Critical Edition
युधिष्ठिर उवाच यदिदं घोरमुद्दिष्टमश्रद्धेयमिवानृतम् अस्ति स्विद्दस्युमर्यादा यामहं परिवर्जये
M. N. Dutt: Yudhishthira said If such a terrible act which should always be discarded like falsehood, be pointed (as duty), then what act is there from which I should forbear? Why also should not robbers then be honoured?
संमुह्यामि विषीदामि धर्मो मे शिथिलीकृतः उद्यमं नाधिगच्छामि कुतश्चित्परिचिन्तयन्
M. N. Dutt: I am stupefied! My heart is pained. All the bonds that tie me to morality are loosened. I cannot compose my mind and dare act in the way pointed out by you.
भीष्म उवाच नैतच्छुद्धागमादेव तव धर्मानुशासनम् प्रज्ञासमवतारोऽयं कविभिः संभृतं मधु
M. N. Dutt: Bhishma said I do not instruct you regarding duty, taught by what I have heard from the Vedas alone. What I have told you is the result of wisdom and experience. This is the honey that the learned have gleaned.
बह्व्यः प्रतिविधातव्याः प्रज्ञा राज्ञा ततस्ततः नैकशाखेन धर्मेण यात्रैषा संप्रवर्तते
M. N. Dutt: Kings should collect wisdom from various sources. One cannot go successfully through the worldly course with the help of a one-sided morality.
बुद्धिसंजननं राज्ञां धर्ममाचरतां सदा जयो भवति कौरव्य तदा तद्विद्धि मे वचः
M. N. Dutt: Duty must originate from the understanding and the practices of the good should always be determined, O son of Kuru. Obey these words of mine.
बुद्धिश्रेष्ठा हि राजानो जयन्ति विजयैषिणः धर्मः प्रतिविधातव्यो बुद्ध्या राज्ञा ततस्ततः
M. N. Dutt: Only kings of superior intelligence can rule, cxpccting victory. A king by the help of his understanding and guided by knowledge gathered from various sources, should so arrange that inoral laws may be observed.
नैकशाखेन धर्मेण राज्ञां धर्मो विधीयते दुर्बलस्य कुतः प्रज्ञा पुरस्तादनुदाहृता
M. N. Dutt: The duties of a king can never be satisfied by rules drawn from a one-sided morality. A weak king can never show wisdom for his not having drawn it from the examples before him.
अद्वैधज्ञः पथि द्वैधे संशयं प्राप्तुमर्हति बुद्धिद्वैधं वेदितव्यं पुरस्तादेव भारत
M. N. Dutt: Righteousness sometimes appears like unrighteousness. The latter also some-times appears like the former. He who does not know this, becomes confused when an actual instance presents itself before him. Before the time comes, one should, O Bharata, understand the circumstances, under which righteousness and its opposite become confused.
पार्श्वतःकरणं प्रज्ञा विषूची त्वापगा इव जनस्तूच्चारितं धर्मं विजानात्यन्यथान्यथा
M. N. Dutt: Having gained this knowledge, a wise king should, when the time comes, act accordingly, helped by his judgement. His acts at such a time are misunderstood by ordinary people.
सम्यग्विज्ञानिनः केचिन्मिथ्याविज्ञानिनोऽपरे तद्वै यथातथं बुद्ध्वा ज्ञानमाददते सताम्
M. N. Dutt: Some persons are endued with true knowledge. Some persons have false knowledge. Truly determining the nature of each kind of knowledge, a wise king derives knowledge from the good.
परिमुष्णन्ति शास्त्राणि धर्मस्य परिपन्थिनः वैषम्यमर्थविद्यानां नैरर्थ्यात्ख्यापयन्ति ते
M. N. Dutt: The violators of moral laws find fault with the scriptures. They who have themselves no money, point out the inconsistencies of the works on the laws of wealth.
आजिजीविषवो विद्यां यशस्कामाः समन्ततः ते सर्वे नरपापिष्ठा धर्मस्य परिपन्थिनः
M. N. Dutt: Those who wish to gain knowledge merely for carrying their sustenance, are, o king, sinful, besides being enemies of morality.
अपक्वमतयो मन्दा न जानन्ति यथातथम् सदा ह्यशास्त्रकुशलाः सर्वत्रापरिनिष्ठिताः
M. N. Dutt: Wicked men of unripe understandings, can never know things truly, as persons ignorant of scriptures are unable in all their acts to be guided by reason.
