किं विद्यया च तपसा किं त्यागेन नयेन वा । किं विविक्तेन मनसा स्त्रीभिर्यस्य हृतं मनः
What use is learning, austerity, renunciation, or good conduct? What use is a mind withdrawn in solitude, for one whose heart is seized by women?
एक एव सुहृद्धर्मो निधनेष्वनुयाति यः । सर्वमन्यच्छरीरेण समं नाशं गमिष्यति
Righteousness alone is the true friend, for it follows one even in death; all else, along with the body, will perish together.
धर्मं शनैः संचिनुयाद्वल्मीकमिव पुत्तिकाः । धर्मेण हि सहायेन तमस्तरति दुस्तरम्
One should gradually accumulate righteousness, as ants build up an anthill; with righteousness as a companion, one crosses the difficult darkness.
अनिलोल्लासितोत्ताल जलकल्लोल चंचलम् । किं न जानासि राजेंद्र नृणां जीवित विभ्रमम्
Do you not know, O king, the instability of human life, like the restless waves stirred by the wind?
विनयो रत्नमुकुटः सत्यधर्मौ च कुंडले । त्यागश्च कंकणो येषां किं तेषां जडमंडनैः
For those whose humility is a jeweled crown, whose truth and righteousness are earrings, and whose renunciation is a bracelet, what need have they for dull ornaments?
मृतं शरीरमुत्सृज्य काष्ठलोष्टसमं भुवि । विमुखा बांधवा यांति धर्मस्तमनुगच्छति
When the body, dead, is cast aside like wood or clay upon the earth, relatives turn away, but righteousness follows him.
गम्यमानेषु सर्वेषु क्षीयमाणे तथायुषि । जीविते लुप्यमाने च किमुत्थाय न धावसि
As all are departing, and your lifespan is being spent, and as life itself is slipping away, why do you not rise up and hasten?
कुटुंबं पुत्रदारादि शरीरं द्रव्यसंचयः । पारक्यमध्रुवं किंतु स्वीये सुकृतदुष्कृते
Family, children, wife, body, and the accumulation of wealth—these are all impermanent and belong to others; only your own good and bad deeds are truly yours.
यदा सर्वं परित्यज्य गंतव्यमवशेन ते । अनर्थे किं प्रसक्तस्त्वं स्वधर्मं नानुतिष्ठसि
When you must inevitably leave everything behind, why are you attached to what is worthless, and why do you not practice your own duty?
अविश्राममनालंबमपाथेयमदेशिकम् । मृतः कांतारमध्वानं कथमेको गमिष्यसि
How will you travel alone, after death, on a path that is without rest, without support, without provisions, and without a guide, through a desolate wilderness?
न हि त्वां प्रस्थितं कश्चित्पृष्ठतोऽनुगमिष्यति । सुकृतं दुष्कृतं च त्वां यास्यंतमनुयास्यति
No one at all will follow you when you depart; only your good and bad deeds will accompany you as you go.
श्रुतिस्मृत्युदितं कर्म कुलदेशोचितं हितम् । धर्ममूलं निषेवस्व सदाचारमतंद्रितः
Diligently practice the actions prescribed in the scriptures and tradition, suited to your family and country, rooted in dharma, and grounded in good conduct.
परित्यजेदर्थकामौ स्यातां चेद्धर्मवर्जितौ । धर्मेण प्राप्यते सर्वमर्थकामादिकं सुखम्
If wealth and pleasure are devoid of righteousness, they should be abandoned; for by righteousness alone is all happiness—wealth, pleasure, and the rest—attained.
इंद्रियाणां जयं योगं समातिष्ठेद्दिवानिशम् । जितेंद्रियो हि शक्नोति पथि स्थापयितुं प्रजाः
Day and night, you should practice mastery and discipline over the senses; for one who has conquered the senses is able to guide others along the path.
अतिप्रगल्भ ललना कटाक्ष चपलाश्रियः । विनये प्रणिधानेन चिरं तिष्ठंति भूभुजाम्
The glances of overly bold women and fickle fortune remain long with kings only through discipline and attentive care.
