The Bhrigu Sage Instructs a Prince of Janaka's Line

Verse 1 (12.314.1)

मृगयां विचरन्कश्चिद्विजने जनकात्मजः । वने ददर्श विप्रेन्द्रमृषिं वंशधरं भृगोः ॥

mṛgayāṃ vicarankaścidvijane janakātmajaḥ | vane dadarśa viprendramṛṣiṃ vaṃśadharaṃ bhṛgoḥ

Once a prince of Janaka's line, roaming in a lonely wood while hunting, saw in the forest a chief of the Brahmins, a sage who carried on the line of Bhrigu.

Verse 2 (12.314.2)

तमासीनमुपासीनः प्रणम्य शिरसा मुनिम् । पश्चादनुमतस्तेन पप्रच्छ वसुमानिदम् ॥

tamāsīnamupāsīnaḥ praṇamya śirasā munim | paścādanumatastena papraccha vasumānidam

Bowing his head to the seated sage, he sat near him; then, with the sage's leave, Vasuman asked this:

Verse 3 (12.314.3)

भगवन्किमिदं श्रेयः प्रेत्य चापीह वा भवेत् । पुरुषस्याध्रुवे देहे कामस्य वशवर्तिनः ॥

bhagavankimidaṃ śreyaḥ pretya cāpīha vā bhavet | puruṣasyādhruve dehe kāmasya vaśavartinaḥ

"Lord, what is the good for a man in his impermanent body, who is ruled by desire, hereafter and here?"

Note on the text: The page prints no speaker heading for this verse (the heading before it is Bhishma's); the verse is wholly Vasuman's direct speech, so it is given to him.

Verse 4 (12.314.4)

सत्कृत्य परिपृष्टः सन्सुमहात्मा महातपाः । निजगाद ततस्तस्मै श्रेयस्करमिदं वचः ॥

satkṛtya paripṛṣṭaḥ sansumahātmā mahātapāḥ | nijagāda tatastasmai śreyaskaramidaṃ vacaḥ

Honoured and questioned, that great-souled and greatly ascetic man then spoke these words that lead to the highest good.

Verse 5 (12.314.5)

मनसः प्रतिकूलानि प्रेत्य चेह नचेच्छसि । भूतानां प्रतिकूलेभ्यो निवर्तस्व यतेन्द्रियः ॥

manasaḥ pratikūlāni pretya ceha nacecchasi | bhūtānāṃ pratikūlebhyo nivartasva yatendriyaḥ

You do not wish for what is adverse to your own mind, hereafter or here; so turn away from what is adverse to other beings, with your senses restrained.

Note on the text: Corrected निवर्तस्य → निवर्तस्व (misprint in Wikisource; second-person ātmanepada imperative is निवर्तस्व; CE nivartasva).

Verse 6 (12.314.6)

धर्मः सदा हितः पुंसां धर्मश्चैवाश्रयः सताम् । धर्माल्लोकास्त्रयस्तात प्रवृत्ताः सचराचराः ॥

dharmaḥ sadā hitaḥ puṃsāṃ dharmaścaivāśrayaḥ satām | dharmāllokāstrayastāta pravṛttāḥ sacarācarāḥ

Dharma is ever the good of men, and dharma is the support of the good. From dharma, my son, the three worlds, with all that moves and does not move, have come forth.

Verse 7 (12.314.7)

स्वादुकामुक कामानां वैतृष्ण्यं किं न गच्छसि । मधु पश्यसि दुर्बुद्धे प्रपातं नानुपश्यसि ॥

svādukāmuka kāmānāṃ vaitṛṣṇyaṃ kiṃ na gacchasi | madhu paśyasi durbuddhe prapātaṃ nānupaśyasi

O lover of sweetness, craving pleasures, why do you not turn from desires? You see the honey, O fool, and do not see the fall.

Verse 8 (12.314.8)

यथा ज्ञाने परिचयः कर्तव्यस्तत्फलार्थिना । तथा धर्मे परिचयः कर्तव्यस्तत्फलार्थिना ॥

yathā jñāne paricayaḥ kartavyastatphalārthinā | tathā dharme paricayaḥ kartavyastatphalārthinā

As one who seeks the fruit of knowledge must practise knowledge, so one who seeks the fruit of dharma must practise dharma.

Verse 9 (12.314.9)

असता धर्मकामेन विशुद्धं कर्म दुष्करम् । सता तु धर्मकामेन सुकरं कर्म दुष्करम् ॥

asatā dharmakāmena viśuddhaṃ karma duṣkaram | satā tu dharmakāmena sukaraṃ karma duṣkaram

For a bad man who desires dharma, pure action is hard to do; for a good man who desires dharma, action that is easy for him is hard for others.

