34 shlokas
तथा तु करुणं तस्य द्विजस्य परिदेवनम् । शुश्राव राघवः सर्वं दुःखशोकसमन्वितम् ।। 7.74.1 ।।
tathā tu karuṇaṃ tasya dvijasya paridevanam | śuśrāva rāghavaḥ sarvaṃ duḥkhaśokasamanvitam || 7.74.1 ||
Translation
Thus did Raghava hear in full the piteous lamentation of that brahmin, filled with grief and sorrow.
स दुःखेन च सन्तप्तो मन्त्रिणस्तानुपाह्वयत् । वसिष्ठं वामदेवं च भ्रातरौ सह नैगमान् ।। 7.74.2 ।।
sa duḥkhena ca santapto mantriṇastānupāhvayat | vasiṣṭhaṃ vāmadevaṃ ca bhrātarau saha naigamān || 7.74.2 ||
Translation
And he, consumed by anguish, summoned those his ministers: Vasishtha and Vamadeva, his two brothers, together with the townsmen.
ततो द्विजा वसिष्ठेन सार्धमष्टौ प्रवेशिताः । राजानं देवसङ्काशं वर्धस्वेति ततो ऽब्रुवन् ।। 7.74.3 ।।
tato dvijā vasiṣṭhena sārdhamaṣṭau praveśitāḥ | rājānaṃ devasaṅkāśaṃ vardhasveti tato 'bruvan || 7.74.3 ||
Translation
Then eight brahmins were ushered in along with Vasishtha, and they said to the king, who was the equal of a god, 'May you prosper.'
मार्कण्डेयो ऽथ मौद्गल्यो वामदेवश्च काश्यपः । कात्यायनो ऽथ जाबालिर्गौतमो नारदस्तथा । एते द्विजर्षभाः सर्वे आसनेषूपवेशिताः ।। 7.74.4 ।।
mārkaṇḍeyo 'tha maudgalyo vāmadevaśca kāśyapaḥ | kātyāyano 'tha jābālirgautamo nāradastathā | ete dvijarṣabhāḥ sarve āsaneṣūpaveśitāḥ || 7.74.4 ||
Translation
Markandeya, Maudgalya, Vamadeva, and Kashyapa, Katyayana and Jabali, Gautama, and likewise Narada — all these bulls among brahmins were seated upon their seats.
महर्षीन्समनुप्राप्तानभिवाद्य कृताञ्जलिः । मन्त्रिणो नैगमांश्चैव यथार्हमनुकूलतः ।। 7.74.5 ।।
maharṣīnsamanuprāptānabhivādya kṛtāñjaliḥ | mantriṇo naigamāṃścaiva yathārhamanukūlataḥ || 7.74.5 ||
Translation
Having saluted with joined palms the great sages who had arrived, and likewise the ministers and the townsmen, each according to his due and in a fitting manner.
तेषां समुपविष्टानां सर्वेषां दीप्ततेजसाम् । राघवः सर्वमाचष्टे द्विजो ऽयमुपरोधते ।। 7.74.6 ।।
teṣāṃ samupaviṣṭānāṃ sarveṣāṃ dīptatejasām | rāghavaḥ sarvamācaṣṭe dvijo 'yamuparodhate || 7.74.6 ||
Translation
To all of them, seated together and blazing with splendor, Raghava recounted the whole matter, how this brahmin was suffering on his account.
तस्य तद्वचनं श्रुत्वा राज्ञो दीनस्य नारदः । प्रत्युवाच शुभं वाक्यमृषीणां सन्निधौ नृपम् ।। 7.74.7 ।।
tasya tadvacanaṃ śrutvā rājño dīnasya nāradaḥ | pratyuvāca śubhaṃ vākyamṛṣīṇāṃ sannidhau nṛpam || 7.74.7 ||
Translation
Hearing those words of the distressed king, Narada, in the presence of the sages, replied to the monarch with auspicious speech.
शृणु राजन्यथाकाले प्राप्तो बालस्य सङ्क्षयः । श्रुत्वा कर्तव्यतां राजन्कुरुष्वरघुनन्दन ।। 7.74.8 ।।
śṛṇu rājanyathākāle prāpto bālasya saṅkṣayaḥ | śrutvā kartavyatāṃ rājankuruṣvaraghunandana || 7.74.8 ||
Translation
Listen, O king, to how the death of the boy has come about out of its proper time; and having heard it, O king, O delight of the Raghus, do what must be done.
