Stri Parva

हिन्दी अर्थ

मा तान् शोचस्व राजेन्द्र न हि शोके5स्ति कारणम्

English

propriety of acts. Thou knowest what the energy and the nobility of the Brahmana is as laid down in the Vedas and other scriptures. Act now in such a way that tranquillity of heart may be thine and let Brahmanas be thy refuge, If the Brahmanas cease to be angry with thee, that will ensure thy felicity in heaven. If, again, thou repentest in sin, thy sight will be clear and thou wilt succeed in beholding righteousness.' "Janamejaya said, 'I am repenting of my sins. I will never again seek to extinguish virtue. I desire to obtain blessedness. Be thou gratified with me.' "Saunaka said, 'Dispelling arrogance and pride, O king, I wish thee to show regard for me! I Employ thyself in the good of all creatures, ever remembering the mandates of righteousness. I am not reproving thee from fear or narrowness of mind or covetousness. Listen now, with these Brahmanas here, to the words of truth I utter. I do not ask for anything. I shall, however, instruct thee in the ways of righteousness. All persons will croak and bray and cry fie on me (for what I am going to do). They will even call me sinful. My kinsmen and friends will discard me. 2 Without doubt, however, my kinsmen and friends, hearing the words I speak, will succeed in vigorously crossing the difficulties of life. Some that are possessed of great wisdom will understand (my motives) rightly. Know, O child, what my views are, O Bharata, in respect of the Brahmanas. Do thou (after listening to me) act in such away that they may, through my efforts, obtain every blessing. Do thou also, O king, pledge thy word that thou wilt not again injure the Brahmanas.' "Janamejaya said, 'I swear, touching even thy feet, that I shall never again, in thought, word, or deed, injure the Brahmanas.'" therefore, is to heaven and not to this world. regarded a sin. To instruct such a man in the truths of the Vedas and of morality was to desecrate religion itself. "Saunaka said, 'I shall for these reasons discourse to thee of righteousness, to thee whose heart has been exceedingly agitated. Possessed of knowledge and great strength, and with a contented heart, thou seekest righteousness of thy own will. A king, first becoming exceedingly stern, then shows compassion and does good to all creatures by his acts. This is certainly very wonderful. People say that that king who commences with sternness burns the whole world. Thou wert stern before. But thou turnest thy eyes on righteousness now. Forsaking luxurious food and all articles of enjoyment, thou hast betaken thyself for a long time to rigid penances. All this, O Janamejaya, is certain to appear wonderful to those kings that are sunk in sin. That he who has affluence should become liberal, or that he who is endued with wealth of asceticism should become reluctant to spend it, is not at all wonderful. It has been said that the one does not live at a distance from the other, l That which is ill-judged produces misery in abundance. That on the other hand, which is accomplished with the aid of sound judgment leads to excellent results. 2 Sacrifice, gift, compassions, the Vedas, and truth, O lord of the earth— these five—are cleansing. The sixth is penance well-performed. This last, O Janamejaya, is highly cleansing for kings. By betaking thyself to it properly, thou art certain to earn great merit and blessedness. Visiting sacred spots has also been said to be highly cleansing. In this connection are cited the following verses sung by Yayati: 'That mortal who would earn life and longevity should, after having performed sacrifices with devotion, renounce them (in old age) and practise penances.' The field of Kuru has been said to be sacred. The river Saras wati has been said to be more so. The tirthas of the Saras wati are more sacred than the Saras wati herself; and the tirtha called Prithudaka is more sacred than all the tirthas of the Saraswati. One that has bathed in Prithudaka. and drunk its waters will not have to grieve for a premature death. Thou shouldst go to Mahasaras, to all the tirthas designated by the name of Pushkara, to Prabhasa, to the northern lake Manasa, and to Kalodaka. Thou shalt then regain life and acquire longevity. Lake Manasa is on the spot where the Saraswati and the Drisadwati mingle with each other. A person possessed of Vedic knowledge should bathe in these places. Manu has said that liberality is the best of all duties and that renunciation is better than liberality. In this connection is cited the following verse composed by Satyavat. (One should act) as a child full of simplicity and destitute of either merit or sin. As regards all creatures there is in this would neither misery nor happiness. (That which is called misery and that which is called happiness are the results of a distraught imagination.) Even this is the true nature of all living creatures. Of all creatures, their lives are superior who have betaken themselves to renunciation and abstained from acts both meritorious and sinful. I shall now tell thee those acts which are best for a king. By putting forth thy might and liberality do thou conquer heaven, O king! That man who possesses the attributes of might and energy succeeds in attaining to righteousness. 3 Do thou rule the earth, O king, for the sake of the Brahmanas and for the sake of happiness. Thou usedst formerly to condemn the Brahmanas. Do thou gratify them now. Though they have cried fie on thee and though they have deserted thee, do thou still, guided by knowledge of self, solemnly pledge thyself never to injure them. Engaged in acts proper for thee, seek what is for thy Amongst rulers some one becomes as cool as snow; some one, as fierce as fire; some one becomes like a plough (uprooting all enemies); and some one, again, becomes like a thunder-bolt (suddenly scorching his foes). He who wishes to prevent self-destruction should never mix with wicked wights for general or special reasons. From a sinful act committed only once, one may cleanse one's self by repenting of it. From a sinful act committed twice, one may cleanse one's self by vowing never to commit it again. From such an act committed thrice, one may cleanse one's self by the resolution to bear one's self righteously ever afterwards. By committing such an act repeatedly, one may cleanse one's self by a trip to sacred places. One who is desirous of obtaining prosperity should do all that results in blessedness. They who live amidst fragrant odours themselves become fragrant in consequence. They, on the other hand, who live in the midst of foul stench themselves become foul. One devoted to the practice of ascetic penances is soon cleansed of all one's sins. By worshipping the (homa) fire for a year, one stained by diverse sins becomes purified. One guilty of foeticide is cleansed by worshipping the fire for three years. One guilty of foeticide becomes cleansed at even a hundred Yojanas from Mahasaras, or the tirthas called Pushkara, or Prabhasa, or Manasa on the north, if only one gets out for any of them, l A slayer of creatures is cleansed of his sins by saying from imminent peril as many creatures of that particular species as have been slain by him. Manu has said that by diving in water after thrice reciting the Aghamarshana mantras, one reaps the fruits of the final bath in a Horse-sacrifice. 2 Such an act very soon cleanses one of all one's sins, and one regains in consequence the esteem of the world. All creatures become obedient to such a person like helpless idiots (obedient to those that surround them). The gods and Asuras, in days of yore, approaching the celestial preceptor Vrihaspati, O king, humbly enquired of him, saying, 'Thou knowest, O great Rishi, the fruits of virtue, as also the fruits of those other acts that lead to hell in the next world. Does not that person succeed in liberating himself from both merit and sin with whom the two (weal and woe) are equal? Tell us, O great Rishi, what the fruits of righteousness are, and how does a righteous person dispels his sins.' "Vrihaspati answered, 'If having committed sin through folly, one does meritorious acts understanding their nature, one succeeds, by such righteousness, in cleansing one's self from sin even as a piece of dirty cloth is washed clean by means of some saline substance. One should not boast after having committed sin. By having recourse to faith and by freeing one's self from malice, one succeeds in obtaining blessedness. That person who covers the faults, even when exposed, of good men, obtains blessedness even after committing faults. As the sun rising at morn dispels darkness, one dispels all ones sins by acting righteously.' "Bhishma continued, 'Indrota, the son of Sunaka, having said these words unto king Janamejaya, assisted him, by his ministrations, in the performance of the horse- sacrifice. The king, cleansed of his sins and regaining blessedness, shone with splendour like a blazing fire, and that slayer of foes then entered his kingdom like Soma in his full form entering heaven.'" charitable is not wonderful. An ascetic, again, is very unwilling to exercise his power. (Witness Agastya's unwillingness to create wealth for gratifying his spouse.) What is meant by these two persons not living at a distance from each other is that the same cause which makes an affluent person charitable operates to make an ascetic careful of the kind of wealth he has. restraints of the senses. think that a person by setting out for any of the sacred waters from a distance of a hundred yojanas becomes cleansed. If this meaning be accepted then no man who lives within a hundred yojanas of any of them has any chance of being cleansed. The sense, of course, is that such is the efficacy of these tirthas that a man becomes cleansed by approaching even to a spot within a hundred yojanas of their Aghamarshana was a Vedic Rishi of great sanctity. " Yudhishthira said, 'Hast thou, O grandsire, ever seen or heard of any mortal restored to life after having succumbed to death?' "Bhishma said, 'Listen, O king, to this story of the discourse between a vulture and a jackal as happened of old. Indeed, the occurrence took place in the forest of Naimisha. Once upon a time a Brahmana had, after great difficulties, obtained a son of large expansive eyes. The child died of infantile convulsions. Some (amongst his kinsmen), exceedingly agitated by grief and indulging in loud lamentations, took up the boy of tender years, that sole wealth of his family. Taking the deceased child they proceeded in the direction of the crematorium, Arrived there, they began to take the child from one another's breast and cry more bitterly in grief. Recollecting with heavy hearts the former speeches of their darling again and again, they were unable to return home casting the body on the bare ground. Summoned by their cries, a vulture came there and said these words: 'Go ye away and do not tarry, ye that have to cast off but one child. Kinsmen always go away leaving on this spot thousands of men and thousands of women brought here in course of time. Behold, the whole universe is subject to weal and woe. Union and disunion may be seen in turns. They that have come to the crematorium bringing with them the dead bodies of kinsmen, and they that sit by those bodies (from affection), themselves disappear from the world in consequence of their own acts when the allotted periods of their own lives run out. There is no need of your lingering in the crematorium, this horrible place, that is full of vultures and jackals and that abounds with skeletons and inspires every creature with dread. Whether friend or foe, no one ever comes back to life having once succumbed to the power of Time. Such, indeed, is the fate of all creatures, In this world of mortals, every one that is born is sure to die. Who shalt restore to life one that is dead and gone on the way ordained by the Destroyer? At this hour when men are about to close their daily toil, the Sun is retiring to the Asta hills. Go ye to your homes, casting off this affection for the child.' Hearing these words of the vulture, the grief of the kinsmen seemed to abate, and placing the child on the bare ground they prepared to go away. Assuring themselves of the fact that the child had died and despairing of seeing him again, they began to retrace their steps, indulging in loud lamentations. Assured beyond doubt, and despairing of restoring the dead to life, they cast off that offspring of their race, and prepared to turn back from that spot. At this time a jackal, black as a raven, issued out of his hole and addressed those departing kinsmen, saying, 'Surely, ye that are kinsmen of that deceased child have no affection. There the sun still shineth in the sky, ye fools ! Indulge your feelings, without fear. Multifarious are the virtue of the hour. This one may come back to life! Spreading a few blades of Kusa grass on the ground and abandoning that dear child on the crematorium, why do ye go away with hearts of steel and casting off every affection for the darling? Surely, ye have no affection for that sweet- speeched child of tender years, whose words, as soon as they left his lips, used to gladden you greatly. Behold the affection that even birds and beasts bear towards their offspring. Theirs is no return for bringing up their young ones. Like the sacrifices of the Rishis (that are never undertaken from desire of fruit or rewards) the affection of quadrupeds of birds and insects, bears no reward in heaven. Though delighting in their children, they are never seen to derive any benefit from the latter either here or hereafter. 'Yet they cherish their young ones with affection. Their children, growing up, never cherish them in age. Yet are not they grieved when they do not behold their little ones? Where, indeed, is affection to be seen in human beings that they would own the influence of grief? l Where would you go leaving here this child who is the perpetuator of his race? Do you shed tears for him for some time, and do you look at him a little longer with affection? Objects so dear are, indeed, difficult to abandon. It is friends and not others that wait by the side of him that is weak, of him that is prosecuted in a court of law, of him that is borne towards the crematorium. Life-breaths are dear unto all, and all feel the influence of affection. Behold the affection that is cherished by even those that belong to the intermediate species ! 2 How, indeed, can you go away, casting off this boy of eyes large as the petals of the lotus, and handsome as a newly-married youth washed clean and adorned with floral garlands?' Hearing these words of the jackal that had been indulging in such expressions of touching grief, the men turned back for the sake of the corpse.' "The vulture said, 'Alas, ye men destitute of strength of mind, why do ye turn back at the bidding of a cruel and mean jackal of little intelligence? Why do you mourn for that compound of five elements deserted by their presiding deities, no longer tenanted (by the soul), motionless, and stiff as a piece of wood? Why do you not grieve for your own selves? Do you practise austere penances by which you will succeed in cleansing yourselves from sin? Everything may be had by means of penances. What will lamentations do? ill-luck is born with the body. I It is in consequence of that ill-luck that this boy has departed, plunging you into infinite grief. Wealth, kine, gold, precious gems, children, all have their root in penances. Penances again are the results of yoga (union of the soul with Godhead). Amongst creatures, the measure of weal or woe is dependent on the acts of a previous life. Indeed, every creature comes into the world taking with him his own measure of weal and woe. The son is not bound by the acts of the sire, or the sire by those of the son. Bound by their own acts, good and bad, all have to travel by this common road. Duly practise all the duties, and abstain from acts of unrighteousness. Reverentially wait, according to the directions of the scriptures, upon the gods and the Brahmanas. Cast off sorrow and cheerlessness, and abstain from parental affection. Leave the child on this exposed ground, and go ye away without delay. The actor alone enjoys the fruit of acts, good or bad, that he does. What concern have kinsmen with them? Casting off a (deceased) kinsman, however dear, kinsmen leave this spot. With eyes bathed in tears, they go away, ceasing to display affection for the dead. Wise or ignorant, rich or poor, every one succumbs to Time, endued with acts, good and bad. What will you do by mourning? Why do you grieve for one that is dead? Time is the lord of all, and in obedience to his very nature he casts an equal eye on all things. In pride of youth or in helpless infancy bearing the weight of years or lying in the mother's womb, every one is subject to be assailed by Death. Such indeed, is the course of "The jackal said, 'Alas, the affection cherished by your weeping selves that are overwhelmed with grief for your deceased child has been lessened by that light-brained vulture. Even this must be the case, since in consequence of his well-applied words fraught with tranquillity and capable of producing conviction, there that one goes back to the town, casting off affection that is so difficult to abandon. Alas, I had supposed that great is the grief felt by men indulging in loud lamentations for the death of a child and for the corpse on a crematorium, like that of kine bereft of calves. Today, however, I understand what the measure of grief is of human beings on earth. Witnessing their great affection I had shed tears myself. (It seems however, that their affection is not strong) ! One should always exert oneself. Thence does one succeed through destiny. Exertion and destiny, joining together, produce fruit. One should always exert oneself with hopefulness. How can happiness be had from despondency? Objects of desire may be won by resolution. Why then do you go back so heartlessly? Where do you go, abandoning in the wilderness this son of your own loins, this perpetuator of the race of his sires? Stay here till the sun sets and the evening twilight comes. You may then take away this boy with yourselves or stay with him.' "The vulture said, 'I am, ye men, a full thousand years of age today, but I have never seen a dead creature, male or female or of ambiguous sex, revive after death. Some die in the womb; some die soon after birth; some die (in infancy) while crawling (on all fours); some die in youth; and some in old age. The fortunes of all creatures, including even beasts and birds, are unstable. The periods of life of all mobile and immobile creatures are fixed beforehand. Bereaved of spouses and dear ones and filled with sorrow for (the death of) children, men leave this spot every day with agonised hearts for returning home. Leaving on this spot both friends and foes numbering by thousands, kinsmen afflicted with grief go back to their homes. Cast off this lifeless body with no longer any animal heat in it and which is as stiff as a piece of wood! Why then do you not go away, leaving the body of this child which has become like a piece of wood and whose life has entered a new body? This affection (which ye are displaying) is unmeaning and this hugging of the child is fruitless. He does not see with his eyes or hear with his ears. Leaving him here, go ye away without delay. Thus addressed by me in words which are apparently cruel but which in reality are fraught with reason and have a direct bearing with the high religion of emancipation, go ye back to your respective homes.' Addressed thus by the vulture endued with wisdom and knowledge and capable of imparting intelligence and awakening the understanding, those men prepared themselves to turn their backs upon the crematorium . Grief, indeed, increaseth to twice its measure at sight of its object and at the remembrance of the acts of that object (in life). Having heard these words of the vulture, the men resolved to leave the spot. Just at that time the jackal, coming thither with quick steps, cast his eyes on the child lying in the sleep of death.' "The jackal said, 'Why, indeed, do you leave, at the vulture's bidding, this child of golden complexion, adorned with ornaments, and capable of giving the obsequial cake to his ancestors? If you abandon him, your affection will not come to an end, nor these piteous lamentations. On the other hand, your grief will certainly be greater. It is heard that a Sudra named Samvuka having been slain and righteousness having been upheld by Rama of true prowess, a (dead) Brahmana child was restored to life, l Similarly, the son of the royal sage Sweta died (prematurely). But the monarch, devoted to virtue, succeeded in reviving his dead child. After the same manner, in your case also, some sage or deity may be willing to grant your desire and show compassion to you that are crying so piteously.' Thus addressed by the jackal, the men, afflicted with grief and full of affection for the child, retraced their steps, and placing the child's head on their laps one after another, began to indulge in copious lamentations. Summoned by their cries, the vulture, coming to that spot, spoke unto them as follows.' "The vulture said, 'Why are you bathing this child with your tears? Why are you pressing him in this fashion with the touch of your palms? At the command of the grim king of justice the child has been sent to that sleep which knows no waking. Those that are endued with the merit of penances, those that are possessed of wealth, those that have great intelligence, in fact, all succumb to death. Even this is the place intended for the dead. It is always to be seen that kinsmen casting off thousands of kinsmen young and old, pass their nights and days in grief, rolling on the bare ground. Cease this ardour in putting on the trappings of woe. That this child would come back to life is what passes belief. He will not get back his life at the bidding of the jackal. If a person once dies and takes leave of his body, his body never regains animation. Hundreds of jackals, by laying down their own lives, l will not succeed in reviving this child in hundreds of years. If, however, Rudra, or Kumara, or Brahman, or Vishnu, grant him a boon, then only may this child come back to life. Neither the shedding of tears, nor the drawing of long sighs, nor copious lamentations, will bring back this one to life. Myself, the jackal, you all, and all the kinsmen of this one, with all our merits and sins, are on the same road (that this one has taken). For this reason one possessed of wisdom should, from a distance, avoid behaviour that displeases others, harsh speeches, the infliction of injury on others, the enjoyment of other people's wives, and sin and falsehood. Carefully seek righteousness, truth, the good of others, justice, compassion for all creatures, sincerity, and honesty. They, incur sin who, while living, do not cast their eyes upon their mothers and fathers and kinsmen and friends. What will you do, by crying, for him after death, that sees not with his eyes and that stirs not in the least?' Thus addressed, the men, overwhelmed with sorrow and burning with grief on account of their affection for the child, departed for their homes, leaving the body (on the crematorium). "The jackal said, 'Alas, terrible is the world of mortals! Here no creature can escape. Every creature's period of life, again, is short. Beloved friends are always departing. It abounds with vanities and falsehoods, with accusations and evil reports. Beholding again this incident that enhances pain and grief, I do not for a moment like this world of men. Alas, fie on you, ye men, that thus turn back, like foolish persons, at the vulture's bidding, though you are burning with grief on account of the death of this child. Ye cruel wights, how can you go away, casting off parental affection upon hearing the words of a sinful vulture of uncleansed soul? Happiness is followed by misery, and misery by happiness. In this world which is enveloped by both happiness and misery, none of these two exists uninterruptedly. Ye men of little understanding, whither would ye go, casting off on the bare ground this child of so much beauty, this son that is an ornament of your race. Verily, I cannot dispel the idea from my mind that this child endued with comeliness and youth and blazing with beauty is alive. It is not meet that he should die. 2 It ye are sure to obtain happiness. Ye that are afflicted with grief on account of the death of this child will surely have good luck today. Anticipating the probability of inconvenience and pain (if you remain here for the night) and fixing your hearts on your own comfort, whither would you, like persons of little intelligence, go, leaving this darling?' "Bhishma continued, 'Even thus, O king, the kinsmen of the deceased child, unable to decide upon what they should do, were, for accomplishment of his own purpose, induced by that sinful jackal who uttered agreeable falsehoods, that denizens of the crematorium who wandered every night in quest of food, to stay in that place.' "The vulture said, 'Dreadful is this spot, this wilderness, that resounds with the screech of owls and teems with spirits and Yakshas and Rakshasas. Terrible and awful, its aspect is like that of a mass of blue clouds. Casting off the dead body, finish the funeral rites. Indeed, throwing away the body, accomplish those rites before the sun sets and before the points of the horizon become enveloped in gloom. The hawks are uttering their harsh cries. Jackals are howling fiercely. Lions are roaring. The sun is setting. The trees on the crematorium are assuming a dark hue in consequence of the blue smoke of the funeral pyres. The carnivorous denizens of this place, afflicted with hunger, are yelling in rage. All those creatures of horrible forms that live in this frightful place, all those carnivorous animals of grim features that haunt this desert, will soon assail you. This wilderness is certainly frightful. Danger will overtake you. Indeed, if you listen to these false and fruitless words of the jackal against your own good sense, verily, all of you are sure to be destroyed.' "The jackal said, 'Stay where you are! There is no fear even in this desert as long as the sun shines. Till the god of day sets, do ye remain here hopefully, induced by parental affection. Without any fear, indulging in lamentations as ye please, continue to look at this child with eyes of affection. Frightful though this wilderness be, no danger will overtake you. In reality this wilderness presents an aspect of quiet and peace. It is here that the Pitris by thousands took leave of the world. Wait as long as the sun shines. What are this vulture's words to you? If with stupefied understandings ye accept the cruel and harsh speeches of the vulture, then your child will never come back to life!' "Bhishma continued, 'The vulture then addressed those men, saying that the sun had set. The jackal said that it was not so. Both the vulture and the jackal felt the pangs of hunger and thus addressed the kinsmen of the dead child. Both of them had girded up their loins for accomplishing their respective purposes. Exhausted with hunger and thirst, they thus disputed, having recourse to the scriptures. Moved (alternately) by these words, sweet as nectar, of those two creatures, viz., the bird and the beast, both of whom were endued with the wisdom of knowledge, the kinsmen at one time wished to go away and at another to stay there. At last, moved by grief and cheerlessness, they waited there, indulging in bitter lamentations. They did not know that the boast and the bird, skilled in accomplishing their own purposes, had only stupefied them (by their addresses). While the bird and the beast, both possessed of wisdom., were thus disputing and while the kinsmen of the deceased child sat listening to them, the great god Sankara, urged by his divine spouse (Uma), came there with eyes bathed in tears of compassion. Addressing the kinsmen of the deceased child, the god said, 'I am Sankara the giver of boons.' With hearts heavy with grief, those men prostrated themselves before the great deity and said unto him in reply, 'Bereft of this one who was our only child, all of us are at the point of death. It behoveth thee to grant us life by granting life to this our son.' Thus solicited, the illustrious deity, taking up a quantity of water in his hands granted unto that dead child life extending for a hundred years. Ever employed in the good of all creatures, the illustrious wielder of Pinaka granted a boon unto both the jackal and the vulture in consequence of which their hunger was appeased. Filled with delight and having achieved great prosperity, the men bowed unto the god. Crowned with success, they then, O king, left that spot in great joy. Through persistent hopefulness and firm resolution and the grace of the great god, the fruits of one's acts are obtained without delay. Behold, the combination of circumstances and the resolution of those kinsmen. While they were crying with agonised hearts, their tears were wiped and dried up. Behold, how within only a short time, through their steadiness of resolution, they obtained the grace of Sankara, and their afflictions dispelled, they were made happy. Indeed, through Sankara's grace, O chief of the Bharatas, those sorrowing kinsmen were filled with amazement and delight at the restoration of their child to life. Then, O king, casting off that grief of which their child had been the cause, those Brahmanas, filled with delight, quickly went back to their town taking the restored child with them. Behaviour like this has been laid down for all the four orders. By frequently listening to this auspicious story fraught with virtue, profit, and salvation, a man obtains happiness both here and cherished by those that are good towards even the beasts and birds!' adopts the incorrect reading. righteous reign there were no premature deaths in his kingdom. It happened, however, one day that a Brahmana father came to Rama's court and complained of the premature death of his son. Rama instantly began to enquire after the cause. Some sinful act in some corner of the kingdom, it was suspected, had caused the deed. Soon enough Rama discovered a Sudra of the name of Samvuka engaged in the heart of a deep forest in ascetic penances. The king instantly cut off the man's head inasmuch as a Sudra by birth had no right to do what that man was doing. As soon as righteousness was upheld, the deceased Brahmana boy revived. (Ramayana, Uttarakandam). " Yudhishthira said, "If a person, weak, worthless, and light-hearted, O grand sire, doth from folly provoke, by means of unbecoming and boastful speeches, a powerful foe always residing in his vicinity, competent to do good (when pleased) and chastise (when displeased), and always ready for action, how should the former, relying on his own strength, act when the latter advances against him in anger and from desire of exterminating him?' "Bhishma said, 'In this connection is cited, O chief of the Bharatas, the old story of the discourse between Salmali and Pavana. There was a lordly (Salmali) tree on one of the heights of Himavat. Having grown for many centuries, he had spread out his branches wide around. His trunk also was huge and his twigs and leaves were innumerable. Under his shade toil-worn elephants in rut, bathed in sweat, used to rest, and many animals of other species also. The girth of his trunk was four hundred cubits, and dense was the shade of his branches and leaves. Loaded with flowers and fruits, it was the abode of innumerable parrots, male and female. In travelling along their routes, caravans of merchants and traders, and ascetics, residing in the woods, used to rest under the shade of that delightful monarch of the forest. One day, the sage Narada, O bull of Bharata's race, seeing the wide-extending and innumerable branches of that tree and the circumference of his trunk, approached and addressed him, saying, 'O thou art delightful! O thou art charming! O foremost of trees, O Salmali, I am always delighted at thy sight! O charming tree, delightful birds of diverse kinds, and elephants and other animals, cheerfully live; on thy branches and under their shade. Thy branches, O wide-branched monarch of the forest, and thy trunk are gigantic. I never see any of them broken by the god of the wind. Is it, O child, the case that Pavana is pleased with thee and is thy friend so that he protects thee always in these woods? The illustrious Pavana possessed of great speed and force moveth from their sites the tallest and strongest trees, and even mountain summits. That sacred bearer of perfumes, blowing (when he wills) drieth up rivers and takes and seas, including the very nether region. Without doubt, Pavana protects thee through friendship. It is for this reason that, though possessed of innumerable branches, thou art still graced with leaves and flowers. O monarch of the forest, this thy verdure is delightful since these winged creatures, O child, filled with joy, sport on thy twigs and branches. During the season when thou puttest forth thy blossoms, the sweet notes of all these denizens of thy branches are heard separately when they indulge in their melodious songs. Then, again, O Salmali, these elephants that are the ornaments of their species, bathed in sweat and indulging in cries (of delight), approach thee and find happiness here. Similarly, diverse other species of animals inhabiting the woods, contribute to adorn thee. Indeed, O tree, thou lookest beautiful even like the mountains of Mem peopled by creatures of every kind. Resorted to also by Brahmanas crowned with ascetic success, by others engaged in penances, and by Yatis devoted to contemplation, l this thy region, I think, resembles heaven itself.'" that have renounced work for meditation. It is also frequently employed to mean a person of low life or profession. It should be noted, however, that in Buddhistic literature the word came to be exclusively used for Buddhist monks. "Narada said, 'Without doubt, O Salmali, the terrible and irresistible god of the wind always protects thee from friendliness or amity. It seems, O Salmali, that a close intimacy has come to subsist between thee and the Wind. It seems thou hast said unto him these words, viz., 'I am thine,' and it is for this reason that the Wind-god protects thee. I do not see the tree or mountain or mansion in this world that may not, I think, be broken by the Wind. Without doubt thou standest here with all thy branches and twigs and leaves, simply because, O Salmali, thou art protected by the Wind for some reason or reasons (unknown to us).' "The Salmali said, 'The Wind, O regenerate one, is neither my friend nor mate nor well-wisher. Indeed, he is neither my great Ordainer that he should protect me. My fierce energy and might, O Narada, are greater than the Wind's. In truth, the strength of the Wind comes up to about only an eighteenth part of mine. When the Wind comes in rage, tearing up trees and mountains and other things, I curb his strength by putting forth mine. Indeed, the Wind that breaks many things has himself been repeatedly broken by me. For this reason, O Celestial Rishi, I am not afraid of him even when he comes in wrath.' "Narada said, 'O Salmali, thy protection seems to be thoroughly perverse. There is no doubt in this. There is no created thing which is equal to the Wind in strength. Even Indra, or Yama, or Vaisravana, the lord of the waters, is not equal to the god of the wind in might. What need, therefore, be said of thee that art only a tree? Whatever creature in this world, O Salmali, does whatever act, the illustrious Wind- god it is that is at all times the cause of that act, since it is he that is the giver of life. When that god exerts himself with propriety, he makes all living creatures live at their ease. When, however, he exerts improperly, calamities overtake the creatures of the world. What else can it be than weakness of understanding which induces thee to thus withhold thy worship from the god of wind, that foremost of creatures in the universe, that being deserving of worship? Thou art worthless and of a wicked understanding. Indeed, thou indulgest only in unmeaning brag. Thy intelligence being confounded by wrath and other evil passions, thou speakest only untruths, O Salmali! I am certainly angry with thee for thy indulging in such speeches. I shall myself report to the god of the wind all these derogatory words of thine. Chandanas, and Syandanas, and Salas, and Saralas and Devadarus and Vetavas and Dhanwanas and other trees of good souls that are far stronger than thou art, have never, O thou of wicked understanding, uttered such invectives against the Wind. All of them know the might of the Wind as also the might that is possessed by each of them. For these reasons those foremost of trees bow down their heads in respect to that deity. Thou, however, through folly, knowest not the infinite might of the Wind. I shall, therefore, repair to the presence of that god (for apprising him of thy contempt for him).'" "Bhishma continued, 'Having said these words unto the Salmali. that foremost of all persons conversant with Brahma, viz., Narada, represented unto the god of the wind all that the Salmali had said about him.' "Narada said, 'There is a certain Salmali on the breast of Himavat, adorned with branches and leaves. His roots extend deep into the earth and his branches spread wide around. That tree, O god of the wind disregards thee. He spoke many words fraught with abuse of thyself. It is not proper, O Wind, that I should repeat them in thy hearing. I know, O Wind, that thou art the foremost of all created things. I know too that thou art a very superior and very mighty being, and that in wrath thou resemblest the Destroyer himself.' "Bhishma continued, 'Hearing these words of Narada, the god of wind, wending to that Salmali, addressed him in rage and said as follows.' "The Wind-god said, 'O Salmali, thou hast spoken in derogation of me before Narada. Know that I am the god of the wind. I shall certainly show thee my power and might. I know thee well. Thou art no stranger to me. The puissant Grandsire, while engaged in creating the world, had for a time rested under thee. It is in consequence of this incident that I have hitherto shown thee grace. O worst of trees, it is for this that thou standest unharmed, and not in consequence of thy own might. Thou regardest me lightly as if I were a vulgar thing. I shall show myself unto thee in such a way that thou mayst not again disregard "Bhishma continued, 'Thus addressed, the Salmali laughed in derision and replied, saying, 'O god of the wind, thou art angry with me. Do not forbear showing the extent of thy might. Do thou vomit all thy wrath upon me. By giving way to thy wrath, what wilt thou do to me? Even if thy might had, been thy own (instead of being derived), I would not still have been afraid of thee. I am superior to thee in might. I should not be afraid of thee. They are really strong in understanding. They, on the other hand, are not to be regarded strong that are possessed of only physical strength.' Thus addressed, the Wind-god said, 'Tomorrow I shall test thy strength.' After this, night came. The Salmali, concluding mentally what the extent is of the Wind's might and beholding his own self to be inferior to the god, began to say to himself, 'All that I said to Narada is false. I am certainly inferior in might to the Wind. Verity, he is strong in his strength. The Wind, as Narada said, is always mighty. Without doubt, I am weaker than other trees. But in intelligence no tree is my equal. Therefore, relying upon my intelligence I shall look at this fear that arises from the Wind. If the other trees in the forest all rely upon the same kind of intelligence, then, verily, no injury can result to them from the god of the Wind when he becomes angry. All of them, however, are destitute of understanding, and, therefore, they do not know, as I know, why or how the Wind succeeds in shaking and tearing them up.'" "Bhishma said, 'Having settled this in his mind, the Salmali. in sorrow, himself caused all his branches, principal and subsidiary, to be cut off. Casting off his branches and leaves and flowers, at morn the tree looked steadily at the Wind, as he came towards him. Filled with rage and breathing hard, the Wind advanced, felling large trees, towards that spot where the Salmali stood. Beholding him divested of top and branches and leaves and flowers, the Wind, filled with joy, smilingly addressed that lord of the forest which had before such a gigantic appearance, these words.' "The Wind said, 'Filled with rage, O Salmali, I would have done to thee precisely what thou hast done to thyself by lopping off all thy branches. Thou