Verse 8.17

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

एक एव सुहृद् धर्मो निधानेऽप्यनुयाति यः ।
शरीरेण समं नाशं सर्वमन्यद् हि गच्छति ॥ १७ ॥

eka eva suhṛd dharmo nidhāne'pyanuyāti yaḥ |
śarīreṇa samaṃ nāśaṃ sarvamanyad hi gacchati || 17 ||

Morality (Justice) is the only friend who follows one even after death; everything else perishes along with the body.—(17)

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

What has been declared in verse 15 is that Morality or Justice should not be perverted, through fear; and the present verse declares that it should not be perverted through love either.

In as much as Morality (Justice) is the ‘only friend,’ it is for this that one should cultivate it. Ordinary men often abandon their friends even during life; even in the case of those that are very great friends, the friendship lasts only till death. Morality on the other hand, follows the man even when dead. Therefore even for the sake of friendship, one should not either pervert justice or connive at its perversion.

In this sense there is the following saying—‘Wife, son, friends, riches and wealth—all these are lost when the man’s body is destroyed; it is Morality alone which never abandons him; hence one might abandon his sons and wife, but never Morality.’

Everything else, in the shape of wife, son and so forth,—except Morality—perishes with the body; i.e., except Morality nothing is able to save the man on death; so that even for the sake of friends and relations, Morality should not be abandoned.—(17)

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse is quoted in Hitopadeśa 1,59;—in Hemādri (Vrata, p. 14);—in Nṛsiṃhaprasāda (Saṃskāra, p. 17a);—and in Kṛtyakalpataru (11a).

Comparative notes by various authors

(verses 8.16-17)

See Comparative notes for Verse 8.16.