Vritra's Calm in Defeat

Verse 1 (12.285.1)

धन्याधन्या इति जनाः सर्वेऽस्मान्प्रवदन्त्युत । न दुःखिततरः कश्चित्पुमानस्माभिरस्ति ह ॥

dhanyādhanyā iti janāḥ sarve'smānpravadantyuta | na duḥkhitataraḥ kaścitpumānasmābhirasti ha

"All people say of us, 'Blessed, blessed!' Yet there is no man more wretched than we are."

Verse 2 (12.285.2)

लोकसंभावितैर्दुःखं यत्प्राप्तं कुरुसत्तम । प्राप्य जातिं मनुष्येषु देवैरपि पितामह ॥

lokasaṃbhāvitairduḥkhaṃ yatprāptaṃ kurusattama | prāpya jātiṃ manuṣyeṣu devairapi pitāmaha

"We who are honoured by the world, and even by the gods, have nonetheless met with suffering, having taken birth among men, O best of the Kurus, O grandfather."

Verse 3 (12.285.3)

कदा वयं करिष्यामः संन्यासं दुःखभेषजम् । दुःखमेतच्छरीराणां धारणं कुरुसत्तम ॥

kadā vayaṃ kariṣyāmaḥ saṃnyāsaṃ duḥkhabheṣajam | duḥkhametaccharīrāṇāṃ dhāraṇaṃ kurusattama

"When shall we take up renunciation, the remedy for sorrow? To carry a body at all is sorrow, O best of the Kurus."

Verse 4 (12.285.4)

विमुक्ताः सप्तदशभिर्हेतुभूतैश्च पञ्चभिः । इन्द्रियार्थैर्गुणैश्चैव अष्टाभिश्च पितामह ॥

vimuktāḥ saptadaśabhirhetubhūtaiśca pañcabhiḥ | indriyārthairguṇaiścaiva aṣṭābhiśca pitāmaha

"Freed from the seventeen, from the five that are causes, from the objects of the senses and from the eight qualities, O grandfather,"

Verse 5 (12.285.5)

न गच्छन्ति पुनर्भावं मुनयः संशितव्रताः । कदा वयं गमिष्यामो राज्यं हित्वा परंतप ॥

na gacchanti punarbhāvaṃ munayaḥ saṃśitavratāḥ | kadā vayaṃ gamiṣyāmo rājyaṃ hitvā paraṃtapa

"sages of firm vows do not return to rebirth. When shall we go there, giving up the kingdom, O scorcher of foes?"

Verse 6 (12.285.6)

नास्त्यनन्तं महाराज सर्वं सङ्ख्यानगोचरम् । पुनर्भावोऽपि संख्यातो नास्ति किंचिदिहाचलम् ॥

nāstyanantaṃ mahārāja sarvaṃ saṅkhyānagocaram | punarbhāvo'pi saṃkhyāto nāsti kiṃcidihācalam

"Nothing is endless, great king; everything falls within reckoning. Even rebirth has been counted; nothing here is unchanging."

Note on the text: Corrected पुनर्भावोपि → पुनर्भावोऽपि (misprint in Wikisource; the avagraha is dropped; CE punarbhāvo 'pi).

Verse 7 (12.285.7)

न चापि गम्यते राजन्नैष दोषः प्रसङ्गतः । उद्योगादेव धर्मज्ञाः कालेनैव गमिष्यथ ॥

na cāpi gamyate rājannaiṣa doṣaḥ prasaṅgataḥ | udyogādeva dharmajñāḥ kālenaiva gamiṣyatha

"Nor is that goal unreachable, O king; this is no fault that comes of the nature of things. By effort alone, you who know dharma, you will reach it in time."

Verse 8 (12.285.8)

नेशेऽयं सततं देही नृपते पुण्यपापयोः । तत एव समुत्थेन तमसा रुध्यतेऽपि च ॥

neśe'yaṃ satataṃ dehī nṛpate puṇyapāpayoḥ | tata eva samutthena tamasā rudhyate'pi ca

"This embodied self is not master, O king, of its merits and its sins. From these very deeds darkness arises, and by that darkness it is held in check."

Verse 9 (12.285.9)

यथाञ्जनमयो वायुः पुनर्मानःशिलं रजः । अनुप्रविश्य तद्वर्णो दृश्यते रञ्जयन्दिशः ॥

yathāñjanamayo vāyuḥ punarmānaḥśilaṃ rajaḥ | anupraviśya tadvarṇo dṛśyate rañjayandiśaḥ

"As the wind, entering collyrium and then dust of red arsenic, takes on their colour and is seen tinting the quarters,"

Verse 10 (12.285.10)

तथा कर्मफलैर्देही रञ्जितस्तमसा वृतः । विवर्णो वर्णमाश्रित्य देहेषु परिवर्तते ॥

tathā karmaphalairdehī rañjitastamasā vṛtaḥ | vivarṇo varṇamāśritya deheṣu parivartate

"so the embodied self, tinted by the fruits of its deeds and wrapped in darkness, though itself colourless, takes on a colour and turns about from body to body."

