The King's Vaishakha Vow, and Desire's Return

Verse 1 (padma.5.100.1)

श्रीराजोवाच- क्षीरोदजलतुल्याभिः शीतलामलदृष्टिभिः । तथ्याभिश्च विचित्राभिस्त्वया गीर्भिः प्रबोधितः

śrīrājovāca- kṣīrodajalatulyābhiḥ śītalāmaladṛṣṭibhiḥ tathyābhiśca vicitrābhistvayā gīrbhiḥ prabodhitaḥ

The illustrious king said: I have been awakened by your words — cool and pure as the water of the Ocean of Milk, truthful, and wondrous.

Verse 2 (padma.5.100.2)

असागरोत्थं पीयूषमद्रव्यं व्यसनौषधम् । त्वयाहं पायितः सौम्य भवरोगनिवारणम्

asāgarotthaṁ pīyūṣamadravyaṁ vyasanauṣadham tvayāhaṁ pāyitaḥ saumya bhavaroganivāraṇam

O gentle one, you have given me to drink a nectar not risen from any ocean, an intangible medicine for vice, the very remover of the disease of worldly existence.

Verse 3 (padma.5.100.3)

हर्षप्रदो नृणां पापहानिकृज्जीवनौषधम् । जरामृत्युहरो विप्र सद्भिः किल समागमः

harṣaprado nṛṇāṁ pāpahānikṛjjīvanauṣadham jarāmṛtyuharo vipra sadbhiḥ kila samāgamaḥ

Truly, O Brahmin, meeting with the good is a bestower of joy to men, a destroyer of sin, a medicine for life, a remover of old age and death.

Verse 4 (padma.5.100.4)

यानि यानि दुरापानि वांछितानि महीतले । प्राप्यंते तानि तान्येव साधूनामेव संगमात्

yāni yāni durāpāni vāṁchitāni mahītale prāpyaṁte tāni tānyeva sādhūnāmeva saṁgamāt

Whatever things, hard to obtain, are desired upon this earth, all of them are obtained through the very company of the virtuous.

Verse 5 (padma.5.100.5)

यः स्नातः पापहरया साधुसंगम गंगया । किं तस्य दानैः किं तीर्थैः किं तपोभिः किमध्वरैः

yaḥ snātaḥ pāpaharayā sādhusaṁgama gaṁgayā kiṁ tasya dānaiḥ kiṁ tīrthaiḥ kiṁ tapobhiḥ kimadhvaraiḥ

He who has bathed in the sin-removing Ganga of the company of the good — what need has he of gifts, of sacred fords, of austerities, of sacrifices?

Verse 6 (padma.5.100.6)

निमज्ज्योन्मज्जतान्नॄणां भवाब्धौ परमायनम् । संतो धर्मविदः शांता नौर्दृढे वाप्सुमज्जताम्

nimajjyonmajjatānnṝṇāṁ bhavābdhau paramāyanam saṁto dharmavidaḥ śāṁtā naurdṛḍhe vāpsumajjatām

For men sinking and rising again in the ocean of worldly existence, the supreme refuge is this: the good, the knowers of dharma, the tranquil, are as a sturdy boat for those drowning in deep waters.

Verse 7 (padma.5.100.7)

यो मे भावःपुरा ह्यासीत्कामैकसुखलालसः । दर्शनाद्वचनात्तेऽद्य विपरीतोऽभवद्विभो

yo me bhāvaḥpurā hyāsītkāmaikasukhalālasaḥ darśanādvacanātte'dya viparīto'bhavadvibho

O mighty one, that disposition of mine which formerly craved only the pleasure of desire has today, through your sight and your words, become wholly reversed.

Verse 8 (padma.5.100.8)

एकजन्मसुखस्यार्थे सहस्राणि विलोपयेत् । प्राज्ञो जन्मसहस्राणि संचिनोत्येकजन्मना

ekajanmasukhasyārthe sahasrāṇi vilopayet prājño janmasahasrāṇi saṁcinotyekajanmanā

A fool destroys a thousand future births' good for the sake of the pleasure of a single birth; the wise man, through a single birth, accumulates merit for a thousand births.

Verse 9 (padma.5.100.9)

हाहा कामरसास्वाद सुखलालसचेतसा । मया मूढेन न कृतं किंचिदात्महितं द्विज

hāhā kāmarasāsvāda sukhalālasacetasā mayā mūḍhena na kṛtaṁ kiṁcidātmahitaṁ dvija

Alas, alas! My mind craving only the pleasure of tasting the flavor of desire, I, in my folly, have done nothing at all for my own good, O Brahmin.

