Mahabharata: Volume 8 (57 page)

‘Yudhishthira said, “O grandfather! You have recounted this eternal rajadharma. This is the lord’s
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great rod of chastisement and everything is established on this rod of chastisement—in particular, the
gods, the rishis, the great-souled ancestors, the yakshas, the rakshasas, the pishachas and the mortals. In a fierce way, it resides in all the beings in this world. O lord! It pervades everything, is extremely energetic and is the best. You have said that everything that is seen in the worlds—gods, asuras and men, mobile and immobile objects—is touched by the rod of chastisement. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Therefore, I wish to know the entire truth about this. What is this rod? What is the rod like? What is its form? What is its nature? What is its soul like? How was it created? What is its image? How did it become a rod? When does the rod of chastisement, which causes injury to beings, awake? To protect, how does it remain awake, before and after?
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How was it known earlier? What are the signs of the rod later? Where is the rod based? What is its trajectory?”

‘Bhishma replied, “O Kouravya! Hear about the rod of chastisement and about why it amounts to judgement. In this earth, the rod is the only object through which everything is controlled. O great king! That is the reason judgement is also known by the name of dharma. If it is destroyed, how will beings, who wish to cause injury, be destroyed? That is the reason judgement is known as
vyavahara
.
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O king! In ancient times, right at the beginning, this was stated by Manu. ‘If the rod is applied well, treating the loved and the disliked equally, then he who protects the subjects in this way is alone like dharma himself.’ These words were spoken by Manu in ancient times.

‘“But even before that, at the time of creation, there were Brahma’s great words, mentioned by Vasishtha. These words were spoken before those other words were uttered, so the learned say that these were the earliest words.
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‘In this world, judgement is spoken of as vyavahara. If the rod is applied well, the three objectives
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always flow from it.’ The supreme rod is divine in form, with trails like fire.
He is as dark as the petals of a blue lotus. He has four teeth, four arms, eight feet and many eyes. The ears are conical and the hair stands upright. He is matted and possesses two tongues. His eyes are coppery and he is clad in the skin of the king of animals.
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The rod always sports this fierce and frightful appearance and is impossible to withstand. The sword, the club, the bow, the spear, the trident, the bludgeon, the arrow, the mallet, the battleaxe, the chakra, the spike, the staff, the cutlass, the javelin and whatever weapons exist in this world—the rod roams around and assumes their forms. The rod roams around, slaying and striking, piercing, severing, smashing, slicing, mangling and uprooting. O Yudhishthira! These names of the rod are recounted—Asi,
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Vishasana,
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Dharma, Tikshnavartma,
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Durasada,
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Shrigarbha,
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Vijaya,
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Shasta,
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Vyavahara, Prajagara,
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Shastra,
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Brahmana, Mantra, Shasta,
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Pragyavachana-gata,
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Dharmapala,
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Akshaya,
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Deva,
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Satyaga,
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Nityaga,
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Graha,
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Asanga,
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Rudratanaya,
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Manujyeshtha
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and Shivamkara.
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The lord is the illustrious
Vishnu and his sacrifice, the lord Narayana, whose great form is eternal and who is known as the great being. It is said to be Brahma’s daughters—Lakshmi, Niti
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and Sarasvati. Dandaniti is Jagaddhatri.
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O descendant of the Bharata lienage! The rod has many different kinds of forms—good and bad, happy and unhappy, dharma and adharma, strong and weak, good fortune and ill fortune, auspicious and inauspicious, with qualities and without qualities, with desire and without desire, season, month, night, day, moment, without favours and with favours, delight, anger, pacification, self-control, destiny, human endeavour, with salvation and without salvation, with fear and without fear, with violence and without violence, austerities, sacrifices, self-restraint, with poison and without poison, the end, the beginning, the middle, evil sorcery, deceit, intoxication, carelessness, pride, insolence, patience, good policy and bad policy, lack of strength and strength, respect and disrespect, change and status quo, humility, renunciation, the right time and the wrong time. O Kouravya! The rod has many different forms in the world—falsehood, knowing and not knowing, truth, faith and lack of faith, impotence, conduct, gain and loss, victory and defeat, sharpness and mildness, death, getting and not getting, disagreement and agreement, tasks that should be done and tasks that should not be done, strength and weakness, malice and lack of malice, dharma and adharma, shame and lack of shame, success and failure, energy, deeds, learning, strength of speech and intelligence.

