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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 CXLII

"Uma said, 'Forest recluses reside in delightful regions, among the
springs and fountains of rivers, in bowers by the sides of streams and
rills, on hills and mountains, in woods and forests, and in sacred spots
full of fruits and roots. With concentrated attention and observant of
vows and rules, they dwell in such places. I desire, O Sankara, to hear
the sacred ordinances which they follow. These recluses, O god of all
gods, are persons that depend, for the protection of their bodies, upon
themselves alone.'[565]

Maheswara said, 'Do thou hear with concentrated attention what the duties
are of forest recluses. Having listened to them with one mind, O goddess,
do thou set thy heart upon righteousness. Listen then to what the acts
are that should be practised by righteous recluses crowned with success,
observant of rigid vows and rules, and residing in woods and forests.
Performing ablutions thrice a day, worshipping the Pitris and the
deities, pouring libations on the sacred fire, performing those
sacrifices and rites that go by the name of Ishti-homa, picking up the
grains of Nivara-paddy, eating fruit and roots, and using oil that is
pressed out from Inguda and castor-seeds are their duties. Having gone
through the practices of Yoga and become crowned with (ascetic) success
and freed from lust and wrath, they should seat themselves in the
attitude called Virasana. Indeed, they should reside in those places
which are inaccessible to cowards.[566] Observant of the excellent
ordinances relating to Yoga, sitting in summer in the midst of four fires
on four sides with the sun overhead, duly practising what is called
Manduka Yoga, and always seated in the attitude called Virasana, and
lying on bare rocks or the earth, these men, with hearts set upon
righteousness, must expose themselves to cold and water and fire. They
subsist upon water or air or moss. They use two pieces of stones only for
husking their corn. Some of them use their teeth only for such a purpose.
They do not keep utensils of any kind (for storing anything for the day
to come). Some of them clothe themselves with rags and barks of trees or
deer-skins. Even thus do they pass their lives for the measure of time
allotted to them, according to the ordinances (set forth in the
scriptures). Remaining in woods and forests, they wander within woods and
forests, live within them, and are always to be found within them.
Indeed, these forest recluses entering into woods and forests live within
them as disciples, obtaining a preceptor, live with him. The performance
of the rites of Homa is their duty, as also the observance of the five
sacrifices. A due observance of the rules about distribution (in respect
of time) of the fivefold sacrifices as laid down in the Vedas, devotion
to (other) sacrifices, forming the eighth, observance of the Chaturmasya,
performance of the Paurnamasya, and other sacrifices, and performance of
the daily sacrifices, are the duties of these men dissociated from wives,
freed from every attachment, and cleansed from every sin. Indeed, they
should live even thus in the forest. The sacrificial ladle and the
water-vessel are their chief wealth. They are always devoted to the three
fires. Righteous in their conduct and adhering to the path of virtue,
they attain to the highest end. These Munis, crowned with (ascetic)
success and ever devoted to the religion of Truth, attain to the highly
sacred region of Brahman or the eternal region of Soma. O auspicious
goddess, I have thus recited to thee, in brief, the outlines of the
religion that is followed by forest recluses and that has many practices
in detail.'

"Uma said, 'O holy one, O lord of all creatures, O thou that art
worshipped by all beings, I desire to hear what the religion is of those
Munis that are followers of the scriptures treating of ascetic success.
Do thou recite it to me. Residing in woods and forests and
well-accomplished in the scriptures of success, some amongst them live
and act as they like, without being restrained by particular practices;
others have wives. How, indeed, have their practices been laid down?'