art now divested of thy proud top and flowers, and thou art now without thy shoots and leaves. In consequence of thy own evil counsels, thou hast been brought under my power.' "Bhishma continued, 'Hearing these words of the Wind, the Salmali felt great shame. Remembering also the words that Narada had said, he began to repent greatly for his folly. Even in this way, O tiger among kings, a weak and foolish person, by provoking the enmity of a powerful one, is at last obliged to repent like the Salmali in fable. Even when possessed of equal might, people do not suddenly wage hostilities with those that have injured them. On the other hand, they display their might gradually, O king! A person of foolish understanding should never provoke the hostility of one that is possessed of intelligence. In such cases the intelligence of the intelligent man penetrates (the subject upon which it is employed) like fire penetrating a heap of dry grass. Intelligence is the most precious possession that a person call have. Similarly, O king, a man can have nothing here more valuable than might. One should, therefore, overlook the wrongs inflicted by a person possessed of superior strength, even as one should overlook (from compassion) the acts of a child, and idiot, or one that is blind or deaf. The wisdom of this saying is witnessed in thy case, O slayer of foes. The eleven Akshauhinis (of Duryodhana), O thou of great splendour, and the seven (collected by thyself), were not, in might equal to the single-handed Arjuna of high soul. All the troops (of Duryodhana), therefore, were routed and slain by that illustrious Pandava, that son of Paka's chastiser, as he coursed on the field of battle, relying on his own strength. I have. O Bharata, discoursed to thee of the duties of kings and the morality of duties in detail. What else. O king, dost thou wish to hear!'" " Yudhishthira said, 'I desire, O bull of Bharata's race, to hear in detail the source from which sin proceeds and the foundation upon which it rests.' "Bhishma said, 'Hear, O King, what the foundation is of sin. Covetousness alone is a great destroyer (of merit and goodness). From covetousness proceeds sin. It is from this source that sin and irreligiousness flow, together with great misery. This covetousness is the spring of also all the cunning and hypocrisy in the world. It is covetousness that makes men commit sin. From covetousness proceeds wrath; from covetousness flows lust, and it is from covetousness that loss of judgment, deception, pride, arrogance, and malice, as also vindictiveness, shamelessness, loss of prosperity, loss of virtue, anxiety, and infamy spring, miserliness, cupidity, desire for every kind of improper act, pride of birth, pride of learning, pride of beauty, pride of wealth, pitilessness for all creatures, malevolence towards all, mistrust in respect of all, insincerity towards all, appropriation of other people's wealth, ravishment of other people's wives, harshness of speech, anxiety, propensity to speak ill of others, violent craving for the indulgence of lust, gluttony, liability to premature death, violent propensity towards malice, irresistible liking for falsehood, unconquerable appetite for indulging in the passions, insatiable desire for indulging the ear, evil- speaking, boastfulness, arrogance, non-doing of duties, rashness, and perpetration of every kind of evil act,— all these proceed from covetousness. In life, men are unable, whether infants or youth or adults, to abandon covetousness. Such is the nature of covetousness that it never decays even with the decay of life. Like the ocean that can never be filled by the constant discharge of even innumerable rivers of immeasurable depths, covetousness is incapable of being gratified by acquisitions to any extent. The covetousness, however, which is never gratified by acquisitions and satiated by the accomplishment of desires, that which is not known in its real nature by the gods, the Gandharvas, the Asuras, the great snakes, and, in fact, by all classes of beings, that irresistible passion, along with that folly which invites the heart to the unrealities of the world, should ever be conquered by a person of cleansed soul. Pride, malice, slander, crookedness, and incapacity to hear other people's good, are vices, O descendant of Kuru, that are to be seen in persons of uncleansed soul under the domination of covetousness. Even persons of great learning who bear in their minds all the voluminous scriptures, and who are competent to dispel the doubts of others, show themselves in this respect to be of weak understanding and feel great misery in consequence of this passion. Covetous men are wedded to envy and anger. They are outside the pale of good behaviour. Of crooked hearts, the speeches they utter are sweet. They resemble, therefore, dark pits whose mouths are covered with grass. They attire themselves in the hypocritical cloak of religion. Of low minds, they rob the world, setting up (if need be) the standard of religion and virtue. Relying upon the strength of apparent reasons, they create diverse kinds of schisms in religion. Intent upon accomplishing the purposes of cupidity, they destroy the ways of righteousness. When wicked-souled persons under the domination of covetousness apparently practise the duties of righteousness, the consequence that results is that the desecrations committed by them soon become current among men. Pride, anger, arrogance, insensibility, paroxysms of joy and sorrow, and self- importance, all these, O descendant of Kuru, are to be seen in persons swayed by covetousness. Know that they who are always under the influence of covetousness are wicked. I shall now tell thee of those about whom thou askest, viz., those who are called good and whose practices are pure. They who have no fear of an obligation to return to this world (after death), they who have no fear of the next world, they who are not addicted to animal food and who have no liking for what is agreeable and no dislike for what is otherwise, they to whom good behaviour is ever dear, they in whom there is self-restraint, they to whom pleasure and pain are equal, they who have truth for their high refuge, they who give but not take, they who have compassion, they who worship Pitris, gods and guests, they who are always ready to exert themselves (for the good of others), they who are universal benefactors, they who are possessed of great courage (of mind), they who observe all the duties laid down in the scriptures, they who are devoted to the good of all, they who can give their all and lay down their very lives for others, are regarded as good and virtuous, O Bharata! Those promoters of righteousness are incapable of being forced away from the path of virtue. Their conduct, conformable to the model set by the righteous men of old, can never be otherwise. They are perfectly fearless, they are tranquil, they are mild, and they always adhere to the right path. Full of compassion, they are always worshipped by the good. They are free from lust and anger. They are not attached to any worldly object. They have no pride. They are observant of excellent vows. They are always objects of regard. Do thou, therefore, always wait upon them and seek instruction from them. They never acquire virtue, O Yudhishthira, for the, sake of wealth or of fame. They acquire it on the other hand, because it is a duty like that of cherishing the body. Fear, wrath, restlessness, and sorrow do not dwell in them. There is not the outward garb of religion for misleading their fellowmen. There is no mystery with them. They are perfectly contented. There is no error of judgment arising from covetousness. They are always devoted to truth and sincerity. Their hearts never fall from righteousness. Thou shouldst show thy regard for them always, O son of Kunti! They are never delighted at any acquisition or pained at any loss. Without attachment to anything, and freed from pride, they are wedded to the quality of goodness, and they cast an equal eye on all. Gain and loss, weal and woe, the agreeable and the disagreeable, life and death, are equal in the eyes of those men of firm tread, engaged in the pursuit of (divine) knowledge, and devoted to the path of tranquillity and righteousness. Keeping thy senses under restraint and without yielding to heedlessness, thou shouldst always worship those high- souled persons who bear such love for virtue. O blessed one, one's words become productive of good only through the favour of the gods. Under other circumstances, words produce evil consequence." l' instructions. He says that those instructions would bear fruit if the gods will it; otherwise, his words would go for nothing, however carefully he might speak. "Yudhishthira said, 'Thou hast said, O grandsire, that the foundation of all evils is covetousness. I wish, O sire, to hear of ignorance in detail.' "Bhishma said, 'The person who commits sin through ignorance, who does not know that his end is at hand, and who always hates those that are of good behaviour, soon incurs infamy in the world. In consequence of ignorance one sinks into hell. Ignorance is the spring of misery. Through ignorance one' suffers afflictions and incurs great danger.' "Yudhishthira said, 'I desire, O king, to hear in detail the origin, the place, the growth, the decay, the rise, the root, the inseparable attribute, the course, the time, the cause, and the consequence, of ignorance. The misery that is felt here is all born of ignorance.' l "Bhishma said, 'Attachment, hate, loss of judgment, joy, sorrow, vanity, lust, anger, pride, procrastination, idleness, desire, aversion, jealousy, and all other sinful acts are all known by the common name of ignorance. 2 Hear now, O king, in detail, about its tendency, growth and other features after which thou enquirest. These two viz., ignorance and covetousness, know, O king, are the same (in substance). Both are productive of the same fruits and same faults, O Bharata! Ignorance has its origin in covetousness. As covetousness grows, ignorance also grows. Ignorance exists there where covetousness exists. As covetousness decreases, ignorance also decreases. It rises with the rise of covetousness. Manifold again is the course that it takes. The root of covetousness is loss of judgment. Loss of judgment, again, is its inseparable attribute. Eternity is ignorance's course. The time when ignorance appears is when objects of covetousness are not won. From one's ignorance proceeds covetousness, and from the latter proceeds ignorance. (Covetousness, therefore, is both the cause and consequence of ignorance). Covetousness is productive of all. For these reasons, every one should avoid covetousness. Janaka, and Yuvanaswa, and Vrishadarbhi, and Prasenajit, and other kings acquired heaven in consequence of their having repressed covetousness. Do thou also in the sight of all persons, avoid covetousness by a strong resolution, O chief of the Kurus! Avoiding covetousness thou shalt obtain happiness both here and in the next world.'" " Yudhishthira said, 'O grandsire, O thou of virtuous soul, what, indeed, is said to be productive of great merit 1 for a person attentively engaged in the study of the Vedas and desirous of acquiring virtue? That which is regarded in this world as productive of high merit is of diverse kinds as set forth in the scriptures. Tell me, O grandsire, about that which is regarded as such both here and hereafter. The path of duty is long and has innumerable branches, O Bharata! Amongst those duties what are those few that should, according to thee, be preferred to all others for observance? Tell me, O king, in detail, about that which is so comprehensive and which is so many-branched.' "Bhishma said, 'I shall speak to thee of that by which thou mayst attain to high merit. Possessed as thou art of wisdom, thou shalt be gratified with the knowledge. I will impart to thee, like a person gratified with having quaffed nectar. The rules of duty that have been uttered by the great Rishis, each relying upon his own wisdom, are many. The highest among them all is self-restraint. Those amongst the ancients that were acquainted with truth said that self-restraint leads to the highest merit. As regards the Brahmana in particular, self-restraint is his eternal duty. It is from self-restraint that he obtains the due fruition of his acts. Self-restraint, in his case, surpasses (in merit) charity and sacrifice and study of the Vedas. Self-restraint enhances (his) energy. Self-restraint is highly sacred. Through self-restraint a man becomes cleansed of all his sins and endued with energy, and as a consequence, attains to the highest blessedness. We have not heard that there is any other duty in all the worlds that can equal self-restraint. Self-restraint, according to all virtuous persons, is the highest of virtues in this world. Through self- restraint, O foremost of men, a person acquires the highest happiness both here and hereafter. Endued with self-restraint, one acquires great virtue. The self-restrained man sleeps in felicity and awakes in felicity, and moves through the world in felicity. His mind is always cheerful. The man who is without self-restraint always suffers misery. Such a man brings upon himself many calamities all born of his own faults. It has been said that in all the four modes of life self-restraint is the best of vows. I shall now tell thee those indications whose sum total is called self-restraint. Forgiveness, patience, abstention from injury, impartiality, truth, sincerity, conquest of the senses, cleverness, mildness, modesty, steadiness, liberality, freedom from wrath, contentment, sweetness of speech, benevolence, freedom from malice,— the union of all these is self-restraint. It also consists, O son of Kuru, of veneration for the preceptor and universal compassion. The self -restrained man avoids both adulation and slander. Depravity, infamy, false speech, lust, covetousness, pride, arrogance, self-glorification, fear, envy and disrespect, ale all avoided by the self-restrained man. He never incurs obloquy. He is free from envy. He is never gratified with small acquisitions (in the form of earthly happiness of any kind.) He is even like the ocean which can never be filled, l The man of self-restraint is never bound by the attachments that arise from earthly connections like to those involved in sentiments like these, 7 am thine, Thou art thine, They are in me, and I am in them.' Such a man, who adopts the practices of either cities or the woods, and who never indulges in slander or adulation, attains to emancipation. Practising universal friendliness, and possessed of virtuous behaviour, of cheerful soul and endued with knowledge of soul, and liberated from the diverse attachments of the earth, great is the reward that such a person obtains in the world to me. Of excellent conduct and observant of duties, of cheerful soul and possessed of learning and knowledge of self, such a man wins esteem while here and attains to a high end hereafter. All acts that are regarded as good on earth, all those acts that are practised by the righteous, constitute the path of the ascetic possessed of knowledge. A person that is good never deviates from that path. Retiring from the world and betaking himself to a life in the woods, that learned person having a complete control over the senses who treads in that path, in quiet expectation of his decease, is sure to attain to the state of Brahma. He who has no fear of any creature and of whom no creature is afraid, has, after the dissolution of his body, no fear to encounter. 2 He who exhausts his merits (by actual enjoyment) without seeking to store them up, who casts an equal eye upon all creatures and practises a course of universal friendliness, attains to Brahma. As the track of birds along the sky or of fowl over the surface of water cannot be discerned, even so the track of such a person (on earth) does not attract notice. For him, O king, who abandoning home adopts the religion of emancipation, many bright worlds wait to be enjoyed for eternity. If, abandoning all acts, abandoning penances in due course, abandoning the diverse branches of study, in fact, abandoning all things (upon which worldly men set their hearts), one becomes pure in his desires, liberated from all restraints, 3 of cheerful soul, conversant with self, and of pure heart, one then wins esteem in this world and at last attains to heaven. That eternal region of the Grandsire which springs from Vedic penances, and which is concealed in a cave, can be won by only self-restraint. 4 He who takes pleasure in true knowledge, who has become enlightened, and who never injures any creature, has no fear of coming back to this world, far less, any fear in respect of the others. 5 There is only one fault in self-control. No second fault is noticeable in it. A person who has self-control is regarded by men as weak and imbecile. O thou of great wisdom, this attribute has only one fault. Its merits are many. By forgiveness (which is only another form of self-control), the man of self-control may easily acquire innumerable worlds. What need has a man of self-control for a forest? Similarly, O Bharata, of what use is the forest to him that has no self-control? That is a forest where the man of self- control dwells, and that is even a sacred asylum.' " Vaisampayana continued, 'Hearing these words of Bhishma, Yudhishthira became highly gratified as if he had quaffed nectar. Again the king asked that foremost of virtuous men. That perpetuator of Kuru's race (questioned by his grandson) once more began to discourse cheerfully (on the topic raised).'" ordinary, in such passages, it means beatitude or the highest happiness that one may acquire in heaven. It means also those acts of virtue by which that happiness may be acquired. It should never be understood as applicable to anything connected with earthly happiness, unless, of course, the context would imply it. when acquired, can never satisfy him. His aspirations are so great and so high above anything this world can give him that the attainment of even the region of Brahma cannot, as the commentator explains, gratify him. At first sight this may look like want of contentment, but in reality, it is not so. The grandeur of his aspirations is sought to be enforced. Contentment applies only to ordinary acquisitions, including even blessedness in heaven. reaches that region through penances and self-denial. The sense, of course, is that his is that pure felicity of the heart who has succeeded in driving off all evil passions therefrom. Buddhistic idea of a Buddha? "Bhishma said, 'They that are possessed of knowledge say that everything has penance for its root. That foolish person who has not undergone penances does not meet with the rewards of even his own acts. The puissant Creator created all this universe with the aid of penances. After the same manner, the Rishis acquired the Vedas through the power of penances. It was by the aid of penances that the Grandsire created food, fruit and roots. It is by penances that persons crowned with ascetic success behold the three worlds, with rapt souls. Medicines and all antidotes to injurious substances, and the diverse acts (seen here), produce their intended results through the aid of penance. The accomplishment of all purposes depends upon penance. Whatever things there are that are apparently unattainable are sure to be won by the aid of penance. Without doubt, the Rishis obtained their sixfold divine attributes through penance. A person that drinks alcoholic stimulants, one that appropriates the possessions of others without their consent, one guilty of foeticide, one that violates one's preceptor's bed, are all cleansed by penance properly practised. Penances are of many kinds. They exhibit themselves through various outlets. Of all kinds of penances, however, that one may Practise after abstaining from pleasure and enjoyment, abstention from food Is the highest and best. The penance involved in abstention from food is superior, O king, to even compassion, truthfulness of speech, gifts, and restraining the senses. There is no act more difficult to accomplish than gift. There is no mode of life that is superior to serving one's mother. There is no creature superior to those that are conversant with the three Vedas. Similarly, Renunciation constitutes the highest penance. People keep their senses under control for taking care of their virtue and heaven. In respect of such control over the senses as also in the acquisition of virtue, there is no penance higher than abstention from food. The Rishis, the gods, human beings, beasts, birds, and whatever other creatures there are, mobile or immobile, are all devoted to penances, and whatever success they win is won through penance. Thus it was through penance that the gods acquired their superiority These (luminaries in the firmament) that have got their shares of felicity, are always the results of penance. Without doubt, through penance the very status of godhead may be acquired.'" " Yudhishthira said, 'Brahmanas and Rishis and Pitris and the gods all applaud the duty of truth. I desire to hear of truth. Discourse to me upon it, O grandsire! What are the indications, O king, of truth? How may it be acquired? What is gained by practising truth, and how? Tell me all this.' "Bhishma said, 'A confusion of the duties of the four orders is never applauded. That which is called Truth always exists in a pure and unmingled state in every one of those four orders. With those that are good, Truth is always a duty. Indeed, Truth is an eternal duty. One should reverentially bow unto Truth. Truth is the highest refuge (of all). Truth is duty; Truth is penance; Truth is Yoga; and Truth is the eternal Brahma. Truth has been said to be Sacrifice of a high order, l Everything rests upon Truth. I shall now tell thee the forms of Truths one after another, and its indications also in due order. It behoveth thee to hear also as to how Truth may be acquired. Truth, O Bharata, as it exists in all the world, is of thirteen kinds. The forms that Truth assumes are impartiality, self control, forgiveness, modesty, endurance, goodness, renunciation, contemplation, dignity, fortitude, compassion, and abstention from injury. These, O great monarch, are the thirteen forms of Truth. Truth is immutable, eternal, and unchangeable. It may be acquired through practices which do not militate against any of the other virtues. It may also be acquired through Yoga. When desire and aversion, as also lust and wrath, are destroyed, that attribute in consequence of which one is able to look upon one's own self and one's foe, upon one's good and one's evil, with an unchanging eye, is called impartiality. Self-control consists in never wishing for another man's possessions, in gravity and patience and capacity to allay the fears of others in respect to one's own self, and immunity from disease. It may be acquired through knowledge. Devotion to the practice of liberality and the observance of all duties are regarded by the wise as constituting goodwill. One comes to acquire universal goodwill by constant devotion to truth. As regards non-forgiveness and forgiveness, it should be stated that the attribute through which an esteemed and good man endures both what is agreeable and disagreeable, is said to be forgiveness. This virtue may well be acquired through the practice of truthfulness. That virtue in consequence of which an intelligent man, contented in mind and speech, achieves many good deeds and never incurs the censure of others, is called modesty. It is acquired through the aid of righteousness. That virtue which forgives for the sake of virtue and profit is called endurance. It is a form of forgiveness. It is acquired through patience, and its purpose is to attach people to one's self. The casting off of affection as also of all earthly possessions, is called renunciation. Renunciation can never be acquired except by one who is divested of anger and malice. That virtue in consequence of which one does good, with watchfulness and care, to all creatures is called goodness. It hath no particular shape and consists in the divestment of all selfish attachments. That virtue owing to which one remains unchanged in happiness and misery is called fortitude. That wise man who desires his own good always practises this virtue. One should always practise forgiveness and devotedness to truth. That man of wisdom who succeeds in casting off joy and fear and wrath, succeeds in acquiring fortitude. Abstention from injury as regards all creatures in thought, word, and deed, kindness, and gift, are the eternal duties of those who are good. These thirteen attributes, though apparently distinct from one another, have but one and the same form, viz., Truth. All these, O Bharata, support Truth and strengthen it. It is impossible, O monarch, to exhaust the merits of Truth. It is for these reasons that the Brahmanas, the Pitris, and the gods, applaud Truth. There is no duty which is higher than Truth, and no sin more heinous than untruth. Indeed, Truth is the very foundation of righteousness. For this reason, one should never destroy Truth. From Truth proceed gifts, and sacrifice with presents, as well as the threefold Agnihotras, the Vedas, and everything else that leads to righteousness. Once on a time a thousand horse-sacrifices and Truth were weighed against each other in the balance. Truth weighed heavier than a thousand horse-sacrifices.'" " Yudhishthira said, 'Tell me, O thou of great wisdom, everything about that from which spring wrath and lust, O bull of Bharata's race, and sorrow and loss of judgment, and inclination to do (evil to others), and jealousy and malice and pride, and envy, and slander, and incapacity to bear the good of others, and unkindness, and fear. Tell me everything truly and in detail about all these.' "Bhishma said, 'These thirteen vices are regarded as very powerful foes of all creatures. These, O Monarch, approach and tempt men from every side. They goad and afflict a heedless man or one that is insensate. Indeed, as soon as they see a person, they assail him powerfully like wolves jumping upon their prey. From these proceed all kinds of grief. From these proceed all kinds of sin. Every mortal, O foremost of men, should always know this. I shall now speak to thee of their origin, of the objects upon which they rest, and of the means of their destruction, O lord of the earth! Listen, first, O king, with undivided attention, to the origin of wrath truly and in detail. Anger springs from covetousness. It is strengthened by the faults of others. Through forgiveness it remains dormant, and through forgiveness it disappears. As regards lust, it springs from resolution. Indulgence strengthens it. When the man of wisdom resolutely turns away from it, it disappears and dies. Envy of others proceeds from between wrath and covetousness. It disappears in consequence of compassion and knowledge of self. In consequence of compassion for all creatures, and of that disregard for all worldly objects (that knowledge brings in its train), it disappears. It also arises from seeing the faults of other people. But in men of intelligence it quickly disappears in consequence of true knowledge, l Loss of judgment has its origin in ignorance and proceeds from sinfulness of habit. When the man whom this fault assails begins to take delight in (the company and counsels of) wise men, the vice at once and immediately hides its head. Men, O thou of Kuru's race, see conflicting scriptures. From that circumstance springs the desire for diverse kinds of action. When true Knowledge has been gained, that desire is allayed. The grief of an embodied creature proceeds from affection which is awakened by separation. When, however, one learns that the dead do not return (whatever the grief one may feel for them), it subsides. Incapacity to bear other people's good proceeds from wrath and covetousness. Through compassion for every creature and in consequence of a disregard for all earthly objects, it is extinguished. Malice proceeds from the abandonment of truth and indulgence in wickedness. This vice, O child, disappears in consequence of one's waiting upon the wise and good. Pride, in men, springs from birth, learning, and prosperity. When those three, however, are truly known, that vice instantly disappears. Jealousy springs from lust and delight in low and vulgar people. In consequence of wisdom it is destroyed. From errors (of conduct) inconsistent with the ordinary course of men, and through disagreeable speeches expressive of aversion, slander takes its rise. It disappears, O king, upon a survey of the whole world. When the person that injures is powerful and the injured one is unable to avenge the injury, hate shows itself. It subsides, however, through kindliness. Compassion proceeds from a sight of the helpless and miserable persons with whom the world abounds. That sentiment disappears when one understands the strength of virtue. 2 Covetousness in all creatures spring from ignorance. Beholding the instability of all objects of enjoyment, it suffers destruction. It has been said that tranquillity of soul can alone subdue all these thirteen faults. All these thirteen faults stained the sons of Dhritarashtra. Thyself, always desirous of truth, hast conquered all of those vices in consequence of thy regard for seniors.'" nirdesat. Avadya is fault. Vinivartate is understood at the end of the third line, as suggested by Nilakantha. Both the Bengali versions of 9 are incomplete, the Burdwan one being also incorrect. and should be checked for the sake of individual happiness or tranquillity of soul. " Yudhishthira said, 'I know what benevolence is, in consequence of my observation of persons that are good. I do not, however, know them that are malevolent, nor the nature of their acts, O Bharata. Indeed, people avoid malevolent persons of cruel deeds even as they avoid thorns and pitfalls and fire. It is evident, O Bharata, that he who is malevolent is sure to burn (with misery) both here and hereafter. Therefore, O thou of Kuru's race, tell me what, in truth, the acts of such a person are.' "Bhishma said, 'Malevolent persons always do wicked acts and feel an irresistible inclination for doing them. They slander others and incur obloquy themselves. They always regard themselves as cheated of what is their due. A malevolent person brags of his own acts of charity. He sees others with malicious eyes. He is very mean. He is deceitful, and full of cunning. He never gives others their dues. He is arrogant. He keeps evil company and is always boastful. He fears and suspects all with whom he comes into contact. He is of foolish understanding. He practises miserliness. He praises his associates. He cherishes an inordinate aversion and hatred for all recluses who have retired into the woods. He takes delight in injuring others. He is utterly regardless of distinguishing the merits and faults of others. He is full of lies. He is discontented. He is exceedingly covetous, and always acts cruelly. Such a person regards a virtuous and accomplished man as a pest, and thinking everybody else to be like himself never trusts any one. Such a person proclaims the faults of other people however unsuspected those faults might viz. With regard to such faults, however, as similar to those that stain his own self, he does not refer to them even remotely, for the sake of the advantage he reaps from them. He regards the person that does him good as a simpleton whom he has cleverly deceived. He is filled with regret for having at any time made any gift of wealth even unto a benefactor. Know him for a malevolent and wicked person who quietly and alone takes comestibles and drinks and other kinds of food that are regarded choice, even when persons are standing by with wishful eyes. He on the other hand, who dedicates the first portion to Brahmanas and takes what remains, dividing it with friends and kinsmen, attains to great felicity in the next world and infinite happiness here. I have now, O chief of the Bharatas, said unto thee what the indications are of the wicked and malevolent man. Such a person should always be avoided by a man of wisdom.'" "Bhishma said, 'For enabling such pious and impoverished Brahmanas as have been robbed of their wealth (by thieves), as are engaged in the performance of sacrifices, as are well conversant with all the Vedas, and as are desirous of acquiring the merit of righteousness, to discharge their obligations to preceptors and the Pitris, and pass their days in reciting and studying the scriptures, wealth and knowledge, O Bharata, should be given, l Unto those Brahmanas that are not poor, only the Dakshina, 2 O best of the Bharatas, should be given. As regards those that have fallen away (in consequence of their sinful deeds) from the status of Brahman, uncooked food should be given to them outside the limits of the sacrificial altar. 3 The Brahmanas are the Vedas themselves and all the Sacrifices with large presents. Desirous of excelling one another, they always perform sacrifices, impelled by their virtuous inclinations. The king should, therefore, make presents of diverse kinds of valuable wealth unto them. That Brahmana who hath a sufficiency of stores for feeding his family for three or more years, deserves to drink the Soma. 4 If not withstanding the presence of a virtuous king on the throne, the sacrifice begun by anybody, especially by a Brahmana, cannot be completed for want of only a fourth part of the estimated expenses, then the king should, for the completion of that sacrifice, take away from his kinsmen the wealth of a Vaisya that is possessed of a large flock of cattle but that is averse from sacrifices and abstains from quaffing Soma. The Sudra has no competence for performing a sacrifice. The king should, therefore, take away (wealth for such a purpose) from a Sudra house of ours. 5 The king should also, without any scruple, take away from the kinsmen the wealth of him who does not perform sacrifices though possessed of a hundred kine and also of him who abstains from sacrifices though possessed of a thousand kine. The king should always publicly take away the wealth of such a person as does not practise charity, by acting in this way the king earns great merit. Listen again to me. That Brahmana who has been forced by want to go without six meals, 6 may take away without permission, according to the rule of a person that cares only for today without any thought of the morrow, only what is necessary for a single meal, from the husking tub or the field or the garden or any other place of even a man of low pursuits. He should, however, whether asked or unasked, inform the king of his act. I If the king be conversant with duty he should not inflict any punishment upon such a Brahmana. He should remember that a Brahmana becomes afflicted with hunger only through the fault of the Kshatriya. 2 Having ascertained a Brahmana's learning and behaviour, the king should make a provision for him, and protect him as a father protects the son of his own loins. On the expiry of every year, one should perform the Vaisvanara sacrifice (if he is unable to perform any animal or Soma sacrifice). They who are conversant with religion say that the practice of an act laid down in the alternative, is not destructive of virtue. The Viswedevas, the Sadhyas, the Brahmanas, and great Rishis, fearing death in seasons of distress, do not scruple to have recourse to such provisions in the scriptures as have been laid down in the alternative. That man, however, who while able to live according to the primary provision, betakes himself to the alternative, comes to be regarded as a wicked person and never succeeds in winning any felicity in heaven. A Brahmana conversant with the Vedas should never speak of his energy and knowledge to the king. (It is the duty of the king to ascertain it himself.) Comparing again the energy of a Brahmana with that of the king, the former will always be found to be superior to the latter. For this reason the energy of the Brahmanas can scarcely be borne or resisted by a king. The Brahmana is said to be creator, ruler, ordainer, and god. No word of abuse, no dry speeches, should be addressed to a Brahmana. The Kshatriya should cross all his difficulties by the aid of the might of his arms. The Vaisya and the Sudra should conquer their difficulties by wealth; the Brahmana should do so by Mantras and homa. None of these, viz., a maiden, a youthful woman, a person unacquainted with mantras, an ignorant guy, or one that is impure, is competent to pour libations on the sacrificial fire. If any of these do so, he or she is sure to fall into hell, with him for whom they act. For this reason, none but a Brahmana, conversant with the Vedas and skilled in all sacrifices should become the pourer of sacrificial libations. They who are conversant with the scriptures say that the man who, having kindled the sacrificial fire, does not give away the dedicated food as Dakshina, is not the kindler of a sacrificial fire. A person should, with his senses under control, and with proper devotion, do all the acts of merit (indicated in the scriptures). One should never worship the deities in sacrifices in which no Dakshina is given. A sacrifice not completed with Dakshina, (instead of producing merit) brings about the destruction of one's children, animals, and heaven. Such a sacrifice destroys also the senses, the fame, the achievements and the very span of life, that one has. Those Brahmanas that lie with women in their season, or who never perform sacrifices, or whose families have no members conversant with the Vedas, are regarded as Sudras in act. That Brahmana who, having married a Sudra girl, resides for twelve continuous years in a village has only a well for its water supply, becomes a Sudra in act. That Brahmana who summons to his bed an unmarried maiden, or suffers a Sudra, thinking him worthy of respect, to sit upon the same carpet with him, should sit on a bed of dry grass behind some Kshatriya or Vaisya and give him respect in that fashion, l It is in this manner that he can be cleansed. Listen, O king, to my words on this subject. The sin that a Brahmana commits in a single night by respectfully serving a member of a lower order or by sporting with him in the same spot or on the same bed, is cleansed by observing the practice of sitting behind a Kshatriya or a Vaisya on a bed of dry grass for three continuous years. A falsehood spoken in jest is not sinful; nor one that is spoken to a woman. O king, nor one that is spoken on an occasion of marriage; nor one spoken for benefiting one's preceptor; nor one spoken for saving one's own life. These five kinds of falsehood in speech, it has been said, are not sinful. One may acquire useful knowledge from even a person of low pursuits, with devotion and reverence. One may take up gold, without any scruple, from even an unclean place. A woman that is the ornament of her sex may be taken (for wife) from even a vile race. Amrita, if extracted from poison, may be quaffed; women, jewels and other valuables, and water, can never, according to the scriptures, be impure or unclean. For the benefit of Brahmanas and kine, and on occasions of transfusion of castes, even a Vaisya may take up weapons for his own safety. Drinking alcoholic liquors, killing a Brahmana, and the violation of the preceptor's bed, are sins that, if committed consciously, have no expiation. The only expiation laid down for them is death. The same may be said of stealing gold and the theft of a Brahmana's property. By drinking alcoholic liquors, by having congress with one with whom congress is prohibited, by mingling with a fallen person, and (a person of any of the other three orders) by having congress with a Brahmani, one becomes inevitably fallen. By mixing with a fallen person for one whole year in such matters as officiation in sacrifices and teaching sexual congress, one becomes fallen. One, however, does not become so by mixing with a fallen person in such matters as riding on the same vehicle, sitting on the same seat, and eating in the same line. Excluding the five grave sins that have been mentioned above, all other sins have expiations, provided for them. Expiating those sins according to the ordinances laid down for them, one should not again indulge in them. In the case of those who have been guilty of the first three of these five sins, (viz., drinking alcoholic liquors, killing a Brahmana, and violation of the preceptor's bed), there is no restriction for their (surviving) kinsmen about taking food and wearing ornaments, even if their funeral rites remain unperformed when they die. The surviving kinsmen should make no scruple about such things on such occasions. A virtuous man should, in the observance of his duties, discard his very friends and reverend seniors. In fact, until they perform expiation, they that are virtuous should not even talk with those sinners. A man that has acted sinfully destroys his sin by acting virtuously afterwards and by penances. By calling a thief a thief, one incurs the sin of theft. By calling a person a thief who, however, is not a thief one incurs a sin just double the sin of theft. The maiden who suffers her virginity to be deflowered incurs three-fourths of the sin of Brahmanicide, while the man that deflowers her incurs a sin equal to a fourth part of that of Brahmanicide. By slandering Brahmanas or by striking them, one sinks in infamy for a hundred years. By killing a Brahmana one sinks into hell for a thousand years. No one, therefore, should speak ill of a Brahmana or slay him. If a person strikes a Brahmana with a weapon, he will have to live in hell for as many years as the grains of dust that are soaked by the blood flowing from the wounded. One guilty of foeticide becomes cleansed if he dies of wounds received in battle fought for the sake of kine and Brahmanas. He may also be cleansed by casting his person on a blazing fire, l A drinker of alcoholic liquors becomes cleansed by drinking hot alcohol. His body being burnt with that hot drink, he is cleansed through death in the other world. 