Verse 10 (12.314.10)

वने ग्राम्यसुखाचारो यथाग्राम्यस्तथैव सः । ग्रामे वनसुखाचारो यथा वनचरस्तथा ॥

vane grāmyasukhācāro yathāgrāmyastathaiva saḥ | grāme vanasukhācāro yathā vanacarastathā

A man who lives in the forest by the pleasures of the village is a villager still; and one who lives in the village by the pleasures of the forest is a forest-dweller.

Verse 11 (12.314.11)

मनोवाक्कर्मगे धर्मे कुरु श्रद्धां समाहितः । निवृत्तौ वा प्रवृत्तौ वा संप्रधार्य गुणागुणान् ॥

manovākkarmage dharme kuru śraddhāṃ samāhitaḥ | nivṛttau vā pravṛttau vā saṃpradhārya guṇāguṇān

Place your faith, with a collected mind, in dharma that rests in thought, speech and action, having weighed the merits and faults of withdrawal and of engagement.

Verse 12 (12.314.12)

नित्यं च बहु दातव्यं साधुभ्यश्चानसूयता । प्रार्थितं ब्राह्मणेभ्यश्च सत्कृतं देशकालयोः ॥

nityaṃ ca bahu dātavyaṃ sādhubhyaścānasūyatā | prārthitaṃ brāhmaṇebhyaśca satkṛtaṃ deśakālayoḥ

Give much, always, to the good, without malice; give what is asked by Brahmins, with honour, at the right place and time.

Verse 13 (12.314.13)

शुभेन विधिना लब्धमर्हाय प्रतिपादयेत् । क्रोधमुत्सृज्य दत्त्वाऽथ नानुतप्येन्न कीर्तयेत् ॥

śubhena vidhinā labdhamarhāya pratipādayet | krodhamutsṛjya dattvā'tha nānutapyenna kīrtayet

What has been gained by right means should be given to the worthy; having cast off anger, and having given, one should neither regret it nor proclaim it.

Verse 14 (12.314.14)

अनृशंसः शुचिर्दान्तः सत्यवागार्जवे स्थितः । योनिकर्मविशुद्धश्च पात्रं स्याद्वेदविद्द्विजः ॥

anṛśaṃsaḥ śucirdāntaḥ satyavāgārjave sthitaḥ | yonikarmaviśuddhaśca pātraṃ syādvedaviddvijaḥ

Not cruel, pure, self-controlled, truthful in speech, steady in uprightness, pure in birth and conduct: such a twice-born learned in the Veda is a worthy recipient.

Verse 15 (12.314.15)

संस्कृता चैकपत्नी च जात्या योनिरिहेष्यते । ऋग्यजुःसामगो विद्वान्षट्कर्मा पात्रमुच्यते ॥

saṃskṛtā caikapatnī ca jātyā yoniriheṣyate | ṛgyajuḥsāmago vidvānṣaṭkarmā pātramucyate

Here, as to origin by birth, the womb should be that of a consecrated woman who is a wife to one man alone; and a learned man versed in the Rig, Yajus and Sama Vedas, who performs the six duties, is called a worthy recipient.

Note on the text: Corrected षट्‌कर्मा → षट्कर्मा (misprint in Wikisource; a stray zero-width non-joiner inside the conjunct).

Verse 16 (12.314.16)

स एव धर्मः सोऽधर्मस्तं तं प्रति नरं भवेत् । पात्रकर्मविशेषेण देशकालाववेक्ष्य च ॥

sa eva dharmaḥ so'dharmastaṃ taṃ prati naraṃ bhavet | pātrakarmaviśeṣeṇa deśakālāvavekṣya ca

The same thing may be dharma and adharma for this man or that, according to the difference of recipient and deed, with regard to place and time.

Note on the text: Corrected पात्राकर्म → पात्रकर्म (misprint in Wikisource; stray ा; CE pātrakarmaviśeṣeṇa).

Verse 17 (12.314.17)

लीलयाऽल्पं यथा गात्रात्प्रमृज्यात्तु रजः पुमान् । बहुयत्नेन च महत्पापनिर्हरणं तथा ॥

līlayā'lpaṃ yathā gātrātpramṛjyāttu rajaḥ pumān | bahuyatnena ca mahatpāpanirharaṇaṃ tathā

As a man can wipe a little dust from his body with ease, but the removal of great sin takes great effort.

