Mahabharata: Volume 8 (24 page)

Vaishampayana said, ‘On hearing Arjuna’s words, the intolerant and energetic Bhimasena resorted to his patience and spoke to his eldest brother. “O king! You know about dharma. There is nothing on earth that is not known to you. We always wish to learn from your conduct, but are unable to do so. In my mind, I kept saying, ‘I will not speak. I will not speak.’ O lord of men! However, I am speaking out of great grief. Listen. Because of your confusion, everything is now uncertain. We have become perplexed and weak. This is the king of the world. He is accomplished in all the sacred texts. How can he be overcome by confusion and cheerlessness now, like an inferior man? You know about the coming and going of the world. O lord! There is nothing that has happened, or will happen, that is not known to you. O great king! O lord of men! This being the case, I will advance an argument about you ruling the kingdom. Listen with undivided attention. There are two kinds of diseases, physical and mental. Each one is generated from the other and they are not
seen to exist independently. There is no doubt that a physical disease causes a mental one. It is also certain that a mental disease results in a physical one. Someone who sorrows over a physical or mental grief that has already occurred imposes a sorrow on a sorrow and doubles it. The three qualities of a body are cold, heat and wind.
¹¹⁷
When there is harmony between these qualities, that is said to be a sign of health. If one predominates over the others, remedies have been prescribed. Cold is checked through heat and heat is checked through cold. There are three qualities in the mind—
sattva
,
rajas
and tamas. Sorrow is checked through joy and joy is checked through sorrow. Some are in a present state of happiness and remember past sorrows. Others are in a present state of sorrow and remember past unhappiness. But you were not sorrowful in the midst of woes, nor joyful in the midst of happiness. Nor should you remember sorrow in the midst of happiness, or happiness in the midst of sorrows. O Kouravya! Destiny is most powerful. O king! Or, perhaps it is your nature that is afflicting you. In her season, Krishna
¹¹⁸
was in a single garment and was brought into the assembly hall, while the sons of Pandu looked on. Having seen it, why don’t you remember that? We were exiled from our residence in the city in deerskins and took up abode in the great forest. Should you not remember that? Jatasura afflicted us, there was a battle with Chitrasena and Saindhava afflicted us.
¹¹⁹
How is it that you have forgotten that? Then again, while we lived in concealment, Kichaka kicked the noble lady with his foot.
¹²⁰
O scorcher of enemies! You fought a battle with Drona and Bhishma. But you now have to fight this terrible battle in your mind. Arrows will serve no purpose here, nor friends or relatives. In this battle that has presented itself, you will have to fight internally. If you are defeated in this battle and give up your life, you will take up another body and have to fight again. O bull among the Bharata
lineage! Therefore, you should fight this battle now. O great king! If you win in this, you will become successful. Having determined the nature of beings coming and going,
¹²¹
make up your mind. Follow the conduct of your father and grandfathers and rule the kingdom, as is appropriate. It is fortunate that the wicked Duryodhana and his followers were killed in the battle. It is fortunate that you have followed the course of Droupadi’s hair.
¹²²
Perform a horse sacrifice in the proper way and give away donations. O Partha! We are your servants and so is the valiant Vasudeva.”’

‘Yudhishthira said, “Discontent, confusion, intoxication, passion, agitation, strength, delusion, pride and anxiety—you are overcome by all these sins and desire the kingdom. Do not be addicted. Be free, calm and extremely happy. The king who rules over this entire earth alone possesses only one stomach. Why are you then praising this course?
¹²³
O bull among men! Desire cannot be satisfied in a day or a month. A desire incapable of being satisfied cannot be gratified in a lifespan. When it is fed, a fire blazes and when there is no kindling, it is pacified. Pacify the fire that has arisen in your stomach with a little bit of food. Conquer your stomach. This vanquished earth will then be conquered for the greater good. You have praised human desire, pleasures and prosperity. But those who do not enjoy objects of pleasure and are weak attain the supreme state. The kingdom’s acquisition and preservation, and both dharma and adharma, are based on you. Free yourself from that great burden and resort to renunciation. The tiger, for the sake of a single stomach, creates a
great carnage. Other slow-moving animals sustain themselves on that.
¹²⁴
An ascetic withdraws from material objects and resorts to sannyasa. However, a king is never satisfied. Behold the difference in their intelligence. Those who subsist on leaves,
ashmakutta
s,
¹²⁵
dantolukhala
s,
¹²⁶
those who subsist on water and those who subsist on air are capable of conquering hell. Between a king who rules over every part of this entire earth and one who regards stone and gold as equal, the latter is the successful one, not the king. Do not act because of any intentions. Do not cherish hopes. Do not have a sense of ownership. Resort to the state that is without sorrow in this world and without decay in the next. Those who have no desire do not sorrow. Why are you grieving over desire? If you give up all desire, you will also be freed from these futile words.
