Parashara on Death, Rebirth and the Worth of Human Birth

Verse 1 (12.303.1)

पिता सखायो गुरवः स्त्रियश्च । न निर्गुणानां प्रभवन्ति लोके । अनन्यभक्ताः प्रियवादिनश्च । हिताश्च वश्याश्च तथैव राजन् ॥

pitā sakhāyo guravaḥ striyaśca | na nirguṇānāṃ prabhavanti loke | ananyabhaktāḥ priyavādinaśca | hitāśca vaśyāśca tathaiva rājan

Father, friends, teachers and wives hold no sway in this world over those without virtue; but over those, O king, who are wholly devoted, kindly in speech, well-wishing and obedient, they do.

Verse 2 (12.303.2)

पिता परं दैवतं मानवानां । मातुर्विशिष्टं पितरं वदन्ति । ज्ञानस्य लाभं परमं वदन्ति । जितेन्द्रियार्थाः परमाप्नुवन्ति ॥

pitā paraṃ daivataṃ mānavānāṃ | māturviśiṣṭaṃ pitaraṃ vadanti | jñānasya lābhaṃ paramaṃ vadanti | jitendriyārthāḥ paramāpnuvanti

The father is the highest deity of men; they say the father is greater than the mother. They call the gain of knowledge the highest gain, and those who have mastered the senses and their objects attain the Supreme.

Verse 3 (12.303.3)

रणाजिरे यत्र शराग्निसंस्तरे । नृपात्मजो घातमवाप्य दह्यते । प्रयाति लोकानमरैः सुदुर्लभा । न्निषेवते स्वर्गफलं यथासुखम् ॥

raṇājire yatra śarāgnisaṃstare | nṛpātmajo ghātamavāpya dahyate | prayāti lokānamaraiḥ sudurlabhā | nniṣevate svargaphalaṃ yathāsukham

The king's son who meets his death on the battlefield, where the bed is made of arrows like fire, and is consumed there, goes to worlds that even the immortals find very hard to reach, and enjoys the fruit of heaven at his ease.

Verse 4 (12.303.4)

श्रान्तं भीतं भ्रष्टशस्त्रं रुदन्तं । पराङ्भुखं पारिवर्हैश्च हीनम् । अनुद्यन्तं रोगिणं याचमानं । न वै हिंस्याद्बालवृद्धौ च राजन् ॥

śrāntaṃ bhītaṃ bhraṣṭaśastraṃ rudantaṃ | parāṅbhukhaṃ pārivarhaiśca hīnam | anudyantaṃ rogiṇaṃ yācamānaṃ | na vai hiṃsyādbālavṛddhau ca rājan

One who is weary, afraid, whose weapons have fallen, who weeps, who has turned away, who lacks his equipment, who makes no effort, who is sick or begging, and likewise a child or an old man, one should never strike, O king.

Verse 5 (12.303.5)

पारिबर्हैः सुसंयुक्तमुद्यतं तुल्यतां गतम् । अतिक्रमेत्तं नृपतिः संग्रामे क्षत्रियात्मजम् ॥

pāribarhaiḥ susaṃyuktamudyataṃ tulyatāṃ gatam | atikramettaṃ nṛpatiḥ saṃgrāme kṣatriyātmajam

A king should overcome in battle a kshatriya who is well furnished with equipment, who is armed and ready, and who is his equal.

Verse 6 (12.303.6)

तुल्यादिह वधः श्रेयान्विशिष्टाच्चेति निश्चयः । निहीनात्कातराच्चैव कृपणाद्गर्हितो वधः ॥

tulyādiha vadhaḥ śreyānviśiṣṭācceti niścayaḥ | nihīnātkātarāccaiva kṛpaṇādgarhito vadhaḥ

In this world it is better to kill an equal or a superior, this is settled; but the killing of one who is low, of a coward or a wretch is condemned.