Verse 18 (12.314.18)

विरिक्तस्य यथा सम्यग्घृतं भवति भेषजम् । तथा निर्हृतदोषस्य प्रेत्य धर्मः सुखावहः ॥

viriktasya yathā samyagghṛtaṃ bhavati bheṣajam | tathā nirhṛtadoṣasya pretya dharmaḥ sukhāvahaḥ

As ghee is the proper medicine for one who has been purged, so dharma brings happiness hereafter to him whose faults have been removed.

Verse 19 (12.314.19)

मानसं सर्वभूतेषु वर्तते वै शुभाशुभम् । अशुभेभ्यः समाक्षिप्य शुभेष्वेवावधारय ॥

mānasaṃ sarvabhūteṣu vartate vai śubhāśubham | aśubhebhyaḥ samākṣipya śubheṣvevāvadhāraya

In all beings the mind moves among good and bad; draw it away from the bad and fix it on the good alone.

Note on the text: After this verse the CE has a star passage (12.297.019d*0762_01-02, mānasaṃ vṛddhasevābhir duḥkhaṃ śārīram auṣadhaiḥ / vācikaṃ mantrajāpyena vidvān yatnād vināśayet) that Wikisource does not have; not added.

Verse 20 (12.314.20)

सर्वं सर्वेण सर्वत्र क्रियमाणं च पूजय । स्वधर्मे यत्र रागस्ते कामं धर्मो विधीयताम् ॥

sarvaṃ sarveṇa sarvatra kriyamāṇaṃ ca pūjaya | svadharme yatra rāgaste kāmaṃ dharmo vidhīyatām

Honour whatever is being done by anyone anywhere; and in your own duty, wherever your heart is drawn, let dharma be practised as you will.

Note on the text: Corrected सर्वेणा → सर्वेण (misprint in Wikisource; stray ा; CE sarveṇa).

Verse 21 (12.314.21)

अधृतात्मन्धृतौ तिष्ठ दुर्बुद्धे बुद्धिमान्भव । अप्रशान्तः प्रशाम्य त्वमप्राज्ञः प्राज्ञवच्चर ॥

adhṛtātmandhṛtau tiṣṭha durbuddhe buddhimānbhava | apraśāntaḥ praśāmya tvamaprājñaḥ prājñavaccara

O unsteady one, stay in steadiness; O foolish one, become wise; restless one, grow calm; ignorant one, act like the wise.

Note on the text: Corrected दुर्बद्धे → दुर्बुद्धे (misprint in Wikisource; ब for बु; compare दुर्बुद्धे in verse 7 and CE durbuddhe).

Verse 22 (12.314.22)

तेजसा शक्यते प्राप्तुमुपायः सहचारिणा । इह च प्रेत्य च श्रेयस्तस्य मूलं धृतिः परा ॥

tejasā śakyate prāptumupāyaḥ sahacāriṇā | iha ca pretya ca śreyastasya mūlaṃ dhṛtiḥ parā

It can be attained by energy accompanied by the right means. The root of the good, here and hereafter, is supreme steadiness.

Verse 23 (12.314.23)

राजर्षिरधृतिः स्वर्गात्पतितो हि महाभिषः । ययातिः क्षीणपुण्योपि धृत्या लोकानवाप्तवान् ॥

rājarṣiradhṛtiḥ svargātpatito hi mahābhiṣaḥ | yayātiḥ kṣīṇapuṇyopi dhṛtyā lokānavāptavān

The royal sage Mahabhisha, lacking steadiness, fell from heaven; and Yayati, whose merit was spent, regained the worlds through steadiness.

Verse 24 (12.314.24)

तपस्विनां धर्मवतां विदुषां चोपसेवनात् । प्राप्स्यसे विपुलां बुद्धिं तथा श्रेयोऽभिपत्स्यसे ॥

tapasvināṃ dharmavatāṃ viduṣāṃ copasevanāt | prāpsyase vipulāṃ buddhiṃ tathā śreyo'bhipatsyase

By serving ascetics, the righteous and the learned, you will gain wide understanding and will find the good.

Note on the text: After this verse the CE has a star passage (12.297.024d*0763_01-02, sa tu vipras tathā pṛṣṭo rājñā jānakinā vane / proktavān akhilaṃ dharmaṃ mokṣāśramam anuttamam) that Wikisource does not have; not added.

Verse 25 (12.314.25)

स तु स्वभावसंपन्नस्तच्छ्रुत्वा मुनिभाषितम् । विनिवर्त्य मनः कामाद्धर्मे बुद्धिं चकार ह ॥

sa tu svabhāvasaṃpannastacchrutvā munibhāṣitam | vinivartya manaḥ kāmāddharme buddhiṃ cakāra ha

That man, of good nature, hearing the sage's words, turned his mind away from desire and set his understanding on dharma.