¹²⁷
The paths of
pitriyana
and
devayana
¹²⁸
are renowned. Those who sacrifice follow pitriyana, those who wish to be freed follow devayana. Through austerities, brahmacharya and studying, those purified ones are radiant after they free themselves from their bodies and go beyond the grasp of death. Worldly desire is a bond. Freed from the bonds of both desire and action, one attains the supreme objective. It is said that there is a chant sung by Janaka.
¹²⁹
He was beyond opposite sentiments. He was free and could perceive complete liberation. ‘Though I possess nothing, my riches are infinite. If Mithila blazes up, nothing that is mine will be burnt.’ Just as a person who ascends a palace on a mountain looks down at the people on the world below, the wise person looks down at evil-minded ones who sorrow about what one should not grieve about. The intelligent person who looks
and sees what should be seen, has sight. The person who knows what is not normally known is said to be intelligent. There are those who have cleansed their souls, are learned and have attained the brahman. A person who understands their words is greatly revered. When one sees all the different beings to be one and realizes that they are the extension of the brahman, one attains that exalted state, not those who are ignorant, of limited intelligence, without understanding and without austerities. Everything is based on understanding.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘The king became silent. Arjuna was tormented and overcome by sorrow and grief because of the stakes of the king’s words. He spoke again. “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! People speak about the ancient account of the history of a conversation between the king of Videha and his wife.
¹³⁰
The lord of men made up his mind to abandon his kingdom and resort to a life of begging. The queen of the king of Videha was full of sorrow and addressed him. Janaka gave up riches, offspring, friends, the many jewels and the path of fire
¹³¹
and became one who shaved off his head. His beloved wife saw him resort to this life of begging, possessing nothing. He only had a fistful of grain. He was indifferent and without selfishness. He was without any fear. In an isolated spot, the angry and spirited wife approached her husband and spoke words that were full of reason. ‘Why have you abandoned your kingdom? It was full of riches and grain. You have adopted a life of mendicancy and are wandering around with a fistful of grain in your hand. O king! Your resolution is of one kind, but your acts are of a different kind. O king! You have abandoned this great kingdom and are satisfied with only a little. O king! In
this way, you will now be unable to support gods, guests, devarshis and ancestors. Therefore, your efforts are futile. O king! You have been abandoned by all the gods, guests and ancestors and are wandering around as a mendicant, without any action. You earlier supported thousands of aged brahmanas who knew about the three forms of knowledge.
¹³²
You supported the world and now wish to be supported by others. Having abandoned the blazing prosperity, you are glancing around, like a dog. Your mother is without a son now and the daughter of Kosala is without a husband.
¹³³
For the sake of dharma and kama, eighty kshatriya women served you.
¹³⁴
Those pitiable ones hoped for the fruits of their actions. Having rendered them unsuccessful, what worlds will you go to? O king! Those bodies depended on you and their salvation is in doubt. Since you are the performer of wicked deeds, you have no superior world, in this world or in the next. Having abandoned the one who is your wife under dharma, you wish to live. Why have you abandoned garlands, fragrances, ornaments and many kinds of garments, living like a mendicant, without any action? You were like a pool
¹³⁵
for all beings. You were their great cleanser. Having been a tall tree, you now serve others. When an elephant dies, many carnivorous beasts feed on it and so do many worms. But what purpose do you serve? How would you feel if someone broke this water pot, stole this
trivishtabdha
¹³⁶
and robbed you of your garment? You have abandoned everything and have accepted this fistful of grain. Even if this is equal to all gifts, what will you give me?
¹³⁷
If this fistful of grain is all your riches, your pledge will be falsified.
¹³⁸
Who am I to you? Who are you to me? What favours will you show me now? O king! Rule the kingdom and show me
the favours of a place, bed, vehicle, garments and ornaments. There are those who have no hope of prosperity. They were without riches. They have no friends. They can renounce. But you have friends, servants and other riches. How can you renounce? There are those who receive a lot and there are those who always give. You know the difference between these two. Who is said to be superior? If one donates to a person who is always asking, even if that person is virtuous and without pride, those gifts are like oblations poured into a forest conflagration.
¹³⁹
O king! A fire is not pacified until it has consumed everything. In that way, a brahmana who always asks is never satisfied. The Vedas and food are the natural sustenance of virtuous ones in this world. If one who is supposed to give does not give, where will those who desire salvation go?
¹⁴⁰
In this world, householders result from food and those who beg result from them.
¹⁴¹
Life results from food. One who gives food, gives life. They
¹⁴²
emerge from the state of being a householder, but have to resort to householders. Those self-controlled ones criticize the base of their powers.
