Parva 13

13.1.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Tranquillity, grandfather, you have called manifold in form and subtle; yet there is no peace in my heart, having done such a deed as this.

13.1.2 On this matter, O sinless one, you have spoken of peace in its many kinds; but for one's own deed, what peace could there be, even through tranquillity of every manifold sort?

13.1.3 Beholding your body studded with arrows and its grievous wounds, O hero, I find no peace, brooding only upon my evil deeds.

13.1.4 Seeing you, O tiger among men, your limbs drenched in blood and streaming like a mountain, I wither as a lotus withers in the rains.

13.1.5 What can be more grievous than this — that on my account the grandfather has been brought by his foes to such a state on the field of battle, and likewise other kings, together with their sons and kinsmen?

13.1.6 For we and the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra alike, in thrall to time and to wrath, having wrought this blameworthy deed — what destiny shall we attain, O king?

13.1.7 I am the cause of your end and the slayer of my own kinsmen; I can find no peace, beholding you stricken upon the ground.

13.1.8 Bhīṣma said: How do you regard yourself, who are subject to another's will, as the cause in this deed, O greatly fortunate one? Subtle indeed is this matter, and beyond the senses.

13.1.9 On this they recite this ancient tale — the colloquy between Death and Gautamī, together with Time, the fowler, and the serpent.

13.1.10 An aged woman named Gautamī, O son of Kuntī, endowed with tranquillity, beheld her own son, bitten by a serpent, lying senseless.

13.1.11 Then a fowler named Arjunaka, full of indignation, bound that serpent with a sinew-snare and brought it before Gautamī.

13.1.12 And he said to her: This vile serpent is the slayer of your son. Tell me quickly, O greatly fortunate one, by what means it shall be put to death.

13.1.13 Let it be cast into the fire, or else be cut to pieces; for this wicked killer of a child does not deserve to live long.

13.1.14 Gautamī said: Release it, Arjunaka; you are without understanding. It is not for you to slay it. Who, reflecting on what is yet to be attained, would burden his own soul with such a grievous weight?

13.1.15 Those made light by righteousness float in the world, as rafts float upon the water; but those made heavy by sin sink, as a weapon dropped into water.

13.1.16 Nor will my son be freed from death by the slaying of this creature; and what harm would befall the people were it left unslain? By the destroying of this living, breathing thing, who could pass into the endless realm of Death?

13.1.17 The fowler said: I know that here in this world not all who are enjoined to such tasks discern merit from demerit; the elders are reverend indeed. But these counsels are for one at ease; therefore I shall slay this base serpent.

13.1.18 Those who seek their end await the working of time; but the wise, who know the truth, cast off grief at once. Constant sorrowing brings only decay of one's good; therefore grief is to be abandoned. Cast off your sorrow when this creature is slain.

13.1.19 Gautamī said: No such anguish is found in such as we, for the virtuous ever take their delight in righteousness. The childish, by contrast, are forever vexed; but this is righteousness, and I have no power over this serpent's life.

13.1.20 Brāhmaṇas know no wrath; and whence, then, should torment proceed from wrath? Out of gentleness let it be forgiven, O good man; let this serpent go free.

13.1.21 The fowler said: From the slaying a gain would come, an imperishable good; an immediate gain is praised by the mighty. The gain that springs at once is better than one drawn out in time; and in slaying so contemptible a thing, there is surely benefit.

13.1.22 Gautamī said: What end is gained by seizing and slaying an enemy? And what peace, by holding a captured foe and not releasing him? Why, gentle one, should I not forgive the serpent? For what reason should I not grant it release?

13.1.23 The fowler said: From this single creature the many must be protected; one is not to be protected at the cost of many, Gautamī. Those who know righteousness abandon the offender; so slay this wicked, crawling thing.

13.1.24 Gautamī said: By the slaying of this serpent my little son will not regain his life, O fowler; nor do I see any other good in its killing. Therefore, fowler, set the serpent free, alive.

13.1.25 The fowler said: By slaying Vṛtra the king of the gods won the foremost portion; and the trident-bearing god, by destroying the sacrifice, gained his share. Act, then, as the gods act: slay the serpent at once, and let there be no hesitation.

13.1.26 Bhīṣma said: Though urged again and again by the fowler concerning the serpent, the greatly fortunate Gautamī set not her mind upon the sinful deed.

13.1.27 Then the serpent, breathing faintly and with difficulty steadying itself, oppressed by its bonds, uttered slow words in a human voice.

13.1.28 What fault is there in me here, foolish Arjunaka? For it was Death who, having me powerless and not my own master, drove me to it.

13.1.29 It was at his bidding that this child was bitten, not out of my own wrath nor out of desire; if any guilt there be, O fowler, that guilt is his.

13.1.30 The fowler said: If this evil deed of yours was done while subject to another, O serpent, still you too are a cause in it; therefore you too bear the guilt.

13.1.31 For in the making of an earthen pot, just as the rod and the wheel and the rest are reckoned among the causes, so too are you, O serpent.

13.1.32 The guilty one is to be slain by me, and guilty you are, O serpent; for you yourself, O snake, declare yourself a cause in this.

13.1.33 The serpent said: All these — the rod, the wheel, and the rest — are not their own masters; and so am I. Therefore this is no fault of mine, as you suppose.

13.1.34 Or if this be your view — that these too are mutually each other's instigators — then a doubt about effect and cause arises from their mutual impelling.

13.1.35 This being so, there is no fault in me; I am neither to be slain nor guilty. The guilt, if you reckon there to be guilt, would lie in the concurrence of them all.

13.1.36 The fowler said: If you were not a cause, then you would not be a doer either; but you are indeed a cause in this destruction, and therefore I hold that you are to be slain.

13.1.37 Even when the effect is not yet wrought, the cause is not thereby tainted here, O serpent; yet you are to be slain — why speak so much?

13.1.38 The serpent said: When there is no effect, there can be no action, whether the cause be present or absent. Therefore, of the causes in this matter, you above all are to be charged as the cause.

13.1.39 If, in truth, I am held to be a cause, O fowler, then another is the agent who applied it, and his is the guilt in the slaying of this living thing.

13.1.40 The fowler said: You are to be slain by me, O fool, killer of a child and doer of cruelty. Why speak so much, when you are doomed to die, O vile serpent?

13.1.41 The serpent said: As officiating priests who, greedy at a sacrifice, pour out the oblations gain no fruit thereby in the world beyond, so it is with me.

13.1.42 Bhīṣma said: While the serpent, impelled by Death, was speaking thus, Death himself came forth, and spoke this word to the serpent.

13.1.43 Impelled by Time, O serpent, I urged you on; neither you nor I am the cause of the destruction of this living child.

13.1.44 As the wind drives the rain-clouds hither and thither, so, like a cloud, O serpent, am I obedient to the will of Time.

13.1.45 All states of being whatsoever — those of sattva, those of rajas, and those of tamas — have Time for their essence, and arise in living creatures.

13.1.46 The moving and the unmoving, whether in heaven or upon the earth — all have Time for their essence, O serpent; this whole world has Time for its essence.

13.1.47 Whatever activities there are in the world, and likewise the cessations from them, and whatever transformations of these — all is held to have Time for its essence.

13.1.48 The sun, the moon, Viṣṇu, the waters, the wind, the lord of a hundred sacrifices, fire, the sky, the earth, Mitra, the healing herbs, and likewise the Vasus —

13.1.49 the rivers and the oceans, and being and non-being too, O serpent — all are by Time created, and by Time again drawn away.

13.1.50 Knowing this, how can you deem me at fault, O serpent? And if, things being so, the fault were mine, then you too would share in the fault.

13.1.51 The serpent said: I do not call you faultless or at fault, O Death; I say only this much — that I was impelled by you.

13.1.52 Whether the fault lies in Time, or whether it be held to lie not even there — the fault is not for me to examine, for in this we hold no authority.

13.1.53 Yet the absolving of this fault must somehow be wrought by me, O Death, so that I may be free of fault; that is my whole purpose.

13.1.54 Bhīṣma said: Then the serpent said to Arjunaka: You have heard the words of Death. It is not fitting for you to torment me, the innocent, with your snare.

13.1.55 The fowler said: I have heard the word of Death, and yours as well, O serpent; yet this does not establish your freedom from fault, O snake.

13.1.56 Both Death and you are causes in the destruction of this creature; I deem both to be the cause. A non-cause cannot be the cause.

13.1.57 A curse upon Death, that evil-souled, cruel one who brings grief upon the good; and you too I shall slay — the wicked cause of a wicked deed.

13.1.58 Death said: Both of us are helpless, subject to the power of Time, doers of what is ordained; we two are not to be charged with the fault, if you see the matter rightly.

13.1.59 The fowler said: If you both, Death and serpent, are subject to the power of Time, then how can there be joy and wrath in you? This I wish to understand.

13.1.60 Death said: Whatever activities there are in this world are all impelled by Time; this very thing I have already declared to you, O fowler — that it proceeds from Time.

13.1.61 Therefore we two are both subject to the power of Time, doers of what is ordained; we are never to be charged by you with the fault, O fowler.

13.1.62 Bhīṣma said: Then Time himself drew near, in that doubt concerning righteousness and its meaning, and spoke to the serpent, to Death, and to that fowler Arjunaka.

13.1.63 Time said: Neither I, nor this Death, nor this serpent, O fowler, is guilty in the dying of the creature; for we are not the instigators.

13.1.64 The deed that this child himself performed — that, Arjunaka, was our impeller. No other was the cause of his ruin; he is slain by his own deed.

13.1.65 By the deed that he himself wrought he has come to his end; his own deed is the cause of his destruction. We are all subject to the power of deeds.

13.1.66 The world inherits its deeds; it is marked by the bond of deeds. As deeds impel one another here, so too are we impelled.

13.1.67 As from a lump of clay the maker fashions whatever he desires, so does a man come to receive the deed that he himself has wrought.

13.1.68 As shadow and sunlight are ever closely bound together without interval, so are the deed and the doer bound by the doer's own deeds.

13.1.69 Thus neither I, nor Death, nor the serpent, nor you, nor this aged brāhmaṇa woman — the child alone is the cause here.

13.1.70 When Time had spoken thus, O king, the brāhmaṇa woman Gautamī, deeming the worlds to rest upon one's own deeds, said to Arjunaka:

13.1.71 Neither Time, nor the serpent, nor Death is the cause here; by his own deeds, in the course of time, this child has come to his end.

13.1.72 And I too wrought that deed by which this son of mine has died. Let Time depart, and Death likewise; release the serpent, Arjunaka.

13.1.73 Bhīṣma said: Then Death, Time, and the serpent went each the way it had come; Arjunaka was freed of his anger, and Gautamī of her grief.

13.1.74 Having heard this, attain tranquillity; be not given over to brooding, O king. Know that the three worlds rest upon one's own deeds, O bull among men.

13.1.75 It was not done by you, O Pārtha, nor indeed by Duryodhana; know that it was done by Time, by which the kings were brought down.

13.1.76 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Having heard these words, the mighty-splendored Yudhiṣṭhira, knower of righteousness, became freed of his fever and asked this further:

13.2.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Grandfather, greatly wise, versed in all the scriptures — I have heard this noble tale, O best of the discerning.

13.2.2 Yet I wish to hear still more, something joined with righteousness and its meaning, told by you, O king; deign to expound it to me.

13.2.3 By what householder was Death conquered, through resort to righteousness? Tell me all this truly, O king.

13.2.4 Bhīṣma said: On this too they recite this ancient tale — how Death was conquered by a householder through resort to righteousness.

13.2.5 O king, of Manu the Prajāpati was born a son named Ikṣvāku; and to that king, radiant as the sun, a hundred sons were born.

13.2.6 His tenth son, O descendant of Bharata, was named Daśāśva; righteous of soul and true in valour, he became king in Māhiṣmatī.

13.2.7 Daśāśva had a son who was a most righteous king, one whose mind was ever devoted to truth, to austerity, and to giving.

13.2.8 Renowned upon the earth as Madirāśva, lord of the earth, he was ever absorbed in the science of archery and in the Veda.

13.2.9 Madirāśva's son was a king named Dyutimān, greatly fortunate, of great splendour, great courage, and great strength.

13.2.10 Dyutimān had a son, a king named Suvīra, righteous of soul and rich in treasure, like a second king of the gods.

13.2.11 Suvīra's son, unconquerable in every battle, was famed by the name Durjaya and skilled in all the sciences.

13.2.12 Durjaya, who had the form of Indra, had a son with the splendour of fire, a great king named Duryodhana, O best of kings.

13.2.13 For him, equal to Indra in might and never turning back in battle, his dominion and his power advanced together in equal measure.

13.2.14 With jewels, with wealth, with cattle, and with grains of every kind, his city and his realm then became full to overflowing.

13.2.15 In his realm there was no wretched man, nor any fallen on hard times; not anywhere in it was there a man sick or wasted away.

13.2.16 Generous with gifts, sweet of speech, free from envy, master of his senses, righteous of soul, gentle, valiant, yet given to no boasting,

13.2.17 a performer of sacrifices, liberal, wise, devoted to the brahmins, true to his word, despising none and ever giving, and one who had mastered the Vedas and their auxiliary sciences.

13.2.18 Him, the best of men, the divine river Narmadā—holy, cool-watered, and auspicious—desired of her own accord, O descendant of Bharata.

13.2.19 To him then upon that river was born a lotus-eyed daughter, named Sudarśanā, O king, and Sudarśanā—fair to behold—indeed in beauty.

13.2.20 Never before among women, O Yudhiṣṭhira, had there been one of such beauty as this daughter of Duryodhana proved to be, that lady of fairest hue.

13.2.21 Her, the princess Sudarśanā, Agni himself desired; and taking the very form of a brahmin, he sought her hand of that king.

13.2.22 "This man is poor and not of my caste"—so thinking, the king was unwilling to give his daughter Sudarśanā to that brahmin.

13.2.23 Thereupon, while his sacrifice was being performed, the bearer of oblations vanished; and then King Duryodhana spoke these words to the priests:

13.2.24 "What evil deed can there be of mine, or of yours, O bulls among the twice-born, by which the fire has gone to ruin, as though a service were rendered to base men?"

13.2.25 "For no small misdeed is this by which the fire has come to ruin—whether yours or mine; let this be pondered in its very truth."

13.2.26 Hearing this speech of the king, those brahmins, O bull of the Bhāratas, restrained and controlled in speech, took refuge with the Purifier, the fire.

13.2.27 Then the blessed bearer of oblations showed himself to them, assuming his own blazing form, radiant as the autumn sun.

13.2.28 Then the great-souled Consumer addressed those bulls among brahmins: "For my own sake I seek the hand of Duryodhana's daughter."

13.2.29 Then, rising at daybreak, those brahmins, all of them astonished, made known to the king what had been said by the One of Wondrous Rays.

13.2.30 Then that king, hearing this speech of the expounders of the Veda, attained the highest joy, and the wise one said, "So be it."

13.2.31 The king asked of the blessed Vibhāvasu a bride-price: "Let your perpetual presence be here, O One of Wondrous Rays." And the blessed Agni answered the king, "So be it."

13.2.32 Thus even now the presence of Vibhāvasu abides in Māhiṣmatī; for it was seen by Sahadeva when he was conquering the quarters in that day.

13.2.33 Then King Duryodhana, having adorned the maiden in unworn garments, gave her to the great-souled Purifier.

13.2.34 And Agni received that princess Sudarśanā by the rite ordained in the Veda, as he receives the stream of wealth in the sacrifice.

13.2.35 Pleased with her beauty, her conduct, her lineage, her form, and her grace, Agni was filled with delight and placed an embryo within her.

13.2.36 In her was born a son, by name Sudarśana, son of Agni; while still a child he mastered all the eternal sacred lore.

13.2.37 Now there was a king named Oghavān, grandfather of Nṛga; and to him belonged a daughter, Oghavatī, and a son named Ogharatha.

13.2.38 That daughter Oghavatī, of divine beauty, Oghavān himself gave in marriage to the learned Sudarśana, to be his wife.

13.2.39 Sudarśana, devoted to the householder's order of life, dwelt with her in Kurukṣetra, O king, together with Oghavatī.

13.2.40 "As a householder I shall conquer Death"—so, O lord, that wise one of blazing splendour made his vow, O ruler of men.

13.2.41 Then, O king, the son of the Purifier said to that Oghavatī: "Nothing contrary to a guest's wish must ever be done by you."

13.2.42 "By whatever means a guest may be satisfied, by that you must always satisfy him—even by the giving of your own self; let there be no hesitation in you."

13.2.43 "This vow forever turns within my heart; for householders, O fair-hipped one, there is nothing higher than the guest."

13.2.44 "If my word is your standard, O fair-thighed and lovely one, then hold this saying ever in your heart with a steady mind."

13.2.45 "Whether I have gone forth, O auspicious one, or am near at hand, O blameless lady, no guest of yours must be slighted—if indeed I am your standard."

13.2.46 To him Oghavatī, with restrained mind and palms joined at her brow, replied: "There is nothing whatsoever, set by your word, that I will leave undone."

13.2.47 But Death, O king, ever seeking a weak point, then followed close behind Sudarśana as he strove to conquer him there within his house.

13.2.48 Now when that son of Agni, Sudarśana, had gone out for firewood, a guest, a glorious brahmin, then said to Oghavatī:

13.2.49 "I wish hospitality given me by you this day, O lady of fairest hue, if the dharma approved for the householder's order is your standard."

13.2.50 Thus addressed by that brahmin, the renowned princess received him by the rite ordained in the Veda, O ruler of men.

13.2.51 Having given a seat and water for the feet to that twice-born one, Oghavatī said to the brahmin: "What is your need? What shall I give you?"

13.2.52 Then the brahmin said to her, the princess Sudarśanā: "My need is of you yourself, O auspicious one; do this without any misgiving."

13.2.53 "If the dharma approved for the householder's order is your standard, O queen, then by the giving of your own self you ought to do me this pleasure."

13.2.54 Though pressed by the princess with other desirable offerings, that brahmin chose from her no boon but the giving of her own self.

13.2.55 But the princess, recalling from the first her husband's word, said to that bull among the twice-born, abashed, "So be it."

13.2.56 Then that brahmin sage and she, remembering the word of her husband, who longed to keep the householder's order, withdrew together into privacy.

13.2.57 Then the son of the Purifier, having gathered the firewood, drew near, attended ever by Death of fearsome aspect, as though by a kinsman.

13.2.58 Then, having come to the hermitage, the son of the Purifier called out to Oghavatī again and again, "Where are you? Where have you gone?"

13.2.59 But she gave no answer then to her husband, that faithful wife, devoted to her lord, having been touched by the two hands of that brahmin.

13.2.60 Thinking "I am defiled," and ashamed before her husband, the virtuous one kept silent and said nothing at all.

13.2.61 Then Sudarśana spoke this to her once more: "Where is that virtuous one? Where has she gone? What is dearer to me than she?"

13.2.62 "Devoted to her lord, truthful in nature, ever delighting in uprightness—why does she not come forth to meet me today, smiling as of old?"

13.2.63 But the brahmin, standing within the leaf-hut, answered Sudarśana: "Know that a guest has arrived, O son of the Purifier, and that I am a brahmin."

13.2.64 "I was entreated by this wife of yours, O excellent one, with this and that mark of honour due to a guest; firm is her mind in uprightness."

13.2.65 "By this observance does this fair-faced one honour me; what is fitting here today, that you ought now to declare."

13.2.66 And Death, a heavy mallet in his hand, attended close upon him, thinking, "Should he here fall short of his vow, I shall slay him."

13.2.67 But Sudarśana, in mind, in deed, in glance, and in word free of jealousy and free of wrath, smiling, spoke thus:

13.2.68 "Let your union be a joy, O foremost of brahmins, for my delight is supreme; the householder's highest dharma is the honouring of a guest who has come."

13.2.69 "The householder from whose house an honoured guest departs satisfied—no dharma higher than this, so the wise declare."

13.2.70 "My life-breaths, my wife, and whatever other wealth there is—all this is to be given by me to guests: such is the vow I have taken."

13.2.71 "Without any doubt has this word of mine been uttered to you; by that truth, O brahmin, I myself take hold of my own self."

13.2.72 "Earth, air, ether, the waters, and fire as the fifth; intellect, self, mind, time, and the quarters of space—these are the ten witnesses."

13.2.73 "For these, abiding within the bodies of embodied beings, ever behold the deeds of men, both good and ill, O best of the upholders of dharma."

13.2.74 "As surely as this speech uttered by me this day is no falsehood, by that truth let the gods either protect me or consume me."

13.2.75 Then a sound arose in all the quarters, O descendant of Bharata, again and again: "It is true! This is no falsehood!"—on every side.

13.2.76 Then from that leaf-hut the brahmin came forth, filling sky and earth with his form, like the wind upraised.

13.2.77 With a voice schooled in the sacred chants, the brahmin made the three worlds resound, and, addressing that knower of dharma first by name, said to him:

13.2.78 "I am Dharma—blessing upon you! I have come to test you, O blameless one; and knowing your truth, my delight in you is supreme."

13.2.79 "And Death, who follows you—ever seeking a weak point in you—has been conquered by you and brought under your sway by your steadfastness."

13.2.80 "And there is no power in the three worlds in anyone, O best of men, even to look upon this virtuous wife of yours, devoted to her lord."

13.2.81 "Guarded by your virtues and by her own virtues as a faithful wife, she is inviolable; whatever she should declare, that shall come to pass and not otherwise."

13.2.82 "For she, endowed with her own austerity and an expounder of the sacred lore, shall become the noblest of rivers, for the purification of the world."

13.2.83 "With one half she shall be the river named Oghavatī, and with the other half, in body, the greatly fortunate one shall follow you; for the power of yoga stands within her command."

13.2.84 "And together with her you shall go to the worlds won by austerity, those everlasting and eternal worlds whence one returns no more."

13.2.85 With this very body you shall win the worlds; Death has been conquered by you, and supreme is the sovereignty that is yours.

13.2.86 By your own valor you have transcended the five elements and the mind-born one; and by this dharma of the householder both desire and anger have been conquered by you.

13.2.87 Attachment and passion, sloth, delusion, and sheer malice—all these, O king, have been wholly vanquished through the devoted service of your princess-wife.

13.2.88 Bhīṣma said: Then the lord Resolve, taking hold of a most excellent chariot yoked with a thousand white steeds, departed to that place.

13.2.89 Death and the self and the worlds were conquered, and the five elements, intellect, time, mind, and ether, and likewise desire and anger as well.

13.2.90 Therefore, for one established in the householder's order, there is verily no other deity than the guest, O tiger among men—ponder this in your mind.

13.2.91 When a guest, having been honored, dwells in his mind upon a man's welfare, the wise declare that not even by a hundred sacrifices is its equal attained.

13.2.92 But whoever, on receiving a worthy guest rich in virtue, fails to honor him—that unhonored guest, by departing, makes away with the host's store of merit.

13.2.93 This unsurpassed tale has been told to you by me, my son—how Death was vanquished of old by a householder.

13.2.94 This excellent tale brings prosperity, fame, and long life; it should be reflected upon by one who wishes for well-being, for it wipes away all evil conduct.

13.2.95 That learned man who would recite this day after day, O Bhārata—the deeds of Sudarśana—would attain the holy worlds.

13.3.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: If brahmanhood is hard to attain by the three varṇas, O lord of men, how was it attained, O great king, by a great-souled kṣatriya?

13.3.2 By Viśvāmitra, O righteous one, brahmanhood was attained, O bull among men; I wish to hear of this truly—tell it to me, grandsire.

13.3.3 For by him of boundless valor the hundred sons of the great-souled Vasiṣṭha were slain in an instant by the power of his austerity, O great-grandsire.

13.3.4 And many sorcerers and rākṣasas of fierce energy, like Time the destroyer, were created by him whose body was possessed by wrath.

13.3.5 And the great lineage of Kuśika, thronged with a hundred brahmin-sages, was established in this world of men by the learned one praised among brahmins.

13.3.6 And Śunaḥśepa, the son of Ṛcīka, of great austerity, who had been reduced to the state of a sacrificial victim, was set free from the great sacrifice.

13.3.7 At the sacrifice of Hariścandra, having gratified the gods by his own splendor, he came to be a son of the wise Viśvāmitra.

13.3.8 When the five hundred sons did not salute their eldest, Devarāta, O lord of men, they were cursed and reduced to the condition of dog-cookers.

13.3.9 Triśaṅku the Ikṣvāku, forsaken by his kinsmen, was borne lovingly to heaven head-downward, abiding in the southern quarter.

13.3.10 The broad river of Viśvāmitra, frequented by royal sages, the auspicious and holy Kauśikī, is resorted to by hosts of brahmin-sages.

13.3.11 And the apsaras named Rambhā of the five tresses, highly esteemed, who came to obstruct his austerity, was by his curse turned into stone.

13.3.12 And likewise, in fear of him of old, Vasiṣṭha bound himself and plunged into the water, but, his fetters undone, he rose up again.

13.3.13 From that time onward the holy great river became known as Vipāśā, by reason of that deed of the great-souled Vasiṣṭha.

13.3.14 And by whom the lord Skanda, leader of the host of the gods, was praised with hymns and became glad of heart, and released him from a curse.

13.3.15 And he who blazes ever in the midst of Dhruva, son of Uttānapāda, and of the brahmin-sages, abiding in the northern quarter.

13.3.16 These deeds of his, and others too, O Kaurava—done by a kṣatriya—it is from this that my curiosity has arisen.

13.3.17 What is this? Tell me truly, O bull of the Bhāratas: without taking on another body, how did he become a brahmin?

13.3.18 All this you ought to recount to me truly, O king; and as the truth of Mataṅga was, so too tell me this.

13.3.19 With reason did Mataṅga fail to attain brahmanhood, O bull of the Bhāratas; for, born in the womb of a caṇḍāla, how could he attain brahmanhood?

13.4.1 Bhīṣma said: Let it be heard truly, O Pārtha, how of old Viśvāmitra attained to brahmanhood, my son, and likewise to the state of a brahmin-sage.

13.4.2 In the lineage of Bharata there was a king named Ajamīḍha, O best of the Bhāratas, a performer of sacrifices, foremost among upholders of dharma.

13.4.3 His son was the great lord of men named Jahnu, whose daughter the great-souled Gaṅgā became.

13.4.4 His son, of equal virtues, was the greatly renowned Sindhudvīpa; and from Sindhudvīpa came the royal sage Balākāśva of great might.

13.4.5 His son was Vallabha, like another Dharma made manifest; his son was Kuśika, equal in splendor to the thousand-eyed Indra.

13.4.6 The illustrious son of Kuśika was the lord of men named Gādhi; that mighty-armed one, being without a son, went to dwell in the forest.

13.4.7 To him as he dwelt in the forest a daughter was born, a maiden named Satyavatī, unmatched in beauty upon the earth.

13.4.8 Her the illustrious lord of the Bhṛgu line, the son of Cyavana, renowned as Ṛcīka, established in vast austerity, sought in marriage.

13.4.9 But Gādhi, crusher of foes, did not give her to that great-souled Ṛcīka, deeming him to be poor.

13.4.10 Having refused him, that best of kings said to him as he was departing again: "Let a bride-price be given to me; then shall you wed my daughter."

13.4.11 Ṛcīka said: What bride-price shall I give to you, O lord of kings, O sovereign, for your daughter? Speak freely; let there be no hesitation of reckoning in you.

13.4.12 Gādhi said: Of horses bright as the moon's rays, swift as the wind, dark in one ear, give me a thousand, O Bhārgava.

13.4.13 Bhīṣma said: Then that tiger of the Bhṛgus, the lord, son of Cyavana, addressed the god Varuṇa, the Āditya, lord of the waters:

13.4.14 "Of horses dark in one ear, with the luster of the moon, swift as the wind—a thousand I beg of you, O best of the gods."

13.4.15 "So be it," said the god Varuṇa, the Āditya, to that best of the Bhṛgus: "Wherever you desire, there shall the steeds arise."

13.4.16 No sooner had Ṛcīka meditated upon them than a thousand horses with the luster of the moon, of vast vigor, rose up from the waters of the Gaṅgā.

13.4.17 That excellent bank of the Gaṅgā, not far from Kānyakubja, men call even to this day the Ford of Horses.

13.4.18 Then, my son, Ṛcīka, foremost among those who murmur prayers, gladly gave that fair thousand of horses to Gādhi as the bride-price.

13.4.19 Then king Gādhi, astonished and also fearful of a curse, adorned the maiden and gave her to the son of Bhṛgu.

13.4.20 That best of brahmin-sages took her hand according to the rite, and she, having gained him for her husband, attained the highest joy.

13.4.21 And the brahmin-sage was well pleased with her conduct, O Bhārata, and offered that fair-complexioned woman the granting of a boon.

13.4.22 That maiden told all of it to her mother, O best of kings; then the mother said to her daughter, whose face was somewhat downcast:

13.4.23 "To me also, my daughter, your husband ought to show favor; that one of great austerity is able to grant offspring."

13.4.24 Then she went in haste and reported it all—what her mother wished to be done, O king—and Ṛcīka thereupon said to her:

13.4.25 "You and she shall each bring forth virtuous offspring, O blessed one; let not the wish of your mother turn out otherwise."

13.4.26 "And to you, O fair one, shall be born a son praised for his virtues, illustrious, the continuer of our line; and your brother too shall be the founder of a line."

13.4.27 "And bathed after your season, she shall embrace an aśvattha tree and you an udumbara tree, O blessed one; thereby you both shall obtain what you desire."

13.4.28 "And these two oblations of rice, hallowed by sacred formulas, O you of bright smile—you and she shall partake of them, and then you both shall obtain sons."

13.4.29 Then Satyavatī, gladdened, spoke in reply to her mother and told her what Ṛcīka had said, and of the two oblations.

13.4.30 Then the mother spoke thus to her daughter Satyavatī: "My daughter, since I take refuge with bowed head, do as I bid you."

13.4.31 "This oblation, hallowed with sacred formulas, which has been given to you by your husband—give it to me, and take you mine."

13.4.32 "And let us two also make an exchange of the trees, O you of bright smile, if the word of your mother is of any authority, O blameless one."

13.4.33 "Surely whatever the holy one has appointed in this matter shall come to pass; therefore my desire is set upon your oblation and upon your tree, O slender-waisted one. Consider only thus: how may your brother prove the more excellent."

13.4.34 And thus the mother and Satyavatī both did, and then both of them conceived, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.4.35 And that great sage, the best of the Bhṛgus, seeing his wife with child, said to Satyavatī, troubled in mind:

13.4.36 "Plainly the oblation has been partaken of by you in exchange, and plainly an exchange has been made by you with regard to the tree as well, O fair one."

13.4.37 "For all the brahmin power I had placed in your oblation, and the whole of the kṣatriya might I had placed in hers."

13.4.38 "You were to bring forth a brahmin of virtues renowned throughout the three worlds, and she a kṣatriya of surpassing kind; for this end was this done by me."

13.4.39 "But since the exchange has been made by you and likewise by your mother, therefore your mother shall bring forth the best of brahmins."

13.4.40 "But you, O gentle one, shall bring forth a kṣatriya of fierce deeds; for what you did out of love for your mother was not well done, O proud lady."

13.4.41 Hearing this, the fair-complexioned Satyavatī, scorched with grief, fell to the ground, O king, like a lovely creeper cut through.

13.4.42 And regaining her senses and bowing down with her head, the wife, the daughter of Gādhi, said to her husband, that bull among brahmins:

13.4.43 "As your wife implores you, O best of the knowers of Brahman, show favor, O brahmin-sage: let no kṣatriya be my son."

13.4.44 "Let my grandson, if you will, be one of fierce deeds, but let not my son be such, O brahmin: let this boon be granted to me."

13.4.45 "So be it," said the one of mighty austerity to his wife; and then she brought forth a fair son, Jamadagni.

13.4.46 And the renowned wife of Gādhi brought forth Viśvāmitra, by the power of the sage, O lord of kings—a brahmin-sage, an expounder of Brahman.

13.4.47 Thus Viśvāmitra of great austerity, though a kṣatriya, attained to brahmanhood, and so became the founder of a brahmin lineage.

13.4.48 His sons were great-souled, increasers of the brahmin line, ascetics, knowers of Brahman, and founders of gotras as well.

13.4.49 The lord Madhucchandas, and the valiant Devarāta, and Akṣīṇa, and Śakunta, Babhru, and Kālapatha likewise;

13.4.50 And the renowned Yājñavalkya, and Sthūṇa of great vows, Ulūka and Yamadūta, and likewise the sage Saindhavāyana.

13.4.51 There was the venerable Karṇajaṅgha, and Gālava the great sage, the seer renowned as Vajra, and Śālaṅkāyana too.

13.4.52 Lālāṭya and Nārada, and likewise Kūrcamukha as he is remembered, Vāduli and Musala, and Rakṣogrīva as well.

13.4.53 Aṅghrika and Naikabhṛt, Śilāyūpa, Sītā, Śuci, Cakraka, Mārutantavya, Vātaghna, and then Aśvalāyana.

13.4.54 Śyāmāyana, and Gārgya, Jābāli, and Suśruta likewise, then Kārīṣi and Saṃśrutya, and the Parapauravatantavas.

13.4.55 The great sage Kapila, and the seer Tārakāyana, and likewise Upagahana, and the seer Arjunāyana.

13.4.56 Mārgamitri, Hiraṇyākṣa, Jaṅghāri, Babhruvāhana, Sūti, Vibhūti, and Sūta, and Suraṅga too, indeed.

13.4.57 Ārāddhi and Nāmaya, and Cāmpeya and Ujjayana likewise, Navatantu, Bakanakha, and Śayonarati as well.

13.4.58 Śayoruha, Cārumatsya, Śirīṣī, and then Gārdabhi, Ujjayoni, Adāpekṣī, and Nāradī the great sage — all these are the sons of Viśvāmitra, sages and expounders of the Veda.

13.4.59 Therefore, O king, this Viśvāmitra of mighty austerities is no kṣatriya; this supreme brahminhood was implanted in him by Ṛcīka, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.4.60 All this I have told you in truth, O bull of the Bhāratas — the birth of Viśvāmitra, whose splendor was that of Soma, Sūrya, and Agni.

13.4.61 And wherever a doubt may yet arise in you, O best of kings, there ask of me, and I shall sever your uncertainties.

13.5.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: I wish to hear in full the virtues of the dharma of compassion and of the devoted person; tell me that, O grandfather.

13.5.2 Bhīṣma said: In the realm of the king of Kāśi, a hunter, having set out from the villages and taken a poisoned arrow, went hunting for game.

13.5.3 There in the great forest, the hunter, greedy for meat, having seen a deer not far off, fitted his arrow to the bow.

13.5.4 By that man of irresistible weapon, whose shaft swerved from its mark, a great forest tree was struck as he sought to slay the deer there.

13.5.5 That tree, overborne by the arrow smeared with keen poison, shed its fruits and leaves and withered away.

13.5.6 In that tree, brought to such a state, a parrot long dwelling in its hollows did not abandon his abode, out of devotion to that lord of the forest.

13.5.7 Going nowhere, taking no food, weary, his voice grown faint, that grateful and righteous bird withered away together with the tree.

13.5.8 Learning of that noble bird of great spirit, whose conduct surpassed the human and who shared alike in joy and sorrow with the tree, the Chastiser of Pāka was amazed.

13.5.9 Then Śakra fell to pondering: How is it that this bird, born in the brute creation, has taken his stand on a compassion scarcely to be conceived of there?

13.5.10 Yet, thought Vāsava, there is nothing strange in this; for among all living beings here, everything may be seen everywhere.

13.5.11 Then Śakra, having assumed a human form in the guise of a brāhmaṇa, descended to the earth and spoke to that bird.

13.5.12 O parrot, best of birds, the daughter of Dakṣa has been blessed with worthy offspring through you; I ask you — why do you not forsake this withered tree?

13.5.13 Thus questioned, the parrot, bowing to him with his head, replied: Welcome to the king of the gods, whom I have recognized through my austerity.

13.5.14 Then by the Thousand-eyed one it was said, "Well done, well done! Ah, what discernment!" — and thus was the bird honored for his austerity.

13.5.15 Though he well knew the bird's attainment, the Slayer of Bala questioned that parrot of holy deeds and supreme righteousness.

13.5.16 "Leafless, fruitless, withered, no refuge for birds — why do you cling to this tree, when this forest is so vast?

13.5.17 Many other trees, their hollows shaded with leaves, fair and offering ample range, are to be found in this great forest.

13.5.18 Reflect with wisdom, O steadfast one: this tree's life is spent, its strength is gone, its sap is drained, its splendor destroyed — forsake this perishing tree."

13.5.19 Hearing this spoken by Śakra, the righteous parrot, sighing long and deeply, in distress uttered these words:

13.5.20 "The decrees of the gods are not to be transgressed, O lord of Śacī; where one came to be, there one abides — understand this, O sovereign of the gods.

13.5.21 In this tree I was born, and endowed with good qualities; in my infancy I was sheltered here and never assailed by enemies.

13.5.22 Why, O sinless one, do you make my compassion come to nothing — mine, who am devoted to kindness, attached and faithful to this tree?

13.5.23 For compassion is the great mark of the dharma of the good, and the compassion of the good ever bestows delight.

13.5.24 You yourself are asked by all the gods to resolve their doubts about dharma; therefore, O god, you stand established in sovereignty over the gods.

13.5.25 You ought not, O Thousand-eyed one, to make me abandon this out of my devotion; how should I now forsake this tree on which I have lived and which once sustained me?"

13.5.26 Gladdened by his gentle words and pleased by his compassion, the Chastiser of Pāka spoke to that parrot who knew dharma:

13.5.27 "Choose a boon!" — and then the parrot, ever devoted to compassion, chose as his boon the restoration of that tree.

13.5.28 And Śakra, knowing that firm wealth of character in the parrot, was pleased, and at once sprinkled the tree with the nectar of immortality.

13.5.29 Then, through the parrot's steadfast devotion, that tree regained its fruits, its leaves, its lovely branches, and its splendor.

13.5.30 And the parrot, by that deed wrought of compassion, O great king, at the end of his life attained to the same world as Śakra.

13.5.31 Even so, O lord of men, one who takes refuge with a devoted being attains the fulfillment of all his aims, as the tree did by gaining the parrot.

13.6.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: O grandfather, greatly wise, versed in all the scriptures — between fate and human effort, which would be the more excellent?

13.6.2 Bhīṣma said: On this point too they recount this ancient tale, the dialogue of Vasiṣṭha and Brahmā, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.6.3 "Of the two works, the divine and the human, which is the better?" — thus, of old, the venerable Vasiṣṭha questioned the Grandfather.

13.6.4 Then, O king, the lotus-born Grandfather, god of gods, spoke a sweet utterance, weighty in meaning and adorned with reasons:

13.6.5 "Nothing is born without a seed, nor is there fruit apart from the seed; from seed springs seed, and from seed alone, it is taught, comes fruit.

13.6.6 Whatever seed the farmer sows when he comes upon a field, whether in good soil or bad, just such a fruit does he obtain.

13.6.7 As a field sown without seed proves fruitless, so without human effort fate does not bear fruit.

13.6.8 Human effort is declared to be the field, and fate the seed; from the union of field and seed the crop thereby flourishes.

13.6.9 The doer himself reaps the ripening fruit of his deed; this is plainly seen in the world, both of what is done and of what is left undone.

13.6.10 From a good deed comes happiness, from an evil deed sorrow; what is done is everywhere obtained, what is not done is nowhere enjoyed.

13.6.11 The man of action everywhere wins standing, even when fortune has wounded him; the idle and fallen man earns only a sprinkling of salt upon his wound.

13.6.12 By austerity beauty and good fortune, and jewels of many kinds — all is gained by effort, not by fate, by one whose self is unprepared.

13.6.13 Likewise heaven, and enjoyment, and whatever consummation is desired — all this is attained here through human effort exerted.

13.6.14 The luminaries, the gods, the nāgas, the yakṣas, the moon, the sun, the winds — all, through human effort, have passed from the human state to godhood.

13.6.15 Wealth, or a circle of friends, or lordship attended by noble birth, and even prosperity — all are hard for the idle to come by and enjoy.

13.6.16 By purity the brāhmaṇa wins prosperity, the kṣatriya by valor, the vaiśya by effort, and the śūdra by service.

13.6.17 Riches do not resort to the ungiving, nor to the impotent, nor to the inactive, nor to the slothful, nor to the cowardly, nor to one without austerity.

13.6.18 He by whom the three worlds were created, the daityas and all the gods — that very lord Viṣṇu performs austerity upon the ocean.

13.6.19 If the fruit of one's own deed did not exist, all action would be fruitless; the world, leaning upon fate alone, would grow indifferent — but it is not so.

13.6.20 He who, without doing the human work, follows after fate, toils in vain, like a woman who has gained an impotent husband.

13.6.21 There is not so much peril in the human world, in things good and ill, as there is in the world of the gods, where peril arises from a small cause.

13.6.22 When human effort is made, fate follows after it; fate, where nothing is done, can give nothing to anyone.

13.6.23 When even among the gods their stations are seen to be impermanent, how shall fate, without action, endure or make anything endure?

13.6.24 The gods in this world do not engage in anyone's affairs; rather, fearing their own overthrow, they breed fierce contention.

13.6.25 Between the seers and the gods there is ever strife; for by whose word could there be a no-fate, since from these does fate proceed?

13.6.26 And how does its origin come about, in the manner that fate sets in motion? Thus even in the world of the gods many deceptions are met with.

13.6.27 For the self alone is the friend of the self, the self alone the foe of the self; and the self alone is the witness of the self, of what is done and what is left undone.

13.6.28 Something done and something marred alike comes to fruition when the deed is performed; but an evil deed laid upon a good one does not come duly to pass.

13.6.29 Merit is the refuge of the gods; all is won through meritorious acts. Against a man whose nature is meritorious, what will fate avail to do?

13.6.30 Of old Yayāti, undone, cast down, fallen to the earth, was raised again to heaven by his daughters' sons through their meritorious deeds.

13.6.31 And the royal sage Purūravas, addressed of old by the brāhmaṇas, renowned as Aila, that lord of the earth attained to heaven.

13.6.32 The lord of Kosala, honored by sacrifices such as the horse-sacrifice — Saudāsa, by the curse of a great seer, came to the state of a man-eater.

13.6.33 Aśvatthāman and Rāma, sons of sages and bearers of the bow, do not go to the world of heaven, even by their good deeds done here.

13.6.34 Vasu, having sacrificed with a hundred sacrifices, like a second Vāsava, by a single false utterance descended to the floor of the netherworld.

13.6.35 Bali, son of Virocana, bound by the gods with the noose of dharma, was made to lie in Pātāla through the effort of Viṣṇu.

13.6.36 Janamejaya, setting Śakra's foot aside, set forth — having wrought the slaying of brāhmaṇa women, why was he not restrained by fate?

13.6.37 The brāhmaṇa sage Vaiśaṃpāyana, having unknowingly slain a brāhmaṇa and been touched by the killing of a child — why was he not held back by fate?

13.6.38 And the royal sage Nṛga, of old, by a false gift of a cow to brāhmaṇas at a great sacrifice, came to the state of a lizard.

13.6.39 And the royal sage Dhundhumāra grew old amid his very sacrifices; abandoning the gifts of his affection, he slept on at Girivraja.

13.6.40 The kingdom of the Pāṇḍavas was wrested away by the mighty sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and won back again — not by fate, but by the strength of their own arms.

13.6.41 The sages, devoted to austerity and self-restraint, firm in their vows — do they hurl their curses by the power of fate, or rather by their own deeds?

13.6.42 A man may attain in this world all that is most hard to win, yet cast it away through sin; once fallen into greed and delusion, fate cannot save him.

13.6.43 As fire, though small, when fanned by the wind grows great, so fate, when joined to action, prospers and increases well.

13.6.44 As a lamp, when its oil is spent, fades and dies away, so fate, when one's works are exhausted, fades and dies away.

13.6.45 Though a man here win a vast flood of wealth, enjoyments, and women, if he is bereft of action he has not the power to enjoy them; and even riches well-secured and guarded by the gods, ample and ready to be spent, men gain hold of only through their own deeds.

13.6.46 The world of the gods surpasses the world of men by its far greater abundance; beside the dwellings of the immortals, the houses of mortals seem like haunts of the burial-ground — yet for the man of evil deeds fate bears no fruit in the world of the living.

13.6.47 Human effort leads astray a man who goes the wrong path — fate has no sovereign power; like a weighty teacher, foremost action carries fate along. Unharmed and unbowed, fate is steered at will by accumulated human effort, here and everywhere.

13.6.48 All this I have now declared to you, O best of sages — the fruit of human effort, ever beheld and known in its truth.

13.6.49 By rousing fate through action duly undertaken, and by deeds performed according to the ordinance, a man may attain the road to heaven.

13.7.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: O bull of the Bhāratas, of all good deeds, O foremost of the great, declare to me, who ask of you, their fruits.

13.7.2 Bhīṣma said: Hear, Yudhiṣṭhira, the secret of the seers — by what means is attained, in the life after death, the long-desired goal.

13.7.3 With whatever body a man performs whatever deed, with that same body he enjoys its several fruits.

13.7.4 In whatever state a man does good or evil, in that same state he tastes it, birth after birth.

13.7.5 The deed once done is never lost; here the five senses are ever its witnesses, and the self is the sixth, likewise eternal.

13.7.6 Let a man give his eye, give his mind, and give kindly truthful speech; let him walk behind his guest and wait upon him — that is a sacrifice with fivefold offering.

13.7.7 He who, without grudging, gives food upon the road to a weary stranger never seen before — great is the fruit of his merit.

13.7.8 For those who lie upon the bare ground there shall be houses and couches; for those clad in rags and bark-cloth, garments and ornaments.

13.7.9 For the man of disciplined soul, rich in austerity, who sleeps beside his sacred fires, there shall be mounts, seats, and chariots, and the estate of royalty, it is said.

13.7.10 From the renouncing of savory tastes good fortune follows; from the renouncing of meat a man gains cattle and sons.

13.7.11 He who hangs head downward, who dwells immersed in water, and who ever sleeps alone — he shall attain the goal of his desire.

13.7.12 Water for the feet, a seat, a lamp, food, and shelter — let him give these in honor of his guest: that too is a sacrifice with fivefold offering.

13.7.13 For him who keeps the hero's posture, the hero's bed, and the hero's station, the worlds are imperishable and lead to every desire fulfilled.

13.7.14 By giving a man wins wealth, by silence command, O lord of peoples; by austerity enjoyments, and by chastity long life.

13.7.15 Beauty, sovereignty, and health are the fruit that non-violence brings; for those who eat fruits and roots, a kingdom; and heaven for those who eat but leaves.

13.7.16 From fasting unto death comes a kingdom, and happiness everywhere, it is said; by truth a man wins heaven, and by consecration a noble birth.

13.7.17 By the vow of eating only herbs a man becomes rich in cattle; eating only grass, he goes to heaven. Women who bathe at the three pressings and drink only the wind win the merit of a sacrifice.

13.7.18 The twice-born who lives on water alone, ever tending his sacred fire and duly consecrated, who masters the desert wilderness, gains a kingdom; and by total fasting, the summit of heaven.

13.7.19 He who keeps fasting, consecration, and the ritual bathing, O king, for twelve years, surpasses even the reward of the hero's station.

13.7.20 Having studied all the Vedas, a man is at once released from sorrow; practicing the dharma of the mind, he attains the world of heaven.

13.7.21 That craving which the foolish cannot abandon, which does not age though the man ages, that disease which lasts until the breath departs — happy is he who casts it off.

13.7.22 As among a thousand cows the calf finds its own mother, so the deed once done in the past follows after its doer.

13.7.23 As flowers and fruits, unbidden, do not pass beyond their season, so the deed done in the past comes at its appointed time.

13.7.24 As a man grows old, his hair grows old; his teeth grow old as he grows old; his eyes and ears grow old — yet craving alone never grows old.

13.7.25 By that whereby he pleases his father, Prajāpati is pleased; by that whereby he pleases his mother, the Earth is honored; by that whereby he pleases his teacher, the Brahman itself is worshipped.

13.7.26 He who honors these three has honored all his duties; but he who honors them not — all his rites are without fruit.

13.7.27 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Hearing those words of Bhīṣma, the bulls of the Kurus were filled with wonder, their hearts gladdened, and they were then well content.

13.7.28 What is lost when the sacred verse is uttered in vain, what is lost when the Soma is pressed in vain, what is lost when the oblation is poured into the fire in vain — all that is lost when speech itself is spoken in vain.

13.7.29 Thus what was declared by the seer I have now told, O mighty one, concerning the gaining of the fruits of good and evil. What more do you wish to hear?

13.8.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Who are to be worshipped, who are to be saluted, to whom do you bow, O Bhārata? Tell me all this, O king — those for whom you yearn.

13.8.2 Even in the midst of the gravest peril, where your mind ever turns — in all this world of men, and there beyond as well as here.

13.8.3 Bhīṣma said: I yearn for those twice-born ones whose highest wealth is the sacred Brahman, whose heaven rests on their own faith, won by austerity and the study of scripture.

13.8.4 Those whose elders and whose young alike bear up the yoke of their fathers and forefathers and do not falter — for them indeed I yearn.

13.8.5 Of those well-trained in the branches of knowledge, self-controlled, gentle of speech, endowed with learning and good conduct, ever knowing the sacred syllable, the virtuous —

13.8.6 As they speak in the assemblies, their voices, like the gathered calls of swans, are auspicious in form, lovely, and resonant as the celestial thunderclouds —

13.8.7 Their well-uttered words are heard, O Yudhiṣṭhira, by the attentive king, bringing happiness both here and in the world hereafter.

13.8.8 And those who are their listeners, ever honored in the assembly, endowed with the virtue of discernment — for them too I yearn.

13.8.9 Those who, pure and diligent, give well-prepared, clean, and wholesome food to the brāhmaṇas for their full satisfaction, O Yudhiṣṭhira — and who do so unceasingly, O king — for them too I yearn.

13.8.10 It is possible to fight in battle, but not to give without grudging; the brave and valiant exist by the hundreds in this world, Yudhiṣṭhira; but among them all, when they are counted, the hero of giving stands supreme.

13.8.11 Blessed should I be, O gentle one, were I born again even as a humble brāhmaṇa, sprung from a noble line, set upon the path of dharma, devoted to austerity and learning.

13.8.12 There is none in this world dearer to me than you, O joy of Pāṇḍu; yet dearer to me than you are the brāhmaṇas, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.8.13 As the brāhmaṇas are dearer to me than you, O foremost of the Kurus — by that truth may I go to those worlds where Śaṃtanu dwells.

13.8.14 Not my own father was dearer to me than the brāhmaṇas, nor my father's father, nor any of my other kinsmen and friends.

13.8.15 For no offense of mine against the brāhmaṇas is known here, be it small or great — as is known to those of righteous deeds.

13.8.16 By deed, by thought, or by word, O scorcher of foes, whatever I have done toward the brāhmaṇas — for that I feel no torment today.

13.8.17 "Devoted to the brāhmaṇas" — so they call me, and by those words I am made content; this very thing is held the highest of all things that purify.

13.8.18 I behold the stainless, pure worlds attained by those devoted to the brāhmaṇas; thither, my son, must I go, whether soon or after long.

13.8.19 As the dharma of women in the world rests upon the husband, O Yudhiṣṭhira — he their god, he their refuge, and no other — so for the kṣatriya are the twice-born.

13.8.20 A kṣatriya of a hundred years and a brāhmaṇa of ten are to be regarded as father and son — and of the two, the brāhmaṇa is the father.

13.8.21 As a woman, in the absence of a husband, takes her husband's brother for husband, so the Earth, lacking a brāhmaṇa, takes the kṣatriya for her lord.

13.8.22 And so the brāhmaṇas are to be protected as one's sons, waited upon as one's teachers, and tended as the sacred fire, O best of the Kurus.

13.8.23 Upright, virtuous, true in their conduct, devoted to the good of all beings — yet, when angered, like venomous serpents — such twice-born ones a man should ever serve with care.

13.8.24 One should ever stand in dread of their fiery energy and their austerity, O Yudhiṣṭhira; both of these are to be guarded against — their splendor and likewise their penance.

13.8.25 In both of these the resolve to act is swift indeed; for when angered, O great king, the brāhmaṇas who are rich in austerity can slay.

13.8.26 Whatever is given to a brāhmaṇa who is free of anger returns in twofold measure; let a man, when giving, keep no remainder back, but give without leaving a remnant on either side.

13.8.27 As a herdsman, staff in hand, stands ever steadfast over his cattle, so should the kṣatriya guard the brāhmaṇas and the sacred Brahman.

13.8.28 As a father guards his sons, so should you guard the brāhmaṇas radiant with the splendor of the Brahman; and look into their households, whether their livelihood holds here.

13.9.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Those in the world who, having promised a gift to the brāhmaṇas, give it not through delusion, O grandsire — what do they become, O most wise?

13.9.2 Tell me this truly, the law of it, O best of the upholders of dharma — those evil-souled men who, having promised, do not give.

13.9.3 Bhīṣma said: He who, having promised little or much, does not give — all his hopes are destroyed, like the fruit of offspring in a eunuch.

13.9.4 From the night that wretch is born to the night that he perishes, whatever good he has done in that interval, O Bhārata, and whatever oblation he has offered — all of it is undone.

13.9.5 On this the people learned in the law-books have spoken this saying — hear it, O best of the Bhāratas, with a mind most attentive.

13.9.6 And the people learned in the law-books cite this also: by a thousand horses with dark ears that man is released.

13.9.7 On this very matter they relate an ancient tale, the converse of the jackal and the monkey, O Bhārata.

13.9.8 The two had once been friends in their state as men, O scorcher of foes, but had passed into other births — the one a jackal, the other a monkey.

13.9.9 Then, seeing the jackal devouring the dead in the midst of the burning-ground, the monkey, recalling their former birth, spoke to him.

13.9.10 What grievous and most terrible deed did you commit of old, that here in the burning-ground you eat the rotting, loathsome corpses?

13.9.11 Thus addressed, the jackal answered the monkey then: "Having made a promise to a brāhmaṇa, I did not fulfill it."

13.9.12 "For that I have come into this sinful birth, O leaping one; therefore, hungering, I eat such food as this."

13.9.13 Thus, O king, I heard this from the brāhmaṇa as he spoke, that knower of dharma reciting the holy and ancient tale.

13.9.14 And moreover, O lord of peoples, O Pāṇḍava, I once heard this too from Kṛṣṇa, who long ago recited it concerning a brāhmaṇa.

13.9.15 And just so the brāhmaṇas ever instruct me: once a promise is made, the gift must be given; never should the brāhmaṇas' hope be left unfulfilled.

13.9.16 For a brāhmaṇa, O lord of the earth, once his hope has been kindled, is reckoned to be like a well-fed, blazing fire.

13.9.17 Whomever he, enraged, fixes his gaze upon—his hope once roused—him, O king, he would consume utterly, as an inexhaustible fire devours dry brushwood.

13.9.18 Yet that same brāhmaṇa, when contented, gives thanks with his words, and becomes for that man's realm like a healing medicine, O Bhārata.

13.9.19 Sons and grandsons, cattle and kinsmen, ministers too, the city and the countryside—all these he causes to flourish, like a peace devoutly sought.

13.9.20 For this supreme splendor of the brāhmaṇa is seen here on earth, like that of the thousand-rayed Sun upon the face of the world.

13.9.21 Therefore, once a promise is made, the gift must indeed be given, Yudhiṣṭhira, if one wishes to attain a fair birth, O best of the Bhāratas.

13.9.22 For by what is given to a brāhmaṇa, the unsurpassed heaven can surely be won, and won abundantly; for giving is a mighty act.

13.9.23 By what is given here the gods live, and the ancestors likewise; therefore the wise man should bestow his gifts upon the brāhmaṇas.

13.9.24 For the brāhmaṇa, O best of the Bhāratas, is called a great holy ford; at no fitting hour should a brāhmaṇa depart unhonored.

13.10.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: When one, out of the goodwill of friendship, gives instruction to a man of lower birth, O royal sage—does fault arise for him or not?

13.10.2 This I wish to have explained in truth, O grandfather; for subtle is the course of dharma, wherein men go astray.

13.10.3 Bhīṣma said: On this I shall relate to you, O king; listen as it has come down to us, even as I heard it long ago from the speech of the sages.

13.10.4 Instruction should not be given to any man of base birth; a grave fault is declared to fall upon the teacher for such instruction.

13.10.5 Hear from me this illustration, O king, O bull of the Bhāratas—of the offense of ill-spoken words, Yudhiṣṭhira—of what came to pass of old at a brahmanic hermitage upon the fair flank of the Himavat.

13.10.6 There stood a holy hermitage, set amid clusters of many kinds of trees, thick with shrubs and creepers, frequented by deer and birds.

13.10.7 Resounding with siddhas and cāraṇas, lovely, its groves in flower, thronged with many keepers of vows and graced by ascetics.

13.10.8 Crowded too with brāhmaṇas of great fortune, resplendent as the sun and fire, perfect in restraints and vows—with ascetics, O best of the Bhāratas, consecrated, sparing in food, their selves perfected.

13.10.9 Filled with the murmur of Vedic recitation, O bull of the Bhāratas, and frequented by many Vālakhilyas and by men of strict discipline.

13.10.10 There a certain śūdra, summoning his resolve, full of compassion, came to that hermitage and was honored by the ascetics.

13.10.11 And seeing those hosts of sages, godlike and of great might, bearing their manifold vows, he was filled with joy, O Bhārata.

13.10.12 Then his mind turned toward asceticism, O bull of the Bhāratas; and so, clasping his feet, he addressed the head of the community, O Bhārata.

13.10.13 By your grace I wish to practice dharma, O bull among the twice-born; therefore, O blessed one, you ought to instruct me and to set me upon the ascetic's path.

13.10.14 I am of a lower order, O blessed one—a śūdra by birth, O most excellent; I wish to render service. Be gracious to me, who have come to you for refuge.

13.10.15 The head of the community said: It is not possible here for a śūdra to live having taken up the ascetic's emblem. Stay, if such is your mind, and devote yourself to service.

13.10.16 Bhīṣma said: Thus addressed by the sage, that śūdra reflected, O king: "What am I to do in this? My faith in dharma is supreme. So be it—I shall do what is dear to my own soul."

13.10.17 Going far from the hermitage, he built himself a hut of leaves; and there, having set in place an altar, a hallowed ground, and shrines for the deities, O best of the Bhāratas, he abode happily, firm in his vows.

13.10.18 Performing ablutions and observances, and offering the bali-oblation at the shrines, and pouring oblations into the fire, he worshiped the deities as well.

13.10.19 Endowed with resolve and restraint, living on fruit, his senses subdued, ever furnished with the herbs and fruits that lay close at hand.

13.10.20 He honored, in due form, the guests who came to him; and thus a very long span of time passed by for him.

13.10.21 Then a sage came by chance to his hermitage; and welcoming the seer with words of greeting, he gratified him fully according to rule.

13.10.22 Having exchanged agreeable converse, the seer—of supreme splendor, righteous of soul, his senses controlled—questioned him duly.

13.10.23 Thus, O bull of the Bhāratas, that seer went many times to the śūdra's hermitage, O bull among men, to see the śūdra.

13.10.24 Then the śūdra said to that ascetic, O bull of the Bhāratas: "I shall perform a rite for the ancestors; in this grant me your favor."

13.10.25 "So be it," the brāhmaṇa said to him, O bull of the Bhāratas; and the śūdra, having purified himself, brought water for that seer's feet.

13.10.26 Then darbha grass and wild herbs, O bull of the Bhāratas, and a purifying strainer, a seat, and a grass cushion he brought near.

13.10.27 Then, turning it to the south, when the seer saw the cushion's head laid out the wrong way, contrary to rule, he spoke to him.

13.10.28 "Set its head toward the east, and face the north, being purified." And the śūdra did all that the seer had told him.

13.10.29 As instructed, the discerning man arranged the darbha grass and the rest just so; and the whole rule of offerings to gods and ancestors was told to him by that ascetic.

13.10.30 By the seer he was thus guided in the rite for the ancestors, and he himself stayed firm upon the path of dharma; and when the rite was done, the seer, taking his leave, departed.

13.10.31 Then after a long time that śūdra-ascetic, performing his austerities, met dissolution in the forest; and by that good deed he was reborn, of great radiance, O great king, in a royal lineage of kings.

13.10.32 And likewise that seer, my child, having met his appointed end, was reborn as a brāhmaṇa in the family of a royal chaplain, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.10.33 Thus the two of them—the śūdra and the sage—were both born there; and growing up in due course, both became skilled in the branches of learning.

13.10.34 In the Atharvaveda and the other Veda the seer became well-grounded, accomplished in the practice of ritual and in astronomy he attained the highest mastery; and between the two of them a supreme delight in friendship grew apace.

13.10.35 And when his father had passed away, the prince, having completed the rites of purification, O Bhārata, was anointed king by the subjects; and by the anointed king that seer was anointed as chaplain.

13.10.36 Placing him at his head, the king dwelt happily, O bull of the Bhāratas, ruling his kingdom by dharma and guarding his subjects well.

13.10.37 At the proclaiming of auspicious days, and repeatedly in the rites of dharma, the king, on seeing the chaplain, would smile and even laugh; and thus, O king, many times did he laugh at the chaplain.

13.10.38 But the chaplain, having marked the lord of men do so many times, and seeing him forever smiling, grew filled with resentment.

13.10.39 Then in a solitary place the chaplain, meeting with the king, delighted him with agreeable conversation.

13.10.40 Then that chaplain said to the lord of men, O bull of the Bhāratas: "One boon I desire, to be granted by you, O greatly radiant one."

13.10.41 The king said: A hundred boons would I grant you, how much more a single one, O best of the twice-born; for out of affection and high regard there is nothing I would withhold from you.

13.10.42 The chaplain said: One boon indeed I desire, if you are pleased, O lord of the earth; what you grant, O great king, speak it truly, and let it be no falsehood.

13.10.43 Bhīṣma said: "So be it," the king replied to him, O Yudhiṣṭhira; "if I shall know the answer, I will tell it; but not knowing, I will not speak."

13.10.44 The chaplain said: At the proclaiming of auspicious days, ever in the rites of dharma, and always at the homas for peace—why is it that, looking upon me, you laugh?

13.10.45 My mind is filled with shame at your laughing; adjured by my wish, O king, you ought not to speak otherwise than the truth.

13.10.46 There must surely be a cause in this; your laughter is not without reason. My curiosity is very keen—tell me the truth of it.

13.10.47 The king said: Since you have spoken thus, O brāhmaṇa, even what ought not to be told must now of necessity be told. Listen with single mind, O twice-born one.

13.10.48 Learn what came to pass in a former body, O best of the twice-born; I remember my birth, O brāhmaṇa—listen to me attentively.

13.10.49 A śūdra I was of old, an ascetic strictly self-disciplined; and you, O most excellent of the twice-born, were then a seer of fierce austerity.

13.10.50 For then, O brāhmaṇa, out of love and a mind to favor me, you of old gave me instruction in the rite for the ancestors, O sinless one—concerning the grass cushion, the darbha grass, the offering to the gods and the offering to the ancestors, O best of sages.

13.10.51 By this fault of action you were born a chaplain, and I a king, O chief of brāhmaṇas; behold the turning of time! For through the instruction you gave on my account, this fruit has fallen to you.

13.10.52 For this reason, O brāhmaṇa, I laugh at you, O best of the twice-born; not in scorn of you do I laugh, O brāhmaṇa—you are my elder.

13.10.53 At this reversal my heart is grieved, and my mind is sorely pained thereby. I remember our births—for you—and therefore it is that I laugh.

13.10.54 Thus your fierce austerity was undone by the giving of instruction; cast off the office of chaplain and strive again toward a future birth.

13.10.55 Lest from here you fall into another, baser womb, O twice-born; take this wealth, O brāhmaṇa, and become purified in soul, O excellent one.

13.10.56 Bhīṣma said: Then, dismissed by the king, the brāhmaṇa bestowed gifts of many kinds—wealth, land, and villages—upon the brāhmaṇas in every way.

13.10.57 And that best of the twice-born, having performed the penances as prescribed, and having visited the holy fords, and made manifold gifts—

13.10.58 and having given cattle to the brāhmaṇas, that twice-born one became purified in soul; and going back to that very hermitage, he practiced abundant austerity.

13.10.59 Then the brāhmaṇa attained supreme perfection, O best of kings, and became honored among those dwellers of the hermitage.

13.10.60 Thus that seer came to great distress, O best of kings; therefore a brāhmaṇa should not speak instruction to a person of lower order.

13.10.61 A brāhmaṇa should ever shun the giving of such instruction, O king; for in giving instruction the twice-born one would come to distress.

13.10.62 The king should ever seek knowledge by his speech from the best of the twice-born; but to a person of lower order nothing whatever should here be expounded.

13.10.63 Brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, and vaiśyas—these three orders are the twice-born; speaking among these, O king, a brāhmaṇa incurs no fault.

13.10.64 Therefore the good should not speak anything in the presence of anyone heedlessly; for subtle is the course of dharma, hard to discern by those whose souls are unperfected.

13.10.65 For this reason the sages, with reverence, undertake vows of silence; from fear of ill-spoken words, O king, they answer nothing at all.

13.10.66 The righteous, endowed with virtues, devoted to truth and uprightness, when stricken by an ill-spoken word, come thereby to evil-doing here.

13.10.67 Instruction should never be given at any time to anyone; for from instruction a brāhmaṇa would incur that sin.

13.10.68 Therefore the wise man who desires dharma should speak only after reflection; for instruction given through truth mixed with falsehood surely brings harm.

13.10.69 When questioned, one should answer only after first weighing the matter and its contrary; and such instruction alone is to be given as leads to the attainment of dharma.

13.10.70 All this I have now declared to you: when instruction is given amiss, great affliction follows; therefore let no one give such instruction anywhere.

13.11.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: In what kind of man, dear sire, or in what kind of women, O bull of the Bhāratas, does Śrī, the lotus-goddess, ever abide? Tell me that, grandfather.

13.11.2 Bhīṣma said: On this I shall relate to you, as I have seen and as I have heard, how Rukmiṇī once questioned Śrī in the presence of the son of Devakī.

13.11.3 Beholding radiant Śrī, lotus-faced, seated in the lap of Nārāyaṇa, the mother of Makaradhvaja, her lovely eyes wide with wonder, questioned her out of curiosity.

13.11.4 Which beings here do you attend upon, and beside which do you abide; and which do you not serve? O beloved of the Lord of the three worlds' creatures, O daughter of the great sage, tell me this truly.

13.11.5 Thus addressed by the goddess in the presence of him whose banner bears Garuḍa, Śrī, moon-faced and serene, spoke these words, sweet in utterance and ravishing to the mind.

13.11.6 I dwell, O fair one, in the man who is truthful, bold, and capable, ever active in his work; I dwell not in the indolent man, nor in the unbeliever, the corrupter of castes, the ingrate, nor in him of broken conduct or cruel conduct, nor in the thief, nor in him who is envious of his teachers.

13.11.7 And those poor in energy, strength, and inner worth, who rejoice and rage at the merest trifle—in such men, O goddess, whose aspirations lie asleep, I do not abide.

13.11.8 He who craves nothing for himself, and he whose inner self is corrupted by his own nature—in such men, O goddess, ever content with little, I never make my dwelling.

13.11.9 I dwell in the righteous of conduct, in the knowers of dharma, in the great-souled, in those who serve their elders, in the self-controlled, in the noble who understand goodness.

13.11.10 Among women I dwell in the patient and the self-controlled, devoted to gods and brāhmaṇas, truthful in conduct, and steadfast in their own nature.

13.11.11 The woman who scatters her household vessels, who acts without reflection, who ever speaks against her husband, who delights in another's house and is without shame—such a woman I forsake.

13.11.12 The fickle, the unclean, the greedy gobbler, her devoid of steadiness, fond of quarrels, overcome by sleep and forever lying abed—such a woman I forsake.

13.11.13 I dwell in women ever truthful, fair to look upon, blessed with good fortune and rich in virtues, faithful to their husbands, of auspicious character and well adorned.

13.11.14 In chariots, in maidens, in ornaments, in sacrifices, in rain-bearing clouds, in blossoming lotus-pools, and in the autumn pathways of the stars, I make my dwelling.

13.11.15 In mountains, in cattle-pens, and in forests, in lakes bright with open water-lilies and lotuses, in rivers loud with the calls of swans and adorned by the cries of cranes.

13.11.16 In rivers graced with broad-banked pools, frequented by ascetics, perfected ones, and brāhmaṇas, abundant in waters churned by lions and elephants, I ever dwell; and ever in the rutting elephant, in the bull, in the king, in the lion-throne, and in the good man.

13.11.17 In that house where the fire-bearer of oblations is fed, where cattle, brāhmaṇas, and the gods are honored, and offerings of flowers are made in due season—in that house I ever take up my dwelling.

13.11.18 In the twice-born ever devoted to their sacred study, in the kṣatriya forever delighting in dharma, in the vaiśya intent on husbandry, and in the śūdra faithfully given to service, I dwell.

13.11.19 But in Nārāyaṇa I dwell single-minded, with my whole being, made as it were his very body; for in him is set the mighty dharma, and there too are devotion to the brāhmaṇas and all that is dear.

13.11.20 It is not with my body that I dwell, O goddess—that I cannot here declare; but the man in whom I dwell in spirit prospers in dharma, in fame, in wealth, and in desire fulfilled.

13.12.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: In the union of woman and man, whose pleasure of touch is the greater? This doubt of mine, O king, you ought to resolve aright.

13.12.2 Bhīṣma said: On this too they recite an ancient tale—how of old enmity arose between Bhaṅgāśvana and Śakra.

13.12.3 Long ago there was a royal sage named Bhaṅgāśvana, exceedingly righteous. Being without a son, O tiger among men, he undertook a sacrifice to obtain offspring.

13.12.4 That mighty royal sage performed the rite called Agniṣṭu, hateful to Indra, which is enjoined among the expiations of mortals for one who desires a son.

13.12.5 But Indra, the glorious lord of the gods, learning of that sacrifice, sought for an opening against that royal sage of disciplined soul.

13.12.6 And after some time, as the king roved out on the hunt, Śakra, judging "this is the opening," cast a bewilderment upon him.

13.12.7 Wandering on a single horse, deluded by Indra, the royal sage could no longer make out the quarters of the sky, and was tormented by hunger and thirst.

13.12.8 Galloping this way and that, afflicted by weariness and thirst, the king beheld a most lovely lake brimming with excellent water; and plunging into the lake, dear son, he let his horse drink.

13.12.9 Then, when the horse had drunk, that best of kings tied it to a tree, and entering the water to bathe, the king attained womanhood.

13.12.10 Seeing himself turned into a woman, that best of kings was abashed, his whole being given over to anxious thought, his senses and mind confounded.

13.12.11 "How shall I mount the horse, how shall I return to the city? I performed the rite called Agniṣṭu, and a hundred sons of my own loins were granted me—

13.12.12 sons born of great strength. What shall I now say of them to my wives, and to the people of city and countryside?"

13.12.13 Softness, slenderness, and timidity—these the sages, who behold the truth and meaning of dharma, have declared the qualities of woman; while exertion, hardness, and valor are the qualities of man.

13.12.14 "My manhood is utterly lost, and womanhood has come upon me by some agency; in this state of womanhood, how can I bring myself to mount the horse again?"

13.12.15 Then with great distress that lord of men mounted the horse and, turned into a woman, returned to the city, dear son—that best of kings.

13.12.16 His sons and wives and servants, and the folk of city and countryside, perceiving "what then is this?", were struck with the utmost amazement.

13.12.17 Then that royal sage, now a woman, best of speakers, said: "I had set out to hunt, firmly surrounded by my forces; but, deluded by fate, I strayed and entered a fearsome wilderness.

13.12.18 And in that most terrible wilderness, parched with thirst and bereft of my wits, I beheld a lake of most lovely aspect, thronged with birds.

13.12.19 Having plunged therein, I was made a woman—plainly by fate, there is no doubt—as though I had not yet had my fill of sons, of wives, and of wealth."

13.12.20 Then that best of kings, now a woman, said to his sons: "In harmony enjoy this kingdom; I shall go to the forest, my dear ones." And having consecrated his hundred sons, the king departed to the forest.

13.12.21 In the hermitage, dear son, an ascetic took that woman to wife; and by that ascetic a hundred sons were born to her in the hermitage as well.

13.12.22 Then taking these sons, she said to her former sons: "You are my sons begotten in manhood, and these hundred are my sons in womanhood.

13.12.23 Enjoy the kingdom together, as brothers, my dear ones." And those brothers, united, then enjoyed the kingdom together.

13.12.24 Seeing them enjoy that excellent kingdom in brotherly accord, Indra, lord of the gods, overwhelmed with wrath, reflected: "I have done that royal sage a service, not an injury."

13.12.25 Then in the guise of a brāhmaṇa, the king of the gods, lord of a hundred sacrifices, went to the city and sowed dissension among those sons of the king.

13.12.26 "There is no brotherhood among brothers, even among the sons of one father: for the sake of the kingdom the gods and demons, sons of Kaśyapa, fell to strife.

13.12.27 You are the offspring of Bhaṅgāśvana, while the others are the sons of an ascetic—just as the gods and the demons were the sons of Kaśyapa; yet your paternal kingdom is being enjoyed by the ascetic's sons."

13.12.28 Set at variance by Indra, they struck one another down in battle; and hearing this, the ascetic-woman, sore stricken, broke into weeping.

13.12.29 Approaching her in the disguise of a brāhmaṇa, Indra then inquired: "With what grief are you tormented, that you weep, O fair-faced one?"

13.12.30 Seeing the brāhmaṇa, that woman piteously replied: "My two hundred sons, O brāhmaṇa, have been laid low by time.

13.12.31 I was once a king, O brāhmaṇa, and there a hundred sons were begotten by me, handsome and valiant, O best of the twice-born.

13.12.32 Once, gone out to the hunt, I strayed in a dense forest and, plunging into a lake, was made a woman, O best of brāhmaṇas; and having established my sons in the kingdom, I then withdrew to the forest.

13.12.33 And to me as a woman a hundred sons were begotten by a great-souled ascetic in the hermitage, O brāhmaṇa; these too I brought to the city.

13.12.34 And by the working of time enmity arose among them, O brāhmaṇa; this I lament, O best of brāhmaṇas, overwhelmed by fate."

13.12.35 Seeing her in her grief, Indra spoke harsh words: "Of old, O lady, you wrought me grief most hard to bear,

13.12.36 by performing a sacrifice hateful to Indra, slighting me, O perverse one. I am Indra, O foolish one, and the enmity I have requited upon you."

13.12.37 But seeing Indra, the royal sage fell with bowed head at his feet: "Be gracious, O best of the gods; that sacrifice was performed by me in longing for sons, O tiger among the gods; in this you ought to forgive me."

13.12.38 Well pleased by her obeisance, Indra granted a boon: "Which of your sons, O king, shall live? Tell me—those born to you as a woman, or those who came to you as a man?"

13.12.39 Then the ascetic-woman, with reverently folded hands, said to Śakra: "Let those who were born to me as a woman live, O Vāsava."

13.12.40 But Indra, astonished and delighted, questioned that woman again: "How are the sons you begot as a man become hateful to you?

13.12.41 How is it that your love is greater for those born when you were a woman? I wish to hear the reason; this you ought to tell me here."

13.12.42 The woman said: A woman's love is the greater—not so a man's; therefore, O Śakra, let those live who were born to me when I was made a woman.

13.12.43 Bhīṣma said: When she had spoken thus, Indra, well pleased, replied: "Let all your sons live here, O truthful one.

13.12.44 And choose a boon, O lord of kings, whatever you desire, O steadfast in vows—manhood or womanhood, whichever you crave from me."

13.12.45 The woman said: I choose womanhood itself, O Śakra, since you are gracious, O Vāsava.

13.12.46 Thus addressed, Indra, lord of the gods, replied to that woman: "How is it that, forsaking manhood, you prefer womanhood, O mighty one?"

13.12.47 Thus addressed, that best of kings, now a woman, replied: "In the union of woman and man, the pleasure of the woman is ever the greater; for this reason, O Śakra, I choose womanhood itself."

13.12.48 "And I take greater delight in womanhood—truly, O best of gods; I am content in my woman's state. Go now, O lord of the gods."

13.12.49 Saying "So be it," and taking leave of her, Indra departed to heaven. Thus, O great king, is the woman's pleasure declared the greater.

13.13.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: What ought a man to do who seeks the welfare that sustains worldly life? And of what conduct should he be as he carries on the course of the world?

13.13.2 Bhīṣma said: Of action by the body there are three kinds, by speech four kinds, and by the mind three; these ten paths of evil action one should renounce.

13.13.3 The slaying of living beings, theft, and intercourse with another's wife—these three sins of the body one should utterly shun.

13.13.4 Idle babble, harshness, slander, and falsehood likewise—these four sins of speech, O lord of kings, one should neither utter nor even ponder.

13.13.5 Freedom from coveting another's goods, good will toward all beings, and the conviction that actions bear fruit—this threefold course one should practice with the mind.

13.13.6 Therefore let a man do no evil by speech, body, or mind; for doing deeds good or evil, he tastes the fruit of each in turn.

13.14.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: O mighty one, declare to me the names of the grandsire-lord, of Śambhu, of Babhru, of him who is the māyā of the universe, and his exalted majesty in truth.

13.14.2 Bhīṣma said: O preceptor of gods and demons, O divine Viṣṇu, it is you who ought to speak that which Yudhiṣṭhira asks of me concerning Śiva, who has the universe for his form.

13.14.3 The thousand names of the god, which were proclaimed of old by Taṇḍin, sprung from Brahmā, and were once set forth before Brahmā in the world of Brahmā.

13.14.4 Let these sages too, rich in austerity—Dvaipāyana foremost among them—men of noble vows and self-restraint, listen as you speak.

