तमाहातिप्रसन्नात्मा यथानुक्रममुत्तरम् । व्यास उवाच निबोध नृपतिश्रेष्ठ कारणं परमाद्भुतम्
with a heart full of great joy, replied to him in due order. Vyāsa said: Hear, O best of kings, the most wondrous reason.
कर्मणस्तु त्रिधा प्रोक्ता गतिस्तत्त्वविदां वरैः । सञ्चितं वर्तमानं च प्रारब्धमिति भेदतः
The wise declare that the course of karma is threefold: accumulated, current, and commenced—thus they are distinguished.
अनेकजन्मसञ्जातं प्राक्तनं सञ्चितं स्मृतम् । सात्त्विकं राजसं कर्म तामसं त्रिविधं पुनः
That which is produced over many births is called accumulated karma; and karma is again of three kinds: sāttvika, rājasika, and tāmasika.
शुभं वाप्यशुभं भूप सञ्चितं बहुकालिकम् । अवश्यमेव भोक्तव्यं सुकृतं दुष्कृतं तथा
Whether auspicious or inauspicious, O king, accumulated karma endures for a long time; both good and bad deeds must surely be experienced.
जन्मजन्मनि जीवानां सञ्चितानां च कर्मणाम् । निःशेषस्तु क्षयो नाभूत्कल्पकोटिशतैरपि
Of the accumulated karmas of beings, birth after birth, there is never complete exhaustion, even in hundreds of millions of aeons.
क्रियमाणं च यत्कर्म वर्तमानं तदुच्यते । देहं प्राप्य शुभं वापि ह्यशुभं वा समाचरेत्
And the karma that is being performed is called current; upon obtaining a body, one acts, whether in auspicious or inauspicious ways.
सञ्चितानां पुनर्मध्यात्समाहृत्य कियान्किल । देहारम्भे च समये कालः प्रेरयतीव तत्
Again, from among the accumulated karmas, a certain portion is gathered; at the time of the beginning of a body, time, as it were, impels it.
प्रारब्धं कर्म विज्ञेयं भोगात्तस्य क्षयः स्मृतः । प्राणिभिः खलु भोक्तव्यं प्रारब्धं नात्र संशयः
That which is commenced is known as prārabdha karma; its exhaustion is said to come through experience. Indeed, prārabdha must be experienced by living beings—there is no doubt of this.
पुरा कृतानि राजेन्द्र ह्यशुभानि शुभानि च । अवश्यमेव कर्माणि भोक्तव्यानीति निश्चयः
O king, both inauspicious and auspicious deeds done in the past must certainly be experienced—this is the settled conclusion.
देवैर्मनुष्यैरसुरैर्यक्षगन्धर्वकिन्नरैः । कर्मैव हि महाराज देहारम्भस्य कारणम्
By gods, humans, asuras, yakṣas, gandharvas, and kinnaras, O great king, karma alone is the cause of embodiment.
कर्मक्षये जन्मनाशः प्राणिनां नात्र संशयः । ब्रह्मा विष्णुस्तथा रुद्र इन्द्राद्याश्च सुरास्तथा
When karma is exhausted, the end of birth comes for living beings—of this there is no doubt. Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Rudra, Indra, and the other gods,
दानवा यक्षगन्धर्वाः सर्वे कर्मवशा किल । अन्यथा देहसम्बन्धः कथं भवति भूपते
the dānavas, yakṣas, and gandharvas—all are indeed subject to karma; otherwise, O king, how could there be embodiment?
कारणं यस्तु भोगस्य देहिनः सुखदुःखयोः । तस्मादनेकजन्मोत्थसञ्चितानां च कर्मणाम्
The cause of enjoyment for the embodied being, of pleasure and pain, is thus the accumulated actions arising from many births.
मध्ये वेगः समायाति कस्यचित्कालपाकतः । तत्प्रारब्धवशात्पुण्यं करोति च यथा तथा
In the midst of these, at a certain time, the force of some action matures; by the power of that destiny, one performs virtuous deeds accordingly.
पापं करोति मनुजस्तथा देवादयोऽपि च । तथा नारायणो राजन्नरश्च धर्मजावुभौ
A person acts sinfully in the same way, and so do the gods and others; likewise, O King, even Nārāyaṇa and Nara, both born of righteousness, act thus.