Verse 7 (12.303.7)

पापात्पापसमाचारान्निहीनाच्च नराधिप । पाप एष वधः प्रोक्तो नरकायेति निश्चयः ॥

pāpātpāpasamācārānnihīnācca narādhipa | pāpa eṣa vadhaḥ prokto narakāyeti niścayaḥ

To kill one who is sinful, of evil conduct or low, O lord of men, is declared a sinful killing, and it leads to hell; this is certain.

Verse 8 (12.303.8)

न कश्चित्त्राति वै राजन्दिष्टान्तवशमागतम् । सावशेषायुषं चापि कश्चिन्नैवापकर्षति ॥

na kaścittrāti vai rājandiṣṭāntavaśamāgatam | sāvaśeṣāyuṣaṃ cāpi kaścinnaivāpakarṣati

No one, O king, can save a man who has come under the power of his appointed end; and equally no one can carry off a man who still has life remaining.

Note on the text: Corrected कश्चित्राति → कश्चित्त्राति (misprint in Wikisource; the doubled त of कश्चित् + त्राति is dropped, leaving an impossible conjunct; CE kaś cit trāti).

Verse 9 (12.303.9)

स्निग्धैश्च क्रियमाणानि कर्माणीह निवर्तयेत् । हिंसात्मकानि सर्वाणि नायुरिच्छेत्परायुषा ॥

snigdhaiśca kriyamāṇāni karmāṇīha nivartayet | hiṃsātmakāni sarvāṇi nāyuricchetparāyuṣā

One should hold back even deeds that loved ones are carrying out, if all of them are of a violent kind; one should not wish for one's own life at the cost of another's.

Verse 10 (12.303.10)

गृहस्थानां तु सर्वेषां विनाशमभिकाङ्क्षताम् । निधनं शोभनं तात पुलिनेषु क्रियावताम् ॥

gṛhasthānāṃ tu sarveṣāṃ vināśamabhikāṅkṣatām | nidhanaṃ śobhanaṃ tāta pulineṣu kriyāvatām

For all householders who wish to pass away, dear one, death on the banks of sacred waters is fair, for those who are faithful to their rites.

Verse 11 (12.303.11)

आयुषि क्षयमापन्ने पञ्चत्वमुपगच्छति । तथा ह्यकारणाद्भवति कारणैरुपपादितम् ॥

āyuṣi kṣayamāpanne pañcatvamupagacchati | tathā hyakāraṇādbhavati kāraṇairupapāditam

When life is spent, a man goes to the five elements. So it comes about not without a cause; it is brought about by causes.

Note on the text: Line 1 = CE 12.286.11a. Line 2 differs from CE 12.286.11c (nākāraṇāt tad bhavati kāraṇair upapāditam) as a recension variant; kept.

Verse 12 (12.303.12)

तथा शरीरं भवति देहाद्येनोपपादितम् । अध्वानं गतकश्चायं प्राप्तश्चायं गृहाद्गृहम् ॥

tathā śarīraṃ bhavati dehādyenopapāditam | adhvānaṃ gatakaścāyaṃ prāptaścāyaṃ gṛhādgṛham

So too the body comes into being, produced from a body; like a traveller who has gone along the road and has come from one house to another.

Verse 13 (12.303.13)

द्वितीयं कारणं तत्र नान्यत्किंचन विद्यते । तद्देहं देहिनां युक्तं मोक्षभूतेषु वर्तते ॥

dvitīyaṃ kāraṇaṃ tatra nānyatkiṃcana vidyate | taddehaṃ dehināṃ yuktaṃ mokṣabhūteṣu vartate

In this there is no second cause, nothing else whatever. That body, suited to embodied beings, goes on among creatures on the way to release.

Verse 14 (12.303.14)

शिरास्नाय्वस्थिसंघातं बीभत्सामेध्यसंकुलम् । भूतानामिन्द्रियाणां च गुणानां च समागमम् ॥

śirāsnāyvasthisaṃghātaṃ bībhatsāmedhyasaṃkulam | bhūtānāmindriyāṇāṃ ca guṇānāṃ ca samāgamam

It is a bundle of veins, sinews and bones, repulsive and full of impurities, a meeting-place of the elements, the senses and the qualities.

