Yudhishthira Resolves to Leave the World

Verse 1 (12.9.1)

मुहूर्तं तावदेकाग्रो मनः श्रोत्रेऽन्तरात्मनि । धारयन्नपि ते श्रुत्वा रोचते वचनं मम ॥

muhūrtaṃ tāvadekāgro manaḥ śrotre'ntarātmani | dhārayannapi te śrutvā rocate vacanaṃ mama

Hold your mind steady for a moment, single-pointed and turned inward to the self, and listen. Once you have heard it, my word will please you.

Verse 2 (12.9.2)

सार्थगम्यमहं मार्गं न जातु त्वत्कृते पुनः । गच्छेयं तं गमिष्यामि हित्वा ग्राम्यसुखान्युत ॥

sārthagamyamahaṃ mārgaṃ na jātu tvatkṛte punaḥ | gaccheyaṃ taṃ gamiṣyāmi hitvā grāmyasukhānyuta

The road that many travel together, I will never take again for your sake. I will go by the other road, leaving behind the pleasures of village life.

Verse 3 (12.9.3)

क्षेम्यश्चैकाकिना गम्यः पन्था कोस्तीति पृच्छ माम् । अथवा नेच्छसि प्रष्टुमपृच्छन्नपि मे शृणु ॥

kṣemyaścaikākinā gamyaḥ panthā kostīti pṛccha mām | athavā necchasi praṣṭumapṛcchannapi me śṛṇu

Ask me which path is safe for a man to walk alone. Or if you do not wish to ask, hear it from me unasked.

Verse 4 (12.9.4)

हित्वा ग्राम्यसुखाचारं तप्यमानो महत्तपः । अरण्ये फलमूलाशी चरिष्यामि मृगैः सह ॥

hitvā grāmyasukhācāraṃ tapyamāno mahattapaḥ | araṇye phalamūlāśī cariṣyāmi mṛgaiḥ saha

Giving up the ways of village pleasure and practising great austerity, I will wander in the forest among the deer, living on fruits and roots.

Verse 5 (12.9.5)

जुह्वानोऽग्निं यथाकालमुभौ कालावुपस्पृशन् । कृशः परिमिताहारश्चर्मचीरजटाधरः ॥

juhvāno'gniṃ yathākālamubhau kālāvupaspṛśan | kṛśaḥ parimitāhāraścarmacīrajaṭādharaḥ

I will pour oblations into the fire at the proper times and bathe at both junctures of the day. Lean, eating sparingly, wearing bark, deerskin and matted locks,

Verse 6 (12.9.6)

शीतवातातपसहः क्षुत्पिपासाश्रमक्षमः । तपसा विधिदृष्टेन शरीरमुपशोषयन् ॥

śītavātātapasahaḥ kṣutpipāsāśramakṣamaḥ | tapasā vidhidṛṣṭena śarīramupaśoṣayan

bearing cold, wind and heat, able to endure hunger, thirst and toil, I will dry up my body by austerity as the rule prescribes,

Verse 7 (12.9.7)

मनःकर्णसुखा नित्यं शृण्वन्नुच्चावचा गिरः । मुदितानामरण्येषु नदतां मृगपक्षिणाम् ॥

manaḥkarṇasukhā nityaṃ śṛṇvannuccāvacā giraḥ | muditānāmaraṇyeṣu nadatāṃ mṛgapakṣiṇām

ever listening to the many sweet voices, pleasing to mind and ear, of the deer and birds that call out joyfully in the forests,

Note on the text: Corrected श्रृण्वन् → शृण्वन् (misprint in Wikisource; श्र + ृ is not a valid spelling; the critical edition has śṛṇvann). Line 2 ends nadatāṃ where the critical edition reads vasatāṃ (recension variant).