पुरा कृतयुगे राजन्ब्राह्मणा वै तपस्विनः । अब्राह्मणस्तदा राजन्न तपस्वी कथञ्चन ।। 7.74.9 ।।
purā kṛtayuge rājanbrāhmaṇā vai tapasvinaḥ | abrāhmaṇastadā rājanna tapasvī kathañcana || 7.74.9 ||
Translation
In olden days, in the Krita age, O king, only the brahmins were ascetics; in that age, O king, no one who was not a brahmin practiced austerity in any way whatsoever.
तस्मिन्युगे प्रज्वलिते ब्रह्मभूते त्वनावृते । अमृत्यवस्तदा सर्वे जज्ञिरे दीर्घदर्शिनः ।। 7.74.10 ।।
tasminyuge prajvalite brahmabhūte tvanāvṛte | amṛtyavastadā sarve jajñire dīrghadarśinaḥ || 7.74.10 ||
Translation
In that age, which blazed with splendor, was filled with the nature of Brahman, and was free from obstruction, all beings were then born free from death and far-sighted.
ततस्त्रेतायुगं नाम मानवानां वपुष्मताम् । क्षत्रियास्तत्र जायन्ते पूर्णेन तपसा ऽन्विताः ।। 7.74.11 ।।
tatastretāyugaṃ nāma mānavānāṃ vapuṣmatām | kṣatriyāstatra jāyante pūrṇena tapasā 'nvitāḥ || 7.74.11 ||
Translation
Then came the age called Treta, the age of men endowed with bodies; in it kshatriyas were born, possessed of the full measure of austerity.
वीर्येण तपसा चैव ते ऽधिकाः पूर्वजन्मनि । मानवा ये महात्मानस्त्वत्र त्रेतायुगे युगे ।। 7.74.12 ।।
vīryeṇa tapasā caiva te 'dhikāḥ pūrvajanmani | mānavā ye mahātmānastvatra tretāyuge yuge || 7.74.12 ||
Translation
In valor and in austerity those great-souled men, who in their former birth had been superior, were here in this Treta age of equal eminence.
ब्रह्मक्षत्रं च तत्सर्वं यत्पूर्वमपरं च यत् । युगयोरुभयोरासीत्समवीर्यसमन्वितम् ।। 7.74.13 ।।
brahmakṣatraṃ ca tatsarvaṃ yatpūrvamaparaṃ ca yat | yugayorubhayorāsītsamavīryasamanvitam || 7.74.13 ||
Translation
And all that brahmin and kshatriya power, both that which was before and that which came after, in both those ages was endowed with equal valor.
अपश्यंस्तु न ते सर्वे विशेषमधिकं ततः । स्थापनं चक्रिरे तत्र चातुर्वर्ण्यस्य सम्मतम् ।। 7.74.14 ।।
apaśyaṃstu na te sarve viśeṣamadhikaṃ tataḥ | sthāpanaṃ cakrire tatra cāturvarṇyasya sammatam || 7.74.14 ||
Translation
But when they all could see no special distinction or superiority between the two, they then established there the approved ordinance of the four varnas.
तस्मिन्युगे प्रज्वलिते धर्मभूते ह्यनावृते । अधर्मः पादमेकं तु पातयत्पृथिवीतले ।। 7.74.15 ।।
tasminyuge prajvalite dharmabhūte hyanāvṛte | adharmaḥ pādamekaṃ tu pātayatpṛthivītale || 7.74.15 ||
Translation
In that age which blazed with splendor, was filled with the nature of dharma, and was unobstructed, adharma caused but a single foot of itself to descend upon the surface of the earth.
अधर्मेण हि संयुक्तस्तेजो मन्दं भविष्यति ।। 7.74.16 ।।
adharmeṇa hi saṃyuktastejo mandaṃ bhaviṣyati || 7.74.16 ||
Translation
For joined with adharma, the radiant power will grow feeble.
आमिषं यच्च पूर्वेषां राजसं च मलं भृशम् । अनृतं नाम तद्भूतं पादेन पृथिवीतले ।। 7.74.17 ।।
āmiṣaṃ yacca pūrveṣāṃ rājasaṃ ca malaṃ bhṛśam | anṛtaṃ nāma tadbhūtaṃ pādena pṛthivītale || 7.74.17 ||
Translation
That which was the carnal craving of those of former times, and the rajasic impurity in great abundance, that thing called untruth descended by one foot upon the surface of the earth.