परिमुष्णन्ति शास्त्राणि शास्त्रदोषानुदर्शिनः विज्ञानमथ विद्यानां न सम्यगिति वर्तते
M. N. Dutt: Always seeing the faults of the scriptures, they decry them. Even if they understand the true import of the scriptures, they are still in the habit of saying that scriptural injunctions are unsound.
निन्दया परविद्यानां स्वां विद्यां ख्यापयन्ति ये वागस्त्रा वाक्छुरीमत्त्वा दुग्धविद्याफला इव तान्विद्यावणिजो विद्धि राक्षसानिव भारत
M. N. Dutt: By decrying the knowledge of others, such men announce the superiority of their own knowledge. They have words for their weapons and arrows and speak, as if they are well grounded in those sciences.
व्याजेन कृत्स्नो विदितो धर्मस्ते परिहास्यते न धर्मवचनं वाचा न बुद्ध्या चेति नः श्रुतम्
AI Translation: You will be known as one who has completely understood the Dharma through pretense, and you will be abandoned. We have heard that the Dharma is not expressed through words or through the intellect.
इति बार्हस्पतं ज्ञानं प्रोवाच मघवा स्वयम् न त्वेव वचनं किंचिदनिमित्तादिहोच्यते
AI Translation: Thus the knowledge of Bṛhaspati was spoken by Maghavan himself. But no words are uttered here without a reason.
स्वविनीतेन शास्त्रेण व्यवस्यन्ति तथापरे लोकयात्रामिहैके तु धर्ममाहुर्मनीषिणः
AI Translation: Others, with their own well-disciplined scriptures, are intent on that. Here, some wise ones say that dharma is the conduct of the world.
समुद्दिष्टं सतां धर्मं स्वयमूहेन्न पण्डितः अमर्षाच्छास्त्रसंमोहादविज्ञानाच्च भारत
AI Translation: The wise man should not himself decide on the duty of the good, which has been declared. O descendant of Bharata, because of impatience, confusion of the scriptures, and ignorance.
शास्त्रं प्राज्ञस्य वदतः समूहे यात्यदर्शनम् आगतागमया बुद्ध्या वचनेन प्रशस्यते
AI Translation: The words of the wise man, when spoken in an assembly, are not seen. He is praised by his words with the intellect that has come from the scriptures.
अज्ञानाज्ज्ञानहेतुत्वाद्वचनं साधु मन्यते अनपाहतमेवेदं नेदं शास्त्रमपार्थकम्
AI Translation: Because of being the cause of knowledge, the statement is considered good. This is not refuted at all, this scripture is not futile.
दैतेयानुशनाः प्राह संशयच्छेदने पुरा ज्ञानमव्यपदेश्यं हि यथा नास्ति तथैव तत्
AI Translation: The Daitreya Anushana said in the past to cut through doubts: "Knowledge is indeed inexpressible, and it is just like that."
तेन त्वं छिन्नमूलेन कं तोषयितुमर्हसि अतथ्यविहितं यो वा नेदं वाक्यमुपाश्नुयात्
AI Translation: Therefore, you who are rootless, whom should you please? He who does not accept this statement, which is not true,
उग्रायैव हि सृष्टोऽसि कर्मणे न त्ववेक्षसे अङ्गेमामन्ववेक्षस्व राजनीतिं बुभूषितुम् यया प्रमुच्यते त्वन्यो यदर्थं च प्रमोदते
AI Translation: You have been created for the sake of performing fierce deeds, and you do not consider anything else. Consider this limb of mine, the policy of kingship, if you wish to prosper. By which one is freed from bondage, and for which one rejoices.
अजोऽश्वः क्षत्रमित्येतत्सदृशं ब्रह्मणा कृतम् तस्मान्नतीक्ष्णभूतानां यात्रा काचित्प्रसिध्यति
M. N. Dutt: Goat, horse, and Kshatriya, were created by Brahman for the same purpose (of being useful to everybody). A Kshatriya, therefore, should always seek the happiness of all creatures.
यस्त्ववध्यवधे दोषः स वध्यस्यावधे स्मृतः एषैव खलु मर्यादा यामयं परिवर्जयेत्
M. N. Dutt: The sin of killing a person unworthy of being killed is tantamount to that which is incurred by not killing one who deserves to be killed. Such is the established order of things which a weak-minded king never thinks of attending to.
