Mahabharata — Volume VIII (Dutt edition) — Chapter 41
MBh 8 41.1
भीष्म उवाच अत्रोपायं प्रवक्ष्यामि यथावच्छास्त्रचक्षुषा। तत्त्वज्ञानाच्चरन् राजन् प्राप्नुयात्परमां गतिम्॥
bhīṣma uvāca atropāyaṃ pravakṣyāmi yathāvacchāstracakṣuṣā| tattvajñānāccaran rājan prāpnuyātparamāṃ gatim||
'I shall now describe to you the means of conquering the senses as seen with the eye of the scriptures. A person, O king, will attain to the highest and by shaping his conduct accordingly.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.2
सर्वेषामेव भूतानां पुरुषः श्रेष्ठ उच्यते। पुरुषेभ्यो द्विजानाहुर्द्विजेभ्यो मन्त्रदर्शिनः॥
sarveṣāmeva bhūtānāṃ puruṣaḥ śreṣṭha ucyate| puruṣebhyo dvijānāhurdvijebhyo mantradarśinaḥ||
Amongst all living creatures man is said to be the foremost. Among men, the twice-born, persons well read in the Vedas are the foremost.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.3
सर्वभूतात्मभूतास्ते सर्वज्ञाः सर्वदर्शिनः। ब्राह्मणा वेदशास्त्रज्ञास्तत्त्वार्थगतनिश्चयाः॥
sarvabhūtātmabhūtāste sarvajñāḥ sarvadarśinaḥ| brāhmaṇā vedaśāstrajñāstattvārthagataniścayāḥ||
These last are considered as the souls of all living creatures. Indeed, those Brahmanas who have mastered the Vedas are considered as allseeing and omniscient. They are persons who have become conversant with Brahma.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.4
नेत्रहीनो यथा ह्येकः कृच्छ्राणि लभतेऽध्वनि। ज्ञानहीनस्तथा लोके तस्माज्ज्ञानविदोऽधिकाः॥
netrahīno yathā hyekaḥ kṛcchrāṇi labhate'dhvani| jñānahīnastathā loke tasmājjñānavido'dhikāḥ||
As a blind man, without a guide, meets with many difficulties on a road, so has a person shorn of knowledge to meet with many impediments in the world. Therefore those who are endued with knowledge arc considered as superior to the rest.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.5
तांस्तानुपासते धर्मान् धर्मकामा यथागमम्। न त्वेषामर्थसामान्यमन्तरेण गुणानिमान्॥
tāṃstānupāsate dharmān dharmakāmā yathāgamam| na tveṣāmarthasāmānyamantareṇa guṇānimān||
Those who wish to acquire virtue practise various rites according to the scriptural injunctions. They do not, however, attain to Liberation. They only acquire those good qualities which I shall presently mention.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.6
वाग्देहमनसां शौचं क्षमा सत्यं धृतिः स्मृतिः। सर्वधर्मेषु धर्मज्ञा ज्ञापयन्ति गुणाञ्छुभान्॥
vāgdehamanasāṃ śaucaṃ kṣamā satyaṃ dhṛtiḥ smṛtiḥ| sarvadharmeṣu dharmajñā jñāpayanti guṇāñchubhān||
Purity of speech, of body, and of mind, forgiveness, truth, firmness and intelligence,-these good qualities are shown by pious persons who observe both kinds of religion.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.7
यदिदं ब्रह्मणो रूपं ब्रह्मचर्यमिति स्मृतम्। परं तत् सर्वधर्मेभ्यस्तेन यान्ति परां गतिम्॥
yadidaṃ brahmaṇo rūpaṃ brahmacaryamiti smṛtam| paraṃ tat sarvadharmebhyastena yānti parāṃ gatim||
What is called Brahmacharya is considered as the means of attaining to Brahma. That is the foremost of all religions. It is by the practice of that religion that one acquires the highest end.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.8
लिङ्गसंयोगहीनं यच्छब्दस्पर्शविवर्जितम्। श्रोत्रेण श्रवणं चैव चक्षुषा चैव दर्शनम्॥
liṅgasaṃyogahīnaṃ yacchabdasparśavivarjitam| śrotreṇa śravaṇaṃ caiva cakṣuṣā caiva darśanam||
Brahmacharya has no connection with the five vital airs, mind, understanding, the five senses of perception, and the five senses of action. It is, therefore, free from all the perceptions that the senses give. It is heard only as a word, and its form, is not seen, but can only be conceived.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.9
वाक्सम्भाषाप्रवृत्तं यत् तन्मनःपरिवर्जितम्। बुद्ध्या चाध्यवसीयीत ब्रह्मचर्यमकल्मषम्॥
vāksambhāṣāpravṛttaṃ yat tanmanaḥparivarjitam| buddhyā cādhyavasīyīta brahmacaryamakalmaṣam||
It is a state of existence only on the mind. It has no connection with the senses. That pure state should be attained to by the understanding alone.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.10
सम्यग्वृत्तिर्ब्रह्मलोकं प्राप्नुयान्मध्यमः सुरान्। द्विजाग्रयो जायते विद्वान् कन्यसी वृत्तिमास्थितः॥
samyagvṛttirbrahmalokaṃ prāpnuyānmadhyamaḥ surān| dvijāgrayo jāyate vidvān kanyasī vṛttimāsthitaḥ||