13.14.5 Tell us, O mighty one, of the high glory of him who is the Unmoving, the Giver of joy, the Sacrificer, the Protector, the Creator of all, who is Fire itself—of the Shaven-headed and the Matted-locked one.

13.14.6 Vāsudeva said: The course of the Lord's deeds cannot be known in its truth.

13.14.7 The gods, led by Hiraṇyagarbha and Indra, and the great sages of subtle vision, do not know his end nor his beginning. How then could he, the goal of the good, be known by a mere man?

13.14.8 Yet of that blessed Lord, the slayer of the asuras, the master of all vows, I shall recount to you some of his attributes, as faithfully as I am able.

13.14.9 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Having spoken thus, the blessed Lord Kṛṣṇa sipped water, made himself pure, and began to relate the attributes of that great-souled and wise one.

13.14.10 Vāsudeva said: Listen, O foremost of brāhmaṇas, and you too, dear Yudhiṣṭhira; and you, son of the River, attend to the names of the Lord of the world.

13.14.11 How in time past I gained, for the sake of Sāmba, that which is most hard to win, and how the blessed Lord was once beheld by me through deep meditation—

13.14.12 After Śambara had been slain of old by the wise son of Rukmiṇī, when the twelfth year had passed, Jāmbavatī said to me—

13.14.13 Beholding the little sons of Rukmiṇī—Pradyumna, Cārudeṣṇa and the rest—and herself longing for a son, she came to me and spoke, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.14.14 "Grant me without delay, O Acyuta, a son who is valiant, foremost among the strong, lovely in form, free of all blemish, the equal of yourself."

13.14.15 "For there is nothing in the three worlds beyond your reach; should you wish it, you could create other worlds, O upholder of the Yadu line."

13.14.16 "Living on air and wasting away for twelve years, by propitiating the Lord of creatures, you begot upon Rukmiṇī her sons."

13.14.17 "Cārudeṣṇa and Sucāru, Cāruveṣa and Yaśodhara, Cāruśravas and Cāruyaśas, Pradyumna, and Śambhu as well—"

13.14.18 "Even as those sons of fair prowess were begotten of Rukmiṇī, so grant to me also a son endowed with strength."

13.14.19 Urged in this way by the lady, I said to the fair-waisted one: "Give me leave, O queen; I shall do as you ask." And she said to me: "Go, for victory and for blessing."

13.14.20 "May Brahmā, Śiva, and Kāśyapa, the rivers, the gods who follow the mind, the fields and the herbs, the bearers of the sacrifice, the sacred metres, the hosts of sages, and the Earth—"

13.14.21 "the oceans, the sacrificial fees, the chants, the constellations, the ancestors, the planets, the wives of the gods, the daughters of the gods, and the mothers of the gods—"

13.14.22 "the cosmic ages of the Manus, the cattle, the Moon, Savitṛ, Hari, Sāvitrī and the knowledge of Brahman, the seasons, the years, the nights—"

13.14.23 "the moments, the instants, the hours, the wink-spans of time, and the turning of the ages—may they guard you wherever you go, O Yādava, bringer of joy. Go your way unharmed and watchful, O sinless one."

13.14.24 Thus blessed by her with rites of well-being, having taken leave of that daughter of the lord of the apes, I went to her father, that best of men, to her mother, and to King Āhuka—

13.14.25 and laid before them what the deeply grieving daughter of the lord of the Vidyādharas had asked of me; then, sore at heart, I took leave of them, and of Gada and of mighty Rāma as well.

13.14.26 Having obtained the leave of my elders, I called to mind Tārkṣya; he bore me to Himavat, and upon reaching it I dismissed him.

13.14.27 There upon that noblest of mountains I beheld wondrous sights, and I saw a holy ground supreme among the seats of austerity, a most excellent hermitage—

13.14.28 the divine hermitage of the great-souled Upamanyu, son of Vyāghrapad, honoured by gods and gandharvas, endowed with a sacred and Brahmic splendour.

13.14.29 It was rich with dhava, kakubha, kadamba and coconut trees; with kurabaka, ketaka, jambu and pāṭala; with banyan, varuṇaka, vatsanābha and bilva; with sarala, kapittha, priyāla, sāla and palm;

13.14.30 with jujube, kunda and punnāga, with aśoka, mango and atimukta, with bhallātaka, madhūka, campaka and breadfruit;

13.14.31 graced with woodland trees of many kinds bearing fruit and flower, strewn with blossoming shrubs and creepers, made lovely with thickets of plantain.

13.14.32 It was adorned with trees whose fruits gave food to birds of many sorts, and beautified with rows of woodland set each in its fitting place.

13.14.33 It teemed with deer, elephants, tigers, lions and panthers; was thronged with antelope and peacocks, beset with wildcats and serpents, frequented by herds of beasts of many breeds, by buffaloes and bears.

13.14.34 There a pleasant breeze blew, laden with the pollen of many flowers, perfumed with the ichor of elephants, and filled with the songs of celestial women.

13.14.35 With the murmur of cascades and the cries of birds, with the auspicious trumpeting of elephants, with the lofty songs of the kiṃnaras, and the holy sounds of those who chant the Sāman, O hero—

13.14.36 —it was such as others could not so much as conceive in the mind; adorned with lakes, beautified with broad fire-shelters, and carpeted with kuśa grass.

13.14.37 Adorned, O king, by the daughter of Jahnu with her holy and purifying waters, ever-frequented by her, it was graced by great-souled seers, foremost among upholders of dharma, who blazed like fire.

13.14.38 It was adorned all around by foremost brāhmaṇas—ascetics who lived on air, who drank only water, who were ever at their muttered prayers, who scoured their vessels clean, who were ever in meditation, who fed on smoke, who drank only warmth, and who lived upon milk alone.

13.14.39 There were those who grazed like cattle, those who ground their grain on stones, those whose mortar was their own teeth, those who lived on the sun's rays, those who drank only foam, and those who roamed like the wild deer.

13.14.40 Beholding these men who upheld their grievous vows in the rigour of austerity, with wide-open eyes I set myself to enter in.

13.14.41 Well honoured by the hosts of gods, the great-souled ones, Śiva and the rest, doers of holy deeds, O Bhārata, that circle of hermitage ever shone, O king, like the orb of the sun in the heavens.

13.14.42 There the mongooses sported with the serpents, and the tigers with the deer, as friends—through the power and the virtue of nearness to those whose austerity blazed forth.

13.14.43 In that supreme hermitage, delightful to all beings, frequented by tigers among the twice-born who had mastered the Vedas and their auxiliaries—

13.14.44 —and by great-souled sages renowned for their manifold vows, even as I entered I beheld the Lord, wearing matted locks and bark-cloth garments.

13.14.45 Blazing like fire with splendour and with austerity, seated amid his pupils, serene, youthful, a bull among brāhmaṇas—Upamanyu spoke to me as I bowed my head before him.

13.14.46 "Welcome, O lotus-eyed one. Our austerities have borne their fruit, since you who are worthy of worship pay us honour, and you who are worthy to be beheld desire to behold us."

13.14.47 Then, with palms joined together, I asked after the welfare of his beasts and birds, of his sacred fires, of his observance of dharma, and of the band of his pupils.

13.14.48 Then the blessed sage said to me with words most gentle and kind: "You shall surely obtain, O Kṛṣṇa, a son who is your own equal—of this there is no doubt."

13.14.49 "Undertaking a most mighty austerity, propitiate the Lord, the Ruler; for here, O Adhokṣaja, the god disports himself together with his consort."

13.14.50 "In this very place, O Janārdana, the gods together with the hosts of sages, in days of old, having gratified that best of deities by austerity, by chastity, by truth and by self-restraint, obtained their fair desires."

13.14.51 "That blessed Lord, the treasure-house of all splendours and austerities, dwells here together with the Goddess—he, the inconceivable one, who sends forth and withdraws all states of being, both fair and foul—the very one whom you entreat, O slayer of foes."

13.14.52 "Hiraṇyakaśipu, the dānava who once shook Mount Meru, obtained from Śarva the lordship over all the immortals for a full ten million years."

13.14.53 "His foremost son, renowned as Mandara, by a boon of Mahādeva did battle with Śakra for ten million years."

13.14.54 "Even the dread discus of Viṣṇu and the thunderbolt of Ākhaṇḍala, O dear Keśava, were of old shattered upon the limbs of that demon Graha."

13.14.55 "And the gods, sorely oppressed by that mighty Graha, slew in their turn many a lord of the asuras who had been granted boons by Śiva."

13.14.56 "Well pleased with Vidyutprabha too, he gave him the sovereignty of the three worlds; for a hundred thousand years he became the lord of all worlds, and the god said: 'You shall ever be my attendant.'"

13.14.57 "Likewise the Lord granted him ten thousand sons, and the blessed Unborn one gave him the island of Kuśa to rule as a kingdom."

13.14.58 "So too there was a great asura named Śatamukha, fashioned by the Creator, who for a full hundred years offered up the fire with his own flesh; and the blessed Śaṃkara, well pleased, said to him: 'What shall I do for you?'"

13.14.59 "And Śatamukha answered him: 'Let mine be a wondrous power of yoga, and grant me, O best of the gods, strength that endures forever.'"

13.14.60 "And Kratu, son of the Self-existent, of old, longing for offspring, entered into himself through yoga for three hundred years."

13.14.61 "To him the god granted a thousand sons, each the equal of Kratu himself. You know, O Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of yoga who is sung of by the gods—of this there is no doubt."

13.14.62 "The Vālakhilyas, it is said, were once slighted by Maghavat; and they in their wrath gratified the blessed Rudra by their austerities."

13.14.63 "And to them the best of gods, the Lord of the world, well pleased, declared: 'By your austerity you shall bring forth Suparṇa, the carrier-off of the soma.'"

13.14.64 "Through the wrath of Mahādeva the waters of old were destroyed, and the gods brought other waters into being by means of the seven-skulled rite."

13.14.65 "The wife of Atri too, a speaker of sacred truth, forsook her husband, saying: 'Never again shall I be subject to the will of that sage'; and so saying she went, it is said, for refuge to Mahādeva."

13.14.66 "Taking no food, in fear of Atri, she lay even upon pestles for three hundred years, to win the grace of Bhava."

13.14.67 "To her the god said, smiling: 'A son shall surely be born to you, and in your own line he shall attain the renown you desire, bearing your name.'"

13.14.68 "Śākalya, a man of disciplined soul, propitiated Bhava for nine hundred years with the sacrifice of the mind, O Keśava."

13.14.69 "And the blessed Lord, well pleased, said to him: 'You shall become an author of treatises, my child; your fame shall be imperishable throughout the three worlds, and let your lineage be undying, adorned with great sages.'"

13.14.70 "There was too a renowned sage named Sāvarṇi in the Kṛta age; here he practised austerity for six thousand years."

13.14.71 "To him the blessed Rudra appeared in person and said: 'I am pleased with you, O sinless one. You shall become a maker of treatises, renowned throughout the world, free of age and death.'"

13.14.72 "And how I too of old beheld in person the God of gods, the all-pervading Lord, Paśupati himself, of that also hear, dear Mādhava."

13.14.73 "And for what purpose I once, with strenuous effort, propitiated the mighty Mahādeva of great splendour—that too hear in full."

13.14.74 "And whatever I formerly gained from the God of gods, from Maheśvara, all of that, entire and without omission, I shall now relate to you, O sinless one."

13.14.75 "Long ago, in the Kṛta age, my dear one, there lived a sage of great renown, known as Vyāghrapad, master of the Vedas and their auxiliaries. I was his son, and Dhaumya was my younger brother."

13.14.76 "Now once upon a time, O Mādhava, I came at play, together with Dhaumya, to the hermitage of sages whose souls were purified."

13.14.77 "And there I saw a milk-cow being milked, and I marked that its milk was sweet to the taste, like the very nectar of immortality."

13.14.78 "Now flour, O Mādhava, stirred together with water, used to be brought to the two of us to drink, under the name of 'milk.'"

13.14.79 "Then once, my dear one, I tasted the milk of a cow, and thereafter the flour-water, O dear one, no longer gave me any pleasure."

13.14.80 "Then in my childish way I said to my own mother: 'Give me food made with milk-porridge to eat.'"

13.14.81 "Then my mother, filled with grief and sorrow, embracing me out of a mother's love and kissing me upon the head, O Mādhava, said to me:"

13.14.82 "'Whence is milk-porridge to come, my child, for sages of purified souls who dwell ever in the forest and feed upon roots, bulbs and fruits?'"

13.14.83 "'Without first winning the grace of the three-eyed Virūpākṣa, the giver of boons, the unmoving and undecaying Sthāṇu—whence, my child, is milk-porridge to come, or comforts, or fine raiment?'"

13.14.84 Take refuge always in Śaṃkara, my child, with your whole being; by his grace, little son, you shall win from your desires their fruit.

13.14.85 Having heard those words of my mother, O slayer of foes, from that day onward an unwavering devotion to Mahādeva took root in me.

13.14.86 Then, undertaking austerity, I set myself to please Śaṃkara, standing for a thousand divine years poised upon the tips of my toes.

13.14.87 For one hundred years I lived then on fruit alone; for a second hundred I ate withered leaves; for a third I subsisted on water; and for seven hundred years more I fed upon air alone.

13.14.88 Then Mahādeva, the Lord and Master of all worlds, was pleased; assuming the form of Śakra and encircled by all the hosts of the gods, he became the thousand-eyed one, thunderbolt-handed and of great renown.

13.14.89 He mounted a mighty elephant, white as nectar, with red eyes, ears held stiffly erect, fierce in its rut, its trunk coiled, terrible to behold, and armed with four tusks.

13.14.90 Mounted upon it, the Lord came on, blazing with his own splendour, crowned with a diadem and adorned with necklaces and armlets.

13.14.91 A white parasol was held above his head, the Apsarases waited upon him, and the music of celestial Gandharvas resounded around him.

13.14.92 Then the lord of the gods spoke to me: 'I am pleased with you, O best of the twice-born; choose from me whatever boon dwells in your heart.'

13.14.93 But hearing Śakra's words, O Kṛṣṇa, my heart was not gladdened, and I then spoke to the king of the gods these words.

13.14.94 'I desire no boon from you, nor from any other deity save Mahādeva, O gentle one; this truth I tell you.'

13.14.95 'At a word from Paśupati I would gladly become at once a worm, or a tree with countless branches; but the sovereignty and splendour even of the three worlds, if not born of Paśupati's gracious boon, is unwelcome to me.'

13.14.96 'Even an insect or a moth I would gladly become at Śaṃkara's command; but the dominion over the three worlds, were it given by you, O Śakra, I do not desire.'

13.14.97 'So long as Paśupati, my Lord and God, whose locks are bound with the pure crescent fragment of the moon, is not pleased with me, so long shall I bear the sorrows ordained for the body, smitten by a hundred old ages, deaths, and births.'

13.14.98 'Without winning the favour of Rudra—radiant as sun, moon, and fire, the essence of the three worlds, boundless, primordial, unique, unaging, undying—what man in this world could ever attain peace?'

13.14.99 Śakra said: 'And what is your reason concerning the Lord, the Cause of all causes, that you should seek favour from no god other than him?'

13.14.100 Upamanyu said: 'What need have you of other reasons? The Lord is the Cause of all causes. We have never heard that the emblem of any other is worshipped by the gods.'

13.14.101 'Whose emblem, save that of Maheśvara, is worshipped by all the gods, or has been worshipped of old? Tell me, if you have heard of any such.'

13.14.102 'He whose emblem Brahmā and Viṣṇu, and you too together with the gods, forever worship—he therefore is the most supreme of all.'

13.14.103 'From him alone do I desire a boon, or even death itself, O Kauśika. Go or stay as you please, O Śakra, slayer of Bala.'

13.14.104 'Let it be, then—whether a boon be mine from Maheśvara, or even a curse; I desire no other deity, not though it bring me the fruit of all my wishes.'

13.14.105 Having thus spoken to the lord of the gods, my senses troubled with grief and brooding, 'Why is it that Rudra is not gracious to me?'—in that very instant I beheld once again that same Airāvata.

13.14.106 It had taken the form of a bull, like a swan, like jasmine, like the moon, gleaming as the lotus-stalk and the white water-lily, vast as the very Ocean of Milk before my eyes.

13.14.107 Huge of body, with a black tail and eyes tawny as honey, adorned on every side with a girth of pure gold.

13.14.108 Red-eyed, with a great muzzle, fine ears, fine flanks at the haunch, well-formed sides, broad shoulders—shapely and lovely to behold.

13.14.109 Its hump shone, rising full upon its shoulder, like the peak of a snow-clad mountain, like the crest of a white cloud.

13.14.110 Mounted upon it together with Umā, the Lord, God of gods, the great Mahādeva, shone like the lord of the stars on the night of the full moon.

13.14.111 The fire born of his radiance, charged with clouds and thunder, stood enveloping all things like a thousand suns at once.

13.14.112 The Lord, of vast and mighty splendour, was like the all-consuming fire, poised as if to burn up every being at the ending of an age.

13.14.113 When that splendour, hard to gaze upon, had spread on every side, my heart was troubled once more, and I pondered, 'What is this?'

13.14.114 That splendour, having filled all the ten directions for but a moment, was in an instant stilled again by the power of the God of gods.

13.14.115 Then I beheld the Lord Maheśvara, the Steadfast One, standing there—gentle, seated upon the bull, like a smokeless flame—the Supreme Lord together with Pārvatī, fair in every limb.

13.14.116 The blue-throated, great-souled, unattached one, treasury of all splendours, the Steadfast, with eighteen arms, adorned with every ornament.

13.14.117 The God clad in white garments, garlanded and anointed in white, bearing a white banner, unassailable, wearing the white sacred thread.

13.14.118 He was surrounded by his celestial attendants—singing, dancing, leaping here and there—each equal to himself in valour.

13.14.119 Crowned with the crescent moon, pale-bright as the autumn moon newly risen, blazing with his three eyes like three suns risen at once.

13.14.120 And upon the God's body, fair of hue, there shone a garland woven of golden lotuses and set with jewels.

13.14.121 And the weapons of Bhava, of measureless splendour—embodied and wholly made of radiance—these I beheld, O Govinda.

13.14.122 The bow of that great-souled one, gleaming like a thousand rainbows, renowned by the name of Pināka—and that bow was itself a mighty serpent.

13.14.123 Seven-headed, vast of body, with sharp fangs and abounding in venom, its great neck wound about as the bowstring, it stood there in the shape of a man.

13.14.124 And the arrow, resembling the sun, of a brilliance like the fire of doom—that great and most terrible divine weapon, the mighty Pāśupata.

13.14.125 Without a peer, beyond all describing, striking terror into every being, huge of frame and scattering sparks, as though shedding forth fire.

13.14.126 One-footed, with great fangs, with a thousand heads and bellies, with a thousand arms, tongues, and eyes, as though belching forth fire.

13.14.127 Surpassing the weapons of Brahmā, of Nārāyaṇa, of Indra, of Agni, and of Varuṇa, O mighty-armed one, and the destroyer of every other weapon.

13.14.128 By which, in days of old, Mahādeva burned Tripura and reduced it to ashes in an instant, with a single arrow and as if in sport, O Govinda.

13.14.129 Loosed from Maheśvara's arm, it would consume the whole universe, the three worlds with all that moves and is unmoving, in half the blink of an eye—of this there is no doubt.

13.14.130 In this world there is none it cannot slay, not even among Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and the gods. That weapon, supremely wondrous and marvellous, did I behold, my friend.

13.14.131 And another supreme and secret weapon, equal to it or even greater—that which is renowned throughout all the worlds as the trident of the Trident-bearer.

13.14.132 Hurled by the Trident-handed one, it could cleave the whole earth asunder, or dry up the great ocean, or destroy the entire universe.

13.14.133 By it, in olden times, was Māndhātṛ slain, the son of Yuvanāśva, together with his army—a sovereign emperor of vast splendour, the king who had conquered the three worlds.

13.14.134 Mighty in strength and valour, in prowess the equal of Śakra, he was slain, O Govinda, by that trident here held in the hand of the demon Lavaṇa.

13.14.135 That trident, exceedingly sharp of point, most dreadful and hair-raising, stood as though it had drawn its three prongs into a frown and was threatening all before it.

13.14.136 Smokeless yet flaming, dark, risen like the sun of doom, serpent in hand, beyond describing, like Death with his noose in hand—that weapon I beheld, O Govinda, in the presence of Rudra.

13.14.137 And the keen-edged axe that of old was given to Rāma by the well-pleased Mahādeva, bringer of destruction to the Kṣatriyas—by which, in a mighty battle, the emperor Kārtavīrya was slain.

13.14.138 By which the earth was made bereft of Kṣatriyas thrice seven times over, O Govinda, by Rāma the son of Jamadagni, of unwearied deeds.

13.14.139 With blazing edge and most fearsome face, wound about at the throat and tip with serpents, it stood beside the Trident-bearer like a tongue of flaming fire.

13.14.140 Numberless are the divine weapons of that wise one; these, the chief among them, have I recounted to you, O sinless one.

13.14.141 On the God's left side stood Brahmā, the Grandsire of the worlds, mounted upon a celestial car yoked with swans and swift as thought.

13.14.142 And likewise Nārāyaṇa stood upon his left flank, mounted upon the son of Vinatā, bearing conch, discus, and mace.

13.14.143 Skanda, mounted upon his peacock, stood near the Goddess, his spear held aslant his shoulder, like a second fire.

13.14.144 And before the God I saw Nandin stationed, standing braced upon his trident, like a second Śaṃkara.

13.14.145 The Manus, beginning with Svāyaṃbhuva, the sages, beginning with Bhṛgu, and the gods, beginning with Śakra—all alike drew near.

13.14.146 Saluting the great-souled one and encircling him on every side, the gods then praised Mahādeva with hymns of many kinds.

13.14.147 Brahmā, praising Bhava, intoned the Rathantara hymn; and Nārāyaṇa then sang to the Lord of gods with the Jyeṣṭha Sāman; while Śakra chanted the supreme Brahman, the excellent Śatarudrīya.

13.14.148 Brahmā and Nārāyaṇa and Kauśika the king of the gods—those three great-souled ones shone like three sacred fires.

13.14.149 In their midst the Lord God Śiva shone resplendent, like the sun freed from the autumn clouds yet still wreathed in a halo. Then I too praised that God of holy vows with this hymn.

13.14.150 Homage to the God of gods, homage indeed to Mahādeva; to Śakra, to him whose form is Śakra's, to him who wore the garb of Śakra.

13.14.151 Homage to you, thunderbolt in hand, tawny and ruddy of hue; to the Pināka-bearer evermore, to him who bears the sword and the trident.

13.14.152 Homage to you, clad in black, with dark curling locks, mantled in a black antelope hide, and delighting in the eighth of the dark fortnight.

13.14.153 To the white of hue, to the white one, to him clad in white garments, smeared with white ashes, and delighting in pure deeds.

13.14.154 You are Brahmā among all the gods, the blue-and-red Nīlalohita among the Rudras, the Self of all beings, and in the Sāṃkhya you are called the Puruṣa.

13.14.155 You are the bull among holy things, the partless and auspicious one among the Yogins; among the stages of life you are the householder, among lords you are Maheśvara, among all the Yakṣas you are Kubera, and among sacrifices you are called Viṣṇu.

13.14.156 Among mountains you are the great Meru, among the lunar mansions the Moon; among the sages you are Vasiṣṭha, and among the planets you are called the Sun.

13.14.157 Among the beasts of the forest you are the lion, O Supreme Lord; among the beasts of the village you are the bull, O Lord, worshipped by all the world.

13.14.158 Among the Ādityas you are Viṣṇu, among the Vasus the Fire-god, among birds the son of Vinatā, and among serpents you are Ananta.

13.14.159 Among the Vedas you are the Sāmaveda, among the Yajus formulas the Śatarudrīya, among the Yogins Sanatkumāra, and among the followers of Sāṃkhya you are Kapila.

13.14.160 Among the Maruts you are Śakra, O God; among the ancestral fathers you are the king of dharma; among the worlds you are the world of Brahmā, and among the goals you are called liberation.

13.14.161 Among the oceans you are the Ocean of Milk, among mountains the Himavat; among the social orders you are the Brāhmaṇa, and among the learned the consecrated twice-born. You are the beginning of the worlds, and you are likewise their destroyer, even Time itself.

13.14.162 And whatever other being in the worlds is held to surpass the rest in splendour—all that is the Lord himself: such is my settled conviction.

13.14.163 Homage to you, O Lord and God; homage to you, tender to your devotees; homage be to you, O Lord of Yoga; homage to you, O source of the universe.

13.14.164 Be gracious to me, your devotee, wretched and forlorn, beset by helplessness; be my refuge, O eternal one.

13.14.165 Whatever offense I have committed in ignorance, O supreme lord, deign to forgive it all, O lord of gods, for I am your devotee.

13.14.166 I was deluded, O lord of gods, by the disguise of your form, and so I offered you neither the welcome-water nor the water for your feet, O lord of the celestials.

13.14.167 Having thus praised Īśāna, with hands folded in reverence I offered him in devotion the water for his feet, the water of welcome, and all the rites.

13.14.168 Then, O dear one, a gracious shower of flowers, cool with water and fragrant with celestial scents, fell upon my head.

13.14.169 Then a celestial kettledrum was sounded by the servants of the gods, and a holy breeze blew, pure-scented and bringing delight.

13.14.170 Then Mahādeva, the bull-bannered one, well pleased and accompanied by his consort, spoke to the gods, gladdening me as it were.

13.14.171 Behold, all you gods, the supreme and celestial devotion of the great-souled Upamanyu toward me, established in singleness of heart.

13.14.172 Thus addressed by the trident-bearer, O Kṛṣṇa, all those gods, with folded hands and bowing to the bull-bannered one, replied:

13.14.173 O lord, O god of gods and ruler of gods, O protector of worlds, master of the universe, let this best of the twice-born obtain from you the fruit of all his desires.

13.14.174 Thus addressed by the gods led by Brahmā, Śarva—the lord, Śaṃkara—spoke to me as though smiling:

13.14.175 My child Upamanyu, I am pleased; behold me, O bull among sages. You are firm in devotion, O brahmin seer, and I have tested you.

13.14.176 By this devotion of yours I am exceedingly delighted; therefore I grant you this day all the desires you wish for.

13.14.177 When Mahādeva had thus spoken to me, O mighty one, tears flowed from joy, and my hair stood on end.

13.14.178 And then, touching the earth with my knees and bowing again and again, I addressed the god in a voice faltering with joy:

13.14.179 Today indeed am I born, O god; today my austerity has borne fruit, in that Mahādeva himself stands graciously before me.

13.14.180 That god of boundless might, whom even the gods cannot behold for all their worship, I have now beheld; who is more blessed than I?

13.14.181 Thus do the wise meditate upon him as the supreme eternal principle, known as the twenty-sixth, the imperishable, higher than the highest.

13.14.182 This same lord, the imperishable god, is the source of all principles, knower of the ordering of all principles, the master of Primal Nature and Spirit.

13.14.183 It was the lord who created from his right side Brahmā, the origin of the worlds, and from his left side Viṣṇu for the protection of the worlds; and when the age's end arrives, the master brings forth Rudra from his body.

13.14.184 That Rudra, of great splendor, withdrawing the whole world of things moving and unmoving, becomes Time itself, like the all-consuming fire of dissolution.

13.14.185 This god, Mahādeva, having created the world of things moving and unmoving, at the end of the aeon withdraws the consciousness of all and abides alone.

13.14.186 All-pervading, the self of all beings, the source from which all beings arise, he abides forever present everywhere, unseen even by all the gods.

13.14.187 If a boon is to be granted to me, and if my lord is pleased with me, then let my devotion to you, O Śaṃkara, be everlasting and eternal.

13.14.188 And that I may know what is past, what is to come, and what is present, O mighty one—such is my wish—by your grace, O best of the gods.

13.14.189 And that I may eat of inexhaustible milk-rice together with my kinsmen, and that your supreme presence may ever abide for me in my hermitage.

13.14.190 Thus addressed, the lord—Maheśvara, worshiped by all the worlds, of great splendor, the master and teacher of all things moving and unmoving—said to me:

13.14.191 Be free from age and free from death, released from sorrow, virtuous, endowed with every excellence, all-knowing, and fair to look upon.

13.14.192 Let your youth be unfading and your splendor like fire, and let the ocean of milk be present wherever you wish, O sage.

13.14.193 There the presence of the ocean of milk shall be yours at will, and you shall eat milk-rice mingled with the nectar of immortality.

13.14.194 Together with your kinsmen you shall live through the aeon and then come to me; and I will make my presence abide forever in your hermitage, O best of the twice-born.

13.14.195 Abide as you wish, my child; you need not grieve. Whenever you remember me, O brahmin, I will ever grant you my sight.

13.14.196 Having spoken thus, that lord Īśāna, radiant as ten million suns, granted me the boon and vanished on the spot.

13.14.197 Thus, O Kṛṣṇa, did I behold the god of gods through deep contemplation, and all that was promised by that wise one came to pass for me.

13.14.198 And behold here before your very eyes, O Kṛṣṇa, the perfected ones gathered—seers, vidyādharas, yakṣas, gandharvas, and apsarases.

13.14.199 Behold these enchanting trees, ever laden with flowers and fruit, bearing the blossoms of every season, with glossy leaves and fair branches—all this, O mighty-armed one, is filled with a celestial presence.

13.15.1 Upamanyu said: These and thousands of others Hara has favored with his thought; why then, O Mādhava, should the lord not show his grace to you?

13.15.2 For communion with the gods is praiseworthy through one like you—devoted to brahmins, free of cruelty, and full of faith; and I will impart to you the prayer by which you shall behold Śaṃkara.

13.15.3 Kṛṣṇa said: I answered him, O brahmin, great sage: By your grace I shall behold the lord of the gods, the crusher of the hosts of Diti's sons.

13.15.4 And on the eighth day I was duly consecrated by the brahmin—bearing a staff, with shaven head, holding kuśa grass, clad in rags, anointed with ghee, and girded with a sash.

13.15.5 For one month I lived on fruit, for the second on water alone, and through the third, the fourth, and the fifth I subsisted on air.

13.15.6 Standing on one foot, with arms upraised and never slackening, I beheld in the sky, O Bhārata, a radiance like that of a thousand suns.

13.15.7 And in the midst of that radiance, O son of Pāṇḍu, I saw a cloud-mass like a heap of dark mountains, its form wreathed with rainbows, its lattice-windows of lightning-garlands, adorned with cranes.

13.15.8 And upon it stood the lord of great brilliance, together with the goddess, his consort, blazing with austerity, splendor, and radiant beauty.

13.15.9 There Maheśvara, the lord, shone forth with the goddess, even as the sun joined with the moon shines when resting amid the clouds.

13.15.10 With my hair bristling, O son of Kuntī, and my eyes wide with wonder, I beheld Hara, the refuge of the hosts of gods, the remover of distress.

13.15.11 Crowned, mace-bearing, trident in hand, clothed in a tiger's skin, with matted locks and staff in hand, wielder of the Pināka bow and the thunderbolt, with sharp tusks, fair-armleted, wearing a serpent for his sacred thread—

13.15.12 bearing upon his breast a celestial garland of many hues, hanging down to his ankles—him I beheld like the moon ringed with a twilit halo at the passing of the rains.

13.15.13 He was surrounded on every side by the troops of the pramathas, hard to gaze upon, like the sun ringed with a halo in autumn.

13.15.14 And the eleven Rudras, self-controlled, praised him, the bull-riding one, of auspicious deeds, with their rites.

13.15.15 The Ādityas, the Vasus, the Sādhyas, the Viśvedevas, and the two Aśvins praised the god, the god of all, with hymns of every kind.

13.15.16 And the lord of a hundred sacrifices and Viṣṇu, both sons of Aditi, and Brahmā chanted the Rathantara sāman in the presence of Bhava.

13.15.17 Many lords of yoga praised him, the giver of yoga, the father and teacher, as did the brahmin seers with their sons and the divine seers.

13.15.18 The earth and the firmament, the constellations and the planets, the months and fortnights, the seasons, the nights, the years, and the moments—

13.15.19 the hours and the instants, and likewise the revolutions of the ages—all these, O king, made obeisance, as did the celestial sciences and all the quarters of space.

13.15.20 Sanatkumāra, the Vedas, and the ancient legends as well; Marīci, Aṅgiras, Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu—

13.15.21 the Manus, Soma, Atharvan with Bṛhaspati, Bhṛgu, Dakṣa, Kaśyapa, Vasiṣṭha, and Kāśya as well—

13.15.22 the metres, the consecration, the sacrifices and their priestly fees, the fire and the oblation, and all the materials that go to a sacrifice, embodied in form, O Yudhiṣṭhira—

13.15.23 all the lords of creatures, the rivers, the serpents and the mountains, all the mothers of the gods, and the wives of the gods together with their maidens—

13.15.24 sages by the thousands, by the tens of thousands and the millions, made obeisance to the serene lord, as did the mountains, the oceans, and the quarters of space.

13.15.25 And the gandharvas and apsarases, skilled in song and instrument, singing in celestial measures, praised the wondrous Bhava, as did the vidyādharas, the dānavas, the guhyakas, and the rākṣasas.

13.15.26 And all beings, unmoving and moving, made obeisance, O great king, to the all-pervading lord with word, mind, and deed; and Śarva, the lord of the gods, stood before me.

13.15.27 And when the whole world, with the Lords of Creatures and Śakra, saw my Īśāna standing before me, O Bhārata, it gazed up at me.

13.15.28 And I had then no power to look upon Mahādeva; thereupon the god said to me: Behold, Kṛṣṇa, and speak.

13.15.29 When I had bowed my head to the god, the goddess Umā was well pleased; then I praised Sthāṇu, who is praised by the gods led by Brahmā:

13.15.30 Homage to you, O eternal one, source of all; the seers call you the sovereign of Brahmā; and the holy ones declare that austerity, and goodness, passion, and darkness, and truth itself are none but you.

13.15.31 You indeed are Brahmā and Rudra, Varuṇa, Agni, Manu, and Bhava; you are Dhātṛ, Tvaṣṭṛ, and Vidhātṛ; you are the lord whose faces are turned in every direction.

13.15.32 From you are born all beings, unmoving and moving; you are the origin of all beings, and you alone are their dissolution.

13.15.33 The objects of the senses and the whole of the mind, the seven winds and the fire, and the deities that dwell in heaven among men—beyond all these the seers declare you to be.

13.15.34 The Vedas and the sacrifices, the soma and the priestly fee, the fire and the oblation, and whatever else pertains to the sacrifice—all that, O lord, are you, beyond doubt.

13.15.35 Sacrifice offered, gifts bestowed, scripture studied, and the vows and observances; modesty, renown, prosperity, splendor, contentment, and attainment—all are offered up to you.

13.15.36 Desire, anger, fear, greed, pride, arrogance, and envy, and afflictions of mind and body—these too, O lord, are your offspring.

13.15.37 Creation, transformation, dissolution, Primal Nature, the imperishable source; the supreme womb of the mind and inherent nature, eternal; the unmanifest, O purifier, O all-pervading one of a thousand rays and golden hue.

13.15.38 You are the origin of all the qualities, the refuge of life; the Great Self, intelligence, Brahmā, the Universe, Śambhu, the self-existent one.

13.15.39 Intellect, wisdom, perception, awareness, fame, steadfastness, and memory—by these synonymous words you, the Great Self, are conceived.

13.15.40 Having known you, the learned brahmin falls into no delusion; you are the heart of all beings, the Knower of the Field, praised by the seers.

13.15.41 With hands and feet on every side, with eyes, heads, and faces on every side, with ears on every side, you abide in the world, enveloping all.

13.15.42 You are the fruit of every act, from the blink of an eye onward, O fierce-rayed one; you are the radiant-flamed Spirit seated in the heart of all; you are minuteness, lightness, and attainment, the lord, the imperishable light.

13.15.43 In you abide intellect, thought, and the worlds; and those who take refuge and rely upon you are the meditators, the ever-yoked, the true to their word, the conquerors of the senses.

13.15.44 He who knows you as the changeless one, dwelling in the cave of the heart—the lord, the ancient Spirit, the all-formed, the golden one, the supreme goal of the wise—he, the wise one, transcends the intellect and abides.

13.15.45 Having known the seven subtle principles and you who are six-membered in your embodied form, the wise one, established in the discipline of the ordering of primal matter, enters into you alone.

13.15.46 When I had spoken thus, O Pārtha, to Bhava the destroyer of affliction, the whole world, moving and unmoving, raised up a lion's roar.

13.15.47 The hosts of brāhmaṇas, the gods and the asuras, the nāgas, the piśācas, the ancestral fathers and the birds, the throngs of rākṣasas and all the bands of spirits, and the great seers as well, then bowed down in reverence.

13.15.48 Upon my head heaps of fragrant celestial flowers came showering down, and a most pleasant breeze blew.

13.15.49 The Lord, the benefactor of the world, having looked upon the goddess Umā and upon me, and having gazed at Śatakratu, Śaṃkara himself spoke to me.

13.15.50 We know, O Kṛṣṇa, your supreme devotion to us, O slayer of foes; let your own welfare be secured, for our love for you is supreme.

13.15.51 Choose eight boons, O Kṛṣṇa; I shall grant them to you, O most excellent one. Speak, O tiger among the Yādavas, of whatever boons, however hard to obtain, you desire.

13.16.1 Kṛṣṇa said: Falling down with my head upon that mass of splendor, self-controlled, and then attaining the highest joy, I addressed the Lord.

13.16.2 Firmness in dharma, the slaying of foes in battle, foremost renown and supreme strength, devotion to yoga, nearness to you, and a hundred times a hundred sons — these I choose.

13.16.3 "So be it" — these words Śaṃkara spoke, having been addressed by me.

13.16.4 Then the mother of the world, Umā the all-purifying Earth, intent and composed — Śarvāṇī, the treasury of austerities — spoke to me.

13.16.5 "A son named Sāmba has been granted to you by the Lord, O sinless one; from me too receive eight cherished boons, which I give to you." And bowing my head, I addressed her, O delight of Pāṇḍu's line.

13.16.6 Freedom from anger toward the twice-born, my father's favor, a hundred sons and the highest enjoyment, affection within my kindred and my mother's grace, the attainment of peace, and skillfulness too — these I chose.

13.16.7 The goddess said: "So shall it be, O you of immortal majesty; never at any time do I speak falsely. Sixteen thousand wives shall be yours, and beloved standing among them, and likewise undecaying vigor."

13.16.8 "Foremost affection from your kinsmen I grant you, and the loveliness of your form; and seven hundred guests shall ever feast in your house."

13.16.9 Vāsudeva said: Having thus granted me boons, the god and the goddess, O Bhārata, vanished in that instant together with their attendant hosts, O elder brother of Bhīma.

13.16.10 All this exceedingly wondrous matter I recounted in full to the brāhmaṇa Upamanyu of surpassing splendor, O best of the Kurus.

13.16.11 And having made obeisance to the god of gods, he of firm vows declared: "There is none equal to Śarva in giving, none equal to Śarva in battle, no god equal to Śarva, no refuge equal to Śarva."

13.16.12 There was a seer in the Kṛta age, my son, renowned by the name of Taṇḍi; for ten thousand years the god was worshipped by him, devoted, with deep meditation. Hear now the outcome that came to him.

13.16.13 He beheld Mahādeva and praised the Lord with hymns: "You are the purifier of the pure, the goal of those who seek a goal, O most excellent one; the fiercely blazing splendor of splendors, the supreme austerity of austerities."

13.16.14 "O you to whom Viśvāvasu, Hiraṇyākṣa, and Puruhūta bow down, bestower of abundant blessings, O all-pervading Lord, O ancient truth — homage be to you!"

13.16.15 "For the ascetics striving in their endeavor, who dread birth and death, O all-pervading Lord, you are the giver of nirvāṇa, O thousand-rayed one; homage be to you, O abode of bliss!"

13.16.16 "Brahmā, Śatakratu, Viṣṇu, the Viśvedevas, and the great seers do not know you in your true essence; how then shall we come to know you?"

13.16.17 "From you time proceeds, and in you time dissolves; you alone are that which is called Time, that which is called Puruṣa, and that which is called Brahman."

13.16.18 "Three forms of yours are recounted by the divine seers learned in ancient lore: that pertaining to the cosmic Person, to the self, and to beings and deities; and pertaining to the worlds, to higher knowledge, and to sacrifice — you alone are all these."

13.16.19 "Having known you, who dwell within the body of the self, hard to know even by the gods, the wise, set free, attain the supreme, disease-free state."

13.16.20 "For you, O all-pervading Lord, who desire it not, there is no birth or death in any manifold way; you are the gateway to heaven and to liberation — you both withhold and bestow."

13.16.21 "You alone are liberation and heaven; you indeed are desire and wrath; you alone are sattva, rajas, and tamas, and the below and the above."

13.16.22 "Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Rudra, Skanda and Indra, Savitṛ, Yama, Varuṇa and the Moon, Manu, Dhātṛ and Vidhātṛ — you are the lord of wealth, Kubera."

13.16.23 "Earth, wind, light, and the waters, speech, intellect — you are thought and mind, action, and both truth and untruth; you alone are being and non-being."

13.16.24 "The senses and the objects of the senses, and that abiding reality beyond primal nature — you alone are the existence transcending both the manifest and the unmanifest universe, the thinkable and the unthinkable."

13.16.25 "That which is the supreme Brahman, that which is the supreme abode, and the goal of the followers of Sāṃkhya and Yoga — that are you, O Lord; herein there is no doubt."

13.16.26 "Surely this day we have achieved our purpose; surely we have attained the goal of the good — that goal which here is reached by those whose minds are made pure through knowledge."

13.16.27 "Alas, for a very long time we have been deluded, devoid of understanding, in that we knew not the supreme, eternal God whom the wise know."

13.16.28 "This very god, the bestower of grace upon his devotees, has now been reached by me in person through many births — the god whom, once known, one tastes immortality."

13.16.29 "That which is the eternal secret of gods, asuras, and men — the Brahman hidden in the cave of the heart, hard to be known even by the gods —"

13.16.30 "This very one is the blessed God, the maker of all, facing in every direction, the Self of all, the all-seeing, the all-pervading, the knower of all."

13.16.31 "Maker of breath, sustainer of breath, the breathing one, giver of breath, the goal of all that breathe; maker of bodies, sustainer of bodies, the embodied one, enjoyer of bodies, the goal of all the embodied."

13.16.32 "For those steadfast in the path of the inner self, for meditators and knowers of the Self, for those who desire no second death — the goal that is theirs, that is this Lord."

13.16.33 "And this one bestows upon all beings their auspicious or inauspicious destinies; and this one ordains the birth and death of all creatures."

13.16.34 "And this Lord is the giver of perfection to the seers who desire perfection; and this Lord is the giver of liberation to the twice-born who desire liberation."

13.16.35 "Having brought forth all the worlds beginning with the earth, along with the dwellers in heaven, the god sustains them with his eight bodily forms, and grants their boons."

13.16.36 "From him everything proceeds; in him everything is established; and in him it goes to dissolution — he is the one eternal."

13.16.37 "This is the supreme world of truth for the good who desire truth; he is the final release of the liberated and the absolute solitude of those who proclaim the Self."

13.16.38 "This Lord is kept hidden in the cave of the heart by the perfected beings beginning with Brahmā, so that he might not be manifest to gods, asuras, and men."

13.16.39 "You, that Bhava, the gods, asuras, and men do not truly know, deluded indeed and led astray by this very one who dwells within the heart."

13.16.40 "But to those who take refuge in him through the discipline of devotion, O Bhārata, this dweller in the heart reveals the Self to them by the Self."

13.16.41 "Whom having known, there is no birth nor death again; whom having understood as the supreme object of knowledge, nothing further remains to be known."

13.16.42 "Whom having gained as the supreme gain, one deems nothing greater thereafter; one comes to that highest attainment, subtle as the breath of life, which brings the undecaying."

13.16.43 "Whom the followers of Sāṃkhya, knowers of the truth of the guṇas, versed in the Sāṃkhya teaching, delighting in subtle knowledge, having first known, are freed from their bonds."

13.16.44 "Whom the knowers of the Veda know as the object of knowledge, established in the Vedānta, and whom those ever intent on breath-control enter into and ceaselessly recite."

13.16.45 "He, as the Sun, is called the gateway of those who travel the path of the gods; and he, as the Moon, is called the gateway of those who travel the path of the fathers."

13.16.46 "He is the varied course of time in years, ages, and the rest, and presence and absence in the present moment, and the southern and northern courses of the sun."

13.16.47 "Thus did Prajāpati of old, having worshipped him with many hymns, choose for his son the one named the Blue-and-Red."

13.16.48 "Whom the reciters of many ṛc-verses extol with the Ṛg verses in the ritual act, and whom, threefold to be known, the adhvaryu priests offer oblation to with the Yajus formulas in the sacrifice."

13.16.49 "And whom the singers of the Sāman, pure of mind, hymn with the Sāman chants — he is remembered as the supreme womb of sacrifice and its supreme lord."

13.16.50 "Night and day are his ears and eyes, the fortnights and months his head and arms; the seasons are his potency, austerity his firmness, the year his hidden secret, with thighs and feet of vast measure."

13.16.51 "Death, Yama, and the fire-god, Time impetuous in destruction — he is the supreme source of time, and he is this eternal Time itself."

13.16.52 "The moon and the sun with the constellations, with the planets and the wind, the Pole Star and the seven seers, and the seven worlds as well —"

13.16.53 "Primal matter, the great principle, the unmanifest, ending in the particularized, together with its modifications, all from Brahmā down to a clump of grass, the elements and whatever is being and non-being —"

13.16.54 "The eight constituent natures, and that which is beyond the natures — the whole of this revolves as a portion of this god."

13.16.55 "This is the supreme bliss, which is also the eternal; this is the goal of the dispassionate, this the highest state of the good."

13.16.56 "This is the abode free from agitation, this the eternal Brahman; for those learned in the scriptures, the Vedas, and the Vedāṅgas, this is the supreme object of meditation and the highest abode."

13.16.57 "This is that supreme limit, this that supreme part; this is that supreme perfection, this that supreme goal."

13.16.58 "This is that supreme peace, this the highest beatitude, attaining which the creators thought, 'We have accomplished all that is to be done.'"

13.16.59 "This is contentment, this is perfection, this is revelation, this is tradition; for the wise who are steadfast in the path of the inner self, this is the undecaying attainment."

13.16.60 "For those who sacrifice, desiring sacrifice, with rites of abundant priestly fees, the divine goal won together with the gods — that goal are you, O eternal one."

13.16.61 "For those who practice austerity through recitation, oblation, vows, penances, restraints, and the mortifying of the body, O god — the goal that lies in the Vairāja world, that goal are you."

13.16.62 "For those who have renounced action and the dispassionate, here and there — the goal that lies in the abode of Brahmā, that goal are you, O eternal one."

13.16.63 "For those who desire no second death, who abide in the highest dispassion, and for the modifications dissolved back into their source — that goal are you, O eternal one."

13.16.64 "For those steadfast in knowledge and discernment, the goal that is indescribable, stainless, the absolute solitude, the supreme — that goal, O god, are you."

13.16.65 "These five goals, declared in the Vedas, the śāstras, and the Purāṇas, are recounted; they are won only by your grace, and otherwise are not won, O all-pervading Lord."

13.16.66 Thus Taṇḍi, through the power of his austerity, praised the imperishable Lord, and sang the supreme Brahman which the maker of the world had sung of old.

13.16.67 "Brahmā, Śatakratu, Viṣṇu, the Viśvedevas, and the great seers know you not" — and at this Śiva, well pleased, then spoke to him.

13.16.68 "He shall be undecaying and imperishable, free of sorrow, renowned, endowed with splendor, and possessed of divine knowledge."

13.16.69 "Approachable by the seers and a composer of aphorisms, your son shall be, by my grace, O best of the twice-born; of this there is no doubt."

13.16.70 "What desire, then, shall I grant you this day? Speak, my child, of what you wish." With folded hands he said this: "Let my devotion to you be firm."

13.16.71 Having thus granted the boon, the god, revered by the divine seers and praised by the wise, vanished then and there.

13.16.72 When the Lord with his attendants had vanished, O lord of the Yādavas, the seer, having returned to his hermitage, recounted all this to me here.

13.16.73 And those names, renowned from the first, which Taṇḍi declared to me, O best of men, hear them now for your perfection.

13.16.74 In the Vedas the Grandsire proclaimed ten thousand names of Śarva, and in the scriptures, likewise, a thousand names.

13.16.75 These secret names of the Blessed One, O Acyuta, O lord of the gods, the sage Taṇḍi declared of old, by the grace of the deity, to that great-souled one.

13.17.1 Vāsudeva said: Then, my dear Yudhiṣṭhira, that brahmin-sage, having purified himself, with palms joined in reverence, recited to me the litany of names from the beginning.

13.17.2 Upamanyu said: With names declared by Brahmā, declared by the seers, born of the Vedas and their auxiliary sciences, renowned throughout all the worlds, I shall praise Sthāṇu.

13.17.3 With names ordained by the great ones, true, perfected, accomplishing every aim, fashioned in devotion by the sage Taṇḍi, whose self was made one with the god.

13.17.4 With names handed down as spoken, famed throughout the world, given by sages who see the truth — supreme, primordial, leading to heaven, the welfare of all beings, auspicious, heard everywhere in the universe, brought down from the world of Brahmā.

13.17.5 That supreme mystery, eternal, declared by Brahmā, I shall now speak, O best of the Yadu line; listen to me with full attention.

13.17.6 As one devoted, you hold the god Bhava to be the Supreme, the highest Lord; therefore I shall cause you to hear that eternal Absolute.

13.17.7 No one is able to tell in full detail the glories of Śarva — not even one wholly absorbed in yoga, not even in a hundred years.

13.17.8 He whose beginning, middle, and end not even the gods can reach — who, O Mādhava, could tell his attributes in their entirety?

13.17.9 Yet of the mighty god, in words and syllables compressed in meaning, I shall recount his deeds as best I can, and by his grace alone.

13.17.10 Without first obtaining his sanction, the Lord cannot here be praised; only when granted leave by him may one ever praise Bhava.

13.17.11 Of him without beginning or end, the source of all, the great-souled one whose origin is unmanifest, I shall set forth some portion of his names.

13.17.12 Of the giver of boons, the most excellent, the cosmic-formed, the wise one — hear the enumeration of names that was spoken by the Lotus-born.

13.17.13 The ten thousand names that the great Grandsire declared — churning these in his mind, he drew them forth as clarified butter is drawn from curds.

13.17.14 As gold is the essence of the mountain, as honey is the essence of the flower, as cream is the essence of clarified butter, so this essence was drawn forth.

13.17.15 This litany, which removes all sin and is joined with the four Vedas, is to be mastered with effort and held fast by one of disciplined soul — bringing peace, fostering prosperity, slaying demons, purifying, and great.

13.17.16 This is to be given to one who is devoted, faithful, and a believer — never to one without faith, to an unbeliever, or to one whose self is unconquered.

13.17.17 And whoever reviles the god, the Self of all beings, the wielder of the Pināka bow — he, O Kṛṣṇa, goes to hell together with his forebears and his followers.

13.17.18 This is meditation, this is yoga, this is the unsurpassed object of contemplation; this is the prayer to be murmured, this is knowledge, this the supreme mystery; knowing this, even at the hour of death one attains the highest goal.

13.17.19 Pure, auspicious, meritorious, blessed, and supreme — this I shall now recite, O mighty-armed one: the highest of all hymns of praise.

13.17.20 Brahmā, the Grandsire of all the worlds, having composed this of old, appointed it to sovereignty over all the celestial hymns.

13.17.21 From that time onward this hymn of the great-souled Lord has been renowned in the world as the King of Hymns, honored by the immortals; and this King of Hymns was brought down from the world of Brahmā.

13.17.22 Because Taṇḍi proclaimed it of old, it came to be called the work of Taṇḍi; and from heaven to this earthly world it was indeed brought down by Taṇḍi.

13.17.23 Auspicious among all auspicious things, destroying every sin — this I shall recite, O mighty-armed one: the highest of all hymns.

13.17.24 He who is the Absolute even of the absolutes, the supreme even of the supreme, the radiance even of radiances, the austerity even of austerities;

13.17.25 The peace even of those at peace, the brilliance even of the brilliant, the self-controlled even among the self-controlled, the wisdom even of the wise;

13.17.26 The god even of the gods, the sage even of the sages, the sacrifice even of sacrifices, the auspicious even of auspicious things;

13.17.27 The Rudra even of the Rudras, the lord even of the mighty, the yogin even of yogins, and the cause of all causes;

13.17.28 From whom the worlds arise and into whom they cease to be — of Hara, who has become the Self of all beings, of measureless splendor.

13.17.29 Now hear from me the thousand-and-eight names of Śarva, on hearing which, O best of men, you shall obtain all your desires.

13.17.30 The Steadfast, the Pillar, the Lord, the Radiant, the Most Excellent, the Boon-giver, the Best; the Self of all, the All-renowned, the All, the Maker of all, Bhava the Existent.

13.17.31 The Matted-haired, the Hide-clad, the Crested; the All-bodied, the Source of all becoming; Hari, the Doe-eyed, the Lord who withdraws all beings.

13.17.32 Engagement and Disengagement; the Constant, the Eternal, the Fixed; the Haunter of cremation grounds, the Blessed One, the Sky-rover, the Earth-rover, the Tormentor.

13.17.33 The One to be saluted, of mighty deeds, the Ascetic, the Nourisher of beings; Hidden in the guise of a madman, the Lord of all creatures in every world.

13.17.34 Of great form, of mighty frame, of every form, of great renown; the Great-souled, the All-pervading, the Misshapen, the Dwarf, the Man.

13.17.35 The Guardian of the world, the Hidden-souled, Serene Grace, He of horse and ass; the Pure, the Mighty, Discipline itself, and the Refuge of discipline.

13.17.36 The Doer of all deeds, the Self-existent, the Beginning, the First Maker, the Treasure-store; the Thousand-eyed, the Strange-eyed, Soma, the Marshaller of the stars.

13.17.37 The Path of moon and sun, the Comet, the Seizing Planet, the Lord of planets, the Excellent; the Mountain, the Mountain-dweller, the Maker, He who loosed the arrow at the deer-form, the Sinless.

13.17.38 Of great austerity, of terrible austerity, the Undejected, the Helper of the wretched; the Maker of the year, the Sacred Formula, the Measure, the Supreme Austerity.

13.17.39 The Yogin, the One to be united with, the Great Seed, the Great-seeded, of great austerity; He of golden seed, the All-knowing, of goodly seed, the Bull-borne.

13.17.40 The Ten-armed, the Unblinking, the Blue-throated, the Husband of Umā; the Cosmic-formed, the Self-supreme, the Mighty Hero, the Strong, the Host.

13.17.41 The Maker of hosts, the Lord of hosts, the Sky-clad, and the Desirable; the Pure, the Supreme, the Sacred Formula, Hara who brings every state of being to pass.

13.17.42 Bearer of the water-pot, the Bowman, the Arrow-handed, He who holds a skull; armed with the thunderbolt, the śataghnī, the sword, and the spear — the Weaponed, the Great.

13.17.43 The Ladle-handed, the Fair-formed, Radiance, the Maker of radiance, the Treasure-store; the Turbaned, the Fair-faced, the Lofty, and likewise the Bowed.

13.17.44 The Tall, the Tawny-haired, the Goodly Ford, and the Dark One; the Jackal-formed, the All-purposed, the Shaven-headed, the Ringed, He of the water-pot.

13.17.45 The Unborn, the Deer-formed, the Bearer of fragrance, He of the matted braid; of upward-flowing seed, with phallus raised, lying on high, the very vault of heaven.

13.17.46 The Triple-braided, the Rag-clad, Rudra, the Army-commander, the All-pervading; the Day-rover and the Night-rover, of fierce wrath, of brilliant splendor.

13.17.47 Slayer of the elephant, slayer of demons, the World itself, the Upholder of the world, the Mine of virtues; of the form of lion and tiger, wrapped in a garment of fresh hide.

13.17.48 The Yogin of Time, the Great Roar, the Dwelling-place of all, the Crossroads; the Night-rover, the Wanderer among ghosts, the Wanderer among spirits, the Great Lord.

13.17.49 Of many forms, of many treasures, the Support of all, of boundless course; Lover of the dance, ever-dancing, the Dancer, the Sporter of all.

13.17.50 The Terrible, of great austerity, the Noose, the Eternal, the Mountain-rover, the Sky; the Thousand-handed, the Victorious, Resolve itself, the Blameless.

13.17.51 The Unforbearing, the Forbearing-souled, the Destroyer of the sacrifice, the Slayer of desire; the Despoiler of Dakṣa's sacrifice, the All-enduring, and the Mean between extremes.

13.17.52 Robber of radiance, slayer of might, the Joyful, the Aim, the Conquered, the Best; of deep voice, the Profound, He whose strength and mount are profound.

13.17.53 Of the banyan's form, the Banyan, abiding in the tree's hollow, the All-pervading; of sharp heat, the Tawny-horsed, the Companion, the Knower of the time of action.

13.17.54 Propitiated by Viṣṇu, the Sacrifice, the Ocean, the Mare's-mouth fire; the Ally of the fire that eats oblations, the Tranquil-souled, the Oblation-eater himself.

13.17.55 Of fierce radiance, of great radiance, the Victory, the Knower of the hour of triumph; the Pathway of the lights, Attainment, Union, and also Strife.

13.17.56 The Crested, the Staff-bearer, the Matted-haired, the Flaming; Born of form, Crowning the head, the Strong; the Flute-player, the Drummer, the Cymbalist, Time itself, the Kālakaṭaṃkaṭa.

13.17.57 The Ordainer of the array of stars, the Increase of qualities, Dissolution, the Inaccessible; the Lord of creatures, He whose arms are the quarters, the Apportioning, the Face-turned-everywhere.

13.17.58 The Liberator, the Host of the gods, Sprung from golden armor; Born of the loins, the Wanderer in strength, the Great Wanderer, and likewise the Praised.

13.17.59 Sounding all the trumpets, the Possessor of every instrument; of serpent form, dwelling in caverns, the Gold-garlanded, the Knower of the waves.

13.17.60 The Thrice-ten gods, the Holder of the three times, the Looser of every bond of action; yet the Binding of the chiefs of the asuras, the Destroyer of foes in battle.

13.17.61 The Grace of Sāṃkhya, the Ill-clad, the Served by all the good; the Onrushing, the Apportioning, the Incomparable, the Knower of the sacrificial share.

13.17.62 The Dwelling of all, the Wanderer everywhere, the Ill-clad, the Wealth-giver, the Immortal; the Golden, the Maker of gold, the Sacrifice, the Upholder of all, the Supreme Sustainer.

13.17.63 The Red-eyed, the Great-eyed, the Eye of victory, the Skilled; the Gathering-up, the Restraint, the Maker, Clothed in the slough of serpents.

13.17.64 The Foremost and the Not-foremost, the Body and the Body's increase, the Granter of every desire; Gracious at all times, of goodly strength, bearing the form of strength.

13.17.65 Of the form of the treasure-store that is space, the Down-striker, the Serpent, the Sky-goer; of fierce form, the Ray, the Sun, He whose beams are wealth, of brilliant splendor.

13.17.66 Swift as wealth, of mighty speed, swift as thought, the Night-rover; Dwelling in all, dwelling with Fortune, Hara the giver of instruction.

13.17.67 The Sage, the Lord of his own self in the world, the One to be feasted, the Thousandfold giver; the Bird and the Bird-formed, the Surpassingly radiant, the Lord of peoples.

13.17.68 Frenzy, of the form of passion, the Maker of wealth from wealth, the Hairy one; Vāmadeva and the Lovely, He who faces east and south, the Dwarf.

13.17.69 The Withdrawer of perfected yoga, the Perfected, the Accomplisher of every aim; the Mendicant and the Mendicant-formed, the Horned, the Gentle, the Imperishable.

13.17.70 The Great-armied, and Viśākha, He of the sixtyfold portion, the Lord of cattle; the Thunderbolt-handed, the Prop, and the Stayer of armies.

13.17.71 The Season, the Maker of seasons, Time, the Sweet, the Maker of sweetness, the Unmoving; Sprung from the lord of trees, He of the array of strength, ever honored in the hermitages.

13.17.72 The Chaste student, the World-rover, the Wanderer everywhere, the Knower of good conduct; the Ruler, the Lord, Time, the Night-wanderer, the Bearer of the Pināka bow.

13.17.73 Nandīśvara and Nandin, the Gladdening, the Increaser of joy; the Slayer of Bhaga's eye, Time, the best of those who know the Absolute.

13.17.74 The Four-faced, of mighty emblem, and likewise of fair emblem; the Overseer of the emblem, the Overseer of the gods, the Overseer of the worlds, the Bearer of the yoke of the ages.

13.17.75 The Overseer of the seed, the Maker of the seed, He who attends upon the inmost Self, the Strong; the Maker of legend, the Aeon, Gautama, and the Lord of waters.

13.17.76 Pride and the Prideless, the Conqueror of pride, the Subdued, the Subduer, the Seer; the Maker of the world, the Lord of beasts, the Great Maker, the Mighty Herb.

13.17.77 The Imperishable, the Supreme Absolute, the Mighty, and Śakra himself; Right conduct and Misconduct, the Pure-souled, the Pure, the Honored, the Course of the mind.

13.17.78 Abundant in grace, the Dreamer, the Mirror, and the Vanquisher of foes; the Maker of the Vedas, the Maker of the aphorisms, the Learned, the Crusher in battle.

13.17.79 He who dwells in the great cloud, the awesome one, the subduer; flame of fire, mighty blaze, the deeply smoke-hued, the oblation offered and the offering itself.

13.17.80 The virile one, Śaṃkara the bestower of peace, the eternal, the radiant, he whose banner is smoke; the dark-blue one, eager in his limbs, the resplendent, the unrestrained.

13.17.81 Giver of blessing and the very state of blessing; the partaker, the apportioner, the swift; the embrace, the great-limbed, of mighty womb, supreme, ever young.

13.17.82 Of dark hue and of golden hue, he who is the senses of all embodied beings; great of foot, great of hand, of mighty frame, of vast renown.

13.17.83 Great of head, of great measure, great of eye, whose dwelling is the quarters of space; great of tooth, great of ear, mightily endowed, great of jaw.

13.17.84 Great of nose, great-throated as a conch, great of neck, haunter of the cremation-ground; broad of chest, mighty-breasted, the inmost Self, whose abode is among the deer.

13.17.85 The pendant one, with hanging lip, master of great illusion, the ocean of waters; great of tooth, great of fang, great of tongue, great of mouth.

13.17.86 Great of nail, great of hair, of great locks, with mighty matted braids; without a rival, the gracious one, the ground of all conviction, accomplished upon the mountain.

13.17.87 He who shows tenderness and he who is without attachment, the unconquered, the great sage; in form like a tree, whose emblem is the tree, the fire, borne upon the wind.

13.17.88 The ringed one, whose seat is Meru, breaker of the pride of gods and Dānavas; he whose head is the Atharva, whose face is the Sāman, whose unbounded gaze is the thousand verses of the Ṛk.

13.17.89 He whose feet and arms are the Yajus, the hidden one, the manifest, and likewise the moving; of unfailing purpose, the gracious, the approachable, fair to behold.

13.17.90 Lover of offerings, Śarva, the golden, the gold-bright, the steadfast; the navel, maker of joy, he who is to be meditated upon, lord enthroned upon the lotus, the unmoving.

13.17.91 The twelvefold, the terrifier, the primal; the sacrifice and he who is composed within the sacrifice; the night, the age of strife, and Time itself, the sea-monster, worshipped through all time.

13.17.92 He who is with his hosts and maker of hosts, the charioteer who fosters all beings; couched upon ashes, guardian of ashes, become as ash, the tree, the troop.

13.17.93 He without host, and the dissolution, the great-souled, worshipped by all; the stake, the triple-staked, the perfected, the pure, attended by the spirits.

13.17.94 Abiding in the hermitage, seated as a dove, maker of the universe, the choicest lord; the Branch and Viśākha, copper-lipped, a net of lotuses, the firmly resolved.

13.17.95 The tawny and the non-tawny, the hero, and life itself, the higher and the lower; the Gandharva, indeed Aditi, Tārkṣya, the easily known, the skilled charioteer.

13.17.96 He whose weapon is the battle-axe, the god, doer of all purpose, the good kinsman; bearer of the gourd-lute, of mighty wrath, of upward-drawn seed, who couches upon the waters.

13.17.97 The fierce, the maker of lineage, the lineage, the sound of the flute, the blameless; whose form is in every limb, the wielder of illusion, the true friend, the wind and the fire.

13.17.98 The binder and maker of bonds, and the loosener of the close-drawn fetter; he is the foe of the sacrifice, he the foe of desire, great of fang, mighty in arms.

13.17.99 The arm indeed, the blameless, Śarva, Śaṃkara, the bestower of peace who is without possession; lord of the immortals, the Great God, the All-god, slayer of the foes of the gods.

13.17.100 Ahirbudhnya and Nirṛti, Cekitāna, and likewise Hari; Ajaikapād and the bearer of the skull, the triple-staked, the unconquered, the auspicious one, Śiva.

13.17.101 Dhanvantari, he whose banner is smoke, Skanda, and likewise Vaiśravaṇa; Dhātṛ and Śakra and Viṣṇu, Mitra, Tvaṣṭṛ, Dhruva, the upholder.

13.17.102 The source of power, the all-pervading, the wind, Aryaman, Savitṛ, the sun; the lofty, and Vidhātṛ, Māndhātṛ, the fosterer of beings.

13.17.103 The sacred ford of delight and the eloquent, bearer of every desire and quality; lotus-wombed, of mighty womb, moon-faced, the ravisher of the mind.

13.17.104 The mighty and the wholly tranquil, the ancient, skilled in what is meritorious; doer of deeds, whose form is Time, become the Kurus, the Great Lord, Maheśvara.

13.17.105 The refuge of all, who couches upon darbha grass, lord of all that breathes; foremost among god of gods, the unattached, the existent and the non-existent, knower of every jewel.

13.17.106 Dweller on the peak of Kailāsa, who has his refuge on the Himavat mountain; sweeper-away of banks and maker of banks, of manifold lore, giver of much.

13.17.107 The merchant, the increaser, the tree, the mongoose, the sandal, the leaf-shelter; firm of neck, of mighty collarbone, the unwavering, and the great healing herb.

13.17.108 Accomplisher of true ends and the one whose end is accomplished, supreme in metre and grammar; the lion's roar, lion-fanged, lion-gaited, lion-borne.

13.17.109 His own self the source of power, the Time of the world, the rhythm, the good of the worlds, the tree; the dappled one, whose body is the nine wheels, garlanded with banners, the well-disposed.

13.17.110 The dwelling of beings, lord of beings, blameless as day and night; the bearer of all beings, their resting-place, the all-pervading, the existent, Bhava.

13.17.111 The unerring, the restrained, indeed the horse, the sustenance, the upholder of life-breath; steadfast, wise, skilful, honoured, lord of the aeons.

13.17.112 The herder, lord of cattle, the village, clad in a hide of leather, Hara; golden-armed, and likewise the guardian of the cave for those who enter.

13.17.113 The well-established, of great joy, conqueror of desire, conqueror of the senses; Gāndhāra and Surāla, who delights in the works of austerity, the bow.

13.17.114 Of great song, of mighty dance, attended by the hosts of Apsarases; the great-bannered, the bow, the upholder, follower of many ridges, the ever-moving.

13.17.115 He to whom all is to be made known, the indwelling presence, bearer of every fragrance and joy; the gateway, the deliverer, the wind, who courses about from one place alone.

13.17.116 The union, the increaser, the aged, the mightily aged, lord of the hosts; the eternal, his own self his only helper, lord of gods and Asuras, the master.

13.17.117 The yoked and the strong-armed, the twofold and the well-jointed; Āṣāḍha and Suṣāḍha, the fixed one, slayer of Hari's foes, Hara.

13.17.118 The body for those caught in the turning round of birth, best of the Vasus, the great path; bearer of heads, the deliberating one, adorned with every auspicious mark.

13.17.119 The axle and he yoked to the chariot, the master of all yoga, of mighty strength; the sacred tradition and what lies beyond tradition, god of the holy fords, the great charioteer.

13.17.120 The lifeless and the life-giving, the sacred word, fair of eye, of many a rough place; rich in jewels, red of limb, who knows the drinking-down of the great ocean.

13.17.121 The root, the vast, indeed the immortal, the manifest and unmanifest, the treasury of austerity; the ascent and the descent, sweeper-away of mountains, of mighty penance.

13.17.122 Marshalled like an army, the great cosmic age, maker of age upon age, Hari; whose form is the aeon, of mighty form, the purifier, the unfathomable, the mountain.

13.17.123 He who quenches all by right reasoning, the foot, the learned, indeed like the unmoving mountain; many-garlanded, of great garland, of fair garland, of many eyes.

13.17.124 The expanse, the salt, the well, the blossom, whose rising bears fruit; the bull, whose limb is marked with the bull, the bearer of jewel and bilva, wearer of matted locks.

13.17.125 The moon, the emanation, fair of face, the god, armed with every weapon, the forbearing; the surrender, born of nectar, of sweet fragrance, the great bow.

13.17.126 Garlanded with fragrance, the Blessed One, the rousing of all works; the churner, the abundant, the arm, the whole, the all-seeing.

13.17.127 He who beats time swiftly, who beats time with his hand, of upward-knit frame, the bearing one; the parasol, the well-sheltering, the renowned, the refuge of all worlds, the great.

13.17.128 The shaven-headed, the formless, the misshapen, the staff-bearing and bald, the transforming one; tawny-eyed, the eminence, the wielder of the thunderbolt, of blazing tongue, thousand-footed.

13.17.129 Thousand-headed, lord of the gods, made of all gods, the teacher; thousand-armed, present in every limb, the refuge-giving, maker of all worlds.

13.17.130 The pure, the threefold sweetness, the sacred word, the youngest, the dark and tawny; fashioner of the staff of Brahman, the hundred-slayer, holder of a hundred nooses.

13.17.131 Lotus-wombed, of mighty womb, womb of the Brahman, sprung from the waters; the ray of light, maker of the sacred word, Brahmā, knower of the Brahman, the Brāhmaṇa, the goal.

13.17.132 Of endless forms, not of a single self, of keen splendour, the self-existent; whose self moves ever upward, lord of cattle, swift as the wind, fleet as thought.

13.17.133 Sandal-anointed, foremost in his garland of lotuses, who delivers across by fragrance, the Man; great-wreathed with karṇikāra blossoms, blue-crested, bearer of the Pināka bow.

13.17.134 Lord of Umā, beloved of Umā, who upholds the Jāhnavī, consort of Umā; the boon, the boar, the giver of boons, lord of boons, of mighty resounding voice.

13.17.135 Of great grace, the subduer, slayer of foes, white and tawny; glad of soul, of disciplined soul, of restrained soul, upholder of primal nature.

13.17.136 Born at every side, Tārkṣya, the common ground of dharma, the choicest; the self of all that moves and is still, of subtle soul, the good bull, lord of the cattle-bull.

13.17.137 Seer of the Sādhyas, the Vasu, the Āditya, Vivasvān, Savitṛ, the gracious; Vyāsa, the gathering-together of all, the expanse, the turning round, the guiding course.

13.17.138 The season, the year, the month, the fortnight, the completion of reckoning; the moment-fraction, the instant, the particle, the measure, the muhūrta, the day, the nights, the breaths of time.

13.17.139 The field of the universe, the seed of all creatures, the sign, the primal, indeed the blameless; the existent and the non-existent, the manifest and the unmanifest, father, mother, grandsire.

13.17.140 The gate of heaven, the gate of creatures, the gate of release, the triple heaven; extinction and gladdening too, the world of Brahman, the supreme goal.

13.17.141 Fashioner of gods and Asuras, the refuge of gods and Asuras; teacher of gods and Asuras, the god, saluted by gods and Asuras.

13.17.142 The chief minister of gods and Asuras, the resort of the hosts of gods and Asuras; overseer of the hosts of gods and Asuras, foremost leader of the hosts of gods and Asuras.

13.17.143 The god beyond the gods, the divine seer, giver of boons to gods and Asuras; lord of gods and Asuras, the god, the Great Lord of gods and Asuras.

13.17.144 Made of all gods, the inconceivable, whose self is the deities, self-arisen; the sprouting forth, the thrice-striding, the healer, the stainless, clad in stainless raiment.

13.17.145 The praiseworthy, the elephant, the tiger among gods, the lion among gods, the bull among men; foremost and choicest of the wise, the best, the highest of the high among all gods.

13.17.146 The well-applied, the resplendent, the thunderbolt, Īśāna the ruler, the lord, the imperishable; the teacher, the beloved, the innate, the creation, the pure, who bears all upon him.

13.17.147 The horned, lover of the peak, the tawny, king of kings, the unailing; the delightful, the host of gods, the ceasing, the means of all attainment.

13.17.148 Eyed upon the brow, his body the universe, the fawn-hued, possessed of the lustre of the Brahman; and lord too of all things unmoving, increaser of restraint and the senses.

13.17.149 He whose aim is accomplished, the welfare of all beings, the inconceivable, true to his vow, the pure; lord of vows, the supreme Brahman, the highest goal of the liberated.

13.17.150 The wholly released, of unfettered splendour, the glorious, the increaser of glory, the world itself: thus, as each was foremost, has the Blessed One been hymned by me in devotion.

13.17.151 Him whom the gods, with Brahmā at their head, do not know, whom the great seers do not know, that one worthy to be praised, worshipped, and revered, the Lord of the world — who shall hymn him?

13.17.152 Setting devotion alone before me, having first obtained his leave, I have hymned the lord of sacrifice, the Vasu, the best of the wise.

13.17.153 He who praises Śiva the god with these names that increase well-being, ever steadfast and grown pure, attains the Self by the self.

13.17.154 For this is the supreme Brahman, sung by the Self-existent himself; and with it the seers and the gods praise that which is beyond.

13.17.155 The Great God, when praised, is gladdened by the names of his own self; the Blessed One, compassionate to his devotees, establishes them within himself.

13.17.156 And likewise among men, those who are foremost among men, the faithful and the believing, through many births and many hymns of praise,

13.17.157 waking and sleeping, walking or halted upon the road, they praise him and are themselves extolled, and they are content and rejoice, through thousands of millions of births in the manifold wombs of transmigration.

13.17.158 In the creature whose sin is wholly cleansed there is born devotion to Bhava; and once arisen, devotion to Bhava becomes undivided, with the whole of one's being.

13.17.159 The cause of such devotion has been ordained for him who is wholly liberated in every way; this is hard to attain even among the gods, and is not to be had among men.

13.17.160 Unobstructed, unwavering, and unswerving is devotion to Rudra; and it is by his grace alone that such devotion arises in men, by which those whose minds are fixed upon his being attain the supreme perfection.

13.17.161 Those men who have come to him with their whole being, taking him as the Supreme, the god who cherishes those who take refuge in him would lift up out of the round of existence.

13.17.162 Thus the other gods do not accomplish the release of men from the cycle of birth, not even by the power of austerity, as does Mahādeva.

13.17.163 Thus, O Kṛṣṇa, was the Blessed One, lord of the existent and the nonexistent, clad in his hide, praised by Taṇḍi—one like unto Indra and of purified understanding.

13.17.164 This hymn to the Blessed One Brahmā himself bore in memory; Brahmā declared it to Śakra, and Śakra declared it to Death.

13.17.165 Death declared it to the Rudras, and from the Rudras it came to Taṇḍi; by mighty austerity it was won by Taṇḍi in the abode of Brahmā.

13.17.166 Taṇḍi declared it to Śukra; the descendant of Bhṛgu spoke it to Gautama; and Gautama spoke it, O Mādhava, to Manu the son of Vivasvat.

13.17.167 Manu spoke it to Nārāyaṇa the Sādhya, his beloved and wise one; and the blessed Sādhya, the imperishable Nārāyaṇa, spoke it to Yama.

13.17.168 The blessed Yama, son of Vivasvat, spoke it to Nāciketas; and Nāciketas, O scion of the Vṛṣṇis, spoke it to Mārkaṇḍeya.

13.17.169 From Mārkaṇḍeya I received it through self-discipline, O Janārdana; and to you too, O slayer of foes, I now give this renowned hymn—conferring heaven, health, long life, prosperity, and strength as well.

13.17.170 No hindrance do the Dānavas work upon him, nor the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas, the Piśācas and the demons that devour, the Guhyakas, nor even the serpents.

13.17.171 He who, having become pure, chaste, and master of his senses, recites it for a year with unbroken discipline obtains the fruit of the horse sacrifice.

13.18.1 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Then the great yogin, the sage Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana, spoke: "Recite it, my son—blessings upon you; may Maheśvara be pleased with you.

13.18.2 Of old, my son, while I performed the highest austerity upon Meru for the sake of offspring, O great king, this hymn was recited by me.

13.18.3 I obtained those desires of mine, O delight of Pāṇḍu's line; and you too shall obtain all your desires from Śarva."

13.18.4 Then the Four-headed one spoke, the beloved friend of Śakra, renowned by the name Ālambāyana, whose nature was compassion:

13.18.5 "Having reached Gokarṇa and performed austerity there for a hundred years, I won—of sons not born of any womb, self-controlled, knowers of dharma, and radiant,

13.18.6 of the ageless, the sorrowless, who live a hundred thousand years—a hundred sons from Śarva of old, O son of King Pāṇḍu."

13.18.7 The blessed Vālmīki too addressed Yudhiṣṭhira: "In a dispute over a Sāman chant I was told by the sages, 'You are a slayer of a brāhmaṇa,' and in an instant, O Bhārata, I was possessed by that unrighteousness.