"Mahadeva said, 'O goddess, the shaving of the head and the wearing of
the brown robes are the indications of those recluses that rove about in
freedom; while the indications of those that sport with wedded wives
consist in passing their nights at home. Performing ablutions there times
a day is the duty of the classes, while the Homa, with water and fruits
from the wilderness, belongs to the wedded recluses as performed by the
Rishis in general. Absorption, Yoga-meditation, and adherence to those
duties that constitute piety and that have been laid down as such (in the
scriptures and the Vedas) are some of the other duties prescribed for
them. All those duties also of which I have spoken to thee before as
appertaining to recluses residing in forests, are the duties of these
also. Indeed, if those duties are observed, they that observe them,
attain to the rewards that attach to severe penances. Those forest
recluses that lead wedded lives should confine the gratification of their
senses to these wedded wives of theirs. By indulging in sexual congress
with their wives at only those times when their seasons come, they
conform to the duties that have been laid down for them. The religion
which these virtuous men are to follow is the religion that has been laid
down and followed by the Rishis. With their eyes set upon the acquisition
of righteousness, they should never pursue any other object of desire
from a sense of unrestrained caprice. That man who makes the gift unto
all creatures of an assurance of perfect harmlessness or innocence, freed
as his soul becomes from the stain of malice or harmfulness, becomes
endued with righteousness. Verily, that person who shows compassion to
all creatures, who adopts as a vow a behaviour of perfect sincerity
towards al creatures, and who constitutes himself the soul of all
creatures, becomes endued with righteousness. A bath in all the Vedas,
and a behaviour of sincerity towards all creatures, are looked upon as
equal in point of merit; or, perhaps, the latter is a little
distinguished above the other in point of merit. Sincerity, it has been
said, is Righteousness; while insincerity or crookedness is the reverse.
That man who conducts himself with sincerity becomes endued with
Righteousness. The man who is always devoted to sincerity of behaviour,
succeeds in attaining to a residence among the deities. Hence, he who
wishes to achieve the merit of righteousness should become endued with
sincerity. Possessed of a forgiving disposition and of self-restraint,
and with wrath under complete subjection, one should transform oneself
into an embodiment of Righteousness and become freed from malice. Such a
man, who becomes devoted, besides, to the discharge of all the duties
Religion, becomes endued with the merit of Righteousness. Freed from
drowsiness and procrastination, the pious person, who adheres to the path
of Righteousness to the best of his power, and becomes possessed of pure
conduct, and who is venerable in years, comes to be regarded as equal to
Brahma himself.'

"Uma said. By what course of duties, O god, do those ascetics who are
attached to their respective retreats and possessed of wealth of
penances, succeed in becoming endued with great splendour? By what acts
again, do kings and princes who are possessed of great wealth, and others
who are destitute of wealth, succeed in obtaining high rewards? By what
acts, O god, do denizens of the forest succeed in attaining to that place
which is eternal and in adorning their persons with celestial
sandal-paste? O illustrious god of three eyes, O destroyer of the triple
city, do thou dispel this doubt of mine connected with the auspicious
subject of the observance of penances by telling everything in detail.'

