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The Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 4 by or: Kisari Mohan Ganguli

O >> or: Kisari Mohan Ganguli >> The Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 4






SECTION CXXIX

"Lomasa said, 'The Pitris of those men who, without having wedded wives
of their own, betake themselves to the wives of other people, become
filled with disappointment when the time for the Sraddhas comes. He who
betakes himself to the wives of other people, he who indulges in sexual
union with a woman that is barren, and he who appropriates what belongs
to a Brahmana, are equally sinful. Without doubt, the Pitris of such
people cut them off without desiring to have any intercourse with them.
The offerings they make fail to gratify the deities and the Pitris.
Hence, one should always abstain from sexual congress with women that are
the wedded wives of others, as also with women that are barren. The man
who desires his own good should not appropriate what belongs to a
Brahmana. Listen now to another mystery, unknown to all with regard to
religion. One should, endued with faith, always do the bidding of one's
preceptor and other seniors. On the twelfth lunar day, as also on the day
of the full moon, every month, one should make gifts unto Brahmanas of
ghee and the offerings that constitute Akshata. Listen to me as I say
what the measure is of the merit that such a person acquires. By such an
act one is said to increase Soma and the Ocean. Vasava, the chief of the
celestials, confers upon him a fourth part of the merits that attach to a
Horse-sacrifice. By making such gifts, a person becomes endued with great
energy and prowess. The divine Soma, well-pleased with him, grants him
the fruition of his wishes. Listen now to another duty, together with the
foundation on which it rests, that is productive of great merit. In this
age of Kali, that duty, if performed, brings about much happiness to men.
That man who, rising at early dawn and purifying himself by a bath,
attires himself in white robes and with the concentrated attention makes
gifts unto Brahmanas of vessels full of sesame seeds, who makes offerings
unto the Pitris of water with sesame seeds and honey, and who gives lamps
as also the food called Krisara acquires substantial merits. Listen to me
as I say what those merits are. The divine chastiser of Paka has ascribed
these merits to the gift of vessels of copper and brass filled with
sesame seeds. He who makes gifts of kine, he who makes gifts of land that
are productive of eternal merit, he who performs the Agnishtoma sacrifice
with copious presents in the form of Dakshina to the Brahmanas, are all
regarded by the deities as acquiring, merits equal to those which one
acquires by making gifts of vessels filled with sesame seeds. Gifts of
water with sesame seeds are regarded by the Pitr is as productive of
eternal gratification to them. The grandsires all become highly pleased
with gifts of lamps and Krisara. I have thus recited the ancient
ordinance, laid down by the Rishis, that is highly applauded by both the
Pitris and the deities in their respective regions.'"



SECTION CXXX

"Bhishma said, 'The Rishis there assembled, together with the Pitris and
the deities, then, with concentrated attention, questioned Arundhati (the
spouse of Vasishtha) who was endued with great ascetic merit. Possessed
of abundant wealth of penances, Arundhati was equal to her husband, the
high-souled Vasishtha in energy for in both vows and conduct she was her
husband's equal. Addressing her they said, 'We desire to hear from thee
the mysteries of duty and religion. It behoveth thee, O amiable lady, to
tell us what thou regardest as a high mystery.'

"Arundhati said, 'The great progress I have been able to achieve in
penances is due to your consideration for me in thus remembering my poor
self. With your gracious permission I shall now discourse on duties that
are eternal, on duties that are high mysteries. I shall discourse thereon
with the causes on which they depend. Listen to me as I discourse to you
elaborately. A knowledge of these should be imparted unto him only that
is possessed of faith or that has a pure heart. These four, viz., he that
is bereft of faith, he that is full of pride, he that is guilty of
Brahmanicide, and he that violates the bed of his preceptor, should never
be talked to. Religion and duty should never be communicated unto them.
The merits acquired by a person who gives away a Kapila cow every day for
a period of two and ten years, or by a person who adores the deities
every month in a sacrifice, or by him who gives away hundreds of
thousands of kine in the great Pushkara, do not come up to those that are
his with whom a guest is gratified. Listen now to another duty whose
observance is fraught with happiness to mankind. It should be observed
with its secret ritual by a person endued with faith, Its merits are
certainly high. Listen to what they are. If a person, rising at early
dawn and taking with him a quantity of water and a few blades of Kusa
grass, proceeds into a cow-pen and arriving there washes a cow's horns by
sprinkling thereon that water with those blades of Kusa grass and then
causes the water to drip down on his own head, he is regarded, in
consequence of such a bath, as one that has performed his ablutions in
all the sacred waters that the wise have heard to exist in the three
worlds and that are honoured and resorted to by Siddhas and Charanas.'
After Arundhati had said these words, all the deities and Pitris
applauded her, saying, 'Excellent, Excellent,' Indeed, all the beings
there were highly gratified and all of them worshipped Arundhati.'

