Mahabharata: Volume 8 (13 page)

Vaishampayana said, ‘With words that were like
amrita
, Vidura dispelled the sorrow of Vichitravirya’s son, the bull among men. Listen to what he said.

‘Vidura said, “O king! Arise. Why are you lying there? Get a grip on yourself. This is the final outcome
¹²
of everything that is mortal—mobile and immobile. Everything that is stored is dissipated. Everything that rises falls down again. Everything that is united is separated again. Death is the end of life. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O bull among kshatriyas! Since Yama attracts both those who are brave and those who are cowards, why should these kshatriyas not fight? A man who does not fight—dies. A man who fights—lives. O great king! When one’s time has come, no one can transgress it. O king! You should not grieve over those who have been killed in the battle. If the sacred texts are proof, they have attained the supreme objective. All of them studied. All of them observed the vows. All of them were destroyed when they were headed forwards.
¹³
What is there to sorrow over? They were generated from beyond your sight.
¹⁴
They have again gone beyond your sight. They were not yours. You are not theirs. What is there to sorrow over? A person who is killed obtains heaven. A person who kills obtains fame. Both of these possess many qualities. There is no failure in battle. Indra will create worlds that will satisfy their desires. O bull among men! They will become Indra’s guests. Mortals do not go to heaven through sacrifices that are
rich in donations, austerities or learning. Brave ones go there by being slain in battle. Beings go through thousands of mothers and fathers and hundreds of wives and sons.
¹⁵
Whom do they belong to? Whom do we belong to? From one day to another, those who are stupid face thousands of reasons for sorrow and hundreds of reasons for fear, but not those who are learned. O supreme among the Kuru lineage! There is no one who is loved by time, nor anyone time hates. Time looks upon everyone neutrally and everyone is dragged away by time. Life, beauty, youth and stores of riches are temporary and this is also true of good health and consorting with those one loves. A learned person is not interested in these. One should not sorrow over something that affects the entire country and not a single person alone.
¹⁶
If something no longer exists, it will have no return. If one sees some powerful antidote to sorrow, one can act. But if there is no medicine against sorrow, one should not think about it. It does not abandon someone who is thinking. Instead, it only becomes stronger. Because they confront something they do not like and because they are separated from something they like, men of limited intelligence are united with mental grief. There is no artha, dharma or happiness that will result from your sorrowing. As long as one has tasks to accomplish, one should not deviate from those objectives.
¹⁷
In particular, men who achieve one kind of prosperity and then another, and continue to be dissatisfied, are confused. The learned are satisfied. Mental sorrow is dispelled through wisdom and physical suffering through medicines. That is the capacity of knowledge. One should not become the equal of a child. When a man lies down, his earlier deeds lie down next to him. When he stands, they stand next to him. When he runs, they run with him. In whichever state one performs a deed, good or bad, in exactly that state the fruits of that deed are obtained.”’
¹⁸

‘Dhritarashtra asked, “O immensely wise one! Because of what you have spoken well, my sorrow has been dispelled. But I again wish to hear the true purport of your words. How do learned ones free themselves from their mental grief, when they come in contact with something that is injurious, or when they are separated from something that is good?”

‘Vidura replied, “Whenever the mind is free from unhappiness and happiness—that is when a learned one obtains peace and attains a good objective. O bull among men! Whatever we think of is not permanent. The world is like a plantain tree. It has no essence.
¹⁹
Learned ones say that the bodies of mortal beings are like houses. They are destroyed by time. But the single being that is inside
²⁰
is beautiful. Men cast aside clothes, whether they are old or new, and wear other clothes that they like. Bodies occupied by souls are like that. O Vichitravirya’s son! Beings obtain a life of unhappiness or one of happiness, depending on the deeds they have themselves undertaken. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Depending on their deeds, they obtain heaven, happiness and unhappiness. Whether he can control it or not, he bears his own load. An earthen pot may be shattered once it has mounted on the wheel,
²¹
once some work has been done on it, once work on it has been completed, once it has been taken down but is still wet, once it is dry, once it has been fired, or once it has been taken down and is being used. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The bodies of souls are used like that. Some are destroyed in the womb, some after being born, some when they are a day old, some when they are half a month old, some when they are a month old, some when they are a year old, some when they are two years old, some in youth, some in middle age and some in old age. Depending on their earlier deeds, beings come into being
and cease to be. This is the way of the world. What is the reason to sorrow? O king! O lord of men! It is like beings sporting in the water. Some leap up and others are submerged. In that way, in this unfathomable earth, some leap up and others are submerged. One is tied down and has to enjoy the fruits of one’s deeds. Only those of limited intelligence suffer on this account. Those who are wise remain established in the truth and search for what comes at the end of this life. They understand why beings come together and attain the supreme objective.”’