Verse 11 (12.285.11)

ज्ञानेन हि यदा जन्तुरज्ञानप्रभवं तमः । व्यपोहति तदा ब्रह्म प्रकाशेत सनातनम् ॥

jñānena hi yadā janturajñānaprabhavaṃ tamaḥ | vyapohati tadā brahma prakāśeta sanātanam

"When by knowledge a creature drives off the darkness born of ignorance, then eternal Brahman shines forth."

Verse 12 (12.285.12)

अयत्नसाध्यं मुनयो वदन्ति । ये चापि मुक्तास्तदुपासितव्याः । त्वया च लोकेन च सामरेण । तस्मान्न शाम्यन्ति महर्षिसङ्घाः ॥

ayatnasādhyaṃ munayo vadanti | ye cāpi muktāstadupāsitavyāḥ | tvayā ca lokena ca sāmareṇa | tasmānna śāmyanti maharṣisaṅghāḥ

"The sages say it is reached without strain; and those who are liberated are to be honoured, by you and by the world with its gods. Therefore the companies of great seers do not rest."

Note on the text: Corrected चे चापि → ये चापि (misprint in Wikisource; CE ye cāpi). Four lines as on the page (labelled 12-285-12a/b/c/d); the CE prints this as 12.270.12a and 12.270.12c with a caesura in each. Wikisource तदुपासितव्याः against CE ta upāsitavyāḥ is a sandhi variant, kept.

Verse 13 (12.285.13)

अस्मिन्नर्थे पुरा गीतं शृणुष्वैकमना नृप । यथा दैत्येन वृत्रेण भ्रष्टैश्वर्येण चेष्टितम् ॥

asminnarthe purā gītaṃ śṛṇuṣvaikamanā nṛpa | yathā daityena vṛtreṇa bhraṣṭaiśvaryeṇa ceṣṭitam

"On this point, king, listen with a single mind to what was sung long ago: how the Daitya Vritra, fallen from his lordship, conducted himself."

Verse 14 (12.285.14)

निर्जितेनासहायेन हृतराज्येन भारत । अशोचता शत्रुमध्ये बुद्धिमास्थाय केवलाम् ॥

nirjitenāsahāyena hṛtarājyena bhārata | aśocatā śatrumadhye buddhimāsthāya kevalām

"Defeated, friendless, his kingdom taken from him, O Bharata, he did not grieve in the midst of his enemies, holding fast to a pure, single-minded understanding."

Verse 15 (12.285.15)

भ्रष्टैश्वर्यं पुरा वृत्रमुशना वाक्यमब्रवीत् । कच्चित्पराजितस्याद्य न व्यथा तेऽस्ति दानव ॥

bhraṣṭaiśvaryaṃ purā vṛtramuśanā vākyamabravīt | kaccitparājitasyādya na vyathā te'sti dānava

"To Vritra, fallen from his sovereignty, Ushanas said: 'Surely, O Danava, you feel no pain now that you have been defeated?'"

Verse 16 (12.285.16)

सत्येन तपसा चैव विदित्वा संक्षयं ह्यहम् । न शोचामि न हृष्यामि भूतानामागतिं गतिम् ॥

satyena tapasā caiva viditvā saṃkṣayaṃ hyaham | na śocāmi na hṛṣyāmi bhūtānāmāgatiṃ gatim

"Through truth and austerity I have understood the destruction of things, and so I neither grieve nor rejoice, for I know the coming and going of beings."

Verse 17 (12.285.17)

कालसंचोदिता जीवा मज्जन्ति नरकेऽवशाः । परिहृष्टानि सर्वाणि दिव्यान्याहुर्मनीषिणः ॥

kālasaṃcoditā jīvā majjanti narake'vaśāḥ | parihṛṣṭāni sarvāṇi divyānyāhurmanīṣiṇaḥ

"Driven by time, helpless creatures sink into hell. The wise say that the celestial states are all full of delight."

Verse 18 (12.285.18)

क्षपयित्वा तु तं कालं गणितं कालचोदिताः । सावशेषेण कालेन संधावन्ति पुनःपुनः ॥

kṣapayitvā tu taṃ kālaṃ gaṇitaṃ kālacoditāḥ | sāvaśeṣeṇa kālena saṃdhāvanti punaḥpunaḥ

"Having spent the reckoned time to which they are bound, and driven by time, they hasten again and again, with what time remains to them, into new births."

