वेदाढ्ञा वृत्संपन्ना ज्ञानवन्तस्तपस्विनः। यत्रतिष्न्ति वै विप्रास्तन्नाम नगरं नृप
Where Brahmins reside, learned in the Vedas, possessing herds, knowledgeable and austere, that place, O king, is called a city.
व्रजे वाऽप्यथवाऽरण्ये यत्रसन्ति बहुश्रुताः। तत्तन्नगरमित्याहुः पार्थ तीर्थं च तद्भवेत्
Whether in a village or in a forest, wherever many learned ones dwell, that is called a city, O Partha, and that place becomes a sacred site.
रक्षितारं च राजानं ब्राह्मणं च तपस्विनम्। अभिगम्याभिपूज्याथ सद्यः पापात्प्रमुच्यते
By approaching and duly honoring a king who protects, or a Brahmin devoted to austerity, one is immediately freed from sin.
पुण्यतीर्थाभिषेकं च पवित्राणां च कीर्तनम्। सद्भिः संभाषणं चैव प्रशस्तं कीर्त्यते बुधैः
Bathing at holy fords, reciting the names of the pure, and conversing with the virtuous—these are praised by the wise.
साधुसङ्गमपूतेन वाक्सुभाषितवारिणा। पवित्रीकृतमात्मानं सन्तो मन्न्ति नित्यशः
The good declare that one whose self is purified by the company of the righteous and by the water of well-spoken words is ever pure.
त्रिदण्डधारणं मौनं जटाभारोऽथ मुण्डनम्। वल्कलाजिनसंवेष्टं व्रतचर्याऽभिषेचनम्
Carrying the triple staff, silence, matted locks or a shaven head, wearing bark or skins, and performing vows—
अग्निहोत्रं वने वासः शरीरपरिशोषणम्। सर्वाण्येतानि मिथ्या स्युर्यदि भावो न निर्मलः
Agnihotra, dwelling in the forest, mortifying the body—all these are in vain if the mind is not pure.
विशुद्धिं चक्षुरादीनां षण्णामिन्द्रियगामिनाम्। विकारि तेषां राजेन्द्र सुदुष्करतरं मनः
O king, purification of the six senses—sight and the rest—is possible, but the mind, which is ever restless, is most difficult to master.
ये पापानि न कुर्वन्ति मनोवाक्कर्मबुद्धिभिः। ते तपन्ति महात्मानो न शरीरस्य शोषणम्
Those great souls who do not commit sins by mind, speech, action, or intellect truly practice austerity, not those who merely torment the body.
न ज्ञातिभ्यो दया यस्य शुक्लदेहोऽविकल्मषः। हिंसा सा तपसस्तस्य नानाशित्वं तपः स्मृतम्
He whose heart is not compassionate to his kin, though his body be pure and unstained, his violence is called austerity, and diverse eating is considered penance.
तिष्ठन्गृहे चैव मुनिर्नित्यं शुचिरलंकृतः। यावज्जीवं दयावांश् सर्वपापैः प्रमुच्यते
A sage who remains at home, always pure and adorned, and compassionate throughout his life, is freed from all sins.
न हि पापानि कर्माणि शुद्ध्यन्त्यनशनादिभिः। सीदत्यनशनादेव मांसशोणितलेपनः
Indeed, sinful acts are not purified by fasting and the like; by fasting alone, one whose body is smeared with flesh and blood only suffers.
अज्ञातं कर्म कृत्वा च क्लेशो नान्यत्प्रहीयते। नाग्निर्दहति कर्माणि भावशून्यस्य देहिनः
By performing an unknown act, suffering is not removed otherwise; fire does not burn the deeds of one whose mind is empty.
पुण्यादेव प्रव्रजन्ति शुध्यन्त्यनशनानि च। न मूलफलभक्षित्वान्न मौनान्नानिलाशनात्
Only through merit do people go forth and become pure, not by eating roots and fruits, nor by silence, nor by living on air.
शिरसो मुण्डनाद्वाऽपि न स्थानकुटिकासनात्। न जटाधारणाद्वाऽपिन तु स्थानकुटिकासनात्
Not by shaving the head, nor by sitting in a hut, nor by wearing matted locks, nor by sitting in a hut, does one attain purity.
नित्यं ह्यनशनाद्वाऽपि नाग्निशुश्रूषणादपि। न चोदकप्रवेशेन न च क्ष्माशयनादपि
Not by constant fasting, nor by tending the sacred fire, nor by entering water, nor by lying on the ground, does one attain purity.
