त्वत्तो जनाः पूर्वतरे वराश्च शुभानि कर्माणि बहूनि चक्रुः।
जित्वा सदेमं च परं च लोकं तस्माद्द्विजाः स्वस्ति हुतं कृतं च॥
tvatto janāḥ pūrvatare varāś ca
śubhāni karmāṇi bahūni cakruḥ
jitvā sademaṁ ca paraṁ ca lokaṁ
tasmād dvijāḥ svasti hutaṁ kṛtaṁ ca
tvattaḥ = to you; janāḥ = people; pūrvatare = in the past; varāḥ ca = who were superior; śubhāni = auspicious; karmāṇi = activities; bahūni = many; cakruḥ = performed; jitvā = after conquering; sadā = they exist constantly; imam ca = this; param ca = and the next; lokam = world; tasmāt = therefore; dvijāḥ = the twice-born perform; svasti = auspicious activities; hutam = sacrifices; kṛtam = austerities, charities; ca = and so on.
1 Conquering this world and the next is an idiomatic expression, literally rendered from the Sanskrit, and it refers to the attainment of all results that can be enjoyed in this life and in the next life.
2 Which are all aimed at benefitting them in this life and the next.
1 “Great authorities” refer to the mahājanas, that is, accomplished authorities.
2 The Vedas were never authored at any particular point in time prior to which they didn’t exist.
3 But a critic might object that in Kali-yuga, the devas do not interact with human beings and so how can their existence as the enjoyers of the results of Vedic karma be established now in Kali-yuga? The answer is that by accepting the disciplines presented in the Vedic system, one can independently verify the existence of the devas and the like. In the Mahābhārata, we notice that Kuntī chanted a mantra given to her by Durvāsā to summon any deva and she summoned Sūrya, just out of curiosity. In the midst of this discussion, we should not forget that the devas are superior to us humans. Huston Smith, a leading American scholar of religious studies, has explained in his book Why Religion Matters why the scientists of today are unable to prove (or disprove) the existence of such celestial beings: “The crux of modern science is the controlled experiment. . . . We can control only what is inferior to us. By superior and inferior I mean to invoke every criterion of worth we know, and perhaps some we do not know. . . . Science can register only what is inferior to us. Try to imagine for a moment what beings superior to ourselves might be. Disembodied souls? Angels? God? If such beings exist, science—the science that can prove its propositions through controlled experiments—will never bring them to view for the sufficient reason that if they exist, it is they who dance circles around us, not we them. Knowing more than we do, they will walk into our experiments if they choose to; otherwise not.” Even in a philosophical system that only accepts the validity of sense perception and logical inference (rejecting any form of reliable testimony), can you prove the existence of a person who is superior to you in all aspects that you can think of? The only possible logical answer is: Yes, if you submit to that person and that person agrees to reveal his or her existence to you.
Lord Rāma now provides evidence that the learned have acted in accordance with Vedic dharma which bring about results in this life and in the next.
“People superior to you in the past” refer to Jābāli’s predecessors who were superior to him in knowledge. [They engaged in auspicious activities] and [now] “exist constantly,” visible [to humans] in the form of planets, stars and so on, as stated in the Śruti 3.
The twice-born perform auspicious activities and so on because they know that [such prescribed] activities are the means to attain all results that can be enjoyed in this and the next life.
Thus direct sense perception alone is not a source of valid knowledge because the Vedas, which are distinct from direct sense perception, are also sources of valid knowledge and that they are so is accepted by great authorities.1 The Vedas are unauthored and are passed down through unbroken chains of disciplic succession with their recollection of the Vedas having no author [at any point in time].2 Vedic activities [always] produce the results [promised in the Vedas when executed properly] for it is established through direct sense perception that Agni, Sūrya, Candra, the stars, Indra and so on are enjoyers of the results [promised in the Vedic scriptures].3 Why can’t one feed a traveler by feeding someone else? Because it is neither seen [to work out] nor prescribed as such in the Vedic scriptures.