Critical Edition
गुरुरुवाच रजसा साध्यते मोहस्तमसा च नरर्षभ क्रोधलोभौ भयं दर्प एतेषां साधनाच्छुचिः
M. N. Dutt: Bhishma said Delusion or loss of judgement arises from the quality of Darkness. Anger, cupidity, fear and pride originate from the quality of Ignorance, O foremost of Bharata's race. When all these are destroyed, one becomes pure.
परमं परमात्मानं देवमक्षयमव्ययम् विष्णुमव्यक्तसंस्थानं विशन्ते देवसत्तमम्
M. N. Dutt: By obtaining purity, a person acquires the knowledge of the Supreme Soul which is effulgent, incapable of deterioration, without change, pervading all things, having the unmanifest for his refuge, and the foremost of all the gods.
तस्य मायाविदग्धाङ्गा ज्ञानभ्रष्टा निराशिषः मानवा ज्ञानसंमोहात्ततः कामं प्रयान्ति वै
M. N. Dutt: By His illusory power men fall away from knowledge and become senseless, and their knowledge being darkened, yield to anger.
कामात्क्रोधमवाप्याथ लोभमोहौ च मानवाः मानदर्पादहंकारमहंकारात्ततः क्रियाः
M. N. Dutt: From anger, they become subject to desire. From desire originate cupidity, delusion, vanity, pride and selfishness. From such selfishness proceed various sorts of acts.
क्रियाभिः स्नेहसंबन्धः स्नेहाच्छोकमनन्तरम् सुखदुःखसमारम्भाज्जन्माजन्मकृतक्षणाः
M. N. Dutt: From acts originate various ties of affection and from those ties of affection springs sorrow or misery and from acts imbued with joy and sorrow proceeds the liability to birth and death.
जन्मतो गर्भवासं तु शुक्रशोणितसंभवम् पुरीषमूत्रविक्लेदशोणितप्रभवाविलम्
M. N. Dutt: On account of the obligation of birth, one is compelled to live within the womb,—for the union of vital seed and blood. Living there is defiled with excreta urine and phlegm, and always fouled with blood that is created there.
तृष्णाभिभूतस्तैर्बद्धस्तानेवाभिपरिप्लवन् संसारतन्त्रवाहिन्यस्तत्र बुध्येत योषितः
M. N. Dutt: Overwhelmed by thirst, the Intelligence Soul becomes fettered by anger and the rest that have been described above. It seeks, however, to escape those evils. In this respect, women must be considered as instruments which set the stream of Creation a going.
Supplementary Passages:
12.206.7 After 7ab, Kumbh. ed. Cv ins.: *590 तथा नरकगर्तस्थस्तृष्णारज्जुभिराचितः पुण्यपापप्रणुन्नाङ्गो जायते स यथा कृमिः मशकैर्मत्कुणैर्दष्टस्तथा चित्रवधार्दितः नानाव्याधिभिराकीर्णः कथंचिद्यौवनं गतः कूर्मोत्सृजति भूयश्च रज्जुः स्वस्वमुखेप्सया योषितं नरकं गृह्य जन्मकर्मवशानुगः पुरक्षेत्रनिमित्तं यद्दुःखं वक्तुं न शक्यते कस्तत्र निन्दकश्चैव नरके पच्यते भृशम् वार्धक्यमनुलङ्घेत तत्र कर्मारभेत्पुनः भगवान्संस्तुतः पश्चात्किं प्रवक्ष्यामि ते भृशम्
प्रकृत्या क्षेत्रभूतास्ता नराः क्षेत्रज्ञलक्षणाः तस्मादेता विशेषेण नरोऽतीयुर्विपश्चितः
M. N. Dutt: By their nature, women are Kshetra, and men are Kshetrajna in respect of qualities. Therefore, wise persons should not pursue women especially.
कृत्या ह्येता घोररूपा मोहयन्त्यविचक्षणान् रजस्यन्तर्हिता मूर्तिरिन्द्रियाणां सनातनी
M. N. Dutt: Indeed, women are like dreadful Mantra powers. They stupefy persons shorn of wisdom. They are sunk in the quality of Darkness. They are the eternal embodiment of the senses.