He who practises it duly attains to Brahma; he who practises it half and half, attains to the status of the gods; while be who practises it indifferently, is born among Brahmanas and possessed of learning attains to eminence.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.11
सुदुष्करं ब्रह्मचर्यमुपायं तत्र मे शृणु। सम्प्रदीप्तमुदीर्णं च निगृह्णीयाद् द्विजो रजः॥
suduṣkaraṃ brahmacaryamupāyaṃ tatra me śṛṇu| sampradīptamudīrṇaṃ ca nigṛhṇīyād dvijo rajaḥ||
Brahmacharya is highly difficult to practise. Listen now to the means thereof. That twiceborn one who follows it should subdue the quality of Darkness as soon as it begins to show itself or as soon as it begins to be powerful.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.12
योषितां न कथा श्राव्या न निरीक्ष्या निरम्बराः। कथञ्चिद् दर्शनादासां दुर्बलानां विशेद्रजः॥
yoṣitāṃ na kathā śrāvyā na nirīkṣyā nirambarāḥ| kathañcid darśanādāsāṃ durbalānāṃ viśedrajaḥ||
One who has taken that yow should not speak with women. He should never look at a naked woman. The sight of women, under even indifferent circumstances, excites the passion of all weak-minded men.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.13
रागोत्पन्नश्चरेत् कृच्छं महार्तिः प्रविशेदपः। मग्नः स्वप्ने च मनसा विर्जपेदघमर्षणम्॥
rāgotpannaścaret kṛcchaṃ mahārtiḥ praviśedapaḥ| magnaḥ svapne ca manasā virjapedaghamarṣaṇam||
If a person feels a desire for women rising in his heart, he should observe the vow called Krichcchra and also pass three days in water. If desire is formed even in a dream, one should, diving in water, mentally repeat for three times the three Riks by Aghamarshana.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.14
पाप्मानं निर्दहेदेवमन्तर्भूतरजोमयम्। ज्ञानयुक्तेन मनसा संततेन विचक्षणः॥
pāpmānaṃ nirdahedevamantarbhūtarajomayam| jñānayuktena manasā saṃtatena vicakṣaṇaḥ||
That wise man who follows this VOW should, with a liberal and enlightened mind, consume the sins in his mind which are created by the quality of Darkness.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.15
कुणपामध्यसंयुक्तं यद्वदच्छिद्रबन्धनम्। तद्वद् देहगतं विद्यादात्मानं देहबन्धनम्॥
kuṇapāmadhyasaṃyuktaṃ yadvadacchidrabandhanam| tadvad dehagataṃ vidyādātmānaṃ dehabandhanam||
As the passage that carries away the refuge of the body is very closely connected with the body, so the embodied Soul is very closely connected with the body that confines it.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.16
वातपित्तकफाद् रक्तं त्वडमांसं स्नायुमस्थि च। मज्जां देहं शिराजालैस्तर्पयन्ति रसा नृणाम्॥
vātapittakaphād raktaṃ tvaḍamāṃsaṃ snāyumasthi ca| majjāṃ dehaṃ śirājālaistarpayanti rasā nṛṇām||
The different sorts of juices, passing through the network of arteries, nourish men's wind, bile, phlegm, blood, skin, flesh, intestines, bones, marrow, and the whole body.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.17
दश विद्याद् धमन्योऽत्र पञ्चेन्द्रियगुणावहाः। याभिः सूक्ष्माः प्रतायन्ते धमन्योऽन्याः सहस्रशः॥
daśa vidyād dhamanyo'tra pañcendriyaguṇāvahāḥ| yābhiḥ sūkṣmāḥ pratāyante dhamanyo'nyāḥ sahasraśaḥ||
Know that there are ten principle canals. These help the functions of the five senses. From those ten issue out thousands of other passages that are minuter in form.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.18
एवमेताः शिरा नद्यो रसोदा देहसागरम्। तर्पयन्ति यथाकालमापगा इव सागरम्॥
evametāḥ śirā nadyo rasodā dehasāgaram| tarpayanti yathākālamāpagā iva sāgaram||
Like rivers filling the ocean at the proper time, all these channels, containing juices, nourish the body.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.19
मध्ये च हृदयस्यैका शिरा तत्र मनोवहा। शुक्र संकल्पजं नृणां सर्वगात्रैर्विमुञ्चति॥
madhye ca hṛdayasyaikā śirā tatra manovahā| śukra saṃkalpajaṃ nṛṇāṃ sarvagātrairvimuñcati||
There is a channel leading to the heart called Manovaha. It draws from every part of the human body the seminal fluid which is born of desire.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.20
सर्वगात्रप्रतायिन्यस्तस्या ह्यनुगताः शिराः। नेत्रयोः प्रतिपद्यन्ते वहन्त्यस्तैजसं गुणम्॥
sarvagātrapratāyinyastasyā hyanugatāḥ śirāḥ| netrayoḥ pratipadyante vahantyastaijasaṃ guṇam||
Numberless other channels issuing from that principal one extend into every part of the body and bearing the element of heat cause the sense of vision (and the rest).
