Verse 1

¹So asked by Uddhava, first among the Lord's own, the first of the Dasarhas, Mukunda, whose valour is worth hearing, honoured his servant's words and spoke to him. ²Bhagavan said: Son of Brhaspati's line, there is hardly a good man here able to gather together again a self that has been broken by the ill words bad men throw. ³A man pierced by arrows that reach the vital places does not burn as much as the harsh arrows of bad men torment him, lodged in those places. ⁴They tell here an old story of great merit, Uddhava. I shall set it out. Listen, well collected. ⁵It was sung by a certain mendicant when bad men had brought him low: he held firm, remembering the ripening of his own works.