Victory Only Through Dharma

Verse 1 (12.96.1)

नाधर्मेण महीं जेतुं लिप्सेत जगतीपतिः । अधर्मविजयं लब्ध्वा को नु मन्येत भूमिपः ॥

nādharmeṇa mahīṃ jetuṃ lipseta jagatīpatiḥ | adharmavijayaṃ labdhvā ko nu manyeta bhūmipaḥ

A king should not seek to conquer the earth by unrighteousness. Having won a victory by unrighteousness, what king could approve of it?

Verse 2 (12.96.2)

अधर्मयुक्तो विजयो ह्यध्रुवोऽस्वर्ग्य एव च । पातयत्येव राजानं महीं च भरतर्षभ ॥

adharmayukto vijayo hyadhruvo'svargya eva ca | pātayatyeva rājānaṃ mahīṃ ca bharatarṣabha

A victory joined with unrighteousness is unstable and bars the way to heaven; it brings down the king and the earth alike, O best of the Bharatas.

Verse 3 (12.96.3)

विशीर्णकवचं चैव तवास्मीति च वादिनम् । कृताञ्जलिं न्यस्तशस्त्रं गृहीत्वा न विहिंसयेत् ॥

viśīrṇakavacaṃ caiva tavāsmīti ca vādinam | kṛtāñjaliṃ nyastaśastraṃ gṛhītvā na vihiṃsayet

A man whose armour is shattered, who says ‘I am yours,’ who stands with joined hands and has laid down his weapons — one should not harm him, even though he is captured.

Verse 4 (12.96.4)

बलेन विजितो यश्च न तं युध्येत भूमिपः । संवत्सरं विप्रणयेत्तस्माज्जातः पुनर्भवेत् ॥

balena vijito yaśca na taṃ yudhyeta bhūmipaḥ | saṃvatsaraṃ vipraṇayettasmājjātaḥ punarbhavet

A king should not fight on against one who has been overpowered by force; he should keep him in his charge for a year, and after that he is, as it were, born anew.

Verse 5 (12.96.5)

नार्वाक्संवत्सरात्कन्या प्रष्टव्या विक्रमाहृता । एवमेव धनं सर्वं यच्चान्यत्सहसा हृतम् ॥

nārvāksaṃvatsarātkanyā praṣṭavyā vikramāhṛtā | evameva dhanaṃ sarvaṃ yaccānyatsahasā hṛtam

A maiden carried off by force is not to be approached before a year has passed; the same holds for all wealth and whatever else is seized in a sudden raid.

Verse 6 (12.96.6)

न तु वन्ध्यं धनं तिष्ठेत्पिबेयुर्ब्राह्मणाः पयः । युञ्जीरन्नप्यनडुहः क्षन्तव्यं वा पुनर्भवेत् ॥

na tu vandhyaṃ dhanaṃ tiṣṭhetpibeyurbrāhmaṇāḥ payaḥ | yuñjīrannapyanaḍuhaḥ kṣantavyaṃ vā punarbhavet

Wealth should not lie idle and fruitless: let brahmins drink the milk, let the oxen be put to the yoke; or else it may afterwards be let go with forgiveness.

Note on the text: Corrected वध्ये → वन्ध्यं (misprint in Wikisource; वध्ये धनं gives no sense beside ‘let brahmins drink the milk, let the oxen be yoked’, which is about captured goods not being left unused; the critical edition reads na tu vandhyaṃ dhanaṃ tiṣṭhet). Line 2 ends पुनर्भवेत् where the CE has tadā bhavet, a recension variant.

Verse 7 (12.96.7)

राज्ञा राजैव योद्धव्यस्तथा धर्मो विधीयते । नान्यो राजानमभ्यस्येदराजन्यः कथंचन ॥

rājñā rājaiva yoddhavyastathā dharmo vidhīyate | nānyo rājānamabhyasyedarājanyaḥ kathaṃcana

A king is to be fought by a king alone; so dharma is laid down. No one who is not of royal birth may in any way assail a king.

Verse 8 (12.96.8)

अनीकयोः संहतयोर्यदीयाद्ब्राह्मणोऽन्तरा । शान्तिमिच्छन्नुभयतो न योद्धव्यं तदा भवेत् ॥

anīkayoḥ saṃhatayoryadīyādbrāhmaṇo'ntarā | śāntimicchannubhayato na yoddhavyaṃ tadā bhavet

If a brahmin comes between two armies that have closed with one another, wishing for peace, then there should be no fighting on either side.

