं तु शशिनं दृष्ट्वा वक्रतन्तुमिवाम्बरे ॥

tadetadṛṣiṇā proktaṃ vistareṇānumīyate | navaṃ tu śaśinaṃ dṛṣṭvā vakratantumivāmbare

This has been told by the sage and is understood at length by inference: look at the new moon, like a curved thread in the sky.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: Vyasa (no printed heading). Wikisource नवं तु शशिनं दृष्ट्वा वक्रतन्तुमिवाम्बरे against CE navajaṃ śaśinaṃ dṛṣṭvā vakraṃ tantum ivāmbare is a recension variant, kept.

Verse 17 (12.247.17)

एकादशविकारात्मा कलासंभारसंभृतः । मूर्तिमानिति तं विद्धि तात कर्म गुणात्मकम् ॥

ekādaśavikārātmā kalāsaṃbhārasaṃbhṛtaḥ | mūrtimāniti taṃ viddhi tāta karma guṇātmakam

Made of eleven modifications, put together from a mass of digits: know him, my child, as the embodied one, whose nature is the quality of action.

Note on the text: Corrected मृर्तिमानिति → मूर्तिमानिति (misprint in Wikisource; ऋ-vowel sign for ू; the critical edition reads mūrtimān iti). Speaker supplied: Vyasa (no printed heading).

Verse 18 (12.247.18)

तस्मिन्यः संस्थितो ह्यग्निर्नित्यं स्थाल्यामिवाहितः । आत्मानं तं विजानीहि नित्यं त्यागजितात्मकम् ॥

tasminyaḥ saṃsthito hyagnirnityaṃ sthālyāmivāhitaḥ | ātmānaṃ taṃ vijānīhi nityaṃ tyāgajitātmakam

The fire that is established in him, ever placed there as in a cooking-pot: know that as the self, ever won through renunciation.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: Vyasa (no printed heading). The alignment found no match: the two lines are the CE star lines 12.233.17d*0683_01 and 17d*0683_02 (tasmin yaḥ saṃsthito hy agnir nityaṃ sthālyām ivāhitaḥ / ātmānaṃ taṃ vijānīhi nityaṃ tyāgajitātmakam), printed on the page in quotation marks as a verse of their own (12-247-18). Removed the stray backtick; corrected नित्यंस्थाल्याम् → नित्यं स्थाल्याम् (misprint in Wikisource; the space is lost; CE nityaṃ sthālyām) and त्यागजितात्मकं → त्यागजितात्मकम् (misprint; the final म् is dropped; CE tyāgajitātmakam).

Verse 19 (12.247.19)

देवो यः संश्रितस्तस्मिन्नब्बिन्दुरिव पुष्करे । क्षेत्रज्ञं तं विजानीयान्नित्यं योगजितात्मकम् ॥

devo yaḥ saṃśritastasminnabbinduriva puṣkare | kṣetrajñaṃ taṃ vijānīyānnityaṃ yogajitātmakam

The deity who dwells in it like a drop of water on a lotus leaf: know him as the Knower of the Field, ever won through Yoga.

Note on the text: Corrected तस्मिन्नब्विन्दुरिव → तस्मिन्नब्बिन्दुरिव (misprint in Wikisource; ब्वि for ब्बि; the critical edition reads tasminn abbindur iva). Speaker supplied: Vyasa (no printed heading). Wikisource नित्यं योगजितात्मकम् against CE nityaṃ tyāgajitātmakam is a recension variant, kept.

Verse 20 (12.247.20)

तमोरजश्च सत्त्वं च विद्धि जीवगुणात्मकम् । जीवमात्मगुणं विद्यादात्मानं परमात्मनः ॥

tamorajaśca sattvaṃ ca viddhi jīvaguṇātmakam | jīvamātmaguṇaṃ vidyādātmānaṃ paramātmanaḥ

Know darkness, passion and goodness as the qualities of the living soul. Know the soul as the quality of the self, and the self as belonging to the Supreme Self.

Note on the text: Restored from the critical edition (12.233.19c): Wikisource prints the end of line 2 with letters lost (आत्मानं प-----नः); completed with the CE's word paramātmanaḥ (रमात्म). Speaker supplied: Vyasa (no printed heading). Wikisource विद्धि जीवगुणात्मकम् against CE viddhi jīvaguṇān imān is a recension variant, kept.

Verse 21 (12.247.21)

अचेतनं जीवगुणं वदन्ति । स चेष्टते चेष्टयते च सर्वम् । ततः परं क्षेत्रविदो वदन्ति । प्राकल्पयद्यो भुवनानि सप्त ॥

acetanaṃ jīvaguṇaṃ vadanti | sa ceṣṭate ceṣṭayate ca sarvam | tataḥ paraṃ kṣetravido vadanti | prākalpayadyo bhuvanāni sapta

They call the quality of the living soul insentient; it acts, and makes all things act. Beyond it, those who know the Field declare him who fashioned the seven worlds.

Note on the text: Speaker supplied: Vyasa (no printed heading). Four lines (CE 12.233.20a, c with the half-lines divided at the semicolon); the page prints no verse-end mark, and the lines are kept as one four-line verse. Wikisource अचेतनं जीवगुणं against CE sacetanaṃ jīvaguṇaṃ is read as printed (a good Sanskrit reading, 'insentient', kept as a recension variant; possibly an intended सचेतनम्), and प्राकल्पयद्यो against CE prāvartayad yo is a recension variant, kept.