Mahabharata. English Translation by K M Ganguli

MAHABHARATA
of
Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa
SHANTI PARVA
Translated into English Prose from the Original Sanskrit Text
by
Kisari Mohan Ganguli

[1883-1896]
Scanned at sacred-texts.com, 2003. Proofed at Distributed Proofing,
Juliet Sutherland, Project Manager. Additional proofing and formatting at
sacred-texts.com, by J. B. Hare.
Original sections selected by Madhukrishna Sudhindra [2008-09]
Mahabharta of Krishna Dwipayana Vyasa, translated to English by Kesarimohan Ganguli 1

(Rajadharmanusasana Parva) ........................................................................................ 10
1. SECTION I 10
2. SECTION II 12
3. SECTION III 13
4. SECTION IV 15
5. SECTION V 16
6. SECTION VI 16
7. SECTION VII 17
8. SECTION VIII 19
9. SECTION IX 21
10. SECTION X 23
11. SECTION XI 24
12. SECTION XII 26
13. SECTION XIII 28
14. SECTION XIV 28
15. SECTION XV 30
16. SECTION XVI 33
17. SECTION XVII 34
18. SECTION XVIII 36
19. SECTION XIX 38
20. SECTION XX 39
21. SECTION XXI 40
22. SECTION XXII 41
23. SECTION XXIII 42
24. SECTION XXIV 44
25. SECTION XXV 46
26. SECTION XXVI 48
27. SECTION XXVII 50
28. SECTION XXVIII 52
29. SECTION XXIX 54
30. SECTION XXX 61
31. SECTION XXXI 63
32. SECTION XXXII 65
33. SECTION XXXIII 67
34. SECTION XXXIV-XXXV 69
35. SECTION XXXVI 71
36. SECTION XXXVII 73
37. SECTION XXXVIII 76
38. SECTION XXXIX 79
39. SECTION XL 80
40. SECTION XLI 81
41. SECTION XLII 82
42. SECTION XLIII 83
43. SECTION XLIV 84
44. SECTION XLV 85
45. SECTION XLVI 86

46. SECTION XLVII 86
47. SECTION XLVIII 88
48. SECTION XLIX 94
49. SECTION L 95
50. SECTION LI 99
51. SECTION LII 101
52. SECTION LIII 103
53. SECTION LIV 104
54. SECTION LV 106
55. SECTION LVI 107
56. SECTION LVII 110
57. SECTION LVIII 113
58. SECTION LIX 114
59. SECTION LX 121
60. SECTION LXI 124
61. SECTION LXII 125
62. SECTION LXIII 126
63. SECTION LXIV 128
64. SECTION LXV 130
65. SECTION LXVI 132
66. SECTION LXVII 134
67. SECTION LXVIII 136
68. SECTION LXIX 139
69. SECTION LXX 144
70. SECTION LXXI 145
71. SECTION LXXII 147
72. SECTION LXXIII 148
73. SECTION LXXIV 150
74. SECTION LXXV 151
75. SECTION LXXVI 153
76. SECTION LXXVII 154
77. SECTION LXXVIII 156
78. SECTION LXXIX 159
79. SECTION LXXX 160
80. SECTION LXXXI 162
81. SECTION LXXXII 163
82. SECTION LXXXIII 167
83. SECTION LXXXIV 170
84. SECTION LXXXV 171
85. SECTION LXXXVI 173
86. SECTION LXXXVII 175
87. SECTION LXXXVIII 177
88. SECTION LXXXIX 179
89. SECTION XC 180
90. SECTION XCI 182
91. SECTION XCII 185

92. SECTION XCIII 186
93. SECTION XCIV 188
94. SECTION XCV 189
95. SECTION XCVI 190
96. SECTION XCVII 192
97. SECTION XCVIII 193
98. SECTION XCIX 196
99. SECTION C 197
100. SECTION CI 200
101. SECTION CII 201
102. SECTION CIII 203
103. SECTION CIV 206
104. SECTION CV 209
105. SECTION CVI 211
106. SECTION CVII 212
107. SECTION CVIII 214
108. SECTION CIX 216
109. SECTION CX 217
110. SECTION CXI 219
111. SECTION CXII 224
112. SECTION CXIII 225
113. SECTION CXIV 226
114. SECTION CXV 227
115. SECTION CXVI 228
116. SECTION CXVII 229
117. SECTION CXVIII 231
118. SECTION CXIX 232
119. SECTION CXX 233
120. SECTION CXXI 237
121. SECTION CXXII 240
122. SECTION CXXIII 243
123. SECTION CXXIV 244
124. SECTION CXXV 248
125. SECTION CXXVI 249
126. SECTION CXXVII 250
127. SECTION CXXVIII 251
128. SECTION CXXIX 253
129. SECTION CXXX 253
130. SECTION CXXXI 256
131. SECTION CXXXII 257
132. SECTION CXXXIII 259
133. SECTION CXXXIV 260
134. SECTION CXXXV 261
135. SECTION CXXXVI 262
136. SECTION CXXXVII 263
137. SECTION CXXXVIII 264

138. SECTION CXXXIX 274
139. SECTION CXL 280
140. SECTION CXLI 284
141. SECTION CXLII 290
142. SECTION CXLIII 292
143. SECTION CXLIV 294
144. SECTION CXLV 295
145. SECTION CXLVI 295
146. SECTION CXLVII 296
147. SECTION CXLVIII 297
148. SECTION CXLIX 298
149. SECTION CL 299
150. SECTION CLI 300
151. SECTION CLII 301
152. SECTION CLIII 303
153. SECTION CLIV 309
154. SECTION CLV 310
155. SECTION CLVI 311
156. SECTION CLVII 312
157. SECTION CLVIII 313
158. SECTION CLIX 315
159. SECTION CLX 315
160. SECTION CLXI 317
161. SECTION CLXII 318
162. SECTION CLXIII 319
163. SECTION CLXIV 321
164. SECTION CLXV 322
165. SECTION CLXVI 326
166. SECTION CLXVII 330
167. SECTION CLXVIII 333
168. SECTION CLXIX 336
169. SECTION CLXX 338
170. SECTION CLXXI 339
171. SECTION CLXXII 341
172. SECTION CLXXIII 342
173. SECTION CLXXIV 343
174. SECTION CLXXV 347
175. SECTION CLXXVI 349
176. SECTION CLXXVII 350
177. SECTION CLXXVIII 353
178. SECTION CLXXIX 354
179. SECTION CLXXX 356
180. SECTION CLXXXI 359
181. SECTION CLXXXII 360
182. SECTION CLXXXIII 362
183. SECTION CLXXXIV 363

184. SECTION CLXXXV 365
185. SECTION CLXXXVI 366
186. SECTION CLXXXVII 367
187. SECTION CLXXXVIII 369
188. SECTION CLXXXIX 370
189. SECTION CXC 372
190. SECTION CXCI 373
191. SECTION CXCII 375
192. SECTION CXCIII 377
193. SECTION CXCIV 379
194. SECTION CXCV 383
195. SECTION CXCVI 384
196. SECTION CXCVII 386
197. SECTION CXCVIII 386
198. SECTION CXCIX 387
199. SECTION CC 395
200. SECTION CCI 396
201. SECTION CCII 398
202. SECTION CCIII 400
203. SECTION CCIV 402
204. SECTION CCV 403
205. SECTION CCVI 405
206. SECTION CCVII 407
207. SECTION CCVIII 409
208. SECTION CCIX 411
209. SECTION CCX 413
210. SECTION CCXI 415
211. SECTION CCXII 417
212. SECTION CCXIII 419
213. SECTION CCXIV 420
214. SECTION CCXV 422
215. SECTION CCXVI 424
216. SECTION CCXVII 425
217. SECTION CCXVIII 428
218. SECTION CCXIX 432
219. SECTION CCXX 436
220. SECTION CCXXI 438
221. SECTION CCXXII 439
222. SECTION CCXXIII 441
223. SECTION CCXXIV 443
224. SECTION CCXXV 446
225. SECTION CCXXVI 448
226. SECTION CCXXVII 450
227. SECTION CCXXVIII 456
228. SECTION CCXXIX 461
229. SECTION CCXXX 463

230. SECTION CCXXXI 464
231. SECTION CCXXXII 466
232. SECTION CCXXXIII 469
233. SECTION CCXXXIV 470
234. SECTION CCXXXV 472
235. SECTION CCXXXVI 474
236. SECTION CCXXXVII 477
237. SECTION CCXXXVIII 479
238. SECTION CCXXXIX 480
239. SECTION CCXL 482
240. SECTION CCXLI 485
241. SECTION CCXLII 486
242. SECTION CCXLIII 488
243. SECTION CCXLIV 490
244. SECTION CCXLV 492
245. SECTION CCXLVI 495
246. SECTION CCXLVII 497
247. SECTION CCXLVIII 498
248. SECTION CCXLIX 500
249. SECTION CCL 501
250. SECTION CCLI 503
251. SECTION CCLII 504
252. SECTION CCLIII 505
253. SECTION CCLIV 506
254. SECTION CCLV 507
255. SECTION CCLVI 508
256. SECTION CCLVII 510
257. SECTION CCLVIII 511
258. SECTION CCLIX 513
259. SECTION CCLX 515
260. SECTION CCLXI 516
261. SECTION CCLXII 519
262. SECTION CCLXIII 522
263. SECTION CCLXIV 525
264. SECTION CCLXV 527
265. SECTION CCLXVI 528
266. SECTION CCLXVII 532
267. SECTION CCLXVIII 535
268. SECTION CCLXIX 537
269. SECTION CCLXX 543
270. SECTION CCLXXI 546
271. SECTION CCLXXII 549
272. SECTION CCLXXIII 551
273. SECTION CCLXXIV 552
274. SECTION CCLXXV 553
275. SECTION CCLXXVI 556

276. SECTION CCLXXVII 557
277. SECTION CCLXXVIII 559
278. SECTION CCLXXIX 561
279. SECTION CCLXXX 563
280. SECTION CCLXXXI 568
281. SECTION CCLXXXII 570
282. SECTION CCLXXXIII 573
283. SECTION CCLXXXIV 577
284. SECTION CCLXXXV 581
285. SECTION CCLXXXVI 589
286. SECTION CCLXXXVII 592
287. SECTION CCLXXXVIII 593
288. SECTION CCLXXXIX 597
289. SECTION CCXC 599
290. SECTION CCXCI 601
291. SECTION CCXCII 603
292. SECTION CCXCIII 605
293. SECTION CCXCIV 606
294. SECTION CCXCV 607
295. SECTION CCXCVI 609
296. SECTION CCXCVII 611
297. SECTION CCXCVIII 614
298. SECTION CCXCIX 616
299. SECTION CCC 619
300. SECTION CCCI 622
301. SECTION CCCII 626
302. SECTION CCCIII 632
303. SECTION CCCIV 635
304. SECTION CCCV 638
305. SECTION CCCVI 639
306. SECTION CCCVII 641
307. SECTION CCCVIII 644
308. SECTION CCCIX 647
309. SECTION CCCX 651
310. SECTION CCCXI 652
311. SECTION CCCXII 654
312. SECTION CCCXIII 655
313. SECTION CCCXIV 656
314. SECTION CCCXV 657
315. SECTION CCCXVI 658
316. SECTION CCCXVII 659
317. SECTION CCCXVIII 661
318. SECTION CCCXIX 662
319. SECTION CCCXX 669
320. SECTION CCCXXI 669
321. SECTION CCCXXII 681

322. SECTION CCCXXIII 686
323. SECTION CCCXXIV 687
324. SECTION CCCXXV 689
325. SECTION CCCXXVI 690
326. SECTION CCCXXVII 692
327. SECTION CCCXXVIII 695
328. SECTION CCCXXIX 698
329. SECTION CCCXXX 701
330. SECTION CCCXXXI 704
331. SECTION CCCXXXII 706
332. SECTION CCCXXXIII 710
333. SECTION CCCXXXIV 711
334. SECTION CCCXXXV 713
335. SECTION CCCXXXVI 716

(Rajadharmanusasana Parva)
SECTION I
OM! HAVING BOWED down to Narayana, and Nara, the foremost of male
beings, and unto the goddess Saraswati, must the word Jaya be uttered.
“Vaisampayana said, „Having offered oblations, of water unto all their friends and
kinsmen, the sons of Pandu, and Vidura, and Dhritarashtra, and all the Bharata
ladies, continued to dwell there (on the banks of the sacred stream). The high-
souled sons of Pandu desired to pass the period of mourning,[1] which extended
for a month, outside the Kuru city. After king Yudhishthira the just had performed
the water-rites, many high-souled sages crowned with ascetic success and many
foremost of regenerate Rishis came there to see the monarch. Among them were
the Island-born (Vyasa), and Narada, and the great Rishi Devala, and
Devasthana, and Kanwa. They were all accompanied by best of their pupils.
Many other members of the regenerate order, possessed of wisdom and
accomplished in the Vedas, leading lives of domesticity or belonging to the
Snataka class, came to behold the Kuru king. Those high-souled ones, as they
came, were duly worshipped by Yudhishthira. The great Rishis then took their
seats on costly carpets. Accepting the worship suited to that period (of mourning
and impurity) that was offered them, they sat in due order around the king.
Thousands of Brahmanas offered consolation and comfort to that king of kings
residing on the sacred banks of the Bhagirathi with heart exceedingly agitated by
grief. Then Narada, after having accosted the Rishis with the Island-born for their
first, in due time, addressed Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma, saying, „Through
the might of thy arms and the grace of Madhava, the whole Earth, O
Yudhishthira, hath been righteously won by thee. By good luck, thou hast
escaped with life from this dreadful battle. Observant as thou art o f the duties of
a Kshatriya, dost thou not rejoice, O son of Pandu? Having slain all thy foes,
shalt thou not gratify thy friends, O king? Having obtained this prosperity, I hope,
grief doth not afflict thee still.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „Indeed the whole Earth hath been subjugated by me through
my reliance on the might of Krishna‟s arms, through the grace of the Brahmanas,
and through the strength of Bhima and Arjuna. This heavy grief, however, is
always sitting in my heart, viz., that through covetousness I have caused this
dreadful carnage of kinsmen. Having caused the death of the dear son of
Subhadra, and of the sons of Draupadi, this victory, O holy one, appears to me in
the light of a defeat. What wilt Subhadra of Vrishni‟s race, that sister-in-law of
mine, say unto me? What also will the people residing in Dwaraka say unto the
slayer of Madhu when he goes thither from this place? This Draupadi, again, who
is ever engaged in doing what is agreeable to us, bereaved of sons and kinsmen,
is paining me exceedingly. This is another topic, O holy Narada, about which I
will speak to thee. In consequence of Kunti having kept her counsels close in
respect of a very important matter, great has been my grief. That hero who had

the strength of ten thousand elephants, who in this world was an unrivalled car-
warrior, who was possessed of leonine pride and gait, who was endued with
great intelligence and compassion, whose liberality was very great, who
practised many high vows, who was the refuge of the Dhartarashtras, who was
sensitive about his honour, whose prowess was irresistible, who was ready to
pay off all injuries and was always wrathful (in battle), who overthrew us in
repeated encounters, who was quick in the use of weapons, conversant with
every mode of warfare, possessed of great skill, and endued with wonderful
valour (that Karna) was a son of Kunti, born secretly of her, and therefore, a
uterine brother of ours. Whilst we were offering oblations of water unto the dead,
Kunti spoke of him as the son of Surya. Possessed of every virtue, that child had
been cast into the water. Having placed him in a basket made of light materials,
Kunti committed him to the current of Ganga. He who was regarded by the world
as a Suta‟s child born of Radha, was really the eldest son of Kunti and, therefore,
our uterine brother. Covetous of kingdom, alas, I have unwittingly caused that
brother of mine to be slain. It is this that is burning my limbs like a fire burning a
heap of cotton. The white-steeded Arjuna knew him not for a brother. Neither I,
nor Bhima, nor the twins, knew him for such. He, however, of excellent bow,
knew us (for his brothers). We have heard that on one occasion Pritha went to
him for seeking our good and addressed him, saying, „Thou art my son!‟ That
illustrious hero, however, refused to obey Pritha‟s wishes. Subsequently, we are
informed, he said unto his mother these words, „I am unable to desert
Duryodhana in battle! If I do so, it would be a dishonourable, cruel, and
ungrateful act. If, yielding to thy wishes, I make peace with Yudhishthira, people
will say that I am afraid of the white-steeded Arjuna. Having vanquished Arjuna
with Kesava, therefore, in battle, I will subsequently make peace with Dharma‟s
son.‟ Even these were his words as we have heard. Thus answered, Pritha once
more addressed her son of broad chest and said, „Fight Phalguna then, but spare
my four other sons.‟ The intelligent Karna, with joined hands, then replied unto
his trembling mother, saying, „If I get thy four other sons even under my power, I
will not slay them. Without doubt, O goddess, thou shalt continue to have five
sons. If Karna be slain with Arjuna, thou shalt have five! If, on the other hand,
Arjuna be slain, thou shalt have five, numbering me.‟ Desirous of the good of her
children, his mother once more said unto him, „Go, O Karna, do good unto those
brothers of thine whose good thou always seekest.‟ Having said these words,
Pritha took his leave and came back to her abode. That hero has been slain by
Arjuna,--the uterine brother by the brother! Neither Pritha, nor he, had ever
disclosed the secret, O lord! That hero and great bowman was therefore slain by
Arjuna in battle. Subsequently I have come to know, O best of regenerate ones,
that he was my uterine brother. Indeed, at Pritha‟s words I have come to know
that Karna was the eldest born! Having caused my brother to be slain, my heart
is burning exceedingly. If I had both Karna and Arjuna for aiding me, I could have
vanquished Vasudeva himself. Whilst I was tortured in the midst of the assembly
by the wicked-souled sons of Dhritarashtra, my wrath, suddenly provoked,
became cooled at sight of Karna. Even while listening to the harsh and bitter
words of Karna himself on that occasion of our match at dice, to the words, that

Karna uttered from desire of doing what was agreeable to Duryodhana, my wrath
became cooled at sight of Karna‟s feet. It seemed to me that Karna‟s feet
resembled the feet of our mother Kunti. Desirous of finding out the reason of that
resemblance between him and our mother, I reflected for a long time. With even
my best exertions I failed to find the cause. Why, indeed, did the earth swallow
up the wheels of his car at the time of battle? Why was my brother cursed? It
behoveth thee to recite all this to me. I desire to hear everything from thee, O
holy one! Thou art acquainted with everything in this world and thou knowest
both the past and the future!‟
SECTION II
“Vaisampayana said, „That foremost of speakers, the sage Narada, thus
questioned, narrated everything about the manner in which he who was believed
to be a Suta‟s son had been cursed (in former days).‟
“Narada said, „It is even so, O mighty armed one, as thou sayest, O Bharata!
Nothing could resist Karna and Arjuna in battle. This, O sinless one, that I am
about to tell thee is unknown to the very gods. Listen to me, O mighty-armed
one, as it befell in former days. How all the Kshatriyas, cleansed by weapons
should attain to regions of bliss, was the question. For this, a child was conceived
by Kunti in her maidenhood, capable of provoking a general war. Endued with
great energy, that child came to have the status of a Suta. He subsequently
acquired the science of weapons from the preceptor (Drona), that foremost
descendant of Angirasa‟s race. Thinking of the might of Bhimasena, the
quickness of Arjuna in the use of weapons, the intelligence of thyself, O king, the
humility of the twins, the friendship, from earliest years, between Vasudeva and
the wielder of Gandiva, and the affection of the people for you all, that young
man burnt with envy. In early age he made friends with king Duryodhana, led by
an accident and his own nature and the hate he bore towards you all. Beholding
that Dhananjaya was superior to every one in the science of weapons, Karna.
one day approached Drona in private and said these words unto him, „I desire to
be acquainted with the Brahma weapon, with all its mantras and the power of
withdrawing it, for I desire to fight Arjuna. Without doubt, the affection thou
bearest to every one of thy pupils is equal to what thou bearest to thy own son. I
pray that all the masters of the science of weapons may, through thy grace,
regard me as one accomplished in weapons!‟ Thus addressed by him, Drona,
from partiality for Phalguna, as also from his knowledge of the wickedness of
Karna, said, „None but a Brahmana, who has duly observed all vows, should be
acquainted with the Brahma weapon, or a Kshatriya that has practised austere
penances, and no other.‟ When Drona had answered thus, Karna, having
worshipped him, obtained his leave, and proceeded without delay to Rama then
residing on the Mahendra mountains. Approaching Rama, he bent his head unto
him and said, „I am a Brahmana of Bhrigu‟s race.‟ This procured honour for him.
With this knowledge about his birth and family, Rama received him kindly and

said, „Thou art welcome!‟ at which Karna became highly glad. While residing on
the Mahendra mountains that resembled heaven itself, Karna met and mixed with
many Gandharvas, Yakshas, and gods. Residing there he acquired all the
weapons duly, and became a great favourite of the gods, the Gandharvas, and
the Rakshasas. One day he roved on the sea-coast by the side of that asylum.
Indeed, Surya‟s son, armed with bow and sword, wandered alone, While thus
employed, O Partha, he inadvertently slew, without witting it, the Homa cow of a
certain utterer of Brahma who daily performed his Agnihotra rite. Knowing that he
had perpetrated that act from inadvertence, he informed the Brahmana of it.
Indeed Karna, for the object of gratifying the owner, repeatedly said, „O holy one,
I have killed this thy cow without wilting it. Forgive me the act!‟ Filled with wrath,
the Brahmana, rebuking him, said these words, „O thou of wicked conduct, thou
deservest to be killed. Let the fruit of this act be thine, O thou of wicked soul.
While fighting him, O wretch whom thou always challengest, and for whose sake
thou strivest so much every day, the earth shall swallow the wheel of thy car! And
while the wheel of thy car shall thus be swallowed up by the earth, thy foe,
putting forth his prowess, will cut off thy head, thyself being stupefied the while!
Leave me, O vile man! As thou hast heedlessly slain this my cow, even so wilt
thy foe cut off thy head while thou shalt be heedless!‟ Though cursed, Karna still
sought to gratify that foremost of Brahmanas by offering him kine and wealth and
gems. The latter, however, once more answered him, „All the words will not
succeed in falsifying the words spoken by me! Go hence or remain, do whatever
thou likest.‟ Thus addressed by the Brahmana, Karna, hanging down his head
from cheerlessness, returned timidly to Rama, reflecting on that matter.‟
SECTION III
“Narada said, „That tiger of Bhrigu‟s race (viz., Rama), was well-pleased with the
might of Karna‟s arms, his affection (for him), his self-restraint, and the services
he did unto his preceptor. Observant of ascetic penances, Rama cheerfully
communicated, with due forms, unto his penance-observing disciple, everything
about the Brahma weapon with the mantras for withdrawing it. Having acquired a
knowledge of that weapon, Karna began to pass his days happily in Bhrigu‟s
retreat, and endued with wonderful prowess, he devoted himself with great
ardour to the science of weapons. One day Rama of great intelligence, while
roving with Karna in the vicinity or his retreat, felt very weak in consequence of
the fasts he had undergone. From affection begotten by confidence, the tired son
of Jamadagni placing his head on Karna‟s lap, slept soundly, White his preceptor
was thus sleeping (with head) on his lap, a frightful worm, whose bite was very
painful and which subsisted on phlegm and fat and flesh and blood, approached
the presence of Karna. That blood-sucking worm, approaching Karna‟s thigh,
began to pierce it. Through fear of (awaking) his preceptor, Karna became
unable to either throw away or kill that worm. Though his limb was bored through
by that worm, O Bharata, the son of Surya, lest his preceptor should awake,
suffered it to do its pleasure. Though the pain was intolerable, Karna bore it with

heroic patience, and continued to hold Bhrigu‟s son on his lap, without quivering
in the least and without manifesting any sign of pain. When at last Karna‟s blood
touched the body of Rama of great energy, the latter awoke and said these
words in fear, „Alas, I have been made impure! What is this that thou art doing,
Tell me, casting off all fear, what is the truth of this matter!‟ Then Karna informed
him of that worm‟s bite. Rama saw that worm which resembled a hog in shape. It
had eight feet and very keen teeth, and it was covered with bristles that were all
pointed like needles. Called by the name of Alarka, its limbs were then shrunk
(with fear). As soon as Rama cast his, eyes on it, the worm gave up its life-
breath, melting in that blood which it had drawn. All this seemed wonderful. Then
in the welkin was seen a Rakshasa of terrible form, dark in hue, of a red neck,
capable of assuming any form at wilt, and staying on the clouds,--his object
fulfilled, the Rakshasa, with joined hands, addressed Rama, saying, „O best of
ascetics, thou hast rescued me from this hell! Blessed be thou, I adore thee, thou
hast done me good!‟ Possessed of great energy, the mighty-armed son of
Jamadagni said unto him, „Who art thou? And why also didst thou fall into hell?
Tell me all about it.‟ He answered, „Formerly I was a great Asura of the name of
Dansa. In the Krita period, O sire, I was of the same age with Bhrigu. I ravished
the dearly-loved spouse of that sage. Through his curse I felt down on the earth
in the form of a worm. In anger thy ancestors said unto me, „Subsisting on urine
and phlegm, O wretch, thou shalt lead a life of hell.‟ I then besought him, saying,
„When, O Brahmana, shall this curse end?‟ Bhrigu replied unto me, saying. „This
curse shall end through Rama of my race. It was for this that I had obtained such
a course of life like one of uncleansed soul. O righteous one, by thee, however, I
have been rescued from that sinful life.‟ Having said these words, the great
Asura, bending his head unto Rama went away. Then Rama wrathfully
addressed Karna, saying, „O fool, no Brahmana could endure such agony. Thy
patience is like that of a Kshatriya. Tell me the truth, without fear.‟ Thus asked,
Karna, fearing to be cursed, and seeking to gratify him, said these words, „O thou
of Bhrigu‟s race, know me for a Suta, a race that has sprung from the
intermixture of Brahmanas with Kshatriyas. People call me Karna the son of
Radha. O thou of Bhrigu‟s race, be gratified with my poor self that has acted from
the desire of obtaining weapons. There is no doubt in this that a reverend
preceptor in the Vedas and other branches of knowledge is one‟s father. It was
for this that I introduced myself to thee as a person of thy own race.‟ Unto the
cheerless and trembling Karna, prostrated with joined hands upon earth, that
foremost one of Bhrigu‟s race, smiling though filled with wrath, answered, „Since
thou hast, from avarice of weapons, behaved here with falsehood, therefore, O
wretch, this Brahma weapon shalt not dwell in thy remembrance[2]. Since thou
art not a Brahmana, truly this Brahma weapon shall not, up to the time of thy
death, dwell in thee when thou shalt be engaged with a warrior equal to
thyself![3] Go hence, this is no place for a person of such false behaviour as
thou! On earth, no Kshatriya will be thy equal in battle.‟ Thus addressed by
Rama, Karna came away, having duty taken his leave. Arriving then before
Duryodhana, he informed him, saying, „I have mastered all weapons!‟”

SECTION IV
“Narada said, „Having thus obtained weapons from him of Bhrigu‟s race, Karna
began to pass his days in great joy, in the company of Duryodhana, O bull of
Bharata‟s race! Once on a time, O monarch, many kings repaired to a self-choice
at the capital of Chitrangada, the ruler of the country of the Kalingas. The city, O
Bharata, full of opulence, was known by the name of Rajapura. Hundreds of
rulers repaired thither for obtaining the hand of the maiden. Hearing that diverse
kings had assembled there, Duryodhana. also, on his golden car, proceeded
thither, accompanied by Karna. When the festivities commenced in that self-
choice, diverse rulers, O best of kings, came thither for the hand of the maiden.
There were amongst them Sisupala and Jarasandha and Bhishmaka and Vakra,
and Kapotaroman and Nila and Rukmi of steady prowess, and Sringa who was
ruler of the kingdom females, and Asoka and Satadhanwan and the heroic ruler
of the Bhojas. Besides these, many others who dwelt in the countries of the
South, and many preceptors (in arms) of the mlechcha tribes, and many rulers
from the East and the North, O Bharata, came there. All of them were adorned
with golden Angadas, and possessed of the splendour of pure gold. Of effulgent
bodies, they were like tigers of fierce might. After all those kings had taken their
seats, O Bharata, the maiden entered the arena, accompanied by her nurse and
a guard of eunuchs. Whilst being informed of the names of the kings (as she
made her round), that maiden of the fairest complexion passed by the son of
Dhritarashtra (as she had passed others before him). Duryodhana, however, of
Kuru‟s race, could not tolerate that rejection of himself. Disregarding all the
kings, he commanded the maiden to stop. Intoxicated with the pride of energy,
and relying upon Bhishma and Drona, king Duryodhana, taking up that maiden
on his car, abducted her with force. Armed with sword, clad in mail, and his
fingers cased in leathern fences, Karna, that foremost of all wielders of weapons
riding on his car, proceeded along Duryodhana‟s rear. A great uproar then took
place among the kings, all of whom were actuated by the desire for fight, „Put on
your coats of mail! Let the cars be made ready!‟ (These were the sounds that
were heard). Filled with wrath, they pursued Karna and Duryodhana, showering
their arrows upon them like masses of clouds pouring rain upon a couple of hills.
As they thus pursued them, Karna felled their bows and arrows on the ground,
each with a single arrow. Amongst them some became bowless, some rushed
bow in hand, some were on the point of shooting their shafts, and some pursued
them, armed with darts and maces. Possessed of great lightness of hands,
Karna, that foremost of all smiters, afflicted them all. He deprived many kings of
their drivers and thus vanquished all those lords of earth. They then themselves
took up the reins of their steeds, and saying, „Go away, go away‟, turned away
from the battle with cheerless hearts. Protected by Karna, Duryodhana also
came away, with a joyous heart, bringing with him the maiden to the city called
after the elephant.‟”

SECTION V
“Narada said, „Hearing of the fame of Karna‟s might, the ruler of the Magadhas,
king Jarasandha, challenged him to a single combat. Both conversant with the
celestial weapons, a fierce battle took place between them in which they struck
each other with diverse kinds of arms. At last when their arrows were exhausted
and bows and swords were broken and they both became carless, they began,
possessed of might as they were, to fight with bare arms. While engaged with
him in mortal combat with bare arms, Karna was about to sever the two portions
of his antagonist‟s body that had been united together by Jara. The king (of
Magadha), then after feeling himself very much pained, cast off all desire of
hostility and addressed Karna, saying, „I am gratified.‟ From friendship he then
gave unto Karna the town Malini. Before this, that tiger among men and
subjugator of all foes (viz., Karna) had been king of the Angas only, but from that
time the grinder of hostile forces began to rule over Champa also, agreeably to
the wishes of Duryodhana, as thou knowest. Thus Karna became famous on
earth for the valour of his arms. When, for thy good, the Lord of the celestials
begged of him his (natural) coat of mail and ear-rings, stupefied by celestial
illusion, he gave away those precious possessions. Deprived of his car-rings and
divested of his natural armour, he was slain by Arjuna in Vasudeva‟s presence.
In consequence of a Brahmana‟s curse, as also of the curse of the illustrious
Rama, of the boon granted to Kunti and the illusion practised on him by Indra, of
his depreciation by Bhishma as only half a car-warrior, at the tale of Rathas and
Atirathas, of the destruction of his energy caused by Salya (with his keen
speeches), of Vasudeva‟s policy, and, lastly of the celestial weapons obtained by
Arjuna from Rudra and Indra and Yama and Varuna and Kuvera and Drona and
the illustrious Kripa, the wielder of Gandiva succeeded in slaying Vikartana‟s son
Karna of effulgence like that of Surya himself. Even thus had thy brother been
cursed and beguiled by many. As, however, he has fallen in battle, thou shouldst
not grieve for that tiger among men!‟”
SECTION VI
“Vaisampayana said, „Having said these words, the celestial Rishi Narada
became silent. The royal sage Yudhishthira, filled with grief, became plunged in
meditation. Beholding that hero cheerless and unmanned by sorrow, sighing like
a snake and shedding copious tears, Kunti, herself filled with grief and almost
deprived of her senses by sorrow, addressed him in these sweet words of grave
import and well-suited to the occasion, „O mighty-armed Yudhishthira, it behoveth
thee not to give way to sorrow thus. O thou of great wisdom, kill this grief of thine,
and listen to what I say. I tried in past times to apprise Karna of his brothership
with thee. The god Surya also, O foremost of all righteous persons, did the same.
All that a well-wishing friend, from desire of good, should say unto one, was said
unto Karna by that god in a dream and once more in my presence. Neither by
affliction nor by reasons could Surya or myself succeed in pacifying him or
inducing him to unite himself with thee. Succumbing to the influence of Time, he

became resolved upon wreaking his enmity on thee. As he was bent upon doing
injuries upon you all, I myself gave up the attempt.‟ Thus addressed by his
mother, king Yudhishthira, with tearful eyes and heart agitated by grief, said
these words, „In consequence of thyself having concealed thy counsels, this
great affliction has overtaken me!‟ Possessed of great energy, the righteous king,
then, in sorrow, cursed all the women of the world, saying, „Henceforth no
woman shall succeed in keeping a secret.‟ The king, then, recollecting his sons
and grandsons and kinsmen and friends, became filled with anxiety and grief.
Afflicted with sorrow, the intelligent king, resembling a fire covered with smoke,
became overwhelmed with despair.”
SECTION VII
Vaisampayana said, “The righteous-souled Yudhishthira, with an agitated heart
and burning with sorrow, began to grieve for that mighty car-warrior Karna.
Sighing repeatedly, he addressed Arjuna, saying, „If, O Arjuna, we had led a life
of mendicancy in the cities of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas, then this miserable
end would not have been ours in consequence of having exterminated our
kinsmen. Our foes, the Kurus, have gained in prosperity, while we have become
divested of all the objects of life, for what fruits of righteousness can be ours
when we have been guilty of self-slaughter?[4] Fie on the usages of Kshatriyas,
fie on might and valour, and fie on wrath, since through these such a calamity
hath overtaken us. Blessed are forgiveness, and self-restraint, and purity, with
renunciation and humility, and abstention from injury, and truthfulness of speech
on all occasions, which are all practised by forest-recluses. Full of pride and
arrogance, ourselves, however, through covetousness and folly and from desire
of enjoying the sweets of sovereignty, have fallen into this plight. Beholding those
kinsmen of ours that were bent on acquiring the sovereignty of the world slain on
the field of battle, such grief hath been ours that one cannot gladden us by giving
the sovereignty of even the three worlds. Alas, having slain, for the sake of the
earth, such lords of earth as deserved not to be slain by us, we are bearing the
weight of existence, deprived of friends and reft of the very objects of life. Like a
pack of dogs fighting one another for a piece of meat, a great disaster has
overtaken us! That piece of meat is no longer dear to us. On the other hand, it
shall be thrown aside. They that have been slain should not have been slain for
the sake of even the whole earth or mountains of gold, or all the horses and kine
in this world. Filled with envy and a hankering for all earthly objects, and
influenced by wrath and pleasure, all of them, betaking themselves to the
highway of Death, have repaired to the regions of Yama. Practising asceticism
and Brahmacharya and truth and renunciation, sires wish for sons endued with
every kind of prosperity. Similarly, by fasts and sacrifices and vows and sacred
rites and auspicious ceremonies mothers conceive. They then hold the foetus for
ten months. Passing their time in misery and in expectation of fruit, they always
ask themselves in anxiety, „Shall these come out of the womb safely? Shall these
live after birth? Shall they grow in might and be objects of regard on earth? Shall

they be able to give us happiness in this and the other world?‟ Alas, since their
sons, youthful in years and resplendent with ear-rings, have been slain,
therefore, those expectations of theirs rendered fruitless, have been abandoned
by them. Without having enjoyed the pleasure of this world, and without having
paid off the debts they owed to their sires and the gods, they have repaired to
Yama‟s abode. Alas, O mother, those kings have been slain just at that time
when their parents expected to reap the fruits of their might and wealth.[5] They
were always fitted with envy and a hankering after earthly objects, and were
exceedingly subject to anger and joy. For this, they could not be expected to
enjoy at any time or any place the fruits of victory.[6] I think that they among the
Panchalas and the Kurus that have fallen (in this battle) have been lost,
otherwise he that has slain would, by that act of his, obtain all regions of bliss.[7]
We are regarded as the cause of the destruction that has overtaken the world.
The fault, however, is really ascribable to the sons of Dhritarashtra.
Duryodhana‟s heart was always set upon guile. Always cherishing malice, he
was addicted to deception. Although we never offended him, yet he always
behaved falsely towards us. We have not gained our object, nor have they
gained theirs. We have not vanquished them, nor have they vanquished us. The
Dhartarashtras could not enjoy this earth, nor could they enjoy women and
music. They did not listen to the counsels of ministers and friends and men
learned in the scriptures. They could not, indeed, enjoy their costly gems and
well-filled treasury and vast territories. Burning with the hate they bore us, they
could not obtain happiness and peace. Beholding our aggrandisement,
Duryodhana became colourless, pale and emaciated. Suvala‟s son informed king
Dhritarashtra of this. As a father full of affection for his son, Dhritarashtra
tolerated the evil policy his son pursued. Without doubt, by disregarding Vidura
and the high-souled son of Ganga, and in consequence of his neglect in
restraining his wicked and covetous son, entirely governed by his passions, the
king has met with destruction like my poor self. Without doubt, Suyodhana,
having caused his uterine brothers to be slain and having east this couple into
burning grief, hath fallen off from his blazing fame. Burning with the hate he bore
to us Duryodhana was always of a sinful heart. What other kinsman of high birth
could use such language towards kinsmen as he, from desire of battle, actually
used in the presence of Krishna? We also have, through Duryodhana‟s fault,
been lost for eternity, like suns burning everything around them with their own
energy. That wicked-souled wight, that embodiment of hostility, was our evil star.
Alas, for Duryodhana‟s acts alone, this race of ours has been exterminated.
Having slain those whom we should never have slain, we have incurred the
censures of the world. King Dhritarashtra, having installed that wicked-souled
prince of sinful deeds, that exterminator of his race, in the sovereignty, is obliged
to grieve today. Our heroic foes have been slain. We have committed sin. His
possessions and kingdom are gone. Having slain them, our wrath has been
pacified. But grief is stupefying me. O Dhananjaya, a perpetrated sin is expiated
by auspicious acts, by publishing it wildly, by repentance, by alms-giving, by
penances, by trips to tirthas after renunciation of everything, by constant
meditation on the scriptures. Of all these, he that has practised renunciation is

believed to be incapable of committing sins anew. The Srutis declare that he that
practises renunciation escapes from birth and death, and obtaining the right rood,
that person of fixed soul attains to Brahma. I shall, therefore, O Dhananjaya, go
to the woods, with your leave, O scorcher of foes, disregarding all the pairs of
opposites, adopting the vow of taciturnity, and walking in the way pointed out by
knowledge.[8] O slayer of foes, the Srutis declare it and I myself have seen it with
my eyes, that one who is wedded to this earth can never obtain every kind Of
religious merit. Desirous of obtaining the things of this earth, I have committed
sin, through which, as the Srutis declare, birth and death are brought about.
Abandoning the whole of my kingdom, therefore, and the things of this earth, I
shall go to the woods, escaping from the ties of the world, freed from grief, and
without affection for anything. Do thou govern this earth, on which peace has
been restored, and which has been divested of all its thorns. O best of Kuru‟s
race, I have no need for kingdom or for pleasure.‟ Having said these words, king
Yudhishthira the just stopped. His younger brother Arjuna then addressed him in
the following words.
SECTION VIII
Vaisampayana said, “Like a person unwilling to forgive an insult, Arjuna of keen
speech and prowess, and possessed of energy, betraying great fierceness and
licking the Corners of his mouth, said these words of grave import, smiling the
while: „Oh, how painful, how distressing! I grieve to see this great agitation of thy
heart, since having achieved such a superhuman feat, thou art bent upon
forsaking this great prosperity. Having slain thy foes, and having acquired the
sovereignty of the earth which has been won through observance of the duties of
thy own order, why shouldst thou abandon everything through fickleness of
heart? Where on earth hath a eunuch or a person of procrastination ever
acquired sovereignty? Why then didst thou, insensate with rage, slay all the kings
of the earth? He that would live by mendicancy, cannot, by any act of his, enjoy
the good things of the earth. Divested of prosperity and without resources, he
can never win fame on earth or acquire sons and animals. If, O king, abandoning
this swelling kingdom, thou livest in the observance of the wretched mode of life
led by a mendicant, what will the world say of thee? Why dost thou say that
abandoning all the good things of the earth, divested of prosperity, and reft of
resources, thou wilt lead a life of mendicancy like a vulgar person? Thou art born
in this race of kings. Having won by conquest the whole earth, wishest thou from
folly to live in the woods after abandoning everything of virtue and profit? If thou
retirest into the woods, in thy absence, dishonest men will destroy sacrifices.
That sin will certainly pollute thee. King Nahusha, having done many wicked acts
in a state of poverty, cried fie on that state and said that poverty is for recluses.
Making no provision for the morrow is a practice that suits Rishis. Thou knowest
this well. That, however, which has been called the religion of royalty depends
entirely on wealth. One who robs another of wealth, robs him of his religion as
well.[9] Who amongst us, therefore, O king, would forgive an act of spoliation that

is practised on us? It is seen that a poor man, even when he stands near, is
accused falsely. Poverty is a state of sinfulness. It behoveth thee not to applaud
poverty, therefore. The man that is fallen, O king, grieveth, as also he that is
poor. I do not see the difference between a fallen man and a poor man. All kinds
of meritorious acts flow from the possession of great wealth like a mountain.
From wealth spring all religious acts, all pleasures, and heaven itself, O king!
Without wealth, a man cannot find the very means of sustaining his life. The acts
of a person who, possessed of little intelligence, suffers himself to be divested of
wealth, are all dried up like shallow streams in the summer season. He that has
wealth has friends. He that has wealth has kinsmen. He that has wealth is
regarded as a true man in the world. He that has wealth is regarded as a learned
man. If a person who hath no wealth desires to achieve a particular purpose, he
meets with failure. Wealth brings about accessions of wealth, like elephants
capturing (wild) elephants. Religious acts, pleasures, joy, courage, wrath,
learning, and sense of dignity, all these proceed from wealth, O king! From
wealth one acquires family honour. From wealth, one‟s religious merit increases.
He that is without wealth hath neither this world, nor the next, O best of men! The
man that hath no wealth succeeds not in performing religious acts, for these
latter spring from wealth, like rivers from a mountain. He that is lean in respect of
(his possession of) steeds and kine and servants and guests, is truly lean and
not he whose limbs alone are so. Judge truly, O king, and look at the conduct of
the gods and the Danavas. O king, do the gods ever wish for anything else than
the slaughter of their kinsmen (the Asuras)? If the appropriation of wealth
belonging to others be not regarded as righteous, how, O monarch, will kings
practise virtue on this earth? Learned men have, in the Vedas, laid down this
conclusion. The learned have laid it down that kings should live, reciting every
day the three Vedas, seeking to acquire wealth, and carefully performing
sacrifices with the wealth thus acquired. The gods, through internecine quarrels,
have obtained footing in heaven. When, the very gods have won their prosperity
through internecine quarrels, what fault can there be in such quarrels? The gods,
thou seest, act in this way. The eternal precepts of the Vedas also sanction it. To
learn, teach, sacrifice, and assist at other‟s sacrifices,--these are our principal
duties. The wealth that kings take from others becomes the means of their
prosperity. We never see wealth that has been earned without doing some injury
to others. It is even thus that kings conquer this world. Having conquered, they
call that wealth theirs, just as sons speak of the wealth of their sires as their own.
The royal sages that have gone to heaven have declared this to be the duty of
kings. Like water flowing on every direction from a swollen ocean, that wealth
runs on every direction from the treasuries of kings. This earth formerly belonged
to king Dilipa, Nahusha, Amvarisha, and Mandhatri. She now belongs to thee! A
great sacrifice, therefore, with profuse presents of every kind and requiring a vast
heap of the earth‟s produce, awaits thee. If thou dost not perform that sacrifice, O
king, then the sins of this kingdom shall all be thine. Those subjects whose king
performs a horse-sacrifice with profuse presents, become all cleansed and
sanctified by beholding the ablutions at the end of the sacrifice. Mahadeva
himself, of universal form, in a great sacrifice requiring libations of all kinds of

flesh, poured all creatures as sacrificial libations and then his own self. Eternal is
this auspicious path. Its fruits are never destroyed. This is the great path called
Dasaratha. Abandoning it, O king, to what other path wouldst thou betake
thyself?‟
SECTION IX
“Yudhishthira said, „For a little while, O Arjuna, concentrate thy attention and fix
thy mind and hearing on thy inner soul. If thou listenest to my words in such a
frame of mind, they will meet with thy approbation. Abandoning all worldly
pleasures, I shall betake myself to that path which is trod by the righteous. I shall
not, for thy sake, tread along the path thou recommendest. If thou askest me
what path is auspicious that one should tread alone, I shall tell thee. If thou dost
not desire to ask me, I shall yet, unasked by thee, tell thee of it. Abandoning the
pleasures and observance of men of the world, engaged in performing the
austerest of penances, I shall wander in the forest, with the animals that have
their home there, living on fruit and roots. Pouring libations on the: fire at due
hours, and performing ablutions at morn and eve, I shall thin myself by reduced
diet, and covering myself with skins, bear matted locks on my head. Enduring
cold, wind, and heat as also hunger and thirst and toil, I shall emaciate my body
by penances as laid down in the ordinance. Charming to the heart and the ear, I
shall daily listen to the clear strains of, cheerful birds and animals residing in the
woods. I shall enjoy the fragrance of flower-burthened trees and creepers, and
see diverse kinds of charming products that grow in the forest. I shall also see
many excellent recluses of the forest. I shall not do the slightest injury to any
creature, what need be said then of those that dwell in villages and towns?[10]
Leading a retired life and devoting myself to contemplation, I shall live upon ripe
and unripe fruits and gratify the Pitris and the deities with offerings of wild fruits
and spring water and grateful hymns. Observing in this way the austere
regulations of a forest life, I shall pass my days, calmly awaiting the dissolution of
my body. Or, living alone and observing the vow of taciturnity, with my head
shaved clean, I shall derive my sustenance by begging each day of only one
tree.[11] Smearing my body with ashes, and availing of the shelter of abandoned
houses, or lying at the foot of trees, I shall live, casting off all things dear or
hateful. Without indulging in grief or joy, and regarding censure and applause,
hope and affliction, equally, and prevailing over every couple of opposites, I shall
live casting off all the things of the world. Without conversing with anybody, I
shall assume the outward form of a blind and deaf idiot, while living in
contentment and deriving happiness from my own soul. Without doing the least
injury to the four kinds of movable and immovable creatures, I shall behave
equally towards all creatures whether mindful of their duties or following only the
dictates of the senses. I shall not jeer at any one, nor shall I frown at anybody.
Restraining all my senses, I shall always be of a cheerful face. Without asking
anybody about the way, proceeding along any route that I may happen to meet
with, I shall go on, without taking note of the country or the point of the compass

to which or towards which I may go. Regardless of whither I may proceed, I shall
not look behind. Divesting myself of desire and wrath, and turning my gaze
inwards, I shall go on, casting off pride of soul and body. Nature always walks
ahead; hence, food and drink will somehow be accomplished. I shall not think of
those pairs of opposites that stand in the way of such a life. If pure food in even a
small measure be not obtainable in the first house (to which I may go), I shalt get
it by going to other houses. If I fail to procure it by even such a round, I shall
proceed to seven houses in succession and fill my craving. When the smoke of
houses will cease, their hearth-fires having been extinguished, when husking-
rods will be kept aside, and all the inmates will have taken their food, when
mendicants and guests Will cease to wander, I shall select a moment for my
round of mendicancy and solicit alms at two, three, or five houses at the most. I
shall wander over the earth, after breaking the bonds of desire. Preserving
equability in success and failure, I shall earn great ascetic merit. I shall behave
neither like one that is fond of life nor like one that is about to die. I shall not
manifest any liking for life or dislike for death. If one strikes off one arm of mine
and another smears the other arm with sandal-paste, I shall not wish evil to the
one or good to the other. Discarding all those acts conducive to prosperity that
one can do in life, the only acts I shall perform will be to open and shut my eyes
and take as much food and drink as will barely keep up life. Without ever being
attached to action, and always restraining the functions of the senses, I shall give
up all desires and purify the soul of all impurities. Freed from all attachments and
tearing off all bonds and ties, I shall live free as the wind. Living in such freedom
from affections, everlasting contentment will be mine. Through desire, I have,
from ignorance, committed great sins. A certain class of men, doing both
auspicious and inauspicious acts here, maintain their wives, children, and
kinsmen, all bound to them in relations of cause and effect.[12] When the period
of their life runs out, casting off their weakened bodies, they take upon
themselves all the effects of their sinful acts, for none but the actor is burdened
with the consequences of his acts.[13] Even thus, endued with actions, creatures
come into this wheel of life that is continually turning like the wheel of a car, and
even thus, coming thither, they meet with their fellow-creatures. He, however,
who abandons the worldly course of life, which is really a fleeting illusion
although it looks eternal, and which is afflicted by birth, death, decrepitude,
disease, and pain, is sure to obtain happiness. When again, the very gods fall
down from heaven and great Rishis from their respective positions of eminence
who, that is acquainted with truths of causes (and effects) would wish to have
even heavenly prosperity?[14] Insignificant kings, having performed diverse acts
relating to the diverse means of kingcraft (known by the means of conciliation,
gift, &c.) often slay a king through some contrivance. Reflecting on these
circumstances, this nectar of wisdom hath come to me. Having attained it, I
desire to get a permanent, eternal, and unchangeable place (for myself). Always
(conducting myself) with such wisdom and acting in this way, I shall, by betaking
myself to that fearless path of life, terminate this physical frame that is subject to
birth, death, decrepitude, disease, and pain.‟”

SECTION X
Bhimasena said, “Thy understanding, O king, has become blind to the truth, like
that of a foolish and unintelligent reciter of the Veda in consequence of his
repeated recitation of those scriptures. If censuring the duties of kings thou
wouldst lead a life of idleness, then, O bull of Bharata‟s race, this destruction of
the Dhartarashtras was perfectly uncalled for. Are forgiveness and compassion
and pity and abstention from injury not to be found in anybody walking along the
path of Kshatriya duties? If we Knew that this was thy intention, we would then
have never taken up arms and slain a single creature. We would then have lived
by mendicancy till the destruction of this body. This terrible battle between the
rulers of the earth would also have never taken place. The learned have said this
all that we see is food for the strong. Indeed, this mobile and immobile world is
our object of enjoyment for the person that is strong. Wise men acquainted with
Kshatriya duties have declared that they who stand in the way of the person
taking the sovereignty of the earth, should be slain. Guilty of that fault, those that
stood as enemies of our kingdom have all been slain by us. Having slain them, O
Yudhishthira, righteously govern this earth. This our act (in refusing the kingdom)
is like that of a person who having dug a well stops in his work before obtaining
water and comes up smutted with mire. Or, this our act is like that of a person
who having climbed up a tall tree and taken honey there from meets with death
before tasting it. Or, it is like that of a person who having set out on a long way
comes back in despair without having reached his destination. Or, it is like that of
a person who having slain all his foes, O thou of Kuru‟s race, at last Falls by his
own hand. Or, it is like that of a person afflicted with hunger, who having obtained
food, refuses to take it, or of a person under the influence of desire, who having
obtained a woman reciprocating his passion, refuses to meet with her. We have
become objects of censure, O Bharata, because, O king, we follow thee that art
of feeble understanding, in consequence of thyself being our eldest brother. We
are possessed of mighty arms; we are accomplished in knowledge and endued
with great energy. Yet we are obedient to the words of a eunuch as if we were
entirely helpless. We are the refuge of all helpless persons. Yet, when people
see us so, why would they not say that in respect of the acquisition of our objects
we are entirely powerless? Reflect on this that I say. It has been laid down that (a
life of) renunciation should be adopted, only in times of distress, by kings
overcome with decrepitude or defeated by foes. Men of wisdom, therefore, do not
applaud renunciation as the duty of a Kshatriya. On the other hand, they that are
of clear sight think that the adoption of that course of life (by a Kshatriya) involves
even the loss of virtue. How can those that have sprung from that order, that are
devoted to the practices of that order, and that have refuge in them, censure
those duties? Indeed, if those duties be censurable, then why should not the
Supreme Ordainer be censured?[15] It is only those persons that are reft of
prosperity and wealth and that are infidels in faith, that have promulgated this
precept of the Vedas (about the propriety of a Kshatriya‟s adoption of a life of
renunciation) as the truth. In reality, however, it is never proper for a Kshatriya to

do so. He who is competent to support life by prowess, he who can support
himself by his own exertions, does not live, but really falls away from his duty, by
the hypocritical externals of a life of renunciation. That man only is capable of
leading a solitary life of happiness in the woods who is unable to support sons
and grandsons and the deities and Rishis and guests and Pitris. As the deer and
boars and birds (though they lead a forest life) cannot attain to heaven, even so
those Kshatriyas that are not bereft of prowess yet not given to doing good turns
cannot attain to heaven by leading only a forest life. They should acquire
religious merit by other ways. If, O king, anybody were to obtain success from
renunciation, then mountains and trees would surely obtain it! These latter are
always seen to lead lives of renunciation. They do not injure any one. They are,
again, always aloof from a life of worldliness and are all Brahmacharins. If it be
the truth that a person‟s success depends upon his own lot in life and not upon
that of other, then (as a person born in the Kshatriya order) thou shouldst betake
thyself to action. He that is reft of action can never have success. If they that fill
only their own stomachs could attain to success, then all aquatic creatures would
obtain it, for these have none else to support save their own selves. Behold, the
world moves on, with every creature on it employed in acts proper to its nature.
Therefore, one should betake oneself to action. The man reft of action can never
obtain success.‟”
SECTION XI
“Arjuna said, „In this connection an old history is cited, viz., the discourse
between certain ascetics and Sakra, O bull of Bharata‟s race! A number of well-
born Brahmana youth of little understanding, without the hirsute honours of
manhood, abandoning their homes, came to the woods for leading a forest life.
Regarding that to be virtue, those youths of abundant resources became
desirous of living as Brahmacharins, having abandoned their brothers and sires.
It so happened that Indra became compassionate towards them. Assuming the
form of a golden bird, the holy Sakra addressed them, saying, „That which is
done by persons that eat the remnants of a sacrifice is the most difficult of acts
that men can achieve.[16] Such an act is highly meritorious. The lives of such
men are worthy of every praise. Having attained the object of life, those men,
devoted to virtue obtain the highest end.‟ Hearing these words, the Rishis said,
„Lo, this bird applauds those that subsist upon the remnants of sacrifices. He
informs us of it, for we live upon such remnants.‟ The bird then said, „I do not
applaud you.‟ Ye are stationed with mire and very impure. Living upon offals, ye
are wicked. Ye are not persons subsisting upon the remnants of sacrifice.‟
“The Rishis said, „We regard this our course of life to be highly blessed. Tell us,
O bird, what is for our good. Thy words inspire us with great faith.‟
“The bird said, „If you do not refuse me your faith by arraying yourselves against
your better selves, then I shall tell you words that are true and beneficial.‟

“The Rishis said, „We shall listen to thy words, O sire, for the different paths are
all known to thee. O thou of righteous soul, we desire also to obey thy
commands. Instruct us now.‟
“The bird said, „Among quadrupeds the cow is the foremost. Of metals, gold is
the foremost. Of words, mantras, and of bipeds, the Brahmanas, are the
foremost. These mantras regulate all the rites of a Brahmana‟s life beginning with
those appertaining to birth and the period after it, and ending with those
appertaining to death and the crematorium. These Vedic rites are his heaven,
path, and foremost of sacrifices. If it were otherwise, how could I find the acts (of
persons in quest of heaven) become successful through mantras? He who, in
this world, adores his soul, firmly regarding it to be a deity of a particular kind,
obtains success consistent with the nature of that particular deity.[17] The
seasons measured by half the months lead to the Sun, the Moon, or the
Stars.[18] These three kinds of success, depending upon action are desired by
every creature. The domestic mode of life is very superior and sacred and is
called the field (for the cultivation) of success. By what path do those men go that
censure action? Of little understanding and deprived of wealth, they incur sin.
And since those men of little understanding live by abandoning the eternal paths
of the gods, the paths of the Rishis, and the paths of Brahma, therefore, they
attain to paths disapproved of by the Srutis.[19] There is an ordinance in the
mantras which says, „Ye sacrificer, perform the sacrifice represented by gifts of
valuable things. I wilt give thee happiness represented by sons, animals, and
heaven!‟—To live, therefore, in accordance with ordinance is said to be the
highest asceticism of the ascetics. Therefore, ye should perform such sacrifices
and such penances in the shape of gifts. The due performance of these eternal
duties, viz., the worship of the gods, the study of the Vedas, and the gratification
of the Pitris, as also regardful services unto the preceptors—these are called the
austerest of penances. The gods, by performing such exceedingly difficult
penances, have obtained the highest glory and power. I, therefore, tell you to
bear the very heavy burthen of the duties of domesticity. Without doubt,
penances are the foremost of all things and are the root of all creatures.
Asceticism, however, is to be obtained by leading a life of domesticity, upon
which depends everything. They that eat the remnants of feasts, after duly
apportioning the food morning and evening among kinsmen, attain to ends that
are exceedingly difficult of attainment. They are called eater of the remnants of
feasts who eat after having served guests and gods and Rishis and kinsmen.
Therefore, those persons that are observant of their own duties, that practise
excellent vows and are truthful in speech, become objects of great respect in the
world, with their own faith exceedingly strengthened. Free from pride, those
achievers of the most difficult feats attain to heaven and live for unending time in
the regions of Sakra.‟
“Arjuna continued, „Those ascetics then, hearing these words that were beneficial
and fraught with righteousness, abandoned the religion of renunciation, saying,
„There is nothing in it,‟ and betook themselves to a life of domesticity. Therefore,
O thou that are conversant with righteousness, calling to thy aid that eternal
wisdom, rule the wide world, O monarch that is now destitute of foes.‟

SECTION XII
“Vaisampayana said, „Hearing these words of Arjuna, O chastiser of foes, Nakula
of mighty arms and a broad chest, temperate in speech and possessed of great
wisdom, with face whose colour then resembled that of copper, looked at the
king, that foremost of all righteous persons, and spoke these words, besieging
his brother‟s heart (with reason).‟
“Nakula said, „The very gods had established their fires in the region called
Visakha-yupa. Know, therefore, O king, that the gods themselves depend upon
the fruits of action.[20] The Pitris, that support (by rain) the lives of even all
disbelievers, observing the ordinances (of the Creator as declared in the Vedas),
are, O king, engaged in action.[21] Know them for downright atheists that reject
the declaration of the Vedas (which inculcate action). The person that is learned
in the Vedas, by following their declarations in all his acts, attains, O Bharata, to
the highest region of heaven by the way of the deities.[22]
This (domestic mode of life again) has been said by all persons acquainted with
Vedic truths to be superior to all the (other) modes of life. Knowing this, O king,
that the person who in sacrifices gives away his righteously acquired wealth unto
those Brahmanas that are well conversant with the Vedas, and restrains his soul,
is, O monarch, regarded as the true renouncer. He, however, who, disregarding
(a life of domesticity, that is) the source of much happiness, jumps to the next
mode of life,--that renouncer of his own self,[23] O monarch, is a renouncer
labouring under the quality of darkness. That man who is homeless, who roves
over the world (in his mendicant rounds), who has the foot of a tree for his
shelter, who observes the vow of taciturnity, never cooks for himself, and seeks
to restrain all the functions of his senses, is, O Partha, a renouncer in the
observance of the vow of mendicancy.[24] That Brahmana who, disregarding
wrath and joy, and especially deceitfulness, always employs his time in the study
of the Vedas, is a renouncer in the observance of the vow of mendicancy.[25]
The four different modes of life were at one time weighed in the balance. The
wise have said, O king, that when domesticity was placed on one scale, it
required the three others to be placed on the other for balancing it. Beholding
the result of this examination by scales, O Partha, and seeing further, O Bharata,
that domesticity alone contained both heaven and pleasure, that became the way
of the great Rishis and the refuge of all persons conversant with the ways of the
world. He, therefore, O bull of Bharata‟s race, who betakes himself to this mode
of life, thinking it to be his duty and abandoning all desire for fruit, is a real
renouncer, and not that man of clouded understanding who goes to the woods,
abandoning home and its surroundings. A person, again, who under the
hypocritical garb of righteousness, fails to forget his desires (even while living in
the woods), is bound by the grim King of death with his deadly fetters round the
neck. Those acts that are done from vanity, are said to be unproductive of fruit.
Those acts, on the other hand, O monarch I that are done from a spirit of

renunciation, always bear abundant fruits.[26] Tranquillity, self-restraint, fortitude,
truth, purity, simplicity, sacrifices, perseverance, and righteousness,--these are
always regarded as virtues recommended by the Rishis. In domesticity, it is said,
are acts intended for Pitris, gods, guests. In this mode of life alone, O monarch,
are the threefold aims to be attained.[27] The renouncer that rigidly adheres to
this mode of life, in which one is free to do all acts, has not to encounter ruin
either here or hereafter. The sinless Lord of all creatures, of righteous soul,
created creatures, with the intention that they would adore him by sacrifices with
profuse presents. Creepers and trees and deciduous herbs, and animals that
are clean, and clarified butter, were created as ingredients of sacrifice. For one in
the observance of domesticity the performance of sacrifice is fraught with
impediments. For this, that mode of life has been said to be exceedingly difficult
and unattainable. Those persons, therefore, in the observance of the domestic
mode of life, who, possessed of wealth and corn and animals, do not perform
sacrifices, earn, O monarch, eternal sin. Amongst Rishis, there are some that
regard the study of the Vedas to be a sacrifice: and some that regard
contemplation to be a great sacrifice which they perform in their minds. The very
gods, O monarch, covet the companionship of a regenerate person like this, who
in consequence of his treading along such a way which consists in the
concentration of the mind, has become equal to Brahma. By refusing to spend in
sacrifice the diverse kinds of wealth that thou hast taken from thy foes, thou art
only displaying thy want of faith. I have never seen, O monarch, a king in the
observance of a life of domesticity renouncing his wealth in any other way except
in the Rajasuya, the Astwamedha, and other kinds of sacrifice. Like Sakra, the
chief of the celestial, O sire, perform those other sacrifices that are praised by the
Brahmanas. That king, through whose heedlessness the subjects are plunged by
robbers, and who does not offer protection to those whom he is called upon to
govern, is said to be the very embodiment of Kati. If, without giving away steeds,
and kine, and female slaves, and elephants adorned with trappings, and villages,
and populous regions, and fields, and houses, unto Brahmanas, we retire into the
woods with hearts not harbouring friendly feeling towards kinsmen, even we shall
be, O monarch, such Kalis of the kingly order. Those members of the kingly order
that do not practise charity and give protection (to others), incur sin. Woe is their
portion hereafter and not bliss. If, O lord, without performing great sacrifices and
the rites in honour of thy deceased ancestors, and it, without bathing in sacred
waters, thou betakest thyself to a wandering life, thou shalt then meet with
destruction like a small cloud separated from a mass and dashed by the winds.
Thou shalt then fall off from both worlds and have to take thy birth in the Pisacha
order.[28] A person becomes a true renouncer by casting off every internal and
external attachment, and not simply by abandoning home for dwelling in the
woods. A Brahmana that lives in the observance of these ordinances in which
there are no impediments, does not fall off from this or the other world.
Observant of the duties of one‟s own order,--duties respected by the ancients
and practised by the best of men, who is there, O Partha, that would grieve, O
king, for having in a trice stain in battle his foes that swelled with prosperity, like
Sakra slaying the forces of the Daityas? Having in the observance of Kshatriya

duties subjugated the world by the aid of thy prowess, and having made presents
unto persons conversant with the Vedas, thou canst, O monarch, go to regions
higher than heaven. It behoves thee not, O Partha, to indulge in grief.”
SECTION XIII
“Sahadeva said, „By casting off all external objects only, O Bharata, one does not
attain to success. By casting off even mental attachments, the attainment of
success is doubtful.[29] Let that religious merit and that happiness which are his
who has cast off external objects but whose mind still internally covets them, be
the portion of our foes! On the other hand, let that religious merit and that
happiness which are his who governs the earth, having cast off all internal
attachments also, be the portion of our friends. The word mama (mine),
consisting of two letters, is Death‟s self; white the opposite word na-mama (not
mine), consisting of three letters, is eternal Brahma.[30] Brahma and death, O
king, entering invisibly into every soul, without doubt, cause all creatures to act. If
this being, O Bharata, that is called Soul, be not ever subject to destruction, then
by destroying the bodies of creatures one cannot be guilty of slaughter. If, on the
other hand, the soul and the body of a being are born or destroyed together, so
that when the body is destroyed the soul also is destroyed, then the way
(prescribed in the scriptures) of rites and acts would be futile. Therefore, driving
away all doubts about the immortality of the soul, the man of intelligence should
adopt that path which has been trodden by the righteous of old and older times.
The life of that king is certainly fruitless who having acquired the entire earth with
her mobile and immobile creatures, does not enjoy her. As regards the man
again who lives in the forest upon wild fruits and roots, but whose attachment to
things of the earth has not ceased, such a one, O king, lives within the jaws of
Death. Behold, O Bharata, the hearts and the outward forms of all creatures to
be but manifestations of thy own. They that look upon all creatures as their own
selves escape from the great fear (of destruction).[31] Thou art my sire, thou art
my protector, thou art my brother, and thou art my senior and preceptor. It
behoveth thee, therefore, to forgive these incoherent utterances in sorrow of a
woe-stricken person. True or false, this that has been uttered by are, O lord of
earth, has been uttered from a due regard for thee, O best of Bharatas, that I
entertain!”
SECTION XIV
Vaisampayana said, “When Kunti‟s son, king Yudhishthira the just, remained
speechless after listening to his brothers who were telling these truths of the
Vedas, that foremost of women, viz., Draupadi, of large eyes and great beauty,
and noble descent, O monarch, said these words unto that bull among kings
seated in the midst of his brothers that resembled so many lions and tigers, and

like the leader in the midst of a herd of elephants. Ever expectant of loving
regards from all her husbands but especially from Yudhishthira, she was always
treated with affection and indulgence by the king. Conversant with duties and
observant of them in practice, that lady of large hips, casting her eyes on her
lord, desired his attention in shooting and sweet words and said as follows.
“Draupadi said, These thy brothers, O Partha, are crying and drying their palates
like chatakas but thou dost not gladden them.. O monarch, gladden these thy
brothers, that resemble infuriated elephants (in prowess), with proper words,--
these heroes that have always drunk of the cup of misery. Why, O king, while
living by the side of the Dwaita lake, didst thou say unto these thy brothers then
residing with thee, and suffering from cold and wind and sun, even these words,
viz.,--„ rushing to battle from. desire of victory, we will slay Duryodhana and
enjoy the earth that is capable of granting every wish. Depriving great car-
warriors of their cars and slaying huge elephants, and strewing the field of battle
with the bodies of car-warriors and horsemen and heroes, ye chastisers of foes,
ye will perform great sacrifices of diverse kinds with presents in profusion. All
these sufferings, due to a life of exile in the woods, will then end in happiness.‟ O
foremost of all practisers of virtue, having thyself said these words unto thy
brothers then, why, O hero, dost thou depress our hearts now? A eunuch can
never enjoy wealth. A eunuch can never have children even as there can be no
fish in a mire (destitute of water). A Kshatriya without the rod of chastisement can
never shine. A Kshatriya without the rod of chastisement can never enjoy the
earth. The subjects of a king that is without the rod of chastisement can never
have happiness. Friendship for all creatures, charity, study of the Vedas,
penances,--these constitute the duties of a Brahmana and not of a king, O best
of kings! Restraining the wicked, cherishing the honest, and never retreating from
battle,--these are the highest duties of kings. He is said to be conversant with
duties in whom are forgiveness and wrath, giving and taking, terrors and
fearlessness, and chastisement and reward. It was not by study, or gift, or
mendicancy, that thou hast acquired the earth. That force of the enemy, O hero,
ready to burst upon thee with all its might, abounding with elephants and horse
and cars, strong with three kinds of strength[32] protected by Drona and Karna
and Aswatthaman and Kripa, has been defeated and slain by thee, O hero! It is
for this that I ask thee to enjoy the earth. Formerly, O puissant one, thou hadst, O
monarch, swayed with might,[33] the region called Jambu, O tiger among men,
abounding with populous districts. Thou hadst also, O ruler of men, swayed with
might that other region called Kraunchadwipa situate on the west of the great
Meru and equal unto Jambu-dwipa itself. Thou hadst swayed with might, O king,
that other region called Sakadwipa on the east of the great Meru and equal to
Krauncha-dwipa itself. The region called Bhadraswa, on the north of the great
Meru and equal to Sakadwipa was also swayed by thee, O tiger, among men!
Thou hadst even penetrated the ocean and swayed with might other regions, too,
O hero, and the very islands begirt by the sea and containing many populous
provinces. Having, O Bharata, achieved such immeasurable feats, and having
obtained (through them) the adorations of the Brahmanas, how is it that thy soul
is not gratified? Seeing these brothers of thine before thee, O Bharata,--these

heroes swelling with might and resembling bulls or infuriated elephants (in
prowess),--why dost thou not address them in delightful words? All of you are like
celestials. All of you are capable of resisting foes. All of you are competent to
scorch your enemies. If only one of you had become my husband, my happiness
would even then have been very great. What need I say then, O tiger among
men, when all of you, numbering five, are my husbands (and look after me) like
the five senses inspiring the physical frame? The words of my mother-in-law who
is possessed of great knowledge and great foresight, cannot be untrue.
Addressing me, she said, „O princess of Panchala, Yudhishthira will ever keep
you in happiness, O excellent lady! Having slain many thousands of kings
possessed of active prowess, I see, O monarch, that through thy folly thou art
about to make that feat futile. They whose eldest brother becomes mad, have all
to follow him in madness. Through thy madness, O king, all the Pandavas are
about to become mad. If, O monarch, these thy brothers were in their senses,
they would then have immured thee with all unbelievers (in a prison) and taken
upon themselves the government of the earth. That person who from dullness of
intellect acts in this way never succeeds in winning prosperity. The man that
treads along the path of madness should be subjected to medical treatment by
the aid of incense and collyrium, of drugs applied through the nose, and of other
medicines. O best of the Bharatas, I am the worst of all my sex, since I desire to
live on even though I am bereaved of my children. Thou shouldst not disregard
the words spoken by me and by these brothers of thine that are endeavouring
thus (to dissuade thee from thy purpose). Indeed, abandoning the whole earth,
thou art inviting adversity and danger to come upon thee. Thou shinest now, O
monarch, even as those two best of kings, viz., Mandhatri and Amvarisha,
regarded by all the lords of earth, did in former days. Protecting thy subjects
righteously, govern the goddess Earth with her mountains and forests and
islands. Do not, O king, become cheerless. Adore the gods in diverse sacrifices.
Fight thy foes. Make gifts of wealth and clothes and other objects of enjoyment
unto the Brahmanas, O best of kings!‟
SECTION XV
Vaisampayana said, “Hearing these words of Yajnasena‟s daughter, Arjuna once
more spoke, showing proper regard for his mighty-armed eldest brother of
unfading glory.
“Arjuna said, „The man armed with the rod of chastisement governs all subjects
and protects them. The rod of chastisement is awake when all else is sleep. For
this, the wise have characterised the rod of chastisement to be Righteousness
itself. The rod of chastisement protects Righteousness and Profit. It protects also,
O king! For this, the rod of chastisement is identified with the triple objects of life.
Corn and wealth are both protected by the rod of chastisement. Knowing this, O
thou that art possessed of learning, take up the rod of chastisement and observe
the course of the world. One class of sinful men desist from sin through fear of

the rod of chastisement in the king‟s bands. Another class desist from similar
acts through fear of Yama‟s rod, and yet another from fear of the next world.
Another class of persons desist from sinful acts through fear of society. Thus, O
king, in this world, whose course is such, everything is, dependent on the rod of
chastisement. There is a class of persons who are restrained by only the rod of
chastisement from devouring one another. If the rod of chastisement did not
protect people, they would have sunk in the darkness of hell. The rod of
chastisement (danda) has been so named by the wise because it restrains the
ungovernable and punishes the wicked, The chastisement of Brahmanas should
be by word of mouth; of Kshatriyas, by giving them only that much of food as
would suffice for the support of life; of Vaisyas, by the imposition of fines and
forfeitures of property, while for Sudras there is no punishment.[34] For keeping
men awake (to their duties) and for the protection of property, ordinances, O
king, have been established in the world, under the name of chastisement (or
punitive legislation). Thither where chastisement, of dark complexion and red
eyes, stands in an attitude of readiness (to grapple with every offender) and the
king is of righteous vision, the subjects never forget themselves. The
Brahmacharin and the house-holder, the recluse in the forest and the religious
mendicant, all these walk in their respective ways through fear of chastisement
alone. He that is without any fear, O king, never performs a sacrifice. He that is
without fear never giveth away. The man that is without any fear never desires to
adhere to any engagement or compact. Without piercing the vitals of others,
without achieving the most difficult feats and without staying creatures like a
fisherman (slaying fish), no person can obtain great prosperity.[35] Without
slaughter, no man has been able to achieve fame in this world or acquire wealth
or subjects. Indra himself, by the slaughter of Vritra, became the great Indra.
Those amongst the gods that are given to slaughtering others are adored much
more by men. Rudra, Skanda, Sakra, Agni, Varuna, are all slaughterers. Kala
and Mrityu and Vayu and Kuvera and Surya, the Vasus, the Maruts, the
Sadhyas, and the Viswadevas, O Bharata, are all slaughterers. Humbled by their
prowess, all people bend to those gods, but not to Brahman or Dhatri or Pushan
at any time. Only a few men that are noble of disposition adore in all their acts
those among the gods that are equally disposed towards all creatures and that
are self-restrained and peaceful. I do not behold the creature in this world that
supports life without doing any act of injury to others. Animals live upon animals,
the stronger upon the weaker. The mongoose devours mice; the cat devours the
mongoose; the dog devours the cat; the dog again is devoured by the spotted
leopard. Behold all things again are devoured by the Destroyer when he comes!
This mobile and immobile universe is food for living creatures. This has, been
ordained by the gods. The man of knowledge, therefore, is never stupefied at it. It
behoveth thee, O great king, to become that which thou art by birth. Foolish
(Kshatriyas) alone, restraining wrath and joy take refuge in the woods. The very
ascetics cannot support their lives without killing creatures. In water, on earth,
and fruits, there are innumerable creatures. It is not true that one does not
slaughter them. What higher duty is there than supporting one‟s life?[36] There
are many creatures that are so minute that their existence can only be inferred.

With the failing of the eyelids alone, they are destroyed. There are men who
subduing wrath and pride betake themselves to ascetic courses of life and
leaving village and towns repair to the woods. Arrived there, those men may be
seen to be so stupefied as to adopt the domestic mode of life once more. Others
may be seen, who (in the observance of domesticity) tilling the soil, uprooting
herbs, cutting off trees and killing birds and animals, perform sacrifices and at
last attain to heaven. O son of Kunti, I have no doubt in this that the acts of all
creatures become crowned with success only when the policy of chastisement is
properly applied. If chastisement were abolished from the world, creatures wood
soon be destroyed. Like fishes in the water, stronger animals prey on the weaker.
This truth was formerly spoken by Brahmana himself, viz., that chastisement,
properly applied upholds creatures. Behold, the very fires, when extinguished,
blaze up again, in fright, when blown. This is due to the fear of force or
chastisement. If there were no chastisement in the world distinguishing the good
from the bad, then the whole world would have been enveloped in utter darkness
and all things would have been confounded. Even they that are breakers of rules,
that are atheists and scoffers of the Vedas, afflicted by chastisement, soon
become disposed to observe rules and restrictions.[37] Everyone in this world is
kept straight by chastisement. A person naturally pure and righteous is scarce.
Yielding to the fear of chastisement, man becomes disposed to observe rules
and restraints. Chastisement was ordained by the Creator himself for protecting
religion and profit, for the happiness of all the four orders, and for making them
righteous and modest. If chastisement could not inspire fear, then ravens and
beasts of prey would have eaten up all other animals and men and the clarified
butter intended for sacrifice. If chastisement did not uphold and protect, then
nobody would have studied the Vedas, nobody would have milked a milch cow,
and no maiden would have married.[38] If chastisement did not uphold and
protect, then ravage and confusion would have set in on every side, and all
barriers would have been swept away, and the idea of property would have
disappeared. If chastisement did not uphold and protect, people could never duly
perform annual sacrifices with large presents. If chastisement did not uphold and
protect, no one, to whatever mode of life he might belong, would observe the
duties of that mode as declared (in the scriptures), and no one would have
succeeded in acquiring knowledge.[39] Neither camels, nor oxen, nor horses, nor
mules, nor asses, would, even if yoked thereto, drag cars and carriages, if
chastisement did not uphold and protect. Upon chastisement depend all
creatures. The learned, therefore, say that chastisement is the root of everything.
Upon chastisement rests the heaven that men desire, and upon it rests this world
also. Thither where foe-destroying chastisement is well applied, no sin, no
deception, and no wickedness, is to be seen. If the rod of „chastisement be not
uplifted, the dog will lick the sacrificial butter. The crow also would take away the
first (sacrificial) offering, if that rod were not kept uplifted. Righteously or
unrighteously, this kingdom hath now become ours. Our duty now is to abandon
grief. Do thou, therefore, enjoy it and perform sacrifices. Men that are fortunate,
living with their dear wives (and children), eat good food, wear excellent clothes,
and cheerfully acquire virtue. All our acts, without doubt, are dependent on

wealth; that wealth again is dependent on chastisement. Behold, therefore, the
importance of chastisement. Duties have been declared for only the maintenance
of the relations of the world. There are two things here, viz., abstention from
injury and injury prompted by righteous motives. Of these, two, that is superior by
which righteousness may be acquired.[40] There is no act that is wholly
meritorious, nor any that is wholly wicked. Right or wrong, in all acts, something
of both is seen. Subjecting animals to castration, their horns again are cut off.
They are then made to bear weights, are tethered, and chastised. In this world
that is unsubstantial and rotten with abuses and rendered painful, O monarch, do
thou practise the ancient customs of men, following the rules and analogies cited
above. Perform sacrifices, give alms, protect thy subjects, and practise
righteousness. Slay thy foes, O son of Kunti, and protect thy friends. Let no
cheerlessness be thine. O king, while slaying foes. He that does it, O Bharata,
does not incur the slightest sin. He that takes up a weapon and slays an armed
foe advancing against him, does not incur the sin of killing a foetus, for it is the
wrath of the advancing foe that provokes the wrath of the slayer. The inner soul
of every creature is incapable of being slain. When the soul is incapable of being
slain, how then can one be slain by another? As a person enters a new house,
even so a creature enters successive bodies. Abandoning forms that are worn
out, a creature acquires new forms. People capable of seeing the truth regard
this transformation to be death.‟”
SECTION XVI
Vaisampayana said, “After the conclusion of Arjuna‟s speech, Bhimasena of
great wrath and energy, mustering all his patience, said these words unto his
eldest brother, „Thou art, O monarch, conversant with all duties. There is nothing
unknown to thee. We always wish to imitate thy conduct, but, alas, we cannot do
it!--“I will not say anything! I will not say anything--! Even this is what I had
wished! Impelled, however, by great grief I am constrained to say something.
Listen to these words of mine, O ruler of men! Through the stupefaction of thy
faculties, everything is endangered, and ourselves are being made cheerless and
weak. How is it that thou that art the ruler of the world, thou that art conversant
with all branches of knowledge, sufferest thy understanding to be clouded, in
consequence of cheerlessness, like a coward? The righteous and unrighteous
paths of the world are known to thee. There is nothing belonging either to the
future or the present that is also unknown to thee, O puissant one! When such is
the case, O monarch, I will indicate, O ruler of men, the reasons in favour of your
assuming sovereignty. Listen to me with undivided attention. There are two
kinds of diseases, viz., physical and mental. Each springs from the other. None
of them can be seen existing independently. Without doubt, mental diseases
spring from physical ones. Similarly physical diseases spring from mental ones.
This is the truth. He that indulgeth in regrets on account of past physical or
mental woes, reapeth woe from woe and suffereth double woe. Cold, heat, and
wind,--these three are the attributes of the body.[41] Their existence in harmony

is the sign of health. If one of the three prevails over the rest, remedies have
been laid down. Cold is checked by heat, and heat is checked by cold.
Goodness, passion, and darkness are the three attributes of the mind. The
existence of these three in harmony is the sign of (mental) health. If one of these
prevails over the rest, remedies have been prescribed. Grief is checked by joy,
and joy is checked by grief. One, living in the present enjoyment of this, wishes to
recollect his past woes. Another, living in the present suffering of woe, wishes to
recollect his past bliss. Thou, however, wert never sad in grief or glad in bliss.[42]
Thou, shouldst not, therefore, use thy memory for becoming sad during times of
bliss, or glad during times of woe. It seems that Destiny is all-powerful. Or, if it be
thy nature, in consequence of which thou art thus afflicted, how is it that it does
not behove thee to recollect the sight thou sawest before, viz., the scantily-clad
Krishna dragged, while in her season, before the assembly.[43] Why does it not
behove thee to recollect our expulsion from the (Kuru) city and our exile (into the
woods) dressed in deerskins, as also our living in the great forests? Why hast
thou forgotten the woes inflicted by Jatasura, the battle with Chitrasena, and the
distress suffered at the hands of the Sindhu king? Why hast thou forgotten the
kick received by the princess Draupadi from Kichaka white we were living in
concealment? A fierce battle, O chastiser of foes, like that which thou hast fought
with Bhishma and Drona is now before thee, to be fought (however) with thy
mind alone. In deed, that battle is now before thee in which there is no need of
arrows, of friends, of relatives and kinsmen, but which will have to be fought with
thy mind alone. If thou givest up thy life-breath before conquering in this battle,
then, assuming another body, thou shalt have to fight these very foes again.[44]
Therefore, fight that battle this very day, O bull of Bharata‟s race, disregarding
the concerns of thy body, and aided by thy own acts, conquer and identify with
thy mind‟s foe.[45] If thou canst not win that battle, what wilt be thy condition? On
the other hand, by winning it, O monarch, thou shalt have attained the great end
of life. Applying thy intellect to this, and ascertaining the right and the wrong
paths of creatures, follow thou the course adopted by thy sire before thee and
govern properly thy kingdom. By good luck, O king, the sinful Duryodhana hath
been stain with all his followers. By good luck, thou too hast attained to the
condition of Draupadi‟s locks.[46] Perform with due rites and profuse presents
the horse-sacrifice. We, are thy servants, O son of Pritha, as also Vasudeva of
great energy!‟”
SECTION XVII
“Yudhishthira said, „Discontent, heedless attachment to earthly goods, the
absence of tranquillity, might, folly, vanity, and anxiety,--affected by these sins, O
Bhima, thou covetest sovereignty. Freed from desire, prevailing over joy and grief
and attaining to tranquillity, strive thou to be happy. That peerless monarch who
will govern this unbounded earth, will have but one stomach. Why dost thou then
applaud this course of life? One‟s desires, O bull of Bharata‟s race, are incapable
of being filled in a day, or in many months. Desire, which is incapable of

gratification, cannot, indeed, be fitted in course of one‟s whole life. Fire, when
fed with fuel, blazeth forth; when not so fed, it is extinguished. Do thou, therefore,
extinguish with little food the fire in thy stomach when it appears. He that is bereft
of wisdom seeks much food for his stomach. Conquer thy stomach first. (Thou
shalt then be able to conquer the Earth). The earth being conquered, that which
is for thy permanent good will then be won by thee. Thou applaudest desires and
enjoyments and prosperity. They, however, that have renounced all enjoyments
and reduced their bodies by penances, attain to regions of beatitude. The
acquisition and preservation of kingdom is attended with both righteousness and
unrighteousness. The desire for them exists in thee. Free thyself, however, from
thy great burthens, and adopt renunciation. The tiger, for filling one stomach of
his, slaughters many animals. Other animals destitute of strength and moved by
covetousness live upon the tiger‟s prey.[47] If kings, accepting earthly
possessions, practise renunciation, they can never have contentment. Behold the
loss of understanding that is noticeable in them. As a matter of fact, however,
they who subsist on leaves of trees, or use two stones only or their teeth alone
for husking their grain, or live upon water only or air alone, succeed in
conquering hell.[48] That king who rules this wide unbounded earth, and that
person who regards gold and pebbles equally, amongst these two, the latter is
said to have attained the object of his life and not the former. Depending,
therefore, upon that which is the eternal refuge of joy both here and hereafter,
cease thou to act and hope with respect to thy wishes and cease to bear
attachment to them. They that have given up desire and enjoyment have never to
grieve. Thou, however, grievest for enjoyments.[49] Discarding desire and
enjoyment, thou mayst succeed in liberating thyself from false speech.[50] There
are two well-known paths (for us), viz., the path of the Pitris and the path of the
gods. They that perform sacrifices go by the Pitri-path, while they that are for
salvation, go by the god-path.[51] By penances, by Brahmacharya, by study (of
the Vedas), the great Rishis, casting off their bodies, proceeded to regions that
are above the power of Death. Worldly enjoyments have been styled as bonds,
They have also been called Action. Liberated from those two sins (viz., bonds
and action), one attains to the highest end. Mention is made of a verse sung (of
old) by Janaka who was freed from the pairs of opposites, liberated from desire
and enjoyments, and observant of the religion of Moksha. That verse runs thus:
„My treasures are immense, yet I have nothing! If again the whole of Mithila were
burnt and reduced to ashes, nothing of mine will be burnt!‟ As a person on the
hill-top looketh down upon men on the plain below, so he that has got up on the
top of the mansion of knowledge, seeth people grieving for things that do not call
for grief. He, however, that is of foolish understanding, does not see this. He
who, casting his eyes on visible things, really seeth them, is said to have eyes
and understanding. The faculty called understanding is so called because of the
knowledge and comprehension it gives of unknown and incomprehensible things.
He who is acquainted with the words of persons that are learned, that are of
cleansed souls, and that have attained to a state of Brahma, succeeds in
obtaining great honours. When one seeth creatures of infinite diversity to be all
one and the same and to be but diversified emanations from the same essence,

one is then said to have attained Brahma.[52] Those who reach this high state of
culture attain to that supreme and blissful end, and not they who are without
knowledge, or they who are of little and narrow souls, or they who are bereft of
understanding, or they who are without penances. Indeed, everything rests on
the (cultivated) understanding!‟”
SECTION XVIII
Vaisampayana said, “When Yudhishthira, after saying these words, became
silent, Arjuna, afflicted by that speech of the king, and burning with sorrow and
grief, once more addressed his eldest brother, saying, „People recite this old
history, O Bharata, about the discourse between the ruler of the Videhas and his
queen. That history has reference to the words which the grief-stricken spouse of
the ruler of the Videhas had said to her lord when the latter, abandoning his
kingdom, had resolved to lead a life of mendicancy. Casting off wealth and
children and wives and precious possessions of various kinds and the
established path for acquiring religious merit and fire itself.[53] King Janaka
shaved his head (and assumed the garb of a mendicant). His dear spouse
beheld him deprived of wealth, installed in the observance of the vow of
mendicancy, resolved to abstain from inflicting any kind of injury on others, free
from vanity of every kind, and prepared to subsist upon a handful of barley fallen
off from the stalk and to be got by picking the grains from crevices in the field.
Approaching her lord at a time when no one was with him, the queen, endued
with great strength of mind, fearlessly and in wrath, told him these words fraught
with reason: „Why hast thou adopted a life of mendicancy, abandoning thy
kingdom full of wealth and corn? A handful of fallen off barley cannot be proper
for thee. Thy resolution tallies not with thy acts,[54] since abandoning thy large
kingdom thou covetest, O king, a handful of grain! With this handful of barley, O
king, wilt thou succeed in gratifying thy guests, gods. Rishis and Pitris? This thy
labour, therefore, is bootless. Alas, abandoned by all these, viz., gods, guest and
Pitris, thou leadest a life, of wandering mendicancy, O king, having cast off all
action. Thou wert, before this, the supporter of thousands of Brahmanas versed
in the three Vedas and of many more besides. How canst thou desire to beg of
them thy own food today? Abandoning thy blazing prosperity, thou castest thy
eyes around like a dog (for his food). Thy mother hath today been made sonless
by thee, and thy spouse, the princess of Kosala, a widow. These helpless
Kshatriyas, expectant of fruit and religious merit, wait upon thee, placing all their
hopes on thee. By killing those hopes of theirs, to what regions shalt thou go, O
king, especially when salvation is doubtful and creatures are dependent on
actions?[55] Sinful as thou art, thou hast neither this world nor the other, since
thou wishest to live, having cast off thy wedded wife?[56] Why, indeed, dost thou
lead a life of wandering mendicancy, abstaining from all actions, after having
abandoned garlands and perfumes and ornaments and robes of diverse kinds?
Having been, as it were, a large and sacred take unto all creatures, having been
a mighty tree worthy of adoration and granting its shelter unto all, alas, how canst

thou wait upon and worship others? If even an elephant desists from all work,
carnivorous creatures coming in packs and innumerable worms would eat it up.
What need be said of thyself that art so powerless?[57] How couldst thy heart be
set on that mode of life which recommends an earthen pot, and a triple-headed
stick, and which forces one to abandon his very clothes and which permits the
acceptance of only a handful of barley after abandonment of everything? If,
again, thou sayest that kingdom and a handful of barley are the same to thee,
then why dost thou abandon the former! If, again, a handful of barley becomes
an object of attachment with thee, then, thy original resolution (of abandoning
everything) falls to the ground, If, again, thou canst act up to thy resolution of
abandoning everything! then who am I to thee, who art thou to me, and what can
be thy grace to me?[58] If thou beest inclined to grace, rule then this Earth! They
that are desirous of happiness but are very poor and indigent and abandoned by
friends may adopt renunciation. But he who imitates those men by abandoning
palatial mansions and beds and vehicles and robes and ornaments, acts
improperly, indeed. One always accepts gifts made by others; another always
makes gifts. Thou knowest the difference between the two. Who, indeed, of
these two shouldst be regarded the superior? If a gift be made to one who
always accepts gifts, or to one that is possessed of pride, that gift becomes
bootless like the clarified butter that is poured upon a forest-conflagration.[59] As
a fire, O king, never dies till it has consumed all that has been thrown into it, even
so a beggar can never be silenced tilt he receives a donative. In this world, the
food that is given by a charitable person is the sure support of the pious. If,
therefore, the king does not give (food) where will the pious that are desirous of
salvation go?[60] They that have food (in their houses) are house-holders.
Mendicants are supported by them. Life flows from food. Therefore, the giver of
food is the giver of life. Coming out from among those that lead a domestic mode
of life, mendicants depend upon those very persons from whom they come.
Those self-restrained men, by doing this, acquire and enjoy fame and power.
One is not to be called a mendicant for his having only renounced his
possessions, or for his having only adopted a life of dependence on
eleemosynary charity. He who renounces the possessions and pleasures of the
world in a sincere frame of mind is to be regarded a true mendicant.[61]
Unattached at heart, though attached in outward show, standing aloof from the
world, having broken all his bonds, and regarding friend and foe equally, such a
man, O king, is regarded to be emancipated! Having shaved their heads clean
and adopted the brown robe, men may be seen to betake themselves to a life of
wandering mendicancy, though bound by various ties and though ever on the
lookout for bootless wealth. They who, casting off the three Vedas, their usual
occupations, and children, adopt a life or mendicancy by taking up the triple-
headed crutch and the brown robe, are really persons of little understanding.
Without having cast off anger and other faults, the adoption of only the brown
robe, know, O king, is due to the desire of earning the means of sustenance.
Those persons of clean-shaven heads that have set up the banner of virtue, have
this only (viz., the acquisition of sustenance) for their object in life. Therefore, O
king, keeping thy passions under control, do thou win regions of bliss hereafter

by supporting them that are truly pious amongst men of matted locks or clean-
shaven heads, naked or clad in rags, or skins or brown robes. Who is there that
is more virtuous than he who maintains his sacred fire, who performs sacrifices
with presents of animals and Dakshina, and who practises charity day and
night?‟
“Arjuna continued, „King Janaka is regarded to have been a truth-knowing person
in this world. Even he, in this matter (viz., the ascertainment of duty) had become
stupefied. Do not yield to stupefaction! Even thus the duties of Domesticity are
observed by persons practising charity. By abstaining from injuries of all kinds, by
casting off desire and wrath, by being engaged in protecting all creatures, by
observing the excellent duty of charity, and lastly by cherishing superiors and
persons of age, we shall succeed in attaining such regions of bliss as we like. By
duly gratifying gods, guests, and all creatures, by worshipping Brahmanas, and
by truthfulness of speech, we shall certainly attain to desirable regions of bliss.‟”
SECTION XIX
“Yudhishthira said, „I am conversant with both the Vedas and the scriptures that
lead to the attainment of Brahma. In the Vedas there are precepts of both kinds,
viz., those that inculcate action and those that inculcate renouncement of action.
The scriptures are confounding and their conclusions are based upon reasons.
The truth, however, that is in the Mantras, is duly known to me. Thou art
conversant only with weapons and observant of the practices of heroes. Thou art
unable to understand truly the sense of the scriptures. If thou wert really
acquainted with duty, then thou couldst have understood that words such as
these ought not to have been addressed to me by even one possessed of the
clearest insight into the meaning of the scriptures and acquainted with the truths
of religion. That, however, which thou hast said unto me, induced by fraternal
affection, has been fit and proper, O son of Kunti! I am, for that, pleased with
thee, O Arjuna! There is no one equal to thee in the three worlds in all duties
connected with battle and in skill in respect of diverse kinds of acts. Thou mayst,
therefore, speak of the subtleties connected with those subjects,--subtleties, that
is, that are impenetrable by others. It behoveth thee not, however, O
Dhananjaya, to doubt my intelligence. Thou art conversant with the science of
battle, but thou hast never waited upon the aged. Thou knowest not the
conclusions arrived at by those that have studied the subject in brief and detail.
Even this is the conclusion of intelligent men whose understanding are bent on
achieving salvation, viz., that amongst ascetic penances, renunciation, and
knowledge of Brahma, the second is superior to the first, and the third is superior
to the second. This, however, that thou thinkest, viz., that there is nothing
superior to wealth, is an error. I will convince thee of it, so that wealth may not
again appear to thee in that light. All men that are righteous are seen to be
devoted to ascetic penances and the study of the Vedas. The Rishis also, that
have many eternal regions for them, have the merit of penances. Others

possessed of tranquillity of soul, having no enemies, and dwelling in the woods,
have, through penances and study of the Vedas, proceeded to heaven. Pious
men, by restraining desire for worldly possessions, and casting off that darkness
which is born of folly, proceed northward (i.e., by luminous paths) to the regions
reserved for practisers of renunciation. The path that lies to the south and that
leads to regions of light (i.e., lunar regions), are reserved for men devoted to
action. These are attained by persons subject to birth and death. That end,
however, which persons desirous of salvation have before their eyes, is
indescribable. Yoga is the best means for attaining to it. It is not easy to explain it
(to thee). Those that are learned live, reflecting on the scriptures from desire of
finding what is unreal. They are, however, often led away to this and to that in the
belief that the object of their search exists in this and that. Having mastered,
however, the Vedas, the Aranyakas, and the other scriptures, they miss the real,
like men failing to find solid timber in an uprooted banana plant. Some there are
who., disbelieving in its unity, regard the Soul, that dwells in this physical frame
consisting of the five elements, to be possessed of the attributes of desire and
aversion (and others).[62] Incapable of being seen by the eye, exceedingly
subtle, and inexpressible by words, it revolves in a round (of re-births) among the
creatures of the earth, keeping before it that which is the root of action.[63]
Having made the Soul advance towards itself which is the spring of every kind of
blessedness, having restrained all desires of the mind, and having cast off all
kinds of action, one may become perfectly independent and happy. When there
is such a path that is trod by the righteous and that is attainable by Knowledge,
why, O Arjuna, dost thou applaud wealth which is full of every kind of calamity?
Men of olden times that were conversant with the scriptures, O Bharata,--men
that were always engaged in gifts and sacrifice and action, were of this opinion.
O Bharata! There are some fools who, accomplished in the science of
argumentation, deny the existence of the Soul, in consequence of the strength of
their convictions of a previous life. It is very difficult to make them accept this
truth about final emancipation.[64] Those wicked men, though possessed of
great learning, travel all over the earth, making speeches in assemblies, and
deprecating the true doctrine about emancipation. O Partha, who else will
succeed in understanding that which we do not understand?‟ Indeed, (as those
men cannot understand the true meaning of the scriptures), similarly they cannot
succeed in knowing those wise and pious persons that are truly great and that
have deep acquaintance with the scriptures. O son of Kunti, men acquainted with
truth obtain Brahma by asceticism and intelligence, and great happiness by
renunciation.‟
SECTION XX
Vaisampayana said, “After Yudhishthira had stopped, the great ascetic
Devasthana, possessed of eloquence, said these words, fraught with reason,
unto the king.”

“Devasthana said, „Phalguna has told thee that there is nothing superior to
wealth. I shall discourse to thee on that subject. Listen to me with undivided
attention, O Ajatasatru, thou hast righteously won the earth. Having won her, it
behoves thee not, O king, to abandon her without cause. Four modes of life are
indicated in the Vedas. Do thou, O king, duly pass through them, one after
another. At present thou shouldst, therefore, perform great sacrifices with profuse
presents. Amongst the very Rishis, some are engaged in the sacrifice
represented by Vedic study, and some in that presented by knowledge.
Therefore, O Bharata, thou must know that the very ascetics also are addicted to
action. The Vaikhanasas, however, are said to preach that he who does not seek
for wealth is superior to him that seeks for it.[65] I think that he who would follow
that precept would incur many faults. Men collect together diverse things (for the
performance of sacrifices) simply because of the (Vedic) ordinance. He who,
tainted by his own understanding, giveth away wealth to an undeserving person
without giving it to the deserving, doth not know that he incurs the sin of killing a
foetus.[66] The exercise of the duty of charity after discriminating the deserving
from the undeserving is not easy. The Supreme Ordainer created wealth for
sacrifice, and He created man also for taking care of that wealth and for
performing sacrifice. For this reason the whole of one‟s wealth should be applied
to sacrifice. Pleasure would follow from it as a natural consequence. Possessed
of abundant energy, Indra, by the performance of diverse sacrifices with profuse
gifts of valuables, surpassed all the gods. Having got their chiefship by that
means, he shineth in heaven. Therefore, everything should be applied to
sacrifices. Clad in deer-skins, the high-souled Mahadeva, having poured his own
self as a libation in the sacrifice called Sarva, became the first of gods, and
surpassing all creatures in the universe and prevailing over them by means of
that achievement, shines in resplendence. King Marutta, the son of Avikshit, by
the profusion of his wealth, vanquished Sakra himself, the chief of the gods. In
the great sacrifice he performed, all the vessels were of gold, and Sree herself
came in person. Thou hast heard that the great king Harischandra, having
performed sacrifices, earned great merit and great happiness. Though a man, he
nevertheless vanquished Sakra by his wealth. For this reason everything should
be applied to sacrifice.‟”
SECTION XXI
“Devasthana said, „In this connection is cited an old history, viz., the discourse
that Vrihaspati, asked by Indra, delivered unto him. Vrihaspati said, „Contentment
is the highest heaven, contentment is the highest bliss. There is nothing higher
than contentment. Contentment stands as the highest. When one draws away all
his desires like a tortoise drawing in all it limbs, then the natural resplendence of
his soul soon manifests itself. When one does not fear any creature, nor any
creature is frightened at one, when one conquers one‟s desire and aversion, then
is one said to behold one‟s soul. When one, indeed, in word and thought, seeks
to injure nobody and cherishes no desire, one is said to attain to Brahma. Thus,

O son of Kunti, whatever religion is followed by creatures, they obtain
corresponding fruits. Awaken thyself by this consideration, O Bharata![67] Some
praise Peacefulness, some praise Exertion; some there are that praise
Contemplation; and some praise both Peacefulness and Exertion.[68] Some
praise sacrifice; others, renunciation. Some praise gifts; others, acceptance.
Some, abandoning everything, live in silent meditation. Some praise sovereignty
and the cherishing, of subjects, after slaving, cutting and piercing (foes). Some
are for passing their days in retirement. Observing all this, the conclusion of the
learned is that that religion which consists in not injuring any creature is worthy of
the approbation of the righteous. Abstention from injury, truthfulness of speech,
justice, compassion, self-restraint, procreation (of offspring) upon one‟s own
wives, amiability, modesty, patience,--the practice of these is the best of a
religions as said by the self-create Manu himself. Therefore, O son of Kunti, do
thou observe this religion with care. That Kshatriya, who, conversant with the
truths or royal duties, takes sovereignty upon himself, restraining his soul at all
times, equally regarding that which is dear and that which is not, and subsisting
upon the remains of sacrificial feasts, who is engaged in restraining the wicked
and cherishing the righteous, who obliges his subjects to tread in the path of
virtue and who himself treads in that path, who at last transmits his crown to his
son and betakes himself to the woods, there to live on the products of the
wilderness and act according to the ordinances or the Vedas after having cast off
all idleness, that Kshatriya who conducts himself thus, conforming in everything
to the well-known duties of kings, is sure to obtain excellent fruits in both this
world and the next. That final emancipation, of which thou speakest, is
exceedingly difficult to obtain, and its pursuit is attended with many impediments.
They that adopt such duties and practise charity and ascetic penances, that are
possessed of the quality of compassion and are freed from desire and wrath, that
are engaged in ruling their subjects with righteousness and fighting for the sake
of kine and Brahmanas, attain hereafter to a high end. For the Rudras with the
Vasus and the Adityas, O scorcher of foes, and the Sadhyas and hosts of kings
adopt this religion. Practising without heedlessness the duties inculcated by that
religion, they attain to heaven through those acts of theirs.‟”
SECTION XXII
Vaisampayana said, “After this, Arjuna once more addressed his eldest brother
of unfading glory, viz., king Yudhishthira of cheerless heart, and said these
words: „O thou that art conversant with every kind of duty, having by the practice
of Kshatriya duties obtained sovereignty that is so very difficult of acquisition, and
having conquered all thy foes, why dost thou burn in grief? O king, as regards
Kshatriyas, death in battle is regarded more meritorious for them than the
performance of diverse sacrifices. It is so declared in the ordinance that lays
down the duties of Kshatriyas. Penances and Renunciation are the duties of
Brahmanas. Even this is the ordinance (affecting the two orders) about the next
world. Indeed, O puissant one, death in battle is laid down for Kshatriyas. The

duties of Kshatriyas are exceedingly fierce and are always connected with the
use of weapons, and it has been laid down, O chief of the Bharatas, that they
should, when the time comes, perish by weapons on the field of battle. The life of
even a Brahmana, O king, that lives in the observance of Kshatriya duties, is not
censurable, for Kshatriyas also have sprung from Brahmana. Neither
Renunciation, nor Sacrifice, nor Penances, nor dependence on the wealth of
others, O ruler of men, has been ordained for Kshatriyas. Thou art acquainted
with all duties, and thou art of righteous soul, O bull of Bharata‟s race! Thou art a
wise king, skilled in all acts. Thou canst distinguish what is right in this world from
what is wrong. Casting off this cheerlessness by repentance, address thyself with
a strong will to action. The heart of a Kshatriya especially is hard as thunder.
Having by the exercise of Kshatriya duties vanquished thy foes and acquired
empire without a thorn in its side, conquer thy soul, O ruler of men, and be
engaged in the performance of sacrifices and the practice of charity. Indra
himself, though a Brahmana, became a Kshatriya in his acts, and battled with his
sinful kinsfolk for eight hundred and ten times. Those acts of his, O monarch, are
adorable and worthy of praise. Through them he obtained, as we have heard, the
chiefship of the gods. Do thou, therefore, O monarch, perform sacrifices with
profuse presents even as Indra did, O ruler of men, and thereby free thyself from
thy fever. Do not, O bull among Kshatriyas, grieve thus for what is past. They that
have been slain have attained to the highest end, sanctified by weapons and
agreeably to the ordinances of the Kshatriya religion. That which has happened
was ordained to happen. Destiny, O tiger among kings, is incapable of being
resisted.‟”
SECTION XXIII
Vaisampayana said, “Thus addressed by Arjuna of curly hair, the Kuru king born
of Kunti remained speechless. Then the island-born (Vyasa) said these words.
“Vyasa said, „The words of Arjuna, O amiable Yudhishthira, are true. The highest
religion, as declared by the scriptures, depends on the duties of domesticity.
Thou art acquainted with all duties. Do thou then duly practise the duties
prescribed for thee (viz., the duties of domesticity). A life of retirement in the
woods, casting off the duties of domesticity, has not been laid down for thee. The
gods, Pitris, guests, and servants, all depend (for their sustenance) upon the
person leading a life of domesticity. Do thou then support all these, O lord of the
earth! Birds and animals and various other creatures, O ruler of men, are
supported by men leading domestic lives. He, therefore, that belongs to that
mode of life is superior (to all others). A life of domesticity is the most difficult of
all the four modes of life. Do thou practise that mode of life then, O Partha, which
is difficult of being practised by persons of unrestrained sense. Thou hast a good
knowledge of all the Vedas. Thou hast earned great ascetic merit. It behoveth
thee, therefore, to bear like an ox the burthen of thy ancestral kingdom.
Penances, sacrifices, forgiveness, learning, mendicancy, keeping the senses

under control, contemplation, living in solitude, contentment, and knowledge (of
Brahma), should, O king, be striven after by Brahmanas to the best of their ability
for the attainment of success. I shall now tell thee the duties of Kshatriyas. They
are not unknown to thee. Sacrifice, learning, exertion, ambition,[69] wielding „the
rod of punishment,‟ fierceness, protection of subjects., knowledge of the Vedas,
practise of all kinds of penances, goodness of conduct, acquisition of wealth, and
gifts to deserving persons,--these, O king, well performed and acquired by
persons of the royal order, secure for them both this world and the next, as heard
by us. Amongst these, O son of Kunti, wielding the rod of chastisement has been
said to be the foremost. Strength must always reside in a Kshatriya, and upon
strength depends chastisement. Those duties that I have mentioned are, O king,
the principal ones for Kshatriyas and contribute greatly to their success.
Vrihaspati, in this connection, sang this verse: „Like a snake devouring a mouse,
the Earth devours a king that is inclined to peace and a Brahmana that is
exceedingly attached to a life of domesticity.‟ It is heard again that the royal sage
Sudyumna, only by wielding the rod of chastisement, obtained the highest
success, like Daksha himself, the son of Prachetas.‟
Yudhishthira said, „O holy one, by what acts did Sudyumna, that lord of the earth,
obtain the highest success? I desire to hear the history of that king!‟
“Vyasa said, „In this connection is cited this old history. There were two brothers,
viz., Sankha and Likhita, of rigid vows. The two brothers had two separate
dwellings both of which were beautiful. Situate by the bank of the stream called
Vahuda, both of those residences were adorned with trees that were always
burthened with flowers and fruits. Once on a time Likhita came to the residence
of his brother Sankha. At that time, however, Sankha had gone out of his asylum
on no fixed purpose. Arrived at the asylum of his brother, Likhita plucked many
ripe fruits. Obtaining them the regenerate Likhita began to eat them without any
qualms of conscience. While still employed in the act of eating, Sankha came
back to his retreat. Beholding him eating, Sankha addressed his brother, saying,
„Whence have these fruits been obtained and for what reason art thou eating
them?‟ Approaching his elder brother and saluting him, Likhita smilingly replied,
saying, „I have taken them even from this retreat.‟ Filled with great rage, Sankha
said unto him, „Thou hast committed theft by thyself taking these fruits. Go and
approaching the king confess to him what thou hast done. Tell him, O best of
kings, I have committed the offence of approaching what was not given to me.
Knowing me for a thief and observing the duty of thy order, do thou soon inflict
upon me, O ruler of men, the punishment of a thief.‟ Thus addressed, the highly
blessed Likhita of rigid vows, at the command of his brother, proceeded to king
Sudyumna. Hearing from his gate-keepers that Likhita had come, king
Sudyumna, with his counsellors, advanced (for receiving the sage). Meeting him,
the king addressed that foremost of all persons conversant with duties, saying,
„Tell me, O revered one, the reason of thy coming. Regard it as already
accomplished.‟ Thus questioned, that regenerate sage said unto Sudyumna, „Do
thou promise first that thou wilt achieve it. It will then behove thee, after hearing
me, to accomplish that promise. O bull among men, I ate some fruits that had not
been given me by my elder brother. Do thou, O monarch, punish me for it without

delay.‟ Sudyumna answered, „If the king be regarded as competent to wield the
rod of chastisement, he should be regarded, O bull among Brahmanas, as
equally competent to pardon. Purified in respect of thy act, O thou of high vows,
consider thyself as pardoned. Tell me now what other wishes thou hast. I shall
certainly accomplish those commands of thine!‟
“Vyasa continued, „Thus honoured by the high-souled king, the regenerate sage
Likhita, however, did not solicit him for any other favour. Then that ruler of the
earth caused the two hands of the high-souled Likhita to be cut off, whereupon
the latter, bearing the punishment, went away. Returning to his brother Sankha,
Likhita, in great affection, said, „It behoveth thee now to pardon this wretch that
hath been duly punished (for what he did).‟ Sankha said, I am not angry with
thee, nor hast thou injured me, O foremost of all persons conversant with duties.
Thy virtue, however, had suffered a shock. I have rescued thee from that plight.
Proceed without delay to the river Vahuda and gratify duly, with oblations of
water, the gods, Rishis and the Pitris, and never again set thy heart on sin.‟
Hearing these words of Sankha, Likhita performed his ablutions in the sacred
stream and set about for commencing the water-rite. Upon this, two hands,
resembling two lotuses, appeared at the extremities of his stumps. Filled with
wonder he came back to his brother and showed him the two hands. Sankha
said unto him, „All this has been accomplished by me through my penances. Do
not be surprised at it. Providence hath been the instrument here.‟ Likhita
answered, „O thou of great splendour, why didst thou not purify me at first, when,
O best of regenerate ones, such was the energy of thy penances?‟ Sankha, said,
„I should not have acted otherwise. I am not thy chastiser. The ruler (who has
punished thee) has been himself purified, as also thyself, along with the Pitris!‟
“Vyasa continued, „That king, O eldest son of Pandu, became eminent by this act
and obtained the highest success like the lord Daksha himself! Even this is the
duty of Kshatriyas, viz., the ruling of subjects. Any other, O monarch, would be
regarded as a wrong path for them. Do not give way to grief. O best of all
persons conversant with duty, listen to the beneficial words of this thy brother.
Wielding the rod of chastisement, O king, is the duty of kings and not the shaving
of the head.‟”
SECTION XXIV
Vaisampayana said, “Once more the great sage Krishna-Dwaipayana said these
words unto Ajatasatru, the son of Kunti: „Let these great car-warriors of abundant
energy of mind, O monarch, let these brothers of thine, O Yudhishthira, the chief
of the Bharatas, obtain those wishes of theirs that they cherished while dwelling
in the woods. Rule thou the earth, O son of Pritha, like (another) Yayati, the son
of Nahusha. Before now misery was yours while ye dwelt in the woods in the
observance of ascetic penances. That misery is ended, O tiger among men!
Enjoy happiness, therefore, for some time. Having O Bharata, earned and
enjoyed religious merit and wealth and pleasure for some time with thy brothers,

thou mayst then, O king, retire into the woods. Be freed first, O Bharata, from the
debt thou owest to persons that may beg of thee, to the Pitris, and to the gods.
Thou mayst then, O son of Kunti, practise all the other modes of life (that come
afterwards). Do thou, O son of Kuru‟s race, perform the sacrifices of Sarvamedha
and Aswamedha. Thou shalt then attain, O monarch, to the highest end
hereafter. Installing thy brothers also in great sacrifices with plentiful presents (to
the Brahmanas), thou shalt, O son of Pandu, acquire great fame. There is a
saying, O tiger among men and best of the Kurus! Listen to it, for by acting
according to it, O king, thou shalt not swerve from virtue. Those men only, O
Yudhishthira, whose practices resemble those of robbers, cause a king by their
counsels to take to a career of war and victory.[70] That king who, guided by
considerations of place and time and moved by an understanding dependent on
the scriptures, pardons even a number of robbers, incurs no sin. That king who,
realising his tribute of a sixth, doth not protect his kingdom, taketh a fourth part of
the sins of his kingdom.[71] Listen also to that by which a king may not swerve
from virtue. By transgressing the scriptures (one incurs sill), while by obeying
them one may live fearlessly. That king who, guided by an understanding based
upon the scriptures and disregarding lust and wrath, behaves impartially, like a
father, towards all his subjects, never incurs sin. O thou of great splendour, if a
king, afflicted by destiny, fails to accomplish an act which he should, such failure
would not be called a trespass. By force and policy should the king put down his
foes. He must not suffer sin to be perpetrated in his kingdom but should cause
virtue to be practised. Brave men, those that are respectable in their practices,
they that are virtuous in their acts, they that are possessed of learning, O
Yudhishthira, Brahmanas conversant with Vedic texts and rites, and men of
wealth, should especially be protected. In determining suits and accomplishing
religious acts, they that are possessed of great learning should alone be
employed. A prudent king will never repose his confidence upon one individual,
however accomplished. That king who does not protect his subjects, whose
passions are ungovernable, who is full of vanity, who is stained with haughtiness
and malice, incurs sin and earns the reproach of tyranny. If the subjects of a king,
O monarch, waste away from want of protection and are afflicted by the gods and
ground down by robbers, the sin of all this stains the king himself. There is no
sin, O Yudhishthira, in doing an act with heartiness, after full deliberation, and
consultation with men capable of offering good advice. Our tasks fail or succeed
through destiny. If exertion, however, be applied, sin would not touch the king. I
shall recite to thee, O tiger among kings, the story of what happened to an
ancient king of the name of Hayagriva, O son of Pandu,--the story, viz., of the
heroic Hayagriva of unstained deeds, who after having slain a large number of
his foes in battle, was himself defeated and slain while without a follower by his
side. Having achieved all that should be done for keeping foes under check and
adopted all those foremost of means by which men may be protected. Hayagriva
acquired great fame from the battles he fought and is now enjoying great bliss in
heaven. Mangled by robbers with weapons, boldly fighting with them, and casting
off his life in battle, the high-souled Hayagriva, ever attentive to his (kingly)
duties, achieved the object of his life and is now enjoying great bliss in heaven.

The bow was his (sacrificial) stake and the bowstring was the cord for tying the
victims. Shafts constituted the smaller ladle and the sword the large one, and
blood was the clarified butter that he poured. The car was the altar and the wrath
he felt in battle was the fire, and the four foremost of steeds yoked unto his
vehicle were the four Hotris. Having poured upon that sacrificial fire his foes as
libations and then his own life-breaths at the completion of the sacrifice, that
vigorous lion among kings, viz., Hayagriva, became freed from sin and is now
sporting in the regions of the gods. Having protected his kingdom with policy and
intelligence, the high-souled Hayagriva of resigned self and great strength of
mind and accustomed to the performance of sacrifices filled all the worlds with
his fame and is now sporting in the region of the gods.[72] Having obtained the
merit dependent on the performance of sacrifices as also every kind of merit that
is connected with human affairs, he wielded the rod of chastisement and ruled
the Earth with vigour and without pride. For this the virtuous and high-souled
Hayagriva is sporting in the region of the gods.[73] Possessed of learning,
practising renunciation, actuated by faith, and full of gratitude, that king, having
performed diverse acts, left this world of men and won the regions that are
reserved for the intelligent and the wise and those that are of approved usages
and behaviour and prepared to cast off their lives in battle. Having studied the
Vedas well and the other scriptures also, having ruled his kingdom properly and
caused all the four orders to adhere to their respective duties, the high-souled
Hayagriva is sporting in joy the regions of the gods. Having won many battles
and cherished his subjects, having drunk the Soma juice in sacrifices and
gratified the foremost of Brahmanas with presents and judiciously wielded the rod
of chastisement over those placed under his sway and at last cast off his life in
battle, that king is living happily in heaven. His life was worthy of every praise.
Learned and honest men applaud it, deserving as it is of every applause. Having
won heaven and acquired the regions reserved for heroes, that high-souled
monarch of virtuous deeds became crowned with success.‟
SECTION XXV
Vaisampayana said, “Hearing the words of the Island-born Rishi and seeing
Dhananjaya angry, Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, saluted Vyasa and made the
following answer.
“Yudhishthira said, „This earthly sovereignty and the diverse enjoyments
(appertaining thereto) fail to give any joy to my heart. On the other hand, this
poignant grief (consequent upon the loss of my kinsmen) is eating away its core.
Hearing the lamentations of these women who have lost their heroic husbands
and children, I fail to attain peace, O sage!‟”
Vaisampayana continued, “Thus addressed, the virtuous Vyasa that foremost of
all persons conversant with Yoga, possessed of great wisdom and intimately
acquainted with the Vedas, said unto Yudhisthira (the following words).

“Vyasa said, „No man can acquire anything by his own acts or by sacrifices and
worship. No man can give anything to a fellow man. Man acquires everything
through Time. The Supreme Ordainer has made the course of Time the means of
acquisition. By mere intelligence or study of the scriptures, men, if Time be
unfavourable, cannot acquire any earthly possession. Sometimes an ignorant
fool may succeed in winning wealth. Time is the efficacious means for the
accomplishment of all acts. During times of adversity, neither science, nor
incantations, nor drugs, yield any fruits. In times, however, of prosperity, those
very things, properly applied, become efficacious and bear success. By Time the
winds blow violently: by Time the clouds become rain-charged; by Time tanks
become adorned with lotuses of different kinds; by Time trees in the forest
become decked with flowers. By Time nights become dark or lighted. By Time
the Moon becomes full. If the Time for it does not come, trees do not bear flowers
and fruits. If the Time for it does not come, the currents of rivers do not become
fierce. Birds and snakes and deer and elephants and other animals never
become excited when the Time for it does not come. If the Time for it does not
come, women do not conceive. It is with Time that winter, and summer, and the
rainy season come. If the Time for it does not come, no one is born and no one
dies. If the Time does not come, the infant does not acquire power of speech. If
the Time does not come, one does not acquire youth. It is with Time that the
seed sown puts forth its sprouts. If the Time does not come, the Sun does not
appear above the horizon, nor, when the Time for it does not come, does he
repair to the Asta hills. If the Time for it does not come, the Moon does not wax
nor wane, nor the ocean, with its high billows, rise and ebb. In this connection is
instanced the old story recited, O Yudhishthira, by king Senajit in grief. The
irresistible course of Time affects all mortals. All earthly things, ripened by Time,
suffer destruction. Some, O king, slay some men. The slayers, again, are slain by
others. This is the language of the world. Really, however, no one stays and no
one is slain. Some one thinks men slay (their fellow-men). Another thinks men
do not slay. The truth is that the birth and destruction of all creatures have been
ordained to happen in consequence of their very nature. Upon the loss of one‟s
wealth or the death of one‟s wife or son or sire, one cries out, saying „Alas, what
grief!‟ and dwelling upon that sorrow always enhances it. Why do you, like a
foolish person, indulge in grief? Why do you grieve for them that are subject to
grief?[74] Behold, grief is increased by indulgence as fear is by yielding to. This
body even is not mine. Nothing in this earth is mine. Or, the things of this earth
belong as much to others as to me. The wise, seeing, this, do not suffer
themselves to be deluded. There are thousands of causes for sorrow, and
hundreds of causes for joy. These every day affect the ignorant only, but not him
that is wise. These, in course of Time. become objects of affection or aversion,
and appearing as bliss or woe revolve (as if in a wheel) for affecting living
creatures. There is only sorrow in this world but no happiness. It is for this that
sorrow only is felt. Indeed, sorrow springs from that affliction called desire, and
happiness springs from the affliction called sorrow. Sorrow comes after
happiness, and happiness after sorrow. One does not always suffer sorrow or
always enjoy happiness. Happiness always ends in sorrow, and sometimes

proceeds from sorrow itself. He, therefore, that desires eternal happiness must
abandon both. When sorrow must arise upon the expiration of happiness, and
happiness upon the expiration of sorrow, one should, for that, cast off, like a
(snake-bit) limb of one‟s body, that from which one experiences sorrow or that
heart-burning which is nurtured by sorrow or that which is the root of his
anxiety.[75] Be it happiness or sorrow, be it agreeable or disagreeable, whatever
comes should be borne with an unaffected heart. O amiable one, if thou
abstainest, in even a slight measure, from doing what is agreeable to your wives
and children, thou shalt then know who is whose and why so and for what. They
that are highly stupid and they that are masters of their souls enjoy happiness
here. They however, that occupy an intermediate place suffer misery. This, O
Yudhishthira, is what Senajit of great wisdom said, that person who was
conversant with what is good or bad in this world, with duties, and with happiness
and misery. He who is grieved at other people‟s griefs can never be happy.
There is no end of grief, and grief arises from happiness itself. Happiness and
misery, prosperity and adversity, gain and loss, death and life, in their turn, wait
upon all creatures. For this reason the wise man of tranquil soul should neither
be elated with joy nor be depressed with sorrow. To be engaged in battle has
been said to be the Sacrifice for a king; a due observance of the science of
chastisement is his Yoga; and the gift of wealth in sacrifices in the form of
Dakshina is his Renunciation. All these should be regarded as acts that sanctify
him. By governing the kingdom with intelligence and policy, casting off pride,
performing sacrifices, and looking at everything and all persons with kindness
and impartiality, a high-souled king, after death, sports in the region of the gods.
By winning battles, protecting his kingdom, drinking the Soma juice, advancing
his subjects, wielding judiciously the rod of Chastisement, and casting off his
body at last in fight, a king enjoys happiness in heaven. Having studied all the
Vedas and the other scriptures duty, having protected the kingdom properly, and
having caused all the four orders to adhere to their respective duties, a king
becomes sanctified and finally sports in heaven. He is the best of kings whose
conduct, even after his death, is applauded by the inhabitants of city and country
and by his counsellors and friends.”
SECTION XXVI
Vaisampayana said, “In this connection, the high-souled Yudhishthira said unto
Arjuna these words fraught with reason. „Thou thinkest, O Partha, that there is
nothing superior to wealth, and that the poor man can neither have heaven, nor
happiness, nor the acquisition of his wishes. This, however, is not true. Many
persons are seen that have been crowned with success through sacrifice in the
shape of Vedic study. Many sages are seen by devotion to penances to have
acquired eternal regions of bliss. They, O Dhananjaya, who always observe the
practices of the Rishis by betaking themselves to Brahmacharya and who
become acquainted with all duties, are regarded by the gods as Brahmanas. O
Dhananjaya, thou shouldst always regard those Rishis that are devoted to the

study of the Vedas and those that are devoted to the pursuit of true knowledge
as persons that are truly virtuous. O son of Pandu, all our acts depend upon
those that are devoted to the acquisition of true knowledge.[76] We know this to
be the opinion of the Vaikhanasas, O puissant one! The Ajas, the Prishnis, the
Sikatas, O Bharata, the Arunas, and the Kitavas, have all gone to heaven
through the merit of Vedic study. By performing those acts, O Dhananjaya, that
are indicated in the Vedas, viz., battle, study of the Vedas, sacrifices, the
restraint of passion that is so difficult, one goes to heaven by the southern path of
the Sun (Dakshinayana). I have, before this, told thee that those very regions
belong to persons that are observant of (Vedic) acts. Thou shalt see, however,
that the northern path (Uttarayana) is travelled by those that are devoted to Yoga
penances. Those eternal and bright regions to which that path leads belong to
men of Yoga. Of these two, the northern path is much applauded by those
conversant with the Puranas. Thou shouldst know that one acquires heaven
through contentment. From contentment springs great happiness. There is
nothing higher than contentment. Unto the Yogin who has controlled wrath and
joy, contentment is his high praise and success. In this connection is cited the
discourse by Yayati of old. Listening to that discourse one may succeed in
withdrawing all his desires like a tortoise drawing in all his limbs. When one
cherishes no fear of anything, when one is not feared by anything, when one
cherishes no desire, when one bears no hate, then is one said to have attained
to the state of Brahma. When one does not bear sinfully towards any creature, in
act, thought, or word, one is then said to have attained to Brahma. When one has
controlled his pride and folly, and withdrawn himself from all attachments, it is
then that that pious man of irradiated soul becomes fit for attaining to that
salvation which consists in the annihilation of separate existence. Listen now to
me with concentrated attention, O son of Pritha, as I say it unto thee. Some
desire virtue; some, good conduct; and some wealth. One may desire wealth ( as
a means for the acquisition of virtue). The abandonment, however, of such desire
would be better for him.[77] There are many faults attached to wealth and
consequently to those religious acts that are performed with wealth. We have
seen it with our own eyes. It behoveth thee also to see this. He that desires
wealth finds it very difficult to abandon that which should by every means be
abandoned. Good deeds are very rare in those that amass riches. It is said that
wealth can never be acquired without injuring others, and that, when earned, it
brings numerous troubles. A person of narrow heart, setting at naught the fear of
repentance, commits acts of aggression towards others, tempted by even a little
wealth, unconscious all the while of the sin of Brahmanicide that he incurs by his
acts. Obtaining wealth which is so difficult of acquisition, one burns with grief if
one has to give a portion of it to one‟s servants,--with grief, that is, which is equal
to what one would feet if one is actually robbed by depredators. If, on the other
hand, one does not part with one‟s wealth, obloquy becomes one‟s share. One,
however, that has no wealth, never becomes the subject of censure. Withdrawn
from all attachments, such a person can become happy in all respects by
supporting life upon what little he may obtain as alms. No one, however, can be
happy by the acquisition of wealth. In this connection certain verses relating to

sacrifices are recited by persons conversant with ancient scriptures. Wealth was
created by the Creator for the sake of sacrifices, and man was created by him for
protecting that wealth and performing sacrifices. For this, all wealth should be
applied to sacrifices. It is not proper that it should be spent for the gratification of
desire of enjoyment. The Creator then confers wealth upon mortals for the sake
of sacrifices. Know this, O son of Kunti, thou that art the foremost of all wealthy
persons! It is for this that the wise think that wealth, without doubt, is nobody‟s
on earth. One should perform sacrifices with it and give it away with a trustful
heart. One should spend (in gift) what one has acquired, and not waste or spend
it in gratifying one‟s desire of enjoyment. What use is there in amassing wealth
when such proper objects exist in which to spend it? Those persons of little
understanding that give away (wealth) unto men that have swerved from the
duties of their order, have to subsist hereafter for a hundred years on ordure and
dirt. That men give unto the undeserving and refrain from giving unto the
deserving is due to inability to discriminate between the deserving and the
undeserving. For this reason the practice of even the virtue of charity is difficult.
These are the two faults connected with wealth even when acquired, viz., gift to
an undeserving person and abstaining from giving unto him that is deserving.‟”
SECTION XXVII
“Yudhishthira said, „In consequence of the fall Abhimanyu of tender years, of the
sons of Draupadi, of Dhrishtadyumna, of Virata, of king Drupada, of Vasusena
conversant with every duty, of the royal Dhrishtaketu, and of diverse other kings
hailing from diverse regions, in battle, grief does not forsake my wretched self
that am a slayer of kinsmen. Indeed, I am inordinately covetous of kingdom and
am an exterminator of my own race. He upon whose breast and limbs I used to
roll in sport, alas, that Ganga‟s son has been slain by me in battle through lust of
sovereignty. When I beheld that lion among men, viz., our grandsire, assailed by
Sikhandin and trembling and reeling in consequence of Partha‟s shafts that
resembled thunder-bolts in energy, when I beheld his tall form pierced all over
with blazing arrows and himself become weak like an aged lion, my heart was
deeply pained. When I beheld that afflictor of hostile cars reel like a mountain
summit and fall down strengthless on the terrace of his own vehicle with his face
turned towards the east, my senses were stupefied. That scion of Kuru‟s race
who with bow and shaft in hand had contended in fierce battle for many days with
Rama himself of Bhrigu‟s line on the field sanctified by Kuru, that son of Ganga,
that hero, who, at Baranasi, for the sake of brides, had, on a single car,
challenged to battle the assembled Kshatriyas of the world, he who had burnt by
the energy of his weapons that irresistible and foremost of kings, viz.,
Ugrayudha, alas, that hero has been caused by me to be slain in battle. Knowing
full well that Sikhandin the prince of Panchala was his destroyer, that hero still
refrained from slaying the prince with his shafts. Alas, such a magnanimous
warrior was slain by Arjuna. O best of sages, at that moment when I beheld the
grandsire stretched on the earth and covered with blood, a violent fever afflicted

my heart. He who had protected and reared us when we were children, alas, he
was caused to be slain by my sinful self that am covetous of kingdom, that am a
slayer of reverend seniors, and a perfect fool, for the sake of sovereignty that
would last but a few days. Our preceptor, the great archer Drona, adored by all
the kings, was approached by me and addressed falsely in respect of his son.
The memory of that act of mine is burning all my limbs. The preceptor said unto
me, „Tell me truly, O king, whether my son liveth still. Expecting truth from me,
the Brahmana asked me of all others. By silently uttering the word elephant, I
behaved falsely towards him. Sinful that I am exceedingly covetous of kingdom,
and a slayer of my reverend seniors, I behaved even thus towards my preceptor
in battle, throwing off the garb of truth (which I was believed to wear), for I said
unto him that Aswatthaman had been killed when, in fact, an elephant of that
name had been slain. To what regions shall I go (thereafter), having perpetrated
such infamous deeds? I caused also my eldest brother Karna to be slain, that
terrible warrior who never retreated from battle. Who is there more sinful than I?
Through covetousness I caused Abhimanyu of tender years, that hero who
resembled a lion born in the hills, to penetrate into the array that was protected
by Drona himself. I am like one guilty of infanticide. Sinful as I am, I have not
since then, been able to look Arjuna or the lotus-eyed Krishna in the face. I
grieve also few Draupadi who is bereft of her five sons like the Earth bereft of her
five mountains. I am a great offender, a great sinner, and a destroyer of the
earth! Without rising from this seat that I now occupy, I will weaken my body (by
starvation) and meet with death. Know me who am the slayer of my preceptor as
one that has sat down here in the observance of the Praya vow. An exterminator
of my race, I must do so in order that I may not he reborn in any of other orders
of beings![78] I shall forgo all food and drink, and without moving from this place,
O great ascetic, shall dry up my life-breaths that are so dear. I pray you with
humility, grant me permission in this and go whithersoever you please. Let every
one grant me permission. I shall cast off this body of mine.‟
Vaisampayana continued, “Restraining Pritha‟s son who, stupefied by sorrow on
account of his kinsmen, uttered such words, Vyasa, that best of ascetics, spoke
as follows, first telling him, „This can not be!‟
“Vyasa said, „It behoveth thee not, O monarch, to indulge in such poignant grief. I
shall repeat what I have once said. All this is Destiny, O puissant one! Without
doubt, all creatures that are born display at first a union (of diverse materials and
forces). Dissolution. however, overtakes them at the end. Like bubbles in the
water they rise and disappear. All things massed together are sure to crumble
away and all things that rise must fall down. Union ends in dissolution and life
ends in death. Idleness, though temporarily agreeable, ends in misery, and
labour with skill, though temporarily painful, ends in happiness. Affluence,
Prosperity, Modesty, Contentment, and Fame dwell in labour and skill but not in
idleness. Friends are not competent to bestow happiness, nor foes competent to
inflict misery. Similarly wisdom does not bring wealth nor does wealth bring
happiness. Since, O son of Kunti, thou hast been created by the Maker to
engage thyself in Work. Success springs from Work. Thou art not fit, O king, to
avoid Work.‟”

SECTION XXVIII
Vaisampayana said, “Vyasa then dispelled the grief of the eldest son of Pandu.,
who, burning with sorrow on account of the slaughter of his kinsmen, had
resolved to make an end of himself.”
Vyasa said, „In this connection is cited the old story, O tiger among men, that is
known by the name of Asma‟s discourse. Listen to it, O Yudhishthira! Janaka the
ruler of the Videhas, O king, filled with sorrow and grief, questioned a wise
Brahmana of the name of Asma for the resolution of his doubts.‟
“Janaka said, „How should a man desirous of his own good behave upon
occasions of the accession and the destruction of both kinsmen and wealth?‟
“Asma said, „Immediately after the formation of a man‟s body, joys and griefs
attach themselves to it. Although there is a possibility of either of the two
overtaking the person, yet whichever actually overtakes him quickly robs him of
his reason like the wind driving away gathering clouds. (In times of prosperity)
one thinks in this strain, viz., „I am of high birth! I can do whatever I like!--I am not
an ordinary man!‟ His mind becomes soaked with such triple vanity. Addicted to
all earthly enjoyments, he begins to waste the wealth hoarded by his ancestors.
Impoverished in course of time, he regards the appropriation of what belongs to
others as even laudable. Like a hunter piercing a deer with his shafts, the king
then punishes that wicked wight that robber of other people‟s possessions, that
transgressor of law and rule. Without attaining to a hundred years (the usual
period of human life), such men scarcely live beyond twenty or thirty years.
Carefully observing the behaviour of all creatures, a king should, by the exercise
of his intelligence, apply remedies for alleviating the great sorrows of his
subjects. The causes of all mental sorrow are two, viz., delusion of the mind and
the accession of distress. No third cause exists. All these diverse kinds of woe as
also those arising from attachment to earthly enjoyments, that overtake man, are
even such.[79] Decrepitude and Death, like a pair of wolves, devour all creatures,
strong or weak, short or tall. No man can escape decrepitude and death, not
even the subjugator of the whole earth girt by the sea. Be it happiness or be it
sorrow that comes upon creatures., it should be enjoyed or borne without elation
or depression. There is no method of escape from them. The evils of life, O king,
overtake one in early or middle or old age. They can never he avoided, while
those (sources of bliss) that are coveted never come.[80] The absence, of what
is agreeable, the presence of what is disagreeable, good and evil, bliss and woe,
follow Destiny. Similarly, the birth of creatures and their death, and the
accessions of gain and loss, are all pre-ordained. Even as scent, colour, taste,
and touch spring naturally, happiness and misery arise from what has been pre-
ordained. Seats and beds and vehicles, prosperity and drink and food, ever
approach leaving creatures according to Time‟s course.[81] Physicians even get
ill. The strong become weak. They that are in the enjoyment of prosperity lose all
and become indigent. The course of Time is very wonderful. High birth, health,

beauty, prosperity, and objects of enjoyment, are all won through Destiny. The
indigent, although they may not desire it, have many children. The affluent again
are seen to be childless. Wonderful is the course of Destiny. The evils caused by
disease, fire, water, weapons, hunger, poison, fever, and death, and falls from
high places, overtake a man according to the Destiny under which he is born. It is
seen in this world that somebody without sinning, suffers diverse ills, while
another, having sinned, is not borne down by the weight of calamity. It is seen
that somebody in the enjoyment of wealth perishes in youth; while some one that
is poor drags on his existence, borne down by decrepitude, for a hundred years.
One borne in an ignoble race may have a very long life, while one sprung from a
noble line perishes soon like an insect. In this world, it is very common that
persons in affluent circumstances have no appetite, while they that are indigent
can digest chips of wood. Impelled by destiny, whatever sins the man of wicked
soul, discontented with his condition, commits, saying, „I am the doer,‟ he regards
to be all for his good. Hunting, dice, women, wine, brawls, these are censured by
the wise. Many persons, however, possessed of even extensive knowledge of
the scriptures are seen to be addicted to them. Objects, whether coveted or
otherwise, come upon creatures in consequence of Time‟s course. No other
cause can be traced. Air, space, fire, moon, sun, day, night, the luminous bodies
(in the firmament), rivers, and mountains,--who makes them and who supports
them? Cold, and heat, and rain, come one after another in consequence of
Time‟s course. It is even so, O bull among men, with the happiness and the
misery of mankind. Neither medicines, nor incantations, can rescue the man
assailed by decrepitude or overtaken by death. As two logs of wood floating on
the great ocean, come together and are again (when the time comes) separated,
even so creatures come together and are again (when the time comes)
separated. Time acts equally towards those men that (are in affluent
circumstances and that) enjoy the pleasures of song and dance in the company
of women and those helpless men that live upon the food that others supply. In
this world a thousand kinds of relationship are contracted, such as mother and
father and son and wife. In reality, however, whose are they and whose are we?
No one can become anyone‟s own, nor can anyone become anybody else‟s own.
Our union herewith wives and kinsfolk and well-wishers is like that of travellers at
a road-side inn. Where am I? Where shall go? Who am I? How come I here!
What for and whom I grieve? Reflecting on these questions one obtains
tranquillity. Life and its environments are constantly revolving like a wheel, and
the companionship of those that are dear is transitory. The union with brother,
mother, father, and friend is like that of travellers in an inn. Men of knowledge
behold, as if with corporeal eyes, the next world that is unseen. Without
disregarding the scriptures, one desirous of knowledge should have faith. One
possessed of knowledge should perform the rites laid down in respect of the
Pitris and the gods, practise all religious duties, perform sacrifices, judiciously
pursue virtue, profit, and pleasure. Alas, no one understands that the world is
sinking on the ocean of Time that is so very deep and that is infested with those
huge crocodiles called decrepitude and death. Many physicians may be seen
afflicted with all the members of their families, although they have carefully

studied the science of Medicine.[82] Taking bitters and diverse kinds of oily
drugs, these succeed not in escaping death, like ocean in transcending its
continents. Men well-versed in chemistry, notwithstanding chemical compounds
applied judiciously, are seen to be broken down by decrepitude like trees broken
down by elephants. Similarly, persons possessed of ascetic merit, devoted to
study of the Vedas, practising charity, and frequently performing sacrifices,
succeed not in escaping decrepitude and death. As regards all creatures that
have taken birth, neither years, nor months, nor fortnights, nor days, nor nights,
that have once passed, do ever return. Man, whose existence is so transitory, is
forced, in course of Time, whether he will or not, to come upon this inevitable and
broad path that has to be trodden by every creature.[83] Whether the body
springs from the creature or the creature springs from the body, one‟s union
however, with wives and other friends is like that of travellers in an inn.[84] one
cannot obtain a lasting companionship with anyone. One cannot obtain such
companionship with one‟s own body. How then it can be had with anyone else?
Where, O king, is thy sire today and where thy grandsire? Thou beholdst them
not today and they do not behold thee. O sinless one! No person can see either
heaven or hell. The scriptures, however, are the eyes of the virtuous. O king,
frame thy conduct according to the scriptures. What pure heart, one should
practise first the vow of Brahmacharya and then beget children and then perform
sacrifices, for paying off the debt one owes to the Pitris, the gods, and men.
Performing sacrifices and engaged in procreating (children), after having first
observed the vow of Brahmacharya, one who bath wisdom for his eyes, casting
off all anxiety of heart, should pay court to heaven, this world, and his own
soul.[85] That king bent upon the practice of virtue who strives judiciously for
acquiring Heaven and Earth and who takes of earthly goods just what is ordained
(as the king‟s share) in the scriptures, wins a reputation that spread over all the
worlds and among all creatures, mobile and immobile. The ruler of the Videhas,
of clear understanding, having heard these words full of reason, become freed
from grief, and taking Asma‟s leave proceeded towards his abode, O thou of
unfading glory, cast off thy grief and rise up. Thou art equal to Sakra himself.
Suffer thy soul to be gladdened. The earth has been won by thee in the exercise
of Kshatriya duties. Enjoy her, O son of Kunti, and do not disregard my words.‟”
SECTION XXIX
Vaisampayana said, “The foremost of kings, viz., Yudhishthira the son of
Dharma, still remaining speechless, Pandu‟s son Arjuna addressed Krishna and
spoke as follows:
“Arjuna said, „This scorcher of foes, viz., Dharma‟s son, is burning with grief on
account of his (slaughtered) kinsfolk. Comfort him, O Madhava I Once more, O
Janardana, all of us have fallen into great danger. It behoveth thee! O mighty-
armed one, to dispel his grief.‟”

Vaisampayana continued, “Thus addressed by the high-souled Arjuna, the lotus-
eyed Govinda of unfading glory turned his face towards the king. Kesava could
not by any means be disregarded by Yudhishthira. From the earliest years
Govinda was dearer to Yudhishthira than Arjuna himself. Taking up the king‟s
hand adorned with sandal-paste and looking like a column of marble, the mighty-
armed Saurin began to speak, gladdening (the hearts of all who listened to him).
His face, adorned with teeth and eyes that were very beautiful, shone brightly like
a full-blown lotus at sunrise.
“Vasudeva said, “Do not, O tiger among men, indulge in such grief that
emaciates thy body. They who have been slain in this battle will on no account
be got back. Those Kshatriyas, O king, that have fallen in this great battle, are
even, like objects that one acquires in one‟s dreams and that vanish when one
awakes. All of them were heroes and ornaments of battle. They were vanquished
while rushing with faces towards their foes. No one amongst them was slain with
wounds on the back or while flying away. All of them, having contended with
heroes in great battle and having cast off their life-breaths then, have, sanctified
by weapons, proceeded to heaven. It behoveth thee not to grieve for them.
Devoted to the duties of Kshatriyas, possessed of courage, perfectly conversant
with the Vedas and their branches, all of them have attained to that blissful end
which is obtainable by heroes. It behoveth thee not to grieve for them after
hearing of those high-souled lords of the earth, of ancient days, that departed
from this world. In this connection is cited the old discourse of Narada before
Srinjaya when the latter was deeply afflicted with grief on account of the death of
his son. (Narada said),--Subject to happiness and misery, myself, thyself and all
creatures, O Srinjaya, shall have to die. What cause then is there for sorrow.
Listen to me as I recite the great blessedness of (some) ancient king. Hear me
with concentrated attention. Thou shalt then, O king, cast off thy grief. Listening
to the story of those high-souled lords of the earth, abate thy sorrow. O, hear me
as I recite their stories to thee in detail. By listening to the charming and delightful
history of those kings of ancient times, malignant stars may be propitiated and
the period of one‟s life be increased. We hear, O Srinjaya, that there was a king
of the name of Marutta who was the son of Avikshit. Even he fell a prey to death.
The gods with Indra and Varuna and Vrihaspati at their head came to sacrifice,
called Viswasrij, performed by that high-souled monarch.[86] Challenging Sakra,
the chief of the gods, that king vanquished him in battle. The learned Vrihaspati,
from desire of doing good unto Indra, had refused to officiate at Marutta‟s
sacrifice. Thereupon Samvarta, the younger brother of Vrihaspati, acceded to the
king‟s request. During the rule of that king, O best of monarchs, the earth yielded
crops without being tilled and was adorned with diverse kinds of ornaments. In
the sacrifice of that king, the Viswedevas sat as courtiers, the Maruts acted as
distributors (of food and presents) and the high-souled Sadhyas were also
present. In that sacrifice of Marutta, the Maruts drank Soma. The sacrificial
presents the king made surpassed (in value) those ever made by the gods, the
Gandharvas, and men. When even that king, O Srinjaya, who transcended thee
in religious merit, knowledge, renunciation, and affluence, and who was purer
than thy son, felt a prey to death, do not grieve for thy son. There was another

king of the name of Suhotra the son of Atithi. We hear, O Srinjaya, that even he
fell a prey to death. During his rule, Maghavat showered gold for one whole year
upon his kingdom. Obtaining that king for her lord, the earth became in reality
(and not in name only as before) Vasumati.[87] The rivers, during the sway of
that king, bore golden tortoises, crabs, alligators, sharks, and porpoises, for the
adorable Indra, O king, had showered these upon them. Beholding those golden
fishes and sharks and tortoises in hundreds and thousands, Atithi‟s son became
filled with wonder. Collecting that vast wealth of gold that covered the earth,
Suhotra performed a sacrifice at Kurujangala and gave it away unto the
Brahmanas, When that king, O Srinjaya, who transcended thee in the four
attributes of religious merit, knowledge, renunciation, and affluence, and who
was purer than thy son, felt a prey to death, do not grieve for thy son (that is
dead). Thy son never performed a sacrifice and never made gifts. Knowing this,
pacify thy mind and do not give away to grief.[88] We hear also, O Srinjaya, that
Vrihadratha the king of the Angas, fell a prey to death. He gave away I hundred
thousand steeds. A hundred thousand maidens also, adorned with golden
ornaments, he gave away as presents in a sacrifice he performed. A hundred
thousand elephants also of the best breed, he gave away as presents in another
sacrifice performed by him. A hundred millions also of bulls, adorned with golden
chains, with thousands of kine accompanying them, he gave away as sacrificial
presents. While the king of Anga performed his sacrifice by the hill called
Vishnupada, Indra became intoxicated with the Soma he drank, and the
Brahmanas with the presents they received. In the sacrifices, O monarch,
numbering by hundreds, that this king performed of old, the presents he made far
surpassed those ever made by the gods, the Gandharvas, and men. No other
man was born, or will ever be born, that gave or will give away so much wealth
as was given away by the king of the Angas in the seven sacrifices he
performed, each of which was characterised by the consecration of the
Soma.[89] When, O Srinjaya, this Vrihadratha even, who was thy superior in the
four attributes and who was purer than thy son, fell a prey to death, do not grieve
for thy son that is dead. We hear also, O Srinjaya, that Sivi, the son of Usinara,
fell a prey to death. That king swayed the whole earth as one sways the leathern
shield in his hand. Riding on a single car that proved victorious in every battle,
king Sivi caused the whole earth to resound with the rattle of his wheels and
subjugated all monarchs.[90] Usinara‟s son Sivi gave away, in a sacrifice, all the
kine and horses he had, both domestic and wild. The Creator himself thought
that no one amongst the kings of the past or the future had or would have the
ability to bear the burthen, O Srinjaya, that Usinara‟s son Sivi, that foremost of
kings, that hero who was possessed of prowess equal to that of Indra himself,
bore. Do not, therefore, grieve or thy son who never performed any sacrifice nor
made any gift. Indeed, O Srinjaya, when Sivi, who was far superior to thee in the
four attributes and who was purer than thy son, fell a prey to death, do not grieve
for thy son that is dead. We hear, O Srinjaya, that the high-souled Bharata also,
the son of Dushmanta and Sakuntala, who had a vast and well-filled treasury, fell
a prey to death. Devoting three hundred horses unto the gods on the banks of
the Yamuna, twenty on the banks of the Saraswati, and fourteen on the banks of

Ganga, that king of great energy, in days of old, performed (in this order) a
thousand Horse-sacrifices and a hundred Rajasuyas. No one amongst the kings
of the earth can imitate the great deeds of Bharata, even as no man can, by the
might of his arms, soar into the welkin. Erecting numerous sacrificial altars, he
gave away innumerable horses and untold wealth unto the sage Kanwa.[91]
When even he, O Srinjaya, who was far superior to thee in the four attributes and
who was purer than thy son, fell a prey to death, do not grieve for thy son that is
dead. We hear, O Srinjaya, that Rama also, the son of Dasaratha, fell a prey to
death. He always cherished his subjects as if they were the sons of his own loins.
In his dominions there were no widows and none that was helpless. Indeed,
Rama in governing his kingdom always acted like his father Dasaratha. The
clouds, yielding showers season ably, caused the crops to grow abundantly.
During the period of his rule, food was always abundant in his kingdom. No death
occurred by drowning or by fire. As long as Rama governed it, there was no fear
in his kingdom of any disease. Every man lived for a thousand years, and every
man was blessed with a thousand children. During the period of Rama‟s sway, all
men were whole and all men attained the fruition of their wishes. The very
women did not quarrel with one another, what need then be said of the men?
During his rule his subjects were always devoted to virtue. Contented, crowned
with fruition in respect of all the objects of their desire, fearless, free, and wedded
to the vow of truth, were all the people when Rama governed the kingdom. The
trees always bore flowers and fruit and were subject to no accidents. Every cow
yielded milk filling a drona to the brim. Having dwelt, in the observance of severe
penances, for four and ten years in the woods, Rama performed ten Horse-
sacrifices of great splendour[92] and to them the freest access was given to all.
Possessed of youth, of a dark complexion, with red eyes, he looked like the
leader of an elephantine herd. With aims stretching down to his knees and of
handsome face, his shoulders were like those of a lion and the might of his arms
great. Ascending upon the throne of Ayodhya, he ruled for ten thousand and ten
hundred years. When, he O Srinjaya, who transcended thee in the four principal
attributes and who was purer than thy son, fell a prey to death, do not grieve for
thy son that is dead. We hear, O Srinjaya, that king Bhagiratha also died. In one
of the sacrifices of that king, intoxicated with the Soma he had drunk, Indra, the
adorable chastiser of Paka and the chief of the gods, vanquished, by putting forth
the might of his arms, many thousands of Asuras. King Bhagiratha, in one of the
sacrifices he performed, gave away a million of maidens adorned with ornaments
of gold. Each of those maidens sat upon a car and unto each car were attached
four steeds. With each car were a hundred elephants, all of the foremost breed
and decked with chains of gold. Behind each elephant were a thousand steeds,
and behind each steed a thousand kine, and behind each cow a thousand goats
and sheep. (The river-goddess) Ganga, named (from before) Bhagirathi, sat
upon the lap of this king dwelling near (her stream), and from this incident she
came to be called Urvasi.[93] The triple-coursed Ganga had agreed to be the
daughter of Bhagiratha of Ikshvaku‟s race, that monarch ever engaged in the
performance of sacrifices with presents in profusion unto the Brahmanas.[94]
When he, O Srinjaya, who transcended thee in respect of the four principal

thy son. We hear, O Srinjaya, that the high-souled Dilipa also fell a prey to death.
The Brahmanas love to recite his innumerable deeds. In one of his great
sacrifices that king, with heart fully assenting, gave away the entire earth,
abounding with wealth, unto the Brahmanas. In each sacrifice performed by him,
the chief priest received as sacrificial fee a thousand elephants made of gold. In
one of his sacrifices, the stake (set up for slaughtering the victims) was made of
gold and looked exceedingly beautiful. Discharging the duties assigned to them,
the gods having Sakra for their chief, used to seek the protection of that king.
Upon that golden stake possessed of great effulgence and decked with a ring, six
thousand Gods and Gandharvas danced in joy, and Viswavasu himself, in their
midst played on his Vina the seven notes according to the rules that regulate
their combinations. Such was the character of Viswavasu‟s music that every
creature (whatever he might be) thought that the great Gandharva was playing to
him alone. No other monarch could imitate this achievement of king Dilipa. The
elephants of that king, intoxicated and adorned with housings of gold, used to lie
down on the roads.[95] Those men proceeded to heaven that succeeded in
obtaining a sight even of the high-souled king Dilipa who was ever truthful in
speech and whose bow could bear a hundred foes equal in energy to a hundred
Anantas.[96] These three sounds never ceased in Dilipa‟s abode, viz., the voice
of Vedic recitations, the twang of bows, and cries of Let it be given. When he, O
Srinjaya, who transcended thee in the four principal attributes and who was purer
than thy son, fell a prey to death, do not grieve for thy son that is dead.
Yuvanaswa‟s son Mandhatri also, O Sanjaya, we have heard, fell a prey to
death. The deities named Maruts extracted that child from his sire‟s stomach
through one of its sides. Sprung from a quantity of clarified butter that had been
sanctified by mantras (and that had by mistake been quaffed by his sire instead
of his sire‟s spouse) Mandhatri was born in the stomach of the high-souled
Yuvanaswa. Possessed of great prosperity, king Mandhatri conquered the three
worlds. Beholding that child of celestial beauty lying on the lap of his sire, the
God asked one another, „From whom shall this child obtain suck?‟ Then Indra
approached him, saying, „He shall obtain stick even from me!‟ From this
circumstance, the chief of the deities came to call the child by the name of
Mandhatri.[97] From the nourishment of that high-souled child of Yuvanaswa, the
finger of Indra, placed in his mouth, began to yield a jet of milk. Sucking Indra‟s
finger, he grew up into a stout youth in a hundred days, In twelve days he looked
like one of twelve years. The whole earth in one day came under the sway of that
high-souled and virtuous and brave king who resembled Indra himself for
prowess in battle. He vanquished king Angada, Marutta, Asita, Gaya, and
Vrihadratha the king of the Angas.[98] When Yuvanaswa‟s son fought in battle
with Angada, the Gods thought that the firmament was breaking with the twang
of his how. The whole earth from where the Sun rises to where he sets is said to
be the field of Mandhatri. Having performed Horse-sacrifices and a hundred
Rajasuyas, he gave unto the Brahmanas many Rohita fishes. Those fishes were
each ten Yojanas in length and one in breadth. Those that remained after
gratifying the Brahmanas were divided amongst themselves by the other classes.

When he, O Srinjaya, who transcended thee in respect of the four principal
thy son that is dead. We hear, O Sanjaya, that Yayati, the son of Nahusha, also
fell a prey to death. Having subjugated the whole world with its seas, he
journeyed through it, decking it with successive sacrificial altars the intervals
between which were measured by throws of a heavy piece of wood. Indeed, he
reached the very shores of the sea as he proceeded performing great sacrifices
(on those altars along his way).[99] Having performed a thousand sacrifices and
a hundred Vajapeyas, he gratified the foremost of Brahmanas with three
mountains of gold. Having slain many Daityas and Danavas duly arrayed in
battle, Nahusha‟s son, Yayati, divided the whole earth (among his children). At
last discarding his other sons headed by Yadu and Drahyu, he installed (his
youngest son) Puru on his throne and then entered the woods accompanied by
his wife, When he, O Srinjaya, who far surpassed thee in the four principal
thy son that is dead. We hear, O Srinjaya, that Amvarisha also, the son of
Nabhaga, fell a prey to death. That protector (of the world) and foremost of kings
was regarded by his subjects as the embodiment of virtue. That monarch, in one
of his sacrifices, assigned to the Brahmanas, for waiting upon them, a million of
kings who had themselves performed thousands of sacrifices each. Men of piety
praised Amvarisha, the son of Nabhaga, saying that such feats had never been
achieved before nor would their like be achieved in the future.[100] Those
hundreds upon hundreds and thousands upon thousands of kings (that had at
the command of Amvarisha waited at his sacrifices upon the Brahmanas that
came there) became (through Amvarisha‟s merits) crowned with the fruits of the
Horse-sacrifice, and followed their lord by the Southern-path (to regions or
brightness and bliss). When he, O Srinjaya, who far surpassed thee in the four
principal attributes and who was purer than thy son, fell a prey to death, do not
grieve for thy child that is dead. We hear, O Srinjaya, that Sasavindu also, the
son of Chitrasena, felt a prey to death. That high-souled king had a hundred
thousand wives, and million of sorts. All of them used to wear golden armour and
all of them were excellent bowmen. Each of those princes married a hundred
princesses, and each princess brought a hundred elephants. With each of those
elephants were a hundred cars. With each car were a hundred steeds, all of
good breed and all decked with trappings of gold. With each steed were a
hundred kine, and with each cow were a hundred sheep and goats. This
countless wealth, O monarch, Sasavindu gave away, in a Horse-sacrifice, unto
the Brahmanas. When he, O Srinjaya, who far surpassed thee in the four
grieve for thy child that is dead. We hear, O Srinjaya, that Gaya also, the son of
Amurtarayas, fell a prey to death. For a hundred years, that king subsisted upon
the remains of sacrificial food. (Pleased with such devotion) Agni desired to give
him boons. The boons solicited by Gaya were, „Let my wealth be inexhaustible
even if I give ceaselessly. Let my regard for virtue exist for ever. Let my heart
ever take pleasure in Truth, through thy grace, O cater of sacrificial libations.‟ It
hath been heard by us that king Gaya obtained all those wishes from Agni. On

days of the new moon, on those of the full moon, and on every fourth month, for
a thousand years, Gaya repeatedly performed the Horse-sacrifice. Rising (at the
completion of every sacrifice) he gave away a hundred thousand kine and
hundreds of mules (unto the Brahmanas) during this period. That bull among
men gratified the gods with Soma, the Brahmanas with wealth, the Pitris with
Swadha, and the women with the accomplishment of all their wishes. In his great
Horse-sacrifice, king Gaya caused a golden ground to be made, measuring a
hundred cubits in length and fifty in breadth, and gave it away as the sacrificial
fee. That foremost of men, viz., Gaya, the son of Amurtarayas, gave away as
many kine as there are sand grains, O king, in the river Ganga. When he, O
Srinjaya, who far surpassed thee in the four principal attributes and who was
purer than thy son, fell a prey to death, do not grieve for thy son that is dead. We
hear, O Srinjaya, that Sankriti‟s son Rantideva also fell a prey to death. Having
undergone the austerest of penances and adored him with great reverence, he
obtained these boons from Sakra, having solicited them, saying „Let us have
abundant food and numerous guests. Let not my faith sustain any diminution,
and let us not have to ask anything of any person.‟ The animals, both domestic
and wild, slaughtered in his sacrifice, used to come to him, viz., the high-souled
Rantideva of rigid vows and great fame, of their own accord. The secretions that
flowed from the skins of the animals (slaughtered in his sacrifices), produced a
mighty and celebrated river which to this day is known by the name of
Charmanwati. King Rantideva used to make gifts unto the Brahmanas in an
extensive enclosure. When the king said, „Unto thee I give a hundred nishkas!
Unto thee I give a hundred,‟ the Brahmanas (without accepting what was offered)
made a noise (expressive of refusal). When, however, the king would say, „I give
a thousand nishkas,‟ the gifts were all accepted. All the vessels and plates, in
Rantideva‟s palace, for holding food and other articles, all the jugs and pots, the
pans and plates and cups, were of gold. On those nights during which the guests
used to live in Rantideva‟s abode, twenty thousand and one hundred kine had to
be slaughtered. Yet even on such occasions, the cooks, decked in ear-rings,
used to proclaim (amongst those that sat down to supper): „There is abundant
soup, take as much as ye wish; but of flesh we have not as much today as on
former occasions.‟ When he, O Srinjaya, who far surpassed thee in the four
grieve for thy son that is dead. We hear, O Srinjaya, that the high-souled Sagara
also fell a prey to death. He was of Ikshvaku‟s race, a tiger among men, and of
superhuman prowess. Sixty thousand sons used to walk behind him, like myriads
upon myriads of stars waiting upon the Moon in the cloudless firmament of
autumn. His sway extended over the whole of this earth.[101] He gratified the
gods by performing a thousand Horse-sacrifices. He gave away unto deserving
Brahmanas palatial mansions with columns of gold and (other parts) made
entirely of that precious metal, containing costly beds and bevies of beautiful
ladies with eyes resembling petals of the lotus, and diverse other kinds of
valuable objects. At his command, the Brahmanas divided those gifts among
themselves. Through anger that king caused the earth to be excavated
whereupon she came to have the ocean on her bosom, and for this, the ocean

has come to be called Sagara after his name. When he, O Srinjaya, who far
surpassed thee in the four principal attributes and who was purer than thy son,
fell a prey to death, do not grieve for thy son that is dead. We hear, O Srinjaya,
that king Prithu also, the son of Vena, fell a prey to death. The great Rishis,
assembling together in the great forest, installed him in the sovereignty of the
earth. And because it was thought that he would advance all mankind, he was,
for that reason, called Prithu (the advancer). And because also he protected
people from injuries (Kshata), he was, for that reason, called a Kshatriya
(protector from injuries). Beholding Prithu the son of Vena, all the creatures of the
earth exclaimed, „We have been lovingly attached to him.‟ From this
circumstance of the loving attachment (to him of all creatures), he came to be
called a Raja (one that can inspire attachment). The earth, during his sway,
yielded crops without being tilled, every leaf that the trees had bore honey; and
every cow yielded a jugful of milk. All men were hale and all their wishes used to
be crowned with fruition. They had no fear of any kind. They used to live, as they
pleased, in fields or in (sheltered) houses. When Prithu desired to go over the
sea, the waters became solidified. The rivers also never swelled up when he had
to cross them but remained perfectly calm. The standard on his car moved freely
everywhere (without being obstructed by any impediment). King Prithu, in one of
his grand Horse-sacrifices, gave away unto the Brahman as one and twenty
mountains of gold, each measuring three nalwas.[102] When he, O Srinjaya, who
far surpassed thee in the four principal attributes and who was purer than thy
son, fell a prey to death, do not grieve for thy son that is dead. Upon what, O
Srinjaya, dost thou reflect in silence? It seems, O king, that thou hearest not
these words of mine. If thou hast not heard them, then this discourse of mine has
been a fruitless rhapsody, like medicine or diet, to a person on the point of
death.‟
“Srinjaya said, „I am attending, O Narada, to this discourse of thine, of excellent
import and perfumed like a garland of flowers,--this discourse upon the conduct
of high-souled royal sages of meritorious deeds and great fame, that can
certainly dispel grief. Thy discourse, O great sage, has not been a fruitless
rhapsody. I have been freed from grief at thy very sight. Like one never satiated
with drinking nectar, I am not satiated with thy words. O thou of true sight, if thou,
O lord, be inclined to show thy grace towards this person burning on account of
the death of his son, then that son, through that grace of thine, is sure to be
revived and to mingle once more with me (in this life).
“Narada said, „I will give back to thee that son of thine, named Suvarnashthivin,
whom Parvata gave thee and who has been bereft of life. Of the splendour of
gold, that child shall have a thousand years.‟”
SECTION XXX
“Yudhishthira said, „How did the son of Srinjaya become Suvarnashthivin?[103]
Why also did Parvata give Srinjaya that child? And why did he die? When the

lives of all men in those days extended for a thousand years, why did Srinjaya‟s
son die in infancy? Or, was he in name only Suvarnashthivin? How also did he
come to be so? I desire to know all this.‟
“Krishna said, “I will recite to thee, O king, the facts as they happened. There are
two Rishis, the foremost ones in the world, named Narada and Parvata. Narada
is the maternal uncle and Parvata is his sister‟s son. With cheerful hearts, the
uncle Narada and the nephew Parvata had, in days of old, O king, left heaven for
a pleasant ramble on earth for tasting clarified butter and rice. Both of them,
possessed of great ascetic merit, wandered over the earth, subsisting on food
taken by human beings. Filled with joy and entertaining great affection for each
other, they entered into a compact that, whatever wish, good or bad, would be
entertained by one should be disclosed to the other, but on the event of one of
them acting otherwise, he should be subject to the other‟s curse. Agreeing to that
understanding, those two great Rishis, adored of all the worlds, repaired to king
Srinjaya, the son of Sitya and said unto him, „We two, for thy good, shall dwell
with thee for a few days. O lord of earth, do thou attend to all our wants duly.‟
The king, saying, So be it, set himself to attend upon them hospitably. After a
while, one day, the king filled with joy, introduced to those illustrious ascetics his
daughter of the fairest complexion, saying, „This my daughter will wait upon you
both. Bright as the filaments of the lotus, she is beautiful and of faultless limbs,
accomplished and of sweet manners, and is called Sukumari by name.‟ „Very
well,‟ said the Rishis in reply, upon which the king directed his daughter, telling
her, „O child, attend upon these two Brahmanas as thou wouldst upon the gods
or thy sire.‟ The virtuous princess, saying, „So be it‟ began to attend upon them in
obedience to her father‟s behest. Her dutiful services and her unrivalled beauty
very soon inspired Narada with a tender flame towards her. That tender
sentiment began to grow in the heart of the illustrious saint like the moon
gradually waxing on the accession of the lighted fortnight. The virtuous Narada,
however, overwhelmed by shame, could not disclose that burning attachment to
his sister‟s son, the high-souled Parvata. By his ascetic power, as also by signs,
Parvata understood all. Inflamed with rage, the latter thereupon resolved to
curse the love-afflicted Narada. And he said, „Having of thy own accord made a
compact with me that, whatever wish, good or bad, would be cherished by either
of us should be disclosed to the other, thou hast violated it. These were thy own
words. O Brahmana! It is for this that I shall curse thee. Thou didst not tell me
before that thy heart has been pierced by the charms of the maiden Sukumari! It
is for this that I shall curse thee. Thou art a Brahmacharin. Thou art my
preceptor. Thou art an ascetic and a Brahmana. Yet hast thou broken the
compact thou hadst made with me. Fitted with rage I shall, for this, curse even
thee. Listen to me. This Sukumari shall, without doubt, become thy wife. From
the time of thy marriage, however, O puissant one, both she and all men shall
behold thee an ape, for thy true features having disappeared, an ape shalt thou
appear unto all.‟ Hearing these words of his, the uncle Narada, filled with wrath,
cursed his nephew Parvata in return, saying, „Although thou hast ascetic merit
and Brahmacharya and truth and self-restraint, and although thou art ever
devoted to virtue, thou shalt not yet succeed in proceeding to heaven.‟ Filled with

rage and desire of vengeance, they thus cursed and flamed against each other
like a couple of infuriated elephants. From that time the high-souled Parvata
began to wander over the earth, respected as he deserved, O Bharata, for his
own energy. Narada then, that foremost of Brahmanas, obtained according to
due rites the hand of Srinjaya‟s daughter, the faultless Sukumari. The princess,
however, beheld Narada exactly as the curse had said. Indeed, just after the last
of the wedding mantras had been recited, Sukumari beheld the celestial Rishi to
have a face like that of an ape. She, however, did not on that account, disregard
her lord. On the other hand, she dedicated her love to him. Indeed, the princess,
chaste as she was, devoted herself entirely to her lord and did not in her heart
even desire any one else among the gods, Munis, and Yakshas for a husband.
One day, as the illustrious Parvata, in course of his wanderings, entered a
solitary forest, he beheld Narada there. Saluting him, Parvata said, „Show thy
grace unto me by permitting me, O puissant one, to co to heaven.‟ Seeing the
cheerless Parvata kneeling before him with joined hands, Narada, himself mere
cheerless, said unto him, „Thou hadst cursed me first, saying, „Be thou an ape!‟
After thou hadst said so unto me, I cursed thee from anger, saying, „From this
day thou shalt not dwell in heaven!‟ It was not well of thee, since thou art like a
son unto me.‟ The two saints then freed each other from their mutual curses.
Beholding her husband possessed of celestial form and blazing with beauty,
Sukumari fled from him, taking him to be somebody other than her lord. Seeing
the beautiful princess flying away from her lord, Parvata addressed her, saying,
„This one is even thy husband. Do not entertain any scruple. This one is the
illustrious and puissant Rishi Narada, that foremost of virtuous persons. He is
thy lord, of one soul with thee. Do not have any doubt.‟ Assured in diverse ways
by the high Parvata and formed also of the curse on her lord, the princess
regained her equanimity. Then Parvata proceeded to heaven and Narada to his
home.”
“Vasudeva continued, „The illustrious Rishi Narada, who was himself an actor in
this matter, is here. O best of men, asked by thee, he will tell thee everything that
happened.‟”
SECTION XXXI
Vaisampayana said, “The royal son of Pandu then addressed Narada, saying, „O
holy one, I desire to hear of the birth of the child whose excreta were gold.‟ Thus
addressed by king Yudhishthira the just, the sage Narada began to narrate to
him all that had occurred in connection with that child of golden excreta.
“Narada said, „It is even so, O thou of mighty arms, as Kesava here hath said.
Asked by thee I shall now recite the portion that remains of this story. Myself, and
my sister‟s son, the great ascetic Parvata, came (on one occasion) unto Srinjaya
that foremost of all victorious kings, for dwelling with him. Honoured by him with
due rites, and with every wish of ours gratified, we took up our residence in his
abode. After the season of rains had gone, and when the time came for our own

departure, Parvata said unto me those words of grave import suitable to the hour:
„We have, O Brahmana, dwelt in the abode of this king for some time, highly
honoured by him. Think of what return we should make.‟ I then, O monarch,
addressed Parvata of blessed aspect, saying, „O nephew, this becomes thee,
and, O thou of great power, all this depends upon thyself. Through thy boons let
the king be made happy and let him obtain his wishes. Or, if thou choosest, let
him be crowned with success through the ascetic merits of both of us.‟ After this,
Parvata having called king Srinjaya, that foremost of victorious persons, said
unto him these words O bull of Kuru‟s race, „We have been exceedingly gratified,
O king, with thy hospitable attentions given to us with every sincerity. With our
permission, O foremost of men, think of the boon thou shouldst solicit. Let the
boon, however, be such that it may not imply enmity to the gods or destruction to
men! Accept then, O king, a boon, for thou deservest one as we think.‟ Hearing
these words, Srinjaya replied, „If ye have been gratified with me, my object then
has been gained, for that of itself has been my greatest gain and that is regarded
by me as the fruition of all my desire.‟ Unto Srinjaya who said so, Parvata again
said, „Solicit, O king, the fruition of that wish which thou art cherishing in thy
heart, for a long time.‟ Srinjaya answered, „I desire a son that shall be heroic and
possessed of great energy, firm in his vows and of long life, highly blessed and
possessed of splendour equal to that of the Chief himself of the deities.‟ At this,
Parvata said, „This thy desire shall be fulfilled. Thy child, however, shall not be
long-lived, for thy wish for such a son is even for prevailing over the Chief of the
gods. Thy son shall be known by the name of Suvarnashthivin. He shall be
possessed of splendour like that of the Chief of the gods but take care to protect
him always from that deity.‟ Hearing these words of the high-souled Parvata,
Srinjaya began to beseech that saint for ordaining otherwise, saying, „Let my son
be long-lived, O Muni, through thy ascetic merit.‟ Parvata, however, said nothing,
through partiality for Indra. Beholding the king very cheerless, I said unto him,
„Think of me, O king, (in thy distress), and I shall promise to come when thought
of by thee. Do not grieve, O lord of earth! I will give thee back thy beloved child,
even if he be dead, in his living form.‟ Having said so unto that monarch, both of
us left his presence for coming to where we wished, and Srinjaya returned to his
abode as he pleased. After some time had elapsed, the royal sage Srinjaya had
born unto him a son of great prowess and blazing forth with energy. The child
grew up like a large lotus in a lake, and became Suvarnashthivin in reality as in
name. This extraordinary fact, O best of the Kurus, soon became widely known
over the world. The Chief of the gods also came to know it as the result of
Parvata‟s boon. Fearing humiliation (at the hands of the child when he would
grow up), the slayer of Vala and Vritra began to watch for the laches of the
prince. He commanded his celestial weapon Thunder, standing before him in
embodied shape, saying, „Go, O puissant one, and assuming the form of a tiger
slay this prince. When grown up, this child of Srinjaya may, by his achievements,
humiliate me, O Thunder, as Parvata said.‟ Thus addressed by Sakra, the
celestial weapon Thunder, that subjugator of hostile towns, began from that day
to continually watch for the laches of the prince. Srinjaya, meanwhile, having
obtained that child whose splendour resembled that of Indra himself, became

filled with joy. The king, accompanied by his wives, and the other ladies of his
household, took up his residence in the midst of a forest. One day, on the shores
of the Bhagirathi, the boy, accompanied by his nurse, ran hither and thither in
play. Though only five years of age, his prowess, even then, resembled that of a
mighty elephant. While thus employed, the child met a powerful tiger that came
upon him suddenly. The infant prince trembled violently as he was being crushed
by the tiger and soon fell down lifeless on the earth. At this sight the nurse
uttered loud cries of grief. Having slain the prince, the tiger, through Indra‟s
powers of delusion, vanished there and then. Hearing the voice of the crying
nurse, the king, in great anxiety, ran to the spot. He beheld his son there, his
blood quaffed off, and lying lifeless on the ground like the moon dropped from the
firmament. Taking up on his lap the boy covered with blood, the king, with heart
stricken by grief, began to lament piteously. The royal ladies then, afflicted with
grief and crying, quickly ran to the spot where king Srinjaya was. In that situation
the king thought of me with concentrated attention. Knowing that the king was
thinking of me I appeared before him. Stricken with grief as the king was, I
recited to him all those stories, O monarch, that hero of Yadu‟s race has already
recited to thee. I brought Srinjaya‟s child back to life, with Indra‟s permission.
That which is ordained must occur. It is impossible that it should be otherwise.
After this, prince Suvarnashthivin of great fame and energy began to delight the
hearts of his parents. Of great prowess, he ascended the throne of his father
after the latter had repaired to heaven, and ruled for a period of one thousand
and one hundred years. He worshipped the gods in many great sacrifices
characterised by profuse presents. Possessed of great splendour, he gratified
the gods and the Pitris. Having procreated many sons, all of whom by their
issues multiplied the race, he went the way of all nature, O king, after many
years. Do thou, O foremost of kings dispel this grief born in thy heart, even as
Kesava has counselled thee, as also Vyasa of austere penances. Rise up, O
king, and bear the burthen of this thy ancestral kingdom, and perform high and
great sacrifices so that thou mayst obtain (hereafter) whatever regions may be
desired by thee!‟”
SECTION XXXII
Vaisampayana said, “Unto king Yudhishthira who still remained speechless and
plunged in grief, the island-born Vyasa, that great ascetic, conversant with truths
of religion, spoke again.”
“Vyasa said, „O thou of eyes like lotus petals, the protection of subjects is the
duty of kings. Those men that are always observant of duty regard duty to be all
powerful. Do thou, therefore, O king, walk in the steps of thy ancestors. With.
Brahmanas, penances are a duty. This is the eternal ordinance of the Vedas.
Penances, therefore, O bull of Bharata‟s race, constitute the eternal duty of
Brahmanas. A Kshatriya is the protector of all persons in respect of their
duties.[104] That man who, addicted to earthly possessions, transgresses

wholesome restraints, that offender against social harmony, should be chastised
with a strong hand. That insensate person who seeks to transgress authority, be
he an attendant, a son, or even a saint, indeed,--all men of such sinful nature,
should by every means be chastised or even killed. That king who conducts
himself otherwise incurs sin. He who does not protect morality when it is being
disregarded is himself a trespasser against morality. The Kauravas were
trespassers against morality. They have, with their followers, been slain by thee.
Thou hast been observant of the duties of thy own order. Why then, O son of
Pandu, dost thou indulge in such grief? The king should slay those that deserve
death, make gifts to persons deserving of charity, and protect his subjects
according to the ordinance.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „I do not doubt the words that fall from thy lips, O thou of great
ascetic merit! Everything appertaining to morality and duty is well known to thee,
O foremost of all persons conversant with morality and duty! I have, however, for
the sake of kingdom, caused many persons to be slain! Those deeds, O
Brahmana, are burning and consuming me!‟
“Vyasa said, „O Bharata, is the Supreme Being the doer, or is man the doer? Is
everything the result of Chance in the world, or are the fruits that we enjoy or
suffer, the results of (previous) action? If man, O Bharata, does all acts, good or
bad, being urged thereto by the Supreme Being, then the fruits of those acts
should attach to the Supreme being himself. If a person cuts down, with an axe,
a tree in forest, it is the person that incurs the sin and not the axe by any means.
Or, if it be said that, the axe being only the material cause, the consequence of
the act (of cutting) should attach to the animate agent (and not to the inanimate
tool), then the sin may be said to belong to the person that has made the axe.
This, however, can scarcely be true. If this be not reasonable, O son of Kunti,
that one man should incur the consequence of an act done by another, then,
guided by this, thou shouldst throw all responsibility upon the Supreme
Being.[105] If, again, man be himself the agent of all his acts virtuous and sinful,
then Supreme Director there is none, and, therefore, whatever thou hast done
cannot bring evil consequences on thee.[106] No one, O king, can ever turn
away from that which is destined. If, again, Destiny be the result of the acts of
former lives, then no sin can attach to one in this life even as the sin of cutting
down a tree cannot touch the maker of the axe.[107] If thou thinkest it is chance
only that acts in the world, then such an act of destruction could never happen
nor will ever happen.[108] If it is necessary to ascertain what is good and what is
evil in the world, attend to the scriptures. In those scriptures it has been laid
down that kings should stand with the rod of chastisement uplifted in their hands.
I think, O Bharata, that acts, good and bad, are continually revolving here as a
wheel, and men obtain the fruits of those acts, good or bad, that they do. One
sinful act proceeds from another. Therefore, O tiger among kings, avoid all evil
acts and do not thus set thy heart upon grief. Thou shouldst adhere, O Bharata,
to the duties, even if reproachable, of thy own order. This self-destruction, O
king, does not look well in thee. Expiations, O king, have been ordained for (evil)
acts. He that is alive can perform them, but he that dies fails in their performance.

Therefore, O king without laying down thy life, perform those expiatory acts. If
thou dost not perform them thou mayst have to repent in the next world.‟
SECTION XXXIII
“Yudhishthira said, „Sons and grandsons and brothers and sires and fathers-in-
law and preceptors and maternal uncles and grandsires, many high-souled
Kshatriyas, many relatives (by marriage), friends, companions, sister‟s sons, and
kinsmen, O grandsire, and many foremost of men coming from diverse countries,
have fallen. All these, O grandsire, have been caused to be slain by myself
alone, from desire of kingdom. Having caused so many heroic kings who were
always devoted to righteousness and all of whom had quaffed Soma in
sacrifices, what end shall I attain, O great ascetic! Thinking that this earth has
been bereft of many lions among kings, all of whom were in the enjoyment of
great prosperity, I burn continually to this day. Having witnessed this slaughter of
kinsmen and millions of other men, I burn with grief, O grandsire! Oh, what will be
the plight of those foremost of ladies who have been deprived of sons, of
husbands, and of brothers. Reproaching the Pandavas and the Vrishnis as cruel
murderers, those ladies, with emaciated features and plunged in grief, will throw
themselves on the earth! Not beholding their sires and brothers and husbands
and sons, those ladies, through affliction, casting off their life-breath, will go to
the abode of Yama, O foremost of Brahmanas! I have no doubt of this. The
course of morality is very subtle. It is plain that we shall be stained with the guilt
of slaughtering women for this. Having slain our kinsmen and friends and thereby
committed an inexpiable sin, we shall have to fall into hell with heads
downwards. O best of men, we shall, therefore, waste our limbs with the
austerest of penances. Tell me, O grandsire, to what mode of life I should betake
myself then.‟”
Vaisampayana continued, “Hearing these words of Yudhishthira, the Island-born
Rishi, having reflected keenly for some time, addressed the son of Pandu as
follows:
“Vyasa said, „Remembering the duties of a Kshatriya, O king, do not give way to
grief. All those Kshatriyas, O bull among Kshatriyas, have fallen in the
observance of their proper duties. In the pursuit of great prosperity and of great
fame on earth, those foremost of men, all of whom were liable to death,[109]
have perished through the influence of Time. Thou hast not been their slayer,
nor this Bhima, nor Arjuna, nor the twins. It is Time that took away their life-
breaths according to the great law of change. Time hath neither mother, nor
father, nor anybody for whom he is disposed to show any favour. He is the
witness of the acts of all creatures. By him have they been taken away. This
battle, O bull of Bharata‟s race, was only an occasion ordained by him. He
causes creatures to be slain through the instrumentality of creatures. This is the
manner in which it puts forth its irresistible power. Know that Time (in his
dealings with creatures) is dependent upon the bond of action and is the witness

of all actions good and bad. It is Time that brings about the fruits, fraught with
bliss or woe, of our actions. Think, O mighty-armed one, of the acts of those
Kshatriyas that have fallen. Those acts were the causes of their destruction and it
is in consequence of them that they have perished. Think also of thy own acts
consisting of observances of vows with restrained soul. And think also how thou
hast been forced by the Supreme Ordainer to do such an act (as the slaughter of
so many human beings). As a weapon made by a smith or carpenter is under the
control of the person that is handling it, and moves as he moves it, similarly this
universe, controlled by actions done in Time, moves as those actions move it.
Seeing that the births and deaths of creatures take place without any
(assignable) cause and in perfect wantonness, grief and joy are perfectly
needless. Although this entanglement of thy heart is a mere delusion, still, if it
pleaseth thee, O king, perform expiatory rites (for washing thyself free of thy so-
called sin). It is heard, O Partha, that the gods and the Asuras fought against
each other. The Asuras were the elder, and the gods the younger brothers.
Covetous of prosperity, fierce was the battle fought between them. The fight
lasted for two and thirty thousand years. Making the earth one vast expanse of
blood, the gods slew the Daityas and gained possession of heaven. Having
obtained possession of the earth, a (large) number of Brahmanas, conversant
with the Vedas, armed themselves, stupefied with pride, with the Danavas for
giving them help in the fight. They were known by the name of Salavrika and
numbered eight and eighty thousand. All of them, however, were slain by the
gods. Those wicked-souled persons who desire the extinction of virtue and who
set sinfulness agoing deserve to be slain even as the furious Daityas were slain
by the gods. If by slaying a single individual a family may be saved, or, if by
slaying a single family the whole kingdom may be saved, such an act of
slaughter will not be a transgression. Sin, O king, sometimes assumes the form
of virtue, and virtue sometimes assumes the form of sin. They, however, that are
learned, know which is which. Therefore, console thyself, O son of Pandu, for
thou art well versed in the scriptures. Thou hast, O Bharata, only followed the
path formerly trodden by the very gods. Men like yourselves never go to hell, O
bull of Pandu‟s race! Comfort these thy brothers and all thy friends, O scorcher of
foes! He who deliberately engages himself in sinful acts, and committing sinful
acts feels no shame but continues the same as before, is called (in the scripture)
a great sinner. There is no expiation for him and his sins know no diminution.
Thou art born in noble race. Forced by the faults of others, thou hast most
unwillingly done this, and having done this thou repentest of it. The Horse-
sacrifice, that grand rite, has been indicated as an expiation for thee. Make
preparations for that sacrifice, O monarch, and thou shalt be freed from thy sins.
The divine chastiser of Paka, having vanquished his foes with the assistance of
the Maruts, gradually performed a hundred sacrifices and became
Satakratu.[110] Freed from sin, possessed of heaven, and having obtained many
regions of bliss and great happiness and prosperity, Sakra, surrounded by the
Maruts, is shining in beauty, and illuminating all the quarters with his splendour.
The lord of Sachi is adored in the heavens by the Apsaras. The Rishis and the
other gods all worship him with reverence. Thou hast got the earth through thy

prowess. All the kings have been vanquished by thee, O sinless one, through thy
prowess. Proceeding with thy friends to their kingdom, O king, install their
brothers, sons, or grandsons on their thrones. Behaving with kindness towards
even the children in the womb, make thy subjects glad and happy, and rule the
earth. Install on their thrones the daughters of those that have no sons. Women
are fond of pleasure and power. Through this means they will castoff their
sorrows and become happy. Having comforted the whole empire in this way, O
Bharata, adore the gods in a Horse-sacrifice as the virtuous Indra did in days of
old. It is not proper for us to grieve for those high-souled Kshatriyas, O bull of thy
order (that have fallen in battle). Stupefied by the power of the destroyer, they
have perished in the observance of the duties of their own order. Thou hast
discharged the duties of a Kshatriya and obtained the earth without a thorn in it.
Observe thy own duties, O son of Kunti, for then, O Bharata, thou shalt be able to
obtain happiness in the other world.‟”
SECTION XXXIV-XXXV
“Yudhishthira said, „After doing what acts does a man become liable to perform
expiation? And what are those acts which he must do for being freed from sin?
Tell me this, O grandsire.‟
“Vyasa said, „Having omitted to do those acts that have been ordained, and done
those that have been interdicted, and having behaved deceitfully, a man
becomes liable to perform expiation. The person in the observance of the
Brahmacharya vow, who rises from bed after the sun has risen or goes to bed
while the sun is setting, one who has a rotten nail or black teeth, one whose
younger brother weds first, one who weds before his elder brother is wedded,
one who has been guilty of the slaughter of a Brahmana, one who speaks ill of
others, one who weds a younger sister before the elder sister has been wedded,
one who weds an elder sister after having wedded a younger one, one who falls
away from a vow, one who slays any one of the regenerate classes, one who
imparts a knowledge of the Vedas to a person unworthy of it, one who does not
impart a knowledge thereof to a person that is worthy of it, one who takes many
lives, one who sells flesh, one who has abandoned his (sacred) fire, one who
sells a knowledge of the Vedas,[111] one who slays his preceptor or a woman,
one born in a sinful family, one who slays an animal wilfully,[112] one who sets
fire to a dwelling house, one who lives by deceit, one who acts in opposition to
his preceptor, and one who has violated a compact,--these all are guilty of sins
requiring expiation. I shall now mention other acts that men should not do, viz.,
acts that are interdicted by both the world and the Vedas. Listen to me with
concentrated attention. The rejection of one‟s own creed, the practice of other
people‟s creed, assisting at the sacrifice or the religious rites of one that is not
worthy of such assistance, eating of food that is forbidden, deserting one that
craves protection, neglect in maintaining servants and dependants, selling salt
and treacle (and similar other substances), killing of birds and animals, refusal,

though competent, to procreate upon a soliciting woman, omission to present the
daily gifts (of handfuls of grass to kine and the like), omission to present the
dakshina, humiliating a Brahmana,--these all have been pronounced by persons
conversant with duty to be acts that no one should do. The son that quarrels with
the father, the person that violates the bed of his preceptor, one that neglects to
produce offspring in one‟s wedded wife, are all sinful, O tiger among men! I have
now declared to thee, in brief as also in detail, those acts and omissions by which
a man becomes liable to perform expiation. Listen now to the circumstances
under which men, by even committing these acts, do not become stained with
sin. If a Brahmana well acquainted with the Vedas takes up arms and rushes
against thee in battle for killing thee, thou mayst proceed against him for taking
his life. By such an act the slayer does not become guilty of the slaughter of a
Brahmana.[113] There is a mantra in the Vedas, O son of Kunti, that lays this
down, I declare unto thee only those practices that are sanctioned by the
authority of the Vedas. One who slays a Brahmana that has fallen away from his
own duties and that advances, weapon in hand, with intent to slaughter, does not
truly become the slayer of a Brahmana. In such a case it is the wrath of the
slayer that proceeds against the wrath of the slain. A person by drinking alcoholic
stimulants in ignorance or upon the advice of a virtuous physician when his life is
at peril, should have the regenerating ceremonies performed once more in his
case. All that I have told thee, O son of Kunti, about the eating of interdicted food,
may be cleansed by such expiatory rites. Connection with the preceptor‟s wife at
the preceptor‟s command does not stain the pupil. The sage Uddalaka caused
his son Swetaketu to be begotten by a disciple. A person by committing theft for
the sake of his preceptor in a season of distress is not stained with sin. One,
however, that takes to thieving for procuring enjoyments for himself becomes
stained. One is not stained by stealing from other than Brahmanas (in a season
of distress and for the sake of one‟s preceptor). Only one that steals under such
circumstances without himself appropriating any portion thereof is untouched by
sin. A falsehood may be spoken for saving one‟s own life or that of another, or for
the sake of one‟s preceptor, or for gratifying a woman, or for bringing about a
marriage. One‟s vow of Brahmacharya is not broken by having wet dreams. In
such cases the expiation laid down consists in the pouring of libations of clarified
butter on the blazing fire. If the elder brother be fallen or has renounced the
world, the younger brother does not incur sin by marrying. Solicited by a woman,
connection with her is not destructive of virtue. One should not slay or cause to
be slain an animal except in a sacrifice. Animals have become sacred (fit for
sacrifice) through the kindness manifested towards them by the Creator himself
in the ordinance laid down by him. By making a gift in ignorance to an
undeserving Brahmana one does not incur sin. The omission (through ignorance)
to behave with liberality towards a deserving person does not lead to sin. By
casting off an adulterous wife one does not incur sin. By such treatment the
woman herself may be purged while the husband may avoid sin. One who knows
the true use of the Soma juice, does not incur sin by selling it.[114] By dismissing
a servant who is incompetent to render service one is not touched by sin. I have

now said unto thee those acts by doing which one does not incur sin. I shall now
speak to thee of expiation in detail.‟”
SECTION XXXVI
“Vyasa said, „By penances, religious rites, and gifts, O Bharata, a man may wash
off his sins if he does not commit them again. By subsisting upon only one meal
a day, and that procured by mendicancy, by doing all his acts himself (without
relying on the aid of a servant), by making his round of mendicancy with a human
skull in one hand and a khattanga in another, by becoming a Brahmacharin and
always ready for exertion, by casting off all malice, by sleeping on the bare
ground, by publishing his offence to the world, by doing all this for full twelve
years, a person can cleanse himself from the sin of having slain a Brahmana. By
perishing upon the weapon of a person living by the use of arms, of one‟s own
will and upon the advice of persons learned in the scriptures, or by throwing
one‟s self down, for three times, with head downwards, upon a blazing fire, or by
walking a hundred Yojanas all the while reciting the Vedas, or by giving away
one‟s whole property to a Brahmana conversant with the Vedas, or at least so
much as would secure to him a competence for life, or a house properly
furnished, and by protecting kine and Brahmanas, one may be cleansed of the
sin of having slain a Brahmana. By living upon the scantiest meal every day for a
space of six years, a person may be cleansed of that sin.[115] By observing a
harder vow with regard to food one may be cleansed in three years.[116] By
living upon one meal a month, one may be cleansed in course of only a year. By
observing, again, an absolute fast, one may be cleansed within a very short time.
There is no doubt again that: one is cleansed by a Horse-sacrifice. Men that have
been guilty of having slain a Brahmana and that have succeeded in taking the
final bath at the completion of the Horse-sacrifice, become cleansed of all their
sins. This is an injunction of great authority in the Srutis. One again, by slaying
down his life in a battle undertaken for the sake of a Brahmana, becomes
cleansed of the sin of having slain a Brahmana. By giving away a hundred
thousand kine unto persons deserving of gifts, one becomes cleansed of the sin
of having slain a Brahmana as also, indeed, of all his sins. One that gives away
five and twenty thousand kine of the Kapila species and while all of them have
calved, becomes cleansed of all his sins. One who, at the point of death, gives
away a thousand kine with calves unto poor but deserving persons, becomes
freed from sin. That man, O king, who gives away a hundred steeds of the
Kamvoja breed unto Brahmanas of regulated behaviour, becomes freed from sin.
That man. O Bharata, who gives unto even one person all that he asks for, and
who, having given it, does not speak of his act to any one, becomes freed from
sin. If a person who has once taken alcohol drinks (as expiation) hot liquor, he
sanctifies himself both here and hereafter. By falling from the summit of a
mountain or entering a blazing fire, or by going on an everlasting journey after
renouncing the world, one is freed from all sins. By performing the sacrifice laid
down by Vrihaspati, a Brahmana who drinks alcoholic liquors may succeed in

attaining to the region of Brahman. This has been said by Brahman himself. If a
person, after having drunk alcoholic liquor, becomes humble and makes a gift of
land, and abstains from it ever afterwards, he becomes sanctified and cleansed.
The person that has violated his preceptor‟s bed, should lie down on a sheet of
iron having heated it, and having cut off the emblem of his sex should leave the
world for a life in the woods, with eyes always turned upwards. By casting off
one‟s body, one becomes cleansed of all his evil acts. Women, by leading a
regulated life for one year, become cleansed of all their sins. The person who
observes a very rigid vow, or gives away the whole of his wealth, or perishes in a
battle fought for the sake of his preceptor, becomes cleansed of all his sins. One
who uses falsehood before one‟s preceptor or acts in opposition to him, becomes
cleansed of that sin by doing something agreeable to one‟s preceptor. One who
has fallen off from the vow (of Brahmacharya ), may become cleansed of that sin
by wearing the hide of a cow for six months and observing the penances laid
down in the case of the slaughter of a Brahmana. One who has been guilty of
adultery, or of theft, may become cleansed by observing rigid vows for a year.
When one steals another‟s property, one should, by every means in his power,
return to that other property of the value of what has been stolen. One may then
be cleansed of the sin (of theft). The younger brother who has married before the
marriage of the elder brother, as also the elder brother whose Younger brother
has married before him, becomes cleansed by observing a rigid vow, with
collected soul, for twelve nights. The younger brother, however, should wed
again for rescuing his deceased ancestors. Upon such second wedding, the first
wife becomes cleansed and her husband himself would not incur sin by taking
her. Men conversant with the scriptures declare that women may be cleansed of
even the greatest sins by observing the vow of chaturmasya, all the while living
upon scanty and cleansing food. Persons conversant with the scriptures do not
take into account the sins that women may commit at heart. Whatever their sins
(of this description), they are cleansed by their menstrual course like a metallic
plate that is scoured with ashes. Plates (made of the alloy of brass and copper)
stained by a Sudra eating off it, or a vessel of the same metal that has been
smelt by a cow, or stained by a Brahmana‟s Gandusha, may be cleansed by
means of the ten purifying substances.[117] It has been laid down that a
Brahmana should acquire and practise the full measure of virtue. For a person at
the kingly order it has been laid down that he should acquire and practise a
measure of virtue less by a fourth part. So, a Vaisya should acquire a measure
less (than a Kshatriya‟s) by a fourth and a Sudra less (than a Vaisya‟s) by a
fourth. The heaviness or lightness of sins (for purposes of expiation) of each of
the four orders, should be determined upon this principle. Having slain a bird or
an animal, or cut down living trees, a person should publish his sin and fast for
three nights. By having intercourse with one with whom intercourse is prohibited,
the expiation for one is wandering in wet clothes and sleeping on a bed of ashes.
These, O king, are the expiations for sinful acts, according to precedent and
reason and scriptures and the ordinances. A Brahmana may be cleansed of all
sins by reciting the Gayatri in a sacred place, all the while living upon frugal fare,
casting off malice, abandoning wrath and hate, unmoved by praise and blame,

and abstaining from speech. He should during the day-time be under shelter of
the sky and should lie down at night even at such a place. Thrice during the day,
and thrice during the night, he should also plunge with his clothes into a stream
or lake for performing his ablutions. Observant of rigid vows, he should abstain
from speech with women, Sudras, and fallen persons. A Brahmana by observing
such regulations may be cleansed of all sins unconsciously committed by him. A
person obtains in the other world the fruits, good or bad, of his acts here which
are all witnessed by the elements. Be it virtue or be it vice, according to the true
measure that one acquires of either, one enjoys or suffers the consequences
(even here). By knowledge, by penances, and by righteous acts, therefore, one
enhances his weal (even here). One, therefore may similarly enhance his misery
by committing unrighteous acts. One should, therefore, always achieve acts that
are righteous and abstain altogether from those that are unrighteous. I have now
indicated what the expiations are of the sins that have been mentioned. There is
expiation for every sin except those that are called Mahapatakas (highly heinous
sins). As regards sins in respect of unclean food and the like, and improper
speeches, etc., they are of two classes, viz., those committed consciously and
those that are committed unconsciously. All sins that are committed consciously
are grave, while those that are committed unconsciously are trivial or light. There
is expiation for both. Indeed sin is capable of being washed away by (observance
of) the ordinances spoken of. Those ordinances, however, have been laid down
only for believers (in God) and those that have faith. They are not for atheists or
those that have no faith, or those in whom pride and malice predominate. A
person, O tiger among men, that is desirous of weal both here and hereafter,
should, O foremost of virtuous men, have recourse to righteous behaviour, to
(the counsels of) men that are righteous, and to the duties that have been
ordained for him. Therefore, for the reasons already advanced (by me), thou, O
king, shalt be cleansed of all thy sins for thou hast slain thy foes in the discharge
of thy duties as a king and for the protection of thy life-breath and thy inheritance.
Or, if not withstanding this, thou still regardest thyself to be sinful, perform
expiation. Do not cast away thy life in consequence of such grief that is not
becoming a wise man.‟
“Vaisampayana continued, „Thus addressed by the holy Rishi, king Yudhishthira
the just, having reflected for a short while, said these words unto the sage.‟”
SECTION XXXVII
“Yudhishthira said, „Tell me, O grandfather, what food is clean and what unclean,
what gift is praiseworthy, and who should be considered deserving and who
undeserving (of gifts).‟
“Vyasa said, „In this connection is cited the old account of a discourse between
the ascetics and that lord of creation, viz., Manu. In the Krita age, an assembly of
Rishis, of rigid vows, having approached the great and puissant lord of creation,
Manu, while seated at his ease, solicited him to discourse on duties, saying,

„What food should be taken, who is to be regarded a deserving person (for gifts),
what gifts should be made, how should a person study, and what penances
should one perform and how, and what acts should be done and what acts
should not be done, O lord of creation, tell us everything about all this.‟ Thus
addressed by them, the divine and self-born Manu said unto them, „Listen to me
as I expound the duties in brief and in detail. In regions which have not been
interdicted, silent recitation (of sacred mantras, homa), fasts, knowledge of self,
sacred rivers, regions inhabited by men devoted to this pious acts,--these have
been laid down as acts and objects that are cleansing. Certain mountains also
are cleansing, as also the eating of gold and bathing in waters into which have
been dipped gems and precious stones. Sojourn to holy places, and eating of
sanctified butter—these also, without doubt speedily cleanse a man. No man
would ever be called wise if he is indulged in pride. If he wishes to be long-lived,
he should for three nights drink hot water (as an expiation for having indulged in
pride). Refusal to appropriate what is not given, gift, study (of scriptures),
penance, abstention from injury, truth, freedom from wrath, and worship of the
gods in sacrifices,--these are the characteristics of virtue. That again which is
virtue may, according to time and place, be sin. Thus appropriation (of what
belongs to others), untruth, and injury and killing, may under special
circumstances, become virtue. With respect to persons capable of judging, acts
are of two kinds, viz., virtuous and sinful. From the worldly and the Vedic points
of view again, virtue and sin are good or bad (according to their consequences).
From the Vedic point of view, virtue and sin (i.e., everything a man may do or not
do), would be classed under action and inaction. Inaction (i.e., abstention from
Vedic rites and adoption of a life of contemplation) leads to emancipation (from
rebirth); while the consequences of action (i.e., practice of Vedic rites) are
repeated death and rebirth. From the worldly point of view, acts that are evil lead
to evil and those that are good to consequences that are good. From the worldly
point of view, therefore, virtue and sin are to be distinguished by the good and
the evil character of their consequences.[118] Acts that are (apparently) evil,
when undertaken from considerations connected with the gods, the scriptures,
life itself, and the means by which life is sustained, produce consequences that
are good. When an act is undertaken from the expectation, however doubtful,
that it will produce mischief (to some one) in the future, or when an act is done
whose consequence is visibly mischievous, expiation has been laid down. When
an act is done from wrath or clouded judgment, then expiation should be
performed by giving pain to the body, guided by precedent, by scriptures, and by
reason. When anything, again, is done for pleasing or displeasing the mind, the
sin arising therefrom may be cleansed by sanctified food and recitation of
mantras. The king who lays aside (in a particular case) the rod of chastisement,
should fast for one night. The priest who (in a particular case) abstains from
advising the king to inflict punishment, should fast for three nights as an
expiation. The person who, from grief, attempts to commit suicide by means of
weapons, should fast for three nights. There is no expiation for them that cast off
the duties and practices of their order and class, country, and family, and that
abandon their very creed. When an occasion for doubt respecting what should

be done arises, that should be regarded as the injunction of the scriptures which
ten persons versed in Vedic scriptures or three of those that frequently recite
them may declare.[119] The bull, earth, little ants, worms generated in dirt, and
poison, should not be eaten by Brahmanas. They should not also eat fishes that
have no scales, and four-footed aquatic animals like frogs and others, except the
tortoise. Water-fowls called Bhasas, ducks, Suparnas, Chakravakas, diving
ducks, cranes, crows, shags, vultures, hawks, owls, as also all four-footed
animals that are carnivorous and that have sharp and long teeth, and birds, and
animals having two teeth and those having four teeth, as also the milk of the
sheep, the she-ass, the she-camel, the newly-calved cow, woman and deer,
should not be taken by a Brahmana. Besides this, the food that has been offered
to the man, that which has been cooked by a woman who has recently brought
forth a child, and food cooked by an unknown person, should not be eaten. The
milk also of a cow that has recently calved should not be taken. If a Brahmana
takes food that has been cooked by a Kshatriya, it diminishes his energy; if he
takes the food provided by a Sudra, it dims his Brahmanic lustre; and if he takes
the food provided by a goldsmith or a woman who has neither husband nor
children it lessens the period of his life. The food provided by a usurer is
equivalent to dirt, while that provided by a woman living by prostitution is
equivalent to semen. The food also provided by persons that tolerate the
unchastity of their wives, and by persons that are ruled by their spouses, is
forbidden. The food provided by a person selected (for receiving gifts) at a
certain stage of a sacrifice, by one who does not enjoy his wealth or make any
gifts, that provided by one who sells Soma, or one who is a shoe-maker, by an
unchaste woman, by a washerman, by a physician, by persons serving as
watchmen, by a multitude of persons, by one who is pointed at by a whole
village, by one deriving his support from keep of dancing girls, by persons
wedding before their elder brothers are wedded, by professional panegyrists and
bards, and by those that are gamblers, the food also which is brought with the left
hand or which is stale, the food which is mixed with alcohol, the food a portion of
which has been already tasted, and the food that forms the remnant of a feast,
should not be taken (by a Brahmana). Cakes, sugarcanes, potherbs, and rice
boiled in sugared milk, if they have lost their relish, should not be taken. The
powder of fried barley and of other kinds of fried grain, mixed with curds, if
become stale with age, should not be taken. Rice boiled in sugared milk, food
mixed with the tila seed, meat, and cakes, that have not been dedicated to the
gods, should not be taken by Brahmanas leading a domestic mode of life, Having
first gratified the gods, Rishis, guests, Pitris, and the household deities, a
Brahmana leading a domestic mode of life should then take his food. A
householder by living thus in his own house becomes like a person of the
Bhikshu order that has renounced the world. A man of such behaviour, living with
his wives in domesticity, earns great religious merit. No one should make a gift
for the sake of acquiring fame, or from fear (of censure and the like) or unto a
benefactor. A virtuous man would not make gifts unto persons living by singing
and dancing or unto those that are professional jesters, or unto a person that is
intoxicated, or unto one that is insane, or unto a thief, or unto a slanderer, or unto

an idiot, or unto one that is pale of hue, or unto one that is defective of a limb, or
unto a dwarf, or unto a wicked person, or unto one born in a low and wicked
family, or unto one that has not been sanctified by the observance of vows. No
gift should be made to a Brahmana destitute of knowledge of the Vedas. Gifts
should be made unto him only that is a Srotriya.[120] An improper gift and an
improper acceptance produce evil consequences unto both the giver and the
acceptor. As a person who seeks to cross the ocean with the aid of a rock or a
mass of catechu sinks along with his support, even so the giver and the acceptor
(in such a case) both sink together. As a fire that is covered with wet fuel does
not blaze forth, even so the acceptor of a gift who is bereft of penances and
study and piety cannot confer any benefit (upon the giver). As water in a (human
skull) and milk in a bag made of dog-skin become unclean in consequence of the
uncleanliness of the vessels in which they are kept even so the Vedas become
fruitless in a person who is not of good behaviour. One may give from
compassion unto a low Brahmana who is without mantras and vows, who is
ignorant of the scriptures and who harbours envy. One may, from compassion,
give unto a person that is poor or afflicted or ill. But he should not give unto such
a person in the belief that he would derive any (spiritual) benefit from it or that he
would earn any religious merit by it. There is no doubt that a gift made to
Brahmana bereft of the Vedas becomes perfectly fruitless in consequence of the
fault of the recipient. As an elephant made of wood or an antelope made of
leather, even so is a Brahmana that has not studied the Vedas. All the three have
nothing but names.[121] As a eunuch is unproductive with women, as a cow is
unproductive with a cow, as a bird lives in vain that is featherless, even so is a
Brahmana that is without mantras. As grain without kernel, as a well without
water, as libations poured on ashes, even so is a gift to a Brahmana void of
learning. An unlearned Brahmana is an enemy (to all) and is the destroyer of the
food that is presented to the gods and Pitris. A gift made to such a person goes
for nothing. He is, therefore, like unto a robber (of other people‟s wealth). He can
never succeed in acquiring regions of bliss hereafter. I have now told thee in
brief, O Yudhishthira, all that was said (by Manu on that occasion). This high
discourse should be listened to by all, O bull of Bharata‟s race.‟”
SECTION XXXVIII
“Yudhishthira said, „O holy and great ascetic, I desire to hear in detail what the
duties of kings are and what the duties, in full, of all the four orders. I desire also
to hear, O foremost of Brahmanas, what behaviour should be adopted in
seasons of distress, and how I may subjugate the world by treading along the
path of morality. This discourse on expiation, treating (at the same time) of fasts
and capable of exciting great curiosity, fills me with joy. The practice of virtue and
the discharge of kingly duties are always inconsistent with each other. For always
thinking of how one may reconcile the two, my mind is constantly stupefied.‟

“Vaisampayana continued, „Then Vyasa, O monarch, that foremost of all persons
conversant with the Vedas, casting his eyes upon that ancient and all-knowing
person, viz., Narada, said, If, O king, thou wishest to hear of duties and morality
in full, then ask Bhishma, O mighty-armed one, that old grandsire of the Kurus.
Conversant with all duties and possessed of universal knowledge, that son of
Bhagirathi will remove all the doubts in thy heart on the difficult subject of duties.
That goddess, viz., the genius of the celestial river of three courses brought him
forth. He saw with his physical eyes all the gods with Indra at their head. Having
gratified with his dutiful services the celestial Rishis having Vrihaspati at their
head, he acquired a knowledge of the duties of kings. That foremost one among
the Kurus obtained a knowledge also of that science, with its interpretations, with
Usanas and that regenerate one who is the preceptor of the celestials know.
Having practised rigid vows, that mighty-armed one acquired a knowledge of all
the Vedas and their branches, from Vasishtha and from Chyavana of Bhrigu‟s
race. In olden days he studied under the eldest-born son of the Grandsire
himself, viz., Sanatkumara of blazing splendour, well conversant with the truths
of mental and spiritual science. He learnt the duties in full of the Yatis from the
lips of Markandeya. The bull among men obtained all weapons from Rama and
Sakra. Although born among human beings, his death itself is still under his own
control. Although childless, yet he has many regions of bliss hereafter as heard
by us. Regenerate Rishis of great merit were always his courtiers. There is
nothing among objects that should be known that is unknown to him. Conversant
with all duties and acquainted with all the subtle truths of morality, even he will
discourse to thee upon duty and morality. Go unto him before he abandons his
life breath. Thus addressed by him, the high-souled son of Kunti, of great
wisdom, said the following words unto Satyavati‟s son Vyasa, that first of
eloquent men.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „Having caused a great and horrid slaughter of kinsmen, I
have become an offender against all and a destroyer of the earth. Having caused
that Bhishma himself, that warrior who always fought fairly, to be slain by the aid
of deceit, how shall I approach him for asking him (about duties and morality)?‟
“Vaisampayana continued, „Moved by the desire of benefiting all the four orders,
the mighty armed and high-souled chief of Yadu‟s race once more addressed
that foremost of kings (in the following words).‟
“Vasudeva said, „It behoveth thee not to show such pertinacity in grief. Do that,
O best of kings, which the holy Vyasa has said. The Brahmanas, O mighty-
armed one, and these thy brothers of great energy, stand before thee
beseechingly like persons beseeching the deity of the clouds at the close of
summer. The unslain remnant of the assembled kings, and the people belonging
to all the four orders of thy kingdom of Kurujangala, O king, are here. For the
sake of doing what is agreeable to these high-souled Brahmanas, in obedience
also to the command of thy revered senior Vyasa of immeasurable energy, and
at the request of out-selves that are thy well-wishers, and of Draupadi, O
scorcher of foes, do what is agreeable to us, O slayer of foes, and what is
beneficial to the world.‟

“Vaisampayana continued. „Thus addressed by Krishna, the high-souled king
(Yudhishthira) of eyes like lotus petals, rose from his seat for the good of the
whole world. The tiger among men, viz., Yudhishthira of great fame, besought by
Krishna himself, by the Island-born (Vyasa), by Devasthana, by Jishnu, by these
and many others, cast off his grief and anxiety. Fully conversant with the
declarations of the Srutis, with the science that treats of the interpretation of
those declarations, and with all that men usually hear and all that deserve to be
heard, the son of Pandu obtained peace of mind and resolved upon that he
should next do. Surrounded by all of them like the moon by the stars, the king,
placing Dhritarashtra at the head of the train, set out for entering the city.
Desirous of entering the city, Kunti‟s son Yudhishthira, conversant with every
duty, offered worship unto the gods and thousands of Brahmanas. He then
ascended a new and white car covered with blankets and deerskins, and unto
which were yoked sixteen white bullocks possessed of auspicious marks, and
which had been sanctified with Vedic mantras. Adored by panegyrists and bards,
the king mounted upon that car like Soma riding upon his own ambrosial vehicle.
His brother Bhima of terrible prowess took the reins. Arjuna held over his head a
white umbrella of great effulgence. That white umbrella held upon the car looked
beautiful like a star-decked white cloud in the firmament. The two heroic sons of
Madri, viz., Nakula and Sahadeva, took up two yak-tails white as the rays of the
moon and adorned with gems for fanning the king. The five brothers decked with
ornaments, having ascended the car, O king, looked like the five elements (that
enter into the composition of everybody). Riding upon another white car unto
which were yoked steeds fleet as thought, Yuyutsu, O king, followed the eldest
son of Pandu behind. Upon his own brilliant car of gold unto which were yoked
Saivya and Sugriva, Krishna, with Satyaki, followed the Kurus. The eldest uncle
of Pritha‟s son, O Bharata, accompanied by Gandhari, proceeded at the head of
the train, upon a vehicle borne on the shoulders of men. The other ladies of the
Kuru household, as also Kunti and Krishna, all proceeded on excellent vehicles,
headed by Vidura. Behind followed a large number of cars and elephants decked
with ornaments, and foot-soldiers and steeds. His praises chanted by sweet-
voiced panegyrists and bards, the king proceeded towards the city called after
the elephant. The progress, O mighty-armed one, of king Yudhishthira, became
so beautiful that its like had never been on earth. Teeming with healthy and
cheerful men, thy busy hum of innumerable voices was heard there. During the
progress of Pritha‟s son, the city and its streets were adorned with gay citizens
(all of whom had come out for honouring the king). The spot through which the
king passed had been decked with festoons of flowers and innumerable banners.
The streets of the city were perfumed with incense. The place was overlaid with
powdered perfumes and flowers and fragrant plants, and hung over with garlands
and wreaths. New metallic jars, full of water to the brim, were kept at the door of
every house, and bevies of beautiful maidens of the fairest complexion stood at
the particular spots. Accompanied by his friends, the son of Pandu, adored with
sweet speeches, entered the city through its well-adorned gate.‟”

SECTION XXXIX
“Vaisampayana said, „At the time the Parthas entered the city, thousands upon
thousands of the citizens came out to behold the sight. The well-adorned squares
and streets, with crowd swelling at each moment looked beautiful like the ocean
swelling at the rise of the moon. The large mansions that stood on the street-
sides, decked with every ornament and full of ladies, seemed to shake, O
Bharata, with their weight. With soft and modest voices they uttered the praises
of Yudhishthira, of Bhima and Arjuna, and of the two sons of Madri. And they
said, „Worthy of all praise art thou. O blessed princess of Panchala, that waitest
by the side of those foremost of men even like Gautami by the side of the (seven)
Rishis. Thy acts and vows have borne their fruits, O lady!‟ In this strain, O
monarch, the ladies praised the princess Krishna. In consequence of those
praises, O Bharata, and their speeches with one another, and the shouts of joy
(uttered by the men‟ ), the city became filled with a loud uproar. Having passed
through the streets with such behaviour as befitted him, Yudhishthira then
entered the beautiful palace (of the Kurus) adorned with every ornament. The
people belonging to the city and the provinces, approaching the palace, uttered
speeches that were agreeable to his ears, „By good luck, O foremost of kings,
thou hast vanquished thy enemies, O slayer of foes! By good luck, thou hast
recovered thy kingdom through virtue and prowess. Be, O foremost of kings, our
monarch for a hundred years, and protect thy subjects virtuously like Indra
protecting the denizens of heaven.‟ Thus adored at the palace-gate with blessed
speeches, and accepting the benedictions uttered by the Brahmanas from every
side, the king, graced with victory and the blessings of the people, entered the
palace that resembled the mansion of Indra himself, and then descended from
his car. Entering the apartments, blessed Yudhishthira approached the
household gods and worshipped them with gems and scents and floral wreaths.
Possessed of great fame and prosperity, the king came out once more and
beheld a number of Brahmanas waiting with auspicious articles in their hands (for
pronouncing benedictions on him). Surrounded by those Brahmanas desirous of
uttering benedictions on him, the king looked beautiful like the spotless moon in
the midst of the stars. Accompanied by his priest Dhaumya and his eldest uncle,
the son of Kunti cheerfully worshipped, with due rites, those Brahmanas with (gift
of) sweets, gems, and gold in profusion, and kine and robes, O monarch, and
with diverse other articles that each desired. Then loud shouts of „This is a
blessed day‟ arose, filling the entire welkin, O Bharata. Sweet to the ear, that
sacred sound was highly gratifying to the friends and well-wishers (of the
Pandavas). The king heard that sound uttered by those learned Brahmanas and
that was as loud and clear as the sound of a flock of swans. He listened also to
the speeches, fraught with melodious words and grave import, of those persons
well conversant with the Vedas. Then, O king, the peal of drums and the
delightful blare of conchs, indicative of triumph, arose. A little while after when
the Brahmanas had become silent, a Rakshasa of the name of Charvaka, who
had disguised himself as a Brahmana, addressed the king. He was a friend of
Duryodhana and stood therein the garb of a religious mendicant. With a rosary,
with a tuft of hair on his head, and with the triple staff in his hand, he stood

proudly and fearlessly in the midst of all those Brahmanas that had come there
for pronouncing benedictions (upon the king), numbering by thousands, O king,
and all of whom were devoted to penances and vows. That wicked wight,
desirous of evil unto the high-souled Pandavas and without having consulted
those Brahmanas, said these words unto the king.‟
“Charvaka said, „All these Brahmanas, making me their spokesman, are saying,
„Fie on thee! Thou art a wicked king. Thou art a slayer of kinsmen. What shalt
thou gain, O son of Kunti, by having thus exterminated thy race? Having slain
also thy superiors and preceptor, it is proper for thee to cast away thy life.‟
Hearing these words of that wicked Rakshasa the Brahmanas there became
deeply agitated. Stung by that speech, they made a loud uproar. And all of them,
with king Yudhishthira. O monarch, became speechless from anxiety and
shame.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „I bow down to you and beseech you humbly, be gratified with
me. It doth not behove you to cry fie on me. I shall soon lay down my life.‟[122]
“Vaisampayana continued, „Then all those Brahmanas, O king, loudly said,
„These are not our words. Prosperity to thee, O monarch!‟ Those high-souled
persons, conversant with the Vedas, with understanding rendered clear by
penances, then penetrated the disguise of the speaker by means of their spiritual
sight.‟ And they said, „This is the Rakshasa Charvaka, the friend of Duryodhana.
Having put on the garb of a religious mendicant, he seeks the good of his friend
Duryodhana. We have not, O thou of righteous soul, said anything of the kind.
Let this anxiety of thine be dispelled. Let prosperity attend upon thee with thy
brothers.‟
“Vaisampayana continued, „These Brahmanas then, insensate with rage, uttered
the sound Hun. Cleansed of all sins, they censured the sinful Rakshasa and slew
him there (with that very sound). Consumed by the energy of those utterers of
Brahma, Charvaka fell down dead, like a tree with all its sprouts blasted by the
thunder of Indra. Duly worshipped, the Brahmanas went away, having gladdened
the king with their benedictions. The royal son of Pandu also, with all his friends,
felt great happiness.
SECTION XL
“Vaisampayana said, „Then Devaki‟s son Janardana of universal knowledge
addressed king Yudhishthira who stood there with his brothers, saying, „In this
world, O sire, Brahmanas are always the objects of worship with me. They are
gods on earth having poison in their speech, and are exceedingly easy to gratify.
Formerly, in the Krita age, O king, a Rakshasa of the name of Charvaka, O
mighty-armed one, performed austere penances for many years in Vadari.
Brahman repeatedly solicited him to ask for boons. At last the Rakshasa solicited
the boon, O Bharata, of immunity from fear at the hand of every being in the
universe. The Lord of the universe gave that high boon of immunity from fear at

the hands of all creatures, subject to the only limitation that he should be careful
of how he offended the Brahmanas. Having obtained that boon, the sinful and
mighty Rakshasa of fierce deeds and great prowess began to give pain to the
gods. The gods, persecuted by the might of the Rakshasa, assembling together,
approached Brahman, for compassing their foe‟s destruction. The eternal and
unchangeable god answered them, O Bharata, saying, „I have already arranged
the means by which the death of this Rakshasa may soon be brought about.
There will be a king of the name of Duryodhana. Among men, he will be the
friend of this wight. Bound by affection towards him, the Rakshasa will insult the
Brahmanas. Stung by the wrong he will inflict upon them, the Brahmanas, whose
might consists in speech, will in wrath censure him at which he will meet with
destruction. Even that Rakshasa Charvaka, O foremost of kings, slain by the
curse of the Brahmanas, lies there deprived of life. Do not, O bull of Bharata‟s
race, give way to grief. The kinsmen, O king, have all perished in the observance
of Kshatriya duties. Those butts among Kshatriyas, those high-souled heroes,
have all gone to heaven. Do thou attend to thy duties now. O thou of unfading
glory, let no grief be thine. Stay thy foes, protect thy subjects, and worship the
Brahmanas.‟”
SECTION XLI
“Vaisampayana said, „The royal son of Kunti, freed from grief and the fever of his
heart, took his seat, with face eastwards, on excellent seat made of gold. On
another seat, beautiful and blazing and made of gold, sat with face directed
towards him, those two chastisers of foes, viz., Satyaki and Vasudeva. Placing
the king in their midst, on his two sides sat Bhima and Arjuna upon two beautiful
seats adorned with gems. Upon a white throne of ivory, decked with gold, sat
Pritha with Sahadeva and Nakula. Sudharman,[123] and Vidura, and Dhaumya,
and the Kuru king Dhritarashtra, each sat separately on separate seats that
blazed with the effulgence of fire. Yuyutsu and Sanjaya and Gandhari of great
fame, all sat down where king Dhritarashtra had taken his seat. The righteous-
souled king, seated there, touched the beautiful white flowers, Swastikas,
vessels full of diverse articles, earth, gold, silver, and gems, (that were placed
before him). Then all the subjects, headed by the priest, came to see king
Yudhishthira, bringing with them diverse kinds of auspicious articles. Then earth,
and gold, and many kinds of gems, and all the things in profusion that were
necessary for the performance of the coronation rite, were brought there. There
were golden jars full to the brim (with water), and those made of copper and
silver and earth, and flowers, and fried paddy, and Kusa grass, and cow‟s milk,
and (sacrificial) fuel consisting of the wood of Sami, Pippala, and Palasa, and
honey and clarified butter and (sacrificial) ladles made of Udumvara, and
conches adorned with gold.[124] Then the priest Dhaumya, at the request of
Krishna, constructed, according to rule, an altar gradually inclining towards the
cast and the north. Causing the high-souled Yudhishthira then, with Krishna the
daughter of Drupada, to be seated upon a handsome seat, called Sarvatobhadra,

with firm feet and covered with tiger-skin and blazing with effulgence, began to
pour libations of clarified butter (upon the sacrificial fire) with proper mantras.
Then he of Dasaratha‟s race, rising from his seat, took up the sanctified conch,
poured the water it contained upon the head of that lord of earth, viz.,
Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti. The royal sage Dhritarashtra and all the subjects
also did the same at the request of Krishna. The son of Pandu then, with his
brothers, thus bathed with the sanctified water of the conch, looked exceedingly
beautiful. Then Panavas and Anakas and drums were beaten. King Yudhishthira
the just duly accepted the gifts made unto him by the subjects. Always giving
away presents in profusion in all his sacrifices, the king honoured his subjects in
return. He gave a thousand nishkas unto the Brahmanas that uttered (especial)
benedictions on him. All of them had studied the Vedas and were endued with
wisdom and good behaviour. Gratified (with gifts), the Brahmanas, O king,
wished him prosperity and victory, and with voice melodious like that of swans,
uttered his praises, saying, „O Yudhishthira of mighty arms, by good luck, O son
of Pandu, victory has been thine. By good luck, O thou of great splendour, thou
hast recovered thy position through prowess. By good luck, the wielder of
Gandiva, and Bhimasena, and thyself, O king, and the two sons of Madri, are all
well, having slain your foes and escaped with life from the battle, so destructive
of heroes. Do thou, O Bharata, attend without delay to those acts that should
next be done.‟ Thus adored by those pious men, king Yudhishthira the just, with
his friends, became installed on the throne of a large kingdom, O Bharata!‟”
SECTION XLII
“Vaisampayana said, „Having heard those words, suitable to time and place, of
his subjects, king Yudhishthira answered them in the following words, „Great
must be the sons of Pandu, in sooth, whose merits, true or false, are thus recited
by such foremost of Brahmanas assembled together. Without doubt, we are all
objects of favour with you since you so freely describe us to be possessed of
such attributes. King Dhritarashtra, however, is our father and god. If ye desire to
do what is agreeable to me, always render your obedience to him and what is
agreeable to him. Having slaughtered all my kinsmen, I live for him alone. My
great duty is to always serve him in every respect with watchfulness. If ye, as
also my friends, think that I should be an object of favour with you and them, let
me then request you all to show the same behaviour towards Dhritarashtra as ye
used to show before. He is the lord of the world, of yourselves, and of myself.
The whole world, with the Pandavas, belongs to him. Ye should always bear
these words of mine in your minds.‟ The king then told them to go whithersoever
they liked. Having dismissed the citizens and the people of the provinces, the
delighter of the Kurus appointed his brother Bhimasena as Yuvaraja. And he
cheerfully appointed Vidura of great intelligence for assisting him with his
deliberations and for overlooking the sixfold requirements of the state.[125] And
he appointed Sanjaya of mature years and possessed of every accomplishment,
as general director and supervisor of the finances. And the king appointed

Nakula for keeping the register of the forces, for giving them food and pay and for
supervising other affairs of the army. And king Yudhishthira appointed Phalguna
for resisting hostile forces and chastising the wicked. And he appointed
Dhaumya, the foremost of priests, to attend daily to the Brahmanas and all rites
in honour of the gods and other acts of a religious kind. And he appointed
Sahadeva to always remain by his side, for the king thought, O monarch, that he
should under all circumstances be protected by that brother of his. And the king
cheerfully employed others in other acts according as he deemed them fit. That
slayer of hostile heroes, viz., the righteous-souled king Yudhishthira, ever
devoted to virtue, commanded Vidura and the high-souled Yuyutsu, saying, „You
should always with alacrity and attention do everything that my royal father
Dhritarashthra wishes. Whatever also should be done in respect of the citizens
and the residents of the provinces should be accomplished by you in your
respective departments, after taking the king‟s permission.‟”
SECTION XLIII
“Vaisampayana said, „After this king Yudhishthira of magnanimous soul caused
the Sraddha rites to be performed of every one of his kinsmen slain in battle.
King Dhritarashtra also of great fame, gave away, for the good of his sons in the
other world, excellent food, and kine, and much wealth, and many beautiful and
costly gems (unto the Brahmanas). Yudhishthira accompanied by Draupadi,
gave much wealth for the sake of Drona and the high-souled Karna, of
Dhrishtadyumna and Abhimanyu, of the Rakshasa Ghatotkacha, the son of
Hidimva, and of Virata, and his other well-wishers that had served him loyally,
and of Drupada and the five sons of Draupadi. For the sake of each of these, the
king gratified thousands of Brahmanas with gifts of wealth and gems, and kine
and clothes. The king performed the Sraddha rite for the good in the next world,
of every one of those kings also who had fallen in the battle without leaving
kinsmen or friends behind. And the king also, for the good of the souls of all his
friends, caused houses to be founded for the distribution of food, and places for
the distribution of water, and tanks to be excavated in their names. Thus paying
off the debt he owed to them and avoiding the chance of censure in the
world,[126] the king became happy and continued to protect his subjects
religiously. He showed due honour, as before, unto Dhritarashtra, and Gandhari,
and Vidura, and unto all the superior Kauravas and unto all the officers. Full of
kindness, the Kuru king honoured and protected all those ladies also who had, in
consequence of the battle, been deprived of their heroic husbands and sons. The
puissant king, with great compassion, extended his favours to the destitute and
the blind and the helpless by giving them food, clothes and shelter. Freed from
foes and having conquered the whole Earth, king Yudhishthira began to enjoy
great happiness.‟”

SECTION XLIV
“Vaisampayana said, „Having got back the kingdom, king Yudhishthira of great
wisdom and purity, after the ceremony of installation had been over, joining his
hands together, addressed the lotus-eyed Krishna of Dasarha‟s race, saying,
„Through thy grace, O Krishna, through thy policy and might and intelligence and
prowess, O tiger among the Yadus, I have got back this ancestral kingdom of
mine. O thou of eyes like lotus leaves, I repeatedly bow to thee, O chastiser of
foes! Thou hast been called the One only Being. Thou hast been said to be the
refuge of all worshippers. The regenerate ones adore thee under innumerable
names.[127] Salutations to thee, O Creator of the Universe! Thou art the soul of
the Universe and the Universe hath sprung from thee. Thou art Vishnu, thou art
Jishnu, thou art Hari, thou art Krishna, thou art Vaikuntha, and thou art the
foremost of all beings. Thou hast, as said in the Puranas, taken thy birth seven
times in the womb of Aditi. It was thou that tookest birth in the womb of
Prishni.[128] The learned say that thou art the three Yugas.[129] All thy
achievements are sacred. Thou art the lord of our senses. Thou art the great
Lord worshipped in sacrifices. Thou art called the great swan. Thou art three-
eyed Sambhu. Thou art One, though known as Vibhu and Damodara. Thou art
the great Boar, thou art Fire, thou art the Sun, thou hast the bull for the device on
thy banner, and thou hast Garuda also as thy device. Thou art the grinder of
hostile hosts, thou art the Being that pervadest every form in the universe and
thou art of irresistible prowess. Thou art the foremost of all things, thou art fierce,
thou art the generalissimo in battle, thou art the Truth, thou art the giver of food,
and thou art Guha (the celestial generalissimo);
Thyself unfading, thou causest thy foes to fade and waste. Thou art the
Brahmana of pure blood, and thou art those that have sprung from intermixture.
Thou art great. Thou walkest on high, thou art the mountains, and thou art called
Vrishadarbha and Vrishakapi. Thou art the Ocean, thou art without attributes,
thou hast three humps, thou hast three abodes, and thou takest human forms on
earth, descending from heaven. Thou art Emperor, thou art Virat, and thou art
Swarat.[130] Thou art the Chief of the celestials, and thou art the cause whence
the Universe has sprung. Thou art Almighty, thou art existence in every form,
thou art without form, thou art Krishna, and thou art fire. Thou art the Creator,
thou art the sire of the celestial physicians, thou art (the sage) Kapila, and thou
art the Dwarf.[131] Thou art Sacrifice embodied, thou art Dhruva,[132] thou art
Garuda, and thou art called Yajnasena. Thou art Sikhandin, thou art Nahusha,
and thou art Vabhru. Thou art the constellation Punarvasu extended in the
firmament, Thou art exceedingly tawny in hue, thou art the sacrifice known by the
name of Uktha, thou art Sushena, thou art the drum (that sends forth its sound
on every side). The track of thy car-wheels is light. Thou art the lotus of
Prosperity, thou art the cloud called Pushkara, and thou art decked with floral
wreaths. Thou art affluent, thou art puissant, thou art the most subtle, and it is
thou whom the Vedas describe. Thou art the great receptacle of waters, thou art
Brahman, thou art the sacred refuge, and thou knowest the abodes of all. Thou
art called Hiranyagarbha, thou art the sacred mantras swadha and swaha, thou
art Kesava. Thou art the cause whence all this hath sprung, and thou art its

dissolution. In the beginning it is thou that createst the universe. This universe is
under thy control, O Creator of the universe! Salutations to thee, O wielder of
Sarnga, discus and sword!‟ Thus hymned by king Yudhishthira the just in the
midst of the court, the lotus-eyed Krishna became pleased. That foremost one of
the Yadavas then began to gladden the eldest son of Pandu with many
agreeable speeches.”
SECTION XLV
“Vaisampayana said, „The king dismissed all his subjects, who, commanded by
the monarch, returned to their respective homes. Comforting his brothers,
Yudhishthira, blazing with beauty, then addressed his brothers Bhima of terrible
prowess and Arjuna and the twins, saying, „Your bodies have, in the great battle,
been mangled with diverse kinds of weapons by the foe. Ye are greatly fatigued,
grief and anger have scorched your hearts. Through my fault, ye bulls of
Bharata‟s race, ye have suffered the miseries of an exile in the forests like vulgar
men. In delight and in happy ease enjoy this victory (that ye have won). After
resting yourselves and regaining the full use of your faculties, meet me again in
the morning.‟ After this, the mighty-armed Vrikodara like Maghavat entering his
own beautiful fane, entered the palace of Duryodhana, that was adorned with
many excellent buildings and rooms, that adorned with gems of diverse kinds,
that teemed with servants, male and female, and that Yudhishthira assigned to
him with the approval of Dhritarashtra. The mighty-armed Arjuna also, at the
command of the king, obtained the palace of Dussasana which was not inferior to
Duryodhana‟s and which consisted of many excellent structures and was
adorned with a gate-way of gold, and which abounded in wealth and was full of
attendants of both sexes. The palace of Durmarshana was even superior to that
of Dussasana. Looking like the mansion of Kuvera himself, it was adorned with
gold and every kind of gem. King Yudhishthira gladly gave it to Nakula who
deserved it best and who had been emaciated (with the miseries of a life) in the
great forest. The foremost of palaces belonging to Durmukha was exceedingly
beautiful and adorned with gold. It abounded in beds and beautiful women, with
eyes like lotus-petals. The king gave it unto Sahadeva who was ever employed in
doing what was agreeable to him. Obtaining it, Sahadeva became delighted as
the Lord of treasures upon obtaining Kailasa. Yuyutsu and Vidura and Sanjaya,
O monarch, and Sudharman and Dhaumya, proceeded to the abodes they had
owned before.[133] Like a tiger entering his cave in the hills, that tiger among
men, viz., Saurin, accompanied by Satyaki, entered the palace of Arjuna.
Feasting on the viands and drinks (that had been kept ready for them), the
princes passed the night happily. Awaking in the morning with well pleased
hearts, they presented themselves before king Yudhishthira.‟”

SECTION XLVI
“Janamejaya said, „It behoveth thee, O learned Brahmana, to tell me what was
next done by Yudhishthira the mighty-armed son of Dharma after he had
regained his kingdom. It behoveth thee to tell me also, O Rishi, what the heroic
Hrishikesa, the supreme master of the three worlds did after this.‟
“Vaisampayana said, „Listen to me, O king, as I narrate in detail, O sinless one,
what the Pandavas, headed by Vasudeva, did after this. Having obtained his
kingdom, O monarch, Kunti‟s son Yudhishthira appointed each of the four orders
of men to their respective duties. The (eldest) son of Pandu gave unto a
thousand high-souled Brahmanas of the Snataka order a thousand Nishkas
each. He then gratified the servants that were dependant on him and the guests
that came to him, including persons that were undeserving and those that held
heterodox views, by fulfilling their wishes. Unto his priest Dhaumya he gave kine
in thousands and much wealth and gold and silver and robes of diverse kinds.
Towards Kripa, O monarch, the king behaved in the way one should towards
one‟s preceptor. Observant of vows, the king continued to honour Vidura greatly.
That foremost of charitable men gratified all persons with gifts of food and drink
and robes of diverse kinds and beds and seats. Having restored peace to his
kingdom, the king, O best of monarchs, possessed of great fame, paid due
honour unto Yuyutsu and Dhritarashtra. Placing his kingdom, at the disposal of
Dhritarashtra, of Gandhari, and of Vidura, king Yudhishthira continued to pass his
days happily. Having gratified everybody, including the citizens, in this way,
Yudhishthira, O bull of Bharata‟s race, then proceeded with joined hands to the
presence of the high-souled Vasudeva. He beheld Krishna, of the hue of a blue
cloud, seated on a large sofa adorned with gold and gems. Attired in yellow
robes of silk and decked with celestial ornaments, his person blazed with
splendour like a Jewel set on gold. His bosom adorned with the Kaustubha gem,
he looked like the Udaya mountain that decked the rising Sun. So beautiful did
he look that there is no simile in the three worlds. Approaching the high-souled
one who was Vishnu himself in incarnate form, king Yudhishthira addressed him
sweetly and smilingly, saying, „O foremost of intelligent men, hast thou passed
the night happily? O thou of unfading glory, are all thy faculties in their full
vigour? O foremost of intelligent persons, is it all right with thy understanding?
We have got back our kingdom and the whole earth has come under our control,
O divine lord, through thy grace, O refuge of the three worlds and, O thou of
three steps,[134] through thy grace have we won victory and obtained great fame
and have not fallen away from the duties of our order!‟ Unto that chastiser of
foes, viz., king Yudhishthira the just who addressed him in that strain the divine
Krishna said not a word, for he was then rapt in meditation.”
SECTION XLVII
“Yudhishthira said, „How wonderful is this, O thou of immeasurable prowess, that
thou art rapt in meditation! O great refuge of the universe, is it all right with the

three worlds? When thou hast, O God, withdrawn thyself (from the world),
having, O bull among men, adopted the fourth, state, my mind has been filled
with wonder.[135] The five life-breaths that act within the body have been
controlled by thee into stillness. Thy delighted senses thou hast concentrated
within thy mind. Both speech and mind, O Govinda, have been concentrated
within thy understanding. All thy senses, indeed, have been withdrawn into thy
soul.[136] The hair on thy body stands erect. Thy mind and understanding are
both still. Thou art as immobile now, O Madhava, as a wooden post or a stone. O
illustrious God, thou art as still as the flame of a lamp burning in a place where
there is no wind. Thou art as immobile as a mass of rock. If I am fit to hear the
cause, if it is no secret of thine, dispel, O god, my doubt for I beg of thee and
solicit it as a favour. Thou art the Creator and thou art the Destroyer. Thou art
destructible and thou art indestructible. Thou art without beginning and thou art
without end. Thou art the first and the foremost of Beings. O foremost of
righteous persons, tell me the cause of this (Yoga) abstraction. I solicit thy
favour, and am thy devoted worshipper, and bow to thee, bending my head.‟
Thus addressed, the illustrious younger brother of Vasava, recalling his mind,
understanding, and the senses to their usual sphere, said these words with a soft
smile.‟
“Vasudeva said, „That tiger among men, Bhishma, who is now lying on a bed of
arrows, and who is now like unto a fire that is about to go out, is thinking of me.
Hence my mind also was concentrated on him. My mind was concentrated upon
him, the twang of whose bowstring and the sound of whose palms Indra himself
was unable to bear. I was thinking of him who having vanquished in a trice all the
assembled kings (at the Self-choice of the daughters of the king of Kasi)
abducted the three princesses for the marriage of his brother Vichitravirya. I was
thinking of him who fought continually for three and twenty days with Rama
himself of Bhrigu‟s race and whom Rama was unable to overcome. Collecting all
his senses and concentrating his mind by the aid of his understanding, he sought
my refuge (by thinking of me). It was for this that I had centered my mind upon
him. I was thinking of him whom Ganga conceived and brought forth according to
ordinary human laws and whom Vasishtha took as a pupil. I was thinking of that
hero of mighty energy and great intelligence who possesses a knowledge of all
the celestial weapons as also of the four Vedas with all their branches. I was
thinking of him, O son of Pandu, who is the favourite disciple of Rama, the son of
Jamadagni, and who is the receptacle of the sciences. I was thinking of that
foremost of all persons conversant with morality and duty, of him, O bull of
Bharata‟s race, who knows the Past, the Future, and the Present. After that tiger
among kings shall have, in consequences of his own achievements, ascended to
heaven, the earth, O son of Pritha, will look like a moonless night. Therefore, O
Yudhishthira, submissively approaching Ganga‟s son, viz., Bhishma of terrible
prowess, question him about what thou mayst desire to learn. O lord of the earth,
enquire of him about the four branches of knowledge (in respect of morality,
profit., pleasure and salvation), about the sacrifices and the rites laid down for the
four orders, about the four modes of life, and about the kingly duties in full. When
Bhishma, that foremost one of Kuru‟s race, will disappear from the world, every

kind of knowledge will disappear with him. It is for this that I urge thee (to go to
him now).‟ Hearing these beneficial words of high import from Vasudeva, the
righteous Yudhishthira, with voice choked in tears, answered Janardana, saying,
„What thou hast said, O Madhava, about the eminence of Bhishma, is perfectly
true. I have not the slightest doubt regarding it. Indeed, I had heard of the high
blessedness, as also the greatness, of the illustrious Bhishma from high-souled
Brahmanas discoursing upon it. Thou, O slayer of foes, art the Creator of all the
worlds. There cannot, therefore, O delighter of the Yadavas, be the slightest
doubt in what thou sayest. If thy heart be inclined to show grace, O Madhava,
then we shall go unto Bhishma with thyself at our head. When the divine Surya
shall have turned towards the north, Bhishma will leave (this world), for those
regions of bliss that he has won. That descendant of Kuru‟s race, therefore, O
mighty-armed one, deserves to have a sight of thee. (If thou grantest my prayer),
Bhishma will then obtain a sight of thee that art the first of Gods, of thee that art
destructible and indestructible. Indeed, O lord, thou it is that art the vast
receptacle of Brahma.‟”
“Vaisampayana continued, „Hearing these words of king Yudhishthira the just,
the slayer of Madhu addressed Satyaki who was sitting beside him, saying, „Let
my car be yoked.‟ At this, Satyaki quickly left Kesava‟s presence and going out,
commanded Daruka, saying, „Let Krishna‟s car be made ready.‟ Hearing the
words of Satyaki, Daruka speedily yoked Krishna‟s car. That foremost of
vehicles, adorned with gold, decked with a profusion of emeralds, and moon-
gems and sun-gems, furnished with wheels covered with gold, possessed of
effulgence, fleet as the wind, set in the middle with diverse other kinds of jewels,
beautiful as the morning sun, equipped with a beautiful standard topped by
Garuda, and gay with numerous banners, had those foremost of steeds, fleet as
thought, viz., Sugriva and Saivya and the other two, in trappings of gold, yoked
unto it. Having yoked it, O tiger, among kings, Daruka, with joined hands,
informed Krishna of the fact.‟
SECTION XLVIII
“Janamejaya said, „How did the grandsire of the Bharatas, who lay on a bed of
arrows, cast off his body and what kind of Yoga did he adopt?‟
“Vaisampayana said, „Listen, O king, with pure heart and concentrated attention,
as to how, O tiger among the Kurus, the high-souled Bhishma cast off his body.
As soon as the Sun, passing the solstitial point, entered in his northerly course,
Bhishma, with concentrated attention, caused his soul (as connected with and
independent of the body) to enter his soul (in its independent and absolute state).
Surrounded by many foremost of Brahmanas, that hero, his body pierced with
innumerable arrows, blazed forth in great beauty like Surya himself with his
innumerable rays. Surrounded by Vyasa conversant with the Vedas by the
celestial Rishi Narada, by Devasthana, by Asmaka Sumantu, by Jaimini, by the
high-souled Paila, by Sandilya, by Devarata, by Maitreya of great intelligence, by

Asita and Vasishtha and the high-souled Kausika, by Harita and Lomasa and
Atri‟s son of great intelligence, by Vrihaspati and Sukra and the great sage
Chyavana, by Sanatkumara and Kapila and Valmiki and Tumvuru and Kuru, by
Maudgalya and Rama of Bhrigu‟s race, and the great sage Trinavindu, by
Pippalada and Vayu and Samvarta and Pulaha and Katha, by Kasyapa and
Pulastya and Kratu and Daksha and Parasara, by Marichi and Angiras and
Kasmya and Gautama and the sage Galava, by Dhaumya and Vibhanda and
Mandavya and Dhaumra and Krishnanubhautika, by Uluka, that foremost of
Brahmanas and the great sage Markandeya, by Bhaskari and Purana and
Krishna and Suta,--that foremost of virtuous persons, surrounded by these and
many other highly-blessed sages of great souls and possessed of faith and self-
restraint and tranquillity of mind, the Kuru hero looked like the Moon in the midst
of the planets and the stars. Stretched on his bed of arrows, that tiger among
men, Bhishma, with pure heart and joined palms, thought of Krishna in mind,
word, and act. With a cheerful and strong voice he hymned the praise of the
slayer of Madhu, that master of yoga, with the lotus in his navel, that lord of the
universe, called Vishnu and Jishnu. With joined hands, that foremost of eloquent
men, that puissant one, viz., Bhishma of highly virtuous soul, thus praised
Vasudeva.
“Bhishma said, „O Krishna, O foremost of Beings, be thou pleased with these
words which I utter, in brief and in detail, from desire of hymning thy praises.
Thou art pure and purity‟s self. Thou transcendest all. Thou art what people say
to be THAT. Thou art the Supreme Lord. With my whole heart I seek thy refuge,
O universal Soul and Lord of all creatures![137] Thou art without beginning and
without end. Thou art the highest of the high and Brahma. Neither the gods nor
the Rishis know thee. The divine Creator, called Narayana or Hari, alone knows
thee. Through Narayana, the Rishis, the Siddhas, the great Nagas, the gods, and
the celestial Rishis know a little of thee. Thou art the highest of the high and
knowest no deterioration. The gods, the Danavas, the Gandharvas, the Yakshas,
the Pannagas, do not know who thou art and whence art thou. All the worlds and
all created things live in thee, and enter thee (when the dissolution comes). Like
gems strung together in a thread, all things that have attributes reside in thee, the
Supreme Lord.‟[138] Having the universe for thy work and the universe for thy
limbs, this universe consisting of mind and matter resides in thy eternal and all-
pervading soul like a number of flowers strung together in a strong thread. Thou
art called Hari, of a thousand heads, a thousand feet, a thousand eyes, a
thousand arms, a thousand crowns, and a thousand faces of great splendour.
Thou art called Narayana, divinity, and the refuge of the universe. Thou art the
subtlest of the subtle, grossest of the gross, the heaviest of the heavy and the
highest of the high. In the Vaks, the Anuvaks, the Nishads, and Upanishads, thou
art regarded as the Supreme Being of irresistible force. In the Samans also,
whose declarations are always true, thou art regarded as Truth‟s self![139] Thou
art of quadruple soul. Thou art displayed in only the understanding (of all
creatures). Thou art the Lord of those that are bound to thee in faith. O God, thou
art adored (by the faithful) under four excellent, high, and secret names.[140]
Penances are ever present in thee. Performed (by other creatures for gratifying

thee), penances live in thy form. Thou art the Universal Soul. Thou art of
universal knowledge. Thou art the universe. Thou art omniscient. Thou art the
creator of everything in the universe.[141] Like a couple of sticks generating a
blazing fire, thou hast been born of the divine Devaki and Vasudeva for the
protection of Brahma on earth.[142] For this eternal salvation, the devout
worshipper, with mind withdrawn from everything else and casting off all desires,
beholds thee, O Govinda, that art the pure Soul, in his own soul. Thou
transcendest Surya in glory. Thou art beyond the ken of the senses and the
understanding. O Lord of all creatures, I place myself in thy hands. In the
Puranas thou hast been spoken as Purusha (all-pervading spirit). On occasions
of the commencement of the Yugas, thou art said to be Brahma, while on
occasions of universal dissolution thou art spoken of as Sankarshana. Adorable
thou art, and therefore I adore thee. Though one, thou hast yet been born in
innumerable forms. Thou hast thy passions under complete control. Thy devout
worshippers, faithfully performing the rites laid down in the scriptures, sacrifice to
thee, O giver of every wish! Thou art called the sheath within which the universe
lies. All created things live in thee. Like swans and ducks swimming on the
water, all the worlds that we see float in thee. Thou art Truth. Thou art One and
undeteriorating. Thou art Brahma, Thou art That which is beyond Mind and
Matter. Thou art without beginning, middle, and end. Neither the gods nor the
Rishis know thee. The gods, the Asuras, the Gandharvas, the Siddhas, the
Rishis, and the great Uragas with concentrated souls, always adore thee. Thou
art the great panacea for all sorrow. Thou art without birth and death. Thou art
Divine. Thou art self-created. Thou art eternal. Thou art invisible and beyond ken.
Thou art called Hari and Narayana, O puissant one. The Vedas declare thee to
be the Creator of the universe and the Lord of everything existing in the universe.
Thou art the Supreme protector of the universe. Thou knowest no deterioration
and thou art that which is called the highest. Thou art of the complexion of gold.
Thou art the slayer of Asuras. Though One, Aditi brought thee forth in twelve
forms.[143] Salutations to thee that art the soul of the Sun. Salutations to thee in
thy form of Soma that is spoken of as the chief of all the regenerate ones and
that gratifies with nectar the gods in the lighted fortnight and the Pitris in the dark
fortnight. Thou art the One Being of transcendent effulgence dwelling on the
other side of thick darkness. Knowing thee one ceases to have any fear of death.
Salutations to thee in that form which is an object of knowledge.[144] In the
grand Uktha sacrifice, the Brahmanas adore thee as the great Rich. In the great
fire-sacrifice, they sing thee as the chief Adhyaryu (priest). Thou art the soul of
the Vedas. Salutations to thee. The Richs, the Yajus, and the Samans are thy
abode.
Thou art the five kinds of sanctified libations (used in sacrifices). Thou art the
seven woofs used in the Vedas. Salutations to thee in thy form of Sacrifice.[145]
Libations are poured on the Homa fire in accompaniment with the seventeen
monosyllabic sounds. Thou art the soul of the Homa. Salutations to thee! Thou
art that Purusha whom the Vedas sing. Thy name is Yajus. The Vedic metres are
thy limbs. The sacrifices laid down in the three Vedas are thy three heads. The
great sacrifice called Rathantara is thy voice expressive of gratification.