Verse 19 (12.285.19)

तिर्यग्योनिसहस्राणि गत्वा नरकमेव च । निर्गच्छन्त्यवशा जीवाः कालबन्धनबन्धनाः ॥

tiryagyonisahasrāṇi gatvā narakameva ca | nirgacchantyavaśā jīvāḥ kālabandhanabandhanāḥ

"After passing through thousands of animal births, and through hell as well, the helpless creatures come out, bound by the bonds of time."

Verse 20 (12.285.20)

एवं संसरमाणानि ह्यहं भूतानि दृष्टवान् । यथा कर्म तथा लाभ इति शास्त्रनिदर्शनम् ॥

evaṃ saṃsaramāṇāni hyahaṃ bhūtāni dṛṣṭavān | yathā karma tathā lābha iti śāstranidarśanam

"Thus have I seen beings wander from birth to birth: as the deed, so the reward. That is what the scriptures teach."

Verse 21 (12.285.21)

तिर्यग्गच्छन्ति नरकं मानुष्यं दैवमेव च । सुखदुःखे प्रिये द्वेष्ये चरित्वा पूर्वमेव च ॥

tiryaggacchanti narakaṃ mānuṣyaṃ daivameva ca | sukhaduḥkhe priye dveṣye caritvā pūrvameva ca

"Having first lived through pleasure and pain, the loved and the hated, they go to the animal state, to hell, to the human state or to the divine."

Verse 22 (12.285.22)

कृतान्तविधिसंयुक्तः सर्वो लोकः प्रपद्यते । गतं गच्छन्ति चाध्वानं सर्वभूतानि सर्वदा ॥

kṛtāntavidhisaṃyuktaḥ sarvo lokaḥ prapadyate | gataṃ gacchanti cādhvānaṃ sarvabhūtāni sarvadā

"The whole world is bound by the ordinance of the Ender and goes forward; all beings, always, tread the road already trodden."

Verse 23 (12.285.23)

कालसङ्ख्यानसङ्ख्येयं सृष्टिस्थितिपरायणम् । तं भाषमाणं भगवानुशना प्रत्यभाषत । इमान्दुष्टप्रलापांस्त्वं तात कस्मात्प्रभाषते ॥

kālasaṅkhyānasaṅkhyeyaṃ sṛṣṭisthitiparāyaṇam | taṃ bhāṣamāṇaṃ bhagavānuśanā pratyabhāṣata | imānduṣṭapralāpāṃstvaṃ tāta kasmātprabhāṣate

He spoke of all this as measured by the count of time and resting on creation and continuance. As he spoke, the revered Ushanas answered him: "Child, why do you utter such wicked talk?"

Note on the text: Speaker changed from वृत्र (carried over from the heading printed at 12-285-16x) to भीष्म: the verse is narration (तं भाषमाणं भगवानुशना प्रत्यभाषत) and ends with Ushanas's words, and CE 12.270.23 heads it bhīṣma uvāca. Three-line verse, as on the page (labelled 12-285-23a/b/c) = CE 12.270.23a, 23c, 23e; Wikisource कालसङ्ख्यानसङ्ख्येयं and इमान्दुष्टप्रलापान् against CE kālasaṃkhyānasaṃkhyātaṃ and bhīmān duṣṭapralāpān (the page's footnote notes the variant धीमन्). Text kept.

Verse 24 (12.285.24)

प्रत्यक्षमेतद्भवतस्तथाऽन्येषां मनीषिणाम् । मया यज्जयलुब्धेन पुरा तप्तं महत्तपः ॥

pratyakṣametadbhavatastathā'nyeṣāṃ manīṣiṇām | mayā yajjayalubdhena purā taptaṃ mahattapaḥ

"It is plain to you, and to other wise men too, that in my longing for victory I once practised great austerity."

Verse 25 (12.285.25)

गन्धानादाय भूतानां रसांश्च विविधानपि । अवर्धं त्रीन्समाक्रम्य लोकान्वै स्वेन तेजसा ॥

gandhānādāya bhūtānāṃ rasāṃśca vividhānapi | avardhaṃ trīnsamākramya lokānvai svena tejasā

"Taking the scents and the many kinds of tastes of beings, I grew, overrunning the three worlds by my own energy."

Verse 26 (12.285.26)

ज्वालामालापरिक्षिप्तो वैहायसगतिस्तथा । अजेयः सर्वभूतानामासं नित्यमपेतभीः ॥

jvālāmālāparikṣipto vaihāyasagatistathā | ajeyaḥ sarvabhūtānāmāsaṃ nityamapetabhīḥ

"Ringed with garlands of flame, moving through the sky, I was invincible to all beings and ever without fear."