तस्मात्तर्षात्मकाद्रागाद्बीजाज्जायन्ति जन्तवः स्वदेहजानस्वसंज्ञान्यद्वदङ्गात्कृमींस्त्यजेत् स्वसंज्ञानस्वजांस्तद्वत्सुतसंज्ञान्कृमींस्त्यजेत्
AI Translation: From the seed of desire, which is the essence of thirst, beings are born. One should abandon the worms that are born from one's own body and have the same name as oneself,
शुक्रतो रसतश्चैव स्नेहाज्जायन्ति जन्तवः स्वभावात्कर्मयोगाद्वा तानुपेक्षेत बुद्धिमान्
M. N. Dutt: From the seminal fluid and sweat creatures spring from the body, influenced by pristino acts or in the course of nature. Therefore, a wise man should feel no regard for them.
रजस्तमसि पर्यस्तं सत्त्वं तमसि संस्थितम् ज्ञानाधिष्ठानमज्ञानं बुद्ध्यहंकारलक्षणम्
AI Translation: sattva is established in tamas. Ignorance is the basis of knowledge, characterized by intellect and ego.
तद्बीजं देहिनामाहुस्तद्बीजं जीवसंज्ञितम् कर्मणा कालयुक्तेन संसारपरिवर्तकम्
AI Translation: That seed is said to be the cause of the body, and that seed is called the living being. By action combined with time, it is the cause of the cycle of worldly existence.
रमत्ययं यथा स्वप्ने मनसा देहवानिव कर्मगर्भैर्गुणैर्देही गर्भे तदुपपद्यते
M. N. Dutt: As in a dream the Soul plays as if invested with a body which, of course, is due to the action of the mind, similarly, it gets in the mother's womb a body in consequence of qualities and propensities created by pristine deeds.
कर्मणा बीजभूतेन चोद्यते यद्यदिन्द्रियम् जायते तदहंकाराद्रागयुक्तेन चेतसा
M. N. Dutt: Whatever senses, while it is there, are awakened by pristine deeds as the operating cause, become created in Consciousness in consequence of the mind co-existing with attachments.
शब्दरागाच्छ्रोत्रमस्य जायते भावितात्मनः रूपरागात्तथा चक्षुर्घ्राणं गन्धचिकीर्षया
M. N. Dutt: On account of the past thoughts of sound that are awakened in it, the Soul, subjected to such influences, gets the organ of hearing. Similarly, from attachment to forms, its eye is produced, and from its desire after smell its organ of smelling.
Supplementary Passages:
12.206.16 Ś1 K1 ins. after 16ab: K2 after 592*: M5.6 after 16a: *591 स्पर्शरागात्त्वगेवास्य जायते भावितात्मनः K1 ins. after 16: K2 after 16ab: M5.6 after 16abc: *592 रसरागात्तथा जिह्वा जायते भावितात्मनः
स्पर्शनेभ्यस्तथा वायुः प्राणापानव्यपाश्रयः व्यानोदानौ समानश्च पञ्चधा देहयापना
M. N. Dutt: From thoughts of touch it acquires the skin. Likewise, the five vital airs are acquired by it, viz., Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana, and Samana, which make the body agoing.
संजातैर्जायते गात्रैः कर्मजैर्ब्रह्मणा वृतः दुःखाद्यन्तैर्दुःखमध्यैर्नरः शारीरमानसैः
M. N. Dutt: Encased in body with all limbs fully developed on account of pristine deeds, the Soul takes birth, with both physical and mental sorrow, in the beginning, iniddle, and end.
दुःखं विद्यादुपादानादभिमानाच्च वर्धते त्यागात्तेभ्यो निरोधः स्यान्निरोधज्ञो विमुच्यते
M. N. Dutt: It should be known that sorrow originates from the very formation of body in the womb). It increases with the idea of self. From renuciation of these, sorrow is destroyed. He who knows sorrow's end attains to Liberation.
इन्द्रियाणां रजस्येव प्रभवप्रलयावुभौ परीक्ष्य संचरेद्विद्वान्यथावच्छास्त्रचक्षुषा
M. N. Dutt: Both the origin and the destruction of the senses depend on the quality of Darkness. A wise man should act with proper scrutiny with the help of the eye of the scriptures.
ज्ञानेन्द्रियाणीन्द्रियार्थान्नोपसर्पन्त्यतर्षुलम् ज्ञातैश्च कारणैर्देही न देहं पुनरर्हति
M. N. Dutt: The senses of knowledge, if they succeed in acquiring all their objects, can never stupefy the man who is without thirst. The embodied Soul, by making its senses weak, is saved from the obligation of re-birth.