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Mahābhārata • Parva 12 (Śāntiparva) • Adhyāya 259

Śāntiparva Adhyāya 259

शान्तिपर्व • अध्यायः 259

Śāntiparva Adhyāya 259 of the classical Mahābhārata with 36 verses.

Total: 36 Verses • Citations: MBh 12.259.1–36 • 250 Lexicon Terms
कथं राजा प्रजा रक्षेन्न च किंचित्प्रतापयेत् । पृच्छामि त्वां सतां श्रेष्ठ तन्मे ब्रूहि पितामह ॥
English Translation
Yudhisthira said How, indeed, should the king protect his subjects without harming anybody? I ask you this, O grandfather, tell me, O foremost of good men!
अत्राप्युदाहरन्तीममितिहासं पुरातनम् । द्युमत्सेनस्य संवादं राज्ञा सत्यवता सह ॥
English Translation
Bhishma said Regarding it is cited the old conversation between Dyumutsena and king Satyavat.
अव्याहृतं व्याजहार सत्यवानिति नः श्रुतम् । वधाय नीयमानेषु पितुरेवानुशासनात् ॥
English Translation
We have heard that upon a certain number of individuals having been brought out for execution at the command of his father, prince Satyavat gave vent to certain words that had never before been said by any body else.
अधर्मतां याति धर्मो यात्यधर्मश्च धर्मताम् । वधो नाम भवेद्धर्मो नैतद्भवितुमर्हति ॥
English Translation
Sometimes virtue assumes the form of sin, and sin assumes the form of virtue. It can never be possible that destruction of individuals can ever be a virtuous act.
अथ चेदवधो धर्मो धर्मः को जातु चिद्भवेत् । दस्यवश्चेन्न हन्येरन्सत्यवन्संकरो भवेत् ॥
English Translation
Dyumutsena said If the sparing of those who should be killed, by virtue, if robbers be spared, O Satyavat, then all distinctions (between virtue and vice) would disappear.
ममेदमिति नास्यैतत्प्रवर्तेत कलौ युगे । लोकयात्रा न चैव स्यादथ चेद्वेत्थ शंस नः ॥
English Translation
'This is mine,'-'This is not his'-ideas like these will not prevail in the Kali age. (If the wicked be not punished) the affairs of the world will come to an end. If you know how the world may go on, then describe it to ine.
सर्व एव त्रयो वर्णाः कार्या ब्राह्मणबन्धनाः । धर्मपाशनिबद्धानामल्पो व्यपचरिष्यति ॥
English Translation
Satyvat said The three other castes should be placed under the control of the Brahmanas. If those three castes be kept within the limits of virtue, then the subsidiary caste (that have sprung from intermixture) will imitate their practises.
यो यस्तेषामपचरेत्तमाचक्षीत वै द्विजः । अयं मे न शृणोतीति तस्मिन्राजा प्रधारयेत् ॥
English Translation
Of them those who will violate (these commands) be reported to the king.-This one does not care commands!-upon such a complaint being lodged by a Brahmana, the king should punish the offender.
तत्त्वाभेदेन यच्छास्त्रं तत्कार्यं नान्यथा वधः । असमीक्ष्यैव कर्माणि नीतिशास्त्रं यथाविधि ॥
English Translation
Without destroying the body of the offender the king should punish him as ordained by the Scriptures. The king should not act otherwise, neglecting to think properly upon the character shall for my of the offence and upon the science of morality.
दस्यून्हिनस्ति वै राजा भूयसो वाप्यनागसः । भार्या माता पिता पुत्रो हन्यते पुरुषे हते । परेणापकृते राजा तस्मात्सम्यक्प्रधारयेत् ॥
English Translation
By killing the wicked, the king kills a large number of innocent men. See, by killing a single robber, his wife, mother, father, and children are all killed. When injured by a wicked person, the king should, therefore, think seriously on the question of punishment.