Verse 8 (12.9.8)

आजिघ्रन्पेशलान्गन्धान्फुल्लानां वृक्षवीरुधाम् । नानारूपान्वने पश्यन्रमणीयान्वनौकसः ॥

ājighranpeśalāngandhānphullānāṃ vṛkṣavīrudhām | nānārūpānvane paśyanramaṇīyānvanaukasaḥ

breathing in the delicate fragrance of the flowering trees and creepers, and gazing in the forest at its lovely creatures of many shapes,

Verse 9 (12.9.9)

वानप्रस्थजनस्यापि दर्शनं कूलवासिनः । नाप्रियाण्याचरिष्यामि किंपुनर्ग्रामवासिनाम् ॥

vānaprasthajanasyāpi darśanaṃ kūlavāsinaḥ | nāpriyāṇyācariṣyāmi kiṃpunargrāmavāsinām

I will do nothing displeasing even to the forest hermits when I meet their eyes, or to those who live along the riverbanks. How much less to villagers?

Note on the text: Line 2 reads कूलवासिनः (riverbank-dwellers); the critical edition has kulavāsinaḥ. Wikisource's reading is good Sanskrit, so it is kept.

Verse 10 (12.9.10)

एकान्तशीली विमृशन्पक्वापक्वेन वर्तयन् । पितॄन्देवांश्च वन्येन वाग्भिरद्भिश्च तर्पयन् ॥

ekāntaśīlī vimṛśanpakvāpakvena vartayan | pitṝndevāṃśca vanyena vāgbhiradbhiśca tarpayan

Living in solitude, reflecting, sustaining myself on whatever is ripe or unripe, I will satisfy the ancestors and gods with forest produce, with words and with water,

Verse 11 (12.9.11)

एवमारण्यशास्त्राणामुग्रमुग्रतरं विधिम् । सेवमानः प्रतीक्षिष्ये देहस्यास्य समापनम् ॥

evamāraṇyaśāstrāṇāmugramugrataraṃ vidhim | sevamānaḥ pratīkṣiṣye dehasyāsya samāpanam

and so, following the rule of the forest scriptures, severe and ever more severe, I will wait for the end of this body.

Verse 12 (12.9.12)

अथवैकोऽहमेकाहमेकैकस्मिन्वनस्पतौ । चरन्भैक्षं मुनिर्मुण्डः क्षपयिष्ये कलेवरम् ॥

athavaiko'hamekāhamekaikasminvanaspatau | caranbhaikṣaṃ munirmuṇḍaḥ kṣapayiṣye kalevaram

Or else I will go alone, staying a single day at each tree, a shaven-headed sage begging for alms, and so wear this body away,

Verse 13 (12.9.13)

पांसुभिः समभिच्छन्नः शून्यागारप्रतिश्रयः । वृक्षमूलनिकेतो वा त्यक्तसर्वप्रियाप्रियः ॥

pāṃsubhiḥ samabhicchannaḥ śūnyāgārapratiśrayaḥ | vṛkṣamūlaniketo vā tyaktasarvapriyāpriyaḥ

covered with dust, lodging in an empty house, or making my home at the foot of a tree, having abandoned everything pleasant and unpleasant,

Verse 14 (12.9.14)

न शोचन्न प्रहृष्यंश्च तुल्यनिन्दात्मसंस्तुतिः । निराशीर्निर्ममो भूत्वा निर्द्वन्द्वो निष्परिग्रहः ॥

na śocanna prahṛṣyaṃśca tulyanindātmasaṃstutiḥ | nirāśīrnirmamo bhūtvā nirdvandvo niṣparigrahaḥ

neither grieving nor rejoicing, counting blame and praise of myself as the same, free of hope and of possessiveness, beyond the pairs of opposites, owning nothing,

Verse 15 (12.9.15)

आत्मारामः प्रसन्नात्मा जडान्धबधिराकृतिः । अकुर्वाणः परैः कांचित्संविदं जातु कैरपि ॥

ātmārāmaḥ prasannātmā jaḍāndhabadhirākṛtiḥ | akurvāṇaḥ paraiḥ kāṃcitsaṃvidaṃ jātu kairapi

delighting in the self, serene in mind, with the look of one dull, blind and deaf, never making any agreement with anyone,

Verse 16 (12.9.16)

जङ्गमाजङ्गमान्सर्वानविहिंसंश्चतुर्विधान् । प्रजाः सर्वाः स्वधर्मस्थाः समः प्राणभृतः प्रति ॥

jaṅgamājaṅgamānsarvānavihiṃsaṃścaturvidhān | prajāḥ sarvāḥ svadharmasthāḥ samaḥ prāṇabhṛtaḥ prati

harming no being, moving or unmoving, of the four kinds, regarding all creatures, each established in its own nature, with equal eye,

