अस्मत्पोषणजा चिन्ता मा भूत्ते हृदि पार्थिव। स्वयमाहृत्य वन्यानि त्वानुयास्यामहे वयम्
Let not the worry for our sustenance trouble your heart, O King; we ourselves will gather wild foods and follow you.
अनुध्यानेन जप्येन विधास्यामः शिव तव। कथाभिश्चानुकूलाभिः सह रंस्यामहे वने
Through meditation and recitation, we will ensure your welfare; and with agreeable stories, we shall enjoy ourselves together in the forest.
एवमेतन्न संदेहो रमेयं ब्राह्मणैः सह। न्यूनभावात्तु पश्यामि प्रत्यादेशमिवात्मनः
Thus it is, there is no doubt; I would delight in the company of the Brahmins, yet due to my diminished state, I perceive a command to withdraw within myself.
कथं द्रक्ष्यामि वः सर्वान्स्वयमाहृत्य भोजिनः। मद्भक्त्या क्लिश्यतोऽनर्हान्धिक्पापान्धृतराष्ट्रजान्
How shall I see you all, gathering food yourselves, suffering undeservedly out of devotion to me, while those sinful sons of Dhritarashtra feast?
इत्युक्त्वा नृपतिः शोचन्निषसाद महीतले
Having spoken thus, the grieving king sat down upon the earth.
तमध्यात्मरतो विद्वाञ्शौनको नाम वै द्विजः। योगे साङ्ख्ये च कुशलो राजानमिदमब्रवीत्
A certain wise Brahmin named Shaunaka, devoted to spiritual pursuits and skilled in Yoga and Sankhya, addressed the king thus:
शोकस्थानसहस्राणि हर्षस्थानशतानि च। दिवसेदिवसे मूढमाविशन्ति न पण्डितम्
Thousands of occasions for sorrow and hundreds for joy enter the mind of the foolish day by day, but not that of the wise.
न हि ज्ञानविरुद्धेषु बहुदोषेषु कर्मसु। श्रेयोघातिषु सज्जन्ते बुद्धिमन्तो भवद्विधाः
Indeed, those like you, possessing wisdom, do not become attached to actions opposed to knowledge, full of faults, and destructive of welfare.
अष्टाङ्गां बुद्धिमाहुर्यां सर्वाश्रेयोभिघातिनीम्। श्रुतिस्मृतिसमायुक्तां राजन्सा त्वय्यवस्थिता
They call intelligence eightfold, which obstructs all welfare, endowed with scripture and tradition; O King, that intelligence abides in you.
शुश्रूषा श्रवणं चैव ग्रहणं धारणं तथा। ऊहापोहोऽर्थविज्ञानं तत्वज्ञानं च धीगुणाः
Service, listening, grasping, retention, inference, refutation, understanding of meaning, and knowledge of truth—these are the qualities of intellect.
अर्थकृच्छ्रेषु दुर्गेषु व्यापत्सु स्वजनेष्वपि। शारीरमानसैर्दुःखैर्न सीदन्ति भवद्विधाः
Even in financial hardship, danger, calamity among relatives, or bodily and mental suffering, those like you do not falter.
श्रूयतां चाभिधास्यामि जनकेन यथा पुरा। आत्मव्यवस्थानकरागीताः श्लोका महात्मना
Hear now as I recount the verses once sung by the great-souled Janaka, which establish the self.
मनोदेहसमुत्थाभ्यां दुःखाभ्यामर्दितं जगत्। तयोर्व्याससमासाभ्यांशमोपायमिमं शृणु
The world is afflicted by sufferings arising from mind and body; hear the means for their partial and complete remedy.
व्याधेरनिष्टसंस्पर्शाच्छ्रमादिष्टविवर्जनात्। दुःखं चतुर्भिः शारीरं कारणैः संप्रवर्तते
Bodily suffering arises from four causes: contact with disease and unpleasant things, fatigue, and deprivation.
तदा तत्प्रतिकाराच्च सततं चाविचिन्तनात्। आधिव्याधिप्रशमनं क्रियायोगबलेन तु
Through counteraction, constant reflection, and the strength of practice and discipline, ailments and afflictions are subdued.