Verse 10 (padma.5.100.10)

अहो मे मनसो मोहो येनात्मा योषितां कृते । पातितो व्यसने घोरे दुःखोदर्के दुरत्यये

aho me manaso moho yenātmā yoṣitāṁ kṛte pātito vyasane ghore duḥkhodarke duratyaye

Ah, what delusion of my mind, by which my very self was cast, for the sake of women, into a terrible vice, one whose fruit is sorrow and hard to overcome!

Verse 11 (padma.5.100.11)

भगवन्परितुष्टोऽस्मि बोधितो वचनेन ते । उपदेशप्रदानेन मामुद्धर्तुमिहार्हसि

bhagavanparituṣṭo'smi bodhito vacanena te upadeśapradānena māmuddhartumihārhasi

O blessed one, I am well satisfied, having been awakened by your word. By the gift of your instruction, you are worthy to deliver me here.

Verse 12 (padma.5.100.12)

पुरा चरितपुण्योऽहं भवता बोधितोऽस्मि यत् । त्वत्पादरजसा वापि विशेषादपि पावितः

purā caritapuṇyo'haṁ bhavatā bodhito'smi yat tvatpādarajasā vāpi viśeṣādapi pāvitaḥ

I must have performed some merit in a former life, since I have been awakened by you; and I have been purified, especially, by the very dust of your feet.

Verse 13 (padma.5.100.13)

विधिं माधवमासस्य ब्रूहि मे वदतां वर । सर्वपापक्षयकरो यस्त्वया परिकीर्तितः

vidhiṁ mādhavamāsasya brūhi me vadatāṁ vara sarvapāpakṣayakaro yastvayā parikīrtitaḥ

Tell me the rite of the month of Madhava, O best of speakers — that which you have declared to be the destroyer of all sin.

Verse 14 (padma.5.100.14)

किं दानं तत्र किं स्नानं को देवो नियमास्तु के । एतदाचक्ष्व विप्रर्षे दुरितोत्तारणाय मे

kiṁ dānaṁ tatra kiṁ snānaṁ ko devo niyamāstu ke etadācakṣva viprarṣe duritottāraṇāya me

What is the giving there? What is the bathing? Who is the deity, and what are the observances? Tell me this, O sage among Brahmins, for the deliverance of my sins.

Verse 15 (padma.5.100.15)

यम उवाच- इत्येवमुक्तो भगवान्कश्यपः स दयानिधिः । प्रोवाच वचनं विप्र धर्म्यं विश्वहितं शुभम्

yama uvāca- ityevamukto bhagavānkaśyapaḥ sa dayānidhiḥ provāca vacanaṁ vipra dharmyaṁ viśvahitaṁ śubham

Yama said: Thus addressed, the blessed Kashyapa, that ocean of compassion, spoke a word, O Brahmin, grounded in dharma, beneficial to all the world, and auspicious.

Verse 16 (padma.5.100.16)

कश्यप उवाच- पूर्वापरसमाधान क्षमबुद्ध्या च ते नृप । पृष्टं प्राज्ञे न वक्तव्यं नाधमे पापमानसे

kaśyapa uvāca- pūrvāparasamādhāna kṣamabuddhyā ca te nṛpa pṛṣṭaṁ prājñe na vaktavyaṁ nādhame pāpamānase

Kashyapa said: O king, what has been asked by you, with a mind capable of reconciling before and after — it need not be told to the already wise, nor to the base, sinful-minded.

Verse 17 (padma.5.100.17)

पापप्रवृत्तस्य तथा दत्वा भूप शुभां मतिम् । विद्यादानफलं सम्यक्प्राप्यते नात्र संशयः

pāpapravṛttasya tathā datvā bhūpa śubhāṁ matim vidyādānaphalaṁ samyakprāpyate nātra saṁśayaḥ

But, O king, by giving auspicious understanding to one inclined toward sin, the full fruit of the gift of knowledge is indeed obtained — there is no doubt of this.

Verse 18 (padma.5.100.18)

नापृष्टः कस्यचिद्ब्रूयान्न चान्यायेन पृच्छतः । जानन्नपि हि मेधावी जडवल्लोकमाचरेत्

nāpṛṣṭaḥ kasyacidbrūyānna cānyāyena pṛcchataḥ jānannapi hi medhāvī jaḍavallokamācaret

One should not speak to anyone unasked, nor to one who asks improperly; the wise man, even though he knows, should act toward the world as if ignorant.

Verse 19 (padma.5.100.19)

विदुषामपि शिष्याणां पुत्राणां च क्रियावताम् । अपृष्टमपि वक्तव्यं श्रेयः श्रद्धावतां हितम्

viduṣāmapi śiṣyāṇāṁ putrāṇāṁ ca kriyāvatām apṛṣṭamapi vaktavyaṁ śreyaḥ śraddhāvatāṁ hitam

But to learned disciples, and to sons devoted to right action, what is beneficial and good for the faithful should be told even unasked.

