Adhyaya 36

Verse 1

(३५।४६) सपिण्डनशवविध्योर्निरूपणं नाम पञ्चत्रिंशो ऽध्यायः तार्क्ष्यौवाच / कस्मादनशनं पुण्यमक्षय्यगतिदायकम् / स्वगृहन्तु परित्यज्य तीर्थे वै म्रियते यदि

Tārkṣya (Garuda) said: “For what reason is fasting held to be meritorious, bestowing an imperishable destiny? And if one abandons one’s own home and truly dies at a sacred tīrtha, what fruit is gained?”

Verse 2

अप्राप्य तीर्थं म्रियते गृहे वा मृत्यु मागतः / बूत्वा कुटीचरो यस्तु स कां गतिमवाप्नुयात्

If one dies without reaching a tīrtha—whether at home because death has arrived—what destiny does a person attain who has lived as a kuṭīcāra, a renunciant dwelling in a hut?

Verse 3

संन्यासं कुरुते यस्तु तीर्थे वापि गृहे ऽपि वा / कथं तस्य प्रकर्तव्यमप्राप्तनिधने ऽपि वा

But if someone takes up saṃnyāsa—whether at a tīrtha or even at home—what should be done for him, even if his appointed time of death has not yet arrived?

Verse 4

नियमे चेत् कृते देव चित्तभङ्गो हि जायते / केन तस्य भवेत् सिद्धिः कृतेनाप्यकृतेन वा

O Lord, if, while observing niyama—the prescribed restraint—the mind becomes broken and distracted, by what means can there be siddhi, true success? Whether performed or left undone, how can it be deemed accomplished?

Verse 5

श्रीकृष्ण उवाच / कृत्वा निरशनं यो वै मृत्युमाप्नोति को ऽपि चेत् / मानुपीं तनुमुत्सृज्य मम तुल्यो विराजते

Śrī Kṛṣṇa said: “If anyone, having undertaken nirāśana—complete fasting—should meet death, then, casting off the human body, he shines forth, equal to Me.”

Verse 6

यावन्त्यहानि जीवेत् व्रते निरशने कृते / क्रतुभिस्तानि तुल्यानि समग्रवदक्षिणैः

For as many days as one lives while keeping the vow of fasting and abstaining from food, those very days become equal in merit to that many kratus (sacrificial rites), complete with all proper dakṣiṇā-gifts.

Verse 7

तीर्थे गृहे वा संन्यासं नीत्वा चेन्म्रियते यदि / प्रत्यहं लभते सो ऽपि पूर्वोक्तं द्विगुणं फलम्

If one takes up saṃnyāsa—whether at a sacred tīrtha or at home—and then dies, that person too receives, day by day, a fruit double the merit previously declared.

Verse 8

महारोगोपपत्तौ च गृहीते ऽनशने कृते / पुनर्न जायते रोगो देववद्धि विराजते

When one is seized by a grievous disease, if one undertakes anāśana—abstaining from food—the illness does not arise again; indeed, one shines forth, radiant like a deva.

Verse 9

य आतुरः सन् सन्न्यासं गृह्णाति यदि मानवः / पुनर्न जायते भूमौ संसारे दुः खसागरे

If a person, even while afflicted and nearing death, accepts sannyāsa, the vow of renunciation, he is not born again upon this earth; he does not return to the ocean of suffering called saṃsāra.

Verse 10

अहन्यहनि दातव्यं ब्राह्मणानाञ्च भोजनम् / तिलपात्रं यथाशक्ति दीपदानं सुरार्चनम्

Day after day one should give food in charity to brāhmaṇas; and, according to one’s capacity, offer a vessel of sesame (tilapātra), make gifts of lamps (dīpa-dāna), and worship the devas.

Verse 11

एवं वृत्तस्य दह्यन्ते पापान्युच्चावचानि च / मृतो मुक्तिमवाप्नोति यथा सर्वे महर्षयः

One who abides in such righteous conduct has every sin—great and small—burned away; and at death he attains liberation, just as all the great sages did.

Verse 12

तस्मादनशनं नॄणां वैकुण्ठपददायकम् / तस्मात् स्वस्थे चोत्तरे वा साधयेन्मोक्षलक्षणम्

Therefore, for human beings, fasting (anaśana) bestows the state of Vaikuṇṭha. Hence, while still healthy—or at least in the later period of life—one should undertake the disciplines that bear the mark of liberation (mokṣa).

