Mahabharata: Volume 8 (59 page)

‘Bhishma said, “Then, among those assembled rishis, a brahmana rishi named Rishabha, supreme among rishis, smiled and spoke. ‘O tiger among kings! O lord! In earlier times, I visited all the tirthas
and arrived at the divine hermitage of Nara and Narayana. There is the
badari
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tree there and the beautiful lake in the sky.
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O king! Ashvashira
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recites the eternal Vedas there. In those ancient times, I first rendered the recommended offerings to the ancestors and the gods in that lake. I next went to the hermitage. The rishis Nara and Narayana always find delight there. To find an abode, I went a little distance away from the hermitage. There, I saw an extremely emaciated rishi come towards me. He was dressed in rags and hides and he was extremely tall. He was a store of austerities and his name was Tanu. O mighty-armed one! O rajarshi! Many other men have the eight qualities his form possessed.
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But I have never seen anyone as lean as him. O Indra among kings! His body was as thin as a little finger. His neck, arms, feet and hair were extraordinary to see. His head was as large as his body and so were his ears and his eyes. O supreme among kings! His speech and movement were feeble. On seeing this extremely emaciated brahmana, I was scared and very distressed. I touched his feet and joining my hands in salutation, stood before him. O bull among men! I told him my name, my gotra and my father’s name. Then I slowly sat down on the seat he showed me. O great king! In the midst of those rishis, that supreme upholder of dharma recounted stories that were full of dharma and artha. While he was talking, a king arrived on swift horses, with his army and his women. His eyes were like blue lotuses and he was extremely distressed, thinking about his son, who had got lost in the forest. He was the father of Bhuridyumna
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and he was intelligent and immensely illustrious, born in Raghu’s lineage. The king said, “I will see my son here. It is here that I will see him.” In those ancient times, the king was roaming around, driven thus by hope. However, he also said, “It is also extremely unlikely that
I will ever see the one who is supreme in dharma.
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I only have one son and he has perished in the forest. It is extremely unlikely that I will see him, but hopes run high. There is no doubt that I will die and cast aside my body.” Hearing these words, the illustrious Tanu, supreme among sages, lowered his head. For some time, he immersed himself in meditation. On seeing him meditating, the king was greatly distressed. Cheerless in his mind, he gently spoke these words. “O brahmana rishi! What is difficult to get and rarer than hope? O illustrious one! If it is not a secret, please tell me this.” In the past, because of his misfortune and stupid intelligence, the illustrious maharshi had been insulted.
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O king! The brahmana rishi had asked for some riches, a golden pot and some bark for clothing, but his hopes were belied and he was distressed. O supreme among men! Having spoken to the rishi, revered in the worlds, the one with dharma in his soul
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worshipped him. But he felt exhausted and sat down. The great rishi offered him arghya, water for washing the feet and showed the king all the due honours, as is recommended for someone dwelling in the forest.

‘“‘All the sages surrounded that bull among men.
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They honoured him and sat down, like the saptarshis around Dhruva.
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They asked the unvanquished king about the entire reasons behind his coming to the hermitage. The king said, “I am a king famous in all the directions by the name of Viradyumna. I have come to the forest to look for my son Bhuridyumna, who has got lost. O foremost among brahmanas! O unblemished ones! He is my only son. I have not seen him in the forest and am roaming around here.” Having been thus addressed by the king, the sage
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remained with his head lowered. He was silent and did not reply to the king. O Indra among kings! In the past, insolent because of his prosperity, the king had
insulted the brahmana. With his hopes belied, he
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had engaged in austerities for a long time. He had resolved, “I will never accept anything from a king, or from any of the other varnas.” He had taken this pledge and had abided by it. “Hope agitates men who are foolish. I will fling it away.” The king said, “Can hope be made to wear thin? Is there anything else on earth that is more difficult to get? O illustrious one! You have seen the nature of dharma and artha. Please tell me.” Remembering everything, the illustrious Tanu, emaciated in his body, reminded the king of the incident and said, “O king! There is nothing that is as emaciated as hope. O king! I have asked many kings and have found that nothing is as difficult to obtain.” The king said, “O brahmana! I have understood the purport of your words, about it being emaciated and also not emaciated
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and also about the difficulty of obtaining. O brahmana! Your words are the words of the Vedas. O immensely wise one! However, a doubt has arisen in my heart. O supreme one! I am asking you and you should tell me the truth about this. O illustrious one! Tell me, if it is not a secret, is there anyone more emaciated than you? O brahmana! In this world, is there anything that is more difficult to get?”
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Krishatanu
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replied, “It is rarer to find a petitioner who is satisfied with what he has got.
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O son!
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It is rarer to find a person who does not disrespect a petitioner. There are those who promise to help, but later, do not do so, to the best of their capacities, or do not help those who should be aided. However, even then, the hope that still remains in beings is thinner than I am. There may be a father with a single son who is lost, or absent from home. When one doesn’t know what has happened to him, the hope that still remains is thinner than I am. There are aged women who give birth. They, and rich people too, desire sons. O Indra among men! The hope that
is in them is thinner than I am.” O king! Having heard this, the king and his women prostrated themselves and touched the feet of that bull among brahmanas. The king said, “O illustrious one! Through your favours, I desire to meet my son. O brahmana! If you so wish, follow the rites and please grant me this boon.” The king, with eyes like blue lotuses, spoke these words. “O brahmana! What you have said is true. There is nothing false in those words.” The illustrious Tanu, supreme among the upholders of dharma, laughed. Through his austerities and his learning, he instantly brought the son there. Having brought the son there, he reprimanded the king.
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He was supreme among the upholders of dharma and showed himself to be none other than Dharma. He exhibited his own self and it was divine and marvellous to behold. He was devoid of sin and devoid of anger and left for the nearby forest. O king! I saw this and I heard those words. Quickly drive away your hope, which is thinner than what he was.’”

