9. Karmavarga
The Chapter about Deeds
(20 Verses)
[9.1]
[stm.]
Ekadharmam atītasya, mṛṣāvādasya jantunaḥ,
vitīrṇaparalokasya, nākāryaṁ pāpam asti yat.
For the person speaking falsely, who transgresses this one thing, who has abandoned the next world, there is no bad thing which is left undone.
[9.2]
[stm. + ana.]
Śreyo hy ayoguḍā bhuktās, taptā hy agniśikhopamāḥ,
na tu bhuñjīta duḥśīlo rāṣṭrapiṇḍam asaṁyataḥ.
It’s better to have eaten iron balls, glowing like a flame of fire, than that one should, unvirtuous and unrestrained, enjoy the country’s almsfood.
[9.3]
[adm.]
Sa ced bibheṣi duḥkhasya, sa cet te duḥkham apriyam,
mā kārṣīḥ pāpakaṁ karma, tv āvir vā yadi vā rahaḥ.
If you have fear of suffering, if suffering is not loved by you, do not do a wicked deed, whether in the open or in secret.
[9.4]
[stm.]
Sa cet pāpāni karmāṇi kariṣyasi karoṣi vā,
na te duḥkhāt pramokṣo ’sti, hy utplutyāpi palāyataḥ.
If one is doing, or will do, wicked deeds, there is no freedom from suffering for you, even if you have jumped up and are fleeing away.
[9.5]
[stm.]
Naivāntarīkṣe na samudramadhye,
na parvatānāṁ vivaraṁ praviśya:
na vidyate ’sau pṛthivīpradeśo
yatra sthitaṁ na prasaheta karma.
Neither in the firmament, nor in the middle of the ocean, nor after entering a mountain cleft: there is no place found on this earth where standing death would not overpower one.
[9.5A]
[stm.]
Kṛṣṇaśuklāni karmāṇi na praṇaśyanti dehinaḥ,
kālaṁ prā[ ]iṣyante, kṛtāny upa[ ]nāni ca.
The dark and light deeds of the embodied do not perish, time, deeds done …
Note
Prof. Dharmavardhana-Jñānagarbha proposes reading the last line:
kālaṁ prāsahiṣyante kṛtāny upacitāni ca. There is no Tibetan parallel to this line, so we cannot compare.
deeds done and accumulated will endure through time.
[9.6]
[adm.]
Yat pareṣāṁ vigarheta karma dṛṣṭveha pāpakam,
ātmanā tan na kurvīta, karmabaddho hi pāpakaḥ.
Having seen others’ wicked deeds which should be censured, you should not do it yourself, for the wicked one is bound by his deeds.
[9.7]
[stm.]
Ye kūṭamānayogena viṣameṇa ca karmaṇā,
manuṣyān upahiṁsanti, paratopakrameṇa vā,
te vai prapātaṁ prapatanti, karmabaddhā hi te janāḥ.
Those who, through fraud, conceit, deceit and crooked deeds, or through attacks on others, harm human beings, they indeed fall into ruin, for people are bound by their deeds.
[9.8]
[stm.]
Yat karoti naraḥ karma, kalyāṇam atha pāpakam,
tasya tasyaiva dāyādo, na hi karma praṇaśyati.
Whatever deeds a person does, meritorious or demeritorious, to that he is surely an heir, for the result of a deed does not perish.
[9.9]
[stm.]
Vilumpate hi puruṣo yāvad asyopakalpate,
tato ’nye taṁ vilumpanti, sa viloptā vilupyate.
For a person surely plunders for as long as it benefits him, because of that others plunder him, the plunderer himself is plundered.
[9.10]
[stm.]
Kurvaṁ hi manyate bālo naitaṁ mām āgamiṣyati,
sāmparāye tu jānāti yā gatiḥ pāpakarmaṇām.
The fool thinks: My doings will not come back to me, but in the future life he knows the destination of those who did wrong deeds.
[9.11]
[stm.]
Kurvaṁ hi manyate bālo naitaṁ mām āgamiṣyati,
paścāt tu kaṭukaṁ bhavati vipākaṁ pratiṣevataḥ.
The fool thinks: My doings will not come back to me, but later it is bitter for the one experiencing the result.
[9.12]
[stm. + sim.]
Sa cet pāpāni karmāṇi kurvaṁ bālo na budhyate,
karmabhiḥ svais tu durmedhā hy agnidagdhaiva tapyate.
If the fool does not understand the wicked deeds he is doing, the unintelligent one is tormented by his own deeds, as by a burning fire.
[9.13]
[stm.]
Caranti bālā duṣprajñā hy amitrair iva cātmabhiḥ,
kurvantaḥ pāpakaṁ karma, yad bhavati kaṭukaṁ phalaṁ.
Fools lacking in wisdom live having themselves as their own enemies, committing wicked deeds, which have bitter fruits.
[9.14]
[stm.]
Na tat karma kṛtaṁ sādhu, yat kṛtvā hy anutapyate,
rudann aśrumukho yasya, vipākaṁ pratiṣevate.
That deed is not well done, which, having done, one feels regret, after which, This is the genitive of time, giving the meaning: after which. See Wijesekera, §157. crying, with tears on the face, one experiences the result.
[9.15]
[stm.]
Tat tu karma kṛtaṁ sādhu, yat kṛtvā nānutapyate,
yasya pratītaḥ sumanā, vipākaṁ pratiṣevate.
But that deed is well done, which, having done, one has no regret, after which, one is pleased and happy, as one experiences the result.
[9.16]
[stm.]
Hasantaḥ pāpakaṁ karma, kurvanty ātmasukhaiṣiṇaḥ,
rudantas tasya vīpākaṁ prativindanti duḥkhitāḥ.
Laughing at wicked deeds, they do them seeking their own happiness, after that, those who suffer, crying, experience the result.
[9.17]
[stm. + sim.]
Na hi pāpakṛtaṁ karma, sadyaḥ kṣīram iva mūrchati,
dahantad bālam anveti, bhasmācchanna ivānalaḥ.
For a deed that has been badly done, like milk, does not sour immediately, smouldering, it follows the fool, like a fire covered with ashes.
[9.18]
[stm.]
Na hi pāpakṛtaṁ karma, sadyaḥ śastram iva kṛntati,
sāmparāye tu jānāti yā gatiḥ pāpakarmaṇām,
paścāt tu kaṭukaṁ bhavati vipākaṁ pratiṣevataḥ.
For a deed that has been badly done, does not cut immediately like a sword, but in the future life one knows the destination of those who did wicked deeds, and later it is bitter for one experiencing the result.
[9.19]
[stm. + sim.]
Ayaso hi malaḥ samutthitaḥ,
sa tadutthāya tam eva khādati,
evaṁ hy aniśāmyacāriṇaṁ –
svāni karmāṇi nayanti durgatim.
As rust arises from iron, and arisen it then eats it away, so with one who is living unrestrained – his own deeds lead him to a bad destination.
Karmavargaḥ, 9.
The Chapter about Deeds, the Ninth