12.062
Library: A Brahmana engaging in the duties of other orders is not recommended. Same holds good for others.
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca॥
Yudhiṣṭhira said:
śivān sukhān mahodarkān ahiṃsrāṃl lokasaṃmatān। brūhi dharmān sukhopāyān madvidhānāṃ sukhāvahān ॥12-62-1॥
Tell me about the auspicious, pleasant, greatly consequential, non-violent, and widely accepted dharmas—the means to happiness that bring joy to people like me.
bhīṣma uvāca॥
Bhīṣma said:
brāhmaṇasyeha catvāra āśramā vihitāḥ prabho। varṇāstānanuvartante trayo bharatasattama ॥12-62-2॥
O best of the Bharatas, four āśramas are prescribed here for the brāhmaṇa, O lord. Of those, three are followed by the other castes.
uktāni karmāṇi bahūni rāja; na svargyāṇi rājanya-parāyaṇāni. nemāni dṛṣṭānta-vidhau smṛtāni; kṣātre hi sarvaṃ vihitaṃ yathāvat. ॥12-62-3॥
O king, many actions have been spoken of; they are not heavenly, but are devoted to the kṣatriya order. These are not remembered as examples; indeed, in the kṣatriya order, everything is prescribed as it is.
kṣātrāṇi vaiśyāni ca sevamānaḥ; śaudrāṇi karmāṇi ca brāhmaṇaḥ san। asmiñloke nindito mandacetāḥ; pare ca loke nirayaṃ prayāti ॥12-62-4॥
If a brāhmaṇa engages in the duties of kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, and śūdras, he is condemned as dull-minded in this world and goes to hell in the next.
yā sañjñā vihitā loke dāse śuni vṛke paśau। vikarmaṇi sthite vipre tāṃ sañjñāṃ kuru pāṇḍava॥12-62-5॥
O Pāṇḍava, apply the same designation that is established in the world for a servant, a dog, a wolf, a beast, or one engaged in wrongful acts, even when it is a Brāhmaṇa.
ṣaṭkarma-sampravṛttasya āśrameṣu caturṣv api। sarvadharmopapannasya sambhūtasya kṛtātmanaḥ ॥12-62-6॥
Of one who is engaged in the six duties, in all four āśramas, endowed with all virtues, arisen and self-controlled.
brāhmaṇasya viśuddhasya tapasyabhiratasya ca। nirāśiṣo vadānyasya lokā hyakṣarasañjñitāḥ ॥12-62-7॥
The imperishable worlds are attained by the brāhmaṇa who is pure, devoted to austerities, free from desires, and generous.
yo yasmin kurute karma yādṛśaṃ yena yatra ca। tādṛśaṃ tādṛśenaiva sa guṇaṃ pratipadyate ॥12-62-8॥
Whatever action a person performs, of whatever kind, by whom, and wherever, he obtains a quality of that very kind by just such a one.
vṛddhyā kṛṣivaṇiktvena jīvasañjīvanena ca। vettumarhasi rājendra svādhyāyagaṇitaṃ mahat ॥12-62-9॥
O King, you should know the great calculation of self-study through increase, agriculture and trade, and sustaining life.
kālasañcoditaḥ kālaḥ kālaparyāyaniścitaḥ। uttamādhamamadhyāni karmāṇi kurute'vaśaḥ ॥12-62-10॥
Time, impelled and determined by its own succession, helplessly performs actions that are excellent, inferior, and middling.
antavanti pradānāni purā śreyaskarāṇi ca। svakarmanirato loko hyakṣaraḥ sarvatomukhaḥ ॥12-62-11॥
Gifts are perishable, though they were once considered auspicious; but those who are devoted to their own duties are truly imperishable and omnipresent.