Salutation to thee in thy form of sacred hymns! Thou art the Rishi that hadst
appeared in the great sacrifice extending for a thousand years performed by the
creators of the universe. Thou art the great swan with wings of gold. Salutations
to thee in thy form of a swan.[146] Roots with all kinds of affixes and suffixes are
thy limbs. The Sandhis are thy joints. The consonants and the vowels are thy
ornaments. The Vedas have declared thee to be the divine word. Salutations to
thee in thy form as the word![147] Assuming the form of a boar whose limbs were
constituted by sacrifice, thou hadst raised the submerged earth for the benefit of
the three worlds. Salutations to thee in thy form of infinite prowess! Thou
sleepest in Yoga on thy snake-decked sofa constituted by the thousand hoods
(of the Naga). Salutations to thee in thy form of sleep! Thou buildest the bridge
for the good (to cross the sea of life) with Truth, with those means by which
emancipation may be obtained, and with the means by which the senses may be
controlled. Salutations to thee in thy form of Truth! Men practising diverse creeds,
actuated by desire of diverse fruits worship thee with diverse rites. Salutations to
thee in thy form of Creed! From thee have all things sprung. It is thou that
excitest all creatures having physical frames containing the principle of desire.
Salutations to thee in thy form of Excitement. The great Rishis seek thy
unmanifest self within the manifest. Called Kshetrajna, thou sittest in Kshetra.
Salutations to thee in thy form of Kshetra![148] Thou always conscious and
present in self, the Sankhyas still describe thee as existing in the three states of
wakefulness, dream, and sound sleep. They further speak of thee as possessed
of sixteen attributes and representing the number seventeen. Salutations to thy
form as conceived by the Sankhyas![149] Casting off sleep, restraining breath,
withdrawn into their own selves, Yogins of restrained senses behold thee as
eternal light. Salutations to thee in thy Yoga form! Peaceful Sannyasins, freed
from fear of rebirth in consequence of the destruction of all their sins and merits,
obtain thee. Salutations to thee in thy form of emancipation![150] At the end of a
thousand Yugas, thou assumest the form of a fire with blazing flames and
consumest all creatures. Salutations to thee in thy form of fierceness! Having
consumed all creatures and making the universe one vast expanse of water, thou
sleepest on the waters in the form of a child. Salutations to thee in thy form as
Maya (illusion)! From the navel of the Self-born of eyes like lotus leaves, sprang
a lotus. On that lotus is established this universe. Salutations to thee in thy form
as lotus! Thou hast a thousand heads. Thou pervadest everything. Thou art of
immeasurable soul. Thou hast subjugated the four kinds of desire that are as
vast as the four oceans. Salutations to thee in thy form of Yoga-sleep! The
clouds are in the hair of thy head. The rivers are in the several joints of thy limbs.
The four oceans are in thy stomach. Salutations to thee in thy form as water!
Birth and the change represented by death spring from thee. All things, again, at
the universal dissolution dissolve away in thee. Salutations to thy form as cause!
Thou sleepest not in the night. Thou art occupied in day time also. Thou
observest the good and the bad actions (of all). Salutations to thee in thy form of
(universal) observer! There is no act which thou canst not do. Thou art, again,
ever ready to accomplish acts that are righteous. Salutations to thee in thy form
of Work, the form, viz., which is called Vaikuntha! In wrath thou hadst, in battle,

exterminated thrice seven times the Kshatriyas who had trampled virtue and
authority under their feet. Salutations to thee in thy form of Cruelty! Dividing
thyself into five portions thou hast become the five vital breaths that act within
everybody and cause every living creature to move. Salutations to thee in thy
form of air! Thou appearest in every Yuga in the form called month and season
and half-year and year, and art the cause of both creation and dissolution.
Salutations to thee in thy form of Time! Brahmanas are thy mouth, Kshatriyas
are thy two arms, Vaisyas are thy stomach and thighs, and Sudras live in thy
feet. Salutations to thee in thy form of caste! Fire constitute thy mouth. The
heavens are the crown of thy head. The sky is thy navel. The earth is thy feet.
The Sun is thy eye. The points of the compass are thy ears. Salutations to thee
in thy form as the (three) worlds! Thou art superior to Time. Thou art superior to
Sacrifice. Thou art higher than the highest. Thyself without origin, thou art the
origin of the universe. Salutations to thee in thy form as Universe! Men of the
world, according to the attributes ascribed to thee by the Vaiseshika theory,
regard thee as the Protector of the world. Salutations to thee in thy form of
Protector! Assuming the forms of food, drink, and fuel, thou increasest the
humours and the life-breaths of creatures and upholdest their existence.
Salutations to thee in thy form of life! For supporting the life-breaths thou eatest
the four kinds of food.[151] Assuming also the form of Agni within the stomach,
thou digestest that food. Salutations to thee in the form of digesting heat!
Assuming the form of half-man and half-lion, with tawny eyes and tawny manes,
with teeth and claws for thy weapons, thou hadst taken the life of the chief of the
Asuras. Salutations to thee in thy form of swelling might! Neither the gods, nor
the Gandharvas, nor the Daityas, nor the Danavas, know thee truly. Salutations
to thy form of exceeding subtility! Assuming the form of the handsome,
illustrious, and puissant Ananta in the nether region, thou upholdest the world.
Salutations to thy form of Might! Thou stupefiest all creatures by the bonds of
affection and love for the continuance of the creation. Salutations to thee in thy
form of stupefaction.[152] Regarding that knowledge which is conversant with the
five elements to be the true Self-knowledge (for which yogins strive), people
approach thee by knowledge! Salutations to thee in thy form of Knowledge! Thy
body is immeasurable. Thy understanding and eyes are devoted to everything.
Thou art infinite, being beyond all measures. Salutations to thee in thy form of
vastness! Thou hadst assumed the form of a recluse with matted locks on head,
staff in hand, a long stomach, and having thy begging bowl for thy quiver.
Salutations to thee in thy form of Brahma.[153] Thou bearest the trident, thou art
the lord of the celestials, thou hast three eyes, and thou art high-souled. Thy
body is always besmeared with ashes, and thy phallic emblem is always turned
upwards. Salutations to thee in thy form of Rudra! The half-moon forms the
ornament of thy forehead. Thou hast snakes for the holy thread circling thy neck.
Thou art armed with Pinaka and trident. Salutations to thy form of Fierceness!
Thou art the soul of all creatures. Thou art the Creator and the Destroyer of all
creatures. Thou art without wrath, without enmity, without affection. Salutations to
thee in thy form of Peace! Everything is in thee. Everything is from thee. Thyself
art Everything. Everywhere art thou. Thou art always the All. Salutations to thee

in thy form as Everything! Salutations to thee whose work is the universe, to thee
that art the soul of the universe, to thee from whom hath sprung the universe, to
thee that art the dissolution of all things, to thee that are beyond the five
(elements that constitute all things)! Salutations to thee that art the three worlds,
to thee that art above the three worlds! Salutations to thee that art all the
directions! Thou art all and thou art the one receptacle of All. Salutations to thee,
O divine Lord, O Vishnu, and O eternal origin of all the worlds! Thou, O
Hrishikesa, art the Creator, thou art the Destroyer, and thou art invincible. I
cannot behold that heavenly form in which thou art displayed in the Past,
Present, and the Future. I can, however, behold truly thy eternal form (as
manifest in thy works). Thou hast filled heaven with thy head, and the earth with
thy feet: with thy prowess thou hast filled the three worlds. Thou art Eternal and
thou pervadest everything in the universe. The directions are thy arms, the Sun is
thy eye, and prowess is thy vital fluid. Thou art the lord of all creatures. Thou
standest, shutting up the seven paths of the Wind whose energy is
immeasurable. They are freed from all feats that worship thee, O Govinda of
unfading prowess, thee that art attired in yellow robes of the colour of the Atasi
flower.[154] Even one bending of the head unto thee, O Krishna, is equal to the
completion of ten Horse-sacrifices. The man that has performed ten Horse-
sacrifices is not freed from the obligation of rebirth. The man, however, that bows
to Krishna escapes rebirth. They that have Krishna for their vow, they that think
of Krishna in the night, and upon rising from sleep, may be said to have Krishna
for their body. Those people (after death) enter Krishna‟s self even as libations
of clarified butter sanctified with mantras enter the blazing fire. Salutations to
thee that dispellest the fear of hell, to thee, O Vishnu, that art a boat unto them
that are plunged amid the eddies of the ocean represented by worldly life!
Salutations to thee, O God, that art the Brahmana‟s self, to thee that art the
benefactor of Brahmanas and kine, to thee that art the benefactor of the
universe, to thee that art Krishna and Govinda! The two syllables Hari constitute
the pecuniary stock of those that sojourn through the wilderness of life and the
medicine that effectually cures all worldly, predilections, besides being the means
that alleviate sorrow and grief.[155] As truth is full of Vishnu, as the universe is
full of Vishnu, as everything is full of Vishnu, so let my soul be full of Vishnu and
my sins be destroyed! I seek thy protection and am devoted to thee, desirous of
obtaining a happy end O thou of eyes like lotus petals, O best of gods, do thou
think of what will be for my good! Thyself without origin, O Vishnu, thou art the
origin of Knowledge and Penances. Thus art thou praised! O Janardana, thus
worshipped by me in the Sacrifice constituted by speech (alone), be, O god,
gratified with me! The Vedas are devoted to Narayana. Penances are devoted to
Narayana. The gods are devoted to Narayana. Everything is always Narayana!‟”
Vaisampayana continued, “Having uttered these words, Bhishma, with mind
concentrated upon Krishna, said, „Salutations to Krishna!‟ and bowed unto him.
Learning by his Yoga prowess of the devotion of Bhishma, Madhava, otherwise
called Hari, (entering his body) bestowed upon him heavenly knowledge
compassing the Past, the Present, and the Future, and went away. When
Bhishma became silent, those utterers of Brahma (that sat around him), with

voices choked in tears, adored that high-souled chief of the Kurus in excellent
words. Those foremost of Brahmanas uttered the praises of Krishna also, that
first of Beings, and then continued in soft voices to commend Bhishma
repeatedly. Learning (by his Yoga powers) of the devotion of Bhishma towards
him, that foremost of Beings, viz., Madhava, suddenly rose from his seat and
ascended on his car, Kesava and Satyaki proceeded on one car. On another
proceeded those two illustrious princes, viz., Yudhishthira and Dhananjaya.
Bhimasena and the twins rode on a third; while those bulls among men, Kripa
and Yuyutsu, and that scorcher of foes, Sanjaya of the Suta caste, proceeded on
their respective cars, each of which looked like a town. And all of them
proceeded, causing the earth to tremble with the rattle of their chariot-wheels.
That foremost of men, as he proceeded, cheerfully listened to the speeches,
fraught with his praise, that were uttered by the Brahmanas. The slayer of Kesi,
with gladdened heart, saluted the people that waited (along the streets) with
joined hands and bent heads.”
SECTION XLIX
Vaisampayana said, “Then Hrishikesa and king Yudhishthira, and all those
persons headed by Kripa, and the four Pandavas, riding on those cars looking
like fortified cities and decked with standards and banners, speedily proceeded to
Kurukshetra with the aid of their fleet steeds. They descended on that field which
was covered with hair and marrow and bones and where millions of high-souled
Kshatriyas had cast away their bodies. It abounded also with many a hill formed
of the bodies and bones of elephants and steeds, and human heads and skulls
lay stretched over it like conch-shells. Variegated with thousands of funeral pyres
and teeming with heaps of armour and weapons, the vast plain looked like the
drinking garden of the Destroyer himself used and abandoned recently. The
mighty car-warriors quickly proceeded, viewing the field of battle haunted by
crowds of spirits and thronged with Rakshasas. While proceeding, the mighty-
armed Kesava, that delighter of all the Yadavas, spoke unto Yudhishthira about
the prowess of Jamadagni‟s son, „Yonder, at a distance, O Partha, are seen the
five lakes of Rama! There Rama offered oblations of Kshatriya blood unto the
manes of his ancestors. It was hither that the puissant Rama, having freed the
earth of Kshatriya for thrice seven times, gave up his task.”
“Yudhishthira said,--„I have great doubts in what thou sayest about Rama‟s
having thrice seven times exterminated the Kshatriyas in days of old. When the
very Kshatriya seed was burnt by Rama, O bull among the Yadus, how was the
Kshatriya order revived, O thou of immeasurable prowess? How, O bull of the
Yadus, was the Kshatriya order exterminated by the illustrious and high-souled
Rama, and how did it again grow? In frightful car-encounters millions of
Kshatriyas were slain. The earth, O foremost of eloquent men, was strewn with
the corpses of Kshatriyas. For what reason was the Kshatriya order thus
exterminated in days of yore by Rama, the high-souled descendant of Bhrigu, O

tiger among the Yadus? O thou of Vrishni‟s race, remove this doubt of mine, O
bird-bannered hero! O Krishna, O younger brother of Baladeva, the highest
knowledge is from thee.‟”
Vaisampayana said,--“The puissant elder brother of Gada then narrated unto
Yudhishthira of incomparable prowess everything that happened, in full detail, as
to how the earth had become filled with Kshatriyas.”
SECTION L
“Vasudeva said, „Listen, O son of Kunti, to the story of Rama‟s energy and
powers and birth as heard by me from great Rishis discoursing upon the subject.
Listen to the story of how millions of Kshatriyas were slain by Jamadagni‟s son
and how those that sprung again in the diverse royal. races in Bharata were
again slaughtered. Jadu had a son named Rajas. Rajas had a son named
Valakaswa. King Valakaswa had a son named Kusika of righteous behaviour.
Resembling the thousand-eyed Indra on earth, Kusika underwent the austerest
of penances from desire of attaining the chief of the three worlds for a son.
Beholding him engaged in the austerest of penances and competent to beget a
son, the thousand-eyed Purandara himself inspired the king (with his force). The
great lord of the three worlds, the chastiser of Paka, O king, then became
Kusika‟s son known by the name of Gadhi. Gadhi had a daughter, O monarch, of
the name of Satyavati. The puissant Gadhi gave her (for wife) unto Richika, a
descendant of Bhrigu. Her lord of Bhrigu‟s race, O delighter of the Kurus,
became highly gratified with her for the purity of her behaviour. He cooked the
sacrificial food consisting of milk and rice for giving unto Gadhi (her sire) a son.
Calling his wife, Richika of Bhrigu‟s race said, „This portion of the sanctified food
should be taken by thee, and this (other) portion by thy mother. A son will be
born of her that will blaze with energy and be a bull among Kshatriyas. Invincible
by Kshatriyas on earth, he will be the slayer of the foremost of Kshatriyas. As
regards thee, O blessed lady, this portion of the food will give thee a son of great
wisdom, an embodiment of tranquillity, endued with ascetic penances, and the
foremost of Brahmanas. Having said these words unto his wife, the blessed
Richika of Bhrigu‟s race, setting his heart on penances, proceeded to the woods.
About this time, king Gadhi, resolved upon a pilgrimage to the holy waters,
arrived with his queen at the retreat, of Richika. Satyavati, upon this, O king,
taking the two portions of the sanctified food, cheerfully and in great haste,
represented the worlds of her lord unto her mother. The queen-mother, O son of
Kunti, gave the portion intended for herself unto her daughter, and herself took
from ignorance the portion intended for the latter. Upon this, Satyavati, her body
blazing with lustre, conceived a child of terrible form intended to become the
exterminator of the Kshatriyas. Beholding a Brahmana child lying within her
womb, that tiger among the Bhrigus said unto his wife of celestial beauty these
words: „Thou hast been deceived by the, mother, O blessed lady, in
consequence of the substitution of the sanctified morsels. Thy son will become a

person of cruel deeds and vindictive heart. Thy brother again (born of thy mother)
will be a Brahmana devoted to ascetic penances. Into the sanctified food
intended for thee had been placed the seed of the supreme and universal
Brahma, while into that intended for thy mother had been placed the sum total of
Kshatriya energy. In consequence, however, of the substitution of the two
portions, O blessed lady, that which had been intended will not happen. Thy
mother will obtain a Brahmana child while thou wilt obtain a son that will become
a Kshatriya.‟ Thus addressed by her lord, the highly blessed Satyavati prostrated
herself and placing her head at his feet, trembling, said, „It behoveth thee not, O
holy one, to speak such words unto me, viz., „Thou shalt obtain a wretch among
Brahmanas (for thy son).‟
“Richika said, „This was not intended by me, O blessed lady, in respect of thee. A
son of fierce deeds has been conceived by thee simply in consequence of the
substitution of the sanctified morsels.‟
“Satyavati replied saying, „If thou wishest, O sage, thou canst create other
worlds, what need then be said of a child? It behoveth thee, O puissant one, to
give me a son that shall be righteous and devoted to peace.‟
“Richika said, „Never was falsehood spoken by me before, O blessed lady, even
in jest. What need then be said of (such a solemn occasion as) preparing
sanctified food with the aid of Vedic formulae after igniting t. fire? It was ordained
of yore by Destiny, O amiable one! I have ascertained it all by my penances. All
the descendants of thy father will be possessed of Brahmanic virtues.‟
“Satyavati said, „O puissant one, let our grandson be such, but, O foremost of
ascetics, let me have a son of tranquil pursuits.‟
“Richika said, „O thou of the fairest complexion, there is no distinction, I conceive,
between a son and a grandson. It will be, O amiable one, as thou sayest.‟
“Vasudeva continued, „Then Satyavati brought forth a son in Bhrigu‟s race who
was devoted to penances and characterised by tranquil pursuits, viz., Jamadagni
of regulated vows. Kusika‟s son Gadhi begot a son named Viswamitra.
Possessed of every attribute of a Brahmana, that son (though born in the
Kshatriya order) was equal to a Brahmana. Richika (thus) begot Jamadagni, that
ocean of penances. Jamadagni begot a son of fierce deeds. The foremost of
men, that son mastered the sciences, including the science of arms. Like unto a
blazing fire, that son was Rama, the exterminator of the Kshatriyas. Having
gratified Mahadeva on the mountains of Gandhamadana, he begged weapons of
that great god, especially the axe of fierce energy in his hands. In consequence
of that unrivalled axe of fiery splendour and irresistible sharpness, he became
unrivalled on earth. Meanwhile the mighty son of Kritavirya, viz., Arjuna of the
Kshatriya order and ruler of the Haihayas, endued with great energy, highly
virtuous in behaviour, and possessed of a thousand arms through the grace of
(the great Rishi) Dattatreya, having subjugated in battle, by the might of his own
arms, the whole earth with her mountains and seven islands, became a very
powerful emperor and (at last) gave away the earth unto the Brahmanas in a
horse-sacrifice. On a certain occasion, solicited by the thirsty god of fire, O son of

Kunti, the thousand-armed monarch of great prowess gave alms unto that deity.
Springing from the point of his shafts, the god of fire, possessed of great energy,
desirous of consuming (what was offered), burnt villages and towns and
kingdoms and hamlets of cowherds. Through the prowess of that foremost of
men, viz., Kritavirya of great energy, the god of fire burnt mountains and great
forests. Assisted by the king of the Haihayas, the god of fire, caused by the wind
to blaze forth with energy consumed the uninhabited but delightful retreat of the
high-souled Apava. Possessed of great energy, Apava, O mighty-armed king,
seeing his retreat consumed by the powerful Kshatriya, cursed that monarch in
wrath, saying, „Since, O Arjuna, without excepting these my specious woods,
thou hast burnt them, therefore, Rama (of Bhrigu‟s race) will lop off thy
(thousand) arm. The mighty Arjuna, however, of great prowess, always devoted
to peace, ever regardful of Brahmanas and disposed to grant protection (unto all
class), and charitable and brave, O Bharata, did not think of that curse
denounced on him by that high-souled Rishis. His powerful sons, always haughty
and cruel, in consequence of that course, became the indirect cause of his death.
The princes, O bull of Bharata‟s race, seize and brought away the calf of
Jamadagni‟s homa cow, without the knowledge of Kritavirya, the ruler of the
Haihayas. For this reason a dispute took place between the high-souled
Jamadagni (and the Haihayas). The puissant Rama, the son of Jamadagni, filled
with wrath, lopped off the arms of Arjuna and brought back, O monarch, his sire‟s
calf which was wandering within the inner enclosures of the king‟s palace. Then
the foolish son of Arjuna, repairing together to the retreat of the high-souled
Jamadagni, felled with the points of their lances, O king, the head of the Rishi
from off his trunk while the celebrated Rama was out for fetching sacred fuel and
grass. Inflamed with wrath at the death of his father and inspired with vengeance,
Rama vowed to free the earth of Kshatriyas and took up arms. Then that tiger
among the Bhrigus, possessed of great energy, putting forth his prowess,
speedily slaughtered all the sons and grandsons of Kritavirya. Slaughtering
thousands of Haihayas in rage, the descendent of Bhrigu, O king, made the earth
miry with blood. Possessed of great energy, he quickly reft the earth of all
Kshatriyas. Filled then with compassion, he retired into the woods. Afterwards,
when some thousands of years had passed away, the puissant Rama, who was
wrathful by nature, had imputations cast upon him (of cowardice). The grandson
of Viswamitra and son of Raivya, possessed of great ascetic merit, named
Paravasu, O monarch, began to cast imputations on Rama in public, saying, „O
Rama, were not those righteous men, viz., Pratardana and others, who were
assembled at a sacrifice at the time of Yayati‟s fall, Kshatriyas by birth? Thou art
not of true vows, O Rama! Thine is an empty boast among people. Through fear
of Kshatriya heroes thou hast betaken thyself to the mountains. The descendant
of Bhrigu, hearing these words of Paravasu, once more took up arms and once
more strewed the earth with hundreds of Kshatriya bodies. Those Kshatriyas,
however, O king, counting by hundreds, that were spared by Rama, multiplied (in
time) and became mighty monarchs on earth. Rama once more slaughtered
them quickly, not sparing the very children, O king! Indeed, the earth became
once more strewn with the bodies of Kshatriya children of premature birth. As

soon as Kshatriya children were born, Rama slaughtered them. Some Kshatriya
ladies, however, succeeded in protecting their children (from Rama‟s wrath).
Having made the earth destitute of Kshatriyas for thrice seven times, the puissant
Bhargava, at the completion of a horse-sacrifice, gave away the earth as
sacrificial present unto Kasyapa. For preserving the remnant of the Kshatriyas,
Kasyapa, O king, pointing with his hand that still held the sacrificial ladle, said
these words, O great sage, repair to the shores of the southern ocean. It
behoveth thee not, O Rama, to reside within (what is) my dominion.‟ At these
words, Ocean suddenly created for Jamadagni‟s son, on his other shore, a
region called Surparaka. Kasyapa also, O monarch, having accepted the earth in
gift, and made a present of it unto the Brahmanas, entered the great forest.
Then Sudras and Vaisyas, acting most wilfully, began to unite themselves, O bull
of Bharata‟s race, with the wives of Brahmanas. When anarchy sets in on earth,
the weak are oppressed by the strong, and no man is master of his own property.
Unprotected duly by Kshatriyas observant of virtue, and oppressed by the wicked
in consequence of that disorder, the earth quickly sank to the lowest depths.
Beholding the earth sinking from fear, the high-souled Kasyapa held her on his
lap; and since the great Rishi held her on his lap (uru) therefore is the earth
known by the name of Urvi. The goddess earth, for protection‟s sake, gratified
Kasyapa and begged of him a king.
“The Earth said, „There are, O, regenerate one, some foremost of Kshatriyas
concealed by me among women. They were born in the race of Haihayas. Let
them, O sage, protect me. There is another person of Puru‟s race, viz.,
Viduratha‟s son, O puissant one, who has been brought up among bears in the
Rikshavat mountains. Another, viz., the son of Saudasa, has been protected,
through compassion, by Parasara of immeasurable energy and ever engaged in
sacrifices. Though born in one of the regenerate orders, yet like a Sudra he does
everything for that Rishi and has, therefore, been named Sarvakarman (servant
of all work). Sivi‟s son of great energy, viz., Gopati by name, has been brought
up in the forest among kine. Let him, O sage, protect me. Pratardana‟s son,
named Vatsa of great might, has been brought up among calves in a cowpen.
Let that one of the royal order protect me. Dadhivahana‟s grandson and
Diviratha‟s son was concealed and protected on the banks of Ganga by the sage
Gautama. His name is Vrihadratha. Possessed of great energy and adorned with
numerous blessed qualities, that blessed prince has been protected by wolves
and the mountains of Gridhrakuta. Many Kshatriyas belonging to the race of
Maratta have been protected. Equal unto the lord of Maruts in energy, they have
been brought up by Ocean. These children of the Kshatriya order have been
heard of as existing in different places. They are living among artisans and
goldsmiths. If they protect me I shall then stay unmoved. Their sires and
grandsires have been slain for my sake by Rama Of great prowess. It is my duty,
O great sage, to see that their funeral rites are duly performed. I do not desire
that I should be protected by my present rulers. Do thou, O sage, speedily make
such arrangements that I may exist (as before).‟
“Vasudeva continued, „The sage Kasyapa then, seeking out those Kshatriyas of
great energy whom the goddess had indicated, installed them duly as kings (for

protecting her). Those Kshatriya races that are now extent are the progeny of
those princes. That which thou hast questioned me, O son of Panda, happened
in days of yore even thus.‟
“Vaisampayana continued, „Conversing thus with Yudhishthira, that foremost of
righteous persons, the high-souled Yadava hero proceeded quickly on that car,
illumining all the points of the compass like the divine Surya himself.‟”
SECTION LI
“Vaisampayana said, „King Yudhishthira, hearing of those feats of Rama,
became filled with wonder and said unto Janardana, O thou of Vrishni‟s race, the
prowess of the high-souled Rama, who in wrath had freed the earth of
Kshatriyas, was like that of Sakra himself. The scions of Kshatriyas, troubled with
the fear of Rama, were concealed (and brought up) by kine, Ocean, leopards,
bears and apes. Worthy of every praise is this world of men and fortunate are
they that reside in it where a feat, that, was again so righteous, was
accomplished by a. Brahmana.‟ After this discourse was ended, those two
illustrious persons, viz., Krishna of unfading glory and Yudhishthira proceeded
thither where the puissant son of Ganga lay on his bed of arrows. They then
beheld Bhishma stretched on his arrowy bed and resembling in splendour the
evening San covered with his own rays. The Kuru hero was surrounded by many
ascetics like he of a hundred sacrifices by the deities of heaven. The spot on
which he lay was highly sacred, being situate on the banks of the river Oghavati.
Beholding him from a distance, Krishna and Dharma‟s royal son, and the four
Pandavas, and the other headed by Saradwat, alighted from their vehicles and
collecting their restless minds and concentrating all their senses, approached the
great Rishis. Saluting those foremost of Rishis headed by Vyasa. Govinda and
Satyaki and the others approached the son of Ganga. Beholding Ganga‟s son of
great ascetic merit, the Yadu and Kuru princes, those foremost of men, took their
seats, surrounding him. Seeing Bhishma looking like a fire about to die out,
Kesava with a rather cheerless heart addressed him as follows.‟
“Kesava said, „Are thy perceptions now as clear as before? I hope thy
understanding, O foremost of eloquent men, is not clouded. I hope thy limbs are
not tortured by the pain arising from the wounds by shafts. From mental grief
also the body becomes weak. In consequences of the boon granted to thee by
thy sire, the righteous Santanu, thy death, O puissant hero, depends on thy own
will. I myself have not that merit in consequence of which thou hast obtained this
boon. The minutest pin (inserted) within the body produces pain. What need then
be said, O king, of hundreds of arrows that have pierced thee? Surely, pain
cannot be said to afflict thee. Thou art competent, O Bharata, to instruct the very
gods regarding the origin and dissolution of living creatures. Possessed of great
knowledge, everything belonging to the Past, the Future, and the Present, is well
known to thee. The dissolution of created beings and the reward of
righteousness are well known to thee, O thou of great wisdom, for thou art an

ocean of virtue and duty. While living in the enjoyment of swelling sovereignty, I
beheld thee forgo female intercourse though sound of limbs and perfectly hale
and though surrounded by female companions. Except Santanu‟s son Bhishma
of great energy and firmly devoted to righteousness, possessed of heroism and
having virtue for the only object of his pursuit, we have never heard of any other
person in the three worlds that could, by his ascetic power, though lying on a bed
of arrows and at the point of death, still have such a complete mastery over
death (as to keep it thus at bay). We have never heard of anybody else that was
so devoted to truth, to penances, to gifts, to the performances of sacrifices, to the
science of arms, to the Vedas, and to the protection of persons soliciting
protection, and that was so harmless to all creatures, so pure in behaviour, so
self-restrained, and so bent upon the good of all creatures, and that was also so
great a car-warrior as thee. Without doubt, thou art competent to subjugate, on a
single car, the gods, Gandharvas, Asuras, Yakshas, and Rakshasas. O mighty-
armed Bhishma, thou art always spoken of by the Brahmanas as the ninth of the
Vasus. By thy virtues, however, thou hast surpassed them all and art equal unto
Vasava himself. I know, O best of persons, that thou art celebrated for thy
prowess, O foremost of beings, among even the very gods. Among men on
earth, O foremost of men, we have never seen nor heard of any one possessed
of such attributes as thee. O thou of the royal order, thou surpassest the gods
themselves in respect of every attribute. By thy ascetic power thou canst create
a universe of mobile and immobile creatures. What need then be said of thy
having acquired many blessed regions by means of thy foremost of virtues?
Dispel now the grief of the eldest son of Panda who is burning with sorrow on
account of the slaughter of his kinsmen. All the duties that have been declared in
respect of the four orders about the four modes of life are well known to thee.
Everything again that is indicated in the four branches of knowledge, in the four
Hotras, O Bharata, as also those eternal duties that are laid down in Yoga and
Sankhya philosophy, the duties too of the four orders and these duties that are
not inconsistent with their declared practices,--all these, along with their
interpretations, O son of Ganga, are known to thee. The duties that have been
laid down for those sprang from an intermixture of the four orders and those laid
down for particular countries and tribes and families, and those declared by the
Vedas and by men of wisdom, are all well known to thee. The subjects of
histories and the Puranas are all known to thee. All the scriptures treating of duty
and practice dwell in thy mind. Save thee, O bull among men, there is no other
person that can remove the doubts that may arise in respect of those subjects of
knowledge that are studied in the world. With the aid of thy intelligence, do thou,
O prince of men, drive the sorrow felt by the son of Pandu. Persons possessed of
so great and such varied knowledge live only for comforting men whose minds
have been stupefied.‟
“Vaisampayana said, „Hearing those words of Vasudeva of great intelligence,
Bhishma, raising his head a little, said these words with joined hands.‟
“Bhishma said, „Salutations to thee, O divine Krishna! Thou art the origin and
thou art the dissolution of all the worlds. Thou art the Creator and thou art the
Destroyer. Thou, O Hrishikesa, art incapable of being vanquished by any one.

The universe is the handiwork. Thou art the soul of the universe and the universe
hath sprung from thee. Salutations to thee! Thou art the end of all created things.
Thou art above the five elements. Salutations to thee that art the three worlds
and that art again above the three worlds. O lord of Yogins, salutations to thee
that art the refuge of everything. O foremost of beings, those words which thou
hast said regarding me have enabled me to behold thy divine attributes as
manifest in the three worlds. (In consequence of that kindness), O Govinda, I
also behold thy eternal form. Thou standest shutting up the seven paths of the
Wind possessed of immeasurable energy. The firmament is occupied by thy
head, and the earth by thy feet. The points of the compass are thy two arms, and
the Sun is thy eye, and Sakra constitutes thy prowess. O thou of unfading glory,
thy Person, attired in yellow robes that resemble the hue of the Atasi flower,
seem to us to be like a cloud charged with flashing of lightning. Think of that, O
best of gods, which would be good, O thou of lotus eyes, for my humble self, that
am devoted to thee, that seek thy protection, and that am desirous of obtaining a
blissful end.‟
“Vasudeva said, „Since, O bull among men, thy devotion to me is very great, for
this, O prince, I have displayed my celestial form to thee. I do not, O foremost of
kings, display myself unto one that is not devoted to me, or unto a devotee that is
not sincere, or unto one, O Bharata, that is not of restrained soul. Thou art
devoted to me and art always observant of righteousness. Of a pure heart, thou
art always self-restrained and ever observant of penances and gifts. Through thy
own penances, O Bhishma, thou art competent to behold me. Those regions, O
king, are ready for thee whence there is no return.[156] Six and fifty days, O
foremost one of Kuru‟s race, still remain for thee to live! Casting off thy body,
thou shalt then, O Bhishma, obtain the blessed reward of thy acts. Behold, those
deities and the Vasus, all endued with forms of fiery splendour, riding on their
cars, are waiting for thee invisibly till the moment of the sun‟s entering on
northerly course. Subject to universal time, when the divine Surya turns to his
northerly course, thou, O foremost of men, shalt go to those regions whence no
man of knowledge ever returns to this earth! When thou, O Bhishma, wilt leave
this world for that, all Knowledge, O hero, will expire with thee. It is for this, that
all these persons, assembled together, have approached thee for listening to
discourses on duty and morality. Do thou then speak words of truth, fraught with
morality and Yoga, unto Yudhishthira who as firm in truth but whose learning has
been clouded by grief on account of the slaughter of his kinsmen, and do thou,
by this, quickly dispel that grief of his!‟
SECTION LII
“Vaisampayana said, „Hearing these words of Krishna fraught with Morality and
profit, Santanu‟s Bhishma, answered him in the following words.
“Bhishma said, „O master of all the worlds, O mighty-armed one, O Siva, O
Narayana, O thou of unfading glory, hearing the words spoken by thee I have

been filled with joy. But what words (of instruction), O master of speech, can I
say in thy presence, when especially in all the subjects of speech have been
dealt with in the speech?[157] Whatever in either world should be done or is
done, proceeds from thy intelligent self, O god! That person who is competent to
discourse on the subject of heaven in the presence of the chief of the gods
himself is competent to discourse on the interpretation of morality and pleasure
and profit and salvation in thy presence. My mind, O slayer of Madhu, is
exceedingly agitated by the pain of arrow-wounds. My limbs are weak. My
understanding is not clear. I am so afflicted, O Govinda, by these shafts
resembling poison or fire that I have not power to utter anything. My strength is
abandoning me. My life-breaths are hastening to leave me. The very vitals of my
body are burning. My understanding is clouded. From weakness my utterance is
becoming indistinct. How then can I venture to speak? O enhancer of (the glory
of) Dasarha‟s race, be gratified with me. O mighty-armed one, I will not say
anything. Pardon me (for my unwillingness). The very master of speech
(Vrihaspati), in speaking in thy presence, will be overcome by hesitation. I cannot
any longer distinguish the points of the compass, nor the sky from the earth!
Through thy energy, O slayer of Madhu, I am only barely alive. Do thou,
therefore, thyself speak for the good of king Yudhishthira the just, for thou art the
ordainer of all the ordinances. How, O Krishna, when thou, the eternal creator of
the universe, art present, can one like me speak (on such subjects) like a disciple
in the presence of the preceptor?‟
“Vasudeva said, „The words spoken by thee are worthy of thee that art the
foremost one of Kuru‟s race, thee that art endued with great energy, thee that art
of great soul, and thee that art possessed of great patience and conversant with
every subject. Regarding what hast thou said unto me about the pain of thy
arrow-wounds, receive, O Bhishma, this boon that I grant thee, O puissant one,
from my grace. Discomfort and stupefaction and burning and pain and hunger
and thirst shall not, O son of Ganga, overcome thee, O thou of unfading glory!
Thy perceptions and memory, O sinless one, shall be unclouded.[158] The
understanding shall not fail thee. The mind, O Bhishma, freed from the qualities
of passion and darkness, will always be subject to the quality of goodness, like
the moon emerged from the clouds. Thy understanding will penetrate whatever
subject connected with duty, morality, or profit, thou wilt think upon. O tiger
among kings, obtaining celestial vision, thou wilt, O thou of immeasurable
prowess, succeed in beholding the four orders of created things. Endued with the
eye of knowledge, thou wilt, O Bhishma, behold, like fishes in a limpid stream, all
created things that thou mayst endeavour to recollect!‟
“Vaisampayana continued, „Then those great Rishis, with Vyasa amongst them,
adored Krishna with hymns from the Richs, the Yajuses, and the Samans. A
celestial shower of flowers belonging to every season fell on that spot where he
of Vrishni‟s race, with Ganga‟s son and the son of Pandu were. Celestial
instruments of every kind played in the welkin and the tribes of Apsaras began to
sing. Nothing of evil and no portent of any evil kind were seen there. An
auspicious, pleasant, and pure breeze, bearing every kind of fragrance, began to
blow. All the points of the compass became clear and quiet, and all the animals

and birds began to rove in peace. Soon after, like a fire at the extremity of a great
forest, the divine Surya of a thousand rays was seen to descend to the west. The
great Rishis then, rising up, saluted Janardana and Bhishma and king
Yudhishthira. Upon this, Kesava, and the sons of Pandu, and Satyaki, and
Sanjaya, and Saradwata‟s son Kripa, bowed in reverence to those sages.
Devoted to the practice of righteousness, those sages, thus worshipped by
Kesava and others, speedily proceeded to their respective abodes, saying, „We
will return tomorrow.‟ After this, Kesava and the Pandavas, saluting Bhishma and
circumambulating him, ascended their handsome cars. Those heroes then
proceeded, accompanied by many other cars decked with golden Kuvaras, and
infuriated elephants looking like mountains and steeds fleet as Garudas, and
foot-soldiers armed with bows and weapons. That army, moving with great
speed, proceeded in two divisions, one in the van and the other in the rear of
those princes. The scene resembled the two currents of the great river Narmada
at the point where it is divided by the Rikshavat mountains standing across it.
Gladdening that great host, the divine Chandramas rose before it in the
firmament, once more inspiring with moisture, by his own force, the terrestrial
herbs and plants whose juice had been sucked up by the Sun. Then that bull of
Yadu‟s race and the sons of Pandu, entering the (Kuru) city whose splendour
resembled that of the city of Indra itself, proceeded to their respective mansions
like tired lions seeking their caves.‟”
SECTION LIII
“Vaisampayana said, „The slayer of Madhu, retiring to his bed, slept happily.
Awaking when half a Yama was wanting to usher in the day, he addressed
himself to contemplation. Fixing all his senses, he meditated on the eternal
Brahma. Then a batch of well-trained and sweet-voiced persons, conversant with
hymns and the Puranas, began to utter the praises of Vasudeva, that lord of all
creatures and creator of the universe. Others, marking time by clapping of hands,
began to recite sweet hymns, and vocalists began to sing. Conch-shells and
drums were blown and beaten by thousands. The delightful sound of Vinas,
Panavas, and bamboo flutes was heard. The spacious mansion of Krishna, in
consequence thereof, seemed to laugh with music. In the palace of king
Yudhishthira also sweet voices were heard, uttering auspicious wishes, and the
sound of songs too and musical instruments. Then he of Dasarha‟s race
performed his ablutions. Joining his hands, the mighty-armed hero of unfading
glory silently recited his secret mantras, and kindling a fire poured libations of
clarified butter upon it. Giving away a thousand kine unto a thousand Brahmanas
all of whom were fully conversant with the four Vedas, he caused them to utter
benedictions upon him. Touching next diverse kinds of auspicious articles and
beholding himself in a clear mirror, Krishna addressed Satyaki, saying, „Go, O
descendant of Sini, and repairing to Yudhishthira‟s abode, ascertain whether that
king of great energy is dressed for visiting Bhishma.‟ At these words of Krishna,
Satyaki, proceeding quickly to the royal son of Pandu, said unto him, „The

foremost of cars, belonging to Vasudeva of great intelligence, stands ready, O
king, for Janardana will go to see Ganga‟s son. O righteous king of great
splendour, he is waiting for thee. It behoveth thee now to do what should be done
next.‟ Thus addressed, Dharma‟s son Yudhishthira answered as follows.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „O Phalguna of unrivalled splendour, let my foremost of cars
be made ready. We should not be accompanied (today) by the soldiers, but we
shall proceed ourselves. That foremost of righteous persons, Bhishma, should
not be vexed. Let the guards, therefore, O Dhananjaya, stop today. From this day
Ganga‟s son will speak of things that are great mysteries. I do not therefore, O
son of Kunti, wish that there should be a miscellaneous gathering (in Bhishma‟s
presence).‟
“Vaisampayana continued, „Hearing these words of the king, Kunti‟s son
Dhananjaya, that foremost of men (went out and coming back) represented unto
him that his best of cars stood harnessed for him. King Yudhishthira, and the
twins, and Bhima and Arjuna, the five resembling the five elements, then
proceeded towards Krishna‟s abode. While the high-souled Pandavas were
coming, Krishna of great intelligence, accompanied by the grandson of Sini,
mounted on his car. Saluting one another from their cars and each enquiring of
the other whether the night had been passed happily by him, those bulls among
men proceeded, without stopping on those foremost of cars whose rattle
resembled the roar of the clouds. Krishna‟s steeds, viz., Valahaka and
Meghapushpa and Saivya and Sugriva were urged by Daruka. The animals,
urged by him, O king, proceeded, indenting the earth with their hoofs. Endued
with great strength and great speed, they flew onwards, devouring the very skies.
Traversing the sacred field of Kuru, the princes proceeded to that spot where the
puissant Bhishma on his bed of arrows was lying, surrounded by those great
Rishis, like Brahman himself in the midst of the gods. Then Govinda and
Yudhishthira and Bhima and the wielder of Gandiva and the twins and Satyaki,
alighting from their vehicles, saluted the Rishis by raising their right hands.
Surrounded by them, king Yudhishthira like the moon in the midst of the stars
approached Ganga‟s son like Vasava proceeding towards Brahman. Overcome
with fear, the king timidly cast his eyes on the mighty-armed hero lying on his bed
of arrows like the Sun himself dropped from the firmament.‟”
SECTION LIV
“Janamejaya said, „When that tiger among men, of righteous soul and great
energy, firmly adhering to truth and with passions under complete control, viz.,
the son of Santanu and Ganga, named Devavrata or Bhishma of unfading glory,
lay on a hero‟s bed with the sons of Pandu sitting around him, tell me, O great
sage, what converse ensued in that meeting of heroes after the slaughter of the
troops.‟
“Vaisampayana said, „When Bhishma that chief of the Kurus, lay on his bed of
arrows, many Rishis and Siddhas, O king, headed by Narada, came to that spot.

The unslain remnant of the (assembled) kings with Yudhishthira at their head,
and Dhritarashtra and Krishna and Bhima and Arjuna and the twins also came
there. Those high-souled persons, approaching the grandsire of the Bharatas
who looked like the Sun himself dropped from the firmament, indulged in
lamentations for him. Then Narada of godlike features reflecting for a short while,
addressed all the Pandavas and the unslain remnant of the kings saying, „The
time, I think, has come for you to question Bhishma (on subject of morality and
religion), for Ganga‟s son is about to expire like the Sun that is on the point of
setting. He is about to cast off his life-breaths. Do you all, therefore, solicit him to
discourse to you? He is acquainted with the varied duties of all the four orders.
Old in years, after abandoning his body he will obtain high regions of bliss. Solicit
him, therefore, without delay, to clear the doubts that exists in your minds.‟ Thus
addressed by Narada, those princes approached Bhishma, but unable to ask him
anything, looked at one another. Then Yudhishthira the son of Pandu, addressing
Hrishikesa said, “There is no one else than Devaki‟s son that can question the
grandsire. O foremost one of Yadu‟s race, do thou, therefore, O slayer of
Madhu, speak first. Thou, O sire, art the foremost of us all and thou art
conversant with every duty and practice.” Thus addressed by the son of Pandu,
the illustrious Kesava of unfading glory, approaching the unconquerable
Bhishma, spoke unto him as follows.‟
“Vasudeva said, „Hast thou, O best of kings, passed the night happily? Has thy
understanding become unclouded? Does thy knowledge, O sinless one, shine in
thee by inward light? I hope thy heart no longer feels pain and thy mind is no
longer agitated.‟
“Bhishma said, „Burning, stupefaction, fatigue, exhaustion, illness, and pain,
through thy grace, O thou of Vrishni‟s race, have all left me in a single day. O
thou of incomparable splendour, all that is past, all that is future, and all that is
present, I behold as clearly as a fruit placed in my hands. All the duties declared
in the Vedas, all those laid down in the Vedantas, I behold clearly, O thou of
unfading glory, in consequence of the boon thou hast granted to me. The duties
that have been declared by persons of learning and righteous behaviour, dwell in
my remembrance. I am conversant also, O Janardana, with the duties and
practices prevailing in particular countries and among particular tribes and
families. Everything relating again to the four modes of life has come back to my
recollection. I am acquainted also, O Kesava, with the duties that relate to king-
craft. Whatever should at whatever time be said, I would say, O Janardana!
Through thy grace, I have acquired an auspicious understanding. Strengthened
by meditation on thee, feel as if I have become a young man again. Through thy
favour, O Janardana, I have become competent to discourse on what is
beneficial (for the world). Why, however, O holy one, dost thou not thyself
discourse to Pandu‟s son upon all that is good? What explanation hast thou to
give in respect of this? Tell me quickly, O Madhava!‟
“Vasudeva said, „Know, O thou of Kuru‟s race, that I am the root of fame and of
everything that leads to good. All things, good or bad, proceed from me. Who on
earth will wonder if the moon be said to be of cool rays? Similarly, who will

wonder if I were described as one possessed of the full measure of fame?[159] I
have, however, resolved to enhance thy fame, O thou of great splendour! It is for
this, O Bhishma, that I have just inspired thee with great intelligence. As long, O
lord of earth, as the earth will last, so long will thy fame travel with undiminished
lustre through all the worlds. Whatever, O Bhishma, thou wilt say unto the
inquiring son of Pandu, will be regarded on earth to be as authoritative as the
declarations of that Vedas. That person who will conduct himself here according
to the authority of thy declarations, will obtain hereafter the reward of every
meritorious act. For this reason, O Bhishma, I have imparted to thee celestial
understanding so that thy fame maybe enhanced on earth. As long as a man‟s
fame lasts in the world, so long are his achievements said to live. The unslain
remnant of the (assembled) kings are sitting around thee, desirous of listening to
thy discourses on morality and duty. Do thou speak unto them, O Bharata! Thou
art old in years and thy behaviour is consistent with the ordinance of the Srutis.
Thou art well conversant with the duties of kings and with every other science of
duty. No one has ever noticed the slightest transgression in thee from thy every
birth. All the kings know thee to be conversant with all the sciences of morality
and duty. Like a sire unto his sons do thou, therefore, O king, discourse unto
them of high morality. Thou hast always worshipped the Rishis and the gods. It is
obligatory on thee to discourse on these subjects in detail unto persons desirous
of listening to discourse on morality and duty. A learned person, especially when
solicited by the righteous, should discourse on the same. The sages have
declared this to be a duty. O puissant one, if thou dost not speak on such
subjects, thou wilt incur sin. Therefore, questioned by thy sons and grandsons, O
learned one, about the eternal duties (of men), do thou, O bull among the
Bharatas, discourse upon them on the subject.‟”
SECTION LV
“Vaisampayana said, „Endued with great energy, the delighter of the Kurus (viz.,
Bhishma), said, „I shall discourse on the subject of duty. My speech and mind
have become steady, through thy grace, O Govinda, since thou art the eternal
soul of every being. Let the righteous-souled Yudhishthira question me about
morality and duty. I shall then be much gratified and shall speak of all duties. Let
the son of Pandu, that royal sage of virtuous and great soul, upon whose birth all
the Vrishnis were filled with joy, question me. Let the son of Pandu, who has no
equal among all the Kurus, among all persons of righteous behaviour, and
among men of great celebrity, put questions to me. Let the son of Pandu, in
whom are intelligence, self-restraint, Brahmacharya, forgiveness, righteousness,
mental vigour and energy, put questions to me. Let the son of Pandu, who
always by his good offices honours his relatives and guests and servants and
others that are dependent on him, put questions to me. Let the son of Pandu, in
whom are truth and charity and penances, heroism, peacefulness, cleverness,
and fearlessness, put questions to me. Let the righteous-souled son of Pandu,
who would never commit a sin influenced by desire of Pleasure or Profit or from

fear put questions to me. Let the son of Pandu, who is ever devoted to truth, to
forgiveness, to knowledge and to guests, and who always makes gifts unto the
righteous, put questions to me. Let the son of Pandu, who is ever engaged in
sacrifices and study of the Vedas and the practice of morality and duty who is
ever peaceful and who has heard all mysteries, put questions to me.‟
“Vasudeva said, „King Yudhishthira the just, overcome with great shame and
fearful of (thy) curse, does not venture to approach thee. That lord of earth, O
monarch, having caused a great slaughter, ventures not to approach thee from
fear of (thy) curse. Having pierced with shafts those that deserved his worship,
those that were devoted to him, those that were his preceptors, those that were
his relatives and kinsmen and those that were worthy of his highest regard, he
ventures not to approach thee.‟
“Bhishma said, „As the duty of the Brahmanas consists of the practice of charity,
study, and penances, so the duty of Kshatriyas is to cast away their bodies, O
Krishna, in battle. A Kshatriya should stay sires and grandsires and brothers and
preceptors and relatives and kinsmen that may engage with him in unjust battle.
This is their declared duty. That Kshatriya, O Kesava, is said to be acquainted
with his duty who slays in battle his very preceptors if they happen to be sinful
and covetous and disregardful of restraints and vows. That Kshatriya is said to
be acquainted with his duty who slays in battle the person that from
covetousness disregards the eternal barriers of virtue.[160] That Kshatriya is said
to be acquainted with duty who in battle makes the earth a lake of blood, having
the hair of slain warriors for the grass and straw floating on it, and having
elephants for its rocks, and standards for the trees on its banks. A Kshatriya,
when challenged, should always fight in battle, since Manu has said that a
righteous battle (in the case of a Kshatriya) leads to both heaven and fame on
earth.‟
“Vaisampayana continued, „After Bhishma had spoken thus, Dharma‟s son
Yudhishthira, with great humility, approached the Kuru hero and stood in his
sight. He seized the feet of Bhishma who in return gladdened him with
affectionate words. Smelling his head, Bhishma asked Yudhishthira to take his
seat. Then Ganga‟s son, that foremost of bowmen, addressed Yudhishthira,
saying, „Do not fear, O best of the Kurus! Ask me, O child, without any anxiety.‟”
SECTION LVI
Vaisampayana said, „Having bowed unto Hrishikesa, and saluted Bhishma, and
taken the permission of all the seniors assembled there, Yudhishthira began to
put questions unto Bhishma.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „Persons conversant with duty and morality say that kingly
duties constitute the highest science of duty. I also think that the burden of those
duties is exceedingly onerous. Do thou, therefore, O king, discourse on those
duties. O grandsire, do thou speak in detail on the duties of kings. The science of

kingly duties is the refuge of the whole world of life. O thou of Kuru‟s race,
Morality, Profit, and Pleasure are dependent on kingly duties. It is also clear that
the practices that lead to emancipation are equally dependent on them. As the
reins are in respect of the steed or the iron hook in respect of the elephant, even
so the science of kingly duties constitutes the reins for checking the world. If one
becomes stupefied in respect of the duties observed by royal sages, disorder
would set in on the earth and everything will become confused. As the Sun,
rising, dispels inauspicious darkness, so this science destroys every kind of evil
consequence in respect of the world. Therefore, O grandsire, do thou, for my
sake, discourse on kingly duties in the first instance, for thou, O chief of the
Bharatas, art the foremost of all persons conversant with duties. O scorcher of
foes, Vasudeva regards thee as the first of all intelligent persons. Therefore, all of
us expect the highest knowledge from thee.‟
“Bhishma said, „Bowing unto Dharma who is Supreme, unto Krishna who is
Brahma in full, and unto the Brahmanas, I shall discourse on the eternal duties
(of men). Hear from me, O Yudhishthira, with concentrated attention, the whole
range of kingly duties described with accurate details, and other duties that you
mayst desire to know. In the first place, O foremost one of Kuru‟s race, the king
should, from desire of pleasing (his subjects), wait with humility upon the gods
and the Brahmanas, always bearing himself agreeably to the ordinance. By
worshipping the deities and the Brahmanas, O perpetuator of Kuru‟s race, the
king pays off his debt to duty and morality, and receives the respect of his
subjects. O son, thou shouldst always exert with promptitude, O Yudhishthira, for
without promptitude of exertion mere destiny never accomplishes the objects
cherished by kings. These two, viz., exertion and destiny, are equal (in their
operation). Of them, I regard exertion to be superior, for destiny is ascertained
from the results of what is begun with exertion. Do not indulge in grief if what is
commenced ends disastrously, for thou shouldst then exert thyself in the same
act with redoubled attention. This is the high duty of kings. There is nothing which
contributes so much to the success of kings as Truth. The king who is devoted to
Truth finds happiness both here and hereafter. As regards Rishis also, O king,
Truth is their great wealth. Similarly, as regards kings, there is nothing that so
much inspires confidence in them as Truth. The king that is possessed of every
accomplishment and good behaviour, that is self-restrained, humble, and
righteous, that has his passions under control, that is of handsome features and
not too enquiring,[161] never loses prosperity. By administering justice, by
attending to these three, viz., concealment of his own weaknesses,
ascertainment of the weaknesses of foes, and keeping his own counsels, as also
by the observance of conduct that is straightforward, the king, O delighter of the
Kurus, obtains prosperity. If the king becomes mild, everybody disregards him
On the other hand, if he becomes fierce, his subjects then become troubled.
Therefore, do thou observe both kinds of behaviour. O foremost of liberal men,
the Brahmanas should never be punished by thee, for the Brahmana, O son of
Pandu, is the foremost of beings on the Earth. The high-souled Manu, O king of
kings, that sung two Slokas. In respect of thy duties, O thou of Kuru‟s race, thou
shouldst always bear them in mind. Fire hath sprung from water, the Kshatriya

from the Brahmana, and iron from stone. The three (viz., fire, Kshatriya and iron)
can exert their force on every other thing, but coming into contact with their
respective progenitors, their force becomes neutralised. When iron strikes stone,
or fire battles with water, or Kshatriya cherishes enmity towards Brahmana, these
three soon become weak. When this is so, O monarch, (you will see that) the
Brahmanas are worthy of worship. They that are foremost among the Brahmanas
are gods on earth. Duly worshipped, they uphold the Vedas and the Sacrifices.
But they, O tiger among kings, that desire to have such honour however much
they may be impediments to the three worlds, should ever be repressed by the
might of thy arms. The great Rishi Usanas, O son, sang two Slokas in days of
old. Listen to them, O king, with concentrated attention. The righteous Kshatriya,
mindful of his duties, should chastise a Brahmana that may be a very master of
the Vedas if he rushes to battle with an uplifted weapon. The Kshatriya,
conversant with duties, that upholds righteousness when it is trespassed against,
does not, by that act, become a sinner, for the wrath of the assailant justifies the
wrath of the chastiser. Subject to these restrictions, O tiger among kings, the
Brahmanas should be protected. If they become offenders, they should then be
exiled beyond thy dominions. Even when deserving of punishment, thou
shouldst, O kings, show them compassion. If a Brahmana becomes guilty of
Brahmanicide, or of violating the bed of his preceptor or other revered senior, or
of causing miscarriage, or of treason against the king, his punishment should be
banishment from thy dominions. No corporal chastisement is laid down for them.
Those persons that show respect towards the Brahmanas should be favoured by
thee (with offices in the state). There is no treasure more valuable to kings than
that which consists in the selection and assemblage of servants. Among the six
kinds of citadels indicated in the scriptures, indeed among every kind of citadel,
that which consists of (the ready service and the love of the) subjects is the most
impregnable. Therefore, the king who is possessed of wisdom should always
show compassion towards the four orders of his subjects. The king who is of
righteous soul and truthful speech succeeds in gratifying his subjects. Thou must
not, however, O son always behave with forgiveness towards everybody, for the
king that is mild is regarded as the worst of his kind like an elephant that is reft of
fierceness. In the scriptures composed by Vrihaspati, a Sloka was in days of old
applicable to the present matter. Hear it, O king as I recite it. „If the king happens
to be always forgiving, the lowest of persons prevails over him, even as the driver
who sits on the head of the elephant he guides.‟ The king, therefore, should not
always be mild. Nor should he always be fierce. He should be like the vernal
Sun, neither cold nor so hot as to produce perspiration. By the direct evidence of
the senses, by conjecture, by comparisons, and by the canons, of the scriptures
O monarch, the king should Study friends and foes. O thou of great liberality,
thou shouldst avoid all those evil practices that are called Vyasanas. It is not
necessary that thou shouldst never indulge in them. What, however, is needed is
that thou shouldst not be attached to them. He that is attached to those practices
is prevailed over by everyone. The king who cherishes no love for his people
inspires the latter with anxiety. The king should always bear himself towards his
subjects as a mother towards the child of her womb. Hear, O monarch, the

reason why this becomes desirable. As the mother, disregarding those objects
that are most cherished by her, seeks the good of her child alone, even so,
without doubt, should kings conduct themselves (towards their subjects). The
king that is righteous, O foremost one of Kuru‟s race, should always behave in
such a manner as to a\ old what is dear to him, for the sake of doing that which
would benefit his people. Thou shouldst not ever, O son of Pandu, abandon
fortitude. The king that is possessed of fortitude and who is known to inflict
chastisement on wrong-doers, has no cause of fear. O foremost of speakers,
thou shouldst not indulge in jests with thy servants. O tiger among kings, listen to
the faults of such conduct. If the master mingles too freely with them, dependents
begin to disregard him. They forget their own position and most truly transcend
that of the master. Ordered to do a thing, they hesitate, and divulge the master‟s
secrets. They ask for things that should not be asked for, and take the food that
is intended for the master. They go to the length of displaying their wrath and
seek to outshine the master. They even seek to predominate over the king, and
accepting bribes and practising deceit, obstruct the business of the state. They
cause the state to rot with abuses by falsifications and forgeries. They make love
with the female guards of the palace and dress in the same style as their master.
They become so shameless as to indulge in eructations and the like, and
expectorate in the very presence of their master, O tiger among kings, and they
do not fear to even speak of him with levity before others. If the king becomes
mild and disposed to jest, his servants, disregarding him, ride on steeds and
elephants and cars as good as the king‟s.[162] His counsellors, assembled in
court, openly indulge in such speeches as: „This is beyond thy power. This is a
wicked attempt.‟ If the king becomes angry, they laugh; nor are they gladdened if
favours be bestowed upon them, though they may express joy for other reasons.
They disclose the secret counsels of their master and bruit his evil acts. Without
the least anxiety they set at naught the king‟s commands. If the king‟s jewels, or
food, or the necessaries of his bath, or unguents, be not forthcoming, the
servants, in his very presence, do not show the least anxiety. They do not take
what rightfully belongs to them. On the other hand, without being content with
what has been assigned to them, they appropriate what belongs to the king.
They wish to sport with the king as with a bird tied with a string, And always give
the people to understand that the king is very intimate with them and loves them
dearly. If the king becomes mild and disposed to jest, O Yudhishthira, these and
many other evils spring from it.‟”
SECTION LVII
“Bhishma said, „The king, O Yudhishthira, should always be ready for action.
That king is not worth of praise who, like a woman, is destitute of exertion. In this
connection, the holy Usanas has sting a Sloka, O monarch. Listen to it with
attention, O king, as I recite it to thee:

„Like a snake swallowing up mice, the earth swallows tip these two, the king that
is averse to battle and the Brahmana that is exceedingly attached to wives and
children.[163] It behoveth thee, O tiger among kings, to bear this always in thy
heart. Make peace with those foes with whom (according to the ordinance) peace
should be made, and wage war with them with whom war should be waged. Be
he thy preceptor or be he thy friend, he that acts inimically towards thy kingdom
consisting of seven limbs, should be slain.[164] There is an ancient Sloka sung
by king Marutta, agreeable to Vrihaspati‟s opinion, O monarch, about the duty of
kings. According to the eternal provision, there is punishment for even the
preceptor if he becomes haughty and disregardful of what should be done and
what should not, and if he transgresses all restraints. Jadu‟s son, king Sagara, of
great intelligence, from desire of doing good to the citizens, exiled his own eldest
son Asamanjas. Asamanjas, O king, used to drown the children of the citizens in
the Sarayu. His sire, therefore, rebuked him and sent him to exile. The Rishi
Uddalaka cast off his favourite son Swetaketu (afterwards) of rigid penances,
because the latter used to invite Brahmanas with deceptive promises of
entertainment. The happiness of their subjects, observance of truth, and
sincerity of behaviour are the eternal duty of kings. The king should not covet the
wealth of others. He should in time give what should be given, If the king
becomes possessed of prowess, truthful in speech, and forgiving in temper, he
would never fall away from prosperity. With soul cleansed of vices, the king
should be able to govern his wrath, and all his conclusions should be
conformable to the scriptures. He should also always pursue morality and profit
and pleasure and salvation (judiciously). The king should always conceal his
counsels in respect of these three, (viz., morality, profit, and pleasure). No
greater evil can befall the king than the disclosure of his counsels. Kings should
protect the four orders in the discharge of their duties. It is the eternal duty of
kings to prevent a confusion of duties in respect of the different orders. The king
should not repose confidence (on others than his own servants), nor should he
repose full confidence (on even his servants). He should, by his own
intelligence, took after the merits and defects of the six essential requisites of
sovereignty.[165] The king who is observant of the laches of his foes, and
judicious in the pursuit of morality, profit, and pleasure, who sets clever spies for
ascertaining secrets and seeks to wean away the officers of his enemies by
presents of wealth, deserves applause. The king should administer justice like
Yama and amass wealth like Kuvera. He should also be observant of the merits
and defects of his own acquisitions and losses and of his own dominions. He
should feed those that have not been fed, and enquire after those that have been
fed. Possessed of sweet speech, he could speak with a smiling (and not with a
sour) countenance. He should always wait upon those that are old in years and
repress procrastination. He should never covet what belongs to others. He
should firmly follow the behaviour of the righteous and, therefore, observe that
behaviour carefully. He should never take wealth from those that are righteous.
Taking the wealth of those that are not righteous he should give it unto them that
are righteous. The king should himself be skilful in smiting. He should practise
liberality. He Should have his soul under control. He should dress himself with

splendour. He should make gifts in season and regular in his meals. He should
also be of good behaviour. The king desirous of obtaining prosperity should
always bind to his service men that are brave, devoted, incapable of being
deceived by foes,[166] well-born, healthy, well-behaved, and connected with
families that are well-behaved, respectable, never inclined to insult others,
conversant with all the sciences, possessing a knowledge of the world and its
affairs, unmindful of the future state of existence, always observant of their
duties, honest, and steadfast like mountains. There should be no difference
between him and them as regards objects of enjoyment. The only distinction
should consist in his umbrella and his power or passing orders. His conduct
towards them, before or behind, should be the same. The king who behaves in
this way never comes to grief. That crooked and covetous king who suspects
everybody and who taxes his subjects heavily, is soon deprived of life by his own
servants and relatives. That king, however, who is of righteous behaviour and
who is ever engaged in attracting the hearts of his people, never sinks when
attacked by foes. If overcome, he soon regains his position. If the king is not
wrathful, if he is not addicted to evil practices and not severe in his punishments,
if he succeeds in keeping his passions under control, he then becomes an object
of confidence unto all like the Himavat mountains (unto all creatures). He is the
best of kings who hath wisdom, who is possessed of liberality, who is ready to
take advantage of the laches of foes, who has agreeable features, who is
conversant with what is bad for each of the four orders of his subjects, who is
prompt in action, who has his wrath under control, who is not vindictive, who is
high-minded, who is not irascible by disposition, who is equal engaged in
sacrifices and other religious acts, who is not given to boasting, and who
vigorously prosecutes to completion all works commenced by him. He is the best
of kings in whose dominions men live fearlessly like sons in the house of their
sire. He is the best of kings whose subjects have not to hide their wealth and are
conversant with what is good and what is bad for them. He, indeed, is a king
whose subjects are engaged in their respective duties and do not fear to cast off
their bodies when duty calls for it; whose people, protected duly, are all of
peaceful behaviour, obedient, docile, tractable, unwilling to be engaged in
disputes, and inclined to liberality. That king earns eternal merit in whose
dominions there is no wickedness and dissimulation and deception and envy.
That king truly deserves to rule who honours knowledge, who is devoted to the
scriptures and the good of his people, who treads in the path of the righteous,
and who is liberal. That king deserves to rule, whose spies and counsels and
acts, accomplished and unaccomplished, remain unknown to his enemies. The
following verse was sung in days of old by Usanas of Bhrigu‟s race, in the
narrative called Ramacharita, on the subject, O Bharata, of kingly duties: „One
should first select a king (in whose dominions to live). Then should he select a
wife, and then earn wealth. If there be no king, what would become of his wife
and acquisition‟?‟ Regarding those that are desirous of kingdom, there is no other
eternal duty more obligatory than the protection (of subjects). The protection the
king grants to his subjects upholds the world.[167] Manu, the son of Prachetas,

sang these two verses respecting the duties of kings. Listen to them with
attention:
„These six persons should be avoided like a leaky boat on the sea, viz., a
preceptor that does not speak, a priest that has not studied the scriptures, a king
that does not grant protection, a wife that utters what is disagreeable, a cow-herd
that likes to rove within the village, and a barber that is desirous of going to the
woods.‟”[168]
SECTION LVIII
“Bhishma said, „Protection of the subject, O Yudhishthira, is the very cheese of
kingly duties. The divine Vrihaspati does not applaud any other duty (so much as
this one). The divine Kavi (Usanas) of large eyes and austere penances, the
thousand-eyed Indra, and Manu the son of Prachetas, the divine Bharadwaja,
and the saga Gaurasiras, all devoted to Brahma and utterers of Brahma, have
composed treatises on the duties of kings. All of them praise the duty of
protection, O foremost of virtuous persons, in respect of kings. O thou of eyes
like lotus leaves and of the hue of copper, listen to the means by which protection
may be secured. Those means consist of the employment of spies and servants,
giving them their just dues without haughtiness, the realisation of taxes with
considerateness, never taking anything (from the subject) capriciously and
without cause, O Yudhishthira, the selection of honest men (for the discharge of
administrative functions), heroism, skill, and cleverness (in the transaction of
business), truth, seeking the good of the people, producing discord and disunion
among the enemy by fair or unfair means, the repair of buildings that are old or
on the point of falling away, the infliction of corporal punishments and fines
regulated by observance of the occasion, never abandoning the honest, granting
employment and protection to persons of respectable birth, the storing of what
should be stored, companionship with persons of intelligence, always gratifying
the soldiery, supervision over the subjects, steadiness in the transaction of
business, filling the treasury, absence of blind confidence on the guards of the
city, producing disloyalty among the citizens of a hostile town, carefully looking
after the friends and allies living in the midst of the enemy‟s country, strictly
watching the servants and officers of the state, personal observation of the city,
distrust of servants, comforting the enemy with assurances, steadily observing
the dictates of policy, readiness for action, never disregarding an enemy, and
casting off those that are wicked. Readiness for exertion in kings is the root of
kingly duties. This has been said by Vrihaspati. Listen to the verses sung by him:
„By exertion the amrita was obtained; by exertion the Asuras were slain, by
exertion Indra himself obtained sovereignty in heaven and on earth. The hero of
exertion is superior to the heroes of speech. The heroes of speech gratify and
worship the heroes of exertion.[169]‟ The king that is destitute of exertion, even if
possessed of intelligence, is always overcome by foes like a snake that is bereft
of poison. The king, even if possessed of strength, should not disregard a foe,

however weak. A spark of fire can produce a conflagration and a particle of
poison can kill. With only one kind of force, an enemy from within a fort, can
afflict the whole country of even a powerful and prosperous king. The secret
speeches of a king, the amassing of troops for obtaining victory, the crooked
purposes in his heart, similar intents for accomplishing particular objects, and the
wrong acts he does or intends to do, should be concealed by putting on an
appearance of candour. He should act righteously for keeping his people under
subjection. Persons of crooked minds cannot bear the burden of extensive
empire. A king who is mild cannot obtain superior rank, the acquisition of which
depends upon labour. A kingdom, coveted by all like meat, can never be
protected by candour and simplicity. A king, O Yudhishthira, should, therefore,
always conduct himself with both candour and crookedness. If in protecting his
subjects a king falls into danger, he earns great merit. Even such should be the
conduct of kings. I have now told thee a portion only of the duties of kings. Tell
me, O best of the Kurus, what more you wish to know.”
Vaisampayana continued, “The illustrious Vyasa and Devasthana and Aswa, and
Vasudeva and Kripa and Satyaki and Sanjaya, filled with joy, and with faces
resembling full-blown flowers, said, „Excellent! Excellent!‟ and hymned the
praises of that tiger among men, viz., Bhishma, that foremost of virtuous persons.
Then Yudhishthira, that chief of Kuru‟s race, with a cheerless heart and eyes
bathed in tears, gently touched Bhishma‟s feet and said, „O grandsire, I shall to-
morrow enquire after those points about which I have my doubts, for today, the
sun, having sucked the moisture of all terrestrial objects, is about to set.‟ Then
Kesava and Kripa and Yudhishthira and others, saluting the Brahmanas
(assembled there) and circumambulating the son of the great river, cheerfully
ascended their cars. All of them observant of excellent vows then bathed in the
current of the Drishadwati. Having offered oblations of water unto their ancestors
and silently recited the sacred mantras and done other auspicious acts, and
having performed the evening prayer with due rites, those scorchers of foes
entered the city called after the elephant.”
SECTION LIX
Vaisampayana said, “Rising from their beds the next day and performing the
morning rites laid down in the scriptures, the Pandavas and the Yadavas set out
(for the spot where Bhishma lay) on their cars resembling fortified towns.
Proceeding to the field of Kuru and approaching the sinless Bhishma, they
enquired of that foremost of car-warriors if he had passed the night happily.
Saluting all the Rishis, and blessed by them in return, the princes took their seats
around Bhishma. Then king Yudhishthira the just possessed of great energy,
having worshipped Bhishma duly, said these words with joined hands.
“Yudhishthira said, „Whence arose the word Rajan (King), that is used, O
Bharata, on earth? Tell me this, O scorcher of foes! Possessed of hands and
arms and neck like others, having understanding and senses like those of others,

subject like others to the same kinds of joy and grief, endued with back, mouth,
and stomach similar to those of the rest of the world, having vital fluids and
bones and marrow and flesh and blood similar to those of, the rest of the world,
inhaling and exhaling breaths like others, possessed of life-breaths and bodies
like other men, resembling others in birth and death, in fact, similar to others in
respect of all attributes of humanity, for what reason does one man, viz., the king,
govern the rest of the world numbering many men possessed of great
intelligence and bravery? Whence is it that one man rules the wide world teeming
with brave and energetic and high-born men of good behaviour? Why do all men
seek to obtain his favour? Why is it that if one man becomes delighted, the whole
world becomes delighted, and if that one man is troubled, the whole world
becomes troubled? I desire to hear this in detail, O bull of Bharata‟s race! O
foremost of speakers, discourse to me on this fully. O king, there cannot but be a
grave reason for all this since it is seen that the whole world bows down to one
man as to a god.
“Bhishma said, „With concentrated attention, O tiger among kings, listen to it in
detail as to how in the Krita age sovereignty first began. At first there was no
sovereignty, no king, no chastisement, and no chastiser. All men used to protect
one another righteously. As they thus lived, O Bharata, righteously protecting one
another, they found the task (after some time) to be painful. Error then began to
assail their hearts. Having become subject to error, the perceptions of men, O
prince, came to be clouded, and thence their virtue began to decline. When their
perceptions were dimmed and when men became subject to error, all of them
became covetous. O chief of the Bharatas! And because men sought to obtain
objects, which they did not possess, another passion called lust (of acquisition)
got hold of them. When they became subject to lust, another passion, named
anger, soon soiled them. Once subject to wrath, they lost all consideration of
what should be done and what should not. Unrestrained sexual indulgence set
in. Men began to utter what they chose. All distinctions between food that is
clean and unclean and between virtue and vice disappeared. When this
confusion set in amongst men, the Vedas disappeared. Upon the disappearance
of the Vedas, Righteousness was lost. When both the Vedas and righteousness
were lost, the gods were possessed by fear. Overcome with fear, O tiger among
men, they sought the protection of Brahmana. Having gratified the divine
Grandsire of the universe, the gods, afflicted with grief, said unto him, with joined
hands, „O god, the eternal Vedas have been afflicted in the world of men by
covetousness and error. For this, we have been struck with fear. Through loss of
the Vedas, O Supreme Lord, righteousness also has been lost. For this, O Lord
of the three worlds, we are about to descend to the level of human beings. Men
used to pour libations upwards while we used to pour rain downwards.[170] In
consequence, however, of the cessation of all pious rites among men, great
distress will be our lot. Do thou then, O Grandsire, think of that which would
benefit us, so that the universe, created by thy power, may not meet with
destruction.‟ Thus addressed, the Self-born and divine Lord said unto them, „I
shall think of what will do good to all. Ye foremost of gods, let your fears be
dispelled!‟ The Grandsire then composed by his own intelligence a treatise

consisting of a hundred thousand chapters. In it were treated the subject of
Virtue, Profit, and Pleasure. Which the Self-born designated as the triple
aggregate. He treated of a fourth subject called Emancipation with opposite
meaning and attributes. The triple aggregate in respect of emancipation, viz., to
the attributes of Goodness, Passion, and Darkness, and another, (a fourth, viz.,
the practice of duty without hope of bliss or reward in this or the other world),
were treated in it. Another triple aggregate connected with Chastisement, viz.,
Conversation, Growth, and Destruction, was treated in it.[171] Another aggregate
of six consisting of the hearts of men, place, time, means, overt acts, and
alliances, and causes, were treated in it. The religious rites laid down in the three
Vedas, knowledge, and the acts necessary for the support of life, (viz.,
agriculture, trade, &c.), O bull of Bharata‟s race, and the very extensive branch of
learning called punitive legislation, were laid down in it. The subjects also of
behaviour towards counsellors, of spies, the indications of princes, of secret
agents possessed of diverse means, of envoys and agents of other kinds,
conciliation, fomenting discord, gifts, and chastisement, O king, with toleration as
the fifth, were fully treated therein. Deliberation of all kinds, counsels for
producing disunion, the errors of deliberation, the results of the success or failure
of counsels, treaties of three kinds, viz., bad, middling, and good, made through
fear, good offices, and gifts of wealth, were described in detail. The four kinds of
time for making journeys, the details of the aggregate of three, the three kinds of
victory, viz., that secured righteously, that won by wealth, and that obtained by
deceitful ways, were described in detail. The three kinds of attributes, viz., bad,
middling, and good, of the aggregate of five (viz., counsellors, kingdom, fort,
army, and treasury,) were also treated in it. Chastisements of two kinds, viz.,
open and secret, were indicated. The eight kinds of open chastisement, as also
the eight kinds of secret chastisement, were dealt with in detail. Cars, elephants,
horses, and foot-soldiers, O son of Pandu, impressed labourers, crews, and paid
attendants (of armies), and guides taken from the country which is the seat of
war, these are the eight instruments, O Kauravya, of open chastisement or forces
acting openly. The use and administration of movable and immovable poison
were also mentioned in respect of the three kinds of things, viz., wearing apparel,
food, and incantations. Enemies, allies, and neutrals,--these also were described.
The diverse characteristics of roads (to be taken, as dependent on stars and
planets, etc.), the attributes of the soil (on which to encamp), protection of self,
superintendence of the construction of cars and other utensils of war and use,
the diverse means for protecting and improving men, elephants, cars, and
steeds, the diverse kinds of battle array, strategies, and manoeuvres in war,
planetary conjunctions foreboding evil, calamitous visitations (such as
earthquakes), skilful methods of warfare and retreat, knowledge of weapons and
their proper keep, the disorders of troops and how to get rid of them, the means
of inspiring the army with joy and confidence, diseases, times of distress and
danger, knowledge of guiding foot-soldiers in battle, the methods of sounding
alarms and notifying orders, inspiring the enemy with fear by display of
standards, the diverse methods of afflicting the enemy‟s kingdom by means of
robbers and fierce wild-tribes, and fire-raisers and poisoners and forgers by

producing disunion among the chief officers of hostile armies, by cutting down
crops and plants, by destroying the efficiency of the enemy‟s elephants, by
producing alarms, by honouring those among the enemy‟s subjects that are well
disposed towards the invader, and by inspiring the enemy with confidence, the
waste, growth, and harmony of the seven essential requisites of sovereignty,
capacity for (projected) works, the means for accomplishing them, the methods
of extending the kingdom, the means of winning over persons residing in the
enemy‟s territory, the chastisement and destruction of those that are strong, the
exact administration of justice, the extermination of the wicked, wrestling,
shooting and throwing and hurling of weapons, the methods of making presents
and of storing requisite things, feeding the unfed and supervision over those that
have been fed, gifts of wealth in season, freedom from the vices called
Vyasanas, the attributes of kings, the qualifications of military officers, the
sources of the aggregate of three and its merits and faults, the diverse kinds of
evil intents, the behaviour of dependents, suspicion against every one, the
avoidance of heedlessness, the acquisition of objects unattained, the improving
of objects already acquired, gifts to deserving persons of what has thus been
improved, expenditure of wealth for pious purposes, for acquiring objects of
desire, and for dispelling danger and distress, were all treated in that work. The
fierce vices, O chief of the Kurus, born of temper, and those born of lust, in all of
ten kinds, were mentioned in that treatise. The four kinds of vices which the
learned say are born of lust, viz., hunting, gambling, drinking, and sexual
indulgence, were mentioned by the Self-born in that work. Rudeness of speech,
fierceness, severity of chastisement, infliction of pain on the body, suicide, and
frustrating one‟s own objects, these are the six kinds of faults born of wrath, that
have also been mentioned. Diverse kinds of machines and their actions have
been described there. Devastation of the enemy‟s territories, attacks upon foes,
the destruction and removal of landmarks and other indications, the cutting down
of large trees (for depriving the enemy and the enemy‟s subjects of their
refreshing shade), siege of forts, supervision of agriculture and other useful
operations, the storage of necessaries, robes and attire (of troops), and the best
means of manufacturing them, were all described. The characteristics and uses
of Panavas, Anakas, conchs, and drums. O Yudhishthira, the six kinds of articles
(viz., gems, animals, lands, robes, female slaves, and gold) and the means of
acquiring them (for one‟s one self) and of destroying them (for injuring the foe),
pacification of newly acquired territories, honouring the good, cultivating
friendship with the learned, knowledge of the rules in respect of gifts and
religious rites such as homa, the touch of auspicious articles, attention to the
adornment of the body, the manner of preparing and using food, piety of
behaviour, the attainment of prosperity by following in one path, truthfulness of
speech, sweetness of speech, observance of acts done on occasions of festivity
and social gatherings and those done within the household, the open and secret
acts of persons in all places of meeting, the constant supervision of the
behaviour of men, the immunity of Brahmanas from punishment, the reasonable
infliction of punishment, honours paid to dependants in consideration of kinship
and merit, the protection of subjects and the means of extending the kingdom,

the counsels that a king who lives in the midst of a dozen of kings, should pursue
in respect of the four kinds of foes, the four kinds of allies, and the four kinds of
neutrals, the two and seventy acts laid down in medical works about the
protection, exercise, and improvements of the body, and the practices of
particular countries, tribes, and families, were all duty treated in that work.
Virtue, Profit, and Pleasure, and Emancipation, were also described in it. The
diverse means of acquisition, the desire for diverse kinds of wealth. O giver of
profuse presents, the methods of agriculture and other operations that form the
chief source of the revenue, and the various means for producing and applying
illusions, the methods by which stagnant water is rendered foul, were laid down
in it. All those means, O tiger among kings, by which men might be prevented
from deviating from the path of righteousness and honesty, were all described in
it. Having composed that highly beneficial treatise, the divine Lord cheerfully said
unto the deities having Indra for their head, those words: „For the good of the
world and for establishing the triple aggregate (viz., Virtue, Profit, and Pleasure),
I have composed this science representing the very cheese of speech. Assisted
by chastisement, this science will protect the world. Dealing rewards and
punishments, this science will operate among men. And because men are led (to
the acquisition of the objects of their existence) by chastisement, or, in other
words, chastisement leads or governs everything, therefore will this science be
known in the three worlds as Dandaniti (science of chastisement).[172]
Containing the essence of all the attributes of the aggregate of six, this science
will always be much regarded by all high-souled persons. Virtue, Profit, Pleasure,
and Salvation have all been treated in it.‟ After this, the lord of Uma,--the divine
and multiform Siva of large eyes, the Source of all blessings, first studied and
mastered it. In view, however, of the gradual decrease of the period of life of
human beings, the divine Siva abridged that science of grave import compiled by
Brahman. The abridgment, called Vaisalakasha, consisting of ten thousand
lessons, was then received by Indra devoted to Brahman and endued with great
ascetic merit. The divine Indra also abridged it into a treatise consisting of five
thousand lessons and called it Vahudantaka. Afterwards the puissant Vrihaspati,
by his intelligence, further abridged the work into a treatise consisting of three
thousand lessons and called it Varhaspatya. Next, that preceptor of Yoga, of
great celebrity, viz., Kavi of immeasurable wisdom, reduced it further into a work
of a thousand lessons. In view of the period of men‟s lives and the general
decrease (of everything), great Rishis did thus, for benefiting the world, abridge
that science. The gods then, approaching that lord of creatures, viz., Vishnu, said
unto him, „Indicate, O god, that one among mortals who deserves to have
superiority over the rest.‟ The divine and puissant Narayana, reflecting a little,
created, by a fiat of his will, a son born of his energy, named Virajas. The highly
blessed Virajas, however, did not desire sovereignty on earth. His mind, O son of
Pandu, inclined to a life of renunciation. Virajas had a son named Krittimat. He
too renounced pleasure and enjoyment.[173] Krittimat had a son named
Kardama. Kardama also practised severe austerities. The lord of creatures,
Kardama, begot a son named Ananga. Ananga became a protector of creatures,
pious in behaviour, and fully conversant with the science of chastisement.

Ananga begot a son named Ativala, well versed in policy. Obtaining extensive
empire after the demise of his sire, he became a slave of his passions. Mrityu, O
king, had a daughter born of his mind, named Sunita and celebrated over the
three worlds. She was married to Ativala and gave birth to a son named Vena.
Vena, a slave of wrath and malice, became unrighteous in his conduct towards
all creatures. The Rishis, those utterers of Brahma, slew him with Kusa blades
(as their weapon) inspired with mantras. Uttering mantras the while, those Rishis
pierced the right thigh of Vena. Thereupon, from that thigh, came out a short-
limbed person on earth, resembling a charred brand, with blood-red eyes and
black hair. Those utterers of Brahma said unto him, „Nishida (sit) here!‟ From
him have sprung the Nishadas, viz., those wicked tribes that have the hills and
the forests for their abode, as also those hundreds and thousands of others
called Mlechchhas, residing on the Vindhya mountains. The great Rishis then
pierced the right arm of Vena. Thence sprang a person who was a second Indra
in form. Clad in mail, armed with scimitars, bows, and arrows, and well-versed in
the science of weapons, he was fully acquainted with the Vedas and their
branches. All the ordinances of the science of chastisement, O king, (in their
embodied forms) came to that best of men. The son of Vena then, with joined
hands, said unto those great Rishis, „I have attained an understanding that is
very keen and that is observant of righteousness. Tell me in detail what I shall do
with it. That useful task which you will be pleased to indicate, I shall accomplish
without hesitation.‟ Thus addressed, the gods that were present there, as also
the Rishis, said unto him. „Do thou fearlessly accomplish all those tasks in which
righteousness even resides. Disregarding what is dear and what not so, look
upon all creatures with an equal eye. Castoff at a distance Just and wrath and
covetousness and honour, and, always observing the dictates of righteousness,
do thou punish with thy own hands the man, whoever he may be, that deviates
from the path of duty. Do thou also swear that thou wouldst, in thought, word,
and deed, always maintain the religion inculcated on earth by the Vedas. Do
thou further swear that thou wouldst fearlessly maintain the duties laid down in
the Vedas with the aid of the science of chastisement, and that thou wouldst
never act with caprice. O puissant one, know that Brahmanas are exempt from
chastisement, and pledge further that thou wouldst protect the world from an
intermixture of castes.‟ Thus addressed, Vena‟s son replied unto the deities
headed by the Rishis, saying, „Those bulls among men, viz., the highly blessed
Brahmanas, shall ever be worshipped by me.‟ Those utterers of Brahma then
said unto him, „Let it be so!‟ Then Sukra, that vast receptacle of Brahma, became
his priest. The Valakhilyas became his counsellors, and the Saraswatas his
companions. The great and illustrious Rishi Garga became his astrologer. This
high declaration of the Srutis is current among men that Prithu is the eighth from
Vishnu. A little before, the two persons named Suta and Magadha had come into
existence. They became his bards and panegyrists. Gratified, Prithu, the royal
son of Vena, possessed of great prowess, gave unto Suta the land lying on the
sea-coast, and unto Magadha the country since known as Magadha. We have
heard that the surface of the earth had before been very uneven. It was Prithu
who made the terrestrial surface level. In every Manwantara, the earth becomes

uneven.[174] Vena‟s son removed the rocks and rocky masses lying all around,
O monarch, with the horn of his bow. By this means the hills and mountains
became enlarged. Then Vishnu, and the deities of Indra, and the Rishis, and the
Regents of the world, and the Brahmanas, assembled together for crowning
Prithu (as the king of the world). The earth herself, O son of Pandu, in her
embodied form, came to him, with a tribute of gems and jewels. Ocean, that lord
of rivers, and Himavat, the king of mountains, and Sakra, O Yudhishthira,
bestowed upon him inexhaustible wealth. The great Meru, that mountain of gold,
gave unto him heaps of that precious metal. The divine Kuvera, borne on the
shoulders of human beings, that lord of Yakshas and Rakshasas, gave him
wealth enough for gratifying the needs of religion, profit, and pleasure. Steeds,
cars, elephants, and men, by millions, O son of Pandu, started into life as soon
as Vena‟s son thought of them. At that time there was neither decrepitude, nor
famine, nor calamity, nor disease (on earth). In consequence of the protection
afforded by that king, nobody had any fear from reptiles and thieves or from any
other source. When he proceeded to the sea, the waters used to be solidified.
The mountains gave him way, and his standard was never obstructed anywhere.
He drew from the earth, as a milcher from a cow, seven and ten kinds of crops
for the food of Yakshas, and Rakshasas, and Nagas, and other creatures. That
high-souled king caused all creatures to regard righteousness as the foremost of
all things; and because he gratified all the people, therefore, was he called Rajan
(king). And because he also healed the wounds of Brahmanas, therefore, he
earned the name of Kshatriya. And because the earth (in his region) became
celebrated for the practice of virtue, therefore, she came to be called by many as
Prithvi. The eternal Vishnu himself, O Bharata, confirmed his power, telling him,
„No one, O king, shall transcend thee.‟ The divine Vishnu entered the body of that
monarch in consequence of his penances. For this reason, the entire universe
offered divine worship unto Prithu, numbered among human gods.[175] O king,
thy kingdom should always be protected by the aid of the science of
chastisement. Thou shouldst also, by careful observation made through the
movements of thy spies, protect it in such a way that no one may be able to
injure it.[176] All good acts, O king, lead to the good (of the monarch). The
conduct of a king should be regulated by his own intelligence, as also by the
opportunities and means that may offer themselves.[177] What other cause is
there in consequence of which the multitude live in obedience to one, save the
divinity of the monarch? At that time a golden lotus was born from Vishnu‟s brow.
The goddess Sree was born of that lotus. She became the spouse of Dharma of
great intelligence upon Sree, O son of Pandu, Dharma begot Artha. All the three,
viz., Dharma, and Artha and Sree, were established in sovereignty. A person
upon the exhaustion of his merit, comes down from heaven to earth, and takes
birth as a king conversant with the science of chastisement. Such a person
becomes endued with greatness and is really a portion of Vishnu on earth. He
becomes possessed of great intelligence and obtains superiority over others.
Established by the gods, no one transcends him. It is for this reason that
everybody acts in obedience to one, and it is for this that the world cannot
command him. Good acts, O king, lead to good. It is for this that the multitude

obey his words of command, though he belongs to the same world and is
possessed of similar limbs. He who once beheld Prithu‟s amiable face became
obedient to him. Thenceforth he began to regard him as handsome, wealthy, and
highly blessed.[178] In consequence of the might of his sceptre, the practice of
morality and just behaviour became so visible on earth. It is through that reason
that the earth became overspread with virtue.‟
“Thus, O Yudhishthira, the histories of all past events, the origin of the great
Rishis, the holy waters, the planets and stars and asterisms, the duties in respect
of the four modes of life, the four kinds of Homa, the characteristics of the four
orders of men, and the four branches of learning, were all treated of in that work
(of the Grandsire). Whatever objects or things, O son of Pandu, there are on
earth, were all included in that treatise of the Grandsire. Histories and the Vedas
and the science of Nyaya were all treated in it, as also penances, knowledge,
abstention from injury in respect of all creatures, truth, falsehood, and high
morality. Worship of persons old in years, gifts, purity of behaviour, readiness for
exertion, and compassion towards all creatures, were very fully described in it.
There is no doubt in this. Since that time, O monarch, the learned have begun to
say that there is no difference between a god and a king. I have now told thee
everything about the greatness of kings. What other subject is there, O chief of
the Bharatas, upon which I shall next have to discourse?”
SECTION LX
Vaisampayana said, “After this, Yudhishthira, saluted his grandsire, viz. the son
of Ganga, and with joined hands and concentrated attention, once more asked
him, saying, „What are the general duties of the four orders of men, and what the
special duties of each order? What mode of life should be adopted by which
order? What duties are especially called the duties of kings? By what means
does a kingdom grow, and what are those means by which the king himself
grows? How also, O bull of Bharata‟s race, do the citizens and the servants of
the king grow? What sorts of treasuries, punishments, forts, allies, counsellors,
priests, and preceptors, should a king avoid?[179] Whom should the king trust in
what kinds of distress and danger? From what evils should the king guard
himself firmly? Tell me all this, O grandsire!‟
“Bhishma said, „I bow down to Dharma who is great, and to Krishna who is
Brahma. Having bowed down also unto the Brahmanas (assembled here), I shall
discourse on duties that are eternal. The suppression of wrath, truthfulness of
speech, justice, forgiveness, begetting children upon one‟s own wedded wives,
purity of conduct, avoidance of quarrel, simplicity, and maintenance of
dependants, these nine duties belong to all the four orders (equally). Those
duties, however, which belong exclusively to Brahmanas, I shall now tell thee.
Self-restraint, O king, has been declared to be the first duty of Brahmanas. Study
of the Vedas, and patience in undergoing austerities, (are also their other duties).
By practising these two, all their acts are accomplished. If while engaged in the

observance of his own duties, without doing any improper act, wealth comes to a
peaceful Brahmana possessed of knowledge, he should then marry and seek to
beget children and should also practise charity and perform sacrifices. It has
been declared by the wise that wealth thus obtained should be enjoyed by
distributing it (among deserving persons and relatives). By his study of the Vedas
all the pious acts (laid down for the Brahmana) are accomplished. Whether he
does or does not achieve anything else, if he devotes himself to the study of the
Vedas, he becomes (by that) known as a Brahmana or the friend of all creatures.
I shall also tell thee, O Bharata, what the duties are of a Kshatriya. A Kshatriya,
O king, should give but not beg, should himself perform sacrifices but not officiate
as a priest in the sacrifices of others. He should never teach (the Vedas) but
study (them with a Brahmana preceptor). He should protect the people. Always
exerting himself for the destruction of robbers and wicked people, he should put
forth his prowess in battle. Those among Kshatriya rulers who perform great
sacrifices, who are possessed of a knowledge of the Vedas, and who gain
victories in battle, become foremost of those that acquire many blessed regions
hereafter by their merit. Persons conversant with the old scriptures do not
applaud that Kshatriya who returns unwounded from battle. This has been
declared to be the conduct of a wretched Kshatriya.[180] There is no higher duty
for him than the suppression of robbers. Gifts, study, and sacrifices, bring
prosperity to kings. Therefore, a king who desires to acquire religious merit
should engage in battle.[181] Establishing all his subjects in the observance of
their respective duties, it king should cause all of them to do everything according
to the dictates of righteousness. Whether he does or does not do any other act, if
only he protects his subjects, he is regarded to accomplish all religious acts and
is called a Kshatriya and the foremost of men. I shall now tell thee, O
Yudhishthira, what the eternal duties of the Vaisya are. A Vaisya should make
gifts, study the Vedas, perform sacrifices, and acquire wealth by fair means. With
proper attention he should also protect and rear all (domestic) animals as a sire
protecting his sons. Anything else that he will do will be regarded as improper for
him. By protecting the (domestic) animals, he would obtain great happiness. The
Creator, having created the (domestic) animals, bestowed their care upon the
Vaisya. Upon the Brahmana and the Kshatriya he conferred (the care of) all
creatures. I shall tell thee what the Vaisya‟s profession is and how he is to earn
the means of his sustenance. If he keeps (for others) six kine, he may take the
milk of one cow as his remuneration; and if he keeps (for others) a hundred kine,
he may take a single pair as such fee. If he trades with other‟s wealth, he may
take a seventh part of the profits (as his share). A seventh also is his share in the
profits arising from the trade in horns, but he should take a sixteenth if the trade
be in hoofs. If he engages in cultivation with seeds supplied by others, he may
take a seventh part of the yield. This should be his annual remuneration. A
Vaisya should never desire that he should not tend cattle. If a Vaisya desires to
tend cattle, no one else should be employed in that task. I should tell thee, O
Bharata, what the duties of a Sudra are. The Creator intended the Sudra to
become the servant of the other three orders. For this, the service of the three
other classes is the duty of Sudra. By such service of the other three, a Sudra

may obtain great happiness. He should wait upon the three other classes
according to their order of seniority. A Sudra should never amass wealth, lest, by
his wealth, he makes the members of the three superior classes obedient to him.
By this he would incur sin. With the king‟s permission, however, a Sudra, for
performing religious acts, may earn wealth. I shall now tell thee the profession he
should follow and the means by which he may earn his livelihood. It is said that
Sudras should certainly be maintained by the (three) other orders. Worn-out
umbrellas, turbans, beds and seats, shoes, and fans, should be given to the
Sudra servants.[182] Torn clothes which are no longer fit for wear, should be
given away by the regenerate classes unto the Sudra. These are the latter‟s
lawful acquisitions. Men conversant with morality say that if the Sudra
approaches any one belonging to the three regenerate orders from desire of
doing menial service, the latter should assign him proper work. Unto the sonless
Sudra his master should offer the funeral cake. The weak and the old amongst
them should be maintained.[183] The Sudra should never abandon his master,
whatever the nature or degree of the distress into which the latter may fall. If the
master loses his wealth, he should with excessive zeal be supported by the
Sudra servant. A Sudra cannot have any wealth that is his own. Whatever he
possesses belongs lawfully to his master.[184] Sacrifice has been laid down as a
duty of the three other orders. It has been ordained for the Sudra also, O
Bharata! A Sudra, however, is not competent to titter swaha and swadha or any
other Vedic mantra. For this reason, the Sudra, without observing the vows laid
down in the Vedas, should worship the gods in minor sacrifices called Paka-
yajnas. The gift called Purna-patra is declared to be the Dakshina of such
sacrifices.[185] It has been heard by us that in days of old a Sudra of the name of
Paijavana gave a Dakshina (in one of his sacrifices) consisting of a hundred
thousand Purnapatras, according to the ordinance called Aindragni.[186]
Sacrifice (as has been already said), is as much laid down for the Sudra as for
the three other classes. Of all sacrifices, devotion has been laid down to be the
foremost.[187] Devotion is a high deity. It cleanses all sacrificers. Then again
Brahmanas are the foremost of gods unto their respective Sudra attendants.
They worship the gods in sacrifices, for obtaining the fruition of various wishes.
The members of the three other classes have all sprung from the
Brahmanas.[188] The Brahmanas are the gods of the very gods. Whatever they
would say would be for thy great good. Therefore, all kinds of sacrifices naturally
appertain to all the four orders. The obligation is not one whose discharge is
optional. The Brahmana, who is conversant with Richs, Yajuses, and Samans,
should always be worshipped as a god. The Sudra, who is without Richs and
Yajuses and Samans, has Prajapati for his god.[189] Mental sacrifice. O sire, is
laid down for all the orders, O Bharata! It is not true that the gods and other
(Superior) persons do not manifest a desire to share the offerings in such
sacrifices of even the Sudra.[190] For, this reason, the sacrifice that consists in
devotion is laid down for all the classes.[191] The Brahmana is the foremost of
gods. It is not true that they that belong to that order do not perform the
sacrifices of the other orders. The fire called Vitana, though procured from
Vaisyas and inspired with mantras, is still inferior.[192] The Brahmana is the

performer or the sacrifices of the three other orders. For this reason all the four
orders are holy. All the orders bear towards one another to relation of
consanguinity, through the intermediate classes. They have all sprung from
Brahmanas. In ascertaining (the priority or subsequence of men in respect of
their creation) it will appear that amongst all the orders the Brahmana was
created first. Originally Saman was one; Yajus was one, and Rich was
one.[193] In this connection, persons conversant with ancient histories cite a
verse, O king, sung in praise of sacrifice by the Vaikhanasa Munis on the
occasion of performing a sacrifice of theirs. Before or after sunrise a person of
subdued senses, with heart filled with devotion, poureth libations on the
(sacrificial) fire according to the ordinance. Devotion is a mighty agent. With
regard to homas again, that variety which is called skanna is the initial one, while
that which is called askanna is the last (but foremost in point of merit). Sacrifices
are multifarious. Their rites and fruits again are multifarious. The Brahmana
possessed of devotion who, endued with scriptural learning, who is acquainted
with them all, is competent to perform sacrifices. That person who desires to
perform a sacrifice is regarded as righteous even if he happens to be a thief, a
sinner, or the worst of sinners. The Rishis applaud such a man. Without doubt
they are right. This then is the conclusion that all the orders should always and
by every means in their power perform sacrifices. There is nothing in the three
worlds equal to sacrifice. Therefore, it has been said that every one with heart
free from malice, should perform sacrifices, aided by devotion which is sacred, to
the best of his power and according as he pleases.‟”
SECTION LXI
“Bhishma said, „O mighty-armed one, listen now to me, O thou of prowess
incapable of being baffled, as I mention the names of the four modes of life and
the duties in respect of each. The four modes are Vanaprastha, Bhaikshya,
Garhasthya of great merit, and Brahmacharya which is adopted by Brahmanas.
Undergoing the purificatory rite in respect of bearing matted locks, after having
gone through the rite of regeneration and performed for some time the rites in
respect of the sacred fire and studied the Vedas, one should, with cleansed soul
and senses under restraint, having first carefully performed all the duties of the
mode called Garhasthya, proceed, with or without his wife, to the woods for
adoption of the mode called Vanaprastha. Having studied the scriptures called
Aranyakas, having drawn up his vital fluid and having retired from all worldly
affairs, the virtuous recluse may then attain to an absorption with the eternal Soul
knowing no decay. These are the indications of Munis that have drawn up their
vital fluid. A learned Brahmana, O king, should first practise and perform them.
The Brahmana, O king, that is desirous of emancipation, it is well known, is
competent to adopt the Bhaikshya mode after having gone through the mode
called Brahmacharya. Sleeping at that place (in the course of the wanderings)
where evening overtakes him, without desire of bettering his situation, without a
home, subsisting on whatever food is obtained (in charity), given to

contemplation, practising self-restraint, with the senses under control, without
desire, regarding all creatures equally, without enjoyments, without dislike to
anything, the Brahmana possessed of learning, by adopting this mode of life,
attains to absorption with the eternal Soul that knows no decay. The person
leading the Garhasthya mode of life should, after studying the Vedas, accomplish
all the religious acts laid down for him. He should beget children and enjoy
pleasures and comforts. With careful attention he should accomplish all the
duties of this mode of life that is applauded by ascetics and that is extremely
difficult to go through (without transgressions). He should be satisfied with his
own wedded wife and should never approach her except her season. He should
observe the ordinances of the scriptures, should not be cunning and deceitful. He
should be abstemious in diet, devoted to the gods, grateful, mild, destitute of
cruelty, and forgiving. He should be of a tranquil heart, tractable and attentive in
making offerings to the gods and the Pitris. He should always be hospitable to
the Brahmanas. He should be without pride, and his charity should not be
confined to any one sect. He should also be always devoted to the performance
of the Vedic rites. In this connection, the illustrious and great Rishis cite a verse
sung by Narayana himself, of grave import and endued with high ascetic merit.
Listen to me as I repeat it.—„By truth, simplicity, worship of guests, acquisition of
morality and profit, and enjoyment of one‟s own wedded wives, one should enjoy
diverse kinds of happiness both here and hereafter.‟ The great Rishis have said
that support of sons and wives, and study of the Vedas, form the duties of those
that lead this high mode of life. That Brahmana who, always engaged in the
performance of sacrifices, duly goes through this mode of life and properly
discharges all its duties, obtains blessed rewards in heaven. Upon his death, the
rewards desired by him became deathless. Indeed, these wait upon him for
eternity like menials ever on the alert to execute the commands of their
master.[194] Always attending to the Vedas, silently reciting the mantras
obtained from his preceptor, worshipping all the deities, O Yudhishthira, dutifully
waiting upon and serving his preceptor with his own body smeared with clay and
filth, the person leading the Brahmacharya mode of life should always observe
rigid vows and, with senses under control, should always pay attention to the
instructions he has received. Reflecting on the Vedas and discharging all the
duties (in respect of contemplation and overt acts), he should live, dutifully
waiting upon his preceptor and always bowing unto him. Unengaged in the six
kinds of work (such as officiating in the sacrifices of others), and never engaged
with attachment to any kind of acts, never showing favour or disfavour to any
one, doing good even unto his enemies, these, O sire, are the duties laid down
for a Brahmacharin!‟
SECTION LXII
“Yudhishthira said, „Tell his those duties in respect of persons like ourselves
which are auspicious, productive of happiness in the future, benevolent,
approved by all, pleasant, and agreeable.‟

“Bhishma said, „The four modes of life, O puissant one, have been laid down for
the Brahmana. The other three orders do not adopt them, O best of the Bharatas!
Many acts, O king, leading to heaven and especially fit for the kingly order, have
already been declared. Those, however, cannot be referred to in reply to thy
present query, for all of them have been duly laid down for such Kshatriyas as
are not disinclined to pitilessness. The Brahmana who is addicted to the
practices of Kshatriyas and Vaisyas and Sudras, incurs censure in this world as a
person of wicked soul and goes to hell in the next world. Those names which are
applied among men to slaves and dogs and wolves and (other) beasts, are
applied, O son of Pandu, to the Brahmana who is engaged in pursuits that are
improper for him. That Brahmana who, in all the four modes of life. is duly
engaged in the six-fold acts (of regulating the breath, contemplation, etc.), who
performs all his duties, who is not restless, who has his passions under control,
whose heart is pure and who is ever engaged in penances, who has no desire of
bettering his prospects, and who is charitable, has inexhaustible regions of bliss
in the other world. Everyone derives his own nature from the nature of his acts,
in respect of their circumstances, place, and means and motives. Thou shouldst,
therefore, O king, regard the study of the Vedas, which is fraught with such high
merit, to be equal with the exertion of kingly power, or the pursuits of agriculture,
trade, and hunting. The world is set agoing by Time. Its operations are settled by
the course of Time. Man does all his acts, good, bad, and indifferent, entirely
influenced by Time.[195] Those amongst the good acts of a man‟s past life that
exert the greatest influence on the next, are liable to be exhausted. Men,
however, are always engaged in those acts to which their propensities lead.
Those propensities, again, lead a living being to every direction.‟”[196]
SECTION LXIII
“Bhishma said, „Drawing the bow-string, destruction of foes, agriculture, trade,
tending cattle, and serving others for wealth, these are improper for a Brahmana.
An intelligent Brahmana, leading a domestic mode of life, should duly perform the
six Vedic acts. The retirement of a Brahmana into the woods, after having duly
discharged all the duties of the domestic mode of life, is applauded. A Brahmana
should avoid service of the king, wealth obtained by agriculture, sustenance
derived from trade, all kinds of crooked behaviour, companionship with any but
his wedded wives, and usury. That wretched Brahmana who falls away from his
duties and whose behaviour becomes wicked, becomes, O king, a Sudra. The
Brahmana who weds a Sudra woman, who becomes vile in conduct or a dancer
or a village servant or does other improper acts, becomes a Sudra. Whether he
recites the Vedas or not, O king, if he does such improper acts, he becomes
equal to a Sudra and on occasions of feeding he should be assigned a place
amongst Sudras. Such Brahmanas become equal to Sudras, O king, and should
be discarded on occasions of worshipping the Gods.[197] Whatever presents of
food dedicated to the gods and the Pitris are made unto Brahmanas that have
transgressed all restraints or become impure in behaviour or addicted to wicked

pursuits and cruel acts or fallen away from their legitimate duties, confer no merit
(on the giver). For this reason, O king, self-restraint and purity and simplicity
have been laid down as the duties of a Brahmana. Besides these, O monarch, all
the four modes, of life were laid down by Brahman For him. He that is self-
restrained, has drunk the Soma in sacrifices, is of good behaviour, has
compassion for all creatures and patience to bear everything, has no desire of
bettering his position by acquisition of wealth, is frank and simple, mild, free from
cruelty, and forgiving, is truly a Brahmana and not he that is sinful in acts. Men
desirous of acquiring virtue, seek the assistance, O king, of Sudras and Vaisyas
and Kshatriyas. If, therefore, the members of these (three) orders do not adopt
peaceful duties (so as to be able to assist others in the acquisition of virtue),
Vishnu, O son of Pandu, never extends his grace to them. If Vishnu be not
pleased, the happiness of all men in heaven, the merit arising from the duties laid
down for the four orders, the declarations of the Vedas, all kinds of sacrifices,
and all other religious acts of men, and all the duties in respect of the several
modes of life, become lost.
“‟Listen now, O son of Pandu, to those duties that should be observed in the four
modes of life. These should be known by the Kshatriya who desires the members
of the three (other) orders (in his kingdom) to strictly adhere to the respective
duties of those modes. For a Sudra who is desirous of hearing (Such scriptures
as are not forbidden in his case),[198] who has accomplished his duties, who has
begotten a son, between whom and the superior orders there is not Much
difference in consequence of the purity of his conduct, all the modes of life have
been laid down excepting the observance of universal peacefulness and self-
restraint (which are not necessary for him). For a Sudra practising all these
duties as also for a Vaisya, O king, and a Kshatriya, the Bhikshu mode of life has
been laid down. Having discharged the duties of his order, and having also
served the kin, a Vaisya of venerable years, with the king‟s permission, may
betake himself to another mode of life. Having studied the Vedas duly and the
treatises on the duties of kings, O sinless one, having begotten children and
performed other acts of a like nature, having quaffed the Soma and ruled over
and protected all his subjects righteously, O foremost of speakers, having
performed the Rajasuya, the horse sacrifice, and other great sacrifices, having
invited learned Brahmanas for reciting the scriptures and made presents unto
them according to their desires, having obtained victories small or great in battle,
having placed on his throne the son of his loins or some Kshatriya of good birth
for the protection of subjects, having worshipped the Pitris by performing with
due rites the sacrifices laid down for honouring them, having attentively
worshipped the gods by performing sacrifices and the Rishis by studying the
Vedas, the Kshatriya, who in old age desires another mode of life, may, O king,
adopt it by leaving that one which immediately precedes it, and by that means he
is sure to obtain (ascetic) success. A Kshatriya, for leading the life of a Rishi, O
king, may adopt the Bhikshu mode of life; but he should never do so for the sake
of enjoying the pleasures of the world. Having left the domestic mode of life, he
may adopt the life of mendicancy by begging, what would barely support his life.
A life of mendicancy is not obligatory upon the three orders (viz. Kshatriyas,

Vaisyas. and Sudras), O giver of profuse presents! Inasmuch, however, as they
can adopt it if they choose, this mode of life, therefore, is open to the four orders.
Amongst men, the highest duties are those which are practised by Kshatriyas.
The whole world is subject to the might of their arms. All the duties, principal and
subordinate, of the three other orders, are dependent (for their observance) upon
the duties of the Kshatriya. The Vedas have declared this. Know that as the
footprints of all other animals are engulfed in those of the elephant, even so all
the duties of the other orders, under every circumstance, are engulfed, in those
of the Kshatriya. Men conversant with the scriptures say that the duties of the
other three orders afford small relief or protection, and produce small rewards.
The learned have said that the duties of the Kshatriya afford great relief and
produce great rewards. All duties have kingly duties for their foremost. All the
orders are protected by them. Every kind of renunciation occurs in kingly duties,
O monarch, and renunciation has been said to be in eternal virtue and the
foremost of all.[199] If the science of chastisement disappears, the Vedas will
disappear. All those scriptures also that inculcate the duties of men become lost.
Indeed, if these ancient duties belonging to the Kshatriyas be abandoned, all the
duties in respect of all the modes of life, become lost. All kinds of renunciation
are seen in kingly duties: all kinds or initiation occur in them; all kinds of learning
are connected with them; and all kinds of worldly behaviour enter into them. As
animals, if slaughtered by the vulgar, become the means of destroying the virtue
and the religious acts of the slaughterers, even so all other duties, if deprived of
the protection given by kingly duties, become liable to attack and destruction, and
men, full of anxiety, disregard the practices laid down for them.‟”
SECTION LXIV
“Bhishma said, „The duties in respect of all the four modes of life, those of yatis,
O son of Pandu, and the customs relating to the conduct of men in general, are
all included in kingly duties. All these acts, O chief of the Bharatas, occur in
Kshatriya duties. If the functions of royalty are disturbed, all creatures are
overtaken by evil. The duties of men are not obvious. They have, again, many
outlets.[200] Led by many (false) systems, their eternal nature is sometimes
offended against. Others who pin their faith to the conclusions arrived at by men,
without really knowing anything about the truths of duties (as declared in the
scriptures), find themselves at last landed and confounded on faiths whose
ultimate ends are unknown. The duties imposed upon Kshatriyas are plain,
productive of great happiness, evident in respect of their results, free from deceit,
and beneficial to the whole world. As the duties of the three orders, as also of
Brahmanas and of those that have retired from the world, O Yudhishthira, have
before this been said to be all included within those of that sacred mode of life
(called Garhasthya), even so, the whole world, with all good actions, are subject
to kingly duties. I have told thee, O monarch, how many brave kings had, in days
of old, repaired to that lord of all creatures, viz., the divine and puissant Vishnu of
great prowess, for resolving their doubts about the science of chastisement.

Those kings, mindful of the declarations of the scriptures enforced by examples,
waited in days of old upon Narayana, after having weighed each of their acts
against the duties of each of the modes of life.[201] Those deities, viz., the
Sadhyas, the Vasus, the Aswins, the Rudras, the Viswas, the Maruts, and the
Siddhas, created in days of old by the first of gods, are all observant of Kshatriya
duties. I shall now recite to thee a history fraught with the conclusions of both
morality and profit. In days of old when the Danavas had multiplied and swept
away all barriers and distinctions[202] the powerful Mandhatri, O monarch,
became king. That ruler of the earth, viz., king Mandhatri, performed a great
sacrifice from desire of beholding the puissant Narayana, that god of gods,
without beginning, middle, and end. In that sacrifice he worshipped with humility
the great Vishnu.[203] The Supreme Lord, assuming the form of Indra, showed
himself unto him. Accompanied by many good kings he offered his adorations to
that puissant deity. The high discourse took place between that lion among kings
and that illustrious god in the form of Indra, touching Vishnu of great effulgence.‟
“Indra said, „What is your object, O foremost of virtuous persons, in thus seeking
to behold that Ancient and First of gods, viz., Narayana, of inconceivable energy,
and infinite illusions? Neither myself, nor Brahman himself, can obtain a sight of
that god of universal form. I shall grant thee what other objects may be in thy
heart, for thou art the foremost of mortals. Thy soul abides in peace; thou art
devoted to righteousness; thou hast thy senses under control; and thou art
possessed of heroism. Thou seekest unflinchingly to do what is agreeable to the
gods. For the sake also of thy intelligence, devotion, and high faith, I shall grant
thee whatsoever boons may be desired by thee.‟
“Mandhatri said, I bend my head for gratifying thee. Without doubt, however, I
desire to see the first of gods. O divine Lord! Casting off all (earthly) desires, I
wish to earn religious merit, and to lead the foremost mode of life, that path of the
good, highly regarded by all. By exercising the high duties of a Kshatriya, I have
earned many regions of inexhaustible merit in the other world, and I have also,
through those duties, spread my fame. I do not, however, know how to discharge
those duties, the foremost in the world, that have flowed from the first of gods.‟
“Indra said, „They that are not kings, however observant they may be of their
duties, cannot easily attain the highest rewards of duty. Kingly duties first flowed
from the original god. Other duties flowed afterwards from his body. Infinite were
the other duties, with those of the Vanaprastha mode of life, that were created
afterwards. The fruits of all those are exhaustible. Kingly duties, however, are
distinguished above them. In them are included all other duties. For this reason
Kshatriya duties are said to be the foremost of all. In days of old, Vishnu, by
acting according to Kshatriya duties, forcibly suppressed and destroyed his foes
and thereby afforded relief to the gods and the Rishis of immeasurable energy. If
the divine Vishnu of inconceivable energy had not slain all his foes among the
Asuras, then the Brahmanas, and (Brahman) the Creator of the worlds and
Kshatriya duties, and the duties that first flowed from the Supreme deity, would
all have been destroyed. If that first and foremost of gods had not, by putting
forth his prowess, subjugated the earth with all her Asuras, then all the duties, of

the four orders and all the duties in respect of the four modes of life would all
have been destroyed in consequence of the destruction of Brahmanas. The
eternal duties (of men) had all suffered destruction. It was by the exercise of
Kshatriya duties that they were revived.[204] In every Yuga, the duties of
Brahmanas in respect of attaining to Brahma first set in. These, however, are all
protected by kingly duties. The latter, on this account, are regarded as the
foremost. Casting away life in battle, compassion for all creatures, knowledge of
the affairs of the world, protection of men, rescuing them from danger, relieving
the distressed and the oppressed, all these occur among Kshatriya duties
practised by Kings. Persons that do not regard wholesome restraints and that are
governed by lust and wrath, do not commit overt acts of sin from fear of kings.
Others that are docile and of righteous behaviour succeed, in consequence of
the same influence, in performing all their duties. For this reason Kshatriya duties
are regarded to be righteous. Without doubt, all creatures live happily in the
world, protected by kings exercising Kshatriya duties like children protected by
their parents. Kshatriya duties are the foremost of all duties. Those eternal
duties, regarded as the first in the world, embrace the protection of every
creature. Themselves eternal, they lead to eternal emancipation.‟”
SECTION LXV
“Indra said, „Kshatriya duties, O king, which are possessed of such energy, which
include in their exercise all other duties, and which are the foremost of all duties,
should be observed by persons that are, like thee, so high-souled and so
employed in seeking the good of the world. If those duties are not properly
discharged, all creatures would be overtaken by ruin. The kings possessed of
compassion for all creatures, should regard these to be the foremost of his
duties, reclaiming the land for cultivation and fertilizing it, performance of great
sacrifices for cleansing himself, a disregard for begging, and protection of
subjects. Abandonment (gift) is said by the sages to be the foremost of virtues.
Of all kinds of abandonment, again, that of the body in battle, is the foremost.
Thou hast seen with thy eyes how the rulers of the earth, ever observant of
Kshatriya duties, having duly waited upon their preceptors and acquired great
learning, at last cast off their bodies, engaged in battle with one another. The
Kshatriya, desirous of acquiring religious merit, should, after having gone through
the Brahmacharya mode, should lead a life of domesticity which is always
meritorious. In adjudicating upon ordinary questions of right (between his
subjects), he should be thoroughly impartial. For causing all the orders to be
observant of their respective duties, for the protection they afford to all, for the
diverse contrivances and means and the prowess and exertion (with which they
seek the accomplishment of their objects). Kshatriya duties, which include all
other duties within their scope, are said to be the foremost. The other orders are
able to observe their respective duties in consequence of kingly duties. For this
reason the former are said to be dependent upon the latter in respect of the merit
they produce.[205] Those men who disregard all wholesome restraints and who

are too much attached to the pursuit of worldly objects are said to be of the
nature of brutes. They are compelled to act with justice by the exercise of kingly
duties. Those duties, therefore, are said to be the foremost of all. That course of
conduct which has been prescribed for Brahmanas who follow the three Vedas,
and those modes of life that have been laid down for Brahmanas, should, before
everything else, be observed by every Brahmana. If a Brahmana acts otherwise,
he should be punished like a Sudra. The duties of the four modes of life and the
ritual prescribed in the Vedas, O king, should ever be followed by a Brahmana.
Know that he has no other duties. For a Brahmana acting otherwise, a Kshatriya
should not make any arrangement for sustenance. His religious merit grows in
consequence of his acts. A Brahmana, indeed, is like Dharma‟s self. That
Brahmana who is employed in acts that are not laid down for him, deserves no
respect. If not engaged in his proper acts, he should not be trusted. These are
the duties that appertain to the several orders. Kshatriyas should take care of
them so that their observance may be improved. Even these are the duties of
Kshatriyas. For these reasons also, kingly duties and no other, are the foremost
of all. They are, as I believe, the duties of heroes, and they that are heroes are
foremost in practising them.‟
“Mandhatri said, „What duties should be performed by the Yavanas, the Kiratas,
the Gandharvas, the Chinas, the Savaras, the Barbaras, the Sakas, the
Tusharas, the Kankas, the Pathavas, the Andhras, the Madrakas, the Paundras,
the Pulindas, the Ramathas, the Kamvojas, the several castes that have sprung
Lip from Brahmanas and Kshatriyas, the Vaisyas, and the Sudras, that reside in
the dominions of (Arya) kings? What are those duties again to the observance of
which kings like ourselves should force those tribes that subsist by robbery? I
desire to hear all this. O illustrious god, instruct me. O chief of all the deities, thou
art the friend of us Kshatriyas.‟
“Indra said, „All the robber tribes should serve their mothers and fathers, their
preceptors and other seniors, and recluses living in the woods. All the robber
tribes should also serve their kings. The duties and rites inculcated in the Vedas
should also be followed by them. They should perform sacrifices in honour of the
Pitris, dig wells, (and dedicate them to universal service), give water to thirsty
travellers, give away beds and make other seasonable presents unto
Brahmanas. Abstention from injury, truth, suppression of wrath, supporting
Brahmanas and kinsmen by giving them their dues, maintenance of wives and
children, purity, peacefulness, making presents to Brahmanas at sacrifices of
every kind, are duties that should be practised by every person of this class who
desire his own prosperity. Such a person should also perform all kinds of Paka-
yajnas with costly presents of food and wealth. These and similar duties, O
sinless one, were laid down in olden days for persons of this class. All these acts
which have been laid down for all others should be done by persons of also the
robber class, O king.‟
“Mandhatri said, „In the world of men, such wicked men may be seen living in
disguise among all the four orders and in all the four modes of life.‟

“Indra said, „Upon the disappearance of kingly duties and of the science of
chastisement, all creatures became exceedingly afflicted, O sinless one, in
consequence of the tyranny of kings. After the expiry of this the Krita age, a
confusion will set in, regarding the different modes of life, and innumerable
Bhikshus will appear with sectarian marks of different kinds. Disregarding the
Puranas and the high truths of religion, men, urged by lust and wrath, will deviate
into Wrong paths. When sinful men are rest rained (from wicked acts) by high-
souled persons with the aid of the science of chastisement, then religion, which is
superior to everything and eternal, and which is the source of everything good,
becomes firmly established. The gifts, and libations, and offerings to the Pitris of
the man that disregards the king who is superior to every one, become fruitless.
The very gods do not disregard a virtuous king who is truly an eternal god. The
divine Lord of all creatures, having created the universe, intended the Kshatriya
to rule men regarding their inclinations and disinclinations in respect of duties. I
respect and worship that person who, aided by his understanding, watches the
course of the duties performed by men. Upon such supervision rest Kshatriya
duties.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Having said these words, the divine and puissant Narayana
in the form of Indra, accompanied by the Maruts, repaired to his eternal abode of
inexhaustible felicity. When, O sinless one, duties as practised by the good had
such a course in days of old, what man of cleansed soul and learning is there
that would disregard the Kshatriya? Like blind men lost on the way, creatures
acting and abstaining unrighteously meet with destruction. O tiger among men,
do thou adhere to that circle (of duties) that was first set agoing and to which the
ancients had recourse. I know, O sinless one, that thou art quite competent to do
this.‟
SECTION LXVI
“Yudhishthira said, „Thou hast spoken to me about the four modes of human life.
I desire to know more of-them. Do thou discourse on them in detail.‟
“Bhishma said, „O Yudhishthira of mighty arms, all the duties that are practised in
this world by the righteous are known to thee as they are known to me. O
foremost of virtuous persons, listen now to me about what thou askest, viz. the
merit (that a king acquires) in consequence of the duties practised by others
leading other modes of life.[206] All the merits, O son of Kunti, that belong to
persons practising the duties of the four modes of life, attach, O foremost of men,
to righteous kings. A king who is not governed by lust and hate, who rules with
the aid of the science of chastisement, and who looks equally on all creatures, O
Yudhishthira, attains to the object of the Bhaikshya mode of life.[207] That king
who is possessed of knowledge, who makes gifts to deserving persons on proper
occasions, who knows how to favour and punish, who conducts himself in all
things according to the injunctions of the scriptures, and who has tranquillity of
soul, attains to the object of the Garhasthya mode of life. That king who always

worships those that are deserving of worship by giving them their due,
completely attains, O son of Kunti, to the object of the Bhaikshya mode of life.
That king, O Yudhishthira, who rescues from distress, to the best of his power,
his kinsmen and relatives and friends, attains to the object of the Vanaprashtha
mode of life. That king who on every occasion honours those that are foremost
among men and those that are foremost among Yatis, attains, O son of Kunti, to
the object of the Vanaprashtha mode of life. That king, O Partha, who daily
makes offerings unto the Pitris and large offerings unto all living creatures
including men, attains to the object of the same mode of life. That king, O tiger
among men, who grinds the kingdoms of others for protecting the righteous,
attains to the object of the same mode of life. In consequence of the protection of
all creatures as also of the proper protection of his own kingdom, a king earns
the merit of as many sacrifices as the number of creatures protected, and
accordingly attains to the object of the Sannyasa mode of life. Study of the Vedas
every day, forgiveness, and worship of preceptors, and services rendered to
one‟s own teacher, lead to the attainment of the object of Brahmacharya. That
king who silently recites his mantras every day and who always worships the
gods according to the ordinance, attains, O tiger among men, to the object of the
Garhasthya mode of life. That king who engages in battle with the resolve of
protecting his kingdom or meeting with death, attains to the object of the
Vanaprastha mode of life. That king who gives unto persons leading a
Vanaprastha mode of life and unto Brahmanas versed in the three Vedas attains
to the object of the Vanaprastha mode of life. That king who displays compassion
towards all creatures and abstains entirely from cruelty, attains to the objects of
all the modes of life. That king, O Yudhishthira, who shows compassion to the
young and the old, O son of Kunti, under every circumstance, attains to the
objects of every mode of life. That king, O perpetuator of Kuru‟s race, who
affords relief to all oppressed people that seek his protection, attains to the object
of the Garhasthya mode of life. That king who protects all creatures mobile and
immobile, and honours them is they deserve, attains to the object of the
Garhasthya mode of life. Bestowing favours and inflicting punishments upon the
wives and brothers, elder and younger, and upon their sons and grandsons, are
the domestic duties of a king and these constitute his best penances. By
honouring those that are righteous and deserving of worship and protecting those
that have (by their penances) acquired it knowledge of self, a king, O tiger among
men, attains to the object of the Garhasthya mode of life. Inviting to this home, O
Bharata, persons that have betaken themselves to that Vanaprastha and other
modes of life, and treating them with food, constitute the domestic duties of a
king. That king who duly adheres to the duties laid down by the Creator, obtains
the blessed merits of all the modes of life. That king, O son of Kunti, in whom no
virtue is wanting, that foremost of men, O Yudhishthira, is said by the learned to
be a person in the observance of the Vanaprastha and all the other modes of life.
That king who duly honours the office or rank which deserves honour, the race or
family which deserves honour, and those old men that deserve honour is said, O
Yudhishthira, to live in all the modes of life.[208] A king, O son of Kunti, by
observing the duties of his country and those of his family, acquires, O tiger

among men, the merits of all the modes of life. That king who at proper seasons
bestows upon righteous persons affluence or gifts of value, earns the merits, O
king, of all the modes of life. That king, O son of Kunti, who while overcome with
danger and fear still keeps his eye on the duties of all men,[209] earns the merits
of all the modes of life. The king obtains a share of the merits earned under his
protection by righteous people in his dominions. On the other hand, if kings, O
tiger among men, do not protect the righteous people within their dominions, they
then take the sins of the latter (of omission and commission). Those men also, O
Yudhishthira. who assist kings (in protecting their subjects), become equally
entitled, O sinless one, to a share of the merits earned by others (in
consequence of that protection). The learned say that the Garhasthya, which we
have adopted, is superior to all the other modes of life. The conclusions in
respect of it are very clear. It is certainly sacred, O tiger among men. That man
who regards all creatures to be like his own self, who never does any harm and
has his wrath under control, obtains great happiness both here and
hereafter.[210] A king can easily cross the ocean of the world, with kingly duties
as his boat passed of great speed, urged on by the breeze of gifts, having the
scriptures for its tackle and intelligence for the strength of its helmsman, and kept
afloat by the power of righteousness. When the principle of desire in his heart is
withdrawn from every earthly object, he is then regarded as one resting on his
understanding alone. In this state he soon attains to Brahma.[211] Becoming
cheerful by meditation and by restraining desire and other passions of the heart,
O tiger among men, it king, engaged in discharging the dully of protection,
succeeds in obtaining great merit. Do thou, therefore, O Yudhishthira, exert
thyself carefully in protecting Brahmanas of pious deeds and devoted to the
study of the Vedas, as also all other men. By exercising the duty of protection
only, O Bharata, the king earns merit that is a hundred times greater than what is
earned by recluses in their asylums within the wood.‟
“I have now described, O eldest son of Pandu, the diverse duties of men. Do
thou adhere to kingly duties that are eternal and that have been practised by
great men since days of old. If thou employest thyself with concentrated attention
to the duty of protecting (thy subjects), O tiger among men, thou mayst then, O
son of Pandu, obtain the merits of all the four modes of life and of all the four
orders of men!”
SECTION LXVII
“Yudhishthira said, „Thou hast said what the duties are of the four modes of the
life and the four orders. Tell me now, O grandsire, what are the principal duties of
a kingdom.‟
“Bhishma said, „The (election and) coronation of a king is the first duty of a
kingdom. A kingdom in which anarchy prevails becomes weak and is soon
afflicted by robbers.[212] In kingdoms torn by anarchy, righteousness cannot
dwell. The inhabitants devour one another. An anarchy is the worst possible of

states. The Srutis declare that in crowning a king, it is Indra that is crowned (in
the person of the king). A person who is desirous of prosperity should worship
the king as he should worship Indra himself. No one should dwell in kingdoms
torn by anarchy. Agni does not convey (to the gods) the libations that are poured
upon him in kingdoms where anarchy prevails. If a powerful king approaches
kingdoms weakened by anarchy, from desire of annexing them to his dominions,
the people should go forward and receive the invader with respect. Some
conduct would be consistent with wise counsels. There is no evil greater than
anarchy. If the powerful invader be inclined to equity, everything will be right. If,
on the other hand, he be engaged, he may exterminate all. That cow which
cannot be easily milked has to suffer much torture. On the other hand, that cow
which is capable of being easily milked, has not to suffer any torture whatever.
The wood that bends easily does not require to be heated. The tree that bends
easily, has not to suffer any torture (at the hands of the gardener). Guided by
these instances, O hero, men should bend before those that are powerful. The
man that bends his head to a powerful person really bends his head to Indra. For
these reasons, men desirous of prosperity should (elect and) crown some person
as their king. They who live in countries where anarchy prevails cannot enjoy
their wealth and wives. During times of anarchy, the sinful man derive great
pleasure by robbing the wealth of other people. When, however, his (ill-got)
wealth is snatched by others, he wishes for a king. It is evident, therefore, that in
times of anarchy the very wicked even cannot be happy. The wealth of one is
snatched away by two. That of those two is snatched away by many acting
together. He who is not a slave is made a slave. Women, again, are forcibly
abducted. For these reasons the gods created kings for protecting the people. If
there were no king on earth for wielding the rod of chastisement, the strong
would then have preyed on the weak after the manner of fishes in the water. In
hath been heard by us that men, in days of old, in consequence of anarchy, met
with destruction, devouring one another like stronger fishes devouring the weaker
ones in the water. It hath been heard by us that a few amongst them then,
assembling together, made certain compacts, saying, „He who becomes harsh in
speech, or violent in temper, he who seduces or abducts other people‟s wives or
robs the wealth that belongs to others, should be cast off by us.‟ For inspiring
confidence among all classes of the people, they made such a compact and lived
for some time. Assembling after some time they proceeded in affliction to the
Grandsire, saying, „Without a king, O divine lord, we are going to destruction.
Appoint some one as our king. All of us shall worship him and he shall protect
us.‟ Thus solicited, the Grandsire asked Manu. Manu, however, did not assent to
the proposal.
“Manu said, „I fear all sinful acts. To govern a kingdom is exceedingly difficult,
especially among men who are always false and deceitful in their behaviour.‟
“Bhishma continued, „The inhabitants of the earth then said unto him, „Do not
fear. The sins that men commit will touch those only that commit them (without
staining thee in the least). For the increase of thy treasury, we will give thee a
fiftieth part of our animals and precious metals and a tenth part of our grain.
When our maidens also will become desirous of wedding, we shall, when the

question comes up, give thee the most beautiful ones among them. Those
amongst men who will become the foremost of all in the use of weapons and in
riding animals and driving vehicles, shall proceed behind thee like the deities
behind Indra. With thy strength enhanced in this way, and becoming invincible
and possessed of great prowess, thou wilt be our king and protect us happily like
Kuvera protecting the Yakshas and the Rakshasas. A fourth part of the merit
which men will earn under thy protection will be thine. Strengthened by that merit
so easily obtained by thee, do thou protect us, O king, like He of a hundred
sacrifices protecting the deities. Like the Sun scorching everything with his rays,
go out for winning victories. Crush the pride of foes and let righteousness always
triumph (in the world).‟ Thus addressed by those inhabitants of the earth, Manu,
possessed of great energy, proceeded, accompanied by a large force. Of high
descent, he seemed then to blaze with prowess. Beholding the might of Manu,
like the gods eyeing the might of Indra, the inhabitants of the earth became
inspired with fear and set their hearts upon their respective duties. Manu then
made his round through the world, checking everywhere all acts of wickedness
and setting all men to their respective duties, like a rain-charged cloud (in its
mission of beneficence).‟
“Those, O Yudhishthira, those men on earth who desire prosperity should first
elect and crown a king for the protection of all. Like disciples humbling
themselves in the presence of the preceptors or the gods in the presence of
Indra, all men should humble themselves before the king. One that is honoured
by his own people becomes an object of regard with his foes also, while one that
is disregarded by his own is overridden by foes. If the king be overridden by his
foes, all his subjects become unhappy. Therefore, umbrellas and vehicles and
outward ornaments, and viands, and drinks, and mansions, and seats, and beds,
and all utensils for use and show, should be assigned to the king. By such means
the king will succeed in discharging his duties of protection (the better) and
become irresistible. He should speak with smiles. Addressed sweetly by others,
he should address others sweetly. Grateful (to those that serve him), firmly
devoted (to those that deserve his respect), and with passions under control, he
should give unto others their due. Looked upon by others he should look at them
mildly, sweetly, and handsomely.‟
SECTION LXVIII
“Yudhishthira said, „Why, O bull of Bharata‟s race, have the Brahmanas said that
the king, that ruler of men, is a god?‟
“Bhishma said, „In this connection, is cited the old story, O Bharata, of the
discourse of Vrihaspati unto Vasumanas. There was a king of Kosala possessed
of great intelligence, named Vasumanas. On a certain occasion he questioned
the great sage Vrihaspati of much wisdom. Conversant with the requirements of
humility, king Vasumanas, ever devoted to the welfare of all, having observed the
proper humilities and having circumambulated the great sage and bowed unto

him duly, enquired of the virtuous Vrihaspati about the ordinances in respect of a
kingdom, moved by the desire of securing the happiness of men.‟
“Vasumanas said, „By what means do creatures grow and by what are they
destroyed? O thou of great wisdom, by adoring whom do they succeed in
obtaining eternal happiness?‟ Thus questioned by the Kosala king of
immeasurable energy, Vrihaspati of great wisdom discoursed unto him coolly
about the respect that should be paid to kings.
“Vrihaspati said, „The duties of all men, O thou of great wisdom, may be seen to
have their root in the king. It is through fear of the king only that men do not
devour one another. It is the king that brings peace on earth, through due
observance of duties, by checking all disregard for wholesome restraints and all
kinds of lust. Achieving this, he shines in glory. As, O king, all creatures become
unable to see one another and sink in utter darkness if the sun and the moon do
not rise, as fishes in shallow water and birds in a spot safe from danger dart and
rove as they please (for a time) and repeatedly attack and grind one another with
force and then meet with certain destruction even so men sink in utter darkness
and meet with destruction if they have no king to protect them, like a herd of
cattle without the herdsman to look after them. If the king did not exercise the
duty of protection, the strong would forcibly appropriate the possessions of the
weak, and if the latter refused to surrender them with ease, their very lives would
be taken. Nobody then, with reference to any article in his possession, would be
able to say „This is mine.‟ Wives, sons, food, and other kinds of property, would
not then exist. Ruin would overtake everything if the king did not exercise the
duty of protection. Wicked men would forcibly appropriate the vehicles and robes
and ornaments and precious stones and other kinds of property belonging to
others, if the king did not protect. In the absence of protection by the king,
diverse kinds of weapons would fall upon those that are righteous in their
practices, and unrighteousness would be adopted by all. In the absence of royal
protection men would disregard or even injure their very mothers and fathers if
aged, their very preceptors and guests and seniors. If the king did not protect, all
persons possessed of wealth would have to encounter death, confinement, and
persecution, and the very idea of property would disappear. If the king did not
protect, everything would be exterminated prematurely, and every part of the
country would be overrun by robbers, and everybody would fall into terrible hell. If
the king did not protect, all restrictions about marriage and intercourse (due to
consanguinity and other kinds of relationship) would cease; all affairs relating to
agricultures and trade would fall into confusion, morality would sink and be lost;
and the three Vedas would disappear. Sacrifices, duly completed with presents
according to the ordinance, would no longer be performed; no marriage would
take place; society itself would cease to exist, if the king did not exercise the duty
of protection. The very bulls would not cover cows and milk-jars would not be
churned, and men living by rearing kine would meet with destruction, if the king
did not exercise the duty of protection. In the absence of royal protection, all
things, inspired with fear and anxiety and becoming senseless and uttering cries
of woe, would meet with destruction in no time. No sacrifices extending for a year
and completed with presents according to the ordinances would occur if the king

did not exercise the duty of protection. In the absence of royal protection
Brahmanas would never study the four Vedas or undergo austerities or be
cleansed by knowledge and rigid vows. In the absence of royal protection, the
slayer of a person guilty of the slaughter of a Brahmana would not obtain any
reward; on the other hand the person guilty of Brahmanicide would enjoy perfect
immunity. In the absence of royal protection, men would snatch other people‟s
wealth from their very hands, and all wholesome barriers would be swept away,
and everybody, inspired with fear, would seek safety in flight. In the absence of
royal protection, all kinds of injustice would set in; an intermixture of castes would
take place; and famine would ravage the kingdom. In consequence again of royal
protection, men can everywhere sleep fearlessly and at their case without
shutting their houses and doors with bolts and bars. Nobody would hear the evil
speeches of others, far less actual assaults, if the king did not righteously protect
the earth.[213] If the king exercises the duty of protection, women decked with
ornament may fearlessly wander everywhere without male relatives to attend
upon them. Men become righteous and without injuring serve one another
because the king exercises the duty of protection. In consequence of royal
protection the members of the three orders are enabled to perform high sacrifices
and devote themselves to the acquisition of learning with attention, The world
depends upon agriculture and trade and is protected by the Vedas. All these
again are duly protected by the king exercising his principal duty. Since the king,
taking a heavy load upon himself, protects his subjects with the aid of a mighty
force, it is for this that the people are able to live in happiness. Who is there that
will not worship him in whose existence the people exist and in whose
destruction the people are destroyed? That person who does what is agreeable
and beneficial to the king and who bears (a share of) the burden of kingly duties
that strike every caste with fear, conquers both this and the other world.[214]
That man who even thinks of doing an injury to the king, without doubt meets
with grief here and goes to hell hereafter. No one should disregard the king by
taking him for a man, for he is really a high divinity in human form. The king
assumes five different forms according to five different occasions. He becomes
Agni, Aditya, Mrityu, Vaisravana, and Yama. When the king, deceived by
falsehood, burns with his fierce energy the sinful offenders before him, he is then
said to assume the form of Agni. When he observes through his spies the acts of
all persons and does what is for the general good, he is then said to assume the
form of Aditya. When he destroys in wrath hundreds of wicked men with their
sons, grandsons, and relatives, he is then said to assume the form of the
Destroyer. When he restrains the wicked by inflicting upon them severe
punishments and favours the righteous by bestowing rewards upon them, he is
then said to assume the form of Yama. When he gratifies with profuse gifts of
wealth those that have rendered him valuable services, and snatches away the
wealth and precious stones of those that have offended him, indeed, when he
bestows prosperity upon some and takes it away from others, he is then, O king,
said to assume the form of Kuvera on earth. No person who is possessed of
cleverness, who is capable of work, who desires the acquisition of virtue, and
who is free from malice, should ever spread evil reports about the king. No man,

by acting against the king, can ever make himself happy, even if he happens to
be the king‟s son or brother or companion or one whom the king regards as his
second self. Fire, having the wind for his urger, blazing forth (among articles that
are inflammable), may leave a remnant.[215] The wrath of the king, however,
leaves not anything to the person that incurs it. Whatever belongs to the king
should be avoided from distance.[216] One should turn away from what belongs
to the king as he would from death itself. A person by appropriating what belongs
to the king speedily meets with destruction like a deer upon touching poison. The
man of intelligence should protect as his own what belongs to the kin.. They that
appropriate wealth belonging to the king sink senseless into a deep hell of
eternal gloom and infamy. Who is there that will not worship the king who is
adored by such terms as delighter of the people, giver of happiness, possessor
of prosperity, the foremost of all, healer of injuries, lord of earth, and protector of
men? That man, therefore, who desires his own prosperity, who observes all
wholesome restraints, who has his soul under control, who is the master of his
passions, who is possessed of intelligence and memory, and who is clever (in the
transaction of business), should always be attached to the king. The king should
duly honour the minister who is grateful, endued with wisdom, large-hearted,
loyal, possessed of mastery over his senses, virtuous, and observant of the
dictates of policy. The king should entertain the man who is loyal, grateful,
virtuous, possessed of self-control, brave, magnanimous in his acts, and
competent to accomplish tasks without the assistance of others. Knowledge
makes men proud. The king makes men humble. The man who is afflicted by the
king can never obtain happiness. On the other hand, the man who is favoured by
the king becomes happy. The king is the heart of his people; he is their great
refuge; he is their glory; and he is their highest happiness. Those men, O
monarch, who are attached to the king, succeed in conquering both this and the
other world. Having governed the earth with the aid of the qualities of self-
restraint, truth, and friendship, and having adored the gods by great sacrifices,
the king, earning great glory, obtains an eternal abode in heaven.‟ That best of
monarchs, viz., the heroic Vasumanas, ruler of Kosala, thus instructed by
Vrihaspati the son of Angiras, began thenceforth to protect his subjects.”
SECTION LXIX
“Yudhishthira said, „What other special duties remain for the king to discharge?
How should he protect his kingdom and how subdue his foes? How should he
employ his spies? How should he inspire confidence in the four orders of his
subjects, his own servants, wives, and sons, O Bharata?‟
“Bhishma said, „Listen, O monarch, with attention to the diverse duties of kings,--
to those acts which the king or one that is in the position of a king should first do.
The king should first subdue himself and then seek to subdue his foes. How
should a king who has not been able to conquer his own self be able to conquer
his foes? The conquest of these, viz., the aggregate of five, is regarded as the

conquest of self. The king that has succeeded in subduing his senses is
competent to resist his foes. He should place bodies of foot-soldiers in his forts,
frontiers, towns, parks, and pleasure gardens, O delighter of the Kurus, as also in
all places where he himself goes, and within his own palace, O tiger among men!
He should employ as spies men looking like idiots or like those that are blind and
deaf. Those should all be persons who have been thoroughly examined (in
respect of their ability), who are possessed of wisdom, and who are able to
endure hunger and thirst. With proper attention, the king should set his spies
upon all his counsellors and friends and sons, in his city and the provinces, and
in dominions of the chiefs under him. His spies should be so employed that they
may not know one another. He should also, O bull of Bharata‟s race, know the
spies of his foes by himself setting spies in shops and places of amusement, and
concourses of people, among beggars, in his pleasure gardens and parks, in
meetings and conclaves of the learned, in the country, in public places, in places
where he holds his own court, and in the houses of the citizens. The king
possessed of intelligence may thus ascertain the spies despatched by his foes. If
these be known, the king may derive much benefit, O son of Pandu! When the
king, by a survey of his own, finds himself weak, he should then, consulting with
his counsellors make peace with a foe that is stronger. The king that is wise
should speedily make peace with a foe, even when he knows that he is not weak,
if any advantage is to be derived from it. Engaged in protecting his kingdom with
righteousness, the king should make peace with those that are possessed of
every accomplishment, capable of great exertion, virtuous, and honest. When the
king finds himself threatened with danger and about to be overtaken by ruin, he
should slay all offenders whom he had overlooked before and all such persons
as are pointed at by the people. A king should have nothing to do with that
person who can neither benefit nor injure him, or with one who cannot rescue
himself from distress. As regards military operations a king who is confident of
his own strength, should, at the head of a large force, cheerfully and with
courage give the order to march, without proclaiming his destination against one
destitute of allies and friends or already at war with another and (therefore)
heedless (of danger from other quarters), or one weaker than himself, having first
made arrangements for the protection of his own capital.[217] A king should not
for ever live in subjection to another possessed of greater prowess. Though
weak, he should seek to afflict the stronger, and resolved upon this, continue to
rule his own.[218] He should afflict the kingdom of the stronger one by means of
weapons, fire and application of poison. He should also cause dissensions
amongst his counsellors and servants. Vrihaspati has said that a king possessed
of intelligence should always avoid war for acquisition of territory. The acquisition
of dominion should be made by the three well-known means (of conciliation, gift,
and disunion). The king that is possessed of wisdom should be gratified with
those acquisition that are made by means of conciliation, gift, and disunion. The
king, O delighter of the Kurus, should take a sixth of the incomes of his subjects
as tribute for meeting the expenses of protecting them. He should also forcibly
take away wealth, much or little (as the case may require), from the ten kinds of
offenders mentioned in the scriptures, for the protection of his subjects. A king

should, without doubt, look upon his subjects as his own children. In determining
their disputes, however, he should not show compassion. For hearing the
complaints and answers of disputants in judicial suits, the king should always
appoint persons possessed of wisdom and a knowledge of the affairs of the
world, for the state really rests upon a proper administration of justice. The king
should set honest and trustworthy men over his mines, salt, grain, ferries, and
elephant corps. The king who always wields with propriety the rod of
chastisement earns great merit. The proper regulation of chastisement is the high
duty of kings and deserves great applause. The king should be conversant with
the Vedas and their branches, possessed of wisdom, engaged in penances,
charitable, and devoted to the performance of sacrifices. All these qualities
should permanently reside in a king. If the king fails to administer justice, he can
neither have heaven nor fame. If a king be afflicted by a stronger one, the former,
if possessed of intelligence, should seek refuge in a fort. Assembling his friends
for consultation, he should devise proper means. Adopting the policy of
conciliation and of producing dissensions, he should devise means for waging
war with the assailant. He should set the inhabitants of the woods on the high
roads, and, if necessary, cause whole villages to be removed, transplanting all
the inhabitants to minor towns or the outskirts of great cities. Repeatedly
assuring his wealthy subjects and the principal officers of the army, he should
cause the inhabitants of the open country to take refuge in such forts as are well-
protected. He should himself withdraw all stores of grain (from the open country
into his forts). If that becomes impossible, he should destroy them completely by
fire. He should set men for destroying the crops on the fields of the enemy (by
producing disunion among the enemy‟s subjects). Failing to do this, he should
destroy those crops by means of his own troops. He should destroy all the
bridges over the rivers in his kingdom. He should bale out the waters of all the
tanks in his dominions, or, if incapable of baling them out, cause them to be
poisoned. Disregarding the duty of protecting his friends, he should, in view of
both present and future circumstances, seek the protection of the ruler of another
kingdom who may happen to be the foe of his foe and who may be competent to
deal with his foe on the field of battle.[219] He should destroy all the smaller forts
in his kingdom. He should also cut down all the smaller trees excepting those
that are called Chaitya.[220] He should cause the branches of all the larger trees
to be lopped off, but he should not touch the very leaves of those called Chaitya.
He should raise outer ramparts round his forts, with enclosures in them, and fill
his trenches with water, driving pointed stakes at their bottom and filling them
with crocodiles and sharks. He should keep small openings in his walls for
making sallies from his fort, and carefully make arrangements for their defence
like that of the greater gates.[221] In all his gates he should plant destructive
engines. He should plant on the ramparts (of his forts) Sataghnis and other
weapons. He should store wood for fuel and dig and repair wells for supply of
water to the garrison. He should cause all houses made of grass and straw to be
plastered over with mud, and if it is the summer month, he should, from fear of
fire, withdraw (into a place of safety) all the stores of grass and straw. He should
order all food to be cooked at night. No fire should be ignited during the day,

except for the daily homa. Particular care should be taken of the fires in smithies
and lying-in rooms. Fires kept within the houses of the inhabitants should be well
covered. For the effectual protection of the city, it should be proclaimed that
condign punishment will overtake the person who lights fires by the day time.
During such times, all beggars, eunuchs, lunatics, and mimes, should, O
foremost of men, be driven out of the town, for if they are permitted to remain,
evil will follow. In places of public resort, in tirthas, in assemblies, and in the
houses of the citizens, the king should set competent spies.[222] The king should
cause wide roads to be constructed and order shops, and places for the
distribution of water, to be opened at proper stations. Depots (of diverse
necessaries), arsenals, camps and quarters for soldiers, stations for the keeping
of horses and elephants, encampments of soldiers, trenches, streets and
bypaths, houses and gardens for retirement and pleasure, should be so ordered
that their sites may not be known to others, O Yudhishthira. A king who is
afflicted by a hostile army should gather wealth, and store oil and fat and honey,
and clarified butter, and medicines of all kinds, and charcoal and munja grass,
leaves, arrows, scribes and draftsmen, grass, fuel, poisoned arrows, weapons of
every kind such as darts, swords, lances, and others. The king should store such
articles. He should especially keep ready drugs of every kind, roots and fruits, the
four kinds of physicians, actors and dancers, athletes, and persons capable of
assuming diverse disguises. He should decorate his capital and gladden all his
subjects. The king should lose no time in bringing under his control such persons
as may happen to inspire him with fear, be they his servants or counsellors or
citizens or neighbouring monarchs. After any task of the king has been
accomplished, he should reward that those that have aided in its accomplishment
with wealth and other proportionate gifts and thankful speeches. It has been laid
down in the scriptures, O delighter of the Kurus, that a king pays off his debt
when he discomfits his foe or slays him outright.[223] A king should take care of
seven things. Listen to me as I recite them. They are his own self, his
counsellors, his treasury, his machinery for awarding punishments, his friends,
his provinces, and his capital. He should with care protect his kingdom which
consists of these seven limbs. That king, O tiger among men, who is conversant
with the aggregate of six, the triple aggregate, and the high aggregate of three,
succeeds in winning the sovereignty of the whole earth. Listen, O Yudhishthira,
to what has been called the aggregate of six. These are ruling in peace after
concluding a treaty (with the foe), marching to battle, producing disunion among
the foe, concentration of forces, for inspiring the foe with fear, preparedness for
war with readiness for peace, and alliance with others. Listen now with attention
to what has been called the triple aggregate. They are decrease, maintenance of
what is, and growth. The high aggregate of three consists of Virtue, Profit and
Pleasure. These should be pursued judiciously. By the aid of virtue, a king
succeeds in ruling the earth for ever. Touching this matter, Angirasa‟s son:
Vrihaspati himself has sung two verses. Blessed be thou, O son of Devaki, it
behoveth thee to hear them. „Having discharged all his duties and having
protected the earth, and having also protected his cities, a king attains to great
happiness in heaven. What are penances to that king, and what need has he of

sacrifices who protects his people properly? Such a king should be regarded as
one conversant with every virtue!‟
Yudhishthira said, „There is the science of chastisement, there is the king, and
there are the subjects. Tell me, O grandsire, what advantage is derived by one of
these from the others.‟
Bhishma said, „Listen to me, O king, as I describe, O Bharata, the great
blessedness of the science of chastisement, in sacred words of grave import.
The science of chastisement forces all men to the observance of the duties of
their respective orders. Duly administered, it forces people to virtuous acts.[224]
When the four orders attend to their respective duties, when all wholesome
barriers are maintained, when peace and happiness are made to flow from the
science of chastisement, when the people become freed from all fear, and the
three higher orders endeavour, according to their respective duties, to maintain
harmony, know that men become truly happy at such times. Whether it is the
king that makes the age, or, it is the age that makes the king, is a question about
which thou shouldst not entertain any doubt. The truth is that the king makes the
age. When, the king rules with a complete and strict reliance on the science of
chastisement, the foremost of ages called Krita is then said to set in.[225]
Righteousness sets in the Krita age. Nothing of unrighteousness exists then. The
hearts of men belonging to all the four orders do not take any pleasure in
unrighteousness. Without doubt, all men succeed in acquiring the objects they
desire and preserving those that have been acquired. All the Vedic rites become
productive of merit. All the seasons become delightful and free from evil. The
voice, pronunciation, and minds of all men become clear and cheerful. Diseases
disappear and all men become long-lived. Wives do not become widows, and no
person becomes a miser. The earth yields crops without being tilled, and herbs
and plants grow in luxuriance. Barks, leaves, fruits, and roots, become vigorous
and abundant. No unrighteousness is seen. Nothing but righteousness exists.
Know these to be the characteristics, O Yudhishthira, of the Krita age. When the
king relies upon only three of the four parts of the science of chastisement
leaving out a fourth, the age called Treta sets in. A fourth part of unrighteousness
follows in the train of such observance (of the great science) by three-fourths.
The earth yields crops but waits for tillage. The herbs and plants grow
(depending upon tillage). When the king observes the great science by only a
half, leaving out the other half, then the age that sets in is called Dwapara. A
moiety of unrighteousness follows in the train of such observance of the great
science by half. The earth requires tillage and yields crops by half. When the
king, abandoning the great science totally, oppresses his subjects by evil means
of diverse kinds, the age that sets in is called Kali. During the age called Kali,
unrighteousness becomes full and nothing of righteousness is seen. The hearts
of men, of all the orders, fall away from their respective duties. Sudras live by
adopting lives of mendicancy, and Brahmanas live by serving others. Men fail to
acquire the objects they desire and preserve those already acquired. Intermixture
of the four orders takes place. Vedic rites fail to produce fruits. All the seasons
cease to be delightful and become fraught with evil. The voice, pronunciation,
and minds of men lose vigour. Diseases appear, and men die prematurely.

Wives become widows, and many cruel men are seen. The clouds do not pour
seasonably, and crops fail. All kinds of moisture also fail, when the king does not,
with proper attention to the great science, protect the subjects. The king is the
creator of the Krita age, of the Treta, and of the Dwapara. The king is the cause
of the fourth age (called Kali). If he causes the Krita age, he attains to everlasting
heaven. If he causes the Treta age, he acquires heaven for a period that is
limited. If he causes the Dwapara, he attains to blessedness in heaven according
to the measure of his merits. By causing the Kali age, the king incurs a heavy
load of sin. Stained by wickedness, he rots in hell for innumerable years, for
sinking in the sins of his subjects, he incurs great sin and infamy himself.
Keeping the great science in his view, the Kshatriya possessed of learning
should strive to acquire those objects which he desires and protect those that
have been already acquired. The science of chastisement, which establishes all
men in the observance of their respective duties, which is the groundwork of all
wholesome distinctions, and which truly upholds the world and sets it agoing, if
properly administered, protects all men like the mother and the father protecting
their children. Know, O bull among men, that the very lives of creatures depend
upon it. The highest merit a king can acquire is acquaintance with the science of
chastisement and administering it properly. Therefore, O thou of Kuru‟s race,
protect thy subjects righteously, with the aid of that great science. By protecting
the subjects and adopting such a conduct, thou wilt surely attain to such
blessedness in heaven as is difficult of acquisition.”
SECTION LXX
“Yudhishthira said, „By adopting that conduct, O thou that art conversant with
every kind of behaviour, can a king succeed in easily acquiring, both here and
hereafter, objects productive of happiness in the end?‟
“Bhishma said, „There are these thirty-six virtues (which a king should observe).
They are connected with thirty-six others. A virtuous person, by attending to
those qualities, can certainly acquire great merit. The king should observe his
duties without wrath and malice. He should not abandon kindness. He should
have faith. He should acquire wealth without persecution and cruelty. He should
pursue pleasure without attachments. He should, with cheerfulness, utter what is
the agreeable, and be brave without brag. He should be liberal but should not
make gifts to persons that are unobserving. He should have prowess without
cruelty. He should make alliance, avoiding those that are wicked. He should not
act with hostility towards friends. He should never employ persons not devoted to
him as his spies and secret agents. He should never accomplish his objects by
persecution. He should never, disclose his purposes before persons that are
wicked. He should speak of the merits of others but never his own. He should
take wealth from his subjects but never from those that are good. He should
never employ or take the assistance of persons that are wicked. He should never
inflict punishment without careful enquiry. He should never disclose his counsels.

He should give away, but not to persons that are covetous. He should repose
confidence on others but never on those that have injured him. He should not
cherish malice. He should protect his wedded wives. He should be pure and
should not always be melted by compassion. He should not indulge much in
female companionship. He should take food that is wholesome and never that
which is otherwise. He should without pride pay regards to those that deserve
them, and serve his preceptors and seniors with sincerity. He should worship the
gods without pride. He should seek prosperity, but never do anything that brings
infamy. He should wait (upon his seniors) with humility. He should be clever in
business but should always wait for the proper time. He should comfort men and
never send them away with empty speeches. Having favoured a person, he
should not abandon him. He should never strike in ignorance. Having slain his
foe he should never indulge in sorrow. He should display temper, but should
never do so when there is no occasion. He should be mild, but never to those
that have offended. Conduct thyself thus while ruling thy kingdom if thou wishest
to have prosperity. The king that behaves otherwise incurs great danger. That
king who observes all these virtues that I have mentioned, reaps many blessings
on earth and great rewards in heaven.‟
“Vaisampayana continued, „Hearing these words of Santanu‟s son, king
Yudhishthira, docile in receiving instructions, possessed of great intelligence, and
protected by Bhima and others, then worshipped his grandsire and from that time
began to rule according to that teaching.‟”
SECTION LXXI
Yudhishthira said, „Tell me, O grand sire, in what way should the king protect his
subjects so as to be able to avoid grief and so as not to offend against
righteousness?‟
“Bhishma said, „I shall recite, O king, those eternal duties in brief, for if I were to
mention them in detail, I would never attain to their end. Thou shouldst worship
those Brahmanas that are devoted to their duties, possessed of learning, regular
in worshipping the gods, observant of high vows, and endued with other
accomplishments, when they come to thy abode, and employ them in officiating
in thy sacrifices. With thy priest accompanying thee, thou shouldst rise up when
they approach, and touch and worship their feet, and do every other act that is
necessary. Doing these acts of piety and discharging other acts that are for thy
own good, thou shouldst (by presents) cause those Brahmanas to utter
benedictions on thee for the success of thy purposes. Endued with sincerity, and
wisdom and intelligence, O Bharata, thou shouldst adopt truth and avoid lust and
wrath. That foolish king who pursues Profit without driving away lust and wrath,
fails to acquire virtue and ultimately sacrifices Profit as well. Never employ those
that are covetous and foolish in matters connected with Pleasure and Profit.
Thou shouldst always employ in all thy acts those that are free from
covetousness and possessed of intelligence. Stained with lust and wrath and

unskilled in the transaction of business foolish persons, if vested with authority in
matters of Profit, always oppress the people by diverse contrivances productive
of mischief. With a sixth part upon fair calculation, of the yield of the soil as his
tribute, with fines and forfeitures levied upon offenders, with the imposts,
according to the scriptures, upon merchants and traders in return for the
protection granted to them, a king should fill his treasury.[226] Realising this just
tribute and governing the kingdom properly the king should, with heedfulness, act
in such a way that his subjects may not feel the pressure of want. Men become
deeply devoted to that king who discharges the duty of protection properly, who
is endued with liberality, who is steady in the observance of righteousness, who
is vigilant, and who is free from Just and hate. Never desire to fill thy treasury by
acting unrighteously or from covetousness. That king who does not act in
accordance with the scriptures fails to earn wealth and religious merit. That king
who is mindful only of the means of acquiring wealth, never succeeds in
acquiring both religious merit and wealth. The wealth again that he acquires (by
such means) is seen to be lavished on unworthy objects.[227] That avaricious
king who through folly oppresses his subjects by levying taxes not sanctioned by
the scriptures, is said to wrong his own self. As a person desirous of milk never
obtains any by cutting off the udders of a cow, similarly a kingdom afflicted by
improper means, never yields any profit to the king.[228] He who treats a milch
cow with tenderness always obtains milk from it. Similarly, the king who rules his
kingdom by the aid of proper means, reaps much fruit from it. By protecting a
kingdom properly and ruling it by the aid of judicious means, a king, O
Yudhishthira, may succeed in always obtaining much wealth. The earth, well
protected by the king, yields crops and gold (to the ruler and the ruled) even like
a gratified mother yielding milk to her child. Imitate the example, O king, of the
flowerman and not of the charcoal-maker. Becoming such and discharging, the
duty of protection, thou mayst be able to enjoy the earth for ever.[229] If in
attacking an enemy‟s kingdom thy treasury becomes exhausted, thou mayst refill
it by taking wealth from all except Brahmanas. Let not thy heart be moved, even
when thou art in great distress, upon seeing Brahmanas possessed of wealth. I
need not speak then of what thou shouldst do when thou art in affluence. Thou
shouldst give them wealth to the best of thy power and as they deserve and
protect them, comforting them on all occasions. By conducting thyself in this way,
thou mayst acquire such regions hereafter as are most difficult of acquisition.
Adopting such virtuous behaviour, do thou protect thy subjects. Thou mayst then
obtain, O delighter of the Kurus, fame that is everlasting, high, and pure. Protect
thy subjects righteously, O son of Pandu, for no regret or pain will then be thine.
Protection of the subject is the highest duty of the king, since compassion to all
creatures and protecting them from injury has been said to be the highest merit.
Persons conversant with duties regard that to be the highest merit of the king,
when, engaged in protecting all creatures, the king displays compassion towards
them. The sin a king incurs by neglecting for a single day to protect his subjects
from fear is such that he does not attain to end of his sufferings (for it) in hell till
after a thousand years. The merit a king earns by protecting his subjects
righteously for a single day is such that he enjoys its reward in heaven for ten

thousand years. All those regions that are acquired by persons leading duly the
Garhasthya, the Brahmacharya, and the Vanaprastha modes of life, are soon
acquired by a king by only protecting his subjects righteously. Do thou, O son of
Kunti, observe with great care this duty (of protection). Thou shalt then obtain the
reward of righteousness and no grief and pain will be thine. Thou shalt, O son of
Pandu, obtain great prosperity in heaven. Merit like this is impossible to be
acquired by persons that are not kings. A person, therefore, who is a king, and
no other, can succeed in earning such reward of virtue. Possessed of
intelligence, thou hast obtained a kingdom. Do thou protect thy subjects
righteously. Gratify Indra with offerings of Soma and the friends and well-wishers
with the objects of their wishes.‟”
SECTION LXXII
“Bhishma said, „That person, O king, who would protect the good and punish the
wicked, should be appointed as his priest by the king. In this connection is cited
the old story about the discourse between Pururavas, the son of Aila and
Matariswan.‟
“Pururavas said, „Whence has the Brahmana sprung and whence the three other
orders? For what reason also has the Brahmana become the foremost? It
behoveth thee to tell me all this.‟
“Matariswan answered, „The Brahmana, O best of kings, has sprung from the
mouth of Brahman. The Kshatriya has sprung from his two arms, and the Vaisya
from his two thighs. For waiting upon these three orders, O ruler of men, a fourth
order, viz., the Sudra, sprung into life, being created from the feet (of Brahman).
Originally created thus, the Brahmana takes birth on earth as the lord of all
creatures, his duty being the keep of the Vedas and the other scriptures.[230]
Then, for ruling the earth and wielding the rod of chastisement and protecting all
creatures, the second order, viz., the Kshatriya was created. The Vaisya was
created for supporting the two other orders and himself by cultivation and trade,
and finally, it was ordained by Brahman that the Sudra should serve the three
orders as a menial.‟
“Pururavas said, „Tell me truly, O god of Winds, to whom, this earth righteously
belong. Does it belong to the Brahmana or to the Kshatriya?‟
“The god of Winds said, „Everything that exists in the universe belongs to the
Brahmana in consequence of his birth and precedence. Persons conversant with
morality say this. What the Brahmana eats is his own. The place he inhabits is
his own. What he gives away is his own. He deserves the veneration of all the
(other) orders. He is the first-born and the foremost. As a woman, in the absence
of her husband, accepts his younger brother for him, even so the earth, in
consequence of the refusal of the Brahmana, has accepted his next-born, viz.,
the Kshatriya, for her lord. This is the first rule. In times, however, of distress,
there is an exception of this. If thou seekest to discharge the duties of the order

and wishest to obtain the highest place in heaven, then give unto the Brahmana
all the land thou mayst succeed in conquering, unto him that is possessed of
learning and virtuous conduct, that is conversant with duties and observant of
penances, that is satisfied with the duties of his order and not covetous of wealth.
The well-born Brahmana, possessed of wisdom and humility, guides the king in
every matter by his own great intelligence. By means of sound counsels he
causes the king to earn prosperity. The Brahmana points out to the king the
duties the latter is to observe. As long as a wise king, observant of the duties of
his order, and bereft of pride, is desirous of listening to the instructions of the
Brahmana, so long is he honoured and so long does he enjoy fame. The priest of
the king, therefore, has a share in the merit that the king acquires. When the king
behaves himself thus, all his subjects, relying upon him, become virtuous in their
behaviour, attentive to their duties, and freed from every fear. The king obtains a
fourth part of those righteous acts which his subjects, properly protected by him,
perform in his kingdom. The gods, men, Pitris, Gandharvas, Uragas, and
Rakshasas, all depend upon sacrifices for their support. In a country destitute of
a king, there can be no sacrifice. The gods and the Pitris subsist on the offerings
made in sacrifices. Sacrifice, however, depends upon the king. In the season of
summer, men desire comfort from the shade of trees, cool water, and cool
breezes. In the season of winter they derive comfort from fire, warm clothes, and
the sun. The heart of man may find pleasure in sound, touch, taste, vision, and
scent. The man, however, who is inspired with fear, finds no pleasure in all these
things. That person who dispels the fears of men obtains great merit. There is no
gift so valuable in the three worlds as the gift of life. The king is Indra. The king is
Yama. The king is Dharma. The king assumes different forms. The king sustains
and supports everything.‟”
SECTION LXXIII
“Bhishma said, „The king, with an eye to both religious merit and profit whose
considerations are often very intricate, should, without delay, appoint a priest
possessed of learning and intimate acquaintance with the Vedas and the (other)
scriptures. Those kings that have priests possessed of virtuous souls and
conversant with policy, and that are themselves possessed of such attributes,
enjoy prosperity in every direction. Both the priest and the king should have such
qualities as are worthy of regard and should be observant of vows and penances.
They would then succeed in supporting and aggrandising the subjects and the
deities, the Pitris and the children.[231] It is laid down that they should be
possessed of similar hearts and should be each other‟s friends. In consequence
of such friendship between Brahmana and Kshatriya, the subjects become
happy. If they do not regard each other, destruction would overtake the people.
The Brahmana and the Kshatriya are said to be the progenitors of all men. In this
connection is cited the old story about the discourse between Aila‟s son and
Kasyapa. Listen to it, O Yudhishthira.‟

“Aila said, „When the Brahmana forsakes the Kshatriya or the Kshatriya forsakes
the Brahmana, who amongst them should be regarded superior and upon whom
do the other orders rely and maintain themselves?‟
“Kasyapa said, „Ruin overtakes the kingdom of the Kshatriya when the Brahmana
and Kshatriya contend with each other. Robbers infest that kingdom in which
confusion prevails, and all good men regard the ruler to be a Mlechcha. Their
oxen do not thrive, nor their children. Their pots (of milk) are not churned, and no
sacrifices are performed there. The children do not study the Vedas in kingdoms
where Brahmanas abandon Kshatriyas. In their houses wealth does not increase.
Their children do not become good and do not study the scriptures and perform
sacrifices. Those Kshatriyas that abandon Brahmanas become impure in blood
and assume the nature of robbers. The Brahmana and the Kshatriya are
connected with each other naturally, and each protects the other. The Kshatriya
is the cause of the Brahmana‟s growth and the Brahmana is the cause of the
Kshatriya‟s growth. When each helps the other, both attain to great prosperity. If
their friendship, existing from days of old, breaks, a confusion sets over
everything. No person desirous of crossing the ocean of life succeeds in his task
even as a small boat floating on the bosom of the sea. The four orders of men
become confounded and destruction overtakes all. If the Brahmana. who is like a
tree is protected, gold and honey are showered. If, on the other hand, he is not
protected, it then tears and sins are showered, When Brahmanas fall away from
the Vedas and (in the absence of a Kshatriya ruler) seek protection from the
scriptures, then Indra does not pour rain seasonably and diverse kinds of
calamities ceaselessly afflict the kingdom. When a sinful wretch having slain a
woman or a Brahmana does not incur obloquy in assemblies of fellowmen and
has not to stand in fear of the king, then danger threatens the Kshatriya ruler. In
consequence of the sins perpetrated by sinful men, the god Rudra appears in the
kingdom. Indeed, the sinful by their sins bring upon them that god of vengeance.
He then destroys all, the honest and the wicked alike (without making any
distinction).‟
“Aila said, „Whence does Rudra spring? What also is his form? Creatures are
seen to be destroyed by creatures. Tell me all this, O Kasyapa! Whence does
the god Rudra spring?‟
“Kasyapa said, „Rudra exists in the hearts of men. He destroys the bodies
themselves in which he dwells as also the bodies of others. Rudra has been said
to be like atmospheric visitations and his form is like that of the wind-gods.‟
“Aila said, „The Wind does not, by blowing, visibly destroy men on all occasions,
nor does the deity of the clouds do so by pouring rain. On the other hand, it is
seen among men that they lose their senses and are slain through lust and
malice.‟
“Kasyapa said, „Fire, blazing forth in one house, burneth a whole quarter or an
entire village. Similarly, this deity stupefies the senses of some one and then that
stupefaction touches all, the honest and the wicked alike, without any distinction.‟

“Aila said, „If chastisement touches all viz., the honest and the wicked alike, in
consequence of the sins perpetrated by the sinful, why should men, in that case,
do acts that are good? Indeed, why should they not perform wicked acts?‟
“Kasyapa said, „By avoiding all connection with the sinful, one becomes pure and
stainless. In consequence, however, of their being mixed with the sinful, the
sinless are overtaken by chastisement. Wood that is wet, if mixed with wood that
is dry, is consumed by fire in consequence of such co-existence. The sinless,
therefore, should never mingle with the sinful.‟
“Aila said, „The earth holds the honest and the wicked. The sun warms the
honest and the wicked. The wind blows equally for them. Water cleanses them
equally.‟
“Kasyapa said, „Such, indeed, is the course of this world, O prince! It is not so,
however, hereafter. In the other world, there is great difference of condition
between the person that acts righteously and him that acts sinfully. The regions
that meritorious men acquire are full of honey and possessed of the splendour of
gold or of a fire upon which clarified butter has been poured. Those regions also
are likened to the navel of ambrosia. The meritorious person enjoys great felicity
there. Death, decrepitude, and sorrow, are not there. The region for the sinful is
hell. Darkness and ceaseless pain are there, and it is full of sorrow. Sinking in
infamy, the man of sinful deeds wrung with remorse there for many years. In
consequence of a disunion between Brahmanas and Kshatriyas, unbearable
griefs afflict the people. Knowing this, a king should appoint a (Brahmana) priest
possessed of experience and wide knowledge. A king should first install the
priest in his office, and then cause his own coronation. This has been laid down
in the ordinance. The ordinances declare that the Brahmana is the foremost of all
creatures. Men acquainted with the Vedas say that the Brahmana was created
first. In consequence of the precedence of his birth, all things that are good in this
world are vested in him. The rightful owner of all the best things that have flowed
from the Creator, the Brahmana is also, for such precedence, worthy of the
respect and the worship of all creatures. A king, however powerful, should,
according to the dictates of the scriptures, bestow upon the Brahmana whatever
is best and distinguished above others. The Brahmana contributes to the
aggrandisement of the Kshatriya, and the Kshatriya to the aggrandisement of the
Brahmana. Brahmanas should, therefore, be especially and always worshipped
by kings.‟”
SECTION LXXIV
“Bhishma said, „It is said that the preservation and growth of the kingdom rest
upon the king. The preservation and growth of the king rest upon the king‟s
priest. That kingdom enjoys true felicity where the invisible fears of the subjects
are dispelled by the Brahmana and all visible fears are dispelled by the king with
the might of his arms. In this connection is cited the old narrative of the discourse
between king Muchukunda and Vaisravana. King Muchukunda, having

subjugated the whole earth, repaired to the lord of Alaka for testing his strength.
King Vaisravana created (by ascetic power) a large force of Rakshasas. These
ground the forces led by Muchukunda. Beholding the slaughter of his army, king
Muchukunda, O chastiser of foes, began to rebuke his own learned priest
(Vasishtha). Thereupon that foremost of righteous persons viz., Vasishtha,
underwent very severe penances and, causing those Rakshasas to be slain,
ascertained the true course upon which Muchukunda was bent. When king
Vaisravana‟s troops were being slaughtered, he showed himself unto
Muchukunda and said these words.‟
“The Lord of treasures said, „Many kings of old, more powerful than thou art,
aided by their priests, had never approached me thus? All of them were skilled in
weapons and all of them were possessed of might. Regarding me as the grantor
of weal and woe, they approached me for offering worship. In truth, if thou hast
might of arms, it behoves thee to display it. Why dost thou act so proudly, aided
by Brahmana might?‟ Enraged at these words, Muchukunda, without pride and
fear, said unto the lord of treasures these words fraught with reason and justice,
„The self-born Brahman created the Brahmana and the Kshatriya. They have a
common origin. If they apply their forces separately, they would never be able to
uphold the world. The power of penances and mantras was bestowed upon
Brahmanas; the might of arms and of weapons was bestowed upon Kshatriyas.
Aggrandised by both kinds of might, kings should protect their subjects. I am
acting in that way. Why dost thou, O lord of Alaka, rebuke me then?‟ Thus
addressed, Vaisravana said unto Muchukunda and his priest, „I never, without
being ordered by the (self-created) bestow sovereignty upon any one. Nor do I
ever, without being ordered, take it away from any one. Know this, O king! Do
thou rule then the whole earth without bounds.‟ Thus addressed, king
Muchukunda replied, saying, „I do not, O king, desire to enjoy sovereignty
obtained as gift from thee! I desire to enjoy sovereignty obtained by the might of
my own arms.‟
“Bhishma continued, „At these words of Muchukunda, Vaisravana, seeing the
king fearless in the observance of Kshatriya duties, became filled with surprise.
King Muchukunda, devoted to Kshatriya duties, continued to rule the entire earth
obtained by the might of his own arms. That virtuous king who rules his kingdom,
aided by and yielding precedence to the Brahmana, succeeds in subjugating the
whole earth and achieving great fame. The Brahmana should every day perform
his religious rites and the Kshatriya should always be armed with weapons.
Between them they are the rightful owners of everything in the universe.‟”
SECTION LXXV
“Yudhishthira said, „Tell me, O grandsire, that conduct by which a king succeeds
in aggrandising his subjects and earning regions of felicity in the other world.‟
“Bhishma said, „The king should be liberal and should perform sacrifices, O
Bharata! He should be observant of vows and penances, and should be devoted

to the duty of protecting his subjects. Righteously protecting all his subjects, he
should honour all righteous persons by standing up when they come and by
making gifts unto them. If the king regards it, righteousness becomes regarded
everywhere. Whatever acts and things are liked by the king are liked by his
subjects. Unto his foes the king should always be like Death, with the rod of
chastisement uplifted in his hands. He should exterminate robbers everywhere in
his kingdom and never pardon any one from caprice. The king, O Bharata, earns
a fourth part of the merit that his subjects earn under his protection. By only
protecting his subjects the king acquires a fourth part of the merit that his
subjects acquire by study, by gifts, by pouring libations, and by worshipping the
gods. The king acquires a fourth part also of the sin that his subjects commit in
consequence of any distress in the kingdom arising from the king‟s neglect in
discharging the duty of protection. Some say that the king earns a moiety, and
some say the full measure, of whatever sin is caused by his becoming cruel and
untruthful in speech. Listen now to the means by which the king may be
cleansed of such sins. If the king fails to restore to a subject the wealth that has
been stolen away by thieves, he should then compensate the injured from his
own treasury, or, in case of inability, with wealth obtained from his dependents.
All the orders should protect the wealth of a Brahmana even as they should the
Brahmana‟s boy or life. The person that offends against Brahmanas should be
exiled from the kingdom. Everything is protected by protecting the Brahmana‟s
wealth. Through the grace of the Brahmana, which may thus be secured, the
king becomes crowned with success. Men seek the protection of a competent
king like creatures seeking relief from the clouds or birds seeking refuge in a
large tree. A cruel and covetous king, with lustful soul and ever seeking the
gratification of his desire never succeeds in protecting his subjects.‟
“Yudhishthira, said, „I do not, for a moment, desire the happiness that sovereignty
bestows or sovereignty itself for its own sake. I desire it, however, for the sake of
the merit one may acquire from it. It seems to me that no merit is attached to it.
No need for sovereignty then by which no merit can be acquired. I shall,
therefore, retire into the woods from desire of earning merit. Laying aside the rod
of chastisement, and subduing my senses, I shall go to the woods which are
sacred and seek to acquire the merit of righteousness by becoming an ascetic
subsisting upon fruit and roots.‟
“Bhishma said, „I know, O Yudhishthira, what the nature of thy heart is, and how
inoffensive is thy disposition. Thou wilt not, however, by inoffensiveness alone,
succeed in ruling thy kingdom. Thy heart is inclined to mildness, thou art
compassionate, and thou art exceedingly righteous. Thou art without energy, and
thou art virtuous and full of mercy. People, therefore, do not regard thee much.
Follow the conduct of thy sire and grandsire. Kings should never adopt that
conduct which thou desirest to adopt. Never be touched by such anxiety (after
doing thy duty), and never adopt such inoffensiveness of conduct. By becoming
so, thou wouldst not succeed in earning that merit of righteousness which arises
from protecting subjects. The behaviour thou wishest to adopt, impelled by thy
own intelligence and wisdom, is not consistent with those blessings which thy
sire Pandu or thy mother Kunti used to solicit for thee. Thy sire always solicited

for thee courage, might, and truth. Kunti always solicited for thee high-
mindedness and liberality. The offerings with Swaha and Swadha in Sraddhas
and sacrifices are always asked from children by the Pitris and the deities.
Whether gifts and study and sacrifices and the protection of subjects be
meritorious or sinful, thou hast been born to practise and perform them. The
fame, O son of Kunti, is never tarnished of men that even fail in bearing the
burdens which are placed on them and unto which they are yoked in life. Even a
horse, if properly trained, succeeds in bearing, without falling down, a burden.
(What need then be said of thee that art a human being?) One incurs no censure
if only one‟s acts and words be proper, for success is said to depend upon acts
(and words). No person, be he a man virtuously following the domestic mode of
life, or be he a king, or be he a Brahmacharin, has ever succeeded in conducting
himself without tripping. It is better to do an act which is good and in which there
is small merit than to totally abstain from all acts, for total abstention from acts is
very sinful. When a high-born and righteous person succeeds in obtaining
affluence, the king then succeeds in obtaining prosperity in all his affairs. A
virtuous king, having obtained a kingdom, should seek to subdue some by gifts,
some by force, and some by sweet words. There is no one more virtuous than he
upon whom high-born and learned persons rely from fear of losing their means of
sustenance and depending upon whom they live in contentment.
“Yudhishthira said, „What acts, O sire, are conductive to heaven? What is
the nature of the great felicity that is derived from them? What also is
the high prosperity that may be obtained thence? Tell me all this, if
thou knowest.,
“Bhishma said, „That man from whom a person afflicted with fear obtains relief
even for a moment, is the most worthy of heaven amongst us. This that I tell thee
is very true. Be thou cheerfully the king of the Kurus, O foremost one of Kuru‟s
race, acquire heaven, protect the good and slay the wicked. Let thy friends,
together with all honest men, derive their support from thee, like all creatures
from the deity of the clouds and like birds from a large tree with delicious fruits.
Men seek the protection of that person who is dignified, courageous, capable of
smiting, compassionate, with senses under control, affectionate towards all, and
equitable, and just.‟”
SECTION LXXVI
“Yudhishthira said, „O grandsire, amongst Brahmanas some are engaged in the
duties proper to their order, while others are engaged in other duties. Tell me the
difference between these two classes!‟
“Bhishma said, „Those Brahmanas, O king, that are possessed of learning and
beneficent features, and that look upon all creatures with an equal eye, are said
to be equal to Brahma. They that are conversant with the Riches, the Yajuses
and the Samans, and who are devoted to the practices of their order, are, O king,
equal to the very gods. Those, however, amongst them that are not well-born

and not devoted to the duties of their order, and are, besides wedded to evil
practices, are like Sudras. A virtuous king should realise tribute from and
impress without pay into the public service those Brahmanas that are not
possessed of Vedic lore and that have not their own fires to worship. They that
are employed in courts of justice for summoning people, they that perform
worship for others for a fee, they that perform the sacrifices of Vaisyas and
Sudras, they that officiate in sacrifices on behalf of a whole village, and they that
make voyages on the ocean,--these five are regarded as Chandalas among
Brahmanas.[232] They amongst them that become Ritwikas, Purohitas,
counsellors, envoys, and messengers, become, O king, equal to Kshatriyas.[233]
They amongst them that ride horses or elephants or cars or become foot-
soldiers, become, O king, equal to Vaisyas. If the king‟s treasury is not full, he
may realise tribute from these. In realising tribute, the king, however, should
exclude those Brahmanas that are (for their conduct) equal to the gods or
Brahma. The Vedas say that the king is the lord of the wealth belonging to all the
orders except Brahmanas. He can take the wealth of those Brahmanas also that
have fallen away from their legitimate duties. The king should never be indifferent
towards those Brahmanas that are not observant of their duties. For the sake of
making his people virtuous, he should punish and separate them from their
superiors. That king, O monarch, in whose territories a Brahmana becomes a
thief, is regarded by the learned to be the author of that misdeed.
Persons conversant with the Vedas declare that if a Brahmana versed in
the Vedas and observant of vows becomes, through want of sustenance, a
thief, it is the duty of the king to provide for his support. If, after
provision has been made for his support, he does not abstain from theft
he should then, O scorcher of foes be banished from the kingdom with all
his kinsmen.‟”‟
SECTION LXXVII
“Yudhishthira said, „Of whose wealth, O bull of Bharata‟s race, is the king
regarded to be the lord? And what conduct also should the king adopt?
Discourse to me on this, O grandsire.‟
“Bhishma said, „The Vedas declare that the king is the lord of the wealth that
belongs to all persons except Brahmanas, as also of those Brahmanas that are
not observant of their proper duties. The king should not spare those Brahmanas
that are not observant of their duties. The righteous say that this is the ancient
custom of kings. That king, O monarch, in whose dominion a Brahmana
becomes a thief, is regarded to be the author of that misdeed. It is the king that
becomes sinful on that account. In consequence of such a circumstance, kings
regard themselves to be worthy of reproach. All righteous kings, therefore,
provide Brahmanas with the means of support. In this connection is cited the old
narrative of the speech made by the king of the Kaikeyas unto a Rakshasa while
the latter was about to abduct him away. Of rigid vows and possessed of Vedic

lore, the king of the Kaikeyas, O monarch, while living in the woods, was forcibly
seized on a certain occasion by a Rakshasa.‟
“The king said, „There is no thief in my territories, nor any person of wicked
behaviour, nor any one that drinks alcohol. There is no one in my dominions who
has not his sacred fire or who does not perform sacrifices. How then hast thou
been able to possess my heart? There is no Brahmana in my dominions who is
not possessed of learning or who is not observant of vows or who has not drunk
Soma. There is no one who has not his sacred fire or who does not perform
sacrifices. How then hast thou been able to possess my soul? In my dominions
no sacrifice has been performed without completing it by Dakshina. No one in my
dominions studies the Vedas who is not observant of vows. How then hast thou
been able to possess my soul? The Brahmanas in my kingdom teach, study,
sacrifice, officiate at other‟s sacrifices, give, and receive gifts. All of them are
observant of those six acts. The Brahmanas in my kingdom are all devoted to the
performance of the duties of their order. Worshipped and provided for, they are
mild, and truthful in speech. How then hast thou been able to possess my soul?
The Kshatriyas in my kingdom are all devoted to the duties or their order. They
never beg but give, and are conversant with truth and virtue. They never teach
but study, and perform sacrifices but never officiate at the sacrifices of others.
They protect the Brahmanas and never fly from battle. How then hast thou been
able to possess my soul? The Vaisyas in my dominion are all observant of the
duties of their order. With simplicity and without deceit they derive their
sustenance from agriculture, cattle-keeping, and trade. They are all heedful,
observant of religious rites and excellent vows, and truthful in speech. They give
to guests what is their due, and self-restrained, and pure, and attached to their
relative and kinsmen. How then hast thou been able to possess my heart? The
Sudras in my kingdom, observant of the duties of their order, humbly and duly
serve and wait upon the other three orders without entertaining any malice
towards them. How then hast thou been able to possess my heart? I support the
helpless and the old, the weak, the ill, and women (without guardians), by
supplying them with all their necessaries. How then hast thou been able to
possess my heart? I am never an exterminator of the special customs of families
and of countries existing duly from days of old. How then hast thou been able to
possess my heart? The ascetics in my kingdom are protected and worshipped.
They are always honoured and entertained with food. How then hast thou been
able to possess my heart? I never eat without feeding others from my dishes. I
never go to other people‟s wives. I never sport or recreate alone. How then hast
thou been able to possess my heart? No one in my kingdom who is not a
Brahmacharin begs his food, and no one who leads the Bhikshu mode of life
desires to be a Brahmacharin. No one who is not a Ritwij pours libations (of
clarified butter) upon the sacrificial fire. How then hast thou been able to
possess my soul? I never disregard the learned or the old or those that are
engaged in penances. When the whole population sleeps, I keep myself awake
(for watching and protecting). How then hast thou been able to possess my
heart? My priest possesses knowledge of self. He is given to penances, and is
conversant with all duties. Possessed of great intelligence, he has the fullest

power over my kingdom. By gifts I desire to acquire knowledge, and by truth and
the protection of Brahmanas, I desire to attain regions of blessedness in heaven.
By service I attach myself to my preceptors, I have no fear of Rakshasas. In my
kingdom there are no widows, no wicked Brahmanas, no Brahmana that has
fallen away from his duties, no deceitful person, no thief, no Brahmana that
officiates in the sacrifices of people for whom he should never officiate, and no
perpetrator of sinful deeds. I have no fear of Rakshasas. There is no space in my
body, of even two fingers‟ breadth, that does not bear the scar of a weapon-
wound. I always fight for the sake of righteousness. How hast thou been able to
possess my heart? The people of my kingdom always invoke blessings upon me
in order that I may always be able to protect kine and Brahmanas and perform
sacrifices. How then hast thou been able to possess me?‟
“The Rakshasa said, „Since thou art observant of the duties under all
circumstances, therefore, O king of the Kaikeyas, go back to thy abode. Blessed
be thou, I leave thee. They, O king of the Kaikeyas, who protect kine and
Brahmanas and all their subjects, have nothing to fear from Rakshasas, and
much less from sinful persons. Those kings that give the lead to Brahmanas and
whose might depends upon that of the Brahmanas, and whose subjects
discharge the duties of hospitality, always succeeds in acquiring heaven.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Thou shouldst, therefore, protect the Brahmanas.
Protected by thee, they will protect thee in return. Their blessings, O king, would
surely descend upon kings of righteous behaviour. For the sake of
righteousness, those Brahmanas that are not observant of the duties of their
order should be chastised and separated (into a distinct class) from their
superiors. A king who conducts himself in this way towards the people of his city
and the provinces, obtains prosperity here and residence in heaven with Indra.‟”
SECTION LXXVIII
“Yudhishthira said, „It has been said that in seasons of distress a Brahmana may
support himself by the practice of Kshatriya duties. Can he, however, at any time,
support himself by the practice of the duties laid down for the Vaisyas?‟
“Bhishma said, „When a Brahmana loses his means of support and falls into
distress, he may certainly betake himself to the practices of a Vaisya and derive
his support by agriculture and keeping cattle, if, of course, he is incompetent for
Kshatriya duties.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „If a Brahmana, O bull of Bharata‟s race, betakes himself to
the duties of a Vaisya, what articles may he sell without losing his prospect of
heaven?‟
“Bhishma said, „Wines, salt, sesamum seeds, animals having manes, bulls,
honey, meat, and cooked food, O Yudhishthira, under all circumstances, a
Brahmana should avoid. A Brahmana, by selling these, would sink into hell. A
Brahmana, by selling a goat, incurs the sin of selling the god of fire; by selling a

sheep, the sin of selling the god of water; by selling a horse, the sin of selling the
god of the sun; by selling cooked food, the sin of selling land; and by selling a
cow, the sin of selling sacrifice and the Soma juice. These, therefore, should not
be sold (by a Brahmana). They that are good do not applaud the purchase of
uncooked food by giving cooked food in exchange. Uncooked food, however,
may be given for procuring cooked food, O Bharata![234] „We will eat this cooked
food of thine. Thou mayst cook these raw things (that we give in exchange).‟—In
a compact of this kind there is no sin. Listen, O Yudhishthira, I shall speak to
thee of the eternal practice, existing from days of old, of persons conducting
themselves according to approved usages. „I give thee this. Give me this other
thing in return.‟ Exchange by such agreement is righteous. To take things by
force, however, is sinful. Even such is the course of the usage followed by the
Rishis and others. Without doubt, this is righteous.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „When, O sire, all the orders, giving up their respective duties,
take up arms against the king, then, of course, the power of the king
decreases.—By what means should the king then become the protector and
refuge of the people? Resolve this doubt of mine, O king, by speaking to me in
detail.‟
“Bhishma said, „By gifts, by penances, by sacrifices, by peacefulness, and by
self-restraint, all the orders headed by the Brahmanas should, on such
occasions, seek their own good. Those amongst them that are endued with
Vedic strength, should rise up on every side and like the gods strengthening
Indra contribute (by Vedic rites) to enhancing the strength of the king.
Brahmanas are said to be the refuge of the king while his power suffers decay. A
wise king seeks the enhancement of his power by means of the power of the
Brahmanas. When the king, crowned with victory, seeks the re-establishment of
peace, all the orders then betake themselves to their respective duties. When
robbers, breaking through all restraints, spread devastation around, all the orders
may take up arms. By so doing they incur no sin, O Yudhishthira!‟
“Yudhishthira said, „If all the Kshatriyas become hostile towards the Brahmanas,
who then will protect the Brahmanas and their Vedas? What then should be the
duty of the Brahmanas and who will be their refuge?‟
“Bhishma said, „By penances, by Brahmacharya, by weapons, and by (physical)
might, applied with or without the aid of deceit, the Kshatriyas should be
subjugated. If the Kshatriya misconducts himself, especially towards Brahmanas,
the Vedas themselves will subjugate them. The Kshatriyas have sprung from the
Brahmanas. Fire has sprung from water; the Kshatriya from the Brahmana; and
iron from stone. The energy of fire, the Kshatriya, and iron, are irresistible. But
when these come into contact with the sources of their origin, their force
becomes neutralised. When iron strikes stone, or fire battles with water, or the
Kshatriya becomes hostile to the Brahmana, then the strength of each of those
three becomes destroyed. Thus, O Yudhishthira, the energy and might,
howsoever great and irresistible, of Kshatriyas become quelled as soon as they
are directed against the Brahmanas. When the energy of the Brahmanas
becomes mild, when Kshatriya energy becomes weak, when all men misbehave

themselves towards the Brahmanas, they that engage in battle then, casting off
all fear of death, for protecting the Brahmanas, morality, and their own selves,--
those persons, moved by righteous indignation and possessed of great strength
of mind, succeed in winning high regions of bliss hereafter. All persons should
take up arms for the sake of Brahmanas. Those brave persons that fight for
Brahmanas attain to those felicitous region in heaven that are reserved for
persons that have always studied the Vedas with attention, that have performed
the austerest of penances, and that have, after fasting, cast off their bodies into
blazing fires. The Brahmana, by taking up arms for the three orders, does not
incur sin. People say that there is no higher duty than casting off life under such
circumstances. I bow to them and blessed be they that thus lay down their lives
in seeking to chastise the enemies of Brahmanas. Let us attain to that region
which is intended for them. Manu himself has said that those heroes repair to the
region of Brahman. As persons become cleansed of all their sins by undergoing
the final bath on a horse-sacrifice even so they that die at the edge of weapons
while fighting wicked people, become cleansed of their sins. Righteousness
becomes unrighteousness, and unrighteousness becomes righteousness,
according to place and time. Such is the power of place and time (in determining
the character of human acts). The friends of humanity, by doing even acts of
cruelty, have attained to high heaven. Righteous Kshatriyas, by doing even sinful
acts, have attained to blessed ends.[235] The Brahmana, by taking up arms on
these three occasions, does not incur sin, viz., for protecting himself, for
compelling the other orders to betake themselves to their duties, and for
chastising robbers.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „If when robbers raise their heads and an inter-mixture of the
orders begins to take place in consequence of confusion, and Kshatriyas become
incompetent, some powerful person other than a Kshatriya seeks to subdue
those robbers for the sake of protecting the people,[236] indeed, O best of kings,
if that powerful person happens to be a Brahmana or a Vaisya or a Sudra, and if
he succeeds in protecting the people by righteously wielding the rod of
chastisement is he justified in doing what he does or is he restrained by the
ordinances from accomplishing that duty? It seems that others, when the
Kshatriyas prove so wretched, should take up weapons.‟
“Bhishma said, „Be he a Sudra or be he the member of any other orders, he that
becomes a raft on a raftless current, or a means of crossing where means there
are none, certainly deserves respect in every way. That person, O king, relying
upon whom helpless men, oppressed and made miserable by robbers, live
happily, deserve to be lovingly worshipped by all as if he were a near kinsman.
The person, O thou of Kuru‟s race, that dispels the fears of others, always
deserves respect. What use is there of bulls that would not bear burthens, or of
kine that would not yield milk, or of a wife that is barren? Similarly, what need is
there for a king that is not competent to grant protection? As an elephant made of
wood, or a deer made of leather, as a person without wealth, or one that is a
eunuch, or a field that is sterile, even so is a Brahmana that is void of Vedic lore
and a king incapable of granting protection? Both of them are like a cloud that

does not pour rain. That person who always protects the good and restrains the
wicked deserves to become a king and to govern the world.‟”
SECTION LXXIX
“Yudhishthira said, „What, O grandsire, should be the acts and what the
behaviour of persons employed as priests in our sacrifices? What sort of persons
should they be, O king? Tell me all this, O foremost of speakers.‟
“Bhishma said, „It is laid down from those Brahmanas that are eligible as priests
that they should be conversant with the Chhandas including the Samans, and all
the rites inculcated in the Srutis, and that they should be able to perform all such
religious acts as lead to the prosperity of the king. They should be devotedly loyal
and utter agreeable speeches in addressing kings. They should also be friendly
towards one another, and cast equal eyes on all. They should be devoid of
cruelty, and truthful in speech. They should never be usurers, and should always
be simple and sincere. One that is peaceful in temper, destitute of vanity,
modest, charitable, self-restrained, and contented, possessed of intelligence,
truthful, observant of vows, and harmless to all creatures, without lust and
malice, and endued with the three excellent qualities, devoid of envy and
possessed of knowledge, deserves the seat of Brahman himself. Persons with
such qualities, O sire, are the best of priests and deserve every respect.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „There are Vedic texts about the gift of Dakshina in sacrifices.
There is no ordinance, however, which lays down that so much should be given.
This ordinance (about the gift of Dakshina) has not proceeded from motives
connected with the distribution of wealth. The command of the ordinance, in
consequence of the provision in cases of incapacity, is terrible. That command is
blind to the competence of the sacrificer.[237] The audition occurs in the Vedas
that a person should, with devotion, perform a sacrifice. But what can devotion
do when the sacrificer is stained by falsehood?[238]
“Bhishma said, „No man acquires blessedness or merit by disregarding the
Vedas or by deceit or falsehood. Never think that it is otherwise. Dakshina
constitutes one of the limbs of sacrifice and conduces to the nourishment of the
Vedas. A sacrifice without Dakshina can never lead to salvation. The efficacy,
however, of a single Purnapatra is equal to that of any Dakshina, however rich.
Therefore, O sire, everyone belonging to the three orders should perform
sacrifices.[239] The Vedas have settled that Soma is as the king himself to the
Brahmanas. Yet they desire to sell it for the sake of performing sacrifices, though
they never wish to sell it for gaining a livelihood. Rishis of righteous behaviour
have declared, agreeably to the dictates of morality, that a sacrifice performed
with the proceeds of the sale of Soma serves to extend sacrifices.[240] These
three, viz., a person, a sacrifice and Soma, must be of good character. A person
that is of bad character is neither for this nor for the other world. This audition has
been heard by us that the sacrifice which high-souled Brahmanas perform by
wealth earned by excessive physical labour, is not productive of great merit.