2 A Brahmana stained by such a sin obtains regions of felicity by such a course and not by any other. For violating the bed of a preceptor, the wicked-souled and sinful wretch becomes cleansed by the death that results from embracing a heated female figure of iron. Or, cutting off his organ and testicles and bearing them in his hands, he should go on in a straight course towards the south-west and then cast off his life. Or, by meeting with death for the sake of benefiting a Brahmana, he may wash off his sin. Or, after performing a horse-sacrifice or a cow-sacrifice or an Agnishtoma, he may regain esteem both here and hereafter. The slayer of a Brahmana should practise the vow of Brahmacharya for twelve years and devoting himself to penances, wander, holding in his hands the skull of the slain all the time and proclaiming his sin unto all. He should even adopt such a course, devoted to penance and leading the life of an ascetic. Even such is the expiation provided for one who slays a woman quick with child, knowing her condition. The man who knowingly slays such a woman incurs double the sin that follows from Brahmanicide. A drinker of alcoholic liquor should live on frugal fare, practising Brahmacharya vows, and sleep on the bare ground, and perform, for more than three years the sacrifice next to the Agnishtoma. He should then make a present of a thousand kine with one bull (unto a good Brahmana). Doing all this, he would regain his purity. Having slain a Vaisya one should perform such a sacrifice for two years and make a present of a hundred kine with one bull. Having slain a Sudra, one should perform such a sacrifice for one year and make a present of a hundred kine with one bull. Having slain a dog or bear or camel, one should perform the same penance that is laid down for the slaughter of a Sudra. For slaying a cat, a chasa, a frog, a crow, a reptile, or a rat, it has been said, one incurs the sin of animal slaughter, O king ! I shall now tell thee of other kinds of expiations in their order. For all minor sins one should repent or practise some vow for one year. For congress with the wife of a Brahmana conversant with the Vedas, one should for three years practise the vow of Brahmacharya, taking a little food at the fourth part of the day. For congress with any other woman (who is not one's wife), one should practise similar penance for two years. For taking delight in a woman's company by sitting with her on the same spot or on the same seat, one should live only on water for three days. By doing this he may cleanse himself of his sin. The same is laid down for one who befouls a blazing fire (by throwing impure things on it). He who without adequate cause, casts off his sire or mother or preceptor, surely becomes fallen, O thou of Kuru's race, as the conclusion is of the scriptures. Only food and clothes should be given, as the injunction is, unto a wife guilty of adultery or one confined in a prison. Indeed, the vows that are laid down for a male person guilty of adultery should be caused to be observed by also a woman who is guilty of the same. That woman who abandoning a husband of a superior caste, has congress with a vile person (of a lower order), should be caused by the king to be devoured by dogs in a public place in the midst of a large concourse of spectators. I A wise king should cause the male person committing adultery under such circumstances to be placed upon a heated bed of iron and then, placing faggots underneath, burn the sinner thereon. The same punishment, O king, is provided for the woman that is guilty of adultery. The wicked sinner who does not perform expiation within a year of the commission of the sin incurs demerit that is double of what attaches to the original sin. One who associates with such a person for two years must wander over the earth, devoting himself to penances and living upon eleemosynary charity. One associating with a sinner for four years should adopt such a mode of life for five years. If a younger brother weds before his elder brother, then the younger brother, the elder brother and the woman that is married, all three, in consequence of such wedding, become fallen. All of them should observe the vows prescribed for a person who has neglected his sacrificial fire, or practise the vow of Chandrayana for a month, or some other painful vow, for cleansing themselves of their sin. The younger brother, wedding, should give his wife unto his unmarried elder brother. Afterwards, having obtained the permission of the elder brother, the younger brother may take back his wife. By such means may all three be cleansed of their sin. By slaying animals save a cow, the slayer is not stained. The learned know that man has dominion over all the lower animals. A sinner, holding in his hand a yak-tail and an earthen pot, should go about, proclaiming his sin. He should every day beg of only seven families, and live upon what may be thus obtained. By doing this for twelve days he may be cleansed of his sin. He who becomes unable to bear in his hand the yak-tail while practising this vow, should observe the vow of mendicancy (as stated above) for one whole year. Amongst men such expiation is the best. For those that are able to practise charity, the practice of charity has been laid down in all such cases. Those who have faith and virtue may cleanse themselves by giving away only one cow. One who eats or drinks the flesh, ordure, or urine, of a dog, a boar, a man, a cock, or a camel must have his investiture of the sacred thread re- performed. If a Soma-drmking Brahmana inhales the scent of alcohol from the mouth of one that has drunk it, he should drink warm water for three days or warm milk for the same period. Or, drinking warm water for three days he should live for that period upon air alone. These are the eternal injunctions laid down for the expiation of sin, especially for a Brahmana who has committed these sins through ignorance and want of judgment.'" the instruction they give. No doubt, a final fee, called Gurudakshina, is demandable, but that is demandable after the pupil has completed his studies. To sell knowledge for money is a great sin. To this day in all the indigenous tols of the country, instruction is imparted free of all charges. In addition to this, the pupils are fed by their preceptors. The latter, in their turn, are supported by the charity of the by the sacrificer and the priests. against the spoliation of a Sudra. The fact is, the nah here is equal to 'ours'. duty of providing for him. to be a fallen Brahmana (for the time being)'. regarded as equivalent to foeticide. Hence, killing a Brahmana is foeticide, etc. version is given. The Bombay text runs as follows: 'upon his body being burnt therewith, or by death, he becomes cleansed.' The Bombay text seems to be vicious. Drinking is regarded as one of the five heinous sins. The severer injunction contained in the Bengal texts seems therefore, to be the correct word papam in this verse. " Vaisampayana said, 'Upon the completion of this discourse, Nakula who was an accomplished swordsman thus questioned the Kuru grandsire lying on his bed of arrows.' "Nakula said, 'The bow, O grandsire, is regarded as the foremost of weapons in this world. My mind, however, inclines towards the sword, since when the bow, O king, is cut off or broken, when steeds are dead or weakened, a good warrior, well trained in the sword, can protect himself by means of his sword. I A hero armed with the sword can, single handed, withstand many bowmen, and many antagonists armed with maces and darts. I have this doubt, and I feel curious to know the truth. Which, O king, is really the foremost of weapons in all battles? How was the sword first created and for what purpose? Who also was the first preceptor in the weapon? Tell me all this, O grandsire.' "Vaisampayana continued, 'Hearing these words of the intelligent son of Madri, the virtuous Bhishma, the complete master of the science of the bow, stretched upon his bed of arrows, made this answer fraught with many refined words of delightful import, melodious with vowels properly placed, and displaying considerable skill, unto the high-souled Nakula, that disciple of Drona, endued with skilful "Bhishma said, 'Hear the truth, O son of Madri, about what thou hast asked me. I am excited by this question of thine, like a hill of red-chalk. 2 In ancient times the universe was one vast expanse of water, motionless and skyless, and without this earth occupying any space in it. Enveloped in darkness, and intangible, its aspect was exceedingly awful. Utter silence reigning all over, it was immeasurable in extent. In his own proper time the Grandsire (of the universe) took his birth. He then created the wind and fire, and the sun also of great energy. He also created the sky, the heavens, the nether regions, earth, the directions, the firmament with the moon and the stars, the constellations, the planets, the year, the seasons, the months, the two fortnights (lighted and dark) and the smaller divisions of time. The divine Grandsire then, assuming a visible form, begot (by power of his will) some sons possessed of great energy. They are the sages Marichi, Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Vasishtha, Angiras, and the mighty and puissant lord Rudra, and Prachetas. The last begat Daksha, who in his turn, begat sixty daughters. All those daughters were taken by regenerate sages for the object of begetting children upon them. From them sprang all the creatures of the universe, including the gods, Pitris, Gandharvas, Apsaras, diverse kinds of Rakshasas, birds and animals and fishes, monkeys, great snakes, and diverse species of fowl that range the air or sport on the water, and vegetables, and all beings that are oviparous or viviparous or born of filth. In this way the whole universe consisting of mobile and immobile creatures sprang into existence. The universal Grandsire, having thus evoked into existence all mobile and immobile creatures, then promulgated the eternal religion laid down in the Vedas. That religion was accepted by the gods, with their preceptors, priests, the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the Sadhyas, the Maruts, the Aswins, Bhrigu, Atri, Angiras, the Siddhas, Kasyapa rich in penances, Vasishtha, Gautama, Agastya, Narada, Parvata, the Valikhilya Rishis, those other Rishis known under the names of Prabhasas, the Sikatas, the Ghritapas, the Somavayavyas, the Vaiswanaras, Marichipas, the Akrishtas, the Hansas, those born of Fire, the Vanaprasthas, and the Prasnis. All of them lived in obedience to Brahman. The foremost of the Danavas, however, setting at night the commands of the Grandsire, and yielding to wrath and covetousness, began to cause the destruction of righteousness. They were Hiranyakasipu, and Hiranyaksha, and Virochana, and Samvara, and Viprachitti, and Prahlada, and Namuchi, and Vali. These and many other Daityas and Danavas, transcending all restraints of duty and religion, sported and took delight in all kinds of wicked acts. Regarding themselves equal in point of birth with the gods, they began to challenge them and the sages of pure behaviour. They never did any good to the other creatures of the universe or showed compassion for any of them. Disregarding the three well-known means, they began to persecute and afflict all creatures by wielding only the rod of chastisement. Indeed, those foremost of Asuras, filled with pride, forsook every friendly intercourse with other creatures. Then the divine Brahman, accompanied by the regenerate sages, proceeded to a delightful summit of Himavat, extending for a hundred Yojanas in area, adorned with diverse kinds of jewels and gems, and upon whose surface the stars seemed to rest like so many lotuses on a lake. On that prince of mountains, O sire, overgrown with forests of flowering trees, that foremost of the gods, viz., Brahman, stayed for some time for accomplishing the business of the world. After the lapse of a thousand years, the puissant lord made arrangements for a grand sacrifice according to the ordinances laid down in the scriptures. The sacrificial altar became adorned with Rishis skilled in sacrifice and competent to perform all acts appertaining thereto, with faggots of sacrificial fuel, and with blazing fires. And it looked exceedingly beautiful in consequence of the sacrificial plates and vessels all made of gold. All the foremost ones among the gods took their seats on it. The platform was further adorned with Sadasyas all of whom were high regenerate Rishis. I have heard from the Rishis that soon something very awful occurred in that sacrifice. It is heard that a creature sprang (from the sacrificial fire) scattering the flames around him, and whose splendour equalled that of the Moon himself when he rises in the firmament spangled with stars. His complexion was dark like that of the petals of the blue lotus. His teeth were keen. His stomach was lean. His stature was tall. He seemed to be irresistible and possessed of exceeding energy. Upon the appearance of that being, the earth trembled. The Ocean became agitated with high billows and awful eddies. Meteors foreboding great disasters shot through the sky. The branches of trees began to fall down. All the points of the compass became unquiet. Inauspicious winds began to blow. All creatures began to quake with fear every moment. Beholding that awful agitation of the universe and that Being sprung from the sacrificial fire, the Grandsire said these words unto the great Rishis, the gods, and the Gandharvas. This Being was thought of by me. Possessed of great energy, his name is Asi (sword or scimitar). For the protection of the world and the destruction of the enemies of the gods, I have created him. That being then, abandoning the form he had first assumed, took the shape of a sword of great splendour, highly polished, sharp-edged, risen like the all-destructive Being at the end of the Yuga. Then Brahman made over that sharp weapon to the blue-throated Rudra who has for the device on his banner the foremost of bulls, for enabling him to put down irreligion and sin. At this, the divine Rudra of immeasurable soul, praised by the great Rishis, took up that sword and assumed a different shape. Putting forth four arms, he became so tall that though standing on the earth he touched the very sun with his head. With eyes turned upwards and with every limb extended wide, he began to vomit flames of fire from his mouth. Assuming diverse complexions such as blue and white and red, wearing a black deer- skin studded with stars of gold, he bore on his forehead a third eye that resembled the sun in splendour. His two other eyes, one of which was black and the other tawny, shone very brightly. The divine Mahadeva, the bearer of the Sula, the tearer of Bhaga's eyes, taking up the sword whose splendour resembled that of the all-destructive Yuga fire, and wielding a large shield with three high bosses which looked like a mass of dark clouds adorned with flashes of lightning, began to perform diverse kinds of evolutions. Possessed of great prowess, he began to whirl the sword in the sky, desirous of an encounter. Loud were the roars he uttered, and awful the sound of his laughter. Indeed, O Bharata, the form then assumed by Rudra was exceedingly terrible. Hearing that Rudra had assumed that form for achieving fierce deeds, the Danavas, filled with joy, began to come towards him with great speed, showering huge rocks upon him as they come, and blazing brands of wood, and diverse kinds of terrible weapons made of iron and each endued with the sharpness of a razor. The Danava host, however, beholding that foremost of all beings, the indestructible Rudra, swelling with might, became stupefied and began to tremble. Although Rudra was alone and single-handed, yet so quickly did he move on the field of battle with the sword in his arm that the Asuras thought there were a thousand similar Rudras battling with them. Tearing and piercing and afflicting and cutting and lopping off and grinding down, the great god moved with celerity among the thick masses of his foes like forest conflagration amid heaps of dry grass spread around. The mighty Asuras, broken by the god with the whirls of his sword, with arms and thighs and chests cut off and pierced, and with heads severed from their trunks, began to fall down on the earth. Others among the Danavas, afflicted with strokes of the sword, broke and fled in all directions, cheering one another as they fled. Some penetrated into the bowels of the earth; others got under the cover of mountains, Some went upwards; others entered the depths of the sea. During the progress of that dreadful and fierce battle, the earth became miry with flesh and blood and horrible sights presented themselves on every side. Strewn with the fallen bodies of Danavas covered with blood, the earth looked as if overspread with mountain summits overgrown with Kinsukas. Drenched with gore, the earth looked exceedingly beautiful, like a fair-complexioned lady intoxicated with alcohol and attired in crimson robes. Having slain the Danavas and re-established Righteousness on earth, the auspicious Rudra cast off his awful form and assumed his own beneficent shape. Then all the Rishis and all the celestials adored that god of gods with loud acclamations wishing him victory. The divine Rudra, after this, gave the sword, that protector of religion, dyed with the blood of Danavas, unto Vishnu with due adorations. Vishnu gave it unto Marichi. The divine Marichi gave it unto all the great Rishis. The latter gave it to Vasava. Vasava gave it to the Regents of the world. The Regents, O son, gave that large sword to Manu the son of Surya. At the time, of giving it unto Manu, they said, Thou art the lord of all men. Protect all creatures with this sword containing religion within its womb. Duly meting out chastisement unto those that have transgressed the barriers of virtue for the sake of the body or the mind, they should be protected conformably to the ordinances but never according to caprice. Some should be punished with wordy rebukes, and with fines and forfeitures. Loss of limb or death should never be inflicted for slight reasons. These punishments, consisting of wordy rebukes as their first, are regarded as so many forms of the sword. These are the shapes that the sword assumes in consequence of the transgressions of persons under the protection (of the king), l In time Manu installed his own son Kshupa in the sovereignty of all creatures, and gave him the sword for their protection. From Kshupa it was taken by Ikshvaku, and from Ikshvaku by Pururavas. From Pururavas it was taken by Ay us, and from Ay us by Nahusha. From Nahusha it was taken by Yayati, and from Yayati by Puru. From Puru it was taken by Amurtarya, From Amurtarya it descended to the royal Bhumisaya. From Bhumisaya it was taken by Dushmanta's son Bharata. From Bharata, O monarch, it was taken by the righteous Ailavila. From Ailavila it was taken by king Dhundumara. From Dhundumara it was taken by Kamvoja, and from Kamvoja it was taken by Muchukunda, From Muchukunda it was taken by Marutta, and from Marutta by Raivata. From Raivata it was taken by Yuvanaswa, and from Yuvanaswa by Raghu. From Raghu it was taken by the valiant Harinaswa. From Harinaswa the sword was taken by Sunaka and from Sunaka by the righteous-souled Usinara. From the last it was taken by the Bhojas and the Yadavas. From the Yadus it was taken by Sivi. From Sivi it descended to Pratardana. From Pratardana it was received by Ashtaka, and from Ashtaka by Prishadaswa. From Prishadaswa it was received by Bharadwaja, and from the last by Drona. After Drona it was taken by Kripa. From Kripa that best of swords has been obtained by thee with thy brothers. The constellation under which the sword was born is Krittika. Agni is its deity, and Rohini is its Gotra. 1 Rudra is its high preceptor. The sword has eight names which are not generally known. Listen to me as I mention them to you. If one mentions these, O son of Pandu, one may always win victory. Those names then are Asi, Vaisasana, Khadga, sharp-edged, difficult of acquisition, Sirgarbha, victory, and protector of righteousness. Of all weapons, O son of Madravati, the sword is the foremost. The Puranas truly declare that it was first wielded by Mahadeva. As regards the bow, again, O chastiser of foes, it was Prithu who first created it. It was with the aid of this weapon that that son of Vena, while he governed the earth virtuously for many years, milked her of crops and grain in profusion. It behoveth thee, O son of Madri, to regard what the Rishis have said, as conclusive proof. All persons skilled in battle should worship the sword. I have now told thee truly the first portion of thy query, in detail, about the origin and creation of the sword, O bull of Bharata's race! By listening to this excellent story of the origin of the sword, a man succeeds in winning fame in this world and eternal felicity in the next.'" blood through his wounds. Hence Bhishma compares himself to a hill of red-chalk. "Vaisampayana said, 'When Bhishma, after having said this, became silent, Yudhishthira (and the others) returned home. The king addressing his brothers with Vidura forming the fifth, said, The course of the world rests upon Virtue, Wealth, and Desire. Amongst these three, which is the foremost, which the second, and which the last, in point of importance? For subduing the triple aggregate (viz., lust, wrath, and covetousness), upon which of the first three (viz., Virtue, Wealth, and Desire) should the mind be fixed? It behoveth you all to cheerfully answer this question in words that are true.' Thus addressed by the Kuru chief, Vidura, who was conversant with the science of Profit, with the course of the world, and with truth (that concerns the real nature of things), and possessed of great brilliancy of intellect, spoke first these words, recollecting the contents of the scriptures.' "Vidura said, 'Study of the various scriptures, asceticism, gift, faith, performance of sacrifices, forgiveness, sincerity of disposition, compassion, truth, self-restraint, these constitute possessions of Virtue. Do thou adopt Virtue. Let not thy heart ever turn away from it. Both Virtue and Profit have their roots in these. I think that all these are capable of being included in one term. It is by Virtue that the Rishis have crossed (the world with all its difficulties). It is upon Virtue, that all the worlds depend (for their existence). It is by Virtue that the gods attained to their position of superiority. It is upon Virtue that Profit or Wealth rests. Virtue, O king, is foremost in point of merit. Profit is said to be middling. Desire, it is said by the wise, is the lowest of the three. For this reason, one should live with restrained soul, giving his attention to Virtue most. One should also behave towards all creatures as he should towards himself.' "Vaisampayana continued, 'After Vidura had finished what he had to say, Pritha's son Arjuna, well skilled in the science of Profit, and conversant also with the truths of both Virtue and Profit, urged on (by the drift of Yudhishthira' s question), said these words.' "Arjuna said, This world, O king, is the field of action. Action, therefore, is applauded here. Agriculture, trade, keep of cattle, and diverse kinds of arts, constitute what is called Profit. Profit, again, is the end of all such acts. Without Profit or Wealth, both Virtue and (the objects of) Desire cannot be won. This is the declaration of the Sruti. Even persons of uncleansed souls, if possessed of diverse kinds of Wealth, are able to perform the highest acts of virtue and gratify desires that are apparently difficult of being gratified. Virtue and Desire are the limbs of Wealth as the Sruti declares. With the acquisition of Wealth, both Virtue and the objects of Desire may be won. Like all creatures worshipping Brahman, even persons of superior birth worship a man possessed of Wealth. Even they that are attired in deer-skins and bear matted locks on their heads, that are self -rest rained, that smear their bodies with mire, that have their senses under complete control, even they that have bald heads and that are devoted Brahmacharins, and that live separated from one another, cherish a desire for Wealth. Others attired in yellow robes, bearing long beards, graced with modesty, possessed of learning, contented, and freed from all attachments, become desirous of Wealth. Others, following the practices of their ancestors, and observant of their respective duties, and others desirous of heaven, do the same. Believers and unbelievers and those that are rigid practisers of the highest Yoga— all certify to the excellence of Wealth, l He is said to be truly possessed of Wealth who cherishes his dependants with objects of enjoyment, and afflicts his foes with punishments. Even this O foremost of intelligent men, is truly my opinion. Listen, however, now to these two (viz., Nakula and Sahadeva) who are about to "Vaisampayana continued, 'After Arjuna had ceased, the two sons of Madri, viz., Nakula and Sahadeva, said these words of high import.' "Nakula and Sahadeva said, 'Sitting or lying, walking and standing, one should strive after the acquisition of Wealth even by the most vigorous of means. If Wealth, which is difficult of acquisition and highly agreeable, be earned, the person that has earned it, without doubt, is seen to obtain all the objects of Desire. That Wealth which is connected with Virtue, as also that Virtue which is connected with Wealth, is certainly like nectar, l For this reason, our opinions are as follows. A person without wealth cannot gratify any desire; similarly, there can be no Wealth in one that is destitute of Virtue. He, therefore, who is outside the pale of both Virtue and Wealth, is an object of fear unto the world. For this reason, one should seek the acquisition of Wealth with a devoted mind, without disregarding the requirements of Virtue. They who believe in (the wisdom of) this saying succeed in acquiring whatever they desire. One should first practise Virtue; next acquire Wealth without sacrificing Virtue; and then seek the gratification of Desire, for this should be the last act of one who has been successful in acquiring Wealth.' "Vaisampayana continued, 'The twin sons of the Aswins, after having said these words, remained silent. Then Bhimasena began to say the following.' "Bhimasena said, 'One without Desire never wishes for Wealth. One without Desire never wishes for Virtue. One who is destitute of Desire can never feel any wish. For this reason, Desire is the foremost of all the three. It is under the influence of Desire that the very Rishis devote themselves to penances subsisting upon fruits, of living upon roots or air only. Others possessed of Vedic lore are engaged upon the Vedas and their branches or upon rites of faith and sacrificial acts, or upon making gifts or accepting them. Traders, agriculturists, keepers of cattle, artists and artisans, and those who are employed in rites of propitiation, all act from Desire. Some there are that dive unto the depths of the ocean, induced by Desire. Desire, indeed, takes various forms. Everything is pervaded by the principle of Desire. A man outside the pale of Desire never is, was, or will be, seen in this world. This, O king, is the truth. Both Virtue and Wealth are based upon Desire. As butter represents the essence of curds, even so is Desire the essence of Profit and Virtue. Oil is better than oil-seeds. Ghee is better than sour milk. Flowers and fruits are better than wood. Similarly, Desire is better than Virtue and Profit. As honeyed juice is extracted from flowers, so is Desire said to be extracted from these two. Desire is the parent of Virtue and Profit. Desire is the soul of these two. Without Desire the Brahmanas would never give either sweets or wealth unto Brahmanas. Without Desire the diverse kinds of action that are seen in the world would never have been seen. For these reasons, Desire is seen to be the foremost of the triple aggregate. Approaching beautiful damsels attired in excellent robes, adorned with every ornament, and exhilarated with sweet wines, do thou sport with them. Desire, O king, should be the foremost of the three with us. Reflecting upon the question to its very roots, I have come to this conclusion. Do not hesitate to accept this conclusion, O son of Dharma! These words of mine are not of hollow import. Fraught with righteousness as they are they will be acceptable to all good men. Virtue, Profit, and Desire should all be equally attended to. That man who devotes himself to only one of them is certainly not a superior person. He is said to be middling who devotes himself to only two of them. He, on the other hand, is the best of his species who attends to all the three. Having said these words in brief as also in detail, unto those heroes, Bhima possessed of wisdom, surrounded by friends, smeared with sandal-paste, and adorned with excellent garlands and ornaments, remained silent, l Then king Yudhishthira the just, that foremost of virtuous men, possessed of great learning, properly reflecting for a while upon the words spoken by all of them, and thinking all those speeches to be false philosophy, himself spoke as follows.' "Yudhishthira said, 'Without doubt, all of you have settled conclusions in respect of the scriptures, and all of you are conversant with authorities. These words fraught with certainty that you have spoken have been heard by me. Listen now, with concentrated attention, to what I say unto you. He who is not employed in merit or in sin, he who does not attend to Profit, or Virtue, or Desire, who is above all faults, who regards gold and a brick-bat with equal eyes, becomes liberated from pleasure and pain and the necessity of accomplishing his purposes. All creatures are subject to birth and death. All are liable to waste and change. Awakened repeatedly by the diverse benefits and evils of life, all of them applaud Emancipation. We do not know, however, what Emancipation is. The self-born and divine Brahman has said that there is no Emancipation for him who is bound with ties of attachment and affection. They, however, that are possessed of learning seek Extinction. For this reason, one should never regard anything as either agreeable or disagreeable. 2 This view seems to be the best. No one in this world can act as he pleases. I act precisely as I am made (by a superior power) to act. The great Ordainer makes all creatures proceed as He wills. The Ordainer is Supreme. Know this, all of you. 3 No one can, by his acts, obtain what is unobtainable. That which is to be, takes place. Know this. And since he who has withdrawn himself from the triple aggregate may succeed in winning Emancipation, it seems, therefore, that Emancipation is productive of the highest good.' "Vaisampayana continued, 'Having listened to all these foremost words fraught with reason and acceptable to the heart, Bhima and others were filled with delight and joining their hands, bowed unto that prince o f Kuru's race. Indeed, those foremost of men, O king, having heard that speech of the monarch, well adorned with sweet letters and syllables, acceptable to the heart, and divested of dissonant sounds and words, began to applaud Yudhishthira highly. The high-souled son of Dharma, in return, possessed of great energy, praised his convinced auditors; and once more the king addressed the son of the foremost of rivers, possessed of a high soul, for enquiring about duties.'" represented as Vaisampayana's speech. This is evidently an error; 41a couplet. 42 also is so. Rajna etc., refer to Bhima. K.P. Singha avoids the error; the Burdwan translator, as usual, makes a mess of 41 by taking it to be a triplet. faith in Buddhism. Emancipation here is identified with Extinction or Annihilation. The word used is Nirvana. The advice given is abstention from attachments of every kind. These portions of the Santi are either interpolations, or were written after the spread of Buddhism. Leibnitz, or that of Occasional Causes of the Cartesian school. In fact, all the theories about the government of the universe are strangely jumbled together here. " Yudhishthira said, 'O grandsire, O thou that art possessed of great wisdom, I shall ask thee a question. It behoveth thee, O enhancer of the happiness of the Kurus, to discourse to me fully upon it. What kind of men are said to be of gentle disposition? With whom may the most delightful friendship exist? Tell us also who are able to do good in the present time and in the end. I am of opinion that neither swelling wealth, nor relatives, nor kinsmen, occupy that place which well-wishing friends occupy. A friend capable of listening to beneficial counsels, and also of doing good, is exceedingly rare. It behoveth thee, O foremost of virtuous men, to discourse fully on these topics.' "Bhishma said, 'Listen to me, O Yudhishthira, as I speak to thee, in detail, of those men with whom friendships may be formed and those with whom friendships may not be formed. One that is covetous, one that is pitiless, one that has renounced the duties of his order, one that is dishonest, one that is a knave, one that is mean, one that is of sinful practices, one that is suspicious of all, one that is idle, one that is procrastinating, one that is of a crooked disposition, one that is an object of universal obloquy, one that dishonours the life of his preceptor, one that is addicted to the seven well-known vices, one that casts off distressed friends, one possessed of a wicked soul, one that is shameless, one whose sight is ever directed towards sin, one that is an atheist, one that is a slanderer of the Vedas, one whose senses are not restrained, one that gives free indulgence to lust, one that is untruthful, one that is deserted by all, one that transgresses all restraints, one that is deceitful, one that is destitute of wisdom, one that is envious, one that is wedded to sin, one whose conduct is bad, one whose soul has not been cleansed, one that is cruel, one that is a gambler, one that always seeks to injure friends, one that covets wealth belonging to others, that wicked-souled wight who never expresses satisfaction with what another may give him according to the extent of his means, one that is never pleased with his friends, O bull among men, one that becomes angry on occasions that do not justify anger, one that is of restless mind, one that quarrels without cause, that sinful bloke who feels no scruple in deserting well-meaning friends, that wretch who is always mindful of his own interests and who, O king, quarrels with friends when those do him a very slight injury or inflict on him a wrong unconsciously, one who acts like a foe but speaks like a friend, one who is of perverse perceptions, one who is blind (to his own good), one who never takes delight in what is good for himself or others, should be avoided. One who drinks alcoholic liquors, one who hates others, one who is wrathful, one who is destitute of compassion, one who is pained at the sights of other's happiness, one who injures friends, one who is always engaged in taking the lives of living creatures, one who is ungrateful, one who is vile, should be avoided. Alliances (of friendship) should never be formed with any of them. Similarly, no alliance (of friendship) should be formed with him who is ever intent upon marking the faults of others. Listen now to me as I indicate the persons with whom alliances (of friendship) may be formed. They that are well-born, they that are possessed of eloquence and politeness of speech, they that are endued with knowledge and science, they that are possessed of merit and other accomplishments, they that are free from covetousness, they that are never exhausted by labour, they that are good to their friends, they that are grateful, they that are possessed of varied information and knowledge, they that are destitute of avarice, they that are possessed of agreeable qualities, they that are firm in truth, they that have subdued their senses, they that are devoted to athletic and other exercises, they that are of good families, they that are perpetuators of their races, l they that are destitute of faults, they that are possessed of fame, should be accepted by kings for forming alliances (of friendship) with them, They, again, O monarch, who become pleased and contented if one behaves with them according to the best of one's powers, they who never get angry on occasions that do not justify anger, they who never become displeased without sufficient cause, those persons who are well conversant with the science of Profit and who, even when annoyed, succeed in keeping their minds tranquil, they who devote themselves to the service of friends at personal sacrifice, they who are never estranged from friends but who continue unchanged (in their attachment) like a red blanket made of wool (which does not easily change its colour), 2 they who never disregard, from anger, those that are poor, they who never dishonour youthful women by yielding to lust and loss of judgment, they who never point out wrong paths to friends, they who are trustworthy, they who are devoted to the practice of righteousness, they who regard gold and brick-bats with an equal eye, they that adhere with firmness to friends and well- wishers, they who muster their own people and seek the accomplishment of the business of friends regardless of their own dignity and casting off all the marks of their own respectability, should be regarded as persons with whom alliances (of friendship) should be made. Indeed, the dominions of that king spread on every direction, like the light of the lord of the stars, who makes alliances of friendship with such superior men. Alliances should be formed with men that are well-practised in weapons, that have completely subdued their anger, that are always strong in battle and possessed of high birth, good behaviour, and varied accomplishments. Amongst those vicious men, O sinless one, that I have mentioned, the vilest, O king, are those that are ungrateful and that injure friends. Those persons of wicked behaviour should be avoided by all. This, indeed, is a settled conclusion.' "Yudhishthira said, 'I desire to hear in detail this description. Tell me who they are that are called injurers of friends and ungrateful persons.' "Bhishma said, 'I shall recite to thee an old story whose incidents occurred in the country, O monarch, of the Mlecchas that lies to the north. There was a certain Brahmana belonging to the middle country. He was destitute of Vedic learning. (One day), beholding a prosperous village, the man entered it from desire of obtaining charity.' l In that village lived a robber possessed of great wealth, conversant with the distinctive features of all the orders (of men), devoted to the Brahmanas, firm in truth, and always engaged in my king gifts. Repairing to the abode of that robber, the Brahmana begged for a alms. Indeed, he solicited a house to live in and such necessaries of life as would last for one year. Thus solicited by the Brahmana, the robber gave him a piece of new cloth with its ends complete, 2 and a widowed woman possessed of youth. Obtaining all those things from the robber, the Brahmana became filled with delight. Indeed, Gautama began to live happily in that commodious house which the robber assigned to him. He began to hold the relatives and kinsmen of the female slave he had got from the robber chief. In this way he lived for many years in that prosperous village of hunters. He began to practise with great devotion the art of archery. Every day, like the other robbers residing there, Gautama, O king, went into the woods and slaughtered wild cranes in abundance. Always engaged in slaughtering living creatures, he became well-skilled in that act and soon bade farewell to compassion. In consequence of his intimacy with robbers he became like one of them. As he lived happily in that robber village for many months, large was the number of wild cranes that he slew. One day another Brahmana came to that village. He was dressed in rags and deer-skins and bore matted locks on his head. Of highly pure behaviour, he was devoted to the study of the Vedas. Of a humble disposition, frugal in fare, devoted to the Brahmanas, thoroughly conversant with the Vedas, and observant of Br ahmachary a vows, that Brahmana had been a dear friend of Gautama and belonged to that part of the country from which Gautama had emigrated. In course of his wanderings, as already said, the Brahmana came to that robber village where Gautama had taken up his abode. He never accepted any food if given by a Sudra and, therefore, began to search for the house of a Brahmana there (for accepting the duties of hospitality), l Accordingly he wandered in every direction in that village teeming with robber-families. At last that foremost of Brahmanas came to the house owned by Gautama. It so happened that just at that time Gautama also, returning from the woods, was entering his abode. The two friends met. Armed with bow and sword, he bore on shoulders a load of slaughtered cranes, and his body was smeared with the blood that trickled down from the bag on his shoulders. Beholding that man who then resembled a cannibal and who had fallen away from the pure practices of the order of his birth, entering his house, the newly-arrived guest, recognising him, O king, said these words: 'What is this that thou art doing here through folly? Thou art a Brahmana, and the perpetuator of a Brahmana family. Born in a respectable family belonging to the Middle country, how is it that thou becomest like a robber in thy practices? Recollect, O regenerate one, thy famous kinsmen of former times, all of whom were well- versed in the Vedas. Born in their race, alas, thou hast become a stigma to it. Awake thyself by thy own exertions. Recollecting the energy, the behaviour, the learning, the self-restraint, the compassion (that are thine by the order of thy birth), leave this thy present abode, O regenerate one!' Thus addressed by that well-meaning friend of his, O king, Gautama answered him in great affliction of heart, saying, O foremost of regenerate ones, I am poor. I am destitute also of a knowledge of the Vedas. Know, O best of Brahmanas, that I have taken up my abode here for the sake of wealth alone. At thy sight, however, I am blest today. We shall together set out of this place tomorrow. Do thou pass the night here with me. Thus addressed, the newly-arrived Brahmana, full of compassion as he was, passed the night there, refraining to touch anything. Indeed, though hungry and requested repeatedly the guest refused to touch any food in that house.'" have adhered to the incorrect reading of the Bengal texts. gift, however rich, from a Sudra. "Bhishma said, 'After that night had passed away and that best of Brahmanas had left the house, Gautama, issuing from his abode, began to proceed towards the sea, O Bharata! On the way he beheld some merchants that used to make voyages on the sea. With that caravan of merchants he proceeded towards the ocean. It so happened however, O king, that that large caravan was assailed, while passing through a valley, by an infuriated elephant. Almost all the persons were killed. Somehow escaping from that great danger, the Brahmana fled towards the north for saving his life not knowing whither he proceeded. Separated from the caravan and led far away from that spot, he began to wander alone in a forest, like Kimpurusha. 