Verse 15 (12.303.15)

त्वगन्तं देहमित्याहुर्विद्वांसोऽध्यात्मचिन्तकाः । गुणैरपि परिक्षीणं शरीरं मर्त्यतां गतम् ॥

tvagantaṃ dehamityāhurvidvāṃso'dhyātmacintakāḥ | guṇairapi parikṣīṇaṃ śarīraṃ martyatāṃ gatam

The wise, who reflect on the self, call it the body, that which ends in skin. When it is worn away even by the qualities, the body has passed into mortality.

Verse 16 (12.303.16)

शरीरिणा परित्यक्तं निश्चेष्टं गतचेतनम् । भूतैः प्रकृतिमापन्नैस्ततो भूमौ निमज्जति ॥

śarīriṇā parityaktaṃ niśceṣṭaṃ gatacetanam | bhūtaiḥ prakṛtimāpannaistato bhūmau nimajjati

Abandoned by the embodied one, motionless and without consciousness, with its elements returned to their own nature, it then sinks into the earth.

Verse 17 (12.303.17)

भावितं कर्मयोगेन जायते तत्रतत्र ह । इदं शरीरं वैदेह म्रियते यत्रयत्र ह । तत्प्रपाते परो दृष्टो विसर्गः कर्मणस्तथा ॥

bhāvitaṃ karmayogena jāyate tatratatra ha | idaṃ śarīraṃ vaideha mriyate yatrayatra ha | tatprapāte paro dṛṣṭo visargaḥ karmaṇastathā

Shaped by the working of action, it is born again and again, in one place after another. This body, O king of Videha, dies wherever it dies; and at its fall another final discharge of karma is seen.

Note on the text: Three-line verse, as on the page (labelled 12-303-17a/b/c) = CE 12.286.17a, 17c, 17e; line 3 तत्प्रपाते परो दृष्टो against CE tatsvabhāvo 'paro dṛṣṭo is a recension variant (the page's own note gives तत्स्वभावो परो दृष्टो as another reading); kept.

Verse 18 (12.303.18)

न जायते तु नृपते कंचित्कालमयं पुनः । परिभ्रमति भूतात्मा द्यामिवाम्बुधरो महान् ॥

na jāyate tu nṛpate kaṃcitkālamayaṃ punaḥ | paribhramati bhūtātmā dyāmivāmbudharo mahān

For some time it is not born again, O king; the soul of beings wanders about like a great cloud across the sky.

Verse 19 (12.303.19)

स पुनर्जायते राजन्प्राप्येहायतनं नृपः । मनसः परमो ह्यात्मा इन्द्रियेभ्यः परं मनः ॥

sa punarjāyate rājanprāpyehāyatanaṃ nṛpaḥ | manasaḥ paramo hyātmā indriyebhyaḥ paraṃ manaḥ

Then, O king, it is born again, having reached a dwelling here. The self is higher than the mind, and the mind is higher than the senses.

Verse 20 (12.303.20)

विविधानां च भूतानां जङ्गमाः परमा नृप । जङ्गमानामपि तथा द्विपदाः परमा मताः । द्विपदानामपि तथा द्विजा वै परमाः स्मृताः ॥

vividhānāṃ ca bhūtānāṃ jaṅgamāḥ paramā nṛpa | jaṅgamānāmapi tathā dvipadāḥ paramā matāḥ | dvipadānāmapi tathā dvijā vai paramāḥ smṛtāḥ

Among the various kinds of beings the moving are the highest, O king; among the moving, the two-footed are held highest; and among the two-footed, the twice-born are called the highest.

