Mahabharata: Volume 8 (38 page)

‘“There is a supreme saying among men. ‘He is himself the
eighth.’
⁵⁹³
Those who chanted praises were created, bards and minstrels
⁵⁹⁴
being the foremost. He
⁵⁹⁵
levelled the earth and made it plain. We have heard that earlier, the earth was uneven. Vishnu, the god Shakra, the other gods, the rishis and Brahma consecrated him to rule over the subjects. O Pandava! The earth herself presented him with jewels. So did the ocean, the lord of the rivers, and the supreme mountains, the Himalayas. O Yudhishthira! Shakra gave him inexhaustible riches. The golden mount, the great Meru, himself gave him gold. The illustrious Naravahana,
⁵⁹⁶
the lord of yakshas and rakshasas, gave him riches so that he would be capable of following dharma, artha and kama. O Pandava! As soon as Vainya thought of them, horses, chariots, elephants and crores of men manifested themselves. There was no old age, famine, hardship or disease. Because of the protection offered by the king, there was no fear from reptiles and thieves. He milked the earth for the seventeen kinds of grain.
⁵⁹⁷
Yakshas, rakshasas and serpents, each obtained whatever they wished for. Thus did the great-souled one ensure supreme dharma in the world. He pleased all the subjects and everyone came to call him raja.
⁵⁹⁸
The word kshatriya is used because he saved the brahmanas from injury.
⁵⁹⁹
Virtuous ones have said that the earth is famous for being strewn with riches.
⁶⁰⁰
O king! The eternal Vishnu himself established the rule that no one would ever be able to transgress the king. Through his austerities, the illustrious Vishnu penetrated
the king. O king! That is the reason the world bowed down to and honoured this god among human gods.
⁶⁰¹

‘“O lord of men! You must always protect through the use of dandaniti. You must see to it so that it is never afflicted by anyone and use spies for this. The king is equal to everyone else. With the exception that divine qualities exist inside him, there is no reason for everyone in the world to honour him. A golden lotus was generated from Vishnu’s forehead. This was the goddess Shri
⁶⁰²
and she became the wife of the intelligent Dharma. O Pandava! Through Shri, Artha was born to Dharma. Therefore, prosperity, dharma and artha are always established in the kingdom. O son!
⁶⁰³
When good deeds are exhausted, a person is dislodged from the world of heaven and is born on earth as a king, to follow dandaniti. Such a man on earth is united with the greatness of Vishnu. He is united with intelligence and attains greatness. No one transgresses what has been established by the gods. That is the reason everyone remains under the subjugation of one man. O Indra among kings! Though he is equal to the others in the world, because his good deeds lead to good consequences, everyone follows his words. Whoever glances at his peaceful face comes under his control. He sees someone who is extremely fortunate, prosperous and handsome. O Indra among kings! O lord of the earth! That is the reason the learned pronounce that on earth, gods and human gods are similar. This is the entire account about the greatness of kings. O best among the Bharata lineage! I have said everything. What should we do now?”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Yudhishthira again saluted his grandfather, Gangeya. He joined his hands in salutation, composed himself
and asked, “What is dharma for all the varnas? What is it for each of the varnas separately? What are the views on the four ashramas and for rajadharma? Why does a kingdom prosper? Why does a king prosper? O bull among the Bharata lineage! Why do citizens and servants prosper? What kind of treasury, punishment, forts, aides, advisers, officiating priests, priests
⁶⁰⁴
and preceptors should a king avoid? When there is a hardship, whom should a king trust? Whom should a king firmly protect himself against? O grandfather! Tell me this.”

‘Bhishma replied, “I bow down to the great dharma. I bow down to Krishna, the origin. Having bowed down to the brahmanas, I will speak about eternal dharma. There are nine aspects that are applicable to all varnas—lack of anger, truthfulness in speech, sharing properly, forgiveness, procreation on one’s wife, purification, non-injury, rectitude and supporting the servants.