1 At last coming upon a road that led towards the ocean he journeyed on till he reached a delightful and heavenly forest abounding in flowering trees. It was adorned with mango trees that put forth flowers and fruits throughout the year. It resembled the very woods of Nandana (in heaven) and was inhabited by Yakshas and Kinnaras. It was also adorned with Salas and palmyras and Tamalas, with clusters of black aloes, and many large sandal trees. Upon the delightful tablelands that he saw there, fragrant with perfumes of diverse kinds, birds of the foremost species were always heard to pour forth their melodies. Other winged denizens of the air, called Bharundas, and having faces resembling those of human beings, and those called Bhulingas, and others belonging to mountainous regions and to the sea, warbled sweetly there, Gautama proceeded through that forest, listening, as he went, to those delightful and charming strains of nature's choristers. On his way he beheld a very delightful and level spot of land covered with golden sands and resembling heaven itself, O king, for its beauty. On that plot stood a large and beautiful banian with a spherical top. Possessed of many branches that corresponded with the parent tree in beauty and size, that banian looked like an umbrella set over the plain. The spot underneath that magnificent tree was drenched with water perfumed with the most fragrant sandal. Endued with great beauty and abounding in delicious flowers all around, the spot looked like the court of the Grandsire himself. Beholding that charming and unrivalled spot, abounding with flowering trees, sacred, and looking like the abode of a very celestial, Gautama became very much delighted. Arrived there, he sat himself down with a well-pleased heart. As he sat there, O son of Kunti, a delicious, charming, and auspicious breeze, bearing the perfume of many kinds of flowers, began to blow softly, cooling the limbs of Gautama and filling him with celestial pleasure, O monarch ! Fanned by that perfumed breeze the Brahmana became refreshed, and in consequence of the pleasure he felt he soon fell asleep. Meanwhile the sun set behind the Asta hills. When the resplendent luminary entered his chambers in the west and the evening twilight came, a bird that was the foremost of his species, returned to that spot, which was his home, from the regions of Brahman. His name was Nadijangha and he was a dear friend of the creator. He was a prince of Cranes, possessed of great wisdom, and a son of (the sage) Kasyapa. He was also known extensively on earth by the name of Raj adharman. Indeed, he surpassed everyone on earth in fame and wisdom. The child of a celestial maiden, possessed of great beauty and learning, he resembled a celestial in splendour. Adorned with the many ornaments that he wore and that were as brilliant as the sun himself, that child of a celestial girl seemed to blaze with beauty. Beholding that bird arrived at that spot, Gautama became filled with wonder. Exhausted with hunger and thirst, the Brahmana began to cast his eyes on the bird from desire of slaying him.' "Rajadharman said, 'Welcome, O Brahmana! By good luck have I got thee today in my abode. The sun is set. The evening twilight is come. Having come to my abode, thou art today my dear and excellent guest. Having received my worship according to the rites laid down in the scriptures, thou mayst go whither thou wilt tomorrow morning.'" "Bhishma said, 'Hearing these sweet words, Gautama became filled with wonder. Feeling at the same time a great curiosity, he eyed Rajadharman without being able to withdraw his gaze from him.' "Rajadharman said, 'O Brahmana, I am the son of Kasyapa by one of the daughters of (the sage) Daksha. Possessed of great merits, thou art my guest today. Thou art welcome, O foremost of Brahmanas!' "Bhishma continued, 'Having offered him hospitality according to the rites laid down in the scriptures, the crane made an excellent bed of the Sala flowers that lay all around. He also offered him several large fishes caught from the deep waters of the Bhagirathi. Indeed, the son of Kasyapa offered, for the acceptance of his guest Gautama a blazing fire and certain large fishes. After the Brahmana had eaten and became gratified, the bird possessing wealth of penances began to fan him with his wings for driving off his fatigue. Seeing his guest seated at his case, he asked him about his pedigree. The man answered, saying, 'I am a Brahmana known by the name of Gautama,' and then remained silent. The bird gave his guest a soft bed made of leaves and perfumed with many fragrant flowers. Gautama laid himself down on it, and felt great happiness. When Gautama had laid himself down, the eloquent son of Kasyapa, who resembled Yama himself in his knowledge of duties, asked him a bout the cause of his arrival there. Gautama answered him, saying, 'I am, O large-souled one, very poor. For earning wealth l I am desirous of going to the sea.' The son of Kasyapa cheerfully told him: 'It behoveth thee not to feel any anxiety. Thou shalt succeed, O foremost of Brahmanas, and shalt return home with properly. The sage Vrihaspati hath spoken of four kinds of means for the acquisition of wealth, viz., inheritance, sudden accession due to luck or the favour of the gods, acquisition by labour, and acquisition through the aid or kindness of friends. I have become thy friend. I cherish good feelings towards thee. I shall, therefore, exert myself in such a way that thou mayst succeed in acquiring wealth. The night passed away and morning came. Seeing his guest rise cheerfully from bed, the bird addressed him, saying, 'Go, O amiable one, along this very route and thou art sure to succeed. At the distance of about three Yojanas from this place, there is a mighty king of the Rakshasas. Possessed of great strength, his name is Virupaksha, and he is a friend of mine. Go to him, O foremost of Brahmanas! That chief, induced by my without doubt, give thee as much wealth as thou desirest.' Thus addressed, O king, Gautama cheerfully set out from that place, eating on the way, to his fill, fruits sweet as ambrosia. Beholding the sandal and aloe and birch trees that stood along the road, and enjoying their refreshing shade, the Brahmana proceeded quickly. He then reached the city known by the name of Meruvraja. It had large porches made of stone, and high walls of the same material. It was also surrounded on every side with a trench, and large pieces of rock and engines of many kinds were kept ready on the ramparts. He soon became known to the Rakshasa chief of great intelligence, O king, as a dear guest sent unto him by the chiefs friend (the crane). The chief received Gautama very gladly. The king of the Rakshasas then, O Yudhishthira, commanded his attendants, saying, 'Let Gautama be soon brought hither from the gate.' At the command of the king, certain persons, quick as hawks, issued from the splendid palace of their ruler, and proceeding to the gate accosted Gautama. The royal messengers, O monarch, said unto that Brahmana, 'Come quickly, the king desires to see thee. Thou mayst have heard of the king of the Rakshasas, Virupaksha, by name, possessed of great courage. Even he is impatient of seeing thee. Come quickly and tarry not.' Thus addressed, the Brahmana, forgetting his toil in his surprise, ran with the messengers. Beholding the great affluence of the city, he became filled with wonder. Soon he entered the king's palace in the company of the messengers solicitous of obtaining a sight of the king of the Rakshasas.'" "Bhishma said, 'Led into a spacious apartment, Gautama was introduced to the king of the Rakshasas. Worshipped by the latter (with the usual offerings), he took his seat on an excellent seat. The king asked him about the race of his birth and his practices, his study of the Vedas and his observance of the Brahmacharya vow. The Brahmana, however, without answering the other queries, only stated his name and race. The king having ascertained only the name and the race of his guest, and seeing that he was destitute of Brahmanic splendour and Vedic studies, next enquired about the country of his residence.' "The Rakshasa said, 'Where is thy residence, O blessed one, and to what race does thy wife belong? Tell us truly, do not fear. Trust us without anxiety.' "Gautama said, 'I belong by birth to the Middle country. I live in a village of hunters. I have married a Sudra spouse who had been a widow. All this that I tell you is the truth.' "Bhishma continued, 'The king then began to reflect as to what he should do. Indeed, the king began to think how he might succeed in acquiring merit. He said unto himself. 'This man is by birth a, Brahmana. He is, again a friend of the high-souled Rajadharman. He has been sent to me by that son of Kasyapa. I must do what is agreeable to my friend. He is very intimate with me. Indeed, he is my brother, and a dear relative. He is truly a friend of my heart. On this day of the month of Kartika, a thousand Brahmanas of the foremost order are to be entertained in my house. This Gautama also shall be entertained with them and I shall give wealth unto him too. This is a sacred day. Gautama has come hither as a guest. The wealth that is to be given away (unto the Brahmanas) is ready. What is there then to think of?' Just about this time a thousand Brahmanas, possessed of great learning, with persons purified by baths and adorned (with sandalpaste and flowers) and attired in long robes of linen, came to the palace. The Rakshasa king Virupaksha, O monarch, received the guests, as they came, duly and according to the rites laid down in the scriptures. At the command of the king, skins were spread out for them. The royal servants then, O best of the Bharatas, placed mats of Kusa grass on the ground, l Those foremost of Brahmanas, having been duly worshipped by the king sat down on those seats. The Rakshasa chief once more worshipped his guests, as provided by the ordinance, with sesame seeds, green blades of grass, and water. Some amongst them were selected for representing the Viswedevas, the Pitris, and the deities of fire. These were smeared with sandal-paste, and flowers were offered unto them. They were also adored with other kinds of costly offerings. After such worship, every one of them looked as effulgent as the moon in the firmament. Then bright and polished plates of gold, adorned with engravings, and filled with excellent food prepared with ghee and honey, were given unto those Brahmanas. Every year (on the days of full moon) of the months of Ashadha and Magha, a large number of Brahmanas used to receive from the Rakshasa chief, after proper honours, the best kinds of food that they desired. Especially, on the day of full moon in the month of Kartika, after the expiry of autumn, the king used to give unto the Brahmanas much wealth of diverse kinds, including gold, silver, jewels, gems, pearls, diamonds of great value, stones of the lapis lazuli variety, deer-skins, and skins of the Ranku deer. Indeed, O Bharata, throwing a heap of wealth of many kinds for giving it away as Dakshina (unto his regenerate guests), the mighty Virupaksha, addressing those foremast of Brahmanas, said unto them, 'Take from these jewels and gems as much as ye wish and can hope to bear away.' And he also used to say unto them, O Bharata, these words: 'Taking those plates of gold and vessels which you have used for your dinner, go ye away, O foremost of Brahmanas.' When these words were uttered by the high-souled Rakshasa king (on the occasion of that particular feast), those bulls among Brahmanas took as much wealth as each desired. Worshipped with those costly jewels and gems, those best of Brahmanas, attired in excellent robes, became filled with delight. Once more, the Rakshasa king, having restrained the Rakshasas that had come to his palace from diverse lands, addressed those Brahmanas and 'This one day, ye regenerate ones, ye need have no fear from the Rakshasas here. Sport ye as ye wish, and then go away with speed.' The Brahmanas then, leaving that spot, went away in all directions with great speed. Gautama also, having taken up a heavy quantity of gold without any loss of time, went away. Carrying the burthen with difficulty, he reached that same banian (under which he had met the crane). He sat himself down, fatigued, toil worn, and hungry. While Gautama was resting there, that best of birds viz., Rajadharman, O king, came there. Devoted to friends, he gladdened Gautama by bidding him welcome. By flapping his wings he began to fan his guest and dispel his fatigue. Possessed of great intelligence, he worshipped Gautama, and made arrangements for his food. Having eaten and refreshed himself, Gautama began to think, 'Heavy is this load that I have taken of bright gold, moved by covetousness and folly. I have a long way to travel. I have no food by which to support life on my way. What should I do for supporting life?' Even these were his thoughts then. It so happened that even upon much thinking he failed to see any food which he could eat on the way. Ungrateful as he was, O tiger among men, even this was the thought that he then conceived, 'This prince of cranes, so large and containing a heap of flesh, stayeth by my side. Staying and bagging him, I shall leave this spot and go along with great speed.'" anybody else's seat, both become impure and cannot eat any longer. Before eating, however, when talking or hearing, the guests may occupy a common seat, i.e., a large mat or blanket or cloth, etc., spread out on the floor. "Bhishma said, 'There, under that banian, for the protection of his guest, the prince of birds had kindled and kept up a fire with high and blazing flames. I On one side of the fire, the bird slept trustfully. The ungrateful and wicked-souled wretch prepared to slay his sleeping host. With the aid of that blazing fire he killed the trustful bird, and having despatched him, became filled with delight, never thinking there was sin in what he did. Peeling off the feathers and the down, he roasted the flesh on that fire. Then taking it up with the gold he had brought, the Brahmana Red quickly from that spot. The next day, the Rakshasa king, Virupaksha, addressing his son, said, 'Alas, O son, I do not behold Rajadharman, that best of birds, today. Every morning he repairs to the regions of Brahman for adoring the Grandsire. While returning, he never goes home without paying me a visit. These two mornings and two nights have passed away without his having come to my abode. My mind, therefore, is not in peace. Let my friend be enquired after. Gautama, who came here, is without Vedic studies and destitute of Brahmanic splendour. He has found his way to the abode of my friend. I greatly fear, that worst of Brahmanas has slain Rajadharman. Of evil practices and wicked understanding, I read him through by the signs he showed. Without compassion, of cruel and grim visage, and wicked, that vilest of men is like a robber. That Gautama has gone to the abode of my friend. For this reason, my heart has become extremely anxious. O son, proceeding hence with great speed to the abode of Rajadharman, ascertain whether that pure-souled bird is still alive. Do not tarry.' Thus addressed by his sire, the prince, accompanied by other Rakshasas, proceeded with great speed. Arrived at the foot of that banian, he saw the remains of Rajadharman. Weeping with grief, the son of the intelligent king of the Rakshasas, ran with great speed and to the utmost of his power, for seizing Gautama. The Rakshasas had not to go far when they succeeded in catching the Brahmana and discovering the body of Rajadharman destitute of wings, bones, and feet. Taking the captive with them, the Rakshasas returned with great speed to Meruvraja, and showed the king the mutilated body of Rajadharman, and that ungrateful and singing wretch, viz., Gautama. Beholding the remains of his friend the king, with his counsellors and priest, began to weep aloud. Indeed, loud was the voice of lamentation that was heard in his abode. The entire city of the Rakshasa king, men, women, and children, became plunged in woe. The king then addressed his son saying, 'Let this sinful wretch be slain. Let these Rakshasas here feast merrily on his flesh. Of sinful deeds, of sinful habits, of sinful soul, and inured to sin, this wretch, I think, should be slain by you.' Thus addressed by the Rakshasa king, many Rakshasas of terrible prowess expressed their unwillingness to eat the flesh of that sinner. Indeed, those wanderers of the night, addressing their king, said, Let this vilest of men be given away to the robbers.' Bending their heads to their king, they told him so, adding, 'It behoveth thee not to give us this sinful wretch for our food.' The king said unto them, Let it be so! Let this ungrateful wight be given to the robbers then without delay.' Thus addressed by him, the Rakshasas armed with lances and battle-axes, hacked that vile wretch into pieces and gave them away to the robbers. It so happened, however, that the very robbers refused to eat the flesh of that vile man. Though cannibals, O monarch, they would not eat an ungrateful person. For one that slays a Brahmana, for one that drinks alcohol, for one that steals, for one that has fallen away from a vow, there is expiation, O king. But there is no expiation for an ungrateful person. That cruel and vile man who injures a friend and becomes ungrateful, is not eaten by the very cannibals nor by the worms that feed on carrion.' this day, with all travellers in India is to kindle a large fire when they have to pass the night in woods and forests or uninhabited places. Such fires always succeed in scaring off wild beasts. In fact, even tigers, raging with hunger, do not approach the place where a blazing fire is kept up. "Bhishma said, 'The Rakshasa king then caused a funeral pyre to be made for that prince of cranes and adorned it with jewels and gems, and perfumes, and costly robes. Setting fire to it with the body of that prince of birds, the mighty chief of the Rakshasas caused the obsequial rites of his friend to be performed according to the ordinance. At that time, the auspicious goddess Surabhi, the daughter of Daksha, appeared in the sky above the place where the pyre had been set up. Her breasts were full of milk, l From her mouth, O sinless monarch, froth mixed with milk fell upon the funeral pyre of Rajadharman. At this, the prince of cranes became revived. Rising up, he approached his friend Virupaksha, the king of the Rakshasas. At this time, the chief of the celestials himself came to the city of Virupaksha. Addressing the Rakshasa king, Indra said, 'By good luck, thou hast revived the prince of cranes.' The chief of the deities further recited to Virupaksha the old story of the curse denounced by the Grandsire upon that best of birds named Rajadharman. Addressing; the king he said, 'Once on a time, O monarch, this prince of cranes absented himself from the region of Brahman (when his presence was expected). In wrath the Grandsire said unto this prince of birds, 'Since this vile crane hath not presented himself today in my assembly, therefore, that wicked-souled one shall not soon die (so as to be able to leave the earth).' In consequence of these words of the Grandsire, the prince of cranes, though slain by Gautama, has come back to life, through the virtue of the nectar with which his body was drenched.' After Indra had become silent, Rajadharman, having bowed unto the chief of the celestials, said 'O first of gods, if thy heart be inclined towards me for grace, then let my dear friend Gautama be restored to life!' Hearing these words of his, Vasava, O foremost of men, sprinkled nectar over the Brahmana Gautama and restored him to life. The prince of cranes, approaching his friend Gautama, who still bore on his shoulders the load of gold (that he had got from the king of the Rakshasas) embraced him and felt great joy. Rajadharman, that prince of cranes, dismissing Gautama of sinful deeds, together with his wealth, returned to his own abode. At the due hour he repaired (the next day) to the Grandsire's region. The latter honoured the high-souled bird with such attentions as are shown to a guest. Gautama also, returning to his home in the village of the hunters, begot many sinful children upon his Sudra wife. A heavy curse was denounced upon him by the gods to the effect that having begotten, within a few years, 2 upon the body of his remarried wife many children that ungrateful sinner should sink into a terrible hell for many years. All this, O Bharata, was recited to me formerly by Narada. Recollecting the incidents of this grave story, O bull of Bharata's race, I have recited to thee all its details duly. Whence can an ungrateful person derive fame? Where is his place? Whence can he have happiness? An ungrateful person does not deserve to be trusted. One that is ungrateful can never escape. No person should injure a friend. He that injures a friend sinks into terrible and everlasting hell. Every one should be grateful and every one should seek to benefit his friends. Everything may be obtained from a friend. Honours may be obtained from friends, l In consequence of friends one may enjoy various objects of enjoyment. Through the exertions of friends, one may escape from various kinds of danger and distress. He that is wise would honour his friend with his best attentions. An ungrateful, shameless, and sinful wight should be shunned by those that are wise. One that injures his friends is a wretch of his race. Such a sinful wight is the vilest of men. I have thus told thee, O foremost of all virtuous men, what the characteristics are of that sinful wretch who is stained by ingratitude and who injures his friend. What else dost thou wish to "Vaisampayana continued, 'Hearing these words spoken by the high-souled Bhishma, Yudhishthira, O Janamejaya, became highly gratified.' through. What is said is that wealth, honours, etc., may be acquired through friends, i.e., the latter may give wealth or be instrumental in its acquisition, etc. Scanned , 2004. Proofed by John Bruno Hare, November 2004. This text is in the public domain. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice of attribution is left intact. " YUDHISHTHIRA SAID, 'THOU hast, O grandsire, discoursed upon the auspicious duties (of person in distress) connected with the duties of kings. It behoveth thee now, O king, to tell me those foremost of duties which belong to those who lead the (four) modes of life.' "Bhishma said, 'Religion hath many doors. The observance of (the duties prescribed by) religion can never be futile. Duties have been laid down with respect to every mode of life. (The fruits of those duties are invisible, being attainable in the next world.) The fruits, however, of Penance directed towards the soul are obtainable in this world, l Whatever be the object to which one devotes oneself, that object, O Bharata, and nothing else, appears to one as the highest of acquisitions fraught with the greatest of blessings. When one reflects properly (one's heart being purified by such reflection), one comes to know that the things of this world are as valueless as straw. Without doubt, one is then freed from attachment in respect of those things. When the world, O Yudhishthira, which is full of defects, is so constituted, every man of intelligence should strive for the attainment of the emancipation of his soul.' "Yudhishthira said, 'Tell me, O grandsire, by what frame of soul should one kill one's grief when one loses one's wealth, or when one's wife, or son, or sire, dies.' "Bhishma said, 'When one's wealth is lost, or one's wife or son or sire is dead, one certainly says to oneself 'Alas, this is a great sorrow!' But then one should, by the aid of reflection, seek to kill that sorrow. In this connection is cited the old story of the speech that a regenerate friend of his, coming to Senajit's court, made to that king. Beholding the monarch agitated with grief and burning with sorrow on account of the death of his son, the Brahmana addressed that ruler of very cheerless heart and said these words, 'Why art thou stupefied? Thou art without any intelligence. Thyself an object of grief, why dost thou grieve (for others)? A few days hence others will grieve for thee, and in their turn they will be grieved for by others. Thyself, myself, and others who wait upon thee, O king, shall all go to that place whence all of us have "Senajit said, 'What is that intelligence, what is that penance, O learned Brahmana, what is that concentration of mind, O thou that hast wealth of asceticism, what is that knowledge, and what is that learning, by acquiring which thou dost not yield to sorrow?' "The Brahmana said, 'Behold, all creatures,— the superior, the middling, and the inferior,— in consequence of their respective acts, are entangled in grief. I do not regard even my own self to be mine. On the other hand, I regard the whole world to be mine. I again think that all this (which I see) is as much mine as it belongs to others. Grief cannot approach me in consequence of this thought. Having acquired such an understanding, I do not yield either to joy or to grief. As two pieces of wood floating on the ocean come together at one time and are again separated, even such is the union of (living) creatures in this world. Sons, grandsons, kinsmen, relatives are all of this kind. One should never feel affection for them, for separation with them is certain. Thy son came from an invisible region. He has departed and become invisible. He did not know thee. Thou didst not know him. Who art thou and for whom dost thou grieve? Grieve arises from the disease constituted by desire. Happiness again results from the disease of desire being cured. From joy also springs sorrow, and hence sorrow arises repeatedly. Sorrow comes after joy, and joy after sorrow. The joys and sorrows of human beings are revolving on a wheel. After happiness sorrow has come to thee. Thou shalt again have happiness. No one suffers sorrow for ever, and no one enjoys happiness for ever. The body is the refuge of both sorrow and happiness, l Whatever acts an embodied creature does with the aid of his body, the consequence thereof he has to suffer in that body. Life springs with the springing of the body into existence. The two exist together, and the two perish together. 2 Men of uncleansed souls, wedded to worldly things by various bonds, meet with destruction like embankments of sand in water. Woes of diverse kinds, born of ignorance, act like pressers of oil-seeds, for assailing all creatures in consequence of their attachments. These press them like oil-seeds in the oil-making machine represented by the round of rebirths (to which they are subject). Man, for the sake of his wife (and others), commits numerous evil acts, but suffers singly diverse kinds of misery both in this and the next world. All men, attached to children and wives and kinsmen and relatives, sink in the miry sea of grief like wild elephants, when destitute of strength, sinking in a miry slough. Indeed. O lord, upon loss of wealth or son or kinsmen or relatives, man suffers great distress, which resembles as regards its power of burning, a forest conflagration. All this, viz., joy and grief, existence and non-existence, is dependent upon destiny. One having friends as one destitute of friends, one having foes as one destitute of foes, one having wisdom as one destitute of wisdom, each and every one amongst these, obtains happiness through destiny. Friends are not the cause of one's happiness. Foes are not the cause of one's misery. Wisdom is not competent to bring an accession of wealth; nor is wealth competent to bring an accession of happiness. Intelligence is not the cause of wealth, nor is stupidity the cause of penury. He only that is possessed of wisdom, and none else, understands the order of the world. Amongst the intelligent, the heroic, the foolish, the cowardly, the idiotic, the learned, the weak, or the strong, happiness comes to him for whom it is ordained. Among the calf, the cowherd that owns her, and the thief, the cow indeed belongs to him who drinks her milk, l They whose understanding is absolutely dormant, and they who have attained to that state of the mind which lies beyond the sphere of the intellect, succeed in enjoying happiness. Only they that are between the two classes, suffer misery. 2 They that are possessed of wisdom delight in the two extremes but not in the states that are intermediate. The sages have said that the attainment of any of these two extremes constitutes happiness. Misery consists in the states that are intermediate between the two. 3 They who have succeeded in attaining to real felicity (which samadhi can bring), and who have become free from the pleasures and pains of this world, and who are destitute of envy, are never agitated by either the accession of wealth or its loss. They who have not succeeded in acquiring that intelligence which leads to real felicity, but who have transcended folly and ignorance (by the help of a knowledge of the scriptures), give way to excessive joy and excessive misery. Men destitute of all notions of right or wrong, insensate with pride and with success over others, yield to transports of delight like the gods in heaven. 4 Happiness must end in misery. Idleness is misery; while cleverness (in action) is the cause of happiness. Affluence and prosperity dwell in one possessed of cleverness, but not in one that is idle. Be it happiness or be it misery, be it agreeable or be it disagreeable, what comes to one should be enjoyed or endured with an unconquered heart. Every day a thousand occasions for sorrow, and hundred occasions for fear assail the man of ignorance and folly but not the man that is possessed of wisdom. Sorrow can never touch the man that is possessed of intelligence, that has acquired wisdom, that is mindful of listening to the instructions of his betters, that is destitute of envy, and that is self-restrained. Relying upon such an understanding, and protecting his heart (from the influences of desire and the passions), the man of wisdom should conduct himself here. Indeed, sorrow is unable to touch him who is conversant with that Supreme Self from which everything springs and unto which everything disappears, i The very root of that for which grief, or heartburning, or sorrow is felt or for which one is impelled to exertion, should, even if it be a part of one's body, be cast off. That object, whatever it may be in respect of which the idea of meum is cherished, becomes a source of grief and heart-burning. Whatever objects, amongst things that are desired, are cast off become sources of happiness. The man that pursues objects of desire meets with destruction in course of the pursuit. Neither the happiness that is derived from a gratification of the senses nor that great felicity which one may enjoy in heaven, approaches to even a sixteenth part of the felicity which arises from the destruction of all desires. The acts of a former life, right or wrong, visit, in their consequences, the wise and the foolish, the brave and the timid. It is even thus that joy and sorrow, the agreeable and the disagreeable, continually revolve (as on a wheel) among living creatures. Relying upon such an understanding, the man of intelligence and wisdom lives at ease. A person should disregard all his desires, and never allow his wrath to get the better of him. This wrath springs in the heart and grows there into vigour and luxuriance. This wrath that dwells in the bodies of men and is born in their minds, is spoken of by the wise as Death. When a person succeeds in withdrawing all his desires like a tortoise withdrawing all its limbs, then his soul, which is self-luminous, succeeds in looking into itself. 2 That object, whatever it may be, in respect of which the idea of meum is cherished, becomes a source of grief and heart-burning. 3 When a person himself feels no fear, and is feared by no one, when he cherishes no desire and no aversion, he is then said to attain to the state of Brahma. Casting off both truth and falsehood, grief and joy, fear and courage, the agreeable and the disagreeable, thou mayst become of tranquil soul. When a person abstains from doing wrong to any creature, in thought, word, or deed, he is then said to attain to a state of Brahma. True happiness is his who can cast off that thirst which is incapable of being cast off by the misguided, which does not decay with decrepitude, and which is regarded as a fatal disease. In this connection, O king, are heard the verses sung by Pingala about the manner in which she had acquired eternal merit even at a time that had been very unfavourable. A fallen woman of the name of Pingala, having repaired to the place of assignation, was denied the company of her lover through an accident. At that time of great misery, she succeeded in acquiring tranquillity of soul.' "Pingala said, Alas, I have for many long years lived, all the while overcome by frenzy, by the side of that Dear Self in whom there is nothing but tranquillity. Death has been at my door. Before this, I did not, however approach that Essence of Purity. I shall cover this house of one column and nine doors (by means of true Knowledge), l What woman is there that regards that Supreme Soul as her dear lord, even when He comes near? 2 I am now awake. I have been roused from the sleep of ignorance. I am no longer influenced by desire. Human lovers, who are really the embodied forms of hell, shall no longer deceive me by approaching me lustfully. Evil produces good through the destiny or the acts of a former life. Roused (from the sleep of ignorance), I have cast off all desire for worldly objects. I have acquired a complete mastery over my senses. One freed from desire and hope sleeps in felicity. Freedom from every hope and desire is felicity. Having driven off desire and hope, Pingala sleeps in felicity.' "Bhishma continued, 'Convinced with these and other words uttered by the learned Brahmana, king Senajit (casting off his grief), experienced delight and became very happy.'" of Religion or the aggregate of duties. At other times it simply means a duty or the course of duties prescribed for a particular situation. Tapah is generally rendered penance. Here, however, it has a direct reference to sravana (hearing), manana (contemplation), and nididhyasana (abstraction of the soul from everything else for absolute concentration). The Grammar of the second half of the first line is Sati apretya etc., Sat being that which is real, hence, the Soul, or the Supreme Soul, of which every individual Soul is only a portion. Those who derive no advantage from her have no need for showing her any affection. One should not covet what is above one's want, It has been said, that (to a thirsty or hungry or toil-worn man), a little quantity of vaccine milk is of more use than a hundred kine; a small measure of rice more useful than a hundred barns filled with grain; half a little bed is of more use than a large mansion. him, are those who are in deep sleep. There are four stages of consciousness. These are (1) wakefulness, (2) dream, (3) dreamless or deep slumber, and (4) Turiya or absolute Samadhi (which the Yogin only can attain to). ones are wakefulness and sleep with dream. victories in, battle and other concerns of the world. What is said here is that man who succeeds in attaining to a state of Brahma by true Samadhi or abstraction from the world, can never be touched by grief. at his own self. The meaning seems to be that he experiences a sort of double existence so that he succeeds in himself looking at his own self. the nine doors are the eyes, the ears, the nostrils, etc. etc. Being to be so, although He is always with them. " Yudhishthira said, 'Time, which is destructive of every created thing, is passing on. 3 Tell me, O grandsire, what is that good thing which should be sought.' "Bhishma said, 'In this connection, O king, is cited the old narrative of a discourse between sire and son, O Yudhishthira! A certain Brahmana. O Partha, who was devoted to the study of the Vedas, got a very intelligent son who (for this) was called Medhavin. 