"The illustrious deity said, 'Those who observe the vows relating to
fasts and restrain their senses, who abstain from injury of any kind to
any creature, and who practise truthfulness of speech, attain to success
and ascending to Heaven sport in felicity with the Gandharvas as their
companions, freed from every kind of evil. The righteous souled man who
lies down in the attitude which appertains to Manduka-Yoga, and who
properly and according to the ordinance performs meritorious acts after
having taken the Diksha, sports in felicity in the next world in the
company of the Nagas. That man who lives in the company of deer and
subsists upon such grass and vegetables as fall off from their mouths,
and who has undergone the Diksha and attends to the duties attached to
it, succeeds in attaining to Amaravati (the mansions of Indra). That man
who subsists upon the moss he gathers and the fallen leaves of trees that
he picks up, and endures all the severities of cold, attains to very high
place. That man who subsists upon either air or water, or fruits and
roots, attains in after life to the affluence that belongs to the Yakshas
and sports in felicity in the company of diverse tribes of Apsaras.
Having practised for two and ten years, according to the rites laid down
in the ordinances, the vow relating to the endurance of the five fires in
the summer season, one becomes in one's next life a king. That man who,
having observed vows with respect to food, practises penances for two and
twelve years, carefully abstaining from all interdicted food, taken at
forbidden hours, during the periods becomes in his next life a ruler of
earth.[567] That man who sits and lies on the bare ground with the cope
of the firmament alone for his shelter, observes the course of duties
that attach to Diksha, and then casts off his body by abstaining from all
food, attains to great felicity in Heaven. The rewards of one who sits
and lies down upon the bare ground (with the welkin alone for his
shelter) are said to be excellent vehicles and beds, and costly mansions
possessed of the resplendence of the moon, O lady! That man who, having
subsisted upon abstemious diet and observed diverse excellent vows, lives
depending upon his own self and then casts off his body by abstaining
from all food, succeeds in ascending to heaven and enjoying all its
felicity. That man who, having lived in entire dependence upon his own
self, observes for two and ten years the duties that appertain to Diksha,
and at last casts off his body on the great ocean, succeeds in attaining
to the regions of Varuna after death. That man who, living in entire
dependence upon his own self observes the duties that attach to Diksha
for two and ten years, and pierces his own feet with a sharp stone,
attains to the felicity of the region that belongs to the Guhyakas. He
who cultivates self with the aid of self, who frees himself from the
influence of all pairs of opposites (such as heat and cold, joy and
sorrow, etc), who is freed from every kind of attachment, and who
mentally observes for two and ten years such a course of conduct after
Diksha, attains to Heaven and enjoys every happiness with the deities as
his companions. He who lives in entire dependence upon his own self and
observes for two and ten years the duties that attach to Diksha and
finally casts off his body on the fire as an oblation to the deities,
attains to the regions of Brahman and is held in high respect there. That
regenerate man, O goddess, who having properly gone through the Diksha
keeps his senses under subjugation, and placing his Self on Self frees
himself from the sense of meum, desirous of achieving righteousness, and
sets out, without a covering for his body, after the due observance of
the duties of Diksha for two and ten years and after having placed his
sacred fire on a tree, and walks along the path that belongs to heroes
and lies down (when need for lying down comes) in the attitude of heroes,
and conducts himself always after the manner of heroes, certainly attains
to the end that is reserved for heroes.[568] Such a man repairs to the
eternal region of Sakra where he becomes crowned with the fruition of all
his wishes and where he sports in joy, his person decked with garlands of
celestial flowers and celestial perfumes. Indeed, that righteous souled
person lives happily in Heaven, with the deities as his companions. The
hero, observant of the practices of heroes and devoted to that Yoga which
belongs to heroes, living in the practice of Goodness, having renounced
everything, having undergone the Diksha and subjugated his senses, and
observing purity of both body and mind, is sure to attain to that path
which is reserved for heroes. Eternal regions of happiness are his.
Riding on a car that moves at the will of the rider, he roves through all
those happy regions as he likes. Indeed, dwelling in the region of Sakra,
that blessed person always sports in joy, freed from every calamity."



SECTION CXLIII

"Uma said, 'O holy one, O thou that didst tear off the eyes of Bhaga and
the teeth of Pushan, O destroyer of the sacrifice of Daksha, O three-eyed
deity, I have a great doubt. In days of yore, the Self-born One created
the four orders. Through the evil consequence of what acts cloth a Vaisya
become a Sudra? Through what acts doth a Kshatriya become a Vaisya and a
regenerate person (Brahmana) becomes a Kshatriya? By what means may such
degradation of castes be prevented? Through what acts does a Brahmana
take birth in his next life, in the Sudra order? Through what acts, O
puissant deity, does a Kshatriya also descend to the status of Sudra? O
sinless one, O lord of all created beings, do thou, O illustrious one,
dispel this doubt of mine. How, again, can the three other orders
naturally succeed in attaining to the status of Brahmanhood?'