‘Bhishma said, “O great king! Thus addressed by the great-souled Rishabha, Sumitra swiftly flung away his hope, which was extremely thin. O Kounteya! You have also heard these words from me. O king! Be as firm as the Himalayas, supreme among mountains. You will see and hear those who are distressed because they pursue objectives. O great king! Listen to me. You should not be tormented.”’

‘Yudhishthira said, “As you have spoken, I have not obtained enough of this amrita. O grandfather! Therefore, speak to me again about dharma.”

‘Bhishma replied, “On this, an ancient history is recounted about a conversation between Goutama and the great-souled Yama. Goutama’s great hermitage was on Mount Pariyatra and Goutama
dwelt there for some time. Listen to this. Goutama tormented himself through austerities for sixty thousand years. The cleansed and ascetic sage performed severe austerities. O tiger among men! Yama, the guardian of the world, went to him there. As sage Goutama performed those excellent austerities, he looked at the rishi. Because of his energy, the brahmana rishi realized that Yama had arrived. The one who was rich in austerities joined his hands in salutation and advanced towards him. Dharmaraja
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looked towards that bull among men and bowed down before him. Dharma asked him, ‘What can I do for you?’ Goutama asked, ‘How can one free oneself of the debts due to the mother and the father? How can a man quickly obtain the auspicious worlds, which are so difficult to obtain?’ Yama replied, ‘Austerities, purity, constant devotion to truth and dharma, constant worship of the mother and the father are the tasks one should be attached to. One must perform many horse sacrifices, with dakshina for the officiating priests. A man will then obtain worlds that are extraordinary to behold.’”’

‘Yudhishthira asked, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! There may be a king whose friends have abandoned him and who has many enemies. His treasury may have become depleted and his army may have been weakened. What happens to him? His advisers and aides may be wicked. All his secret counsel may have been divulged. His kingdom may gradually be weaned away and he cannot see any course of action. He is weak and may be attacked by a circle of stronger enemies. His kingdom may be in disarray. He may be ignorant about the time and the place. He is unable to use conciliation. And because he is afflicted, he cannot use dissension either. His life may seem to be without purpose. What is a good course of action then?”

