01.085
aṣṭaka uvāca॥
Aṣṭaka said.
yadā vaso nandane kāmarūpī; saṃvatsarāṇām ayutaṃ śatānām। kiṃ kāraṇaṃ kārtayuga-pradhāna; hitvā tattvaṃ vasudhām anvapadyaḥ ॥01-85-1॥
O lord, when you, of desired form, resided in the Nandana garden for a hundred thousand years, what was the reason, O chief of Kṛta Yuga, that you abandoned the essence and took to the earth? (01-85-1)
yayātir uvāca॥
King Yayāti said.
jñātiḥ suhṛtsvajanoyoyatheha; kṣīṇe vitte tyajyate mānavaiḥ hi. tathā tatra kṣīṇapuṇyaṃ manuṣyaṃ; tyajanti sadyaḥ sa-īśvarā deva-saṅghāḥ ॥01-85-2॥
Just as here, a kinsman, friend, or one's own people abandon a person when his wealth is diminished, even so there, when a man's merit is exhausted, he is at once abandoned by the hosts of gods along with their lords. (01-85-2)
aṣṭaka uvāca॥
Aṣṭaka said.
kathaṁ tasmin kṣīṇapuṇyā bhavanti; saṁmuhyate me'tra mano'timātram. kiṁ-viśiṣṭāḥ kasya dhāmopayānti; tad vai brūhi kṣetravittvaṁ mato me ॥01-85-3॥
How do those whose merit is exhausted become there? My mind is exceedingly bewildered here. Of what kind, and to whose abode do they go? Please tell me that, O knower of the field, for I consider you thus. (01-85-3)
yayātir uvāca॥
Yayati spoke.
imaṃ bhaumaṃ narakaṃ te patanti; lālapyamānā naradeva sarve. te kaṅka-gomāyu-balāśanārthaṃ; kṣīṇā vivṛddhiṃ bahudhā vrajanti ॥01-85-4॥
All these, greedily desiring, O king, fall into this earthly hell. Depleted, they go in many ways for the sake of eating the flesh of vultures and jackals, seeking an increase. (01-85-4)
tasmādetadvarjanīyaṃ nareṇa; duṣṭaṃ loke garhaṇīyaṃ ca karma. ākhyātaṃ te pārthiva sarvameta; dbhūyaścedānīṃ vada kiṃ te vadāmi ॥01-85-5॥
Therefore, this action, being wicked and blameworthy in the world, should be avoided by a man. All this has been told to you, O king; now, if you wish, tell me, what more shall I say to you? (01-85-5)
aṣṭaka uvāca॥
Aṣṭaka said.
yadā tu tān vitudante vayāṃsi; tathā gṛdhrāḥ śitikaṇṭhāḥ pataṅgāḥ. kathaṃ bhavanti kathamābhavanti; na bhaumam anyaṃ narakaṃ śṛṇomi ॥01-85-6॥
But when the birds attack them, likewise vultures, white-throated birds, and moths, how do they suffer, how do they come to be? I have not heard of any hell on earth other than this. (01-85-6)
yayātir uvāca॥
King Yayati said.
ūrdhvaṃ dehāt karmaṇo jṛmbhamāṇā; dvyaktaṃ pṛthivyām anusañcaranti. imaṃ bhaumaṃ narakaṃ te patanti; nāvekṣante varṣapūgān anekān ॥01-85-7॥
As actions leave the body, expanding upwards, they manifest in two forms and move about on the earth. They fall into this earthly hell and do not even consider the passing of many, many years. (01-85-7)
ṣaṣṭiṃ sahasrāṇi patanti vyomni; tathā aśītiṃ parivatsarāṇi। tān vai tudanti prapatataḥ prapātaṃ; bhīmā bhaumā rākṣasās tīkṣṇadaṃṣṭrāḥ ॥01-85-8॥
Sixty thousand fall in the sky, and likewise for eighty years. As they fall, the terrible earth-born rākṣasas with sharp fangs indeed attack them while they are falling. (01-85-8)
aṣṭaka uvāca॥
Aṣṭaka said.