Note on the text: Three-line verse, as on the page (CE 12.286.20a, 20c, 20e). Line 1 विविधानां where CE has dvividhānām; Wikisource's reading is good Sanskrit and is kept as a recension variant.

Verse 21 (12.303.21)

द्विजानामपि राजेन्द्र प्रज्ञावन्तः परा मताः । प्राज्ञानामात्मसंबुद्धाः संबुद्धानाममानिनः ॥

dvijānāmapi rājendra prajñāvantaḥ parā matāḥ | prājñānāmātmasaṃbuddhāḥ saṃbuddhānāmamāninaḥ

Among the twice-born, O best of kings, the wise are held highest; among the wise, those who have awakened to the self; and among those, the free of pride.

Verse 22 (12.303.22)

जातमन्वेति मरणं नृणामिति विनिश्चयः । अन्तवन्ति हि कर्माणि सेवन्ते गुणतः प्रजाः ॥

jātamanveti maraṇaṃ nṛṇāmiti viniścayaḥ | antavanti hi karmāṇi sevante guṇataḥ prajāḥ

Death follows whatever is born; this is the settled view concerning men. Actions have an end, and creatures take them up according to their qualities.

Verse 23 (12.303.23)

आपन्ने तूत्तरां काष्ठां सूर्ये यो निधनं व्रजेत् । नक्षत्रे च मुहूर्ते च पुण्ये राजन्स पुण्यकृत् ॥

āpanne tūttarāṃ kāṣṭhāṃ sūrye yo nidhanaṃ vrajet | nakṣatre ca muhūrte ca puṇye rājansa puṇyakṛt

He who meets death when the sun has reached its northern course, under an auspicious star and at a holy hour, O king, is a doer of merit.

Verse 24 (12.303.24)

अयोजयित्वा क्लेशेन जनं प्लाव्य च दुष्कृतम् । मृत्युनाऽऽत्मकृतेनेह कर्म कृत्वाऽऽत्मशक्तितः ॥

ayojayitvā kleśena janaṃ plāvya ca duṣkṛtam | mṛtyunā''tmakṛteneha karma kṛtvā''tmaśaktitaḥ

Without putting anyone to hardship, having washed away his evil deeds, and having done his work as far as his own strength allowed, he meets a death that is of his own making.

Note on the text: Corrected प्लाप्य → प्लाव्य (misprint in Wikisource; प्लाप्य is not a word; CE plāvya, 'having washed away'; compare प्लाव्यं in verse 37). Line 3 मृत्युनाऽऽत्मकृतेनेह where CE 12.286.24c has mṛtyunāprākṛteneha is a recension variant, kept.

Verse 25 (12.303.25)

विषमुद्बन्धनं दाहो दस्युहस्तात्तथा वधः । दंष्ट्रिभ्यश्च पशुभ्यश्च प्राकृतो वध उच्यते ॥

viṣamudbandhanaṃ dāho dasyuhastāttathā vadhaḥ | daṃṣṭribhyaśca paśubhyaśca prākṛto vadha ucyate

Poison, hanging, fire, death at the hands of robbers, and death by beasts with fangs and by other animals, these are called ordinary deaths.

Note on the text: Corrected तथ वधः → तथा वधः (misprint in Wikisource; the long ā of तथा is dropped; CE tathā vadhaḥ).

Verse 26 (12.303.26)

न चैभिः पुण्यकर्माणो युज्यन्ते चाभिसंधिजैः । एवंविधैश्च बहुभिरपरैः प्राकृतैरपि ॥

na caibhiḥ puṇyakarmāṇo yujyante cābhisaṃdhijaiḥ | evaṃvidhaiśca bahubhiraparaiḥ prākṛtairapi

People of virtuous deeds are not joined to these, nor to deaths that come from deliberate intent, nor to many other such common kinds.

