दृष्ट्वा तान् धार्मिकान् देवः स्वयं संमानयेद् यमः स्वागतासनदानेन पाद्यार्घ्येण प्रियेण तु
Seeing those righteous souls, the god Yama himself honors them with a warm welcome, offering a seat, water for the feet, and a pleasing arghya.
धन्या यूयं महात्मान आत्मनो हितकारिणः येन दिव्यसुखार्थाय भवद्भिः सुकृतं कृतम्
Blessed are you, great souls, benefactors of yourselves, by whose good deeds you have acted for the sake of divine happiness.
इदं विमानम् आरुह्य दिव्यस्त्रीभोगभूषिताः स्वर्गं गच्छध्वम् अतुलं सर्वकामसमन्वितम्
Ascending this celestial chariot, adorned with divine women and pleasures, go to heaven, incomparable and filled with every desire.
तत्र भुक्त्वा महाभोगान् अन्ते पुण्यपरिक्षयात् यत् किंचिद् अल्पम् अशुभं फलं तद् इह भोक्ष्यथ
There, after enjoying great pleasures, when your merit is exhausted, whatever small impure result remains, that you shall experience here.
ये तु तं धर्मराजानं नराः पुण्यानुभावतः पश्यन्ति सौम्यमनसं पितृभूतम् इवात्मनः
But those men who, through the power of their virtue, see the Lord of Dharma—gentle-minded, like a father to themselves—
तस्माद् धर्मः सेवितव्यः सदा मुक्तिफलप्रदः धर्माद् अर्थस् तथा कामो मोक्षश् च परिकीर्त्यते
Therefore, righteousness must always be pursued, for it bestows the fruit of liberation; from righteousness arise wealth, desire, and also liberation, it is declared.
धर्मो माता पिता भ्राता धर्मो नाथः सुहृत् तथा धर्मः स्वामी सखा गोप्ता तथा धाता च पोषकः
Righteousness is mother, father, brother; righteousness is protector and friend; righteousness is master, companion, guardian, creator, and nourisher.
धर्माद् अर्थो ऽर्थतः कामः कामाद् भोगः सुखानि च धर्माद् ऐश्वर्यम् एकाग्र्यं धर्मात् स्वर्गगतिः परा
From righteousness comes wealth, from wealth comes desire, from desire come enjoyments and happiness; from righteousness arise sovereignty, concentration, and the supreme path to heaven.
धर्मस् तु सेवितो विप्रास् त्रायते महतो भयात् देवत्वं च द्विजत्वं च धर्मात् प्राप्नोत्य् असंशयम्
Indeed, when righteousness is served, O Brahmins, it saves from great fear; divinity and twice-born status are certainly attained through righteousness.
यदा च क्षीयते पापं नराणां पूर्वसंचितम् तदैषां भजते बुद्धिर् धर्मं चात्र द्विजोत्तमाः
And when the accumulated sins of men are diminished, then their mind turns to righteousness, O best of the twice-born.
जन्मान्तरसहस्रेषु मानुष्यं प्राप्य दुर्लभम् यो हि नाचरते धर्मं भवेत् स खलु वञ्चितः
He who, after attaining rare human birth in thousands of previous lives, does not practice righteousness, is truly deceived.
कुत्सिता ये दरिद्राश् च विरूपा व्याधितास् तथा परप्रेष्याश् च मूर्खाश् च ज्ञेया धर्मविवर्जिताः
Those who are degraded, poor, deformed, diseased, servants of others, or ignorant—know them to be devoid of righteousness.
ये हि दीर्घायुषः शूराः पण्डिता भोगिनो ऽर्थिनः अरोगा रूपवन्तश् च तैस् तु धर्मः पुरा कृतः
Those who are long-lived, heroic, learned, prosperous, wealthy, healthy, and handsome—by them righteousness was practiced before.
एवं धर्मरता विप्रा गच्छन्ति गतिम् उत्तमाम् अधर्मं सेवमानास् तु तिर्यग्योनिं व्रजन्ति ते
Thus, O Brahmins, those devoted to righteousness attain the highest state; but those who pursue unrighteousness enter the wombs of animals.
ये नरा नरकध्वंसिवासुदेवम् अनुव्रताः ते स्वप्ने ऽपि न पश्यन्ति यमं वा नरकाणि वा
Those men who are devoted to Vāsudeva, destroyer of hell, do not see Yama or the hells, even in dreams.