4 One day, the son, well conversant with the truths of the religion of Emancipation, and acquainted also with the affairs of the world, addressed his sire devoted to the study of the Vedas.' "The son said, 'What should a wise man do, O father, seeing that the period of human life is passing away so very quickly? O father, tell me the course of duties that one should perform, without omitting to mention the fruits. Having listened to thee, I desire to observe those duties.' "The sire said, 'O son, observing the Brahmacharya mode of life, one should first study the Vedas. He should then wish for children for rescuing his ancestors. Setting up his fire next, he should seek to perform the (prescribed) sacrifices according to due rites. At last, he should enter the forest for devoting himself to contemplation.' "The son said, 'When the world is thus surrounded on all sides and is thus assailed, and when such irresistible things of fatal consequences fall upon it, how can you say these words so calmly?' "The sire said, How is the world assailed? What is that by which it is surrounded? What, again, are those irresistible things of fatal consequences that fall upon it? Why dost thou frighten me thus?' "The son said, 'Death is that by which the world is assailed. Decrepitude encompasses it. Those irresistible things that come and go away are the nights (that are continually lessening the period of human life). When I know that Death tarries for none (but approaches steadily towards every creature), how can I pass my time without covering myself with the garb of knowledge? l When each succeeding night, passing away lessens the allotted period of one's existence, the man of wisdom should regard the day to be fruitless. (When death is approaching steadily) who is there that would, like a fish in a shallow water, feel happy? Death comes to a man before his desires have been gratified. Death snatches away a person when he is engaged in plucking flowers and when his heart is otherwise set, like a tigress bearing away a ram. Do thou, this very day, accomplish that which is for thy good. Let not this Death come to thee. Death drags its victims before their acts are accomplished. The acts of tomorrow should be done today, those of the afternoon in the forenoon. Death does not wait to see whether the acts of its victim have all been accomplished or not. Who knows that Death will not come to him even today? In prime of age one should betake oneself to the practice of virtue. Life is transitory. If virtue be practised, fame here and felicity hereafter will be the consequences. Overwhelmed by ignorance, one is ready to exert oneself for sons and wives. Achieving virtuous or vicious acts, one brings them up and aggrandises them. Like a tiger bearing away a sleeping deer, Death snatches away the man addicted to the gratification of desire and engaged in the enjoyment of sons and animals. Before he has been able to pluck the flowers upon which he has set his heart, before he has been gratified by the acquisition of the objects of his desire, Death bears him away like a tiger bearing away its prey. Death overpowers a man while the latter is stilt in the midst of the happiness that accrues from the gratification of desire, and while, still thinking, 'This has been done; this is to be done; this has been half-done.' Death bears away the man, however designated according to his profession, attached to his field, his shop, or his home, before he has obtained the fruit of his acts. Death bears away the weak, the strong, the brave, the timid, the idiotic, and the learned, before any of these obtains the fruits of his acts. When death, decrepitude, disease, and sorrow arising from diverse causes, are all residing in thy body, how is it that thou livest as if thou art perfectly hale? As soon as a creature is born, Decrepitude and Death pursue him for (effecting) his destruction. All existent things, mobile and immobile, are affected by these two. The attachment which one feels for dwelling in villages and towns (in the midst of fellowmen) is said to be the very mouth of Death. The forest, on the other hand, is regarded as the fold within which the senses may be penned. This is declared by the Srutis. \ The attachment a person feels for dwelling in a village or town (in the midst of men) is like a cord that binds him effectually. They that are good break that cord and attain to emancipation, while they that are wicked do not succeed in breaking them. He who never injures living creatures by thought, word, or deed, is never injured by such agencies as are destructive of life and property. 2 Nothing can resist the messengers (Disease and Decrepitude) of Death when they advance except Truth which devours Untruth. In Truth is immortality. 3 For these reasons one should practise the vow of Truth; one should devote oneself to a union with Truth; one should accept Truth for one's Veda; and restraining one's senses, one should vanquish the Destroyer by Truth. Both Immortality and Death are planted in the body. One comes to Death through ignorance and loss of judgment; while Immortality is achieved through Truth. I shall, therefore, abstain from injury and seek to achieve Truth, and transgressing the sway of desire and wrath, regard pleasure and pain with an equal eye, and attaining tranquillity, avoid Death like an immortal. Upon the advent of that season when the sun will progress towards the north, I shall restraining my senses, set to the performance of the Santa-sacrifice, the fira/zraa-sacrifice, the Mind- sacrifice, and the Work-sacrifice. 4 How can one like me worship his Maker in animal-sacrifices involving cruelty, or sacrifices of the body, such as Pisachas only can perform and such as produce fruits that are transitory? 5 That person whose words, thoughts, penances, renunciation, and yoga meditation, all rest on Brahma, succeeds in earning the highest good. There is no eye which is equal to (the eye of) Knowledge. There is no penance like (that involved in) Truth. There is no sorrow equal to (that involved in) attachment. There is no happiness (that which is obtainable from) renunciation. I have sprung from Brahma through Brahma. I shall devote myself to Brahma, though I am childless. I shall return to Brahma. I do not require a son for rescuing me. A Brahmana can have no wealth like to the state of being alone, the state in consequence of which he is capable of regarding everything with an equal eye, the practice of truthfulness, good behaviour, patience, abstention from injury, simplicity, and avoidance of all rites and visible sacrifices. What use hast thou, O Brahmana, of wealth or kinsmen and relatives, of wives, when thou shalt have to die? Seek thy Self which is concealed in a cave. Where are thy grandsires and where thy sire?' l "Bhishma continued, 'Do thou also, O monarch, conduct thyself in that way in which the sire (in this story), conducts himself, devoted to the religion of Truth, after having listened to the speech of his son.' apihitah. The words with ava and api frequently drop the initial a, Hence a-pihitah means not covered. deva is here used for implying the senses. 1 :3 Asaryajyam and Asatyadyam are both correct. The sense is the same. The first means 'having untruth for the libation (that it eats up).' The second means 'having untruth for the food (it devours)'. other words, to restrain all sorts of propensities or inclinations. The Brahma-sacrifice is reflection on truths laid down in the Upanishads. The Word-sacrifice consists in the silent recitation (japa) of the Pranava or Om, the initial mantra. The Mind-sacrifice is contemplation of the Supreme Soul. The Work- sacrifice consists in baths, cleanliness, and waiting upon the preceptor. the latter reading be accepted, the meaning will be 'a sacrifice like that of a Kshatriya, i.e., battle.' Hence, all kinds of acts involving cruelty. "Yudhishthira said, 'Tell me, O grandsire, whence and how happiness and misery come to those that are rich, as also those that are poor, but who live in the observance of different practices and rites.' "Bhishma continued, 'In this connection is cited the old narrative of what was sung by Sampaka who had obtained tranquillity and achieved emancipation for himself. In former times a certain Brahmana, rendered miserable by a bad wife, bad dress, and hunger, and living in the observance of the vow of renunciation, told me these verses, 3 'Diverse kinds of sorrow and happiness overtake, from the day of birth the person that is born on the earth. If he could ascribe either of them to the action of Destiny, he would not then feel glad when happiness came or miserable when sorrow overtook him. Though thy mind is divested of desire, thou bearest yet a heavy load. Thou dost not seek to achieve thy good (i.e., emancipation). Art thou not successful in controlling thy mind? If thou goest about, having renounced home and desirable possessions, thou shalt taste real happiness. A person divested of everything sleepeth in happiness, and awaketh in happiness. Complete poverty, in this world, is happiness. It is a good regimen, it is the source of 'blessings, it is freedom from danger. This foeless path is unattainable (by persons cherishing desire) and is easily attainable (by those that are freed from desire). Casting my eyes on every part of the three worlds, I do not behold the person who is equal to a poor man of pure conduct and without attachment (to worldly things). I weighed poverty and sovereignty in a balance. Poverty weighed heavier than sovereignty and seemed to possess greater merits. Between poverty and sovereignty there is this great distinction, viz., that the sovereign, possessed of affluence, is always agitated by anxiety and seems to be within the very jaws of death. As regards, however, the poor man, who in consequence of the divestment of all wealth has freed himself from hopes and emancipated himself, neither fire, nor foe, nor death, nor robbers, can get the better of him. The very gods applaud such a man who wanders about according to his sweet will, who lies down on the bare ground with his arm for a pillow, and who is possessed of tranquillity. Affected by wrath and cupidity, the man of affluence is stained by a wicked heart. He casts oblique glances and makes dry speeches. —He becomes sinful, and his face is always darkened with frowns. Biting his lips, and excited with wrath, he utters harsh and cruel words. If such a man desires to even make a gift of the whole world, who is there that would like even to look at him? Constant companionship with Prosperity stupefies a person of weak judgment. It drives off his judgment like the wind driving off the autumnal clouds. Companionship with Prosperity induces him to think,— I am possessed of beauty! I am possessed of wealth! I am high-born! I meet with success in whatever I undertake! I am not an ordinary human being!— His heart becomes intoxicated in consequence of these three reasons. With heart deeply attached to worldly possessions, he wastes the wealth hoarded by his sires. Reduced to want, he then regards the appropriation of other people's wealth as blameless. At this stage, when he transgresses all barriers and beings to appropriate the possessions of others from every side, the rulers of men obstruct and afflict him like sportsmen afflicting with keen shafts a deer that is espied in the woods. Such a man is then overwhelmed with many other afflictions of a similar kind that originate in fire and weapons. Therefore, disregarding all worldly propensities (such as desire for children and wives) together with all fleeting unrealities (such as the body, etc.,) one should, aided by one's intelligence, apply proper medicine for the cure of those painful afflictions. Without Renunciation one can never attain to happiness. Without Renunciation one can never obtain what is for one's highest good. Without Renunciation one can never sleep at case. Therefore, renouncing everything, make happiness thy own. All this was said to me in past times at Hastinapur by a Brahmana about what Sampaka had sung. For this reason, I regard Renunciation to be the foremost of things.'" or lesson it has been inculcated that one may seek the acquisition of the religion of moksha or emancipation even when he is young. Yudhishthira enquires whether wealth (so necessary for the performance of sacrifices) is needed for the acquisition of that religion. If wealth be necessary, the poor then would not be able to acquire that religion. Hence the enquiry about the way in which joy and sorrow come to the wealthy and to the poor. them to Bhishma, but some one else. I follow the commentator; but the grammar of the concluding verse of this section must have to be twisted for supporting him. " Yudhishthira said, 'If any person, desiring to accomplish acts (of charity and sacrifices), fails to find (the necessary) wealth, and thirst of wealth overwhelms him, what is that which he must do for obtaining "Bhishma said, 'He that regards everything (viz., joy and sorrow, honour and insult, etc.,) with an equal eye, that never exerts himself (for gratifying his desire for earthly possessions), that practises truthfulness of speech, that is freed from all kinds of attachment, and that has no desire for action, is, O Bharata, a happy man. These five, the ancients say, are the means for the acquisition of perfect tranquillity or emancipation. These are called Heaven. These are Religion. These constitute the highest happiness. In this connection is cited the old narrative of what Manki had sung, when freed from attachments, Listen to it, O Yudhishthira! Desirous of wealth, Manki found that he was repeatedly doomed to disappointments. At last with a little remnant of his property he purchased a couple of young bulls with a yoke for training them (to agricultural labour). One day the two bulls properly tied to the yoke, were taken out for training (in the fields). Shying at the sight of a camel that was lying down on the road, the animals suddenly ran towards the camel, and fell upon its neck. Enraged at finding the bulls fall upon its neck, the camel, endued with great speed, rose up and ran at a quick pace, bearing away the two helpless creatures dangling on either side of its neck. Beholding his two bulls thus borne away by that strong camel, and seeing that they were at the point of death, Manki began to say, 'If wealth be not ordained by destiny, it can never be acquired by even a clever man exerting himself with attention and confidence and accomplishing with skill all that is necessary towards that end. I had, before this, endeavoured by diverse means and devotion to earn wealth. Behold this misfortune brought about by destiny to the property I had! My bulls are borne away, rising and falling, as the camel is running in an uneven course. This occurrence seems to be an accident, l Alas, those dear bulls of mine are dangling on the camel's neck like a couple of gems! This is only the result of Destiny. Exertion is futile in what is due to Chance. Or, if the existence of anything like Exertion (as an agent in the production of results) be admitted, a deeper search would discover Destiny to be at the bottom, l Hence, the person that desires happiness should renounce all attachment. The man without attachments, no longer cherishing any desire for earning wealth, can sleep happily. Ho, it was well said by Suka while going to the great forest from his father's abode, renouncing everything! 2— Amongst these two, viz., one who obtains the fruition of all his wishes, and one who casts off every wish, the latter, who renounces all, is superior to the former who obtains the fruition of all. No one could ever attain to the end of desire. 3 Only he that is destitute of knowledge and judgments feels an avidity for protecting his body and life. —Forbear from every desire for action. O my Soul that art possessed by cupidity, adopt tranquillity by freeing thyself from all attachments! Repeatedly hast thou been deceived (by desire and hope). How is it that thou dost not still free thyself from attachments? If I am not one that deserves destruction at thy hands, if I am one with whom thou shouldst sport in delight, then, O my wealth-coveting Soul, do not induce me towards cupidity. Thou hast repeatedly lost thy hoarded wealth. O my wealth-coveting and foolish Soul, when wilt thou succeed in emancipating thyself from the desire of wealth? Shame on my foolishness! I have become a toy of thine! It is thus that one becomes a slave of others. No one born on earth did ever attain to the end of desire, and to one that will take birth will succeed in attaining to it. Casting off all acts, I have at last been roused from sleep. I am now awake. Without doubt, O Desire, thy heart is as hard as adamant, since though affected by a hundred distresses, thou does not break into a hundred pieces ! I know thee, O Desire, and all those things that are dear to thee! Seeking what is dear to thee, I shall feel happiness in my own Self. 4 O Desire, I know thy root. Thou springest from Will. 5—1 shall, therefore, avoid Will. Thou shalt then be destroyed with thy roots. The desire for wealth can never be fraught with happiness. If acquired, great is the anxiety that the acquirer feels. If lost after acquisition, that is felt as death. Lastly, respecting acquisition itself, it is very uncertain. Wealth cannot be got by even the surrender of one's person. What can be more painful than this? When acquired, one is never gratified with its measure, but one continues to seek it. Like the sweet water of the Ganges, wealth only increases one's hankering. It is my destruction. I am now awakened. Do thou, O Desire, leave me! Let that Desire which has taken refuge in this my body,— this compound of (five) elements,— go whithersoever it chooses and live happily whithersoever it likes. I Ye all that are not of the Soul, I have no joy in you, for ye follow the lead of Msire and Cupidity! Abandoning all of you I shall take refuge in the quality of Goodness. 2 Beholding all creatures in my own body and my own mind, and devoting my reason to Yoga, my life to the instructions of the wise, and soul to Brahma, I shall happily rove through the world, without attachment and without calamities of any kinds, so that thou mayst not be able to plunge me again into such sorrows! 3 If I continue to be agitated by thee, O Desire, I shall necessarily be without a path (by which to effect my deliverance). Thou, O Desire, art always the progenitor of thirst, of grief, and of fatigue and toil. I think the grief that one feels at the loss of wealth is very keen and far greater than what one feels under any other circumstances. Kinsmen and friends disregard him that has lost his wealth. With various kinds of humiliation that number by thousands, there are many faults in property that are more painful still. On the other hand, the very small happiness that resides in wealth is mingled with pain and sorrow. 4 Robbers slay, in the sight of all, the person that is possessed of wealth, or afflict him with various kinds of severity, or always fill him with fear. At last, after a long time, I have understood that the desire for wealth is fraught with sorrow. Whatever the object, O Desire, upon which thou settest thy heart, thou forcest me to pursue it! Thou art without judgment. Thou art a fool. Thou art difficult of being contented. Thou canst not be gratified. Thou burnest like fire. Thou dost not enquire (in pursuing an object) whether it is easy or difficult of attainment. Thou canst not be filled to the brim, like the nether region. Thou wishest to plunge me into sorrow. From this day, O Desire, I am incapable of living with thee! I who had felt despair, at first, at the loss of my property, have now attained to the high state of perfect freedom from attachments. At this moment I no longer think of thee and thy train. I had, before this, felt great misery on thy account. I do not (now) regard myself as destitute of intelligence. Having adopted Renunciation in consequence of loss of my property, I can now rest, freed from every kind of fever. I cast thee off, O Desire, with all the passions of my heart. Thou shalt not again dwell with me or sport with me. I shall forgive them that will slander or speak ill of me. I shall not injure even when injured. If anybody from aversion speaks disagreeable words of me, disregarding those words I shall address him in agreeable speeches. In contentment of heart and with all my senses at case, I shall always live upon what may be got by me. I shall not contribute to the gratification of the wishes entertained by thee that art my foe. Freedom from attachment, emancipation from desire, contentment, tranquillity, truth, self-restraint, forgiveness, and universal compassion are the qualities that have now I come to me. Therefore, let Desire, cupidity, thirst, miserliness avoid me. I have now adopted the path of Goodness. Having cast off Desire and Cupidity, great is my happiness now. I shall no longer yield to the influence of Cupidity and no longer suffer misery like a person of uncleansed soul. One is sure to obtain happiness according to the measure of the desires he may be able to cast off. Truly, he who yields himself up to Desire always suffers misery. Whatever passions connected with Desire are cast off by a person, all appertain to the quality of Passion. Sorrow and shamelessness and discontent all arise from Desire and Wealth. Like a person plunging in the hot season into a cool lake, I have now entered into Brahma, I have abstained from work. I have freed myself from grief. Pure happiness has now come to me. The felicity that results from the gratification of Desire, or that other purer felicity which one enjoys in heaven, does not come to even a sixteenth part of that which arises upon the abandonment of all kinds of thirst! Killing the principle of desire, which with the body makes an aggregate of seven, and which is a bitter foe, I have entered the immortal city of Brahma and shall pass my days there in happiness like a king!' Relying upon such intelligence, Manki freed himself from attachments, casting off all desires and attaining to Brahma that abode of the highest felicity. Indeed, in consequence of the loss of his two bulls Manki attained to immortality. Indeed, because he cut the very roots of desire, he attained, through that means, to high when a crow perched upon a palmyra tree a fruit (which had been ripe) fell down. The fruit fell because of its ripeness. It would be a mistake to accept the sitting of the crow as the cause of the fall. The perching was only an accident. Yet men very frequently, in tracing causes, accept accidents for inducing causes. Such men are said to be deceived by 'the fallacy of the crow and the palmyra fruit.' the son of Vyasa. To quote a saying of Suka (or, as he was called Sukadeva Goswamin), if Vyasa was the real writer of this passage, is rather suspicious. the blessedness of tranquillity. gratification is sought, the form it assumes is that of determination or will. If, however, Kama be taken as the formulated desire after specific objects, then, perhaps, the Will may be regarded as its foundation, at least, in respect of the distress and difficulties that come in its train. Bhutagramam (accusative sing.). The Yah is Kamah. It is Desire that is exhorted to go away whithersoever it chooses. If the elements be thus exhorted, then it is death that the speaker desires. This would be inconsistent with the spirit of the passage. plain, however, that it refers to all attributes that are founded on Rajas and Tamas.

हिन्दी अर्थ

लिये शोक न करो; क्योंकि शोकके लिये कोई उपयुक्त कारण नहीं है

English

never taking them as distinct and separated from me: in other words, professing and practising the principle of universal love. no real happiness in affluence. Hence Nilakantha is right in supposing that the last word of the first line is not dhane but adhane the Sandhi being Arsha. "Bhishma continued, 'In this connection is also cited the old narrative of the verses sung by Janaka the ruler of the Videhas, who had attained to tranquillity of soul. What the monarch said was, 'Unlimited is my wealth. At the same time I have nothing, if the whole of (my kingdom) Mithila be consumed in a conflagration, I shall incur no loss.' In the connection is also cited the speech of Vodhya uttered in respect of this very topic, viz., freedom from attachments. Listen to it O Yudhishthira! Once on a time the royal son of Nahusha (Yayati) questioned the Rishi Vodhya who had, in consequence of the abandonment of desire, attained to tranquillity of soul and who had an intimate acquaintance with the scriptures. The monarch said, 'O thou of great wisdom, give me instructions about tranquillity. What is standing relying upon which thou succeedest in wandering over the world in tranquillity of soul and disengaged from all acts?' "Vodhya said, 'I conduct myself according to the instructions of others but never instruct others myself. I shall, however, mention the indications of those instructions (according to which my conduct is framed). Thou mayst catch their spirit by reflection. My six preceptors are Pingala, the osprey, the snake, the bee in the forest, the maker of shafts (in the story), and the maiden (in the story)!' l "Bhishma continued, 'Hope is very powerful (in agitating the heart), O King! Freedom from hope is high felicity. Reducing hope to an absence of expectation, Pingala sleeps in peace. 2 Beholding an osprey with meat in his beaks, others, that have not found any meat, assail and destroy him. A certain osprey, by altogether abstaining from meat obtained felicity. To build a house for one's own self is productive of sorrow and not of happiness. The snake, taking up his residence in another creature's abode, lives in felicity. The ascetics live happily, betaking themselves to mendicancy, without being injured by any creature, like bees in the forest. A certain maker of shafts, while employed at his work, was so deeply attentive to it that he did not notice the king who passed by his side. When many are together, dispute ensues. Even when two reside together, they are sure to converse. I, however, wander alone like the anklet made of sea-shells in the wrist of the maiden in the story.'" behind.' The whole compound means 'imitation of the bee in the forest.' residing in her father's house, wished to feed secretly a number of Brahmanas. While removing the grain from the barn, her anklets, made of shells, began to jingle. Fearing discovery through that noise, she broke all her anklets except one for each hand. " Yudhishthira said, 'O thou that art conversant with the conduct of men, tell me by what conduct a person may succeed in this world, freed from grief. How also should a person act in this world so that he may attain to an excellent end?' "Bhishma said, 'In this connection is cited the old story of the discourse between Prahlada and the sage Ajagara. Once on a time king Prahlada of great intelligence questioned a wandering Brahmana of great intelligence and a cleansed and tranquil soul.' "Prahlada said, 'Freed from desire, with a cleansed soul, possessed of humility and self-restraint, without desire of action, free from malice, agreeable in speech, endued with dignity and intelligence and wisdom, thou livest (in simplicity) like a child. Thou never covetest any kind of gain, and never grievest at any kind of loss. Thou art always contented, O Brahmana, and dost not seem to regard anything in the world. While all other creatures are being borne away in the current of desire and passion, thou art perfectly indifferent to all acts appertaining to Religion, Profit, and Pleasure. Thou seemest to be in a state of quietude (without the possibility of agitation). Disregarding all objects of the senses, thou movest like an emancipated self, only witnessing everything (but never taking part in anything). What, O sage, is thy wisdom, what thy learning, and what thy behaviour (in consequence of which all this becomes possible)? Tell me this without delay, if, O Brahmana, thou thinkest it will do me good!' "Bhishma continued, 'That intelligent Brahmana who was well-conversant with the duties of the world, thus questioned by Prahlada, answered him in sweet words of grave import. Behold, O Prahlada, the origin of creatures, their growth, decay, and death, are traceable to no (intelligible) cause. It is for this that I do not indulge in either joy or sorrow. I All the propensities (for action) that exist in the universe may be seen to flow from the very natures of the creatures (to which they inhere). All things (in the universe) are depended on their respective natures. Hence, I am not delighted with anything. 2 Behold, O Prahlada, all kinds of union have an aptitude for disunion. All acquisitions are certain to end in destruction. Hence I never set my heart upon the acquisition of any object. All things possessed of attributes are certain to meet with destruction. What remains there for a person then to do who (like me) is conversant with both the origin and the end of things? Of all things, large or small, born in the ocean of waters, the end is noticeable. I see also the death, which is manifest, O chief of Asuras, of all things, mobile and immobile, belonging to the land. O best of Danavas, death comes in season unto even the strongest of winged creatures which range the sky. I see again that the luminous bodies, large and small, which move in the firmament, fall down when their time comes. Beholding all created things Possessed of knowledge, to be thus liable to be affected by death, and thinking all things to be possessed of the same nature, I sleep in peace without any anxiety of heart. If I get without trouble a copious repast, I do not scruple to enjoy it. On the other hand, I pass many days, together without eating anything. Sometimes people feed me with costly viands in profusion, sometimes with a small quantity, sometimes with even less, and sometimes I get no food whatever. I sometimes eat only a portion of a grain; dry sesame cakes from which the oil has been pressed out, I sometimes eat rice and other food of the richest kind. Sometimes I sleep on an elevated bedstead of the best kind. Sometimes I sleep on the bare ground. Sometimes my bed is made within a fine palace or mansion. I am sometimes clad in rags, sometimes in sackcloth, sometimes in raiments of fine texture, sometimes in deer-skins, sometimes in robes of the costliest kind. I never reject such enjoyments as are consistent with virtue and as are obtained by me without effort. I do not, at the same time, strive for attaining such objects as are difficult of acquisition. The rigid vow I have adopted is called Ajagara. \_ That vow can secure immortality. It is auspicious and griefless. It is incomparable and pure. It is consistent with the counsels of the wise. It is disapproved by persons of foolish understanding who never follow it. With a pure heart I conduct myself according to it. My mind never swerves from this vow. I have not swerved from the practices of my order. I am abstemious in everything. I know the past and the present. Divested of fear and wrath and cupidity and errors of judgment, I follow this vow with a pure heart. There are no restrictions in respect of food and drink and other objects of enjoyment for one practising this vow. As everything is dependent on destiny, there is no observance of the considerations of time and place for one like us. The vow I follow contributes to true happiness of the heart. It is never observed by those that are wicked. I follow it with a pure heart. Induced by cupidity, men pursue different kinds of wealth. If baffled in the pursuit, they become depressed by sorrow. Reflecting properly upon all this by the aid of my intelligence which has penetrated the truths of things, I follow this vow with a pure heart. I have seen persons in distress seeking, for the acquisition of wealth, the shelter of men, good and bad. Devoted to tranquillity, and with my passions under control, I follow this vow with a pure heart. Beholding, by the aid of truth, that happiness and misery, loss and gain, attachment and renunciation, death and life, are all ordained by destiny, I follow this vow with a pure heart. Divested of fear and attachment and errors of judgment and pride, and endued with wisdom, intelligence, and understanding, and devoted to tranquillity and hearing that large snakes without moving enjoy the fruit that comes to them of itself, I follow their practice with a pure heart. Without restrictions of any kind in respect of bed and food, endued by my nature with self- restraint, abstemiousness, pure vow, truth, and purity of conduct, and without any desire to store (for future use) the rewards of action, I follow, with a delighted and pure heart, this vow. All causes of sorrow have fled from me in consequence of my having driven off the object of desire. Having received an accession of light, I follow this vow with a pure heart, for controlling my soul which is thirsty and unrestrained but which is capable (under proper culture) of depending upon itself (without the necessity of external objects to keep it engaged). Without paying any heed to the concerns towards which my heart, mind, words would like to lead me, and marking that the happiness which is connected with these is both difficult of acquisition and fleeting in respect of duration, I follow this vow with a pure heart. Learned men possessed of great intelligence, desirous of proclaiming their own feats, have while establishing their own theories and censuring those of others, said this and that on this topic which is incapable of being settled by disputation. Foolish men fail to understand this vow in a proper light. I, however, see it to be destructive of Ignorance. Regarding it also as fraught with immortality and as a remedy against diverse kinds of evil, I wander among men, having subdued all faults and having freed myself from thirst (after worldly goods)!' "Bhishma continued, 'That high-souled person who, having freed himself from attachments and divested himself of fear, cupidity; foolishness, and wrath, follows this Ajagara vow, or indulges in this sport, as it may be called, certainly succeeds in passing his days in great delight.'" would take this speech as a theistic one. I refuse to reject the plain and obvious meaning of the word, All phases of speculative opinion are discussed in the Santi. It is very Possible that a religious indifferentism is preached here. either gladden or grieve me. If a son be born to me I am not delighted. If he dies, I am not grieved. His birth and death depend upon his own nature as a mortal. I have no Power to alter that nature or affect it such snakes, without moving, lie in the same place in expectation of prey, eating when anything comes near famishing when there is nothing. "Yudhishthira said, 'Which of these, O grandsire, viz., kinsmen, or acts, or wealth, or wisdom should be the refuge of a person? Questioned by me, answer me this!' "Bhishma said, 'Wisdom is the refuge of creatures. Wisdom is regarded as the highest of acquisitions. Wisdom is the highest felicity in the world. Wisdom is heaven in the estimation of the good and virtuous. It was through wisdom that Vali, Prahlada, Namuchi, and Manki, when they lost their (earthly) prosperity, succeeded in acquiring felicity. What is there that is superior to wisdom? In this connection is cited the old story of the discourse between Indra and Kasyapa. Listen to it, O Yudhishthira! Once on a time a prosperous Vaisya, in the enjoyment of prosperity, and proud of his affluence, threw down, by negligently driving his car, a Rishi's son of rigid vows named Kasyapa, devoted to penances. Prostrated on the ground, the young man, in exceeding pain, gave way to his wrath; and under the influence of despair resolved, saying, 'I shall cast off my life. A poor man has no need of life in this world.' While the Brahmana was lying in that state, silent and agitated, deprived of energy and at the point of death, Indra appeared on the scene in the form of a jackal and addressing him, said, 'All (inferior) creatures covet birth in the human race. Among men again, the status of a Brahmana is much desired. Thou, O Kasyapa, art a human being! Amongst human beings, thou art again a Brahmana. Among Brahmanas, thou art again one that is conversant with the Vedas. Having obtained that which is attainable with very great difficulty, it behoveth thee not to give up life from folly ! All kinds Of (worldly) acquisitions are fraught with pride. The declaration of the Srutis in that respect is perfectly true. Thou lookest the picture of In forming such a resolve (which is so derogatory of thy own self) about casting off thy life, thou actest from cupidity! O, they are crowned with success that have hands! I eagerly wish for the status of those creatures that have hands! We covet hands as eagerly as you covet riches. There is no acquisition that is more valuable than the acquisition of hands. Behold, O Brahmana, I cannot extract this thorn that has entered my body, or crush these insects and worms that are biting and afflicting me greatly! They that have bestowed upon them two hands with ten fingers, succeed in throwing away or crushing the worms (by scratching) that bite their limbs. They succeed in constructing shelters for themselves from rain, cold, and heat. They succeed also in enjoying excellent clothes for themselves, good food, comfortable beds, and excellent habitations. Lying on this Earth, they that have hands enjoy kine and other animals and cause them to carry burthens or drag their vehicles, and by the aid of diverse means bring those animals under sway (for their own purposes). Those living creatures that are without tongues, that are helpless, of little strength, and destitute of hands, bear all the several kinds of misery (indicated above). By good luck, O ascetic, thou art not like them. By good luck, thou art not a jackal, nor a worm, nor a mouse, nor a frog, nor an animal of any other miserable order. With this measure of gain (that thou hast won), thou shouldst, O Kasyapa, be contented! How happy, again, shouldst thou feel at the thought that amongst living creatures thou art a superior Brahmana! These worms are biting me! For want of hands I am unable to drive them off. Behold this my miserable plight! I do not cast off life because to do so is a very sinful act, and lest, indeed, I fall into a more miserable order of existence ! This order of existence, viz., that of a jackal, to which I now belong is rather tolerable. Miserable as it is, there are many orders of existence below it that are more miserable still. By birth certain classes of creatures become happier than others who become subject to great woe. But I never see that there is any order of being which can be said to be in the possession of perfect happiness. Human beings, obtaining affluence, next wish for sovereignty. Having achieved sovereignty their next wish is for the status of gods. Having won that status they then wish for the chiefdom of the celestials. If thou becomest affluent, thou wilt never succeed in becoming a king (for thou art a Brahmana by birth), nor in becoming a god (because, in reality, thy status of Brahmanahood is equal if not superior to that of a god). If by any means (led away by the alluring prospect of heavenly bliss) thou becomest a god (instead of attaining to a superior position), thou wilt then covet for the chiefdom of the gods. In no condition wilt thou be contented. Contentment does not result from acquisition of desirable objects. Thirst is never slaked although there is profusion of water, l The thirst for acquisition only blazes up with each fresh acquisition like a fire with new faggots thrown into it. In thee there is grief. But joy also dwells in thee. Both happiness and misery dwell in thee. Why then shouldst thou yield to grief? One should shut up, like birds in a cage, the very springs, viz., the understanding and the senses of, all one's desires and acts. There can be no cutting of a second head, nor of a third hand. That which does not exist can produce no fear. One that is not acquainted with the enjoyment a certain object affords, never feels a desire for that object. Desires arise from the actual experience of the pleasures that touch or sight, or hearing gives. Thou hast no idea of the taste of the wine called Varuni or of the meat of the birds called Ladwaka. There is no drink and no food more delicious than these. Thou hast no idea also, O Kasyapa, of every other superior kind of drink and food that exists among men, for thou hast never tasted it. Without doubt, therefore, not to taste, not to see, should be the vow of a man if he is to win happiness. Creatures that have hands, without doubt, become strong and earn wealth. Men are reduced by men to a state of servitude, and are repeatedly afflicted (at the hands of their own species) with death, imprisonment, and other tortures. Although such is their condition, yet even they (without yielding to grief) laugh and sport and indulge in merriment. Others again, though endued with might of arms, and possessed of knowledge and great energy of mind, follow censurable, sinful, and miserable professions. They seek to change such professions for other pursuits (that are more dignified) but then they are bound by their own acts (of a previous life) and by the force of Destiny. The vilest man of the Pukkasa or the Chandala orders never wishes to cast off his life. He is quite contented with the order of his birth. Behold the illusion in this respect! Beholding those amongst thy species that are destitute of arms, or struck with palsy, or afflicted with other diseases, thou canst regard thyself as very happy and possessed of valuable accompaniments amongst the members of thy own order. If this thy regenerated body remains safe and sound, and free from disease, and all thy limbs remain perfect, thou art sure of never incurring any reproach amongst men. It would not behove thee, O Brahmana, to cast off thy life even if any blame, founded on fact and capable of bringing about thy dismissal from caste, attached to thee! Rise, and practise virtue. It is not meet that thou shouldst throw away thy life! If, O regenerate one, thou listen to me and place credence on my words, thou wilt then obtain the highest reward of the religion inculcated in the Vedas. Do thou set thyself to Vedic studies, and duly maintain thy sacred fire, and observe truth, and self-restraint, and charity. Never compare thyself boastfully with another. They who, by devoting themselves to the study of the Vedas, become competent for performing sacrifices for themselves and others, have no need to indulge in any kind of regret or fear any kind of evil. They that are born under an auspicious constellation on an auspicious lunation and at an auspicious hour, strive their best for performing sacrifices, practising charity, and procreating children, and desiring to pass their time cheerfully in those acts, at last win very great happiness, l They, on the other hand, that are under evil constellations, inauspicious lunations, and at evil hours, become destitute of sacrifices and progeny and at last fall into the Asura order, l In my former life I had much useless learning. I always sought for reasons and had very little faith. I was a slanderer of the Vedas. I was destitute of the (fourfold) objects of life, and was devoted to that science of argumentation which is based upon ocular or tangible proofs. 