‘“Had the rod not existed, people would have crushed each other. O Yudhishthira! It is out of fear of the rod that they do not kill each other. O king! It is through the rod that the subjects are constantly protected. Therefore, a king who resorts to the rod obtains prosperity. O lord of men! It swiftly establishes good conduct in the world. Dharma, which is based on the truth, finds
a foundation in brahmanas. Brahmanas are full of dharma and the best among them base themselves on the Vedas. Sacrifices result from the Vedas and sacrifices please the gods. If the gods are pleased, they always give it to Indra.
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If Shakra is pleased with the subjects, he gives them food. The lives of all beings always find a basis in food. Thus, subjects obtain a foundation and the rod watches over them. Because of these reasons, the rod manifests itself in kshatriyas. It remains awake and, always and eternally, protects subjects well. It is spoken of in eight names—Ishvara, Purusha, Prana, Sattva,
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Vitta,
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Prajapati, Bhutatma
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and Jiva.
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This rod certainly gives him
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prosperity. When strength is united with policy, five ingredients result—lineage, strength, wealth, advisers and wisdom. These are said to be the strengths. O Yudhishthira! There is another kind of strength that can be obtained from eight objects—elephants, horses, chariots, infantry, boats, workers, guides and spies. These are said to be the eight kinds of strength. When that eight-limbed army advances, it is united with elephants, elephant riders, horse riders, foot soldiers, ministers, physicians, mendicants, principal investigators, astrologers, readers of omens, treasuries, allies, foodgrains and all kinds of implements. The learned say that it is a body with seven ingredients and eight limbs.
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The rod is a limb of the kingdom and the rod provides the power. The lord made efforts so that kshatriyas could bear it. The rod is applied equally to everyone and the rod is the eternal soul. It shows the way towards dharma and there is nothing that kings should revere
more. For the protection of the worlds and to establish people in their own dharma, the creator
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engendered this.

‘“Judgement comes after this and is seen to be united with it. It is also a characteristic that has been engendered by the creator. Judgement is said to be the soul of the Vedas and obtains its sanction from the Vedas. O tiger among men! While this is the foundation, there is another kind that originates with the ordinances of the sacred texts.
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The rod is said to exhibit the characteristics of the lord’s
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custom. It is known to be based on the customs through which the lord of men exercises the rod. What is seen to be the custom behind the exercise of the rod is said to be the soul of judgement. What is said to be judgement is also the soul of the subject matter of the Vedas. Whatever flows from the soul of the Vedas is said to exhibit the qualities of dharma. When something results from the dharma of customary practice, those with cleansed souls also regard that as dharma. O Yudhishthira! On Brahma’s instructions, judgement protects the subjects. It has truth as its soul, it upholds the three worlds and it extends prosperity. Where the rod cannot be seen, eternal judgement doesn’t exist either. We have heard that whatever is seen in the judicial process is dharma. Where the Vedas are, dharma exists there. Where dharma exists, the path of virtue is there. Brahma Prajapati was the first. He was the grandfather of all the worlds, with the gods, the asuras and the rakshasas, and with men and the serpents. He is the creator of everything that came into existence. Thus, this judgement flows from the characteristics of custom followed by the lord. That is how we have spoken about this example of the judicial process. If they are not established in their own dharma, the mother, the father, the brother, the wife and the preceptor are not beyond the exercise of the king’s rod.”’

‘Bhishma said, “In this connection, an ancient history is recounted. There was a radiant king from Anga and he was famous by the name of Vasuhoma. The king was always engaged in virtuous acts of dharma and great austerities, together with his wife. He went to Munjaprishtha, revered by large numbers of devarshis. The peak of Meru was in the golden mountains of the Himalayas. At Munjavata, Rama had instructed that the matted locks should be seized.
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Since then, the rishis, rigid in their vows, have referred to the region as Munjaprishtha and it is frequented by Rudra. He dwelt there, always with much learning and qualities, and was respected by the brahmanas. He became like a devarshi.

‘“King Mandhata was an afflicter of enemies and Shakra’s esteemed friend. In a cheerful frame of mind, he once arrived there. As Mandhata approached King Vasuhoma, he saw that having performed excellent austerities, the latter stood humbly before him. Vasuhoma gave the king a cow and arghya and asked him if everything was well in his eight-limbed kingdom. Vasuhoma asked the king, who followed the codes of good conduct that had been laid down from ancient times, ‘What can I do for you?’ O descendant of the Kuru lineage! Mandhata, supreme among kings, was greatly delighted. Having taken a seat, he spoke to the immensely wise Vasuhoma. ‘O king! You have studied all of Brihaspati’s doctrines. O lord of men! The sacred texts of Ushanas are also known to you. I wish to hear from you about how the rod of chastisement was created. How did it first arise? Why is it said to be supreme? How did the rod come to be firmly established amidst kshatriyas? O immensely wise one! Tell me and I will give you the fees that should be given to a preceptor.’

