01.224
Pancharatra: Mandapala and Jarita return to greet surviving Shangrakas. Women are not to be trusted, ways of the world are presented.
vaiśampāyana uvāca॥
Vaiśampāyana said.
mandapālo'pi kauravya cintayānaḥ sutāṃstadā। uktavānapyaśītāṃśuṃ naiva sa sma na tapyate ॥1-224-1॥
Mandapala, O descendant of Kuru, while thinking of his sons at that time, also spoke to the moon; yet he was not at all tormented.
sa tapyamānaḥ putrārthe lapitām idam abravīt। kathaṃ nu aśaktāḥ plavane lapite mama putrakāḥ ॥1-224-2॥
Tormented for his son, he lamented and said: "How is it that my sons, while lamenting, are unable to leap?" (1-224-2)
vardhamāne hutavahe vāte śīghraṃ pravāyati। asamarthā vimokṣāya bhaviṣyanti mamātmajāḥ ॥1-224-3॥
As the fire grows and the wind blows swiftly, my sons will be unable to free themselves. (1-224-3)
kathaṁ nvaśaktā trāṇāya mātā teṣāṁ tapasvinī। bhaviṣyatyasukhāviṣṭā putratrāṇamapaśyatī ॥1-224-4॥
How will their ascetic mother, unable to protect, and afflicted by unhappiness, become, seeing no way to protect her son? (1-224-4)
kathaṁ nu saraṇe'śaktān patane ca mamātmajān। santapyamānā abhito vāśamānābhidhāvatī ॥1-224-5॥
How can I bear to see my sons, unable to run or even to fall, while I, burning with grief, run all around or cry out for them? (1-224-5)
jaritāriḥ kathaṁ putraḥ sārisṛkvaḥ kathaṁ ca me| stambamitraḥ kathaṁ droṇaḥ kathaṁ sā ca tapasvinī ॥1-224-6॥
How is Jaritari's son? How is Sārisṛkva, and how is my Stambamitra? How is Droṇa, and how is she, the ascetic woman? (1-224-6)
lālapyamānaṃ tam ṛṣiṃ mandapālaṃ tathā vane। lapitā pratyuvācedaṃ sāsūyam iva bhārata ॥1-224-7॥
O Bhārata, as Mandapala the sage was being addressed in the forest, the speaker replied to him as if with jealousy. (1-224-7)
na te suteṣv avekṣā asti tān ṛṣīn uktavān asi। tejasvino vīryavanto na teṣāṃ jvalanāt bhayam ॥1-224-8॥
You do not have regard for your sons; you have called those sages brilliant and powerful; they have no fear from fire. (1-224-8)
tathāgnau te parīttāś ca tvayā hi mama saṃnidhau। pratiśrutaṃ tathā ceti jvalanena mahātmanā ॥1-224-9॥
In this way, your protected ones, by you, indeed, in my presence, were promised thus by the great soul, by the fire. (1-224-9)
lokapālo'nṛtāṃ vācaṃ na tu vaktā kathaṃcana। samarthāste ca vaktāro na te teṣvasti mānasam ॥1-224-10॥
The guardian of the world never utters false words; though they are capable speakers, they lack true intention in their minds. (1-224-10)
tāmeva tu mamāmitrīṃ cintayan paritapyase। dhruvaṃ mayi na te sneho yathā tasyāṃ purābhavat ॥1-224-11॥
But you are tormented, thinking only of her, my enemy; surely, your affection for me is not as it once was for her. (1-224-11)
na hi pakṣavatā nyāyyaṃ niḥsnehen suhṛj-jane। pīḍyamāna upadraṣṭuṃ śaktenātmā kathaṃcana॥1-224-12॥
It is not just for one who is partial or for one without affection to witness the suffering of a dear person if one is able to help, in any way. (1-224-12)
gaccha tvaṃ jaritāmeva yadarthaṃ paritapyase। cariṣyāmyahamapyekā yathā kāpuruṣe tathā ॥1-224-13॥
Go to the old woman for whom you are grieving. I too shall live alone, just as one does with a coward. (1-224-13)
mandapāla uvāca॥
Mandapāla said.
nāham evaṃ care loke yathā tvam abhimanyase। apatyakhetor vicare tac ca kṛcchragataṃ mama ॥1-224-14॥
I do not act in this world as you suppose; I act for the sake of offspring, and that too is a source of distress for me. (1-224-14)
bhūtaṃ hitvā bhaviṣye'rthe yo'valambeta mandadhīḥ। avamanyeta taṃ loko yathecchasi tathā kuru ॥1-224-15॥
Whoever, abandoning the past, relies only on the future is of dull intellect; such a person is despised by the world. Do as you wish. (1-224-15)
eṣa hi jvalamāno'gnirlelihāno mahīruhān। dveṣyaṃ hi hṛdi santāpaṃ janayaty aśivaṃ mama ॥1-224-16॥
This burning fire, licking the trees, indeed generates inauspicious and hateful pain in my heart. (1-224-16)
vaiśampāyana uvāca॥
Vaiśampāyana said.