कामदर्पादिशीलानामविचारित कारिणाम् । आयुषा सह नश्यंति संपदो मूढचेतसाम्
The prosperity of those whose conduct is driven by desire, pride, and thoughtless actions perishes along with their lifespan, for such people are deluded in mind.
भूतिभिर्नष्टदृष्टाभिर्नृत्यंते न महाशयाः । नागताभिर्न याताभिर्नदीभिश्चीयतेंबुधिः
The great do not rejoice in lost or vanished wealth; just as the ocean is not filled by rivers that have not yet arrived or have already departed.
व्यसनस्य च मृत्योश्च व्यसनं कष्टमुच्यते । व्यसन्यधोधो व्रजति स्वर्गाम्यव्यसनी नृपः
Of misfortune and death, misfortune is said to be worse; for a king who is addicted to vice falls downward, while one free from vice attains heaven.
व्यसनानि दुरंतानि कामजानि विशेषतः । त्यज तस्मान्महाराज कामं धर्मविरोधिनम्
Vices are difficult to overcome, especially those born of desire; therefore, O great king, abandon desire, for it is opposed to righteousness.
जडानामविवेकानामसुराणां दुरात्मनाम् । भाग्यभोग्यानि राज्यानि संत्यनीतिमतामपि
Kingdoms are the objects of fortune for the dull-witted, the undiscerning, the demonic, and the wicked, and even for those who lack good conduct.
नैव स्थिराणि तानीह दुरितैरनुसेवितैः । विलीयंते यथा वह्निसंसर्गेणेंधनानि च
But these do not remain stable here when pursued through evil deeds; they are destroyed just as fuel is consumed by contact with fire.
गच्छतस्तिष्ठतो वापि जाग्रतः स्वपतोऽपि वा । न विचारपरं चेतो यस्यासौ मृत एव सः
Whether going, standing, awake, or asleep—he whose mind is not engaged in reflection is as good as dead.
उपदेष्टा श्रुतवतां गुरुरित्युच्यते यतः । किंतु त्वासन्नविपदामुपदेशाः शिरोरुहाः
The teacher is called 'guru' because he instructs those who listen; but for those facing imminent danger, advice is as fleeting as the hairs on the head.
विषयज्वरमुत्सृज्य समया स्वस्थया धिया । युक्त्या च व्यवहारिण्या स्वार्थः प्राज्ञेन साध्यते
Abandoning the fever of sense-objects, with a mind steady in self-control and acting with practical wisdom, the wise person achieves his own purpose.
अशुभाच्चलितं याति शुभं तस्मादपीतरम् । जंतोश्चित्तं च शिशुवत्तस्मात्तच्चालयेद्बलात्
From inauspiciousness, the mind moves toward auspiciousness; thus, even against its will, one should forcibly direct the mind, which is like that of a child.
उपधार्य मतिं राजन्वृद्धानां धर्मदर्शिनाम् । नियच्छेत्परया बुद्ध्या चित्तमुत्पथगामि यत्
Having considered the wisdom of elders who see dharma, O King, one should restrain the mind that tends toward the wrong path, with superior discernment.
न धनान्युपकुर्वंति न मित्राणि न बांधवाः । न हस्तपादचलनं न देशांतरसंगतम्
Neither wealth, nor friends, nor relatives, nor movement of hands and feet, nor traveling to other places—
न कायक्लेशवैधुर्यं न तीर्थायतनाश्रयः । केवलं तन्मनस्कस्य जपेनासाद्यते पदम्
Neither bodily suffering, nor weakness, nor resorting to holy places and shrines—only through the recitation by one whose mind is focused is the supreme state attained.
विषये वर्तमानस्य तस्माच्चित्तस्य संयमे । यत्नं कुर्याद्बुधो राजन्ध्रुवं यंतेव वाजिनाम्
Therefore, while the mind is engaged in sense objects, one who is wise should make effort to restrain it, O King, just as one would control horses.
तत्तत्कुर्याद्यतो राजन्भवता येन वंचितः । मुनिभिश्च फलैस्तैस्तैरतोप्याकर्णयाधुना
One should do whatever, O King, by which you have been deceived, and also listen now to the fruits gained by sages from those actions.