13.18.8 Then I, taking refuge, praised the sinless Lord Īśāna, and helpless though I was, I was freed from that sin; and he, the destroyer of suffering, the slayer of Tripura, said to me, 'Your glory shall be foremost.'"

13.18.9 And the son of Jamadagni, foremost of the upholders of dharma, addressed the son of Kuntī, standing amid the seers like blazing fire, dear child:

13.18.10 "Tormented by the slaying of my father and of brāhmaṇas, O eldest of the Pāṇḍavas, having made myself pure, I went for refuge to Mahādeva, O king.

13.18.11 With his names I praised the god, and thereupon Bhava was pleased; and the god gave me the axe and divine weapons as well.

13.18.12 'No sin shall be yours this day, and you shall be unconquerable; death shall have no power over you, and you shall be full of glory.'"

13.18.13 "Thus the Blessed One, the crested one whose very form is Śiva, spoke to me; and all that I have attained is by the grace of that wise god."

13.18.14 And Asita Devala addressed the king, the son of Pāṇḍu: "By a curse of Śakra, O son of Kuntī, my accumulated merit was perishing; but Bhava restored to me that merit, my foremost glory, and my life as well."

13.18.15 The seer named Gṛtsamada, the beloved friend of Śakra, blessed and radiant as Bṛhaspati, addressed the descendant of Ajamīḍha:

13.18.16 "The blessed one named Vasiṣṭha, son of Manu Cākṣuṣa, while the inconceivable Śatakratu's sacrificial session of a thousand years was in progress, spoke these words when a Sāman had been chanted by me:

13.18.17 'O best of the twice-born, the Rathantara is not rightly rendered; consider it again with your mind, casting off your excitement, O foremost of the twice-born. You have committed a sin that bears no sacrifice, O most wicked-minded one.'

13.18.18 Having spoken thus, in great wrath he angrily uttered these further words: 'Bereft of wisdom, wretched, forever fearful, a wanderer of the woods shall you become—for ten thousand years and ten and eight hundred more,

13.18.19 in a region without water or pasture, shunned by deer and other beasts, with no trees fit for sacrifice, haunted by antelope and lion—there you shall become a savage beast beset with great suffering.'

13.18.20 At the close of that utterance, O Pārtha, I was indeed born a beast; then, when I had come to him for refuge, the yogin Maheśvara said to me:

13.18.21 'Ageless and deathless shall you become, free of sorrow; even and equable shall your happiness be—and may the sacrificial rite of you both prosper.'"

13.18.22 "Thus does this Blessed and all-pervading Lord bestow his favors—the supreme Ordainer and Disposer, and ever the giver of pleasure and pain.

13.18.23 Inconceivable is this Blessed One in deed, in thought, and in speech; not even one learned in knowledge, dear child, O best of warriors, is his equal."

13.18.24 Jaigīṣavya said: "The eightfold lordly power was given to me of old by the mighty Blessed One, with but little effort, at Vārāṇasī, O Yudhiṣṭhira."

13.18.25 Gārgya said: "The wondrous knowledge of time, with its sixty-four branches, he gave to me, well pleased by a sacrifice of the mind, upon the bank of the Sarasvatī, O Pāṇḍava.

13.18.26 And he gave me a thousand sons, all alike, expounders of the sacred word, and a lifespan—for me together with my sons—of a hundred and ten thousand years."

13.18.27 Parāśara said: "Having propitiated Śarva of old, O king, I pondered in my mind—desiring a son of great austerity, great splendor, great yoga, and great fame, a Vedavyāsa, an abode of glory, devoted to brahman, and compassionate of nature:

13.18.28 'Might there be granted to me from Maheśvara the son I desire?' Knowing this resolve in my heart, the best of the gods spoke to me:

13.18.29 'As the fruit of his being born of me, he shall be Kṛṣṇa, and in the creation of Manu Sāvarṇa he shall be one of the seven seers.

13.18.30 He shall be the divider of the Vedas and the continuer of the Kuru line, and the author of the epic history; your son shall be a benefactor of the world.

13.18.31 That great sage shall become beloved of Mahendra, ageless and deathless, O Parāśara—he, your son.'

13.18.32 Having spoken thus, that Blessed One vanished then and there, O Yudhiṣṭhira—the great yogin, the valiant, the imperishable, the undecaying."

13.18.33 Māṇḍavya said: "When, though no thief, on suspicion of theft I was impaled upon the stake, I praised the god while fixed there, and Maheśvara said to me:

13.18.34 'You shall be freed from the stake, and you shall live a hundred million years; nor shall the pain caused by the stake be yours, O brāhmaṇa, and free of mental and bodily afflictions shall you be.

13.18.35 Since your self, O sage, has come forth from the fourth quarter, you shall be without compare; make your birth bear fruit indeed.

13.18.36 The fruitful bathing in sacred fords you shall attain without hindrance, and an imperishable heaven, mighty and exalted, I bestow upon you, O brāhmaṇa.'

13.18.37 Having spoken thus, the Blessed One, the most excellent, borne upon the bull, Maheśvara, O great king, clad in his hide and of mighty radiance, foremost of the gods together with his hosts, vanished then and there."

13.18.38 Gālava said: "Dismissed with leave by Viśvāmitra, I came to my father; then my mother, sorrowing and weeping bitterly, said to me:

13.18.39 'Your father does not behold you, dear child—his son adorned with the Vedas, dismissed with leave by Kauśika, young, self-controlled, and sinless.'

13.18.40 Hearing my mother's words, despairing of seeing my father, with self subdued I beheld Mahādeva, and he said to me:

13.18.41 'Your father and your mother and you yourself, my son, shall be free of death; enter quickly, and you shall behold your father in his dwelling.'

13.18.42 Dismissed with leave by the Blessed One, having gone home, O Yudhiṣṭhira, I beheld my father, dear lord, just come forth from completing his offering.

13.18.43 Having touched water and taken up the fuel-sticks and the kuśa grass, and having set down those holy implements within the dwelling, my father, his eyes brimming with tears, said to me—

13.18.44 embracing me as I bowed and smelling my head, O Pāṇḍava: 'By good fortune are you seen by me, my son, accomplished in learning and come here at last.'"

13.18.45 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Having heard these most wondrous deeds of the great-souled one recounted by the sages, the Pāṇḍava was filled with amazement.

13.18.46 Then Kṛṣṇa, foremost of the wise, spoke again to Yudhiṣṭhira, ever devoted to dharma, as the Lord might speak to Indra of the many invocations:

13.18.47 "The sun and moon, the wind and fire, the sky, the earth, the waters, the Vasus, the All-gods, the Ordainer, Aryaman, Śukra and Bṛhaspati, the Rudras together with the Sādhyas, Varuṇa the guardian of wealth,

13.18.48 Brahmā, Śakra, the Wind, the sacred word, truth, the Vedas, the sacrifices, the priestly fee, the bearers of the Vedas, Soma, the sacrificer, and whatever is offered and the oblation itself, protection, consecration, and whatever observances there are,

13.18.49 the cries Svāhā and Vaṣaṭ, the brāhmaṇas, the offspring of the divine cow, dharma, the wheel and the moving wheel of time, glory, self-restraint, intelligent steadfastness, the auspicious and the inauspicious, and the seven sages—

13.18.50 the foremost intellect, perception by mind and sight, attainment in touch, and the attainment that crowns deeds, the hosts of the gods—the drinkers of warm vapor and the drinkers of Soma, the Lekhas, the Suyāmas, the Tuṣitas, the Brahmakāyas,

13.18.51 the Ābhāsvaras, the drinkers of fragrance, the sustainers of sight, those opposed in speech and those opposed in mind, the pure gods and those who delight in extinction, those who feed on touch, the beholders, and the drinkers of clarified butter—

13.18.52 those who abide in thought and are chief among the gods, and whatever other deities there are, O descendant of Ajamīḍha, the Suparṇas, Gandharvas, Piśācas, and Dānavas, the Yakṣas, the serpents, and the Cāraṇas—

13.18.53 the subtle, the gross, the soft, and what is not subtle, pleasure, pain, and what lies between pleasure and pain, Sāṃkhya and Yoga, and what is highest of the high—know all that I have named to be sprung from Śarva.

13.18.54 Sprung from him are the makers of beings, the most excellent; all the gods are guardians of this world, who, entering this earth, have protected the ancient creation of that god.

13.18.55 Searching with my mind, I would praise some truth for the sake of life; I am bowed down. May that god grant the boons desired here; may the undecaying Lord, ever praised by us, bestow them."

13.18.56 That man who, restraining his senses and having become pure, recites this hymn with unbroken discipline, self-controlled, for one year—he would obtain the fruit that lies in the horse sacrifice.

13.18.57 A brāhmaṇa would gain all the Vedas, a king would conquer the whole earth, a vaiśya would gain profit and skill, and a śūdra would win a good course after death and happiness as well.

13.18.58 Having made this king of hymns, they fixed their minds upon Rudra—the hymn that removes all faults, meritorious, purifying, and glory-bestowing.

13.18.59 As many as are the pores of the hair upon his body, O Bhārata, for so many thousands of years does that man dwell in heaven.

13.19.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: "This thing that is called 'shared dharma,' O bull of the Bhāratas—how has it come to be enjoined for women at the time of the taking of the hand in marriage?

13.19.2 Is this the law of the seers, or of Prajāpati, or indeed of the asuras—this 'shared dharma' that was declared of old by the great sages?

13.19.3 A very great doubt is this, and a contradiction, in my view: the shared dharma that holds here in this life—where, then, is it ordained to hold in the world beyond?

13.19.4 Does shared dharma belong to the dead in heaven, O grandsire? Yet one dies first while the other remains—tell me, where then is it?"

13.19.5 "When men are many, endowed with the fruits of diverse deeds, dwelling in diverse states of action, ending in diverse hells,

13.19.6 and when the author of the aphorisms lays down that 'women are untruthful'—since women are untruthful, dear lord, whence is shared dharma enjoined for them?

13.19.7 'Women are untruthful'—even in the Vedas this is so recited. This dharma, this ancient designation, this customary usage, this rule of rites—

13.19.8 all this appears to me an impenetrable thicket as I ponder it day and night; make all of this free of doubt for me, O grandsire, as the sacred revelation has it."

13.19.9 Of what nature this is, and just how it came to be ordained — let your honored self declare all of it to me in full, O profoundly wise one.

13.19.10 Bhīṣma said: On this matter too they recount an ancient tale, the dialogue of Aṣṭāvakra with the Quarter of Space, O descendant of Bharata.

13.19.11 In days of old, Aṣṭāvakra of great austerities, wishing to marry, sought the daughter of the high-souled sage Vadānya.

13.19.12 Suprabhā she was named, peerless in beauty upon the earth, foremost in virtues, of upright conduct, radiant in character.

13.19.13 That fair-eyed maiden, merely by the sight of her, stole away his heart, as a glorious belt of forest does in spring, heaped with blossoms.

13.19.14 The sage said to him: My daughter shall be given to you — hear me out. Go first to the holy northern quarter, and there you shall behold a sight.

13.19.15 Aṣṭāvakra said: What is it I am to behold there? Be pleased to tell me, sir; and even so shall I act now, just as your honored self shall instruct me.

13.19.16 Vadānya said: Passing beyond the realm of Kubera the Wealth-giver, and likewise beyond Himavat, having looked upon the abode of Rudra, frequented by Siddhas and Cāraṇas —

13.19.17 thronged by his joyful attendants dancing with manifold faces, by Piśācas anointed with divine unguents, by woodland beings of every kind,

13.19.18 and with hand-claps for cymbals and rhythm beaten on wooden bars in even measure — by these, exultant and dancing, is Śarva there attended.

13.19.19 That divine abode upon the mountain is beloved of him, so we have heard recounted; ever present there is the god, and with him his auspicious attendants.

13.19.20 There the Goddess performed austerity most hard to bear for Śaṃkara's sake; therefore that place is dear to the god and to Umā alike — so runs the tradition.

13.19.21 There, on the northern side beside the god, is a great well; and the seasons, and Kālarātri the Night of Doom, both those that are divine and those that are mortal —

13.19.22 all of them, taking embodied form, there wait upon the god, so it is told. Passing beyond that dwelling, you must journey on.

13.19.23 Then you shall see a tract of dark-blue forest, resembling a rain-cloud, lovely and heart-captivating; and there you shall behold a woman.

13.19.24 An ascetic woman, greatly blessed, aged, established in her vows — her you must behold there, and reverence with all care.

13.19.25 Having seen her, you shall return, and then take my daughter's hand in marriage. If this compact be acceptable, let it be fulfilled — go thither.

13.20.1 Aṣṭāvakra said: So be it; I shall accomplish this. Without doubt I will go there where you bid me, O virtuous one; let your honored self prove true to his word.

13.20.2 Bhīṣma said: Then that reverend one set out toward the supreme northern quarter, toward Himavat, best of mountains, frequented by Siddhas and Cāraṇas.

13.20.3 That tiger among the twice-born, journeying to the great mountain Himavat, came upon the holy river Bāhudā, bestower of righteousness.

13.20.4 At the pure ford of Aśoka he bathed and made offerings to the gods, and there, settling for the night upon a couch of kuśa grass, he rested at ease.

13.20.5 Then, when the night had passed, the twice-born one rose at dawn, bathed, kindled the sacred fire, and made oblation according to the rite.

13.20.6 Coming to the Well of Rudrāṇī, he refreshed himself in the pool there; and when rested he arose and went on toward Kailāsa.

13.20.7 He beheld a golden gateway, blazing as it were with splendor, and the Mandākinī, and the lotus-pond of the high-souled Wealth-giver.

13.20.8 Then all those Rākṣasas who guard the lotus-pool rose up before the reverend one, with Maṇibhadra at their head.

13.20.9 He greeted those Rākṣasas of fearsome valor in turn, and said: Announce me at once to the Wealth-giver.

13.20.10 Then those Rākṣasas, O king, said to the reverend one: Yonder King Vaiśravaṇa comes himself into your presence.

13.20.11 The reverend one is known to him, and the purpose of his coming; behold him now, that greatly blessed lord, blazing as if with radiance.

13.20.12 Then Vaiśravaṇa, approaching the blameless Aṣṭāvakra and inquiring after his welfare as the rite prescribes, said to that sage among brahmans:

13.20.13 Have you come in comfort, sir? And what would you have of me? Speak — whatever you shall ask of me, twice-born one, all that I will do.

13.20.14 Enter my dwelling at your pleasure, O best of the twice-born; honored and with your purpose fulfilled, you shall depart unhindered.

13.20.15 He entered his own dwelling, having taken that best of the twice-born by the hand, and gave him his own seat, and water for his feet, and the welcome-offering as well.

13.20.16 When the two were seated there, Kubera's own folk — Yakṣas, Gandharvas, and Rākṣasas, led by Maṇibhadra — took their places there.

13.20.17 Then, when they were seated, the Wealth-giver spoke this word: Learning your honored one's pleasure, let the troops of Apsarases dance.

13.20.18 "Supreme hospitality must be shown, and service rendered to you — so let it be," said he. And the sage replied in a sweet voice, "Let it proceed."

13.20.19 Then Urvarā and Miśrakeśī, Rambhā and Urvaśī too, Alambusā and Ghṛtācī, Citrā, Citrāṅgadā, Ruci,

13.20.20 Manoharā and Sukeśī, Sumukhī, Hāsinī, Prabhā, Vidyutā, Praśamā, Dāntā, Vidyotā, and Rati as well —

13.20.21 these and many other fair Apsarases fell to dancing, and the Gandharvas sounded their instruments of every kind.

13.20.22 And when the divine Gandharva music had begun, the sage of mighty austerities tarried there, delighting, a full celestial year.

13.20.23 Then King Vaiśravaṇa said to the reverend one: A full year and more has passed for you here, O brahman, while you watched.

13.20.24 Enchanting is this pleasure, O brahman, Gandharva music by name; let it continue at your pleasure, sir, or as your honored self may bid.

13.20.25 You are a guest to be honored, and this house is yours; command all of it at once — we are wholly subject to you.

13.20.26 Then the reverend one, well pleased, replied to Vaiśravaṇa: I have been honored as is fitting; I shall now depart, O lord of wealth.

13.20.27 I am pleased, and all things here befit you, O lord of riches. By your grace, my lord, and by the charge of the high-souled great sage, I depart today; may you flourish and prosper.

13.20.28 Then the reverend one, going forth, journeyed on facing northward, and traversed all the golden heights — Kailāsa and Mandara.

13.20.29 Passing beyond those great mountains, he made reverent circuit of the supreme abode of the Kirātas, bowing with his head; and descending to the earth, he became then purified in soul.

13.20.30 Having circled the mountain thrice and turned to face north, he went on over level ground, gladness leading him onward.

13.20.31 Then he beheld another lovely tract of forest, furnished with roots and fruits of every season and with birds, adorned here and there with delightful woodland glades.

13.20.32 There the reverend one beheld a divine hermitage-ground, and golden crags of manifold form, jewel-bedecked, and lotus-pools set into a soil of gems.

13.20.33 Many other charming things besides he beheld; and the mind of the great sage, his soul refined, took deep delight.

13.20.34 There he saw a divine golden mansion, wrought all of jewels, of wondrous aspect, surpassing even the dwelling of the Wealth-giver.

13.20.35 There stood great palaces of many kinds, like mountains, and lovely sky-borne chariots, and gems of every sort.

13.20.36 The river Mandākinī was strewn with mandāra blossoms, and there were self-luminous jewels, and the ground was adorned with diamonds.

13.20.37 On every side it was encompassed by mansions of many kinds, with archways of variegated gems, festooned with nets of pearls and decked with jewels and precious stones, ravishing to mind and eye, lovely and auspicious.

13.20.38 The sage looked all about and saw delight on every hand; then a thought arose in him: Where might my lodging be?

13.20.39 Then, going up close to the gateway and standing there, he said: Let those who are within grant leave to me, a guest who has arrived.

13.20.40 Then forth from that house came maidens, attended one upon another — seven maidens, O lord, of varied form, all of them ravishing.

13.20.41 Whichever maiden he looked upon, that one stole away his heart; he could not hold his mind steady, and it began to sink within him.

13.20.42 Then resolve arose in that wise brahman; and the fair women said to him: Let the reverend one enter.

13.20.43 And filled with wonder both at those lovely women and at the mansion itself, the twice-born one entered the house.

13.20.44 There he beheld a woman bowed with age, clad in spotless garments, aged, seated upon a couch, and decked with every ornament.

13.20.45 And when he had greeted her with "Hail," that woman answered him then, and rising before the brahman, she said: Be seated.

13.20.46 Aṣṭāvakra said: Let all of them go to their own quarters; let one well-discerning and well-composed attend upon me; let the rest depart at their pleasure.

13.20.47 Then those maidens, having circled the sage in reverence, went forth from that house; but the aged one remained behind.

13.20.48 Then, lying down upon the shining bed, he said to her: Do you too take your rest, good lady, for the night is wearing away.

13.20.49 Being thus addressed by the brahman in talk, she lay down upon a second bed there, divine and of great splendor.

13.20.50 Then she, her limbs trembling, pleading the cold as her pretext, climbed up onto the great sage's bed.

13.20.51 "Welcome — let welcome be yours," the reverend one said to her; and she clasped the sage in her two arms with affection, O bull among men.

13.20.52 But seeing the sage unmoved, like a post or a wall, she grew distressed, and entered into talk with the sage.

13.20.53 Brahman, women have no power over desire, nor restraint before a man; bewildered with longing am I — accept me who seek you in love.

13.20.54 Be glad, O sage among brahmans; unite yourself with me; embrace me, brahman — I am sorely afflicted with desire for you.

13.20.55 For this, O righteous one, is honored as the fruit of your austerity, sought from the mere sight of you — accept me who give myself to you.

13.20.56 This mansion and this forest, and whatever else you see — over all of it your lordship extends, and over me as well, beyond doubt.

13.20.57 I shall fulfill every desire; take your delight together with me, O brahman, in this lovely forest that yields the fruit of all desires.

13.20.58 I shall be wholly yours, and you shall take delight with me, enjoying all the pleasures, both those that are divine and those that are mortal.

13.20.59 For there is no higher aim for women than union with a man; this indeed is our supreme fruit.

13.20.60 Women act by their own will, driven on by the god of love; even going their way over coals of well-heated dust, they are not burned.

13.20.61 Aṣṭāvakra said: I would never, good lady, approach another man's wife; the touching of another's wife is condemned in the treatises of dharma.

13.20.62 Know me, good lady, to be one who wishes to marry — by truth I swear it; I am untutored in the pleasures of sense, for offspring is begotten for the sake of dharma.

13.20.63 Thus, through sons, shall I attain the higher worlds — of this there is no doubt. Understand righteousness, good lady, and understanding it, desist.

13.20.64 The woman said: Not the Wind, not Fire, not Varuṇa, nor any of the other gods, O brāhmaṇa, are as dear to women as is desire; for women are creatures given over to pleasure.

13.20.65 Scarcely one woman in a thousand is found here who is restrained; and among a hundred thousand, only here and there is one devoted to her husband.

13.20.66 They heed neither father nor lineage nor mother, neither brothers nor husband, neither sons nor brothers-in-law.

13.20.67 Sporting in their wantonness, they destroy their families as the great rivers wear away their banks; and Prajāpati declared that such failings dwell within women of weak mind.

13.20.68 Bhīṣma said: Then the sage, with collected mind, answered that woman: "As you please, be seated; or tell me—what is the task you would have done?"

13.20.69 The woman replied: "Lord, in due place and time you shall see. Dwell here a while, O greatly wise one; when your purpose is accomplished, you shall depart."

13.20.70 The brāhmaṇa-seer then said to her, "So be it," O Yudhiṣṭhira—"I shall dwell here as long as it pleases you; of that there is no doubt."

13.20.71 Then the seer, gazing upon that woman bowed down with age, fell into deep reflection and became as one consumed with care.

13.20.72 Whatever limb of hers that bull among brāhmaṇas looked upon, there his gaze found no delight, overcome by her ruined form.

13.20.73 "Surely this is the deity of this house, disfigured by some curse; yet it would not be fitting for me to seek out the cause of it in haste."

13.20.74 As he was thus absorbed in thought, longing to know the truth of the matter, the remainder of that day passed away while his mind was troubled.

13.20.75 Then that woman said: "Lord, behold the form of the sun joined with the clouds of twilight. What shall be made ready for you?"

13.20.76 He then said to that woman: "Bring water here for bathing; then, restrained in speech and with senses controlled, I shall attend upon the twilight rite."

13.21.1 Bhīṣma said: Then that woman, saying to the brāhmaṇa, "So be it," took up celestial oil and brought to him a bathing-cloth.

13.21.2 And, granted leave by that great-souled sage, the woman anointed all his limbs with the oil.

13.21.3 Gently rubbed down, he went into the bathing-chamber; and the seer then took his place upon a fine new seat richly adorned.

13.21.4 And when he was seated upon that goodly seat, she bathed the seer slowly, with a gentle hand, and performed for the sage the celestial rite duly, with every attendance.

13.21.5 By that pleasantly warm water and by the soothing touch of her hand, that man of great vows did not perceive that the whole night had passed away.

13.21.6 Then the sage, rising up in utter amazement, beheld the sun risen in the sky in the eastern quarter.

13.21.7 This thought came to him: "Is this a delusion, or is it the truth?" Then, having worshipped the thousand-rayed one, he said to her, "What shall I do?"

13.21.8 She set before the seer food that was like the taste of nectar; and by reason of the sweetness of that food he could not make an end of it. So the rest of the day passed away, and the twilight came again.

13.21.9 Then that woman urged the lord, saying, "Let us sleep," upon celestial couches there made ready, one for him and one for her.

13.21.10 Aṣṭāvakra said: "No, good lady; my mind does not cling to another man's wife. Rise up, good lady—blessings upon you—go to sleep, and desist."

13.21.11 Bhīṣma said: She, thus turned back by the brāhmaṇa's firmness, said to him, "I am my own mistress; there is no deceiving of dharma in this for you."

13.21.12 Aṣṭāvakra said: "Women have no independence; a woman is never her own mistress. This is the doctrine of Prajāpati: a woman is not entitled to independence."

13.21.13 The woman said: "Desire torments me, O brāhmaṇa; behold too my devotion. You will incur unrighteousness, O brāhmaṇa, in that you will not welcome me."

13.21.14 Aṣṭāvakra said: "Faults that are born within carry a man off wherever they will once they arise; but I am ever master of myself through firmness. Go, good lady, to your own couch."

13.21.15 The woman said: "With my head I bow, O brāhmaṇa; deign to show me grace. To me who am falling to the ground, be my refuge, O sinless one."

13.21.16 "But if you see a fault arising in approaching another man's wife, then this day I make a gift of myself: take my hand, O brāhmaṇa."

13.21.17 "And no fault shall there be—this I tell you in truth. Know me to be my own mistress; whatever unrighteousness there be, let it rest upon me."

13.21.18 Aṣṭāvakra said: "How are you your own mistress, good lady? Tell me the reason for this. There is no woman in the world who is entitled to independence."

13.21.19 "In childhood the father protects her, in youth the husband, and in old age the sons; a woman is not entitled to independence."

13.21.20 The woman said: "Mine is the chastity of girlhood; I am yet a maiden, without doubt. Harbor no misgiving, O brāhmaṇa; do not cast away your faith in me."

13.21.21 Aṣṭāvakra said: "As it is for me, so it is for you; as it is for you, so for me. Let me probe this: is this hindrance to the seer real, or what?

13.21.22 "For this is a thing of the utmost wonder. What course would be best for me? This maiden, decked in celestial ornaments and garments, has come before me."

13.21.23 "But how was her surpassing beauty aged before, and how again has she now this very day the form of a maiden? What can be the answer to this?"

13.21.24 "Yet so far as my strength of resolve avails, I shall in no wise swerve; for swerving I deem not good. By steadfastness thus do I prevail."

13.22.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: How was it that the woman did not fear the curse of one so resplendent? And how did the venerable one desist? Tell me this, I pray.

13.22.2 Bhīṣma said: Aṣṭāvakra questioned her: "How is it that you change your form? You must speak no falsehood; tell me, out of regard for a brāhmaṇa."

13.22.3 The woman said: "This desire of mine is as boundless as heaven and earth, O best of brāhmaṇas. Listen attentively to all of it, O you of truthful valor."

13.22.4 "Know me to be the Northern Quarter. The fickleness of women has been shown to you; and by your not swerving, the heavenly worlds have been won by you, O you whose valor is truth."

13.22.5 "This testing was set in motion by me to make you steadfast, O sinless one—for even in aged women the fever of desire still torments."

13.22.6 "The Grandsire is pleased with you this day, and so are the gods together with Vāsava. And as for the purpose for which you, venerable one, have come here—

13.22.7 "sent by that brāhmaṇa, the father of the maiden, O bull among the twice-born, to make the instruction known to you—all of that has been accomplished by me."

13.22.8 "Safe shall you go to your home, and weariness shall not come upon you. You shall win that maiden, O brāhmaṇa, and she shall bear you sons."

13.22.9 "You questioned me out of desire, and so the answer was uttered—an answer that can never be gainsaid by all the three worlds together."

13.22.10 "Go now, your good work done. Or is there aught else you wish to hear, that I may tell it truly, O seer among brāhmaṇas, Aṣṭāvakra?"

13.22.11 "I have been entreated by the seer on your behalf, O bull among the twice-born; and to do him honor these words of mine were spoken to you."

13.22.12 Having heard her words, the brāhmaṇa stood with palms joined; and, taking leave of her, he made his way back to his own home.

13.22.13 Having come home and rested, and having honored his kinsfolk, he went duly to that brāhmaṇa, O delight of the Kurus.

13.22.14 And being questioned by that brāhmaṇa, "Has this token been seen?", the brāhmaṇa then spoke to the brāhmaṇa with a heart well pleased:

13.22.15 "Granted leave by you, I set out for Gandhamādana; and in the region to the north of it I beheld that mighty deity."

13.22.16 "And, granted leave by her, with you too made known to her, and having been told her saying, I have come home, my lord."

13.22.17 Then the brāhmaṇa said to him: "Receive my daughter, when star and lunar day are in conjunction; for you are a most worthy recipient."

13.22.18 Bhīṣma said: Aṣṭāvakra, saying "So be it," and accepting that maiden, O lord—he of the highest righteousness—was then filled with joy.

13.22.19 Having received that maiden as his most beautiful wife, he dwelt there gladly in his own hermitage, his fever of doubt now gone.

13.23.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Whom, O best of the Bhāratas, do the brāhmaṇas declare to be from of old a worthy recipient—the brāhmaṇa who bears the outward marks, or the brāhmaṇa without them?

13.23.2 Bhīṣma said: To one who keeps to his proper conduct, whether he bears the marks or not, a gift should be given, O great king; for both of these are men of austerity.

13.23.3 Yudhiṣṭhira said: When a man, purified by the highest faith, presents to a twice-born the offering to the gods, the offering to the ancestors, and gifts, what fault could there be, O Grandsire?

13.23.4 Bhīṣma said: A man purified by faith, my son, even though he be hard to discipline, becomes pure in every way, without doubt—how much more, then, do you, O lord of the earth.

13.23.5 Yudhiṣṭhira said: In rites to the gods a man should never examine the brāhmaṇa; but in the giving of offerings to the ancestors, the wise hold that the brāhmaṇa is to be examined.

13.23.6 Bhīṣma said: It is not the brāhmaṇa who brings the offering to fulfillment; it succeeds by the gods' ordinance. By the grace of the gods the sacrificers obtain their fruit, without doubt.

13.23.7 The brāhmaṇas, O best of the Bhāratas, are ever expounders of the sacred word; thus did the wise Mārkaṇḍeya declare of old here among the worlds.

13.23.8 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Whether a man be a stranger or a learned one, or a kinsman, or an ascetic, or one given to sacrifice—how is it that such a one becomes a worthy recipient?

13.23.9 Bhīṣma said: Wellborn, performing his rites, learned in the Veda, compassionate, modest, upright, truthful—such a one is a worthy recipient; and the first three among these qualities are foremost.

13.23.10 On this point hear from me, O Pārtha, the judgment of four glorious beings—of the Earth, of Kāśyapa, of Agni, and of Mārkaṇḍeya.

13.23.11 The Earth said: As a clod of earth cast into the great ocean swiftly dissolves away, so all ill conduct is dissolved away by the recitation of the threefold Veda.

13.23.12 Kāśyapa said: All the Vedas together with their six limbs, the Sāṃkhya, the Purāṇa, and birth in a noble line—none of these, all of them together, become a refuge for the man who is bereft of good character, O king.

13.23.13 Agni said: He who, learned in the texts and accounting himself a sage, destroys the renown of others by his learning—by that, O brāhmaṇa, he commits the slaying of a brāhmaṇa, and his heavenly worlds come to an end.

13.23.14 Mārkaṇḍeya said: A thousand horse-sacrifices and truth were weighed in the balance; and I do not find that the one would attain even to half of that truth.

13.23.15 Bhīṣma said: Having spoken thus, those four of boundless splendor swiftly departed—the Earth, Kāśyapa, Agni, and the long-lived scion of Bhṛgu.

13.23.16 Yudhiṣṭhira said: When brāhmaṇas in the world who keep their vows eat the sacrificial offering, that offering eaten for the sake of a brāhmaṇa—how does it become a meritorious deed?

13.23.17 Bhīṣma said: Those brāhmaṇas, O king of kings, learned to the end of the Veda, who, being invited, eat for the sake of a brāhmaṇa—they become fallen from their vows.

13.23.18 Yudhiṣṭhira said: The wise call dharma many-sided and of many doors. What in it may be held as certain? Tell me that, O Grandsire.

13.23.19 Bhīṣma said: Non-injury, truth, freedom from anger, compassion, self-restraint, and uprightness—this, O king of kings, is the certain mark of dharma.

13.23.20 But those who go about this earth praising dharma while not practicing that dharma, devoted to confusion of duties, O lord—

13.23.21 he who gives to them a jewel, or gold, or a cow, or horses—for ten years he feeds upon filth, lodged in hell.

13.23.22 Of the meda outcastes, of the pulkasas, and likewise of those who dwell at the cremation-ground, the rite performed is as good as unperformed, since they babble out of passion and delusion.

13.23.23 And those fools who give the Vaiśvadeva offering to a brāhmaṇa who is a student of the sacred word—nay, O king of kings, they go to enjoy worlds of ill.

13.23.24 Yudhiṣṭhira said: What is the highest form of chastity, what the highest mark of dharma, and what the most excellent purity? Tell me that, O Grandsire.

13.23.25 Bhīṣma said: Chastity is the highest course, dear son, and the renunciation of honey and meat; dharma abides within bounds, and tranquillity is the mark of purity.

13.23.26 Yudhiṣṭhira said: At what time should one pursue dharma, at what time pursue wealth, and at what time enjoy pleasure? Tell me this, grandfather.

13.23.27 Bhīṣma said: In the early hours let him attend to wealth, then immediately after to dharma; afterward let him attend to pleasure, yet never give himself over to attachment.

13.23.28 Let him hold the brāhmaṇas in honour and revere his elders; gentle toward all beings, soft of nature, and kindly in speech.

13.23.29 Falsehood in the exercise of office, slander carried to the king, and deceit practised against one's teacher—each of these is equal to the slaying of a brāhmaṇa.

13.23.30 Let him not strike at kings, nor likewise slay a cow; he who indulges in either of these does what is equal to the killing of an embryo.

13.23.31 Let him never abandon the sacred fire, nor forsake the Vedas, nor revile a brāhmaṇa—for that too is equal to the slaying of a brāhmaṇa.

13.23.32 Yudhiṣṭhira said: What kind of brāhmaṇas are the virtuous ones, gifts to whom bear great fruit, and of what kind are those whose food may be eaten? Tell me this, grandfather.

13.23.33 Bhīṣma said: Free from anger, devoted to dharma, ever truthful, delighting in self-restraint—such are the virtuous brāhmaṇas; a gift given to them bears great fruit.

13.23.34 Free from conceit, all-enduring, having perceived the truth, their senses subdued, friendly and devoted to the welfare of all beings—a gift given to them bears great fruit.

13.23.35 Free from greed, pure, learned, modest, truthful in speech, and intent upon their own duty—a gift given to such men bears great fruit.

13.23.36 That bull among the twice-born who has studied the four Vedas with their auxiliary sciences, and who has turned away from the six base occupations—him the seers know to be a worthy recipient.

13.23.37 Those who are endowed with such qualities—a gift given to them bears great fruit; the giver to one worthy by his merits gains a thousandfold reward.

13.23.38 Endowed with wisdom and sacred learning, with right conduct and good character, a single bull among the twice-born can in this world deliver an entire lineage.

13.23.39 Let him bestow upon such a one a cow, a horse, wealth, or food, and other goods besides; then in the life beyond he shall not grieve.

13.23.40 Even one foremost among the twice-born can in this world deliver a whole lineage—how much more, then, a single soul? Therefore let one seek out a worthy recipient.

13.23.41 And having heard of a brāhmaṇa endowed with virtue and esteemed by the good, let him summon him from afar for the rite and honour him in every way.

13.24.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Concerning the time of the śrāddha, concerning the offering to the gods, and concerning dharma as well, grandfather, I wish to hear from you what has been ordained by the divine seers.

13.24.2 Bhīṣma said: Let him perform the offering to the gods in the forenoon, but the rite for the ancestors in the afternoon, accomplished in auspicious observances, having performed his purifications, and diligent.

13.24.3 But to men he should give at midday, as is fitting; a gift bestowed out of its proper time—that portion they know to belong to the rākṣasas.

13.24.4 What has been stepped over, what has been licked, what has been done amid strife, and what has been looked upon by women in their courses—that portion they know to belong to the rākṣasas.

13.24.5 What is eaten amid clamour, and what is eaten by one who keeps no vows, O Bhārata, and what has been touched by a dog—that portion they know to belong to the rākṣasas.

13.24.6 Food into which a hair or an insect has fallen, upon which one has sneezed, which dogs have gazed upon, over which there has been weeping, or which has been shaken about—that portion they know to belong to the rākṣasas.

13.24.7 What is eaten without the sacred syllable Oṃ, and what is eaten with a weapon at hand, O Bhārata, and what is eaten by an evil-souled man—that portion they know to belong to the rākṣasas.

13.24.8 What is eaten that has been left over by another, and what may have already been partaken of—at the rite for the gods or for the ancestors alike, that portion they ever know to belong to the rākṣasas.

13.24.9 What is reviled and condemned, what is served amid wrath, whether at the rite for the gods or for the ancestors—that portion they know to belong to the rākṣasas.

13.24.10 A śrāddha that is served wanting in sacred chants and wanting in proper rites by the three varṇas, O best of men—that portion they know to belong to the rākṣasas.

13.24.11 Whatever is served without the oblation of clarified butter, and what is eaten by men of evil conduct—that portion they know to belong to the rākṣasas.

13.24.12 Those portions that are declared to belong to the rākṣasas have now been told, O bull of the Bhāratas; henceforth hear the examination of the brāhmaṇa upon the giving away of the gift.

13.24.13 All those brāhmaṇas who are fallen, and likewise the dull-witted and the mad—at the rite for the gods or for the ancestors, O king, they deserve no invitation.

13.24.14 The man afflicted with white leprosy, the leper, the eunuch, he who is wasted by consumption, the epileptic, and the blind, O king, deserve no such honour.

13.24.15 Physicians, temple priests who serve images for hire, those who keep vows to no purpose, and sellers of the soma—at a śrāddha they deserve no invitation.

13.24.16 Singers and dancers, acrobats and players of instruments, reciters of tales and prize-fighters, O king, deserve no invitation.

13.24.17 Those who officiate at the sacrifices of the base-born, and those who instruct the base-born, and likewise the pupils of the base-born, O king, deserve no invitation.

13.24.18 The brāhmaṇa who hires another's sacred service and he who is so hired, O Bhārata—neither of these two deserves the śrāddha, for both are sellers of sacred knowledge.

13.24.19 A brāhmaṇa who has been made the leader at the marriage of a man of lower varṇa—though he be versed in all the sciences, O king, he deserves no invitation.

13.24.20 Those brāhmaṇas who keep no sacred fires, and those who bear forth the dead for hire, and thieves and the fallen, O king, deserve no invitation.

13.24.21 Those of unknown ancestry, and those born of a guild's promiscuous union, O Bhārata, and the sons born of an appointed daughter—at a śrāddha they deserve no invitation.

13.24.22 The maker of debts, O king, and the twice-born who lives by usury, and he whose livelihood is the selling of living creatures, O king, deserve no invitation.

13.24.23 Those who were once women, and the makers of arrow-shafts, all of them, O bull of the Bhāratas, and brāhmaṇas who do not chant the sāvitrī—at a śrāddha they deserve no invitation.

13.24.24 The brāhmaṇas who are debarred from the śrāddha and the offering to the gods have been named, O bull of the Bhāratas; now hear again, of giver and receiver alike, who are worthy of favour.

13.24.25 Those who have fulfilled their vows and are endowed with virtues—even if they be tillers of the soil—if they know the sāvitrī and perform the rites, they, O king, are fit to be invited.

13.24.26 Even a well-born twice-born who follows the kṣatriya's dharma in battle one may invite; but a trader, dear son, one should never appoint at the śrāddhas.

13.24.27 The brāhmaṇa who maintains the agnihotra fire, who dwells in the village, who is no thief and is mindful of guests—he, O king, is fit to be invited.

13.24.28 He who chants the sāvitrī at the three junctures of the day, O bull of the Bhāratas, who lives by alms and performs the rites—he, O king, is fit to be invited.

13.24.29 He who rises with the sun and rests at its setting, and likewise rests at its setting and rises with it, who does no harm and has but few faults—he, O king, is fit to be invited.

13.24.30 The brāhmaṇa free from guile and free from idle cavil, O bull of the Bhāratas, possessed of full awareness and living by alms—he, O king, is fit to be invited.

13.24.31 One who was vowless, a gambler, a thief, a seller of living creatures, and a trader, but who afterward has drunk the soma—he, O king, is fit to be invited.

13.24.32 One who first earned his wealth by the harsh labours of tillage, and who afterward becomes hospitable to all guests—he, O king, is fit to be invited.

13.24.33 Wealth got by the selling of sacred knowledge, wealth earned by a woman, and wealth gained through unmanliness—these are not to be given to the ancestors and the gods.

13.24.34 When the concluding rite is being performed, the twice-born who does not utter what is fitting, O bull of the Bhāratas—his transgression is as the falsehood that loses a cow.

13.24.35 The brāhmaṇa is the right occasion for the śrāddha; fit also are curds and clarified butter when they come to hand, the waning of the moon, and the flesh of forest game, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.24.36 At the conclusion of a brāhmaṇa's śrāddha, let the word svadhā be well pronounced; for a kṣatriya, too, let him then say, "May the ancestors be pleased."

13.24.37 At the conclusion of a vaiśya's śrāddha rite, O Bhārata, the word "imperishable" is to be spoken; and for a śūdra, "well-being," O Bhārata.

13.24.38 In the offering to the gods, the proclamation of an auspicious day is ordained for the brāhmaṇa; this same proclamation, without the syllable Oṃ, is ordained for the kṣatriya; and for the vaiśya it is to be spoken thus: "May the deities be pleased."

13.24.39 Hear now the due sequence of the rites and their prescribed performance—all the sacraments beginning with the birth-rite among the three varṇas, O Bhārata; for the brāhmaṇa and the kṣatriya they are enjoined with sacred chants, and so too for the vaiśya, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.24.40 For the brāhmaṇa the girdle is of muñja grass, for the kṣatriya it is of bowstring fibre, and for the vaiśya it is of balbaja grass—such is the law, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.24.41 Hear now, of the giver and the receiver alike, these their dharma and their transgression: for the brāhmaṇa, the sin in falsehood is declared to bear the name of a grievous fault; for the kṣatriya it is held to be fourfold, and for the vaiśya eightfold.

13.24.42 A brāhmaṇa, if invited beforehand by another brāhmaṇa, should not eat elsewhere; for the younger man who does so incurs a guilt equal to the slaughter of an animal.

13.24.43 But if, being invited, he should eat at the homes of a kṣatriya or a vaiśya, the younger man thereby incurs half the share of the guilt of slaying an animal.

13.24.44 The brāhmaṇa who eats at the rite for the gods or for the ancestors, in the houses of brāhmaṇas and the rest, while yet unbathed, O king—his transgression is as the falsehood that loses a cow.

13.24.45 The brāhmaṇa who, while in a state of impurity, eats in the houses of brāhmaṇas and the rest, knowingly and out of greed, O king—his transgression is as the falsehood that loses a cow.

13.24.46 He who would seek food in return for food, and who invites another merely for the sake of his own rite, O Bhārata, O lord of kings—his transgression is reckoned to be a falsehood.

13.24.47 Those wanting in the Vedas, in vows, and in good conduct, who are served as if entitled to the sacred chants by the three varṇas, O Yudhiṣṭhira—in their case the transgression is as the falsehood that loses a cow.

13.24.48 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Of that which is given at the rite for the ancestors or for the gods, grandfather, I wish to hear in whom a gift bestowed bears great fruit.

13.24.49 Bhīṣma said: Those whose wives await the leavings and remnants of the meal as tillers await a good rain—feed them, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.24.50 Those steadfast in good conduct, O king, who are lean and whose means are meagre, and who come as suppliants—a gift given to them bears great fruit.

13.24.51 Those who are devoted to you, who dwell in your house, O king, whose wealth and whose refuge lie in you, and who come as suppliants in their need—a gift given to them bears great fruit.

13.24.52 Those who, distressed by fear of thieves or of enemies, O Yudhiṣṭhira, come as suppliants desiring to eat—a gift given to them bears great fruit.

13.24.53 The young students who beg on behalf of a guileless brāhmaṇa, one who has shaped his soul by living on gleaned alms—a gift given to them bears great fruit.

13.24.54 Those brāhmaṇas who, robbed of their goods and bereft of their wives in the ruin of a land, come seeking aid—a gift given to them bears great fruit.

13.24.55 Those brāhmaṇas observing vows and firm in their restraints, esteemed for their sacred learning, who desire help for the completion of those vows—a gift given to them bears great fruit.

13.24.56 Those who have never strayed from the dharmas into the doctrines of heretics, whose vital strength is wasted and whose wealth is meagre—a gift given to them bears great fruit.

13.24.57 Those who, though blameless, have been stripped of all their possessions by the powerful, and who long for a meal of food—a gift given to them bears great fruit.

13.24.58 The ascetics steadfast in austerity, and those of them who wander seeking alms, who as suppliants desire some little thing—a gift given to them bears great fruit.

13.24.59 The rule of great fruit in giving you have now heard, O bull of the Bhāratas; now hear that by which men go to hell, and likewise to heaven.

13.24.60 Save for the sake of one's teacher or to save a life, O Yudhiṣṭhira, those who utter falsehood—they indeed are bound for hell.

13.24.61 Those who carry off the wives of others, who lay hands upon the wives of others, and who procure the wives of others—they indeed are bound for hell.

13.24.62 Those who seize away the goods of others, who destroy the goods of others, and who are informers against others—they indeed are bound for hell.

13.24.63 The men who are destroyers of watering-sheds, of assembly halls, of bridges and causeways, and of houses, O Bhārata—they are bound for hell.

13.24.64 Those men who deceive a helpless woman, a child, an old person, one in fear, or one given to austerity — they, indeed, are bound for hell.

13.24.65 Those who cut off a man's livelihood, his home, his wife, his friend, or his very hope, O Bhārata — they, indeed, are bound for hell.

13.24.66 Informers, breakers of alliances, those who live by another's labor, and the ungrateful toward their friends — they, indeed, are bound for hell.

13.24.67 Heretics, defilers, those who violate covenants, and those who have fallen back from their vows — they, indeed, are bound for hell.

13.24.68 Those who, by sowing discord, draw away one who has placed his hope in them, who has served them, given his devotion, and spent his toil for them — they, indeed, are bound for hell.

13.24.69 Those who eat before their wives, their servants, and their guests have eaten, and who have let the worship of the fathers and the gods lapse — they, indeed, are bound for hell.

13.24.70 Sellers of the Vedas, defilers of the Vedas, and those who commit the Vedas to writing — they, indeed, are bound for hell.

13.24.71 Those men who stand outside the four stages of life, outside the revealed scripture, and who live by forbidden acts — they, indeed, are bound for hell.

13.24.72 Dealers in hair, O king, dealers in poison, and dealers in milk — they, indeed, are bound for hell.

13.24.73 Those who, O Yudhiṣṭhira, slip in to obstruct the affairs of brāhmaṇas, of cattle, and of maidens — they, indeed, are bound for hell.

13.24.74 Sellers of weapons, O Yudhiṣṭhira, and the makers of barbed darts and of bows — they, indeed, are bound for hell.

13.24.75 Those who block the road with spikes, with stakes, or with pits, O bull of the Bhāratas — they, indeed, are bound for hell.

13.24.76 Those who abandon their teachers, their servants, and their devoted dependents when these are helpless, O bull of the Bhāratas — they, indeed, are bound for hell.

13.24.77 Those who break in beasts before their time, who pierce their noses, and who keep cattle in bondage — they, indeed, are bound for hell.

13.24.78 Those who fail to protect, who gain their wealth by fraud, who are intent on exacting the sixth-part tribute, and who, though able, give nothing — they, indeed, are bound for hell.

13.24.79 Those who, once their purpose is served, abandon the patient, the self-controlled, and the wise who have long dwelt with them — they, indeed, are bound for hell.

13.24.80 Those men who eat first, without first giving to the young, the old, and the servants — they, indeed, are bound for hell.

13.24.81 These the ancient seers beheld and declared to be bound for hell. Now I shall tell you, O bull of the Bhāratas, of those who share in the world of heaven.

13.24.82 In all undertakings that begin with rites to the gods, O Bhārata, an affront committed against a brāhmaṇa destroys one's sons and all one's cattle entirely.

13.24.83 Those men who, O Yudhiṣṭhira, follow the way of dharma through giving, through austerity, and through truth — they are bound for heaven.

13.24.84 Those who, having gained sacred learning through service and austerity, O Bhārata, feel no craving to accept gifts — they are bound for heaven.

13.24.85 Those for whose sake others are delivered from fear, from sin, from oppression, from poverty, and from the ravages of disease — they are bound for heaven.

13.24.86 The forbearing and the steadfast, those ever roused to acts of dharma, and those devoted to auspicious conduct — they are bound for heaven.

13.24.87 Those who have turned away from honey and flesh, from the wives of others, and from intoxicating drink — they are bound for heaven.

13.24.88 The founders of hermitages, of families, of regions, and of cities, O Bhārata — they are bound for heaven.

13.24.89 Those who give garments and ornaments, food, drink, and victuals, and who provide for whole households — they are bound for heaven.

13.24.90 Those who have ceased from all harm, who endure all things, and who become a refuge for all — they are bound for heaven.

13.24.91 Those who, masters of their senses, serve their mother and father, and bear affection toward their brothers — they are bound for heaven.

13.24.92 Those who, though wealthy, strong, and in the bloom of youth, O Bhārata, yet remain steadfast and masters of their senses — they are bound for heaven.

13.24.93 Those who remain affectionate even toward offenders, who are gentle, fond of their friends, and easy to win over — they are bound for heaven.

13.24.94 Those men who feast thousands, who give to thousands, and who are the protectors of thousands — they are bound for heaven.

13.24.95 The givers of gold and of cattle, O bull of the Bhāratas, and of carriages and draught-animals — they are bound for heaven.

13.24.96 Those who give maidens in marriage, who give attendants and garments, O Yudhiṣṭhira — they are bound for heaven.

13.24.97 Those who provide pleasure-grounds, resting-houses, gardens, wells, groves, and assembly-halls, and who build embankments — they are bound for heaven.

13.24.98 Those who give dwellings, fields, and lodgings, O Bhārata, and whatever is asked of them — they are bound for heaven.

13.24.99 Those men who, having themselves raised juices, seeds, and grain, O Yudhiṣṭhira, then give them away — they are bound for heaven.

13.24.100 In whatever family they are born, men blessed with many sons and a span of a hundred years, full of compassion and having conquered their wrath — they are bound for heaven.

13.24.101 Thus has it been told, for the sake of the world beyond, regarding the rites to the gods and to the fathers, O Bhārata, and the dharma and adharma of giving, even as the ancient seers ordained them.

13.25.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: This, O king, you ought to tell me truly, O Bhārata — by what act here, even without slaying, is the guilt of brahmin-murder incurred?

13.25.2 Bhīṣma said: That which I once asked of Vyāsa, having addressed him, O lord of kings, I shall now relate to you in full — listen here with single-minded attention.

13.25.3 You who are the fourth in descent from Vasiṣṭha — declare to me the truth, O sage: by what act here, even without slaying, is the guilt of brahmin-murder incurred?

13.25.4 Thus questioned, O great king, the son born of Parāśara's body, skilled in dharma, spoke without doubt and beyond all dispute.

13.25.5 He who himself summons a brāhmaṇa of meager livelihood to receive alms, and afterward says, 'There is nothing' — know that man to be a slayer of a brāhmaṇa.

13.25.6 The man of evil mind who robs of his livelihood a learned and impartial brāhmaṇa here, O Bhārata — know that man to be a slayer of a brāhmaṇa.

13.25.7 He who, O lord of the earth, raises an obstacle to the water sought by a herd of cattle tormented by thirst — know that man to be a slayer of a brāhmaṇa.

13.25.8 He who, in his ignorance, reviles the established sacred lore or the scripture rightly composed by the sages — know that man to be a slayer of a brāhmaṇa.

13.25.9 He who does not bestow his own daughter, endowed with beauty and grown to maturity, upon a worthy suitor — know that man to be a slayer of a brāhmaṇa.

13.25.10 The deluded man, devoted to unrighteousness, who falsely inflicts upon the twice-born a grief that pierces to the quick — know that man to be a slayer of a brāhmaṇa.

13.25.11 He who carries off the whole property of one bereft of sight, of a cripple, or of a simpleton — know that man to be a slayer of a brāhmaṇa.

13.25.12 He who in his folly sets loose fire upon a hermitage, a forest, a village, or a town — know that man to be a slayer of a brāhmaṇa.

13.26.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: The sight of the sacred fords is a blessing, and bathing in them too, O bull of the Bhāratas; and hearing of them as well, O greatly wise one — I wish to hear of them truly.

13.26.2 Those holy fords that are upon the earth, O bull of the Bhāratas, you ought to tell me of them; I shall listen, intent and self-restrained, O lord.

13.26.3 Bhīṣma said: This lineage of the sacred fords, declared by Aṅgiras, O one of great splendor, you ought to hear — blessings be upon you; you shall attain the highest dharma.

13.26.4 Approaching the brāhmaṇa, the great sage Aṅgiras, who had gone to the grove of austerities, Gautama of rigid vows questioned him, O hero.

13.26.5 I have, O blessed one, a certain doubt concerning the dharma of the sacred fords. All of it I wish to hear; declare it to me, O great sage.

13.26.6 What fruit accrues from touching the waters at those fords, O sage, in the life beyond, O greatly wise one? Tell it to me just as it is.

13.26.7 Aṅgiras said: He who for seven days plunges into the Candrabhāgā and the wave-garlanded Vitastā, fasting and free of all sense of possession, becomes like unto a sage.

13.26.8 The rivers that, in the region of Kāśmīra, fall into the great river — coming to those streams of the Sindhu, the man of virtuous conduct attains heaven.

13.26.9 Having plunged into Puṣkara, Prabhāsa, Naimiṣa, the ocean-waters, the Devikā, the Indramārga, and the Svarṇabindu, a man is awakened set upon a celestial chariot, hymned by the apsarases.

13.26.10 Having stirred the waters of Hiraṇyabindu and, self-controlled, reverently saluted the Kuśeśaya, he attains godhead, and his sin is washed away.

13.26.11 Reaching the Indratoyā near Gandhamādana, and the Karatoyā among the Kuraṅgas, the man who has fasted three nights and plunges in, restrained and pure, gains the fruit of a horse-sacrifice.

13.26.12 Having bathed at the Gate of the Gaṅgā, at Kuśāvarta, at Bilvaka, at Mount Nemi, and at Kanakhala, a man, his sins shaken off, goes to heaven.

13.26.13 Touching the waters at the lake Apāṃ Hrada, a chaste man who has conquered wrath, true to his word and harmless to all, gains the fruit of the Vājapeya sacrifice.

13.26.14 Where the Bhāgīrathī Gaṅgā turns toward the northern quarter, at the abode of Maheśvara, the man who is consecrated there, fasting for a whole month, beholds the gods themselves.

13.26.15 At Saptagaṅga, at Trigaṅga, and at the Indramārga, the man who offers libations to the fathers gains the nectar of immortality to taste, when he is born again.

13.26.16 Touching the waters at Mahāśrama, the pure man devoted to the fire-offering, fasting for a whole month, attains perfection in that month.

13.26.17 Touching the waters at the Great Lake on Bhṛgutuṅga, the man free of greed, having fasted three nights, is released from the guilt of brahmin-murder.

13.26.18 Touching the waters at the Kanyākūpa and making his offering of water in the Balākā, a man wins renown among the gods and shines forth in glory.

13.26.19 Touching the waters at Deśakāla and likewise in the lake Sundarikā, a man gains from the Aśvins beauty and brilliance of form when he passes to the other world.

13.26.20 Touching the waters of the Mahāgaṅgā, and likewise at Kṛttikā and Aṅgāraka, a man who fasts for a single fortnight, made spotless, attains heaven.

13.26.21 Touching the waters at Vaimānika and likewise at the hermitage of Kiṅkiṇīkā, in the celestial dwelling of the apsarases, a man is honored and roams there at will.

13.26.22 Reaching the hermitage of Kālikā and making his offering of water in the Vipāśā, a chaste man who has conquered wrath is freed, after three nights, from the round of rebirth.

13.26.23 He who bathes at the hermitage of the Kṛttikās and offers libations to the fathers, having gladdened Mahādeva, made spotless, attains heaven.

13.26.24 Touching the waters at Mahāpura, a man who has fasted three nights casts off all fear of moving creatures, of unmoving things, and of men.

13.26.25 Having bathed in the Devadāru grove, his sins shaken off, and made his offering of water, the pure man who has fasted seven nights attains the world of the gods.

13.26.26 At Kauśanta, at Kuśastamba, at Droṇaśarmapada, and bathing at Āpaḥprapatana, a man is waited upon by the throngs of apsarases.

13.26.27 Plunging, while fasting, into Citrakūṭa, into Janasthāna, and into the waters of the Mandākinī, a man attains the royal fortune of a king.

13.26.28 Having gone to the hermitage of Śyāmā, and dwelling there and bathing, after spending three sets of three nights in succession, a man may dwell in the city of the gandharvas.

13.26.29 Touching the waters at Ramaṇyā and likewise at Gandhatārikā, a man who fasts for a whole month gains the power of vanishing from sight.

13.26.30 Reaching the Gate of the Kauśikī, a man free of greed who feeds on air alone ascends to heaven after twenty-one nights.

13.26.31 He who bathes in the Mataṅga pool attains perfection in a single night; for he passes through the eternal, supportless, blinding darkness.

13.26.32 He who, with senses subdued, touches the waters at Naimiṣa and at the Svargatīrtha, and offers libations there for a month, wins the fruit of the Puruṣamedha sacrifice.

13.26.33 Touching the waters of the Gaṅgā-pool and likewise of the Utpalāvana, and offering libations there for a month, a man obtains the merit of the Horse Sacrifice.

13.26.34 At the confluence of the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā, and upon Mount Kālaṃjara, touching the Ṣaṣṭi pool—no other gift surpasses what is gained there.

13.26.35 Ten thousand sacred fords, and thirty million others besides, all gather at Prayāga in the month of Māgha, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.26.36 He who, restrained and firm in his vows, bathes at Prayāga during the month of Māgha, O best of the Bhāratas, becomes spotless and attains heaven.

13.26.37 Touching the waters at the Marudgaṇa, pure at the hermitage of the Fathers, and at the ford of Vaivasvata, a man himself becomes as holy as a sacred ford.

13.26.38 So too, having gone to Brahmaśiras and offered libations in the Bhāgīrathī, fasting for one month, a man attains the world of Soma.

13.26.39 A man who bathes at Kapotaka and offers libations at Aṣṭāvakra, fasting for twelve days, wins the fruit of the Naramedha sacrifice.

13.26.40 By visiting Muñjapṛṣṭha and Gayā, Nirṛti and the mountain of the gods, and thirdly the Krauñcapādī, even the slaying of a brāhmaṇa is purged away.

13.26.41 Touching the waters at Kalaśī, and often at the Vedī, bathing at the city of Agni and offering libations at Viśālā, and touching the waters of the Devahrada, a man shines forth, having become one with Brahman.

13.26.42 Having resorted to Purāpavartana, the Nandā, and the Mahānandā, the self-controlled and harmless man is waited upon by the apsarases in the grove of Nandana.

13.26.43 He who, well-composed, goes there at the conjunction of Urvaśī and the Kṛttikā stars, and bathes in due form in the Lauhitya, wins the fruit of the Puṇḍarīka sacrifice.

13.26.44 Touching the waters of the Rāma-pool and offering libations at Viśālā, fasting for twelve days, a man is wholly freed from defilement.

13.26.45 Touching the waters of the Mahāhrada with a purified mind, fasting for one month, a man attains the realm reached by Jamadagni.

13.26.46 Mortifying himself on the Vindhya, true to his word and harmless, standing on one spot for six months, he is purified in but a single month thereafter.

13.26.47 Touching the waters of the Narmadā and likewise the waters of Śūrpāraka, fasting for a fortnight, a man is ordained to be born a king's son.

13.26.48 At Jambūmārga, restrained and well-composed for three months, a man wins perfection in but a single day and night.

13.26.49 Plunging into the waters at Kokāmukha and going to the hermitage of Caṇḍālikā, living on herbs and clad in bark, a man obtains ten maidens.

13.26.50 He whose dwelling is at the Kanyā-pool never goes to the abode of Vaivasvata; rather, he attains the world of the gods.

13.26.51 At Prabhāsa, in a single night on the new moon, the composed man attains perfection here, O mighty-armed one—the man who is born again.

13.26.52 Touching the waters at Ujjānaka, at the hermitage of Ārṣṭiṣeṇa, and bathing at the hermitage of Piṅgā, a man is released from all sins.

13.26.53 Touching the waters at Kulyā and reciting the Aghamarṣaṇa hymn, fasting three nights and pure, a man obtains the merit of the Horse Sacrifice.

13.26.54 Touching the waters at Piṇḍāraka and fasting for one night, a man, pure when the night brightens into dawn, obtains the merit of the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice.

13.26.55 So too, having gone to the Brahmā-lake, adorned by the Dharma forest, a man, pure when the night brightens into dawn, obtains the merit of the Puṇḍarīka sacrifice.

13.26.56 Bathing on Mount Maināka and worshipping at the twilight hours, and conquering desire for a month, a man wins the fruit of the Sarvamedha sacrifice.

13.26.57 Renowned and holy is the Himavat, the mountain that is Śaṃkara's father-in-law, the mine of all gems, frequented by Siddhas and Cāraṇas.

13.26.58 There the twice-born man who has reached the end of the Veda, knowing life to be impermanent, may lay down his body according to the rite, fasting unto death.

13.26.59 Having there worshipped the deities and bowed to the sages, he then, made perfect, goes to heaven, to the eternal world of Brahman.

13.26.60 He who, having conquered desire, anger, and greed, dwells at a sacred ford—there is nothing he has not gained by his pilgrimage to that ford.

13.26.61 Those sacred fords that are unreachable, hard of access, and perilous may be reached in the mind, by gathering together all the fords within oneself.

13.26.62 This is holy, this brings prosperity, this leads to heaven, this gives happiness; this is the secret of the gods, and the purifier of those who bathe.

13.26.63 This one should impart to the twice-born, to the virtuous, or to one's own son; and one may whisper it in the ear of friends, or of a devoted disciple.

13.26.64 This Aṅgiras of great austerity gave to Gautama, with the sanction of his teachers and of the wise Kaśyapa.

13.26.65 This is the supreme prayer of the great purifying sages; reciting it, ever risen from sleep, a man becomes spotless and attains heaven.

13.26.66 And whoever hears this secret, the teaching of Aṅgiras, wins birth in an exalted family and remembers his former lives.

13.27.1 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: His equal to Bṛhaspati in wisdom, like Brahmā in forbearance, equal to Śakra in valour, and matching the Sun in splendour—

13.27.2 upon the son of Gaṅgā of abundant lustre, struck down by Arjuna in battle, Yudhiṣṭhira waited in attendance, together with his brothers and others.

13.27.3 To that best of the Bhāratas, the unshaken one lying upon his hero's bed and awaiting his appointed hour, the great sages came, desiring to behold him.

13.27.4 Atri, Vasiṣṭha, and Bhṛgu, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Aṅgiras, Gautama, Agastya, Sumati, Svāyu the self-possessed,

13.27.5 Viśvāmitra, Sthūlaśiras, Saṃvarta, Pramati, Dama, Uśanas, Bṛhaspati, Vyāsa, Cyavana, Kaśyapa, Dhruva,

13.27.6 Durvāsas and Jamadagni, Mārkaṇḍeya and Gālava, Bharadvāja and Raibhya, Yavakrīta and likewise Trita,

13.27.7 Sthūlākṣa and Śakalākṣa, Kaṇva, Medhātithi, Kṛśa, Nārada and Parvata, Sudhanvan, and then Ekata and Dvita,

13.27.8 Nitaṃbhū, Bhuvana, Dhaumya, Śatānanda, Akṛtavraṇa, and Rāma the son of Jamadagni, and Kāmya, and others such as these—great-souled sages all, gathered to behold Bhīṣma.

13.27.9 To those great-souled ones who had come, Yudhiṣṭhira, together with his brothers, paid homage in due form, one after another.

13.27.10 Thus honoured and seated at ease, the great sages held discourse—discourse centred upon Bhīṣma, most sweet, and delighting every sense.

13.27.11 Bhīṣma, hearing the discourse of those sages of disciplined soul, deemed himself already dwelling in heaven, filled with the highest contentment.

13.27.12 Then those great sages, taking leave of Bhīṣma and the Pāṇḍavas, all vanished from sight while everyone looked on.

13.27.13 Those most blessed sages, though they had vanished, the Pāṇḍavas all praised, and bowed to them again and again.

13.27.14 With serene minds, those best of the Kurus, skilled in sacred verses, attended upon the son of Gaṅgā as upon the rising Sun.

13.27.15 Beholding, through the power of their austerities, those sages illumining all the quarters of the sky, the Pāṇḍavas were filled with the utmost wonder.

13.27.16 Reflecting upon the supreme greatness of those sages, the Pāṇḍavas, together with Bhīṣma, made them the subject of their discourse.

13.27.17 At the close of the talk, the son of Dharma, touching Bhīṣma's feet with his head, put to him a question concerning dharma—Yudhiṣṭhira, the Pāṇḍava.

13.27.18 Which lands, which realms, which hermitages, and which mountains are most excellent in holiness; and which rivers should be known as such, O grandsire?

13.27.19 Bhīṣma said: On this point, too, they tell an ancient tale, the dialogue between one who lived by gleaning ears of grain and a Siddha, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.27.20 A certain man, best among bipeds, having wandered again and again over this earth adorned with mountains, came to the house of an excellent householder—

13.27.21 he reached the home of the gleaner, who, having fulfilled his duty, honoured him in due form and then attended upon that Siddha as his guest.

13.27.22 Those two great souls, meeting and seated at ease, held auspicious discourse bound up with the Veda and marked by what completes its purport.

13.27.23 At the close of the talk, the gleaner, an intelligent man, earnestly addressed the Siddha and asked him the very question that you now ask of me:

13.27.24 The gleaner said: Which lands, which realms, which hermitages, and which mountains are most excellent in holiness; and which rivers should be known as such—let that be told.

13.27.25 The Siddha said: Those lands, those realms, those hermitages, and those mountains are most excellent through whose midst the Bhāgīrathī Gaṅgā, best of rivers, flows.

13.27.26 That goal which a creature attains by resorting to the Gaṅgā, he could not win even by austerity, by chastity, by sacrifices, or again by renunciation.

13.27.27 Those embodied beings whose limbs have been touched and laid to rest by the waters of the Gaṅgā—for them no expulsion from heaven is ever ordained.

13.27.28 Those men all of whose rites have been performed with the waters of the Gaṅgā, O brāhmaṇa, having left the earth, abide unshaken in heaven.

13.27.29 Those men who, having done evil deeds in their earlier years, afterward resort to the Gaṅgā—they too attain the highest goal.

13.27.30 The fruit that comes to men of disciplined soul who have bathed in the pure waters of the Gaṅgā—that comes not even from a hundred sacrifices.

13.27.31 For as many thousands of years as a man's bone rests in the waters of the Gaṅgā, so long does he, having attained heaven, abide there in honour.

13.27.32 As the sun, scattering the dense darkness at its rising, shines forth, so, scattering his sin, shines the man sprinkled with the waters of the Gaṅgā.

13.27.33 As nights are without the moon, as trees are without blossom, so are the lands and the regions that are bereft of the holy waters of the Gaṅgā.

13.27.34 As all the castes and stages of life would be, were they stripped of the knowledge of their own duty, and as sacrifices would be without the Soma—so is the world without the Gaṅgā.

13.27.35 As the sky would be without the sun, the earth without mountains, and space without wind, so are the lands and regions that lack the Gaṅgā—of this there is no doubt.

13.27.36 Whatever living beings there are in the three worlds, all of them, when refreshed with the holy waters of the Gaṅgā, attain the highest satisfaction.

13.27.37 He who drinks the water of the Gaṅgā warmed by the sun gains more than from barley-gruel freed of the cattle's dung-fuel.

13.27.38 Whether a man perform for a thousand lunar fasts the cleansing of the body, or whether he drink the water of the Gaṅgā—whether these two be equal or not equal, who can say?

13.27.39 Whether a man stand for a thousand ages upon a single foot, or whether he dwell but one month by the Gaṅgā—whether these two be equal or not equal, who can say?

13.27.40 Though a man hang head-downward for ten thousand ages, yet he who dwells at the Gaṅgā as he pleases surpasses him.

13.27.41 As cotton cast into the fire is burnt utterly away, O best of the twice-born, so all the sin of one who plunges into the Gaṅgā is burnt away.

13.27.42 For all beings here whose minds are stricken with sorrow and who seek a refuge, there is no refuge like the Gaṅgā.

13.27.43 As serpents are rendered venomless at the sight of Tārkṣya, so by the sight of the Gaṅgā a man is released from all his sins.

13.27.44 To whatever beings are without support, and to whatever beings take refuge in unrighteousness, the Gaṅgā here is their support, their refuge, their comfort, and their armour.

13.27.45 Men of the lowest sort, seized by manifold and grievous evils and falling into hell — if they have taken refuge in the Gaṅgā, she will carry them across once they have passed beyond death.

13.27.46 Those who continually resort to the Gaṅgā — to whom the gods themselves resort — surely share fellowship with the sages and with the gods, Vāsava at their head.

13.27.47 Even those basest of men, devoid of discipline and right conduct and inauspicious in nature — O brāhmaṇa, they become auspicious if they take refuge in the Gaṅgā.

13.27.48 As nectar is to the gods, as the funerary oblation is to the ancestors, as ambrosia is to the serpents, so is the water of the Gaṅgā to mortals.

13.27.49 As children tormented by hunger attend upon their mother, so do embodied beings here, longing for what is highest, attend upon the Gaṅgā.

13.27.50 As the abode of the Self-born is declared the highest of all stations, so the Gaṅgā is here declared, for those who bathe, the foremost of rivers.

13.27.51 As the cow is held the sustainer of those who live by her, and the earth of the gods and the rest, so is the Gaṅgā the sustainer here of all that draws breath and lives by her.

13.27.52 As the gods live upon the nectars that abide in soma and the sun, won through the satra and other sacrifices, so do men live upon the water of the Gaṅgā.

13.27.53 Sprinkled with the sands that rise from the banks of the Jāhnavī, a man deems himself made radiant, as though dwelling in heaven.

13.27.54 He who bears upon his head the clay born of the Jāhnavī's bank bears a form pure and stainless as the sun's, for it destroys all darkness.

13.27.55 And when the wind, anointed by the waves of the Gaṅgā, touches a man, it wipes away his sin that very instant.

13.27.56 For a man scorched by calamities and on the verge of ruin, the joy born of beholding the Gaṅgā draws those calamities away.

13.27.57 With the cries of swans, the calls of the cakravāka, and the songs of other birds the Gaṅgā vies with the gandharvas, and with her sandbanks she rivals the mountains.

13.27.58 Beholding the Gaṅgā thronged with swans and a great many varied birds, and crowded with herds of cattle, one forgets even heaven.

13.27.59 Not even for one dwelling in heaven and enjoying every desire is there such joy as the supreme joy of men upon the bank of the Gaṅgā.

13.27.60 Even a man here seized by sins born of word, mind, and deed becomes purified by beholding the Gaṅgā — of this I have no doubt.

13.27.61 By beholding, touching, and plunging into the Gaṅgā, a man delivers seven generations of ancestors below, seven above, and those still beyond them.

13.27.62 Heard of, longed for, seen, touched, drunk, and bathed in, the Gaṅgā carries across both lineages of men in full measure.

13.27.63 By the sight of her, the touch of her, the drinking of her, and the mere uttering of the name 'Gaṅgā,' she purifies men of no merit by hundreds and by thousands.

13.27.64 He who would have his birth, his life, and his learning bear fruit should go to the Gaṅgā and there satisfy the ancestors and the gods.

13.27.65 Not by sons, nor by wealth, nor by ritual works could a man ever win that utmost fruit which he attains on reaching the Gaṅgā.

13.27.66 Those who, though able, do not look upon the Gaṅgā with her holy and auspicious waters are here the equals of the blind from birth, of the dead, and of cripples.

13.27.67 What man would not wait upon the Gaṅgā, attended as she is by the great sages who know past, present, and future, and by the gods with Indra at their head?

13.27.68 What man would fail to take refuge in the Gaṅgā, to whom forest hermits, householders, ascetics, celibate students, and the learned have resorted?

13.27.69 He who, self-controlled and honored by the wise, with his life-breaths departing fixes his mind in thought upon the Gaṅgā, attains the supreme goal.

13.27.70 The man here who waits upon the Gaṅgā until his body falls away has no fear of any terrors, nor of sins, nor of the king.

13.27.71 That most holy goddess whom Maheśvara, as she fell from the sky, upheld upon his head — her very self he honors in heaven.

13.27.72 The three worlds are adorned by her three pure courses; and the man who resorts to her water becomes one whose every purpose is fulfilled.

13.27.73 As the sun is the light in heaven, and the moon the light of the ancestors, and the lord of the gods supreme among men, so is the Gaṅgā here among rivers.

13.27.74 The grief of one parted from mother, father, sons, wife, or wealth is not so great as the grief born of separation from the Gaṅgā.

13.27.75 Not from forests, nor from beloved objects of sense, nor from sons, nor from the gaining of wealth comes such serenity to men as comes from beholding the Gaṅgā.

13.27.76 As the sight of men grows serene at beholding the full moon, so does their sight grow serene at beholding the Gaṅgā, who flows along three paths.

13.27.77 He whose being is in her, whose mind is set upon her, who is established in her and devoted to her, and who follows the Gaṅgā with devotion, comes to be dear to her.

13.27.78 By beings high and low — those that dwell on earth, those in the air, and those in heaven — the Gaṅgā is ever to be entered; this is the foremost duty of the good.

13.27.79 Throughout the three worlds the fame of the Gaṅgā is renowned for her holiness, in that she led the sons of Sagara, reduced to ashes, up to heaven.

13.27.80 Kindled by the gleaming waves of the Gaṅgā — driven by the wind, swift, mightily resounding, and reared up exceedingly high — he shines like the thousand-rayed sun.

13.27.81 Those steadfast ones who, having gone to the Gaṅgā — rich in waters, rich in butter, exceedingly bountiful, abounding, swift, and hard to ford — have given up their bodies there, have attained equality with the gods.

13.27.82 The glorious, mighty, all-formed Gaṅgā, served by the gods with Indra, by sages, and by men, joins the blind, the dull, and the destitute to every desire fulfilled.

13.27.83 Those who have taken refuge in the Gaṅgā — full of vigor, full of sweetness, most holy, flowing along three courses, the guardian of the three worlds — have gone to heaven.

13.27.84 To the mortal who shall dwell beside her or even behold her, the gods grant joys; and to him whose heart is fixed upon her touch and sight, the gods appoint the goal he desires.

13.27.85 Those who have gone to the Gaṅgā — skillful, broad, mighty, far-extending, auspicious, true, sweet-watered, most serene, radiant, and the foundation of all beings — have gone to the third heaven.

13.27.86 She whose renown of old stood firm forever throughout the sky, heaven, and earth, and through the quarters and the intermediate quarters — by resorting to the water of that best of rivers, all mortals attain their every purpose.

13.27.87 'This is the Gaṅgā' — she is the steadfast support, the bearer in her womb of Guha and of the golden one; at dawn she runs along three paths, carrying butter, free of all sin, descended from the firmament, her waters poured forth on every side.

13.27.88 The consort of Hara, who bears the mountains, befitting the girdle alike of heaven and of earth, gracious, the destiny of the earth — she shines, O king: the Gaṅgā, bestower of merit upon the three worlds.

13.27.89 Her stream is sweet as honey, adorned by great waves uplifted with the hue of butter and by brāhmaṇas as well; fallen from heaven and borne upon Bhava's head, the Gaṅgā, upholder of the earth, is the garland of the third heaven.

13.27.90 The most excellent womb, stainless, far-spreading, mighty, the nourishing draught, the bearer of waters, the giver of fame, all-containing, very form itself, the sacrifice, kindled — the Gaṅgā is the path of the world for those whom she has sprinkled.

13.27.91 In forbearance the equal of the earth, in protecting and upholding, and in radiance the equal of fire and of the sun, the Gaṅgā is ever honored by the brāhmaṇas and by Guha's devotion to the brahman.

13.27.92 Those who in this world have taken refuge with their whole being — even in mind — in the Jāhnavī, praised by sages, sprung from Viṣṇu's foot, ancient, of most holy waters, have gone forth to the abode of Brahmā.

13.27.93 She who leads these worlds onward as a mother leads her sons, endowed in her whole being with every excellence — the Gaṅgā is ever to be honored by the self-controlled who here seek their own desired and holy station, the abode of Brahmā.

13.27.94 The self-controlled man who longs for perfection should take refuge in the Gaṅgā — radiant, beloved, ever-watchful, watered on every side, the nourishing draught, armed with the thunderbolt, abounding, the refuge of the mountains, the refuge of the wise, immortal, beloved of Brahmā.

13.27.95 Bhagīratha, having propitiated all the gods together with their lords, by fierce austerity brought the Gaṅgā down to earth; and the man who resorts to her unceasingly knows no fear, neither here nor hereafter.

13.27.96 Of her virtues I have, having pondered with my understanding, set forth before you but a single portion in every way; I have no power here to tell, or likewise to measure out, all her virtues.

13.27.97 The whole hoard of jewels of Meru and the ocean, the number of the pebbles, or even of the drops of water, might be told — but here the recital of the virtues of the Gaṅgā's waters can neither be told nor measured out.

13.27.98 Therefore let a man, joined with supreme devotion and possessed of the highest faith, honor by speech, by mind, and by deed all these virtues of the Jāhnavī, which I have spoken with supreme faith.

13.27.99 Spreading your fame across these three worlds, and winning that great and hard-won perfection, you shall ere long roam at will through the desired worlds that the Gaṅgā bestows.

13.27.100 May the mind of you and of me, exalted in spirit, ever delight in the virtues that belong to our own dharma; for the Gaṅgā, tender toward those who come to her, cherishes the devout one and joins him to every joy.

13.27.101 Bhīṣma said: Having thus in manifold ways instructed Śilaratin in the many true virtues that pertain to the discourse on the threefold-pathed river, that radiant siddha of supreme wisdom entered the vault of heaven.