Verse 27 (12.303.27)

ऊर्ध्वं भित्त्वा प्रतिष्ठन्ते प्राणाः पुण्यवतां नृप । मध्यतो मध्यपुण्यानामधो दुष्कृतकर्मणाम् ॥

ūrdhvaṃ bhittvā pratiṣṭhante prāṇāḥ puṇyavatāṃ nṛpa | madhyato madhyapuṇyānāmadho duṣkṛtakarmaṇām

The life-breaths of the meritorious leave upwards, breaking through, O king; those of the middling in merit leave through the middle; and those of evil deeds, downwards.

Verse 28 (12.303.28)

एकः शत्रुर्न द्वितीयोस्ति शत्रु । रज्ञानतुल्यः पुरुषस्य राजन् । येनावृतः कुरुते संप्रयुक्तो । घोराणि कर्माणि सुदारुणानि ॥

ekaḥ śatrurna dvitīyosti śatru | rajñānatulyaḥ puruṣasya rājan | yenāvṛtaḥ kurute saṃprayukto | ghorāṇi karmāṇi sudāruṇāni

There is one enemy and no second: ignorance, to which no enemy of a man is equal, O king. Wrapped in it, a man is driven on to do dreadful and most cruel deeds.

Note on the text: Four lines, as on the page (CE 12.286.28a, 28c with a caesura in each). The page's line ends शत्रु | रज्ञानतुल्यः are the sandhi of शत्रुः अज्ञानतुल्यः across the pada boundary, kept as printed.

Verse 29 (12.303.29)

प्रबोधनार्थं श्रुतिधर्मयुक्तं । वृद्धानुपास्य प्रभवेत यस्य । प्रयत्नसाध्यो हि स राजपुत्र । प्रज्ञाशरेणोन्मथितः परैति ॥

prabodhanārthaṃ śrutidharmayuktaṃ | vṛddhānupāsya prabhaveta yasya | prayatnasādhyo hi sa rājaputra | prajñāśareṇonmathitaḥ paraiti

The man who, by serving the elders, comes to hold the teaching joined to the Veda and dharma that brings awakening, that king's son is one to be won by effort; struck by the arrow of wisdom, he goes beyond.

Note on the text: Four lines, as on the page (CE 12.286.29a, 29c with a caesura in each).

Verse 30 (12.303.30)

अधीत्य वेदं तपसा ब्रह्मचारी । यज्ञाञ्शक्त्या सन्निसृज्येह पञ्च । वनं गच्छेत्पुरुषो धर्मकामः । श्रेयः कृत्वा स्थापयित्वा स्ववंशम् ॥

adhītya vedaṃ tapasā brahmacārī | yajñāñśaktyā sannisṛjyeha pañca | vanaṃ gacchetpuruṣo dharmakāmaḥ | śreyaḥ kṛtvā sthāpayitvā svavaṃśam

Having studied the Veda as a celibate student with austerity, having duly performed the five sacrifices as far as he is able, a man who desires dharma should go to the forest, after doing what is good and establishing his line.

Note on the text: Four lines, as on the page (CE 12.286.30a, 30c with a caesura in each).

Verse 31 (12.303.31)

उपभोगैरपि त्यक्तं नात्मानं सादयेन्नरः । चण्डालत्वेऽपि मानुष्यं सर्वथा तात शोभनम् ॥

upabhogairapi tyaktaṃ nātmānaṃ sādayennaraḥ | caṇḍālatve'pi mānuṣyaṃ sarvathā tāta śobhanam

A man should not let himself sink, even when enjoyments have left him. Even in the state of a chandala, to be human is in every way good, dear one.

Note on the text: Wikisource has नात्मानं सादयेन्नरः and सर्वथा तात शोभनम् where CE 12.286.31 has nātmānam avasādayet and sarvathā tāta durlabham; recension variants, kept.

Verse 32 (12.303.32)

इयं हि योनिः प्रथमा यां प्राप्य जगतीपते । आत्मा वै शक्यते त्रातुं कर्मभिः शुभलक्षणैः ॥

iyaṃ hi yoniḥ prathamā yāṃ prāpya jagatīpate | ātmā vai śakyate trātuṃ karmabhiḥ śubhalakṣaṇaiḥ

This is the first of births, by reaching which, O lord of the earth, one can move in the world; the self can be saved by deeds of good omen.

