Muni's PlayVerse 2
Sanskrit
vidhis tu balavān brahman dustaraṁ hi purā-kṛtam | purākṛtasya pāpasya karma doṣo bhavaty ayam || 2 ||
Translation
Destiny (vidhi) is all-powerful, O Brahmin, and the consequences of past actions (purakrita) are difficult to overcome. This fault of action is the result of past misdeeds.
Verse 3
Sanskrit
doṣasyaitasya vai brahman vighāte yatnavān aham | vidhinā vihite pūrvaṁ nimittaṁ ghātako bhavet || 3 ||
Translation
O Brahmin, I am striving to rectify this flaw. When destiny has ordained something beforehand, the one who executes it becomes merely an instrument (nimitta).
Verse 20
Sanskrit
kṛṣiṁ sādhv iti manyante tatra hiṁsā parā smṛtā | karṣanto lāṅgalaiḥ puṃso ghnanti bhūmiśayān bahūn | jīvān anyāṁś ca bahuśas tatra kiṁ pratibhāti te || 20 ||
Translation
Agriculture is considered a noble occupation, yet it is said that great violence occurs within it. In the process of ploughing with a team of oxen, men kill many creatures dwelling in the earth, as well as many others. What is your view on that?
Verse 28
Sanskrit
ahiṁseti yad uktaṁ hi puruषair vismitaiḥ purā | ke na hiṁsanti jīvan vai loke ‘smin dvijasattama | bahu sañcintya iha vai nāsti kaś cid ahiṁsakaḥ || 28 ||
Translation
Regarding that which was proclaimed long ago by wise men as ‘Ahimsa’ (non-violence)—who in this world, O best of the twice-born, does not do harm to living beings? Upon deep reflection, there is no one who is truly non-violent.
Verse 34
Sanskrit
vaktuṁ bahu vidhaṁ śakyaṁ dharmādharmeṣu karmasu | svakarma nirato yo hi sa yaśo prāpnuyān mahat || 34 ||
Translation
Much can be said regarding the merits and demerits of various actions. However, he who remains steadfast in his own duty (svakarma) certainly attains great fame.
Verse 7
Sanskrit
vedasyopaniṣat satyaṁ satyasyopaniṣad damaḥ | damasyopaniṣat tyāgaḥ śiṣṭācāreṣu nityadā || 7 ||
Translation
The secret essence (upanishad) of the Vedas is Truth; the secret of Truth is self-restraint (dama); and the secret of self-restraint is renunciation (tyaga), which is ever present in the conduct of the virtuous.
Verse 3
Sanskrit
yad bhūta hitam atyantaṁ tat satyam iti dhāraṇā | viparyaya kṛto’dharmaḥ paśya dharmasya sūkṣmatām || 3 ||
Translation
That which is definitively for the ultimate good of all beings is held to be Truth. That which is its opposite is unrighteousness (adharma). Behold the subtlety of righteousness (dharma)!
Verse 4
Sanskrit
yat karoti aśubhaṁ karma śubhaṁ vā yadi sattama | avaśyaṁ tat samāpnoti puruṣo nātra saṁśayaḥ || 4 ||
Translation
Whatever action a person performs, whether inauspicious (ashubha) or auspicious (shubha), O best of men, they will certainly experience its consequences; of this there is no doubt.
Verse 18
Sanskrit
na mriyeyurna jīryaiyuḥ sarve syuḥ sarva kāmikāḥ | nāpriyaṁ pratipaśyeyur vidhiśca yadi no bhavet || 18 ||
Translation
If there were no destiny (vidhi), no one would die, no one would grow old, everyone would have all their desires fulfilled, and no one would ever see anything unpleasant.
Verse 20
Sanskrit
bahavaḥ saṃpradṛṣyante tulya nakṣatra maṅgalāḥ | mahat tu phala vaiśamyaṁ dṛṣyate karma siddhiṣu || 20 ||
Translation
Many people are seen to be born under the same stars and auspicious astrological signs, yet a great disparity is observed in the actual results of their actions.
Verse 21
Sanskrit
na kecid īśate brahman svayaṁgrāhyasya sattama | karmaṇāṁ prāk kṛtānāṁ vai iha siddhiḥ pradṛśyate || 21 ||
Translation
No one is the absolute master of what they have acquired by themselves, O best of Brahmins; the success witnessed here is but the result of actions performed in a previous life.
Verse 26
Sanskrit
anyo hi nāśnāti kṛtaṁ hi karma manuṣyaloke manujas kaścit | yat tena kiñciddhi kṛtaṁ hi karma tad aśnute nāsti kṛtasya nāśaḥ || 26 ||
Translation
In this world of men, no one experiences the fruits of another’s actions. Whatever action is performed by an individual, they alone reap its consequences; there is no destruction of actions once they are committed.
Verse 31
Sanskrit
śubhaiḥ prayogair devatvaṁ vyāmiśrair mānuṣo bhavet | mohanīyair viyonīśu tvadhogāmī ca kilbiṣaiḥ || 31 ||
Translation
By virtuous practices, one attains the state of the gods; by a mixture of good and evil, one is born as a human; by deluded actions, one is born among the lower species; and by sinful deeds, one falls into the lower realms.
Verse 32
Sanskrit
jāti mṛtyu jarā duḥkhaiḥ satataṁ samabhidrutaḥ | saṁsāre pacyamānaśca doṣair ātma kṛtair naraḥ || 32 ||
Translation
Constantly afflicted by the miseries of birth, death, and old age, a person is trapped in the cycle of existence (samsara) due to the faults of their own actions.
Verse 47
Sanskrit
sarva tyāge ca yatate dṛṣṭvā lokaṁ kriyātmakam | tato mokṣe prayatate nānupāyād upāyataḥ || 47 ||
Translation
Observing that the world is inherently driven by action (kriyatmaka), one should strive for total renunciation (sarvat-yaga). Then, one should endeavor for Liberation (moksha) through proper means, and not through improper ones.
Verse 48
Sanskrit
tapo niḥśreyasaṁ jantos tasya mūlaṁ śamo damaḥ | tena sarvān avāpnoti kāmān yān manasecchati || 48 ||
Translation
Austerity (tapas) is the highest good for all beings; its roots lie in equanimity (shama) and self-restraint (dama). Through these, one attains all the objects of desire that one wishes for in the mind.
Verse 49
Sanskrit
indriyāṇāṁ nirodhena satyena ca damena ca | brahmaṇaḥ padam āpnoti yatparaṁ dvijasattama || 49 ||
Translation
By subduing the senses, by Truth, and by self-restraint, one attains the supreme state of Brahman, O best of the twice-born.