13.27.102 And Śilavṛtti, then enlightened by the words of the siddha, having honored the Gaṅgā according to the rule, attained that perfection most hard to win.

13.27.103 Therefore you too, son of Kuntī, joined with supreme devotion, resort unceasingly to the Gaṅgā, and you shall attain the highest perfection.

13.27.104 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Having heard this tale told by Bhīṣma, joined with the praise of the Gaṅgā, Yudhiṣṭhira together with his brothers attained the highest joy.

13.27.105 Whoever should hear or recite this holy tale, joined with the praise of the Gaṅgā, would be released from all his sins.

13.28.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Since you, O best of the upholders of dharma, are endowed with wisdom and learning, with conduct and character, with all the virtues, and with the fullness of years, therefore I ask you concerning dharma.

13.28.2 By what means, O best of kings, might a kṣatriya, or a vaiśya, or a śūdra attain brāhmaṇahood? This you ought to explain to me.

13.28.3 If one should desire brāhmaṇahood, whether by very great austerity, or by ritual works, or by sacred learning — tell me this, grandsire.

13.28.4 Bhīṣma said: Brāhmaṇahood, dear son, is hard for the three orders headed by the kṣatriyas to attain; for this, Yudhiṣṭhira, is the highest station of all beings.

13.28.5 Passing through many wombs, being born again and again, only in some turn of the cycle, dear son, is one born as a brāhmaṇa.

13.28.6 On this point too they tell this ancient tale, Yudhiṣṭhira: the dialogue of Mataṅga and the she-ass.

13.28.7 There was, dear son, a mighty son of a certain twice-born man, of like color to his father, Mataṅga by name, endowed with every virtue.

13.28.8 That performer of sacrifice, O son of Kuntī, scorcher of foes, sent forth by his father, set out upon a swift-going chariot yoked with asses.

13.28.9 He, O king, with his goad pierced again and again upon the nose a young ass that was drawing the chariot beside its mother.

13.28.10 But the she-ass, yearning for her offspring, seeing him grievously wounded, said: 'Grieve not, my child; it is a caṇḍāla who sits over you.'

13.28.11 'In a brāhmaṇa there is no cruelty; a brāhmaṇa is called the friend of all. He is the teacher and chastiser of all beings — why would he strike?'

13.28.12 'But this one, of evil nature, shows no mercy to a young creature; he does but honor his own origin — a nature passes on to its like.'

13.28.13 Hearing this harsh speech of the she-ass, Mataṅga quickly stepped down from the chariot and answered her.

13.28.14 'Tell me, gracious she-ass, by whom was my mother defiled? How do you know me to be a caṇḍāla? Quickly, she-ass, declare it to me.'

13.28.15 'By whom was I born a caṇḍāla, so that my brāhmaṇahood is lost to me? Tell me this truly, O most wise one, all of it without reserve.'

13.28.16 The she-ass said: 'You were begotten by a śūdra, a barber, upon a brāhmaṇa woman maddened with drink; therefore you are a caṇḍāla, and therefore your brāhmaṇahood is lost.'

13.28.17 Thus addressed, Mataṅga turned back homeward; and seeing him return, his father then spoke these words.

13.28.18 'By me you were appointed to the weighty task of the completion of the sacrifice; why have you turned back? Is it that all is not well with you?'

13.28.19 Mataṅga said: 'He may be well whose birth is from no womb, or from the highest womb; but whence can there be well-being for him whose mother is such as this, O father?'

13.28.20 Father, this she-donkey, no mere beast but more than human, declares me born of a brāhmaṇa woman by a man of the lowest sort; therefore I shall practice a mighty austerity.

13.28.21 Having spoken thus to his father, his resolve fixed, he set out; and going to the great forest, he practiced a mighty austerity.

13.28.22 Then Mataṅga, endowed with austerity, scorched the gods with the heat of his penance, seeking to win a blissful station beyond even that gained by right conduct.

13.28.23 To him, thus engaged in austerity, the bearer of the bay steeds said: "Mataṅga, why do you mortify yourself, casting aside the pleasures of men?"

13.28.24 "Come, I grant you a boon; choose whatever you desire. And whatever else may be obtained, declare it all to me without delay."

13.28.25 Mataṅga said: "Longing for brāhmaṇahood, I have undertaken this austerity. May I attain it and reach that state here; this is the boon I have chosen."

13.28.26 Hearing these words, Puraṃdara said to him: "You crave brāhmaṇahood, which is unattainable by those whose selves are unperfected."

13.28.27 "Craving that supreme thing, the foremost among all beings, which no austerity can surpass, you will soon perish."

13.28.28 "That which is held the highest purity among gods, asuras, and mortals can in no way be attained by one born in the womb of a caṇḍāla."

13.29.1 Bhīṣma said: Thus addressed, Mataṅga, his soul resolute and his vows controlled, stood upon one foot for a hundred years, O unfaltering one.

13.29.2 Then the greatly renowned Śakra spoke to him once again: "Mataṅga, you seek that highest station, which is most hard to win."

13.29.3 "Do not act so rashly, my son; this is not the path of dharma for you. Craving what cannot be attained, you will soon perish."

13.29.4 "Mataṅga, though restrained by me once, you still strive by austerity for the highest station; by no means will you attain it."

13.29.5 "If any creature fallen into the womb of beasts comes at last to human birth, it is born now and then as a pulkasa or a caṇḍāla."

13.29.6 "Whoever here is marked as a son of a wanton woman or of a sinful womb, Mataṅga, revolves in that very condition for a very long time."

13.29.7 "Then, after a tenfold span of time, he attains even the state of a śūdra; and in the śūdra womb thereafter he revolves many times."

13.29.8 "Then, after a thirtyfold span of time, he attains even the state of a vaiśya; and in that vaiśya condition he revolves for a long time."

13.29.9 "Then, after a sixtyfold span of time, he is born one called a rājanya; and in that kṣatriya estate he revolves for a long time."

13.29.10 "Then, after a sixtyfold span of time, he attains kinship with brāhmaṇas; and as such a brahma-kinsman he revolves for a long time."

13.29.11 "Then, after twice a hundred such spans, he attains the state of a kāṇḍapṛṣṭha; and as a kāṇḍapṛṣṭha he revolves for a long time."

13.29.12 "Then, after thrice a hundred such spans, he attains even the state of a twice-born; and having reached it, he revolves there for a long time."

13.29.13 "Then, after four hundred such spans, he is born one called a śrotriya, learned in the Veda; and in that śrotriya estate he revolves for a long time."

13.29.14 "And even then anger and elation, desire and hatred, excessive pride and harsh speech, my son, enter that lowest of the twice-born."

13.29.15 "If he conquers those enemies, he then attains the good path; but if they conquer him, he is cast down as from the top of a palm tree."

13.29.16 "Mataṅga, having weighed this, on account of which I have urged you, choose some other desire; for brāhmaṇahood is very hard to win."

13.30.1 Bhīṣma said: Thus addressed, Mataṅga, sunk deep in grief, went to Gayā and stood there poised upon his great toe for a hundred years.

13.30.2 Sustaining a most difficult discipline, grown gaunt with his veins standing forth, reduced to skin and bone, that righteous soul fell down at last—so we have heard.

13.30.3 As he fell, Vāsava rushed forward and caught him—the lord and bestower of boons, devoted to the welfare of all beings.

13.30.4 Śakra said: "Mataṅga, your attaining of brāhmaṇahood is hedged about by obstacles. He who honors the brāhmaṇa wins happiness; he who fails to honor him wins sorrow."

13.30.5 "In the brāhmaṇa the welfare and security of all beings rests secure; through brāhmaṇas the ancestors and the gods alike are satisfied."

13.30.6 "The brāhmaṇa, Mataṅga, is declared the highest of all beings; for the brāhmaṇa accomplishes whatever and however he wishes."

13.30.7 "Passing through many wombs, being born again and again, only at some turn in the round, my son, does one here come upon brāhmaṇahood."

13.30.8 Mataṅga said: "Why do you torment me, stricken with grief, and slay me who am already dead? But I grieve for that man who, having gained brāhmaṇahood, cares not to be a brāhmaṇa."

13.30.9 "If brāhmaṇahood is hard to win for the three other varṇas, O lord of a hundred sacrifices, yet having gained that thing so hard to win, men do not live up to it."

13.30.10 "He is the most sinful of the sinful, the basest among them, who slights his brāhmaṇahood as a man might slight a hard-won treasure he has gained."

13.30.11 "Hard indeed to attain is the brāhmaṇa's estate, and once attained, hard to maintain; yet having won this thing so hard to win, men do not live up to it."

13.30.12 "I delight in solitude, O Śakra, free from the pairs of opposites, owning nothing, established in non-violence, self-restraint, and giving—how am I not worthy of the brāhmaṇa's estate?"

13.30.13 "Grant then that I may roam at will, a bird that takes what form it wishes; that I may receive honor without offense to brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya; and that my fame, O Puraṃdara, may become imperishable."

13.30.14 Indra said: "Renowned as Chandodeva, you shall become an object of worship among women."

13.30.15 Bhīṣma said: Having granted him this boon, Vāsava vanished; and Mataṅga too, giving up his life-breaths, attained that highest station.

13.30.16 So this highest station, called brāhmaṇahood, O Bhārata, is hard to win in this world, even as the words of great Indra declared.

13.31.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: I have heard this great tale, O upholder of the Kuru line; you declare brāhmaṇahood most hard to win, O best of speakers.

13.31.2 Yet it is heard that long ago Viśvāmitra attained brāhmaṇahood; and still you say it is hard to win, O most virtuous one.

13.31.3 And I have heard that the royal sage Vītahavya passed into the brāhmaṇa's estate; that very story, son of Gaṅgā, I wish to hear, O mighty one.

13.31.4 By what deed did he attain brāhmaṇahood, O best of kings—by a boon, or by austerity? That you should be pleased to explain to me.

13.31.5 Bhīṣma said: Hear, O king, how the greatly renowned king Vītahavya, though a kṣatriya, came to attain the brāhmaṇahood that the world reveres.

13.31.6 Of the great-souled Manu, who ruled by the dharma of a guardian of his people, there was a righteous son, renowned by the name of Śaryāti.

13.31.7 In his line, O king, there arose two kings, Haihaya and Tālajaṅgha, among the Vatsas, O best of the victorious.

13.31.8 Of Haihaya's sons by ten wives, O Bhārata, there came to be a famed hundred, heroes who never turned back in battle.

13.31.9 Equal in form and power, learned and skilled in war, they had labored diligently in every branch of the science of archery and of the Veda.

13.31.10 Among the Kāśis too, O king, there was a ruler, the grandfather of Divodāsa, renowned as Haryaśva, best of the victorious.

13.31.11 The heirs of Vītahavya came against him, O bull among men, and in the land between the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā he was struck down in battle.

13.31.12 Having slain that finest of men, those Haihaya great chariot-warriors returned, free from all fear, to the lovely city of the Vatsas.

13.31.13 Then Haryaśva's heir Sudeva, godlike in his splendor, like Dharma himself made manifest, was consecrated king of Kāśi.

13.31.14 As the righteous joy of the Kāśis was ruling the earth, those sons of Vītahavya came once more and in battle utterly defeated him.

13.31.15 Having defeated him too in the fray, they returned as they had come; and then Sudeva's son Divodāsa was consecrated lord of Kāśi.

13.31.16 But Divodāsa, knowing well the prowess of those great-souled foes, in his great splendor built the city of Vārāṇasī at Śakra's command.

13.31.17 It was thronged with brāhmaṇas and kṣatriyas, teeming with vaiśyas and śūdras, heaped with goods of every kind, rich in its markets and its stalls.

13.31.18 On the northern bank of the Gaṅgā, by the edge of the rampart, O best of kings, and on the southern side of the Gomatī—like Śakra's own Amarāvatī.

13.31.19 There, as that tiger among kings, the lord of the earth, was dwelling, the Hehayas came once again and assailed him on every side, O Bhārata.

13.31.20 That mighty king of great radiance, Divodāsa, sallied forth and gave them battle, dreadful as the clash of gods and asuras.

13.31.21 In that battle, O great king, for a thousand days, with the most of his mounts slain, he was at last brought to wretchedness.

13.31.22 His warriors slain and his treasury drained, O king, the lord of the earth Divodāsa abandoned his city and gave himself over to flight.

13.31.23 Coming to the hermitage of the wise Bharadvāja, the king sought refuge with folded hands, O subduer of foes.

13.31.24 The king said: "Holy one, the sons of Vītahavya have destroyed my line in battle; I alone, utterly afflicted, have come to you for refuge."

13.31.25 "By your affection for a pupil, holy one, you ought to protect me; for my line has been left without remnant by those doers of evil deeds."

13.31.26 To him the blessed and mighty Bharadvāja said: "Fear not, fear not, son of Sudeva; let your dread depart."

13.31.27 "This very day I shall perform a sacrifice for a son for you, O lord of the people, that you may overcome the thousands of Vītahavya's kin."

13.31.28 Then the sage performed for him that sacrifice for the gaining of a son; and there was born to him a boy renowned as Pratardana.

13.31.29 No sooner was he born than he grew, on the instant, to a youth of thirteen years, and mastered the whole Veda and the science of archery, O Bhārata.

13.31.30 Pervaded by the yoga of the wise Bharadvāja, he gathered into himself the splendor of the world and entered into that prince.

13.31.31 Then, mailed, bow in hand and arrows ready, blazing like fire, he marched forth, brandishing his bow like a rain-cloud about to pour.

13.31.32 Beholding him, Sudeva's son was filled with the highest joy, and that king reckoned in his mind that the sons of Vītahavya were already consumed.

13.31.33 Then, having installed Pratardana in the office of heir-apparent, the king rejoiced, accounting himself to have accomplished his purpose.

13.31.34 Then for the slaying of the sons of Vītahavya that lord of the earth sent forth his son, Pratardana, the subduer of foes.

13.31.35 Swiftly that valiant one, conqueror of hostile cities, crossed the Gaṅgā with his chariot and marched upon the city of the sons of Vītahavya.

13.31.36 But the sons of Vītahavya, hearing the swelling thunder of his chariot, sallied forth on chariots vast as fortresses, crushers of the chariots of their foes.

13.31.37 Sallying forth, those tigers among men, mailed and skilled in varied fighting, weapons raised, struck at Pratardana with showers of arrows.

13.31.38 With missiles of every kind and floods of chariots, O Yudhiṣṭhira, they rained upon the king as rain-clouds upon the Himālaya.

13.31.39 Warding off their missiles with his own, king Pratardana of great splendor slew them with arrows that were like the thunderbolt and like fire.

13.31.40 Their heads severed by his broad-headed arrows, O king, they fell in their hundreds and thousands, their limbs drenched in blood, like kiṃśuka trees cut down.

13.31.41 When all those sons were slain, Vītahavya fled, abandoning his city, and made his way even to the hermitage of Bhṛgu.

13.31.42 The king Vītahavya went to Bhṛgu for refuge, and Bhṛgu, O king, granted that king his protection; then, becoming Bhṛgu's disciple, he was offered a seat as well.

13.31.43 Then, hard upon his heels, Pratardana swiftly arrived there; and reaching the precincts of the hermitage, the son of Divodāsa spoke.

13.31.44 "Ho there! Who are present in this hermitage as disciples of the great-souled Bhṛgu? I wish to see the sage; announce me to him."

13.31.45 When Bhṛgu learned of him, he came forth from the hermitage and honored him then with the highest ceremony.

13.31.46 And he said to that prince, O lord of kings, "What is your purpose?" And the king told him the reason for his coming.

13.31.47 "This king Vītahavya, O brahman, let him be given up from here; for by his sons, O brahman, my whole lineage was destroyed, and the realm of the Kāśis with its store of treasures was laid waste."

13.31.48 "The hundred sons of this man, drunk with his might, were slain by me; now by his death, O brahman, I shall become free of my debt to my father."

13.31.49 To him Bhṛgu, foremost of the upholders of dharma, filled with compassion, said: "There is no kṣatriya here at all; for all these are brahmans."

13.31.50 Hearing this truthful word of Bhṛgu, Pratardana gently touched his feet and, smiling, spoke these words:

13.31.51 "Even so, O blessed one, I have accomplished my purpose, without doubt, since by my prowess this king has been made to forsake his own caste."

13.31.52 "Give me leave, O brahman, and think of me with kindly intent; for by me this king has been made to lose his caste, O scion of Bhṛgu."

13.31.53 Then, granted leave by him, King Pratardana departed as he had come, O great king, like a serpent that has discharged its venom.

13.31.54 And by the mere word of Bhṛgu, Vītahavya attained, O great king, the state of a brahman seer and the mastery of brahman-lore.

13.31.55 His son was Gṛtsamada, in beauty like a second Indra, who was once seized by the Daityas with the cry, "You are Śakra!"

13.31.56 And there is a foremost sacred text in this regard in the Ṛgveda, O lord of peoples, wherein that Gṛtsamada, O brahman, is exalted by the brahmans.

13.31.57 That Gṛtsamada became a celibate brahman seer, illustrious; and Gṛtsamada's son too was a brahman named Sucetas.

13.31.58 Varcas was the son of the mighty-splendored one, and Vihavya was his offspring; Vihavya's son was Vitatya, and his offspring in turn.

13.31.59 Vitatya's son was Satya, and Santa was Satya's offspring; his son was the seer Śravas, and from Śravas came Tamas.

13.31.60 And from Tamas was born a son, Prakāśa, best of the twice-born; and from Prakāśa came Vāgindra, foremost of the victorious.

13.31.61 His son was Pramati, master of the Vedas and the Vedāṅgas; and to him by Ghṛtācī was born a son named Ruru.

13.31.62 And to Ruru by Pramadvarā was born a son, a brahman seer named Śunaka, whose son in turn was Śaunaka.

13.31.63 Thus did the king Vītahavya attain to brahman-hood, by the grace of Bhṛgu, O lord of kings, though a kṣatriya, O bull among kṣatriyas.

13.31.64 So too has the lineage of Gṛtsamada been recounted by me to you in full, O great king. What else do you ask?

13.32.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Who are to be honored, who are to be reverenced by men, O bull of the Bhāratas? Tell me this in full, for I am not sated; let it be told.

13.32.2 Bhīṣma said: On this too they recount this ancient tale, the dialogue of the two, Nārada and Vāsudeva.

13.32.3 Seeing Nārada with joined palms doing honor to the bulls among the twice-born, Keśava asked him: "Blessed one, whom do you reverence?"

13.32.4 "Toward whom is your highest regard, those whom you reverence? If it may be heard, I wish to know; tell me this, O best of the knowers of dharma."

13.32.5 Nārada said: Hear, O Govinda, those whom I honor, O crusher of foes; for what man in the world other than you is worthy to hear this here?

13.32.6 Varuṇa, Vāyu, the Sun, Parjanya, the fire-born Jātavedas, Sthāṇu, Skanda, and Lakṣmī, Viṣṇu and Brahmā too—

13.32.7 Vācaspati, the Moon, the Waters, the Earth, and Sarasvatī—those who reverence these unceasingly, them do I reverence, O mighty one.

13.32.8 Those rich in austerity, knowers of the Veda, ever devoted to the Veda, most worthy—O tiger of the Vṛṣṇis, them I always honor.

13.32.9 Those who, before eating, perform the rites of the gods, free of boastfulness, content and endowed with forbearance—them I reverence, O mighty one.

13.32.10 Those who give rightly to the worthy—patient, self-controlled, masters of their senses—grain, wealth, land, and cattle, them I reverence, O Yādava.

13.32.11 Those who dwell in austerity in the forest, feeding on roots and fruits, hoarding nothing, performing their rites—them I reverence, O Yādava.

13.32.12 Those intent upon supporting their dependents, ever fond of guests, who eat what remains after offering to the gods—them I reverence, O Yādava.

13.32.13 Those who, having mastered the Veda, are unassailable, eloquent, expounders of the brahman, ever engaged in performing sacrifices and in teaching—them I honor.

13.32.14 And those of serene heart toward all beings always, devoted to their study even to the point of bodily exhaustion—them I honor.

13.32.15 Those who strive for the favor of their teacher and for their study, steadfast in their vows, eager to serve and free of envy—them I reverence, O Yādava.

13.32.16 Those sages of good vows, devoted to the brahman, true to their pledges, bearers of offerings to gods and ancestors—them I reverence, O Yādava.

13.32.17 Those devoted to the practice of begging, lean, sheltering in the teacher's house, without comfort and without wealth—them I reverence, O Yādava.

13.32.18 Free of possessiveness, free of rivalry, free of false shame, free of selfish ends, devoted to non-injury, and those men vowed to truth, self-controlled and intent on tranquillity—them I reverence, O Keśava.

13.32.19 Householders devoted to the worship of gods and guests, who live always like the dove, gleaning only what suffices—them I reverence, O Yādava.

13.32.20 Those in whose deeds the three aims of life abide and are not diminished, who follow the conduct of the cultivated—them I reverence always.

13.32.21 Those brahmans in the three worlds who pursue the three aims of life, free of greed, of holy character—them I reverence, O Keśava.

13.32.22 Those who feed always on water, on air, or on nectar, and who are bound by various vows—them I reverence, O Mādhava.

13.32.23 Those of no womb, those born of fire, those born of the brahman, and those born of the self that is the source of all beings—those twice-born I reverence.

13.32.24 These I reverence always, O Kṛṣṇa—the seers who make the worlds, eldest of the worlds, fixed in knowledge, destroyers of darkness, lights of the world.

13.32.25 Therefore you too, O scion of the Vṛṣṇis, honor the twice-born always; for when honored, those worthy of honor will grant you happiness, O sinless one.

13.32.26 For in this world and in the next these are ever givers of happiness; honored as they deserve, they will indeed bestow happiness upon you.

13.32.27 Those who are ever hospitable to all, devoted always to cattle and to brahmans and to truth—they pass beyond all hardships.

13.32.28 Those ever intent on tranquillity, and those free of envy, and those ever devoted to their study—they pass beyond all hardships.

13.32.29 Those who reverence all the gods while relying upon a single god, full of faith and self-controlled—they pass beyond all hardships.

13.32.30 And likewise those who, having reverenced the foremost brahmans of disciplined vows, become devoted to giving—they pass beyond all hardships.

13.32.31 Those who, having established the sacred fires according to rule, maintain them with care and have attained the soma-offering—they pass beyond all hardships.

13.32.32 Those who always conduct themselves rightly toward mother and father and teachers, just as you do, O tiger of the Vṛṣṇis—so saying, he fell silent.

13.32.33 Therefore you too, O son of Kuntī, rightly honor ancestors, gods, the twice-born, and guests, by which you shall attain the goal you desire.

13.33.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Of all a king's duties, which is the weightiest, O grandsire? By doing what deed does a king win both worlds?

13.33.2 Bhīṣma said: This is the foremost duty of a consecrated king, O Bhārata: the serving of brahmans. One who desires the highest happiness should ever honor the learned, the brahmans, and the aged.

13.33.3 And the brahmans of city and countryside, deeply learned, he should honor with conciliating words, with gifts of enjoyments, and with marks of reverence.

13.33.4 He should mark this as ever the foremost duty of a king; he should cherish them as he would himself, as he would his own sons.

13.33.5 And those among them who are most worthy of honor he should honor steadfastly; when they are at peace, the whole realm shines forth.

13.33.6 They are to be honored, they to be reverenced, they to be guarded like one's own fathers; upon them rests the world's course, as upon Vāsava that of beings.

13.33.7 By sorceries and by stratagems, even by their own fiery power, they could consume; when angered, the fierce ones, whose valor is truth, could leave nothing remaining.

13.33.8 I see no limit to their power, nor any quarter left uncovered; when angered they blaze up like flames of fire in a forest conflagration.

13.33.9 There are found in them daring qualities in the extreme; some are like wells covered over with grass, while others are pure as the sky.

13.33.10 Some among them act by force, others are soft as cotton; some of them are exceedingly crafty, while still others are exceeding ascetics.

13.33.11 Some practice farming and the tending of cattle, others live by begging; some are thieves, others liars, and yet others actors and dancers.

13.33.12 They are seen in all occupations, the peaceful and the other kind, and endowed with manifold ways of life are the brahmans, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.33.13 Engaged though they are in diverse occupations and living by many trades, they are knowers of dharma and good men; their praise one should ever proclaim.

13.33.14 Of ancestors and of gods, of men, serpents, and rākṣasas, the brahmans, O lord of men, are the highly blessed household priests.

13.33.15 These twice-born cannot be conquered by gods, nor by ancestors, nor by gandharvas, nor by rākṣasas, nor by asuras, nor by piśācas.

13.33.16 They could make a non-god into a god, and a god into a non-god; whomever they wish, he becomes king, and whomever they hate, he comes to ruin.

13.33.17 And those senseless ones who utter reproach against the brahmans—the twice-born, skilled in blame and praise, who dispense fame and infamy, high and low, grow ever wrathful, O king, toward those who hate them.

13.33.18 The man whom the brahmans praise, that man prospers; but he who is reviled by the brahmans comes to ruin in an instant.

13.33.19 The Śakas, Yavanas, and Kāmbojas, and those various kṣatriya races, have fallen into the condition of degraded men through the absence of brahmans.

13.33.20 The Dramiḷas and Kaliṅgas, the Pulindas and Uśīnaras, the Kaulas, Sarpas, and Māhiṣakas—those various kṣatriya races—

13.33.21 have fallen into the condition of degraded men through the absence of brahmans. Better is defeat at their hands than victory, O best of the victorious.

13.33.22 Even one who should slay all this world—there is nothing equal to slaying a brahman; the killing of a brahman is a grievous sin, so say the supreme seers.

13.33.23 Reviling of the twice-born must never be listened to under any circumstance. Either let a man sit silent with face bowed down, or let him rise and walk away.

13.33.24 There is none born, nor to be born, upon this earth, who by setting himself against the brāhmaṇas could dare to live in ease.

13.33.25 Hard to seize with the fist is the wind, hard to touch with the hand is the moon, hard to bear upon the head is the earth—and hard to conquer upon this world are the brāhmaṇas.

13.34.1 Bhīṣma said: The brāhmaṇas, ever and always, one should honor with the utmost zeal, for they have Soma for their king and are the masters of joy and sorrow.

13.34.2 With enjoyments, with adornments, and with whatever else they may desire, they are ever to be honored, saluted, and protected by kings as one's own fathers; for from this comes the peace of the realm, as the peace of all beings comes from Vāsava.

13.34.3 Let there be born in the realm a pure brāhmaṇa radiant with sacred lore; and a mighty-chariot warrior of the royal line, a scorcher of foes, is to be wished for.

13.34.4 A brāhmaṇa endowed with noble birth, knowing dharma, of well-honed vows—him, O king, let one settle in one's house; truly there is nothing higher than that.

13.34.5 The oblation given to brāhmaṇas the gods receive, and the fathers of all beings; than these there is known nothing higher.

13.34.6 The sun, the moon, the wind, the earth, the waters, the sky, the quarters—all of these, entering into the brāhmaṇa, partake of the good food offered.

13.34.7 The fathers do not eat of the man whose brāhmaṇas do not eat; nor do the gods partake of that sinner who hates the brāhmaṇas.

13.34.8 But when the brāhmaṇas are content, the fathers too are ever pleased, and likewise the gods, O king; in this no doubt need be entertained.

13.34.9 Likewise are those pleased to whom that oblation comes; and they do not perish after death, but attain the supreme goal.

13.34.10 By whatever oblation a man satisfies the brāhmaṇas, by that very same the fathers are pleased, and the gods as well.

13.34.11 From the brāhmaṇa alone arises that being whence creatures spring, whence this world comes forth, and whither it goes after death.

13.34.12 He knows the path of heaven and likewise of hell, both what has come and what has not yet come—the brāhmaṇa, best of two-footed beings. The brāhmaṇa, O finest of the Bhāratas, knows his own dharma by his wisdom.

13.34.13 And those who follow him go not to ruin; they do not perish after death, nor do they come to downfall.

13.34.14 Those who accept the word received from the brāhmaṇa's mouth—the perfected of soul, the great-spirited—they go not to downfall.

13.34.15 Of the kṣatriyas who blaze forth with energy and with might, their splendors and their powers find their quenching in the brāhmaṇas alone.

13.34.16 The Bhṛgus conquered the Tālajaṅghas, the Aṅgirases conquered the Nīpas, and Bharadvāja conquered the Vaitahavyas and the Ailas, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.34.17 These, with the black antelope-skin for their banner, conquered even the Citrāyudhas; and having cast away the water-jars, one should set out upon him who would carry men across.

13.34.18 Whatever is told in the world, whatever is heard or seen, all of that abides in the brāhmaṇas, as fire lies hidden in wood.

13.34.19 On this point, too, they recite this ancient tale, the dialogue between Vāsudeva and the Earth, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.34.20 Vāsudeva said: O auspicious one, mother of all beings, I ask you my doubt: by what deed does a householder put away his sin?

13.34.21 The Earth said: Let him serve the brāhmaṇas, for this is the highest purifier; for one who serves the brāhmaṇas, all his impurity is destroyed.

13.34.22 From this comes prosperity, from this glory, from this is wisdom born—for those below, for those above, and for those still beyond the highest.

13.34.23 The man whom the brāhmaṇas praise, he flourishes; but he who is reviled by the brāhmaṇas comes to ruin before long.

13.34.24 As a lump of unbaked clay cast into the great ocean dissolves away, so an ill-doing deed conduces to one's downfall.

13.34.25 Behold the mark set upon the moon, the salt water in the ocean, and great Indra branded with the thousand marks.

13.34.26 By their very power he became the thousand-eyed one, the lord of a hundred sacrifices—behold, O Mādhava, of what kind that was.

13.34.27 Desiring prosperity and glory and the higher worlds, O slayer of Madhu, let a man abide pure and self-possessed by the consent of the brāhmaṇas.

13.34.28 Having heard this word of the Earth, the slayer of Madhu, saying "Well said, well said, so be it," did reverence to the Earth in return.

13.34.29 Having heard this parable, O Pārtha, with diligence honor the bulls among brāhmaṇas continually; thereby you shall attain to good.

13.35.1 Bhīṣma said: By his very birth the one called brāhmaṇa is born greatly blessed, to be saluted by all beings, a guest who eats the first portion set forth.

13.35.2 All the brāhmaṇas are our well-wishers, my son, kindly of face; when honored, they wish us well with words laden with blessing.

13.35.3 But all the brāhmaṇas become our foes, my son, their wrath aroused, and when slighted they would strike with words laden with menace.

13.35.4 On this point those who know the past recite verses sung by Brahmā; for the Ordainer, having created the twice-born, addressed them as of old.

13.35.5 Nothing else here, nothing beyond, need be done by you according to rule: guarded yourselves, guard the sacred lore—therein lies your fair and excellent good.

13.35.6 As you perform your own proper work, the splendor of Brahman shall be yours; you shall become the measure of all beings, and shall attain to mastery over them.

13.35.7 No śūdra's work should be done by a learned brāhmaṇa, for when one performs a śūdra's work, his dharma is obstructed.

13.35.8 Splendor and wisdom and energy and majestic dominion—and through self-study alone you shall attain a stainless greatness of soul.

13.35.9 Having offered into the fire set in the āhavanīya hearth, established in high blessedness, you are the first to be fed among created beings, fashioned with the splendor of Brahman.

13.35.10 Endowed with supreme faith, gained without malice, devoted to self-restraint and self-study, you shall attain all your desires.

13.35.11 Whatever there is in the world of men, and whatever among the gods, all of that is attainable by austerity, by knowledge, and by discipline.

13.35.12 Thus have these verses sung by Brahmā been recounted to you by me, O sinless one; for this was uttered by that wise one out of compassion for the brāhmaṇas.

13.35.13 Greater still I deem the power of those ascetics than even that of a king: unapproachable, fierce, impetuous, swift to act.

13.35.14 Among them are some of lion-nature and others of tiger-nature, some of boar-and-deer nature and others of elephant-nature.

13.35.15 Some are soft as cotton, while others strike like the makara; some slay by mere speech, and others slay with a glance.

13.35.16 There are those like venomous serpents, and there are others mild; manifold are the ways of the brāhmaṇas here, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.35.17 The Mekalas, the Dramiḍas, the Kāśas, the Pauṇḍras, and the Kollagiras, the Śauṇḍikas, the Daradas, the Darvas, the Cauras, the Śabaras and Barbaras—

13.35.18 the Kirātas and the Yavanas too—those various kṣatriya races sank into the state of low-born men through failing to behold the brāhmaṇas.

13.35.19 Through their contempt for the brāhmaṇas, the asuras lie sunk in the waters; and through the grace of the brāhmaṇas, the gods are dwellers in heaven.

13.35.20 The sky cannot be touched, the Himavān mountain cannot be moved, the Gaṅgā cannot be dammed by any dike—and the brāhmaṇas cannot be conquered upon this earth.

13.35.21 By setting oneself against the brāhmaṇas, the earth cannot be ruled; for the brāhmaṇas, the great-souled, are deities even of the gods.

13.35.22 Honor them continually with gifts and with service, if you wish to enjoy this earth that is girdled by the sea.

13.35.23 By the receiving of gifts the energy of the brāhmaṇas is quieted, O sinless one; and those who would not wish to receive gifts—they too are to be protected by you, O sinless one.

13.36.1 Bhīṣma said: On this point, too, they recite this ancient tale, the dialogue between Śakra and Śambara; mark it well, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.36.2 Śakra, in a form unrecognized, having become a matted-haired ascetic ruddy with dust, and taking on an ugly shape, put a question to Śambara.

13.36.3 By what conduct, O Śambara, do you stand above those of your own race? For what reason do they hold you to be the best? Tell me that, who ask you.

13.36.4 Śambara said: I never spurn the brāhmaṇas, nor Brahmā the grandfather; the brāhmaṇas, as they expound the sacred texts, I honor to their full content.

13.36.5 And having heard them, I do not despise them, nor do I ever offend; the worshipful I question with deference, and I clasp the feet of the wise.

13.36.6 Trustful, they speak freely and ever restrain me from error; among the heedless I am heedful, and among the sleeping I keep ever awake.

13.36.7 Those teachers pour upon me—set on the path of the scriptures, devoted to the brāhmaṇas, free of envy—their instruction, as bees pour out their honey.

13.36.8 And whatever they, well-pleased, declare, that I receive with my understanding, ever keeping the composure of my soul attuned and undisturbed in thought.

13.36.9 Thus I, the licker of the savors poured forth from the tip of their speech, stand above those of my own race, as the moon above the constellations.

13.36.10 This is the nectar upon the earth, this the unsurpassed eye—the teaching which, heard here from the brāhmaṇa's mouth, sets one upon his way.

13.36.11 Having learned this cause, and having beheld of old the war between the gods and the asuras, my father, glad of heart and amazed, came to acknowledge it.

13.36.12 And having beheld the greatness of the great-souled brāhmaṇas, he asked the moon, the night-maker, "How is it that these have attained perfection?"

13.36.13 Soma said: The brāhmaṇas all attain perfection through austerity, their strength ever in their speech; for kings have their valor in their arms, but the twice-born have speech for their weapon.

13.36.14 Even while abroad let him study, dwelling through many hard sojournings; free of wrath and free of pride, an ascetic let him be, looking on all alike.

13.36.15 Even if one of noble birth should study all the Vedas in his father's house, yet study as if boasting of it, him they call a vulgar man.

13.36.16 The earth swallows up these two, as a serpent swallows creatures that lie in their holes: the king who will not fight, and the brāhmaṇa who will not go abroad.

13.36.17 Excessive pride destroys the fortune of a man of little understanding; a maiden is spoiled by an untimely conceiving, and a brāhmaṇa by mere staying at home.

13.36.18 Having heard this from Soma of wondrous aspect, my father honored the brāhmaṇas of great vows—and even so do I.

13.36.19 Bhīṣma said: Having heard this word fallen from the mouth of the lord of the dānavas, Śakra honored the twice-born, and attained the sovereignty of great Indra.

13.37.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: A worthy recipient may be one newly come, or one who has dwelt long with us, or one arrived from afar; who, O grandfather, is a fit recipient?

13.37.2 Bhīṣma said: For some, the rite is this—a vow kept in silence is the highest: "Whoever begs whatever it may be, all of it let us give."

13.37.3 Yet without oppressing one's dependants—thus have we heard it taught; for he who oppresses his dependants drags himself down.

13.37.4 Whether the recipient be newly come, or one who has dwelt long, or one arrived from afar—the wise know him too to be a fit recipient.

13.37.5 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Without oppressing our dependants, and without harm to dharma, let us know in truth that recipient to whom a gift, once given, brings no regret.

13.37.6 Bhīṣma said: The officiating priest, the family priest, the teacher, disciples, kinsmen, and relations—all are to be honored and revered, provided they are endowed with sacred learning and good conduct.

13.37.7 Those who conduct themselves otherwise than this are none of them worthy of honor; therefore one should ever examine men, observing them closely with care.

13.37.8 Freedom from anger, truthful speech, non-injury, self-restraint, uprightness, freedom from malice, absence of pride, modesty, forbearance, austerity, tranquillity—

13.37.9 the man in whom these are seen, firmly settled by their very nature, O Bhārata, and who does no forbidden deeds—that one is a worthy vessel, deserving of honor.

13.37.10 So too one long abiding here, or one but newly arrived, whether a stranger never seen before or an old acquaintance—such a vessel deserves honor.

13.37.11 To deny the authority of the Vedas, to overstep the sacred treatises, and to lack steadfastness in all things—this is the ruin of one's own self.

13.37.12 The brāhmaṇa who fancies himself learned, who reviles the Vedas, who is devoted to the science of logic and to fruitless disputation,

13.37.13 who utters arguments of mere reasoning amid the good, a refuter who confounds those who do not so reason, and who is forever a reviler and abuser of brāhmaṇas—

13.37.14 suspicious of all, deluded, childish, and harsh of tongue—such a one, my son, is to be recognized for what he is, for they call him a dog among men.

13.37.15 As a dog is let loose to bark and to bite, so are such men loosed for wrangling and for the slaughter of all the scriptures; men of little learning, given to crooked logic—such false scholars are seen and met with everywhere.

13.37.16 One should seek out the learned—those versed in śruti, smṛti, the chronicles, the purāṇas, and the forest-treatises, men of wide knowledge who grasp the essence of things.

13.37.17 The course of worldly life must be observed, and dharma, and what is for one's own good; the man who so conducts himself flourishes through everlasting years.

13.37.18 Having discharged his debt to the gods, and likewise to the seers, to the ancestors, to the brāhmaṇas, and as the fifth, to guests,

13.37.19 in due order, with pure and well-cleansed action—thus the householder, performing his works, falls not away from his sacred duties.

13.38.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: I wish to hear of the nature of women, O best of the Bhāratas; for women are the root of faults, and light of mind, O grandsire.

13.38.2 Bhīṣma said: On this they relate an ancient tale of old—the dialogue between Nārada and the wanton apsaras Pañcacūḍā.

13.38.3 Of old, as the wise divine seer Nārada wandered through the worlds, he beheld the blameless apsaras Pañcacūḍā, born of Brahmā.

13.38.4 Seeing her, lovely in every limb, the sage questioned the apsaras: 'A certain doubt stirs within my heart; tell me of it, O slender-waisted one.'

13.38.5 Thus addressed, she answered the brāhmaṇa Nārada: 'If it lie within my province I shall speak of it, and if you deem me equal to the task.'

13.38.6 Nārada said: I shall in no way set you, gentle lady, to a matter beyond your province; I wish to hear from you, O fair-faced one, the nature of women.

13.38.7 Bhīṣma said: Hearing this word of the divine seer, the foremost of apsarases replied: 'I shall not be able, being myself a woman, to censure women.'

13.38.8 'Women are known to you, both who they are and of what nature they are; you ought not, O divine seer, to set me to a question such as this.'

13.38.9 To her the divine seer said: 'Speak the truth, O slender-waisted one; in false speech there is fault, but in truth no fault is found.'

13.38.10 Thus addressed, the sweetly smiling one made up her mind, and set herself to declare the everlasting and true faults of women.

13.38.11 Pañcacūḍā said: Women of good family, beautiful, and possessed of protectors do not abide within the bounds of propriety; that, Nārada, is the fault in women.

13.38.12 There is indeed nothing else more given to wickedness than women, for women are the root of faults; this too you yourself well know.

13.38.13 Though their husbands be renowned, prosperous, comely, and wholly devoted, women, finding an opening, are unable to remain faithful.

13.38.14 This is the wicked way of us women, O lord—that, casting off shame, we consort with men more base than our own.

13.38.15 For whoever woos a woman, draws near to her, and renders her but a little service—him the women desire.

13.38.16 Only because men do not solicit them, and out of fear of their kinsfolk, do women—unrestrained though they are—abide within bounds and stay with their husbands.

13.38.17 For them no man is forbidden, nor have they any fixed regard for age; be he ugly or handsome, they enjoy him simply because he is a man.

13.38.18 Not from fear, nor from compassion, nor for the sake of wealth in any way, nor from the bond of kindred and family do women remain with their husbands.

13.38.19 Women of good families yearn after those women who, being in the flush of youth, adorned with bright ornaments and raiment, live as they please.

13.38.20 Even those women who are forever highly esteemed, cherished, and guarded—even they cleave to hunchbacks, the blind, the dull-witted, and dwarfs.

13.38.21 Even to the lame, O divine seer, and to other men despised—in this world, O great sage, there is no man forbidden to women.

13.38.22 If, O holy one, access to men in no way befalls them, they will resort even to one another, for they cannot abide content with their husbands.

13.38.23 For want of men, from fear of their household, and from dread of slaying and bondage, they keep themselves guarded of their own accord.

13.38.24 Fickle by nature, hard to serve, and by their disposition hard to grasp—women are even as the speech of a wise man here below.

13.38.25 As fire is never sated with fuel, nor the great ocean with rivers, nor Death with all beings, so are the fair-eyed ones never sated with men.

13.38.26 And here is another secret of all womankind, O divine seer: at the mere sight of a pleasing man, a woman's loins grow moist with desire.

13.38.27 Even a husband who grants their every desire, who shows them honor and tender words, who is their guardian—even such a peerless husband women do not patiently endure.

13.38.28 They do not prize abundant enjoyments, nor heaps of ornaments and wealth, so highly as they prize the favor of the act of love.

13.38.29 The Ender, the Subduer, Death, the netherworld, the submarine fire, the razor's edge, poison, the serpent, and flame on the one side—and women on the other.

13.38.30 From whatever source the five great elements arose, and the worlds were ordained by the Creator, from that same source men and women were fashioned—and from that very moment, O Nārada, the faults were set in women.

13.39.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: These men in the world cleave again and again to women, possessed utterly by a delusion ordained by fate, O king; and women too, plainly and with the world for witness, cleave to men.

13.39.2 Herein a keen doubt revolves within my heart: how do men form attachment to these women, O delight of the Kurus, and how do women take pleasure in them, or again grow weary of them?

13.39.3 Such being so, O tiger among men, how are women able to be guarded by a man in this world? That you ought to explain to me.

13.39.4 For these women beguile men here with the wiles of Maya, and no man once come into their hands escapes them; like cattle to fresh grass, they seize on ever-new men.

13.39.5 All the sorcery that was Śambara's, and the sorcery of Namuci, of Bali, and of Kumbhīnasī—all of it women know.

13.39.6 At one who laughs they laugh, and at one who weeps they weep; and one who is unwelcome to them they take captive with sweet words, as the moment requires.

13.39.7 The science that Uśanas knows, and that which Bṛhaspati knows, are not superior to the cunning of women—how then are they to be guarded by men?

13.39.8 They call falsehood truth, and likewise truth they call falsehood; how, O hero, are such women to be guarded by men in this world?

13.39.9 By drawing forth the very cunning of women, O slayer of foes, the treatises on statecraft, I think, were composed by the good—by Bṛhaspati and the rest.

13.39.10 When honored by men, women turn their minds away from those men; and when cast off as well, O king, women turn their minds away likewise.

13.39.11 Who could be able to guard them?—this is my great doubt. Tell me of it, O mighty-armed one, increaser of the line of the Kurus.

13.39.12 If their guarding can in any way be accomplished, O best of the Kurus, or has ever been accomplished of old, that you ought to explain to me.

13.40.1 Bhīṣma said: So it is, O mighty-armed one; in this there is nothing false, even as you say concerning woman, O Kaurava, O lord of men.

13.40.2 On this I shall relate to you an ancient tale—how of old a guarding was accomplished by the great-souled Vipula.

13.40.3 And how women were created by Brahmā, O bull of the Bhāratas, and to what end—that too I shall declare to you, my son, O lord of the earth.

13.40.4 For there is nothing, my son, more given to wickedness than women; a woman is blazing fire, and the wiles born of Maya, O lord; the razor's edge, poison, the serpent, and Death on the one side—and women on the other.

13.40.5 These creatures, O mighty-armed one—being righteous, so we have heard—were attaining godhood of their own accord; and thereupon fear came upon the gods.

13.40.6 Then those gods came to the Grandsire, O subduer of foes; and having laid bare what was in their minds, they stood silent, their faces downcast.

13.40.7 Knowing what lay hidden within those gods, the Grandsire, the lord, for the deluding of men, created women as instruments of bewitchment.

13.40.8 In the first creation, O son of Kuntī, women here were virtuous; but the unvirtuous, the instruments of bewitchment, arose from the later creation of Prajāpati.

13.40.9 To them the Grandsire granted desires according to their wish; and those women, greedy for pleasure, then set to tormenting men.

13.40.10 The lord of gods created Anger as the helper of Desire; and all creatures, fallen under the sway of desire and anger, grew enthralled.

13.40.11 And no sacred rite belongs to women—so the law is established; women are without sacred rites and without mantras, untruth itself—so says the śruti.

13.40.12 Couch and seat, adornment, food and drink, ignobleness, foul-tongued speech, and the pleasure of love—these Prajāpati gave to women.

13.40.13 Their guarding cannot in any way be accomplished by a man—not even by the Maker of All, my son; how much less by mortal men here?

13.40.14 Neither by word, nor by slaying and bonds, nor by manifold torments can women be guarded; for they are ever unrestrained.

13.40.15 But this, O tiger among men, I have heard in former times: how of old a guarding was wrought by Vipula over his preceptor's wife.

13.40.16 There was a seer of great fortune, renowned by the name of Devaśarman; his wife was named Ruci, unmatched in beauty upon the earth.

13.40.17 By her beauty were maddened the gods, gandharvas, and dānavas, and most of all, O king of kings, the slayer of Vṛtra, the chastiser of Pāka.

13.40.18 Now Devaśarman, the great sage, knew well the ways of women, and he guarded that wife of his to the utmost of his power and resolve.

13.40.19 And he knew Puraṃdara to be one who lusted after other men's wives; therefore he kept watch over his wife with diligent care.

13.40.20 Once, my son, that seer, minded to perform a sacrifice, fell to pondering how the guarding of his wife might be accomplished.

13.40.21 Having devised in his mind the manner of her guarding, that great ascetic summoned his beloved disciple, Vipula of Bhṛgu's line, and spoke to him.

13.40.22 'I shall go to perform a sacrifice; and this Ruci the lord of the gods forever woos. My son, guard her to the best of your power.'

13.40.23 'You must remain ever vigilant against Puraṃdara, for he assumes shapes of many kinds, O scion of Bhṛgu.'

13.40.24 Thus addressed by him, Vipula the ascetic—his senses subdued, ever fierce in penance, O king, radiant like fire and the sun,

13.40.25 knower of dharma and speaker of truth—answered, 'So be it'; and then, O great king, he further questioned his renowned preceptor in these words.

13.40.26 What forms does Śakra assume when he comes, O sage? Of what kind is his body and his splendor? This you ought to expound to me.

13.40.27 Then that blessed one, O Bhārata, declared to the great-souled Vipula, according to the truth, the magic art of Śakra.

13.40.28 Rich in illusions, O brahmin-seer, is the slayer of Bala, the chastiser of Pāka; this form and that he conjures, manifold, again and again.

13.40.29 Diademed, wielder of the thunderbolt, bearing a bow, crowned, with fastened earrings he appears; and in a moment he looks like a caṇḍāla.

13.40.30 With a topknot, with matted locks, clad in bark, he becomes again, my son; now huge of body, now stout, now lean.

13.40.31 Fair, dusky, and dark of hue he becomes by turns; misshapen and again comely, young and likewise old.

13.40.32 Wise and dull and mute, short and likewise tall; a brāhmaṇa, a kṣatriya, a vaiśya, and likewise a śūdra, born against the grain and with it—so does the lord of a hundred sacrifices become.

13.40.33 In the form of a parrot and a crow, in the form of a goose and a cuckoo, and again he takes on the shape of lions, tigers, and elephants.

13.40.34 The body of a god, of a daitya, and of kings he bears as well; very lean, his limbs broken by the wind, a misshapen bird likewise.

13.40.35 Four-footed and of many forms he again becomes a fool; and he takes on too the body of flies, gnats, and the like.

13.40.36 None can lay hold of him, O Vipula—not even by the Maker of all, dear son, by whom this world was created.

13.40.37 Now Śakra, hidden, is seen only by the eye of wisdom; and having become wind, that king of the gods becomes himself once more.

13.40.38 Thus does the chastiser of Pāka ceaselessly take on these forms; therefore, Vipula, guard with all effort this slender-waisted one.

13.40.39 See that the king of the gods does not lap up Ruci, O best of the Bhṛgus, as an evil-natured dog laps the oblation set down and placed at the sacrifice.

13.40.40 Having thus spoken, that sage, the performer of the sacrifice, then departed—the greatly fortunate Devaśarman, O best of the Bhāratas.

13.40.41 But Vipula, having heard his teacher's word, fell to brooding, and devised the utmost guard against the king of the gods of great might.

13.40.42 "What can I do to guard my teacher's wife? For that lord of the gods is a master of illusion, unassailable, and mighty in valor.

13.40.43 Not by shutting up the hermitage can the chastiser of Pāka be warded off, nor the leaf-hut, for his forms are of every kind.

13.40.44 In the form of the wind Śakra might assail my teacher's wife; therefore, entering into this Ruci, I shall this very day take my station within her.

13.40.45 Or else by mere manly strength she cannot be guarded by me, for the blessed one borne by bays is heard to be of many forms.

13.40.46 Therefore by the power of yoga I shall guard her from the chastiser of Pāka; I shall enter limb by limb into her limbs to keep her safe.

13.40.47 Yet if my teacher should see this wife Ruci defiled, then beyond doubt he, of divine knowledge and great austerity, will curse me in his wrath.

13.40.48 And she cannot be guarded as other women are guarded by men, for that lord of the gods is a master of illusion—alas, I have come into peril!"

13.40.49 "The teacher's command must surely be carried out; yet if I were to do this, a marvel would be wrought by me.

13.40.50 Entering by yoga here into the body of my teacher's wife, free from any form of passion, no fault would be mine.

13.40.51 As a wayfarer upon the road might lodge in an empty hall, so this day shall I lodge within my teacher's wife's body.

13.40.52 As a drop of water resting on a lotus leaf clings not, but trembles free, even so, composed, shall I dwell within her body."

13.40.53 Thus having looked upon dharma and upon the Vedas and their lore in every part, and having regarded the abundant austerity of his teacher and of himself,

13.40.54 having so resolved in his mind concerning the guarding, that descendant of Bhṛgu set himself to the utmost effort—hear how, O lord of earth.

13.40.55 Seated beside his teacher's wife, Vipula of great austerity beguiled with stories that seated one of faultless limbs.

13.40.56 Joining with his two eyes the beams of her eyes, beam to beam, Vipula entered her body as the wind enters the sky.

13.40.57 Mark upon mark, face within face, the sage stood unmoving, gone within her like a shadow.

13.40.58 Then Vipula, holding fast the body of his teacher's wife, abode there intent on guarding, and she was not aware of him.

13.40.59 For all the while, O king, that the great-souled teacher had not returned to his own house, his sacrifice concluded, for all that while did he keep watch.

13.41.1 Bhīṣma said: Then on a certain day the king of the gods, bearing a body of divine form, thinking "this is the moment," came thereupon to the hermitage.

13.41.2 Having made for himself a peerless, alluring form, O ruler of men, becoming most fair to behold, he entered that hermitage.

13.41.3 He beheld there, seated, the body of Vipula, motionless, with fixed and staring eyes, like a figure set down in a painting.

13.41.4 And Ruci of lovely sidelong glance, full of hip and breast, wide-eyed as the petals of a lotus, her face like the full moon.

13.41.5 Seeing him, she suddenly sought to rise to greet him, amazed at his beauty, wishing then to ask, "Who are you?"

13.41.6 Though she wished to rise, she stayed still, held fast by Vipula, O lord of men, and could not stir.

13.41.7 The king of the gods addressed her with words most soft and winning: "Know that I, the king of the gods, have come for your sake, O bright-smiling one.

13.41.8 Tormented by the bodiless god of love, born of longing for you—therefore accept me, fair-browed one, before the time slips away."

13.41.9 Vipula the sage, dwelling within the body of his teacher's wife, heard Śakra speaking thus, and beheld the lord of the gods.

13.41.10 And the blameless one could not rise, O king, nor could she speak, O king, held fast as she was by Vipula.

13.41.11 But that scion of Bhṛgu, perceiving the bearing of his teacher's wife, restrained her—he of great splendor—forcefully by yoga, O lord, and with the bonds of yoga he bound all her senses.

13.41.12 Seeing her unmoved, the lord of Śacī once again, abashed, O king, spoke to her who was overcome by the power of yoga.

13.41.13 "Come, come," he said; and then she sought to answer him, but Vipula turned aside that speech of his teacher's wife.

13.41.14 "Sir, what is the purpose of your coming?"—thus from her mouth, like unto the moon, came forth speech adorned with refinement.

13.41.15 Abashed, having spoken that word against her own will, she fell silent; and Puraṃdara then grew alarmed and dismayed.

13.41.16 Marking that strangeness, the king of the gods, O lord of peoples, the thousand-eyed one, then looked with his divine eye.

13.41.17 And he beheld the sage moving within her body, lodged in his teacher's wife's frame like a reflection in a mirror.

13.41.18 Seeing him endowed with terrible austerity, Puraṃdara trembled, sorely afraid, fearing a curse then, O mighty one.

13.41.19 Then Vipula of great austerity, releasing his teacher's wife, entered his own body and spoke to the frightened Śakra:

13.41.20 "O you of unconquered senses, evil-souled, lustful Puraṃdara! Not for long shall the gods, nor men likewise, honor you.

13.41.21 Have you forgotten this, Śakra? Does it not stand in your mind—how by Gautama you were marked over with the signs of a woman's parts?

13.41.22 I know you to be childish of mind, undisciplined of self, and fickle. By me is she guarded, O fool; go, O wicked one, as you came.

13.41.23 I would this day burn you to ashes by my own splendor, O dull-souled one; yet out of compassion I do not wish to burn you, Vāsava.

13.41.24 And that wise teacher of mine, of terrible austerity, seeing you of wicked heart, would this day burn you utterly with an eye blazing with wrath.

13.41.25 Never act thus again, Śakra; the twice-born are to be honored by you. Go not, with your sons and ministers, to ruin, stricken by the might of brahman.

13.41.26 Holding to the thought, 'I am immortal,' you conduct yourself so; do not despise it—there is nothing whatsoever unattainable by austerities.

13.41.27 Hearing that speech of the great-souled Vipula, Śakra, saying nothing, ashamed, vanished then and there.

13.41.28 When but a moment had passed since Śakra's going, Devaśarman of great austerity, having performed his sacrifice as he wished, came home to his hermitage.

13.41.29 When the teacher had come, O king, Vipula, doer of welcome deeds, presented to him the blameless wife he had guarded.

13.41.30 And having saluted him, that tranquil-souled Vipula, devoted to his teacher, attended upon his teacher as before, untroubled.

13.41.31 Then to him, rested and seated together with his wife, Vipula reported that deed of Śakra.

13.41.32 Hearing this, that majestic sage grew pleased with Vipula for his character and conduct, his austerity and his self-restraint.

13.41.33 Seeing Vipula's conduct toward his teacher, his devotion to him, and his steadfastness in dharma, the lord said, "Well done, well done!"

13.41.34 And the righteous one, applauding his disciple who was devoted to dharma, offered to gratify him with a boon; and he, devoted to his teacher and so permitted by him, practiced unsurpassed austerity.

13.41.35 So too Devaśarman of great austerity, together with his wife, fearless of the slayer of Bala and Vṛtra, roamed in the lonely forest.

13.42.1 Bhīṣma said: But Vipula, having done his teacher's bidding, performed fierce austerity; and the valiant one then deemed himself accomplished in austerity.

13.42.2 Vying through that deed with the earth itself, O lord of earth, he roamed fearless and content, having won renown, foremost among men.

13.42.3 And the lord deemed that both worlds had been won by him likewise, O Kaurava, through that deed and through his abundant austerity.

13.42.4 Then when some time had passed, O delight of the Kurus, there was a giving in marriage of Ruci's sister, with wealth and grain.

13.42.5 At that very time a certain divine and lovely woman, bearing surpassing beauty, passed through the air.

13.42.6 From her body flowers fell to the earth, not far from that hermitage, fragrant with a divine scent, O Bhārata.

13.42.7 These then Ruci of lotus eyes gathered up, O king; and just then a summoner came swiftly on her sister's behalf.

13.42.8 For her elder sister, dear son, Prabhāvatī by name, had become the wife of Citraratha, the lord of the Aṅgas.

13.42.9 Having bound those flowers in her hair, the fair-complexioned one, being invited, then went, that Ruci, to the house of the lord of the Aṅgas.

13.42.10 Seeing those flowers, the lovely consort of the Aṅga lord, the fair-eyed one, then urged her sister to obtain such flowers.

13.42.11 Ruci of most lovely face told all to her husband; and the sage approved of all that had been spoken by her sister.

13.42.12 Then, O Bhārata, Devaśarman of great austerity summoned Vipula and urged him on for the sake of the flowers, saying, "Go, go."

13.42.13 And Vipula, of great austerity, without questioning his teacher's word, said "So be it," O king, and went to that region.

13.42.14 In the region where those blossoms had fallen from the vault of the sky, other unwithered flowers also lay there.

13.42.15 Then he gathered up those flowers, celestial and lovely, won by his own austerity and divine in fragrance, O Bhārata.

13.42.16 Having obtained them, glad of heart and obedient to his teacher's word, he then swiftly set out for Campā, garlanded with campaka trees.

13.42.17 In a deserted forest, my son, he saw a pair of beings turning round and round like a wheel, each grasping the other's hand.

13.42.18 There one of them moved swiftly, wheeling about in step, but the other did not do so likewise, O king; and thereupon the two fell to quarrelling.

13.42.19 "You go too fast," said the one; "No," said the other; and "No, no!" the two of them, my son, then said to each other.

13.42.20 As the two thus contended, this oath then arose; fixing their minds upon Vipula, they spoke these words:

13.42.21 "Whichever of us two has spoken falsely, may his lot in the world beyond be that of the brahmin Vipula!"

13.42.22 Hearing this, Vipula grew downcast of face, thinking: "I, of such fierce austerity—and yet this fate they invoke is a grievous burden."

13.42.23 "What sin of mine toward this pair could there be, that a destiny abhorred by all creatures has today been proclaimed for me by them?"

13.42.24 Pondering thus, O best of kings, Vipula, his face downcast and his head bowed, brooded upon his own misdeed.

13.42.25 Then he saw six other men gambling with dice of gold and silver, filled with greed and glee.

13.42.26 As they swore that very oath which the pair had sworn, they too, with Vipula in mind, then spoke these words:

13.42.27 "Whoever among us, yielding to greed, should venture to play foul, may he attain that lot which in the world beyond is Vipula's!"

13.42.28 Hearing this, Vipula could find no breach of dharma committed by himself before, from his very birth onward, O scion of the Kurus.

13.42.29 He brooded then, O king, like fire laid upon fire, his mind consumed with burning at having heard such a curse.

13.42.30 While he brooded, my son, many days and nights passed by; and this lay upon his mind—the guarding he had done in the matter of Ruci.

13.42.31 "By matching feature with feature and face with face I wrought the deed, and I did not then tell my teacher the truth of it."

13.42.32 This, O Kaurava, Vipula then reckoned a misdeed in himself, O illustrious one—and so indeed it was, beyond doubt.

13.42.33 Reaching the city of Campā, he gave the flowers to his teacher and, dear to his teacher as he was, honored him duly according to rite.

13.43.1 Bhīṣma said: Looking upon his disciple who had returned, Devaśarman of great splendor then spoke these words—hear them, O lord of men.

13.43.2 Devaśarman said: What did you see today, Vipula, in that great forest? They know you, O skillful one—your own self too, and Ruci as well.

13.43.3 Vipula said: O brahmin-sage, what was that pair, and who were those men, O mighty one, who know me in truth? You ought to tell me of them.

13.43.4 Devaśarman said: That pair, O brahmin, know to be day and night; wheeling round like a wheel, they know your misdeed.

13.43.5 And those men, O brahmin, who gamble joyously with dice—know them to be the seasons; they too know your misdeed.

13.43.6 Let no man of evil soul trust, thinking "None knows me," when he does a sinful deed in secret, O brahmin.

13.43.7 For the seasons forever behold a man doing a sinful deed in secret, and so too do day and night.

13.43.8 Seeing you smiling with joy yet not disclosing your deed to your teacher, they spoke thus to remind you, as you have heard.

13.43.9 Day and night know, and the seasons too know forever, the sinful deed in a man, or the auspicious deed of him who acts auspiciously.

13.43.10 Knowing that you did not declare to me that deed of yours, born of transgression and full of fear, they spoke to you thus, O brahmin.

13.43.11 And those worlds would befall you, as they befall the doer of sin, had you done that deed of yours and not disclosed it to me.

13.43.12 And thus an ill-conducted woman can be guarded, O brahmin; but you committed no offense at all—therein I am pleased with you.

13.43.13 But had I seen you ill-conducted, O best of brahmins, I would have cursed you in anger—of that I have no doubt.

13.43.14 Women cling to a man, and great is men's desire for them; had you guarded her otherwise, the curse and that fate would have been yours.

13.43.15 She was guarded by you, my son, and reported to me as well. I am pleased with you, dear child; blessings upon you—you shall go to heaven.

13.43.16 Bhīṣma said: Having spoken thus to Vipula, the pleased and great sage Devaśarman rejoiced, attaining heaven together with his wife and his disciple.

13.43.17 This tale, O king, the great sage Mārkaṇḍeya once told me long ago, in the course of a discourse on the bank of the Gaṅgā.

13.43.18 Therefore I tell you, O Pārtha, concerning all women: in them both are ever to be seen, the good and the bad alike.

13.43.19 Virtuous women, illustrious, esteemed as the mothers of the world, uphold this earth, O king, with its forests and groves.

13.43.20 But the unvirtuous, ill-conducted, ruinous to their families and bent on evil, are to be known by the evil marks inborn in their own bodies, O king.

13.43.21 Thus by great souls women can be guarded; otherwise, O tiger among kings, women cannot be guarded at all.

13.43.22 For these, O tiger among men, are fierce and of fierce vigor; there is none truly dear to them in union and intercourse with men.

13.43.23 These are to be wooed and to be won and to be possessed, O bull of the Bhāratas; yet these find no lasting delight in any single man, O joy of the Pāṇḍus.

13.43.24 No fondness, and likewise no jealousy, should be shown toward them by men, O lord of people; resting in patience and resting in dharma, let a man enjoy his lot.

13.43.25 A man who acts otherwise comes to ruin, O joy of the Kurus; in every case, O tiger among kings, sound judgment is everywhere to be honored.

13.43.26 By Vipula alone was the guarding of a woman accomplished; no other in this world of men, O king, has been able to guard women.

13.44.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: That which is the root of all duties, of offspring and of the household, and of the rites to ancestors, gods, and guests—of this tell me, O grandfather.

13.44.2 Bhīṣma said: This indeed, of all duties, is held the most to be pondered, O lord of the earth—namely, to what kind of man a maiden should be given.

13.44.3 Having well examined his character and conduct, his learning, his lineage, and his deeds, a maiden should be given, with the pouring of water, to a worthy suitor of good qualities. This, O Yudhiṣṭhira, is the eternal duty of righteous brahmins.

13.44.4 He should take in marriage from one fit to give in marriage, and he who gives should give willingly—this is the eternal duty of cultivated kṣatriyas.

13.44.5 Setting aside his own preference, when a man is the maiden's own choice, and she who is desired by him is given to him, O Yudhiṣṭhira—that rite those versed in dharma call the gāndharva.

13.44.6 Buying her with much wealth and enticing her kinsmen—this, O king, the wise declare to be the rite of the asuras.

13.44.7 Slaying and cleaving the heads of those who weep, and carrying off by force the weeping maiden from her home, my son—that is the mark of the rākṣasa rite.

13.44.8 Of the five, three are lawful and two unlawful, O Yudhiṣṭhira; the paiśāca and the āsura should never be practiced in any way.

13.44.9 The brāhma, the kṣātra, and the gāndharva—these are lawful, O bull among men; whether singly or combined, they may be practiced, herein is no doubt.

13.44.10 Three wives may a brahmin have, but two wives a kṣatriya; a vaiśya should take a wife of his own caste; among these the offspring rank equal.

13.44.11 The brahmin wife should be foremost, and the kṣatriya wife of a kṣatriya; a śūdra wife may be taken for pleasure—though others say, "No."

13.44.12 The good do not approve the begetting of offspring upon a śūdra woman; a brahmin who begets children upon a śūdra woman is enjoined to perform expiation.

13.44.13 A man of thirty years should take to wife a girl of ten, still a maiden; or one of twenty-one should win one of seven years.

13.44.14 But her who has neither brother nor father, O bull of the Bhāratas, one should never marry, for she is bound by the law of the appointed daughter.

13.44.15 A maiden who has reached her courses should wait three years; but when the fourth has come, she may herself win a husband.

13.44.16 Her chance of offspring is lost, and her pleasure too, O bull of the Bhāratas; one who acts otherwise becomes blameworthy before Prajāpati.

13.44.17 One who is not a sapiṇḍa of his mother and not of the same gotra as his father—such a one should he take; that law Manu has declared.

13.44.18 Yudhiṣṭhira said: One man may have paid the bride-price; another may say, "I shall pay it"; another may speak with force; and another may display his wealth.

13.44.19 And yet another may be the one who takes her hand—whose, then, is the maiden, O grandfather? For us who seek to know the truth, may you be our eye.

13.44.20 Bhīṣma said: Whatever human act is carried forward to its conclusion, its sealing with sacred words is as with a binding formula; but a false utterance therein is a sin.

13.44.21 Wife, offspring, officiating priest, and teacher, and disciple and instructor too, deserve punishment when falsely addressed—though others say, "No."

13.44.22 For Manu does not commend an agreement made unwillingly; what is false is inglorious and unlawful and provokes the wrath of dharma.

13.44.23 There is no fault wholly fixed upon any one man, where such a gift is not properly obtained—she whom they bestow according to dharma, and she whom they buy, O Bhārata.

13.44.24 With the kinsmen's consent, let him perform the sacred words and the oblation; thus those formulas avail—never in the case of one not duly given.

13.44.25 That compact of sacred words which is made mutually between wife and husband—that, and the one made with the kinsmen, they declare the weightier.

13.44.26 By the ordinance of dharma a husband knows his wife as given by the gods; she casts off as false all other speech, divine or human.

13.44.27 Yudhiṣṭhira said: When a maiden's bride-price has been received, if a better suitor should come, endowed with dharma, desire, and wealth—should an untruth be spoken here, or not?

13.44.28 When fault lies on both sides in that matter, let a man do and practice the better course. This, of all our duties, we hold the most to be pondered.

13.44.29 For us who seek to know the truth, may you be our eye; tell us all of this, for I am not sated—let it be told.

13.44.30 Bhīṣma said: Knowing that bride-price is not what makes the marriage final, no good man ever exacted it; for the good, intent on a bride-price, never give a maiden at all.

13.44.31 But the kinsmen ask, as it were, a bride-price consisting of other good qualities—"Adorn her and take her away," says he who gives willingly.

13.44.32 He gives both that gift and her as well; it is no bride-price, and that is no sale. What is received in turn should be given back—this is the eternal law.

13.44.33 "I shall give the maiden to you" — when this has not been declared beforehand, there are some who say it, some who do not, and some who must say it of necessity.

13.44.34 Therefore, up until the taking of the hand, the two parties make request of one another. We have heard it told that in ancient times the bridegroom for a maiden was bestowed by the Maruts.

13.44.35 "A maiden is not to be given to one undesired" — so the sages have enjoined. That, in my judgment, is the root of procreation, which itself is rooted in desire.

13.44.36 Having weighed well the many evils that arise from the cohabitation of two who hate each other, hear now how the bride-price never came to be a thing that settles the matter.

13.44.37 For Vicitravīrya I brought home two maidens, after I had vanquished all the Māgadhas, the Kāśis, and the Kosalas. One had already had her hand taken in pledge, and being thus claimed, she met with rebuff.

13.44.38 "She whose hand has been taken must there and then be released," so my father said; and that scion of the Kurus took home only the other maiden.

13.44.39 He inquired further about the other as well, being uncertain of his father's word; for his longing after dharma was exceedingly great — greater even than my father's.

13.44.40 Then I myself, O king, desiring to know the right usage, spoke these words again and again: "I wish to understand the established practice in its very truth."

13.44.41 When I had spoken thus, O great king, my father Bāhlika, foremost of those who uphold dharma, made this reply.

13.44.42 "If for you the matter is settled by the bride-price and not by the taking of the hand, then let her for whom the price has been received attend upon the husband she has chosen, even up to the parched-grain rite."

13.44.43 "For those who know dharma do not declare that to be authoritative which rests on mere words alone — those, that is, for whom the matter is settled by the bride-price and not by the taking of the hand."

13.44.44 "What is openly spoken at the giving away is their rejoinder besides; but those who reckon the bride-price as a purchase — those folk do not know dharma."

13.44.45 "To such men a maiden is not to be given, nor by them is one of that sort to be wedded; for a wife is in no wise to be bought, nor ever to be sold."

13.44.46 "Those folk who buy a woman as one buys a slave-girl, and those who sell — for such greedy men of sinful mind let the matter be settled in that fashion."

13.44.47 On this point of dharma the people questioned Satyavān: "In the case of a maiden for whom the price has been received, the one who paid the price has died."

13.44.48 "And another would be the one to take her hand — herein lies our doubt concerning dharma. Resolve it for us, O greatly wise one, for you are esteemed among the wise; be you the eye for us who seek to know the truth."

13.44.49 To all of them speaking thus Satyavān made reply: "She is to be given where it is desired; herein no debate need be made. Men act so even while the man yet lives; when he is dead, there is no doubt at all."

13.44.50 "Let the maiden go in unto the husband's brother, or else let her practice great austerity; remaining ever faithful to him alone, she bears the name of the one who took her hand."

13.44.51 "For some it is set down plainly in writing, for others only by degrees" — those who hold discourse together on this matter know this to be the settled conclusion.

13.44.52 Where a reply is given before the taking of the hand, that is indeed the all-auspicious sacred formula; but a false utterance is a cause of downfall.

13.44.53 The consummation of the hand-taking formulas comes at the seventh step; she becomes the wife of the man who takes her hand, the man to whom she is given with the pouring of water.

13.44.54 Having circled the fire according to rule, the foremost of the twice-born wins as his wife one who is compliant, of suitable lineage, given by her brother, and led before the sacred fire.

13.45.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: If, for a maiden whose price has been received, there is no husband at all, what then should be the right procedure? Tell me that, O grandfather.

13.45.2 Bhīṣma said: She would then have the standing of one without a son and without inheritance.

13.45.3 But if she should take the bride-price, she becomes, being bought, the woman of the one who paid it; for his sake let her seek to bear offspring by whatever lawful means she can.

13.45.4 For her let no one perform any rite whatsoever with sacred formulas.

13.45.5 "She chose for herself" — thus Sāvitrī was accepted by her father; this some who know dharma commend, but other folk do not.

13.45.6 Yet others did not do this, nor ever did the good men of old; and the conduct of the good is, moreover, the weightier mark of dharma.

13.45.7 On this very topic Sukratu spoke his word — the grandson of the great-souled Janaka, king of Videha.

13.45.8 "Upon a course of conduct that is wrong, how should there be praise, or further inquiry, or doubt? This the good would censure."

13.45.9 "A lapse from dharma is itself a thing unworthy — a demonic dharma. Never have we heard of this manner of thing among men of bygone births."

13.45.10 "For the bond of wife and husband, of woman and man, is one of equals; their delight is a dharma shared in common" — so spoke that prince.

13.45.11 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Now by what rule is the wealth of men inherited? For a daughter ought to be to her father even as a son.

13.45.12 Bhīṣma said: As is one's own self, so is the son; and equal to the son is the daughter. While she, who is one's very self, yet stands, how should another carry off the wealth?

13.45.13 Whatever was the mother's marriage gift, that is the unmarried daughter's portion; or else the daughter's son may take the inheritance of a maternal grandfather who has no son.

13.45.14 For he offers the funeral rice-ball both to his own father and to his maternal grandfather; between a son and a daughter's son no distinction is here declared in point of dharma.

13.45.15 For by offspring born elsewhere a man seeks as it were a son; and a daughter, through a son born elsewhere of her, is even more distinguished.

13.45.16 By the rule of the daughter's son I see herein no cause for distinction; and the sons born of women who have been sold belong to the father alone.

13.45.17 But envious, most unrighteous, seizers of others' goods, and deceitful are they — sprung from the demonic mode of marriage, crooked of conduct in matters of dharma.

13.45.18 On this point those versed in ancient lore, knowers of dharma, recite the verses chanted by Yama, set down in the treatises of dharma, in the bulwarks of dharma.

13.45.19 Whatever man sells his own son and desires wealth thereby, or who for the sake of a livelihood gives away his daughter for a price —

13.45.20 in the seventh and lowest, most terrible hell called Kāla, that departed one feeds, in that place, on sweat, urine, and dung.

13.45.21 In the sage's marriage some call the pair of cattle a bride-price; but that is false. Whether little or much, O king, such a thing is just so much a sale.

13.45.22 Even though it has been practiced by some, this is in no wise dharma; and the practices of still others too are seen to spring from greed.

13.45.23 And those who enjoy a maiden who is set apart as their dependent — these are doers of sin, and they lie thereafter in blind darkness.

13.45.24 Nay, any other human being too is not to be sold — how much less one's own offspring! For of wealth rooted in unrighteousness there is no profit whatsoever.

13.46.1 Bhīṣma said: Those versed in ancient lore recite the saying of Pracetas' son: where the kinsmen take nothing for a maiden, that is no sale.

13.46.2 That is the honoring due to maidens, and that the most free from cruelty; and all of it should be given back to the maiden, without remainder.

13.46.3 By fathers and brothers, by fathers-in-law and husbands' brothers, women should be honored and cherished by those who desire great welfare.

13.46.4 If a woman take no pleasure and do not gladden the man, then from the man's lack of gladness procreation does not increase.

13.46.5 Women are ever to be honored and cherished, O ruler of men; and where they go unhonored, there all rites are fruitless. That house ceases to be a house in the very hour when its women grieve.

13.46.6 Houses cursed by their women, as though cut down by a sorcerer's spell, neither shine nor prosper, being bereft of fortune, O prince.

13.46.7 Manu, when about to depart for heaven, entrusted women to the keeping of men — the weak ones, scant in covering, kindly, ever winning by their truth.

13.46.8 Jealous, eager for honor, fierce, unfriendly, and unknowing though they be — women deserve honor; honor them, O men.

13.46.9 For your dharma rests upon women, and your delights and enjoyments wholly so; let the service, the food, and the consecrations be dependent upon them for you.

13.46.10 The begetting of offspring, the rearing of what is born, and the daily course of the world for the sake of joy — behold, all this is bound up with women.

13.46.11 And by these, when they are duly honored, you shall attain all your aims. On this the daughter of the king of Videha sang a verse.

13.46.12 "For a woman there is no sacrifice, no rite for the ancestors, no fasting; her dharma is service to her husband, and by that she wins heaven."

13.46.13 "The father protects her in girlhood, the husband protects her in youth, and the sons in old age; a woman is not fit for independence."

13.46.14 These women are very Fortune herself; they are to be well treated by one who desires prosperity. A woman, when cherished and yet held in check, becomes Śrī, O Bhārata.

13.47.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: O you who know the ordinances of all the treatises, best knower of the duties and aims of kings, you are renowned throughout the earth as one who cuts away doubt utterly.

13.47.2 A certain doubt is mine; tell me of it, O grandfather. In this grievous time of distress, whom else should we ask?

13.47.3 What a man ought to do, and what is the eternal dharma — all this, O mighty-armed one, you are able to expound.

13.47.4 Four wives are ordained for a brāhmaṇa, O grandfather, if he desires their company — a brāhmaṇī, a kṣatriyā, a vaiśyā, and a śūdrā.

13.47.5 Among the sons born of all these, O best of the Kurus, which of them, in due order, is entitled to the paternal inheritance?

13.47.6 And by which of them, and how much, is to be taken from the father's wealth, O grandfather? I wish this to be told — what division among them is laid down.

13.47.7 Bhīṣma said: The brāhmaṇa, the kṣatriya, and the vaiśya — these three varṇas are the twice-born; among these is the rule ordained for the brāhmaṇa, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.47.8 Through irregularity, or through greed, or through desire, O scorcher of foes, a brāhmaṇa may come to have a śūdra wife; but she is not approved by any sound precedent.

13.47.9 A brāhmaṇa who raises a śūdra woman to his bed becomes thereby defiled, and must perform expiation by a means prescribed in the rules.

13.47.10 And if children are born of her, the expiation would be twofold, O Yudhiṣṭhira. Hence I shall now declare to you the rule concerning the wealth, O Bhārata.