yad enasas te patatas tudanti; bhīmā bhaumā rākṣasās tīkṣṇa-daṃṣṭrāḥ. kathaṃ bhavanti kathamābhavanti; katham-bhūtā garbha-bhūtā bhavanti ॥01-85-9॥
When those sinful ones fall, terrible earthly rākṣasas with sharp fangs strike them. How do they become so? How do they arise? How do they, as creatures born in the womb, come into being? (01-85-9)
yayātiruvāca॥
King Yayāti said.
asraṁ retaḥ puṣpaphalānupṛkta; manveti tadvai puruṣeṇa sṛṣṭam। sa vai tasyā raja āpadyate vai; sa garbhabhūtaḥ samupaiti tatra ॥01-85-10॥
Blood and seed, together with flower and fruit, are considered to be created by the man. That (seed) indeed merges with her menstrual blood; then, having become an embryo, he enters there. (01-85-10)
vanaspatīṁś ca auṣadhīś ca āviśanti; apo vāyuṁ pṛthivīṁ ca antarikṣam। catuṣpadam dvipadam ca api sarvam eva am-bhūtā garbha-bhūtā bhavanti॥01-85-11॥
Trees and herbs enter the waters, the air, the earth, and the atmosphere; all four-footed and two-footed beings, as well as everything, indeed, these beings become as embryos. (01-85-11)
aṣṭaka uvāca॥
Aṣṭaka said.
anyadvapūrvidadhātīha garbha; utāho svitsvena kāmena yāti. āpadyamāno narayonimetā; mācakṣva me saṃśayātprabravīmi ॥01-85-12॥
Please tell me and resolve my doubt: does the embryo here assume a different body, or does it enter the human womb by its own will? (01-85-12)
śarīradehādisamucchrayaṃ ca; cakṣuḥśrotre labhate kena sañjñām। etattattvaṃ sarvamācakṣva pṛṣṭaḥ; kṣetrajñaṃ tvāṃ tāta manyāma sarve ॥01-85-13॥
Regarding the collection consisting of body and so on; by what does the eye and ear receive their designation? Tell us this entire reality; asked thus, all of us, dear one, consider you to be the knower of the field. (01-85-13)
yayātiruvāca॥
Yayati said;
vāyuḥ samutkarṣati garbhayoni; mṛtau retaḥ puṣparasānupṛktam. sa tatra tanmātrakṛtādhikāraḥ; krameṇa saṁvardhayatīha garbham ॥01-85-14॥
The wind elevates the womb; at the time of death, the seed, mixed with the essence of flowers, is present. There, he, endowed with authority by the subtle elements, gradually nurtures the embryo here. (01-85-14)
sa jāyamāno vigṛhītagātraḥ; ṣaḍjñānaniṣṭhāyatano manuṣyaḥ. sa śrotrābhyāṃ vedayatīha śabdaṃ; sarvaṃ rūpaṃ paśyati cakṣuṣā ca ॥01-85-15॥
When a man is born, assuming bodily members, being the seat of the six kinds of knowledge, he perceives sound here with both his ears and sees all forms with his eyes. (01-85-15)
ghrāṇena gandhaṃ jihvayātho rasaṃ ca; tvacā sparśaṃ manasā veda bhāvam. ityaṣṭakehopacitiṃ ca viddhi; mahātmanaḥ prāṇabhṛtaḥ śarīre ॥01-85-16॥
Know thus that in the body of the great-souled living being, there is an accumulation of eight—smell by the nose, taste by the tongue, touch by the skin, and mental perceptions by the mind. (01-85-16)
aṣṭaka uvāca॥
Aṣṭaka said.
yaḥ saṃsthitaḥ puruṣo dahyate vā; nikhanyate vāpi nighṛṣyate vā. abhāvabhūtaḥ sa vināśam etya; kena ātmānam cetayate purastāt ॥01-85-17॥
That person who, after being settled, is burned, buried, or even pounded, and, having become non-existent, attains destruction—by what does he perceive his self thereafter? (01-85-17)
yayātir uvāca॥
King Yayati said.