There is a declaration in the Vedas that penances are higher than sacrifices. I
shall now speak to thee of penances. O learned prince, listen to me. Abstention
from injury, truthfulness of speech, benevolence, compassion,--these are
regarded as penances by the wise and not the emaciation of the body. Disregard
of the Vedas, disobedience to the dictates of the scriptures, and violation of all
wholesome restraints, are productive of self-destruction. Listen, O son of Pritha,
to what has been laid down by those that pour ten libations upon the fire at ten
times of the day.—For them that perform the sacrifice of penance, the Yoga they
endeavour to effect with Brahma is their ladle; the heart is their clarified butter;
and high knowledge constitutes their Pavitra.[241] All kinds of crookedness mean
death, and all kinds of sincerity are called Brahma. This constitutes the subject of
knowledge.
The rhapsodies of system-builders cannot affect this.—„”
SECTION LXXX
“Yudhishthira said, „The most trifling act, O grandsire, cannot be accomplished by
any man if unaided. What then need be said of the king (who has to govern a
kingdom)? What should be the behaviour and what the acts of the king‟s
minister? Upon whom should the king repose confidence and upon whom should
he not?‟
“Bhishma said, „Kings, O monarch, have four kinds of friends. They are he that
has the same object, he that is devoted, he that is related by birth, and he that
has been won over (by gifts and kindness). A person of righteous soul, who
would serve one and not both sides, is the fifth in the enumeration of the king‟s
friends. Such a person adopts that side on which righteousness is, and
accordingly acts righteously. With respect to such a person, the king should
never disclose such purposes of his as would not enlist his sympathy. Kings
desirous of success are obliged to adopt both kinds of paths, righteous and
unrighteous. Of the four kinds of friends, the second and the third are superior,
while the first and the fourth should ever be regarded with suspicion. In view,
however, of those acts which the king should do in person, he should always
regard with suspicion all the four. The king should never act heedlessly in the
matter of watching his friends. A king that is heedless is always overpowered by
others. A wicked man assumes the garb of honesty, and he that is honest
becomes otherwise. A foe may become a friend and a friend may become a foe.
A man cannot always be of the same mind. Who is there that would trust him
completely? All the chief acts, therefore, of a king he should accomplish in his
own presence. A complete reliance (on his ministers) is destructive of both
morality and profit. A want of trust again in respect of all is worse than death.
Trustfulness is premature death. One incurs danger by truthfulness. If one trusts
another completely, he is said to live by the sufferance of the trusted person. For
this reason every one should be trusted as also mistrusted. This eternal rule of
policy, O sire, should be kept in view. One should always mistrust that person

who would, upon one‟s desire, obtain one‟s wealth. The wise declare such a
person to be one‟s enemy. A person whose joy knows no bounds upon beholding
the aggrandisement of the king and who feels miserable upon seeing the king‟s
decay, furnishes the indications of one of the best friends of the king. He whose
fall would be brought about by thy fall, should be trusted by thee completely even
as thou shouldst trust thy sire. Thou shouldst, to the best of thy power,
aggrandise him as thou winnest aggrandisement for thyself. One who, in even
thy religious rites, seeks to rescue thee from harm, would seek to rescue thee
from harm‟s way in every other business. Such a one should be regarded as thy
best friend. They, on the other hand, that wish one harm are one‟s foes. That
friend is said to be like thy own self who is inspired with fear when calamity
overtakes thee and with joy when prosperity shines on thee. A person possessed
of beauty, fair complexion, excellent voice, liberality, benevolence, and good
birth, cannot be such a friend. That person who is possessed of intelligence and
memory, who is clever in the transaction of business, who is naturally averse
from cruelty, who never indulges in wrath, and who, whether regarded or
disregarded is never dissatisfied, be he thy priest or preceptor or honoured friend
should always receive thy worship if he accepts the office of thy counsellor and
resides in thy abode. Such a person may be informed of thy most secret
counsels and the true state of all thy affairs religious or pertaining to matters of
profit. Thou mayst confide in him as in thy own sire. One person should be
appointed to one task, and not two or three. Those may not tolerate each other. It
is always seen that several persons, if set to one task, disagree with one another.
That person who achieves celebrity, who observes all restraints, who never feels
jealous of others that are able and competent, who never does any evil act, who
never abandons righteousness from lust or fear or covetousness or wrath, who is
clever in the transaction of business, and who is possessed of wise and weighty
speech, should be thy foremost of ministers. Persons possessed of good birth
and good behaviour, who are liberal and who never indulge in brag, who are
brave and respectable, and learned and full of resources, should be appointed as
ministers for supervising all thy affairs. Honoured by thee and gratified with
wealth, they would act for thy good and be of great help to thee. Appointed to
offices connected with profit and other important matters they always bring about
great prosperity. Moved by a feeling of healthy rivalry, they discharge all duties
connected with profit, holding consultations with one another when necessary.
Thou shouldst fear thy kinsmen as thou shouldst death itself. A kinsman can
never bear a kinsman‟s prosperity even as a feudatory chief cannot bear to see
the prosperity of his overlord. None but a kinsman can feel joy at the destruction
of a kinsman adorned with sincerity, mildness, liberality, modesty, and
truthfulness of speech. They, again, that have no kinsmen, cannot be happy. No
men can be more contemptible than they that are destitute of kinsmen. A person
that has no kinsmen is easily overridden by foes. Kinsmen constitute the refuge
of one that is afflicted by other men, for kinsmen can never bear to see a
kinsman afflicted by other people. When a kinsman is persecuted by even his
friends, every kinsman of the persecuted regards the injury to be inflicted upon
himself. In kinsmen, therefore, there are both merits and faults. A person

destitute of kinsmen never shows favours to any one nor humbles himself to any
one. In kinsmen, therefore both merit and demerit may be marked. One should,
for this reason, always honour and worship his kinsmen in words and acts, and
do them agreeable offices without injuring them at any time. Mistrusting them at
heart, one should behave towards them as if he trusted them completely.
Reflecting upon their nature, it seems that they have neither faults nor merits. A
person who heedfully conducts himself in this way finds his very foes disarmed of
hostility and converted into friends. One who always conducts himself in this way
amid kinsmen and relatives and bears himself thus towards friends and foes,
succeeds in winning everlasting fame.‟”
SECTION LXXXI
“Yudhishthira said, „If one does not succeed in winning over one‟s kinsmen and
relatives (by this course), they that are intended for becoming friends become
foes. How should one, then, conduct one‟s self so that the hearts of both friends
and foes may be won?‟
“Bhishma said, „In this connection is cited the old history of a discourse between
Vasudeva and the celestial sage Narada. On a certain occasion Vasudeva said,
„Neither an illiterate and foolish friend, nor a learned friend of fickle soul,
deserves, O Narada, to know one‟s secret counsels. Relying on thy friendship for
me, I shall say something to thee, O sage! O thou that canst go to heaven at thy
pleasure, one should speak to another if one be convinced of the intelligence of
that other. I never behave with slavish obsequiousness towards my kinsmen by
flattering speeches about their prosperity. I give them half of what I have, and
forgive their evil speeches. As a fire-stick is grinded by a person desirous of
obtaining fire, even so my heart is ground by my kinsmen with their cruel
speeches. Indeed, O celestial Rishi, those cruel speeches burn my heart every
day. Might resides in Sankarshana; mildness in Gada; and as regards
Pradyumna, he surpasses even myself in beauty of person. (Although I have all
these on my side) yet I am helpless, O Narada! Many others among the
Andhakas and the Vrishnis are possessed of great prosperity and might, and
during courage and constant perseverance. He on whose side they do not range
themselves meets with destruction. He, on the other hand, on whose side they
do range themselves, achieves everything. Dissuaded (in turns) by both (viz.,
Ahuka and Akrura,) I do not side either of them. What can be more painful for a
person than to have both Ahuka and Akrura on his side? What, again, can be
more painful for one than not to have both of them on his side?[242] I am like the
mother of two brothers gambling against each other, invoking victory to both. I
am thus, O Narada, afflicted by both. It behoveth thee to tell me that which is for
the good of both myself and my kinsmen.‟
“Narada said, „Calamities, O Krishna, are of two kinds, viz., external and internal.
They arise, O thou of Vrishni‟s race, from one‟s own acts or from the acts of
others. The calamity that has now overtaken thee is an internal one and is born

of thy own acts. Valadeva and others of the Bhoja race are partisans of Akrura,
and have taken up his side either for the sake of wealth, or mere caprice, or
moved by words or by hate. As regards thyself, thou hast given away wealth
obtained by thee to another. Though possessed of men who should be your
friends, thou hast, however, by thy own act, brought calamity over thy head.
Thou canst not take back that wealth, even as one cannot swallow again the food
that he has vomited himself. The kingdom cannot be taken back from Babhu and
Ugrasena (unto whom it has been given). Thyself, O Krishna, cannot, in
particular, take it back (from them) from fear of producing intestine dissensions.
Supposing the endeavour succeeds, it will do so after much trouble and after the
accomplishment of the most difficult feats. A great slaughter and a great loss of
wealth will ensue, perhaps, even total destruction. Use then a weapon that is not
made of steel, that is very mild and yet capable of piercing all hearts. Sharpening
and resharpening that weapon correct the tongues of thy kinsmen.‟
“Vasudeva said, „What is that weapon, O sage, which is not made of steel, which
is mild, which still pierces all hearts, and which I must use for correcting the
tongues of my kinsmen?‟
“Narada said, „The giving of food to the best of thy power, forgiveness, sincerity,
mildness, and honour to whom honour is due, these constitute a weapon that is
not made of steel. With soft words alone turn away the anger of kinsmen about
the utter cruel speeches, and mollify their hearts and minds and slanderous
tongues. None who is not a great man with cleansed soul and possessed of
accomplishments and friends can bear a heavy burthen. Take up this great
weight (of governing the Vrishnis) and bear it on thy shoulders. All oxen can bear
heavy burthens on a level road. The stronger ones only among them can bear
such burthens on a difficult road. From disunion destruction will spring and
overtake all the Bhojas and the Vrishnis. Thou, O Kesava, art the foremost one
among them. Do thou act in such a manner that the Bhojas and the Vrishnis may
not meet with destruction. Nothing but intelligence and forgiveness, restraint of
the senses, and liberality are present in a person of wisdom. Advancing one‟s
own race is always praiseworthy and glorious and conducive to long life. Do thou,
O Krishna, act in such a way that destruction may not overtake thy kinsmen.
There is nothing unknown to thee in respect of policy and the art of war, O Lord!
The Yadavas, the Kukuras, the Bhojas, the Andhakas, and the Vrishnis, are all
dependent on thee even as all the worlds and all the regents of those worlds, O
mighty-armed one! The Rishis, O Madhava, always pray for thy advancement.
Thou art the lord of all creatures. Thou knowest the past, the present, and the
future. Thou art the foremost one among all the Yadavas. Relying on thee, they
expect to live in happiness.‟”
SECTION LXXXII
“Bhishma said, „This that I have told thee constitutes the first means. Listen now,
O Bharata to the second means. That man who seeks to advance the interests of

the king should always be protected by the king. If a person, O Yudhishthira, that
is paid or unpaid, comes to thee for telling thee of the damage done to thy
treasury when its resources are being embezzled by a minister, thou shouldst
grant him an audience in private and protect him also from the (impeached)
minister. The ministers guilty of peculation seek, O Bharata, to slay such
informants. They who plunder the royal treasury combine together for opposing
the person who seeks to protect it, and if the latter be left unprotected, he is sure
to be ruined. In this connection also an old story is cited of what the sage
Kalakavrikshiya had said unto the king of Kosala. It hath been heard by us that
once on a time the sage Kalakavrikshiya came to Kshemadarsin who had
ascended the throne of the kingdom of Kosala. Desirous of examining the
conduct of all the officers of Kshemadarsin, the sage, with a crow kept within a
cage in his hand, repeatedly travelled through every part of that king‟s dominions.
And he spoke unto all the men and said, „Study, ye the corvine science. The
crows tell me the present, the past, and the future.‟ Proclaiming this in the
kingdom, the sage, accompanied by a large number of men, began to observe
the misdeeds of all the officers of the king. Having ascertained all the affairs in
respect of that kingdom, and having learnt that all the officers appointed by the
king were guilty of malversation, the sage, with his crow, came to see the king.
Of rigid vows, he said unto the king, „I know everything (about thy kingdom).‟
Arrived at the presence of the king, he said unto his minister adorned with the
insignia of his office that he had been informed by his crow that the minister had
done such a misdeed in such a place, and that such and such persons know that
he had plundered the royal treasury. „My crow tells me this. Admit or prove the
falsehood of the accusation quickly.‟
The sage then proclaimed the names of other officers who had similarly
been guilty of embezzlement, adding, „My crow never says anything that is
false.‟ Thus accused and injured by the sage, all the officers of the
king, O thou of Kuru‟s race, (united together and) pierced his crow,
while the sage slept, at night. Beholding his crow pierced with a shaft
within the cage, the regenerate Rishi, repairing to Kshemadarsin in the
morning said unto him, „O king, I seek thy protection. Thou art
all-powerful and thou art the master of the lives and wealth of all. If I
receive thy command I can then say what is for thy good. Grieved on
account of thee whom I regard as a friend have come to thee, impelled by
my devotion and ready to serve thee with my whole heart. Thou art being
robbed of thy wealth, I have come to thee for disclosing it without
showing any consideration for the robbers. Like a driver that urges a
good steed, I have come hither for awakening thee whom I regard as a
friend. A friend who is alive to his own interests and desirous of his
own prosperity and aggrandisement, should forgive a friend that intrudes
himself forcibly, impelled by devotion and wrath, for doing what is
beneficial.‟ The king replied unto him, saying, „Why should I not bear
anything thou wilt say, since I am not blind to what is for my good? I
grant thee permission, O regenerate one! Tell me what thou pleasest, I
shall certainly obey the instructions thou wilt give me, O Brahman,‟

“The sage said, „Ascertaining the merits and faults of thy servants, as also the:
dangers thou incurrest at their hands, I have come to thee, impelled by my
devotion, for representing everything to thee. The teachers (of mankind) have of
old declared what the curses are, O king, of those that serve others. The lot of
those that serve the king is very painful and wretched. He who has any
connection with kings is to have connection with snakes of virulent poison. Kings
have many friends as also many enemies. They that serve kings have to fear all
of them. Every moment, again, they have fear from the king himself, O monarch.
A person serving the king cannot (with impunity) be guilty of heedlessness in
doing the king‟s work. Indeed, a servant who desires to win prosperity should
never display heedlessness in the discharge of his duties. His heedlessness may
move the king to wrath, and such wrath may bring down destruction (on the
servant). Carefully learning how to behave himself, one should sit in the
presence of the king as he should in the presence of a blazing fire. Prepared to
lay down life itself at every moment, one should serve the king attentively, for the
king is all-powerful and master of the lives and the wealth of all, and therefore,
like unto a snake of virulent poison. He should always fear to indulge in evil
speeches before the king, or to sit cheerlessly or in irreverent postures, or to wait
in attitudes of disrespect or to walk disdainfully or display insolent gestures and
disrespectful motions of the limbs. If the king becomes gratified, he can shower
prosperity like god. If he becomes enraged, he can consume to the very roots
like a blazing fire. This, O king, was said by Yama. Its truth is seen in the affairs
of the world. I shall now (acting according to these precepts) do that which would
enhance thy prosperity. Friends like ourselves can give unto friends like thee the
aid of their intelligence in seasons of peril. This crow of mine, O king, has been
slain for doing thy business. I cannot, however, blame thee for this. Thou art not
loved by those (that have slain this bird). Ascertain who are thy friends and who
thy foes. Do everything thyself without surrendering thy intelligence to others.
They who are on thy establishment are all peculators. They do not desire the
good of thy subjects. I have incurred their hostility. Conspiring with those
servants that have constant access to thee they covet the kingdom after thee by
compassing thy destruction. Their plans, however, do not succeed in
consequence of unforeseen circumstances. Through fear of those men, O king, I
shall leave this kingdom for some other asylum. I have no worldly desire, yet
those persons of deceitful intentions have shot this shaft at my crow, and have, O
lord, despatched the bird to Yama‟s abode. I have seen this, O king, with eyes
whose vision has been improved by penances. With the assistance of this single
crow I have crossed this kingdom of thine that is like a river abounding with
alligators and sharks and crocodiles and whales. Indeed, with the assistance of
that bird, I have passed through thy dominions like unto a Himalayan valley,
impenetrable and inaccessible in consequence of trunks of (fallen) trees and
scattered rocks and thorny shrubs and lions and tigers and other beasts of prey.
The learned say that a region inaccessible in consequence of gloom can be
passed through with the aid of a light, and a river that is unfordable can be
crossed by means of a boat. No means, however, exist for penetrating or passing
through the labyrinth of kingly affairs. Thy kingdom is like an inaccessible forest

enveloped with gloom. Thou (that art the lord of it) canst not trust it. How then
can I? Good and evil are regarded here in the same light. Residence here
cannot, therefore, be safe. Here a person of righteous deeds meets with death,
while one of unrighteous deeds incurs no danger. According to the requirements
of justice, a person of unrighteous deeds should be slain but never one who is
righteous in his acts. It is not proper, therefore, for one to stay in this kingdom
long. A man of sense should leave this country soon. There is a river, O king, of
the name of Sita. Boats sink in it. This thy kingdom is like that river. An all-
destructive net seems to have been cast around it. Thou art like the fall that
awaits collectors of honey, or like attractive food containing poison. Thy nature
now resembles that of dishonest men and not that of the good. Thou art like a pit,
O king, abounding with snakes of virulent poison. Thou resemblest, O king, a
river full of sweet water but exceedingly difficult of access, With steep banks
overgrown with Kariras and thorny canes. Thou art like a swan in the midst of
dogs, vultures and jackals. Grassy parasites, deriving their sustenance from a
mighty tree, swell into luxuriant growth, and at last covering the tree itself
overshadow it completely. A forest conflagration sets in, and catching those
grassy plants first, consumes the lordly tree with them. Thy ministers, O king,
resemble those grassy parasites of which I speak. Do thou check and correct
them. They have been nourished by thee. But conspiring against thee, they are
destroying thy prosperity. Concealing (from thee) the faults of thy servants, I am
living in thy abode in constant dread of danger, even like a person living in a
room with a snake within it or like the lover of a hero‟s wife. My object is to
ascertain the behaviour of the king who is my fellow-lodger. I wish to know
whether the king has his passions under control, whether his servants are
obedient to him, whether he is loved by them, and whether he loves his subjects.
For the object of ascertaining all these points, O best of kings, I have come to
thee. Like food to a hungry person, thou hast become dear to me. I dislike thy
ministers, however, as a person whose thirst has been slaked dislikes drink.
They have found fault with me because I seek thy good. I have no doubt that
there is no other cause for that hostility of theirs to me. I do not cherish any
hostile intentions towards them. I am engaged in only marking their faults. As one
should fear a wounded snake, every one should fear a foe of wicked heart!‟[243]
“The king said, „Reside in my palace, O Brahmana! I shall always treat thee with
respect and honour, and always worship thee. They that will dislike thee shall not
dwell with me. Do thou thyself do what should be done next unto those persons
(of whom thou hast spoken). Do thou see, O holy one, that the rod of
chastisement is wielded properly and that everything is done well in my kingdom.
Reflecting upon everything, do thou guide me in such a way that I may obtain
prosperity.‟
“The sage said, „Shutting thy eyes in the first instance to this offence of theirs
(viz., the slaughter of the crow), do thou weaken them one by one. Prove their
faults then and strike them one after another. When many persons become guilty
of the same offence, they can, by acting together, soften the very points of
thorns. Lest thy ministers (being suspected, act against thee and) disclose thy
secret counsels, I advise thee to proceed with such caution. As regards

ourselves, we are Brahmanas, naturally compassionate and unwilling to give
pain to any one. We desire thy good as also the good of others, even as we wish
the good of ourselves. I speak of myself, O king! I am thy friend. I am known as
the sage Kalakavrikshiya. I always adhere to truth. Thy sire regarded me lovingly
as his friend. When distress overtook this kingdom during the region of thy sire,
O king, I performed many penances (for driving it off), abandoning every other
business. From my affection for thee I say this unto thee so that thou mayst not
again commit the fault (of reposing confidence on undeserving persons). Thou
hast obtained a kingdom without trouble. Reflect upon everything connected with
its weal and woe. Thou hast ministers in thy kingdom. But why, O king, shouldst
thou be guilty of heedlessness?‟ After this, the king of Kosala took a minister
from the Kshatriya order, and appointed that bull among Brahmanas (viz., the
sage Kalakavrikshiya) as his Purohita. After these changes had been effected,
the king of Kosala subjugated the whole earth and acquired great fame. The
sage Kalakavrikshiya worshipped the gods in many grand sacrifices performed
for the king. Having listened to his beneficial counsels, the king of Kosala
conquered the whole earth and conducted himself in every respect as the sage
directed.‟”
SECTION LXXXIII
“Yudhishthira said, „What should be the characteristics, O grandsire, of the
legislators, the ministers of war, the courtiers, the generalissimos, and the
counsellors of a king!‟
“Bhishma said, „Such persons as are possessed of modesty, self-restraint, truth,
sincerity, and courage to say what is proper, should be thy legislators. They that
are always by thy side, that are possessed of great courage, that are of the
regenerate caste, possessed of great learning, well pleased with thee, and
endued with perseverance in all acts, should, O son of Kunti, be desired by thee
for becoming thy ministers of war at all seasons of distress, O Bharata! One who
is of high descent, who, treated with honour by thee, always exerts his powers to
the utmost on thy behalf, and who will never abandon thee in weal or woe, illness
or death, should be entertained by thee as a courtier. They that are of high birth,
that are born in thy kingdom, that have wisdom, beauty of form and features,
great learning, and dignity of behaviour, and that are, besides, devoted to thee,
should be employed as officers of thy army. Persons of tow descent and
covetous dispositions, who are cruet and shameless would court thee, O sire, as
long as their hands would remain wet.[244] They that are of good birth and good
behaviour, that can read all signs and gestures, that are destitute of cruelty, that
know what the requirements are of place and time, that always seek the good of
their master in all acts, should be appointed as ministers by the king in all his
affairs. They that have been won over with gifts of wealth, honours, regardful
receptions, and means of procuring felicity, and who on that account may be
regarded by thee as persons inclined to benefit thee in all thy affairs, should

always be made sharers of thy happiness. They that are unchangeable in
conduct, possessed of learning and good behaviour, observant of excellent
vows, large-hearted, and truthful in speech, will always be attentive to thy affairs
and will never abandon thee, They, on the other hand, that are disrespectable,
that are not observant of restraints, that are of wicked souls, and that have fallen
away from good practices, should always be compelled by thee to observe all
wholesome restraints. When the question is which of two sides should be
adopted, thou shouldst not abandon the many for adopting the side of one.
When, however, that one person transcends the many in consequence of the
possession of many accomplishments, then thou shouldst, for that one, abandon
the many. These are regarded as marks of superiority, viz., prowess, devotion to
pursuits that bring fame, and observance of wholesome restraints. He, again,
that honours all persons possessed of ability, that never indulges in feelings of
rivalry with persons possessed of no merit, that never abandons righteousness
from lust or fear or wrath or covetousness, that is adorned with humility, that is
truthful in speech and forgiving in temper, that has his soul under control, that
has a sense of dignity, and that has been tried in every situation, should be
employed by thee as thy counsellor. High descent, purity of blood, forgiveness,
cleverness, and purity of soul, bravery, gratefulness, and truth, are, O son of
Pritha marks of superiority and goodness. A wise man who conducts himself in
this way,[245] succeeds in disarming his very foes of their hostility and converting
them into friend. A king that has his soul under restraint, that is possessed of
wisdom, and that is desirous of prosperity, should carefully examine the merits
and demerits of his ministers. A king desirous of prosperity and of shining in the
midst of his contemporaries, should have for ministers persons connected with
his trusted friends, possessed of high birth born in his own kingdom, incapable of
being corrupted, unstained by adultery and similar vices, well tested, belonging to
good families, possessed of learning, sprung from sires and grandsires that held
similar offices, and adorned with humility. The king should employ five such
persons to look after his affairs as are possessed of intelligence unstained by
pride, a disposition that is good, energy, patience, forgiveness, purity, loyalty,
firmness, and courage, whose merits and faults have been well tested, who are
of mature years, who are capable of bearing burthens, and who are free from
deceit. Men that are wise in speech, that are possessed of heroism, that are full
of resources under difficulties, that are of high birth, that are truthful, that can
read signs, that are free from cruelty, that are conversant with the requirements
of place and time, and that desire the good of their masters, should be employed
by the king as his ministers in all affairs of the kingdom. One who is bereft of
energy and who has been abandoned by friends can never work with
perseverance. Such a man, if employed, fails in almost every business. A
minister possessed of little learning, even if blessed with high birth and attentive
to virtue, profit, and pleasure, becomes incompetent in choosing proper courses
of action. Similarly, a person of low descent, even if possessed of great learning,
always errs, like a blind man without a guide, in all acts requiring dexterity and
foresight. A person, again, who is of infirm purposes, even if possessed of
intelligence and learning, and even if conversant with means, cannot long act

with success. A man of wicked heart and possessed of no learning may set his
hand to work but he fails to ascertain what the results will be of his work. A king
should never repose trust on a minister that is not devoted to him. He should,
therefore, never disclose his counsels to a minister that is not devoted to him.
Such a wicked minister, combining with the other ministers of the king, may ruin
his master, like a fire consuming a tree by entering its entrails through the holes
in its body with the aid of the wind. Giving way to wrath, a master may one day
pull down a servant from his office or reprove him, from rage, in harsh words, and
restore him to power again. None but a servant devoted to the master can bear
and forgive such treatment. Ministers also become sometime highly offended
with their royal masters. That one, however, amongst them, who subdues his
wrath from desire of doing good to his master,--that person who is a sharer with
the king of his weal and woe,--should be consulted by the king in all his affairs. A
person who is of crooked heart, even if he be devoted to his master and
possessed of wisdom and adorned with. numerous virtues, should never be
consulted by the king. One who is allied with foes and who does not regard the
interests of the king‟s subjects, should be known as an enemy. The king should
never consult with him. One who is possessed of no learning, who is not pure,
who is stained with pride, who pays court to the king‟s enemies, who indulges in
brag, who is unfriendly, wrathful, and covetous should not be consulted by the
king. One who is a stranger, even if he be devoted to the king and possessed of
great learning, may be honoured by the king and gratified with assignment of the
means of sustenance, but the king should never consult him in his affairs. A
person whose sire was unjustly banished by royal edict should not be consulted
by the king even if the king may have subsequently bestowed honours upon him
and assigned to him the means of sustenance. A well-wisher whose property
was once confiscated for a slight transgression, even if he be possessed of every
accomplishment should not still be consulted by the king. A person possessed of
wisdom, intelligence, and learning, who is born within the kingdom, who is pure
and righteous in all his acts, deserves to be consulted by the king. One who is
endued with knowledge and wisdom, who is acquainted with the dispositions of
his friends and foes, who is such a friend of the king as to be his second self,
deserves to be consulted. One who is truthful in speech and modest and mild
and who is a hereditary servant of the king, deserves to be consulted. One who
is contented and honoured, who is truthful and dignified, who hates wickedness
and wicked men, who is conversant with policy and the requirements of time, and
who is courageous, deserves to be consulted by the king. One who is competent
to win over all men by conciliation should be consulted, O monarch, by the king
that is desirous of ruling according to the dictates of the science of chastisement.
One upon whom the inhabitants of both the capital and the provinces repose
confidence for his righteous conduct, who is competent to fight and conversant
with the rules of policy, deserves to be consulted by the king. Therefore, men
possessed of such qualities, men conversant with the dispositions of all and
desirous of achieving high acts, should be honoured by the king and made his
ministers. Their number also should not be less than three.[246] Ministers should
be employed in observing the laches of their masters, of themselves, of the

subjects, and of the foes of their master. The kingdom has its root in the counsels
of policy that flow from ministers, and its growth proceeds from the same source.
Ministers should act in such a way that the enemies of their master may not be
able to detect his laches. On the other hand, when their laches become visible,
they should then be assailed. Like the tortoise protecting its limbs by withdrawing
them within its shell, ministers should protect their own counsels. They should,
even thus, conceal their own laches. Those ministers of a kingdom that succeed
in concealing their counsels are said to be possessed of wisdom. Counsels
constitute the armour of a king, and the limbs of his subjects and officers. A
kingdom is said to have its roots in spies and secret agents, and its strength is
said to lie in counsels of policy. If masters and ministers follow each other for
deriving support from each other, subduing pride and wrath, and vanity and envy,
they may then both become happy. A king should also consult with such
ministers as are free from the five kinds of deceit. Ascertaining well, in the first
instance, the different opinions of the three amongst them whom he has
consulted, the king should, for subsequent deliberation, repair to his preceptor for
informing him of those opinions and his own. His preceptor should be a
Brahmana well versed in all matters of virtue, profit, and pleasure. Repairing, for
such subsequent deliberation, to him, the king should, with collected mind, ask
his opinion. When a decision is arrived at after deliberation with him, the king
should then, without attachment, carry it out into practice. They that are
conversant with the conclusions of the science of consultation say that kings
should always hold consultation in this way. Having settled counsels in this way,
they should then be reduced to practice, for then they will be able to win over all
the subjects. There should be no dwarfs, no humpbacked persons, no one of an
emaciated constitution, no one who is lame or blind, no one who is an idiot, no
woman, and no eunuch, at the spot where the king holds his consultations.
Nothing should move there before or behind, above or below, or in transverse
directions. Getting up on a boat, or repairing to an open space destitute of grass
or grassy bushes and whence the surrounding land may be clearly seen, the king
should hold consultations at the proper time, avoiding faults of speech and
gestures.‟”
SECTION LXXXIV
“‟Bhishma said, „In this connection, O Yudhishthira, the old account of a
conversation between Vrihaspati and Sakra is cited.‟
“Sakra said, „What is that one act, O regenerate one, by accomplishing which
with care, a person may become the object of regard with all creatures and
acquire great celebrity?‟
“Vrihaspati said, „Agreeableness of speech, O Sakra, is the one thing by
practising which a person may become an object of regard with all creatures and
acquire great celebrity. This is the one thing, O Sakra, which gives happiness to
all. By practising it, one may always obtain the love of all creatures. The person

who does not speak a word and whose face is always furrowed with frowns,
becomes an object of hatred with all creatures. Abstention from agreeable
speeches makes him so. That person who, upon beholding others, addresses
them first and does so with smiles succeeds in making everyone gratified with
him. Even gifts, if not made with agreeable speeches, do not delight the
recipients, like rice without curry. If even the possessions of men, O Sakra, be
taken away with sweet speeches, such sweetness of behaviour succeeds in
reconciling the robbed. A king, therefore, that is desirous of even inflicting
chastisement should utter sweet words. Sweetness of speech never fails of its
purpose, while, at the same time it never pains any heart. A person of good acts
and good, agreeable, and sweet speeches, has no equal.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Thus addressed by his priest, Sakra began to act according
to those instructions. Do thou also, O son of Kunti, practise this virtue.”‟
SECTION LXXXV
“Yudhishthira said, „O foremost of kings, what is that method by which a king
ruling his subjects may, in consequence of it, obtain great blessedness and
eternal fame?‟
“Bhishma said, „A king of cleansed soul and attentive to the duty of protecting his
subjects earns merit and fame, both here and hereafter, by conducting himself
righteously.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „With whom should the king behave in what way? Asked by
me, O thou of great wisdom, it behoveth thee to tell me everything duly. Those
virtues of which thou hast already spoken with respect to a person, cannot, it is
my belief, be found to exist in any single individual.‟
“Bhishma said, „Thou art endued with great intelligence, O Yudhishthira! It is
even so as thou sayest. The person is very rare who is possessed of all those
good qualities. To be brief, conduct like this (viz., the presence of all the virtues
spoken of), is very difficult to be met with even upon careful search. I shall,
however, tell thee what kinds of ministers should be appointed by thee. Four
Brahmanas, learned in the Vedas, possessed of a sense of dignity, belonging to
the Snataka order, and of pure behaviour, and eight Kshatriyas, all of whom
should be possessed of physical strength and capable of wielding weapons, and
one and twenty Vaisyas, all of whom should be possessed of wealth, and three
Sudras, everyone of whom should be humble and of pure conduct and devoted
to his daily duties, and one man of the Suta caste, possessed of a knowledge of
the Puranas and the eight cardinal virtues, should be thy ministers. Every one of
them should be fifty years of age, possessed of a sense of dignity, free from
envy, conversant with the Srutis and the Smritis, humble, impartial, competent to
readily decide in the midst of disputants urging different courses of action, free
from covetousness, and from the seven dreadful vices called Vyasanas. The king
should consult with those eight ministers and hold the lead among them. He

should then publish in his kingdom, for the information of his subjects, the results
of such deliberation. Thou shouldst always, adopting such a conduct, watch over
thy people. Thou shouldst never confiscate what is deposited with thee or
appropriate as thine the thing about whose ownership two persons may dispute.
Conduct such as this would spoil the administration of justice. If the
administration of justice be thus injured, sin will afflict thee, and afflict thy
kingdom as well, and inspire thy people with fear as little birds at the sight of the
hawk. Thy kingdom will then melt away like a boat wrecked on the sea. If a king
governs his subjects with unrighteousness, fear takes possession of his heart
and the door of heaven is closed against him. A kingdom, O bull among men,
has its root in righteousness. That minister, or king‟s son, who acts unrighteously,
occupying the seat of justice, and those officers who having accepted the charge
of affairs, act unjustly, moved by self-interest, all sink in hell along with the king
himself. Those helpless men who are oppressed by the powerful and who
indulge on that account in piteous and copious lamentations, have their protector
in the king. In cases of dispute between two parties the decision should be based
upon the evidence of witnesses. If one of the disputants has no witnesses and is
helpless, the king should give the case his best consideration. The king should
cause chastisement to be meted out to offenders according to the measure of
their offences. They that are wealthy should be punished with fines and
confiscations; they that are poor, with loss of liberty. Those that are of very
wicked conduct should be chastised by the king with even corporal inflictions.
The king should cherish all good men with agreeable speeches and gifts of
wealth. He who seeks to compass the death of the king should be punished with
death to be effected by diverse means. The same should be the punishment of
one who becomes guilty of arson or theft or such co-habitation with women as
may lead to a confusion of castes. A king, O monarch, who inflicts punishments
duly and conformably to the dictates of the science of chastisement, incurs no sin
by the act. On the other hand, he earns merit that is eternal. That foolish king
who inflicts punishments capriciously, earns infamy here and sinks into hell
hereafter. One should not be punished for the fault of another, Reflecting well
upon the (criminal) code, a person should be convicted or acquitted. A king
should never slay an envoy under any circumstances. That king who slays art
envoy sinks into hell with all his ministers. That king observant of Kshatriya
practices who slays an envoy that faithfully utters the message with which he is
charged, causes the manes of his deceased ancestors to be stained with the sin
of killing a foetus. An envoy should possess these seven accomplishments, viz.,
he should be high-born, of a good family, eloquent, clever, sweet-speeched,
faithful in delivering the message with which he is charged, and endued with a
good memory. The aid-de-camp of the king that protects his person should be
endued with similar qualities. The officer also that guards his capital or citadel
should possess the same accomplishments. The king‟s minister should be
conversant with the conclusions of the scriptures and competent in directing wars
and making treaties. He should, further, be intelligent, possessed of courage,
modest, and capable of keeping secrets. He should also be of high birth endued
with strength of mind, and pure in conduct. If possessed of these qualities, he

should be regarded worthy. The commander of the king‟s forces should be
possessed of similar accomplishments. He should also be conversant with the
different kinds of battle array and with the uses of engines and weapons. He
should be able to bear exposure to rain, cold, heat, and wind, and watchful of the
laches of foes. The king, O monarch, should be able to lull his foes into a sense
of security. He should not, however, himself trust anyone. The reposing of
confidence on even his own son is not to be approved of. I have now, O sinless
one, declared to thee what the conclusions of the scriptures are. Refusal to trust
anyone has been said to be one of the highest mysteries of king-craft.‟”
SECTION LXXXVI
“Yudhishthira said, „What should be the kind of city within which the king should
himself dwell? Should he select one already made or should he cause one to be
especially constructed? Tell me this O grandsire!‟
“Bhishma said, „It is proper, O Bharata, to enquire about the conduct that should
be followed and the defences that should be adopted with respect to the city in
which, O son of Kunti, a king should reside. I shall, therefore, discourse to thee
on the subject, referring especially to the defences of citadels. Having listened to
me, thou shouldst make the arrangements required and conduct thyself
attentively as directed. Keeping his eye on the six different kinds of citadels, the
king should build his cities containing every kind of affluence and every other
article of use in abundance. Those six varieties are water-citadels, earth-citadels,
hill-citadels, human-citadels, mud-citadels, and forest-citadels.[247] The king,
with his ministers and the army thoroughly loyal to him, should reside in that city
which is defended by a citadel which contains an abundant stock of rice and
weapons,--which is protected with impenetrable walls and a trench, which teems
with elephants and steeds and cars, which is inhabited by men possessed of
learning and versed in the mechanical arts, where provisions of every kind have
been well stored, whose population is virtuous in conduct and clever in business
and consists of strong and energetic men and animals, which is adorned with
many open squares and rows of shops, where the behaviour of all persons is
righteous, where peace prevails, where no danger exists, which blazes with
beauty and resounds with music and songs, where the houses are all spacious,
were the residents number among them many brave and wealthy individuals,
which echoes with the chant of Vedic hymns, where festivities and rejoicings
frequently take place, and where the deities are always worshipped.[248]
Residing there, the king should be employed in filling his treasury, increasing his
forces, enhancing the number of his friends, and establishing courts of justice.
He should cheek all abuses and evils in both his cities and his provinces. He
should be employed in collecting provisions of every kind and in filling his
arsenals with care. He should also increase his stores of rice and other grain,
and strengthen his counsels (with wisdom). He should further, enhance his
stores of fuel, iron, chaff, charcoal, timber, horns, bones, bamboos, marrow, oils

and ghee, fat, honey, medicines, flax, resinous exudations, rice, weapons, shafts,
leather catgut (for bow-strings), caries, and strings and cords made of munja
grass and other plants and creepers. He should also increase the number of
tanks and well, containing large quantities of water, and should protect all juicy
trees.[249] He should entertain with honour and attention preceptors (of different
sciences), Ritwijas, and priests, mighty bowmen, persons skilled in architecture,
astronomers and astrologers, and physicians, as also all men possessed of
wisdom and intelligence and self-restraint and cleverness and courage and
learning and high birth and energy of mind, and capable of close application to all
kinds of work. The king should honour the righteous and chastise the
unrighteous. He should, acting with resolution, set the several orders to their
respective duties. Ascertaining properly, by means of spies, the outward
behaviour and the state of mind of the inhabitants of his city and provinces, he
should adopt those measures that may be required. The king should himself
supervise his spies and counsels, his treasury, and the agencies for inflicting
chastisements. Upon these everything may be said to depend. With spies
constituting his sight, the king should ascertain all the acts and intentions of his
foes, friends, and neutrals. He should then, with heedfulness, devise his own
measures, honouring those that are loyal to him and punishing those that are
hostile. The king should always adore the gods in sacrifices and make gifts
without giving pain to anybody. He should protect his subjects, never doing
anything that may obstruct or thwart righteousness. He should always maintain
and protect the helpless, the masterless, and the old, and women that are
widows. The king should always honour the ascetics and make unto them gifts,
at proper seasons of cloths and vessels and food. The king should, with attentive
care, inform the ascetics (within his dominions) of the state of his own self, of all
his measures, and of the kingdom, and should always behave with humility in
their presence. When he sees ascetics of high birth and great learning that have
abandoned all earthly objects, he should honour them with gifts of beds and
seats and food. Whatever the nature of the distress into which he may fall, he
should confide in an ascetic. The very robbers repose confidence upon persons
of that character. The king should place his wealth in charge of an ascetic and
should take wisdom from him. He should not, however, always wait upon them or
worship them on all occasions.[250] From among those residing in his own
kingdom, he should select one for friendship. Similarly, he should select another
from among those that reside in the kingdom of his foe. He should select a third
from among those residing in the forests, and a fourth from among those dwelling
in the kingdoms paying tribute to him. He should show hospitality towards and
bestow honours upon them and assign them the means of sustenance. He
should behave towards the ascetics dwelling in the kingdoms of foes and in the
forests in the same way as towards those that reside in his own kingdom.
Engaged in penances and of rigid vows they would, if calamity overtakes the king
and if he solicits protection, grant him what he wants. I have now told thee in brief
the indications of the city in which the king should reside.‟”

SECTION LXXXVII
“Yudhishthira said, „How, O king, may a kingdom be consolidated, and how
should it be protected? I desire to know this. Tell me all this, O bull of Bharata‟s
race!‟
“Bhishma said, „Listen to me with concentrated attention. I shall tell thee how a
kingdom may be consolidated, and how also it may be protected. A headman
should be selected for each village. Over ten villages (or ten headmen) there
should be cone superintendent. Over two such superintendents there should be
one officer (having the control, therefore, of twenty villages). Above the latter
should be appointed persons under each of whom should be a century of
villages; and above the last kind of officers, should be appointed men each of
whom should have a thousand villages under his control. The headman should
ascertain the characteristics of every person in the village and all the faults also
that need correction. He should report everything to the officer (who is above him
and is) in charge of ten villages. The latter, again, should report the same to the
officer (who is above him and is) in charge of twenty villages. The latter, in his
turn, should report the conduct of all the persons within his dominion to the officer
(who is above him and is) in charge of a hundred villages. The village headman
should have control over all the produce and the possessions of the village.
Every headman should contribute his share for maintaining the lord of ten
villages, and the latter should do the same for supporting the lord of twenty
villages. The lord of a hundred villages should receive every honour from the king
and should have for his support a large village, O chief of the Bharatas, populous
and teeming with wealth. Such a village, so assigned to a lord of hundred
villages, should be, however, within the control of the lord of a thousand villages.
That high officer, again, viz., the lord of a thousand villages, should have a minor
town for his support. He should enjoy the grain and gold and other possessions
derivable from it. He should perform all the duties of its wars and other internal
affairs pertaining to it. Some virtuous minister, with wrathfulness should exercise
supervision over the administration affairs and mutual relations of those officers.
In every town, again, there should be an officer for attending to every matter
relating to his jurisdiction. Like some planet of dreadful form moving above all the
asterisms below, the officer (with plenary powers) mentioned last should move
and act above all the officers subordinate to him. Such an officer should
ascertain the conduct of those under him through his spies. Such high officers
should protect the people from all persons of murderous disposition, all men of
wicked deeds, all who rob other people of their wealth, and all who are full of
deceit, and all of whom are regarded to be possessed by the devil. Taking note
of the sales and the purchases, the state of the roads, the food and dress, and
the stocks and profits of those that are engaged in trade, the king should levy
taxes on them. Ascertaining on all occasions the extent of the manufactures, the
receipts and expenses of those that are engaged in them, and the state of the
arts, the king should levy taxes upon the artisans in respect of the arts they
follow. The king, O Yudhishthira, may take high taxes, but he should never levy
such taxes as would emasculate his people. No tax should be levied without
ascertaining the outturn and the amount of labour that has been necessary to

produce it. Nobody would work or seek for outturns without sufficient cause.[251]
The king should, after reflection, levy taxes in such a way that he and the person
who labours to produce the article taxed may both share the value. The king
should not, by his thirst, destroy his own foundations as also those of others. He
should always avoid those acts in consequence of which he may become an
object of hatred to his people. Indeed, by acting in this way he may succeed in
winning popularity. The subjects hate that king who earns a notoriety for
voraciousness of appetite (in the matter of taxes and imposts). Whence can a
king who becomes an object of hatred have prosperity? Such a king can never
acquire what is for his good. A king who is possessed of sound intelligence
should milk his kingdom after the analogy of (men acting in the matter of) calves.
If the calf be permitted to suck, it grows strong, O Bharata, and bears heavy
burthens. If, on the other hand, O Yudhishthira, the cow be milked too much, the
calf becomes lean and fails to do much service to the owner. Similarly, if the
kingdom be drained much, the subjects fail to achieve any act that is great. That
king who protects his kingdom himself and shows favour to his subjects (in the
matter of taxes and imposts) and supports himself upon what is easily obtained,
succeeds in earning many grand results. Does not the king then obtain wealth
sufficient for enabling him to cope with his wants?[252] The entire kingdom, in
that case, becomes to him his treasury, while that which is his treasury becomes
his bed chamber. If the inhabitants of the cities and the provinces be poor, the
king should, whether they depend upon him immediately or mediately, show
them compassion to the best of his power. Chastising all robbers that infest the
outskirts, the king should protect the people of his villages and make them
happy. The subjects, in the case, becoming sharers of the king‟s weal and woe,
feel exceedingly gratified with him. Thinking, in the first instance, of collecting
wealth, the king should repair to the chief centres of his kingdom one after
another and endeavour to inspire his people with fright. He should say unto them,
„Here, calamity threatens us. A great danger has arisen in consequence of the
acts of the foe. There is every reason, however, to hope that the danger will pass
away, for the enemy, like a bamboo that has flowered, will very soon meet with
destruction. Many foes of mine, having risen up and combined with a large
number of robbers, desire to put our kingdom into difficulties, for meeting with
destruction themselves. In view of this great calamity fraught with dreadful
danger, I solicit your wealth for devising the means of your protection. When the
danger passes away, I will give you what I now take. Our foes, however, will not
give back what they (if unopposed) will take from you by force. On the other hand
(if unopposed), they will even slay all your relatives beginning with your very
spouses. You certainly desire wealth for the sake of your children and wives. I
am glad at your prosperity, and I beseech you as I would my own children. I shall
take from you what it may be within your power to give me. I do not wish to give
pain to any one. In seasons of calamity, you should, like strong bulls, bear such
burthens. In seasons of distress, wealth should not be so dear to you. A king
conversant with the considerations relating to Time should, with such agreeable,
sweet, and complimentary words, send his agents and collect imposts from his
people. Pointing out to them the necessity of repairing his fortifications and of

defraying the expenses of his establishment and other heads, inspiring them with
the fear of foreign invasion, and impressing them with the necessity that exists
for protecting them and enabling them to ensure the means of living in peace, the
king should levy imposts upon the Vaisyas of his realm. If the king disregards the
Vaisyas, they become lost to him, and abandoning his dominions remove
themselves to the woods. The king should, therefore, behave with leniency
towards them. The king, O son of Pritha, should always conciliate and protect the
Vaisyas, adopt measures for inspiring them with a sense of security and for
ensuring them in the enjoyment of what they possess, and always do what is
agreeable to them. The king, O Bharata, should always act in such a way
towards the Vaisyas that their productive powers may be enhanced. The Vaisyas
increase the strength of a kingdom, improve its agriculture, and develop its trade.
A wise king, therefore, should always gratify them. Acting with heedfulness and
leniency, he should levy mild imposts upon them. It is always easy to behave
with goodness towards the Vaisyas. There is nothing productive of greater good
to a kingdom, O Yudhishthira, then the adoption of such behaviour towards the
Vaisyas of the realm.‟”
SECTION LXXXVIII
“Yudhishthira said: „Tell me, O grandsire, how should the king should behave if,
notwithstanding his great wealth, he desires for more.‟
“Bhishma said, „A king, desirous of earning religious merit, should devote himself
to the good of his subjects and protect them according to considerations of place
and time and to the best of his intelligence and power. He should, in his
dominions, adopt all such measures as would in his estimation secure their good
as also his own. A king should milk his kingdom like a bee gathering honey from
plants.[253] He should act like the keeper of a cow who draws milk from her
without boring her udders and without starving the calf. The king should (in the
matter of taxes) act like the leech drawing blood mildly. He should conduct
himself towards his subjects like a tigress in the matter of carrying her cubs,
touching them with her teeth but never piercing them therewith. He should
behave like a mouse which though possessed of sharp and pointed teeth still
cuts the feet of sleeping animals in such a manner that they do not at all become
conscious of it. A little by little should be taken from a growing subject and by this
means should he be shorn. The demand should then be increased gradually till
what is taken assumes a fair proportion. The king should enhance the burthens
of his subjects gradually like a person gradually increasing the burthens of a
young bullock. Acting with care and mildness, he should at last put the reins on
them. If the reins are thus put, they would not become intractable. Indeed,
adequate measures should be employed for making them obedient. Mere
entreaties to reduce them to subjection would not do. It is impossible to behave
equally towards all men. Conciliating those that are foremost, the common
people should be reduced to obedience. Producing disunion (through the agency

of their leaders) among the common people who are to bear the burthens, the
king should himself come forward to conciliate them and then enjoy in happiness
what he will succeed in drawing from them. The king should never impose taxes
unseasonably and on persons unable to bear them. He should impose them
gradually and with conciliation, in proper season and according to due forms.
These contrivances that I declare unto thee are legitimate means of king-craft.
They are not reckoned as methods fraught with deceit. One who seeks to govern
steeds by improper methods only makes them furious. Drinking-shops, public
women, pimps, actors, gamblers and keepers of gaining houses, and other
persons of this kind, who are sources of disorder to the state, should all be
checked. Residing within the realm, these afflict and injure the better classes of
the subjects. Nobody should ask anything of anyone when there is no distress.
Manu himself in days of old has laid down this injunction in respect of all
men.[254] If all men were to live by asking or begging and abstain from work, the
world would doubtless come to an end. The king alone is competent to restrain
and check. That king who does not restrain his subjects (from sin) earns a fourth
part of the sins committed by his people (in consequence of the absence of royal
protection). This is the declaration of the Srutis. Since the king shares the sins of
his subjects like their merits, he should, therefore, O monarch, restrain those
subjects of his that are sinful. The king that neglects to restrain them becomes
himself sinful. He earns (as already said) a fourth part of their sins as he does a
fourth part of their merits. The following faults of which I speak should be
checked. They are such as impoverish everyone. What wicked act is there that a
person governed by passion would not do? A person governed by passion
indulges in stimulants and meat, and appropriates the wives and the wealth of
other people, and sets a bad example (for imitation by others). They that do not
live upon alms may beg in seasons of distress. The king should, observant of
righteousness, make gifts unto them from compassion but not from fear. Let
there be no beggars in thy kingdom, nor robbers. It is the robbers (and not
virtuous men) that give unto beggars. Such givers are not real benefactors of
men. Let such men reside in thy dominions as advance the interests of others
and do them good, but not such as exterminate others. Those officers, O king,
that take from the subjects more than what is due should be punished. Thou
shouldst then appoint others so that these will take only what is due. Agriculture,
rearing of cattle, trade and other acts of a similar nature, should be caused to be
carried on by many persons on the principle of division of labour.[255] If a person
engaged in agriculture, cattle-rearing, or trade, becomes inspired with a sense of
insecurity (in consequence of thieves and tyrannical officers), the king, as a
consequence, incurs infamy. The king should always honour those subjects of
his that are rich and should say unto them, „Do ye, with me, advance the interest
of the people.‟ In every kingdom, they that are wealthy constitute an estate in the
realm. Without doubt, a wealthy person is the foremost of men.[256] He that is
wise, or courageous, or wealthy or influential, or righteous, or engaged in
penances, or truthful in speech, or gifted with intelligence, assists in protecting
(his fellow subjects).

For these reasons, O monarch, do thou love all creatures, and display the
qualities of truth, sincerity, absence of wrath, and abstention from injury! Thou
shouldst thus wield the rod of chastisement, and enhance thy treasury and
support thy friends and consolidate thy kingdom thus, practising the qualities of
truthfulness and sincerity and supported by thy friends, treasury and forces!‟”
SECTION LXXXIX
“Bhishma said, „Let not such trees as yield edible fruits be cut down in thy
dominions. Fruits and roots constitute the property of the Brahmanas. The sages
have declared this to be an ordinance of religion. The surplus, after supporting
the Brahmanas, should go to the support of other people. Nobody should take
anything by doing an injury to the Brahmanas.[257] If a Brahmana, afflicted for
want of support, desires to abandon a kingdom for obtaining livelihood
(elsewhere), the king, O monarch, should, with affection and respect, assign unto
him the means of sustenance. If he does not still abstain (from leaving the
kingdom), the king should repair to an assembly of Brahmanas and say, „Such a
Brahmana is leaving the kingdom. In whom shall my people then find an authority
for guiding them?‟[258] If after this, he does not give up his intention of leaving,
and says anything, the king should say unto him, „Forget the past.‟ This, O son of
Kunti, is the eternal way of royal duty.[259] The king should further say unto him,
„Indeed, O Brahmana, people say that that only should be assigned to a
Brahmana which would be just sufficient for maintaining him. I, however, do not
accept that opinion. On the other hand, I think that if a Brahmana seeks to leave
a kingdom for the king‟s neglect in providing him with means of support, such
means should be assigned to him, and, further, if he intends to take that step for
procuring the means of luxury, he should still be requested to stay and supplied
with ever those means.[260] Agriculture, cattle-rearing, and trade, provide all
men with the means of living. A knowledge of the Vedas, however, provide them
with the means of obtaining heaven. They, therefore, that obstruct the study of
the Vedas and the cause of Vedic practices, are to be regarded as enemies of
society.[261] It is for the extermination of these that Brahman created Kshatriyas.
Subdue thy foes, protect thy subjects, worship the deities in sacrifices, and fight
battles with courage, O delighter of the Kurus! A king should protect those that
deserve protection. The king who does this is the best of rulers. Those kings that
do not exercise the duty of protection live a vain life. For the benefit of all his
subjects the king should always seek to ascertain the acts and thoughts of all, O
Yudhishthira; and for that reason fie should set spies and secret agents.[262]
Protecting others from thy own, and thy own from others, as also others from
others, and thy own from thy own, do thou always cherish thy people. Protecting
his own self first from every one, the king should protect the earth. Men of
knowledge have said that everything has its root in self. The king should always
reflect upon these, viz., What are his laches, to what evil habits he is addicted,
what are the sources of his weakness, and what are the sources of his faults.
The king should cause secret and trusted agents to wander through the kingdom

for ascertaining whether his conduct as displayed on the previous day has or has
not met with the approbation of the people. Indeed, he should ascertain whether
his conduct is or is not generally praised, or, is or is not acceptable to the people
of the provinces, and whether he has or has not succeeded in earning a good
name in his kingdom. Amongst those that are virtuous and possessed of wisdom,
those that never retreat from battle, and those that do not reside in thy kingdom,
those that are dependent on thee, and those that are thy ministers, as well as
those that are independent of party, they that praise or blame thee should never
be objects of disregard with thee, O Yudhishthira![263] No man, O sire, can
succeed in earning the good opinion of all persons in the world. All persons have
friends, foes, and neutrals, O Bharata!‟
“Yudhishthira said, „Among persons all of whom are equal in might of arms and
accomplishments, whence does one acquire superiority over all the rest, and
whence does that one succeed in ruling over them?‟
“Bhishma said, „Creatures that are mobile devour things that are immobile;
animals again that have teeth devour those that have no teeth; wrathful snakes
of virulent poison devour smaller ones of their own species. (Upon this principle),
among human beings also, the king, who is strong, preys upon those that are
weak. The king, O Yudhishthira, should always be heedful of his subjects as also
of his foes. If he becomes heedless, they fall upon him like vultures (on carrion).
Take care, O king, that the traders in thy kingdom who purchase articles at prices
high and low (for sale), and who in course of their journeys have to sleep or take
rest in forest and inaccessible regions,[264] be not afflicted by the imposition of
heavy taxes. Let not the agriculturists in thy kingdom leave it through oppression;
they, who bear the burthens of the king, support the other residents also of the
kingdom.[265] The gifts made by thee in this world support the gods, Pitris, men,
Nagas, Rakshasas, birds, and animals. These, O Bharata, are the means of
governing a kingdom and protecting its rulers. I shall again discourse to thee on
the subject, O son of Pandu!‟”
SECTION XC
“Bhishma said, „That foremost of all persons conversant with the Vedas, viz.,
Utathya of Angirasa‟s race, discoursed cheerfully (on former occasion) unto
Yuvanaswa‟s son Mandhatri. I shall now, O Yudhishthira, recite to thee
everything that Utathya, that foremost of all persons conversant with the Vedas,
had said unto that king.‟
“Utathya said, „One becomes a king for acting in the interests of righteousness
and not for conducting himself capriciously. Know this, O Mandhatri; the king is,
indeed, the protector of the world. If the king acts righteously, he attains to the
position of a god.[266] On the other hand, if fie acts unrighteously, he sinks into
hell. All creatures rest upon righteousness. Righteousness, in its turn, rests upon
the king. That king, therefore, who upholds righteousness, is truly a king. That
king who is endued with a righteous soul and with every kind of grace is said to

be an embodiment of virtue. If a king fails to chastise unrighteousness, the gods
desert his mansion and he incurs obloquy among men. The efforts of men who
are observant of their own duties are always crowned with success. For this
reason all men seek to obey the dictates of righteousness which are productive
of prosperity. When sinfulness is not restrained, righteous behaviour comes to an
end and unrighteous behaviour increases greatly. When sinfulness is not
restrained, no one can, according to the rights of property as laid down in the
scriptures, say, „This thing is mine and this is not mine.‟ When sinfulness prevails
in the world, men cannot own and enjoy their own wives and animals and fields
and houses. The deities receive no worship, the Pitris no offerings in Sraddhas,
and guests no hospitality, when sinfulness is not restrained. The regenerate
classes do not study the Vedas, or observe high vows, or spread out sacrifices,
when sinfulness is not restrained. The minds of men, O king, become weak and
confounded like those of persons wounded with weapons, when sinfulness is not
restrained. Casting their eyes on both the worlds, the Rishis made the king, that
superior being, intending that he should be the embodiment of righteousness on
earth.[267] He is called Rajan in whom righteousness shines. That king, again in
whom there is no righteousness, is called a Vrishala.[268] The divine Dharma
(righteousness) has another name, viz., Vrisha. He who weakens Vrisha is called
by the name of Vrishala. A king should, therefore, advance the cause of
righteousness. All creatures grow in the growth of righteousness, and decay with
its decay. Righteousness, therefore, should never be permitted to decay.
Righteousness is called Dharma because it aids the acquisition and preservation
of wealth (Dhana). The sages, O king, have declared that Dharma restrains and
set bounds to all evil acts of men. The self-born (Brahman) created Dharma for
the advancement and growth of creatures. For this reason, a king should act
according to the dictates of Dharma for benefiting his subjects. For this reason
also, O tiger among kings, Dharma has been said to be the foremost of all things.
That foremost of men who rules his subjects righteously is called a king.
Disregarding lust and wrath, observe thou the dictates of righteousness. Among
all things, O chief of Bharata‟s race, that conduce to the prosperity of kings,
righteousness is the foremost. Dharma, again, has sprung from the Brahmana.
For this reason, the Brahmana should always be worshipped. Thou shouldst, O
Mandhatri, gratify with humility the wishes of Brahmanas. By neglecting to gratify
the wishes of Brahmanas, the king brings danger on himself. In consequence of
such neglect, he fails to obtain any accession of friends while his foes increase in
number. In consequence of malice towards the Brahmanas springing from his
folly, the goddess of prosperity who had formerly dwelt with him became enraged
and deserted the Asura Vali, the son of Virochana. Deserting the Asura she
repaired to Indra, the chief of the deities. Beholding the goddess living with
Purandara, Vali indulged in many vain regrets. This, O puissant one, is the
results of malice and pride. Be thou awakened, O Mandhatri, so that the goddess
of prosperity may not in wrath desert thee. The Srutis declare that
Unrighteousness begat a son named Pride upon the goddess of prosperity. This
Pride, O king, led many among the gods and the Asuras to ruin. Many royal
sages also have suffered destruction on his account. Do thou, therefore, awaken,

O king! He who succeeds in conquering him becomes a king. He, on the other
hand, who suffers himself to be conquered by him, becomes a slave. If, O
Mandhatri, thou wishest for an eternal life (of felicity), live as a king should that
does not indulge in these two, viz., Pride and Unrighteousness! Abstain from
companionship with him that is intoxicated (with pride), him that is heedless (of
the dictates of honesty), him that is scoffer of religion, him that is insensate, and
forbear to pay court to all of them when united. Keep thy self aloof from the
company of ministers whom thou hast once punished and especially of women,
as also from mountains and uneven lands and inaccessible fastnesses and
elephants and horses and (noxious) reptiles. Thou shouldst also give up
wandering in the night, and avoid the faults of stinginess and vanity and
boastfulness and wrath. Thou shouldst never have intercourse with unknown
women, or those of equivocal sex, or those that are lewd, or those that are the
wives of other men, or those that are virgins. When the king does not restrain
vice, a confusion of castes follows, and sinful Rakshasas, and persons of neutral
sex, and children destitute of limbs or possessed of thick tongues, and idiots,
begin to take birth in even respectable families. Therefore, the king should take
particular care to act righteously, for the benefit of his subjects. If a king acts
heedlessly, a great evil becomes the consequence. Unrighteousness increases
causing a confusion of castes. Cold sets in during the summer months, and
disappears when its proper season comes. Drought and flood and pestilence
afflict the people. Ominous stars arise and awful comets appear on such
occasions. Diverse other portents, indicating destruction of the kingdom, make
their appearance. If the king does not take measures for his own safety and does
not protect his subjects, the latter first meet with destruction and then destruction
seizes the king himself. Two persons combining together snatch the wealth of
one, and many acting in concert rob the two. Maidens are deflowered. Such a
state of things is said to arise from the king‟s faults. All rights of property come to
an end among men, when the king, abandoning righteousness, acts heedlessly.‟”
SECTION XCI
“Utathya said, „If the deity of the clouds pours rain seasonably and the king acts
virtuously, the prosperity that ensues maintain the subjects in felicity. That
washerman who does not know how to wash away the filth of cloth without taking
away its dye, is very unskilful in his profession. That person among Brahmanas
or Kshatriyas or Vaisyas who, having fallen away from the proper duties of his
order, has become a Sudra, is truly to be compared to such a washerman.
Menial service attaches to the Sudra; agriculture to the Vaisya; the science of
chastisement to the Kshatriya, and Brahmacharya, penances, mantras, and truth,
attach, to the Brahmana. That Kshatriya who knows how to correct the faults of
behaviour of the other orders and to wash them clean like a washerman is really
their father and deserve to be their king. The respective ages called Krita, Treta,
Dwapara and Kali, O bull of Bharata‟s race, are all dependent on the conduct of
the king. It is the king who constitutes the age.[269] The four orders, the Vedas

and the duties in respect of the four modes of life, all become confused and
weakened when the king becomes heedless. The three kinds of Fire, the three
Vedas, and sacrifices with Dakshina, all become lost when the king becomes
heedless. The king is the creator of all creatures, and the king is their destroyer.
That king who is of righteous soul is regarded as the creator, while he that is
sinful is regarded as the destroyer. The king‟s wives, sons, kinsmen, and friends,
all become unhappy and grieve when the king becomes heedless. Elephants and
steeds and kine and camels and mules and asses and other animals all lose their
vigour when the king becomes unrighteous. It is said, O Mandhatri, that the
Creator created Power (represented by the king) for the object of protecting
Weakness. Weakness is, indeed, a great being, for everything depends upon
it.[270] All creatures worship the king. All creatures are the children of the king. If,
therefore, O monarch, the king becomes unrighteous, all creatures come to grief.
The eyes of the weak, of the Muni, and of the snake of virulent poison, should be
regarded as unbearable. Do not, therefore, come into (hostile) contact with the
weak. Thou shouldst regard the weak as always subject to humiliation. Take care
that the eyes of the weak do not burn thee with thy kinsmen. In a race scorched
by the eyes of the weak, no children take birth. Such eyes burn the race to its
very roots. Do not, therefore, come into (hostile) contact with the weak.
Weakness is more powerful than even the greatest Power, for that Power which
is scorched by Weakness becomes totally exterminated. If a person, who has
been humiliated or struck, fails, while shrieking for assistance, to obtain a
protector, divine chastisement overtakes the king and brings about his
destruction. Do not, O sire, while in enjoyment of Power, take wealth from those
that are Weak. Take care that that the eyes of the Weak do not burn thee like a
blazing fire. The tears shed by weeping men afflicted with falsehood slay the
children and animals of those that have uttered those falsehoods. Like a cow a
sinful act perpetrated does not produce immediate fruits.[271] If the fruit is not
seen in the perpetrator himself, it is seen in his son or in his son‟s son, or
daughter‟s son. When a weak person fails to find a rescuer, the great rod of
divine chastisement falls (upon the king). When all subjects of a king (are obliged
by distress to) live like Brahmanas, by mendicancy, such mendicancy brings
destruction upon the king. When all the officers of the king posted in the
provinces unite together and act with injustice, the king is then said to bring about
a state of unmixed evil upon his kingdom. When the officers of the king extort
wealth, by unjust means or acting from lust or avarice, from persons piteously
soliciting mercy, a great destruction then is sure to overtake the king. A mighty
tree, first starting into life, grows into large proportions. Numerous creatures then
come and seek its shelter. When, however, it is cut down or consumed in a
conflagration, those that, had recourse to it for shelter all become homeless.[272]
When the residents of a kingdom perform acts of righteousness and all religious
rites, and applaud the good qualities of the king, the latter reaps an accession of
affluence. When, on the other hand, the residents, moved by ignorance, abandon
righteousness and act unrighteously, the king becomes overtaken by misery.
When sinful men whose acts are known are allowed to move among the
righteous (without being punished for their misdeeds), Kali then overtakes the

rulers of those realms.[273] When the king causes chastisement to overtake all
wicked people, his kingdom thrives in prosperity. The kingdom of that king
certainly thrives who pays proper honours to his ministers and employs them in
measures of policy and in battles. Such a ruler enjoys the wide earth for ever.
That king who duly honours all good acts and good speeches succeeds in
earning great merit. The enjoyment of good things after sharing them with others,
paying proper honours to the ministers, and subjugation or persons intoxicated
with strength, are said to constitute the great duty of a king. Protecting all men by
words, body, and deeds, and never forgiving his son himself (if he has offended),
constitute the great duty of the king. The maintenance of those that are weak by
sharing with them the things he has, and thereby increasing their strength
constitute the duty of the king. Protection of the kingdom, extermination of
robbers, and conquering in battle, constitute the duty of the king. Never to forgive
a person however dear, if he has committed an offence by act or word,
constitutes the duty of the king. Protecting those that solicit shelter, as he would
protect his own children, and never depriving one of the honours to which he is
entitled constitute the duty of the king.[274] Adoring the deities, with a devoted
heart, in sacrifices completed by presents, and subduing lust and envy, constitute
the duty of the king. Wiping the tears of the distressed, the helpless, and the old,
and inspiring them with joy, constitute the duty of the king. Aggrandising friends,
weakening foes, and honouring the good, constitute the duty of the king.
Cheerfully observing the obligations of truth, always making gifts of land,
entertaining guests, and supporting dependents, constitute the duty of the king.
That king who favours those that deserve favours and chastises those that
deserve chastisement earns great merit both here and hereafter. The king is
Yama himself. He is, O Mandhatri, the god (incarnate) unto all that are righteous.
By subduing his senses he succeeds in acquiring great affluence. By not
subduing them he incurs sin.[275] Paying proper honours unto Ritwijas and
priests and preceptors, and doing good offices unto them constitute the duty of
the king. Yama governs all creatures without observing distinctions. The king
should imitate him in his behaviour by restraining all his subjects duly. The king is
said to resemble the Thousand-eyed (Indra) in every respect. That, O bull
among men, should be regarded as righteousness which is regarded as such by
him. Thou shouldst, without being heedless, cultivate forgiveness, intelligence,
patience, and the, love of all creatures. Thou shouldst also ascertain the strength
and weakness of all men and learn to distinguish between right and wrong. Thou
shouldst conduct thyself with propriety towards all creatures, make gifts, and
utter agreeable and sweet words. Thou shouldst maintain the residents of thy city
and the provinces in happiness. A king who is not clever, never succeeds in
protecting his subjects. Sovereignty, O sire, is a very happy burthen to bear. Only
that king who is possessed of wisdom and courage, and who is conversant with
the science of chastisement, can protect a kingdom. He, on the other hand, who
is without energy and intelligence, and who is not versed in the great science, is
incompetent to bear the burthen of sovereignty. Aided by ministers of handsome
features and good birth, clever in business, devoted to their master, and
possessed of great learning, thou shouldst examine the hearts and acts of all

men including the very ascetics in the forests. Conducting thyself thus, thou wilt
be able to learn the duties of all orders of men. That will aid thee in observing thy
own duties, whether when thou art in thy country or when thou repairest to other
realms. Amongst these three objects, viz., Virtue, Profit, and Pleasure, Virtue is
the foremost. He that is of virtuous soul obtains great happiness both here and
hereafter. If men be treated with honour, they can abandon (for the sake of the
honour thou mayst give them) their very wives and sons. By attaching good men
to himself (by doing good offices unto them), by gifts, sweet words, heedfulness
and purity of behaviour, a king may win great prosperity. Do not, therefore, O
Mandhatri, be heedless to these qualities and acts. The king should never be
heedless in looking after his own laches, as also after those of his foes. He
should act in such a way that his foes may not be able to detect his laches, and
he should himself assail them when theirs are visible. This is the way in which
Vasava, and Yama, and Varuna, and all the great royal sages have acted. Do
thou observe the same conduct. Do thou, O great king, adopt this behaviour
which was followed by those royal sages. Do thou soon, O bull of Bharata‟s race,
adept this heavenly road. The gods, the Rishis, the Pitris, and the Gandharvas,
possessed of great energy, sing the praises, both here and hereafter, of that king
whose conduct is righteous.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Thus addressed by Utathya, O Bharata, Mandhatri,
unhesitatingly did as he was directed, and became the sole lord of the wide
earth. Do thou also, O king, act righteously like Mandhatri. Thou wilt then, after
ruling the earth, obtain an abode in heaven.‟”
SECTION XCII
“Yudhishthira said, „How should a righteous king, who is desirous of adhering to
a course of righteousness, behave? I ask thee this, O foremost of men! Answer
me, O Grandsire!‟
“Bhishma said, „In this connection is cited the old story of what Vamadeva gifted
with great intelligence and acquainted with the true import of everything sang in
ancient time. Once upon a time, king Vasumanas, possessed of knowledge and
fortitude and purity of behaviour, asked the great Rishi Vamadeva of high ascetic
merit, saying, „Instruct me, O holy one, in words fraught with righteousness and
of grave impart, as to the conduct to be observed by me so that I may not fall
away from the duties prescribed for me.‟ Unto him of a golden complexion and
seated at his ease like Yayati, son of Nahusha, that foremost of ascetics, viz.,
Vamadeva, of great energy, said as follows:
“Vamadeva said, „Do thou act righteously. There is nothing superior to
righteousness. Those kings that are observant of righteousness, succeed in
conquering the whole earth. That king who regards righteousness to be the most
efficacious means for accomplishing his objects, and who acts according to the
counsels of those that are righteous, blazes forth with righteousness. That king
who disregards righteousness and desires to act with brute force, soon falls away

from righteousness and loses both Righteousness and Profit. That king who acts
according to the counsels of a vicious and sinful minister becomes a destroyer of
righteousness and deserves to be slain by his subjects with all his family. Indeed,
he very soon meets with destruction. That king who is incompetent to discharge
the duties of state-craft, who is governed by caprice in all his acts, and who
indulges in brag, soon meets with destruction even if he happens to be ruler of
the whole earth. That king, on the other hand, who is desirous of prosperity, who
is free from malice, who has his senses under control, and who is gifted with
intelligence, thrives in affluence like the ocean swelling with the waters
discharged into it by a hundred streams. He should never consider himself to
have a sufficiency of virtue, enjoyments, wealth, intelligence, and friends. Upon
these depends the conduct of the world. By listening to these counsels, a king
obtains fame‟, achievements, prosperity, and subjects. Devoted to virtue, that
king who seeks the acquisition of virtue and wealth by such means, and who
begins all his measures after reflecting upon their objects, succeeds in obtaining
great prosperity. That king who is illiberal, and without affection, who afflicts his
subjects by undue chastisements, and who is rash in his acts, soon meets with
destruction. That king who is not gifted with intelligence fails to see his own
faults. Covered with infamy here, he sinks into hell hereafter. If the king gives
proper honour to them that deserve it, makes gifts, and recognises the value of
sweet speeches by himself uttering them on all occasions, his subjects then
dispel the calamities that overtake him, as if these had fallen upon themselves.
That king who has no instructor in the ways of righteousness and who never asks
others for counsels, and who seeks to acquire wealth by means that caprice
suggests, never succeeds in enjoying happiness long. That king, on the other
hand, who listens to the instructions of his preceptors in matters connected with
virtue, who supervises the affairs of his kingdom himself, and who in all his
acquisitions is guided by considerations of virtue, succeed in enjoying happiness
for a long time.‟”[276]
SECTION XCIII
“Vamadeva continued, „When the king, who is powerful, acts unrighteously
towards the weak, they who take their birth in his race imitate the same conduct.
Others, again, imitate that wretch who sets sin agoing. Such imitation of the man
ungoverned by restraints soon brings destruction upon the kingdom. The conduct
of a king who is observant of his proper duties, is accepted by men in general as
a model for imitation. The conduct, however, of a king who falls away from his
duties, is not tolerated by his very kinsfolk. That rash king who, disregarding the
injunctions laid down in the scriptures, acts with highhandedness in his kingdom,
very soon meets with destruction. That Kshatriya who does not follow the
conduct observed from days of old by other Kshatriyas. conquered or
unconquered, is said to fall away from Kshatriya duties. Having seized in battle a
royal foe that did some good to the conqueror on a former occasion, that king
who does not, actuated by malice, pay him honours, is said to fall away from

Kshatriya duties. The king should display his power, live cheerfully, and do what
is necessary in seasons of danger. Such a ruler becomes the beloved of all
creatures and never falls away from prosperity. If thou doest disservice to any
person, thou shouldst, when the turn comes, do him service. One who is not
loved becomes an object of love, if he does what is agreeable. Untruthful
speeches should be avoided. Thou shouldst do good to others without being
solicited. Thou shouldst never abandon righteousness from lust or wrath or
malice. Do not give harsh answers when questioned by anybody. Do not utter
undignified speeches. Never be in a hurry to do anything. Never indulge in
malice. By such means is a foe won over. Do not give way to exclusive joy when
anything agreeable occurs, nor suffer thyself to be overwhelmed with sorrow
when anything disagreeable occurs. Never indulge in grief when thy pecuniary
resources are exhausted, and always remember the duty of doing good to thy
subjects. That king who always does what is agreeable by virtue of his
disposition achieves success in all his measures and is never shorn of prosperity.
The king should always, with heedfulness, cherish that devoted servant who
abstains from doing what is injurious to his master and who always does what is
for his good. He should appoint in all great affairs persons that have subjugated
their senses, that are devotedly loyal and of pure behaviour, and that are
possessed of ability. That person, who by the possession of such qualifications
pleases the king and who is never heedless in taking care of the interests of his
master should be appointed by the king in the affairs of his kingdom. On the
other hand, the king becomes divested of prosperity by appointing to important
offices men that are fools and slaves of their senses, that are covetous and of
disrespectable conduct, that are deceitful and hypocritical, that are malicious,
wicked-souled, and ignorant, that are low-minded, and addicted to drink,
gambling, women, and hunting. That king, who, first protecting his own self,
protects others that deserve protection, feels the satisfaction of finding his
subjects growing in prosperity. Such a king succeeds also in obtaining greatness.
A king should, by secret agents that are devoted to him, watch the conduct and
acts of other kings. By such means can he obtain superiority. Having injured a
powerful king, one should not comfort himself with the thought that he (the
injurer) lives at a great distance from the injured. Such a king when injured falls
upon the injurer like the hawk swooping down upon its prey, in moments of
heedlessness. A king whose power has been consolidated and who is confident
of his own strength, should assail a neighbour who is weaker than himself but
never one that is stronger. A king who is devoted to virtue, having acquired the
sovereignty of the earth by prowess, should protect his subjects righteously and
slaughter foes in battle. Everything belonging to this world is destined to
destruction. Nothing here is durable. For this reason, the king, adhering to
righteousness, should protect his subjects righteously. The defence of forts,
battle, administration of justice, consultations on questions of policy, and keeping
the subjects in happiness, these five acts contribute to enlarge the dominions of
a king. That king who takes proper care of these is regarded to be the best of
kings. By always attending to these, a king succeeds in protecting his kingdom. It
is impossible, however, for one man to supervise all these matters at all times.

Making over such supervision to his ministers, a King may govern the earth for
ever.[277] The people make such a person their king who is liberal, who shares
all objects of enjoyment with others, who is possessed of a mild disposition, who
is of pure behaviour, and who will never abandon his subjects. He is obeyed in
the world who, having listened to counsels of wisdom, accepts them, abandoning
his own opinions. That king who does not tolerate the counsels of a well-wisher
in consequence of their opposition to his own views, who listens with inattention
to what is said unto him in opposition to his views, and who does not always
follow the conduct of high and noble persons conquered or unconquered, is said
to fall away from the duties of Kshatriyas. From ministers that have once been
chastised, from women in especial, from mountains and inaccessible regions,
from elephants and horses and reptiles, the king should always, with
heedfulness, protect his own self.[278] That king who, abandoning his chief
ministers, makes favourites of low persons, soon falls into distress, and never
succeeds in compassing the (intended) ends of his measures. That king of infirm
soul, who, yielding to the influence of wrath and malice, does not love and
honour those amongst his kinsmen that are possessed of good qualities, is said
to live on the very verge of destruction. That king, who attaches to himself
accomplished persons by doing good to them even though he may not like them
at heart, succeeds in enjoying fame for ever. Thou shouldst never impose taxes
unseasonably. Thou shouldst not be grieved at the occurrence of anything
disagreeable, nor rejoice exceedingly at anything agreeable. Thou shouldst
always set thyself to the accomplishment of good acts. Who amongst the
dependent kings is truly devoted to thee, and who is loyal to thee from fear, and
who amongst them has faults, should always be ascertained by thee. The king,
even if he be powerful, should trust them that are weak, for in moments of
heedlessness the weak may assail the powerful like a flock of vultures seizing
their prey. A man of sinful soul seeks to injure his master even if the latter be
sweet-speeched and possessed of every accomplishment. Do not, therefore,
place thy confidence upon such men. Nahusha‟s son Yayati, in declaring the
mysteries of king-craft, said that a person engaged in ruling men should slay
even foes that are contemptible.‟”
SECTION XCIV
“Vamadeva said, „The king should win victories without battles. Victories
achieved by battles are not spoken of highly. O monarch, by the wise. When the
sovereign‟s own power has not been confirmed, he should not seek to make new
acquisitions. It is not proper that a king whose power has not been consolidated
should seek to make such acquisitions. The power of that king whose dominions
are wide and abound with wealth, whose subjects are loyal and contented, and
who has a large number of officers, is said to be confirmed. That king whose
soldiery are contented, gratified (with pay and prize), and competent to deceive
foes can with even a small force subjugate the whole earth. The power of that
king whose subjects, whether belonging to the cities or the provinces, have

compassion for all creatures, and possessed of wealth and grain, is said to be
confirmed. When the king thinks that his power is greater than that of a foe, he
should then, aided by his intelligence, seek to acquire the latter‟s territories and
wealth. A king whose resources are increasing, who is compassionate unto all
creatures, who never loses any time by procrastination, and who is careful in
protecting, his own self, succeeds in earning advancement. That king who
behaves deceitfully towards his own people that have not been guilty of any fault,
shears his own self like a person cutting down a forest with an axe. If the king
does not always attend to the task of slaying his foes, the latter do not diminish.
That king, again, who knows how to kill his own temper finds no enemies. If the
king be possessed of wisdom, he would never do any act that is disapproved by
good men. He would, on the other hand, always engage himself in such acts as
would lead to his own benefit and that of others. That king who, having
accomplished all his duties, becomes happy in the approbation of his own
conscience, has never to incur the reproach of others and indulge in regrets.
That king who observes such conduct towards men succeeds in subjugating both
the worlds and enjoy the fruits of victory.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Thus addressed by Vamadeva, king Vasumana did as he
was directed. Without doubt, thyself also, following these counsels, shalt succeed
in conquering both the worlds.‟”
SECTION XCV
“Yudhishthira said, „If a Kshatriya desires to subjugate another Kshatriya in
battle, how should the former act in the matter of that victory? Questioned by me,
do thou answer it.‟
“Bhishma said, „The king, with or without an army at his back, entering the
dominions of the king he would subjugate, should say unto all the people, „I am
your king. I shall always protect you. Give me the just tribute or encounter me in
battle.‟ If the people accept him for their king, there need not be any fighting. If,
without being Kshatriyas by birth, they show signs of hostility, they should then,
observant as they are of practices not laid down for them, be sought to be
restrained by every means. People of the other orders do take up arms (for
resisting the invader) if they behold the Kshatriya unarmed for fight, incapable of
protecting himself, and making too much of the enemy.‟[279]
“Yudhishthira said „Tell me, O grandsire, how that Kshatriya king should conduct
himself in fight who advances against another Kshatriya king.‟
“Bhishma said, „A Kshatriya must not put on armour for fighting a Kshatriya
unclad in mail. One should fight one, and abandon the opponent when the latter
becomes disabled.[280] If the enemy comes clad in mail, his opponent also
should put on mail. If the enemy advances backed by an army, one should,
backed by an army, challenge him to battle. If the enemy fights aided by deceit,
he should be met with the aid of deceit. If, on the other hand, he fights fairly, he

should be resisted with fair means. One should not on horseback proceed
against a car-warrior. A car-warrior should proceed against a car-warrior. When
an antagonist has fallen into distress, he should not be struck; nor should one
that has been frightened, nor one that has been vanquished.[281] Neither
poisoned nor barbed arrows should be used. These are the weapons of the
wicked. One should fight righteously, without yielding to wrath or desiring to slay.
A weak or wounded man should not be slain, or one that is sonless; or one
whose weapon has been broken; or one that has fallen into distress; or one
whose bow-string has been cut; or one that has lost his vehicle. A wounded
opponent should either be sent to his own home, or, if brought to the victor‟s
quarters, should have his wounds attended to by skilful surgeons. When in
consequence of a quarrel between righteous kings, a righteous warrior falls into
distress, (his wounds should be attended to and) when cured he should be set at
liberty. This is the eternal duty. Manu himself, the son of the Self-born
(Brahman), has said that battles should be fought fairly. The righteous should
always act righteously towards those that are righteous. They should adhere to
righteousness without destroying it. If a Kshatriya, whose duty it is to fight
righteously, wins a victory by unrighteous means, he becomes sinful. Of deceitful
conduct, such a person is said to slay his own self. Such is the practice of those
that are wicked. Even he that is wicked should be subdued by fair means. It is
better to lay down life itself in the observance of righteousness than to win victory
by sinful means. Like a cow, O king, perpetrated sin does not immediately
produce its fruits. That sin overwhelms the perpetrator after consuming his roots
and branches. A sinful person, acquiring wealth by sinful means, rejoices greatly.
But the sinner, gaining advancement by sinful ways, becomes wedded to sin.
Thinking that virtue has no efficacy, he jeers at men of righteous behaviour.
Disbelieving in virtue, he at last meets with destruction. Though enmeshed in the
noose of Varuna, he still regards himself immortal. Like unto a large leathern bag
puffed up with wind, the sinner dissociates himself entirely from virtue. Soon,
however, he disappears like a tree on the riverside washed away with its very
roots. Then people, beholding him resemble an earthen pot broken on a stony
surface, speak of him as he deserves. The king should, therefore, seek both
victory and the enhancement of his resources, by righteous means.‟”
SECTION XCVI
“Bhishma said, „A king should never desire to subjugate the earth by unrighteous
means, even if such subjugation would make him the sovereign of the whole
earth. What king is there that would rejoice after obtaining victory by unfair
means? A victory stained by unrighteousness is uncertain and never leads to
heaven. Such a victory, O bull of Bharata‟s race, weakens both the king and the
earth. A warrior whose armour has fallen off, or who begs for quarter, saying, „I
am thine‟ or joining his hands, or who has laid aside his weapon, may simply be
seized but never slain. If a hostile king be vanquished by the troops of the
invader, the latter should not himself fight his vanquished foe. On the other hand,

he should bring him to his palace and persuade him for a whole year to say, „I am
thy slave!‟ Whether he says or does not say this, the vanquished foe, by living for
a year in the house of his victor, gains a new lease of life.[282] If a king succeeds
in bringing by force a maiden from the house of his vanquished foe, he should
keep her for a year and ask her whether she would wed him or any one else. If
she does not agree, she should then be sent back. He should behave similarly in
respect of all other kinds of wealth (such as slave) that are acquired by force.
The king should never appropriate the wealth confiscated from thieves and
others awaiting execution. The kine taken front the enemy by force should be
given away to the Brahmanas so that they may drink the milk of those animals.
The bulls taken from the enemy should be set to agriculture work or returned to
the enemy.[283] It is laid down that a king should fight one that is a king. One
that is not a king should never strike one that is a king. If a Brahmana, desirous
of peace, fearlessly goes between two contending armies, both should
immediately abstain from fight. He would break an eternal rule that would slay or
wound a Brahmana. If any Kshatriya breaks that rule, he would become a wretch
of his order. In addition to this, that Kshatriya who destroys righteousness and
transgresses all wholesome barriers does not deserve to be reckoned as a
Kshatriya and should be driven from society. A king desirous of obtaining victory
should never follow such conduct. What gain can be greater than victory won
righteously? The excitable classes (of a kingdom recently conquered) should,
without delay, be conciliated with soothing speeches and gifts. This is a good
policy for the king to adopt. If instead of doing this, these men be sought to be
governed with impolicy, they would then leave the kingdom and side with (the
victor‟s) foes and wait for the accession of calamities (in order that they may then
make head against the victor). Discontented men, watching for the calamities of
the king, promptly side with the latter‟s foes. O monarch, in times of danger. An
enemy should not be deceived by unfair means, nor should be wounded mortally.
For, if struck mortally, his very life may pass away.[284] If a king possessed of
little resources be gratified therewith, he would regard life alone to be much.[285]
That king whose dominions are extensive and full of wealth, whose subjects are
loyal, whose servants and officers are all contented, is said to have his roots firm.
That king whose Ritwijas and priests and preceptors and others about him that
are well-versed in all scriptures and deserving of honours are duly respected, is
said to be conversant with the ways of the world. It was by such behaviour that
Indra got the sovereignty of the world. It is by this behaviour that earthly kings
succeed in obtaining the status of Indra. King Pratardana, subjugating his foes in
a great battle, took all their wealth, including their very grain and medicinal herbs,
but left their land untouched. King Divodasa, after subjugating his foes, brought
away the very remnants of their sacrificial fires, their clarified butter (intended for
libations), and their food. For this reason he was deprived of the merit of his
conquests.[286] King Nabhaga (after his conquests) gave away whole kingdoms
with their rulers as sacrificial presents unto the Brahmanas, excepting the wealth
of learned Brahmanas and ascetics. The behaviour, O Yudhishthira, of all the
righteous kings of old, was excellent, and I approve of it wholly. That king who

desires his own prosperity should seek for conquests by the aid of every kind of
excellence but never with that of deceit or with pride.‟”
SECTION XCVII
“Yudhishthira said. „There are no practices, O king, more sinful than those of the
Kshatriyas. In marching or in battle, the king slays large multitudes.[287] By what
acts then does the king win regions of felicity? O bull of Bharata‟s race, tell this,
O learned one, unto me that desire to know.‟
“Bhishma said, „By chastising the wicked, by attaching and cherishing the good,
by sacrifices and gifts, kings become pure and cleansed. It is true, kings desirous
of victory afflict many creatures, but after victory they advance and aggrandise
all. By the power of gifts, sacrifices, and penances, they destroy their sins, and
their merit increases in order that they may be able to do good to all creatures.
The reclaimer of a field, for reclaiming it, takes up both paddy-blades and weeds.
His action, however, instead of destroying the blades or paddy, makes them
grow more vigorously. They that wield weapons, destroy many that deserve
destruction. Such extensive destruction, however, causes the growth and
advancement of those that remain. He who protects people from plunder,
slaughter, and affliction, in consequence of thus protecting their lives from
robbers, comes to be regarded as the giver of wealth, of life, and of food. The
king, therefore, by thus adoring the deities by means of a union of all sacrifices
whose Dakshina is the dispelling of everybody‟s fear, enjoys every kind of felicity
here and attains to a residence in Indra‟s heaven hereafter.[288] That king who,
going out, fights his foes in battles that have arisen for the sake of Brahmanas
and lays down his life, comes to be regarded as the embodiment of a sacrifice
with illimitable presents. If a king, with his quivers full of shafts, shoots them
fearlessly at his foes, the very gods do not see anyone on earth that is superior
to him. In such a case, equal to the number of shafts with which he pierces the
bodies of his enemies, is the number of regions that he enjoys, eternal and
capable of granting every wish. The blood that flows from his body cleanses him
of All his sins along with the very pain that he feels on the occasion. Persons
conversant with the scriptures say that the pains a Kshatriya suffers in battle
operate as penances for enhancing his merit. Righteous persons, inspired with
fear, stay in the rear, soliciting life from heroes that have rushed to battle, even
as men solicit rain from the clouds. If those heroes, without permitting the
beseechers to incur the dangers of battle, keep them in the rear by themselves
facing those dangers and defend them at that time of fear, great becomes their
merit. If, again, those timid p sons, appreciating that deed of bravery, always
respect those defenders, they do what is proper and just. By acting otherwise
they cannot free themselves from fear. There is great difference between men
apparently equal. Some rush to battle, amid its terrible din, against armed ranks
of foes. Indeed, the hero rushes against crowds of foes, adopting the road to
heaven. He, however, who is inspired with dastardly fear, seeks safety in flight,

deserting his comrades in danger. Let not such wretches among men be born in
thy race. The very gods with Indra at their head send calamities unto them that
desert their comrades in battle and come with unwounded limbs. He who desires
to save his own life-breaths by deserting his comrades, should be slain with
sticks or stones or rolled in a mat of dry grass for being burnt to death. Those
amongst the Kshatriyas that would be guilty of such conduct should be killed
after the manner of killing animals.[289] Death on a bed of repose, after ejecting
phlegm and urine and uttering piteous cries, is sinful for a Kshatriya. Persons
acquainted with the scriptures do not applaud the death which a Kshatriya
encounters with unwounded body. The death of a Kshatriya, O sire, at home is
not praiseworthy. They are heroes. Any unheroic act of theirs is sinful and
inglorious. In disease, one may be heard to cry, saying, „What sorrow! How
painful! I must be a great sinner.‟ With face emaciated and stench issuing fro in
his body and clothes, the sick man plunges his relatives into grief. Coveting the
condition of those that are hale, such a man (amidst his tortures) repeatedly
desires for death itself. One that is a hero, having dignity and pride, does not
deserve such in inglorious death. Surrounded by kinsmen and slaughtering his
foes in battle, a Kshatriya should die at the edge of keen weapons. Moved by
desire of enjoyment and filled with rage, a hero fights furiously and does not feel
the wounds inflicted on his limbs by foes. Encountering death in battle, he earns
that high merit fraught with fame and respect of the world which belongs to his or
her and ultimately obtains a residence in Indra‟s heaven. The hero, by not
showing his back in fight and contending by every means in his power, in utter
recklessness of life itself, at the van of battle, obtains the companionship of Indra.
Wherever the hero encountered death in the midst, of foes without displaying
ignoble fear or cheerlessness, he has succeeded in earning regions hereafter of
eternal bliss.‟”
SECTION XCVIII
“Yudhishthira said, „Tell me, O grand-sire, what regions are earned by
unreturning heroes by encountering death in battle.”
“Bhishma, said, „In this connection, O Yudhishthira, is cited the old story of the
discourse between Amvarisha and Indra. Amvarisha, the son of Nabhaga, having
repaired to heaven that is so difficult of acquisition, beheld his own generalissimo
in those celestial regions in the company of Indra. The king saw his puissant
general blazing with every kind of energy, endued with celestial form, seated on
a very beautiful car, and journeying (in that vehicle) up and up towards still higher
regions. Beholding the prosperity of his general Sudeva, and observing how he
traversed regions that were still higher, the high-souled Amvarisha, filled with
surprise, addressed Vasava, in the following words.‟
“Amvarisha said, „Having duly governed the whole earth bounded by the seas,
having from desire of earning religious merit practised all those duties that are
common to the four orders as declared by the scriptures, having practised with

rigid austerity all the duties of the Brahmacharya mode, having waited with dutiful
obedience upon my preceptors and other reverend seniors, having studied with
due observances the Vedas and the scriptures on kingly duties, having gratified
guests with food and drink, the Pitris with offerings in Sraddhas, the Rishis with
attentive study of the scriptures and with initiation (under proper forms into the
mysteries of religion), and the gods with many excellent and high sacrifices,
having duly observed Kshatriya duties according to the injunctions of the
scriptures, having cast my eyes fearlessly upon hostile troops, I won many
victories in battle, O Vasava! This Sudeva, O chief of the deities, was formerly
the generalissimo of my forces. It is true. He was a warrior of tranquil soul. For
what reason, however, has he succeeded in transcending me? He never
worshipped the gods in high and great sacrifices. He never gratified the
Brahmanas (by frequent and costly presents) according to the ordinance. For
what reason, then, has he succeeded in transcending me?‟
“Indra said, „Regarding this Sudeva, O sire, the great sacrifice of battle had often
been spread out by him. The same becomes the case with every other man that
engages in fight. Every warrior accoutred in armour, by advancing against foes in
battle array, becomes installed in that sacrifice. Indeed, it is a settled conclusion
that such a person, by acting in this way, comes to be regarded as the performer
of the sacrifice of battle.‟
“Amvarisha said, „What constitutes the libations in that sacrifice? What
constitutes its liquid offerings? What is its Dakshina? Who, again, are regarded
its Ritwijas? Tell me all this, O performer of a hundred sacrifices.‟
“Indra said, „Elephants constitute the Ritwijas of that sacrifice, and steeds are its
Audharyus. The flesh of foes constitutes ifs libations, and blood is its liquid
offering.[290] Jackals and vultures and ravens, as also winged shafts, constitute
its Sadasyas. These drink the remnants left of the liquid offering in this sacrifice
and eat the remnants of its libations. Heaps of lances and spears, of swords and
darts and axes, blazing, sharp, and well-tempered, constitute the ladles of the
sacrificer. Straight, sharp, and well-tempered arrows, with keen points and
capable of piercing the bodies of foes, impelled from well-stretched bows,
constitute its large double-mouthed ladles. Sheathed in scabbards made of tiger-
skin and equipped with handles made of ivory, and capable of cutting off the
elephant‟s trunk, the swords form the Sphises of this sacrifice.[291] The strokes
inflicted with blazing and keen lances and darts and swords and axes, all made
of hard iron, constitute its profuse wealth procured from the respectable people
by agreement in respect of the amount and period. The blood that runs over the
field in consequence of the fury of the attack, constitutes the final libation, fraught
with great merit and capable of granting every wish, in the Homa of this sacrifice.
Cut, Pierce, and such other sounds, that are heard in the front ranks of the array,
constitute the Samans sung by its Vedic chanters in the abode of Yama. The
front ranks of the enemy‟s array constitute the vessel for the keep of its libations.
The crowd of elephants and steeds and men equipped with shields are regarded
to constitute the Syenachit fire of that sacrifice. The headless trunks that rise up
after thousands have been slaughtered constitute the octagonal stake, made of

Khadira wood, for the hero who performs that sacrifice. The shrieks that
elephants utter when urged on with hooks, constitute its Ida mantras. The kettle-
drums, with the slaps of palms forming the Vashats, O king, are its Trisaman
Udgatri. When the property or a Brahmana is being taken away, he who casts off
his body that is so dear for protecting that property, does, by that act of self-
devotion, acquire the merit or a sacrifice with infinite presents. That hero who, for
the sake of his master, displays prowess at the van of the array and shows not
his back through fear, earns those regions of felicity that are mine. He who
strews the altar of the sacrifice constituted by battle, with swords cased in blue
scabbards and severed arms resembling heavy bludgeons, succeeds in winning
regions of felicity like mine. That warrior who, resolved upon obtaining victory,
penetrates into the midst of the enemy‟s ranks without waiting for any assistance,
succeeds in winning regions of felicity like mine. That warrior who in battle,
causes a river of blood to flow, terrible and difficult to cross, having kettle-drums
for its frogs and tortoises, the bones of heroes for its sands, blood and flesh for
its mire, swords and shields for its rafts, the hair of slain warriors for its floating
weeds and moss, the crowds of steeds and elephants and cars for its bridges,
standards and banners for its bushes of cane, the bodies or slain elephants for
its boats and huge alligators, swords and scimitars for its larger vessels, vultures
and Kankas and ravens for the rafts that float upon it, that warrior who causes
such a river, difficult of being crossed by even those that are possessed of
courage and power and which inspires all timid men with dread, is said to
complete the sacrifice by performing the final ablutions. That hero whose altar (in
such a sacrifice) is strewn over with the (severed) heads of foes, of steeds, and
of elephants, obtains regions of felicity like mine. The sages have said that that
warrior who regards the van of the hostile army as the chambers of his wives,
who looks upon the van of his own army as the vessel for the keep of sacrificial
offering, who takes the combatants standing to his south for his Sadasyas and
those to his north as his Agnidhras, and who looks upon the hostile forces as his
wedded wife, succeeds in winning all regions of felicity.[292] The open space
lying between two hosts drawn up for fight constitutes the altar of such a
sacrificer, and the three Vedas are his three sacrificial fires. Upon that altar,
aided by the recollection of the Vedas, he performs his sacrifice. The inglorious
warrior who, turning away from the fight in fear, is slain by foes, sinks into hell.
There is no doubt in this. That warrior, on the other hand, whose blood drenches
the sacrificial altar already strewn with hair and flesh and bones, certainly
succeeds in attaining a high end. That powerful warrior who, having slain the
commander of the hostile army, mounts the vehicle of his fallen antagonist,
comes to be regarded as possessed of the prowess of Vishnu himself and the
intelligence of Vrihaspati, the preceptor of the celestials. That warrior who call
seize alive the commander of the hostile army or his son or some other
respected leader, succeeds in winning regions of felicity like mine. One should
never grieve for a hero slain in battle. A slain hero, if nobody grieves for him,
goes to heaven and earns the respect of its denizens. Men do not desire to
dedicate (for his salvation) food and drink. Nor do they bathe (after receiving the
intelligence), nor go into mourning for him. Listen to me as I enumerate the

felicity that is in store for such a person. Foremost of Apsaras, numbering by
thousands, go out with great speed (for receiving the spirit of the slain hero)
coveting him for their lord. That Kshatriya who duly observes his duty in battle,
acquires by that act the merit of penances and of righteousness. Indeed, such
conduct on his part conforms with the eternal path of duty. Such a man obtains
the merits of all the four modes of life. The aged and the children should not be
slain; nor one that is a woman; not one that is flying, away; nor one that holds a
straw in his lips[293]; nor one that says. „I am thine.‟ Having slain in battle
Jambha, Vritra, Vala, Paka, Satamaya, Virochana, the irresistible Namuchi,
Samvara of innumerable illusions, Viprachitti,--all these sons of Diti and Danu, as
also Prahlada, I myself have become the chief of the celestials.‟
„Bhishma continued, „Hearing these words of Sakra and approving of them, king
Amvarisha comprehended how warriors succeed, (by battle as their means) in
compassing success for themselves (in respect of winning regions of beatitude in
heaven).‟”
SECTION XCIX
“Bhishma said, „In this connection is cited the old story of the battle between
Pratardana and the ruler of Mithila. The ruler of Mithila, viz., Janaka, after
installation in the sacrifice of battle, gladdened all his troops (on the eve of fight).
Listen to me, O as I recite the story. Janaka, the high souled king of Mithila,
conversant with the truth of everything, showed both heaven and hell unto his
own warriors. He addressed them, saying, „Behold, these are the regions,
endued with great splendour, for those that fight fearlessly. Full of Gandharva
girls, those regions are eternal and capable of granting every wish. There, on the
other side, are the regions of hell, intended for those that fly away from battle.
They would have to rot there for eternity in everlasting ingloriousness. Resolved
upon casting away your very lives, do ye conquer your foes. Do not fall into
inglorious hell. The laying down of life, (in battle) constitutes, in respect of
heroes, their happy door of heaven.‟ Thus addressed by their king, O subjugator
of hostile towns, the warriors of Mithila, gladdening their rulers, vanquished their
foes in battle. They that are of firm souls should take their stand in the van of
battle. The car-warriors should be placed in the midst of elephants. Behind the
car-warriors should stand the horsemen. Behind the last should be placed the
foot-soldiers all accoutred in mail. That king who forms his array in this manner
always succeeds in vanquishing his foes. Therefore, O Yudhishthira, the array of
battle should always be thus formed. Filled with rage, heroes desire to will
blessedness in heaven by fighting fairly. Like Makaras agitating the ocean, they
agitate the ranks of the foe. Assuring one another, they should gladden those
(amongst them) that are cheerless. The victor should protect the land newly
conquered (from acts of aggression). He should not cause his troops to pursue
too much the routed foe. The onset is irresistible of persons that rally after the
rout and that, despairing of safety, assail their pursuers. For this reason, O king,

thou shouldst not cause thy troops to pursue too much the routed roe. Warriors
of courage do not wish to strike them that run away with speed. That is another
reason why the routed foe should not be pursued hotly. Things that are immobile
are devoured by those that are mobile; creatures that are toothless are devoured
by those that have teeth; water is drunk by the thirsty; cowards are devoured by
heroes. Cowards sustain defeat though they have, like the victors, similar backs
and stomachs and arms and legs. They that are afflicted with fear bend their
heads and joining their hands stay before those that are possessed of courage.
This world rests on the arms of heroes like a son on those of his sire. He,
therefore, that is a hero deserves respect under every circumstance. There is
nothing higher in the three worlds than heroism. The hero protects and
cherishes all, and all things depend upon the hero.‟”
SECTION C
“Yudhishthira said, „Tell me, O grandsire, how kings desirous of victory should, O
bull of Bharata‟s race, lead their troops to battle even by offending slightly against
the rules of righteousness!‟
“Bhishma said: „Some say that righteousness is made stable by truth; some, by
reasoning: so me, by good behaviour; and some, by the application of means
and contrivances.[294] I shall presently tell thee what the means and
contrivances, productive of immediate fruit, are. Robbers, transgressing all
wholesome bounds, very often become destroyers of property and religious
merit. For resisting and restraining them. I shall tell thee what the contrivances
are, as indicated in the scriptures. Listen to me as I speak of those means for the
success of all acts. Both kinds of wisdom, straight and crooked, should be within
call of the king. Though acquainted with it, he should not, however, apply that
wisdom which is crooked (for injuring others). He may use it for resisting the
dangers that may overtake him. Enemies frequently injure a king by producing
disunion (among his ministers or troops or allies or subjects). The king,
conversant with deceit, may, by the aid of deceit, counteract those enemies.
Leathern armour for protecting the bodies of elephants, armour of the same
material for bovine bulls, bones, thorns, and keen-pointed weapons made of iron,
coats of mail, yak-tails, sharp and well-tempered weapons, all kinds of armour,
yellow and red, banners and standards of diverse hues, swords, and lances and
scimitars of great sharpness and battle-axes, and spears and shields, should be
manufactured and stored in abundance. The weapons should all be properly
whetted. The soldiers should be inspired with courage and resolution. It is proper
to set the troops in motion in the month of Chaitra or Agrahayana. The crops
ripen about that time and water also does not become scarce. That time of the
year, O Bharata, is neither very cold nor very hot. Troops should, therefore, be
moved at that time. If the enemy, however, be overtaken by distress, troops
should immediately be set in motion (without waiting for such a favourable time).
These (two) are the best occasions for the motion of troops with a view to

subjugate foes. That road which has abundance of water and grass along it,
which is level and easy of march, should be adopted (in moving the troops). The
regions lying near the road (on both its sides) should previously be well
ascertained through spies possessed of skill and having an intimate knowledge
of the woods. The troops must not, like animals, be marched through woody
regions. Kings desirous of victory should, therefore, adopt good roads for
marching their troops. In the van should be placed a division of brave men,
endued with strength and high birth. As regards forts, that which has walls and a
trench full of water on every side and only one entrance, is worthy of praise. In
respect of invading foes, resistance may be offered from within it. In pitching the
camp, a region lying near the woods is regarded as much better than one under
the open sky by men conversant with war and possessed of military
accomplishments. The camp should be pitched for the troops not far from such a
wood. Pitching the camp at such a place, planting the foot-soldiers in a position
of safety, and collision with the foe as soon as he comes, are the means for
warding off danger and distress. Keeping the constellation called Ursa Major[295]
behind them, the troops should fight taking up their stand like hills. By this
means, one may vanquish even foes that are irresistible. The troops should be
placed in such a position that the wind, the sun, and the planet Sukra[296] should
blow and shine from behind them. As means for ensuing victory the wind is
superior to the Sun, and the Sun is superior to Sukra, O Yudhishthira. Men
conversant with war approve of a region that is not miry, not watery, not uneven,
and not abounding with bricks and stone, as well-fitted for the operations of
cavalry. A field that is free from mire and holes is fitted for car-warriors. A region
that is overgrown with bushes and large trees and that is under water is fitted for
elephant-warriors. A region that has many inaccessible spots, that is overgrown
with large trees and topes of cane bushes, as also a mountainous or woody tract,
is well-fitted for the operations of infantry. An army, O Bharata, which has a large
infantry force, is regarded very strong. An army in which cars and horsemen
predominate is regarded to be very effective in a clear (unrainy) day. An army,
again; in which footsoldiers and elephants predominate becomes effective in the
rainy season. Having attended to these points (about the characters of the
different kinds of forces and the manner of marching, quartering, and leading
them), the king should turn his attention to the characteristics of place and time.
That king, who having attended to all these considerations, sets out under a
proper constellation and on an auspicious lunation, always succeeds in obtaining
victory by properly leading his troops. No one should slay those that are asleep
or thirsty or fatigued, or those whose accoutrements have fallen away, or one
that has set his heart on final emancipation,[297] or one that is flying away, or
one that is walking (unprepared) along a road, or one engaged in drinking or
eating, or one that is mad, or one that is insane, or one that has been wounded
mortally, or one that has been exceedingly weakened by his wounds, or one that
is staying trustfully, or one that has begun any task without having been able to
complete it,[298] or one that is skilled in some especial art (as mining, etc.), or
one that is in grief, or one that goes out of the camp for procuring forage or
fodder, or men who set up camps or are camp-followers, or those that wait at the

gates of the king or of his ministers, or those that do menial services (unto the
chiefs of the army), or those that are chiefs of such servants. Those amongst thy
warriors that break the rank of foes, or rally thy retreating troops, should have
their pay doubled and should be honoured by thee with food, drink, and seats
equal to thy own. Those amongst such that are chiefs of ten soldiers should be
made chiefs of a hundred. That heedful hero again (amongst them) who is the
chief of a hundred soldiers should be made the chief of a thousand. Collecting
together the principal warriors, they should be addressed, thus: „Let us swear to
conquer, and never to desert one another. Let those that are inspired with fear
stay here. Let those also stay here that would cause their chiefs to be slain by
themselves neglecting to act heroically in the press of battle. Let such men come
as would never break away from battle or cause their own comrades to be slain.
Protecting their own selves as also their comrades, they are certain to slay the
enemy in fight. The consequence of flying away from battle are loss of wealth,
death, infamy, and reproach. Disagreeable and cutting speeches have to be
heard by that man who flies away from battle, who loses his lips and teeth,[299]
who throws away all his weapons, or who suffers himself to be taken as a captive
by the foe. Let such evil consequences always overtake the warriors of our foes.
Those that fly away from battle are wretches among men. They simply swell the
tale of human beings on earth. For true manhood, however, they are neither here
nor hereafter. Victorious foes, O sire, proceed cheerfully. Their praises recited
the while by bards, in pursuit of the flying combatants. When enemies, coming to
battle tarnish the fame of a person, the misery the latter feels is more poignant, I
think, than that of death itself. Know that victory is the root of religious merit and
of every kind of happiness. That which is regarded as the highest misery by
cowards is cheerfully borne by those that are heroes.[300] Resolved upon
acquiring heaven, we should fight, regardless of life itself, and determined to
conquer or die, attain a blessed end in heaven. Having taken such an oath, and
prepared to throwaway life itself, heroes should courageously rush against the
enemy‟s ranks. In the van should be placed a division of men armed with swords
and shields. In the rear should be placed the car-division. In the space
intervening should be placed other classes of combatants. This should be the
arrangement made for assailing the foe. Those combatants in the army that are
veterans should fight in the van. They would protect their comrades behind them.
Those amongst the army that would be regarded as foremost for strength and
courage, should be placed in the van. The others should stand behind them.
They that are inspired with fear should, with care, be comforted and encouraged.
These weaker combatants should be placed on the field (without being
withdrawn) for at least showing the number of the army (to the foe).[301] If the
troops are few, they should be drawn close together for the fight. At times, if their
leader wishes, the close array may be extended wide. When a small number of
troops is to fight with a great army, the array called Suchimukha should be
formed.[302] When a small force is engaged with a large one, the leader of the
former may shake hands with his men and utter loud cries to effect, „The enemy
has broken! The enemy has broken!‟ Those among them that are endued with
strength should resist the enemy, loudly unto their comrades, „Fresh friends have

arrived! Fearlessly strike at your foes!‟ Those that are in advance of the rest
should utter loud shouts and make diverse kinds of noises, and should blow and
beat Krakachas, cow-horns, drums, cymbals, and kettle-drums.‟”
SECTION CI
“Yudhishthira said, „Of what disposition, of what behaviour, of what form, how
acoutred, and how armed should the combatants be in order that they may be
competent for battle?‟
“Bhishma said, „It is proper that those weapons and vehicles should be adopted
(by particular bodies of combatants) with which they have become familiar by
use. Brave soldiers, adopting those weapons and vehicles, engage in battle. The
Gandharvas, the Sindhus, and the Sauviras fight best with their nails and lances.
They are brave and endued with great strength. Their armies are capable of
vanquishing all forces, The Usinaras are possessed of great strength and skilled
in all kinds of weapons. The Easterners are skilled in fighting from the backs of
elephants and are conversant with all the ways of unfair fight. The Yavanas, the
Kamvojas, and those that dwell around Mathura are well skilled in fighting with
bare arms. The Southerners are skilled in fighting sword in hand. It is well-known
that persons possessed of great strength and great courage are born in almost
every country. Listen to me as I describe their indications. They that have voices
and eyes like those of the lion or the tiger, they that have a gait like that of the
lion and the tiger, and they that have eyes like those of the pigeon or the snake,
are all heroes capable of grinding hostile ranks.[303] They that have a voice like
deer, and eyes like those of the leopard or the bull, are possessed of great
activity. They whose voice resembles that of bells, are excitable, wicked, and
wrathful. They that have a voice deep as that of the clouds, that have wrathful
face, or faces like those of camels, they that have hooked noses and tongues,
are possessed of great speed and can shoot or hurl their weapons to a great
distance. They that have bodies curved like that of the cat, and thin hair and thin
skin, become endued with great speed and restlessness and almost invincible in
battle. Some that are possessed of eyes closed like those of the iguana,
disposition that is mild, and speed and voice like the horses, are competent to
fight all foes. They that are of well-knit and handsome and symmetrical frames,
and broad chests, that become angry upon hearing the enemy‟s drum or trumpet,
that take delight in affrays of every kind, that have eyes indicative of gravity, or
eyes that seem to shoot out, or eyes that are green, they that have faces
darkened with frowns, or eyes like those of the mongoose, are all brave and
capable of casting away their lives in battle. They that have crooked eyes and
broad foreheads and cheek-bones not covered with flesh and arms strong as
thunder-bolts and fingers bearing circular marks, and that are lean with arteries
and nerves that are visible, rush with great speed when the collision of battle
takes place. Resembling infuriated elephants, they become irresistible. They that
have greenish hair ending in curls, that have flanks, cheeks, and faces fat and

full of flesh, that have elevated shoulders and broad necks, that have fearful
visages and fat calves, that are fiery like (Vasudeva‟s horse) Sugriva or like the
offspring of Garuda, the son of Vinata, that have round heads, large mouths,
faces like those of cats, shrill voice and wrathful temper, that rush to battle,
guided by its din, that are wicked in behaviour and full of haughtiness, that are of
terrible countenances, and that live in the outlying districts, are all reckless of
their lives and never flyaway from battle. Such troops should always be placed in
the van. They always slay their foes in fight and suffer themselves to be slain
without retreating. Of wicked behaviour and outlandish manners, they regard soft
speeches as indications of defeat. If treated with mildness, they always exhibit
wrath against their sovereign.‟”
SECTION CII
“Yudhishthira said. „What are the well-known indications, O bull of Bharata‟s
race, of the (future) success of an army? I desire to know them.‟
“Bhishma said, „I shall tell thee, O bull of Bharata‟s race, all the well-known
indications of the (future) success of an army. When the gods become angry and
inert are urged by fate, persons of learning, beholding everything with the eye of
heavenly knowledge, perform diverse auspicious acts and expiatory rites
including homa and the silent recitation of mantras, and thus allay all evils.[304]
That army in which the troops and the animals are all undepressed and cheerful.
O Bharata, is sure to win a decided victory. The wind blows favourably from
behind such troops. Rainbows appear in the sky. The clouds cast their shadows
upon them and at times the sun shines upon them. The jackals become
auspicious to them, and ravens and vultures as well. When these show such
regard to the army, high success is sure to be won by it. Their (sacrificial) fires
blaze up with a pure splendour, the light going upwards and the smokeless
flames slightly bending towards the south. The libations poured thereon emit an
agreeable fragrance. These have been said to be the indications of future
success. The conchs and drums, blown and beat, send forth loud and deep
peals. The combatants become filled with alacrity. These have been said to be
the indications of future success. If deer and other quadrupeds be seen behind or
to the left of those that have already set out for battle or of those that are about to
set out, they are regarded auspicious. If they appear to the right of the warriors
while about to engage in slaughter, that is regarded as an indication of success.
If, however, they make their appearance in the van of such persons, they indicate
disaster and defeat. If these birds, viz., swans and cranes and Satapatras and
Chashas utter auspicious cries, and all the able-bodied combatants become
cheerful, these are regarded as indications of future success. They whose array
blazes forth with splendour and becomes terrible to look at in consequence of the
sheen of their weapons, machines, armour, and standards as also of the radiant
complexion of the faces of the vigorous men that stand within it, always succeed
in vanquishing their foes. If the combatants of a host be of pure behaviour and

modest deportment and attend to one another in loving-kindness, that is
regarded as an indication of future success. If agreeable sounds and orders and
sensations of touch prevail, and if the combatants become inspired with gratitude
and patience, that is regarded as the root of success. The crow on the left of a
person engaged in battle and on the right of him who is about to engage in it, is
regarded auspicious. Appearing at the back, it indicates non-fulfilment of the
objects in view, while its appearance in the front forebodes danger. Even after
enlisting a large army consisting of the four kinds of forces, thou shouldst, O
Yudhishthira, first behave peacefully. If thy endeavours after peace fail, then
mayst thou engage in battle. The victory, O Bharata, that one acquired by battle
is very inferior. Victory in battle, it seems, is dependent on caprice or destiny.
When a large army breaks and the troops begin to fly away, it is exceedingly
difficult to check their flight. The impetuosity of the flight resembles that of a
mighty current of water or of a frightened herd of deer. Some have broken. For
this, without adequate cause, others break, even they that are brave and skilled
in fight. A large army, consisting of even brave soldiers, is like a large herd of
Ruru deer.[305] Sometimes again it may be seen that even fifty men, resolute
and relying upon one another, cheerful and prepared to lay down their lives,
succeed in grinding enemies numerically much superior. Sometimes even five, or
six, or seven men, resolute and standing close together, of high descent and
enjoying the esteem of those that know them, vanquish foes much superior to
them in number. The collision of battle is not desirable as long as it can be
avoided. The policy of conciliation, or producing disunion, and making gifts
should first be tried, the battle, it is said, should come after these. At the very
sight of a (hostile) force, fear paralyses the timid, even as at the sight of the
blazing bolt of heaven they ask, „Oh, upon what would it fall?‟[306] Having
ascertained that a battle is raging, the limbs of those that go to join it, as also of
him that is conquering, perspire profusely.[307] The entire country. O king, (that
is the seat of war), becomes agitated and afflicted with all its mobile and
immobile population. The very marrow of embodied creatures scorched with the
heat of weapons, languishes with pain. A king should, therefore, on all occasions,
apply the arts of conciliation, mixing them with measures of severity. When
people are afflicted by foes, they always show a disposition to come to
terms.[308] Secret agents should be sent for producing disunion amongst the
allies of the foe. Having produced disunion, it is very desirable that peace should
then be made with that king who happens to be more powerful than the foe
(sought to be crushed). If the invader does not proceed in the way, he can never
succeed in completely crushing his foe. In dealing with the foe, care should be
taken for hemming him in from all sides. Forgiveness always comes to those that
are good. It never comes to those that are bad. Listen now, O Partha, to the uses
of forgiveness and of severity. The fame of a king who displays forgiveness after
conquest spreads more widely. The very foes of a person that is of a forgiving
disposition trust him even when he becomes guilty of a grave transgression.
Samvara has said that having afflicted a foe first, forgiveness should be shown
afterwards, for a wooden pole, if made straight without the application of heat in
the first instance, very soon assumes its former state. Persons skilled in the

scriptures do not, however, applaud this. Nor do they regard this as an indication
of a good king. On the other hand, they say that a foe should be subdued and
checked, like a sire subduing and checking a son, without anger and without
destroying him. If, O Yudhishthira, a king becomes severe, he becomes an object
of hatred with all creatures. If, on the other hand, he becomes mild, he becomes
disregarded by all. Do thou, therefore, practise both severity and mildness.
Before smiting, O Bharata, and while smiting, utter sweet words; and having
smitten, show them compassion and let them understand that thou art grieving
and weeping for them. Having vanquished an army, the kind should address the
survivors saying, „I am not at all glad that so many have been slain by my troops.
Alas, the latter, though repeatedly dissuaded by me, have not obeyed my
direction. I wish they .(that are slain) were all alive. They do not deserve such
death. They were all good men and true, and unretreating from battle. Such men,
indeed, are rare. He that has slain such a hero in battle, has surely done that
which is not agreeable to me.‟ Having uttered such speeches before the
survivors of the vanquished foe, the king should in secret honour those amongst
his own troops that have bravely slain the foe. For soothing the wounded slayers
for their sufferings at the hand of the foe, the king, desirous of attaching them to
himself, should even weep, seizing their hands affectionately. The king should
thus, under all circumstances, behave with conciliation. A king that is fearless
and virtuous, becomes the beloved of all creatures. All creatures, also, O
Bharata, trust such a ruler. Winning their trust, he succeeds in enjoying the earth
as he pleases. The king should, therefore, by abandoning deceitfulness, seek to
obtain the trust of all creatures. He should also seek to protect his subjects from
all fears if he seek to enjoy the earth.‟”
SECTION CIII
“Yudhishthira said, „Tell me, O grandsire, how a kin should behave towards foe
that is mild, towards one that is fierce, and towards one that has many allies and
a large force.‟
“Bhishma said, „In this connection is cited, O Yudhishthira. the old narrative of the
discourse between Vrihaspati and Indra. Once on a time, that slayer of hostile
heroes, viz., Vasava, the chief of the celestials, joining his palms, approached
Vrihaspati, and saluting him, said these words.‟
“Indra said. „How, O regenerate one, should I behave towards my foes? Row
should I subdue them by means of contrivances, without exterminating them? In
a collision between two armies, victory may be won by either side. In what way
should I behave so that this blazing prosperity that I have won and that scorches
all my enemies may not desert me?‟ Thus addressed, Vrihaspati, skilled in
Virtue, Profit, and Pleasure, possessed of a knowledge of kingly duties, and
endued with great intelligence, answered Indra in the following words.‟
“Vrihaspati said, „One should never wish to subdue one‟s foes by quarrel.
Excited with wrath and bereft of forgiveness, boys only seek quarrel. One that

desires the destruction of a foe should not put that foe on his guard. On the other
hand, one should never exhibit one‟s ire or fear or joy. He should conceal these
within his own bosom. Without trusting one‟s foe in reality, one should behave
towards him as if one trusted him completely. One should always speak sweet
words unto one‟s foes and never do anything that is disagreeable. One should
abstain from fruitless acts of hostility as also from insolence of speech. As a
fowler, carefully uttering cries similar to those of the birds he wishes to seize or
kill. captures and brings them under his power, even so should a king, O
Purandara, bring his foes under subjection and then slay them if he likes. Having
overcome one‟s foes, one should not sleep at ease. A foe that is wicked raises
his head again like afire carelessly put out making its appearance again. When
victory may be won by either side, a hostile collision of arms should be avoided.
Having lulled a foe into security, one should reduce him into subjection and gain
one‟s object. Having consulted with his ministers and with intelligent persons
conversant with policy, a foe that is disregarded and neglected, being all along
unsubdued at heart, smites at the proper season, especially when the enemy
makes a false step. By employing trusted agents of his own, such a foe would
also render the other‟s forces inefficient by producing disunion. Ascertaining the
beginning, the middle and the end of his foes,[309] a king should in secret
cherish feelings of hostility towards them. He should corrupt the forces of his foe,
ascertaining everything by positive proof, using the arts of producing disunion,
making gifts, and applying poison. A king should never live in companionship
with his foes. A king should wait long and then slay his foes. Indeed, he should
wait, expecting the opportunity, so that he might come down upon his foe at a
time when the latter would not expect him in the least. A king should never slay a
large number of the troops of his foe, although he should certainly do that which
would make his victory decisive. The king should never do such an injury to his
foe as would rankle in the latter‟s heart.[310] Nor should he cause wounds by
wordy darts and shafts. If the opportunity comes, he should strike at him, without
letting it slip. Such, O chief of the gods, should be the conduct of a king desirous
of slaying his foes towards those that are his foes. If an opportunity, with respect
to the man who waits for it, once passes away, it can never be had again by the
person desirous of acting. Acting according to the opinions of the wise, a king
should only break the strength of his foe. He should never, when the opportunity
is not favourable, seek to accomplish his objects. Nor should he, when the
opportunity is at hand, persecute his foe.[311] Giving up lust and wrath and pride,
the king should, acting with heedfulness, continually watch for the laches of his
foes. His own mildness, the severity of his punishments, his inactivity and
heedlessness, O chief of the gods, and the deceitful contrivances well applied
(by his foes), ruin a foolish ruler. That king who can conquer these four faults and
counteract the deceitful contrivances of his enemies succeeds, without doubt, in
smiting them all. When only one minister (without needing any help) is competent
to accomplish a secret object (of the king), the king should consult with that one
minister only in respect of such object. Many ministers, if consulted, endeavour to
throw the burden of the task upon one another‟s shoulders and even give
publicity to that object which should be kept secret. If consultation with one be

not proper, then only should the king consult with many. When foes are unseen,
divine chastisement should be invoked upon them; when seen, the army,
consisting of four kinds of forces, should be moved.[312] The king should first
use the arts of producing disunion, as also those of conciliation. When the time
for each particular means comes, that particular means should be applied. At
times, the king should even prostrate himself before a powerful foe. It is again
desirable that acting heedfully himself, he should seek to compass the victor‟s
destruction when the latter becomes heedless. By prostrating one‟s self, by gift of
tribute, by uttering sweet words, one should humble one‟s self before a more
powerful king. One should (when the occasion for such acts comes) never do
anything that may arouse the suspicions of one‟s powerful foe. The weaker ruler
should, under such circumstances, carefully avoid every act that may awaken
suspicion. A victorious king, again, should not trust his vanquished foes, for they
that are vanquished always remain wakeful. There is nothing, O best of duties,
that is more difficult of accomplishment than the acquisition of prosperity, O ruler
of the immortals, by persons of a restless disposition. The very existence of
persons of restless disposition is fraught with danger. Kings should, therefore,
with close attention, ascertain their friends and foes. If a king becomes mild, he is
disregarded. If he becomes fierce, he inspires people with dread. Therefore, do
not be fierce. Do, not, again, be mild. But be both fierce and mild. As a rapid
current ceaselessly cats away the high bank and causes large landslips, even so
heedlessness and error cause a kingdom to be ruined. Never attack many foes
at the same time. By applying the arts of conciliation, or gift, or production of
disunion, O Purandara, they should be ground one by one. As regards the
remnant, (being few in number,) the victor may behave peacefully towards them.
An intelligent king, even if competent for it, should not begin to crush all (his foes)
at once.[313] When a king happens to have a large army consisting of sixfold
forces[314] and teeming with horse, elephants, cars, foot, and engines, all
devoted to him, when he thinks himself superior to his foe in many respects upon
a fair comparison, then should he openly smite the foe without hesitation. If the
foe be strong, the adoption of a policy of conciliation (towards him) is not worthy
of approbation. On the other hand, chastisement by secret means is the policy
that should be adopted. Nor should mildness of behaviour be adopted towards
such foes, nor repeated expedition, for loss of crops, poisoning of wells and
tanks, and suspicion in respect of the seven branches of administration, should
be avoided.[315] The king should, on such occasions, apply diverse kinds of
deception, diverse contrivances for setting his foes against one another, and
different kinds of hypocritical behaviour. He should also, through trusted agents,
ascertain the doings of his foes in their cities and provinces. Kings, O slayer of
Vala and Vritra, pursuing their foes and entering their towers, seize and
appropriate the best things that are obtainable there, and devise proper
measures of policy in their own cities and dominions. Making gifts of wealth unto
them in private, and confiscating their possessions publicly, without, however,
injuring them materially, and proclaiming that they are all wicked men that have
suffered for their own misdeeds, kings should send their agents to the cities and
provinces of their foes. At the same time, in their own cities, they should, through

other persons conversant with the scriptures, adorned with every
accomplishment, acquainted with the ordinances of the sacred books and
possessed of learning cause incantations and foe-killing rites to be performed.‟
“Indra said, „What are the indications, O best of regenerate ones, of a wicked
person? Questioned by me, tell me how I am to know who is wicked.‟
“Vrihaspati said, A wicked person is he who proclaims the faults of others at their
back, who is inspired with envy at the accomplishments of others, and who
remains silent when the merits of other people are proclaimed in his presence,
feeling a reluctance to join in the chorus. Mere silence on such occasions is no
indication of wickedness. A wicked person, however, at such times breathe
heavily, bites his lips, and shakes his head. Such a person always mixes in
society and speaks irrelevantly.[316] Such a man never does what he promises,
when the eye of the person to whom he has given the assurance is not upon him.
When the eye of the person assured is on him, the wicked man does not even
allude to the subject. The wicked man eats by himself (and not with others on the
same board), and finds fault with the food placed before him, saying, „All is not
right today as on other days.‟ His disposition shows itself in the circumstances
connected with his sitting, lying, and riding. Sorrowing on occasions of sorrow
and rejoicing on occasions of joy, are the indications of a friend. An opposite
behaviour furnishes the indications of an enemy. Keep in thy heart these sayings,
O ruler of the gods! The disposition of wicked men can never be concealed. I
have now told thee, O foremost of deities, what the indications of a wicked
person are. Having listened to the truths laid down in the scriptures, follow them
duly, O ruler of the celestials!‟
“Bhishma continued, „Having heard these words of Vrihaspati, Purandara,
employed in subduing his foes, acted strictly according to them. Bent upon
victory, that slayer of foes, when the opportunity came, obeyed these instructions
and reduced all his enemies to subjection.‟”
SECTION CIV
“Yudhishthira said, „How should a righteous king, who is opposed by his own
officers, whose treasury and army are no longer under his control, and who has
no wealth, conduct himself for acquiring happiness?‟
“Bhishma said, „In this connection, the story of Kshemadarsin is often recited. I
shall narrate that story to thee. Listen to it, O Yudhishthira! It has been heard by
us that in days of old, when prince Kshemadarsin became weak in strength and
fell into great distress, he repaired to the sage Kalakavrikshiya, and saluting him
humbly, said unto him these words.‟[317]
“The king said, „What should a person like me who deserves wealth but who has,
after repeated efforts, failed to recover his kingdom, do, O Brahmana, excepting
suicide, thieving and robbery, acceptance of refuge with others, and other acts of
meanness of a similar kind? O best of men, tell me this. One like thee that is

conversant with morality and full of gratefulness is the refuge of a person afflicted
by disease either mental or physical. Man should cast off his desires. By acting in
that way, by abandoning joy and sorrow, and earning the wealth of knowledge,
he succeeds in obtaining felicity.[318] I grieve for them that adhere to worldly
happiness as dependent on wealth. All that, however, vanishes like a dream.
They that can abandon vast wealth achieve a very difficult feat. As regards
ourselves we are unable to abandon that wealth which is even no longer
existent.[319] I am divested of prosperity and have fallen into a miserable and
joyless plight. Instruct me, O Brahmana, what happiness I may yet strive for.‟
Thus addressed by the intelligent prince of Kosala, the sage Kalakavrikshiya of
great splendour made the following answer.‟
“The sage said, „Thou hast, it seems, already understood it. Possessed of
knowledge as thou art, thou shouldst act as thou thinkest. Thy belief is right, viz.,
All this that I see is unstable, myself as also everything that I have. Know, O
prince, that those things which thou regardest as existing are in reality non-
existent. The man of wisdom knows this, and accordingly is never pained
whatever the distress that may overwhelm him. Whatever has taken place and
whatever will take place are all unreal. When thou wilt know this which should be
known by all, thou shalt be freed from unrighteousness. Whatever things had
been earned and acquired by those that came before, and whatever was earned
and acquired by those that succeeded them, have all perished. Reflecting on
this, who is there that will yield to grief? Things that were, are no more. Things
that are, will again be (no more). Grief has no power to restore them. One should
not, therefore, indulge in grief. Where, O king, is thy sire to-day, and where thy
grandsire? Thou seest them not today, nor do they see thee now. Reflecting on
thy own instability, who dost thou grieve for them? Reflect with the aid of thy
intelligence, and thou wilt understand that verily thou shalt cease to be. Myself,
thyself, O king, thy friends, and thy foes, shall, without doubt, cease to be.
Indeed, everything will cease to be. Those men that are now of twenty or thirty
years of age will, without doubt, all die within the next hundred years. If a man
cannot have the heart to give up his vast possessions, he should then endeavour
to think his possessions are not his own and by that means seek to do good to
himself.[320] Acquisitions that are future should be regarded by one as not one‟s
own. Acquisitions that have disappeared, should also be regarded by one as not
one‟s own. Destiny should be regarded as all powerful. They that think in this
strain are said to be possessed of wisdom. Such a habit of looking at things is an
attribute of the good. Many persons who are equal or superior to thee in
intelligence and exertion, though deprived of wealth, are not only alive but are
never ruling kingdoms. They are not, like thee. They do not indulge in grief like
thee. Therefore, cease thou to grieve in this way. Art thou not Superior to those
men, or at least equal to them in intelligence and exertion?‟” The king said, „I
regard the kingdom which I had with all its appendages to have been won by me
without any exertion. All-powerful Time, however, O regenerate one, has swept it
away. The consequence, however, that I see, of my kingdom having been swept
away by Time as by a stream, is that I am obliged to support upon whatever I
obtain (by charity).‟

“The sage said, „Moved by the knowledge of what is true (in life) one should
never grieve for either the past or the future. Be thou of such a frame of mind. O
prince of Kosala, in respect of every affair that may engage thy attention.
Desiring to obtain only that which is obtainable and not that which is
unobtainable, do thou enjoy thy present possessions and never grieved for that
which is absent. Be thou delighted, O prince of Kosala, with whatever thou
succeedest in winning with ease. Even if divested of prosperity, do not grieve for
Abut seek to preserve a pure disposition. Only an unfortunate man who is of a
foolish understanding, when deprived of former prosperity, censures the supreme
Ordainer, without being contented with his present possessions. Such a person
regards others, however undeserving, as men blessed with prosperity. For this
reason, they that are possessed of malice and vanity and filled with a sense of
their own importance, suffer more misery still. Thou however, O king, art not
stained by such vices. Endure the prosperity of others although thou art thyself
divested of prosperity. They that are possessed of dexterity succeed in enjoying
that prosperity which is vested in others.[321] Prosperity leaves the person that
hates others. Men possessed of righteous behaviour and wisdom and conversant
with the duties of Yoga renounce prosperity and sons and grandsons of their own
accord. Others, regarding earthly wealth to be exceedingly unstable and
unattainable, dependent as it is upon ceaseless action and effort, are also seen
to renounce it.[322] Thou seemest to be possessed of wisdom. Why dost thou
then grieve so piteously, desiring things that should not be desired, that are
unstable, and that are dependent on others? Thou desirest to enquire after that
particular frame of mind (which would enable thee to enjoy felicity
notwithstanding the loss of thy possessions). The advice I give thee is to
renounce all those objects of desire. Objects that should be avoided appear in
the guise of those that should be striven for, while those that should be striven for
appear in the guise of objects that should be avoided. Some lose their wealth in
the pursuit of wealth. Others regard wealth as the root of infinite happiness, and,
therefore pursue it eagerly. Some again, delighted with wealth, think that there is
nothing superior to it. In his eager desire for the acquisition of wealth, such a
person loses all other objects of life. If, O prince of Kosala, a person loses that
wealth which had been earned with difficulty and which had been proportionate
to his desires, he then, overcome by the inactivity of despair, gives up all desire
of wealth. Some persons of righteous souls and high birth betake themselves to
the acquisition of virtue. These renounce every kind of worldly happiness from
desire of winning felicity in the other world. Some persons lay down life itself,
moved by the desire of acquiring wealth. These do not think that life has any use
if dissociated from wealth. Behold their pitiable condition. Behold their
foolishness. When life is so short and uncertain, these men, moved by ignorance,
set their eyes on wealth. Who is there that would set his heart upon hoarding
when destruction is its end, upon life when death is its end, and upon union when
separation is its end? sometimes man renounces wealth, and sometimes wealth
renounces man. What man possessed of knowledge is there that would feel
grieved at the loss of wealth? There are many other persons in the world that
lose wealth and friends. Behold, O king, with thy intelligence, and thou wilt

understand that the calamities which overtake men are all due to the conduct of
men themselves. Do thou, therefore, (as a remedy), restrain thy senses and mind
and speech. For, if those become weak and productive of evil there is no man
who can keep himself free from temptation of external objects by which he is
always surrounded. As no one can form an adequate idea of the past nor can
foresee the future, there being many intervals of time and place, a person like
thee who is possessed of such wisdom and such prowess, never indulges in grief
for union and separation, for good or evil. A person of such mildness of
disposition, well-restrained soul, and settled conclusions, and observant of
Brahmacharya vows, never indulges in grief and never becomes restless from
desire of acquiring or fear of losing anything of small value. It is not fit that such a
man should adopt a deceitful life of mendicancy, a life that is sinful and wicked
and cruel and worthy of only a wretch among men. Do thou repair to the great
forest and lead a life of happiness there, all alone and subsisting upon fruit and
roots, restraining speech and soul, and filled with compassion for all creatures.
He that cheerfully leads such a life in the forest, with large-tusked elephants for
companions, with no human being by his side, and contented with the produce of
the wilderness, is said to act after the manner of the wise. A large lake when it
becomes turbid, resumes its tranquillity of itself. Similarly, a man of wisdom,
when disturbed in such matters, becomes tranquil of himself. I see that a person
that has fallen into such a plight as thine may live happily even thus. When thy
prosperity is almost impossible to recover, and when thou art without ministers
and counsellors, such a course is open to thee. Dost thou hope to reap any
benefit by depending upon destiny?‟”
SECTION CV
“The sage said, „If, on the other hand, O Kshatriya, thou thinkest that thou hast
any prowess still, I shall discourse to thee about that line of policy which thou
mayst adopt for recovering thy kingdom. If thou canst follow that line of policy
and seek to exert thyself, thou canst still recover thy prosperity. Listen attentively
to all that I say unto thee in detail. If thou canst act according to those counsels,
thou mayst yet obtain vast wealth, indeed, thy kingdom and kingly power and
great prosperity. If thou likest it, O king, tell me, for then I shall speak to thee of
that policy.‟
“The king said, „Tell me, O holy one, what thou wishest to say. I am willing to
hear and act according to thy counsels. Let this my meeting with thee today be
fruitful of consequences (to myself).‟
“The sage said, „Renouncing pride and desire and ire and joy and fear, wait upon
thy very foes, humbling thyself and joining thy hands. Do thou serve Janaka the
ruler of Mithila, always performing good and pure deeds. Firmly devoted to truth,
the king of Videha will certainly give thee great wealth. Thou shalt then become
the right arm of that king and obtain the trust of all persons. As a consequence of
this, thou shalt then succeed in obtaining many allies possessed of courage and

perseverance, pure in behaviour, and free from the seven principal faults. A
person of restrained soul and having his senses under control, by adhering to his
duties, succeeds in raising himself and gladdening others. Honoured by Janaka
possessed of intelligence and prosperity, thou shalt certainly become the right
arm of that ruler and enjoy the confidence of all. Having then mustered a large
force and held consultations with good ministers, do thou cause disunion among
thy foes and, setting them against one another, break them all like a person
breaking a vilwa with a vilwa. Or, making peace with the foes of thy foe, destroy
the latter‟s power.[323] Thou shalt then cause thy foe to be attached to such
good things as are not easily attainable, to beautiful women and cloths, beds and
seats and vehicles, all of very costly kinds, and houses, and birds and animals of
diverse species, and juices and perfumes and fruits, so that thy foe may be
ruined of himself.[324] If one‟s foe be thus managed, or if indifference is to be
shown towards him, one that is desirous of acting according to good policy,
should never suffer that foe to know it at all. Following the behaviour that is
approved by the wise, do thou enjoy every kind of pleasure in the dominions of
thy foe, and imitating the conduct of the dog, the deer, and the crow, behave,
with apparent friendship, towards thy enemies. Cause them to undertake
achievements that are mighty and difficult to accomplish. See also that they
engage in hostilities with powerful enemies. Drawing their attention to pleasant
gardens and costly beds and seats, do thou, by offering such objects of
enjoyment, drain thy enemy‟s treasury. Advising thy enemy to perform sacrifices
and make gifts, do thou gratify the Brahmanas. The latter, (having received those
presents through thy hands), will do good to thee in return (by performing
penances and Vedic rites), and devour thy enemy like wolves. Without doubt, a
person of righteous deeds obtains a high end. By such deeds men succeed in
earning regions of the most felicity in heaven. If the treasury of thy foes be
exhausted (by either righteous or unrighteous deeds), every one of them, O
prince of Kosala, may be reduced to subjection. The treasury is the root of felicity
in heaven and victory on earth. It is in consequence of their treasuries that the
foes enjoy such happiness. The treasury, therefore, should by every means be
drained. Do not applaud Exertion in the presence of thy foe but speak highly of
Destiny. Without doubt, the man who relies too much on acts appertaining to the
worship of the gods soon meets with destruction. Cause thy enemy to perform
the great sacrifice called Viswajit and divest him by that means of all his
possessions. Through this thy object will be fulfilled. Thou mayst then inform thy
enemy of the fact that the best men in his kingdom are being oppressed (with
exactions for refilling the exhausted treasury), and indicate some eminent ascetic
conversant with the duties of Yoga (who will wean thy foe from all earthly
possessions). The enemy will then desire to adopt renunciation and retire into the
woods, solicitous of salvation. Thou shall then, with the aid of drugs prepared by
boiling highly efficacious herbs and plants, and of artificial salts, destroy the
elephants and steeds and men (of thy enemy‟s dominions). These and many
other well-devised schemes are available, all connected with fraud. An intelligent
person can thus destroy the population of a hostile kingdom with poison.‟”

SECTION CVI
“The king said, „I do not desire, O Brahmana, to support life by deceit or fraud. I
do not desire wealth, however great, which is to be earned by unrighteous
means. At the very outset of our present discourse I excepted these means. By
the adoption of only such means as would not lead to censure, of such means as
would benefit me in every respect, by practising only such acts as are not
harmful in their consequences, I desire to live in this world.. I am incapable of
adopting these ways that thou pointest out to me. Indeed, these instructions do
not become thee.‟
“The sage said, „These words, O Kshatriya, that thou speakest indicate thee to
be possessed of righteous feelings. Indeed, thou art righteous in disposition and
understanding, O thou of great experience. I shall strive for the good of you both,
viz., for thyself and him.[325] I shall cause a union, eternal and incapable of
breach, to be brought about between thee and that king. Who is there that would
not like to have a minister like thee that art born of noble race, that abstainest
from all acts of unrighteousness and cruelty, that art possessed of great learning,
and that art well versed in the art of government and of conciliating all persons? I
say this because, O Kshatriya, though divested of kingdom and plunged into
great misery, thou still desirest to live adopting a behaviour that is righteous. The
ruler of the Videhas, firmly adhering to truth, will come to my abode soon.
Without doubt, he will do what I will urge to do.‟
“Bhishma continued, “The sage, after this, inviting the ruler of the Videhas, said
these words unto him: „This personage is of royal birth. I know his very heart. His
soul is as pure as the surface of mirror or the disc of the autumnal moon. He has
been examined by me in every way. I do not see any fault in him. Let there be
friendship between him and thee. Do thou repose confidence on him as on
myself. A king who is without a (competent) minister cannot govern his kingdom
even for three days. The minister should be courageous as also possessed of
great intelligence. By these two qualities one may conquer both the worlds.
Behold, O king, these two qualities are necessary for ruling a kingdom.
Righteous kings have no such refuge as a minister possessed of such attributes.
The high-souled person is of royal descent. He walketh along, the path of the
righteous. This one who always keeps righteousness in view has been a valuable
acquisition. If treated by thee with honour, he will reduce all thy foes to
subjection. If he engages in battle with thee, he will do what as a Kshatriya he
should do. Indeed, if after the manner of his sires and grandsires he fights for
conquering thee, it will be thy duty to fight him, observant as thou art of the
Kshatriya duty of conquering antagonists. Without engaging in battle, however,
do thou, at my command, employ him under thee from desire of benefiting
thyself. Cast thy eyes on righteousness, giving up covetousness that is improper.
It behoveth thee not to abandon the duties of thy order from lust or desire of
battle. Victory O sire, is not certain. Defeat also is not certain. Remembering
this, peace should be made with an enemy by giving him food and other articles

of enjoyment. One may see victory and defeat in his own case. They that seek
to exterminate a foe are sometimes exterminated themselves in course of their
efforts.‟ Thus addressed, king Janaka, properly saluting and honouring that bull
among Brahmanas who deserved every honour, replied unto him, saying, „Thou
art of great learning and great wisdom. That which thou hast said from desire of
benefiting us, is certainly advantageous for both of us. Such a course of conduct
is highly beneficial (to us). I have no hesitation in saying this. The ruler of Videha
then, addressing the prince of Kosala, said these words: „In observance of
Kshatriya duties as also with aid of Policy, I have conquered the world. I have,
however, O best of kings, been conquered by thee with thy good qualities.
Without cherishing any sense of humiliation (if thou remainest by my side), live
thou with me as a victor.[326] I honour thy intelligence, and I honour thy prowess.
I do not disregard thee, saying that I have conquered thee. On the other hand,
live thou with me as a victor. Honoured duly by me, O king, thou wilt go to my
abode. Both the kings then worshipped that Brahmana, and trusting each other,
proceeded to the capital of Mithila. The ruler of the Videhas, causing the prince of
Kosala to enter his abode, honoured him, who deserved every honour, with
offerings of water to wash his feet, honey and curds and the usual articles. King
Janaka also bestowed upon his guest his own daughter and diverse kinds of
gems and jewels. This (the establishment of peace) is the high duty of kings;
victory and defeat are both uncertain.‟”
SECTION CVII
“Yudhishthira said, „Thou hast, O scorcher of foes, described the course of
duties, the general conduct, the means of livelihood, with their results, of
Brahmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaisyas and Sudras. Thou hast discoursed also
on the duties of kings, the subject of their treasuries, the means of filling them,
and the topic of conquest and victory. Thou hast spoken also of the
characteristics of ministers, the measures, that lead to the advancement of the
subjects, the characteristics of the sixfold limbs of a kingdom, the qualities of
armies, the means of distinguishing the wicked, and the marks of those that are
good, the attributes of those that are equal, those that are inferior, and those that
are superior, the behaviour which a king desirous of advancement should adopt
towards the masses, and the manner in which the weak should be protected and
cherished. Thou hast discoursed on all these subjects, O Bharata, laying down
instructions that are plain according to what has been inculcated hi sacred
treatise. Thou hast spoken also of the behaviour that should be adopted by kings
desirous of conquering their foes. I desire now, O foremost of intelligent men, to
listen to the behaviour that one should observe towards the multitude of
courageous men that assemble round a king![327] I desire to hear how these
may grow, how they may be attached to the king, O Bharata, how may they
succeed in subjugating their foes and in acquiring friends. It seems to me that
disunion alone can bring about their destruction. I think it is always difficult to
keep counsels secret when many are concerned. I desire to hear all this in detail,

O scorcher of foes! Tell me also, O king, the means by which they may be
prevented from falling out with the king.‟
“Bhishma said, „Between the aristocracy on the one side and the kings on the
other, avarice and wrath, O monarch, are the causes that produce enmity.[328]
One of these parties (viz., the king,) yields to avarice. As a consequence, wrath
takes possession of the other (the aristocracy). Each intent upon weakening and
wasting the other, they both meet with destruction. By employing spies,
contrivances of policy, and physical force, and adopting the arts of conciliation,
gifts, and disunion and applying other methods for producing weakness, waste,
and fear, the parties assail each other. The aristocracy of a kingdom, having the
characteristics of a compact body, become dissociated from the king if the latter
seeks to take too much from them. Dissociated from the king, all of them become
dissatisfied, and acting from fear, side with the enemies of their ruler. If again the
aristocracy of a kingdom be disunited amongst themselves, they meet with
destruction. Disunited, they fall an easy prey to foes. The nobles, therefore,
should always act in concert. If they be united together, they may earn
acquisitions of value by means of their strength and prowess. Indeed, when they
are thus united, many outsiders seek their alliance. Men of knowledge applaud
those nobles that art united with one another in bonds of love. If united in
purpose, all of them can be happy. They can (by their example) establish
righteous courses of conduct. By behaving properly, they advance in prosperity.
By restraining their sons and brothers and teaching them their duties, and by
behaving kindly towards all persons whose pride has been quelled by
knowledge,[329] the aristocracy advance in prosperity. By always attending to
the duties of setting spies and devising means of policy, as also to the matter of
filling their treasuries, the aristocracy, O thou of mighty arms, advance in
prosperity. By showing proper reverence for them that are possessed of wisdom
and courage and perseverance and that display steady prowess in all kinds of
work, the aristocracy advance in prosperity. Possessed of wealth and resources,
of knowledge of the scriptures and all arts and sciences, the aristocracy rescue
the ignorant masses from every kind of distress and danger. Wrath (on the of
part the king), rupture,[330] terror, chastisement, persecution, oppression, and
executions, O chief of the Bharatas, speedily cause the aristocracy to fall away
from the king and side with the king‟s enemies. They, therefore, that are the
leaders of the aristocracy should be honoured by the king. The affairs of the
kingdom, O king, depend to a great extent upon them. Consultations should be
held with only those that are the leaders of the aristocracy, and secret agents
should be placed, O crusher of foes, with them only. The king should not, O
Bharata, consult with every member of the aristocracy. The king, acting in
concert with the leaders, should do what is for the good of the whole order.
When, however, the aristocracy becomes separated and disunited and destitute
of leaders, other courses of action should be followed. If the members of the
aristocracy quarrel with one another and act, each according to his own
resources, without combination, their prosperity dwindles away and diverse kinds
of evil occur. Those amongst them that are possessed of learning and wisdom
should tread down a dispute as soon as it happens. Indeed, if the seniors of a

race look on with indifference, quarrels break out amongst the members. Such
quarrels bring about the destruction of a race and produce disunion among the
(entire order of the) nobles. Protect thyself, O king, from all fears that arise from
within. Fears, however, that arise from outside are of little consequence. The first
kind of fear, O king, may cut thy roots in a single day. Persons that are equal to
one another in family and blood, influenced by wrath or folly or covetousness
arising from their very natures, cease to speak with one another. This is an
indication of defeat. It is not by courage, nor by intelligence, nor by beauty, nor by
wealth, that enemies succeed in destroying the aristocracy. It is only by disunion
and gifts that it can be reduced to subjugation. For this reason, combination has
been said to be the great refuge of the aristocracy.‟”[331]
SECTION CVIII
“Yudhishthira said, „The path of duty is long. It has also, O Bharata, many
branches. What, however, according to thee, are those duties that most deserve
to be practised? What acts, according to thee, are the most important among all
duties, by the practice of which I may earn the highest merit both here and
hereafter?‟
“Bhishma said, „The worship of mother, father, and preceptor is most important
according to me. The man who attends to that duty here, succeeds in acquiring
great fame and many regions of felicity. Worshipped with respect by thee,
whatever they will command thee, be it consistent with righteousness or in
consistent with it, should be done unhesitatingly, O Yudhishthira! One should
never do what they forbid. Without doubt, that which they command should
always be done.[332] They are the three worlds. They are the three modes of
life. They are the three Vedas. They are the three sacred fires. The father is said
to be the Garhapatya fire; the mother, the Dakshina fire, and the preceptor is that
fire upon which libations are poured. These three fires are, of course, the most
eminent. If thou attendest with heedfulness to these three fires, thou wilt succeed
in conquering the three worlds. By serving the father with regularity, one may
cross this world. By serving the mother in the same way, one may attain to
regions of felicity in the next. By serving the preceptor with regularity one may
obtain the region of Brahma. Behave properly towards these three, O Bharata,
thou shalt then obtain great fame in the three worlds, and blessed be thou, great
will be thy merit and reward. Never transgress them in any act. Never eat before
they eat, nor eat anything that is better than what thy eat. Never impute any fault
to them. One should always serve them with humility. That is an act of high
merit. By acting in that way, O best of kings, thou mayst obtain fame, merit,
honour, and regions of felicity hereafter. He who honours these three is
honoured in all the worlds. He, on the other hand, who disregards these three,
falls to obtain any merit from any of his acts. Such a man, O scorcher of foes,
acquires merit neither in this world nor in the next. He who always disregards
these three seniors never obtains fame either here or hereafter. Such a man

never earns any good in the next world. All that I have given away in honour of
those three has become a hundredfold or a thousandfold of its actual measure. It
is in consequence of that merit that even now, O Yudhishthira, the three worlds
are clearly before my eyes. One Acharya is superior to ten Brahmanas learned in
the Vedas. One Upadhyaya is again superior to ten Acharyas. The father, again,
is superior to ten Upadhyayas. The mother again, is superior to ten fathers, or
perhaps, the whole world, in importance. There is no one that deserves such
reverence as the mother. In my opinion, however, the preceptor is worthy of
greater reverence than the father or even the mother. The father and the mother
are authors of one‟s being. The father and the mother, O Bharata, only create the
body. The life, on the other hand, that one obtains from one‟s preceptor, is
heavenly. That life is subject to no decay and is immortal. The father and the
mother, however much they may offend, should never be slain. By not punishing
a father and a mother, (even if they deserve punishment), one does not incur sin.
Indeed, such reverend persons, by enjoying impunity, do not stain the king. The
gods and the Rishis do not withhold their favours from such persons as strive to
cherish even their sinful fathers with reverence. He who favours a person by
imparting to him true instruction, by communicating the Vedas, and giving
knowledge which is immortal, should be regarded as both a father and a mother.
The disciple, in grateful recognition of what the instructor has done, should never
do anything that would injure the latter. They that do not reverence their
preceptors after receiving instruction from them by obeying them dutifully in
thought and deed, incur the sin of killing a foetus. There is no sinner in this world
like them.[333] Preceptors always show great affection for their disciples. The
latter should, therefore, show their preceptors commensurate reverence. He,
therefore, that wishes to earn that high merit which has existed from ancient
days, should worship and adore his preceptors and cheerfully share with them
every object of enjoyment. With him who pleases his father is pleased Prajapati
himself. He who pleases his mother gratifies the earth herself. He who pleases
his preceptor gratifies Brahma by his act. For this reason, the preceptor is worthy
of greater reverence than either the father or the mother. If preceptors are
worshipped, the very Rishis, and the gods, together with the Pitris, are all
pleased. Therefore, the preceptor is worthy of the highest reverence. The
preceptor should never be disregarded in any manner by the disciple. Neither the
mother nor the father deserves such regard as the preceptor. The father, the
mother, and the preceptor, should never be insulted. No act of theirs should be
found fault with. The gods and the great Rishis are pleased with him that
behaves with reverence towards his preceptors. They that injure in thought and
deed their preceptors, or fathers, or mothers, incur the sin of killing a foetus.
There is no sinner in the world equal to them. That son of the sire‟s loins and the
mother‟s womb, who, being brought up by them and when he comes to age,
does not support them in his turn, incurs the sin of killing a foetus. There is no
sinner in the world like unto him. We have never heard that these four, viz., he
who injures a friend, he who is ungrateful, he who slays a woman, and he who
slays a preceptor, ever succeed in cleansing themselves. I have now told thee
generally all that a person should do in this world. Besides those duties that I

have indicated, there is nothing productive of greater felicity. Thinking of all
duties, I have told thee their essence.‟”
SECTION CIX
“Yudhishthira said, „How, O Bharata, should a person act who desires to adhere
to virtue? O bull of Bharata‟s race, possessed as thou art of learning, tell me this,
questioned by me. Truth and falsehood exist, covering all the worlds. Which of
these two, O king, should a person adopt that is firm in virtue? What again is
truth? What is falsehood? What, again, is eternal virtue? On what occasions
should a person tell the truth, and on what occasions should he tell an untruth?‟
“Bhishma said, „To tell the truth is consistent with righteousness. There is nothing
higher than truth. I shall now, O Bharata, say unto thee that which is not
generally known to men. There where falsehood would assume the aspect of
truth, truth should not be said. There, again, where truth would assume the
aspect of falsehood, even falsehood should be said. That ignorant person incurs
sin who says truth which is dissociated from righteousness. That person is said
to be conversant with duties who can distinguish truth from falsehood.[334] Even
a person that is disrespectable, that is of uncleansed soul, and that is very cruel,
may succeed in earning great merit as the hunter Valaka by slaying the blind
beast (that threatened to destroy all creatures).[335] How extraordinary it is that a
person of foolish understanding, though desirous of acquiring merit (by austere
penances) still committed a sinful act![336] An owl again, on the banks of the
Ganges, (by doing an unrighteous deed) obtained great merit.[337] The question
thou hast asked me is a difficult one, since it is difficult to say what righteousness
is. It is not easy to indicate it. No one in discoursing upon righteousness, can
indicate it accurately. Righteousness was declared (by Brahman) for the
advancement and growth of all creatures. Therefore, that which leads to
advancement and growth is righteousness. Righteousness was declared for
restraining creatures from injuring one another. Therefore, that is Righteousness
which prevents injury to creatures. Righteousness (Dharma) is so called because
it upholds all creatures. In fact, all creatures are upheld by righteousness.
Therefore, that is righteousness which is capable of upholding all creatures.
Some say that righteousness consists in what has been inculcated in the Srutis.
Others do not agree to this. I would not censure them that say so. Everything,
again, has not been laid down in the Srutis.[338] Sometimes men (robbers),
desirous of obtaining the wealth of some one, make enquiries (for facilitating the
act of plunder). One should never answer such enquiries. That is a settled duty.
If by maintaining silence, one succeeds in escaping, one should remain silent. If,
on the other hand, one‟s silence at a time when one must speak rouses
suspicion, it would be better on such an occasion to say what is untrue than what
is true. This is a settled conclusion. If one can escape from sinful men by even a
(false) oath, one may take it without incurring sin. One should not, even if one be
able, giveaway his wealth to sinful men. Wealth given to sinful men afflicts even

the giver. If a creditor desires to make his debtor pay off the loan by rendering
bodily service, the witnesses would all be liars, if, summoned by the creditor for
establishing the truth of the contract, they did not say what should be said. When
life is at risk, or on occasion of marriage, one may say an untruth. One that seeks
for virtue, does not commit a sin by saying an untruth, if that untruth be said to
save the wealth and prosperity of others or for the religious purposes. Having
promised to pay, one becomes bound to fulfil his promise. Upon failure, let the
self-appropriator be forcibly enslaved. If a person without fulfilling a righteous
engagement acts with impropriety, he should certainly be afflicted with the rod of
chastisement for having adopted such behaviour.[339] A deceitful person, falling
away from all duties and abandoning those of his own order, always wishes to
betake himself to the practices of Asuras for supporting life. Such a sinful wretch
living by deceit should be slain by every means. Such sinful men think that there
is nothing in this world higher than wealth. Such men should never be tolerated.
No one should eat with them. They should be regarded to have fallen down in
consequence of their sins. Indeed, fallen away from the condition of humanity
and shut out from the grace of the gods, they are even like evil genii. Without
sacrifices and without penances as they are, forbear from their companionship. If
their wealth be lost, they commit even suicide which is exceedingly pitiable.
Among those sinful men there is no one to whom thou canst say, „This is thy
duty. Let thy heart turn to it.‟ Their settled convictions are that there is nothing in
this world that is equal to wealth. The person that would slay such a creature
would incur no sin. He who kills him kills one that has been already killed by his
own acts. If slain, it is the dead that is slain. He who vows to destroy those
persons of lost senses should keep his vows.[340] Such sinners are, like the
crow and the vulture, dependent on deceit for their living. After the dissolution of
their (human) bodies, they take rebirth as crows and vultures. One should, in any
matter, behave towards another as that other behaves in that matter. He who
practises deceit should be resisted with deceit while one that is honest should be
treated with honesty.‟”
SECTION CX
“Yudhishthira said, „Creatures are seen to be afflicted by diverse means and
almost continually. Tell me, O grandsire, in what way can one overcome all those
difficulties.‟
“Bhishma said, „Those members of the regenerate class that duly practise, with
restrained souls, the duties that have been laid down in the scriptures for the
several modes of life, succeed in overcoming all these difficulties. They that
never practise deceit, they whose behaviour is restrained by salutary restrictions,
and they that control all worldly desires, succeed in overcoming all difficulties.
They that do not speak when, addressed in evil language, they that do not injure
others when themselves injured, they that give but do not take, succeed in
overcoming all difficulties. They that always give hospitable shelter to guests,

they that do not indulge in malice, they that are constantly engaged in the study
of the Vedas, succeed in overcoming all difficulties. Those persons who, being
conversant with duties, adopt that behaviour towards parents which they should,
they that abstain from sleeping during the day, succeed in overcoming all
difficulties. They that do not commit any kind of sin in thought, word, and deed,
they that never injure any creature, succeed in overcoming all difficulties. Those
kings that do not, under the influence of passion and covetousness, levy
oppressive taxes, and those that protect their own dominions, succeed in
overcoming all difficulties. They that go to their own wedded wives in season
without seeking the companionship of other women, they that are honest and
attentive to their Agni-hotras, succeed in overcoming all difficulties. They that are
possessed of courage and that, casting away all fear of death, engage in battle,
desirous of victory by fair means, succeed in overcoming all difficulties. They that
always speak truth in this world even when life is at stake, and that are
exemplars for all creatures to imitate succeed in overcoming all difficulties. They
whose acts never deceive, whose words are always agreeable, and whose
wealth is always well spent, succeed in, overcoming all difficulties. Those
Brahmanas that never study the Vedas at hours not intended for study, and that
practise penances with devotion, succeed in overcoming all difficulties. Those
Brahmanas that betake themselves to a life of celibacy and Brahmacharya, that
perform penances, and that are cleansed by learning, Vedic knowledge, and
proper vows, succeed in overcoming all difficulties. They that have checked all
the qualities that appertain to Passion and Darkness, that are possessed of high
souls, and that practise the qualities that are called Good, succeed in overcoming
all difficulties. They of whom no creature stands in fear and those that do not fear
any creature themselves, they that look upon all creatures as their own selves,
succeed in overcoming all difficulties. Those bulls among men that are good, that
are never inspired with grief at the sight of other people‟s prosperity, and that
abstain from all kinds of ignoble behaviour, succeed in overcoming all difficulties.
They that bow to all the gods, that listen to the doctrines of all creeds, that have
faith, and that are endued with tranquil souls, succeed in overcoming all
difficulties. They that do not desire honour for themselves, that give honours unto
others, that bow down unto those that deserve their worship, succeed in
overcoming all difficulties. They that perform Sraddhas on the proper lunar days,
with pure minds, from desire of offspring, succeed in overcoming all difficulties.
They that restrain their own wrath and pacify the wrath of others, and that never
get angry with any creature, succeed in overcoming all difficulties. They that
abstain, from their birth, from honey and meat and intoxicating drinks, succeed in
overcoming all difficulties. They that eat for only supporting life, that seek the
companionship of women for the sake only of offspring and that open their lips
for only speaking what is true, succeed in overcoming all difficulties. They that
worship with devotion the god Narayana, that Supreme Lord of all creatures, that
origin and destruction of the universe, succeed in overcoming all difficulties. This
Krishna here, of eyes red as the lotus, clad in yellow robes, endued with mighty
arms,--this Krishna who is our well-wisher, brother, friend, and relative,--is
Narayana of unfading glory. He covers all the worlds like a leathern case, at his

own pleasure. He is the puissant Lord, of inconceivable soul. He is Govinda, the
foremost of all beings. This Krishna who is ever engaged in doing what is
agreeable and beneficial to Jishnu, as also to thee, O king, is that foremost of all
beings, that irresistible one, that abode of eternal felicity. They that with devotion
seek the refuge of this Narayana, called also Hari, succeed in overcoming all
difficulties. They that read these verses about the overcoming of difficulties, that
recite them to others, and that speak of them unto Brahmanas, succeed in
overcoming all difficulties. I have now, O sinless one, told thee all those acts by
which men may overcome all difficulties both here and hereafter.‟”
SECTION CXI
“Yudhishthira said, „Many persons here that are not really of tranquil souls
appear in outward form as men of tranquil souls. There are again others that are
really of tranquil souls but that appear to be otherwise. How, O sire, shall we
succeed in knowing these people?‟
“Bhishma said, „In this connection is recited the old story of the discourse
between a tiger and a jackal. Listen to it, O Yudhishthira! In ancient times, in a
city called Purika, full of affluence, there was a king named Paurika. That worst of
beings was exceedingly cruel and took delight in injuring others. On the expiry of
the period of his life he obtained an undesirable end. In fact, stained by the evil
acts of his human life, he was reborn as a jackal. Remembering his former
prosperity, he became filled with grief and abstained from meat even when
brought before him by others. And he became compassionate unto all creatures,
and truthful in speech, and firm in the observance of austere vows. At the
appointed time he took food which consisted of fruit that had dropped from the
trees. That jackal dwelt in a vast crematorium and liked to dwell there. And as it
was his birth place, he never wished to change it for a finer locality. Unable to
endure the purity of his behaviour, the other members of his species,
endeavoured to make him alter his resolve by addressing him in the following
words fraught with humility: „Though residing in this terrible crematorium, thou
desirest yet to live in such purity of behaviour. Is not this a perversity of
understanding on thy part, since thou art by nature an cater of carrion? Be thou
our like. All of us will give thee food. Eat that which ought always to be thy food,
abandoning such purity of conduct. Hearing these words of theirs, the jackal
replied unto them, with rapt attention, in these sweet words fraught with reason
and inculcating harmlessness to all: „My birth has been low. It is conduct,
however, that determines the race.[341] I desire to behave in such a way that my
fame may spread. Although my habitation is this crematorium, yet listen to my
vows in respect of behaviour. One‟s own self is the cause of one‟s acts. The
mode of life to which one may betake oneself is not the cause of one‟s religious
acts. If one, while in the observance of a particular mode of life, slays a
Brahmana, will not the sin of Brahmanicide attach to him? If, on the other hand,
one gives away a cow while one is not in the observance of any particular mode

of life, will that pious gift produce no merit? Moved by the desire of getting what is
agreeable, ye are engaged in only filling your stomachs. Stupefied by folly ye do
not see the three faults that are in the end. I do not like to adopt the life led by
you, fraught as it is with evil both here and hereafter, and characterised as it is by
such censurable loss of virtue occasioned by discontentment and temptation.‟ A
tiger, celebrated for prowess, happened to overhear this conversation, and
accordingly, taking the jackal for a learned person of pure behaviour, offered him
such respectful worship as was suited to his own self and then expressed a wish
for appointing him his minister.‟
“The tiger said, „O righteous personage, I know what thou art. Do thou attend to
the duties of government with myself. Enjoy whatever articles may be desired by
thee, abandoning whatever may not suit thy taste.[342] As regards ourselves, we
are known to be of a fierce disposition. We inform thee beforehand of this. If thou
behavest with mildness, thou wilt be benefited and reap advantages for
thyself.‟—Honouring these words of that high-souled lord of all animals, the
jackal, hanging down his head a little, said these words fraught with humility.‟
“The jackal said, „O king of beasts, these words of thine with reference to myself
are such as befit thee. It is also worthy of thee that thou shouldst seek for
ministers of pure behaviour and conversant with duties and worldly affairs. Thou
canst not maintain thy greatness without a pious minister, O hero, or with a
wicked minister that is on the look-out for putting an end to the very life. Thou
shouldst, O highly blessed one, regard those amongst thy ministers that are
devoted to thee, that are conversant with policy, that are independent of one
another, desirous of crowning thee with victory, unstained by covetousness, free
from deceit, possessed of wisdom ever engaged in thy good, and endued with
great mental vigour, even as thou regardest thy preceptors or parents. But, O
king of beasts, as I am perfectly contented with my present position, I do not
desire to change it for anything else. I do not covet luxurious enjoyments or the
happiness that arises from them. My conduct, again, may not agree with that of
thy old servants. If they happen to be of wicked conduct, they will produce
disunion between thee and me. Dependence upon another, even if that other
happens to be possessed of splendour, is not desirable or praiseworthy. I am of
cleansed soul, I am highly blessed. I am incapable of showing severity to even
sinners. I am of great foresight. I have capacity for great exertion. I do not look at
small things. I am possessed of great strength. I am successful in acts. I never
act fruitlessly. I am adorned with every object of enjoyment. I am never satisfied
with a little. I have never served another. I am, besides, unskilled in serving. I live
according to my pleasure in the woods. All who live by the side of kings have to
endure great pain in consequence of evil speeches against themselves. Those,
however, that reside in the woods pass their days, fearlessly and without anxiety,
in the observance of vows. The fear that arises in the heart of a person who is
summoned by the king is unknown to persons passing their days contentedly in
the woods, supporting life upon fruits and roots. Simple food and drink obtained
without effort, and luxurious food procured with fear, widely differ from each
other. Reflecting upon these two, I am of opinion that there is happiness where
there is no anxiety. A few only amongst those that serve kings are justly

punished for their offences. A large number of them, however, suffer death under
false accusations. If, notwithstanding all this, thou appointest me, O king of
beasts, as thy minister, I wish to make a compact with thee in respect of the
behaviour thou shouldst always adopt towards me. Those words that I shall
speak for thy good should be listened to and regarded by thee. The provision
which thou wilt make for me shall not be interfered with by thee. I shall never
consult with thy other ministers. If I do, desirous of superiority as they are they
will then impute diverse kinds of faults to me. Meeting with thee alone and in
secret I shall say what is for thy good. In all matters connected with thy kinsmen,
thou shalt not ask me what is for thy good or what is otherwise. Having consulted
with me thou shalt not punish thy other ministers afterwards, yielding to rage thou
shalt not punish my followers and dependants.‟ Thus addressed by the jackal,
the king of beasts answered him, saying, „Let it be so,‟ and showed him every
honour. The jackal then accepted the ministership of the tiger. Beholding the
jackal treated with respect and honoured in all his acts, the old servants of the
king, conspiring together, began ceaselessly to display their hatred towards him.
Those wicked persons at first strove to gratify and win him over with friendly
behaviour and make him tolerate the diverse abuses that existed in the taste.
Despoilers of other people‟s property, they had long lived in the enjoyment of
their perquisites. Now, however, being ruled by the jackal, they were unable to
appropriate anything belonging to others. Desirous of advancement and
prosperity, they began to tempt him with sweet speeches. Indeed, large bribes
even were offered to allure his heart. Possessed of great wisdom, the jackal
showed no signs of yielding to those temptations. Then some amongst them,
making a compact amongst themselves for effecting his destruction, took away
the well-dressed meat that was intended for and much desired by the king of
beasts, and placed it secretly in the house of the jackal. The jackal knew who
had stolen the meat and who had conspired to do it. But though he knew
everything, he tolerated it for a particular object. He had made a compact with
the king at the time of his accepting the ministership, saying, „Thou desirest my
friendship, but thou shalt not, O monarch, mistrust me without cause.‟
“Bhishma continued, „When the king of beasts, feeling hungry, came to eat, he
saw not the meat that was to have been kept ready for his dinner. The king then
ordered, „Let the thief be found out.‟ His deceitful ministers represented unto him
that the meat kept for him had been stolen away by his learned minister, the
jackal, that was so proud of his own wisdom. Rearing Of this injudicious act on
the part of the jackal, the tiger became filled with rage. Indeed, the king, giving
way to his wrath, ordered his minister to be slain. Beholding the opportunity, the
former ministers addressed the king, saying, „The jackal is ever ready to take
away from all of us the means of sustenance.‟ Having represented this they once
more spoke of the jackal‟s act of robbing the king of his food. And they said,
„Such then is his act! What is there that he would not venture to do? He is not as
thou hadst heard. He is righteous in speech but his real disposition is sinful. A
wretch in reality, he has disguised himself by putting on a garb of virtue. His
behaviour is really sinful. For serving his own ends he had practised austerities
in the matter of diet and of vows. If thou disbelievest this, we will give thee ocular

proof.‟ Having said this, they immediately caused that meat to be discovered by
entering the jackal‟s abode. Ascertaining that the meat was brought back from
the jackal‟s house and hearing all those representations of his old servants, the
king ordered, saying, „Let the jackal be slain.‟ Hearing these words of the tiger,
his mother came to that spot for awakening son‟s good sense with beneficial
counsels. The venerable dame said, „O son, thou shouldst not accept this
accusation fraught with deceit. Wicked individuals impute faults to even an
honest person, moved by envy and rivalry. Enemies desirous of a quarrel cannot
endure the elevation of an enemy brought about by his high feats. Faults are
ascribed to even a person of pure soul engaged in penances. With respect to
even an ascetic living in the woods and employed in his own (harmless) acts, are
raised three parties, viz., friends, neutrals, and foes. They that are rapacious hate
them that are pure. The idle hate the active. The unlearned hate the learned. The
poor hate the rich. The unrighteous hate the righteous. The ugly hate the
beautiful. Many amongst the learned, the unlearned, the rapacious, and the
deceitful, would falsely accuse an innocent person even if the latter happens to
be possessed of the virtues and intelligence of Vrihaspati himself. If meat had
really been stolen from thy house in thy absence, remember, the jackal refuses
to take any meat that is even given to him. Let this fact be well considered (in
finding out the thief). Wicked persons sometimes put on the semblance of the
good, and they that are good sometimes wear the semblance of the wicked.
Diverse kinds of aspect are noticeable in creatures. It is, therefore, necessary to
examine which is which. The firmament seems to be like the solid base of a
vessel. The fire-fly seems to be like the actual spark of fire. In reality, however,
the sky has no base and there is no fire in the fire-fly. You see, there is necessity.
therefore, for scrutiny in respect of even such things as are addressed to the eye.
If a person ascertains everything after scrutiny, he is never called upon to indulge
in any kind of regret afterwards. It is not at all difficult, O son, for a master to put
his servant to death. Forgiveness, however, in persons possessed of power, is
always praiseworthy and productive of renown. Thou hadst made the jackal thy
first minister. In consequence of that act, thou hadst earned great fame among all
neighbouring chiefs. A good minister cannot be obtained easily. The jackal is thy
well-wisher. Let him, therefore, be supported. The king who regards a really
innocent person falsely accused by his enemies to be guilty, soon meets the
destruction in consequence of the wicked ministers that lead him to that
conviction.‟ After the tiger‟s mother had concluded her speech, a righteous agent
of the jackal, stepping out of that phalanx of his foes, discovered everything
about the manner in which that false accusation had been made. The jackal‟s
innocence being made manifest, he was acquitted and honoured by his master.
The king of beasts affectionately embraced him again and again. The jackal,
however, who was conversant with the science of policy, burning with grief,
saluted the king of beasts and solicited his permission for throwing away his life
by observing the Praya vow. The tiger, casting upon the virtuous jackal his eyes
expanded with affection and honouring hit‟ with reverential worship, sought to
dissuade him from the accomplishment of his wishes. The jackal, beholding his
master agitated with affection, bowed down to him and in a voice choked with

tears said these words: „Honoured by thee first, I have afterwards been insulted
by thee. Thy behaviour towards me is calculated to make me an enemy of thine.
It is not proper therefore, that I should any longer dwell with thee. Servants that
are discontented, that have been driven from their offices, or degraded from the
honours that were theirs, that have brought destitution upon themselves, or have
been ruined by their enemies (through the wrath of their master). that have been
weakened, that are rapacious, or enraged, or alarmed, or deceived (in respect of
their employers), that have suffered confiscation, that are proud and desirous of
achieving great feats but deprived of the means or earning wealth, and that burn
with grief or rage in consequence of any injury done to them, always wait for
calamities to overtake their masters. Deceived, „they leave their masters and
become effective instruments in the hands of foes.[343] I have been insulted by
thee and pulled down from my place. How wilt thou trust me again? How shall I
(on my part) continue to dwell with thee? Thinking me to be competent thou
tookest me, and having examined me thou hadst placed me in office. Violating
the compact then made (between us) thou hast insulted me. If one speaks of a
certain person before others as possessed of righteous behaviour, one should
not, if desirous of maintaining one‟s consistency. afterwards describe the same
person as wicked. I who have thus been disregarded by thee cannot any longer
enjoy thy confidence. On my part, when I shall see thee withdraw thy confidence
from me, I shalt be filled with alarm and anxiety. Thyself suspicious and myself in
alarm, our enemies will be on the look-out for opportunities for injuring us. Thy
subjects will, as a consequence, become anxious and discontented. Such a state
of things has many faults. The wise do not regard that situation happy in which
there is honour first and dishonour afterwards. It is difficult to reunite the two that
have been separated, as, indeed, it is difficult to separate the two that are united.
If persons reunited after separation approach one another again, their behaviour
cannot be affectionate. No servant is to be seen who is moved (in what he does)
by only the desire of benefiting his master. Service proceeds from the motive of
doing good to the master as also one‟s own self. All acts are undertaken from
selfish motives. Unselfish acts or motives are very rare. Those kings whose
hearts are restless and unquiet cannot acquire a true knowledge of men. Only
one in a hundred can be found who is either able or fearless. The prosperity of
men, as also their fall, comes of itself. Prosperity and adversity, and greatness,
all proceed from weakness of understanding.”[344]
“Bhishma continued, „Having said these conciliatory words fraught with virtue,
pleasure, and profit, and having gratified the king, the jackal retired to the forest.
Without listening to the entreaties of the king of beasts, the intelligent jackal cast
off his body by sitting in praya and proceeded to heaven (as the reward of his
good deeds on earth).‟”

SECTION CXII
“Yudhishthira said, „What acts should be done by a king, and what are those acts
by doing which a king may become happy? Tell me this in detail, O thou that art
the foremost of all persons acquainted with duties.‟
“Bhishma said, „I shall tell thee what thou wishest to know. Listen to the settled
truth about what should be done in this world by a king and what those acts are
by doing which a king may become happy. A king should not behave after the
manner disclosed in the high history of a camel of which we have heard. Listen to
that history then, O Yudhishthira! There was, in the Krita age, a huge camel who
had recollection of all the acts of his former life. Observing the most rigid vows,
that camel practised very severe austerities in the forest. Towards the conclusion
of his penances, the puissant Brahman became gratified with him. The
Grandsire, therefore, desired to grant him boons.‟
“The camel said, „Let my neck, O holy one, become long through thy grace, so
that, O puissant lord, I may be able to seize any food that may lie even at the end
of even a hundred Yojanas.‟ The high-souled giver of boons said, „Let it be so.‟
The camel then, having obtained the boon, returned to his own forest. The foolish
animal, from the day of obtaining the boon, became idle. Indeed, the wretch,
stupefied by fate, did not from that day go out for grazing. One day, while
extending his long neck of a hundred Yojanas, the animal was engaged in
picking his food without any labour, a great storm arose. The camel, placing his
head and a portion of the neck within the cave of a mountain, resolved to wait till
the storm would be over. Meanwhile it began to pour in torrents, deluging the
whole earth. A jackal, with his wife, drenched by the rain and shivering with cold,
dragged himself with difficulty towards that very cave and entered it quickly for
shelter. Living as he did upon meat, and exceedingly hungry and tired as he was,
O bull of Bharata‟s race, the jackal, seeing the camel‟s neck, began to eat as
much of it as he could. The camel, when he perceived that his neck was being
eaten, strove in sorrow to shorten it. But as he moved it up and down, the jackal
and his wife, without losing their hold of it, continued to eat it away. Within a short
time the camel was deprived of life. The jackal then, having (thus) slain and
eaten the camel, came out of the cave after the storm and shower had ceased.
Thus did that foolish camel meet with his death. Behold, what a great evil
followed in the train of idleness. As regards thyself, avoiding idleness and
restraining thy senses, do everything in the world with proper means. Manu
himself has said that victory depends upon intelligence. All acts that are
accomplished with the aid of intelligence are regarded as the foremost, those
achieved with the aid of arms are middling, those achieved with the aid of feet
are inferior, while those done by carrying loads are the lowest. If the king is
clever in the transaction of business and restrains his senses, his kingdom
endures. Manu himself has said that it is with the aid of the intelligence that an
ambitious person succeeds in achieving victories. In this world, O Yudhishthira,
they who listen to wise counsels that are not generally known, that are, O sinless
one, possessed of allies, and that act after proper scrutiny, succeed in achieving
all their objects. A person possessed of such aids succeeds in ruling the entire

earth. O thou that art possessed of prowess like that of Indra himself, this has
been said by wise men of ancient times conversant with the ordinances laid
down in the scriptures. I, also, with sight directed to the scriptures, have said the
same to thee. Exercising thy intelligence, do thou act in this world, O king!‟”
SECTION CXIII
“Yudhishthira said, „Tell me O bull of Bharata‟s race, how a king, without the
usual aids, having obtained a kingdom that is so precious a possession, behave
himself towards a powerful foe.‟
“Bhishma said, In this connection is cited the old story of the discourse between
the Ocean and the Rivers. In days of old, eternal Ocean, that lord of Rivers, that
refuge of the foes of the celestials, asked all the Rivers for resolving this doubt
that had arisen in his mind.‟
“The Ocean said, „Ye Rivers, I see that all of you, with your full currents, bring
away trees of large trunks, tearing them off with their roots and branches. Ye do
not, however, ever bring to me a cane. The canes that grow on your banks are of
mean stems and destitute of strength. Do you refuse to wash them down through
contempt, or are they of any use to you? I desire, therefore, to hear what the
motive is that inspires all of you. Indeed, why is it that canes are not washed
down by any of you, uprooted from the banks where they grow?‟ Thus
addressed, the River Ganga, replied unto Ocean, that lord of all Rivers, in these
words of grave import, fraught with reason, and, therefore, acceptable to all.‟
“Ganga said, „Trees stand in one and the same place and are unyielding in
respect of the spot where they stand. In consequence of this disposition of theirs
to resist our currents, they are obliged to leave the place of their growth. Canes,
however, act differently. The cane, beholding the advancing current, bends to it.
The others do not act in that way. After the current has passed away, the cane
resumes its former posture. The cane knows the virtues of Time and opportunity.
It is docile and obedient. It is yielding, without being stiff. For these reasons, it
stands where it grows, without having to come with us. Those plants, trees, and
creepers that bend and rise before the force of wind and water, have never to
suffer discomfiture (by being taken up by the roots).‟
“Bhishma continued, „That person who does not yield to the power of a foe that
has advanced in might and that is competent to imprison or kill, soon meets with
destruction.[345] That man of wisdom who acts after ascertaining fully the
strength and weakness, the might and energy, of himself and his foe, has never
to suffer discomfiture. An intelligent man, therefore, when he sees his enemy to
be more powerful than himself, should adopt the behaviour of the cane. That is
an indication of wisdom.‟”

SECTION CXIV
“Yudhishthira said, „How, O Bharata, should a learned man adorned with
modesty behave, O chastiser of foes, when assailed with harsh speeches in the
midst of assemblies by an ignorant person swelling with conceit?‟[346]
“Bhishma said, „Listen, O lord of earth, how the subject has been treated of (in
the scriptures), how a person of good soul should endure in this world the
abusive speeches of persons of little intelligence. If a person, when abused by
another, do not yield to wrath, he is then sure to take away (the merit of) all the
good deeds that have been done by the abuser. The endurer, in such a case,
communicates the demerit of all his own bad acts to the person who under the
influence of wrath indulges in abuse. An intelligent man should disregard an
abusive language who resembles, after all, only a Tittibha uttering dissonant
cries.[347] One who yields to hate is said to live in vain. A fool may often be
heard to say, „Such a respectable man was addressed by me in such words amid
such an assembly of men,‟ and to even boast of that wicked act. He would add,
„Abused by me, the man remained silent as if dead with shame. Even thus does
a shameless man boast of an act about which no one should boast. Such a
wretch among men should carefully be disregarded. The man of wisdom should
endure everything that such a person of little intelligence may say. What can a
vulgar fellow do by either his praise or his blame? He is even like a crow that
caws uselessly in the woods. If those who accuse others by only their words
could establish those accusations by such means, then, perhaps, their words
would have been regarded to be of some value. As a fact, however, these words
are as effective as those uttered by fools invoking death upon them with whom
they quarrel.[348] That man simply proclaims his bastardy who indulges in such
conduct and words. Indeed, he is even like a peacock that dances while showing
such a part of his body as should be ever concealed from the view.[349] A
person of pure conduct should never even speak with that wight of sinful conduct
who does not scruple to utter anything or do anything. That man who speak of
one‟s merits when one‟s eye is upon him and who speaks ill of one when one‟s
eye is withdrawn from him, is really like a dog. Such a person loses all his
regions in heaven and the fruits of any knowledge and virtue that he may
have.[350] The man who speaks ill of one when one‟s eye is not upon him, loses
without delay the fruits of all his libations on fire and of the gifts he may make
unto even a hundred persons. A man of wisdom, therefore, should unhesitatingly
avoid a person of such sinful heart who deserves to be avoided by all honest
men, as he would avoid the flesh of the dog. That wicked-souled wretch who
proclaims the faults of a high-souled person, really publishes (by that act) his
own evil nature even as a snake displays his hood (when interfered with by
others). The man of sense who seeks to counteract such a back-biter ever
engaged in an occupation congenial to himself, finds himself in the painful
condition of a stupid ass sunk in a heap of ashes. A man who is ever engaged in
speaking ill of others should be avoided like a furious wolf, or an infuriated
elephant roaring in madness, or a fierce dog. Fie on that sinful wretch who has
betaken himself to the path of the foolish and has fallen away from all wholesome
restraints and modesty, who is always engaged in doing what is injurious to

others, and who is regardless of his own prosperity. If an honest man wishes to
exchange words with such wretches when they seek to humiliate him, he should
be counselled in these words: Do not suffer thyself to be afflicted. A wordy
encounter between a high and a low person is always disapproved by persons of
tranquil intelligence. A slanderous wretch, when enraged, may strike another with
his palms, or throw dust or chaff at another, or frighten another by showing or
grinding his teeth. All this is well known. That man who endures the reproaches
and slanders of wicked-souled wights uttered in assemblies, or who reads
frequently these instructions, never suffers any pain occasioned by speech.‟
SECTION CXV
“Yudhishthira said, „O grandsire, O thou that art possessed of great wisdom, I
have one great doubt that perplexes me. Thou shouldst, O king, resolve it. Thou
art an advancer of our family. Thou hast discoursed to us upon the slanderous
speeches uttered by wicked-souled wretches of bad conduct. I desire, however,
to question thee further. That which is beneficial to a kingdom, that which is
productive of the happiness of the royal line, that which is productive of good and
advancement in the future and the present, that which is good in respect of food
and drink and as regards also the body, are topics upon which I wish thee to
discourse. How should a king who has been placed on the throne and who
continues to occupy it, surrounded by friends, ministers, and servants gratify his
people. That king who, led away by his affections and predilections, becomes
devoted to evil associates, and who pays court to wicked men in consequence of
his being enthralled by his senses, finds all servants of good birth and blood
disaffected towards him. Such a king never succeeds in obtaining those objects
the accomplishment of which depends upon one‟s having a number of good
servants about him. It behoveth thee that art equal to Vrihaspati himself in
intelligence to discourse to me upon these duties of kings which are difficult to be
ascertained and thereby remove my doubts. Thou, O tiger among men, art ever
engaged in accomplishing the good of our race. For this reason thou always
discoursest to us on the duties of king-craft. Kshatri (Vidura) also, possessed of
great wisdom, always gives us valuable instruction. Hearing instructions from
thee that are productive of good to our race and kingdom, I shall be able to pass
my days in happiness like a person gratified with having quaffed the deathless
Amrita. What classes of servants are to be regarded as inferior and what is
possessed of every accomplishment? Aided by what class of servants or by
servants of what kind of birth, is it advisable to discharge the duties of ruling? If
the king choose to act alone and without servants, he can never succeed in
protecting his people. All persons, however, of high birth covet the acquisition of
sovereignty.‟
“Bhishma said, „The king, O Bharata, cannot alone rule his kingdom. Without
servants to aid him, he cannot succeed in accomplishing any object. Even if he
succeeds in gaining any object, he cannot (if alone), retain it. That king whose

servants are all possessed of knowledge and wisdom, who are all devoted to the
good of their master, and who are of high birth and tranquil disposition, succeeds
in enjoying the happiness connected with sovereignty. That king whose ministers
are all well born, incapable of being weaned away from him (by means of bribes
and other influences), who always live with him, who are engaged in giving
advice to their master, who are possessed of wisdom and goodness, who have a
knowledge of the relations of things, who can provide for future events and
contingencies, who have a good knowledge of the virtues of time, and who never
grieve for what is past, succeeds in enjoying the happiness that attaches to
sovereignty. That king whose servants share with him his griefs and joys, who
always do what is agreeable to him, who always direct their attention to the
accomplishment of their master‟s objects, and all of whom are faithful, succeeds
in enjoying the happiness that attaches to sovereignty. The king whose subjects
are always cheerful, and high minded, and who always tread in the path of the
righteousness, succeeds in enjoying the happiness attached to sovereignty. He
is the best of kings all the sources of whose income are managed and
supervised by contented and trustworthy men well acquainted with the means of
increasing the finances. That king succeeds in obtaining affluence and great
merit whose repositories and barns are supervised by incorruptible, trust-worthy,
devoted, and uncovetous servants always bent upon gathering. That king in
whose city justice is administered properly with the result of such administration
leading to the well known results of fining the plaintiff or the defendant if his case
is untrue, and in which criminal laws are administered even after the manner of
Sankha and Likhita, succeeds in earning the merit that attaches to sovereignty.
That king who attaches his subjects to himself by kindness, who is conversant
with the duties of kings, and who attends to the aggregate of six. succeeds in
earning the merit that attaches to sovereignty.‟”
SECTION CXVI
“Bhishma said, „In this connection is cited the following history of olden times.
That history is regarded as a high precedent amongst good and wise men. That
history has connection with the present topic. I heard it in the hermitage of Rama,
the son of Jamadagni, recited by many foremost of Rishis. In a certain large
forest uninhabited by human beings, there lived an ascetic upon fruit and roots
observing rigid vows, and with his senses under control. Observant also of
stringent regulations and self-restraint, of tranquil and pure soul, always attentive
to Vedic recitations, and of heart cleansed by fasts, he adopted a life of
goodness towards all creatures. Possessed of great intelligence, as he sat on his
seat, the goodness of his behaviour having been known to all the creatures that
lived in that forest, they used to approach him with affection. Fierce lions and
tigers, infuriated elephants of huge size, leopards, rhinoceroses, bears, and other
animals of fierce aspect, subsisting upon blood, used to come to the Rishi and
address him the usual questions of polite enquiry. Indeed, all of them behaved
towards him like disciples and slaves and always did unto him what was

agreeable. Coming to him they addressed the usual enquiries, and then went
away to their respective quarters. One domestic animal, however, lived there
permanently, never leaving the Muni at any time. He was devoted to the sage
and exceedingly attached to him. Weak and emaciated with fasts, he subsisted
upon fruit and roots and water, and was tranquil and Of inoffensive aspect. Lying
at the feet of that high-souled Rishi as the latter sat, the dog, with a heart like that
of a human being, became exceedingly attached to him in consequence of the
affection with which he was treated. One day a leopard of great strength came
there, subsisting upon blood. Of a cruel disposition and always filled with delight
at the prospect of prey, the fierce animal looked like a second Yama. Licking the
corners of his mouth With the tongue, and lashing his tail furiously, the leopard
came there, hungry and thirsty, with wide open jaws, desirous of seizing the dog
as his prey. Beholding that fierce beast coming, O king, the dog, in fear of his life,
addressed the Muni in these words. Listen unto them, O monarch! „O holy one,
this leopard is a foe of the dogs. It wishes to slay me. O great sage, do thou act
in such a way that all my fears from this animal may be dispelled through thy
grace. O thou of mighty arms, without doubt thou art possessed of omniscience.‟
Acquainted with the thoughts of all creatures, the sage felt that the dog had
ample cause for fear. Possessed of the six attributes and capable of reading the
voices of all animals, the sage said the following words.‟
“The sage said, „Thou shalt have no fear of death from leopards any longer. Let
thy natural form disappear and be thou a leopard, O son!‟ At these words, the
dog was transformed into a leopard with skin bright as gold. With stripes on his
body and with large teeth, thenceforth he began to live in that forest fearlessly.
Meanwhile, the leopard, seeing before him an animal of his own species,
immediately forsook all feelings of animosity towards it. Some time after, there
came into the hermitage a fierce and hungry tiger with open mouth. Licking the
corners of his mouth with the tongue, and eagerly desirous of drinking blood, that
tiger began to approach towards the animal that had been transformed into a
leopard. Beholding the hungry tiger of terrible teeth approach that forest, the
(transformed) leopard sought the Rishi‟s protection for saving his life. The sage,
who showed great affection for the leopard in consequence of the latter‟s living in
the same place with him, forthwith transformed his leopard into a tiger powerful
for all foes. The tiger seeing a beast of his own species did him no injury, O king.
The dog, having in course of time been transformed into a powerful tiger
subsisting upon flesh and blood, abstained from his former food which had
consisted of fruit and roots. Indeed, from that time, O monarch, the transformed
tiger lived, subsisting upon the other animals of the forest, like a true king of
beasts.‟
SECTION CXVII
“Bhishma said, „The dog transformed into a tiger, gratified with the flesh of slain
beasts, slept at his ease. One day as he lay on the yard of the hermitage, an

infuriated elephant came there, looking like a risen cloud. Of huge stature, with
rent cheeks, having signs of the lotus on his body, and with broad frontal globes,
the animal had long tusks and a voice deep as that of the clouds. Beholding that
infuriated elephant, proud of his strength, approaching towards him, the tiger
agitated with fear, sought the protection of the Rishi. That best of sages
thereupon transformed the tiger into an elephant. The real elephant, seeing an
individual of his own species, huge as mass of clouds, became terrified. The
Rishi‟s elephant then, freckled with the dust of lotus filaments, dived delightfully
into lakes overgrown with lotuses and wandered by their banks indented with
rabbit holes. A considerable time elapsed in this way. One day as the elephant
was cheerfully striding along the vicinity of the hermitage, there came before him
unto that spot a maned lion born in a mountain cave and accustomed to slay
elephants. Beholding the lion coming, the Rishi‟s elephant, from fear of life,
began to tremble and sought the protection of the sage. The sage thereupon
transformed that prince of elephants into a lion. As the wild lion was an animal of
same species with himself, the Rishi‟s lion no longer feared him. On the other
hand, the wild lion seeing a stronger beast of his own species before him,
became terrified. The Rishi‟s lion began to dwell in that hermitage within the
forest. Through fear of that animal, the other animals no longer ventured to
approach the hermitage. Indeed, they all seemed to be inspired with fear about
the safety of their lives. Some time after one day, a slayer of all animals,
possessed of great strength inspiring all creatures with fright, having eight legs
and eyes on the forehead, viz., a Sarabha, came to that spot. Indeed he came to
that very hermitage for the object of slaying the Rishi‟s lion. Seeing this, the sage
transformed his lion into a Sarabha of great strength. The wild Sarabha,
beholding the Rishi‟s Sarabha before him to be fiercer and more powerful,
quickly fled away, from that forest. Having been thus transformed into a Sarabha
by the sage, the animal lived happily by the side of his transformer. All the
animals then that dwelt in the vicinity became inspired with the fear of that
Sarabha. Their fear and the desire of saving their lives led them all to fly away
from that forest. Filled with delight, the Sarabha continued every day to slay
animals for his food. Transformed into a carnivorous beast, he no longer affected
fruit and roots upon which he had formerly lived. One day that ungrateful beast
who had first been a dog but who was now transformed into a Sarabha, eagerly
thirsting for blood, wished to slay the sage. The latter, by ascetic power, saw it all
by his spiritual knowledge. Possessed of great wisdom, the sage, having
ascertained the intentions of the beast, addressed him in these words.‟
“The sage said, „O dog, thou wert first transformed into a leopard. From a leopard
thou wert then made a tiger. From a tiger thou wert next transformed into an
elephant with the temporal juice trickling down thy cheeks. Thy next
transformation was into a lion. From a mighty lion thou wert then transformed into
a Sarabha. Filled with affection for thee, it was I that transformed thee into these
diverse shapes. Thou didst not, and dost not, belong by birth, to any of those
species. Since, however, O sinful wretch, thou desirest to stay me who have
done thee no injury, thou shalt return to thy own species and be a dog again.‟
After this, that mean and foolish animal of wicked soul, transformed into a

Sarabha once more assumed, in consequence of the Rishi‟s curse, his own
proper form of a dog.‟”
SECTION CXVIII
“Bhishma said, „Having once more assumed his proper form, the dog became
very cheerless. The Rishi, reproving him, drove the sinful creature from his
hermitage. An intelligent king should, guided by this precedent, appoint servants,
each fit for the office assigned to him, and exercise proper supervision over
them, having first ascertained their qualifications in respect of truthfulness and
purity, sincerity, general disposition, knowledge of the scripture, conduct, birth,
self-restraint, compassion, strength, energy, dignity, and forgiveness. A king
should never take a minister without first having examined him. If a king gathers
round him persons of low birth, he can never be happy. A person of high birth,
even if persecuted without any fault by his royal master, never sets his heart, in
consequence of the respectability of his blood, upon injuring his master. An
individual, however, that is mean and of low birth, having obtained even great
affluence from his connection with some honest man, becomes an enemy of the
latter if only he is reproached in words.[351] A minister should be possessed of
high birth and strength; he should be forgiving and self-restrained, and have all
his sense under control; he should be free from the vice of rapacity, contented
with his just acquisitions, delighted with the prosperity of his master and friends,
conversant with the requirements of place and time, ever employed in attaching
men to himself or his master by doing good offices to them, always attentive to
his duties, desiring the good of his master, always heedful, faithful in the
discharge of his own duties., a thorough master of the art of war and peace,
conversant with the king‟s requirements in respect of the great aggregate of
three, beloved by both the citizens and the inhabitants of the provinces,
acquainted with all kinds of battle-array for piercing and breaking the enemy‟s
ranks, competent to inspire the forces of his master with cheerfulness and joy,
capable of reading signs and gestures, acquainted with all requirements in
respect of march, skilled in the art of training elephants, free from pride, confident
of his own powers, clever in the transaction of business, always doing what is
right, of righteous conduct, surrounded by righteous friends, of sweet speech,
possessed of agreeable features, capable of leading men, well-versed in policy,
possessed of accomplishments, energetic in action, active, possessed of
ingenuity, of a sweet temper, modest in address, patient, brave, rich, and
capable of adapting his measures to the requirement of place and time. That king
who succeeds in obtaining such a minister can never be humiliated or
overpowered by any one. Indeed, his kingdom gradually spreads over the earth
like the light of the moon. A king, again, who is conversant with the scriptures,
who regards righteousness to be superior to everything, who is always engaged
in protecting his subjects, and who is possessed of the following virtues, obtains
the love of all. He should be patient, forgiving, pure in conduct, severe when the
occasion requires it acquainted with the efficacy of exertion, respectful in his

behaviour towards all his seniors, possessed of a knowledge of the scriptures,
ready to listen to the instructions and counsels of those that are competent to
instruct and give counsel, capable of judging correctly amid different or opposite
courses of action suggested to him, intelligent, of a retentive memory, ready to
do what is just, self-restrained, always sweet-speeched, forgiving even unto
enemies, practising charity personally, possessed of faith, of agreeable features,
ready to extend the hand of succour to persons plunged in distress, possessed of
ministers that always seek his good, free from the fault of egoism, never without
a wife,[352] and undisposed to do anything with haste. He should always reward
his ministers when they achieve anything signal. He should love those that are
devoted to him. Avoiding idleness, he should always attract men to himself by
doing good to them. His face should always be cheerful. He should always be
attentive to the wants of his servants and never give way to wrath. He should,
besides, be magnanimous. Without lying aside the lord of chastisement, he
should wield it with propriety. He should make all men about him act righteously.
Having spies for his eyes, he should always supervise the concerns of his
subjects, and should be conversant in all matters connected with virtue and
wealth. A king that is possessed of these hundred qualifications earns the love of
all. Every ruler should strive to be such. The king should also, O monarch,
search for good warriors (to enlist in his army) that should all be possessed of the
necessary qualifications, for aiding him in protecting his kingdom. A king that
desires his own advancement should never disregard his army. That king whose
soldiers are brave in battle, grateful, and versed in the scriptures, whose army
consists of foot-soldiers conversant with the treatises on religion and duty, whose
elephant-warriors are fearless, whose car-warriors are skilled in their own mode
of fighting and well-versed in shooting arrows and in wielding other weapons,
succeeds in subjugating the whole earth. That king who is always employed in
attaching all men to himself, who is ready for exertion, who is rich in friends and
allies, becomes the foremost of rulers. A king who has succeeded in attaching all
men unto himself, may, O Bharata, with the aid of even a thousand horsemen of
courage, succeed in conquering the whole earth.‟”
SECTION CXIX
“Bhishma said, „That king who, guided by the lesson to be drawn from the story
of the dog, appoints his servants to offices for which each is fit, succeeds in
enjoying the happiness that is attached to sovereignty. A dog should not, with
honours, be placed in a position above that for which he is fit. If a dog be placed
above the situation which is fit for him, he becomes intoxicated with pride.
Ministers should be appointed to offices for which they are fit and should possess
such qualifications as are needed for their respective occupations. Appointments
on unfit persons are not at all approved. That king who confers on his servants
offices for which each is fit, succeeds, in consequence of such merit, to enjoy the
happiness attaching to sovereignty. A Sarabha should occupy the position of a
Sarabha; a lion should swell with the might of a lion; a tiger should be placed in

the position of a tiger; and a leopard should be placed as a leopard. Servants
should, according to the ordinance, be appointed to offices for which each is fit. If
thou wishest to achieve success, thou shouldst never appoint servants in
situations higher than what they deserve. That foolish king who, transgressing
precedent, appoints servants to offices for which they are not fit, fails to gratify
his people. A king that desires to possess accomplished servants should never
appoint persons that are destitute of intelligence, that are low-minded, that are
without wisdom, that are not masters of their senses, and that are not of high
birth. Men that are honest, possessed of high birth, brave, learned, destitute of
malice and envy, high-minded, pure in behaviour, and clever in the transaction of
business, deserve to be appointed as ministers. Persons that are possessed of
humility, ready in the performance of their duties, tranquil in disposition, pure in
mind, adorned with diverse other gifts of nature and are never the objects of
calumny in respect of the offices they hold should be the intimate associates of
the king. A lion should always make a companion of a lion. If one that is not a lion
becomes the companion of a lion, one earns all the advantages that belong to a
lion. That lion, however who, while engaged in discharging the duties of a lion,
has a pack of dogs only for his associates, never succeeds in consequence of
such companionship, in accomplishing those duties. Even thus, O ruler of men,
may a king succeed in subjugating the whole earth if he has for his ministers men
possessed of courage, wisdom, great learning, and high birth. O foremost of
royal masters, kings should never entertain a servant that is destitute of learning
and sincerity and wisdom and great wealth. These men that are devoted to the
services of their master are never slopped by any impediments. Kings should
always speak in soothing terms unto those servants that are always engaged in
doing good to their masters. Kings should always, with great care, look after their
treasuries. Indeed, kings have their roots in their treasuries. A king should always
seek to swell his treasury. Let thy barns, O king, be fitted with corn. And let their
keep be entrusted to honest servants. Do thou seek to increase thy wealth and
corn. Let thy servants, skilled in battle, be always attentive to their duties. It is
desirable that they should be skilful in the management of steeds. O delighter of
the Kurus, attend to the wants of thy kinsmen and friends. Be thou surrounded
with friends and relatives. Seek thou the good of thy city. By citing the precedent
of the dog I have instructed thee about the duties thou shouldst adopt towards
thy subjects. What further dost thou wish to hear?‟”
SECTION CXX
“Yudhishthira said, „Thou hast, O Bharata, discoursed upon the many duties of
king-craft that were observed and laid down in days of old by persons of ancient
times conversant with kingly duties. Thou hast, indeed, spoken in detail of those
duties as approved by the wise. Do thou, however, O bull of Bharata‟s race,
speak of them in such a way that one may succeed in retaining them in
memory.”[353]

“Bhishma said, „The protection of all creatures is regarded as the highest duty of
the Kshatriya. Listen now to me, O king, as to how the duty of protection is to be
exercised. A king conversant with his duties should assume many forms even as
the peacock puts forth plumes of diverse hues. Keenness, crookedness, truth,
and sincerity, are the qualities that should be present in him. With thorough
impartiality, he should practise the qualities of goodness if he is to earn felicity.
He must assume that particular hue or form which is beneficial in view of the
particular object which he seeks to accomplish.[354] A king who can assume
diverse forms succeeds in accomplishing even the most subtle objects. Dumb
like the peacock in autumn, he should conceal his counsel. He should speak
little, and the little he speaks should be sweet. He should be of good features and
well versed in the scriptures. He should always be heedful in respect of those
gates through which dangers may come and overtake him, like men taking care
of breaks in embankments through which the waters of large tanks may rush and
flood their fields and houses. He should seek the refuge of Brahmanas crowned
with ascetic success even as men seek the refuge or loudly rivers generated by
the rain-water collected within mountain lakes. That king who desires to amass
wealth should act like religious hypocrites in the matter of keeping a coronal
lock.[355] The king should always have the rod of chastisement uplifted in his
hands. He should always act heedfully (in the matter of levying his taxes) after
examining the incomes and expenses of his subjects like men repairing to a full-
grown palmyra for drawing its juice.[356] He should act equitably towards his
own subjects; cause the crops of his enemies to be crushed by the tread of his
cavalry, march against foes when his own wings have become strong; and
observe all the sources of his own weakness. He should proclaim the faults of his
foes; crush those that are their partisans; and collect wealth from outside like a
person plucking flowers from the woods. He should destroy those foremost of
monarchs that swell with might and stand with uplifted heads like mountains, by
seeking the shelter of unknown shades[357] and by ambuscades and sudden
attacks. Like the peacock in the season of rains, he should enter his nightly
quarters alone and unseen. Indeed, he should enjoy, after the manner of the
peacock, within his inner apartments, the companionship of his wives. He should
not put off his mail. He should himself protect his own self, and avoid the nets
spread out for him by the spies and secret agents of his foes. He should also win
over the affections of the spies of his enemies, but extirpate them when
opportunity occurs. Like the peacocks the king should kill his powerful and angry
foes of crooked policy, and destroy their force and drive them away from home.
The king should also like the peacock do what is good to him, and glean wisdom
from everywhere as they collect insects even from the forest. A wise and
peacock-like king should thus rule his kingdom and adopt a policy which is
beneficial to him. By exercising his own intelligence, he should settle what he is
to do. By consulting with others he should either abandon or confirm such
resolution. Aided by that intelligence which is sharpened by the scriptures, one
can settle his courses of action. In this consists the usefulness of the scriptures.
By practising the arts of conciliation, he should inspire confidence in the hearts of
his enemies. He should display his own strength. By judging of different courses

of action in his own mind he should, by exercising his own intelligence, arrive at
conclusions. The king should be well-versed in the arts of conciliatory policy, he
should be possessed of wisdom; and should be able to do what should be done
and avoid what should not. A person of wisdom and deep intelligence does not
stand in need of counsels or instruction. A wise man who is possessed of
intelligence like Vrihaspati, if he incurs obloquy, goon regains his disposition like
heated iron dipped in water. A king should accomplish all objects, of his own or of
others, according to the means laid down in the scriptures. A king conversant
with the ways of acquiring wealth should always employ in his acts such men as
are mild indisposition, possessed of wisdom and courage and great strength.
Beholding his servants employed in acts for which each is fit, the king should act
in conformity with all of them like the strings of a musical instrument, stretched to
proper tension, according with their intended notes. The king should do good to
all persons without transgressing the dictates of righteousness. That king stands
immovable as a hill whom everybody regards—„He is mine.‟ Having set himself
to the task of adjudicating between litigants, the king, without making any
difference between persons that are liked and those that are disliked by him,
should uphold justice. The king should appoint in all his offices such men as are
conversant with the characteristics of particular families, of the masses of the
people, and of different countries; as are mild in speech; as are of middle age; as
have no faults; as are devoted to good act; as are never heedless; as are free
from rapacity; as are possessed of learning and self-restraint; as are firm in virtue
and always prepared to uphold the interests of both virtue and profit. In this way,
having ascertained the course of actions and their final objects the king should
accomplish them heedfully; and instructed in all matters by his spies, he may live
in cheerfulness. The king who never gives way to wrath and joy without sufficient
cause, who supervises all his acts himself, and who looks after his income and
expenditure with his own eyes, succeeds in obtaining great wealth from the
earth. That king is said to be conversant with the duties of king-craft who rewards
his officers and subjects publicly (for any good they do), who chastises those that
deserve chastisement, who protects his own self, and who protects his kingdom
from every evil. Like the Sun shedding his rays upon everything below, the king
should always look after his kingdom himself, and aided by his intelligence he
should supervise all his spies and officers. The king should take wealth from his
subjects at the proper time. He should never proclaim what he does. Like an
intelligent man milking his cow every day, the king should milk his kingdom every
day. As the bee collects honey from flowers gradually, the king should draw
wealth gradually from his kingdom for storing it. Having kept apart a sufficient
portion, that which remains should be spent upon acquisition of religious merit
and the gratification of the desire for pleasure. That king who is acquainted with
duties and who is possessed of intelligence would never waste what has been
stored. The king should never disregard any wealth for its littleness; he should
never disregard foes for their powerlessness; he should, by exercising his own
intelligence, examine his own self; he should never repose confidence upon
persons destitute of intelligence. Steadiness, cleverness, self-restraint,
intelligence, health, patience, bravery, and attention to the requirements of time

and place,--these eight qualities lead to the increase of wealth, be it small or be it
much. A little fire, fed with clarified butter, may blaze forth into a conflagration. A
single seed may produce a thousand trees. A king, therefore, even when he
hears that his income and expenditure are great, should not disregard the
smaller items. A foe, whether he happens to be a child, a young man, or an aged
one, succeeds in staying a person who is heedless. An insignificant foe, when he
becomes powerful, may exterminate a king. A king, therefore, who is conversant
with the requirements of time is the foremost of all rulers. A foe, strong or weak,
guided by malice, may very soon destroy the fame of a king, obstruct the
acquisition of religious merit by him; and deprive him of even his energy.
Therefore, a king that is of regulated mind should never be heedless when he
has a foe. If a king possessed of intelligence desire affluence and victory, he
should, after surveying his expenditure, income, savings, and administration,
make either peace or war. For this reason the king should seek the aid of an
intelligent minister. Blazing intelligence weakens even a mighty person; by
intelligence may power that is growing be protected; a growing foe is weakened
by the aid of intelligence; therefore, every act that is undertaken conformably to
the dictates of intelligence is deserving of praise. A king possessed of patience
and without any fault, may, if he likes, obtain the fruition of all his wishes, with the
aid of even a small force. That king, however, who wishes to be surrounded by a
train of self-seeking flatterers,[358] never succeeds in winning even the smallest
benefit. For these reasons.. the king should act with mildness in taking wealth
from his subjects. If a king continually oppresses his people, he meets with
extinction like a flash of lightening that blazes forth only for a second. Learning,
penances, vast wealth, indeed, everything, can be earned by exertion. Exertion,
as it occurs in embodied creatures, is governed by intelligence. Exertion,
therefore, should be regarded as the foremost of all things. The human body is
the residence of many intelligent creatures of great energy, of Sakra, of Vishnu,
of Saraswati, and of other beings. A man of knowledge, therefore, should never
disregard the body.[359] A covetous man should be subjugated by constant gifts.
He that is covetous is never satiated with appropriating other people‟s wealth.
Every one, however, becomes covetous in the matter of enjoying happiness. If a
person, therefore, becomes destitute of wealth, he becomes destitute of virtue
and pleasure (which are objects attainable by wealth). A covetous man seeks to
appropriate the wealth, the enjoyments, the sons and daughters, and the
affluence of others. In covetous men every kind of fault may be seen. The king,
therefore, should never take a covetous man for his minister or officer. A king (in
the absence of proper agents) should despatch even a low person for
ascertaining the disposition and acts of foes. A ruler possessed of wisdom should
frustrate all the endeavours and objects of his enemies. That trustful and high-
born king who seeks instruction from learned and virtuous Brahmanas and who
is protected by his ministers, succeeds in keeping all his tributary chiefs under
proper control. O prince of men, I have briefly discoursed to thee of all the duties
laid down in the scriptures. Attend to them, aided by thy intelligence. That king
who, in obedience to his preceptor, attends to these, succeeds in ruling the
whole earth. That king who disregards the happiness that is derivable from policy

and seeks for that which chance may bring, never succeeds in enjoying the
happiness that attaches to sovereignty or in winning regions of bliss
hereafter.[360] A king that is heedful, by properly attending to the requirements of
war and peace, succeeds in slaying even such foes as are eminent for wealth,
worshipped for intelligence and good conduct, possessed of accomplishments,
brave in battle, and ready for exertion. The king should discover those means
which are furnished by different kinds of acts and measures. He should never
depend upon destiny. One that sees faults in faultless persons never succeeds in
winning prosperity and fame. When two friends engage in accomplishing one and
the same act, a wise man always applauds him among the two that takes upon
himself the heavier share of the work. Do thou practise these duties of kings that
I have told thee. Set thy heart upon the duty of protecting men. Thou mayst then
easily obtain the reward of virtue. All the regions of felicity hereafter are
dependent upon merit!‟”[361]
SECTION CXXI
“Yudhishthira said, „O grandsire, thou hast now finished thy discourse upon the
duties of kings. From what thou hast said it seems that Chastisement occupies a
high position and is the lord of everything for everything depends upon
Chastisement. It seems, O puissant one, that Chastisement, which is possessed
of great energy and which is present everywhere, is the foremost of all beings
among either gods and Rishis and high-souled Pitris and Yakshas and
Rakshasas and Pisachas and Sadhyas, or living beings in this world including
beasts and birds. Thou hast said that the entire universe, mobile and immobile,
including gods, Asuras, and men, may be seen to depend upon Chastisement. I
now desire, O bull of Bharata‟s race, to know truly who Chastisement is. Of what
kind is he? What is his form? What is his disposition? Of what is he made?
Whence is his origin? What are his features? What is his splendour? How does
he remain wakeful among living creatures so heedfully? Who is he that remains
eternally wakeful, protecting this universe? Who is he that is known to be the
foremost of all things? Who, indeed, is that high personage called Chastisement?
What is that upon which Chastisement depends? And what is his course?‟
“Bhishma said, „Listen, O descendent of Kuru, who Chastisement is and why he
is called also Vyavahara! That upon whom all things depend is called
Chastisement. Chastisement is that by which righteousness is kept up. He is
sometimes called Vyavahara. In order that the righteousness of a king that is
heedfully awake may not suffer extinction (Chastisement has come to be called
by that name). It is for this reason that the name Vyavahara becomes applicable
to it.[362] In olden days Manu, O king, declared first of all this truth, viz.,--„He who
protects all creatures, the loved and the odious equally, by impartially wielding
the lord of Chastisement, is said to be the embodiment of righteousness.‟—
These words that I have said were, O king first, uttered in days of old by Manu.
They represent the high words of Brahman. And because these words were

spoken first, therefore, they are known as the first words. And since it is by
Chastisement that the misappropriation of other people‟s possessions is stopped,
therefore Chastisement has come to be called by the name of Vyavahara. The
aggregate of three always rests on well applied Chastisement. Chastisement is a
great god. In form he looks like a blazing fire. His complexion is dark like that of
the petals of the blue lotus. He is equipt with four teeth, has four arms and eight
legs and many eyes. His cars are pointed like shafts and his hair stands upright.
He has matted locks and two tongues. His face has the hue of copper, and he is
clad in a lion‟s skin.[363] That irresistible deity assumes such a fierce shape.
Assuming again the form of the sword, the bow, the mace, the dart, the trident,
the mallet, the arrow, the thick and short club, the battle-axe, the discus, the
noose, the heavy bludgeon, the rapier, the lance, and in fact of every kind of
weapon that exists on earth. Chastisement moves in the world. Indeed,
Chastisement moves on earth, piercing and cutting and afflicting and lopping off
and dividing and striking and slaying and rushing against its victims. These, O
Yudhishthira, are some of the names which Chastisement bears, viz., Sword,
Sabre, Righteousness, Fury, the Irresistible, the Parent of prosperity, Victory,
Punisher, Checker, the Eternal, the Scriptures, Brahmana, Mantra, Avenger, the
Foremost of first Legislators, Judge, the Undecaying, God, the individual whose
course is irresistible, the Ever-agoing, the First. born, the individual without
affections, the Soul of Rudra, the eldest Manu and the great Benefactor
Chastisement is the holy Vishnu. He is the puissant Narayana. And because he
always assumes a terrible form, therefore he is called Mahapurusha. His wife
Morality is also known by the names of Brahmana‟s Daughter, Lakshmi, Vriti,
Saraswati, and Mother of the universe. Chastisement thus has many forms.
Blessings and curse, pleasure and pain, righteousness and unrighteousness,
strength and weakness, fortune and misfortune, merit and demerit, virtue and
vice, desire and aversion, season and month, night and day, and hour,
heedfulness and heedlessness, joy and anger, peace and self-restraint, destiny
and exertion, salvation and condemnation, fear and fearlessness, injury and
abstention from injury, penances and sacrifice and rigid abstinence, poison and
healthy food, the beginning, the middle, and the end, the result of all murderous
acts, insolence, insanity, arrogance, pride, patience, policy, impolicy,
powerlessness and power, respect, disrespect, decay and stability, humility,
charity, fitness of time and unfitness of time, falsehood, wisdom, truth, belief,
disbelief, impotence, trade, profit, loss, success, defeat, fierceness, mildness,
death, acquisition and non-acquisition, agreement and disagreement, that which
should be done and that which should not be done, strength and weakness,
malice and goodwill, righteousness and unrighteousness, shame and
shamelessness, modesty, prosperity and adversity, energy, acts, learning,
eloquence, keenness of Understanding,--all these, O Yudhishthira, are forms of
Chastisement in this world. Hence, Chastisement is exceedingly multiform. If
Chastisement had not existed, all creatures would have ground one another.
Through fear of Chastisement. O Yudhisthira, living creatures do not slay one
another. The subjects, O king, always protected by Chastisement, enhance the
might of their ruler. It is for this that Chastisement is regarded as the foremost

refuge of all. Chastisement, O king, quickly sets the world on the path of
righteousness. Dependent upon truth, righteousness exists in the Brahmanas.
Endued with righteousness, foremost of Brahmanas became attached to the
Vedas. From the Vedas the sacrifices flow. Sacrifices gratify the deities. The
deities, being gratified, commend the denizens of the earth to Indra. For
benefiting the denizens of the earth, Indra gives them food (in the form of rain
without which crops and vegetation would fail). The life of all creatures depends
upon food. From food creatures derive their support and growth. Chastisement
(in the form of the Kshatriya ruler) remains wakeful amongst them. For serving
this object, Chastisement assumes the form of a Kshatriya among men.
Protecting men, he remains awake, always heedful and never decaying.
Chastisement has again these other eight names, viz., God, Man, Life, Power,
Heart, the Lord of all creatures, the Soul of all things, and the Living creature.
God gave both affluence and the rod of chastisement to the king who is
possessed of strength (in the form of military forces) and who is a combination of
five ingredients.[364] Nobility of blood, ministers of great wealth, knowledge, the
different kinds of forces (such as strength of body, energy of mind, etc.), with the
eight objects mentioned below, and the other force (viz., that which depends
upon a well-filled treasury), should be sought for the king, O Yudhishthira. Those
eight objects are elephants, horses, cars, foot soldiers, boats, impressed
labourers (for following the camp and doing other work), increase of population,
and cattle (such as sheep, etc.). Of the army equipped in mail and with other
accoutrements, car-warriors, elephant-warriors, cavalry, Infantry, officers, and
surgeons constitute the limbs. Beggars, principal judges, astrologers, performers
of propitiatory and Atharvan rites, treasury, allies, grain, and all other requisites,
constitute the body, composed of seven attributes and eight limbs, of a kingdom.
Chastisement is another powerful limb of a kingdom. Chastisement (in the form
of an army) is the author of a kingdom. God himself has, with great care, sent
Chastisement for the use of the Kshatriya. This eternal universe is impartial
Chastisement‟s self. There is nothing more worthy of respect by kings than
Chastisement by which the ways of Righteousness are pointed out. Brahman
himself, for the protection of the world and for establishing the duties of different
individuals, sent down (or created) Chastisement. There is another kind of
Vyavahara arising out of the dispute of litigants which also has sprung from
Brahman. Principally characterised by a belief in either of the two parties, that
Vyavahara is seen to be productive of good. There is another kind of Vyavahara
which has the Veda for its soul. It is also said to have the Veda for its cause.
There is, O tiger, among kings, a (third) kind of Vyavahara which is connected
with family customs but which is consistent with the scriptures.[365] That
Vyavahara which has, as above, been said to be characterised by a belief in
either of two litigant parties, should be known by us as inhering in the king. It
should be also known by the name of Chastisement, as also by the name of
Evidence. Although Chastisement is seen to be regulated by Evidence, yet it has
been said to have its soul in Vyavahara. That which has been called Vyavahara
is really based upon Vedic precepts. That Vyavahara which has been indicated
to have the Vedas for its soul is Morality or duty. It is also productive of good unto

persons believing in duty and morality, men of cleansed souls have spoken of
that Vyavahara as they have done of ordinary law.[366] The third kind of
Vyavahara is also a preceptor of men, and it has also its roots in the Veda, O
Yudhishthira! It upholds the three worlds. It has Truth for its soul and it is
productive of prosperity. That which is Chastisement has been seen by us to be
eternal Vyavahara. That which has been said to be Vyavahara is verily the Veda.
That which is the Veda is morality, duty. That which is morality and duty is the
path of Righteousness. This last it was which in the beginning had been
Grandsire Brahman, that Lord of all creatures. Brahman is the Creator of the
entire universe with the gods and Asura and Rakshasas and human beings and
snakes, and of every other thing. Hence that Vyavahara which is characterised
by a belief in either of two litigant parties has also flowed from him. For this
reason He has laid down the following in respect of Vyavahara: Neither mother,
nor father, nor brother, nor wife, nor priest, is unpunishable with that king who
rules agreeably to his duty.
SECTION CXXII
“Bhishma said, „In this connection is cited the old story that follows.
There was among the Angas a king of great splendour, called Vasuhoma. That
king was always engaged in acts of piety, and accompanied by his spouse he
always practiced the most rigid penances. He repaired to the spot called
Munjaprishtha held in high esteem by the Pitris and the celestial Rishis. There,
on that peak of Himavat, near the golden mountains of Merit, (the great
Brahmana here) Rama, sitting under the shade of a well-known banian, had tied
his matted locks together.[367] From that time, O monarch, the spot, which is a
favourite haunt of Rudra, came to be called Munjaprishtha by Rishis of rigid
vows. King Vasuhoma, residing in that spot, acquired many pious attributes and,
having gained the esteem of the Brahmanas, came to be regarded as a celestial
Rishi in holiness. One day, that crusher of foes, that friend of Sakra, viz., king
Mandhatri of great soul, came to Vasuhoma on his mountain retreat. Arrived
there, Mandhatri, beholding king Vasuhoma of austere penances stood before
the latter in an attitude of humility. Vasuhoma offered unto his guest water to
wash his feet, and the Arghya consisting of the usual articles, and enquired of
him about the well-being or otherwise of his kingdom consisting of seven limbs.
After this, Vasuhoma addressed his royal guest who faithfully followed the
practices of the righteous men of old, saying, „What, O king, shall I do for thee?‟
Thus addressed, O delighter of the Kurus, Mandhatri, that best of kings, highly
gratified, answered Vasuhoma of great wisdom seated at his ease, in the
following words.‟
“Mandhatri said, „Thou hast, O king, studied all the doctrines of Vrihaspati. O best
of men, the doctrines laid down by Usanas also are known to thee. I desire to
know what is the origin of Chastisement. What was awake before Chastisement?
What also is said to be its end? How came Chastisement to depend upon the

Kshatriya? Tell me all this. O thou of great wisdom! I come to thee as a disciple
ready to give thee the tutorial fee.‟[368]
“Vasuhoma said, „Listen, O king, as to how Chastisement, that upholder of the
world, arose. The soul of righteousness, it is eternal, and was created for
maintaining the due government of all creatures. It hath been heard by us that
once upon a time, the Grandsire of all the worlds, viz., the divine Brahman
desiring to perform a sacrifice, failed to find a priest possessed of qualifications
like himself. For this reason he conceived in his brain and held the foetus there
for many long years. After a thousand years had passed away, the great god
sneezed. In that act, the foetus fell from his head. The divine being, O chastiser
of foes, that thus took birth from Brahman was called by the name of Kshupa.
Possessed of great powers, he became a lord of creatures. That Kshupa became
the priest, O king, in the sacrifice of the high-souled Grandsire. Upon the
commencement of that sacrifice, of Brahman, O best of kings. Chastisement
disappeared in consequence of the visible form that the Grandsire was then
obliged to assume.[369] Chastisement having disappeared, a great confusion set
in among all creatures. There was no longer any distinction between what should
be done and what should not. All distinction, again, between clean and unclean
food ceased. Men ceased to distinguish between what drink was allowable and
what drink was otherwise. All creatures began to injure one another. There were
no restraints in the matter of the union of the sexes. All idea of property ceased.
All creatures began to rob, and snatching meat from one another. The strong
began to slay the weak. Nobody cherished the slightest consideration for his
neighbour. The Grandsire then, having worshipped the divine and eternal Vishnu,
addressed that great boon-giving god, saying, „It behoveth thee, O Kesava, to
show mercy on the present occasion. Let it be so ordained by thee that the
confusion that has occurred may disappear.‟ Thus addressed, that foremost of
deities, armed with an enormous Sula,[370] having reflected long, created his
ownself into the form of Chastisement. From that form, having Righteousness for
its legs, the goddess Saraswati created Danda-niti (Science of Chastisement)
which very soon became celebrated over the world. After this the great god
armed with the enormous Sula, having again reflected for some time, appointed
a few among the gods as the lords or rulers of their respective classes. It was
then that he made the divine Indra of a thousand eyes the ruler of the deities.
Yama the son of Vivaswat was made the lord of the Pitris. Kuvera was made the
lord of treasures and of all the Rakshasas. Meru was made the king of the
mountains, and Ocean was made the lord of the rivers. The puissant Varuna was
installed into the sovereignty of the waters and the Asuras. Death was made the
lord of life and all living things, and Fire was appointed as the lord of all things
possessed of energy. The puissant Isana the high-souled and eternal Mahadeva,
of three eyes, was made the lord of the Rudras. Vasishtha was made the lord of
the Brahmanas, and Jatavedas was made the chief of the Vasus. Surya was
made the lord of all luminous bodies, and Chandramas was made the king of
Stars and constellations. Ansumat was made the lord of all herbs, and the
puissant and foremost of deities, viz., Kumara or Skanda, of twelve arms, was
made the chief of all the spirits and ghostly beings (that wait upon Mahadeva).