13.47.11 An auspicious bull marked with good signs, and whatever conveyance is most excellent — these the son of the brāhmaṇī shall take as a single share, over and above, from the father's wealth.

13.47.12 But the remainder of the brāhmaṇa's property is to be made into ten parts, O Yudhiṣṭhira; and of these the same son shall take four shares of the father's wealth.

13.47.13 The son of the kṣatriyā wife is also a brāhmaṇa, beyond all doubt; but by reason of the difference in his mother he is entitled to take three shares.

13.47.14 And he who is born in the third varṇa, of a vaiśyā by a brāhmaṇa, shall take two shares of the brāhmaṇa's property, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.47.15 The one born of a śūdra woman by a brāhmaṇa is declared to be one whose share of wealth is not fixed by right; yet at least a little is to be given to the son of the śūdra woman, O Bhārata.

13.47.16 This would be the order for wealth divided into ten parts. But for sons born of wives of the same varṇa one should allot equal shares.

13.47.17 The son of a śūdra woman they reckon, owing to his lack of fitness, as no brāhmaṇa; for one born of a brāhmaṇa in the three varṇas becomes a brāhmaṇa.

13.47.18 Four varṇas are declared, and no fifth is recognized; yet the son of a śūdra woman may take a tenth part of the father's wealth.

13.47.19 But that he may take only if it has been given by the father; what is not given he is not entitled to take. Yet of necessity some wealth must be given to the son of the śūdra woman, O Bhārata.

13.47.20 "Freedom from cruelty is the highest dharma" — therefore it is given to him; and wherever he may have been born, it serves only to his benefit.

13.47.21 Even if he have but a single son, O Bhārata, or no son at all, to the son born of a Śūdra woman let him give no more than a tenth share.

13.47.22 When a twice-born man has a store of food beyond three years' sustenance, with that wealth let him perform sacrifice; he should not amass riches to no purpose.

13.47.23 To a woman a portion of wealth amounting to at most three thousand may be given; and that wealth which is bestowed upon her by her husband she may enjoy, but not what is not so given.

13.47.24 What women receive as their husband's gift is held to be theirs for enjoyment as its fruit; yet women must in no wise make off with anything from their husband's substance.

13.47.25 But whatever wealth has been given by her father to a woman, O Yudhiṣṭhira, the unmarried daughter of a Brāhmaṇa woman shall inherit it; for she is even as a son, O king. She indeed is ordained to be the equal of a son, O delight of the Kurus.

13.47.26 Thus has this been set forth among the laws, O bull of the Bhāratas. Mindful of this law, a man should not amass wealth to no purpose.

13.47.27 Yudhiṣṭhira said: If the son born of a Brāhmaṇa upon a Śūdra woman is declared to have no claim to inheritance, on what distinction is even a tenth share assigned to him?

13.47.28 A son begotten by a Brāhmaṇa upon a Brāhmaṇa woman is, beyond doubt, a Brāhmaṇa; and so too is the son begotten upon a Kṣatriya woman, and likewise upon a Vaiśya woman.

13.47.29 Why then should they receive unequal shares, O best of kings, when all three of these classes have been declared by you to be Brāhmaṇas?

13.47.30 Bhīṣma said: Though by one and the same name 'wife' is wives spoken of in the world, O scorcher of foes, even under that single name there exists a very great distinction.

13.47.31 Should a man, having first taken three wives, afterward wed a Brāhmaṇa woman, she shall be the foremost, she the one to be honored, and she the worthiest of them all.

13.47.32 The husband's bathing and adorning, the cleansing of his teeth and the anointing of his eyes, the offerings to gods and to the ancestors, and whatever else of sacred duty may arise in the house—

13.47.33 so long as she is present, no other wife may ever perform these; the Brāhmaṇa woman alone shall do them for the Brāhmaṇa, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.47.34 Food and drink, garlands, garments, and ornaments—these should be given by the husband to the Brāhmaṇa wife, for she is the worthiest of all.

13.47.35 And in the treatise declared by Manu, O delight of the Kurus, there too, O great king, this eternal law is seen to hold.

13.47.36 But should a man act otherwise, out of mere desire, O Yudhiṣṭhira, then he becomes like that Brāhmaṇa-Caṇḍāla seen of old—even so does he become.

13.47.37 The son who is of equal standing born of a Brāhmaṇa woman and the son born of a Kṣatriya woman—between these, O king, there is no difference of class, in respect of either.

13.47.38 Yet by birth the Kṣatriya woman is not in the world the equal of the Brāhmaṇa woman. The eldest son of the Brāhmaṇa woman shall receive the greater portion, O best of kings; and a yet greater portion shall be taken by him out of the father's wealth, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.47.39 As the Kṣatriya woman can never be the equal of the Brāhmaṇa woman, so the Vaiśya woman can never be the equal of the Kṣatriya woman.

13.47.40 Prosperity and sovereignty and the treasury are ordained for the Kṣatriyas, O Yudhiṣṭhira; and to them, O king, is the earth seen allotted, bounded by the sea.

13.47.41 For the Kṣatriya, by his own proper duty, attains abundant prosperity. The king is the wielder of the rod of justice, O king; protection lies nowhere but with the Kṣatriya.

13.47.42 For the Brāhmaṇas are most blessed, the very deities of the gods themselves. Toward them let the king conduct himself with worship, as the ordinance prescribes.

13.47.43 Knowing the everlasting, imperishable law laid down by the sages, the Kṣatriya, by his own proper duty, protects the people when their rights are being violated.

13.47.44 When wealth and wives are being carried off on every side by robbers, the king becomes the deliverer of all the classes alike.

13.47.45 The son of the Kṣatriya woman shall be the greater, without doubt, over the son of the Vaiśya woman; and by him too a greater share is to be taken out of the father's wealth, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.47.46 Yudhiṣṭhira said: You have duly spoken, O king, concerning the property of a Brāhmaṇa, O grandsire; but for the other classes, how is the division ordained?

13.47.47 Bhīṣma said: For a Kṣatriya too, two wives are ordained, O delight of the Kurus; a third may be a Śūdra woman, though she is not held to be such by the rule of precedent.

13.47.48 This same order shall hold for the Kṣatriyas, O Yudhiṣṭhira; the property of a Kṣatriya is to be divided in eight parts, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.47.49 The son of the Kṣatriya woman shall take four shares of the father's wealth; and whatever of the father's belongs to the spoils of war, that too he shall take.

13.47.50 The son of the Vaiśya woman shall take three shares, and the son of the Śūdra woman the eighth; he too may take what was given by the father, but he is not entitled to take what was not given.

13.47.51 For a Vaiśya there shall be but one wife, O delight of the Kurus; or a second may be a Śūdra woman, though she is not held to be such by the rule of precedent.

13.47.52 For a Vaiśya who lives with a Vaiśya woman, O bull of the Bhāratas, and with a Śūdra woman as well, O son of Kuntī, the division between their offspring is thus declared.

13.47.53 The property of a Vaiśya is to be divided fivefold, O bull of the Bhāratas; and the apportionment among the offspring of those two I shall declare, O lord of men.

13.47.54 By the son of the Vaiśya woman four shares of the father's wealth are to be taken; the fifth share shall fall to the son of the Śūdra woman, O Bhārata.

13.47.55 He too may take what was given by the father, but he is not entitled to take what was not given. Thus a Śūdra born of the three higher classes becomes one to whom wealth must be apportioned.

13.47.56 For a Śūdra the wife shall be of his own class alone, and none other in any wise. For a Śūdra the shares shall be equal, even were there a hundred sons.

13.47.57 Among sons born of wives of the same class, without distinction, in every one of the classes an equal share in the wealth is ordained.

13.47.58 The eldest's portion shall be the foremost—the one share that is preeminent. This is the rule of inheritance, O Pārtha, declared of old by the Self-existent One.

13.47.59 Among sons born of wives of the same class there is yet another distinction, O king, arising from the precedence of the marriage: the earlier-born, the earlier, is held the superior.

13.47.60 Even among sons of equal standing the eldest shall take the one preeminent share, the middle son a middling portion, and the youngest the least.

13.47.61 Thus, in all the births, those of the same class as the father have attained the foremost rank. This too the great sage Kaśyapa, son of Marīci, declared.

13.48.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Whether from the pursuit of gain, or from desire, or from uncertainty regarding the classes, or even from ignorance of the classes, there arises a confusion of classes.

13.48.2 For those born in this manner in the confusion of classes, what is their duty, what their occupations? Tell me that, O grandsire.

13.48.3 Bhīṣma said: In the very beginning, for the sake of sacrifice, Prajāpati brought forth the four classes alone, and the occupations belonging to those four classes.

13.48.4 Four are the wives of a Brāhmaṇa; of two of them a son of his own self is born, while of the two lower, in order of rank, are born sons taking the class of the mother.

13.48.5 This son of the Brāhmaṇa, sprung as it were from a living corpse, the son of the Śūdra woman, they call a Pāraśava. Let him be a servant of his own family, and let him never forsake his own proper conduct.

13.48.6 Weighing well every means, he should uphold the lineage of his own family—whether elder or younger, whoever of the twice-born be devoted to service and given to charity.

13.48.7 By a Kṣatriya's union there are three wives; of two of them a son of his own self is born, while of the third, a lower-class son is begotten, a Śūdra known as the Ugra.

13.48.8 And of a Vaiśya there are two wives; of both of them a son of his own self is born. The Śūdra has but one wife, a Śūdra woman, and of her a Śūdra alone is born.

13.48.9 But baser than these is the lowest, the violator of his elders' wives, who begets an outcast class, despised by the four classes.

13.48.10 A degraded Kṣatriya, fallen from his sacraments, begets the Sūta, intent on the chanting of hymns, who is unfit to have sacrifices offered for him; a degraded Vaiśya begets the Vaidehaka, a discarded Maudgalya.

13.48.11 A Śūdra begets upon a Brāhmaṇa woman the Caṇḍāla, exceedingly fierce, the slayer of the condemned, who dwells beyond the village—such are these defilers of their lineage. These, O best of the wise, O lord, are born of the confusion of classes.

13.48.12 From a Vaiśya is born of a Kṣatriya woman, through transgression, the Māgadha, a bard who lives by his words; from a Śūdra is born the Niṣāda, a slayer of fish.

13.48.13 From a Śūdra upon a Vaiśya woman is born the Āyogava, of village calling, a carpenter who lives in the forest, from whom no Brāhmaṇa may accept a gift.

13.48.14 These too beget, within their own kind, offspring of like class; but upon women of lower womb the higher beget offspring taking the mother's class.

13.48.15 As among the four classes a son of one's own self is born of two of the wives, so the outcast classes too are chiefly born from union with the class next adjoining.

13.48.16 They too beget, within their own kind, offspring of like class; but consorting one with another, they beget the despised.

13.48.17 And as a Śūdra begets upon a Brāhmaṇa woman an outcast creature, so from one more outcast still is an outcast born, sprung from beyond the four classes.

13.48.18 Living thus against the grain, from the outcast is begotten the yet more outcast; from the low are born the lower classes, fifteen in number are they.

13.48.19 And by union with the forbidden the confusion of classes proceeds. Among the fallen here are born the Sairandhras and, among the Māgadhas, one skilled in adorning and attendance, no slave yet living by a slave's labor.

13.48.20 From this is begotten the Āyogava, living in the forest by snares; and the Vaidehaka begets the Maireyaka, a brewer, and likewise the Mādhuka.

13.48.21 The Niṣāda begets the Mudgara and the Dāśa, who lives by the boat; and the Caṇḍāla begets the Mṛtapa and the Śvapāka, exceedingly abhorred.

13.48.22 The Māgadhī bears four sons, cruel ones living by deceit; and a cook who makes flesh savory, called the Saugandha.

13.48.23 From the Vaidehaka is born one most sinful, cruel, who lives off his wife; and from the Niṣāda the Madranābha, who journeys in carts drawn by asses.

13.48.24 And from the Caṇḍāla is born the Pulkasa, who feeds on asses, horses, and elephants, who is clad in the garments of the dead, and who eats from broken vessels.

13.48.25 Upon women of the Āyogava and other lower classes are born those three; from the Vaidehaka, the Kṣudra and the Āndhra, whose dwelling lies outside the village.

13.48.26 The Kārāvara is begotten by a Carmakāra upon a Niṣāda woman; and from a Caṇḍāla is born the Pāṇḍusaupāka, who deals in hides and pith.

13.48.27 The Āhiṇḍika is begotten by a Niṣāda upon a Vaidehī woman; and by a Caṇḍāla the Saupāka, whose mode of living is like the Maudgalya's.

13.48.28 And a Niṣāda woman bears by a Caṇḍāla a son, the Antāvasāyin, who haunts the cremation ground, cast out even by the outcasts.

13.48.29 Thus these are the castes born of confusion, through the transgression of father and mother; whether concealed or manifest, they are to be known by their own deeds.

13.48.30 There is a law for the four classes alone, and for no other; among those of the classes who are devoid of law, there exists here no settled name for any.

13.48.31 By chance unions, with those excluded from sacrifice and from the company of the good, outcasts are begotten of outcasts, according to their occupation and their station.

13.48.32 Crossroads and cremation grounds, mountains and other great trees, they make their own, and ornaments too, and the implements of their craft.

13.48.33 Rendering their help, beyond doubt, for the sake of cows and Brāhmaṇas—freedom from cruelty, compassion, truthful speech, and forbearance,

13.48.34 and the protection of others with their own bodies—these bring fulfillment even to the outcasts, O tiger among men; of this I have no doubt.

13.48.35 A man of understanding should beget offspring only upon women duly proclaimed, according to the teaching, after careful reflection; for a son of base womb drags a man down, as a stone drags down one who would cross the water.

13.48.36 Whether a man be unlearned, or again though he be learned, women in this world surely lead astray onto the wrong path him who is the slave of desire and wrath.

13.48.37 And the very nature of women is, in this world, a corrupter of men; for this reason the wise do not cleave attached to women.

13.48.38 Yudhiṣṭhira said: A man fallen from his class, unrecognized, born of a tainted womb, ignoble though noble in seeming—how, O king, are we to know him?

13.48.39 Bhīṣma said: Though one be born of a tainted womb and beset by manifold conduct, purity of birth is to be discerned by his deeds—by the practices observed among the good.

13.48.40 Ignobility, lack of right conduct, cruelty, and a nature averse to duty—these reveal, here in the world, the man born of a tainted womb.

13.48.41 He takes up either the disposition derived from his father, or that from his mother, or both alike; but one of mixed origin can in no way hold his own true nature in check.

13.48.42 Just as a tiger is born resembling its mother and father in form, with its markings, so too a man conforms to his own womb of origin.

13.48.43 Though the lineage's stream be concealed, the man whose origin is of mixed birth still cleaves to that disposition, whether in small measure or great.

13.48.44 Even of one who walks a counterfeit path, bearing the appearance and conduct of the noble, his own innate character determines for certain whether he belongs to his own class or another.

13.48.45 Among beings of varied conduct, devoted to varied works, that which is well-joined in the world—where birth and conduct match—does not fall away.

13.48.46 Here a man's body is drawn along by its inner nature—be that nature highest, middling, or lowest; and like delights in like nature.

13.48.47 One should not honor even a person of higher standing who is wanting in good character; but a Śūdra of virtuous conduct, knowing dharma, one should indeed honor.

13.48.48 A man proclaims himself by his deeds, good and ill, wrought by his own disposition and conduct; and so a man, though his own lineage be lost to sight, brings it again to light by his own actions.

13.48.49 Among all these wombs of origin, both the mixed and the others, the wise man should shun those in which he ought not to beget himself.

13.49.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Tell me, O best of the Kurus, of the sons of the several classes, each apart—from what kind of woman, and of what kind, are the sons of whom, and who are they?

13.49.2 Many conflicting opinions are heard concerning the matter of sons; here, O king, you must cut away the doubt of those who are bewildered.

13.49.3 Bhīṣma said: The son born of oneself is to be known, and he who is born next after him; and the son begotten under appointment is to be known, and likewise the son born of one cast off.

13.49.4 And the son born to the wife of a fallen man, lawfully united by a husband; and the two sons, the given and the made; and yet another, the son brought with a married bride.

13.49.5 And the six born of degradation, and the son of an unwed maiden, and the lowborn—these have thus been declared to you; know them, O Bhārata.

13.49.6 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Who are the six born of degradation, and who again are the lowborn? All this, in accordance with the truth, you must expound to me.

13.49.7 Bhīṣma said: The sons whom a Brāhmaṇa begets upon the three other classes, O Yudhiṣṭhira, and the two whom a Kṣatriya begets upon the two classes, O Bhārata—

13.49.8 and the one whom the man of two classes begets—thus reckoned here, these are the six born of degradation. Now hear likewise of the lowborn.

13.49.9 The Caṇḍāla, and the Vrātya and the Vena—the three lowborn of a Śūdra are marked out, born respectively upon a Brāhmaṇa woman, upon a Kṣatriya woman, and upon a Vaiśya woman.

13.49.10 The Māgadha and the Vāmaka, the two reckoned as a Vaiśya's, born upon a Brāhmaṇa woman and a Kṣatriya woman; and the Kṣatriya's is but one—

13.49.11 the Sūta, marked out as born upon a Brāhmaṇa woman. These are remembered as the lowborn; for the seed that makes a son cannot be made false, O ruler of men.

13.49.12 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Some declare the son to be the field-born, others the seed-born; of which of the two are these equally sons? Tell me that, O grandsire.

13.49.13 Bhīṣma said: A son may be born of the seed, or, being abandoned, may be field-born; or he may be the adhyūḍha, born when a compact is broken—learn this from me.

13.49.14 Yudhiṣṭhira said: The son born of the seed we know; but how comes the field-born to be? And how do we know the adhyūḍha son, born when a compact has been set aside?

13.49.15 Bhīṣma said: When a man, having begotten his own son, abandons him for some other cause, the seed is no longer the deciding factor there; that son belongs to the lord of the field.

13.49.16 For when a man desiring a son, for a son's sake, takes a woman, O lord of peoples, there the field is the measure, and the son is not reckoned as begotten of his own seed.

13.49.17 In another case the son is marked as field-born, O bull of the Bhāratas; for one's own self cannot be slain—this is borne out by the established example.

13.49.18 And some son is the made one, recognized merely by adoption; there neither seed nor field is the measure, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.49.19 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Of what kind is the made son, recognized merely by adoption, where neither seed nor field is found to be the measure, O Bhārata?

13.49.20 Bhīṣma said: One whom a man finds abandoned by mother and father upon the road, and whose mother and father are not known—he is the made son.

13.49.21 In whom one establishes ownership over the ownerless, and a man of the same class rears him, that son becomes of the same class as his rearer.

13.49.22 Yudhiṣṭhira said: How is the sacrament to be performed for him, and after whose manner, and how? And how is a maiden to be given to him? Tell me that, O grandsire.

13.49.23 Bhīṣma said: One should perform the sacrament for him as for one's own son, and so according to the rearer's standing.

13.49.24 He who, abandoned by mother and father, comes to a man of the same class—for him one should perform the sacrament according to that man's lineage and class, O unfaltering one.

13.49.25 Then the maiden is to be given according to that man's class, O Yudhiṣṭhira; and where the mother's class is determined, the rites are to be done by the mother's lineage.

13.49.26 The son of an unwed maiden and the son brought with a married bride are likewise to be known as flawed sons; yet the settled rule is that these two also are to be consecrated as though they were one's own sons.

13.49.27 And whether field-born or lowborn, those who are the adhyūḍhas—for these too the Brāhmaṇas and the rest should perform the sacrament as for their own sons.

13.49.28 This is the settled rule concerning the classes as shown in the books of dharma. All this has been declared to you; what more do you wish to hear?

13.50.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: What sort of affection arises in the seeing of cattle and in dwelling with them, O grandsire, and what is the great blessedness of cows? Tell me that, O grandsire.

13.50.2 Bhīṣma said: Come then, I shall relate to you an event of olden days, O greatly radiant one—the colloquy between Nahuṣa and the great sage Cyavana.

13.50.3 Of old, O bull of the Bhāratas, the great sage Cyavana of Bhṛgu's line, having undertaken a dwelling in the waters, became one of mighty vow.

13.50.4 Having slain pride and anger, and elation and grief as well, the sage held fast to his vow of dwelling in the water for twelve years.

13.50.5 He bestowed upon all beings the highest, most blessed trust, even upon the creatures that move in the water, like the cool-rayed lord the moon.

13.50.6 Becoming still as a post, and pure, and bowing to the gods, he entered the water between the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā.

13.50.7 The most terrible current of the Gaṅgā and Yamunā, with its dreadful roar and a swiftness like the rush of the wind, he received upon his head.

13.50.8 The Gaṅgā and the Yamunā, and the streams that follow after them, made their reverent circuit around the sage and did not afflict him.

13.50.9 Beneath the water the great sage slept, become like a log of wood; and thereafter the wise one stood upright, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.50.10 He became a delight to behold for the creatures that dwell in the water, and the fishes, joyful in heart, came then and nuzzled him; and as he abode there a great span of time passed by.

13.50.11 Then, at one time, on a certain occasion, men who lived by fishing came to that region, nets in hand, O greatly radiant one.

13.50.12 Many Niṣādas, resolved upon hauling up fish, tall, strong, and bold, never turning back in the waters, came to that region, set upon the work of the net.

13.50.13 And they fastened together their net with special care, O lord of men, having reached the fish-filled water, O best of the Bhāratas.

13.50.14 Then those fishermen, craving fish, by many contrivances cast their nets over the waters of the Gaṅgā and Yamunā.

13.50.15 Their net was well-spread, made of new cord, and so fashioned in breadth and length as to be fit for that water.

13.50.16 Then, having cast it out on every side—that net so very great, so strong, and so well-woven—they all hauled it in together.

13.50.17 Fearless in aspect and full of joy, working in concert one with another, they ensnared therein the fishes and other water-roving creatures as well.

13.50.18 And Cyavana, the delight of Bhṛgu's line, surrounded by the fishes, they drew up by chance in their net, O great king.

13.50.19 His limbs smeared with the river's moss, wearing a tawny beard and matted locks, his body clung about with clusters of shells, as if covered with strange chambered casings.

13.50.20 Seeing him drawn up in the net, that master of the Vedas, all the fishermen then, with joined palms, fell to the ground with their heads bowed.

13.50.21 From exhaustion and terror, and from the dragging of the net, and from being hauled onto dry land, the fishes perished.

13.50.22 That sage, beholding the slaughter wrought of the fishes, was overcome with compassion and sighed again and again.

13.50.23 The Niṣādas said: For the sin that we have done in ignorance, grant us your grace therein. What may we do to please you? Tell us that, O great sage.

13.50.24 Bhīṣma said: Thus addressed, Cyavana, standing amid the fishes, spoke these words: Hear with attentive minds what is now my highest wish.

13.50.25 Either to the giving up of life, or to being sold, will I go along with these fishes; for I cannot bear to forsake my companionship with these dwellers in the water.

13.50.26 Thus addressed, those Niṣādas, trembling exceedingly with fear, all of them with downcast faces, made it known to Nahuṣa.

13.51.1 Bhīṣma said: And Nahuṣa, hearing then that Cyavana had come to such a pass, set out thither in haste, together with his ministers and his household priest.

13.51.2 Having performed his purification as the rule requires, with palms joined and self subdued, the king announced himself to the great-souled Cyavana.

13.51.3 And that king's household priest also honored him—true to his vow, greatly blessed, and godlike, O lord of peoples.

13.51.4 Nahuṣa said: What may I do to please you? That you must explain to me. I shall do it all, O blessed one, even though it be most hard to accomplish.

13.51.5 Cyavana said: The fishermen who live by fish are joined to great toil; pay them my price, together with the price of the fishes.

13.51.6 Nahuṣa said: Let a thousand be given as the price to the Niṣādas, O priest, for the ransom of the blessed one, even as the delight of Bhṛgu's line has said.

13.51.7 Cyavana said: I am not worth a thousand—or how do you reckon it, O king? Let a fitting price be given; make your determination by your own judgment.

13.51.8 Nahuṣa said: Let a hundred thousand be given at once to the Niṣādas. Might this then be the price? Or does your honor reckon otherwise?

13.51.9 Cyavana said: I am not to be valued at a hundred thousand, O bull among rulers. Let a fitting price be given; consider it together with your ministers.

13.51.10 Nahuṣa said: Let a crore be given as the price to the Niṣādas, O priest; and if even this is no fit measure for you, let yet more than this be given.

13.51.11 Cyavana said: O king, I am not worth a crore, nor even more, O greatly radiant one. Let a fitting price be given; consider it together with the Brāhmaṇas.

13.51.12 Nahuṣa said: Let half the kingdom, or the whole of it, be given to the Niṣādas. This I deem to be the price—or do you reckon otherwise, O twice-born?

13.51.13 Cyavana said: I am not worth half the kingdom, nor the whole, O ruler. Let a fitting price be given; let it be pondered together with the sages.

13.51.14 Bhīṣma said: Hearing the great sage's words, Nahuṣa, worn with distress, then fell to pondering, together with his ministers and his household priest.

13.51.15 But there a certain other forest-dweller, who lived on roots and fruits, came to stand near Nahuṣa—a sage born of a cow.

13.51.16 That best of the twice-born, addressing the king, said: I shall satisfy the Brāhmaṇa, so that he shall be content.

13.51.17 "I would not speak a false word even in jest, much less in a grave matter. Whatever I shall say to you must be carried out without any hesitation."

13.51.18 Nahuṣa said: "Let the holy one name a price befitting the great sage, the son of Bhṛgu. Deliver me from this peril, and my kingdom, and my lineage."

13.51.19 "For the holy one, when angered, could destroy even the entire threefold world—how much more easily me, who am devoid of austerity and rely only on the strength of my arms."

13.51.20 "To one sunk in fathomless waters, together with his ministers and his priests, be you a raft, O great sage. Determine the price."

13.51.21 Bhīṣma said: Having heard the words of Nahuṣa, the majestic sage born of a cow spoke, gladdening all the ministers and that king as well.

13.51.22 "Beyond all price, O great king, are the twice-born, highest among the social orders, and so too are cows, O protector of the earth. Let a cow be reckoned as the price."

13.51.23 And then, O king, hearing the great sage's word, Nahuṣa was filled with great joy, together with his ministers and his household priest.

13.51.24 Approaching Cyavana, the son of Bhṛgu, firm in his vows, he spoke these words, O lord of men, as if soothing him with his speech.

13.51.25 "Rise, rise, O sage among brahmins! With a cow you have been purchased, O scion of Bhṛgu. This I deem your price, O best of the upholders of dharma."

13.51.26 Cyavana said: "I rise, O lord of kings; rightly have I been bought by you, O sinless one. No wealth do I see in this world that is equal to cows, O unfailing one."

13.51.27 "To celebrate cows, to hear of them, to give them, and even to behold them, O king—all this is praised, O hero, as auspicious and the remover of every sin."

13.51.28 "Cows are ever the root of prosperity; in cows no evil is found. Cows are always food itself, and the highest oblation of the gods."

13.51.29 "The sacred utterances svāhā and vaṣaṭ are eternally established in cows. Cows are the very bearers of the sacrifice, and they are the mouth of the sacrifice."

13.51.30 "They yield and they bear the nectar, imperishable and divine; they are the abode of immortality, revered by all the worlds."

13.51.31 "In radiance and in form, cows are like fire upon the earth; cows are a great splendor indeed, and bestowers of happiness upon living beings."

13.51.32 "Wherever a herd of cattle, settled and at ease, breathes freely without fear, it makes that land shine and draws away its evil."

13.51.33 "Cows are the stairway to heaven; cows are honored even in heaven. Cows are goddesses who yield every desire; nothing else is held to be higher."

13.51.34 "Thus has the glory of cows been proclaimed by me, O bull among kings—yet this is but the telling of a portion of their virtues; their full account cannot be exhausted."

13.51.35 The Niṣādas said: "A meeting and a converse with us you have had, O sage; among the good, seven steps together make friendship. Show us your favor, O lord."

13.51.36 "As the fire devours all oblations, so are you too, O righteous soul, a fire in the form of a man, blazing with power."

13.51.37 "We seek to win your favor, O learned one; bowed low are we. For the sake of grace toward us, let this cow be accepted."

13.51.38 Cyavana said: "The glance of one who is wretched, of a sage, and of a venomous serpent burns a man down to the root, as a blazing fire consumes the dry brushwood."

13.51.39 "I accept your milch-cow, O fishermen; freed from your sins are you. Go swiftly to heaven, together with the fish drawn up in your net."

13.51.40 Bhīṣma said: Then, by the grace of that great sage of purified soul, the Niṣādas, through that word, ascended to heaven together with the fish.

13.51.41 Then King Nahuṣa was struck with wonder, beholding the fishermen, and the fish too, ascending to the threefold heaven, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.51.42 Then both the one born of a cow and Cyavana, the upholder of Bhṛgu's line, offered the king his choice of two fitting boons.

13.51.43 Then the mighty King Nahuṣa, lord of the earth, well pleased, said "It is excellent," O best of the Bhāratas.

13.51.44 Then that king, equal to Indra, took up a firm standing in dharma; urged "So be it," he, well pleased, paid honor to those two sages in return.

13.51.45 Then Cyavana, his consecration completed, went to his own hermitage, and the one born of a cow, of great splendor, returned to the site of his own hermitage.

13.51.46 And the Niṣādas went to heaven, and so did the fish, O lord of men; and Nahuṣa too, having obtained his boon, entered his own city.

13.51.47 "This has been told to you, my son, that which you asked of me: what kind of affection arises in beholding one, and in dwelling together, O Yudhiṣṭhira."

13.51.48 "And the great blessedness of cows, and likewise the determination of dharma. What more shall be told, O hero? What is it that you wish to ask in your heart?"

13.52.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: "A doubt I have, O greatly wise one, vast as the ocean. Hear it from me, O mighty-armed one, and having heard, be pleased to explain it."

13.52.2 "Great is my curiosity, O lord, concerning the son of Jamadagni—Rāma, the foremost of the upholders of dharma. Be pleased to explain it to me."

13.52.3 "How was this Rāma, whose valor is truth, brought forth? And how, in a line of brahmin-sages, was he born with the dharma of a kṣatriya?"

13.52.4 "Recount his origin in full, O king; and how it was that from the Kauśika line, a kṣatriya line, there came to be a brahmin."

13.52.5 "Ah, how very great was the power of those two great souls—of Rāma, O tiger among men, and of Viśvāmitra indeed."

13.52.6 "How was it that, passing over their sons, this defect arose among their grandsons, leaving the sons aside? Be pleased to explain this to me."

13.52.7 Bhīṣma said: On this too they recount an ancient tale—the dialogue of Cyavana and of Kuśika, O Bhārata.

13.52.8 Foreseeing this defect of old as it was to come upon his own line, Cyavana the son of Bhṛgu, that bull among sages of great wisdom—

13.52.9 —pondering in his mind the whole of it, its merits and defects, its strength and weakness, that ascetic resolved to burn down the entire family of the Kuśikas.

13.52.10 Cyavana, coming to that Kuśika, spoke these words: "A wish has arisen in me to dwell together with you, O sinless one."

13.52.11 Kuśika said: "Holy one, this is a duty to be shared in marriage, upheld here by the learned; it is spoken of by the wise always at the time of the giving of maidens."

13.52.12 "But as for that door of duty which has so far been passed by, O ascetic, that task I shall perform; be pleased to grant me leave for it."

13.52.13 Bhīṣma said: Then, taking up a seat for Cyavana the great sage, Kuśika, together with his wife, came to where the sage was.

13.52.14 Taking up a water-vessel, the king offered him water for his feet, and performed all the rites of welcome for that great soul.

13.52.15 Then that king, the great-souled one, steadfast in his vows and unperturbed, had Cyavana receive the honey-and-curd offering according to rule.

13.52.16 Having thus honored the brahmin, he spoke these words: "Holy one, the two of us are at your command. Tell us, what shall we do?"

13.52.17 "Whether the kingdom, whether wealth, whether cows, O you of stern vows, and likewise sacrifices and gifts—say the word, and I shall give you all."

13.52.18 "This house, this kingdom, and this seat of dharma are yours. You are the king; govern the earth. I am your servant, dependent upon you."

13.52.19 When these words were spoken, then Cyavana the son of Bhṛgu, filled with the highest gladness, replied thus to Kuśika:

13.52.20 "I desire not the kingdom, O king, nor wealth, nor women, nor cows, nor your lands, nor sacrifices. Let this be heard:"

13.52.21 "I shall undertake a certain observance, if it pleases the two of you; and that you both should attend upon me without hesitation."

13.52.22 When this was spoken by him, the wedded pair rejoiced, and they answered that sage, "So be it," O Bhārata.

13.52.23 Then Kuśika, delighted, led him into a most excellent quarter of the house, and there showed him a beautiful spot.

13.52.24 "This is your couch, holy one; dwell here as you please. We two shall strive to bring you delight, O ascetic."

13.52.25 Now the sun passed onward while they were thus conversing, and the sage then called for drink and likewise for food.

13.52.26 Then King Kuśika, bowing low, asked him: "What kind of food is desired by you? What shall I set before you?"

13.52.27 Then he, with the utmost pleasure, replied to the lord of men: "Give me whatever food comes ready to hand," O Bhārata.

13.52.28 Honoring that word, the king said "So be it," and the lord of men gave him such food as was at hand.

13.52.29 Then that holy one, knower of dharma, having eaten, said to the wedded pair: "I wish to sleep; drowsiness oppresses me, O lord."

13.52.30 Then, reaching the sleeping-chamber, the holy one, best of sages, lay down; but the king, together with his wife, remained standing.

13.52.31 "I am not to be wakened once asleep," said the son of Bhṛgu then; "my feet are to be massaged, and you two must keep watch through the night."

13.52.32 And Kuśika, the knower of dharma, without hesitation said "So be it," and the two did not waken him even at the closing of the night.

13.52.33 According to the great sage's command, the wedded pair, intent on his service and self-restrained, then remained so, O great king.

13.52.34 Then that holy brahmin, having so instructed the king, slept upon a single side for twenty-one days.

13.52.35 But that king, taking no food, together with his wife, O delight of the Kurus, attended upon him with gladness, devoted to the propitiation of Cyavana.

13.52.36 But the son of Bhṛgu, the ascetic, rose up of his own accord, and saying nothing at all, that great ascetic walked out of the house.

13.52.37 The two of them followed after him, hungry and worn with toil, husband and wife; but the best of sages did not so much as look upon them.

13.52.38 Even as the two of them looked on, the upholder of the line of the Bhārgavas vanished, O lord of kings; thereupon the king fell to the ground.

13.52.39 After resting a moment, that king of great splendor, together with his queen, then made the utmost effort to search for him once again.

13.53.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: "When that brahmin had vanished, what did the king do then, and his greatly blessed wife? Tell me that, O grandsire."

13.53.2 Bhīṣma said: Not finding that sage, the protector of the earth, together with his wife, utterly spent, turned back, abashed and bereft of his senses.

13.53.3 Entering the city, downcast, he spoke not a single word; he brooded only upon that conduct of Cyavana.

13.53.4 Then with a vacant mind the king entered his house, and he beheld, upon that very couch, the son of Bhṛgu lying asleep.

13.53.5 The two of them, astonished, beholding him and pondering that marvel, became refreshed at the very sight of that sage.

13.53.6 Taking their proper places, the two once more massaged him; and then that great sage slept upon his other side.

13.53.7 And after that same span of time the mighty one awoke; yet the two, anxious with fear, showed no change of countenance at all.

13.53.8 Now the sage, having awakened, said to the two, O lord of peoples: "Let an anointing with oil be given me; I shall bathe," O Bhārata.

13.53.9 Promising "So be it," the two, hungry and worn with toil, attended upon him with hundred-times-refined oil of great value.

13.53.10 Then, holding their speech in check, the two attended upon the sage as he sat at his ease; yet Bhārgava, of mighty austerities, said it was not enough.

13.53.11 When Bhārgava observed that the two remained unmoved, he rose all at once and entered the bathing-chamber; there the bathing appointments, befitting a king, stood already made ready.

13.53.12 But the sage, scorning all that, vanished from the very spot once more before the king's eyes; and the royal couple, O bull of the Bhāratas, harbored no resentment.

13.53.13 Then, having bathed, the venerable lord, the delight of the Bhṛgus, seated upon a lion-throne, showed himself to Kuśika and his wife.

13.53.14 With a glad countenance, King Kuśika, together with his wife, bowed low and unperturbed announced to the sage that the meal was prepared.

13.53.15 "Let it be brought," the sage said to that lord of men; and the king, together with his wife, fetched forth that food.

13.53.16 Many kinds of meat dishes, and vegetables of many kinds, and preparations richly spiced, and light beverages,

13.53.17 varied sweet cakes, and sweetmeats, and the six-flavored relishes, and juices of every sort, and the wild forest fare fit for a sage.

13.53.18 And fruits of many kinds, and other foods in abundance—jujubes, iṅgudas, kāśmarya berries, marking-nuts, and banyan figs—

13.53.19 whatever food belongs to householders and whatever belongs to forest-dwellers—the king had all of it brought, in dread of the sage's curse.

13.53.20 Then all of it was set out before Cyavana; whereupon the sage gathered up the whole of it, along with the couch and the seat,

13.53.21 and, having covered it over with fine garments together with the vessels of the meal, Cyavana, the delight of the Bhṛgus, set the whole of it ablaze.

13.53.22 Yet the couple, steadfast in their great vow, gave way to no anger; and even as the two looked on, he vanished once again.

13.53.23 And in that very place the royal sage stood through that night, with his wife, silent and glorious; nor did anger enter into him.

13.53.24 Day after day the dressed food of many kinds, and the finest couches, and lavish baths were furnished in the royal dwelling,

13.53.25 and garments of every fashion were procured; and Cyavana could find no flaw therein to seize upon.

13.53.26 Then once more the brahman-sage said to King Kuśika: "With your wife, convey me swiftly by chariot to wherever I direct."

13.53.27 "So be it," said the king, without misgiving, to that ascetic rich in penance. "Shall it be a pleasure-chariot, O venerable one, or a war-chariot?"

13.53.28 Thus addressed by that gladdened king, the sage Cyavana, well pleased, made this reply to the conqueror of hostile cities:

13.53.29 "Make ready at once the chariot that you reckon a war-chariot—furnished with weapons, with banners, with a lance, and with a barbed javelin,

13.53.30 resounding with a hundred bells, fitted with arrays of pikes, bound about with mace and sword, and supplied with hundreds of choice arrows."

13.53.31 Then he, saying "So be it," made ready the great chariot, and set his wife at the left of the yoke and himself at the right,

13.53.32 and took up there a goad three-pronged and sharp as an adamant needle at its point. Having given all this over, the king then spoke these words:

13.53.33 "Venerable one, where shall the chariot go? Let the delight of the Bhṛgus declare it. Wherever you shall say, O brahman-sage, there shall your chariot go."

13.53.34 Thus addressed, the venerable one replied to that king: "From here onward you must go step by step, slowly,

13.53.35 so that no fatigue may come to me. Move at my pleasure, you two; I am to be drawn in comfort, and let all the people look on."

13.53.36 "No traveler is to be thrust aside; to them I shall give wealth—to the brahmans too who shall beg of me their desires along the way.

13.53.37 I shall give it all without remainder, the wealth and the jewels alike. Let this be done in full; do not deliberate, O king."

13.53.38 Hearing that word of his, the king then said to his servants: "Whatever the sage may ask, all of it is to be given without hesitation."

13.53.39 Then jewels beyond number, women, draught-teams, goats and sheep, gold both wrought and unwrought, and lordly elephants like mountains,

13.53.40 and the king's ministers, all of them, followed after that sage; and the whole city became a tumult of grief, struck with anguish.

13.53.41 Goaded all at once by the sharp-pointed prod, pierced upon the back and on the hip, the two, unmoved, drew him along.

13.53.42 Trembling, gone without food, wasted by fifty nights, the heroic couple drew that surpassing chariot with utmost difficulty.

13.53.43 Pierced again and again and grievously, oozing the blood sprung from their wounds, they appeared, O great king, like two kiṃśuka trees in flower.

13.53.44 Beholding the two, the townsfolk were utterly given over to grief; yet, terrified by the dread of his curse, they said nothing at all.

13.53.45 And all of them said, two by two: "Behold the power of penance! Though wrathful, we cannot so much as look upon this best of sages."

13.53.46 "Ah, the might of the venerable great sage of perfected soul! And behold too what fortitude the king, with his wife, displays!"

13.53.47 For though spent, with great hardship they drew this chariot onward; yet the delight of the Bhṛgus saw in the two no change of heart.

13.53.48 Bhīṣma said: Then, seeing the two unmoved, the upholder of the Bhṛgu line dispensed wealth as Vaiśravaṇa himself might do.

13.53.49 In that too the king, glad of heart, did as he was bidden; whereupon the venerable one, that best of sages, grew pleased with him.

13.53.50 Descending from that finest of chariots, he released the couple; and having freed them duly, he then spoke these words.

13.53.51 In a voice tender, deep, and most serene, Bhārgava said: "Let me grant the two of you a choicest boon; name it," O Bhārata.

13.53.52 And that best of sages, the knowing one, touched the two tender ones with his hands, hands like ambrosia, out of affection, O best of the Bhāratas.

13.53.53 Then the king spoke: "There is no weariness in us two here; by your power, O Bhārgava, by your very meditation, we are wholly rested."

13.53.54 Then the venerable Cyavana, greatly delighted, said to the two: "What I declared before was not spoken in vain; it shall come to pass.

13.53.55 Delightful is this spot, this fair bank of the Gaṅgā; for some time, intent upon my vow, I shall dwell here, O king.

13.53.56 Go to your own city, my son; rested, you shall return. Tomorrow, with your wife, you shall behold me abiding here, O lord of men.

13.53.57 Nor should you give way to wrath: a blessing has drawn near to you. Whatever is wished for, set in your heart, all of it shall come to be."

13.53.58 Thus addressed, Kuśika, with inmost soul rejoicing, spoke to that tiger among sages this word fraught with meaning:

13.53.59 "I bear no wrath, O greatly fortunate one; by you, venerable lord, I am made pure. We two have become young again, full of beauty and of strength.

13.53.60 The wounds you made upon me and my wife with the goad—I see them no longer upon our limbs; I am whole again, together with my wife.

13.53.61 And this lady I behold, O sage, like a celestial apsaras, endowed with surpassing beauty, even as I saw her of old.

13.53.62 By your grace has all this come to pass, O great sage; yet this is no wonder in you, O venerable one whose valor is truth."

13.53.63 Thus addressed, Cyavana then replied to Kuśika: "You shall come here, and with your wife," O lord of men.

13.53.64 Thus addressed and given leave, the royal sage saluted him and set forth, endowed with beauty, toward the city, like the king of the gods.

13.53.65 Then there came forth to meet him the ministers with the household priests, the men of the army, the courtesans, and all the orders of the realm as well.

13.53.66 Encircled by them, King Kuśika, blazing with surpassing splendor, entered the city, gladdened, honored by the bards.

13.53.67 Then, having entered the city and performed all the rites of the day, that lord of earth, with his wife, dined and passed the night.

13.53.68 Then the two, beholding their renewed youth in each other, rejoiced like immortals freed of age, beautiful of form upon their couch, endowed with that splendor bestowed by the best of brahmans.

13.53.69 And that sage too, the increaser of the Bhṛgu line's renown, rich in penance, fashioned by the power of his mind a delightful, flourishing forest, adorned with jewels of many kinds, such as is not found even with the lord of a hundred sacrifices.

13.54.1 Bhīṣma said: Then that high-minded king, awakened at the close of night, having performed the morning rites, set out with his wife toward that forest.

13.54.2 Then the king beheld a palace all of gold, rich with a thousand jeweled pillars, like a city of the gandharvas; and there Kuśika beheld marvels of celestial design.

13.54.3 Mountains with lovely peaks, and lotus-pools bearing their blossoms, and picture-galleries of many kinds, and gateways, O Bhārata, and ground heaped with fresh turf, paved too with gold.

13.54.4 Mango trees in full bloom, ketakas, uddālakas, dhavas, aśokas, and mucukundas, and atimuktakas all flowering,

13.54.5 campakas, splendid tilakas, jackfruit trees, and vañjulas too, and karṇikāras in flower—these he beheld here and there.

13.54.6 The śyāmā creeper, the vāraṇapuṣpī, and the aṣṭāpadikā vine, set out here and there—these that lord of earth beheld.

13.54.7 Trees bearing lotuses and water-lilies, and others blossoming in every season, and palaces shaped like celestial cars, mansions resembling lotuses,

13.54.8 and waters cool, and in some places warm, O Bhārata, and seats of varied work, and couches of the choicest kind,

13.54.9 divans all of gold, spread over with coverlets of priceless worth, and food to be eaten and to be enjoyed without end, made ready here and there.

13.54.10 Sweet-voiced parrots too, and śārikā mynas and bhṛṅgarāja birds, cuckoos and woodpeckers, sandpipers and jungle-fowl,

13.54.11 peacocks and wild-cocks, putraka birds and jīvaṃjīvakas, cakora partridges, monkeys, swans, sārasa cranes, and the birds named after the cakravāka,

13.54.12 crying out on every side, most charming—these he beheld, and in some places throngs of apsarases and of gandharvas, O king.

13.54.13 Others he beheld there embraced by their beloved ones; and then he saw them no more, and again the king saw them once more.

13.54.14 The sweet sound of song, and likewise the sound of recitation, and the swans most sweet of voice—these the king heard there.

13.54.15 Beholding that exceeding marvel, the king then pondered within his mind: "Is this a dream, a derangement of the mind, or is it truly real?

13.54.16 Ah, in this very body have I reached the supreme abode—the holy Northern Kurus, or else Amarāvatī itself!

13.54.17 Yet what is this great wonder that I behold?"—so he mused. And even as he mused thus, he beheld the bull among sages,

13.54.18 the delight of the Bhṛgus, reclining in that golden car thronged with jeweled pillars, upon a precious, celestial couch.

13.54.19 Toward him the lord of men, with his wife, drew near in great joy; whereupon Cyavana vanished once again, and that couch as well.

13.54.20 Then in another quarter of the forest he beheld him once more, seated upon a couch of kuśa grass, murmuring his prayers, steadfast in his great vow. Thus, by the power of yoga, the brahman bewildered the king.

13.54.21 In an instant that forest, and the throngs of Apsarases, and the Gandharvas, and the trees as well—all of it vanished away.

13.54.22 The bank of the Gaṅgā fell silent once more, O king, and became thick with kuśa-grass and anthills, just as it had been before.

13.54.23 Then king Kuśika, together with his wife, beholding that great marvel, was struck by that deed with the utmost astonishment.

13.54.24 Then Kuśika, filled with delight, said to his wife: "Behold, good lady, what wondrous, exceedingly rare splendors we have seen!

13.54.25 By the grace of the foremost of the Bhṛgus—whence else but from the power of austerity? For by austerity is attained that which cannot be won by mere wishing.

13.54.26 Austerity surpasses even the sovereignty of the three worlds; for through austerity well practiced this man, whose wealth is austerity, sports as he pleases.

13.54.27 Ah, the might of the great-souled Brahmā-sage Cyavana! Should he so wish, by the force of his austerity he could even create other worlds.

13.54.28 Brāhmaṇas alone would be born—holy in speech, in thought, and in deed; for who else but Cyavana could here have the power to do such a thing?

13.54.29 Brāhmaṇhood is hard to attain in this world, while sovereignty is easily gained by men; for through the power of his Brāhmaṇhood we two were yoked to his chariot like well-matched draught-horses.

13.54.30 As the king mused thus, he became known to Cyavana, who, looking upon him, said to him: "Come hither at once."

13.54.31 Thus addressed, the king together with his wife approached the great sage, and bowed with his head to that one worthy of reverence.

13.54.32 Then the wise sage, having pronounced his blessings upon the lord of men, said to him, "Be seated," speaking gently to him, O bull among men.

13.54.33 Then the descendant of Bhṛgu, returned to his natural calm, O king, addressed the monarch in smooth speech, as if refreshing him, O Bhārata.

13.54.34 "O king, since you have here rightly conquered the five senses among the five objects, with the mind as the sixth, by that very feat you are released from peril.

13.54.35 You have rightly propitiated me, my son, O best of speakers; not the slightest fault, however subtle, is found in you.

13.54.36 Give me leave, O king; I shall depart as I came. I am pleased with you, O lord of kings; let a boon be accepted from me."

13.54.37 Kuśika said: O blessed one, it was as one standing amid fire that I conducted myself in your presence, O tiger of the Bhṛgus; that I was not burned up—that is boon enough.

13.54.38 This is the chief boon I have gained, O joy of the Bhṛgus: that you are pleased with my conduct, and my line is made pure, O sinless one.

13.54.39 This is grace enough for me, O brāhmaṇa, and the very purpose of my life; this is the fruit of my kingship, and this my highest austerity.

13.54.40 But if you are well pleased with me, O brāhmaṇa, joy of the Bhṛgus, there is a certain doubt in me; that you ought to explain to me.

13.55.1 Cyavana said: Let a boon be taken from me; and whatever doubt is in your heart, declare it, O best of men—all of it I shall resolve for you.

13.55.2 Kuśika said: If you are pleased, O blessed one, then tell me, O descendant of Bhṛgu—I wish to hear the reason for the dwelling you made in my house:

13.55.3 your lying on one side for twenty-one days, your going outside without saying a word, O bull among sages,

13.55.4 your sudden disappearance and again your reappearance, and once more your lying down, O brāhmaṇa, for twenty-one days;

13.55.5 your departure when anointed with oil, and your eating in my house; and how, when manifold food had been brought together, it was burned by Jātavedas the fire; and how you suddenly set out swiftly in the chariot;

13.55.6 and the squandering of my riches, and the apparition of the forest, and of the many golden palaces, O great sage,

13.55.7 and the sight of couches with legs of gem and coral, and then again the vanishing of all that—I wish to hear the reason.

13.55.8 For in this I am utterly bewildered, brooding day and night, and I cannot arrive at any certainty about all of it; this I wish to hear in full and truly, O you whose wealth is austerity.

13.55.9 Cyavana said: Hear all of it without remainder—this thing, and the reason for it; for being so questioned, O king, I cannot leave it untold.

13.55.10 What I once heard the Grandsire say at an assembly of the gods, that, O king, hear from me as I relate it.

13.55.11 "Through the strife of Brāhmaṇa and Kṣatriya there shall come a mingling of lines; a grandson shall be born to you, O king, endowed with brilliance and might.

13.55.12 Therefore, to safeguard my own line, I came to you, O Kuśika, seeking to bring about your extinction, longing to burn up your house.

13.55.13 So, having come to you then, O lord of the earth, I said: "I shall undertake a certain observance; let attendance be rendered to me."

13.55.14 But I found no fault whatever in your house; by that you live, O royal sage—otherwise it would have been far otherwise with you.

13.55.15 With this intent I slept for twenty-one days, thinking, "If anyone should wake me…," O king.

13.55.16 When neither you nor your wife roused me from sleep, at that very moment I was pleased with you in my heart, O best of kings.

13.55.17 And I rose and went out, thinking, "If you, O lord of the earth, should ask me, 'Where are you going?'—then I would curse you," O lord.

13.55.18 And I made myself vanish, and again and again, in your house, taking up yoga, I lay down for twenty-one days.

13.55.19 Thinking, "Perhaps, hungry or worn with toil, he will resent me," O lord of men—with this intent I wasted you both with hunger.

13.55.20 Yet not the slightest anger arose in your mind, O king, nor in your wife's, O best of men; therefore I am pleased with you.

13.55.21 And when I gathered the food and set it ablaze—thinking, "Perhaps out of resentment he will grow wrathful"—that too you endured.

13.55.22 Then I mounted the chariot and said to you, O lord of men, "Together with your wife, draw me along"—and that too you did.

13.55.23 Without misgiving, O lord of men—and by that too I was pleased with you; even when the squandering of your wealth was done, no anger overcame you.

13.55.24 Then, being pleased, O king, I did this once more for you and your wife—that forest; know it for what it was, O ruler of men.

13.55.25 And for your delight this showing of heaven was made by me—that divine vision which you beheld in this forest, O king.

13.55.26 That region of heaven, O king, you experienced in your own body for a moment, together with your wife, O best of kings.

13.55.27 It was to give a glimpse of austerity and of dharma, O lord of men; the longing that arose in you there, O king, that too is known to me.

13.55.28 For you long for Brāhmaṇhood and for austerity, O lord of the earth, disdaining the rank of a king and even the rank of Indra of the gods, O monarch.

13.55.29 It is as you say, my son: Brāhmaṇhood is hard to attain; where there is Brāhmaṇhood there comes seerhood, and in seerhood the life of austerity.

13.55.30 This desire of yours shall be fulfilled: from Kuśika a Kauśika brāhmaṇa shall arise, who, reaching the third generation, shall attain Brāhmaṇhood.

13.55.31 Your line, O best of kings, shall through the very brilliance of the Bhṛgus—your grandson shall become a brāhmaṇa, an ascetic, with the splendor of fire,

13.55.32 who shall strike fear into gods and men and into the three worlds alike—this I tell you in truth.

13.55.33 Take the boon, O royal sage, that lies in your heart; I shall set out on a pilgrimage to the sacred fords, for the time slips by.

13.55.34 Kuśika said: This is my very boon today—that you are pleased, O great sage. May it be as you have said: let there be austerity in my grandson, O sinless one, and Brāhmaṇhood for my line, O blessed one; this is the boon I ask.

13.55.35 And again I wish you to explain in full, O blessed one: how shall my line come to brāhmaṇa-hood, O joy of the Bhṛgus? And who shall be that kinsman of mine, and who the one esteemed among them?

13.56.1 Cyavana said: This must surely be told to you, O bull among men—the very reason for which I came to destroy you, O ruler of men.

13.56.2 The Kṣatriyas are ever the patrons whose sacrifices the Bhṛgus perform, O lord of men; yet they shall fall into discord through a cause ordained by fate.

13.56.3 And the Kṣatriyas shall slay all the Bhṛgus, O lord of men, cutting them down even to the embryo in the womb, driven by the rod of destiny.

13.56.4 Then in our line shall be born one who shall increase the lineage, named Aurva, of great brilliance, with a radiance like blazing fire and sun.

13.56.5 He shall give birth to a fire of wrath to destroy the three worlds—a fire that would reduce the earth, with its mountains and forests, to ashes.

13.56.6 But after some time that best of sages shall himself quell that fire, casting it into the ocean within the mare's mouth.

13.56.7 Upon his illustrious son Ṛcīka, joy of the Bhṛgus, the whole science of archery shall present itself in visible form, O sinless one,

13.56.8 for the undoing of the Kṣatriyas, through a cause ordained by fate; and he, having received it, shall pass it on to his son.

13.56.9 To Jamadagni, the illustrious, his soul refined by austerity; and that tiger of the Bhṛgus too shall hold that science.

13.56.10 And from your line, O righteous one, he shall obtain a maiden, for the raising up of your house, O best of kings.

13.56.11 Gaining the daughter of Gādhi, your granddaughter, that great ascetic shall beget Rāma, a brāhmaṇa with the ways of a Kṣatriya.

13.56.12 And in your line he shall bring forth Viśvāmitra, son of Gādhi—a Kṣatriya with the works of a brāhmaṇa, in might like Bṛhaspati, deeply righteous, endowed with great austerity, O you of great splendor.

13.56.13 Two women shall be the cause of this exchange; by the ordinance of the Grandsire it shall not be otherwise.

13.56.14 In the third generation Brāhmaṇhood shall come to you, and you shall become a kinsman of the Bhṛgus, whose souls are refined.

13.56.15 Bhīṣma said: When king Kuśika heard the words of the great-souled sage Cyavana, he was filled with joy, and that righteous one spoke this word: "So be it," O best of the Bhāratas.

13.56.16 But Cyavana of great brilliance again urged the lord of men to take a boon; and the king said to him:

13.56.17 "Surely, even so I shall gladly accept it from you, O great sage: let my line become brahman-like, and let its mind be set upon dharma."

13.56.18 Thus addressed, the sage Cyavana answered, "So be it," and, taking leave of the king, then set out upon his pilgrimage to the sacred fords.

13.56.19 All this I have told you without remainder, O king—the cause of the kinship between the Bhṛgus and the Kuśikas.

13.56.20 And just as it was foretold by the sage, so it came to pass, O king—the birth of the sage Rāma and of Viśvāmitra as well.

13.57.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: I seem to swoon today as I hear, brooding again and again over this earth bereft of its bands of glorious kings.

13.57.2 Having gained kingdoms by the hundred and conquered the earth, O Bhārata, having slain men by the tens of millions, I am consumed with anguish, O grandfather.

13.57.3 What shall now be the lot of those noble women who are bereft of husbands, of sons, of maternal uncles, and of brothers?

13.57.4 For we, having slain our elders and kinsmen and friends as well, shall surely fall headlong into hell; of this there is no doubt.

13.57.5 I wish to yoke this body to fierce austerity, O Bhārata; I wish to be instructed herein according to the truth, O lord of men.

13.57.6 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Having heard those words of Yudhiṣṭhira, the great-souled Bhīṣma, after examining Yudhiṣṭhira keenly with his discerning mind, spoke to him.

13.57.7 Hear the secret and the wondrous thing that I shall declare to you, O descendant of Bharata—by what means a man attains his destined state in the conditions that follow death.

13.57.8 By austerity heaven is won, by austerity fame is won; length of life and enjoyments too are gained by austerity, O mighty one.

13.57.9 Knowledge, discernment, health, beauty, prosperity, and good fortune as well—all these are attained by austerity, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.57.10 By austerity one obtains wealth; silence bestows knowledge; enjoyments come through giving, and long life through chastity.

13.57.11 Beauty is the fruit of non-injury; birth in a noble lineage the fruit of sacred vows; a kingdom befalls those who feed on fruits and roots, and heaven those who feed on leaves.

13.57.12 He who lives on milk goes to heaven; by ritual bathing one grows rich in possessions; by service to the teacher comes learning, and by constant offerings to the ancestors comes progeny.

13.57.13 By vows of eating only herbs a man becomes rich in cattle; from feeding on grass, they say, comes heaven; from bathing at the three pressings come women, and by drinking only air one gains the merit of a sacrifice.

13.57.14 By bathing daily one becomes capable; the twice-born who murmurs his prayers at the two twilights wins a kingdom by mastering the desert wilds, and the vault of heaven by total fasting.

13.57.15 For those who sleep upon the bare ground there come houses and couches; through garments of rags and bark come fine robes and ornaments.

13.57.16 For the ascetic rich in penance and joined to discipline come beds, seats, and chariots; for one who enters the fire, the world of Brahmā is surely ordained.

13.57.17 By renouncing savory delicacies one finds good fortune here; by abstaining from flesh one's offspring become long-lived.

13.57.18 He who dwells standing in water becomes a lord of men; the truth-speaker, O best of men, rejoices in the company of the gods.

13.57.19 Renown comes through giving, and health through non-injury; by service to the twice-born comes a kingdom, or else abundant twice-born status itself.

13.57.20 By the gift of water one's fame becomes everlasting; by the gift of food and drink one is sated to the full in the enjoyment of one's desires.

13.57.21 He who speaks gently to all beings is freed from every sorrow; service to the gods bestows a kingdom and a celestial beauty.

13.57.22 By the gift of lamplight a man becomes endowed with keen sight; by the gift of fair spectacles he attains memory and intelligence.

13.57.23 By abstaining from perfumes and garlands one's renown grows abundant; for those who let their hair and beard grow there comes excellent progeny.

13.57.24 He who keeps fasting, the sacred vow, and ablution for twelve years, O king, surpasses even the abode of heroes.

13.57.25 By giving a daughter in righteous marriage—along with maidservants and menservants, ornaments, fields, and houses—a man obtains them all in turn, O bull among men.

13.57.26 By sacrifices and fasts a man goes to the triple heaven, O descendant of Bharata; and the man who offers oblations and flowers gains an enduring station.

13.57.27 The man who bestows a thousand cows adorned with golden horns attains the blessed world of the gods in heaven—so declare the assembled sages and deities.

13.57.28 To him who gives a tawny cow draped in cloth, with a bronze milking-vessel and gold-tipped horns, that cow—becoming for him a fulfiller of every wish by all those virtues—returns to the man who gave her.

13.57.29 As many as are the hairs upon the cow, so great is the reward the giver of cattle obtains; and he delivers his sons, his grandsons, and his whole line down to the seventh generation in the world beyond.

13.57.30 For one who gives to a twice-born a cow of sesame, complete with priestly fee, with fair golden horns, a bronze milking-vessel, and a covering of wealth, the worlds of the Vasus become easy to win.

13.57.31 As a ship driven by the wind across the great ocean, so the gift of cattle carries a man across to the world beyond—a man bound fast by his own deeds and falling into a hell of dense darkness.

13.57.32 He who gives a maiden in righteous marriage, who bestows land upon a brāhmaṇa, and who gives food according to the rite—he attains the world of Puraṃdara.

13.57.33 The man who gives a dwelling endowed with every comfort to a twice-born adorned with the virtues of sacred study and good conduct—for him too the worlds in the northern Kurus are won.

13.57.34 By the gift of draught-oxen and likewise of cattle and horses, a man attains the worlds of the Vasus; and they say the gift of silver leads to heaven, while the gift of gold is more excellent still.

13.57.35 By the gift of a parasol comes an excellent house; by the gift of footwear, a chariot; by the gift of garments, the fruit of beauty; and by the gift of perfumes a man becomes fragrant.

13.57.36 He who bestows upon a twice-born a tree laden with flowers or with fruit gains, without effort, a house rich in women and filled with many jewels.

13.57.37 The giver of food, drink, water, and savory dishes obtains all delights to his heart's content; and the giver of shelter and clothing obtains those very same—of this there is no doubt.

13.57.38 The man who gives to the twice-born wreaths, incense, perfumes, unguents, bathing-materials, and garlands becomes free from disease, and likewise comely, in the world of kings.

13.57.39 The man who gives to a twice-born a house not empty of seed and furnished with couches gains, O king, an excellent abode, holy and delightful and filled with many jewels.

13.57.40 The man who gives to a twice-born a bed furnished with fragrant and richly patterned coverings gains, without effort, a wife endowed with beauty, well-supported by kin, and pleasing to the heart.

13.57.41 The man who lies down to die as a hero becomes a follower of the Grandsire; than this there is nothing higher—so declare the supreme seers.

13.57.42 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Having heard those words of his, the delighted son of the Kurus no longer favored dwelling in a hermitage, longing instead for the path of the hero.

13.57.43 Then Yudhiṣṭhira, the bull of the Bhāratas, that lord addressed the Pāṇḍavas: "Let the words of the Grandsire find favor with you."

13.57.44 Thereupon all the Pāṇḍavas, and the illustrious Draupadī, honored those words of Yudhiṣṭhira, saying, "So be it."

13.58.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Among those gifts that are reckoned as made outside the sacrificial altar, which gift do you hold to be the most excellent, O foremost of the Kurus?

13.58.2 For my curiosity in this matter is very great, O lord: declare to me that gift whose merit follows after the giver.

13.58.3 Bhīṣma said: Freedom from fear granted to all beings, and aid given in time of distress; and that which one gives, the very thing he longs for, to a thirsting suppliant who begs—

13.58.4 that gift, after giving which one feels he has truly given, is called the best; for it is the gift whose merit follows after the giver, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.58.5 The gift of gold, the gift of cattle, and the gift of land—these indeed are purifying, and they carry across even the doer of evil.

13.58.6 Give these always to the virtuous, O tiger among men; for gifts release a man from sin—of this there is no doubt.

13.58.7 Whatever is most cherished in the world, and whatever is most beloved in one's own house—that should be given to a worthy man by one who desires it to become imperishable.

13.58.8 He who gives what is dear and does what is dear obtains dear things in the world, and becomes beloved of all beings both here and hereafter.

13.58.9 He who, out of pride, does not honor to the best of his power a suppliant who begs—one full of hope and possessing nothing—that man is cruel, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.58.10 He who shows favor in time of distress even to an enemy who comes wretched and seeking refuge—he indeed is the best of men.

13.58.11 To the gaunt and modest man, my son, ruined in his livelihood and sinking down—he who drives away that man's hunger, no other man is his equal.

13.58.12 The virtuous who are held back by modesty, worn thin with the care of wives and children, and who do not beg—these, O son of Kuntī, invite by every means.

13.58.13 Those who make no entreaty either to the gods or to mortals—worthy men, ever fixed in goodness, living on whatever they happen to obtain—

13.58.14 guard yourself against such men, who are like venomous serpents, O descendant of Bharata; sound out those most excellent of the twice-born with respectful words.

13.58.15 Invite them ever, O scion of Kuru, with dwellings made ready, complete with servants and furnishings, that bring every desire and comfort.

13.58.16 If those righteous men of holy deeds should accept what is hallowed by faith, O Yudhiṣṭhira, deeming it merely a duty to be done—

13.58.17 those brāhmaṇas accomplished in learning, accomplished in vows, who live without dependence on others, whose private study and austerity are hidden, and whose vows are firmly held—

13.58.18 whatever good you do to them—the pure, the self-controlled, devoted to their own wives—that will establish you in the higher worlds.

13.58.19 As the fire-oblation well offered evening and morning by the twice-born, so does the gift given to the twice-born by a man of disciplined soul become.

13.58.20 This is your sacrifice spread out, hallowed by faith and furnished with priestly fees—surpassing all other sacrifices. Let it proceed, my son, as you give.

13.58.21 An offering to the ancestors is like a gift when made to such men, O Yudhiṣṭhira; by making such offerings and honoring them, one is freed of his debt to them.

13.58.22 Those who are never angry with us and never covet even so much as a blade of grass—they are the most worthy of our reverence, and likewise the others who speak kindly.

13.58.23 Those others who do not think much of us and do not press themselves forward—they too are to be cherished like one's own sons; reverence to them, and to them freedom from fear.

13.58.24 The officiating priest, the household chaplain, and the teacher—these bear the sacred power gently; for even the splendor mingled with kṣatriya might is quenched in the twice-born.

13.58.25 Thinking "I have wealth, I am mighty, I am king," do not, O Yudhiṣṭhira, slight the brāhmaṇas in the matter of garments and of food.

13.58.26 Whatever wealth you have for the sake of splendor or of strength, O sinless one, with it the brāhmaṇas are to be honored by you who follow your own duty.

13.58.27 The brāhmaṇas, living rightly according to truth, are to be saluted by you; let them take their pleasure in you to their ease and to their delight, as sons do with a father.

13.58.28 For who else but you, O best of the Kurus, is fit to provide the maintenance of these gracious friends who are content with little?

13.58.29 As the duty of women in the world is eternally to take refuge in their husband—he is their god, he their sole recourse and no other—so are the twice-born to us.

13.58.30 If the brāhmaṇas, dishonored, should forsake us, my son—seeing the cruel deeds that ever attend the kṣatriya—

13.58.31 then, bereft of the Veda, of fame, of the higher worlds, and of sacrifice, what use is life to us? For that all rests upon our recourse to the brāhmaṇas.

13.58.32 On this I shall expound to you what the eternal law is. In olden days the kṣatriya waited upon the brāhmaṇa, O king, the vaiśya upon the kṣatriya, and the śūdra upon the vaiśya—so runs the sacred tradition.

13.58.33 The brāhmaṇa, blazing like fire, is to be served by the śūdra from a distance, but he may be served with touch by the vaiśya and by the kṣatriya.

13.58.34 Attend upon those twice-born, who are gentle of nature, truthful in conduct, and guardians of the law of truth, yet who when angered are like venomous serpents.

13.58.35 The fiery energies and austerities of the kṣatriyas who burn with splendor and might—surpassing some, surpassing others, surpassing even those beyond the rest—are quelled in the brāhmaṇas alone.

13.58.36 Not my father is dearer to me, nor are you, my son, so dear, nor my father's father, O king, nor my own self, nor my life—

13.58.37 and though there is none on earth dearer to me than you, yet even dearer to me than you, O bull of the Bhāratas, are the brāhmaṇas.

13.58.38 This truth I speak, O joy of Pāṇḍu, just as it is; and by that truth may I go to those worlds where Śaṃtanu dwells.

13.58.39 And may I behold the pure worlds of the good, with the sacred power set foremost; thither, my son, I must go, both soon and for long to come.

13.58.40 And I, having beheld such worlds, O best of the Bhāratas, do not repent of what I have done for the brāhmaṇas, O son of Pṛthā.

13.59.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Of two men who are alike endowed with good conduct, and equal in learning and in birth—to which of these is the gift more excellent, to the one who does not beg or to the one who begs?

13.59.2 Bhīṣma said: A gift bestowed upon one who does not beg is held more meritorious than one given to a beggar, O Pārtha; for the steadfast man is far worthier of honor than the wretch whose soul lacks self-command.

13.59.3 The kṣatriya is steadfast in protection, the brāhmaṇa steadfast in not soliciting; the learned and contented brāhmaṇa, firm of resolve, gives delight to the gods.

13.59.4 Begging, O Bhārata, they call the resort of the powerless, a kind of seizing; for he who begs ever distresses living beings, like a robber.

13.59.5 The one who begs is as good as dead, and the giver dies along with him if he refuses; but by giving, O Yudhiṣṭhira, he keeps that suppliant alive, and himself as well.

13.59.6 Freedom from cruelty is the supreme dharma, which is fulfilled in what is given to one who begs; but those who suffer in silence and do not ask, invite them by every means.

13.59.7 If such foremost of the twice-born should dwell within your realm, take pains to recognize them, like fires hidden beneath their ashes.

13.59.8 Blazing with their austerity, they could consume even the earth; for they are worthy of worship, endowed with knowledge, discernment, austerity, and yoga.

13.59.9 Offer worship to those brāhmaṇas, O scorcher of foes, bestowing gifts of many kinds, and coaxing forth those who do not ask.

13.59.10 Whatever fruit accrues from the agnihotra well-offered at evening and at dawn, that same fruit is declared to belong to a gift made to one possessed of learning, Veda, and vows.

13.59.11 Those brāhmaṇas who have bathed in the close of learning, Veda, and vows, who live without dependence on others, whose private study and austerity are hidden, who are firm in their vows—

13.59.12 with pleasing dwellings built for them, furnished with servants and appointments, you should invite those foremost of the twice-born, O son of Kuntī, and with other things they desire.

13.59.13 Perhaps they will accept what is hallowed by faith, O Yudhiṣṭhira, thinking only that it must be done—knowers of dharma, seers of the subtle.

13.59.14 Perhaps those brāhmaṇas, having eaten, will return to homes with stores laid by, whose wives await them as farmers await the rain-cloud.

13.59.15 Let the brāhmaṇas, disciplined celibates, partaking of food at the morning pressing, my child, give delight thereby to your three sacred fires.

13.59.16 Let your midday pressing proceed, my child, as you give cattle, gold, and garments; by that may Indra be pleased with you.

13.59.17 That is your third, the Vaiśvadeva pressing, O Yudhiṣṭhira, in what you bestow upon the gods, the ancestors, and the brāhmaṇas.

13.59.18 Non-injury toward all beings, sharing in every way, self-restraint, renunciation, steadfastness, and truth—let these serve as your concluding bath of the sacrifice.

13.59.19 This is your sacrifice spread wide, hallowed by faith, attended with its offerings, surpassing all sacrifices; may it ever go forward, my child.

13.60.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Of giving and the rite of sacrifice here, which yields the greater fruit hereafter? Whose fruit is declared the loftier—and to what kind of recipients, how, and when?

13.60.2 This I wish to know truly as it is, O Bhārata; learned one, to me who seeks to understand, expound the laws of giving.

13.60.3 What is given within the altar-ground, with faith and without cruelty—which of these brings the highest good, my father? Tell me that, grandsire.

13.60.4 Bhīṣma said: The work of the kṣatriya is forever fierce, my child; for him the rite of the sacred fires and giving are the purifiers in this world.

13.60.5 But the good do not accept gifts from kings who do evil; for this reason a king should worship with sacrifices furnished with well-earned offerings.

13.60.6 But if they do accept, let the king give day after day, taking his stand on the highest faith; for this is the supreme purification.

13.60.7 Let him, his vows controlled, satisfy with gifts the brāhmaṇas at the sacrifice—the friendly, the good, the knowers of the Veda, endowed with character, conduct, and austerity.

13.60.8 Whatever they shall accomplish thereby will become an accomplished deed for you; bring sacrifices to fulfillment for the good, with savory food and ample offerings.

13.60.9 Deem yourself to have sacrificed and given; by the act of giving honor those constant in sacrifice, that a share thereof may be yours as well.

13.60.10 Support too the brāhmaṇas blessed with offspring and burdened with many to feed; by this one becomes rich in progeny, even as the begetter himself.

13.60.11 As many righteous observances as the good keep alive, so many of those men who bear heavy burdens of dependents must likewise be maintained.

13.60.12 Prosperous as you are, bestow upon the brāhmaṇas, O Yudhiṣṭhira, milch-cows, oxen, food, a parasol, garments, and sandals.

13.60.13 Clarified butter to the sacrificers, and food and viands, O Bhārata, and conveyances drawn by horses, dwellings, and beds.

13.60.14 These are to be given—fruitful and easily come by, O Bhārata—once you have marked out the blameless brāhmaṇas worn thin by want of livelihood.

13.60.15 Whether in secret or in the open, provide them with a livelihood; for a kṣatriya that is more excellent than the Rājasūya and the Aśvamedha.

13.60.16 Thus freed from your sins and made pure, you shall attain heaven, when, having loosed your treasury again, you shall protect your realm.

13.60.17 And thereafter you shall attain oneness with Brahman, and wealth besides; guard well the livelihood of yourself and of others, O Bhārata.

13.60.18 Cherish your servants and your subjects as you would your sons; and let your care for their welfare and security ever rest upon the brāhmaṇas, O Bhārata.

13.60.19 A king who does not protect but seizes, who plunders and gives nothing—that disgrace among kings, that pitiless one, the people, banding together, would do well to slay.

13.60.20 The lord of earth who says 'I am your protector' yet does not protect—him should the people unite to kill, like a mad and rabid dog.

13.60.21 Whatever evil the subjects commit when left unprotected by the king, a fourth part of that evil the king incurs, O Bhārata.

13.60.22 Some say it is the whole; others fix it firmly at a half; but a fourth is our own view, having heard the teaching of Manu.

13.60.23 And whatever good the subjects do when well protected by the king, a fourth part of that merit the king obtains, O Bhārata.

13.60.24 May all your subjects live in dependence on your life, O Yudhiṣṭhira, as living beings on the rain-cloud, as birds upon a mighty tree.

13.60.25 As the rākṣasas live in dependence on Kubera, as the immortals on Indra of the hundred sacrifices, so may your kinsmen and friends live in dependence on you, O scorcher of foes.

13.61.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: 'This is to be given, this is to be given'—so runs the injunction of scripture, and kings have many things to give; but what gift is the most excellent of all?

13.61.2 Bhīṣma said: Surpassing all gifts, the gift of land is proclaimed supreme; for the earth is unmoving and imperishable, yielding desires that have no equal.

13.61.3 She yields garments, gems, cattle, rice, and barley; the giver of land flourishes among all beings for everlasting years.

13.61.4 As long as the life of the earth endures, so long does the giver of land flourish; there is nothing here higher than the gift of land, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.61.5 Even a little of the earth the ancients gave, so we have heard; all those people who enjoy the use of land have in truth given land.

13.61.6 By their own deeds alone do men live, here and hereafter; the earth, prosperity itself, the great goddess, makes the giver dear to her.

13.61.7 That lord of earth who bestows this imperishable gift, on attaining human birth once more, shall himself become a lord of earth.

13.61.8 As the gift, so the enjoyment—such is the settled rule in the codes of dharma; let a man either yield up his body in battle or give away this earth.

13.61.9 This they declare to be the highest blessing of the warrior kinsmen; the earth, once given, purifies the giver—so have we heard.

13.61.10 Even him whose conduct is sinful, even a slayer of a brāhmaṇa or a speaker of falsehood—she alone cleanses of that sin, she alone can release from sin.

13.61.11 Even from kings who do evil the good accept the earth, and desire nothing else; for she purifies like a mother.

13.61.12 'Priyadattā'—'Dear when given'—is the secret, eternal name of this goddess; either gift or knowledge is dearest to that name of hers. Therefore, no sooner has a king won the earth than he should give it to a brāhmaṇa.

13.61.13 By no means may the earth be held by one who is not a lord of the soil; nor should one conceal it through a worthy proxy, nor proceed by stealth. And whoever else might covet land should act in this same way, beyond all doubt.

13.61.14 He who takes away a good man's land—he wins no land at all; but he who gives land to the good wins land indeed, and that righteous soul gains great renown both here and hereafter.

13.61.15 He whose land the brāhmaṇas, being good, ever govern—his enemies, O king, never come to rule the earth.

13.61.16 Whatever sin a man commits, worn thin by want of livelihood, he is cleansed of it by the gift of land—even of land no larger than a cowhide.

13.61.17 Even for those kings whose deeds are mixed and whose works are cruel, the supreme gift of land is to be proclaimed a means of purity.

13.61.18 That the difference is ever but slight, the men of old held: between one who sacrifices with the Aśvamedha and one who gives the earth to a good man.

13.61.19 Even when they have done a good deed, the wise may yet harbor misgiving; this one thing alone is beyond such doubt—the supreme, irreproachable gift of land.

13.61.20 Gold, silver, garments, jewels, pearls, and riches—all this, O greatly wise one, the giver of the earth bestows in giving it.

13.61.21 Austerity, sacrifice, sacred learning, character, freedom from greed, truthfulness, and worship of teachers and gods—none of these surpasses the giver of land.

13.61.22 Those who, devoted to their lord's highest good, give up their lives and are slain in battle, the perfected who have gone to the world of Brahman—even they do not outstrip the giver of land.

