Mahabharata Vol. 3 (Penguin Translated Texts) (39 page)

‘“Sarasvati spoke to brahmana Tarkshya words that were full of dharma, the bringer of welfare. Sarasvati said, ‘He who knows the brahman in every region, is always devoted to studying and is pure and calm, goes to the foremost among the cities of the gods, and finds bliss with the immortals. There are many beautiful and large lakes there, bereft of sorrow. They are extremely sacred and full of flowers. They are without mud and full of fish. There are golden lotuses. These
are excellent tirthas. The performers of sacred deeds find glory and happiness on those banks, served by apsaras, who wear fragrant scents and are adorned with ornaments, their complexions like that of gold. Those who donate cattle attain the supreme world. By donating bulls, one roams in the world of the sun. By giving garments, one goes to the world of the moon. By giving gold, one attains the immortals. If one gives away a good cow that is easily milked and gives birth to fine calves, one that does not stray, one lives for as many years in heaven, as there are countable body hairs on his person. One who donates a strong, young and skilled bull that has infinite strength, and is capable of carrying burdens and drawing a plough, obtains the world that is obtained by donating ten cows. O Tarkshya! One who offers oblations into the fire for seven years, is good in vows and righteous in conduct, through one’s deeds, purifies seven generations of forefathers and descendants.’

‘“Tarkshya asked, ‘O beautiful one! I am asking you. Please tell me. What is the ancient vow of agnihotra? Instructed by you, I will learn about the ancient vow of agnihotra.’ Sarasvati replied, ‘One who is impure, one whose hands have not been washed, one who does not know about the brahman and one who is not wise, cannot make such offerings. Even when hungry, the gods desire purity. They do not accept offerings from those who lack devotion. One who is not a
shrotriya
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should not be employed to render oblations to the gods. Such others will be like throwing the oblations away. O Tarkshya! I maintain that no one other than a shrotriya is entitled to offer agnihotra. Those who devotedly offer oblations into the fire, true in their vows, partaking only of leftover food,
⁵⁵
attain the pure and fragrant world of cows.
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They see the supreme and true god.’ Tarkshya asked, ‘O beautiful one! O goddess! You are wisdom. You are extremely fortunate. You are immersed in intelligence. You are the fruits of deeds. You are born in the body, but you are divine in feelings. I am asking you. Who are you?’ Sarasvati replied, ‘I have
arisen from the agnihotra, to remove doubts in the minds of the brahmana rishis. I felt happy at having met you. Therefore, I have explained these things to you exactly and accurately.’ Tarkshya said, ‘There is no one who is your equal. You shine as radiantly as Shri.
⁵⁷
Your divine form is extremely beautiful. O fortunate one! You are the goddess of divine wisdom.’ Sarasvati replied, ‘O foremost among bipeds! I thrive on the best of sacrificial offerings that the learned ones offer. I prosper on those oblations. O brahmana! That is how I become beautiful. O learned one! Whatever objects are rendered in offerings, made of wood or iron or originating in the earth, know that they help attain celestial beauty and wisdom.’ Tarkshya said, ‘This ensures supreme welfare. That is the reason resolute sages resort to this. Tell me about the supreme bliss that comes from supreme salvation, into which, the wise ones enter.’ Sarasvati replied, ‘Those who are supremely learned in the Vedas achieve that. It is the supreme and ancient soul. Through studying, donations, vows and sacred yoga, those who are rich in austerities are freed, devoid of sorrow. In the midst, there is a cane, holy and fragrant. It has a thousand pure and radiant branches.
⁵⁸
The rivers stream forth from its roots, with waters that are extremely sacred and honeyed. The great rivers flow from branch to branch like grains of sand, with grain, cakes, meat and herbs, with the mud of
payasa
.
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The fire is the mouth and the gods, together with Indra and the Maruts, come to the sacrifice and are worshipped. O sage! That is the supreme spot.’”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Then the Pandava
⁶⁰
again spoke to Markandeya. “Tell me about the account of Vaivasvata Manu.”

