Simhasanadvatrimshika f2: Frame-story II: King Bhartṛhari and the fruit that gave immortality

f2.p1

asti samastavastuvistīrṇā guṇaparābhūtapurandaranivāso 'jjayinī nāma nagarī. tatra samastasāmantasīmantinīsīmantasindūrāruṇacaraṇakamalayugalo bhartṛharir nāma rājā 'sīt, sakalakalāpravīṇaḥ samastaśāstrābhijñaś ca. tasyā 'nujo vikramo nāma svavikramāpahṛtavairivikramo 'bhūt. tasya bhartṛharer bhāryā rūpalāvaṇyādiguṇavinirjitasurāṅganā 'naṅgasenā nāmā 'bhūt. tasmin nagare brāhmaṇaḥ kaścit sakalaśāstrābhijño viśeṣato mantraśāstravit, paraṃ daridraḥ, mantrānuṣṭhānena bhuvaneśvarīm atoṣayat. tuṣṭā sā brāhmaṇam avādīt: bho brāhmaṇa, varaṃ vṛṇīṣva. brāhmaṇeno 'ktam: devi, yadi me prasannā 'si, tarhi māṃ jarāmaraṇavarjitaṃ kuru. tato devyā divyam ekaṃ phalaṃ dattvā bhaṇitaś ca: bhoḥ putra, etat phalaṃ bhakṣaya, jarāmaraṇavarjito bhaviṣyasi. tato brāhmaṇas tat phalaṃ gṛhītvā svabhavanaṃ pratyāgatya snātvā devatārcanāṃ vidhāya yāvat phalaṃ bhakṣayati, tāvat tasya manasy evaṃ buddhir abhūt: kim iti, ahaṃ tāvad daridraḥ; amaro bhūtvā kasyo 'pakāraṃ kariṣyāmi? paraṃ bahukālajīvinā 'pi bhikṣāṭanam eva kāryam. ataḥ paropakāriṇaḥ puruṣasya svalpakālajīvitam api śreyase bhavati. anyac ca: yas tu vijñānavibhavādiguṇair yuktaḥ kṣaṇamātram api jivati, tasyai 'va jīvitaṃ saphalaṃ bhavati. tathā co 'ktam:

f2.1

yaj jīvati kṣaṇam api prathitair manuṣyo
vij ñānaśauryavibhavādiguṇaiḥ sametaḥ,
tat tasya jīvitaphalaṃ pravadanti santaḥ;
kāko 'pi jīvati ciraṃ ca baliṃ ca bhuṅkte. || 1 ||

That a man lives even for a moment endowed with celebrated / qualities such as wisdom, valour, and power, / the wise declare to be the fruit of his life; / even a crow lives long and eats the funeral offering. || 1

f2.p2

tathā ca:

f2.2

yaj jīvyate yaśodharmasahitais, tac ca jīvitam;
baliṃ kavalayan klinnaṃ ciraṃ jīvati vāyasaḥ. || 2 ||

That which is lived accompanied by fame and righteousness, that is true life; / devouring damp offerings of food, a crow lives long. || 2

f2.p3

api ca:

f2.3

yasmiñ jīvati jīvanti bahavaḥ, sa tu jīvati;
bako 'pi kiṃ na kurute cañcvā svodarapūraṇam? || 3 ||

He alone lives, whose living allows many to live; / does even a crane not fill its belly with its beak? || 3

f2.p4

kiṃ ca:

f2.4

kṣudrāḥ santi sahasraśaḥ svabharaṇavyāpārapūrodarāḥ;
svārtho yasya parārtha eva, sa pumān ekaḥ satām agraṇīḥ;
duṣpūrodarapūraṇāya pibati srotaḥpatiṃ vāḍavo,
jīmūtas tu nidāghasaṃbhṛtajagatsaṃtāpavichittaye. || 4 ||

Vile men are in the thousands, whose bellies are filled by the work of nourishing themselves; / he whose self-interest is only the welfare of others is the one foremost among the good: / the submarine fire drinks the lord of rivers to fill its hard-to-fill belly, / but the cloud does so to dispel the torment of the world heated by summer. || 4

f2.5

asaṃpādayataḥ kaṃcid arthaṃ jātikriyāguṇaiḥ,
yadṛcchāśabdavat puṃsaḥ saṃjñāyai janma kevalam. || 5 ||