13.61.23 As a mother ever nourishes her own son with her milk, so does the earth favor the giver with all her savors.

13.61.24 The rod that is Death's servant, the most dreadful burning of fire, and the terrible nooses of Varuṇa—none of these draws near the giver of land.

13.61.25 The ancestors abiding in the world of the fathers and the gods in the world of the gods—both does that serene soul satisfy who gives away the earth.

13.61.26 To the gaunt, the dying, the man wasted in his livelihood and sinking down, a man who gives sustaining land becomes as one who has performed a sacrificial session.

13.61.27 As a cow runs to her calf, letting her milk flow freely, so, O highly blessed one, does the earth come to the giver of land.

13.61.28 By giving land plowed and sown, bearing seed and yielding fruit, or by giving a noble refuge, a man becomes a granter of desires.

13.61.29 The man who makes a brāhmaṇa accept land—one perfect in conduct, who has set up his sacred fires, pure in his vows—does not go to the abode of Yama.

13.61.30 As the waxing of the moon comes day by day, so does the gift made of land increase with every crop.

13.61.31 On this the knowers of old recite the songs sung by the Earth herself, on hearing which the son of Jamadagni gave the earth to Kaśyapa.

13.61.32 'Receive me, give me; having given me, you shall win me again—in this world and in the next, and thereafter once more in birthlessness.'

13.61.33 The brāhmaṇa, devoted to Brahman, who knows this utterance, at a śrāddha whose oblations are being offered attains oneness with Brahman.

13.61.34 'A mighty quelling am I of malign rites and curses, the calmer of ill-offered sacrifices; once a man has performed the expiation that I am, it purifies ten on either side.'

13.61.35 'Whoever knows this is purified, and I myself am likewise the Veda; the source of all beings, the everlasting earth—so am I held.'

13.61.36 As soon as a king is consecrated, let this sacred lore be recited to him, that on hearing it he may give the earth and not take it from the good.

13.61.37 This, then, is the whole matter, both of the brāhmaṇa and of the king, beyond all doubt; for a king skilled in dharma is the foremost mark of prosperity.

13.61.38 Now those whose king is ignorant of dharma and a denier of the sacred order—they neither wake in comfort nor sleep in peace.

13.61.39 The people are forever distressed by his misdeeds; and many who would have brought security and prosperity refuse to enter his realm.

13.61.40 But those whose king is wise and righteous—they wake in happiness and sleep in deep contentment.

13.61.41 Contented by that king's auspicious and noble deeds, his subjects flourish through their own labors, through prosperity and through the rains.

13.61.42 He is well-born, he is a true man, he is a kinsman, he is a doer of merit, he is a giver and he is valorous—the one who gives away the earth.

13.61.43 Like the Ādityas, those mortals blaze with splendor upon the earth who bestow rich land upon a brāhmaṇa learned in the Veda.

13.61.44 As seeds scattered upon the ground spring up, so do desires sprout forth when they are won by the gift of land.

13.61.45 Āditya, Varuṇa, Viṣṇu, Brahmā, Soma, the fire-eater Agni, and the blessed Lord who bears the trident—all rejoice in the giver of land.

13.61.46 Upon the earth men are born, and upon the earth they come to their end; for this fourfold world is constituted of the qualities of the earth.

13.61.47 She is the mother and the father of the world, O lord of the earth; there exists no being equal to her, O ruler of men.

13.61.48 And on this matter they recount an ancient tale, the dialogue between Bṛhaspati and Indra, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.61.49 Having sacrificed with a hundred great rites richly endowed with priestly fees, Maghavat questioned Bṛhaspati, foremost of those skilled in speech, on this very matter.

13.61.50 O blessed one, by which gift does a man who has gone to heaven thrive in happiness? Tell me that gift which is imperishable and of great worth, O best of speakers.

13.61.51 Thus addressed by the lord of the gods, the priest of the celestials, the mightily resplendent Bṛhaspati, replied to him of the hundred sacrifices.

13.61.52 The gift of gold, the gift of cattle, and the gift of land, O slayer of Vṛtra—the man of great wisdom who bestows these is released from all his sins.

13.61.53 There is nothing higher than the gift of land, O lord of the gods, O master; I hold it to be the most excellent, even as the wise have declared.

13.61.54 Those heroes slain in battle who, eager for giving, have gone to heaven—not one of them, O best of the gods, surpasses the giver of land.

13.61.55 The heroes devoted to their lord's supreme good, who lay down their lives and are slain in battle and attain the world of Brahmā—even they do not surpass the giver of land.

13.61.56 Five forefathers and six who have gone before—the man who gives land delivers all eleven of his line here in this world.

13.61.57 He who gives away land strewn with jewels, O Puraṃdara, is freed from all his impurities and is honored in the world of heaven.

13.61.58 A king who gives away a flourishing land endowed with all that the heart desires becomes a king of kings; that indeed is the gift unsurpassed.

13.61.59 He who bestows the earth of Kaśyapa, furnished with every object of desire—all beings think, 'It is to me that he gives,' O Vāsava.

13.61.60 The mortal who gives a cow that yields every wish and grants every desire, O thousand-eyed one, goes to heaven.

13.61.61 Rivers that flow with honey and clarified butter, and that bear milk and curds, refresh here, O lord of the gods, the giver of land.

13.61.62 By the gift of land a king is freed from the guilt that clings to kingship; for no other gift surpasses the gift of land.

13.61.63 He who gives away the earth bounded by the oceans, won by the sword—men tell of him here for as long as this earth shall endure.

13.61.64 He who gives a holy land rich in sap, O Puraṃdara—the worlds he has won by the merit of the gift of land never wane for him.

13.61.65 By every means should a ruler who ever desires prosperity, who longs for happiness, O Śakra, give land according to the prescribed rite to a worthy recipient.

13.61.66 Even a man who has committed a sin, by giving land to a twice-born, casts off that sin as a serpent casts off its worn-out skin.

13.61.67 Oceans, rivers, mountains, and forests in their entirety—all this a man gives, O Śakra, when he gives away the earth.

13.61.68 Ponds and wells, streams and lakes, oils and every kind of sap—all these he gives when he gives away the earth.

13.61.69 Herbs abounding in milky sap, trees laden with flowers and fruit, and forests, stones, and crags—all these he gives when he gives away the earth.

13.61.70 Though one sacrifice with the Agniṣṭoma and other rites, complete with their proper priestly fees, he does not attain the fruit that he enjoys from the gift of land.

13.61.71 The giver favors ten generations; he who reviles a gift destroys ten; and he who takes back land once given goes down to hell.

13.61.72 He who, having promised, does not give, or who takes back what he has given, is bound in the nooses of Varuṇa and tormented by the decree of death.

13.61.73 Those who support a brāhmaṇa of the highest order—one who has kindled the sacred fire, ever offers sacrifice, keeps but scant retinue, and loves his guests—do not come near Yama.

13.61.74 It should be regarded as a debt owed by the king to the brāhmaṇas, O Puraṃdara; but of the other castes too he should rescue the lean and the feeble.

13.61.75 Let no one wrest away land once made over by another, O lord of the thirty gods, to a brāhmaṇa of scant means, O best of the celestials.

13.61.76 And the tears that fall from those wretched, sinking brāhmaṇas when their field is seized destroy three generations of the despoiler's line.

13.61.77 But he who restores once more a ruler fallen from his realm—his dwelling, O thousand-eyed one, is honored upon the vault of heaven.

13.61.78 Land covered over with sugarcane, thick with barley and wheat, abounding in cattle, horses, and beasts of burden, won by the strength of his own arm—

13.61.79 —land whose womb holds treasures and which is adorned with every jewel: the man who gives it attains imperishable worlds, for that is to him a very sacrifice of land.

13.61.80 Having shaken off all his impurity, cleansed of passion and esteemed by the good, he who gives away the earth is honored in the world by the virtuous.

13.61.81 As a drop of oil fallen upon water spreads, O Śakra, so does a gift made in land spread out in crop after crop.

13.61.82 Those kings, heroes resplendent in the assembly of battle, who are slain facing the foe at the front of combat, O Śakra—they go to the world of Brahmā.

13.61.83 Women given to dance and song, adorned with celestial garlands, attend forever upon the giver of land in heaven, O lord of the gods.

13.61.84 He who duly, by the prescribed rite, gives land here to a twice-born rejoices in happiness in heaven, honored by gods and gandharvas.

13.61.85 A hundred apsarases, adorned with celestial garlands, attend forever upon the man who is a giver of land, O lord of the gods.

13.61.86 The conch, the throne of state, the parasol, fine horses and noble elephants, and heaps of gold—these are the blossoms that spring from the gift of land.

13.61.87 Command forever unopposed and the cry of victory besides—these are the flowers of the gift of land; its fruit is heaven, O Puraṃdara.

13.61.88 Herbs with blossoms of gold, and lawns of kuśa grass and gold—the man who gives land attains a land that brings forth ambrosia.

13.61.89 There is no gift like the gift of land, no elder like a mother, no dharma like truth, and no treasure like giving.

13.61.90 Having heard this from the son of Aṅgiras, Vāsava then gave to that son of Aṅgiras this very earth strewn with wealth and jewels.

13.61.91 He who recites this hymn in praise of the gift of land at a śrāddha rite—no portion of his offering falls to the rākṣasas or to the asuras.

13.61.92 And what is given to the ancestors becomes imperishable—of this there is no doubt; therefore at śrāddhas let a brāhmaṇa recite this to the twice-born as they dine.

13.61.93 Thus have I declared to you, O sinless one, that which is the foremost of all gifts, O tiger of the Bhāratas; what more do you wish to hear?

13.62.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: What gifts in this world should a king desirous of giving bestow upon brāhmaṇas of surpassing merit, O best of the Bhāratas?

13.62.2 By what are they at once made content, and what, when content, do they grant in return? Tell me this, O mighty-armed one—the great and holy fruit of such merit.

13.62.3 What gift, O king, bears fruit both in this world and in the next? I wish to hear it from you; tell me that in full detail.

13.62.4 Bhīṣma said: On this very matter Nārada, who beholds the gods, was once questioned; hear from me as I tell what he then declared, O descendant of Bharata.

13.62.5 Nārada said: It is food above all that the gods, together with the hosts of sages, praised of old; for the order of the world and the sacrifices—all rest upon food.

13.62.6 No gift equal to food has been or shall ever be; therefore men desire above all to give food.

13.62.7 Food gives strength in the world, and the vital breaths are established in food; by food this whole universe is upheld, O lord.

13.62.8 From food the householders in this world subsist, and the mendicants likewise; from food springs the breath of life—this is plain to see, and herein is no doubt.

13.62.9 Even at the cost of straitening his own household, a man who desires his own welfare should give food to a great-souled brāhmaṇa and to a mendicant.

13.62.10 He who gives food to a worthy brāhmaṇa in need lays up for himself the finest of treasures, a treasure for the world beyond.

13.62.11 The householder who desires prosperity should honor the weary traveler on the road, the aged and worthy man who has come to his door.

13.62.12 Casting off rising anger, well-conducted and free from grudging, the giver of food attains, O king, whatever happiness there is both in heaven and here.

13.62.13 Let him never slight one who has come, nor turn him away by any means; even when given to an outcaste or to a dog, a gift is never lost.

13.62.14 He who ungrudgingly gives food to a weary man upon the road, one never seen before, attains a great measure of dharma.

13.62.15 The man who gratifies with food the ancestors, the gods, the sages, the brāhmaṇas, and his guests, O ruler of men—great is the fruit of his merit.

13.62.16 Even one who has done an evil deed, if he gives food to a needy man—and above all to a brāhmaṇa—is not bound by his sin.

13.62.17 A gift to brāhmaṇas is imperishable; food given to a śūdra bears great fruit; the giving of food, whether to a śūdra or to a brāhmaṇa, is preeminent.

13.62.18 When food is begged of him here by a brāhmaṇa, let him not inquire into the lineage, the conduct, the sacred study, the homeland, or the birth of the one who asks.

13.62.19 For the giver of food there grow trees of food laden with the fruit of every desire, whether here or in the world beyond, O king; herein is no doubt.

13.62.20 For the ancestors yearn, as farmers yearn for good rain: 'Will our son too, or our grandson, give food on our behalf?'

13.62.21 For the brāhmaṇa is a great being who himself begs, saying 'Give'; and whether one gives unwillingly or willingly, by giving one attains merit.

13.62.22 The brāhmaṇa is the guest of all beings, the one who eats the first portion offered; he it is to whose house the twice-born come ever, begging alms.

13.62.23 And when they depart honored, that household prospers exceedingly; and after death one attains birth in a family of great abundance, O descendant of Bharata.

13.62.24 Having given food, a man attains in this world an unsurpassed station; and he who gives the most delicate of foods dwells honored in heaven.

13.62.25 Food is the very life-breath of men, for all things rest upon food. The giver of food becomes rich in cattle, blessed with sons, abounding in wealth, and full of enjoyments.

13.62.26 He becomes vigorous in life and comely in form as well, O king. The giver of food is in this world a giver of life, and he is called the giver of all things.

13.62.27 For when one bestows food, according to the ordinance, upon a guest who is a brāhmaṇa, the giver attains happiness and is honored even by the gods.

13.62.28 The brāhmaṇa is indeed a great being who roams about as a field on foot; and whatever seed is sown therein yields a mighty fruit of merit.

13.62.29 The gift of food brings joy at once, plainly visible, both to him who eats and to him who gives; whereas all other gifts bear their fruit only out of sight.

13.62.30 Know that procreation springs from food, and from food too comes delight, O Bhārata. Know that dharma and prosperity arise from food, and likewise from food comes the destruction of disease.

13.62.31 In the ancient age Prajāpati declared that food is verily ambrosia. Food is the earth, the heaven, and the sky; all things rest upon food.

13.62.32 When food is wanting, the five elements within the body fall asunder; and the strength even of the strong perishes in this world through lack of food.

13.62.33 Receptions and weddings and sacrifices cannot proceed without food, O best of men, and the recitation of the Veda too dissolves away for want of it.

13.62.34 For all this, whatever is fixed or moving, arises from food. Therefore, throughout the three worlds, food should be given by the wise for the sake of dharma.

13.62.35 For the man who gives food, his strength, vigor, glory, happiness, and renown grow forever throughout the three worlds, O lord of the earth.

13.62.36 The auspicious wind, the very breath of living things, gathers water in the clouds; and that water lodged within the clouds Śakra rains down, O Bhārata.

13.62.37 And Āditya, the sun, draws up the moisture of the earth with his own rays; and from the sun the wind, the god Prajāpati, draws those essences.

13.62.38 And when the water has fallen from the cloud upon the ground, then the goddess Earth, bearer of treasures, grows moist and rich, O Bhārata.

13.62.39 Thereupon the crops spring up, by which the world is sustained; and from that, in turn, arises the production of flesh, fat, bone, and seed.

13.62.40 Then from that seed living creatures come into being, O lord of the earth; for Agni and Soma are that generative seed, and they nourish the begetting of offspring.

13.62.41 Thus food, and the sun, and the wind, and the seed are remembered as one single mass, from which all beings have been born.

13.62.42 He who promptly gives food to a needy one come to his house bestows life-breath upon living beings, and splendor as well, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.62.43 Bhīṣma said: Thus addressed by Nārada, I gave food always, O king. Do you too, free of envy and freed of all fever of heart, give food therefore.

13.62.44 Having given food according to the ordinance, O king, to brāhmaṇas worthy of it and as is fitting, O lord, you too shall thereby attain heaven.

13.62.45 Now hear of those worlds that belong to the givers of food, O ruler of men. In heaven there shine the mansions of those great-souled ones, of manifold shapes and forms and furnished with manifold pillars.

13.62.46 White as the orb of the moon, hung with nets of little bells, of the hue of the young rising sun, some standing fixed and some that move.

13.62.47 Rising in many hundreds of storeys, having within them pools of water and groves, gleaming like beryl and the sun, and wrought of silver and gold.

13.62.48 And trees yielding the fruit of every desire stand set within those mansions, with tanks, avenues, halls, wells, and long ponds on every side.

13.62.49 And resounding chariots stand ready harnessed by the thousand; there are mountains made of dainties and viands, and garments and ornaments too.

13.62.50 There are rivers streaming with milk, and mountains of food, palaces gleaming like pale white clouds, and couches bright with gold. To these the givers of food attain; therefore be a giver of food.

13.62.51 These are the worlds of those great-souled doers of meritorious deeds, the givers of food. Therefore food above all should be given by men upon the earth.

13.63.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: I have heard your words on the rule for the giving of food. Now tell me of the manner of giving according to the conjunction of the lunar mansions.

13.63.2 Bhīṣma said: On this point too they recount this ancient tale, the dialogue between Devakī and the divine sage Nārada.

13.63.3 When Nārada, who beheld the gods, had come to Dvārakā, Devakī, who looked upon dharma, then put this question to him.

13.63.4 To her as she questioned, the divine sage Nārada then expounded all duly, according to the ordinance. Hear that, O lord of peoples.

13.63.5 Nārada said: Under the asterism Kṛttikā, O blessed lady, by satisfying worthy brāhmaṇas with milk-rice mixed with ghee, one attains worlds most excellent.

13.63.6 Under Rohiṇī one should give to a twice-born, for the sake of discharging one's debt, choice meats, beans, cooked food, and ghee, with milk to drink afterward.

13.63.7 Having given a milch cow together with her calf under the asterism whose deity is Soma, men pass from the world of men to the most excellent world of heaven.

13.63.8 Having fasted and given, under Ārdrā, a dish of rice and sesame mingled with oil, a man crosses over difficult straits and mountains sharp as razors' edges.

13.63.9 Having given cakes and likewise foods under the fair asterism Punarvasu, one is born renowned and endowed with beauty in a house abounding in food.

13.63.10 Having given gold under Puṣya, whether wrought or unwrought, he shines like the moon in worlds that are otherwise without light.

13.63.11 He who under Āśleṣā gives silver or a bull becomes freed from every fear and stands triumphant over his foes.

13.63.12 Having presented under Maghā vessels filled with sesame, brimming over, a man, blessed with sons and cattle, rejoices both here and in the world to come.

13.63.13 At the season of the Pūrvā Phālgunī, having fasted and given to brāhmaṇas dainties prepared with raw sugar, one attains good fortune.

13.63.14 Having given duly, in the domain of the Uttarā asterism, rice of the sixty-day kind dressed with ghee and milk, one is exalted in the world of heaven.

13.63.15 Whatever gift is bestowed by men in the domain of the Uttarā asterism becomes of great and endless fruit: such is the settled truth.

13.63.16 Having fasted and given under Hasta an elephant-chariot drawn by four, one attains the highest worlds, fulfilled in merit and in desire.

13.63.17 Having given under Citrā a bull and holy perfumes, O Bhārata, one roams in the world of the apsarases and takes delight in the grove of Nandana.

13.63.18 And having given under Svāti the wealth that is dearest to himself, he attains auspicious worlds, and great renown even here.

13.63.19 Under Viśākhā, having given an ox and a milch cow yielding milk, and a cart with its yoke-pole, laden with grain and furnished with cloth—

13.63.20 —he gladdens the ancestors and the gods, and after death enjoys the endless; he meets with no hard straits and goes to the world of heaven.

13.63.21 Having given to brāhmaṇas as prescribed, he obtains the livelihood he desires, and does not meet with hell and other torments: such is the settled truth.

13.63.22 Having fasted and given under Anurādhā an outer wrap and another garment, a man is exalted in heaven for even a hundred ages.

13.63.23 A mortal who under Jyeṣṭhā gives to brāhmaṇas dark pot-herbs together with their roots gains the prosperity he wishes for and the destiny he desires.

13.63.24 Having given roots and fruits to brāhmaṇas under Mūla with a composed mind, he gladdens the ancestors and goes to the destiny he desires.

13.63.25 And under the Pūrvā Aṣāḍhā, having fasted, by presenting bowls of curds to a brāhmaṇa endowed with good family conduct and versed to the end in the Veda, one is born after death into a house rich in herds of cattle.

13.63.26 Having given under the Uttarā Aṣāḍhā a barley-and-water gruel with ghee and abundant honey and raw sugar, one would attain all desires.

13.63.27 And one ever devoted to dharma who, under the conjunction of Abhijit, gives to the wise milk drenched with honey and ghee is exalted in the world of heaven.

13.63.28 Having given under Śravaṇa a woolen blanket together with another garment, one journeys in a white chariot through all the unobstructed worlds.

13.63.29 Having given under Dhaniṣṭhā with composed mind an ox-drawn carriage fitted with cloth and reins, he straightway attains sovereignty after death.

13.63.30 Having given under the conjunction of Śatabhiṣaj perfumes together with aloe-wood and sandal, one attains after death the worlds of the apsarases and fragrances everlasting.

13.63.31 And having presented kidney-beans under the conjunction of Pūrvā Bhādrapadā, endowed with the fruit of every kind of food, he is verily happy after death.

13.63.32 He who under the conjunction of Uttarā Bhādrapadā gives the flesh of a ram gladdens the ancestors and after death enjoys the endless.

13.63.33 He who under Revatī gives a milch cow milked into a bronze vessel—after death she comes, bearing his desires, and waits upon the giver.

13.63.34 Having given under Aśvinī a chariot yoked with horses, the best of men is born radiant in a house rich in elephants, horses, and chariots.

13.63.35 Having presented under Bharaṇī to twice-born ones a cow made of sesame, a man obtains cattle in great abundance, and renown likewise, after death.

13.63.36 Bhīṣma said: Thus was this summary of the marks declared, according to the conjunction of the lunar mansions, by Nārada to Devakī; and she spoke this to her daughters-in-law.

13.64.1 Bhīṣma said: Those who give gold give all desires—thus spoke the venerable Atri, the son of the Grandsire.

13.64.2 Gold is purifying, pure, life-giving, and, for the ancestors, imperishable—so it was extolled by Hariścandra, the lord of men.

13.64.3 The gift of water is the highest of gifts, Manu declared. Therefore one should have tanks and wells and pools dug out.

13.64.4 A well whose water flows freely and ever flows well carries away here half the sin of a man's deeds.

13.64.5 He whose dug-out reservoir is one where cattle and brāhmaṇas and good men ever drink saves his whole lineage.

13.64.6 He at whose place water stands unstinted in the season of summer's heat never meets with hardship, peril, or distress.

13.64.7 By the gift of ghee there comes the favor of the venerable Bṛhaspati, of Pūṣan, of Bhaga, of the two Aśvins, and of the Fire.

13.64.8 For this ghee is the supreme medicine; this is the best of offerings in sacrifice; this is the best of savory things and the best of fruits.

13.64.9 He who desires fruit, who desires fame, and who desires thriving—such a man, pure and self-possessed, should ever give ghee to the twice-born.

13.64.10 For him who gives ghee to brāhmaṇas in the month of Āśvayuja, the two Aśvin gods, well pleased, bestow beauty in this world.

13.64.11 He who gives to the twice-born milk-rice mixed with ghee—his house the rākṣasas never assail at any time.

13.64.12 He who gives waterpots does not die of thirst, is seen to be pleasing of speech, and meets with no calamity.

13.64.13 The man who, self-restrained and filled with supreme faith, gives to the foremost of brāhmaṇas obtains ever a sixth share of the merit of their ritual sippings of water.

13.64.14 The man who, for the sake of their rites and for warmth, ever gives firewood to brāhmaṇas of good conduct, O king of kings—

13.64.15 —for him his aims ever prosper and his manifold undertakings as well; and he blazes in splendor of form higher and higher above his foes.

13.64.16 And the venerable Fire is ever well pleased with him; the herds do not forsake him, and in battle too he is victorious.

13.64.17 He who gives a parasol obtains sons and prosperity; he contracts no disease of the eyes, and he partakes of a share in the sacrifice.

13.64.18 Whoever bestows an umbrella in the hot season or in the rains, no anguish of mind ever arises in him; and from hardship and from peril, O brāhmaṇa, he wins deliverance.

13.64.19 Of all gifts, the gift of a cart is the most excellent—thus declared the greatly blessed and venerable seer Śāṇḍilya.

13.65.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: When a man gives a pair of sandals to a brāhmaṇa whose feet are scorched, what fruit accrues to him—tell me that, O grandfather.

13.65.2 Bhīṣma said: He who, with collected mind, bestows a pair of sandals upon brāhmaṇas tramples down all thorns and crosses over every rough place; and he stands triumphant above his foes, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.65.3 A gleaming carriage yoked with she-mules, adorned with silver and gold, attends upon him, O lord of peoples, O son of Kuntī; and it is as though he had given a cart yoked with trained oxen.

13.65.4 Yudhiṣṭhira said: The fruit that is proclaimed in the gift of sesame and the gift of land, in the gift of a cow and the gift of food—tell me of that once more, O Kaurava.

13.65.5 Bhīṣma said: Hear from me, O son of Kuntī, what fruit the gift of sesame yields; and having heard it, bestow it duly, O best of the Kurus.

13.65.6 Sesame seeds were created by the Self-Existent as the foremost food of the ancestors; therefore by the gift of sesame the company of the fathers rejoices.

13.65.7 He who in the month of Māgha gives sesame to brāhmaṇas does not behold the hell thronged with every kind of creature.

13.65.8 He who honors the ancestors with sesame worships them with all desired things fulfilled; yet the sesame śrāddha must never be offered grudgingly, against one's will.

13.65.9 These sesame seeds sprang forth from the limbs of the great seer Kaśyapa; thence, O lord, sesame attained a divine nature among the offerings of gifts.

13.65.10 They give nourishment, they bestow beauty, and they are destroyers of sin; therefore, of all gifts, the gift of sesame is the most excellent.

13.65.11 The sagacious Āpastamba, and Śaṅkha, and Likhita, and the great seer Gautama too—all went to heaven by gifts of sesame.

13.65.12 Brāhmaṇas devoted to the sesame oblation, all restrained in their pleasures, are reckoned the equals of those who offer the oblation of cow's products and who abide steadfast in their observances.

13.65.13 Of all gifts whatsoever, the gift of sesame is held to be supreme; among all gifts, the gift of sesame is here declared imperishable.

13.65.14 And of old, when the oblation had been produced, the seer Kuśika, O scorcher of foes, having offered into the three fires with sesame, attained the highest goal.

13.65.15 Thus has the unsurpassed gift of sesame been declared, O foremost of the Kurus, together with the rite by which the offering of sesame is here commended.

13.65.16 Hereafter learn of this, O great king—how the gods, desiring to perform a sacrifice, came together with the Self-Existent Brahmā.

13.65.17 The gods, having assembled before Brahmā and wishing to sacrifice, begged for a portion of earth, an auspicious tract: "Let us perform the sacrifice," O son of Pṛthā.

13.65.18 The gods said: O Blessed One, you are the lord of all the earth and of the threefold heaven; with your leave, O greatly blessed one, let us perform the sacrifice, for on unsanctioned ground no one wins the fruit of a sacrifice.

13.65.19 For you are the lord of the whole world, both the moving and the unmoving; therefore it is fitting that you grant us your sanction.

13.65.20 Brahmā said: I give you a portion of the earth, O bulls among the gods, the tract whereon you shall perform your sacrifice, O sons of Kaśyapa.

13.65.21 The gods said: O Blessed One, our wish is fulfilled; we shall sacrifice with the prescribed fees duly rendered—and this very tract the sages have ever frequented and revered.

13.65.22 Bhīṣma said: Then Agastya and Kaṇva, Bhṛgu, Atri, Vṛṣākapi, and Asita Devala came to the gods' sacrifice.

13.65.23 Then the high-souled gods performed the sacrifice, O unfailing one, and the bulls among the gods brought it to its completion in due season.

13.65.24 Having performed their sacrifice, the thirty gods upon Himavat, that loftiest of mountains, made the gift of land a sixth part of that rite.

13.65.25 Whoever gives even a span's measure of land, unencumbered, does not sink in times of hardship nor fall into straits.

13.65.26 Having given a well-prepared plot for a dwelling, proof against cold, wind, and heat, a man dwells in the world of the gods and is not dislodged even when his merit is spent.

13.65.27 The wise man dwells in joy together with Śakra, O son of Pṛthā; and the giver of shelter, he too is exalted in heaven.

13.65.28 He in whose house a man born in a line of teachers, learned in the Vedas and of subdued senses, dwells contented—that giver attains the foremost world.

13.65.29 Likewise, a great shelter for the sake of cattle, proof against cold and rain, redeems one's line down to the seventh generation, O best of the Bhāratas.

13.65.30 By giving farmland in this world, my son, a man would gain prosperity; and by bestowing a tract rich in gems, he would cause his family line to flourish.

13.65.31 But one should never give land that is barren and salt, nor land scorched and burnt, nor land bordered by a cremation ground, nor land used for wicked deeds.

13.65.32 When a man makes an offering to the ancestors upon a tract of land belonging to another, that funerary rite is despoiled by the fathers of the land's owner.

13.65.33 Therefore let the discerning man first buy the land, even a little, and then give it; for the rice-ball offered to the fathers upon such ground becomes everlasting.

13.65.34 Forests and mountains, and whatever river-fords there be—all these, they say, are ownerless, for there is no private possession of them.

13.65.35 Thus has the fruit of the gift of land been told, O lord of peoples; and now, after this, I shall proclaim to you the gift of a cow, O sinless one.

13.65.36 Since cows are higher than all ascetics whatsoever, therefore the god Maheśvara undertook his austerity in their company.

13.65.37 These cows dwell in the world of Brahmā together with Soma, O Bhārata; from their midst the perfected brahman-seers seek the supreme goal.

13.65.38 With milk, with the clarified offering, with curd, and even with their dung, with their hide, with their bones, with their horns and their hair do they render service, O Bhārata.

13.65.39 Neither cold nor heat afflicts them; ever do they do their work; neither rain nor rough weather brings them any distress.

13.65.40 United with the brāhmaṇas they go to the highest station; therefore the wise speak of cow and brāhmaṇa as one.

13.65.41 At the sacrifice of Rantideva they were appointed as sacrificial victims; thence, O king, the river Carmaṇvatī came to flow from the hides of the cattle.

13.65.42 Released thereafter from the state of sacrificial victims, they were ordained for giving away; and whoever gives these to the foremost of brāhmaṇas, O lord of earth, would cross over grievous calamity, even though set in dire straits, O son of Pṛthā.

13.65.43 He who gives a thousand cows beholds no hell after death and wins victory everywhere, O ruler of men.

13.65.44 "The milk of cows is verily the nectar of immortality," so said the lord of the thirty gods; therefore he who gives a milch-cow gives the nectar itself.

13.65.45 The knowers of the Veda know this to be the imperishable oblation-stuff of the fires; therefore he who gives a milch-cow bestows the very means of the offering.

13.65.46 This bull, the lord of the cows, is heaven in bodily form; whoever gives him to a brāhmaṇa endowed with virtues is himself exalted in heaven.

13.65.47 These are declared to be the very life-breaths of living beings, O bull of the Bhāratas; therefore he who gives a milch-cow gives life-breath itself.

13.65.48 "Cows are the refuge of creatures," thus the knowers of the Veda know; therefore he who gives a milch-cow bestows refuge itself.

13.65.49 A cow must not be given to be slaughtered, nor to a miser, nor to an unbeliever; nor should a cow be given to one who lives by trafficking in cattle, O bull among men.

13.65.50 The man who gives cows to such evildoers goes to the imperishable hell—so the wise have declared.

13.65.51 One should not give to a brāhmaṇa a cow that is emaciated, or one whose calf has come to harm, or one that is barren or diseased, or one that is maimed or worn out.

13.65.52 He who duly gives ten thousand cows rejoices together with Śakra; the man who gives a hundred thousand wins imperishable worlds.

13.65.53 Thus the gift of cattle, the gift of sesame, and the gift of land have been proclaimed; now hear concerning the gift of food, O Bhārata.

13.65.54 The gift of food they declare to be foremost, O son of Kuntī; for by the gift of food Rantideva went to heaven.

13.65.55 He who gives food to one weary and hungry, O lord of earth, beholds the greatly blessed son of the Self-Existent, O ruler of men.

13.65.56 Not by gifts of gold, nor of garments, nor by the gift of horses, O Bhārata, do men win such welfare as the givers of food win here, O lord.

13.65.57 Food is verily the supreme substance, and food is deemed the highest prosperity; from food springs life-breath, and likewise vigor, valor, and strength.

13.65.58 The man who gives food to the good, ever single-minded, does not fall into straits—thus declared Parāśara.

13.65.59 Having duly worshipped, one should present the food to the gods; for whatever food a man eats, O king, that same food belongs to his deities.

13.65.60 He who makes a gift of food on the full-moon day of Kārttika, in the bright fortnight, crosses over all straits and, after death, partakes of the infinite.

13.65.61 He who, with collected mind, gives food to a guest before he himself has eaten, would surely attain the worlds of those who know Brahman, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.65.62 Though fallen into the direst calamity, the giver of food crosses over; he crosses beyond sin even here, and casts off his ill deeds.

13.65.63 Thus has the fruit of the gift of food, and of the gift of sesame, and of the gift of land, and of the gift of cattle been proclaimed.

13.66.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: I have heard the fruit of giving that you have proclaimed, dear father; but food, in your account, is here especially praised, O Bhārata.

13.66.2 And how is the gift of water supreme here, and of great fruit? This I wish to hear in full, O grandfather.

13.66.3 Bhīṣma said: Come, I shall recount it to you faithfully, O bull of the Bhāratas; hearken now as I tell it, O you whose valor is truth; beginning with the gift of water, I shall declare it all to you, O sinless one.

13.66.4 When a man, having given food and water, then enjoys their fruit—there is, in my judgment, no gift higher than this.

13.66.5 From food, dear son, all that bear life come forth in every way; therefore food is called supreme in the world among all gifts.

13.66.6 From food the strength and the vital fire of living beings ever increase; therefore Prajāpati has declared the gift of food to be the best.

13.66.7 For from Sāvitrī herself, O son of Kuntī, you have heard the auspicious word, whence this is and how this is, at the sacrificial session of the gods, O greatly wise one.

13.66.8 When food is given by a man in this world, life-breaths too are given thereby; and than the gift of life-breath no higher gift is known here.

13.66.9 For you have heard, O mighty-armed one, that word of Lomaśa as well—what Śibi of old attained when he gave up his own life for the sake of a dove.

13.66.10 That same goal one wins by giving food to a brāhmaṇa, O lord of peoples; the givers of life-breath go to a most exalted goal—so have we heard.

13.66.11 And food itself arises from water, O best of the Kurus; for without that which is born of water, nothing whatsoever comes to be.

13.66.12 Water-born too is the blessed Soma, lord of the host of planets, and the nectar of immortality, and ambrosia, and Svāhā, and Vaṣaṭ as well.

13.66.13 Grains and healing herbs, O great king, and the creeping plants are sprung from water—whence the life-breaths of all that bear life come into being, O lord of peoples.

13.66.14 The food of the gods is the nectar of immortality, and that of the nāgas is ambrosia; the food of the fathers is declared to be svadhā, and that of the beasts the creeping plants.

13.66.15 Food, the wise declare, is the very life-breath of human beings; and all of this, O tiger among men, arises from water.

13.66.16 Therefore nowhere is there a gift higher than the giving of water; and the man who would seek his own well-being should give it without ceasing.

13.66.17 The giving of water brings fortune, fame, and length of days, O lord of peoples; and the giver of water, O son of Kuntī, stands ever superior even to his enemies.

13.66.18 He gains all his desires and undying renown in this world; after death he attains the endless realms and is set free from his sins.

13.66.19 The giver of water, O tiger among men, O greatly resplendent one, having gone to heaven, attains the imperishable worlds — so said Manu.

13.67.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Of what kind is the gift of sesame seeds, and of lamps as well, and of food and of garments? Tell me of these once again.

13.67.2 Bhīṣma said: On this too they recount an ancient tale, the dialogue of a brāhmaṇa and Yama, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.67.3 In the Middle Country there was once a great village of brāhmaṇas, set between the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā, below the Yamunā mountain.

13.67.4 It was renowned as Parṇaśālā and was a place of delight, O ruler of men; and learned brāhmaṇas in great numbers dwelt there in those days.

13.67.5 Then Yama spoke to a certain man clad in black garments, red-eyed, with hair standing on end, with the shanks, eyes, and nose of a crow.

13.67.6 "Go you to the village of the brāhmaṇas, and going there bring back the one of the Agastya line by gotra, and Śarman by name.

13.67.7 He is settled in tranquillity, learned, a teacher, yet little honored; and do not bring back another of his same gotra dwelling beside him.

13.67.8 For that other one is of like qualities, equal to him in study and in birth, in offspring, and in conduct — wholly his match in wisdom. Bring back the one I have appointed, for I must do him honor."

13.67.9 He went and did the contrary to Yama's command: he seized and brought back the very one whom Yama had forbidden.

13.67.10 To him the mighty Yama rose up and did honor, then declared, "Let this man be taken back, and let that other be brought instead."

13.67.11 When the King of Righteousness had spoken thus, that twice-born one, weary of his studies, said to the Dharmarāja: "Whatever span of life remains to me, let me dwell it out here, O imperishable one."

13.67.12 Yama said: "In no way can I overstep what Time has ordained; I only know who it is that practices righteousness.

13.67.13 Go, brāhmaṇa, this very day to your own home, O greatly resplendent one; or speak as you freely wish — what shall I do for you?"

13.67.14 The brāhmaṇa said: "Tell me that deed which, done back there, would bring the greatest merit; for you are the standard of all, even of the three worlds, O most excellent one."

13.67.15 Yama said: "Hear truly, O sage among brāhmaṇas, the supreme rule of giving. Sesame seeds are the highest gift, and their merit here is everlasting.

13.67.16 Sesame seeds should be given according to one's power, O bull among the twice-born; given without ceasing, sesame fulfills every desire.

13.67.17 They praise sesame at the rites for the ancestors, for this gift is unsurpassed; bestow it upon the brāhmaṇas with rites performed as the ordinance directs.

13.67.18 Sesame should be eaten always, and with it the touching of the body should be performed without fail by those who, with their whole heart, desire well-being in the home.

13.67.19 So too water should ever be given and offered to drink — of this there is no doubt; and here one should have lotus-pools, tanks, and wells dug out.

13.67.20 This is the rarest of all in the world, O best of the twice-born; water should ever be given by you, for this merit is unsurpassed.

13.67.21 And watering-sheds should ever be built by you for men to drink, O most excellent of the twice-born; and even after a meal you should especially offer water to drink."

13.67.22 When this had been spoken, he was then led home by that messenger of Yama, and he carried out in full all that command of Yama.

13.67.23 Having brought that man home, the messenger of Yama then took Śarman and went, and presented him to the King of Righteousness.

13.67.24 The majestic King of Righteousness honored that knower of dharma, and having made his compact with him, sent him back as he had come.

13.67.25 To him too Yama gave the whole instruction; and returning, that man did all that Yama had told.

13.67.26 Likewise Yama praises lamps, desiring the welfare of the ancestors; therefore the giver of lamps forever carries the fathers across.

13.67.27 Lamps should be given always, O most excellent of the Bhāratas; for they are held to abide in the eyes of the gods and of the fathers, O lord.

13.67.28 The gift of gems too is declared a very great merit, O ruler of men; for selling them, the brāhmaṇa, the giver of safety, performs sacrifice.

13.67.29 Whatever a brāhmaṇa, having himself received, gives to other brāhmaṇas becomes imperishable for both — for the giver and for the receiver alike.

13.67.30 He who, abiding in right conduct, gives a gift to be received by such a man — this Manu, the knower of dharma, declared an imperishable merit for both.

13.67.31 By the gift of garments, a man devoted to his own wife becomes well-clothed and well-adorned — so have we heard in turn.

13.67.32 Cows, and gold, and sesame too have been extolled again and again, O tiger among men, on the strength of the Vedas' authority.

13.67.33 And one should make marriages and beget sons; for the gaining of a son, O descendant of Kuru, surpasses every other gain.

13.68.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Once again, O best of the Kurus, recount the supreme rule of gifts, O greatly wise one, and the gift of land in particular.

13.68.2 A kṣatriya should give land, and a brāhmaṇa by his own proper office should duly receive it; but no other has the right to give it.

13.68.3 What may be given by all the varṇas who long for its fruit, or what is enjoined in the Veda — that you ought to expound to me.

13.68.4 Bhīṣma said: Three things to be given bear like names and like fruit, yielding here every desired reward — cows, the earth, and Sarasvatī (sacred speech).

13.68.5 And he who would impart to a pupil the righteous, sacred speech of Brahman enjoys a fruit equal to the giving of land and cows.

13.68.6 Likewise they praise cows, and nothing is to be given higher than they; for their fruit is close at hand and easily had, O Yudhiṣṭhira. Cows are the mothers of all beings, the bestowers of every happiness.

13.68.7 He who longs for increase should ever keep cows and circle them to the right; these goddesses are the abode of auspiciousness, and therefore are ever to be revered.

13.68.8 For those engaged in the work of tending cows, a god-given impulse is at hand; only that first imperishable syllable, and nothing else, should ever be uttered over them.

13.68.9 Whether at pasture or at the watering-trough, the wise man should not vex the cows; for thirsting and gazing upon him, they might destroy a man together with his kin.

13.68.10 The dwellings of the fathers and the temples of the gods are forever purified by their dung — what is purer than that?

13.68.11 He who for a full year gives a handful of fodder to another's cow before he has taken his own food — that vow grants every desire.

13.68.12 For he gains sons, and glory, and prosperity besides; he destroys what is inauspicious and drives away evil dreams.

13.68.13 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Of what marks are the cows that should be given, and which should one avoid? To what kind of man should they be given, and to what kind not?

13.68.14 Bhīṣma said: To a man of evil conduct, a sinner, a greedy man, a speaker of falsehood, one who has forsaken the offerings to gods and ancestors — to such a one a cow should never in any way be given.

13.68.15 But the giver who bestows ten cows upon a mendicant of many sons, a knower of the Veda who has kindled the sacred fire, attains the highest worlds.

13.68.16 And of whatever dharma that man performs, and whatever the meritorious fruit thereof, the giver shares a portion of it all; for through him these undertakings come to be.

13.68.17 He who begets a man, he who saves him from danger, and he who provides his livelihood — these three are all his fathers.

13.68.18 Service to one's elders destroys defilement; honor wins great fame; three sons remove childlessness, and ten milch-cows remove want of livelihood.

13.68.19 To one steadfast in the end of the Veda, deeply learned, content in wisdom, his senses conquered, refined, self-restrained and disciplined, who speaks ever kindly to all beings —

13.68.20 who out of fear of hunger would do no forbidden deed, who is gentle, self-controlled, and ever hospitable — to such a brāhmaṇa, of like virtue and with his sons and wife, one should grant a livelihood.

13.68.21 As great as are the merits of giving a cow to a worthy recipient, so great is the sin in stealing a brāhmaṇa's property; in every circumstance the seizing of a brāhmaṇa's goods, and their wives as well, must be shunned from afar.

13.69.1 Bhīṣma said: On this very matter the good recount how, in laying hands upon a brāhmaṇa's property, the great distress was met by Nṛga, O foremost of the Kurus.

13.69.2 Long ago, as Dvāravatī was being settled, O Pārtha — so the tradition runs — a great well was found, overgrown with grass and creepers.

13.69.3 Men in want of water, laboring there with great effort upon that well whose water was well concealed,

13.69.4 saw a lizard of huge body lodged within; and they strove by the thousands to draw it out.

13.69.5 Binding it with ropes and straps of leather — that creature like a mountain — they could not haul it up; then they went to Janārdana.

13.69.6 "A great lizard sits blocking the mouth of the well, and there is no drawing it out" — so they reported to Kṛṣṇa.

13.69.7 Drawn up by Vāsudeva, and asked of his desires, the king Nṛga then made himself known, declaring of old that he had offered a thousand sacrifices.

13.69.8 To him speaking thus Mādhava said: "Pure was the deed you did, and not sinful; how then did you come to so wretched a state, O lord of men? Tell me — what is this thing of such a kind?"

13.69.9 "A hundred thousand cows, a hundred again and again, eight hundred myriads — so we have heard that you of old gave to the twice-born, O king. Where then has that merit of yours gone?"

13.69.10 Then Nṛga said to Kṛṣṇa: "A single cow belonging to a brāhmaṇa, a keeper of the sacred fire who was away from home, had strayed into my herd of cattle.

13.69.11 Counted then by my herdsmen among a thousand cows, she was given by me to a brāhmaṇa, for I sought reward in the world beyond.

13.69.12 And the brāhmaṇa whose she had been, searching, spied her in another's house, and said, 'This cow is mine.'

13.69.13 The two of them came before me, disputing in great heat, and they said to me then: 'You are the giver — you are the thief!'

13.69.14 With an exchange of a hundred cows by the hundred I begged the one who had received her; but he said this to me:

13.69.15 'She is suited to time and place, a good milker, gentle, most loving, a giver of sweet milk, auspicious, and ever in my home.

13.69.16 And this cow nourishes my frail, unweaned son; her I cannot give up.' Having spoken thus, he went away.

13.69.17 Then I begged that other brāhmaṇa in exchange: 'Let a hundred thousand cows be taken in her stead.'

13.69.18 The brāhmaṇa said: 'I accept nothing from kings; I am able to seek out my own. Let that very cow be given back to me at once' — so he said, O slayer of Madhu.

13.69.19 Though I offered gold and horses, silver and chariots too, that bull among brāhmaṇas would take none of it, and then went his way.

13.69.20 At that very time, urged on by the law of Time, I reached the world of the fathers and came before the King of Righteousness.

13.69.21 Yama, having honored me, then spoke these words: 'No end can be reckoned, O king, to your meritorious deeds.

13.69.22 And yet a sin too has been committed — and that by you in ignorance. Undergo the penalty for that sin either afterward or before, as you please.'"

13.69.23 "'I shall be protected'—so it was promised you, yet your pledge proved false; and you took what belonged to a brāhmaṇa: thus your transgression is threefold."

13.69.24 "'First I shall undergo the hardship, and the bliss thereafter'—O lord, even as I was saying this to the King of Dharma, I fell upon the surface of the earth."

13.69.25 "And as I was tumbling down I heard Yama proclaiming aloud: 'Vāsudeva, Janārdana, shall be your deliverer.'"

13.69.26 "'When a full thousand years are ended and your evil deed is exhausted, you shall attain the eternal worlds, won by your own action.'"

13.69.27 "I beheld myself fallen headlong into the well, sunk into the womb of a beast; yet memory did not forsake me."

13.69.28 "Today I have been ferried across by you—by what else than the power of austerity? Give me leave, O Kṛṣṇa, that I may go this very day to heaven."

13.69.29 Granted leave by Kṛṣṇa, having bowed to Janārdana, he mounted a celestial chariot and went to heaven, O subduer of foes.

13.69.30 Then, when Nṛga had reached heaven, O best of the Bhāratas, Vāsudeva uttered this verse, O joy of the Kurus:

13.69.31 "A discerning man must never seize a brāhmaṇa's property; a brāhmaṇa's property, once seized, destroys, as the brāhmaṇa's cow destroyed Nṛga."

13.69.32 "Communion with the good, O Pārtha, is never fruitless for the good: behold how Nṛga was released from hell through fellowship with the holy."

13.69.33 "In this matter giving bears fruit, and so too does wrongdoing bear its fruit; therefore, Yudhiṣṭhira, one should shun any offence against cows."

13.70.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Tell me, O sinless one, of the fruit that comes from cows that are given away; tell it at length, O mighty-armed—let it be told, for I am not yet sated.

13.70.2 Bhīṣma said: On this too they recount an ancient tale, the words of both the seer Uddālaka and of Nāciketa.

13.70.3 The seer Uddālaka, having undertaken a consecration, said to his son Nāciketa, "Attend upon me"; and when that observance was completed, the great seer spoke to his son.

13.70.4 "While I was intent on my ablutions and absorbed in my recitation, I forgot the kindling, the darbha grass, the flowers, the water-pot, and the water all about. Fetch them and come here from the riverbank."

13.70.5 Going there, the young ascetic could not recover any of it, for it had been swept away by the river's current; and so he said to his father, "I do not see it."

13.70.6 Then the sage Uddālaka, overcome by hunger, thirst, and weariness—he of great austerity—cursed his son, saying, "Go behold Yama!"

13.70.7 Struck thus by his father with the thunderbolt of speech, with hands joined and saying only "Be gracious," the boy fell to the ground, his life gone out of him.

13.70.8 Seeing Nāciketa fallen, the father, swooning with grief and crying, "What have I done!", sank down upon the earth.

13.70.9 For him, encompassed by sorrow as he held his own son in his embrace, the remainder of that day passed, and a grim night came over him there.

13.70.10 By the falling of his father's tears, O foremost of the Kurus, Nāciketa stirred upon the bed of kuśa grass, like a crop revived when steeped in rain.

13.70.11 He questioned that worthy son returned to him once more, anointed with celestial fragrances, risen as if from a fading dream.

13.70.12 "Have you, my son, won the blessed worlds by your own deeds? By good fortune you are restored to me again—surely your form is no longer that of a mortal."

13.70.13 He who had beheld all with his own eyes, when questioned by his great-souled father, recounted it truthfully to that father in the midst of the great seers.

13.70.14 "Carrying out your command, I went swiftly forth, and reaching the vast and radiantly lustrous hall of Vaivasvata, I beheld it, its golden floor stretching for thousands of leagues."

13.70.15 "The moment he saw me hastening toward him, the son of Vivasvat showed me to his abode and assigned me a seat; and for your sake he honoured me with the welcome-offering and other tokens of reverence."

13.70.16 "Then softly I said to him, surrounded by his assessors and receiving their homage: 'O King of Dharma, I have come into your realm; ordain for me those worlds which I deserve.'"

13.70.17 "Yama said to me: 'You are not dead, gentle one; yet your father the ascetic, in splendour like a blazing fire, bade you behold Yama—and that, O brāhmaṇa, cannot be made false.'"

13.70.18 "'You have beheld me—go back, my child; he who gave you your body is grieving. And I grant whatever your heart desires: choose your wishes, O welcome guest.'"

13.70.19 "Thus addressed by him, I answered him: 'I have reached your realm, hard to come back from; I wish to behold the abounding worlds of those who have done good, if I am worthy of a boon from you.'"

13.70.20 "Then that god, setting me upon a radiant, sun-bright chariot yoked with steeds, showed me at that time all the worlds of those who have done good, O foremost of brāhmaṇas."

13.70.21 "There I beheld the gleaming mansions of the disciplined souls, of manifold shapes and forms and wrought all of jewels."

13.70.22 "White as the disc of the moon, festooned with networks of little bells, of many hundred storeys, set amid waters and groves within."

13.70.23 "Shining like beryl and the sun, fashioned of silver and gold, of the hue of the young morning sun, some fixed and some that moved at will."

13.70.24 "Mountains made of food hard and soft, and garments and couches, and trees bearing the fruit of every desire, standing about the dwellings."

13.70.25 "Rivers, avenues, assembly-halls, ponds, and long pools on every side, and chiming chariots ready-yoked by the thousand."

13.70.26 "Rivers flowing with milk, and mountains, and clarified butter, and water utterly clear; many regions sanctioned by Vaivasvata, never seen before, did I behold."

13.70.27 "Having seen all this, I said to the King of Dharma, the ancient and almighty one: 'These rivers of milk and of clarified butter, ever-flowing—for whose enjoyment are they ordained?'"

13.70.28 "Yama said: 'Know that these are to be enjoyed by those good men who are givers of the products of the cow; and there are still other worlds, eternal and free from sorrow, thronged with those devoted to the gift of cows.'"

13.70.29 "'Yet the mere giving of them is not what is praised; the worthy recipient, the time, the particular cow, and the rite all matter. Knowing these, O brāhmaṇa, should one give—for the true worth of a cow is as hard to discern as the nature of fire and the sun.'"

13.70.30 "'A brāhmaṇa rich in sacred recitation, exceedingly austere, established in the sacrificial fires, is the worthy recipient of these. Cows released in time of hardship, or come for their nurture—by such avenues are particular cows esteemed.'"

13.70.31 "'Having fasted three nights on water and lying on the bare ground, contented cows should be given to those who have been satisfied—cows glad with their calves, rich in offspring, attended with all due rites; and having given them, for three days one should live upon the cow's own products.'"

13.70.32 "'Having given a milch-cow of gentle ways, milked into bronze, with a fair calf and not given to straying—for as many hairs as are upon her, for so many years does the giver enjoy the world of heaven.'"

13.70.33 "'So too, having given to a brāhmaṇa an ox—tamed, fit for the yoke, strong and young, sustaining its lineage, vigorous and great—one enjoys worlds equal to those of the giver of a milch-cow.'"

13.70.34 "'One forbearing toward cows, a refuge to cows, grateful, and worn down in his livelihood—such a man they call a worthy recipient; whether in failing livelihood, in some great emergency, for the sake of ploughing, for an oblation, or at a birth—'"

13.70.35 "'—or for a teacher's sake, or out of concern for the nourishment of children: no particular place or time is required for giving cows. Such cows may be born among one's own herd, gained by fair purchase, acquired by sacrifice or knowledge, bought at the price of one's own life, won in battle, or received as a libation of water.'"

13.70.36 Nāciketa said: "Having heard the words of Vaivasvata, I asked him again: 'How does one who has no cow attain the worlds of the givers of cows?'"

13.70.37 "Then the wise Yama said: 'The gift of a cow leads to the highest goal; yet there are substitutes for the gift of a cow, and even without a cow there are those who count as cow-givers.'"

13.70.38 "'He who, lacking cows, gives a cow made of clarified butter, firm in his vow—for him these rivers of butter flow as tenderly as loving cows yielding their milk.'"

13.70.39 "'And he who, wanting butter, gives a cow made of sesame, firm in his vow, is borne across distress by that cow and rejoices in the river of milk.'"

13.70.40 "'And he who, wanting sesame, gives a cow made of water, firm in his vow, comes to enjoy this cool river that flows at his desire.'"

13.70.41 "Such things and more did the King of Dharma show me there; and beholding them I attained the highest joy, O Acyuta."

13.70.42 "And I announce to you a glad tiding: a great sacrifice, requiring but small wealth to perform, has come to me, dear father, sprung from me; conducted by the rule of the Veda, it shall come to fruition."

13.70.43 "For this curse of yours came to me as a grace, in which I beheld Yama; and having there seen the great reward of giving, I shall practise the duties of gift-giving beyond all doubt."

13.70.44 "And this the King of Dharma told me again and again, greatly pleased, O seer among brāhmaṇas: 'Be ever assiduous in giving, my child, and above all perform the gift of cows.'"

13.70.45 "'For wealth honestly come by must not be scorned: in accord with your own duty, it should be given to a worthy recipient at a fitting place and time. Therefore cows should ever be given by you; let no doubt of any kind arise in you here.'"

13.70.46 "'These men of old, of tranquil soul, set upon the path of giving, gave cows unceasingly; undertaking fierce austerities without misgiving, they too bestowed gifts to the full measure of their power.'"

13.70.47 "'Giving in due time according to their power, casting envy aside—pure of soul, faithful, of virtuous conduct—having given and having done penance, they have attained yonder world, and these men of virtuous conduct shine resplendent in heaven.'"

13.70.48 "'This gift, won by lawful means and given to brāhmaṇas, should be conferred upon a worthy recipient after due scrutiny; and on the desired eighth day one should pass ten days living on the products of the cow—its milk, its dung, or its yield.'"

13.70.49 "'The giver of a bull keeps the vow of the Veda; the gift of a yoke of cattle yields the attainment of the Veda; the gift of a yoked team yields the attainment of holy fords; and the gift of a tawny cow yields the casting-off of sin.'"

13.70.50 "'By bestowing even a single tawny cow, lawfully come by, one is wholly freed from defilement. Than the milk of cows there is nothing higher; the gift of cows, they declare, is a very great thing.'"

13.70.51 "'Cows, yielding their milk, sustain the worlds; cows bring forth food in the world. The man who, knowing this, does not give his heart to cows—that man of evil mind shall surely go to hell.'"

13.70.52 "'Whether you have a thousand cows to give, or a hundred, or fifty, or ten with goodly calves, or even one to a worthy brāhmaṇa—she shall be for that man a river of holy fords in the world beyond.'"

13.70.53 "'In their bounty, their nourishment, and their guarding of the world, cows on earth are the equals of the sun's rays: the name is the same, the lineage is the same, and the enjoyment is the same; therefore the giver of cows shines forth like the sun.'"

13.70.54 "'In the gift of cows the disciple should choose a teacher; he, the reciter of the rite, is assuredly the bestower of heaven. Great among those who know the rites is this duty; for all rites have recourse to that first ordinance.'"

13.70.55 "'This gift, won by lawful means, you should confer upon brāhmaṇas, giving it to a worthy recipient after due scrutiny. Upon you the immortals and men alike set their hopes, and we too, men of virtuous conduct, when the gift goes forth.'"

13.70.56 "Thus addressed by the King of Dharma, O great seer, bowing my head to that righteous one, and given leave by Vaivasvata, I came back to the feet of your reverence."

13.71.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: You have spoken of the gift of cows in connection with the seer Nāciketa, and you have also told, by way of summary, the greatness of cows, O lord.

13.71.2 And how the great-souled Nṛga underwent suffering through a single offence committed in ignorance, O grandsire of mighty mind;

13.71.3 and how he was raised up at Dvāravatī while it was being settled, Kṛṣṇa becoming the cause of his deliverance—this too I have grasped.

13.71.4 But a doubt remains in me concerning the world of cows, O lord; I wish to hear truly into what region the givers of cows enter.

13.71.5 Bhīṣma said: On this too they recount an ancient tale, how Śatakratu put this very question to the Lotus-born.

13.71.6 Śakra said: Outshining by their own radiance the splendour of those who dwell in heaven, I behold the dwellers of the cow-world faring on; herein lies my doubt.

13.71.7 Of what nature, O blessed one, are the worlds of cows? Tell me that, O sinless one—those that the givers inhabit; this I wish to know.

13.71.8 Of what kind are they, what fruit do they bear, and what is the supreme excellence there? And how do men come thither, freed from all affliction?

13.71.9 For how long does the giver enjoy the fruit of his gift? And how is a gift made manifold, or how even a small one?

13.71.10 What is the giving of many cows like, and what the giving of few? And by what means are there those reckoned cow-givers who have given none? Tell me that as well.

13.71.11 And how may the giver of many be the equal of the giver of few, O lord? And how may the giver of little rank as a giver of much, O master here?

13.71.12 And what kind of sacrificial fee is esteemed highest in the gift of cows? All this, O blessed one, you ought to declare to me in truth.

13.72.1 Brahmā said: This question that you have asked, bearing upon the worthiness for the gift of cows—there is in this world no questioner of it other than you, O Śatakratu.

13.72.2 There exist worlds of many kinds, O Śakra, which you do not behold — worlds that I behold, and likewise the women who are faithful to a single husband.

13.72.3 By their wholly auspicious deeds the seers of firm vows, and the Brāhmaṇas of pure conduct, attain those worlds in their very bodies.

13.72.4 And those of firm vows, by laying down the body in release and through a mind made spotless, behold even here those worlds that are like a dream.

13.72.5 And those worlds, O thousand-eyed one — hear with what qualities they are endowed. There time does not advance, nor old age, nor any evil; nor anything else inauspicious, no disease there, and no fatigue.

13.72.6 And whatever the cattle there desire in their minds, O Vāsava, all that they obtain by beholding me directly; going where they wish, roaming where they please, at will they enjoy their every wish.

13.72.7 Tanks, lakes, rivers, and forests of many kinds, dwellings and mountains too, and whatever substance there may be —

13.72.8 all that is pleasing to every being is seen there. Know those worlds to be of such a kind; there is no world higher than that.

13.72.9 To that place go, O Śakra, the best of men — all-enduring, patient, affectionate, devoted to their elders, and wholly free of egotism.

13.72.10 The man who never eats flesh of any kind, ever devoted until his end, who honors his mother and father, joined to truth, a server of the Brāhmaṇas, blameless —

13.72.11 free of anger toward cattle and toward the twice-born, delighting in dharma, a servant of his elders, devoted lifelong to the practice of truth, given to charity, and forgiving of offense —

13.72.12 gentle, self-controlled, devoted to the gods, hospitable to all guests and full of compassion — a man endowed with such qualities proceeds to the world of cattle, eternal and imperishable.

13.72.13 No adulterer beholds this world, nor the slayer of a teacher, nor the babbler of falsehood, nor the forever-slandering Brāhmaṇa who has let his Vedic learning lapse, nor the evil-souled one yoked to other faults.

13.72.14 No betrayer of a friend, no deceiver, no ingrate, no rogue, no crooked man, no hater of dharma, no slayer of a Brāhmaṇa may even in his mind behold the world of cattle, the dwelling of those who have done meritorious deeds.

13.72.15 All this has been told you with precision, O lord of the gods; now hear the fruit that belongs to those devoted to the gift of cattle, O performer of a hundred rites.

13.72.16 He who, having bought cattle with wealth obtained as his rightful inheritance, gives them away, attains imperishable worlds purchased with righteously gained riches.

13.72.17 He who, having won wealth at dice, buys cattle and gives them away, enjoys, O Śakra, a divine reward lasting ten thousand years.

13.72.18 Cattle that are a man's inheritance, gained by lawful means and then bestowed, become for their givers imperishable and enduring.

13.72.19 And he who, having received cattle, gives them away with a wholly purified heart — know, O husband of Śacī, that for him too the worlds here are imperishable and enduring.

13.72.20 He who from birth speaks truth, his senses restrained, forbearing toward elders and the twice-born and patient — his attainment is equal to that won by the gift of cattle.

13.72.21 Never should a Brāhmaṇa be addressed with what ought not be spoken, O husband of Śacī; one should not even in mind do harm to cattle, but live by their ways and be compassionate to them.

13.72.22 For one devoted to truth and dharma — hear, O Śakra, his reward: his single cow becomes equal to a thousand.

13.72.23 Hear the reward of a Kṣatriya endowed with these same qualities: for him too one cow becomes equal to a hundred — such is the firm conclusion.

13.72.24 If these qualities belong to a Vaiśya, for him it becomes equal to fifty; and for a disciplined Śūdra too the reward is reckoned as a quarter of that.

13.72.25 And he who carries this out, ever devoted — joined to truth and to service of his elders, self-controlled, forbearing, a worshipper of the gods, serene, pure, awakened, of righteous disposition, free of self-assertion in speech —

13.72.26 that man attains a great reward by giving to a twice-born, according to this rule, a milch cow yielding milk. Let him give ever, taking but one meal a day, established in truth and a servant of his elders.

13.72.27 He who recites the Veda and is devoted to cattle, who ever rejoices at the sight of cows, and who bows to cattle from his very birth — mark, O Śakra, the reward that is his.

13.72.28 Whatever reward there is from performing the Rājasūya, whatever from sacrificing with abundant gold — equal and foremost to this, they declare his reward to be, all the holy ones and the seers and the perfected.

13.72.29 He who, without first tasting any morsel of his food, always offers the first portion to cattle — vowed to the cow, truth-speaking, serene, awakened — that man of meritorious character attains within a year the merit of a thousand cows.

13.72.30 He who eats but one meal a day and gives even one share to cattle — vowed to the cow and compassionate to it — gains ten endless years of merit.

13.72.31 And he who, taking but a single meal a day, buys a cow and gives it away — for as many days as are reckoned to him, O performer of a hundred rites, so many hundreds of cows' eternal reward does he obtain.

13.72.32 This is the reward of the Brāhmaṇa; now hear what is declared for the Kṣatriya. The Kṣatriya's reward is reckoned at five years' worth; the Vaiśya's at half of that, and the Śūdra's at half the Vaiśya's.

13.72.33 And he who, having even sold himself, buys cattle and gives them away, enjoys reward for as many cows as he can touch; for each hair upon them, O greatly blessed one, his worlds are reckoned imperishable.

13.72.34 But he who, having won cattle in battle, gives them away — know those gifts to be equal to selling oneself, and eternal, O Kauśika.

13.72.35 He who, when no cattle can be had, gives a cow made of sesame, his vows controlled, is carried by that cow across the hard passage and rejoices upon a river of milk.

13.72.36 Yet the mere giving of them is not praised; the worthy recipient, the time, the particular kind of cow, and the rite all matter. Knowledge of the right time, O Brāhmaṇa, and the differences among cattle are hard to know, being of the very nature of fire and the sun.

13.72.37 Rich in Vedic recitation, of pure birth, serene, settled in the sacrificial fires, fearful of sin, grateful, forbearing toward cattle, not over-harsh, a refuge for others, yet worn by want of livelihood — such a one they call a worthy recipient.

13.72.38 When a man is sorely worn by want and sinking utterly, whether for the sake of tillage, or for the oblation, at a birthing, for an elder's need, or for the raising of a child — let one give a cow at a fitting place and time.

13.72.39 Born within one's own herd, gained by a good purchase, bought at the cost of one's life, won in battle, born together as a single litter, released from peril, or come to one for their nurture — by these means the choicest cattle are approved.

13.72.40 Strong, of good temper and fit age, sweet-smelling — all such are praised; for as the Gaṅgā is the best among rivers, so the tawny cow is the best among the white.

13.72.41 Having fasted three nights upon water and lain upon the ground, well-satisfied cattle should be given to satisfied recipients — cows with well-fed, milk-drinking calves, good in pasture; and for three days after the gift one should live on their milk-products alone.

13.72.42 Having given a cow of gentle disposition, with a fine calf, of auspicious habits and not given to straying, for as many hairs as are upon her, so many years does one dwell in the world beyond.

13.72.43 Likewise, having given to a Brāhmaṇa a draught-ox fit for the yoke — young, strong, well-broken, a bearer of the plough, of boundless vigor — one attains the worlds of a giver of ten milch cows.

13.72.44 He who in the wilderness rescues Brāhmaṇas and cattle, O Kauśika, and brings them safely free — hear the fruit of his merit: his reward becomes eternal and equal to that of the horse-sacrifice.

13.72.45 At the hour of death, O thousand-eyed one, whatever state of being he longs for, whatever manifold heavenly worlds, or whatever dwells within his heart —

13.72.46 all that the man attains by that deed, and, granted favor by the cattle, he is everywhere held in honor.

13.72.47 And he who by this very rite follows the cattle into the forests, eating grass, cow-dung, and leaves, free of craving, restrained and pure —

13.72.48 that man, desireless and glad, O performer of a hundred rites, must dwell in my world together with the gods, in whatever world he may also wish.

13.73.1 Indra said: He who knowingly carries off a cow, or sells it for the sake of gain — this I wish to understand: what indeed is his destiny?

13.73.2 Brahmā said: As for those who carry off a cow — whether to eat it, to sell it, or to give it to a Brāhmaṇa — hear in this matter what the fruit shall be.

13.73.3 He who, unbridled, would slay a cow to sell it or to eat it, and those self-seeking men who would consent to the one who has it killed —

13.73.4 the slayer, the eater, and likewise he who gives his consent — for as many hairs as are upon that cow, so many years does he sink in hell.

13.73.5 Whatever faults, and of whatever kind, attach to one who ruins a twice-born's sacrifice, those very faults are declared to attach to the selling and the carrying off of a cow, O lord.

13.73.6 But he who carries off a cow and then gives it to a Brāhmaṇa — for as long as the reward of that gift would last, so long does he descend into hell.

13.73.7 Gold, they say, is the sacrificial fee in the gift of a cow, O greatly resplendent one; gold is declared the supreme thing for the purpose of the fee, beyond all doubt.

13.73.8 The gift of a cow carries across seven ancestors and seven descendants; and when gold is given as the fee, the deliverance is said to be twofold.

13.73.9 Gold is the supreme gift, gold is the highest fee; gold is purifying, O Śakra, and is reckoned the foremost among purifiers.

13.73.10 Gold they declare to be the purifier of lineages, O performer of a hundred rites; thus has the matter of the fee been told by me in brief, O greatly resplendent one.

13.73.11 Bhīṣma said: This was spoken by the Grandsire to Indra, O bull of the Bhāratas; Indra told it to Daśaratha, and the father then told it to Rāma.

13.73.12 Rāghava in turn told it to his dear brother, the glorious Lakṣmaṇa; and by Lakṣmaṇa, dwelling in the forest, it was told to the seers, O lord.

13.73.13 And this, come down through the succession, the seers of strict vows held fast though it is hard to hold, and the righteous kings likewise; and this was told to me too by my teacher, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.73.14 The Brāhmaṇa who would ever recite this in an assembly of Brāhmaṇas, at sacrifices, at the giving of cattle, and at the meeting of the two —

13.73.15 for him, they say, the worlds are imperishable forever, together with the gods — thus spoke the blessed Brahmā, the supreme lord.

13.74.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: I have been given confidence by you as you declare the dharmas, O lord; yet I shall set forth a doubt — resolve it for me, O Grandsire.

13.74.2 What reward is declared for vows, and of what kind, O greatly resplendent one? What is the reward of restraints, and what the reward of diligent study?

13.74.3 What here is the reward of self-restraint, and what in the retention of the Vedas? What is the reward in teaching them? All this I wish to know.

13.74.4 And what reward in the world is there for one who accepts no gifts, O Grandsire? And what reward, seen or heard of, for one who bestows them?

13.74.5 And what is the reward of those devoted to their own duty, and of the heroes as well? What reward is declared for truth, and what for chastity?

13.74.6 And what in the service of one's father, and likewise in the service of one's mother, in the service of preceptor and elder, in mercy and in compassion?

13.74.7 All this in full and exactly as it is, O Grandsire, I wish to know, O knower of dharma; for great is my curiosity.

13.74.8 Bhīṣma said: He who undertakes a vow exactly as it has been prescribed, unbroken and rightly begun — for him the worlds are everlasting.

13.74.9 The reward of the restraints, O king, is seen plainly here in this world; and this reward of the restraints and of the sacrifices has been won by you.

13.74.10 And the reward of diligent study too is seen both there and here; in this world he is ever possessed of substance, and in the world of Brahmā he rejoices.

13.74.11 But hear from me at length, O king, the reward of self-restraint: the self-restrained are happy everywhere, the self-restrained are everywhere at peace.

13.74.12 The self-restrained go wherever they wish and are slayers of all foes; and whatever the self-restrained seek, that they obtain — there is no doubt of it.

13.74.13 For the self-restrained are united with all desired things everywhere, O Pāṇḍava, and they rejoice in heaven through their austerity and their valor.

13.74.14 Just as the self-restrained, endowed with forbearance, prosper by gifts and by sacrifices of many kinds — yet the giver may grow angry, the self-restrained never does; therefore self-restraint is higher than giving.

13.74.15 But he who gives without growing angry — for him the worlds are everlasting; for anger destroys the gift, and therefore self-restraint is higher than giving.

13.74.16 There are unseen abodes by the tens of thousands in heaven, O great king — the abodes of the seers, to which the gods proceed throughout all the worlds.

13.74.17 To these, O lord of men, the supreme seers proceed through self-restraint, longing for that great abode; therefore self-restraint is higher than giving.

13.74.18 The teacher, through his toil, enjoys an imperishable reward, having duly offered oblation into the fire, in the world of Brahmā, O ruler of men.

13.74.19 And he who, having mastered the Vedas, imparts them to those versed in right reasoning, and who extols the duty owed to a teacher—he too is exalted in heaven.

13.74.20 The kṣatriya devoted to study, to sacrifice, and to the work of giving, who is a protector in battle—he too is exalted in heaven.

13.74.21 The vaiśya intent upon his own duty gains a great reward through giving; the śūdra intent upon his own duty attains heaven through dutiful service.

13.74.22 Heroes have been declared to be of many kinds; hear from me their meanings, and the reward set forth for those of heroic lineage and for the hero himself.

13.74.23 There are heroes in sacrifice, heroes in self-restraint, and others who are heroes in truth; men called heroes in battle, and likewise heroes in giving.

13.74.24 Others again are heroes in wisdom, and some heroes in forbearance; and there are men who are heroes in uprightness and who abide in tranquillity.

13.74.25 By this or that observance there are many other heroes besides: heroes in the study of the Vedas, and heroes devoted to teaching them.

13.74.26 Heroes in serving the teacher, others in serving the father, heroes in serving the mother, and others again heroes in the life of mendicancy.

13.74.27 Many are heroes in Sāṃkhya and others heroes in Yoga; heroes in the forest, in the household life, and in the honouring of guests—all of them attain the highest worlds, won by the fruit of their own works.

13.74.28 The retaining of all the Vedas, the bathing at every sacred ford—whether for him who ever speaks the truth these be equal or not equal.

13.74.29 A thousand horse-sacrifices and truth were weighed in the balance: truth alone outweighs a thousand horse-sacrifices.

13.74.30 By truth the Sūrya gives heat, by truth Agni blazes, by truth the wind blows; all things are established upon truth.

13.74.31 By truth one gladdens the gods, the ancestors, and the brāhmaṇas alike. Truth, they say, is the supreme dharma; therefore one should never transgress the truth.

13.74.32 The sages are devoted to truth, the sages have truth for their valour, the sages have truth for their vow; therefore truth is supreme. The truthful rejoice in the world of heaven, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.74.33 The attainment of the fruit of self-restraint and of truth has been told by me with all my heart. Beyond doubt, every man of disciplined self is exalted in heaven.

13.74.34 Now hear from me the virtues of chastity, O lord of the earth. He who in this world remains a celibate from birth until death—know, O lord of men, that for him there is nothing unattainable.

13.74.35 Many tens of millions of seers dwell in the world of Brahmā—those ever delighting in truth, the self-restrained, the keepers of upward-flowing seed.

13.74.36 Chastity, when cultivated, burns away all sins, O king—especially when cultivated by a brāhmaṇa; for the brāhmaṇa is called a very fire.

13.74.37 This too is plain to your own eyes among the brāhmaṇas and the ascetics: how Śakra trembles when assailed by a celibate. Such is the fruit of chastity seen here among the seers.

13.74.38 Hear from me too the duty that lies in honouring mother and father. He who serves his father and never in any way speaks ill of his mother, who utters no proud word against his elder or his teacher—

13.74.39 —know, O king, that his reward is the highest station in the world of heaven; the self-possessed man who serves his elders shall never behold hell.

13.75.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: I wish to hear truly the supreme ordinance concerning cows, by which we may attain in their entirety those everlasting worlds.

13.75.2 Bhīṣma said: There is nothing higher than the gift of a cow, O lord of the earth; for a cow righteously obtained and given away delivers one's whole line at once.

13.75.3 That which was rightly created for the good, fashioned aright and consecrated for the welfare of creatures—since the gift of cows has been in practice from the very first beginning, hear from me, O king, its ordinance.

13.75.4 Of old, when cows had been brought near, Bṛhaspati answered the question put to him by Māndhātṛ, who was in doubt as to what he should behold.

13.75.5 Having honoured the twice-born and having announced the time on the morrow, the man of steadfast vow should set apart a red cow for the purpose of the gift.

13.75.6 He should employ the call, 'O perfect-limbed one, O abundant one,' and entering into the midst of the cows he should recite this sacred utterance:

13.75.7 'The cow is my mother, the bull is my father; heaven is my shelter, the earth my support.' Taking refuge thus and passing the night among the cows, the silent one should let forth this speech at the giving of cows.

13.75.8 That man, for that one night a fellow and a vow-sharer of the cows, by reaching oneness with them is at once wholly freed from sin.

13.75.9 A cow whose bull and calf have been set free is to be given at the sight of the sun; and a threefold formula is to be observed—the explanatory praise, the benediction, and the hymns of laud.

13.75.10 'Rich in vigour and full of nourishing strength, they are the sacrifice, the womb of the nectar, and the support of the world; the source of prosperity upon the earth forever, born of Prajāpati'—such is the explanatory praise, comprising all.

13.75.11 'May these cows of the Sun drive away my sin, and may those of the Moon be for my journey to heaven; let those that are named grant me their shelter, and let all those unnamed be a blessing upon me.'

13.75.12 'At the giving away of all that remains, at the releasing of the body through rites, you Sarasvatī-cows are ever set toward the highest good; ever to be carried forth by holy works, grant me, you that have come, the goal I desire.'

13.75.13 'What you are, that am I—today of one single being; in giving you away I give my very self. Released from the mind yet endowed with mind, kindle me, O you of gentle form and terrible form.'

13.75.14 Thus, before him, the giver of cows should first speak the former half according to ordinance, as seen of old; and the twice-born one who knows the rite, in receiving at the gift of cows, should answer with the remaining half.

13.75.15 'I give the cow'—so should it be said by him who bestows the welcome-offering, garments, and wealth; the udder is to be kept filled, and he should declare her sacred to Viṣṇu.

13.75.16 He should proclaim her name, and reward upon reward accrues in order of number—twenty-six, and eight, and twenty thousand.

13.75.17 Thus the giver of cows wins all these growing merits of cows and the rest, in due order, complete at the eighth stage.

13.75.18 The giver of cows becomes virtuous; the giver of the welcome-offering becomes fearless; the giver of wealth ceases to be sorrowful and gains his desires; and the learned man who has borne the filled udder, O Bhārata—for all these the worlds of Viṣṇu and of the Moon are declared.

13.75.19 Having given cows, one should keep the cow-vow for three nights, and dwell here for one night among them; on the eighth day, sought of desire, one should pass three nights subsisting on the cow's juices, or on its dung, or on its milk.

13.75.20 The giver of a bull becomes a keeper of the Veda-vow; in the gift of a yoke of oxen lies the attainment of the Veda. So the sacrificer who follows the ordinance of cows wins the foremost worlds—but not he who knows not the rite.

13.75.21 He who gives away all earthly desires gathered into one, and a milch-cow that yields every wish—rightly do such cows abound in streams of offerings to gods and ancestors; and greater still is the bestowal of the bulls among them.

13.75.22 One should not impart this to a non-pupil, to one without vows, nor to the unbelieving, nor to the crooked of mind; for this is the secret dharma of all the world, and one should not babble this dharma here and there.

13.75.23 There are believing men in the world, and there are mean ones, very demons among men, to whom the giving of a gift is hateful; the unholy take refuge even in disbelief.

