Mahabharata: Volume 8 (21 page)

Vaishampayana said, ‘Yudhishthira, with dharma in his soul, was anxious and unconscious because of his sorrow. He remembered maharatha Karna and tormented by grief, sorrowed over him. Overcome by grief and sorrow, he sighed repeatedly.

‘He was oppressed by grief and on seeing Arjuna, spoke these words. “Had we survived by begging in the city of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas, we would not have confronted this catastrophe and would not have deprived our relatives of all their menfolk. Our enemies have been successful in their objectives and the Kurus have obtained what they tried for. We have ourselves slain those who are our own. What fruits of dharma will we obtain? Shame on the conduct of kshatriyas and shame on the strength that chests hold. Shame on the intolerance that has taken us to this calamity. Forgiveness, self-control, purity, lack of enmity, lack of selfishness, non-violence and truthfulness in words are to be praised. Those who dwell in the forest practise these. But because of our greed and our delusion, we have resorted to arrogance and insolence. We have been brought to this state because of our hunger for a trifling kingdom. Even sovereignty over the three worlds will not delight us now, since we can see that those of our relatives who desired the flesh of the earth
³³
have been slain. They did not deserve to be killed and were like the earth. But they have been slain for the earth. Having given
them up, deprived of prosperity and with our relatives killed, we remain alive. We are not dogs. But like dogs, we fought over meat. That flesh has now been destroyed and so have those who would have eaten the meat. We shouldn’t have abandoned those who have been killed for the sake of the entire earth, heaps of gold or for all the cattle and horses. They were full of desire and passion. They were overcome by wrath and intolerance. They climbed onto the road to death and have gone to Vaivasvata’s
³⁴
eternal abode. For the sake of their sons, fathers seek a lot of welfare on earth. They observe austerities and brahmacharya, chant and practise renunciation. In a similar way, mothers conceive after fasts, sacrifices, vows and auspicious ceremonies and bear them for ten months. ‘If they are born safely and remain alive after they are born, if they are full of strength, they may give us happiness in this world and the next.’ In pursuit of fruits, this is what those pitiable ones hope for. Those young sons, decorated with earrings, have been killed. At a wrong time, those hopes have become unsuccessful and have been abandoned. They have not enjoyed the pleasures of the earth. They have not repaid their debts to the ancestors and the gods. They have gone to Vaivasvata’s eternal abode. When they were born, the parents had wishes for them. But those kings have been slain when they became full of strength and beauty. They were full of desire and intolerance and experienced anger and delight. None of them enjoyed any of the fruits of birth. Because of our deeds, the Panchalas and Kurus who have been killed, and those of us who have not been slain, will obtain the worst of worlds. We will be known as the ones who caused the destruction of the world, even though we were deceived by Dhritarashtra’s son. He was skilled in deceit. He was full of enmity and subsisted through the use of maya. Though we had never caused him injury, he always used falsehood towards us. We have not succeeded in vanquishing them, nor have they defeated us. They have not enjoyed the earth, nor women, singing and music. They paid no attention to their advisers, nor did they listen to those who knew about the sacred texts. They could not enjoy the jewels, the earth
or the wealth they had obtained. When he
³⁵
saw our prosperity, he turned pale, ashen and lean. This was reported to King Dhritarashtra by Soubala.
³⁶
Because of his affection, the father remained established in the ways of the son. He disregarded his father, Gangeya and Vidura. There is no doubt that Dhritrashtra is in the same state as I am. He did not control his inauspicious and greedy son who was overcome by desire. With his brothers, Suyodhana has fallen from his blazing fame. He has hurled these two aged ones
³⁷
into the flames of grief. The evil-minded one was always full of enmity towards us. Which other relative, born into a noble lineage, would speak to well-wishers they way he did? In the presence of the one from the Vrishni lineage, the inferior one, wishing to fight, used such words.
³⁸
We have also been destroyed for an eternal period because of our own sins. Like the sun, we have scorched all the directions with our energy. That man, full of enmity towards us, came under the clutches of an evil planet that gave bad advice.
³⁹
Because of Duryodhana’s deeds, our lineage has been brought down. Having slain those who should not be slain, we will earn censure in this world. King Dhritarashtra made that evil-minded one the lord of the kingdom. He was wicked in his deeds and the exterminator of the lineage. Therefore, he
⁴⁰
is grieving now. The brave ones have been slain. The wicked deed has been done. The prosperity has been destroyed. Having slain them, our anger has been overcome. This sorrow is restraining me now. O Dhananjaya! A wicked deed can be countered through a beneficial one. The sacred texts say that someone who has renounced does not perform a wicked deed again. The sacred texts say that someone who has renounced does not have to go through birth and death. Having attained perfection, that person, firm in his resolution, unites with the brahman. O Dhananjaya! He attains the knowledge of the sages and
is without any sense of opposites.