मतिमन्तो व्यथोपेताः शमं प्रागेव कुर्वते। मानसस्य प्रियाख्यानैः संभोगोपनयैर्नृणाम्
Those of intelligence, even when afflicted, attain calm beforehand, through pleasant narratives and means of enjoyment among people.
मानसेन हि दुःखेन शरीरमुपतप्यते। अयःपिण्डेन तप्तेन कुम्भसंस्थमिवोदकम्
For mental suffering torments the body, as water in a pot is heated by a hot iron lump.
मानसं शमयेत्तस्माज्ज्ञानेनाग्निमिवाम्बुना। प्रशन्ते मानसे दुःखे शारीरमुपशाम्यति
Therefore, one should pacify the mind with knowledge, as fire with water; when the mind's suffering is calmed, bodily pain subsides.
मनसो दुःखमूलं तु स्नेह इत्युपलभ्यते। स्नेहात्तु सज्जते जन्तुर्दुःखयोगमुपैति च
It is observed that affection is the root of sorrow in the mind; from affection, a creature becomes attached and enters into union with suffering.
स्नेहमूलानि दुःखानि स्नेहजानि भयानि च। शोकहर्षौ तथायासः सर्वं स्नेहात्प्रवर्तते
Sorrows have their origin in affection, and fears arise from affection as well; grief and joy, as well as fatigue, all proceed from affection.
स्नेहात्कारुण्यरागौ च प्रजास्वीर्ष्यादयस्तथा। अश्रेयस्कावुभावेतौ पूर्वस्तत्र गुरुः स्मृतः
From affection arise compassion and passion toward people, as well as envy and other such feelings; both are considered unbeneficial, with the former regarded as weighty.
कोटराग्निर्यथाऽशेषं समूलं पादपं दहेत्। धर्मार्थिनं तथाऽल्पोपि रागदोषो विनाशयेत्
Just as fire in a hollow burns up a tree completely, root and all, so even a small fault of passion can destroy one who seeks righteousness.
विप्रयोगे न तु त्यागी दोषदर्शी समागमे। विरागं भजते जन्तुर्निर्वैरो निष्परिग्रहः
Not in separation, but in union, does one who is renouncing and perceives faults attain dispassion, being free from enmity and possessions.
तस्मात्स्नेहं स्वपक्षेभ्यो मित्रेभ्यो धनसंचयात्। स्वशरीरसमुत्थं च ज्ञानेन विनिवर्तयेत्
Therefore, one should turn away affection for one's own side, friends, accumulation of wealth, and even for one's own body, by means of knowledge.
ज्ञानान्वितेषु युक्तेषु शास्त्रज्ञेषु कृतात्मसु। न तेषु सज्जते स्नेहः पद्मपत्रेष्विवोदकम्
In those endowed with knowledge, discipline, mastery of scripture, and self-control, affection does not adhere, just as water does not stick to a lotus leaf.
रागाभिभूतः पुरुषः कामेन परिकृष्यते। इच्छा संजायते तस्य ततस्तृष्णा विवर्धते
A person overwhelmed by passion is dragged by desire; longing arises in him, and then craving increases.
तृष्णा हि सर्वपापिष्ठा नित्योद्देगकरी नृणाम्। अधर्मबहुला चैव घोरा पापानुबन्धिनी
Craving is indeed the most wicked of all, always causing agitation in people; it is full of unrighteousness, dreadful, and follows sin.
या दुस्त्यजा दुर्मतिभिर्या न जीर्यति जीर्यतः। योसौ प्राणान्तिको रोगस्तां तृष्णांत्यजतः सुखम्
That craving which is hard to abandon for the foolish, which does not decay even as one ages, which is a disease ending in death—happiness comes to one who abandons it.
अनाद्यन्ता तु सा तृष्णा अन्तर्देहगता नृणाम्। विनाशयति भूतानि अयोनिज इवानलः
That craving, without beginning or end, resides within the bodies of people; it destroys beings, like fire not born from a womb.
यथैधः स्वसमुत्थेन वह्निना नाशमृच्छति। तथाऽकृतात्मा लोभेन सहजेन विनश्यति
Just as fuel is consumed by fire arising from itself, so one whose self is unformed is destroyed by innate greed.