Verse 27 (12.285.27)

ऐश्वर्यं तपसा प्राप्तं भ्रष्टं तच्च स्वकर्मभिः । धृतिमास्थाय भगवन्न शोचामि ततस्त्वहम् ॥

aiśvaryaṃ tapasā prāptaṃ bhraṣṭaṃ tacca svakarmabhiḥ | dhṛtimāsthāya bhagavanna śocāmi tatastvaham

"I won sovereignty through austerity and lost it through my own deeds. Holding to steadiness, venerable one, I therefore do not grieve."

Verse 28 (12.285.28)

युयुत्सता महेन्द्रेण पुरा सार्धं महात्मना । ततो मे भगवान्दृष्टो हरिर्नारायणः प्रभुः ॥

yuyutsatā mahendreṇa purā sārdhaṃ mahātmanā | tato me bhagavāndṛṣṭo harirnārāyaṇaḥ prabhuḥ

"Long ago, when I was eager to fight great-souled Mahendra, I saw the blessed Lord, Hari Narayana."

Verse 29 (12.285.29)

वैकुण्ठः पुरुषोऽनन्तः शुक्लो विष्णुः सनातनः । मुञ्जकेशो हरिश्मश्रुः सर्वभूतपितामहः ॥

vaikuṇṭhaḥ puruṣo'nantaḥ śuklo viṣṇuḥ sanātanaḥ | muñjakeśo hariśmaśruḥ sarvabhūtapitāmahaḥ

"Vaikuntha, the Person, the Endless, the Bright one, Vishnu the Eternal, with hair like munja grass and a tawny-green beard, the grandsire of all beings."

Verse 30 (12.285.30)

नूनं तु तस्य तपसः सावशेषं ममास्ति वै । यदहं प्रष्टुमिच्छामि भवन्तं कर्मणः फलम् ॥

nūnaṃ tu tasya tapasaḥ sāvaśeṣaṃ mamāsti vai | yadahaṃ praṣṭumicchāmi bhavantaṃ karmaṇaḥ phalam

"Surely some remnant of that austerity is still mine, for I wish to ask you about the fruit of action."

Verse 31 (12.285.31)

ऐश्वर्यं वै महद्ब्रह्मन्वर्णे कस्मिन्प्रतिष्ठितम् । निवर्तते चापि पुनः कथमैश्वर्यमुत्तमम् ॥

aiśvaryaṃ vai mahadbrahmanvarṇe kasminpratiṣṭhitam | nivartate cāpi punaḥ kathamaiśvaryamuttamam

"In what colour, O brahmin, is great lordship established? And how does the highest lordship come to an end again?"

Verse 32 (12.285.32)

भवन्ति कस्माद्भूतानि प्रवर्तन्ते यथा पुनः । किं वा फलं परं प्राप्य जीवस्तिष्ठति शाश्वतः ॥

bhavanti kasmādbhūtāni pravartante yathā punaḥ | kiṃ vā phalaṃ paraṃ prāpya jīvastiṣṭhati śāśvataḥ

"How do beings come to be, and how do they go forth again? And what is the supreme fruit upon attaining which the soul stands everlasting?"

Verse 33 (12.285.33)

केन वा कर्मणा शक्यमथ ज्ञानेन केन वा । ब्रह्मर्षे तत्फलं प्राप्तुं तन्मे व्याख्यातुमर्हसि ॥

kena vā karmaṇā śakyamatha jñānena kena vā | brahmarṣe tatphalaṃ prāptuṃ tanme vyākhyātumarhasi

"By what action, or by what knowledge, can that fruit be gained, O Brahmarshi? Please explain it to me."

Verse 34 (12.285.34)

इतीदमुक्तः स मुनिस्तदानीं । प्रत्याह यत्तच्छृणु राजसिंह । मयोच्यमानं पुरुषर्षभ त्व । मनन्यचित्तः सह सोदरीयैः ॥

itīdamuktaḥ sa munistadānīṃ | pratyāha yattacchṛṇu rājasiṃha | mayocyamānaṃ puruṣarṣabha tva | mananyacittaḥ saha sodarīyaiḥ

Thus addressed, the sage then replied. Listen, lion among kings, to what he said as I tell it, O best of men, with undivided mind, together with your brothers.

Note on the text: Speaker changed from वृत्र (carried over from the heading printed at 12-285-24x) to भीष्म: the verse is Bhishma's narration to Yudhishthira (राजसिंह, पुरुषर्षभ, सह सोदरीयैः) and the CE prints no new heading before 12.270.34. Four lines as on the page (CE 34a, 34c, with a caesura in each); the page's line ends त्व | मनन्यचित्तः are the sandhi of त्वम् अनन्यचित्तः across the pada boundary, kept as printed.