‘“I will now tell you about the dharma that only applies to brahmanas. O great king! It is said that self-control is the ancient dharma. There are also tasks like studying and teaching that must be completed. All other acts are a consequence of these two acts. If a man is calm and content with wisdom, he should not do anything improper. He should marry, have offspring, practise donations and perform sacrifices. It is said that riches that bring enjoyment must be shared amongst the virtuous. If a brahmana studies, he has accomplished his greatest task. Whether he performs any other task or does not perform any other task, such a brahmana is spoken of as a Maitra.
⁶⁰⁵

‘“O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I will now tell you about the dharma of kshatriyas. The king must give and not beg. He must perform sacrifices, but not officiate at the sacrifices of others. He should not teach, but can study. He must protect the subjects. He must always show enterprise in killing bandits. He must act valiantly in a
battle. Kings who perform sacrifices, are learned and are victorious in battle conquer supreme worlds. Those who are learned about the ancient accounts do not praise the deeds of a kshatriya who retreats from battle without any wounds on his body. The chief task of a kshatriya has been said to kill. There is no task as important for him as the slaying of bandits. Donations, studying, performing sacrifices, acquisition of goods and their preservation are recommended. However, specifically, a king who desires dharma must fight. The lord of the earth must ensure that all the subjects are established in their own dharma. All their tasks must be properly accomplished, in accordance with dharma. Through protection, the king accomplishes his most important task. Whether he performs other tasks or does not perform other tasks, such a king is spoken of as Aindra.
⁶⁰⁶

‘“O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I will now tell you about the dharma of vaishyas—donations, studying, the performance of sacrifices, purity and the accumulation of wealth. Like a father, a vaishya must protect all animals. Any other task that he undertakes will be regarded as a wrong task for him. By protecting in this way, he will obtain great happiness. After creating animals, Prajapati gave them to vaishyas. He gave all the subjects to brahmanas and the king. I will tell you about their
⁶⁰⁷
means of sustenance and livelihood. Out of six cows, he can take the milk from one. Out of a hundred cattle, he can take a cow and a bull. When a cow is dead, he can have one-seventh of the body and horns as his share and one-sixteenth of the hooves.
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In all the seeds of grain crops, his share is one-seventh.
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This is his annual maintenance. A vaishya should never have the desire of not tending to animals. If a vaishya is willing, no one else should ever take care of them.

‘“O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I will now tell you about the dharma of shudras. Prajapati thought of shudras as a varna
marked for servitude. Serving is recommended for the shudra varna. Their great happiness results from serving others. Without any hatred, shudras should serve the other three varnas. A person who has been born as a shudra should never amass anything. If such a wicked person accumulates riches, he will make his superiors subordinate to him. However, with a king’s permission, an exception is permitted, or if he
⁶¹⁰
wishes to pursue dharma. I will tell you about his means of sustenance and livelihood. It is said that the other varnas must certainly support the shudra. When umbrellas, headdresses, beds, sandals and fans are worn out, they should be given to shudras who are servants. Garments that are torn should not be worn by the three other varnas. Those are meant for shudras and, under dharma, those are their riches. People who are learned in dharma say that when a shudra wishes to serve and comes to any of the other three varnas, work must be found for him. If such a person is weak and aged and doesn’t have any offspring, his master must arrange his funeral cake
⁶¹¹
for him. If there is hardship, the shudra must never abandon the master. If the master’s possessions are destroyed, he must support the master with anything extra that he has. For a shudra, nothing belongs to him. His riches are his master’s. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The three types of sacrifice
⁶¹²
have been recommended for the other three varnas.
Svaha
and uttering
nama
s are the mantras recommended for shudras.
⁶¹³
Using these two, the shudra can himself perform rites and observe
pakayajna
. The dakshina for a pakayajna is said to be a
purnapatra
.
⁶¹⁴
We have heard of a shudra named Paijavana, who followed the rules laid down by Indra and Agni and gave away one hundred thousand as dakshina.
⁶¹⁵

‘“Sacrifices with devotion are recommended for all the varnas. Great devotion is divine and purifies all those who sacrifice. Brahmanas worship the supreme divinity, individually and collectively. They have their own desires, but perform eternal sacrifices.
⁶¹⁶
The other three varnas were created from brahmanas. They are like the gods of the gods. What they utter is supreme. Therefore, all the sacrifices performed by the varnas have the same end, even if they result from individual desires. A brahmana who knows Rig, Sama and Yajur must be worshipped like a god. One who does not know Rig, Sama and Yajur is a misfortune for Prajapati. O son! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Depending on their wishes, all the varnas sacrifice. The gods do not serve the needs of inferior people who are against sacrifices. Therefore, sacrifices with devotion are recommended for all the varnas. The brahmanas always worship their own gods. But they also performed sacrifices for the other varnas. The other three varnas saw that the brahmanas were created for this and this extremely great dharma should be respected by us. Because of this natural dharma, the varnas remain upright. They were created and matured in this way. The Sama was one. The Yajur was one. The Rig was one. But it is certainly seen that the brahmanas are also but one.
⁶¹⁷
O Indra among kings! Those who know about the ancient accounts recount a song that was sung about this at a sacrifice, when the Vaikhanasa sages wished to perform a sacrifice. ‘When the sun has risen, or just before it has risen, one must be full of devotion and conquer one’s senses. One must then follow dharma, light a
fire and pour oblations into it. Devotion is the greatest cause. What was earlier spilt was subsequently not spilt.
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There are many different kinds of sacrifices and many different kinds of fruits arise from these deeds. A person who knows about all of these is certainly someone whose knowledge is firm. Such a man, who is a brahmana and is full of devotion, can officiate at a sacrifice. It is said that a thief, a wicked person and one who is supremely wicked among the wicked, becomes virtuous if he wishes to perform a sacrifice and performs it. There is no doubt that the rishis praise him as righteous. Certainly, all the varnas must always perform sacrifices. There is nothing in the three worlds that is equal to a sacrifice.’
⁶¹⁹
Therefore, it has been said that a man must perform sacrifices without any malice. He must resort to purification and devotion. He must endeavour to the best of his capacity.”’