Note on the text: Lines 1–2 = CE 12.97.8a, 8c; the verse’s third line (8e) opens the next verse. The alignment found no match for CE 12.97.8–10.

Verse 9 (12.96.9)

मर्यादां शाश्वतीं भिन्द्याद्ब्राह्मणं योऽभिलङ्घयेत् । अथ चेल्लङ्घयेदेव मर्यादां क्षत्रियब्रुवः । असङ्ख्येयस्तदूर्ध्वं स्यादनादेयश्च संसदि ॥

maryādāṃ śāśvatīṃ bhindyādbrāhmaṇaṃ yo'bhilaṅghayet | atha cellaṅghayedeva maryādāṃ kṣatriyabruvaḥ | asaṅkhyeyastadūrdhvaṃ syādanādeyaśca saṃsadi

He who transgresses a brahmin would break the eternal limit. And if one who is a kshatriya in name only does transgress that limit, he would be uncounted from then on and unacceptable in any assembly.

Note on the text: Corrected असङ्ख्येपतदूर्ध्वं → असङ्ख्येयस्तदूर्ध्वं (misprint in Wikisource; असङ्ख्येप is not a word; the page’s commentary on this verse glosses असंख्येयः क्षत्रियेषु न गणनीयः, which gives the evident word; the critical edition has the variant apraśasyas tad ūrdhvaṃ syāt). Line 1 = CE 12.97.8e; lines 2–3 = CE 12.97.9a, 9c.

Verse 10 (12.96.10)

या तु धर्मविलोपेन मर्यादाभेदनेन च । तां वृत्तिं नानुवर्तेत विजिगीषुर्महीपतिः ॥

yā tu dharmavilopena maryādābhedanena ca | tāṃ vṛttiṃ nānuvarteta vijigīṣurmahīpatiḥ

That way of life which comes by ruining dharma and breaking the bounds — a king who desires victory should not follow it.

Note on the text: Corrected यस्तु → या तु (misprint in Wikisource; the relative must agree with तां वृत्तिम्; the critical edition reads yā tu dharmavilopena). Lines 1–2 = CE 12.97.10a, 10c; the CE’s third line (10e) is printed by Wikisource as the next verse.

Verse 11 (12.96.11)

धर्मलब्धाद्धि विजयाल्लाभः कोऽभ्यधिको भवेत् ॥

dharmalabdhāddhi vijayāllābhaḥ ko'bhyadhiko bhavet

What gain could be greater than a victory won by dharma?

Note on the text: This single line is CE 12.97.10e, printed by Wikisource as a verse of its own (a one-line verse; the critical edition has it as the third line of verse 10).

Verse 12 (12.96.12)

सहसा न्याय्यभूतानि क्षिप्रमेव प्रसादयेत् । सान्त्वेन भोगदानेन स राज्ञां परमो नयः ॥

sahasā nyāyyabhūtāni kṣiprameva prasādayet | sāntvena bhogadānena sa rājñāṃ paramo nayaḥ

He should quickly conciliate the people who have suddenly become his lawful subjects, with gentle words and gifts of enjoyment; that is the highest policy of kings.

Verse 13 (12.96.13)

भुज्यमाना ह्यभोगेन स्वराष्ट्रादभितापिताः । अमित्रान्पर्युपासीरन्व्यसनौघप्रतीक्षिणः ॥

bhujyamānā hyabhogena svarāṣṭrādabhitāpitāḥ | amitrānparyupāsīranvyasanaughapratīkṣiṇaḥ

People who are exploited without any enjoyment in return and are tormented by their own kingdom will attend upon his enemies, waiting for a flood of calamities.

Verse 14 (12.96.14)

अमित्रोपग्रहं चास्य ते कुर्युः क्षिप्रमापदि । संतुष्टाः सर्वतो राजन्राजव्यसनकाङ्क्षिणः ॥

amitropagrahaṃ cāsya te kuryuḥ kṣipramāpadi | saṃtuṣṭāḥ sarvato rājanrājavyasanakāṅkṣiṇaḥ

And they would swiftly give his enemies support in his hour of need, pleased on all sides, O king, and wishing for the king’s misfortune.

Verse 15 (12.96.15)

नामित्रो विनिकर्तव्यो नातिच्छेद्यः कथंचन । जीवितं ह्यप्यतिच्छिन्नः संत्यजेदेकदा नरः ॥

nāmitro vinikartavyo nāticchedyaḥ kathaṃcana | jīvitaṃ hyapyaticchinnaḥ saṃtyajedekadā naraḥ

An enemy should not be tricked, nor cut off too far, in any way; for a man cut off too far may give up even his own life at once.