Verse 20 (padma.5.100.20)

सांप्रतं शुद्धहृदयो जातस्त्वं वचनान्मम । पुराचरितपुण्येन केनापि च महीपते

sāṁprataṁ śuddhahṛdayo jātastvaṁ vacanānmama purācaritapuṇyena kenāpi ca mahīpate

Now, O lord of the earth, you have become pure of heart through my words, and through some merit performed in a former life.

Verse 21 (padma.5.100.21)

पापावस्थं शरीरं तद्गतं तव ममाश्रयात् । श्रवणाद्धर्मशास्त्रस्य धर्मावस्थं तु तेऽभवत्

pāpāvasthaṁ śarīraṁ tadgataṁ tava mamāśrayāt śravaṇāddharmaśāstrasya dharmāvasthaṁ tu te'bhavat

That body of yours which was in a state of sin has, through refuge in me and through hearing the scripture of dharma, now come into a state of dharma.

Verse 22 (padma.5.100.22)

पापावस्थमधर्माख्यं धर्मज्ञानविवर्जितम् । अपरं सद्व्रतं यद्धि विज्ञेयं तद्धि धार्मिकम्

pāpāvasthamadharmākhyaṁ dharmajñānavivarjitam aparaṁ sadvrataṁ yaddhi vijñeyaṁ taddhi dhārmikam

The state of sin is called adharma, devoid of the knowledge of dharma; the other, devoted to good vows, should be known as the state of righteousness.

Verse 23 (padma.5.100.23)

धर्माधर्मोपभोगाय तत्तृतीयमतींद्रियम् । तत्त्रिभेदं शरीरं हि धर्म्मविद्भिरिहोच्यते

dharmādharmopabhogāya tattṛtīyamatīṁdriyam tattribhedaṁ śarīraṁ hi dharmmavidbhirihocyate

For the experience of the fruits of dharma and adharma, there is a third state, beyond the senses. This threefold division of the body is thus spoken of here by the knowers of dharma.

Verse 24 (padma.5.100.24)

यावता धर्मभोगश्च मुक्तिश्चैतत्त्रिभेदकम् । पापावस्थं शरीरं तत्पापसंज्ञं तदुच्यते

yāvatā dharmabhogaśca muktiścaitattribhedakam pāpāvasthaṁ śarīraṁ tatpāpasaṁjñaṁ taducyate

Insofar as the enjoyment of dharma and liberation belong to this threefold division — that body which is in the state of sin is called by the name 'sinful.'

Verse 25 (padma.5.100.25)

इदानीं गुरुभक्तिं च कुर्वतश्च वचो मम । शृण्वतो धर्मरूपं तु शरीरं ते व्यवस्थितम्

idānīṁ gurubhaktiṁ ca kurvataśca vaco mama śṛṇvato dharmarūpaṁ tu śarīraṁ te vyavasthitam

Now, as you show devotion to your guru and listen to my words, your body has become established in the form of dharma.

Verse 26 (padma.5.100.26)

तेनैव शुद्धिरमला जाता धर्मक्रियोचिता । दैवेन देहिनां नाम चेतांसि चरितानि च

tenaiva śuddhiramalā jātā dharmakriyocitā daivena dehināṁ nāma cetāṁsi caritāni ca

By that alone, a spotless purity, fit for the deeds of dharma, has arisen. By fate, the very names, minds, and conduct of embodied beings—

Verse 27 (padma.5.100.27)

शरीराणि च पुष्यंति कालेकाले विपर्ययम् । सांप्रतं भवतश्चेतो नूनं धर्मे प्रवर्तते

śarīrāṇi ca puṣyaṁti kālekāle viparyayam sāṁprataṁ bhavataśceto nūnaṁ dharme pravartate

—and their bodies too, undergo change from time to time. Now, indeed, your mind is inclined toward dharma.

Verse 28 (padma.5.100.28)

तेन त्वां कारयिष्यामि माधवस्नानमुत्तमम् । यम उवाच-। ततस्तु कारितस्तेन कश्यपेन पुरोधसा

tena tvāṁ kārayiṣyāmi mādhavasnānamuttamam yama uvāca- tatastu kāritastena kaśyapena purodhasā

"Therefore I shall have you perform the excellent bath of Madhava." Yama said: Then, made to perform it by that priest Kashyapa—

Verse 29 (padma.5.100.29)

स नृपो माधवे मासि स्नानं दानं च पूजनम् । यथादृष्टं पुरा शास्त्रे वैशाखस्नानजं विधिम्

sa nṛpo mādhave māsi snānaṁ dānaṁ ca pūjanam yathādṛṣṭaṁ purā śāstre vaiśākhasnānajaṁ vidhim

—the king performed, in the month of Madhava, bathing, giving, and worship — the rite born of Vaishakha-bathing, just as formerly seen in scripture.