Verse 13

पुत्त्रद्रव्यादि सन्त्यज्य तीर्थं व्रजति यो नरः / ब्रह्माद्या देवतास्तस्य भवेयुस्तुष्टिपुष्टिदाः

That man who, renouncing attachment to son, wealth, and the like, goes to a sacred tīrtha of pilgrimage—Brahmā and the other deities are pleased with him and bestow contentment and spiritual nourishment.

Verse 14

यस्तीर्थसंमुखो भूत्वा व्रते ह्यनशने कृते / चेन्म्रियेतान्तराले ऽपि ऋषीणां मण्डले वसेत्

Whoever, having turned to face a sacred tīrtha, undertakes the vow of fasting, and even if he dies in the midst of that observance, dwells in the sphere—the assembly—of the sages.

Verse 15

व्रतं निरशन कृत्वा स्वगृहे ऽपि मृतो यदि / स्वकुलानि परित्यज्य एकाकी विचरेद्दिवि

If a person undertakes a vow of fasting and then dies—even in his own house—he leaves behind his family lines and wanders alone in the other world.

Verse 16

अन्नञ्चैव तथा तोयं परित्यज्य नरो यदि / पीतमत्पादतोयश्च न पुनर्जायते क्षितौ

If a man renounces both food and water, and drinks only the water that has washed My feet, he is not born again upon the earth.

Verse 17

कृत्त्यासीनन्तत्तीर्थगतं रक्षन्ति वनदेवताः / यमदूता विशेषेण न याम्यास्तस्य पार्श्वगाः

The deities of the forest protect one who, seated and devoted to sacred rites, has reached that holy ford (tīrtha). In particular, Yama’s messengers do not draw near—the servants of the Lord of Death do not stand at his side.

Verse 18

तीर्थसेवी नरो यस्तु सर्वकिल्बिषवर्जितः / तत्र म्रियते दह्येत तत्तीर्थफलभाग्भवेत्

A man who devotedly serves and frequents sacred pilgrimage places, free from all sin, if he dies there and is cremated there, becomes a sharer in the full merit—the spiritual fruit—of that tīrtha.

Verse 19

सेविते ऽपि सदा तथि ह्यन्यत्र म्रियते यदि / शुभे देशे कुले धीमान् स भवेद्वेदविद्द्विजः

Even if one has long been devotedly associated in service, if he dies elsewhere, then—being wise and born in an auspicious land and family—he becomes a twice-born knower of the Veda.

Verse 20

कृत्वा निरशनं तार्क्ष्य पुनर्जीवति मानवः / ब्राह्मणान् स समाहूय सर्वस्वं यत् परित्यजेत्

O Tārkṣya (Garuda), by undertaking a fast a person regains life; then, having summoned the brāhmaṇas, he should renounce—give away—whatever he can of his entire wealth.

Verse 21

चान्द्रायणं चरेत् कृत्स्नमनुज्ञातश्च तैर्द्विजैः / अनृतं न वदेत् पश्चाद्धर्ममेव समाचरेत्

With the permission of the twice-born (learned brāhmaṇas), one should fully perform the complete Cāndrāyaṇa expiation. Thereafter, one should not speak falsehood and should practice dharma alone.

Verse 22

तीर्थे गत्वा च यः को ऽपि पुनरायाति वै गृहम् / अनुज्ञातः स वै विप्रैः प्रायश्चित्तमथाचरेत्

Whoever goes to a sacred ford (tīrtha) and then returns again to his home—having been duly permitted by the learned brāhmaṇas—should thereafter perform the prescribed act of expiation (prāyaścitta).

Verse 23

दत्त्वा वा स्वर्णदानानि गो-मही-गज-वाजिनः / तीर्थं यदि लभेद् यस्तु मृत्युकाले स भाग्यवान्

Whether by giving gifts of gold, or by donating cows, land, elephants, or horses—yet the one who, at the time of death, attains a sacred ford (tīrtha) is truly fortunate.

Verse 24

गृहात् प्रचलितस्तीर्थं मरणे समुपस्थिते / पदेपदे तु गोदानं यदि हिंसा न जायते

When death has drawn near, one who sets out from home toward a sacred ford (tīrtha) gains the merit of pilgrimage; and at every step, the gift of a cow is, as it were, obtained—provided that no harm or violence is caused.