जातौ कृष्णार्जुनौ काममंशौ नारायणस्य तौ । पुराणपीठिकेयं वै मुनिभिः परिकीर्तिता
In their birth as Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, they are indeed considered portions of Nārāyaṇa; this ancient account is well known among the sages.
देवांशः स तु विज्ञेयो यो भवेद्विभवाधिकः । नानृषिः कुरुते काव्यं नारुद्रो रुद्रमर्चते
That one should be understood as a portion of a god who possesses superior power; a non-seer does not compose poetry, nor does one who is not Rudra worship Rudra.
नादेवांशो ददात्यन्नं नाविष्णुः पृथिवीपतिः । इन्द्रादग्नेर्यमाद्विष्णोर्धनदादिति भूपते
One who is not a portion of a god does not give food; one who is not Viṣṇu is not lord of the earth; O King, from Indra, Agni, Yama, Viṣṇu, and Kubera come the givers of wealth.
प्रभुत्वं च प्रभावं च कोपं चैव पराक्रमम् । आदाय क्रियते नूनं शरीरमिति निश्चयः
Indeed, it is certain that power, might, anger, and valor are assumed, and then a body is taken up.
यः कश्चिद्बलवाँल्लोके भाग्यवानथ भोगवान् । विद्यावान्दानवान्वापि स देवांशः प्रपढ्यते
Whoever in this world is strong, fortunate, or enjoys pleasures, learned or wealthy—that one is to be regarded as a portion of a god.
तथैवैते मयाख्याता पाण्डवाः पृथिवीपते । देवांशो वासुदेवोऽपि नारायणसमद्युतिः
In the same way, O lord of the earth, these Pāṇḍavas I have described are also portions of gods; Vāsudeva, equal in splendor to Nārāyaṇa, is likewise a divine portion.
शरीरं प्राणिनां नूनं भाजनं सुखदुःखयोः । शरीरी प्राप्नुयात्कामं सुखं दुःखमनन्तरम्
The body of living beings is certainly the vessel of pleasure and pain; the embodied one attains, as destined, happiness or suffering thereafter.
देही नास्ति वशः कोऽपि दैवाधीनः सदैव हि । जननं मरणं दुःखं सुखं प्राप्नोति चावशः
No embodied being has independence; always subject to fate, one inevitably experiences birth, death, suffering, and happiness.
पाण्डवास्ते वने जाताः प्राप्तास्तु स्वगृहं पुनः । स्वबाहुबलतः पश्चाद्राजसूयं क्रतूत्तमम्
The Pāṇḍavas were born in the forest and later returned to their own home; afterwards, by the strength of their own arms, they performed the great Rājasūya sacrifice.
वनवासं पुनः प्राप्ता बहुदुःखकरं परम् । अर्जुनेन तपस्तप्तं दुष्करं ह्यजितेन्द्रियैः
Again they underwent exile in the forest, which brought them great suffering; Arjuna performed severe austerities, difficult indeed for those who have not mastered their senses.
सन्तुष्टैस्तु सुरैर्दत्तं वरदानं पुनः शुभम् । नरदेहकृतं पुण्यं क्व गतं वनवासजम्
Satisfied, the gods granted them an auspicious boon; but where did the merit acquired in human form, especially from their forest exile, go?
नरदेहे तपस्तप्तं चोग्रं बदरिकाश्रमे । नार्जुनस्य शरीरे तत्फलदं सम्बभूव ह
In human form, Arjuna performed intense austerities at Badarikāśrama; that austerity bore fruit in Arjuna's own body.
प्राणिनां देहसम्बन्धे गहना कर्मणो गतिः । दुर्ज्ञेया सर्वथा देवैर्मानवानां तु का कथा
The course of karma in connection with the bodies of living beings is profound; it is always difficult to know, even for the gods—what then of humans?
वासुदेवोऽपि सञ्जातः कारागारेऽतिसङ्कटे । नीतोऽसौ वसुदेवेन नन्दगोपस्य गोकुलम्
Even Vāsudeva was born in a most confining prison; he was taken by Vasudeva to the cowherd settlement of Nanda.
एकादशैव वर्षाणि संस्थितस्तत्र भारत । पुनः स मथुरां गत्वा जघानोग्रसुतं बलात्
He remained there for eleven years, O Bhārata; then, going to Mathurā, he forcefully slew the son of Ugrasena.