‘Dhritarashtra asked, “O supreme among eloquent ones! Life is unfathomable. But how does one understand it? I wish to hear about it. Tell me truthfully. I am asking you.”

‘Vidura replied, “O lord! Listen to everything about beings, about their birth and other deeds. On earth, for some time, a being dwells as an embryo.
²²
When the fifth month is over, flesh is formed. Within the womb, all the limbs are then formed within a month. The being dwells in the midst of all this, smeared with flesh and blood. Because of the force of the wind, the feet are upwards and the head is downwards. It faces great difficulties as it approaches the gate of the vagina. Accompanied by earlier deeds, it is afflicted by the contraction of the vagina. Having been freed from this,
²³
he sees the other calamities in this world. Evil demons grab him, like dogs after a piece of meat.
²⁴
If he is still alive, in a subsequent phase, he is grasped by diseases. He is tied down by his own deeds. He is bound down in the noose of senses and afflicted by the succulent addiction
to them. O lord among men! He confronts various temptations. He is repeatedly tied down by these and is never satisfied. He does not realize when he arrives in Yama’s world. In the course of time, he dies and Yama’s messengers drag him around. Those who are inarticulate in speech utter good and bad words through their mouths. Like that, the atman ties down the atman and fails to comprehend this.
²⁵
Thus, people are destroyed and are overcome by avarice. They become crazy because of greed, anger and pride. They do not understand their own atman. He finds pleasure in having been born in a good lineage and censures those who have been born in an inferior lineage. He is vain in the pride of prosperity and censures those who are poor. He reprimands others as stupid, but does not look at his own self. He inflicts teaching on others, but does not teach himself. This world of mortals is not permanent. Since the time of birth, whoever follows dharma in all his activities, attains the supreme objective. O lord of men! He who understands all this and acts accordingly, follows the path of liberation and obtains it.”’

‘Dhritarashtra said, “If the unfathomable path of dharma is difficult to understand, tell me everything in detail about the path of intelligence.”

‘Vidura replied, “After bowing to the one who created himself,
²⁶
I will tell you this. This is what the supreme rishis said about the unfathomable mysteries of life. There was a brahmana in this great world. He reached an impenetrable forest that was full of large and carnivorous beasts. Terrible, large and hungry beasts were scattered in every direction, in the form of lions, tigers and elephants. They led
to a fear that was like that of death. On seeing them, his heart began to beat faster. O scorcher of enemies! His body hair stood up and he didn’t know what to do. He swiftly ran around that forest, here and there. He glanced in all the directions, wondering where he could find refuge. Afflicted by fear, he searched for an opening through which he might run away. The brahmana could not go very far and could not disassociate himself.
²⁷
He saw that the terrible forest was surrounded by a net on every side and that an extremely terrible-looking woman was embracing it with her arms. Five-headed serpents rose up, like mountains. The giant forest was covered by large trees that touched the sky. In the midst of that forest, there was a well that was covered. It was strewn with creepers and the mouth was hidden under a covering of grass. The brahmana fell into that hidden store of water. He was entwined in that net of creepers and hung there. He was like a giant jackfruit, hanging from its stalk. He hung there, with his feet facing upwards and his head facing downwards. At that time, he faced another difficulty there. He saw a giant elephant at the edge of the well. It possessed six faces and moved on twelve feet. It was dark and speckled. It was gradually advancing, through those creepers and trees. As he hung from the branches of the tree, the branches were also covered by many kinds of bees. They were terrible in form and fearful. They had collected honey earlier and were returning to their hive. O bull among the Bharata lineage! They repeatedly went out to collect honey. Beings find it tasty. However, a fool is not satisfied with it. Many streams of honey always flowed there. The man who was hanging there, continuously drank from these flows. But though he was in this difficulty and though he drank, his thirst was not satisfied. He kept desiring it and repeatedly satisfied himself by drinking it. O king! His hopes of remaining alive were ignited. Black and white rats gnawed through the tree, on which, the hopes of the man remaining alive were based. That desolate forest was full of carnivorous beasts and an extremely terrible woman. There were serpents at the bottom of the well and an elephant at the edge. Because of the rats, there was the fifth fear of falling from
the tree.
²⁸
Because of his greed for the honey, the bees represented the sixth great fear. Thus did he dwell, having been flung into this ocean of life. Without approaching knowledge, he did not abandon his hope of remaining alive.”’

