12.286
parāśara uvāca॥
Parāśara said.
pitā sakhāyo guravaḥ striyaśca; na nirguṇā nāma bhavanti loke। ananyabhaktāḥ priyavādinaśca; hitāśca vaśyāśca tathaiva rājan ॥12-286-1॥
O king, in this world, fathers, friends, teachers, and women are never without virtues. Those who are exclusively devoted, who speak pleasantly, who are well-wishers, and who are obedient are also the same.
pitā paraṃ daivataṃ mānavānāṃ; mātur-viśiṣṭaṃ pitaraṃ vadanti. jñānasya lābhaṃ paramaṃ vadanti; jitendriyārthāḥ paramāpnuvanti ॥12-286-2॥
The father is regarded as the highest divinity among humans; it is said that the father is even more distinguished than the mother. The highest gain is considered to be knowledge; those who have conquered their senses attain the supreme goal.
raṇājire yatra śarāgnisaṃstare; nṛpātmajo ghātam avāpya dahyate. prayāti lokān amaraiḥ sudurlabhān; niṣevate svargaphalaṃ yathāsukham ॥12-286-3॥
Where, in the battlefield, on the bed of arrow-fire, the prince, having met his death and being burned, goes to worlds that are very difficult even for the gods to attain, and enjoys the fruits of heaven in complete ease.
śrāntaṃ bhītaṃ bhraṣṭaśastraṃ rudantaṃ; parāṅmukhaṃ paribarhaiś ca hīnam। anudyataṃ rogiṇaṃ yācamānaṃ; na vai hiṃsyād bālavṛddhau ca rājan ॥12-286-4॥
O king, one should never harm those who are tired, frightened, deprived of weapons, weeping, turned away, deprived of equipment, not raising arms, sick, or begging, nor should one harm children or the elderly.
paribarhaiḥ susampannam udyataṃ tulyatāṃ gatam। atikrameta nṛpatiḥ saṅgrāme kṣatriyātmajam ॥12-286-5॥
A king, equipped and well-endowed, having attained equal status and readiness, would surpass a Kṣatriya's son in battle.
tulyād iha vadhaḥ śreyān viśiṣṭāc ca iti niścayaḥ। nihīnāt kātarāc caiva nṛpāṇāṃ garhito vadhaḥ ॥12-286-6॥
It is determined that, for kings, killing an equal is preferable to killing a superior, while killing an inferior or a coward is considered blameworthy.
pāpātpāpasamācārānnihīnācca narādhipa। pāpa eva vadhaḥ prokto narakāyeti niścayaḥ ॥12-286-7॥
O king, it is certain that killing a sinner, one of evil conduct and depravity, is declared to lead to hell.
na kaścit trāti vai rājan diṣṭānta-vaśam-āgatam। sa-avaśeṣa-āyuṣam ca api kaścit eva apakarṣati ॥12-286-8॥
O king, no one can protect a person who has come under the power of fate. And indeed, no one can take away someone whose allotted lifespan still remains.
snigdhaiś ca kriyamāṇāni karmāṇīha nivartayet। hiṁsātmakāni karmāṇi nāyuricchet parāyuṣā ॥12-286-9॥
Affectionate people should restrain actions being performed here; one should not desire actions of violent nature at the cost of another's life.
gṛhasthānāṃ tu sarveṣāṃ vināśamabhikāṅkṣatām। nidhanaṃ śobhanaṃ tāta pulineṣu kriyāvatām ॥12-286-10॥
O dear, for all householders who desire their end, death on the riverbanks while performing rites is considered auspicious.
āyuṣi kṣayam-āpanne pañcatvam-upagacchati। nākāraṇāt-tad-bhavati kāraṇair-upapāditam ॥12-286-11॥
When life comes to its end, it reaches dissolution into the five elements (death). This does not occur without a cause; it is always brought about by causes.
tathā śarīraṃ bhavati dehādyenopapāditam। adhvānaṃ gatakaścāyaṃ prāptaścāyaṃ gṛhādgṛham ॥12-286-12॥
In this way, the body is formed by that which originates from the body. This traveler on the path moves from one house to another.
dvitīyaṃ kāraṇaṃ tatra nānyatkiñcana vidyate. taddehaṃ dehināṃ yuktaṃ mokṣabhūteṣu vartate ॥12-286-13॥
There is no other second cause there. That body of the embodied beings, being joined, remains among those who have attained liberation.
sirā-snāv-asthi-saṅghātaṃ bībhtsā-medhya-saṅkulam। bhūtānām-indriyāṇāṃ ca guṇānāṃ ca samāgamam ॥12-286-14॥
A body is an aggregate of veins, sinews, and bones, filled with horrible and impure substances, a combination of beings, senses, and qualities.
tvag-antaṃ deham ity āhur vidvāṃso'dhyātma-cintakāḥ। guṇair api parikṣīṇaṃ śarīraṃ martyatāṃ gatam ॥12-286-15॥
Those who contemplate on the Self, the wise, say that the body, which ends with the skin, even when worn out by the guṇas, has reached mortality.