तस्मात्तीक्ष्णः प्रजा राजा स्वधर्मे स्थापयेदुत अन्योन्यं भक्षयन्तो हि प्रचरेयुर्वृका इव
M. N. Dutt: Therefore, a king should force all his subjects to observe their respective duties. If this is not done, they will prowl like wolves, devouring one another,
यस्य दस्युगणा राष्ट्रे ध्वाङ्क्षा मत्स्याञ्जलादिव विहरन्ति परस्वानि स वै क्षत्रियपांसनः
M. N. Dutt: He is a wretch among Kshatriyas in whose kingdom robbers go about pillaging the property of other people like crows taking little fishes from water.
कुलीनान्सचिवान्कृत्वा वेदविद्यासमन्वितान् प्रशाधि पृथिवीं राजन्प्रजा धर्मेण पालयन्
M. N. Dutt: Appointing high-born men with Vedic knowledge as your ministers, do you govern the Earth, protecting your subjects piously.
Supplementary Passages:
12.140.29 After 29, K3 D4 ins.: *359 वेदवेदाङ्गतत्त्वज्ञो जपहोमपरायणः आशीर्वादपरो नित्यमेष राजा पुरोहितः
विहीनजमकर्माणं यः प्रगृह्णाति भूमिपः उभयस्याविशेषज्ञस्तद्वै क्षत्रं नपुंसकम्
M. N. Dutt: That Kshatriya who, innocent of the established customs and contrivances, improperly taxes his people, is considered as a eunuch of his order.
नैवोग्रं नैव चानुग्रं धर्मेणेह प्रशस्यते उभयं न व्यतिक्रामेदुग्रो भूत्वा मृदुर्भव
M. N. Dutt: A king should neither be severe nor mild. If he rules fairly he deserves praise. A king should not renounce both that qualities; on the other hand, becoming severe when (it is necessary), he should be mild when it is necessary to be so.
कष्टः क्षत्रियधर्मोऽयं सौहृदं त्वयि यत्स्थितम् उग्रे कर्मणि सृष्टोऽसि तस्माद्राज्यं प्रशाधि वै
M. N. Dutt: The observance of Kshatriya duties is highly difficult. I love you greatly. You are created for the performance of severe acts. Therefore, do you rule kingdom.
Supplementary Passages:
12.140.32 After 32, D7 S (G3.4 absent) ins.: *360 अरुष्टः कस्यचिद्राजन्नेवमेव समाचर
अशिष्टनिग्रहो नित्यं शिष्टस्य परिपालनम् इति शक्रोऽब्रवीद्धीमानापत्सु भरतर्षभ
M. N. Dutt: The highly intelligent Shakra has said that in times of distress the great duty of a king is to punish the wicked and protect the good.
युधिष्ठिर उवाच अस्ति स्विद्दस्युमर्यादा यामन्यो नातिलङ्घयेत् पृच्छामि त्वां सतां श्रेष्ठ तन्मे ब्रूहि पितामह
M. N. Dutt: Yudhishthira said Is there any such rule (regarding royal duties) which should, under no circumstances) be violated? I ask you this, O foremost of virtuous persons! Tell me, O grandfather.
भीष्म उवाच ब्राह्मणानेव सेवेत विद्यावृद्धांस्तपस्विनः श्रुतचारित्रवृत्ताढ्यान्पवित्रं ह्येतदुत्तमम्
M. N. Dutt: Bhishma said One should always adore Brahmanas respected for learning, devoted to penances, and observant of Vedic injunctions. This, indeed, is a high and sacred duty.
या देवतासु वृत्तिस्ते सास्तु विप्रेषु सर्वदा क्रुद्धैर्हि विप्रैः कर्माणि कृतानि बहुधा नृप
M. N. Dutt: You should always treat the Brahmanas like the gods. The Brahmanas, if enraged, can inflict pains in a variety of ways, O King.
तेषां प्रीत्या यशो मुख्यमप्रीत्या तु विपर्ययः प्रीत्या ह्यमृतवद्विप्राः क्रुद्धाश्चैव यथा विषम्
M. N. Dutt: If they be pleased, you will win high fame. If otherwise, great will be your fear. If pleased, the Brahmanas become like ambrosia. If enraged, they become like poison.