‘Bhisma said, “O mighty-armed one! O one whose valour is truth! O Yudhishthira! Listen to the four ashramas and the tasks to be performed by the four varnas. It is said that the conduct of brahmanas is vanaprastha,
bhaiksha
,
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the great ashrama of garhasthya and the fourth ashrama of brahmacharya. A person belonging to the first three varnas
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will perform the
samskara
⁶²²
of getting one’s hair matted. He will then perform deeds connected with the sacrificial fire
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and studying the Vedas. He will then control himself and control his senses. Having performed the tasks required of a householder, he will then leave for vanaprastha, with his wife, or without his wife. He will study the sacred texts known as the Aranyakas and will become learned about dharma. Having already had offspring, he will hold up his seed and advance towards the end where his soul becomes one with the brahman. O king! Sages hold up their seed. A learned brahmana may observe these signs and duties right from the beginning.
⁶²⁴
O lord of the earth! After completing brahmacharya, if a brahmana seeks moksha, his rights to resorting to bhaiksha on this earth are praised. When the sun sets, he will sleep wherever he is. He will have no home and no fire in it. He will subsist on whatever is available. He will be a controlled sage who has conquered his senses. He will be without any desires and will look upon everything as equal. He will be without pleasures and will be indifferent towards everything. Such a brahmana, who has reached a state of tranquility, will advance towards the end where his soul becomes one with the brahman.

‘“He will study the Vedas and do everything that he is supposed to do.
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He will have offspring and enjoy all the objects that bring happiness. He will control himself and observe the dharma of garhasthya, which is perceived to be more difficult than the dharma of ascetics. He will be satisfied with his own wife and approach her when it is her season. However, he will accept the
system of
niyoga
⁶²⁶
and will not be deceitful or cunning. He will not eat a lot. He will be devoted to the gods and grateful. He will be truthful, gentle, non-violent and forgiving. He will be self-controlled and not be distracted in offering oblations to the gods and the ancestors. He will always give food to the brahmanas. He will not be jealous and will give to everyone, regardless of the marks they bear.
⁶²⁷
The master of the household must always be devoted to performing sacrifices. O son! In this connection, the extremely great maharshis talk about a song that was sung by Narayana. It is full of great purport and full of austerities. I will recount this to you. Listen attentively. ‘It is my view that truthfulness, uprightness, the honouring of guests, dharma, artha and sex with one’s wife are pleasures to be pursued for happiness, in this world and in the next.’ The supreme rishis say that the best ashrama for the virtuous is the maintenance of sons and wives and devotion to the Vedas. If a brahmana is devoted to performing sacrifices and studies properly in the garhasthya stage, he will be completely cleansed of any taint that results from his having been a householder. He will reap pure fruits in heaven. When he casts aside his body, it is said that his desires become endless. They eternally surround him in every direction, with eyes, heads and mouths.
⁶²⁸

‘“O Yudhishthira! One should eat alone.
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One should meditate alone. One should wander around alone. One should have a single preceptor and serve him, even if he is smeared with mud and dirt. One must always follow the rites of a brahmachari. One must always hold that one’s initiation
⁶³⁰
is supreme. One must not question the Vedas and one must always complete one’s tasks. One must always serve one’s preceptor and bow down before him. One must not
withdraw from the six tasks.
⁶³¹
However, in every way, one must not be addicted to them either. One must not take any task to be an entitlement. One must not serve the enemy. O son! This is described to be the ashrama for brahmacharis.”’