Shloka 11
Characteristics of the King and His Servants
Rāja-dharma, Nīti, and Ethical Revenue
निः शङ्कं किं मनुष्याः कुरुत परहितं युक्तमग्रे हितं यन्मोदध्वं कामिनीभिर्मदनशरहता मन्दमन्दातिदृष्ट्या / मा पापं संकुरुध्वं द्विजहरिपरमाः संभजध्वं सदैव आयुर्निः शेषमेति स्खलति जलघटीभूतमृत्युच्छलेन
niḥ śaṅkaṃ kiṃ manuṣyāḥ kuruta parahitaṃ yuktamagre hitaṃ yanmodadhvaṃ kāminībhirmadanaśarahatā mandamandātidṛṣṭyā / mā pāpaṃ saṃkurudhvaṃ dvijahariparamāḥ saṃbhajadhvaṃ sadaiva āyurniḥ śeṣameti skhalati jalaghaṭībhūtamṛtyucchalena
أيها الناس—لِمَ تعيشون بلا عزم؟ افعلوا ما ينفع الآخرين، واختاروا ما هو حقًّا صالحٌ لمستقبلكم. لا تتيهوا في لذّات النساء، وقد أصابتكم سهام كاما وقادتكم النظرات اللطيفة المُغْرية. لا تكدّسوا الإثم؛ أكرموا الدِّوِجَة (ذوي الميلادين) واجعلوا هاري (فيشنو) الأسمى، واعبدوه دائمًا—فالعمر ينفد رويدًا رويدًا وينزلق كالماء في جرّةٍ تهزّها أمواج الموت المتلاطمة.
Lord Vishnu (teaching Garuda/Vinata-putra)
Concept: Choose parahita and future welfare; avoid kāma-driven indulgence and pāpa; honor dvijas and worship Hari as supreme because life rapidly diminishes.
Vedantic Theme: Śreyas vs preyas; bhakti as the stabilizing refuge amid kāla and mṛtyu; karma-śuddhi through restraint and right action.
Application: Practice self-control (brahmacarya/indriya-nigraha), serve others, avoid harmful actions, maintain daily Hari-smaraṇa and respectful conduct toward teachers/learned.
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Related Themes: Garuda Purana ethical exhortations preceding/alongside Preta-kalpa: warnings about kāma, pāpa, and the need for Hari-bhakti (general parallel motifs)
FAQs
This verse frames sin as a self-built burden that becomes urgent to avoid because lifespan is steadily consumed; therefore one should choose parahita (benefit of others) and devotion to Hari instead of accumulating pāpa.
It compares life to water in a jar that can spill at any moment when “death surges,” teaching that time is not stable; hence worship (saṃbhajana) and dharmic choices must be made now, not postponed.
Prioritize actions that help others, restrain impulse-driven indulgence, reduce harmful habits that create guilt and karmic consequences, and keep a steady daily practice of remembrance/worship of Vishnu.