Mahabharata: Volume 8 (65 page)

‘Yudhishthira said, “You have instructed me about a terrible thing that is false and lacks devotion. This is the kind of restraint followed by bandits and I avoid it. I am confused and distressed. My bonds of dharma have become weak. I do not have any initiative in following this. How can I even think about it?”

‘Bhishma replied, “In instructing you about dharma, I have not depended on the sacred texts alone. This is wisdom and experience and it is the honey that wise people have collected. A wise king will have many means of prevention, from here and there. Progress on the journey does not take place along a single branch of dharma. O Kouravya! When kings ignite their intelligence to follow dharma, they are always victorious. Therefore, understand my words. Kings who desire victory and regard intelligence as the best, are always triumphant. Here and there, using his intelligence, a king thinks of means that are in conformity with dharma. The dharma for kings was not determined as a dharma that only has a single branch. Why has the dharma for weak ones not been described earlier?
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If an ignorant person sees a fork in the road, he will be confused. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! You should have already realized that intelligence can also offer a dilemma.
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The wisdom is by one’s side, but it flows everywhere, like a river. One must know that the dharma followed by people can have a course and also the opposite course. Some know this properly. There are others who possess an understanding that is false. Understanding the truth of all this, one acquires knowledge from the virtuous. Those who steal
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from the sacred texts are against dharma. They understand their purport unevenly and vainly seek to explain them. They desire fame in every way and wish to earn a living off this learning. All of them are the worst among men and are against dharma. They are stupid and their views are not ripe. They do not know the true purport. In every
way, their final objective is never to be accomplished in the sacred texts. They steal from the sacred texts and point to what is wrong in the sacred texts. They do not act well when they proclaim their own knowledge. In an attempt to establish their own learning, they criticize the knowledge of others. They use words as their weapons and words as their knives. Their milking of knowledge is fruitless. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Know them to be the traders of knowledge, like rakshasas. They laugh at dharma and believe that all of it is deceitful. ‘We have not heard of any words of dharma in their words, or any intelligence.’ When speaking of Brihaspati’s knowledge, Maghavan himself said this.
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There are no words that are spoken in this world without a reason and some are versed in the sacred texts. But others do not act in accordance with them. There are learned ones who have said that dharma is only what people follow in this world. Even if a person is learned, virtuous and instructed about dharma, he cannot understand it on his own. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He can be intolerant about the sacred texts, or confused in his learning. Even when wise men speak about the sacred texts collectively, insight may be missing. What is praised is intelligent words that are derived from the sacred texts. Even if an ignorant person speaks words that are full of knowledge and reason, that is thought of as virtuous. In ancient times, to dispel the doubts of daityas, Ushanas said, ‘Know that if the sacred texts do not possess meaning, they are abhorrent. Knowledge that cannot be defined is non-existent.’
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Why do you wish to be satisfied with something that has a severed root? Do not resort to words that are false and injurious. You have been created for fierce deeds, but you are paying no attention to what you should do. O king! Look towards my own limbs, decorated with the effects of good policy.
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Others escaped and are delighted because of this. Brahma created the goat, the
horse and the kshatriya for similar reasons.
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Therefore, some
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are successful in their journey by glancing towards other beings. The sacred texts say that the sin from killing someone who should not be killed is the same as the sin from not killing someone who should be killed. This is certainly a rule which they
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shun. If the king does not establish them in their own dharma, the subjects face extreme decay. They roam around and devour each other, like wolves. If there is a kingdom where bandits roam around and steal the possessions of others, like egrets snatching fish from the water, that person is the worst among kshatriyas. Choose noble advisers who possess the learning of the Vedas. O king! Rule the earth. Follow dharma and protect the subjects. If a lord of the earth appoints inferior people to tasks and seizes, without knowing the difference between the two,
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he is a eunuch among kshatriyas. According to dharma, fierceness is not praised. But nor is lack of fierceness. One should not transgress either. Having been fierce, become mild. The dharma of kshatriyas is difficult to follow and there is plenty of affection in you. But you were created for fierce deeds. Rule the kingdom accordingly. Always chastise the wicked and protect the virtuous. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The intelligent Shakra said that this was what should be done in a time of distress.”

‘Yudhishthira asked, “Do you think that there is a rule followed by bandits that should never be violated? O best among righteous ones! O grandfather! I am asking you this. Tell me.”