Verse 17 (12.9.17)

न चाप्यवहसन्कंचिन्न कुर्वन्भ्रुकुटीः क्वचित् । प्रसन्नवदनो नित्यं सर्वेन्द्रियसुसंयतः ॥

na cāpyavahasankaṃcinna kurvanbhrukuṭīḥ kvacit | prasannavadano nityaṃ sarvendriyasusaṃyataḥ

mocking no one, never knitting my brows, with a serene face, ever with all my senses well restrained,

Verse 18 (12.9.18)

अपृच्छन्कस्यचिन्मार्गं प्रव्रजन्नेव केनचित् । न देशं न दिशं कांचिद्गन्तुमिच्छन्विशेषतः ॥

apṛcchankasyacinmārgaṃ pravrajanneva kenacit | na deśaṃ na diśaṃ kāṃcidgantumicchanviśeṣataḥ

asking no one the way, going wherever any road leads, with no wish to reach any particular place or direction,

Verse 19 (12.9.19)

गमने निरपेक्षश्च पश्चादनवलोकयन् । ऋजुः प्रणिहितो गच्छन्स्त्रीसंस्थापरिवर्जकः ॥

gamane nirapekṣaśca paścādanavalokayan | ṛjuḥ praṇihito gacchanstrīsaṃsthāparivarjakaḥ

indifferent about the journey, never looking back, going straight and attentive, and keeping away from the company of women.

Verse 20 (12.9.20)

स्वभावस्तु प्रयात्यग्रे प्रभवन्त्यशनान्यपि । द्वन्द्वानि च विरुद्धानि तानि सर्वाण्यचिन्तयन् ॥

svabhāvastu prayātyagre prabhavantyaśanānyapi | dvandvāni ca viruddhāni tāni sarvāṇyacintayan

Let my own nature go ahead of me; food too will come of itself. As for the clashing pairs of opposites, I will give none of them a thought.

Verse 21 (12.9.21)

अल्पं वा स्वादु वा भोज्यं पूर्वालाभेन जातुचित् । अन्येष्वपि चरँल्लाभमलाभे सप्त पूरयन् ॥

alpaṃ vā svādu vā bhojyaṃ pūrvālābhena jātucit | anyeṣvapi caram̐llābhamalābhe sapta pūrayan

Whether the food is scanty or tasty, if I get none at the first house I will go on to others, and when I find nothing, I will make up the round at seven houses.

Verse 22 (12.9.22)

विधूमे न्यस्तमुसले व्यङ्गारे भुक्तवज्जने । अतीतपात्रसंचारे काले विगतभिक्षुके ॥

vidhūme nyastamusale vyaṅgāre bhuktavajjane | atītapātrasaṃcāre kāle vigatabhikṣuke

When the smoke has cleared, the pestle is put away, the embers are dead, the household has eaten, the vessels have stopped moving about, and the beggars have gone,

Verse 23 (12.9.23)

एककालं चरन्भैक्षं त्रीनथ द्वे च पञ्च वा । स्नेहपाशं विमुच्याहं चरिष्यामि महीमिमाम् ॥

ekakālaṃ caranbhaikṣaṃ trīnatha dve ca pañca vā | snehapāśaṃ vimucyāhaṃ cariṣyāmi mahīmimām

I will go for alms once a day, to three houses, or two, or five, and so wander over this earth, having cut the bonds of affection.

Verse 24 (12.9.24)

अलाभे सति वा लाभे समदर्शी महातपाः । न जिजीविषुवत्किंचिन्न मुमूर्षुवदाचरन् ॥

alābhe sati vā lābhe samadarśī mahātapāḥ | na jijīviṣuvatkiṃcinna mumūrṣuvadācaran

Looking on gain and loss alike, a great ascetic, I will live neither like one who clings to life nor like one who longs for death,

Note on the text: Not matched by the alignment. Line 1 is the critical edition's star passage 12.9.23d* (*0010_01, printed in the apparatus); line 2 is CE 12.9.24a. Wikisource's line 1 here repeats 23d* exactly.