Time, possessing the seeds of both destruction and growth, was made the
sovereign of all creatures as also of the four portions of Death (viz., weapons,
diseases, Yama, and acts) and lastly of grief and joy. The Srutis declare that the
supreme god Mahadeva, that lord of lords, O king, armed with Sula, is the chief
of the Rudras. The rod of chastisement was given to Brahmana‟s son of
subsequent birth, viz., Kshupa, that lord of all creatures and the foremost one of
all virtuous persons. Upon the completion of that sacrifice according to due rites,
Mahadeva, after doing proper reverence made over Chastisement, that protector
of Righteousness, unto Vishnu.[371] Vishnu gave it to Angiras; and Angiras, that
foremost of ascetics, made it over to Indra and Marichi. Marichi gave it to Bhrigu.
Bhrigu gave that rod intended for the protection of righteousness, unto all the
Rishis. The Rishis gave it unto the Regents of the world, and the Regents made
it over again to Kshupa. Kshupa then made it over to Manu the son of Surya. The
deity of Sraddhas (viz., Manu), gave it unto his sons for the sake of true
righteousness and wealth. Chastisement should be inflicted with discrimination,
guided by righteousness and not by caprice. It is intended for restraining the
wicked. Fines and forfeitures are intended for striking alarm, and not for filling the
king‟s treasury. The maiming of one‟s body or the infliction of death should not
proceed from trivial causes. The infliction of physical pain by diverse means,
hurling from tops of mountains, and banishment also, should not proceed from
similar causes. Surya‟s son Manu gave the rod of chastisement (to his sons) for
the protection of the world. Chastisement, in the hands of successive holders,
remains awake, protecting all creatures. At the top of the scale, the divine Indra
is awake (with the rod of chastisement); after him, Agni of blazing flames; after
him, Varuna; after Varuna, Prajapati; after Prajapati, Righteousness whose
essence consists of restraint,[372] after Righteousness the son of Brahman, viz.,
the eternal Law; after Law, Energy is awake, employed in the act of protection;
after Energy, the herbs (offered in sacrifices for supporting the gods and used as
food and medicines); after the herbs, the mountains; after the mountains, all
kinds of juices and their attributes; after these, the goddess Niriti; after Niriti, the
planets and the luminous bodies in heaven; after these, the Vedas; after the
Vedas, the puissant form of Vishnu with equine head; after him, the almighty and
eternal Grandsire, viz., Brahman; after the Grandsire, the divine and blessed
Mahadeva; after Mahadeva, the Viswedevas; after them, the great Rishis; after
the Rishis the divine Soma; after Soma, the deities who are all eternal; after the
deities, know that the Brahmanas are awake. After the Brahmanas, the
Kshatriyas are righteously protecting all creatures. The eternal universe,
consisting of mobile and immobile creatures, is kept awake by the Kshatriyas.
Creatures are kept awake in this world, and Chastisement is awake among them.
Possessed of splendour resembling that of the Grandsire himself, Chastisement
keeps together and upholds everything.[373] Time, O Bharata, is always awake,
in the beginning, the middle, and the end. The master of all the worlds, the lord of
all creatures, the puissant and blessed Mahadeva, the god of gods, is always
awake. He is called by these names also, viz., Kapardin, Sankara, Rudra, Bhava,
Sthanu and the lord of Uma. Thus Chastisement also keeps awake in the

beginning, the middle, and the end. A virtuous king should rule properly, guided
by Chastisement.‟
“Bhishma continued, „That person who listens to this teaching of Vasuhoma, and
having listened to it conducts himself according to its tenure, is sure to obtain the
fruition of all his wishes. I have now, O bull among men, told thee everything as
to who Chastisement is, that restrainer of the universe which is governed by
righteousness.‟”
SECTION CXXIII
“Yudhishthira said, „I wish, O sire, to hear the settled conclusions on the subject
of Virtue, Wealth, and Pleasure. Depending upon which of these does the course
of life proceed? What are the respective roots of Virtue, Wealth, and Pleasure?
What are again the results of those three? They are sometimes see n to mingle
with one another, and sometimes to exist separately and independently of one
another.‟
“Bhishma said, „When men in this world endeavour with good hearts to achieve
Wealth with the aid of Virtue, then those three, viz., Virtue, Wealth, and Pleasure,
may be seen to co-exist in a state of union in respect of time, cause, and
action.[374] Wealth has its root in Virtue, and Pleasure is said to be the fruit of
Wealth. All the three again have their root in Will. Will is concerned with objects.
All objects, again, in their entirety, exist for gratifying the desire of enjoyment.
Upon these then does the aggregate of three depend. Entire abstraction from all
objects is Emancipation. It is said that Virtue is sought for the protection of the
body, and Wealth is for the acquisition of Virtue. Pleasure is only the gratification
of the senses. All the three have, therefore, the quality of Passion.[375] Virtue,
Wealth, and Pleasure, when sought for the sake of heaven or such other
rewards, are said to be remote because the rewards themselves are remote.
When sought, however, for the sake of Knowledge of Self, they are said to be
proximate. One should seek them when they are of such a character.[376] One
should not cast them off even mentally. If Virtue, Wealth, and Pleasure are to be
abandoned, one should abandon them when one has freed one‟s self by ascetic
penances.[377] The aim of the triple aggregate is towards emancipation. Would
that man could obtain it! One‟s acts, undertaken and completed with eve tithe aid
of intelligence may or may not lead to the expected results. Virtue is not always
the root of Wealth, for other things than Virtue lead to Wealth (such as service,
agriculture, &c). There is again a contrary opinion (for some say that Wealth is
earned through chance or birth or like causes). In some instances, Wealth
acquired has been productive of evil. Other things again that Wealth (such as
fasts and vows) have led to the acquisition of Virtue. As regards this topic,
therefore, a dullard whose understanding has been debased by ignorance, never
succeeds in acquiring the highest aim of Virtue and Wealth, viz., Emancipation.
Virtue‟s dross consists in the desire of reward; the dross of Wealth consists in
hoarding it; when purged of these impurities, they are productive of great results.

In this connection is cited the narrative of the discourse that look place in days of
old between Kamandaka and Angaristha. One day, king Angaristha, having
waited for the opportunity, saluted the Rishi Kamandaka as he was seated at his
ease and asked him the following questions, „If a king, forced by lust and folly,
commits sin for which he afterwards repents, by what acts, O Rishi, can those
sins be destroyed? If again a man impelled by ignorance, does what is sinful in
the belief that he is acting righteously, how shall the king put a stop to that sin
come into vogue among men?‟
“Kamandaka said, „That man who, abandoning Virtue and Wealth pursues only
Pleasure, reaps as the consequence of such conduct the destruction of his
intelligence. The destruction of intelligence is followed by heedlessness that is at
once destructive of both Virtue and Wealth. From such heedlessness proceed
dire atheism and systematic wickedness of conduct. If the king does not restrain
those wicked men of sinful conduct, all good subjects then live in fear of him like
the inmate of a room within which a snake has concealed itself. The subjects do
not follow such a king. Brahmanas and all pious persons also act in the same
way. As a consequence the king incurs great danger, and ultimately the risk of
destruction itself. Overtaken by infamy and insult, he has to drag on a miserable
existence. A life of infamy, however, is equal to death. Men learned in the
scriptures have indicated the following means for checking sin. The king should
always devote himself to the study of the three Vedas. He should respect the
Brahmanas and do good offices unto them. He should be devoted to
righteousness. He should make alliance (of marriage) with high families. He
should wait upon high-minded Brahmanas adorned with the virtue of forgiveness.
He should perform ablutions and recite sacred mantras and thus pass his time
happily. Banishing all wicked subjects from himself and his kingdom, he should
seek the companionship of virtuous men. He should gratify all persons by
speeches or good acts. He should say unto all—„I am yours,‟—proclaim the
virtues of even his foes. By pursuing such conduct he may soon cleanse himself
of his sins and win the high regard of all. Without doubt, by conduct such as this
all his sins will be destroyed. Thou shouldst accomplish all those high duties
which thy seniors and preceptors would indicate. Thou art sure to obtain great
blessing through the grace of thy seniors and preceptors.‟”
SECTION CXXIV
“Yudhishthira said, „All persons on earth, O foremost of men, applaud virtuous
behaviour. I have, however, great doubts with respect to this object of their
praise. If the topic be capable of being understood by us, O foremost of virtuous
men, I desire to hear everything about the way in which virtuous behaviour can
be acquired. How indeed, is that behaviour acquired, O Bharata! I desire to hear
it. Tell me also, O foremost of speakers, what has been said to be the
characteristics of that behaviour.‟

“Bhishma said, Formerly, O giver of honours, Duryodhana while burning with
grief at sight of that well-known prosperity belonging to thee and thy brothers at
Indraprastha and for the jeers he received in consequence of his mistakes at the
grand mansion, had asked his father Dhritarashtra the same question. Listen to
what transpired on that occasion, O Bharata! Having seen that grand mansion of
thine and that high prosperity of which thou wert master, Duryodhana, while
sitting before his father, spake of what he had seen to the latter. Having heard
the words of Duryodhana, Dhritarashtra, addressing his son and Karna, replied
unto him as follows.
Dhritarashtra said, „Why dost thou grieve, O son! I desire to hear the cause in
detail. If after ascertaining the reason they appear to be adequate, I shall then
endeavour to instruct thee. O subjugator of hostile towns, thou too hast obtained
great affluence. All thy brothers are ever obedient to thee, as also all thy friends
and relatives. Thou coverest thy limbs with the best robes. Thou eatest the
richest food.[378] Steeds of the best kind bear thee. Why then hast thou become
pale and emaciated?‟
Duryodhana said, „Ten thousands of high-souled Snataka Brahmanas daily eat at
Yudhishthira‟s palace off plates of gold. Beholding his excellent mansion adorned
with excellent flowers and fruit, his steeds of the Tittiri and the Kalmasha breeds,
his robes of diverse kinds, indeed, beholding that high prosperity of my enemies
viz., the sons of Pandu, a prosperity that resembles the high affluence of
Vaisravana himself, I am burning with grief, O Bharata!‟
Dhritarashtra said, „If thou wishest, O sire, to win prosperity like that of
Yudhishthira or that which is even superior to it, do thou then, O son, endeavour
to be of virtuous behaviour. Without doubt, one may, by behaviour alone,
conquer the three worlds. There is nothing impossible of attainment by persons
of virtuous behaviour. Mandhatri conquered the whole world in course of only
one night, Janamejaya, in course of three; and Nabhaga, in course of seven. All
these kings were possessed of compassion and of virtuous behaviour. For this
reason the earth came to them of their own accord, won over by their virtue.
“Duryodhana said, „I desire to hear, O Bharata, how that behaviour may be
acquired, that behaviour, viz., in consequence of which the earth was won so
speedily (by the kings named by thee).
“‟Dhritarashtra said, „In this connection, the following old narrative is cited. It was
formerly recited by Narada on the subject of virtuous behaviour. In days of yore,
the Daitya Prahlada, by the merit of his behaviour, snatched from the high-souled
Indra his sovereignty and reduced the three worlds to subjection. Sukra then,
with joined hands, approached Vrihaspati. Possessed of great wisdom, the chief
of the celestials addressed the great preceptor, saying, „I desire thee to tell me
what is the source of felicity. Thus addressed, Vrihaspati said unto him that
Knowledge (leading to emancipation) is the source of the highest felicity. Indeed,
Vrihaspati indicated Knowledge to be the source of supreme felicity. Indra,
however, once more asked him as to whether there was anything higher than
that.

“Vrihaspati said, „There is something, O son, that is still higher. The high-souled
Bhargava (Usanas) will instruct thee better. Repair to him, blessed be thou, and
enquire of him, O chief of the celestials!‟ Possessed of great ascetic merit and
endued with great splendour, the chief of the celestials then repaired to Bhargava
and obtained from him with a ratified heart, a knowledge of what was for his great
good. Obtaining the permission of the high-souled Bhargava, the performer of a
hundred sacrifices once more asked the sage as to whether there was anything
higher (as the means for the acquisition of felicity) than what the sage had
already told him. The omniscient Bhargava said, „The high-souled Prahlada has
better knowledge.‟ Learning this, Indra became highly delighted. The chastiser of
Paka, possessed of great intelligence, assumed the form of a Brahmana, and
repairing to Prahlada, asked him, saying, „I desire to hear what conduces to
felicity. Prahlada answered the Brahmana, saying, „O chief of regenerate ones, I
have no time, being wholly occupied in the task of ruling the three worlds, I
cannot, therefore, instruct thee.‟ The Brahmana said, „O king, when thou mayst
have leisure, I desire to listen to thy instructions about what course of conduct is
productive of good. At this answer, king Prahlada. became delighted with that
utterer of Brahma. Saying, „So be it!‟ he availed of a favourable opportunity for
imparting to the Brahmana the truths of knowledge. The Brahma na duly
observed towards Prahlada the conduct which a disciple should observe towards
his preceptor, and began with his whole heart to do what Prahlada desired. Many
a time the Brahmana enquired, saying, „O chastiser of foes, by what means hast
thou been able to win the sovereignty of the three worlds? Tell me, O righteous
king, „What those means are.‟ Prahlada, O monarch, answered the question the
Brahmana asked.
“Prahlada said, „I do not, O regenerate one, feel any pride in consequence of my
being a king, nor do I cherish any hostile feelings towards the Brahmanas. On
the other hand, I accept and follow the counsels of policy they declare unto Me
based upon the teachings of Sukra. In complete trustfulness they say unto me
what they wish to say, and restrain me from courses that are unrighteous or
improper. I am ever obedient to the teachings of Sukra. I wait upon and serve the
Brahmanas and my seniors. I bear no malice. I am of righteous soul. I have
conquered wrath. I am self-restrained, and all my senses are under my control.
These regenerate ones that are my instructors pour beneficial instructions upon
me like bees dropping honey into the cells of their comb. I taste the nectar
dropped by those learned men, and like the Moon among the constellations I live
among the members of my race.[379] Even this is nectar on earth, even this is
the clearest eye, viz., listening to the teaching of Sukra from the lips of
Brahmanas and acting according to them. In these consists the good of a man.‟
Thus said Prahlada unto that utterer of Brahma. Served dutifully by him, the chief
of the Daityas once more said, „O foremost of regenerate ones, I am exceedingly
gratified with thee in consequence of thy dutiful behaviour towards me. Ask of
me the boon thou desirest, blessed be thou, for verily I shall grant thee what thou
wilt ask. The Brahmana answered the chief of the Daityas saying, „Very well. I
will obey thee.‟ Prahlada, gratified with him, said, „Take what thou wishest.‟

“The Brahmana said, „If, the king, thou hast been gratified with me and if thou
wishest to do what is agreeable to me, I desire then to acquire thy behaviour.
Even this is the boon that I solicit.[380] At this, though delighted, Prahlada
became filled with a great fear. Indeed, when this boon was indicated by the
Brahmana, the Daitya chief thought the solicitor could not be a person of ordinary
energy. Wondering much, Prahlada at last said, „Let it be so.‟ Having, however,
granted the boon, the Daitya chief became filled with grief. The Brahmana,
having received the boon, went away, but Prahlada, O king, became penetrated
by a deep anxiety and knew not what to do. While the Daitya chief sat brooding
over the matter, a flame of light issued out of his body. It had a shadowy form of
great splendour and huge proportions. Prahlada asked the form, saying, „Who art
thou?‟ The form answered, saying, „I am the embodiment of thy Behaviour. Cast
off by thee I am going away. I shall henceforth, O king, dwell in that faultless and
foremost of Brahmanas who had become thy devoted disciple.‟ Having said
these words, the form disappeared and soon after entered the body of Sakra.
After the disappearance of that form, another of similar shape issued out of
Prahlada‟s body. The Daitya chief addressed it, saying, „Who art thou?‟ The form
answered, saying, „Know me, O Prahlada, for the embodiment of Righteousness.
I shall go there where that foremost of Brahmanas is, for, O chief of the Daityas, I
reside there where Behaviour dwells.‟ Upon the disappearance of
Righteousness, a third form, O monarch, blazing with splendour, issued out of
the body of the high souled Prahlada. Asked by Prahlada as to who he was, that
form possessed of great effulgence answered, saying, „Know, O chief of the
Daityas, that I am Truth. I shall leave thee, following the way of Righteousness.‟
After Truth had left Prahlada, following in the wake of Righteousness, another
great person issued out of Prahlada‟s body. Asked by the Daityas king, the
mighty being answered, „I am the embodiment of Good deeds. Know, O
Prahlada, that 1 live there where Truth lives.‟ After this one had left Prahlada,
another being came out, uttering loud and deep cries. Addressed by Prahlada,
he answered, „Know that I am Might. I dwell there where Good deeds are.‟
„Having said these words, Might went away to that place whither Good deeds
had gone. After this, a goddess of great effulgence issued out of Prahlada‟s
body. The Daitya chief asked her and she answered him saying that she was the
embodiment of Prosperity, adding, „I dwelt in thee, O hero, O thou of prowess
incapable of being baffled! Cast off by thee, I shall follow in the wake of Might.‟
The high-souled Prahlada, penetrated, with great fear, once more asked the
goddess, saying, „Where dost thou go, O goddess, O thou that dwellest amid
lotuses? Thou art ever devoted to truth, O goddess, and thou art the first of
deities. Who is that foremost of Brahmanas (who was my disciple)? I desire to
know the truth.‟
The goddess of Prosperity said, „Devoted to the vow of Brahmacharya, that
Brahmana who was instructed by thee was Sukra. O puissant one, he robbed
thee of that sovereignty which thou hadst over the three worlds. O righteous one,
it was by thy behaviour that thou hadst reduced the three worlds to subjection.
Knowing this, the chief of the celestials robbed thee of thy behaviour.

Righteousness and Truth and Good deeds and Might and myself, O thou of great
wisdom, all have our root verily in Behaviour.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Having said these words, the goddess of Prosperity went
away, as also all the rest, O Yudhishthira! Duryodhana, once more addressing
his father, said these words: „O delighter of the Kurus, I wish to know the truth
about Behaviour. Tell me the means by which it may be acquired.‟
“Dhritarashtra said, „Those means were indicated by the high-souled Prahlada
while discoursing unto Indra. Listen, however, O ruler of men, as how in brief
Behaviour may be acquired. Abstention from injury, by act, thought, and word, in
respect of all creatures, compassion, and gift, constitute behaviour that is worthy
of praise. That act or exertion by which others are not benefited, or that act in
consequence of which one has to feel shame, should never be done. That act,
on the other hand, should be done in consequence of which o tie may win praise
in society. O best of the Kurus, I have now told thee in brief as to what Behaviour
is. If O king, persons of wicked behaviour do ever win prosperity, they do not
enjoy it long, O son, and are seen to be exterminated by the root.‟
“Dhritarashtra continued, „Knowing all this truly, do thou, O son, be of good
behaviour, if thou desirest to obtain prosperity greater than that of Yudhishthira.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Even this was what king Dhritarashtra said unto his son. Do
thou act according, to these instructions, O son of Kunti, and thou wilt then surely
obtain their fruit.‟”
SECTION CXXV
“Yudhishthira said, „Thou hast said, O grandsire, that behaviour is the first (of
requisites for a man). Whence, however, does Hope arise? Tell me what it is.
This great doubt has taken possession of my mind. There is no other person than
thee, O subjugator of hostile towns, who can remove it. O grandsire, I had great
hope in respect of Suyodhana that when, a battle was about to ensue (in
consequence of his own obstinacy), he would, O lord, do what was proper. In
every man hope is great. When that hope is destroyed, great is the grief that
succeeds, and which, without doubt, is equal to almost death itself. Fool that I
am, Dhritarashtra‟s wicked-souled son, Duryodhana, destroyed the hope I had
cherished. Behold, O king, the foolishness of my mind! I think that hope is vaster
than a mountain with all its trees. Or, perhaps, it is vaster than the firmament
itself. Or, perhaps, O king, it is really immeasurable. Hope, O chief of the Kurus,
is exceedingly difficult of being understood and equally difficult of being subdued.
Beholding this last attribute of Hope, I ask, what else is so unconquerable as
this?‟
“Bhishma said, „I shall narrate to thee, O Yudhishthira, in this connection, the
discourse between Sumitra and Rishabha that took place in olden times. Listen
to it. A royal sage of the Haihaya race, Sumitra by name, went out a hunting. He
pursued a deer, having pierced it with a straight shaft. Possessed of great

strength, the deer ran ahead, with the arrow sticking to him. The king was
possessed of great strength, and accordingly pursued with great speed his prey.
The animal, endued with fleetness, quickly cleared a low ground and then a level
plain. The king, young, active and strong, and armed with bow and sword and
cased in mail, still pursued it. Unaccompanied by anybody, in chasing the animal
through the forest the king crossed many rivers and streams and lakes and
copses. Endued with great speed, the animal, at its will, showing itself now and
then to the king, ran on with great speed. Pierced with many shafts by the king,
that denizen of wilderness, O monarch, as if in sport, repeatedly lessened the
distance between itself and the pursuer. Repeatedly putting forth its speed and
traversing one forest after another, it now and then showed itself to the king at a
near point. At last that crusher of foes, taking a very superior shaft, sharp,
terrible, and capable of penetrating into the very vitals, fixed it on his bowstring.
The animal then, of huge proportions, as if laughing at the pursuer‟s efforts
suddenly distanced him by reaching a point full four miles ahead of the range of
the shaft. That arrow of blazing splendour accordingly fell on the ground. The
deer entered a large forest but the king still continued the chase.‟”
SECTION CXXVI
“Bhishma said, „The king, having entered that large forest, came upon an asylum
of ascetics. Fatigued with the toil he had undergone, he sat himself down for rest.
Beholding him armed with bow, worn out with toil, and hungry, the ascetics
approached him and honoured him in due form. Accepting the honours offered
by the Rishis, the king enquired of them about the progress and advancement of
their penances. Having duly answered the enquiries of the king, those Rishis
endued with wealth of asceticism asked that tiger among rulers about the reason
that led his steps to that retreat. And they said, „Blessed be thou, in pursuit of
what delightful object hast thou, O king, come to this asylum, walking on foot and
armed with sword and bow and arrows? We wish to hear whence thou art
coming, O giver of honours. Tell us also in what race thou art born and what thy
name is.‟ Thus addressed, O bull among men, the king proceeded to duly give
unto all those Brahmanas an account of himself, O Bharata, saying, „I am born in
the race of the Haihayas. By name I am Sumitra, and I am the son of Mitra. I
chase herds of deer, slaying them in thousands with my arrows. Accompanied by
a large force and my ministers and the ladies of my household, I came out on a
hunting expedition. I pierced a deer with an arrow, but the animal with the shaft
sticking to his body ran with great speed. In chasing it I have, without a set
purpose, arrived at this forest and find myself in your presence, shorn of
splendour, toil-worn, and with hope disappointed. What can be more pitiable than
this, viz., that I have arrived at this asylum, spent with fatigue, shorn of the signs
of royalty, and disappointed of my hopes. I am not at all sorry, ye ascetics, at my
being now shorn of the signs of royalty or at my being now at a distance from my
capital. I feel, however, a poignant grief in consequence of my hope having been
disappointed. The prince of mountains, viz., Himavat, and that vast receptacle of

waters, viz., the ocean, cannot, for its vastness, measure the extent of the
firmament. Ye ascetics, similarly, I also cannot discern the limit of hope. Ye that
are endued with wealth of penances are omniscient. There is nothing unknown to
you. You are also highly blessed. I therefore, solicit you for resolving my doubt.
Hope as cherished by man, and the wide firmament, which of these two appears
vaster to you? I desire to hear in detail what is so unconquerable to hope. If the
topic be one upon which it is not improper for ye to discourse, then tell me all
about it without delay. I do not wish, ye foremost of regenerate ones, to hear
anything from You that may be a mystery improper to discourse upon. If again
the discourse be injurious to your penances, I would not wish you to speak. If the
question asked by me be a worthy topic of discourse, I would then wish to hear
the cause in detail. Devoted to penances as ye are, do ye all instruct me on the
subject.‟”
SECTION CXXVII
“Bhishma said, „Then that best of Rishis, viz., the regenerate Rishabha, sitting in
the midst of all those Rishis, smiled a little and said these words: „Formerly, O
tiger among kings, while travelling among sacred places, I arrived, O lord, at the
beautiful asylum of Nara and Narayana. There lies the delightful spot called
Vadri, and there also is that lake in the firmament (whence the sacred Ganga
takes her rise).[381] There the sage Aswasiras, O king, (always) reads the
eternal Vedas. Having performed my ablutions in that lake and offered with due
rites oblations of water unto the Pitris and the dogs, I entered the asylum. Within
that retreat the Rishis Nara and Narayana always pass their time in true
pleasure.[382] Not far from that spot I repaired to another retreat for taking up my
abode. While seated there I beheld a very tall and emaciated Rishi, clad in rags
and skins, approaching towards me. Possessed of the wealth of penances, he
was named Tanu. Compared, O mighty-armed one, with other men, his height
seemed to be eight times greater. As regards his leanness, O royal sage, I can
say that I have never beheld its like. His body, O king, was as thin as one‟s little
finger. His neck and arms and legs and hair were all of extra-ordinary aspect. His
head was proportionate to his body, and his cars and eyes also were the same.
His speech, O best of kings, and his movements were exceedingly feeble.
Beholding that exceedingly emaciated Brahmana I became very cheerless and
frightened. Saluting his feet, I stood before him with joined hands. Having
informed him of my name and family, and having told him also the name of my
father, O bull among men, I slowly sat myself down on a seat that was indicated
by him. Then, O monarch, that foremost of virtuous men, viz., Tanu, began to
discourse in the midst of the Rishis dwelling in that asylum upon topics
connected with Righteousness and Profit. While engaged in discourse, a king,
possessed of eyes like lotus petals and accompanied by his forces and the ladies
of his household, came to that spot on a car drawn by fleet steeds. The name of
that king was Viradyumna. Of handsome features, he was possessed of great
fame. His son‟s name was Bhuridyumna. The child had been missing, and the

sire, exceedingly cheerless, came there in course of his wanderings amid the
forest in pursuit of the missing one. „I shall find my son here!‟ „I shall find my son
here!‟ Dragged on by hope in this way, the king wandered through that forest in
those days. Addressing the emaciated Rishi he said, „Without doubt that highly
virtuous son of mine is exceedingly difficult to be traced by me. Alas he was my
only child. He is lost and can nowhere be found! Though incapable of being
found out, my hope, however, of finding him is very great. Filled with that hope
(which is being constantly disappointed), I am verily on the point of death.‟
Hearing these words of the king, that foremost of Munis, viz., the holy Tanu,
remained for a short while with head hanging down and himself buried in
contemplation. Beholding him buried in contemplation, the king became
exceedingly cheerless. In great grief he began to say slowly and softly, „What, O
celestial Rishi, is unconquerable and what is greater than hope? O holy one, tell
me this if I may hear it without impropriety.‟
“The Muni said, „A holy and great Rishi had been insulted by thy son. He had
done it through ill-luck, moved by his foolish understanding. The Rishi had asked
thy son for a golden jar and vegetable barks. Thy son contemptuously refused to
gratify the ascetic. Thus treated by thy son, the great sage became disappointed.
Thus addressed, the king worshipped that ascetic who was worshipped by all the
world. Of virtuous soul, Viradyumna sat there, spent with fatigue even as thou, O
best of men, now art. The great Rishi, in return, offered the king according to the
rites observed by the dwellers of the forests water to wash his feet and the usual
ingredients that make up the Arghya. Then all the Rishis, O tiger among kings,
sat there, surrounding that bull among men like the stars of the constellation of
Ursa Major surrounding the Pole star. And they asked the unvanquished king as
to the cause of his arrival at that asylum.‟”
SECTION CXXVIII
“The king said, „I am a king called by the name of Viradyumna. My fame has
spread in all directions. My son Bhuridyumna hath been lost. It is in quest of him
that I have come to this forest. Ye foremost of Brahmanas, that child was my only
son and, ye sinless ones, he is of very tender years. He cannot, however, be
found here. I am wandering everywhere for finding him out.‟
“Rishabha continued, „After the king had said these words, the ascetic Tanu hung
down his head. He remained perfectly silent, without uttering a single word in
answer. In former days that Brahmana had not been much honoured by the king.
In disappointment, O monarch, he had for that reason practised austere
penances for a longtime, resolving in his mind that he should never accept
anything in gift from either kings or members of any other order. And he said to
himself, „Hope agitates every man of foolish understanding. I shall drive away
hope from my mind.‟ Even such had been his determination. Viradyumna once
more questioned that foremost of ascetics in these words:

“The king said, „What is the measure of the thinness of Hope? What on earth is
exceedingly difficult of acquisition? Tell me this, O holy one, for thou art well
conversant with morality and profit.”
“Rishabha continued, „Himself recollecting all the past incidents (about his own
disregard at the hands of the king) and calling them back to the recollection of
the king also, that holy Brahmana of emaciated body addressed the king and
said the following words:
“The sage said, „There is nothing, O king, that equals Hope in slenderness. I had
solicited many kings and found that nothing is so difficult of acquisition as an
image that Hope sets before the mind.‟
“The king said, „At thy words, O Brahmana, I understand what is slender and
what is not so.[383] I understand also how difficult of acquisition are the images
set by Hope before the mind. I regard these words of thine as utterances of Sruti.
O thou of great wisdom, one doubt, however, has arisen in my-mind. It behoveth
thee, O sage, to explain it in detail unto me that ask thee. What is more slender
than thy body? Tell me this, O holy one, if, of course, O best of sages, the topic
be one which may be discoursed upon without impropriety.‟
“The emaciated sage said, „A contented applicant is exceedingly difficult to meet
with. Perhaps, there is none such in the world. Something rarer still, O sire, is the
person that never disregards an applicant. The hope that rests upon such
persons as do not, after passing their promises, do good to others according to
the best of their powers and according as the applicants deserve, is slenderer
than even my body.[384] The hope that rests upon an ungrateful man, or upon
one that is cruel, or one that is idle, or one that injures others, is slenderer than
even my body.[384] The hope cherished by a sire that has but one son, of once
more seeing that son after he has been lost or missed, is slenderer than even my
body. The hope that old women entertain of bringing forth sons, O king, and that
is cherished by rich men, is slenderer than even my body. The hope that springs
up in the hearts of grown up maidens of marriage when they hear anybody only
talk of it in their presence, is slenderer than even my body.‟[385] Hearing these
words, O monarch, king Viradyumna, and the ladies of his household, prostrated
themselves before that bull among Brahmanas and touched his feet with their
bent heads.‟
“The king said, „I beg thy grace, O holy one! I wish to meet with my child. What
thou hast said, O best of Brahmanas, is very true. There is no doubt of the truth
of thy utterances.‟
“Rishabha continued, „The holy Tanu, that foremost of virtuous persons, smiling,
caused, by means of his learning and his penances the king‟s son to be brought
to that spot. Having caused the prince to be brought thither, the sage rebuked the
king (his father).[386] That foremost of virtuous persons then displayed himself to
be the god of righteousness. Indeed, having displayed his own wonderful and
celestial form, he entered an adjacent forest, with heart freed from wrath and the
desire of revenge. I saw all this, O king, and heard the words I have said. Drive
off thy hope, that is even slenderer (than any of those which the sage indicated).‟

“Bhishma continued „Thus addressed, O monarch, by the high-souled Rishabha,
king Sumitra speedily cast off the hope that was in his heart and which was
slenderer (than any of the kinds of hope indicated by the emaciated Rishi). Do
thou also, O son of Kunti, hearing these words of mine, be calm and collected
like Himavat. Overcome with distress,[387] thou hast questioned me and heard
my answer. Having heard it. O monarch, it behoves thee to dispel these regrets
of thine!‟
SECTION CXXIX
“Yudhishthira said, „Like one that drinks nectar I am never satiated with listening
to thee as thou speakest. As a person possessing a knowledge of self is never
satiated with meditation, even so I am never satiated with hearing thee. Do thou,
therefore, O grandsire, discourse once more upon morality. I am never satiated
with drinking the nectar of thy discourse upon morality.‟
“Bhishma said, „In this connection is cited the old narrative of the discourse
between Gotama and the illustrious Yama. Gotama owned a wide retreat on the
Paripatra hills. Listen to me as to how many years he dwelt in that abode. For
sixty thousand years that sage underwent ascetic austerities in that asylum. One
day, the Regent of the world, Yama, O tiger among men, repaired to that great
sage of cleansed soul while he was engaged in the severest austerities. Yama
beheld the great ascetic Gotama of rigid penances. The regenerate sage
understanding that it was Yama who had come, speedily saluted him and sat
with joined hands in an attentive attitude (waiting for his commands). The royal
Dharma, beholding that bull among Brahmanas, duly saluted him (in return) and
addressing him asked what he was to do for him.‟
“Gotama said, “By doing what acts does one liberate one‟s self from the debt
One owes to one‟s mother and father? How also does one succeed in winning
regions of pure bliss that are so difficult of attainment?‟
“Yama said, „Devoting one‟s self to the duty of truth, and practising purity and
penances one should ceaselessly worship one‟s mother and father. One should
also perform Horse-sacrifices with presents in profusion unto the Brahmanas. By
such acts one wins many regions (of felicity) of wonderful aspect.‟”
SECTION CXXX
“Yudhishthira said, „What course of conduct should be adopted by a king shorn of
friends, having many enemies, possessed of an exhausted treasury, and
destitute of troops, O Bharata! What, indeed, should be his conduct when he is
surrounded by wicked ministers, when his counsels are all divulged, when he
does not see his way clearly before him, when he assails another kingdom, when
he is engaged in grinding a hostile kingdom, and when though weak he is at war

with a stronger ruler? What, indeed, should be the conduct of a king the affairs of
whose kingdom are ill-regulated, and who disregards the requirements of place
and time, who is unable, in consequence of his oppressions, to bring about
peace and cause disunion among his foes? Should he seek the acquisition of
wealth by evil means, or should he lay down his life without seeking wealth?‟
“Bhishma said, „Conversant as thou art with duties, thou hast, O bull of Bharata‟s
race, asked me a question relating to mystery (in connection with duties).[388]
Without being questioned, O Yudhishthira, I could not venture to discourse upon
this duty. Morality is very subtle. One understands it, O bull of Bharata‟s race, by
the aid of the texts of scriptures. By remembering what one has heard and by
practising good acts, some one in some place may become a righteous person.
By acting with intelligence the king may or may not succeed in acquiring
wealth.[389] Aided by thy own intelligence do thou think what answer should be
given to thy question on this head. Listen, O Bharata, to the means, fraught with
great merit, by which kings may conduct themselves (during seasons of distress).
For the sake of true morality, however, I would not call those means righteous. If
the treasury be filled by oppression, conduct like this brings the king to the verge
of destruction. Even this is the conclusion of all intelligent men who have thought
upon the subject. The kind of scriptures or science which one always studies
gives him the kind of knowledge which it is capable of giving. Such Knowledge
verily becomes agreeable to him. Ignorance leads to barrenness of invention in
respect of means. Contrivance of means, again, through the aid of knowledge,
becomes the source of great felicity. Without entertaining any scruples and any
malice,[390] listen to these instructions. Through the decrease of the treasury,
the king‟s forces are decreased. The king should, therefore, fill his treasury (by
any means) like to one creating water in a wilderness which is without water.
Agreeably to this code of quasi-morality practised by the ancients, the king
should, when the time for it comes,[391] show compassion to his people. This is
eternal duty. For men that are able and competent,[392] the duties are of one
kind. In seasons of distress, however, one‟s duties are of a different kind. Without
wealth a king may (by penances and the like) acquire religious merit. Life,
however, is much more important than religious merit. (And as life cannot be
supported without wealth, no such merit should be sought which stands in the
way of the acquisition of wealth). A king that is weak, by acquiring only religious
merit, never succeeds in obtaining just and proper means for sustenance; and
since he cannot, by even his best exertions, acquire power by the aid of only
religious merit, therefore the practices in seasons of distress are sometimes
regarded as not inconsistent with morality. The learned, however, are of opinion
that those practices lead to sinfulness. After the season of distress is over, what
should the Kshatriya do? He should (at such a time) conduct himself in such a
way that his merit may not be destroyed. He should also act in such a way that
he may not have to succumb to his enemies.[393] Even these have been
declared to be his duties. He should not sink in despondency. He should not (in
times of distress) seek to rescue (from the peril of destruction) the merit of others
or of himself. On the other hand, he should rescue his own self. This is the
settled conclusion.[394] There is this Sruti, viz., that it is settled that Brahmanas,

who are conversant with duties, should have proficiency in respect of duties.
Similarly, as regards the Kshatriya, his proficiency should consist in exertion,
since might of arms is his great possession. When a Kshatriya‟s means of
support are gone, what should he not take excepting what belongs to ascetics
and what is owned by Brahmanas? Even as a Brahmana in a season of distress
may officiate at the sacrifice of a person for whom he should never officiate (at
other and ordinary times) and eat forbidden food, so there is no doubt that a
Kshatriya (in distress) may take wealth from every one except ascetics and
Brahmanas. For one afflicted (by an enemy and seeking the means of escape)
what can be an improper outlet? For a person immured (within a dungeon and
seeking escape) what can be an improper path? When a person becomes
afflicted, he escapes by even an improper outlet. For a Kshatriya that has, in
consequence of the weakness of his treasury and army, become exceedingly
humiliated, neither a life of mendicancy nor the profession of a Vaisya or that of a
Sudra has been laid down. The profession ordained for a Kshatriya is the
acquisition of wealth by battle and victory. He should never beg of a member of
his own order. The person who supports himself at ordinary times by following
the practices primarily laid for him, may in seasons of distress support himself by
following the practices laid down in the alternative. In a season of distress, when
ordinary practices cannot be followed, a Kshatriya may live by even unjust and
improper means. The very Brahmanas, it is seen, do the same when their means
of living are destroyed. When the Brahmanas (at such times) conduct themselves
thus, what doubt is there in respect of Kshatriyas? This is, indeed, settled.
Without sinking into despondency and yielding to destruction, a Kshatriya may
(by force) take what he can from persons that are rich. Know that the Kshatriya is
the protector and the destroyer of the people, Therefore, a Kshatriya in distress
should take (by force) what he can, with a view to (ultimately) protect the people.
No person in this world, O king, can support life without injuring other creatures.
The very ascetic leading a solitary life in the depths of the forest is no exception.
A Kshatriya should not live, relying upon destiny,[395] especially he, O chief of
the Kurus, who is desirous of ruling. The king and the kingdom should always
mutually protect each other. This is an eternal duty. As the king protects, by
spending all his possessions, the kingdom when it sinks into distress, even so
should the kingdom protect the king when he sinks into distress. The king even
at the extremity of distress, should never give up[396] his treasury, his machinery
for chastising the wicked, his army, his friends and allies and other necessary
institutions and the chiefs existing in his kingdom. Men conversant with duty say
that one must keep one‟s seeds, deducting them from one‟s very food. This is a
truth cited from the treatise of Samvara well-known for his great powers of
illusion, Fie on the life of that king whose kingdom languishes. Fie on the life of
that man who from want of means goes to a foreign country for a living. The
king‟s roots are his treasury and army. His army, again, has its roots in his
treasury. His army is the root of all his religious merits. His religious merits, again
are the root of his subjects. The treasury can never be filled without oppressing
others. How „then can the army be kept without oppression? The king, therefore,
in seasons of distress, incurs no fault by oppressing his subjects for filling the

treasury. For performing sacrifices many improper acts are done. For this reason
a king incurs no fault by doing improper acts (when the object is to fill his treasury
in a season of distress). For the sake of wealth practices other than those which
are proper are followed (in seasons of distress). If (at such times) such improper
practices be not adopted, evil is certain to result. All those institutions that are
kept up for working destruction and misery exist for the sake of collecting
wealth.[397] Guided by such considerations, all intelligent king should settle his
course (at such times). As animals and other things are necessary for sacrifices,
as sacrifices are for purifying the heart, and as animals, sacrifices, and purity of
the heart are all for final emancipation, even so policy and chastisement exist for
the treasury, the treasury exists for the army, and policy and treasury and army
all the three exist for vanquishing foes and protecting or enlarging the kingdom. I
shall here cite an example illustrating the true ways of morality. A large tree is cut
down for making of it a sacrificial stake. In cutting it, other trees that stand in its
way have also to be cut down. These also, in falling down, kill others standing on
the spot. Even so they that stand in the way of making a well-filled treasury must
have to be slain. I do not see how else success can be had. By wealth, both the
worlds, viz., this and the other, can be had, as also Truth and religious merit. A
person without wealth is more dead than alive. Wealth for the performance of
sacrifices should be acquired by every means. The demerit that attaches to an
act done in a season of distress is not equal to that which attaches to the same
act if done at other times, O Bharata! The acquisition of wealth and its
abandonment cannot both be possibly seen in the same person, O king! I do not
see a rich man in the forest. With respect to every wealth that is seen in this
world, every one contends with every one else, saying, „This shall be mine,‟ „This
shall be mine!‟ This is nothing, O scorcher of foes, that is so meritorious for a
king as the possession of a kingdom. It is sinful for a king to oppress his subjects
with heavy impositions at ordinary times. In a season, however, of distress, it is
quite different. Some acquire wealth by gifts and sacrifices; some who have a
liking for penances acquire wealth by penances; some acquire it by the aid of
their intelligence and cleverness. A person without wealth is said to be weak,
while he that has wealth become powerful. A man of wealth may acquire
everything. A king that has well-filled treasury succeeds in accomplishing
everything. By his treasury a king may earn religious merit, gratify his desire for
pleasure, obtain the next world, and this also. The treasury, however, should be
filled by the aid of righteousness and never by unrighteous practices, such, that
is, as pass for righteous in times of distress.
SECTION CXXXI
(Apaddharmanusasana Parva)
“Yudhishthira said, „What, besides this, should be done by a king that is weak
and procrastinating, that does not engage in battle from anxiety for the lives of
his friends, that is always under the influence of fear, and that cannot keep his

counsels secret? What, indeed, should that king do whose cities and kingdom
have been partitioned and appropriated by foes, who is divested of wealth, who
is incapable (through such poverty) of honouring his friends and attaching them
to himself, whose ministers are disunited or bought over by his enemies, who is
obliged to stand in the face of foes, whose army has dwindled away, and whose
heart has been agitated by some strong enemy?‟
“Bhishma said, „If the invading enemy be of pure heart and if he be conversant
with both morality and profit, a king of the kind you have indicated should, with no
loss of time, make peace with the invader and bring about the restoration of
those portions of the kingdom that have already been conquered. If, again, the
invader be strong and sinful and seek to obtain victory by unrighteous means, the
king should make peace with him, too, by abandoning a portion of his territories.
If the invader be unwilling to make peace, the king should then abandon his very
capital and all his possessions for escaping from danger. If he can save his life
he may hope for similar acquisitions in future. What man conversant with morality
is there that would sacrifice his own self, which is a more valuable possession,
for encountering that danger from which escape can be had by the abandonment
of his treasury and army? A king should protect the ladies of his household. If
these fall into the hands of the enemy, he should not show any compassion for
them (by incurring the risk of his own arrest in delivering them). As long as it is in
his power, he should never surrender his own self to the enemy.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „When his own people are dissatisfied with him, when he is
oppressed by invaders, when his treasury is exhausted, and when his counsels
are divulged, what should the king then do?‟
“Bhishma said, „A king, under such circumstances, should (if his enemy be
righteous) seek to make peace with him. If the enemy be unrighteous, he should
then put forth his valour. He should, by such means, seek to cause the foe to
withdraw from his kingdom; or fighting bravely, he should lay down his life and
ascend to heaven. A king can conquer the whole earth with the help of even a
small force if that force be loyal, cheerful, and devoted to his good. If slain in
battle, he is sure to ascend to heaven. If he succeeds in slaying (his enemies),
he is sure to enjoy the earth. By laying down one‟s life in battle, one obtains the
companionship of Indra himself.‟”
SECTION CXXXII
“Yudhishthira said, „When practices fraught with high morality and beneficial to
the world, (viz., those that appertain to righteous rule) disappear, when all the
means and resources for the support of life fall into the hands of robbers, when,
indeed, such a calamitous time sets in, by what means should a Brahmana, O
grandsire, who from affection is unable to desert his sons and grandsons,
subsist?‟

“Bhishma said, „When such a time sets in, the Brahmana should live by the aid of
knowledge. Everything in this world is for them that are good. Nothing here is for
them that are wicked. He who making himself an instrument of acquisition, takes
wealth from the wicked and gives it unto them that are good, is said to be
conversant with the morality of adversity. Desirous of maintaining his rule, the
king, O monarch, without driving his subjects to indignation and rebellion, may
take what is not freely given by the owner, saying, „This is mine!‟ That wise man
who, cleansed by the possession of knowledge and might and of righteous
conduct at other times, acts censurably in such season, does not really deserve
to be censured. They who always support themselves by putting forth their might
never like any other method of living. They that are endued with might, O
Yudhishthira, always live by the aid of prowess. The ordinary scriptures, that
exist (for seasons of distress) without exceptions of any kind, should be practised
by a king (at such times). A king, however, that is endued with intelligence, while
following those scriptures, would do something more.[398] At such times,
however, the king should not oppress, Ritwijas, and Purohitas and preceptors
and Brahmanas, all of whom are honoured and held in high esteem. By
oppressing them, even at such times, he incurs reproach and sin. This that I tell
thee is regarded as an authority in the world. Indeed, this is the eternal eye (by
which practices in seasons of distress are to be viewed). One should be guided
by his authority. By this is to be judged whether a king is to be called good or
wicked. It is seen that many persons residing in villages and towns, actuated by
jealousy and wrath, accuse one another. The king should never, at their words,
honour or punish anybody. Slander should never be spoken. If spoken, it should
never be heard. When slanderous converse goes on, one should close one‟s
ears or leave the place outright. Slanderous converse is the characteristic of
wicked men. It is an indication of depravity. They, on the other hand, O king, who
speak of the virtues of others in assemblies of the good, are good men. As a pair
of sweet-tempered bulls governable and well-broken and used to bear burthens,
put their necks to the yoke and drag the cart willingly, even so should the king
bear his burthens (in seasons of distress). Others say that a king (at such times)
should conduct himself in such a way that he may succeed in gaining a large
number of allies. Some regard ancient usage as the highest indication of
righteousness. Others, viz., they that are in favour of the conduct pursued by
Sankha, towards Likhita, do not hold this opinion. They do not advance such an
opinion through either malice or covetousness[399]. Examples are seen of even
great Rishis who have laid down that even preceptors, if addicted to evil
practices, should be punished. But approvable authority there is none for such a
proposition. The gods may be left to punish such men when they happen to be
vile and guilty of wicked practices. The king who fills his treasury by having
recourse to fraudulent devices, certainly falls away from righteousness. The code
of morality which is honoured in every respect by those that are good and in
affluent circumstances, and which is approved by every honest heart, should be
followed. He is said to be conversant with duty who knows duty as depending on
all the four foundations. It is difficult to find out the reasons on which duties stand
even as it is difficult to find out the legs of the snake.[400] As a hunter of beasts

discovers the track of a shaft-struck deer by observing spots of blood on the
ground, even so should one seek to discover the reasons of duties. This should a
man tread with humility along the path trod by the good. Such, indeed, was the
conduct of the great royal sages of old, O Yudhishthira!‟”
SECTION CXXXIII
“Bhishma said, „The king should, by drawing wealth from his own kingdom as
also from the kingdoms of his foes, fill his treasury. From the treasury springs his
religious merit, O son of Kunti, and it is in consequence of the treasury that the
roots of his kingdom extend. For these reasons the treasury must be filled; and
when filled; it should be carefully protected (by putting a stop to all useless
expenditure), and even sought to be increased. This is the eternal practice. The
treasury cannot be filled by (acting with) purity and righteousness, nor by (acting
with) heartless cruelty. It should be filled by adopting a middle course. How can a
weak king have a treasury? How again can a king who has no treasury have
strength? How can a weak man have kingdom? Whence again can one without a
kingdom obtain prosperity? For a person of high rank, adversity is like death. For
this reason the king should always increase his treasury, and army, and allies
and friends. All men disregard a king with an empty treasury. Without being
gratified with the little that such a king can give, his servants never express any
alacrity in his business. In consequence of his affluence, the king succeeds in
obtaining great honours. Indeed, affluence conceals his very sins, like robes
concealing such parts of a feminine form as should not be exposed to the view.
Those with whom the king has formerly quarrelled become filled with grief at the
sight of his new affluence. Like dogs they once more take service under him, and
though they wait only for an opportunity to slay him, he takes to them as if
nothing has happened. How, O Bharata, can such a king obtain happiness? The
king should always exert for acquiring greatness. He should never bend down in
humility.[401] Exertion is manliness. He should rather break at an unfavourable
opportunity than bend before any one. He should rather repair to the forest and
live therewith the wild animals. But he should not still live in the midst of ministers
and officers who have like robbers broken through all restraints. Even the
robbers of the forest may furnish a large number of soldiers for the
accomplishment of the fiercest of deeds. O Bharata! If the king transgresses all
wholesome restraints, all people become filled with alarm. The very robbers who
know not what compassion is, dread such a king.[402] For this reason, the king:
should always establish rules and restraints for gladdening the hearts of his
people. Rules in respect of even very trivial matters are hailed with delight by the
people. There are men who think that this world is nothing and the future also is
a myth. He that is an atheist of this type, though his heart is agitated by secret
fears, should never be trusted. If the robbers of the forest, while observing other
virtues, commit depredations in respect only of property, those depredations may
be regarded as harmless. The lives of thousands of creatures are protected in
consequence of robbers observing such restraints. Slaying an enemy who is

flying away from battle, ravishment of wives, ingratitude, plundering the property
of a Brahmana, depriving a person of the whole of his property, violation of
maidens, continued occupation of villages and towns as their lawful lords, and
adulterous congress with other people‟s wives—these are regarded as wicked
acts among even robbers, and robbers should always abstain from them. It is
again certain that those kings who strive (by making peace) to inspire confidence
upon themselves in the hearts of the robbers, succeed, after watching all their ins
and outs, in exterminating them. For this reason, in dealing with robbers, it is
necessary that they should not be exterminated outright.[403] They should be
sought to be brought under the king‟s way. The king should never behave with
cruelty towards them, thinking that he is more powerful than they. Those kings
that do not exterminate them outright have no fear of extermination to
themselves. They, however, that do exterminate them have always to live in fear
in consequence of that act.‟”
SECTION CXXXIV
“Bhishma said, „In this connection, persons acquainted with the scriptures
declare this text in respect of duty, viz., for a Kshatriya possessed of intelligence
and knowledge, (the earning of) religious merit and (the acquisition of) wealth,
constitute his obvious duties. He should not, by subtle discussions on duty and
unseen consequences in respect of a future world, abstain from accomplishing
those two duties. As it is useless to argue, upon seeing certain foot-prints on the
ground, whether they are wolf‟s or not, even so is all discussion upon the nature
of righteousness and the reverse. Nobody in this world ever sees the fruits of
righteousness and unrighteousness. A Kshatriya, therefore, should seek the
acquisition of power. He that is powerful is master of everything. Wealth leads to
the possession of an army. He that is powerful[404] obtains intelligent advisers.
He that is without wealth is truly fallen. A little (of anything in the world) is
regarded as the dirty remnant of a feast.[405] If a strong man does even many
bad acts, nobody, through fear, says or does anything (for censuring or checking
him). If righteousness and Power be associated with Truth, they can then rescue
men from great perils. If, however, the two be compared, Power will appear to be
superior to Righteousness. It is from Power that Righteousness springs.
Righteousness rests upon Power as all immobile things upon the earth. As
smoke depends upon the wind (for its motion), even so Righteousness depends
upon Power. Righteousness which is the weaker of the two depends for its
support upon a tree. Righteousness is dependent on them that are powerful even
as pleasure is dependent upon them that are given to enjoyment. There is
nothing that powerful men cannot do. Everything is pure with them that are
powerful. A powerless man, by committing evil acts can never escape. Men feel
alarmed at his conduct even as they are alarmed at the appearance of a wolf.
One fallen away from a state of affluence leads a life of humiliation and sorrow. A
life of humiliation and reproach is like death itself The learned have said that
when in consequence of one‟s sinful conduct one is cast off by friends and

companions, one is pierced repeatedly by the wordy darts of others and one has
to burn with grief on that account. Professors of scriptures have said with respect
to the expiation of sinfulness that one should (if stained with sinfulness) study the
three Vedas, wait upon and worship the Brahmanas, gratify all men by looks,
words, and acts, cast off all meanness, marry in high families, proclaim the
praises of others while confessing one‟s own worthlessness, recite mantras,
perform the usual water-rites, assume a mildness of behaviour, and abstain from
speaking much, and perform austere penances, seek the refuge of Brahmanas
and Kshatriyas. Indeed, one who has committed many evil acts, should do all
this, without being angry at the reproaches uttered by men. By conducting one‟s
self in this way, one may soon become cleansed of all his sins and regain the
regard of the world. Indeed, one wins great respect in this world and great
rewards in the next, and enjoys diverse kinds of happiness here by following
such conduct and by sharing his wealth with others.‟”
SECTION CXXXV
“Bhishma said, „In this connection is cited the old story of a robber who having in
this would been observant of restraints did not meet with destruction in the next.
There was a robber of the name of Kayavya, born of a Kshatriya father and a
Nishada mother. Kayavya was a practiser of Kshatriya duties. Capable of
smiting, possessed of intelligence and courage, conversant with the scriptures,
destitute of cruelty, devoted to the Brahmanas, and worshipping his seniors and
preceptors with reverence, he protected the ascetics in the observance of their
practices. Though a robber, he still succeeded in winning felicity in heaven.
Morning and evening he used to excite the wrath of the deer by chasing them.
He was well conversant with all the practices of the Nishadas as also of all
animals living in the forest. Well acquainted with the requirements of time and
place, he roved over the mountains. Acquainted as he was with the habits of all
animals, his arrows never missed their aim, and his weapons were strong. Alone,
he could vanquish many hundreds of troops. He worshipped his old, blind, and
deaf parents in the forest every day. With honey and flesh and fruits and roots
and other kinds of excellent food, he hospitably entertained all persons deserving
of honour and did them many good offices. He showed great respect for those
Brahmanas that had retired from the world for taking up their residence in the
woods. Killing the deer, he often took flesh to them. As regards those that were
unwilling, from fear of others, to accept gifts from him because of the profession
he followed, he used to go to their abodes before dawn and leave flesh at their
doors.[406] One day many thousands of robbers, destitute of compassion in their
conduct and regardless of all restraints, desired to elect him as their leader.‟
“The robbers said, „Thou art acquainted with the requirements of place and time.
Thou hast wisdom and courage. Thy firmness also is great in everything thou
undertakest. Be thou our foremost of leaders, respected by us all, We will do as
thou wilt direct. Protect us duly, even as a father or mother.‟

“Kayavya said, „Never kill ye a woman, or one that from fear keeps away from the
fight, or one that is a child, or one that is an ascetic. One that abstains from fight
should never be slain, nor should women be seized or brought away with force.
None of you should ever slay a woman amongst all creatures. Let Brahmanas be
always blessed and you should always fight for their good. Truth should never be
sacrificed. The marriages of men should never be obstructed. No injury should
be inflicted on those houses in which the deities, the Pitris, and guests are
worshipped. Amongst creatures, Brahmanas deserve to be exempted by you in
your plundering excursions. By giving away even your all, you should worship
them. He who incurs the wrath of the Brahmanas, he for whose discomfiture they
wish, fails to find a rescuer in the three worlds. He who speaks ill of the
Brahmanas and wishes for their destruction, himself meets with destruction like
darkness at sunrise. Residing here, ye shall acquire the fruits of your valour.
Troops shall be sent against those that will refuse to give us our dues. The rod of
chastisement is intended for the wicked. It is not intended for self-
aggrandisement. They who oppress the god deserve death, it is said. They who
seek to aggrandise their fortunes by afflicting kingdoms in unscrupulous ways,
very soon come to be regarded as vermin in a dead body. Those robbers again
that would conduct themselves by conforming to these restraints of the
scriptures, would soon win salvation although leading a plundering life.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Those robbers, thus addressed, obeyed all the commands
of Kayavya. By desisting from sin, they obtained great prosperity. By behaving
himself in such a way by thus doing good to the honest and by thus restraining
the robbers from bad practices, Kayavya won great success (in the next world).
He who always thinks of this narrative of Kayavya will not have any fear from the
denizens of the forest, in fact, from any earthly creature. Such a man will have no
fear from any creature, O Bharata! He will have no fear from wicked men. If such
a man goes to the forest, he will be able to live there with the security of a king.‟”
SECTION CXXXVI
“Bhishma said, „In this connection, viz., the method by which a king should fill his
treasury, persons acquainted with the scriptures of olden days cite the following
verses sung by Brahman himself. The wealth of persons who are given to the
performance of sacrifices, as also the wealth dedicated to the deities, should
never be taken. A Kshatriya should take the wealth of such persons as never
perform religious rites and sacrifices as are on that account regarded to be equal
to robbers. All the creatures that inhabit the earth and all the enjoyments that
appertain to sovereignty, O Bharata, belong to the Kshatriyas. All the wealth of
the earth belongs to the Kshatriya, and not to any person else. That wealth the
Kshatriya should use for keeping up his army and for the performance of
sacrifice. Tearing up such creepers and plants as are not of any use, men burn
them for cooking such vegetables as serve for food.[407] Men conversant with
duty have said that his wealth is useless who does not, with libations of clarified

butter, feed the gods, the Pitris, and men. A virtuous ruler, O king, should take
away such wealth. By that wealth a large number of good people can be
gratified. He should not, however, hoard that wealth in his treasury. He who
makes himself an instrument of acquisition and taking away wealth from the
wicked gives them to those that are good is said to be conversant with the whole
science of morality. A king should extend his conquests in the next world
according to the measure of his power, and as gradually as vegetable products
are seen to grow. As some ants are seen to grow from no adequate cause, even
so sacrifice spring from no adequate cause.[408] As flies and gnats and ants are
driven off from the bodies of kine and other domestic cattle (at the time of milking
them), even so should persons who are averse to the performance of sacrifices
should be similarly driven off from the kingdom. This is consistent with morality.
As the dust that lies on the earth, if pounded between two stones, becomes finer
and finer, even so questions of morality, the more they are reflected upon and
discussed, become finer and finer.‟”
SECTION CXXXVII
“Bhishma said, „These two, viz., one that provides for the future, and one
possessed of presence of mind, always enjoy happiness. The man of
procrastination, however, is lost. In this connection, listen attentively to the
following excellent story of a procrastinating person in the matter of settling his
course of action. In a lake that was not very deep and which abounded with
fishes, there lived three Sakula fishes that were friends and constant
companions. Amongst those three one had much forethought and always liked to
provide for what was coming. Another was possessed of great presence of mind.
The third was procrastinating. One day certain fishermen coming to that lake
began to bale out its waters to a lower ground through diverse outlets. Beholding
the water of the lake gradually decreasing, the fish that had much foresight,
addressing his two companions on that occasion of danger, said, „A great danger
is about to overtake all the aquatic creatures living in this lake. Let us speedily go
to some other place before our path becomes obstructed. He that resists future
evil by the aid of good policy, never incurs serious danger. Let my counsels
prevail with you. Let us all leave this place‟ That one amongst the three who was
procrastinating then answered, „It is well said. There is, however, no need of
such haste. This is my deliberate opinion.‟ Then the other fish, who was noted for
presence of mind, addressed his procrastinating companion and said, „When the
time for anything comes, I never fail to provide for it according to policy.‟ Hearing
the answers of his two companions, he of great forethought and considerable
intelligence immediately set out by a current and reached another deep lake. The
fishermen, Seeing that all the water had been baled out, shut in the fishes that
remained, by diverse means. Then they began to agitate the little water that
remained, and as they began to catch the fish, the procrastinating Sakula was
caught with many others. When the fisherman began to tie to a long string the
fishes they had caught, the Sakula who was noted for presence of mind thrust

himself into the company of those that had been so tied and remained quietly
among them, biting the string, for he thought that he should do it to give the
appearance of being caught. The fishermen believed that all the fishes attached
to the string had been caught. They then removed them to a piece of deep water
for washing them. Just at that time the Sakula noted for presence of mind,
leaving the string, quickly escaped. That fish, however, who had been
procrastinating, foolish and senseless and without intelligence as he was, and,
therefore, unable to escape, met with death.
“‟Thus every one meets with destruction, like the procrastinating fish, who from
want of intelligence cannot divine the hour of danger. That man, again, who
regarding himself clever does not seek his own good in proper time, incurs great
danger like the Sakula who had presence of mind. Hence these two only, viz., he
that has much forethought and he that has presence of mind, succeed in
obtaining happiness. He, however, that is procrastinating meets with destruction.
Diverse are the divisions of time, such as Kashtha, Kala, Muhurta, day, night,
Lava, month, fortnight, the six seasons, Kalpa, year. The divisions of the earth
are called place. Time cannot be seen. As regards the success of any object or
purpose, it is achieved or not achieved according to the manner in which the
mind is set to think of it. These two, viz., the person of forethought and the
person of presence of mind, have been declared by the Rishis to be the foremost
of men in all treatises on morality and profit and in those dealing with
emancipation. One, however, that does everything after reflection and scrutiny,
one that avails oneself of proper means for the accomplishment of one‟s objects,
always succeeds in achieving much. Those again that act with due regard to time
and place succeed in winning results better than the mere man of foresight and
the man of presence of mind.‟”
SECTION CXXXVIII
“Yudhishthira said, „Thou hast, O bull of Bharata‟s race, said that that intelligence
which provides against the future, as well as that which can meet present
emergencies, is everywhere superior, while procrastination brings about
destruction. I desire, O grandsire, to hear of that superior intelligence aided by
which a king, conversant with the scriptures and well versed with morality and
profit, may not be stupefied even when surrounded by many foes. I ask thee this,
O chief of Kuru‟s race! It behoveth thee to discourse to me on I his. I desire to
hear everything, comfortable to what has been laid down in the scriptures, about
the manner in which a king should conduct himself when he is assailed by many
foes. When a king falls into distress, a large number of foes, provoked by his past
acts, range themselves against him and seek to vanquish him. How may, a king,
weak and alone, succeed in holding up his head when he is challenged on all
sides by many powerful kings leagued together? How does a king at such times
make friends and foes? How should he, O bull of Bharata‟s race, behave at such
a time towards both friends and foes? When those that have indications of

friends really become his foes, what should the king then do if he is to obtain
happiness? With whom should he make war and with whom should he make
peace? Even if he be strong, how should he behave in the midst of foes? O
scorcher of foes, this I regard to be the highest of all questions connected with
the discharge of kingly duties. There are few men for listening to the answer of
this question and none to answer it save Santanu‟s son, Bhishma, firmly wedded
to truth and having all his senses under control. O thou that art highly blessed
reflect upon it and discourse to me on it!‟
“Bhishma said, „O Yudhishthira, this question is certainly worthy of thee. Its
answer is fraught with great happiness. Listen to me, O son, as I declare to thee,
O Bharata, all the duties generally known that should be practised in seasons of
distress. A foe becomes a friend and a friend also becomes a foe. The course of
human actions, through the combination of circumstances, becomes very
uncertain. As regards, therefore, what should be done and what should not, it is
necessary that paying heed to the requirements of time and place, one should
either trust one‟s foes or make war. One should, even exerting, one‟s self to
one‟s best, make friends with men of intelligence and knowledge that desire
one‟s welfare. One should make peace with even one‟s foes, when, O Bharata,
one‟s life cannot otherwise be saved. That foolish man who never makes peace
with foes, never succeeds in winning any gain or acquiring any of those fruits for
which others endeavour. He again who makes peace with foes and quarrels with
even friends after a full consideration of circumstances, succeeds in obtaining
great fruits. In this connection is cited the old story of the discourse between a
cat and a mouse at the foot of a banian.‟
“Bhishma continued, „There was a large banian in the midst of an extensive
forest. Covered with many kinds of creepers, it was the resort of diverse kinds of
birds. It had a large trunk from which numerous branches extended in all
directions. Delightful to look at, the shade it afforded was very refreshing. It stood
in the midst of the forest, and animals of diverse species lived on it. A mouse of
great wisdom, named Palita, lived at the foot of that tree, having made a hole
there with a hundred outlets. On the branches of the tree there lived a cat, of the
name of Lomasa, in great happiness, daily devouring a large number of birds.
Some time after, a Chandala came into the forest and built a hut for himself.
Every evening after sunset he spread his traps. Indeed, spreading his nets made
of leathern strings he went back to his hut, and happily passing the night in sleep,
returned to the spot at the dawn of day. Diverse kinds of animals fell into his
traps every night. And it so happened that one day the cat, in a moment of
heedlessness, was caught in the snare. O thou of great wisdom, when his foe the
cat who was at all times an enemy of the mouse species was thus caught in the
net, the mouse Palita came out of his hole and began to rove about fearlessly.
While trustfully roving through the forest in search of food, the mouse after a little
while saw the meat (that the Chandala had spread there as lure). Getting upon
the trap, the little animal began to eat the flesh. Laughing mentally, he even got
upon his enemy entangled helplessly in the net. Intent on eating the flesh, he did
not mark his own danger, for as he suddenly cast his eyes he saw a terrible foe
of his arrived at that spot. That foe was none else than a restless mongoose of

coppery eyes, of the name of Harita. Living in underground holes, its body
resembled the flower of a reed. Allured to that spot by the scent of the mouse,
the animal came there with great speed for devouring his prey. And he stood on
his haunches, with head upraised, licking the corners of his mouth with his
tongue. The mouse beheld at the same time another foe living in the trees, then
sitting on the branch of the banian. It was a night-prowling owl of the name of
Chandraka of sharp beaks. Having become an object of sight with both the
mongoose and the owl, the mouse, in great alarm, began to think in this strain:
„At such a season of great danger, when death itself is staring me in the face,
when there is fear on every side, how should one act that wishes for one‟s good?
Encompassed on all sides by danger, seeing fear in every direction, the mouse,
filled with alarm for his safety, made a high resolution. Warding off even
innumerable dangers by hundreds of means, one should always save one‟s life.
Danger, at the present moment, encompasses me on every side. If I were to
descend from this trap on the ground, without adequate precautions, the
mongoose will surely seize and devour me. If I remain on this trap, the owl will
surely seize me. If, again, that cat succeeds in disentangling himself from the net,
he also is certain to devour me. It is not proper, however, that a person of our
intelligence should lose his wits. I shall, therefore, strive my best to save my life,
aided by proper means and intelligence. A person possessed of intelligence and
wisdom and conversant with the science of policy never sinks, however great
and terrible the danger that threatens him. At present, however, I do not behold
any other refuge than this cat. He is an enemy. But he is in distress. The service
that I can do him is very great. Sought to be made a prey by three foes, how
should I now act for saving my life? I should now seek the protection of one of
those foes, viz., the cat. Taking the aid of the science of policy, let me counsel
the cat for his good, so that I may, with my intelligence, escape from all the three.
The cat is my great foe, but the distress into which he has fallen is very great.
Let me try whether I can succeed in making this foolish creature understand his
own interests. Having fallen into such distress, he may make peace with me. A
person when afflicted by a stronger one should make peace with even an enemy.
Professors of the science of policy say that even this should be the conduct of
one who having fallen into distress seeks the safety of his life. It is better to have
a learned person for an enemy than a fool for a friend. As regards myself, my life
now rests entirely in the hands of my enemy the cat. I shall now address the cat
on the subject of his own liberation. Perhaps, at this moment, it would not be
wrong to take the cat for an intelligent and learned foe.‟ Even thus did that
mouse, surrounded by foes, pursue his reflections. Having reflected in this strain,
the mouse, conversant with the science of Profit and well acquainted with
occasions when war should be declared and peace made, gently addressed the
cat, saying, „I address thee in friendship, O cat! Art thou alive? I wish thee to live!
I desire the good of us both. O amiable one, thou hast no cause for fear. Thou
shalt live in happiness. I shall rescue thee, if, indeed, thou dost not slay me.
There is an excellent expedient in this case, which suggests itself to me, and by
which you may obtain your escape and I may obtain great benefit. By reflecting
earnestly I have hit upon that expedient for thy sake and for my sake, for it will

benefit both of us. There are the mongoose and the owl, both waiting with evil
intent. Only so long, O cat, as they do not attack me, is my life safe. There that
wretched owl with restless glances and horrid cries is eyeing me from the branch
of that tree. I am exceedingly frightened by it. Friendship, as regards the good, is
seven-paced.[409] Possessed of wisdom as thou art, thou art my friend. I, shall
act towards thee as a friend. Thou needst have no fear now. Without my help, O
cat, thou wilt not succeed in tearing the net. I, however, shall cut the net for
serving thee, if thou abstain from killing me. Thou hast lived on this tree and I
have lived at its foot. Both of us have dwelt here for many long years. All this is
known to thee. He upon whom nobody places his trust, and he who never trusts
another, are never applauded by the wise. Both of them are unhappy. For this
reason, let our love for each other increase, and let there be union amongst us
two. Men of wisdom never applaud the endeavour to do an act when its
opportunity has passed away. Know that this is the proper time for such an
understanding amongst us. I wish that thou shouldst live, and thou also wishest
that I should live. A man crosses a deep and large river by a piece of wood. It is
seen that the man takes the piece of wood to the other side, and the piece of
wood also takes the man to the other side. Like this, our compact, also will bring
happiness to both of us. I will rescue thee, and thou also wilt rescue me.‟ Having
said these words that were beneficial to both of them, that were fraught with
reason and on that account highly acceptable, the mouse Palita waited in
expectation of an answer.
“‟Hearing these well-chosen words, fraught with reason and highly acceptable,
that the mouse said, the mouse‟s foe possessed of judgment and forethought,
viz., the cat spoke in reply. Endued with great intelligence, and possessed of
eloquence, the cat, reflecting upon his own state, praised the Words of the
speaker and honoured him by gentle words in return. Possessed of sharp
foreteeth and having eyes that resembled the stones called lapis lazuli, the cat
called Lomasa, gentle eyeing the mouse, answered as follows: I am delighted
with thee, O amiable one! Blessed be thou that wishest me to live! Do that,
without hesitation, which thou thinkest to be of beneficial consequences. I am
certainly in great distress. Thou art, if possible, in greater distress still. Let there
be a compact between us without delay. I will do that which is opportune and
necessary for the accomplishment of our business, O Puissant one! If thou
rescuest me, the service will go for nothing I place myself in thy hands. I am
devoted to thee. I shall wait upon and serve thee like a disciple. I seek thy
protection and shall always obey thy behests,‟ Thus addressed, the mouse
Palita, addressing in return the cat who was completely under his control, said
these words of grave import and high wisdom: „Thou hast spoken most
magnanimously. It could scarcely be unexpected from one like thee. Listen to me
as I disclose the expedient I have hit upon for benefiting both of us. I will crouch
myself beneath thy body. I am exceedingly frightened at the mongoose. Do thou
save me. Kill me not. I am competent to rescue thee. Protect me also from the
owl, for that wretch too wishes to seize me for his prey. I shall cut the noose that
entangles thee. I swear by Truth, O friend!‟ Hearing these judicious words fraught
with reason, Lomasa, filled with delight, cast his eyes upon Palita and applauded

him with exclamations of welcome. Having applauded Palita, the cat, disposed
to friendliness, reflected for a moment, and gladly said without losing any time,
„Come quickly to me! Blessed be thou, thou art, indeed, a friend dear to me as
life. O thou of great I wisdom, through thy grace I have almost got back my life.
Whatever it is in my power to do for thee now, tell me and I shall do it. Let there
be peace between us, O friend! Liberated from this danger, I shall, with all my
friends and relatives, do all that may be agreeable and beneficial to thee. O
amiable one, freed from this distress, I shall certainly seek to gladden thee, and
worship and honour thee on every occasion in return for thy services. A person
by doing even abundant services in return never becomes equal to the person
that did him good in the first instance. The former does those services for the
sake of services received. The latter, however, should be held to have acted
without any such motive.‟
“Bhishma continued, „The mouse, having thus made the cat understand his own
interests, trustfully crouched beneath his enemy‟s body. Possessed of learning,
and thus assured by the cat, the mouse trustfully laid himself thus under the
breast of the cat as if it were the lap of his father or mother. Beholding him thus
ensconced within the body of the cat, the mongoose and the owl both became
hopeless of seizing their prey. Indeed, seeing that close intimacy between the
mouse and the cat, both Harita and Chandraka became alarmed and filled with
wonder. Both of them had strength and intelligence. Clever in seizing their prey,
though near, the mongoose and the owl felt unable to wean the mouse and the
cat from that compact. Indeed, beholding the cat and the mouse make that
covenant for accomplishing their mutual ends, the mongoose and the owl both
left that spot and went away to their respective abodes. After this, the mouse
Palita, conversant with the requirements of time and place, began, as he lay
under the body of the cat, to cut strings of the noose slowly, waiting for the
proper time to finish his work. Distressed by the strings that entangled him, the
cat became impatient upon seeing the mouse slowly cutting away the noose.
Beholding the mouse employed so slowly in the work, the cat wishing to expedite
him in the task, said: „How is it, O amiable one, that thou dost not proceed with
haste in thy work? Dost thou disregard me now, having thyself succeeded in thy
object? O slayer of foes, do thou cut these strings quickly. The hunter will soon
come here.‟ Thus addressed by the cat who had become impatient, the mouse
possessed of intelligence said these beneficial words fraught with his own good
unto the cat who did not seem to possess much wisdom: „Wait in silence, O
amiable one! Expedition is not necessary. Drive all thy fears. We know the
requirements of time. We are not wasting time. When an act is begun at an
improper time, it never becomes profitable when accomplished. That act, on the
other hand, which is begun at the proper time, always produces splendid fruits. If
thou be freed at an improper time, I shall have to stand in great fear of thee.
Therefore, do thou wait for the proper time. Do not be impatient, O friend! When I
shall see the hunter approach towards this spot armed with weapons, I shall cut
the strings at that moment of fear to both of us. Freed then, thou wilt ascend the
tree. At that time thou wilt not think of anything else save the safety of thy life.
And when thou, O Lomasa, wilt fly away in fear, I shall enter my hole and thou

wilt get upon the tree.‟ Thus addressed by the mouse in words that were
beneficial to him, the cat, possessed of intelligence and eloquence, and impatient
of saving his life, replied unto the mouse in the following words. Indeed, the cat,
who had quickly and properly done his own part of the covenant, addressing the
mouse who was not expeditious in discharging his part, said, „I rescued thee from
a great danger with considerable promptness. Alas! honest persons never do the
business of their friends in this way. Filled with delight while doing it, they do it
otherwise. Thou shouldst do what is for my good with greater expedition. O thou
of great wisdom, do thou exert a little so that good may be done to both of us. If,
on the other hand, remembering our former hostility thou art only suffering the
time to slip away, know, O wicked wight, that the consequence of this act of thine
will surely be to lessen the duration of thy own life![410] If I have ever, before
this, unconsciously done thee any wrong, thou shouldst not bear it in
remembrance. I beg thy forgiveness. Be gratified with me.‟ After the cat had said
these words, the mouse, possessed of intelligence and wisdom and knowledge
of the scriptures, said these excellent words unto him: „I have, O cat, heard what
thou hast said in furtherance of thy own object. Listen, however, to me as I tell
thee what is consistent with my own objects. That friendship in which there is fear
and which cannot be kept up without fear, should be maintained with great
caution like the hand (of the snake-charmer) from the snake‟s fangs. The person
that does not protect himself after having made a covenant with a stronger
individual, finds that covenant to be productive of injury instead of benefit.
Nobody is anybody‟s friend; nobody is anybody‟s well-wisher; persons become
friends or foes only from motives of interest. Interest enlists interest even as tame
elephants catch wild individuals of their species. After, again, an act has been
accomplished, the doer is scarcely regarded. For this reason, all acts should be
so done that something may remain to be done. When I shall set thee free, thou
wilt, afflicted by the fear of the hunter, fly away for thy life without ever thinking of
seizing me. Behold, all the strings of this net have been cut by me. Only one
remains to be cut. I will cut that also with haste. Be comforted, O Lomasa!‟ While
the mouse and the cat were thus talking with each other, both in serious danger,
the night gradually wore away. A great fear, however, penetrated the heart of the
cat. When at last morning came, the Chandala, whose name was Parigha,
appeared on the scene. His visage was frightful. His hair was black and tawny.
His hips were very, large and his aspect was very fierce. Of a large mouth that
extended from car to car, and exceedingly filthy, his ears were very long. Armed
with weapons and accompanied by a pack of dogs, the grim-looking man
appeared on the scene. Beholding the individual who resembled a messenger of
Yama, the cat became filled with fear. Penetrated with fright, he addressed Palita
and said, „What shalt thou do now?‟ The mouse very quickly cut the remaining
string that held fast the cat. Freed from the noose, the cat ran with speed and got
upon the banian. Palita also, freed from that situation of danger and from the
presence of a terrible foe, quickly fled and entered his hole. Lomasa meanwhile
had climbed the high tree. The hunter, seeing everything, took tip his net. His
hopes frustrated, he also quickly left that spot. Indeed, O bull of Bharata‟s race,
the Chandala returned to his abode. Liberated from that great peril, and having

obtained back his life which is so very valuable, the cat from the branches of that
tree addressed the mouse Palita then staying within the hole, and said, „Without
having conversed with me, thou hast suddenly run away. I hope thou dost not
suspect me of any evil intent. I am certainly grateful and thou hast done me a
great service. Having inspired me with trustfulness and having given me my life,
why dost thou not approach me at a time when friends should enjoy the
sweetness of friendship? Having made friends, he that forgets them afterwards,
is regarded a wicked person and never succeeds in obtaining friends at times of
danger and need. I have been, O friend, honoured and served by thee to the best
of thy power. It behoveth thee to enjoy the company of my poor self who has
become thy friend. Like disciples worshipping their preceptor, all the friends I
have, all my relatives and kinsmen, will honour and worship thee. I myself too
shall worship thee with all thy friends and kinsmen. What grateful person is there
that will not worship the giver of his life? Be thou the lord of both my body and
home. Be thou the disposer of all my wealth and possessions. Be thou my
honoured counsellor and do thou rule me like a father. I swear by my life that
thou hast no fear from us. In intelligence thou art Usanas himself. By the power
of thy understanding thou hast conquered us. Possessed of the strength of
policy, thou hast given us our life.‟ Addressed in such soothing words by the cat,
the mouse, conversant with all that is productive of the highest good, replied in
these sweet words that were beneficial to himself: „I have heard, O Lomasa, all
that thou hast said. Listen now as I say what appears to me. Friends should be
well examined. Foes also should be well studied. In this world, a task like this is
regarded by even the learned as a difficult one depending upon acute
intelligence. Friends assume the guise of foes, and foes assume the guise of
friends. When compacts of friendship are formed, it is difficult for the parties to
understand whether the other parties are really moved by lust and wrath. There
is no such thing as a foe. There is no such thing in existence as a friend. It is
force of circumstances that creates friends and foes. He who regards his own
interests ensured as long as another person lives and thinks them endangered
when that other person will cease to live, takes that other person for a friend and
considers him so as long as those interests of his are not clashed against. There
is no condition that deserves permanently the name either of friendship or
hostility. Both friends and foes arise from considerations of interest and gain.
Friendship becomes changed into enmity in the course of time. A foe also
becomes a friend. Self-interest is very powerful. He who reposes blind trust on
friends and always behaves with mistrust towards foes without paying any regard
to considerations of policy, finds his life to be unsafe. He who, disregarding all
considerations of policy, sets his heart upon an affectionate union with either
friends or foes, comes to be regarded as a person whose understanding has
been unhinged. One should not repose trust upon a person undeserving of trust,
nor should one trust too much a person deserving of trust. The danger that arises
from blind reposing of confidence is such that it cuts the very roots (of the person
that reposes such confidence). The father, the mother, the son, the maternal
uncle, the sister‟s son, other relatives and kinsmen, are all guided by
considerations of interest and profit. Father and mother may be seen to discard

the dear son if fallen.[411] People take care of their own selves. Behold the
efficacy of self-interest. O thou that art possessed of great wisdom, his escape is
very difficult who immediately after he is freed from danger seeks the means of
his enemy‟s happiness. Thou camest down from the tree-top to this very spot.
Thou couldst not, from levity of understanding, ascertain that a net had been
spread here. A person, possessed of levity of understanding, fails to protect his
own self. How can he protect others? Such a person, without doubt, ruins all his
acts. Thou tellest me in sweet words that I am very dear to thee. Hear me,
however, O friend, the reasons that exist on my side. One becomes dear from an
adequate cause. One becomes a foe from an adequate cause. This whole world
of creatures is moved by the desire of gain (in some form or other). One never
becomes dear to another (without cause). The friendship between two uterine
brothers, the love between husband and wife, depends upon interest. I do not
know any kind of affection between any persons that does not rest upon some
motive of self-interest. If, as is sometimes seen, uterine brothers or husband and
wife having quarrelled reunite together from a natural affection, such a thing is
not to be seen in persons unconnected with one another. One becomes dear for
one‟s liberality. Another becomes dear for his sweet words. A third becomes so
in consequence of his religious acts. Generally, a person becomes dear for the
purpose he serves. The affection between us arose from a sufficient cause. That
cause exists no longer. On the other hand, from adequate reason, that affection
between us has come to an end. What is that reason, I ask, for which I have
become so dear to thee, besides thy desire of making me thy prey? Thou
shouldst know that I am not forgetful of this. Time spoils reasons. Thou seekest
thy own interests. Others, however, Possessed of wisdom, understand their own
interests. The world rests upon the example of the wise. Thou shouldst not
address such words to a person possessed of learning and competent to
understand his own interests. Thou art powerful. The reason of this affection that
thou showest for me now is ill-timed. Guided, however, by my own interests, I
myself am firm in peace and war that are themselves very unstable. The
circumstances under which peace is to be made or war declared are changed as
quickly as the clouds change their form. This very day thou wert my foe. This
very day, again, thou wert my friend. This very day thou hast once more become
my enemy. Behold the levity of the considerations that move living creatures.
There was friendship between us as long as there was reason for its existence.
That reason, dependant upon time, has passed away. Without it, that friendship
also has passed away. Thou art by nature my foe. From circumstances thou
becomest my friend. That state of things has passed away. The old state of
enmity that is natural has come back. Thoroughly conversant as I am with the
dictates of policy that have been thus laid down, tell me, why I should enter
today, for thy sake, the net that is spread for me. Through thy power I was freed
from a great danger. Through my power thou hast been freed from a similar
danger. Each of us has served the other. There is no need of uniting ourselves
again in friendly intercourse. O amiable one, the object thou hadst hath been
accomplished. The object I had has also been accomplished. Thou hast now no
use for me except to make me your meal. I am thy food. Thou art the eater. I am

weak. Thou art strong. There cannot be a friendly union between us when we are
situated so unequally. I understand thy wisdom. Having been rescued from the
net, thou applaudest me so that thou mayst succeed in easily making a meal of
me. Thou wert entangled in the net for the sake of food. Thou hast been freed
from it. Thou feelest now the pangs of hunger. Having recourse to that wisdom
which arises from a study of the scriptures, thou seekest verily to eat me up
today. I know that thou art hungry. I know that this is thy hour for taking food.
Thou art seeking for thy prey, with thy eyes directed towards me. Thou hast sons
and wives. Thou seekest still friendly union with me and wishest to treat me with
affection and do me services. O friend, I am incapable of acceding to this
proposal. Seeing me with thee, why will not thy dear spouse and thy loving
children cheerfully eat me up? I shall not, therefore, unite with thee in friendship.
The reason no longer exists for such a union. If, indeed, thou dost not forget my
good offices, think of what will be beneficial to me and be comfortable. What
person is there possessed of any wisdom that will place himself under the power
of a foe that is not distinguished for righteousness, that is in pangs of hunger,
and that is on the look-out for a prey? Be happy then, I will presently leave thee. I
am filled with alarm even if I behold thee from a distance. I shall not mingle with
thee, cease in thy attempts, O Lomasa! If thou thinkest that I have done thee a
service, follow then the dictates of friendship when I may happen to rove trustfully
or heedlessly. Even that will be gratitude in thee. A residence near a person
possessed of strength and power is never applauded, even if the danger that
existed be regarded to have passed away. I should always stand in fear of one
more powerful than myself. If thou dost not seek thy own interests (of the kind
indicated), tell me then what is there that I should do for thee. I shall certainly
give thee everything except my life. For protecting one‟s own self one should give
up one‟s very children, and kingdom, and jewels, and wealth. One should
sacrifice one‟s all for protecting one‟s own self. If a person lives he can recover
all the affluence that he may have to give unto foes for protecting his life. It is not
desirable to give up life like one‟s wealth. Indeed, one‟s own self should always
be protected by, as I have already said, giving up one‟s wives and wealth.
Persons who are mindful of protecting their own selves and who do all their acts
after a proper consideration and survey, never incur danger as the consequence
of their acts. They that are weak always know him for a foe who is possessed of
greater strength. Their understanding, firm in the truths of the scriptures, never
loses its steadiness.‟
“Thus rebuked soundly by the mouse Palita, the cat, blushing with shame,
addressed the mouse and said the following words.”
“Lomasa said, „Truly I swear by thee that to injure a friend is in my estimation
very censurable. I know thy wisdom. I know also that thou art devoted to my
good. Guided by the science of Profit, thou said that there is cause for a breach
between thee and me. It doth not behove thee, however, O good friend, to take
me for what I am not. I cherish a great friendship for thee in consequence of thy
having granted me my life. I am, again, acquainted with duties. I am all
appreciator of other people‟s merits. I am very grateful for services received. I am
devoted to the service of friends. I am, again, especially devoted to thee. For

these reasons, O good friend, it behoveth thee to reunite thyself with me. If I am
commanded by thee, I can, with all my kinsmen and relatives, lay down my very
life. They that are possessed of learning and wisdom see ample reason for
placing their trust in persons of such mental disposition as ourselves. O thou that
art acquainted with the truths of morality, it behoveth thee not to cherish any
suspicion in respect of me.‟ Thus addressed by the cat, the mouse reflecting a
little, said these words of grave import unto the former, „Thou art exceedingly
good. I have heard all that thou hast said and am glad to hear thee. For all that,
however, I cannot trust thee. It is impossible for thee, by such eulogies or by gifts
of great wealth, to induce me to unite with thee again. I tell thee, O friend, that
they who are possessed of wisdom never place themselves, when there is not
sufficient reason, under the power of a foe. A weak person having made a
compact with a stronger one when both are threatened by foes, should (when
that common danger passes away) conduct himself heedfully and by
considerations of policy. Having gained his object, the weaker of the two parties
should not again repose confidence on the stronger. One, should never trust a
person who does not deserve to be trusted. Nor should one repose blind
confidence upon a person deserving of trust. One should always endeavour to
inspire others with confidence in himself-. One should not, however, himself
repose confidence in foes. For these reasons one should, under all
circumstances, protect his own self. One‟s possessions and children and
everything are so long valuable as one is alive. In brief, the highest truth of all
treatises on policy is mistrust. For this reason, mistrust of all is productive of the
greatest good. However weak people may be, if they mistrust their foes, the
latter, even if strong, never succeed in getting them under power. O cat, one like
myself should always guard ones life from persons like thee. Do thou also protect
thy own life from the Chandala whose rage has been excited.‟[412] While the
mouse thus spake, the cat, frightened at the mention of the hunter, hastily
leaving the branch of the tree, ran away with great speed. Having thus displayed
his power of understanding, the mouse Palita also, conversant with the truths of
scripture and possessed of wisdom, entered another hole.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Even thus the mouse Palita, possessed of wisdom, though
weak and alone, succeeded in baffling many powerful foes. One possessed of
intelligence and learning should make peace with a powerful foe. The mouse and
the cat owed their escape to their reliance upon each other‟s services. I have
thus pointed out to thee the course of Kshatriya duties at great length. Listen now
to me in brief. When two persons who were once engaged in hostilities make
peace with each other, it is certain that each of them has it in his heart to over-
reach the other. In such a case he that is possessed of wisdom succeeds by the
power of his understanding in over-reaching the other. He, on the other hand,
who is destitute of wisdom suffers himself, in consequence of his heedlessness,
to be over-reached by the wise. It is necessary, therefore, that, in fear one should
seem to be fearless, and while really mistrusting others one should seem to be
trustful. One who acts with such heedfulness never trips, or tripping, is never
ruined. When the time comes for it, one should make peace with an enemy; and
when the time comes, one should wage war with even a friend. Even thus should

one conduct oneself, O king, as they have said that are conversant with the
considerations of peace (and war). Knowing this, O monarch, and bearing the
truths of scripture in mind, one should, with all his senses about one and without
heedfulness, act like a person in fear before the cause of fear actually presents
itself. One should, before the cause of fear has actually come, act like a person
in fear, and make peace with foes. Such fear and heedfulness lead to keenness
of understanding. If one acts like a man in fear before the cause of fear is at
hand, one is never filled with fear when that cause is actually present. From the
fear, however, of a person who always acts with fearlessness, very great fear is
seen to arise.[413] „Never cherish fear‟—such a counsel should never be given to
any one. The person that cherishes fear moved by a consciousness of his
weakness, always seeks „the counsel of wise and experienced men. For these
reasons, one should, when in fear, seem to be fearless, and when mistrusting
(others) should seem to be trustful. One should not, in view of even the gravest
acts, behave towards others with falsehood. Thus have I recited to thee, O
Yudhishthira, the old story (of the mouse and the cat). Having listened to it, do
thou act duly in the midst of thy friends and kinsmen. Deriving from that story a
high understanding, and learning the difference between friend and foe and the
proper time for war and peace, thou wilt discover means of escape when
overwhelmed with danger. Making peace, at a time of common danger, with one
that is powerful, thou shouldst act with proper consideration in the matter of
uniting thyself with the foe (when the common danger has passed away). Indeed,
having gained thy object, thou shouldst not trust the foe again. This path of policy
is consistent with the aggregate of three (viz., Virtue, Profit, and Pleasure), O
king! Guided by this Sruti, do thou win prosperity by once more protecting thy
subjects. O son of Pandu, always seek the companionship of Brahmanas in all
thy acts. Brahmans constitute the great source of benefit both in this world and
the next. They are teachers of duty and morality. They are always grateful, O
puissant one! If worshipped, they are sure to do thee good. Therefore, O king,
thou shouldst always worship them. Thou wilt then, O king, duly obtain kingdom,
great good, fame, achievement‟s and progeny in their proper order. With eyes
directed to this history of peace and war between the mouse and the cat, this
history couched in excellent words and capable of sharpening the intelligence, a
king should always conduct himself in the midst of his foes.‟”
SECTION CXXXIX
“Yudhishthira said, „Thou hast laid it down, O mighty one, that no trust should be
placed upon foes. But how would the king maintain himself if he were not to trust
anybody? From trust, O king, thou hast said, great danger arises to kings. But
how, O monarch, can a king, without trusting others, conquer his foes? Kindly
remove this doubt of mine. My mind has become confused, O grandsire, at what
I have heard thee say on the subject of mistrust.‟

“Bhishma said, „Listen, O king, to what happened at the abode of Brahmadatta,
viz., the conversation between Pujani and king Brahmadatta. There was a bird
named Pujani who lived for a long time with king Brahmadatta in the inner
apartments of his palace at Kampilya. Like the bird Jivajivaka, Pujani could mimic
the cries of all animals. Though a bird by birth, she had great knowledge and was
conversant with every truth. While living there, she brought forth an offspring of
great splendour. At the very same time the king also got by his queen a son.
Pujani, who was grateful for the shelter of the king‟s roof, used every day to go to
the shores of the ocean and bring a couple of fruits for the nourishment of her
own young one and the infant prince. One of those fruits she gave to her own
child and the other she gave to the prince. The fruits she brought were sweet as
nectar, and capable of increasing strength and energy. Every day she brought
them and everyday she disposed of them in the same way. The infant prince
derived great strength from the fruit of Pujani‟s giving that he ate. One day the
infant prince, while borne on the arms of his nurse, saw the little offspring of
Pujani. Getting down from the nurse‟s arms, the child ran towards the bird, and
moved by childish impulse, began to Play with it, relishing the sport highly. At
length, raising the bird which was of the same age with himself in his hands, the
prince pressed out its young life and then came back to his nurse. The dam, O
king, who had been out in her search after the accustomed fruits, returning to the
palace, beheld her young one lying on the ground, killed by the prince. Beholding
her son deprived of life, Pujani, with tears gushing down her cheeks, and heart
burning with grief, wept bitterly and said, „Alas, nobody should live with a
Kshatriya or make friends with him or take delight in any intercourse with him.
When they have any object to serve, they behave with courtesy. When that
object has been served they cast off the instrument. The Kshatriyas do evil unto
all. They should never be trusted. Even after doing an injury they always seek to
soothe and assure the injured for nothing. I shall certainly take due vengeance,
for this act of hostility, upon this cruel and ungrateful betrayer of confidence. He
has been guilty of a triple sin in taking the life of one that was horn on the same
day with him and that was being reared with him in the same place, that used to
eat with him, and that was dependent on him for protection.‟ Having said these
words unto herself, Pujani, with her talons, pierced the eyes of the prince, and
deriving some comfort from that act of vengeance, once more said, „A sinful act,
perpetrated deliberately, assails the doer without any loss of time. They. on the
other hand, who avenge themselves of an injury, never lose their merit by such
conduct. If the consequence of a sinful act be not seen in the perpetrator himself,
they would certainly be seen, O king, in his sons or son‟s sons or daughter‟s
sons. Brahmadatta, beholding his son blinded by Pujani and regarding the act to
have been a proper vengeance for what his son had done, said these words unto
Pujani.‟
“Brahmadatta said, „An injury was done by us to thee. Thou hast avenged it by
doing an injury in return. The account has been squared. Do not leave thy
present abode. On the other hand, continue to dwell here, O Pujani.‟
“Pujani said, „If a person having once injured another continues to reside with
that other, they that are possessed of learning never applaud his conduct. Under

such circumstances it is always better for the injurer to leave his old place. One
should never place one‟s trust upon the soothing assurances received from an
injured party. The fool that trusts such assurances soon meets with destruction.
Animosity is not quickly cooled. The very sons and grandsons of persons that
have injured each other meet with destruction (in consequence of the quarrel
descending like an inheritance). In consequence again of such destruction of
their offspring, they lose the next world also. Amongst men that have injured one
another, mistrust would be productive of happiness. One that has betrayed
confidence should never be trusted in the least. One who is not deserving of trust
should not be trusted; nor should too much trust be placed upon a person
deserving of trust. The danger that arises from blind confidence brings about a
destruction that is complete. One should seek to inspire others with confidence in
one‟s self. One, however, should never repose confidence on others. The father
and the mother only are the foremost of friends. The wife is merely a vessel for
drawing the seeds. The son is only one‟s seed. The brother is a foe. The friend or
companion requires to have his palms oiled if he is to remain so. One‟s own self
it is that enjoys or suffers one‟s happiness or misery. Amongst persons that have
injured one another, it is not advisable there should be (real) peace. The reasons
no longer exists for which I lived here. The mind of a person who has once
injured another becomes naturally filled with mistrust, if he sees the injured
person worshipping him with gifts and honours. Such conduct, especially when
displayed by those that are strong, always fills the weak with alarm. A person
possessed of intelligence should leave that place where he first meets with
honour in order to meet only with dishonour and injury next. In spite of any
subsequent honour that he might obtain from his enemy, he should behave in
this way. I have dwelt in thy abode for a longtime, all along honoured by thee. A
cause of enmity, however, has at last arisen. I should, therefore, leave this place
without any hesitation.‟
“Brahmadatta said, „One who does an injury in return for an injury received is
never regarded as offending. Indeed, the avenger squares his account by such
conduct. Therefore, O Pujani, continue to reside here without leaving this place.‟
“Pujani said, „No friendship can once more be cemented between a person that
has injured and him that has inflicted an injury in return. The hearts of neither can
forget what has happened.‟
“Brahmadatta said, „It is necessary that a union should take place between an
injurer and the avenger of that injury. Mutual animosity, upon such a union, has
been seen to cool. No fresh injury also has followed in such cases.‟
“Pujani said, „Animosity (springing from mutual injuries) can never die. The
person injured should never trust his foes, thinking, „O, I have been soothed with
assurances of goodwill.‟ In this world, men frequently meet with destruction in
consequence of (misplaced) confidence. For this reason it is necessary that we
should no longer meet each other. They who cannot be reduced to subjection by
the application of even force and sharp weapons, can be conquered by
(insincere) conciliation like (wild) elephants through a (tame) she-elephant.‟

“Brahmadatta said, „From the fact of two persons residing together, even if one
inflicts upon the other deadly injury, an affection arises naturally between them,
as also mutual trust as in the case, of the Chandala and the dog. Amongst
persons that have injured one another, co-residence blunts the keenness of
animosity. Indeed, that animosity does not last long, but disappears quickly like
water poured upon the leaf of a lotus.‟
“Pujani said, „Hostility springs from five causes. Persons possessed of learning
know it. Those five causes are woman, land, harsh words, natural incompatibility,
and injury.[414] When the person with whom hostility occurs happens to be a
man of liberality, he should never be slain, particularly by a Kshatriya, openly or
by covert means. In such a case, the man‟s fault should be properly
weighed.[415] When hostility has arisen with even a friend, no further confidence
should be reposed upon him. Feelings of animosity lie hid like fire in wood. Like
the Aurvya fire within the waters of the ocean, the fire of animosity can never be
extinguished by gifts of wealth, by display of prowess, by conciliation, or by
scriptural learning. The fire of animosity, once ignited, the result of an injury once
inflicted, is never extinguished, O king, without consuming out the right one of the
parties. One, having injured a person, should never trust him again as one‟s
friend, even though one might have (after the infliction of the injury) worshipped
him with wealth and honours. The fact of the injury inflicted fills the injurer with
fear. I never injured thee. Thou also didst never do me an injury. For this reason
I dwelt in thy abode. All that is changed, and at present I cannot trust thee.‟
“Brahmadatta said, „It is Time that does every act, Acts are of diverse kinds, and
all of them proceed from Time. Who, therefore, injures whom?[416] Birth and
Death happen in the same way. Creatures act (i.e., take birth and live) in
consequence of Time, and it is in consequence also of Time that they cease to
live. Some are seen to die at once. Some die one at a time. Some are seen to
live for long periods. Like fire consuming the fuel, Time consumes all creatures.
O blessed lady, I am, therefore, not the cause of your sorrow, nor art thou the
cause of mine. It is Time that always ordains the weal and woe of embodied
creatures. Do thou then continue to dwell here according to thy pleasure, with
affection for me and without fear of any injury from me. What thou hast done has
been forgiven by me. Do thou also forgive me, O Pujani!‟
“Pujani said, „If Time, according to thee, be the cause of all acts, then of course
nobody can cherish feelings of animosity towards anybody on earth. I ask,
however, why friends and kinsmen, seek to avenge themselves the slain. Why
also did the gods and the Asuras in days of your smite each other in battle? If it is
Time that causes weal and woe and birth and death, why do physicians, then
seek, to administer medicines to the sick? If it is Time that is moulding
everything, what need is there of medicines? Why do people, deprived of their
senses by grief, indulge in such delirious rhapsodies? If Time, according to thee,
be the cause of acts, how can religious merit be acquired by persons performing
religious acts? Thy son killed my child. I have injured him for that. I have by that
act, O king, become liable to be slain by thee. Moved by grief for my son, I have
done this injury to thy son. Listen now to the reason why I have become liable to

be killed by thee. Men wish for birds either to kill them for food or to keep them in
cages for sport. There is no third reason besides such slaughter or immurement
for which men would seek individuals of our species. Birds, again, from fear of
being either killed or immured by men seek safety in Right. Persons conversant
with the Vedas have said that death and immurement are both painful. Life is
dear unto all. All creatures are made miserable by grief and pain. All creatures
wish for happiness. Misery arises from various sources. Decrepitude, O
Brahmadatta, is misery. The loss of wealth is misery. The adjacence of anything
disagreeable or evil is misery. Separation or dissociation from friends and
agreeable objects is misery. Misery arises from death and immurement. Misery
arises from causes connected with women and from other natural causes. The
misery that arises from the death of children alters and afflicts all creatures very
greatly. Some foolish persons say that there is no misery in others‟ misery.[417]
Only he who has not felt any misery himself can say so in the midst of men. He,
however, that has felt sorrow and misery, would never venture to say so. One
that has felt the pangs of every kind of misery feels the misery of others as one‟s
own. What I have done to thee, O king, and what thou has done to me, cannot be
washed away by even a hundred years After what we have done to each other,
there cannot be a reconciliation. As often as thou wilt happen to think of thy son,
thy animosity towards me will become fresh. If a person after avenging oneself of
an injury, desires to make peace with the injured, the parties cannot be properly
reunited even like the fragments of an earthen vessel. Men conversant with
scriptures have laid it down that trust never produces happiness Usanas himself
sang two verses unto Prahlada in days of old. He who trusts the words, true or
false, of a foe, meets with destruction like a seeker of honey, in a pit covered with
dry grass.[418] Animosities are seen to survive the very death of enemies, for
persons would speak of the previous quarrels of their deceased sires before their
surviving children. Kings extinguish animosities by having recourse to conciliation
but, when the opportunity comes, break their foes into pieces like earthen jars full
of water dashed upon stone. If the king does injury to any one, he should never
trust him again. By trusting a person who has been injured, one has to suffer
great misery.
“Brahmadatta said, „No man can obtain the fruition of any object by withholding
his trust (from others). By cherishing fear one is always obliged to live as a dead
person.‟
“Pujani said, „He whose feet have become sore, certainly meets with a fall if he
seeks to move, move he may howsoever cautiously. A man who has got sore
eyes, by opening them against the wind, finds them exceedingly pained by the
wind. He who, without knowing his own strength, sets foot on a wicked path and
persists in walking along it, soon loses his very life as the consequence. The man
who, destitute of exertion, tills his land, disregarding the season of rain, never
succeeds in obtaining a harvest. He who takes every day food that is nutritive, be
it bitter or astringent or palatable or sweet, enjoys a long life. He, on the other
hand, who disregards wholesome food and takes that which is injurious without
an eye to consequences, soon meets with death. Destiny and Exertion exist,
depending upon each other. They that are of high souls achieve good and great

feats, while eunuchs only pay court to Destiny. Be it harsh or mild, an act that is
beneficial should be done. The unfortunate man of inaction, however, is always
overwhelmed by all sorts of calamity. Therefore, abandoning everything else, one
should put forth his energy. Indeed, disregarding everything, men should do what
is productive of good to themselves. Knowledge, courage, cleverness, strength,
and patience are said to be one‟s natural friends. They that are possessed of
wisdom pass their lives in this world with the aid of these five. Houses, precious
metals, land, wife, and friends,--these are said by the learned to be secondary
sources of good. A man may obtain them everywhere. A person possessed of
wisdom may be delighted everywhere. Such a man shines everywhere. He never
inspires anybody with fear. If sought to be frightened, he never yields to fear
himself. The wealth, however little, that is possessed at any time by an intelligent
man is certain to increase. Such a man does every act with cleverness. In
consequence of self-restraint, he succeeds in winning great fame. Home-
keeping men of little understanding have to put up with termagant wives that eat
up their flesh like the progeny of a crab eating up their dam. There are men who
through loss of understanding become very cheerless at the prospect of leaving
home. They say unto themselves,--These are our friends! This is our country!
Alas, how shall we leave these?--One should certainly leave the country of one‟s
birth, if it be afflicted by plague or famine. One should live in one‟s own country,
respected by all, or repair to a foreign country for living there. I shall, for this
reason, repair to some other region. I do not venture to live any longer in this
place, for I have done a great wrong to thy child, O king, one should from a
distance abandon a bad wife, a bad son, a bad king, a bad friend, a bad alliance,
and a bad country. One should not place any trust on a bad son. What joy can
one have in a bad wife? There cannot be any happiness in a bad kingdom. In a
bad country one cannot hope to obtain a livelihood. There can be no lasting
companionship with a bad friend whose attachment is very uncertain. In a bad
alliance, when there is no necessity for it, there is disgrace. She indeed, is a wife
who speaks only what is agreeable. He is a son who makes the sire happy. He is
a friend in whom one can trust. That indeed, is one‟s country where one earns
one‟s living. He is a king of strict rule who does not oppress, who cherishes the
poor and in whose territories there is no fear. Wife, country, friends, son,
kinsmen, and relatives, all these one can have if the king happens to be
possessed of accomplishments and virtuous eyes. If the king happens to be
sinful, his subjects, inconsequence of his oppressions, meet with destruction.
The king is the root of one‟s triple aggregate (i.e., Virtue, Wealth, and Pleasure).
He should protect his subjects with heedfulness. Taking from his subjects a sixth
share of their wealth, he should protect them all. That king who does not protect
his subjects is truly a thief. That king who, after giving assurances of protection,
does not, from rapacity, fulfil them,--that ruler of sinful soul,--takes upon himself
the sins of all hi subjects and ultimately sinks into hell. That king, on the other
hand, who, having given assurances of protection, fulfils them, comes to be
regarded as a universal benefactor in consequence of protecting all his subjects.
The lord of all creatures, viz., Manu, has said that the king has seven attributes:
he is mother, father, preceptor, protector, fire, Vaisravana and Yama. The king by

behaving with compassion towards his people is called their father. The subject
that behaves falsely towards him takes birth in his next life as an animal or a bird.
By doing good to them and by cherishing the poor, the king becomes a mother
unto his people. By scorching the wicked he comes to be regarded as fire, and
by restraining the sinful he comes to be called Yama. By making gifts of wealth
unto those that are dear to him, the king comes to be regarded as Kuvera, the
grantor of wishes. By giving instruction in morality and virtue, he becomes a
preceptor, and by exercising the duty of protection he becomes the protector.
That king who delights the people of his cities and provinces by means of his
accomplishments, is never divested of his kingdom in consequence of such
observance of duty. That king who knows how to honour his subjects never
suffers misery either here or hereafter. That king whose subjects are always
filled with anxiety or overburdened with taxes, and overwhelmed by evils of every
kind, meets with defeat at the hands of his enemies. That king, on the other
hand, whose subjects grow like a large lotus in a lake succeeds in obtaining
every reward here and at last meets with honour in heaven. Hostility with a
person that is powerful is, O king, never applauded. That king who has incurred
the hostility of one more powerful than himself, loses both kingdom and
happiness.‟
“Bhishma continued, „The bird, having said these words, O monarch, unto king
Brahmadatta, took the king‟s leave and proceeded to the region she chose. I
have thus recited to thee, O foremost of kings, the discourse between
Brahmadatta and Pujani. What else dost thou wish to hear?‟
SECTION CXL
“Yudhishthira said, „When both righteousness and men, O Bharata, decay in
consequence of the gradual lapse of Yuga, and when the world becomes
afflicted by robbers, how, O Grandsire, should a king then behave?‟[419]
“Bhishma said, „I shall tell thee, O Bharata, the policy the king should Pursue at
such distressful times. I shall tell thee how he should bear himself at such a time,
casting off compassion. In this connection is cited the old story of the discourse
between Bharadwaja and king Satrunjaya. There was a king named Satrunjaya
among the Sauviras. He was a great car-warrior. Repairing to Bharadwaja, he
asked the Rishi about the truths of the science of Profit,--saying,--How can an
unacquired object be acquired? How again, when acquired, can it be increased?
How also, when increased, can it be protected? And how, when protected,
should it be used?--Thus questioned about the truths of the science of Profit, the
regenerate Rishi said the following words fraught with excellent reason unto that
ruler for explaining those truths.
“The Rishi said, „The king should always stay with the rod of chastisement
uplifted in his hand. He should always display his prowess. Himself without
laches, he should mark the laches of his foes. Indeed, his eyes should ever be
used for that purpose. At the sight of a king who has the rod of chastisement ever

uplifted in his hand, every one is struck with fear. For this reason, the king should
rule all creatures with the rod of chastisement. Men possessed of learning and
knowledge of truth applaud Chastisement. Hence, of the four requisites of rule,
viz., Conciliation, Gift, Disunion, and Chastisement, Chastisement is said to be
the foremost. When the foundation of that which serves for a refuge is cut away,
all the refugees perish. When the roots of a tree are cut away, how would the
branches live? A king possessed of wisdom should cut away the very roots of his
foe. He should then win over and bring under his sway the allies and partisans of
that foe. When calamities overtake the king, he should without losing time,
counsel wisely, display his prowess properly, fight with ability, and even retreat
with wisdom. In speech only should the king exhibit his humility, but at heart he
should be sharp as a razor. He should cast off lust and wrath, and speak sweetly
and mildly. When the occasion comes for intercourse with an enemy, a king
possessed of foresight should make peace, without reposing blind trust on him.
When the business is over, he should quickly turn away from the new ally. One
should conciliate a foe with sweet assurances as if he were a friend. One,
however, should always stand in fear of that foe as living in a room within which
there is a snake. He whose understanding is to be dominated by thee (with the
aid of thine intellect) should be comforted by assurances given in the past. He
who is of wicked understanding should be assured by promises of future good.
The person, however, that is possessed of wisdom, should be assured by
present services. The person who is desirous of achieving prosperity should join
hands, swear, use sweet words, worship by bending down his head, and shed
tears.[420] One should bear one‟s foe on one‟s shoulders as long as time is
unfavourable. When however, the opportunity has come, one should break him
into fragments like an earthen jar on a stone. It is better, O monarch that a king
should blaze up for a moment like charcoal of ebony-wood than that he should
smoulder and smoke like chaff for many years. A man who has many purposes
to serve should not scruple to deal with even an ungrateful person. If successful,
one can enjoy happiness. If unsuccessful, one loses esteem. Therefore in
accomplishing the acts of such persons, one should, without doing them
completely, always keep something unfinished. A king should do what is for his
good, imitating a cuckoo, a boar, the mountains of Meru, an empty chamber, an
actor, and a devoted friend.[421] The king should frequently, with heedful
application, repair to the houses of his foes, and even if calamities befall them,
ask them about their good. They that are idle never win affluence; nor they that
are destitute of manliness and exertion; nor they that are stained by vanity; nor
they that fear unpopularity; nor they that are always procrastinating. The king
should act in such a way that his foe may not succeed in detecting his laches. He
should, however, himself mark the laches of his foes. He should imitate the
tortoise which conceals its limbs. Indeed, he should always conceal his own
holes. He should think of all matters connected with finance like a crane.[422] He
should put forth his prowess like a lion. He should lie in wait like a wolf and fall
upon and pierce his foes like a shaft. Drink, dice, women, hunting, and music,--
these he should enjoy judiciously. Addiction to these is productive of evil. He
should make bows with bamboos, etc.; he should sleep cautiously like the deer;

he should be blind when it is necessary that he should be so, or he should even
be deaf when it is necessary to be deaf. The king possessed of wisdom should
put forth his prowess, regardful of time and place. If these are not favourable,
prowess becomes futile. Marking timeliness and untimeliness reflecting upon his
own strength and weakness, and improving his own strength by comparing it with
that of the enemy, the king should address himself to action. That king who does
not crush a foe reduced to subjection by military force, provides for his own death
like the crab when she conceives. A tree with beautiful blossoms may be lacking
in strength. A tree carrying fruits may be difficult of climbing; and sometimes
trees with unripe fruits look like trees with ripe fruits. Seeing all these facts a king
should not allow himself to be depressed. If he conducts himself in such a way,
then he would succeed in upholding himself against all foes. The king should first
strengthen the hopes (of those that approach him as suitors). He should then put
obstacles in the way of the fulfilment of those hopes. He should say that those
obstacles are merely due to occasion. He should next represent that those
occasions are really the results of grave causes. As long as the cause of fear
does not actually come, the king should make all his arrangements like a person
inspired with fear. When, however, the cause of fear comes upon him, he should
smite fearlessly. No man can reap good without incurring danger. If, again, he
succeeds in preserving his life amid danger, he is sure to earn great
benefits.[423] A king should ascertain all future dangers; when they are present,
he should conquer them; and lest they grow again, he should, even after
conquering them, think them to be unconquered. The abandonment of present
happiness and the pursuit of that which is future, is never the policy of a person
possessed Of intelligence. The king who having made peace with a foe sleeps
happily in truthfulness is like a man who sleeping on the top of a tree awakes
after a fall. When one falls into distress, one should raise one‟s self by all means
in one‟s power, mild or stern; and after such rise, when competent, one should
practise righteousness. The king should always honour the foes of his foes. He
should take his own spies as agents employed by his foes. The king should see
that his own spies are not recognised by his foe. He should make spies of
atheists and ascetics and send them to the territories of his enemies. Sinful
thieves, who offend against the laws of righteousness and who are thorns in the
side of every person, enter gardens and places of amusement and houses set up
for giving drinking water to thirsty travellers and public inns and drinking spots
and houses of ill fame and holy places and public assemblies. These should be
recognised and arrested and put down. The king should not trust the person that
does not deserve to be trusted nor should he trust too much the person that is
deserving of trust. Danger springs from trust. Trust should never be placed
without previous examination. Having by plausible reasons inspired confidence in
the enemy, the king should smite him when he makes a false step. The king
should fear him, from whom there is no fear; he should also always fear them
that should be feared. Fear that arises from an unfeared one may lead to total
extermination. By attention (to the acquisition of religious merit), by taciturnity, by
the reddish garb of ascetics, and wearing matted locks and skins, one should
inspire confidence in one‟s foe, and then (when the opportunity comes) one

should jump upon him like the wolf. A king desirous of prosperity should not
scruple to slay son or brother or father or friend, if any of these seek to thwart his
objects. The very preceptor, if he happens to be arrogant, ignorant of what
should be done and, what should not, and a treader of unrighteous paths,
deserves to be restrained by chastisement. Even as certain insects of sharp
stings cut off all flowers and fruits of the trees on which they sit, the king should,
after having inspired confidence in his foe by honours and salutations and gifts,
turn against him and shear him of everything. Without piercing the very vitals of
others, without accomplishing many stern deeds, without slaughtering living
creatures after the manner of the fisherman, one cannot acquire great prosperity.
There is no separate species of creatures called foes or friends. Persons become
friends or foes according to the force of circumstances. The king should never
allow his foe to escape even if the foe should indulge piteous lamentations. He
should never be moved by these; on the other hand, it is his duty to destroy the
person that has done him an injury. A king desirous of prosperity should take
care to attach to himself as many men as he can, and to do them good. In
behaving towards his subjects he should always be free from malice. He should
also, with great care, punish and check the wicked and disaffected. When he
intends to take wealth, he should say what is agreeable. Having taken wealth, he
should say similar things. Having struck off one‟s head with his sword, he should
grieve and shed tears. A king desirous of prosperity should draw others unto
himself by means of sweet words, honours, and gifts. Even thus should he bind
men unto his service. The king should never engage in fruitless disputes. He
should never cross a river with the aid only of his two arms. To eat cow-horns is
fruitless and never invigorating. By, eating them one‟s teeth are broken while the
taste is not gratified. The triple aggregate has three disadvantages with three
Inseparable adjuncts. Carefully considering those adjuncts, the disadvantages
should be avoided.[424] The unpaid balance of a debt, the unquenched remnant
of a fire, and the unslain remnant of foes, repeatedly grow and increase.
Therefore, all those should be completely extinguished and exterminated. Debt,
which always grows, is certain to remain unless wholly extinguished. The same is
the cause with defeated foes and neglected maladies. These always produce
great feat. (One should, therefore, always eradicate them). Every act should be
done thoroughly One should be always heedful. Such a minute thing as a thorn,
if extracted badly, leads to obstinate gangrene. By slaughtering its population, by
tearing up its roads and otherwise injuring them, and by burning and pulling down
its houses, a king should destroy a hostile kingdom. A kings should be far-
sighted like the vulture, motionless like a crane, vigilant like a dog, valiant like a
lion, fearful like a crow, and penetrate the territories of his foes like a snake with
ease and without anxiety. A king should win over a hero by joining his palms, a
coward by inspiring him with fear, and a covetous man by gifts of wealth while
with an equal he should wage war. He should be mindful of producing disunion
among the leaders of sects and of conciliating those that are dear to him. He
should protect his ministers from disunion and destructions. If the king becomes
mild, the people disregard him. If he becomes stern, the people feel it as an
affliction. The rule is that he should be stern when the occasion requires

sternness, and mild when the occasion requires mildness. By mildness should
the mild be cut. By mildness one may destroy that which is fierce. There is
nothing that mildness cannot effect. For this reason, mildness is said to be
sharper than fierceness. That king who becomes mild when the occasion
requires mildness and who becomes stern when sternness is required, succeeds
in accomplishing all his objects, and in putting down his foes. Having incurred the
animosity of a person possessed of knowledge and wisdom, one should not draw
comfort from the conviction that one is at a distance (from one‟s foe). Far-
reaching are the arms of an intelligent man by which he injures when injured.
That should not be sought to be crossed which is really uncrossable. That should
not be snatched from the foe which the foe would be able to recover. One should
not seek to dig at all if by digging one would not succeed in getting at the root of
the thing for which one digs. One should never strike him whose head one would
not cut off. A king should not always act in this way. This course of conduct that I
have laid down should be pursued only in seasons of distress. Inspired by the
motive of doing thee good I have said this for instructing thee as to how thou
shouldst bear thyself when assailed by foes.
“Bhishma continued, „The ruler of the kingdom of the Sauviras, hearing these
words spoken by that Brahmana inspired with the desire of doing him good,
obeyed those instructions cheerfully and obtained with his kinsmen and friends
blazing prosperity.‟”
SECTION CXLI
“Yudhishthira said, „When the high righteousness suffers decay and is
transgressed by all, when unrighteousness becomes righteousness, and
righteousness assumes the form of its reverse, when all wholesome restraints
disappear, and all truths in respect of righteousness are disturbed and
confounded, when people are oppressed by kings and robbers, when men of all
the four modes of life become stupefied in respect of their duties, and all acts
lose their merit, when men see cause of fear on every direction in consequence
of lust and covetousness and folly, when all creatures cease to trust one another,
when they slay one another by deceitful means and deceive one another in their
mutual dealings, when houses are burnt down throughout the country, when the
Brahmanas become exceedingly afflicted, when the clouds do not pour a drop of
rain, when every one‟s hand is turned against every one‟s neighbour, when all
the necessaries of life fall under the power of robbers, when, indeed, such a
season of terrible distress sets in, by what means should a Brahmana live who is
unwilling to cast off compassion and his children? How, indeed, should a
Brahmana maintain himself at such a time? Tell me this, O grandsire! How also
should the king live at such a time when sinfulness overtakes the world? How, O
scorcher of foes, should the king live so that he might not fall away from both
righteousness and profit?‟

“Bhishma said, „O mighty-armed one, the peace and prosperity of subjects,[425]
sufficiency and seasonableness of rain, disease, death and other fears, are all
dependent on the king.[426] I have no doubt also in this. O bull of Bharata‟s race,
that Krita, Treta, Dwapara, and Kali, as regards their setting in, are all dependent
on the king‟s conduct. When such a season of misery as has been described by
thee sets in, the righteous should support life by the aid of judgment. In this
connection is cited the old story of the discourse between Viswamitra and the
Chandala in a hamlet inhabited by Chandalas. Towards the end of Treta and the
beginning of Dwapara, a frightful drought occurred, extending over twelve years,
in consequence of what the gods had ordained. At that time which was the end of
Treta and the commencement of Dwapara, when the period came for many
creatures superannuated by age to lay down their lives, the thousand-eyed deity
of heaven poured no rain. The planet Vrihaspati began to move in a retrograde
course, and Soma abandoning his own orbit, receded towards the south. Not
even could a dew-drop be seen, what need then be said of clouds gathering
together? The rivers all shrank into narrow streamlets. Everywhere lakes and
wells and springs disappeared and lost their beauty in consequence of that order
of things which the gods brought about. Water having become scarce, the places
set up by charity for its distribution became desolate.[427] The Brahmanas
abstained from sacrifices and recitation of the Vedas. They no longer uttered
Vashats and performed other propitiatory rites. Agriculture and keep of cattle
were given up. Markets and shops were abandoned. Stakes for tethering
sacrificial animals disappeared. People no longer collected diverse kinds of
articles for sacrifices. All festivals and amusements perished. Everywhere heaps
of bones were visible and every place resounded with the shrill cries and yells of
fierce creatures.[428] The cities and towns of the earth became empty of
inhabitants. Villages and hamlets were burnt down. Some afflicted by robbers,
some by weapons, and some by bad kings, and in fear of one another, began to
fly away. Temples and places of worship became desolate. They that were aged
were forcibly turned out of their houses. Kine and goats and sheep and buffaloes
fought (for food) and perished in large numbers. The Brahmanas began to die on
all sides. Protection was at an end. Herbs and plants were dried up. The earth
became shorn of all her beauty and exceedingly awful like the trees in a
crematorium. In that period of terror, when righteousness was nowhere, O
Yudhishthira, men in hunger lost their senses and began to eat one another. The
very Rishis, giving up their vows and abandoning their fires and deities, and
deserting their retreats in woods, began to wander hither and thither (in search of
food). The holy and great Rishi Viswamitra, possessed of great intelligence,
wandered homeless and afflicted with hunger. Leaving his wife and son in some
place of shelter, the Rishi wandered, fireless[429] and homeless, and regardless
of food clean and unclean. One day he came upon a hamlet, in the midst of a
forest, inhabited by cruel hunters addicted to the slaughter of living creatures.
The little hamlet abounded with broken jars and pots made of earth. Dog-skins
were spread here and there. Bones and skulls, gathered in heaps, of boars and
asses, lay in different places. Cloths stripped from the dead lay here and there,
and the huts were adorned with garlands of used up flowers.[430] Many of the

habitations again were filled with sloughs cast off by snakes. The place
resounded with the loud crowing of cocks and hens and the dissonant bray of
asses. Here and there the inhabitants disputed with one another, uttering harsh
words in shrill voices. Here and there were temples of gods bearing devices of
owls and other birds. Resounding with the tinkle of iron bells, the hamlet
abounded with canine packs standing or lying on every side. The great Rishi
Viswamitra, urged by pangs of hunger and engaged in search after food, entered
that hamlet and endeavoured his best to find something to eat. Though the son
of Kusika begged repeatedly, yet he failed to obtain any meat or rice or fruit or
root or any other kind of food. He then, exclaiming, „Alas, great is the distress
that has overtaken me!‟ fell down from weakness in that hamlet of the
Chandalas. The sage began to reflect, saying to himself, „What is best for me to
do now?‟ Indeed, O best of kings, the thought that occupied him was of the
means by which he could avoid immediate death. He beheld, O king, a large
piece of flesh, of a dog that had recently been slain with a weapon, spread on the
floor of a Chandala‟s hut. The sage reflected and arrived at the conclusion that
he should steal that meat. And he said unto himself, „I have no means now of
sustaining life. Theft is allowable in a season of distress for even an eminent
person. It will not detract from his glory. Even a Brahmana for saving his life may
do it. This is certain. In the first place one should steal from a low person. Failing
such a person one may steal from one‟s equal. Failing an equal, one may steal
from even an eminent and righteous man. I shall then, at this time when my life
itself is ebbing away, steal this meat. I do not see demerit in such theft. I shall,
therefore, rob this haunch of dog‟s meat.‟ Having formed this resolution, the great
sage Viswamitra laid himself down for sleep in that place where the Chandala
was. Seeing some time after that the night had advanced and that the whole
Chandala hamlet had fallen asleep, the holy Viswamitra, quietly rising up,
entered that hut. The Chandala who owned it, with eyes covered with phlegm,
was lying like one asleep. Of disagreeable visage, he said these harsh words in a
broken and dissonant voice.
“The Chandala said, „Who is there, engaged in undoing the latch? The whole
Chandala hamlet is asleep. I, however, am awake and not asleep. Whoever thou
art, thou art about to be slain.‟ These were the harsh words that greeted the
sage‟s ears. Filled with fear, his face crimson with blushes of shame, and his
heart agitated by anxiety caused by that act of theft which he had attempted, he
answered, saying, „O thou that art blest with a long life, I am Viswamitra. I have
come here oppressed by the pangs of hunger. O thou of righteous
understanding, do not slay me, if thy sight be clear.‟ Hearing these words of that
great Rishi of cleansed soul, the Chandala rose up in terror from his bed and
approached the sage. Joining his palms from reverence and with eyes bathed in
tears, he addressed Kusika‟s son, saying, „What do you seek here in the night, O
Brahmana?‟ Conciliating the Chandala, Viswamitra said, „I am exceedingly
hungry and about to die of starvation. I desire to take away that haunch of dog‟s
meat. Being hungry, I have become sinful. One solicitous of food has no shame.
It is hunger that is urging me to this misdeed. It is for this that I desire to take
away that haunch of dog‟s meat. My life-breaths are languishing. Hunger has

destroyed my Vedic lore. I am weak and have lost my senses. I have no scruple
about clean or unclean food. Although I know that it is sinful, still I wish to take
away that haunch of dog‟s meat. After I had filed to obtain any alms, having
wandered from house to house in this your hamlet, I set my heart upon this sinful
act of taking away this haunch of dog‟s meat. Fire is the mouth of the gods. He is
also their priest. He should, therefore, take nothing save things that are pure and
clean. At times, however, that great god becomes a consumer of everything.
Know that I have now become even like him in that respect.‟ Hearing these
words of the great Rishi, the Chandala answered him, saying, „Listen to me.
Having heard the words of truth that I say, act in such a way that thy religious
merit may not perish. Hear, O regenerate Rishi, what I say unto thee about thy
duty. The wise say that a dog is less clean than a jackal. The haunch, again, of a
dog is a much worse part than other parts of his body. This was not wisely
resolved by thee, therefore, O great Rishi, this act that is inconsistent with
righteousness, this theft of what belongs to a Chandala, this theft, besides, of
food that is unclean. Blessed be thou, do thou look for some other means for
preserving thy life. O great sage, let not thy penances suffer destruction in
consequence of this thy strong desire for dog‟s meat. Knowing as thou dost the
duties laid down in the scriptures, thou shouldst not do an act whose
consequence is a confusion of duties.[431] Do not cast off righteousness, for
thou art the foremost of all persons observant of righteousness.‟ Thus addressed,
O king, the great Rishi Viswamitra, afflicted by hunger, O bull of Bharata‟s race,
once more said, „A long time has passed away without my having taken any
food. I do not see any means again for preserving my life. One should, when one
is dying, preserve one‟s life by any means in one‟s power without judging of their
character. Afterwards, when competent, one should seek the acquisition of merit.
The Kshatriyas should observe the practices of Indra. It is the duty of the
Brahmanas to behave like Agni. The Vedas are fire. They constitute my
strength. I shall, therefore, eat even this unclean food for appeasing my hunger.
That by which life may be preserved should certainly be accomplished without
scruple. Life is better than death. Living, one may acquire virtue. Solicitous of
preserving my life, I desire, with the full exercise of my understanding, to eat this
unclean food. Let me receive thy permission. Continuing to live I shall seek the
acquisition of virtue and shall destroy by penances and by knowledge the
calamities consequent on my present conduct, like the luminaries of the
firmament destroying even the thickest gloom.‟
“The Chandala said, „By eating this food one (like thee) cannot obtain long life.
Nor can one (like thee) obtain strength (from such food), nor that gratification
which ambrosia offers. Do thou seek for some other kind of alms. Let not thy
heart incline towards eating dog‟s meat. The dog is certainly an unclean food to
members of the regenerate classes.‟
“Viswamitra said, „Any other kind of meat is not to be easily had during a famine
like this. Besides, O Chandala, I have no wealth (wherewith to buy food). I am
exceedingly hungry. I cannot move any longer. I am utterly hopeless. I think that
all the six kinds of taste are to be found in that piece of dog‟s meat.‟

“The Chandala said, „Only the five kinds of five-clawed animals are clean food for
Brahmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaisyas, as laid down in the scriptures. Do not
set thy heart upon what is unclean (for thee).‟
“Viswamitra said, „The great Rishi Agastya, while hungry, ate up the Asura
named Vatapi. I am fallen into distress. I am hungry. I shall therefore, eat that
haunch of dog‟s meat.‟
“The Chandala said, „Do thou seek some other alms. It behoves thee not to do
such a thing. Verily, such an act should never be done by thee. If however, it
pleases thee, thou mayst take away this piece of dog‟s meat.‟
“Viswamitra said, „They that are called good are authorities in matters of duty. I
am following their example. I now regard this dog‟s haunch to be better food than
anything that is highly pure.‟
“The Chandala said, „That which is the act of an unrighteous person can never
be regarded as an eternal practice. That which is an improper act can never be a
proper one. Do not commit a sinful act by deception.‟
“Viswamitra said, „A man who is a Rishi cannot do what is sinful.[432] In the
present case, deer and dog, I think, are same (both being animals). I shall,
therefore, eat this dog‟s haunch.‟
“The Chandala said, “Solicited by the Brahmanas, the Rishi (Agastya) did that
act. Under the circumstances it could not be a sin. That is righteousness in which
there is no sin. Besides, the Brahmanas, who are the preceptors of three other
orders, should be protected and preserved by every means.‟
“Viswamitra said, „I am a Brahmana. This my body is a friend of mine. It is very
dear to me and is worthy of the highest reverence from me. It is from the desire
of sustaining the body that the wish is entertained by me of taking away that
dog‟s haunch. So eager have I become that I have no longer any fear of thee and
thy fierce brethren.‟
“The Chandala said, „Men lay down their lives but they still do not set their hearts
on food that is unclean. They obtain the fruition of all their wishes even in this
world by conquering hunger. Do thou also conquer thy hunger and obtain those
rewards.‟
“Viswamitra said, „As regards myself, I am observant of rigid vows and my heart
is set on peace. For preserving the root of all religious merit, I shall eat food that
is unclean. It is evident that such an act would be regarded as righteous in a
person of cleansed soul. To a person, however, of uncleansed soul, the eating of
dog‟s flesh would appear sinful. Even if the conclusion to which I have arrived be
wrong, (and if I eat this dog‟s meat) I shall not, for that act, become one like
thee.‟
“The Chandala said, „It is my settled conclusion that I should endeavour my best
to restrain thee from this sin. A Brahmana by doing a wicked act falls off from his
high state. It is for this that I am reproving thee.‟

“Viswamitra said, „Kine continue to drink, regardless of the croaking of the frogs.
Thou canst lay no claim to what constitutes righteousness (and what not). Do not
be a self-eulogiser.‟
“The Chandala said, „I have become thy friend. For this reason only I am
preaching to thee. Do what is beneficial. Do not, from temptation, do what is
sinful.‟
“Viswamitra said, „If thou be a friend desirous of my happiness, do thou then
raise me up from this distress. In that case, relinquishing this dog‟s haunch, I
may consider myself saved by the aid of righteousness (and not by that of
sinfulness).‟
“The Chandala said, „I dare not make a present of this piece of meat to thee, nor
can I quietly suffer thee to rob me of my own food. If I give thee this meat and if
thou take it, thyself being a Brahmana, both of us will become liable to sink in
regions of woe in the next world.‟
“Viswamitra said, „By committing this sinful act today I shall certainly save my life
which is very sacred. Having saved my life, I shall afterwards practise virtue and
cleanse my soul. Tell me which of these two is preferable (to die without food, or
save my life by taking this food that is unclean).‟
“The Chandala said: „In discharging the duties that appertain to one‟s order or
race, one‟s own self is the best judge (of its propriety or impropriety). Thou
thyself knowest which of those two acts is sinful. He who would regard dog‟s
meat as clean food, I think, would in matters of food abstain from nothing!‟
“Viswamitra said, „In accepting (an unclean present) or in eating (unclean food)
there is sin. When one‟s life, however, is in danger there is no sin in accepting
such a present or eating such food. Besides, the eating of unclean food, when
unaccompanied by slaughter and deception and when the act will provoke only
mild rebuke, is not matter of much consequence.‟
“The Chandala said, „If this be thy reason for eating unclean food, it is then clear
thou dost not regard the Veda and Arya morality. Taught by what thou art going
to do, I see, O foremost of Brahmanas, that there is no sin in disregarding the
distinction between food that is clean and food that is unclean.‟
“Viswamitra said, „It is not seen that a person incurs a grave sin by eating
(forbidden food). That one becomes fallen by drinking wine is only a wordy
precept (for restraining men from drinking). The other forbidden acts (of the same
species), whatever they be, in fact, every sin, cannot destroy one‟s merit.‟
“The Chandala said, „That learned person who takes away dog‟s meat from an
unworthy place (like this), from an unclean wretch (like me), from one who (like
me) leads such a wicked life, commits an act that is opposed to the behaviour of
those that are called good. In consequence, again, of his connection with such a
deed, he is certain to suffer the pangs of repentance.‟
“Bhishma continued, „The Chandala, having said these words unto Kusika‟s son,
became silent. Viswamitra then, of cultivated understanding, took away that

haunch of dog‟s meat. The great ascetic having possessed himself of that piece
of dog‟s meat for saving his life, took it away into the woods and wished with his
wife to eat it. He resolved that having first gratified the deities according to due
rites, he should then eat that haunch of dog‟s meat at his pleasure. Igniting a fire
according to the Brahma rites, the ascetic, agreeably to those rites that go by the
name of Aindragneya, began himself to cook that meat into sacrificial Charu. He
then, O Bharata, began the ceremonies in honour of the gods and the Pitris, by
dividing that Charu into as many portions as were necessary, according to the
injunctions of the scriptures, and by invoking the gods with Indra at their head (for
accepting their shares). Meanwhile, the chief of the celestials began to pour
copiously. Reviving all creatures by those showers, he caused plants and herbs
to grow once more. Viswamitra, however, having completed the rites in honour of
the gods and the Pitris and having gratified them duly, himself ate that meat.
Burning all his sins afterwards by his penances, the sage, after a long time,
acquired the most wonderful (ascetic) success. Even thus, when the end in view
is the preservation of life itself, should a high-souled person possessed of
learning and acquainted with means rescue his own cheerless self, when fallen
into distress, by all means in his power. By having recourse to such
understanding one should always preserve one‟s life. A person, if alive, can win
religious merit and enjoy happiness and prosperity. For this reason, O son of
Kunti, a person of cleansed soul and possessed of learning should live and act in
this world, relying upon his own intelligence in discriminating between
righteousness and its reverse.‟”
SECTION CXLII
“Yudhishthira said, „If that which is so horrible and which like falsehood should
never be an object of regard, be cited (as duty), then what act is there from which
I should forbear? Why also should not robbers then be respected? I am
stupefied! My heart is pained! All the ties that bind me to morality are loosened! I
cannot tranquillise my mind and venture to act in the way suggested by you.‟
“Bhishma said, „I do not instruct thee in respect of duty, taught by what I have
heard from the Vedas alone. What I have told thee is the result of wisdom and
experience. This is the honey that the learned have gathered. Kings should
gather wisdom from various sources. One cannot accomplish his course through
the world with the aid of a morality that is one-sided. Duty must spring from the
understanding; and the practices of those that are good should always be
ascertained, O son of Kuru! Attend to these words of mine. Only kings that are
possessed of superior intelligence can rule, expecting victory. A king should
provide for the observance of morality by the aid of his understanding and guided
by knowledge derived from various sources. The duties of a king can never be
discharged by rules drawn from a morality that is one-sided. A weak-minded king
can never display wisdom (in the discharge of his duties) in consequence of his
not having drawn any wisdom from the examples before him. Righteousness

sometimes takes the shape of unrighteousness. The latter also sometimes takes
the shape of the former. He who does not know this, becomes confounded when
confronted by an actual instance of the kind. Before the occasion comes, one
should, O Bharata, comprehend the circumstances under which righteousness
and its reverse become confused. Having acquired this knowledge, a wise king
should, when the occasion comes, act accordingly, aided by his judgment. The
acts he does at such a time are misunderstood by ordinary people. Some
persons are possessed of true knowledge. Some persons have false knowledge.
Truly ascertaining the nature of each kind of knowledge, a wise king derives
knowledge from them that are regarded as good. They that are really breakers of
morality find fault with the scriptures. They that have themselves no wealth
proclaim the inconsistencies of the treatises on the acquisition of wealth. Those
who seek to acquire knowledge for the object only of carrying their sustenance
by it, O king, are sinful besides being enemies of morality. Wicked men, of
immature understandings, can never know things truly, even as persons
unconversant with scriptures are unable in all their acts to be guided by reason.
With eyes directed to the faults of the scriptures, they decry the scriptures. Even
if they understand the true meaning of the scriptures, they are still in the habit of
proclaiming that scriptural injunctions are unsound. Such men, by decrying the
knowledge of others proclaim the superiority of their own knowledge. They have
words for their weapons and words for their arrows and speak as if they are real
masters of their sciences. Know, O Bharata, that they are traders in learning and
Rakshasas among men. By the aid of mere pretexts they cast off that morality
which has been established by good and wise men. It has been heard by us that
the texts of morality are not to be understood by either discussion or one‟s own
intelligence. Indra. himself has said that this is the opinion of the sage Vrihaspati.
Some are of opinion that no scriptural text has been laid down without a reason.
Others again, even if they properly understand the scriptures, never act
according to them. One class of wise men declare that morality is nothing else
than the approved course of the world. The man of true knowledge should find
out for himself the morality laid down for the good. If even a wise man speaks of
morality under the influence of wrath or confusion of understanding or ignorance,
his deliverances go for nothing. Discourses on morality made with the aid of an
intelligence that is derived from the true letter and spirit of the scriptures, are
worthy of praise and not those which are made with the help of anything else.
Even the words heard from an ignorant person, if in themselves they be fraught
with sense, come to be regarded as pious and wise. In days of old, Usanas said
unto the Daityas this truth, which should remove all doubts, that scriptures are no
scriptures if they cannot stand the test of reason. The possession or absence of
knowledge that is mixed with doubts is the same thing. It behoves thee to drive
off such knowledge after tearing it up by the roots. He who does not listen to
these words of mine is to be regarded as one that has suffered himself to be
misled. Dost thou not see that thou wert created for the accomplishment of fierce
deeds? Behold me, O dear child, how, by betaking myself, to the duties of the
order of my birth, I have despatched innumerable Kshatriyas to heaven! There
are some that are not delighted with me for this. The goat, the horse and the

Kshatriya were created by Brahman for a similar purpose (viz., for being useful to
everybody). A Kshatriya, therefore, should incessantly seek the happiness of all
creatures. The sin that attaches to killing a person that should not be killed is
equal to that which is incurred by not killing one who deserves to be killed. Even
such is the established order of things which a weak-minded king thinks of never
attending to. Therefore, a king should display severity in making all his subjects
observe their respective duties. If this is not done, they will prowl like wolves,
devouring one another. He is a wretch among Kshatriyas in whose territories
robbers go about plundering the property of other people like crows taking little
fishes from water. Appointing high-born men possessed of Vedic knowledge as
thy ministers, do thou govern the earth, protecting thy subjects righteously. That
Kshatriya who, ignorant of the established customs and contrivances, improperly
levies taxes upon his people, is regarded as a eunuch of his order. A king should
be neither severe nor mild. If he rules righteously he deserves praise. A king
should not cast off both the qualities; on the other hand, becoming severe (on
occasions demanding severity), he should be mild when it is necessary to be so.
Painful is the observance of Kshatriya duties. I bear a great love for thee. Thou
art created for the accomplishment of severe acts. Therefore, do thou rule thy
kingdom. Sakra possessed of great intelligence has said that in times of distress
the great duty of a king is chastising the wicked and protecting the good.
“Yudhishthira said, „Is there any such rule (in respect of kingly duties) which
should, under no circumstances, be violated? I ask thee this, O foremost of
virtuous persons! Tell me, O grandsire!‟
“Bhishma said, „One should always worship Brahmanas venerable for learning,
devoted to penances, and rich in conduct conformable to the injunctions of the
Vedas. This indeed, is a high and sacred duty. Let thy conduct towards the
Brahmanas be always that which thou observest towards the gods. The
Brahmanas, if enraged, can inflict diverse kinds of wrong, O king. If they be
gratified, high fame will be thy share. If otherwise, great will be thy fear. If
gratified, the Brahmanas become like nectar. If enraged, they become like
poison.‟”
SECTION CXLIII
“Yudhishthira said, „O grandsire, O thou of great wisdom, O thou that are
conversant with every kind of scripture, tell me what the merit is of one who
cherishes a suppliant that craves for protection.‟
“Bhishma said, „Great is the merit, O monarch, in cherishing a suppliant. Thou
art worthy, O best of the Bharatas, of asking such a question. Those high-souled
kings of old, viz., Sivi and others, O king, attained to great bliss in heaven by
having protected suppliants. It is heard that a pigeon received with respect a
suppliant foe according to due rites and even fed him with his own flesh.‟

“Yudhishthira said, „How, indeed, did a pigeon in days of old feed a suppliant foe
with his own flesh? What also was the end, O Bharata, that he won by such
conduct?‟
“Bhishma said, „Listen, O king, to this excellent story that cleanses the hearer of
every sin, the story, viz., that Bhrigu‟s son (Rama) had recited to king
Muchukunda. This very question, O son of Pritha had been put to Bhrigu‟s son by
Muchukunda with due humility. Unto him desirous of listening with humility the
son of Bhrigu narrated this story of how a pigeon, O monarch, won success
(entitling him to the highest heavenly bliss).‟
“The sage said, „O mighty-armed monarch, listen to me as I narrate to thee this
story that is fraught with truths connected with Virtue, Profit, and Pleasure. A
wicked and terrible fowler, resembling the Destroyer himself, used in days of old
to wander through the great forest. He was black as a raven and his eyes were of
a bloody hue. He looked like Yama himself. His legs were long, his feet short, his
mouth large, and his cheeks protruding. He had no friend, no relative, no
kinsman. He had been cast off by them all for the exceedingly cruel life he led.
Indeed, a man of wicked conduct should be renounced from a distance by the
wise, for he who injures his own self cannot be expected to do good to others.
Those cruel and wicked-souled men that take the lives of other creatures are
always like poisonous snakes, a source of trouble to all creatures. Taking his
nets with him, and killing birds in the woods, he used to sell the meat of those
winged creatures, O king (for livelihood). Following such conduct, the wicked-
souled wretch lived for many long years without ever understanding the
sinfulness of his life. Accustomed for many long years to sport with his wife in the
forest in the pursuit of this profession, and stupefied by destiny, no other
profession was liked by him. One day as he was wandering through the forest
intent on his business, a great storm arose that shook the trees and seemed
about to uproot them. In a moment dense clouds appeared on the sky, with
flashes of lightning playing amidst them, presenting the aspect of a sea covered
with merchants‟ boats and vessels. He of a hundred sacrifices having entered the
clouds with a large supply of rain, in a moment the earth became flooded with
water. While yet the rain fell to torrents, the fowler lost his senses through fear.
Trembling with cold and agitated with fear, he roved through the forest. The killer
of birds failed to find any high spot (which was not under water). The paths of the
forest were all submerged. Inconsequence of the force of the shower, many birds
were deprived of life or dropped down on the ground. Lions and bears and other
animals, availing themselves of some high spots they had found, lay down to
rest. All the denizens of the forest were filled with fear in consequence of that
frightful storm and shower. Frightened and hungry they roamed through the
woods in packs, small and large. The fowler, however, with limbs stiffened by
cold, could neither stop where he was nor move. While in this state he eyed a
she-pigeon lying on the ground, stiffened with cold. The sinful wight, though
himself in the same predicament, beholding the bird, picked her up and immured
her in a cage. Himself overwhelmed with affliction, he scrupled not to overwhelm
a fellow-creature with affliction. Indeed, the wretch, through force of habit alone,
committed that sin even at such a time. He then beheld in the midst of that forest

a lordly tree, blue as the clouds. It was the resort of myriads of birds desirous of
shade and shelter. It seemed to have been placed there by the Creator for the
good of all creatures like a good man in the world. Soon the sky cleared and
became spangled with myriads of stars, presenting the aspect of a magnificent
lake smiling with blooming lilies. Turning his eyes towards the clear firmament
rich with stars, the fowler began to advance, still trembling with cold. Beholding
the sky cleared of clouds, he cast his eyes on all sides and seeing that night was
already upon him, he began to think, „My home is at great distance from where I
am.‟ He then resolved to pass the night under the shade of that tree. Bowing
down to it with joined hands, he addressed that monarch of the forest, saying, „I
am a suppliant for the shelter unto all the deities that have this tree for their
resort.‟ Having said these words, he spread some leaves for a bed, and laid
himself down on it, resting his head on a stone. Though overwhelmed with
affliction, the man soon fell asleep.‟”
SECTION CXLIV
“Bhishma said, „In one of the branches of that tree, a pigeon with beautiful
feathers, O king, lived for many years with his family. That morning his wife had
gone out in search of food but had not yet returned. Seeing the night had come
and his wife still unreturned, the bird began to indulge in lamentations: „Oh, great
has been the storm and painful the shower that came today! Alas, thou has not
yet returned, O dear wife! Woe is on me, what can be the cause that she has not
yet comeback to us? Is every thing right with that dear spouse of mine in the
forest? Separated from her, this my home appears to me empty! A house-
holder‟s home, even if filled with sons and grandsons and daughters-in-law and
servants, is regarded empty if destitute of the housewife. One‟s house is not
one‟s home; one‟s wife only is one‟s home. A house without the wife is as
desolate as the wilderness. If that dear wife of mine, of eyes fringed with red, of
variegated plumes, and of sweet voice, does not come back today, my life itself
will cease to be of any value. Of excellent vows, she never eats before I eat, and
never bathes before I bathe. She never sits before I sit down, and never lies
before I lie down. She rejoices if I rejoice, and becomes sorry when I am sorry.
When I am away she becomes cheerless, and when I am angry she ceases not
to speak sweetly. Ever devoted to her lord and ever relying upon her lord, she
was ever employed in doing what was agreeable to and beneficial for her lord.
Worthy of praise is that person on earth who own such a spouse. That amiable
creature knows that I am fatigued and hungry. Devoted to me and constant in her
love, my famous spouse is exceedingly sweet-tempered and worships me
devoutly. Even the foot of a tree is one‟s home if one lives there with one‟s
spouse as a companion. Without one‟s spouse, a very palace is truly a desolate
wilderness. One‟s spouse is one‟s associate in all one‟s acts of Virtue, Profit and
Pleasure. When one sets out for a strange land one‟s wife is one‟s trusted
companion. It is said that the wife is the richest possession of her lord. In this
world the wife is the only associate of her lord in all the concerns of life.[433] The

wife is ever the best of medicines that one can have in sickness and woe. There
is no friend like unto the wife. There is no refuge better than the wife. There is no
better ally in the world than the wife in acts undertaken for the acquisition of
religious merit. He that has not in his house a wife that is chaste and of
agreeable speech, should go to the woods. For such a man there is no difference
between home and wilderness.‟”
SECTION CXLV
“Bhishma said, „Hearing those piteous lamentations of the pigeon on the tree, the
she-pigeon seized by the fowler began to say to herself as follows.‟
“The she-pigeon said, „Whether I have any merit or not, verily there is no limit to
any good fortune when my dear lord thus speaks of me. She is no wife with
whom her lord is not content. In the case of women, if their lords be gratified with
them all the deities also become so. Since the marriage union takes place in the
presence of fire, the husband is the wife‟s highest deity. That wife with whom her
husband is not pleased becomes consumed into ashes, even like a creeper
adorned with bunches of flowers in a forest conflagration.‟ Having reflected thus,
the she-pigeon, afflicted with woe, and immured by the fowler within his cage,
thus spoke unto her woe-stricken lord, „I shall say what is now beneficial for
thee.‟ Hearing me follow thou my counsel, O dear lord, be thou the rescuer of a
suppliant. This fowler lies here by thy abode, afflicted with cold and hunger. Do
him the duties of hospitality. The sin that a person commits by slaying a
Brahmana or that mother of the world, viz., a cow, is equal to that which one
incurs by suffering a suppliant to perish (from want of help). Thou art possessed
of knowledge of self. It ever behoves one like thee, therefore, to follow that
course which has been ordained for us as pigeons by the order of our birth.[434]
It has been heard by us that the householder who practises virtue according to
the measure of his abilities, wins hereafter inexhaustible regions of bliss. Thou
hast sons. Thou hast progeny. O bird, casting off all kindness for thy own body,
therefore, and for winning virtue and profit, offer worship to this fowler so that his
heart may be pleased. Do not, O bird, indulge in any grief on my account. (See,
how unimportant I am!) Thou mayst continue to live, taking other wives!‟ The
amiable she-pigeon, overcome with sorrow, and casting her eyes upon her lord
from the fowler‟s cage within which she had been immured, said these words
unto him.‟”
SECTION CXLVI
“Bhishma said, „Hearing these words fraught with morality and reason that were
spoken by his wife, the pigeon became filled with great delight and his eyes were
bathed in tears of joy. Beholding that fowler whose avocation was the slaughter
of birds, the pigeon honoured him scrupulously according to the rites laid down in

the ordinance. Addressing him, he said, „Thou art welcome today. Tell me, what
I shall do for thee. Thou shouldst not repine. This is thy home.[435] Tell me
quickly what I am to do and what is thy pleasure. I ask thee this in affection, for
thou hast solicited shelter at our hands. Hospitality should be shown to even
one‟s foe when he comes to one‟s house. The tree withdraws not its shade from
even the person that approaches it for cutting it down. One should, with
scrupulous care, do the duties of hospitality towards a person that craves for
shelter. Indeed, one is especially bound to do so if one happens to lead a life of
domesticity that consists of the five sacrifices. If one, while leading a life of
domesticity, does not, from want of judgment, perform the five sacrifices, one
loses, according to the scriptures, both this and the next world. Tell me then
trustfully and in intelligible words what thy, wishes are. I will accomplish them all.
Do not set thy heart on grief.‟ Hearing these words of the bird, the fowler replied
unto him, saying, „I am stiff with cold. Let provision be made for warming me.‟
Thus addressed, the bird gathered together a number of dry leaves on the
ground, and taking a single leaf in his beak speedily went away for fetching fire.
Proceeding to a spot where fire is kept, he obtained a little fire and came back to
the spot. He then set fire to those dry leaves, and when they blazed forth into
vigorous flames, he addressed his guest, saying, „Do thou trustfully and without
fear warm thy limbs.‟ Thus addressed, the fowler said, „So be it.‟ And he set
himself to warm his stiffened limbs. Recovering (as it were) his life-breathes the
fowler said unto his winged host, „Hunger is afflicting me. I wish thee to give me
some food.‟ Hearing his words the bird said, „I have no stores by which to
appease thy hunger. We, denizens of the woods, always live upon what we get
every day. Like the ascetics of the forest we never hoard for the morrow.‟ Having
said these words, the bird‟s face became pale (from shame). He began to reflect
silently as to what he should do and mentally deprecated his own method of
living. Soon, however, his mind became clear. Addressing the slaughterer of his
species, the bird said, „I shall gratify thee. Wait for a moment.‟ Saying these
words, he ignited a fire with the help of some dry leaves, and filled with joy, said,
„I heard in former days from high-souled Rishis and gods and Pitris that there is
great merit in honouring a guest. O amiable one, be kind to me. I tell thee truly
that my heart is set upon honouring thee that art my guest.‟ Having formed this
resolution, the high-souled bird with a smiling face, thrice circumambulated that
fire and then entered its flames. Beholding he bird enter that fire, the fowler
began to think, and asked himself, „What have I done? Alas, dark and terrible will
be my sin, without doubt in consequence of my own acts! I am exceedingly cruel
and worthy of reprobation. Indeed, observing the bird lay down his life, the fowler,
deprecating his own acts, began to indulge in copious lamentations like thee.‟”
SECTION CXLVII
“Bhishma said, „The fowler, seeing the pigeon fall into the fire, became filled with
compassion and once more said, „Alas, cruel and senseless that I am, what have
I done! I ant certainly a mean wretch! Great will be my sin for everlasting years!

Indulging in such self-reproaches he began to say, repeatedly, „I am unworthy of
credit. My understanding is wicked. I am ever sinful in my resolves. Alas,
abandoning all kinds of honourable occupation, I have become a fowler A cruel
wretch that I am, without doubt, this high-souled pigeon, by laying down his own
life, has read me a grave lesson. Abandoning wives and sons, I shall certainly
cast off my very life-breaths that are so dear. The high-souled pigeon has taught
me that duty. From this day, denying every comfort to my body, I shall wear it out
even as a shallow tank in the season of summer. Capable of bearing hunger,
thirst, and penances, reduced to emaciation, and covered with visible veins all
over, I shall, by diverse kinds of practise such vows as have a reference to the
other world. Alas, by giving up his body, the pigeon has shown the worship that
should be paid to a guest. Taught by his example. I shall henceforth practise
righteousness. Righteousness is the highest refuge (of all creatures). Indeed, I
shall practise such righteousness as has been seen in the righteous pigeon, that
foremost of all winged creatures.‟ Having formed such a resolution and said
these words, that fowler, once of fierce deeds, proceeded to make an unreturning
tour of the world,[436] observing for the while the most rigid vows. He threw away
his stout staff, his sharp-pointed iron-stick, his nets and springes, and his iron
cage, and set at liberty the she-pigeon that he had seized and immured.‟”
SECTION CXLVIII
“Bhishma said, „After the fowler had left that spot, the she-pigeon, remembering
her husband and afflicted with grief on his account, wept copiously and indulged
in these lamentations, „I cannot, O dear lord, recollect a single instance of thy
having done me an injury! Widows, even if mothers of many children, are still
miserable! Bereft of her husband, a woman becomes helpless and an object of
pity with her friends. I was always cherished by thee, and in consequence of the
great respect thou hadst for me I was always honoured by thee with sweet,
agreeable, charming, and delightful words. I sported with thee in valleys, in
springs of rivers, and on delightful tops of trees. I was also made happy by thee
while roving with thee through the skies. I used to sport with thee before, O dear
lord, but where are those joys now? Limited are the gifts of the father, of the
brother, and of the son to a woman. The gifts that her husband alone makes to
her are unlimited. What woman is there that would not, therefore, adore her lord?
A woman has no protector like her lord, and no happiness like her lord.
Abandoning all her wealth and possessions, a woman should take to her lord as
her only refuge. Life here is of no use to me, O lord, now that I am separated
from thee. What chaste woman is there that would, when deprived of her lord,
venture to bear the burden of life?‟ Filled with sorrow and indulging in such
piteous lamentations, the she-pigeon, devoted to her lord, cast herself on the
blazing fire. She then beheld her (deceased) husband adorned with bracelets,
seated on a (celestial) car, and adored by many high-souled and meritorious
beings standing around him. Indeed, there he was in the firmament, decked with
fine garlands and attired in excellent robes, and adorned with every ornament.

Around him were innumerable celestial cars ridden by beings who had acted
meritoriously while in this world. Seated on his own celestial car, the bird
ascended to heaven, and obtaining proper honours for his deeds in this world,
continued to sport in joy, accompanied by his wife.‟”
SECTION CXLIX
“Bhishma said, „The fowler, O king, happened to see that pair while seated on
their celestial car. Beholding the couple he became filled with sorrow (at the
thought of his own misfortune) and began to reflect upon the means of obtaining
the same end. And he said to himself, „I must, by austerities like those of the
pigeon, attain to such a high end!‟ Having formed this resolution, the fowler, who
had lived by the slaughter of birds, set out on an unreturning journey. Without
any endeavour (for obtaining food) and living upon air alone, he cast off all
affections from desire of acquiring heaven. After he had proceeded for some
distance, he saw an extensive and delightful lake full of cool and pure water, and
adorned with lotuses and teeming with diverse kinds of water-fowl. Without
doubt, the very sight of such a lake is capable of slaking the desire for drink of a
thirsty person. Emaciated with fasts, the fowler, however, O king, without casting
his eyes upon it, gladly penetrated a forest inhabited by beasts of prey, having
ascertained previously its wide extent. After he had entered the forest he became
much afflicted by sharp pointed thorns. Lacerated and torn by prickles, and
covered all over with blood, he began to wander in that forest destitute of men
but abounding with animals of diverse species. Sometime after, inconsequence
of the friction of some mighty trees caused by a powerful wind, a widespread
bush fire arose. The raging element, displaying a splendour like to what it
assumes at the end of the Yuga, began to consume that large forest teeming
with tall trees and thick bushes and creepers. Indeed, with flames fanned by the
wind and myriads of sparks flying about in all directions, the all-consuming deity
began to burn that dense forest abounding with birds and beasts. The fowler,
desirous of casting off his body, ran with a delighted heart towards that spreading
conflagration. Consumed by that fire the fowler became cleansed of all his sins
and attained, O best of the Bharatas, to high success. The fever of his heart
dispelled, he at last beheld himself in heaven, shining in splendour like Indra in
the midst of Yakshas and Gandharvas and persons crowned with ascetic
success. Thus, indeed, the pigeon and his devoted spouse, with the fowler,
ascended to heaven for their meritorious acts, The woman who thus follows her
lord speedily ascends to heaven and shines in splendour there like the she-
pigeon of whom I have spoken. Even this is the old history of the high-souled
fowler and the pigeon. Even thus did they earn a highly meritorious end by their
righteous acts. No evil befalls the persons who listens every day to this story or
who recites it every day, even if error invades his mind.[437] O Yudhisthira, O
foremost of all righteous persons, the protection of a suppliant is truly a high act
of merit. Even the slayer of a cow, by practising this duty, maybe cleansed of sin.
That man, however, will never be cleansed who slays a suppliant. By listening to

this sacred and sin-cleansing story one becomes freed from distress and attains
to heaven at last.‟”
SECTION CL
“Yudhishthira said, „O best of the Bharatas, when a person commits sin from
want of judgment, how may he be cleansed from it? Tell me everything about it.‟
“Bhishma said, „I shall in this connection recite to thee the old narrative,
applauded by the Rishis, of what the regenerate Indrota, the son of Sunaka, said
unto Janamejaya. There was in days of yore, a king possessed of great energy,
called Janamejaya, who was the son of Parikshit. That lord of earth on one
occasion, from want of judgment became guilty of killing a Brahmana. Upon this,
all the Brahmanas together with his priests abandoned him. Burning day and
night with regret, the king retired into the woods. Deserted by his subjects too, he
took this step for achieving high merit. Consumed by repentance, the monarch
underwent the most rigid austerities. For washing himself of the sin of
Brahmanicide he interrogated many Brahmanas, and wandered from country to
country over the whole earth. I shall now tell thee the story of his expiation.
Burning with the remembrance of his sinful act, Janamejaya wandered about.
One day, in course of his wanderings, he met Indrota, the son of Sunaka, of rigid
vows, and approaching him touched his feet. The sage, beholding the king
before him, reproved him gravely, saying, „Thou hast committed a great sin. Thou
hast been guilty of foeticide. Why has thou come here? What business hast thou
with us? Do not touch me by any means! Go, go away! Thy presence does not
give us pleasure. Thy person smells like blood. Thy appearance is like that of a
corpse. Though impure, thou seemest to be pure, and though dead thou movest
like a living! Dead within, thou art of impure soul, for thou art ever intent upon sin.
Though thou sleepest and wakest, thy life, however, is passed in great misery.
Thy life, O king, is useless. Thou livest most miserably. Thou hast been created
for ignoble and sinful deeds. Sires wish for sons from desire of obtaining diverse
kinds of blessings, and hoping they perform penances and sacrifices, worship the
gods, and practise renunciation.[438] Behold, the whole race of thy ancestors
has fallen into hell in consequence of thy acts. All the hopes thy sires had placed
upon thee have become fruitless. Thou livest in vain, for thou art always inspired
with hatred and malice towards the Brahmanas—them, that is, by worshipping
whom other men obtain long life, fame, and heaven. Leaving this world (when
the time comes), thou shalt have to fall (into hell) with head downwards and
remain in that posture for innumerable years in consequence of thy sinful deeds.
There thou shalt be tortured by vultures and peacocks having iron beaks.
Returning thence into this world, thou shalt have to take birth in a wretched order
of creatures. If thou thinkest, O king, that this world is nothing and that the next
world is the shadow of a shadow, the myrmidons of Yama in the infernal regions
will convince thee, dispelling thy unbelief.‟”

SECTION CLI
“Bhishma said, „Thus addressed, Janamejaya replied unto the sage, saying,
„Thou rebukest one that deserves to be rebuked. Thou censurest one that is
deserving of censure. Thou upbraidest me and my acts. I implore thee to be
graceful towards me. All my acts have been sinful. I burn, however, with
repentance as if I am in the midst of blazing fire! My mind, in remembrance of my
deeds, is exceedingly cheerless. Verily, I am much afraid of Yama. How can I
bear to live without extracting that dart from my heart? O Saunaka, suppressing
all thy wrath, instruct me now. Formerly I used to show regard for Brahmanas. I
solemnly declare that I shall once more show the same regard for thee. Let not
my line be extinct. Let not the race in which I am born sink into the dust. It is not
proper that they who have wronged Brahmanas and have for that, in
consequence of the injunctions of the Vedas, forfeited all claim to the respect of
the world and to social intercourse with their fellowmen, should have any bearer
of their names for continuing their races. I am overwhelmed with despair. I,
therefore, repeat my resolves (about mending my conduct). I pray you to protect
me like sages that do not accept gifts protecting the poor. Sinful wights
abstaining from sacrifices never attain to heaven.[439] Leaving (this world), they
have to pass their time in the pits of hell like Pullindas and Khasas.[440] Ignorant
that I am, give me wisdom like a learned preceptor to his pupil or like a sire to his
son. Be gratified with me, O Saunaka!‟
“Saunaka said, „What wonder is there that a person destitute of wisdom should
do many improper acts? Knowing this, a. person of real wisdom is never angry
with creatures (when they become guilty of folly). By ascending upon the top of
wisdom‟s palace, one grieves for others, one‟s own self being then too pure for
becoming an object of other people‟s grief. In consequence of one‟s wisdom one
surveys all creatures in the world like a person on a mountain-top surveying
people below. The person who becomes an object of censure with good men,
who hates good men and who hides himself from their view, never succeeds in
obtaining any blessing and never understands the 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![441] 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.[442] 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.‟”
SECTION CLII
“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.[443] 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.[444] 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 Saraswati has been said to be more so.
The tirthas of the Saraswati are more sacred than the Saraswati 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.[445] 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 highest good. 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.[446] 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.[447] 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.‟”
SECTION CLIII
“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?[448] 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![449] 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.[450] 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 world.‟
“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.[451] 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,[452] 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.[453] It seems that 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 hereafter.‟”
SECTION CLIV
“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 Meru 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,[454] this thy
region, I think, resembles heaven itself.‟”
SECTION CLV
“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).‟”
SECTION CLVI
“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 me.‟
“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.‟”
SECTION CLVII
“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!‟”

SECTION CLVIII
“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.”[455]‟

SECTION CLIX
“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.‟[456]
“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.[457] 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.‟”
SECTION CLX
“Yudhishthira said, „O grandsire, O thou of virtuous soul, what, indeed, is said to
be productive of great merit[458] 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.[459] The man of self-restraint is
never bound by the attachments that arise from earthly connections like to those
involved in sentiments like these, „I 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.[460] 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,[461] 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.[462] 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.[463] 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).‟”
SECTION CLXI
“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.‟”
SECTION CLXII
“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.[464] 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.”‟
SECTION CLXIII
“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.[465] 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.[466] 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.‟”
SECTION CLXIV
“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.‟”

SECTION CLXV
“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.[467] Unto those Brahmanas that
are not poor, only the Dakshina,[468] 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.[469] 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.[470] 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.[471] 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,[472]
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.[473] 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.[474] 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.[475] 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.[476] 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.[477] 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.[478] 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-drinking 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.‟”
SECTION CLXVI
“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.[479] 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 training.‟

“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.[480] 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).[481] 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
Ayus, and from Ayus 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.[482] 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.‟”
SECTION CLXVII
“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.[483] 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 speak.‟
“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.[484] 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.[485] 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.[486] 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.[487] 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.‟”
SECTION CLXVIII
“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,[488] 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),[489] 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.‟[490] 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,[491] 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 Brahmacharya 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).[492] 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.‟”
SECTION CLXIX
“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.[493] 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
Rajadharman. 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.‟”
SECTION CLXX
“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[494] 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 request, will, 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 chief‟s 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.‟”
SECTION CLXXI
“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.[495] 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 said, „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.‟”
SECTION CLXXII
“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.[496]
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.‟
SECTION CLXXIII
“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.[497] 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,[498] 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.[499] 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 hear?‟
“Vaisampayana continued, „Hearing these words spoken by the high-souled
Bhishma, Yudhishthira, O Janamejaya, became highly gratified.‟
SECTION CLXXIV
(Mokshadharma Parva)
“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.[500] 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 come.‟
“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.[501] 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.[502] 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.[503] 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.[504] 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.[505] 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.[506] 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.[507] 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.[508] That object, whatever it may be, in
respect of which the idea of meum is cherished, becomes a source of grief and
heart-burning.[509] 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).[510] What woman is there that regards that Supreme
Soul as her dear lord, even when He comes near?[511] 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.‟”
SECTION CLXXV
“Yudhishthira said, „Time, which is destructive of every created thing, is passing
on.[512] 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.[513] 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?[514] 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.[515] 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.[516] Nothing can resist the messengers (Disease and Decrepitude) of
Death when they advance except Truth which devours Untruth. In Truth is
immortality.[517] 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 Santi-sacrifice, the Brahma-sacrifice, the
Mind-sacrifice, and the Work-sacrifice.[518] 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?[519]
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?‟[520]
“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.‟
SECTION CLXXVI
“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.‟[521]
“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,[522] „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.‟”
SECTION CLXXVII
“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 happiness?‟

“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.[523] 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.[524] 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![525]--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.[526] 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.[527] O
Desire, I know thy root. Thou springest from Will.[528]--I 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.[529] 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.[530]
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![531]
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.[532] 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 felicity.‟”
SECTION CLXXVIII
“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 that under 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)!‟[533]
“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.[534] 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.‟”[535]
SECTION CLXXIX
“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.[536] 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.[537] 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; sometimes the 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.[538] 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.‟”
SECTION CLXXX
“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 contentment. 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.[539] 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.[540] They, on the other hand, that
are born under evil constellations, inauspicious lunations, and at evil hours,
become destitute of sacrifices and progeny and at last fall into the Asura
order.[541] 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.[542] I 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 his abode.‟”
SECTION CLXXXI
“Yudhishthira said, „Tell me, O grandsire, if gifts, sacrifices, penances, and dutiful
services returned to preceptors, are productive of wisdom and high felicity.‟[543]
„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.[544] It sleeps when he sleeps and does whatever else he
does.[545] 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.[546] 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.[547] 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.[548] 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.‟”
SECTION CLXXXII
“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.[549] Mahat created Consciousness.
That Divine Being created Space. That puissant 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.[550] The Srutis say that as soon as born, that divine Being
uttered the words, „I am He!‟ 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.[551] 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[552] 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 Manasa? 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 of mine.‟
“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.‟”
SECTION CLXXXIII
“Bharadwaja said, „Tell me, O best of Brahmanas, how the puissant Brahman
residing within Meru, 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.[553] 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.‟”
SECTION CLXXXIV
“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?‟[554]
“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.[555] 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.[556] 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.‟”
SECTION CLXXXV
“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.[557] 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.[558] 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.[559]
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.[560] 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.‟
SECTION CLXXXVI
“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 from seeds.‟”
SECTION CLXXXVII
“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.[561] 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.‟
SECTION CLXXXVIII
“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 black.‟
“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.[562] 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.‟”[563]
SECTION CLXXXIX
“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 speakers.‟
“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,[564] 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.[565] 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.[566]
One should conduct oneself as a friend to all creatures, abstaining from all acts
of injury. Rejecting the acceptance of all gifts, one 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.[567] 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.‟”

SECTION CXC
“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.[568] The happiness of creatures that are overwhelmed by Darkness
disappears like the splendour of the Moon when afflicted by Rahu.[569]
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.[570] 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 Brahmacharya. 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.‟”[571]
SECTION CXCI
“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 themselves.‟
“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.‟[572]
“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.[573] 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.[574] 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,[575] 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.[576]
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.[577] 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,[578] enjoys great
happiness here and at last attains to the end that is reserved for persons that are
virtuous and good.[579] 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 heaven.‟”
SECTION CXCII
“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.[580] 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.[581] 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.[582] 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.[583] 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.[584] 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.[585] 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.[586] 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.[587] 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.[588] 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 Brahmacharyya 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?”‟
SECTION CXCIII
“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 conduct.‟
“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,[589]
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.[590] 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.[591] 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.[592] 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.[593] 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.[594] 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?‟[595] 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.[596] 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.[597] 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.[598] 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?[599] Righteousness
is the origin of mankind. Righteousness is the ambrosia of the gods. After death,
men enjoy, through Righteousness, eternal happiness.‟
SECTION CXCIV
“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.[600] 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.‟[601]
“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.[602] The
seventh is called the understanding; and the eighth is the soul.[603] 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.[604] 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.[605] 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.[606] 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.[607] 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.[608] 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.[609]
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.[610] 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.[611] 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.[612] 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.[613]
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.[614]
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)?[615]
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.[616] 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.‟”[617]
SECTION CXCV
“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.[618] 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.[619] 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.[620] 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.‟”
SECTION CXCVI
“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?[621] 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.[622] 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).[623] 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).[624] 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.[625] 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.[626]
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
not 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.‟”

SECTION CXCVII
“Yudhishthira said, „Thou hast said that as regards Reciters, they obtain this very
high end.[627] I 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.[628] 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.[629] 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.[630] 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.[631] 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[632].
“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 forms?‟
“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.‟”
SECTION CXCVIII
“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),[633] 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.‟
SECTION CXCIX
“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.[634] He
acquired (by his austerities) spiritual insight into the Angas.[635] 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 Rishi? 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.[636] 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 thee.‟
“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 and me.‟
“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 not tarry.‟
“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 recitations).‟
“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 for them.‟
“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, „I 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 words.‟
“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 Truth.‟
“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.[637] 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.‟
“Bhishma continued, „At this time, two individuals of very ungainly aspect came
there. Each had his arm upon the other‟s shoulder; both were ill-dressed. They
said these words, „Thou owest me nothing. I really owe thee. If we dispute in this
way, here is the king who ruleth individuals. I say truly, thou owest me nothing!
Thou speakest falsely. I do owe thee a debt. Both of them, waxing very hot in
dispute, then addressed the king, saying, „See, O monarch, that none of us may
become stained with sin.‟
“Virupa said, „I woe my companion, Vikrita, O monarch, the merits of the gift of a
cow. I am willing to pay off that debt. This Vikrita, however, refuses to take
repayment.‟[638]
“Vikrita said, „This Virupa, O monarch, oweth me nothing. He speaks a falsehood
with the appearance of truth, O king.‟
“The king said, “Tell me, O Virupa, what is that which thou owest thy friend here.
It is my resolution to hear thee and then do what is proper.‟
“Virupa said, „Hear attentively, O king, all the circumstances in detail, about how I
owe my companion, viz., this Vikrita, O ruler of men. This Vikrita had, in bygone
days, for the sake of winning merit, O sinless one, given away an auspicious
cow, O royal sage, unto a Brahmana devoted to penances as the study of the
Vedas. Going unto him, O king, I begged of him the reward of that act. With a
pure heart, Vikrita made a gift to me of that reward. I then, for my purification, did
some good acts. I also purchased two kapila cows with calves, both of which
used to yield large quantities of milk. I then made a present, according to due
rites and with proper devotion, of those two cows unto a poor Brahmana living by
the Unchha[639] method. Having formerly accepted the gift from my companion,

I desire, O lord, even here, to give him return twice the reward![640] The
circumstances being such, O tiger among men, who amongst us two shall be
innocent and who guilty (according to your judgment)? Disputing with each other
about this, we have both come to thee, O monarch! Whether thou judgest rightly
or wrongly, establish both of us in peace. If this my companion does not wish to
take from me in return a gift equal to what he gave me, thou shalt have to judge
patiently and set us both on the right track.‟
“The king said, „Why do you not accept payment that is sought to be made of the
debt that is owing to thee? Do not delay, but accept payment of what thou
knowest is thy due.‟
“Vikrita said, „This one says that he owes me. I say unto him that what I gave I
gave away. He doth not, therefore, owe me anything. Let him go whithersoever
he wishes.‟
“The king said, „He is ready to give thee. Thou., however, art unwilling to take.
This does not seem proper to me. I think that thou deservest punishment for this.
There is little doubt in this.‟
“Vikrita said, „I made a gift to him, O royal sage! How can I take it back? If I am
guilty in this, do thou pronounce the punishment, O puissant one.‟
“Virupa said, „If thou refusest to take when I am ready to give, this king will
certainly punish thee, for he is an upholder of justice.‟
“Vikrita said, „Solicited by him I gave him what was my own. How shall I now
retake that? Thou mayst go away. Thou hast my leave.‟
“The Brahmana said, „Thou hast heard, O king, the words of these two. Do thou
take without scruple that which I have pledged myself to give thee.‟
“The king said, „This matter is, indeed, as deep (in importance) as an
unfathomable pit. How will the pertinacity of this Reciter end? If I do not accept
what has been given by this Brahmana, how shall I avoid being stained with a
great sin?‟ The royal sage then said unto the two disputants, „Go ye both, having
won your respective objects. I should see that kingly duties, vested in me, may
not become futile. It is settled that kings should observe the duties laid down for
them. To my misfortune, however, the course of duties prescribed for Brahmanas
has possessed my wretched self.‟[641]
“The Brahmana said, „Accept, O king! I owe thee. Thou didst solicit it, and I also
have become pledged (to give thee). If, however, thou refuse to take, O
monarch, I shall without doubt curse thee.‟
“The king said, „Fie on kingly duties, the settled conclusion about the operation of
which is even such. I should, however, take what thou givest, for only this
reason, viz., rendering the two courses of duty exactly equal.[642] This is my
hand, that was never before (stretched forth for acceptance of gifts), is now
stretched forth (for acceptance as also) for giving away. Give me what thou
owest me.‟

“The Brahmana said, „If I have won any fruits by reciting the Gayatri, accept them
all.‟
“The king said, „These drops of water, behold, O foremost of Brahmanas, have
fallen upon my hand. I also desire to give thee. Accept my gift. Let there be
equality between us (through thy accepting my gift as I have accepted thine).‟
“Virupa said, „Know, O king, that we two are Desire and Wrath. It hath been by us
that thou hast been induced to act in this way. Thou hast made a gift in return to
the Brahmana. Let there be equality between thee and this regenerate person in
respect of regions—of felicity in the next world. This Vikrita really does not owe
me anything. We appealed to thee for thy own sake. Time, Dharma, Mrityu, and
we two, have examined everything about thee, here in thy very presence, by
producing this friction between thee and that Brahmana. Go now, as thou
choosest, to those regions of felicity which thou hast won by means of thy
deeds.‟
“Bhishma continued, „I have now told thee how Reciters obtain the fruits (of their
recitation) and what, indeed, is their end, what the spot, and what the regions,
that a Reciter may win. A Reciter of Gayatri goes to the supreme god Brahman,
or repairs to Agni or enters the region of Surya. If he sports there in his (new)
energetic form, then stupefied by such attachment, he catches the attributes of
those particular regions.[643] The same becomes the case with him if he goes to
Soma, or Vayu, or Earth, or Space. The fact is, he dwells in all these, with
attachment, and displays the attributes peculiar to those regions. If, however, he
goes to those regions after having freed himself from attachments, and feels a.
mistrust (respecting the felicity he enjoys) and wishes for That Which is Supreme
and Immutable, he then enters even That. In that case he attains to the ambrosia
of ambrosia, to a state free from desire and destitute of separate consciousness.
He becomes Brahma‟s self freed from the influence of opposites, happy, tranquil,
and without pain.[644] Indeed, he attains to, that condition which is free from
pain, which is tranquillity‟s self, which is; called Brahma, whence there is no
return, and which is styled the One and Immutable. He becomes freed from the
four means of apprehension,[645] the six conditions, and also the other six and
ten attributes.[646] Transcending the Creator (Brahman), he attains to absorption
into the One Supreme Soul. Or, if under the influence of attachments, he wishes
not for such absorption, but desires to have a separate existence as dependent
on that Supreme Cause of everything, then obtains the fruition of everything for
which he cherishes a wish. Or, if he looks (with aversion) upon all regions of
felicity, which have been (as previously stated) called hells, he then, driving off
desire and freed from everything, enjoys supreme felicity even in those very
regions.[647] Thus, O monarch, I have discoursed to thee about the end attained
by Reciters. I have told thee everything. What else thou wishest to hear?‟”

SECTION CC
“Yudhishthira said, „Tell me, O grandsire, what reply was given by either the
Brahmana or the monarch to Virupa after the conclusion of the latter‟s speech.
What kind of end was it, amongst those described by thee, that they obtained?
What, indeed, was the discourse that happened between them, and what did
they do there?‟
“Bhishma said, „The Brahmana, saying, „Let it be as thou hast said, „worshipped
Dharma and Yama and Time and Mrityu and Heaven, all of whom were worthy of
worship. He also worshipped all those foremost of Brahmanas that had come
there by bending his head unto them. Addressing the monarch then, he said,
„Endued with the reward of my recitations, O royal sage, attain thou to a position
of eminence. With thy leave I shall set myself to my recitations again. O thou of
great might, the goddess Savitri gave me a boon, saying, „Let thy devotion to
recitations be continuous.‟
“The king said, „If thy success (in recitation) has b.-come fruitless (in
consequence of thy having given away those fruits unto me), and if thy heart be
set upon practising again, go, O learned Brahmana, half and half with me, and let
the reward of thy recitations themselves be thine.‟[648]
“The Brahmana said, „Thou hast made strenuous efforts before all these persons
(for making me a sharer of the rewards in store for thee as the consequences of
thy own acts). Let us then become equal in respect of our rewards (in next life),
and let us go to receive that end which is ours.‟ Knowing the resolve to which
they came there, the chief of the gods came to that spot, accompanied by the
deities and the Regents of the world. The Sadhyas, the Viswas, the Mantras,
diverse kinds of loud and sweet music, the Rivers, the Mountains, the Seas, the
Sacred Waters, the Penances, the Ordinances about yoga, the Vedas, the
Sounds that accompany the singing of the Samans, Saraswati, Narada, Parvata,
Viswavasu, the Hahas, the Huhus, the Gandharva Chitrasena with all the
members of his family, the Nagas, the Sadhyas, the Munis, the god of gods, viz.,
Prajapati, and the inconceivable and thousand-headed Vishnu himself, came
there. Drums and trumpets were beat and blown in the firmament. Celestial
flowers were rained down upon those high-souled beings. Bands of Apsaras
danced all around. Heaven, in his embodied form, came there. Addressing the
Brahmana, he said, „Thou hast attained to success. Thou art highly blessed.‟
Next addressing the monarch, he said, „Thou also, O king, hast attained to
success.‟ Those two persons then, O monarch (viz., the Brahmana and the king),
having done good to each other, withdrew their senses from the objects of the
world. Fixing the vital breaths Prana, Apana, Samana, Udana and Vyana in the
heart, they concentrated the mind in Prana and Apana united together. They then
placed the two united breaths in the abdomen, and directed their gaze to the tip
of the nose and then immediately below the two eye-brows. They next held the
two breaths, with the aid of the mind, in the spot that intervenes between the two
eye-brows, bringing them there very gradually. With bodies perfectly inactive,
they were absorbed with fixed gaze. Having control over their souls, they then
placed the soul within the brain. Then piercing the crown of the high-souled

Brahmana a fiery flame of great splendour ascended to heaven. Loud
exclamations of woe, uttered by all creatures, were then heard on all sides. Its
praises hymned by all, that splendour then entered Brahman‟s self. The Great
grandsire, advancing forward, addressed that splendour which had assumed a
form of the tallness of a span, saying, „Welcome!‟ And once more he uttered
these words, „Verily, Reciters attain to the same end with the yogins. The
attainment by the yogin of his end is an object of direct vision unto all these (here
assembled). As regards Reciters, there is this distinction, that the honour is
ordained for them of Brahman‟s advancing forward to receive them (after their
departure from earth).[649] Dwell thou in me.‟ Thus spoke Brahman and once
more imparted consciousness into that splendour. Indeed, the Brahmana then,
freed from all anxieties, entered the mouth of the Creator. The monarch
(Ikshvaku) also, after the same manner, entered the divine Grandsire like that
foremost of Brahmanas. The (assembled) deities saluted the self-born and said,
„A very superior end is, indeed, ordained for Reciters. This exertion (that we have
seen thee put forth) is for Reciters. As regards ourselves, we came hither for
beholding it. Thou hast made these two equal, rendered them equal honour, and
bestowed upon them an equal end. The high end that is reserved for both yogins
and Reciters has been seen by us today. Transcending all regions (of felicity),
these two are capable of going whithersoever they wish.‟
“Brahman said, „He also that would read the great Smriti (viz., the Veda), and he
too, who would read the other auspicious Smritis that follow the former (viz.,
Manu‟s and the rest), would, in this way, attain to the same region with me. He
also who is devoted to yoga, will, without doubt, acquire in this manner, after
death, the regions that are mine. I go hence. Go ye all to your respective places
for the accomplishment of your ends.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Having said these words, that foremost of gods
disappeared there and then. The assembled deities, having previously taken his
leave, returned to their respective abodes. All those high-souled beings, having
honoured Dharma, proceeded with well-pleased hearts, O monarch, walking
behind that great deity. These are the rewards of reciters and this their end. I
have described them to thee as I myself had heard of them. What else, O
monarch, dost thou wish to hear of?‟”
SECTION CCI
“Yudhishthira said, „What are the fruits of the yoga represented by Knowledge, of
all the Vedas, and of the (various) observances and vows? How also may the
creature-soul be known? Tell us, this, O grandsire!‟
between that lord of creatures, viz., Manu, and the great Rishi, Vrihaspati. In
days of old, the foremost of celestial Rishis, viz., Vrihaspati, who was a disciple
of Manu, bowed to his preceptor and addressing that lord and first of all
creatures, said, „What is the cause (of the universe)? Whence have the

ordinances (about sacrifices and other pious observances) flowed? What are
those fruits which the learned say are attached to Knowledge? Tell me also truly,
O illustrious one, what is that which the very, Vedas have not been able to
reveal? What are those fruits which are adored by eminent personages
conversant with the science of Artha, with the Vedas, and with the Mantras,
through sacrifices and plentiful gifts of kine? Whence do those fruits arise?
Where are they to be found? Tell me also this old history, viz., whence have the
earth, all earthly objects, wind, sky, aquatic creatures, water, heaven, and the
denizens of heaven, all sprung? Man‟s inclinations tend towards that object about
which he seeks knowledge. I have no knowledge of that Ancient and Supreme
one. How shall I rescue myself from a false display of inclinations towards
Him?[650] The Riks, all the Samanas, all the Yajuses, the Chhandas, Astronomy,
Nirukta, Grammar, Sankalpa, and Siksha, I have studied. But I pave no
knowledge of the nature of the great creatures (the five primal elements) that
enter into the composition of everything.[651] Tell me all I have asked thee, by
using only simple assertions and distinguishing adjectives or attributes. Tell me
what the fruits are of Knowledge and what those fruits that are attached to
sacrifices and other religious rites. Explain to me how also an embodied being
departs from his body and how he attains to another body.‟
“Manu said, „That which is agreeable to one is said to constitute one‟s happiness.
Similarly, that which is disagreeable to one is said to constitute one‟s misery.—
By this I shall obtain happiness and keep off misery—from a sentiment like this
flow all religious acts. The efforts for the acquisition of Knowledge, however,
arise from a sentiment for avoiding both happiness and misery.[652] The
ordinances about sacrifices and other observances, that occur in the Vedas, are
all connected with desire. He, however, who liberates himself from desire,
succeeds in attaining to Brahma. That man who, from desire of winning
happiness, walks in the path of acts which are of diverse kinds, has to go to
hell.‟[653]
“Vrihaspati said, „Men‟s aspirations are concerned with the acquisition of the
agreeable which ends in happiness, and the avoidance of the disagreeable which
brings misery. Such acquisition and such avoidance again are accomplished by
acts.‟[654]
“Manu said, „It is by liberating oneself from acts that one succeeds in entering
into Brahma. The ordinances about acts have flowed for that very end.[655] The
ordinances about acts tempts only those whose hearts are not free from desire.
By liberating oneself from acts (as already said) one acquires the highest state.
One desirous of felicity (Emancipation), betaking oneself to religious rites,
becomes purified (from attachments) by acts having for their object the
purification of the soul, and at last wins great splendour. By liberating oneself
from acts, one acquires the highest end, viz., Brahma, which is very much above
the reward that acts give. Creatures have all been created by Mind and Act.
These again are the two best paths adored by all. Outward acts produce fruits
that are transitory as also eternal. For acquiring the latter there is no other means
than abandonment of fruits by the mind.[656] As the eye, when night passes

away and the veil of darkness is removed from it, leads its possessor by its own
power, so the Understanding, when it becomes endued with Knowledge,
succeeds in beholding all evils that are worthy of avoidance.[657] Snakes, sharp-
pointed kusa blades, and pits, men avoid when they perceive them lie on their
way. If some tread upon or fall into them, they do so through ignorance. Behold
the superiority of the fruits of knowledge (over those of ignorance). Mantras
applied duly, sacrifices, the presents called Dakshina, gift of food, and
concentration of the mind (for divine contemplation),--these are the five acts that
are said to be productive of fruits, there being none else. Acts have (the three)
attributes (of Sattwa, Rajas, and Tamas) for their soul. The Vedas say this. (The
Vedas consist of Mantras). The Mantras, therefore, have the same three
attributes, since it is with Mantras that acts are to be accomplished. The ritual
also must be liable to the same three attributes. The fruits of action depend upon
the mind. It is the embodied creature that enjoys those fruits.[658] All excellent
kinds of sound, form, taste, touch, and scent, are the fruits of acts, being
attainable in the region of acts (i.e., heaven). As regards, however, the fruits of
knowledge, man acquires them even here before death.[659] Whatever acts are
accomplished by means of the body, one enjoys the fruits thereof in a state of
physical existence. The body is, indeed, the framework to which happiness
inheres, as also the framework to which misery inheres.[660] Whatever acts are
accomplished by means of words, their fruits are to be enjoyed in a state in which
words can be spoken. Similarly, whatever acts are accomplished by the mind,
their fruits are enjoyed in a state in which one is not freed from the mind.[661]
Devoted to the fruits of acts, whatever kind of acts (Sattwika or Rajasika or
Tamasika) a person covetous of fruits accomplishes, the fruits, good or bad, that
he actually enjoys partake of their character. Like fishes going against a current
of water, the acts of a past life come to the actor. The embodied creature
experiences happiness for his good acts, and misery for his evil ones. Him from
whom this universe hath sprung. Him by knowing whom persons of cleansed
souls transgress this world, Him who has not been expressed by Vedic mantras
and words. I will now indicate. Listen to me as I speak of that highest of the high.
Himself liberated from the several kinds of taste and scent, and sound and touch
and form. He is incapable of being grasped by the senses, unmanifest, without
colour, the One, and He has created the five kinds of objects[662] for His
creatures. He is neither female, nor male, nor of the neuter sex. He is neither
existent, nor non-existent, nor existent-nonexistent.[663] Only those that are
acquainted with Brahma behold Him. He knoweth no direction.”‟
SECTION CCII
“Manu said, „From that eternal and undeteriorating One first sprang Space; from
space came Wind; from wind came Light; from light came Water; from water
sprang the Universe; and from the universe, all things that occur in it. The bodies
of all (earthly) things, (after dissolution), first enter into water, thence to light or
heat, thence to the wind, and thence to space. They that seek Emancipation

have not to return from space. On the other hand, they attain to Brahma. The
refuge of Emancipation, viz., Brahma, is neither hot, nor cold, neither mild nor
fierce, neither sour nor astringent, neither sweet nor bitter. He is not endued with
sound, or scent, or form. He transcends all these and everything, and is without
dimensions.[664] The skin perceives touch; the tongue, taste; the nose, scent;
the ears, sounds; and the eyes, forms. Men not conversant with Adhyatma
succeed not in beholding what is above these. Having withdrawn the tongue from
tastes, the nose from scents, the ears from touch, and the eyes from forms, one
succeeds in beholding one‟s own self (as independent of the senses and the
mind and, therefore, of attributes).[665] It hath been said that that which is the
Cause of the actor, the act, the material with which the act is done, the place and
the time of the act, and the inclinations and propensities in respect of happiness
and misery, is called the Self (or Soul). That which pervades everything, which
does everything (assuming the forms of living creatures), that which exists in the
universe even as the mantras declare,[666] that which is the cause of all, that
which is the highest of the high, and that which is One without a second and
does all things, is the Cause. Everything else is effect. It is seen that a person, in
consequence of the acts performed by him, obtains results both good and evil,
which (though apparently incompatible with each other, still) dwell together in
harmony. Indeed, as the good and evil fruits born of their own acts dwell together
in the bodies of creatures which are their refuge, even so Knowledge dwells in
the body.[667] As a lighted lamp, while burning, discovers other objects before it,
even so the five senses which are like lamps set on high trees, find out their
respective objects when lighted by Knowledge.[668] As the various ministers of a
king, uniting together, give him counsel, even so the five senses that are in the
body are all subservient to Knowledge. The latter is superior to all of them. As the
flames of fire, the current of the wind, the rays of the sun, and the waters of
rivers, go and come repeatedly, even so the bodies of embodied creatures are
going and coming repeatedly.[669] As a person by taking up an axe cannot, by
cutting open a piece of wood, find either smoke or fire in it, even so one cannot,
by cutting open the arms and feet and stomach of a person, see the principle of
knowledge, which, of course, has nothing in common with the stomach, the arms
and the feet. As again, one beholds both smoke and fire in wood by rubbing it
against another piece, so a person of well-directed intelligence and wisdom, by
uniting (by means of yoga) the senses and the soul, may view the Supreme Soul
which, of course, exists in its own nature.[670] As in the midst of a dream one
beholds one‟s own body lying on the ground as something distinct from one‟s
own self, even so a person, endued with the five senses, the mind, and the
understanding, beholds (after death) his own body and then goes from one into
another form[671]. The Soul is not subject to birth, growth, decay, and
destruction. In consequence of the acts of life being endued with effects, the
Soul, clothed in body, passes from this body (when deprived of animation) into
another, unseen by others.[672] No one can behold with the eye the form of the
Soul. The Soul cannot, again, form the subject of any one‟s touch. With those
(i.e., the senses), the Soul accomplishes no act. The senses do not approach the
Soul. The Soul, however, apprehends them all. As anything, placed in a blazing

fire before a spectator, assumes a certain colour in consequence of the light and
heat that operates upon it, without taking any other hue or attribute, even so the
Soul‟s form is seen to take its colour from the body. After the same manner, man,
casting off one body, enters another, unseen by all. Indeed, casting off his body
to the (five) great primal elements, he assumes a form that is similarly made of
the same (five) elements. The embodied creature (upon the destruction of his
body) enters space, wind, fire, water, and earth in such a way that each particular
element in his body mingles with the particular element (out of his body) with
whose nature it is consonant. The senses also, which are engaged in diverse
occupations and dependent on the five elements (for the exercise of their
functions), enter these five elements that call forth their functions. The ear
derives its capacity from space; and the sense of scent from the earth. Form,
which is the property of the eye, is the consequence of light or fire. Fire or heat
has been said to be the dependent cause of water. The tongue which has for its
property taste becomes merged into water. The skin which has touch for its
property becomes lost in the wind whose nature it partakes. The fivefold
attributes, (viz., sound, etc.) dwell in the (five) great creatures (viz., the five primal
elements). Those fivefold objects of the senses (viz., space, etc.) dwell in the
(five) senses. All these again (viz., the fivefold attributes, the fivefold elements,
and the five senses) follow the lead of the mind. The mind follows the lead of the
Understanding, and the Understanding follows the lead of That which exists in its
true and undefiled nature (viz., the Supreme Soul).[673] The doer in his new
body receives all the good and bad acts done by him as also all acts done by him
in his past existence. All these acts done in this life and the next ones to come
follow the mind even as aquatic animals pass along a genial current. As a
quickly-moving and restless thing becomes an object of sight, as a minute object
appears to be possessed of large dimensions (when seen through spectacles),
as a mirror shows a person his own face (which cannot otherwise be seen), even
so the Soul (though subtile and invisible) become an object of the
Understanding‟s apprehension.‟”[674]
SECTION CCIII
“Manu said, „The mind united with the senses, recollects after a long time the
impressions of the objects received in the past. When the senses are all
suspended (in respect of their functions),[675] the Supreme (the Soul), in the
form of the Understanding, exists in its own true nature. When the Soul (at such
a time) does not in the least regard all those objects of the senses in respect of
their simultaneity or the reverse in point of time but mustering them from all
directions holds them before it together, it necessarily happens that he wanders
among all things that are incongruous. He is, therefore, the (silent) Witness.
Hence the Soul encased in body is something having a distinct and independent
existence.[676] There is Rajas, there is Tamas, and there is Sattwa, the third.
There are again three states of the understanding, viz., waking, dreaming, and
sound sleep. The Soul has knowledge of the pleasures and pains, which are all

contradictory, of those states, and which partake of the nature of the threefold
attributes first mentioned.[677] The Soul enters the senses like the wind entering
the fire in a piece of wood.[678] One cannot behold the form of the Soul by one‟s
eye, nor can the sense of touch, amongst the senses, apprehend it. The Soul is
not, again, an object of apprehension by the ear. It may, however, be seen by the
aid of the Srutis and the instructions of the wise. As regards the senses, that
particular sense which apprehends it loses upon such apprehension its existence
as a sense.[679] The senses cannot themselves apprehend their respective
forms by themselves. The Soul is omniscient (inasmuch as it apprehends both
the knower and the known). It beholds all things. Being omniscient, it is the Soul
that beholds the senses (without, as already said, the senses being able to
apprehend it). Nobody has seen the other side of the Himavat mountains, nor the
reverse of the moon‟s disc. Yet it cannot be said that these do not exist. Similarly,
though never apprehended by the senses, yet nobody can say that the Soul,
which dwells in all creatures, which is subtile, and which has knowledge for its
essence, does not exist. People see the world reflected on the moon‟s disc in the
form of spots. Though seeing, they do not know that it is the world that is so
reflected there. Even such is the knowledge of the Soul. That knowledge must
come of itself. The Soul depends upon the Soul itself. Men of wisdom, reflecting
on the formlessness of visible objects before birth and after destruction, behold
by the aid of intelligence, the formlessness of objects that have apparent forms,
So also although the Sun‟s motion cannot be seen, yet persons, by watching its
rising and setting, conclude that the sun has motion.[680] Similarly, those who
are endued with wisdom and learning behold the Soul by the aid of the lamp of
intelligence, though it is at a great distance from them, and seek to merge the
fivefold elements, which are near, into Brahma.[681] Verily, an object cannot be
accomplished without the application of means. Fishermen catch fish by means
of nets made of strings. Animals are captured by employing animals as are the
means. Birds are caught by employing birds as the means. Elephants are taken
by employing elephants. In this way, the Soul may be apprehended by the
principle of knowledge. We have heard that only a snake can see a snake‟s legs.
After the same manner one beholds, through Knowledge, the Soul encased in
subtile form and dwelling within the gross body. People cannot, through their
senses, know the senses. Similarly, mere Intelligence at its highest cannot
behold the Soul which is supreme. The moon, on the fifteenth day of the dark
fortnight, cannot be seen in consequence of its form being hid. It cannot be said,
however, that destruction overtakes it, Even such is the case with the Soul
dwelling in the body. On the fifteenth day of the dark fortnight, the gross body of
the moon becomes invisible. After the same manner, the Soul, when liberated
from the body, cannot be apprehended. As the moon, gaining another point in
the firmament begins to shine once more, similarly, the Soul obtaining a new
body, begins to manifest itself once more. The birth, growth and disappearance
of the moon can all be directly apprehended by the eye. These phenomena,
however, appertain to the gross form of that luminary. The like are not the
attributes of the Soul. The moon, when it shows itself after its disappearance on
the fifteenth day of the dark fortnight, is regarded as the same luminary that had

become invisible. After the same manner, notwithstanding the changes
represented by birth, growth and age, a person is regarded as the same
individual without any doubt of his identity. It cannot be distinctly seen how Rahu
approaches and leaves the moon. After the same manner, the Soul cannot be
seen how it leaves one body and enters another.[682] Rahu becomes visible only
when it exists with the sun or the moon. Similarly, the Soul becomes an object of
apprehension only when it exists with the body. When liberated from the sun or
the moon, Rahu can no longer be seen. Similarly, the Soul, liberated from the
body, can no longer be seen. Then again, as the moon, even when it disappears
on the fifteenth day of the dark fortnight, is not deserted by the constellations and
the stars, the Soul also, even though separated from the body, is not deserted by
the fruits of the acts it has achieved in that body.‟”
SECTION CCIV
“Manu said, „As in a dream this manifest (body) lies (inactive) and the enlivening
spirit in its subtile form, detaching itself from the former, walks forth after the
same manner, in the state called deep slumber (or death), the subtile form with
all the senses becomes inactive and the Understanding, detached from it
remains awake. The same is the case with Existence and Non-Existence.[683]
As when quantity of water is clear, images reflected in it can be seen by the eye,
after the same manner, if the senses be unperturbed, the Soul is capable of
being viewed by the understanding. If, however, the quantity of water gets stirred,
the person standing by it can no longer see those images. Similarly, if the senses
become perturbed, the Soul can no longer be seen by the understanding.
Ignorance begets Delusion. Delusion affects the mind. When the mind becomes
vitiated, the five senses which have the mind for their refuge become vitiated
also. Surcharged with Ignorance, and sunk in the mire of worldly objects, one
cannot enjoy the sweets of contentment or tranquillity. The Soul (thus
circumstanced), undetached from its good and evil acts, returns repeatedly unto
the objects of the world, in consequence of sin one‟s thirst is never slaked. One‟s
thirst is slaked only when one‟s sin is destroyed. In consequence of attachment
to worldly objects, which has a tendency to perpetuate itself, one wishes for
things other than those for which one should wish, and accordingly fails to attain
to the Supreme.[684] From the destruction of all sinful deeds, knowledge arises
in men. Upon the appearance of Knowledge, one beholds one‟s Soul in one‟s
understanding even as one sees one‟s own reflection in a polished mirror. One
obtains misery in consequence of one‟s senses being unrestrained. One obtains
happiness in consequence of one‟s senses being restrained. Therefore, one
should restrain one‟s mind by self-effort from objects apprehended by the
senses.[685] Above the senses is the mind; above the mind is the understanding;
above the understanding is the Soul; above the Soul is the Supreme or Great.
From the Unmanifest hath sprung the Soul; from the Soul hath sprung the
Understanding; from the Understanding hath sprung the Mind. When the Mind
becomes associated with the senses, then it apprehends sound and the other

objects of the senses. He who casts off those objects, as also all that are
manifest, he who liberates himself from all things that arise from primordial
matter, being so freed, enjoys immortality.[686] The Sun rising diffuses his rays.
When he sets, he withdraws unto himself those very rays that were diffused by
him. After the same manner, the Soul, entering the body, obtains the fivefold
objects of the senses by diffusing over them his rays represented by the senses.
When, however, he turns back, he is said to set by withdrawing those rays unto
himself.[687] Repeatedly led along the path that is created by acts, he obtains
the fruits of his acts in consequence of his having followed the practice of
acts.[688] Desire for the objects of the senses keeps away from a person who
does not indulge in such desire. The very principle of desire, however, leaves
him who has beheld his soul, which, of course, is entirely free from desire.[689]
When the Understanding, freed from attachment to the objects of the senses,
becomes fixed in the mind, then does one succeed in attaining to Brahma, for it
is there that the mind with the understanding withdrawn into it can possibly be
extinguished. Brahma is not an object of touch, or of hearing, or of taste, or of
sight, or of smell, or of any deductive inference from the Known. Only the
Understanding (when withdrawn from everything else) can attain to it. All objects
that the mind apprehends through „the senses are capable of being withdrawn
into the mind; the mind can be withdrawn into the understanding; the
Understanding can be withdrawn into the Soul, and the Soul into the
Supreme.[690] The senses cannot contribute to the success of the mind. The
mind cannot apprehend the Understanding. The Understanding cannot
apprehend the manifested Soul. The Soul, however, which is subtile, beholds
those all.‟”
SECTION CCV
“Manu said, „Upon the appearance of the physical and mental sorrow, one does
not become able to practise yoga. It is advisable, therefore, for one not to brood
over such sorrow. The remedy for sorrow is abstention from brooding over it.
When sorrow is brooded over, it comes aggressively and increases in violence.
One should relieve mental sorrow by wisdom, while physical sorrow should be
cured by medicaments. Wisdom teaches this. One should not, while under
sorrow, behave like a child. The man of wisdom should never cherish a desire for
youth, beauty, length of life, accumulation of wealth, health, and the
companionship of those that are dear, all of which are transitory. One should not
grieve singly for a sorrow that affects a whole community. Without grieving, one
should, if one sees an opportunity, seek to apply a remedy. Without doubt, the
measure of sorrow is much greater than that of happiness in life. To one who is
content with the objects of the senses, death that is disagreeable comes in
consequence of his stupefaction. That man who avoids both sorrow and
happiness succeeds verily in attaining to Brahma. Such persons, who are
possessed of wisdom, have never to grieve.[691] Worldly possessions bring
about sorrow. In protecting them thou canst not have any happiness. They are

again earned with misery. One should not therefore, regard their loss.[692] Pure
Knowledge (or Brahma) is regarded (by ignorance) as existing in the diverse
forms that are objects of Knowledge. Know that mind is only an attribute of
Knowledge. When the mind becomes united with the faculties of knowledge, then
the Understanding (which bodies forth the forms of things) sets in.[693] When the
Understanding, freed from the attributes of action, becomes directed towards the
mind (after being withdrawn from outward objects), then does it succeed in
knowing Brahma by meditation or Yoga ending in complete absorption
(samadhi)? The Understanding flowing from Ignorance, and possessed of the
senses and attributes, runs towards external objects, like a river issuing from a
mountain summit and flowing towards other regions. When the Understanding,
withdrawn into the mind, succeeds in absorbing itself into contemplation that is
free from attributes, it attains to a knowledge of Brahma like the touch of gold on
a touchstone. The mind is the apprehender of the objects of the senses. It must
first be extinguished (before Brahma can be attained). Dependent upon the
attributes of objects that are before it, the mind can never show that which is
without attributes. Shutting up all the doors constituted by the senses, the
Understanding should be withdrawn into the mind. In this state, when absorbed
in contemplation, it attains to the knowledge of Brahma. As the fivefold great
creatures (in their gross form) upon the destruction of the attributes by which they
are known, become withdrawn (into their subtile form called Tanmatra), after the
same manner the Understanding may dwell in the mind alone, with the senses all
withdrawn from their objects. When the Understanding, though possessed of the
attribute of certainty, dwells in the mind, busied with the internal, even then it is
nothing but the mind (without being anything superior to it). When the mind or
consciousness, which attains to excellence through contemplation, succeeds in
identifying attributes with what are considered as their possessors, then can it
cast off all attributes and attain to Brahma which is without attributes.[694] There
is no indication that is fit enough for yielding a knowledge of what is Unmanifest
(Brahma). That which cannot form the subject of language, cannot be acquired
by any one. With cleansed soul, one should seek to approach the Supreme
Brahma, through the aid afforded by penances, by inferences, by self-restraint,
by the practices and observances as laid down for one‟s own order, and by the
Vedas. Persons of clear vision (besides seeing the Supreme within themselves),
seek him in even external forms by freeing themselves from attributes. The
Supreme, which is called by the name of Jneya (i.e., that which should be
known), in consequence of the absence of all attributes or of its own nature, can
never be apprehended by argument. When the Understanding becomes freed
from attributes, then only it can attain to Brahma. When unemancipated from
attributes, it falls back from the Supreme. Indeed, such is the nature of the
understanding that it rushes towards attributes and moves among them like fire
among fuel. As in the state called Sushupti (deep and dreamless slumber) the
five senses exist freed from their respective functions, after the same manner the
Supreme Brahma exists high above Prakriti, freed from all its attributes.
Embodied creatures thus betake themselves to action in consequence of
attributes. When they abstain therefrom, they attain to Emancipation. Some

again (by action) go to heaven. The living creature, primordial nature, the
understanding, the objects of the senses, the senses, consciousness, conviction
of personal identity, are called creatures (for they are subjected to destruction).
The original creation of all these flowed from the Supreme. Their second or
succeeding creation is due to the action of couples or pairs (of opposite sexes)
and is confined to all things save the primal five, and is restrained by laws in
consequence of which the same species produce the same species. From
righteousness (living) creatures obtain a high end, and from sinfulness they earn
an end that is low. He who is unemancipated from attachments, encounters
rebirth; while he who is emancipated therefrom, attains to Knowledge (or
Brahma).‟”
SECTION CCVI
“Manu said, „When the fivefold attributes are united with the five senses and the
mind, then is Brahma seen by the individual like a thread passing through a gem.
As a thread, again, may lie within gold or pearl or a coral or any object made of
earth, even so one‟s soul, in consequence of one‟s own acts, may live within a
cow, a horse, a man, an elephant, or any other animal, or within a worm or an
insect. The good deeds an individual performs in a particular body produce
rewards that the individual enjoys in that particular body. A soil, apparently
drenched with one particular kind of liquid, supplies to each different kind of herb
or plant that grows on it the sort of juice it requires for itself. After the same
manner, the Understanding, whose course is witnessed by the soul, is obliged to
follow the path marked out by the acts of previous lives.[695] From knowledge
springs desire. From desire springs resolution. From resolution flows action.
From action proceed fruits (i.e., consequences, good and bad). Fruits, therefore,
are dependent on actions as their cause. Actions have the understanding for
their cause. The understanding has knowledge for its cause; and knowledge has
the Soul for its cause. That excellent result which is achieved in consequence of
the destruction of knowledge, of fruits, of the understanding, and of acts, is called
Knowledge of Brahma.[696] Great and high is that self-existent Essence, which
yogins behold. They that are devoid of wisdom, and whose understandings are
devoted to worldly possessions never behold that which exists in the Soul itself.
Water is superior to the Earth in extension; Light is superior to Water; Wind is
superior to Light; Space is superior to Wind; Mind is superior to Space;
Understanding is superior to Mind; Time is superior to Understanding. The divine
Vishnu, whose is this universe, is superior to Time. That god is without
beginning, middle, and end. In consequence of his being without beginning,
middle, and end, he is Unchangeable. He transcends all sorrow, for sorrow has
limits.[697] That Vishnu hath been called the Supreme Brahma. He is the refuge
or object of what is called the Highest. Knowing Him, they that are wise, freed
from everything that owns the power of Time, attain to what is called
Emancipation. All these (that we perceive) are displayed in attributes. That which

is called Brahma, being without attributes, is superior to these.[698] Abstention
from acts is the highest religion. That religion is sure to lead to deathlessness
(Emancipation). The Richs, the Yajuses, and the Samans, have for their refuge
the body. They flow from the end of the tongue. They cannot be acquired without
effort and are subject to destruction. Brahma, however, cannot be acquired in
this way, for (without depending upon the body) it depends upon that (i.e., the
knower or Soul) which has the body for its refuge. Without beginning, middle, or
end, Brahma cannot be acquired by exertion (like to what is necessary for the
acquirement of the Vedas). The Richs, the Samans, the Yajuses have each a
beginning. Those that have a beginning have also an end. But Brahma is said to
be without beginning. And because Brahma hath neither beginning nor end, it is
said to be infinite and unchangeable. In consequence of unchangeableness,
Brahma transcends all sorrow as also all pairs of opposites. Through
unfavourable destiny, through inability to find out the proper means, and through
the impediments offered by acts, mortals succeed not in beholding the path by
which Brahma may be reached. In consequence of attachment to worldly
possessions, of a vision of the joys of the highest heaven, and of coveting
something other than Brahma, men do not attain to the Supreme.[699] Others
beholding worldly objects covet their possession. Desirous of such objects, they
have no longing for Brahma in consequence of its transcending all
attributes.[700] How shall he that is attached to attributes which are inferior,
arrive at a knowledge of him that is possessed of attributes that are superior? It is
by inference that one can arrive at a knowledge of Him that transcends all this in
attributes and form. By subtile intelligence alone can we know Him. We cannot
describe Him in words. The mind is seizable by the mind, the eye by eye.[701] By
knowledge the understanding can be purified of its dross. The understanding
may be employed for purifying the mind. By the mind should the senses be
controlled. Achieving all this, one may attain to the Unchangeable. One who has,
by contemplation, become freed from attachments, and who has been enriched
by the possession of a discerning mind, succeeds in attaining to Brahma which is
without desire and above all attributes. As the wind keeps away from the fire that
is embedded within a piece of wood, even so persons that are agitated (by desire
for worldly possessions) keep away from that which is Supreme. Upon the
destruction of all earthly objects, the mind always attains to That which is higher
than the Understanding; while upon their separation the mind always acquires
that which is below the Understanding. That person, who, in conformity with the
method already described, becomes engaged in destroying earthly objects,
attains to absorption into the body of Brahma.[702] Though the Soul is
unmanifest; yet when clothed with qualities, its acts become unmanifest. When
dissolution (of the body) comes, it once more becomes manifest. The Soul is
really inactive. It exists, united with the senses that are productive of either
happiness or sorrow. United with all the senses and endued with body, it takes
refuge in the five primal elements. Through want of power, however, it fails to act
when deprived of force by the Supreme and Unchangeable. No man sees the
end of the earth but knows this, viz., that the earth‟s end Will surely come.[703]
Man, agitated here (by attachments), is surely led to his last refuge like the wind

leading a vessel tossed on the sea to a safe harbour at last. The Sun, spreading
his rays, becomes the possessor of an attribute, (viz., the lighter of the world):
withdrawing his rays (at the hour of setting), he once more becomes an object
divested of attributes. After the same manner, a person, abandoning all
distinctions (attachments), and betaking himself to penances, at last enters the
indestructible Brahma which is divested of all attributes. By discerning Him who
is without birth, who is the highest refuge of all righteous persons, who is self-
born, from whom everything springs and unto whom all things return, who is
unchangeable, who is without beginning, middle, and end, and who is certainty‟s
self and supreme, a person attains to immortality (Emancipation).‟”
SECTION CCVII
“Yudhishthira said, „O grandsire, O thou of great wisdom, I desire to hear in
detail, O chief of the Bharatas, of that lotus-eyed and indestructible one, who is
the Creator of everything but who has been created by none, who is called
Vishnu (in consequence of his pervading everything), who is the origin of all
creatures and unto whom all creatures return, who is known by the names of
Narayana and Hrishikesa and Govinda and Kesava, and who is incapable of
being vanquished by any one.‟
“Bhishma said, „I have heard of this subject from Jamadagni‟s son Rama, while
he discoursed on it, from the celestial Rishi Narada, and from Krishna-
Dwaipayana. Asita-Devala, O son, Valmiki of austere penances, and
Markandeya, speak of Govinda as the Most Wonderful and the Supreme.
Kesava, O chief of Bharata‟s race, is the divine and puissant Lord of all. He is
called Purusha, and pervades everything, having made himself many. Listen
now, O Yudhishthira of mighty arms, to those attributes which great Brahmanas
say are to be met with in the high-souled wielder of Saranga. I shall also, O
prince of men, recite to thee those acts which persons conversant with old
histories ascribe to Govinda. He is said to be the Soul of all creatures, the high-
souled one, and the foremost of all beings. He created (by his will) the five-fold
elements, viz., Wind, Light, Water, Space, and Earth. That puissant Lord of all
things, that high-souled one, that foremost of all beings, having created the earth,
laid himself down on the surface of the waters. While thus floating upon the
waters, that foremost of all beings, that refuge of every kind of energy and
splendour, created Consciousness, the first-born of beings in the universe. We
have heard that He created Consciousness along with the Mind,--Consciousness
which is the refuge of all created things. That Consciousness upholds all
creatures and both the past and the future. After that great Being, O mighty-
armed one, viz., Consciousness, had sprung, an exceedingly beautiful lotus,
possessed of effulgence like the Sun‟s, grew out of the navel of the Supreme
Being (floating on the waters). Then, O son, the illustrious and divine Brahman,
the Grandsire of all creatures, sprang into existence from that lotus, irradiating all
the points of the horizon with his effulgence. After the high-souled Grandsire

had, O mighty-armed one, thus sprung from the primeval lotus, a great Asura of
the name of Madhu, having no beginning, started into birth, springing from the
attribute or Darkness (Tamas). The foremost of all Beings, (viz., the Supreme
Divinity), for benefiting Brahman, slew that fierce Asura of fierce deeds, engaged
even then in the fierce act (of slaying the Grand-sire). From this slaughter, O son,
(of the Asura named Madhu), all the gods and the Danavas and men came to
call that foremost of all righteous persons by the name of Madhusudana (slayer
of Madhu).[704] After this, Brahman created, by a flat of his will, seven sons with
Daksha completing the tale. They were Marichi, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha,
Kratu, (and the already mentioned Daksha). The eldest born, viz., Marichi, begat,
by a fiat of his will, a son named Kasyapa, full of energy and the foremost of all
persons conversant with Brahma. From his toe, Brahman had, even before the
birth of Marichi, created a son. That son, O chief of Bharata‟s race, was Daksha,
the progenitor of creatures.[705] Unto Daksha were first born three and ten
daughters, O Bharata, the eldest of whom was called Diti. Marichi‟s son
Kasyapa, O sire, who was conversant with all duties and their distinctions, who
was of righteous deeds and great fame, became the husband of those thirteen
daughters. The highly-blessed Daksha (besides the three and ten already
spoken of) next begat ten other daughters. The progenitor of creatures, viz., the
righteous Daksha, bestowed these upon Dharma. Dharma became father of the
Vasus, the Rudras of immeasurable energy, the Viswedevas, the Sadhyas, and
the Maruts, O Bharata. Daksha next begat seven and twenty other younger
daughters. The highly-blessed Soma became the husband of them all. The other
wives of Kasyapa gave birth to Gandharvas, horses, birds, kine, Kimpurushas,
fishes, and trees and plants. Aditi gave birth to the Adityas. the foremost ones
among the gods, and possessed of great strength. Amongst them Vishnu took
birth in the form of a dwarf. Otherwise called Govinda, he became the foremost
of them all. Through his prowess, the prosperity of the gods increased. The
Danavas were vanquished. The offspring of Diti were the Asuras. Danu gave
birth to the Danavas having Viprachitti for their foremost. Diti gave birth to all the
Asuras of great strength.
“The slayer of Madhu also created the Day and the Night, and the Season in their
order, and the Morn and the Even. After reflection, he also created the clouds,
and all the (other) immobile and mobile objects. Possessed of abundant energy,
he also created the Viswas and the earth with all things upon her. Then the
highly blessed and puissant Krishna, O Yudhishthira, once again created from
his mouth a century of foremost Brahmanas. From his two arms, he created a
century of Kshatriyas, and from his thighs a century of Vaisyas. Then, O bull of
Bharata‟s race, Kesava created from his two feet a century of Sudras. Possessed
of great ascetic merit, the slayer of Madhu, having thus created the four orders of
men, made Dhatri (Brahman) the lord and ruler of all created beings. Of
immeasurable effulgence, Brahman became also the expositor of the knowledge
of the Vedas. And Kesava made him, called Virupaksha, the ruler of the spirits
and ghosts and of those female beings called the Matrikas (mothers). And he
made Yama the ruler of the Pitris and of all sinful men.[706] The Supreme Soul
of all creatures also made Kuvera the lord of all treasures. He then created