‘Dhritarashtra said, “Indeed, that was a great sorrow, to dwell in such difficult circumstances. How could he have found pleasure there? O supreme among eloquent ones! How could he have been satisfied there? How can one dwell in a place where one faces a contravention of dharma?
²⁹
How can that man escape from this great fear? Tell me everything about this and I will try to do what is right. Great compassion is generated in me and I wish to save him from that state.”

‘Vidura replied, “O king! That was only a metaphor, cited by those who know about salvation. Using it, a man can enjoy a good end in the world of the hereafter. That desolate forest is the unfathomable cycle of life. The carnivorous beasts that were mentioned are diseases. A woman, giant in form, was established there. The wise speak of her as old age, destructive of complexion and beauty. O king! The well is the body that souls occupy. The giant serpent which dwells there is time. He is the destroyer of all beings and takes away everything from the body. In the midst of that well there was a creeper there and the man hung onto it. That is the hope for remaining alive, which all those with bodies possess. O king! The elephant with six faces is said to be the year. Its faces are said to be the seasons and its feet are the months. Those who think about beings say that the rats which are
always gnawing at the tree are days and nights.
³⁰
The bees there are said to be desire. From it, there are many flows that stream down as honey. Humans submerge themselves in those juices of desire. Those who are learned say that the wheel of life circles in this way. That is the reason wise ones sever the noose that ties them to the wheel of life.”’

‘Dhritarashtra said, “O one who can see about the true nature of things! You have told me about an appropriate account. I wish to be again delighted by listening to your words, which are like amrita.”

‘Vidura replied, “Listen. I will again tell you about that path in detail. On listening to this, accomplished ones are freed from the cycle of life. O king! A man who is on a long journey is exhausted and dwells somewhere for some time. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In that way, those who are limited in their intelligence pass through this cycle of life and dwell in many wombs.
³¹
However, those who are learned are freed. That is the reason those who are learned in the sacred texts speak of this
³²
as the journey. The learned describe this unfathomable life as a forest. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Those who are mortal have to return to this world, whether they are mobile or immobile. But one who is learned is not enamoured of this. The learned speak of the physical and mental diseases of mortals, whether they are direct or indirect, as carnivorous beasts. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Those with limited intelligence are not disturbed by the large carnivorous beasts of their own deeds, even though they are always afflicted and attacked by them. O king! Even if a man escapes from these diseases, he is subsequently enveloped by old age, destructive of beauty. Without any support in any direction, he is submerged in the great mire of many kinds of sound, forms,
tastes, touch and scent. Years, seasons, months, fortnights, days, nights and
sandhya
s
³³
progressively take away beauty and vitality. These are the different manifestations of time, but those with limited intelligence do not know about them. It is said that all beings here have their deeds written on them.
³⁴
The body of a being is like a chariot. The soul is said to be the charioteer. The senses are said to be the horses. Deeds and intelligence are the harnesses. He who dashes behind those swift horses is whirled around on a wheel on this cycle of life. However, a charioteer who controls them with his intelligence does not return.
³⁵
It is said that the chariot which confounds those with limited intelligence belongs to Yama. O king! O lord of men! It gives what you yourself have obtained—destruction of the kingdom, destruction of well-wishers and the destruction of sons. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! This subsequent craving
³⁶
only leads to sorrow. In the course of a supreme sorrow, a righteous person should look upon the grief as medicine. One who is firm in controlling his soul can escape from that sorrow in a way that valour, prosperity, friends and well-wishers cannot. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! A brahmana who resorts to friendship and good conduct has three horses to depend on—self-control, renunciation and lack of distraction. A man who is stationed on that mental chariot and controls the reins of good conduct, discards all fear of death. O king! He goes to Brahma’s world.”’