¹⁴³
A person cannot be said to be one who has renounced only because he is a mendicant, has shaved his head, or begs. Know that an upright person who happily gives up his wealth is one who renounces.
¹⁴⁴
He is unattached, even if he roams around, as if attached. He is alone and has shed all bonds. O lord of the earth! He treats friend and foe equally and is truly free. There are those who roam around in search of alms. They have shaved off their heads and wear ochre robes. But they are tied down by many kinds of bonds and are always thinking about unsatisfied desire. They cast aside the three types of learning,
¹⁴⁵
their names, their livelihoods and
their sons. They accept the trivishtabdha and garments, but do not have understanding. Know that the ochre robe is not without desire for gain. Those with shaved heads wave the banner of dharma, but it is for the purpose of sustenance. That is my view. O great king! Conquer the world by conquering your senses and support those with ochre robes, those clad in skins, those clad in tatters, those who are naked, those who have shaved heads and those who sport matted hair. Who is superior to the one who maintains the sacred fire, performs sacrifices and gives away animals and other donations? From one day to another, incessantly give, as earlier. There is no dharma superior to that.’ King Janaka knew the truth and the world sang about him. He was overcome by confusion. But you should not be confused. This is the dharma that is always followed by benevolent men. Without desire and anger, one should resort to the quality of non-violence. We should protect the subjects and base ourselves on donating. By being truthful in speech and honouring the brahmanas, we will obtain the worlds that we desire.”’

‘Yudhishthira said, “O son!
¹⁴⁶
I know about the sacred texts and about this world and the next. The words of the Vedas ask one to act and also ask one to renounce action. Though the sacred texts give reasons, they cause confusion. I know what has been certainly prescribed, following the rites. You are only skilled in the use of weapons and base yourself on the conduct of heroes. You are incapable of comprehending the true meaning of the sacred texts. Those who are learned can determine the certainty of dharma. Those who know subtleties can appreciate the true purport of the sacred texts. If you had actually seen the nature of dharma, you would not have spoken
those words to me. But those words were spoken by you out of fraternal affection towards a brother. O Kounteya! O Arjuna! Your words are full of reason and I am pleased with you. In the three worlds, there is no one who is your equal amongst those who know the dharma of fighting and are accomplished in all those acts. But the words that I am speaking about the subtlety of dharma will be difficult for you to understand. O Dhananjaya! You should not doubt my intelligence. You know about the science of fighting, but you have not served the elders. You do not know about the conclusions of learned ones who have considered these in their entirety. O son!
¹⁴⁷
Austerities, renunciation and ritual action—those intelligent ones who have determined the way to the supreme objective have said that each of these is superior to the preceding one.
¹⁴⁸
O Partha! You are wrong when you think that there is nothing superior to wealth. I will explain to you why it is not the most important. People who follow dharma are seen to follow austerities and practice studying. The rishis who attain eternal worlds observe austerities. There are those who have not grown beards and other wise ones who dwell in the forest. Though they are without riches, because of their studies, they go to the infinite heaven. There are aryas who abandon the darkness that comes from lack of intelligence and disassociate themselves from objects. They follow the northern path
¹⁴⁹
and go to the worlds meant for those who renounce. You see that the southern path
¹⁵⁰
is radiant. This is the world of those who follow action, but is a cremation ground. The path seen by those who desire salvation cannot be described. That is the reason renunciation is the most important, though it can only be explained with difficulty. Wise
ones have followed the sacred texts, wishing to determine what is real and what is unreal, what is here and what is there. They have gone through the words of the Vedas and the sacred texts that are the
Aranyaka
s. They have dissected them like the trunk of a plantain tree, but have not been able to see the essence. Some have attentively rejected and have decided that the atman, in thisbody with the five elements, has the attributes of desire and aversion.
¹⁵¹
It
¹⁵²
cannot be seen by the eye. It cannot be expressed through words. Being driven by karma, it circulates in beings.
¹⁵³
After having realized what is most beneficial, withdrawing all thirst from the mind and casting aside all forms of action, one becomes independent and happy. This is the subtle path traversed by virtuous ones. O Arjuna! This being the case, why are you praising wealth, which is harmful? O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In earlier times, there were people who could see and were learned in the sacred texts. They were always devoted to constant action, donations, sacrifice and deeds. They were learned and provided reasons and it was difficult to dissuade them. But there are foolish ones who rigidly adhere to those earlier texts. They say that it does not exist.
¹⁵⁴
Those eloquent ones disregard what is immortal. They roam around the entire earth and speak in assemblies. Though they are extremely learned, they talk a lot. If we do not recognize them, who else will? But there are extremely wise and intelligent and virtuous ones, wise in the store of the sacred texts. They have great intelligence and perform great austerities. O Kounteya! They follow dharma and always obtain happiness through renunciation.”’