Mahabharata Vol. 3 (Penguin Translated Texts) (46 page)

‘Markandeya said, “O Yudhishthira! Thus did the hunter who knew about dharma speak to the brahmana.
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‘“‘There is no doubt that the deeds that I perform are terrible. O brahmana! But destiny is powerful. And it is impossible to overcome deeds committed earlier. The sins committed earlier are the taints of karma.
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O brahmana! I have endeavoured to kill this sin. When destiny has already killed something earlier, the killer is only the instrument. O supreme among brahmanas! We are only instruments of our karma. O brahmana! When they are killed and their meat
sold, it is only their dharma that they should be used and eaten, so as to serve the gods, the guests, the servants and the ancestors. According to the shrutis, herbs, creepers, animals, deer and birds are the decreed food for all beings. O supreme among brahmanas! The compassionate King Shibi Ushinara obtained a heaven that is difficult to attain by offering his own flesh.
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O brahmana! Earlier, in King Rantideva’s great kitchen, two thousand animals were slaughtered every day.
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Rantideva gave food with meat every day. O supreme among brahmanas! His fame is unmatched. He always killed animals at chaturmasya.
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It has been said in the shrutis that the fire desires meat. O brahmana! A brahmana always kills animals at sacrifices. They are purified through mantras and we have heard that they go to heaven. O brahmana! O supreme among brahmanas! If the fire had not desired meat earlier, who would have eaten it now? Even now, sages have articulated rules on the eating of meat. “He who always eats after offering to the gods and the ancestors, in accordance with the rules and with faith, no sin attaches to him from the act of eating.” It has been said in the shrutis that such a person is the equal of one who does not eat meat. A brahmana who has intercourse with his wife during her season is the equal of a brahmachari. The rules that differentiate truth from falsehood are recited even now. O brahmana! In earlier times, King Soudasa ate men.
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He had been overtaken by a terrible curse. What do you think of that? O supreme among brahmanas! I cannot give up my own dharma. Knowing that this is due to my earlier deeds, I perform this task for my livelihood. O brahmana! It is considered to be adharma to give up one’s own dharma. It is certainly dharma to adhere to one’s own dharma. Deeds committed earlier never leave a being. The creator’s ordinances foresaw the determination of these different forms of karma. It is seen that a being who is engaged in a cruel task has to think of
performing good deeds so that he can be freed from its influence. There are different ways of freeing oneself from terrible karma—such as donations, truthfulness in speech, the service of superiors and the worship of brahmanas. I have always devoted myself to this dharma. O supreme among brahmanas! I should refrain from pride and from speaking too much. Agriculture is known to be a virtuous occupation. But it has been said that there is great violence in this. Ploughing kills many beings that lie inside the ground and many other hundreds of beings. What is your view on this? O supreme among brahmanas!
Vrihi
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and other seeds of rice are all living organisms. What is your view on this? O brahmana! Man hunts, kills and eats animals. They also cut trees and herbs. O brahmana! There are many living beings in trees and fruit. There are many in water too. What is your view on this? O brahmana! Everything is full of life and living beings. Fish eat fish. What is your view on this? O supreme among brahmanas! Beings live on other beings. What is your view on this? O brahmana! Through the mere act of walking, men trample with their feet many beings that resort to the ground. What is your view on this? Even wise and learned ones kill many beings when they are seated or asleep. What is your view on this? The entire earth and the sky are full of living beings. One causes injury to them unknowingly. What is your view on this? Those men of earlier times wondered and spoke about non-violence. O supreme among brahmanas! But in this world, who does not injure living beings? After reflecting a lot on this, there is no one who does not cause violence. O supreme among brahmanas! Even ascetics who are devoted to non-violence cause violence, though their efforts make it less. It can be seen that there are men who have great qualities and who are born in noble lineages. They may perform extremely terrible deeds. But they are not ashamed. Well-wishers do not praise well-wishers. Evil-wishers do not praise evil-wishers. Men who are righteous do not praise other righteous ones. Relatives do not praise relatives, even if they are prosperous. Foolish ones, thinking themselves to be learned, criticize preceptors. O supreme among brahmanas! There
are many things in this world that can be seen to be contrary. Is this dharma or is it adharma? What is your view on this? Many things can be said about the dharma or adharma of our deeds. But he who adheres to his own dharma attains great fame.’”’