Verse 16 (12.96.16)

अल्पेनापि च संयुक्तस्तुष्यते नापराधितः । शुद्धं जीवितमेवापि तादृशो बहुमन्यते ॥

alpenāpi ca saṃyuktastuṣyate nāparādhitaḥ | śuddhaṃ jīvitamevāpi tādṛśo bahumanyate

Even one who has only a little is content so long as he is not wronged; such a man values even a blameless life highly.

Verse 17 (12.96.17)

यस्य स्फीतो जनपदः संपन्नः प्रियराजकः । संतुष्टभृत्यसचिवो दृढमूलः स पार्थिवः ॥

yasya sphīto janapadaḥ saṃpannaḥ priyarājakaḥ | saṃtuṣṭabhṛtyasacivo dṛḍhamūlaḥ sa pārthivaḥ

A ruler whose country is thriving and prosperous, whose rulers are beloved, and whose servants and ministers are content, is firmly rooted.

Verse 18 (12.96.18)

ऋत्विक्पुरोहिताचार्या ये चान्ये श्रुतसत्तमाः । पूजार्हाः पूजिता यस्य स वै लोकविदुच्यते ॥

ṛtvikpurohitācāryā ye cānye śrutasattamāḥ | pūjārhāḥ pūjitā yasya sa vai lokaviducyate

The priests, the household priests, the teachers, and others most eminent in learning, who are worthy of honour — the king by whom they are honoured is truly called a knower of the world.

Verse 19 (12.96.19)

एतेनैव च वृत्तेन महीं प्राप सुरोत्तमः । अन्येऽपि चैव विजयं विजिगीषन्ति पार्थिवाः ॥

etenaiva ca vṛttena mahīṃ prāpa surottamaḥ | anye'pi caiva vijayaṃ vijigīṣanti pārthivāḥ

By this very conduct the best of the gods won the earth, and other kings too desire victory in the same way.

Verse 20 (12.96.20)

भूमिवर्जं धनं राजा जित्वा राजन्महाहवे । अपि चान्नोषधीः शश्वदाजहार प्रतर्दनः ॥

bhūmivarjaṃ dhanaṃ rājā jitvā rājanmahāhave | api cānnoṣadhīḥ śaśvadājahāra pratardanaḥ

Excluding land, King Pratardana, having won wealth in a great battle, O king, would also always carry off food and herbs.

Verse 21 (12.96.21)

अग्निहोत्राग्निशेषं च हविर्भोजनमेव च । आजहार दिवोदासस्ततो विप्रकृतोऽभवत् ॥

agnihotrāgniśeṣaṃ ca havirbhojanameva ca | ājahāra divodāsastato viprakṛto'bhavat

Divodasa carried off the remnant of the agnihotra fire’s offering, the oblation and the cooked food, and he was thereby wronged.

Note on the text: Corrected अग्रिहोत्राग्निशेषं → अग्निहोत्राग्निशेषं (misprint in Wikisource; अग्रि is not a word and the page’s commentary glosses अग्निशेषं; the critical edition reads agnihotrāṇy agniśeṣam).

Verse 22 (12.96.22)

सराजकानि राष्ट्राणि नाभागो दक्षिणां ददौ । अन्यत्र श्रोत्रियस्वाच्च तापसार्थाच्च भारत ॥

sarājakāni rāṣṭrāṇi nābhāgo dakṣiṇāṃ dadau | anyatra śrotriyasvācca tāpasārthācca bhārata

Nabhaga gave realms together with their kings as a sacrificial fee, apart from what belonged to learned brahmins and what was meant for ascetics, O Bharata.

Verse 23 (12.96.23)

उच्चावचानि वित्तानि धर्मज्ञानां युधिष्ठिर । आसन्राज्ञां पुराणानां सर्वं तन्मम रोचते ॥

uccāvacāni vittāni dharmajñānāṃ yudhiṣṭhira | āsanrājñāṃ purāṇānāṃ sarvaṃ tanmama rocate

Great and small were the possessions of the ancient kings who knew dharma, O Yudhishthira; all that I approve.

Verse 24 (12.96.24)

सर्वविद्यातिरेकेण जयमिच्छेन्महीपतिः । न मायया न दम्भेन य इच्छेद्भूतिमात्मनः ॥

sarvavidyātirekeṇa jayamicchenmahīpatiḥ | na māyayā na dambhena ya icchedbhūtimātmanaḥ

A king should desire victory through excelling in all knowledge, not by trickery or deceit — he who desires his own prosperity.