‘Markandeya replied, “O king! O tiger among men! Vivasvat
⁶¹
had a son. He was a maharshi and was extremely powerful. He had radiance equal to that of Prajapati. Manu surpassed his father and grandfather in vigour, energy, success and specifically, austerities. This lord of men practised terrible and great austerities, with his arms raised and standing on one foot, in Vishala Badari.
⁶²
His head faced down and he did not blink. Firmly, he tormented himself with these terrible austerities for ten thousand years. Once, he was engaged in these austerities, clad in wet bark and with matted hair. A fish came up to him on the banks of the Virini
⁶³
and spoke to him. ‘O illustrious one! I am a small fish and am frightened of the larger ones. You are good in your vows. Therefore, save me from those fish, especially because it is the rule among fish that large fish prey on smaller ones. This has always been decreed to be our conduct from time immemorial. Therefore, save me from this great sea of terror in which I am immersed. If you save me, I will return the deed.’ On hearing these words of the fish, Manu was overcome with compassion. He grasped the fish in his hands. The fish had a body that shone like the moon’s rays. Vaivasvata Manu took it out of the river and placed it in a small water pot. O king! Thus tended to well, the fish grew up and Manu specifically looked after it like a son. After a long period of time, the fish became so large that there was no longer any room for it in the water pot. When the fish saw Manu, it again told him, ‘O illustrious one! Find a different place for me to live in.’ Then the illustrious Manu took it out of the water pot. Manu took the fish to a large pond and threw it in. O destroyer of enemy cities! Thus thrown by Manu, the fish began to grow, for many years. The pond was two yojanas long and one yojana wide. O lotus-eyed one! O lord of the earth! O Kounteya! The fish could no longer move in that pond. On seeing Manu, the fish again said, ‘O illustrious one! O righteous one! O father!
⁶⁴
Please take me to the Ganga, the wife
of the ocean. I will live there, or wherever else you desire.’ On hearing these words of the fish, Manu, the self-controlled lord, took it to the river Ganga and placed it there with his own hands.

‘“O chastiser of enemies! The fish began to grow there for some time. On seeing Manu again, the fish spoke these words. ‘O lord! Because of my large size, I cannot move around in the Ganga. O illustrious one! Therefore, show me your favours and quickly take me to the ocean.’ O Partha! Manu then himself took the fish out of the waters of the Ganga. He took it to the ocean and placed it there. Despite the fish’s great size, Manu could carry it easily. Its touch and smell were also pleasant. When the fish was thrown into the ocean by Manu, it seemed to smile and uttered these words. ‘O lord! You have always protected me with great care. Now hear from me about the task you should perform when the time is right. O illustrious one! O immensely fortunate one! The destruction of everything on this earth, mobile and immobile, is near. The time for purging this world has arrived. Therefore, listen to what will bring your greatest welfare. The fear of destruction is nigh for everything that moves, stands, stirs and does not stir. That terrible time of destruction has arrived. You must therefore build a strong and sturdy boat and tether a rope to it. O great sage! You must then ascend it with the saptarshis. Take with you all the seeds that I have mentioned to you earlier. Ascend on the boat and preserve them separately. O one who is beloved of the sages! Wait for me on the boat. O ascetic! I will come to you and you will know me from my horn. I will now depart. Act according to my instructions. O lord! Do not be anxious.’ He replied to the fish in these words, ‘O lord! I will act accordingly.’ Then they took leave of each other and went where they wished.

‘“O great king! O brave one! O destroyer of enemies! As he had been instructed by the fish, Manu collected all the seeds. He built an excellent boat and sailed on the waves of the ocean. O lord of the earth! O destroyer of enemy cities! Manu thought about the fish. Knowing about his thoughts, the fish arrived. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! It had a horn. O Indra of Indras among men! When Manu saw the fish in the waters of the ocean, with the form of a large
mountain, with a horn as it had said, he tied a noose around the rope and fastened it to the fish’s head. O tiger among men! O destroyer of enemy cities! Tethered to the noose in the rope, with great speed, the fish tugged the boat into the waters of the ocean. O lord of men! The boat was tossed around in the ocean. It danced around on the roaring waves, like a drunken woman. On that great ocean, the boat was battered around by great waves. O destroyer of enemy cities! It was whirled around. The earth could not be seen, nor the directions. Everything was enveloped. O bull among men! There was water everywhere, including the sky and heaven. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The world was covered by this turbulence. Everything was invisible, except for the seven rishis, Manu and the fish. O king! In this way, for a large number of years, the fish unceasingly pulled the boat on that flood of water. O bull among men! O descendant of the Kuru lineage! The fish then pulled the boat to the highest peak of the Himalayas. In a smiling and soft tone, it told the rishis, ‘Immediately tie the boat to this peak of the Himalayas.’ O bull among the Bharata lineage! On hearing the words of the fish, they quickly moored the boat there, to the peak of the Himalayas. O Kounteya! O bull among the Bharata lineage! Know that since that day, the highest peak of the Himalayas has been known as ‘Nau-bandhana’.
⁶⁵