Verse 25 (12.9.25)

जीवितं मरणं चैव नाभिनन्दन्न च द्विषन् । वास्यैकं तक्षतो बाहुं चन्दनेनैकमुक्षतः । नाकल्याणं न कल्याणं चिन्तयन्नुभयोस्तयोः ॥

jīvitaṃ maraṇaṃ caiva nābhinandanna ca dviṣan | vāsyaikaṃ takṣato bāhuṃ candanenaikamukṣataḥ | nākalyāṇaṃ na kalyāṇaṃ cintayannubhayostayoḥ

neither welcoming life nor death, nor hating either, thinking neither ill nor good of two men, one of whom hews my arm with an adze while the other anoints my other arm with sandalwood.

Note on the text: Corrected द्विपन् → द्विषन् (misprint in Wikisource; ष for प; the critical edition reads dviṣan) and एकपुक्षतः → एकमुक्षतः (misprint; म for प; the critical edition reads candanenaikam ukṣataḥ). Not matched by the alignment: the three lines are CE 12.9.24c, 25a, 25c (Wikisource's verse boundaries differ from the CE's).

Verse 26 (12.9.26)

याः काश्चिज्जीवता शक्याः कर्तुमभ्युदयक्रियाः । सर्वास्ताः समभित्यज्य निमेषादिव्यवस्थितः ॥

yāḥ kāścijjīvatā śakyāḥ kartumabhyudayakriyāḥ | sarvāstāḥ samabhityajya nimeṣādivyavasthitaḥ

All the works of advancement that a living man can undertake I will wholly abandon, keeping to nothing beyond the mere opening and closing of the eyes and the like.

Verse 27 (12.9.27)

तेषु नित्यमसक्तश्च त्यक्तसर्वेन्द्रियक्रियः । अपरित्यक्तसंकल्पः सुनिर्णिक्तात्मकल्मषः ॥

teṣu nityamasaktaśca tyaktasarvendriyakriyaḥ | aparityaktasaṃkalpaḥ sunirṇiktātmakalmaṣaḥ

Ever unattached to even these, having laid aside all the activity of the senses, yet not letting go of my resolve, with the stain of the soul thoroughly washed away,

Note on the text: Corrected कल्मपः → कल्मषः (misprint in Wikisource; ष for प; the critical edition reads kalmaṣaḥ). Line 1 matches CE; line 2 begins अपरित्यक्त- where the critical edition has suparityakta- (recension variant).

Verse 28 (12.9.28)

विमुक्तः सर्वसङ्गेभ्यो व्यतीतः सर्ववागुराः । न वशे कस्यचित्तिष्ठन्सधर्मा मातरिश्वनः ॥

vimuktaḥ sarvasaṅgebhyo vyatītaḥ sarvavāgurāḥ | na vaśe kasyacittiṣṭhansadharmā mātariśvanaḥ

freed from every tie, gone beyond all snares, subject to no one, of one nature with the wind,

Verse 29 (12.9.29)

वीतरागश्चरन्नेवं तुष्टिं प्राप्स्यामि मानसीम् । तृष्णया हि महत्पापमज्ञानादस्मि कारितः ॥

vītarāgaścarannevaṃ tuṣṭiṃ prāpsyāmi mānasīm | tṛṣṇayā hi mahatpāpamajñānādasmi kāritaḥ

I will wander thus, free of passion, and attain a contentment of the mind. For through craving, and out of ignorance, I have been made to commit a great sin.

Verse 30 (12.9.30)

कुशलाकुशलान्येके कृत्वा कर्माणि मानवाः । कार्यकारणसंश्लिष्टं स्वजनं नाम बिभ्रति ॥

kuśalākuśalānyeke kṛtvā karmāṇi mānavāḥ | kāryakāraṇasaṃśliṣṭaṃ svajanaṃ nāma bibhrati

Some men, having done good and evil deeds, cherish what they call their own people, who are bound up with them as cause and effect.

Note on the text: Corrected ब्रिभ्रति → बिभ्रति (misprint in Wikisource; the critical edition reads bibhrati).

Verse 31 (12.9.31)

आयुषोऽन्ते प्रहायेदं क्षीणप्राणं कलेवरम् । प्रतिगृह्णाति तत्पापं कर्तुः कर्मफलं हि तत् ॥

āyuṣo'nte prahāyedaṃ kṣīṇaprāṇaṃ kalevaram | pratigṛhṇāti tatpāpaṃ kartuḥ karmaphalaṃ hi tat

At the end of life, leaving behind this body whose breath is spent, he takes on that sin, for it is the fruit of the doer's deed.

