राजलक्ष्म्या युताञ्छूरान्वशीकृतजनानथ । स्वजनैरवियुक्तांश्च सर्वलक्षणलक्षितान्
Those adorned with royal fortune, heroes, those who have subdued others, those not separated from their own people, and marked by all auspicious qualities.
व्यतिरेकान्वयाभ्यां च विचेतव्यं विचक्षणैः । एभिर्न पूजिता देवी सर्वार्थफलदा शिवा
The discerning should reflect through both distinction and association; the auspicious Goddess, bestower of all results, is not worshipped by these.
समाराधिता च तथा नृभिरेभिः सदाम्बिका । यतोऽमी सुखिनः सर्वे संसारेऽस्मिन्न संशयः
And thus, always worshipped by these people, Ambika grants happiness to all of them in this world—of this there is no doubt.
व्यास उवाच इति राजञ्छ्रुतं तत्र मया मुनिसमागमे । लोमशस्य मुखात्कामं देवीमाहात्म्यमुत्तमम्
Vyasa said: O King, thus, in that gathering of sages, I have heard at length from the mouth of Lomasha the supreme glory of the Goddess.
इति सञ्चिन्त्य राजेन्द्र कर्तव्यं च सदार्चनम् । भक्त्या परमया देव्याः प्रीत्या च पुरुषर्षभ
Thinking thus, O best of kings, one should always perform worship with utmost devotion and love for the Goddess.
अम्बायज्ञविधिवर्णनम् राजोवाच वद यज्ञविधिं सम्यग्देव्यास्तस्याः समन्ततः । श्रुत्वा करोम्यहं स्वामिन्यथाशक्ति ह्यतन्द्रितः
Description of the procedure for Ambika's sacrifice. The king said: Tell me in full the proper method of sacrifice to the Goddess; having heard, I will perform it, O Lord, to the best of my ability and without negligence.
पूजाविधिं च मन्त्रांश्च होमद्रव्यमसंशयम् । ब्राह्मणाः कतिसंख्याश्च दक्षिणाश्चतथा पुनः
Also explain the procedure of worship, the mantras, the offerings for the fire ritual, the number of Brahmins, and the gifts to be given.
व्यास उवाच शृणु राजन् प्रवक्ष्यामि देव्या यज्ञं विधानतः । त्रिविधं तु सदा ज्ञेयं विधिदृष्टेन कर्मणा
Vyasa said: Listen, O King, I will properly explain the sacrifice to the Goddess; it should always be known as threefold, according to the prescribed rules.
सात्त्विकं राजसं चैव तामसं च तथापरम् । मुनीनां सात्त्विकं प्रोक्तं नृपाणां राजसं स्मृतम्
It is said to be of three kinds: sattvic, rajasic, and also tamasic; the sattvic is prescribed for sages, the rajasic is remembered for kings.
तामसं राक्षसानां वै ज्ञानिनां तु गुणोज्झितम् । विमुक्तानां ज्ञानमयं विस्तरात्प्रब्रवीमि ते
The tamasic is for the rakshasas, and for the wise, it is beyond all qualities; for the liberated, it is of the nature of knowledge—I will explain this to you in detail.
देशः कालस्तथा द्रव्यं मन्त्राश्च ब्राह्मणास्तथा । श्रद्धा च सात्वकी यत्र तं यज्ञं सात्त्विकं विदुः
That sacrifice is known as sattvic in which the place, time, materials, mantras, Brahmins, and faith are all pure.
द्रव्यशुद्धिः क्रियाशुद्धिर्मन्त्रशुद्धिश्च भूमिप । भवेद्यदि तदा पूर्णं फलं भवति नान्यथा
If there is purity of materials, purity of actions, and purity of mantras, O King, then the result is complete; otherwise, it is not.
अन्यायोपार्जितेनैव कर्तव्यं सुकृतं कृतम् । न कीर्तिरिह लोके च परलोके न तत्फलम्
If a good deed is performed with wealth obtained unjustly, it brings neither fame in this world nor fruit in the next.
तस्मान्न्यायार्जितेनैव कर्तव्यं सुकृतं सदा । यशसे परलोकाय भवत्येव सुखाय च
Therefore, a good deed should always be performed only with wealth obtained justly; it brings fame, happiness, and benefit in the next world.
प्रत्यक्षं तव राजेन्द्र पाण्डवैस्तु मखः कृतः । राजसूयः क्रतुवरः समाप्तवरदक्षिणः
You have seen directly, O King, the sacrifice performed by the Pandavas—the great Rajasuya, completed with excellent gifts.