असाधुश्चैव पुरुषो लभते शीलमेकदा । साधोश्चापि ह्यसाधुभ्यो जायतेऽशोभना प्रजा ॥
English Translation
Sometimes a wicked man is seen to imbibe good conduct from a pious person. It is seen that good children spring from wicked persons.
न मूलघातः कर्तव्यो नैष धर्मः सनातनः । अपि खल्ववधेनैव प्रायश्चित्तं विधीयते ॥
उद्वेजनेन बन्धेन विरूपकरणेन च । वधदण्डेन ते क्लेश्या न पुरोऽहितसंपदा ॥
यदा पुरोहितं वा ते पर्येयुः शरणैषिणः । करिष्यामः पुनर्ब्रह्मन्न पापमिति वादिनः ॥
तदा विसर्गमर्हाः स्युरितीदं नृपशासनम् । बिभ्रद्दण्डाजिनं मुण्डो ब्राह्मणोऽर्हति वासनम् ॥
गरीयांसो गरीयांसमपराधे पुनः पुनः । तथा विसर्गमर्हन्ति न यथा प्रथमे तथा ॥
English Translation
If great men transgress, their punishment should be proportionate to their greatness. As regards them who offend again and again, they should not be let off without punishment as on their first offence.
यत्र यत्रैव शक्येरन्संयन्तुं समये प्रजाः । स तावत्प्रोच्यते धर्मो यावन्न प्रतिलङ्घ्यते ॥
English Translation
Dyumatsena said As long as those limits within which men should be kept are not outstripped, so long are they known by the name of virtue.
अहन्यमानेषु पुनः सर्वमेव पराभवेत् । पूर्वे पूर्वतरे चैव सुशास्या अभवञ्जनाः ॥
English Translation
If they who transgressed those limits were not punished with death, those barriers would soon be destroyed. Men of more ancient times were capable of being governed easily.
मृदवः सत्यभूयिष्ठा अल्पद्रोहाल्पमन्यवः । पुरा धिग्दण्ड एवासीद्वाग्दण्डस्तदनन्तरम् ॥
English Translation
They were very truthful. They were little bent upon quarrelling. They seldom gave way to anger, or, if they did, their anger never became ungovernable. In those days mere disapproval of offence sufficient punishment. After this came the punishment represented by harsh words or censures.
आसीदादानदण्डोऽपि वधदण्डोऽद्य वर्तते । वधेनापि न शक्यन्ते नियन्तुमपरे जनाः ॥
English Translation
Then came the punishment of fines and forfeitures. In this age, however, the punishment of death is in vogue. Wickedness has increased to such an extent that by killing one others cannot be controlled.
नैव दस्युर्मनुष्याणां न देवानामिति श्रुतिः । न गन्धर्वपितॄणां च कः कस्येह न कश्चन ॥
English Translation
The robber has no connection with men, with the gods, with the Gandharvas, and with the Pitris. What is he to whom? He is not any was body to any one. This is the saying of the Shrutis.
पद्मं श्मशानादादत्ते पिशाचाच्चापि दैवतम् । तेषु यः समयं कुर्यादज्ञेषु हतबुद्धिषु ॥
English Translation
The robber takes away the ornaments of dead bodies from cemeteries, and consumes from men afflicted by spirits. That man is a fool who would enter into any agreement with those miscreants or exact any oath from them.
तान्न शक्नोषि चेत्साधून्परित्रातुमहिंसया । कस्यचिद्भूतभव्यस्य लाभेनान्तं तथा कुरु ॥
English Translation
Satyavat said If you cannot make honest men of those rogues and in saying them by means other than destruction, do you then root them out by celebrating some sacrifice.
राजानो लोकयात्रार्थं तप्यन्ते परमं तपः । अपत्रपन्ति तादृग्भ्यस्तथावृत्ता भवन्ति च ॥
English Translation
Kings practise severe penances for the sake of enabling their subjects to grow prosperous in their callings. When thieves and robbers increase in their territories they become ashamed. They, therefore, perform penances for putting down thefts and robberies and making their subjects live happily.