śarīriṇā parityaktaṃ niśceṣṭaṃ gatacetanam। bhūtaiḥ prakṛtimāpannais tato bhūmau nimajjati ॥12-286-16॥
When the embodied one abandons it, the body, now motionless and devoid of consciousness, having returned to its original state through the elements, then sinks into the earth.
bhāvitaṃ karmayogena jāyate tatra tatra ha। idaṃ śarīraṃ vaideha mriyate yatra tatra ha ॥ tatsvabhāvo'paro dṛṣṭo visargaḥ karmaṇastathā ॥12-286-17॥
By the union with action, manifestation arises again and again. This body, O Vaideha, perishes wherever it must. Thus, another nature is observed: the dissolution of action itself.
na jāyate tu nṛpate kañcit kālam ayaṃ punaḥ। paribhramati bhūtātmā dyām iva ambudharaḥ mahān ॥12-286-18॥
O king, this (soul) is not born again at any time; the embodied soul wanders like a great cloud in the sky.
sa punarjāyate rājanprāpyehāyatanaṃ nṛpa। manasaḥ paramo hyātmā indriyebhyaḥ paraṃ manaḥ ॥12-286-19॥
O king, he is born again after attaining an abode here, O ruler. The self is indeed supreme over the mind; and the mind is higher than the senses.
dvividhānāṃ ca bhūtānāṃ jaṅgamāḥ paramā nṛpa। jaṅgamānām api tathā dvipadāḥ paramā matāḥ ॥ dvipadānām api tathā dvijā vai paramāḥ smṛtāḥ ॥12-286-20॥
O king, among beings of two kinds, the moving are the highest. Among the moving, the two-footed are considered the highest. Among the two-footed, the twice-born are indeed regarded as the highest.
dvijānām api rājendra prajñāvantaḥ parā matāḥ। prājñānām ātmasambuddhāḥ sambuddhānām amāninaḥ ॥12-286-21॥
O king, even among the twice-born, the wise are regarded as the highest; among the wise, those who are self-realized; and among the self-realized, those who are free from pride.
jātam anv eti maraṇaṃ nṛṇām iti viniścayaḥ। antavanti hi karmāṇi sevante guṇataḥ prajāḥ ॥12-286-22॥
It is certain that for men, birth is followed by death. All actions are finite; beings act according to their qualities.
āpanne tūttarāṃ kāṣṭhāṃ sūrye yo nidhanaṃ vrajet। nakṣatre ca muhūrte ca puṇye rājans puṇyakṛt ॥12-286-23॥
O king, when the sun has reached the northern solstice, whoever dies at an auspicious time and constellation, having performed meritorious deeds, attains merit.
ayojayitvā kleśena janaṃ plāvya ca duṣkṛtam। mṛtyunāprākṛteneha karma kṛtvātmaśaktitaḥ ॥12-286-24॥
Having afflicted the people and overwhelmed them with evil deeds, here, by an extraordinary death, he performed the act by his own power.
viṣamudbandhanaṃ dāho dasyuhastāttathā vadhaḥ। daṃṣṭribhyaśca paśubhyashca prākṛto vadha ucyate ॥12-286-25॥
Painful binding, burning, and killing by the hand of a robber are considered; likewise, killing by fanged creatures and animals is called natural killing.
na caibhiḥ puṇyakarmāṇo yujyante nābhisandhijaiḥ। evaṃvidhaiśca bahubhiraparaiḥ prākṛtairapi ॥12-286-26॥
Those of meritorious deeds are not united by these, nor by those arising from intention; nor by such, nor by many others, nor even by ordinary people.
ūrdhvaṃ hitvā pratiṣṭhante prāṇāḥ puṇyakṛtāṃ nṛpa। madhyato madhyapuṇyānāmadho duṣkṛtakarmaṇām ॥12-286-27॥
O king, the vital breaths of the doers of merit proceed upwards after leaving; from the middle, those of middling merit; downwards, those of evil deeds.
ekaḥ śatrur na dvitīyo'sti śatru; ajñānatulyaḥ puruṣasya rājan। yena āvṛtaḥ kurute samprayukto; ghorāṇi karmāṇi sudāruṇāni ॥12-286-28॥
O king, for a person, there is only one enemy, not a second; that is ignorance. When enveloped by it, impelled, he performs terrible and very cruel actions.