⁴¹
O scorcher of enemies! I will take my leave from all of you and go to the forest. O destroyer of enemies! The sacred texts say that someone with possessions is not capable of attaining the best forms of dharma. I can see that. Because I desired possessions, I committed wicked acts and the sacred texts say that this can cause birth and death.
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I will give up my possessions and the entire kingdom. I will depart, completely free, bereft of sorrow and devoid of fever. With the thorns having been removed, you rule over this pacified earth. O best of the Kuru lineage! This kingdom and the pleasures are not for me.” Having spoken these words, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira stopped and the youngest Partha
⁴³
replied.’

Vaishampayana said ‘Arjuna spoke, like a reviled person who is not ready to forgive. He was firm in his speech and valour and spoke these proud words. Indra’s son was terrible in his valour and revealed his fierce aspect. The immensely energetic one laughed and repeatedly licked the corners of his mouth. “Alas! What misery! What a great calamity! This is supreme frailty. Having performed a superhuman deed, you now wish to abandon this supreme prosperity. The enemies have been slain and the earth has been obtained by practising one’s own dharma. Having killed one’s foes, but for foolishness, why should one give everything up? When has a eunuch or one who procrastinates ever obtained a kingdom? Overcome with rage, why did you kill all the lords of the earth? A person desiring to live through begging can never use his deeds to enjoy anything. Even if he tries to be powerful, his fortune is destroyed and he is never renowned in the world as someone who possesses sons and animals.
O king! If you resort to this wicked means of subsistence through mendicancy and abandon this prosperous kingdom, what will people say? O lord! Why do you wish to abandon all enterprise, giving up all your fortune? Like an ordinary person, why do you wish to roam around as a beggar? You have been born in this lineage of kings and have conquered the entire earth. Yet, because of your confusion, you wish to give up dharma and artha and want to go to the forest. When you have gone, if wicked people destroy the sacrificial offerings, the consequence of that sin will devolve on you. Nahusha
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said, ‘It is not desirable to possess nothing. Without riches, cruel deeds are perpetrated. Shame on poverty.’ You know that the practice of rishis is not to keep anything for tomorrow. But that which is known as dharma is established on the basis of riches. When someone’s riches are stolen, his dharma is also stolen. O king! Who amongst us will pardon an act of our riches being robbed? If a poor person stands next to one’s own self, that poor person is abused. Poverty causes degradation in this world and you should not praise it. O king! One who is degraded sorrows. One who is poor sorrows. I cannot see any difference between one who is degraded and one who is poor. Here and there, all the rites are extended and accumulated through wealth, like streams flowing down mountains. O lord of men! Dharma, kama and heaven result from artha. Without artha, the world will not be able to sustain its life. Like an inferior river
⁴⁵
during the summer, all the rites of a person with limited intelligence are destroyed in the absence of wealth. One who possesses riches possesses friends. One who possesses riches possesses relatives. One who possesses riches is a man in this world. One who possesses riches is learned. A person who doesn’t possess riches is incapable of obtaining riches only by desiring it. Riches follow riches, like elephants follow mighty elephants.
⁴⁶
O lord of men! Dharma, kama, heaven, delight, anger, learning, self-control—all of these result from artha. The lineage
is extended because of artha. Dharma is spread because of riches. O supreme among men! A person without riches does not possess either this world, or the next. One without riches cannot perform the acts of dharma. Dharma flows from riches, like mountainous streams from mountains. O king! A person is not called lean when his body is lean. He is lean when he is lean in horses, lean in cattle, lean in servants and lean in guests. Consider this according to the right principles. Look at the gods and the asuras. O king! The gods prosper after having slain their own relatives.
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If one does not take away the riches of others, how can one observe dharma? The wise ones have determined this in the Vedas. The learned ones have said that one must study the three kinds of knowledge
⁴⁸
and always make efforts to accumulate wealth and perform sacrifices. It is through violence and enmity that all the gods have obtained their stations in heaven. This is what the gods resorted to, and these are the eternal words of the Vedas. One must study, one must perform austerities, one must perform sacrifices and one must officiate at the sacrifices of others. But all these become better when one takes objects away from others. Nowhere do we see any wealth that has not been taken away from others. This is the way in which kings conquered the earth. Having conquered, they say that the wealth is theirs, just as sons say that the wealth of their fathers is their own. The rajarshis who have obtained heaven have proclaimed this to be dharma. In the overflowing ocean, water spreads out in the ten directions. In that way, wealth that emanates from a royal lineage spreads throughout the earth. Earlier, the earth belonged to Dilipa, Nriga, Nahusha, Ambarisha and Mandhata.
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It belongs to you now. O king! A prosperous sacrifice, with all the donations given, now awaits you. If
you do not perform that sacrifice, you will cause offence to the gods. If a king performs a horse sacrifice and offers donations, everyone becomes purified because of that. Vishvarupa
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Mahadeva performed a great sacrifice at which everything was offered. He offered all the beings as oblations and then offered himself. That is the eternal path of prosperity and we have heard that there is no other end that is possible. This is the great path known as
dasharatha
.