Varuna the lord of waters and governor of all aquatic animals. The puissant
Vishnu made Vasava the chief of all the deities. In those times, men lived as long
as they chose to live, and were without any fear of Yama. Sexual congress, O
chief of the Bharatas, was then not necessary for perpetuating the species. In
those days offspring were begotten by flat of the will. In the age that followed,
viz., Treta, children were begotten by touch alone. The people of that age even,
O monarch, were above the necessity of sexual congress. It was in the next age,
viz., Dwapara, that the practice of sexual congress originated, O king, to prevail
among men. In the Kali age, O monarch, men have come to marry and live in
pairs.
“I have now told thee of the supreme Lord of all creatures. He is also called the
Ruler of all and everything. I shall now, O son of Kunti, speak to thee about the
sinful creatures of the earth. Listen to me.[707] Those men, O king, are born in
the southern region and are called Andrakas, Guhas, Pulindas, Savaras,
Chuchukas, Madrakas.[708] Those that are born in the northern region, I shall
also mention. They are Yamas, Kamvojas, Gandharas, Kiratas and Barbaras. All
of them, O sire, are sinful, and move on this Earth, characterised by practices
similar to those of Chandalas and ravens and vultures. In the Krita age, O sire,
they were nowhere on earth. It is from the Treta that they have had their origin
and began to multiply, O chief of Bharata‟s race. When the terrible period came,
joining Treta and the Dwapara, the Kshatriyas, approaching one another,
engaged themselves in battle.[709]
“Thus, O chief of Kuru‟s race, this universe was started into birth by the high-
souled Krishna. That observer of all the worlds, viz., the celestial Rishi Narada,
has said that Krishna is the Supreme God.[710] Even Narada, O king, admits the
supremacy of Krishna and his eternity, O mighty-armed chief of Bharata‟s
race.[711] Thus, O mighty-armed one, is Kesava of unvanquishable prowess.
That lotus-eyed one, is not a mere man. He is inconceivable.‟”
SECTION CCVIII
“Yudhishthira asked, „Who were the first Prajapatis, O bull of Bharata‟s race?
What highly-blessed Rishis are there in existence and on which points of the
compass do each of them dwell?‟
“Bhishma said., „Hear me, O chief of the Bharatas, about what thou askest me. I
shall tell thee who the Prajapatis were and what Rishis are mentioned as
dwelling on which point of the horizon. There was at first one Eternal, Divine, and
Self-born Brahman. The Self-born Brahman begat seven illustrious sons. They
were Marichi, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, and the highly-blessed
Vasishtha who was equal to the Self-born himself. These seven sons have been
mentioned in the Puranas as seven Brahmanas. I shall now mention all the
Prajapatis who came after these. In Atri‟s race was born the eternal and divine
Varhi the ancient, who had penances for his origin. From Varhi the ancient
sprang the ten Prachetasas. The ten Prachetasas had one son between them,

viz., the Prajapati called by the name of Daksha. This last has two names in the
world, viz., Daksha and Kasyapa. Marichi had one son called Kasyapa. This last
also has two names. Some call him Arishtanemi, and some Kasyapa. Atri had
another son born of his lions, viz., the handsome and princely Soma of great
energy. He performed penances for a thousand celestial Yugas. The divine
Aryaman and they who were born unto him as his sons, O monarch, have been
described as setters of commands, and creators of all creatures. Sasavindu had
ten thousand wives. Upon each of them their lord begat a thousand sons, and so
the tale reached ten hundred thousands. Those sons refused to call anybody
else save themselves as Prajapatis. The ancient Brahmanas bestowed an
appellation on the creatures of the world, derived from Sasavindu. That extensive
race of the Prajapati Sasavindu became in time the progenitor of the Vrishni
race. These that I have mentioned are noted as the illustrious Prajapatis. After
this, I shall mention the deities that are the lords of the three worlds. Bhaga,
Ansa, Aryyaman, Mitra, Varna, Savitri, Dhatri, Vivaswat of great might, Tvashtri,
Pushan, Indra, and Vishnu known as the twelfth,--these are the twelve Adityas,
all sprung from Kasyapa. Nasatya and Dasra are mentioned as the two Aswins.
These two are the sons of the illustrious Martanda, the eighth in the above tale.
These were called first the gods and the two classes of Pitris. Tvashtri had many
sons. Amongst them were the handsome and famous Viswarupa, Ajaikapat, Ahi,
Bradhna, Virupaksha, and Raivata. Then there were Hara and Vahurupa,
Tryamvaka the chief of the Deities, and Savitrya, Jayanta and Pinaki the
invincible. The highly-blessed Vasus, eight in number, have formerly been
enumerated by me. These were reckoned as gods at the time of the Prajapati
Manu. These were at first called the gods and the Pitris. Amongst the Siddhas
and the Sadhyas there were two classes in consequence of conduct and youth.
The deities were formerly considered to be of two classes, viz., the Ribhus and
the Maruts. Thus have the Viswas, the gods and the Aswins, been enumerated.
Amongst them, the Adityas are Kshatriyas, and the Maruts are Vaisyas. The two
Aswins, engaged in severe penances, have been said to be Sudras. The deities
sprung from Angirasa‟s line have been said to be Brahmanas. This is certain.
Thus have I told thee about the fourfold order among the gods. The person who,
after rising from his bed at morn, recites the names of these deities, becomes
cleansed of all his sins whether committed by himself intentionally or
Unintentionally, or whether born of his intercourse with others. Yavakriti, Raivya,
Arvavasu, Paravasu, Ausija, Kashivat, and Vala have been said to be the sons of
Angiras. These, and Kanwa son of Rishi Medhatithi, and Varhishada, and the
well-known seven Rishis who are the progenitors of the three worlds, all reside in
the East. Unmucha, Vimucha, Svastyatreya of great energy, Pramucha,
Idhmavaha, and the divine Dridhavrata, and Mitravaruna‟s son Agastya of great
energy, these regenerate Rishis all reside in the south. Upangu, Karusha,
Dhaumya, Parivyadha of great energy, and those great Rishis called Ekata,
Dwita, and Trita, and Atri‟s son, viz., the illustrious and puissant Saraswata,
these high-souled ones reside in the west. Atreya, and Vasishtha, and the great
Rishi Kasyapa, and Gautama, Bharadwaja, and Viswamitra, the son of Kusika,

and the illustrious son of the high-souled Richika, viz., Jamadagni,--these seven
live in the north.
Thus have I told thee about the great Rishis of fiery energy that live in
the different points of the compass. Those high-souled ones are the
witnesses of the universe, and are the creators of all the worlds. Even
thus do they dwell in their respective quarters. By reciting their names
one is cleansed of all one‟s sins. A person by repairing to those points
becomes cleansed of all his sins and succeeds in returning home in
safety‟”
SECTION CCIX
“Yudhishthira said, „O grandsire, O thou of great wisdom and invincible prowess
in battle, I wish to hear in detail of Krishna who is immutable and omnipotent. O
bull among men, tell me truly everything about his great energy and the great
feats achieved by him in days of old. Why did that puissant one assume the form
of an animal, and for achieving what particular act? Tell me all this, O mighty
warrior!‟
“Bhishma said, „Formerly, on one occasion, while out ahunting, I arrived at the
hermitage of Markandeya. There I beheld diverse classes of ascetics seated by
thousands. The Rishis honoured me by the offer of honey and curds. Accepting
their worship, I reverentially saluted them in return. The following that I shall
recite was narrated there by the great Rishi Kasyapa. Listen with close attention
to that excellent and charming account. In former days, the principal Danavas,
endued with wrath and cupidity, and mighty Asuras numbering by hundreds and
drunk with might, and innumerable other Danavas that were invincible in battle,
became exceedingly jealous of the unrivalled prosperity of the gods. Oppressed
(at last) by the Danavas, the gods and the celestial Rishis, failing to obtain
peace, fled away in all directions. The denizens of heaven saw the earth looking
like one sunk in sore distress. Overspread with mighty Danavas of terrible mien,
the earth seemed to be oppressed with a heavy weight. Cheerless and
griefstricken, she seemed as if going down into the nether depths. The Adityas,
struck with fear, repaired to Brahman, and addressing him, said, „How, O
Brahman, shall we continue to bear these oppressions of the Danavas?‟ The
Self-born answered them, saying, „I have already ordained what is to be done in
this matter. Endued with boons, and possessed of might, and swelling with pride,
those senseless wretches do not know that Vishnu of invisible form, that God
incapable of being vanquished by the very deities all acting together, hath
assumed the form of a boar. That Supreme Deity, rushing to the spot whither
those wretches among Danavas, of terrible aspect, are dwelling in thousands
below the earth, will slay them all.‟ Hearing these words of the Grandsire,
foremost ones among the deities felt great joy. Sometime after, Vishnu those of
mighty energy, encased in the form of a Boar, penetrating into the nether
regions, rushed against those offspring of Diti. Beholding that extraordinary

creature, all the Daityas, uniting together and stupefied by Time, quickly
proceeded against it for exerting their strength, and stood surrounding it. Soon
after, they all rushed against that Boar and seized it simultaneously. Filled with
rage they endeavoured to drag the animal from every side. Those foremost of
Danavas, of huge bodies, possessed of mighty energy, swelling with strength,
succeeded not, however, O monarch, in doing anything to that Boar. At this they
wondered much and then became filled with fear. Numbering in thousands, they
regarded that their last hour had come. Then that Supreme God of all the gods,
having yoga for his soul and yoga for his companion, became rapt in yoga, O
chief of the Bharatas, and began to utter tremendous roars, agitating those
Daityas and Danavas. All the worlds and the ten points of the compass
resounded with those roars, which, for this reason, agitated all creatures and
filled them with fear. The very gods with Indra at their head became terror-
stricken. The whole universe became stilled in consequence of that sound. It was
a dreadful time. All mobile and immobile beings became stupefied by that sound.
The Danavas, terrified by that sound, began to fall down lifeless, paralysed by
the energy of Vishnu. The Boar, with its hoofs, began to pierce those enemies of
the gods, those denizens of the nether regions, and tear their flesh, fat, and
bones. In consequence of those tremendous roars, Vishnu came to be called by
the name of Sanatana.[712] He is also called Padmanabha. He is the foremost of
yogins. He is the Preceptor of all creatures, and their supreme Lord. All the tribes
of the gods then repaired to the Grandsire. Arrived at the presence, those
illustrious ones a dressed the Lord of the universe, saying, „What sort of a noise
is this, O puissant one? We do not understand it. Who is this one, or whose is
this sound at which the universe hath been stupefied? With the energy of this
sound or of its maker, the gods and the Danavas have all been deprived of their
senses.‟ Meanwhile, O mighty-armed one, Vishnu in his porcine form was in sight
of the assembled gods, his praises hymned by the great Rishis.‟
“The Grandsire said, „That is the Supreme God, the Creator of all beings, the
soul of all creatures, the foremost of all yogins. Of huge body and great strength,
he cometh here, having slain the foremost ones among the Danavas. He is the
Lord of all beings, the master of yoga, the great ascetic, the Soul of all living
beings. Be still, all of you. He is Krishna, the destroyer of all obstacles and
impediments.[713] That Supreme God, of immeasurable splendour, that great
refuge of all blessings, having achieved a most difficult feat that is incapable of
being accomplished by others, has returned to his own unmixed nature.[714] It is
He from whose navel the primeval lotus had sprung. He is the foremost of
yogins. Of supreme soul, He is the creator of all beings. There is no need for
sorrow or fear or grief, ye foremost of gods! He is the Ordainer. He is the
Creating Principle. He is all-destroying Time. It is He who upholds all the world.
The roars that have alarmed you are being uttered by that high-souled one. Of
mighty arms, He is the object of the universal worship. Incapable of deterioration,
that lotus-eyed one is the origin of all beings and their lord.‟”

SECTION CCX
“Yudhishthira said, „Tell me, O sire, of that high yoga by which, O Bharata, I may
obtain Emancipation, O foremost of speakers, I desire to know everything about
that yoga truly.‟
between a preceptor and his disciple on the subject of Emancipation. There was
a regenerate preceptor who was the foremost of Rishis. He looked like a mass of
splendour. Possessed of a high soul, he was firm in truth and a complete master
of his senses. Once on a time, a disciple of great intelligence and close attention,
desirous of obtaining what was for his highest good, touched the preceptor‟s feet,
and standing with joined hands before him, said, If, O illustrious one, thou hast
been gratified with the worship I have offered thee, it behoveth thee to solve a
great doubt of mine. Whence am I and whence art thou? Tell me this fully. Tell
me also what is the final cause. Why also, O best of regenerate ones, when the
material cause in all beings is the same, their origin and destruction happen in
such dissimilar ways? It beseems thee, O thou of great learning, also to explain
the object of the declarations in the Vedas (about difference of rites in respect of
different classes of men), the meaning of the injunctions of the Smritis and of
those injunctions which apply to all cases of men.‟[715]
“The preceptor said, „Listen, O disciple, O thou of great wisdom! This that thou
hast asked me is undisclosed in the very Vedas and is the highest subject for
thought or discourse. It is called Adhyatma and is the most valuable of all
branches of learning and of all sacred institutes. Vasudeva is the Supreme
(cause) of the universe. He is the origin of the Vedas (viz., Om). He is Truth,
Knowledge, Sacrifice, Renunciation, Self-restraint, and Righteousness. Persons
conversant with the Vedas know Him as All-pervading, Eternal, Omnipresent, the
Creator and the Destroyer, the Unmanifest, Brahma, Immutable. Hear now the
story of Him who took his birth in Vrishni‟s race. A Brahmana should hear of the
greatness of that God of gods, viz., Him called Vishnu of immeasurable energy,
from the lips of Brahmanas. A person of the royal order should hear it from
persons of that order. One who is a Vaisya should hear it from Vaisyas, and a
high-souled Sudra should hear it from Sudras. Thou deservest to hear it. Listen
now to the auspicious account of Krishna, that narrative which is the foremost of
all narratives. Vasudeva is the wheel of Time, without beginning and without
end. Existence and Non-existence are the attributes by which His real nature is
known. The universe revolves like a wheel depending upon that Lord of all
beings. O best of men, Kesava, that foremost of all beings, is said to be that
which is Indestructible, that which is Unmanifest, that which is Immortal, Brahma,
and Immutable. The highest of the high, and without change or deterioration
himself, he created the Pitris, the gods, the Rishis, the Yakshas, the Rakshasas,
the Nagas, the Asuras, and human beings. It is He who also created the Vedas
and the eternal duties and customs of men. Having reduced everything into non-
existence, he once more, in the beginning of a (new) yuga, creates Prakriti
(primordial matter). As the diverse phenomena of the several seasons appear
one after another according to the season that comes, after the like manner

creatures start forth into existence at the beginning of every (celestial) yuga.
Corresponding with those creatures that start into life is the knowledge of rules
and duties that have for their object the regulation of the world‟s course.[716] At
the end of every (celestial) yuga (when universal destruction sets in) the Vedas
and all other scriptures disappear (like the rest). In consequence of the grace of
the Self-born, the great Rishis, through their penances, first re-acquire the lost
Vedas and the scriptures. The Self-born (Brahman) first acquired the Vedas.
Their branches called the Angas were first acquired by (the celestial preceptor)
Vrihaspati. Bhrigu‟s son (Sukra) first acquired the science of morality that is so
beneficial for the universe. The science of music was acquired by Narada; that of
arms by Bharadwaja; the history of the celestial Rishis by Gargya: that of
medicine by the dark-complexioned son of Atri. Diverse other Rishis, whose
names are connected therewith, promulgated diverse other sciences such as
Nyaya, Vaiseshika, Sankhya, Patanjala, etc. Let that Brahma which those Rishis
have indicated by arguments drawn from reason, by means of the Vedas, and by
inferences drawn from the direct evidence of the senses, be adored., Neither the
gods nor the Rishis were (at first) able to apprehend Brahma which is without
beginning and which is the highest of the high. Only the divine creator of all
things, viz., the puissant Narayana, had knowledge of Brahma. From Narayana,
the Rishis, the foremost ones among the deities and the Asuras, and the royal
sages of old, derived the knowledge of that highest remedy of the cure of sorrow.
When primordial matter produces existences through the action of the primal
energy, the universe with all its potencies begins to flow from it. From one lighted
lamp thousands of other lamps are capable of being lighted. After the same
manner, primordial matter produces thousands of existent things. In
consequence, again, of its infinity primordial matter is never exhausted. From the
Unmanifest flows the Understanding determined by acts. The Understanding
produces Consciousness. From Consciousness proceeds Space. From Space
proceeds Wind. From the Wind proceeds Heat. From Heat proceeds Water, and
from Water is produced the Earth. These eight constitute primordial Prakriti. The
universe rests on them. From those Eight have originated the five organs of
knowledge, the five organs of action, the five objects of the (first five) organs, and
the one, viz., the Mind, forming the sixteenth, which is the result of their
modification. The ear, the skin, the two eyes, the tongue, and the nose are the
five organs of knowledge. The two feet, the lower duct, the organ of generation,
the two arms, and speech, are the five organs of action. Sound, touch, form,
taste, and smell are the five objects of the senses, covering all the things. The
Mind dwells upon all the senses and their objects. In the perception of taste, it is
the Mind that becomes the tongue, and in speech it is the Mind that becomes
words. Endued with the different senses, it is the Mind that becomes all the
objects that exist in its apprehension. These sixteen, existing in their respective
forms, should be known as deities. These worship Him who creates all
knowledge and dwells within the body. Taste is the attribute of water; scent is
the attribute of earth; hearing is the attribute of space; vision is the attribute of fire
or light; and touch should be known as the attribute of the wind. This is the case
with all creatures at all times. The Mind, it has been said, is the attribute of

existence. Existence springs from the Unmanifest (of Prakriti) which, every
intelligent person should know, rests in That which is the Soul of all existent
beings. These existences, resting upon the supreme Divinity that is above
Prakriti and that is without any inclination for action, uphold the entire universe of
mobiles and immobiles. This sacred edifice of nine doors[717] is endued with all
these existences. That which is high above them, viz., the Soul, dwells within it,
pervading it all over. For this reason, it is called Purusha. The Soul is without
decay and not subject to death. It has knowledge of what is manifest and what is
unmanifest. It is again all-pervading, possessed of attributes, subtile, and the
refuge of all existences and attributes. As a lamp discovers all objects great or
small (irrespective of its own size), after the same manner the Soul dwells in all
creatures as the principle of knowledge (regardless of the attributes or accidents
of those creatures). Urging the ear to hear what it hears, it is the Soul that hears.
Similarly, employing the eye, it is the Soul that sees. This body furnishes the
means by which the Soul derives knowledge. The bodily organs are not the
doers, but it is the Soul that is the doer of all acts. There is fire in wood, but it can
never be seen by cutting open a piece of wood. After the same manner, the Soul
dwells within the body, but it can never be seen by dissecting the body. The fire
that dwells in wood may be seen by employing proper means, viz., rubbing the
wood with another piece of wood. After the same manner, the Soul which dwells
within the body may be seen by employing proper means, viz., yoga. Water must
exist in rivers. Rays of light are always attached to the sun. After the same
manner, the Soul has a body. This connection does not cease because of the
constant succession of bodies that the Soul has to enter.[718] In a dream, the
Soul, endued with the fivefold senses, leaves the body and roves over wide
areas. After the same manner, when death ensues, the Soul (with the senses in
their subtile forms) passes out of one body for entering another. The Soul is
bound by its own former acts. Bound by its own acts done in one state of
existence, it attains to another state. Indeed, it is led from one into another body
by its own acts which are very powerful in respect of their consequences. How
the owner of a human body, leaving off his body, enters another, and then again
into another, how, indeed, the entire range of beings is the result of their
respective acts (of past and present lives), I will presently tell you.‟”
SECTION CCXI
“Bhishma said, „All immobile and mobile beings, distributed into four classes,
have been said to be of unmanifest birth and unmanifest death. Existing only in
the unmanifest Soul, the Mind is said to possess the attributes of the
unmanifest.[719] As a vast tree is ensconced within a small unblown Aswattha
flower and becomes observable only when it comes out, even so birth takes
place from what is unmanifest. A piece of iron, which is inanimate, runs towards
a piece of loadstone. Similarly, inclinations and propensities due to natural
instincts, and all else, run towards the Soul in a new life.[720] Indeed, even as
those propensities and possessions born of Ignorance and Delusion, and

inanimate in respect of their nature, are united with Soul when reborn, after the
same manner, those other propensities and aspirations of the Soul that have
their gaze directed towards Brahma become united with it, coming to it directly
from Brahma itself.[721] Neither earth, nor sky, nor heaven, nor things, nor the
vital breaths, nor virtue and vice, nor anything else, existed before, save the Chit-
Soul. Nor have they any necessary connection with even the Chit-Soul defiled by
Ignorance.[722] The Soul is eternal. It is indestructible. It occurs in every
creature. It is the cause of the Mind. It is without attributes, This universe that we
perceive hath been declared (in the Vedas) to be due to Ignorance or Delusion.
The Soul‟s apprehensions of form, etc., are due to past desires.[723] The Soul,
when it becomes endued with those causes (viz., desire), is led to the state of its
being engaged in acts. In consequence of that condition (for those acts again
produce desires to end in acts anew and so on),--this vast wheel to existence
revolves, without beginning and without end.[724] The Unmanifest, viz., the
Understanding (with the desires), is the nave of that wheel. The Manifest (i.e., the
body with the senses) constitutes its assemblage of spokes, the perceptions and
acts from its circumference. Propelled by the quality of Rajas (Passion), the Soul
presides over it (witnessing its revolutions). Like oilmen pressing oilseeds in their
machine, the consequences born of Ignorance, assailing the universe (of
creatures) which is moistened by Rajas, press or grind it in that wheel. In that
succession of existences, the living creature, seized by the idea of Self in
consequence of desire, engages itself in acts. In the union of cause and effect,
those acts again become (new causes).[725] Effects do not enter into causes.
Nor do causes enter into effects. In the production of effects, Time is the Cause.
The primordial essences (eight in number as mentioned before), and their
modifications six-(teen in number), fraught with causes, exists in a state of union,
in consequence of their being always presided over by the Soul. Like dust
following the wind that moves it, the creature-Soul, divested of body, but endued
still with inclinations born of Passion and Darkness and with principles of causes
constituted by the acts of the life that is over, moves on, following the direction
that the Supreme Soul gives it. The Soul, however, is never touched by those
inclinations and propensities. Nor are these touched by the Soul that is superior
to them. The wind, which is naturally pure, is never stained by the dust it bears
away.[726] As the wind is truly separate from the dust it bears away, even so, the
man of wisdom should know, is the connection between that which is called
existence or life and the Soul. No one should take it that the Soul, in
consequence of its apparent union with the body and the senses and the other
propensities and beliefs and unbeliefs, is really endued therewith as its
necessary and absolute qualities. On the other hand, the Soul should be taken
as existing in its own nature. Thus did the divine Rishi solve the doubt that had
taken possession of his disciple‟s mind. Notwithstanding all this, people depend
upon means consisting of acts and scriptural rites for casting off misery and
winning happiness. Seeds that are scorched by fire do not put forth sprouts. After
the same manner, if everything that contributes to misery be consumed by the
fire of true knowledge, the Soul escapes the obligation of rebirth in the world.‟

SECTION CCXII
“Bhishma said, „Persons engaged in the practice of acts regard the practice of
acts highly. Similarly, those that are devoted to Knowledge do not regard
anything other than Knowledge. Persons fully conversant with the Vedas and
depending upon the utterances contained in them, are rare. They that are more
intelligent desire the path of abstention from acts as the better of the two, viz.,
heaven and emancipation.[727] Abstention from acts is observed by those that
are possessed of great wisdom. That conduct, therefore, is laudable. The
intelligence which urges to abstention from acts, is that by which one attains to
Emancipation. Possessed of body, a person, through folly, and endued with
wrath and cupidity and all the propensities born of Passion and Darkness,
becomes attached to all earthly objects. One, therefore, who desires to destroy
one‟s connection with the body, should never indulge in any impure act. On the
other hand, one should create by one‟s acts a path for attaining to emancipation,
without wishing for regions of felicity (in the next world).[728] As gold, when
united with iron, loses its purity and fails to shine, even so Knowledge, when
existing with attachment to earthly objects and such other faults, fails to put forth
its splendour.[729] He who, influenced by cupidity and following the dictates of
desire and wrath, practises unrighteousness, transgressing the path of
righteousness, meets with complete destruction.[730] One who is desirous of
benefiting oneself should never follow, with excess of attachments, earthly
possessions represented by the objects of the senses. If one does it, wrath and
joy—and sorrow arise from one another (and make one miserable). When every
one‟s body is made up of the five original elements as also of the three attributes
of Goodness, Passion, and Darkness, whom shall one adore and whom shall
one blame with what words? Only they that are fools become attached to the
objects of the senses. In consequence of folly they do not know that their bodies
are only modifications.[731]
As a house made of earth is plastered over with earth, even so this body which is
made of earth is kept from destruction by food which is only a modification of
earth. Honey and oil and milk and butter and meat and salt and treacle and grain
of all kinds and fruit and roots are all modifications of earth and water. Recluses
living in the wilderness, giving up all longing (for rich and savoury food), take
simple food, that is again unsavoury, for only supporting the body. After the same
manner, a person that dwells in the wilderness of the world, should be ready for
labour and should take food for passing through life, like a patient taking
medicine.[732] A person of noble soul, examining all things of an earthly nature
that come upon him, by the aid of truth, purity, candour, a spirit of renunciation,
enlightenment, courage, forgiveness, fortitude, intelligence, reflection, and
austerities, and desirous of obtaining tranquillity, should restrain his senses. All
creatures, stupefied, in consequence of Ignorance, by the attributes of Goodness
and Passion and Darkness, are continually revolving like a wheel. All faults,
therefore, that are born of Ignorance, should be closely examined and the idea of
Self which has its origin in Ignorance, and which is productive of misery, should

be avoided. The fivefold elements, the senses, the attributes of Goodness,
Passion, and Darkness, the three worlds with the Supreme Being himself, and
acts, all rest on Self-consciousness.[733] As Time, under its own laws, always
displays the phenomena of the seasons one after another, even so one should
know that Consciousness in all creatures is the inducer of acts.[734] Tamas
(from which proceeds Consciousness) should be known as productive of
delusions. It is like Darkness and is born of Ignorance. To the three attributes of
Goodness, Passion, and Darkness are attached all the joys and sorrows (of
creatures). Listen now to those consequences that spring from the attributes of
Goodness, Passion, and Darkness. Contentment, the satisfaction that arises
from joy, certainty, intelligence, and memory,--these are the consequences born
of the attribute of Goodness. I shall now mention the consequences of Passion
and Darkness. Desire, wrath, error, cupidity, stupefaction, fear, and fatigue,
belong to the attribute of Passion. Cheerlessness, grief, discontent, vanity, pride,
and wickedness, all belong to Darkness. Examining the gravity or lightness of
these and other faults that dwell in the Soul, one should reflect upon each of
them one after another (for ascertaining which of them exist, which have become
strong or weak, which have been driven off, and which remain).‟
“Yudhishthira said, „What faults are abandoned by persons desirous of
Emancipation? What are those that are weakened by them? What are the faults
that come repeatedly (and are, therefore, incapable of being got rid of)? What,
again, are regarded as weak, through stupefaction (and, therefore, as
permissible)? What, indeed, are those faults upon whose strength and weakness
a wise man should reflect with the aid of intelligence and of reasons? I have
doubts upon these subjects. Discourse to me on these, O grandsire!‟
“Bhishma said, „A person of pure Soul, by extracting all his faults by their roots,
succeeds in obtaining Emancipation. As an axe made of steel cuts a steel chain
(and accomplishing the act becomes broken itself), after the same manner, a
person of cleansed Soul, destroying all the faults that spring from Darkness and
that are born with the Soul (when it is reborn), succeeds in dissolving his
connection with the body (and attaining Emancipation).[735] The qualities having
their origin in Passion, those that spring from Darkness, and those stainless one
characterised by purity (viz., those included under the quality of Goodness),
constitute as it were the seed from which all embodied creatures have grown.
Amongst these, the attribute of Goodness alone is the cause through which
persons of cleansed Souls succeed in attaining to Emancipation. A person of
cleansed soul, therefore, should abandon all the qualities born of Passion and
Darkness. Then again, when the quality of Goodness becomes freed from those
of Passion and Darkness, it becomes more resplendent still. Some say that
sacrifices and other acts performed with the aid of mantras, and which certainly
contribute to the purification of the Soul, are evil or cruel acts. (This view is not
correct). On the other hand, those acts are the chief means for dissociating the
Soul from all worldly attachments, and for the observance of the religion of
tranquillity. Through the influence of the qualities born of Passion, all unrighteous
acts are performed, and all acts fraught with earthly purposes as also all such
acts as spring from desire are accomplished. Through qualities born of Darkness,

one does all acts fraught with cupidity and springing from wrath. In consequence
of the attribute of Darkness, one embraces sleep and procrastination and
becomes addicted to all acts of cruelty and carnal pleasure. That person,
however, who, possessed of faith and scriptural knowledge, is observant of the
attribute of Goodness, attends only to all good things, and becomes endued with
(moral) beauty and soul free from every taint.‟
SECTION CCXIII
“Bhishma said, „From the attribute of Passion arises delusion or loss of judgment.
From the attribute of Darkness, O bull of Bharata‟s race, arise wrath and cupidity
and fear and pride. When all these are destroyed, one becomes pure. By
obtaining purity, a person succeeds in arriving at the knowledge of the Supreme
Soul which is resplendent with effulgence, incapable of deterioration, without
change, pervading all things, having the unmanifest for his refuge, and the
foremost of all the deities. Invested in His maya, men fall away from knowledge
and become senseless, and in consequence of their knowledge being darkened,
yield to wrath.[736] From wrath, they become subject to desire. From desire
spring cupidity and delusion and vanity and pride and selfishness. From such
selfishness proceeds various kinds of acts.[737] From acts spring diverse bonds
of affection and from those bonds of affection spring sorrow or misery and from
acts fraught with joy and sorrow proceeds the liability to birth and death.[738] In
consequence of the obligation of birth, the liability is incurred of a residence
within the womb, due to the union of vital seed and blood. That residence is
defiled with excreta and urine and phlegm, and always fouled with blood that is
generated there. Overwhelmed by thirst, the Chit-Soul becomes bound by wrath
and the rest that have been enumerated above. It seeks, however, to escape
those evils. In respect of this, women must be regarded as instruments which set
the stream of Creation agoing. By their nature, women are Kshetra, and men are
Kshetrajna in respect of attributes. For this reason, persons of wisdom should not
pursue women in especial (among other objects of the world).[739] Indeed,
women are like frightful mantra-powers. They stupefy persons reft of wisdom.
They are sunk in the attribute of Passion. They are the eternal embodiment of the
senses.[740] In consequence of the keen desire that men entertain for women,
off-spring proceed from them, due to (the action of) the vital seed. As one casts
off from one‟s body such vermin as take their birth there but as are not on that
account any part of oneself, even so should one cast off those vermin of one‟s
body that are called children, who, though regarded as one‟s own, are not one‟s
own in reality. From the vital seed as from sweat (and other filth) creatures spring
from the body, influenced by the acts of previous lives or in the course of nature.
Therefore, one possessed of wisdom should feel no regard for them.[741] The
attribute of Passion rests on that of Darkness. The attribute of Goodness, again,
rests on that of Passion. Darkness which is unmanifest overspreads itself on
Knowledge, and causes the phenomena of Intelligence and Consciousness.[742]
That knowledge possessing the attributes of Intelligence and Consciousness has

been said to be the seed of embodied Souls. That, again, which is the seed of
such knowledge is called the Jiva (or Chit-Soul).[743] In consequence of acts
and the virtue of time, the Soul goes through birth and repeated rounds of rebirth.
As in a dream the Soul sports as if invested with a body which, of course, is due
to the action of the mind, after the same manner, it obtains in the mother‟s womb
a body in consequence of attributes and propensities having (past) acts for their
origin. Whatever senses while it is there, are awakened by past acts as the
operating cause, become generated in Consciousness in consequence of the
mind co-existing with attachments.[744] In consequence of the past thoughts of
sound that are awakened in it, the Soul, subjected to such influences, receives
the organ of hearing. Similarly, from attachment to forms, its eye is produced,
and from its longing after scent its organ of smelling. From thoughts of touch it
acquires the skin. In the same way the five-fold breaths are acquired by it, viz.,
Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana, and Samana, which contribute to keep the body
agoing. Encased in body with all limbs fully developed in consequence (as shown
above) of past acts, the Soul takes birth, with sorrow, both physical and mental,
in the beginning, middle, and end. It should be known that sorrow springs from
the very fact of acceptance of body (in the womb). It increases with the idea of
Self. From renunciation of these (attachments which are the cause of birth),
sorrow meets with an end. He that is conversant with sorrow‟s end attains to
Emancipation.[745] Both the origin and the destruction of the senses rest in the
attribute of Passion. The man of wisdom should act with proper scrutiny with the
aid of the eye constituted by the scriptures.[746] The senses of knowledge, even
if they succeed in earning all their objects, never succeed in overwhelming the
man that is without thirst. The embodied Soul, by making its senses weak,
escapes the obligation or rebirth.‟”[747]
SECTION CCXIV
“Bhishma said, „I shall now tell thee what the means are (for conquering the
senses) as seen with the eye of the scriptures. A person, O king, will attain to the
highest end by the help of such knowledge and by framing his conduct
accordingly. Amongst all living creatures man is said to be the foremost.
Among men, those that are regenerate have been called the foremost; and
amongst the regenerate, they that are conversant with the Vedas. These last are
regarded as the souls of all living creatures. Indeed, those Brahmanas that are
conversant with the Vedas are regarded as all-seeing and omniscient. They are
persons who have become conversant with Brahma. As a blind man, without a
guide, encounters many difficulties on a road, so has a person destitute of
knowledge to encounter many obstacles in the world. For this reason, those that
are possessed of knowledge are regarded as superior to the rest. Those that are
desirous of acquiring virtue practise diverse kinds of rites according to the
dictates of the scriptures. They do not, however, succeed in attaining to
Emancipation, all that they gain being those good qualities of which I shall

presently speak.[748] Purity of speech, of body, and of mind, forgiveness, truth,
steadiness, and intelligence,--these good qualities are displayed by righteous
persons observant of both kinds of religion. That which is called Brahmacharya
(religion of abstention or yoga) is regarded as the means of attaining to Brahma.
That is the foremost of all religions. It is by the practice of that religion that one
obtains the highest end (viz., Emancipation). Brahmacharya is divested of all
connection with the five vital breaths, mind, understanding, the five senses of
perception, and the five senses of action. It is on that account free from all the
perceptions that the senses give. It is heard only as a word, and its form, without
being seen, can only be conceived. It is a state of existence depending only on
the mind. It is free from all connection with the senses. That sinless state should
be attained to by the understanding alone. He that practises it duly attains to
Brahma; he that practises it half and half, attains to the condition of the gods;
while he that practises it indifferently, takes birth among Brahmanas and
possessed of learning attains to eminence. Brahmacharya is exceedingly difficult
to practise. Listen now to the means (by which one may practise it). That
regenerate person who betakes himself to it should subdue the quality of Passion
as soon as it begins to manifest itself or as soon as it begins to be powerful. One
that has betaken oneself to that vow should not speak with women. He should
never cast his eyes on an undressed woman. The sight of women, under even
indifferent circumstances, fills all weak-minded men with Passion. If a person
(while observing this vow) feels a desire for woman rising in his heart, he should
(as an expiation) observe the vow called Krichcchra and also pass three days in
water.[749] If desire is entertained in course of a dream, one should, diving in
water, mentally repeat for three times the three Riks by Aghamarshana.[750]
That wise man who has betaken himself to the practice of this vow should, with
an extended and enlightened mind, burn the sins in his mind which are all due to
the quality of Passion. As the duct that bears away the refuse of the body is very
closely connected with the body, even so the embodied Soul is very closely
connected with the body that confines it. The different kinds of juices, passing
through the network of arteries, nourish men‟s wind and bile and phlegm, blood
and skin and flesh, intestines and bones and marrow, and the whole body. Know
that there are ten principal ducts. These assist the functions of the five senses.
From those ten branch out thousands of other ducts that are minuter in form. Like
rivers filling the ocean at the proper season, all these ducts, containing juices
nourish the body. Leading to the heart there is a duct called Manovaha. It draws
from every part of the human body the vital seed which is born of desire.
Numerous other ducts branching out from that principal one extend into every
part of the body and bearing the element of heat cause the sense of vision (and
the rest). As the butter that lies within milk is churned up by churning rods, even
so the desires that are generated in the mind (by the sight or thought of women)
draw together the vital seed that lies within the body. In the midst of even our
dreams passion having birth in imagination assails the mind, with the result that
the duct already named, viz., Manovaha, throws out the vital seed born of desire.
The great and divine Rishi Atri is well-conversant with the subject of the
generation of the vital seed. The juices that are yielded by food, the duct called

Manovaha, and the desire that is born of imagination,--these three are the
causes that originate the vital seed which has Indra for its presiding deity. The
passion that aids in the emission of this fluid is, therefore, called Indriya. Those
persons who know that the course of vital seed is the cause of (that sinful state of
things called) intermixture of castes, are men of restrained passions. Their sins
are regarded to have been burnt off, and they are never subjected to rebirth. He
that betakes himself to action simply for the purposes of sustaining his body,
reducing with the aid of the mind the (three) attributes (of Goodness, Passion,
and Darkness) into a state of uniformity, and brings at his last moments the vital
breaths to the duct called Manovaha, escapes the obligation of rebirth.[751] The
Mind is sure to gain Knowledge. It is the Mind that takes the form of all things.
The minds of all high-souled persons, attaining to success through meditation,
become freed from desire, eternal, and luminous.[752] Therefore, for destroying
the mind (as mind), one should do only sinless deeds and freeing oneself from
the attributes of Passion and Darkness, one is sure to attain to an end that is
very desirable.[753] Knowledge (ordinarily) acquired in younger days becomes
weakened with decrepitude. A person, however, of ripe understanding
succeeds, through the auspicious effects of past lives, in destroying his
desires.[754] Such a person, by transcending the bonds of the body and the
senses like a traveller crossing a path full of obstacles, and transgressing all
faults he sees, succeeds in tasting the nectar (of Emancipation).‟”
SECTION CCXV
“Bhishma said, „Living creatures, by being attached to objects of the senses
which are always fraught with evil, become helpless. Those high-souled persons,
however, who are not attached to them, attain to the highest end. The man of
intelligence, beholding the world over-whelmed with the evils constituted by birth,
death, decrepitude, sorrow, disease, and anxieties, should exert themselves for
the attainment of Emancipation. He should be pure in speech, thought, and body;
he should be free from pride. Of tranquil soul and possessed of knowledge, he
should lead a life of mendicancy, and pursue happiness without being attached
to any worldly object. Again, if attachment be seen to possess the mind in
consequence of compassion to creatures, he should, seeing that the universe is
the result of acts, show indifference in respect of compassion itself.[755]
Whatever good, acts are performed, or whatever sin (is perpetrated), the doer
tastes the consequences. Hence, one should, in speech, thought, and deed, do
only acts that are good.[756] He succeeds in obtaining happiness who practises
abstention from injuring (others), truthfulness of speech, honesty towards all
creatures, and forgiveness, and who is never heedless. Hence one, exercising
one‟s intelligence, should dispose one‟s mind, after training it, on peace towards
all creatures.[757] That man who regards the practice of the virtues enumerated
above as the highest duty, as conducive to the happiness of all creatures, and as
destructive of all kinds of sorrow, is possessed of the highest knowledge, and
succeeds in obtaining happiness. Hence (as already said), one should,

exercising one‟s intelligence, dispose one‟s mind, after training it, on peace
towards all creatures. One should never think of doing evil to others. One should
not covet what is far above one‟s power to attain. One should not turn one‟s
thoughts towards objects that are non-existent. One should, on the other hand,
direct one‟s mind towards knowledge by such persistent efforts as are sure to
succeed.[758] With the aid of the declarations of the Srutis and of persistent
efforts calculated to bring success, that Knowledge is sure to flow. One that is
desirous of saying good words or observing a religion that is refined of all dross,
should utter only truth that is not fraught with any malice or censure. One that is
possessed of a sound heart should utter words that are not fraught with
dishonesty, that are not harsh, that are not cruel, that are not evil, and that are
not characterised by garrulity. The universe is bound in speech. If disposed to
renunciation (of all worldly objects) then should one proclaim,[759] which a mind
fraught with humility and a cleansed understanding, one‟s own evil acts.[760] He
who betakes himself to action, impelled thereto by propensities fraught with the
attribute of Passion, obtains much misery in this world and at last sinks into hell.
One should, therefore, practise self-restraint in body, speech, and mind. Ignorant
persons bearing the burdens of the world are like robbers laden with their booty
of straggling sheep (secreted from herds taken out for pasture). The latter are
always regardful of roads that are unfavourable to them (owing to the presence
of the king‟s watch).[761] Indeed, as robbers have to throw away their spoil if
they wish for safety, even so should a person cast off all acts dictated by Passion
and Darkness if he is to obtain felicity. Without doubt, a person that is without
desire, free from the bonds of the world, contented to live in solitude, abstemious
in diet, devoted to penances and with senses under control, that has burnt all his
sorrows by (the acquisition of) knowledge, that takes a pleasure in practising all
the particulars of yoga discipline, and that has a cleansed soul, succeeds, in
consequence of his mind being withdrawn into itself, in attaining to Brahma or
Emancipation.[762] One endued with patience and a cleansed soul, should,
without doubt, control one‟s understanding. With the understanding (thus
disciplined), one should next control one‟s mind, and then with the mind
overpower the objects of the senses. Upon the mind being thus brought under
control and the senses being all subdued, the senses will become luminous and
gladly enter into Brahma. When one‟s senses are withdrawn into the mind, the
result that occurs is that Brahma becomes manifested in it. Indeed, when the
senses are destroyed., and the soul returns to the attribute of pure existence, it
comes to be regarded as transformed into Brahma. Then again, one should
never make a display of one‟s yoga power. On the other hand, one should
always exert to restrain one‟s senses by practising the rules of yoga. Indeed, one
engaged in the practice of yoga rules should do all those acts by which one‟s
conduct and disposition may become pure.[763] (Without making one‟s yoga
powers the means of one‟s subsistence) one should rather live upon broken
grains of corn, ripe beans, dry cakes of seeds from which the oil has been
pressed out, pot-herbs, half-ripe barley, flour of fried pulses, fruits, and roots,
obtained in alms.[764] Reflecting upon the characteristics of time and place, one
should according to one‟s inclinations observe, after proper examination, vows

and rules about fasts. One should not suspend an observance that has been
begun. Like one slowly creating a fire, one should gradually extend an act that is
prompted by knowledge. By doing so, Brahma gradually shines in one like the
Sun. The Ignorance which has Knowledge for its resting ground, extends its
influence over all the three states (of waking, dreaming and dreamless slumber).
The Knowledge, again, that follows the Understanding, is assailed by
Ignorance.[765] The evil-hearted person fails to obtain a knowledge of the Soul in
consequence of taking it as united with the three states although in reality it
transcends them all. When, however, he succeeds in apprehending the limits
under which the two, viz., union with the three states and separation from them,
are manifested, it is then that he becomes divested of attachment and attains to
Emancipation. When such an apprehension has been attained, one transcends
the effects of age, rises superior to the consequences of decrepitude and death,
and obtains Brahma which is eternal, deathless, immutable, undeteriorating.‟”
SECTION CCXVI
“Bhishma said, „The yogin who wishes to always practise sinless Brahmacharya
and who is impressed with the faults attaching to dreams should, with his whole
heart, seek to abandon sleep. In dreams, the embodied soul, affected by the
attributes of Passion and Darkness, seems to become possessed of another
body and move and act influenced by desire.[766] In consequence of application
for the acquisition of knowledge and of continued reflection and recapitulation,
the yogin remains always awake. Indeed, the yogin can keep himself continually
awake by devoting himself to knowledge. On this topic it has been asked what is
this state in which the embodied creature thinks himself surrounded by and
engaged in objects and acts? True it is that the embodied being, with its senses
really suspended, still thinks itself to be possessed of body with all the senses of
knowledge and of action. As regards the question started, it is said that that
master of yoga, named Hari, comprehends truly how it happens. The great Rishis
say that the explanation offered by Hari is correct and consistent with reason.
The learned say that it is in consequence of the senses being worn out with
fatigue, dreams are experienced by all creatures. (Though the senses are
suspended) the mind, however, never disappears (or becomes inactive) and
hence arise dreams. This is said by all to be their noted cause. As the imaginings
of a person that is awake and engaged in acts, are due only to the creative
power of the mind, after the same manner the impressions in a dream appertain
only to the mind. A person with desire and attachment obtains those imaginings
(in dreams) based upon the impressions of countless lives in the past. Nothing
that impresses the mind once is ever lost, and the Soul being cognisant of all
those impressions causes them to come forth from obscurity.[767] Whichever
among the three attributes of Goodness, Passion, and Darkness is brought about
by the influence of past acts and by whichever amongst them the mind is
affected for the time being in whatever way, the elements (in their subtile forms)
display or indicate accordingly (in the way of images).[768] After images have

thus been produced, the particular attribute of Goodness or Passion or Darkness
that may have been brought by past act rises in the mind and conduces to its last
result, viz., happiness or misery. Those images having wind, bile, and phlegm for
their chief causes, which men apprehend through ignorance and in consequence
of propensities fraught with Passion and Darkness, cannot, it has been said, be
easily discarded.[769] Whatever objects again a person perceives in the mind
(while wakeful) through the senses in a state of perspicuity are apprehended by
the mind in dreams while the senses are obscured in respect of their
functions.[770] The Mind exists unobstructedly in all things. This is due to the
nature of the Soul. The Soul should be comprehended. All the elements and the
objects they compose exist in the Soul.[771] In the state called dreamless
slumber (sushupti), the manifest human body which, of course, is the door of
dreams, disappears in the mind. Occupying the body the mind enters the soul
which is manifest and upon which all existent and non-existent things depend,
and becomes transformed into a wakeful witness with certainty of apprehension.
Thus dwelling in pure Consciousness which is the soul of all things; it is regarded
by the learned as transcending both Consciousness and all things in the
universe.[772] That yogin who in consequence of desire covets any of the divine
attributes (of Knowledge or Renunciation, etc.) should regard a pure mind to be
identical with the object of his desire. All things rest in a pure mind or soul.[773]
This is the result attained to by one who is engaged in penances. That yogin,
however, who has crossed Darkness or ignorance, becomes possessed of
transcending effulgence. When darkness or ignorance has been transcended,
the embodied Soul becomes Supreme Brahma, the cause of the universe.[774]
The deities have penances and Vedic rites. Darkness (or pride and cruelty),
which is destructive of the former, has been adopted by the Asuras. This, viz.,
Brahma, which has been said to have Knowledge only for its attribute, is difficult
of attainment by either the deities or the Asuras. It should be known that the
qualities of Goodness, Passion and Darkness belong to the deities and the
Asuras. Goodness is the attribute of the deities; while the two others belong to
the Asuras. Brahma transcends all those attributes. It is pure Knowledge. It is
Deathlessness. It is pure effulgence. It is undeteriorating. Those persons of
cleansed souls who know Brahma attain to the highest end. One having
knowledge for one‟s eye can say this much with the aid of reason and analogy.
Brahma which is indestructible can be comprehended by only withdrawing the
senses and the mind (from external objects into the soul itself).‟”[775]
SECTION CCXVII
“Bhishma said, „He cannot be said to know Brahma who does not know the four
topics (viz., dreams, dreamless slumber, Brahma as indicated by attributes, and
Brahma as transcending all attributes), as also what is Manifest (viz., the body),
and what is Unmanifest (the chit-soul), which the great Rishi (Narayana) has
described as Tattwam.[776] That which is manifest should be known as liable to
death. That which is unmanifest (viz., the chit-soul), should be known as

transcending death. The Rishi Narayana has described the religion of Pravritti.
Upon that rests the whole universe with its mobile and immobile creatures. The
religion of Nivritti again leads to the unmanifest and eternal Brahma.[777] The
Creator (Brahma) has described the religion of Pravritti. Pravritti implies rebirth or
return. Nivritti, on the other hand, implies the highest end. The ascetic who
desires to discriminate with exactitude between good and evil, who is always
bent on understanding the nature of the Soul, and who devotes himself to the
religion of Nivritti, attains to that high end.[778] One desirous of accomplishing
this, should know both the Unmanifest and Purusha of which I shall speak
presently. That, again, which is different from both the Unmanifest and Purusha,
and which transcends them both, and which is distinguished from all beings,
should be particularly viewed by one possessed of intelligence.[779] Both Prakriti
and Purusha are without beginning and without end. Both are incapable of being
known by their like. Both are eternal and indestructible. Both are greater than the
greatest (of being). In these they are similar. They are points of dissimilarity
again between them. (Of these I shall speak presently). Prakriti is fraught with
the three attributes (of Goodness, Passion, and Darkness). It is also engaged in
creation. The true attributes of Kshetrajna (Purusha or the Soul) should be known
to be different.[780] Purusha is the apprehender of all the transformations of
Prakriti (but cannot be apprehended himself). He transcends (in respect of his
original nature) all attributes. As regards Purusha and the Supreme Soul again,
both of them are in-comprehensible. In consequence again of both of them
being without attributes by which they can be distinguished, both are highly
distinguished from all else.[781] A turbaned person has his head circled with
three folds of a piece of cloth. (The person, however, is not identical with the
turban he wears). After the same manner the embodied Soul is invested with the
three attributes of Goodness, Passion, and Darkness. But though thus invested,
the Soul is not identical with those attributes. Hence these four topics, which are
covered by these fourfold considerations, should be understood.[782] One who
understands all this is never stupefied when one has to draw conclusions (in
respect of all subjects of enquiry). He that is desirous of attaining to high
prosperity should become pure in mind, and betaking himself to austere practices
in respect of the body and the senses, should devote himself to yoga without
desire of fruits. The universe is pervaded by yoga power secretly circulating
through every part of it and illumining it brightly. The sun and the moon shine with
effulgence in the firmament of the heart in consequence of yoga power. The
result of yoga is Knowledge. Yoga is talked of very highly in the world.[783]
Whatever acts are destructive of Passion and Darkness constitute yoga in
respect of its real character. Brahmacharya and abstention from injury are said to
constitute yoga of the body; while restraining mind and speech properly are said
to constitute yoga of the mind. The food that is obtained in alms from regenerate
persons conversant with the ritual is distinguished from all other food. By taking
that food abstemiously, one‟s sins born of Passion begin to fade. A yogin
subsisting upon such food finds his senses gradually withdrawn from their
objects. Hence, he should take only that measure of food which is strictly
necessary for the support of his body. (Another advice that may be offered is

that) that knowledge which one obtains gradually by mind devoted to yoga
should cheerfully be made one‟s own during one‟s last moments by a forcible
stretch of power.[784] The embodied Soul, when divested of Rajas (does not
immediately attain to Emancipation but) assumes a subtile form with all the
senses of perception and moves about in space. When his mind becomes
unaffected by acts, he, in consequence of such renunciation (loses that subtile
form and) becomes merged in Prakriti (without however, yet attaining to Brahma
or Emancipation which transcends Prakriti).[785] After the destruction of this
gross body, one who through absence of heedlessness escapes from all the
three bodies (viz., the gross, the subtile and the karana) succeeds in attaining to
Emancipation.[786] The birth and death of creatures always depend upon the
cause constituted by original Ignorance (or Avidya). When knowledge of Brahma
arises, necessity no longer pursues the person. Those, however, that accept
what is the reverse of truth (by believing that to be Self which is really not-Self)
are men whose understandings are always taken up with the birth and death of
all existent things. (Such people never dream even of Emancipation).[787]
Supporting their bodies by aid of patience, withdrawing their hearts from all
external objects by the aid of their understanding, and withdrawing themselves
from the world of senses, some yogins adore the senses in consequence of their
subtility.[788] Some amongst them, with mind cleansed by yoga, proceeding
according to (the stages indicated in) the scriptures and reaching the highest,
succeed in knowing it by the aid of the understanding and dwell in that which is
the highest and which without resting on any other thing rests on itself.[789]
Some worship Brahma in images. Some worship Him as existing with attributes.
Some repeatedly realise the highest Divinity which has been described to be like
a flash of lightning and which is again indestructible.[790] Others who have burnt
their sins by penances, attain to Brahma in the end. All those high-souled
persons attain to the highest end. With the eye of scripture one should observe
the subtile attributes of these several forms, as distinguished by attributes, of
Brahma that are (thus) worshipped by men. The yogin who has transcended the
necessity of depending on the body, who has cast off all attachments, and whose
mind is devoted to yoga abstraction, should be known as another instance of
Infinity, as the Supreme Divinity, or as that which it Unmanifest.[791] They whose
hearts are devoted to the acquisition of knowledge succeed first in freeing
themselves from the world of mortals. Subsequently, by casting off attachments
they partake of the nature of Brahma and at last attain to the highest end.
“Thus have persons conversant with the Vedas spoken of the religion that leads
to the attainment of Brahma. They who follow that religion according to the
measure of their knowledge all succeed in obtaining the highest end. Even those
persons who succeed in acquiring knowledge that is incapable of being shaken
(by the assaults of scepticism) and that makes its possessors free from
attachments of every kind, attain to various high regions after death and become
emancipated according to the measure of their knowledge. Those persons of
pure hearts who have imbibed contentment from knowledge, and who have cast
off all desires and attachments, gradually approach in respect of their nature,
nearer and nearer to Brahma which has the unmanifest for his attribute, which is

divine, and without birth and death. Realising that Brahma dwells in their Souls,
they become themselves immutable and have never to return (to the earth).
Attaining to that supreme state which is indestructible and eternal, they exist in
felicity. The knowledge with respect to this world is even this: it exists (in the case
of erring persons). It does not exist (in the case of those who have not been
stupefied by error). The whole universe, bound up in desire, is revolving like a
wheel. As the fibres of a lotus-stalk overspread themselves into every part of the
stalk, after the same manner the fibres of desire, which have neither beginning
nor end, spread themselves over every part of the body. As a weaver drives his
threads into a cloth by means of his shuttle, after the same manner the threads
that constitute the fabric of the universe are woven by the shuttle of Desire. He
who properly knows transformations of Prakriti, Prakriti herself and Purusha,
becomes freed from Desire and attains to Emancipation.[792] The divine Rishi
Narayana, that refuge of the universe, for the sake of compassion towards all
creatures, clearly promulgated these means for the acquisition of immortality.‟”
SECTION CCXVIII
“Yudhishthira said, „By following what conduct, O thou that art conversant with all
courses of conduct, did Janaka, the ruler of Mithila versed in the religion of
Emancipation, succeed in attaining to Emancipation, after casting off all worldly
enjoyments?‟
“Bhishma said, „In this connection is cited the following old narrative of the
particular conduct by which that ruler, thoroughly conversant with all courses of
conduct, succeeded in achieving the highest felicity. There was a ruler in Mithila
of the name of Janadeva of Janaka‟s race. He was ever engaged in reflecting
upon the courses of conduct that might lead to the attainment of Brahma. A
century of preceptors always used to live in his palace, lecturing him upon the
diverse courses of duty followed by people who had betaken themselves to
diverse modes of life.[793] Given to the study of the Vedas, he was not very well
satisfied with the speculations of his instructors on the character of the Soul, and
in their doctrines of extinction upon the dissolution of the body or of rebirth after
death. Once upon a time a great ascetic of the name of Panchasikha, the son of
Kapila, having roamed over the whole world, arrived at Mithila. Endued with
correct conclusions in respect of all speculations about the diverse duties
connected with renunciation, he was above all pairs of opposites (such as heat
and cold, happiness and misery), and of doubts he had none. He was regarded
as the foremost of Rishis. Dwelling wherever he pleased, he desired to place
before the reach of all men eternal felicity that is so difficult of attainment. It
seemed that he went about, amazing the world, having assumed the form of
none else than that great Rishi, that lord of creatures, whom the followers of the
Sankhya doctrine knew by the name of Kapila. He was the foremost of all the
disciples of Asuri and was called the undying. He had performed a mental
Sacrifice that had lasted for thousand years.[794] He was firm in mind, and had

completed all the rites and sacrifices that are enjoined in the scriptures and that
lead to the attainment of Brahma. He was fully conversant with the five sheaths
that cover the soul.[795] He was devoted to the five acts connected with the
adoration of Brahma, and had the five qualities (of tranquillity, self-restraint, etc.).
Known (as already said) by the name of Panchasikha, he had approached one
day a large concourse of Rishis following the Sankhya doctrines and enquired of
them about the highest object of human acquisition, viz., the Unmanifest or that
upon which the five Purushas or sheaths (already named) rest.[796] For the sake
of obtaining a knowledge of the Soul, Asuri had enquired of his preceptor. In
consequence of the latter‟s instructions and of his own penances, Asuri
understood the distinction between the body and the Soul and had acquired
celestial vision.[797] In that concourse of ascetics, Asuri made his exposition of
the Immutable One, and Indestructible Brahma which is seen in diverse forms.
Panchasikha became a disciple of Asuri. He lived on human milk. There was a
certain Brahmani of the name of Kapila. She was the wife of Asuri.[798]
Panchasikha was accepted by her as a son and he used to suck her breasts. In
consequence of this, he came to be known as the son of Kapila and his
understanding became fixed on Brahma. All this, about the circumstances of his
birth and those that led to his becoming the son of Kapila, was said unto me by
the divine Rishi.[799] The latter also told me about the omniscience of
Panchasikha. Conversant with all courses of duty, Panchasikha, after having
himself acquired high knowledge, (came to Janaka) and knowing that that king
had equal reverence for all his preceptors, began to amaze that century of
preceptors (by an exposition of his doctrine fraught), with abundant reasons.
Observing the talent of Kapileya, Janaka became exceedingly attached to him,
and abandoning his hundred preceptors, began to follow him in particular. Then
Kapileya began to discourse unto Janaka, who had according to the ordinance
bent his head unto him (as a disciple should) and who was fully competent to
apprehend the sage‟s instructions, upon that high religion of Emancipation which
is explained in Sankhya treatises. Setting forth in the first place the sorrows of
birth, he spoke next of the sorrows of (religious) acts. Having finished that topic
he explained the sorrows of all states of life ending even with that in the high
region of the Creator.[800] He also discoursed upon that Delusion for whose
sake is the practice of religion, and acts, and their fruits, and which is highly
untrustworthy, destructible, unsteady, and uncertain.[801] Sceptics say that when
death (of the body) is seen and is a matter of direct evidence witnessed by all,
they who maintain, in consequence of their faith in the scriptures, that something
distinct from the body, called the Soul, exists are necessarily vanquished in
argument. They also urge that one‟s death means the extinction of one‟s Soul,
and that sorrow, decrepitude, and disease imply (partial) death of the Soul. He
that maintains, owing to error, that the Soul is distinct from the body and exists
after the loss of body, cherishes an opinion that is unreasonable.[802] If that be
regarded as existent which does not really exist in the world, then it may be
mentioned that the king, being regarded so, is really never liable to decrepitude
or death. But is he, on that account, to be really believed to be above decrepitude
and death?[803] When the question is whether an object exists or does not exist,

and when that whose existence is asserted presents all the indications of non-
existence, what is that upon which ordinary people rely in settling the affairs of
life? Direct evidence is the root of both inference and the scriptures. The
scriptures are capable of being contradicted by direct evidence. As to inference,
its evidentiary effect is not much. Whatever be the topic, cease to reason on
inference alone. There is nothing else called jiva than this body. In a banian seed
is contained the capacity to produce leaves and flowers and fruits and roots and
bark. From the grass and water that is taken by a cow are produced milk and
butter, substances whose nature is different from that of the producing causes.
Substances of different kinds when allowed to decompose in water for some time
produce spirituous liquors whose nature is quite different from that of those
substances that produce them. After the same manner, from the vital seed is
produced the body and its attributes, with the understanding, consciousness,
mind, and other possessions. Two pieces of wood, rubbed together, produce fire.
The stone called Suryakanta, coming in contact with the rays of the Sun,
produces fire. Any solid metallic substance, heated in fire, dries up water when
coming in contact with it. Similarly, the material body produces the mind and its
attributes of perception, memory, imagination, etc. As the loadstone moves iron,
similarly, the senses are controlled by the mind.[804] Thus reason the sceptics.
The sceptics, however, are in error. For the disappearance (of only the animating
force) upon the body becoming lifeless (and not the simultaneous extinction of
the body upon the occurrence of that event) is the proof (of the truth that the
body is not the Soul but that the Soul is something separate from the body and
outlives it certainly. If, indeed, body and Soul had been the same thing, both
would have disappeared at the same instant of time. Instead of this, the dead
body may be seen for some time after the occurrence of death. Death, therefore,
means the flight from the body of something that is different from the body). The
supplication of the deities by the very men who deny the separate existence of
the Soul is another good argument for the proposition that the Soul is separate
from the body or has existence that may be independent of a gross material
case. The deities to whom these men pray are incapable of being seen or
touched. They are believed to exist in subtile forms. (Really, if a belief in deities
divested of gross material forms does no violence to their reason, why should the
existence of an immaterial Soul alone do their reason such violence)? Another
argument against the sceptic is that his proposition implies a destruction of acts
(for if body and Soul die together, the acts also of this life would perish,--a
conclusion which no man can possibly come to if he is to explain the inequalities
or condition witnessed in the universe).[805] These that have been mentioned,
and that have material forms, cannot possibly be the causes (of the immaterial
Soul and its immaterial accompaniments of perception, memory, and the like).
The identity of immaterial existences with objects that are material cannot be
comprehended. (Hence objects that are themselves material cannot by any
means be causes for the production of things immaterial).—Some are of opinion
that there is rebirth and that it is caused by Ignorance, the desire for acts,
cupidity, heedlessness, and adherence to other faults. They say that Ignorance
(Avidya) is the soul. Acts constitute the seed that is placed in that soil. Desire is

the water that causes that seed to grow, in this way they explain rebirth. They
maintain that that ignorance being ingrained in an imperceptible way, one mortal
body being destroyed, another starts I up immediately from it; and that when it is
burnt by the aid of knowledge, the destruction of existence itself follows or the
person attains to what is called Nirvana. This opinion also is erroneous. [This is
the doctrine of Buddhists]. It may be asked that when the being that is thus
reborn is a different one in respect of its nature, birth, and purposes connected
with virtue and vice why should I then be regarded to have any identity with the
being that was? Indeed, the only inference that can be drawn is that the entire
chain of existences of a particular being is not really a chain of connected links
(but that existences in succession are unconnected with one another).[806]
Then, again if the being that is the result of a rebirth be really different from what
it was in a previous phase of existence, it may be asked what satisfaction can
arise to a person from the exercise of the virtue of charity, or from the acquisition
of knowledge or of ascetic power, since the acts performed by one are to
concentrate upon another person in another phase of existence (without the
performer himself being existent to enjoy them?) Another result of the doctrine
under refutation would be that one in this life may be rendered miserable by the
acts of another in a previous life, or having become miserable may again be
rendered happy. By seeing, however, what actually takes place in the world, a
proper conclusion may be drawn with respect to the unseen.[807] The separate
Consciousness that is the result of rebirth is (according to what may be inferred
from the Buddhistic theory of life) different from the Consciousness that had
preceded it in a previous life. The manner, however, in which the rise or
appearance of that separate Consciousness is explained by that theory does not
seem to be consistent or reasonable. The Consciousness (as it existed in the
previous life) was the very reverse of eternal, being only transitory, extending as
it did till dissolution of the body. That which had an end cannot be taken as the
cause for the production of a second Consciousness appearing after the
occurrence of the end. If, again, the very loss of the previous Consciousness be
regarded as the cause of the production of the second Consciousness, then
upon the death of a human body being brought about by a heavy bludgeon, a
second body would arise from the body that is thus deprived of animation.[808]
Once more, their doctrine of extinction of life (or Nirvana or Sattwasankshaya) is
exposed to the objection that that extinction will become a recurring phenomenon
like that of the seasons, or the year, or the yuga, or heat, or cold, or objects that
are agreeable or disagreeable.[809] If for the purpose of avoiding these
objections, the followers of this doctrine assert the existence of a Soul that is
permanent and unto which each new Consciousness attaches, they expose
themselves to the new objection that that permanent substance, by being
overcome with decrepitude, and with death that brings about destruction, may in
time be itself weakened and destroyed. If the supports of a mansion are
weakened by time, the mansion itself is sure to fall down at last.[810] The
senses, the mind, wind, blood, flesh, bones (and all the constituents of the body),
one after another, meet with destruction and enter each into its own productive
cause.[811] If again the existence of an eternal Soul be asserted that is

immutable, that is the refuge of the understanding, consciousness, and other
attributes of the usual kind, and that is dissociated from all these, such an
assertion would be exposed to a serious objection, for then all that is usually
done in the world would be unmeaning, especially with reference to the
attainment of the fruits of the charity and other religious acts. All the declarations
in the Srutis inciting to those acts, and all acts connected with the conduct of men
in the world, would be equally unmeaning, for the Soul being dissociated from the
understanding and the mind, there is no one to enjoy the fruits of good acts and
Vedic rites.[812] Thus diverse kinds of speculations arise in the mind. Whether
this opinion is right or that is right, there is no means of settling. Engaged in
reflecting on those opinions, particular persons follow particular lines of
speculation. The understandings of these, directed to particular theories, become
wholly taken up with them and are at last entirely lost in them. Thus all men are
rendered miserable by pursuits, good or bad. The Vedas along, bringing them
back to the right path, guide them along it, like grooms conducting their
elephants.[813] Many men, with weakened minds, covet objects that are fraught
with great happiness. These, however, have soon to meet with a much larger
measure of sorrow, and then, forcibly torn from their coveted meat, they have to
own the sway of death. What use has one, who is destined to destruction and
whose life is unstable, with kinsmen and friends and wives and other
possessions of this kind? He who encounters death after having cast off all
these, passes easily out of the world and has never to return. Earth, space,
water, heat and wind, always support and nourish the body. Reflecting upon this,
how can one feel any affection for one‟s body? Indeed, the body, which is subject
to destruction, has no joy in it. Having heard these words of Panchasikha that
were free from deception, unconnected with delusion (because discouraging
sacrifices and other Vedic acts), highly salutary, and treating of the Soul, king
Janadeva became filled with wonder, and prepared himself to address the Rishi
once more.‟”
SECTION CCXIX
“Bhishma said, „Janadeva of the race of Janaka, thus instructed by the great
Rishi Panchasikha, once more asked him about the topic of existence or
nonexistence after death.‟
“Janadeva said, „O illustrious one, if no person retains any knowledge after
departing from this state of being, if, indeed, this is true, where then is the
difference between Ignorance and Knowledge? What do we gain then by
knowledge and what do we lose by ignorance? Behold, O foremost of regenerate
persons, that if Emancipation be: such, then all religious acts and vows end only
in annihilation. Of what avail would then the distinction be between heedfulness
and heedlessness? If Emancipation means dissociation from all objects of
pleasurable enjoyment or an association with objects that are not lasting, for
what then would men cherish a desire for action, or, having set themselves to

action, continue to devise the necessary means for the accomplishment of
desired ends? What then is the truth (in connection with this topic)?‟
“Bhishma continued, „Beholding the king enveloped in thick darkness, stupefied
by error, and become helpless, the learned Panchasikha tranquillised him by
once more addressing him in the following words, „In this (Emancipation) the
consummation is not Extinction. Nor is that consummation any kind of Existence
(that one can readily conceive). This that we see is a union of body, senses, and
mind. Existing independently as also controlling one another, these go on acting.
The materials that constitute the body are water, space, wind, heat, and earth.
These exist together (forming the body) according to their own nature. They
disunite again according to their own nature. Space and wind and heat and water
and earth,--these five objects in a state of union constitute the body. The body is
not one element. Intelligence, stomachic heat, and the vital breaths, called
Prana, etc., that are all wind,--these three are said to be organs of action. The
senses, the objects of the senses (viz., sound, form, etc.), the power (dwelling in
those objects) in consequence of which they become capable of being perceived,
the faculties (dwelling in the senses) in consequence of which they succeed in
perceiving them, the mind, the vital breaths called Prana, Apana and the rest,
and the various juices and humours that are the results of the digestive organs,
flow from the three organs already named.[814] Hearing, touch, taste, vision, and
scent,--these are the five senses. They have derived their attributes from the
mind which, indeed, is their cause. The mind, existing as an attribute of Chit has
three states, viz., pleasure, pain, and absence of both pleasure and pain. Sound,
touch, form, taste, scent, and the objects to which they inhere,--these till the
moment of one‟s death are causes for the production of one‟s knowledge. Upon
the senses rest all acts (that lead to heaven), as also renunciation (leading to the
attainment of Brahma), and also the ascertainment of truth in respect of all topics
of enquiry. The learned say that ascertainment (of truth) is the highest object of
existence, and that it is the seed or root of Emancipation; and with respect to
Intelligence, they say that leads to Emancipation and Brahma.[815] That person
who regards this union of perishable attributes (called the body and the objects of
the senses) as the Soul, feels, in consequence of such imperfection of
knowledge, much misery that proves again to be unending. Those persons, on
the other hand, who regard all worldly objects as not-Soul, and who on that
account cease to have any affection or attachment for them, have never to suffer
any sorrow for sorrow, in their case stands in need of some foundation upon
which to rest. In this connection there exists the unrivalled branch of knowledge
which treats of Renunciation. It is called Samyagradha. I shall discourse to thee
upon it. Listen to it for the sake of thy Emancipation. Renunciation of acts is (laid
down) for all persons who strive earnestly for Emancipation. They, however, who
have not been taught correctly (and who on that account think that tranquillity
may be attained without renunciation) have to bear a heavy burthen of sorrow.
Vedic sacrifices and other rites exist for renunciation of wealth and other
possessions. For renunciation of all enjoyments exist vows and fasts of diverse
kinds.

For renunciation of pleasure and happiness, exist penances and yoga.
Renunciation, however, of everything, is the highest kind of renunciation. This
that I shall presently tell thee is the one path pointed out by the learned for that
renunciation of everything. They that betake themselves to that path succeed in
driving off all sorrow. They, however, that deviate from it reap distress and
misery.[816] First speaking of the five organs of knowledge having the mind for
the sixth, and all of which dwell in the understanding, I shall tell thee of the five
organs of action having strength for their sixth. The two hands constitute two
organs ok action. The two legs are the two organs for moving from one place to
another. The sexual organ exists for both pleasure and the continuation of the
species. The lower duct, leading from the stomach downwards, is the organ for
expulsion of all used-up matter. The organs of utterance exist for the expression
of sounds. Know that these five organs of action appertain or belong to the mind.
These are the eleven organs of knowledge and of action (counting the mind).
One should quickly cast off the mind with the understanding.[817] In the act of
hearing, three causes must exist together, viz., two ears, sound, and the mind.
The same is the case with the perception of touch; the same with that of form;
the same with that of taste and smell.[818] These fifteen accidents or attributes
are needed for the several kinds of perception indicated. Every man, in
consequence of them, becomes conscious of three separate things in respect of
those perceptions (viz., a material organ, its particular function, and the mind
upon which that function acts). There are again (in respect of all perceptions of
the mind) three classes, viz., those that appertain to Goodness, those that
appertain to Passion, and those that appertain to Darkness. Into them run, three
kinds of consciousness, including all feelings and emotions. Raptures,
satisfaction, joy, happiness, and tranquillity, arising in the mind from any
Perceptible cause or in the absence of any apparent cause, belong to the
attribute of Goodness. Discontent, regret, grief, cupidity, and vindictiveness,
causeless or occasioned by any perceptible cause, are the indications of the
attribute known as Passion. Wrong judgment, stupefaction, heedlessness,
dreams, and sleepiness, however caused, belong to the attribute of Darkness.
Whatever state of consciousness exists, with respect to either the body or the
mind, united with joy or satisfaction, should be regarded as due to the quality of
Goodness. Whatever state of consciousness exists united with any feeling of
discontent or cheerlessness should be regarded as occasioned by an accession
of the attribute of Passion into the mind. Whatever state, as regards either the
body or the mind, exists with error or heedlessness, should be known as
indicative of Darkness which is incomprehensible and inexplicable. The organ of
hearing rests on space; it is space itself (under limitations); (Sound has that
organ for its refuge). (Sound, therefore, is a modification of space). In perceiving
sound, one may not immediately acquire a knowledge of the organ of hearing
and of space. But when sound is perceived, the organ of hearing and space do
not long remain unknown. (By destroying the ear, sound and space, may be
destroyed; and, lastly, by destroying the mind all may be destroyed). The same is
the case with the skin, the eyes, the tongue, and the nose constituting the fifth.
They exist in touch, form, taste, and smell. They constitute the faculty of

perception and they are the mind.[819] Each employed in its own particular
function, all the five organs of action and five others of knowledge exist together,
and upon the union, of the ten dwells the mind as the eleventh and upon the
mind the understanding as the twelfth. If it be said that these twelve do not exist
together, then the consequence that would result would be death in dreamless
slumber. But as there is no death in dreamless slumber, it must be conceded that
these twelve exist together as regards themselves but separately from the Soul.
The co-existence of those twelve with the Soul that is referred to in common
speech is only a common form of speech with the vulgar for ordinary purposes of
the world. The dreamer, in consequence of the appearance of past sensual
impressions, becomes conscious of his senses in their subtile forms, and endued
as he already is with the three attributes (of goodness, passion, and darkness),
he regards his senses as existing with their respective objects and, therefore,
acts and moves about with an imaginary body after the manner of his own self
while awake.[820] That dissociation of the Soul from the understanding and i the
mind with the senses, which quickly disappears, which has no stability, and
which the mind causes to arise only when influenced by darkness, is felicity that
partakes, as the learned say, of the nature of darkness and is experienced in this
gross body only. (The felicity of Emancipation certainly differs from it).[821] Over
the felicity of Emancipation also, the felicity, viz., which is awakened by the
inspired teaching of the Vedas and in which no one sees the slightest tincture of
sorrow,--the same indescribable and truth concealing darkness seems to spread
itself (but in reality the felicity of Emancipation is unstained by darkness).[822]
Like again to what occurs in dreamless slumber, in Emancipation also, subjective
and objective existences (from Consciousness to objects of the senses, all
included), which have their origin in one‟s acts, are all discarded. In some, that
are overwhelmed by Avidya, these exist, firmly grafted with them. Unto others
who have transcended Avidya and have won knowledge, they never come at any
time.[823] They that are conversant with speculations about the character of Soul
and not-Soul, say that this sum total (of the senses, etc.) is body (kshetra). That
existent thing which rests upon the mind is called Soul (kshetrajna). When such
is the case, and when all creatures, in consequence of the well-known cause
(which consists of ignorance, desire, and acts whose beginning cannot be
conceived), exist, due also to their primary nature (which is a state of union
between Soul and body), (of these two) which then is destructible, and how can
that (viz., the Soul), which is said to be eternal, suffer destruction?[824] As small
rivers falling into larger ones lose their forms and names, and the larger ones
(thus enlarged) rolling into the ocean, lose their forms and names too, after the
same manner occurs that form of extinction of life called Emancipation.[825] This
being the case, when jiva which is characterised by attributes, is received into the
Universal Soul, and when all its attributes disappear, how can it be the object of
mention by differentiation? One who is conversant with that understanding which
is directed towards the accomplishment of Emancipation and who heedfully
seeks to know the Soul, is never soiled by the evil fruits of his acts even as a
lotus leaf though dipped in water is never soaked by it. When one becomes freed
from the very strong bonds, many in number, occasioned by affection for children

and spouses and love for sacrifices and other rites, when one casts off both joy
and sorrow and transcends all attachments, one then attains to the highest end
and entering into the Universal Soul becomes incapable of differentiation. When
one has understood the declarations of the Srutis that lead to correct inferences
(about Brahma) and has practised those auspicious virtues which the same and
other scriptures inculcate, one may lie down at ease, setting at nought the fears
of decrepitude and death. When both merits and sins disappear, and the fruits, in
the form of joy and sorrow, arising therefrom, are destroyed, men, unattached to
everything, take refuge at first on Brahma invested with personality, and then
behold impersonal Brahma in their understandings.[826] Jiva in course of its
downward descent under the influence of Avidya lives here (within its cell formed
by acts) after the manner of a silk-worm residing within its cell made of threads
woven by itself. Like the freed silk-worm again that abandons its cell, jiva also
abandons its house generated by its acts. The final result that takes place is that
its sorrows are then destroyed like a clump of earth falling with violence upon a
rocky mass.[827] As the Ruru casting off its old horns or the snake casting off its
slough goes on without attracting any notice, after the same manner a person
that is unattached casts off all his sorrows. As a bird deserts a tree that is about
to fall down upon a piece of water and thus severing itself from it alights on a
(new) resting place, after the same manner the person freed from attachments
casts off both joy and sorrow and dissociated even from his subtile and subtiler
forms attains to that end which is fraught with the highest prosperity.[828] Their
own ancestor Janaka, the chief of Mithila, beholding his city burning in a
conflagration, himself proclaimed, „In this conflagration nothing of mine is
burning.‟ King Janadeva, having listened to these words capable of yielding
immortality and uttered by Panchasikha, and arriving at the truth after carefully
reflecting upon everything that the latter had said, cast off his sorrows and lived
on in the enjoyment of great felicity. He who reads this discourse, O king, that
treat of emancipation and who always reflects upon it, is never pained by any
calamity, and freed from sorrow, attains to emancipation like Janadeva, the ruler
of Mithila after his meeting with Panchasikha.‟”
SECTION CCXX
“Yudhishthira said, „By doing what does one acquire happiness, and what is that
by doing which one meets with woe? What also is that, O Bharata, by doing
which one becomes freed from fear and sojourns here crowned with success (in
respect of the objects of life)?‟
“Bhishma said, „The ancients who had their understandings directed to the Srutis,
highly applauded the duty of self-restraint for all the orders generally but for the.
Brahmanas in especial. Success in respect of religious rites never occurs in the
case of one that is not self-restrained. Religious rites, penances, truth,--all these
are established upon self-restraint. Self-restraint enhances one‟s energy. Self-
restraint is said to be sacred. The man of self-restraint becomes sinless and

fearless and wins great results. One that is self-restrained sleeps happily and
wakes happily. He sojourns happily in the world and his mind always remains
cheerful. Every kind of excitement is quietly controlled by self-restraint. One that
is not self-restrained fails in a similar endeavour. The man of self-restraint
beholds his innumerable foes (in the form of lust, desire, and wrath, etc.), as if
these dwell in a separate body. Like tigers and other carnivorous beasts, persons
destitute of self-restraint always inspire all creatures with dread. For controlling
these men, the Self-born (Brahman) created kings. In all the (four) modes of life,
the practice or self-restraint is distinguished above all other virtues. The fruits of
self-restraint are much greater than those obtainable in all the modes of life. I
shall now mention to thee the indications of those persons who prize self-
restraint highly.[829] They are nobility, calmness of disposition, contentment,
faith, forgiveness, invariable simplicity, the absence of garrulity, humility,
reverence for superiors, benevolence, compassion for all creatures, frankness,
abstention from talk upon kings and men in authority, from all false and useless
discourses, and from applause and censure of others. The self-restrained man
becomes desirous of emancipation and, quietly bearing present joys and griefs,
is never exhilarated or depressed by prospective ones. Destitute of
vindictiveness and all kinds of guile, and unmoved by praise and blame, such a
man is well-behaved, has good manners, is pure of soul, has firmness or
fortitude, and is a complete master of his passions. Receiving honours in this
world, such a man in afterlife goes to heaven. Causing all creatures to acquire
what they cannot acquire without his aid, such a man rejoices and becomes
happy.[830] Devoted to universal benevolence, such a man never cherishes
animosity for any one. Tranquil like the ocean at a dead calm, wisdom fills his
soul and he is never cheerful. Possessed of intelligence, and deserving of
universal reverence, the man of self-restraint never cherishes fear of any
creature and is feared by no creature in return. That man who never rejoices
even at large acquisitions and never feels sorrow when overtaken by calamity, is
said to be possessed of contented wisdom. Such a man is said to be self-
restrained. Indeed, such a man is said to be a regenerate being. Versed with the
scriptures and endued with a pure soul, the man of self-restraint, accomplishing
all those acts that are done by the good, enjoys their high fruits. They, however,
that are of wicked soul never betake themselves to the path represented by
benevolence, forgiveness, tranquillity, contentment, sweetness of speech, truth,
liberality and comfort. Their path consists of lust and wrath and cupidity and envy
of others and boastfulness. Subjugating lust and wrath, practising the vow of
Brahmacharya and becoming a complete master of his senses, the Brahmana,
exerting himself with endurance in the austerest of penances, and observing the
most rigid restraints, should live in this world, calmly waiting for his time like one
seeming to have a body though fully knowing that he is not subject to
destruction.‟”

SECTION CCXXI
“Yudhishthira said, „The three regenerate classes, who are given to sacrifices
and other rites, sometimes eat the remnants, consisting of meat and wine, of
sacrifices in honour of the deities, from motives of obtaining children and heaven.
What, O grandsire, is the character of this act?‟
“Bhishma said, „Those who eat forbidden food without being observant of the
sacrifices and vows ordained in the Vedas are regarded as wilful men. (They are
regarded as fallen even here). Those, on the other hand, who eat such food in
the observance of Vedic sacrifices and vows and induced by the desire of fruits
in the shape of heaven and children, ascend to heaven but fall down on the
exhaustion of their merits.‟[831]
“Yudhishthira said, „Common people say that fasting is tapas (penances).
Is fasting, however, really so, or is penance something different?‟
“Bhishma said, „People do regard fast, measured by months or fortnights or days,
as penance. In the opinion, however of the good, such is not penance. On the
other hand, fast is an impediment to the acquisition of the knowledge of the
Soul.[832] The renunciation of acts (that is so difficult for all) and humility
(consisting in the worship of all creatures and consideration for them all)
constitute the highest penance. That is distinguished above all kinds of penance.
He who betakes himself to such penance is regarded as one that is always
fasting and that is always leading a life of Brahmacharya. Such a Brahmana will
become a Muni always, a deity evermore, and sleepless forever, and one
engaged in the pursuit of virtue only, even if he lives in the bosom of a family. He
will become a vegetarian always, and pure for ever. He will become an eater
always of ambrosia, and an adorer always of gods and guests. Indeed, he will
be regarded as one always subsisting on sacrificial remnants, as one ever
devoted to the duty of hospitality, as one always full of faith, and as one ever
worshipping gods and guests.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „How can one practising such penance come to be regarded
as one that is always fasting or as one that is ever devoted to the vow of
Brahmacharya, or as one that is always subsisting upon sacrificial remnants or
as one that is ever regardful of guests?‟
“Bhishma said, „He will be regarded as one that is always fasting if he eats once
during the day and once during the night at the fixed hours without eating
anything during the interval. Such a Brahmana, by always speaking the truth and
by adhering always to wisdom, and by going to his wife only in her season and
never at other times, becomes a Brahmacharin (celibate). By never eating meat
of animals not killed for sacrifice, he will become a strict vegetarian. By always
becoming charitable he will become ever pure, and by abstaining from sleep
during the day he will become one that is always wakeful. Know, O Yudhishthira,
that that man who eats only after having fed his servants and guests becomes an
eater always of ambrosia. That Brahmana who never eats till gods and guests
are fed, wins, by such abstention, heaven itself. He is said to subsist upon
sacrificial remnants, who eats only what remains after feeding the gods, the

Pitris, servants, and guests. Such men win numberless regions of felicity in next
life. To their homes come, with Brahman himself, the gods and the Apsaras.
They who share their food with the deities and the Pitris pass their days in
constant happiness with their sons and grandsons and at last, leaving off this
body, attain to a very high end.‟”
SECTION CCXXII
“Yudhishthira said, „In this world, O Bharata, acts good and bad attach
themselves to man for the purpose of producing fruits for enjoyment or
endurance. Is man, however, to be regarded as their doer or is he not to be
regarded so? Doubt fills my mind with respect to this question. I desire to hear
this in detail from thee, O grandsire!‟
“Bhishma said, „In this connection, O Yudhishthira, is cited the old narrative of a
discourse between Prahlada and Indra. The chief of the Daityas, viz., Prahlada,
was unattached to all worldly objects. His sins had been washed away. Of
respectable parentage, he was possessed of great learning. Free from
stupefaction and pride, ever observant of the quality of goodness, and devoted to
various vows, he took praise and censure equally. Possessed of self-restraint, he
was then passing his time in an empty chamber. Conversant with the origin and
the destruction of all created objects, mobile and immobile, he was never angry
with things that displeased him and never rejoiced at the accession of objects
that were agreeable. He cast an equal eye upon gold and a clump of earth.
Steadily engaged in study of the Soul and in acquiring Emancipation, and firm in
knowledge, he had arrived at fixed conclusions in respect of truth. Acquainted
with what is supreme and what is not so among all things, omniscient and of
universal sight, as he was seated one day in a solitary chamber with his senses
under complete control, Sakra approached him, and desirous of awakening him,
said these words, „O king, I behold all those qualities permanently residing in
thee by which a person wins the esteem of all. Thy understanding seems to be
like that of a child, free from attachment and aversion. Thou knowest of the Soul.
What, thinkest thou, is the best means by which a knowledge of the Soul may be
attained? Thou art now bound in cords, fallen off from thy former position,
brought under the sway of thy foes, and divested of prosperity. Thy present
circumstances are such as may well inspire grief. Yet how is it, O Prahlada, that
thou dost not indulge in grief? Is this due, O son of Diti, to the acquisition of
wisdom or is it on account of thy fortitude? Behold thy calamities, O Prahlada,
and yet thou seemest like one that is happy and tranquil.‟ Thus urged by Indra,
the chief of the Daityas, endued with determinate conclusions in respect of truth,
replied unto the former in these sweet words indicative of great wisdom.‟
“Prahlada said, „He who is unacquainted with the origin and the destruction of all
created objects, is, in consequence of such ignorance, stupefied. He, however,
who is conversant with these two things, is never stupefied. All kinds of entities
and non-entities come into being or cease in consequence of their own nature.

No kind of personal exertion is needed (for the production of such
phenomena).[833] In the absence, therefore, of personal exertion, it is evident
that no personal agent exists for the production of all this that we perceive. But
though (in reality) the person (or the chit) never does anything, yet (through the
influence of Ignorance) a consciousness in respect of angry overspreads itself on
it. He who regards himself as the doer of acts good or bad, possesses a wisdom
that is vitiated. Such a person is, according to my judgment, unacquainted with
the truth.[834] If, O Sakra, the being called person were really the actor, then all
acts undertaken for his own benefit would certainly be crowned with success.
None of those acts would be defeated. Among even persons struggling their
utmost the suspension of what is not desired and the occurrence of what is
desired are not to be seen. What becomes then of personal exertion? In the case
of some, we see that without any exertion on their part, what is not desired is
suspended and what is desired is accomplished. This then must be the result of
Nature. Some persons again are seen to present extraordinary aspects, for
though possessed of superior intelligence they have to solicit wealth from others
that are vulgar in features and endued with little intelligence. Indeed, when all
qualities, good or bad, enter a person, urged by Nature, what ground is there for
one to boast (of one‟s superior possessions)? All these flow from Nature. This is
my settled conclusion. Even Emancipation and knowledge of self, according to
me, flow from the same source.
“In this world all fruits, good or bad, that attach themselves to persons, are
regarded as the result of acts. I shall now discourse to thee in full on the subject
of acts. Listen to me. As a crow, while eating some food, proclaims the presence
of that food (to the members of its species) by its repeated cawing, after the
same manner all our acts only proclaim the indications of Nature. He who is
acquainted with only the transformations of Nature but not with Nature that is
supreme and exists by herself, feels stupefaction in consequence of his
ignorance. He, however, who understands the difference between Nature and
her transformations is never stupefied. All existent things have their origin in
Nature. In consequence of one‟s certainty of conviction in this respect, one would
never be affected by pride or arrogance. When I know what the origin is of all the
ordinances of morality and when I am acquainted with the unstability of all
objects, I am incapable, O Sakra, of indulging in grief. All this is endued with an
end. Without attachments, without pride, without desire and hope, freed from all
bonds, and dissociated from everything, I am passing my time in great
happiness, engaged in beholding the appearance and disappearance of all
created objects. For one that is possessed of wisdom, that is self-restrained, that
is contented, that is without desire and hope, and that beholds all things with the
light of self-knowledge, no trouble or anxiety exists, O Sakra! I have no affection
or aversion for either Nature or her transformations. I do not behold any one now
who is my foe nor any one who is mine own. I do not O, Sakra, at any time covet
either heaven, or this world, or the nether regions. It is not the case that there is
no happiness in understanding the Soul. But the Soul, being dissociated from
everything, cannot enjoy felicity. Hence I desire nothing.‟

“Sakra said, „Tell me the means, O Prahlada, by which this kind of wisdom may
be attained and by which this kind of tranquillity may be made one‟s own. I solicit
thee.‟
“Prahlada said, „By simplicity, by heedfulness, by cleansing the Soul, by
mastering the passions, and by waiting upon aged seniors, O Sakra, a person
succeeds in attaining to Emancipation. Know this, however, that one acquires
wisdom from Nature, and that the acquisition of tranquillity also is due to the
same cause. Indeed, everything else that thou perceivest is due to Nature.
“Thus addressed by the lord of the Daityas, Sakra became filled with wonder,
and commended those words, O king, with a cheerful heart. The lord of the three
worlds then, having worshipped the lord of the Daityas, took his leave and
proceeded to his own abode.‟”
SECTION CCXXIII
“Yudhishthira said, „Tell me, O grandsire, by adopting what sort of intelligence
may a monarch, who has been divested of prosperity and crushed by Time‟s
heavy bludgeon, still live on this earth.‟
between Vasava and Virochana‟s son, Vali. One day Vasava, after having
subjugated all the Asuras, repaired to the Grandsire and joining his hands bowed
to him and enquired after the whereabouts of Vali. Tell me, O Brahman, where I
may now find that Vali whose wealth continued undiminished even though he
used to give it away as lavishly as he wished. He was the god of wind. He was
Varuna. He was Surya. He was Soma. He was Agni that used to warm all
creatures. He became water (for the use of all). I do not find where he now is.
Indeed, O Brahman, tell me where I may find Vali now. Formerly, it was he who
used to illumine all the points of the compass (as Surya) and to set (when
evening came). Casting off idleness, it was he who used to pour rain upon all
creatures at the proper season. I do not now see that Vali. Indeed, tell me, O
Brahmana, where I may find that chief of the Asuras now.‟
“Brahman said, „It is not becoming in thee, O Maghavat, to thus enquire after Vali
now. One should not, however, speak an untruth when one is questioned by
another. For this reason, I shall tell thee the whereabouts of Vali. O lord of Sachi,
Vali may now have taken his birth among camels or bulls or asses or horses, and
having become the foremost of his species may now be staying in an empty
apartment.‟
“Sakra said, „If, O Brahman, I happen to meet with Vali in an empty apartment,
shall I slay him or spare him? Tell me how I shall act.‟
“Brahman said, „Do not, O Sakra, injure Vali, Vali does not deserve death. Thou
shouldst, on the other hand, O Vasava, solicit instruction from him about morality,
O Sakra, as thou pleasest.‟

“Bhishma continued, „Thus addressed by the divine Creator, Indra roamed over
the earth, seated on the back of Airavata and attended by circumstances of great
splendour. He succeeded in meeting with Vali, who, as the Creator had said, was
living in an empty apartment clothed in the form of an ass.‟
“Sakra said, „Thou art now, O Danava, born as an ass subsisting on chaff as thy
food. This thy order of birth is certainly a low one. Dost thou or dost thou not
grieve for it? I see what I had never seen before, viz., thyself brought under the
sway of thy enemies, divested of prosperity and friends, and shorn of energy and
prowess. Formerly, thou used to make progress through the worlds with thy train
consisting of thousands of vehicles and thousands of kinsmen, and to move
along, scorching everybody with thy splendour and counting us as nought. The
Daityas, looking up to thee as their protector, lived under thy sway. Through thy
power, the earth used to yield crops without waiting for tillage. Today, however, I
behold thee overtaken by this dire calamity. Dost thou or dost thou not indulge in
grief for this? When formerly thou usedst, with pride reflected in thy face, to
divide on the eastern shores of the ocean thy vast wealth among thy kinsmen,
what was the state of thy mind then? Formerly, for many years, when blazing
with splendour, thou usedst to sport, thousands of celestial damsels used to
dance before thee. All of them were adorned with garlands of lotuses and all had
companions bright as gold. What, O lord of Danavas, was the state of thy mind
then and what is it now? Thou hadst a very large umbrella made of gold and
adorned with jewels and gems. Full two and forty thousand Gandharvas used in
those days to dance before thee.[835] In thy sacrifices thou hadst a stake that
was very large and made entirely of gold. On such occasions thou wert to give
away millions upon millions of kine. What, O Daitya, was the state of thy mind
then? Formerly, engaged in sacrifice, thou hadst gone round the whole earth,
following the rule of the hurling of the Samya: What was the state of thy mind
then?[836] I do not now behold that golden jar of thine, nor that umbrella of thine,
nor those fans. I behold not also, O king of the Asuras, that garland of thine
which was given to thee by the Grandsire.‟
“Vali said, „Thou seest not now, O Vasava, my jar and umbrella and fans. Thou
seest not also my garland, that gift of the Grandsire. Those precious possessions
of mine about which thou askest are now buried in the darkness of a cave. When
my time comes again, thou wilt surely behold them again. This conduct of thine,
however, does not become thy fame or birth. Thyself in prosperity, thou desirest
to mock me that am sunk in adversity. They that have acquired wisdom, and
have won contentment therefrom, they that are of tranquil souls, that are virtuous
and good among creatures, never grieve in misery nor rejoice in happiness. Led,
however, by a vulgar intelligence, thou indulgest in brag, O Purandara! When
thou shalt become like me thou shalt not then indulge in speeches like these.‟”

SECTION CCXXIV
“Bhishma said, „Once more, laughing at Vali who was sighing like a snake, Sakra
addressed him for saying something more pointed than what had said
before.[837]
“Sakra said, „Formerly, attended by a train consisting of thousands of vehicles
and kinsmen, thou usedst to make thy progresses, scorching all the worlds with
thy splendour and regarding us as nought. Thou art now, however, deserted by
both kinsmen and friends. Beholding this miserable plight that has overtaken
thee, dost thou or dost thou not indulge in grief? Formerly, all the worlds were
under thy sway and great was thy joy. I ask, dost thou or dost thou not indulge in
grief now, for this fall of thine in respect of external splendour?‟
“Vali said, „Considering all this to be transitory,--due, indeed, to the course of
time,--I do not, O Sakra, indulge in grief. These things have an end. These
bodies that creatures have, O chief of celestials, are all transitory. For that
reason, O Sakra, I do not grieve (for this asinine form of mine). Nor is this form
due to any fault of mine. The animating principle and the body come into
existence together, in consequence of their own nature. They grow together, and
meet with destruction together. Having obtained this form of existence I have not
been permanently enslaved by it. Since I know this, I have no cause for sorrow in
consequence of that knowledge. As the final resting-place of all rivers is the
ocean, even so the end of all embodied creatures is death. Those persons that
know this well are never stupefied, O wielder of the thunderbolt! They, however,
who are overwhelmed with Passion and loss of judgment, do not know this, they
whose understanding is lost, sink under the weight of misfortune. A person who
acquires a keen understanding succeeds in destroying all his sins. A sinless
person acquires the attribute of Goodness, and having acquired it becomes
cheerful. They, however, that deviate from the attribute of Goodness, and obtain
repeated rebirths, are obliged to indulge in sorrow and grief, led on by desire and
the objects of the senses. Success or the reverse, in respect of the attainment of
all objects of desire, life or death, the fruits of action that are represented by
pleasure or pain, I neither dislike nor like. When one slays another, one slays
only that other‟s body. That man, who thinks that it is he who slays another, is
himself slain. Indeed, both of them are ignorant of the truth, viz., he who slays
and he who is slain.[838] That person, O Maghavat, who having killed or
vanquished any one brags of his manliness, should know that he is not the actor
but the act (of which he boasts) has been accomplished by a real agent (who is
different). When the question comes as to who is it that causes the creation and
the destruction of things in the world, it is generally regarded that some person
(who has himself been caused or created) has caused the act (of creation or
destruction). Know, however, that the person who is so regarded has (as already
said) a creator. Earth, light or heat, space, water, and wind constituting the fifth—
from these do all creatures spring. (When this is known to me) what sorrow can I
feel (for this change in my condition)? one that is possessed of great learning,
one that has not much of learning, one that is possessed of strength, one that is
destitute of strength, one that is possessed of personal beauty, and one that is

very ugly, one that is fortunate and one that is not blessed by fortune, are all
swept away by Time, which is too deep to be fathomed, by its own energy. When
I know that I have been vanquished by Time, what sorrow can I feel (for this
alteration in my circumstances)? One that burns anything burns a thing that has
been already burnt. One that slays, only slays a victim already slain. One that is
destroyed has been before destroyed. A thing that is acquired by a person is that
which is already arrived and intended for his acquisition. This Time is like an
ocean. There is no island in it. Where, indeed, is its other shore? Its boundary
cannot be seen. Reflecting even deeply, I do not behold the end of this
continuous stream that is the great ordainer of all things and that is certainly
celestial. If I did not understand that it is Time that destroys all creatures, then,
perhaps, I would have felt the emotions of joy and pride and wrath, O lord of
Sachi! Hast thou come here to condemn me, having ascertained that I am now
bearing the form of an ass that subsists upon chaff and that is now passing his
days in a lonely spot remote from the habitations of men? If I wish, even now I
can assume various awful forms beholding any one of which thou wouldst beat a
hasty retreat from my presence. It is Time that gives everything and again takes
away everything. It is Time that ordains all things. Do not, O Sakra, brag of thy
manliness. Formerly, O Purandara, on occasions of my wrath everything used to
become agitated. I am acquainted, however, O Sakra, with the eternal attributes
of all things in the world. Do thou also know the truth. Do not suffer thyself to be
filled with wonder. Affluence and its origin are not under one‟s control. Thy mind
seems to be like that of a child. It is the same as it was before. Open thy eyes, O
Maghavat, and adopt an understanding established on certitude and truth. The
gods, men, the Pitris, the Gandharvas, the snakes, and the Rakshasas, were all
under my sway in days gone by. Thou knowest this, O Vasava! Their
understandings stupefied by ignorance, all creatures used to flatter me, saying,
„Salutations to that point of the compass whither Virochana‟s son Vali may now
be staying!‟ O lord of Sachi, I do not at all grieve when I think of that honour
(which is no longer paid to me). I feel no sorrow for this fall of mine. My
understanding is firm in this respect, viz., that I will live obedient to the sway of
the Ordainer. It is seen that some one of noble birth, possessed of handsome
features, and endued with great prowess, lives in misery, with all his counsellors
and friends. This happens because of its having been ordained.[839] Similarly,
some one born in an ignoble race, devoid of knowledge, and with even a stain on
his birth, is seen, O Sakra, to live in happiness with all his counsellors and
friends.
This also happens because of its having been ordained. An auspicious and
beautiful woman, O Sakra, is seen to pass her life in misery. Similarly, an ugly
woman with every inauspicious mark is seen to pass her days in great
happiness. That we have now become so is not due to any act of ours, O Sakra!
That thou art now so is not due, O wielder of the thunderbolt, to any act of thine.
Thou hast not done anything, O thou of hundred sacrifices, in consequence of
which thou art now enjoying this affluence. Nor have I done anything in
consequence of which I have now been divested of affluence, Affluence and its
reverse come one after another. I now behold thee blazing with splendour,

endued with prosperity, possessed of beauty, placed at the head of all the
deities, and thus roaring at me. This would never be but for the fact of Time
standing near after having assailed me. Indeed, if Time had not assailed me I
would have today killed thee with only a blow of my fists notwithstanding the fact
of thy being armed with the thunder. This, however, is not the time for putting
forth my prowess. On the other hand, the time that has come is for adopting a
behaviour of peace and tranquillity. It is Time that establishes all things. Time
works upon all things and leads them to their final consummation.[840] I was the
worshipped lord of the Danavas. Burning all with my energy, I used to roar in
strength and pride. When Time hath assailed even myself, who is there whom he
will not assail? Formerly, O chief of the deities, singly I bore the energy of all the
twelve illustrious Adityas with thyself amongst them. It was I that used to bear up
water and then to shower it as rain, O Vasava! It was I that used to give both light
and heat unto the three worlds. It was I that used to protect and it was I that used
to destroy. It was I that gave and it was I that took. It was I that used to bind and
it was I that used to unbind. In all the worlds I was the one puissant master. That
sovereign sway which I had, O chief of the celestials, is no more. I am now
assailed by the forces of Time. Those things, therefore, are no longer seen to
shine in me. I am not the doer (of acts that are apparently done by me). Thou art
not the doer (of acts done by thee). None else, O lord of Sachi, is the doer (of
those acts). It is Time, O Sakra, that protects or destroys all things.[841] Persons
conversant with the Vedas say that Time (Eternity) is Brahma. The fortnights and
months are his body. That body is invested with days and nights as its robes.
The seasons are his senses. The year is his mouth. Some people, in
consequence of their superior intelligence, say that all this (the entire universe)
should be conceived as Brahma. The Vedas, however, teach, that the five
sheaths that invest the Soul should be regarded as Brahma. Brahma is deep and
inaccessible like a vast ocean of waters. It hath been said that it hath neither
beginning nor end, and that it is both indestructible and destructible.[842] Though
it is without attributes by itself, yet it enters all existent objects and as such
assumes attributes. Those persons that are conversant with truth regard Brahma
as eternal. Through the action of Ignorance, Brahma causes the attributes of
materiality to invest the Chit or Soul which is immaterial spirit (having knowledge
only for its attribute). That materiality, however, is not the essential attribute of
the Soul, for upon the appearance of a knowledge of the true cause of
everything, that materiality ceases to invest the Soul.[843] Brahma in the form of
Time is the refuge of all creatures. Where wouldst thou go transcending that
Time? Time or Brahma, indeed, cannot be avoided by running nor by staying still.
All the five senses are incapable of perceiving Brahma. Some have said that
Brahma is Fire; some that he is Prajapati; some that he is the Seasons; some
that he is the Month; some that he is the Fortnight; some that he is the Days;
some that he is the Hours; some that he is the Morning; some that he is the
Noon; some that he is the Evening; and some that he is the Moment. Thus
diverse people speak diversely of him who is single. Know that he is Eternity,
under whose sway are all things. Many thousands of Indras have passed away,
O Vasava, each of whom was possessed of great strength and prowess. Thou

also, O lord of Sachi, shalt have to pass away after the same manner. Thee, too,
O Sakra, that art possessed of swelling might and that art the chief of the deities,
when thy hour comes, all-powerful Time will extinguish! Time sweeps away all
things. For this reason, O Indra, do not brag. Time is incapable of being quieted
by either thee or me or by those gone before us. This regal prosperity that thou
hast attained and that thou thinkest to be beyond comparison, had formerly been
possessed by me. It is unsubstantial and unreal. She does not dwell long in one
place. Indeed, she had dwelt in thousands of Indras before thee, all of whom,
again, were very much superior to thee. Unstable as she is, deserting me she
hath now approached thee, O chief of the deities! Do not, O Sakra, indulge in
such brag again. It behoveth thee to become tranquil. Knowing thee to be full of
vanity, she will very soon desert thee.‟”
SECTION CCXXV
“Bhishma said, „After this, he of hundred sacrifices beheld the goddess of
Prosperity, in her own embodied form that blazed splendour, issue out of the
form of the high-souled Vali. The illustrious chastiser of Paka, beholding the
goddess blazing with radiance, addressed Vali in these words, with eyes
expanded in wonder.‟
“Sakra said, „O Vali, who is this one, thus shining with splendour, thus decked
with head plumes, thus adorned with golden bracelets on her upper arms, and
thus emitting a halo of glory on all sides in consequence of her energy that is
issuing out of thy body.‟
“Vali said, „I do not know whether she is an Asura damsel or a celestial one or a
human one. Thou mayst not ask her thyself. Do what pleases thee.‟
“Sakra said, „O thou of sweet smiles, who art thou that art possessed of such
radiance and adorned with plumes that thus issuest from the body of Vali. I do
not know thee. Kindly tell me thy name. Who, indeed, art thou that thus standest
here as Maya herself, blazing with thy own splendour, after having deserted the
lord of the Daityas? O, tell me this as I question thee.‟
“Sree said, „Virochana did not know me. This Vali also that is the son of
Virochana knows me not. The learned called me by the name of Duhshaha.[844]
Some knew me by the name of Vidhitsa.[845] I have other names also, O
Vasava! They are Bhuti, Lakshmi, and Sree.[846] Thou knowest me not, O
Sakra, nor doth any one among the deities know me.‟
“Sakra said, „O lady that is difficult of being borne, why do you desert Vali now
after having lived in him for a long time? Is it due to any act of mine or is it due to
any act that Vali has done?‟
“Sree said, „Neither the Creator nor the Ordainer rules me. It is Time that moves
me from one place to another. Do not, O Sakra, disregard Vali.‟

“Sakra said, „For what reason, O goddess adorned with plumes, do you desert
Vali? Why also do you approach me (for living in me)? Tell me this, O thou of
sweet smiles!‟
„Sree said, „I live in truth, in gifts, in good vows, in penances, in prowess, and in
virtue. Vali hath fallen off from all these. Formerly, he was devoted to the
Brahmanas. He was truthful and had controlled his passions. Latterly, however,
he began to cherish feelings of animosity towards the Brahmanas and touched
clarified butter with soiled hands.[847] Formerly, he was always engaged in the
performance of sacrifices. At last, blinded by ignorance and afflicted by Time he
began to boast before all persons, saying that his adorations towards me were
ceaseless. Deserting him (for these faults) I shall henceforth, O Sakra, dwell in
thee. Thou shouldst bear me without heedlessness, and with penances and
prowess.‟
“Sakra said, „O thou that dwellest amid lotuses, there is not a single person
among gods, men, and all creatures, that can bear thee for ever.‟
“Sree said, „Truly, O Purandara, there is none among gods, Gandharvas, Asuras,
or Rakshasas, that can bear me for ever.‟
“Sakra said, „O auspicious lady, tell me how I should conduct myself so that thou
mayst dwell in me always. I shall certainly obey thy behests. It behoveth thee to
answer me truly.‟
“Sree said, „O chief of the deities, I shall tell thee as to how I may be enabled to
dwell in thee always. Divide me into four parts according to the ordinance laid
down in the Vedas.‟
“Sakra said, „I shall assign the habitations according to their strength and power
in bearing thee. As regards myself, I shall always take care, O Lakshmi, that I
may not offend thee in any way. Amongst men, the earth, that progenitrix of all
things, bear them all. She shall bear a fourth part of thyself. I think she hath the
strength to do it.‟
“Sree said, „Here, I yield up a quarter of myself. Let it be established on the earth.
Do thou, after this, make a proper disposition, O Sakra, for my second quarter.‟
“Sakra said, „The waters, among men, in their liquid form, do various services to
human beings. Let the waters bear a fourth part of thy person. They have the
strength to bear a portion of thine.‟
“Sree said, „I yield up another quarter of mine that is to be established in the
waters. Do thou, after this, O Sakra, assign a proper place for my third quarter.‟
“Sakra said, „The Vedas, the sacrifices, and the deities are all established in Fire.
Fire will bear thy third quarter, when it is placed therein.‟
“Sree said, „Here I yield up my third quarter which is to be placed in Fire. Do
thou, O Sakra, after this, assign a proper place for my last quarter.‟
“Sakra said, „They that are good among men, devoted to Brahmanas, and truthful
in speech, may bear thy fourth quarter. The good have the power to bear it.‟

“Sree said, „Here I yield up my fourth quarter that is to be placed among the
good. My portions thus assigned to different creatures, do thou continue to
protect me, O Sakra.‟
“Sakra said, „Listen to these words of mine. I have thus distributed thee among
different creatures. Those among creatures that will offend against thee shall be
chastised by me. The chief of the Daityas, viz., Vali, thus deserted by Sree, then
“Vali said, „At present the Sun shines as much in the east as in the west, and as
much in the north as in the south. When, however, the Sun, withdrawing himself
from all sides, will shine only upon the region of Brahman situated in the middle
of Sumeru, then will again occur a great battle between the gods and the Asuras,
and in that fight I shall certainly vanquish all of you. When the Sun, withdrawing
himself from all sides, will shine fixedly upon only the region of Brahman, then
will again occur a great battle between the gods and the Asuras, and in that fight
I shall surely conquer all of you.‟[848]
“Sakra said, „Brahman hath commanded me saying that I should never kill thee.
It is for this reason, O Vali, that I do not hurl my thunderbolt upon thy head. Go
whithersoever thou wishest, O chief of the Daityas! O great Asura, peace to thee!
No time will come when the Sun will shine from only the meridian. The Self-born
(Brahman) hath before this ordained the laws that regulate the Sun‟s motions.
Giving light and heat to all creatures, he goes on ceaselessly. For six months he
travels in a northward course and then for the other six in a southward course.
The sun travels by these courses (one after another), creating winter and
summer for all creatures.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Thus addressed by Indra, O Bharata, Vali, the chief of the
Daityas, proceeded towards the south. Purandara proceeded towards the north.
The thousand-eyed Indra, after having listened to this speech of Vali which was
characterised by an entire absence of pride, then ascended the skies.‟
SECTION CCXXVI
“Bhishma said, „In this connection is also cited the old narrative of the discourse
between him of a hundred sacrifices and the Asura Namuchi, O Yudhishthira.
When the Asura Namuchi, who was conversant with the birth and the death of all
creatures, was sitting, divested of prosperity but untroubled at heart like the vast
ocean in perfect stillness, Purandara addressed him these: words, „Fallen off
from thy place, bound with cords, brought under the sway of thy foes, and
divested of prosperity, dost thou, O Namuchi, indulge in grief or passest thou thy
days cheerfully?‟
“Namuchi answered, „By indulging in such sorrow as cannot be warded off one
only wastes one‟s body and gladdens one‟s foes. Then, again, no one can
lighten another‟s sorrow by taking any portion of it upon oneself. For these
reasons, O Sakra, I do not indulge in sorrow. All this that thou seest hath one

end.[849] Indulgence in sorrow destroys personal comeliness, prosperity, life,
and virtue itself, O chief of the deities! Without doubt, suppressing that sorrow
which comes upon oneself and which is born of an improper disposition of the
mind, one possessed of true knowledge should reflect in one‟s mind of that which
is productive of the highest good and which dwells in the heart itself.[850] When
one sets one‟s mind upon what is for one‟s highest good, without doubt, the
result that takes place is that one‟s objects are all accomplished.[851] There is
One Ordainer, and no second. His control extends over the being that lies within
the womb. Controlled by the great Ordainer I go on as He sets me on, like water
running along a downward path. Knowing what is existence and what is
emancipation, and understanding also that the latter is superior to the former, I
do not, however, strive for attaining to it. Doing acts that tend towards the
direction of virtue and also those that tend towards the opposite direction, I go on
as He sets me on. One gets those things that are ordained to be got. That which
is to happen actually happens. One has repeatedly to reside in such wombs in
which one is placed by the Ordainer. One has no choice in the matter. That
person is never stupefied, who when placed in any particular condition, accepts it
as that which he was ordained to be placed in. Men are affected by pleasure and
pain that come by turns in course of Time. There is no personal agency (in the
matter of pleasure or pain to any one). In this lies sorrow, viz., that he that
dislikes sorrow regards himself as the actor.[852] Amongst Rishis, gods, great
Asuras, persons fully conversant with the three Vedas, and ascetics in the forest,
who is there whom calamities do not approach? Those, however, that are
conversant with the Soul and that which is not-Soul never fear calamities. The
person of wisdom, naturally standing immovable like Himavat, never gives way to
wrath; never suffers himself to be attached to the objects of the senses; never
languishes in sorrow or rejoices in happiness. When overwhelmed with even
great afflictions, such a person never gives way to grief. That person is a very
superior one whom even great success cannot gladden and even dire calamities
cannot afflict, and who bears pleasure and pain, and that which is between them
both, with an unmoved heart. Into whatever condition a person may fall, he
should summon cheerfulness without yielding to sorrow. Indeed, even thus
should one drive off from one‟s self one‟s swelling grief that is born in one‟s mind
and that is (if not dispelled) sure to give pain. That assembly of learned persons
engaged in the discussion of duties based upon both the Srutis and the Smritis is
not a good assembly,--indeed, that does not deserve to be called by the name of
assembly,--entering which a wicked man does not become penetrated with fear
(born of his wicked deeds). That man is the foremost of his species who having
dived into and enquired after righteousness succeeds in acting according to the
conclusions to which he arrives.[853] The acts of a wise man are not easily
comprehensible. He that is wise, is never Stupefied when afflictions come upon
him. Even if he falls away from his position like Gautama in his old age, in
consequence of the direct calamity, he does not suffer himself to be
stupefied.[854] By any of these, viz., mantras, strength, energy, wisdom,
prowess, behaviour, conduct, or the affluence of wealth, can a person acquire
that which has not been ordained to be acquired by him? What sorrow then is

there for the non-acquisition of that upon which one has set one‟s heart? Before I
was born, they that have the matter in their hands had ordained what I am to do
and suffer. I am fulfilling what was thus ordained for me. What then can death do
to me? One obtains only that which has been ordained to be obtained. One goes
thither whither it was ordained that one is to go. Those sorrows and joys are
obtained that are ordained to be obtained. That man who knowing this fully, does
not suffer himself to be stupefied, and who is contented under both happiness
and sorrow, is regarded as the foremost of his species.‟”
SECTION CCXXVII
“Yudhishthira said, „What, indeed, is good for a man that is sunk in dire distress,
when loss of friends or loss of kingdom, O monarch has occurred? In this world,
O bull of Bharata‟s race, thou art the foremost of our instructors. I ask thee this. It
behoveth thee to tell me what I ask.‟
“Bhishma said, „For one that has been deprived of sons and wives and pleasures
of every kind and wealth, and that has been plunged into dire distress, fortitude is
of the highest good, O king! The body is never emaciated of one that is always
possessed of fortitude. Grieflessness bears happiness within it, and also health
that is a superior possession. In consequence again of this health of body, once
may again acquire prosperity. That wise man, O sire, who adheres to a course of
righteous conduct (while afflicted by distress) succeeds in acquiring prosperity,
patience, and perseverance in the accomplishment of all his objects. In this
connection is once more cited the old narrative of the discourse between Vali and
Vasava, O Yudhishthira! After the battle between the gods and the Asuras, in
which a large number of Daityas and Danavas fell, had come to an end. Vali
became king. He was deceived by Vishnu who once more established his sway
over all the worlds. He, of a hundred sacrifices was once more invested with the
sovereignty of the deities. After the rule of the deities had thus been re-
established, and the four orders of men had been re-established in the practice
of their respective courses of duty, the three worlds once more swelled with
prosperity, and the Self-born became glad at heart. At that time, accompanied by
the Rudras, the Vasus, the Adityas, the Aswins, the celestial Rishis, the
Gandharvas, the Siddhas, and other superior orders of beings, the puissant
Sakra, seated in splendour on his four-tusked prince of elephants, called
Airavata, made a progress through all the worlds. One day, while thus engaged,
the wielder of the thunderbolt beheld Virochana‟s son Vali within a certain
mountain cave on the sea-shore. Seeing the prince of Danavas, he approached
him. Beholding the chief of the deities, viz., Indra, thus seated on the back of
Airavata and surrounded by the several orders of the celestials, the prince of the
Daityas showed no signs of sorrow or agitation. Indra also, seeing Vali staying
unmoved and fearless, addressed him from the back of his foremost of
elephants, saying, „How is it, O Daitya, that thou art so unmoved? Is it due to thy
heroism or thy having waited with reverence upon aged persons? Is it due to thy

mind having been cleansed by penances? To whatever cause it may be due, this
frame of mind is certainly very difficult of attainment. Hurled from a position that
was certainly the highest, thou art now divested of all thy possessions, and thou
hast been brought under the sway of thy foes. O son of Virochana, what is that
by having recourse to which thou dost not grieve although the occasion is for
grief? Formerly, when thou wert invested with the sovereignty of thy own order,
unrivalled pleasures were thine. Now, however, thou art divested of thy wealth
and jewels and sovereignty. Tell us why thou art so unmoved. Thou wert before
this a god, seated on the throne of thy sire and grandsires. Beholding thyself
stripped today by thy foes, why dost thou not grieve? Thou art bound in Varuna‟s
noose and hast been struck with my thunderbolt. Thy wives have been taken
away and thy wealth also. Tell us why thou dost not indulge in grief. Divested of
prosperity and fallen away from affluence, thou indulgest not in grief. This,
indeed, is something that is very remarkable. Who else, O Vali, than one like
thee, could venture to bear the burthen of existence after being shorn of the
sovereignty of the three worlds?‟ Hearing without any pain these and other
cutting speeches that Indra addressed to him, asserting the while his own
superiority over him, Vali, the son of Virochana, fearlessly answered his
interrogator, saying the following words.‟
“Vali said, „When calamities have oppressed me, O Sakra, what dost thou gain
by such brag now? Today I behold thee, O Purandara, stand before me with the
thunderbolt upraised in thy hand! Formerly, however, thou couldst not bear
thyself so. Now thou hast by some means gained that power. Indeed, who else
than thou could utter such cruel speeches? That person who, though able to
punish, shows compassion towards a heroic foe vanquished and brought under
his sway, is truly a very superior individual. When two persons fight, victory in the
battle is certainly dubious. One of the two certainly becomes victorious, and the
other becomes vanquished. O chief of the deities, let not thy disposition be such!
Do not imagine that thou hast become the sovereign of all creatures after having
conquered all with thy might and prowess! That we have become so is not, O
Sakra, the result of any act of ours.[855] That thou hast become so, O wielder of
the thunderbolt, is not the result of any act of thine. What I am now thou wilt be in
the future. Do not disregard me, thinking that thou hast done an exceedingly
difficult feat. A person obtains happiness and misery one after another in course
of Time. Thou hast, O Sakra, obtained the sovereignty of the universe in course
of Time but not in consequence of any especial merit in thee. It is Time that leads
me on in his course. That same Time leads thee also onward. It is for this that I
am not what thou art today, and thou also art not what we are! Dutiful services
done to parents, reverential worship of deities, due practice of any good quality,--
none of these can bestow happiness on any one. Neither knowledge, nor
penances, nor gifts, nor friends, nor kinsmen can rescue one that is afflicted by
Time. Men are incapable of averting, by even a thousand means, an impending
calamity. Intelligence and strength go for nothing in such cases. There is no
rescuer of men that are afflicted by Time‟s course. That thou, O Sakra, regarded
thyself as the actor lies at the root of all sorrow. If the ostensible doer of an act is
the real actor thereof, that doer then would not himself be the work of some one

else (viz., the Supreme Being). Hence, because the ostensible doer is himself
the product of another, that another is the Supreme Being above whom there is
nothing higher. Aided by Time I had vanquished thee. Aided by Time thou hast
vanquished me. It is Time that is the mover of all beings that move. It is Time that
destroys all beings. O Indra, in consequence of thy intelligence being of the
vulgar species thou seest not that destruction awaits all things. Some, indeed,
regard thee highly as one that has acquired by his own acts the sovereignty of
the universe. For all that, how can one like us that know the course of the world,
indulge in grief in consequence of having been afflicted by Time, or suffer our
understanding to be stupefied, or yield to the influence of error? Shall my
understanding or that of one like me, even when we are overwhelmed by Time,
coming in contact with a calamity, suffer itself to be destroyed like a wrecked
vessel at sea?[856] Myself, thyself, and all those who will in future become the
chiefs of the deities, shall have, O Sakra, to go the way along which hundreds of
Indras have gone before thee. When thy hour matures itself, Time will surely
destroy thee like me,--thee that art now so invincible and that now blazest with
unrivalled splendour. In Time‟s course many thousands of Indras and of deities
have been swept off yuga after yuga. Time, indeed, is irresistible. Having
attained to thy present position, thou regardest thyself very highly, even as the
Creator of all beings, the divine and eternal Brahman. This position of thine had
been attained by many before thee. With none did it prove stable or unending. In
consequence, however, of a foolish understanding, thou alone regardest it to be
immutable and eternal. Thou trustest in that which is not deserving of trust. Thou
deemest that to be eternal which is not eternal. O chief of the deities, one that is
overwhelmed and stupefied by Time really regards oneself after this manner. Led
by folly thou regardest thy present regal prosperity to be thine. Know, however,
that it is never stable in respect of either thee or me or others. It had belonged to
innumerable persons before thee. Passing over them, it has now become thine. It
will stay with thee, O Vasava, for some time and then prove its instability. Like a
cow abandoning one drinking ditch for another, it will surely desert thee for
somebody else. So many sovereigns have gone before thee that I venture not to
make an enumeration. In the future also, O Purandara, innumerable sovereigns
will rise after thee. I do not behold those rulers now that had formerly enjoyed this
earth with her trees and plants and gems and living creatures and waters and
mines. Prithu, Aila, Maya, Bhima, Naraka, Samvara, Aswagriva, Puloman,
Swarbhanu, whose standard was of immeasurable height, Prahlada, Namuchi,
Daksha, Vipprachitti, Virochana, Hrinisheva, Suhotra, Bhurihan, Pushavat,
Vrisha, Satyepsu, Rishava, Vahu, Kapilaswa, Virupaka, Vana, Kartaswara,
Vahni, Viswadanshtra, Nairiti, Sankocha, Varitaksha, Varaha, Aswa,
Ruchiprabha, Viswajit, Pratirupa, Vrishanda, Vishkara, Madhu, Hiranyakasipu,
the Danava Kaitabha, and many others that were Daityas and Danavas and
Rakshasas, these and many more unnamed, belonging to remote and remoter
ages, great Daityas and foremost of Danavas, whose names we have heard,--
indeed, many foremost of Daityas of former times,--having gone away, leaving
the Earth. All of them were afflicted by Time. Time proved stronger than all of
them. All of them had worshipped the Creator in hundreds of sacrifices. Thou art

not the one person that hast done so. All of them were devoted to righteousness
and all of them always performed great sacrifices. All of them were capable of
roaming through the skies, and all were heroes that never showed their backs in
battle. All of them had very strong frames and all had arms that resembled
heavy bludgeons. All of them were masters of hundreds of illusions, and all could
assume any form they wished. We have never heard that having engaged
themselves in battle any of them had ever sustained a defeat. All were firm
observers of the vow of truth, and all of them sported as they wished. Devoted to
the Vedas and Vedic rites, all of them were possessors of great learning.
Possessed of great might, all of them had acquired the highest prosperity and
affluence. But none of those high-souled sovereigns had the least tincture of
pride in consequence of sovereignty. All of them were liberal, giving unto each
what each deserved. All of them behaved properly and duly towards all
creatures. All of them were the offspring of Daksha‟s daughters. Endued with
great strength, all were lords of the creation. Scorching all things with the energy
all of them blazed with splendour. Yet all of them were swept off by time. As
regards thee, O Sakra, it is evident that when thou shalt have, after enjoying the
earth, to leave her, thou wilt not be able to control thy grief. Cast off this desire
that thou cherishest for objects of affection and enjoyment. Cast off this pride that
is born of prosperity. If thou actest in this manner, thou wilt then be able to bear
the grief that attends the loss of sovereignty. When the hour of sorrow comes, do
not yield to sorrow. Similarly, when the hour of joy comes, do not rejoice.
Disregarding both the past and the future, live contentedly with the present.
When Time that never sleeps came upon me that had always been heedful of my
duties, turn thy heart to the ways of peace, O Indra, for that same Time will very
soon come over thee! Thou piercest me with thy words, and thou seemest to be
bent upon inspiring dread in me. Indeed, finding me collected, thou regardest thy
own self very highly. Time had first assailed me. It is even now behind thee. I
was at first vanquished by Time. It was for that reason that thou didst afterwards
succeed in vanquishing me for which thou roarest in pride thus. Formerly, when I
happened to become angry, what person was there on earth that could stand
before me in battle? Time, however, is stronger. He has overwhelmed me. It is
for this reason, O Vasava, that thou art able to stand before me! Those thousand
(celestial years), that are the measure of thy sway, will surely come to an end.
Thou shalt then fall and thy limbs will become as miserable as mine now even
though I am possessed of mighty energy. I have fallen away from the high place
that is occupied by the sovereign of the three worlds. Thou art now the actual
Indra in heaven. In this delightful world of living beings, thou art now, in
consequence of Time‟s course, an object of universal adoration. Canst thou say
what is that by having done which thou hast become Indra today and what also is
that by having done which we have fallen off from the position we had? Time is
the one creator and destroyer. Nothing else is cause (in the universe for the
production of any effect). Decline, fall, sovereignty, happiness, misery, birth and
death,--a learned person by encountering any of these neither rejoices nor
indulges in sorrow. Thou, O Indra, knowest us. We also, O Vasava, know thee.
Why then dost thou brag in this fashion before me, forgetting, O shameless one,

that it is Time that hath made thee what thou art? Thou didst thyself witness what
my prowess was in those days. The energy and might I used to display in all my
battles, furnish sufficient evidence. The Adityas, the Rudras, the Sadhyas, the
Vasus, and the Maruts, O lord of Sachi, were all vanquished by me. Thou
knowest it well thyself, O Sakra, that in the great encounter between the gods
and the Asuras, the assembled deities were quickly routed by me by the fury of
my attack. Mountains with their forests and the denizens that lived in those
forests, were repeatedly hurled by us. Many were the mountain summits with
craggy edges that I broke on thy head. What, however, can I do now? Time is
incapable of being resisted. If it were not so, do not think that I would not have
ventured to kill thee with that thunderbolt of thine with even a blow of my fist. The
present, however, is not the hour with me for the display of prowess. The hour
that hath come is such that I should adopt tranquillity now and tolerate
everything. It is for this reason, O Sakra, that I put up with all this insolence of
thine. Know, however, that I am less able to bear insolence than even thou.
Thou braggest before one who, upon his time having matured, is surrounded on
all sides by Time‟s conflagration and bound strongly in Time‟s cords. Yonder
stands that dark individual who is incapable of being resisted by the world. Of
fierce form, he stands there, having bound me like an inferior animal bound with
cords. Gain and loss, happiness and misery, lust and wrath, birth and death,
captivity and release,--these all one encounters in Time‟s course. I am not the
actor. Thou art not the actor. He is the actor who, indeed, is omnipotent. That
Time ripens me (for throwing me down) like a fruit that has appeared on a tree.
There are certain acts by doing which one person obtains happiness in Time‟s
course. By doing those very acts another obtains misery in the course of Time.
Versed as I am with the virtues of Time, it behoves me not to indulge in grief
when it is Time that has assailed me. It is for this reason, O Sakra, that I do not
grieve. Grief cannot do us any good. The grief of one that indulges in grief never
dispels one‟s calamity. On the other hand, grief destroys one‟s power. It is for this
that I do not indulge in grief.‟
“Thus addressed by the chief of the Daityas, he of a hundred sacrifices, viz., the
puissant and thousand-eyed chastiser of Paka, restrained his wrath and said
these words.‟
“Sakra said, „Beholding this upraised arm of mine, equipped with the thunderbolt,
and those nooses of Varuna, who is there whose understanding would not be
agitated, including the very Destroyer himself that compasses the death of all
beings? Thy understanding, however, so firm and so endued with vision of the
truth, hath not been agitated. O thou of invincible prowess, verily, thou art
unmoved today in consequence of thy fortitude. Beholding all things in this
universe to be fleeting, who is there in it, endued with body, that would venture to
repose confidence on either his body or all the objects of his desire? Like thyself I
also know that this universe is not eternal, and that it has been thrown into
Time‟s conflagration that is dreadful though hidden from the view, that is
continuously burning, and that is truly endless. Every one is assailed here by
Time. Nothing among beings that are subtile or gross enjoys an immunity from
Time‟s sway. All things are being cooked in Time‟s cauldron. Time has no

master. Time is ever heedful. Time is always cooking all things within itself. No
one who has once entered the domain of Time which is ceaselessly going on,
can escape therefrom. All embodied beings may be heedless of Time, but Time
is heedful and is broad awake behind them. No one has ever been seen to have
driven off Time from him. Ancient and eternal, and the embodiment of justice,
Time is uniform in respect of all living creatures. Time cannot be avoided, and
there is no retrogression in its course. Like a usurer adding up his interest, Time
adds up its subtile portions represented by kalas, and lavas, and kashthas, and
kshanas, and months, and days and nights. Like the current of a river washing
away a tree whose roots are reached by it, Time, getting at him who says, „This I
will do today but this other act I will do tomorrow‟ sweeps him away. Time
sweeps away one and men exclaim, „I saw him a little while ago. How has he
died?‟ Wealth, comforts, rank, prosperity, all fall a prey to Time. Approaching
every living creature, Time snatches away his life. All things that proudly raise
their heads high are destined to fall down. That which is existent is only another
form of the non-existent. Everything is transitory and unstable. Such a conviction
is, however, difficult to come at. Thy understanding, so firm and endued with true
vision, is unmoved. Thou dost not, even mentally, realise what thou wert some
time ago. Time that is strong, assailing the universe, cooks it within itself and
sweeps away everything without consideration of seniority of years or the
reverse. For all that, one that is being dragged by Time is unconscious of the
noose thrown round one‟s neck. People, given to jealousy and vanity and
cupidity to lust, wrath, and fear, to desire, heedlessness, and pride, suffer
themselves to be stupefied. Thou, however, art acquainted with the truth of
existence. Thou art possessed of learning and endued with wisdom and
penance. Thou beholdest Time as clearly as if it were an emblic myrobalan on
the palm of thy hand. O son of Virochana, fully conversant art thou with the topic
of Time‟s conduct. Thou art well-versed in all branches of knowledge. Thou art
of cleansed Soul and a thorough master of thy persons. Thou art, for this, an
object of affection with all persons endued with wisdom. Thou hast, with thy
understanding, fully comprehended the whole universe. Though thou hast
enjoyed every kind of happiness, thou art never attached to anything, and hence
thou hast not been stained by anything. The qualities of Passion and Darkness
do not soil thee for thou hast conquered thy senses. Thou waitest only upon thy
Soul which is divested of both joy and sorrow. The friend of all creatures, without
animosity, with thy heart set upon tranquillity, beholding thee thus, my heart is
inclined to compassion towards thee. I do not desire to afflict an enlightened
person like thee by keeping him in an enchained condition. Abstention from
injury is the highest religion. I feel compassion towards thee. These nooses of
Varuna, with which thou hast been bound, will loosen Time‟s course in
consequence of the misconduct of men. Blessed be thou, O great Asura! When
the daughter-in-law will set the aged mother-in-law to work, when the son,
through delusion, will command the sire to work for him, when Sudras will have
their feet washed by Brahmanas and have sexual congress fearlessly with
women of regenerate families, when men will discharge the vital seed into
forbidden wombs, when the refuse of houses will begin to be carried upon plates

and vessels made of white brass, and when sacrificial offerings intended for the
deities will begin to be borne upon forbidden vessels, when all the four orders will
transgress all restraints, then these bonds of thine will begin one by one, to
loosen. From us thou hast no fear. Wait quietly. Be happy. Be divested of all
sorrow. Let thy heart be cheerful. Let no illness be thine.‟ Having said these
words unto him, the divine Indra, having the prince of elephants for his vehicle,
left that spot. Having vanquished all the Asuras, the chief of the deities rejoiced
in gladness and became the one sole lord of all the worlds. The great Rishis
hymned the praises of that lord of all mobile and immobile creatures. The deity of
fire once more began to bear the libations of clarified butter that were poured (by
all) into his visible form, and the great god took charge of the nectar that was
committed to his care. His praises hymned by the foremost of Brahmanas
engaged in sacrifices, the lord Indra, blazing with splendour, his wrath pacified,
and his heart tranquillised, became gladdened, and returning to his own abode in
heaven, began to pass his days in great happiness.‟”[857]
SECTION CCXXVIII
“Yudhishthira said, „Tell me, O grandsire, the indications of future greatness and
future fall in respect of a person.‟
“Bhishma said, „The mind itself, blessed be thou, indicates the premonitory
symptoms of one‟s future prosperity and future fall. In this connection is cited the
old story of the discourse between Sree and Sakra. Listen to it, O Yudhishthira!
The great ascetic Narada, of energy whose effulgence is as immeasurable as
Brahma itself, with sins all destroyed, capable of beholding through the prosperity
of his penances both this and the other world at once, and the equal of the
celestial Rishis in the region of the Creator, roved according to his pleasure
through the triple world. One day, rising up at dawn, he wished to perform his
ablutions, and for that purpose went to the river Ganga as she issued out of the
pass known by the name of Dhruva and plunged into the stream.[858] At that
time the thousand-eyed Indra also, the wielder of the thunderbolt, and the slayer
of Samvara and Paka, came to the very bank where Narada was. The Rishi and
the deity, both of souls under perfect command, finished their ablutions, and
having completed their silent recitations, sat together. They employed the hour in
reciting and listening to the excellent narratives told by the great celestial Rishis
descriptive of many good and high deeds. Indeed, with concentrated attention
the two were engaged in such pleasant discourse on ancient history.[859] While
sitting there they beheld the rising Sun casting his thousand rays right before
him. Seeing the full orb, both of them stood up and hymned his praises. Just at
that time they beheld in the sky, in a direction opposite to that of the rising star of
day, some luminous object, resplendent as blazing fire and that seemed to be a
second star of day. And they saw, O Bharata, that that luminous object was
gradually approaching towards them both. Riding upon Vishnu‟s vehicle adorned
with Garuda and Surya himself, that object blazed forth with unrivalled splendour,

and seemed to illumine the three worlds. The object they saw was none other
than Sree herself, attended by many Apsaras endued with splendid beauty.
Indeed, she looked like a large solar disc herself, possessed of effulgence
resembling that of fire. Adorned with ornaments that looked like veritable stars,
she wore a wreath that resembled a garland of pearls. Indra saw that goddess
called Padma having her habitation in the midst of lotuses. Descending from her
foremost of cars, that unrivalled lady began to approach towards the lord of the
three worlds and the celestial Rishi Narada. Followed by Narada, Maghavat also
proceeded towards that lady. With joined hands, he offered himself up to her,
and versed as he was with all things, he worshipped her with reverence and
sincerity never surpassed. The adorations over, the lord of celestials, O king,
addressed Sree in the following words.‟
“Sakra said, „O thou of sweet smiles, who, indeed, art thou and for what business
hast thou come here? O thou of fair brows, whence dost thou come and whither
wilt thou proceed, O auspicious lady?‟
“Sree said, „In the three worlds full of the seeds of auspiciousness, all creatures,
mobile and immobile, strive with their whole hearts to win an association with me.
I am that Padma, that Sree decked with lotuses, who sprang from the lotus that
blooms at the touch of the rays of Surya, for the prosperity of all creatures. I am
called Lakshmi, Bhuti, and Sree, O slayer of Vala! I am Faith, I am Intelligence, I
am Affluence, I am Victory, and I am Immutability. I am Patience, I am Success, I
am Prosperity. I am Swaha, I am Swadha, I am Reverence, I am Fate, and I am
Memory. I dwell at the van and on the standards of victorious and virtuous
sovereigns, as also in their homes and cities and dominions. I always reside, O
slayer of Vala, with those foremost of men, viz., heroes panting after victory and
unretreating from battle. I also reside for ever with persons that are firmly
attached to virtue, that are endued with great intelligence, that are devoted to
Brahma, that are truthful in speech, that are possessed of humility, and that are
liberal. Formerly, I dwelt with the Asuras in consequence of my disposition of
being bound by truth and merit Seeing, however, that the Asuras have assumed
adverse natures, I have left then and wish to reside in thee.‟
“Sakra said, „O thou of fair face, in consequence of what behaviour of the Asuras
didst thou dwell with them? What didst thou see there for which thou hast come
hither, having deserted the Daityas and the Danavas?‟
“Sree said, I attach myself steadfastly to those that are devoted to the duties of
their own order, to those that never fall away from patience, to those that take a
pleasure in walking along the path which leads to heaven. I always reside with
those that are distinguished for liberality, for study of the scriptures, for sacrifices,
for other scriptural rites, and for worship of Pitris, deities, preceptors, seniors, and
guests. Formerly, the Danavas used to keep their abodes clean, to keep their
women under control, to pour libations on the sacrificial fire, to wait dutifully on
their preceptors, to restrain their passions, to be obedient to the Brahmanas, and
to be truthful in speech. They were full of faith; they kept their wrath under
control; they practised the virtue of charity; they never envied others; they used
to maintain their friends and advisers, and their spouses; they were never

jealous. Formerly, they never assailed one another, filled with wrath. They were
all contented and never felt pain at the sight of other people‟s affluence and
prosperity. They were all charitable and economical; of respectable conduct, and
endued with compassion. They were excessively inclined to grace, possessed of
simplicity of conduct, steadfast in faith, and had their passions under complete
control. They used to keep their servants and counsellors contented, and were
grateful and endued with sweet speech. They used to serve every one as each
deserved in consequence of his position and honour. They were endued with
shame. They were of rigid vows. They used to perform their ablutions on every
sacred day. They used to smear themselves properly with perfumes and
suspicious unguents. They were also to adorn their persons duly. They were
observant of fasts and penances, were trustful, and utterers of Vedic hymns. The
Sun never rose upon them while they lay asleep. They never outslept the moon.
They always abstained from curds and pounded barley. They used every
morning to look at clarified butter and other auspicious articles, and with senses
withdrawn they used to recite the Vedas and worship Brahmanas with gifts. Their
discourse was always virtuous, and they never accepted gifts. They always went
to sleep at midnight and never slept during the day. They always used to take
pleasure in showing compassion for the distressed, the helpless, the aged, the
weak, the sick, and women, and enjoyed all their possessions by sharing these
with them. They always used to assume and comfort the agitated, the cheerless,
the anxious, the terrified, the diseased, the weak and emaciated, the robbed, and
the afflicted. They followed the dictates of virtue and never injured one another.
They were ready and well-disposed for action of every kind (that deserved to be
accomplished). They used to serve and wait with reverence upon seniors and
aged individuals. They duly worshipped Pitris, deities, and guests, and ate every
day what was left after gratifying these. They were firmly devoted to truth and
penances. None amongst them ate singly any food that was good, and none had
congress with other people‟s wives. As regards compassion, they behaved
towards all creatures as towards their own selves. They never allowed the
emission of the vital seed into empty space, into inferior animals, into forbidden
wombs, or on sacred days. They were always distinguished for gifts, for
cleverness, for simplicity, for hopeful exertion, for humility, for friendliness, and
for forgiveness. And, O puissant one, truth, charity, penance, purity, compassion,
soft speeches and absence of animosity towards friends,--all these were always
in them. Slumber, procrastination, fretfulness, envy, and want of foresight,
discontent, melancholy, cupidity never assailed them. In consequence of the
Danavas having been distinguished for these good qualities, I dwelt with them
from the beginning of the creation for many yugas together. Times were altered,
and that alteration brought about an alteration in the character of the Danavas. I
saw that virtue and morality deserted them and they began to own the sway of
lust and wrath. Persons, though themselves inferior in attainments, began to
cherish animosities towards seniors in age possessed of superior qualifications,
and while the latter, possessed of virtue and merit, used to speak upon proper
topics in the midst of assemblies, the former began to ridicule or laugh at them.
When reverend seniors in age came, the younger individuals, seated at their

ease, refused to adore the former by rising up and saluting them with respect. In
the presence of sires, sons began to exercise power (in matters that concerned
sires alone). They that were not in receipt of wages accepted service and
shamelessly proclaimed the fact, Those amongst them that succeeded in
amassing great wealth by doing unrighteous and censurable deeds came to be
held in esteem.[860] During the night they began to indulge in loud screams and
shrieks. Their homa fires ceased to send bright and upward flames. Sons began
to lord it over sires, and wives dominated over husbands. Mothers, fathers, aged
seniors, preceptors, guests, and guides ceased to command respect for their
superior status. People ceased to bring up with affection their own offspring but
began to desert them. Without giving away the defined portion in alms and
reserving the fixed portion for offering it unto the gods, every one ate what he
had. Indeed, without offering their goods to the deities in sacrifices and without
sharing them with the Pitris, the gods, guests, and reverend seniors, they
appropriated them to their own use shamelessly. Their cooks no longer
professed any consideration for purity of mind, deed, and word. They ate what
had been left uncovered. Their corn lay scattered in yards, exposed to
devastation by crows and rats. Their milk remained exposed, and they began to
touch clarified butter with hands unwashed after eating.[861] Their spades,
domestic knives, baskets, and dishes and cups of white brass, and other utensils
began to lie scattered in their houses. Their housewives abstained from looking
after these. They no longer attained to the repairs of their houses and walls.
Tethering their animals they abstained from giving them food and drink.[862]
Disregarding children that only looked on, and without having fed their
dependants, the Danavas ate what they had. They began to prepare payasa and
krisara and dishes of meat and cakes and sashkuli (not for gods and guests) but
for their own slaves, and commenced to eat the flesh of animals not killed in
sacrifices.[863] They used to sleep even after the sun had risen. They made
night of their morns. Day and night disputes and quarrels waxed in every house
of theirs. They that were not respectable amongst them no longer showed any
respect for those that deserve respect while the latter were seated in any place.
Fallen off from their defined duties, they ceased to reverence those that had
betaken themselves to the woods for leading a life of peace and divine
contemplation. Intermixture of castes freely commenced among them. They
ceased to attend to purity of person or mind. Brahmanas learned in the Vedas
ceased to command respect among them. Those again that were ignorant of
Richs were not condemned or punished. Both were treated on a footing of
equality, those, that is, that deserved respect and those that deserved no
respect. Their servant girls became wicked in behaviour, and began to wear
necklaces of gold and other ornaments and fine robes, and used to remain in
their houses or go away before their very eyes. They began to derive great
pleasure from sports and diversions in which their women were dressed as men
and their men as women. Those amongst their ancestors that were affluent had
made gifts of wealth unto deserving persons. The descendants of the donors,
even when in prosperous conditions, began to resume, for their unbelief, those
gifts. When difficulties threatened the accomplishment of any purpose and friend

sought the counsel of friend, that purpose was frustrated by the latter even if he
had any interest of the slightest value to subserve by frustrating it. Amongst even
their better classes have appeared traders and dealers in goods, intent upon
taking the wealth of others. The Sudras amongst them have taken to the practice
of penances. Some amongst them have begun to study, without making any
rules for regulating their hours and food. Others have begun to study, making
rules that are useless. Disciples have abstained from rendering obedience and
service to preceptors. Preceptors again have come to treat disciples as friendly
companions. Fathers and mothers are worn out with work, and have abstained
from indulging in festivities. Parents in old age, divested of power over sons,
have been forced to beg their food of the latter. Amongst them, even persons of
wisdom, conversant with the Vedas, and resembling the ocean itself in gravity of
deportment, have begun to betake themselves to agriculture and such other
pursuits. Persons who are illiterate and ignorant have begun to be fed at
Sraddhas.[864] Every morning, disciples, instead of approaching preceptors for
making dutiful enquiries for ascertaining what acts awaited accomplishment and
for seeking commissions which they are to discharge, are themselves waited
upon by preceptors who discharge those functions. Daughters-in-law, in the
presence of their husbands‟ mothers and fathers, rebuke and chastise servants
and maids, and summoning their husband‟s lecture and rebuke them. Sires, with
great care, seek to keep sons in good humour, or dividing through fear their
wealth among children, live in woe and affliction.[865] Even persons enjoying the
friendship of the victims, beholding the latter deprived of wealth in conflagrations
or by robbers or by the king, have begun to indulge in laughter from feelings of
mockery. They have become ungrateful and unbelieving and sinful and addicted
to adulterous congress with even the spouses of their preceptors. They have
betaken themselves to eating forbidden food. They have transgressed all bounds
and restraints. They have become divested of that splendour which had
distinguished them before. In consequence of these and other indications of
wicked conduct and the reversal of their former nature, I shall not, O chief of the
gods, dwell among them any longer. I have, therefore, come to thee of my own
accord. Receive me with respect, O lord of Sachi! Honoured by thee, O chief of
the celestials, I shall receive honour from all other deities. There, where I reside,
the seven other goddesses with Jaya for their eighth, who love me, who are
inseparably associated with me, and who depend upon me, desire to live. They
are Hope, Faith, Intelligence, Contentment, Victory, Advancement, and
Forgiveness. She who forms the eighth, viz., Jaya, occupies the foremost place
amongst them, O chastiser of Paka. All of them and myself, having deserted the
Asuras, have come to thy domains. We shall henceforth reside among the deities
who are devoted to righteousness and faith.
“After the goddess had said so, the celestial Rishi Narada, and Vasava, the
slayer of Vritra, for gladdening her, offered her a joyful welcome. The god of
wind,--that friend of Agni, then began to blow gently through heaven, bearing
delicious odours, refreshing all creatures with whom he came into contact, and
contributing to the felicity of every one of the senses. All the deities (hearing the
news) assembled together in a pure and desirable spot and waited there in

expectation of beholding Maghavat seated with Lakshmi beside him. Then the
thousand-eyed chief of the gods, accompanied by Sree and his friend the great
Rishi, and riding upon a splendid car drawn by green horses, came into that
assembly of the celestials, receiving honour from all. Then the great Rishi
Narada, whose prowess was known to all the celestials, observing a sign that the
wielder of the thunderbolt made and which Sree herself approved of, welcomed
the advent of the goddess there and proclaimed it as exceedingly auspicious.
Heaven‟s firmament became clear and bright and began to shower nectar upon
the region of the self-born Grandsire. The celestial kettle-drums, though struck by
none, began to beat, and all the points of the horizon, becoming clear, seemed
ablaze with splendour. Indra began to pour rain upon crops that commenced to
appear each at its proper season. No one then deviated from the path of
righteousness. The earth became adorned with many mines filled with jewels and
gems, and the chant of Vedic recitations and other melodious sounds swelled up
on the occasion of that triumph of the celestials. Human beings, endued with firm
minds, and all adhering to the auspicious path that is trod by the righteous,
began to take pleasure in Vedic and other religious rites and acts. Men and gods
and Kinnaras and Yakshas and Rakshasas all became endued with prosperity
and cheerfulness. Not a flower,--what need then be said of fruits,--dropped
untimely from a tree even if the god of wind shook it with force. All the kine began
to yield sweet milk whenever milked by men, and cruel and harsh words ceased
to be uttered by any one. They who, from desire of advancement, approach
before assemblies of Brahmanas, and read this narrative of the glorification of
Sree by all the deities with Indra at their head, deities that are competent to grant
every wish,--succeed in winning great prosperity. These then O chief of the
Kurus, are the foremost indications of prosperity and adversity. Urged on by thee,
I have told thee all. It behoves thee to bear thyself according to the instructions
conveyed herein, understanding them after careful reflection!‟
SECTION CCXXIX
“Yudhishthira said, „By what disposition, what course of duties, what knowledge,
and what energy, does one succeed in attaining to Brahma which is immutable
and which is beyond the reach of primordial nature.‟[866]
“Bhishma said, „One that is engaged in the practice of the religion of nivritti, that
eats abstemiously, and that has his senses under complete control, can attain to
Brahma which is immutable and which is above primordial nature. In this
connection is cited the old narrative, O Bharata, of the discourse between
Jaigishavya and Asita. Once on a time Asita-Devala addressed Jaigishavya who
was possessed of great wisdom and fully acquainted with the truths of duty and
morality.‟
“Devala said, „Thou art not gladdened when praised. Thou dost not give way to
wrath when blamed or censured. What, indeed, is thy wisdom? Whence hast
thou got it? And what, indeed, is the refuge of that wisdom?‟

“Bhishma said, „Thus questioned by Devala, the pure Jaigishavya of austere
penances, said those words of high import, fraught with full faith and profound
sense.‟
“Jaigishavya said, „O foremost of Rishis, I shall tell thee of that which is the
highest end, that which is the supreme goal, that which is tranquillity, in the
estimation of all persons of righteous acts. They, O Devala, who behave
uniformly towards those that praise them and those that blame them, they who
conceal their own vows and good acts, they who never indulge in recriminations,
they who never say even what is good when it is calculated to injure (instead of
producing any benefit), they who do not desire to return injury for injury received,
are said to be men possessed of wisdom.[867] They never grieve for what is yet
to come. They are concerned with only what is before them and acts as they
should. They never indulge in sorrow for what is past or even call it to their
minds. Possessed of power and regulated minds, they do at their pleasure,
according to the way in which it should be done, what waits for them to do in
respect of all objects, O Devala, if solicited regardfully thereto.[868] Of mature
knowledge, of great wisdom, with wrath under complete control, and with their
passions kept under sway, they never do an injury to any one in thought, word, or
deed. Destitute of envy, they never injure others, and possessed of self-control,
they are never pained at the sight of other people‟s prosperity. Such men never
indulge in exaggerated speeches, or set themselves in praising others, or in
speaking ill of them. They are again never affected by praise and blame uttered
by others in respect of them. They are tranquil in respect of all their desires, and
are engaged in the good of all creatures. They never give way to wrath, or
indulge in transports of joy, or injure any creature. Untying all the knots of their
hearts, they pass on very happily. They have no friends nor are they the friends
of others. They have no foes nor are they the foes of other creatures. Indeed,
men that can live in this way can pass their days for ever in happiness. O best of
regenerate ones, they who acquire a knowledge of the rules of morality and
righteousness, and who observe those rules in practice, succeed in winning joy,
while they who fall off from the path of righteousness are afflicted by anxieties
and sorrow. I have now betaken myself to the path of righteousness. Decried by
others, why shall I get annoyed with them, or praised by others, why shall I be
pleased? Let men obtain whatsoever objects they please from whatsoever
pursuits in which they engage themselves. (I am indifferent to acquisitions and
losses). Praise and blame are unable to contribute to my advancement or the
reverse. He that has understood the truths of things becomes gratified with even
disregard as if it were ambrosia. The man of wisdom is truly annoyed with regard
as if it were poison. He who is freed from all faults sleeps fearlessly both here
and hereafter even if insulted by others. On the other hand, he who insults him,
suffers destruction. Those men of wisdom who seek to attain to the highest end,
succeed in obtaining it by observing conduct such as this. The man who has
vanquished all his senses is regarded to have performed all the sacrifices. Such
a person attains to the highest rung, viz., that of Brahma, which is eternal and
which transcends the reach of primordial nature. The very gods, the Gandharvas,

the Pisachas, and the Rakshasas, cannot reach the rung which is his who has
attained to the highest end.‟”
SECTION CCXXX
“Yudhishthira said, „What man is there who is dear to all, who gladdens all
persons, and who is endued with every merit and every accomplishment?‟
“Bhishma said, „In this connection I shall recite to thee the words that Kesava,
asked by Ugrasena, said unto him on a former occasion.‟
“Ugrasena said, „All persons seem to be very solicitous of speaking of the merits
of Narada. I think that celestial Rishi, must really be possessed of every kind of
merit. I ask thee, tell me this, O Kesava!‟
“Vasudeva said, „O chief of the Kukkuras, listen to me as I mention in brief those
good qualities of Narada with which I am acquainted, O king! Narada is as
learned in the scriptures as he is good and pious in his conduct. And yet, on
account of his conduct, he never cherishes pride that makes one‟s blood so hot.
It is for this reason that he is worshipped everywhere. Discontent, wrath, levity,
and fear, these do not exist in Narada. He is free from procrastination, and
possessed of courage. For this he is worshipped everywhere. Narada deserves
the respectful worship of all. He never falls back from his words through desire or
cupidity. For this he is worshipped everywhere. He is fully conversant with the
principles that lead to the knowledge of the soul, disposed to peace, possessed
of great energy, and a master of his senses. He is free from guile, and truthful in
speech. For this he is worshipped with respect everywhere. He is distinguished
by energy, by fame, by intelligence, by knowledge, by humility, by birth, by
penances, and by years. For these he is everywhere worshipped with respect.
He is of good behaviour. He dresses and houses himself well. He eats pure food.
He loves all. He is pure in body and mind. He is sweet-speeched. He is free from
envy and malice. For this he is everywhere worshipped with respect. He is
certainly always employed in doing good to all people. No sin dwells in him. He
never rejoices at other people‟s misfortunes. For this he is everywhere
worshipped with respect. He always seeks to conquer all earthly desires by
listening to Vedic recitations and attending to the Puranas. He is a great
renouncer and he never disregards any one.[869] For this he is everywhere
worshipped with respect. He casts an equal eye on all; and, therefore, he has no
one whom he loves and none whom he hates. He always speaks what is
agreeable to the hearer. For this he is everywhere worshipped with respect. He is
possessed of great learning in the scriptures. His conversation is varied and
delightful. His knowledge and wisdom are great. He is free from cupidity. He is
free also from deception. He is large-hearted. He has, conquered wrath and
cupidity. For this he is everywhere worshipped with respect. He has never
quarrelled with any one for any subject connected with profit or pleasure. All
faults have been torn away by him. For this he is everywhere worshipped with
respect. His devotion (to Brahma) is firm. His soul is blameless. He is well-versed

in the Srutis. He is free from cruelty. He is beyond the influence of delusion or
faults. For this he is worshipped everywhere with respect. He is unattached to all
such things as are objects of attachment (for others). For all that he seems to be
attached to all things.[870] He is never long subject to the influence of any doubt.
For this he is everywhere worshipped with respect. He has no yearning for
objects connected with profit and pleasure. He never glorifies his own self. He is
free from malice. He is mild in speech. For this he is everywhere worshipped with
respect. He observes the hearts, different from one another, of all men, without
blaming any of them. He is well-versed in all matters connected with the origin of
things. He never disregards or shows hatred for any kind of science. He lives
according to his own standard of morality. He never suffers his time to pass away
fruitlessly. His soul is under his control For this he is everywhere worshipped with
respect. He has toiled in subjects that deserve the application of toil. He has
earned knowledge and wisdom. He is never satiated with yoga. He is always
attentive and ready for exertion. He is ever heedful. For this he is everywhere
worshipped with respect. He has never to feel shame for any deficiency of his.
He is very attentive. He is always engaged by others in accomplishing what is for
their good. He never divulges the secrets of others. For this he is everywhere
worshipped with respect. He never yields to transports of joy on occasions of
making even valuable acquisitions. He is never pained at losses. His
understanding is firm and stable. His soul is unattached to all things. For this he
is everywhere worshipped with respect. Who, indeed, is there that will not love
him who is thus possessed of every merit and accomplishment, who is clever in
all things, who is pure in body and mind, who is entirely auspicious, who is well-
versed with the course of time and its opportuneness for particular acts, and who
is well-acquainted with all agreeable things?‟”
SECTION CCXXXI
“Yudhishthira said, „I desire, O thou of Kuru‟s race, to know what the origin and
what the end is of all creatures; what is the nature of their meditation and what
are their acts; what are the divisions of time, and what the allotted periods of life
in the respective epochs. I desire also to know in full the truth about the genesis
and the conduct of the world; the origin of creatures into the world and the
manner of their going on. Indeed, whence their creation and destruction? O best
of virtuous persons, if thou art minded to favour us, do tell us this about which I
ask thee. Having heard before this excellent discourse of Bhrigu unto the
regenerate sage Bharadwaja which thou didst recite, my understanding, purged
of ignorance, has become exceedingly attached to yoga, and withdrawn from
worldly objects rests upon heavenly purity. I ask thee about the subject,
therefore, once more. It behoves thee to discourse to me (more elaborately).‟
“Bhishma said, „In this connection I shall recite to thee an old narrative of what
the divine Vyasa said unto his son Suka when the latter had questioned the
former. Having studied the illimitable Vedas with all their branches and the

Upanishads, and desirous of leading a life of Brahmacharya in consequence of
his having earned excellence of religious merit, Suka addressed these very
questions, about which his doubts had been solved, to his father the island-born
Rishi who had removed (by study and contemplation) all doubts connected with
the topic of the true import of duties.‟
“Suka said, „It behoveth thee to tell me who the Creator is of all beings, as fixed
by a knowledge of time,[871] and what the duties are that should be
accomplished by a Brahmana.‟
“Bhishma said, „Unto his son who had questioned him, the sire, having a
knowledge of both the past and future, conversant with all duties and endued
with omniscience, thus discoursed on the subject.‟
“Vyasa said, „Only Brahma, which is without beginning and without end, unborn,
blazing with effulgence, above decay, immutable, indestructible, inconceivable,
and transcending knowledge, exists before the Creation.[872] The Rishis,
measuring time, have named particular portions by particular names. Five and
ten winks of the eye make what is called a Kashtha. Thirty Kashthas would make
what is called a Kala. Thirty Kalas, with the tenth part of a Kala added, make
what is known as a Muhurta. Thirty Muhurtas make up one day and night. Thirty
days and nights are called a month, and twelve months are called a year.
Persons conversant with mathematical science say that a year is made up of two
ayanas (dependent on sun‟s motion), viz., the northern and the southern. The
sun makes the day and the night for the world of man. The night is for the sleep
of all living creatures, and the day is for the doing of action. A month of human
beings is equal to a day and night of the Pitris. That division (as regards the
Pitris) consists in this: the lighted fortnight (of men) is their day which is for the
doing of acts; and the dark fortnight is their night for sleep. A year (of human
beings) is equal to a day and night of the gods. The division (as regards the
gods) consists in this: the half year for which the sun travels from the vernal to
the autumnal equinox is the day of the deities, and the half year for which the sun
travels from the latter to the former is their night. Computing by the days and
nights of human beings about which I have told thee, I shall speak of the day and
night of Brahman and his years also. I shall, in their order, tell thee the number of
years, that are (thus) for different purposes computed differently in respect of the
Krita, the Treta, the Dwapara, and the Kali yugas. Four thousand years (of the
deities) is the duration of the first or Krita age. The morning of that epoch
consists of four hundred years and its evening is of four hundred years. (The total
duration, therefore, of the Krita yuga is four thousand and eight hundred years of
the deities). As regards the other yugas, the duration of each gradually
decreases by a quarter in respect of both the substantive period with the
conjoining portion and the conjoining portion itself. (Thus the duration of the Treta
is three thousand years and its morning extends for three hundred years and its
evening for three hundred). The duration of the Dwapara also is two thousand
years, and its morning extends for two hundred years and its evening also for two
hundred. The duration of the Kali yuga is one thousand years, and its morning
extends for one hundred years, and its evening for one hundred.[873] These

periods always sustain the never-ending and eternal worlds. They who are
conversant with Brahma, O child, regard this as Immutable Brahma. In the Krita
age all the duties exists in their entirety, along with Truth. No knowledge or object
came to men of that age through unrighteous or forbidden means.[874] In the
other yugas, duty, ordained in the Vedas, is seen to gradually decline by a
quarter in each. Sinfulness grows in consequence of theft, untruth, and
deception. In the Krita age, all persons are free from disease and crowned with
success in respect of all their objects, and all live for four hundred years. In the
Treta, the period of life decreases by a quarter. It has also been heard by us that,
in the succeeding yugas, the words of the Vedas, the periods of life, the
blessings (uttered by Brahmanas), and the fruits of Vedic rites, all decrease
gradually. The duties set down for the Krita yuga are of one kind. Those for the
Treta are otherwise. Those for the Dwapara are different. And those for the Kali
are otherwise. This is in accordance with that decline that marks every
succeeding yuga. In the Krita, Penance occupies the foremost place. In the
Treta, Knowledge is foremost. In the Dwapara, Sacrifice has been said to be the
foremost, In the Kali yuga, only Gift is the one thing that has been laid down. The
learned say that these twelve thousand years (of the deities) constitute what is
called a yuga. A thousand such yugas compose a single day of Brahman.[875]
The same is the duration of Brahman‟s night. With the commencement of
Brahman‟s day the universe begins to start into life. During the period of
universal dissolution the Creator sleeps, having recourse to yoga-meditation.
When the period of slumber expires, He awakes. That then which is Brahman‟s
day extends for a thousand such yugas. His nights also extends for a thousand
similar yugas. They who know this are said to know the day and the night. On the
expiry of His night, Brahman, waking up, modifies the indestructible chit by
causing it to be overlaid with Avidya. He then causes Consciousness to spring
up, whence proceeds Mind which is identical with the Manifest.‟”[876]
SECTION CCXXXII
“Vyasa said, „Brahma is the effulgent seed from which, existing as it does by
itself, hath sprung the whole universe consisting of two kinds of being, viz., the
mobile and the immobile.[877] At the dawn of His day, waking up. He creates
with the help of Avidya this universe. At first springs up that which is called
Mahat. That Mahat is speedily transformed into Mind which is the soul of the
Manifest.[878] Overwhelming the Chit, which is effulgent, with Avidya, Mind
creates seven great beings.[879] Urged by the desire of creating, Mind, which is
far-reaching, which has many courses, and which has desire and doubt for its
principal indications, begins to create diverse kinds of objects by modifications of
itself. First springs from it Space. Know that its property is Sound. From Space,
by modification, arises the bearer of all scents, viz., the pure and mighty Wind. It
is said to possess the attribute of Touch. From Wind also, by modification,
springs Light endued with effulgence. Displayed in beauty, and called also
Sukram, it starts into existence, thus, possessing the attribute of Form. From

Light, by modification, arises Water having Taste for its attribute. From Water
springs Earth having Scent for its attribute. These are said to represent initial
creation.[880] These, one after another, acquire the attributes of the immediately
preceding ones from which they have sprung. Each has not only its own special
attribute but each succeeding one has the attributes of all the preceding ones.
(Thus Space has only Sound for its attribute. After Space comes Wind, which
has, therefore, both Sound and Touch for its attributes. From Wind comes Light
or Fire, which has Sound, Touch, and Form for its attributes. From Light is Water,
which has Sound, Touch, Form, and Taste for its attributes. From Water is Earth,
which has Sound, Touch, Form, Taste, and Scent for its attributes). If anybody,
perceiving Scent in Water, were from ignorance to say that it belongs to Water,
he would fall into an error, for Scent is the attribute of Earth though it may exist in
a state of attachment with Water and also Wind. These seven kinds of entities,
possessing diverse kinds of energy, at first existed separately from one another.
They could not create objects without all of them coming together into a state of
commingling. All these great entities coming together, and commingling with one
another, form the constituent parts of the body which are called limbs.[881] In
consequence of the combination of those limbs, the sum total, invested with form
and having six and ten constituent parts, becomes what is called the body.
(When the gross body is thus formed), the subtile Mahat, with the unexhausted
residue of acts, then enters that combination called the gross body.[882] Then
the original Creator of all beings, having by his Maya divided Himself, enters that
subtile form for surveying or overlooking everything. And inasmuch as he is the
original Creator of all beings he is on that account called the Lord of all
beings.[883] It is he who creates all beings mobile and immobile. After having
thus assumed the form of Brahman he creates the worlds of the gods, the Rishis,
the Pitris, and men; the rivers, the seas, and the oceans, the points of the
horizon, countries and provinces, hills and mountains, and large trees, human
beings, Kinnaras, Rakshasas, birds, animals domestic and wild, and snakes.
Indeed, he creates both kinds of existent things, viz., those that are mobile and
those that are immobile; and those that are destructible and those that are
indestructible. Of these created objects each obtains those attributes which it had
during the previous Creation; and each, indeed, obtains repeatedly the same
attributes at every subsequent Creation. Determined in respect of character by
either injuriousness or peacefulness, mildness or fierceness, righteousness or
unrighteousness, truthfulness or untruthfulness, each creature, at every new
creation, obtains that particular attribute which it had cherished before. It is in
consequence of this that that particular attribute attaches to it. It is the Ordainer
himself who attaches variety to the great entities (of Space, Earth, etc.), to the
objects of the senses (such as form, etc.), and to size or bulk of existent matter,
and appoints the relations of creatures with those multiform entities. Amongst
men who have devoted themselves to the science of things, there are some who
say that, in the production of effects, exertion is supreme. Some learned persons
say that Destiny is supreme, and some that it is Nature which is the agent.
Others say that Acts flowing from (personal) exertion, and Destiny, produce
effects, aided by Nature. Instead of regarding any of these as singly competent

for the production of effects, they say that it is the union of all three that produces
all effects. As regards this subject,[884] some say that such is the case; some,
that such is not the case; some, that both of these are not the case; and some,
that it is not that the reverse of both are not. These, of course, are the
contentions of those that depend on Acts, with reference to objects. They
however, whose vision is directed to truth regard Brahma as the cause.[885]
Penance is the highest good for living creatures. The roots of penance are
tranquillity and self-restraint. By penance one obtains all things that one wishes
for in one‟s mind. By penance one attains to that Being who creates the universe.
He who (by penance) succeeds in attaining to that Being becomes the puissant
master of all beings. It is by Penance that the Rishis are enabled to read the
Vedas ceaselessly. At the outset the Self-born caused those excellent Vedic
sounds, that are embodiments of knowledge and that have neither beginning nor
end to (spring up and) flow on (from preceptor to disciple). From those sounds
have sprung all kinds of actions. The names of the Rishis, all things that have
been created, the varieties of form seen in existent things, and the course of
actions, have their origin in the Vedas.[886] Indeed, the Supreme Master of all
beings, in the beginning, created all things from the words of the Vedas. Truly,
the names of the Rishis, and all else that has been created, occur in the Vedas.
Upon the expiration of his night (i.e., at the dawn of his day), the uncreate
Brahman creates, from prototypes that existed before, all things which are, of
course, well-made by Him.[887] In the Vedas hath been indicated the topic of the
Soul‟s Emancipation, along with the ten means constituted by study of the
Vedas, adoption of the domestic mode of life, penances, observance of duties
common to all the modes of life, sacrifices, performance of all such acts as lead
to pure fame, meditation which is of three kinds, and that kind of emancipation
which is called success (Siddhi) attainable in this life.[888] That
incomprehensible Brahma which has been declared in the words of the Vedas,
and which has been indicated more clearly in the Upanishads by those who have
an insight into the Vedas, can be realised by gradually following the practices
referred to above.[889] Unto a person who thinks he has a body, this
consciousness of duality, fraught again with that of pairs of opposites, is born
only of acts in which he is engaged. (That consciousness of duality ceases
during dreamless slumber or when Emancipation has been attained). That
person, however, who has attained to Emancipation, aided by his knowledge,
forcibly drives off that consciousness of duality. Two Brahmas should be known,
viz., the Brahma represented by sound (i.e., the Vedas), and secondly that which
is beyond the Vedas and is supreme. One that is conversant with Brahma
represented by sound succeeds in attaining to Brahma that is Supreme. The
slaughter of animals is the sacrifice laid down for the Kshatriyas. The growing of
corn is the sacrifice laid down for the Vaisyas. Serving the three other orders is
the sacrifice laid down for the Sudras. Penances (or worship of Brahma) is the
sacrifice laid down for the Brahmanas. In the Krita age the performance of
sacrifices was not necessary. Such performance became necessary in the Treta
age. In the Dwapara, sacrifices have begun to fall off. In the Kali, the same is the
case with them. In Krita age, men, worshipping only one Brahma, looked upon

the Richs, the Samans, the Yajuses and the rites and sacrifices that are
performed from motives of advantage, as all different from the object of their
worship, and practised only Yoga, by means of penances. In the Treta age, many
mighty men appeared that swayed all mobile and immobile objects. (Though the
generality of men in that age were not naturally inclined to the practice of
righteousness, yet those great leaders forced them to such practice.)
Accordingly, in that age, the Vedas, and sacrifices and the distinctions between
the several orders, and the four modes of life, existed in a compact state. In
consequence, however, of the decrease in the period of life in Dwapara, all
these, in that age, fall off from that compact condition. In the Kali age, all the
Vedas become so scarce that they may not be even seen by men. Afflicted by
iniquity, they suffer extermination along with the rites and sacrifices laid down in
them. The righteousness which is seen in the Krita age is now visible in such
Brahmanas as are of cleansed souls and as are devoted to penances and the
study of the scriptures. As regards the other yugas, it is seen that without at once
giving up the duties and acts that are consistent with righteousness, men,
observant of the practices of their respective orders, and conversant with the
ordinance of the Vedas are led by the authority of the scriptures, to betake
themselves from motives of advantage and interest to sacrifices and vows and
pilgrimages to sacred waters and spots.[890] As in the season of rains a large
variety of new objects of the immobile order are caused to come forth into life by
the showers that fall from the clouds, even so many new kinds of duty or religious
observances are brought about in each yuga. As the same phenomena reappear
with the reappearance of the seasons, even so, at each new Creation the same
attributes appear in each new Brahman and Hara. I have, before this, spoken to
thee of Time which is without beginning and without end, and which ordains this
variety in the universe. It is that Time which creates and swallows up all
creatures. All the innumerable creatures that exist subject to pairs of opposites
and according to their respective natures, have Time for their refuge. It is Time
that assumes those shapes and it is Time that upholds them.[891] I have thus
discoursed to thee, O son, on the topics about which thou hadst inquired, viz.,
Creation, Time, Sacrifices and other rites, the Vedas, the real actor in the
universe, action, and the consequences of action.‟”
SECTION CCXXXIII
“Vyasa said, „I shall now tell thee, how, when his day is gone and his night
comes, he withdraws all things unto himself, or how the Supreme Lord, making
this gross universe exceedingly subtile, merges everything into his Soul. When
the time comes for universal dissolution, a dozen Suns, and Agni with his seven
flames, begin to burn. The whole universe, wrapt by those flames, begins to
blaze forth in a vast conflagration. All things mobile and immobile that are on the
earth first disappear and merge into the substance of which this planet is
composed. After all mobile and immobile objects have thus disappeared, the
earth, shorn of trees and herbs, looks naked like a tortoise shell. Then water

takes up the attribute of earth, viz., scent. When earth becomes shorn of its
principal attribute, that element is on the eve of dissolution. Water then prevails.
Surging into mighty billows and producing awful roars, only water fills this space
and moves about or remains still. Then the attribute of water is taken by Heat,
and losing its own attribute, water finds rest in that element. Dazzling flames of
fire, ablaze all around, conceal the Sun that is in the centre of space. Indeed,
then, space itself, full of those fiery flames, burns in a vast conflagration. Then
Wind comes and takes the attribute, viz., form of Heat or Light, which thereupon
becomes extinguished, yielding to Wind, which, possessed of great might, begins
to be awfully agitated. The Wind, obtaining its own attribute, viz., sound, begins
to traverse upwards and downwards and transversely along all the ten points.
Then Space takes the attribute, viz., sound of Wind, upon which the latter
becomes extinguished and enters into a phase of existence resembling that of
unheard or unuttered sound. Then Space is all that remains, that element whose
attribute, viz., sound dwells in all the other elements, divested of the attributes of
form, and taste, and touch, and scent, and without shape of any kind, like sound
in its unmanifest state of existence. Then sound, which is the attribute of space,
is swallowed up by Mind which is the essence of all things that are manifest.
Thus Mind which in itself is unmanifest withdraws all that is manifested by Mind.
This withdrawal of Mind as displayed into Mind as undisplayed or subtile, is
called the destruction of the vast external universe.[892] Then Chandrama‟s
having made Mind (thus) withdraw its attribute into itself, swallows it up. When
Mind, ceasing to exist, thus enters into Chandramas, the other attributes that are
owned by Iswara are all that remain. This Chandramas, which is called also
Sankalpa, is then, after a very long time, brought under Iswara‟s sway, then
reason being that that Sankalpa has to perform a very difficult act, viz., the
destruction of Chitta or the faculties that are employed in the process called
judgment. When this has been effected, the condition reached is said to be of
high Knowledge. Then Time swallows up this Knowledge, and as the Sruti
declares, Time itself, in its turn, is swallowed up by Might, or Energy. Might or
energy, however, is (again) swallowed up by Time, which last is then brought
under her sway by Vidya. Possessed of Vidya, Iswara then swallows up non-
existence itself into his Soul. That is Unmanifest and Supreme Brahma. That is
Eternal, and that is the Highest of the High. Thus all existent creatures are
withdrawn into Brahma. Truly hath this, which should be conceived (with the aid
of the scriptures) and which is a topic of Science, been thus declared by Yogins
possessed of Supreme Souls, after actual experience. Even thus doth the
Unmanifest Brahma repeatedly undergo the processes of Elaboration and
Withdrawal (i.e., Creation and Destruction), and even thus Brahman‟s Day and
Night each consist of a thousand yugas.‟”[893]
SECTION CCXXXIV
“Vyasa said, „Thou hadst asked me about the Creation of all beings; I have now
narrated that to thee in full. Listen to me as I tell thee now what the duties are of

a Brahmana. The rituals of all ceremonies for which sacrificial fees are enjoined,
commencing with Jatakarma and ending with Samavartana, depend for their
performance upon a preceptor competent in the Vedas.[894] Having studied all
the Vedas and having displayed a submissive behaviour towards his preceptor
during his residence with him, and having paid the preceptor‟s fee, the youth
should return home with a thorough knowledge of all sacrifices.[895] Receiving
the permission of his preceptor, he should adopt one of the four modes of life and
live in it in due observance of its duties till he casts off his body. He should either
lead a life of domesticity with spouses and engaged in creating offspring, or live
in the observance of Brahmacharya; or in the forest in the company of his
preceptor, or in the practice of the duties laid down for a yati. A life of domesticity
is said to be the root of all the other modes of life. A self-restrained householder
who has conquered all his attachments to worldly objects always attains to
success (in respect of the great object of life). A Brahmana, by begetting
children, by acquiring a knowledge of the Vedas, and by performing sacrifices,
pays off the three debts he owes.[896] He should then enter the other modes of
life, having cleansed himself by his acts. He should settle in that place which he
may ascertain to be the most sacred spot on earth, and he should strive in all
matters that lead to fame, for attaining to a position of eminence. The fame of
Brahmanas increases through penances that are very austere, through mastery
of the various branches of knowledge, through sacrifices, and through gifts.
Indeed, a person enjoys endless regions of the righteous (in the next world) as
long as his deeds or the memory thereof lasts in this world. A Brahmana should
teach, study, officiate at other people‟s sacrifices, and offer sacrifices himself. He
should not give away in vain or accept other people‟s gifts in vain. Wealth,
sufficient in quantity, that may come from one who is assisted in a sacrifice, from
a pupil, or from kinsmen (by marriage) of a daughter, should be spent in the
performance of sacrifice or in making gifts. Wealth coming from any of these
sources should never be enjoyed by a Brahmana singly.[897] For a Brahmana
leading a life of domesticity there is no means save the acceptance of gifts for
the sake of the deities, or Rishis, or Pitris, or preceptor or the aged, or the
diseased, or the hungry.[898] Unto those that are persecuted by unseen foes, or
those that are striving to the best of their power to acquire knowledge, one
should make gifts from one‟s own possessions, including even cooked food,
more than one can fairly afford.[899] Unto a deserving person there is nothing
that cannot be given. They that are good and wise deserve to have even the
prince of steeds, called Uchchaisravas, belonging to Indra himself.[900] Of high
vows (king) Satyasandha, having, with due humility, offered his own life-breaths
for saving those of a Brahmana, ascended to heaven. Sankriti‟s son Rantideva,
having given only lukewarm water to the high-souled Vasishtha, ascended to
heaven and received high honours there. Atri‟s royal son Indradamana,
possessed of great intelligence, having given diverse kinds of wealth to a
deserving person, acquired diverse regions of felicity in the next world. Usinara‟s
son Sivi, having given away his own limbs and the dear son of loins for the sake
of a Brahmana, ascended to heaven from this world. Pratardana, the ruler of
Kasi, having given away his very eyes to a Brahmana, obtained great fame both

here and hereafter. King Devavridha, having given away a very beautiful and
costly umbrella, with eight golden ribs, proceeded to heaven with all the people of
his kingdom. Sankriti of Atri‟s race, possessed of great energy, having given
instruction to his disciples on the subject of Impersonal Brahma, proceeded to
regions of great felicity. Amvarisha of great prowess, heaving given unto the
Brahmanas eleven Arvudas of kine, proceeded to heaven with all the people of
his kingdom. Savitri, by giving away her ear-rings, and king Janamejaya, by
giving away his own body, both proceeded to high regions of felicity. Yuvanaswa,
the son of Vrishadarbha, by giving away diverse kinds of gems, a fine mansion,
and many beautiful women, ascended to heaven. Nimi, the ruler of the Videhas,
gave away his kingdom, Jamadagni‟s son (Rama) gave away the whole earth;
and Gaya gave away the earth with all her towns and cities, unto the Brahmanas.
Once when the clouds ceased to pour, Vasishtha, resembling Brahman himself,
kept alive all creatures like Prajapati keeping them alive (by his energy and
kindness). Karandhama‟s son Marutta of cleansed soul, by giving away his
daughter to Angiras, speedily ascended to heaven. Brahmadatta, the ruler of the
Panchalas, possessed of superior intelligence, by giving away two precious
jewels called Nidhi and Sankha unto some of the foremost of the Brahmanas,
obtained many regions of felicity. King Mitrasaha, having given his own dear wife
Madayanti unto the high-souled Vasishtha, ascended to heaven with that wife of
his. The royal sage Sahasrajit, possessed of great fame having cast off dear life
itself for the sake of a Brahmana, ascended to regions of great felicity. King
Satadyumna, having given to Mudgala a mansion made of gold and full of every
object of comfort and use, ascended to heaven. The king of the Salwas, known
by the name of Dyutimat, possessed of great prowess, gave unto Richika his
entire kingdom and ascended to heaven. The Royal sage Madiraswa, by giving
away his daughter of slender waist to Hiranyahasta, ascended to such regions as
are held in esteem by the very gods. The royal sage Lomapada, of great
prowess, by giving away his daughter Santa to Rishyasringa, obtained the
fruition of all his wishes. King Prasenajit, of great energy, by giving away a
hundred thousand kine with calves, ascended to excellent regions of felicity.
These and many others, possessed of great and well-ordered souls and having
their senses under control, ascended, by means Of gifts and penances, to
heaven. Their fame will last as long as the earth herself will last. All of them have,
by gifts, sacrifices and procreation of issue, proceeded to heaven.‟”
SECTION CCXXXV
“Vyasa said, „The knowledge called Trayi which occurs in the Vedas and their
branches should be acquired. That knowledge is to be derived from the Richs,
the Samans, and the sciences called Varna and Akshara. There are besides, the
Yajuses and the Atharvans. In the six kinds of acts indicated in these, dwells the
Divine Being. They that are well-versed in the declarations of the Vedas, that
have knowledge of the Soul, that are attached to the quality of Goodness, and
that are highly blessed, succeed in understanding the origin and the end of all

things. A Brahmana should live in the observance of the duties laid down in the
Vedas. He should do all his acts like a good man of restrained soul. He should
earn his livelihood without injuring any creature. Having derived knowledge from
the good and wise, he should control his passions and propensities. Well-versed
in the scriptures, he should practise those duties that have been laid down for
him, and do all acts in this world guided by the quality of goodness. Leading even
the domestic mode of life., the Brahmana should be observant of the six acts
already spoken of.[901] His heart full of faith, he should worship the deities in the
five well-known sacrifices. Endued with patience, never heedless, having self-
control, conversant with duties, with a cleansed soul, divested of joy, pride, and
wrath, the Brahmana should never sink in languor. Gifts, study of the Vedas,
sacrifices, penances, modesty, guilelessness, and self-restraint,--these enhance
one‟s energy and destroy one‟s sins. One endued with intelligence should be
abstemious in diet and should conquer one‟s senses. Indeed, having subdued
both lust and wrath, and having washed away all his sins, he should strive for
attaining to Brahma. He should worship the Fire and Brahmanas, and bow to the
deities. He should avoid all kinds of inauspicious discourse and all acts of
unrighteous injury. This preliminary course of conduct is first laid down for a
Brahmana. Subsequently, when knowledge comes, he should engage himself in
acts, for in acts lies success.[902] The Brahmana who is endued with intelligence
succeeds in crossing the stream of life that is so difficult to cross and that is so
furious and terrible, that has the five senses for its waters that has cupidity for its
source, and wrath for its mire. He should never shut his eyes to the fact that
Time stands behind him in a threatening attitude.—Time who is the great
stupefier of all things, and who is armed with very great and irresistible force,
issuing from the great Ordainer himself. Generated by the current of Nature, the
universe is being ceaselessly carried along. The mighty river of Time, overspread
with eddies constituted by the years, having the months for its waves and the
seasons for its current, the fortnights for its floating straw and grass, and the rise
and fall of the eyelids for its froth, the days and the nights for its water, and desire
and lust for its terrible crocodiles, the Vedas and sacrifices for its rafts, and the
righteousness of creatures for its islands, and Profit and Pleasure for its springs,
truthfulness of speech and Emancipation for its shores, benevolence for the trees
that float along it, and the yugas for the lakes along its course,--the mighty river
of Time,--which has an origin as inconceivable as that of Brahma itself, is
ceaselessly bearing away all beings created by the great Ordainer towards the
abode of Yama.[903] Persons possessed of wisdom and patience always
succeed in crossing this awful river by employing the rafts of knowledge and
wisdom. What, however, can senseless fools, destitute of similar rafts do (when
thrown into that furious stream)? That only the man of wisdom succeeds in
crossing this stream and not he that is unwise, is consistent with reason. The
former beholds from a distance the merits and faults of everything. (Accordingly,
he succeeds in adopting or rejecting what is deserving of adoption or rejection).
The man, however, of unstable and little understanding, and whose soul is full of
desire and cupidity, is always filled with doubt. Hence the man destitute of
wisdom never succeeds in crossing that river. He also who sits inactively (in

doubt) can never pass it over. The man destitute of the raft of wisdom, in
consequence of his having to bear the heavy weight of great faults, sinks down.
One that is seized by the crocodile of desire, even if possessed of knowledge,
can never make knowledge one‟s raft.[904] For these reasons, the man of
wisdom and intelligence should strive to float over the stream of Time (without
sinking in it). He indeed, succeeds in keeping himself afloat who becomes
conversant with Brahma. One born in a noble race, abstaining from the three
duties of teaching, officiating at other‟s sacrifices and accepting gifts, and doing
only the three other acts, viz., studying, sacrificing, and giving, should, for those
reasons, strive to float over the stream. Such a man is sure to cross it aided by
the raft of wisdom. One who is pure in conduct, who is self-restrained and
observant of good vows, whose soul is under control, and who is possessed of
wisdom, certainly wins success in this and the other world. The Brahmana
leading a domestic mode of life should conquer wrath and envy, practise the
virtues already named, and worshipping the deities in the five sacrifices, eat after
having fed the deities, Pitris, and guests. He should conform to those duties
which are observed by the good; he should do all his acts like a person of
governed soul; and he should, without injuring any creature, draw his substance
by adopting a course that is not censurable. One who is well-versed in the truths
of the Vedas and the other branches of knowledge, whose behaviour is like that
of a person of well-governed soul, who is endued with a clear vision, who
observes those duties that are laid down for his order, who does not, by his acts,
produce an inter-mixture of duties, who attends to the observances set down in
the scriptures, who is full of faith, who is self-restrained, who is possessed of
wisdom, who is destitute of envy and malice, and who is well-conversant with the
distinctions between righteousness and inequity, succeeds in crossing all his
difficulties. That Brahmana who is possessed of fortitude, who is always heedful,
who is self-restrained, who is conversant with righteousness, whose soul is under
control, and who has transcended joy, pride, and wrath, has never to languish in
grief. This is the course of conduct that was ordained of old for a Brahmana. He
should strive for the acquisition of Knowledge, and do all the scriptural acts. By
living thus, he is sure to obtain success. One who is not possessed of clear
vision does wrong even when one wishes to do right. Such a person, by even
exercising his judgment, does such acts of virtue as partake of the nature of
inequity. Desiring to do what is right, one does what is wrong. Similarly, desiring
to do what is wrong one does what is right. Such a person is a fool. Not knowing,
the two kinds of acts, one has to undergo repeated rebirths and deaths.‟”
SECTION CCXXXVI
“Vyasa said, „If Emancipation be desirable, then knowledge should be acquired.
For a person who is borne now up and now down along the stream of Time or
life, knowledge is the raft by which he can reach the shore. Those wise men who
have arrived at certain conclusions (regarding the character of the soul and that
which is called life) by the aid of wisdom, are able to assist the ignorant in

crossing the stream of time or life with the raft of knowledge. They, however, that
are ignorant, are unable save either themselves or others. He who has freed
himself from desire and all other faults, and who has emancipated himself from
all attachments, should attend to, these two and ten requirements of yoga, viz.,
place, acts, affection, objects, means, destruction, certainty, eyes, food,
suppression, mind and survey.[905] He who wishes to obtain superior
Knowledge, should, by the aid of his understanding, restrain both speech and
mind. He who wishes to have tranquillity, should, by the aid of his knowledge,
restrain his soul. Whether he becomes compassionate or cruel, whether he
becomes conversant with all the Vedas or ignorant of the Richs, whether he
becomes righteous and observant of sacrifices or the worst of sinners, whether
he becomes eminent for prowess and wealth or plunged into misery, that person
who directs his mind towards these (attributes that I have spoken of), is sure to
cross the ocean of life which is so difficult to cross. Without speaking of the
results of the attainment of Brahma by yoga, it may be said that he who sets
himself to only enquiring after the Soul transcends the necessity of observing the
acts laid down in the Vedas. The body with jiva within it is an excellent car. When
sacrifices and religious rites are made its upastha, shame its varutha, Upaya and
Apaya its kuvara, the breath called Apana its aksha, the breath called Prana its
yuga, knowledge and the allotted period of existence its points for tying the
steeds, heedfulness its handsome vandhura, the assumption of good behaviour
its nemi, vision, touch, scent, and hearing its four steeds, wisdom its nabhi, all
the scriptures its pratoda, certain knowledge of the scriptural declarations its
driver, the soul its firmly-seated rider, faith and self-restraint its fore-runners,
renunciation its inseparable companion following behind and bent upon doing it
good, purity the path along which it goes, meditation (or union with Brahma) its
goal, then may that car reach Brahma and shine there in effulgence.[906] I shall
now tell thee the speedy means that should be adopted by the person who would
equip his car in such a fashion for passing through this wilderness of the world in
order to reach the goal constituted by Brahma that is above decrepitude and
destruction. To set the mind upon one thing at a time is called Dharana.[907] The
Yogin observing proper vows and restraints, practises in all seven kinds of
Dharana. There are, again, as many kinds of Dharanas arising out of these, upon
subjects that are near or remote.[908] Through these the Yogin gradually
acquires mastery over Earth, Wind, Space, Water, Fire, Consciousness, and
Understanding. After this he gradually acquires mastery over the
Unmanifest.[909] I shall now describe to thee the conceptions in their order that
are realised by particular individuals amongst those that are engaged in yoga
according to the rules and ordinances that have been laid down. I shall tell thee
also of the nature of the success that attaches to yoga commenced (according to
rules) by him who looks within his own self.[910] The Yogin, that abandons his
gross body, following the instructions of his preceptor, beholds his soul displaying
the following forms in consequence of its subtility. To him in the first stage, the
welkin seems to be filled with a subtile substance like foggy vapour.[911] Of the
Soul which has been freed from the body, even such becomes the form. When
this fog disappears, a second (or new) form becomes visible. For, then, the Yogin

beholds within himself, in the firmament of his heart, the form of Water. After the
disappearance of water, the form of Fire displays itself. When this disappears,
the form that becomes perceivable is that of Wind as effulgent as a well-
tempered weapon of high polish. Gradually, the form displayed by Wind becomes
like that of the thinnest gossamer. Then having acquired whiteness, and also, the
subtlety of air, the Brahman‟s soul is said to attain the supreme whiteness and
subtlety of Ether. Listen to me as I tell thee the consequences of these diverse
conditions when they occur. That Yogin who has been able to achieve the
conquest of the earth-element, attains by such lordship to the power of Creation.
Like a second Prajapati endued with a nature that is perfectly imperturbable, he
can from his own body create all kinds of creatures. With only his toe, or with his
hand or feet, that person can singly cause the whole Earth to tremble who has
achieved the lordship of the Wind. Even this is the attribute of the Wind as
declared in the Sruti. The Yogin, who has achieved the lordship of Space, can
exist brightly in Space in consequence of his having attained to uniformity with
that element, and can also disappear at will. By lordship over Water, one can
(like Agastya) drink up rivers, lakes, and oceans. By lordship over Fire, the Yogin
becomes so effulgent that his form cannot be looked at. He becomes visible only
when he extinguishes his consciousness of individuality,--these five elements
come within his sway. When the Understanding, which is the soul of the five
elements and of the consciousness of individuality,[912] is conquered the Yogin
attains to Omnipotence, and perfect Knowledge (or perception freed from doubt
and uncertainty with respect to all things), comes to him. In consequence of this,
the Manifest becomes merged into the Unmanifest or Supreme Soul from which
the world emanates and becomes what is called Manifest.[913] Listen now to me
in detail as I expound the science of the Unmanifest. But first of all listen to me
about all that is Manifest as expounded in the Sankhya system of philosophy. In
both the Yoga and the Sankhya, systems, five and twenty topics of knowledge
have been treated in nearly the same way. Listen to me as I mention their chief
features. That has been said to be Manifest which is possessed of these four
attributes, viz., birth, growth, decay, and death. That which is not possessed of
these attributes is said to be Unmanifest. Two souls are mentioned in the Vedas
and the sciences that are based upon them. The first (which is called Jivatman)
is endued with the four attributes already mentioned, and has a longing for the
four objects or purposes (viz., Religion, Wealth, Pleasure and Emancipation).
This soul is called Manifest, and it is born of the Unmanifest (Supreme Soul). It is
both Intelligent and non-Intelligent. I have thus told thee about Sattwa (inert
matter) and Kshetrajna (immaterial spirit). Both kinds of Soul, it is said in the
Vedas, become attached to objects of the senses. The doctrine of the Sankhyas
is that one should keep oneself aloof or dissociated from objects of the senses.
That Yogin who is freed from attachment and pride, who transcends all pairs of
opposites, such as pleasure and pain, heat and cold, etc., who never gives way
to wrath or hate, who never speaks an untruth, who, though slandered or struck,
still shows friendship for the slanderer or the striker, who never thinks of doing ill
to others, who restrains the three, viz., speech, acts, and mind, and who behaves
uniformly towards all creatures, succeeds in approaching the presence of

Brahman. That person who cherishes no desire for earthly objects, who is not
unwilling to take what comes, who is dependent on earthly objects to only that
extent which is necessary for sustaining life, who is free from cupidity, who has
driven off all grief, who has restrained his senses, who goes through all
necessary acts, who is regardless of personal appearance and attire, whose
senses are all collected (for devotion to the true objects of life), whose purposes
are never left, unaccomplished,[914] who bears himself with equal friendliness
towards all creatures, who regards a clod of earth and a lump of gold with an
equal eye, who is equally disposed towards friend and foe, who is possessed of
patience, who takes praise and blame equally,[915] who is free from longing with
respect to all objects of desire, who practises Brahmacharya, and who is firm and
steady in all his vows and observances, who has no malice or envy for any
creature in the universe, is a Yogin who according to the Sankhya system
succeeds in winning Emancipation. Listen now to the way and the means by
which a person may win Emancipation through Yoga (or the system of Patanjali).
That person who moves and acts after having transcended the puissance that
the practice of Yoga brings about (in the initial stages), succeeds in winning
Emancipation.[916] I have thus discoursed to thee on those topics (viz.,
Emancipation according to the Sankhya system and that according to the Yoga
system) which are dissimilar if the speaker be disposed to treat them as such
(but which in reality, are one and the same).[917] Thus can one transcend all
pairs of opposites. Thus can one attain to Brahma.‟”[918]
SECTION CCXXXVII
“Vyasa said, „Borne up and down in life‟s ocean, he that is capable of meditation
seizes the raft of Knowledge and for achieving his Emancipation adheres to
Knowledge itself (without extending his arms hither and thither for catching any
other support).‟[919]
“Suka said, „What is that Knowledge? Is it that learning by which, when error is
dispelled, the truth becomes discovered? Or, is it that course of duties consisting
of acts to be done or achieved, by the aid of which the object sought may be
understood or attained? Or, is it that course of duties, called abstention from
acts, by which an extension of the Soul is to be sought? Do tell me what it is, so
that by its aid, the two, viz., birth and death, may be avoided.‟[920]
“Vyasa said, „That fool who believing that all this exists in consequence of its own
nature without, in fact, an existent refuge or foundation, fills by such instruction
the aspirations of disciples, dispelling by his dialectical ingenuity the reasons the
latter might urge to the contrary, succeeds not in attaining to any truth.[921] They
again who firmly believe that all Cause is due to the nature of things, fail to
acquire any truth by even listening to (wiser) men or the Rishis (who are capable
of instructing them).[922] Those men of little intelligence who stop (in their
speculations), having adopted either of these doctrines, indeed, those men who
regard nature as the cause, never succeed in obtaining any benefit for

themselves.[923] This belief in Nature (as the producing and the sustaining
Cause), arising as it does from a mind acting under the influence of error, brings
about the destruction of the person who cherishes it. Listen now to the truth with
respect to these two doctrines that maintain (1) that things exist by their own
nature and (2) that they flow (in consequence of their own nature) from others
that are different from and that precede them.[924] Wise men apply themselves
to agriculture and tillage, and the acquisition of crops (by those means) and of
vehicles (for locomotion) and seats and carpets and houses. They attend also to
the laying of pleasure-gardens, the construction of commodious mansions, and
the preparation of medicines, for diseases of every kind. It is wisdom (which
consists in the application of means) that leads to the fruition of purposes. It is
wisdom that wins beneficial results. It is wisdom that enables kings to exercise
and enjoy sovereignty although they are possessed of attributes equal to those of
persons over whom they rule.[925] It is by wisdom that the high and the low
among beings are distinguished. It is by wisdom that the superior and the inferior
ones among created objects are understood. It is wisdom or knowledge that is
the highest refuge of all things.[926] All the diverse kinds of created things have
four kinds of birth. They are viviparous, oviparous, vegetables, and those born of
filth. Creatures, again, that are mobile should be known to be superior to those
that are immobile. It is consistent with reason that intelligent energy, inasmuch as
it differentiates (all non-intelligent matter), should be regarded as superior
to.(non-intelligent) matter.[927] Mobile creatures, that are innumerable, and of
two kinds, viz., those that have many legs and those that have two. The latter,
however, are superior to the former. Bipeds, again are of two species, viz., those
that live on land and those that are otherwise. Of these, the former are superior
to the latter. The superior ones eat diverse kinds of cooked food.[928] Bipeds
moving on land are of two kinds viz., middling or intermediate, and those that are
foremost. Of these, the middling or intermediate are regarded as superior (to the
former) in consequence of their observance of the duties of caste.[929] The
middling or intermediate ones are said to be of two kinds, viz., those that are
conversant with duties, and those that are otherwise. Of those, the former are
superior in consequence of their discrimination in respect of what should be done
and what should not. Those conversant with duties are said to be of two kinds,
viz., those that are acquainted with the Vedas and those that are otherwise. Of
these the former are superior, for the Vedas are said to dwell in them.[930]
Those that are acquainted with the Vedas are said to be of two kinds, viz., those
that lecture on the Vedas and those that are otherwise. Of these, the former, who
are fully conversant with the Vedas, with the duties and the rites laid down in
them, and the fruits of those duties and rites, are superior in consequence of their
publishing all those duties and rites. Indeed, all the Vedas with the duties laid
down in them are said to flow from them. Preceptors of the Vedas are of two
kinds, viz., those that are conversant with the Soul and those that are otherwise.
Of these, the former are superior in consequence of their knowledge of what is
meant by Birth and Death.[931] As regards duties, they are, again, of two kinds
(viz., Pravritti and Nivritti). He who is conversant with duties is said to be
omniscient or possessed of universal knowledge. Such a man is a Renouncer.

Such a man is firm in the accomplishment of his purposes. Such a man is
truthful, pure (both outwardly and inwardly), and possessed of puissance.[932]
The gods know him for a Brahmana who is devoted to knowledge of Brahma
(and not him who is conversant with only the duties of Pravritti). Such a man is
versed also in the Vedas and earnestly devoted to the study of the Soul.[933]
They that have true knowledge behold their own Soul as existing both in and out.
Such men, O child, are truly regenerate and such men are gods.[934] Upon
these rests this world of Beings, in them dwell this whole universe. There is
nothing that is equal to their greatness. Transcending birth and death and
distinctions and acts of every kind, they are the lords of the four kinds of
creatures and are the equals of the Self-born himself.‟”[935]
SECTION CCXXXVIII
“Vyasa said, „These, then, are the obligatory acts ordained for
Brahmanas. One possessed of knowledge always attains to success by going
through (the prescribed) acts. If no doubt arises in respect of acts, then acts done
are sure to lead to success. The doubt to which we refer is this: whether acts are
obligatory or whether they are optional.[936] As regards this (doubt about the
true character of acts, it should be said that), if acts are ordained for man for
inducing knowledge (by which alone Brahma or Emancipation is to be attained,
even then) they should be regarded as obligatory (and not optional). I shall now
discourse on them by the light of inferences and experience. Listen to me.[937]
With respect to acts some men say that Exertion is their cause. Others say that
Necessity is their cause. Others, again, maintain that Nature is the cause. Some
say that acts are the result of both Exertion and Necessity. Some maintain that
acts flow from Time, Exertion, and Nature. Some say that of the three (viz.,
Exertion, Necessity, and Nature), one only (and not the other two) is the cause.
Some are of opinion that all the three combined are the cause.[938] Some
persons that are engaged in the performance of acts say, with respect to all
objects, that they exist, that they do not exist, that they cannot be said to exist,
that they cannot be said not to exist, that it is not that they cannot be said to
exist, and lastly, that it is not that they cannot be said not to exist. (These then
are the diverse views entertained by men). They, however, that are Yogins,
behold Brahma to be the universal cause. The men of the Treta, the Dwapara,
and the Kali Yugas are inspired with doubts. The men, however, of the Krita
Yuga are devoted to penances, possessed of tranquil souls, and observant of
righteousness.[939] In that age all men regard the Richs, the Samans, and the
Yajuses as identical not withstanding their apparent diversity. Analysing desire
and aversion, they worship only penance.[940] Devoted to the practice of
penances, steadfast in them, and rigid in their observance, one obtains the
fruition of all desires by penances alone. By penance one attains to that by
becoming which one creates the universe. By penance one becomes that in
consequence of which one becomes the puissant master of all things.[941] That

Brahma has been expounded in the declarations of the Vedas. For all that,
Brahma is inconceivable by even those that are conversant with those
declarations. Once more has Brahma been declared in the Vedanta. Brahma,
however, cannot be beheld by means of acts.[942] The sacrifice ordained for
Brahmans consists in japa (meditation and recitation), that for Kshatriyas
consists in the slaughter of (clean) animals for the gratification of the deities; that
for Vaisyas consists in the production of crops and, the keep of domestic
animals; and that for Sudras in menial service of the: three other orders. By
observing the duties laid down for him and by studying the Vedas and other
scriptures, one becomes a Dwija (regenerate). Whether one does any other act
or not, one becomes a Brahmana by becoming the friend of all creatures.[943] In
the beginning of Treta, the Vedas and sacrifices and the divisions of caste and
the several modes of life existed in, their entirety. In consequence, however, of
the duration of life being decreased in Dwapara, those are overtaken by decline.
In the Dwapara age as also in the Kali, the Vedas are overtaken by perplexity.
Towards the close of Kali again, it is doubtful if they ever become even visible to
the eye.[944] In that age, the duties of the respective order disappear, and men
become afflicted by iniquity. The juicy attributes of kine, of the earth, of water,
and (medicinal and edible) herbs, disappear.[945] Through (universal) iniquity the
Vedas disappear and with them all the duties inculcated in them as also the
duties in respect of the four modes of life. They who remain observant of the
duties of their own order become afflicted, and all mobile and immobile objects
undergo a change for the worse.[946] As the showers of heaven cause all
products of the earth to grow, after the same manner the Vedas, in every age,
cause all the angas to grow.[947] Without doubt, Time assumes diverse shapes.
It has neither beginning nor end. It is Time which produces all creatures and
again devours them. I have already spoken of it to thee. Time is the origin of all
creatures;
Time is that which makes them grow; Time is that which is their destroyer; and
lastly it is time that is their ruler. Subject to pairs of opposites (such as heat and
cold, pleasure and pain, etc.), creatures of infinite variety rest on Time according
to their own natures (without being otherwise than how they have been ordained
by supreme Brahma).‟[948]
SECTION CCXXXIX
“Bhishma said, „Thus addressed (by his sire), Suka, highly applauding these
instructions of the great Rishi, set himself about asking the following, question
relating to the import of duties that lead to Emancipation.‟
“Suka said, „By what means doth one possessed of wisdom, conversant with the
Vedas, observant of sacrifices, endued with wisdom, and free from malice,
succeed in attaining to Brahma which is incapable of being apprehended by
either direct evidence or inference, and unsusceptible of being indicated by the
Vedas? Asked by me, tell me by what means is Brahma to be apprehended? Is it

by penance, by Brahmacharya, by renunciation of everything, by intelligence, by
the aid of the Sankhya philosophy, or by Yoga? By what means may what kind of
singleness of purpose be attained by men, with respect to both, viz., the mind
and the senses? It behoveth thee to expound all this to me.‟[949]
“Vyasa said, „No man ever attains to success by means other than the
acquisition of knowledge, the practice of penances, the subjugation of the
senses, and renunciation of everything.[950] The great entities (five in number)
represent the first (or initial) creation of the Self-born. They have been very
largely placed in embodied creatures included in the world of life.[951] The
bodies of all embodied creatures are derived from earth. The humours are from
water. Their eyes are said to be derived from light. Prana, Apana (and the three
other vital breaths) have the wind for their refuge. And, lastly, all unoccupied
apertures within them (such as the nostrils, the cavities of the ear, etc.) are of
Space. In the feet (of living creatures) is Vishnu. In their arms is Indra. Within the
stomach is Agni desirous of eating. In the ears are the points of the horizon (or
the compass) representing the sense of hearing. In the tongue is speech which is
Saraswati.[952] The ears, skin, eyes, tongue and nose forming the fifth, are said
to be the sense of knowledge. These exist for the purposes of apprehension of
their respective objects. Sound, touch, form, taste and scent forming the fifth, are
the objects of the (five) senses. These should always be regarded as separate
from (or independent of) the senses. Like the charioteer setting his well-broken
steeds along the paths he pleases, the mind sets the senses (along directions it
pleases). The mind, in its turn, is employed by the knowledge sitting in the
heart.[953] The mind is the lord of all these senses in respect of employing them
in their functions and guiding or restraining them. Similarly, the knowledge is the
lord of the mind (in employing, and guiding or restraining it).[954] The senses, the
objects of the senses, the attributes of those objects represented by the word
nature, knowledge, mind, the vital breaths, and Jiva dwell in the bodies of all
embodied creatures.[955] The body within which the knowledge dwells has no
real existence. The body, therefore, is not the refuge of the knowledge.
Primordial Nature (Prakriti) having the three attributes (of Goodness and Passion
and Darkness) is the refuge of the knowledge which exists only in the form of a
sound. The Soul also is not the refuge of the knowledge. It is Desire that creates
the knowledge. Desire, however, never creates the three attributes.[956] The
man of wisdom, capable of subduing his senses, beholds the seventeenth, viz.,
the Soul, as surrounded by six and ten attributes, in his own knowledge by the
aid of the mind. The Soul cannot be beheld with the aid of the eye or with that of
all the senses. Transcending all, the Soul becomes visible by only the light of the
mind‟s lamp. Divested of the properties of sound and touch and form, without
taste and scent, indestructible and without a body (either gross or subtile) and
without senses, it is nevertheless beheld within the body. Unmanifest and
supreme, it dwells in all mortal bodies. Following the lead of the preceptor and
the Vedas, he who beholds it hereafter becomes Brahma‟s self. They that are
possessed of wisdom look with an equal eye upon a Brahmana possessed of
knowledge and disciples, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a Chandala.[957]
Transcending all things, the Soul dwells in all creatures mobile and immobile.