Verse 30 (padma.5.100.30)

स मुनिः प्रत्युवाचासौ भूपाय च यथोदितम् । श्रावितः स्तोत्रसारं च पाठितो हरिमेधसः

sa muniḥ pratyuvācāsau bhūpāya ca yathoditam śrāvitaḥ stotrasāraṁ ca pāṭhito harimedhasaḥ

That sage in turn declared it to the king just as it had been told; and the king was made to hear the essence of the hymn, and made to recite the praises of Hari.

Verse 31 (padma.5.100.31)

श्रुते यस्मिन्नधीते च स सम्यक्फलमाप्नुयात्

śrute yasminnadhīte ca sa samyakphalamāpnuyāt

Having heard and studied which, he fully obtained its fruit.

Verse 32 (padma.5.100.32)

स कारितस्तेन विशुद्धभावो राजापि चक्रे विधिवत्तदानीम् । श्रीमाधवेमासि विधानमीड्यं ततो यथाकर्णितमादरेण

sa kāritastena viśuddhabhāvo rājāpi cakre vidhivattadānīm śrīmādhavemāsi vidhānamīḍyaṁ tato yathākarṇitamādareṇa

Made to perform it by him, the king, with a wholly purified mind, then duly carried out the praiseworthy rite in the month of blessed Madhava, according to what he had heard, with reverence.

Verse 33 (padma.5.100.33)

प्रातःस्नानं च पाद्यं च ह्यर्घं च हरिपूजनम् । नैवेद्यं भक्तिभावेन चकार स नृपोत्तमः

prātaḥsnānaṁ ca pādyaṁ ca hyarghaṁ ca haripūjanam naivedyaṁ bhaktibhāvena cakāra sa nṛpottamaḥ

That best of kings performed, with a spirit of devotion, the morning bath, the water for the feet, the arghya, the worship of Hari, and the food-offering.

Verse 34 (padma.5.100.34)

दानं यथा नियमपालनमादरेण वैशाखमादिविदधाति विधानमेवम् । यो भक्तितोऽन्वहमसौ प्रतिवर्षमेवं कृत्वा प्रयाति हरिधाम महीसुराग्र्यः

dānaṁ yathā niyamapālanamādareṇa vaiśākhamādividadhāti vidhānamevam yo bhaktito'nvahamasau prativarṣamevaṁ kṛtvā prayāti haridhāma mahīsurāgryaḥ

O foremost of Brahmins, whoever thus, with devotion, day after day, year after year, performs giving, the keeping of the vow with reverence, and this rite ordained for Vaishakha and the rest, attains the abode of Hari.

Verse 35 (padma.5.100.35)

अथेतरेषु मासेषु कामिनीकुचकेलिवान् । भोगैकलालसो भूयो भवत्येवं यथारुचि

athetareṣu māseṣu kāminīkucakelivān bhogaikalālaso bhūyo bhavatyevaṁ yathāruci

But then, in the other months, he became again given to dalliance with women's charms, craving only enjoyment, according to his own liking.

Verse 36 (padma.5.100.36)

न धर्मनियमं राजकार्येषु न विचारणम् । करोति कामवशगो हित्वा मासं स माधवम्

na dharmaniyamaṁ rājakāryeṣu na vicāraṇam karoti kāmavaśago hitvā māsaṁ sa mādhavam

Having set aside the month of Madhava, that king, overcome by desire, observed neither the rule of dharma nor deliberation in the affairs of his kingdom.

Verse 37 (padma.5.100.37)

महतामपि विप्राग्र्य दुर्निवार्यो मनोभवः । शरीरसहजो नूनमनादिर्वासनाक्रमः

mahatāmapi viprāgrya durnivāryo manobhavaḥ śarīrasahajo nūnamanādirvāsanākramaḥ

O foremost of Brahmins, Manobhava is hard to restrain even for the great; he is truly innate to the body, and his sequence of impressions is beginningless.

Verse 38 (padma.5.100.38)

केशकज्जलशालिन्यो दुःस्पर्शा लोचनप्रियाः । यस्मादग्निशिखा नार्यो दहंति तृणवन्नरम्

keśakajjalaśālinyo duḥsparśā locanapriyāḥ yasmādagniśikhā nāryo dahaṁti tṛṇavannaram

Women, adorned with hair like kohl, dangerous to touch, delightful to the eye — for they, like flame-tongues of fire, burn a man as though he were straw.

Verse 39 (padma.5.100.39)

घोरः शत्रुः शरीरस्थः पुंसां कामो यथोचितम् । मोहधूममयः पापो न केषामंधकारितम्

ghoraḥ śatruḥ śarīrasthaḥ puṁsāṁ kāmo yathocitam mohadhūmamayaḥ pāpo na keṣāmaṁdhakāritam

Kama, the terrible enemy dwelling within the body of men, is truly a sin made of the smoke of delusion — whom indeed does he not blind?