"Brahman said, 'O highly blessed one, excellent is the duty that thou
hast enunciated, together with its secret ritual. Praise be to thee! I
grant thee this boon, viz., that thy penances will continually increase!'

"Yams said, 'I have heard from thee an excellent and agreeable discourse.
Listen now to what Chitragupta has said and what is agreeable to me.
Those words relate to duty with its secret ritual, and are worthy of
being heard by the great Rishis, as also by men endued with faith and
desirous of achieving their own good. Nothing is lost of either piety or
sin that is committed by creatures. On days of the full moon and the new
moon, those acts are conveyed to the sun where they rest. When a mortal
goes into the region of the dead, the deity of the sun bears witness to
all his acts. He that is righteous acquires the fruits of his
righteousness there. I shall now tell you of some auspicious duties that
are approved by Chitragupta. Water for drink, and lamps for lighting
darkness, should always be given, as also sandals and umbrellas and
Kapila kine with due rites. In Pushkara especially should one make the
gift of a Kapila cow unto a Brahmana conversant with the Vedas. One
should also always maintain one's Agnihotra with great care. Here is
another duty which was proclaimed by Chitragupta. It behoveth them that
are the best of creatures to listen to what the merits are of that duty
separately. In course of time, every creature is destined to undergo
dissolution. They that are of little understanding meet with great
distress in the regions of the dead, for they become afflicted by hunger
and thirst. Indeed, they have to rot there, burning in pain. There is no
escape for them from such calamity. They have to enter into a thick
darkness. I shall now tell you of those duties by performing which one
may succeed in crossing such calamity. The performance of those duties
costs very little but is fraught with great merit. Indeed, such
performance is productive of great happiness in the other world. The
merits that attach to the gift of water for drink are excellent. In the
next world in especial, those merits are very high. For them that make
gifts of water for drink there is ordained in the other world a large
river full of excellent water. Indeed, the water contained in that river
is inexhaustible and cool and sweet as nectar. He who makes gifts of
water in this world drinks from that stream in the world hereafter when
he goes thither. Listen now to the abundant merits that attach to the
giving of lamps. The man who gives lamps in this world has never to even
behold the thick darkness (of Hell). Soma and Surya and the deity of fire
always give him their light when he repairs to the other world. The
deities ordain that on every side of such a person there should be
blazing light. Verily, when the giver of lights repairs to the world of
the dead, he himself blazes forth in pure effulgence like a second Surya.
Hence, one should give lights while here and water for drink in especial.
Listen now to what the merits are of the person who makes the gift of a
Kapila cow to a Brahmana conversant with the Vedas, especially if the
gift be made in Pushkara. Such a man is regarded as having made a gift of
a hundred kine with a bull, a gift that is productive of eternal merit.
The gift of a single Kapila cow is capable of cleansing whatever sins the
giver may be guilty of even if those sins be as grave. Brahmanicide, for
the gift of a single Kapila cow is regarded as equal in point of merit to
that of a hundred kine. Hence, one should give away a Kapila cow at that
Pushkara which is regarded as the senior (of the two Tirthas known by
that name) on the day of the full moon in the month of Karttika. Men that
succeed in making such a gift have never to encounter distress of any
kind, or sorrow, or thorns giving pain. That man who gives away a pair of
sandals unto a superior Brahmana that is deserving of the gift, attains
to similar merits. By giving away an umbrella a person obtains
comfortable shade in the next world. (He will not have to be exposed to
the sun). A gift made to a deserving person is never lost. It is certain
to produce agreeable consequences to the giver.' Hearing these opinions
of Chitragupta, Surya's hairs stood on their ends. Endued with great
splendour, he addressed all the deities and the Pitris, saying 'Ye have
heard the mysteries relating to duty, as propounded by the high-souled
Chitragupta. Those human beings who, endued with faith, make these gifts
unto high-souled Brahmanas, become freed from fear of every kind. These
five kinds of men, stained with vicious deeds, have no escape. Verily, of
sinful behaviour and regarded as the worst of men, they should never be
talked to. Indeed they should always be avoided. Those five are he who is
the slayer of a Brahmana, he who is the slayer of a cow, he who is
addicted to sexual congress with other people's wives, he who is bereft
of faith (in the Vedas), and he who derives his sustenance by selling the
virtue of his wife. These men of sinful conduct, when they repair to the
region of the dead, rot in hell like worms that live upon pus and blood.
These five are avoided by the Pitris, the deities, the Snataka Brahmanas,
and other regenerate persons that are devoted to the practice of
penances.'"