"The illustrious one said, 'The status of a Brahmana, O goddess, is
exceedingly difficult to attain. O auspicious lady, one becomes a
Brahmana through original creation or birth. After the same manner the
Kshatriya, the Vaisya, and the Sudra, all become so through original
creation. Even this is my opinion[569]. He, however, that is born a
Brahmana falls away from his status through his own evil acts. Hence, the
Brahmana, after having attained to the status of the first order, should
always protect it (by his acts). If one, who is a Kshatriya or Vaisya,
lives in the practice of those duties that are assigned to the Brahmana,
after the manner of a Brahmana he becomes (in his next life) a Brahmana.
That Brahmana who casts off the duties of his order for following those
assigned for the Kshatriya, is regarded as one that has fallen away from
the status of a Brahmana and that has become a Kshatriya. That Brahmana
of little understanding, who, impelled by cupidity and folly, follows the
practices assigned to Vaisyas forgetful of his status as a Brahmana that
is exceedingly difficult to attain, comes to be regarded as one that has
become a Vaisya. Similarly, one that is a Vaisya by birth may, by
following the practices of a Sudra, become a Sudra. Indeed, a Brahmana,
falling away from the duties of his own order, may descend to the status
of even a Sudra, Such a Brahmana, falling away from the order of his
birth and turned out of it, without attaining to the region of Brahmana
(which is his goal if he duly observes his own duties), sinks into Hell
and in his next birth becomes born as a Sudra. A highly blessed Kshatriya
or a Vaisya, that abandons those practices of his that are consistent
with the duties laid down for his order, and follows the practices laid
down for the Sudra, falls away from his own order and becomes a person of
mixed caste. It is in this way that a Brahmana. or a Kshatriya, or a
Vaisya, sinks into the status of a Sudra. That man who has attained to
clearness of vision through practice of the duties of his own order, who
is endued with knowledge and science, who is pure (in body and mind), who
is conversant with every duty and devoted to the practice of all his
duties, is sure to enjoy the rewards of righteousness. I shall now recite
to thee, O goddess, a saying uttered by Brahma (the Self-born) on this
subject. Those that are righteous and desirous of acquiring merit always
pursue with firmness the culture of the soul. The food that comes from
cruel and fierce persons is censurable. So also is the food that has been
cooked for serving a large number of persons. The same is said of the
food that is cooked in view of the first Sraddha of a deceased person. So
also is the food that is stained in consequence of the usual faults and
the food that is supplied by a Sudra. These should never be taken by a
Brahmana at any time[570]. The food of a Sudra, O goddess, is always
disapproved of by the high-souled deities. Even this, I think, is the
authority enunciated by the Grandsire with his own mouth. If a Brahmana,
who has set up the sacred fire and who performs sacrifices, were to die
with any portion of a Sudra's food remaining undigested in his stomach,
he is sure to take birth in his next life as a Sudra. In consequence of
those remains of a Sudra's food in his stomach, he falls away from the
status of a Brahmana. Such a Brahmana becomes invested with the status of
a Sudra. There is no doubt in this. This Brahmana in his next life
becomes invested with the status of that order upon whose food he
subsists through life or with the undigested portion of whose food in his
stomach he breathes his last.[571] That man who, having attained to the
auspicious status of a Brahmana which is so difficult to acquire,
disregards it and eats interdicted food, falls away from his high status.
That Brahmana who drinks alcohol, who becomes guilty of Brahmanicide or
mean in his behaviour, or a thief, or who breaks his vows, or becomes
impure, or unmindful of his Vedic studies, or sinful, or characterised by
cupidity, or guilty of cunning or cheating, or who does not observe vows,
or who weds a Sudra woman, or who derives his subsistence by pandering to
the lusts of other people or who sells the Soma plant, or who serves a
person of an order below his, falls away from his status of
Brahmanahood.[572] That Brahmana who violates the bed of his preceptor,
or who cherishes malice towards him, or who takes pleasure in speaking
ill of him, falls away from the status of Brahmanahood even if he be
conversant with Brahman. By these good acts, again, O goddess, when
performed, a Sudra becomes a Brahmana, and a Vaisya becomes a Kshatriya.
The Sudra should perform all the duties laid down for him, properly and
according to the ordinance. He should always wait, with obedience and
humility, upon person of the three other orders and serve them with care.
Always adhering to the path of righteousness, the Sudra should cheerfully
do all this. He should honour the deities and persons of the regenerate
orders. He should observe the vow of hospitality to all persons. With
senses kept under subjection and becoming abstemious in food, he should
never approach his wife except in her season. He should ever search after
persons that are holy and pure. As regards food, he should eat that which
remains after the needs of all persons have been satisfied. If, indeed,
the Sudra desires to be a Vaisya (in his next life), he should also
abstain from meat of animals not slain in sacrifices. If a Vaisya wishes
to be a Brahmana (in his next life), he should observe even these duties.
He should be truthful in speech, and free from pride or arrogance. He
should rise superior to all pairs of opposites (such as heat and cold,
joy and sorrow, etc.) He should be observant of the duties of peace and
tranquillity. He should adore the deities in sacrifices, attend with
devotion to the study and recitation of the Vedas, and become pure in
body and mind. He should keep his senses under subjection, honour the
