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.
दैत्यान् दृष्ट्वातिसम्पुष्टांश्चुकोप मघवा तदा । शिरांसि तस्य वज्रेण चिच्छेद तरसा हरिः
Seeing the Daityas greatly prospering, Maghavan (Indra) became enraged, and with force, Hari (Indra) cut off Vishvarupa's heads with his thunderbolt.
क्रियावैगुण्यमत्रैव कर्तृभेदादसंशयम् । नोचेत्पञ्चालराजेन रोषेणापि कृता क्रिया
Here, the defect in the ritual was certainly due to the difference in the performer; otherwise, even the king of Panchala, acting in anger, would have succeeded.
भारद्वाजविनाशाय पुत्रस्योत्पादनाय च । धृष्टद्युम्नः समुत्पन्नो वेदिमध्याच्च द्रौपदी
For the destruction of Bharadvaja and the birth of his son, Dhrishtadyumna was born, and Draupadi too, from the midst of the altar.
पुरा दशरथेनापि पुत्रेष्टिस्तु कृता यदा । अपुत्रस्य सुतास्तस्य चत्वारः सम्प्रजज्ञिरे
Formerly, when Dasharatha performed the sacrifice for sons, though he was childless, four sons were indeed born to him.
अतः क्रिया कृता युक्त्या सिद्धिदा सर्वथा भवेत् । अयुक्त्या विपरिता स्यात्सर्वथा नृपसत्तम
Therefore, a ritual performed properly always brings success; if done improperly, it turns out contrary, O best of kings.
पाण्डवानां यथा यज्ञे किञ्चिद्वैगुण्ययोगतः । विपरीतं फलं प्राप्तं निर्जितास्ते दुरोदरे
Just as, in the Pandavas' sacrifice, due to some defect, the result was reversed, and they were defeated in the game of dice.
सत्यवादी तथा राजन् धर्मपुत्रो युधिष्ठिरः । द्रौपदी च तथा साध्वी तथान्येप्यनुजाः शुभाः
Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma, was truthful, Draupadi was virtuous, and so too were his other noble brothers.
कुद्रव्ययोगाद्वैगुण्यं समुत्पन्नं मखेऽथवा । साभिमानैः कृताद्वापि दूषणं समुपस्थितम्
Due to the use of impure materials or some defect in the sacrifice, or because it was performed with pride, a fault arose.
सात्त्विकस्तु महाराज दुर्लभो वै मखः स्मृतः । वैखानसमुनीनां हि विहितोऽसौ महामखः
O King, the sāttvika sacrifice is considered very rare; it is prescribed as the great sacrifice by the Vaikhānasa sages.
सात्त्विकं भोजनं ये वै नित्यं कुर्वन्ति तापसाः । न्यायार्जितञ्च वन्यञ्च तथा ऋष्यं सुसंस्कृतम्
Those ascetics who always partake of sāttvika food—lawfully obtained, from the forest, and from the sages, all well-prepared—