2 1 used to utter words based on (plausible) reasons. Indeed, in assemblies, I always spoke of reasons (and never faith). I used to speak irreverently of the declarations of the Srutis and address Brahmanas in domineering tones. I was an unbeliever, skeptical of everything, and though really ignorant, proud of my learning. This status of a jackal that I have obtained in this life is the consequence, O regenerate one, of those sins of mine! If even after hundreds of days and nights I that am a jackal can once again obtain the status of humanity, I shall then pass my life in contentment, heedful of the true objects of existence, and engaged in sacrifices and gifts. I shall then know what should be known, and avoid what should be avoided!' Thus addressed, the ascetic Kasyapa, rising up, said, 'O, thou art certainly possessed of knowledge and great intelligence! I am really surprised at all this!' With eyes whose vision was extended by knowledge, the Brahmana then beheld that being who had addressed him to be Indra, chief of the gods and the lord of Sachi. Kasyapa then worshipped that god having the best of steeds for the animal that bore him. Receiving afterwards the god's permission, the Brahmana returned to 45 as a triplet. Nilakantha points out that Icchantaste, etc., is grammatically connected with 45. " Yudhishthira said, 'Tell me, O grandsire, if gifts, sacrifices, penances, and dutiful services returned to preceptors, are productive of wisdom and high felicity.' 'Bhishma said, 'If the mind becomes affected by desire, wrath and other evil passions, it then runs towards sin. If one's acts are stained by sin, one is obliged to dwell in painful regions. Sinful men take birth in indigent circumstances and repeatedly suffer the pangs of famine, woe, fear, and death. Those that are virtuous in their acts, and possessed of faith, and that have their senses under control, become born as affluent men and repeatedly sport in festivities and heaven and happiness. Unbelievers, with their arms manacled, are sent to regions rendered inaccessible by carnivorous beasts and elephants and full of terrors in consequence of snakes and robbers. What more need be said of them? They, on the other hand, who have reverence for gods and guests, who are liberal, who are fond of good and honest men, go, in consequence of their acts of charity, along that happy way which belongs to persons of cleansed souls. They that have no reverence for virtue are as vile among men as seedless grains among corn or the gnat among birds. That which is ordained in consequence of the acts of a past life pursues the actor even if the latter strives his best for leaving it behind, i It sleeps when he sleeps and does whatever else he does. 2 Like his shadow it rests when he rests, proceeds when he proceeds, and acts when he acts. Whatever acts a man does he has certainly to obtain the fruits thereof. Death is dragging all creatures who are surely destined to fall (into orders of existence they deserve) and who are surely liable to enjoy or suffer that which has been ordained as the consequence of their acts. The acts of a past life develop their consequences in their own proper time even as flowers and fruits, without extraneous efforts of any kind, never fail to appear when their proper time comes. After the consequences, as ordained, of the acts of a past life, have been exhausted (by enjoyment or sufferings), honour and disgrace, gain and loss, decay and growth, no longer flow or appear in respect of any one. This happens repeatedly. 3 A creature while still in the mother's womb enjoys or suffers the happiness or the misery that has been ordained for him in consequence of his own acts. In childhood or youth or old age, at whatever period of life one does an act good or bad, the consequences thereof are sure to visit him in his next life at precisely the same period. As a calf recognises and approaches its parent in the midst of even a thousand kine, even so the acts of a past life recognise and visit the doer in his new life. Washed in water a (dirty) piece of cloth becomes clean. Similarly, men burning in repentance obtain endless happiness by proper penances. 4 Those that can take up their residence in the woods and by performing austerities for a long period can wash themselves of their sins, succeed in obtaining the objects on which they set their hearts. As no one can mark the track of birds in the sky or of fishes in the water, similarly, the track of persons whose souls have been cleansed by knowledge cannot be marked by any. l There is no need of any more eloquence or any more reference to sinful acts. Suffice it to say that one should, with proper judgment and as befits one best, do what is for one's good. This is the means by which wisdom and high felicity may be achieved.'" Magha, etc; yajnaprasava may also mean the fruits of sacrifices. abstention from injury as regards all creatures, and actual gifts made outside the sacrificial altar. Similarly, the maintenance of the sacred fire, penances, purity of conduct, the study of the Vedas, hospitality to guests, and offer of food to the Viswedevas, are all included in the word Ishta which is ordinarily rendered 'sacrifice.' (with respect to whom such exhaustion takes place), is freed from all vicissitudes of life. Lest, however, such creatures become emancipated, the orthodox view is that a balance is always left of both merit and demerit, so that a new birth must take place and the consequences of what is thus left as a balance must begin to be enjoyed or suffered. This is not referred to here, but this is the view of all orthodox Hindus. in water. If it be samjuktam it would mean united, with filth, of course. Another reading is samswinnam, meaning 'drenched with sweat.' Nilakantha explains upavasah here as equivalent to the renunciation of all earthly possessions. Ordinarily it means 'fasts.' " Yudhishthira said, 'Whence has this universe consisting of mobile and immobile creatures been created? Whom does it go to when destruction sets in? Tell me this, O grandsire! Indeed, by whom has this universe with its oceans, its firmament, its mountains, its clouds, its lands, its fire, and its wind, been created. How were all objects created? Whence this division into separate orders of existence? Whence are their purity and impurity, and the ordinances about virtue and vice? Of what kind is the life of living creatures? Where also do they go who die. Tell us everything about this and the other world.' "Bhishma said, 'In this connection is cited the old narrative of the sacred words that Bhrigu said in reply to the questions of Bharadwaja. Beholding the great Rishi Bhrigu blazing with energy and splendour, seated on the Kailasa summit, Bharadwaja addressed him in the following words.' "Bharadwaja said, 'By whom was this world with its ocean, its firmament, its mountains, its clouds, its lands, its fire, and its wind, created? How were all creatures first created? Whence this distinction of castes? Whence the purity and the impurity of (behaviour), and whence the ordinances about virtue and vice, for living creatures? Of what kind is the life of living creatures? Where do they go who die? It behoveth thee to tell me everything about this and the other world.' Thus addressed about his doubts by Bharadwaja, the illustrious and regenerate Rishi Bhrigu who resembled Brahma itself, replied unto him, saying these words.' "Bhrigu said, 'There is a Primeval Being, known to the great Rishis, of the name of Manasa. He is without beginning and without end. That Divine Being is incapable of being penetrated by weapons. He is without decay and is Immortal. He is said to be Unmanifest. He is Eternal, Undecaying, and Unchangeable. Through Him are creatures born and through Him they die. He first created a Divine Being known by the name of Mahat. 2 Mahat created Consciousness. That Divine Being created Space. Being is the holder of all created objects. From Space was born Water, and from Water were born Fire and Wind. Through the union of Fire and Wind was born the Earth. Self -born Manasa then created a divine Lotus pregnant with Energy. From that Lotus sprang Brahman, that Ocean of Veda. 1 The Srutis say that as soon as born, that divine Being uttered the words, 7 amHeV For this He came to be called by the name of Consciousness. He has all created things for his body and He is their Creator. 2 These five elements that we see are that Brahman of great energy. The mountains are his bones. The earth is his fat and flesh. The oceans are his blood. Space is his stomach. The Wind is his breath. Fire is his energy. The rivers are his arteries and veins. Agni and Soma, otherwise called the Sun and the Moon, are called his eyes. The firmament above is his head. The earth is his two feet. The cardinal and subsidiary points of the horizon are his arms. Without doubt, He is incapable of being known and His Soul is inconceivable by even persons crowned with ascetic success. The Divine Being, who pervades the whole universe, is also known by the name of Ananta (Infinite). He lives in Consciousness, and is incapable of being known by persons of uncleansed souls. Asked by thee I have now told thee of Him who created Consciousness for evoking into existence all created objects, and from whom this universe has sprung.' "Bharadwaja said, 'What is the extent of the firmament, of the points of the horizon, of the surface of this earth, and of the Wind? By telling me the truth, solve my doubts.' "Bhrigu said, 'The sky thou seest above is Infinite. It is the abode of persons crowned with ascetic success and of divine beings. It is delightful, and consists of various regions. Its limits cannot be ascertained. The Sun and the Moon cannot see, above or below, beyond the range of their own rays. There where the rays of the Sun and the Moon cannot reach are luminaries 3 which are self-effulgent and which possess splendour like that of the Sun or the fire. Know this, O giver of honours, that possessed of far-famed splendour, even these last do not behold the limits of the firmament in consequence of the inaccessibility and infinity of those limits. This Space which the very gods cannot measure is fall of many blazing and self-luminous worlds each above the other. Beyond the limits of land are oceans of water. Beyond water is darkness. Beyond darkness is water again, and beyond the last is fire. Downwards, beyond the nether regions, is water. Beyond water is the region belonging to the great snakes. Beyond that is sky once more, and beyond the sky is water again. Even thus there is water and sky alternately without end. Even such are the limits of the Divinity represented by water. The very gods are unable to ascertain limits of fire and wind and water. The nature of fire, wind, water, and land, is like that of space. They are distinguished through want of true Knowledge. Sages read in diverse scriptures the limits that have been declared of the three worlds and the ocean. Who is there, however, that would set limits to what cannot be grasped by vision and what is inaccessible (in all its parts)? If even it becomes possible to ascertain the limits of the firmament which is the track of the gods and beings crowned with ascetic success, it can never be possible to set limits to that which is limitless and known by the name of the Infinite, to that which correspond with the name by which it is known, viz., what has been called the high-souled Manasal When again His form is sometimes contracted and sometimes expanded, how can any one else except one that is equal to Him, be able to comprehend His limits? From the Lotus (of which I have already spoken) was first created the Omniscient lord, Brahman, endued with form, of essence comprised of Righteousness, and the Creator of all mobile and immobile things. "Bharadwaja said, 'If Brahman sprang from the Lotus, then it is the Lotus that should be regarded as the First-born and not Brahman. Why, however, is Brahma said to be the first? Do thou remove that doubt "Bhrigu said, 'The Earth it is that is called the Lotus. It was created for giving a seat unto that form of Manasa which became Brahman. Reaching up to heaven itself, the Sumeru became the pericarp of the Lotus. Remaining within it, the puissant Lord of the Universe created all the worlds.'" track of the virtuous cannot be marked. Perhaps, it is; intended that such men do not leave any history or record behind them, they having abstained from all kinds of action good or bad. On the authority of the Srutis the commentator adds,— ye ete pancha akasadayodhatavo-dharana- karmanah sa eva Brahma. "Bharadwaja said, 'Tell me, O best of Brahmanas, how the puissant Brahman residing within Mem, created these diverse kinds of objects.' "Bhrigu said, 'The great Manasa (in his form of Brahman) created the diverse kinds of objects by fiat of Will. For the protection then of all creatures, he first created water. Water is the life of all creatures, and it is water which aids their growth. If there be no water, all creatures would perish. The whole universe is pervaded by water. Earth, mountains, clouds, and all things which have form, should all be known as transformations of water. They have all been produced by the solidification of that element.' Bharadwaja said, 'How did water spring? How Fire and Wind? How also was the earth created? I have great doubts on these points.' "Bhrigu said, 'O regenerate one, in very ancient times called the Brahma-kalpa, the high-souled Rishis of the regenerate order, when they assembled together, felt this very doubt about the creation of the universe. Re-straining speech, they remained immovable, engaged in (ascetic) contemplation. Having given up all food, they subsisted upon air alone, and remained thus for a thousand celestial years. At the end of that period, certain words as sacred as those of the Vedas simultaneously reached the ears of all. Indeed, this celestial voice was heard in the firmament to say, 'Formerly there was only infinite Space, perfectly motionless and immovable. Without sun, moon, stars, and wind, it seemed to be asleep. Then water sprang into existence like something darker within darkness. Then from the pressure of water arose wind. As an empty vessel without a hole appears at first to be without any sound, but when filled with water, air appears and makes a great noise, even so when infinite Space was filled with water, the wind arose with a great noise, penetrating through the water, l That wind, thus generated by the pressure of the ocean of water, still moveth. Coming into (unobstructed) Space, its motion is never stopped. Then in consequence of the friction of wind and water, fire possessed of great might and blazing energy, sprang into existence, with flames directed upwards. That fire dispelled the darkness that had covered Space. Assisted by the wind, fire drew Space and Water together. Indeed, combining with the wind, fire became solidified. While failing from the sky, the liquid portion of fire solidified again and became what is known as the earth. The earth or land, in which everything is born, is the origin of all kinds of taste, of all kinds of scent, of all kinds of liquids, and of all kinds of animals.'" "Bharadwaja said, 'When the high-souled Brahman has created thousands of creatures, why is it that only these five elements which he created first, which pervade all the universe and which are great creatures, have come to have the name of creatures applied to them exclusively?' "Bhrigu said, 'All things that belong to the category of the Infinite or the Vast receive the appellation of Great. It is for this reason that these five elements have come to be called Great creatures. Activity is wind. The sound that is heard is space. The heat that is within it is fire. The liquid juices occurring in it are water. The solidified matter, viz., flesh and bones, are earth. The bodies (of living creatures) are thus made of the five (primeval) elements. All mobile and immobile objects are made of these five elements. The five senses also of living creatures partake of the five elements. The ear partakes of the properties of space, the nose of earth; the tongue of water; touch of wind; and the eyes of light (of fire).' "Bharadwaja said, 'If all mobile and immobile objects be composed of these five elements, why is it that in all immobile objects those elements are not visible? Trees do not appear to have any heat. They do not seem to have any motion. They are again made up of dense particles. The five elements are not noticeable in them. Trees do not hear: they do not see; they are not capable of the perceptions of scent or taste. They have not also the perception of touch. How then can they be regarded as composed of the five (primeval) elements? It seems to me that in consequence of the absence of any liquid material in them, of any heat, of any earth, of any wind, and of any empty space, trees cannot be regarded as compounds of the five (primeval) elements.' "Bhrigu said, 'Without doubt, though possessed of density, trees have space within them. The putting forth of flowers and fruits is always taking place in them. They have heat within them in consequence of which leaf, bark, fruit, and flower, are seen to droop. They sicken and dry up. That shows they have perception of touch. Through sound of wind and fire and thunder, their fruits and flowers drop down. Sound is perceived through the ear. Trees have, therefore, ears and do hear. A creeper winds round a tree and goes about all its sides. A blind thing cannot find its way. For this reason it is evident that trees have vision. Then again trees recover vigour and put forth flowers in consequence of odours, good and bad, of the sacred perfume of diverse kinds of dhupas. It is plain that trees have scent, l They drink water by their roots. They catch diseases of diverse kinds. Those diseases again are cured by different operations. From this it is evident that trees have perceptions of taste. As one can suck up water through a bent lotus- stalk, trees also, with the aid of the wind, drink through their roots. They are susceptible of pleasure and pain, and grow when cut or lopped off. From these circumstances I see that trees have life. They are not inanimate. Fire and wind cause the water thus sucked up to be digested. According, again, to the quantity of the water taken up, the tree advances in growth and becomes humid. In the bodies of all mobile things the five elements occur. In each the proportions are different. It is in consequence of these five elements that mobile objects can move their bodies. Skin, flesh, bones, marrow, and arteries and veins, that exist together in the body are made of earth. Energy, wrath, eyes, internal heat, and that other heat which digest the food that is taken, these five, constitute the fire that occurs in all embodied creatures. 2 The ears, nostrils, mouth, heart, and stomach, these five, constitute the element of space that occurs in the bodies of living creatures. Phlegm, bile, sweat, fat, blood, are the five kinds of water that occur in mobile bodies. Through the breath called Prana a living creature is enabled to move. Through that called Vyana, they put forth strength for action. That called Apana moves downwards. That called Samana resides within the heart. Through that called Udana one eructates and is enabled to speak in consequence of its piercing through (the lungs, the throat, and the mouth). These are the five kinds of wind that cause an embodied creature to live and move. The properties of scent an embodied creature knows through the earth-element in him. From the water-element he perceives taste. From the fire-element represented by the eyes, he perceives forms, and from the wind-element he obtains the perception of touch. Scent, touch, taste, vision, and sound, are regarded as the (general) properties of every mobile and immobile object. I shall first speak of the several kinds of scent. They are agreeable, disagreeable, sweet, pungent, far-going, varied, dry, indifferent. All these nine kinds of scent are founded upon the earth-element. Light is seen by the eyes and touch through the wind-element. Sound, touch, vision and taste are the properties of water. I shall speak (in detail) now of the perception of taste. Listen to me. High-souled Rishis have spoken of diverse kinds of taste. They are sweet, saltish, bitter, astringent, sour, and pungent. These are the six kinds of taste appertaining to the water-element. Light contributes to the vision of form. Form is of diverse kinds. Short, tall, thick, four-cornered, round, white, black, red, blue, yellow, reddish, hard, bright, smooth, oily, soft, and terrible. These are the sixteen different kinds of form which constitute the property of light or vision. The property of the wind-element is touch. Touch is of various kinds: warm, cold, agreeable., disagreeable, indifferent, burning, mild, soft, light, and heavy. Both sound and touch are the two properties of the wind-element. These are the eleven properties that appertain to the wind. Space has only one property. It is called sound. I shall now tell thee the different kinds of sound. They are the seven original notes called Shadja, Rishabha, Gandhara, Mahdhyama, Panchama, Dhaivata and Nishada. These are the seven kinds of the property that appertains to space. Sound inheres like the Supreme Being in all space though attached especially to drums and other instruments. Whatever sound is heard from drums small and large, and conchs, and clouds, and cars, and animate and inanimate creatures, are all included in these seven kinds of sound already enumerated. Thus sound, which is the property of space, is of various kinds. The learned have said sound to be born of space. When raised by the different kinds of touch, which is the property of the wind, it may be heard. It cannot however, be heard, when the different kinds of touch are inceptive. The elements, mingling with their counterparts in the body, increase and grow. Water, fire, wind are always awake in the bodies of living creatures. They are the roots of the body. Pervading the five life-breaths (already mentioned) they reside in the body.'" space, are especially called Bhutas or Mahabhutas. "Bharadwaja said, 'How does bodily fire or heat, entering the body, reside there? How also does the wind, obtaining space for itself, cause the body to move and exert itself?' "Bhrigu said, 'I shall, O regenerate one, speak to thee of the course in which the wind moves, and how, O sinless one, that mighty element causes the bodies of living creatures to move and exert themselves. Heat resides within the head (brain) and protects the body (from perishing). The wind or breath called Prana, residing within the head and the heat that is there, cause all kinds of exertion. That Prana is the living creature, the universal soul, the eternal Being, and the Mind, Intellect, and Consciousness of all living creatures, as also all the objects of the senses. 1 Thus the living creature is, in every respect, caused by Prana to move about and exert. Them in consequence of the other breath called Samana, every one of the senses is made to act as it does. The breath called Apana, having recourse to the heat that is in the urethra and the abdominal intestines, moves, engaged in carrying out urine and faeces. That single breath which operates in these three, is called Udana by those that are conversant with science. That breath which operates, residing in all the joints of men's bodies, is called Vyana. There is heat in the bodies of living creatures which is circulated all over the system by the breath Samana. Residing thus in the body, that breath operates upon the different kinds of watery and other elementary substances and all bad humours. That heat, residing between Apana and Prana, in the region of the navel, operates, with the aid of those two breaths, in digesting all food that is taken by a living creature. There is a duct beginning from the mouth down to the anal canal. Its extremity is called the anus. From this main duct numerous subsidiary ones branch out in the bodies of all living creatures. 2 In consequence of the rush of the several breaths named above (through these ducts), those breaths mingle together. The heat (that dwells in Prana) is called Ushman. It is this heat that causes digestion in all creatures possessed of bodies. The breath called Prana, the bearer of a current of heat, descends (from the head) downwards to the extremity of the anal canal and thence is sent upwards once more. Coming back to its seat in the head, it once more sends down the heat it bears. Below the navel is the region of digested matter. Above it is that for the food which is taken. In the navel are all the forces of life that sustain the body. Urged by the ten kinds of breaths having Prana for their first, the ducts (already mentioned), branching out from the heart, convey the liquid juices that food yields, upwards, downwards, and in transverse directions. 3 The main duct leading from the mouth to the anus is the path by which yogins, vanquishers of fatigue, of perfect equanimity in joy and sorrow, and possessed of great patience, succeed in attaining to Brahma by holding the soul within the brain, l Even thus is heat panted in the breaths called Prana and Apana and others, of all embodied creatures. That heat is always burning there like a fire placed in any (visible) vessel.' however, that certain glimpses of truth were perceived by the Rishis of ancient times. Verse 15 shows that the great discovery of Harvey in modern times was known in ancient India. The soul may then, by an act of volition, be withdrawn from the whole physical system into the convolutions of the brain in the head. The brain, in the language of yogins, is a lot us of a thousand leaves. If the soul be withdrawn into it, the living creature will then be liberated from the necessity of food and sleep, etc., and will live on from age to age, absorbed in contemplation of divinity and in perfect beatitude. "Bharadwaja said, 'If it is the wind that keeps us alive, if it is the wind that causes us to move and exert, if it is the wind that causes us to breathe and to speak, then it seems that life is worth little. If the animal heat (that digests all food) be of the nature of fire, and if it is that fire which assists at digestion by dissolving the food we take, then life is worth little. When an animal dies, that which is called its life is never seen leaving it. Only the breath leaves it, and the internal heat becomes extinguished. If life were nothing else, than wind, or if life depended only on the wind, then it could have been seen like the external sea of air, and when passing out it would have mingled with that air. If life dependest upon air, and if it ended with the escape of that air from the body, it would then mingle with another portion of air (that exists externally) like a portion of water escaping into the great ocean and thereby only changing the place of its residence. If a quantity of water be thrown into a well, or if the flame of a lamp be thrown into a blazing fire, either of them, entering a homogeneous element, loses its independent or separate existence. If life were air, it also, when the animal died, would mingle with the great ocean of air outside. How can we say that there is life in this animal body which is made up of the five (primal) elements? If one of those elements disappear, the union of the other four becomes dissolved. The element of water drieth up if food be not taken. The element of air disappears if the breath be restrained. The element of space disappears if the excretions cease. So also the element of fire becomes extinguished if food does not go in. The element of earth breaks in pieces in consequence of diseases, wounds, and other sufferings. If only one of the five becomes afflicted, the union, being dissolved, the five go away into five different directions. When the body which is a union of the elements, becomes separated into five ingredients, whither doth life go? What doth it then know? What doth it then hear? What doth it then say? This cow (that is given away to a holy Brahmana), it is said, will rescue me in the other world. The animal, however, that is given away, itself dies. Whom then will this cow rescue? The taker of the cow (in gift) and the giver are both equal (in being both subject to death). Both of them meet with extinction in this world. How then will they meet again? How will the person that has been eaten up by birds, or that has been broken in pieces by a fall from a mountain summit, or that has been consumed by fire, regain life? The root of a tree that has been cut down does not grow up again. Only the seeds put forth sprouts. Where is the person who having died comes back (to some sort of new existence)? Only seeds were originally created. All this universe is the result of seeds in succession. They that die, die to perish Seeds result "Bhrigu said, 'There is no destruction of the living creature, or of what is given, or of our other acts. The creature that dies only goes into another form. The body along dissolves away. The living creature, though depending upon the body, does not meet with destruction when the body is destroyed. It is not seen after the destruction of the physical frame just as fire is not seen after the consumption of the fuel with which it was ignited.' "Bharadwaja said, 'If there is no destruction of the living creature like that of fire, I submit, fire itself is not seen after consumption of the fuel (that ignited it). When the supply of fuel is stopped, the fire becomes extinguished, and, as far as I know, becomes annihilated. That should surely be regarded to have met with destruction which has no longer any action, which furnishes no proof of its existence, and which no longer occupies any space.' "Bhrigu said, 'It is true that upon the consumption of fuel fire is no longer seen. It mingles with space because there is no longer any visible object in which to inhere, and hence it becomes incapable of perception by us. Similarly, upon leaving the body, the creature lives in space, and cannot be seen in consequence of its extreme subtility as is doubtless the case with fire. It is fire or heat that sustains the breaths called Prana and the others. Know that that heat (thus existing) is called life or the living agent. That heat which is the sustainer of the breaths, becomes extinguished in consequence of the suppression of breath. Upon that heat in the physical frame being extinguished, the frame itself loses animation. Falling down, it is transformed into earth, for that is its ultimate destination. The breath that is in all mobile and immobile objects mingles with space, and the heat that is in them follows that breath. These three (viz., space, air, and tire), mingle together. The other two (viz., water and earth), exist together in the form of earth. There is wind where space is, and there is fire where wind is. They are formless, it should be known, and become endued with form only in respect of embodied creatures.' "Bharadwaja said, 'If in the physical frames of all living creatures there are heat, wind, earth, space and water, what, then, are the indications of living agent? Tell me these, O sinless one! I desire to know the nature of the life that is in the bodies of living beings,— bodies made up of the five primal elements, engaged in the five acts, endued with the five senses and possessed of animation. Upon the dissolution of the body which is a union of flesh and blood, and a mass of fat, sinews and bones, that which is the living agent cannot be seen. If this body, composed of the five elements, be destitute of what is called life, who or what then is that which feels misery upon the appearance of either bodily or mental pain? The living agent hears what is said, with the aid of the ears. It, however, happens again, O great Rishi, that the same agent hears not when the Mind is otherwise engaged. It seems, therefore, that that which is called the living agent serves no purpose. The whole scene that the living agent sees with eyes acting in concert with the mind, the eye beholds not, even when lying before it, if the mind be otherwise engaged. Then again, when it is under the influence of sleep, that agent neither sees nor smells, nor hears, nor speaks, nor experiences the perceptions of touch and taste. Who or what then is that which feels joy, becomes angry, gives way to sorrow, and experiences tribulation? What is that which wishes, thinks, feels aversion, and utters words?' "Bhrigu said, The mind also is made of the five elements in common with the body. For this reason it is of no consequence with respect to the acts mentioned by thee. Only the one internal Soul sustaineth the body. It is he that perceives smell, taste, sound, touch and form and other properties (that exist in external nature). That Soul, pervading all the limbs, is the witness (of the acts) of the mind endued with five attributes and residing within the body composed of the five elements. It is he who feels pleasure and pain, and when separated from him the body no longer experiences them. When there is no longer any perception of form or of touch, when there is no heat in the fire that resides within the body,— indeed, when that animal heat becomes extinguished,— the body, in consequence of its abandonment by the Soul, meets with destruction. The whole universe is composed of water. Water is the form of all embodied creatures. In that water is the Soul which is displayed in the mind. That Soul is the Creator Brahman who exists in all things. When the Soul becomes endued with vulgar attributes, it comes to be called Kshetrajna. When freed from those attributes, it comes to be called Paramatman or Supreme Soul. Know that Soul. He is inspired with universal benevolence. He resides in the body like a drop of water in a lotus. Know well that which is called Kshetrajna and which has universal benevolence. Darkness, Passion, and Goodness are the attributes of the living agent. The learned say that the Soul has Consciousness and exists with the attributes of life. The soul exerts and causes everything to exert. Persons that have a knowledge of the Soul say that the Soul is different from life. It is the Supreme Soul that has created the seven worlds and sets them agoing. There is no destruction of the living agent when the dissolution of the body takes place. Men destitute of intelligence say that it dies. That is certainly untrue. All that the living agent does is to go from one unto another body. That which is called death is only the dissolution of the body. It is thus that the Soul, wrapped in diverse forms, migrates from form to form, unseen and unnoticed by others. Persons possessed of true Knowledge behold the Soul by their keen and subtile intelligence. The man of wisdom, living on frugal fare, and with heart cleansed of all sins, devoting himself to yoga meditation, succeeds every night, before sleep and after sleep, in beholding his Soul by the aid of his Soul, l In consequence of a contented heart, and by abandoning all acts good and bad, one can obtain infinite happiness by depending upon one's own Soul. The king, of fiery effulgence, residing within the mind is called the living agent. It is from that Lord of everything that this creation has sprung. Even this is the conclusion to be arrived at in the enquiry into the origin of creatures and the soul.' double existence is realised in consequence of which the Soul becomes an object of internal survey to the Soul itself. Very probably, writers on yoga employ this language in a figurative sense. "Bhrigu said, 'Brahman first created a few Brahmanas who came to be called Prajapatis (lords of creation). Possessed of splendour equal to that of the fire or the Sun, they were created out of the energy of that First-born Being. The puissant Lord then created Truth, Duty, Penance, the eternal Vedas, all kinds of pious acts, and Purity, for enabling creatures to attain to heaven (by practising them). After this, the Deities and the Danavas, the Gandharvas, the Daityas, the Asuras, the great snakes, the Yakshas, the Rakshasas, the Serpents, the Pisachas, and human beings with their four divisions, viz., Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras, O best of regenerate ones, and all the other orders of creatures that exist, were created. The complexion the Brahmanas obtained was white; that which the Kshatriyas obtained was red; that which the Vaisyas got was yellow; and that which was given to the Sudras was "Bharadwaja said, 'If the distinction between the four orders (of human beings) be made by means only of colour (attribute), then it seems that all the four orders have been mingled together. 