‘Markandeya said, “O Yudhishthira! The skilled hunter, devoted to dharma, then again spoke to the brahmana rishi, supreme among those who uphold all forms of dharma.
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‘“‘The course of dharma is subtle. It has many branches and is infinite. And the old ones have instructed that the proof is what is stated in the shrutis. When life is at risk or at the time of marriage, speaking a falsehood is permitted. Sometimes, falsehood becomes truth and truth becomes falsehood. Whatever ensures the welfare of beings is held to be the truth. Acting in a contrary way ensures adharma. Behold the subtlety of dharma. O excellent one! Whether a man performs good deeds or evil ones, there is no doubt that he certainly reaps the fruits. One who has no learning is ignorant of the sins of his acts. On confronting a calamity, he blames the gods gravely. O supreme among brahmanas! Foolish, deceitful and fickle ones do not possess the wisdom, the good conduct or the manliness to save themselves when their happiness or unhappiness happens to be reversed. One will obtain whatever one desires, as long as the fruits of one’s deeds are not dependent on anything else. Controlled, skilled and intelligent men can be seen to be obstructed and unsuccessful in all their efforts. But those who are always ready to injure other beings and are ready to deceive the world, always lead a life of happiness. There are those who attain prosperity without even trying. There are those who endeavour a lot and obtain nothing. Wretched ones worship the gods and perform austerities to obtain a son. They remain
in the womb for ten months and are born, but turn out to be a stain on the lineage. Others enjoy the riches, grain and objects of pleasure accumulated in immense quantities by their fathers and obtained through auspicious means. There is no doubt that human disease is the result of earlier deeds, men are like small animals tied up by the hunter. O brahmana! Just as hunters hunt deer, competent physicians who have skilfully collected medicines can treat them. Those who can have good food are then afflicted by evils of indigestion. O supreme among those who uphold dharma! Behold, one is not able to eat. O supreme among brahmanas! There are many others with strong arms who suffer because they can find food with great difficulty. Thus the world is flooded with weeping, delusion and sorrow, helplessness, tossed and repeatedly washed away through powerful currents. If everything depended on a person, no one would live in misery and all objects of desire would be attained. No unpleasantness would be seen. Everyone wants to surpass others and endeavours as much as one can. But it doesn’t happen that way. There are many who are seen to be born under the same stars and signs, but a great divergence is seen in the fruits of their deeds. O excellent one! O brahmana! No one can himself determine his fate. The deeds performed earlier are seen to lead to results here. O brahmana! It has been said in the shrutis that the soul is certainly eternal, but the bodies of all living beings perish in this world. Therefore, when the body dies, only the body is destroyed. Fettered by the bonds of deeds, the soul goes elsewhere.’

‘“The brahmana asked, ‘O supreme among those who uphold dharma! O supreme among those who are eloquent! In what way is the soul eternal? I wish to learn this in detail.’

‘“The hunter said, ‘The soul does not die when the body perishes. Only the foolish ones aver that it perishes. The soul moves on to another body. When the body dies, the form changes. No one except the actor obtains the fruits of deeds and shares in the happiness or unhappiness. Whatever deeds one may have done, those fruits remain and are not destroyed. Those who were unholy in conduct can become pure. The best of men can become sinners. A man is always pursued by his deeds. Determined by these, he is born again.’

‘“The brahmana asked, ‘O excellent one! How is he formed in the womb? How does he become good or evil? How are the good born good? How does that movement occur?’