tasmād-deśād-atikrānte jvalane jaritā tataḥ। jagāma putrakān-iva tvaritā putragṛddhinī ॥1-224-17॥
Having passed from that region and having been burned in the fire, then, desiring her sons, she hurried like one longing for her children. (1-224-17)
sā tānkuśalinaḥ sarvānnirmuktāñjātavedasaḥ। rorūyamāṇā kṛpaṇā sutāndṛṣṭavatī vane ॥1-224-18॥
She saw all her sons, safe and freed from the fire, in the forest; distressed, she wept loudly. (1-224-18)
aśraddheyatamaṃ teṣāṃ darśanaṃ sā punaḥ punaḥ। ekaikaśaś ca tān putrān krośamānān vapadyata ॥1-224-19॥
For them, it was the most unbelievable sight as she, again and again, approached each of her sons who were crying, one by one. (1-224-19)
tato'bhyagacchatsahasā mandapālo'pi bhārata. atha te sarva evainaṃ nābhyanandanta vai sutāḥ ॥1-224-20॥
Then, O Bhārata, Mandapala suddenly arrived. However, all his sons did not welcome him at all. (1-224-20)
lālapyamānamekaikaṃ jaritāṃ ca punaḥ punaḥ। nocuste vacanaṃ kiñcittamṛṣiṃ sādhvasādhu vā ॥1-224-21॥
Though each of the singers was repeatedly addressed, none of them uttered even a single word to the sage, whether it was good or bad. (1-224-21)
mandapāla uvāca॥
Mandapāla said.
jyeṣṭhaḥ sutas te katamaḥ katamas tad-anantaraḥ। madhyamaḥ katamaḥ putraḥ kaniṣṭhaḥ katamaś ca te ॥1-224-22॥
Which is your eldest son? Which one comes immediately after him? Which is your middle son? Which is your youngest son? (1-224-22)
evaṃ bruvantaṃ duḥkhārtaṃ kiṃ māṃ na pratibhāṣase। kṛtavānasmi havyāśe naiva śāntimito labhe ॥1-224-23॥
To one speaking thus, afflicted with sorrow, why do you not answer me? O Havyāśa, I have done (what I could), yet I do not find peace here. (1-224-23)
jaritovāca॥
Jarita spoke.
kiṁ te jyeṣṭhe sute kāryaṁ kim-anantarajena vā। kiṁ ca te madhyame kāryaṁ kiṁ kaniṣṭhe tapasvini ॥1-224-24॥
What should you do with your eldest son, or with the next-born? And what should you do with the middle one? What about the youngest, O ascetic lady? (1-224-24)
yastvaṃ māṃ sarvaśo hīnam utsṛjyāsi gataḥ purā। tām eva lapitāṃ gaccha taruṇīṃ cāruhāsinīm ॥1-224-25॥
You, who once entirely abandoned me and left long ago, go now to that very talkative young woman with the beautiful smile. (1-224-25)
mandapāla uvāca॥
Mandapala said.
na strīṇāṃ vidyate kiñcid anyatra puruṣāntarāt। sāpatnakamṛte loke bhavitavyaṃ hi tat tathā ॥1-224-26॥
There is nothing for women apart from another man; except in the world where there are co-wives, it must indeed be so. (1-224-26)
suvratāpi hi kalyāṇī sarvalokapariśrutā। arundhatī paryaśaṅkad vasiṣṭham ṛṣisattamam ॥1-224-27॥
Even Arundhatī, the virtuous and renowned lady in all worlds, doubted Vasiṣṭha, the foremost among sages. (1-224-27)
viśuddhabhāvamatyantaṃ sadā priyahite ratam। saptarṣimadhyagaṃ vīramavamene ca taṃ munim ॥1-224-28॥
He, whose mind was utterly pure and always engaged in what was dear and beneficial, was regarded as a hero among the seven sages, and as a sage. (1-224-28)
apadhyānena sā tena dhūmāruṇasamaprabhā। lakṣyālakṣyā nābhirūpā nimittamiva lakṣyate ॥1-224-29॥
Because of inattentiveness, she, with a radiance like smoke and sunrise, appears to him as something visible yet invisible, having the form of a navel, like a mark. (1-224-29)
apatyahetoḥ samprāptaṃ tathā tvam api mām iha। iṣṭam evaṃgate hitvā sā tathaiva ca vartase ॥1-224-30॥
Just as one obtains something for the sake of offspring, in the same way, you too have abandoned me here, and she too acts in the same manner as you. (1-224-30)
naiva bhāryeti viśvāsaḥ kāryaḥ puṃsā kathañcana। na hi kāryamanudhyāti bhāryā putravatī satī ॥1-224-31॥
A man should never place trust in a wife as 'wife'; for a wife, even if she is chaste and has a son, does not truly reflect upon his work. (1-224-31)
vaiśampāyana uvāca॥
Vaiśampāyana said.
tataste sarva evainaṃ putrāḥ samyagupāsire। sa ca tānātmajānrājannāśvāsayitumārabhat ॥1-224-32॥
Then all his sons properly attended to him. And he, O king, began to console those sons. (1-224-32)