2 Lust, wrath, fear, cupidity, grief, anxiety, hunger, toil, possess and prevail over all men. How can men be distinguished by the possession of attributes? The bodies of all men emit sweat, urine, faeces, phlegm, bile, and blood. How then can men be distributed into classes? Of mobile objects the number is infinite; the species also of immobile objects are innumerable. How, then, can objects of such very great diversity be distributed into classes?' "Bhrigu said, 'There is really no distinction between the different orders. The whole world at first consisted of Brahmanas. Created (equal) by Brahman, men have, in consequence of their acts, become distributed into different orders. They that became fond of indulging in desire and enjoying pleasures, possessed of the attributes of severity and wrath, endued with courage, and unmindful of the duties of piety and worship,— these Brahmanas possessing the attribute of Passion,— became Kshatriyas. Those Brahmanas again who, without attending to the duties laid down for them, became possessed of both the attributes of Goodness and Passion, and took to the professions of cattle-rearing and agriculture, became Vaisyas. Those Brahmanas again that became fond of untruth and injuring other creatures, possessed of cupidity,— engaged in all kinds of acts for a living, and fallen away from purity of behaviour, and thus wedded to the attribute of Darkness, became Sudras. Separated by these occupations, Brahmanas, falling away from their own order, became members of the other three orders. All the four orders, therefore, have always the right to the performance of all pious duties and of sacrifices. Even thus were the four orders at first created equal by Brahman who ordained for all of them (the observances disclosed in) the words of Brahma (in the Vedas). Through cupidity alone, many fell away, and became possessed by ignorance. The Brahmanas are always devoted to the scriptures on Brahma; and mindful of vows and restraints, are capable of grasping the conception of Brahma. Their penances therefore, never go for nothing. They amongst them are not Brahmanas that are incapable of understanding that every created thing is Supreme Brahma. These, falling away, became members of diverse (inferior) orders. Losing the light of knowledge, and betaking themselves to an unrestrained course of conduct, they take birth as Pisachas and Rakshasas and Pretas and as individuals of diverse Mleccha species. The great Rishis who at the beginning sprang into life (through Brahman's Will) subsequently created, by means of their penances, men devoted to the duties ordained for them and attached to the rites laid down in the Eternal Vedas. That other Creation, however, which is eternal and undecaying, which is based upon Brahma and has sprung from the Primeval God, and which has its refuge upon yoga, is a mental one.'" I is intended to be said is that the Brahmanas had the attribute of Goodness (Sattwa); the second order had the attribute of Passion (Rajas); the third got a mixture of the two, i.e., both goodness and passion (Sattwa and Rajas); while the lowest order got the remaining attribute, viz., Darkness (Jamas). action of the Primeval Deity. That creation which we behold is the result of the penances of those sages who were first created. Perhaps, what is intended to be said is that the principle of life, of life proceeding from life, and primal matter with space, etc., are all due to the fiat of God; while all visible and tangible objects, resulting from the action of those principles and from primal matter and space, are attributable to the ancient sages. "Bharadwaja said, 'By what acts does one become a Brahmana? By what, a Kshatriya? O best of regenerate ones, by what acts again does one become a Vaisya or a Sudra? Tell me this, O foremost of "Bhrigu said, 'That person is called a Brahmana who has been sanctified by such rites as those called jata and others; who is pure in behaviour; who is engaged in studying the Vedas; who is devoted to the six well-known acts (of ablutions every morning and evening, silent recitation of mantras, pouring libations on the sacrificial fire, worshipping the deities, doing the duties of hospitality to guests, and offering food to the Viswedevas); who is properly observant of all pious acts; who never takes food without having offered it duly to gods and guests; who is filled with reverence for his preceptor; and who is always devoted to vows and truth. He is called a Brahmana in whom are truth, gifts, abstention from injury to others, compassion, shame, benevolence, I and penance. He who is engaged in the profession of battle, who studies the Vedas, who makes gifts (to Brahmanas) and takes wealth (from those he protects) is called a Kshatriya. He who earns fame from keep of cattle, who is employed in agriculture and the means of acquiring wealth, who is pure in behaviour and attends to the study of the Vedas, is called a Vaisya. 2 He who takes pleasure in eating every kind of food, who is engaged in doing every kind of work, who is impure in behaviour, who does not study the Vedas, and whose conduct is unclean, is said to be a Sudra. If these characteristics be observable in a Sudra, and if they be not found in a Brahmana, then such a Sudra is no Sudra, and, such a Brahmana is no Brahmana. By every means should cupidity and wrath be restrained. This as also self-restraint, are the highest results of Knowledge. Those two passions (viz., cupidity and wrath), should, with one's whole heart, be resisted. They make their appearance for destroying one's highest good. One should always protect one's prosperity from one's wrath, one's penances from pride; one's knowledge from honour and disgrace; and one's soul from error. That intelligent person, O regenerate one, who does all acts without desire of fruit, whose whole wealth exists for charity, and who performs the daily Homa, is a real Renouncer. 3 One should conduct oneself as a friend to all creatures, abstaining from all acts of injury. Rejecting the acceptance of all should, by the aid of one's own intelligence, be a complete master of one's passions. One should live in one's soul where there can be no grief. One would then have no fear here and attain to a fearless region hereafter. One should live always devoted to penances, and with all passions completely restrained; observing the vow of taciturnity, and with soul concentrated on itself; desirous of conquering the unconquered senses, and unattached in the midst of attachments. All things that can be perceived by the senses are called Manifest. All, however, that is Unmanifest, that is beyond the ken of the senses, that can be ascertained only by the subtile senses, should be sought to be known, l If there be no faith, one will never succeed in attaining to that subtile sense. Therefore, one should hold oneself in faith. The mind should be united with Prana, and Prana should then be held within Brahma. By dissociating oneself from all attachments, one may obtain absorption into Brahma. There is no need of attending to any other thing. A Brahmana can easily attain to Brahma by the path of Renunciation. The indications of a Brahmana are purity, good behaviour and compassion unto all creatures.'" aversion for all unrighteous acts. noticed by Nilakantha. I have adhered to the Bengal reading, though the Bombay reading is clearer in sense. Visati is a transitive verb having Pratishtha or some such noun for its object. The literal meaning is He who acquires fame, etc. generally means all kinds of acts. Here, however, only sacrifices and other scriptural rites are intended. I follow Nilakantha in rendering the second line, although the plain meaning would seem to be "who poureth everything in gift. " which the subtile senses i.e., the senses when sharpened by yoga, can perceive. With death, the gross body alone is dissolved The subtile body or form, called the Linga-sarira, and made up of what is called the Tanmatras of the primal elements, remains. Even that retains all the characteristics of the world in an incipient form. The Linga-sarira also must be destroyed before absorption into Brahma can take place. "Bhrigu said, 'Truth is Brahma; Truth is Penance; it is Truth that creates all creatures. It is by Truth that the whole universe is upheld; and it is with the aid of Truth that one goes to heaven. Untruth is only another form of Darkness. It is Darkness that leads downwards. Those who are afflicted by Darkness and covered by it fail to behold the lighted regions of heaven. It has been said that Heaven is Light and that Hell is Darkness. The creatures that dwell in the universe may obtain both heaven and hell. In this world also, truth and untruth lead to opposite courses of conduct and opposite indications, such as Righteousness and Unrighteousness, light and darkness, pleasure and pain. Amongst these, that which is Truth is Righteousness; that which is Righteousness is Light; and that which is Light is Happiness. Similarly, that which is Untruth is Unrighteousness; that which is Unrighteousness is Darkness; and that which is Darkness is Sorrow or Misery. In this respect it is said that they that are possessed of wisdom, beholding that the world of lire is overwhelmed with sorrow, both bodily and mental, and with happiness that is sure to end in misery, never suffer themselves to be stupefied. He that is Wise will strive to rescue himself from sorrow. The happiness of living creatures is unstable both here and hereafter, l The happiness of creatures that are overwhelmed by Darkness disappears like the splendour of the Moon when afflicted by Rahu. 2 Happiness is said to be of two kinds, viz., bodily and mental. Both in this and the other world, the visible and the invisible fruits (of action) are specified (in the Vedas) for the sake of happiness. 3 There is nothing more important than happiness and among the fruits or consequences of the triple aggregate. Happiness is desirable. It is an attribute of the Soul. Both Virtue and Profit are sought for its sake. Virtue is its root. This, indeed, is its origin. All acts have for their end the attainment of happiness.' "Bharadwaja said, 'You have said that happiness is the highest object, I do not comprehend this. This attribute of the soul that (you say) is so desirable is not sought by the Rishis who are regarded to be engaged in something promising a higher reward. It is heard that the Creator of the three worlds, viz., the puissant Brahman, lives alone, observant of the vow of Brahmachary a. He never devotes himself to the happiness obtainable from the gratification of desire. Also, the divine Master of the universe, the lord of Uma, reduced Kama (the deity of desire) to extinction. For this reason, we say that happiness is not acceptable to high-souled people. Nor does it appear to be a high attribute of the Soul. I cannot put faith in what thy divine self has said, viz., that there is nothing higher than happiness. That there are two kinds of consequences in respect of our acts, viz., the springing of happiness from good acts and of sorrow from sinful, acts, is only a saying that is current in the world.' "Bhrigu said, 'On this it is said as follows: from Untruth springs Darkness. They that are overwhelmed by Darkness pursue only Unrighteousness and not Righteousness, being overmastered by wrath, covetousness, malice, falsehood, and similar evils. They never obtain happiness either here or hereafter, On the other hand, they are afflicted by various kinds of disease and pain and trouble. They are also tortured by Death, imprisonment, and diverse other griefs of that kind, and by the sorrows, attending on hunger and thirst and toil. They are also pained by the numerous bodily griefs that arise from rain and wind and burning heat and exceeding cold. They are also overwhelmed by numerous mental griefs caused by loss of wealth and separation from friends, as also by griefs caused by decrepitude and death. They that are not touched by these diverse kinds of physical and mental afflictions, know what happiness is. These evils are never found in heaven. There delicious breezes blow. In heaven there is also perpetual fragrance. In heaven there is no hunger, no thirst, no decrepitude, no sin. In this world there is both happiness and misery. In hell there is only misery. Therefore, happiness is the highest object of acquisition. The Earth is the progenitrix of all creatures. Females partake of her nature. The male animal is like Prajapati himself. The vital seed, it should be known, is the creative energy. In this way did Brahman ordain in days of old that the creation should go on. Each, affected by his own acts, obtains happiness or misery.'" l degree or measure of merit that is achieved here. to be devoured by the Daitya, Rahu. "Bharadwaja said, 'What has been said to be the consequence of gift? What of Righteousness? What of conduct? What of Penances well-performed? What of the study and recitation of the Vedas? And what of pouring libations upon the fire?' 'Bhrigu said, 'By pouring libations on the sacred fire, sin is burnt. By study of the Vedas one obtains blessed tranquillity. By gift, one obtains pleasure and articles of enjoyment. By Penances, one acquires blessed heaven. Gift is said to be of two kinds: gifts for the other world, and those for this. Whatever is given to the good attends the giver in the other world. Whatever is given to those that are not good produces consequences enjoyable here. The consequences of gifts are commensurate with the gifts "Bharadwaja said, 'What course of duties should be performed by whom? What also are the characteristics of duty? How many kinds of duty are there? It behoveth thee to tell me these.' "Bhrigu said, 'Those wise men who are engaged in practising the duties laid down for them succeed in obtaining heaven as their reward. By doing otherwise people become guilty of folly.' "Bharadwaja said, 'It behoveth thee to tell me about the four modes of life that were formerly laid down by Brahman, and the practices ordained for each of them.' "Bhrigu said, 'In days of yore, the divine Brahman, for benefiting the world, and for the protection of righteousness, indicated four modes of life. 3 Amongst them, residence in the abode of the preceptor is mentioned as the first (in order of time). He who is in this mode of life should have his soul cleansed by purity of conduct, by Vedic rites, and by restraints and vows and humility. He should worship the morning and evening twilights, the Sun, his own sacred fire, and the deities. He should cast off procrastination and idleness. He should cleanse his soul by saluting his preceptor, by studying the Vedas, and by listening to his preceptor's instructions. He should perform his ablutions thrice (viz., in the morning, noon, and evening). He should lead a life of celibacy; attend to his sacred fire; dutifully serve his preceptor; daily go out on a round of mendicancy (for supporting himself); and give ungrudgingly unto his preceptor the whole of what is obtained in alms. Willingly accomplishing everything that the commands of his preceptor may indicate, he should be ready to receive such Vedic instruction as his preceptor may give him as a favour, l On this subject there is a verse: That Brahmana who obtains his Veda by attending with reverence upon his preceptor, succeeds in attaining to heaven and obtains the fruition of all his desires. The domestic mode of life is called the second (in point of time). We shall explain to you all the pious acts and indications of that mode. Those who having completed their residence in the preceptor's abode return home, who are of pious conduct, who desire the fruits of a virtuous course of behaviour with spouses in their company, have this mode of life ordained for them. In it Virtue, Wealth, and Pleasure, may all be obtained. It is (thus) suited to the cultivation of the triple aggregate. Acquiring wealth by irreproachable acts, or with wealth of high efficacy which is obtained from recitation of the Vedas, or living upon such means as are utilised by the regenerate Rishis, 2 or with the produce of mountains and mines, or with the wealth represented by the offerings made in sacrifices and on the termination of vows and other observances, and those made unto deities, the householder should lead this mode of life. That mode of life is regarded as the root of all the others. They who are residents in the abodes of preceptors, they who lead lives of mendicancy, and others who live in the observance of vows and restraints to which they are pledged, derive from this mode the means they live upon, the offerings they make unto the Pitris and the deities, and, in short, their entire support. The third mode of life is called the Forest-life. For those that lead it, there is no storing of wealth and articles. 3 Generally, these pious and good men, subsisting upon good food, and engaged in studying the Vedas, roam ever the earth for journeying to tirthas and visiting diverse realms. Standing up, advancing forward, sweet speeches uttered in sincerity, gifts according to the measure of the giver's competence, offer of seats and beds of the best kind, and presents of excellent food, are some of the means for showing them regard. On this subject there is a verse: If a guest turns away from a house with expectations unfulfilled, he is supposed to take away the merits of the householder and leave the latter all his misdeeds. Then again in the domestic mode of life the deities are gratified by sacrifices and other religious rites; the Pitris by the performance of obsequial rites; the Rishis by cultivation of (Vedic) knowledge, by listening to the instructions of preceptors, and by committing to memory the scriptures; and lastly the Creator by begetting children, l On this subject there are two verses: One in the observance of this mode of life should speak upon all creatures words breathing affection and agreeable to the ears. To give pain, to inflict mortifications, and harsh words, are all censurable. Insult, arrogance, and deceit, also should be avoided. Abstention from injury, truth, and absence of wrath, produce the merit of penances in all the (four) modes of life. In the domestic mode of life these are allowed, viz., the use and enjoyment of floral garlands, ornaments, robes, perfumed oils and unguents; enjoyment of pleasures derived from dancing and music, both vocal and instrumental, and all sights and scenes that are agreeable to the sight; the enjoyment of various kinds of viands and drinks belonging to the principal orders of edibles, viz., those that are swallowed, those that are lapped, those that are quaffed, and those that are sucked; and the enjoyment of pleasures derivable from sports and every kind of amusement and the gratification of desires. That man who in the observance of this mode of life seeks the acquisition of the triple aggregate (viz., Religion, Wealth, and Pleasure), with that of the great end of the three attributes of Goodness and Passion and Darkness, 2 enjoys great happiness here and at last attains to the end that is reserved for persons that are virtuous and good. 3 Even that householder who observes the duties of his mode of life by following the practice of picking up fallen grains of corn from the cracks of fields and who abandons sensual pleasure and attachment to action, does not find it difficult to obtain calls him. To this day, the rule is rigidly observed in all Tols throughout India. It should be added to the credit of those engaged in teaching that they very seldom neglect their pupils. The story is authentic of the grandfather of the great Baneswar Vidyalankar of Nuddea, himself as great a professor as Banes war, of continuing to teach his pupils in the outer apartments even after receiving intelligence of his son's death within the inner apartments of the family dwelling. The fact is, he was utterly absorbed in his work, that when his good lady, moved by his apparent heartlessness, came out to tax him he answered her, in thorough absence of mind, saying, 'Well, do not be disturbed. If I do not weep for my son, I will do so for that grandchild in your arms.' The pupils at last recalled him to the realities of the hour. owes to one's deceased ancestors. Here Bhrigu says that by that act one gratifies the Creator. The idea is the same that forms the root of the command laid on the Jews,— Go and multiply. "Bhrigu said, 'Forest recluses seeking the acquisition of virtue go to sacred waters and rivers and springs, and undergo penances in lone and secluded woods abounding with deer and buffaloes and boars and tigers and wild elephants. They forsake all kinds of robes and food and enjoyments for which people living in society have a taste. They subsist abstemiously upon wild herbs and fruits and roots and leaves of diverse kinds. The bare ground is their seat. They lie down on the bare earth or rocks or pebbles or gravel or sand or ashes. They cover their limbs with grass and animal skins and barks of trees. They never shave their heads and beards or pare their nails. They perform their ablutions at regular intervals. They pour libations on the ground, as also on the sacred fire at the proper time without fail. They never enjoy any rest till completion of their daily gathering of the sacred fuel (for their homa fires) and sacred grass and flowers (for sacrifice and worship) and till they have swept and rubbed clean (their sacrificial altars). They bear without the least regard cold and heat, and rain and wind, and, therefore, the skin of their bodies is cracked all over; and in consequence of observing and laying down for themselves various kinds of rites and vows and acts, their flesh and blood and skin and bones become emaciated, l Endued with great patience and fortitude, they live, always practising the quality of goodness. That person who, with restrained soul, observes such a course of duties originally ordained by regenerate Rishis, burns all his sins like fire and obtains regions of felicity difficult of attainment.' "I shall now describe the conduct of those called Parivrajakas. That is as follows: freeing themselves from attachment to the sacred fire, wealth, spouse and children, and robes, seats, beds, and such other objects of enjoyment, and breaking the bonds of affection, they roam about, regarding with an equal eye a clump of earth or rock and gold. They never set their hearts on the acquisition or enjoyment of the triple aggregate. They cast an equal eye on foes and friends and neutrals or strangers. They never injure, in thought, word, or deed, immobile things or creatures that are viviparous, or oviparous or born of filth, or called vegetables. They have no homes. They roam over hills and mountains, upon shores of rivers or seas, under shades of trees, and among temples of deities. They may go to towns or villages for residence. In a town, however, they should not live for more than five nights, while in a village their residence should never exceed one night. Entering a town or a village, they should, for the support of life, repair to the abodes of only Brahmanas of liberal deeds. 2 They should never ask for any alms except what is thrown into the (wooden) bowls they carry. They should free themselves from lust, wrath, pride, cupidity, delusion, miserliness, deceit, slander, vanity, and injury to living creatures. On this subject there are some verses: that person, who, observing the vow of taciturnity, roveth without giving any creature cause of fear, is never inspired with any fear himself by any creature. That learned person who performs the Agnihotra (not by kindling of, external fire but) with the aid of the fire that is his own body, indeed, who poureth libations into his own mouth and upon the fire that exists in his own body, succeeds in attaining to numerous regions of felicity in consequence of that fire being fed with such libations obtained by a life of eleemosynation. That person of regenerate birth who observes in the aforesaid way this mode of life having Emancipation for its end, with a pure heart and with an understanding freed from resolution, attains to Brahma after the manner of a tranquil ray of light that is not fed by any blazing fuel.' "Bharadwaja said, 'Beyond this region (that we inhabit) there is a region that we have heard of but never seen. I desire to know all about it. It behoveth thee to describe it to me.' "Bhrigu said, 'Towards the north, on the other side of Himavat, which is sacred and possessed of every merit, there is a region that is sacred, blessed, and highly desirable. That is called the other world. I The men that inhabit that region are righteous in act, pious, of pure hearts, freed from cupidity and errors of judgment, and not subject to afflictions of any kind. That region is, indeed, equal to heaven, possessed as it is of such excellent attributes. Death comes there at the proper season. Diseases never touch the inhabitants. 2 Nobody cherishes any desire for the wives of other people. Every one is devoted to his own wife. These people do not afflict or kill one another, or covet one another's things. There no sin occurs, no doubt arises. 3 There the fruits of all (religious) acts are visible. There some enjoy seats and drinks and viands of the best kind, and live within palaces and mansions. There some, adorned with ornaments of gold, surround themselves with every article of enjoyment. There are, again, some that eat very abstemiously, for only keeping body and soul together. There some, with great toil, seek to hold the life-breaths. 4 Here (in this region that is inhabited by us), some men are devoted to righteousness and some to deceit. Some are happy and some miserable; some are poor and some rich. Here toil, and fear and delusion, and painful hunger make their appearance. Here cupidity for wealth is also seen, a passion that stupefies even those that are learned amongst men. Here diverse opinions prevail, broached by those that do deeds which are righteous or sinful. That man possessed of wisdom who knows all those opinions which may be divided into two kinds, is never stained by sin. Deceit With fraud, theft, slander, malice, oppression, injury, treachery, and untruth, and vices that detract from the merit of his penances who practises them. He, on the other hand, possessed of learning, who avoids them, finds the merit of his penances increased. Here there is much reflection about acts that are righteous and those that are unrighteous. This region that we inhabit is the field of action. Having done good and evil here, one obtains good for his good acts and evil for acts that are evil, i Here the very Creator in days of yore, and all the gods with the Rishis, having performed proper penances, become cleansed and attain to Brahma. 2 The northern portion of the earth is highly auspicious and sacred. Those belonging to this region (that we inhabit) that are doers of righteous deeds or that show regard for yoga, become born in that region. Others (that are of a different disposition) take their births in the intermediate species. Some again, when their allotted periods run out, become lost on earth. 3 Employed in feeding upon one another and stained by cupidity and delusion, these mea return to this very region without being able to go (after death) to that northern region. Those men of wisdom who with vows and observant of Br ahmacharyy a listen with veneration to the instructions of preceptors, succeed in knowing the ends reserved for all classes of men. I have now told thee in brief the course of duties ordained by Brahman. He, indeed, is said to be possessed of intelligence who knows what is righteousness and what its reverse in this world.' "Bhishma continued, 'Thus, O king, did Bhrigu speak unto Bharadwaja of great energy. Of soul highly virtuous, the latter became filled with wonder and worshipped the great sage with veneration. Thus, O monarch, the origin of the universe has been narrated to thee in detail. What, O thou of great wisdom, dost thou wish to hear after this?'" like visiting sacred waters; vihita is vidhana. the poor, particularly their religious mendicants. The mendicants themselves are restrained from disturbing the householders often. None again save the well-to-do were to be visited by the mendicants, so that men of scanty means might not be compelled to support the recluses. the next world. Bhrigu also, in his answer, uses the word Paw lokah. The reference to Himavat, therefore, is explained by the commentator as metaphorical. The whole answer of Bhrigu, however, leaves little room for doubt that the sage speaks of a region on earth and not in the invisible world after verses as metaphorical. Considerable ingenuity is displayed by him, and he even cites the Srutis in colour to the supposition that throughout the whole passage, it is the next world and no fictitious region north of the Himalayas that is described. Some western scholars think that a verbal translation is all that is necessary. Such passages, however, are incapable of being so rendered. The translator must make his choice of, either taking the verses in a plain or a metaphorical sense. If he inclines towards the latter, he cannot possibly give a verbal version. The genius of the two tongues are quite different. commentator. K.P. Singha avoids the blunder, although in rendering the last line of 22 he becomes rather inaccurate. "Yudhishthira said, 'I think, O grandsire, that thou art acquainted with everything, O thou that art conversant with duties. I desire to hear thee discourse to me, O sinless one, of the ordinances about "Bhishma said, 'They that are of bad conduct, of bad acts, of wicked understanding, and excessive rashness, are called evil or wicked men. They, however, that are called good are distinguished by purity of conduct and practices. They are good men who never answer calls of nature on the high roads, in cow- pens, or in fields overgrown with paddy. Having finished the necessary acts one should perform his ablutions in river-water and gratify the deities with oblations of water. This is said to be the duty of all men. Surya should be always worshipped. One should not sleep after sunrise. Morning and evening the prayers (ordained in the scriptures) should be said, sitting with face turned towards the east and towards the west respectively. Washing the five limbs, l one should eat silently with face turned towards the east. One should never disparage the food which one is to eat. One should eat food that is good to the taste. After eating one should wash one's hands and rise. 2 One should never go to sleep at night with wet feet. The celestial Rishi Narada said that these are indications of good conduct. One should every day circumambulate a sacred spot, a bull, a sacred image, a cow-pen, a place where four roads meet, a pious Brahmana, and sacred tree. One should not make distinctions between one's guests and attendants and kinsmen in matters of food. Equality (in this respect) with servants is applauded. Eating (twice a day) in the morning and evening is an ordinance of the gods. It is not laid down that one should eat (once more) at any intermediate period. He who eats according to this rule acquires the merit of a fast. 3 At the hours ordained for Homa one should pour libations on the sacred fire. Without seeking the companionship of other people's wives, the man of wisdom who seeks his own wife in her season acquires the merit of Brahmacharyya. The remnants of a Brahmana's dish are like ambrosia. They are like the lacteal sustenance that is yielded by the mother's breast. People highly prize those remnants. The good, by eating them attain to Brahma. He who pounds turf to clay (for making sacrificial altars), or he who cuts grass (for making sacrificial fuel), or he who uses his nails only (and not weapons of any kind) for eating (sanctified meat), or he who always subsists on the remnants of Brahmana's dishes, or he who acts, induced by desire for reward, has not to live long in the world. 4 One who has abstained from meat (under any vow) should not take meat even if it be sanctified with mantras from the Yajurveda. One should also avoid the flesh about the vertebral column (of any animal) and the flesh of animals not slain in sacrifices, l Whether at one's own place or in a strange land, one should never cause one's guest to fast. Having obtained alms and other fruits of optional acts, one should offer them to one's seniors. One should offer seats to one's seniors and salute them with respect. By worshipping one's seniors, one obtains long life, fame, and prosperity. One should never behold the Sun at the moment of rising, nor should one turn one's gaze towards a naked woman that is another man's spouse. Congress with one's wife (in her season) is not sinful but it is an act that should always be done in privacy. The heart of all sacred spots and shrines is the Preceptor. The heart of all pure and cleansing things is Fire. All acts done by a good and pious person are good and laudable, including even the touching of the hair of a cow's tail. Every time one meets with another, one should make polite enquiries. The saluting of Brahmanas every morning and evening is ordained. In temples of gods, amid cows, in performing the rites of religion laid down for Brahmanas, in reading the Vedas, and in eating, the right hand should be raised. 2 The worship of Brahmanas, morning and evening, according to due rites, produces great merit. In consequence of such worship the stock-in-trade of the merchant, become abundant and the produce of the agriculturist. Great also becomes the yield of all kinds of corn and the supply of all articles that the senses can enjoy becomes copious. When giving eatables to another (seated at his dish), one should say, 'Is it sufficient?' When presenting drink, one should ask, 'Will it gratify,' and when giving sweetened milk and rice, or sugared gruel of barley, or milk with sesame or pease, one should ask 'Has it fallen?' 3 After shaving, after spitting, after bathing, and after eating, people should worship Brahmanas with reverence, Such worship is sure to bestow longevity on sickly men. One should not pass urine with face turned towards the sun, nor should one see one's own excreta. One should not lie on the same bed with a woman, nor eat with her. In addressing seniors one should never apply the pronoun you to them or take their names. Thouing or the taking of names is not censurable in addressing inferiors or equals in age. 4 The hearts of sinful men betray the sins committed by them. Those sinful men that conceal their conscious sins from good men meet with destruction. Only ignorant fools seek to conceal the sins which they commit consciously. It is true that human beings do not see those sins but the gods see them. A sin concealed by another sin leads to fresh sins. An act of merit, again, if concealed by an act of merit, increases the merit. The acts of a virtuous man always follow in the wake of virtue. A man destitute of understanding never thinks of the sins committed by him. Those sins, however, overtake the doer that has fallen away from the scriptures. As Rahu comes to Chandra (at his proper time), those sinful acts come to the foolish man. l The objects that are stored with expectation are scarcely enjoyed. Such storing is never applauded by the wise, for death waits for no one (but snatches his prey whether the latter be ready or unready). The wise have said that the righteousness of all creatures is an attribute of the mind. For this reason, one should, in one's mind, do good to all. 2 One should practise virtue singly. In the practice of virtue one has no need for the help of others. If one obtains only the ordinances of the scriptures, what can an associate do? 3 Righteousness is the origin of mankind. Righteousness is the ambrosia of the gods. After death, men enjoy, through Righteousness, eternal happiness.' Gandusha, i.e., the act of taking a little water in the right hand, raising it to the lips, and throwing it down, repeating a short formula. interpretation. What then is Sankusuka or Sanku cukal The above version is offered tentatively. The commentator imagines that the true sense of the verse is that it declares such men to be unable to attain to Mahadayu which is Brahma and not long life. offering.' I do not see the necessity of discarding the obvious meaning. wound round the thumb, as the Grihyasutras declare. fallen copiously' or words to that effect. Krisara or Kricara is food made of rice and pease, or rice and sesame; probably what is now called Khichree. avoided, being too direct. consequences of those deeds visit the doer without fail. This verse, however, seems to say that the recollection of those sins forces itself upon the sinner and makes him miserable in spite of himself. Merit or sin, according to him, does not depend on the overt act alone. Both depend on the mind. Hence the injunction against even mentally harming others. if the mind be sinful, no associate can be of any help. The mind alone is the cause of virtue and piety. " Yudhishthira said, 'Tell me, O grandsire, what and of what nature is that which is called by the name of Adhyatma and which is laid down for every person. 4 O thou that art acquainted with Brahma, whence has this universe consisting of mobile and immobile things, been created? When universal destruction sets in, to whom does it go? It behoveth thee to discourse to me upon this topic' "Bhishma said 'This, Adhyatma, O son of Pritha, that thou askest me about, I will presently discourse upon. It is highly agreeable and productive of great felicity. Great teachers have (before this) show the truths about Creation and the Destruction (of the universe). Knowing those truths, a person may obtain, even in this world, great satisfaction and felicity. Such knowledge may lead also to the acquisition of great fruits, and it is highly beneficial to all creatures. Earth, air, space, water, and light numbered as the fifth, are regarded as Great Creatures. These constitute both the origin and the destruction of all created objects. Unto him from whom these great primal elements take their origin, they return repeatedly, severing themselves from all creatures (into whose compositions they enter), even like the waves of the ocean (subsiding into that from which they seem to take their rise). As the tortoise stretches its limbs and withdraws them again, even so the Supreme Soul creates all objects and again withdraws into Himself. The Creator places the five primal elements in all created objects in different proportions. The living creature, however, does not see it (through ignorance). Sound, the organs of hearing, and all holes,— these three,— spring from Space as their progenitor. Touch, action, and skin are the triple attributes of the Wind. Form, eye, and digestion are the triple attributes of Fire or Energy. Taste, all liquid secretions, and the tongue represent the three attributes of Water. Scents, the nose, and the body are the triple properties of Earth. The great (primal) elements are five. The mind is the sixth. The senses and the mind, O Bharata, are (the sources of all) the perceptions of a living creature. I The seventh is called the understanding; and the eighth is the soul. 2 The senses are for perceiving; the mind (unable to deal with those perceptions) produces uncertainty. The understanding reduces all perceptions to certainty. The Soul exists as a witness (without acting). All that is above the two feet, all that is behind, and all that is above, are seen by the Soul. Know that the Soul pervades the entire being without any space being left unoccupied. All men should know the senses, the mind, and the understanding fully. The three states or qualities called Darkness, Passion, and Goodness, exist, dependent on the senses, the mind, and the understanding. 3 Man, by apprehending with the aid of his intelligence, the manner in which creatures come and leave the world, is sure to gradually attain to steadfast tranquillity. The three qualities (already mentioned, viz., Darkness, Passion, and Goodness), lead the understanding (to worldly attachments). In this respect, the Understanding (or Intelligence) is identical with the Senses and the Mind. The Understanding, therefore, is identical with the six (the five senses and the mind), and also with the objects comprehended by it. When, however, the Understanding is destroyed, the three qualities (of Darkness, Passion, and Goodness) are incapable of leading to action, l This universe of immobile and mobile things consists of that intelligence. It is from that Intelligence that everything arises and it is into it that everything subsides. For this reason, the scriptures indicate that everything is a manifestation of Intelligence. That by which one hears is the ear. That by which one smells is called the organ of smell, and that by which one distinguishes the tastes is called the tongue. By the coat that covers the body one acquires perception of touch. That which is called the Intelligence undergoes modifications. 2 When the Intelligence desires anything it comes to be called Mind. The foundations upon which the Intelligence rests are five in number, each serving a different purpose. They are called the senses. The invisible principle, viz., Intelligence rests on them. The Intelligence that exists in a living creature concerns itself with the three states (called Passion, Darkness, and Goodness). Sometimes it obtains joy and sometimes misery. Sometimes it becomes divested of both joy and misery. Even thus the Intelligence exists in the minds of all men. Sometimes the Intelligence which is made up of the triple states (already mentioned), transcends those three states (by yoga), like the lord of rivers, viz., the Ocean, with his surges, transgressing his high continents. 3 That Intelligence which transcends the three qualities exist in the mind in a pure state of (unmodified) existence: alone. The quality of Darkness, however, that impels to action, soon pursues it. At that time, the Intelligence sets all the senses to action. The properties of the three are even thus: joy dwells in Goodness; sorrow in Passion; delusion in Darkness. All the states that exist (of the mind) are included in the three (that have been named). I have now, O Bharata, told thee about the course of the Understanding. An intelligent man should subdue all his senses.. The three qualities of Goodness, Passion, and Darkness, are always attached to living creatures. Three kinds of intelligence also are noticeable in every creature, viz., that which depends upon Goodness, that upon Passion, and that upon Darkness, O Bharata. The quality of Goodness brings happiness; the quality of Passion produces sorrow; and if these two combine with the quality of Darkness, then neither happiness nor sorrow is produced (but, instead, only delusion or error). Every state of happiness that appears in the body or the mind is said to be due to the quality of Goodness. A state of sorrow, disagreeable to oneself, that comes, is due to nothing but the quality of Passion. One should never think of it with fear, l That state, again, which is allied with delusion and error, and in consequence of which one knows not what to do, which is unascertainable and unknown, should be regarded as belonging to the quality of Darkness. 