Mohinī-prashna (The Question about Mohinī)

Verse 1

राजोवाच । यत्त्वया व्याहृतं वाक्यं ममेदं गौतमेरितम् । मंदरे पर्वतश्रेष्ठे हरिवासरभोजनम् ॥ १ ॥

The King said: “The words you have just spoken to me were taught by Gautama. They concern the vrata of taking food on Hari’s sacred day at Mandara, the foremost of mountains.”

Verse 2

अमतेन पुराणानां व्याहृतं यद्द्विजन्मना । क्षुद्रशास्त्रोपदेशेन लोलुपेन वरानने ॥ २ ॥

O fair-faced lady, what was expounded about the Purāṇas by a twice-born man of immature understanding—greedy and given to petty, inferior teachings—should not be accepted as authoritative.

Verse 3

पुराणे निर्णयो ह्येष विद्वद्भिः समुदाहृतः । न शंखेन पिबेत्तोयं न हन्यात्कूर्मसूकरौ ॥ ३ ॥

This is the settled rule declared in the Purāṇa by the learned: one should not drink water using a conch, and one should not kill a tortoise or a boar.

Verse 4

एकादश्यां न भोक्तव्यं पक्षयोरुभयोरपि । अगम्यागमने देवि अभक्ष्यस्य च भक्षणे ॥ ४ ॥

On Ekādaśī one should not eat—whether in the bright or the dark fortnight. O Devī, likewise one should avoid approaching those who are forbidden to approach, and eating what is forbidden to be eaten.

Verse 5

अकार्यकरणे जंतोर्गोसहस्रवधः स्मृतः । जानन्नपि कथं देवि भोक्ष्येऽहं हरिवासरे ॥ ५ ॥

For a living being who commits what should not be done, the sin is said to equal the killing of a thousand cows. Knowing this, O Devī, how could I possibly eat on Hari’s sacred day?

Verse 6

पुरोडाशोऽपि वामोरु संप्राप्ते हरिवासरे । अभक्ष्येण समः प्रोक्तः किं पुनश्चात्तनक्रिया ॥ ६ ॥

O fair-thighed one, when Harivāsara—the sacred day of Hari (Ekādaśī)—has arrived, even the sacrificial rice-cake (puroḍāśa) is declared equal to forbidden food. How much more, then, should ordinary meals and daily acts of eating be avoided!

Verse 7

अनुकूलं नृणां प्रोक्तं क्षीणानां वरवर्णिनि । मूलं फलं पयस्तोयमुपभोज्यं मुनीश्वरैः ॥ ७ ॥

O fair-complexioned lady, for those who are weakened it is declared wholesome: roots, fruits, milk, and pure water—these may be taken even by the foremost sages.

Verse 8

नत्वत्र भोजनं कैश्चिदेकादश्यां प्रदर्शितम् । ज्वरिणां लंघनं शस्तं धार्मिकाणामुपोषणम् ॥ ८ ॥

Yet on Ekādaśī no one enjoins eating; for those afflicted with fever, fasting is beneficial, and for the righteous, the observance of upavāsa is the proper dharmic practice.

Verse 9

शुभं गतिप्रदं प्रोक्तं संप्राप्ते हरिवासरे । ज्वरमध्ये कृतं पथ्यं निधनाय प्रकल्पते ॥ ९ ॥

That observance is declared auspicious and a bestower of the highest destination when performed on Hari’s day; but if undertaken amid a raging fever, it is ‘wholesome’ only in name and is said to lead to death.

Verse 10

वैष्णवे तु दिने भुक्तं नरकायैव केवलम् । माग्रहं कुरु वामोरु व्रतभंगो भवेन्मम ॥ १० ॥

To eat on a Vaiṣṇava sacred fast-day leads only to hell. O fair-thighed one, do not press me—otherwise my vrata, my vow, will be broken.