ज्ञानेन कर्मणा वापि जरामरणमेव च। व्याधयश्च प्रहीयन्ते प्राप्यते चोत्तमं पदम्
By knowledge or by action, even old age, death, and diseases are overcome, and the highest state is attained.
बीजानि ह्यग्निदग्धानि न रोहन्ति पुनर्यथा। ज्ञानदग्धैस्तधा क्लेशैर्नात्मा संडुज्यते पुनः
Just as seeds burned by fire do not sprout again, so too, when afflictions are burned by knowledge, the self is not bound again.
आत्मना विप्रहीणानि काष्ठकुण्ठोपमानि च। विनश्यन्ति न संदेहः फेनानीव महार्णवे
Afflictions abandoned by the self, like pieces of wood or potsherds, surely perish, like foam on the great ocean.
आत्मानं विन्दते येन सर्वभूतगुहाशयम्। श्लोकेन यदि वाऽर्धेन क्षीणं तस्य प्रयोजनम्
He who realizes the self dwelling in the cave of all beings, even by a verse or half a verse, for him the purpose is fulfilled.
द्व्यक्षरादभिसंधाय केचिच्छ्लोकपदाङ्कितैः। शतैरन्यैः सहस्रैश्च प्रत्ययो मोक्षलक्षणम्
Some, by composing verses marked with words of two syllables, and others with hundreds or thousands, pursue the certainty that is the mark of liberation.
नायं लोकोस्ति न परो न सुखं संशयात्मनः। ऊटुर्ज्ञानविदो वृद्धाः प्रत्ययो मोक्षलक्षणम्
For one whose mind is filled with doubt, neither this world nor the next exists, nor happiness; the wise elders, learned in knowledge, declare certainty as the mark of liberation.
विदितार्थस्तु वेदानां परिवेद प्रयोजनम्। उद्विजेत्स तु देवेभ्यो दावाग्नेरिव मानवः
He who understands the meaning of the Vedas and their purpose should shun even the gods, just as a man flees from a forest fire.
शुष्कं तर्कं परित्यज्यआश्रयस्व श्रुतिं स्मृतिम्। एकाराभिसंबद्धं तत्त्वं हेतुभिरिच्छसि। बुद्धिर्न तस्य सिद्ध्येत साधनस्य विपर्ययात्
Abandon dry reasoning and rely upon the revealed texts and tradition; if you seek truth bound by a single syllable through arguments, your intellect will not attain success, due to the reversal of means.
वेद्यं पूर्वं वेदितव्यं प्रयत्ना- त्तद्धीर्वेदस्तस्य वेदः शरीरम्। वेदस्तत्त्वं तत्समासोपलब्धिः क्लीबस्त्वात्मा न स वेद्यं न वेदः
What is to be known must first be understood through effort; that indeed is the Veda for him, the Veda is the body; the Veda is the truth, and its comprehensive realization; but the impotent self is neither the object to be known nor the Veda.
वेदोक्तमायुर्देवानामाशिषश्चैव कर्मणाम्। फलत्यनुयुगं लोके प्रभावश्च शरीरिणाम्
The lifespan spoken of in the Veda belongs to the gods, as do the blessings and actions; their effects manifest in the world through the ages, as does the power of embodied beings.
इन्द्रियाणां प्रसादेन तदेतत्परिवर्जयेत्। तस्मादनशनं दिव्यं निरुद्धेन्द्रियगोचरम्
By the clarity of the senses, one should renounce all this; therefore, divine fasting is prescribed, restricting the range of the senses.
तपसा स्वर्गगमनं भोगो दानेन जायते। ज्ञानेन मोक्षो विज्ञेयस्तीर्थस्नानादघक्षयः
Through austerity, one attains heaven; enjoyment arises from giving; liberation is to be understood through knowledge; the removal of sin comes from bathing at sacred places.
एवमुक्तस्तु राजेन्द्र प्रत्युवाच महायशाः। भगवञ्श्रोतुमिच्छामि प्रदानविधिमुत्तमम्
Thus addressed, O king, the illustrious one replied: 'O revered one, I wish to hear the supreme method of giving.'
यत्तत्पृच्छसि राजेन्द्रदानधर्मं युधिष्ठिर। इष्टं चेदं सदा मह्यं राजन्गौरवतस्तथा
That which you ask, O king, about the dharma of giving, O Yudhishthira, is always dear to me, and I honor it, O king.