अनृतं पातयित्वा तु पादमेकमधर्मतः । ततः प्रादुष्कृतं पूर्वमायुषः परिनिष्ठितम् ।। 7.74.18 ।।
anṛtaṃ pātayitvā tu pādamekamadharmataḥ | tataḥ prāduṣkṛtaṃ pūrvamāyuṣaḥ pariniṣṭhitam || 7.74.18 ||
Translation
When untruth had brought down one foot of itself through adharma, then there appeared the curtailment of the lifespan that formerly had been fixed and complete.
पतिते त्वनृते तस्मिन्नधर्मे च महीतले । शुभान्येवाचरँल्लोकः सत्यधर्मपरायणः ।। 7.74.19 ।।
patite tvanṛte tasminnadharme ca mahītale | śubhānyevācaraँllokaḥ satyadharmaparāyaṇaḥ || 7.74.19 ||
Translation
But while untruth and adharma were thus descending upon the earth, the people, devoted to truth and dharma, still performed only auspicious deeds.
त्रेतायुगे च वर्तन्ते ब्राह्मणाः क्षत्रियाश्च ये । तपो ऽतप्यन्त ते सर्वे शुश्रूषामपरे जनाः ।। 7.74.20 ।।
tretāyuge ca vartante brāhmaṇāḥ kṣatriyāśca ye | tapo 'tapyanta te sarve śuśrūṣāmapare janāḥ || 7.74.20 ||
Translation
In the Treta age the brahmins and kshatriyas who lived therein, all of them practiced austerity, while the other people rendered service.
स धर्मः परमस्तेषां वैश्यशूद्रं समागमत् । पूजां च सर्ववर्णानां शूद्राश्चक्रुर्विशेषतः ।। 7.74.21 ।।
sa dharmaḥ paramasteṣāṃ vaiśyaśūdraṃ samāgamat | pūjāṃ ca sarvavarṇānāṃ śūdrāścakrurviśeṣataḥ || 7.74.21 ||
Translation
That supreme dharma of theirs reached down to the vaishya and the shudra; and the shudras in particular rendered homage to all the varnas.
एतस्मिन्नन्तरे तेषामधर्मे चानृते च ह । ततः पूर्वे भृशं ह्रासमगमन्नृपसत्तम ।। 7.74.22 ।।
etasminnantare teṣāmadharme cānṛte ca ha | tataḥ pūrve bhṛśaṃ hrāsamagamannṛpasattama || 7.74.22 ||
Translation
In this interval, through their adharma and untruth, the men of former times then greatly diminished, O best of kings.
ततः पादमधर्मस्स द्वितीयमवतारयत् । ततो द्वापरसञ्ज्ञा ऽस्य युगस्य समजायत ।। 7.74.23 ।।
tataḥ pādamadharmassa dvitīyamavatārayat | tato dvāparasañjñā 'sya yugasya samajāyata || 7.74.23 ||
Translation
Then adharma brought down a second foot of itself, and thereupon the designation Dvapara arose for that age.
तस्मिन्द्वापरसञ्ज्ञे तु वर्तमाने युगक्षये । अधर्मश्चानृतं चैव ववृधे पुरुषर्षभ ।। 7.74.24 ।।
tasmindvāparasañjñe tu vartamāne yugakṣaye | adharmaścānṛtaṃ caiva vavṛdhe puruṣarṣabha || 7.74.24 ||
Translation
And in that age called Dvapara, as the decline of the ages proceeded, adharma and untruth grew greater, O bull among men.
तस्मिन्द्वापरसङ्ख्याते तपो वैश्यान्समाविशत् । त्रिभ्यो युगेभ्यस्त्रीन्वर्णान्क्रमाद्वै तप आविशत् ।। 7.74.25 ।।
tasmindvāparasaṅkhyāte tapo vaiśyānsamāviśat | tribhyo yugebhyastrīnvarṇānkramādvai tapa āviśat || 7.74.25 ||
Translation
In that age reckoned as Dvapara, austerity entered into the vaishyas; thus over three ages, in due order, austerity entered into three of the varnas.
त्रिभ्यो युगेभ्यस्त्रीन्वर्णान्धर्मश्च परिनिष्ठितः । न शुद्धो लभते धर्मं युगतस्तु नरर्षभ । हीनवर्णो नृपश्रेष्ठ तप्यते सुमहत्तपः ।। 7.74.26 ।।
tribhyo yugebhyastrīnvarṇāndharmaśca pariniṣṭhitaḥ | na śuddho labhate dharmaṃ yugatastu nararṣabha | hīnavarṇo nṛpaśreṣṭha tapyate sumahattapaḥ || 7.74.26 ||
Translation
Through three ages, O bull among men, dharma has been firmly established for the three varnas; and by reason of the order of the ages a Shudra may not lawfully obtain the practice of dharma. In this age, O best of kings, a man of low varna who performs exceedingly great penance commits a transgression.