SECTION CXXXI

"Bhishma said, 'Then all the highly blessed deities and the Pitris, and
the highly blessed Rishis also, addressing the Pramathas, said,[557] 'Ye
are all highly blessed beings. Ye are invisible wanderers of the night.
Why do you afflict those men that are vile and impure and that are
unclean? What acts are regarded as impediments to your power? What,
indeed, are those acts in consequence of which ye become incompetent to
afflict men? What are those acts that are destructive of Rakshasas and
that prevent you from asserting your power over the habitations of men?
Ye wanderers of the night, we desire to hear all this from you.'

"The Pramathas said, 'Men are rendered unclean by acts of sexual
congress. They who do not purify themselves after such acts, they who
insult their superiors, they who from stupefaction eat different kinds of
meat, the man also who sleeps at the foot of a tree, he who keeps any
animal matter under his pillow while lying down for sleep, and he who
lies down or sleeps placing the head where his feet should be placed or
his feet where the head should be placed,--these men are regarded by us
as unclean. Verily, these men have many holes. Those also are numbered in
the same class who throw their phlegm and other unclean secretions into
the water. Without doubt these men deserve to be slain and eaten up by
us. Verily, we afflict those human beings who are given to such conduct.
Listen now to what those acts are which are regarded as antidotes and in
consequence of which we fail to do any injury to men. Those men upon
whose persons occur streaks of Gorochana, or who hold Vachas in their
hands, or who make gifts of ghee with those ingredients that go by the
name of Akshata, or who place ghee and Akshata on their heads, or those
who abstain from meat are incapable of being afflicted by us. That man in
whose house the sacred fire burns day and night without being ever put
out, or who keeps the skin or teeth of a wolf in his abode or a
hill-tortoise, or from whose habitation the sacrificial smoke is seen to
curl upwards, or who keeps a cat or a goat that is either tawny or black
in hue, is free from our power. Verily, those householders who keep these
things in their houses always find them free from the inroads of even the
fiercest spirits that live on carrion. Those beings also, that like us
range through different worlds in pursuit of pleasure, are unable to do
any injury to such houses. Hence, ye deities, should men keep such
articles in their houses,--articles that are destructive of Rakshasas
(and other beings of the kind). We have thus told you everything about
that respecting which ye had great doubts.'"



SECTION CXXXII

"Bhishma said, 'After this, the Grandsire Brahman, sprang from the
primeval lotus and resembling the lotus (in agreeableness and fragrance),
addressed the deities with Vasava, the lord of Sachi, at their
head,--Yonder sits the mighty Naga who is a resident of the nether
regions. Endued with great strength and energy, and with great prowess
also, his name is Renuka. He is certainly a great being. Those mighty
elephants endued with great energy and power, who hold the entire earth
with her hills, waters, and lakes should be interviewed by this Renuka at
your request. Let Renuka go to them and ask them about the mysteries of
religion or duty.--Hearing these words of the Grandsire, the deities,
with well-pleased minds commissioned (the elephant) Renuka to where those
upholders of the world are.'"

"Renuka, proceeding to where those elephants are, addressed them, saying,
'Ye mighty creatures, I have been commanded by the deities and the Pitris
to question you about the mysteries of religion and duty. I desire to
bear you discourse on that subject in detail. Ye highly blessed ones, do
ye discourse on the subject as your wisdom may dictate.'