Brahmanas, and seek the welfare of all the orders. Leading the domestic
mode of life and eating only twice a day at the prescribed hours he
should gratify his hunger with only such food as remains after the needs
have been satisfied of all the members of his family with dependants and
guests. He should be abstemious in food, and act without being impelled
by the desire of reward. He should be free from egotism. He should adore
the deities in the Agnihotra and pour libations according to the
ordinance. Observing the duties of hospitality towards all persons, he
should, as already said, eat the food that remains after serving all
others for whom it has been cooked. He should, according to the ordinance
laid down, worship the three fires. Such a Vaisya of pure conduct takes
birth in his next life in a high Kshatriya family.[573] If a Vaisya,
after having taken birth as a Kshatriya, goes through the usual
purificatory rites, becomes invested with the sacred thread, and betakes
himself to the observance of vows, he becomes, in his next life, an
honoured Brahmana. Indeed, after his birth as a Kshatriya, he should make
presents, adore the deities in great sacrifices with plentiful Dakshinas,
study the Vedas, and desirous of attaining to Heaven should worship the
three fires. He should interfere for dispelling the sorrows of the
distressed, and should always righteously cherish and protect those
subjects that own his sway. He should be truthful, and do all acts that
have truth in them, and seek happiness in conduct like this. He should
award punishments that are righteous, without laying aside the rod of
chastisement for good. He should induce men to do righteous deeds. Guided
by considerations of policy (in the matter of swaying his people), he
should take a sixth of the produce of the fields.[574] He should never
indulge in sexual pleasure, but live cheerfully and in independence,
well-conversant with the science of Wealth or Profit. Of righteous soul,
he should seek his wedded spouse only in her season. He should always
observe fasts, keep his soul under control, devote himself to the study
of the Vedas, and be pure in body and mind. He should sleep on blades of
Kusa grass spread out in his fire, chamber. He should pursue the
aggregate of Three (viz., Righteousness, Wealth, and Pleasure), and be
always cheerful. Unto Sudras desirous of food, he should always answer
that it is ready. He should never desire any thing from motives of gain
or pleasure. He should worship the Pitris and gods and guests. In his own
house he should live the life of a mendicant. He should duly adore the
deities in his Agnihotra, morning, noon, and evening every day, by
pouring libations agreeably to the ordinance. With his face turned
towards the foe, he should cast off his life-breath in battle fought for
the benefit of kine and Brahmanas. Or he may enter the triple fires
sanctified with Mantras and cast off his body. By pursuing this line of
conduct he takes birth in his next life as a Brahmana. Endued with
knowledge and science, purified from all dross, and fully conversant with
the Vedas, a pious Kshatriya, by his own acts, becomes a Brahmana. It is
with the aid of these acts, O goddess, that a person who has sprung from
a degraded order, viz., a Sudra, may become a Brahmana refined of all
stains and possessed of Vedic lore, One that is a Brahmana, when he
becomes wicked in conduct and observes no distinction in respect of food,
falls away from the status of Brahmanahood and becomes a Sudra. Even a
Sudra, O goddess, that has purified his soul by pure deeds and that has
subjugated all his senses, deserves to be waited upon and served with
reverence as a Brahmana. This has been said by the Self-born Brahmana
himself. When a pious nature and pious deeds are noticeable in even a
Sudra, he should, according to my opinion, be held superior to a person
of the three regenerate classes. Neither birth, nor the purificatory
rites, nor learning, nor offspring, can be regarded as grounds for
conferring upon one the regenerate status. Verily, conduct is the only
ground. All Brahmanas in this world are Brahmanas in consequence of
conduct. A Sudra, if he is established on good conduct, is regarded as
possessed of the status of a Brahmana. The status of Brahma, O auspicious
lady, is equal wherever it exists. Even this is my opinion. He, indeed,
is a Brahmana in whom the status of Brahma exists,--that condition which
is bereft of attributes and which has no stain attached to it. The
boon-giving Brahma, while he created all creatures, himself said that the
distribution of human beings into the four orders dependent on birth is
only for purposes of classification. The Brahmana is a great field in
this world,--a field equipped with feet for it moves from place to place.
He who plants seeds in that field, O beautiful lady, reaps the crop in
the next world. That Brahmana who wishes to achieve his own good should
always live upon the remains of the food that may be there in his house
after gratifying the needs of all others. He should always adhere to the
path of righteousness. Indeed, he should tread along the path that
belongs to Brahma. He should live engaged in the study of the Samhitas
and remaining at home he should discharge all the duties of a
householder. He should always be devoted to the study of the Vedas, but
he should never derive the means of subsistence from such study. That
Brahmana who always conducts himself thus, adhering to the path of
righteousness, worshipping his sacred fire, and engaged in the study of
the Vedas, comes to be regarded as Brahma. The status of a Brahmana once
gained, it should always be protected with care, O thou of sweet smiles,
by avoiding the stain of contact with persons born in inferior orders,
and by abstaining from the acceptance of gifts. I have thus told thee a
mystery, viz., the manner in which a Sudra may become a Brahmana, or that
by which a Brahmana falls away from his own pure status and becomes a
Sudra."