यत्र साक्षाद्धरिः कृष्णो यादवेन्द्रो महामनाः । ब्राह्मणाः पूर्णविद्याश्च भारद्वाजादयस्तथा
There, Hari himself—Krishna, the noble lord of the Yadavas—was present, along with Brahmins of perfect knowledge such as Bharadvaja and others.
कृत्वा यज्ञं सुसम्पूर्णं मासमात्रेण पाण्डवैः । प्राप्तं महत्तरं कष्टं वनवासश्च दारुणः
Having performed the sacrifice perfectly, the Pandavas, within a single month, encountered great hardship and a terrible exile to the forest.
पीडनञ्चैव पाञ्चाल्यास्तथा द्यूते पराजयः । वनवासो महत्कष्टं क्व गतं मखजं फलम्
There was the suffering of Draupadi, defeat in the game of dice, and the great hardship of forest exile—where did the fruit of the sacrifice go?
दासत्वञ्च विराटस्य कृतं सर्वमहात्मभिः । कीचकेन परिक्लिष्टा द्रौपदी च प्रमद्वरा
All the great souls became servants in the house of Virata; Draupadi, the best of women, was tormented by Kichaka.
आशीर्वादा द्विजातीनां क्व गताः शुद्धचेतसाम् । भक्तिर्वा वासुदेवस्य क्व गता तत्र संकटे
Where did the blessings of the pure-hearted twice-born go? Where did the devotion to Vasudeva go in that time of distress?
न रक्षिता तदा बाला केनापि द्रुपदात्मजा । प्राप्तकेशग्रहा काले साध्वी च वरवर्णिनी
At that time, the young daughter of Drupada, though virtuous and of excellent beauty, was not protected by anyone when her hair was seized.
किमत्र चिन्तनीयं वै धर्मवैगुण्यकारणम् । केशवे सति देवेशे धर्मपुत्रे युधिष्ठिरे
What is there to ponder here as the cause of the failure of righteousness, when Keshava, Lord of the gods, and Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma, were present?
भवितव्यमिति प्रोक्ते निष्फलः स्यात्तदागमः । वेदमन्त्रास्तथान्ये च वितथाः स्युरसंशयम्
If it is said that 'what is destined must happen,' then all scriptural injunctions would be fruitless, and the Vedic mantras and others would surely be rendered false.
साधनं निष्फलं सर्वमुपायश्च निरर्थकः । भवितव्यं भवत्येव वचने प्रतिपादके
All means and efforts would be fruitless, and every method would be pointless, if destiny alone is established as the determining factor.
आगमोऽप्यर्थवादः स्यात्क्रियाः सर्वा निरर्थकाः । स्वर्गार्थञ्च तपो व्यर्थं वर्णधर्मश्च वै तथा
Scripture itself would become mere eulogy, all rituals would be meaningless, austerity for the sake of heaven would be in vain, and so too the duties of caste.
सर्वं प्रमाणं व्यर्थं स्याद्भवितव्ये कृते हृदि । उभयञ्चापि मन्तव्यं दैवं चोपाय एव च
All authority would be pointless if destiny alone is fixed in the heart; yet both destiny and human effort must be considered.
कृते कर्मणि चेत्सिद्धिर्विपरिता यदा भवेत् । वैगुण्यं कल्पनीयं स्यात्प्राज्ञैः पण्डितमौलिभिः
If, after performing an action, the result turns out contrary, then the wise and learned should attribute it to some defect.
तत्कर्म बहुधा प्रोक्तं विद्वद्भिः कर्मकारिभिः । कर्तृभेदान्मन्त्रभेदाद्द्रव्यभेदात्तथा पुनः
That action has been described in many ways by learned ritualists, due to differences in the performer, the mantra, and the materials used.
यथा मघवता पूर्वं विश्वरूपो वृतो गुरुः । विपरीतं कृतं तेन कर्म मातृहिताय वै
Just as, in former times, Maghavan (Indra) chose Vishvarupa as his priest, but he performed the ritual in a contrary way, for the benefit of his mother.
देवेभ्यो दानवेभ्यस्तु स्वस्तीत्युक्त्वा पुनः पुनः । असुरा मातृपक्षीयाः कृतं तेषाञ्च रक्षणम्
Having repeatedly said 'well-being' to the gods and the demons, he favored the side of his mother, the Asuras, and protected them.