Note on the text: Corrected आयुपोऽन्ते → आयुषोऽन्ते (misprint in Wikisource; ष for प; the critical edition reads āyuṣo 'nte). Line 1 has क्षीणप्राणं where the critical edition has kṣīṇaprāyaṃ (recension variant).

Verse 32 (12.9.32)

एवं संसारचक्रेऽस्मिन्व्याविद्धे रथचक्रवत् । समेति भूतग्रामोऽयं भूतग्रामेण कार्यवान् ॥

evaṃ saṃsāracakre'sminvyāviddhe rathacakravat | sameti bhūtagrāmo'yaṃ bhūtagrāmeṇa kāryavān

So, in this wheel of rebirth, whirled round like the wheel of a chariot, this host of beings meets another host of beings, each with its own business.

Verse 33 (12.9.33)

जन्ममृत्युजराव्याधिवेदनाभिरभिद्रुतम् । अपारमिव चास्वस्थं संसारं त्यजतः सुखम् ॥

janmamṛtyujarāvyādhivedanābhirabhidrutam | apāramiva cāsvasthaṃ saṃsāraṃ tyajataḥ sukham

For one who gives up this round of rebirth, which seems without end and is full of unease, beset by birth, death, old age, disease and pain, there is happiness.

Verse 34 (12.9.34)

दिवः पतत्सु देवेषु स्थानेभ्यश्च महर्षिषु । को हि नाम भवेनार्थी भवेत्कारणतत्त्ववित् ॥

divaḥ patatsu deveṣu sthānebhyaśca maharṣiṣu | ko hi nāma bhavenārthī bhavetkāraṇatattvavit

When even the gods are falling from heaven and the great sages from their stations, what man who knows the truth of causes would still seek worldly existence?

Verse 35 (12.9.35)

कृत्वा हि विविधं कर्म तत्तद्विविधलक्षणम् । पार्थिवैर्नृपतिः स्वल्पैः कारणैरेव बध्यते ॥

kṛtvā hi vividhaṃ karma tattadvividhalakṣaṇam | pārthivairnṛpatiḥ svalpaiḥ kāraṇaireva badhyate

After performing many kinds of action, each with its own marks, a king is bound by lesser princes, for reasons even slight.

Verse 36 (12.9.36)

तस्मात्प्रज्ञामृतमिदं चिरान्मां प्रत्युपस्थितम् । तत्प्राप्य प्रार्थये स्थानमव्ययं शाश्वतं ध्रुवम् ॥

tasmātprajñāmṛtamidaṃ cirānmāṃ pratyupasthitam | tatprāpya prārthaye sthānamavyayaṃ śāśvataṃ dhruvam

Therefore, this ambrosia of wisdom, which has come to me after so long, I will take hold of, and seek the imperishable, eternal, unchanging state.

Note on the text: Corrected प्रज्ञामुतम् → प्रज्ञामृतम् (misprint in Wikisource; ृ dropped; the critical edition reads prajñāmṛtam).

Verse 37 (12.9.37)

एतया संततं धृत्या चरन्नेवंप्रकारया । जन्ममृत्युजराव्याधिवेदनाभिरभिद्रुतम् । देहं संस्थापयिष्यामि निर्भयं मार्गमास्थितः ॥

etayā saṃtataṃ dhṛtyā carannevaṃprakārayā | janmamṛtyujarāvyādhivedanābhirabhidrutam | dehaṃ saṃsthāpayiṣyāmi nirbhayaṃ mārgamāsthitaḥ

Living always by this resolve, of such a kind, I will sustain this body, beset by birth, death, old age, disease and pain, fearless on the path I have taken.

Note on the text: Not matched by the alignment: lines 1 and 3 are CE 12.9.37a and 37c (धृत्या is a recension variant of vṛttyā). The middle line (जन्ममृत्युजराव्याधिवेदनाभिरभिद्रुतम्) repeats verse 33's first line and is not in the critical edition (vulgate recension only); the page prints it as 12-9-37b, so it is kept.