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O king! Do not follow any other route.”’

‘Yudhishthira said, “Listen attentively for an instant. Cast your mind and your hearing towards your own inner self. If you listen to my words in that way, you will find them to be acceptable. You will not be able to take me back to the path travelled by the prosperous again. I will leave. I will abandon the path of ordinary pleasures and depart. I will travel alone along that path of tranquility. If you ask me what that is, I will tell you. Even if you don’t wish to ask me, I will tell you. Listen. I will discard the pursuit of ordinary pleasures and torment myself through great austerities. I will dwell in the forest, sustaining myself on fruits and roots, and roam around with animals. I will pour oblations into the fire at the right time and perform ablutions at the right time. I will emaciate myself by eating little. I will cover myself with skins and rags and wear matted hair. I will endure cold, wind, heat and bear hunger, thirst and exhaustion. I will grind down my body through the prescribed austerities. In the forest, I will cheerfully listen to the pleasant notes, high and low, of the animals and birds that live there. They are pleasant to the mind and the ear. I will inhale the delicate fragrance of blossoming
trees and creepers. I will observe the many beautiful forms of those who live in the forest. I will not offend the sight of those who have resorted to
vanaprastha
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and dwell there with their families. I will act so that I do not cause anything unpleasant to them, not to speak of those who live in villages. I will live alone and pass my time in contemplation, eating that which is ripe and that which is unripe.
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I will satisfy the ancestors and the gods with wild fruits, water and eloquent words. I will follow the fiercest of rites prescribed for those who dwell in the forest. Serving in this way, I will await the end of my physical existence. Or, I will dwell alone and spend my night under different trees. I will shave my head and beg for a living, destroying my body. I will be covered with dust and seek shelter in empty houses. I will find an abode near the root of a tree and abandon everything that is pleasant and unpleasant. Sorrow and delight, praise and censure, will be equal for me. I will have no desire and be free of any sense of possessiveness. Opposites will mean the same and I will have nothing to receive. I will find pleasure in my own atman. I will find serenity in my own atman. I will be like one who is dumb, blind and deaf. There will be no occasion for me to have conversations with anyone else. I will not injure any of the four kinds of beings,
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mobile and immobile, as they are engaged in their own dharma. I will behave equally towards all those who have life. I will not laugh at anything, nor will I frown at anything. My face will always be cheerful and all my senses will be well controlled. I will not ask anyone about the route. I will travel along any path and not wish to go to any special country or direction. I will advance impartially and not glance back. I will be upright and cautious, so that I avoid and do not frighten anyone along the path. Nature is most important and food and drink will take care of themselves. I will not think about all the opposite sentiments
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that stand against
this. If even a little bit of succulent food is not available at first, I will roam around and seek to find it in seven houses.
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But I will go at the time when there is no smoke, when the pestles have been put away, when the coal in the fire has died down, when food has been eaten, when the handling of the pots is over and when all the mendicants have gone. At one time, I will roam around and beg from two to five houses.
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I will roam around the earth, freeing myself from the noose of desire. I will be like one who does not wish to live. I will act like one who is about to die. I will not find delight or sorrow in either life or death. If someone severs one of my arms and another person smears the other with sandalwood paste, I will not think of doing good things to the latter and harming the former. There are acts that are done to improve the state of one’s life. I will abandon all of them. Blinking my eyes, I will give up attachment to all of them and abandon all the acts that are connected to the senses. When I have abandoned all resolution, I will purify myself well. I will have freed myself from all attachment and will have passed beyond all bonds. I will not be under the subjugation of anything and will follow the dharma of the wind.
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I will roam around without any attachment and will obtain eternal satisfaction. It was because of my greed and ignorance that I performed extremely wicked deeds. There are men who perform good and wicked deeds because they are tied down, through cause and effect, to their relatives.
⁵⁹
When the lifespan is over, the body is almost completely decayed. They then receive the fruits of those wicked deeds, but no one except the doer obtains the consequence.
⁶⁰
The wheel of life goes on in this way, like the turning
wheel of a chariot. This collection of beings meet each other. This collection of beings acts. Birth, death, old age, disease and pain are without any substance and transient. On this earth, one who can discard them is happy. The gods fall down from heaven and so do the maharshis from their appointed spots. Which person, if he desires to know about the reason and truth behind existence, would then desire to exist?
⁶¹
A king may perform many kinds of deeds, in accordance with the rites and auspicious signs. But that king will be bound down by the slightest bit of action. For a long time, this amrita of wisdom has presented itself before me. Therefore, I desire it and want the eternal and certain state, from which one does not decay. I will conduct myself in this virtuous way and roam around, without any connection to the material world. I will fearlessly place my body on that path.”’