वित्रास्यमानाः सुकृतो न कामाद्घ्नन्ति दुष्कृतीन् । सुकृतेनैव राजानो भूयिष्ठं शासते प्रजाः ॥
English Translation
Subjects can be made honest by, being only terrorized. Good kings never kill the wicked from motives of retribution. Good kings succeed in ruling their subjects properly with the help of good conduct.
श्रेयसः श्रेयसीमेवं वृत्तिं लोकोऽनुवर्तते । सदैव हि गुरोर्वृत्तमनुवर्तन्ति मानवाः ॥
English Translation
If the king act properly, the high class subjects imitate him. The inferior people, again, imitate their immediate superiors. Men are so formed that they imitate those whom they consider as their betters.
आत्मानमसमाधाय समाधित्सति यः परान् । विषयेष्विन्द्रियवशं मानवाः प्रहसन्ति तम् ॥
English Translation
That king who, without controlling himself, seeks to govern others (from evil ways) becomes an object of ridicule with all men on account of his being engaged in the enjoyment of all worldly pleasures as a slave of his senses.
यो राज्ञो दम्भमोहेन किंचित्कुर्यादसांप्रतम् । सर्वोपायैर्नियम्यः स तथा पापान्निवर्तते ॥
English Translation
That man who, through pride or mistaken judgement, offends against the king in any way, should be governed by every means. It is by this way that he is prevented from committing fresh offences.
आत्मैवादौ नियन्तव्यो दुष्कृतं संनियच्छता । दण्डयेच्च महादण्डैरपि बन्धूननन्तरान् ॥
English Translation
The king should first control his own self if he mean to control other offenders. He should punish sufficiently even his friends and near relatives.
यत्र वै पापकृत्क्लेश्यो न महद्दुःखमर्छति । वर्धन्ते तत्र पापानि धर्मो ह्रसति च ध्रुवम् । इति कारुण्यशीलस्तु विद्वान्वै ब्राह्मणोऽन्वशात् ॥
English Translation
In that kingdom where a wicked offender is not sufficiently punished, offences increase and virtue decreases forsooth.
इति चैवानुशिष्टोऽस्मि पूर्वैस्तात पितामहैः । आश्वासयद्भिः सुभृशमनुक्रोशात्तथैव च ॥
English Translation
Formerly, a Brahmana, endued with mercy and knowledge, taught me this. And, son, I have thus been instructed by also our grandfathers of olden days, who gave such assurances of harınlessness to people, actuated by pity. Their words were,-In the Krita age, kings should govern their subjects by adopting harmless ways.
एतत्प्रथमकल्पेन राजा कृतयुगेऽभजत् । पादोनेनापि धर्मेण गच्छेत्त्रेतायुगे तथा । द्वापरे तु द्विपादेन पादेन त्वपरे युगे ॥
English Translation
In that Treta age kings should act according to ways that follow virtue lessened by a fourth part. In the Dvapara age, they act according to ways conforming with virtue decreased by half, and in the age following, according to ways conforming with virtue decreased by threefourths.
तथा कलियुगे प्राप्ते राज्ञां दुश्चरितेन ह । भवेत्कालविशेषेण कला धर्मस्य षोडशी ॥
English Translation
When the Kali age begins, through the wickedness of kings and no account of the nature of the age itself, fifteen parts of even that fourth portion of virtue disappear, a sixteenth portion thereof being all that then remains.
अथ प्रथमकल्पेन सत्यवन्संकरो भवेत् । आयुः शक्तिं च कालं च निर्दिश्य तप आदिशेत् ॥
English Translation
If, O Satyavat, by adopting the way mentioned first, confusion sets in, the king, considering the span of human life, the strength of human beings, and the nature of the time that has come, should give punishments.
सत्याय हि यथा नेह जह्याद्धर्मफलं महत् । भूतानामनुकम्पार्थं मनुः स्वायंभुवोऽब्रवीत् ॥
English Translation
Indeed, Manu, the son of the Self create, has, through pity for human beings, indicated the way by means of which men may follow knowledge for the sake of Liberation."
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