Verse 25

गृहे तु यत् कृतं पापं तीर्थस्नानेन शुध्यति / कुरुते तत्र पापञ्चेद्वज्रलेपसमं हि तत्

Any sin committed at home is cleansed by bathing at a sacred ford (tīrtha). But if one commits sin even there, that sin becomes as if coated with diamond—hard to remove.

Verse 26

क्लिश्येत् स नात्र सन्देहो यावच्चन्द्रार्कतारकम् / तत्र दत्तानि दानानि जायन्ते चाक्षयाणि वै

He will indeed suffer—of this there is no doubt—for as long as the moon, the sun, and the stars endure; yet the gifts (dāna) bestowed there become truly inexhaustible, imperishable in merit.

Verse 27

आतुरे सति दातव्यं निर्धनैरपि मानवैः / गावस्तिला हिरण्यञ्च सप्तधान्यं विशेषतः

When one is afflicted—especially in illness or near death—even the poor should give in charity. Above all, one should offer cows, sesame, gold, and the seven kinds of grains.

Verse 28

दानवन्तं नरं दृष्ट्वा हृष्टाः सर्वे दिवौकसः / ऋषिभिः सह धर्मण चित्रगुप्तेन सर्वदा

Seeing that charitable man, all the heavenly beings rejoice; and Dharma and Citragupta too—together with the sages—are ever pleased with him.

Verse 29

आत्मायत्तं धनं यावत् तावद्विप्रे समर्पयेत् / पराधीनं मृते सर्वं कृपया कः प्रदास्यति

So long as one’s wealth remains under one’s own control, one should offer it to a brāhmaṇa; for after death everything comes under the control of others—then who will give it away out of compassion?

Verse 30

पित्रुद्देशेन यः पुत्त्रैर्धनं विप्रकरे ऽर्पितम् / आत्मानं सधनं तेन चक्रे पुत्रप्रपौत्रकैः

When sons offer wealth to a worthy brāhmaṇa for the sake of the Pitṛs (ancestral rites), by that act the departed one is made prosperous—endowed with possessions—together with his sons and grandsons.

Verse 31

पितुः शतगुणं दत्तं सहस्रं मातुरुच्यते / भगिन्या शतसाहस्रं सोदर्ये दत्तमक्षयम्

A gift given to one’s father bears fruit a hundredfold; to one’s mother, it is said, a thousandfold. A gift to one’s sister bears fruit a hundred-thousandfold; but what is given to one’s own full brother is declared imperishable.

Verse 32

यदि लोभान्न यच्छन्ति प्रमादान्मोहतो ऽपि वा / मृताः शोचन्ति ते सर्वे कदर्याः पापिनस्त्विति

If, out of greed—or through negligence or delusion—people do not give in charity, then after death they all grieve, known as miserly sinners.

Verse 33

अतिक्लेशेन लब्धस्य प्रकृत्या चञ्चलस्य च / गतिरेकैव वित्तस्य दानमन्या विपत्तयः

Wealth is gained with great hardship and is fickle by nature; for money there is only one true destination—charity. All other outcomes are misfortunes.

Verse 34

मृत्युः शरीगोप्तारं वसुरक्षं वसुन्धरा / दुश्चारिणीव हसति स्वपतिं पुत्रवत्सलम्

Death laughs at the protector of the body and the guardian of wealth; the Earth—worldly existence—mocks even her own lord, though he is tenderly devoted to his children, like a wanton woman deriding her husband.

Verse 35

उदासे धार्मिकः सौम्यः प्राप्यापि विपुलं धनम् / तृणवन्मन्यते तार्क्ष्य आत्मानं वित्तमप्यथ

O Tārkṣya (Garuda), the righteous and gentle person remains detached; even after obtaining abundant wealth, he regards both wealth and his own embodied self as no more than a blade of grass.

Verse 36

न चैवोपद्रवास्तस्य मोहजालो न चैव हि / मृत्युकाले न च भयं यमदूतसमुद्भवम्

For him there are no afflictions at all, nor any net of delusion; and at the time of death no fear arises in him—no fear born of Yama’s messengers.

Verse 37

समाः सहस्राणि च सप्त वै जले दशैकमग्नौ पवने च षोडश / महाहवे पष्टिरशीतिर्गोगृहे अनाशके काश्यप चाक्षया गतिः

In water (one remains) for seven thousand years; in fire, for eleven thousand; in wind, for sixteen thousand. In a great battle (one attains) an imperishable course; likewise in a cow-shed and in fasting—O Kāśyapa—there is imperishable progress for the departed.