‘“Vasuhoma replied, ‘O king! Listen to how the rod was created for the protection of the world and for maintaining and protecting subjects. It is the eternal essence of dharma. We have heard that the illustrious Brahma, the grandfather of all the worlds, wished to perform a sacrifice and could not find an officiating priest who was his equal. The god then conceived a foetus and carried it within his head for many long years. After it had been borne for a full one thousand years, when he sneezed, the foetus fell out. O scorcher of enemies! Thus the Prajapati named Kshupa was created. O king! That great-souled one became the officiating priest at the sacrifice. O bull among kings! Thus Brahma’s sacrifice started. However, because of the cheerful form he had to adopt, the rod disappeared.
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When it vanished, the subjects were mixed up. There was no difference between what should be done and what should not be done and between what should be eaten and what should not be eaten. There was no difference between what should be drunk and what should not be drunk. How could there be success? They injured each other. There was no distinction between whom one should go to and whom one should not go to.
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One’s own property and that of others became the same. They snatched from each other, like dogs after meat. The weak were killed by the strong and no one exhibited any respect. At this, the grandfather worshipped the illustrious and eternal Vishnu, the god who grants boons, and spoke to the great god. “You must certainly show compassion towards these virtuous ones. Arrange it so that there is no mixing up here.” At this, the illustrious one meditated for a long time, holding a trident and wearing matted hair. From his own self, that supreme among gods created the rod. And from that was created the policy for observing dharma, the goddess Sarasvati. She was created and is famous in the three worlds as dandaniti. The illustrious one again meditated for a long time, with the trident, supreme among weapons. He made one person a lord over his respective dominion. The god with the
thousand eyes became the lord of the gods. Vaivasvata Yama was made the lord of the ancestors. Kubera became the lord of riches and the rakshasas. Meru became the lord of mountains and the great ocean that of rivers. He decreed that Varuna should be the lord over the divine kingdom of the waters.
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Death became the lord of living beings and the fire of energy. The lord announced that Ishana
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would be the protector of the Rudras. Vasishtha became the lord of brahmanas, the fire
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of the Vasus, the sun of energy,
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the moon of nakshatras and Amshuman
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of herbs. The supreme lord instructed that Skanda Kumara, the one with twelve arms, would be the king of the spirits.
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Time became the one who pacifies, destroys and humbles everything and the lord of the four divisions of death
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and happiness and unhappiness. The lord of riches, the king of the yakshas, became the lord of all beings. It has been heard that the one with the trident in his hand
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became the lord of all the Rudras. There was that single son named Kshupa, who had been born from Brahma’s mental powers. He was given the supreme lordship over all subjects and made the upholder of all kinds of dharma. When the sacrifice started, according to the proper rites, Mahadeva
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honoured Vishnu and gave the rod, the protector of dharma, to him. Vishnu gave it to Angiras. Angiras, supreme among sages, gave it to Indra and Marichi. Marichi gave it to Bhrigu. Bhrigu gave that rod, full of dharma, to the rishis. The rishis gave it to the guardians of the worlds and the guardians of the
worlds gave it to Kshupa. Ksupa gave it to Manu, the son of the sun god. For the sake of preserving the subtleties of dharma and artha and to protect his own self, Manu, the son of the sun and the god of funeral ceremonies, gave it to his sons. It should be one’s duty to apply the rod differentially, according to dharma, and not wilfully, using harsh words of censure, imprisonment, extracting bonds, fines of gold and expulsion. However, physical dismemberment and execution should not be used for trifling reasons, nor should physical punishment, corporal punishment and exile. Right from the beginning, the rod has been awake and has protected subjects. The illustrious Indra remains awake and after him it is Agni, the fire god.
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After Agni has remained awake, it is Varuna. After Varuna, it is Prajapati. After Prajapati, Dharma, who humbles souls, remains awake. After Dharma, it is eternal Vyavasaya,
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Brahma’s son. After Vyavasaya, Tejas
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remains awake, for the cause of protection. The medicinal plants and herbs come after Tejas and the mountains after the plants and herbs. After the mountains, the juices and the qualities of the juices remain awake. After that, the goddess Nirriti
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remains awake and after Nirriti, it is the stellar bodies. The Vedas are established in the stellar bodies. After that, it is the lord Hayashira.
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After him, the undecaying Brahma, the grandfather, remains awake. After the grandfather, the illustrious Mahadeva Shiva remains awake. The Vishvadevas come after Shiva and the rishis after the Vishvadevas. The illustrious Soma
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comes after the rishis and the eternal gods after Soma. In this world, the brahmanas remain awake and take it up after the gods. After the brahmanas, kings follow dharma and protect the worlds. After the kshatriyas, it is the eternal mobile and immobile objects. The subjects remain awake in this world and the rod remains awake
among them. The rod is the one who destroys everything and is a lord who is the grandfather’s equal. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! At the beginning, in the middle and at the end, time remains awake. Mahadeva Prajapati is the lord of all the worlds. The lord Shiva Sharva is the god of the gods and always remains awake. He is Kapardi, Shankara, Rudra, Bhava, Sthanu and Umapati. Thus, the beginning, the middle and the end of the rod have been recounted. A lord of the earth who knows about dharma must follow the proper conduct and policy.’”

‘Bhishma said, “The man who listens to these views of Vasuhoma and having heard, acts properly in accordance with it, is a king who obtains all his desires. O bull among men! You have been told everything about the rod. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! It controls all the people who transgress dharma.”’