Note on the text: Corrected जगतीयते → जगतीपते (misprint in Wikisource; जगतीयते is not a word; the vocative जगतीपते is meant, CE jagatīpate).

Verse 33 (12.303.33)

कथं न विप्रणश्येम योनितोस्या इति प्रभो । कुर्वन्ति धर्मं मनुजाः श्रुतिप्रामाण्यदर्शनात् ॥

kathaṃ na vipraṇaśyema yonitosyā iti prabho | kurvanti dharmaṃ manujāḥ śrutiprāmāṇyadarśanāt

“How may we not be lost from this birth, lord?” So thinking, men practise dharma, seeing the authority of the scripture.

Verse 34 (12.303.34)

यो दुर्लभतरं प्राप्य मानुष्यं द्विषते नरः । धर्मावमन्ता कामात्मा भवेत्स खलु वञ्च्यते ॥

yo durlabhataraṃ prāpya mānuṣyaṃ dviṣate naraḥ | dharmāvamantā kāmātmā bhavetsa khalu vañcyate

The man who, having reached the human birth so hard to obtain, comes to hate it, who scorns dharma and is ruled by desire, is surely cheated.

Verse 35 (12.303.35)

यस्तु प्रीतिपुराणेन चक्षुषा तात पश्यति । दीपोपमानि भूतानि यावदर्थान्न पश्यति ॥

yastu prītipurāṇena cakṣuṣā tāta paśyati | dīpopamāni bhūtāni yāvadarthānna paśyati

He who looks, dear one, with the eye of long-standing affection on beings as though they were lamps, and does not look on them as mere things to serve his ends,

Note on the text: Line 1 प्रीतिपुराणेन and line 2 यावदर्थान्न पश्यति against CE 12.286.35 prītipurogeṇa and yāvad arcir na naśyati; Wikisource's readings are good Sanskrit (the page's gloss explains प्रीतिपुराणेन as प्रीत्या चिरंतनेन) and are kept as recension variants. The sentence runs on into the next verse.

Verse 36 (12.303.36)

सान्त्वेनानुप्रदानेन प्रियवादेन चाप्युत । समदुःखसुखो भूत्वा स परत्र महीयते ॥

sāntvenānupradānena priyavādena cāpyuta | samaduḥkhasukho bhūtvā sa paratra mahīyate

by soothing words, by giving, and by kind speech, being the same in pain and pleasure, he is honoured in the world beyond.

Verse 37 (12.303.37)

दानं त्यागः शोभना मूर्तिमद्भ्यो । भूयः प्लाव्यं तपसा वै शरीरम् । सरस्वतीनैमिषपुष्करेषु । ये चाप्यन्ये पुण्यदेशाः पृथिव्याम् ॥

dānaṃ tyāgaḥ śobhanā mūrtimadbhyo | bhūyaḥ plāvyaṃ tapasā vai śarīram | sarasvatīnaimiṣapuṣkareṣu | ye cāpyanye puṇyadeśāḥ pṛthivyām

Giving and renunciation are fair for embodied beings; and the body is to be cleansed further by austerity, at the Sarasvati, at Naimisha, at Pushkara, and in whatever other holy places there are on earth.

Note on the text: Corrected मुर्तिमद्भ्यो → मूर्तिमद्भ्यो (misprint in Wikisource; short उ for long ऊ; CE mūrtir adbhyo, and मूर्तिमत् is the word for 'embodied'). Four lines, as on the page (CE 12.286.37a, 37c with a caesura in each).