‘Bhishma replied, “One must always serve learned and aged brahmanas and ascetics and also those who are firm and pure in their learning, character and conduct. This is the supreme objective. The conduct towards brahmanas must always be like that towards the gods. O king! If brahmanas are enraged, they can perform many
acts. The best fame arises from their affection and their disaffection leads to calamity. When pleased, brahmanas are like amrita. When wrathful, they are like poison.”’

‘Yudhishthira said, “O grandfather! O immensely wise one! O one who is accomplished in all the sacred texts! Tell me about the dharma that should be followed by someone who is protecting a person who has sought refuge.”

‘Bhishma replied, “O great king! There is great dharma in protecting someone who has sought refuge. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! That you have asked such a question is deserving of you. O king! After they protected those who came and sought refuge, Nriga and the other kings obtained supreme success. O great king! It has been heard that a pigeon honoured its enemy when he sought refuge. As is proper, it honoured him and offered him its own flesh.”

‘Yudhishthira asked, “In ancient times, how did an enemy come and seek refuge with a pigeon? O descendant of the Bharata lineage! What objective did it attain after offering him its own flesh?”

‘Bhishma replied, “O king! Listen to this divine account, which destroys all sins. This was recounted by Bhargava
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to King Muchukunda. O Partha! O bull among the Bharata lineage! In ancient times, King Muchukunda bowed down and asked Bhargava about this. At this, Bhargava recounted the story to the one who wished to listen. O lord of men! He told him about how the pigeon attained success. This account is certainly full of dharma and of kama and artha too. O king! O mighty-armed one! Listen as I tell you this.”

‘“There used to be a wicked and terrible hunter of birds. Inferior in conduct, he roamed around the earth. He was regarded as death on earth. His limbs were as dark as a raven. He was harsh and
full of wickedness. His middle was like barley.
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His neck was thin. His feet were small. His jaws were large. He did not have any well-wishers. Nor did he have any allies or relatives. Because of his terrible deeds, all of them abandoned him. Grasping a net,
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he would always kill birds in the forest. O lord of men! He would then sell those birds. This is the way that evil-minded one found a means of survival. Without understanding that this was adharma, he followed this for a very long period of time. For a long period, he pleasured with his wife. He was confounded by destiny and no other means of livelihood appealed to him. On one occasion, he was in the forest. A great storm arose and whirled around and brought down the trees. Clouds gathered in the sky and they were tinged with flashes of lightning. In a short period of time, it was as if the ocean was covered with many boats.
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Delighted, Shatakratu poured down torrents of rain. In a short while, he flooded the earth with water. Because of that torrential downpour in the world, he
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was terrified and lost his senses. In that forest, he was afflicted with cold. His mind was greatly anxious. The bird-killer could not see any low ground anywhere.
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The path in the forest was covered in a flood of water. Birds were killed by the force of the wind and vanished. Deer, lions and boars resorted to bits of land and stayed there. All the residents of the forest were terrified because of the strong wind and the rain. They were oppressed by fear. They were afflicted by hunger. Together, they wandered around in the forest. His
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body was afflicted by the cold. Instead of stopping, he wandered around and in a thicket in the forest, he saw a tree that was as blue as the clouds. Against the background of stars in the clear sky, it looked like a lotus. Lubdhaka
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was afflicted by the cold and saw that the
sky was clear of clouds. O lord! The evil-souled one looked towards the directions and thought that his home in the village was a long distance away from the spot. He therefore made up his mind to spend the night there. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Joining his hands in salutation, he spoke these words to the tree. ‘I seek refuge from whatever gods reside here.’ He spread out some leaves on the ground and laid his head down on a stone. In great misery, the slayer of birds slept there.”’

‘Bhishma said, “O king! With its well-wishers, a bird lived on the branches of that tree. Its plumage was colourful and it had lived on the tree for a long time. Its wife had gone out in the morning to roam around and had not returned.
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On seeing that it was night, the bird lamented. ‘There was a great storm and my beloved has not returned. What can be the reason for her not returning yet? I hope my beloved is safe in the forest. Without her, this home of mine is empty now. Her eyes were tinged with red. Her plumage was colourful. Her voice was sweet. Since my wife is not here, there is no purpose in my remaining alive. Her dharma was in devotion to her husband. She was virtuous. She was more important than my life. That ascetic one was devoted to my welfare when she knew that I was exhausted or hungry. She was devoted to her husband. On earth, a man who has a wife like that is fortunate. It has been read that a wife is a man’s supreme protector and that in this world, a man who does not have her as a companion along the journey, is helpless. For someone who has been overwhelmed by disease, for someone who has faced a hardship and for someone who is afflicted, there is no medication that is equal to a wife. There is no relative who is equal to a wife. There is no objective who is equal to a wife.
In accomplishing dharma in this world, there is no aide who is equal to a wife.’ Distressed, the bird lamented in this way there.