Verse 11

यदन्यद्वोचते तुभ्यं तत्कर्तास्मि न संशयः । मोहिन्युवाच । न चान्यद्रोचते राजन्विना वै भोजनं तव ॥ ११ ॥

“Whatever else you may ask of me, I will do it—of this there is no doubt.” Mohinī said: “But, O King, I desire nothing else except your meal, your food.”

Verse 12

जीवितस्यापि दानेन न मे किंचित्प्रयोदजनम् । न च वेदेषु दृष्टोऽयमुपवासो हरेर्दिने ॥ १२ ॥

Even if one were to give away one’s very life, I have no purpose to be served. Nor is this fasting on Hari’s day found enjoined in the Vedas.

Verse 13

अग्निमन्तो न विप्रा हि मन्यंते समुपोषणम् । वेदबाह्य कथं धर्मं भवांश्चरितुमिच्छति ॥ १३ ॥

Indeed, Brahmins who maintain the sacred fires do not approve of complete fasting. How, then, do you wish to practice a form of dharma that stands outside the Veda?

Verse 14

वचो निशम्य मोहिन्या राजा वेदविदां वरः । उवाच मानसे क्रुद्धः प्रहसन्निव भूपते ॥ १४ ॥

O King, hearing the words of the enchantress, the king—foremost among the knowers of the Vedas—spoke, inwardly angered, yet as though smiling.

Verse 15

श्रृणु मोहिनि मद्वाक्यं वेदोऽयं बहुधा स्थितः । यज्ञकर्मक्रिया वेदः स्मृतिर्वेदो गृहाश्रमे ॥ १५ ॥

Listen, O Mohinī, to my words: this Veda is established in many forms. The Veda is the performance of sacrifice (yajña) and ritual action; and in the householder’s stage of life, the Veda is expressed as Smṛti—remembered law and conduct.

Verse 16

स्मृतिर्वेदः क्रियावेदः पुराणेषु प्रतिष्ठितः । पुराणपुंरुषाज्जातं यथेदं जगदद्भुतम् ॥ १६ ॥

Smṛti, the Veda, and the Kriyā-veda—the Veda of ritual action—are firmly established in the Purāṇas; and from the Purāṇa-Puruṣa, the cosmic Person embodied as the Purāṇa, arises this wondrous universe itself.

Verse 17

तथेदं वाङ्मयं जातं पुराणेभ्यो न संशयः । वेदार्थादधिकं मन्ये पुराणार्थँ वरानने ॥ १७ ॥

Thus this whole body of sacred utterance (vāṅmaya) has arisen from the Purāṇas—of this there is no doubt. O fair-faced one, I deem the meaning of the Purāṇas to be even greater than the meaning of the Vedas.

Verse 18

वेदाः प्रतिष्ठिताः सर्वे पुराणेष्वेव सर्वदा । बिभेत्यल्पश्रुताद्वेदो मामयं प्रहरिष्यति ॥ १८ ॥

All the Vedas are ever firmly established in the Purāṇas. The Veda fears the person of little learning, thinking, “This one will strike me,” that is, misuse me.

Verse 19

न वेदे ग्रहसंचारो न शुद्धिः कालबोधिनी । तिथिवृद्धिक्षयो वापि पर्वग्रहविनिर्णयः ॥ १९ ॥

In the Veda itself there is no detailed account of the motions of the planets, nor a time-indicating system of ritual purity; nor are the increase or decrease of tithi (lunar days), or the determination of observance-days and festival junctions (parva), laid down there.

Verse 20

इतिहासपुराणैस्तु निश्चयोऽयं कृतः पुरा । यन्न दृष्टं हि वेदेषु तत्सर्वं लक्ष्यते स्मृतौ ॥ २० ॥

This conclusion was established long ago through the Itihāsas and Purāṇas: whatever is not directly found in the Vedas is wholly to be recognized in the Smṛti tradition.

Verse 21

उभयोर्यन्न दृष्टं हि तत्पुराणैः प्रगीयते । प्रायश्चित्तं तु हत्यायामातुरस्यौषधं प्रिये ॥ २१ ॥

Whatever is not found in both—Śruti and Smṛti—that is proclaimed in the Purāṇas. And for the sin of killing, prāyaścitta, expiation, is the medicine for the afflicted one, O beloved.