Verse 38 (12.303.38)

गृहेषु येषामसवः पतन्ति । तेषामथो निर्हरणं प्रशस्तम् । यानेन वै प्रापणं च श्मशाने । शुचौ देशे विधिना चैव दाहः ॥

gṛheṣu yeṣāmasavaḥ patanti | teṣāmatho nirharaṇaṃ praśastam | yānena vai prāpaṇaṃ ca śmaśāne | śucau deśe vidhinā caiva dāhaḥ

For those in whose houses the life-breaths depart, to be carried out is the praised course: to be borne on a conveyance to the burning-ground, and to be burned in a pure place according to rule.

Note on the text: Four lines, as on the page (CE 12.286.38a, 38c with a caesura in each). Line 4 शुचौ देशे विधिना चैव दाहः where CE has śaucena nūnaṃ vidhinā caiva dāhaḥ (the page's own note gives शौचेनं नूनं as another reading); kept.

Verse 39 (12.303.39)

इष्टिः पुष्टिर्यजनं याजनं च । दानं पुण्यानां कर्मणां च प्रयोगः । शक्त्या पित्र्यं यच्च किंचित्प्रशस्तं । सर्वाण्यात्मार्थे मानवोऽयं करोति ॥

iṣṭiḥ puṣṭiryajanaṃ yājanaṃ ca | dānaṃ puṇyānāṃ karmaṇāṃ ca prayogaḥ | śaktyā pitryaṃ yacca kiṃcitpraśastaṃ | sarvāṇyātmārthe mānavo'yaṃ karoti

Sacrifice, nourishing rites, performing sacrifices and officiating at those of others, giving, the practice of meritorious acts, and whatever is praised in offerings to the ancestors as far as one's strength allows: all this a man does for his own sake.

Note on the text: Corrected दार्ग → दानं (misprint in Wikisource; दार्ग is not a word; CE dānaṃ). Four lines, as on the page (CE 12.286.39a, 39c with a caesura in each). Line 4 सर्वाण्यात्मार्थे मानवोऽयं करोति where CE has mānavo yaḥ karoti; a recension variant, kept.

Verse 40 (12.303.40)

गृहस्थानां च सर्वेषां विनाशमभिकाङ्क्षताम् । निधनं शोभनं तात पुलिनेषु क्रियावताम् ॥

gṛhasthānāṃ ca sarveṣāṃ vināśamabhikāṅkṣatām | nidhanaṃ śobhanaṃ tāta pulineṣu kriyāvatām

For all householders who wish to pass away, dear one, death on the banks of sacred waters is fair, for those who are faithful to their rites.

Note on the text: Removed the stray backtick and quote mark (and the doubled daṇḍa) printed round the verse. It repeats verse 10 with च for तु; the page prints it as 12-303-40. Not in the critical edition at this place (the CE has this verse only once, 12.286.10); found in the vulgate recension.

Verse 41 (12.303.41)

धर्मशास्त्राणि वेदाश्च षडङ्गानि नराधिप । श्रेयसोर्थे विधीयन्ते नरस्याक्लिष्टकर्मणः ॥

dharmaśāstrāṇi vedāśca ṣaḍaṅgāni narādhipa | śreyasorthe vidhīyante narasyākliṣṭakarmaṇaḥ

The treatises on dharma and the Vedas with their six limbs are laid down, O lord of men, for the highest good of the man whose deeds are untroubled.

Note on the text: Corrected ष़डङ्गानि → षडङ्गानि (misprint in Wikisource; a stray nukta under ष).

Verse 42 (12.303.42)

एतद्वै सर्वमाख्यातं मुनिना सुमहात्मना । विदेहराजाय पुरा श्रेयसोर्थे नराधिप ॥

etadvai sarvamākhyātaṃ muninā sumahātmanā | videharājāya purā śreyasorthe narādhipa

All this was told long ago by the great-souled sage to the king of Videha, for the sake of the highest good, O lord of men.

Note on the text: Corrected श्रयेसोर्थे → श्रेयसोर्थे (misprint in Wikisource; the letters of श्रेयस् are transposed; CE śreyaso 'rthe).