Indeed, all things are pervaded by it.[958] When a living creature beholds his
own Soul in all things, and all things in his own Soul, he is said to attain to
Brahma. One occupies that much of the Supreme Soul as is commensurate with
what is occupied in one‟s own soul by Vedic sound.[959]He that can always
realise the identity of all things with his own self certainly attains to immortality.
The very gods are stupefied in the track of that trackless man who constitutes
himself the soul of all creatures, who is engaged in the good of all beings, and
who desire to attain to (Brahma which is) the final refuge (of all things).[960]
Indeed, the track which is pursued by men of knowledge is as visible as that of
birds in the sky or of fish in water. Time of its own power, cooks all entities within
itself. No one, however, knows That in which Time, in its turn, is itself
cooked.[961] That (of which I speak) does not occur above, or in the middle or
below, or in transverse or in any other direction. That is to tangible entity; it is not
to be found in any place.[962] All these worlds are within That. There is nothing
in these worlds that exists out of that. Even if one goes on ceaselessly with the
celerity of a shaft impelled from the bow-string, even if one goes on with the
speed of the mind, itself, one would not still reach the end of that which is the
cause of all this.[963] That is so gross that there is nothing grosser. His hands
and feet extend everywhere. His eyes, head, and face are everywhere. His ears
are everywhere in the universe. He exists overwhelming all things. That is
minuter than the minutest, that is the heart of all entities. Existing, without doubt,
that is still imperceptible. Indestructible and destructible,--these are the dual
forms of existence of the (Supreme) Soul. In all mobile and immobile entities the
existence it displays is destructible; while the existence it displays in Chaitanya is
celestial, immortal, and indestructible. Though the lord of a existent beings both
mobile and immobile, though inactive and divested of attributes, it enters,
nevertheless, the well-known mansion of nine doors and becomes engaged in
action.[964] Men of wisdom who are capable of beholding the other shore say
that the Unborn (or the Supreme Soul) becomes invested with the attribute of
action in consequence of motion, pleasure and pain, variety of form, and the nine
well-known possessions.[965] That indestructible Soul which is said to be
invested with the attribute of action is nothing else than that indestructible Soul
which is said to be inactive. A person of knowledge, by attaining to that
indestructible essence, gives up for good both life and birth.‟”[966]
SECTION CCXL
“Vyasa said, „O excellent son, asked by thee, I have told thee truly what the
answer to thy question should be according to the doctrine of knowledge as
expounded in the Sankhya system. Listen now to me as I expound to thee all that
should be done (for the same end) according to the Yoga doctrine. The uniting
together of Intellect and Mind, and all the Senses, and the all-pervading Soul is
said to be Knowledge of the foremost kind. That Knowledge should be acquired
(through the preceptor‟s aid) by one that is of a tranquil disposition, that has
mastered his senses, that is capable (by meditation) of turning his gaze on the

Soul, that takes a pleasure in (such) meditation, that is endued with intelligence
and pure in acts. One should seek to acquire this Knowledge by abandoning
those five impediments of Yoga which are known to the wise, viz., desire, wrath,
cupidity, fear, and sleep. Wrath is conquered by tranquillity of disposition. Desire
is conquered by giving up all purposes. By reflecting with the aid of the
understanding upon topics worthy of reflection,[967] one endued with patience
succeeds in abandoning sleep. By steady endurance one should restrain one‟s
organs of generation and the stomach (from unworthy or sinful indulgence). One
should protect one‟s hands and feet by (using) one‟s eyes. One should protect
one‟s eyes and ears by the aid of one‟s mind, one‟s mind and speech by one‟s
acts. One should avoid fear by heedfulness, and pride by waiting upon the wise.
Subduing procrastination, one should, by these means, subdue these
impediments of Yoga. One should pay one‟s adorations to fire and the
Brahmanas, and one should bow one‟s head to the deities. One should avoid all
kinds of inauspicious discourse, and speech that is fraught with malice, and
words that are painful to other minds. Brahma is the effulgent seed (of
everything). It is, again, the essence of that seed whence is all this.[968] Brahma
became the eye, in the form of this mobile and immobile universe, of all entities
that took birth.[969] Meditation, study, gift, truth, modesty, simplicity, forgiveness,
purity of body, purity of conduct, subjugation of the senses, these enhance one‟s
energy, which (when enhanced) destroys one‟s sins. By behaving equally
towards all creatures and by living in contentment upon what is acquired easily
and without effort, one attains to the fruition of all one‟s objects and succeeds in
obtaining knowledge. Cleansed of all sins, endued with energy, abstemious in
diet, with senses under complete control, one should, after having subdued both
desire and wrath, seek to attain to Brahma,[970] Firmly uniting the senses and
the mind (having drawn them away from all external objects) with gaze fixed
inwards, one should, in the still hours of evening or in those before dawn, place
one‟s mind upon the knowledge. If even one of the five senses of a human being
be kept unrestrained, all his wisdom may be seen to escape through it like water
through an unstopped hole at the bottom of a leathern bag. The mind in the first
instance should be sought to be restrained by the Yogin after the manner of a
fisherman seeking at the outset to render that one among the fish powerless from
which there is the greatest danger to his nets. Having first subdued the mind, the
Yogin should then proceed to subdue his ears, then his eyes, then his tongue,
and then his nose. Having restrained these, he should fix them on the mind.
Then withdrawing the mind from all purposes, he should fix it on the knowledge.
Indeed, having restrained the five senses, the Yati should fix them on the mind.
When these the mind for their sixth become concentrated in the knowledge, and
thus concentrated remain steady and untroubled, then Brahma becomes
perceptible like a smokeless fire of blazing flames or the Sun of effulgent
radiance. Indeed, one then beholds in oneself one‟s soul like lightning fire in the
skies. Everything then appears in it and it appears in everything in consequence
of its infinitude. Those high-souled Brahmanas that are possessed of wisdom,
that are endued with fortitude, that are possessed of high knowledge, and that
are engaged in the good of all creatures, succeed in beholding it. Engaged in the

observance of austere vows, the Yogin who conducts himself thus for six
months, seated by himself on an isolated spot, succeeds in attaining to an
equality with the Indestructible.[971] Annihilation, extension, power to present
varied aspects in the same person or body, celestial scents, and sounds, and
sights, the most agreeable sensations of taste and touch, pleasurable sensations
of coolness and warmth, equality with the wind, capability of understanding (by
inward light) the meaning of scriptures and every work of genius, companionship
of celestial damsels,--acquiring all these by Yoga the Yogin should disregard
them and merge them all in the knowledge.[972] Restraining speech and the
senses one should practise Yoga during the hours after dusk, the hours before
dawn, and at dawn of day, seated on a mountain summit, or at the foot of a
goodly tree, or with a tree before him.[973] Restraining all the senses within the
heart, one should, with faculties concentrated, think on the Eternal and
Indestructible like a man of the world thinking of wealth and other valuable
possessions. One should never, while practising Yoga, withdraw one‟s mind from
it. One should with devotion betake oneself to those means by which one may
succeed in restraining the mind that is very restless. One should never permit
oneself to fall away from it. With the senses and the mind withdrawn from
everything else, the Yogin (for practice) should betake himself to empty caves of
mountains, to temples consecrated to the deities, and to empty houses or
apartments, for living there. One should not associate with another in either
speech, act, or thought. Disregarding all things, and eating very abstemiously,
the Yogin should look with an equal eye upon objects acquired or lost. He should
behave after the same manner towards one that praises and one that censures
him. He should not seek the good or the evil of one or the other. He should not
rejoice at an acquisition or suffer anxiety when he meets with failure or loss. Of
uniform behaviour towards all beings, he should imitate the wind.[974] Unto one
whose mind is thus turned to itself, who leads a life of purity, and who casts an
equal eye upon all things,--indeed, unto one who is ever engaged in Yoga thus
for even six months,--Brahma as represented by sound appears very vividly.[975]
Beholding all men afflicted with anxiety (on account of earning wealth and
comfort), the Yogin should view a clod of earth, a piece of stone, and a lump of
gold with an equal eye. Indeed, he should withdraw himself from this path (of
earning wealth), cherishing an aversion for it, and never suffer himself to be
stupefied. Even if a person happens to belong to the inferior order, even if one
happens to be a woman, both of them, by following in the track indicated above,
will surely attain to the highest end.[976] He that has subdued his mind beholds
in his own self, by the aid of his own knowledge the Uncreate, Ancient,
Undeteriorating, and Eternal Brahma,--That, viz., which can not be attained to
except by fixed senses,--That which is subtiler than the most subtile, and grosser
than the most gross, and which is Emancipation‟s self.‟[977]
“Bhishma continued, „By ascertaining from the mouths of preceptors and by
themselves reflecting with their minds upon these words of the great and high-
souled Rishi spoken so properly, persons possessed of wisdom attain to that
equality (about which the scriptures say) with Brahman himself, till, indeed, the

time when the universal dissolution comes that swallows up all existent
beings.‟”[978]
SECTION CCXLI
“Suka said, „The declarations of the Vedas are twofold. They once Jay down the
command, „Do all acts.‟ They also indicate (the reverse, saying), „Give up acts.‟ I
ask, „Whither do persons go by the aid of Knowledge and whither by the aid of
acts?‟[979] I desire to hear this. Do tell me this. Indeed, these declarations about
knowledge and acts are dissimilar and even contradictory.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Thus addressed, the son of Parasara said these words
unto his son, „I shall expound to thee the two paths, viz., the destructible and the
indestructible, depending respectively upon acts and knowledge. Listen with
concentrated attention, O child, to me, as I tell thee the place that is reached by
one with the aid of knowledge, and that other place which is reached with the aid
of acts. The difference between these two places is as great as the limitless sky.
The question that thou hast asked me has given me such pain as an atheistic
discourse gives to a man of faith. These are the two paths upon which the Vedas
are established; the duties (acts) indicated by Pravritti, and those based on
Nivritti that have been treated of so excellently.[980] By acts, a living creature is
destroyed. By knowledge, however, he becomes emancipated. For this reason,
Yogins who behold the other side of the ocean of life never betake themselves to
acts. Through acts one is forced to take rebirth, after death, with a body
composed of the six and ten ingredients. Through knowledge, however, one
becomes transformed into that which is Eternal, Unmanifest, and Immutable.
One class of persons that are however of little intelligence, applaud acts. In
consequence of this they have to assume bodies (one after another) ceaselessly.
Those men whose perceptions are keen in respect of duties and who have
attained to that high understanding (which leads to knowledge), never applaud
acts even as persons that depend for their drinking water upon the supply of
streams never applaud wells and tanks. The fruit that one obtains of acts
consists of pleasure and pain, of existence and non-existence. By knowledge,
one attains to that whither there is no occasion for grief; whither one becomes
freed from both birth and death; whither one is not subject to decrepitude; whither
one transcends the state of conscious existence.[981] whither is Brahma which is
Supreme, Unmanifest, immutable, ever-existent, imperceptible, above the reach
of pain, immortal, and transcending destruction; whither all become freed from
the influence of all pairs of opposites (Like pleasure and pain, etc.), as also of
wish or purpose.[982] Reaching that stage, they cast equal eyes on everything,
become universal friends and devoted to the good of all creatures. There is a
wide gulf, O son, between one devoted to knowledge and one devoted to acts.
Know that the man of knowledge, without undergoing destruction, remains
existent for ever like the moon on the last day of the dark fortnight existing in a
subtle (but undestroyed) form. The great Rishi (Yajnavalkya in Vrihadaranayaka)

has said this more elaborately. As regards the man devoted to acts, his nature
may be inferred from beholding the new-born moon which appears like a bent
thread in the firmament.[983] Know, O son, that the person of acts takes rebirth
with a body with eleven entities, for its ingredients, that are the results of
modification, and with a subtile form that represents a total of six and ten.[984]
The deity who takes refuge in that (material) form, like a drop of water on a lotus
leaf, should be known as Kshetrajna (Soul), which is Eternal, and which
succeeds by Yoga in transcending both the mind and the knowledge.[985]
Tamas, Rajas, and Sattwa are the attributes of the knowledge. The knowledge is
the attribute of the individual soul residing within the body. The individual soul, in
its turn, comes from the Supreme Soul.[986] The body with the soul is said to be
the attribute of jiva. It is jiva that acts and cause all bodies to live. He who has
created the seven worlds is said by those that are acquainted with what is
Kshetra (and what is Kshetrajna) to be above jiva.‟”
SECTION CCXLII
“Suka said, „I have now understood that there are two kinds of creation, viz., one
commencing with Kshara (which is universal), and which is from the (universal)
Soul. The other, consisting of the senses with their objects, is traceable to the
puissance of the knowledge. This last transcends the other and is regarded to be
the foremost.[987] I desire, however, to once more hear of that course of
righteousness which runs in this world, regulated by the virtue of Time and
according to which all good men frame their conduct.[988] In the Vedas there are
both kinds of declarations, viz., do acts and avoid acts. How shall I succeed in
ascertaining the propriety of this or that? It behoveth thee to expound this
clearly.[989] Having obtained, through thy instructions, a thorough knowledge of
the course of conduct of human beings, having purified myself by the practice of
only righteousness, and having cleansed my understanding, I shall, after casting
off my body, behold the indestructible Soul.‟[990]
“Vyasa said, „The course of conduct that was first established by Brahma himself
was duly observed by the wise and pious persons of old, viz., the great Rishis of
ancient times. The great Rishis conquer all the worlds by the practice of
Brahmacharya. Seeking all things that are good for himself by fixing the mind on
the knowledge,[991] practising severe austerities by residing in the forest and
subsisting on fruits and roots, by treading on sacred spots, by practising
universal benevolence, and by going on his rounds of mendicancy at the proper
time to the huts of forest recluses when these become smokeless and the sound
of the husking rod is hushed, a person succeeds in attaining to Brahma.[992]
Abstaining from flattery and from bowing thy heads to others, and avoiding both
good and evil, live thou in the forest by thyself, appeasing hunger by any means
that comes by the way.‟
“Suka said, „The declarations of the Vedas (already referred to in respect of acts)
are, in the opinion of the vulgar, contradictory. Whether this is authoritative or

that is so, when there is this conflict, how can they be said to be scriptural?[993] I
desire to hear this: how can both be regarded as authoritative? How, indeed, can
Emancipation be obtained without violating the ordinance about the obligatory
character of acts?‟
“Bhishma continued, „Thus addressed, the son of Gandhavati, viz., the Rishi,
applauding these words of his son possessed of immeasurable energy, replied
unto him, saying the following.‟
“Vyasa said, „One that is a Brahmacharin, one that leads a life of domesticity,
one that is a forest recluse, and one that leads a life of (religious) mendicancy, all
reach the same high end by duly observing the duties of their respective modes
of life. Or, if one and the same person, freed from desire and aversion, practises
(one after another) all these four modes of life according to the ordinances that
have been laid down, he is certainly fitted (by such conduct) to understand
Brahma. The four modes of life constitute a ladder or flight of steps. That flight is
attached to Brahma. By ascending that Right one—succeeds in reaching the
region of Brahma. For the fourth part of his life, the Brahmacharin, conversant—
with the distinctions of duty and freed from malice, should live with his preceptor
or his preceptor‟s son. While residing in the preceptor‟s house, he should go to
bed after the preceptor has gone to his, and rise therefrom before the preceptor
rises from his.[994] All such acts again as should be done by the disciple, as also
those which should be done by a menial servant, should be accomplished by
him. Finishing these he should humbly take his stand by the side of the
preceptor. Skilled in every kind of work, he should conduct himself like a menial
servant, doing every act for his preceptor. Having accomplished all acts (without
leaving any portion undone), he should study, sitting at the feet of his preceptor,
with eager desire to learn. He should always behave with simplicity, avoid evil,
speech, and take lessons only when his preceptor invites him for it.[995] Become
pure in body and mind, and acquiring cleverness and other virtues, he should
now and then speak what is agreeable. Subduing his senses, he should look at
his preceptor without eyes of longing curiosity.[996] He should never eat before
his preceptor has eaten; never drink before his preceptor has drunk; never sit
down before his preceptor has sat down; and never go to bed before his
preceptor has gone to bed. He should gently touch his preceptor‟s feet with
upturned palms, the right foot with the right and the left with the left. Reverentially
saluting the preceptor, he should say unto him, „O illustrious one, teach me. I
shall accomplish this (work), O illustrious one! This (other work) I have already
accomplished. O regenerate one, I am ready to accomplish whatever else thy
reverend self may be pleased to command.‟ Having said all this, and having duly
offered himself unto him (thus), he should accomplish whatever acts of his
preceptor wait for accomplishment, and having completed them inform the
preceptor once more of their completion. Whatever scents or tastes the
Brahmacharin may abstain from while actually leading a life of Brahmacharya
may be used by him after his return from the preceptor‟s abode. This is
consistent with the ordinance. Whatever observances have been elaborately laid
down for Brahmacharins (in the scriptures) should all be regularly practised by
him. He should, again, be always near his preceptor (ready within call). Having

contributed to his preceptor‟s gratification in this way to the best of his powers,
the disciple should, from that mode of life, pass into the others (one after
another) and practise the duties of each. Having (thus) passed a fourth part of his
life in the study of the Vedas, and observance of vows and fasts, and having
given the preceptor the (final) fee, the disciple should, according to the
ordinance, take his leave and return home (for entering into a life of
domesticity).[997] Then, having taken spouses, obtaining them in the ways
indicated in the ordinances, and having carefully established the domestic fire, he
should, observant all the while of vows and fasts, become a house-holder and
pass the second period of life.‟”
SECTION CCXLIII
“Vyasa said, „Observant of meritorious vows, the householder, for the second
period of life, should dwell in his house, having taken spouses according to the
ways indicated in the ordinance and having established afire (of his own). As
regards the domestic mode of life, four kinds of conduct have been laid down by
the learned. The first consists of keeping a store of grain sufficient to last for
three years. The second consists of keeping a store to last for one year. The third
consists of providing for the day without thinking of the morrow. The fourth
consists of collecting grain after the manner of the pigeon.[998] Of these, each
succeeding one is superior in point of merit to that which precedes it, according
to what has been laid down in the scriptures.[999] A householder observing the
first kind of conduct may practise all the six well-known duties (viz., sacrifice on
his own account, sacrifice on that of others, teaching, learning, making gifts, and
accepting gifts). He who observes the second kind of conduct should practise
three only, of these duties (viz., learning, giving, and taking). He who observes
the third kind of conduct should practise only two of the duties of domesticity
(viz., learning and giving). The householder practising the fourth kind of
domesticity should observe only one duty (viz., learning the scriptures). The
duties of the householder are all said to be exceedingly meritorious. The
householder should never cook any food for only his own use; nor should be
slaughter animals (for food) except in sacrifices.[1000] If it be an animal which
the householder desires to kill (for food), or if it be a tree which he wishes to cut
down (for fuel), he should do either act according to the ritual laid down in the
Yajuses for that much is due to both animate and inanimate existences. The
house-holder should never sleep during the day, or during the first part of the
night, or during the last part thereof. He should never eat twice between morning
and evening, and should never summon his wife to bed except in her season. In
his house, no Brahmana should be suffered to remain unfed or unworshipped.
He should always worship such guests as are presenters of sacrificial offerings,
as are cleansed by Vedic lore and observance of excellent vows, as are high-
born and conversant with the scriptures, as are observers of the duties of their
own order, as are self-restrained, mindful of all religious acts, and devoted to
penances. The scriptures ordain that what is offered to the deities and the Pitris

in sacrifices and religious rites is meant for the service of guests like these. In
this mode of life the scriptures ordain that a share of the food (that is cooked)
should be given unto every creature (irrespective of his birth or character), unto
one, that is, who for the sake of show keeps his nails and beard, unto one who
from pride displays what his own (religious) practices are, unto one who has
improperly abandoned his sacred fire, and even unto one who has injured his
preceptor. One leading a domestic mode of life should give (food) unto
Brahmacharins and Sannyasins. The householder should every day become an
eater of vighasa, and should every day eat amrita. Mixed with clarified butter, the
remains of the food that is offered in sacrifices constitute amrita. That
householder who eats after having fed (all relatives and) servants is said to eat
vighasa. The food that remains after the servants have been fed is called
vighasa, and that which is left after the presentation of sacrificial offerings is
called amrita. One leading a domestic mode of life should be content with his
own wedded wife. He should be self-restrained. He should avoid malice and
subdue his senses. He should never quarrel with his Ritwik, Purohita, and
preceptor, with his maternal uncle, guests and dependants, with the aged and
the young in years, with those that are afflicted with diseases, with those that
practise as physicians, with kinsmen, relatives, and friends, with his parents, with
women that belong to his own paternal family, with his brother and son and wife,
with his daughter, and with his servants. By avoiding disputes with these, the
householder becomes cleansed of all sins. By conquering such disputes, he
succeeds in conquering all the regions of felicity (in the world hereafter). There is
no doubt in this.[1001] The preceptor (if duly reverenced) is able to lead one to
the regions of Brahman. The father (if reverenced) can lead to the regions of
Prajapati. The guest is puissant enough to lead to the region of Indra. The Ritwik
has power in respect of the regions of the deities. Female relatives of the
paternal line have lordship in respect of the regions of the Apsaras, and kinsmen
(by blood), in respect of the region of the Viswedevas. Relatives by marriage and
collateral kinsmen have power in respect of the several quarters of the horizon
(viz., north, etc.), and the mother and the maternal uncle have power over the
earth. The old, the young, the afflicted the wasted have power over the
sky.[1002] The eldest brother is like unto the sire himself (to all his younger
brothers). The wife and the son are one‟s own body. One‟s menial servants are
one‟s own shadow. The daughter is an object of great affection. For these
reason, a house-holder endued with learning, observant of duties, and
possessed of endurance, should bear, without warmth or anxiety of heart every
kind of annoyance and even censure from the last named relatives. No righteous
household should do any act, urged by considerations of wealth. There are three
courses of duty in respect of a life of domesticity. Of these, that which comes
next (in the order of enumeration) is more meritorious than the preceding
one.[1003] As regards the four (principal) modes of life also, the same rule of
merit applies, viz., the one that comes after is superior to the one preceding it.
Accordingly, domesticity is superior to Brahmacharya, forest life is superior to
domesticity, and a life of mendicancy or complete renunciation is superior to a
forest life. One desirous of prosperity should accomplish all those duties and rites

that have been ordained in the scriptures in respect of those modes. That
kingdom grows in prosperity where these highly deserving persons live, viz.,
those that lead a life of domesticity according to the Kumbhadhanya method,
they that lead it according to the Unchha method, and they that lead it according
to the Kapoti method.[1004] That man who cheerfully leads a life of domesticity in
the observance of those duties, succeeds in sanctifying ten generations of his
ancestors above and ten generations of descendants below. A householder, duly
observing the duties of domesticity, obtains an end that yields felicity equal to
what occurs in the regions attained by great kings and emperors. Even this is the
end that has been ordained for those who have subdued their senses. For all
high-souled householders heaven has been ordained. That heaven is equipped
with delightful cars for each (moving at the will of the rider). Even that is the
delightful heaven indicated in the Vedas. For all householders of restrained
souls, the regions of heaven constitute the high reward. The Self-born Brahman
ordained that the domestic mode of life should be the productive cause of
heaven. And since it has been so ordained, a person, by gradually attaining to
the second mode of life, obtains happiness and respect in heaven. After this
comes that high and superior mode of life, called the third, for those that are
desirous of casting off their bodies. Superior to that of householders, that is the
life of forest recluses,--of those, that is, who waste their bodies (by diverse kinds
of austerities) into skeletons overlaid with dried skins. Listen as I discourse to
thee upon it.‟”
SECTION CCXLIV
“Bhishma said, “Though hast been told what the duties of domesticity are as
ordained by the wise. Listen now, O Yudhishthira, to what those duties are that
have been next spoken of. Gradually abandoning the domestic mode, one should
enter the third mode which is excellent. It is the mode in which wives afflict
themselves by means of Austerities. It is the mode practised by those that live as
forest recluses. Blessed be thou, O son, listen to the duties observed by those
that lead this mode of life in which occur the practices of all men and all modes of
life. Listen, indeed, to the duties of those that are denizens of sacred spots and
that have resorted to this mode after proper deliberation!‟
“Vyasa said, „When the householder beholds wrinkles on his body and white hair
on his head, and children of his children, he should then retire into the forest. The
third part of his life he should pass in the observance of the Vanaprastha mode.
He should attend to those fires to which he had attended as a householder.
Desirous of sacrificing, he should adore the deities (according to the rituals
ordained). Observant of vows and abstemious in diet, he should eat only once,
the time thereof being the sixth part of the day. He should be always heedful.
Attending to his fires, he should keep some kine, waiting upon them
dutifully.[1005] He should attend to all the rituals of a sacrifice. He should live
upon rice growing indigenously, upon wheat growing under similar

circumstances, upon grain of other kinds, growing wildly (and belonging to none).
He should eat what remains after feeding guests. In this the third mode of life, he
should present offerings of clarified butter in the five well-known Sacrifices.[1006]
Four kinds of courses of conduct have been laid down for observance in the
Vanaprastha mode of life. Some collect only what is needed for the day. Some
collect stores to last for a month. Some store grain and other necessaries
sufficient to last for twelve years. Forest recluses may act in these ways for
worshipping guests and performing sacrifices. They should during the season of
the rains, expose themselves to rain and betake themselves to water during the
autumn. During the summer they should sit in the midst of four fires with the sun
burning overhead. Throughout the year, however, they should be abstemious in
diet.[1007] They sit and sleep on the bare earth. They stand on only their toes.
They content themselves with the bare earth and with small mats of grass
(owning no other furniture for seat or bed). They perform their ablutions morning,
noon, and evening (preparatory to sacrifices). Some amongst them use only
teeth for cleaning grain. Others use only stones for that purpose.[1008] Some
amongst them drink, only during the lighted fortnight, the gruel of wheat (or other
grain) boiled very lightly.[1009] There are many who drink similar gruel only
during the dark fortnight. Some eat what only comes by the way (without seeking
to obtain it). Some adopting rigid vows, live upon only roots, some upon only
fruits, some upon only flowers, duly observing the method followed by the
Vaikhanasas. These and other diverse observances are adopted by those men
of wisdom and piety. The fourth is (the mode called Renunciation) based upon
the Upanishads. The duties laid down for it may be observed in all the modes of
life equally. This mode differing from the others comes after domesticity and
forest life. In this very Yuga, O son, many learned Brahmanas conversant with
the truths of all things, have been known to observe this mode. Agastya, the
seven Rishis (viz., Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Vasishtha, Narada, and
Kratu), Madhucchandas, Aghamarshana, Sankriti Sudivatandi who lived
withersoever he pleased and was content to take what came (without ever
seeking for anything).[1010] Ahovirya Kavya, Tandya, the learned Medhatithi,
Karmanirvaka of mighty energy, and Sunyapala who had exerted himself greatly
(for acquiring ascetic puissance) were the authors of this course of duties, and
themselves observing them have all proceeded to heaven. Many great Rishis, O
son, who had the puissance to behold immediately the fruits of their ascetic
merit,[1011] those numerous ascetics who are known by the name of Yayavaras,
many Rishis of very austere penances and possessed of accurate knowledge in
respect of distinctions of duty, and many other Brahmanas too numerous to
mention, adopted the forest mode of life. The Vaikhanasas, the Valikhilyas, the
Saikatas, all of whom were devoted to austere penances,[1012] who were
steadfast in virtue, who had subdued their senses, and who used to behold the
fruits of their penances immediately, adopted this mode of life and finally
ascended to heaven. Freed from fear and not counted among the stars and
planets, these have become visible in the firmament as luminous bodies.[1013]
When the fourth or last part of life is reached, and when one is weakened by
decrepitude and afflicted by disease, one should abandon the forest mode of life

(for the fourth mode called Renunciation). Performing a sacrifice that is capable
of being completed in a single day and in which the Dakshina should be
everything of which he may be possessed, he should himself perform his own
Sraddha. Withdrawn from every other object, he should devote himself to his own
self, taking pleasure in himself, and resting also on his own self.[1014] He should
establish all his sacrificial fires (thenceforth) upon his own self, and give up all
kinds of ties and attachments. (In case he fails to attain to complete
Renunciation) he should always perform such sacrifices and rites as are
completed in a single day.[1015] When, however, from performance of the
(ordinary) sacrifices of sacrificers, the Sacrifice in Self proceeds, then (may he
discontinue all ordinary sacrifices, and) unto the three fires duly sacrifice in his
own Self for the sake of his Emancipation.[1016] Without finding fault with his
food he should eat five or six mouthfuls, offering them duly unto five vital airs
uttering (every time the well-known) mantras of the Yajurveda.[1017] Engaged in
the observance of austerities while leading the life of a forest recluse, one should
shave off one‟s hair and bristles and pare off one‟s nails, and having cleansed
oneself by acts, pass into the fourth and last mode of life that is fraught with great
holiness.[1018] That regenerate person who enters the fourth mode of life, giving
pledges of assurance unto all creatures, succeeds in earning many regions of
blazing effulgence hereafter and ultimately attains to the Infinite.[1019] Of
excellent disposition and conduct, with sins all washed off, the person who is
conversant with his own self never desires to do any act for either this or the
other world. Freed from wrath and from error, without anxiety and without
friendship, such a person lives in this world like one totally uninterested in its
concerns. One (in the observance of Sannyasa) should not feel reluctant in
discharging the duties included in Yama and those also that walk behind them
(and are included in niyama). Such a one should with energy live according to
the ordinances in respect of his own mode, and throw away Vedic study and the
sacred thread that is indicative of the order of his birth. Devoted to righteousness
and with his senses under complete control, such a one, possessed of
knowledge of self, attains undoubtedly to the end for which he strives.[1020] After
the third is the fourth mode of life. It is very superior, and fraught with numerous
high virtues. It transcends in point of merit the three other modes of life. It is said
to occupy the highest place. Listen to me as I discourse upon the duties that
belong to that mode which is pre-eminent and which is the high refuge of all!‟”
SECTION CCXLV
“Suka said, „While living in the due observance of the duties of the foremost of
life, how should one, who seeks to attain to That which is the highest object of
knowledge, set one‟s soul on Yoga according to the best of one‟s power?‟
“Vyasa said, „Having acquired (purity of conduct and body) by the practice of the
first two modes of life, viz., Brahmacharya and domesticity, one should, after that,
set one‟s soul on Yoga in the third mode of life. Listen now with concentrated

attention to what should be done for attaining to the highest object of
acquisition![1021] Having subdued all faults of the mind and of heart by easy
means in the practice of the first three modes of life (viz., pupilage, domesticity,
and seclusion) one should pass into the most excellent and the most eminent of
all the modes, viz., Sannyasa or Renunciation. Do thou then pass thy days,
having acquired that purity. Listen also to me. One should, alone and without
anybody to assist him or bear him company, practise Yoga for attaining to
success (in respect of one‟s highest object of acquisition). One who practises
Yoga without companionship, who beholds everything as a repetition of his own
self, and who never discards anything (in consequence of all things being
pervaded by the Universal Soul), never falls away from Emancipation. Without
keeping the sacrificial fires and without a fixed habitation, such a person should
enter a village for only begging his food. He should provide himself for the day
without storing for the morrow. He should betake himself to penances, with heart
fixed on the Supreme.[1022] Eating little and that even under proper regulations,
he should not eat more than once a day. The other indications of a (religious)
mendicant are the human skull, shelter under trees, rags for wearing, solitude
unbroken by the companionship of any one, and indifference to all
creatures.[1023] That person into whom words enter like affrighted elephants into
a well, and from whom they never come back to the speaker, is fit to lead this
mode of life which has Emancipation for its object.[1024] The mendicant (or
Renouncer) should never take note of the evil acts of any person. He should
never hear what is said in dispraise of others. Especially should he avoid
speaking evil of a Brahmana. He should always say only what is agreeable to the
Brahmanas. When anything is said in dispraise (of himself), he should (without
answering) remain perfectly silent. Such silence, indeed, is the medical treatment
prescribed for him. That person in consequence of whose single self the place he
occupies becomes like the eastern sky, and who can make a spot teeming with
thousands of men and things appear to himself perfectly solitary or unoccupied,
is regarded by the deities to be a true Brahmana.[1025] Him the gods know for a
Brahmana who clothes himself with whatever comes by the way, who subsists
upon whatever he gets, and who sleeps on whatever spot he finds. Him the gods
know for a Brahmana who is afraid of company as of a snake; of the full measure
of gratification (from sweet viands and drinks) as of hell; and of women as of a
corpse.[1026] Him the gods know for a Brahmana who is never glad when
honoured and never angry when insulted, and who has given assurances of
compassion unto all creatures. One in the observance of the last mode of life
should not view death with joy. Nor should he view life with joy. He should only
wait for his hour like a servant waiting for the behest (of his master). He should
purify his heart of all faults. He should purify his speech of all faults. He should
cleanse himself of all sins. As he has no foes, what fear can assail him? He who
fears no creature and whom no creature fears, can have no fear from any
quarter, freed as he is from error of every kind. As the footprints of all other
creatures that move upon legs are engulfed within those of elephants, after the
same manner all ranks and conditions are absorbed within Yoga[1027]. After the
same manner, every other duty and observance is supposed to be engulfed

within the one duty of abstention from injury (to all creatures).[1028] He lives an
everlasting life of felicity who avoids injuring other creatures. One who abstains
from injury, who casts an equal eye upon all creatures, who is devoted to truth,
who is endued with fortitude, who has his senses under control, and who grants
protection to all beings, attains to an end that is beyond compare. The condition
called death succeeds not in transcending such a person who is content with
self-knowledge, who is free from fear, and who is divested of desire and
expectancy. On the other hand, such a person succeeds in transcending death.
Him the gods know for a Brahmana who is freed from attachments of every kind,
who is observant of penances, who lives like space which while holding
everything is yet unattached to any thing, who has nothing which he calls his
own, who leads a life of solitude, and whose is tranquillity of soul. The gods
know him for a Brahmana whose life is for the practice of righteousness, whose
righteousness is for the good of them that wait dutifully upon him, and whose
days and nights exist only for the acquisition of merit.[1029] The gods know him
for a Brahmana who is freed from desire, who never exerts himself for doing
such acts as are done by worldly men, who never bends his head unto any one,
who never flatters another, (and who is free from attachments of every kind). All
creatures are pleased with happiness and filled with fear at the prospect of grief.
The man of faith, therefore, who should feel distressed at the prospect of filling
other creatures with grief, must abstain entirely from acts of every kind.[1030]
The gift of assurances of harmlessness unto all creatures transcends in point of
merit all other gifts. He who, at the outset, forswears the religion of injury,
succeeds in attaining to Emancipation (in which or) whence is the assurance of
harmlessness unto all creatures.[1031] That man who does not pour into his
open mouth even the five or six mouthfuls that are laid down for the forest
recluse, is said to be the navel of the world, and the refuge of the universe. The
head and other limbs, as also the acts good and bad, become possessed by
Fire. Such a man, who sacrifices in his own self, makes a liberation of his senses
and mind into the fire that dwells within the limited space of his own heart. In
consequence again of his pouring such a libation into such a fire within his own
self, the universe with all creatures including the very gods, becomes
gratified.[1032] They who apprehend the Jiva-soul that is endued with effulgence,
that is enveloped in three cases, that has three attributes for its characteristics, to
be Iswara partaking of that which is foremost, viz., the nature of the Supreme
Soul, becomes object of great regard in all the worlds. The very gods with all
human beings speak highly of their merits. He who succeeds in beholding in the
soul that resides in his own body all the Vedas, space and the other objects of
perception, the rituals that occur in scriptures, all those entities that are
comprehensible in sound only and the superior nature of the Supreme Soul, is
sought to be worshipped by the very deities as the foremost of all beings. He who
sees in the soul that resides within his body, that foremost of beings which is not
attached to the earth, which is immeasurable in even the (measureless)
firmament, which is made of gold, which is born of the egg and resides within the
egg, which is equipped with many feathers, and which has two wings like a bird,
and which is rendered effulgent by many rays of light, is sought to be worshipped

by the very deities as the foremost of all beings.[1033] The very deities worship
him in whose understanding is set the wheel of Time, which is constantly
resolving, which knows no decay, which swallows up the period of existence of
every creature, which has the six seasons for its naves, which is equipped with
two and ten radii consisting of the two and ten months, which has excellent joint,
and towards whose gaping mouth proceeds this universe (ready to be
devoured).[1034] The Supreme Soul is the capacious unconsciousness of
dreamless slumber. That Unconsciousness is the body of the universe. It
pervadeth all created things. Jiva, occupying a portion of that capacious
unconsciousness gratifies the deities. These last, being gratified, gratify the open
mouth of that unconsciousness.[1035] Endued with effulgence as also with the
principle of eternity, Jiva is without a beginning. It acquires (by following
particular paths) infinite regions of eternal happiness. He of whom no creature is
afraid, has never to fear any creature. He who never does anything censurable
and who never censures another, is said to be a truly regenerate person. Such a
man succeeds in beholding the Supreme Soul. He whose ignorance has been
dispelled and whose sins have been washed away, never enjoys either here or
hereafter the happiness that is enjoyed by others (but attains to complete
Emancipation). A person in the observance of the fourth mode of life wanders on
the earth like one unconnected with everything. Such a one is freed from wrath
and error. Such a one regards a clod of earth and lump of gold with an equal eye.
Such a man never stores anything for his use. Such a one has no friends and
foes. Such a one is utterly regardless of praise or blame, and of the agreeable
and the disagreeable.‟”
SECTION CCXLVI
“Vyasa said, „The Jiva-soul is endued with all those entities that are modifications
of Prakriti. These do not know the Soul but the Soul knows them all. Like a good
driver proceeding with the aid of strong, well-broken, and high-mettled steeds
along the paths he selects, the Soul acts with the aid of these, called the senses,
having the mind for their sixth. The objects of the senses are superior to the
senses themselves. The mind is superior to those objects. The understanding is
superior to the mind. The Soul, also called Mahat, is superior to the
understanding. Superior to Mahat is the Unmanifest (or Prakriti). Superior to the
Unmanifest is Brahma. There is nothing Superior to Brahma. That is the highest
limit of excellence and the highest goal. The Supreme Soul is concealed in every
creature. It is not displayed for ordinary men to behold. Only Yogins with subtile
vision behold the Supreme Soul with the aid of their keen and subtile
understanding. Merging the senses having the mind for their sixth and all the
objects of the senses into the inner Soul by the aid of the Understanding, and
reflecting upon the three states of consciousness, viz., the object thought, the act
of thinking, and the thinker, and abstaining by contemplation from every kind of
enjoyment, equipping his mind with the knowledge that he is Brahma‟s self,
laying aside at the same time all consciousness of puissance, and thereby

making his soul perfectly tranquil, the Yogin obtains that to which immortality
inheres. That person, however, who happens to be the slave of all his senses
and whose ideas of right and wrong have been confounded, already liable as he
is to death, actually meets with death by such surrender of self to (the
passions).[1036] Destroying all desires, one should merge the gross
Understanding into one‟s subtile Understanding. Having thus merged the gross
into the subtile Understanding, one is sure to become a second Kalanjara
mountain.[1037] By purifying his heart, the Yogin transcends both righteousness
and its reverse. By purifying his heart and by living in his own true nature, he
attains to the highest happiness.[1038] The indication of that purity of heart (of
which I speak) is that one who has attained to experiences that state of
unconsciousness (with respect of all one‟s surroundings) which one experiences
in dreamless slumber. The Yogin who has attained to that state lives like the
steady flame of a lamp that burns in a place where the atmosphere is perfectly
still. Becoming abstemious in diet, and having cleansed his heart, that Yogin who
applies his Soul to the Soul succeeds in beholding the Soul in the Soul.[1039]
This discourse, O son, intended for thy instruction, is the essence of all the
Vedas. The truths herein disclosed are incapable of being understood by the aid
of inference alone or by that of mere study of the scriptures. One must
understand it oneself by the aid of faith. By churning the wealth that is contained
in all religious works and in all discourses based on truth, as also the ten
thousand Richs, this nectar hath been raised. As butter from curds and fire from
wood, even hath this been raised for the sake of my son,--this that constituteth
the knowledge of all truly wise men. This discourse, O son, fraught with solid
instruction, is intended for delivery unto Snatakas.[1040] It should never be
imparted to one that is not of tranquil soul, or one that is not self-restrained, or
one that hath not undergone penances. It should not be communicated to one
that is not conversant with the Vedas, or one that doth not humbly wait upon
one‟s preceptor, or one that is not free from malice, or one that is not possessed
of sincerity and candour, or one that is of reckless behaviour. It should never be
communicated to one whose intellect hath been consumed by the science of
disputation, or one that is vile or low. Unto that person, however, who is
possessed of fame, or who deserveth applause (for his virtues), or who is of
tranquil soul, or possessed of ascetic merit, unto a Brahmana who is such, unto
one‟s son or dutiful disciple, this discourse containing the very essence of duties
should be communicated, but on no account should it be communicated to
others. If any person makes a gift of the whole earth with all her treasures, unto
one conversant with truth, the latter would still regard the gift of this knowledge to
be very much superior to that gift. I shall now discourse to thee on a subject that
is a greater mystery than this, a subject that is connected with the Soul, that
transcends the ordinary understandings of human beings, that has been beheld
by the foremost of Rishis, that has been treated in the Upanishads, and that
forms the topic of thy inquiry. Tell me what, after this is in thy mind? Tell me in
what thou has still any doubt? Listen, for here I am, O son, faces turned towards
all directions. The Sun and the Moon are thy two seated before thee! Upon what
indeed, shall I once more speak to thee?‟”

SECTION CCXLVII
“Suka said, „O illustrious one, O foremost of Rishis, once again discourse to me
on Adhyatma more elaborately. Tell me what, indeed, is Adhyatma and whence
does it come?‟[1041]
“Vyasa said, „That, O son, which is regarded as Adhyatma with reference to
human beings, I shall now mention to thee, and listen to the explanation I give (of
Adhyatma). Earth, water, light, wind, and space, are the great entities that form
the component parts of all creatures, and, though really one, are yet regarded
different like the waves of the ocean (which though identical with respect to their
constituent substance are yet counted as different from one another). Like a
tortoise stretching out its limbs and withdrawing them again, the great entities
(already named), by dwelling in numberless small forms, undergo
transformations (called creation and destruction). All this universe of mobile and
immobile objects hath for its component parts these five entities. Everything, in
respect of its creation and destruction, is referable to this fivefold entity. These
five entities occur in all existent things. The Creator of all things, however, hath
made an unequal distribution of those entities (by placing them in different things
in different proportions) for serving different ends.‟[1042]
“Suka said, „How may one succeed in understanding that unequal distribution (of
the five great entities of which thou speakest) in the diverse things of the
universe? Which amongst them are the senses and which the attributes? How
may this be understood?‟
“Vyasa said, „I shall explain thee this duly one after another. Listen with
concentrated attention to the subject as I expound how what I have said actually
happens. Sound, the sense of hearing, and all the cavities within the body,--
these three—have space for their origin. The vital breaths, the action of the limbs
and touch form the attributes of the wind. Form, eyes, and the digestive fire
within the stomach, are originated by light. Taste, tongue, and all the humours,--
these three,--are from water. Scent, nose, and the body,--these three,--are the
attributes of earth. These, then, as I have expounded to thee, are the
transformations of the five (great) entities with senses. Touch is said to be the
attribute of the wind; taste of water; form of light. Sound is said to have its origin
in space, and scent is said to be the property of earth. Mind, Understanding, and
Nature,--these three,--spring from their own previous states, and attaining (at
each rebirth) to a position higher than the attributes (which form their respective
objects), do not transcend those attributes.[1043] As the tortoise stretches out its
limbs and withdraws them once again within itself, even so the Understanding
creates the senses and once again withdraws them into itself.[1044] The
consciousness of personal identity that arises in respect of that which is above
the soles of the feet and below the crown of the head, is principally due to the
action of the Understanding.[1045] It is the understanding that is transformed into
the (five) attributes (of form, scent, etc.). It is understanding also that is

transformed into the (five) senses with the mind for the sixth. When the
Understanding is absent, where are the attributes?[1046] In man there are five
senses. The mind is called the sixth (sense). The Understanding is called the
seventh. The Soul is the eighth. The eyes (and the other senses) are for only
receiving impressions of form (and scent, etc.). The mind exists for doubting (the
accuracy of those impressions). The Understanding settles those doubts. The
Soul is said only to witness every operation without mingling with them. Rajas,
Tamas, and Sattwa,--these three,--arise from their own counterparts. These exist
equal in all creatures (viz., the deities and human beings, etc.). These are called
attributes and should be known by the actions they induce.[1047] As regards
those actions all such states in which one becomes conscious of oneself as
united with cheerfulness or joy and which are tranquil and pure, should be known
as due to the attribute of Sattwa. All such states in either the body or the mind, as
are united with sorrow, should be regarded as due to the influence of the attribute
called Rajas. All such states again as exist with stupefication (of the senses, the
mind or the understanding) whose cause is unascertainable, and which are
incomprehensible (by either reasons or inward light), should be known as
ascribable to the action of Tamas. Delight, cheerfulness, joy, equanimity,
contentment of heart, due to any known cause or arising otherwise, are all effects
of the attribute of Sattwa. Pride, untruthfulness of speech, cupidity, stupefication,
vindictiveness, whether arising from any known cause or otherwise, are
indications of the quality of Rajas. Stupefaction of judgment, heedlessness,
sleep, lethargy, and indolence, from whatever cause these may arise, are to be
known as indications of the quality of Tamas.‟”[1048]
SECTION CCXLVIII
“Vyasa said, „The mind creates (within itself) numerous ideas (of objects or
existent things). The Understanding settles which is which. The heart
discriminates which is agreeable and which is disagreeable. These are the three
forces that impel to acts. The objects of the senses are superior to the senses.
The mind is superior to those objects. The understanding is superior to mind. The
Soul is regarded as superior to Understanding. (As regards the ordinary
purposes of man) the Understanding is his Soul. When the understanding, of its
own motion, forms ideas (of objects) within itself, it then comes to be called
Mind.[1049] In consequence of the senses being different from one another (both
in respect of their objects and the manner of their operation), the Understanding
(which is one and the same) present different aspect in consequence of its
different modifications. When it hears, it becomes the organ of hearing, and when
it touches, it becomes the organ of touch. Similarly, when it sees, it becomes the
organ of vision, and when it tastes, it becomes the organ of taste, and when it
smells, it becomes the organ of scent. It is the Understanding that appears under
different guises (for different functions) by modification. It is the modifications of
the Understanding that are called the senses. Over them is placed as their
presiding chief (or overseer) the invisible Soul. Residing in the body, the

Understanding exists in the three states (of Sattwa, Rajas, and, Tamas).
Sometimes it obtains cheerfulness, sometimes it gives way to grief; and
sometimes its condition becomes such that it is united with neither cheerfulness
nor grief. The Understanding, however, whose chief function (as already said) is
to create entities, transcends those three states even as the ocean, that lord of
rivers, prevails against the mighty currents of the rivers that fall into it.[1050]
When the Understanding desires for anything, it comes to be called by the name
of Mind. The senses again, though (apparently different) should all be taken as
included within the Understanding. The senses, which are engaged in bearing
impressions of form, scent etc., should all be subdued.[1051] When a particular
sense becomes subservient to the Understanding, the latter though in reality not
different (from that sense), enters the Mind in the form of existent things. Even
this is what happens with the senses one after another (separately and not
simultaneously) with reference to the ideas that are said to be apprehended by
them.[1052] All the three states that exist (viz., Sattwa, Rajas, and Tamas),
inhere to these three (viz., Mind, Understanding, and Consciousness) and like
the spokes of a car-wheel acting in consequence of their attachment to the
circumference of the wheel, they follow the different objects (that exist in Mind,
Understanding, and Consciousness).[1053] The mind must make a lamp of the
senses for dispelling the darkness that shuts out the knowledge of the Supreme
Soul. This knowledge that is acquired by Yogins with the aid of all especial
agency of Yoga, is acquired without any especial efforts by men that abstain from
worldly objects.[1054] The universe is of this nature (viz., it is only a creation of
the understanding). The man of knowledge, therefore, is never stupefied (by
attachment to things of this world). Such a man never grieves, never rejoices,
and is free from envy (at seeing another possessing a larger share of earthly
objects). The Soul is incapable of being seen with the aid of the senses whose
nature is to wander among all (earthly) objects of desire. Even righteous men,
whose senses are pure, fail to behold the soul with their aid, what then should be
said of the vicious whose senses are impure? When, however, a person, with the
aid of his mind, tightly holds their reins, it is then that his Soul discovers itself like
an object (unseen in darkness) appearing to the view in consequence of the light
of a lamp. Indeed, as all things become visible when the darkness that envelopes
them is dispelled, even the soul becomes visible when the darkness that covers it
is removed.[1055] As an aquatic fowl, though moving on the water, is never
drenched by that element, after the same manner the Yogin of freed soul is never
soiled by the imperfections of the three attributes (of Sattwa, Rajas, and Tamas).
After the same manner, the man of wisdom, by even enjoying all earthly objects
without being attached to any of them, is never soiled by faults of any kind that
arise in the case of others from such enjoyment. He who avoids acts after having
done them duly,[1056] and takes delight in the one really existent entity, viz., the
Soul, who has constituted himself the soul of all created beings, and who
succeeds in keeping himself aloof from the three attributes, obtains an
understanding and senses that are created by the Soul. The qualities are
incapable of apprehending the Soul. The Soul, however, apprehends them
always. The Soul is the witness that beholds the qualities and duly calls them up

into being. Behold, this is the difference between the understanding and the Soul
both of which are exceedingly subtile. One of them creates the qualities. The
other never creates them. Though they are different from each other by nature,
yet they are always united. The fish living in the water is different from the
element in which it lives. But as the fish and the water forming its home are
always united, after the same manner Sattwa and Kshetrajna exists in a state of
union. The gnat born within a rotten fig is really not the fig but different from it.
Nevertheless, as the gnat and the fig are seen to be united with each other, even
so are Sattwa and Kshetrajna. As the blade in a clump of grass, though distinct
from the clump, nevertheless exists in a state of union with it, even so these two,
though different from each other, each existing in its own self, are to be seen in a
state of constant union.‟”
SECTION CCXLIX
“Vyasa said, „The objects by which one is surrounded are created by the
understanding. The Soul, without being connected with them, stands aloof,
presiding over them. It is the understanding that creates all objects. The three
primary qualities are continually being transformed (for the production of objects).
The Kshetrajna or Soul, endued with puissance, presides, over them all, without,
however, mingling with them.[1057] The objects which the understanding creates
partake of its own nature. Indeed, as the spider creates threads (which partakes
of its own material substance), the objects created by the understanding partake
of the nature of the understanding. Some maintain that the qualities, when driven
away by Yoga or knowledge, do not cease to exist. They say this because when
once gone, the indications only of their return are not perceptible. (But that is no
evidence of their actual destruction). Others say that when dispelled by
knowledge, they are at once destroyed never to return.[1058] Reflecting upon
these two opinions properly, one should strive one‟s best according to the way
one thinks proper. It is by this way that one should attain to eminence and take
refuge in one‟s own Soul alone.[1059] The Soul is without beginning and without
end. Comprehending his Soul properly man should move and act, without giving
way to wrath, without indulging in joy, and always free from envy. Cutting by this
means the knot that is in one‟s heart, the knot whose existence is due to the
operation of the faculties of the understanding, which is hard (to open or cut), but
which nevertheless is capable of being destroyed by knowledge, one should live
happily, without giving way to grief (for anything that happens), and with one‟s
doubts dispelled. Know that they who mingle in the affairs of this world are as
distressed in body and mind as persons ignorant of the art of swimming when
they slip from the land and fall into a large and deep river. The man of learning,
however, being conversant with the truth, is never distressed, for he feels like
one walking over solid land. Indeed, he who apprehends his Soul to be such,
viz., as presenting only the character of Chit which has knowledge alone for its
indication, is never distressed. Indeed, a person, by thus comprehending the
origin and end of all creatures, and by thus apprehending their inequalities or

distinctions, succeeds in attaining to high felicity. This knowledge is the
possession of a Brahmana in especial by virtue of his birth. Knowledge of the
Soul, and felicity like that which has been adverted to, are each fully sufficient to
lead to emancipation.[1060] By acquiring such knowledge one really becomes
learned. What else is the indication of a person of knowledge? Having acquired
such knowledge, they that are wise among men regard themselves crowned with
success and become emancipated.[1061] Those things that become sources of
fear unto men destitute of knowledge do not become sources of fear unto those
that are endued with knowledge. There is no end higher than the eternal end
which is obtained by a person possessed of knowledge. One beholds with
aversion all earthly objects of enjoyment which are, of course, fraught with faults
of every kind. Another, beholding others betake themselves with pleasure to
such objects, is filled with sorrow. As regards this matter, however, they that are
conversant with both objects, behold, viz., that which is fictitious and that which is
not so, never indulge in sorrow and are truly happy.[1062] That which a man
does without expectation of fruits destroys his acts of a former life. The acts,
however, of such a person both of this and his previous life cannot lead to
Emancipation. On the other hand, such destruction of former acts and such acts
of this life cannot lead to what is disagreeable (viz., hell), even if the man of
wisdom engages in acts.‟”[1063]
SECTION CCL
“Suka said, „Let thy reverence tell me of that which is the foremost of all duties,
indeed, of that duty above which no higher one exists in this world.‟
“Vyasa said, „I shall now tell thee of duties having a very ancient origin and laid
down by the Rishis, duties that are distinguished above all others. Listen to me
with undivided attention. The senses that are maddening should carefully be
restrained by the understanding like a sire restraining his own inexperienced
children liable to fall into diverse evil habits. The withdrawal of the mind and the
senses from all unworthy objects and their due concentration (upon worthy
objects) is the highest penance. That is the foremost of all duties. Indeed, that is
said to be the highest duty. Directing, by the aid of the understanding, the senses
having the mind for their sixth, and without, indeed, thinking of worldly objects
which have the virtue of inspiring innumerable kinds of thought, one should live
contented with one‟s own self. When the senses and the mind, withdrawn from
the pastures among which they usually run loose, come back for residing in their
proper abode, it is then that thou wilt behold in thy own self the Eternal and
Supreme Soul.[1064] Those high-souled Brahmanas that are possessed of
wisdom succeed in beholding that Supreme and Universal Soul which is like unto
a blazing fire in effulgence. As a large tree endued with numerous branches and
possessed of many flowers and fruits does not know in which part it has flowers
and in which it has fruits, after the same manner the Soul as modified by birth
and other attributes, does not know whence it has come and whither it is to go.

There is, however, an inner Soul, which beholds (knows) everything.[1065] One
sees the Soul oneself with the aid of the lighted lamp of knowledge. Beholding,
therefore, thyself with thy own self, cease to regard thy body as thyself and attain
thou to omniscience. Cleansed of all sins, like unto a snake that has cast off its
slough, one attains to high intelligence here and becomes free from every anxiety
and the obligation of acquiring a new body (in a subsequent birth). Its current
spreading in diverse directions, frightful is this river of life bearing the world
onward in its course. The five senses are its crocodiles. The mind and its
purposes are the shores. Cupidity and stupefaction of judgment are the grass
and straw that float on it, covering its bosom. Lust and wrath are the fierce
reptiles that live in it. Truth forms the tirtha by its miry banks. Falsehood forms its
surges, anger its mire. Taking its rise from the Unmanifest, rapid is its current,
and incapable of being crossed by persons of uncleansed souls. Do thou, with
the aid of the understanding cross that river having desires for its alligators. The
world and its concerns constitute the ocean towards which that river runs. Genus
and species constitute its unfathomable depth that none can understand. One‟s
birth, O child, is the source from which that stream takes its rise. Speech
constitutes its eddies. Difficult to cross, only men of learning and wisdom and
understanding succeed in crossing it. Crossing it, thou wilt succeed in freeing
thyself from every attachment, acquiring a tranquil heart, knowing the Soul, and
becoming pure in every respect. Relying them on a purged and elevated
understanding, thou wilt succeed in becoming Brahma‟s self. Having dissociated
thyself from every worldly attachment, having acquired a purified Soul and
transcending every kind of sin, look thou upon the world like a person looking
from the mountain top upon creatures creeping below on the earth‟s surface.
Without giving way to wrath or joy, and without forming any cruel wish, thou wilt
succeed in beholding the origin and the destruction of all created objects. They
that are endued with wisdom regard such an act to be the foremost of all things.
Indeed, this act of crossing the river of life is regarded by the foremost of
righteous persons, by ascetics conversant with the truth, to be the highest of all
acts that one can accomplish. This knowledge of the all-pervading Soul is
intended to be imparted to one‟s son. It should be inculcated unto one that is of
restrained senses, that is honest in behaviour, and that is docile or submissive.
This knowledge of the Soul, of which I have just now spoken to thee, O child, and
the evidence of whose truth is furnished by the Soul itself, is a mystery,--indeed,
the greatest of all mysteries, and the very highest knowledge that one can attain.
Brahma hath no sex,--male, female, or neuter. It is neither sorrow nor happiness.
It hath for its essence the past, the future, and the present. Whatever one‟s sex,
male or female, the person that attains to the knowledge of Brahma hath never to
undergo rebirth. This duty (of Yoga) hath been inculcated for attaining to
exemption from rebirth.[1066] These words that I have used for answering thy
question lead to Emancipation in the same way as the diverse other opinions
advanced by diverse other sages that have treated of this subject. I have
expounded the topic to thee after the manner in which it should be expounded.
Those opinions sometimes become productive of fruit and sometimes not. (The
words, however, that I have used are of a different kind, for these are sure to

lead to success).[1067] For this reason, O good child, a preceptor, when asked
by a contented, meritorious, and self-restrained son or disciple, should, with a
delighted heart, inculcate, according to their true import, these instructions that I
have inculcated for the benefit of thee, my son!‟”
SECTION CCLI
“Vyasa said, „One should not show any affection for scents and tastes and other
kinds of enjoyment. Nor should one accept ornaments and other articles
contributing to the enjoyment of the senses of scent and taste. One should not
covet honour and achievements and fame. Even this is the behaviour of a
Brahmana possessed of vision.[1068] He that hath studied all the Vedas, having
waited dutifully on his preceptor and observed the vow of Brahmacharya, he that
knows all the Richs, Yajuses, and Samans, is not a regenerate person.[1069]
One that behaves towards all creatures as if one is their kinsman, and one that is
acquainted with Brahma, is said to be conversant with all the Vedas. One that is
divested of desire (being contented with knowledge of the Soul), never dies. It is
by such a behaviour and such a frame of mind that one becomes a truly
regenerate person.[1070] Having performed only various kinds of religious rites
and diverse sacrifices completed with gift of Dakshina, one does not acquire the
status of a Brahmana if he is devoid of compassion and hath not given up
desire.[1071] When one ceases to fear all creatures and when all creatures
cease to fear one, when one never desires for anything nor cherishes aversion
for anything, then he is said to attain to the status of Brahma. When one abstains
from injuring all creatures in thought, speech, and act, then he is said to acquire
the status of Brahma. There is only one kind of bondage in this world, viz., the
bondage of desire, and no other. One that is freed from the bondage of desire
attains to the status of Brahma. Freed from desire like the Moon emerged from
murky clouds, the man of wisdom, purged of all stains, lives in patient
expectation of his time. That person into whose mind all sorts of desire enter like
diverse streams falling into the ocean without being able to enhance its limits by
their discharge, succeeds in obtaining tranquillity, but not he who cherishes
desire for all earthly objects. Such a person becomes happy in consequence of
the fruition of all his wishes, and not he who cherishes desire for earthly objects.
The latter, even if he attains to heaven, has to fall away from it.[1072] The Vedas
have truth for their recondite object. Truth hath the subjugation of the senses for
its recondite object. The subjugation of the senses hath charity for its recondite
object. Charity hath penance for its recondite object. Penance hath renunciation
for its recondite object. Renunciation hath happiness for its recondite object.
Happiness hath heaven for its recondite object. Heaven hath tranquillity for its
recondite object.[1073] For the sake of contentment thou shouldst wish to obtain
a serene understanding which is a precious possession, being indicative of
Emancipation, and which, scorching grief and all purposes or doubts together
with thirst, destroys them completely in the end.[1074] One possessed of those
six attributes, viz., contentment, grieflessness, freedom from attachment,

peacefulness, cheerfulness, and freedom from envy, is sure to become full or
complete.[1075] They that, transcending all consciousness of body, know the
Soul which resides within the body and which is understood by only persons of
wisdom with the aid of the six entities (already mentioned, viz., the Vedas and
truth, etc.) when endowed with only the attribute of Sattwa, and with the aid also
of the other three (viz., instruction, meditation and Yoga), succeed in attaining to
Emancipation.[1076] The man of wisdom, by understanding the Soul which
presides within the body, which is divested of the attributes of birth and death,
which exists in its own nature, which being uninvested with attributes requires no
act of purification, and which is identical with Brahma, enjoys beatitude that
knows no termination. The gratification that the man of wisdom obtains by
restraining his mind from wandering in all directions and fixing it wholly on the
Soul is such that its like cannot be attained by one through any other means. He
is said to be truly conversant with the Vedas who is conversant with that which
gratifies one whose stomach is empty, which pleases one who is indigent, and
which invigorates one whose limbs are dry. Suspending his senses that have
been duly restrained from unworthy indulgence, he who lives engaged in Yoga
meditation, is said to be a Brahmana. Such a person is said to be distinguished
above others. Such a person is said to derive his joys from the Soul. With
reference to one who lives after having weakened desire and devoting himself to
the highest topic of existence, it should be said that his happiness is continuously
enhanced like the lunar disc (in the lighted fortnight).[1077] Like the Sun
dispelling darkness, felicity dispels the sorrows of that Yogin who transcends
both the gross and the subtile elements, as also Mahat and the
Unmanifest.[1078] Decrepitude and death cannot assail that Brahmana who has
got beyond the sphere of acts, who has transcended the destruction of the
Gunas themselves, and who is no longer attached to worldly objects.[1079]
Indeed, when the Yogin, freed from everything, lives in a state transcending both
attachment and aversion, he is said to transcend even in this life his senses and
all their objects. That Yogin, who having transcended Prakriti attains to the
Highest Cause, becomes freed from the obligation of a return to the world in
consequence of his having attained to that which is the highest.‟”[1080]
SECTION CCLII
“Vyasa said, „Unto a disciple that wishes to enquire after Emancipation after
having transcended all pairs of opposites and accomplished the concerns of both
profit and religion, an accomplished preceptor should first recount all that has
been said in the foregoing section, which is elaborate, on the topic of
Adhyatma.[1081] Space, wind, light, water and earth counted as the fifth, and
bhava and abhava and time, exist in all living creatures having the five for their
constituent ingredients.[1082] Space is unoccupied interval. The organs of
hearing consist of space. One conversant with the science of entities endued
with form should know that space has sound for its attribute. The feet (that assist
at locomotion) have wind for their essence. The vital breaths are made of wind.

The sense of touch (skin) has wind for its essence, and touch is the attribute of
wind. Heat, the digestive fire in the stomach, light that discovers all things, the
warmth that is in the body, and eye counted as the fifth, are all of light which has
form of diverse colours for its attribute. Liquefied discharges, solubility, and all
kinds of liquid matter are of water. Blood, marrow, and all else (in the body) that
is cool, should be known to have water for their essence. The tongue is the
sense of taste, and taste is regarded as the attribute of water. All solid
substances are of earth, as also bones, teeth, nails, beard, the bristles on the
body, hair, nerves, sinews, and skin. The nose is called the sense of scent. The
object of that sense, viz., scent, should be known as the attribute of earth. Each
subsequent element possesses the attribute or attributes of the preceding one
besides its own. [1083] In all living creatures again are the (three) supplementary
entities (viz., avidya, kama, and karma).[1084] The Rishis thus declared the five
elements and the effects and attributes flowing from or belonging to them. The
mind forms the ninth in the calculation, and the understanding is regarded as the
tenth. The Soul, which is infinite, is called the eleventh. It is regarded as this all
and as the highest. The mind has doubt for its essence. The understanding
discriminates and causes certainty. The Soul (which, as already said, is infinite),
becomes known as Jiva invested with body (or jivatman) through consequences
derived from acts.[1085] That man who looketh upon the entire assemblage of
living creatures to be unstained, though endued with all these entities having time
for their essence, has never to recur to acts affected by error.‟”[1086]
SECTION CCLIII
“Vyasa said, „Those that are conversant with the scriptures behold, with the aid of
acts laid down in the scriptures, the Soul which is clothed in a subtile body and is
exceedingly subtile and which is dissociated from the gross body in which it
resides.[1087] As the rays of the Sun that course in dense masses through every
part of the firmament are incapable of being seen by the naked eye though their
existence is capable of being inferred by reason, after the same manner, existent
beings freed from gross bodies and wandering in the universe are beyond the
ken of human vision.[1088] As the effulgent disc of the Sun is beheld in the water
in a counter-image, after the same manner the Yogin beholds within gross bodies
the existent self in its counter-image.[1089] All those souls again that are
encased in subtile forms after being freed from the gross bodies in which they
resided, are perceptible to Yogins who have subjugated their senses and who
are endued with knowledge of the soul. Indeed, aided by their own souls, Yogins
behold those invisible beings. Whether asleep or awake, during the day as in the
night, and during the night as in day time, they who apply themselves to Yoga
after casting off all the creations of the understanding and the Rajas born of acts,
as also the very puissance that Yoga begets, succeed in keeping their linga form
under complete control.[1090] The Jiva that dwells in such Yogins, always
endued with the seven subtile entities (viz., Mahat, consciousness, and the five
tanmatras of the five elemental entities), roves in all regions of bliss, freed from

decrepitude and death. I say „always‟, and „freed from death‟ only in accordance
with the common form of speech, for in reality, that linga form is
terminable.[1091] That man, however, who (without having been able to
transcend them) is under the influence of his mind and understanding,
discriminates, even in his dreams, his own body from that of another and
experiences (even then) both pleasure and pain.[1092] Yes, in even his dreams
he enjoys happiness and suffers misery; and yielding to wrath and cupidity,
meets with calamities of various kinds. In his dreams he acquires great wealth
and feels highly gratified: accomplishes meritorious acts, and (sees and hears,
etc.) as he does in his wakeful hours. Wonderful it is to note that jiva, which has
to lie within the uterus and amid much internal heat, and which has to pass a
period of full ten months in that place, is not digested and reduced to destruction
like food within the stomach. Men overwhelmed by the qualities of Rajas and
Tamas never succeed in beholding within the gross body: the Jiva-soul which is
a portion of the Supreme Soul of transcendent effulgence and which lies within
the heart of every creature. They who betake themselves to the science of Yoga
for the purpose of obtaining (a knowledge) of that Soul transcending the
inanimate and gross body, the imperceptible linga body, and the karana body
that is not destroyed on the occasion of even the universal destruction.[1093]
Amongst the duties that have been laid down for the different modes of life
including the fourth mode (or Sannyasa), these to which I have adverted, which
have yoga for their foremost, and which imply a cessation of every operation of
the Mind and the understanding, have been laid down by Sandilya (in the
Chandogya Upanishad).[1094] Having comprehended the seven subtile entities
(viz., the senses, the objects of the mind, Mind, Understanding, Mahat,
Unmanifest or Prakriti, and Purusha), having comprehended also the Supreme
cause of the universe with the six attributes (viz., omniscience, contentment,
unlimited comprehension, independence, eternal wakefulness, and
omnipotence), and lastly having understood that the universe is only a
modification of Avidya endued with the three qualities, one succeeds in beholding
(guided by the scriptures), high Brahma.‟”[1095]
SECTION CCLIV
“Vyasa said, „There is a wonderful tree, called Desire, in the heart of a man. It is
born of the seed called Error. Wrath and pride constitute its large trunk. The wish
for action is the basin around its foot (for holding the water that is to nourish it).
Ignorance is the root of that tree, and heedlessness is the water that gives it
sustenance. Envy constitutes its leaves. The evil acts of past lives supply it with
vigour. Loss of judgment and anxiety are its twigs; grief forms its large branches;
and fear is its sprout. Thirst (after diverse objects) that is (apparently) agreeable
forms the creepers that twine round it on every side. Excessively greedy men,
bound in chains of iron, sitting around that fruit-yielding tree, pay their adorations
to it, in expectation of obtaining its fruit.[1096] He who, subduing those chains,
cutteth down that tree and seeks to cast off both sorrow and joy, succeeds in

attaining to the end of both.[1097] That foolish man who nourishes this tree by
indulgence in the objects of the senses is destroyed by those very objects in
which he indulges after the manner of a poisonous pill destroying the patient to
whom it is administered.[1098] A dexterous person, however, by the aid of Yoga,
forcibly teareth up and cutteth with the sword of samadhi, the far-reaching root of
this tree.[1099] One who knows that the end of all acts undertaken from only the
desire of fruit is rebirth or chains that bind, succeeds in transcending all sorrow.
The body is said to be a city. The understanding is said to be its mistress. The
mind dwelling within the body is the minister of that mistress whose chief function
is to decide. The senses are the citizen that are employed by the mind (upon the
service of the mistress). For cherishing those citizens the mind displays a strong
inclination for acts of diverse kinds. In the matter of those acts, two great faults
are observable, viz., Tamas and Rajas.[1100] Upon the fruits of those acts rest
those citizens along with the chiefs of the city (viz., Mind, Understanding, and
Consciousness).[1101] The two faults (already spoken of) live upon the fruits of
those acts that are accomplished by forbidden means. This being the case, the
understanding, which of itself is unconquerable (by either Rajas or Tamas),
descends to a state of equality with the mind (by becoming as much tainted as
the mind that serves it). Then again the senses, agitated by the stained mind,
lose their own stability. Those objects again for whose acquisition the
understanding strives (regarding them to be beneficial) become productive of
grief and ultimately Meet with destruction. Those objects, after destruction, are
recollected by the mind, and accordingly they afflict the mind even after they are
lost. The understanding is afflicted at the same time, for the mind is said to be
different from the understanding only when the mind is considered in respect of
its chief function of receiving impressions about whose certainty it is no judge. In
reality, however, the mind is identical with the understanding.[1102] The Rajas
(productive of only sorrow and evil of every kind) that is in the understanding then
overwhelms the Soul itself that lies over the Rajas-stained understanding like an
image upon a mirror.[1103] It is the mind that first unites in friendship with Rajas.
Having united itself, it seizes the soul, the understanding, and the senses (like a
false minister seizing the king and the citizens after having conspired with a foe)
and makes them over to Rajas (with which it has united itself).‟”
SECTION CCLV
“Bhishma said, „Do thou, O son, O sinless one, listen once more, with feelings of
great pride, to the words that fell from the lips of the Island-born Rishi on the
subject of the enumeration of the entities. Like unto a blazing fire (for having
transcended all ignorance), the great Rishi said these words unto his son who
resembled a fire wrapped in smoke.[1104] Instructed by what he said, I also, O
son, shall again expound to thee that certain knowledge (which dispels
ignorance). The properties possessed by earth are immobility, weight, hardness,
productiveness, scent, density, capacity to absorb scents of all kinds, cohesion,
habitableness (in respect of vegetables and animals), and that attribute of the

mind which is called patience of the capacity to bear. The properties of water are
coolness, taste, moisture, liquidity, softness, agreeableness, tongue, fluidity,
capacity to be congealed, and power to melt many earthly products.[1105] The
properties of fire are irresistible energy, inflammability, heat, capacity t o soften,
light, sorrow, disease, speed, fury, and invariably upward motion. The properties
of the wind are touch that is neither hot nor cool, capacity to assist the organ of
speech, independence (in respect of motion), strength, celerity, power to assist
all kinds of emission or discharge, power to raise other objects, breaths inhaled
and exhaled, life (as the attribute of Chit) and birth (including death). The
properties of space are sound, extension, capacity of being enclosed, absence of
refuge for resting upon absence of all necessity for such refuge, status of being
unmanifest, capacity for modification, incapacity for producing resistance,
material cause for producing the sense of hearing, and the unoccupied portions
of the human body. These are the fifty properties, as declared, that constitute,
the essence of the five elementary entities.[1106] Patience, reasoning or
disputation, remembrance, forgetfulness or error, imagination, endurance,
propensity towards good, propensity towards evil, and restlessness,--these are
the properties of the mind. Destruction of both good and evil thoughts (i.e.,
dreamless slumber), perseverance, concentration, decision, and ascertainment
of all things resting upon direct evidence, constitute the five properties of the
understanding.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „How can the understanding be said to have five properties?
How again, can the five senses be spoken of as properties (of the five
elementary entities)? Expound to me, O grandsire, all this that seems to be very
abstruse.‟
“Bhishma said, „The understanding is said to possess altogether sixty properties,
for the understanding includes the five elements.[1107] All those properties exist
in a state of union with the Soul. The Vedas declare, O son, that the elements,
their (fifty) properties (together with the mind and the understanding and their
nine and five properties) are all created by Him who is above all deterioration.
These (one and seventy) entities, therefore, are not eternal (like the Soul). The
theories contradicting the Revelation that have in the previous Vedas, O son,
been placed before thee (about the origin of the Universe and its other incidents)
are all defective in the eye of reason. Carefully attending, however, in this world
to all that I have said unto thee about the Supreme Brahma, do thou, after
attaining to the puissance that the knowledge of Brahma offers, seek to win
tranquillity of heart.‟”[1108]
SECTION CCLVI
“Yudhishthira said, „These lords of earth that lie on the earth‟s surface amid their
respective hosts, these princes endued with great might, are now reft of
animation. Every one of these mighty monarchs was possessed of strength equal
to that of ten thousand elephants. Alas! these have all been slain by men

possessed of equal prowess and might. I do not behold any one else (in the
world) that could slay any of these men in battle.[1109] All of them were endued
with great prowess, great energy, and great strength. Possessed also of great
wisdom, they are now lying on the bare ground, deprived of life. With respect to
all these men that are deprived of life, the word that is used is that they are dead.
Of terrible prowess, all these kings are said to be dead. On this subject a doubt
has arisen in my mind. Whence is animation and whence is death? Who is it that
dies? (Is it the gross body, the subtile body, or the Soul, that dies)? Whence is
death? For what reason also doth death takeaway (living creatures)? O
grandsire, tell me this, O thou that resemblest a celestial!‟
“Bhishma said, „In days of old, in the Krita age, O son, there was a king of the
name of Anukampaka. His cars and elephants and horses and men having been
reduced in number, he was brought under the sway of his foes in battle. His son
named Hari, who resembled Narayana himself in strength, was in that battle slain
by his foes along with all his followers and troops. Afflicted with grief on account
of the death of his son, and himself brought under the sway of foes, the king
devoted himself thence to a life of tranquillity. One day, while wandering without
a purpose he met the sage Narada on the earth. The monarch told Narada all
that had happened, viz., the death of his son in battle and his own capture by his
enemies. Having heard his words, Narada, possessed of wealth of penances,
then recited to him the following narrative for dispelling his grief on account of the
death of his son.‟
“Narada said, „Listen now, O monarch, to the following narrative of rather lengthy
details as these had occurred. I myself heard it formerly, O king! Endued with
great energy, the Grandsire, at the time of the creation of the universe, created a
large number of living beings. These multiplied greatly, and none of them met
with death. There was no part of the universe that was not overcrowded with
living creatures, O thou of unfading glory! Indeed, O king, the three worlds
seemed to swell with living beings, and became as it were breathless. Then, O
monarch, the thought arose in the Grandsire‟s mind as to how he should destroy
that overgrown population. Reflecting on the subject, the Self-born, however,
could not decide what the means should be by which the destruction of life was
to be brought about. Thereupon, O king, Brahman gave way to wrath, and in
consequence of his wrath a fire issued out of his body. With that fire born of his
wrath, the Grandsire burnt all the quarters of the universe, O monarch. Indeed,
that conflagration born of the Divine lord‟s anger, O king, burnt heaven and earth
and the firmament and the whole universe with all its mobile and immobile
beings. Truly, when the Grandsire thus gave way to wrath, all mobile and
immobile beings began to be consumed by the irresistible energy of that passion.
Then the divine and auspicious Sthanu, that slayer of hostile heroes, that lord of
the Vedas and the scriptures, filled with compassion, sought to gratify Brahman.
When Sthanu came to Brahman from motives of benevolence, the great God
burning with energy, addressed him, saying, „Thou deservest boons at my hands.
What desire of thine shall I accomplish? I shall do thee good by accomplishing
whatever is in thy breast.‟”

SECTION CCLVII
“Sthanu said, „Know, O lord, that my solicitations to thee are on behalf of the
created beings of the universe. These beings have been created by thee. Do not
be angry with them, O grandsire! By the fire born of thy energy, O illustrious one,
all the created beings are being consumed. Beholding them placed in such a
plight, I am penetrated with compassion.
Do not be angry with them, O lord of the universe.‟
“The lord of all created beings said, „I am not angry, nor it is my wish that all the
created beings should cease to exist. It is only for lightening the burthen of the
earth that destruction is desirable. The goddess Earth, afflicted with the weight of
creatures, solicited me, O Mahadeva, for destroying them, especially as She
seemed to sink under their burthen into the water. When after exercising my
intelligence for even a long while I could not hit upon the means by which to
accomplish the destruction of this overgrown population, it was then that wrath
took possession of my breast.‟
“Sthanu said, „Do not give way to wrath, O lord of the deities, with respect to this
matter about the destruction of living creatures. Be gratified. Let not these mobile
and immobile beings be destroyed. All tanks, all kinds of grass and herbs, all
immobile beings, and all mobile creatures also of the four varieties, are being
consumed. The whole universe is about to be denuded of beings. Be gratified, O
divine lord! O thou of righteous heart, even this is the boon that I solicit at thy
hands. If destroyed, these creatures would not come back. Therefore, let this
energy of thine be neutralised by thy own energy. Actuated by compassion for all
created beings find some means so that, O Grandsire, these living creatures may
not burn. Oh, let not these living creatures perish with even their descendants
thus destroyed. Thou hast appointed me as the presider over the consciousness
of all living creatures, O lord of all the lords of the universe. All this mobile and
immobile universe of life, O lord of the universe, hath sprung from thee. Pacifying
thee, O god of gods, I beg of thee that living creatures may repeatedly come
back into the world, undergoing repeated deaths.‟
“Narada continued, „Hearing these words of Sthanu, the divine Brahman of
restrained speech and mind himself suppressed that energy of his within his own
heart. Suppressing that fire that had been devastating the universe, the illustrious
Brahman, adored of all, and possessed of illimitable puissance, then arranged for
both birth and death in respect of all living creatures. After the Selfborn had
withdrawn and suppressed that fire, there came out, from all the outlets of his
body, a lady attired in robes of black and red, with black eyes, black palms,
wearing a pair of excellent ear-rings, and adorned with celestial ornaments.
Having sprung from Brahman‟s body, the lady took her station on his right. The
two foremost of deities thereupon looked at her. Then, O king, the puissant
Selfborn, the original cause of all the worlds, saluted her and said, „O Death, slay
these creatures of the universe. Filled with anger and resolved to bring about the

destruction of created beings, I have called thee.[1110] Do thou, therefore,
commence to destroy all creatures foolish or learned. O lady, slay all created
beings without making exception in anybody‟s favour. At my command thou wilt
win great prosperity.‟ Thus addressed, the goddess, Death, adorned with a
garland of lotuses, began to reflect sorrowfully and shed copious tears. Without
allowing her tears, however, to fall down, she held them, O king, in her joined
palms. She then besought the Self-born, impelled by the desire of doing good to
mankind.‟”
SECTION CCLVIII
“Narada said, „The large-eyed lady, controlling her grief by an effort of her own,
addressed the Grandsire, with joined hands and bending in an attribute of
humility like a creeper. And she said, „How, O foremost of speakers, shall a lady
like me that has sprung from thee proceed to accomplish such a terrible feat,--a
feat, that is, which is sure to inspire all living creatures with dread? I fear to do
aught that is iniquitous. Do thou appoint such work for me as is righteous. Thou
seest that I am frightened. Oh, cast a compassionate glance upon me. I shall not
be able to cut off living creatures,--infants, youths, and aged ones,--who have
done me no injury. O lord of all creatures, I bow to thee, be gratified with me. I
shall not be able to cut off dear sons and loved friends and brothers and mothers
and fathers. If these die (through my act), their surviving relatives will surely
curse me. I am filled with fear at the prospect of this.[1111] The tears of the
sorrow-stricken survivors will burn me for eternity. I am very much afraid of them
(whose relatives I shall have to cut off). I seek thy protection. All sinful creatures
(slain by me) will have to sink into the infernal regions. I seek to gratify thee, O
boon-giving god! Extend to me thy grace, O puissant lord! I seek the gratification
of this wish, O Grandsire, of all the worlds. O foremost of all the gods, I seek,
through thy grace, even this object, viz., permission to undergo severe
austerities.‟
“The Grandsire said, „O Death, thou hast been intended by me for the destruction
of all creatures. Go, and set thyself to the task of slaying all. Do not reflect (upon
the propriety or otherwise of this act). This must certainly be. It cannot be
otherwise. O sinless one, O lady of faultless limbs, do thou accomplish the
behest I have uttered.‟ Thus addressed, O thou of Mighty arms, the lady called
Death, O conqueror of hostile cities, spoke not a word, but humbly stood there
with her eyes upturned towards the puissant Lord of all creatures. Brahman
addressed her repeatedly, but the lady seemed to be herself deprived of life.
Beholding her thus, the god of gods, that lord of lords, became silent.
Indeed, the Self-born, by an effort of his will, became gratified.
Smiling, the lord of all the worlds then cast his eyes on the universe. It has been
heard by us that when that unconquered and illustrious lord subdued his wrath,
the lady (called Death) went away from his side. Leaving Brahman‟s side without
having promised to accomplish the destruction of living creatures, Death quickly

proceeded, O king, to the sacred spot known by the name of Dhenuka. There the
goddess practised the severest austerities for five and ten billions of years, all the
while standing upon one foot.[1112] After she practised such exceedingly severe
austerities in that place, Brahman of great energy once more said unto her, „Do
thou accomplish my behest, O Death!‟ Disregarding this command, the lady once
more practised penances standing upon one foot for twenty billions of years, O
giver of honours! And once more, O son, she led a life in the woods with the deer
for another long period consisting of ten thousand billions of years.[1113] And
once, O foremost of men, she passed twice ten thousand years, living upon air
only as her sustenance. Once again, O monarch, she observed the excellent vow
of silence for eight thousand years, passing the whole time in water. Then that
maiden, O best of kings, went to the river Kausiki. There she began to pass her
days in the observance of another vow, living the while upon only water and air.
After this, O monarch, the blessed maiden proceeded to the Ganges and thence
to the mountains of Meru. Moved by the desire of doing good to all living
creatures, she stood perfectly motionless there like a piece of wood. Proceeding
thence to the summit of Himavat where the deities had performed their great
sacrifice, she stood there for another hundred billions of years, supporting her
weight upon only the toes of her feet with the object of gratifying the Grandsire
with such an act of austerity. Wending thither, the Creator and Destroyer of the
universe again addressed her saying, „Upon what art thou engaged, O daughter?
Accomplish those words of mine.‟ Addressing the divine Grandsire, the maiden
once more said, „I am unable to cut off living creatures, O god! I seek to gratify
thee (so that I may be excused of this behest).‟ Frightened at the prospect of
demerit she prayed the Grandsire for being excused of obedience to his
command, the Grandsire silenced her, and once more addressed her, saying,
„No demerit will accrue, O Death! Do thou, O auspicious maiden, set thyself to
the task of destroying living creatures. That which I have uttered, O amiable girl,
cannot certainly be falsified. Eternal righteousness shall now take refuge in thee.
Myself and all the deities shall always be employed in seeking thy good. This
other wish that is in thy heart I grant thee. Living creatures shall be afflicted by
disease, and (dying) shall cast the blame on thee. Thou shalt become a male in
all male beings, a female in all female beings, and a eunuch in all those that are
of the third sex.[1114] Thus addressed by Brahman, O king, the maiden at last
said, with joined hands unto that high-souled and undeteriorating lord of all the
deities, these words, „I am unable to obey thy command.‟ The great God, without
relenting, again, said unto her, „O Death, do thou kill men. I shall so ordain that
thou shalt not incur any demerit by doing this, O auspicious lady! Those tear
drops that I see fallen from thy eyes, and that thou still boldest in thy joined
hands, shall take the form of terrible diseases and even they shall destroy men
when their hours come. When the end comes of living creatures, thou shalt
despatch Desire and Wrath together against them. Immeasurable merit shall be
thine. Thou shalt not incur iniquity, being thyself perfectly equal in thy
behaviour.[1115] By doing this thou wilt only observe righteousness instead of
sinking thyself into iniquity. Do thou, therefore, set thy heart upon the task at
hand, and addressing Desire and Wrath begin to slay all living creatures.‟ Thus

addressed, that lady, called by the name of Death, became afraid of Brahman‟s
curse and answered him, saying, „Yes!‟ From that time she began to despatch
Desire and Wrath as the last hours of living creatures and through their agency to
put a stop to their life-breaths. Those tears that Death had shed are the diseases
by which the bodies of men become afflicted. At the destruction, therefore, of
living creatures, one should not, understanding, with the aid of the intelligence (to
what cause such destruction is due), give way to grief. As the senses of all
creatures disappear when the latter become plunged into dreamless sleep and
return once more when they awake, after the same manner all human beings,
upon the dissolution of their bodies, have to go into the other world and return
thence to this, O lion among kings! The element called wind, that is endued with
terrible energy and mighty prowess and deafening roars, operates as the life in
all living creatures. That wind, when the bodies of living creatures are destroyed,
escaping from the old becomes engaged in diverse functions in diverse new
bodies. For this reason, the wind is called the lord of the senses and is
distinguished above the other elements constituting the gross body. The gods,
without exception, (when their merits cease), have to take birth as mortal
creatures on earth. Similarly, all mortal creatures also (when they acquire
sufficient merit), succeed in attaining to the status of gods. Therefore, O lion
among kings, do not grieve for thy son. Thy son has attained to heaven and is
enjoying great happiness there! It was thus, O monarch, that Death was created
by the Self-born and it is in this way that she cuts off duly all living creatures
when their hours come. The tears she had shed become diseases, which, when
their last hours come, snatch away all beings endued with life.‟”
SECTION CCLIX
“Yudhishthira said, „All men that inhabit this earth are filled with doubts in respect
of the nature of righteousness. Who is this that is called Righteousness? Whence
also does Righteousness come? Tell me this, O Grandsire! Is Righteousness for
service in this world or is it for service in the next world? Or, is it for service both
here and hereafter? Tell me this, O grandsire!‟
“Bhishma said, „The practices of the good, the Smritis, and the Vedas, are the
three indications (sources) of righteousness. Besides these, the learned have
declared that the purpose (for which an act is accomplished) is the fourth
indication of righteousness.[1116] The Rishis of old have declared what acts are
righteous and also classified them as superior or inferior in point of merit. The
rules of righteousness have been laid down for the conduct of the affairs of the
world. In both the worlds, that is, here and hereafter, righteousness produces
happiness as its fruits. A sinful person unable to acquire merit by subtile ways,
becomes stained with sin only. Some are of opinion that sinful persons can never
be cleansed of their sins. In seasons of distress, a person by even speaking an
untruth acquires the merit of speaking the truth, even as a person who
accomplishes an unrighteous act acquires by that very means the merit of having

done a righteous act. Conduct is the refuge of righteousness. Thou shouldst
know what righteousness is, aided by conduct.[1117] (It is the nature of man that
he neither sees nor proclaims his own faults but notices and proclaims those of
others). The very thief, stealing what belongs to others, spends the produce of
his theft in acts of apparent virtue. During a time of anarchy, the thief takes great
pleasure in appropriating what belongs to others. When others, however, rob him
of what he has acquired by robbery, he then wishes forthwith for a Icing (for
invoking punishment on the head of the offenders). At even such a time, when
his indignation for offended rights of property is at its highest, he secretly covets
the wealth of those that are contended with their own. Fearlessly and without a
doubt in his mind (when he is himself the victim of a robbery) he repairs to the
king‟s palace with a mind cleansed of every sin. Within even his own heart he
does not see the stain of any evil act.[1118] To speak the truth is meritorious.
There is nothing higher than truth. Everything is upheld by truth, and everything
rests upon truth. Even the sinful and ferocious, swearing to keep the truth
amongst themselves, dismiss all grounds of quarrel and uniting with one another
set themselves to their (sinful) tasks, depending upon truth. If they behaved
falsely towards one another, they would then be destroyed without doubt. One
should not take what belongs to others. That is an eternal obligation. Powerful
men regard it as one that has been introduced by the weak. When, however, the
destiny of these men becomes adverse, this injunction then meets with their
approval. Then again they that surpass others in strength or prowess do not
necessarily become happy.[1119] Therefore, do not ever set thy heart on any act
that is wrong. One behaving in this way hath no fear of dishonest men or thieves
or the king. Not having done any injury to any one, such a man lives fearlessly
and with a pure heart. A thief fears everybody, like a deer driven from the woods
into the midst of an inhabited village. He thinks other people to be as sinful as
himself. One that is of pure heart is always filled with cheerfulness and hath no
fear from any direction. Such a person never sees his own misconduct in
others.[1120] Persons engaged in doing good to all creatures have said that the
practice of charity is another high duty. They that are possessed of wealth think
that this duty has been laid down by those that are indigent. When, however,
those wealthy men meet with poverty in consequence of some turn of fortune,
the practice of charity then recommends itself to them. Men that are exceedingly
wealthy do not necessarily meet with happiness.[1121] Knowing how painful it is
to himself, a person should never do that to others which he dislikes when done
to him by others.[1122] What can one who becomes the lover of another man‟s
wife say to another man (guilty of the same transgression)? it is seen, however,
that even such a one, when he sees his lady with another lover, becomes unable
to forgive the act.[1123] How can one who, to draw breath himself think of
preventing another by a murderous act, from doing the same? Whatever wishes
one entertains with respect to one‟s ownself, one should certainly cherish with
respect to another. With the surplus wealth one may happen to own one should
relieve the wants of the indigent. It is for this reason that the Creator ordained the
practice of increasing one‟s wealth (by trade or laying it out at interest).[1124]
One should walk alone that path by proceeding along which one may hope to

meet with the deities; or, at such times when wealth is gained, adherence to the
duties of sacrifice and gift is laudable. [1125] The sages have said that the
accomplishment of the objects by means of agreeable (pacific) means is
righteousness. See, O Yudhishthira, that even this is the criterion that has been
kept in view in declaring the indications of righteousness and iniquity.[1126] In
days of old the Creator ordained righteousness endowing it with the power of
holding the world together. The conduct of the good, that is fraught with
excellence, is subjected to (numerous) restraints for acquiring righteousness
which depends upon many delicate considerations. The indications of
righteousness have now been recounted to thee, O foremost one of Kuru‟s race!
Do not, therefore, at any time set thy understanding upon any act that is wrong.‟”
SECTION CCLX
“Yudhishthira said, „Thou sayest that righteousness or duty depends upon
delicate considerations, that is indicated by the conduct of those that are called
good, that it is fraught with restraints (from numerous acts), and that its
indications are also contained in the Vedas. It seems to me, however, that I have
a certain inward light in consequence of which I can discriminate between right
and wrong by inferences.[1127] Numerous questions that I had intended to ask
thee have all been answered by thee. There is one question, however, that I
shall presently ask. It is not prompted, O king, by desire of empty disputation. All
these embodied creatures, it seems, take birth, exist, and leave their bodies, of
their own nature. Duty and its reverse, therefore, cannot be ascertained, O
Bharata, by study of the scriptures alone.[1128] The duties of a person who is
well off are of one kind. Those of a person who has fallen into distress are of
another kind. How can duty respecting seasons of distress be ascertained by
reading the scriptures alone?[1129] The acts of the good, thou hast said,
constitute righteousness (or duty). The good, however, are to be ascertained by
their acts. The definition, therefore, has for its foundation, a begging of the
question, with the result that what is meant by conduct of the good remains
unsettled. It is seen that some ordinary person commits unrighteousness while
apparently achieving righteousness. Some extraordinary persons again may be
seen who achieve righteousness by committing acts that are apparently
unrighteous.[1130] Then, again, the proof (of what I say) has been furnished by
even those that are well conversant with the scriptures themselves, for it has
been heard by us that the ordinances of the Vedas disappear gradually in every
successive age. The duties in the Krita age are of one kind. Those in the Treta
are of another kind, and those in the Dwapara are again different. The duties in
the Kali age, again, are entirely of another kind. It seems, therefore, that duties
have been laid down for the respective ages according to the powers of human
beings in the respective ages. When, therefore, all the declarations in the Vedas
do not apply equally to all the ages, the saying that the declarations of the Vedas
are true is only a popular form of speech indulged in for popular satisfaction.
From the Srutis have originated the Smritis whose scope again is very wide. If

the Vedas be authority for everything, then authority would attach to the Smritis
also for the latter are based on the former. When, however, the Srutis and the
Smritis contradict each other, how can either be authoritative? Then again, it is
seen that when some wicked persons of great might cause certain portions of
certain courses of righteous acts to be stopped, these are destroyed for
ever.[1131] Whether we know it or know it not, whether we are able to ascertain
it or not to ascertain it, the course of duty is finer than the edge of a razor and
grosser than even a mountain. Righteousness (in the form of sacrifices and other
religious acts) at first appears in the form of the romantic edifices of vapour seen
in the distant sky. When, however, it is examined by the learned, it disappears
and becomes invisible.[1132] Like the small ponds at which the cattle drink or the
shallow aqueducts along cultivated fields that dry up very soon, the eternal
practices inculcated in the Smritis, falling into discontinuance, at last disappear
totally (in the Kali age). Amongst men that are not good some are seen to
become hypocrites (in respect of the acquisition of righteousness) by suffering
themselves to be urged by desire. Some become so, urged by the wishes of
others. Others, numbering many, tread in the same path, influenced by diverse
other motives of a similar character.[1133] It cannot be denied that such acts
(though accomplished by persons under the influence of evil passions) are
righteous. Fools, again, say that righteousness is an empty sound among those
called good. They ridicule such persons and regard them as men destitute of
reason. Many great men, again, turning back (from the duties of their own order)
betake themselves to the duties of the kingly order. No such conduct, therefore,
is to be seen (as observed by any man), which is fraught with universal
benevolence.[1134] By a certain course of conduct one becomes really
meritorious. That very course of conduct obstructs another in the acquisition of
merit. Another, by practising at his pleasure that conduct, it is seen, remains
unchanged.[1135] Thus that conduct by which one becomes meritorious impedes
another in the acquisition of merit. One may thus see that all courses of conduct
are seen to lose singleness of purpose and character. It seems, therefore, that
only that which the learned of ancient times called righteousness is
righteousness to this day: and through that course of conduct (which the learned
so settled) the distinctions and limitations (that govern the world) have become
eternal.‟”[1136]
SECTION CCLXI
“Bhishma said, „In this connection is cited the old narrative of the conversation of
Tuladhara with Jajali on the topic of righteousness. There was once a Brahmana
of the name of Jajali who lived in a certain forest, practising the ways of a forest-
recluse.[1137] Of austere penances, he proceeded on a certain occasion
towards the sea-shore, and having arrived there began to practise the most
severe penances. Observing many vows and restraints, his food regulated by
many rules of fast, his body clad in rags and skins, bearing matted locks on his
head his entire person smeared with filth and clay, that Brahmana possessed of

intelligence passed many years there, suspending speech (and engaged in Yoga
meditation). Possessed of great energy, that regenerate ascetic, O monarch,
while living within the waters (of the sea), roamed through all the worlds with the
speed of the mind, desirous of seeing all things.[1138] Having beheld the whole
earth bounded by the ocean and adorned with rivers and lakes and woods, the
ascetic one day, while sitting under the water, began to think in this strain, „In this
world of mobile and immobile creatures there is none equal to me. Who can
roam with me among the stars and planets in the firmament and dwell again
within the waters.‟ Unseen by the Rakshasas while he repeated this to himself,
the Pisachas said unto him, „It behoves thee not to say so. There is a man,
named Tuladhara, possessed of great fame and engaged in the business of
buying and selling. Even he, O best of regenerate persons, is not worthy of
saying such words as thou sayest.‟ Thus addressed by those beings, Jajali of
austere penances replied unto them, saying, „I shall see that famous Tuladhara
who is possessed of such wisdom.‟ When the Rishi said those words, those
superhuman beings raised him from the sea, and said unto him, „O best of
regenerate persons, go thou along this road.‟ Thus addressed by those beings,
Jajali proceeded onwards with a cheerless heart. Arrived at Varanasi he met
Tuladhara whom he addressed saying the following words.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „What, O sire, are those difficult feats that Jajali had
performed before in consequence of which he had acquired such high success?
It behoveth thee to describe them to me.‟
“Bhishma said, „Jajali had become engaged in penances of the severest
austerities. He used to perform ablutions morning and evening. Carefully tending
his fires, he was devoted to the study of the Vedas. Well-conversant with the
duties laid down for forest recluses, Jajali (in consequence of his practices)
seemed to blaze with effulgence.[1139] He continued to live in the woods,
engaged all the while in penances. But he never regarded himself as one that
had acquired any merit by his acts. In the season of the rains he slept under the
open sky. In autumn he sat in water. In summer he exposed himself to the sun
and the wind. Still he never regarded himself as one that had acquired any merit
through such acts. He used to sleep on diverse kinds of painful beds and also on
the bare earth. Once on a time, that ascetic, while standing under the sky in the
rainy season, received on his head repeated downpours from the clouds. He had
to pass through the woods repeatedly. What with exposure to the rains and what
with the filth they caught, the locks of that sinless Rishi became entangled and
intertwined with one another. On one occasion, that great ascetic, abstaining
entirely from food and living upon air only, stood in the forest like a post of wood.
Unmoved at heart, he stood there, without once stirring an inch. While he stood
there like a wooden post, perfectly immovable, O Bharata, a pair of Kulinga birds,
O king, built their nest on his head. Filled with compassion, the great Rishi
suffered that feathery couple in building their nest among his matted locks with
shreds of grass. And as the ascetic stood there like a post of wood, the two birds
lived with confidence on his head happily. The rains passed away and autumn
came. The couple, urged by desire, approached each other according to the law
of the Creator, and in complete confidence laid their eggs, O king, on the head of

that Rishi. Of rigid vows and possessed of energy, the ascetic knew it. Knowing
what the birds had done, Jajali moved not. Firmly resolved to acquire merit, no
act that involved the slightest injury to others could recommend itself to him. The
feathery couple going away and moving every day from and to his head, happily
and confidently lived there, O puissant king! When in the progress of time the
eggs became mature and young ones came out, they began to grow up in that
nest, for Jajali moved not in the least. Firm in the observance of his vows, the
righteous-souled Rishi continued to hold and protect those eggs by standing on
that very spot perfectly motionless and rapt in Yoga meditation. In course of time
the young ones grew and became equipped with wings. The Muni knew that the
young Kulingas had attained to that stage of development. That foremost of
intelligent men, steady in the observance of vows, one day beheld those young
ones and became filled with pleasure. The parent-birds, seeing their young ones
equipped with wings, became very happy and continued to dwell in the Rishi‟s
head with them in perfect safety. The learned Jajali saw that when the young
birds became equipped with wings they took to the air every evening and
returned to his head without having proceeded far. He still stood motionless on
that spot. Sometimes, after he saw that, left by their parents, they went out by
themselves and returned again by themselves. Jajali still moved not. A little while
after, the young birds going away in the morning passed the whole day out of his
sight, but came back in the evening for dwelling in the nest. Sometimes, after
that, leaving their nest for five days at a stretch, they returned on the sixth day.
Jajali still moved not. Subsequently, when their strength became fully developed
they left him and returned not at all even after many days. At last, on one
occasion, leaving him, they came not even after a month. Then, O king, Jajali left
that spot. When they had thus gone away for good, Jajali wondered much, and
thought that he had achieved ascetic success. Then pride entered his heart. Firm
in the observance of vows, the great ascetic, seeing the birds thus leave him
after having been reared on his head, thought highly of himself, and became
filled with delight. He, then, bathed in a stream and poured libations on the
sacred fire, and paid his adorations to the rising Sun indeed, having thus caused
those chataka birds to grow on his head, Jajali, that foremost of ascetics, began
to slap his armpits and proclaim loudly through the sky, „_I have won great
merit_.‟ Then an invisible voice arose in the sky and Jajali heard these words,
„Thou art not equal, O Jajali, to Tuladhara in point of righteousness. Possessed
of great wisdom, that Tuladhara lives at Baranasi. Even he is not fit to say what
thou sayest, O regenerate one.‟ Hearing these words, Jajali became filled with
wrath, and desirous of meeting Tuladhara, O monarch, began to roam over the
whole earth, observing the vow of silence and passing the night at that spot
where evening overtook him.[1140] After a considerable time he reached the city
of Baranasi, and saw Tuladhara engaged in selling miscellaneous articles.[1141]
As soon as the shop-keeper Tuladhara beheld the Brahmana arrived at his
place, he cheerfully stood up and worshipped the guest with proper
salutations.[1142]
“Tuladhara said, „Without doubt, O Brahmana, it is known to me that thou hast
come to me. Listen, however, O foremost of regenerate persons, to what I say.

Living on a low land near the sea-shore thou underwentest very austere
penances. But thou hadst no consciousness of having achieved righteousness or
merit. When thou didst at last attain to ascetic success, certain birds were born
on thy head. Thou tookest great care of the little creatures. When at last those
birds became equipped with wings and when they began to leave thy head for
going hither and thither in search of food, it was then that, in consequence of
having thus assisted at the birth of those Chatakas, thou begannest to feel the
impulse of pride, O Brahmana, thinking thou hadst achieved great merit.[1143]
Then, O foremost of regenerate persons, thou heardest in the sky a voice that
referred to me. The words thou didst hear filled thee with wrath, and as the
consequence thereof thou art here. Tell me, what wish of thine I shall
accomplish, O best of Brahmanas!‟”
SECTION CCLXII
“Bhishma said, „Thus addressed by the intelligent Tuladhara on that occasion,
Jajali of great intelligence, that foremost of ascetics, said these words unto him.‟
“Jajali said, „Thou sellest all kinds of juices and scents, O son of a trader, as also
(barks and leaves of) large trees and herbs and their fruits and roots. “How hast
thou succeeded in acquiring a certitude or stability of understanding? Whence
hath this knowledge come to thee? O thou of great intelligence, tell me all this in
detail.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Thus addressed by that Brahmana possessed of I great
fame, Tuladhara of the Vaisya order, well-acquainted with the truths touching the
interpretations of morality and contented with knowledge, discoursed to Jajali
who had undergone severe penances, upon the ways of morality.[1144]
“Tuladhara said, „O Jajali, I know morality, which is eternal, with all its mysteries.
It is nothing else than that ancient morality which is known to all, and which
consists of universal friendliness, and is fraught with beneficence to all
creatures.[1145] That mode of living which is founded upon a total harmlessness
towards all creatures or (in case of actual necessity) upon a minimum of such
harm, is the highest morality. I live according to that mode, O Jajali! This my
house hath been built with wood and grass cut by other people‟s hands. Lac dye,
the roots of Nymphaea lotus, filaments of the lotus, diverse kinds of good
scents[1146] and many kinds of liquids, O regenerate Rishi, with the exception of
wines, I purchase from other people‟s hand and sell without cheating. He, O
Jajali, is said to know what morality or righteousness is, who is always the friend
of all creatures and who is always engaged in the good of all creatures, in
thought, word, and deed. I never solicit any one. I never quarrel with any one, I
never cherish aversion for any one. I never cherish desire for anything. I cast
equal eyes upon all things and all creatures. Behold, O Jajali, this is my vow! My
scales are perfectly even, O Jajali, with respect to all creatures.[1147] I neither
praise nor blame the acts of others, viewing this variety in the world, O foremost
of Brahmanas, to be like the variety observable in the sky.[1148] Know, O Jajali,

that I cast equal eye upon all creatures. O foremost of intelligent men, I see no
difference between a clod of earth a piece of stone, and a lump of gold. As the
blind, the deaf, and they that are destitute of reason, are perfectly consoled for
the loss of their senses, after the same manner am I consoled, by their example
(for the enjoyments I abstain from).[1149] As they that are overtaken by
decrepitude, they that are afflicted by disease, and they that are weakened and
emaciated, have no relish for enjoyments of any kind, after the same manner
have I ceased to feel any relish for wealth or pleasure or enjoyments. When a
person fears nothing and himself is not feared, when he cherishes no desire and
hath no aversion for anything, he is then said to attain to Brahma. When a person
does not conduct himself sinfully towards any creature in thought, word, or deed,
then is he said to attain to Brahma. There is no past, no future. There is no
morality or righteousness. He who is not an object of fear with any creature
succeeds in attaining to a state in which there is no fear.[1150] On the other
hand, that person who for harshness of speech and severity of temper, is a
source of trouble unto all creatures even as death itself, certainly attains to a
state which abounds with fear. I follow the practices of high-souled and
benevolent men of advanced years who with their children and children‟s children
live in the due observance of the ordinance laid down in the scriptures.[1151] The
eternal practices (laid down in the Vedas) are entirely given up by one who
suffers himself to be stupefied by some errors that he may have noticed in the
conduct of those that are admittedly good and wise. One, however, that is
endued with learning, or one that has subdued one‟s senses, or one that is
possessed of strength of mind, succeeds in attaining to Emancipation, guided by
that very conduct.[1152] That wise man who, having restrained his senses,
practiseth, with a heart cleansed from all desire of injuring others, the conduct
that is followed by those called good, is sure, O Jajali, to acquire the merit of
righteousness (and Emancipation which is its fruits). In this world, as in a river, a
piece of wood that is being borne away by the current as it pleases, is seen to
come into contact (for some time) with another piece that is being similarly borne
away. There, on the current, other pieces of wood that had been joined together,
are seen again to separate from one another. Grass, sticks, and cowdung cakes
are seen to be united together. This union is due to accident and not to purpose
or design.[1153] He of whom no creature is frightened in the least is himself, O
ascetic, never frightened by any creature. He, on the other hand, O learned man,
of whom every creature is frightened as of a wolf, becomes himself filled with fear
as aquatic animals when forced to leap on the shore from fear of the roaring
Vadava fire.[1154] This practice of universal harmlessness hath arisen even
thus. One may follow it by every means in one‟s power. He who has followers
and he who has wealth may seek to adopt it. It is sure to lead also to prosperity
and heaven.[1155] Inconsequence of their ability to dispel the fears of others,
men possessed of wealth and followers are regarded as foremost by the learned.
They that are for ordinary happiness practise this duty of universal harmlessness
for the sake of fame; while they that are truly skilled, practise the same for the
sake of attaining to Brahma.[1156] Whatever fruits one enjoys by penances, by
sacrifices, by practising liberality, by speaking the truth, and by paying court to

wisdom, may all be had by practising the duty of harmlessness. That person who
gives unto all creatures the assurance of harmlessness obtains the merit of all
sacrifices and at last wins fearlessness for himself as his reward. There is no
duty superior to the duty of abstention from injuring other creatures. He of whom,
O great ascetic, no creature is frightened in the least, obtains for himself
fearlessness of all creatures. He of whom everybody is frightened as one is of a
snake ensconced within one‟s (sleeping) chamber, never acquires any merit in
this world or in the next. The very gods, in their search after it, become stupefied
in the track of that person who transcends all states, the person, viz., who
constitutes himself the soul of all creatures and who looketh upon all creatures as
identical with his own self.[1157] Of all gifts, the assurance of harmlessness to all
creatures is the highest (in point of merit). I tell thee truly, believe me, O Jajali!
One who betakes himself to acts at first wins prosperity, but then (upon the
exhaustion of his merit) he once more encounters adversity. Beholding the
destruction of (the merits of) acts, the wise do not applaud acts. There is no duty,
O Jajali, that is not prompted by some motive (of happiness). Duty, however, is
very subtile. Duties have been laid down in the Vedas for the sake of both
Brahma and heaven.[1158] The subject of duties hath many secrets and
mysteries. It is so subtile that it is not easy to understand it fully. Amongst diverse
conflicting ordinances, some succeed in comprehending duty by observing the
acts of the good.[1159] Why dost thou not consume them that emasculate bulls
and bore their noses and cause them to bear heavy burthens and bind them and
put them under diverse kinds of restraint, and that eat the flesh of living creatures
after slaying them? Men are seen to own men as slaves, and by beating, by
binding, and by otherwise subjecting them to restraints, cause them to labour day
and night. These people are not ignorant of the pain that results from beating and
fastening in chains.[1160] In every creature that is endued with the five senses
live all the deities. Surya, Chandramas, the god of wind, Brahman, Prana, Kratu,
and Yama (these dwell in living creatures), There are men that live by trafficking
in living creatures! When they earn a living by such a sinful course, what scruples
need they feel in selling dead carcases? The goat is Agni. The sheep is Varuna.
The horse is Surya. Earth is the deity Virat. The cow and the calf are Soma. The
man who sells these can never obtain success. But what fault can attach to the
sale of oil, or of Ghrita, or honey, or drugs, O regenerate one? There are many
animals that grow up in ease and comfort in places free from gnats and biting
insects. Knowing that they are loved dearly by their mothers, men persecute
them in diverse ways, and lead them into miry spots abounding with biting
insects. Many draft animals are oppressed with heavy burthens. Others, again,
are made to languish in consequence of treatment not sanctioned by the
scriptures. I think that such acts of injury done to animals are in no way
distinguished from foeticide. People regard the profession of agriculture to be
sinless. That profession, however, is certainly fraught with cruelty. The iron-
faced plough wounds the soil and many creatures that live in the soil. Cast thy
eyes, O Jajali, on those bullocks yoked to the plough. Kine are called in the
Srutis the Unslayable. That man perpetrates a great sin who slays a bull or a
cow.[1161] In days of yore, many Rishis with restrained senses addressed

Nahusha, saying, „Thou hast, O king, slain a cow which is declared in the
scriptures to be like unto one‟s mother. Thou hast also slain a bull, which is
declared to be like unto the Creator himself.[1162] Thou hast perpetrated an evil
act, O Nahusha, and we have been exceedingly pained at it.‟ For cleansing
Nahusha, however, they divided that sin into a hundred and one parts and
converting the fragments into diseases cast them among all creatures.[1163]
Thus, O Jajali, did those highly-blessed Rishis cast that sin on all living creatures,
and addressing Nahusha who had been guilty of foeticide, said, „We shall not be
able to pour libations in thy sacrifice.‟ Thus said those high-souled Rishis and
Yatis conversant with the truths of all things, having ascertained by their ascetic
power that king Nahusha had not been intentionally guilty of that sin.[1164]
These, O Jajali, are some of the wicked and dreadful practices that are current in
this world. Thou practisest them because they are practised by all men from
ancient times, and not because they agree with the dictates of thy cleansed
understanding. One should practise what one considers to be one‟s duty, guided
by reasons, instead of blindly following the practices of the world. Listen now, O
Jajali, as to what my behaviour is towards him that injures and him that praises
me. I regard both of them in the same light. I have none whom I like and none
whom I dislike. The wise applauded such a course of conduct as consistent with
duty or religion. Even this course of conduct, which is consistent with reasons, is
followed by Yatis. The righteous always observe it with eyes possessed of
improved vision.‟”
SECTION CCLXIII
“Jajali said, „This course of duty that thou, O holder of scales, preachest, closes
the door of heaven against all creatures and puts a stop to the very means of
their subsistence. From agriculture comes food. That food offers subsistence
even to thee. With the aid of animals and of crops and herbs, human beings, O
trader, are enabled to support their existence. From animals and food sacrifices
flow. Thy doctrines smack of atheism. This world will come to an end if the
means by which life is supported have to be abandoned.‟
“Tuladhara said, „I shall now speak on the object of the means of sustenance. I
am not, O Brahmana, an atheist. I do not blame Sacrifices. The man, however,
is very rare that is truly conversant with Sacrifice. I bow to that Sacrifice which is
ordained for Brahmanas. I bow also to them that are conversant with that
Sacrifice. Alas, the Brahmanas, having given up the Sacrifice that is ordained for
them, have betaken themselves to the performance of Sacrifices that are for
Kshatriyas.[1165] Many persons of faith, O regenerate one, that are covetous
and fond of wealth, without having understood the true meaning of the
declarations of the Srutis, and proclaiming things that are really false but that
have the show of truth, have introduced many kinds of Sacrifices, saying, „This
should be given away in this Sacrifice. This other thing should be given away in
this other Sacrifice. The first of this is very laudable.‟ The consequence, however,

of all this, O Jajali, is that theft and many evil acts spring up.[1166] It should be
known that only that sacrificial offering which was acquired by righteous means
can gratify the gods. There are abundant indications in the scriptures that the
worship of the deities may be accomplished with vows, with libations poured on
the fire, with recitations or chanting of the Vedas, and with plants and herbs.
From their religious acts unrighteous persons get wicked offspring. From
covetous men are born children that are covetous, and from those that are
contented spring children that are contented. If the sacrificer and the priest suffer
themselves to be moved by desire of fruit (in respect of the Sacrifices they
perform or assist in), their children take the stain. If, on the other hand, they do
not yield to desire of fruit, the children born to them become of the same kind.
From Sacrifices spring progeny like clear water from the firmament. The libations
poured on the sacrificial fire rise up to the Sun. From the Sun springs rain. From
rain springs food. From food are born living creatures. In former days, men
righteously devoted to Sacrifices used to obtain therefrom the fruition of all their
wishes. The earth yielded crops without tillage. The blessing uttered by the
Rishis produced herbs and plants.[1167] The men of former times never
performed Sacrifices from desire of fruits and never regarded themselves as
called upon to enjoy those fruits. Those who somehow perform sacrifices,
doubting the while their efficacy take birth in their next lives as dishonest, wily,
and greedy men exceedingly covetous of wealth. That man who by the aid of
false reasoning holds up all the authoritative scriptures as fraught with evil, is
certain to go, for such sinful act of his, into the regions of the sinful. Such a man
is certainly possessed of a sinful soul, O foremost of Brahmanas, and always
remains here, bereft of wisdom.[1168] That man who regards those acts
obligatory which have been laid down in the Vedas and directed to be
accomplished every day, who is penetrated with fear if he fails to accomplish
them any day, who takes all the essentials of Sacrifice as identical with Brahma,
and who never regards himself as the actor, is truly a Brahmana.[1169] If the
acts of such a person become incomplete, or if their completion be obstructed by
all unclean animals, even then those acts are, as heard by us, of superior
efficacy. If, however, those acts are done from desire of fruit (and their
completion be obstructed by such impediments), then expiation would become
necessary. They who covet the acquisition of the highest object of life (viz.,
Emancipation), who are bereft of cupidity in respect of all kinds of worldly wealth,
who discard all provision for the future, and who are freed from envy, betake
themselves to practice of truth and self-restraint as their Sacrifice.[1170] They
that are conversant with the distinction between body and soul, that are devoted
to Yoga, and that meditate on the Pranava, always succeed in gratifying
others.[1171] The universal Brahma (viz., Pranava), which is the soul of the
deities, dwells in him who is conversant with Brahma. When, therefore, such a
man eats and is gratified, all the deities, O Jajali, become gratified and are
contented.[1172] As one who is gratified with all kinds of taste feels no desire for
any particular taste, after the same manner one who is gratified with knowledge
hath everlasting gratification which to him is a source of perfect bliss. Those wise
men who are the refuge of righteousness and whose delight is in righteousness,

are persons that have certain knowledge of what is to be done and what should
not be done. One possessed of such wisdom always regards all things in the
universe to have sprung from his own Self.[1173] Some that are endued with
knowledge, that strive to reach the other shore (of this ocean of life), and that are
possessed of faith, succeed in attaining to the region of Brahman, which is
productive of great blessings, highly sacred, and inhabited by righteous persons,-
-a region which is freed from sorrow, whence there is no return, and where there
is no kind of agitation or pain. Such men do not covet heaven. They do not adore
Brahma in costly sacrifices. They walk along the path of the righteous. The
Sacrifices they perform are performed without injury to any creature.[1174] These
men know trees and herbs and fruits and roots as the only sacrificial offerings.
Covetous priests, for they are desirous of wealth, never officiate at the sacrifices
of these (poor) men. These regenerate men, although all their acts have been
completed, still perform sacrifices from desire of doing good to all creatures and
constituting their own selves as sacrificial offerings.[1175] For this reason,
grasping priests officiate at the Sacrifices of only those misguided persons who,
without endeavouring to attain to Emancipation, seek for heaven. As regards
those, however, that are really good, they always seek, by accomplishing their
own duties, to cause others to ascend to heaven. Looking at both these kinds of
behaviour, O Jajali, I have (abstained from injuring any creature in the world and
have) come to regard all creatures with an equal heart.[1176] Endued with
wisdom, many foremost of Brahmanas perform Sacrifices (which with respect to
their fruits are of two kinds, for some of them lead to Emancipation whence there
is no return, and others lead to regions of bliss whence there is return). By
performing those Sacrifices, they proceed, O great ascetic, along paths trodden
by the gods. Of one class of Sacrificers (viz., they who sacrifice from desire of
fruit) there is return (from the region which they reach). Of those, however, that
are truly wise (viz., those who sacrifice without being urged thereto by desire of
fruit), there is no return. Although both classes of sacrificers, O Jajali, proceed
along the path trodden by the deities (in consequence of the sacrifices they
perform), yet such is the difference between their ultimate ends.[1177] In
consequence of the success that attends the purposes formed in the mind of
such men, bulls, without being forced thereto, willingly set their shoulders to the
plough for assisting at tillage and to the yoke for dragging their cars, and kine
pour forth milk from udders untouched by human hands. Creating sacrificial
stakes (and other necessaries of Sacrifice) by simple flats of the will, they
perform many kinds of Sacrifice well-completed with abundant presents.[1178]
One who is of such a cleansed soul may slaughter a cow (as an offering in
Sacrifice).[1179] They, therefore, that are not of that kind should perform
Sacrifices with herbs and plants (and not animals). Since Renunciation hath such
merit, it is for that reason that I have kept it before my eyes in speaking to
thee.[1180] The gods know him for a Brahmana who has given up all desire of
fruit, who hath no exertion in respect of worldly acts, who never bows down his
head unto any one, who never utters the praises of others, and who is endued
with strength though his acts have all been weakened.[1181] What, O Jajali, will
be the end of him who doth not recite the Vedas, unto others, who doth not

perform Sacrifices (properly), who doth not make gifts unto (deserving)
Brahmanas, and who followeth an avocation in which every kind of desire is
indulged? By properly reverencing, however, the duties that appertain to
Renunciation, one is sure of attaining to Brahma.‟[1182]
“Jajali said, „We had never before, O son of a trader, heard of these recondite
doctrines of ascetics that perform only mental Sacrifices. These doctrines are
exceedingly difficult of comprehension. It is for this reason that I ask thee (about
them). The sages of olden days were not followers of those doctrines of Yoga.
Hence, the sages that have succeeded them have not propounded them (for
general acceptance).[1183] If thou sayest that only men of brutish minds fail to
achieve sacrifices in the soil of the Soul, then, O son of a trader, by what acts
would they succeed in accomplishing their happiness? Tell me this, O thou of
great wisdom! Great is my faith in thy words.‟[1184]
“Tuladhara said, „Sometimes sacrifices performed by some persons do not
become sacrifices (in consequence of the absence of faith of those that perform
them). These men, it should be said, are not worthy of performing any sacrifice
(internal or external). As regards the faithful, however, only one thing, viz., the
cow, is fit for upholding all sacrifices by means of full libations of clarified butter,
milk, and curds, the hair at end of her tail, her horns, and her hoofs.[1185] (The
Vedas declare that sacrifices cannot be performed by an unmarried man). In
performing sacrifices, however, according to the mode I have pointed out (viz., by
abstaining from slaughter of animals and dedicating only clarified butter, etc.),
one may make Faith one‟s wedded wife, for dedicating such (innocent) offerings
to the deities. By duly reverencing such sacrifices, one is sure to attain to
Brahma.[1186] To the exclusion of all animals (which are certainly unclean as
offering in sacrifices), the rice-ball is a worthy offering in sacrifices. All rivers are
as sacred as the Saraswati, and all mountains are sacred. O Jajali, the Soul is
itself a Tirtha. Do not wander about on the earth for visiting sacred places. A
person, by observing these duties (that I have spoken of and that do not involve
injury to other creatures), and by seeking the acquisition of merit agreeably to his
own ability, certainly succeeds in obtaining blessed regions hereafter.‟[1187]
“Bhishma continued, „These are the duties, O Yudhishthira, which Tuladhara
applauded,--duties that are consistent with reason, and that are always observed
by those that are good and wise.‟”
SECTION CCLXIV
“Tuladhara said, „See with thy own eyes, O Jajali, who, viz., those that are good
or those that are otherwise, have adopted this path of duty that I have spoken of.
Thou shalt then understand properly how the truth stands. Behold, many birds
are hovering in the sky. Amongst them are those that were reared on thy head,
as also many hawks and many others of other species. Behold, O Brahmana,
those birds have contracted their wings and legs for entering their respective
nests. Summon them, O regenerate one! There those birds, treated with affection

by thee, are displaying their love for thee that art their father. Without doubt, thou
art their father, O Jajali! Do thou summon thy children.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Then those birds, summoned by Jajali, made answer
agreeably to the dictates of that religion which is not fraught with injury to any
creature.[1188] All acts that are done without injuring any creature become
serviceable (to the doer) both here and hereafter. Those acts, however, that
involve injury to others, destroy faith, and faith being destroyed, involves the
destroyer in ruin. The sacrifices of those that regard acquisition and non-
acquisition in the same light, that are endued with faith that are self-restrained,
that have tranquil minds, and that perform sacrifices from a sense of duty (and
not from desire of fruit), become productive of fruit.[1189] Faith with respect to
Brahma is the daughter of Surya, O regenerate one. She is the protectress and
she is the giver of good birth. Faith is superior to the merit born of (Vedic)
recitations and meditation.[1190] An act vitiated by defect of speech is saved by
Faith. An act vitiated by defect of mind is saved by Faith. But neither speech nor
mind can save an act that is vitiated by want of Faith.[1191] Men conversant with
the occurrences of the past recite in this connection the following verse sung by
Brahman. The offerings in sacrifices of a person that is pure (in body and acts)
but wanting in Faith, and of another that is impure (in respect of their worthiness
of acceptance). The food, again, of a person conversant with the Vedas but
miserly in behaviour, and that of a usurer that is liberal in conduct,[1192] the
deities after careful consideration, had held to be equal (in respect of their
worthiness of acceptance). The‟ Supreme Lord of all creatures (viz., Brahman)
then told them that they had committed an error. The food of a liberal person is
sanctified by Faith. The food, however, of the person that is void of Faith is lost in
consequence of such want of Faith. The food of a liberal usurer is acceptable but
not the food of a miser.[1193] Only one person in the world, viz., he that is bereft
of Faith, is unfit to make offerings to the deities. The food of only such a man is
unfit to be eaten. This is the opinion of men conversant with duties. Want of Faith
is a high sin. Faith is a cleanser of sins. Like a snake casting off its slough, the
man of Faith succeeds in casting off all his sin. The religion of abstention with
Faith is superior to all things considered sacred. Abstaining from all faults of
behaviour, he who betakes himself to Faith, becomes sanctified. What need hath
such a person of penances, or of conduct, or of endurance? Every man has
Faith. Faith, however, is of three kinds, viz., as affected by Sattwa, by Rajas and
by Tamas, and according to the kind of Faith that one has, one is named.
Persons endued with goodness and possessed of insight into the true import of
morality have thus laid down the subject of duties. We have, as the result of our
enquiries, got all this from the sage Dharmadarsana. O thou of great wisdom,
betake thyself to Faith, for thou shalt then obtain that which is superior. He who
has Faith (in the declarations of the Srutis), and who acts according to their
import (in the belief that they are good for him), is certainly of righteous soul. O
Jajali, he who adheres to his own path (under the influence of Faith) is certainly a
superior person.‟
“Bhishma continued, „After a short while, Tuladhara and Jajali, both of whom had
been endued with great wisdom, ascended to heaven and sported there in great

happiness,[1194] having reached their respective places earned by their
respective acts. Many truths of this kind were spoken of by Tuladhara. That
eminent person understood this religion (of abstention from injury) completely.
These eternal duties were accordingly proclaimed by him. The regenerate Jajali,
O son of Kunti, having heard these words of celebrated energy, betook himself to
tranquillity. In this way, many truths of grave import were uttered by Tuladhara,
illustrated by examples for instruction. What other truths dost thou wish to hear?‟”
SECTION CCLXV
“Bhishma said, „In this connection is cited an old narrative of what was recited by
king Vichakhy through compassion for all creatures. Beholding the mangled body
of a bull, and hearing the exceedingly painful groans of the kine in a cow-slaying
sacrifice, and observing the cruel Brahmanas that gathered there for assisting at
the ceremonies, that king[1195] uttered these words, „Prosperity to all the kine in
the world.‟ When the slaughter had commenced, these words expressive of a
blessing (to those helpless animals) were pronounced. And the monarch further
said, „Only those that are transgressors of defined limits, that are destitute of
intelligence, that are atheists and sceptics, and that desire the acquisition of
celebrity through sacrifices and religious rites speak highly of the slaughter of
animals in sacrifices.[1196] The righteous-souled Manu has applauded (the
observance of) harmlessness in all (religious) acts. Indeed, men slaughter
animals in sacrifices, urged by only the desire of fruit.[1197] Hence, guided by
authority (in respect of slaughter and abstention from slaughter or harmlessness)
one conversant (with the scriptures) should practise the true course of duty which
is exceedingly subtile. Harmlessness to all creatures is the highest of all duties.
Living in the vicinity of an inhabited place and injuring oneself to the observance
of rigid vows, and disregarding the fruits indicated of Vedic acts, one should give
up domesticity, adopting a life of Renunciation. Only they that are mean are
urged by the desire of fruit.[1198] Reverentially mentioning sacrifices and trees
and sacrificial stakes, men do not eat tainted meat. This practice, however, is not
worthy of applause.[1199] Wine, fish, honey, meat, alcohol, and preparations of
rice and sesame seeds, have been introduced by knaves. The use of these (in
sacrifices) is not laid down in the Vedas. The hankering after these arises from
pride, error of judgment, and cupidity. They that are true Brahmanas realise the
presence of Vishnu in every sacrifice. His worship, it has been laid down, should
be made with agreeable Payasa. (The leaves and flowers of) such trees as have
been indicated in the Vedas, whatever act is regarded as worthy and whatever
else is held as pure by persons of pure hearts and cleansed natures and those
eminent for knowledge and holiness, are all worthy of being offered to the
Supreme Deity and not unworthy of His acceptance.‟[1200]
“Yudhishthira said, „The body and all sorts of dangers and calamities are
continually at war with each other. How, therefore, will a person who is totally

free from the desire of harming and who on this account will not be able to act,
succeed in keeping up his body?‟[1201]
“Bhishma said, „One should, when able, acquire merit and act in such a way that
one‟s body may not languish and suffer pain, and that death may not
come.‟”[1202]
SECTION CCLXVI
“Yudhishthira said, „Thou, O grandsire, art our highest preceptor in the matter of
all acts that are difficult of accomplishment (in consequence of the commands of
superiors on the one hand and the cruelty that is involved in them on the other). I
ask, how should one judge of an act in respect of either one‟s obligation to do it
or of abstaining from it? Is it to be judged speedily or with delay?‟
“Bhishma said, „In this connection is cited the old story of what occurred with
respect to Chirakarin born in the race of Angirasa. Twice blessed be the man that
reflects long before he acts. One that reflects long before he acts is certainly
possessed of great intelligence. Such a man never offends in respect of any act.
There was once a man of great wisdom, of the name of Chirakarin, who was the
son of Gautama. Reflecting for a long time upon every consideration connected
with proposed acts, he used to do all he had to do. He came to be called by the
name of Chirakarin because he used to reflect long upon all matters, to remain
awake for a long time, to sleep for a long time, and to take a long time in setting
himself to the accomplishment of such acts as he accomplished. The clamour of
being an idle man stuck to him. He was also regarded as a foolish person, by
every person of a light understanding and destitute of foresight. On a certain
occasion, witnessing an act of great fault in his wife, the sire Gautama passing
over his other children, commanded in wrath this Chirakarin, saying, „Slay thou
this woman.‟ Having said these words without much reflection, the learned
Gautama, that foremost of persons engaged in the practice of Yoga, that highly
blessed ascetic, departed for the woods. Having after a long while assented to it,
saying, „So be it,‟ Chirakarin, in consequence of his very nature, and owing to his
habit of never accomplishing any act without long reflection, began to think for a
long while (upon the propriety or otherwise of what he was commanded by his
sire to do). How shall I obey the command of my sire and yet how avoid slaying
my mother? How shall I avoid sinking, like a wicked person, into sin in this
situation in which contradictory obligations are dragging me into opposite
directions? Obedience to the commands of the sire constitutes the highest merit.
The protection of the mother again is a clear duty. The status of a son is fraught
with dependence. How shall I avoid being afflicted by sin? Who is there that can
be happy after having slain a woman, especially his mother? Who again can
obtain prosperity and fame by disregarding his own sire? Regard for the sire‟s
behest is obligatory. The protection of my mother is equally a duty. How shall I so
frame my conduct that both obligations may be discharged? The father places
his own self within the mother‟s womb and takes birth as the son, for continuing

his practices, conduct, name and race. I have been begotten as a son by both
my mother and my father. Knowing as I do my own origin, why should I not have
this knowledge (of my relationship with both of them)? The words uttered by the
sire while performing the initial rite after birth, and those that were uttered by him
on the occasion of the subsidiary rite (after the return from the preceptor‟s abode)
are sufficient (evidence) for settling the reverence due to him and indeed, confirm
the reverence actually paid to him.[1203] In consequence of his bringing up the
son and instructing him, the sire is the son‟s foremost of superiors and the
highest religion. The very Vedas lay it down as certain that the son should regard
what the sire says as his highest duty. Unto the sire the son is only a source of
joy. Unto the son, however, the sire is all in all. The body and all else that the son
owns have the sire alone for their giver. Hence, the behests of the sire should be
obeyed without ever questioning them in the least. The very sins of one that
obeys one‟s sire are cleansed (by such obedience). The sire is the giver of all
articles of food, of instructions in the Vedas, and of all other knowledge regarding
the world. (Prior to the son‟s birth) the sire is the performer of such rites as
Garbhadhana and Simantonnayana.[1204] The sire is religion. The sire is
heaven. The sire is the highest penance. The sire being gratified, all the deities
are gratified. Whatever words are pronounced by the sire become blessings that
attach to the son. The words expressive of joy that the sire utters cleanse the son
of all his sins. The flower is seen to fall away from the stalk. The fruit is seen to
fall away from the tree. But the sire, whatever his distress, moved by parental
affection, never abandons the son. These then are my reflections upon the
reverence due from the son to the sire. Unto the son the sire is not an ordinary
object. I shall now think upon (what is due to) the mother. Of this union of the five
(primal) elements in me due to my birth as a human being, the mother is the
(chief) cause as the firestick of fire.[1205] The mother is as the fire-stick with
respect to the bodies of all men. She is the panacea for all kinds of calamities.
The existence of the mother invests one with protection; the reverse deprives
one of all protection. The man who, though divested of prosperity, enters his
house, uttering the words, „O mother!‟—hath not to indulge in grief. Nor doth
decrepitude ever assail him. A person whose mother exists, even if he happens
to be possessed of sons and grandsons and even if he counts a hundred years,
looks like a child of but two years of age. Able or disabled, lean or robust, the son
is always protected by the mother. None else, according to the ordinance, is the
son‟s protector. Then doth the son become old, then doth he become stricken
with grief, then doth the world look empty in his eyes, when he becomes deprived
of his mother. There is no shelter (protection against the sun) like the mother.
There is no refuge like the mother. There is no defence like the mother. There is
no one so dear as the mother. For having borne him in her womb the mother is
the son‟s Dhatri. For having been the chief cause of his birth, she is his Janani.
For having nursed his young limbs into growth, she is called Amva. For bringing
forth a child possessed of courage she is called Virasu. For nursing and looking
after the son she is called Sura. The mother is one‟s own body. What rational
man is there that would slay his mother, to whose care alone it is due that his
own head did not lie on the street-side like a dry gourd? When husband and wife

unite themselves for procreation, the desire cherished with respect to the
(unborn) son are cherished by both, but in respect of their fruition more depends
upon the mother than on the sire.[1206] The mother knows the family in which
the son is born and the father who has begotten him. From the moment of
conception the mother begins to show affection to her child and takes delight in
her. (For this reason, the son should behave equally towards her). On the other
hand, the scriptures declare that the offspring belongs to the father alone. If men,
after accepting the hands of wives in marriage and pledging themselves to earn
religious merit without being dissociated from them, seek congress with other
people‟s wives, they then cease to be worthy of respect.[1207] The husband,
because he supports the wife, is called Bhartri, and, because he protects her, he
is on that account called Pati. When these two functions disappear from him, he
ceases to be both Bhartri and Pati.[1208] Then again woman can commit no
fault. It is man only that commits faults. By perpetrating an act of adultery, the
man only becomes stained with guilt.[1209] It has been said that the husband is
the highest object with the wife and the highest deity to her. My mother gave up
her sacred person to one that came to her in the form and guise of her husband.
Women can commit no fault. It is man who becomes stained with fault. Indeed, in
consequence of the natural weakness of the sex as displayed in every act, and
their liability to solicitation, women cannot be regarded as offenders. Then again
the sinfulness (in this case) is evident of Indra himself who (by acting in the way
he did) caused the recollection of the request that had been made to him in days
of yore by woman (when a third part of the sin of Brahmanicide of which Indra
himself was guilty was cast upon her sex). There is no doubt that my mother is
innocent. She whom I have been commanded to slay is a woman. That woman
is again my mother. She occupies, therefore, a place of greater reverence. The
very beasts that are irrational know that the mother is unslayable. The sire must
be known to be a combination of all the deities together. To the mother, however,
attaches a combination of all mortal creatures and all the deities.[1210]--In
consequence of his habit of reflecting long before acting, Gautama‟s son
Chirakarin, by indulging in those reflections, passed a long while (without
accomplishing the act he had been commanded by his sire to accomplish).
When many days had expired, his sire Gautama‟s returned. Endued with great
wisdom, Medhatithi of Gautama‟s race, engaged in the practice of penances,
came back (to his retreat), convinced, after having reflected for that long time, of
the impropriety of the chastisement he had commanded to be inflicted upon his
wife. Burning with grief and shedding copious tears, for repentance had come to
him in consequence of the beneficial effects of that calmness of temper which is
brought about by a knowledge of the scriptures, he uttered these words, „The lord
of the three worlds, viz., Purandara, came to my retreat, in the guise of a
Brahmana asking for hospitality. He was received by me with (proper) words, and
honoured with a (proper) welcome, and presented in due form with water to wash
his feet and the usual offerings of the Arghya. I also granted him the rest he had
asked for. I further told him that I had obtained a protector in him. I thought that
such conduct on my part would induce him to behave towards me as a friend.
When, however, notwithstanding all this, he misbehaved himself, my wife Ahalya

could not be regarded to have committed any fault. It seems that neither my wife,
nor myself, nor Indra himself who while passing through the sky had beheld my
wife (and become deprived of his senses by her extraordinary beauty), could be
held to have offended. The blame really attaches to the carelessness of my Yoga
puissance.[1211] The sages have said that all calamities spring from envy,
which, in its turn, arises from error of judgment. By that envy, also, I have been
dragged from where I was and plunged into an ocean of sin (in the form of wife-
slaughter). Alas, I have slain a woman,--a woman that is again my wife—one,
that is, who, in consequence of her sharing her lord‟s calamities came to be
called by the name of Vasita,--one that was called Bharya owing to the obligation
I was under of supporting her. Who is there that can rescue me from this sin?
Acting heedlessly I commanded the high-souled Chirakarin (to slay that wife of
mine). If on the present occasion he proves true to his name then may he rescue
me from this guilt. Twice blessed be thou, O Chirakaraka! If on this occasion
thou hast delayed accomplishing the work, then art thou truly worthy of thy name.
Rescue me, and thy mother, and the penances I have achieved, as also thy own
self, from grave sins. Be thou really a Chirakaraka today! Ordinarily, in
consequence of thy great wisdom thou takest a long time for reflection before
achieving any act. Let not thy conduct be otherwise today! Be thou a true
Chirakaraka today. Thy mother had expected thy advent for a long time. For a
long time did she bear thee in her womb. O Chirakaraka, let thy habit of reflecting
long before acting be productive of beneficial results today. Perhaps, my son
Chirakaraka is delaying today (to achieve my bidding) in view of the sorrow it
would cause me (to see him execute that bidding). Perhaps, he is sleeping over
that bidding, bearing it in his heart (without any intention of executing it promptly).
Perhaps, he is delaying, in view of the grief it would cause both him and me,
reflecting upon the circumstances of the case.‟ Indulging in such repentance, O
king, the great Rishi Gautama then beheld his son Chirakarin sitting near him.
Beholding his sire come back to their abode, the son Chirakarin, overwhelmed
with grief, cast away the weapon (he had taken up) and bowing his head began
to pacify Gautama. Observing his son prostrated before him with bent head, and
beholding also his wife almost petrified with shame, the Rishi became filled with
great joy. From that time the highsouled Rishi, dwelling in that lone hermitage,
did not live separately from his spouse or his heedful son. Having uttered the
command that his wife should be slain he had gone away from his retreat for
accomplishing some purpose of his own. Since that time his son had stood in an
humble attitude, weapon in hand, for executing that command on his mother.
Beholding that his son prostrated at his feet, the sire thought that, struck with
fear, he was asking for pardon for the offence he had committed in taking up a
weapon (for killing his own mother). The sire praised his son for a long time, and
smelt his head for a long time, and for a long time held him in a close embrace,
and blessed him, uttering the words, „Do thou live long!‟ Then, filled with joy and
contented with what had occurred, Gautama, O thou of great wisdom, addressed
his son and said these words, „Blessed be thou, O Chirakaraka! Do thou always
reflect long before acting. By thy delay in accomplishing my bidding thou hast
today made me happy for ever.‟ That learned and best of Rishis then uttered

these verses upon the subject of the merits of such cool men as reflect for a long
time before setting their hands to any action. If the matter is the death of a friend,
one should accomplish it after a long while. If it is the abandonment of a project
already begun, one should abandon it after a long while. A friendship that is
formed after a long examination lasts for a long time. In giving way to wrath, to
haughtiness, to pride, to disputes, to sinful acts, and in accomplishing all
disagreeable tasks he that delays long deserves applause. When the offence is
not clearly proved against a relative, a friend, a servant, or a wife, he that reflects
long before inflicting the punishment is applauded.‟ Thus, O Bharata, was
Gautama pleased with his son, O thou of Kuru‟s race, for that act of delay on the
latter‟s part in doing the former‟s bidding. In all acts a man should, in this way,
reflect for a long time and then settle what he should do. By conducting himself in
this way one is sure to avoid grief for a long time. That man who never nurses his
wrath for a long while, who reflects for a long time before setting himself to the
performance of any act, never does any act which brings repentance. One
should wait for a long while upon those that are aged, and sitting near them show
them reverence. One should attend to one‟s duties for a long time and be
engaged for a long while in ascertaining them. Waiting for a long time upon those
that are learned, are reverentially serving for a long time those that are good in
behaviour, and keeping one‟s soul for a long while under proper restraint, one
succeeds in enjoying the respect of the world for a long time. One engaged in
instructing others on the subject of religion and duty, should, when asked by
another for information on those subjects, take a long time to reflect before giving
an answer. He may then avoid indulging in repentance (for returning an incorrect
answer whose practical consequences may lead to sin).—As regards Gautama
of austere penances, that Rishi, having adored the deities for a long while in that
retreat of his, at last ascended to heaven with his son.‟”
SECTION CCLXVII
“Yudhishthira said, „How, indeed, should the king protect his subjects without
injuring anybody. I ask thee this, O grandsire, tell me, O foremost of good men!‟
“Bhishma said, „In this connection is cited the old narrative of the conversation
between Dyumatsena and king Satyavat. We have heard that upon a certain
number of individuals having been brought out for execution at the command of
his sire (Dyumatsena), prince Satyavat said certain words that had never before
been said by anybody else.[1212] „Sometimes righteousness assumes the form
of iniquity, and iniquity assumes the form of righteousness. It can never be
possible that the killing of individuals can ever be a righteous act.‟
“Dyumatsena said, „If the sparing of those that deserve to be slain be
righteousness, if robbers be spared, O Satyavat, then all distinctions (between
virtue and vice) would disappear. „This is mine‟,--„This (other) is not his‟—ideas
like these (with respect to property) will not (if the wicked be not punished) prevail
in the Kali age. (If the wicked be not punished) the affairs of the world will come

to a deadlock. If thou knowest how the world may go on (without punishing the
wicked), then discourse to me upon it.‟
“Satyavat said, „The three other orders (viz., the Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and
Sudras) should be placed under the control of the Brahmanas. If those three
orders be kept within the bonds of righteousness, then the subsidiary classes
(that have sprung from intermixture) will imitate them in their practices. Those
amongst them that will transgress (the commands of the Brahmanas) shall be
reported to the king.—„This one heeds not my commands,‟—upon such a
complaint being preferred by a Brahmana, the king shall inflict punishment upon
the offender. Without destroying the body of the offender the king should do that
unto him which is directed by the scriptures. The king should not act otherwise,
neglecting to reflect properly upon the character of the offence and upon the
science of morality. By slaying the wicked, the king (practically) slays a large
number of individuals that are innocent. Behold, by slaying a single robber, his
wife, mother, father and children are all slain (because they become deprived of
the means of life). When injured by a wicked person, the king should, therefore,
reflect deeply on the question of chastisement.[1213] Sometimes a wicked man
is seen to imbibe good behaviour from a righteous person. Then again from
persons that are wicked, good children may be seen to spring. The wicked,
therefore, should not be torn up by the roots. The extermination of the wicked is
not consistent with eternal practice. By smiting them gently they may be made to
expiate their offences. By depriving them of all their wealth, by chains and
immurement in dungeons, by disfiguring them (they may be made to expiate their
guilt). Their relatives should not be persecuted by the infliction of capital
sentences on them. If in the presence of the Purohita and others,[1214] they give
themselves up to him from desire of protection, and swear, saying, „O Brahmana,
we shall never again commit any sinful act,‟ they would then deserve to be let off
without any punishment. This is the command of the Creator himself. Even the
Brahmana that wears a deer-skin and the wand of (mendicancy) and has his
head shaved, should be punished (when he transgresses).[1215] If great men
transgress, their chastisement should be proportionate to their greatness. As
regards them that offend repeatedly, they do not deserve to be dismissed without
punishment as on the occasion of their first offence.‟[1216] “Dyumatsena said,
„As long as those barriers within which men should be kept are not transgressed,
so long are they designated by the name of Righteousness. If they who
transgressed those, barriers were not punished with death, those barriers would
soon be destroyed. Men of remote and remoter times were capable of being
governed with ease.[1217] They were very truthful (in speech and conduct). They
were little disposed to disputes and quarrels. They seldom gave way to anger, or,
if they did, their wrath never became ungovernable. In those days the mere
crying of fie on offenders was sufficient punishment. After this came the
punishment represented by harsh speeches or censures. Then followed the
punishment of fines and forfeitures. In this age, however, the punishment of
death has become current. The measure of wickedness has increased to such
an extent that by slaying one others cannot be restrained.[1218] The robber has
no connection with men, with the deities, with the Gandharvas, and with the

Pitris. What is he to whom? He is not anybody to any one. This is the declaration
of the Srutis.[1219] The robber takes away the ornaments of corpses from
cemeteries, and swearing apparel from men afflicted by spirits (and, therefore,
deprived of senses). That man is a fool who would make any covenant with those
miserable wretches or exact any oath from them (for relying upon it).‟[1220]
“Satyavat said, „If thou dost not succeed in making honest men of those rogues
and in saving them by means unconnected with slaughter, do thou then
exterminate them by performing some sacrifice.[1221] Kings practise severe
austerities for the sake of enabling their subjects go on prosperously in their
avocations. When thieves and robbers multiply in their kingdoms they become
ashamed.. They, therefore, betake themselves to penances for suppressing
thefts and robberies and making their subjects live happily. Subjects can be
made honest by being only frightened (by the king). Good kings never slay the
wicked from motives of retribution. (On the other hand, if they slay, they slay in
sacrifices, when the motive is to do good to the slain), Good kings abundantly
succeed in ruling their subjects properly with the aid of good conduct (instead of
cruel or punitive inflictions). If the king acts properly, the superior subjects imitate
him. The inferior people, again in their turn, imitate their immediate superiors.
Men are so constituted that they imitate those whom they regard as their
superiors.[1222] That king who, without restraining himself, seeks to restrain
others (from evil ways) becomes an object of laughter with all men in
consequence of his being engaged in the enjoyment of all worldly pleasures as a
slave of his senses. That man who, through arrogance or error of judgment,
offends against the king in any way, should be restrained by every means. It is by
this way that he is prevented from committing offences anew. The king should
first restrain his own self if he desires to restrain others that offend. He should
punish heavily (if necessary) even friends and near relatives. In that kingdom
where a vile offender does not meet with heavy afflictions, offences increase and
righteousness decreases without doubt. Formerly, a Brahmana. endued with
clemency and possessed of learning, taught me this. Verily, to this effect, O sire,
I have been instructed by also our grandsire of olden days, who gave such
assurances of harmlessness to people, moved by pity. Their words were, „In the
Krita age, kings should rule their subjects by adopting ways that are entirely
harmless. In the Treta age, kings conduct themselves according to ways that
conform with righteousness fallen away by a fourth from its full complement. In
the Dwapara age, they proceed according to ways conforming with
righteousness fallen away by a moiety, and in the age that follows, according to
ways conforming with righteousness fallen away by three-fourth. When the Kati
age sets in, through the wickedness of kings and in consequence of the nature of
the epoch itself, fifteen parts of even that fourth portion of righteousness
disappear, a sixteenth portion thereof being all that then remains of it. If, O
Satyavat, by adopting the method first mentioned (viz., the practice of
harmlessness), confusion sets in, the king, considering the period of human life,
the strength of human beings, and the nature of the time that has come, should
award punishments.[1223] Indeed, Manu, the son of the Self-born, has, through
compassion for human beings, indicated the way by means of which men may

adhere to knowledge (instead of harmfulness) for the sake of
emancipation.‟”[1224]
SECTION CCLXVIII
“Yudhishthira said, „Thou hast already explained to me, O grandsire, how the
religion of Yoga, which leads to the six well-known attributes, may be adopted
and practised without injuring any creature. Tell me, O grandsire, of that religion
which leads to both results, viz., Enjoyment and Emancipation. Amongst these
two, viz., the duties of domesticity and those of Yoga, both of which lead to the
same end, which is superior?‟
“Bhishma said, „Both courses of duty are highly blessed. Both are extremely
difficult of accomplishment. Both are productive of high fruits. Both are practised
by those that are admittedly good. I shall presently discourse to thee on the
authoritativeness of both those courses of duty, for dispelling thy doubts about
their true import. Listen to me with concentrated attention. In this connection is
instanced the old narrative of the discourse between Kapila and the cow. Listen
to it, O Yudhishthira![1225] It has been heard by us that in days of old when the
deity Tvashtri came to the place of king Nahusha, the latter, for discharging the
duties of hospitality, was on the point of killing a cow agreeably to the true,
ancient, and eternal injunction of the Vedas. Beholding that cow tied for
slaughter, Kapila of liberal soul, ever observant of the duties of Sattwa, always
engaged in restraining his senses, possessed of true knowledge, and
abstemious in diet, having acquired an excellent understanding that was
characterised by faith, perfectly fearless, beneficial, firm, and ever directed
towards truth, uttered this word once, viz.,--„Alas ye Vedas!‟—At that time a Rishi,
of the name of Syumarasmi, entering (by Yoga power) the form of that cow,
addressed the Yati Kapila, saying, „Hist O Kapila! If the Vedas be deserving (in
consequence of those declarations in them that sanction the slaughter of living
creatures), whence have those other duties (fraught with entire harmlessness to
all creatures) come to be regarded as authoritative?[1226] Men devoted to
penances and endued with intelligence, and who have the Srutis and knowledge
for their eyes, regard the injunctions of the Vedas, which have been declared
through and compiled by the Rishis, to be the words of God himself.[1227] What
can anybody say (by way of censure or praise) with respect to the contents of the
Vedas when these happen to be the words of the Supreme Being himself who is
freed from desire of fruit, who is without the fever (of envy and aversion), who is
addicted to nothing, and who is destitute of all exertion (in consequence of the
immediate fruition of all his wishes)?‟
“Kapila said, „I do not censure the Vedas. I do not wish to say anything in
derogation of them. It hath been heard by us that the different courses of duty
laid down for the different modes of life, all lead to the same end. The Sannyasin
attains to a high end. The forest-recluse also attains to a high end. Both the other
two also, viz., the householder and the Brahmacharin, reach the same end. All

the four modes of life have always been regarded as Deva-yana ways. The
relative strength or weakness of these, as represented by their relative
superiority or inferiority, hath been declared in the character of their respective
ends.[1228]--Knowing these, accomplish acts which lead to heaven and other
blessings,--this is a Vedic declaration.—Do not accomplish acts,--this also is
another binding declaration of the Vedas. If abstention from acts be meritorious,
then their accomplishment must be exceedingly reprehensible. When the
scriptures stand thus, the strength or weakness of particular declarations must be
very difficult to ascertain. If thou knowest of any course of duty which is superior
to the religion of harmlessness, and which depends upon direct evidence instead
of that of the scriptures, do thou then discourse to me upon it.‟
“Syumarasmi said, „One should perform sacrifice from desire of heaven,--this
Sruti is constantly heard by us. Thinking first of the fruit (that is to be attained),
one makes preparations for sacrifice. Goat, horse, cow, all species of birds,
domestic or wild, and herbs and plants, are food of (other) living creatures. This
is heard by us.[1229] Food again has been directed to be taken day after day
morning and evening. Then again the Sruti declares that animals and grain are
the limbs of Sacrifice.[1230] The Lord of the universe created them along with
Sacrifice. The puissant Lord of all creatures caused the deities to perform
sacrifices with their aid. Altogether seven (domestic) and seven (wild) animals
are indicated as fit for sacrifice. Instead of all being equally fit, each succeeding
one is inferior to each preceding one. The Vedas again declare that the whole
universe is appointed for sacrifice. Him also that is called Purusha the Vedas
have appointed for the same purpose.[1231] This again hath been sanctioned by
men of remote and remoter times. What man of learning is there that does not
select, according to his own ability, individuals from among living creatures for
sacrifice?[1232] The inferior animals, human beings, trees, and herbs, all wish for
the attainment of heaven. There is no means, however, except sacrifice, by
which they can obtain the fruition of that desire. The deciduous herbs, animals,
trees, creepers, clarified butter, milk, curds, meat and other approved things (that
are poured on the sacrificial fire), land, the points of the compass, faith, and time
which brings up the tale of twelve, the Richs, the Yajuses, the Samans, and the
sacrificer himself bringing up the tale to sixteen, and Fire which should be known
as the householder,--these seventeen are said to be the limbs of sacrifice.
Sacrifice, the Sruti declares, is the root of the world and its course. With clarified
butter, milk, curds, dung, curds mixed with milk, skin, the hair in her tail, horns,
and hoofs, the cow alone is able to furnish all the necessaries of sacrifice.
Particular ones amongst these that are laid down for particular sacrifices,
coupled with Ritwijas and presents (to the priests themselves and other
Brahmanas) together sustain sacrifices.[1233] By collecting these things
together, people accomplish sacrifices[1234]. This Sruti, consistent with the truth,
is heard that all things have been created for the performance of sacrifice. It was
thus that all men of ancient time set themselves to the performance of sacrifices.
As regards that person, however, who performs sacrifices because of the
conviction that sacrifices should be performed and not for the sake of fruit or
reward, it is seen that he does not injure any creature or bear himself with

hostility to anything, or set himself to the accomplishment of any worldly
task.[1235] Those things that have been named as the limbs of sacrifice, and
those other things that have been mentioned as required in sacrifices and that
are indicated in the ordinances, all uphold one another (for the completion of
sacrifices) when used according to the approved ritual.[1236] I behold also the
Smritis compiled by he Rishis, into which the Vedas have been introduced. Men
of learning regard them as authoritative in consequence of their following the
Brahmanas.[1237] Sacrifices have the Brahmanas for that progenitor, and truly
they rest upon the Brahmanas. The whole universe rests upon sacrifice, and
sacrifice rests upon the universe.[1238] The syllable Om is the root from which
the Vedas have sprung. (Every rite, therefore, should commence with the
utterance of that syllable of vast import). Of him who has uttered for him the
syllables Om, Namas, Swaha, Svadha, and Vashat, and who has, according to
the extent of his ability, performed sacrifices and other rites, there is no fear in
respect of next life in all the three worlds. Thus say the Vedas, and sages
crowned with ascetic success, and the foremost of Rishis. He in whom are the
Richs, the Yajuses, the Samans, and the expletives necessary for completing the
rhythm of the Samans according to the rules laid down in Vedic grammars, is,
indeed, a Brahmana.[1239] Thou knowest, O adorable Brahmana, what the fruits
are of Agnihotra, of the Soma-sacrifice, and of the other great sacrifices. I say,
for this reason, one should sacrifice and assist at other people‟s sacrifices,
without scruples of any kind. One who performs such sacrifices as lead to
heaven (such as Jyotishtoma, etc.) obtains high rewards hereafter in the form of
heavenly beatitude. This is certain, viz., that they who do not perform sacrifices
have neither this world nor the next. They who are really conversant with the
declarations of the Vedas regard both kinds of declarations (viz., those that incite
to acts and those that preach abstention) as equally authoritative.‟”
SECTION CCLXIX
“Kapila said, „Beholding that all the fruits that are attainable by acts are
terminable instead of being eternal, Yatis, by adopting self-restraint and
tranquillity, attain to Brahma through the path of knowledge. There is nothing in
any of the worlds that can impede them (for by mere fiats of their will they crown
all their wishes with success). They are freed from the influence of all pairs of
opposites. They never bow down their heads to anything or any creature. They
are above all the bonds of want. Wisdom is theirs. Cleansed they are from every
sin. Pure and spotless they live and rove about (in great happiness). They have,
in their own understandings, arrived at settled conclusions in respect of all
destructible objects and of a life of Renunciation (by comparing the two together).
Devoted to Brahma, already become like unto Brahma, they have taken refuge in
Brahma. Transcending grief, and freed from (the equality of) Rajas, theirs are
acquisitions that are eternal. When the high end that is these men‟s is within
reach of attainment, what need has one for practising the duties of the domestic
mode of life?‟[1240]

“Syumarasmi said, „If, indeed, that be the highest object of acquisition, if that be
truly the highest end (which is attained by practising Renunciation) then the
importance of the domestic mode of life becomes manifest, because without the
domestic mode no other mode of life ever becomes possible. Indeed, as all living
creatures are able to live in consequence of their dependence on their respective
mothers, after the same manner the three other modes of life exist in
consequence of their dependence upon the domestic mode. The householder
who leads the life of domesticity, performs sacrifices, and practises penances.
Whatever is done by anybody from desire of happiness has for its root the
domestic mode of life. All living creatures regard the procreation of offspring as a
source of great happiness. The procreation of offspring, however, becomes
impossible in any other mode of life (than domesticity). Every kind of grass and
straw, all plants and herbs (that yield corn or grain), and others of the same class
that grow on hills and mountains, have the domestic mode of life for their root.
Upon those depend the life of living creatures. And since nothing else is seen (in
the universe) than life, domesticity may be looked upon as the refuge of the
entire universe.[1241] Who then speaks the truth that says that domesticity
cannot lead to the acquisition of Emancipation? Only those that are destitute of
faith and wisdom and penetration, only those that are destitute of reputation that
are idle and toil-worn, that have misery for their share in consequence of their
past acts, only those that are destitute of learning, behold the plenitude of
tranquillity in a life of mendicancy. The eternal and certain distinctions (laid down
in the Vedas) are the causes that sustain the three worlds. That illustrious person
of the highest order who is conversant with the Vedas, is worshipped from the
very date of his birth. Besides the performance of Garbhadhana, Vedic mantras
become necessary for enabling persons of the regenerate classes to accomplish
all their acts in respect of both this and the other world.[1242] In cremating his
body (after death), in the matter of his attainment of a second body, in that of his
drink and food after such attainment, in that of giving away kine and other
animals for helping him to cross the river that divides the region of life from that
of Yama, in that of sinking funeral cakes in water—Vedic mantras are necessary.
Then again the three classes of Pitris, viz., the Archishmats, the Varhishads, and
the Kravyads, approve of the necessity of mantras in the case of the dead, and
mantras are allowed to be efficient causes (for attainment of the objects for which
these ceremonies and rites have been directed to be performed). When the
Vedas say this so loudly and when again human beings are said to owe debts to
the Pitris, the Rishis, and the gods, how can any one attain to
Emancipation?[1243] This false doctrine (of incorporeal existence called
Emancipation), apparently dressed in colours of truth, but subversive of the real
purport of the declarations of the Vedas, has been introduced by learned men
reft of prosperity and eaten up by idleness. That Brahmana who performs
sacrifices according to the declarations of the Vedas is never seduced by sin.
Through sacrifices, such a person attains to high regions of felicity along with the
animals he has slain in those sacrifices, and himself, gratified by the acquisition
of all his wishes succeeds in gratifying those animals by fulfilling their wishes. By
disregarding the Vedas, by guile, or by deception, one never succeeds in

attaining to the Supreme. On the other hand, it is by practising the rites laid down
in the Vedas that one succeeds in attaining to Brahma.‟
“Kapila said, „(If acts are obligatory, then) there are the Darsa, the Paurnamasa,
the Agnihotra, the Chaturmasya, and other acts for the man of intelligence. In
their performance is eternal merit. (Why then perform acts involving cruelty)?
Those that have betaken themselves to the Sannyasa, mode of life, that abstain
from all acts, that are endued with patience, that are cleansed (of wrath and
every fault), and that are conversant with Brahma, succeed by such knowledge
of Brahma in paying off the debts (thou speakest of) to the gods (the Rishis, and
the Pitris) represented to be so very fond of libations poured in sacrifices.[1244]
The very gods become stupefied in tracing the track of that trackless person who
constitutes himself the soul of all creatures and who looks upon all creatures with
an equal eye. Through instructions received from the preceptor one knows that
which dwells within this frame to be of a four-fold nature, having besides four
doors and four mouths. In consequence of (their possession of) two arms, the
organ of speech, the stomach, and the organ of pleasure, the very gods are said
to have four doors. One should, therefore, strive one‟s best to keep those doors
under control.[1245] One should not gamble with dice. One should not
appropriate what belongs to another. One should not assist at the sacrifice of a
person of ignoble birth. One should not, giving way to wrath, smite another with
hands or feet. That intelligent man who conducts himself in this way is said to
have his hands and feet well-controlled. One should not indulge in vociferous
abuse or censure. One should not speak words that are vain. One should
forbear from knavery and from calumniating others. One should observe the vow
of truthfulness, be sparing of speech, and always heedful.‟ By conducting oneself
in this way one will have one‟s organ of speech well-restrained. One should not
abstain entirely from food. One should not eat too much. One should give up
covetousness, and always seek the companionship of the good. One should eat
only so much as is needed for sustaining life. By conducting oneself in this way
one succeeds in properly controlling the door represented by one‟s stomach.
One should not, O hero, lustfully take another wife when one has a wedded
spouse (with whom to perform all religious acts). One should never summon a
woman to bed except in her season. One should confine oneself to one‟s own
wedded spouse without seeking congress with other women. By conducting
oneself in this way one is said to have one‟s organ of pleasure properly
controlled. That man of wisdom is truly a regenerate person who has all his four
doors, viz., the organ of pleasure, the stomach, the two arms (and two feet), and
the organ of speech, properly controlled. Everything becomes useless of that
person whose doors are not well-controlled. What can the penance of such a
man do? What can his sacrifices bring about? What cart be achieved by his
body? The gods know him for a Brahmana who has cast off his upper garment,
who sleeps on the bare ground, who makes his arm a pillow, and whose heart is
possessed of tranquillity.[1246] That person who, devoted to contemplation,
singly enjoys all the happiness that wedded couples enjoy, and who turns not his
attention to the joys and griefs of others, should be known for a Brahmana.[1247]
That man who rightly understands all this as it exists in reality and its multiform

transformations, and who knows what the end is of all created objects, is known
by the gods for a Brahmana.[1248] One who hath no fear from any creature and
from whom no creature hath any fear and who constitutes himself the soul of all
creatures, should be known for a Brahmana. Without having acquired purity of
heart which is the true result of all pious acts such as gifts and sacrifices, men of
foolish understandings do not succeed in obtaining a knowledge of what is
needed in making one a Brahmana even when explained by preceptors.
Destitute of a knowledge of all this, these men desire fruits of a different kind,
viz., heaven and its joys.[1249] Unable to practise even a small part of that good
conduct which has come down from remote times, which is eternal, which is
characterised by certitude, which enters as a thread in all our duties, and by
adopting which men of knowledge belonging to all the modes of life convert their
respective duties and penances into terrible weapons for destroying the
ignorance and evils of worldliness, men of foolish understandings regard acts
that are productive of visible fruits, that are fraught with the highest puissance,
and that are deathless, as fruitless after all and as deviations (from the proper
course) not sanctioned by the scriptures. In truth, however, that conduct,
embracing as it does practices the very opposite of those that are seen in
seasons of distress, is the very essence of heedfulness and is never affected by
lust and wrath and other passions of a similar kind.[1250] As regards sacrifices
again, it is very difficult to ascertain all their particulars. If ascertained, it is very
difficult to observe them in practice. If practised, the fruits to which they lead are
terminable. Mark this well. (And marking this, do thou betake thyself to the path
of knowledge).‟
“Syumarasmi said, „The Vedas countenance acts and discountenance them.
Whence then is their authority when their declarations thus contradict each
other? Renunciation of acts, again, is productive of great benefit. Both these
have been indicated in the Vedas. Do thou discourse to me on this subject, O
Brahmana!‟
“Kapila said, „Betaking yourselves to the path of the good (viz., Yoga), do you
even in this life realise its fruits by the direct evidence of your senses. What,
however, are the visible results of those other objects which you (men of acts)
pursue?‟
“Syumarasmi said, „O Brahmana, I am Syumarasmi by name. I have come here
for acquiring knowledge. Desirous of doing good to myself I have started this
conversation in artless candour and not from desire of disputation. The dark
doubt has taken possession of my mind. O illustrious one, solve it to me. Thou
hast said that they who take the path of the good (viz., Yoga), by which Brahma
is attained, realise its fruits by the direct evidence of their senses. What, indeed,
is that which is so realisable by the direct evidence of the senses and which is
pursued by yourselves? Avoiding all sciences that have disputation only for their
foremost object, I have so studied the Agama as to have July mastered their true
meaning. By Agama I understand the declarations of the Vedas. I also include la
that word those sciences based on logic which have for their object the bringing
out of the real meaning of the Vedas.[1251] Without avoiding the duties laid down

for the particular mode of life which one may lead, one should pursue the
practices laid down in Agama. Such observance of the practices laid down in
Agama crowns one with success. In consequence of the certainty of the
conclusions of Agama, the success to which the latter leads may be said to be
almost realisable by direct evidence. As a boat that is tied to another bound for a
different port, cannot take its passengers to the port they desire to reach, even so
ourselves, dragged by our acts due to past desires, can never cross the
interminable river of birth and death (and reach the heaven of rest and peace we
may have in view). Discourse to me on this topic, O illustrious one! Teach me as
a preceptor teaches a disciple. No one can be found amongst men that has
completely renounced all worldly objects, nor one that is perfectly contented with
oneself, nor one that has transcended grief, nor one that is perfectly free from
disease, nor one that is absolutely free from the desire to act (for one‟s own
benefit), nor one that has an absolute distaste for companionship, nor one that
has entirely abstained from acts of every kind. Even men like yourself are seen to
give way to joy and indulge in grief as persons like ourselves. Like other
creatures the senses of persons like yourselves have their functions and objects.
Tell me, in what then, if we are to investigate the question of happiness, does
pure felicity consist for all the four orders of men and all the four modes of life
who and which have, as regards their inclinations, the same resting ground.‟
“Kapila said, „Whatever the Sastras according to which one performs the acts
one feels inclined to do, the ordinances laid down in it for regulating those acts
never become fruitless. Whatever again the school of opinion according to which
one may conduct oneself, one is sure to attain to the highest end by only
observing the duties of self-restraint of Yoga. Knowledge assists that man in
crossing (this interminable river of life and death) who pursues knowledge. That
conduct, however, which men pursue after deviating from the path of knowledge,
afflicts them (by subjecting them to the evils of life and death). It is evident that ye
are possessed of knowledge and dissociated from every worldly object that may
produce distress. But have any of you at any time succeeded in acquiring that
knowledge in consequence of which everything is capable of being viewed as
identical with one Universal Soul?[1252] Without a correct apprehension of the
scriptures, some there are, fond only of disputation, who, in consequence of
being overwhelmed by desire and aversion, become the slaves of pride and
arrogance. Without having correctly understood the meaning of scriptural
declarations, these robbers of the scriptures, these depredators of Brahma,
influenced by arrogance and error, refuse to pursue tranquillity and practise self-
restraint.[1253] These men behold fruitlessness on every side, and if (by chance)
they succeed in obtaining the puissance of knowledge they never impart it to
others for rescuing them. Made up entirely of the quality of Tamas, they have
Tamas only for their refuge. One becomes subject to all the incidents of that
nature which one imbibes. Accordingly, of him who hath Tamas for his refuge,
the passions of envy, lust, wrath, pride, falsehood, and vanity, continually grow,
for one‟s qualities have one‟s nature for their spring. Thinking in this strain and
beholding these faults (through the aid of instructions secured from preceptors),

Yatis, who covet the highest end, betake themselves to Yoga, leaving both good
and ill.‟[1254]
“Syumarasmi said, „O Brahmana, all that I have said (about the laudable
character of acts and the opposite character of Renunciation) is strictly
conformable to the scriptures. It is, however, very true that without a correct
apprehension of the meaning of the scriptures, one does not feel inclined to obey
what the scriptures really declare. Whatever conduct is consistent with equity is
consistent with the scriptures. Even that is what the Sruti declares. Similarly,
whatever conduct is inconsistent with equity is inconsistent with the scriptures.
This also is declared by the Sruti. It is certain that no one can do an act that is
scriptural by transgressing the scriptures. That again is unscriptural which is
against the Vedas. The Sruti declares this. Many men, who believe only what
directly appeals to their senses, behold only this world (and not what is
addressed in the scriptures to Faith). They do not behold what the scriptures
declare to be faults. They have, accordingly, like ourselves, to give way to grief.
Those objects of the senses with which men like you are concerned are the
same with which other living creatures are concerned. Yet in consequence of
your knowledge of the soul and their ignorance of it, how vast is the difference
that exists between you and them! All the four orders of men and all the four
modes of life, however different their duties, seek the same single end (viz., the
highest happiness). Thou art possessed of unquestioned talents and abilities. For
ascertaining that particular course of conduct (amongst those various duties)
which is well calculated to accomplish the desired end, thou hast, by discoursing
to me on the Infinite (Brahma), filled my soul with tranquillity. As regards
ourselves, in consequence of our inability to understand the Soul we are destitute
of a correct apprehension of the reality. Our wisdom is concerned with things that
are low, and we are enveloped in thick darkness. (The course of conduct,
however, that thou hast indicated for enabling one to attain to Emancipation, is
exceedingly difficult of practice). Only he who is devoted to Yoga, who has
discharged all his duties, who is capable of roving everywhere depending only on
his own body, who has brought his soul under perfect control, who has
transcended the requirements of the science of morality and who disregards the
whole world (and everything belonging to it), can transgress the declarations of
the Vedas with respect to acts, and say that there is Emancipation.[1255] For
one, however, who lives in the midst of relatives, this course of conduct is
exceedingly difficult to follow. Gift, study of the Vedas, sacrifices, begetting
offspring, simplicity of dealing, when by practising even these no one succeeds in
attaining to Emancipation, fie on him who seeks to attain to it, and on
Emancipation itself that is sought! It seems that the labour spent upon attaining
to it is all fruitless. One becomes chargeable with atheism if one disregards the
Vedas by not doing the acts they direct. O illustrious one, I desire to hear without
delay about that (Emancipation) which comes in the Vedas after the declarations
in favour of acts. Do tell me the truth, O Brahmana! I sit at thy feet as a disciple.
Teach me kindly! I wish to know as much about Emancipation as is known to
thee, O learned one!‟

SECTION CCLXX
“Kapila said, „The Vedas are regarded as authoritative by all. People never
disregard them. Brahma is of two kinds, viz., Brahma as represented by sound,
and Brahma as Supreme (and intangible).[1256] One conversant with Brahma
represented by sound succeeds in attaining to Supreme Brahma. Commencing
with the rites of Garbhadhana, that body which the sire creates with the aid of
Vedic mantras is cleansed (after birth) by Vedic mantras.[1257] When the body
has been cleansed with purificatory rites (performed with the aid of Vedic
mantras), the owner there of come to be called a Brahmana and becomes a
vessel fit for receiving knowledge of Brahma. Know that the reward of acts is
purity of heart which only leads to Emancipation. I shall presently speak to thee
of that. Whether purity of heart has been attained or not (by performance of acts)
is what can be known to the person himself who has attained it. It can never be
known with the aid of either the Vedas or inference. They that cherish no
expectation, that discard every kind of wealth by not storing anything for future
use, that are not covetous, and that are free from every kind of affection and
aversion, perform sacrifices because of the conviction that their performance is a
duty. To make gifts unto deserving persons is the end (right use) of all wealth.
Never addicted at any time to sinful acts, observant of those rites that have been
laid down in the Vedas, capable of crowning all their wishes with fruition, endued
with certain conclusions through pure knowledge, never giving way to wrath,--
never indulging in envy, free from pride and malice, firm in Yoga,[1258] of
unstained birth, unstained conduct, and unstained learning, devoted to the good
of all creatures, there were in days of yore many men, leading lives of
domesticity and thoroughly devoted to their own duties, there were many kings
also of the same qualifications, devoted to Yoga (like Janaka, etc.), and many
Brahmanas also of the same character (like Yajnavalkya and others).[1259] They
behaved equally towards all creatures and were endued with perfect sincerity.
Contentment was theirs, and certainty of knowledge. Visible were the rewards of
their righteousness, and pure were they in behaviour and heart. They were
possessed of faith in Brahma of both forms.[1260] At first making their hearts
pure, they duly observed all (excellent) vows. They were observant of the duties
of righteousness on even occasions of distress and difficulty, without failing off in
any particular. Uniting together they used to perform meritorious acts. In this they
found great happiness. And inasmuch as they never tripped, they had never to
perform any expiation. Relying as they did upon the true course of righteousness,
they became endued with irresistible energy. They never followed their own
understandings in the matter of earning merit but followed the dictates of the
scriptures alone for that end. Accordingly they were never guilty of guile in the
matter of performing acts of righteousness.[1261] In consequence of their
observing unitedly the absolute ordinances of the scriptures without betaking
themselves ever to the rites laid down in the alternative, they were never under
the necessity of performing expiation.[1262] There is no expiation for men living
in the observance of the ordinances laid down in the scriptures. The Sruti

declares that expiation exists for only men that are weak and unable to follow the
absolute and substantive provisions of the sacred law. Many Brahmanas there
were of this kind in days of old, devoted to the performance of sacrifices, of
profound knowledge of the Vedas, possessed of purity and good conduct, and
endued with fame. They always worshipped Brahma in the sacrifices, and were
free from desire. Possessed of learning they transcended all the bonds of life.
The sacrifices of these men, their (knowledge of the) Vedas, their acts performed
in obedience to the ordinances, their study of the scripture at the fixed hours, and
the wishes they entertained, freed as they were from lust and wrath, observant
as they were of pious conduct and acts notwithstanding all difficulties, renowned
as they were for performing the duties of their own order and mode of life,
purified as their souls were in consequence of their very nature, characterised as
they were by thorough sincerity, devoted as they were to tranquillity, and mindful
as they were of their own practices, were identical with Infinite Brahma. Even this
is the eternal Sruti heard by us.[1263] The penances of men that were so high-
souled, of men whose conduct and acts were so difficult of observance and
accomplishment, of men whose wishes were crowned with fruition in
consequence of the strict discharge of their duties, became efficacious weapons
for the destruction of all earthly desires. The Brahmanas say that that Good
Conduct, which is wonderful, whose origin may be traced to very ancient times,
which is eternal and whose characteristics are unchangeable, which differs from
the practices to which even the good resort in seasons of distress and represents
their acts in other situations, which is identical with heedfulness, over which lust
and wrath and other evil passions can never prevail, and in consequence of
which there was (at one time) no transgression in all mankind, subsequently
came to be distributed into four subdivisions, corresponding with the four modes
of life by persons unable to practise its duties in minute detail and entirety.[1264]
They that are good, by duly observing that course of Good Conduct after
adoption of the Sannyasa mode of life, attain to the highest end. They also that
betake themselves to the forest mode reach the same high end (by duly
observing that conduct). They too that observe the domestic mode of life attain to
the highest end (by duly practising the same conduct); and, lastly, those that lead
the Brahmacharya mode obtain the same (end by a due observance of the same
conduct).[1265] Those Brahmanas are seen to shine in the firmament as
luminaries shedding beneficent rays of light all around. Those myriads of
Brahmanas have become stars and constellations set in their fixed tracks. In
consequence of contentment (or Renunciation) they have all attained to Infinity
as the Vedas declare. If such men have to come back to the world through the
wombs of living creatures, they are never stained by sins which have the
unexhausted residue of previous acts for their originating cause. Indeed, one
who has led the life of a Brahmacharin and waited dutifully upon his preceptor,
who has arrived at settled conclusions (in respect of the soul), and who has
devoted himself to Yoga thus, is truly a Brahmana. Who else would deserve to
be called a Brahmana? When acts alone determine who is a Brahmana and who
is not, acts (good or bad) must be held to indicate the happiness or misery of a
person. As regards those that have by conquering all evil passions acquired

purity of heart, we have heard the eternal Sruti that in consequence of the Infinity
to which they attain (through beholding the universal soul) and of the knowledge
of Brahma (they acquire through the declarations of Srutis), they behold
everything to be Brahma. The duties (of tranquillity, self-restraint, abstention from
acts, renunciation, devotion, and the abstraction of Samadhi) followed by those
men of pure hearts, that are freed from desire, and that have Emancipation only
for their object, for acquisition of the knowledge of Brahma, are equally laid down
for all the four orders of men and all the four modes of life. Verily, that knowledge
is always acquired by Brahmanas of pure hearts and restrained soul.[1266] One
whose soul is for Renunciation based upon contentment is regarded as the
refuge of true knowledge. Renunciation, in which is that knowledge which leads
to Emancipation, and which is highly necessary for a Brahmana, is eternal (and
comes down from preceptor to pupil for ever and ever).[1267] Renunciation
sometimes exists mixed with the duties of other modes. But whether existing in
that state or by itself, one practises it according to the measure of one‟s strength
(that depends upon the degree of one‟s absence of worldly desires).
Renunciation is the cause of supreme benefit unto every kind of person. Only he
that is weak, fails to practise it. That pure-hearted man who seeks to attain to
Brahma becomes rescued from the world (with its misery).‟[1268]
“Syumarasmi said, „Amongst those that are given up to enjoyment (of property),
they that make gifts, they that perform sacrifices, they that devote themselves to
the study of the Vedas, and they that betake themselves to a life of Renunciation
after having acquired and enjoyed wealth and all its pleasures, when they depart
from this world, who is it that attains to the foremost place in heaven? I ask thee
this, O Brahmana! Do thou tell me truly.‟
“Kapila said, „Those who lead a life of domesticity are certainly auspicious and
acquire excellence of every kind. They are unable, however, to enjoy the felicity
that attaches to Renunciation. Even thou mayst see this.‟[1269]
“Syumarasmi said, „Ye depend upon knowledge as the means (for the attainment
of Emancipation). Those who lead lives of domesticity have planted their faith in
acts. It has, however, been said that the end of all modes of life is
Emancipation.[1270] No difference, therefore, is observable between them in
respect of either their superiority or inferiority of puissance. O illustrious one, do
thou tell me then how stands the matter truly.‟
“Kapila said, „Acts only cleanse the body. Knowledge, however, is the highest
end (for which one strives).[1271] When all faults of the heart are cured (by acts),
and when the felicity of Brahma becomes established in knowledge,
benevolence, forgiveness, tranquillity, compassion, truthfulness, and candour,
abstention from injury, absence of pride, modesty, renunciation, and abstention
from work are attained. These constitute the path that lead to Brahma. By those
one attains to what is the Highest. That the cure of all faults of the heart is the
result of acts becomes intelligible to the wise man when these are attained. That,
indeed, is regarded as the highest end which is obtained by Brahmanas endued
with wisdom, withdrawn from all acts, possessed of purity and the certitude of
knowledge. One who succeeds in acquiring a knowledge of the Vedas, of that

which is taught by the Vedas (viz., Brahma as represented in acts), and the
minutiae of acts, is said to be conversant with the Vedas. Any other man is only a
bag of wind.[1272] One who is conversant with the Vedas knows everything, for
everything is established on the Vedas. Verity, the present, past, and future all
exist in the Vedas.[1273] This one conclusion is deducible from all the scriptures,
viz., that this universe exists and does not exist. To the man of knowledge this
(all that is perceived) is both sat and asat. To him, this all is both the end and the
middle.[1274] This truth rests upon all the Vedas, viz., that when complete
Renunciation takes place one obtains what is sufficient. Then again the highest
contentment follows and rests upon Emancipation,[1275] which is absolute,
which exists as the soul of all mortal and immortal things, which is well-known as
such universal soul, which is the highest object of knowledge as being identical
with all mobile and immobile things, which is full, which is perfect felicity, which is
without duality, which is the foremost of all things, which is Brahma, which is
Unmanifest and the cause also, whence the Unmanifest has sprung, and which
is without deterioration of any kind.[1276] Ability to subdue the senses,
forgiveness, and abstention from work in consequence of the absence of desire,-
-these three are the cause of perfect felicity. With the aid of these three qualities,
men having understanding for their eyes succeed in reaching that Brahma which
is uncreate, which is the prime cause of the universe, which is unchangeable and
which is beyond destruction. I bow to that Brahma, which is identical with him
that knows it.‟”[1277]
SECTION CCLXXI
“Yudhishthira said, „The Vedas, O Bharata, discourse of Religion. Profit, and
Pleasure. Tell me, however, O grandsire, the attainment of which (amongst these
three) is regarded as superior.‟
“Bhishma said, „I shall, in this connection, recite to thee the ancient narrative of
the benefit that Kundadhara in days of old had conferred upon one who was
devoted to him. Once on a time a Brahmana destitute of wealth sought to acquire
virtue, induced by the desire of fruit. He continually set his heart upon wealth for
employing it in the celebration of sacrifices. For achieving his purpose he set
himself to the practice of the austerest penances. Resolved to accomplish his
purpose, he began to worship the deities with great devotion. But he failed to
obtain wealth by such worship of the deities. He thereupon began to reflect,
saying unto himself, „What is that deity, hitherto unadored by men, who may be
favourably disposed towards me without delay?‟ While reflecting in this strain
with a cool mind, he beheld stationed before him that retainer of the deities, viz.,
the Cloud called Kundadhara. As soon as he beheld that mighty-armed being,
the Brahmana‟s feelings of devotion were excited, and he said unto himself, „This
one will surely bestow prosperity upon me. Indeed, his form indicates as much.
He lives in close proximity to the deities. He has not as yet been adored by other
men. He will verily give me abundant wealth without any delay.‟ The Brahmana,

then, having concluded thus, worshipped that Cloud with dhupas and perfumes
and garlands of flowers of the most superior kind, and with diverse kinds of
offerings. Thus worshipped, the Cloud became very soon pleased with his
worshipper and uttered these words fraught with benefit to that Brahmana, „The
wise have ordained expiation for one guilty of Brahmanicide, or of drinking
alcohol or of stealing, or of neglecting all meritorious vows. There is no expiation,
however, for one that is ungrateful.[1278] Expectation hath a child named
Iniquity. Ire, again, is regarded to be a child of Envy. Cupidity is the child of
Deceit. Ingratitude, however, is barren (and hath no offspring). After this, that
Brahmana, stretched on a bed of Kusa grass, and penetrated with the energy of
Kundadhara, beheld all living beings in a dream. Indeed, in consequence of his
absence of passion, penances, and devotion, that Brahmana of cleansed soul,
standing aloof from all (carnal) enjoyments, beheld in the night that effect of his
devotion to Kundadhara. Indeed, O Yudhishthira, he beheld the high-souled
Manibhadra of great effulgence stationed in the midst of the deities, employed in
giving his orders. There the gods seemed to be engaged in bestowing kingdoms
and riches upon men, induced by their good deeds, and in taking them away
when men fell off from goodness.[1279] Then, O bull of Bharata‟s race,
Kundadhara of great effulgence, bending himself low, prostrated himself on the
ground before the gods in the presence of all the Yakshas. At the command of
the gods the high-souled Manibhadra addressed the prostrate Kundadhara and
said, „What does Kundadhara want?‟ Thereupon Kundadhara replied, „If, indeed,
the gods are pleased with me, there, that Brahmana reverences me greatly. I
pray for some favour being shown to him, something, that is, that may bring him
happiness.‟ Hearing this, Manibhadra, commanded by the gods, once more said
unto Kundadhara of great intelligence these words, „Rise, rise up, O Kundadhara!
Thy suit is successful. Be thou happy. If this Brahmana be desirous of wealth, let
wealth be given to him, that is, as much wealth as this thy friend desires. At the
command of the gods I shall give him untold wealth.‟ Kundadhara, then,
reflecting upon the fleeting and unreal character of the status of humanity, set his
heart, O Yudhishthira, upon inclining the Brahmana to penances. Indeed,
Kundadhara said, „I do not, O giver of wealth, beg for wealth on behalf of this
Brahmana. I desire the bestowal of another favour upon him. I do not solicit for
this devotee of mine mountains of pearls and gems or even. the whole earth with
all her riches. I desire, however, that he should be virtuous. Let his heart find
pleasure in virtue. Let him have virtue for his stay. Let virtue be the foremost of
all objects with him. Even this is the favour that meets with my approval.‟
Manibhadra said, „The fruits of virtue are always sovereignty and happiness of
diverse kinds. Let this one enjoy those fruits, always freed from physical pain of
every kind.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Thus addressed, Kundadhara, however, of great celebrity,
repeatedly solicited virtue alone for that Brahmana. The gods were highly
pleased at it. Then Manibhadra said, „The gods are all pleased with thee as also
with this Brahmana. This one shall become a virtuous-souled person. He shall
devote his mind to virtue.‟ The Cloud, Kundadhara, became delighted, O
Yudhishthira, at thus having been successful in obtaining his wish. The boon that

he had got was one that was unattainable by anybody else. The Brahmana then
beheld scattered around him many delicate fabrics of cloth. Without minding
them at all (although so costly), the Brahmana came to disrelish the world.‟
“The Brahmana said, „When this one doth not set any value upon good deeds,
who else will? I had better go to the woods for leading a life of
righteousness.‟[1280]
“Bhishma continued, „Cherishing a distaste for the world, and through the grace
also of the gods, that foremost of Brahmanas entered the woods and
commenced to undergo the austerest of penances. Subsisting upon Such fruits
and roots as remained after serving the deities and guests, the mind of that
regenerate person, O monarch, was firmly set upon virtue. Gradually, the
Brahmana, renouncing fruits and roots, betook himself to leaves of trees as his
food. Then renouncing leaves, he took to water only as his subsistence. After
that he passed many years by subsisting upon air alone. All the while, his
strength did not diminish. This seemed exceedingly marvellous. Devoted to virtue
and engaged in the practice of the severest austerities, after a long time he
acquired spiritual vision. He then reflected, saying unto himself, „If, being
gratified with anybody, I give him wealth, my speech would never be
untrue.‟[1281] With a face lighted up by smiles, he once more began to undergo
severer austerities. And once more, having won (higher) success, he thought that
he could, by a fiat of the will, then create the very highest objects. „If, gratified
with any person whatsoever I give him even sovereignty, he will immediately
become a king, for my words will never be untrue.‟ While he was thinking in this
way, Kundadhara, induced by his friendship for the Brahmana and no less by the
ascetic success which the Brahmana had achieved, showed himself, O Bharata
(unto his friend and devotee). Meeting with him the Brahmana offered him
worship according to the observances ordained. The Brahmana, however, felt
some surprise, O king. Then Kundadhara addressed the Brahmana, saying,
„Thou hast now got an excellent and spiritual eye. Behold with this vision of thine
the end that is attained by kings, and survey all the worlds besides.‟ The
Brahmana then, with his spiritual vision, beheld from a distance thousands of
kings sunk in hell.‟
“Kundadhara said, „After having worshipped me with devotion thou didst get
sorrow for thy share, what then would have been the good done to thee by me,
and what the value of my favour? Look, look for what end men desire the
gratification of carnal enjoyments. The door of heaven is closed unto men.‟
“Bhishma continued, „The Brahmana then beheld many men living in this world,
embracing lust, and wrath, and cupidity, and fear, and pride, and sleep and
procrastination, and inactivity.‟
“Kundadhara said, „With these (vices) all human beings are enchained. The gods
are afraid of men. These vices, at the command of the gods, mar and disconcert
on every side.[1282] No man can become virtuous unless permitted by the gods.
(In consequence of their permission) thou hast become competent to give away
kingdoms and wealth through thy penances.‟

“Bhishma continued, „Thus addressed, the righteous-souled Brahmana, bending
his head unto that Cloud, prostrated himself on the ground, and said, „Thou hast,
indeed, done me a great favour. Unconscious of the great affection shown by
thee towards me, I had through the influence of desire and cupidity, failed to
display good will towards thee.‟ Then Kundadhara said unto that foremost of
regenerate persons, „I have forgiven thee,‟ and having embraced him with his
arms disappeared there and then. The Brahmana then roamed through all the
worlds, having attained to ascetic success through the grace of Kundadhara.
Through the puissance gained from virtue and penances, one acquires
competence to sail through the skies and to fructify all one‟s wishes and
purposes, and finally attain to the highest end. The gods and Brahmanas and
Yakshas and all good men and Charanas always adore those that are virtuous
but never those that are rich or given up to the indulgence of their desires. The
gods are truly propitious to thee since thy mind is devoted to virtue. In wealth
there may be a very little happiness but in virtue the measure of happiness is
very great.‟”
SECTION CCLXXII
“Yudhishthira said, „Amongst the diverse kinds of sacrifices, all of which, of
course, are regarded to have but one object (viz., the cleansing of the heart or
the glory of God), tell me, O grandsire, what that sacrifice is which has been
ordained for the sake only of virtue and not for the acquisition of either heaven or
wealth!‟[1283]
“Bhishma said, „In this connection I shall relate to thee the history, formerly
recited by Narada, of a Brahmana who for performing sacrifices, lived according
to the unchha mode.‟
“Narada said, „In one of the foremost of kingdoms that was distinguished again
for virtue, there lived a Brahmana. Devoted to penances and living according to
the unchha mode, that Brahmana was earnestly engaged in adoring Vishnu in
sacrifices.[1284] He had Syamaka for his food, as also Suryaparni and
Suvarchala and other kinds of potherbs that were bitter and disagreeable to the
taste. In consequence, however, of his penances, all these tasted sweet.[1285]
Abstaining from injuring any creature, and leading the life of a forest recluse, he
attained to ascetic success. With roots and fruits, O scorcher of foes, he used to
adore Vishnu in sacrifices that were intended to confer heaven upon him.[1286]
The Brahmana, whose name was Satya, had a wife named Pushkaradharini.
She was pure-minded, and had emaciated herself by the observance of many
austere vows. (Herself having been of a benevolent disposition, and her husband
being thus addicted to sacrifices that were cruel), she did not approve of the
conduct of her lord. Summoned, however, to take her seat by his side as his
spouse (for the performance of a sacrifice), she feared to incur his curse and,
therefore, comforted herself with his conduct. The garments that invested her
body consisted of the (cast off) plumes of peacocks. Although unwilling, she still

performed that sacrifice at the command of her lord who had become its Hotri. In
that forest, near to the Brahmana‟s asylum, lived a neighbour of his, viz., the
virtuous Parnada of Sukra‟s race, having assumed the form of a deer. He
addressed that Brahmana, whose name was Satya, in articulate speech and said
unto him these words, „Thou wouldst be acting very improperly,[1287] if this
sacrifice of thine were accomplished in such a manner as to be defective in
mantras and other particulars of ritual. I, therefore, ask thee to slay and cut me in
pieces for making libations therewith on thy sacrificial fire. Do this and becoming
blameless ascend to heaven.‟ Then the presiding goddess of the solar disc, viz.,
Savitri, came to that sacrifice in her own embodied form and insisted upon that
Brahmana in doing what he desired by that deer to do. Unto that goddess,
however, who thus insisted, the Brahmana replied, saying, „I shall not slay this
deer who lives with me in this same neighbourhood.‟[1288] Thus addressed by
the Brahmana, the goddess Savitri desisted and entered the sacrificial fire from
desire of surveying the nether world, and wishing to avoid the sight of (other)
defects in that sacrifice.[1289] The deer, then, with joined hands, once more
begged of Satya (to be cut in pieces and poured into the sacrificial fire). Satya,
however, embraced him in friendship and dismissed him, saying, „Go!‟[1290] At
this, the deer seemed to leave that place. But after he had gone eight steps he
returned, and said, „Verily, do thou slay me. Truly do I say, slain by thee I am
sure to attain to a righteous end. I give thee (spiritual) vision. Behold the celestial
Apsaras and the beautiful vehicles of the high-souled Gandharvas.‟ Beholding
(that sight) for a protracted space of time, with longing eyes, and seeing the deer
(solicitous of sacrifice), and thinking that residence in heaven is attainable by
only slaughter, he approved (of the counsels the deer had given). It was Dharma
himself who had become a deer that lived in those woods for many years.
(Seeing the Brahmana tempted by the prospect he beheld), Dharma provided for
his salvation and counselled him, saying, „This (viz., slaughter of living creatures)
is not conformable to the ordinances about Sacrifices.[1291] The penances,
which had been of very large measure, of that Brahmana whose mind had
entertained the desire of slaying the deer, diminished greatly in consequence of
that thought itself. The injuring of living creatures, therefore, forms no part of
sacrifice.[1292] Then the illustrious Dharma (having assumed his real form),
himself assisted that Brahmana, by discharging the priestly office, to perform a
sacrifice. The Brahmana, after this, in consequence of his (renewed) penances,
attained to that state of mind which was his spouse‟s.[1293] Abstention from
injury is that religion which is complete in respect of its rewards. The religion,
however, of cruelty is only thus far beneficial that it leads to heaven (which has a
termination). I have spoken to thee of that religion of Truth which, indeed, is the
religion of those that are utterers of Brahma.‟”[1294]

SECTION CCLXXIII
“Yudhishthira said, „By what means doth a man become sinful, by what doth he
achieve virtue, by what doth he attain to Renunciation, and by what doth he win
Emancipation?‟
“Bhishma said, „Thou knowest all duties. This question that thou askest is only for
confirmation of thy conclusions. Listen now to Emancipation, and Renunciation,
and Sin, and Virtue to their very roots. Perceiving any one of the five objects
(viz., form, taste, scent, sound, and touch), desire runs after it at first. Indeed,
obtaining them within the purview of the senses, O chief of Bharata‟s race, desire
or aversion springs up.[1295] One, then, for the sake of that object (i.e., for
acquisition of what is liked and avoidance of what is disliked) strives and begins
acts that involve much labour. One endeavours one‟s best for repeatedly
enjoying those forms and scents (and the three other objects of the remaining
three senses) that appear very agreeable. Gradually, attachment, and aversion,
and greed, and errors of judgment arise. The mind of one overwhelmed by greed
and error and affected by attachment and aversion is never directed to virtue.
One then begins with hypocrisy to do acts that are good. Indeed, with hypocrisy
one then seeks to acquire virtue, and with hypocrisy one likes to acquire wealth.
When one succeeds, O son of Kuru‟s race, in winning wealth with hypocrisy, one
sets one‟s heart to such acquisition wholly. It is then that one begins to do acts
that are sinful, notwithstanding the admonitions of well-wishers and the wise,
unto all which he makes answers plausibly consistent with reason and
conformable to the injunctions of the scriptures. Born of attachment and error, his
sins, of three kinds, rapidly increase, for he thinks sinfully, speaks sinfully, and
acts sinfully. When he fairly starts on the way of sin, they that are good mark his
wickedness. They, however, that are of a disposition similar to that of the sinful
man, enter into friendship with him. He succeeds not in winning happiness even
here. Whence then would he succeed in winning happiness hereafter? It is thus
that one becomes sinful. Listen now to me as I speak to thee of one that is
righteous. Such a man, inasmuch as he seeks the good of others, succeeds in
winning good for himself. By practising duties that are fraught with other people‟s
good, he attains at last to a highly agreeable end. He who, aided by his wisdom,
succeeds beforehand in beholding the faults above adverted to, who is skilled in
judging of what is happiness and what is sorrow and how each is brought about,
and who waits with reverence upon those that are good, makes progress in
achieving virtue, both in consequence of his habit and such companionship of the
good. The mind of such a person takes delight in virtue, and he lives on, making
virtue his support. If he sets his heart on the acquisition of wealth, he desires only
such wealth as may be acquired in righteous ways. Indeed, he waters the roots
of only those things in which he sees merit. In this way, doth one become
righteous and acquires friends that are good. In consequence of his acquisition of
friends, of wealth, and of children, he sports in happiness both here and
hereafter. The mastery (in respect of enjoyment) that a living creature attains
over sound, touch, taste, form, and scent, O Bharata, represents the fruit of
virtue.[1296] Remember this. Having obtained the fruit of virtue, O Yudhishthira,
such a man does not give himself up to joy. Without being contented with such

(visible) fruits of virtue he betakes himself to Renunciation, led on by the eye of
knowledge. When, having acquired the eye of knowledge, he ceases to take
pleasure in the gratification of desire, in taste and in scent, when he does net
allow his mind to run towards sound, touch and form, it is then that he succeeds
in freeing himself from desire.[1297] He does not, however, even then cast off
virtue or righteous acts. Beholding then all the worlds to be liable to destruction,
he strives to cast off virtue (with its rewards in the form of heaven and its
happiness) and endeavours to attain to Emancipation by the (well-known)
means.[1298] Gradually abandoning all sinful acts he betakes himself to
Renunciation, and becoming righteous-souled succeeds at last in attaining to
Emancipation. I have now told thee, O son, of that about which thou hadst asked
me, viz., the topics of Sin, Righteousness, Renunciation, and Emancipation, O
Bharata! Thou shouldst, therefore, O Yudhishthira, adhere to virtue in all
situations. Eternal is the success, O son of Kunti, of thee that adherest to
righteousness.‟”[1299]
SECTION CCLXXIV
“Yudhishthira said, „Thou hast said, O grandsire, the Emancipation is to be won
by means and not otherwise. I desire to hear duly what those means are.‟
“Bhishma said, „O thou of great wisdom, this enquiry that thou hast addressed to
me and that is connected with a subtle topic, is really worthy of thee, since thou,
O sinless one, always seekest to accomplish all thy objects by the application of
means. That state of mind which is present when one sets oneself to make an
earthen jar for one‟s use, disappears after the jar has been completed. After the
same manner, that cause which urges persons who regard virtue as the root of
advancement and prosperity ceases to operate with them that seek to achieve
Emancipation.[1300] That path which leads to the Eastern Ocean is not the path
by which one can go to the Western Ocean. There is only one path that leads to
Emancipation. (It is not identical with any of those that lead to arty other object of
acquisition). Listen to me as I discourse on it to thee in detail. One should, by
practising forgiveness, exterminate wrath, and by abandoning—all purposes, root
out desire. By practising the quality of Sattwa[1301] one should conquer sleep.
By heedfulness one should keep off fear, and by contemplation of the Soul one
should conquer breath.[1302] Desire, aversion, and lust, one should dispel by
patience; error, ignorance, and doubt, by study of truth. By pursuit after
knowledge one should avoid insouciance and inquiry after things of no
interest.[1303] By frugal and easily digestible fare one should drive off all
disorders and diseases. By contentment one should dispel greed and
stupefaction of judgment, and all worldly concerns should be avoided by a
knowledge of the truth.[1304] By practising benevolence one should conquer
iniquity, and by regard for all creatures one should acquire virtue. One should
avoid expectation by the reflection that it is concerned with the future; and one
should cast off wealth by abandoning desire itself. The man of intelligence should

abandon affection by recollecting that everything (here) is transitory. He should
subdue hunger by practising Yoga. By practising benevolence one should keep
off all ideas of self-importance, and drive off all sorts of craving by adopting
contentment. By exertion one should subdue procrastination, and by certainty all
kinds of doubt, by taciturnity, loquaciousness, and by courage, every kind of
fear.[1305] Speech and mind are to be subdued by the Understanding, and the
Understanding, in its turn, is to be kept under control by the eye of knowledge.
Knowledge, again, is to be controlled by acquaintance with the Soul, and finally
the Soul is to be controlled by the Soul.[1306] This last is attainable by those that
are of pure-acts and endued with tranquillity of soul,[1307] the means being the
subjugation of those five impediments of Yoga of which the learned speak. By
casting off desire and wrath and covetousness and fear and sleep, one should,
restraining speech, practise what is favourable to Yoga, viz., contemplation,
study, gift, truth, modesty, candour, forgiveness, purity of heart, purity in respect
of food, and the subjugation of the senses. By these one‟s energy is increased,
sins are dispelled, wishes crowned with fruition, and knowledge (of diverse kinds)
gained. When one becomes cleansed of one‟s sins and possessed of energy and
frugal of fare and the master of one‟s senses, one then, having conquered both
desire and wrath, seeks to attain to Brahma. The avoidance of ignorance (by
listening to and studying the scriptures), the absence of attachment (in
consequence of Renunciation) freedom from desire and wrath (by adoption of
contentment and forgiveness), the puissance that is won by Yoga, the absence
of pride and haughtiness, freedom from anxiety (by subjugation of every kind of
fear), absence of attachment of anything like home and family,--these constitute
the path of Emancipation. That path is delightful, stainless, and pure. Similarly,
the restraining of speech, of body, and of mind, when practised from the absence
of desire, constitutes also the path of Emancipation.‟”[1308]
SECTION CCLXXV
“Bhishma said, „In this connection is cited the old narrative of the discourse that
took place between Narada and Asita-Devala. Once on a time Narada, beholding
that foremost of intelligent men, viz., Devala of venerable years, seated at his
ease, questioned him about the origin and the destruction of all creatures.‟
“Narada said, „Whence, O Brahmana, hath this universe, consisting of mobile
and immobile objects, been created? When again doth the all-embracing
destruction come, into whom doth it merge? Let thy learned self discourse to me
on this.‟
“Asita said, „Those from which the Supreme Soul, when the time comes, moved
by the desire of existence in manifold, forms, creates all creatures, are said by
persons conversant with objects to be the five great essences.[1309] (After this)
Time, impelled by the Understanding creates other objects from those (five
primal essences).‟[1310] He that says that there is anything else besides these
(i.e., the five primal essences, Kala, and the Understanding), says what is not

true. Know, O Narada, that these five are eternal, indestructible, and without
beginning and without end. With Kala as their sixth, these five primal essences
are naturally possessed of mighty energy. Water, Space, Earth, Wind, and Heat,-
-these are those five essences. Without doubt, there is nothing higher or superior
to these (in point of puissance or energy). The existence of nothing else (than
five) can be affirmed by any one agreeably to the conclusions derivable from the
Srutis or arguments drawn from reason. If any one does assert the existence of
anything else, then his assertion would verily be idle or vain. Know that these six
enter into the production of all effects. That of which are all these (which thou
perceivest) is called Asat.[1311] These five, and Kala (or Jiva), the potencies of
past acts, and ignorance,--these eight eternal essences are the causes of the
birth and destruction of all creatures.[1312] When creatures are destroyed it is
into these that they enter; and when they take birth, it is again from them they do
so. Indeed, after destruction, a creature resolves itself into those five primal
essences. His body is made of earth; his ear has its origin in space; his eye hath
light for its cause; his life (motion) is of wind, and his blood is of water, without
doubt. The two eyes, the nose, the two ears, the skin, and the tongue
(constituting the fifth), are the senses. These, the learned know, exist for
perception of their respective objects.[1313] Vision, hearing, smelling, touching,
and tasting are the functions of the senses. The five senses are concerned with
five objects in five ways. Know, by the inference of reason, their similitude of
attributes.[1314] Form, scent, taste, touch, and sound, are the five properties that
are (respectively) apprehended by the five senses in five different ways. These
five properties, viz., form, scent, taste, touch, and sound, are not really
apprehended by the senses (for these are inert), but it is the Soul that
apprehends them through the senses. That which is called Chitta is superior to
the multitude of senses. Superior to Chitta is Manas. Superior to Manas is
Buddhi, and superior to Buddhi is Kshetrajna.[1315] At first a living creature
perceives different objects through the senses. With Manas he reflects over
them, and then with the aid of Buddhi he arrives at certitude of knowledge.
Possessed of Buddhi, one arrives at certainty of conclusions in respect of objects
perceived through the senses. The five senses, Chitta, Mind and Understanding
(which is the eighth in the tale),--these are regarded as organs of knowledge by
those conversant with the science of Adhyatma. The hands, the feet, the anal
duct, the membrum virile, the mouth (forming the fifth in the tale), constitute the
five organs of action. The mouth is spoken of as an organ of action because it
contains the apparatus of speech, and that of eating. The feet are organs of
locomotion and the hands for doing various kinds of work. The anal duct and the
membrum, virile are two organs that exist for a similar purpose, viz., for
evacuation. The first is for evacuation of stools, the second for that of urine as
also of the vital seed when one feels the influence of desire. Besides these, there
is a sixth organ of action. It is called muscular power. These then are the names
of the six organs of action according to the (approved) treatises bearing on the
subject. I have now mentioned to thee the names of all the organs of knowledge
and of action, and all the attributes of the five (primal) essences.[1316] When in
consequence of the organs being fatigued, they cease to perform their respective

functions, the owner of those organs, because of their suspension, is said to
sleep. If, when the functions of these organs are suspended, the functions of the
mind do not cease, but on the other hand the mind continues to concern itself
with its objects, the condition of consciousness is called Dream. During
wakefulness there are three states of the mind, viz., that connected with
Goodness, that with Passion, and that with Darkness. In dream also the mind
becomes concerned with the same three states. Those very states, when they
appear in dreams, connected with pleasurable actions, come to be regarded with
applause. Happiness, success, knowledge, and absence of attachment are the
indications of (the wakeful man in whom is present) the attribute of Goodness.
Whatever states (of Goodness, Passion, or Darkness) are experienced by living
creatures, as exhibited in acts, during their hours of Wakefulness, reappear in
memory during their hours of steep when they dream. The passage of our
notions as they exist during wakefulness into those of dreams, and that of
notions as they exist in dreams into those of wakefulness, become directly
apprehensible in that state of consciousness which is called dreamless slumber.
That is eternal, and that is desirable.[1317] There are five organs of knowledge,
and five of actions; with muscular power, mind, understanding, and Chitta, and
with also the three attributes of Sattwa, Rajas, and Tamas, the tale, it has been
said, comes up to seventeen. The eighteenth in the enumeration is he who
owneth the body, Indeed, he who lives in this body is eternal. All those seventeen
(with Avidya or Ignorance making eighteen), dwelling in the body, exist attached
to him who owns the body. When the owner disappears from the body, those
eighteen (counting Avidya) cease to dwell together in the body. Or, this body
made up of the five (primal) essences is only a combination (that must dissolve
away). The eighteen attributes (including Avidya), with him that owneth the body,
and counting stomachic heat numbering twentieth in the tale, form that which is
known as the Combination of the Five. There is a Being called Mahat, which, with
the aid of the wind (called Prana), upholds this combination containing the twenty
things that have been named, and in the matter of the destruction of that body
the wind (which is generally spoken of as the cause) is only the instrument in the
hands of that same Mahat. Whatever creature is born is resolved once more into
the five constituent elements upon the exhaustion of his merits and demerits; and
urged again by the merits and demerits won in that life enters into another body
resulting from his acts.[1318] His abodes always resulting from Avidya, desire,
and acts, he migrates from body to body, abandoning one after another
repeatedly, urged on by Time, like a person abandoning house after house in
succession. They that are wise, and endued with certainty of knowledge, do not
give way to grief upon beholding this (migration). Only they that are foolish,
erroneously supposing relationships (where relationship in reality there is none)
indulge in grief at sight of such changes of abode. This Jiva is no one‟s relation;
there is none again that may be said to belong to him. He is always alone, and
he himself creates his own body and his own happiness and misery. This Jiva is
never born, nor doth he ever die. Freed from the bond of body, he succeeds
sometimes in attaining to the highest end. Deprived of body, because freed
through the exhaustion of acts from bodies that are the results of merits and

demerits, Jiva at last attains to Brahma. For the exhaustion of both merits and
demerits, Knowledge has been ordained as the cause in the Sankhya school.
Upon the exhaustion of merit and demerit, when Jiva attains to the status of
Brahma,[1319] (they that are learned in the scriptures) behold (with the eye of
the scriptures) the attainment of Jiva to the highest end.‟”
SECTION CCLXXVI
“Yudhishthira said, „Cruel and sinful that we are, alas, we have slain brothers and
sires and grandsons and kinsmen and friends and sons. How, O grandsire, shall
we dispel this thirst for wealth. Alas, through that thirst we have perpetrated
many sinful deeds.‟
“Bhishma said, „In this connection is cited the old narrative of what was said by
the ruler of the Videhas unto the enquiring Mandavya. The ruler of the Videhas
said, „I have nothing (in this world), yet I live in great happiness. If the whole of
Mithila (which is said to be my kingdom) burn in a conflagration, nothing of mine
will be burnt down. Tangible possessions, however valuable, are a source of
sorrow to men of knowledge; while possessions of even little value fascinate the
foolish.[1320] Whatever happiness exists here, derivable from the gratification of
desire, and whatever heavenly happiness exists of high value, do not come up to
even a sixteenth part of the felicity that attends the total disappearance of desire.
As the horns of a cow grow with the growth of the cow itself, after the same
manner the thirst for wealth increases with increasing acquisitions of wealth.
Whatever the object for which one feels an attachment, that object becomes a
source of pain when it is lost. One should not cherish desire. Attachment to
desire leads to sorrow. When wealth has been acquired, one should apply it to
purposes of virtue. One should even then give up desire.[1321] The man of
knowledge always looks upon other creatures even as he looks upon himself.
Having cleansed his soul and attained to success, he casts off everything
here.[1322] By casting off both truth and falsehood, grief and joy, the agreeable
and disagreeable, fearlessness and fear, one attains to tranquillity, and becomes
free from every anxiety. That thirst (for earthly things) which is difficult of being
cast off by men of foolish understanding, which wanes not with the wane of the
body, and which is regarded as a fatal disease (by men of knowledge), one who
succeeds in casting off is sure to find felicity. The man of virtuous soul, by
beholding his own behaviour that has become bright as the moon and free from
evil of every kind, succeeds in happily attaining to great fame both here and
hereafter.‟ Hearing these words of the king, the Brahmana became filled with joy,
and applauding what he heard, Mandavya betook himself to the path of
Emancipation.‟”

SECTION CCLXXVII
“Yudhishthira said, „Time, that is fraught, with terror unto all creatures, is running
his course. What is that source of good after which one should strive? Tell me
this, O grandsire!‟
“Bhishma said, „In this connection is cited the old narrative of a discourse
between a sire and a son. Listen to it, O Yudhishthira! Once on a time, O son of
Pritha, a regenerate person devoted only to the study of the Vedas had a very
intelligent son who was known by the name of Medhavin. Himself conversant
with the religion of Emancipation, the, son one day asked his father who was not
conversant with that religion and who was engaged in following the precepts of
the Vedas, this question.‟
“The son said, „What should a man of intelligence do, O sire, knowing that the
period of existence allotted to men runs fast away? Tell me this truly and in
proper order, O father, so that, guided by thy instructions I may set myself to the
acquisition of virtue.‟
“The sire said, „Having studied the Vedas all the while observing the duties of
Brahmacharya, O son, one should then desire for offspring for the sake of
rescuing one‟s sires. Having established one‟s fire then and performing the
sacrifices that are ordained, one should then retire into the woods and (having
lived as a forest-recluse) one should then become a Muni (by casting off
everything and calmly waiting for dissolution).‟
“The son said, „When the world is thus assailed and thus besieged on all sides,
and when such irresistible (bolts) are falling in every direction, how can you
speak so calmly?‟
“The sire said, „How is the world assailed? By what is it besieged? What are
those irresistible bolts that are falling on every side? Dost thou frighten me with
thy words?‟
“The son said, „The world is assailed by Death. It is besieged by what is it
besieged? What are those irresistible bolts that are falling on every side? Dost
thou frighten me with thy words?‟
“The son said, „The world is assailed by Death. It is besieged by Decrepitude.
Days and Nights are continually falling (like bolts). Why do you not take heed of
these? When I know that Death does not wait here for any one (but snatches all
away suddenly and without notice), how can I possibly wait (for his coming) thus
enveloped in a coat of Ignorance and (heedlessly) attending to my concerns?
When as each night passes away the period of every one‟s life wears away with
it, when, indeed, one‟s position is similar to that of a fish in a piece of shallow
water, who can feel happy? Death encounters one in the very midst of one‟s
concerns, before the attainment of one‟s objects, finding one as unmindful as a
person while engaged in plucking flowers.[1323] That which is kept for being
done tomorrow should be done today; and that which one thinks of doing in the
afternoon should be done in the forenoon. Death does not wait, mindful of one‟s
having done or not done one‟s acts. Do today what is for thy good (without

keeping it for tomorrow). See that Death, who is irresistible, may not overcome
thee (before you accomplish thy acts). Who knows that Death will not come to
one this very day? Before one‟s acts are completed, Death drags one away. One
should, therefore, commence to practise virtue while one is still young (without
waiting for one‟s old age). for life is uncertain. By acquiring virtue one is sure to
eternal happiness both here and hereafter. Overpowered by folly one girds up
one‟s loins for acting on behalf of one‟s sons and wives. By accomplishing acts
foul or fair, one gratifies these (relatives). Him possessed of sons and animals,
and with mind devotedly attached to them, Death seizes and runs away like a
tiger bearing away a sleeping deer.[1324] While one is still engaged in winning
diverse objects of desire, and while still unsatiated with one‟s enjoyment, Death
seizes one and runs away like a she-wolf seizing a sheep and running away with
it. „This has been done‟,--„this remains to be done‟,--„this other is half done‟,--one
may say thus to oneself; but Death, unmindful of one‟s desire to finish one‟s
unfinished acts, seizes and drags one away. One that has not yet obtained the
fruit of what one has already done, amongst those attached to action, one busied
with one‟s field or shop or house, Death seizes and carries away. The weak, the
strong; the wise, the brave, the idiotic, the learned, or him that has not yet
obtained the gratification of any of his desires, Death seizes and bears away.
Death, decrepitude, disease, sorrow, and many things of a similar kind, are
incapable of being avoided by mortals. How, then, O father, canst thou sit so at
thy ease? As soon as a creature is born, Decrepitude and Death come and
possess him for his destruction. All these forms of existence mobile and
immobile, are possessed by these two (viz., Decrepitude and Death). When the
soldiers that compose Death‟s army are on their march, nothing can resist them,
except that one thing, viz., the power of Truth, for in Truth alone Immortality
dwells. The delight that one feels of residing in the midst of men is the abode of
Death. The Sruti declares that that which is called the forest is the true fold for
the Devas, while the delight one feels in dwelling in the midst of men is, as it
were, the cord for binding the dweller (and making him helpless).[1325] The
righteous cut it and escape. The sinful do not succeed in cutting it (and freeing
themselves). He who does not injure other creatures in thought, word and deed,
and who never injures others by taking away their means of sustenance, is never
injured by any creature.[1326] For these reasons, one should practise the vow of
truth, be steadily devoted to the vow of truth, and should desire nothing but the
truth. Restraining all one‟s senses and looking upon all creatures with an equal
eye, one should vanquish Death with the aid of Truth. Both Immortality and
Death are planted in the body. Death is encountered from folly, and Immortality is
won by Truth. Transcending desire and wrath, and abstaining from injury, I shall
adopt Truth and happily achieving what is for my good, avoid Death like an
Immortal. Engaged in the Sacrifice that is constituted by Peace, and employed
also in the Sacrifice of Brahma, and restraining my senses, the Sacrifices I shall
perform are those of speech, mind, and acts, when the sun enters his northerly
course.[1327] How can one like me perform an Animal Sacrifice which is fraught
with cruelty? How can one like me, that is possessed of wisdom, perform like a
cruel Pisacha, a Sacrifice of Slaughter after the manner of what is laid down for

the Kshatriyas,--a Sacrifice that is, besides, endued with rewards that are
terminable? In myself have I been begotten by my own self. O father, without
seeking to procreate offspring, I shall rest myself on my own self. I shall perform
the Sacrifice of Self, I need no offspring to rescue me.[1328] He whose words
and thoughts are always well-restrained, he who has Penances and
Renunciation, and Yoga, is sure to attain to everything through these. There is no
eye equal to Knowledge. There is no reward equal to Knowledge. There is no
sorrow equal to attachment. There is no happiness equal to Renunciation. For a
Brahmana there can be no wealth like residence in solitude, an equal regard for
all creatures, truthfulness of speech, steady observance of good conduct, the
total abandonment of the rod (of chastisement), simplicity, and the gradual
abstention from all acts.[1329] What need hast thou with wealth and what need
with relatives and friends, and what with spouses? Thou art a Brahmana and
thou hast death to encounter. Search thy own Self that is concealed in a cave.
Whither have thy grandsires gone and whither thy sire too?‟[1330]
“Bhishma said, „Hearing these words of his son, the sire acted in the way that
was pointed out, O king! Do thou also act in the same way, devoted to the
religion of Truth.‟”
SECTION CCLXXVIII
“Yudhishthira said, „Of what behaviour must a man be, of what acts, of what kind
of knowledge, and to what must he be devoted, for attaining to Brahma‟s place
which transcends Prakriti and which is unchangeable?‟
“Bhishma said, „One that is devoted to the religion of Emancipation, frugal in fare,
and the master of one‟s senses, attains to that high place which transcends
Prakriti and is unchangeable.[1331] Retiring from one‟s home, regarding gain
and loss in the same light, restraining the senses, and disregarding all objects of
desire even when they are ready (for enjoyment), one should adopt a life of
Renunciation.[1332] Neither with eye, nor with word, nor in thought, should one
disparage another. Nor should one speak evil of any person either in or out of
his hearing. One should abstain from injuring any creature, and conduct oneself
observing the course of the Sun.[1333] Having come into this life, one should not
behave with unfriendliness towards any creature. One should disregard
opprobrious speeches, and never in arrogance deem oneself as superior to
another. When sought to be angered by another, one should still utter agreeable
speeches. Even when calumniated, one should not calumniate in return. One
should not behave in a friendly or an unfriendly way in the midst of human
beings. One should not go about visiting many houses in one‟s round of
mendicancy. Nor should one go to any house having received a previous
invitation (to dinner).[1334] Even when bespattered with filth (by others), one
should, resting firmly in the observance of one‟s duties, refrain from addressing
such bespatterers in disagreeable speeches. One should be compassionate.
One should abstain from returning an injury. One should be fearless; one should

refrain from self-laudation. The man of restrained senses should seek his dole of
charity in a householder‟s abode when the smoke has ceased to rise from it,
when the sound of the husking rod is hushed, when the hearth-fire is
extinguished, when all the inmates have finished their meals, or when the hour is
over for setting the dishes.[1335] He should content himself with only as much as
is barely necessary for keeping body and soul together. Even that much of food
which produces gratification should not be coveted by him. When he fails to
obtain what he wants, he should not suffer himself to cherish discontent.
Success, again, in obtaining what he wants, should not make him glad.[1336] He
should never wish for such things as are coveted by ordinary men. He should
never eat at anybody‟s house when respectfully invited thereto. One like him
should reprobate such gains as are obtained with honour.[1337] He should never
find fault (on account of staleness, etc.) with the food placed before him, nor
should he applaud its merits. He should covet a bed and a seat that are removed
from the haunts of men. The places he should seek are such as a deserted
house, the foot of a tree, a forest, or a cave. Without allowing his practices to be
known by others, or concealing their real nature by appearing to adopt others
(that are hateful or repulsive), he should enter his own Self.[1338] By association
with Yoga and dissociation from company, he should be perfectly equable,
steadily fixed, and uniform. He should not earn either merit or demerit by means
of acts.[1339] He should be always gratified, well-contented, of cheerful face and
cheerful senses, fearless, always engaged in mental recitation of sacred
mantras, silent, and wedded to a life of Renunciation. Beholding the repeated
formation and dissolution of his own body with the senses that result from and
resolve into the elemental essences, and seeing also the advent and departure
of (other) creatures, he should become free from desire and learn to cast equal
eyes upon all, subsisting upon both cooked and uncooked food. Frugal in respect
of his fare, and subjugating his senses, he achieves tranquillity of Self by
Self.[1340] One should control the (rising) impulses of words, of the mind, of
wrath, of envy, of hunger, and of lust. Devoted to penances for cleansing his
heart, he should never allow the censures (of others) to afflict his heart. One
should live, having assumed a status of neutrality with respect to all creatures,
and regard praise and blame as equal. This, indeed, is the holiest and the
highest path of the Sannyasa mode of life. Possessed of high soul, the
Sannyasin should restrain his senses from all things and keep himself aloof from
all attachments. He should never repair to the places visited by him and the men
known to him while leading the prior modes of life. Agreeable to all creatures,
and without a fixed home, he should be devoted to the contemplation of Self. He
should never mingle with house-holders and forest-recluses. He should eat such
food as he may obtain without effort (and without having thought of it
beforehand).[1341] He should never suffer joy to possess his heart. To those that
are wise such a life of Renunciation is the means for the attainment of
Emancipation. To those, however, that are fools the practice of these duties is
exceedingly burthensome. The sage Harita declared all this to be the path by
which Emancipation is to be achieved. He who sets forth from his home, having

assured all creatures of his perfect harmlessness, attains to many bright regions
of felicity which prove unending or eternal.‟”
SECTION CCLXXIX
“Yudhishthira said, „All men speak of ourselves as highly fortunate. In truth,
however, there is no person more wretched than ourselves. Though honoured by
all the world, O best of the Kurus, and though we have been born among men, O
grandsire, having been begotten by the very gods, yet when so much sorrow has
been our lot, it seems, O reverend chief, that birth alone in an embodied form is
the cause of all sorrow. Alas, when shall we adopt a life of Renunciation that is
destructive of sorrow?[1342] Sages of rigid vows freed from the seven and ten
(i.e., the five breaths, mind, understanding, and the ten organs of knowledge and
action), from the five faults of Yoga (viz., desire, wrath, covetousness, fear, and
sleep) that constitute the chief causes (for binding man to repeated rounds of
earthly life), and from the other eight, viz., the five objects of the senses and the
three attributes (of Sattwa, Rajas, and Tamas), have never to incur rebirth.
When, O scorcher of foes, shall we succeed in abandoning sovereignty for
adopting a life of renunciation?‟
“Bhishma said, „Everything, O great monarch, hath an end. Everything hath
bounds assigned to it. Even rebirth, it is well-known, hath an end. In this world
there is nothing that is, immutable. Thou thinkest, O king, that this (viz., the
affluence with which thou art invested is a fault). That it is not so is not true, in
regard to our present topic of disquisition. Ye, however, are conversant with
virtue, and have readiness. It is certain, therefore, that ye shall attain to the end
of your sorrow, (viz., Emancipation) in time.[1343] Jiva equipped with body, O
king, is not the author of his merits and demerits (or their fruits as represented by
happiness and misery). On the other hand, he becomes enveloped by the
Darkness (of Ignorance having attachment and aversion for its essence) that is
born of his merits and demerits.[1344] As the wind impregnated with dust of
antimony once again seizes the efflorescence of realgar and (though itself
destitute of colour) assumes the hues of the substances which it has seized and
tinges the different points of the compass (which represent its own hueless
progenitor, viz., space), after the same manner, Jiva, though himself colourless,
assumes a hue in consequence of being enveloped by Darkness and variegated
by the fruits of action, and travels from body to body (making his own stainless
and immutable progenitor appear as stained and changeful).[1345] When Jiva
succeeds in dispelling by means of Knowledge, the Darkness that invests him in
consequence of Ignorance, then Immutable Brahma becomes displayed (in all
His glory). The Sages say that reversion to Immutable Brahma is incapable of
being achieved by Acts. Thyself, others in the world, and the deities too, should
reverence them that have achieved Emancipation. All the great Rishis never
desist from culture of Brahma.[1346] In this connection is cited that discourse
which was sung (by the preceptor of the Daityas) in days of old. Listen, O

monarch, with undivided attention to the course of conduct that was followed by
the Daitya Vritra after he became divested of all his prosperity. Depending only
upon his intelligence, he did not indulge in sorrow, in the midst of his enemies,
although he was deprived of sovereignty, O Bharata! Unto Vritra, when in days of
old he was reft of sovereignty, (his preceptor) Usanas said, „I hope, O Danava,
that in consequence of thy defeat thou dost not cherish any grief?‟
“Vritra said, „Without doubt, having understood, by the aid of truth and penances,
the advent and departure of all living creatures, I have ceased to indulge in either
grief or joy. Urged by Time creatures sink helplessly in hell. Some again, the
sages say, go to heaven. All these pass their time in contentment. Passing their
allotted periods in heaven and hell, and with some portion of their merits and
demerits unexhausted (by enjoyment and suffering), they repeatedly take birth,
impelled by Time. Chained by the bonds of Desire, creatures pass through
myriads of intermediate life and fall helplessly into hell.[1347] I have seen that
creatures come and go even thus. The lesson inculcated in the Scriptures is that
one‟s acquisitions correspond with one‟s acts.[1348] Creatures take birth as men
or as intermediate animals or as gods and go to hell. Having acted in lives, that
are past in such a way as to deserve them, all creatures, subject to the
ordinances of the Destroyer, meet with happiness and misery, the agreeable and
the disagreeable. Having enjoyed the measure of weal or woe that corresponds
with their acts, creatures always come back by the old path,[1349] which is
measured by the measure of acts.‟ Then the illustrious Usanas addressed the
Asura Vritra who was thus talking of the highest refuge of the creation, saying, „O
intelligent Daitya, why, O child, dost thou utter such foolish rhapsodies?‟
“Vritra said, „The severe penances which I underwent from greed of victory are
well-known to thee as also to other sages. Appropriating diverse scents and
diverse kinds of tastes that other creatures had for enjoying, I swelled up with my
own energy, afflicting the three worlds. Decked with myriads of effulgent rays I
used to rove through the skies (on my celestial car), incapable of being defeated
by any creature and fearing none. I achieved great prosperity through my
penances and lost it again through my own acts. Relying on my fortitude,
however, I do not grieve for this change. Desirous (in days of yore) of fighting the
great Indra, the high-souled ruler of the heavens, I beheld in that battle the
illustrious Hari, the puissant Narayana.[1350] He who is called Vaikuntha,
Purusha, Ananta, Sukla, Vishnu, Sanatana, Munjakesa, Harismasru, and the
Grandsire of all creatures.[1351] Without doubt, there is still a remnant (to be
enjoyed by me) of the rewards attaching to that penance represented by a sight
of the great Hari. It is in consequence of that unexhausted remnant that I have
become desirous of asking thee, O illustrious one, about the fruits of
action![1352] Upon which order (of men) hath been established high Brahma
prosperity? In what mariner, again, doth high prosperity fall off? From whom do
creatures spring and live? Through whom again do they act? What is that high
Fruit by attaining to which a creature succeeds in living eternally as Brahma? By
what Act or by what Knowledge can that fruit be achieved? It behoveth thee, O
learned Brahmana, to expound these to me.‟