"The (eight) elephants standing in the eight quarters said, 'On the
auspicious eighth day of the dark fortnight in the month of Karttika when
the constellation Aslesha is in the ascendant, one should make gifts of
treacle and rice. Casting aside wrath, and living on regulated diet, one
should make these offerings at a Sraddha, uttering these mantras the
while--Let Valadeva and other Nagas possessed of great strength, let
other mighty snakes of huge bodies that are indestructible and eternal,
and let all the other great snakes that have taken their birth in their
race, make Vali offerings to me for the enhancement of my strength and
energy. Verily, let my strength be as great as that of the blessed
Narayana when he raised the submerged Earth!--Uttering these mantras, one
should make Vali offerings upon an ant-hill. When the maker of day
retires to his chambers in the west, upon the ant-hill selected should
offerings be made of raw sugar and rice. The ant-hill should previously
be scattered with Gajendra flowers, Offerings should also be made of blue
cloths and fragrant unguents. If offerings are made in this way, those
beings that live in the nether regions, bearing the weight of the upper
regions upon their heads or shoulders, become well-pleased and gratified.
As regards ourselves, we also do not feel the labour of upholding the
Earth, in consequence of such offerings being made to us. Afflicted with
the burden we bear, even this is what we think (beneficial for men),
without the slightest regard for selfish concerns. Brahmanas and
Kshatriyas and Vaisyas and Sudras, by observing this rule for a full
year, fasting on each occasion, acquire great merits from such gifts. We
think that the making of such Vali offerings on the ant-hill is really
fraught with very superior merits. By making such offerings, one is
regarded as doing the duties of hospitality for a hundred years to all
the mighty elephants that exist in the three worlds.' Hearing these words
of the mighty elephants, the deities and the Pitris and the highly
blessed Rishis, all applauded Renuka."



SECTION CXXXIII

"Maheswara said, 'Searching your memories, excellent are the duties ye
all have recited. Listen all of you now to me as I declare some mysteries
relating to religion and duty. Only those persons whose understanding has
been set on religion and who are possessed of faith, should be instructed
in respect of those mysteries of duty and religion that are fraught with
high merits. Hear what the merits are that become his who, with heart
free from anxiety, gives food everyday, for a month, to kine and contents
himself with one meal a day throughout such period. The kine are highly
blessed. They are regarded as the most sacred of all sacred things.
Verily, it is they that are upholding the three worlds with the deities,
the Asuras, and human beings. Respectful services rendered to them are
fraught with high merit and grave consequences. That man who every day
gives food to kine advances every day in religious merit. Formerly, in
the Krita age I had expressed my approval of these creatures. Afterwards
Brahman, born of the primeval lotus, solicited me (to show kindness
towards kine).[558] It is for this reason that a bull to this day stands
as the device on my standard overhead. I always sport with kine. Hence
should kine be worshipped by all. Kine are possessed of great power. They
are givers of boons. If worshipped, they would grant boons. That person
who gives food to kine even for a single day receives from those
beneficent creatures for that act a fourth part of the merits he may win
by all his good acts in life.'"



SECTION CXXXIV

"Skanda said, 'I shall now declare a duty that is approved of by me. Do
ye listen to it with concentrated attention. That person who takes a
little earth from the horns of a bull of blue complexion, smears his body
therewith for three days, and then performs his ablutions, acquires great
merits. Hear what those merits are. By such an act he would wash away
every stain and evil, and attain to sovereign sway hereafter. As many
times he takes his birth in this world, so many times does he become
celebrated for his heroism. Listen now to another mystery unknown to all.
Taking a vessel of copper and placing therein some cooked food after
having mixed it with honey, one should offer it as Vali unto the rising
moon on the evening of the day when that luminary is at full. Do ye
learn, with faith, what the merits are of the person that acts in this
way. The Sadhyas, the Rudras, the Adityas, the Viswedevas, the twin
Aswins, the Maruts, and the Vasus, all accept that offering. By such an
offering Soma increases as also the ocean, that vast receptacle of
waters. This duty that is declared by me and that is unknown to all, if
performed, is certainly fraught with great happiness.'

"Vishnu said, 'That person who, endued with faith and freed from malice,
listens every day with concentrated attention to the mysteries in respect
of religion and duty that are preserved by the high-souled deities and
those mysteries also of the same kind that are preserved by the Rishis,
has never to succumb to any evil. Such a person becomes also freed from
every fear. That man who, with his senses under thorough control, reads
these sections which treat of these auspicious and meritorious duties,
together with their mysteries,--duties that have been declared (by the
previous speakers), acquires all the merits that attach to their actual
performance. Sin can never overmaster him. Verily, such a man can never
be stained with faults of any kind. Indeed, one wins abundant merits by
reading these mysteries (as declared), or by reciting them to others, or
by hearing them recited. The deities and the Pitris eat, for ever the
Havya and the Kavya offered by such a creature. Both these, in
consequence of the virtues of the offerer become inexhaustible. Even such
is the merit that attaches to the person who, with concentrated
attention, recites these mysteries to foremost of Brahmanas on days of
the full moon or the new moon. Such a person, in consequence of such an
act, becomes steady in the observance of all duties. Beauty of form and
prosperity also become his. He succeeds, besides this, in becoming the
favourite, for all time, of the Rishis and the deities and the Pitris. If
a person becomes guilty of all sins save those which are classed as grave
or heinous, he becomes cleansed of them all by only listening to the
recitation of these mysteries about religion and duty.'