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.21
पयस्यन्तर्हितं सर्पिर्यद्वन्निर्मथ्यते खजैः। शुक्र निर्मथ्यते तद्वद् देहसंकल्पजैः खजैः॥
payasyantarhitaṃ sarpiryadvannirmathyate khajaiḥ| śukra nirmathyate tadvad dehasaṃkalpajaiḥ khajaiḥ||
As the butter that lies within milk is churned up by churing rods, so the desires that are created in the mind draw together the vital sced that lies within the body.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.22
स्वप्नेऽप्येवं यथाभ्येति मन:संकल्पजं रजः। शुक्र संकल्पजं देहात् सृजत्यस्य मनोवहा॥
svapne'pyevaṃ yathābhyeti mana:saṃkalpajaṃ rajaḥ| śukra saṃkalpajaṃ dehāt sṛjatyasya manovahā||
In the midst of even our dreams passion originating in imagination attacks the mind, with the result that the passage already named, viz., Manovaha, throws out the seminal fluid born of desire.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.23
महर्षिर्भगवानत्रिर्वेद तच्छुक्रसम्भवम्। त्रिबीजमिन्द्रदैवल्यं तस्मादिन्द्रियमुच्यते॥
maharṣirbhagavānatrirveda tacchukrasambhavam| tribījamindradaivalyaṃ tasmādindriyamucyate||
The great and divine Rishi Atri is a inaster of the subject of the generation of the vital secd. The juices that are produced by food, the passage called Manovaha, and the desire that is born of imagination,-these three are the causes which create the seminal fluid which has Indra for its presiding god. The passion that helps the passing out of this fluid is, therefore, called Indriya.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.24
ये वै शुक्रगति विद्युभूतसंकरकारिकाम्। विरागा दग्धदोषास्ते नाप्नुयुर्देहसम्भवम्॥
ye vai śukragati vidyubhūtasaṃkarakārikām| virāgā dagdhadoṣāste nāpnuyurdehasambhavam||
Those persons, who know that the course of seminal fluid is the cause of intermixture of castes, are men of controlled passions. Their sins are considered to have been consumed, and they are never subjected to re-birth.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.25
गुणानां साम्यमागम्य मनसैव मनोवहम्। देहकर्मा नुदन् प्राणानन्तकाले विमुच्यते॥
guṇānāṃ sāmyamāgamya manasaiva manovaham| dehakarmā nudan prāṇānantakāle vimucyate||
He who performs action simply for the purpose of maintaining his body, reducing with the help of the mind the qualities into a state of equilibrium, and brings at his last moments the vital airs to the channel called Manovaha, is freed from re-birth.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.26
भविता मनसो ज्ञानं मन एव प्रजायते। ज्योतिष्मद्विरजो नित्यं मन्त्रसिद्धं महात्मनाम्॥
bhavitā manaso jñānaṃ mana eva prajāyate| jyotiṣmadvirajo nityaṃ mantrasiddhaṃ mahātmanām||
The Mind is sure to acquire Knowledge. It is the Mind which assumes the form of all things. Acquiring success through meditation, the minds of all great persons, become freed from desire, eternal, and shining.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.27
तस्मात् तदभिघाताय कर्म कुर्यादकल्मषम्। रजस्तमश्च हित्वेह यथेष्टां गतिमाप्नुयात्॥
tasmāt tadabhighātāya karma kuryādakalmaṣam| rajastamaśca hitveha yatheṣṭāṃ gatimāpnuyāt||
Therefore, for destroying the mind, one should perform only pure deeds, and frecing himself from the qualities of Darkness and Ignorance, one is sure to acquire a very desirable end.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.28
तरुणाधिगतं ज्ञानं जरादुर्बलतां गतम्। विपक्वबुद्धिः कालेन आदत्ते मानसं बलम्॥
taruṇādhigataṃ jñānaṃ jarādurbalatāṃ gatam| vipakvabuddhiḥ kālena ādatte mānasaṃ balam||
Knowledge (ordinarily) acquired in younger days becomes weakened with decrepitude. Through the good effects of past lives, a person, however, of ripe understanding succeeds in killing his desires.
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)
MBh 8 41.29
सुदुर्गमिव पन्थानमतीत्य गुणबन्धनम्। यथा पश्येत् तथा दोषानतीत्यामृतमश्नुते॥
sudurgamiva panthānamatītya guṇabandhanam| yathā paśyet tathā doṣānatītyāmṛtamaśnute||
Such a person, by getting over the fetters of the body and the senses like a traveller crossing a path full of impediments, and transgressing all faults he sees, succeeds in testing the ambrosia (of Liberation.)
— tr. M.N. Dutt (1891–96) (public domain)