“Recapitulated by me, O lion among kings, listen with undivided attention, O bull
of men, with all thy brothers, to what the sage Usanas then said after he had
been thus addressed by that prince of Danavas.‟”
SECTION CCLXXX
“Usanas said, „I bow to that divine and illustrious and puissant Being who holds
this earth with the firmament in his arms. I shall speak to thee of the pre-eminent
greatness of that Vishnu whose head, O best of the Danavas, is that Infinite
place (called Emancipation).‟
“While they were thus conversing with each other there came unto them the
great sage Sanatkumara of righteous soul for the purpose of dispelling their
doubts. Worshipped by the prince of Asuras and by the sage Usanas, that
foremost of sages sat down on a costly seat. After Kumara of great wisdom had
been seated (at his ease), Usanas said unto him, „Discourse to this chief of the
Danavas on the pre-eminent greatness of Vishnu.‟ Hearing these words,
Sanatkumara uttered the following, fraught with grave import, upon the pre-
eminent greatness of Vishnu unto the intelligent chief of the Danavas, „Listen, O
Daitya, to everything about the greatness of Vishnu. Know, O scorcher of foes,
that the entire universe rests on Vishnu. O thou of mighty arms, it is He who
creates all creatures mobile and immobile. In course of Time it is He, again, who
withdraws all things and in Time it is He who once more casts them forth from
Himself. Into Hari all things merge at the universal destruction and from Him all
things again come forth. Men possessed of scriptural lore cannot obtain him by
such lore. Nor can He be obtained by Penances, nor by Sacrifices. The only
means by which He can be attained is by restraining the Senses. Nor that
sacrifices are entirely useless towards such an end. For one, by relying upon
both external and internal acts, and upon one‟s own mind, can purify (them) by
one‟s own understanding. By such means, one succeeds in enjoying infinity in
the world.[1353] As a goldsmith purifies the dross of his metal by repeatedly
casting it into the fire with very persistent efforts of his own, after the same
manner Jiva succeeds in cleaning himself by his course through hundreds of
births. Some one may be seen to purify himself in only one life by mighty efforts.
As one should with care wipe stains from off one‟s person before they become
thick, after the same manner one should, with vigorous efforts, wash off one‟s
faults.[1354] By mixing only a few flowers with them, grains of sesame cannot be
made to cast off their own odour (and become at once fragrant). After the same
manner, one cannot, by cleansing one‟s heart only a little, succeed in beholding
the Soul. When, however, those grains are perfumed repeatedly with the aid of a
large quantity of flowers, it is then that they cast off their own odour and assume
that of the flowers with which they are mixed. After this manner, faults, in the
form of attachments to all our environments, are dispelled by the understanding
in course of many lives, with the aid of a large dose of the attribute of the Sattwa,
and by means of efforts born of practice.[1355] Listen, O Danava, by what means

creatures attached to acts and those unattached to them attain the causes that
lead to their respective states of mind.[1356] Listen to me with undivided
attention. I shall, in their due order, discourse to thee, O puissant Danava, as to
how creatures betake themselves to action and how they give up action.[1357]
The Supreme Lord creates all creatures mobile and immobile. He is without
beginning and without end. Unendued with attributes of any kind, he assumes
attributes (when he chooses to create). He is the universal Destroyer, the Refuge
of all things, the Supreme Ordainer, and pure Chit.[1358] In all creatures it is He
who dwells as the mutable and the immutable. It is He who, having eleven
modifications for His essence, drinketh this universe with His rays.[1359] Know
that the Earth is His feet. His head is constituted by Heaven. His arms, O Daitya,
are the several points of the compass or the horizon. The intermediate space is
His ears. The light of His eye is the Sun, and His mind is in the Moon. His
understanding dwells always in Knowledge, and His tongue is in Water.[1360] O
best of Danavas, the Planets are in the midst of His brows. The starts and
constellations are from the light of His eyes. The Earth is in His feet. O Danava!
Know also that the attributes of Rajas, Tamas, and Sattwa are of Him. He is the
fruit (or end) of all the modes of life, and He it is who should be known as the fruit
(or reward) of all (pious) acts (such as Japa and Sacrifice, etc.).[1361] The
Highest and Immutable, He is also the fruit of abstention from all work. The
Chandas are the hair on His body, and Akshara (or Pranava) is His word. The
diverse orders (of men) and the modes of life are His refuge. His mouths are
many. Duty (or religion) is planted in his heart. He is Brahma; He is the highest
Righteousness; He is Sat and He is Asat;[1362] He is Sruti;
He is the scriptures; He is the Sacrificial vessel; He is the six and ten Ritwijes; He
is all the Sacrifices; He is the Grandsire (Brahman); He is Vishnu; He is the twin
Aswins; and He is Purandara;[1363] He is Mitra; He is Varuna; He is Yama; He is
Kuvera the lord of treasures. Although the Ritwijes seem to behold Him as
separate, He is, however, known to them as one and the same. Know that this
entire universe is under the control of One divine Being.[1364] The Veda that is
in the soul, O prince of Daityas, regards the unity of various creatures. When a
living creature realises this unity in consequence of true knowledge, he is then
said to attain to Brahma. The period of time for which one creation exists or for
which if ceases to exist is called a Kalpa. Living creatures exist for a thousand
millions of such Kalpas. Immobile creatures also exist for an equal period. The
period for which a particular creation exists is measured by many thousands of
lakes (in the following way), O Daitya! Conceive a lake that is one Yojana in
width, one Krosa in depth, and five hundred Yojanas in length. Imagine many
thousands of such lakes. Seek then to dry up those lakes by taking from them,
only once a day, as much water as may be taken up with the end of a single hair.
The number of days would pass in drying them up completely by this process
represents the period that is occupied by the life of one creation from its first start
to the time of its destruction.[1365] The highest Evidence (for all things) says that
creatures have six colours, viz., Dark, Tawny, Blue, Red, Yellow, and White.
These colours proceed from mixtures in various proportions of the three
attributes of Rajas, Tamas, and Sattwa. Where Tamas predominates, Sattwa

falls below the mark, and Rajas keeps to the mark, the result is the colour called
Dark. When Tamas predominates as before, but the relations between Sattwa
and Rajas are reversed, the result is the colour called Tawny. When Rajas
predominates, Sattwa falls below the mark, and Tamas keeps to the mark, the
result is the colour called Blue. When Rajas predominates as before and the
proportion is reversed between Sattwa and Tamas, the result is the intermediate
colour called Red. That Colour is more agreeable (than the preceding one).
When Sattwa predominates, Rajas falls below the mark and, Tamas keeps to the
mark, the result is the colour called Yellow. It is productive of happiness. When
Sattwa predominates and the proportion is reversed between Rajas and Tamas,
the result is the colour called White. It is productive of great happiness.[1366]
The White is the foremost colour. It is sinless in consequence of its being free
from attachment and aversion. It is without grief, and free from the toil involved
in Pravritti. Hence, White, O prince of Danavas, leads to success (or
Emancipation). Jiva, O Daitya, having undergone thousands of births derived
through the womb, attains to success.[1367] That success is the identical end
which the divine Indra declared after having studied many auspicious spiritual
treatises and which has for its essence the apprehension of the Soul. The end
again that creatures obtain is dependent oil their colour, and colour, in its turn,
depends upon the character of the Time that sets in, O Daitya![1368] The stages
of existence, O Daitya, through which Jiva must pass are not unlimited. They are
fourteen hundreds of thousands ill number. In consequence of them Jiva
ascends, stays, and falls down as the case may be.[1369] The end that is
attained by a Jiva of dark flue is very low, for he becomes addicted to acts that
lead to hell and then has to rot in hell.[1370] The learned say that in
consequence of his wickedness, the continuance (in such form) of a Jiva is
measured by many thousands of Kalpas.[1371] Having passed many hundred
thousands of years in that condition, Jiva then attains to the colour called Tawny
(and becomes born as an intermediate creature). In that condition he dwells (for
many long years), in perfect helplessness. At last when his sins are exhausted
(in consequence of his having endured all the misery they are capable of
bringing), his mind, casting off all attachments, cherishes Renunciation.[1372]
When Jiva becomes endued with the quality of Sattwa, he then dispels
everything connected with Tamas by the aid of his intelligence, and exerts (for
achieving what is for his good). As the result of this, Jiva attains to the colour
called Red. If the quality of Sattwa, however, be not gained, Jiva then travels in a
round of rebirths in the world of inert, having attained to the colour called
Blue.[1373] Having attained to that end (viz., Humanity) and having been afflicted
for the duration of one creation by the bonds born of his own acts, Jiva then
attains to the colours called Yellow (or becomes a Deity). Existing in that
condition for the space of a hundred creations, he then leaves it (for becoming a
human being) to return to it once more.[1374] Having attained to the Yellow
colour, Jiva exists for thousands of Kalpas, sporting as a Deva. Without,
however, being emancipated (even then), he has to stay in hell, enjoying or
enduring the fruits of his acts of past Kalpas and wandering through nine and ten
thousand courses.[1375] Know that Jiva becomes freed from the hell (of acts) as

represented by heaven or godship. After the same manner, Jiva gets, off from
the other births (corresponding with the other colours). Jiva sports for many long
Kalpas in the world of Devas. Falling thence, he once more obtains the status of
Humanity. He then stays in that condition for the space of a hundred and eight
Kalpas. He then attains once more to the status of a Deva. If while in the status
of humanity (for the second time) he falleth through (evil acts as represented by)
Kala (in the form of Kali), he then sinks into the Dark colour and thus occupies
the very lowest of all stages of existence.
“I shall tell thee now, O foremost of Asuras, how Jiva succeeds in effecting his
Emancipation. Desirous of Emancipation, Jiva, relying upon seven hundred kinds
of acts every one of which is characterised by a predominance of the attribute of
Sattwa, gradually courses through Red and Yellow and at last attains to White.
Arrived here, Jiva travels through several regions that are most adorable and that
have the Eight well-known regions of felicity beneath them, and all the while
pursues that stainless and effulgent form of existence which is Emancipation‟s
self.[1376] Know that the Eight (already referred to and) which are identical with
the Sixty (subdivided into) hundreds, are, unto those that are highly effulgent,
only creations of the mind (without having any real or independent existence).
The highest object of acquisition with one that is White of hue, is that condition
(called Turiya) which transcends the three other states of consciousness, viz.,
Wakefulness and Dream and Dreamless slumber.[1377] As regards that Yogin
who is unable to abandon the felicities that Yoga-puissance brings about, he has
to dwell (in one and the same body) for one century of Kalpas in auspiciousness
and after that in four other regions (called Mahar, Jana, Tapas, and Satya). Even
that is the highest end of one belonging to the sixth colour, and who is
Unsuccessful though crowned with success, and who has transcended all
attachments and passions.[1378] That Yogin, again, who falls off from Yoga
practices after having attained the measure of eminence described already
resides in heaven for a century of Kalpas with the, unexhausted remnant of his
past acts (to be exhausted by enjoyment or endurance as the case may be), and
with the seven (viz., the five senses of knowledge and mind and understanding)
purged of all stains in consequence of their predisposition or proneness towards
the attribute of Sattwa. And the expiry of that period, such a person has to come
to the world of men where he attains to great eminence.[1379] Turning back from
the world of men, he departs for attaining to new forms of existence that run
higher and higher in the upward scale. While engaged in this, he courseth
through seven regions for seven times, his puissance being always increased in
consequence of his Samadhi and the re-awakening from it.[1380] The Yogin who
is desirous of final Emancipation suppresses by Yoga-knowledge the seven, and
continues to dwell in the world of life, freed from attachments; and taking those
seven for certain means of grief, he casts them off and attains afterwards to that
state which is Indestructible and Infinite. Some say that that is the region of
Mahadeva; some, of Vishnu; some, of Brahman; some, of Sesha; some, of Nara;
some, of the effulgent Chit; and some, of the All-pervading.[1381] When
universal destruction comes, those persons who have succeeded in completely
consuming by Knowledge their gross and subtle and karana bodies, always enter

into Brahma. All their Senses also which have action for their essence and which
are not identical with Brahma, merge into the same. When the time of universal
destruction comes, those Jivas who have attained to the position of Devas and
who have an unexhausted remnant of the fruits of acts to enjoy or endure, revert
to those stages of life in the subsequent Kalpa which had been theirs in the
previous one. This is due to the similarity of every successive Kalpa to every
previous one. Those again whose acts, at the time of universal destruction, have
been exhausted by enjoyment or endurance in respect of their fruits, falling down
from heaven, take birth among men, in the subsequent Kalpa, for without
Knowledge one cannot destroy one‟s acts in even a hundred Kalpas. All superior
Beings again, endued with similar powers and similar forms, revert to their
respective destinies at a new creation after a universal destruction, ascending
and descending precisely in the same manner as during the creation that is
dissolved.[1382] As regards, again, the person who is conversant with Brahma,
as long as he continues to enjoy and endure the unexhausted remnant of his
acts of previous Kalpas, it is said that all creatures and the two stainless sciences
live in his body. When his Chitta becomes cleansed by Yoga, and when he
practises Samyama, this perceptible universe appears to him as only his own
fivefold senses.[1383] Enquiring with a cleansed mind, Jiva attains to a high and
stainless end. Thence he attains to a spot which knows no deterioration, and
thence attains to eternal Brahma that is so difficult of acquisition.[1384] Thus, Of
thou of great might, I have discoursed to thee of the eminence of Narayana!‟
“Vritra said, „These words of thine, I see, perfectly according with the truth.
Indeed, when this is so, I have no (cause of grief). Having listened to thy words,
O thou of great powers of mind, I have become freed from sorrow and sin of
every kind. O illustrious Rishi, O holy one, I see this wheel of Time, endued with
mighty energy, of the most effulgent and Infinite Vishnu, has been set in motion.
Eternal is that station, from which all kinds of creation spring. That Vishnu is the
Supreme Soul. He is the foremost of Beings. In Him this entire universe rests.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Having said these words, O son of Kunti, Vritra cast off his
life-breaths, uniting his soul (in Yoga, with the supreme Soul), and attained to the
highest station.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „Tell me, O grandsire, whether this Janardana (Krishna) is
that illustrious and puissant Lord of whom Sanatkumara spoke unto Vritra in days
of old.‟
“Bhishma said, „The Highest Deity, endued with the six attributes of (puissance,
etc.) is at the Root. Staying there, the Supreme Soul, with his own energy,
creates all these diverse existent things.[1385] Know that this Kesava who knows
no deterioration is from His eighth portion. Endued with the highest Intelligence,
it is this Kesava who creates the three worlds with an eighth portion (of His
energy). Coming immediately after Him who lies at the Root, this Kesava who is
eternal (compared with all other existent things), changes at the end of each
Kalpa. He, however, who lies at the Root and who is endued with supreme might
and puissance, lies in the waters when universal destruction comes (in the form
of the potential Seed of all things). Kesava is that Creator of pure Soul who

courseth through all the eternal worlds.[1386] Infinite and Eternal as He is, He
fills all space (with emanations from Himself) and courseth through the universe
(in the form of everything that constitutes the universe). Freed as He is from
limitations of every kind such as the possession of attributes would imply, he
suffers himself to be invested with Avidya and awakened to Consciousness,
Kesava of Supreme Soul creates all things. In Him rests this wondrous universe
in its entirety.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „O thou that art conversant with the highest object
of knowledge, I think that Vritra saw beforehand the excellent end that
awaited him. It is for this, O grandsire, that he was happy and did not
yield to grief (in view of his coming Death). He who is White of hue, who
has taken birth in a pure or stainless race, and who has attained to the
rank of a Sadhya, doth not, O sinless one, come back (into the world for
re-birth). Such a person, O grandsire, is freed from both hell and the
status of all intermediate creatures. He, however, who has attained to either the
Yellow or the Red hue, is seen sometimes to be overwhelmed by Tamas and fall
among the order of Intermediate creatures. As regards ourselves, we are
exceedingly afflicted and attached to objects that are productive of sorrow or
indifference or joy. Alas, what will the end be to which we shall attain? Will it be
the Blue or the Dark which is the lowest of all hues?‟
“Bhishma continued, „Ye are Pandavas. Ye have been born in a stainless race.
Ye are of rigid vows. Having sported in joy in the regions of the gods, ye shall
come back to the world of men. Living happily as long as the creation lasts, all of
you at the next new creation will be admitted among the gods, and enjoying all
kinds of felicities ye will at last be numbered among the Siddhas. Let no fear be
yours. Be you cheerful.‟”
SECTION CCLXXXI
“Yudhishthira said, „How great was the love of virtue possessed by Vritra of
immeasurable energy, whose knowledge was incomparable and whose devotion
to Vishnu was so great. The status occupied by Vishnu of immeasurable energy
is exceedingly difficult of apprehension. How, O tiger among kings, could Vritra
(who was an Asura) comprehended it (so well)? Thou hast spoken of Vritra‟s
acts. I too have listened to thee in full faith. In consequence, however, of my
seeing that one point (in thy discourse) is unintelligible (and that, therefore, it
requires explanation), my curiosity has been roused for questioning thee
again.[1387] How, indeed, was Vritra, who was virtuous, devoted to Vishnu,
endued with knowledge of truth derivable from a just comprehension of the
Upanishads and Vedanta, vanquished by Indra, O foremost of men? O chief of
the Bharatas, resolve me this doubt. Indeed, tell me, O tiger among kings, how
Vritra was vanquished by Sakra![1388] O grandsire, O thou of mighty arms, tell
me in detail how the battle took place (between the chief of the deities and the
foremost of Asuras). My curiosity to hear it is very great.‟

Bhishma said, „In days of yore, Indra, accompanied by the celestial forces,
proceeded on his car, and beheld the Asura Vritra stationed before him like a
mountain. He was full five hundred Yojanas in height, O chastiser of foes, and
three hundred Yojanas in circumference. Beholding that form of Vritra, which was
incapable of being vanquished by the three worlds united together, the celestial
became penetrated with fear and full of anxiety. Indeed, suddenly seeing that
gigantic form of his antagonist, O king, Indra was struck with palsy in the lower
extremities. Then, on the eve of that great battle between the deities and the
Asuras, there arose loud shouts from both sides, and drums and other musical
instruments began to beat and blow. Beholding Sakra stationed before him, O
thou of Kuru‟s race, Vritra felt neither awe nor fear, nor was he disposed to
muster all his energies for the fight.[1389] Then the encounter commenced,
inspiring the three worlds with terror, between Indra, the chief of the deities, and
Vritra of high soul. The entire welkin was enveloped by the combats of both sides
with swords and axes and lances and darts and spears and heavy clubs and
rocks of diverse sizes and bows of loud twang and diverse kinds of celestial
weapons and fires and burning brands. All the celestials with Grandsire at their
head, and all the highly-blessed Rishis, came to witness the battle, on their
foremost of cars; and the Siddhas also, O bull of Bharata‟s race, and the
Gandharvas, with the Apsaras, on their own beautiful and foremost of cars, came
there (for the same purpose). Then Vritra, that foremost of virtuous persons,
quickly overwhelmed the welkin and the chief of the deities with a thick shower of
rocks. The celestials, at this, filled with rage, dispelled with their showers of
arrows that thick downpour of rocks showered by Vritra in battle. Then Vritra, O
tiger among the Kurus, possessed of mighty strength and endued with large
powers of illusion, stupefied the chief of the deities by fighting wholly with the aid
of his powers of illusion. When he of a hundred sacrifices, thus afflicted by Vritra.
was overcome by stupefaction, the sage Vasishtha restored him to his senses by
uttering Somanas.‟[1390]
“Vasishtha said, „Thou art the foremost of the gods, O chief of the deities, O
slayer of Daityas and Asuras! The strength of the three worlds is in thee! Why,
then, O Sakra, dost thou languish so! There, Brahman, and Vishnu, and Siva,
that lord of the universe, the illustrious and divine Soma, and all the highest
Rishis (stand, beholding thee)! Do not, O Sakra, yield to weakness, like an
ordinary person! Firmly resolved on battle, slay thy foes, O chief of the celestials!
There, that Master of all the worlds, viz., the Three-eyed (Siva), the adored of all
the worlds, is eyeing thee! Cast off this stupefaction, O chief of the celestials!
There, those regenerate Rishis, headed by Vrihaspati, are praising thee, for thy
victory, in celestial hymns.‟[1391]
“Bhishma continued, „While Vasava of great energy was thus being restored to
consciousness by the high-souled Vasishtha, his strength became greatly
enhanced. The illustrious chastiser of Paka then, relying upon his intelligence,
had recourse to high Yoga and with its aid dispelled these illusions of Vritra.
Then Vrihaspati, the son of Angiras, and those foremost of Rishis possessed of
great prosperity, beholding the prowess of Vritra, repaired to Mahadeva, and
impelled by the desire of benefiting the three worlds, urged him to destroy the

great Asura. The energy of that illustrious lord of the universe thereupon
assumed the character of a fierce fever and penetrated the body of Vritra the lord
of Asuras.[1392] The illustrious and divine Vishnu, adored of all the worlds, bent
upon protecting the universe, entered the thunderbolt of Indra. Then Vrihaspati of
great intelligence and Vasishtha of exceeding energy, and all the other foremost
of Rishis, repairing to Him of a hundred sacrifices, viz., the boon-giving Vasava,
the adored of all the worlds, addressed him, saying, „Slay Vritra, O puissant one,
without delay!‟
“Maheswara said, „Yonder, O Sakra, stands the great Vritra, accompanied by a
great force. He is the soul of the universe, capable of going everywhere, endued
with large powers of illusion, and possessed of great celebrity. This foremost of
Asuras is, therefore, incapable of being vanquished by even the three worlds
united together. Aided by Yoga, do thou slay him, O chief of the deities. Do not
disregard him. For full sixty thousand years, O chief of the celestials, Vritra
practised the severest penances for obtaining strength. Brahman gave him the
boons he had solicited, viz., the greatness that belongs to Yogins, large powers
of illusion, excess of might, and superabundant energy. I impart to thee my
energy, O Vasava! The Danava has now lost his coolness. Do thou, therefore,
slay him now with thy thunderbolt!‟
“Sakra said, „Before thy eyes, O foremost of gods, I shall, through thy grace, slay
with my thunderbolt this invincible son of Diti.‟
“Bhishma continued, „When the great Asura or Daitya was overtaken by that
fever (born of Mahadeva‟s energy), the deities and the Rishis, filled with joy,
uttered loud cheers, At the same time drums, and conchs of loud blare, and
kettle drums and tabors began to beat and blow by thousands. Suddenly all the
Asuras became afflicted with the loss of memory. In a trice, their powers of
illusion also disappeared. The Rishis and the deities, ascertaining the foe to be
thus possessed, uttered the praises of both Sakra and Isana, and began to urge
the former (to make no delay in destroying Vritra). The form that Indra assumed
on the eve of the encounter, while seated on his car and while his praises were
being hymned by the Rishis, became such that none could look at it without
awe.‟”[1393]
SECTION CCLXXXII
“Bhishma said, „Listen, O king, to me as I tell thee the symptoms that appeared
on the body of Vritra when he was overtaken by that fever (born of the energy of
Mahadeva). The heroic Asura‟s mouth began to emit flames of fire. He became
exceedingly pale. His body began to tremble all over. His breath became hard
and thick. His hairs stood on end. His memory, O Bharata, issued out of his
mouth in the form of a fierce, dreadful, and inauspicious jackal. Burning and
blazing meteors fell on his right and left. Vultures and kanakas and cranes,
gathering together, uttered fierce cries, as they wheeled over Vritra‟s head. Then,
in that encounter, Indra, adored by the gods, and armed with the thunderbolt,

looked hard at the Daitya as the latter sat on his car. Possessed by that violent
fever, the mighty Asura, O monarch, yawned and uttered inhuman cries.[1394]
While the Asura was yawning Indra hurled his thunderbolt at him. Endued with
exceedingly great energy and resembling the fire that destroys the creation at the
end of the Yuga, that thunderbolt overthrew in a trice Vritra of gigantic form. Loud
shouts were once more uttered by the gods on all sides when they beheld Vritra
slain, O bull of Bharata‟s race! Having slain Vritra, Maghavat, that foe of the
Danavas, possessed of great fame, entered heaven with that thunderbolt
pervaded by Vishnu. Just then, O thou of Kuru‟s race, the sin of Brahmanicide (in
her embodied form), fierce and awful and inspiring all the worlds with dread,
issued out of the body of the slain Vritra. Of terrible teeth and awful, hideous for
ugliness, and dark and tawny, with hair dishevelled, and dreadful eyes, O
Bharata, with a garland of skulls round her neck, and looking like an (Atharvan)
Incantation (in its embodied form), O bull of Bharata‟s race, covered all over with
blood, and clad in rags and barks of trees, O thou of righteous soul, she came
out of Vritra‟s body. Of such dreadful form and mien, O monarch, she sought the
wielder of the thunderbolt (for possessing him). A little while after, O thou of
Kuru‟s race, the slayer of Vritra, on some purpose connected with the good of the
three worlds, was proceeding towards heaven. Beholding Indra of great energy
thus proceeding on his mission, she seized the chief of the deities and from that
moment stuck to him.[1395] When the sin of Brahmanicide thus stuck to his
person and inspired him with terror, Indra entered the fibres of a lotus-stalk and
dwelt there for many long years. But the sin of Brahmanicide pursued him
closely. Indeed, O son of Kuru, seized by her, Indra became deprived of all his
energies. He made great efforts for driving her from him, but all those efforts
proved abortive. Seized by her, O bull of Bharata‟s race, the chief of the deities
at last presented himself before the Grandsire and worshipped him by bending
his head low. Understanding that Sakra was possessed by the sin of
Brahmanicide,[1396] Brahman began to reflect, O best of the Bharatas, (upon
the means of freeing his suppliant). The grandsire at last, O thou of mighty arms,
addressed Brahmanicide in a sweet voice as if from the desire of pacifying her,
and said, „O amiable one, let the chief of the celestials, who is a favourite of
mine, be freed from thee. Tell me, what I shall do for thee. What wish of thine
shall I accomplish?‟
“Brahmanicide said, „When the Creator of the three worlds, when the illustrious
god adored by the universe, hath been pleased with me, I regard my wishes as
already accomplished. Let my residence be now appointed. Desirous of
preserving the worlds, this rule had been made by thee. It was thou, O lord, that
didst introduced this important ordinance.[1397] As thou hast been gratified with
me, O righteous Lord, O puissant Master of all the worlds, I shall certainly leave
Sakra! But grant me an abode to dwell in.‟
“Bhishma continued, „The Grandsire replied unto Brahmanicide, saying, „So be
it!‟ Indeed, the Grandsire discovered means for dispelling Brahmanicide from the
person of Indra. The Self-create recollected the high-souled Agni. The latter
immediately presented himself to Brahman and said these words, „O illustrious

and divine Lord, O thou that are without any defect, I have appeared before thee.
It behoveth thee to say what I shall have to accomplish.‟
“Brahman said, „I shall divide this sin of Brahmanicide into several portions. For
freeing Sakra from her, do thou take a fourth portion of that sin.‟
“Agni said, „How shall I be rescued from her, O Brahman? O puissant Lord, do
thou appoint the way. I desire to know the means (of my own rescue) in detail, O
adored of all the worlds!‟
“Brahman said, „Unto that man who, overwhelmed by the quality of Tamas, will
abstain from offering thee as an oblation, when he beholds thee in thy blazing
form, seeds, herbs, and juices, that portion of Brahmanicide which thou wilt take
upon thyself shall immediately enter, and leaving thee shall dwell in him. O
carrier off oblations, let the fever of thy heart be dispelled.‟
“Bhishma said, „Thus addressed by the Grandsire the eater of oblations and
sacrificial offerings accepted his command. A fourth of that sin then entered his
person, O king! The Grandsire then summoned the trees, the herbs, and all kinds
of grass to him, and solicited them to take upon themselves a fourth of that sin.
Addressed by him, the trees and herbs and grasses became as much agitated as
Agni had been at the request, and they replied unto Grandsire, saying, „How shall
we, O Grandsire of all the worlds, be ourselves rescued from this sin? It
behoveth thee not to afflict us that have already been afflicted by the fates. O
god, we have always to endure heat and cold and the showers (of the clouds)
driven by the winds, in addition to the cutting and the tearing (that we have to
suffer at the hands of men). We are willing, O Lord of the three worlds, to take at
thy command (a portion of) this sin of Brahmanicide. Let the means, however, of
our rescue be pointed out to us.‟
“Brahman said, „This sin that you shall take shall possess the man who through
stupefaction of judgment will cut or tear any of you when Parva days come.‟
“Bhishma said, „Thus addressed by the high-souled Brahman, the trees and
herbs and grasses adored the Creator and then went away without tarrying there.
The Grandsire of all the worlds then summoned the Apsaras and gratifying them
with sweet words, O Bharata, said, „This foremost of ladies, viz., Brahmanicide,
has come out of Indra‟s person. Solicited by me, do you take a fourth portion of
her into your own persons (for saving the Chief of the deities).‟
“The Apsaras said, „O Lord of all the gods, at thy command we are fully willing to
take a portion of this sin. But, O Grandsire, do thou think of the means by which
we ourselves may be freed from (the effects of) this understanding (that we make
with thee).‟
“Brahman said, „Let the fever of your hearts be dispelled. The portion of this sin
that you will take upon yourselves shall leave you for instantly possessing that
man who will seek congress with women in their menstrual season!‟
“Bhishma continued, „Thus addressed by the Grandsire, O bull of Bharata‟s race,
the diverse tribes of the Apsaras, with cheerful souls, repaired to their respective
places and began to sport in delight. The illustrious Creator of the three worlds,

endued with great ascetic merit, then recollected the Waters which immediately
came to him. Arrived at the presence of Brahman of immeasurable energy, the
Waters bowed unto him and said these words, „We have come before thee, O
chastiser of foes, at thy command. O puissant Master of all the worlds, tell us
what we are to accomplish.‟
“Brahman said, „This dreadful sin hath taken possession of Indra, in
consequence of his having slain Vritra. Take ye a fourth part of Brahmanicide.‟
“The Waters said, „Let it be as thou commandest, O master of all the worlds. It
behoveth thee, however, O puissant Lord of ours, to think of the means by which
we may (in our turn) be rescued from (the consequence of) this understanding.
Though art the Lord of all the deities, and the supreme refuge of the universe.
Who else is there to whom we may pay our adorations so that he may relieve us
from distress.‟
“Brahman said, „Unto that man who stupefied by his understanding and regarding
you lightly will cast into you phlegm and urine and excreta, this one shall
immediately go and thenceforth reside in him. It is in this way, verily I say unto
ye, that your rescue shall be accomplished.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Then the sin of Brahmanicide, O Yudhishthira, leaving the
chief of the deities, proceeded to the abodes that were ordained for her at the
Grandsire‟s command. It was thus, O ruler of men, that Indra had become
afflicted by that dreadful sin (and it was thus that he got rid of her). With the
Grandsire‟s permission Indra then resolved to perform a Horse-sacrifice. It is
heard, O monarch, that Indra having been thus possessed by the sin of
Brahmanicide afterwards became cleansed of her through that Sacrifice.
Regaining his prosperity and slaying thousands of foes, great was the joy that
Vasava obtained, O lord of Earth! From the blood of Vritra, O son of Pritha, were
born high-crested cocks. For this reason, those fowls are unclean (as food) for
the regenerate classes, and those ascetics that have undergone the rite of
initiation. Under all circumstances, O king, do thou accomplish what is agreeable
to the twice-born, for these, O monarch, are known as gods on earth. It was in
this way, O thou of Kurds race, that the mighty Asura Vritra was slain by Sakra of
immeasurable energy by the aid of subtle intelligence and through the application
of means. Thou also, O son of Kunti, unvanquished on earth, wilt become
another Indra and the slayer of all thy foes. Those men who, on every Parva day,
will recite this sacred narrative of Vritra in the midst of Brahmanas shall never be
stained by any sin. I have now recited to thee one of the greatest and most
wonderful feats of Indra connected with Vritra. What else dost thou wish to
hear?‟”
SECTION CCLXXXIII
“Yudhishthira said, „O grandsire, thou art possessed of great wisdom and
thoroughly conversant with every branch of learning. From this very narrative of

the slaughter of Vritra the wish has arisen in my mind of asking thee a question.
Thou hast said, O ruler of men, that Vritra was (first) stupefied by Fever, and that
then, O sinless one, he was slain by Vasava with the thunderbolt. How did this
Fever, O thou of great wisdom, arise? O lord, I desire to hear in detail of the
origin of Fever.‟
“Bhishma said, „Listen, O king, to the origin, celebrated over all the world, of
Fever. I shall speak in detail on this topic, fully explaining how Fever first sprang
into existence, O Bharata! In days of yore, O monarch, there was a summit,
named Savitri, of the mountains of Meru. Worshipped by all the worlds, it was
endued with great splendour and adorned with every kind of jewels and gems.
That summit was immeasurable in extent and thither no one could go.[1398] On
that mountain summit the divine Mahadeva used to sit in splendour as if on a
bed-stead adorned with gold. The daughter of the king of mountains, sitting by
his side, shone in brilliance.[1399] The high-souled deities, the Vasus of
immeasurable energy, the high-souled Aswins, those foremost of physicians, and
king Vaisravana waited upon by many a Guhyaka,--that lord of the Yakshas,
endued with prosperity and puissance, and having his abode on the summit of
Kailasa,--all waited upon the highsouled Mahadeva. And the great sage Usanas,
and the foremost of Rishis having Sanatkumara for their first, and the other
celestial Rishis headed by Angiras, and the Gandharva Viswavasu, and Narada
and Parvata, and the diverse tribes of Apsaras, all came there to wait upon the
Master of the universe. A pure and auspicious breeze, bearing diverse kinds of
perfumes, blew there. The trees that stood there were adorned with the flowers
of every season. A large number of Vidyadharas and Siddhas and ascetics too,
O Bharata, repaired thither for waiting upon Mahadeva, the Lord of all creatures.
Many ghostly beings, also, of diverse forms and aspects, and many dreadful
Rakshasas and mighty Pisachas, of diverse aspects, mad with joy, and armed
with diverse kinds of uplifted weapons, forming the train of Mahadeva, were
there, every one of whom resembled a blazing fire in energy. The illustrious
Nandi stood there at the command of the great god, blazing with his own energy
and armed with a lance that resembled a flame of fire. Ganga also, that foremost
of all Rivers and born of all sacred waters in the universe, waited there in her
embodied form, O son of Kuru‟s race, upon that illustrious deity. Thus adored by
the celestial Rishis and the gods, the illustrious Mahadeva of immeasurable
energy dwelt on that summit of Meru.
“After some time had passed away, the Prajapati Daksha[1400] commenced to
perform a Sacrifice according to the ancient rites (laid down in the Vedas). Unto
the Sacrifice of Daksha, all the deities headed by Sakra, assembling together,
resolved to repair. It hath been heard by us that the high-souled deities, with the
permission o f Mahadeva, mounted their celestial cars resembling the fire or the
Sun in splendour, and proceeded to that spot (on the Himavat) whence the
Ganges is said to issue. Beholding the deities depart, the excellent daughter of
the king of mountains, addressed her divine spouse, viz., the Lord of all
creatures, and said, „O illustrious one, whither are those deities headed by Sakra
going? O thou that art conversant with the truth, tell me truly, for a great doubt
has filled my mind.‟

“Maheswara said, „O lady that art highly blessed, the excellent Prajapati Daksha
is adoring the gods in a Horse-sacrifice. These denizens of heaven are
proceeding even thither.‟
“Uma said, „Why, O Mahadeva, dost thou not proceed to that Sacrifice?
What objection is there of thy going to that place?‟
“Maheswara said, „O highly blessed lady, the deities in days of yore made an
arrangement in consequence of which no share was assigned to me of offerings
in all Sacrifices. Agreeably to the course that was sanctioned in consequence of
that arrangement, O thou of the fairest complexion, the deities do not give me,
following the old custom, any share of the sacrificial offerings.‟
“Uma said, O illustrious one, among all beings thou art the foremost in
puissance. In merit, in energy, in fame, and in prosperity, thou yieldest to none,
and thou art, indeed, superior to all. In consequence, however, of this disability in
respect of a share (in the Sacrificial offerings) I am filled with great grief, O
sinless one, and a tremor overtakes me from head to foot.‟
“Bhishma continued, „The goddess (Parvati), having said these words unto her
divine spouse, the Lord of all creatures, O monarch, remained silent, her heart
burning the while in grief. Then Mahadeva, understanding what was in her heart
and what her thoughts were (for wiping off that disgrace), addressed Nandi,
saying, „Wait here (by the goddess). Summoning all his Yoga force, that Lord of
all lords of Yoga, that god of gods, that wielder of Pinaka, possessed of mighty
energy, quickly proceeded to the place (where Daksha was sacrificing)
accompanied by all his terrible followers and destroyed that Sacrifice. Amongst
these followers of his, some uttered loud cries, and some laughed terribly, and
some, O king, extinguished the (Sacrificial) fires with blood; and some,
possessed of awful faces, pulling up the sacrificial stakes, began to whirl them.
Others began to devour those that were ministering to the Sacrifice. Then that
sacrifice, thus afflicted on every side, assumed the form of a deer and sought to
fly away through the skies. Ascertaining that the Sacrifice was running away in
that form, the puissant Mahadeva began to pursue him with bow and arrow. In
consequence of the wrath that then filled the heart of that foremost of all gods,
possessed of immeasurable energy, a dreadful drop of sweat appeared on his
forehead. When that drop of sweat fell down on the earth, there forthwith
appeared a blazing fire resembling the (all-destructive) conflagration that appears
at the end of a Yuga. From that fire issued a dreadful being, O monarch, of very
short stature, possessed of blood-red eyes and a green beard. His body was
covered entirely with hair like a hawk‟s or an owl‟s and his hair stood erect. Of
dreadful aspect, his complexion was dark and his attire blood-red. Like a fire
burning a heap of dry grass or straw, that Being of great energy quickly
consumed the embodied form of Sacrifice. Having accomplished that feat, he
then rushed towards the deities and the Rishis that had assembled there. The
deities, filled with fear, fled in all directions. In consequence of that Being‟s tread,
the earth, O monarch began to tremble.[1401] Exclamations of Oh and Alas

arose throughout the universe. Marking this, the puissant Grandsire, showing
himself unto Mahadeva, addressed him in the following words.‟
“Brahman said, „O puissant one, the deities will henceforth yield thee a share of
the sacrificial offerings! O Lord of all the deities, let this wrath of thine be
withdrawn by thee! O scorcher of foes, there, those gods, and the Rishis, in
consequence of thy wrath, O Mahadeva, have become exceedingly agitated.
This Being also, that hath sprung from thy sweat, O foremost of gods, shall
wander among creatures, O righteous-souled one, under the name of Fever. O
puissant one, if the energy of this Being remains all collected together, then the
entire earth herself will not be able to bear him. Let him, therefore, be distributed
into many parts.‟ When Brahman had said these words, and when his proper
share was appointed of the sacrificial offerings, Mahadeva replied unto the
Grandsire of great energy, saying, „So be id‟ Indeed, the wielder of Pinaka, viz.,
Bhava, smiled a little and became filled with joy. And he accepted the share that
the Grandsire appointed of the offerings in sacrifices. Conversant with the
properties of everything, Mahadeva then distributed Fever into many portions, for
the peace of all creatures. Listen, O son, as to how he did this. The heat that is
perceptible in the heads of elephants, the bitumen of mountains,[1402] the moss
that floats on water, the slough of snakes, the sores that appear in the hoofs of
bulls, the sterile tracts of earth that are full of saline matter, the dullness of vision
of all animals, the diseases that appear in the throats of horses, the crests
appearing on the heads of peacocks, the eye-disease of the koel,[1403] each of
these was named Fever by the high-souled Mahadeva. This is what has been
heard by us. The liver-disease also of sheep, and the hiccup of parrots are also
each known as forms of Fever. To this must be added the toil that tigers undergo,
for that also, O, righteous king, is known as a from of Fever. Besides these, O
Bharata, amongst men, Fever enters all bodies at the time of birth, of death, and
on other occasions. This then that is called Fever is known to be the dreadful
energy of Maheswara. He is endued with authority over all creatures and should,
therefore, be held in respect and worshipped by all. It was by him that Vritra, that
foremost of virtuous persons, was overtaken when he yawned. It was then that
Sakra hurled his thunderbolt at him. Thunderbolt, penetrating the body of Vritra,
O Bharata, divided him in twain. Divided in twain by the thunderbolt, the mighty
Asura possessed of great Yoga powers, proceeded to the region of Vishnu of
immeasurable energy. It was in consequence of his devotion to Vishnu that he
had succeeded in overwhelming the whole universe. And it was in consequence
of his devotion to Vishnu that he ascended, when slain, to the region of Vishnu.
Thus, O son, adverting: to the story of Vritra have I recited to thee the narrative in
detail of Fever. Upon what else shall I speak to thee? That man who will read this
account of the origin of Fever with close attention and cheerful heart shall
become free from disease and shall always have happiness for his share. Filled
with gladness, he shall have all the wishes accomplished upon which he may set
his heart.‟”

SECTION CCLXXXIV
“Janamejaya said, „How O Brahmana, was the Horse-sacrifice of the Prajapati
Daksha, the son of Prachetas, destroyed during the age of Vaivaswata Manu?
Understanding that the goddess Uma had become filled with rage and grief, the
puissant Mahadeva, who is the soul of all things, gave way to wrath. How, again,
through his grace, was Daksha enable to reunite the divided limbs of that
Sacrifice? I desire to know all this. Tell me all this, O Brahmana, truly as it
occurred.‟
“Vaisampayana said, „In days of yore Daksha made arrangements for performing
a Sacrifice on the breast of Himavat in that sacred region inhabited by Rishis and
Siddhas where the Ganges issues out of the mountains. Overgrown with trees
and creepers of diverse kinds that spot abounded with Gandharvas and Apsaras.
Surrounded by crowds of Rishis, Daksha, that foremost of virtuous men, that
progenitor of creatures, was waited upon by the denizens of the earth, the
firmament, and the heavens, with their hands joined together in reverence. The
gods, the Danavas, the Gandharvas, the Pisachas, the Snakes, the Rakshasas,
the two Gandharvas named Haha and Huhu, Tumvuru and Narada, Viswavasu,
Viswasena, the Gandharvas and the Apsaras, the Adityas, the Vasus, the
Rudras, the Sadhyas, the Maruts, all came there with Indra for sharing in the
Sacrifice. The drinkers of Soma, the drinkers of smoke, the drinkers of Ajya, the
Rishis, and the Pitris came there with the Brahmanas. These, and many other
living creatures belonging to the four orders, viz., viviparous and oviparous and
filth-born and vegetable, were invited to that Sacrifice. The gods also, with their
spouses, respectfully invited thereto, came on their celestial cars and seated
thereon shone like blazing fires. Beholding them, the Rishi Dadhichi became
filled with grief and wrath, and said, „This is neither a Sacrifice nor a meritorious
rite of religion, since Rudra is not adored in it. Ye are certainly exposing
yourselves to death and chains. Alas, how untoward is the course of time.
Stupefied by error you do not behold that destruction awaits you. A terrible
calamity stands at your door in course of this great Sacrifice. Ye are blind to it!‟
Having said these words, that great Yogin saw into the future with eyes of (Yoga)
contemplation. He beheld Mahadeva, and his divine spouse, viz., that giver of
excellent boons (seated on the summit of Kailasa) with the highsouled Narada
sitting beside the goddess. Conversant with Yoga, Dadhichi became highly
gratified, having ascertained what was about to happen. All the deities and others
that had come there were of one mind with reference to the omission to invite the
Lord of all creatures. Dadhichi alone, desirous of leaving that spot, then said, „By
worshipping one who should not be worshipped, and by refusing to worship him
who should be worshipped, a man incurs the sin of homicide for ever. I have
never before spoken an untruth, and an untruth I shall never speak. Here in the
midst of the gods and the Rishis I say the truth. The Protector of all creatures, the
Creator of the universe, the Lord of all, the Puissant master, the taker of
sacrificial offerings, will soon come to this Sacrifice and you all shall see him.‟

“Daksha said, „We have many Rudras armed with lances and bearing matted
locks on their heads. They are eleven in number. I know them all, but I do not
know who this (new Rudra) Maheswara is.‟
“Dadhichi said, „This seems to be the counsel of all that are here, viz., that
Maheswara should not be invited. As, however, I do not behold any god that can
be said to be superior to him. I am sure that this proposed Sacrifice of Daksha
will certainly be overtaken by destruction.‟
“Daksha said, „Here, in this vessel of gold, intended for the Lord of all Sacrifices,
is the sacrificial offering sanctified by mantras and (rites) according to the
ordinance. I intend to make this offering unto Vishnu who is beyond compare. He
is puissant and the Master of all, and unto Him should sacrifices be performed.‟
„Meanwhile,‟ continued Vaisampayana, „the goddess Uma, sitting with her lord,
“Uma said, „What are those gifts, what those vows, and what are those
penances, that I should make or undergo by means of which my illustrious
husband may be able to obtain a half or a third share of the offerings in
sacrifices. Unto his wife who was agitated with grief and who repeated these
words the illustrious Mahadeva said with a joyous countenance, „Thou dost not
know me, O goddess! Thou knowest not, O thou of delicate limbs and low belly,
what words are proper to be addressed to the Lord of Sacrifices. O lady of large
eyes, I know that it is only the sinful, who are bereft of contemplation, that do not
understand me.[1404] It is through thy power of illusion that the deities with Indra
at their head and the three worlds all become stupefied.[1405] It is to me that the
chanters utter their praises in Sacrifices. It is to me that the Saman-singers sing
their Rathantaras. It is to me that Brahmanas conversant with the Vedas perform
their Sacrifices. And it is to me that the Adhvaryus dedicate the shares of
sacrificial offerings.‟
“The goddess said, „Persons of even ordinary abilities applaud themselves and
indulge in the presence of their spouses. There is no doubt in this.‟
“The holy one said, „O Queen of all the gods, I do not certainly applaud my
ownself. Behold now, O lady of slender waist, what I do. Behold the Being that I
will create, O thou of the fairest complexion, for (destroying) this Sacrifice (that
has displeased thee), O my beautiful spouse.
“Having said these words unto his spouse Uma who was dearer to him than his
own life, the puissant Mahadeva created from his mouth a terrible Being whose
very sight could make one‟s hair stand on its end. The blazing flames that
emanated from his body rendered him exceedingly awful to behold. His arms
were many in number and in each was a weapon that struck the beholder with
fear. That Being, thus created, stood before the great god, with joined hands, and
said, „What commands shall I have to accomplish?‟ Maheswara answered him,
saying, „Go and destroy the Sacrifice of Daksha.‟ Thus ordered, that Being of
leonine prowess who had issued from the mouth of Mahadeva, desired to
destroy the Sacrifice of Daksha, without putting forth all his energy and without

the assistance of any one else, for dispelling the wrath of Uma. Urged by her
wrath, the spouse of Maheswara, herself assuming a dreadful form that is known
by the name Mahakali, proceeded in the company of that Being who had issued
from Mahadeva‟s mouth, for witnessing with her own eyes the act of destruction
which was her own (for it was she who had impelled her lord to accomplish it for
her sake). That mighty Being then set out, having obtained the permission of
Mahadeva and having bowed his head unto him. In energy, strength, and form,
he resembled Maheswara himself who had created him. Indeed, he was the
living embodiment of (Mahadeva‟s) wrath. Of immeasurable might and energy,
and of immeasurable courage and prowess, he came to be called by the name of
Virabhadra—that dispeller of the goddess‟s wrath. He then created from the
pores of his body a large number of spirit chiefs known by the name of Raumyas.
Those fierce bands of spirits, endued with terrible energy and prowess and
resembling Rudra himself on that account, rushed with the force of thunder to
that place where Daksha was making preparations for his sacrifice, impelled by
the desire of destroying it. Possessed of dreadful and gigantic forms, they
numbered by hundreds and thousands. They filled the sky with their confused
cries and shrieks. That noise filled the denizens of heaven with fear. The very
mountains were riven and the earth trembled. Whirl winds began to blow. The
Ocean rose in a surge. The fires that were kindled refused to blaze up. The Sun
became dimmed. The planets, the stars, and constellations, and the moon, no
longer shone. The Rishis, the gods, and human beings, looked pale. A universal
darkness spread over earth and sky. The insulted Rudras began to set fire to
everything. Some amongst them of terrible form began to smite and strike. Some
tore up the sacrificial stakes. Some began to grind and others to crush. Endued
with the speed of wind or thought, some began to rush close and far. Some
began to break the sacrificial vessels and the celestial ornaments. The scattered
fragments strewed the ground like stars bespangling the firmament. Heaps of
excellent viands, of bottles of drink, and of eatables there were that looked like
mountains. Rivers of milk ran on every side, with clarified butter and Payasa for
their mire, creamy curds for their water, and crystalised sugar for their sands.
Those rivers contained all the six tastes. There were lakes of treacle that looked
very beautiful. Meat of diverse kinds, of the best quality, and other eatables of
various sorts, and many excellent varieties of drink, and several other kinds of
food that might be licked and sucked, began to be eaten by that army of spirits
with diverse mouths. And they began to cast off and scatter those varieties of
food in all directions. In consequence of Rudra‟s wrath, every one of those
gigantic Beings looked like the all-destructive Yuga-fire. Agitating the celestial
troops they caused them to tremble with fear and fly away in all directions. Those
fierce spirits sported with one another, and seizing the celestial damsels shoved
and hurled them on all sides. Of fierce deeds, those Beings, impelled by Rudra‟s
wrath, very soon burnt that Sacrifice although it was protected with great care by
all the deities. Loud were the roars they uttered which struck every living creature
with dread. Having torn off the head of Sacrifice they indulged in glee and shouts.
Then the gods headed by Brahman, and that progenitor of creatures, viz.,

Daksha, joining their hands in reverence, addressed that mighty Being, saying,
„Tell us, who thou art.‟
“Virabhadra said, „I am neither Rudra nor his spouse, the goddess Uma. Nor
have I come here for partaking of the fare (provided in this Sacrifice). Knowing
the fact of Uma‟s wrath, the puissant Lord who is the soul of all creatures has
given way to wrath. I have not come here for seeing these foremost of
Brahmanas. I have not come here urged by curiosity. Know that I have come
here for destroying this Sacrifice of yours. I am known by the name of Virabhadra
and I have sprung from the wrath of Rudra. This lady (who is my companion),
and who is called Bhadrakali, hath sprung from the wrath of the goddess. We
have both been despatched by that god of gods, and we have accordingly come
here. O foremost of Brahmanas, seek the protection of that Lord of the deities,
the spouse of Uma. It is preferable to incur even the wrath of that foremost of
gods than to obtain boons from any other Deity.‟ Hearing the words of
Virabhadra, Daksha, that foremost of all righteous persons, bowed down unto
Maheswara and sought to gratify him by uttering the following hymn, „I throw
myself at the feet of the effulgent Isana, who is Eternal, Immutable, and
Indestructible; who is the foremost of all gods, who is endued with high soul, who
is the Lord of all the universe.‟ [Here follow five and half slokas which appear to
be interpolations]. His praises having thus been hymned, the great god,
Mahadeva, suspending both Prana and Apana (the two foremost of the five life-
breaths) by shutting his mouth properly, and casting (benignant) glances on
every side, showed himself there. Possessed of many eyes, that vanquisher of
all foes, that Lord of even the gods of all gods, suddenly arose from within the pit
in which was kept the sacrificial fire. Possessed of the effulgence of a thousand
Suns, and looking like another Samvartaka, the great god smiled gently (at
Daksha) and addressing him, said, „What, O Brahmana, shall I do for you?‟ At
this juncture, the preceptor of all the deities adored Mahadeva with the Vedic
verses contained in the Moksha sections. Then that progenitor of all creatures,
viz., Daksha, joining his hands in reverence, filled with dread and fear,
exceedingly agitated, and with face and eyes bathed in tears, addressed the
great god in the following words.‟
“Daksha said, „If the great god has been gratified with me,--„if indeed, I have
become an object of favour with him,--if I have deserved his kindness,--if the
great Lord of all creatures is disposed to grant me boons,--then let all these
articles of mine that have been burnt, eaten, drunk, swallowed, destroyed,
broken, and polluted,--let all these articles, collected in course of these articles
be of use to me. Even this is the boon I crave.‟ Unto him the many long years,
and with great care and effort, go not for nothing. Let illustrious Hara, the tearer
of Bhaga‟s eyes, said, „Let it be as thou sayest!‟ Even these were the words of
that illustrious progenitor of all creatures, that god of three eyes, that protector of
righteousness.[1406] Having obtained that boon from Bhava, Daksha knelt down
to him and adored that deity having the bull for his mark, by uttering his thousand
and eight names.‟

SECTION CCLXXXV
“Yudhishthira said, „It behoveth thee, O sire, to tell me those names by which
Daksha, that progenitor of creatures, adored the great deity. O sinless one, a
reverent curiosity impels me to hear them.‟
“Bhishma said, „Hear, O Bharata, what the names, both secret and proclaimed,
are of that god of gods, that deity of extraordinary feats, that ascetic of secret
vows.‟
“Daksha said, „I bow to thee, O lord of all the gods to the destroyer of the forces
of the Asuras. Thou art the paralyser of the strength of the celestial chief himself.
Thou art adored by both gods and Danavas. Thou art thousand-eyed, thou art
fierce-eyed, and thou art three-eyed. Thou art the friend of the ruler of the
Yakshas. Thy hands and feet extend in all directions to all places. Thy eyes also
and head and mouth are turned on all sides. Thy ears too are everywhere in the
universe, and thou art thyself everywhere, O Lord! Thou art shaft-eared, thou art
large-eared, and thou art pot-eared. Thou art the receptacle of the Ocean. Thy
ears are like those of the elephant, or of the bull, or like extended palms.
Salutations to thee! Thou hast a hundred stomachs, a hundred revolutions, and a
hundred tongues. I bow to thee! The utterers of the Gayatri sing thy praises in
uttering the Gayatri, and the worshippers of the Sun adore thee in adoring the
Sun. The Rishis regard thee as Brahmana, as Indra, and as the (illimitable)
firmament above. O thou of mighty form, the Ocean and the Sky are thy two
forms. All the deities dwell in thy form even as kine dwell within the fold. In thy
body I behold Soma, and Agni, and the lord of the Waters, and Aditya, and
Vishnu, and Brahmana, and Vrihaspati. Thou, O illustrious one, art Cause and
Effect and Action and Instrument of everything unreal and real, and thou art
Creation and Destruction. I bow unto thee that art called Bhava and Sarva and
Rudra. I bow unto thee that art the giver of boons. I bow always unto thee that art
the Lord of all creatures. Salutations to thee that art the slayer of Andhaka.
Salutations to thee that hast three matted locks, to thee that hast three heads, to
thee that art armed with an excellent trident; to thee that hast three eyes and that
art, therefore, called Tryamvaka and Trinetra! Salutations to thee that art the
destroyer of the triple city! Salutations to thee that art called Chanda, and
Kunda; to thee that art the (universal) egg and also the bearer of the (universal)
egg; to thee that art the holder of the ascetic‟s stick, to thee that hast ears
everywhere, and to thee that art called Dandimunda! Salutations to thee whose
teeth and hair are turned upwards, to thee that art stainless and white, and that
art stretched all over the universe; to thee that art red, to thee that art tawny, and
to thee that hast a blue throat! Salutations to thee that art of incomparable form,
that art of dreadful form, and that art highly auspicious! To thee that art Surya,
that hast a garland of Suryas round thy neck, and that hast standards and flags
bearing the device of Surya. Salutations to thee that art the Lord of spirits and
ghosts, to thee that art bull-necked, and that art armed with the bow; to thee that
crushest all foes, to thee that art the personification of chastisement, and to thee

that art clad in leaves (of trees) and rags. Salutations to thee that bearest gold in
thy stomach, to thee that art cased in golden mail, to thee that art gold-crested, to
thee that art the lord of all the gold in the world! Salutations to thee that hast
been adored, that deservest to be adored, and that art still being adored; to thee
that art all things, that devourest all things, and that art the soul of all things!
Salutations to thee that art the Hotri (in sacrifices), that art the (Vedic) mantras
uttered (in sacrifices), and that ownest white flags and standards. Salutations to
thee that art the navel of the universe, that art both cause and effect in the form
of the five primal elements, and that art the coverer of all covers. Salutations to
thee that art called Krisanasa, that art of thin limbs, and that art thin. Salutations
to thee that art always cheerful and that art the personification of confused
sounds and voices. Salutations to thee that art about to be stretched on the
earth, that art already stretched, and that standing upright. Salutations to thee
that art fixed, that art running, that art bald, and that bearest matted locks on thy
head. Salutation to thee that art fond of dancing and that strikest thy puffed
cheeks making thy mouth a drum.[1407] Salutations to thee that art fond of
lotuses that blow in rivers, and that art always fond of singing and playing on
musical instruments. Salutations to thee that art the eldest-born, that art the
foremost of all creatures, and that art the crusher of the Asura Vala. Salutations
to thee that art the Master of Time, that art the personification of Kalpa; that art
the embodiment of all kinds of destruction, great and small. Salutations to thee
that laughest awfully and as loud as the beat of a drum, and that observest
dreadful vows! Salutations for ever to thee that art fierce, and that hast ten arms.
Salutations to thee that art armed with bones and that art fond of the ashes of
funeral pyres. Salutations to thee that art awful, that art terrible to behold, and
that art an observer of dreadful vows and practices. Salutations to thee that
ownest an ugly mouth, that hast a tongue resembling a scimitar, and that hast
large teeth. Salutations to thee that art fond of both cooked and uncooked meat,
and that regardest the gourded Vina as highly dear. Salutations to thee that
causest rain, that helpest the cause of righteousness, that art identifiable with the
form of Nandi, and that art Righteousness‟ self! Salutations to thee that art ever
moving like wind and the other forces, that the controller of all things, and that art
always engaged in cooking all creatures (in the cauldron of Time).[1408]
Salutations to thee that art the foremost of all creatures, that art superior, and
that art the giver of boons. Salutations to thee that hast the best of garlands, the
best of scents, and the best of robes, and that givest the best of boons to the
best of creatures. Salutations to thee that art attached, that art freed from all
attachments, that art of the form of Yoga contemplation, and that art adorned
with a garland of Akshas. Salutations to thee that art united as cause and
disunited as effects, and that art the form of shadow and of light. Salutations to
thee that art amiable, and that art frightful, and that art exceedingly so.
Salutations to thee that art auspicious, that art tranquil, and that art most tranquil.
Salutations to thee that art of one leg and many eyes, and that hast only one
head; to thee that art fierce, to thee that art gratified with little offerings, and thee
that art fond of equity. Salutations to thee that art the artificer of the universe, and
that art ever united with the attribute of tranquillity. Salutations to thee that

bearest a foe-frightening bell, that art of the form of the jingle made by a bell, and
that art of the form of sound when it is not perceptible by the ear.[1409]
Salutations to thee that art like a thousand bells jingled together, and that art fond
of a garland of bells, that art like the sound that the life-breaths make, that art of
the form of all scents and of the confused noise of boiling liquids. Salutations to
thee that art beyond three Huns, and that art fond of two Huns. Salutations to
thee that art exceedingly tranquil, and that hast the shade of mountain trees for
thy habitation.[1410] Thou art fond of the heart-flesh of all creatures, that
cleansest from all sins, and that art of the form of sacrificial offerings. Salutations
to thee that art of the form of Sacrifice, that art the Sacrificer himself, that art the
Brahmana into whose mouth is poured the sacrificial butter, and that art the fire
into which is poured the butter inspired with mantras[1411] Salutations to thee
that art of the form of (sacrificial) Ritwijes, that hast thy senses under control, that
art made of Sattwa, and that hast Rajas also in thy make. Salutations to thee that
art of the banks of Rivers, of Rivers themselves, and of the lord of all Rivers (viz.,
the Ocean)! Salutations to thee that art the giver of food, that art the lord of all
food, and that art identical with him that takes food! Salutations to thee that hast
a thousand heads and a thousand feet-, to thee that hast a thousand tridents
uplifted in thy hands, and a thousand eyes! Salutations to thee that art of the
form of the rising Sun, and that art of the form of a child, that art the protector of
attendants all of whom are of the form of children,[1412] and that art, besides, of
the form of children‟s toys. Salutations to thee that art old, that art covetous, that
art already agitated, and that art about to be agitated. Salutations to thee that
hast locks of hair marked by the current of the Ganges, and that hast locks of
hair resembling blades of Munja grass! Salutations to thee that art gratified with
the six (well-known) acts, and that art devoted to the performance of the three
acts.[1413] Salutations to thee that hast assigned the duties of the respective
modes of life. Salutations to thee that deservest to, be praised in sounds, that art
of the form of sorrow, and that art of the form of deep and confused noise.
Salutations to thee that hast eyes both white and tawny, as also dark and red.
Salutations to thee that hast conquered thy vital breaths, that art of the form of
weapons, that rivest all things, and that art exceedingly lean. Salutations to thee
that always discoursest of Religion, Pleasure, Profit, and Emancipation.
Salutations to thee that art a Sankhya, that art the foremost of Sankhyas, and
that art the introducer of the Sankhya-Yoga.[1414] Salutations to thee that hast a
car and that art without a car (for thy journeys).[1415] Salutations to thee that
hast the intersections of four roads for thy car; to thee that hast the skin of a
black deer for thy upper garments, and that hast a snake for thy sacred thread.
Salutations to thee that art Isana, that art of body as hard as thunderbolt, and
that art of green locks. Salutations to thee that art of three eyes, that art the lord
of Amvika, that art Manifest, and that art Unmanifest.[1416] Salutations to thee
that art Desire, that art the Giver of all desires, that art the Killer of all desires,
and that art the discriminator between the gratified and the ungratified.
Salutations to thee that art all things, the Giver of all things, and the Destroyer of
all things. Salutations to thee that art the hues which appear in the evening sky.
Salutations to thee that art of mighty strength, that art of mighty arms, that art a

mighty Being, and that art of great effulgence. Salutations to thee that lookest
like a mighty mass of clouds, and that art the embodiment of eternity! Salutations
to thee that art of well-developed body, that art of emaciated limbs, that bearest
matted locks on thy head, and that art clad in barks of trees and skins of animals.
Salutations to thee that hast matted locks as effulgent as the Sun or the Fire, and
that hast barks and skins for thy attire. Salutations to thee that art possessed of
the effulgence of a thousand Suns, and that art ever engaged in penances.
Salutations to thee that art the excitement of Fever and that art endued with
matted locks drenched with the waters of the Ganges characterised by hundreds
of eddies. Salutations to thee that repeatedly revolvest the Moon, the Yugas,
and the clouds.[1417] Thou art food, thou art he who eats that food, thou art the
giver of food, thou art the grower of food, and thou art the creator of food.
Salutations to thee that cookest food and that eatest cooked food, and that art
both wind and fire! O lord of all the lords of the gods, thou art the four orders of
living creatures, viz., the viviparous, the oviparous, the filth-born, and plants.
Thou art the Creator of the mobile and immobile universe, and thou art their
Destroyer! O foremost of all persons conversant with Brahma, they that are
conversant with Brahma regard thee as Brahma! The utterers of Brahma say that
thou art the Supreme source of Mind, and the Refuge upon which Space, Wind,
and Light rest. Thou art the Richs and the Samans, and the syllable Om. O
foremost of all deities, those utterers of Brahma that sing the Samans constantly
sing thee when they utter the syllables Hayi-Hayi, Huva-Hayi, and Huva-
Hoyi.[1418] Thou art made up of the Yajuses, of the Richs, and of the offerings
poured on the sacrificial fire. The hymns contained in the Vedas and the
Upanishads adore thee![1419] Thou art the Brahmanas and the Kshatriyas, the
Vaisyas, and the Sudras, and the other castes formed by intermixture. Thou art
those masses of clouds that appear in the sky; thou art Lightning; and thou art
the roar of thunder. Thou art the year, thou art the seasons, thou art the month,
and thou art the fortnight. Thou art Yuga, thou art the time represented by a
twinkle of the eye, thou art Kashtha, thou art the Constellations, thou art the
Planets, thou art Kala. Thou art the tops of all trees, thou art the highest summits
of all mountains. Thou art the tiger among the lower animals, thou art Garuda
among birds, and thou art Ananta among snakes. Thou art the ocean of milk
among all oceans and thou art the bow among instruments for hurling weapons.
Thou art the thunder among weapons, and thou art Truth among vows. Thou art
Aversion and thou art Desire: thou art attachment and thou art stupefaction (of
judgment): thou art Forgiveness and thou art Unforgiveness. Thou art Exertion,
and thou art Patience: thou art Cupidity: thou art Lust and thou art Wrath: thou art
Victory and thou art Defeat. Thou art armed with mace, and thou art armed with
shaft: thou art armed with the bow, and thou bearest the Khattanga and the
Jharjhara in thy hands. Thou art he who cuttest down and piercest and smitest.
Thou art he who leads (all creatures) and he who gives them pain and grief.
Thou art Righteousness which is marked by ten virtues; thou art Wealth or Profit
of every kind; and thou art Pleasure. Thou art Ganga, thou art the Oceans, thou
art the Rivers, thou art the lakes, and thou art the tanks. Thou art the thin
creepers, thou art the thicker creeping plants, thou art all kinds of grass, and thou

art the deciduous herbs. Thou art all the lower animals and thou art the birds.
Thou art the origin of all objects and acts, and thou art that season which yields
fruits and flowers. Thou art the beginning and thou art the end of the Vedas; thou
art the Gayatri, and thou art Om. Thou art Green, thou art Red, thou art Blue,
thou art Dark, thou art of Bloody hue, thou art of the colour of the Sun, thou art
Tawny, thou art Brown, and thou art Dark blue.[1420] Thou art without colour,
thou art of the best colour, thou art the maker of colours, and thou art without
comparison. Thou art of the name of Gold, and thou art fond of Gold. Thou art
Indra, thou art Yama, thou art the Giver of boons, thou art the Lord of wealth, and
thou art Agni. Thou art the Eclipse, thou art the Fire called Chitrabhanu, thou art
Rahu, and thou art the Sun. Thou art the fire upon which sacrificial butter is
poured. Thou art He who pours the butter. Thou art He in honour of whom the
butter is poured, thou art the butter itself that is poured, and thou art the puissant
Lord of all. Thou art those sections of the Brahmans that are called Trisuparna,
thou art all the Vedas; and thou art the sections called Satarudriya in the
Yajuses. Thou art the holiest of holies, and the auspicious of all auspicious
things. Thou animatest the inanimate body. Thou art the Chit that dwellest in the
human form. Invested with attributes, thou becomest subject to Destruction.
Thou art Jiva, that is He who is never subject to destruction when uninvested
with attributes. Thou art full yet thou becomest liable to decay and death in the
form of the body which is Jiva‟s accompaniment. Thou art the breath of life, and
thou art Sattwa, thou art Rajas, thou art Tamas, and thou art not subject to error.
Thou art the breaths called Prana, Apana, Samana, Udana, and Vyana. Thou art
the opening of the eye and shutting of the eye. Thou art the act of Sneezing and
thou art the act of Yawning. Thou art of red eyes which are ever turned inwards.
Thou art of large mouth and large stomach.[1421] The bristles on thy body are
like needles. The beard is green. Thy hair is turned upwards. Thou art swifter
than the swiftest. Thou art conversant with the principles of music both vocal and
instrumental, and fond of both vocal and instrumental music.[1422] Thou art a
fish roving in the waters, and thou art a fish entangled in the net. Thou art full,
thou art fond of sports, and thou art of the form of all quarrels and disputes. Thou
art Time, thou art bad time, thou art time that is premature, and thou art time that
is over-mature.[1423] Thou art the killing, thou art the razor (that kills), and thou
art that which is killed. Thou art the auxiliary and thou art the adversary, and thou
art the destroyer of both auxiliaries and adversaries. Thou art the time when
clouds appear, thou art of large teeth, and thou art Samvartaka and
Valahaka.[1424] Thou art manifest in the form of splendour. Thou art concealed
in consequence of being invested with Maya (or illusion). Thou art He who
connects creatures with the fruits of their acts. Thou hast a bell in thy hand. Thou
playest with all mobile and immobile things (as with thy toys). Thou art the cause
of all causes. Thou art a Brahma (in the form of Pranava), thou art Swaha; thou
art the bearer of the Danda, thy head is bald, and thou art he who has his words,
deeds and thoughts under control.[1425] Thou art the four Yugas, thou art the
four Vedas, thou art He from whom the four (Sacrificial) fires have flowed.[1426]
Thou art the Director of all the duties of the four modes of life. Thou art the maker
of the four Orders. Thou art always fond of dice. Thou art cunning. Thou art the

chief of the spirits distributed into ganas (clans), and their ruler. Thou art adorned
with red garlands and attired in robes that are red. Thou sleepest on the
mountain-breast, and thou art fond of the red hue. Thou art the artisan; thou art
the foremost of artists; and it is thou from whom all arts have flowed. Thou art the
tearer of the eyes of Bhaga; thou art Fierce, and thou art He who destroyed the
teeth of Pushan.[1427] Thou art Swaha, thou art Swadha, thou art Vashat, thou
art Salutation‟s form, and thou art the words Namas-Namas uttered by all
worshippers. Thy observances and thy penances are not known to others. Thou
art Pranava; thou art the firmament bespangled with myriads of stars. Thou art
Dhatri, and Vidhatri, and Sandhatri, Vidhatri, and the Refuge of all things in the
form of the Supreme cause, and thou art independent of all Refuge. Thou art
conversant with Brahma, thou art Penance, thou art Truth, thou art the soul of
Brahmacharya, and thou art Simplicity.[1428] Thou art the soul of creatures, thou
art the Creator of all creatures, thou art absolute Existence, and thou art the
Cause whence the Past, the Present, and the Future, have sprung. Thou art
Earth, thou art Firmament, and thou art Heaven. Thou art Eternal, thou art Self-
restrained, and thou art the great god. Thou art initiated, and thou art not
initiated. Thou art forgiving; thou art unforgiving; and thou art the chastiser of all
who are rebellious. Thou art the lunar month, thou art the cycle of the Yugas (i.e.,
Kalpa), thou art Destruction, and thou art Creation. Thou art Lust, thou art the
vital seed, thou art subtile, thou art gross, and thou art fond of garlands made of
Karnikara flowers. Thou hast a face like that of Nandi, thou hast a face that is
terrible, thou hast a handsome face, thou hast an ugly face, and thou art without
a face. Thou hast four faces, thou hast many faces, and thou hast a fiery face
when engaged in battles. Thou art gold-stomached (i.e., Narayana), thou art
(unattached to all things like) a bird (unattached to the earth whence it derives its
food and to which it belongs), thou art Ananta (the lord of mighty snakes), and
thou art Virat (hugest of the huge). Thou art the destroyer of Unrighteousness,
thou art called Mahaparswa, thou art Chandradhara, and thou art the chief of the
spirit-clans. Thou lowedst like a cow, thou wert the protector of kine, and thou
hast the lord of bulls for thy attendant.[1429] Thou art the protector of the three
worlds, thou art Govinda, thou art the director of the senses, and thou art
incapable of being apprehended by the senses. Thou art the foremost of all
creatures, thou art fixed, thou art immobile, thou tremblest not, and thou art of the
form of trembling![1430] Thou art incapable of being resisted, thou art the
destroyer of all poisons, thou art incapable of being borne (in battle), and thou art
incapable of being transcended, thou canst not be made to tremble, thou canst
not be measured, thou canst not be vanquished, and thou art victory.[1431] Thou
art of swift speed, thou art the Moon, thou art Yama (the universal destroyer),
thou bearest (without flinching) cold and heat and hunger and weakness and
disease. Thou art all mental agonies, thou art all physical diseases, thou art the
curer of all diseases, and thou art those diseases themselves which thou curest.
Thou art the destroyer of my Sacrifice which had endeavoured to escape in the
form of deer. Thou art the advent and the departure of all diseases. Thou hast a
high crest. Thou hast eyes like lotus-petals. Thy habitation is in the midst of a
forest of lotuses. Thou bearest the ascetic‟s staff in thy hands. Thou hast the

three Vedas for thy three eyes. Thy chastisements are fierce and severe. Thou
art the destroyer of the egg (whence the universe springs). Thou art the drinker
of both poison and fire, thou art the foremost of all deities, thou art the drinker of
Soma, thou art the lord of the Maruts.[1432] Thou art the drinker of Nectar. Thou
art the Master of the universe. Thou shinest in glory, and thou art the lord of all
the shining ones. Thou protectest from poison and death, and thou drinkest milk
and Soma. Thou art the foremost of the protectors of those that have fallen off
from heaven, and thou protectest him who is the first of the deities.[1433] Gold is
thy vital seed. Thou art male, thou art female, thou art neuter. Thou art an infant,
thou art a youth, thou art old in years with thy teeth worn out, thou art the
foremost of Nagas, thou art Sakra, thou art the Destroyer of the universe, and
thou art its Creator. Thou art Prajapati, and thou art adored by the Prajapatis,
thou art the supporter of the universe, thou hast the universe for thy form, thou
art endued with great energy, and thou hast faces turned towards all directions.
The Sun and the Moon are thy two eyes, and the Grandsire is thy heart. Thou art
the Ocean. The goddess Saraswati is thy speech and Fire and Wind are thy
might. Thou art Day and Night. Thou art all acts including the opening and the
shutting of the eye. Neither Brahman, nor Govinda, nor the ancient Rishis, are
competent to understand thy greatness, O auspicious deity, truly. Those subtile
forms which thou hast are invisible to us. Rescue me and, O, protect me as the
sire protects the son of his loins. O, protect one! I deserve thy protection. I bow to
thee, O sinless one! Thou, O illustrious one, art full of compassion for thy
devotees. I am always devoted to thee. Let him be always my protector who
stayeth alone on the other side of the ocean, in a form that is difficult to be
apprehended, and overwhelming many thousands of persons![1434] I bow to that
Soul of Yoga who is beheld in the form of an effulgent Light by persons that have
their senses under control, that are possessed of the attribute of Sattwa, that
have regulated their breaths, and that have conquered sleep.[1435] I bow to him
who is endued with matted locks, who bears the ascetic‟s staff in his hand, who
is possessed of a body having a long abdomen, who has a kamandalu tied to his
back, and who is the Soul of Brahman. I bow to Him who is the soul of water, in
whose hair are the clouds, in the joints of whose body are the rivers, and in
whose stomach are the four oceans. I seek the protection to Him who, when the
end of the Yuga comes, devours all creatures and stretches himself (for sleep)
on the wide expanse of water that covers the universe. Let him who entering
Rahu‟s mouth drinketh Soma in the night and who becoming Swarbhanu
devoureth Surya also, protect me![1436] The deities, who are mere infants and
who have all sprung from thee after Brahman‟s creation, enjoy their respective
shares (in sacrificial offerings). Let them (peacefully) enjoy those offerings made
with Swaha and Swadha, and let them derive pleasure from those presents. I
bow to them.[1437] Let those Beings that are of the stature of the thumb and that
dwell in all bodies, always protect and gratify me.[1438] I always bow to those
Beings who dwelling within embodied creatures make the latter cry in grief
without themselves crying in grief, and who gladden them without themselves
being glad. I always bow to those Rudras who dwell in rivers, in oceans, in hills
and mountains, in mountain-caves, in the roots of trees, in cow-pens, in

inaccessible forests, in the intersections of roads, in roads, in open squares, in
banks (of rivers and lakes and oceans), in elephant-sheds, in stables, in car-
sheds, in deserted gardens and houses, in the five primal elements, and in the
cardinal and subsidiary directions. I bow repeatedly unto them that dwell in the
space amidst the Sun and the Moon, as also in rays of the Sun and the Moon,
and them that dwell in the nether regions, and them that have betaken
themselves to Renunciation and other superior practices for the sake of the
Supreme.[1439] I bow always unto them that are unnumbered, that are
unmeasured, and that have no form, unto those Rudras, that is, that are endued
with infinite attributes. Since thou, O Rudra, art the Creator of all creatures, since,
O Hara, thou art the Master of all creatures, and since thou art the indwelling
Soul of all creatures, therefore wert thou not invited by me (to my Sacrifices).
Since thou art He who is adored in all sacrifices with plentiful gifts, and since it is
Thou that art the Creator of all things, therefore I did not invite thee. Or, perhaps,
O god, stupefied by thy subtile illusion I failed to invite thee. Be gratified with me,
blessed by thyself, O Bhava, with me possessed by the quality of Rajas. My
Mind, my Understanding, and my Chitta all dwell in thee, O god!
“Hearing these adorations, that Lord of all creatures, viz., Mahadeva, ceased (to
think of inflicting further injuries on Daksha). Indeed, highly gratified, the
illustrious deity addressed Daksha, saying, „O Daksha of excellent vows, pleased
have I been with these adorations of thine. Thou needst not praise me more.
Thou shalt attain to my companionship. Through my grace, O progenitor of
creatures, thou shalt earn the fruit of a thousand horse-sacrifices, and a hundred
Vajapeyas (in consequence of this one incomplete sacrifice of thine).
“Once more, Mahadeva, that thorough master of words, addressed Daksha and
said unto him these words fraught with high consolation, „Be thou the foremost of
all creatures in the world. Thou shouldst not, O Daksha, entertain any feelings of
grief for these injuries inflicted on thy Sacrifice. It has been seen that in former
Kalpas too I had to destroy thy Sacrifice.[1440] O thou of excellent vows, I shall
grant thee again some more boons. Take them from me. Dispelling this
cheerlessness that overspreads thy face, listen to me with undivided attention.
With the aid of arguments addressed to reason the deities and the Danavas have
extracted from the Vedas consisting of six branches and from the system of
Sankhya and Yoga a creed in consequence of which they have practised the
austerest penances for many long years. The religion, however, which I have
extracted, is unparalleled, and productive of benefits on every side. It is open to
men in all modes of life to practise it. It leads to Emancipation. It may be acquired
in many years or through merit by persons who have restrained their senses. It is
shrouded in mystery. They that are divested of wisdom regard it as censurable. It
is opposed to the duties laid down in respect of the four orders of men and the
four modes of life, and agrees with those duties in only a few particulars. They
that are well-skilled in the science of (drawing) conclusions (from premises) can
understand its propriety: and they who have transcended all the modes of life are
worthy of adopting it. In days of yore, O Daksha, this auspicious religion called
Pasupata had been extracted by me. The proper observance of that religion
produces immense benefits. Let those benefits be thine, O highly blessed one!

Cast off this fever of thy heart.‟ Having said these words, Mahadeva, with his
spouse (Uma) and with all his attendants disappeared from the view of Daksha of
immeasurable prowess. He who would recite this hymn that was first uttered by
Daksha or who would listen to it when recited by another, would never meet with
the smallest evil and would attain to a long life. Indeed, as Siva is the foremost of
all the deities, even so is this hymn, agreeable with the Srutis, is the foremost of
all hymns. Persons desirous of fame, kingdom, happiness, pleasure, profit, and
wealth, as also those desirous of learning, should listen with feelings of devotion
to the recital of this hymn. One suffering from disease, one distressed by pain,
one plunged into melancholy, one afflicted by thieves or by fear, one under the
displeasure of the king in respect of his charge, becomes freed from fear (by
listening or reciting this hymn). By listening to or reciting this hymn, one, in even
this earthly body of his, attains to equality with the spirits forming the attendants
of Mahadeva. One becomes endued with energy and fame, and cleansed of all
sin (through the virtue of this hymn). Neither Rakshasas, nor Pisachas, nor
ghosts, nor Vinayakas, create disturbances in his house where this hymn is
recited. That woman, again, who listens to this hymn with pious faith, observing
the while the practices of Brahmacharya, wins worship as a goddess in the family
of her sire and that of her husband.[1441] All the acts of that person become
always crowned with success who listens or recites with rapt attention to the
whole of this hymn. In consequence of the recitation of this hymn all the wishes
one forms in one‟s mind and all the wishes one clothes in words become
crowned with fruition. That man obtains all objects of enjoyment and pleasure
and all things that are wished for by him, who, practising self-restraint, makes
according to due rites offerings unto Mahadeva, Guha, Uma, and Nandi, and
after that utters their names without delay, in proper order and with devotion.
Such a man, departing from this life, ascends to heaven, and has never to take
birth among the intermediate animals or birds. This was said even by the
puissant Vyasa, the son of Parasara.‟”
SECTION CCLXXXVI
“Yudhishthira said, „Tell me, O grandsire, what is Adhyatma with respect to man
and whence it arises.‟
“Bhishma said, „Aided by the science of Adhyatma one may know everything. It
is, again, superior to all things. I shall, with the help of my intelligence, explain to
thee that Adhyatma about which thou askest me. Listen, O son, to my
explanation. Earth, Wind, Space, Water, and Light forming the fifth, are the great
essences. These are (the causes of) the origin and the destruction of all
creatures. The bodies of living creatures (both subtile and gross), O bull of
Bharata‟s race, are the result of the combination of the virtues of these five.
Those virtues (whose combinations produce the bodies of creatures) repeatedly
start into existence and repeatedly merge into the original cause of all things,
viz., the Supreme Soul.[1442] From those five primal essences are created all

creatures, and into those five great elements all creatures resolve themselves,
repeatedly, like the infinite waves of the Ocean rising from the Ocean and
subsiding into that which causes them. As a tortoise stretches forth its legs and
withdraws them again into itself, even so the infinite number of creatures spring
from (and enter) these five great fixed essences. Verily, sound springs from
Space, and all dense matter is the attribute of earth. Life is from Wind. Taste is
from Water. Form is said to be the property of Light. The entire mobile and
immobile universe is thus these five great essences existing together in various
proportions. When Destruction comes, the infinite diversity of creatures resolve
themselves into those five, and once more, when Creation begins, they spring
from the same five. The Creator places in all creatures the same five great
essences in proportions that He thinks proper. Sound, the ears, and all cavities,--
these three,--have Space for their producing cause. Taste, all watery or juicy
substances, and the tongue, are said to be the properties of water. Form, the
eye, and the digestive fire in the stomach, are said to partake of the nature of
Light. Scent, the organ of smelling, and the body, are the properties of earth. Life,
touch, and action are said to be the properties of Wind. I have thus explained to
thee, O king, all the properties of the five primal essences. Having created these,
the Supreme Deity, O Bharata, united with them Sattwa, Rajas, Tamas, Time,
Consciousness of functions, and Mind forming the sixth.[1443] That which is
called the Understanding dwells in the interior of what thou seest above the soles
of the feet and below the crown of the head. In man the senses (of knowledge)
are five. The sixth (sense) is the Mind. The seventh is called the Understanding.
The Kshetrajna or Soul is the eighth. The senses and that which is the Actor
should be ascertained by apprehension of their respective functions. The
conditions or states called Sattwa, Rajas, and Tamas, depend upon the senses
for their refuge or formation. The senses exist for simply seizing the impressions
of their respective objects. The Mind has doubt for its function. The
Understanding is for ascertainment. The Kshetrajna is said to be only an inactive
witness (of the functions of the others). Sattwa, Rajas, Tamas, Time, and Acts, O
Bharata, these attributes direct the Understanding. The Understanding is the
senses and the five fore-mentioned attributes.[1444] When the Understanding is
wanting, the senses with the mind, and the five other attributes (viz., Sattwa,
Rajas, Tamas, Time, and Acts) cease to be. That by which the Understanding
sees is called the eye. When the Understanding hears, it is called the ear. When
she smells, she becomes the sense of scent; and when she tastes the various
objects of taste, she comes to be called by the name of tongue. When again she
feels the touch of the various objects of touch, she becomes the sense of touch.
It is the Understanding that becomes modified diversely and frequently. When
the Understanding desires anything, she becomes Mind. The five senses with the
Mind, which separately constitute the foundations (of the Understanding), are the
creations of the Understanding. They are called Indriyas. When they become
stained, the Understanding also becomes stained.[1445] The Understanding,
dwelling in Jiva, exists in three states. Sometimes she obtains joy; sometimes
she indulges in grief; and sometimes she exists in a state that is neither pleasure
nor pain. Having for her essence these conditions or states (viz., Sattwa, Rajas,

and Tamas), the Understanding resolves through these three states.[1446] As
the lord of rivers, viz., the surging Ocean, always keeps within his continents,
even so the Understanding, which exists in connection with the (three) states,
exists in the Mind (including the senses). When the state of Rajas is awakened,
the Understanding becomes modified into Rajas. Transport of delight, joy,
gladness, happiness, and contentedness of heart, these, when somehow
excited, are the properties of Sattwa. Heart-burning, grief, sorrow,
discontentedness, and unforgivingness,[1447] arising from particular causes, are
the result of Rajas. Ignorance, attachment and error, heedlessness, stupefaction,
and terror, meanness, cheerlessness, sleep, and procrastination,--these, when
brought about by particular causes, are the properties of Tamas. Whatever state
of either body or mind, connected with joy or happiness, arises, should be
regarded as due to the state of Sattwa. Whatever, again, is fraught with sorrow
and is disagreeable to oneself should be regarded as arising from Rajas. Without
commencing any such act, one should turn one‟s attention to it (for avoiding it).
Whatever is fraught with error or stupefaction in either body or mind, and is
inconceivable and mysterious, should be known as connected with Tamas. Thus,
have I explained to thee that things in this world dwell in the Understanding. By
knowing this one becomes wise. What else can be the indication of wisdom?
Know now the difference between these two subtile things, viz., Understanding
and Soul. One of these, viz., the Understanding, creates attributes. The other,
viz., the Soul, does not create them. Although they are, by nature, distinct from
each other, yet they always exist in a state of union. A fish is different from the
water in which it dwells, but the fish and the water must exist together. The
attributes cannot know the Soul. The Soul, however, knows them. They that are
ignorant regard the Soul as existing in a state of union with the attributes like
qualities existing with their possessors. This, however, is not the case, for the
Soul is truly only an inactive Witness of everything. The Understanding has no
refuge.[1448] That which is called life (involving the existence of the
Understanding) arises from the effects of the attributes coming together. Others
(than these attributes which are created by the Understanding), acting as causes,
create the Understanding that dwells in the body. No one can apprehend the
attributes in their real nature or form of existence. The Understanding, as already
said, creates the attributes. The Soul simply beholds them (as an inactive
Witness). This union that exists between the Understanding and the Soul is
eternal. The indwelling Understanding apprehends all things through the Senses
which are themselves inanimate and unapprehending. Really the senses are only
like lamps (that throw their light for discovering objects to others without
themselves being able to see them). Even this is the nature (of the Senses, the
Understanding, and the Soul). Knowing this, one should live cheerfully, without
yielding to either grief or joy. Such a man is said to be beyond the influence of
pride. That the Understanding creates all these attributes is due to her own
nature,--even as a spider weaves threads in consequence of her own nature.
These attributes should be known as the threads the spider weaves. When
destroyed, the attributes do not cease to exist; their existence ceases to be
visible. When, however, a thing transcends the ken of the senses, its existence

(or otherwise) is affirmed by inference. This is the opinion of one set of persons.
Others affirm that with destruction the attributes cease to be. Untying this knotty
problem addressed to the understanding and reflection, and dispelling all doubt,
one should cast off sorrow and live in happiness.[1449] As men unacquainted
with its bottom become distressed when they fall upon this earth which is like a
river filled with the waters of stupefaction, even so is that man afflicted who falls
away from that state in which there is a union with the Understanding.[1450] Men
of knowledge, however, conversant with Adhyatma and armed with fortitude, are
never afflicted, because they are capable of crossing to the other shore of those
waters. Indeed, Knowledge is an efficient raft (in that river). Men of knowledge
have not to encounter those frightful terrors which alarm them that are destitute
of knowledge. As regards the righteous, none of them attains to an end that is
superior to that of any other person amongst them. Indeed, the righteous show,
in this respect, an equality. As regards the man of Knowledge, whatever acts
have been done by him in past times (while he was steeped in Ignorance) and
whatever acts fraught with great iniquity he does (after attainment of Knowledge),
he destroys both by Knowledge as his sole means. Then again, upon the
attainment of Knowledge he ceases to perpetrate these two evils, viz., censuring
the wicked acts of others and doing any wicked acts himself under the influence
of attachment.‟”[1451]
SECTION CCLXXXVII
“Yudhishthira said, „Living creatures always stand in fear of sorrow and death.
Tell me, O grandsire, how the occurrence of these two may be prevented.‟
“Bhishma said, „In this connection, O Bharata, is cited the old narrative of the
discourse between Narada and Samanga.‟
“Narada said, „(While others salute their superiors by only a bend of the head)
thou salutest thy superiors by prostrating thyself on the ground till thy chest
comes into contact with the ground. Thou seemest to be engaged in crossing
(the river of life) with thy hands.[1452] Thou seemest to be always free from
sorrow and exceedingly cheerful. I do not see that thou hast the least anxiety.
Thou art always content and happy and thou seemest to sport (in felicity) like a
child.‟
“Samanga said, „O giver of honours, I know the truth about the Past, the Present,
and the Future. Hence I never become cheerless.[1453] I know also what the
beginning of acts is in this world, what the accession of their fruits, and how
varied are those fruits. Hence I never yield to sorrow.[1454] Behold, the illiterate,
the destitute, the prosperous, O Narada, the blind, idiots and madmen, and
ourselves also, all live.[1455] These live by virtue of their acts of past lives. The
very deities, who exist freed from diseases, exist (in that state) by virtue of their
past acts. The strong and the weak, all, live by virtue of past acts. It is fitting,
therefore, that thou shouldst hold us in esteem. The owners of thousands live.
The owners of hundreds also live. They that are overwhelmed with sorrow live.

Behold, we too are living! When we, O Narada, do not give way to grief, what can
the practice of the duties (of religion) or the observance of (religious) acts do to
us? And since all joys and sorrows also are not unending, they are, therefore,
unable to agitate us at all.[1456] That for which men are said to be wise, indeed,
the very root of wisdom, is the freedom of the senses from error. It is the senses
that yield to error and grief. One whose senses are subject to error can never be
said to have attained wisdom. That pride which is indulged in by a man subject to
error is only a form of the error to which he is subject. As regards the man of
error, he has neither this world nor the next. It should be remembered that griefs
do not last for ever and that happiness cannot be had always.[1457] Worldly life
with all its vicissitudes and painful incidents, one like me would never adopt.
Such a one would not care for desirable objects of enjoyments, and would not
think at all of the happiness their possession may bring about, or, indeed, of the
griefs that present themselves.[1458] One capable of resting on one‟s own self
would never covet the possessions of others; would not think of gains
unacquired, would not feel delighted at the acquisition of even immense wealth;
and would not yield to sorrow at the loss of wealth. Neither friends, nor wealth,
nor high birth, nor scriptural learning, nor mantras, nor energy, can succeed in
rescuing one from sorrow in the next world. It is only by conduct that one can
attain to felicity there. The Understanding of the man unconversant with Yoga
can never be directed towards Emancipation. One unconversant with Yoga can
never have happiness. Patience and the resolution to cast off sorrow, these two
indicate the advent of happiness. Anything agreeable leads to pleasure. Pleasure
induces pride. Pride, again, is productive of sorrow. For these reasons, I avoid
all these. Grief, Fear, Pride,--these that stupefy the heart,--and also Pleasure and
Pain, I behold as (an unconcerned) witness since my body is endued with life
and moves about.[1459] Casting off both wealth and pleasure, and thirst and
error, I wander over the earth, freed from grief and every kind of anxiety of heart.
Like one that has drunk nectar I have no fear, here or hereafter, of death, or
iniquity, or cupidity, or anything of that kind. I have acquired this knowledge, O
Brahmana, as the result of my severe and indestructible penances. It is for this
reason, O Narada, that grief, even when it comes to me, does not succeed in
afflicting me.‟”
SECTION CCLXXXVIII
“Yudhishthira said, „Tell me, O grandsire, what is beneficial for one that is
unconversant with the truths of the scriptures, that is always in doubt, and that
abstains from self-restraint and the other practices having for their object the
knowledge of the Soul.‟
“Bhishma said, „Worshipping the preceptor, always waiting reverentially on those
that are aged, and listening to the scriptures (when recited by up competent
Brahmanas),--these are said to be of supreme benefit (to a person like the one
thou hast described). In this connection also is cited the old narrative of the

discourse between Galava and the celestial Rishi Narada. Once on a time
Galava, desirous of obtaining what was for his benefit, addressed Narada freed
from error and fatigue, learned in the scriptures, gratified with knowledge, a
thorough master of his senses, and with soul devoted to Yoga, and said, „Those
virtues, O Muni, by the possession of which a person becomes respected in the
world, I see, dwell permanently in thee. Thou art freed from error and, as such, it
behoveth thee to remove the doubts that fill the minds of men like ourselves that
are subject to error and that are unacquainted with the truths of the world. We do
not know what we should do, for the declarations of the scriptures generate an
inclination for (the acquisition of) Knowledge simultaneously with the inclination
for acts. It behoveth thee to discourse to us on these subjects.[1460] O
illustrious one, the different asramas approve different courses of conduct.--
_This_ is beneficial,--_This_ (other) is beneficial—the scriptures exhort us often
in this wise.[1461] Beholding the followers of the four asramas, who are thus
exhorted by the scriptures and who fully approve of what the scriptures have laid
down for them, thus travelling in diverse courses, and seeing that ourselves also
are equally content with our own scriptures, we fail to understand what is truly
beneficial. If the scriptures were all uniform, then what is truly beneficial would
have become manifest. In consequence, however, of the scriptures being
multifarious, that which is truly beneficial becomes invested with mystery. For
these reasons, that which is truly beneficial seems to me to be involved in
confusion. Do thou then, O illustrious one, discourse to me on the subject. I have
approached thee (for this), O, instruct me!‟
“Narada said, „The Asramas are four in number, O child! All of them serve the
purposes for which they have been designed; and the duties they preach differ
from one another. Ascertaining them first from well-qualified preceptors, reflect
upon them, O Galava![1462] Behold, the announcements of the merits of those
Asramas are varied in respect of their form, divergent in respect of their matter,
and contradictory in respect of the observances they embrace.[1463] Observed
with gross vision, verily, all the Asramas refuse to clearly yield their true intent
(which, of course, is knowledge of Self). Others, however, endued with subtle
sight, behold their highest end.[1464] That which is truly beneficial, and about
which there is no doubt, viz., good offices to friends, and suppression of
enemies, and the acquisition of the aggregate of three (viz., Religion, Profit, and
Pleasure), has been declared by the wise to be supreme excellence.[1465]
Abstention from sinful acts, constancy of righteous disposition, good behaviour
towards those that are good and pious,--these, without doubt, constitute
excellence. Mildness towards all creatures, sincerity of behaviour, and the use of
sweet words,--these, without doubt, constitute excellence. An equitable
apportionment of what one has among the deities, the Pitris, and guests, and
adherence to servants,--these, without doubt, constitute excellence. Truthfulness
of speech is excellent. The knowledge, however, of truth, is very difficult of
acquisition. I say that that is truth which is exceedingly beneficial to
creatures.[1466] The renunciation of pride, the suppression of heedlessness,
contentment, living by one‟s own self,--these are said to constitute supreme
excellence. The study of the Vedas, and of their branches, according to the well-

known rules, and all enquiries and pursuits having for their sake the acquisition of
knowledge,--these, without doubt, are excellent. One desirous of achieving what
is excellent should never enjoy sound and form and taste and touch and scent, to
excess and should not enjoy them for their sake alone. Wandering in the night,
sleep during the day, indulgence in idleness, roguery, arrogance, excessive
indulgence and total abstention from all indulgence in objects of the senses,
should be relinquished by one desirous of achieving what is excellent.[1467] One
should not seek self-elevation by depreciating others. Indeed, one should, by
one‟s merits alone, seek distinction over persons that are distinguished but never
over those that are inferior. Men really destitute of merit and filled with a sense of
self-admiration depreciate men of real merit, by asserting their own virtues and
affluence. Swelling with a sense of their own importance, these men, when none
interferes with them (for bringing them to a right sense of what they are), regard
themselves to be superior to men of real distinction. One possessed of real
wisdom and endued with real merits, acquires great fame by abstaining from
speaking ill of others and from indulging in self-praise. Flowers shed their pure
and sweet fragrance without trumpeting forth their own excellence. Similarly, the
effulgent Sun scatters his splendours in the firmament in perfect silence. After the
same manner those men blaze in the world with celebrity who by the aid of their
intelligence, cast off these and similar other faults and who do not proclaim their
own virtues. The fool can never shine in the world by bruiting about his own
praise. The man, however, of real merit and learning obtains celebrity even if he
be concealed in a pit. Evil words, uttered with whatsoever vigour of voice die out
(in no time). Good words, uttered however softly, blaze forth in the world. As the
Sun shows his fiery form (in the gem called Suryakanta), even so the multitude of
words, of little sense, that fools filled with vanity utter, display only (the meanness
of) their hearts. For these reasons, men seek the acquisition of wisdom of
various kinds. It seems to me that of all acquisitions that of wisdom is the most
valuable. One should not speak until one is asked; nor should one speak when
one is asked improperly. Even if possessed of intelligence and knowledge, one
should still sit in silence like an idiot (until one is asked to speak and asked in
proper form). One should seek to dwell among honest men devoted to
righteousness and liberality and the observance of the duties of their own order.
One desirous of achieving what is excellent should never dwell in a place where
a confusion occurs in the duties of the several orders.[1468] A person may be
seen to live who abstains from all works (for earning the means of his living) and
who is well-content with whatever is got without exertion. By living amid the
righteous, one succeeds in acquiring pure righteousness. After the same
manner, one by living amid the sinful, becomes stained with sin.[1469] As the
touch of water or fire or the rays of the moon immediately conveys the sensation
of cold or heat, after the same manner the impressions of virtue and vice become
productive of happiness or misery. They that are eaters of Vighasa eat without
taking any notice of the flavours of the edibles placed before them. They,
however, that eat carefully discriminating the flavours of the viands prepared for
them, should be known as persons still tied by the bonds of action.[1470] The
righteous man should leave that place where a Brahmana discourses on duties

unto disciples desirous of acquiring knowledge, as based on reasons, of the
Soul, but who do not enquire after such knowledge with reverence.[1471] Who,
however, will leave that spot where exists in its entirety that behaviour between
disciples and preceptors which is consistent with what has been laid down in the
scriptures? What learned man desirous of respect being paid to himself will dwell
in that place where people bruit about the faults of the learned even when such
have no foundation to stand upon?[1472] Who is there that will not leave that
place, like a garment whose end has caught fire, where covetous men seek to
break down the barriers of virtue? One should remain and dwell in that place,
among good men of righteous disposition, where persons endued with humility
are engaged in fearlessly practising the duties of religion. There where men
practise the duties of religion for the sake of acquiring wealth and other temporal
advantages, one should not dwell, for the people of that place are all to be
regarded as sinful. One should fly away with all speed from that place, as if from
a room in which there is a snake, where the inhabitants, desirous of obtaining the
means of life, are engaged in the practice of sinful deeds. One desirous of what
is beneficial should, from the beginning, relinquish that act in consequence of
which one becomes stretched, as it were, on a bed of thorn and in consequence
of which one becomes invested with the desires born of the deeds of past
lives.[1473] The righteous man should leave that kingdom where the king and
king‟s officers exercise equal authority and where they are given to the habit of
eating before feeding their relatives (when the latter come as guests).[1474] One
should dwell in that country where Brahmanas possessed of a knowledge of the
scriptures are fed first: where they are always devoted to the due observance of
religious duties, and where they are engaged in teaching disciples and officiating
at the sacrifices of others. One should unhesitatingly dwell in that country where
the sounds Swaha, Swadha, and Vashat are duly and continuously
uttered.[1475] One should leave that kingdom, like poisoned meat, where one
sees Brahmanas obliged to betake themselves to unholy practices, being
tortured by want of the means of life. With a contented heart and deeming all his
wishes as already gratified a righteous man should dwell in that country whose
inhabitants cheerfully give away before even they are solicited. One should live
and move about, among good men devoted to acts of righteousness, in that
country where chastisement falleth upon those that are wicked and where
respect and good offices are the portion of those that are of subdued and
cleansed souls. One should unhesitatingly dwell in that country whose king is
devoted to virtue and which the king rules virtuously, casting off desires and
possessed of prosperity, and where severe chastisement is dealt to those that
visit self-controlled men with the consequences of their wrath, those that act
wickedly towards the righteous, those that are given to acts of violence, and
those that are covetous.[1476] Kings endued with such a disposition bring about
prosperity to those that dwell in their kingdoms when prosperity is on the point of
leaving them.[1477] I have thus told thee, O son, in answer to thy enquiry, what
is beneficial or excellent. No one can describe, in consequence of its exceedingly
high character, what is beneficial or excellent for the Soul.[1478] Many and high
will the excellences be, through the observance of the duties laid down for him, of

the man who for earning his livelihood during the time of his sojourn here
conducts himself in the way indicated above and who devotes his soul to the
good of all creatures.‟”[1479]
SECTION CCLXXXIX
“Yudhishthira said, „How, O grandsire, should a king like us behave in this world,
keeping in view the great object of acquisition? What attributes, again, should he
always possess so that he may be freed from attachments?‟
“Bhishma said, „I shall in this connection recite to thee the old narrative that was
uttered by Arishtanemi unto Sagara who had sought his counsel.‟
“Sagara said, „What is that good, O Brahmana, by doing which one may enjoy
felicity here? How, indeed, may one avoid grief and agitation? I wish to know all
this!‟
“Bhishma continued, „Thus addressed by Sagara, Arishtanemi of Tarkshya‟s
race, conversant with all the scriptures, regarding the questioner to be every way
deserving of his instructions, said these words,[1480] „The felicity of
Emancipation is true felicity in the world. The man of ignorance knows it not,
attached as he is to children and animals and possessed of wealth and corn. An
understanding that is attached to worldly objects and a mind suffering from
thirst,--these two baffle all skilful treatment. The ignorant man who is bound in the
chains of affection is incapable of acquiring Emancipation.[1481] I shall presently
speak to thee of all the bonds that spring from the affections. Hear them with
attention. Indeed, they are capable of being heard with profit by one that is
possessed of knowledge. Having procreated children in due time and married
them when they become young men, and having ascertained them to be
competent for earning their livelihood, do thou free thyself from all attachments
and rove about in happiness. When thou seest thy dearly-cherished wife grown
old in years and attached to the son she has brought forth, do thou leave her in
time, keeping in view the highest object of acquisition (viz., Emancipation).
Whether thou obtainest a son or not, having during the first years of thy life duly
enjoyed with thy senses the objects that are addressed to them, free thyself from
attachments and rove about in happiness. Having indulged the senses with their
objects, thou shouldst suppress the desire of further indulging them. Freeing
thyself then from attachments, thou shouldst rove in felicity, contenting thyself
with what is obtained without effort and previous calculation, and casting an
equal eye upon all creatures and objects.[1482] Thus, O son, have I told thee in
brief (of what the way is for freeing thyself from attachments). Hear me now, for I
shall presently tell thee, in detail, the desirability of the acquisition of
Emancipation.[1483] Those persons who live in this world freed from
attachments and fear, succeed in obtaining happiness. Those persons, however,
who are attached to worldly objects, without doubt, meet with destruction. Worms
and ants (like men) are engaged in the acquisition of food and are seen to die in
the search. They that are freed from attachments are happy, while they that are

attached to worldly objects meet with destruction. If thou desirest to attain to
Emancipation thou shouldst never bestow thy thoughts on thy relatives, thinking,-
-How shall these exist without me?--A living creature takes birth by himself, and
grows by himself, and obtains happiness and misery, and death by himself. In
this world people enjoy and obtain food and raiment and other acquisitions
earned by their parents or themselves. This is the result of the acts of past lives,
for nothing can be had in this life which is not the result of the past. All creatures
live on the Earth, protected by their own acts, and obtaining their food as the
result of what is ordained by Him who assigns the fruits of acts. A man is but a
lump of clay, and is always himself completely dependent on other forces. One,
therefore, being oneself so, in firm, what rational consideration can one have for
protecting and feeding one‟s relatives? When thy relatives are carried away by
Death in thy very sight and in spite of even thy utmost efforts to save them, that
circumstance alone should awaken thee. In the every lifetime of thy relatives and
before thy own duty is completed of feeding and protecting them, thyself mayst
meet with death and abandon them. After thy relatives have been carried away
from this world by death, thou canst not know what becomes of them there,--that
is, whether they meet with happiness or misery. This circumstance ought to
awaken thee. When in consequence of the fruits of their own acts thy relatives
succeed in maintaining themselves in this world whether thou livest or diest,
reflecting on this thou shouldst do what is for thy own good.[1484] When this is
known to be the case, who in the world is to be regarded as whose? Do thou,
therefore, set thy heart on the attainment of Emancipation. Listen now to what
more I shall say unto thee. That man of firm Soul is certainly emancipated who
has conquered hunger and thirst and such other states of the body, as also wrath
and cupidity and error. That man is always emancipated who does not forget
himself, through folly, by indulging in gambling and drinking and concubinage
and the chase. That man who is really touched by sorrow in consequence of the
necessity there is of eating every day and every night for supporting life, is said
to be cognisant of the faults of life. One who, as the result of careful reflection,
regards his repeated births to be only due to sexual congress with women, is
held to be freed from attachments. That man is certainly emancipated who knows
truly the nature of the birth, the destruction, and the exertion (or acts) of living
creatures. That man becomes certainly freed who regards (as worthy of his
acceptance) only a handful of corn, for the support of life, from amidst millions
upon millions of carts loaded with grain, and who disregards the difference
between a shed of bamboo and reeds and a palatial mansion.[1485] That man
becomes certainly freed who beholds the world to be afflicted by death and
disease and famine.[1486] Indeed, one who beholds the world to be such
succeeds in becoming contented; while one who fails to behold the world in such
a light, meets with destruction. That man who is contented with only a little is
regarded as freed. That man who beholds the world as consisting of eaters and
edibles (and himself as different from both) and who is never touched by
pleasure and pain which are born of illusion, is regarded as emancipate. That
man who regards a soft bed on a fine bedstead and the hard soil as equal, and
who regards good sali rice and hard thick rice as equal, is emancipated. That

man who regards linen and cloth made of grass as equal, and in whose
estimation cloth of silk and barks of trees are the same, and who sees no
difference between clean sheep-skin and unclean leather, is emancipated That
man who looks upon this world as the result of the combination of the five primal
essences, and who behaves himself in this world, keeping this notion foremost, is
emancipated. That man who regards pleasure and pain as equal, and gain and
loss as on a par, in whose estimation victory and defeat differ not, to whom like
and dislike are the same, and who is unchanged under fear and anxiety, is wholly
emancipated. That man who regards his body which has so many imperfections
to be only a mass of blood, urine and excreta, as also of disorders and diseases,
is emancipated. That man becomes emancipated who always recollects that this
body, when overtaken by decrepitude, becomes assailed by wrinkles and white
hairs and leanness and paleness of complexion and a bending of the form. That
man who recollects his body to be liable to loss of virility, and weakness of sight,
and deafness, and loss of strength, is emancipated. That man who knows that
the very Rishis, the deities, and the Asuras are beings that have to depart from
their respective spheres to other regions, is emancipated. That man who knows
that thousands of kings possessed of even great offence and power have
departed from this earth, succeeds in becoming emancipated. That man who
knows that in this world the acquisition of objects is always difficult, that pain is
abundant, and that the maintenance of relatives is ever attended with pain,
becomes emancipated.[1487] Beholding the abundant faults of children and of
other men, who is there that would not adore Emancipation? That man who,
awakened by the scriptures and the experience of the world, beholds every
human concern in this world to be unsubstantial, becomes emancipated.
Bearing in mind those words of mine, do thou conduct thyself like one that has
become emancipated, whether it is a life of domesticity that thou wouldst lead or
pursue emancipation without suffering thy understanding to be
confounded.‟[1488] Hearing these words of his with attention, Sagara, that lord of
earth, acquired those virtues which are productive of Emancipation and
continued, with their aid to rule his subjects.‟”
SECTION CCXC
“Yudhishthira said, „This curiosity, O sire, is always dwelling in my mind. O
grandsire of the Kurus, I desire to hear everything about it from thee. Why was
the celestial Rishi, the high-souled Usanas, called also Kavi engaged in doing
what was agreeable to the Asuras and disagreeable to the deities? Why was he
engaged in diminishing the energy of the deities? Why were the Danavas always
engaged in hostilities with the foremost of the deities? Possessed of the
splendour of an immortal, for what reason did Usanas obtain the name of Sukra?
How also did he acquire such superior excellence? Tell me all about these
things. Though possessed of great energy, why does he not succeed in travelling
to the centre of the firmament? I desire, O grandsire, to learn everything about all
these matters.‟[1489]

“Bhishma said, „Listen, O king, with attention to all this as it occurred actually. O
sinless one, I shall narrate these matters to thee as I have heard and understood
them. Of firm vows and honoured by all, Usanas, that descendant of Bhrigu‟s
race, became engaged in doing what was disagreeable to the deities for an
adequate cause.[1490] The royal Kuvera, the chief of the Yakshas and the
Rakshasas, is the lord of the treasury of Indra, that master of the universe.[1491]
The great ascetic Usanas, crowned with Yoga-success, entered the person of
Kuvera, and depriving the lord of treasures of his liberty by means of Yoga,
robbed him of all his wealth.[1492] Seeing his wealth taken away from him, the
lord of treasures became highly displeased. Filled with anxiety, and his wrath
also being excited, he went to that foremost of gods, viz., Mahadeva. Kuvera,
represented the matter unto Siva of immeasurable energy, that first of gods,
fierce and amiable, and possessed of various forms. And he said, „Usanas,
having spiritualised himself by Yoga entered my form and depriving myself of
liberty, has taken away all my wealth. Having by Yoga entered my body he has
again left it.‟ Hearing these words, Maheswara of supreme Yoga-powers became
filled with rage. His eyes, O king, became blood-red, and taking up his lance he
waited (ready to strike down Usanas). Indeed, having taken up that foremost of
weapons, the great god began to say, „Where is he? Where is he?‟ Meanwhile,
Usanas, having ascertained the purpose of Mahadeva (through Yoga-power)
from a distance, waited in silence. Indeed, having ascertained the fact of the
wrath of the high-souled Maheswara of superior Yoga-power, the puissant
Usanas began to reflect as to whether he should go to Maheswara or fly away or
remain where he was. Thinking, with the aid of his severe penances, of the high-
souled Mahadeva, Usanas of soul crowned with Yoga-success, placed himself
on the point of Mahadeva‟s lance. The bow-armed Rudra, understanding that
Usanas, whose penances had become successful and who had converted
himself into the form of pure Knowledge, was staying at the point of his lance
(and finding that he was unable to hurl the lance at one who was upon it), bent
that weapon with hand. When the fierce-armed and puissant Mahadeva of
immeasurable energy had thus bent his lance (into the form of a bow), that
weapon came to be called from that time by the name of Pinaka.[1493] The lord
of Uma, beholding Bhargava thus brought upon the palm of his hand, opened his
mouth. The chief of the gods then threw Bhargava into his mouth and swallowed
him at once. The puissant and high-souled Usanas of Bhrigu‟s race, entering the
stomach of Maheswara, began to wander there.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „How, O king, could Usanas succeed in wandering within the
stomach of that foremost of superior intelligence? What also did that illustrious
god do while the Brahmana was within his stomach?‟[1494]
“Bhishma said, „In days of yore (having swallowed up Usanas), Mahadeva of
severe vows entered the waters and remained there like an immovable stake of
wood, O king, for millions of years (engaged in Yoga-meditation). His Yoga
penances of the austerest type having been over, he rose from the mighty lake.
Then that primeval god of the gods, viz., the eternal Brahman, approached him,
and enquired after the progress of his penances and after his welfare. The deity
having the bull for his emblem answered, saying, „My penances have been well-

practised.‟ Of inconceivable soul, possessed of great intelligence, and ever
devoted to the religion of truth, Sankara saw that Usanas within his stomach had
become greater in consequence of those penances of his.[1495] That foremost
of Yogins (viz., Usanas), rich with that wealth of penances and the wealth (he
had appropriated from Kuvera), shone brightly in the three worlds, endued with
great energy.[1496] After this, Mahadeva armed with Pinaka, that soul of Yoga,
once more betook himself to Yoga-meditation. Usanas, however, filled with
anxiety, began to wander within the stomach of the great god. The great ascetic
began to hymn the praises of the god from where he was, desirous of finding an
outlet for escape. Rudra, however, having stopped all his outlets, prevented him
from coming out. The great ascetic Usanas, however, O chastiser of foes, from
within Mahadeva‟s stomach, repeatedly addressed the god, saying, „Show me
thy kindness!‟ Unto him Mahadeva said, „Go out through my urethra.‟ He had
stopped up all other outlets of his body. Confined on every side and unable to
find out the outlet indicated, the ascetic began to wander hither and thither,
burning all the while with Mahadeva‟s energy. At last he found the outlet and
issued through it. In consequence of this fact he came to be called by the name
of Sukra, and it is in consequence of that fact he also became unable to attain (in
course of his wandering) the central point of the firmament. Beholding him come
out of his stomach and shining brightly with energy, Bhava, filled with anger,
stood with lance uplifted in his hand. The goddess Uma then interposed and
forbade the angry lord of all creatures, viz., her spouse, to slay the Brahmana.
And in consequence of Uma‟s having thus prevented her lord from accomplishing
his purpose the ascetic Usanas (from the day) became the son of the goddess.‟
“The goddess said, „This Brahmana no longer deserves to be slain by thee. He
has become my son. O god, one who comes out of thy stomach does not
deserve slaughter at thy hands.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Pacified by these words of his spouse, Bhava smiled and
said repeatedly these words, O king, „Let this one go whithersoever he likes.‟
Bowing unto the boon-giving Mahadeva and to also his spouse the goddess
Uma, the great ascetic Usanas, endued with superior intelligence, proceeded to
the place he chose. I have thus narrated to thee, O chief of the Bharatas, the
story of the high-souled Bhargava about which thou didst ask me.‟”
SECTION CCXCI
“Yudhishthira said, „O thou of mighty arms, tell me, after this what is beneficial for
us. O grandsire, I am never satiated with thy words which seem to me like
Amrita. What are those good acts, O best of men, by accomplishing which a man
succeeds in obtaining what is for his highest benefit both here and hereafter, O
giver of boons!‟
“Bhishma said, „In this connection I shall narrate to thee what the celebrated king
Janaka had enquired, in days of yore, of the high-souled Parasara, „What is
beneficial for all creatures both in this world and the next! Do thou tell me what

should be known by all this connection.‟ Thus questioned, Parasara, possessed
of great ascetic merit and conversant with the ordinances of every religion,[1497]
said these words, desirous of favouring the king.‟
“Parasara said, „Righteousness earned by acts is supreme benefit both in this
world and the next. The sages of the old have said that there is nothing higher
than Righteousness. By accomplishing the duties of righteousness a man
becomes honoured in heaven. The Righteousness, again, of embodied
creatures, O best of kings, consists in the ordinance (laid down in the scriptures)
on the subject of acts.[1498] All good men belonging to the several modes of life,
establishing their faith on that righteousness, accomplish their respective
duties.[1499] Four methods of living, O child, have been ordained in this world.
(Those four methods are the acceptance of gifts for Brahmanas; the realisation of
taxes for Kshatriyas; agriculture for Vaisyas; and service of the three other
classes for the Sudras). Wherever men live the means of support come to them
of themselves. Accomplishing by various ways acts that are virtuous or sinful (for
the purpose of earning their means of support), living creatures, when dissolved
into their constituent elements attain to diverse ends.[1500] As vessels of white
brass, when steeped in liquefied gold or silver, catch the hue of these metals,
even so a living creature, who is completely dependent upon the acts of his past
lives takes his colour from the character of those acts. Nothing can sprout forth
without a seed. No one can obtain happiness without having accomplished acts
capable of leading to happiness. When one‟s body is dissolved away (into its
constituent elements), one succeeds in attaining to happiness only in
consequence of the good acts of previous lives. The sceptic argues, O child,
saying, I do not behold that anything in this world is the result of destiny or the
virtuous and sinful acts of past lives. Inference cannot establish the existence or
operation of destiny.[1501] The deities, the Gandharvas and the Danavas have
become what they are in consequence of their own nature (and not of their acts
of past lives). People never recollect in their next lives the acts done by them in
previous ones. For explaining the acquisition of fruits in any particular life people
seldom name the four kinds of acts alleged to have been accomplished in past
lives.[1502] The declarations having the Vedas for their authority have been
made for regulating the conduct of men in this world, and for tranquillizing the
minds of men. These (the sceptic says), O child, cannot represent the utterances
of men possessed of true wisdom. This opinion is wrong. In reality, one obtains
the fruits of whatever among the four kinds of acts one does with the eye, the
mind, the tongue, and muscles.[1503] As the fruit of his acts, O king, a person
sometimes obtains happiness wholly, sometimes misery in the same way, and
sometimes happiness and misery blended together. Whether righteous or sinful,
acts are never destroyed (except by enjoyment or endurance of their
fruits).[1504] Sometimes, O child, the happiness due to good acts remains
concealed and covered in such a way that it does not display itself in the case of
the person who is sinking in life‟s ocean till his sorrows disappear. After sorrow
has beep exhausted (by endurance), one begins to enjoy (the fruits of) one‟s
good acts. And know, O king, that upon the exhaustion of the fruits of good acts,
those of sinful acts begin to manifest themselves. Self-restraint, forgiveness,

patience, energy, contentment, truthfulness of speech, modesty, abstention from
injury, freedom from the evil practices called vyasana, and cleverness,--these are
productive of happiness. No creature is eternally subject to the fruits of his good
or bad acts. The man possessed of wisdom should always strive to collect and fix
his mind. One never has to enjoy or endure the good and bad acts of another.
Indeed, one enjoys and endures the fruits of only those acts that one does
oneself. The person that casts off both happiness and misery walks along a
particular path (the path, viz., of knowledge). Those men, however, O king, who
suffer themselves to be attached to all worldly objects, tread along a path that is
entirely different. A person should rot himself do that act which, if done by
another, would call down his censure. Indeed, by doing an act that one censures
in others, one incurs ridicule. A Kshatriya bereft of courage, a Brahmana that
takes every kind of food, a Vaisya unendued with exertion (in respect of
agriculture and other moneymaking pursuits), a Sudra that is idle (and, therefore,
averse to labour), a learned person without good behaviour, one of high birth but
destitute of righteous conduct, a Brahmana fallen away from truth, a woman that
is unchaste and wicked, a Yogin endued with attachments, one that cooks food
for one‟s own self, an ignorant person employed in making a discourse, a
kingdom without a king and a king that cherishes no affection for his subjects and
who is destitute of Yoga,--these all, O king, are deserving of pity!‟”[1505]
SECTION CCXCII
“Parasara said, „That man who, having obtained this car, viz., his body endued
with mind, goes on, curbing with the reins of-knowledge the steeds represented
by the objects of the senses, should certainly be regarded as possessed of
intelligence. The homage (in the form of devotion to and concentrated meditation
on the Supreme) by a person whose mind is dependent on itself and who has
cast off the means of livelihood is worthy of high praise,--that homage, namely, O
regenerate one, which is the result of instructions received from one who has
succeeded in transcending acts but not obtained from the mutual discussion of
men in the same state of progress.[1506] Having obtained the allotted period of
life, O king, with such difficulty, one should not diminish it (by indulgence of the
senses). On the other hand, man should always exert, by righteous acts for his
gradual advancement.[1507] Among the six different colours that Jiva attains at
different periods of his existence, he who falls away from a superior colour
deserves obloquy and censure. Hence, one that has attained to the result of
good acts should conduct oneself in such a way as to avoid all acts stained by
the quality of Rajas.[1508] Man attains to a superior colour by righteous acts.
Unable to acquire a superior hue, for such acquisition is extremely difficult, a
person, by doing sinful acts only slays himself (by sinking into hell and falling
down into an inferior colour). All sinful acts that are committed unconsciously or
in ignorance are destroyed by penances. A sinful act, however, that is committed
knowingly, produces much sorrow. Hence, one should never commit sinful acts
which have for their fruit only sorrow. The man of intelligence would never do an

act that is sinful in character even if it leads to the greatest advantage, just as a
person that is pure would never touch a Chandala.[1509] How miserable is the
fruit I see of sinful acts! Through sin the very vision of the sinner becomes
perverse, and he confounds his body and its unstable accompaniments with the
Soul.[1510] That foolish man who does not succeed in betaking himself to
Renunciation in this world becomes afflicted with great grief when he departs to
the next world.[1511] An uncoloured cloth, when dirty, can be cleaned, but not a
piece of cloth that is dyed with black; even so, O king, listen to me with care, is it
the case with sin. That man who, having knowingly committed sin, acts
righteously for expiating that sin, has to enjoy and endure the fruits of his good
and bad acts separately.[1512] The utterers of Brahma maintain, under the
authority of what has been laid down in the Vedas, that all acts of injury
committed in ignorance are cancelled by acts of righteousness. A sin, however,
that is committed consciously is never cancelled by righteousness. Thus say the
regenerate utterers of Brahma who are conversant with the scriptures of
Brahmana. As regards myself, my view is that whatever acts are done, be they
righteous or sinful, be they done knowingly or otherwise, remain (and are never
destroyed unless their fruits are enjoyed or endured).[1513] Whatever acts are
done by the mind with full deliberation, produce, according to their grossness or
subtility, fruits that are gross or subtile.[1514] Those acts, however, O thou of
righteous soul, which are fraught with great injury, if done in ignorance, do
without fail produce consequences and even consequences that lead to hell, with
this difference that those consequences are disproportionate in point of gravity to
the acts that produce them.[1515] As to those acts (of a doubtful or unrighteous
nature) that may be done by the deities or ascetics of reputation, a righteous man
should never do their like or, informed of them, should never censure
them.[1516] That man who, reflecting with his mind, O king, and ascertaining his
own ability, accomplishes righteous acts, certainly obtains what is for his benefit.
Water poured into an unbaked vessel gradually becomes less and finally
escapes altogether. If kept, however, in a baked vessel, it remains without its
quantity being diminished. After the same manner, acts done without reflection
with the aid of the understanding do not become beneficial; while acts done with
judgment remain with undiminished excellence and yield happiness as their
result. If into a vessel containing water other water be poured, the water that was
originally there increases in quantity; even so all acts done with judgment, be
they equitable or otherwise, only add to one‟s stock of righteousness. A king
should subjugate his foes and all who seek to assert their superiority, and he
should properly rule and protect his subjects. One should ignite one‟s sacred
fires and pour libations on them in diverse sacrifices, and retiring in the woods
into either one‟s middle or old age, should live there (practising the duties of the
two last modes of life). Endued with self-restraint, and possessed of righteous
behaviour, one should look upon all creatures as on one‟s own self. One should
again reverence one‟s superiors. By the practice of truth and of good conduct, O
king, one is sure to obtain happiness.‟”

SECTION CCXCIII
“Parasara said, „Nobody in this world does good to another. Nobody is seen to
make gifts to others. All persons are seen to act for their own selves. People are
seen to cast off their very parents and their uterine brothers when these cease to
be affectionate. What need be said then or relatives of other degrees?[1517]
Gifts to a distinguished person and acceptance of the gifts made by a
distinguished person both lead to equal merit. Of these two acts, however, the
making of a gift is superior to the acceptance of a gift.[1518] That wealth which is
acquired by proper means and increased also by proper means, should be
protected with care for the sake of acquiring virtue. This is an accepted truth.
One desirous of acquiring righteousness should never earn wealth by means
involving injury to others. One should accomplish one‟s acts according to one‟s
power, without zealously pursuing wealth. By giving water, whether cold or
heated by fire, with a devoted mind, unto a (thirsty) guest, according to the best
of one‟s power, one earns the merit that attaches to the act of giving food to a
hungry man. The high-souled Rantideva obtained success in all the worlds by
worshipping the ascetics with offerings of only roots and fruits leaves. The royal
son of Sivi also won the highest regions of felicity by having gratified Surya along
with his companion with offerings of the same kind. All men, by taking birth, incur
debts to gods, guests, servants, Pitris, and their own selves. Everyone should,
therefore, do his best for freeing himself from those debts. One frees oneself
from one‟s debt to the great Rishis by studying the Vedas. One pays off one‟s
debts to the gods by performing sacrifices. By performing the rites of the Sraddha
one is freed from one‟s debts to the Pitris. One pays off one‟s debt to one‟s
fellowmen by doing good offices to them. One pays off the debts one owes to
one‟s own self by listening to Vedic recitations and reflecting on their import, by
eating the remnants of sacrifices, and by supporting one‟s body. One should duty
discharge all the acts, from the beginning, that one owes to one‟s servants.
Though destitute of wealth, men are seen to attain to success by great
exertions.[1519] Munis by duly adoring the deities and by duty pouring libations
of clarified butter on the sacred fire, have been seen to attain to ascetic success.
Richika‟s son became the son of Vishwamitra. By adoring the deities who have
shares in sacrificial offerings, with Richs (he attained to success in after life).
Usanas became Sukra by having gratified the god of gods. Indeed., by hymning
the praises of the goddess (Uma), he sports in the firmament, endued with great
splendour.[1520] Then, again, Asita and Devala, and Narada and Parvata, and
Karkshivat, and Jamadagni‟s son Rama, and Tandya possessed of cleansed
soul, and Vasishtha, and Jamadagni, and Viswamitra and Atri, and Bharadwaja,
and Harismasru, and Kundadhara, and Srutasravas,--these great Rishis, by
adoring Vishnu with concentrated minds with the aid of Richs, and by penances,
succeeded in attaining to success through the grace of that great deity endued
with intelligence. Many undeserving men, by adoring that good deity, obtained
great distinction. One should not seek for advancement by achieving any wicked
or censurable act. That wealth which is earned by righteous ways is true wealth.
Fie on that wealth, however, which is earned by unrighteous means.
Righteousness is eternal. It should never, in this world, be abandoned from

desire of wealth. That righteous-souled person who keeps his sacred fire and
offers his daily adorations to the deities is regarded as the foremost of righteous
persons. All the Vedas, O foremost of kings, are established on the three sacred
fires (called Dakshina, Garhapatya, and Ahavaniya). That Brahmana is said to
possess the sacred fire whose acts exist in their entirety. It is better to at once
abandon the sacred fire than to keep it, abstaining the while from acts. The
sacred fire, the mother, the father who has begotten, and the preceptor, O tiger
among men, should all be duly waited upon and served with humility. That man
who, casting off all feelings of pride, humbly waits upon and serves them that are
venerable for age, who is possessed of learning and destitute of lust, who
looketh upon all creatures with an eye of love, who has no wealth, who is
righteous in his acts, and who is destitute of the desire of inflicting any kind of
harm (upon any one), that truly respectable man is worshipped in this world by
those that are good and pious.‟”[1521]
SECTION CCXCIV
“Parasara said, „The lowest order, it is proper, should derive their sustenance
from the three other orders. Such service, rendered with affection and reverence,
makes them righteous.[1522] If the ancestors of any Sudra were not engaged in
service, he should not still engage himself in any other occupation (than service).
Truly, he should apply himself to service as his occupation. In my opinion, it is
proper for them to associate, under all circumstances, with good men devoted to
righteousness, but never with those that are wicked. As in the Eastern hills,
jewels and metals blaze with greater splendour in consequence of their
adjacence to the Sun, even so the lowest order blazes with splendour in
consequence of their association with the good. A piece of white cloth assumes
that hue with which it is dyed. Even such is the case with Sudras.[1523] Hence
also, one should attach oneself to all good qualities but never to qualities that are
evil. The life of human beings in this world is fleeting and transitory. That wise
man who, in happiness as also in misery, achieves only what is good, is
regarded as a true observer of the scriptures. That man who is endued with
intelligence would never do an act which is dissociated from virtue, however high
may the advantages be of that act. Indeed, such an act is not regarded as truly
beneficial. That lawless king who, snatching thousands of kine from their lawful
owners, gives them away (unto deserving persons), acquires no fruit (from that
act of giving) beyond an empty sound (expressive of the act he does). On the
other hand, he incurs the sin of theft. The Self-born at first created the Being
called Dhatri held in universal respect. Dhatri created a son who was engaged in
upholding all the worlds.[1524] Worshipping that deity, the Vaisya employs
himself, for the means of his support, in agriculture and the rearing of cattle. The
Kshatriyas should employ themselves in the task of protecting all the other
classes. The Brahmanas should only enjoy. As regards the Sudras, they should
engage themselves in the task of humbly and honestly collecting together the
articles that are to be offered in sacrifices, and in cleaning altars and other places

where sacrifices are to be performed. If each order acts in this way,
righteousness would not suffer any diminution. If righteousness is preserved in its
entirety, all creatures inhabiting the earth would be happy. Beholding the
happiness of all creatures on earth, the deities in heaven become filled with
gladness. Hence, that king who, agreeably to the duties laid down for his order,
protects the other classes, becomes worthy of respect. Similarly, the Brahmana
that is employed in studying the scriptures, the Vaisya that is engaged in earning
wealth, and the Sudra that is always engaged in serving the three other classes
with concentrated attention, become objects of respect. By conducting
themselves in the other ways, O chief of men, each order is said to fall away from
virtue. Keeping aside gifts by thousands, even twenty cowries that one may give
painfully, having earned them righteously, will be productive of the great benefit.
Those persons, O king, who make gifts unto Brahmanas after reverencing them
duly, reap excellent fruits commensurate with those gifts. That gift is highly prized
which the donor makes after seeking out the donee and honouring him properly.
That gift is middling which the donor makes upon solicitation. That gift, however,
which is made contemptuously and without any reverence, is said to be very
inferior (in point of merit). Even this is what those utterers of the truth, viz., the
sages, say. While sinking in this ocean of life, man should always seek to cross
that ocean by various means. Indeed, he should so exert himself that he might
be freed from the bonds of this world. The Brahmana shines by self restraint; the
Kshatriya by victory; the Vaisya by wealth; while the Sudra always shines in glory
through cleverness in serving (the three other orders).‟”
SECTION CCXCV
“Parasara said, „In the Brahmana, wealth acquired by acceptance of gifts, in the
Kshatriya that won by victory in battle, in the Vaisya that obtained by following
the duties laid down for his order, and in the Sudra that earned by serving the
three other orders, however small its measure, is worthy of praise, and spent for
the acquisition of virtue is productive of great benefits. The Sudra is said to be
the constant servitor of the three other classes. If the Brahmana, pressed for a
living, betakes himself to the duties of either the Kshatriya or the Vaisya, he does
not fall off from righteousness. When, however, the Brahmana betakes himself to
the duties of the lowest order, then does he certainly fall off. When the Sudra is
unable to obtain his living by service of the three other orders, then trade, rearing
of cattle, and the practice of the mechanical arts are lawful for him to follow.
Appearance on the boards of a theatre and disguising oneself in various forms,
exhibition of puppets, the sale of spirits and meat, and trading in iron and leather,
should never be taken up for purposes of a living by one who had never before
been engaged in those professions every one of which is regarded as censurable
in the world. It hath been heard by us that if one engaged in them can abandon
them, one then acquires great merit. When one that has become successful in
life behaves sinfully in consequence of one‟s mind being filled with arrogance,
one‟s acts under such circumstances can never pass for authority. It is heard in

the Puranas that formerly mankind were self-restrained; that they held
righteousness in great esteem; that the practices they followed for livelihood
were all consistent with propriety and the injunctions laid down in the scriptures:
and that the only punishment that was required for chastising them when they
went wrong was the crying of fie on them.[1525] At the time of which we speak,
O king, Righteousness, and nothing else, was much applauded among men.
Having achieved great progress in righteousness, men in those days worshipped
only all good qualities that they saw. The Asuras, however, O child, could not
bear that righteousness which prevailed in the world. Multiplying (in both number
and energy), the Asuras (in the form of Lust and Wrath) entered the bodies of
men. Then was pride generated in men that is so destructive of righteousness.
From pride arose arrogance, and from arrogance arose wrath. When men thus
became overwhelmed with wrath, conduct implying modesty and shame
disappeared from them, and then they were overcome by heedlessness.
Afflicted by heedlessness, they could no longer see as before, and as the
consequence thereof they began to oppress one another and thereby acquire
wealth without any compunction. When men became such, the punishment of
only crying fie on offenders failed to be of any effect. Men, showing no reverence
for either the gods or Brahmanas, began to indulge their senses to their fill.[1526]
At that time the deities repaired to that foremost of gods, viz., Siva, possessed of
patience, of multiform aspect, and endued with the foremost of attributes, and
sought his protection. The deities imparted unto him their conjoined energy, and
thereupon the great god, with a single shaft, felled on the earth those three
Asuras, viz., Desire, Wrath, and Cupidity, who were staying in the firmament,
along with their very habitations.[1527] The fierce chief of those Asuras
possessed of fierce, prowess, who had struck the Devas with terror, was also
slain by Mahadeva armed with the lance.[1528] When this chief of the Asuras
was slain, men once more obtained their proper natures, and once more began
to study the Vedas and the other scriptures as was in former times. Then the
seven ancient Rishis came forward and installed Vasava as the chief of the gods
and the ruler of heaven. And they took upon themselves the task of holding the
rod of chastisement over mankind. After the seven Rishis came king Viprithu (to
rule mankind), and many other kings, all belonging to the Kshatriya order for
separately ruling separate groups of human beings. (When Mahadeva dispelled
all evil passions from the minds of creatures) there were, in those ancient times,
certain elderly men from whose minds all wicked feelings did not fly away.
Hence, in consequence of that wicked state of their minds and of those incidents
that were connected with it, there appeared many kings of terrible prowess who
began to indulge in only such acts as were fit for Asuras. Those human beings
that are exceedingly foolish adhere to those wicked acts, establish them as
authorities, and follow them in practice to this day.[1529] For this reason, O king,
I say unto thee, having reflected properly with the aid of the scriptures, that one
should abstain from all acts that are fraught with injury or malice and seek to
acquire a knowledge of the Soul.[1530]The man possessed of wisdom would not
seek wealth for the performance of religious rites by ways that are unrighteous
and that involve an abandonment of morality. Wealth earned by such means can

never prove beneficial. Do thou then become a Kshatriya of this kind. Do thou
restrain thy senses, be agreeable to thy friends, and cherish, according to the
duties of thy order, thy subjects, servants, and children. Through the union of
both prosperity and adversity (in man‟s life), there arise friendships and
animosities. Thousands and thousands of existences are continually revolving (in
respect of every Jiva), and in every mode of Jiva‟s existence these must
occur.[1531] For this reason, be thou attached to good qualities of every kind, but
never to faults. Such is the character of good qualities that if the most foolish
person, bereft of every virtue, hears himself praised for any good quality, he
becomes filled with joy. Virtue and sin exist, O king, only among men. These do
not exist among creatures other than man. One should therefore, whether in
need of food and other necessaries of life or transcending such need, be of
virtuous disposition, acquire knowledge, always look upon all creatures as one‟s
own self, and abstain totally from inflicting any kind of injury. When one‟s mind
becomes divested of desire, and when all Darkness is dispelled from it, it is then
that one succeeds in obtaining what is auspicious.‟”
SECTION CCXCVI
“Parasara said, „I have now discoursed to thee on what the ordinances are of the
duties in respect of one that leads the domestic mode of life. I shall now speak to
thee of the ordinances about penances. Listen to me as I discourse on the topic.
It is generally seen, O king, that in consequence of sentiments fraught with Rajas
and Tamas, the sense of meum, born of attachment, springs up in the heart of
the householder. Betaking oneself to the domestic mode of life, one acquires
kine, fields, wealth of diverse kinds, spouses, children, and servants. One that
becomes observant of this mode of life continually casts one‟s eye upon these
objects. Under these circumstances, one‟s attachments and aversions increase,
and one ceases to regard one‟s (transitory) possessions as eternal and
indestructible. When a person becomes overwhelmed by attachment and
aversion, and yields himself up to the mastery of earthly objects, the desire of
enjoyment then seizes him, taking its rise from heedlessness, O king. Thinking
that person to be blessed who has the largest share of enjoyments in this world,
the man devoted to enjoyment does not, in consequence of his attachment
thereto, see that there is any other happiness besides what waits upon the
gratification of the senses. Overwhelmed with cupidity that results from such
attachment, he then seeks to increase the number of his relatives and
attendants, and for gratifying these latter he seeks to increase his wealth by
every means in his power. Filled with affection for children, such a person
commits, for the sake of acquiring wealth, acts that he knows to be evil, and
gives way to grief if his wealth be lost. Having earned honours and always
guarding against the defeat of his plans, he betakes himself to such means as
would gratify his desire of enjoyment. At last he meets with destruction as the
inevitable consequence of the conduct he pursues. It is well-known, however,
that true felicity is theirs that a e endued with intelligence, that are utterers of the

eternal Brahma, that seek to accomplish only acts that are auspicious and
beneficial, and that abstain from all acts that are optional and spring from desire
alone.[1532] From loss of all such objects in which are centred our affections,
from loss of wealth, O king, and from the tyranny of physical diseases add mental
anguish, a person falls into despair. From this despair arises art awakening of the
soul. From such awakening proceeds study of the Scriptures. From
contemplation of the import of the scriptures, O king, one sees the value of
penance. A person possessed of the knowledge of what is essential and what
accidental, O king, is very rare,--he, that is, who seeks to undergo penances,
impressed with the truth that the happiness one derives from the possession of
such agreeable objects as spouses and children leads ultimately to misery.[1533]
Penances, O child, are for all. They are ordained for even the lowest order of
men (viz., Sudras). Penances set the self-restrained man having the mastery
over all his senses on the way to heaven. It was through penances that the
puissant Lord of all creatures, O, king, observing vows at particular intervals
created all existent objects. The Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, Agni, the
Aswins, the Maruts, the Viswedevas, the Saddhyas, the Pitris, the Maruts, the
Yakshas, the Rakshasas, the Gandharvas, the Siddhas and the other denizens
of heaven, and, indeed, all other celestials whatever, O child, have all been
crowned with success through their penances. Those Brahmanas whom
Brahmana created at the outset, succeeded through their penances in honouring
not the Earth alone but the heaven also in which they roved at pleasure. In this
world of mortals, they that are kings, and those others that are householders
born in high families, have all become what they are only in consequence of their
penances.[1534] The silken robes they wear, the excellent ornaments that adorn
their persons, the animals and vehicles they ride, and the seats they use are all
the result of their penances. The many charming and beautiful women,
numbering by thousands, that they enjoy, and their residence in palatial
mansions, are all due to their penances. Costly beds and diverse kinds of
delicious viands become theirs that act righteously. There is nothing in the three
worlds, O scorcher of foes, that penances cannot attain. Even those that are
destitute of true knowledge win Renunciation as the consequence of their
penances.[1535] Whether in affluent circumstances or miserable, a person
should cast off cupidity, reflecting on the scriptures, with the aid of his Mind and
understanding, O best of kings. Discontent is productive of misery. (Discontent is
the result of cupidity). Cupidity leadeth to the stupefaction of the senses. The
senses being stupefied, one‟s wisdom disappears like knowledge not kept up by
continued application. When one‟s wisdom disappears, one fails to discriminate
what is proper from what is improper. Hence, when one‟s happiness is destroyed
(and one becomes subject to misery) one should practise the austerest of
penances.[1536] That which is agreeable is called happiness. That which is
disagreeable is said to be misery. When penances are practised, the result is
happiness. When they are not practised, the result is misery. Behold the fruits of
practising and abstaining from penances![1537] By practising stainless
penances, people always meet with auspicious consequences of every kind,
enjoy all good things, and attain to great fame.[1538] He, however, who by

abandoning (stainless penances), betakes himself to penances from desire of
fruit, meets with many disagreeable consequences, and disgrace and sorrow of
diverse kinds, as the fruits thereof, all of which have worldly possessions for their
cause.[1539] Notwithstanding the desirability of practising righteousness,
penances, and gifts, the wish springs up in his mind of accomplishing all kinds of
forbidden acts. By thus perpetrating diverse kinds of sinful acts, he goes to
hell.[1540] That person, O best of men, who, in both happiness and misery, does
not fall away from the duties ordained for him, is said to have the scriptures for
his eye. It is said that the pleasure one derives from the gratification of one‟s
senses of touch, tongue, sight, scent, and hearing, O monarch, lasts only so long
as a shaft urged from the bow takes in falling down upon the earth. Upon the
cessation of that pleasure, which is so short-lived, one experiences the most
keen agony. It is only the senseless that do not applaud the felicity of
Emancipation that is unrivalled. Beholding the misery that attends the
gratification of the senses, they that are possessed of wisdom cultivate the
virtues of tranquillity and self-restraint for the purpose of attaining to
Emancipation. In consequence of their righteous behaviour, wealth, and pleasure
can never succeed in afflicting them.[1541] Householders may, without any
compunction, enjoy wealth and other possessions that are obtained without
Exertion. As regards, however, the duties of their order that are laid down in the
scriptures, these, I am of opinion, they should discharge with the aid of
Exertion.[1542] The practice of those that are honoured, that are born in high
families, and that have their eyes always turned towards the import of the
scriptures, is incapable of being followed by those that are sinful and that are
possessed of unrestrained minds. All acts that are done by man under the
influence of vanity, meet with destruction. Hence, for them that are respectable
and truly righteous there is no other act in this world to do than penance.[1543]
As regards, those house-holders, however, that are addicted to acts, they should,
with their whole hearts, set themselves to acts. Following the duties of their
order, O king, they should with cleverness and attention perform sacrifices and
other religious rites. Indeed, as all rivers, male and female, have their refuge in
the Ocean, even so men belonging to all the other orders have their refuge in the
householder.‟”
SECTION CCXCVII
“Janaka said, „Whence, O great Rishi, does this difference of colour arise among
men belonging to the different orders? I desire to know this. Tell me this, O
foremost of speakers! The Srutis say that the offspring one begets are one‟s own
self. Originally sprung from Brahmana, all the inhabitants of the earth should
have been Brahmanas. Sprung from Brahmanas, why have men betaken
themselves to practices distinguished from those of Brahmanas.‟
“Parasara said, „It is as thou sayst, O king! The offspring procreated are none
else than the procreator himself. In consequence, however, of falling away from

penance, this distribution into classes of different colours has taken place. When
the soil becomes good and the seed also is good, the offspring produced
become meritorious. If, however, the soil and seed become otherwise or inferior,
the offspring that will be born will be inferior. They that are conversant with the
scriptures know that when the Lord of all creatures set himself to create the
worlds, some creatures sprang from his mouth, some from his arms, some from
his thighs, and some from his feet. They that thus sprang from his mouth, O
child, came to be called Brahmanas. They that sprang from his arms were
named Kshatriyas. They, O king, that sprang from his thighs were the wealthy
class called the Vaisyas. And, lastly, they that were born of his feet were the
serving class, viz., the Sudras. Only these four orders of men, O monarch, were
thus created. They that belong to classes over and other than these are said to
have sprung from an intermixture of these. The Kshatriyas called Atirathas,
Amvashthas, Ugras, Vaidehas, Swapakas, Pukkasas, Tenas, Nishadas, Sutas,
Magadhas, Ayogas, Karanas, Vratyas, and Chandalas, O monarch, have all
sprung from the four original orders by intermixture with one another.‟
“Janaka said, „When all have sprung from Brahmana alone, how came human
beings to have diversity in respect of race? O best of ascetics, an infinite diversity
of races is seen in this world. How could men devoted to penances attain, to the
status of Brahmanas, though of indiscriminate origin? Indeed, those born of pure
wombs and those of impure, all became Brahmanas.‟
“Parasara said, „O king, the status of high-souled persons that succeeded in
cleansing their souls by penances could not be regarded as affected by their low
births. Great Rishis, O monarch, by begetting children in indiscriminate wombs,
conferred upon them the status of Rishis by means of their power of asceticism.
My grandfather Vasishtha, Rishyasringa, Kasyapa, Veda, Tandya, Kripa,
Kakshivat, Kamatha, and others, and Yavakrita, O king, and Drona, that foremost
of speakers, and Ayu, and Matanga, and Datta, and Drupada, and Matsya, all
these, O ruler of the Videhas, obtained their respective positions through
penance as the means. Originally only four Gotras (races) arose, O monarch,
viz., Angiras, Kasyapa, Vasishtha, and Bhrigu. In consequence of acts and
behaviour, O ruler of men, many other Gotras came into existence in time. The
names of those Gotras have been due to the penances of those that have
founded them. Good people use them.‟
“Janaka said, „Tell me, O holy one, the especial duties of the several orders. Tell
me also what their common duties are. Thou art conversant with everything.‟
“Parasara said, „Acceptance of gifts, officiation at the sacrifices of others, and the
teaching of pupils, O king, are the especial duties of the Brahmanas. The
protection of the other orders is proper for the Kshatriya. Agriculture, cattle-
rearing, and trade are the occupations of the Vaisyas. While service of the (three)
regenerate classes is the occupation, O king, of the Sudras. I have now told thee
what the especial duties are of the four orders, O monarch. Listen now to me, O
child, as I tell thee what the common duties are of all the four orders.
Compassion, abstention from injury, heedfulness, giving to others what is due to
them, Sraddhas in honour of deceased ancestors, hospitality to guests,

truthfulness, subjugation of wrath, contentedness with one‟s own wedded wives,
purity (both internal and external), freedom from malice, knowledge of Self, and
Renunciation,--these duties, O king, are common to all the orders. Brahmanas,
Kshatriyas, and Vaisyas,--these are the three regenerate orders. All of them have
an equal right to the performance of these duties, O foremost of men. These
three orders, betaking themselves to duties other than those laid down for them,
come to grief, O monarch (and fall down from their own status), even as they go
up and acquire great merit by taking for their model some righteous individual of
their respective classes who is duly observant of his own duties. The Sudra
never falls down (by doing forbidden acts); nor is he worthy of any of the rites of
regeneration. The course of duties flowing from the Vedas is not his. He is not
interdicted, however, from practising the three and ten duties that are common to
all the orders. O ruler of the Videhas, Brahmanas learned in the Vedas, O
monarch, regard a (virtuous) Sudra as equal to Brahmana himself. I, however, O
king, look upon such a Sudra as the effulgent Vishnu of the universe, the
foremost one in all the worlds.[1544] Persons of the lowest order, desiring to
exterminate the evil passions (of lust and wrath, etc.) may betake themselves to
the observance of the conduct of the good; and, indeed, while so acting, they
may earn great merit by performing all rites that lead to advancement, omitting
the mantras that are utterable by the other orders while performing the self-same
ceremonies. Wherever persons of the lowest order adopt the behaviour of the
good, they succeed in attaining to happiness in consequence of which they are
able to pass their time in felicity both here and hereafter.‟
“Janaka said, „O great ascetic, is man stained by his acts or is he stained by the
order or class in which he is born? A doubt has arisen in my mind. It behoveth
thee to expound this to me.‟
“Parasara said, „Without doubt, O king, both, viz., acts and birth, are sources of
demerit. Listen now to their difference. That man who, though stained by birth,
does not commit sin, abstains from sin notwithstanding birth and acts. If,
however, a person of superior birth perpetrates censurable acts, such acts stain
him. Hence, of the two, viz., acts and birth, acts stain man (more than
birth).[1545]
“Janaka said, „What are those righteous acts in this world, O best of all
regenerate persons, the accomplishment of which does not inflict any injury upon
other creatures?‟
“Parasara said, „Hear from me, O monarch, about what thou askest me‟ viz.,
those acts free from injury which always rescue man. Those who, keeping aside
their domestic fires, have dissociated themselves from all worldly attachments,
become freed from all anxieties. Gradually ascending step by step, in the path of
Yoga, they at last behold the stage of highest felicity (viz., Emancipation).[1546]
Endued with faith and humility, always practising self-restraint, possessed of
keen intelligence, and abstaining from all acts, they attain to eternal felicity. All
classes of men, O king, by properly accomplishing acts that are righteous, by
speaking the truth, and by abstaining from unrighteousness, in this world, ascend
to heaven. In this there is no doubt.‟”

SECTION CCXCVIII
“Parasara said, „The sires, the friends, the preceptor, and the spouses of the
preceptors of men that are destitute of devotion are unable to give to those men
the merits that attach to devotion. Only they that are firmly devoted to such
seniors, that speak what is agreeable to them, that seek their welfare, and that
are submissive to them in behaviour, can obtain the merit of devotion. The sire is
the highest of deities with his children. It is said that the sire is superior to the
mother. The attainment of Knowledge is regarded as the highest acquisition.
They that have subjugated the objects of the senses (by attainment of
Knowledge), acquire what is highest (viz., Emancipation). That Kshatriya prince
who, repairing to the field of battle, receives wounds amid fiery shafts flying in all
directions and burns therewith, certainly repairs to regions that are unattainable
by the very deities and, arrived there, enjoys the felicity of heaven in perfect
contentment. A Kshatriya should not, O king, strike one that is fatigued, or one
that is frightened, or one that has been disarmed, or one that is weeping, or one
that is unwilling to fight, or one that is unequipped with mail and cars and horse
and infantry, or one that has ceased to exert oneself in the fight, or one that is ill,
or one that cries for quarter, or one that is of tender years, or one that is old. A
Kshatriya should, in battle, fight one of his order who is equipped with mail and
cars and horse and infantry, who is ready for exertion and who occupies a
position of equality. Death at the hands of one that is equal or of a superior is
laudable, but not that at the hands of one that is low, or of one that is a coward,
or of one that is a wretch. This is well-known. Death at the hands of one that is
sinful, or of one that is of low birth and wicked conduct, O king, is inglorious and
leads to hell. One whose period of life has run out cannot be rescued by
anybody. Similarly, one whose period of life has not been exhausted can never
be slain by any one.[1547] One should prevent one‟s affectionate seniors from
doing unto one (for one‟s benefit) such acts as are done by menials, as also all
such acts as are fraught with injury to others. One should never desire to extend
one‟s own life by taking the lives of others.[1548] When they lay down their lives,
it is laudable for all householders observant of the duties of men living in sacred
places to lay down their lives on the banks of sacred streams.[1549] When one‟s
period of life becomes exhausted, one dissolves away into the five elements.
Sometimes this occurs suddenly (through accidents) and sometimes it is brought
about by (natural) causes.[1550] He who, having obtained a body, brings about
its dissolution (in a. sacred place by means of some inglorious accident),
becomes invested with another body of a similar kind. Though set on the path of
the Emancipation, he yet becomes a traveller and attains to another body like a
person repairing from one room into another.[1551] In the matter of such a man‟s
attainment of a second body (notwithstanding his death in a sacred spot) the only
cause is his accidental death. There is no second cause. That new body which
embodied creatures obtain (in consequence of the accidental character of their
deaths in sacred places) comes into existence and becomes attached to Rudras

and Pisachas.[1552] Learned men, conversant with Adhyatma, say that the body
is a conglomeration of arteries and sinews and bones and much repulsive and
impure matter and a compound of (primal) essences, and the senses and objects
of the senses born of desire, all having an outer cover of skin close to them.
Destitute (in reality) of beauty and other accomplishments, this conglomeration,
through force of the desires of a previous life, assumes a human form.[1553]
Abandoned by the owner, the body becomes inanimate and motionless. Indeed,
when the primal ingredients return to their respective natures, the body mingles
with the dust. Caused by its union with acts, this body reappears under
circumstances determined by its acts. Indeed, O ruler of the Videhas, under
whatever circumstances this body meets with dissolution, its next birth,
determined by those circumstances, is seen to enjoy and endure the fruits of all
its past acts. Jiva, after dissolution of the body it inhabited, does not, O king, take
birth in a different body immediately. It roves through the sky for some time like a
spacious cloud. Obtaining a new receptacle, O monarch, it then takes birth again.
The soul is above the mind. The mind is above the senses. Mobile creatures,
again, are foremost of all created objects. Of all mobile creatures those that have
two legs are superior. Amongst two-legged creatures, those that are regenerate
are superior. Amongst those that are regenerate they that are possessed of
wisdom are superior. Amongst them that are possessed of wisdom they that
have succeeded in acquiring a knowledge of the soul are superior. Amongst
those that are possessed of a knowledge of the soul, they that are endued with
humility are superior. Death follows birth in respect of all men. This is settled.
Creatures, influenced by the attributes of Sattwa, Rajas, and Tamas, pursue acts
which have an end.[1554] That man is regarded as righteous who meets with
dissolution when the Sun is in the northern declension, and at a time and under a
constellation both of which are sacred and auspicious. He. is righteous who.,
having cleansed himself of all sins and accomplished all his acts according to the
best of his power and having abstained from giving pain to any man, meets with
death when it comes. The death that one meets with by taking poison, by
hanging, by burning, at the hands of robbers, and at the teeth of animals, is said
to be an inglorious one.[1555] Those men that are righteous never incur such or
similar deaths even if they be afflicted with mental and physical diseases of the
most agonising kind. The lives of the righteous, O king, piercing through the
Sun, ascend into the regions of Brahma. The lives of those that are both
righteous and sinful rove in the middle regions. The lives of those that are sinful
sink into the lowest depths. There is only one foe (of man) and not another. That
foe is identifiable with ignorance, O king. Overwhelmed by it, one is led to
perpetrate acts that are frightful and exceedingly cruel. That foe for resisting
which one should put forth one‟s power by waiting upon the aged according to
the duties laid down in the Srutis—that foe which cannot be overcome except by
steady endeavours,--meets with destruction., O king, only when it is crushed by
the shafts of wisdom.[1556] The man desirous of achieving merit should at first
study the Vedas and observe penances, becoming a Brahmacharin. He should
next, entering the domestic mode of life, perform the usual Sacrifices.
Establishing his race, he should then enter the forest, restraining his senses, and

desirous of winning Emancipation. One should never emasculate oneself by
abstaining from any enjoyment. Of all births, the status of humanity is preferable
even if one has to become a Chandala. Indeed, O monarch, that order of birth
(viz., humanity) is the foremost, since by becoming a human being one succeeds
in rescuing one‟s self by meritorious acts. Men always perform righteous acts, O
lord, guided by the authority of the Srutis, so that they may not fall away from the
status of humanity. That man who, having attained to the status of humanity that
is so difficult of attainment, indulges in malice, disregards righteousness and
yields himself up to desire, is certainly betrayed by his desires.[1557] That man
who looks upon all creatures with eyes guided by affection, regarding them
worthy of being cherished with loving aid, who disregards all kinds of wealth, who
offers them consolation, gives them food, address them in agreeable words, and
who rejoices in their happiness and grieves in their griefs, has never to suffer
misery in the next world, Repairing to the Saraswati, the Naimisha woods, the
Pushkara waters, and the other sacred spots on earth, one should make gifts,
practise renunciation, render one‟s aspect amiable, O king, and purify one‟s body
with baths and penances. Those men who meet with death within their houses
should have the rites of cremation performed upon their persons. Their bodies
should be taken to the crematorium on vehicles and there they should be burnt
according to the rites of purification that have been laid down in the scriptures.
Religious rites, beneficial ceremonies, the performance of sacrifices, officiation at
the sacrifices of others, gifts, the doing of other meritorious acts, the
performance, according to the best of one‟s power, of all that has been ordained
in the case of one‟s deceased ancestors,--all these one does for benefiting one‟s
own self. The Vedas with their six branches, and the other scriptures, O king,
have been created for the good of him who is of stainless acts.‟
“Bhishma continued, „All this was said by that high-souled sage unto the ruler of
the Videhas, O king, in days of old for his benefit.‟”
SECTION CCXCIX
“Bhishma said, „Once again Janaka, the ruler of Mithila, questioned the high-
souled Parasara endued with certain knowledge in respect of all duties.‟
“Janaka said, „What is productive of good? What is the best path (for living
creatures)? What is that which being accomplished is never destroyed? What is
that spot repairing whither one has not to come back? Tell me all this, O thou of
high intelligence!‟
“Parasara said, „Dissociation (from attachments) is the root of what is
good.[1558] Knowledge is the highest path. Penances practised are never
destroyed, Gifts also, made to deserving persons, are not lost. When one,
breaking the bonds of sin, begins to take pleasure in righteousness, and when
one makes that highest of all gifts, viz., the pledge of harmlessness unto all
creatures, then does one achieve success. He who gives away thousands of kine
and hundreds of horses (to deserving persons), and who gives unto all creatures

the pledge of harmlessness, receives in return the pledge of harmlessness from
all. One may live in the midst of all kinds of wealth and enjoyment, yet, if blessed
with intelligence, one does not live in them: while he that is destitute of
intelligence lives wholly in objects of enjoyment that are even
unsubstantial.[1559] Sin cannot attach to a man of wisdom even as water cannot
drench the leaves of the lotus. Sin adheres more firmly to him who is without
attachment even as lac and wood adhere firmly to each other. Sin, which cannot
be extinguished except by endurance of its fruits, never abandons the doer.
Verily, the doer, when the time comes, has to endure the consequences arising
from it.[1560] They, however, that are of cleansed souls and that realise the
existence of Brahma, are never afflicted by the fruits of their acts. Heedless in
respect of one‟s senses of knowledge and of action, one that is not conscious of
one‟s wicked acts, and whose heart is attached to both good and bad, becomes
afflicted with great fear. One who at all times becomes entirely freed from
attachments and who completely subjugates the passion of wrath, is never
stained by sin even if he lives in the enjoyment of worldly objects. As a dyke built
across a river, if not washed away, causes the waters thereof to swell up, even
so the man who, without being attached to objects of enjoyments, creates the
dyke of righteousness whose materials consist of the limitations set down in the
scriptures, has never to languish. On the other hand, his merits and penances
increase. As the pure gem (called Suryakanta) absorbs and attracts to itself, the
rays of the Sun, even so, O tiger among kings, does Yoga proceed by help of
concentrated attention.[1561] As sesame seeds, in consequence of their
repeated intermingling with (fragrant) flowers, become in respect of quality very
agreeable, even so the quality of Sattwa arises in men in proportion to the
measure of their association with persons of cleansed souls.[1562] When one
becomes desirous of dwelling in heaven, one casts off one‟s spouses and wealth
and rank and vehicles and diverse kinds of good acts. Indeed, when one attains
to such a frame of mind, one‟s understanding is said to be dissociated from the
objects of the senses. That man (on the other hand) who, with understanding
attached to the objects of the senses, becomes blind to what is for his real good,
is dragged (to his ruin) by his heart which runs after all worldly objects, like a fish
(dragged to its ruin) by the bait of meat. Like unto the body that is made up of
different limbs and organs, all mortal creatures exist depending upon one
another. They are as destitute of vigour as the pith of the banana plant. (Left to
themselves) they sink in the world‟s ocean like a boat (made of weak materials).
There is no fixed time for the acquisition of righteousness. Death waits for no
man. When man is constantly running towards the jaws of Death, the
accomplishment of righteous acts is proper at all times. Like a blind man who,
with attention, is capable of moving about his own house, the man of wisdom,
with mind set on Yoga, succeeds in proceeding along the track (he should
follow).[1563] It has been said that death arises in consequence of birth. Birth is
subject to the sway of death. One unacquainted with the course of the duties of
Emancipation revolves like a wheel between birth and death, unable to free
oneself from that fate. One who walketh along the track recommended by the
understanding earns happiness both here and hereafter. The Diverse are fraught

with misery, while the Few are productive of happiness. Fruits represented by the
not-Soul are said to constitute the Diverse. Renunciation is (said to constitute the
Few and that is) productive of the soul‟s happiness.[1564] As the lotus stalk
quickly leaves the mire attached to it, even so the Soul can speedily cast off the
mind.[1565] It is the mind that at first inclines the Soul to Yoga. The latter then
merges the former into itself. When the Soul achieves success in Yoga, it then
beholds itself uninvested with attributes.[1566] Engaged amid the objects of the
senses, one who regards such engagement to be one‟s employment falleth away
from one‟s true employment in consequence of such devotion to those objects.
The soul of the wise man attains, through its righteous acts, to a state of high
felicity in heaven, while that of the man who is not possessed of wisdom sinks
very low or obtains birth among intermediate creatures. As a liquid substance, if
kept in a baked earthen vessel, does not escape therefrom but remains
undiminished, after the same manner one‟s body with which one has undergone
austerities enjoys (without rejecting) all objects of enjoyment (up to what are
contained in the region of Brahma himself). Verily, that man who enjoys worldly
objects can never be emancipated. That man, on the other hand, who casts off
such objects (in this world), succeeds in enjoying great happiness hereafter. Like
one afflicted with congenital blindness and, therefore, incapable of seeing his
way, the sensualist, with soul confined in an opaque case, seems to be
surrounded by a mist and fails to see (the true object for which he should strive).
As merchants, going across the sea, make profits proportioned to their capital,
even so creatures, in this world of mortals, attain to ends according to their
respective acts. Like a snake devouring air, Death wanders in this world made up
of days and nights in the form of Decrepitude and devours all creatures. A
creature, when born, enjoys or endures the fruits of acts done by him in his
previous lives. There is nothing agreeable or disagreeable which one enjoys or
endures without its being the result of the acts one has done in one‟s previous
lives. Whether lying or proceeding, whether sitting idly engaged in his
occupations, in whatever state a man may be, his acts (of past lives) good or bad
always approach him. One that has attained to the other shore of the ocean,
wishes not to cross the main for returning to the shore whence he had
sailed.[1567] As the fisherman, when he wishes, raises with the help of his chord
his boat sunk in the waters (of a river or lake), after the same manner the mind,
by the aid of Yoga-contemplation, raises Jiva sunk in the world‟s ocean and
unemancipated from consciousness of body.[1568] As all rivers running towards
the ocean, unite themselves with it, even so the mind, when engaged in Yoga,
becomes united with primal Prakriti.[1569] Men whose minds become bound by
diverse chains of affection, and who are engulfed in ignorance, meet with
destruction like houses of sand in water.[1570] That embodied creature who
regards his body as only a house and purity (both external and internal) as its
sacred water, and who walks along the path of the understanding, succeeds in
attaining to happiness both here and hereafter.[1571] The Diverse are productive
of misery; while the Few are productive of happiness. The Diverse are the fruits
represented by the not-Soul. Renunciation (which is identical with Few) is
productive of the soul‟s benefit.[1572] One‟s friends who spring up from one‟s

determination, and one‟s kinsmen whose attachment is due to (selfish) reasons,
one‟s spouses and sons and servants, only devour one‟s wealth. Neither the
mother, nor the father, can confer the slightest benefit upon one in the next
world. Gifts constitute the diet upon which one can subsist. Indeed, one must
have to enjoy the fruits of one‟s own acts.[1573] The mother, the son, the sire,
the brother, the wife, and friends, are like lines traced with gold by the side of
gold itself.[1574] All acts, good and bad, done in past lives come to the doer.
Knowing that everything one enjoys or endures at present is the result of the acts
of past lives, the soul urges the understanding on different directions (so that it
may act in such a way as to avoid all unpleasant fruits). Relying on earnest
endeavour, and equipped with proper aids, he who sets himself to accomplish his
tasks never meets with failure. As the rays of light never abandon the Sun, even
so prosperity never abandons one who is endued with undoubting faith. That act
which a man of stainless soul does with faith and earnestness, with the aid of
proper means, without pride, and with intelligence, becomes never lost. A
creature obtains from the very time of his abode in the mother‟s womb all his own
acts good and bad that were achieved by him in his past lives. Death, which is
irresistible, aided by Time which brings about the destruction of life, leads all
creatures to their end like wind scattering the dust of sawed timber.[1575]
Through acts good and bad performed by himself in his past lives, man obtains
gold and animals and spouses, and children, and honour of birth, and
possessions of value, and his entire affluence.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Thus addressed conformably to the truth by the sage,
Janaka, that foremost of righteous persons, O king, heard everything the Rishi
said and obtained great happiness from it.‟”
SECTION CCC
“Yudhishthira said, „O grandsire, learned men praise truth, self-restraint,
forgiveness, and wisdom. What is thy opinion of these virtues?‟
“Bhishma said, „In this connection I shall recite to thee an old narrative, O
Yudhishthira, of the discourse between the Sadhyas and a Swan. Once on a time
the Unborn and eternal Lord of all creatures (viz., Brahman), assuming the form
of a golden Swan, wandered through the three worlds till in course of his
wanderings he came upon the Sadhyas.‟
“The Sadhyas said, „O ford, we are the deities called Sadhyas. We like to
question thee. Indeed, we would ask thee about the religion of Emancipation.
Thou art well-acquainted with it. We have heard, O bird, that thou art possessed
of great learning, and eloquent and wise of speech. O bird, what dost thou think
is the highest of all objects? O high-souled one, in what does thy mind find
pleasure? Do thou, therefore, O foremost of birds, instruct us as to what that one
act is which thou regardest as the foremost of all acts, and by doing which, O
chief of the feathery creation, one may soon be freed from all bonds.‟

“The Swan said, „Ye who have drunk Amrita, I have heard that one should have
recourse to these, viz., penances, self-restraint, truth, and subjugation of the
mind. Untying all the knots of the heart, one should also bring under one‟s control
both what is agreeable and what is disagreeable.[1576] One should not wound
the vitals of others. One should not be an utterer of cruel speeches. One should
never take scriptural lectures from a person that is mean. One should never utter
such words as inflict pain on others, as cause others to burn (with misery), and
as lead to hell. Wordy shafts fall from the lips. Pierced therewith one (to whom
they are directed) burns incessantly. Those shafts do not strike any part other
than the very vitals of the person aimed. Hence he that is possessed of learning
should never aim them at others. If a person deeply pierces a man of wisdom
with wordy shafts, the wise mart should then adopt peace (without giving way to
wrath). The man who, though sought to be angered, rejoices without yielding to
anger, taketh away from the provoker all his merits. That man of righteous soul,
who, full of joy and freed from malice, subdues his blazing wrath which, if
indulged, would lead him to speak ill of others and verily become his foe, takes
away the merits of others. As regards myself, I never answer I when another
speaks ill of me. If assailed, I always forgive the assault. The righteous are of
opinion that forgiveness and truth and sincerity and compassion are the foremost
(of all virtues). Truth is the arcanum of the Vedas. The arcanum of Truth is self-
restraint. The arcanum of self-restraint is Emancipation. This is the teaching of all
the scriptures. I regard that person to be Brahmana and Muni who subjugates the
rising impulse of speech, the impulse of wrath appearing in the mind, the impulse
of thirst (after unworthy things), and the impulses of the stomach and the organ
of pleasure. One who does not yield to wrath is superior to one who does. One
who practises renunciation is superior to one who does not. One who possesses
the virtues of manhood is superior to one who has them not. One who is endued
with knowledge is superior to one who is destitute of it. Assailed with harsh
speeches one should not assail in return. Indeed, one who, under such
circumstances, renounces wrath, succeeds in burning the assailant and taking
away all his merits.[1577] That person who when assailed with harsh speeches
does not utter a harsh word in reply, who when praised does not utter what is
agreeable to him that praises, who is endued with such fortitude as not to strike
in return when struck and not to even wish evil to the striker, finds his
companionship always coveted by the gods. He that is sinful should be forgiven
as if he were righteous, by one that is insulted, struck, and calumniated. By
acting in this way one attains to success. Though all my objects have been
fulfilled, yet I always wait reverentially on those that are righteous. I have no
thirst. My wrath hath been suppressed. Seduced by covetousness I do not fall
away from the path of righteousness. I do not also approach any one (with
solicitations) for wealth.[1578] If cursed, I do not curse in return. I know that self-
restraint is the door of immortality. I disclose unto you a great mystery. There is
no status that is superior to that of humanity. Freed from sin like the Moon from
murky clouds, the man of wisdom, shining in resplendence, attains to success by
patiently waiting for his time. A person of restrained soul, who becomes the
object of adoration with all by becoming the foremost of the supporting pillars of

the universe, and towards whom only agreeable words are spoken by all, attains
to the companionship of the deities. Revilers never come forward to speak of the
merits of a person as they speak of his demerits. That person whose speech and
mind are properly restrained and always devoted to the Supreme, succeeds in
attaining to the fruits of the Vedas, Penances, and Renunciation. The man of
wisdom should never revile (in return) those that are destitute of merit, by uttering
their dispraise and by insults. He should not extol others (being extolled by them)
and should never injure themselves. The man endued with wisdom and learning
regards revilement as nectar. Reviled, he sleeps without anxiety. The reviler, on
the other hand, meets with destruction. The sacrifices that one performs in anger,
the gifts one makes in anger, the penances one undergoes in anger, and the
offerings and libations one makes to the sacred fire in anger, are such that their
merits are robbed by Yama. The toil of an angry man becomes entirely fruitless.
Ye foremost of immortals, that person is said to be conversant with
righteousness whose four doors, viz., the organ of pleasure, the stomach, the
two arms, and speech, are well-restrained. That person who, always practising
truth and self-restraint and sincerity and compassion and patience and
renunciation, becomes devoted to the study of the Vedas, does not covet what
belongs to others, and pursues what is good with a singleness of purpose,
succeeds in attaining to heaven. Like a calf sucking all the four teats of its dam‟s
udders, one should devote oneself to the practice of all these virtues. I do not
know whether anything exists that is more sacred than Truth. Having roved
among both human beings and the deities, I declare it that Truth is the only
means for reaching heaven even as a ship is the only means for crossing the
ocean. A person becomes like those with whom he dwells, and like those whom
he reverences, and like to what he wishes to be. If a person waits with reverence
on him who is good or him who is otherwise, if he waits with reverence on a sage
possessed of ascetic merit or on a thief, passes under his way and catches his
hue like a piece of cloth catching the dye in which it is steeped. The deities
always converse with those that are possessed of wisdom and goodness. They,
therefore, never entertain the wish for even seeing the enjoyments in which men
take pleasure. The person who knows that all objects of enjoyment (which
human beings cherish) are characterised by vicissitudes, has few rivals, and is
superior to the very Moon and the Wind.[1579] When the Purusha that dwells in
one‟s heart is unstained, and walks in the path of the righteous, the gods take a
pleasure in him. The gods from a distance cast off those that are always devoted
to the gratification of their organs of pleasure and the stomach, that are addicted
to thieving, and that always indulge in harsh speeches, even if they expiate their
offences by performing the proper rites. The gods are never pleased with one of
mean soul, with one who observes no restrictions in the matter of food, and with
one who is of sinful deeds. On the other hand, the gods associate with those
men that are observant of the vow of truth, that are grateful, and that are
engaged in the practice of righteousness. Silence is better than speech. To
speak the truth is better than silence. Again to speak truth that is connected with
righteousness is better than to speak the truth. To speak that which, besides

being true and righteous, is agreeable, is better than to speak truth connected
with righteousness.‟
“The Sadhyas said, „By what is this world covered? For what reason does one
fail to shine? For what cause do people cast off their friends? For what reason do
people fail to attain to heaven?‟
“The Swan said, „The world is enveloped by (the darkness of) Ignorance. Men
fail to shine in consequence of malice. People cast off friends, induced by
covetousness. Men fail to attain to heaven in consequence of attachment.‟
“The Sadhyas said, „Who alone among the Brahmanas is always happy? Who
alone amongst them can observe the vow of silence though dwelling in the midst
of many? Who alone amongst them, though weak, is still regarded as strong?
And who alone amongst them does not quarrel?‟
“The Swan said, „He alone amongst the Brahmanas that is possessed of wisdom
is always happy. He alone amongst the Brahmanas that is possessed of wisdom
succeeds in observing the vow of silence, though dwelling in the midst of many.
He alone amongst the Brahmanas who is possessed of wisdom, though actually
weak, is regarded as strong. He alone amongst them that has wisdom succeeds
in avoiding quarrel.‟[1580]
“The Sadhyas said, „in what consists the divinity of the Brahmanas? In what their
purity? In what their impurity? And in what their status of humanity?‟
“The Swan said, „In the study of the Vedas is the divinity of the Brahmanas. In
their vows and observances is their purity. In obloquy is their impurity. In death is
their humanity.‟[1581]
“Bhishma continued, „Thus have I recited to thee excellent narrative of the
discourse between the Sadhyas (and the Swan). The body (both gross and
subtile) is the origin of acts, and existence or Jiva is truth.‟
SECTION CCCI
“Yudhishthira said, „It behoveth thee to explain to me, O sire, what the difference
is between the Sankhya and the Yoga system of philosophy. O foremost one of
Kuru‟s race, everything is known to thee, O thou that art conversant with all
duties!‟
“Bhishma said, „The followers of Sankhya praise the Sankhya system and those
regenerate persons that are Yogins praise the Yoga system. For establishing the
superiority of their respective systems, each calls his own system to be the
better. Men of wisdom devoted to Yoga assign proper and very good reasons, O
crusher of foes, for showing that one that does not believe in the existence of
God cannot attain to Emancipation. Those regenerate persons, again, that are
believers in the Sankhya doctrines advance good reasons for showing that one,
by acquiring true knowledge of all ends, becomes dissociated from all worldly

objects, and, after departing from this body, it is plain, becomes emancipated and
that it cannot be otherwise. Men of great wisdom have thus expounded the
Sankhya philosophy of Emancipation. When reasons are thus balanced on both
sides, those that are assigned on that side which one is otherwise inclined to
adopt as one‟s own, should be accepted. Indeed, those words that are said on
that side should be regarded as beneficial. Good men may be found on both
sides. Persons like thee may adopt either opinion. The evidences of Yoga are
addressed to the direct ken of the senses; those of Sankhya are based on the
scriptures. Both systems of philosophy are approved by me, O Yudhishthira.
Both those systems of science, O king, have my concurrence and are concurred
in by those that are good and wise. If practised duly according to the instructions
laid down, both would, O king, cause a person to attain to the highest end. In
both systems purity is equally recommended as also compassion towards all
creatures, O sinless one. In both, again, the observance of vows has been
equally laid down. Only the scriptures that point out their paths are different.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „If the vows, the purity, the compassion, and the fruits thereof
recommended in both systems be the same, tell me, O grandsire, for what
reason then are not their scriptures (in respect of the paths recommended) the
same?‟
“Bhishma said, „By casting off, through the aid of Yoga, these five faults, viz.,
attachment, heedlessness, affection, lust, and wrath, one attains to
Emancipation. As large fishes, breaking through the pet, pass into their own
element (for ranging in felicity), after the same manner, Yogins (breaking through
lust and wrath, etc.) become cleansed of all sins and attain to the felicity of
Emancipation. As powerful animals, breaking through the nets in which hunters
enmesh them, escape into the felicity of freedom, after the same manner,
Yogins, freed from all bonds, attain to the sinless path that leads to
Emancipation. Truly, O king, breaking through the bonds born of cupidity, Yogins,
endued with strength, attain to the sinless and auspicious and high path of
Emancipation. Feeble animals, O monarch, entangled in nets, are without doubt,
destroyed. Even such is the case with persons destitute of the puissance of
Yoga. As weak fishes, O son of Kunti, fallen into the net, become entangled in it,
even so, O monarch, men destitute of the puissance of Yoga, encounter
destruction (amid the bonds of the world). As birds, O chastiser of foes, when
entangled in the fine nets of fowlers (if weak) meet with their ruin but if endued
with strength effect their escape, after the same manner does it happen with
Yogins, O chastiser of foes. Bound by the bonds of action, they that are weak
meet with destruction, while they that are possessed of strength break through
them. A small and weak fire, O king, becomes extinguished when large logs of
timber are placed upon it. Even so the Yogin that is weak, O king, meets with ruin
(when brought in contact with the world and its attachments). The same fire,
however, O monarch, when it becomes strong, would (without being
extinguished) burn with the aid of the wind, the whole Earth. After the same
manner, the Yogin, when grown in strength, burning with energy, and possessed
of might, is capable of scorching the entire Universe like the Sun that rises at the
time of „the universal dissolution. As a weak man, O king, is swept away by a

current, even so is a weak Yogin helplessly carried away by objects of the
senses. An elephant withstands a mighty current. After the same manner, a
Yogin, having acquired Yoga-puissance, withstands all objects of the senses.
Independent of all things, Yogins, endued with Yoga-puissance and invested with
lordship, enter into (the hearts of) the very lords of creation, the Rishis, the
deities, and the great Beings in the universe. Neither Yama, nor the Destroyer,
nor Death himself of terrible prowess, when angry, ever succeeds in prevailing
over the Yogin, O king, who is possessed of immeasurable energy. The Yogin,
acquiring Yoga-puissance, can create thousands of bodies and with them
wander over the earth. Some amongst them enjoy objects of the senses and
then once more set themselves to the practice of the austerest penances, and
once again, like the Sun (withdrawing his rays), withdraw themselves from such
penances.[1582] The Yogin, who is possessed of strength and whom bonds bind
not, certainly succeeds in attaining to Emancipation. I have now discoursed to
thee, O monarch, on all these powers of Yoga. I shall once more tell thee what
the subtile powers of Yoga are with their indications. Rear, O chief of Bharata‟s
race, the subtile indications of the Dharana and the Samadhi of the Soul (such as
Yoga brings about).[1583] As a bowman who is heedful and attentive succeeds
in striking the aim, even so the Yogin. with absorbed soul, without doubt, attains
to Emancipation. As a man fixing his mind on a vessel full of some liquid (placed
on his head) heedfully ascends a flight of steps, even so the Yogin, fixed and
absorbed in his soul, cleanses it and makes it as effulgent as the Sun. As a boat,
O son of Kunti, that is tossed on the bosom of the sea is very soon taken by a
heedful boatman to the other shore, even so the man of knowledge by fixing his
soul in Samadhi, attains to Emancipation, which is so difficult to acquire, after
casting off his body, O monarch. As a heedful charioteer, O king, having yoked
good steeds (unto his car) takes the car-warrior to the spot he wishes, even so
the Yogin, O monarch, heedful in Dharana, soon attains to the highest spot (viz.,
Emancipation) like a shaft let off from the bow reaching the object aimed at. The
Yogin who stays immovably after having entered his self into the soul, destroys
his sins and obtains that indestructible spot which is the possession of those that
are righteous. That Yogin who, heedfully observant of high vows, properly unites
O king, his Jiva-soul with the subtile Soul in the navel, the throat, the head, the
heart, the chest, the sides, the eye, the ear, and the nose, burns all his acts good
and bad of even mountain-like proportions, and having recourse to excellent
Yoga, attains to Emancipation.‟
“Yudhishthira said, „It behoveth thee to tell me, O grandsire, what the kinds of
diet are by taking which, and what the things are by conquering which, the Yogin,
O Bharata, acquires Yoga-puissance.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Engaged, O Bharata, in subsisting upon broken grains of
rice and sodden cakes of sesame, and abstaining from oil and butter, the Yogin
acquires Yoga-puissance. By subsisting for a long time on powdered barley
unmixed with any liquid substance, and by confining himself to only one meal a
day, the Yogin, of cleansed soul, acquires Yoga-puissance. By drinking only
water mixed with milk, first only once during the day, then once during a fortnight,
then once during a month, then once during three months, and then once during

a whole year, the Yogin acquires Yoga-puissance. By abstaining entirely from
meat, O king, the Yogin of cleansed soul acquires puissance.[1584] By
subjugating lust, and wrath, and heat, and cold and rain, and fear, and grief, and
the breath, and all sounds that are agreeable to men, and objects of the senses,
and the uneasiness, so difficult to conquer, that is born of abstention from sexual
congress, and thirst that is so terrible, O king, and the pleasures of touch, and
sleep, and procrastination that is almost unconquerable, O best of kings, high-
souled Yogins, divested of attachments, and possessed of great wisdom, aided
by their understandings, and equipped with wealth of contemplation and study,
cause the subtile soul to stand confessed in all its glory. This high (Yoga) path of
learned Brahmanas is exceedingly difficult to tread. No one can walk along this
path with ease. That path is like a terrible forest which abounds with innumerable
snakes and crawling vermin, with (concealed) pits occurring every where, without
water for slaking one‟s thirst, and full of thorns, and inaccessible on that account.
Indeed, the path of Yoga is like a road along which no edibles occur, which runs
through a desert having all its trees burnt down in a conflagration, and which has
been rendered unsafe by being infested with bands of robbers. Very few young
men can pass safely through it (for reaching the goal). Like unto a path of this
nature, few Brahmanas can tread alone the Yoga-path with ease and comfort.
That man who, having betaken himself to this path, ceases to go forward (but
turns back after having made some progress), is regarded as guilty of many
faults. Men of cleansed souls, O lord of Earth, can stay with ease upon Yoga-
contemplation which is like the sharp edge of a razor. Persons of uncleansed
souls, however, cannot stay on it. When Yoga-contemplation becomes disturbed
or otherwise obstructed, it can never lead the Yogin to an auspicious end even
as a vessel that is without a captain cannot take the passengers to the other
shore. That man, O son of Kunti, who practises Yoga-contemplation according to
due rites, succeeds in casting off both birth and death, and happiness and
sorrow. All this that I have told thee has been stated in the diverse treatises
bearing upon Yoga. The highest fruits of Yoga are seen in persons of the
regenerate order. That highest fruit is identification with Brahma. The high-souled
Yogin, possessed of greatness, can enter into and come out of, at his will,
Brahma himself who is the lord of all deities, and the boon-giving Vishnu, and
Bhava, and Dharma, and the six-faced Kartikeya, and the (spiritual) sons of
Brahmana, the quality of Darkness that is productive of much pain, and that of
Passion, and that of Sattwa which is pure, and Prakriti which is the highest, and
the goddess Siddhi who is the spouse of Varuna, and all kinds of energy, and all
enduring patience, and the bright lord of stars in the firmament with the stars
twinkling all around, and the Viswas. and the (great) snakes, and the Pitris, and
all the mountains and hills, and the great and terrible oceans, and all the rivers,
and the rain-charged clouds, and serpents, and trees, and Yakshas, and the
cardinal and subsidiary points of the compass, and the Gandharvas, and all male
persons and all female ones also. This discourse, O king, that is connected with
the Supreme Being of mighty energy should be regarded as auspicious. The
Yogin has Narayana for his soul. Prevailing over all things (through his

contemplation of the Supreme deity), the high-souled Yogin is capable of
creating all things.‟”
The end of the Santi Parva [, Part two of three].
SECTION CCCII
YUDHISHTHIRA SAID, „O king thou hast duly propounded unto me, in the way in
which it should be, the path of Yoga which is approved by the wise, after the
manner of a loving preceptor unto his pupil. I ask now about the principles of the
Sankhya philosophy. Do thou discourse to me on those principles in their
entirety. Whatever knowledge exists in the three worlds is known to thee!‟
“Bhishma said, „Listen now to what the subtile principles are of the followers of
the Sankhya doctrine have been established by all the great and puissant Yatis
having Kapila their first. In that doctrine O chief of men, no errors are
discoverable. Many, indeed, are its merits. In fact, there is no fault in it.
Comprehending with the aid of knowledge that all objects exist with faults,
indeed, understanding that the objects—so difficult to cast off—with which human
beings and Pisachas and Rakshasas and Yakshas and snakes and Gandharvas
and pitris and those that are wandering in the intermediate orders of beings (such
as birds and animals) and great birds (such as Garuda and others) and the
Maruts and royal sages and regenerate sages and Asuras and Viswedevas and
the celestial Rishis and Yogins invested with supreme puissance and the
Prajapatis and Brahman himself are engaged, and understanding truly what the
highest limit is of one‟s period of existence in this world, and apprehending also
the great truth. O foremost of eloquent men, about what is called felicity here,
having a clear knowledge of what the sorrows are that overtake when the hour
comes all those that are concerned with (transitory) objects and knowing full well
the sorrows of those that have fallen into the intermediate orders of being and of
those that have sunk into hell, perceiving all the merits and all the faults of
heaven, O Bharta, and all the demerits that attach to the declarations of the
Vedas and all the excellencies that are connected with them recognising the
faults and merits of the Yoga and the Sankhya systems of philosophy, realizing
also that the quality of Sattwa has ten properties, that of Rajas has nine, and that
of Tamas has eight, that the Understanding has seven properties, the Mind has
six, and Space has five, and once more conceiving that the Understanding has
four properties and Tamas has three, and the Rajas has two and Sattwa has,
one, and truly apprehending the path that is followed by all objects when
destruction overtakes them and what the course is of self knowledge, the
Sankhyas, possessed of knowledge and experience and exalted by their
perceptions of causes, and acquiring thorough auspiciousness, attain to the

felicity of Emancipation like the rays of the Sun, or the Wind taking refuge in
Space.[1585] Vision is attached to form; the sense of scent to smell, the ear to
sound, the tongue to juices, and the skin (or body) to touch. The wind has for its
refuge Space. Stupefaction has Tamas (Darkness) for its refuge. Cupidity has
the objects of the senses for its refuge. Vishnu is attached to (the organs of)
motion. Sakra is attached to (the organs of) strength. The deity of fire is attached
to the stomach, Earth is attached to the Waters. The Waters have Heat (or fire)
for their refuge. Heat attaches itself to the Wind; and the wind has Space for its
refuge; and Space has Mahat for its refuge, and Mahat has the Understanding
for its foundation. The Understanding has its refuge in Tamas; Tamas has Rajas
for its refuge; Rajas is founded upon Sattwa; and Sattwa is attached to the Soul.
The soul has the glorious and puissant Narayana for its refuge. That glorious
deity has Emancipation for his refuge. Emancipation is independent of all refuge.
Knowing that this body, that is endued with six and ten possessions, is the result
of the quality of Sattwa, understanding fully the nature of the physical organism
and the character of the Chetana that dwells within it, recognising the one
existent Being that live in the body viz., the Soul, which stands aloof from every
concern of the body and in which no sin can attach, realising the nature of that
second object, viz.; the acts of persons attached to the objects of the senses,
understanding also the character of the senses and the sensual objects which
have their refuge in the Soul, appreciating the difficulty of Emancipation and the
scriptures that bear upon it knowing fully the nature of the vital breaths called
Prana, Apana, Samana, Vyana, and Udana, as also the two other breaths, viz.,
the one going downward and the other moving upward indeed, knowing those
seven breaths ordained to accomplish seven different functions, ascertaining the
nature of the Prajapatis and the Rishis and the high paths, many in number, of
virtue or righteousness, and the seven Rishis and the innumerable royal Rishis,
O scorcher of foes, and the great celestial Rishis and the other regenerate Rishis
endued with the effulgence of the Sun, beholding all these falling away from their
puissance in course of many long ages, O monarch, hearing of the destruction of
even of all the mighty beings in the universe, understanding also the inauspicious
end that is attained, O king, by creatures of sinful acts, and the miseries endured
by those that fall into the river Vaitarani in the realms of Yama, and the
inauspicious wanderings of creatures through diverse wombs, and the character
of their residence in the unholy uterus in the midst of blood and water and
phlegm and urine and faeces, all of foul smell, and then in bodies that result from
the union of blood and the vital seed, of marrow and sinews, abounding with
hundreds of nerves and arteries and forming an impure mansion of nine doors,
comprehending also what is for his own good what those divers combinations are
which are productive of good beholding the abominable conduct of creatures
whose natures are characterised by Darkness or Passion or Goodness, O chief
of Bharata‟s race—conduct that is reprehended, in view of its incapacity to
acquire Emancipation, by the followers of the Sankhya doctrine who are fully
conversant with the Soul, beholding the swallowing up of the Moon and the Sun
by Rahu, the falling of stars from their fixed positions and the diversions of
constellations from their orbits, knowing the sad separation of all united objects

and the diabolical behaviour of creatures in devouring one another, seeing the
absence of all intelligence in the infancy of human beings and the deterioration
and destruction of the body, marking the little attachment creatures have to the
quality of Sattwa in consequence of their being overwhelmed by wrath and
stupefaction, beholding also only one among thousands of human beings
resolved to struggle after the acquisition of Emancipation, understanding the
difficulty of attaining to Emancipation according to what is stated in the scriptures,
seeing the marked solicitude that creatures manifest for all unattained objects
and their comparative indifference to all objects that have been attained marking
the wickedness that results from all objects of the senses O king and the
repulsive bodies, O son of Kunti, of persons reft of life, and the residence, always
fraught with grief, of human beings, O Bharata, in houses (in the midst of
spouses and children), knowing the end of those terrible and fallen men who
become guilty of slaying Brahmanas, and of those wicked Brahmanas that are
addicted to the drinking of alcoholic stimulants, and the equally sad end of those
that become criminally attached to the spouses of their preceptors, and of those
men, O Yudhishthira, that do not properly reverence their mothers, as also of
those that have no reverence and worship to offer to the deities, understanding
also, with the help of that knowledge (which their philosophy imparts), the end
that of all perpetrators of wicked acts, and the diverse ends that overtake those
who have taken birth among the intermediate orders, ascertaining the diverse
declarations of the Vedas, the courses of seasons, the fading of years, of
months, of fortnights, and of days, beholding directly the waxing and the waning
of the Moon, seeing the rising and the ebbing of the seas, and the diminution of
wealth and its increase once more, and the separation of united objects, the
lapse of Yugas, the destruction of mountains, the drying up of rivers, the
deterioration of (the purity of) the several orders and the end also of that
deterioration occurring repeatedly, beholding the birth, decrepitude, death, and
sorrows of creatures, knowing truly the faults attaching to the body and the
sorrows to which human beings are subject, and the vicissitudes to which the
bodies of creatures are subject, and understanding all the faults that attach to
their own souls, and also all the inauspicious faults that attach to their own
bodies (the followers of the Sankhya philosophy succeed in attaining to
Emancipation).
“Yudhishthira said, „O thou of immeasurable energy, what are those faults that
thou seest attaching to one‟s body? It behoveth thee to ex-pound this doubt to
me fully and truly‟?
“Bhishma said, „Listen, O slayer of foes! The Sankhyas or followers of Kapila,
who are conversant with all paths and endued with wisdom, say that there are
five faults, O puissant one, in the human body. They are Desire and Wrath and
Fear and Sleep and Breath. These faults are seen in the bodies of all embodied
creatures. Those that are endued with wisdom cut the root of wrath with the aid
of Forgiveness. Desire is cut off by casting off all purposes. By cultivation of the
quality of Goodness (Sattwa) sleep is conquered, and Fear is conquered by
cultivating Heedfulness. Breath is conquered by abstemiousness of diet O king.
Truly understanding gunas by the aid of hundreds of gunas, hundreds of faults,

and diverse causes by hundreds of causes, ascertaining that the world is like the
froth of water, enveloped by hundreds of illusions flowing from Vishnu, like a
painted edifice, and as unsubstantial as a reed, beholding it to be (as terrible as)
a dark pit, or as unreal as bubbles of water, for the years that compose its age
are as shortlived (compared to the duration of eternity) as bubbles, seeing it
exposed to immediate destruction, bereft of happiness, having certain ruin for its
end and from which it can never escape, sunk in Rajas and Tamas, and utterly
helpless like an elephant sunk in mire,--noting all this—the Sankhyas, O king,
endued with great wisdom, casting off all affections arising from one‟s relation
towards one‟s children, by the aid, O king, of that extensive and all-embracing
knowledge which their system advocates and cutting off quickly, with the weapon
of knowledge and the bludgeon of penances, O Bharata, all inauspicious scents
born of Rajas and all scents of a like nature arising from Tamas and all
auspicious scents arising from Sattwa and all pleasures of the touch (and of the
other senses) born of the same three qualities and inhering to the body, indeed,
O Bharata, aided by the Yoga of knowledge, these Yatis crowned with success,--
cross the Ocean of life. That Ocean, so terrible has sorrow for its waters. Anxiety
and grief constitute its deep lakes. Disease and death are its gigantic alligators.
The great fears that strike the heart at every step are its huge snakes. The deeds
inspired by Tamas are its tortoises. Those inspired by Rajas are its fishes.
Wisdom constitutes the raft for crossing it. The affections entertained for objects
of the senses are its mire. Decrepitude constitutes its region of grief and
trouble.[1586] Knowledge, O chastiser of foes, is its island. Acts constitute its
great depth. Truth is its shores. Pious observances constitute the verdant weeds
floating on its bosom.[1587] Envy constitutes its rapid and mighty current. The
diverse sentiments of the heart constitute its mines. The diverse kinds of
gratification are its valuable gems. Grief and fever are its winds. Misery and thirst
are its mighty eddies. Painful and fatal diseases are its huge elephants. The
assemblage of bones are its flights of steps, and phlegm is its froth. Gifts are its
pearl-banks. The lakes of blood are its corals. Loud laughter constitutes its roars.
Diverse sciences are its impassability. Tears are its brine. Renunciation of
company constitutes the high refuge (of those that seek to cross it). Children and
spouses are its unnumbered leeches. Friends and kinsmen are the cities and
towns on its shores. Abstention from injury, and Truth, are its boundary line.
Death is its storm-wave. The knowledge of Vedanta is its island (capable of
affording refuge to those that are tossed upon its waters). Acts of compassion
towards all creatures constitute its life-buoys,[1588] and Emancipation is the
priceless commodity offered to those voyaging on its waters in search of
merchandise. Like its substantive prototype with its equine head disgorging
flames of fire, this ocean too has its fiery terrors. Having transcended the liability,
that is so difficult to transcend, of dwelling within the gross body, the Sankhyas
enter into pure space.[1589] Surya then bears, with his rays, those righteous
men that are practicers of the Sankhya doctrines. Like the fibres of the lotus-stalk
conveying water to the flower into which they all converge. Surya, drinking all
things from the universe, conveys them unto those good and wise men.[1590]
There attachments all destroyed, possessed of energy, endued with wealth of

penances, and crowned with success, these Yatis, O Bharata, are born by that
wind which is subtile, cooling, fragrant, and delicious to the touch, O Bharata! In
fact, that wind which is the best of the seven winds, and which blows in regions
of great felicity, conveys them, O son of Kunti, to that which is the highest end in
space.[1591] Then space into which they are carried, O monarch, conveys them
to the highest end of Rajas.[1592] Rajas then bear them to the highest end of
Sattwa. Sattwa then bears them, O thou of pure soul, to the Supreme and
puissant Narayana. The puissant and pure-souled Narayana at last, through
himself, bears them to the Supreme Soul. Having reached the Supreme Soul,
those stainless persons who have (by that time) become the body of (what is
called). That attain to immortality, and they have never afterwards to return from
that position. O King! That is the highest end, O son of Pritha, which is attained
by those high-souled men who have transcended the influence of all pairs of
opposites.‟”
Yudhishthira said, „O sinless one, have those persons of firm vows after they
have attained to that excellent position which is fraught with puissance and
felicity, any recollection of their lives including birth and death? It behoveth thee
to tell me properly what the truth is in respect, O thou of Kuru‟s race. I do not
think it proper to question any one else than thee! Observing the scriptures
bearing upon Emancipation, I find this great fault in the subject (for certain
scriptures on the topic declare that consciousness disappears in the emancipate
state, while other scriptures declare the very reverse of this). If, having attained
to this high state, the Yatis continue to live in consciousness, it would seem. O
king, that the religion of Pravritti is superior. If, again, consciousness disappears
from the emancipate state and one who has become emancipate only resembles
a person sunk in dreamless slumber, then nothing can be more improper than to
say that there is really no consciousness in Emancipation (for of all that happens
in dreamless slumber is that one‟s consciousness is temporarily overshadowed
and suspended, but never lost, for it returns when one awakes from that
slumber).‟[1593]
“Bhishma said, „However difficult it may be to answer it, the question which thou
hast asked, O son, is proper. Verily, the question is of such a kind that even they
that are possessed of great learning become stupefied in answering it, O chief of
Bharata‟s race. For all that, hear what the truth is as expounded by me. The high-
souled followers of Kapila have set their high understandings on this point. The
senses of knowledge, O King, planted in the bodies of embodied creatures, are
employed in their respective functions of perception. They are the instruments of
the Soul, for it is through them that subtile Being perceives.[1594] Disunited with
the Soul, the senses are like lumps of wood, and are without doubt, destroyed (in
respect of the functions they serve) like the froth that is seen on the bosom of the
ocean.[1595] When the embodied creature, O scorcher of foes, sinks into sleep
along with his senses, the subtile Soul then roves among all subjects like the
wind through space.[1596] The subtile Soul, during slumber, continues to see (all
forms) and touch all objects of touch, O king, and taken in other perceptions, as
well as when it is awake. In consequence of their inability to act without their
director, the senses, during sleep, all become extinguished in their respective

places (and lose their powers) like snakes deprived of poison.[1597] At such
times, the subtile Soul, repairing into the respective place of all the senses,
without doubt, discharges all their functions.[1598] All the qualities of Sattwa, all
the attributes of the Under-standing, O Bharata, as also those of Mind, and
space, and Wind, O thou of righteous soul, and all the attributes of liquid
substances, of Water, O Partha, and Of Earth,--these senses with these
qualities,--O Yudhishthira, which inhere to Jiva-souls, are along with the Jiva-soul
itself, overwhelmed by the Supreme Soul or Brahma. Acts also, good and bad,
overwhelm that Jiva-soul. Like disciples waiting upon their preceptor with
reverence, the senses too wait upon the Jiva-soul transcends Prakriti, it attains to
Brahma that is without change, that is highest, that is Narayana, that is beyond
all pairs of opposites, and that transcends Prakriti. Freed from both merit and
demerit, the Jiva-soul entering the Supreme Soul which is divested of all
attributes, and which is the home of all auspiciousness, does not return thence,
O Bharata. What remains, O son, is the mind with the senses, O Bharata. These
have to come back once more at the appointed season for doing the bidding of
their great master.[1599] Soon after, O son of Kunti, (when this body is cast off)
the Yati striving after Emancipation, endued as he is with knowledge and
desirous as he is of Guna, succeeds in attaining to that Peace of Emancipation
which is his who becomes bodiless.[1600] [1601] The Sankhyas, O king, are
endued with great wisdom. They succeed in attaining to the highest end by
means of this kind of knowledge. There is no knowledge that is equal to this. Do
not yield to any kind of doubt. The knowledge which is described in the system of
the Sankhyas is regarded as the highest. That knowledge is immutable and is
eternally fixed. It is eternal Brahma in fulness. It has no beginning, middle and
end. It transcends all pairs of opposites. It is the cause of the creation of the
universe. It stands in fulness. It is without deterioration of any kind. It is uniform,
and everlasting. Thus are its praises sung by the wise. From it flow creation and
destruction and all modifications. The great Rishis speak of it and applaud it in
the scriptures. All learned Brahmanas and all righteous men regard it as flowing
from Brahma, Supreme, Divine, Infinite, Immutable, and Undeteriorating. All
Brahmanas again that are attached to objects of the senses adore and applaud it
by ascribing to it attributes that belong to illusion.[1602] The same is the view of
Yogins well observant of penances and meditation and of Sankhyas of
immeasureable insight. The Srutis declare, O son of Kunti, that the Sankhya form
of philosophy is the form of that Formless one. The cognitions (according to that
philosophy) have, O chief of Bharata‟s race, been said to be the knowledge of
Brahma.[1603]
“There are two kinds of creatures on Earth, O lord of Earth, viz., mobile and
immobile. Of these that are mobile are superior, That high knowledge, O king,
which exists in persons conversant with Brahma, and that which occurs in the
Vedas, and that which is found in other scriptures, and that in Yoga, and that
which may be seen in the diverse Puranas, are all, O monarch, to be found in
Sankhya philosophy.[1604] Whatever knowledge is seen to exist in high histories
whatever knowledge occurs, O king, in the sciences appertaining to the
acquisition of wealth as approved by the wise, whatever other knowledge exists

in this world,--all these,--flow, O high-souled monarch, from the high knowledge
that occurs among the Sankhyas. Tranquillity of soul, high puissance, all subtile
knowledge of which the scriptures speak, penances of subtile force, and all kinds
of felicity, O king, have all been duly ordained in the Sankhya system. Failing to
acquire, O son of Pritha, that complete knowledge which is recommended by
their system, the Sankhyas attain to the status of deities and pass many years in
felicity. Lording it over the celestials as they will, they fall, upon the expiration of
the allotted period, among learned Brahmanas and Yatis.[1605] Casting off this
body, those regenerate ones that follow the Sankhya system enter into the
superior state of Brahma like the celestials entering into the firmament by
devoting themselves wholly to that adorable system which is theirs and which is
worshipped by all wise men. Those regenerate persons that are devoted to the
acquisition of that knowledge which is recommended in the Sankhya system,
even if they fail to attain to eminence, are never seen to fall among intermediate
creatures, or to sink into the status of sinful men. That high-souled person who is
fully conversant with the vast, high, ancient, ocean-like, and immeasurable
Sankhya system that is pure and liberal and agreeable, becomes, O king, equal
to Narayana. I have now told thee, O god among men, the truth about the
Sankhya system. It is the embodiment of Narayana, of the universe as it exists
from the remotest time.[1606] When the time of Creation comes, He causes the
Creation to start into life, and when the time comes for destruction, He swallows
up everything. Having withdrawn everything into his own body he goes to sleep,--
that inner Soul of the universe.‟”[1607]
SECTION CCCIII
“Yudhishthira said, „What is that which is called Undeteriorating and by attaining
to which no one has to come back? What, again, is that which is called
Deteriorating, and by attaining to which one has to return once more? O slayer of
foes, I ask thee the distinction that exists, O thou of mighty arms, between the
Deteriorating and the Undeteriorating ones for understanding them both truly, O
delighter of the Kurus, Brahmanas conversant with the Vedas speak of thee as
an Ocean of knowledge. Highly-blessed Rishis and Yatis of high souls do the
same. Thou hast very few days to live. When the Sun turns from the southern
path for entering into the northern, thou shalt attain to thy high end. When thou
shalt leave us, from whom shall we hear of all that is beneficial for us? Thou art
the lamp of Kuru‟s race. Indeed thou art always blazing with the light of
knowledge. O perpetuator of Kuru‟s race, I desire, therefore to hear all this from
thee. Listening to thy discourses that are always sweet like nectar, my curiosity,
without being satiated is always increasing!‟
“Bhishma said, „I shall, in this connection, relate to thee the old narrative of the
discourse that took place between Vasishtha and king Karala of Janaka‟s race.
Once on a time when that foremost of Rishis, viz., Vasishtha, endued with the
effulgence of the Sun, was seated at his ease, king Janaka asked him about that

highest knowledge which is for our supreme good. Highly proficient in that
department of knowledge which is concerned with the Soul and possessed of
certain conclusions in respect of all branches of that science,[1608] as
Maitravaruni, that foremost of Rishis, was seated the king approaching him with
joined hands, asked him in humble words, well pronounced and sweet and
destitute of all controversial spirit, the question,--O holy one, I desire to hear, of
Supreme and Eternal Brahma by attaining to which men of wisdom have not to
come back. I desire also to know that which is called Destructible and That into
which this universe enters when destroyed. Indeed, what is That which is said to
be indestructible, suspicious, beneficial and free from evil of every kind?
“Vasishtha said, Hear, O lord of Earth, as to haw this universe is destroyed, and,
of That which was never destroyed and which will never be destroyed at any
time. Twelve thousand years, (according to the measure of the celestials), make
a Yuga, four such Yugas taken a thousand times, make a Kalpa which measures
one day of Brahman.[1609] Brahman‟s night also, O king, is of the same
measure. When Brahman himself is destroyed[1610]. Sambhu of formless soul
and to whom the Yuga attributes of Anima, Laghima, &c, naturally inhere,
awakes, and once more creates that First or Eldest of all creatures, possessed of
vast proportions of infinite deeds, endued with form, and identifiable with the
universe. That Sambhu is otherwise called Isana (the lord of everything). He is
pure Effulgence, and transcends all deterioration, having his hands and feet
stretching in all directions, with eyes and head and mouth everywhere, and with
ears also in every place. That Being exists, overwhelming the entire universe.
The eldest-born Being is called Hiranyagarbha. This holy one has (in the
Vedanta) been called the Understanding. In the Yuga scriptures He is called the
Great, and Virinchi, and the Unborn. In the Sankhya scriptures, He is indicated
by diverse name, and regarded as having Infinity for his Soul. Of diverse forms
and constituting the soul of the universe. He is regarded as One and
Indestructible. The three worlds of infinite ingredients have been created by Him
without assistance from any source and have been overwhelmed by him. In
consequence of His manifold forms, He is said to be of universal form.
Undergoing modifications He creates Himself by Himself. Endued with mighty
energy, He first creates Consciousness and that Great Being called Prajapati
endued with Consciousness. The Manifest (or Hiranyagarbha) is created from
the Unmanifest. This is called by the learned the Creation of Knowledge. The
creation of Mahan (or Virat) and Consciousness, by Hiranyagarbha, is the
creation of Ignorance.[1611] Ascription of attributes (worthy of worship) and the
destruction thereof, called respectively by the names of Ignorance and
Knowledge by persons learned by the interpretation of the Srutis, then arose,
referring to this, that, or the other of the three (viz., Akshara, Hiranyagarbha, or
Virat).[1612] Know, O king, that the creation of the (subtile) elements from
consciousness is the third.[1613] In all kinds of consciousness is the fourth
creation which flows modification of the third. This fourth creation comprises
Wind and Light and Space and Water and Earth, with their properties of sound,
touch, form, taste and scent. This aggregate of ten arose, without doubt, at the
same time. The fifth creation, O monarch, is that which has arisen from

combination of the primal elements (named above). This comprises the ear, the
skin, the eyes, the tongue, and the nose forming the fifth, and speech, and the
two hands, and the two legs, and the lower duct, and the organs of generation.
The first five of these constitute the organs of knowledge, and the last five the
organs of action. All these, with mind, arose simultaneously O king. These
constitute the four and twenty topics that exist in the forms of all living creatures.
By understanding these properly, Brahmanas possessed of insight into the truth
have never to yield to sorrow. In the three worlds a combination of these, called
body, is possessed by all embodied creatures. Indeed, O king a combination of
those is known as such in deities and men and Danavas, and Yakshas and
spirits and Gandharvas and Kinnaras and great snakes, and Charanas and
Pisachas, in celestial Rishis and Rakshasas, in biting flies, and worms, and
gnats, and vermin born of filth and rats, and dogs and Swapakas and Chaineyas
and Chandalas and Pukkasas in elephants and steeds and asses and tigers, and
trees and kine. Whatever other creatures exist in water or space or on earth, for
there is no other place in which creatures exist as we have heard, have this
combination. All these, O sire, included within the class called Manifest, are seen
to be destroyed day after day. Hence, all creatures produced by union of these
four and twenty are said to be destructible.
“This then is the Indestructible. And since the universe, which is made
up of Manifest and Unmanifest, meet with destruction, therefore, it is
said to be Destructible. The very Being called Mahan who is the
eldest-born is always spoken of as an instance of the Destructible. I
have now told thee, O monarch, all that thou hadst asked me. Transcending
the four and twenty topics already adverted to is the twenty-fifth called
Vishnu. That Vishnu in consequence of the absence of all attributes, is
not a topic (of knowledge) though as then which pervades all the topics,
he has been called so by the wise. Since that which is destructible has
caused all this that is Manifest, therefore, all this is endued with
form. The twenty-fourth, which is Prakriti, is said to preside over all
this (which has sprung from her modifications). The twenty-fifth, which
is Vishnu, is formless and, therefore, cannot be said to preside over the
universe.[1614] It is that Unmanifest (Prakriti), which, when endued with
body (in consequence of union with Chit) dwells in the hearts of all
creatures endued with body. As regards eternal Chetana (the
Indestructible), although he is without attributes and without form, yet
he (in consequence of a union with Prakriti) assumes all forms. Uniting
with Prakriti which has the attributes of birth and death, he also
assumes the attributes of birth and death. And in consequence of such
union he becomes an object of perception and though in reality divested
of all attributes yet he comes to be invested therewith. It is in this
way that the Mahan-Soul (Hiranyagarbha), becoming united with Prakriti
and invested with Ignorance, undergoes modifications and becomes
conscious of Self. Uniting with the attributes of Sattwa and Rajas and
Tamas, he becomes identified with diverse creatures belonging to diverse
orders of Being, in consequence of his forgetfulness and his waiting upon

Ignorance. In consequence of his birth and destruction arising from the
fact of his dwelling in upon with Prakriti, he thinks himself to be no
other than what he apparently is. Regarding himself as this or that, he
follows the attributes of Sattwa, Rajas, and Tamas. Under the influence
of Tamas, he attains to diverse kinds of conditions that are affected by
Tamas. Under the influence of Rajas and Sattwa, he attains similarly to
conditions that are affected by Rajas and Sattwa. There are three colours
in all, viz., White, Red, and Dark. All those colours appertain to
Prakriti (so that He it is who becomes White or Red or Dark according as
the nature of the Prakriti with which is He becomes identified for the
time being). Through Tamas one goes to hell. Through Rajas one attains to
and remains in the status of humanity. Through Sattwa, people ascend to
the regions of the deities and become sharers of great felicity. By
adhering to sin continuously one sinks into the intermediate order of
beings. By acting both righteously and sinfully one attains to the status
of the deities. In this way the twenty-fifth, viz., Akshara (the
Indestructible), the wise say, by union with the unmanifest (Prakriti),
becomes transformed into Kshara (destructible). By means of knowledge
however, the Indestructible becomes displayed in His true nature—“
SECTION CCCIV
“‟Vasishtha said, „Thus in consequence of his forgetfulness the Soul follows
ignorance and obtains thousands of bodies one after another. He attains to
thousands of births among the intermediate orders and sometimes among the
very gods in consequence of his union with (particular) attributes and the
puissance of attributes.[1615] From the status of humanity, he goes to heaven
and from heaven he comes back to humanity, and from humanity he sinks into
hell for many long years. As the worm that fabricates the cocoon shuts itself,
completely on every side by means of the threads it weaves itself, even so the
Soul, though in reality transcending all attributes, invests himself on every side
with attributes (and deprives himself of liberty).[1616] Though transcending (in
his real nature) both happiness and misery, it is thus that he subjects himself to
happiness and misery. It is thus also that, though transcending all diseases, the
Soul regards himself to be afflicted by headache and opthalmia and toothache
and affections of the throat and abdominal dropsy, and burning thirst, and
enlargement of glands, and cholera, and vitiligo, and leprosy, and burns, and
asthma and phthisis, and epilepsy, and whatever other diseases of diverse kinds
are seen in the bodies of embodied creatures. Regarding himself, through error,
as born among thousands of creatures in the intermediate orders of being, and
sometimes among the gods, he endures misery and enjoys the fruits of his good
deeds. Invested with Ignorance he regards himself as robed sometimes in white
cloth and sometimes in full dress consisting of four pieces or as lying on floors
(instead of on beds or bedsteads) or with hands and feet contracted like those of
frogs or as seated upright in the attitude of ascetic contemplation, or as‟ clad in

rags or as lying or sitting under the canopy of heaven or within mansions built of
bricks and stone or on rugged stones or on ashes or bare stones or on the bare
earth or on beds or on battlefields or in water or in mire or on wooden planks or
on diverse kinds of beds; or impelled by desire of fruits, he regards himself as
clad in a scant piece of cloth made of grass or as totally nude or as robed in silk
or in skin of the black antelope or in cloth made of flax or in sheep-skin or in tiger-
skin or in lion-skin or in fabric of hemp, or in barks of birch or in cloths made of
the produce of prickly plants, or in vestures made of threads woven by worms or
of torn rags or in diverse other kinds of cloth too numerous to mention. The soul
regards himself also as wearing diverse kinds of ornaments and gems, or as
eating diverse kinds of food. He regards himself as sometimes eating at intervals
of one night, or once at the same hour every day, or as at the fourth, the sixth,
and the eighth hour every day, or as once in six or seven or eight nights, or as
once in ten or twelve day, or as once in a month, of as eating only roots, or fruits,
or as subsisting upon air or water alone, or on cakes of sesame husk, or curds or
cowdung, or the urine of the cow or potherbs or flowers or moss or raw food, or
as subsisting on fallen leaves of trees or fruits that have fallen down and lay
scattered on the ground, or diverse other kinds of food, impelled by the desire of
winning (ascetic) success. The Soul regards himself as adopting the observance
of Chandrayana according to the rites ordained in the scriptures, or diverse other
vows and observance, and the courses of duty prescribed for the four modes of
life, and even derelictions of duty, and the duties of other subsidiary modes of life
included in the four principal ones, and even diverse kinds of practices that
distinguish the wicked and sinful. The Soul regards himself as enjoying retired
spots and delightful shades of mountains and the cool vicinity of spring and
fountain and solitary river banks and secluded forests, and sacred spots
dedicated to the deities, and lakes and waters withdrawn from the busy hunts of
men, and lone mountain caves affording the accommodation that houses and
mansions afford. The Soul regards himself as employed in the recitation of
different kinds of hidden Mantras or as observing different vows and rules and
diverse kinds of penances, and sacrifices of many kinds, and rites of diverse
sorts. The Soul regards himself as adopting sometimes the way of traders and
merchants and the practices of Brahmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaisyas and
Sudras, and gifts of diverse kinds unto those that are destitute or blind or help-
less. In consequence of his being invested with Ignorance, the Soul adopts
different attributes of Sattwa and Rajas and Tamas, and Righteousness and
Wealth and pleasure. Under the influence of Prakriti the Soul, undergoing
modification himself, observes and adopts and practices all these and regards
himself as such. Indeed, the Soul regards himself as employed in the utterance
of the sacred mantras Swaha and Swadha and Vashat, and in bowing unto those
he regards as his Superiors; in officiating in the sacrifices of others, in teaching
pupils, making gifts and accepting them; in performing sacrifices and studying,
the scriptures, and doing all other acts and rites of this kind. The Soul regards
himself as concerned with birth and death and disputes and slaughter. All these,
the learned say, constitute the path of acts good and bad. It is the goddess
Prakriti who causes birth and death. When the time approaches for universal

Destruction, all existent objects and attributes are withdrawn by the Supreme
Soul which then exists alone like the Sun withdrawing at evening all his rays; and
when the time comes for Creation He once more creates and spreads them out
like the Sun shedding and spreading out his rays when morning comes. Even
thus the Soul, for the sake of sport, repeatedly regards himself invested with all
these conditions, which are his own forms and attributes, infinite in number, and
agreeable to himself. It is this way that the Soul, though really transcending the
three attributes, becomes attached to the path of acts and creates by
modification Prakriti invested with the attributes of birth and death and identical
with all acts and conditions which are characterised by the three attributes of
Sattwa, Rajas, and Tamas. Arrived at the path of action, the Soul regards
particular acts to be endued with particular characteristics and productive of
particular ends. O monarch, the whole of this universe has been blinded by
Prakriti and all things have been diversely overwhelmed (through Prakriti) by the
attributes of Rajas and Tamas. It is in consequence of the Soul being invested by
Prakriti that these pairs of opposites productive of happiness and woe,
repeatedly come. It is in consequence of this Ignorance that Jiva regards these
sorrows to be his and imagines them as pursuing him. Indeed, O monarch,
through that Ignorance it is that Jiva imagines he should anyhow cross those
sorrows, and that he should, going into the regions of the gods, enjoy the felicity
that awaits all his good acts. It is through Ignorance that he thinks he should
enjoy and endure these delights and these woes here in this world Through
Ignorance Jiva thinks,--I should secure my happiness. By continually doing good
acts, I may have happiness in this life till its close and I shall be happy in all my
future lives. Though, again the (evil) acts I do in this life unending sorrow may
become mine. The status of humanity is fraught with great misery, for from it one
sinks into hell. From hell, it will take many long years before I can come back to
the status of humanity. From humanity I shall attain to the status of the gods.
From that superior status I shall have to come back again to humanity and
thence to sink into hell once more!--One who always regards this combination of
the primal elements and the senses, with the Chit‟s reflection in it, to be thus
invested with the characteristics of the Soul, has repeatedly to wander among
gods and human beings and to sink into hell. Being always invested with the idea
of meum, Jiva has to make a round of such births. Millions upon millions of birth
have to be gone through by Jiva in the successive forms he assumes, all of
which are liable to death. He who does acts in this way, which are all fraught with
good and bad fruits, has in the three worlds to assume successive form and to
enjoy and endure fruits corresponding therewith. It is Prakriti that cause acts
fraught with good and bad acts; and it is Prakriti that enjoys and endures the
fruits thereof in the three worlds. Indeed, Prakriti follows the course of acts. The
status of the intermediate beings, of humanity, and of the gods as well,--these
three fields,--should be known as originating in Prakriti and has been said to be
destitute of all attributes. Her existence is affirmed only in consequence of her
acts (beginning with Mahat). After the same manner, Purusha (or Soul), though
without attributes himself, has his existence affirmed in consequence of the acts
which the body does when it receives his reflection. Although the Soul is not

subject to modifications of any kind and is the active principle that sets Prakriti in
motion, yet entering a body that is united with the senses of knowledge and
action, he regards all the acts of those senses as his own. The five senses of
knowledge beginning with the ear, and those of action beginning with speech,
uniting with the attributes of Sattwa and Rajas and Tamas, become engaged in
numerous object. Jiva imagines that it is he who does the acts of his life and that
the senses of knowledge and acts belong to him, although in reality he has no
senses. Indeed, though unequipt with body, he imagines that he has a body.
Though destitute of attributes, he regards himself as endued therewith, and
though transcending Time, imagines himself to be under Time‟s control. Though
destitute of understanding, he still regards himself as endued therewith, and
though transcending the (four and twenty) topics, regards himself as one
included among them. Though deathless, he still regards himself as liable to
death, and though motionless regards himself to be endued with motion. Though
not possessed of a material case, he still regards himself as possessed of one;
and though unborn, he still regards himself as in-vested with birth. Though
transcending penances, he still regards as engaged in penances, and though he
has no end (after which to strive), he still regards himself as liable to attain to
ends (of diverse kinds). Though not endued with motion and birth, he still
regards himself as endued with both, and though transcending fear, still regards
himself as liable to fear. Though Indestructible, he still regards himself
Destructible. Invested with Ignorance, the Soul thus thinks of himself.”
SECTION CCCV
“‟Vasishtha said, „It is thus, in consequence of his Ignorance and his association
with others that are invested with Ignorance, that Jiva has recourse to millions
and millions of births every one of which has dissolution in the end. In
consequence of his transformation into Chit invested with Ignorance, Jiva
betakes himself to millions of abodes one of which is liable to end in destruction,
among intermediate beings and men and the deities. In consequence of
Ignorance, Jiva, like Chandramas, has to wax and wane thousands and
thousands of times. This is truly the nature of Jiva when invested with ignorance.
Know that Chandramas has in reality full sixteen portions. Only fifteen of these
are subject to increase and decrease. The sixteenth (i.e., that portion which
remains invisible and which appears on the night of the New-moon) remains
constant. After the manner of Chandramas, Jiva too has full sixteen portions.
Only fifteen of these, (viz., Prakriti with Chit‟s reflection, the ten senses of
knowledge and action, and the four inner faculties) appear and disappear. The
sixteenth (viz., Chit in its purity) is subject to no modification. Invested with
Ignorance, Jiva repeatedly and continually takes birth in the fifteen portions
named above. With the eternal and immutable portion on Jiva primal essence
become united and this union takes place repeatedly. That sixteenth portion is
subtile. It should be known as Soma (eternal and immutable). It is never upheld
by the senses. On the other hand, the senses are upheld by it. Since those

sixteen portions are the cause of the birth of creatures, creatures can never, O
monarch, take birth without their aid. They are called Prakriti. The destruction of
Jiva‟s liability to be united with Prakriti is called Emancipation. The Mahat-Soul,
which is the twenty-fifth, if it regards that body of sixteen portions called the
Unmanifest,[1617] has to assume it repeatedly. In consequence of not knowing,
That which is stainless and pure, and for its devotion to what is the result of a
combination of both Pure and Impure, the Soul, which is in reality pure, becomes,
O king Impure. Indeed, in consequence of its devotion to Ignorance, Jiva, though
characterised by Knowledge becomes repeatedly associated with Ignorance.
Though, O monarch, free from error of every kind, yet in consequence of its
devotion to the three attributes of Prakriti, it becomes endued with those
attributes.‟”
SECTION CCCVI
„”Janaka said, O holy one, it has been said that the relation between male and
female is like that which subsists between the Indestructible and the destructible
(or Purusha and Prakriti). Without a male, a female can never conceive. Without
a female a male also can never create form. In consequence of their union with
each other, and each depending upon the attributes of the other, forms (of living
creatures) are seen to flow. This is the case with all orders of being. Through
each other‟s union for purposes of (sexual) congress, and through each
depending upon the attributes of the others, forms (of living creatures) flow in
menstrual seasons. I shall tell to thee the indications thereof. Hear what the
attributes are that belong to the sire and what those are that belong to the
mother. Bones, sinews and marrow, O regenerate one, we know, are derived
from the sire. Skin, flesh, and blood, we hear are derived from the mother. Even
this, O foremost of regenerate persons, is what may be read of in the Vedas and
other scriptures. Whatever is read as declared in the Vedas and in other
scriptures is regarded as authority. The authority, again, of the Vedas and other
scriptures (not inconsistent with the Vedas), is eternal. If Prakriti and Purusha be
always united together in this way by each opposing and each depending on the
other‟s attributes, I see, O holy one, that Emancipation cannot exist. Thou, O holy
one, art possessed of spiritual vision so that thou seest all things as if they are
present before thy eyes. If, therefore, there be any direct evidence of the
existence of Emancipation, do thou, speak of it to me. We are desirous of
attaining to Emancipation. Indeed, we wish to attain to That which is auspicious,
bodiless, not subject to decrepitude, eternal beyond the ken of the senses, and
having nothing superior to it.
„”Vasishtha said, What thou sayest about the indications of the Vedas and the
other scriptures (in respect of the matter) is even so. Thou takest those
indications in the way in which they should be taken. Thou bearest, however, in
thy understanding, only the texts of the Vedas and the other scriptures. Thou art
not, O monarch, truly conversant with the real meaning of those texts. That

person who bears in his understanding merely the texts of the Vedas and the
other scriptures without being conversant with the true sense or meaning of
those texts, bears them fruitlessly. Indeed, one who holds the contents of a work
in memory without comprehending their meaning is said to bear an useless
burden. He, however, who is conversant with the true meaning of a treatise, is
said to have studied that treatise to purpose. Questioned regarding the meaning
of a text, it behoveth one to communicate that meaning which he has
comprehended by a careful study. That person of dull intelligence who refuses to
expound the meanings of texts in the midst of a conclave of the learned, that
person of foolish understanding, never succeeds in expounding the meaning
correctly.[1618] An ignorant person, going to expound the true meaning of
treatises, incurs ridicule. Even those possessed of a knowledge of the Soul have
to incur ridicule on such occasions (if what they go to explain has not been
acquired by study). Listen now to me, O monarch, as to how the subject of
Emancipation has been explained (by preceptors to disciple from days of old)
among highsouled persons conversant with the Sankhya and the Yoga systems
of philosophy. That which the Yogin, behold is precisely that which the Sankhyas
arrive after to attain. He who sees the Sankhya and the Yoga systems to be one
and the same is said to be endued with intelligence. Skin, flesh, blood, fat, bile,
marrow, and sinews, and these senses (of both knowledge and action), about
which thou wert speaking unto me, exist. Objects flow from objects; the senses
from the senses. From body one obtains a body, as a seed is obtained from
seed. When the Supreme Being is without senses, without seed, without matter,
without body, He must be divested of all attributes! and in consequence of His
being so, how, indeed, can He have attributes of any kind? Space and other
attributes arise from the attributes of Sattwa and Rajas and Tamas, and
disappear ultimately in them. Thus the attributes arise from Prakriti. Skin, flesh,
blood, fat, bile, marrow, bones, and sinews,--these eight that are made of
Prakriti, know, O king, may sometimes be produced by the vital seed alone (of
the male). The Jiva-soul and the universe are said to both partake of Prakriti
characterised by the three attributes of Sattwa, Rajas, and Tamas. The Supreme
Soul is different from both the Jiva-soul and the universe. As the seasons though
unendued with forms, are nevertheless inferred from the appearance of particular
fruits and flowers, after the same manner, Prakriti, though formless, is inferred
from the attributes of Mahat and the rest that spring from it. In this way from the
existence of Chaitanya in the body, the Supreme Soul, divested of all attributes
whatever and perfectly stainless, is inferred. Without beginning and destruction,
without end, the overseer of all things, and auspicious, that Soul, only in
consequence of its identifying itself with the body and other attributes, comes to
be taken as invested with attributes. Those persons that are truly conversant with
attributes know that only objects endued with attributes can have attributes but
that That which transcends all attributes can have none. When the Jiva-soul
conquers all attributes born of Prakriti and which it assumes under error, only
then does it behold the Supreme Soul. Only the highest Rishis conversant with
the Sankhya and the Yoga systems know that Supreme Soul which Sankhya and
Yogins and believers in all other systems say is beyond the Understanding,

which is regarded as Knower and endued with the highest wisdom in
consequence of its casting off all consciousness of identification with Prakriti,
which transcends the attribute of Ignorance or Error, which is Unmanifest, which
is beyond all attributes, which is called the Supreme, which is dissociated from all
attributes, which ordains all things, which is Eternal and Immutable, which
overrules Prakriti and all the attributes born of Prakriti, and which, transcending
the four and twenty topics of enquiry, forms the twenty-fifth. When men of
knowledge, who stand in fear of birth, of the several conditions of living
consciousness, and of death, succeed in knowing the Unmanifest, they succeed
in understanding the Supreme Soul at the same time. An intelligent man regards
the unity of Jiva-soul with the Supreme Soul as consistent with the scriptures and
as perfectly correct, while the man destitute of intelligence looks upon the two as
different from each other. This forms the distinction between the man of
intelligence and man that is destitute of it. The indications of both Kshara and
Akshara (destructible and indestructible) have now been said unto thee. Akshara
is Oneness or Unity, while multiplicity or variety is said to be Kshara. When one
begins to study and understands properly the five and twenty topics of enquiry,
one then comprehends that the Oneness of the Soul is consistent with the
scriptures and its multiplicity is what is opposed to them. These are the several
indications of what is included in the tale of topics or principles created and what
transcends that tale. The wise have said that the tale of topics numbers only five
and twenty. That which transcends the topics is beyond that number and forms
the twenty-sixth. The study or comprehension of created things (numbered five
and twenty) according to their aggregates (of five) is the study and
comprehension of topics. Transcending these is That which is eternal.‟”
SECTION CCCVII
„”Janaka said, Thou hast, O foremost of Rishis, said that Unity is the attribute of
that which is Akshara (Indestructible) and variety or multiplicity is the attribute of
what is known as Kshara (Destructible). I have not, however, clearly understood
the nature of these two. Doubts are still lurking in my mind. Ignorant men look
upon the Soul as endued with the incident of multiplicity. They, however that are
possessed of knowledge and wisdom regard the Soul to be one and the same. I
how-ever, have a very dull understanding. I am, therefore, unable to comprehend
how all this can happen. The causes also that thou hast assigned for the unity
and the multiplicity of Akshara and Kshara I have almost forgotten in
consequence of the restlessness of my understanding. I therefore, desire to hear
thee once more discourse to me on those same incidents of unity and multiplicity,
on him who is knowing, on what is destitute of knowledge, on Jiva-soul,
Knowledge, Ignorance. Akshara, Kshara, and on the Sankhya and the Yoga
systems, in detail and separately and agreeable to the truth.
“‟Vasishtha said, I shall tell thee what thou askest! Listen however, to me, O
monarch, as I expound to thee the practices of Yoga separately. Contemplation,

which constitutes an obligatory practices with Yogins, is their highest
puissance[1619]. Those conversant with Yoga say that Contemplation is of two
kinds. One is the concentration of the mind, and the other is called Pranayama
(regulation of breath). Pranayama is said to be endued with substance; while
concentration of mind is unendued with it.[1620] Excepting the three times when
a man passes urine and stools and eats, one should devote the whole of his time
to contemplation. With-drawing the senses from their objects by the aid of the
mind, one possessed of intelligence, having made oneself pure, should
agreeably to the two and twenty modes of transmitting the Prana breath, unite
the Jiva-soul with That which transcends the four and twentieth topic (called
Ignorance or Prakriti)[1621] which is regarded by the wise as dwelling in every
part of the body and as transcending decay and destruction. It is by means of
those two and twenty methods that the Soul may always be known, as heard by
us. It is certain that this practice of Yoga is his whose mind is never affected by
evil passions. It is not any other person‟s. Dissociated from all attachments,
abstemious in diet, and subduing all the senses, one should fix one‟s mind on the
Soul, during the first and the last part of the night, after having, O king of Mithila,
suspended the functions of the senses, quieted the mind by the understanding,
and assumed a posture as motionless as that of a block of stone. When men of
knowledge, conversant with the rules of Yoga, become as fixed as a stake of
wood, and as immovable as a mountain, then are they said to be in Yoga. When
one does not hear, and smell, and taste, and see; when one is not conscious of
any touch; when one‟s mind becomes perfectly free from every purpose; when
one is not conscious of any thing, when one cherishes no thought; when one
becomes like a piece of wood, then is one called by the wise to be in perfect
Yoga. At such a time one shines like a lamp that burns in a place where there is
no wind; at such a time one becomes freed even from one‟s subtile form, and
perfectly united with Brahma. When one attains to such progress, one has no
longer to ascend or to fall among intermediate beings. When persons like
ourselves say that there has been a complete identification of the Knower, the
Known, and K now-ledge, then is the Yogin said to behold the Supreme
Soul.[1622] While in Yoga, the Supreme Soul displays itself in the Yogin‟s heart
like a blazing fire, or like the bright Sun, or like the lightning‟s flame in the sky.
That Supreme Soul which is Unborn and which is the essence of nectar, that is
seen by high-souled Brahmanas endued with intelligence and wisdom and
conversant with the Vedas, is subtiler than what is subtile and greater than what
is great. That Soul, though dwelling in all creatures, is not seen by them. The
creator of the worlds, He is seen only by a person endued with wealth of
intelligence when aided by the lamp of the mind. He dwells on the other share of
thick Darkness and transcends him called Iswara.[1623] Persons conversant with
the Vedas and endued with omniscience call Him the dispeller of Darkness,
stainless, transcending Darkness, without attributes and endued therewith.
“‟This is what is called the Yoga of Yogins. What else is the indication of Yoga?
By such practices do Yogins succeeded in beholding the Supreme Soul that
transcends destruction and decay. This much that I have told thee in detail
concerns about the science of Yoga. I shall now discourse to thee of that