‘“The wife had been seized by the slayer of birds and heard these words. Since her husband was miserable, she was also distressed by grief and thought, ‘Someone whose husband is not satisfied does not deserve to be called a wife. With the fire as a witness,
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a husband becomes a wife’s refuge.’ The she-pigeon, captured by Lubdhaka, carefully spoke these words. ‘I will tell you what is indeed beneficial for you. Having heard, act accordingly. O beloved one! In particular, one must always provide succour to someone who seeks refuge. This fowler has resorted to your residence and is lying down. He is afflicted by cold. He is afflicted by hunger. It is necessary to honour him. If someone who seeks refuge is allowed to perish, the sin is equal to that from killing a brahmana or a cow, who is the mother of the worlds. Following the dharma of different species, that of pigeons has been ordained for us.
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A knowledgeable person like you must always practise what is proper. If a householder follows dharma to the best of his capacity, when he dies, we have heard that he obtains the undecaying worlds. O bird! You have obtained offspring. You have sons. Therefore, follow dharma and artha and give up all love for your body. Engage in honouring him, so that his mind is cheered.’ The ascetic she-bird was imprisoned inside the cage. Extremely miserable, it glanced towards its husband and spoke these words. When it
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heard its wife’s words, which were full of dharma and reason, its eyes overflowed with tears and it was filled with great joy. It glanced towards the fowler, who earned a living from birds. The bird carefully honoured him, following the ordained rites. It said, ‘Welcome. What can I do for you? Since this is like your own house, you should not suffer from any misery. Therefore, tell me quickly what I should do. What do you desire? You have sought refuge with me and I am speaking affectionately towards you. If a guest comes
and seeks refuge, one must tend to him carefully. This is particularly true of a householder who is engaged in the five sacrifices.
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If a person who is a householder is confused and does not observe these five sacrifices, then, according to dharma, he possesses neither this world, nor the next. Therefore, without any hesitation, tell me. Speak to me carefully and I will do everything. Do not unnecessarily sorrow in your mind.’

‘“Hearing these words, Lubdhaka spoke to the bird. ‘The cold is constraining me. You should free me from the cold.’ Having been thus addressed, the bird carefully covered the ground with dry leaves. The bird then quickly departed to fetch fire. It went to a place where charcoal was burnt and having obtained some fire, brought it back. It kindled a fire in those dry leaves. Having created a great fire, it told the one who had sought refuge, ‘Be assured and without fear. Heat your limbs.’ Having been thus addressed, Lubdhaka agreed and warmed his limbs. His life having been restored by the fire, he spoke to the bird. ‘The hunger is killing me. I desire that you should give me some food.’ On hearing this, the bird spoke these words. ‘I do not possess any riches with which I can destroy your hunger. We, residents of the forest, survive on what grows here. Like the sages in a forest, we do not possess any stores.’ Having spoken thus, its face turned pale. O best among the Bharata lineage! It began to think about what should be done next and condemned its own mode of existence.
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Having thought for an instant, the bird regained its senses and spoke to the slayer of birds. ‘Wait for a while. I will satisfy you.’ Having said this, it kindled a fire with dry leaves. Filled with great delight, the pigeon spoke again. ‘From great-souled gods, sages and ancestors, I have earlier heard about the great dharma that comes from honouring guests. Show me your favours.
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I am telling you this truthfully. My mind has certainly been made up on
honouring a guest.’ Having taken this pledge, the bird seemed to be smiling. O lord of the earth! It circumambulated the fire three times and entered. When Lubdhaka saw that the bird had entered in the midst of the fire, he began to think in his mind, ‘What have I done? Alas. Shame on my reprehensible and violent deeds. There is no doubt that I have committed great and terrible adharma.’ In this fashion, Lubdhaka repeatedly lamented in many ways. On seeing that the bird had gone, he condemned his own deeds.”’