‘Bhishma replied, “O bull among the Bharata lineage! You have asked me about secret kinds of dharma.
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I did not wish to speak about this kind of dharma until I had been asked. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Dharma is more subtle than words and intelligence. If one has served those who have good conduct, and learnt from them, one can perhaps become virtuous. Using one’s intelligence to reflect on a task before undertaking it, one may, or may not, become prosperous. In that way, with respect to what you have asked, use your own intelligence to decide what must be done. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Using the instruments of dharma, there are many ways to advance towards the objective. Listen. If one considers dharma, I do not consider these kinds of action to be dharma.
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Prosperous people may bring hardships on themselves and subsequently, it may be held that this was inappropriate.
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One can be certain about the outcome of a course of action only after everything has been completed. Whenever a man always looks towards the sacred texts and obtains learning from them, that learning pleases him. If a man is not learned, a course of action may seem wrong. But it seems wrong because of lack of knowledge and that course of action can lead to prosperity. Without any doubt in your mind, listen to the words that I will speak. If the king’s treasury is exhausted, his army will decline. The king must try to build the treasury, like a person conserves water in a place where there is no water. This is dharma then, and when it is time, he can show compassion.
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These are the instruments of dharma that were followed by people in earlier times. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! There is one kind of dharma for those who are
capable and another for those in distress. It is said that a treasury ensures dharma and intelligence is superior to dharma.
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One who is weak cannot find a means of sustenance by following dharma alone. However, since the acquisition of wealth does not occur in isolation,
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it has been heard that, in times of hardship, adharma may acquire the characteristics of dharma. But those who are learned and wise say that adharma results and subsequently,
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a kshatriya must act to heal this. Dharma must not be made to decline, but nor should one come under the subjugation of the enemy. Nor, because of the action undertaken, should one allow one’s own self to be destroyed. If one is destroyed, one can perform no act of dharma, either for one’s own sake, or for the sake of someone else. It is certain that one must use every means possible to preserve oneself. O son! This has been determined by those who are knowledgeable about dharma and skilled about the means of dharma. The sacred texts say that because of the valour in their arms, enterprise is the life of a kshatriya. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! When a kshatriya’s means of sustenance have gone, why should he not take from everyone, with the exception of ascetics and brahmanas? It is like a brahmana in hardship officiating at the sacrifice of someone who should not be performing a sacrifice. There is no doubt that in such situations, food that should not be eaten can also be eaten. If someone is distressed, why should gates and paths be barred? If someone is distressed, he can escape through something that is not a door. However, even for a person whose treasury and army have been destroyed and who has been defeated by the entire world, a life of begging is not recommended, nor the livelihood of a vaishya or a shudra. One should first try for one’s own dharma, before adopting the livelihood of someone else. At first, one should think of that kind of livelihood to sustain life. However, if there is a disaster, one can then resort to the dharma and livelihood of others. When their means of livelihood have been destroyed, even brahmanas are seen to
do this. Why should there be any doubt about a kshatriya? This has already been decided. He should take from whoever possesses more and never allow himself to be destroyed. The kshatriya is known to be the slayer and protector of subjects. Therefore, to protect him, it is the duty of the relatives of the kshatriya to appropriate. O king! There is no livelihood that exists without violence. Even a solitary sage, active and roaming in the forest, cannot manage to do that. Nor can one remain alive by following the conduct of Shankha and Likhita. O best among the Kurus! If one desires to protect the subjects, this is especially the case. In times of distress, the king and the kingdom must protect each other. This must always be done and this is eternal dharma. In times of distress, the king protects the kingdom by flooding it with material objects. In a time of distress, the kingdom must also protect the king. When the kingdom suffers from hunger, the king must not hide his treasury, his army, his rod, his friends and anything else that he may have stored. Those who are learned about dharma say that seeds must be saved from one’s own food.

‘“Shambara, who was great in his knowledge of maya, spoke about this. ‘When a kingdom goes into a decline, the life of that king is one of shame. If he knows about the words of Shibi,
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why should people be without a means of sustenance?’ A king’s foundations are his treasury and his army. The treasury is again the foundation of the army. It is the foundation of all dharma and dharma is again the foundation of the subjects. There cannot be a treasury without oppression and without it, how is it possible to have an army? Therefore, one does not deserve to be tainted because of oppression. If a task is undertaken for the sake of a sacrifice, or if rites are followed in the course of a sacrifice, then, because of these reasons, the king does not deserve to be tainted. There are acts pursued for the sake of artha and there are contrary acts pursued for the sake of what is not artha. Those which are for the sake of artha and those which are not for the sake of artha may all seem to have the signs of artha. An intelligent person will use his intelligence to consider all this and then determine the course of action. Some
objects are of use in a sacrifice, others are of no direct use in the sacrifice and still others may be of use in obtaining the purpose of the sacrifice. But all these are ingredients in conducting the sacrifice. I will tell you about examples, to illuminate the true nature of dharma. A sacrificial post must be severed for the sake of the sacrifice and there are some other trees that stand in the way and obstruct it. It is certain that these must also be cut down. When these fall down, they bring down other trees too. O scorcher of enemies! In that way, there are men who stand in the way of building up a large treasury and without killing them, I see no means of success. Both the worlds can be conquered with riches, this one and the next. What is said about dharma is true—it does not exist where there are no riches. To meet the requirements of sacrifices, every method of obtaining riches must be used. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The sins from doing the right thing and not doing the right thing are not equal.
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O king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! How can one follow neither of these two? I do not see people who extend their riches in the forest.
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A man desires whatever riches he can see in this world and hopes that it might belong to him. O scorcher of enemies! There is no dharma that is equal to the ruling of a kingdom. There is another kind of dharma that is recommended for kings who confront a hardship. Some acquire stores of riches through gifts and deeds, others are ascetics and do this through austerities, and still others choose intelligence and skills. It is said that one without riches is weak and one with riches is strong. One with riches can obtain everything. One with a treasury can overcome everything. The treasury provides dharma and kama, and this world and the next.”’