Sankhya philosophy by which the Supreme Soul is seen through the gradual
destruction of errors.[1624] The Sankhyas, whose system is built on Prakriti, say
that Prakriti, which is Unmanifest, is the foremost. From Prakriti, they say, O
monarch, the second principle called Mahat, is produced. It is heard by us that
from Mahat flows the third principle called Consciousness. The Sankhyas
blessed with sight of the Soul say that from Consciousness flow the five subtile
essence of sound, form, touch, taste, and scent. All these eight they call by the
name of Prakriti. The modifications of these eight are sixteen in number. They
are the five gross essence of space, light, earth, water, and wind, and the ten
senses of action and of knowledge including the mind. Men of wisdom devoted to
the Sankhya path and conversant with all its ordinances and dispensations
regard these four and twenty topics as embracing the whole range of Sankhya
enquiry. That which is produced becomes merged in the producing. Created by
the Supreme Soul one after another, these principles are destroyed in a reverse
order. At every new Creation, the Gunas start into existence in the lateral order
(as stated above), and (when Destruction comes) they merge, (each into its
progenitor) in a reverse order, like the waves of the ocean disappearing in the
ocean that gives them birth. O best of kings, this is the manner in which the
Creation and the Destruction of Prakriti takes place. The Supreme Being is all
that remains when Universal Destruction takes place, and it is He that assumes
multifarious forms when Creation starts into life. This is even so, O king, as
ascertained by men of knowledge. It is Prakriti that causes the Overpresiding
Purusha to thus assume diversity and revert back to unity. Prakriti also herself
has the same indications. Only fully conversant with the nature of the topics of
enquiry knows that Prakriti also assumes the same kind of diversity and unity, for
when Destruction comes she reverts into unity and when Creation flows she
assumes diversity of form. The Soul makes Prakriti, which contains the principles
of production or growth, to assume manifold forms. Prakriti is called Kshetra (or
soil). Transcending the four and twenty topics or principles is the Soul which is
great. It presides over that Prakriti or Kshetra. Hence, O great king, the foremost
of Yatis say that the Soul is the Presider. Indeed, it has been heard by us that in
consequence of the Soul‟s presiding over all Kshetras He is called the Presider.
And because He knows that Unmanifest Kshetra, He is, therefore, also called
Kshetrajna (Knower of Kshetra). And because also the Soul enters into
Unmanifest Kshetra (viz., the body), therefore he is called Purusha. Kshetra is
something quite different from Kshetrajna. Kshetra is Unmanifest. The Soul,
which transcends the four and twenty principles, is called the Knower.
Knowledge and the object known are different from each other. Knowledge,
again, has been said to be Unmanifest, while the object of knowledge is the Soul
which transcends the four and twenty principles. The Unmanifest is called
Kshetra. Sattwa (understanding), and also Iswara (the supreme Lord), while
Purusha, which is the twenty-fifth principle has nothing superior to it and is not a
principle (for it transcends all principles and is only called a principle
conventionally). This much O king, is an account of the Sankhya philosophy. The
Sankhyas called the cause of the universe, and merging all the grosser principles
into the Chit behold the Supreme Soul. Rightly studying the four and twenty

topics along with Prakriti, and ascertaining their true nature, the Sankhyas
succeed in beholding That which transcends the four and twenty topics or
principles.[1625] Jiva in reality is that very Soul which transcends Prakriti and is
beyond the four and twenty topics. When he succeeds in knowing that Supreme
Soul by dissociating himself from Prakriti, he then becomes identifiable with the
Supreme Soul. I have now told thee every thing about the Sankhya System truly.
Those who are conversant with this philosophy succeed in attaining are subject
to error have direct cognisance of Brahma. They that succeed in attaining to
tranquillity. Indeed, as men whose understanding are subject to error have direct
cognisance of Brahma. They that succeed in attaining to that state have never to
come back to this world after the dissolution of their bodies; while as regards
those that are said to be emancipate in this life, puissance, and that
indescribable felicity which attaches itself to Samadhi, and immutability, become
theirs, in consequence of their having attained to the nature of the
Indestructible.[1626] They who behold this universe as many (instead of seeing it
as one and uniform) are said to see incorrectly. These men are blind to Brahma.
O chastiser of foes, such persons have repeatedly to come back into the world
and assume bodies (in diverse orders of Being). They who are conversant with
all that has been said above become possessed of omniscience, and accordingly
when they pass from this body no longer become subject to the control of any
more physical frames. All things, (or the entire universe), have been said to be
the result of the Unmanifest. The Soul, which is the twenty-fifth, transcends all
things. They who know the Soul have no fear of returning to the world.‟”
SECTION CCCVIII
“‟Vasishtha said, I have thus far discoursed to thee on the Sankhya philosophy.
Listen now to me as I tell thee what is Vidya (knowledge) and what is Avidya
(Ignorance), one after the other. The learned say that that Prakriti, which is
fraught with the attributes of Creation and Destruction, is called Avidya; while
Purusha, who is freed from the attributes of Creation and Destruction and who
transcends the four and twenty topics or principles, is called Vidya. Listen to me
first as I tell thee what is Vidya among successive sets of other things, as
expounded in the Sankhya philosophy. Among the senses of knowledge and
those of action, the senses of knowledge are said to constitute what is known as
Vidya. Of the senses of knowledge and their object, the former constitute Vidya
as has been heard by us. Of objects of the senses and the mind, the wise have
said that the mind constitute Vidya. Of mind and the five subtile essences, the
five subtile essences constitutes Vidya. Of the five subtile essences and
Consciousness, Consciousness constitutes Vidya. Of Consciousness and Mahat,
Mahat, O king, is Vidya. Of all the topics or principles beginning with Mahat, and
Prakriti, it is Prakriti, which is unmanifest and supreme, that is called Vidya. Of
Prakriti, and that called Vidhi which is Supreme, the latter should be known as
Vidya. Transcending Prakriti is the twenty-fifth (called Purusha) who should be
known as Vidya. Of all knowledge that which is the Object of Knowledge has

been said to be the Unmanifest, O king.[1627] Again, Knowledge has been said
to be Unmanifest and the Object of knowledge to be that which transcends the
four and twenty. Once more, Knowledge has been said to be Unmanifest, and
the Knower is that which transcends the four and twenty. I have now told thee
what is truly the import of Vidya and Avidya. Listen now to me as I tell thee all
that has been said about the Indestructible, and the Destructible. Both Jiva and
Prakriti have been said to be Indestructible, and both of them have been said to
be Destructible. I shall tell thee the reason of this correctly as I have understood
it. Both Prakriti and Jiva are without beginning and without end or destruction.
Both of them are regarded as supreme (in the matter of Creation). Those that are
possessed of knowledge say that both are to be called topics or principles. In
consequence of its attributes of (repeated) Creation and Destruction, the
Unmanifest (or Prakriti) is called Indestructible. That Unmanifest becomes
repeatedly modified for the purpose of creating the principle. And because the
principles beginning with Mahat are produced by Purusha as well, and because
also Purusha and the Unmanifest are mutually dependant upon each other,
therefore is Purusha also, the twenty-fifth, called Kshetra (and hence Akshara or
Indestructible).[1628] When the Yogin withdraws and merges all the principles
into the Unmanifest Soul (or Brahma) then the twenty-fifth (viz., Jiva or Purusha)
also, with all those principles disappears into it. When the principles become
merged each into its progenitor, then the one that remains is Prakriti. When
Kshetrajna too,[1629] O son, becomes merged into his own producing cause
then (all that remains is Brahma and, therefore) Prakriti with all the principles in it
becomes Kshara (or meets with destruction), and attains also to the condition of
being without attributes in consequence of her dissociation from all the principles.
Thus it is that Kshetrajna, when his knowledge of Kshetra disappears, becomes,
by his nature, destitute of attributes, as it has been heard by us. When he
becomes Kshara he then assumes attributes. When, however, he attains to his
own real nature, he then succeeds in understanding his own condition of being
really destitute of attributes. By casting off Prakriti and beginning to realise that
he is different from her, the intelligent Kshetrajna then comes to be regarded as
pure and stainless. When Jiva ceases to exist in a state of union with Prakriti,
then does he become identifiable with Brahma. When, however, he exists united
with Prakriti, he then, O king, seems to be different from Brahma. Indeed, when
Jiva shows no affection for Prakriti and her principles, he then succeeds in
beholding the Supreme and having once beheld Him wishes not to fall away from
that felicity. When the knowledge of truth dawns upon him, Jiva begins to lament
in this strain: Alas, how foolishly have I acted by falling through ignorance, into
this frame composed of Prakriti like a fish entangled in a net! Alas, through
ignorance, I have migrated from body to body like a fish from water to water
thinking that water is the element in which alone it can live. Indeed, like a fish
that does not know anything else than water to be its element, I also have never
known anything else than children and spouses to be my own! Fie on me that
through ignorance, I have been repeatedly migrating from body to body in
forgetfulness (of the Supreme Soul)! The Supreme Soul alone is my friend. I
have capacity for friendship with Him. Whatever be my nature and whoever I

may be, I am competent to be like Him and to attain an identity with Him. I see
my similarity with Him. I am indeed, like Him. He is stainless. It is evident that I
am of the same nature. Through ignorance and stupefaction, I have become
associated with inanimate Prakriti. Though really without attachments, I have
passed this long time in a state of attachment with Prakriti. Alas, by her was I so
long subdued without having been able to know it. Various are the forms—high,
middling, and low, that Prakriti assume. Oh, how shall I dwell in those
forms?[1630] How shall I live conjointly with her? In consequence only of my
ignorance I repair to her companionship. I shall now be fixed (in Sankhya or
Yoga). I shall not longer keep her companionship. For having passed so long a
time with her, I should think that I was so long deceived by her, for myself being
really exempt from modification, how could I keep company with one that is
subject to modification? She cannot be held to be responsible for this. The
responsibility is mine, since turning away from the Supreme Soul I become of my
own accord attached to her. In consequence of that attachment, myself, though
formless in reality, had to abide in multifarious forms. Indeed, though formless by
nature I become endued with forms in consequence of my sense of meum, and
thereby insulted and distressed. In consequence of my sense of meum,
concerning the result of Prakriti, I am forced to take birth in diverse orders of
Being. Alas, though really destitute of any sense of meum, yet in consequence of
affecting it, what diverse acts of an evil nature have been committed by me in
those orders which I took birth while I remained in them with a soul that had lost
all knowledge! I have no longer anything to do with him who, with essence made
up of consciousness, divides herself into many fragments and who seeks to unite
me with them. It is only now that I have been awakened and have understood
that I am by nature without any sense of meum and without that consciousness
which creates the forms of Prakriti that invests me all around. Casting off that
sense of meum which I always have with respect to her and whose essence is
made up of consciousness, and casting off Prakriti herself, I shall take refuge in
Him who is auspicious. I shall be united with Him, and not with Prakriti which is
inanimate. If I unite with Him, it will be productive of my benefit. I have no
similarity of nature with Prakriti!--The twenty-fifth, (viz., Jiva), when he thus
succeeds in understanding the Supreme, becomes able to cast off the
Destructible and attain to identity with that which is Indestructible and which is
the essence of all that is auspicious, Destitute of attributes in his true nature and
in reality Unmanifest, Jiva becomes invested with what is Manifest and assumes
attributes. When he succeeds in beholding that which is without attributes and
which is the origin of the Unmanifest, he attains, O ruler of Mithila, to identify the
same.
“‟I have now told thee what the indications are of what is Indestructible
and what is Destructible, according to the best of my knowledge and
according to what has been expounded in the scriptures. I shall now tell
thee, according to what I have heard, as to how Knowledge that is
subtile, stainless, and certain arises. Do thou listen to me. I have
already discoursed to thee what the Sankhya and the Yoga systems are
according to their respective indications as expounded in their

respective scriptures. Verily, the science that has been expounded in
Sankhya treatises is identical with what has been laid down in the Yoga
scriptures. The knowledge, O monarch, which the Sankhya preach, is
capable of awakening every one. In the Sankhya scriptures, that Knowledge
has been inculcated very clearly for the benefit of disciples. The
learned say that this Sankhya system is very extensive. Yogin have great
regard for that system as also for the Vedas. In the Sankhya system no
topic or principle transcending the twenty-fifth is admitted. That which
the Sankhyas regard-as their highest topic of principles has been duly
described (by me). In the Yoga philosophy, it is said that Brahma, which
is the essence of knowledge without duality, becomes Jiva only when
invested with Ignorance. In the Yoga scriptures, therefore, both Brahma
and Jiva are spoken of,--„”
SECTION CCCIX
“‟Vasishtha said, Listen now to me as I discourse to thee on Buddhas (Supreme
Soul) and Abuddha (Jiva) which is the dispensation of attributes of Sattwa,
Rajas, and Tamas. Assuming many forms (under the influence of illusion) the
Supreme Soul, becoming Jiva, regards all those forms as real,[1631] In
consequence of (his regarding himself identical with) such transformations, Jiva
fails to understand the Supreme Soul, for he bears the attributes (of Sattwa and
Rajas and Tamas) and creates and with-draws into himself what he creates.
Ceaselessly for his sport, O monarch, does Jiva undergo modifications, and
because he is capable of understanding the action of the Unmanifest, therefore is
he called Budhyamana (the Comprehender).[1632] The Unmanifest or Prakriti
can at no time comprehend Brahma which is really without attributes even when
it manifests itself with attributes. Hence is Prakriti called Unintelligent. There is a
declaration of the Srutis to the effect that if ever Prakriti does succeed in knowing
the twenty-fifth (i.e., Jiva) Prakriti then (instead of being something differentiated
from Jiva) becomes identified with Jiva who is united with her. (As regards,
however, the Supreme Soul, which is ever disunited and dissociated, and which
transcends the twenty-fifth Prakriti can never comprehend it). In consequence of
this (viz., his attachment to or union with Prakriti), Jiva or Purusha, who is not
manifest and which in his real nature is not subject to modifications, comes to be
called as the Unawakened or Ignorant. Indeed because the twenty-fifth can
comprehend the Unmanifest, he is therefore, called Budhyamana (or
Comprehender). He cannot, however, readily comprehend the twenty-sixth,
which is stainless, which is Knowledge without duality, which is immeasurable,
and which is eternal. The twenty-sixth, however, can know both Jiva and Prakriti,
numbering the twenty-fifth and the twenty-fourth respectively. O thou of great
effulgence, only men of wisdom succeed in knowing that Brahma which is
Unmanifest, which inheres in its real nature to all that is seen and unseen, and
which, O son is the one independent essence in the universe.[1633] When Jiva
considers himself different from what he truly is (i.e. when he regards himself as

fat or lean, fair or dark a Brahmana or a Sudra), it is only then that he fails to
know the Supreme Soul and himself and Prakriti with which he is united. When
Jiva succeeds in understanding Prakriti (and knowing that she is something
different from him) then he is said to be restored to his true nature and then does
he attain to that high understanding which is pure and stainless and which is
concerned with Brahma. When Jiva succeeds, O tiger among kings, in attaining
to that excellent understanding, he then attains to that Pure Knowledge (without
duality) which is called the twenty-sixth or (Brahma). He then casts off the
Unmanifest or Prakriti which is fraught with the attributes of Creation and
Destruction. When Jiva succeeds in knowing Prakriti which is unintelligent and
subject to the action of the three attributes of Sattwa, and Rajas and Tamas, he
then becomes destitute of attributes himself. In consequence of his thus
understanding the Unmanifest (to be something different from him), he succeeds
in acquiring the nature of the Supreme Soul. The learned say that when he is
freed from the attributes of Sattwa and Rajas and Tamas and united in the nature
with the Supreme Soul then does Jiva become identified with that Soul. The
Supreme Soul is called Tattwa as well as Not-Tattwa, and transcends decay and
destruction.[1634] O giver of honours, the Soul, though it has the manifest
principles (viz. the body) for its resting place, yet it cannot be said to have
acquired the nature of those principles. The wise say that including the Jiva soul
there are five and twenty principles in all. Indeed, O son, the Soul is not to be
regarded as possessed of any of the principles (Mahat and the rest). Endued
with Intelligence, it transcends the principles. It casts off quickly even that
principle which is the indication of the Knowing or awakened one.[1635] When
Jiva comes to regard himself as the twenty-sixth which is divested of decay and
destruction, it is then that, without doubt, he succeeds by his own force in
attaining to similarity with the twenty-sixth. Though awakened by the twenty-sixth
which is Pure Intelligence, Jiva still becomes subject to Ignorance. This is the
cause of Jiva, multifariousness (in respect of forms) as explained in the Srutis
and the Sankhya scriptures. When Jiva, who is endued with Chetana and
Unintelligent Prakriti, loses all Consciousness of a distinct or individual Self, then
does he, losing his multifariousness, resumes his Oneness. O ruler of Mithila,
when Jiva, who is found to be in union with happiness and misery and who is
seldom free from the consciousness of Self, succeeds in attaining to a similarity
with the Supreme Soul which is beyond the reach of the understanding, then
does he becomes freed from virtue and vice. Indeed, when Jiva, attaining to the
twenty-sixth which is Unborn and Puissant and which is dissociated from all
attachments, succeeds in comprehending it thoroughly, he himself becomes
possessed of puissance and entirely casts off the Unmanifest or Prakriti. In
consequence of understanding the twenty-sixth, the four and twenty principles
seems to Jiva to be unsubstantial or of no value. I have thus told thee, O sinless
one, according to the indication of the Srutis, the nature of the Unintelligent or
Prakriti, and of Jiva, so also of that which is Pure Knowledge viz., the Supreme
Soul, agreeable to the truth. Guided by the scriptures, variety and oneness are
thus to be understood. The difference between the gnat and the Udumvara, or
that between the fish and water, illustrates the difference between the Jiva-soul

and the Supreme Soul.[1636] The Multiplicity and Oneness of these two are then
understood in this way. This is called Emancipation, viz., this comprehension or
knowledge of oneself as something distinct from Unintelligent or Unmanifest
Prakriti. The twenty-fifth, which resides in the bodies of living creatures, should
be emancipated by making him know the Unmanifest or the Supreme Soul which
transcends the understanding. Indeed, that twenty-fifth is capable of attaining to
Emancipation in this way only and not through any other means, it is certain.
Though really different from the Kshetra in which he resides for the time being,
he partakes of the nature of that Kshetra in consequence of his union with
it.[1637] Uniting with what is Pure, he becomes Pure. Uniting with the Intelligent,
he becomes Intelligent. By uniting, O foremost of men, with one that is
Emancipate, he becomes Emancipated. By uniting with one that has been freed
from attachments of every kind, he becomes freed from all attachments. By
uniting with one striving after Emancipation, he himself, partaking of the nature of
his companion, strives after Emancipation. By uniting with one of pure deeds he
becomes pure and of pure deeds and endued with blazing effulgence. By uniting
with one of unstained soul, he becomes of unstained soul himself. By uniting with
the One independent Soul, he becomes One and Independent. Uniting with One
that is dependent on One‟s own Self, he becomes of the same nature and attains
to Independence.
“‟—O monarch, I have duly told thee all this that is perfectly true. Candidly have I
discoursed to thee on this subject, viz., the Eternal and Stainless and Primeval
Brahma. Thou mayst impart this high knowledge, capable of awakening the soul,
unto that person, O king, who though not conversant with the Vedas is
nevertheless, humble and has a keen desire for acquiring the knowledge of
Brahma. It should never be imparted unto one that is wedded to falsehood, or
one that is cunning or roguish, or one that is without any strength of mind or one
that is of crooked understanding, or one that is jealous of men of knowledge, or
one that gives pain to others. Listen to me as I say who they are unto whom this
knowledge may safely be communicated. It should be given to one that is
endued with faith, or one that is possessed of merit, or one that always abstains
from speaking ill of others, or one that is devoted to penances from the purest of
motives, or one that is endued with knowledge and wisdom, or one that is
conversant of the sacrifices and other rites laid down in the Vedas, or one that is
possessed of a forgiving disposition, or one that is inclined to take compassion
on and do good to all creatures; or one that is fond of dwelling in privacy and
solitude, or one that is fond of discharging all acts laid down in the scriptures, or
one that is averse to quarrels and disputes, or one that is possessed of great
learning or one endued with wisdom or one possessed of forgiveness and self-
restraint and tranquillity of soul. This high knowledge of Brahma should never be
communicated to one that is not possessed of such qualifications. It has been
said that by imparting this knowledge to one that cannot be regarded as fit
receptacle for holding it no advantage or good fruit can arise. Unto one that is not
observant of any vows and restraints, this high knowledge should never be
communicated even if he gives in exchange the whole Earth full of gems and
wealth of every kind. Without doubt, however, O king, this knowledge should be

given to one that has conquered one‟s senses. O Karala, let no fear be thine any
longer, since thou halt heard all this regarding high Brahma from me today! I
have discoursed to thee duly about high and holy Brahma that is without
beginning and middle (and end) and that is capable of dispelling all kinds of grief.
Beholding Brahma whose sight is capable of dispelling both birth and death, O
king which is full of auspiciousness, which removes all fear, and which benefit,
and having acquired this essence of all knowledge, cast off all error and
stupefaction today! I had acquired this knowledge from the eternal
Hiranyagarbha himself, O king, who communicated it to me for my having
carefully gratified that great Being of every superior Soul. Asked by thee today, I
have, O monarch, communicated the knowledge of eternal Brahma to the just as
I had myself acquired it from my teacher. Indeed, this high knowledge that is the
refuge of all persons conversant with Emancipation has been imparted to thee
exactly as I had it from Brahman himself!‟
“Bhishma continued, I have thus told thee of high Brahma agreeably to what the
great Rishi (Vasishtha) had said (unto king Karala of Janaka‟s race), by attaining
to which the Twenty-fifth (or Jiva) has never to return. Jiva, in consequence of his
not knowing truly the Supreme Soul which is not subject to decay and death, is
obliged to frequently come back into the world. When, however, Jiva succeeds in
acquiring that high knowledge, he has no longer to come back. Having heard it,
O king from the celestial Rishi, I have, O son, communicated to thee high
knowledge productive of the highest good. This knowledge was obtained from
Hiranyagarbha by the high-souled Rishi Vasishtha. From that foremost of Rishis,
viz., Vasishtha, it was acquired by Narada. From Narada I have acquired that
knowledge which is truly identifiable with the eternal Brahma. Having heard this
discourse of high import, fraught with excellent words, do not, O foremost of the
Kurus, yield any longer to grief. That man who knows Kshara and Akshara
becomes freed from fear. He, indeed, O king, is obliged to cherish fear who is
destitute of this knowledge. In consequence of Ignorance (of Brahma), the man
of foolish soul hath repeatedly to come back into this world. Indeed, departing
from this life, he has to be born in thousands and thousands of orders of Being
every one of which hath death in the end. Now in the world of the deities, now
among men, and now among intermediate orders of Being, he has to appear
again and again. If in course of time he succeeds in crossing that Ocean of
Ignorance in which he is sunk, he then succeeds in avoiding rebirth altogether
and attaining to identity with the Supreme Soul. The Ocean of Ignorance is
terrible. It is bottomless and called the Unmanifest. O Bharata, day after day,
creatures are seen to fall and sink in that Ocean. Since thou, O king, hast been
freed from that eternal and limitless Ocean of Ignorance, thou, hast, therefore
become freed from Rajas and also Tamas.‟”

SECTION CCCX
“Bhishma said, „Once on a time a king of Janaka‟s race, while ranging the
uninhabited forests in pursuit of deer, saw a superior Brahmana or Rishi of
Bhrigu‟s race. Bowing with his head unto the Rishi who was seated at his ease,
king Vasuman took his seat near him and obtaining his permission put to him this
question: O holy one, what is productive of the highest benefit, both here and
hereafter, to man who is endued with an unstable body and who is the slave of
his desires? Properly honoured by the king, and thus questioned, that high-
souled Rishi possessed of ascetic merit then said these words unto him that
were highly beneficial.
“The Rishi said, If thou desirest both here and hereafter what is agreeable to thy
mind, do thou then, with restrained senses, abstain from doing what is
disagreeable to all creatures. Righteousness is beneficial unto them that are
good. Righteousness is the refuge of those that are good. From Righteousness
have flowed the three worlds with their mobile and immobile creatures. O thou
that art eagerly desirous of enjoying all agreeable objects, how is it that thou art
not yet satiated with objects of desire? Thou seest the honey, O thou of little
understanding, but art blind to the fall[1638]. As one desirous of earning the fruits
of knowledge should set oneself to the acquisition of knowledge, even so one
desirous of earning the fruits of Righteousness should set oneself to the
acquisition of Righteousness. If a wicked man from desire of virtue, strives to
accomplish an act that is pure and stainless, the fulfilment of his desire becomes
impossible. If, on the other hand, a good man, impelled by the desire of earning
virtue, strives to accomplish an act that is even difficult, its accomplishment
becomes easy for him. If, while residing in the woods, one acts in such a way as
to enjoy all the pleasures of a residence amidst men in towns, one comes to be
looked upon not as a forest recluse but as a denizen of towns. Similarly, if one,
while residing in towns, acts in such a way as to enjoy the felicity that attaches to
the life of a forest recluse, once comes to be looked upon not as a denizen of
towns but as a forest recluse. Ascertaining the merits of the religion of Acts and
that of Abstention from acts, do thou, with concentrated senses, be devoted to
the practices of righteousness that appertain to thought, words, and deed.
Judging of the propriety of time and place, purified by the observance of vows
and other cleansing rites, and solicited (by them), do thou, without malice, make
large gifts unto them that are good.[1639] Acquiring wealth by righteous means,
one should give it away unto those that are deserving. One should make gifts,
casting off anger; and having made gifts one should never give way to sorrow nor
proclaim those gifts with one‟s own mouth. The Brahmana who is full of
compassion, who is observant of candour, and whose birth is pure, has been
regarded as a person deserving of gifts. A person is said to be pure in birth when
he is born of mother that has only one husband and that belongs to the same
order to which her husband belongs. Indeed, such a Brahmana, conversant with
the three Vedas, viz., Rich, Yajush, and Saman, possessed of learning, duly
observant of the six duties (of sacrificing on his own account, officiating at the
sacrifices of others, learning, teaching, making gifts, and receiving gifts), has
been regarded as deserving of gifts. Righteousness becomes unrighteousness,

and unrighteousness becomes righteousness, according to the character of the
doer, of time, and of place.[1640] Sin is cast off like the filth on one‟s body,--a
little with a little exertion and a greater quantity when the exertion is greater. A
person, after purging his bowels, should take ghee, which operates most
beneficially on his system (as a healthy tonic). After the same manner, when one
has cleansed oneself of all faults and sets oneself to the acquisition of
righteousness, that righteousness, in the next world, proves to be productive of
the highest happiness. Good and evil thoughts exist in the minds of all creatures.
Withdrawing the mind from evil thoughts, it should always be directed towards
good thoughts. One should always reverence the practices of one‟s own order.
Do thou strive, therefore, to act in such a way that thou mayst have faith in the
practices of thy own order. O thou that art endued with an impatient soul, betake
thyself to the practice of patience. O thou that art of a foolish understanding, seek
thou to be possessed of intelligence! Destitute of tranquillity, seek thou to be
tranquil, and bereft of wisdom as thou art, do thou seek to act wisely! He who
moves in the companionship of the righteous succeeds, by his own energy, in
acquiring the means of accomplishing what is beneficial for him both in this and
the next world. Verily, the root of the benefit (which thus becomes his here and
hereafter) is unwavering firmness. The royal sage Mahabhisha, through want of
this firmness, fell from heaven. Yayati, also, though his merits had become
exhausted (in consequence of his boastfulness and thought was hurled down
from heaven) succeeded in regaining regions of felicity through his firmness.
Thou art sure to attain to great intelligence, as also to what is for thy highest
good, by paying court to virtuous and learned persons possessed of ascetic
merit.‟
“Bhishma continued, „Hearing these words of the sage, king Vasuman,
possessed of a good disposition, withdrawing his mind from the pursuits of
desire, set it upon the acquisition of Righteousness.‟”
SECTION CCCXI
“Yudhishthira said, „It behoveth thee, O grandsire, to discourse to me on that
which is freed from duty and its reverse, which is freed from every doubt, which
transcends birth and death, as also virtue and sin, which is auspiciousness,
which is eternal fearlessness, which is Eternal and Indestructible, and Immutable,
which is always Pure, and which is ever free from the toil of exertion.‟
“Bhishma said, „I shall in this connection recite to thee the old narrative, O
Bharata, of the discourse between Yajnavalkya and Janaka. Once on a time the
famous king Daivarati of Janaka‟s race, fully conversant with the import of all
questions, addressed this question to Yajnavalkya, that foremost of Rishis.
“‟Janaka said, „O regenerate Rishi, how many kinds of senses are there? How
many kinds also are there of Prakriti? What is the Unmanifest and highest
Brahma? What is higher than Brahma? What is birth and what is death? What
are the limits of Age? It behoveth thee, O foremost of Brahmanas, to discourse

on all these topics unto me that am solicitous of obtaining thy grace; I am
ignorant while thou art an Ocean of knowledge. Hence, I ask thee! Verily, I
desire to hear thee discourse on all these subjects!
“‟Yajnavalkya said, Hear, O monarch, what I say in an answer to these questions
of thine, I shall impart to thee the high knowledge which Yogins value, and
especially that which is possessed by the Sankhyas. Nothing is unknown to
thee. Still thou askest me. One however, that is questioned should answer. This
is the eternal practice. Eight principles have been called by the name of Prakriti,
while sixteen have been called modifications. Of Manifest, there are seven.
These are the views of those persons who are conversant with the science of
Adhyatma. The Unmanifest (or original Prakriti), Mahat, Consciousness, and the
five subtile elements of Earth, Wind, Space, Water, and Light,--these eight are
known by the name of Prakriti. Listen now to the enumeration of those called
modifications. They are the ear, the skin, the tongue, and the nose; and sound,
touch, form, taste, and scent, as also speech, the two arms, the two feet, the
lower duct (within the body), and the organs of pleasure.[1641] Amongst these,
the ten beginning with sound, and having their origin in the five great
principles,[1642] are called Visesha. The five senses of knowledge are called
Savisesha, O ruler of Mithila. Persons conversant with the Science of Adhyatma
regard the mind as the sixteenth. This is conformable to thy own views as also to
those of other learned men well acquainted with the truths about principles. From
the Unmanifest, O king, springs the Mahat-soul. The learned say this to be the
first creation relating to Pradhana (or Prakriti): From Mahat, O king of men, is
produced Consciousness. This has been called the second creation having the
Understanding for its essence.[1643] From Consciousness hath sprung the Mind
which is the essence of sound and the others that are the attributes of space and
the rest. This is the third creation, said to relate to Consciousness. From mind
have sprung the great elements, (numbering five), O king! Know that this is the
fourth creation called mental, as I say. Persons conversant with the primal
elements say that Sound and Touch and Form and Taste and Scent are the fifth
creation, relating to the Great (primal) elements. The creation of the Ear, the
Skin, the Tongue, and the Scent, forms the sixth and is regarded as having for its
essence multiplicity of thought. The senses that come after the Ear and the
others (i.e., the senses of action) then arise, O monarch. This is called seventh
creation and relates to the senses of Knowledge. Then, O monarch, come the
breath that rises upward (viz., Prana) and those that have a transverse motion
(viz., Saman, Udana, and Vyana). This is the eighth creation and is called
Arjjava.[1644] Then come those breaths that course transversely in the lower
parts of the body (viz., Samana, Udana and Vyana) and also that called Apana
coursing downwards. This, ninth creation, is also called Arjjava, O king. These
nine kinds of creation, and these principles, O monarch, which latter number four
and twenty, are declared to thee according to what has been laid down in the
scriptures. After this, O king, listen to me as I tell thee durations of time as
indicated by the learned in respect of these principles or attribute.‟”

SECTION CCCXII
“Yajnavalkya said, Listen to me, O foremost of men, as I tell thee what the
duration of time is in respect to the Unmanifest (or the Supreme Purusha). Ten
thousand Kalpas are said to constitute a single day of his. The duration of his
night is equal. When his night expires, he awakes, O monarch, and first creates
herbs and plants which constitute the sustenance of all embodied creatures. He
then creates Brahman who springs from a golden egg. That Brahman is the form
of all created things, as has been heard by us. Having dwelt for one whole year
within that egg, the great ascetic Brahman, called also Prajapati (Lord of all
creatures), came out of it and created the whole Earth, and the Heaven above.
The Lord then, it is read in the Vedas, O king, placed the sky between Heaven
and Earth separated from each other. Seven thousand and five hundred Kalpas
measure the day of Brahman. Persons conversant with the science of Adhyatma
say that his night also is of an equal duration. Brahmana, called Mahan, then
creates Consciousness called Bhuta and endued with excellent essence.[1645]
Before creating any physical bodies out of the ingredients called the Great
elements, Mahan or Brahma, endued with penances, created four others called
his sons. They are the sires of the original sires, O Best of kings, as heard by
us.[1646] It hath been also heard by us, O monarch that the senses (of
knowledge) along with the four inner faculties, have sprung from the (five Great
elements called) Pitris, and that the entire universe of mobile and immobile
Beings has been filled with those Great elements.[1647] The puissant
Consciousness created the five Bhutas. These are Earth, Wind, Space, Water,
and Light numbering the fifth. This Consciousness (who is a Great Being and)
from whom springs the third creating, has five thousand Kalpas for his night, and
his day is of equal duration. Sound, Touch, Form, Taste, and Scent,--these five
are called Visesha. They inhere into the five great Bhutas. All creatures, O king,
incessantly pervaded by these five, desire one another‟s companionship,
become subservient to one another; and challenging one another, transcend one
another; and led by those immutable and seductive principles, creatures kill one
another and wander in this world entering into numerous orders of Being.[1648]
Three thousands of Kalpas represent the duration of their day. The measure of
their night also is the same.[1649] The Mind roveth over all things, O king, led on
by the Senses. The Senses do not perceive anything. It is the Mind that
perceives through them. The Eye sees forms when aided by the Mind but never
by itself. When the Mind is distracted, the Eye fails to perceive with even the
objects fully before it. It is commonly said that the Senses perceive. This is not
true, for it is the Mind that perceives through the Senses. When the cessation
takes place of the activity of the Mind, the cessation of the activity of the Senses
follows. That is the cessation of the activity of the Senses which is the cessation
of the activity of the Mind. One should thus regard the Senses to be under the
domination of the Mind. Indeed, the Mind is said to be the Lord of all the Senses.
O thou of great fame, these are all the twenty Bhutas in the Universe.‟”

SECTION CCCXIII
“Yajnavalkya said, I have, one after another, told thee the order of the creation,
with their total number, of the various principles, as also the extent of the duration
of each. Listen now to me as I tell thee of their destruction. Listen to me how
Brahman, who is eternal and undecaying, and who is without beginning and
without end, repeatedly creates and destroys all created objects. When his day
expires and night comes, he becomes desirous of sleep. At such a time the
unmanifest and holy one urges the Being called Maharudra, who is conscious of
his great powers, (for destroying the world). Urged by the unmanifest, that Being
assuming the form of Surya of hundreds of thousands of rays, divides himself
into a dozen portions each resembling a blazing fire. He then consumes with his
energy, O monarch, without any loss of time, the four kinds of created beings,
viz., viviparous, oviparous, filth-born, and vegetable. Within the twinkling of the
eye all mobile and immobile creatures being thus destroyed, the Earth becomes
on every side as bare as a tortoise shell.
Having burnt everything on the face of the Earth, Rudra, of immeasurable
might, then quickly fills the bare Earth with Water possessed of great
force. He then creates the Yuga-fire which dries up that Water (into
which the bare Earth has been dissolved). The Water disappearing, the
great element of Fire continues to blaze fiercely. Then comes the mighty
Wind of immeasurable force, in his eight forms, who swallows up quickly
that blazing fire of transcendent force, possessed of seven flames, and
identifiable with the heat existing every creature. Having swallowed up
that fire, the Wind courses in every direction, upwards, downwards, and
transversely. Then space of immeasurable existent swallowed up that Wind
of transcendent energy. Then Mind cheerfully swallows up that
immeasurable Space. Then that Lord of all creatures, viz., Consciousness,
who is the Soul of every-thing, swallows up the Mind. Consciousness, in
his turn, is swallowed up by the Mahat-soul who is conversant with the
Past, the Present, and the Future. The incomparable Mahat-soul or
Universe is then swallowed up by Sambhu, that Lord of all things, to whom
the Yoga attributes of Anima, Laghima, Prapti, etc., naturally inhere,
who is regarded as the Supreme and pure Effulgence that is Immutable. His
hands and feet extend over every part; his eyes and head and face are
everywhere, his ears reach every place, and he exists overwhelming all
things. He is the heart of all creatures; His measure is of a digit of
the thumb. That Infinite and supreme Soul, that Lord of all, thus
swallows up the Universe. After this, what remains is the Undecaying and
the Immutable. One who is without defect of any kind, who is the Creator
of the Past, the Present, and the Future; and who is perfectly faultless,
I have thus, O monarch, duly told thee of Destruction. I shall now
discourse to thee on the subjects of Adhyatma, Adhibhuta, and
Adhidaivata.—„”

SECTION CCCXIV
„Yajnavalkya said, Brahmanas conversant with the topics of enquiry speak of the
two feet as Adhyatma, the act of walking as Adhibhuta, and Vishnu as
Adhidaivatam (of those two limbs). The lower duct (anal canal) is Adhyatma; its
function of throwing out the excreta is Adhibhuta, and Mitra (Surya) is the
Adhidaivata (of that organ). The organ of generation is called Adhyatma. Its
agreeable function is called Adhibhuta, and Prajapati is its Adhidaivata. The
hands are Adhyatma; their function as represented by acts is Adhibhuta; and
Indra is the Adhidaivata of those limbs. The organs of speech are Adhyatma; the
words uttered by them are Adhibhuta; and Agni is their Adhidaivata. The eye is
Adhyatma; vision or form is its Adhibhuta; and Surya is the Adhidaivata of that
organ. The ear is Adhyatma; sound is Adhibhuta; and the points of the horizon
are its Adhidaivata. The tongue is Adhyatma, taste is its Adhibhuta; and Water is
its Adhidaivata. The sense of scent is Adhyatma; odour is its Adhibhuta; and
Earth is its Adhidaivata. The skin is Adhyatma; touch is its Adhibhuta; and Wind
is its Adhidaivata. Mind has been called Adhyatma; that with which the Mind is
employed is Adhibhuta; and Chandramas is its Adhidaivata. Consciousness is
Adhyatma; conviction in one‟s identity with Prakriti is its Adhibhuta; and Mahat or
Buddhi is its Adhidaivata. Buddhi is Adhyatma; that which is to be understood is
its Adhibhuta; and Kshetrajna is its Adhidaivata. I have thus truly expounded to
thee, O king, with its details taken individually, the puissance of the Supreme (in
manifesting Himself in different forms) in the beginning, the middle, and the end,
O thou that art fully conversant with the nature of the original topics or principles.
Prakriti, cheerfully and of her own accord, as if for sport, O monarch, produces,
by undergoing modifications herself, thousands and thousands of combinations
of her original transformations called Gunahs. As men can light thousands of
lamps from but a single lamp, after the same manner Prakriti, by modification,
multiplies into thousands of existent objects the (three) attributes (of Sattwa and
Rajas and Tamas) of Purusha. Patience, joy, prosperity, satisfaction, brightness
of all faculties, happiness, purity, health, contentment, faith, liberality,
compassion, forgiveness, firmness, benevolence, equanimity, truth, acquittance
of obligations, mildness, modesty, calmness, external purity, simplicity,
observance of obligatory practices, dispassionateness, fearlessness of heart,
disregard for the appearance or otherwise of good and evil as also for past acts,-
-appropriation of objects only when obtained by gift, the absence of cupidity,
regard for the interests of others, compassion for all creatures,--these have been
said to be the qualities that attach to the attribute of Sattwa. The tale of qualities
attaching to the attribute of Rajas consists of pride of personal beauty, assertion
of lordship, war, disclination to give, absence of compassion, enjoyment and
enduring of happiness and misery, pleasure in speaking ill of others, indulgence
in quarrels and disputes of every kind, arrogance, discourtesy, anxiety,
indulgence in hostilities, sorrow, appropriation of what belongs to others,
shamelessness, crookedness, disunions, roughness, lust, wrath, pride, assertion
of superiority, malice, and calumny. These are said to spring from the attributes
of Rajas. I shall now tell thee of that assemblage of qualities which springs from
Tamas. They are stupefaction of judgment, obscuration of every faculty,

darkness and blind darkness. By darkness is implied death, and by blind
darkness is meant wrath.
Besides these, the other indications of Tamas are greediness in respect
of all kinds of food, ceaseless appetite for both food and drink, taking
pleasure in scents and robes and sports and beds and seats and sleep
during the day and calumny and all kinds of acts proceeding from
heedlessness, taking pleasure, from ignorance (of purer sources of joy)
in dancing and instrumental and vocal music, and aversion for every kind
of religion. These, indeed, are the indications of Tamas—„”
SECTION CCCXV
“‟Yajnavalkya said, These three, O foremost of men, (viz., Sattwa, Rajas, and
Tamas), are the attributes of Prakriti. These attach to all things of the universe
and always inhere to them. The Unmanifest Purusha endued with the six Yoga
attributes transforms himself by himself into hundreds and thousands and
millions and millions of forms (by embracing these three attributes). Those that
are conversant with the science of Adhyatma, say that unto the attribute of
Sattwa is assigned a high, unto Rajas a middling, and unto Tamas, a low place in
the universe. By the aid of unmixed righteousness one attains to a high end (viz.,
that of the deities or other celestial beings). Through righteousness mixed with
sin one attains to the status of humanity. While through unmixed sin one sinks
into a vile end (by becoming an animal or a vegetable etc.). Listen now to me, O
king, as I speak to thee of the intermixture or compounds of the three attributes
of Sattwa, Rajas, and Tamas. Sometimes Rajas is seen existing with Sattwa.
Tamas also exists with Rajas. With Tamas may also be seen Sattwa. Then also
may Sattwa and Rajas and Tamas be seen existing together and in equal
proportions. They constitute the Unmanifest or Prakriti. When the Unmanifest
(Purusha) becomes endued with only Sattwa, he attains to the regions of the
deities. Endued with both Sattwa and Rajas, he takes birth among human
beings. Endued with Rajas and Tawas, he takes birth among the intermediate
order of Being. Endued with all three, viz., Sattwa and Rajas and Tamas, he
attains to the status of humanity. Those high souled persons that transcend both
righteousness and sin, attain it is said, to that place which is eternal, immutable,
undecaying, and immortal. Men of knowledge attain to births that are very
superior, and their place is faultless and undecaying, transcending the ken of the
senses, free from ignorance, above birth and death, and full of light that dispels
all kinds of darkness. Thou hadst asked me about the nature of the Supreme
residing in the Unmanifest, (viz., Purusha). I shall tell thee, Listen to me, O king,
Even when residing in Prakriti, He is said to reside in His own nature without
partaking of the nature of Prakriti.[1650] Prakriti, O king, is inanimate and
unintelligent. When presided over by Purusha, then only can she create and
destroy.

“‟Janaka said, Both Prakriti and Purusha, O thou of great intelligence, are without
beginning and without end. Both of them are without form. Both of them are
undecaying. Both of them, again, incomprehensible. How then, O foremost of
Rishis, can it be said that one of them is inanimate and unintelligent? How, again,
is the other said to be animate and intelligent? And why is the latter called
Kshetrajna? Thou, O foremost of Brahmanas, art fully conversant with the entire
religion of Emancipation. I desire to hear in detail of the religion of Emancipation
in its entirety. Do thou discourse to me then of the existence and Oneness of
Purusha, of his separateness from Prakriti, of the deities which attach to the body
of the place to which embodied creatures repair when they die, and that place to
which they may ultimately, in course of time, be able to go. Tell me also of the
Knowledge described in the Sankhya system, and of the Yoga system
separately. It behoveth thee also to speak of the premonitory symptoms of death,
O best of men. All these topics are well known to thee even as an (emblic)
myrobalan in thy hand!‟”
SECTION CCCXVI
“‟Yajnavalkya said, That which is without attributes, O son, can never be
explained by ascribing attributes to it. Listen, however, to me as I expound to
thee what is possessed of attributes and what is devoid of them. High-souled
Munis conversant with the truth regarding all the topics or principles say that
when Purusha seizes attributes like a crystal catching the reflection of a red
flower, he comes to be called as possessed of attributes; but when freed from
attributes like the crystal freed from reflection, he comes to be viewed in his real
nature, that is, as beyond all attributes.[1651] Unmanifest Prakriti is by her nature
endued with attributes. She cannot transcend them. Destitute of intelligence by
nature, she becomes attached to attributes. Unmanifest Prakriti cannot know
anything, while Purusha, by his nature, is possessed of knowledge,--There is
nothing higher than myself,--even this is what Purusha is always conscious of.
For this reason the unmanifest (or Prakriti), although naturally inanimate and
unintelligent, still becomes animate and intelligent in consequence of her union
with Purusha who is Eternal and Indestructible instead of remaining in her own
nature due to destructibility.[1652] When Purusha, through ignorance, repeatedly
becomes associated with attributes, he fails to understand his own real nature
and therefore he fails to attain to Emancipation. In consequence Purusha‟s
lordship over the principles that flow from Prakriti, he is said to partake of the
nature of those principles. In consequence also of his agency in the matter of
creation, he is said to possess the attribute of creation. In consequence of his
agency in the matter of Yoga, he is said to possess the attribute of Yoga. For his
lordship over those particular principles known by the name of Prakriti, he is said
to possess the nature of Prakriti.[1653] For his agency in the matter of creating
the seeds (of all immobile objects), he is said to partake of the nature of those
seeds. And because he causes the several principles or attributes to start into
life, he is, therefore, said to be subject to decay and destruction (for those

principles themselves are subject thereto). In consequence, again, of his being
the witness of everything, and in consequence also of there being nothing else
than he, as also for his consciousness of identity with Prakriti, Yatis crowned with
ascetic success, conversant with Adhyatma, and freed from fever of every kind,
regard him as existing by himself without a second, immutable, unmanifest (in
the form of Cause), unstable, and manifest (in the form of effects). This is what
has been heard by us. Those Sankhyas, however, that depend upon Knowledge
only (for their Emancipation) and the practice of compassion for all creatures, say
that it is Prakriti which is One but Purushas are many.[1654] As a matter of fact,
Purusha is different from Prakriti which though unstable, still appears as stable.
As a blade of reed is different from its outer cover, even so is Purusha different
from Prakriti. Indeed, the worm that is ensconced within the Udumvara should be
known as different from the Udumvara. Though existing with the Udumvara, the
worm is not to be regarded as forming a portion of the Udumvara. The fish is
distinct from the water in which it lives, and the water is distinct from the fish that
lives in it. Though the fish and water exist together, yet it is never drenched by
water. The fire that is contained in an earthen sauce pan is distinct from the
earthen sauce pan, and the sauce pan is distinct from the fire it contains.
Although the fire exists in and with the sauce pan, yet it is not to be regarded as
forming any part of it. The lotus-leaf that floats on a piece of water is distinct from
the piece of water on which it floats. Its co-existence with water does not make it
a portion of the water. The perennial existence of those objects in and with those
mentioned, is never correctly understood by ordinary people. They who behold
Prakriti and Purusha in any other light are said to possess a vision that is
incorrect. It is certain that they have repeatedly to sink into terrible hell. I have
thus told thee the philosophy of the Sankhyas that excellent science by which all
things have been correctly ascertained. Ascertaining the nature of Purusha and
Prakriti in this way, the Sankhyas attain to Emancipation. I have also told thee of
the systems of those others that are conversant with the great principles of the
universe. I shall now discourse to thee on the science of the Yogins.‟”
SECTION CCCXVII
“Yajnavalkya said, I have already spoken to thee of the science of the Sankhyas.
Listen now to me as I truly discourse on the science of the Yogins as heard and
seen by me, O best of kings! There is no knowledge that can compare with that
of the Sankhyas. There is no puissance that compares with that of Yoga. These
two ordain the same practices, and both are regarded as capable of leading to
Emancipation. Those men that are not blest with intelligence regard the Sankhya
and the Yoga systems to be different from each other. We, however, O king, look
upon them as one and the same, according to the conclusion to which we have
arrived (after study and reflection). That which the Yogins have in view is the very
same which the Sankhyas also have in view. He who sees both the Sankhya and
the Yoga systems to be one and the same is to be regarded as truly conversant
with the topics or principles that ordain the universe. Know, O king, that the vital

breaths and the senses are the chief means for practising Yoga. By only
regulating those breaths and the senses, Yogins wander everywhere at their
will.[1655] When the gross body is destroyed, Yogins endued with subtile bodies
possessed of the eight Yoga attributes of Anima, Laghima, Prapti, etc., wander
over the universe, enjoying (in that body) all kinds of felicities, O sinless one. The
wise have, in the scriptures, spoken of Yoga as conferring eight kinds of
puissance. They have spoken of Yoga as possessed of eight limbs.[1656]
Indeed, O king, they have not spoken of any other kind of Yoga. It has been said
that the practices of Yogins excellent as these are (for their results), are of two
kinds. Those two kinds, according to the indications occurring in the scriptures,
are practices endued with attributes and those freed from attributes. The
concentration of the mind on the sixteen objects named, with simultaneous
regulation of the breath, O king, is one kind. The concentration of the mind in
such a way as to destroy all difference between the contemplator, the object
contemplated, and the act of contemplation along with subjugation of the senses,
is of another kind. The first kind of Yoga is said to be that possessed of
attributes; the second kind is said to be that freed from attributes.[1657] Then,
again, Regulation of the breath is Yoga with attributes. In Yoga without attributes,
the mind, freed from its functions, should be fixed. Only the regulation of the
breath which is said to be endued with attributes should, in the first instance, be
practised, for, O ruler of Mithila, if the breath (that is inhaled and suspended) be
exhaled without mentally reflecting the while upon a definite image (furnished by
a limited mantra), the wind in the neophyte‟s system will increase to his great
injury.[1658] In the first Yama of the night, twelve ways of holding the breath are
recommended. Alter sleep, in the last Yama of the night, other twelve ways of
doing the same have been laid down. Without doubt, one endued with tranquillity,
of subdued senses, living in retirement, rejoicing in one‟s own self, and fully
conversant with the import of the scriptures, should (regulating one‟s breath in
these four and twenty ways) fix one‟s Soul (on the Supreme Soul).[1659]
Dispelling the five faults of the five senses, viz., (withdrawing them from their
objects of) sound, form, touch, taste, and scent, and dispelling those conditions
called Pratibha and Apavarga, O ruler of the Mithilas, all the senses should be
fixed upon the mind. The mind should then be fixed on Consciousness, O king,
Consciousness should next be fixed on intelligence or Buddhi, and Buddhi,
should then be fixed on Prakriti. Thus merging these one after another, Yogins
contemplate the Supreme Soul which is One, which is freed from Rajas, which is
stainless, which is Immutable and Infinite and Pure and without defect, who is
Eternal Purusha, who is unchangeable, who is Indivisible, who is without decay
and death, who is everlasting, who transcends diminution, and which is
Immutable Brahma. Listen now, O monarch, to the indications of one that is in
Yoga. All the indications of cheerful contentment that are his who is slumbering in
contentment are seen in the person, that is in Samadhi. The person in Samadhi,
the wise say, looks like the fixed and upward flame of a lamp that is full of oil and
that burns in a breezeless spot. He is like a rock which is incapable of being
moved in the slightest degree by ever a heavy downpour from the clouds. He is
incapable of being moved by the din of conches and drums, or by songs or the

sound of hundreds of musical instruments beat or blown together. Even this is
the indication of one in Samadhi. As a man of cool courage and determination,
while ascending a flight of steps with a vessel full of oil in his hands, does not
spill even a drop of the liquid if frightened and threatened by persons armed with
weapons even so the Yogin, when his mind has been concentrated and when he
beholds the Supreme Soul in Samadhi, does not, in consequence of the entire
stoppage of the functions of his senses at such a time, move in the slightest
degree. Even these should be known to be the indication of the Yogin while he is
in Samadhi. While in Samadhi, the Yogin beholds Brahma which is Supreme and
Immutable, and which is situated like a blazing Effulgence in the midst of thick
Darkness. It is by this means that he attains, after many years, to Emancipation
after casting off this inanimate body. Even this is what the eternal Sruti declares.
This is called the Yoga of the Yogins. What else is it? Knowing it, they that are
endued with wisdom regard themselves as crowned with success,--
SECTION CCCXVIII
„Yajnavalkya said, Listen now to me, with attention, O king, as to what the places
are to which those who die have to go. If the Jiva-soul escapes through the feet,
it is said that the man goes to the region of the Vishnu. If through the calves, it
has been heard by us, that the man repairs to the regions of the Vasus. if through
the knees, he attains to the companionship of those deities that are called
Sadhyas. If through the lower duct, the man attains to the regions of Mitra. If
through the posteriors, the man returns to the Earth, and if through the thighs to
the region of Prajapati. If through the flanks, the man attains to the regions of the
Maruts, and if through the nostrils, to the region of Chandramas. If through arms,
the man goes to the region of Indra, and if through the chest, to that of Rudra. If
through the neck, the man repairs to the excellent region of that foremost of
ascetics known by the name of Nara. If through the mouth, the man attains to the
region of the Viswadevas and if through the ears, to the region of the deities of
the several points of the horizon. If through the nose, the man attains to the
region of the Windgod; and if through the eyes, to the region of Agni. If through
the brows, the man goes to the region of the Aswins; and if through the forehead,
to that of Pitris. If through the crown of the head, the man attains to the region of
the puissant Brahman, that foremost of the gods. I have thus told thee, O ruler of
Mithila, the several places to which men repair according to the manner in which
their Jiva-souls escape from their bodies. I shall now tell thee the premonitory
indication, as laid down by the wise of those who have but one year to live. One,
who having previously seen the fixed star called Arandhati, fails to see it, or that
other star called Dhruva,[1660] or one that sees the full Moon or the flame of a
burning lamp to be broken towards the south, has but one year to live. Those
men, O king, who can no longer see images of themselves reflected in the eyes
of others, have but one year to live. One, who, being endued with lustre loses it,
or being endued with wisdom loses it,--indeed, one whose inward and outward
nature is thus changed,--has but six months more to live. He, who disregards the

deities, or quarrels with the Brahmanas, or one, who, being naturally of a dark
complexion becomes pale of hue, has but six months more to live. One, who
sees the lunar disc to have many holes like a spider‟s web, or one, who sees the
solar disc to have similar holes has but one week more to live. One, who, when
smelling fragrant scents in place of worship, perceives them to be as offensive as
the scent of corpses, has but one week more to live. The depression of the nose
or of the ears, the discolour of the teeth or of the eye, the loss of all
consciousness, and the loss also of all animal heat, are symptoms indicating
death that very day. If, without any perceptible cause a stream of tears suddenly
flows from one‟s left eye, and if vapours be seen to issue from one‟s head, that is
a sure indication that the man will die before that day expires. Knowing all these
premonitory symptoms, the man of cleansed soul should day and night unite his
soul with the Supreme Soul (in Samadhi). Thus should he go on till the day-
comes for his dissolution. If, however, instead of wishing to die he desires to live
in this world, he casts off all enjoyments,--all scents and tastes,--O king, and lives
on in abstinence. He thus conquers death by fixing his soul on the Supreme
Soul. Indeed, the man, who is blessed with knowledge of the Soul, O monarch,
practises the course of life recommended by the Sankhyas and conquers death
by uniting his soul with the Supreme Soul. At last, he attains to what is entirely
indestructible, which is without birth, which is auspicious, and immutable, and
eternal, and stable, and which is incapable of being attained to by men of
uncleansed souls.‟”
SECTION CCCXIX
“Yajnavalkya said, „Thou hast asked me, O monarch, of that Supreme Brahma
which resides in the Unmanifest. Thy question relates to a deep mystery. Listen
to me with close attention, O king! Having conducted myself with humility
according to the ordinances laid down by the Rishis I obtained the Yajushes, O
king, from Surya. Without the austerest penances I formerly adored the heat-
giving deity. The puissant Surya, O sinless one, gratified with me, saying,--Solicit
thou, O regenerate Rishi, the boon upon which thou hast set thy heart, however,
difficult it may be of acquisition, I shall, with cheerful Soul, grant it to thee. It is
very difficult to incline me to grace! Bowing unto him with a bend of my head, that
foremost of heat-giving luminaries was addressed by me in these words, I have
no knowledge of the Yajushes. I desire to know them without loss of time!--The
holy one, thus solicited, told me,--I shall impart the Yajushes unto thee. Made up
of the essence of speech, the goddess Saraswati will enter into thy body. The
deity then commanded me to open my mouth. I did as I was commanded. The
goddess Saraswati then entered into my body, O sinless one. At this, I began to
burn. Unable to endure the pain I plunged into a stream. Not understanding that
what the high-souled Surya had done for me was for my good, I became even
angry with him. While I was burning with the energy of the goddess, the holy
Surya told me,--Do thou endure this burning sensation for only a little while. That
will soon cease and thou wilt be cool. Indeed I became cool. Seeing me restored

to ease, the Maker of light said unto me,--The whole Vedas, with even those
parts that are regarded as its appendix, together with the Upanishads, will appear
in thee by inward light, O regenerate one! The entire Satapathas also thou wilt
edit, O foremost of regenerate ones. After that, thy understanding will turn to the
path of Emancipation. Thou wilt also attain to that end which is desirable and
which is coveted by both Sankhyas and Yogins!--Having said these words unto
me, the divine Surya proceeded to the Asta hills. Hearing his last words, and
after he had departed from the spot where I was, I came home in joy and then
remembered the goddess Saraswati. Thought of by me, the auspicious
Saraswati appeared instantly before my eyes, adorned with all the vowels and
the consonants and having placed the syllable Om in the van, I then, according
to the ordinance, offered unto the goddess the usual Arghya, and dedicated
another to Surya, that foremost of all heat-giving deities. Discharging this duty I
took my seat, devoted to both those deities. Thereupon, the entire Satapatha
Brahmanas, with all their mysteries and with all their abstracts as also their
appendices, appeared of themselves before my mental vision, at which I became
filled with great joy.[1661] I then taught them to a hundred good disciples and
thereby did what was disagreeable to my high-souled maternal uncle
(Vaisampayana) with the disciples gathered round him.[1662] Then shining in the
midst of my disciples like the Sun himself with his rays, I took the management of
the Sacrifice of thy high-souled sire, O king. In that Sacrifice a dispute arose
between me and my maternal uncle as to who should be permitted to appropriate
the Dakshina that was paid for the recitation of the Vedas. In the very presence
of Devala, I took half of that Dakshina (the other half going to my maternal uncle).
Thy sire and Sumantra and Paila and Jaimini and other articles all acquiesced in
that arrangement.[1663]
„I had thus got from Surya the five times ten Yajushes, O monarch. I then studied
the Puranas with Romaharshan. Keeping before me those (original) Mantras and
the goddess Saraswati I, then, O king, aided by the inspiration of Surya, set
myself to compile the excellent Satapatha Brahmanas, and succeeded in
achieving the task never before undertaken by any one else. That path which I
had desired to take has been taken by me and I have also taught it to my
disciples. Indeed, the whole of those Vedas with their abstracts have been
imparted by me to those disciples of mine. Pure in mind and body, all those
disciples have, in consequence of my instructions, become filled with joy. Having
established (for the use of others) this knowledge consisting of fifty branches
which I had obtained from Surya, I now meditate on the great object of that
knowledge viz., (Brahma). The Gandharva Viswavasu, well-conversant with the
Vedanta scriptures, desirous, O king, of ascertaining what is beneficial for the
Brahmanas in this knowledge and what truth occurs in it, and what is the
excellent object of this knowledge, one questioned me. He put to me altogether
four and twenty questions, O king, relating to the Vedas. Finally, he asked me a
question, numbered twenty-fifth which relates to that branch of knowledge which
is concerned with the inferences of ratiocination. Those questions are as follows:
What is universe and what is not-universe? What is Aswa and what Aswa? What
is Mitra? What is Varuna? What is Knowledge? What is Object of knowledge?

What is Unintelligent? What is Intelligent? Who is Kah? Who is possessed of the
principle of change? Who is not possessed of the same? What is he that devours
the Sun and what is the Sun? What is Vidya and what is Avidya? What is
Immobile and what Mobile? What is without beginning, what is Indestructible, and
what is Destructible? These were the excellent questions put to me by that
foremost of Gandharvas. After king Viswavasu, that foremost of Gandharvas,
had asked me these questions one after another, I answered them properly. At
first, however, I told him, Wait for a brief space of time, till I reflect on thy
questions! So be it, Gandharva said, and sat in silence. I then thought once again
of the goddess Saraswati in my mind. The replies then to those questions
naturally arose in my mind like butter from curds. Keeping in view the high
science of inferential ratiocination, I churned with my mind, O monarch, the
Upanishads and the supplementary scriptures relating to the Vedas. The fourth
science then that treats of Emancipation, O foremost of kings, and on which I
have already discoursed to thee, and which is based upon the twenty-fifth, viz.,
Jiva, I then expounded to him.[1664] Having said all this, O monarch, to king
Viswavasu, I then addressed him, saying, Listen now to the answers that I give
unto the several questions that thou hast put to me. I now turn to the question,
which, O Gandharva, thou askest, viz., What is Universe and what is not-
universe? The Universe is Unmanifest and original Prakriti endued with the
principles of birth and death which are terrible (to those that are desirous of
Emancipation). It is, besides, possessed of the three attributes (of Sattwa, Rajas,
and Tamas), in consequence of its producing principles all of which are fraught
with those attributes.[1665] That which is Not-universe is Purusha divested of all
attributes. By Aswa and Aswa are meant the female and the male, i.e., the
former is Prakriti and the latter is Purusha. Similarly, Mitra is Purusha, and
Varuna is Prakriti.[1666] Knowledge, again, is said to be Prakriti, while the object
to be known is called Purusha. The Ignorant (Jiva), and the Knowing or Intelligent
are both Purusha without attributes (for it is Purusha that becomes Jiva when
invested with Ignorance). Thou hast asked what is Kah, who is endued with
change and who is unendued therewith. I answer, Kah is Purusha.[1667] That
which is endued with change is Prakriti. He that is not endued therewith is
Purusha. Similarly, that which is called Avidya (the unknowable) is Prakriti; and
that which is called Vidya is Purusha. Thou hast asked me about the Mobile and
the Immobile. Listen to what my answer is. That which is mobile is Prakriti, which
undergoing modification, constitutes the cause of Creation and Destruction. The
Immobile is Purusha, for without himself undergoing modifications he assists at
Creation and Destruction. (According to a different system of philosophy) that
which is Vedya is Prakriti; while that which is Avedya is Purusha. Both Prakriti
and Purusha are said to be unintelligent, stable, indestructible, unborn, and
eternal, according to the conclusions arrived at by philosophers conversant with
the topics included in the name of Adhyatma. In consequence of the
indestructibility of Prakriti in the matter of Creation, Prakriti, which is unborn, is
regarded as not subject to decay or destruction. Purusha, again, is indestructible
and unchangeable, for change it has none. The attributes that reside in Prakriti
are destructible, but not Prakriti herself. The learned, therefore, call Prakriti

indestructible. Prakriti also, by undergoing modifications, operates as the cause
of Creation. The created results appear and disappear, but not original Prakriti.
Hence also is Prakriti called indestructible. Thus have I told thee conclusions of
the Fourth Science based on the principles of ratiocinative inference and having
Emancipation for its end. Having acquired by the science of ratiocinative
inference and by waiting upon preceptors, the Rich, the Samans, and the
Yajushes, all the obligatory practices should be observed and all the Vedas
studied with reverence, O Viswavasu! O foremost of Gandharvas, they who study
the Vedas with all their branches but who do not know the Supreme Soul from
which all things take their birth and into which all things merge when destruction
comes, and which is the one object whose knowledge the Vedas seek to
inculcate, Indeed, they, who have no acquaintance with that which the Vedas
seek to establish, study the Vedas to no purpose and bear their burthen of such
study in vain. If a person desirous of butter churns the milk of the she-ass,
without finding what he seeks he simply meets with a substance that is as foul of
smell as ordure. After the same manner, if one, having studied the Vedas, fails to
comprehend what is Prakriti and what is Purusha, one only proves one‟s own
foolishness of understanding and bears a useless burthen (in the form of Vedic
lore).[1668] One should, with devoted attention, reflect on both Prakriti and
Purusha, so that one may avoid repeated birth and death. Reflection upon the
fact of one‟s repeated births and deaths and avoiding the religion of acts that is
productive at best of destructible results, one should betake oneself to the
indestructible religion of Yoga. O Kasyapa, if one continuously on the nature of
the Jiva-soul and its connection with the Supreme Soul, one then succeeds in
divesting oneself on all attributes and in beholding the Supreme Soul. The
Eternal and Unmanifest Supreme Soul is regarded by men of foolish
understandings to be different from the twenty-fifth or Jiva-soul. They are endued
with wisdom that behold both these as truly one and the same. Frightened at
repeated births and deaths, the Sankhyas and Yogins regard the Jiva-soul and
the Supreme Soul to be one and the same.‟
“Viswavasu then said, „Thou hast, O foremost of Brahmanas, said that Jiva-soul
is indestructible and truly undistinguished from the Supreme Soul. This, however,
is difficult to understand. It behoveth thee to once more discourse on this topic to
me. I have heard discourses on this subject from Jaigishavya, Aista, Devala, the
regenerate sage Parasara, the intelligent Varshaganya, Bhrigu, Panchasikha
Kapila, Suka, Gautama, Arshtisena, the high-souled Garga, Narada, Asuri, the
intelligent Paulastya, Sanatkumara, the high-souled Sukra, and my sire Kasyapa.
Subsequently I heard the discourses of Rudra and the intelligent Viswarupa, of
several of the deities, of the Pitris. and the Daityas. I have acquired all that they
say, for they generally discourse that eternal object of all knowledge. I desire,
however, to hear what thou mayst say on those topics with the aid of thy
intelligence. Thou art the foremost of all persons, and a learned lecturer on the
scriptures, and endued with great intelligence. There is nothing that is unknown
to thee. Thou art an ocean of the Srutis, as described, O Brahmana, in the world
of both the deities and Pitris. The great Rishis residing in the region of Brahma
say that Aditya himself, the eternal lord of all luminaries, is thy preceptor (in the

matter of this branch of knowledge). O Yajnavalkya, thou hast obtained the entire
science, O Brahmana, of the Sankhyas, as also the scriptures of the Yogins in
particular. Without doubt, thou art enlightened, fully conversant with the mobile
immobile universe. I desire to hear thee discourse on that knowledge, which may
be likened to clarified butter endued with solid grains.‟
“Yajnavalkya said, „Thou art, O foremost of Gandharvas, competent to
comprehend every knowledge. As, however, thou askest me do thou hear me
then discourse to thee according as I myself have obtained it from my preceptor.
Prakriti, which is unintelligent, is apprehended by Jiva. Jiva, however, cannot be
apprehended by Prakriti, O Gandharva. In consequence of Jiva being reflected in
Prakriti, the latter is called Pradhana by Sankhyas and Yogins conversant with
the original principles as indicated in the Srutis. O sinless one, the other,
beholding, beholds the twenty-fourth (Prakriti) and the twenty-fifth. (Soul); not
beholding, it beholds the twenty-sixth.[1669] The twenty-fifth thinks that there is
nothing higher than itself. In reality, however, though beholding, it does not
behold that (viz., the twenty-sixth) which beholds it.[1670] Men possessed of
wisdom should never accept the Twenty-fourth (viz., Prakriti, which is
unintelligent or inert) as identifiable with the Twenty-fifth or the Soul which has a
real and independent existence. The fish live in water. It goes thither impelled by
its own nature. As the fish, though living in the water, is to be regarded as
separate from it, after the same manner is the Twenty-fifth to be apprehended
(i.e., though the Twenty-fifth exists in a state of contact with the Twenty-fourth or
Prakriti, it is, however, in its real nature, separate from and independent of
Prakriti). When overwhelmed with the consciousness of meum or self, and when
unable to understand its identity with the Twenty-sixth, in fact, in consequence of
the illusion that invests it, of its co-existence with Prakriti, and of its own manner
of thinking, the Jiva-soul always skins down, but when freed from such
consciousness it goes upwards. When the Jiva-soul succeeds in apprehending
that it is one, and Prakriti with which it resides is another, then only does it, O
regenerate one, succeed in beholding the Supreme Soul and attaining to the
condition of Oneness with the universe. The Supreme is one, O king, and the
Twenty-fifth (or Jiva-soul) is another. In consequence, however, of the Supreme
overlying the Jiva-soul the wise regard both to be one and the same.[1671] For
these reasons, Yogins, and followers of the Sankhya system of philosophy,
terrified by the birth and death, blessed with sight of the Twenty-sixth, pure in
body and mind, and devoted to the Supreme Soul, and do not welcome the Jiva-
soul as indestructible.[1672] When one beholds the Supreme Soul and losing all
consciousness of individuality becomes identified with the Supreme, one than
becomes omniscient, and possessed of such omniscience one becomes freed
from the obligation of rebirth. I have thus discoursed to thee truly, sinless one,
about Prakriti which is unintelligent, and Jiva-soul which is possessed of
intelligence, and the Supreme Soul which is endued with omniscience, according
to the indications occurring in the Srutis. That man, who beholds not any
difference between the knower or the known, is both Kevala and not-Kevala, is
the original cause of the universe, is both Jiva-soul and the Supreme Soul.[1673]

“Viswavasu said, „O puissant one, thou hast duly and adequately discoursed on
that which is the origin of all the deities and which is productive of Emancipation.
Thou hast said what is true and excellent. May inexhaustible blessings always
attend thee, and may thy mind be ever united with intelligence!‟
“Yajnavalkya continued, „Having said those words, the prince of Gandharvas
proceeded towards heaven, shining in resplendence of beauty. Before leaving
me, the high-souled one duly honoured me by taking the accustomed turns round
my person, and I looked upon him, highly pleased. He inculcated the science he
had obtained from me unto those celestials that dwell in the regions of Brahman
and other deities, unto those that dwell on Earth, unto also the denizens of the
nether regions, and unto them that had adopted the path of Emancipation, O
king. The Sankhyas are devoted to the practices of their system. The Yogins are
devoted to the practices inculcated by their system. Others there are that are
desirous of achieving their Emancipation. Unto these latter this science is
productive of visible fruits, O lion among king. Emancipation flows from
Knowledge. Without Knowledge it can never be attained. The wise have said it,
O monarch. Hence, one should strive one‟s best for acquiring true Knowledge in
all its details, by which one may succeed in freeing oneself from birth and death.
Obtaining knowledge from a Brahmana or a Kshatriya or Vaisya or even a Sudra
who is of low birth, one endued with faith should always show reverence for such
knowledge. Birth and death cannot assail one that is endued with faith. All orders
of men are Brahmanas. All are sprung from Brahma. All men utter
Brahma.[1674] Aided by an understanding that is derived from and directed to
Brahma. I inculcated this science treating of Prakriti and Purusha. Indeed, this
whole universe is Brahma. From the mouth of Brahma sprung the Brahmanas;
from his arms, sprung the Kshatriyas; from his navel, the Vaisya; and from his
feet, the Sudras. All the orders, (having sprung in this way) should not be
regarded as pilfering from one another. Impelled by Ignorance, all men meet with
death and attain, O king, to birth that is the cause of acts.[1675] Divested of
Knowledge, all orders of men, dragged by terrible Ignorance, fall into varied
orders of being due to the principles that flow from Prakriti. For this reason, all
should, by every means, seek to acquire Knowledge. I have told thee that every
person is entitled to strive for its acquisition. One that is possessed of Knowledge
is a Brahmana. Others, (viz., Kshatriyas and Vaisyas and Sudras) are possessed
of knowledge. Hence, this science of Emancipation is always open to them all.
This, O king has been said by the Wise. The questions thou hadst asked me
have all been answered by me agreeably to the truth. Do thou, therefore, cast off
all grief. Go thou to the other end of this enquiry. Thy questions were good.
Blessings on thy head for ever!
“Bhishma continued—Thus instructed by the intelligent Yajnavalkya the king of
Mithila became filled with joy. The king honoured that foremost of ascetics by
walking round his person. Dismissed by the monarch, he departed from his court.
King Daivarati, having obtained the knowledge of the religion of Emancipation,
took his seat, and touching a million of kine and a quantity of gold and a measure
of gems and jewels, gave them away unto a number of Brahmanas. Installing his
son in the sovereignty of the Videhas, the old king began to live, adopting the

practices of the Yatis. Thinking mainly of all ordinary duties and their derelictions
(as laid down in the scriptures), the king began to study the science of the
Sankhyas and the Yogins in their entirety. Regarding himself to be Infinite, he
began to reflect on only the Eternal and Independent One. He cast off all ordinary
duties and their derelictions, Virtue and Vice, Truth and Falsehood, Birth and
Death, and all other things appertaining to the principles produced by Prakriti.
Both Sankhyas and Yogins, agreeably to the teachings of their sciences, regard
this universe to be due to the action of the Manifest and the Unmanifest. The
learned say that Brahma is freed from good and evil, is self-dependent, the
highest of the high, Eternal, and Pure. Do thou, therefore, O monarch, become
Pure! The giver, the receiver of the gift, the gift itself, and that which is ordered to
be given away, are all to be deemed as the unmanifest Soul. The Soul is the
Soul‟s one possession. Who, therefore, can be a stranger to one? Do thou think
always in this way. Never think otherwise. He who does not know what is Prakriti
possessed of attributes and what is Purusha transcending attributes, only he, not
possessed as he is of knowledge, repairs to sacred waters and performs
sacrifices. Not by study of the Vedas, not by penances, not by sacrifices O son of
Kuru, can one attain to the status of Brahma. Only when one succeeds in
apprehending the Supreme or Unmanifest, one comes to be regarded with
reverence. They who wait upon Mahat attain to regions of Mahat. They who wait
upon Consciousness, attain to the spot that belongs to Consciousness. They
who wait upon what is higher attain to places that are higher than these. Those
persons, learned in the scriptures, who succeed in apprehending Eternal Brahma
who is higher than Unmanifest Prakriti, succeed in obtaining that which
transcends birth and death, which is free from attributes, and which is both
existent and non-existent I got all this knowledge from Janaka. The latter had
obtained it from Yajnavalkya. Knowledge is very superior. Sacrifices cannot
compare with it. With the aid of Knowledge one succeeds in crossing the world‟s
ocean which is full of difficulties and dangers. One can never cross that ocean by
means of sacrifices. Birth and death, and other impediments, O king, men of
knowledge say, one cannot pass over by ordinary exertion.[1676] Men attain to
heaven through sacrifices, penances, vows, and observances. But they have
again to fall down therefrom on the Earth. Do thou, therefore, adore with
reverence that which is Supreme, most pure, blessed, stainless, and sacred, and
which transcends all states (being Emancipation itself). By apprehending
Kshetra, O king, and by performing the Sacrifice that consists in the acquisition of
Knowledge, thou wilt really be wise. In former time, Yajnavalkya did that good to
king Janaka which is derivable from a study of the Upanishads. The Eternal and
Immutable Supreme was the topic about which the great Rishi had discoursed to
the king of Mithila. It enabled him to attain to that Brahma which is auspicious,
and immortal, and which transcends all kinds of sorrow.”

SECTION CCCXX
“Yudhishthira said, „Having acquired great power and great wealth, and having
obtained a long period of life, how may one succeed in avoiding death? By which
of these means, viz., penances, or the accomplishment of the diverse acts (laid
down in the Vedas), or by knowledge of the Srutis, or the application of
medicines, can one succeed in avoiding decrepitude and death?‟
“Bhishma said, „In this connection is cited the old narrative of Panchasikha who
was a Bhikshu in his practices and Janaka. Once on a time Janaka, the ruler of
the Videhas, questioned the great Rishi Panchasikha, who was the foremost of
all persons conversant with the Vedas and who had all his doubts removed in
respect of the purpose and import of all duties. The King said,--By what conduct,
O holy one may one transcend decrepitude and death? It is by penances, or by
the understanding, or by religious acts (like sacrifices, and vows), or by study and
knowledge of the scriptures?--Thus addressed by the ruler of the Vedas the
learned Panchasikha, conversant with all invisible things, answered, saying,--
There is no prevention of these two (viz., decrepitude and death); nor is it true
that cannot be prevented under any circumstances. Neither days, nor nights, nor
months, cease to go on. Only that man, who, though transitory, betakes himself
to the eternal path (of the religion of Nivritti or abstention from all acts) succeeds
in avoiding birth and death. Destruction overtakes, all creatures. All creatures
seem to be ceaselessly borne along the infinite current of time. Those that are
borne along the infinite current of time which is without a raft (to rescue) and
which is infested by those two mighty alligators, viz., decrepitude and death, sink
down without anybody coming to their assistance. As one is swept along that
current, one fails to find any friend for help and one fails to be inspired with
interest for any one else. One meets with spouses and other friends only on
one‟s road. One had never before enjoyed this kind of companionship with any
one for any length of time. Creatures, as they are borne along the current of time,
become repeatedly attracted towards one another like masses of clouds moved
by the wind meeting one another with loud sound. Decrepitude and death are
devourers of all creatures, like wolves. Indeed, they devour the strong and the
weak, the short and the tall. Among creatures, therefore, which are all so
transitory, only the Soul exists eternally. Why should he, then, rejoice when
creatures are born and why should he grieve when they die? Whence have I
come. Who am I? Whither shall I go?
Whose am I? Before what do I rest? What shall I be? For what reason then
dost thou grieve for what? Who else then thou wilt behold heaven or hell
(for what thou doest)? Hence, without throwing aside the scriptures, one
should make gifts and perform sacrifices!--“
SECTION CCCXXI
“Yudhishthira said, „Without abandoning the domestic mode of life, O royal sage
of Kuru‟s race, who ever attained to Emancipation which is the annihilation of the

Understanding (and the other faculties)? Do tell me this! How may the gross and
the subtile form be cast off? Do thou also, O grandsire, tell me what the supreme
excellence of Emancipation is.‟
between Janaka and Sulabha, O Bharata! In days of yore there was a king of
Mithila, of the name of Dharmadhyaja, of Janaka‟s race. He was devoted to the
practices of the religion of Renunciation. He was well conversant with the Vedas,
with the scriptures on Emancipation, and with the scriptures bearing on his own
duty as a king. Subjugating his senses, he ruled his Earth. Hearing of his good
behaviour in the world, many men of wisdom, well-conversant with wisdom, O
foremost of men, desired to imitate him. „In the same Satya Yuga, a woman of
the name of Sulabha, belonging to the mendicant order, practised the duties of
Yoga and wandered over the whole Earth. In course of her wanderings over the
Earth, Sulabha heard from many Dandis of different places that the ruler of
Mithila was devoted to the religion of Emancipation. Hearing this report about
king Janaka and desirous of ascertaining whether it was true or not, Sulabha
became desirous of having a personal interview with Janaka. Abandoning, by her
Yoga powers, her former form and features, Sulabha assumed the most faultless
features and unrivalled beauty. In the twinkling of an eye and with the speed of
the quickest shaft, the fair-browed lady of eyes like lotus-petals repaired to the
capital of the Videhas. Arrived at the chief city of Mithila teeming with a large
population, she adopted the guise of a mendicant and presented herself before
the king. The monarch, beholding, her delicate form, became filled with wonder
and enquired who she was, whose she was, and whence she came. Welcoming
her, he assigned her an excellent seat, honoured her by offering water to wash
her feet, and gratified her with excellent refreshments. Refreshed duly and
gratified with the rites of hospitality offered unto her, Sulabha, the female
mendicant, urged the king, who was surrounded by his ministers and seated in
the midst of learned scholars, (to declare himself in respect of his adherence to
the religion of Emancipation). Doubting whether Janaka had succeeded in
attaining to Emancipation, by following the religion of Nivritti, Sulabha, endued
with Yoga-power, entered the understanding of the king by her own
understanding. Restraining, by means of the rays of light that emanated from her
own eyes, the rays issuing from the eyes of the king, the lady, desirous of
ascertaining the truth, bound up king Janaka with Yoga bonds.[1677]‟ That best
of monarch, priding himself upon his own invincibleness and defeating the
intentions of Sulabha seized her resolution with his own resolution.[1678] The
king, in his subtile form, was without the royal umbrella and sceptre. The lady
Sulabha, in hers, was without the triple stick. Both staying then in the same
(gross) form, thus conversed with each other. Listen to that conversation as it
happened between the monarch and Sulabha.
“Janaka said, O holy lady, to what course of conduct art thou devoted? Whose
art thou? Whence hast thou come? After finishing thy business here, whither wilt
thou go? No one can, without questioning, ascertain another‟s acquaintance with
the scriptures, or age, or order of birth. Thou shouldst, therefore, answer these
questions of mine, when thou has come to me. Know that I am truly freed from all

vanity in respect of my royal umbrella and sceptre. I wish to know thee
thoroughly. Thou art deserving I hold, of my respect.[1679] Do thou listen to me
as I speak to thee on Emancipation for there is none else (in this world) that can
discourse to thee on that topic. Hear me also I tell thee who that person is from
whom in days of old I acquired this distinguishing knowledge.[1680] I am the
beloved disciple of the high-souled and venerable Panchasikha, belonging to the
mendicant order, of Parasara‟s race. My doubts have been dispelled and am fully
conversant with the Sankhya and the Yoga systems, and the ordinances as in
respect of sacrifices and other rites, which constitutes the three well-known paths
of Emancipation.[1681] Wandering over the earth and pursuing the while the path
that is pointed out by the scriptures, the learned Panchasikha formerly dwelt in
happiness in my abode for a period of four months in the rainy season. That
foremost of Sankhyas discoursed to me, agreeably to the truth, and in an
intelligible manner suited to my comprehension, on the several kinds of means
for attaining to Emancipation. He did not, however, command me to give up my
kingdom. Freed from attachments, and fixing my Soul on supreme Brahma, and
unmoved by companionship, I lived, practising in its entirety that triple conduct
which is laid down in treatises on Emancipation. Renunciation (of all kinds of
attachments) is the highest means prescribed for Emancipation. It is from
Knowledge that Renunciation, by which one becomes freed is said to flow. From
Knowledge arises the endeavour after Yoga, and through that endeavour one
attains to knowledge of Self or Soul. Through knowledge of Self one transcends
joy and grief. That enables one to transcend death and attain to high success.
That high intelligence (knowledge of Self) has been acquired by me, and
accordingly I have transcended all pairs of opposites. Even in this life have I
been freed from stupefaction and have transcended all attachments. As a soil,
saturated with water and softened thereby, causes the (sown) seed to sprout
forth, after the same manner, the acts of men cause rebirth. As a seed, fried on a
pan or otherwise, becomes unable to sprout forth although the capacity for
sprouting was there, after the same manner my understanding having been freed
from the productive principle constituted by desire, by the instruction of the holy
Panchasikha of the mendicant order, it no longer produces its fruit in the form of
attachment to the object of the senses. I never experience love for my spouse or
hate for my foes. Indeed, I keep aloof from both, beholding the fruitlessness of
attachment and wrath. I regard both persons equally, viz., him that smears my
right hand with sandal-paste and him that wounds my left. Having attained my
(true) object, I am happy, and look equally upon a clod of earth, a piece of stone,
and a lump of gold. I am freed from attachments of every kind, though am
engaged in ruling a kingdom. In consequence of all this I am distinguished over
all bearers of triple sticks. Some foremost of men that are conversant with the
topic of Emancipation say that Emancipation has a triple path, (these are
knowledge, Yoga, and sacrifices and rites). Some regard knowledge having all
things of the world for its object as the means of emancipation. Some hold that
the total renunciation of acts (both external and internal) is the means thereof.
Another class of persons conversant with the scriptures of Emancipation say that
Knowledge is the single means. Other, viz. Yatis, endued with subtile vision, hold

that acts constitute the means. The high-souled Panchasikha, discarding both
the opinion about knowledge and acts, regarded the third as the only means of
Emancipation. If men leading the domestic mode of life be endued with Yama
and Niyama, they become the equals of Sannyasins. If, on the other hand,
Sannyasins be endued with desire and aversion and spouses and honour and
pride and affection, they become the equals of men leading domestic modes of
life.[1682] If one can attain to Emancipation by means of knowledge, then may
Emancipation exist in triple sticks (for there is nothing to prevent the bearers of
such stick from acquiring the needful knowledge). Why then may Emancipation
not exist in the umbrella and the sceptre as well, especially when there is equal
reason in taking up the triple stick and the sceptre?[1683] One becomes attached
to all those things and acts with which one has need for the sake of one‟s own
self for particular reasons.[1684] If a person, beholding the faults of the domestic
mode of life, casts it off for adopting another mode (which he considers to be
fraught with great merit), be cannot, for such rejection and adoption be regarded
as one that is once freed from all attachments, (for all that he has done has been
to attach himself to a new mode after having freed himself from a previous
one).[1685] Sovereignty is fraught with the rewarding and the chastising of
others. The life of a mendicant is equally fraught with the same (for mendicants
also reward and chastise those they can). When, therefore, mendicants are
similar to kings in this respect, why would mendicants only attain to
Emancipation, and not kings? Notwithstanding the possession of sovereignty,
therefore, one becomes cleansed of all sins by means of knowledge alone, living
the while in Supreme Brahma. The wearing of brown cloths, shaving of the head,
bearing of the triple stick, and the Kamandalu,--these are the outward signs of
one‟s mode of life. These have no value in aiding one to the attainment of
Emancipation. When, notwithstanding the adoption of these emblems of a
particular mode of life, knowledge alone becomes the cause of one‟s
Emancipation from sorrow, it would appear that the adoption of mere emblems is
perfectly useless. Or, if, beholding the mitigation of sorrow in it, thou hast
betaken thyself to these emblems of Sannyasi, why then should not the
mitigation of sorrow be beheld in the umbrella and the sceptre to which I have
betaken myself? Emancipation does not exist in poverty; nor is bondage to be
found in affluence. One attains to Emancipation through Knowledge alone,
whether one is indigent or affluent. For these reasons, know that I am living in a
condition of freedom, though ostensibly engaged in the enjoyments of religion,
wealth, and pleasure, in the form of kingdom and spouses, which constitute a
field of bondage (for the generality of men). The bonds constituted by kingdom
and affluence, and the bondage to attachments, I have cut off with the sword of
Renunciation whetted on the stone of the scriptures bearing upon Emancipation.
As regards myself then, I tell thee that I have become freed in this way. O lady of
the mendicant order, I cherish an affection for thee. But that should not prevent
me from telling thee that thy behaviour does not correspond with the practices of
the mode of life to which thou hast betaken thyself! Thou hast great delicacy of
formation. Thou hast an exceedingly shapely form. The age is young. Thou hast
all these, and thou hast Niyama (subjugation of the senses). I doubt it verily.

Thou hast stopped up my body (by entering into me with the aid of the Yoga
power) for ascertaining as to whether I am really emancipated or not. This act of
thine ill corresponds with that mode of life whose emblems thou bearest. For
Yogin that is endued with desire, the triple stick is unfit. As regards thyself, thou
dost not adhere to thy stick. As regards those that are freed, it behoves even
them to protect themselves from fall.[1686] Listen now to me as to what thy
transgression has been in consequence of thy contact with me and thy having
entered into my gross body with the aid of thy understanding. To what reason is
thy entrance to be ascribed into my kingdom or my palace? At whose sign hast
thou entered into my heart?[1687] Thou belongest to the foremost of all the
orders, being, as thou art, a Brahmana woman. As regards myself, however, I
am a Kshatriya. There is no union for us two. Do not help to cause an
intermixture of colours. Thou livest in the practice of those duties that lead to
Emancipation. I live in the domestic mode of life, This act of thine, therefore, is
another evil thou hast done, for it produces an unnatural union of two opposite
modes of life. I do not know whether thou belongest to my own gotra or dost not
belong to it. As regards thyself also, thou dost not know who I am (viz., to what
gotra I belong). If thou art of my own gotra, thou hast, by entering into my person,
produced another evil,--the evil, viz., of unnatural union. If, again, thy husband be
alive and dwelling in a distant place, thy union with me has produced the fourth
evil of sinfulness, for thou art not one with whom I may be lawfully united. Dost
thou perpetrate all these sinful acts, impelled by the motive of accomplishing a
particular object? Dost thou do these from ignorance or from perverted
intelligence? If, again, in consequence of thy evil nature thou hast thus become
thoroughly independent or unrestrained in thy behaviour, I tell thee that if thou
hast any knowledge of the scriptures, thou wilt understand that everything thou
hast done has been productive of evil. A third fault attaches to thee in
consequence of these acts of thine, a fault that is destructive of peace of mind.
By endeavouring to display thy superiority, the indication of a wicked woman is
seen in thee. Desirous of asserting thy victory as thou art, it is not myself alone
whom thou wishest to defeat, for it is plain that thou wishest to obtain a victory
over even the whole of my court (consisting of these learned and very superior
Brahmanas), by casting thy eyes in this way towards all these meritorious
Brahmanas, it is evident that thou desirest to humiliate them all and glorify thyself
(at their expense). Stupefied by thy pride of Yoga-puissance that has been born
of thy jealousy (at sight of my power,) thou hast caused a union of thy
understanding with mine and thereby hast really mingled together nectar with
poison. That union, again, of man and woman, when each covets the other, is
sweet as nectar. That association, however, of man and woman when the latter,
herself coveting, fails to obtain an individual of the opposite sex that does not
covet her, is, instead of being a merit, only a fault that is as noxious as poison.
Do not continue to touch me. Know that I am righteous. Do thou act according to
thy own scriptures. The enquiry thou hadst wished to make, viz., whether I am or
I am not emancipated, has been finished. It behoves thee not to conceal from me
all thy secret motives. It behoves thee not, that thus disguisest thyself, to conceal
from me what thy object is, that is whether this call of thine has been prompted

by the desire of accomplishing some object of thy own or whether thou hast
come for accomplishing the object of some other king (that is hostile to me). One
should never appear deceitfully before a king; nor before a Brahmana; nor before
one‟s wife when that wife is possessed of every wifely virtue. Those who appear
in deceitful guise before these three very soon meet with destruction. The power
of kings consists in their sovereignty. The power of Brahmanas conversant with
the Vedas is in the Vedas. Women wield a high power in consequence of their
beauty and youth and blessedness.
These then are powerful in the possession of these powers. He, therefore,
that is desirous of accomplishing his own object should always approach
these three with sincerity and candour, insincerity and deceit fail to
produce success (in these three quarters). It behoveth thee, therefore,
to apprise me of the order to which thou belongest by birth, of thy
learning and conduct and disposition and nature, as also of the object
thou hast in view in coming to this place!--“
“Bhishma continued, „Though rebuked by the king in these unpleasant, improper,
and ill-applied words, the lady Sulabha was not at all abashed. After the king
had said these words, the beautiful Sulabha then addressed herself for saying
the following words in reply that were more handsome than her person.
“‟Sulabha said, O king, speech ought always to be free from the nine verbal faults
and the nine faults of judgment. It should also, while setting forth the meaning
with perspicuity, be possessed of the eighteen well-known merits.[1688]
Ambiguity, ascertainment of the faults and merits of premises and conclusions,
weighing the relative strength or weakness of those faults and merits,
establishment of the conclusion, and the element of persuasiveness or otherwise
that attaches to the conclusion thus arrived at,--these five characteristics
appertaining to the sense—constitute the authoritativeness of what is said. Listen
now to the characteristics of these requirements beginning with ambiguity, one
after another, as I expound them according to the combinations. When
knowledge rests on distinction in consequence of the object to be known being
different from one another, and when (as regards the comprehension of the
subject) the understanding rests upon many points one after another, the
combination of words (in whose case this occurs) is said to be vitiated by
ambiguity.[1689] By ascertainment (of faults and merits), called Sankhya, is
meant the establishment, by elimination, of faults or merits (in premises and
conclusions), adopting tentative meanings.[1690] Krama or weighing the relative
strength or weakness of the faults or merits (ascertained by the above process),
consists in settling the propriety of the priority or subsequence of the words
employed in a sentence. This is the meaning attached to the word Krama by
persons conversant with the interpretation of sentences or texts. By Conclusion
is meant the final determination, after this examination of what has been said on
the subjects of religion, pleasure, wealth, and Emancipation, in respect of what is
particularly is that has been said in the text.[1691] The sorrow born of wish or
aversion increases to a great measure. The conduct, O king, that one pursues in
such a matter (for dispelling the sorrow experienced) is called Prayojanam.[1692]
Take it for certain, O king, at my word, that these characteristics of Ambiguity and

the other (numbering five in all), when occurring together, constitute a complete
and intelligible sentence.[1693] The words I shall utter will be fraught with sense,
free from ambiguity (in consequence of each of them not being symbols of many
things), logical, free from pleonasm or tautology, smooth, certain, free from
bombast, agreeable or sweet, truthful, not inconsistent with the aggregate of
three, (viz., Righteousness, Wealth and Pleasure), refined (i.e., free from
Prakriti), not elliptical or imperfect, destitute of harshness or difficulty of
comprehension, characterised by due order, not far-fetched in respect of sense,
corrected with one another as cause and effect and each having a specific
object.[1694] I shall not tell thee anything, prompted by desire or wrath or fear or
cupidity or abjectness or deceit or shame or compassion or pride. (I answer thee
because it is proper for me to answer what thou hast said). When the speaker,
the hearer, and the words said, thoroughly agree with one another in course of a
speech, then does the sense or meaning come out very clearly. When, in the
matter of what is to be said, the speaker shows disregard for the understanding
of the hearer by uttering words whose meaning is understood by himself, then,
however good those words may be, they become incapable of being seized by
the hearer.[1695] That speaker, again, who, abandoning all regard for his own
meaning uses words that are of excellent sound and sense, awakens only
erroneous, impressions in the mind of the hearer. Such words in such connection
become certainly faulty. That speaker, however, who employs words that are,
while expressing his own meaning, intelligible to the hearer, as well, truly
deserves to be called a speaker. No other man deserves the name. It behoveth
thee, therefore, O king, to hear with concentrated attention these words of mine,
fraught with meaning and endued with wealth of vocables. Thou hast asked me
who I am, whose I am, whence I am coming, etc. Listen to me, O king, with
undivided mind, as I answer these questions of thine. As lac and wood, as grains
of dust and drops of water, exist commingled when brought together, even so are
the existences of all creatures.[1696] Sound, touch, taste, form, and scent, these
and the senses, though diverse in respect of their essences, exist yet in a state
of commingling like lac and wood. It is again well known that nobody asks any of
these, saying, who art thou? Each of them also has no knowledge either of itself
or of the others. The eye cannot see itself. The ear cannot hear itself. The eye,
again, cannot discharge the functions of any of the other senses, nor can any of
the senses discharge the functions of any sense save its own. If all of them even
combine together, even they fail to know their own selves as dust and water
mingled together cannot know each other though existing in a state of union. In
order to discharge their respective functions, they await the contact of objects
that are external to them. The eye, form, and light, constitute the three requisites
of the operation called seeing. The same, as in this case, happens in respect of
the operations of the other senses and the ideas which is their result. Then,
again, between the functions of the senses (called vision, hearing, etc.,) and the
ideas which are their result (viz., form, sound, etc.), the mind is an entity other
than the senses And is regarded to have an action of its own. With its help one
distinguishes what is existent from what is non-existent for arriving at certainty (in
the matter of all ideas derived from the senses). With the five senses of

knowledge and five senses of action, the mind makes a total of eleven. The
twelfth is the Understanding. When doubt arises in respect of what is to be
known, the Understanding comes forward and settles all doubts (for aiding
correct apprehension). After the twelfth, Sattwa is another principle numbering
the thirteenth. With its help creatures are distinguished as possessing more of it
or less of it in their constitutions.[1697] After this, Consciousness (of self) is
another principle (numbering the fourteenth). It helps one to an apprehension of
self as distinguished from what is not self. Desire is the fifteenth principle, O king.
Unto it inhere the whole universe.[1698] The sixteenth principle is Avidya. Unto it
inhere the seventeenth and the eighteenth principles called Prakriti and Vyakti
(i.e., Maya and Prakasa). Happiness and sorrow, decrepitude and death,
acquisition and loss, the agreeable end the disagreeable,--these constitute the
nineteenth principle and are called couples of opposites. Beyond the nineteenth
principle is another, viz., Time called the twentieth. Know that the births and
death of all creatures are due to the action of this twentieth principle. These
twenty exist together. Besides these, the five Great primal elements, and
existence and non-existence, bring up the tale to seven and twenty. Beyond
these, are three others, named Vidhi, Sukra, and Vala, that make the tale reach
thirty.[1699] That in which these ten and twenty principles occur is said to be
body. Some persons regard unmanifest Prakriti to be the source or cause of
these thirty principles. (This is the view of the atheistic Sankhya school). The
Kanadas of gross vision regard the Manifest (or atoms) to be their cause.
Whether the Unmanifest or the Manifest be their cause, or whether the two (viz.,
the Supreme or Purusha and the Manifest or atoms) be regarded as their cause,
or fourthly, whether the four together (viz., the Supreme or Purusha and his Maya
and Jiva and Avidya or Ignorance) be the cause, they that are conversant with
Adhyatma behold Prakriti as the cause of all creatures. That Prakriti which is
Unmanifest, becomes manifest in the form of these principles. Myself, thyself, O
monarch, and all others that are endued with body are the result of that Prakriti
(so far as our bodies are concerned). Insemination and other (embryonic)
conditions are due to the mixture of the vital seed and blood. In consequence of
insemination the result which first appears is called by the name of „Kalala.‟ From
„Kalala‟ arises what is called Vudvuda (bubble). From the stage called „Vudvuda‟
springs what is called „Pesi.‟ From the condition called „Pesi‟ that stage arises in
which the various limbs become manifested. From this last condition appear nails
and hair. Upon the expiration of the ninth month, O king of Mithila, the creature
takes its birth so that, its sex being known, it comes to be called a boy or girl.
When the creature issues out of the womb, the form it presents is such that its
nails and fingers seem to be of the hue of burnished copper. The next stage is
said to be infancy, when the form that was seen at the time of birth becomes
changed. From infancy youth is reached, and from youth, old age. As the
creature advances from one stage into another, the form presented in the
previous stage becomes changed. The constituent elements of the body, which
serve diverse functions in the general economy, undergo change every moment
in every creature. Those changes, however, are so minute that they cannot be
noticed.[1700] The birth of particles, and their death, in each successive

condition, can not be marked, O king, even as one cannot mark the changes in
the flame of a burning lamp.[1701] When such is the state of the bodies of all
creatures,--that is when that which is called the body is changing incessantly
even like the rapid locomotion of a steed of good mettle,--who then has come
whence or not whence, or whose is it or whose is it not, or whence does it not
arise? What connection does there exist between creatures and their own
bodies?[1702] As from the contact of flint with iron, or from two sticks of wood
when rubbed against each other, fire is generated, even so are creatures
generated from the combination of the (thirty) principles already named. Indeed,
as thou thyself seest thy own body in thy body and as thou thyself seest thy soul
in thy own soul, why is it that thou dost not see thy own body and thy own soul in
the bodies and souls of others? If it is true that thou seest an identity with thyself
and others, why then didst thou ask me who I am and whose? If it is true that
hast, O king been freed from the knowledge of duality that (erroneously) says—
this is mine and this other is not mine,--then what use is there with such
questions as Who art thou, whose art thou and whence dost thou come? What
indications of Emancipation can be said to occur in that king who acts as others
act towards enemies and allies and neutrals and in victory and truce and war?
What indications of Emancipation occur in him who does not know the true
nature of the aggregate of three as manifested in seven ways in all acts and who,
on that account, is attached to that aggregate of three?[1703] What indications of
Emancipation exist in him who fails to cast an equal eye on the agreeable, on the
weak, and the strong? Unworthy as thou art of it, thy pretence of Emancipation
should be put down by thy counsellers! This thy endeavour to attain to
Emancipation (when thou hast so many faults) is like the use of medicine by a
patient who indulges in all kinds of forbidden food and practices. O chastiser of
foes, reflecting upon spouses and other sources of attachment, one should
behold these in one‟s own soul. What else can be looked upon as the indication
of Emancipation? Listen now to me as I speak in detail of these and certain other
minute sources of attachment appertaining to the four well known acts (of lying
down for slumber, enjoyment, eating, and dressing) to which thou art still bound
though thou professest thyself to have adopted the religion of Emancipation.
That man who has to rule the whole world must, indeed, be a single king without
a second. He is obliged to live in only a single palace. In that palace he has again
only one sleeping chamber. In that chamber he has, again, only one bed on
which at night he is to lie down. Half that bed again he is obliged to give to his
Queen-consort. This may serve as an example of how little the king‟s share is of
all he is said to own. This is the case with his objects of enjoyment, with the food
he eats, and with the robes he wears. He is thus attached to a very limited share
of all things. He is, again, attached to the duties of rewarding and punishing. The
king is always dependent on others. He enjoys a very small share of all he is
supposed to own, and to that small share he is forced to be attached (as well as
others are attached to their respective possessions). In the matter also of peace
and war, the king cannot be said to be independent. In the matter of women, of
sports and other kinds of enjoyment, the king‟s inclinations are exceedingly
circumscribed. In the matter of taking counsel and in the assembly of his

councillors what independence can the king be said to have? When, indeed, he
sets his orders on other men, he is said to be thoroughly independent. But then
the moment after, in the several matters of his orders, his independence is
barred by the very men whom he has ordered.[1704] If the king desires to sleep,
he cannot gratify his desire, resisted by those who have business to transact with
him. He must sleep when permitted, and while sleeping he is obliged to wake up
for attending to those that have urgent business with him—bathe, touch, drink,
eat, pour libations on the fire, perform sacrifices, speak, hear,--these are the
words which kings have to hear from others and hearing them have to slave to
those that utter them. Men come in batches to the king and solicit him for gifts.
Being, how-ever, the protector of the general treasury, he cannot make gifts unto
even the most deserving. If he makes gifts, the treasury becomes exhausted. If
he does not, disappointed solicitors look upon him with hostile eyes. He becomes
vexed and as the result of this, misanthropical feelings soon invade his mind. If
many wise and heroic and wealthy men reside together, the king‟s mind begins
to be filled with distrust in consequence. Even when there is no cause of fear, the
king entertains fear of those that always wait upon and worship him. Those I
have mentioned O king, also find fault with him. Behold, in what way the king‟s
fears may arise from even them! Then again all men are kings in their own
houses. All men, again, in their own houses are house-holders. Like kings, O
Janaka, all men in their own houses chastise and reward. Like kings others also
have sons and spouses and their own selves and treasuries and friends and
stores. In these respects the king is not different from other men.—The country is
ruined,--the city is consumed by fire,--the foremost of elephants is dead,--at all
this the king yields to grief like others, little regarding that these impressions are
all due to ignorance and error. The king is seldom freed from mental griefs
caused by desire and aversion and fear. He is generally afflicted also by
headaches and diverse diseases of the kind. The king is afflicted (like others) by
all couples of opposites (as pleasure and pain, etc). He is alarmed at everything.
Indeed, full of foes and impediments as kingdom is, the king, while he enjoys it,
passes nights of sleeplessness. Sovereignty, therefore, is blessed with an
exceedingly small share of happiness. The misery with which it is endued is very
great. It is as unsubstantial as burning flames fed by straw or the bubbles of froth
seen on the surface of water. Who is there that would like to obtain sovereignty,
or having acquired sovereignty can hope to win tranquillity? Thou regardest this
kingdom and this palace to be thine. Thou thinkest also this army, this treasury,
and these counsellers to belong to thee. Whose, however, in reality are they,
and whose are they not? Allies, ministers, capital, provinces, punishment,
treasury, and the king, these seven which constitute the limbs of a kingdom exist,
depending upon one another, like three sticks standing with one another‟s
support. The merits of each are set off by the merits of the others. Which of them
can be said to be superior to the rest? At those times those particular ones are
regarded as distinguished above the rest when some important end is served
through their agency. Superiority, for the time being, is said to attach to that one
whose efficacy is thus seen. The seven limbs already mentioned, O best of
kings, and the three others, forming an aggregate of ten, supporting one another,

are said to enjoy the kingdom like the king himself.[1705] That king who is
endued with great energy and who is firmly attached to Kshatriya practices,
should be satisfied with only a tenth part of the produce of the subject‟s field.
Other kings are seen to be satisfied with less than a tenth part of such produce.
There is no one who owns the kingly office without some one else owning it in
the world, and there is no kingdom without a king.[1706] If there be no kingdom,
there can be no righteousness, and if there be no righteousness, whence can
Emancipation arise? Whatever merit is most sacred and the highest, belongs to
kings and kingdoms.[1707] By ruling a kingdom well, a king earns the merit that
attaches to a Horse-sacrifice with the whole Earth given away as Dakshina. But
how many kings are there that rule their kingdoms well? O ruler of Mithila, I can
mention hundreds and thousands of faults like these that attach to kings and
kingdoms. Then, again, when I have no real connection with even my body, how
then can I be said to have any contact with the bodies of others? Thou canst not
charge me with having endeavoured to bring about an intermixture of castes.
Hast thou heard the religion of Emancipation in its entirety from the lips of
Panchasikha together with its means, its methods, its practices, and its
conclusion?[1708] If thou hast prevailed over all thy bonds and freed thyself from
all attachments, may I ask thee, O king, who thou preservest thy connections still
with this umbrella and these other appendages of royalty? I think that thou hast
not listened to the scriptures, or, thou hast listened to them without any
advantage, or, perhaps, thou hast listened to some other treatises looking like
the scriptures. It seems that thou art possessed only of worldly knowledge, and
that like an ordinary man of the world thou art bound by the bonds of touch and
spouses and mansions and the like. If it be true that thou Met been emancipated
from all bonds, what harm have I done thee by entering thy person with only my
Intellect? With Yatis, among all orders of men, the custom is to dwell in
uninhabited or deserted abodes. What harm then have I done to whom by
entering thy understanding which is truly of real knowledge? I have not touched
thee, O king, with my hands, of arms, or feet, or thighs, O sinless one, or with
any other part of the body. Thou art born in a high race. Thou hast modesty.
Thou hast foresight. Whether the act has been good or bad, my entrance into thy
body has been a private one, concerning us two only. Was it not improper for
thee to publish that private act before all thy court? These Brahmanas are all
worthy of respect. They are foremost of preceptors. Thou also art entitled to their
respect, being their king. Doing them reverence, thou art entitled to receive
reverence from them. Reflecting on all this, it was not proper for thee to proclaim
before these foremost of men the fact of this congress between two persons of
opposite sexes, if, indeed, thou art really acquainted with the rules of propriety in
respect of speech. O king of Mithila, I am staying in thee without touching thee at
all even like a drop of water on a lotus leaf that stays on it without drenching it in
the least. If, notwithstanding instructions of Panchasikha of the mendicant order,
thy knowledge has become abstracted from the sensual objects to which it
relates? Thou hast, it is plain, fallen off from the domestic mode of life but thou
hast not yet attained to Emancipation that is so difficult to arrive at. Thou stayest
between the two, pretending that thou hast reached the goal of Emancipation.

The contact of one that is emancipated with another that has been so, or
Purusha with Prakriti, cannot lead to an intermingling of the kind thou dreariest.
Only those that regard the soul to be identical with the body, and that think the
several orders and modes of life to be really different from one another, are open
to the error of supposing an intermingling to be possible. My body is different
from thine. But my soul is not different from thy soul. When I am able to realise
this, I have not the slightest doubt that my understanding is really not staying in
thine though I have entered into thee by Yoga.[1709] A pot is borne in the hand.
In the pot is milk. On the milk is a fly. Though the hand and pot, the pot and milk,
and the milk and the fly, exist together, yet are they all distinct from each other.
The pot does not partake the nature of the milk. Nor does the milk partake the
nature of the fly. The condition of each is dependent on itself, and can never be
altered by the condition of that other with which it may temporarily exist. After this
manner, colour and practices, though they may exist together with and in a
person that is emancipate, do not really attach to him. How then can an
intermingling of orders be possible in consequence of this union of myself with
thee? Then, again, I am not superior to thee in colour. Nor am I a Vaisya, nor a
Sudra. I am, O king, of the same order with the, borne of a pure race. There was
a royal sage of the name of Pradhana. It is evident that thou hast heard of him. I
am born in his race, and my name is Sulabha. In the sacrifices performed by my
ancestors, the foremost of the gods, viz., Indra, used to come, accompanied by
Drona and Satasringa, and Chakradwara (and other presiding geniuses of the
great mountains). Born in such a race, it was found that no husband could be
obtained for me that would be fit for me. Instructed then in the religion of
Emancipation, I wander over the Earth alone, observant of the practices of
asceticism. I practise no hypocrisy in the matter of the life of Renunciation. I am
not a thief that appropriates what belongs to others. I am not a confuser of the
practices belonging to the different orders. I am firm in the practices that belong
to that mode of life to which I properly belong. I am firm and steady in my vows. I
never utter any word without reflecting on its propriety. I did not come to thee,
without having deliberated properly, O monarch! Having heard that thy
understanding has been purified by the religion of Emancipation, I came here
from desire of some benefit. Indeed, it was for enquiring of thee about
Emancipation that I had come. I do not say it for glorifying myself and humiliating
my opponents. But I say it, impelled by sincerity only. What I say is, he that is
emancipated never indulges in that intellectual gladiatorship which is implied by a
dialectical disputation for the sake of victory. He, on the other hand, is really
emancipate who devotes himself to Brahma, that sole seat of tranquillity.[1710]
As a person of the mendicant order resides for only one night in an empty house
(and leaves it the next morning), even after the same manner I shall reside for
this one night in thy person (which, as I have already said, is like an empty
chamber, being destitute of knowledge). Thou hast honoured me with both
speech and other offers that are due from a host to a guest. Having slept this one
night in thy person, O ruler of Mithila, which is as it were my own chamber now,
tomorrow I shall depart.

“Bhishma continued, „Hearing these words fraught with excellent sense and with
reason, king Janaka failed to return any answer thereto.‟”[1711]
SECTION CCCXXII
“Yudhishthira said, „How was Suka, the son of Vyasa, in days of old, won over to
Renunciation? I desire to hear thee recite the story. My curiosity in this respect is
irrepressible. It behoveth thee, O thou of Kuru‟s race, to discourse to me on the
conclusions in respect of the Unmanifest (Cause), the Manifest (Effects), and of
the Truth (or Brahma) that is in, but unattached to them, as also of the acts of the
self-born Narayana, as they are known to thy understanding.
“Bhishma said, „Beholding his son Suka living fearlessly as ordinary men do in
practices that are considered harmless by them, Vyasa taught him the entire
Vedas and then discoursed to him one day in these words:
„Vyasa said, O son, becoming the master of the senses, do thou subdue extreme
cold and extreme heat, hunger and thirst, and the wind also, and having subdued
them (as Yogins do), do thou practise righteousness. Do thou duly observe truth
and sincerity, and freedom from wrath and malice, and self-restraint and
penances, and the duties of benevolence and compassion. Rest thou on truth,
firmly devoted to righteousness, abandoning all sort of insincerity and deceit. Do
thou support thy life on what remains of food after feeding gods and guests. Thy
body is as transitory as the froth on the surface of water. The Jiva-soul is sitting
unattached in it as a bird on a tree. The companionship of all agreeable object is
exceedingly short-lived. Why then, O son, dost thou sleep in such forgetfulness?
Thy foes are heedful and awake and ever ready (to spring on thee) and always
watchful of their opportunity. Why art thou so foolish as not to know this?[1712]
As the days are going one after another, the period of thy life is being lessened.
Indeed when thy life is being incessantly shortened, why dost thou not run to
preceptors (for learning the means of rescue)? Only they that are destitute of
faith (in the existence of next life) set their hearts on things of this world that have
the only effect of increasing flesh and blood. They are totally unmindful of all that
is concerned with the next world. Those men that are stupefied by erroneous
understandings display a hatred for righteousness. The man who walks after
those misguided persons that have betaken themselves to devious and wrong
paths is afflicted equally with them. They however, that are contented, devoted to
the scriptures, endued with high souls, and possessed of great might, betake
themselves to the part of righteousness. Do thou wait upon them with reverence
and seek instruction from them. Do thou act according to the instructions
received from those wise men whose eyes are set upon righteousness. With
understanding cleansed by such lessons and rendered superior, do thou then
restrain thy heart which is ever ready to deviate from the right course. They
whose understandings are always concerned with the present, who fearlessly
regard the tomorrow as something quite remote,--they who do not observe any
restrictions in the matter of food,--ate really senseless persons that fail to

understand that this world is only a field of probation.[1713] Repairing to the fight
of steps constituted by Righteousness, do thou ascend those steps one after
another. At present thou art like a worm that is employed in weaving its cocoon
round itself and thereby depriving itself of all means of escape. Do thou keep to
thy left, without any scruple, the atheist who transgresses all restraints, who is
situated like a house by the side of a fierce and encroaching current, (for the
destruction he courts), and who (to others) seems to stand like a bamboo with its
tall head erected in pride.[1714] Do thou with the raft of Yoga, cross the ocean of
the world whose waters are constituted by thy five senses. Having Desire and
Wrath and Death for its fierce monsters, and owning birth for its vortex. Do thou
cross, with the raft of Righteousness, the world that is affected by Death and
afflicted by Decrepitude, and upon which the thunder-bolts constituted by days
and nights are falling incessantly. When death is seeking thee at all moments,
viz., when thou art sitting or lying down, it is certain that Death may get thee for
his victim at any time. Whence art thou to obtain thy rescue! Like the she-wolf
snatching away a lamb. Death snatches away one that is still engaged in earning
wealth and still unsatisfied in the indulgence of his pleasures. When thou art
destined to enter into the dark, do thou hold up the blazing lamp made of
righteous understanding and whose flame has been well-husbanded out. Failing
into various forms one after another in the world of men, a creature obtains the
status of Brahmanhood with great difficulty. Thou hast obtained that status. Do
thou then, O son endeavour to maintain it (properly).[1715] A Brahman hath not
been born for the gratification of desire. On the other hand, his body is intended
to be subjected to mortification and penances in this world so that incomparable
happiness may be his in the next world. The status of Brahmanhood is acquired
with the aid of long-continued and austere penances. Having acquired that
status, one should never waste one‟s time in the indulgence of one‟s senses.
Always engaged in penances and self-restraint and desirous of what is for thy
good, do thou live and act, devoted to peace and tranquillity. The period of life, of
every man, is like a steed. The nature of that steed is unmanifest. The (sixteen)
elements (mentioned before) constitute its body. Its nature is exceedingly subtile.
Kshanas, and Trutis, and Nimeshas are the hair on its body. The twilights
constitute its shoulder joints; The lighted and the dark fortnights are its two eyes
of equal power. Months are its other limbs. That steed is running incessantly. If
thy eyes be not blind, beholding then that steed incessantly moving forward in its
invisible course, do thou set thy heart on righteousness, after hearing what thy
preceptors have to say on the question of the next world. They that fall away
from righteousness and that conduct themselves recklessly, that always display
malice towards others and betake themselves to evil ways are obliged to assume
(physical) bodies in the regions of Yama and suffer diverse afflictions, in
consequence of their unrighteous acts of diverse kind.[1716] That king who is
devoted to righteousness and who protects and chastises the good and the
wicked with discrimination, attains to those regions that belong to man of
righteous deeds. By doing diverse kinds of good acts, he attains to such felicity
as is faultless and as is incapable of being attained to by undergoing even
thousands of births.[1717] Furious dogs of frightful mien, crows of iron beaks,

flocks of ravens and vultures and other birds, and blood-sucking worms, assail
the man who transgresses the commands of his parents and preceptors when he
goes to hell after death.[1718] That sinful wretch who, in consequence of his
recklessness, transgresses the ten boundaries that have been fixed by the Self-
born himself, is obliged to pass his time in great affliction in the wild wastes that
occur in the dominions of the king of Pitris.[1719] That man who is tainted with
cupidity, who is in love with untruth, who always takes a delight in deception and
cheating, and who does injuries to others by practising hypocrisy and deception,
has to go to deep hell and suffer great woe and affliction for his acts of
wickedness. Such a man is forced to bathe in the broad river called Vaitarani
whose waters are scalding, to enter into a forest of trees whose leaves are as
sharp as swords, and then to lie down on a bed of battle-axes. He has thus to
pass his days in frightful hell in great affliction. Thou beholdest only the regions of
Brahman and other deities, but thou art blind to that which is the highest (viz.,
Emancipation). Alas, thou art ever blind also to that which brings Death on its
train (viz., decrepitude and old age).[1720] Go (along the path of Emancipation)!
Why tarriest thou? A frightful terror, destructive of thy happiness, is before thee!
Do thou take prompt steps for achieving thy Emancipation! Soon after death thou
art sure to be taken before Yama at his command. For obtaining felicity in the
next world, strive to attain to righteousness through the practice of difficult and
austere vows. The puissant Yama, regardless of the sufferings of others, very
soon takes the lives of all persons, that is of thyself and thy friends. There is
none capable of resisting him. Very soon the wind of Yama will blow before thee
(and drive thee to his presence). Very soon wilt thou be taken to that dread
presence all alone. Do thou achieve what will be for thy good there. Where now
is that Death-wind which will blow before thee very soon? (Art thou mindful of it?)
Very soon will the points of the compass, when that moment arrives, begin to
whirl before thy eyes. (Art thou mindful of that?) O son, soon (when that moment
comes) will thy Vedas disappear from thy sight as thou goest helplessly into that
dread presence. Do thou, therefore, set thy heart on Yoga abstraction which is
possessed of great excellence.[1721] Do thou seek to attain that one only
treasure so that thou mayst not have to grieve at the recollection (after Death) of
thy former deeds good and bad all of which are characterised by error.[1722]
Decrepitude very soon weakens thy body and robs thee of thy strength and limbs
and beauty. Do thou, therefore, seek that one only treasure. Very soon the
Destroyer, with Disease for his charioteer, will with a strong hand, for taking thy
life, pierce and break thy body. Do thou, therefore practise austere penance.
Very soon will, those terrible wolves that reside within thy body, assail thee from
every side. Do thou endeavour, therefore, to achieve acts of
righteousness.[1723] Very soon wilt thou, all alone, behold a thick darkness, and
very soon wilt thou behold golden trees on the top of the hill. Do thou, therefore,
hasten to achieve acts of righteousness.[1724] Very soon will those evil
companions and foes of thine, (viz., the senses), dressed in the guise of friends,
swerve thee from correct vision. Do thou, then, O son, strive to achieve that
which is of the highest good. Do thou earn that wealth which has no fear from
either kings or thieves, and which one has not to abandon even at Death. Earned

by one‟s own acts, that wealth has never to be divided among co-owners. Each
enjoys that wealth (in the other world) which each has earned for himself. O son,
give that to others by which they may be able to live in the next world. Do thou
also set thyself to the acquisition of that wealth which is indestructible and
durable. Do not think that thou shouldst first enjoy all kinds of pleasures and then
turn thy heart on Emancipation, for before thou art satiated with enjoyment thou
mayst be overtaken by Death. Do thou, in view of this, hasten to do acts of
goodness.[1725] Neither mother, nor son, nor relatives, nor dear friends even
when solicited with honours, accompany the man that dies. To the regions of
Yama one has to go oneself, unaccompanied by any one. Only those deeds,
good and bad, that one did before death accompany the man that goes to the
other world. The gold and gems that one has earned by good and bad means do
not become productive of any benefit to one when one‟s body meets with
dissolution. Of men that have gone to the other world, there is no witness, better
than the soul, of all act done or undone in life. That when the acting-Chaitanya
(Jiva-soul) enters into the witness-Chaitanya the destruction of the body takes
place, is seen by Yoga-intelligence when Yogins enter the firmament of their
hearts.[1726] Even here, the god of Fire, the Sun and the Wind,--these three
reside in the body. These, beholding as they do all the practices of one‟s life
become one‟s witnesses. Days and Nights,--the former characterised by the
virtue of displaying all things and the latter characterised by the virtue of
concealing all things,--are running incessantly and touching all things (and
thereby lessening their allotted periods of existence). Do thou, therefore, be
observant of the duties of thy own order.[1727] The road in the other world (that
leads to the regions of Yama), is infested by many foes (in the form of iron-
beaked birds and wolves) and by many repulsive and terrible insects and worms.
Do thou take care of thy own acts, for only acts will accompany you along that
road. These one has not to share one‟s acts with others, but every one enjoys or
endures the fruits of those acts which every one has himself performed. As
Apsaras and great Rishis attain to fruits of great felicity, after the same manner,
men of righteous deeds, as the fruits of their respective righteous acts, obtain in
the other world cars of transcendent brightness that move everywhere at the will
of the riders. Men of stainless deeds and cleansed souls and pure birth obtain in
the next world fruits that correspond with their own righteous acts in this life. By
walking along the high road constituted by the duties of domesticity, men acquire
happy ends by attaining to the region of Prajapati or Vrihaspati or of him of a
hundred sacrifices. I can give thee thousands and thousands of instructions.
Know, however, that the puissant cleanser (viz., Righteousness), keeps all
foolish persons in the Dark.[1728] Thou hast passed four and twenty years. Thou
art now full five and twenty years of age. Thy years are passing away. Do thou
beg in to lay thy store of righteousness. The Destroyer that dwells within error
and heedlessness will very soon deprive thy senses of their respective powers.
Do thou before that consummation is brought about, hasten to observe thy
duties, relying on thy body alone.[1729] When it is thy duty to go along that road
in which thyself only shalt be in front and thyself only in the rear, what need then
hast thou with either thy body or thy spouse and children?[1730] When men have

to go individually and without companions to the region of Yama, it is plain that in
view of such a situation of terror, thou shouldst seek to acquire that one only
treasure (viz., Righteousness or Yogasamadhi). The puissant Yama, regardless
of the afflictions of others, snatches, away the friends and relatives of one‟s race
by the very roots. There is no one that can resist him. Do thou, therefore, seek to
acquire a stock of righteousness I impart to thee these lessons, O son, that are
all agreeable with the scriptures I follow. Do thou observe them by acting
according to their import. He who supports his body by following the duties laid
down for his own order, and who makes gifts for earning whatever fruits may
attach to such acts, becomes freed from the consequences that are born of
ignorance and error.[1731] The knowledge which a man of righteous deeds
acquires from Vedic declarations leads to omniscience. That omniscience is
identical with the science of the highest object of human acquisition (viz.,
Emancipation). Instruction, imparted to the grateful, became beneficial (in
consequence of their leading to the attainment of that highest object of human
acquisition).[1732] The pleasure that one takes in living amidst the habitations of
men is truly a fast-binding cord. Breaking that cord, men of righteous deeds
repair to regions of great felicity. Wicked men, however, fail to break that bond.
What use hast thou of wealth, O son, or with relatives, or with children, since
thou hast to die: Do thou employ thyself in seeking for thy soul which is hidden in
a cave. Where have all thy grandsires gone? Do that today which thou wouldst
keep for tomorrow. Do that in the forenoon which thou wouldst keep for the
afternoon. Death does not wait for any one, to see whether one has or has not
accomplished one‟s task. Following the body after one‟s death (to the
crematorium), one‟s relatives and kinsmen and friends come back, throwing it on
the funeral pyre. Without a scruple do thou avoid those men that are sceptics,
that are destitute of compassion, and that are devoted to wicked ways, and do
thou endeavour to seek, without listlessness or apathy, that which is for thy
highest good. When, therefore, the world is thus afflicted by Death, do thou, with
thy whole heart, achieve righteousness, aided all the while by unswerving
patience. That man who is well conversant with the means of attaining to
Emancipation and who duly discharges the duties of his order, certainly attains to
great felicity in the other world. For thee that dost not recognise death in the
attainment of a different body and that dost not deviate from the path trod by the
righteous, there is no destruction. He that increases the stock of righteousness is
truly wise. He, on the other hand, that falls away from righteousness is said to be
a fool. One that is engaged in the accomplishment of good deeds attains to
heaven and other rewards as the fruits of those deeds; but he that is devoted to
wicked deeds has to sink in hell. Having acquired the status of humanity, so
difficult of acquisition, that is the stepping-stone to heaven, one should fix one‟s
soul on Brahma so that one may not fall away once more. That man whose
understanding, directed to the path of heaven, does not deviate therefrom, is
regarded by the wise as truly a man of righteousness and when he dies his
friends should indulge in grief. That man whose understanding is not restless and
which is directed to Brahma and who has attained to heaven, becomes freed
from a great terror (viz., hell). They that are born in retreats of ascetics and that

die there, do not earn much merit by abstaining all their life from enjoyments and
the indulgence of desire. He, however, who though possessed of objects of
enjoyment casts them off and engages himself in the practice of penances,
succeeds in acquiring everything. The fruits of the penances of such a man are, I
think, much higher. Mothers and sires and sons and spouses, by hundreds and
thousands, every one had and will have in this world. Who, however, were they
and whose are we? I am quite alone. I have no one whom I may call mine. Nor
do I belong to any one else. I do not see that person whose I am, nor do I see
him whom I may call mine. They have nothing to do with thee. Thou hest nothing
to do with them.[1733] All creatures take birth agreeably to their acts of past
lives. Thou also shalt have to go hence (for taking birth in a new order)
determined by thy own acts. In this world it is seen that the friends and followers
of only those that are rich behave towards the rich with devotion. The friends and
followers of those, however, that are poor fall away during even the life-time of
the poor. Man commits numerous evil acts for the sake of his wife (and children).
From those evil acts he derives much distress both here and hereafter. The wise
man beholds the world of life devastated by the acts performed by every living
being. Do thou, therefore, O son, act according to all the instructions I have given
thee! The man possessed of true vision, beholding this world to be only a field of
action, should, from desire of felicity in the next world, do acts that are good.
Time, exerting his irresistible strength, cooks all creatures (in his own cauldron),
with the aid of his ladle constituted by months and seasons, the sun for his fire,
and days and nights for his fuel, days and nights, that is that are the witnesses of
the fruits of every act done by every creature. For what purpose is that wealth
which is not given away and which is not enjoyed? For what purpose is that
strength which is not employed in resisting or subjugating one‟s foes? For what
purpose is that knowledge of the scriptures which does not impel one to deeds of
righteousness? And for what purpose is that soul which does not subjugate the
senses and abstain from evil acts? “Bhishma continued, „Having heard these
beneficial words spoken by the Island-born (Vyasa), Suka, leaving his sire,
proceeded to seek a preceptor that could teach him the religion of
Emancipation.‟”[1734]
SECTION CCCXXIII
“Yudhishthira said, „If there is any efficacy in gifts, in sacrifices, in penances well-
performed, and in dutiful services rendered to preceptors and other reverend
seniors, do thou, O grandsire, speak of the same to me. “Bhishma said, „An
understanding associated with evil causes the mind to fall into sin. In this state
one stains one‟s acts, and then falls into great distress. Those that are of sinful
acts have to take birth as persons of very indigent circumstances. From famine to
famine, from pain to pain, from fear to fear, is their change. They are more dead
than those that are dead. Possessed of affluence, from joy to joy, from heaven to
heaven, from happiness to happiness, proceed they that are possessed of faith,
that are self-restrained, and that are devoted to righteous deeds. They that are

unbelievers have to pass, with groping hands, through regions infested by beasts
of prey and elephants and pathless tracts teeming with snakes and robbers and
other causes of fear. What more need be said of these? They, on the other hand,
that are endued with reverence for gods and guests, that are liberal, that have
proper regard for persons that are good, and that make gifts in sacrifices, have
for theirs the path (of felicity) that belongs to men of cleansed and subdued
souls. Those that are not righteous should not be counted among men even as
grains without kernel are not counted among grain and as cockroaches are not
counted among birds. The acts that one does, follow one even when one runs
fast. Whatever acts one does, lie down with the doer who lays himself down.
Indeed, the sins one does, sit when the doer sits, and run when he runs. The sins
act when the doer acts, and, in fact follow the doer like his shadow. Whatever the
acts one does by whatever means and under whatever circumstances, are sure
to be enjoyed and endured (in respect of their fruits) by the doer in his next life.
From every side Time is always dragging all creatures, duly observing the rule in
respect of the distance to which they are thrown and which is commensurate with
their acts.[1735] As flowers and fruits, without being urged, never suffer their
proper time to pass away without making their appearance, even so the acts one
has done in past life make their appearance at the proper time. Honour and
dishonour, gain and loss, destruction and growth, are seen to set in. No one can
resist them (when they come). One of them is enduring, for disappear it must
after appearance. The sorrows one suffers is the result of one‟s acts. The
happiness one enjoys flows from one‟s acts. From the time when one lies within
the mother‟s womb one begins to enjoy and endure one‟s acts of a past life.
Whatever acts good and bad one does in childhood, youth, or old age, one
enjoys and endures their consequences in one‟s next life in similar ages. As the
calf recognises its dam even when the latter may stand among thousands of her
species, after the same manner the acts done by one in one‟s past life come to
one n one‟s next life (without any mistake) although one may live among
thousands of one‟s species. As a piece of dirty cloth is whitened by being
washed in water, after the same manner, the righteous, cleansed by continuous
exposure unto the fire of fasts and penances, at last attain to unending
happiness. O thou of high intelligence, the desires and purposes of those whose
sins have been washed off by long-continued penances well-performed, become
crowned with fruition. The track of the righteous cannot be discerned even as
that of birds in the, sky or that of fishes in the water. There is no need of
speaking ill of others, nor of reciting the instances in which others have tripped.
On the other hand, one should always do what is delightful, agreeable, an
beneficial to one‟s own self.‟”[1736]
SECTION CCCXXIV
“Yudhishthira said, „Tell me, O grandsire, how the high-souled Suka of austere
penances took birth as the son of Vyasa, and how did he succeed in attaining to
the highest success? Upon what woman did Vyasa, endued with wealth of

asceticism, beget that son of his? We do not know who was Suka‟s mother, nor
do we know anything of the birth of that high-souled ascetic. How was it that,
when he was a mere boy, his mind became directed to the knowledge of the
subtile (Brahma)? Indeed, in this world no second person can be seen in whom
such predilections could be marked at so early an age. I desire to hear all this in
detail, O thou of great intelligence. I am never satiated with hearing thy excellent
and nectar-like words. Tell me, O grandsire in their proper order, of the
greatness, and the knowledge of Suka and of his union with the (Supreme) Soul!”
“Bhishma continued, „The Rishis did not make merit depend upon years or
decrepitude or wealth or friends. They said that he amongst them was great that
studied the Vedas. All this that thou enquirest bout has penances for its root.
That penance, again, O son of Pandu, rises from the subjugation of the senses.
Without doubt, one incurs fault by giving one‟s senses the reins. It is only by
restraining them that one succeeds in earning success. The merit that attaches
to a thousand Horse-sacrifices or a hundred Vajapeyas cannot come up to even
a sixteenth portion of the merit that arises from Yoga, I shall, on the present
occasion, recite to thee the circumstances of Suka‟s birth, the fruits he won f his
penances, and the foremost end he achieved (by his acts), topics that are
incapable of being understood by persons of uncleansed soul. Once on a time on
the summit of Meru adorned with karnikara flowers, Mahadeva sported,
accompanied by the terrible spirits that were his associates. The daughter of the
king of mountains, viz., the goddess Parvati, was also there. There at the close
vicinity of that summit, the Island-born (Vyasa) underwent extraordinary
austerities. O best of the Kurus, devoted to the practices of Yoga, the great
ascetic withdrawing himself by Yoga into his own Soul, and engaged in Dharana,
practised many austerities for the sake of (obtaining) a son. The prayer he
addressed to the great God was,--O puissant one, let me have a son that will
have he puissance of Fire and Earth and Water and Wind and Space. Engaged
in the austerest of penances, the Island-born Rishi begged of that at God who is
incapable of being approached by persons of uncleansed souls, (not by words
but) by his Yoga-resolution. The puissant Vyasa remained there for a hundred
years, subsisting on air alone, engaged in adoring Mahadeva of multifarious
form, the lord of Uma. Thither all the regenerate Rishis and royal sages and the
Regents of the world and the Sadhyas along with the Vasus, and the Adityas, the
Rudras, and Surya and Chandramas, and the Maruts, and the Oceans, and the
Rivers and the Aswins, the Deities, the Gandharvas, and Narada and Parvata
and the Gandharva Viswavasu, and the Siddhas, and the Apsaras. There
Mahadeva, called also by the name of Rudra, sat, decked with an excellent
garland of Karnikara flowers, and blazed with effulgence like the Moon with his
rays. In those delightful and celestial woods populous with deities and heavenly
Rishis, the great Rishi remained, engaged in high Yoga-contemplation, from
desire of obtaining a son. His strength suffered no diminution, nor did he feel any
pain. At this the three worlds were much amazed. While the Rishi, possessed of
immeasurable energy, sat in Yoga, his matted locks, in con-sequence of his
energy, were seen to blaze like flames of fire. The illustrious Markandeya it was
from whom I heard of this. He used always to recite to me the acts of the deities.

It is for this that the matted locks of the high-souled and (Island-born) Krishna,
thus emblazed by his energy on that occasion, seem to this day to be endued
with the complexion of fire. Gratified with such penances and such devotion, O
Bharata, of the Rishi, the great God resolved (to grant him his wish). The Three-
eyed deity, smiling with pleasure, addressed him and said,--O Island-born one,
thou shalt get a son like to what thou wishest! Possessed of greatness, he shall
be as pure as Fire, as Wind, as Earth, as Water, and as Space! He shall be
possessed of the consciousness of his being Brahma‟s self; his understanding
and soul shall be devoted to Brahma, and he shall completely depend upon
Brahma so as to be identifiable with it!‟”
SECTION CCCXXV
“Bhishma said. „The son of Satyavati having obtained this high boon from the
great God, was one day employed in rubbing his sticks for making a fire. While
thus engaged, the illustrious Rishi, O king, beheld the Apsara Ghritachi, who, in
consequence of her energy, was then possessed of great beauty. Beholding the
Apsara in those woods, the illustrious Rishi Vyasa, O Yudhishthira, became
suddenly smitten with desire. The Apsara (Ghritachi), seeing the Rishi‟s heart
troubled by desire, transformed herself into a she-parrot and came to that spot.
Although he beheld the Apsara disguised in another form, the desire that had
arisen in the Rishi‟s heart (without disappearing) spread itself over every part of
his body. Summoning all his patience, the ascetic endeavoured to suppress that
desire; with all his effort, however, Vyasa did not succeed in controlling his
agitated mind. In consequence of the inevitability of what was to happen, the
Rishi‟s heart was attracted by Ghritachi‟s fair form. He set himself more earnestly
to the task of making a fire for suppressing his emotion, but in spite of all his
efforts his vital seed came out. That best of regenerate ones, however, O king,
continued to rub his stick without feeling any scruples for what had happened.
From the seed that fell, was born a son unto him, called Suka. In consequence of
his circumstance attending his birth, he came to be called by name of Suka.
Indeed, it was thus that great ascetic that foremost of Rishis and highest of
Yogins, took birth from the two sticks (his father had for making fire). As in a
sacrifice a blazing fire shed its effulgence all around when libations of clarified
butter are poured upon it, after the same manner did Suka take his birth, blazing
with effulgence in consequence of his own energy. Assuming the excellent form
and complexion that were his sire, Suka, O son of Kuru, of cleansed Soul, shone
like a smokeless fire. The foremost of rivers, viz., Ganga. O king, coming to the
breast of Meru, in her own embodied form, bathed Suka (after his birth) with her
waters. There fell from the welkin, O son of Kuru, an ascetic‟s stick and a dark
deer-skin for the use, O monarch, of the high-souled Suka. The Gandharvas
sang repeatedly and the diverse tribes of Apsaras danced; and celestial
kettledrums of loud sound began to beat. The Gandharva Viswavasu, and
Tumvuru and Varada, and those other Gandharvas called by the names of Haha,
and Huhu, eulogised the birth of Suka. There the regents of the world with Sakra

at their head came, as also the deities and the celestial and the regenerate
Rishis. The Wind-god poured showers of celestial flowers upon the spot. The
entire universe, mobile, and immobile, became, filled with joy. The high-souled
Mahadeva of great effulgence, accompanied by the Goddess, and moved by
affection, came there and soon after the birth of the Muni‟s son invested him with
the sacred-thread. Sakra, the chief of the gods, gave him, from affection, a
celestial Kamandalu of excellent form, and some celestial robes. Swans and
Satapatras and cranes by thousands, and many parrots and Chasas, O Bharata,
wheeled over his head. Endued with great splendour and intelligence, Suka,
having obtained his birth from the two sticks, continued to live there, engaged the
while in the attentive observance of many vows and fasts. As soon as Suka was
born, the Vedas with all their mysteries and all their abstracts, came for dwelling
in him, O king, even as they dwell in his sire. For all that, Suka selected
Vrihaspati, who was conversant with all the Vedas together with their branches
and commentaries, for his preceptor, remembering the universal practice.[1737]
Having studied all the Vedas together with all their mysteries and abstracts, as
also all the histories and the science of government, O puissant monarch, the
great ascetic returned home, after giving his preceptor the tuition fee. Adopting
the vow of a Brahmacharin, he then commenced to practise the austerest
penances concentrating all his attention thereon. In even his childhood, he
became an object of respect with the gods and Rishis for his knowledge and
penances. The mind of the great ascetic, O king, took no pleasure in the three
modes of life with the domestic among them, keeping in view, as he did, the
religion of Emancipation.‟”
SECTION CCCXXVI
“Bhishma said, „Thinking of Emancipation, Suka approached his sire and
possessed as he was of humility and desirous of achieving his highest good, he
saluted his great preceptor and said,--Thou art well versed in the religion of
Emancipation. Do thou O illustrious one, discourse to me upon it, so that
supreme tranquillity of mind, O puissant one, may be mine!--Hearing these words
of his son, the great Rishi said unto him,--Do thou study, O son, the religion of
Emancipation and all the diverse duties of life!--At the command of his sire, Suka,
that foremost of all righteous men, mastered all the treatises on Yoga, O Bharata.
as also the science promulgated by Kapila. When Vyasa behind his son to be
possessed of the resplendence of the Vedas, endued with the energy of Brahma,
and fully conversant with the religion of Emancipation, he addressed him,
saying,--Go thou to Janaka the ruler of Mithila. The king of Mithila will tell thee
everything for thy Emancipation.—Bearing the command of his sire, O king, Suka
proceeded to Mithila for enquiring of its king about the truth of duties and the
Refuge of Emancipation. Before he set out, his sire further told him,--Do thou go
thither by that path which ordinary human beings take. Do not have recourse to
thy Yoga-puissance for proceeding through the skies—At this Suka was not at all
surprised (for he was humble by nature). He was further told that he should

proceed thither with simplicity and not from desire of pleasure.—Along your way
do not seek for friends and spouses, since friends and spouses are causes of
attachment to the world. Although the ruler of Mithila is one in whose sacrifices
we officiate, still thou shouldst not indulge in any feeling of superiority while living
with him. Thou shouldst live under his direction and in obedience to him. Even he
will dispel all thy doubts.[1738] That king is well versed in all duties and well
acquainted with the scriptures on Emancipation. He is one for whom I officiate in
sacrifices. Thou shouldst, without any scruple, do what he bids.—Thus
instructed, the righteous-souled Suka proceeded to Mithila on foot although he
was able to traverse through the skies over the whole Earth with her seas.
Crossing many hills and mountains, many rivers, many waters and lakes, and
many woods and forests abounding with beasts of prey and other animals,
crossing, the two Varshas of Meru and Hari successively and next the Varsha of
Himavat, he came at last to the Varsha known by the name of Bharata. Having
seen many countries inhabited by Chins and Huns, the great ascetic at last
reached Aryavarta. In obedience to the commands of his sire and bearing them
constantly in his mind, he gradually passed along his way on the Earth like a bird
passing through the air. Passing through many delightful towns and populous
cities, he saw diverse kinds of wealth without waiting to observe them. On his
way he passed through many delightful gardens and planes and many sacred
waters. Before much time had passed he reached the country of the Videhas that
was protected by the virtuous and high-souled Janaka. There he beheld many
populous villages, and many kinds of food and drink and viands and habitations
of cowherds swelling with men and many herds of cattle. He beheld many fields
abounding with paddy and barley and other grain, and many lakes and waters
inhabited by swans and cranes and adorned with beautiful lotuses. Passing
through the Videha country teeming with well-to-do people, he arrived at the
delightful gardens of Mithila rich with many species of trees. Abounding with
elephants and horses and cars, and peopled by men and women, he passed
through them without waiting to observe any of the things that were presented to
his eye. Bearing that burthen in his mind and ceaselessly dwelling upon it (viz.,
the desire of mastering the religion of Emancipation), Suka of cheerful soul and
taking delight in internal survey only, reached Mithila at last. Arrived at the gate,
he sent word through the keepers. Endued with tranquillity of mind, devoted to
contemplation and Yoga, he entered the city, having obtained permission.
Proceeding along the principal street abounding with well-to-do men, he reached
the king‟s palace and entered it without any scruples. The porters forbade him
with rough words. Thereat, Suka, without any anger, stopped and waited. Neither
the sun nor the long distance he had walked had fatigued him in the least.
Neither hunger, nor thirst, nor the exertion he had made, had weakened him. The
heat of the Sun had not scorched or pained or distressed him in any degree.
Among those porters there was one who felt compassion for him, beholding him
staying there like the midday Sun in his effulgence. Worshipping him in due form
and saluting him properly, with joined hands he led him to the first chamber of the
palace. Seated there, Suka, O son, began to think of Emancipation only.
Possessed of equable splendour he looked with an equal eye upon a shaded

spot and one exposed to the Sun‟s rays. Very soon after, the king‟s minister,
coming to that place with joined hands, led him to the second chamber of the
palace. That chamber led to a spacious garden which formed a portion of the
inner apartments of the palace. It looked like a second Chaitraratha. Beautiful
pieces of water occurred here and there at regular intervals. Delightful trees, all
of which were in their flowering season, stood in that garden. Bevies of damsels,
of transcendent beauty, were in attendance. The minister led Suka from the
second chamber to that delightful spot. Ordering those damsels to give the
ascetic a seat, the minister left him there. Those well-dressed damsels were of
beautiful features, possessed of excellent hips, young in years, clad in red robes
of fine texture, and decked with many ornaments of burnished gold. They were
well-skilled in agreeable conversation and maddening revelry, and thorough
mistresses of the arts of dance and singing. Always opening their lips with
smiles, they were equal to the very Apsaras in beauty. Well-skilled in all the acts
of dalliance, competent to read the thoughts of men upon whom they wait,
possessed of every accomplishment, fifty damsels, of a very superior order and
of easy virtue, surrounded the ascetic. Presenting him with water for washing his
feet, and worshipping him respectfully with the offer of the usual articles, they
gratified him with excellent viands agreeable to the season. After he had eaten,
those damsels then, one after another, singly led him through the grounds,
showing him every object of interest, O Bharata. Sporting and laughing and
singing, those damsels, conversant with the thoughts of all men, entertained that
auspicious ascetic of noble soul. The pure-souled ascetic born in the fire-sticks,
observant without scruples of any kind of his duties, having all his senses under
complete control, and a thorough master of his wrath, was neither pleased nor
angered at all this. Then those foremost of beautiful women gave him an
excellent seat. Washing his feet and other limbs, Suka said his evening prayers,
sat on that excellent seat, and began to think of the object for which he had come
there. In the first part of the night, he devoted himself to Yoga. The puissant
ascetic, passed the middle portion of the night in sleep. Very soon waking up
from his slumber, he went through the necessary rites of cleansing his body, and
though surrounded by those beautiful women, he once again devoted himself to
Yoga. It was in this way, O Bharata, that the son of the Island-born Krishna
passed the latter part of that day and the whole of that night in the palace of king
Janaka.‟”
SECTION CCCXXVII
“Bhishma said, The next morning, king Janaka, O Bharata, accompanied by his
minister and the whole household, came to Suka, placing his priest in the van.
Bringing with him costly seats and diverse kinds of jewels and gems, and bearing
the ingredients of the Arghya on his own head, the monarch approached the son
of his reverend preceptor. The king, taking with his own hands, from the hands of
his priest, that seat adorned with many gems, overlaid with an excellent sheet,
beautiful in all its parts, and exceedingly costly, presented it with great reverence

to his preceptor‟s son Suka. After the son of (the Island-born) Krishna had taken
his seat on it, the king worshipped him according to prescribed rites. At first
offering him water to wash his feet, he then presented him the Arghya and kine.
The ascetic accepted that worship offered with due rites and mantras. That
foremost of regenerate persons, having thus accepted the worship offered by the
king, and taking the kine also that were presented to him, then saluted the
monarch. Possessed of great energy, he next enquired after the king‟s welfare
and prosperity. Indeed, O king, Suka embraced in his enquiry the welfare of the
monarch‟s followers and officers also. Receiving Suka‟s permission, Janaka sat
down with all his followers. Endued with a high soul and possessed of high birth,
the monarch, with joined hands, sat down on the bare ground and enquired after
the welfare and unabated prosperity of Vyasa‟s son. The monarch then asked his
guest the object of his visit.
“Suka said, Blessed be thou, my sire said unto me that his Yajamana, the ruler of
the Videhas, known all over the world by the name of Janaka, is well-versed in
the religion of Emancipation. He commanded me to come to him without delay, if
I had any doubts requiring solution in the matter of the religion of either Pravritti
or Nivritti. He gave me to understand that the king of Mithila would dispel all my
doubts. I have, therefore, come hither, at the command of my sire, for the
purpose of taking lessons from thee. It behoveth thee, O foremost of all righteous
persons, to instruct me! What are the duties of a Brahmana, and what is the
essence of those duties that have Emancipation for their object. How also is
Emancipation to be obtained? Is it obtainable by the aid of knowledge or by that
of penances?
„Janaka said, Hear what the duties are of a Brahmana from the time of his birth.
After his investiture, O son, with the sacred-thread, he should devote his
attention to the study of the Vedas. By practising penances and dutifully serving
his preceptor and observing the duties of Brahmacharyya, O puissant one, he
should pay off the debt he owes to the deities and the Pitris, and cast off all
malice. Having studied the Vedas with close attention and subjugated his
senses, and having given his preceptor the tuition fee, he should, with the
permission of his preceptor, return home. Returning home, he should betake
himself to the domestic mode of life and weeding a spouse confine himself to
her, and live freeing himself from every kind of malice, and having established his
domestic fire. Living in the domestic mode, he should procreate sons and
grandsons. After that, he should retire to the forest, and continue to worship the
same fires and entertain guests with cordial hospitality. Living righteously in the
forest, he should at last establish his fire in his soul, and freed from all pairs of
opposites, and casting off all attachments from the soul, he should pass his days
in the mode called Sannyasa which is otherwise called the mode of Brahma.
“‟Suka said, If one succeeds in attaining to an understanding cleansed by study
of the scriptures and to true conceptions of all things, and if the heart succeeds in
freeing itself permanently from the effects of all pairs of opposites, is it still
necessary for such a person to adopt, one after another, the three modes of life
called Brahmacharyya, Garhastya, and Vanaprastha? This is what I ask thee. It

behoveth thee to tell me. Indeed, O ruler of men, do tell me this according to the
true import of the Vedas!
“‟Janaka said, Without the aid of an understanding cleansed by study of the
scriptures and without that true conception of all things which is known by the
name of Vijnana, the attainment of Emancipation is impossible. That cleansed
understanding, again, it is said, is unattainable without one‟s connection with a
preceptor. The preceptor is the helmsman, and knowledge is the boat (aided by
whom and which one succeeds in crossing the ocean of the world). After having
acquired that boat, one becomes crowned with success. Indeed, having crossed
the‟ ocean, one may abandon both. For preventing the destruction of all the
worlds and for preventing the destruction of acts (upon which the world depend),
the duties appertaining to the four modes of life were practised by the wise of old.
By abandoning acts, good and bad, agreeably to this order of acts one succeeds,
in course of many birth, in attaining to Emancipation.[1739] That man who,
through penances performed in course of many births, succeeds in obtaining a
cleansed mind and understanding and soul, certainly becomes able to attain to
Emancipation (in a new birth) in even the very first mode viz.,
Brahmacharyya.[1740] When, having attained to a cleansed understanding,
Emancipation becomes his and in consequence thereof he becomes possessed
of knowledge in respect of all visible things, what desirable object is there to
attain by observing the three other modes of life?[1741] One should always cast
off faults born of the attributes of Rajas and Tamas. Adhering to the path of
Sattwa, one should know Self by Self.[1742] Beholding one‟s self in all creatures
and all creatures in one‟s self, one should live (without being attached to
anything) like aquatic animals living in water without being drenched by that
element. He who succeeds in transcending all pairs of attributes and resisting
their influence, succeeds in casting off all attachments, and attains to infinite
felicity in the next world, going thither like a bird soaring into the sky from below.
In this connection, there is a saying sung of old by king Yayati and borne in
remembrance, O sire, by all persons conversant with the scriptures bearing upon
Emancipation. The effulgent ray (i.e., the Supreme Soul) exists in one‟s Soul and
not anywhere else. It exists equally in all creatures. One can see it oneself if
one‟s heart be devoted to Yoga. When a person lives in such a way that another
is not inspired with fear at his sight, and when a person is not himself inspired
with fear at the sight of others, when a person ceases to cherish desire and hate,
he is then said to attain to Brahma. When a person ceases to entertain a sinful
attitude towards all creatures in thought, word, and deed, he is then said to attain
to Brahma.[1743] By restraining the mind and the soul, by casting off malice that
stupefies the mind, and by throwing off desire and stupefaction, one is said to
attain to Brahma. When a person assumes an equality of attitude in respect of all
objects of hearing and vision (and the operations of the other senses) as also in
respect of all living creatures, and transcends all pairs of opposites, he is then
said to attain to Brahma. When person casts an equal eye upon praise and
dispraise, gold and iron, happiness and misery, heat and cold, good and evil, the
agreeable and the disagreeable, life and death, he is then said to attain to
Brahma. One observing the duties of the mendicant orders should restrain one‟s

senses and the mind even like a tortoise withdrawing its out-stretched
limbs.[1744] As a house enveloped in darkness is capable of being seen with the
aid of a lighted lamp, after the same manner can the soul be seen with the aid of
the lamp of the understanding. O foremost of intelligent persons, I see that all this
knowledge that I am communicating to thee dwells in thee. Whatever else should
be known by one desirous of learning the religion of Emancipation is already
known to thee. O regenerate Rishi, I am convinced that through the grace of thy
preceptor and through the instructions thou hast received, thou hast already
transcended all objects of the senses.[1745] O great ascetic, through the grace
of that sire of thine, I have attained to omniscience, and hence I have succeeded
in knowing thee. Thy knowledge is much greater than what thou thinkest thou
hast. Thy perceptions also that result from intuition are much greater than what
thou thinkest thou hast. Thy puissance also is much greater than thou art
conscious of. Whether in consequence of thy tender age, or of the doubts thou
hast not been able to dispel, or of the fear that is due to the unattainment of
Emancipation, thou art not conscious of that knowledge due to intuition although
it has arisen in thy mind. After one‟s doubts have been dispelled by persons like
us, one succeeds in opening the knots of one‟s heart and then, by a righteous
exertion one attains to and becomes conscious of that knowledge. As regards
thyself, thou art one that hast already acquired knowledge. Thy intelligence is
steady and tranquil. Thou art free from covetousness. For all that, O Brahmana,
one never succeeds in attaining to Brahma, which is the highest object of
acquisition, without exertion. Thou seest no distinction between happiness and
misery. Thou art not covetous. Thou hast no longing for dancing and song. Thou
hast no attachments. Thou hast no attachment to friends. Thou hast no fear in
things that inspire fear. O blessed one, I see that thou castest an equal eye upon
a lump of gold and a clod of earth. Myself and other persons possessed of
wisdom, behold thee established in the highest and indestructible path of
tranquillity. Thou stayest, O Brahmana, in those duties which obtain for the
Brahmana that fruit which should be his and which is identical with the essence
of the object represented by Emancipation. What else hast thou to ask me?‟”
SECTION CCCXXVIII
“Bhishma said, „Having heard these words of king Janaka, Suka of cleansed soul
and settled conclusions began to stay in his Soul by his Soul, having of course
seen Self by Self.[1746] His object being accomplished, he became happy and
tranquil, and without putting further questions to Janaka, he proceeded
northwards to the mountains of Himavat with the speed of the wind and like the
wind.[1747] These mountains abounded with diverse tribes of Apsaras and
echoed with many lofty sounds. Teeming with thousands of Kinnaras and
Bhringarajas[1748] it was adorned, besides, with many Madgus and Khanjaritas
and many Jivajivakas of variegated hue. And there were many peacocks also of
gorgeous colours, uttering their shrill but melodious cries. Many bevies of swans
also, and many flights of gladdened Kokilas too, adorned the place. The prince of

birds, viz., Garuda, dwelt on that summit constantly. The four Regents of the
world, the deities, and diverse classes of Rishis, used always to come there from
the desire of doing good to the world. It was there that the high-souled Vishnu
had undergone the severest austerities for the object of obtaining a son. It was
there that the celestial generalissimo named Kumara, in his younger days,
disregarding the three worlds with all the celestial denizens, threw down his dart,
piercing the Earth therewith. Throwing down his dart, Skanda addressing the
universe, said,--If there be any person that is superior to me in might, or that
holds Brahmanas to be dearer, or that can compare with me in devotion to the
Brahmanas and the Vedas, or that is possessed of energy like unto me, let him
draw up this dart or at least shake it!--Hearing this challenge, the three worlds
become filled with anxiety, and all creatures asked one another, saying,--Who
will raise this dart?--Vishnu beheld all the deities and Asuras and Rakshasas to
be troubled in their senses and mind. He reflected upon what should be the best
to be done under the circumstances. Without being able to bear that challenge in
respect of the hurling of the dart, he cast his eyes on Skanda, the son of the Fire-
god. The pure-souled Vishnu caught hold of the blazing dart, with his left hand,
and began to shake it. When the dart was being thus shaken by Vishnu
possessed of great might, the whole Earth with her mountains, forests, and seas,
shook with the dart. Although Vishnu was fully competent to raise the dart, still he
contented himself with only shaking it. In this, the puissant lord only kept the
honour of Skanda intact. Having shaken it himself, the divine Vishnu, addressing
Prahlada, said,--Behold the might of Kumara! None else in the universe can raise
this dart! Unable to bear this, Prahlada resolved to raise the dart. He seized it,
but was unable to shake it at all, Uttering a loud cry, he fell down on the hill-top in
a swoon. Indeed, the son of Hiranya-kasipu fell down on the Earth. Repairing
towards the northern side of those grand mountains, Mahadeva, having the bull
for his sign, had undergone the austerest penances. The asylum where
Mahadeva had undergone those austerities is encompassed on all sides with a
blazing fire. Unapproachable by persons of uncleansed souls, that mountain is
known by the name of Aditya. There is a fiery girdle all around it, of the width of
ten Yojanas, and it is incapable of being approached by Yakshas and Rakshasas
and Danavas. The illustrious god of Fire, possessed of mighty energy, dwells
there in person employed in removing all impediments from the side of
Mahadeva of great wisdom who remained there for a thousand celestial years, all
the while standing on one foot. Dwelling on the side of that foremost of
mountains, Mahadeva of high vows (by his penances) scorched the deities
greatly.[1749] At the foot of those mountains, in a retired spot, Parasara‟s son of
great ascetic merit, viz., Vyasa, taught the Vedas unto his disciples. Those
disciples were the highly blessed Sumantra, Vaisampayana, Jaimini of great
wisdom, and Paila of great ascetic merit. Suka proceeded to that delightful
asylum where his sire, the great ascetic Vyasa, was dwelling, surrounded by his
disciples. Seated in his asylum, Vyasa beheld his son approach like a blazing
fire of scattered flames, or resembling the sun himself in effulgence. As Suka
approached, he did not seem to touch the trees or the rocks of the mountain.
Completely dissociated from all objects of the senses, engaged in Yoga, the

high-souled ascetic came, resembling, in speed, a shaft let from a bow. Born on
the fire-sticks, Suka, approaching, his sire, touched his feet. With becoming
formalities he then accosted the disciples of his sire. With great cheerfulness he
then detailed to his father all the particulars of his conversation with king Janaka.
Vyasa the son of Parasara, after the arrival of his puissant son, continued to
dwell there on the Himavat engaged in teaching his disciples and his son. One
day as he was seated, his disciples, all well-skilled in the Vedas, having their
senses under control, and endued with tranquil souls, sat themselves around
him. All of them had thoroughly mastered the Vedas with their branches. All of
them were observant of penances. With joined hands they addressed their
preceptor in the following words.
“The disciples said, We have, through thy grace, been endued with great energy.
Our fame also has spread. There is one favour that we humbly solicit thee to
grant us. Hearing these words of theirs, the regenerate Rishi answered them,
saying, “Ye sons, tell me what that boon is which ye wish I should grant you!
Hearing this answer of their preceptor, the disciples became filled with joy. Once
more bowing their heads low unto their preceptor and joining their hands, all of
them in one voice said, O king, these excellent words: If our preceptor has been
pleased with us, then, O best of sages, we are sure to be crowned with success!
We all solicit thee, O great Rishi, to grant us a boon. Be thou inclined to be
graceful to us. Let no sixth disciple (besides us five) succeed in attaining to fame!
We are four. Our preceptor‟s son forms the fifth. Let the Vedas shine in only as
five! Even this is the boon that we solicit;--Hearing these words of his disciples,
Vyasa, the son of Parasara, possessed of great intelligence, well-conversant with
the meaning of the Vedas, endued with a righteous soul, and always engaged in
thinking of objects that confer benefits on a person in the world hereafter, said
unto his disciples these righteous words fraught with great benefit: The Vedas
should always be given unto him who is a Brahmana, or unto him who is
desirous of listening to Vedic instructions, by him who eagerly wishes to attain a
residence in the region of Brahman! Do ye multiply, Let the Vedas spread
(through your exertions). The Vedas should never be imparted unto one that has
not formally become a disciple. Nor should they be given unto one who is not
observant of good vows. Nor should they be given for dwelling in one that is of
uncleansed soul. These should be known as the proper qualifications of persons
that can be accepted as disciples (for the communication of Vedic knowledge).
No science should be imparted unto one without a proper examination of one‟s
character, as pure gold is tested by heat, cutting and rubbing, after the same
manner disciples should be tested by their birth and accomplishments. Ye should
never set your disciples to tasks to which they should not be set, or to tasks that
are fraught with danger. One‟s knowledge is always commensurate with one‟s
understanding and diligence in study. Let all disciples conquer all difficulties, and
let all of them meet with auspicious success. Ye are competent to lecture on the
scriptures unto persons of all the orders. Only ye should, while lecturing, address
a Brahmana, placing him in the van. These are the rules in respect of the study
of the Vedas. This again is regarded as a high task. The Vedas were created by
the Self-born for the purpose of praising the deities therewith. That man who,

through stupefaction of intellect, speaks ill of a Brahmana well-conversant with
the Vedas, is certain to meet with humiliation in consequence of such evil-
speaking. He who disregarding all righteous rules, solicits knowledge, and he
who, disregarding the rules of righteousness, communicates knowledge, either of
them falls off and instead of that affection which should prevail between
preceptor and disciple, such, questioning and such communication are sure to
produce distrust and suspicion. I have now told ye everything about the way in
which the Vedas should be studied and taught. Ye should act in this way towards
your disciples, bearing these instructions in your minds.‟”
SECTION CCCXXIX
“Bhishma said, „Hearing these words of their preceptor, Vyasa‟s disciples endued
with energy, became filled with joy and embraced one another. Addressing one
another, they said,--That which has been said by our illustrious preceptor in view
of our future good, will live in our remembrance and we shall certainly act
according to it.—Having said this unto one another with joyful hearts, the
disciples of Vyasa, who were thorough masters of words, once more addressed
their preceptor and said,--If it pleases thee, O puissant one, we wish to descend
from this mountain to the Earth, O great ascetic, for the purpose of subdividing
the Vedas!--Hearing these words of his disciples, the puissant son of Parasara
replied unto them in these beneficial words that were fraught, besides, with
righteousness and profit,--You may repair to the Earth or to the regions of the
celestials, as ye like. You should always be heedful, for the Vedas are such that
they are always liable to be misunderstood![1750]--Permitted by their preceptor
of truthful speech, the disciples left him after circumambulating him and bowing
their heads unto him. Descending upon the Earth they performed the Agnishtoma
and other sacrifices; and they began to officiate at the sacrifices of Brahmanas
and Kshatriyas and Vaidyas. Happily passing their days in the domestic mode of
life, they were treated by the Brahmanas with great respect. Possessed of great
fame and prosperity, they were employed in teaching and officiating in sacrifices.
After his disciples had gone away, Vyasa remained in his asylum, with only his
son in his company. Passing his days in anxious thoughtfulness, the great Rishi,
possessed of wisdom, kept silent, sitting in a retired corner of the asylum. At that
time Narada of great ascetic merit came to that spot for seeing Vyasa, and
addressing him, said these words of melodious sound.
“‟Narada said, O regenerate Rishi of Vasishtha‟s race, why are Vedic sounds
silent now? Why art thou sitting silent and alone engaged in meditation like one
taken up with an engrossing thought? Alas, shorn of Vedic echoes, this mountain
hath lost its beauty, even as the Moon shorn of splendour when assailed by
Rahu or enveloped in dust.[1751] Though inhabited by the celestial Rishis, yet
shorn of Vedic sounds, the mountain no longer looks beautiful now but
resembles a hamlet of Nishadas.[1752] The Rishis, the deities, and the
Gandharvas, too, no longer shine as before in consequence of being deprived of

Vedic sound!--Hearing these words of Narada, the Island-born Krishna
answered, saying,--O great Rishi, O thou art conversant with the declarations of
the Vedas, all that thou hast said is agreeable to me and it truly behoves thee to
say it unto me! Thou omniscient, thou hast seen everything. Thy curiosity also
embraces all things within its sphere. All that has ever occurred in the three
worlds is well known to thee. Do thou then, O regenerate Rishi, set thy
commands on me. O, tell me what I am to do! Tell me, O regenerate Rishi, what
should now be done by me. Separated from my disciples, my mind has become
very cheerless now.
„Narada said, The stain of the Vedas is the suspension of their recitation. The
stain of the Brahmanas is their non-observance of vows. The Valhika race is the
stain of the Earth. Curiosity is the stain of women. Do thou with thy intelligent son
recite the Vedas, and do thou with the echoes of Vedic sounds dispel the fears
arising from Rakshasas:
“Bhishma continued, „Hearing these words of Narada, Vyasa, the foremost of all
persons conversant with duties and firmly devoted to Vedic recitation, became
filled with joy and answered Narada, saying,--So be it—With his son Suka, he set
himself to recite the Vedas in a loud sonorous voice, observing all the rules of
orthoepy and, as it were, filling the three worlds with that sound. One day as sire
and son, who were well-conversant with all duties, were engaged in reciting the
Vedas, a violent wind arose that seemed to be impelled by the gales that blow on
the bosom of the ocean. Understanding from this circumstance that the hour was
suited to sacred recitation. Vyasa immediately bade his son to suspend the
recitation. Suka, thus forbidden by his sire, became filled with curiosity. He asked
his sire, saying,--O regenerate one, whence is this wind? It behoveth thee to tell
me everything about the conduct of the Wind.—Hearing this question of Suka,
Vyasa became filled with amazement. He answered Suka, by telling him that an
omen which indicated that the recitation of the Vedas should be suspended.—
Thou hast obtained spiritual vision. Thy mind too has, of itself, become cleansed
of every impurity. Thus hast been freed from the attributes of Passion and
Darkness. Thou stayest now in the attributes of Goodness. Thou beholdest now
thy Soul with thy Soul even as one beholds one‟s own shadow in a mirror.
Staying thyself on thy own Soul, do thou reflect on the Vedas. The path of the
Supreme Soul is called Deva-yana (the path of the gods). The path that is made
up of the attribute of Tamas is called Pitri-yana (the path of Pitris). These are the
two paths in the world hereafter. By one, people go to heaven. By the other,
people go to hell. The winds blow on the Earth‟s surface and in the welkin. There
are seven courses in which they blow. Listen to me as I recount them one after
another. The body is furnished with the senses are dominated over by the
Sadhyas and many great beings of mighty strength. These gave birth to an
invincible son named Samana. From Samana sprang a son called Udana. From
Udana sprang Vyana arose Apana, and lastly from Apana sprung the wind called
Prana. That invincible scorcher of all foes, viz., Prana, became childless. I shall
now recite to thee the different functions of those winds. The wind is the cause of
the different functions of all living creatures, and because living creatures are
enabled to live by it, therefore is the wind called Prana (or life). That wind which

is the first in the above enumeration and which is known by the name of Pravaha
(Samana) urges, along the first course, masses of clouds born of smoke and
heat. Coursing through the welkin, and coming into contact with the water
contained in the clouds, that wind displays itself in effulgence among the darts of
lightning.[1753] The second wind called Avaha blows with a loud noise. It is this
wind that causes Soma and the other luminaries to rise and appear. Within the
body (which is a microcosm of the universe) that wind is called Udana by the
wise. That wind which sucks up water from the four oceans, and having sucked it
up imparts it to the clouds in the welkin, and which, having imparted it to the
clouds present them to the deity of rain, is third in the enumeration and known by
the name of Udvaha. That wind which supports the clouds and divided them into
diverse portions, which melts them for pouring rain and once more solidifies
them, which is perceived as the sound of the roaring clouds, which exists for the
preservation of the world by itself assuming the form of the clouds, which bears
the cars of all celestial beings along the sky, is known by the name of Samvaha.
The fourth in the enumeration, it is endued with great strength so that it is
capable of ending the very mountains. The fifth wind is fraught with great force
and speed. It is dry and uproots and breaks down all trees. Existing with it, the
clouds come to be called by the name of Valahaka. That wind causes calamitous
phenomena of many kinds, and produces roaring sounds in the firmament. It is
known by the name of Vivaha. The sixth wind bears all celestial waters in the
firmament and prevents them from falling down. Sustaining the sacred waters of
the celestial Ganga, that wind blows, preventing them from having a downward
course. Obstructed by that wind from a distance, the Sun, which is really the
source of a thousand rays, and which enlightens the world, appears as a
luminous body of but one ray. Through the action of that wind, the Moon, after
waning, wanes again till he displays his full disc. That wind is known, O foremost
of ascetics, by the name Parivaha.[1754] That wind which takes away the life of
all living creatures when the proper hour comes, whose track is followed by
Death and Surya‟s son Yama, which becomes the source of that immortality
which is attained by Yogins of subtile sight who are always engaged in Yoga
meditation, by whose aid the thousands of grandsons of Daksha, that lord of
creatures, by his ten sons, succeeded in days of old in attaining to the ends of
the universe, whose touch enables one to attain to Emancipation by freeing
oneself from the obligation of returning so the world,--that wind is called by the
name of Paravaha. The foremost of all winds, it is incapable of being resisted by
anybody. Wonderful are these winds all of whom are the sons of Diti. Capable of
going everywhere and upholding all things, they blow all around thee without
being attached to thee at any time. This, however, is exceedingly wonderful viz.,
that this foremost of mountains should thus be suddenly shaken by that wind
which has begun to blow. This wind is the breath of Vishnu‟s nostrils. When
urged forth with speed, it begins to blow with great force at which the whole
universe becomes agitated. Hence, when the wind begins to blow with violence,
persons conversant with the Vedas do not recite the Vedas. The Vedas are a
form of wind. If uttered with force, the external wind becomes tortured.”

“Having said these words, the puissant son of Parasara bade his son (when the
wind had ceased) to go on with his Vedic recitation. He then left that spot for
plunging into the waters of the celestial Ganga.‟”[1755]
SECTION CCCXXX
“Bhishma said, „After Vyasa had left the spot, Narada, traversing through the sky,
came to Suka employed in studying the scriptures. The celestial Rishi came for
the object of asking Suka the meaning of certain portions of the Vedas.
Beholding the celestial Rishi Narada arrived at his retreat, Suka worshipped him
by offering him the Arghya according to the rites laid down in the Vedas. Pleased
with the honours bestowed upon him, Narada addressed Suka, saying,--Tell me,
O foremost of righteous persons, by what means, O dear child, may I accomplish
what is for thy highest good!--Hearing these words of Narada, Suka, said unto
him, O Bharata, these words:--It behoveth thee to instruct me in respect of that
which may be beneficial to me:
„Narada said, In days of yore the illustrious Sanatkumara had said these words
unto certain Rishis of cleansed souls that had repaired to him for enquiring after
the truth. There is no eye like that of knowledge. There is no penance like
renunciation. Abstention from sinful acts, steady practice of righteousness, good
conduct, the due observance of all religious duties,--these constitute the highest
good. Having obtained the status of humanity which is fraught with sorrow, he
that becomes attached to it, becomes stupefied: such a man never succeeds in
emancipating himself from sorrow. Attachment (to things of the world) is an
indication of sorrow. The understanding of person that is attached to worldly
things becomes more and more enmeshed in the net of stupefaction. The man
who becomes enmeshed in the net of stupefaction attains to sorrow, both here
and hereafter. One should, by every means in one‟s power, restrain both desire
and wrath if one seeks to achieve what is for one‟s good. Those two (viz., desire
and wrath) arise for only destroying one‟s good.[1756] One should always protect
one‟s penances from wrath, and one‟s prosperity from pride. One should always
protect one‟s knowledge from honour and dishonour and, one‟s soul from
error.[1757] Compassion is the highest virtue. Forgiveness is the highest might.
The knowledge of self is the highest knowledge. There is nothing higher than
truth. It is always proper to speak the truth. It is better again to speak what is
beneficial than to speak what is true. I hold that that is truth which is fraught with
the greatest benefit in all creatures.[1758] That man is said to be truly learned
and truly possessed of wisdom who abandons every act, who never indulges in
hope, who is completely dissociated from all worldly surroundings, and who has
renounced everything that appertains to the world. That person who, without
being attached thereto, enjoys all objects of sense with the aid of senses that are
completely under his control, who is possessed of a tranquil soul, who is never
moved by joy of sorrow, who is engaged in Yoga-meditation, who lives in
companionship with the deities presiding over his senses and dissociated also

from them, and who, though endued with a body, never regards himself as
identifiable with it, becomes emancipated and very soon attains to that which is
highest good. One who never sees others, never touches others, never talks with
others, soon, O ascetic, attains to what is for one‟s highest good. One should not
injure any creature. On the other hand, one should conduct oneself in perfect
friendliness towards all. Having obtained the status of humanity, one should
never behave inimically towards any being. A complete disregards for all
(worldly) things, perfect contentments, abandonment of hope of every kind, and
patience,--these constitute the highest good of one that has subjugated one‟s
senses and acquired a knowledge of self. Casting off all attachments, O child, do
thou subjugate all thy senses, and by that means attain to felicity both here and
hereafter. They that are free from cupidity have never to suffer any sorrow. One
should, therefore, cast off all cupidity from one‟s soul. By casting off cupidity, O
amiable and blessed one, thou shalt be able to free thyself from sorrow and pain.
One who wishes to conquer that which is unconquerable should live devoting
oneself to penances, to self-restraint, to taciturnity, to a subjugation of the soul.
Such a person should live in the midst of attachments without being attached to
them.[1759] That Brahmana who lives in the midst of attachments without being
attached to them and who always lives in seclusion, very soon attains to the
highest felicity. That man who lives in happiness by himself in the midst of
creatures who are seen to take delight in leading lives of sexual union, should be
known to be a person whose thirst has been slaked by knowledge. It is well
known that that man whose thirst has been slaked by knowledge has never to
indulge in grief. One attains to the status of the deities by means of good acts; to
the status of humanity by means of acts that are good and bad; while by acts that
are purely wicked, one helplessly falls down among the lower animals. Always
assailed by sorrow and decrepitude and death, a living creature is being cooked
in this world (in the cauldron of Time). Dost thou not known it? Thou frequently
regardest that to be beneficial which is really injurious; that to be certain which is
really uncertain; and that to be desirable and good which is undesirable and not
good. Alas, why dost thou not awake to a correct apprehension of these? Like a
silkworm that ensconces itself in its own cocoon, thou art continually ensconcing
thyself in a cocoon made of thy own innumerable acts born of stupefaction and
error. Alas, why chest thou not awake to a correct apprehension of thy situation?
No need of attaching thyself to things of this world. Attachment to worldly objects
is productive of evil. The silk-worm that weaves a cocoon round itself is at last
destroyed by its own act. Those persons that become attached to sons and
spouses and relatives meet with destruction at last, even as wild elephants sunk
in the mire of a lake are gradually weakened till overtaken by Death. Behold, all
creatures that suffer themselves to be dragged by the net of affection become
subject to great grief even as fishes on land, dragged thereto by means of large
nets! Relatives, sons, spouses, the body itself, and all one‟s possessions stored
with care, are unsubstantial and prove of no service in the next world. Only acts,
good and bad, that one does, follow one to the other world. When it is certain that
thou shalt have to go helplessly to the other world, leaving behind thee all these
things alas, why dost thou then suffer thyself to be attached to such unsubstantial

things of no value, without attending to that which constitutes thy real and
durable wealth? The path which thou shalt have to travel through is without
resting places of any kind (in which to take rest). There is no support along that
way which one may catch for upholding oneself. The country through which it
passes is unknown and undiscovered. It is, again enveloped in thick darkness.
Alas, how shalt thou proceed along that way without equipping thyself with the
necessary expenses? When thou shalt go along that road, nobody will follow
thee behind. Only thy acts, good and bad, will follow behind thee when thou shalt
depart from this world for the next. One seeks one‟s object of objects by means
of learning, acts, purity (both external and internal), and great knowledge. When
that foremost of objects is attained, one becomes freed (from rebirth). The desire
that one feels for living in the midst of human habitations is like a binding cord.
They that are of good acts succeed in tearing that bond and freeing themselves.
Only risen of wicked deeds do not succeed in breaking them. The river of life (or
the world) is terrible. Personal beauty or form constitutes its banks. The mind is
the speed of its current. Touch forms its island. Taste constitutes its current.
Scent is its mire. Sound is its waters. That particular part of it which leads
towards heaven is attended with great difficulties. Body is the boat by which one
must cross that river. Forgiveness is the oar by which it is to be propelled. Truth
is the ballast that is to steady that boat. The practice of righteousness is the
string that is to be attached to the mast for dragging that boat along difficult
waters. Charity of gift constitutes the wind that urges the sails of that boat.
Endued with swift speed, it is with that boat that one must cross the river of life.
Cast off both virtue and vice, and truth and falsehood. Having cast off truth and
falsehood, do thou cast off that by which these are to be cast off. By casting off
all purpose, do thou cast off virtue; do thou cast off sin also by casting off all
desire. With the aid of the understanding, do thou cast off truth and falsehood;
and, at last, do thou cast off the understanding itself by knowledge of the highest
topic (viz., the supreme Soul). Do thou cast off this body having bones for its
pillars; sinews for its binding strings and cords; flesh and blood for its outer
plaster; the skin for its outer case; full of urine and faeces and, therefore, emitting
a foul smell; exposed to the assaults of decrepitude and sorrow; forming the seat
of disease and weakened by pain; possessed of the attribute of Rajas in
predominance: not permanent or durable, and which serves as the (temporary)
habitation of the indwelling creature. This entire universe of matter, and that
which is called Mahat or Buddhi, are made up of the (five), great elements. That
which is called Mahat is due to the action of the Supreme. The five senses, the
three attributes of Tamas, Sattwa, and Rajas,--these (together with those which
have been mentioned before) constitute a tale of seventeen. These seventeen,
which are known by the name of the Unmanifest, with all those that are called
Manifest, viz., the five objects of the five senses, (that is to say, form, taste,
sound, touch, and scent), with Consciousness and the Understanding, form the
well-known tale of four and twenty. When endued with these four and twenty
possessions, one comes to be called by the name of Jiva (or Puman). He who
knows the aggregate of three (viz., Religion, Wealth, and Pleasure), as also
happiness and sorrow and life and death, truly and in all their details, is said to

know growth and decay. Whatever objects exist of knowledge, should be known
gradually, one after another. All objects that are apprehended by the senses are
called Manifest. Whatever objects transcend the senses and are apprehended by
means only of their indications are said to be Unmanifest. By restraining the
senses, one wins great gratification, even like a thirsty and parched traveller at a
delicious shower of rain. Having subjugated the senses one beholds one‟s soul
spread out for embracing all objects, and all objects in one‟s soul. Having its
roots in knowledge, the puissance is never lost of the man who (thus) beholds
the Supreme in his soul,--of the man, that is to say, who always beholds all
creatures in all conditions (in his own soul).[1760] He who by the aid of
knowledge, transcends all kinds of pain born of error and stupefaction, never
catches any evil by coming into contact with all creatures.[1761] Such a man, his
understanding being fully displayed, never finds fault with the course of conduct
that prevails in the world. One conversant with Emancipation says that the
Supreme Soul is without beginning and without end; that it takes birth as all
creatures; that it resides (as a witness) in the Jiva-soul; that it is inactive, and
without form. Only that man who meets with grief in consequence of his own
misdeeds, slays numerous creatures for the purpose of warding off that
grief.[1762] In consequence of such sacrifices, the performers have to attain to
rebirths and have necessarily to perform innumerable acts on every side. Such a
man, blinded by error, and regarding that to be felicity which is really a source of
grief, is continually rendered unhappy even like a sick person that eats food that
is improper. Such a man is pressed and grinded by his acts like any substance
that is churned. Bound by his acts, he obtains re-birth, the order of his life being
determined by the nature of his acts. Suffering many kinds of torture, he travels
in a repeated round of rebirths even like a wheel that turns ceaselessly. Thou,
however, hast cut through all thy bonds. Thou, abstainest from all acts!
Possessed of omniscience and the master of all things, let success be thine, and
do thou become freed from all existent objects. Through subjugation of their
senses and the power of their penances, many persons (in days of yore), having
destroyed the bonds of action, attained to high success and uninterrupted
felicity.‟”
SECTION CCCXXXI
“‟Narada said, By listening to such scriptures as are blessed, as bring about
tranquillity, as dispel grief, and as are productive of happiness, one attains to (a
pure) understanding, and having attained to it obtains to high „felicity. A thousand
causes of sorrow, a hundred causes of fear, from day to day, afflict one that is
destitute of understanding, but not one that is possessed of wisdom and learning.
Do thou, therefore, listen to some old narratives as I recite them to you, for the
object of dispelling thy griefs. If one can subjugate one‟s understanding, one is
sure to attain to happiness. By association of what is undesirable and
dissociation from what is agreeable, only men of little intelligence, become
subject to mental sorrow of every kind. When things have become past, one

should not grieve, thinking of their merits. He that thinks of such past things with
affection can never emancipate himself. One should always seek to find out the
faults of those things to which one begins to become attached. One should
always regard such things to be fraught with much evil. By doing so, one should
soon free oneself therefrom. The man who grieves for what is past fails to
acquire either wealth or religious merit or fame. That which exists no longer
cannot be obtained. When such things pass away, they do not return (however
keen the regret one may indulge in for their sake). Creatures sometimes acquire
and sometimes lose worldly object. No man in this world can be grieved by all the
events that fall upon him. Dead or lost, he who grieves for what is past, only gets
sorrow for sorrow. Instead of one sorrow, he gets two.[1763] Those men who,
beholding the course of life and death in the world with the aid of their
intelligence, do not shed tears, are said to behold properly. Such persons have
never to shed tears, (at anything that may happen). When any such calamity
comes, productive of either physical or mental grief, as is incapable of being
warded off by even one‟s best efforts, one should cease to reflect on it with
sorrow. This is the medicine for sorrow, viz., not to think of it. By thinking of it,
one can never dispel it; on the other hand, by thinking upon sorrow, one only
enhances it. Mental griefs should be killed by wisdom; while physical grief should
be dispelled by medicines. This is the power of knowledge. One should not, in
such matters, behave like men of little understandings. Youth, beauty, life, stored
wealth, health, association with those that are loved,--these all are exceedingly
transitory. One possessed of wisdom should never covet them. One should not
lament individually for a sorrowful occurrence that concerns an entire community.
Instead of indulgence in it when grief comes, one should seek to avert it and
apply a remedy as soon as one sees the opportunity for doing it. There is no
doubt that in this life the measure of misery is much greater than that of
happiness. There is no doubt in this that all men show attachment for objects of
the senses and that death is regarded as disagreeable. That man who casts off
both joy and sorrow, is said to attain to Brahma. When such a man departs from
this world, men of wisdom never indulge in any sorrow on his account. In
spending wealth there is pain. In protecting it there is pain. In acquiring it there is
pain. Hence, when one‟s wealth meets with destruction, one should not indulge
in any sorrow for it. Men of little understanding, attaining to different grades of
wealth, fail to win contentment and at last perish in misery. Men of wisdom,
however, are always contented. All combinations are destined to end in
dissolution. All things that are high are destined to fall down and become low.
Union is sure to end in disunion anti life is certain to end in death. Thirst is
unquenchable. Contentment is the highest happiness. Hence, persons of wisdom
regard contentment to be the most precious wealth. One‟s allotted period of life is
running continually. It stops not in its course for even a single moment. When
one‟s body itself is not durable, what other thing is there (in this world) that one
should reckon as durable? Those persons who, reflecting on the nature of all
creatures and concluding that it is beyond the grasp of the mind, turn their
attention to the highest path, and, setting out, achieve a fair progress in it, have
not to indulge in sorrow.[1764] Like a tiger seizing and running away with its prey,

Death seizes and runs away with the man that is employed in such (unprofitable)
occupation and that is still unsatiated with objects of desire and enjoyment. One
should always seek to emancipate oneself from sorrow. One should seek to
dispel sorrow by beginning one‟s operations with cheerfulness, that is, without
indulging in sorrow the while, having freed oneself from a particular sorrow, one
should act in such a way as to keep sorrow at a distance by abstaining from all
faults of conduct.[1765] The rich and the poor alike find nothing in sound and
touch and form and scent and taste, after the immediate enjoyment
thereof.[1766] Before union, creatures are never subject to sorrow. Hence, one
that has not fallen off from one‟s original nature, never indulges in sorrow when
that union comes to an end.[1767] One should restrain one‟s sexual appetite and
the stomach with the aid of patience. One should protect one‟s hands and feet
with the aid of the eye. One‟s eyes and ears and the other senses should be
protected by the mind. One‟s mind and speech should be ruled with the aid of
wisdom. Casting off love and affection for persons that are known as well as for
those that are unknown, one should conduct oneself with humility. Such a person
is said to be possessed of wisdom, and such a one surely finds happiness. That
man who is pleased with his own Soul[1768] who is devoted to Yoga, who
depends upon nothing out of self, who is without cupidity, and who conducts
himself without the assistance of anything but his self, succeeds in attaining to
felicity.‟”
SECTION CCCXXXII
“‟Narada said, When the vicissitudes of happiness and sorrow appear or
disappear, the transitions are incapable of being prevented by either wisdom or
policy or exertion. Without allowing oneself to fall away from one‟s true nature,
one should strive one‟s best for protecting one‟s own Self. He who betakes
himself to such care and exertion, has never to languish. Regarding Self as
something dear, one should always seek to rescue oneself from decrepitude,
death, and disease. Mental and physical diseases afflict the body, like keen-
pointed shafts shot from the bow by a strong bowman. The body of a person that
is tortured by thirst, that is agitated by agony, that is perfectly helpless, and that
is desirous of prolonging his life, is dragged towards destruction.[1769] Days and
nights are ceaselessly running bearing away in their current the periods of life of
all human beings. Like currents of rivers, these flow ceaselessly without ever
turning back.[1770] The ceaseless succession of the lighted and the dark
fortnights is wasting all mortal creatures without stopping for even a moment in
this work. Rising and setting day after day, the Sun, who is himself undecaying,
is continually cooking the joys and sorrows of all men. The nights are ceaselessly
going away, taking with them the good and bad incidents that befall man, that
depend on destiny, and that are unexpected by him. If the fruits of man‟s acts
were not dependent on other circumstances, then one would obtain whatever
object one would desire. Even men of restrained senses, of cleverness, and of
intelligence, if destitute of acts, never succeed in earning any fruits.[1771]

Others, though destitute of intelligence and unendued with accomplishments of
any kind, and who are really the lowest of men, are seen, even when they do not
long after success, to be crowned with the fruition of all their desires.[1772] Some
one else, who is always ready to do acts of injury to all creatures, and who is
engaged in deceiving all the world, is seen to wallow in happiness. Some one
that sits idly, obtains great prosperity; while another, by exerting earnestly, is
seen to miss desirable fruits almost within his reach.[1773] Do thou ascribe it as
one of the faults of man! The vital seed, originating in one‟s nature from sight of
one person, goes to another person. When imparted to the womb, it sometimes
produces an embryo and sometimes fails. When sexual congress fails, it
resembles a mango tree that puts forth a great many flowers without, however,
producing a single fruit.[1774] As regards some men who are desirous of having
offspring and who, for the fruition of their object, strive heartily (by worshipping
diverse deities), they fail to procreate an embryo in the womb. Some person
again, who fears the birth of an embryo as one fears a snake of virulent poison,
finds a long-lived son born unto him and who seems to be his own self come
back to the stages through which he has passed. Many persons with ardent
longing for offspring and cheerless on that account, after sacrificing to many
deities and undergoing severe austerities, at last beget children, duly borne for
ten long months (in the wombs of their spouses), that prove to be veritable
wretches of their race. Others, who have been obtained through virtue of such
blessed rites and observances, at once obtain wealth and grain and diverse other
sources of enjoyment earned and stored by their sires. In an act of congress,
when two persons of opposite sexes come into contact with one another, the
embryo takes birth in the womb, like a calamity afflicting the mother. Very soon
after the suspension of the vital breaths, other physical forms possess that
embodied creature whose gross body has been destroyed but whose acts have
all been performed with that gross body made of flesh and phlegm.[1775] Upon
the dissolution of the body, another body, which is as much destructible as the
one that is destroyed, is kept ready for the burnt and destroyed creature (to
migrate into) even as one boat goes to another for transferring to itself the
passengers of the other.[1776] In consequence of an act of congress, a drop of
the vital seed, that is inanimate, is cast into the womb. I ask thee, through whose
or what care is the embryo kept alive? That part of the body into which the food
that is eaten goes and where it is digested, is the place where the embryo
resides, but it is not digested there. In the womb, amid urine and faeces, one‟s
sojourn is regulated by Nature. In the matter of residence therein or escape
therefrom, the born creature is not a free agent. In fact, in these respects, he is
perfectly helpless. Some embryos fall from the womb (in an undeveloped state).
Some come out alive (and continue to live). While as regards some, they meet
with destruction in the womb, after being quickened with life, in consequence of
some other bodies being ready for them (through the nature of their acts).[1777]
That man who, in an act of sexual congress, injects the vital fluid, obtains from it
a son or daughter. The offspring thus obtained, when the time comes, takes part
in a similar act of congress. When the allotted period of a person‟s life is at its
close, the five primal elements of his body attain to the seventh and the ninth

stages and then cease to be. The person, however, undergoes no change.[1778]
Without doubt, when persons are afflicted by diseases as little animals assailed
by hunters, they then lose the powers of rising up and moving about. If when
men are afflicted by diseases, they wish to spend even vast wealth, physicians
with their best efforts fail to alleviate their pain. Even physicians, that are well-
skilled and well-up in their scriptures and well-equipt with excellent medicines,
are themselves afflicted by disease like animals assailed by hunters. Even if men
drink many astringents and diverse kinds of medicated ghee, they are seen to be
broken by decrepitude like trees by strong elephants. When animals and birds
and beasts of prey and poor men are afflicted by ailments, who treats them with
medicines? Indeed, these are not seen to be ill. Like larger animals assailing
smaller ones, ailments are seen to afflict even terrible kings of fierce energy and
invincible prowess. All men, reft of the power of even uttering cries indicate of
pain, and overwhelmed by error and grief, are seen to be borne away along the
fierce current into which they have been thrown. Embodied creatures, even when
seeking to conquer nature, are unable to conquer it with the aid of wealth, of
sovereign power, or of the austerest penances.[1779] If all attempts men make
were crowned with success, then men would never be subject to decrepitude,
would never come upon anything disagreeable, and lastly would be crowned with
fruition in respect of all their wishes. All men wish to attain to gradual superiority
of position. To gratify this wish they strive to the best of their power. The result,
however, does not agree with wish.[1780] Even men that are perfectly heedful,
that are honest, and brave and endued with prowess, are seen to pay their
adorations to men intoxicated with the pride of affluence and with even alcoholic
stimulants.[1781] Some men are seen whose calamities disappear before even
these are marked or noticed by them. Others there are who are seen to possess
no wealth but who are free from misery of every kind. A great disparity is
observable in respect of the fruits that wait upon conjunctions of acts. Some are
seen to bear vehicles on their shoulders, while some are seen to ride on those
vehicles. All men are desirous of affluence and prosperity. A few only have cars
(and elephants and steeds) dragged (or walking) in their processions. Some
there are that fail to have a single spouse when their first-wedded ones are dead;
while others have hundreds of spouses to call their own. Misery and happiness
are the two things that exist side by side. Men have either misery or happiness.
Behold, this is a subject of wonder! Do not, however, suffer thyself to be
stupefied by error at such a sight! Cast off both righteousness and sin! Cast off
also truth and falsehood! Having cast off truth and falsehood, do thou then cast
off that with whose aid thou shalt cast off the former! O best of Rishis, I have now
told thee that which is a great misery! With the aid of such instructions, the
deities (who were all human beings) succeeded in leaving the Earth for becoming
the denizens of heaven!
“‟Hearing these words of Narada Suka, endued with great intelligence and
possessed of tranquillity of mind, reflected upon the drift of the instructions he
received, but could not arrive at any certainty of conclusion. He understood that
one suffers great misery in consequence of the accession of children and
spouses; that one has to undergo great labour for the acquisition of science and

Vedic lore. He, therefore, asked himself, saying,--What is that situation which is
eternal and which is free from misery of every kind but in which there is great
prosperity?--Reflecting for a moment upon the course ordained for him to run
through, Suka, who was well acquainted with the beginning and the end of all
duties, resolved to attain to the highest end that is fraught with the greatest
felicity. He questioned himself, saying,--How shall I, tearing all attachments and
becoming perfectly free, attain to that excellent end? How, indeed, shall I attain
to that excellent situation whence there is no return into the ocean of diverse
kinds of birth! I desire to obtain that condition of existence whence there is no
return! Casting off all kinds of attachments, arrived at certainty by reflection with
the aid of the mind, I shall attain to that end! I shall attain to that situation in which
thy Soul will nave tranquillity, and when I shall be able to dwell for eternity without
being subject to decrepitude or change. It is, however, certain that that high end
cannot be attained without the aid of Yoga. One that has attained to the state of
perfect knowledge and enlightenment never receives an accession of low
attachments through acts.[1782] I shall, therefore, have recourse to Yoga, and
casting off this body which is my present residence, I shall transform myself into
wind and enter that mass of effulgence which is represented by the sin.[1783]
When Jiva enters that mass of effulgence, he no longer suffers like Shoma who,
with the gods, upon the exhaustion of merit, falls down on the Earth and having
once more acquired sufficient merit returns to heavens.[1784] The moon is
always seen to wane and once more wax. Seeing this waning and waxing that go
on repeatedly, I do not wish to have a form of existence in which there are such
changes. The Sun warms all the worlds by means of his fierce rays. His disc
never undergoes any diminution. Remaining unchanged, he drinks energy from
all things. Hence, I desire to go into the Sun of blazing effulgence.[1785] There I
shall live, invincible by all, and in my inner soul freed from all fear, having cast off
this body of mine in the solar region. With the great Rishis I shall enter the
unbearable energy of the Sun. I declare unto all creatures, unto these trees,
these elephants, these mountains, the Earth herself, the several points of the
compass, the welkin, the deities, the Danavas, the Gandharvas, the Pisachas,
the Uragas, and the Rakshasas, that I shall, verily, enter all creatures in the
world.[1786] Let all the gods with the Rishis behold the prowess of my Yoga
today!--Having said these words, Suka, informed Narada of world wide celebrity
of his intention. Obtaining Narada‟s permission, Suka then proceeded to where
his sire was. Arrived at his presence, the great Muni, viz., the high-souled and
Island-born Krishna, Suka walked round him and addressed him the usual
enquiries. Hearing of Suka‟s intention, the highsouled Rishi became highly
pleased. Addressing him, the great Rishi said,--O son, O dear son, do thou stay
here to-day so that I may behold thee for some time for gratifying my eyes,--
Suka, however, was indifferent to that request. Freed from affection and all
doubt, he began to think only of Emancipation, and set his heart on the journey.
Leaving his sire, that foremost of Rishis then proceeded to the spacious breast of
Kailasa which was inhabited by crowds of ascetics crowned with success.‟”

SECTION CCCXXXIII
“Bhishma said, Having ascended the summit of the mountain, O Bharata, the son
of Vyasa sat down upon a level spot free from blades of grass and retired from
the haunts of other creatures. Agreeably to the direction of the scriptures and to
the ordinances laid down, that ascetic, conversant with the gradual order of the
successive processes of Yoga, held his soul first in one place and then in
another, commencing from his feet and proceeding through all the limbs. Then
when the Sun had not risen long, Suka sat, with his face turned Eastwards, and
hands and feet drawn in, in an humble attitude. In that spot where the intelligent
son of Vyasa sat prepared to address himself to Yoga, there were no flocks of
birds, no sound, and no sight that was repulsive or terror-inspiring. He then
beheld his own Soul freed from all attachments. Beholding that highest of all
things, he laughed in joy.[1787] He once more set himself pre-pared to Yoga for
attaining to the path of Emancipation. Becoming the great master of Yoga, he
transcended the element of space. He then circumambulated the celestial Rishi
Narada, and represented unto that foremost of Rishis the fact of his having
addressed himself to the highest Yoga.
“Suka said,--I have succeeded in beholding the path (of Emancipation), I have
addrest myself to it. Blessed be thou, O thou of wealth of penances! I shall,
through thy grace, O thou of great splendour, attain to an end that is highly
desirable!”
“Bhishma said,--„Having received the permission of Narada, Suka the son of the
Island-born Vyasa saluted the celestial Rishi and once more set himself to Yoga
and entered the element of space. Ascending then from the breast of the Kailasa
mountain, he soared into the sky. Capable of traversing through the welkin, the
blessed Suka of fixed conclusion, then identified himself with the element of
Wind. As that foremost of regenerate ones, possessed of effulgence like that of
Garuda, was traversing through the skies with the speed of the wind or thought,
all creatures, cast their eyes upon him. Endued with the splendour of fire or the
Sun, Suka then regarded the three worlds in their entirety as one homogenous
Brahma, and proceeded along that path of great length. Indeed, all creatures
mobile and immobile, cast their eyes upon him as he proceeded with
concentrated attention, and a tranquil and fearless soul. All creatures, agreeably
to the ordinance and according to their power, worshipped him with reverence.
The denizens of heaven rained showers of celestial flowers upon him. Beholding
him, all the tribes of Apsaras and Gandharvas became filled with wonder. The
Rishis also, that were crowned with success, became equally amazed. And they
asked themselves,--who is this one that has attained to success by his
penances?--With gaze with-drawn from his own body but turned upwards he is
filling us all with pleasure by his glances!--Of highly righteous soul and celebrated
through-out the three worlds, Suka proceeded in silence, his face turned towards
the East and gaze directed towards the sun. As he proceeded, he seemed to fill
the entire welkin with an all-pervading noise. Beholding him coming in that way,
all the tribes of the Apsaras, struck with awe, O king, became filled with
amazement. Headed by Panchachuda and others, they looked at Suka with eyes

expanded by wonder. And they asked one another, saying;--What deity is this
one that has attained to such a high end? Without doubt, he comes hither, freed
from all attachments and emancipated from all desires!--Suka then proceeded to
the Malaya mountains where Urvasi and Purvachitti used to dwell always. Both of
them beholding the energy of the son of the great regenerate Rishi, became filled
with wonder. And they said,--Wonderful is this concentration of attention (to
Yoga) of a regenerate youth who was accustomed to the recitation and study of
the Vedas! Soon will he traverse the entire welkin like the Moon. It was by dutiful
service and humble ministrations towards his sire that he acquired this excellent
understanding. He is firmly attached to his sire, possessed of austere penances,
and is very much loved by his sire. Alas, why has he been dismissed by his
inattentive father to proceed (thus) along a way whence there is no return?--
Hearing these words of Urvasi, and attending to their import, Suka, that foremost
of all persons conversant with duties, cast his eyes on all sides, and once more
beheld the entire welkin, the whole Earth with her mountains and waters and
forests, and also all the lakes and rivers. All the deities also of both sexes, joining
their hands, paid reverence to the son of the Island-born Rishi and gazed at him
with wonder and respect. That foremost of all righteous men, Suka, addressing
all of them, said these words,--If my sire follow me and repeatedly call after me
by my name, do all of you together return him an answer for me. Moved by the
affection all of you bear for me, do you accomplish this request of mine!--Hearing
these words of Suka, all the points of the compass, all the forest, all the seas, all
the rivers, and all the mountains, answered him from every side, saying,--We
accept thy command, O regenerate one! It shall be as thou sayst! It is in this way
that we answer the words spoken by the Rishi!
SECTION CCCXXXIV
“Bhishma said, „Having spoken in this way (unto all things), the regenerate Rishi
of austere penances, viz., Suka, stayed on his success casting off the four kinds
of faults. Casting off also the eight kinds of Tamas, he dismissed the five kinds of
Rajas. Endued with great intelligence, he then cast off the attribute of Sattwa. All
this seemed exceedingly wonderful. He then dwelt in that eternal station that is
destitute of attributes, freed from every indication, that is, in Brahma, blazing like
a smokeless fire. Meteors began to shoot. The points of the compass seemed to
be ablaze. The Earth trembled. All those phenomena seemed exceedingly
wonderful. The trees began to cast off their branches and the mountains their
summits. Loud-reports (as of thunder) were heard that seemed to rive the
Himavat mountains. The sun seemed at that moment to be shorn of splendour.
Fire refused to blaze forth. The lakes and rivers and seas were all agitated.
Vasava poured showers of rain of excellent taste and fragrance. A pure breeze
began to blow, bearing excellent perfumes. Suka as he proceeded through the
welkin, beheld two beautiful summits, one belonging to Himavat and another to
Meru. These were in close contact with each other. One of them was made of
gold and was, therefore yellow; the other was white, being made of silver. Each

of them, O Bharata, was a hundred yojanas in height and of the same measure
in breadth. Indeed, as Suka journeyed towards the north, he saw those two
beautiful summits. With a fearless heart he dashed against those two summits
that were united with each other. Unable to bear the force, the summits were
suddenly rent in twain. The sight they thereupon presented, O monarch, was
exceedingly wonderful to behold. Suka pierced through those summits, for they
were unable to stop his onward course. At this a loud noise arose in heaven,
made by the denizens thereof. The Gandharvas and the Rishis also and others
that dwelt in that mountain being rent in twain and Suka passing through it.
Indeed, O Bharata, a loud noise was heard everywhere at that moment,
consisting of the words—Excellent, Excellent!--He was adored by the
Gandharvas and the Rishis, by crowds of Yakshas and Rakshasas, and all tribes
of the Vidyadharas. The entire firmament became strewn with celestial flowers
showered from heaven at that moment when Suka thus pierced through that
impenetrable barrier, O monarch! The righteous-souled Suka then beheld from a
high region the celestial stream Mandakini of great beauty, running below
through a region adorned by many flowering groves and woods. In these waters
many beautiful Apsaras were sporting. Beholding Suka who was bodiless, those
unclad aerial beings felt shame. Learning that Suka had undertaken his great
journey, his sire Vyasa, filled with affection, followed him behind along the same
aerial path. Meanwhile Suka, proceeding through that region of the firmament
that is above the region of the wind displayed his Yoga-prowess and identified
himself with Brahma.[1788] Adopting the subtile path of high Yoga, Vyasa of
austere penances, reached within the twinkling of the eye that spot whence Suka
first undertook his journey. Proceeding along the same way, Vyasa beheld the
mountain summit rent in twain and through which Suka has passed.
Encountering the Island-born ascetic, the Rishis began to represent to him the
achievements of his son. Vyasa, however, began to indulge in lamentations,
loudly calling upon his son by name and causing the three worlds to resound with
the noise he made. Meanwhile, the righteous-souled Suka, who had entered the
elements, had become their soul and acquired omnipresence, answered his sire
by uttering the monosyllable Bho in the form of an echo. At this, the entire
universe of mobile and immobile creatures, uttering the monosyllable Bho,
echoed the answer of Suka. From that time to this, when sounds are uttered in
mountain-caves or on mountain-breasts, the latter, as if in answer to Suka still
echo them (with the monosyllable Bho). Having cast off all the attributes of
sound, etc., and showing his Yoga-prowess in the manner of his disappearance,
Suka in this way attained to the highest station. Beholding that glory and
puissance of his son of immeasurable energy, Vyasa sat down on the breast of
the mountain and began to think of his son with grief. The Apsaras were sporting
on the banks of the celestial stream Mandakini, seeing the Rishi seated there,
became all agitated with grave shame and lost heart. Some of them, to hide their
nudity, plunged into the stream, and some entered the groves hard by, and some
quickly took up their clothes, at beholding the Rishi. (None of them had betrayed
any signs of agitation at sight of his son). The Rishi, beholding these movements,
understood that his son had been emancipated from all attachments, but that he

himself was not freed therefrom. At this he became filled with both joy and
shame. As Vyasa was seated there, the auspicious god Siva, armed with Pinaka,
surrounded on all sides by many deities and Gandharvas and adored by all the
great Rishis came thither. Consoling the Island-born Rishi who was burning with
grief on account of his son, Mahadeva said these words unto him.—Thou hadst
formerly solicited from me a son possessed of the energy of Fire, of Water, of
Wind, and of Space; Procreated by thy penances, the son that was born unto
thee was of that very kind. Proceeding from my grace, he was pure and full of
Brahma-energy. He has attained to the highest end—an end which none can win
that has not completely subjugated his senses, nor can be won by even any of
the deities. Why then, O regenerate Rishi, dost thou grieve for that son? As long
as the hills will last, as long as the ocean will last, so long will the fame of thy son
endure undiminished! Through my grace, O great Rishi thou shalt behold in this
world a shadowy form resembling thy son, moving by the side and never
deserting thee for a single moment!--Thus favoured by the illustrious Rudra
himself, O Bharata, the Rishi beheld a shadow of his son by his side. He returned
from that place, filled with joy at this. I have now told thee, O chief of Bharata‟s
race, everything regarding the birth and life of Suka about which thou hadst
asked me. The celestial Rishi Narada and the great Yogin Vyasa had repeatedly
told all this to me in days of yore when the subject was suggested to him in
course of conversation. That person devoted to tranquillity hears this sacred
history directly connected with the topic of Emancipation is certain to attain to the
highest end.”[1789]
SECTION CCCXXXV
“Yudhishthira said, „If a man be a house-holder or a Brahmacharin, a forest-
recluse or a mendicant, and if he desires to achieve success, what deity should
he adore? How can he certainly acquire heaven and attain that which is of the
highest benefit (viz., Emancipation)? According to what ordinances should he
perform the homa in honour of the gods and the Pitris? What is the region to
which one goes when one becomes emancipated? What is the essence of
Emancipation? What should one do so that one, having attained to heaven,
would not have to fall down thence? Who is the deity of the deities? And who is
the Pitri of the Pitris? Who is he that is superior to him, who is the deity of the
deities and the Pitri of the Pitris? Tell me all this, O Grandsire!‟
“Bhishma said, O thou that art well acquainted with the art of questioning, this
question that thou hast asked me, O sinless one, is one that touches a deep
mystery. One cannot answer it with the aid of the science of argumentation, even
if one were to strive for a hundred years. Without the grace of Narayana, O king,
or an accession of high knowledge, this question of thine is incapable of being
answered. Connected though this topic be with a deep mystery, I shall yet, O
slayer of foes, expound it to thee![1790] In this connection is cited the old history
of the discourse between Narada and the Rishi Narayana. I heard it from my sire

that in the Krita age, O monarch, during the epoch of the Self-born Manu, the
eternal Narayana, the Soul of the universe, took birth as the son of Dharma in a
quadruple form, viz., as Nara, Narayana, Hari, and the Self-create Krishna.[1791]
Amongst them all, Narayana and Nara underwent the severest austerities by
repairing to the Himalayan retreat known by the name of Vadari, by riding on
their golden ears. Each of those cars was furnished with eight wheels, and made
up of the five primal elements, and looked exceedingly beautiful.[1792] Those
original regents of the world who had taken birth as the sons of Dharma, became
exceedingly emaciated in person in consequence of the austerities they had
undergone. Indeed, for those austerities and for their energy, the very deities
were unable to look at them. Only that deity with whom they were propitiated
could behold them. Without doubt, with his heart devoted to them, and impelled
by a longing desire to be-hold them, Narada dropped down on Gandhamadana
from a summit of the high mountains of Meru and wandered over all the world.
Possessed of great speed, he at last repaired to that spot whereon was situated
the retreat of Vadari. Impelled by curiosity he entered that retreat at the hour of
Nara‟s and Narayana‟s, performing their daily rites. He said unto himself.—This
is truly the retreat of that Being in whom are established all the worlds including
the deities, the Asuras, the Gandharvas, the Kinnaras, and the great snakes!
There was only one form of this great Being before. That form took birth in four
shapes for the expansion of the race of Dharma which have been reared by that
deity. How wonderful it is that Dharma has thus been honoured by these four
great deities viz., Nara, Narayana, and Hari and Krishna! In this spot Krishna and
Hari dwelt formerly. The other two, however, viz., Nara and Narayana, are now
dwelling here engaged in penances for the object of enhancing their merit. These
two are the highest refuge of the universe. What can be the nature of the daily
rites these two perform? They are the sires of all creatures, and the illustrious
deities of all beings. Endued with high intelligence, what is that deity whom these
two worship? Who are those Pitris whom these two Pitris of all beings adore?--
Thinking of this in his mind, and filled with devotion towards Narayana, Narada
suddenly appeared before those two gods. After those two deities had finished
their adoration to their deities and the Rishis, they looked at the celestial Rishi
arrived at their retreat. The latter was honoured with those eternal rites that are
ordained in the scriptures. Beholding that extraordinary conduct of the two
original deities in themselves worshipping other deities and Pitris, the illustrious
Rishi Narada took his seat there, well pleased with the honours he had received.
With a cheerful soul he cast his eyes then on Narayana, and bowing unto
Mahadeva he said these words.
“Narada said, In the Vedas and the Puranas, in the Angas and the subsidiary
Angas thou art sung with reverence, thou art unborn and eternal. Thou art the
Creator. Thou art the mother of the universe. Thou art the embodiment of
Immortality and thou art the foremost of all things. The Past and the Future,
indeed, the entire universe has been established on thee! The four modes of life,
O lord, having the domestic for their first, ceaselessly sacrifice to thee that art of
diverse forms. Thou art the father and the mother and the eternal preceptor of

the universe. We know not who is that deity or that Pitri unto whom thou art
sacrificing to-day!
“The holy one said, This topic is one about which nothing should be said. It is an
ancient mystery. Thy devotion to me is very great. Hence, O regenerate one, I
shall discourse to thee on it agreeably to the truth. That which is minute, which is
inconceivable, unmanifest, immobile, durable, destitute of all connection with the
senses and the objects of the senses, that which is dissociated from the (five)
elements—that is called the in-dwelling Soul of all existent creatures. That is
known by the name of Kshetrajna. Transcending the three attributes of Sattwa,
Rajas, and Tamas, that is regarded as Purusha in the scriptures. From Him hath
followed the unmanifest, O foremost of regenerate ones, possessed of the three
attributes of Sattwa, Rajas, and Tamas. Though really unmanifest, she is called
indestructible Prakriti and dwell in all manifest forms. Know that She is the source
whence we two have sprung. That all-pervading Soul, which is made up of all
existent and non-existent things, is adored by us. Even He is what we worship in
all those rites that we perform in honour of the deities and the Pitris. There is no
higher deity or Pitri than He. O regenerate one, He should be known as our Soul.
It is him that we worship. This course of duties followed by men has, O
regenerate one, been promulgated by Him. It is His ordinance that we should
duly perform all the rites laid down in respect of the deities and the Pitris.
Brahman, Sthanu, Manu, Daksha, Bhrigu, Dharma, Yama, Marichi, Angiras, Atri,
Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Vasishtha, Parameshthi, Vivaswat, Shoma, he that has
been called Karddama, Krodha, Avak, and Krita,--these one and twenty persons,
called Prajapatis, were first born. All of them obeyed the eternal law of the
Supreme God Observing all the rites, in detail, that were ordained in honour of
the deities and the Pitris, all those foremost of regenerate persons acquired all
those objects which they sought. The incorporeal denizens of Heaven itself bow
to that Supreme deity and through His grace they attain to those fruits and that
end which He ordains for them. This is the settled conclusion of the scriptures
that these persons freed from these seven and ten attributes, (viz., the five
senses of knowledge, the five senses of action, the five vital breaths, and mind
and understanding), who have cast off all acts, and are divested of the five and
ten elements which constitute the gross body, are said to be Emancipate. That
which the Emancipate attain to as their ultimate end is called by the name of
Kshetrajna. He is regarded (in the scriptures) as both possessed of and free from
all the attributes. He can be apprehended by Knowledge alone. We two have
sprung from Him. Knowing him in that way, we adore that eternal Soul of all
things. The Vedas and all the modes of life, though characterised by divergences
of opinion, all worship Him with devotion. It is He who, speedily moved to grace,
confers on them high ends fraught with felicity. Those persons in this world who,
filled with His spirit, become fully and conclusively devoted to Him, attain to ends
that are much higher, for they succeed in entering Him and becoming merged in
his Self. I have now, O Narada, discoursed to thee on what is high mystery
moved by the love I bear to thee for thy devotion to me. Indeed, in consequence
of that devotion which thou professest towards me, thou hast succeeded in
listening to this my discourse!”

SECTION CCCXXXVI
“Bhishma said, „Addressed by Narayana, that foremost of beings, in these words,
Narada, the foremost of men, then said these words unto Narayana for the good
of the world.
“Narada said, Let that object be accomplished for which thou, O self-born Being,
hast taken birth in four forms in the house of Dharma! I shall now repair (to the
White Island) for beholding thy original nature. I always worship my seniors. I
have never divulged the secrets of others. O lord of the universe, I have studied
the Vedas with care. I have undergone austere penances. I have never spoken
an untruth. As ordained in the scriptures, I have always protected the four that
should be protected.[1793] I have always behaved equally towards friends and
foes. Wholly and conclusively devoted to Him, that first of deities, viz., the
Supreme Soul, I incessantly adore Him. Having cleansed my soul by these acts
of special merit, why shall I not succeed in obtaining a sight of that Infinite Lord of
the universe?--Hearing these words of Parameshthi‟s son, Narayana, that
protector of the scriptures, dismissed him, saying,--Go, O Narada!--Before
dismissing him, however, the great deity worshipped the celestial Rishi with
those rites and ceremonies which have been laid down in the scriptures by
himself. Narada also gave due honours to the ancient Rishi Narayana. After such
honours had been mutually given and received, the son of Parameshthi departed
from that spot. Endued with high Yoga-puissance, Narada suddenly soared into
the firmament and reached the summit of the mountains of Meru. Proceeding to
a retired spot on that summit, the great ascetic took rest for a short while. He
than cast his eyes towards the north western direction and beheld an
exceedingly wonderful sight. Towards the north, in the ocean of milk, there is a
large island named the White Island. The learned say that its distance from the
mountains of Meru is greater than two and thirty thousand Yojanas. The
denizens of that realm have no senses. They live without taking food of any kind.
Their eyes are winkless. They always emit excellent perfumes. Their
complexions are white. They are cleansed from every sin. They blast the eyes of
those sinners that look at them. Their bones and bodies are as hard as thunder.
They regard honour and dishonour in the same light. They all look as if they are
of celestial origin. Besides, all of them are endued, with auspicious marks and
great strength. Their heads seem to be like umbrellas. Their voices are deep like
that of the clouds. Each of them has four Mushkas.[1794] The soles of their feet
are marked by hundreds of lines. They have sixty teeth all of which are white
(and large), and eight smaller ones. They have many tongues. With those
tongues they seem to lick the very Sun whose face is turned towards every
direction. Indeed, they seem to be capable of devouring that deity from whom
hath sprung the entire universe, the Vedas, the deities, and the Munis wedded to
the attribute of tranquillity.

“Yudhishthira said,--„O grandsire, thou hast said that those beings have no
senses, that they do not eat anything for supporting their lives; that their eyes are
winkless; and that they always emit excellent perfumes. I ask, how were they
born? What also is the superior end to which they attain? O chief of Bharata‟s
race, are the indications of those men that become emancipate the same as
those by which the denizens of the White Island are distinguished? Do thou
dispel my doubts? The curiosity I feel is very great. Thou art the repository of all
histories and discourses. As regards ourselves, we entirely depend on thee for
knowledge and instruction!
“Bhishma continued,--„This narrative, O monarch, which I have heard from
my sire, is extensive. I shall now recite it to thee. Indeed, it is
regarded as the essence of all narratives. There was, in times past, a
king on Earth of the name of Uparichara. He was known to be the friend of
Indra, the chief of the celestials. He was devoted to Narayana known also
by the name of Hari. He was observant of all the duties laid down in the99

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MAHABHARATA

Kisari Mohan Ganguli

Mahabharta of Krishna Dwipayana Vyasa, translated to English by Kesarimohan Ganguli 1

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