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
Oh hombres: ¿por qué vivir sin firme resolución? Haced el bien a los demás; escoged lo que es verdaderamente saludable para vuestro porvenir. No os perdáis en los placeres con mujeres, heridos por las flechas de Kāma y guiados por miradas suaves y seductoras. No amontonéis pecado; honrad a los dvijas (dos veces nacidos) y tened a Hari (Viṣṇu) por Supremo, adorándole siempre—pues la vida se agota por completo y se desliza como el agua en una jarra sacudida por las olas de la muerte.
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.