Verse 22

न चापि पापशुद्धिः स्यादात्मनश्च परस्य वा । यद्वेदैर्गीयते सुभ्रु उपांगैर्यत्प्रगीयते ॥ २२ ॥

O fair-browed one, there is no purification from sin—neither for oneself nor for another—merely by what is sung in the Vedas or proclaimed in the subsidiary disciplines (upāṅgas).

Verse 23

पुराणैः स्मृतिभिश्चैव वेद एव निगद्यते । रटंतीह पुराणानि भूयो भूयो वरानने ॥ २३ ॥

Through the Purāṇas and the Smṛtis, the very Veda is proclaimed. O fair-faced one, here the Purāṇas resound this truth again and again.

Verse 24

न भोक्तव्यं न भोक्तव्यं संप्राप्ते हरिवासरे । पुराणमन्यथा मत्वा तिर्यग्योनिमवाप्नुयात् ॥ २४ ॥

When Hari’s sacred day (Ekādaśī) has arrived, one must not eat—one must not eat. Whoever treats the Purāṇic injunction otherwise (as optional or untrue) will attain an animal birth.

Verse 25

संस्रातोऽपि सुदांतोऽपि न गतिं प्राप्नुयादिति । पितरं को न वंदेत मातरं को न पूजयेत् ॥ २५ ॥

Even if one is well-bathed and well-disciplined, one would not attain the true goal; so who would not bow to one’s father, and who would not honor one’s mother?

Verse 26

को न गच्छेत्सरिच्छ्रेष्ठां को भुंक्ते हरिवासरे । को हि दूषयते वेदं ब्राह्मणं को निपातयेत् ॥ २६ ॥

Who would not go to the best of rivers? Who would eat on Hari’s sacred day? Indeed, who would defile the Veda, and who would strike down a brāhmaṇa?

Verse 27

को गच्छेत्परदारान् हि को भुंक्ते हरिवासरे ॥ २७ ॥

Indeed, who would go to another man’s wife—and who would eat on Hari’s sacred day?

Verse 28

नहीदृशं पापमिहास्ति जंतोर्विमूढचित्तस्य दिने हरेः प्रिये । यद्भोजनेनात्मनिपातकारिणा यमस्य रवातेषु चिरं सुलोचने ॥ २८ ॥

O fair-eyed one, for a deluded-minded person there is no sin in this world like eating on the day that is dear to Hari; by that meal—which causes one’s own downfall—one remains for a long time in Yama’s dreadful hells.

Verse 29

मोहिन्युवाच । शीघ्रमानय विप्रांस्त्वं घूर्णिके वेदपारगान् । येषां वाक्येन युक्तोऽयं राजा कुर्याद्धि भोजनम् ॥ २९ ॥

Mohinī said: “Quickly bring, O Ghūrṇikā, the brāhmaṇas who are masters of the Vedas—so that, acting in accordance with their counsel, this king may indeed take his meal.”

Verse 30

सा तद्वाक्यमुपाकर्ण्य ब्राह्मणान्वेदशालिनः । गौतमादीन्समाहूय मोहिनीपार्श्वमानयत् ॥ ३० ॥

Hearing those words, she summoned the Veda-versed brāhmaṇas—Gautama and others—and brought them to Mohinī’s side.

Verse 31

तान्विप्रानागतान्दृष्ट्वा वेदवेदांगपारगान् । मोहिनी सहिता राज्ञा ववंदे कार्यतत्परा ॥ ३१ ॥

Seeing those brāhmaṇas who had arrived—masters of the Vedas and the Vedāṅgas—Mohinī, together with the king, bowed to them, intent upon the task at hand.

Verse 32

उपविष्टास्तु ते सर्वे शातकौंभमयेषु च । आसनेषु महीपाल ज्वलदग्निसमप्रभाः ॥ ३२ ॥

O king, they all sat upon seats of pure gold, radiant and splendid like blazing fire.