13.75.24 Hearing this counsel of Bṛhaspati, those kings who, having made gifts of cows, attained the worlds—holy in conduct and of good ways—hear of them, O king, as I recount them.

13.75.25 Uśīnara, Viṣvagaśva, and Nṛga; Bhagīratha, and the renowned son of Yuvanāśva; Māndhātṛ indeed, and King Mucukunda; Bhūridyumna, the lord of Niṣadha, and Somaka—

13.75.26 Purūravas, and Bharata the universal emperor, in whose line are all the Bhāratas; and the hero Rāma, son of Daśaratha; and whatever others renowned and glorious there were.

13.75.27 So too King Dilīpa of mighty deeds, knowing the ordinance of the gift of cows, attained heaven; and Māndhātṛ became great through sacrifices, gifts, austerity, the duties of kings, and through gifts of cows.

13.75.28 Therefore, O Pārtha, do you too hold fast to this teaching of Bṛhaspati that I have spoken; and gladly, having gained the kingdom of the Kurus, bestow holy cows upon the foremost of the twice-born.

13.75.29 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: So the King of Righteousness did all this, as Bhīṣma had told him, duly in the gift of cows; that king rightly upheld the dharma of Māndhātṛ, which had been taught by the god of gods.

13.75.30 Thus, O king, ever intent upon the giving of cows, drinking barley-grains together with cow-dung, sleeping upon the bare ground, wearing the tuft, self-controlled—that bull among kings became then as a bull itself.

13.75.31 That king was ever devoted to them, with mind made pure, glorifying the cows; and he yoked no cow again to the burden of royal service, but went here and there with his choicest steeds.

13.76.1 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Then King Yudhiṣṭhira the wise, O king, full of humility, asked the son of Śaṃtanu yet further about the gift of cows in its fullness.

13.76.2 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Tell me once more, O Bhārata, the merits in the gift of cows, fully; for I am not sated, O hero, listening to such nectar as this.

13.76.3 Thus addressed by the King of Righteousness, the son of Śaṃtanu, O king, then duly recounted to him the unmixed merits of the gift of cows.

13.76.4 Bhīṣma said: Giving to a brāhmaṇa such a cow—affectionate, endowed with good qualities, young, and draped with cloth—a man is freed from all his sins.

13.76.5 There are worlds called 'sunless'; into them one goes who gives a cow whose water is drunk dry, whose grass is eaten up, whose milk has failed, and whose powers are spent—

13.76.6 —worn out with age, her usefulness already taken, decrepit like a waterless well; giving such a one, he enters darkness, for he would yoke the twice-born to mere trouble.

13.76.7 A cow that is vicious, ill-tempered, diseased, or feeble, and those for which the price has not been paid, are not to be given; he who yokes a brāhmaṇa to troubles that bear no fruit—his worlds too shall be without vigour and without fruit.

13.76.8 All praise cows that are strong, endowed with good temper and right age, and sweet of scent; for as the Gaṅgā is the best of rivers, so among the white cows the tawny one is the best.

13.76.9 Yudhiṣṭhira said: When the gift of a many-coloured cow is the same, why is the gift of a tawny one extolled by the good? I wish to hear the distinction, O great-souled one; for you are able to declare it.

13.76.10 Bhīṣma said: What I have heard from the elders as they spoke, that, my son, of which you ask, I shall tell you in full—how the red cows were fashioned.

13.76.11 Commanded of old by the Self-existent, 'Create creatures,' Dakṣa first of all created their very sustenance, desiring the welfare of beings.

13.76.12 For as the dwellers in heaven subsist depending on the nectar, even so do creatures subsist depending upon their sustenance, O mighty one.

13.76.13 Than motionless beings the moving are better, and than these, men; and than these, the brāhmaṇas are best; in them the sacrifices are established.

13.76.14 By sacrifices the Soma is nourished, and that is established in the cows; all the gods rejoice, and thence creatures fare as of old.

13.76.15 Now these very beings cried aloud in longing for sustenance, and athirst they came after the giver of sustenance as toward a father and mother.

13.76.16 Pondering this in his mind, Prajāpati then, for the sake of his own creation of beings, drank the nectar that bestows strength.

13.76.17 Having come to the contentment thereof, belching forth a fragrant odour, he beheld Surabhī, the daughter born from his mouth, brought forth from his eructation.

13.76.18 And Surabhī brought forth the daughters of Surabhī, the mothers of the world—tawny cows of golden hue, the milch-cows that are the sustenance of creatures.

13.76.19 As those of nectar-hue flowed forth on every side, there arose from them a foam born of the nectar, even as the wave-born foam of streaming rivers.

13.76.20 That foam, fallen from the mouth of a calf, lighted upon the head of Bhava as he stood upon the earth; thereat the Lord, enraged, gazed upon the red cows with the eye sprung from his forehead, as though to burn them up.

13.76.21 That fierce splendour, O lord of peoples, brought the tawny cows to many-coloured hues, as the sun colours the clouds.

13.76.22 But those that drew away from it and took refuge in the Soma, abiding in their own hue as they were born, were not brought to any other colour.

13.76.23 Then Prajāpati spoke to the angry Mahādeva: 'You have been besprinkled with nectar; there is no defilement among the cows.

13.76.24 For as the Soma, having taken up the nectar, flows forth again, so do these red cows, sprung from the nectar, pour forth their milk.

13.76.25 The wind is not defiled, nor fire, nor gold, nor the ocean; nectar drunk by nectar is no defilement, and the loving cow, drunk of by her calf, is not made impure.

13.76.26 These cows shall sustain the worlds with their oblation and their milk; partake of their sovereignty, auspicious and made wholly of nectar.'

13.76.27 And Prajāpati gave him a bull together with those cows, and by that he won over the mind of Rudra, O Bhārata.

13.76.28 And Mahādeva, well pleased, then made the bull both his banner and his mount; therefore is he the Bull-bannered one.

13.76.29 Then by the gods was Mahādeva made the Lord of Beasts, Paśupati; and he, the Sovereign, is called among the cattle Vṛṣāṅka, the one whose emblem is the bull.

13.76.30 Thus the first and foremost rite in the giving of tawny cows of unblemished hue and mighty splendour is proclaimed for all of them.

13.76.31 Eldest in the worlds, set in motion to sustain the life of the worlds, joined with Rudra, born of the overflowing of Soma, gentle, holy, granters of desires and givers of life — by bestowing such cows a man becomes a giver of every wish.

13.76.32 This supreme account of the origin of cattle, the man who recites it ever pure and devoted to the highest auspiciousness is freed from the taint of the Kali age, and obtains dear sons and wealth in cattle besides.

13.76.33 Oblations to the gods, offerings to the ancestors, the libation of refreshment, rites of peace, the means of conveyance, raiment, and the nourishing of the aged and the young — all these merits of the gift of cattle, O king, the giver attains forever.

13.76.34 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Having heard the words of the grandsire, the king of Ajamīḍha's line together with his brothers — Pārtha — then gave cattle whose milk was drawn into vessels of gold and bronze to the most excellent of brāhmaṇas.

13.76.35 In the same way he bestowed upon those twice-born thousands and hundreds of cattle, intending them as sacrificial gifts at the sacrifices, in order to conquer the worlds and the highest renown.

13.77.1 Bhīṣma said: At that very time, King Saudāsa, born of the line of Ikṣvāku, the best of givers, approached Vasiṣṭha, the most excellent of seers.

13.77.2 Having saluted his household priest — the perfected one who ranges through all the worlds, the eternal treasury of sacred knowledge — he began to put this question to him.

13.77.3 Saudāsa said: In the three worlds, O blessed and sinless one, what is declared to be purifying, by ever proclaiming which a mortal might obtain the highest merit?

13.77.4 Bhīṣma said: To him who bowed before him the learned sage then spoke a wholesome word — the secret doctrine of cattle — being pure and having made obeisance to the cattle.

13.77.5 Cattle are fragrant with sweet scent and breathe the perfume of guggulu; cattle are the support of all creatures, cattle are a great means of blessing.

13.77.6 Cattle are what has been and what shall be; cattle are nourishment eternal; cattle are the root of prosperity; what is given to cattle is never lost; cattle are ever food itself, and the highest oblation of the gods.

13.77.7 The utterances svāhā and vaṣaṭ are forever established in cattle; cattle are indeed the fruit of sacrifice, and in cattle the sacrifices are grounded.

13.77.8 At evening and at dawn, constantly at the hour of oblation, O great-minded one, the cattle yield what is to be offered to the seers, O bull among men.

13.77.9 Whatever hard straits there be, and whatever evil deeds have been done, those who bestow a milch-cow cross beyond them and beyond sin itself, O lord.

13.77.10 Let the owner of ten cows give one, the owner of a hundred give ten, and the owner of a thousand give a hundred — for all of these reap an equal fruit.

13.77.11 He who keeps no sacred fire though he owns a hundred cows, he who offers no sacrifice though he owns a thousand, and the wealthy man who is yet a miser — these three deserve no offering of honour.

13.77.12 Those who bestow a tawny cow together with her calf, milked into a bronze vessel, gentle of nature and draped with cloth, conquer both worlds.

13.77.13 A young and vigorous bull, lord of the herd, leading a hundred cows, a chief among cattle with broad horns and richly adorned, given to a foremost brāhmaṇa —

13.77.14 those who bestow such a bull upon a learned reciter of the Veda, O scorcher of foes, are born to lordship again and again with each rebirth.

13.77.15 Let one not lie down to sleep without praising the cattle, nor rise again without calling them to mind; let one make obeisance to the cattle at evening and at dawn, and thereby attain prosperity.

13.77.16 Let one never feel disgust at the urine and dung of cattle, nor eat their flesh; thus does one enjoy the abundance that flows from cattle.

13.77.17 Let one ever extol the cattle and never hold them in contempt; and upon beholding an ill-omened dream, let a man at once invoke the cow.

13.77.18 Let one ever bathe with cow-dung and rest upon dried cow-dung; and let one avoid casting phlegm, urine, and ordure where cattle are, and any act of injury to them.

13.77.19 Let one eat upon a fresh hide, gazing toward the western quarter, restrained in speech, with clarified butter upon the ground; thus does one enjoy the abundance that flows from cattle.

13.77.20 Let one offer oblation to the fire with clarified butter, pronounce the benediction with clarified butter, give clarified butter and partake of clarified butter; thus does one enjoy the abundance that flows from cattle.

13.77.21 He who, having consecrated with the Gomatī hymn a cow fashioned of sesame, rich in flavour and precious as a jewel, bestows it — that man shall not grieve over what he has done or left undone.

13.77.22 May the cattle, golden-horned and pouring forth milk, the fragrant ones and the offspring of Surabhī, attend upon me as the rivers attend upon the sea.

13.77.23 May the cattle ever look upon me, and I in turn look upon the cattle; the cattle are ours and we are theirs; where the cattle are, there are we.

13.77.24 Thus by night and by day, in smooth straits and in rough, and in great perils, the man who utters this prayer is delivered from fear.

13.78.1 Vasiṣṭha said: Austerity most arduous was practised for a hundred thousand years by the cattle created of old, with the thought, "May we attain to pre-eminence."

13.78.2 "In this world may we be the highest of all sacrificial gifts, and may we not be stained by any fault" — so they resolved, O scorcher of foes.

13.78.3 He whose mind harbours an injurious intent toward them is ever defiled thereby; and with their dung let gods and men perform their rites of purification.

13.78.4 "And so may all beings, whether unmoving or moving, and those who bestow us, attain to the worlds of cattle" — thus they wished, O bestower of honour.

13.78.5 To them Brahmā himself, the Lord, at the end of their austerity granted a boon: "So be it," said the mighty one, "and may you carry beings across the worlds."

13.78.6 They rose up, seeking perfection, the mothers of all that has been and shall be — the cattle, refuge of the worlds, at the close of their austerity, O great king.

13.78.7 Therefore the cattle are most blessed and are declared the supreme means of purification; and likewise the cattle stand upon the head of all beings.

13.78.8 Having given a tawny milch-cow with a like-coloured calf, rich in milk, gentle of nature and draped with cloth, one is honoured in the world of Brahmā.

13.78.9 Having given a red milch-cow with a calf of matching hue, rich in milk, gentle of nature and draped with cloth, one is honoured in the world of Sūrya.

13.78.10 Having given a dappled milch-cow with a like-coloured calf, rich in milk, gentle of nature and draped with cloth, one is honoured in the world of Soma.

13.78.11 Having given a white milch-cow with a like-coloured calf, rich in milk, gentle of nature and draped with cloth, one is honoured in the world of Indra.

13.78.12 Having given a black milch-cow with a like-coloured calf, rich in milk, gentle of nature and draped with cloth, one is honoured in the world of Agni.

13.78.13 Having given a smoke-grey milch-cow with a like-coloured calf, rich in milk, gentle of nature and draped with cloth, one is honoured in the world of Yama.

13.78.14 Having given a cow the colour of water's foam, with her calf, milked into a bronze vessel and draped with cloth, one attains the world of Varuṇa.

13.78.15 Having given a cow the colour of wind-blown dust, with her calf, milked into a bronze vessel and draped with cloth, one is honoured in the world of Vāyu.

13.78.16 Having given a golden-hued, tawny-eyed cow with her calf, milked into a bronze vessel and draped with cloth, one attains the world of Kubera.

13.78.17 Having given a cow the smoky colour of straw, with her calf, milked into a bronze vessel and draped with cloth, one is honoured in the world of the ancestors.

13.78.18 Having given a plump cow with her calf, white-throated and adorned, one attains the excellent and unconfined abode of the All-Gods.

13.78.19 Having given a fair-white milch-cow with a like-coloured calf, rich in milk, gentle of nature and draped with cloth, one attains the world of the Vasus.

13.78.20 Having given a cow the colour of a pale woollen blanket, with her calf, milked into a bronze vessel and draped with cloth, one attains the world of the Sādhyas.

13.78.21 Having given a bull with a broad, sapphire-dark back, adorned with every jewel, one attains the ageless worlds of the Maruts.

13.78.22 Having given a dark-bodied cow furnished with a calf and decked with every jewel, a man attains the worlds of the Gandharvas and Apsarases.

13.78.23 Having given a white-throated ox adorned with every jewel, one attains the worlds of Prajāpati, free from sorrow.

13.78.24 The man devoted to the giving of cattle, cleaving through the gathered banks of clouds, journeys in a celestial chariot of the sun's hue, shining radiant in the sky, O king.

13.78.25 A thousand fair women of comely raiment and lovely hips delight that man, O best of men, who is devoted to the giving of cattle.

13.78.26 By the strains of vīṇās and lutes, by the tinkling of anklets, and by the laughter of doe-eyed maidens, he is awakened when he sleeps.

13.78.27 For as many hairs as there are upon the milch-cow, for so many years is he honoured in heaven; and even when he falls from heaven, he is then born again in the world of men in a family rich in cattle.

13.79.1 Vasiṣṭha said: The cattle that yield clarified butter and milk, that are the womb of butter and the source of butter, that are rivers of butter and whirlpools of butter — may they ever dwell in my house.

13.79.2 May butter be ever in my heart, may butter be established in my navel, may butter be in all my limbs, and may butter abide in my mind.

13.79.3 May the cattle be ever before me, may the cattle be behind me, may the cattle be on every side of me; in the midst of cattle do I dwell.

13.79.4 Having sipped water, let a man recite this ever at evening and at dawn; from whatever sin he commits by day, from that he is wholly freed.

13.79.5 Where there are golden palaces, where flows that Stream of Wealth, where dwell the Gandharvas and Apsarases — thither go those who give a thousand cows.

13.79.6 Where rivers flow with mire of fresh butter, with milk for their waters, thick with curds for moss — thither go those who give a thousand cows.

13.79.7 He who, according to the ordinance, bestows a hundred thousand cattle, having attained the highest prosperity, is honoured in the world of cattle.

13.79.8 After death he upholds ten ancestors on either side, of his mother's and his father's line, in the worlds of the virtuous, and that man sanctifies his whole family.

13.79.9 He who gives a cow of sesame, equal in measure to a milch-cow, and likewise gives water to drink, comes to no torment whatever in the realm of Yama.

13.79.10 The foremost means of purification, the support of the world, the immeasurable mothers of the dwellers in heaven — let one touch them reverently, walk about them keeping them on the right, and give to a worthy recipient, having regarded the fitting time.

13.79.11 Having given a tawny milch-cow with her calf, with broad horns, milked into bronze and draped with an upper garment, a man passes free from fear through that hall of Yama which is otherwise so hard to traverse.

13.79.12 "The fair-formed, the many-formed, and the all-formed mothers — may the cattle attend upon me" — thus let one ever proclaim.

13.79.13 There is no gift more holy than this, no fruit more holy than this; nor can any being arise in the worlds more excellent than this.

13.79.14 With hide, with hair, with horns and tail, with milk and with fat, all together they sustain the sacrifice — what is there greater than they?

13.79.15 That milch-cow by whom all this world of moving and unmoving things is pervaded — her I revere with bowed head, the mother of what has been and what shall be.

13.79.16 This, O best of men, is but one portion of the gathered recital of the cattle's virtues, proclaimed by me to thee; for there is here no gift higher than cattle, nor any other refuge like to them.

13.79.17 Bhīṣma said: Reflecting that the seer's choice words were the highest truth, that great-souled king, his self subdued, then bestowed upon the twice-born very many herds of cattle, and won the worlds thereby.

13.80.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: That which is the purest of pure things, and which is supreme in the world, and the highest sanctifier of all — tell me of that, O grandsire.

13.80.2 Bhīṣma said: Cattle are of great worth and are holy, and they carry men across; and these creatures they sustain with their milk and with the oblation.

13.80.3 There is nothing more holy than cattle, O best of the Bhāratas; they are pure and holy, unsurpassed throughout the three worlds.

13.80.4 And above even the gods the cattle have their dwelling; and by bestowing them, O lord of men, the wise go forth to heaven.

13.80.5 Māndhātṛ son of Yuvanāśva, and Yayāti, and Nahuṣa — these, ever giving cattle measured by hundreds of thousands, attained the supreme abode that is hard to win even for the gods.

13.80.6 And on this matter I shall recount to you a tale of olden days, O sinless one.

13.80.7 The wise Śuka, having saluted Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana, foremost among the sages, and having performed the daily rites, pure and earnest of mind, questioned his father, who had beheld the higher and lower worlds.

13.80.8 Which sacrifice is held to be the most excellent of all sacrifices? And by doing what do the wise attain the highest heaven?

13.80.9 By what purifying thing, O mighty one, do the gods enjoy heaven? And wherein lies the sacrificial essence of a sacrifice, and upon what is sacrifice established?

13.80.10 What is the highest of gifts, and what beyond that is the supreme rite of offering? And what is the purest of pure things — tell me that, O sinless one.

13.80.11 Hearing these words, Vyāsa, supreme knower of dharma, told his son all of it truly, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.80.12 Vyāsa said: The cows are the foundation of all beings, and the cows are their refuge; the cows are holy and pure, the very means of purification and dharma itself.

13.80.13 In ancient times the cows were hornless, so we have heard; and to gain horns they worshipped the imperishable Lord.

13.80.14 Then Brahmā, beholding the cows seated in fasting devotion, the Lord granted to each of those cows, one by one, the boon they desired.

13.80.15 Horns arose upon them, for each according to her heart's wish; and bearing horns of varied hues, they shone resplendent, O dear son.

13.80.16 Blessed by Brahmā with boons, those auspicious cows became the givers of oblations to gods and ancestors — holy, pure, fortunate, marked with divine form and feature. The cows possess a great and divine splendour, and the gift of cows is extolled.

13.80.17 Those righteous men, free of envy, who bestow these cows are called doers of merit and givers of every gift; and they attain the holy world of the cows, O sinless one.

13.80.18 There the trees bear honeyed fruit and are laden with divine blossoms and fruit, and there are fragrant celestial flowers, O best of the twice-born.

13.80.19 The whole ground is wrought of gems, its sand fine gold; everywhere soft to the touch, free of mire, free of dust, and lovely.

13.80.20 There the pools shine, set about with groves of red lotuses and with golden, jewel-stemmed stalks, gleaming like the newly-risen sun.

13.80.21 And with lakes thick with many lotuses, their leaves of priceless gems, their filaments gleaming like gold, mingled with blue water-lilies.

13.80.22 They are adorned with blossoming oleander groves girdled by a thousand eddies, with flowering saṃtānaka groves, and with fair trees.

13.80.23 And there the rivers cast up sand-banks heaped with spotless pearls, with gems of great worth, and with pure gold.

13.80.24 They are studded with wondrous peaks of every jewel, with lofty mountains, and with others of pure gold radiant as fire.

13.80.25 There are golden mountains, masses of rock of gems and jewels, that shine with lovely upraised peaks made of every precious stone.

13.80.26 There the trees, ever in flower and fruit, throng with birds, bearing blossoms and fruits of divine fragrance and savour, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.80.27 There the doers of holy deeds disport themselves forever, O Yudhiṣṭhira, every desire fulfilled, free of sorrow, their wrath departed.

13.80.28 In gorgeous and delightful aerial cars, O Bhārata, the glorious doers of holy deeds rejoice, roaming at their pleasure.

13.80.29 And fair throngs of apsarases sport before them, O king. Such worlds does one attain by the gift of a cow, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.80.30 May those cows, of whom Pūṣan is lord, and the mighty, powerful Wind, and king Varuṇa over their abundance, the bearers of the yoke, protect me.

13.80.31 "The mothers, fair of form, of many forms, of every form, born of Prajāpati" — thus, O brāhmaṇa, let one of disciplined vows recite daily.

13.80.32 And to him who serves the cows and waits upon them in every way, they, well pleased, grant boons even hard to obtain.

13.80.33 Let one bear no malice toward cows even in thought, for they are the givers of happiness; let one ever revere them and honour them with salutations. Self-controlled and glad of heart, one thus enjoys the rich reward of the cows.

13.80.34 That purifier by which the gods enjoy the highest world, the purest of pure things — that clarified butter let one bear upon one's head.

13.80.35 With clarified butter let one offer to the fire, with clarified butter pronounce the blessing; let one taste it and bestow it — thus one enjoys the rich reward of the cows.

13.80.36 For three days let one drink the warm urine of cows, for three days drink their warm milk; having drunk the warm milk for three days, let one drink the warm clarified butter for three days; and having drunk the warm butter for three days, let one live for three days on air alone.

13.80.37 And living for a month on a handful of barley-gruel made from barley trodden out by cows, one is cleansed of every sin, even one equal to the slaying of a brāhmaṇa.

13.80.38 This rite of purification was performed by the gods for the undoing of the daityas; and thereby the mighty ones attained godhood and were made perfect.

13.80.39 The cows are pure and holy, the supreme and mighty means of purification; and by bestowing them upon the twice-born, a man attains heaven.

13.80.40 Made pure, in the midst of cows let one recite the Gomatī hymn in mind; having sipped purified water, he becomes pure and spotless.

13.80.41 In the midst of the fire, in the midst of cows, and in the assembly of brāhmaṇas — the brāhmaṇas, accomplished in knowledge, the Veda, and vows, doers of holy deeds —

13.80.42 should teach their pupils the Gomatī hymn, deemed equal to a sacrifice. Having fasted for three nights and heard the Gomatī, one obtains a boon.

13.80.43 He who longs for a son obtains a son, and wealth besides; she who longs for a husband obtains a husband; and a man obtains all his desires. The cows, when served, well pleased, bestow these things — there is no doubt.

13.80.44 Thus know these glorious ones, fit for sacrifice, granters of every desire, to be the Rohiṇīs; there is nothing higher than they.

13.80.45 Thus addressed by his great-souled father, Śuka of mighty splendour ever honoured the cows; therefore do you too honour them.

13.81.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: I have heard that the dung of cows is graced by Śrī. This I wish to hear, for herein my doubt is great.

13.81.2 Bhīṣma said: On this too they recount an ancient tale, O king — a colloquy between the cows and Śrī, O best of the Bhāratas.

13.81.3 Śrī, having assumed a lovely form, entered into the midst of the cows; and the cows, beholding the perfection of her beauty, were amazed.

13.81.4 The cows said: Who are you, O goddess, and whence have you come, peerless in beauty upon the earth? We are amazed, O glorious one, at the perfection of your beauty.

13.81.5 We wish to know you: who are you, and whither will you go? Tell us all this truly, O you of golden lustre.

13.81.6 Śrī said: I am the beloved of the worlds, blessings upon you; I am renowned here by the name of Śrī. The daityas, forsaken by me, have perished for everlasting years.

13.81.7 Indra, Vivasvat, Soma, and Viṣṇu, the waters and Agni too, the sages and the gods — all whom I attend upon prosper.

13.81.8 And those whom I hate, O cows, perish utterly; bereft of dharma, wealth, and pleasure, they become beset with misery.

13.81.9 Know me, O cows, to be of such power, the bestower of happiness; and I desire to dwell within you all forever. I have come beseeching: be graced with Śrī, O sinless ones.

13.81.10 The cows said: You are unsteady and fickle, shared in common with many; we do not desire you. Blessings upon you — go where it pleases you.

13.81.11 We are all comely of body; what need have we of you today? Go wherever you wish; we are well content without you.

13.81.12 Śrī said: Is this seemly of you, O cows, that you do not welcome me here? Why do you not now receive me, hard to win as I am?

13.81.13 And there is a true saying current in the world, O you of good vows, which holds for certain: "What comes of itself is held in contempt."

13.81.14 Having wrought great and fierce austerity, men attend upon me — gods, dānavas, and gandharvas, piśācas, serpents, and rākṣasas.

13.81.15 It is fitting for you, O cows: receive me here. For I am not to be slighted, O gentle ones, throughout the three worlds with all that moves and is still.

13.81.16 The cows said: We do not slight you, O goddess, nor do we hold you in contempt; you are unsteady and fickle of mind, and for that reason we shun you.

13.81.17 What need of many words here? Go where you will. We are all comely of body; what need have we of you, O sinless one?

13.81.18 Śrī said: I shall be despised in all the worlds, O bestowers of honour, if I am refused by you. Show me your grace.

13.81.19 Glorious are you and worthy refuges; deliver me, who have come for shelter, who devote myself to you forever and am blameless. I desire your regard always, O auspicious ones.

13.81.20 I wish to dwell even in some one part of you, however lowly. Yet there is nothing lowly to be seen in your limbs, O sinless ones.

13.81.21 Holy, pure, and fortunate ones, grant me your bidding; in which part I am to dwell, that you should declare to me.

13.81.22 Bhīṣma said: Thus addressed, those auspicious cows, tender with compassion, having taken counsel together, all spoke to Śrī, O lord of men.

13.81.23 You must surely be honoured by us, O glorious one; dwell within our dung and urine, for this is holy in us, O auspicious one.

13.81.24 Śrī said: Happily have you shown me grace, full of favour. So be it; blessings upon you. I am honoured, O bestowers of happiness.

13.81.25 Bhīṣma said: Having thus made her compact with the cows, O Bhārata, Śrī vanished then and there, even as they looked on.

13.81.26 Thus, my son, has the greatness of cow-dung been recounted to you; and now hear further of the greatness of the cows as I tell it.

13.82.1 Bhīṣma said: Those who bestow cows, and those who eat only what remains after the oblation, possess the merit of sacrificial rites and sacrifices perpetually, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.82.2 Without curds and clarified butter no sacrifice can proceed; therein lies the sacrificial essence of a sacrifice, and herein its very root is seen.

13.82.3 Of all gifts whatsoever, the gift of cows is extolled; the cows are most excellent and pure, and this is the supreme means of purification.

13.82.4 For prosperity let one serve them, and for peace as well — those whose milk, curds, and clarified butter release one from all sin.

13.82.5 The cows are declared the supreme splendour in this world and the next; there is nothing more purifying than cows, O bull among men.

13.82.6 On this too they recount an ancient tale — a colloquy between the Grandsire and Indra, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.82.7 When the daityas had been vanquished and Śakra was lord of the three worlds, all creatures throve, devoted to truth and dharma.

13.82.8 Then the sages with the gandharvas, the kiṃnaras, serpents, and rākṣasas, the gods, asuras, and suparṇas, and the lords of creatures — once upon a time, O Kauravya, they waited upon the Grandsire.

13.82.9 Nārada and Parvata, Viśvāvasu, Hāhā, and Hūhū, singing in divine melodies, waited upon that Lord.

13.82.10 There the wind wafted celestial flowers, and the seasons too brought fragrant blossoms each in turn.

13.82.11 In that gathering of the gods, that assembly of all beings, resounding with celestial instruments and thronged with divine women and cāraṇas, Indra, having saluted and bowed to the Lord of gods, asked him:

13.82.12 O blessed Grandsire, wherefore is the world of cows set above that of the gods, the lords of the worlds? This I wish to know.

13.82.13 What austerity or chastity, O Lord, was performed by the cows here, that they dwell in joy, free of passion, above the gods?

13.82.14 Then Brahmā said to Śakra, the slayer of Bala: The cows have ever been slighted by you, O slayer of Bala.

13.82.15 Because of this you do not know the greatness of these cows; hear it, O lord. Learn the supreme power and majesty of cattle, O bull among the gods.

13.82.16 Cows are declared to be a limb of sacrifice, indeed the very sacrifice itself, O Vāsava; and without them no sacrifice could ever proceed at all.

13.82.17 They sustain living beings with their milk and with the oblation; and their offspring too apply themselves to the labor of the plow.

13.82.18 They bring forth grains and seeds of many kinds; from these the sacrifices proceed, and the offerings to the gods and to the ancestors in every form.

13.82.19 Milk, curds, and clarified butter—holy are these cows, O lord of the gods; and tormented by hunger and thirst they bear burdens of every kind.

13.82.20 By their toil they sustain the sages here and all living beings as well, O Vāsava; drawing their loads with guileless hearts, and by their meritorious deeds, they dwell forever above even us.

13.82.21 This, O Śakra, is the reason I have now told you why the abode of cattle lies above even the gods, O lord of a hundred sacrifices.

13.82.22 For these cows are both granted by boon and themselves bestowers of boons, O Vāsava—daughters of Surabhī, doers of holy deeds, purifying, and marked with auspicious signs.

13.82.23 And for what reason the daughters of Surabhī attained the rank of cattle, O best of the gods—hear that too in full as I tell it, O slayer of Bala.

13.82.24 Of old, in the age of the gods, dear one, when the great-souled lords of the Daityas were ruling the three worlds, Viṣṇu entered the womb.

13.82.25 While Aditi was practicing fearsome and most difficult austerity, standing ever upon a single foot for the sake of a son, O best of the immortals—

13.82.26 and seeing that great goddess engaged in mighty austerity, the goddess who was Dakṣa's daughter, Surabhī by name,

13.82.27 in gladness, devoted to dharma, performed a fearsome austerity upon the lovely peak of Kailāsa, frequented by gods and Gandharvas.

13.82.28 Established in supreme yoga, she stood upon a single foot for ten thousand years and ten hundred years besides.

13.82.29 Scorched by the heat of her austerity, the gods together with the sages and the great serpents went there with me and waited upon that auspicious one.

13.82.30 Then I spoke there to that goddess girt with austerity: 'For what purpose, O goddess, do you practice this fearsome austerity, O blameless one?'

13.82.31 'I am pleased with you, O fortunate one, by this austerity, O lovely one; choose a boon, O goddess, for I am ready to grant it'—so said Brahmā, O Purandara.

13.82.32 Surabhī said: By a boon, O blessed one, my purpose is fulfilled, O grandsire of the worlds; this very thing is my boon today—that you are pleased with me, O sinless one.

13.82.33 Brahmā said: To the goddess Surabhī, who spoke thus, O lord of the thirty gods, I made reply—learn now what I said, O king of the gods, O consort of Śacī.

13.82.34 'By your freedom from greed and desire, O goddess, and by your holy austerity, I am well pleased; therefore I grant you the boon of immortality.'

13.82.35 'Above even the three worlds shall you dwell, and by my favor that place shall become renowned as the World of Cattle, Goloka.'

13.82.36 'And your sons, doing their work among men, and all your daughters too shall dwell there, O fortunate one.'

13.82.37 'Whatever enjoyments, divine and human, you conceive in your mind, and whatever happiness of heaven there is, O goddess—all that shall be yours, O auspicious one.'

13.82.38 Her worlds, O thousand-eyed one, are furnished with every desire; there death does not advance, nor old age, nor fire; no misery and nothing inauspicious is found there, O Vāsava.

13.82.39 There are divine forests there, and divine dwellings, and well-appointed celestial chariots that go where one wishes, O Vāsava.

13.82.40 By holy vows of many kinds, by frequenting sacred fords, by great austerity, and by good works, Goloka can be attained, O lotus-eyed one.

13.82.41 All this I have declared to you, O Śakra, who asked of it; you must show no contempt for cattle, O slayer of foes.

13.82.42 Bhīṣma said: Having heard this, the thousand-eyed one ever honored cattle and always held them in high esteem, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.82.43 All this I have told you, purifying and of great splendor; the supremely holy and highest greatness of cattle has been proclaimed, O tiger among men—a thing that destroys all sins.

13.82.44 Whoever, with collected mind, recounts this always to the brāhmaṇas—at the offerings to gods and ancestors, at sacrifices, and at the rites for the fathers—an imperishable reward fulfilling every desire awaits his ancestors.

13.82.45 The man devoted to cattle obtains whatever he desires; and women too who are devoted to cattle attain their wishes.

13.82.46 He who longs for a son obtains a son; the maiden gains a husband; he who seeks wealth gains riches; he who seeks dharma attains dharma.

13.82.47 He who seeks knowledge attains knowledge; he who seeks happiness attains happiness; for him who is devoted to cattle nothing is hard to win, O descendant of Bharata.

13.83.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: The grandsire has declared this—that the gift of cattle is unsurpassed, and especially so for kings who keep their gaze upon dharma.

13.83.2 For kingship is unceasing sorrow, and the orders of life are very hard to know; with a great retinue comes grief, hard to bear for those whose souls are unperfected; and most often no auspicious destiny is found for kings.

13.83.3 They are surely purified herein who bestow the gift of land; and the duties you have already related to me before, O joy of the Kurus.

13.83.4 Just so the gift of cattle was extolled by you, as it was shown of old by King Nṛga and by the sage Nāciketa.

13.83.5 And in the Vedas and the Upaniṣads, in all rites the sacrificial fee is enjoined, and in all sacrifices: land, cattle, and gold.

13.83.6 Therein the supreme scriptural teaching is that gold is the fitting fee; this I wish to hear, O grandsire, exactly as it is.

13.83.7 What is gold, how did it come to be, in what age, and of what nature? What is its gift, what is its fruit, and why is it called the highest?

13.83.8 Why do the wise honor the gift of gold, and why is it commended as the fee in the rites of sacrifice?

13.83.9 And why is gold the most purifying—above land and above cattle—and supreme as a sacrificial fee? Tell me this, O grandsire.

13.83.10 Bhīṣma said: Listen attentively, O king, to the full account of its many causes—the origin of gold and what I myself have experienced.

13.83.11 My father, the greatly resplendent Śaṃtanu, had passed away; wishing to perform his śrāddha rite, I came to the Gate of Gaṅgā.

13.83.12 Having arrived there, my son, I began the śrāddha rite for my father, and my mother Jāhnavī then lent me her aid.

13.83.13 Then, having seated before me many sages perfected in austerity, I began the rites, beginning with the offering of water.

13.83.14 Having completed that preliminary rite as prescribed, with collected mind I set about offering the funeral oblation rightly, in due order.

13.83.15 Then, breaking through that arrangement of darbha grass, an arm rose up, adorned with a lovely armlet and with pendent ornaments, O lord of peoples.

13.83.16 Seeing it risen up, I fell into utter astonishment, thinking, 'It is my father in person, come to receive the offering,' O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.83.17 Then my reason returned to me, and reflecting upon the scriptures I thought: 'This rule is not enjoined in the Vedas—that the offering be placed into a hand'; and this conviction arose in me, O lord.

13.83.18 'A man's fathers, being hidden from sight, do not anywhere receive it directly; it is thus enjoined that the rice-ball be offered upon the kuśa grass.'

13.83.19 Then, disregarding the appearance of my father's hand, mindful of the subtle rule on the authority of scripture, O king—

13.83.20 I offered all of it upon the darbha grass, O bull of the Bhāratas, following the path of scripture; know this, O bull among men.

13.83.21 Thereupon that arm of my father vanished, O ruler of men; and then the fathers showed themselves to me at the close of a dream.

13.83.22 And being well pleased they said to me: 'We are pleased, O bull of the Bhāratas, by this discernment of yours, in that you are not led astray from dharma.'

13.83.23 'For by making scripture your authority herein, O king, you have honored—as the great sages do—the self, dharma, sacred learning, the Vedas, and the fathers.'

13.83.24 'The grandsire Brahmā himself, the teachers, and Prajāpati have been upheld as authority, and the established order has not been shaken.'

13.83.25 'This rite has been rightly begun by you today, O bull of the Bhāratas; but for the sake of land and cattle, let gold be given.'

13.83.26 'Thus shall we, and dharma, and all our forefathers be purified; for that is the highest purification.'

13.83.27 'Those who bestow gold carry across ten ancestors before them and ten descendants after'—thus did my fathers speak to me.

13.83.28 Then, awakened in astonishment, O king, O lord of peoples, I set my mind upon the gift of gold, O best of the Bhāratas.

13.83.29 Hear too this ancient tale, O king, concerning the son of Jamadagni, O mighty one—a tale that bestows fortune and long life.

13.83.30 By Rāma, the son of Jamadagni, filled with fierce wrath, the earth was made bereft of warriors thrice seven times of old.

13.83.31 Then, having conquered the whole earth, the lotus-eyed hero Rāma performed a sacrifice honored by brāhmaṇas and kṣatriyas alike.

13.83.32 A horse-sacrifice, O great king, furnished with every desired thing, purifying to all beings and enhancing splendor and luster.

13.83.33 Though already free of sin, that resplendent son of Jamadagni did not, even by the fruit of that sacrifice, reach lightness in his own esteem.

13.83.34 Having worshipped with that most excellent, fee-laden sacrifice, the great-souled scion of Bhṛgu questioned the sages and the gods, who were learned in scripture.

13.83.35 'Let it be told, O greatly fortunate ones, what is the supreme purification for men engaged in dread and violent deeds'—so spoke he in whom compassion had arisen.

13.83.36 Vasiṣṭha said: They who give gold bestow the very gods; for Agni is all the gods, and gold is of that same essence.

13.83.37 Therefore by him who gives gold all the gods are given, O tiger among men; for they know of nothing higher than this.

13.83.38 And learn yet further the greatness of gold as I tell it, O sage among brāhmaṇas, O best of all who bear weapons.

13.83.39 This I heard of old in the ancient lore, O joy of the Bhṛgus, as the Prajāpati Manu, the self-existent, related it.

13.83.40 It concerns the trident-bearing lord, the great-souled Rudra, upon the most excellent mountain Himavat, O upholder of the Bhṛgu line.

13.83.41 When the wedding of the goddess Rudrāṇī had been accomplished, O joy of the Bhṛgus, and the great-souled lord came together with the goddess, then all the gods, deeply agitated, approached the lord.

13.83.42 Having propitiated with bowed heads the seated Mahādeva and the boon-granting goddess Umā, they all spoke to Rudra, O upholder of the Bhṛgus.

13.83.43 'This union of yours with the goddess, O sinless god—of you, an ascetic, with her, an ascetic; of you, supremely fiery, with her, the fiery one—O god, your fire is unfailing, and so too is this goddess Umā.'

13.83.44 'The offspring of you two, O god, will be mighty, O lord; surely it will leave nothing remaining in the three worlds.'

13.83.45 'Therefore to these gods who bow before you, O broad-eyed one, grant a boon, O lord of the worlds, out of desire for the welfare of the three worlds: for the sake of progeny, restrain your blazing, supreme seed.'

13.83.46 As they spoke thus, the blessed lord whose banner bears the bull replied to those gods, O sage among brāhmaṇas: 'So be it.'

13.83.47 Having said this, the bull-borne lord drew his seed upward; and from that time forth he became one whose seed flows upward.

13.83.48 Then Rudrāṇī, enraged that the begetting of offspring had thus been cut off, spoke to the gods, in her womanly nature, harsh words.

13.83.49 "Because my husband, who longed for offspring, has been turned from his purpose, therefore all of you gods shall be without progeny.

13.83.50 Since the cutting off of my offspring has been wrought by you this day, therefore, O sky-rangers, none of you shall have progeny."

13.83.51 But Pāvaka was not present there at the time of the curse, O scion of Bhṛgu; and so, by the goddess's curse, the gods became without offspring.

13.83.52 Rudra, meanwhile, held back that incomparable seed; yet something of it spilled forth from him and fell there upon the earth.

13.83.53 That fell then into the fire and grew, a thing of wondrous likeness; radiance mingled with radiance, and so came to share a single source.

13.83.54 At this very time the gods, with Śakra at their head, were grievously tormented by an asura named Tāraka.

13.83.55 The Ādityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the Maruts, and the two Aśvins, and all the Sādhyas, were terrified by the prowess of that descendant of Diti.

13.83.56 For the abodes of the gods, their celestial chariots and cities, and the hermitages of the sages too were seized by the asuras.

13.83.57 All of them, downcast in heart—the gods and the sages alike—went for refuge to the god Brahmā, the undecaying lord.

13.84.1 The gods said: "An asura named Tāraka, to whom you granted a boon, O Lord, afflicts the gods and the sages; let his slaying be ordained.

13.84.2 From him terror has arisen for us, O Grandsire; save us, O god, for we have no other refuge."

13.84.3 Brahmā said: "I am equal toward all beings, and I take no pleasure in unrighteousness; let Tāraka, the oppressor of the hosts of gods and sages, be slain swiftly.

13.84.4 The Vedas and the laws of dharma must not go to ruin, O best of gods; this matter has already been provided for by me—let your fever pass away.

13.84.5 The gods said: "By the granting of your boon, O blessed one, the son of Diti is proud of his strength; he cannot be slain by the gods—how then shall he be brought to an end?

13.84.6 For he obtained from you, O Grandsire, the boon: 'May I be slayable neither by the gods, nor by the asuras, nor by the rākṣasas.'

13.84.7 And the gods were cursed by Rudrāṇī, when the cutting off of her offspring was wrought of old: 'You shall have no progeny,' O lord of all the worlds."

13.84.8 Brahmā said: "Hutāśana was not present there at the time of the curse, O best of gods; he shall beget offspring for the slaying of the foes of the Thirty.

13.84.9 That offspring, surpassing all—gods, dānavas, and rākṣasas, men and gandharvas, nāgas and birds—

13.84.10 with a weapon of unfailing aim, with his spear, shall slay him from whom your terror has arisen, and whatever other foes of the gods there be.

13.84.11 For the eternal Resolve is named Kāma; and the seed of Rudra spilled forth and fell into the fire.

13.84.12 That radiance, become a mighty being, like a second Fire, Agni shall bring to birth in the Gaṅgā for the slaying of the foes of the gods.

13.84.13 He, the eater of oblations, did not incur that curse, for he had vanished at the time; therefore, O gods, the son of Pāvaka shall arise as the remover of your fear.

13.84.14 Let the Burning One be sought out, then, and appointed this day to the task; the means of Tāraka's slaying has been told you by me, O sinless ones.

13.84.15 For curses do not prevail over the radiance of the radiant; lesser powers, when they meet a greater power, become powerless indeed.

13.84.16 Kāma, who is delight in resolve, the most ancient Fire, could slay even the unslayable, the granters of boons, and the ascetics.

13.84.17 He is the lord of the world, indefinable, all-pervading, the source of all being, the one who dwells in the hearts of all creatures, the eldest, a lord mightier even than Rudra.

13.84.18 Let him be sought out swiftly, Hutāśana, that mass of radiance; that god shall fulfill the desire that lies in your hearts."

13.84.19 Having heard this speech of the great-souled one, the gods then went forth, their resolve made firm, searching for Vibhāvasu.

13.84.20 Then the sages, together with the gods, searched through the three worlds, longing for the sight of Vahni, all with their minds fixed upon him.

13.84.21 Endowed with the highest austerity, glorious, renowned throughout the worlds, the perfected ones all ranged across the worlds, O scion of Bhṛgu; yet they did not find Hutāśana, who had vanished, withdrawn into himself.

13.84.22 Then to those who were stricken with terror and yearning for the sight of Agni, a frog, a water-dweller, weary in spirit and scorched by the radiance of Agni, rose up from the depths of the nether region and spoke to the gods:

13.84.23 "In the depths of the nether region, O gods, dwells Agni, O lord; I have come here driven by the burning that springs from Pāvaka.

13.84.24 He, the blessed Havyavāhana, lies asleep in the water, O gods; mingling the waters with his radiance, he has scorched us by it.

13.84.25 If the sight of him, of Vibhāvasu, is your wish, O gods, go to him there, if you have business with Vahni.

13.84.26 Let it be gone to; as for us, we shall make our escape from the fear of Agni, O gods." Having said only this, the frog hastily entered the water.

13.84.27 But Hutāśana perceived the frog's treachery, and, coming upon him, cursed him: "You shall know no flavors."

13.84.28 Having bound the frog with that curse, the all-pervading Pāvaka went elsewhere to dwell, and did not show himself to the gods.

13.84.29 But the gods bestowed a favor upon the frogs, O scion of Bhṛgu; hear it all from me as I tell it, O mighty-armed one.

13.84.30 The gods said: "Though tongueless and cut off from the knowledge of flavors by Agni's curse, you shall utter speech of many kinds.

13.84.31 Even when you dwell in holes, foodless and senseless, even when lifeless and dried up, the earth shall sustain you; and you shall roam abroad even in the darkness-shrouded night."

13.84.32 Having spoken thus to them, the gods then ranged once more over this earth for the sake of the Burning One, yet they did not find Hutāśana.

13.84.33 Then a certain elephant, like unto the elephant of the king of the gods, said this to them, O scion of Bhṛgu: "Agni dwells within the aśvattha tree."

13.84.34 The Burning One, overcome with wrath, cursed all the elephants: "Your tongue shall be turned backward," O scion of Bhṛgu.

13.84.35 Having said this, Agni, betrayed by the elephant, came forth from the aśvattha; then Vahni entered the womb of the śamī tree, desiring to sleep.

13.84.36 Hear now the favor that the gods, whose valor is truth, bestowed, well pleased, upon the elephants, O lord, O best of Bhṛgu's line.

13.84.37 The gods said: "Even with your backward-turned tongue you shall take all your food, and you shall utter a voice aloud, with unarticulated sound." Having said this, the dwellers of heaven once more went in pursuit of Agni.

13.84.38 And Agni, having come forth from the aśvattha, had then entered the womb of the śamī; betrayed by a parrot, O brāhmaṇa, the gods rushed upon him.

13.84.39 But Agni cursed the parrot: "You shall be bereft of speech"; and the eater of oblations then turned that one's tongue backward too.

13.84.40 But the gods, seeing the Burning One, spoke to the parrot, filled with compassion: "You shall not, O bird, be wholly deprived of speech.

13.84.41 Though your tongue is turned backward, your speech shall be lovely—soft, indistinct, and wondrous, like that of a grown person who yet speaks as a child."

13.84.42 Having said this, and beholding Vahni within the womb of the śamī, the gods made that very tree his holy abode for all sacred rites.

13.84.43 From that time forth Agni is found within the wombs of the śamī, and men too followed this means for the kindling of fire.

13.84.44 Those waters in the nether region that were mingled with Citrabhānu, O Bhārgava, release their heat through the springs of the mountains, scorched as they were by the radiance of Pāvaka, who lay couched within them.

13.84.45 Then Agni, seeing the gods, became troubled, and Pāvaka asked them thus: "What is the purpose of your coming?"

13.84.46 All the wise ones and those supreme sages said to him: "We would appoint you to a task; you ought to perform it; and when it is done, a great benefit shall accrue to you as well."

13.84.47 Agni said: "Tell me what your task is; I shall do it all, O gods; for I am yours to command—let there be no hesitation in you over this."

13.84.48 The gods said: "An asura named Tāraka, made proud by Brahmā's boon, oppresses us by his might; let his slaying be ordained.

13.84.49 Save these hosts of gods, dear one, and the hosts of the Prajāpatis, and the greatly blessed sages too, O Pāvaka.

13.84.50 Beget an offspring endowed with radiance, a great hero, O lord, who shall destroy the fear we have from that asura, O Havyavāhana.

13.84.51 For us, cursed by the great Goddess, there is no other refuge than your valor; therefore deliver us from this peril."

13.84.52 Thus addressed, the blessed bearer of oblations to gods and ancestors said "So be it," and that one hard to assail went then toward the Gaṅgā, the daughter of Bhagīratha.

13.84.53 He mingled with her, and an embryo formed within her then; and that embryo grew, as the fire whose path is black grows in dry brushwood.

13.84.54 By the radiance of that embryo Gaṅgā, her senses overwhelmed, came to a fierce burning, and she could not endure it.

13.84.55 When the embryo, charged with radiance, had been placed by the Burning One in Gaṅgā, a certain asura let loose a terrible roar.

13.84.56 At that vast roar, fallen upon her unawares, Gaṅgā—her eyes wide with terror and rolling, her gaze swimming, her senses gone—was unable to hold the embryo within herself.

13.84.57 Then Jāhnavī, her limbs encompassed by radiance and trembling, overborne by the embryo, spoke these words, O brāhmaṇa: "I am not able, O blessed one, to bear up this radiance of yours.

13.84.58 I am bewildered, and by it I have been made most ill at ease; I am overwhelmed, O blessed one, and my own radiance is lost, O sinless one.

13.84.59 I am not able to hold this embryo, O best of those that burn; I shall release it out of distress, and in no wise out of any wish to do so.

13.84.60 There is no touch of inclination in my heart, O god Vibhāvasu; for a bond formed in time of distress, even the subtlest, is no true bond, O greatly resplendent one.

13.84.61 Whatever here is endowed with merit, or otherwise, O Hutāśana, I deem that to rest in you alone, and the merit and demerit of it to be wholly yours."

13.84.62 Then Vahni said to her: "Let it be borne, let this embryo be borne, charged with my radiance, the source of great and meritorious fruit.

13.84.63 For you are able to bear and to sustain the whole earth; there is nothing beyond your power, save the holding of my seed."

13.84.64 Though held back by Vahni and by the gods, that best of rivers then cast off the embryo upon Meru, the noblest of mountains.

13.84.65 Though capable of bearing it, overborne by the radiance of Rudra, she was then unable to sustain that embryo by her strength.

13.84.66 Having cast off in distress that embryo, bright as the blazing Vaiśvānara, Agni then showed himself to Gaṅgā, O scion of Bhṛgu, and asked that best of rivers: "Is the embryo a happy birth?

13.84.67 Of what hue, O goddess, and of what form does it appear? And with what radiance is it endowed? Tell me all of this."

13.84.68 Gaṅgā said: "That embryo is of golden form, in radiance like to yourself, O Anala—of fair gold, spotless, blazing; and it lit up the mountain.

13.84.69 It is cool as pools intermingled with lotuses and blue water-lilies; and its fragrance is equal to that of the kadamba blossoms, O best of those that burn.

13.84.70 By the radiance of that embryo, as by the rays of the sun-maker, whatever substance was touched, upon the earth or in the mountains, all of that was seen on every side to have turned to gold.

13.84.71 He coursed over the mountains, the rivers, and the springs, and with his radiance he set ablaze the three worlds, all that moves and all that is still.

13.84.72 Of such a form, O bearer of oblations, is that lordly son of yours, equal to the sun and to Vaiśvānara, and in his loveliness like a second moon. Having spoken thus, the goddess vanished then and there.

13.84.73 And the radiant Pāvaka too, having accomplished the purpose of the dwellers in heaven, then went to the region he desired, O delight of Bhṛgu's line.

13.84.74 For these qualities of his deeds, the name of Agni is sung throughout the world as Hiraṇyaretas, 'he whose seed is gold,' by the seers and by the wise; and the goddess Earth from that time was renowned as Vasumatī, 'she who holds the treasure.'

13.84.75 But that embryo of mighty splendor, son of Gaṅgā and offspring of Pāvaka, having reached the celestial thicket of reeds, grew up, a wonder to behold.

13.84.76 The Kṛttikās beheld him, his luster like the newly risen sun, and conceiving tenderness for that child, they nourished him with the flowing of their breasts.

13.84.77 Thereupon that one of supreme radiance attained the name Kārttikeya; from his having been let fall he gained the name Skanda, and from his dwelling in a hidden place he became Guha.

13.84.78 Thus did gold come to be, the offspring of Jātavedas; and of it the Jāmbūnada gold is the finest, an ornament even of the gods.

13.84.79 And from that time onward this gold has been called jātarūpa, 'born of his form'; for the gold itself is the lord Agni, the master, the Lord of Creatures.

13.84.80 For gold is the purest of all pure things, O best of the twice-born; and jātarūpa is declared to have the very nature of Agni and Soma.

13.84.81 It is the most excellent of jewels, the most excellent of ornaments, the purest of pure things, and the most auspicious of all that is auspicious.

13.85.1 Vasiṣṭha said: Moreover, O Rāma, of old I heard this revelation of Brahman, what befell concerning the Grandsire Brahmā, the Supreme Self.

13.85.2 My son, of the great god who bore the form of Varuṇa, in the sovereign domain of Varuṇa, O Rāma, in the lordship of Rudra the Ruler, O mighty one—

13.85.3 there came all the sages, and the gods with Agni at their head, and all the members of the sacrifice, and the Vaṣaṭ-call itself embodied.

13.85.4 And the Sāman chants embodied, and the Yajus verses by the thousand, and the Ṛgveda came there, adorned with its word-order and its sequence of recitation.

13.85.5 The marks of grammar, the accents, the chant-syllables, the etymology, and the divisions of tone, and the syllable Oṃ dwelt there, and likewise restraint and free recitation as his two eyes.

13.85.6 The Vedas with their Upaniṣads, the sacred lore, and the Sāvitrī as well—the past, the present, and the future the lord Śiva upheld, himself then offering the self into the self, O mighty one.

13.85.7 And the wives of the gods, and the maidens, and the mothers of the gods came there together at that time, O upholder of the line of Bhṛgu.

13.85.8 Delighted, they came to the sacrifice of the great-souled Paśupati, of Varuṇa; but when the Self-existent beheld them, his seed fell upon the earth.

13.85.9 From the spilling of that seed Pūṣan gathered up the dust from the ground and cast it with both his hands into that very oblation-eating fire.

13.85.10 Then, when that long sacrificial session was under way with its fire ablaze, as Brahmā was offering oblation, a manifestation came forth there.

13.85.11 And taking up with the offering-ladle that seed the moment it was shed, he offered it as one offers clarified butter, and with sacred formulas, O delight of Bhṛgu.

13.85.12 Thereupon that mighty one brought forth the host of beings; and from that fiery essence there was born in the worlds all that is fiery in nature.

13.85.13 From darkness come the states marked by darkness; goodness too is pervasive, and both alike; the fiery essence is forever endowed with quality, and within darkness lies the ether.

13.85.14 And so in all beings there is goodness, fiery energy, and darkness; but when the seed was offered into that fire, three beings came forth, O mighty one.

13.85.15 They were men endowed with bodily form, endowed with the qualities arising at their birth: from the very crackling 'bhṛg' came Bhṛgu first, and from the embers came Aṅgiras into being.

13.85.16 And from his dwelling upon the embers another came to be, named Kavi; since Bhṛgu arose together with the flames, he is therefore remembered as Bhṛgu.

13.85.17 From the rays of light arose Marīci, and from Marīci came Kaśyapa; from the embers came Aṅgiras, my son, and the Vālakhilyas from the heap of stones; and they say, O mighty one, that Atri was born here, and so he is called Atri, 'born just here.'

13.85.18 Likewise from the scatterings of ash arose the Vaikhānasas, equal to the host of Brahman-seers, longing for the merits of austerity and sacred learning; and from his unheard-of essence arose the two Aśvins, esteemed for their beauty.

13.85.19 The remaining Lords of Creatures were born from his channels; the seers were born from the pores of his skin, and from his sweat came the meters, which have the nature of his impurity.

13.85.20 For this reason the seers, endowed with sacred learning, declare on the authority of the Vedas that all the deities are Agni.

13.85.21 The kinds of kindling-wood are his months; the exudations are called his fortnights; the days and nights and moments are his bile, and the light is that of Varuṇa.

13.85.22 The red they call Raudra, Rudra's own; from the red, gold is held to arise; this is to be understood as belonging to Mitra, and from the smoke the Vasus are remembered to spring.

13.85.23 His flames are the Rudras and likewise the Ādityas of great splendor; and so too are his embers declared to be those that stand upon the fire-altars set in the sky.

13.85.24 He is the primeval Lord of the world, that supreme Brahman, that abiding one; they call it the granter of every desire, and there he bore the oblation aloft.

13.85.25 Then the great god Varuṇa, the Supreme Self, spoke: 'This celestial sacrificial session is mine, and here I am the householder.'

13.85.26 'Those three first offspring are mine, of that there is no doubt—know this, O sky-goers; for they are the fruit of my sacrifice.'

13.85.27 Agni said: Born from my limbs and brought forth by resort to me, those offspring are mine alone; for Varuṇa is one who has lost mastery of himself.

13.85.28 Then spoke Brahmā, the teacher of the worlds, the Grandsire of the worlds: 'Those offspring are mine alone, for it was my seed that was offered.'

13.85.29 'I am the utterer of the sacred formula and the offerer of the seed; his is the fruit whose seed it is, if the seed be held the cause.'

13.85.30 Then the hosts of gods, approaching the Grandsire, spoke, all of them with palms joined together and bowing low with their heads in salutation.

13.85.31 'We all, O lord, and the world with all that moves and is still, are entirely your offspring; therefore let Agni Vibhāvasu and the lord god Varuṇa each obtain the desire he longs for.'

13.85.32 And Varuṇa, by his nature the lord of the water-creatures, born of Brahmā, took first as his offspring Bhṛgu, who shone with the splendor of the sun.

13.85.33 The Lord assigned Aṅgiras to Agni for the sake of his offspring; and the Grandsire, knower of the truth, took Kavi for his own offspring.

13.85.34 Thus Bhṛgu was renowned as Varuṇa's, a doer of the work of begetting; the glorious Aṅgiras as Agni's; and Kavi, of great renown, as Brahmā's. The lines of Bhṛgu and of Aṅgiras in the world bear the mark of the world's continuance.

13.85.35 These three are all foremost among the twice-born, Lords of Creatures; understand that all this lineage is theirs.

13.85.36 Bhṛgu had seven sons, equal to Bhṛgu in their qualities: Cyavana and Vajraśīrṣa, and Śuci, and Aurva likewise.

13.85.37 Śukra and Vareṇya the mighty, and Savana—these are the seven, all Bhārgavas, all of Varuṇa's line, in whose lineage you too belong.

13.85.38 And Aṅgiras had eight sons; they too are declared to be of Varuṇa's line: Bṛhaspati and Utathya, and Vayasya, and Śānti.

13.85.39 Ghora, Virūpa, Saṃvarta, and Sudhanvan, remembered as the eighth—these eight, all born of Agni, are devoted to knowledge and free from affliction.

13.85.40 The sons of Kavi, who is Brahmā's, are also declared to be of Varuṇa's line: eight of them, endowed with the qualities arising at their birth, knowers of Brahman, blessed.

13.85.41 Kavi and Kāvya and Viṣṇu, and the wise Uśanas likewise, and Bhṛgu, and Virajās, and Kāśi, and Ugra the knower of dharma.

13.85.42 These are the eight sons of Kavi; by them the whole world is spread out; for these are Lords of Creatures, by whom these creatures came to be.

13.85.43 Thus the world is forever filled by the offspring and descendants of Aṅgiras and of Kavi, and by those born in the line of Bhṛgu, O tiger among Bhṛgu's race.

13.85.44 And Varuṇa, the mighty Lord, took first, O brāhmaṇa—Kavi, my son, and Bhṛgu as well; therefore those two are remembered as belonging to Varuṇa.

13.85.45 The crested god, the oblation-eater, took Aṅgiras; therefore all who are of his line are to be known as descendants of Aṅgiras.

13.85.46 Brahmā the Grandsire was of old propitiated by the deities, who said: 'These lords of the world will carry us across through their progeny.'

13.85.47 'All of them are Lords of Creatures, all of them are surpassing ascetics; by your grace they will carry this everlasting world across.'

13.85.48 'And likewise may they be founders of lineages, enhancers of your splendor, all knowers of the Veda, and masters of speech.'

13.85.49 'Holding to the side of the gods, gentle, sprung from the Lord of Creatures, these great seers attain austerity and the highest practice of chastity.'

13.85.50 'For all of us, and these too, are your offspring alone, O lord; for you are the maker of the gods and of the brāhmaṇas, O Grandsire.'

13.85.51 'Setting Marīci at the head, and all the Bhārgavas too—regarding them as our offspring, we ask your pardon, O Grandsire.'

13.85.52 'In this very form they will beget creatures, and will establish themselves anew at the beginning and the end of each age.'

13.85.53 Thus did this come to pass of old at the sacrifice of that great-souled one, the best of the gods, at the world's beginning, as he bore the form of Varuṇa.

13.85.54 Agni, Brahmā, Paśupati, Śarva, Rudra, the Lord of Creatures—this is the settled tradition: that gold is indeed the offspring of Agni.

13.85.55 And in the absence of fire, those who know the authorities place gold in the stead of fire upon the altars, O son of Jamadagni, on the showing of the Vedic revelation.

13.85.56 One offers oblation to the fire in a tuft of kuśa grass, with gold set there; and when the oblation is made, the Lord deems delight-giving prosperity to abide therein.

13.85.57 Therefore we have heard that all the deities have Agni as their highest; for Agni was brought forth from Brahmā, and from Agni in turn came gold.

13.85.58 Therefore those who, beholding dharma, give gold—they give all the deities together: so have we heard.

13.85.59 And for him, free of darkness, going to the supreme goal, there are worlds; in the world of heaven he would be consecrated to the kingship over kings, O Bhārgava.

13.85.60 He who, when the rising of the sun has come, gives gold accompanied by rite and sacred formula—he wards off the evil dream.

13.85.61 He who gives the moment the sun has risen, his evil is shaken off; for one who gives gold at midday, it destroys the evil that is yet to come.

13.85.62 He of steadfast vow who gives gold at the evening twilight attains to dwelling in the same world as Brahmā, Vāyu, Agni, and Soma.

13.85.63 And in the worlds where Indra dwells he gains a blessed standing; having won renown in this world, his evil stilled, he rejoices.

13.85.64 Thereafter he comes to be peerless forever in the other worlds; his movement is unobstructed, and he becomes one who goes wherever he wills.

13.85.65 And he does not fall away from those worlds, but enjoys the great reward forever; having given imperishable gold, he attains the most abundant worlds.

13.85.66 But he who, having kindled the fire toward the rising of the sun, should give with a vow in view—he attains all his desires.

13.85.67 That gift they call Agni himself, the bringer of happiness; endowed with whatever excellence is desired, it is remembered as setting all good things in motion.

13.85.68 Bhīṣma said: Thus addressed by Vasiṣṭha, the valorous son of Jamadagni gave gold to the brāhmaṇas and was released from his sin.

13.85.69 All this have I declared to you, O lord of the earth—the fruit of the giving of gold, and its peerless origin from Agni.

13.85.70 Therefore do you too bestow abundant gold upon the brāhmaṇas; by giving gold, O king, you shall be released from all sin.

13.86.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: The grandsire has set forth here at length, according to the ordinances, the virtues of the gift of gold as attested by the scriptures.

13.86.2 But touching the cause of the origin of gold that has been declared here—how did Tāraka meet his death? That tell me.

13.86.3 He was said to be unslayable by the gods, O lord of the earth; yet his death has not been recounted by you here in full.

13.86.4 This I wish to hear from you, O upholder of the Kuru line—the slaying of Tāraka in its entirety; for great is my curiosity.

13.86.5 Bhīṣma said: Their endeavour having failed, O king of kings, the gods and the sages alike urged the Kṛttikās to undertake the rearing of the child.

13.86.6 For not one among the goddesses was able by her own might to bear that embryo of Agni, the knower of all that is born.

13.86.7 Then Pāvaka, the purifier, was pleased with those six for their bearing of the embryo, by reason of his own outpoured splendour and supreme potency.

13.86.8 Those six Kṛttikās nourished the embryo of Jātavedas; into their six channels was the whole splendour of Agni deposited, O lord.

13.86.9 Then, their limbs wholly compassed about by the splendour of that growing and high-souled boy, they could find ease nowhere.

13.86.10 Then, their limbs encompassed by that splendour, when the appointed time was come, all those Kṛttikās gave birth to the embryo together, O bull among men.

13.86.11 Then the Earth received that embryo, which from its six seats had come into oneness, near the city of Kāntī.

13.86.12 That embryo, of celestial form, blazing, bright as Pāvaka, having reached a divine thicket of reeds, grew up, fair to behold.

13.86.13 The Kṛttikās beheld that child, splendid as fire; and tenderness arising, out of affection they nourished him with the flowing of their milk.

13.86.14 He became Kārttikeya throughout the three worlds, with all that moves and is unmoving; from his being poured forth he attained the state of Skanda, and from dwelling in a covert he became Guha.

13.86.15 Then the three-and-thirty gods, and the quarters with their guardian lords, Rudra and Dhātṛ and Viṣṇu, Yajña, Pūṣan, Aryaman, Bhaga,

13.86.16 Aṃśa and Mitra and the Sādhyas, the Vasus, Vāsava, the two Aśvins, the Waters, Vāyu, the Sky, the Moon, the lunar mansions, the planets, the Sun—

13.86.17 and other separate beings, those that are offered in oblation to the gods, came there to behold that prince, the son of the flaming one; and the sages praised him, and the Gandharvas likewise sang.

13.86.18 That prince of six faces and twice-six eyes, dear to the twice-born, broad-shouldered, twelve-armed, with the lustre of Fire and the Sun,

13.86.19 as he lay couched within the reed-clump—beholding him, the gods together with the sages won the highest joy, and deemed the Asura already slain.

13.86.20 Then the gods, every one of them, did all that was pleasing to him, and to him at his play they gave playthings and flocks of birds.

13.86.21 Suparṇa gave him for his vehicle a peacock with bright-hued plumage, and the Rākṣasas gave him both a boar and a buffalo.

13.86.22 Varuṇa himself bestowed a cock resembling fire; the Moon gave a ram, and the Sun a radiant splendour.

13.86.23 And the goddess, mother of cattle, gave kine by hundreds of thousands; Agni gave a goat endowed with good qualities, and Ilā much fruit and flower.

13.86.24 Sudhanvan gave a cart and a chariot with measureless pole; Varuṇa gave auspicious celestial serpents of his own kind; and Surendra gave lions and tigers and panthers and other fanged beasts.

13.86.25 and many fearsome beasts of prey, and parasols of various kinds; and hosts of Rākṣasas and Asuras there were who followed that lord.

13.86.26 But beholding him as he grew, Tāraka sought by many devices to slay him, yet he could not slay that mighty one.

13.86.27 The gods, having honoured the dweller in the covert with the office of commander, told him of that outrage which Tāraka had wrought.

13.86.28 Then Guha, grown to full strength, of mighty valour, the lordly commander of the divine host, slew the Dānava Tāraka with his unfailing spear.

13.86.29 When the Asura had been slain by that prince as though in sport, Surendra was once more established as lord upon the kingdom of the gods.

13.86.30 Then valorous Skanda shone forth as commander, the lord and protector of the gods, and a doer of what was dear to Śaṃkara.

13.86.31 This same blessed one of golden form, the son of Pāvaka, ever a youth, attained to the generalship of the gods.

13.86.32 Therefore gold is held auspicious, an imperishable and excellent jewel, born together with Kārttikeya, deemed the supreme splendour of Fire.

13.86.33 Thus did Vasiṣṭha relate to Rāma of old, O Kaurava; therefore strive after the giving of gold, O ruler of men.

13.86.34 For Rāma, having given gold, was freed of all his sins, and won in heaven a high place hard for men to attain.

13.87.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: The duty of the four orders, O righteous one, has been declared by you, O sinless lord; even so now declare to me in full the rite of the śrāddha, O king.

13.87.2 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Thus addressed by Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣma the son of Śaṃtanu then set about to expound this whole rite of the śrāddha.

13.87.3 Bhīṣma said: Hearken attentively, O king, to this auspicious ordinance of the śrāddha—wealth-giving, fame-bestowing, conducive to offspring, the sacrifice to the fathers, O scorcher of foes.

13.87.4 By gods, Asuras, and men, by Gandharvas, serpents, and Rākṣasas, by Piśācas and Kiṃnaras, the fathers are ever to be honoured.

13.87.5 Having first honoured the fathers, men afterward satisfy the gods; therefore with all endeavour should a man honour them ever.

13.87.6 The śrāddha of the fathers, O great king, is called the anvāhārya; and its performance with flesh, by ordinance, was the rite first appointed.

13.87.7 On all days are the fathers gladdened by the śrāddhas performed; yet I shall declare to you, for each lunar day, the merits and demerits of each.

13.87.8 On whatsoever days the śrāddhas, when performed, yield what fruit, O sinless one—all this I shall duly recount; learn it of me.

13.87.9 Worshipping the fathers on the first lunar day, a man obtains in his own house women fair-formed, bearing comely offspring, lovely to look upon, and rich in children.

13.87.10 On the second are born daughters; on the third, panegyrists; on the fourth there come to be in the house many small cattle.

13.87.11 On the fifth, to those who perform it, O king, are born many sons; and men who perform it on the sixth come to share in radiance.

13.87.12 He who performs the śrāddha on the seventh becomes a sharer in the harvest, O king; performing it on the eighth, a man obtains gain in trade.

13.87.13 To him who performs the śrāddha on the ninth come single-hooved beasts in plenty; and to him who performs the śrāddhas on the tenth, the kine increase.

13.87.14 A man who performs it on the eleventh becomes a sharer in base metals, O king; and sons radiant with sacred lore are born within his house.

13.87.15 To him who strives at the rite on the twelfth there is ever seen abundant silver of varied kind, and gold delightful to the mind.

13.87.16 Performing the śrāddha on the thirteenth, a man becomes foremost among his kinsmen; yet inevitably the young men of his house come to die.

13.87.17 A man who performs the śrāddha on the fourteenth becomes a partaker in battle; but offering on the new-moon day, he obtains all his desires.

13.87.18 In the dark fortnight, beginning with the tenth and excepting the fourteenth, the lunar days are commended for the rite of the śrāddha—not so are the others.

13.87.19 And even as the latter fortnight is held superior to the former, so for the śrāddha is the afternoon superior to the forenoon.

13.88.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: What gift made to the fathers becomes imperishable, O lord? What oblation avails for a long season, and what conduces to endlessness?

13.88.2 Bhīṣma said: The oblations in the rite of the śrāddha that the knowers of the śrāddha know—hear of me those that fulfil desire, and their fruit, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.88.3 With sesame, with rice and barley, with beans, with water, and with roots and fruits—by the śrāddha so offered the fathers are gladdened for a month, O king.

13.88.4 A śrāddha abounding in sesame is imperishable, Manu declared; and among all things that may be eaten, sesame is held to hold the foremost place.

13.88.5 With fishes the satisfaction of the host of fathers lasts two months; with mutton, men say, three months; and with hare's flesh, four months.

13.88.6 With goat's flesh the fathers are gladdened five months, O king; with boar's flesh six months; and seven months with the flesh of fowl.

13.88.7 Eight months with the flesh of the spotted deer, and nine indeed with that of the ruru deer; and with the flesh of the gavaya the satisfaction lasts ten months.

13.88.8 With buffalo's flesh the fathers' contentment lasts eleven months; but when the śrāddha is offered with cow's milk and the like, it is said here to last a full year.

13.88.9 As with the produce of the cow, so likewise is it with milk-rice joined with clarified butter; and with the flesh of the vādhrīṇasa the satisfaction lasts twelve years.

13.88.10 Rhinoceros-flesh given at the offering to the fathers avails for endlessness; and the kālaśāka herb, and red goat, are said likewise to conduce to endlessness.

13.88.11 And here too they sing verses sung by the fathers, O Yudhiṣṭhira; the blessed Sanatkumāra of old spoke them unto me.

13.88.12 "May there be born in our line one who would offer us, on the thirteenth day, under the asterism Maghā, in the sun's southern course, milk-rice joined with clarified butter;

13.88.13 or with goat's flesh, or with red goat, under those very Maghās, one of steadfast vows, duly fanned with the ear-fan amid the shadows of elephants."

13.88.14 Many sons should be desired, that even one of them might journey to Gayā, where stands renowned throughout the worlds that fig-tree which makes the offering imperishable.

13.88.15 Water, root, fruit, flesh, or food given at the offering to the fathers—whatsoever is mingled with honey conduces to endlessness.

13.89.1 Bhīṣma said: The śrāddhas that Yama declared to Śaśabindu—hear of me those that fulfil desire, severally under each lunar mansion.

13.89.2 The man who should ever perform the śrāddha under the conjunction of the Kṛttikās, having set up the sacred fires, would sacrifice with offspring and free of fever.

13.89.3 He who longs for offspring should offer under Rohiṇī; he who longs for vigour, under the lordly deer-mansion; but a man giving the śrāddha under Ārdrā becomes one of cruel deeds.

13.89.4 A man performing the śrāddha under Punarvasu becomes a sharer in the harvest; and one who longs for nourishment should strive at the śrāddha under Puṣya.

13.89.5 Giving the śrāddha under Āśleṣā, a man begets heroic sons; and offering the śrāddha under the Maghās, he becomes foremost among his kinsmen.

13.89.6 Giving the śrāddha under the Phalgunīs, the giver becomes blessed with fortune; under the Uttaras he becomes a sharer in offspring, and under Hasta a sharer in fruit.

13.89.7 Giving the śrāddha under Citrā, he obtains comely sons; worshipping the fathers under the conjunction of Svāti, he lives by trade.

13.89.8 A man striving at the rite to the fathers under the Viśākhās becomes rich in sons; and performing it under the Anurādhās, he sets in motion the wheel of empire.

13.89.9 A man, O foremost of the Kuru line, going with faith and self-restraint before him, attains to sovereignty by making the offering under Jyeṣṭhā.

13.89.10 Under Mūla he should attain health, and under the Aṣāḍhās fame unsurpassed; and under the Uttarāṣāḍhās, freed of sorrow, he would range the earth.

13.89.11 Performing the śrāddha under Abhijit, he would obtain the highest knowledge; and giving the śrāddha under Śravaṇa, he would go after death to the supreme course.

13.89.12 He who performs the śrāddha under Dhaniṣṭhā becomes a sharer in kingdoms and meets with no calamity; performing it under the lunar mansion of Varuṇa, a man attains success in the healing art.

13.89.13 Performing it under the Pūrva-Proṣṭhapadā stars, he gains goats and sheep in abundance; performing it under the Uttarā stars, he gains cattle by the thousand.

13.89.14 Resorting to Revatī, he gains wealth wrought of much silver; under Aśvayuj he obtains horses, and under the Bharaṇī stars the highest length of life.

13.89.15 Having heard this ordinance of the śrāddha, Śaśabindu acted accordingly; without hardship he conquered the earth, and he ruled it.

13.90.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: To brāhmaṇas of what sort should the śrāddha-offering be given, O grandsire? O tiger of the Kurus, you ought to expound this to me.

13.90.2 Bhīṣma said: A kṣatriya versed in the law of giving should not scrutinize brāhmaṇas in rites for the gods; but in the rite for the ancestors, scrutiny is held to be proper.

13.90.3 The deities here honor the offering by their divine splendor when they draw near; therefore a man should have the offering given to all the gods alike.

13.90.4 But at the śrāddha, O great king, the wise man should examine the brāhmaṇas by their family, character, age, and form, by their learning and noble birth.

13.90.5 Of these, some are defilers of the row and others are sanctifiers of the row; those who are unworthy of the row, O king, I shall now name—hear of them.

13.90.6 The gambler, the slayer of an embryo, the consumptive, the cattle-herder, the misshapen, the village drudge, the usurer, the professional singer, the seller of every kind of ware,

13.90.7 the house-burner, the poisoner, the eater of food in a vessel of adultery's child, the seller of soma, the seafarer, the king's servant, the oil-presser, the forger of false coin,

13.90.8 he who quarrels with his father, he in whose house there is a paramour, the man falsely accused, the thief, and he who lives by a manual craft,

13.90.9 the maker of festival days, the informer, the betrayer of friends, the adulterer, the teacher of those without vows, and likewise the renegade who turns his back on his own kindred,

13.90.10 he who roams about with dogs, he who has been bitten by a dog, he who marries before an elder brother, the man of diseased skin, the defiler of his teacher's bed, the actor-dancer, the temple-priest who lives off idols, and he who lives by reading the stars—

13.90.11 these one should know to be unworthy of the row, the basest of the twice-born, together with those of little wit who give instruction to śūdras.

13.90.12 A one-eyed man defiles sixty, a eunuch a hundred, O king; and a man with white leprosy, when seated in the row, defiles as far as his eye can reach.

13.90.13 What is eaten with the head wrapped, what is eaten facing south, and what is eaten while still shod—all this one should know to belong to the demons.

13.90.14 What is given grudgingly and what is given without faith—all this Brahmā has apportioned as the share of the lord of the asuras.

13.90.15 Dogs and defilers of the row should by no means look upon the offering; therefore one should give it in an enclosed place and scatter sesame seeds around it.

13.90.16 When the sesame offering is omitted, the flesh-eating fiends, the hosts driven by wrath, the yātudhānas, and the piśācas plunder that oblation.

13.90.17 For as long as one unfit for the row gazes upon those eating in the row, so long does he strip the foolish giver of his reward.

13.90.18 But these, O best of the Bhāratas, are to be known as sanctifiers of the row; those who are such I shall now declare—examine these brāhmaṇas here.