"Bhishma continued, 'Even these, O king of men, are the mysteries in
respect of religion and duty dwelling in the breasts of the deities. Held
in high respect by all the gods and promulgated by Vyasa, they have now
been declared by me for thy benefit. One who is conversant with religion
and duty thinks that this excellent knowledge is superior (in value) to
even the whole earth full of riches and wealth. This knowledge should not
be imparted to one that is bereft of faith, or to one that is an atheist,
or to one that has fallen away from the duties of his order, or to one
that is destitute of compassion, or to one that is devoted to the science
of empty disputations, or to one that is hostile to one's preceptors, or
to one that thinks all creatures to be different from oneself.'"



SECTION CXXXV

"Yudhishthira said, 'Who are those persons, O Bharata, from whom a
Brahmana in this world may accept his food? From whom may a Kshatriya, a
Vaisya, and a Sudra take their food respectively?'

"Bhishma said, 'A Brahmana may take his food from another Brahmana or
from a Kshatriya or a Vaisya, but he must never accept food from a Sudra.
A Kshatriya may take his food from a Brahmana, a Kshatriya or a Vaisya.
He must, however, eschew food given by Sudras who are addicted to evil
ways and who partake of all manner of food without any scruple. Brahmanas
and Kshatriyas can partake of food given by such Vaisyas as tend the
sacred fire every day, as are faultless in character, and as perform the
vow of Chaturmasya. But the man who takes food from a Sudra, swallows the
very abomination of the earth, and drinks the excretions of the human
body, and partakes of the filth of all the world. He partakes of the very
filth of the earth who takes his food thus from a Sudra. Verily, those
Brahmanas that take their food from Sudras, take the dirt of the earth.
If one engages in the service of a Sudra, one is doomed to perdition
though one may duly perform all the rites of one's order. A Brahmana, a
Kshatriya, or a Vaisya, so engaging, is doomed, although devoted to the
due performance of religious rites. It is said that a Brahmana's duty
consists in studying the Vedas and seeking the welfare of the human race;
that a Kshatriya's duty consists in protecting men, and that a Vaisya's
in promoting their material prosperity. A Vaisya lives by distributing
the fruits of his own acts and agriculture. The breeding of kine and
trade are the legitimate work in which a Vaisya may engage without fear
of censure. The man who abandons his own proper occupation and betakes
himself to that of a Sudra, should be considered as a Sudra and on no
account should any food be accepted from him. Professors of the healing
art, mercenary soldiers, the priest who acts as warder of the house, and
persons who devote a whole year to study without any profit, are all to
be considered as Sudras. And those who impudently partake of food offered
at ceremonials in a Sudra's house are afflicted with a terrible calamity.
In consequence of partaking such forbidden food they lose their family,
strength, and energy, and attain to the status of animals, descending to
the position of dogs, fallen in virtue and devoid of all religious
observances. He who takes food from a physician takes that which is no
better than excrement; the food of a harlot is like urine; that of a
skilled mechanic is like blood. If a Brahmana approved by the good, takes
the food of one who lives by his learning, he is regarded as taking the
food of a Sudra. All good men should forego such food. The food of a
person who is censured by all is said to be like a draught from a pool of
blood. The acceptance of food from a wicked person is considered as
reprehensible as the slaying of a Brahmana. One should not accept food if
one is slighted and not received with due honours by the giver. A
Brahmana, who does so, is soon overtaken by disease, and his race soon
becomes extinct. By accepting food from the warder of a city, one
descends to the status of the lowest outcaste. If a Brahmana accepts food
from one who is guilty of killing either a cow or a Brahmana or from one
who has committed adultery with his preceptor's wife or from a drunkard,
he helps to promote the race of Rakshasas. By accepting food from a
eunuch, or from an ungrateful person, or from one who has misappropriated
wealth entrusted to his charge, one is born in the country of the Savaras
situated beyond the precincts of the middle country. I have thus duly
recited to thee the persons from whom food may be accepted and from whom
it may not. Now tell me, O son of Kunti, what else thou wishest to hear
from me today.'"

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