भविष्यच्छूद्रयोन्यां वै तपश्चर्या कलौ युगे । अधर्मः परमो राजन्द्वापरे शूद्रजन्मनः ।। 7.74.27 ।।
bhaviṣyacchūdrayonyāṃ vai tapaścaryā kalau yuge | adharmaḥ paramo rājandvāpare śūdrajanmanaḥ || 7.74.27 ||
Translation
The practice of austerity by one born of a Shudra womb is destined for the Kali age; but in the Dvapara age, O king, austerity by one of Shudra birth is the greatest unrighteousness.
स वै विषयपर्यन्ते तव राजन्महातपाः । अद्य तप्यति दुर्बुद्धिस्तेन बालवधो ह्ययम् ।। 7.74.28 ।।
sa vai viṣayaparyante tava rājanmahātapāḥ | adya tapyati durbuddhistena bālavadho hyayam || 7.74.28 ||
Translation
That very man, O king, an ascetic of wicked mind, is now performing penance at the frontier of your realm; and it is by reason of this that this slaying of the boy has come about.
यो ह्यधर्ममकार्यं वा विषये पार्थिवस्य तु । करोति चाश्रीमूलं तत्पुरे वा दुर्मतिर्नरः । क्षिप्रं च नरकं याति स च राजा न संशयः ।। 7.74.29 ।।
yo hyadharmamakāryaṃ vā viṣaye pārthivasya tu | karoti cāśrīmūlaṃ tatpure vā durmatirnaraḥ | kṣipraṃ ca narakaṃ yāti sa ca rājā na saṃśayaḥ || 7.74.29 ||
Translation
For whatever evil-minded man does an unrighteous or forbidden deed within a king's realm or city, becoming the root of misfortune, he swiftly goes to hell, and so too does that king — of this there is no doubt.
अधीतस्य च तप्तस्य कर्मणः सुकृतस्य च । षष्ठं भजति भागं तु प्रजा धर्मेण पालयन् ।। 7.74.30 ।।
adhītasya ca taptasya karmaṇaḥ sukṛtasya ca | ṣaṣṭhaṃ bhajati bhāgaṃ tu prajā dharmeṇa pālayan || 7.74.30 ||
Translation
A king who protects his subjects with righteousness obtains a sixth part of their study, their austerity, their ritual acts, and their good deeds.
षङ्भागस्य न भोक्ता ऽसौ रक्षते न प्रजाः कथम् ।। 7.74.31 ।।
ṣaṅbhāgasya na bhoktā 'sau rakṣate na prajāḥ katham || 7.74.31 ||
Translation
How can he who does not protect his subjects be an enjoyer of that sixth part?
स त्वं पुरुषशार्दूल मार्गस्व विषयं स्वकम् । दुष्कृतं यत्र पश्येथास्तत्र यत्नं समाचर ।। 7.74.32 ।।
sa tvaṃ puruṣaśārdūla mārgasva viṣayaṃ svakam | duṣkṛtaṃ yatra paśyethāstatra yatnaṃ samācara || 7.74.32 ||
Translation
Therefore you, O tiger among men, search through your own realm; and wherever you should perceive an evil deed, there apply your effort.
एवं चेद्धर्मवृद्धिश्च नृणां चायुर्विवर्धनम् । भविष्यति नरश्रेष्ठ बालस्यास्य च जीवितम् ।। 7.74.33 ।।
evaṃ ceddharmavṛddhiśca nṛṇāṃ cāyurvivardhanam | bhaviṣyati naraśreṣṭha bālasyāsya ca jīvitam || 7.74.33 ||
Translation
If you do so, O best of men, there will be increase of dharma and lengthening of the life of men, and life will return to this boy as well.
इत्यार्षे श्रीमद्रामायणे वाल्मीकीये आदिकाव्ये श्रीमदुत्तरकाण्डे चतुःसप्ततितमः सर्गः ।। 74 ।।
ityārṣe śrīmadrāmāyaṇe vālmīkīye ādikāvye śrīmaduttarakāṇḍe catuḥsaptatitamaḥ sargaḥ || 74 ||
Translation
Thus, in the sacred Ramayana, the first poem, composed by Valmiki, in the venerable Uttara Kanda, ends the seventy-fourth canto.