2 Gladness, satisfaction, delight, happiness, tranquillity of heart, these are the properties of the state of Goodness. Man sometimes obtains a measure of them. Discontent, heart-burning, grief, cupidity, vindictiveness are all indications of the state of Passion. They are seen with or without adequate causes for producing them. Disgrace, delusion , error, sleep and stupefaction, that overtake one through excess of ill-luck, are the various properties of the state of Darkness. 3 That person whose mind is far-reaching, capable of extending in all directions, mistrustful in respect of winning the objects it desires, and well-restrained, is happy both here and hereafter. 4 Mark the distinction between these two subtile things, viz., Intelligence and Soul. One of these (viz., intelligence), puts forth the qualities. The other (viz., the Soul), does nothing of the kind. A gnat and a fig may be seen to be united with each other. Though united, each however is distinct from the other. Similarly, Intelligence and Soul, though distinguished from each other, by their respective natures, yet they may always be seen to exist in a state of union. A fish and water exist in a state of union, Each, however, is different from the other. The same is the case with Intelligence and Soul. The qualities do not know the Soul, but the Soul knows them all. The Soul is the spectator of the qualities and regards them all as proceeding from itself. The soul, acting through the senses, the mind, and the understanding numbering as the seventh, all of which are inactive and have no self-consciousness, discovers the objects (amid which it exists) like a (covered) lamp showing all objects around it by shedding its rays through an aperture in the covering. The understanding or Intelligence creates all the qualities. The Soul only beholds them (as a witness). Even such is certainly the connection between the intelligence and the Soul. 5 There is no refuge on which either Intelligence or Soul depends. The Understanding creates the mind, but never the qualities. When the soul, by means of the mind, sufficiently restrains the rays that emanate from the senses, it is then that it becomes manifest (to the Understanding) like a lamp burning within a vessel that covers it. That person who renounces all ordinary acts, practises penances, devotes himself to study the Soul, taking a delight therein, and regards himself as the Soul of all creatures, acquires a high end. As an aquatic fowl, while moving over the waters, is never drenched in that element, even thus does a person of wisdom move (in the world) among creatures. By the aid of one's intelligence one should act in the world after this fashion, without grief, without joy, with an equal eye for all, and destitute of malice and envy. One living in this way succeeds in creating the qualities (instead of being oneself affected by them), like a spider creating threads. I The qualities should, indeed, be regarded as the threads of the spider. Some say that the qualities in respect of such men are not lost. Some say that they are all lost. Those who say that they are not lost rely upon the revealed scriptures (viz., the Srutis), which do not contain any declaration to the contrary. They, on the other hand, who say that the qualities are all lost rely on the Smritis. Reflecting upon both these opinions, one should judge oneself as to which of them is right. One should thus get over this hard and knotty question which is capable c f disturbing the understanding by doubt, and thereby win happiness. When that doubt will be removed, one will no longer have to indulge in sorrow of any kind. Men of filthy hearts may by knowledge obtain success like persons plunging in a well-filled stream purifying themselves of all filth. One who has to cross a broad river does not feel happy at only seeing the other shore. If the case were otherwise (i.e., if by only beholding the other shore one could reach it by a boat), then might one become happy. The matter is otherwise with one acquainted with the Truth. The mere knowledge of Truth will bring him happiness. As soon as such knowledge begins to bear fruits, the person may be regarded to have reached the other shore. They who thus know the Soul as freed from all worldly objects and is but the One, are said to obtain high and excellent knowledge. 2 A person by knowing the origin and the end of all creatures, which is even such, and by reflecting upon the matter, gradually obtains infinite happiness. He that has understood the triple aggregate (viz., that it is liable to destruction instead of being eternal), and reflecting upon it, casts it away, succeeds by yoga to behold the Truth and obtain perfect felicity. The Soul is incapable of being seen unless the senses, which are employed on diverse objects and are difficult of being controlled, be all duly restrained. He that knows this is really wise. What other indication is there of a wise man? Acquiring this knowledge, men possessed of intelligence regard themselves to be crowned with success. That which inspires the ignorant with fear can never inspire fear in persons of Knowledge. There is no higher end for anybody (than Emancipation). In consequence, however, of the excess or otherwise of good qualities, the sages say that differences are observable in respect of the degree of Emancipation. A person by acting without expectation of fruits succeeds (by those acts) in annihilating his sinful acts of a former period. To one possessed of wisdom, the acts of a former period (thus washed off) and those of this life also (which are accomplished without expectation of fruit), do not become productive of any disagreeable consequence (such as immurement in hell). But how can acts, if he continues to be engaged in accomplishing acts, bring about what is agreeable (viz., Emancipation)? l People censure a person that is afflicted (with lust, envy, and other evil passions). Those vices hurl the person in his next life into diverse kinds of inferior orders. 2 Mark with close attention the vicious in this world who grieve exceedingly for the loss of their possessions (such as sons and wives, etc.). Behold also those that are gifted with judgment and who never grieve when thrown into similar circumstances. Those that are conversant with both (i.e., with gradual Emancipation and immediate Emancipation), deserve to be called truly wise.'" for yoga-dharma as depending upon or as an attribute of the mind. Generally speaking, all speculations on the character of the mind and its relations with external objects are included in the word Adhyatma. explains that it arises from the declaration of Bhishma that Righteousness is a property of the mind, and is, besides, the root of everything. (V 31, sec. 193, ante). Hence the enquiry about Adhyatma as also about the origin of all things. between the mind, the understanding, and the soul. The mind is the seat or source of all feelings and emotions as also all our perceptions, or those which are called cognitions in the Kantian school, including Comparison which (in the Kantian school) is called the Vernuft or Reason. This last is called the Understanding or buddhi. The soul is regarded as something distinct from both the body and the mind. It is the Being to whom the body and the mind belong. It is represented as inactive, and as the all- seeing witness within the physical frame. It is a portion of the Supreme Soul. emotions that appertain to worldly objects. Darkness means anger, lust, and such other mischievous clear. The identity of the Understanding or intelligence with the senses and the mind may be allowed so far as the action of the three qualities in leading all of them to worldly attachments is concerned. But what is meant by the identity of the Understanding with all the objects it comprehends? Does Bhishma preach Idealism here? If nothing exists except as it exists in the Understanding, then, of course, with the extinction of the Understanding, all things would come to an end. perceptions as only particular modifications of the mind. They denied the objective existence of the If Nilakantha be right, K.P. Singha must be wrong. Generally, however, it is the known incapacity of the ocean to transgress its continents that supplies poets with illustrations. Here, however, possibly, the rarity of the phenomenon, viz., the ocean's transgressing its continents, is used to illustrate the rare fact of the intelligence, succeeding by yoga power, in transcending the attributes of Rajas, Tamas and Sattwa. that cause, which, as stated here, is Passion. soul the being to whom the mind, the senses, etc., all belong. Could the idea of the inactive and unsinning Soul have arisen from observation of the moral principle of Conscience which discriminates between right and wrong, and acts, therefore, as an impartial judge, or watches everything like an uninterested spectator? European moralists generally attribute two other functions to the Conscience, viz., impelling us to do the right and avoid the wrong, and approving when right is done and wrong avoided. But these functions may easily be attributed to some other principle. At any rate, when the question is one of nomenclature only, the last two functions may be taken away and the word Soul applied to indicate the Conscience as the faculty of discrimination only. (darkness). What is meant by this verse is that such a person transcends the qualities instead of the qualities transcending him and his acts. "Bhishma said, 'I shall now, O son of Pritha, discourse to thee upon the four kinds of yoga meditation. The great Rishis, obtaining a knowledge of the same, attain to eternal success even here. Great Rishis gratified with knowledge, with hearts set upon Emancipation, and conversant with yoga, act in such a way that their yoga meditation may get on properly. These, O son of Pritha, being freed from the faults of the world, never come back (for rebirth). Liberated from liability to rebirth, they live in their original Soul-state, l Freed from the influence of all pairs of opposites (such as heat and cold, joy and sorrow, etc.), ever existing in their own (original) state, liberated (from attachments), never accepting anything (in gift), they live in places free from the companionship of wives and children, without others with whom disputes may arise, and favourable to perfect tranquillity of heart. There such a person, restraining speech, sits like a piece of wood, crushing all the senses, and with mind undividedly united by the aid of meditation (with the Supreme Soul). He has no perception of sound through the ear; no perception of touch through the skin; no perception of form through the eye; no perception of taste through the tongue. He has no perception also of scents through the organ of smell. Immersed in yoga, he would abandon all things, rapt in meditation. Possessed of great energy of mind, he has no desire for anything that excites the five senses. The wise man, withdrawing his five senses into the mind, should then fix the unstable mind with the five senses (into the Intellect). Possessed of patience, the yogin should fix his mind which always wanders (among worldly objects), so that his five gates (under the influence of training) may be made stable in respect of things that are themselves unstable. He should, in the firmament of the heart, fix his mind into the path of meditation, making it independent of the body or any other refuge. I have spoken of the path of meditation as the first, since the yogin has first to crush his senses and the mind (and direct them to that path). The mind, which constitutes the sixth, when thus restrained, seeks to flash out like the capricious and flighty lightning moving in frolic among the clouds. As a drop of water on a (lotus) leaf is unstable and moves about in all directions, even so becomes the yogin' s mind when first fixed on the path of meditation. When fixed, for a while the mind stays in that path. When, however, it strays again into the path of the wind, it becomes as flighty as the wind. The person conversant with the ways of yoga-meditation, undiscouraged by this, never regarding the loss of the toil undergone, casting aside idleness and malice, should again direct his mind to meditation. Observing the vow of silence, when one begins to set his mind on yoga, then discrimination, knowledge, and power to avoid evil, are gained by him. 2 Though feeling annoyed in consequence of the flightiness of his mind, he should fix it (in meditation). The yogin should never despair, but seek his own good. As a heap of dust or ashes; or of burnt cow-dung, when drenched with water, does not seem to be soaked, indeed, as it continues dry if drenched partially, and requires incessant drenching before it becomes thoroughly soaked, even thus should the yogin gradually control all his senses. He should gradually withdraw them (from all objects). The man that acts in this way succeeds in controlling them. One, O Bharata, by oneself directing one's mind and senses to the path of meditation, succeeds in bringing them under perfect control by steadfast yoga. The felicity that he feels who has succeeded in controlling his mind and senses is such that its like can never be obtained through Exertion or Destiny, l United with such felicity, he continues to take a pleasure in the act of meditation. Even in this way yogins attain to Nirvana which is highly blessed.'" nishkamam. Ubhayam is prachinamaihikam cha karmam. Apriyam is equivalent to vadham. The substance of priyam, etc., is thus given: Moksham prati tu karmanah karanatwam duranirastam. explained by the commentator as parikshakah but it would be better to take it as standing for people generally. Tasya is an instance of the genitive for the accusative. Tat refers to nindyam karma, sarvatah means sarvashu yonishu. Janayati Janena dadati. The object of the verse is to show that sinful acts produce fear both here and hereafter. sandhi. Niravishan is an adverb, equivalent to samyak-abhinivesam kurvan. Tattadeva means "those and those" i.e., possessions, such as putradaradikam. Kusalan is sarasaravivekanipunan. Ubhayam is explained as karma-mukhin and sadyomuktim. Bhisma here points out the superiority of the latter kind of Emancipation over the former; hence Vedic acts or rites must yield to that yoga which drills the mind and the understanding and enables them to transcend all earthly influences. One may recover it by yoga which aids one in liberating oneself from those attachments. different stages of progress in yoga. The commentator explains them at length. in acts, and destiny as dependent on the acts of a past life or the will of the gods or pure chance. Yoga felicity is unattainable through either of these two means. "Yudhishthira said, 'Thou hast discoursed on the four modes of life and their duties. Thou hast also spoken of the duties of kings. Thou hast recited many histories of diverse kinds and connected with diverse topics. I have also heard from thee, O thou of great intelligence, many discourses connected with morality. I have, however, one doubt. It behoveth thee to resolve it. I wish, O Bharata, to hear of the fruits that silent Reciters of sacred mantras acquire (by their practice). What are the fruits that have been indicated for such men? What is that region to which they go after death? It behoveth thee also, O sinless one, to tell me all the rules that have been laid down in respect of such silent recitation? When the word Reciter is uttered, what shall I understand by it? Is such a man to be regarded as following the ordinances of Sankhya or yoga or work! 2 Or, is such a man to be regarded as observing the ordinances about (mental) sacrifices? How is the path of the Reciters to be called? Thou art, as I think, of universal knowledge. Tell me all this.' "Bhishma said, 'In this connection is cited the old history of what transpired between Yama, Time, and a certain Brahmana. Sages conversant with the means of attaining to Emancipation have spoken of two methods, viz., the Sankhya and the yoga. Amongst these, in the former, which is otherwise called the Vedanta, Renunciation has been preached with respect to silent recitation. The declarations of the Vedas preach Abstention (from rites), are fraught with tranquillity, and are concerned with Brahma. 3 Indeed, the two paths spoken of by sages bent on achieving what is for their good, viz., Sankhya and yoga, are such that they are both concerned and again unconcerned (with silent recitations). I The manner in which silent recitation is connected (with each of the two paths) and the cause I shall now explain. In both as in the case of silent recitation, are needed the subduing of the senses and the fixing of the mind (after withdrawal from external objects); as also truth keeping up of the (sacred) fire, residence in solitude, meditation, penance, self-restraint, forgiveness, benevolence, abstemiousness in respect of food, withdrawal from worldly attachments, the absence of talkativeness, and tranquillity. These constitute a sacrifice in acts (leading to the fruition of desire about heaven or felicity in next life). 2 Listen now to the course that consists of abstention (from acts). The manner in which the acts of the Reciter observing the vow of Brahmacharya may cease, I will presently declare. Such a person should conduct himself in every way according to what has been (already) said by me. 3 Betaking himself to the path of abstention, he should seek to extinguish his dependence on both the External and the Internal. Sitting on kusa grass, with kusa in hand, and binding his coronal locks with kusa, he should surround himself with kusa and have kusa for robes. Bowing unto all earthly concerns, he should take leave of them and never think of them. Assuming equability by the aid of his mind, he should fix his mind on the mind itself. Reciting the highly beneficial composition (viz., the Gayatri), he meditates with the aid of his intellect on Brahma alone. Afterwards he leaves off even that, being then absorbed in concentrated contemplation. 4 In consequence of his dependence on the strength of the Gayatri which he recites, this concentrated contemplation will come of itself. By penances he attains to purity of soul, and self-restraint, and cessation of aversion and desire. Freed from attachment and delusion, above the influence of all pairs of opposites (such as heat and cold, joy and sorrow, etc.), he never grieves and never suffers himself to be drawn towards worldly objects. He does not regard himself as the actor nor as the enjoyer or sufferer of the consequences of his acts. He never, through selfishness, fixes his mind on anything. Without being employed in the acquisition of wealth, he abstains also from disregarding or insulting others, but not from work. The work in which he is employed is that of meditation; he is devoted to meditation, and seeks meditation unalterably. By meditation he succeeds in bringing about concentrated contemplation , and then gradually leaves off meditation itself. In that state he enjoys the felicity which attaches to the abandonment of all things. Having thoroughly mastered the principle of desire he casts off his life-breaths and then enters into the Brahmic body. Or, if he does desire to enter into the Brahmic body, he at once goes upwards into the region of Brahma and has never to undergo rebirth. Having become tranquillity's self, and being freed from all kinds of calamity, such a person, by depending upon his own intelligence, succeeds in attaining to that Soul which is pure and immortal and which is without a stain.'" think, this is said because of the agreement between the Vedanta and the Sankhya in this respect notwithstanding their difference in other respects. The object of the verse is to say that according to the Sankhya, there is no necessity for silent recitation of mantras. Mental meditation, without the utterance of particular words, may lead to Brahma. Soul, one may silently recite the Pranava or the original word Om. When, however, one succeeds in beholding one's Soul, then may one give up such recitation. other Nrivritti dharma. The first is a course of actions; the second of abstention from actions. The attributes indicated in 10 and 1 1 belong to the first course or path. They are, therefore, called Pravartaka yajna or Sacrifice having its origin in Pravritti or action. as explained previously, is made to dwell on Brahma alone. "Yudhishthira said, 'Thou hast said that as regards Reciters, they obtain this very high end. 1 1 beg to enquire whether this is their only end or there is any other to which they attain.' "Bhishma said, 'Listen with concentrated attention, O puissant monarch, to the end that silent Reciters attain, and to the diverse kinds of hell into which they sink, O bull among men! That Reciter who does not at first conduct himself according to the method that has been laid down, and who cannot complete the ritual or course of discipline laid down, has to go to hell. 2 That Reciter who goes on without faith, who is not contented with his work, and who takes no pleasure in it, goes to hell, without doubt. They who follow the ritual with pride in their hearts, all go to hell. That Reciter who insults and disregards others has to go to hell. That man who betakes himself to silent recitation under the influence of stupefaction and from desire of fruit, obtains all those things upon which his heart becomes set. 3 That Reciter whose heart becomes set upon the attributes that go by the name of divinity, has to incur hell and never becomes freed from it. 4 That Reciter who betakes himself to recitation under the influence of attachments (to earthly objects such as wealth, wives etc.) obtain those objects upon which their hearts are set. That Reciter of wicked understanding and uncleansed soul who sets himself to his work with an unstable mind, obtains an unstable end or goes into hell. That Reciter who is not endued with wisdom and who is foolish, becomes stupefied or deluded; and in consequence of such delusion has to go to hell where he is obliged to indulge in regrets, l If a person of even firm heart, resolving to complete the discipline, betakes himself to recitation, but fails to attain to completion in consequence of his having freed himself from attachments by a violent stretch without genuine conviction of their inutility or harmful character, he also has to go to hell 2. "Yudhishthira said, 'When the Reciter attains to the essence of that which exists in its own nature (without being anything like created or born objects), which is Supreme, which is indescribable and inconceivable, and which dwells in the syllable om forming the subject of both recitation and meditation (indeed, when Reciters to a state of Brahma), why is it that they have again to take birth in embodied "Bhishma, said, 'In consequence of the absence of true knowledge and wisdom, Reciters obtain diverse descriptions of hell. The discipline followed by Reciters is certainly very superior. These, however, that I have spoken of, are the faults that appertain to it.'" decrepitude and death, or death at will, or absorption into Brahma, or independent, existence in a beatific to the joys of heaven, but compared to Emancipation, they are hell, there being the obligation of rebirth attached to them. Reciters. They are the power to become minute or huge in shape, or go whither soever one will, etc. These are likened to hell, because of the obligation of re-birth that attaches to them. Nothing less than Emancipation or the absorption into the Supreme Soul is the end that should be striven for. " Yudhishthira said, 'Tell me what description of hell is obtained by a Reciter? I feel, O king, a curiosity to know this. It behoveth thee to discourse on the subject.' "Bhishma said, 'Thou hast sprung from a portion of the god of righteousness. Thou art by nature observant of righteousness. Listen, O sinless one, with undivided attention, to these words resting on righteousness as their basis. Those regions that are owned by the high-souled gods, that are of diverse aspects and colours, of diverse descriptions and productive of diverse fruits, and that are of great excellence, those ears again that: move at the will of the riders, those beautiful mansions and hells, those various pleasure-gardens embellished with golden lotuses, those regions that belong to the four Regents and Sukra and Vrihaspati and the Maruts and Viswedevas and Sadhyas and the Aswins, and the Rudras and the Adityas and the Vasus, and other denizens of heaven, are, O sire, spoken of as hells, when compared with the region of the Supreme Soul. The region last spoken of is without any fear (of change for the worse), uncreate (and therefore, in its true nature), without pain of any kind (such as ignorance and delusion), without any agreeable or disagreeable element, beyond the reach of the three attributes (of Sattwa, Rajas, and Tamas), freed from the eight incidents, (viz., the five primal elements, the senses, the: mind, and the intellect), without the three (distinctions between the knower, the known, and act of knowing); freed also from the four attributes (seeing, hearing, thinking, and knowing), l without the fourfold causes (of knowledge), without joy and delight and sorrow and disease. Time (in his forms of past, present, and future) arises there for use. Time is not the ruler there. That supreme region is the ruler of Time as also of Heaven. That Reciter who becomes identified with his Soul (by withdrawing everything into it) goes thither. He has, after this, never to feel any sorrow. This region is called Supreme. The other regions (of which I have first spoken) are hell. I have not told thee of all those regions that are called hell. Indeed, in comparison with that foremost of regions all the others are called hell.' making both 10 and 11 couplets, instead of taking 11 as a triplet. "Yudhishthira said, 'Thou hadst referred to the dispute between Time, Mrityu, Yama, Ikshvaku, and a Brahmana. It behoveth thee to narrate the story in full.' "Bhishma said, 'In connection with this subject that I am discoursing upon, is cited the old history of what transpired between Surya's son Ikshvaku and a certain Brahmana, and Time and Mrityu. Listen to me as to what occurred, and what was the conversation that took place between them, and the place where it happened. There was a certain Brahmana of great fame and pious behaviour. He was a Reciter. Possessed of great wisdom, he was conversant with the six Angas (of the Vedas). He was of the Kusika race and son of Pippalada. 2 He acquired (by his austerities) spiritual insight into the Angas. 3 Residing at the foot of Himavat, he was devoted to the Vedas. Silently reciting the Gayatri composition, he practised severe austerities for attaining to Brahma. A thousand years passed over his head while he was engaged in the observance of vows and fasts. The goddess (of Gayatri or Savitri) showed herself to him and said, 'I am gratified with thee.' Continuing to recite the sacred mantra, the Brahmana remained silent and spoke not a word to the goddess. The goddess felt compassion for him and became highly gratified. Then that progenitrix of the Vedas applaud that recitation in which the Brahmana had been engaged. After finishing his recitation (for that day) the Brahmana stood up and, bending his head, prostrated himself before the goddess's feet. The righteous-souled Reciter, addressing the goddess, said, 'By good luck, O goddess, thou hast been gratified with me and shown thyself to me. If, indeed, thou art gratified with me, the boon I ask is that my heart may take pleasure in act of recitation.' "Savitri said, 'What dost thou ask, O regenerate Rishil What wish of thine shall I accomplish? Tell me, O foremost of Reciters, everything will be as thou wishest.' Thus addressed by the goddess, the Brahmana, conversant with duties, replied, saying, 'Let my wish about continuing my recitations go on increasing every moment. Let also, O auspicious goddess, the absorption of my mind into Samadhi be more complete.' The goddess sweetly said, Let it be as thou wishest.' Desiring to do good to the Brahmana, the goddess once again addressed him, saying, 'Thou shalt not have to go to hell, i.e., thither where great Brahmanas go. Thou shalt go into the region of Brahma which is uncreate and free from every fault. I go hence, but that which thou hast asked me shall happen. 1 Go on reciting with restrained soul and rapt attention. The god Dharma will in person come to thee. Time, Mrityu. and Yama also will all approach thy presence. There will be a dispute here between them and thee on a question of morality.' 'Bhishma continued, 'Having said these words, the goddess went back to her own abode. The Brahmana. continued engaged in recitation for a thousand celestial years. Restraining wrath, and always controlling self, he passed his time, firmly devoting himself to truth and freed from malice. Upon the completion of his observance by the intelligent Brahmana, Dharma, gratified with him, showed his person unto that regenerate individual.' 'Dharma said, 'O regenerate one, behold me who am Dharma. I have come here for seeing thee. Thou hast won the reward of this recitation in which thou hadst been engaged. Listen to ma as to what that reward is. Thou hast won all the regions of felicity which appertain to either gods or men. O good man, thou shalt ascend above all the abodes of the deities. O ascetic, cast off thy vital breaths then, and go unto whatever regions thou pleasest. By casting off thy body thou wilt win many regions of felicity.' "The Brahmana said, 'What business have I with those regions of felicity of which thou speakest? O Dharma, go whithersoever thou pleasest. I will not, O puissant lord, cast off this body which is subject to much happiness and misery.' "Dharma said, 'Thy body, O foremost of ascetics, should certainly be cast off. Do thou ascend to heaven, O Brahmana! Or, tell us what else should please thee, O sinless one!' "The Brahmana said, 'I do not, O puissant lord, wish to reside in heaven itself without this body of mine. Leave me, O Dharma! I have no desire to go to heaven itself without my own body.' "Dharma said, 'Without (thus) setting thy heart on thy body, cast it off and be happy Go into regions that are free from the attribute of Passion. Indeed, going thither, thou shalt never have to feel any misery.' "The Brahmana said, 'O highly-blessed one, I take great pleasure in recitation. What need have I for those eternal regions of which thou speakest? Indeed, O puissant lord, I do not desire to go to heaven with even this body of mine.' "Dharma said, 'If thou dost not wish to cast off thy body, behold, O regenerate one, there is Time, and there is Mrityu, and there is Yama, who are all approaching thee!' 'Bhishma continued, 'After Dharma had said this, Vivaswat's son (Yama), Time, and Mrityu,— the trio (who snatch away all creatures from the earth), approached that Brahmana, O blessed king, and addressed him thus.' "Yama said, 'I am Yama. I say unto thee that a high reward awaits thee for these well-performed penances of thine, and for this pious conduct that thou hast observed.' "Time said, 'Thou hast won a high reward which is, indeed, commensurate with this course of recitation that thou hast finished. The time is come for thee to ascend to heaven.. I am Time and I have come to "Mrityu said, 'O thou that art conversant with righteousness, know me for Mrityu herself in her proper form. I have come to thee in person, urged by Time, for bearing thee hence, O Brahmana.' "The Brahmana said, 'Welcome to Surya's son, to Time possessed of high soul, to Mrityu, and to Dharma! What shall I accomplish for you all. "Bhishma continued, 'In that meeting, the Brahmana gave them water to wash their feet, and the usual articles of the Arghya. Highly gratified, he then addressed them, saying, 'What shall I do for you all by exerting my own might?' Just at that time, 01 monarch, (king) Ikshvaku, who had set out on a sojourn to holy waters and shrines, came to that spot where those deities had been assembled together. 'The royal sage Ikshvaku bowed his head and worshipped them all. That best of kings then enquired after the welfare of all of them. The Brahmana gave the king a seat, as also water to wash his feet, and the usual Arghya. Having next made the usual enquiries of courtesy, he said, 'Thou art welcome, O great monarch! Tell me all this thy wishes! Let thy noble self tell me what I shall have to accomplish for thee by putting forth my might.' "The king said, 'I am a king. Thou art a Brahmana in the observance of the six well-known duties. (1 cannot ask), I will give thee some wealth. That is well-known. Tell me how much I shall give thee.' "The Brahmana said, 'There are two kinds of Brahmanas, O monarch! Morality of righteousness also is of two kinds; addiction to work, and abstention from work. As regards myself, I have abstained from acceptance of gifts. Give presents unto them, O, king, that are addicted to the duty of work and acceptance. I shall not, therefore, accept anything in gift. On the other hand, I ask thee, what is for thy good? What, indeed, shall I give thee? Tell me, O foremost of kings, and I shall accomplish it with the aid of my penances.' "The king said, 'I am a Kshatriya. I do not know how to say the word 'Give.' The only thing, O best of regenerate persons, that we can say (by way of asking) is Give (us) battle.' "The Brahmana said, 'Thou art content with the observance of the duties of thy order. Similarly, I am content with the duties of mine, O king ! There is, therefore, little difference between us. Do as thou pleasest!' "The king said, 'Thou saidst these words first, viz., 'I shall give thee according to my might.' I, therefore, solicit thee, O regenerate one. Give me the fruits of this recitation (which thou hast gone through).' "The Brahmana said, 'Thou wert boasting that thy utterances always solicit battle. Why then dost thou not solicit battle with me?' "The king said, 'It has been said that Brahmanas are armed with the thunder of speech, and that Kshatriyas have might of arms. Hence, learned Brahmana, this wordy warfare has set in between thee "The Brahmana said, 'As regards myself, even that is my resolution today. What shall I give thee according to my might? Tell me, O king of kings, and I shall give thee, having wealth of my own. Do "The king said, 'If, indeed, thou desirest to give me anything, then give me the fruits thou hast earned by practising recitation for these thousand years.' "The Brahmana said, 'Take the highest fruit of the recitations I have gone through. Indeed, take half, without any scruple, of that fruit. Or, O king, if thou wishest, take without any scruple the entire fruits of my recitations.' "The king said, 'Blessed be thou, I have no need for the fruits of thy recitations which I solicited. Blessings on thy head. I am about to leave thee. Tell me, however, what those fruits are (of thy "The Brahmana said, 'I have no knowledge of the fruits I have won. I have, however, given thee those fruits that I have acquired by recitation. These, viz., Dharma and Time, and Yama, and Mrityu, are witnesses (of the act of gift).' "The king said, 'What will the fruits, that are unknown, of these thy observances, do for me? If thou dost not tell me what the fruits are of thy recitations, let those fruits be thine, for without doubt I do not wish "The Brahmana said, 'I will not accept any other utterance (from thee). I have given thee the fruits of my recitations. Let, O royal sage, both thy words and mine become true. As regards my recitations, I never cherished any specific desire to accomplish. How then, O tiger among kings, should I have any knowledge of what the fruits are of those recitations? Thou saidst, 'Give!' I said 'I give!' I shall not falsify these words. Keep the truth. Be calm! If thou request to keep my word, O king, great will be thy sin due to falsehood. O chastiser of foes, it does not become thee to utter what is untrue. Similarly, I dare not falsify what I have uttered. I have, before this, unhesitatingly said, 7 give !' If, therefore, thou art firm in truth, accept my gift. Coming here, O king, thou didst solicit of me the fruits of my recitations. Therefore, take what I have given away, if, indeed, thou art firm in truth. He who is addicted to falsehood had neither this world nor the next. Such a person fails to rescue his (deceased) ancestors. How again shall he succeed in doing good to his (unborn) progeny? The rewards of sacrifices and gifts, as also of fasts and religious observances, are not so efficacious in rescuing (a person from evil and hell) as Truth, O bull among men, in both this and the next world. All the penances that have been undergone by thee and all those that thou wilt undergo in the future for hundreds and thousands of years do not possess efficacy greater than that of Truth. Truth is one un deteriorating Brahma. Truth is the one undeteriorating Penance. Truth is the one undeteriorating sacrifice. Truth is the one undeteriorating Veda. Truth is awake in the Vedas. The fruits attached to Truth have been said to be the highest. From Truth arise Righteousness and Self-restraint. Everything rests on Truth. Truth is the Vedas and their branches. Truth is Knowledge. Truth is the Ordinance. Truth is the observance of vows and fasts. Truth is the Primeval Word Om. Truth is the origin of creatures. Truth is their progeny. It is by Truth that the Wind moves. It is by Truth that the Sun gives heat. It is by Truth that Fire burns. It is on Truth that Heaven rests. Truth is Sacrifice, Penance, Vedas, the utterance of Samans, Mantras, and Saraswati. It hath been heard by us that once on a time Truth and all religious observances were placed on a pair of scales. When both were weighed, that scale on which Truth was, seen to be heavier. There is Truth where Righteousness is. Everything increaseth through Truth. Why, O king, dost thou wish to do an act that is stained with falsehood? Be firm in Truth. Do not act falsely, O monarch! Why wouldst thou falsify thy words 'Give (me),' which thou hast uttered? If thou refusest, O monarch, to accept the fruits that I have given thee of my recitations, thou shalt then have to wander over the world, fallen away from Righteousness! That person who does not give after having promised, and he also that does not accept after having solicited, are both stained with falsehood. It behoveth thee, therefore, not to falsify thy own "The king said, 'To fight and protect (subjects) are the duties of Kshatriyas. It is said that Kshatriyas are givers (of presents). How then shall I take anything from thee (in gift)?' "The Brahmana said, 'I never insisted on thee, O king (for accepting anything from me in the first instance). I did not seek thy house. Thyself, coming here, didst solicit me. Why then dost thou not take?' "Dharma said, 'Know ye both that I am Dharma himself. Let there be no dispute between you. Let the Brahmana become endued with the reward attaching to gift, and let the monarch also obtain the merit of "Heaven said, 'Know, O great king, that I am Heaven's self in my embodied form, come hither in person. Let this dispute between you cease. You are both equal in respect of the merit or rewards earned.' "The king said, 'I have no use with Heaven. Go, O Heaven, to the place you have come from. If this learned Brahmana desires to repair to thee, let him take the rewards that I have won (by my acts in life).' "The Brahmana said, 'In my younger days I had, through ignorance, stretched my hand (for acceptance of gifts). At present, however, I recite the Gayatri, observing the duty of abstention, l Why dost thou, O king, tempt me thus, me who have for a long time observed the duty of abstention? I shall myself do what my duty is. I do not wish to have any share of the rewards won by thee, O monarch! I am devoted to penances and to study of the Vedas, and I have abstained from acceptance.' "The king said, 'If, O Brahmana, thou art really to give me the excellent reward of thy recitation, then let half that reward be mine, thyself taking at the same time half the reward that I myself have won by my acts. Brahmanas are engaged in the duty of acceptance. Persons born in the royal order are engaged in the duty of giving. If thou art not unaware of the duties (laid down for both the orders), let our fruits be equal (according to the suggestion I have made). Or, if thou dost not wish to be my equal in respect of our rewards, take then the whole of the rewards that I may have won. Do take the merit I have won, if thou wishest to show me grace.'