‘“Then, without any hesitation, it spoke to the rishis who were assembled there. ‘I am Prajapati Brahma. There is no one superior to me. I have saved you from this fear in the form of a fish. Manu will create all beings—gods, asuras and men, all the worlds, everything that moves and everything that does not move. Through terrible austerities and my favours, he will possess these powers of creating classes of beings and will not suffer from delusion.’ Having spoken these words, the fish instantly disappeared. Vaivasvata Manu himself desired to create all beings. In the process of creating classes of beings, he was overtaken by delusion and performed great austerities. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Through these great austerities, Manu was himself able to create all beings, exactly. I have recounted
for you the ancient account known by the name of the fish. This famous account is the cleanser of all sins. A man who listens to Manu’s account every day, is happy, is successful in all objectives and goes to the world of heaven.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘With humility, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira again asked the famous Markandeya, “O great sage! You have witnessed the end of many thousands of eras. No one is known who has lived for as long as you, except for the great-souled Brahma Parameshthi.
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O brahmana! You worshipped Brahma at the time of the destruction, when there was no sky in this world and no gods and danavas. O brahmana rishi! When that destruction is over and the grandfather
⁶⁷
arises again, you are the only one who witnesses the four types of beings
⁶⁸
being exactly created by Parameshthi, after he has filled the directions with air and has dispersed the waters. O foremost among brahmanas! You have worshipped the preceptor of the world himself, the grandfather of all the worlds, with supreme meditation. O brahmana rishi! Therefore, through Parameshthi’s grace, death, the destroyer of everything and old age, the destroyer of the body, do not overcome you. When there is no sun and fire, no wind and moon, nothing is left of the sky and the earth, when the world with its mobile and immobile objects becomes one large ocean, when the masses of gods and asuras are destroyed and the great serpents uprooted, when the one with the infinite soul is on the lotus and finds his abode on the lotus,
⁶⁹
you alone are there to worship
Brahma, the lord of all beings. O supreme among brahmanas! Everything that has happened before has been seen by you. Therefore, we wish to hear the account about the reasons behind everything. O supreme among brahmanas! You have experienced these many times. There is nothing in all the worlds that is not always known to you.”

‘Markandeya replied, “I will recount this. I bow down before the one who creates himself,
⁷⁰
and the ancient and eternal being without decay, Janardana,
⁷¹
whose eyes are long and wide and who is attired in yellow. He is the creator and special creator of all beings that are manifest.
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He cannot be thought of. He is a great wonder. He is supreme purification. He is without beginning and without end. He is the imperishable being that is everywhere in the universe. He is without decay. He is the creator. But he is not created. He is the reason behind all energy. He is the being whom even the gods do not know. O tiger among men! In the beginning, after the destruction of the universe, there is krita yuga. It is said that this lasts for four thousand years.
⁷³
It is preceded by a sandhya of four hundred years and succeeded by a sandhya of the same duration. Treta yuga is said to last for three thousand years. It is preceded by a sandhya and succeeded by another sandhya of three hundred years each. After that, dvapara yuga has a measure of two thousand years. It is preceded by a sandhya and followed by a sandhya of two hundred years each. The learned have said that kali yuga lasts for one thousand years. It is preceded by a sandhya and succeeded by a sandhya of one hundred years each. Know that the duration of the preceding sandhya and the succeeding sandhya is the same. When kali yuga has decayed, krita yuga returns again. This total period of twelve thousand years is known as a yuga. One thousand such cycles are known as one of Brahma’s
days. O tiger among men! When the entire universe retreats into Brahma’s abode, the wise ones know this as the destruction of the worlds.