‘“The hunter replied, ‘It is seen that the act of conception is linked to karma. O supreme among brahmanas! I will describe it to you swiftly and briefly. One is born again with the past accumulation, the good in good wombs and the evil in evil wombs. Through good deeds one becomes a god. And through mixed ones, a human. Through evil deeds, one descends below.
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It is because of the sins performed by him earlier that a man is cooked in this life and is always afflicted by birth, old age and death. Tied by the bonds of earlier karma, a being wanders through thousands of inferior births and even goes to hell. Through the karma of one’s own deeds, a being dies and suffers. To counteract that earlier misery, it is born in an unholy womb. Then it again accumulates a large amount of new karma. It is cooked again, like a diseased person who has eaten unwholesome food. Although it suffers many difficulties, it considers that unhappiness to be tinged with happiness. Therefore, the bonds are not loosened and a new karma arises again. Encircled by many miseries, it circles around the world. By casting off those bonds of deeds and by performing pure deeds, one can obtain the worlds of righteous ones and go to where there is no sorrow. The sinful one who performs evil deeds never goes to where there is an end to sin. Therefore, one should perform good deeds and abhor those that are evil. A man who is grateful and does not suffer from malice and does that which ensures welfare, obtains happiness, dharma, artha and heaven. Those who are clean, self-controlled, restrained, collected and wise, enjoy an unmatched existence in this world and the next. One must always follow dharma. One must always act in accordance with what is good. O brahmana! One must adopt a conduct that does not cause difficulties to others. There are those who are learned in the sacred texts. They are virtuous and knowledgeable about the sacred texts. In this world, one must follow one’s own dharma. Without getting mixed up, that is the task one should perform. One who is wise finds pleasure in dharma.
He lives his life on the basis of dharma. O supreme among brahmanas! When he is rich in dharma, he appreciates its qualities and waters the roots. The one with dharma in his soul acts thus and his mind becomes serene. He is satisfied with his friends. He finds happiness here, and in the hereafter. O excellent one! He obtains sound, touch, form and fragrance, as he wishes. He attains lordship. These are known to be the fruits of dharma. O great brahmana! But having obtained the fruits of dharma, one may not be satisfied. One who is dissatisfied looks at this dissatisfaction with the insight of knowledge. With the insight of wisdom, a man does not see any sin in this. If he so desires, without discarding dharma, he frees himself. Observing that the world is naturally subject to decay, he renounces everything and strives for salvation, using the right means and not the wrong ones. He thus avoids all evil deeds and accepts the detachment. He is devoted to dharma and obtains supreme salvation. Austerities are the best course for beings and its root is tranquility and self-control. Through this, one can obtain everything that the mind desires. O supreme among brahmanas! Through restraining the senses, truthfulness and self-control, one obtains the supreme abode of the brahman.’

‘“The brahmana asked, ‘O one who is rigid in his vows! What are these faculties that are called the senses? How can they be controlled and what are the fruits of this control? O foremost among those who uphold dharma! What are the fruits obtained from this? O best among those who follow dharma! I wish to know these details about dharma.’”’

‘Markandeya said, “O Yudhishthira! O lord of men! At these words of the brahmana, the hunter who knew about dharma replied to the brahmana. Listen.”

‘“The hunter said, ‘O supreme among brahmanas! The mind first operates in men and leads to perception. Because of this, they serve desire and anger. For that purpose, they undertake great endeavours.
They form the habit of serving the desires of beauty and smell. Then comes attachment and from this follows hatred. Avarice comes after that, followed by delusion. When they are overcome by avarice and battered by attachment and hatred, dharma is not generated in the intelligence. Instead, there is pretence about following dharma. Dharma is practised in deceit. One finds pleasure in acquiring artha through deceit. O supreme among brahmanas! One becomes successful in obtaining riches through deceit. The mind finds pleasure in this and evil becomes attractive. O supreme among brahmanas! Well-wishers and learned ones urge for restraint. But one is ready with replies from the shrutis and speaks of what is sanctioned by the shrutis. However, because of attachment, three sins of adharma are committed. There is sin in thought, speech and deed. Addicted to adharma, all the good qualities are destroyed. Only those who are similar in conduct remain friends with such an evil-acting one. As a consequence, unhappiness is reaped in this world and there is destruction in the next. All evil-souled ones are like this. Now hear about the gains from dharma. Through one’s wisdom, one can foresee the sins. One is skilful in differentiating happiness from unhappiness and consorts with righteous ones. By practising virtuous deeds, one’s intelligence turns to dharma.’