hitvā so'sūn suptavat niṣṭanitvā; purodhāya sukṛtaṃ duṣkṛtaṃ ca. anyāṃ yoniṃ pavanāgra-anusārī; hitvā dehaṃ bhajate rājasiṃha ॥01-85-18॥
O king, having left behind the vital airs like one asleep after groaning, and having deposited his good and evil actions, following the foremost life-current, he casts off the body and attains another birth. (01-85-18)
puṇyāṃ yoniṃ puṇyakṛto vrajanti; pāpāṃ yoniṃ pāpakṛto vrajanti. kīṭāḥ pataṅgāś ca bhavanti pāpā; na me vivakṣāsti mahānubhāva ॥01-85-19॥
Doers of virtue attain auspicious births; doers of sin attain sinful births. The sinful ones become worms and insects; O eminent one, I have no wish to speak (further). (01-85-19)
catuṣpadā dvipadāḥ ṣaṭpadāś ca; tathābhūtā garbhabhūtā bhavanti। ākhyātam etan nikhilena sarvaṃ; bhūyas tu kiṃ pṛcchasi rājasiṃha॥01-85-20॥
Four-footed, two-footed, and six-footed beings — such kinds exist even in the womb. All this has been explained in full; what more do you ask, O lion among kings? (01-85-20)
aṣṭaka uvāca॥
Ashtaka said.
kiṁ svitkṛtvā labhate tāta lokānmartyaḥ śreṣṭhāṁstapasā vidyayā vā. tanme pṛṣṭaḥ śaṁsa sarvaṁ yathāva cchubhāṁllokānyena gacchetkrameṇa ॥01-85-21॥
O dear one, by performing what does a mortal obtain the best worlds—by asceticism or by knowledge? Tell me completely, as I ask you: in what way may one reach those auspicious worlds, step by step. (01-85-21)
yayyātiruvāca॥
Yayati said.
tapaś ca dānaṃ ca śamo damaś ca; hrīr ārjavaṃ sarvabhūtānukampā। naśyanti mānena tamo'bhibhūtāḥ; puṃsaḥ sadaiveti vadanti santaḥ ॥01-85-22॥
The wise say that austerity, charity, tranquility, self-restraint, modesty, uprightness, and compassion for all beings are always destroyed by pride when a person is overcome by darkness. (01-85-22)
adhīyānaḥ paṇḍitaṃ manyamānaḥ; yo vidyayā hanti yaśaḥ pareṣām. tasyāntavantaś ca bhavanti lokā; na cāsya tadbrahma phalaṃ dadāti ॥01-85-23॥
He who studies, thinking himself wise, and uses knowledge to destroy the fame of others—his worlds become limited and that fruit of Brahman does not come to him. (01-85-23)
catvāri karmāṇy-abhayaṅkarāṇi; bhayaṃ prayacchanty-ayathākṛtāni. mān-āgnihotram-uta māna-maunaṃ; mānenādhītam-uta māna-yajñaḥ ॥01-85-24॥
There are four actions that are not inherently dangerous, but if wrongly performed, they produce fear: Agnihotra performed for social regard, silence for respect, study for respect, and sacrifice for respect. (01-85-24)
na mānyamāno mudamādadīta; na santāpaṃ prāpnuyāccāvamānāt. santaḥ sataḥ pūjayantīha loke; nāsādhavaḥ sādhu-buddhiṃ labhante ॥01-85-25॥
One should not feel delighted when honored, nor distressed when insulted. The virtuous honor the virtuous in this world; the wicked do not acquire noble thoughts. (01-85-25)
iti dadyād iti yajed iti adhīyīta me vratam। ity asminn abhayāni āhuḥ tāni varjyāni nityaśaḥ ॥01-85-26॥
Thus, ‘one should give’, ‘one should worship’, ‘one should study’ — this is my vow. In this regard, they say those acts which cause harm should always be avoided. (01-85-26)
yenāśrayaṃ vedayante purāṇaṃ; manīṣiṇo mānasamāna-bhaktam. tan-niḥśreyas-taijasaṃ rūpam etya; parāṃ śāntiṃ prāpnuyuḥ pretya ceha ॥01-85-27॥
Those wise ones who, with devotion of the mind, realize the ancient essence which is their support—attaining that supreme luminous form, they reach the highest peace, both after departing and here itself. (01-85-27)