For a man who does not accomplish any purpose through caste, action, or virtues, / his birth is merely for a name, like an arbitrary word. || 5

f2.p5

iti vicārya tat phalaṃ rājñe dīyate cet, sa jarāmaranavarjito bhūtvā cāturvarṇyaṃ dharmataḥ paripālayiṣyatī 'ti tat phalaṃ gṛhītvā rājasamīpam āgatya --

f2.6

ahīnāṃ mālikāṃ bibhrat tathā pītāmbaraṃ vapuḥ,
haro hariś ca bhūpāla karotu tava maṅgalam! || 6 ||

‘Bearing a garland of non-serpents [or: great serpents], and a body clothed in yellow garments, / may Hara and Hari bring you auspiciousness, O king!’ || 6

f2.p6

ity āśīrvādapūrvakaṃ rājño haste phalaṃ dattvā bhaṇati sma: bho rājan, devatāvaraprasādalabdham idam apūrvaphalaṃ bhakṣaya, jarāmaraṇavarjito bhaviṣyasi. tato rājā tat phalaṃ gṛhītvā tasmai bahūny agrahārāṇi dattvā visasarja, vicārayati sma: aho, mamaitatphalabhakṣaṇad amaratvam bhaviṣyati. mamā 'nangasenāyām atiprītiḥ. sā mayi jīvaty eva mariṣyati. tasya viyogaduḥkham soḍhum na śaknomi. tasmad idaṃ phalaṃ mama praṇapriyāyā anaṅgasenāyai dāsyāmī 'ty anaṅgasenām āhūya dattavān. tasyā anaṅgasenāyā māndurikaḥ kaścit priyatamaḥ, sā punar vicārya tasmai tat phalaṃ dadau. tasya māndurikasya kācid dāsī priyatamā, sa tasyai prādāt. dāsyā api kasmiṃścid gopālake prītiḥ, sā tasmai dattavatī. tasyā 'pi kasyāṃcid gomayadhāriṇyāṃ mahat prema, so 'pi tasyai prayacchat. tataḥ sā gomayadhāriṇī grāmād bahir gomayaṃ dhṛtvā gomayabhājanaṃ svaśirasi nidhāya tadupari tat phalaṃ nikṣipya yāvad rājavīthyām āgacchati, tāvad rājā bhartṛharī rājakumāraiḥ saha vaihālīṃ gacchaṃs tasyāḥ śirasi sthāpitagomayāgrasthitaṃ tat phalaṃ dṛṣṭvā gṛhītvā vyāghuṭya gṛham āgataḥ.

f2.p7

tatas taṃ brāhmaṇam āhūyā 'vādīt: bho brāhmaṇa, tvayā yat phalaṃ dattaṃ tādṛśam anyat phalam asti kim? brāhmaṇeno 'ktam: bho rājan, tat phalaṃ devatāvaraprasādalabdhaṃ divyam; tādṛśaṃ phalaṃ bhūloke nā 'sti. anyac ca: raja nama sākṣād īśvaraḥ, tasya purato 'nṛtaṃ na vācyam. sa devavan nirīkṣaṇīyaḥ. tathā co 'ktam:

f2.7

sarvadevamayo rājā ṛṣibhiḥ parikīrtitaḥ;
tasmāt taṃ devavat paśyen na vyalīkaṃ vadet sudhīḥ. || 7 ||

A king is celebrated by the sages as composed of all the gods; / therefore a wise man should look upon him like a god, and should not speak a lie. || 7

f2.p8

tato rājñā bhaṇitam: tādṛśaṃ phalaṃ dṛśyate cet, katham? brāhmaṇo 'bravīt: tat phalaṃ bhakṣitaṃ vā na vā? rājā 'bhaṇat: na mayā bhakṣitaṃ tat phalam, mama prāṇavallabhāyā anaṅgasenayai dattam. brāhmaṇeno 'ktam: tarhi tāṃ pṛccha, tat phalaṃ kiṃ bhakṣitam iti. tato rājā 'naṅgasenām āhūya śapathaṃ kārayitvā 'pṛcchat. tayo 'ktam: tat phalaṃ māndurikasya dattam iti. tataḥ sa ākāritaḥ pṛṣṭo dāsyai dattam ity akathayat. dāsī gopāle, gopālo gomayadhāriṇyai dattam ity avādīt. tato jātasaṃpratyayo raja paramaviṣādaṃ gatvā ślokam apaṭhat:

f2.8

rūpe manohāriṇi yauvane ca
vṛthai 'va puṃsām abhimānabuddhiḥ;
natabhruvāṃ cetasi cittajanmā
prabhur yad eve 'cchati tat karoti. || 8 ||