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A Stephen King fan has published an 80-page version of the book which novelist Jack Torrance obsessively writes during King's The Shining, where his descent into madness is revealed when his wife discovers that his work consists of just one phrase, endlessly repeated.

Torrance, played by Jack Nicholson in terrifying form in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film, is a frustrated writer who goes with his wife and son to spend the winter in the isolated Overlook Hotel in an attempt to get the novel he has always wanted to write started. But the hotel's grisly past and unquiet ghosts have their way with him, and his wife Wendy eventually finds that the manuscript he has been working on actually only contains the phrase "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy", typed over and over again.

Now New York artist Phil Buehler, who describes himself as "a big fan of Stanley Kubrick and Stephen King", has self-published a book credited to Torrance, repeating the phrase throughout but formatting each page differently, using the words to create different shapes from zigzags to spirals.

"The idea has probably been marinating for years, because I loved the movie and the Stephen King book," said Buehler. "I'd just finished my own obsessive art project [and] it was an idea I had over the Christmas holidays."

He said he decided to stick to type and formatting that could have been created on a typewriter, with the first ten pages duplicating shots of Torrance's work from the film. "I thought 'if he continues to get crazier, what would those pages look like?'" he said. "I hit writer's block about 60 pages in, and I had to get to 80 - that went on for about a week." His fiancée, who had neither read the book nor seen the film, became a little concerned about his actions. "I finally showed her the movie, and she realised I wasn't really losing it," said Buehler.

He's included a spoof review from the blog OverThinkingIt.com on the book's back jacket, which compares it to "the best of Beckett" in its "lack of forward momentum", and considers the struggles of the author, "heroically pitting himself against the Sisyphusean sentence". "It's that metatextual struggle of Man vs. Typewriter that gives this book its spellbinding power," the review says. "Some will dismiss it as simplistic; that's like dismissing a Pollack canvas as mere splatters of paint."

So far, Buehler says that around 1,000 people have viewed the book, for sale on Blurb.com for $8.95 in paperback, or $22.95 in hardback, and he's sold "a few" copies, with sales now starting to pick up steam. "A few people have asked me to sign it - they're looking it as a piece of art rather than a funny thing to give to a Kubrick fan," he said. "If you're not a Kubrick or King fan, you might not even get it."

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