prabodhanārthaṃ śrutidharmayuktaṃ; vṛddhānupāsyaṃ ca bhavet yasya। prayatnasādhyo hi sa rājaputra; prajñāśareṇonmathitaḥ paraiti ॥12-286-29॥
A prince whose awakening is for the sake of knowledge, who is endowed with Vedic dharma, who serves elders, and who is to be accomplished by effort—when struck down by the arrow of wisdom, he departs.
adhītya vedāṃstapasā brahmacārī; yajñāñśaktyā saṃnisṛjyeha pañca. vanaṃ gacchetpuruṣo dharmakāmaḥ; śreyaścittvā sthāpayitvā svavaṃśam ॥12-286-30॥
After studying the Vedas and practicing austerity, the celibate student, having performed the five sacrifices to the best of his ability, should renounce them here and go to the forest. A man who desires righteousness, after considering the highest good and ensuring the continuation of his lineage, should do so.
upabhogair api tyaktaṃ nātmānam avasādayet। caṇḍālatve'pi mānuṣyaṃ sarvathā tāta durlabham ॥12-286-31॥
One should never let oneself fall into despair even if deprived of pleasures. O dear one, even in the condition of an outcaste, humanity is always rare and precious.
iyaṃ hi yoniḥ prathamā yāṃ prāpya jagatīpate। ātmā vai śakyate trātuṃ karmabhiḥ śubhalakṣaṇaiḥ ॥12-286-32॥
O lord of the earth, this is indeed the first origin; having attained it, the self can truly be protected by actions of auspicious nature.
kathaṁ na vipraṇaśyema yonito'syā iti prabho। kurvanti dharmaṁ manujāḥ śrutiprāmāṇyadarśanāt ॥12-286-33॥
O lord, how could we not perish from her origin? Men perform their duties because they do not perceive the authority of the Veda.
yo durlabhataraṃ prāpya mānuṣyam iha vai naraḥ। dharmāvamantā kāmātmā bhavets khalu vañcyate ॥12-286-34॥
Whoever, having attained the exceedingly rare human birth here, disregards dharma and is led by desire, is truly deceived.
yastu prītipurogeṇa cakṣuṣā tāta paśyati। dīpopamāni bhūtāni yāvadarcirna naśyati ॥12-286-35॥
But, O dear one, he who looks upon beings with affection, sees them as long as the flame (of life) is not extinguished, just as one sees lamps while their flame endures.
sāntvenānupradānena priyavādena cāpyuta। samaduḥkhasukho bhūtvā sa paratra mahīyate ॥12-286-36॥
One who conciliates, gives gifts, speaks pleasantly, and remains even-minded in pleasure and pain is honored in the next world.
dānaṃ tyāgaḥ śobhanā mūtiradbhyo; bhūyaḥ plāvyaṃ tapasā vai śarīram। sarasvatīnaimiṣapuṣkareṣu; ye cāpyanye puṇyadeśāḥ pṛthivyām ॥12-286-37॥
Gift and renunciation are auspicious forms for the waters; the body is purified again and again by austerity. In Sarasvatī, Naimiṣa, Puṣkara, and other holy places on earth, too, this holds true.
gṛheṣu yeṣāmasavaḥ patanti; teṣāmatho nirharaṇaṃ praśastam। yānena vai prāpaṇaṃ ca śmaśāne; śaucena nūnaṃ vidhinā caiva dāhaḥ ॥12-286-38॥
When a person dies in a house, it is proper to remove the body. Transporting it by vehicle to the cremation ground, and then cremating it with purity and according to prescribed rules, is certainly recommended.
iṣṭiḥ puṣṭir yajanaṃ yājanaṃ ca; dānaṃ puṇyānāṃ karmaṇāṃ ca prayogaḥ. śaktyā pitryaṃ yac ca kiñcit praśastaṃ; sarvāṇi ātmārthe mānavaḥ yaḥ karoti ॥12-286-39॥
Whatever sacrifices, nourishments, worships, causing others to perform sacrifices, gifts, applications of meritorious actions, ancestral rites, or any praiseworthy acts a man performs for himself, all these—whoever does them according to his ability—
dharmaśāstrāṇi vedāś ca ṣaḍaṅgāni narādhipa। śreyaso'rthe vidhīyante narasyākliṣṭakarmaṇaḥ ॥12-286-40॥
O king, treatises on dharma, the Vedas, and the six limbs are prescribed for the highest good of a man whose actions are without fatigue.
bhīṣma uvāca॥
Bhīṣma said.
evadvai sarvamākhyātaṃ muninā sumahātmanā। videharājāya purā śreyaso'rthe narādhipa ॥12-286-41॥
Thus, O king, all this was once declared by the great-souled sage to the king of Videha for the sake of the highest good.