In captivating beauty and in youth,
men's pride is entirely in vain;
for whatever the mind-born Lord of Love desires
in the hearts of arched-browed women, that he does. || 8

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punaś ca: aho strīṇāṃ cittaṃ caritraṃ kenāpi jñātuṃ na śakyate. tathā co 'ktam:

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aśvaplutaṃ vāsavagarjitaṃ ca,
strīṇāṃ ca cittaṃ, puruṣasya bhāgyam,
avarṣaṇaṃ cā 'py ativarṣaṇam ca,
devo na jānāti - kuto manuṣyaḥ? || 9 ||

The bounding of a horse and the thunder of Indra,
the heart of women and the destiny of a man,
drought and torrential rain—
even a god does not know, so how could a mortal? || 9

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tathā ca:

f2.10

gṛhṇanti vipine vyāghraṃ, vihaṃgaṃ gagane sthitam,
sarinmadhye gataṃ mīnaṃ, na strīṇāṃ capalaṃ manaḥ. || 10 ||

They can seize a tiger in the forest, a bird perched in the sky,
a fish moving in the midst of a river, but never the fickle mind of women. || 10

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kiṃ ca:

f2.11

vandhyāputrasya rājyaśrīḥ puṣpaśrir gaganasya ca
bhaved eva, na tu strīṇāṃ manaḥśuddhir manāg api. || 11 ||

A barren woman's son might obtain royal glory, and the sky the beauty of a flower,
[all this] might indeed happen, but not the slightest purity of mind in women. || 11

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api ca:

f2.12

sukhaduḥkhajayaparājayajīvitamaraṇāni ye vijānanti,
muhyanti te 'pi nūnaṃ tattvavidaś ceṣṭitaiḥ strīṇām. || 12 ||

Even those who understand pleasure, pain, victory, defeat, life, and death,
even those knowers of the truth are surely bewildered by the actions of women. || 12

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anyac ca:

f2.13

smaropamam api prāpya vāñchanti puruṣāntaram
nāryaḥ sarvāḥ svabhāvena, vadantī 'ty amalāśayāḥ. || 13 ||

Even when they have obtained a man like the god of love, all women
by their very nature crave another man; so speak those whose hearts are pure. || 13

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tathā ca:

f2.14

vinā japena mantreṇa tantreṇa vinayena ca
vañcayanti naraṃ nāryaḥ prajñādhanam api kṣaṇāt. || 14 ||

Without recitation, mantra, esoteric ritual, or modesty,
women deceive a man, even one rich in wisdom, in an instant. || 14

f2.15

kulajātiparibhraṣṭaṃ nikṛṣṭaṃ duṣṭaceṣṭitam
aspṛśyam adhamaṃ prāyo manye strīṇāṃ priyaṃ varam. || 15 ||

One fallen from family and caste, vile, behaving wickedly,
untouchable, base—such, I think, is generally the preferred lover of women. || 15

f2.16

gauraveṣu pratiṣṭhāsu guṇeṣv ārādhyakoṭiṣu
vṛthā 'pi ca nimajjanti doṣapaṅke svayaṃ striyaḥ. || 16 ||

Amid dignities, distinctions, virtues, and myriads of worshipful things,
women nevertheless plunge vainly by themselves into the mire of faults. || 16

f2.17

etā hasanti ca rudanti ca vittahetor,
viśvāsayanti ca naraṃ na tu viśvasanti;
tasmān nareṇa kulaśīlavatā sadai 'va
nāryaḥ śmaśānavaṭikā iva varjanīyāḥ. || 17 ||

They laugh and they weep for the sake of wealth;
they inspire trust in a man, yet they never trust;
therefore a man of good family and conduct should always
avoid women like the urns of a cremation ground. || 17

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anyac ca:

f2.18

na vairāgyāt paraṃ bhāgyaṃ, na bodhād aparaṃ sukham,
na harer aparas trātā, na saṃsārāt paro ripuḥ. || 18 ||

There is no fortune higher than dispassion, no joy other than enlightenment,
no other protector than Hari, no greater enemy than worldly existence. || 18

f2.p16

itī 'daṃ padyaṃ paṭhitvā paramam vairāgyaṃ gato bhartṛharir vikramārkaṃ rājye 'bhiṣicya svayaṃ vanaṃ jagāma. iti bhartrharer vairāgyakathā