अनादिनिधनं देवं दैत्यदानवदारणम् ये नमन्ति नरा नित्यं नहि पश्यन्ति ते यमम्
Those men who always bow to the beginningless and endless God, destroyer of demons and Dānavas, do not see Yama.
कर्मणा मनसा वाचा ये ऽच्युतं शरणं गताः न समर्थो यमस् तेषां ते मुक्तिफलभागिनः
Those who take refuge in Acyuta through action, mind, and speech—Yama is not able to reach them; they partake of the fruit of liberation.
ये जना जगतां नाथं नित्यं नारायणं द्विजाः नमन्ति नहि ते विष्णोः स्थानाद् अन्यत्र गामिनः
Those people, O Brahmins, who always bow to Nārāyaṇa, Lord of the worlds, do not go anywhere apart from Viṣṇu's abode.
न ते दूतान् न तन् मार्गं न यमं न च तां पुरीम् प्रणम्य विष्णुं पश्यन्ति नरकाणि कथंचन
They do not see the messengers, nor that path, nor Yama, nor that city; having bowed to Viṣṇu, they never see the hells in any way.
कृत्वापि बहुशः पापं नरा मोहसमन्विताः न यान्ति नरकं नत्वा सर्वपापहरं हरिम्
Even those men who, possessed by delusion, commit many sins, do not go to hell if they bow to Hari, destroyer of all sins.
शाठ्येनापि नरा नित्यं ये स्मरन्ति जनार्दनम् ते ऽपि यान्ति तनुं त्यक्त्वा विष्णुलोकम् अनामयम्
Even those people who remember Janardana always, though with deceit, they too, upon leaving the body, go to the flawless world of Vishnu.
अत्यन्तक्रोधसक्तो ऽपि कदाचित् कीर्तयेद् धरिम् सो ऽपि दोषक्षयान् मुक्तिं लभेच् चेदिपतिर् यथा
Even one who is extremely attached to anger, if he should sometimes praise Hari, he too, when his faults are destroyed, attains liberation, just as the lord of the gods.
श्रुत्वैवं यममार्गं ते नरकेषु च यातनाम् पप्रच्छुश् च पुनर् व्यासं संशयं मुनिसत्तमाः
Having heard thus about the path of Yama and the torments in hell, the best of sages again questioned Vyasa regarding their doubt.
भगवन् सर्वधर्मज्ञ सर्वशास्त्रविशारद मर्त्यस्य कः सहायो वै पिता माता सुतो गुरुः
O Lord, knower of all dharma, expert in all scriptures, who truly is the companion of a mortal—father, mother, son, or teacher?
ज्ञातिसंबन्धिवर्गश् च मित्रवर्गस् तथैव च गृहं शरीरम् उत्सृज्य काष्ठलोष्टसमं जनाः गच्छन्त्य् अमुत्र लोके वै कश् च तान् अनुगच्छति
And the group of relatives and kinsmen, and likewise the group of friends—when a person leaves house and body, which become like wood or clay, who among them follows him to the other world?
एकः प्रसूयते विप्रा एक एव हि नश्यति एकस् तरति दुर्गाणि गच्छत्य् एकस् तु दुर्गतिम्
Alone is one born, O Brahmins, and alone indeed does one perish; alone one crosses difficulties, and alone one goes to misfortune.
असहायः पिता माता तथा भ्राता सुतो गुरुः ज्ञातिसंबन्धिवर्गश् च मित्रवर्गस् तथैव च
Father, mother, likewise brother, son, teacher, the group of relatives and kinsmen, and likewise the group of friends—all are without companionship.
मृतं शरीरम् उत्सृज्य काष्ठलोष्टसमं जनाः मुहूर्तम् इव रोदित्वा ततो यान्ति पराङ्मुखाः
Having abandoned the dead body, which is like wood or clay, people, after weeping for a moment, then turn away.
तैस् तच् छरीरम् उत्सृष्टं धर्म एको ऽनुगच्छति तस्माद् धर्मः सहायश् च सेवितव्यः सदा नृभिः
Having abandoned that body, only dharma follows; therefore, dharma alone should always be cultivated by men as a companion.
प्राणी धर्मसमायुक्तो गच्छेत् स्वर्गगतिं पराम् तथैवाधर्मसंयुक्तो नरकं चोपपद्यते
A living being endowed with dharma attains the highest path to heaven; likewise, joined with adharma, he goes to hell.