Verse 33

तेषां मध्ये वयोवृद्धो गौतमो वाक्यमब्रवीत् । वयं समागता देवि नानाशास्त्रविशारदाः ॥ ३३ ॥

Among them, the eldest in years—Gautama—spoke: “O Devi, we have assembled here, well-versed in many branches of sacred śāstra.”

Verse 34

सर्वसंदेहहर्तारो यदर्थं ते समाहुताः । तच्छ्रुत्वा वचनं तेषां मोहिनी ब्रह्मणः सुता ॥ ३४ ॥

“You have been summoned to remove all doubts.” Hearing their words, Mohinī, the daughter of Brahmā, prepared to respond.

Verse 35

सर्वासाध्यकृतं कर्तुं प्रवृत्तांस्तानुवाच ह । मोहिन्युवाच । संदेहस्तु जडौ ह्येष स्वल्पो वा स्वमतिर्यथा ॥ ३५ ॥

When they had set about accomplishing even what seems impossible, she addressed them. Mohinī said: “This doubt is indeed dull—small or great—according to one’s own understanding.”

Verse 36

सोऽयं वदति राजा वै नाहं भोक्ष्ये हरेर्दिने । अन्नाधारमिदं सर्वं जगत्स्थावरजंगमम् ॥ ३६ ॥

That king then declares: “On Hari’s sacred day I will not eat. This entire world—both the immovable and the moving—rests upon food as its support.”

Verse 37

मृता ह्यपि तथान्नेन प्रीयन्ते पितरो दिवि । कर्कंधुमात्रं प्रहुतं पुरोडाशं हि देवताः ॥ ३७ ॥

Even though they have departed, the ancestors in heaven are truly gratified by such offerings of food; and the gods indeed are satisfied when a puroḍāśa is duly offered into the fire—even if it is only as small as a single jujube (karkaṃdhu).

Verse 38

कामयंति द्विजश्रेष्ठास्ततोऽन्नं ह्यमृतं परम् । पिपीलिकापि क्षुधिता मुखेनादाय तण्डुलम् ॥ ३८ ॥

Therefore the best of the twice-born desire food, for food is indeed the supreme nectar. Even a hungry ant, taking a grain of rice in its mouth, seeks it out.

Verse 39

बिलं व्रजति दुःखेन कस्यान्नं नहि रोचते । अयं खादति नान्नाद्यं संप्राप्ते हरिवासरे ॥ ३९ ॥

In distress he goes off to his hole; he has no appetite for anyone’s food. Yet, when the sacred day of Hari (Harivāsara) arrives, he eats nothing at all—neither food nor any other edible.

Verse 40

निजधर्मं परित्यज्य परधर्मे व्यवस्थितः । विधावानां यतीनां च युज्यते व्रतसेवनम् ॥ ४० ॥

Abandoning one’s own prescribed duty (svadharma) and taking one’s stand in another’s duty (paradharma), the observance of vows (vratas) is considered appropriate for widows and for ascetics (yatis).

Verse 41

परधर्मरतो यः स्यात्स्वधर्मविमुखो नरः । सोंऽधे तमसि मज्जेत यावदिंद्राश्चतुर्द्दश ॥ ४१ ॥

That man who becomes devoted to another’s duty (paradharma) while turning away from his own duty (svadharma) sinks into blind darkness—for as long as fourteen Indras endure.

Verse 42

उपवासादिकरणं भूभुजां नोदितं क्वचित् । प्रजासंरक्षणं त्यक्त्वा चतुर्वर्गफलप्रदम् ॥ ४२ ॥

For kings, fasts and similar austerities are nowhere enjoined if they require abandoning the protection of subjects; for safeguarding the people itself bestows the fruits of the four aims of life.

Verse 43

नारीणां भर्तृशूश्रूषा पुत्राणां पितृसेवनम् । शूद्राणां द्विजसेवा च लोकरक्षा महीभृताम् ॥ ४३ ॥

For women, devoted service to the husband; for sons, attendance upon the father; for Śūdras, service to the twice-born; and for kings, the protection of the people—these are their respective duties.

Verse 44

स्वकं कर्म परित्यज्य योऽन्यत्र कुरुते श्रमम् । अज्ञानाद्वा प्रमादाच्च पतितः स न संशयः ॥ ४४ ॥

Abandoning one’s own ordained duty, whoever toils elsewhere—whether out of ignorance or out of heedlessness—has fallen; of this there is no doubt.

Verse 45

सोऽयमद्य महीपालो यतिधर्म्मे व्यवस्थितः । सुबुद्ध्याचारशीलश्च वेदोक्तं त्यजति द्विजाः ॥ ४५ ॥

Today this very king is established in the discipline of a renunciate; though endowed with good understanding and good conduct, he abandons what is enjoined by the Veda—O twice-born ones.

Verse 46

स्वेच्छाचारा तु या नारी योऽविनीतः सुतो द्विजाः । एकांतशीलो नृपतिर्भृत्यः कर्मविवर्जितः ॥ ४६ ॥

O twice-born ones, a woman who acts only by her own whim, a son who is undisciplined, a king who keeps to himself in isolation, and a servant who shirks his duties—these are all to be understood as sources of disorder and decline.

Verse 47

सर्वे ते नरकं यांति ह्यप्रतिष्ठश्च यो द्विजाः । अयं हि नियमोपेतो हरिपूजनतत्परः ॥ ४७ ॥

O brāhmaṇas, all who lack proper standing and consecrated discipline go to hell. But this man, endowed with sacred observances, is wholly devoted to the worship of Hari (Viṣṇu).

Verse 48

आक्रन्दे वर्त्तमाने तु न यद्येष प्रधावति । व्यपोह्य हरिपूजां वै ब्रह्महत्यां तु विंदति ॥ ४८ ॥

When a cry of distress is raised, if one does not run to help, then—having set aside the worship of Hari—one truly incurs the sin of brahmahatyā, the gravest offense.

Verse 49

क्षीणदेहे हरिदिने कथं संयमयिष्यति । अन्नात्प्रभवति प्राणः प्राणाद्देहविचेष्टनम् ॥ ४९ ॥

When the body is weakened—especially on Hari’s sacred day—how can one maintain self-restraint? Vital breath (prāṇa) arises from food, and from vital breath comes the body’s power to act.

Verse 50

चेष्टया रिपुनाशश्च तद्धीनः परिभूयते । एवं ज्ञात्वा मया राजा बोध्यमानो न बुद्ध्यति ॥ ५० ॥

By right effort one destroys the enemy; but one who lacks such effort is overpowered and brought to humiliation. Knowing this, I keep instructing the king—yet, though advised, he does not understand.

Verse 51

एतदेव व्रतं राज्ञो यत्प्रजापालनं चरेत् । न व्रतं किंचिदस्त्यन्यन्नृपस्य द्विजसत्तमाः ॥ ५१ ॥

This alone is the king’s sacred vow: to practice the protection and righteous governance of his subjects. For a ruler has no other vow whatsoever, O best of the twice-born.

Verse 52

किं देव कार्येण नराधिपस्य कृत्वा हि मन्युं विषयस्थितानाम् । तद्देवकार्यं स च यज्ञहोमो यद्रक्तपातो न भवेत् स्वराष्ट्रे ॥ ५२ ॥

What use is a king’s “service to the gods” if, after stirring anger among the people of his provinces, he performs it? True service to the gods—indeed the true yajña and fire-offering (homa)—is that no bloodshed should occur within one’s own realm.

Verse 53

इति श्रीबृहन्नारदीयपुराणोत्तरभागे मोहिनीप्रश्नो नाम चतुर्विंशोऽध्यायः ॥ २४ ॥

Thus ends the twenty-fourth chapter, called “The Question about Mohinī,” in the Uttara-bhāga (later section) of the Śrī Bṛhannāradīya Purāṇa.