13.90.19 Brāhmaṇas who have completed their study of the Veda and their vows of the bath are, every one, worthy of the row; and those whom I shall name as worthy should be known as sanctifiers of the row.

13.90.20 He who has thrice kindled the Nāciketa fire, the keeper of the five fires, the knower of the Trisuparṇa hymn, the master of the six Vedāṅgas, he born of a line of brahma-given marriages, the chanter of the Sāman, the singer of the Jyeṣṭha-sāman,

13.90.21 he who is obedient to his mother and father, the learned man of ten generations of Veda-knowers, and he who always approaches his lawful wives only in their season—such a brāhmaṇa, accomplished in Veda, learning, and vow, indeed purifies the row.

13.90.22 The student of the Atharvaśiras, the chaste one of restrained vows, the speaker of truth, he of righteous conduct, and he who is devoted to his own appointed duty—

13.90.23 and those who have toiled in ritual bathing at holy fords, and who have been bathed in the final ablution of sacrifices accompanied by their proper mantras—

13.90.24 those free of anger, free of fickleness, patient, self-controlled, masters of their senses, and devoted to the welfare of all beings—these one should invite to the śrāddhas; what is given to them is imperishable, for these indeed are sanctifiers of the row.

13.90.25 These others too, O great king, are to be known as sanctifiers of the row: the ascetics who know the law of liberation, the men of yoga of well-practiced vows,

13.90.26 those who, intent and pure, recite the ancient lore to the best of the twice-born, those who are versed in commentary, and those who delight in grammar,

13.90.27 those who study the Purāṇa and the treatises on dharma as well, and who, having studied them duly and rightly, act according to their precepts,

13.90.28 he who has dwelt completely in his teacher's household, the speaker of truth, the giver of a thousand gifts, the foremost in all the Vedas and in all the recitations—

13.90.29 as far as these gaze upon the row, so far do they purify it; and because of this purifying of the row, each is called a sanctifier of the row.

13.90.30 Even a single such man, born of a line of brahma-given marriages, can sanctify the offering from a distance of two and a half krośas—so the knowers of Brahman declare.

13.90.31 If one who is neither officiating priest nor teacher takes the foremost seat unauthorized by the officiants, he carries off, along with the row, only ill-deserved demerit.

13.90.32 But if he is a knower of the Veda, free of all the faults of the row, and is not a fallen man, O king, then he is indeed a sanctifier of the row.

13.90.33 Therefore with all care one should examine and invite brāhmaṇas devoted to their own duties, self-controlled, well-born, and deeply learned.

13.90.34 He whose śrāddhas and oblations are devoted chiefly to friends gratifies neither the ancestors nor the gods, and he does not attain to heaven.

13.90.35 He who turns the śrāddha into a gathering of friends does not travel by the path of the gods; like a fig loosed from its stalk, the man who befriends at the śrāddha falls away from the world of heaven.

13.90.36 Therefore the performer of the śrāddha should not honor a friend with it; let him give his friends wealth to win their goodwill instead. Whom he regards as neither foe nor friend, that neutral man let him feed at the rites for gods and ancestors.

13.90.37 As seed sown in barren ground does not sprout, and the sower of it gains no return on his seed, so the śrāddha eaten by the unworthy yields its fruit neither here nor hereafter.

13.90.38 For a brāhmaṇa who has not studied dies down like a fire of straw; to him the śrāddha should not be given, for no oblation is poured upon ashes.

13.90.39 The mere feeding of friends is a fee fit for piśācas; it reaches neither the gods nor the ancestors. Drained of merit, it wanders here below, like a cow within the stable that has lost its calf.

13.90.40 As clarified butter poured upon a fire that has died reaches neither the gods nor the ancestors, so too is what is given to dancing and to singing, and the fee one bestows upon one who knows no sacred verse.

13.90.41 The fee given to one who knows no sacred verse destroys them both and nourishes neither; deadly and contemptible, in its falling it casts the departed of such men down from the path of the gods.

13.90.42 Those who ever observe the discipline of the seers, O Yudhiṣṭhira, steadfast and knowers of all dharma—the gods know such brāhmaṇas to be true.

13.90.43 The seers are to be understood as devoted to recitation, devoted to knowledge, devoted to austerity, and devoted to ritual action, O Bhārata.

13.90.44 The ancestral offerings are to be entrusted to those devoted to knowledge, O Bhārata; and among them, whatever brāhmaṇas there be who revile no one—those are the most excellent.

13.90.45 But those who revile others in their chatter—one should not feed them at the śrāddhas; for brāhmaṇas reviled, O king, can destroy a family through three generations.

13.90.46 The word of the Vaikhānasa seers is heard, O king: from afar should one examine the brāhmaṇas who have mastered the Veda, and whether they be dear or hateful, in them should one set the śrāddha.

13.90.47 Though a man should feed a thousand thousands of men who know no sacred verse, a single knower of the mantras, when pleased, outweighs them all, O Bhārata.

13.91.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: By whom was the śrāddha first conceived, at what time, and of what nature? In the age of Bhṛgu and Aṅgiras, by which of the two sages was it ordained?

13.91.2 What things are to be shunned in the śrāddhas, and what roots and fruits, and what kind of grain is to be avoided? Tell me this, O grandsire.

13.91.3 Bhīṣma said: How the śrāddha came into being, at what time, of what nature, and by whom it was conceived—hear this from me, O lord of men.

13.91.4 There was Atri, son of the Self-existent, O Kauravya, a supreme seer of mighty splendor; in his line, O great king, was born he remembered as Dattātreya.

13.91.5 Dattātreya had a son named Nimi, rich in austerity; and to Nimi there was born a son named Śrīmān, endowed with glory.

13.91.6 At the close of a full thousand years, having performed hard austerities, his being overtaken by the law of time, he came to his death.

13.91.7 But Nimi, having performed the purifications by the rite ordained, fell into bitter grief, wholly given over to sorrow for his son.

13.91.8 Then, having made the funeral offerings on the fourteenth day, the great-minded one, brooding upon that very grief, awoke at the close of night.

13.91.9 As he awoke, his self veiled by grief, having drawn his mind back from the objects of sense, his understanding ranged far and wide.

13.91.10 Then, composed in mind, he pondered the ordinance of the śrāddha—what foods, what roots, and what fruits had been dear to his son,

13.91.11 and whatever others were prescribed, and whatever were beloved of him—all these the man rich in austerity determined in his mind.

13.91.12 On the night of the new moon, O greatly wise one, having summoned brāhmaṇas and honored them, he himself fashioned all the seats of grass coiled toward the right.

13.91.13 Then he brought forward seven brāhmaṇas together to the meal, and the lord gave them food of wild millet, with everything save salt.

13.91.14 Then darbha grasses, their tips pointing south, were laid upon the seats and at the feet of the brāhmaṇas who were partaking of the food.

13.91.15 And having set the darbhas with their tips toward the south, well-disciplined and pure, he offered the rice-ball to Śrīmān, pronouncing his name and lineage.

13.91.16 Having done this, that best of sages, tormented by great remorse at the confounding of dharma he had wrought, fell to thinking:

13.91.17 "What is this I have performed, never done by the sages before? How may the brāhmaṇas not consume me with their curse?"

13.91.18 Then he called to mind the founder of his own line; and no sooner was he thought upon than Atri, rich in austerity, came near.

13.91.19 Then Atri, seeing him so wasted with sorrow for his son, the imperishable one comforted him deeply with kindly words:

13.91.20 "O Nimi, this rite for the ancestors has been conceived by you, O man of austerity. Let no fear be yours: this dharma was foreseen of old by Brahmā himself.

13.91.21 This dharma, ordained by the Self-existent, has been conceived by you; for save the Self-existent, who else could have set forth this ordinance of the śrāddha?

13.91.22 And I shall declare to you further the most excellent ordinance of the śrāddha, ordained by the Self-existent, O son; perform it, and mark my words.

13.91.23 Having first performed the fire-rite with its proper mantras, O man of austerity, then ever offer to Aryaman, to Soma, and to Varuṇa;

13.91.24 and to those All-gods who ever range together with the ancestors—for them the shares were appointed by the Self-existent himself.

13.91.25 And here the Earth is to be praised, she who upholds the offering—called the Vaiṣṇavī, the Kāśyapī, and likewise the Imperishable.

13.91.26 And at the bringing of water, the all-pervading Varuṇa is to be praised; thereafter Agni and Soma are here to be gratified, O sinless one.

13.91.27 The gods named the Fathers were indeed fashioned by the Self-existent, those drinkers of vapor of exceeding blessedness; for them the shares were apportioned.

13.91.28 Honored by the śrāddha, they are released from sin; the ancestral line is sevenfold, as foreseen of old by the Self-existent.

13.91.29 And the All-gods, fire-faced, were reckoned of old; I shall declare the names of those great-souled ones who are worthy of a share.

13.91.30 Sahas, Kṛti, Vipāpman, Puṇyakṛt, and Pāvana likewise; Grāmaṇi, Kṣema, Samūha, and Divyasānu as well.

13.91.31 Vivasvat, Vīryavat, Hrīmat, Kīrtimat, and Kṛta; Vipūrva, Somapūrva, and Sūryaśrī — so they are named.

13.91.32 Somapa, Sūryasāvitra, Dattātman, Puṣkarīyaka; Uṣṇīnābha, Nabhoda, Viśvāyu, and Dīpti too.

13.91.33 Camūhara and Suveṣa, Vyomāri, Śaṃkara, Bhava; Īśa, Kartṛ, Kṛti, Dakṣa, Bhuvana, and Divyakarmakṛt.

13.91.34 Gaṇita and Pañcavīrya, Āditya, and Raśmimat; Saptakṛt, Somavarcas, Viśvakṛt, and Kavi too.

13.91.35 Anugoptṛ and Sugoptṛ, Naptṛ, and Īśvara; Jitātman, Munivīrya, Dīptaloman, and Bhayaṃkara.

13.91.36 Atikarman and Pratīta, Pradātṛ, and Aṃśumat; Śailābha, Paramakrodhin, Dhīroṣṇi, and Bhūpati.

13.91.37 Srajin, Vajrin, and Varin — these are the eternal Viśvedevas, the greatly blessed ones, now celebrated, who move within the range of time's course.

13.91.38 Among grains, kodrava and pulaka are unfit for the śrāddha rite; among condiments, asafoetida; among vegetables, the onion and the garlic.

13.91.39 The onion, the drumstick plant, the carrot and their kind, the gourd-fruit and the bottle-gourd, and black salt as well.

13.91.40 The flesh of the domestic boar, and whatever has not been consecrated, black cumin, biḍa salt, and the slow-ripening melon, sprouted shoots and the like, and water-chestnuts — these too are to be shunned here.

13.91.41 One should avoid all manufactured salt, and likewise the fruit of the rose-apple; and at śrāddha rites one should reject whatever has been sneezed or wept upon.

13.91.42 At an offering of food, of oblations to the gods or to the fathers, the sight of a dog is to be deplored; neither the fathers nor the gods take pleasure in such an oblation.

13.91.43 When the offering of food is set forth, the Caṇḍāla and the dog-eater must be kept away, as must the wearer of ochre robes, the leper, the outcaste, and even the slayer of a brahmin.

13.91.44 A brahmin of mixed birth, and a kinsman who has fallen from his estate — these the wise must exclude when the offering of food is set forth.

13.91.45 Having thus spoken of old to the sage born of his own line, the venerable Atri, rich in austerity, departed to the divine assembly hall of the Grandfather.

13.92.1 Bhīṣma said: When the rite had been set in motion in this manner, all the great sages performed the sacrifices to the fathers with action prescribed by ordinance.

13.92.2 The sages, ever devoted to dharma, having made their food-offerings, performed too the libation of water from sacred fords, steadfast in their vows.

13.92.3 Gratified by the offerings of food given by the four orders, O Bhārata, the fathers and the gods could not, however, digest the food.

13.92.4 Stricken by indigestion, those gods together with the fathers, oppressed by the offered food, betook themselves to Soma.

13.92.5 Reaching Soma, the fathers, afflicted with indigestion, said: "We are tormented by the offered food; let some remedy be devised for us in this matter."

13.92.6 Then Soma answered them: "If you desire a remedy, O gods, go to the abode of the Self-Existent; he will ordain what is best for you."

13.92.7 At Soma's word, those gods together with the fathers, O Bhārata, approached the Grandfather, who was seated upon the peak of Meru.

13.92.8 The fathers said: "By the offered food, O Lord, we are sorely tormented. Show us your grace, O God; let some remedy be ordained for us."

13.92.9 Hearing these words of theirs, the Self-Existent spoke thus: "Here at my side is Fire; he will ordain what is best for you."

13.92.10 Agni said: "Together, dear ones, we shall eat when the offering of food is set forth, and along with me you shall digest the food — of this there is no doubt."

13.92.11 Hearing this, the fathers were thereupon freed of their distress; and for this very reason, O king, the foremost portion is given to Agni.

13.92.12 When the offering is made with Agni first, O bull among men, the brahma-rākṣasas do not defile that offering, and the demons turn away when the god of radiant light is present.

13.92.13 First one should offer the rice-ball to the father, then to the grandfather, and then to the great-grandfather: this is held to be the ordinance of the śrāddha.

13.92.14 At the śrāddha, with collected mind, one should recite the Sāvitrī over each rice-ball; one should say "to Soma," and likewise "to him attended by the fathers."

13.92.15 A woman in her courses, or one maimed in her ears, should not attend at the offering; nor are those of another lineage to be admitted.

13.92.16 While crossing a body of water, one should call to mind the grandfathers; and upon reaching a river, one should perform the rice-ball offering and libation to the fathers.

13.92.17 First having made the water-libation to those born of one's own line, one should then offer a handful of water to the company of friends and kinsmen.

13.92.18 When one crosses the water yoked to a pair of dappled oxen, the fathers indeed long for him, and as he climbs aboard the boat; ever upon the boat those who know offer the water-libation with collected minds.

13.92.19 In the half-month of the dark fortnight one should make the food-offerings; for nourishment, long life, vigor, and prosperity attend upon him who is devoted to the fathers.

13.92.20 The Grandfather, Pulastya, Vasiṣṭha, and Pulaha, Aṅgiras, Kratu, and the great sage Kaśyapa — these, O best of the Kuru line, are remembered as the mighty lords of yoga.

13.92.21 These too are the fathers, O king; this is the supreme ordinance of the śrāddha. The departed, bound to the rice-ball offerings, are by that act set free.

13.92.22 Thus, O best of men, has the origin of the śrāddha, as it was first set forth, been declared to you according to tradition. Of the gift of charity I shall now speak hereafter.

13.93.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: If the twice-born, bound by their vows, eat the oblation — food given out of desire to please the brahmins — how can this be, O grandfather?

13.93.2 Bhīṣma said: Those bound by vows not enjoined in the Veda, if they eat, are merely doers of their duty; but those who eat while under vows enjoined in the Veda, O Yudhiṣṭhira, have broken their vow.

13.93.3 Yudhiṣṭhira said: That fasting which the common folk here call austerity — is this indeed austerity, or might true austerity be something else?

13.93.4 Bhīṣma said: The fasting for a month or half a month that people deem austerity — he who thereby injures his own constitution is neither an ascetic nor a knower of dharma.

13.93.5 The very perfection of renunciation is taught to be the highest austerity; one may be ever a faster and likewise ever a celibate.

13.93.6 A brahmin may be ever a sage, and ever may he sacrifice to the gods, though he be a householder devoted to dharma, and ever wakeful, O Bhārata.

13.93.7 He may be ever an eater of ambrosia, and ever may he be pure; ever a speaker of truth he may be, and ever may he be self-restrained.

13.93.8 He may be ever an eater of the remnants, and ever loving toward his guests; ever an abstainer from flesh he may be, and ever may he be pure.

13.93.9 Yudhiṣṭhira said: How may one be ever a faster and a celibate, O king? And how may one be an eater of the remnants, and how a lover of guests?

13.93.10 Bhīṣma said: He who does not eat again in between the evening meal and the morning meal becomes ever a faster.

13.93.11 Approaching his wife only in her season, a man becomes ever a celibate; and a man given to charity becomes ever a speaker of truth.

13.93.12 By not eating flesh in vain, one becomes an abstainer from flesh; by giving in charity, one becomes pure; and even sleeping by day, one remains free of sleep.

13.93.13 The man who ever eats only after his dependents and guests have eaten — know, O Yudhiṣṭhira, that he eats nothing but ambrosia.

13.93.14 The man who does not eat while the brahmins have not yet eaten — by that very abstinence heaven is won by him.

13.93.15 He who eats what is left over after the gods, the fathers, his dependents, and his guests — him they call an eater of the remnants.

13.93.16 For such men, boundless worlds in the abode of Brahmā are remembered, attended by Apsarases and Gandharvas, O lord of men.

13.93.17 Together with the deities, the guests, and the fathers they feast, and they take delight with their sons and grandsons; theirs is a course beyond all surpassing.

13.94.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Men bestow various gifts upon the brahmins; between the giver and the receiver, which is the more excellent, O grandfather?

13.94.2 Bhīṣma said: The twice-born who accepts a gift from a virtuous man, or likewise from one who is not virtuous, incurs little fault if the giver is endowed with merit, but he sinks down if the giver is devoid of it.

13.94.3 On this point, too, they recount this ancient tale, the dialogue between Vṛṣādarbhi and the Seven Sages, O Bhārata.

13.94.4 Kaśyapa, Atri, and Vasiṣṭha, then Bharadvāja and Gautama, Viśvāmitra, Jamadagni, and the virtuous Arundhatī as well.

13.94.5 Now Gaṇḍā was the serving-maid of all of them, and the Śūdra Paśusakha was her husband.

13.94.6 All of them, performing austerities, of old wandered over this earth, striving through meditation toward the eternal world of Brahmā.

13.94.7 Then there came a great drought, O delight of the Kurus, in which this world was reduced to a hard struggle for life and gripped by hunger.

13.94.8 And once, of old, at a certain sacrifice, the son of Śibi, the patron of the rite, gave his own son to the officiating priests as a sacrificial fee.

13.94.9 At that time, O lord, that short-lived boy came to the end ordained by fate; and they, scorched by hunger, surrounded him and stood near.

13.94.10 Then, seeing the patron's son bereft of life, those most excellent sages, tormented by hunger, set to cooking him in a pot, O Bhārata.

13.94.11 In this world of mortals where there was nothing to eat, those ascetics, seeking to preserve their own lives, fell into a wretched mode of living for the sake of food.

13.94.12 Now the lord of the earth, the Śaibya king Vṛṣādarbhi, roaming along the road, beheld them cooking, sorely afflicted.

13.94.13 Vṛṣādarbhi said: Accepting a gift brings deliverance; it is indeed a nourishment for those who receive. Hear, O you rich in austerity, what wealth is to be found with me.

13.94.14 Dear to me indeed is the brahmin who asks; I would give you a thousand she-mules, each one with its sire and brought to birth, all of them swift-going and white of coat.

13.94.15 Bulls that sustain a family, by the hundred upon hundred, draught-oxen fair and fit for the yoke I would give you wholly, broad and well-fed bearers of the earth, and as many milch-cows, choice young heifers, gentle of disposition.

13.94.16 Choice villages, rice and barley and savory things, and other jewels hard to obtain — what shall I give? Do not turn your minds to forbidden food; for your nourishment, what shall I bestow upon you?

13.94.17 The sages said: O king, a gift from a king is sweet to the taste as honey, yet like poison. Knowing this, why do you set temptation before us?

13.94.18 The warrior-order leans upon the brahmin as upon a deity; for this brahmin, made spotless by austerity and well pleased, gives pleasure to the gods themselves.

13.94.19 Sometimes the austerity of a brahmin is born here in but a single day; and a king's gift, once received, would burn that away as a forest fire consumes.

13.94.20 "May welfare, along with your giving, be ever yours, O king; let all be given to those who seek it" — having so spoken, they then departed.

13.94.21 That flesh of theirs, wise as they were, remained even yet uncooked; and so, abandoning it, they all went off into the forest, still longing for food.

13.94.22 Then, urged on by the king, his ministers went into the forest and, gathering wild figs, set about giving them as a gift.

13.94.23 Now they brought up other wild figs, gold-laden within, and the king's servants then ran forward to press these upon the sages to accept.

13.94.24 Knowing them to be heavy, Atri declared they were not to be taken: "We are no men of deluded understanding, ho! We are no dullards of feeble wit! We know these are made of gold; we are awake, we keep watch."

13.94.25 For this, taken up here, would yield a bitter fruit hereafter; by one who longs for happiness in the world beyond and in this one, it is simply not to be accepted.

13.94.26 Vasiṣṭha said: A gold coin counted by hundreds, reckoned by thousands — the man who accepts ever more of it surely wins the most sinful destiny.

13.94.27 Kaśyapa said: All the rice and barley, the gold, the cattle, and the women upon this earth — even all of it is not enough for one man; therefore let the wise go to tranquility.

13.94.28 Bharadvāja said: As the horn of the ruru deer, once sprung up, keeps growing as the creature grows, so a man's craving grows; of it no measure can be found.

13.94.29 Gautama said: There is no substance in the world that could fill the world; a man is like the ocean — he is never, ever filled.

13.94.30 Viśvāmitra said: When the desire of a man who desires some object is fulfilled, then yet another desire, a thirst, pierces him like an arrow.

13.94.31 Jamadagni said: Restraint in accepting gifts is austerity; it surely upholds him firmly. That wealth of a brahmin who grows greedy here flows away and is lost.

13.94.32 Arundhatī said: Though the gathering of goods for the sake of dharma is approved by some, here the gathering of austerity is far superior to the gathering of goods.

13.94.33 Gaṇḍā said: From that fierce peril for which these my masters, mighty though they are, tremble like the weak, I too tremble all the more from this time on.

13.94.34 Paśusakha said: That beyond which there is nothing higher in dharma — that the brahmins know to be true wealth. For the sake of discipline I would duly wait upon a man of deep learning.

13.94.35 The sages said: Well-being, together with the gift, to him whose subjects these are! But fruits laden with a hidden snare — such as these you offer us in this way.

13.94.36 Bhīṣma said: Having spoken thus and cast aside those fruits stuffed with gold within, the sages, every one of them firm in their vows, went elsewhere.

13.94.37 The ministers said: Suspecting a hidden snare, they have cast these fruits aside and now go off by another route altogether. Let this be known to you, O king.

13.94.38 Thus addressed by those servants, Vṛṣādarbhi grew enraged; and to take revenge upon them all, he went into his house.

13.94.39 Going there, the king took up a severe observance and, in the consecrated fire, offered one by one the oblations sanctified with sacred formulas.

13.94.40 Out of that fire there arose a Kṛtyā, a sorcery-fiend who struck terror into the world; and Vṛṣādarbhi gave her the name Yātudhānī.

13.94.41 That Kṛtyā, like Kālarātri the Night of Doom, stood before him with hands joined in reverence and said to King Vṛṣādarbhi, "What shall I do?"

13.94.42 Vṛṣādarbhi said: Go to the seven sages, and to Arundhatī as well, and to the husband of the slave-woman and to the slave-woman herself; fix their names firmly in your mind.

13.94.43 Once you have learned their names, destroy them all; and when they are destroyed, go freely as you please, wherever you wish.

13.94.44 Promising "So be it," Yātudhānī, taking on a form of her own, went to that forest in which those great sages were wandering.

13.95.1 Bhīṣma said: Now, O king, the great sages led by Atri were wandering in that forest, living upon roots and fruits.

13.95.2 Then they saw a wandering mendicant, Śunaḥsakha, roaming about — a man of stout limbs, with well-fleshed shoulders, hands, feet, face, and belly.

13.95.3 But the lovely Arundhatī, seeing him grown full in every limb, said to the sages, "You yourselves will surely come to be like this — yet it is not so."

13.95.4 Vasiṣṭha said: This man does not, as we do, have an agnihotra left unoffered, to be made evening and morning; that is why Śunaḥsakha is so plump.

13.95.5 Atri said: This man's vigor is not, as ours is, struck down by hunger, nor is what he learned with hardship now lost; that is why Śunaḥsakha is so plump.

13.95.6 Viśvāmitra said: This man has not, as we do, the sacred lore ever upon him like an old ox at its yoke; he is idle, given over to hunger, a dullard — that is why Śunaḥsakha is so plump.

13.95.7 Jamadagni said: This man has not, as we do, any rainy-season store of food and firewood to fret over and lay by; that is why Śunaḥsakha is so plump.

13.95.8 Kaśyapa said: This man does not, as we do, have four brothers born of one womb who beg, "Give, give!"; that is why Śunaḥsakha is so plump.

13.95.9 Bharadvāja said: This man has not, as has a witless wretch of a brahmin like us, grief from a wife's reproaches; that is why Śunaḥsakha is so plump.

13.95.10 Gautama said: This man has not, as we do, three woolen rāṅkava blankets, each one to last three years; that is why Śunaḥsakha is so plump.

13.95.11 Bhīṣma said: Then the wandering mendicant Śunaḥsakha, seeing those great sages, drew near and duly greeted them with a touch of the hand.

13.95.12 And telling one another of their forest livelihood, which served to ward off hunger, they then set out together.

13.95.13 United in a single resolve and purpose, they roamed the woods, digging up and gathering roots and fruits.

13.95.14 Once, as they wandered, they came upon a lovely lotus pond, ringed by close-set trees, its water pure, bright, and clear.

13.95.15 It was adorned with blossoms shining like the body of the newly risen sun, and covered over with lotus leaves the color of beryl.

13.95.16 It was thronged with birds of many kinds that haunt the spreading waters, having but a single approach, no one to claim it, with fair landings and free of mud.

13.95.17 But the Kṛtyā set to her task by Vṛṣādarbhi, hideous of aspect and known as Yātudhānī, was guarding that lotus pond.

13.95.18 With Śunaḥsakha for their companion, those great sages went up to the pond, seeking lotus stalks — all of them, to that pond guarded by the Kṛtyā.

13.95.19 Then the great sages, seeing that Yātudhānī, the Kṛtyā of hideous aspect, standing on the bank of the lotus pond, spoke to her.

13.95.20 You stand here alone — who indeed are you? For whose sake, and with what purpose? Keeping to the bank of the lotus pond, tell us, what is it you mean to do?

13.95.21 Yātudhānī said: I am whoever I am; no questioning of me is to be made, by any means. Know me, all you whose wealth is austerity, to be the guardian of this pond.

13.95.22 The sages said: We are all tormented by hunger, and we have nothing else at all. So with your leave, we shall every one of us gather the lotus stalks.

13.95.23 Yātudhānī said: Take the lotus stalks from here on a condition, as you please: let each one of you first declare his name to me, and then gather them without delay.

13.95.24 Bhīṣma said: Recognizing that Yātudhānī to be a Kṛtyā bent on the sages' destruction, Atri, his very self overwhelmed by hunger, then spoke these words.

13.95.25 "A-rātri" is the night that for Atri is no-night, the night he does not study thrice in a day; therefore, fair one, know my name to be Atri, the "no-night."

13.95.26 Yātudhānī said: This name of yours, great sage, as you have explained it to me, is hard to hold in the mind; go on, then — go down into the pond.

13.95.27 Vasiṣṭha said: I am Vasiṣṭha, I am the most excellent (variṣṭha); I dwell (vase) even in houses my dwelling (vāsam). From being most excellent and from dwelling, know me as Vasiṣṭha.

13.95.28 Yātudhānī said: This etymology of your name has syllables hard to pronounce; it cannot be held in mind. Go on — go down into the pond.

13.95.29 Kaśyapa said: "Lineage upon lineage," a guardian of the wicked, a protector — Kaśyapa the twice-born, of Kāśi, from his resemblance to a shining radiance (kāśa): hold this name of mine.

13.95.30 Yātudhānī said: This name of yours, great sage, as you have explained it to me, is hard to hold in the mind; go on, then — go down into the pond.

13.95.31 Bharadvāja said: I support (bhare) my sons, I support my pupils, I support the gods, I support the twice-born, I support my wife, doing so without pretense — I am Bharadvāja, the upholder, O fair one.

13.95.32 Yātudhānī said: This etymology of your name has syllables hard to pronounce; it cannot be held in mind. Go on — go down into the pond.

13.95.33 Gautama said: "Tamer of cattle," "tamer-goer," the smokeless one, restraint, the one hard to look upon — know me, O Kṛtyā, as Gautama; mark me well, Yātudhānī.

13.95.34 Yātudhānī said: This name of yours, great sage, as you have explained it to me, cannot be held in mind. Go on — go down into the pond.

13.95.35 Viśvāmitra said: The All-Gods (Viśvedevas) are my friends, and I too am a friend (mitra) to the cattle; mark me, O Yātudhānī, renowned as Viśvāmitra, friend of all.

13.95.36 Yātudhānī said: This etymology of your name has syllables hard to pronounce; it cannot be held in mind. Go on — go down into the pond.

13.95.37 Jamadagni said: Born of sacrifice and offering, by name "the purifier," she said, "you wish to be born" — renowned as Jamadagni; from this know me, O fair one.

13.95.38 Yātudhānī said: This name of yours, great sage, as you have explained it to me, cannot be held in mind. Go on — go down into the pond.

13.95.39 Arundhatī said: Like the earth, the sustainer, the bearer of wealth, I stand ever close behind my husband, holding my mind faithful to him (anurundhatī) — by this know me as Arundhatī.

13.95.40 Yātudhānī said: This etymology of your name has syllables hard to pronounce; it cannot be held in mind. Go on — go down into the pond.

13.95.41 Gaṇḍā said: Going cheek by cheek (gaṇḍa by gaṇḍa), I am called Gaṇḍa-gaṇḍā; know me as Gaṇḍā, as it were "cheek upon cheek," O daughter of fire.

13.95.42 Yātudhānī said: This etymology of your name has syllables hard to pronounce; it cannot be held in mind. Go on — go down into the pond.

13.95.43 Paśusakha said: A friend, in friendship, one fit to be befriended, and ever a friend (sakhā) to the cattle (paśus) — by this secondary derivation know me thus as Paśusakha, O you born of fire.

13.95.44 Yātudhānī said: This etymology of your name has syllables hard to pronounce; it cannot be held in mind. Go on — go down into the pond.

13.95.45 Śunaḥsakha said: A name such as these have spoken I do not care to utter here; mark me, O Yātudhānī, as the companion of Śunaḥsakha, the dog's friend.

13.95.46 Yātudhānī said: Your name has been spoken indistinctly, in words of doubtful sound; so now, O twice-born, tell me once and clearly what your name is.

13.95.47 Śunaḥsakha said: My name was uttered once, and since you did not grasp it, therefore, struck down by the triple staff, go to ashes without delay!

13.95.48 Bhīṣma said: Struck then upon the head by that staff, which was like the rod of Brahmā, the Kṛtyā fell to the earth and was reduced to ashes.

13.95.49 And Śunaḥsakha, having slain that mighty Yātudhānī, planted his triple staff in the ground and sat down upon the grassy turf.

13.95.50 Then all the sages, taking lotus blossoms and stalks as they pleased, rose up filled with joy.

13.95.51 Wearied with great toil, they laid the lotus stalks in bundles on the bank of the pond and made the water-offering with its waters.

13.95.52 Then, rising up from that water, they all came together — and yet, O bull among men, they could not see those lotus stalks.

13.95.53 The sages said: By what evildoer, what cruel wretch, have the lotus stalks been carried off from us — overcome by hunger and longing for food?

13.95.54 Suspecting one another, those best of the twice-born questioned each other; and they all said, "Let us swear an oath," O scourge of your foes.

13.95.55 Saying "Yes, indeed," all of them, together with Śunaḥsakha, tormented by hunger and utterly worn out, set about taking the oath.

13.95.56 Atri said: Let him touch a cow with his foot and pass water facing the sun, and study on the forbidden days — whoever it is that has stolen the lotus stalks.

13.95.57 Vasiṣṭha said: Let him in this world be one who shuns sacred study and instead drags a dog about, a wandering mendicant given to his own desires — whoever it is that has stolen the lotus stalks.

13.95.58 Let him slay one who has come to him for refuge, betray a friend, live off his own daughter, and crave wealth from a miser — whoever it is that has stolen the lotus stalks.

13.95.59 Kaśyapa said: Let him gamble everything away on everything, embezzle what is left in trust, and become a false witness — whoever it is that has stolen the lotus stalks.

13.95.60 Let him eat meat offered in vain, make gifts in vain, and go in to a woman by day — whoever it is that has stolen the lotus stalks.

13.95.61 Bharadvāja said: Let him be cruel and abandoned by dharma toward women, kinsmen, and cattle, and let him even win out over a brahmin — whoever it is that has stolen the lotus stalks.

13.95.62 Whoever steals the lotus-stalks—let him recite the verses of the Ṛc and the Yajus while degrading his own teacher beneath him, and let him offer oblation while consumed in a brushwood fire.

13.95.63 Jamadagni said: Whoever steals the lotus-stalks—let him void his excrement into the waters, let him slay even a milch-cow, and let him go to coupling out of season.

13.95.64 Whoever steals the lotus-stalks—let him be a hateful man living off his wife, his kinsmen estranged, surrounded by enmity, and let such men be guests of one another.

13.95.65 Gautama said: Whoever steals the lotus-stalks—having studied the Vedas let him cast them off, let him let his three sacred fires die out, and let him sell the soma.

13.95.66 Whoever steals the lotus-stalks—let him attain the same world as that brāhmaṇa who, in a village flooded by a broken well, is the husband of a low-caste woman.

13.95.67 Viśvāmitra said: Whoever steals the lotus-stalks—while his elders and dependents yet live, let strangers maintain them; let him be destitute though burdened with many sons.

13.95.68 Whoever steals the lotus-stalks—let him be impure, a counterfeit of a brāhmaṇa, made arrogant by his very prosperity, a ploughman, and grudging.

13.95.69 Whoever steals the lotus-stalks—let him toil for years as a hireling, let him be a king's house-priest, and let him serve as ritual officiant for a man unfit to sacrifice.

13.95.70 Arundhatī said: Whoever steals the lotus-stalks—let her forever revile her mother-in-law, let her be ill-disposed toward her husband, and let her eat the dainty food alone.

13.95.71 Whoever steals the lotus-stalks—dwelling amid the houses of her kin, let her eat parched meal at day's end; let her be luckless and bear no living son.

13.95.72 Gaṇḍū said: Whoever steals the lotus-stalks—let her speak falsehood always, let her quarrel with the good, and let her give her daughter away for a bride-price.

13.95.73 Whoever steals the lotus-stalks—having cooked the food, let her eat it herself first; let her live in servitude, and let her perish through forbidden deeds.

13.95.74 Paśusakha said: Whoever steals the lotus-stalks—let him be born only of a slave-woman, childless and possessing nothing, paying no homage to the gods.

13.95.75 Śunaḥsakha said: Whoever it is that steals the lotus-stalks—let that brāhmaṇa, who has studied the Atharva Veda, give his daughter to an Adhvaryu priest, or to a Chāndoga who has fulfilled his vow of chastity, and then perform his ritual ablution.

13.95.76 The seers said: O Śunaḥsakha, this oath you have sworn is the very thing desired by the twice-born; yet it is you who have committed the theft of the lotus-stalks against us all.

13.95.77 Śunaḥsakha said: What was spoken by you, men of accomplished rites who did not see where the stalks were first laid aside—this is true, this is no falsehood: the theft of the lotus-stalks was done by me.

13.95.78 For it was I who hid away these very lotus-stalks—behold them here! O sinless ones, I did this to test you reverend sages, and I have come for the protection of you all.

13.95.79 O you whose wealth is austerity, this was a fierce demoness, a deadly enchantment seeking your destruction, sent against you by Vṛṣādarbhi—and she has been slain by me.

13.95.80 This wicked, sinful thing, born of fire, would have done you harm; therefore I have come, O brāhmaṇas—know me to be Vāsava.

13.95.81 By your freedom from greed you have won imperishable worlds where every desire is fulfilled. Rise up from here at once, O twice-born, and attain them.

13.95.82 Bhīṣma said: Then the great seers, well pleased, said "So be it" to Puraṃdara, and together with Indra, lord of the thirty gods, they all went to heaven.

13.95.83 Thus these great-souled ones, though oppressed by the keenest hunger and tempted with enjoyments of every kind by exalted beings, gave way to no greed at all, and so they won heaven.

13.95.84 Therefore in all conditions of life a man should renounce greed. This, O king, is the highest dharma, renowned by the name of freedom from greed.

13.95.85 Let a man recite this noble tale in assemblies; he comes to share in happiness and meets with no calamities.

13.95.86 His ancestors are pleased, and so too the seers and the gods; and after death the man comes to share in glory, dharma, and wealth.

13.96.1 Bhīṣma said: On this very matter they recount an ancient tale—what came to pass on a pilgrimage to the holy fords, concerning an oath. Hear it.

13.96.2 O best of the Bhāratas, in olden days, O great king, a theft was committed over a lotus by royal seers and likewise by brāhmaṇa seers.

13.96.3 The seers, gathered together in the west at Prabhāsa, took counsel among themselves: "Let us all roam the earth and its holy fords—that is our task; come now, let us all set out."

13.96.4 O king, Śukra and Aṅgiras, and the learned Kavi, and Agastya, and Nārada and Parvata, Bhṛgu, Vasiṣṭha, Kaśyapa, and Gautama, Viśvāmitra and Jamadagni—

13.96.5 and the seer Gālava, and Aṣṭaka, Bharadvāja, Arundhatī, the Vālakhilyas, Śibi, Dilīpa, Nahuṣa, Ambarīṣa, King Yayāti, Dhundhumāra, and Pūru—

13.96.6 O lord of men, setting at their head the mighty Śatakratu, slayer of Vṛtra, they journeyed; circling round all the holy fords, in the month of Māgha they came to the sacred Kauśikī ford.

13.96.7 Their sins washed away in all the fords, they went then to the most holy Lake of Brahmā; and those sages, splendid as fire, plunging into the water at the god's ford, fed upon lotus-stalks and lotus-blossoms.

13.96.8 There, O king, some dug up lotus-stalks, and other brāhmaṇas dug up lotus-fibres; then they saw a lotus being carried off, drawn up from the pool by Agastya.

13.96.9 Agastya said to all those foremost seers: "By whom was my fair-grown lotus taken? I suspect you. Let my lotus be returned to me—surely you ought not to steal the flower."

13.96.10 "I hear that the age destroys the strength of dharma; this oppression of dharma has now come and grows apace. Before unrighteousness here increases further, I shall depart for the other world for a long while."

13.96.11 "Before brāhmaṇas, with loud-proclaimed voice, recite the Vedas in the midst of villages for low-caste men to hear, before the king looks on at unrighteous lawsuits, I shall go to the other world."

13.96.12 "Before all men come to despise their betters, their elders, and the worthier—while this rule of the worse-over-the-better does not yet prevail—until then I shall depart for the other world for a long while."

13.96.13 "Before I see weak mortals devoured by the stronger, by the more powerful—for that reason I shall go to the other world for a long while, for I cannot bear to witness such things in the world of men."

13.96.14 Distressed, the seers said to that great sage: "We have not stolen your lotus. You ought not to lay a false charge upon us; we shall swear fierce oaths, O great seer."

13.96.15 Then those great seers, resolved and reverencing dharma in this manner, O lord of men, swore oaths each in turn, O king, together with their sons and grandsons.

13.96.16 Bhṛgu said: Whoever steals your lotus—let him, when reviled, revile back, when struck, strike back, and let him devour the flesh of others' backs through slander.

13.96.17 Vasiṣṭha said: Whoever steals your lotus—let him be one given over to the neglect of Vedic study, let him drag a dog about, and let him become a beggar in the town.

13.96.18 Kaśyapa said: Whoever steals your lotus—let him trade in everything everywhere, let him grasp at goods left in his trust, and let him take up the office of false witness.

13.96.19 Gautama said: Whoever steals your lotus—let him live made arrogant by his own cleverness, let him trade in the basest of wares, and let him be a ploughman and grudging.

13.96.20 Aṅgiras said: Whoever steals your lotus—let him be impure, a counterfeit of a brāhmaṇa, let him drag a dog about, and let him be a destroyer of sacred knowledge.

13.96.21 Dhundhumāra said: Whoever steals your lotus—let him be ungrateful to his friends, let him beget offspring upon a śūdra woman, and let him eat the finest food alone.

13.96.22 Pūru said: Whoever steals your lotus—let him ply the trade of medicine, let him grow rich through his wife, and let his livelihood come from his father-in-law.

13.96.23 Dilīpa said: Whoever steals your lotus—let him go to the worlds of that brāhmaṇa who, in a village flooded by a broken well, is the husband of a low-caste woman.

13.96.24 Śukra said: Whoever steals your lotus—let him feed on backbiting slander, let him resort to coupling by day, and let him be a king's menial servant.

13.96.25 Jamadagni said: Whoever steals your lotus—let him study on days when study is forbidden, let him feed a mere friend at the funeral rite, and let him eat at a śūdra's funeral feast.

13.96.26 Śibi said: Whoever steals your lotus—let him die without having kindled the sacred fires, let him work obstruction at a sacrifice, and let him quarrel with ascetics.

13.96.27 Yayāti said: Whoever steals your lotus—wearing matted locks, let him beget offspring out of season upon a wife bound by a vow, and let him cast aside the Vedas.

13.96.28 Nahuṣa said: Whoever steals your lotus—as a householder let him drive away the guest, as a consecrated man let him follow his lusts, and let him sell his learning for hire.

13.96.29 Ambarīṣa said: Whoever steals your lotus—let him be cruel and forsworn of dharma toward women, kinsmen, and cattle, and let him forsake even the brāhmaṇa.

13.96.30 Nārada said: Whoever steals your lotus—let him be ignorant within while reciting scripture outwardly with discordant, faulty verse, and let him despise his betters.

13.96.31 Nābhāga said: Whoever steals your lotus—let him speak falsehood always, let him quarrel with the good, and let him give his daughter away for a bride-price.

13.96.32 Kavi said: Whoever steals your lotus—let him kick a cow with his foot, let him make water facing the sun, and let him abandon one who has come to him for refuge.

13.96.33 Viśvāmitra said: Whoever steals your lotus—let him toil for years as a hireling, let him be a king's house-priest, and let him serve as ritual officiant for one unfit to sacrifice.

13.96.34 Parvata said: Whoever steals your lotus—let him be set as an officer over a village, let him travel in a donkey-cart, and let him drag dogs about to earn his living.

13.96.35 Bharadvāja said: Whoever steals your lotus—let there cling to him forever the sin that is the gathering-up of all sins, the sin that lies in cruelty and in falsehood.

13.96.36 Aṣṭaka said: Whoever steals your lotus—let him be a king devoid of wisdom, a lustful evildoer, and let him rule the earth by unrighteousness.

13.96.37 Gālava said: Whoever steals your lotus—let that man be worth less than the vilest of the wicked, a worker of his own sin, and let him boast aloud of the gift he has given.

13.96.38 Arundhatī said: Whoever steals your lotus—let her speak ill of her mother-in-law, let her be ill-disposed toward her husband, and let her eat the dainty food alone.

13.96.39 The Vālakhilyas said: Whoever steals your lotus—let him stand on one foot at the village gate to earn his bread, and though he knows dharma, let him be forsworn of dharma.

13.96.40 Paśusakha said: Whoever steals your lotus—let that twice-born man sleep at ease, neglecting the fire-oblation, and as a wandering renunciant let him follow his lusts.

13.96.41 Surabhī said: Whoever steals your lotus—let her tether the cow with a halter of coarse grass, let her milking-pail be of bronze, and let her milk with another's calf at the udder.

13.96.42 Bhīṣma said: Then, O lord of the Kurus, as they swore those many and various oaths, the thousand-eyed sovereign of the gods rejoiced greatly, gazing upon that wrathful chief of brāhmaṇas.

13.96.43 Then Maghavat, addressing that seer who had grown enraged, declared his own avowal in the midst of the brāhmaṇa-seers, the divine seers, and the royal seers—mark now, O king, what I tell you here today.

13.96.44 Śakra said: Whoever it is that takes your lotus—let that brāhmaṇa, having studied the Atharva Veda, give his daughter to an Adhvaryu priest, or to a Chāndoga who has fulfilled his vow of chastity, and then perform his ablution.

13.96.45 Whoever steals your lotus—let him study all the Vedas, let him be of holy character and righteous, and let him go to the abode of Brahmā.

13.96.46 Agastya said: What you have uttered, O slayer of Bala, is a blessing, not an oath of cursing. Let my lotus be returned to me—that is the eternal dharma.

13.96.47 Indra said: Reverend one, I did not take this lotus today out of greed; I took it from a wish to hear an exposition of dharma. You ought not to be angry.

13.96.48 This dharma I have now heard—the exaltation of sacred lore, the flawless dike of righteousness—belonging to the seers, everlasting, eternal, and imperishable.

13.96.49 So take back this lotus, O learned one, O best of sages; reverend and blameless one, you ought to forgive my transgression.

13.96.50 Thus addressed by great Indra, that ascetic, sorely wrathful though he was, took back the lotus; and the wise sage became serene.

13.96.51 Then those forest-dwelling sages went on once more to the holy fords, and at the sacred fords they bathed their limbs.

13.96.52 Whoever, devout, reads this tale at every change of the moon will beget no foolish son, nor will he himself be cast out.

13.96.53 No calamity will touch him, nor fever, nor disease; freed of impurity and endowed with blessedness, after death he will attain heaven.

13.96.54 And whoever meditates upon this scripture, guarded by the seers, will go, O best of men, to the imperishable world of Brahmā.

13.97.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: O bull of the Bhāratas, the umbrella and the pair of sandals that are given away in the rites of the funeral offering—by whom was this first set in motion? How did it come to be, and for what purpose is it given?

13.97.2 Not only in the rite of the śrāddha, but in works of merit as well, is this given. I wish to hear of it in full and in truth, O king.

13.97.3 Bhīṣma said: Listen attentively, O king, to the full account of the parasol and the sandals—how this became renowned in the world, and by whom it was first set in motion.

13.97.4 And how it attained imperishability, and how it came to be accounted meritorious—all of this, without remainder, I shall declare to you, O lord of men.

13.97.5 Hear this ancient tale of what came to pass of old, O ruler of men—the colloquy of Jamadagni with the great-souled Sūrya.

13.97.6 In olden days that blessed one in person sported with his bow, O lord; nocking arrow after arrow, the scion of Bhṛgu, it is said, loosed them forth.

13.97.7 All those arrows of his, blazing with splendor, that he had loosed, Reṇukā fetched and brought back, and gave them to him again and again, O unfailing one.

13.97.8 Then, delighted by the sound of the bowstring against the wrist-guard and of the arrow, he kept loosing them, and she kept bringing them back.

13.97.9 Then, when the sun had climbed to noon at the foot of the constellation Jyeṣṭhā, that brāhmaṇa, having loosed his shafts, said this to Reṇukā:

13.97.10 "Go, O wide-eyed one, fetch these arrows fallen from the bow, that I may loose them once again, O fair-browed one"—so he spoke, O lord of men.

13.97.11 As that lovely woman went, she took refuge midway in the shade of a tree and halted, for her head was scorched, and her feet likewise.

13.97.12 Having paused but a moment, the fair one, in dread of her husband's curse, the dark-eyed lady set out once more to fetch the arrows, and the illustrious woman returned, taking up those shafts.

13.97.13 Drenched in sweat, that fair-limbed one, bearing the pain in her feet, approached her husband, trembling out of fear of him.

13.97.14 Then the sage, wrathful, spoke these words to the fair-faced woman: "Reṇukā, why have you come so late?"—again and again.

13.97.15 Reṇukā said: My head was aflame, and my feet as well, O treasury of austerity. Held back by the sun's fierce heat, I took refuge in the shade of a tree.

13.97.16 For this reason, O brāhmaṇa, was this delay caused by me. Knowing this of me, O mighty one, be not wrathful, O treasury of austerity.

13.97.17 Jamadagni said: This very day, Reṇukā, this sun of blazing rays, the giver of your pain, I shall bring down with my arrows by the fiery power of my weapons.

13.97.18 Bhīṣma said: Drawing taut his celestial bow and taking up many shafts, he stood facing the sun, turning toward whatever quarter it moved.

13.97.19 Then, as he was about to strike, Sūrya, drawing near in the form of a brāhmaṇa, spoke these words, O son of Kuntī: "What wrong has the sun done you?

13.97.20 With his rays the sun in heaven, O learned one, draws up moisture from here and there; and that essence the day-maker pours down again in the rains.

13.97.21 Thence is born food, O brāhmaṇa, that brings well-being to men—for 'food is the breath of life,' as it is recited in the Vedas.

13.97.22 Then, hidden within the clouds and girt about by his own rays, he rains down with showers upon these seven continents, O brāhmaṇa.

13.97.23 Thence, born of the leaves and flowers of herbs and creepers, all food, brought forth by the rains, comes into being, O lord.

13.97.24 All the birth-rites, the vows and the initiations, the gifts of cows and the marriages, and likewise the abundance of sacrifices—

13.97.25 the sacrificial sessions and the gifts, the unions and the heapings-up of wealth—all proceed from food, as you well know, O scion of Bhṛgu.

13.97.26 Whatever delightful things there are, and whatever undertakings—all arise from food; what is well known I now recount to you.

13.97.27 For all this that I have recounted you yourself know, O brāhmaṇa. I entreat your favor, O brāhmaṇa-sage: why should the sun be struck down by you?"

13.98.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: When the light-maker thus pleaded with him, what course did Jamadagni, the best of sages, of great splendor, resolve upon?

13.98.2 Bhīṣma said: Though the sun pleaded thus, the sage Jamadagni, radiant as fire, did not come to peace at all, O joy of the Kurus.

13.98.3 Then Sūrya, in the guise of a brāhmaṇa, with hands joined and bowing low, addressed him in honeyed speech, O lord of peoples:

13.98.4 "Moving is the mark, O brāhmaṇa-sage, of the ever-traveling sun. How will you take aim at the moving day-maker, who is forever in motion?"

13.98.5 Jamadagni said: Whether still or moving, I know you with the eye of knowledge. Without fail, today, the imparting of discipline must be wrought upon you by me.

13.98.6 In the afternoon you pause for half the blink of an eye, O day-maker; there I shall mark you, O Sūrya. Of this I have no doubt.

13.98.7 Sūrya said: Without a doubt you will mark me, O brāhmaṇa-sage, O best of bowmen. Yet though I have done you injury, know me, blessed one, as one who has come to you for refuge.

13.98.8 Bhīṣma said: Then the blessed Jamadagni laughed and said to him: "No fear need be felt by you, O Sūrya, for you have come to me in submission.

13.98.9 The uprightness that is in brāhmaṇas, and the steadfastness in the surface of the earth, the gentleness of the moon, and the depth of Varuṇa,

13.98.10 the blaze of Agni, the radiance of Meru, and the scorching might of the burning sun—whoever would transgress these, he might slay one who has sought refuge.

13.98.11 He who slays one who has sought refuge would be as a defiler of his teacher's bed, and would be as a slayer of a brāhmaṇa, and would be as one who drinks strong liquor.

13.98.12 But, my friend, devise a remedy for this misfortune, so that the path, scorched by your rays, may become easy to travel."

13.98.13 Bhīṣma said: Having said only this much, the upholder of the Bhṛgus then fell silent; whereupon Sūrya at once gave him a parasol and a pair of sandals.

13.98.14 Sūrya said: O great sage, accept this parasol, a shelter for the head that wards off my rays, and these leather sandals for the protection of the feet.

13.98.15 And from this day forth this shall pass current in the world, and in all meritorious gifts it shall be supreme and imperishable.

13.98.16 Bhīṣma said: Thus were the sandals and the parasol set in motion here by Sūrya; this meritorious thing is renowned throughout the three worlds, O Bhārata.

13.98.17 Therefore bestow upon brāhmaṇas the finest parasol and sandals; great indeed shall be your merit. Of this I have no doubt.

13.98.18 For whoever, O best of the Bhāratas, should give to a brāhmaṇa a parasol, white and of a hundred ribs, he, when he has departed, flourishes in happiness.

13.98.19 He dwells in the world of Śakra, ever honored by brāhmaṇas and by the apsarases and by the gods, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.98.20 He who gives a pair of sandals to a brāhmaṇa scorched by the heat, to a snātaka, O mighty-armed one, to a brāhmaṇa firm in his vows—

13.98.21 he too attains worlds honored by the gods, and in the world of cows, filled with joy, he dwells when he has departed, O Bhārata.

13.98.22 This, O best of the Bhāratas, has been told by me in full—the fruit of the gift of parasol and sandals, O most excellent of the Bhāratas.

13.99.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: O delight of the Kurus, the fruit that comes from groves and from reservoirs of water—that I wish to hear from you this day, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.99.2 Bhīṣma said: Fair to behold, clothed in forest, adorned with bright mineral ores, and furnished with all seeds—such land is here said to be the best.

13.99.3 Of its choice tracts, and of the establishing of tanks, and of all matters concerning water, I shall speak in due order.

13.99.4 I shall tell, too, what virtues belong to tanks once they are made; throughout the three worlds, everywhere honored is he who possesses a tank.

13.99.5 The establishing of tanks is a dwelling-place of friends, friendly, an increaser of friends, a begetter of fame, and most excellent.

13.99.6 The wise declare a tank well made in a fitting region to be the fruit of dharma, of artha, and of kāma—a very field that is a great refuge.

13.99.7 One should regard a tank as belonging to creatures of the four kinds, and all tanks bestow the highest prosperity.

13.99.8 Gods, men, gandharvas, ancestors, serpents and rākṣasas, and the unmoving creatures too, all resort to a reservoir of water.

13.99.9 Therefore I shall declare to you those virtues that are remembered as belonging to a tank, and the winning of fruit therein, as proclaimed by the sages.

13.99.10 When in a tank the water of a single rainy season abides for a man, the wise declare his fruit to be the fruit of the agnihotra.

13.99.11 When in his tank the water abides through the autumn season, he, when he has departed, gains the supreme fruit of a thousand cows.

13.99.12 When the water abides in his tank through the season of early winter, he gains the fruit of a sacrifice rich in gold.

13.99.13 For him in whose tank there is water in the cold season, the wise declare the fruit to be that of the agniṣṭoma sacrifice.

13.99.14 He whose well-made tank is a great refuge in the spring enjoys the fruit of the atirātra sacrifice.

13.99.15 When in the hot season the drinking-water abides in his tank, the sages know his fruit to be equal to that of the vājapeya.

13.99.16 He delivers his whole lineage, in whose excavated reservoir cows drink water, and good men always.

13.99.17 He in whose tank thirsting cows drink the water, and deer and birds and men, gains the fruit of the horse-sacrifice.

13.99.18 Whatever water they drink there, and where they bathe and rest—all this avails the giver of the tank, when he has departed, for eternity.

13.99.19 Water is hard to come by, my friend, and especially so in the world beyond; through the gift of drinking-water, lasting contentment arises.

13.99.20 Give sesame, give drinking-water, give lamps, and keep watchful; rejoice together with your kinsmen—for among the departed these things are hard to come by.

13.99.21 Heavier than all gifts, and distinguished above all gifts, is drinking-water, O tiger among men; therefore it must surely be given.

13.99.22 Thus has the supreme fruit that lies in tanks been told; hereafter I shall speak of the planting of trees as well.

13.99.23 Of unmoving beings six kinds are proclaimed: trees, shrubs, climbers, creepers, those whose pith lies in the bark, and the grasses.

13.99.24 These are the kinds of trees; in the planting of them these are the virtues—fame in the world of men, and after death a blessed fruit as well.

13.99.25 He wins renown in the world and is honored by the ancestors; even when he has gone to the world of the gods, his name does not perish.

13.99.26 The planter of trees delivers both his line of ancestors, past and yet to come, O Bhārata; therefore let one plant trees.

13.99.27 These trees become his sons—of this there is no doubt; and when he has passed to the other world, he attains heaven and imperishable realms.

13.99.28 With their blossoms the trees honor the hosts of the gods, and with their fruits the ancestors, and with their shade the guests, my friend—these earth-born ones.

13.99.29 Kinnaras, serpents, and rākṣasas, gods, gandharvas, and men, and the hosts of sages too, all take refuge in the trees.

13.99.30 Blossoming and bearing fruit, they gratify men here; and as sons do, the trees deliver the giver of trees in the world beyond.

13.99.31 Therefore by one who seeks the good, trees should ever be planted beside a tank, and should be tended as one's sons; for in the law they are accounted his sons.

13.99.32 The maker of a tank, the planter of trees, and the brāhmaṇa who has offered sacrifice—these are exalted in heaven, and so are others who speak the truth.

13.99.33 Therefore let a man dig a reservoir, and let him plant pleasure-gardens; let him worship with sacrifices of many kinds, and let him speak the truth unfailingly.

13.100.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Declare to me the whole duty of the householder, O bull of the Bhāratas; by doing what, O king, does a man attain prosperity in this world?

13.100.2 Bhīṣma said: On this matter I shall relate to you an ancient happening, O lord of men, the dialogue of Vāsudeva and the Earth, O descendant of Bharata.

13.100.3 Having praised the goddess Earth, the mighty Vāsudeva questioned her, O best of the Bhāratas, on the very thing you now ask of me.

13.100.4 Vāsudeva said: For one who has taken up the householder's life, by me or by one of my kind, what, O Earth, must of necessity be done, and by doing what does a man become happy?

13.100.5 The Earth said: The seers, the ancestors, the gods, and men as well, O Mādhava, are to be worshipped with sacrifice and honored with reverence; learn from me how this is done.

13.100.6 Ever the gods with sacrifice, and men with hospitality, and the worthy ones day after day according to their wish—let him serve them constantly; thereby the hosts of seers are made glad, O slayer of Madhu.

13.100.7 Let him tend the sacred fire daily, and before eating perform the offering of bali; thus indeed are the gods pleased, O slayer of Madhu.

13.100.8 Day by day let him perform the śrāddha with food, or with water, or even with milk, roots, and fruits, bringing satisfaction to the ancestors.

13.100.9 From cooked food let him make the Vaiśvadeva offering in the fire according to rule—to Agni and Soma, to the All-Gods, and thereafter to Dhanvantari.

13.100.10 To the Lord of Creatures too a separate oblation is ordained; and in the same order let him carry out the rite of the bali-offering.

13.100.11 In the south to Yama, in the west to Varuṇa, and in the north to Soma, and in the center of the dwelling to the twice-born.

13.100.12 To Dhanvantari in the northeast, and in the east to Śakra, O Mādhava; and to Manu, they say, the bali is offered at the door of the house; while to the Maruts and the deities he should offer the bali within the house.

13.100.13 Likewise to the All-Gods let him offer the bali into the open air, and to the spirits that roam by night let him offer the bali in the nighttime.

13.100.14 Having duly made the bali in this way, let him give alms to the twice-born; and if no brāhmaṇa is to be found, let him take up the choicest portion and cast it into the fire.

13.100.15 When a man wishes to offer a śrāddha to the ancestors, let him perform these other rites afterward, once the śrāddha-rite is concluded.

13.100.16 Having gratified the ancestors, let him perform the bali according to rule; then let him make the Vaiśvadeva offering, and after that the formal address of the brāhmaṇas.

13.100.17 Then with the food that remains let him feed his guests as well, with worship first, O great king; thereby he gives satisfaction to men.

13.100.18 Because he abides only for a fleeting while, he is called atithi, the guest who keeps no fixed day.

13.100.19 To his teacher, to his father, to a friend, and to a trusted guest, let him always announce, "This much is in my house, mine to give."

13.100.20 Whatever they may say, that let him do—so the law is laid down; and the householder, O Kṛṣṇa, should ever eat only what remains after others are served.

13.100.21 A king, a priest, a snātaka, a teacher, and a father-in-law—if they have stayed away a full year—let him honor with the madhuparka offering.

13.100.22 And for the dogs, for the outcastes, and for the birds let him scatter food upon the ground; this indeed is called the Vaiśvadeva rite, ordained for both evening and morning.

13.100.23 Whoever, free of grudging spirit, performs these duties of the householder, having attained the highest prosperity here, is exalted in heaven hereafter.

13.100.24 Bhīṣma said: Having heard these words of the Earth, the mighty Vāsudeva did accordingly ever after; do you too conduct yourself in this same way.

13.100.25 Thus mindful of the householder's duty, O ruler of men, you shall win fame in this world and, departing, shall attain heaven.

13.101.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: This thing called the giving of light—of what nature is it, O bull of the Bhāratas? How did it arise, and what is its fruit? Tell me of it.

13.101.2 Bhīṣma said: On this too they cite an ancient tale, the discourse of Manu the Lord of Creatures and of Suvarṇa, O descendant of Bharata.

13.101.3 There was once an ascetic, Suvarṇa by name; golden of hue in color, he was renowned as Suvarṇa, "the gold-colored one."

13.101.4 Endowed with high birth, character, and virtue, and grown supreme in the study of sacred texts, he surpassed by his own merits many who had sprung from his lineage.

13.101.5 On a certain day that brāhmaṇa beheld Manu and approached him, and there the two of them exchanged inquiries after one another's welfare.

13.101.6 Then those two, whose every resolve was fulfilled, sat down together upon a delightful slab of rock on Meru, the golden mountain.

13.101.7 There the two conversed in tales of many a theme, concerning the brāhmaṇa-seers, the gods, and the daityas, the great-souled ones of ancient days.

13.101.8 Then Suvarṇa spoke these words to the lord Manu, the self-born: "For the good of all beings, be pleased to answer a question of mine."

13.101.9 "The deities are worshipped with flowers, O Lord of Creatures—what is this, and how did it come about? Declare to me too the fruit that attends it."

13.101.10 Manu said: On this too they cite this ancient tale, the dialogue of Śukra and Bali at their meeting.

13.101.11 To Bali, son of Virocana, while he ruled over the three worlds, there came in haste Śukra, the upholder of Bhṛgu's line.

13.101.12 Having honored that scion of Bhṛgu with the arghya and the rest, that lord of the asuras, lavish in his largesse, afterward took his seat according to rule.

13.101.13 There arose this very topic which you have now recounted, concerning the fruit that lies in the giving of flowers, incense, and lamps.

13.101.14 Then the lord of the daityas put this excellent question to the chief of seers: "What is the fruit of giving flowers, incense, and lamps, O best knower of the Brahman? That, O foremost of the twice-born, be pleased to tell."

13.101.15 Śukra said: Austerity arose first; from it, immediately after, came the Law; and in this same interval came the creepers and the healing herbs as well.

13.101.16 And the essence of Soma came to be in manifold forms upon the face of the earth—the nectar and the poison, and those other things of like kinds.

13.101.17 Nectar gives the mind delight and at once bestows nourishment; sharp poison wholly wearies the mind by its very smell.

13.101.18 Know nectar to be auspicious, and grievous poison to be inauspicious; all healing herbs are nectar, while poison is a fiery power born of fire.

13.101.19 Because they gladden the mind (manas) and also bestow splendor, they are called sumanasaḥ, "flowers," by men who do righteous deeds.

13.101.20 The pure man who gives flowers to the deities—because of him too they are called sumanasaḥ, since by them the deities are well pleased.

13.101.21 To whatever god, O lord, the flowers are offered for the sake of blessing, by that gift is that god made gracious to the giver, O ruler of the daityas.

13.101.22 But the healing herbs are to be known severally—the fierce, the gentle, and the radiant—of many potencies and of many forms as well.

13.101.23 Of the trees fit for sacrifice and of those unfit, learn from me, and of the garlands proper to the asuras and of those wholesome for the gods.

13.101.24 And which are dear to the rākṣasas, the gods, and the yakṣas, and which are beloved of the ancestors and of men—all in their due order.

13.101.25 Wild and cultivated alike, sown in tilled ground or mountain-dwelling, thornless or thorn-bearing, possessed of fragrance, form, and savor.

13.101.26 Twofold is the fragrance held to be that is born of flowers, the pleasant and the unpleasant; let him understand that flowers of pleasant fragrance are for the gods.

13.101.27 Of thornless trees, and those mostly white in color—their flowers are ever pleasing to the gods, O lord.

13.101.28 And the water-born garlands, the lotuses and the like, and whatever others there are—those let the discerning man give to the gandharvas, the nāgas, and the yakṣas.

13.101.29 Herbs with red flowers, pungent and beset with thorns, are shown in the Atharvan texts to be for the working of sorcery against foes.

13.101.30 But those of sharp potency, hard to grasp and thorny, of color mostly red, and the black ones too—let him offer to the spirits.

13.101.31 Those flowers that gladden the mind and heart, sweet when crushed and fair of form, are held to be for men, O lord.

13.101.32 But let him not bring such as have grown in cremation-grounds, nor such as have sprung up in temples of the gods, into rites of prosperity, into weddings, or into private chambers.

13.101.33 The gentle flowers that grow on mountain-slopes let him present to the gods, gentle and sprinkled and besprinkled with water, as is fitting and as tradition prescribes.

13.101.34 By fragrance the gods are pleased, by the sight the yakṣas and rākṣasas, the nāgas by actual enjoyment; but men by all three of these.

13.101.35 At once he gladdens the gods, and they, being gladdened, foster mortals, fulfilling their resolves and the longings of their hearts.

13.101.36 The gods are ever pleased when honored, and they honor in return; but when slighted and spurned, they burn up the basest of men.

13.101.37 Hereafter I shall declare the fruit in the rite of giving incense; and the manifold incenses, the good and the bad alike, learn from me.

13.101.38 The resinous, the simple, and the compounded—these are the three; their fragrance may be pleasant or unpleasant; hear this from me in detail.

13.101.39 The resins, save that of the sallakī tree, are dear to the gods; and of them all guggulu is the choicest—so it is settled.

13.101.40 Aloe-wood is the best of the simple kinds for the yakṣas, rākṣasas, and serpents; while the sallakī-born resin, and whatever is of that sort, is coveted by the daityas.

13.101.41 Then with the fragrances of sarja-resin and the like, of earthy and woody substances, combined with treacle and fermented liquor, is the incense ordained for men.

13.101.42 It is held to give instant satisfaction to gods, dānavas, and spirits; but those others that serve for pleasure are reckoned to be for men.

13.101.43 Those very grounds of merit that were named in the giving of flowers are to be understood in the matter of incense too; these same are what increase favor.

13.101.44 In the giving of lamps I shall declare the unsurpassed fruit that attends it—how, with what, and when they should be given, and of what kind they are.

13.101.45 Light, splendor, and radiance are described as ever upward-moving; therefore the giving of lights increases the splendor of men.

13.101.46 Blind darkness and the gloom of night, and the sun's southward course; from this is the northward course; and on this account the giving of light is praised.

13.101.47 Because this light moves upward and is the very remedy for darkness, therefore the giver becomes one of upward course—so it is determined.

13.101.48 Because the gods are radiant, mighty, and luminous, while the rākṣasas are of darkness, therefore the lamp is given.

13.101.49 By the giving of light a man becomes keen-eyed and endowed with radiance; having given such lamps, let him not damage them, nor steal them, nor cause them to perish.

13.101.50 The stealer of a lamp becomes blind, doomed to a dark course and of dim luster; but the giver of lamps shines forth, garlanded with lamps, in the world of heaven.

13.101.51 With clarified butter is the first manner of lighting, and the second with the saps of herbs; but with fat, marrow, bone, or resinous gum it must not be done by one who desires prosperity.

13.101.52 At a mountain precipice, in a thicket, at a shrine, or at a crossroads, let him ever be a giver of lamps who desires his own welfare.

13.101.53 The man who gives lamps becomes ever the lamp of his lineage, pure of soul; he attains to radiance and to dwelling in the same sphere as the luminaries.

13.101.54 In the rites of bali-offering I shall declare the merits and the rising fruits of the act—for gods, yakṣas, serpents, and men, and for spirits and rākṣasas.

13.101.55 Those whose Brāhmaṇas, gods, guests, and children eat no portion offered first—know them to be very rākṣasas, devoid of the auspicious vaṣaṭ-call.

13.101.56 Therefore one should offer the first portion, duly honored, to the gods, and bowing his head should present the oblation untiringly.

13.101.57 For the household deities ever look in hope toward the home, and so too the outer comers, the other beings—Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, and serpents.

13.101.58 By what is given from here the gods and the ancestors live, and being pleased they gratify these givers with long life, with fame, and with wealth.

13.101.59 To the gods one should present oblations together with flowers—holy ones graced with drops of curds, sweet-scented and fair to behold.

13.101.60 For the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas the oblations should be rich in blood and flesh, set forth with wine and liquor and adorned with parched grain and unguents.

13.101.61 For the serpents, ever dear to them, oblations mingled with lotuses and water-lilies; and to the spirits one should present sesame well supplied with molasses.

13.101.62 He who gives the first portion shall himself enjoy the first portion, endowed with strength and beauty; therefore let him offer the first portion, duly honored, to the gods.

13.101.63 Day after day his dwelling blazes with light; and those household deities of his are to be worshipped by one who desires welfare, by him who offers the foremost portion outstretched.

13.101.64 Thus did the descendant of Bhṛgu, Kāvya, declare this to the lord of the Asuras; Manu told it to Suvarṇa, and Suvarṇa to Nārada.

13.101.65 And Nārada too told these virtues to me, O greatly resplendent one; do you also, having understood all this here, act upon it, my son.

13.102.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: I have heard, O best of the Bhāratas, the fruit of those who offer flowers and incense, and the rule of oblation; you should tell me more of it.

13.102.2 What is the fruit of giving incense, and likewise of the lamp, and for what purpose are oblations cast forth by householders?

13.102.3 Bhīṣma said: On this too they recount an ancient tale—the colloquy of Agastya and of Bhṛgu concerning Nahuṣa.

13.102.4 For Nahuṣa, O great king, a royal sage of mighty austerity, had attained the sovereignty of the gods by his good deeds here.

13.102.5 There too, O king, Nahuṣa, dwelling in the third heaven, remained devout, performing manifold rites both human and divine.

13.102.6 All those human rites of that great-souled one continued in the third heaven, O king, as did the eternal divine ones.

13.102.7 Fire-rites, kindling-sticks, kuśa grass and flowers, oblations with food and parched grain, the burning of incense and the offering of lamps—

13.102.8 all this went on in the house of that great-souled king; and even in the third heaven he performed sacrifices of muttered prayer and sacrifices of the mind.

13.102.9 And that lord of the gods worshipped all the deities according to rule, each in its proper manner as of old, O subduer of foes.

13.102.10 Then, through his having become Indra, pride entered into him, and all his rites began to fall away, O ruler of the earth.

13.102.11 Drunk with the boon that had been granted him, he made the sages bear him as draught-animals; and lapsing from his rites, he came into weakness.

13.102.12 As he, overcome by pride, made the foremost sages rich in austerity bear him, a very long time passed by.

13.102.13 Then he began to yoke the sages by turns to draw him, and the turn of Agastya too came round, O Bhārata.

13.102.14 Then Bhṛgu of great splendor, best of the knowers of Brahman, came and, approaching Agastya who was in his hermitage, spoke thus.

13.102.15 Why, O great sage, should we endure this insolence of Nahuṣa, this evil-minded lord of the gods?

13.102.16 Agastya said: How can this one be cursed by me, O great sage, to whom a boon was granted by the boon-giver—a boon known to you?

13.102.17 "Whoever shall come within the path of my gaze, let him fall under my power"—such was the boon this one begged of the god as he went up to heaven.

13.102.18 So he has not been burned by me, nor, beyond doubt, by you; nor has he been cursed or cast down by any other foremost sage.

13.102.19 And of old the nectar was given him to drink, O mighty one; for that reason this great-souled one is not cast down by us.

13.102.20 The god granted a boon that brings sorrow to creatures; that basest of men commits deeds of unrighteousness against the twice-born.

13.102.21 Tell us what is fitting for the occasion in this matter, O best of speakers; and as you may direct, so shall we act.

13.102.22 Bhṛgu said: By the command of the Grandsire I have come to you, that we may retaliate now that mighty Nahuṣa is set upon his arrogance.

13.102.23 This very day that most evil-minded king of the gods will yoke you to his chariot; this very day, by my power, I shall make the upstart no longer Indra.

13.102.24 This day, before your eyes, I shall set Indra of the hundred sacrifices in his place, dislodging the evil-doing, most wicked-minded one from the station of Indra.

13.102.25 And this day that false lord of the gods will strike you with his foot—dull-witted, his mind smitten by fate, working his own ruin.

13.102.26 Him who has transgressed dharma, that sinner and enemy of the twice-born, I—made wrathful past bearing by his outrage—shall curse in fury, saying, "Become a serpent!"

13.102.27 Then that most evil-minded one, his radiance struck down by the word of shame, I shall hurl to the earth before your eyes, O great sage—

13.102.28 Nahuṣa, the evil-doer, deluded by lordship and might; and as it pleases you, so shall I do it, O sage.

13.102.29 Thus addressed by Bhṛgu, the imperishable son of Mitra and Varuṇa, Agastya, became greatly pleased and freed of his distress.

13.103.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: How was he undone, and how was he cast down upon the earth, and how did he come to lose his Indra-hood? This you should tell me.

13.103.2 Bhīṣma said: While the two were thus conversing, all the rites of that great-souled one were going forward—those that were divine and those that were human.

13.103.3 Likewise the gifts of lamps and all the appurtenances, the rite of oblation and whatever else, and libations of various kinds—all these arose for that great-souled king of the gods.

13.103.4 In the world of the gods and the world of men, good observances are taught by the wise; if these are kept, O king of kings, householders prosper—through gifts of incense and of lamps, and likewise through acts of homage.

13.103.5 As the first portion of cooked food is given to a Brāhmaṇa, and as oblations are set within the precincts of the house—by this the deities are pleased.

13.103.6 And as great as is the householder's own satisfaction in the rite of oblation, a delight a hundredfold greater arises among the deities.

13.103.7 Thus the good praise the giving of incense and the giving of lamps, joined with acts of homage, as bringing virtue to the self.

13.103.8 By the rite that the wise man performs with bathing and with water, joined with acts of homage, the deities are pleased; and all the household deities, worshipped according to rule, are gratified.

13.103.9 Holding to this understanding, that lord of men, Nahuṣa, having attained the great lordship of the gods, accomplished this marvel.

13.103.10 But after some while, when the wasting of his fortune drew near, he scorned all this and no longer did such as this.

13.103.11 Then that lord of the gods fell away from the rite of oblation; he no longer performed the observance of incense, lamp, and water as was fitting; and thereupon the sphere of his sacrifice was beset by Rākṣasas.

13.103.12 Then that mighty one, as if smiling, summoned in haste Agastya, the best of sages, from the bank of the Sarasvatī, to draw his vehicle.

13.103.13 Then Bhṛgu of great splendor said to the son of Mitra and Varuṇa: "Close your eyes, while I enter into your matted locks."

13.103.14 Then, while Agastya stood motionless as a post, the unfailing Bhṛgu of mighty splendor entered into his matted locks, to bring about the king's downfall.

13.103.15 Then that king of the gods came up to the sage to make him draw his car; and thereupon Agastya spoke this word to the lord of the gods, O lord of peoples.

13.103.16 "Yoke me quickly, O Indra; and to what region shall I bear you? Wherever you shall bid, there will I carry you, O lord of the gods."

13.103.17 Thus addressed by him, Nahuṣa yoked that sage; and Bhṛgu, lodged within his matted locks, was exceedingly glad.

13.103.18 Nor then did Bhṛgu let himself be seen, knowing the power of the boon granted to the great-souled Nahuṣa.

13.103.19 And Agastya, though yoked by Nahuṣa, did not grow angry; yet the king goaded him with the whip, O Bhārata.

13.103.20 That righteous one did not grow angry; then the king of the gods, in wrath, struck Agastya's head with his left foot.

13.103.21 When that head was struck, Bhṛgu, hidden within the matted locks, sorely enraged, cursed the evil-hearted Nahuṣa.

13.103.22 Bhṛgu said: Since in wrath you struck this great sage upon the head with your foot, therefore become a serpent and go swiftly to the earth, O most wicked-minded one!

13.103.23 Thus addressed by him, by Bhṛgu unseen, he then became a serpent and fell to the surface of the earth, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.103.24 For had Nahuṣa beheld Bhṛgu, O lord of the earth, he would not have had the power to cast him down by his splendor.

13.103.25 But by those various gifts and austerities and observances, though fallen to the earth, O great king, he remained possessed of his memory and besought Bhṛgu's grace, saying, "Let there be an end to my curse."

13.103.26 Then Agastya, moved by compassion, entreated Bhṛgu for the ending of the curse, O great king; and he, filled with pity, granted it.

13.103.27 Bhṛgu said: A king named Yudhiṣṭhira, upholder of the Kurus, shall arise; he will release you from the curse. So saying, he vanished.

13.103.28 And Agastya of great splendor, having accomplished the purpose of Indra of the hundred sacrifices, went to his own hermitage, honored by the twice-born.

13.103.29 And Nahuṣa too, O king, delivered by you from that curse, went to the abode of Brahmā before your very eyes, O ruler of men.

13.103.30 But then, having cast Nahuṣa down to the earth, Bhṛgu went to the abode of Brahmā and reported the matter to Brahmā.

13.103.31 Then the Grandsire, having brought Śakra back, said to the gods: "O gods, through a boon of mine Nahuṣa won the kingship, and he, cast down by the wrathful Agastya, has gone to the surface of the earth."

13.103.32 "And the gods can in no wise abide without a king; therefore let this Śakra again be consecrated to the sovereignty of the gods."

13.103.33 As the Grandsire spoke thus, O Pārtha, the gods, rejoicing, answered the Grandsire, "So be it."

13.103.34 Consecrated to the sovereignty of the gods by the blessed Brahmā, Vāsava, O tiger among kings, shone forth as before.

13.103.35 Thus did this come to pass of old, through Nahuṣa's transgression; and by those very deeds was Nahuṣa once more made perfect.

13.103.36 Therefore lamps should be offered at evening by householders; the giver of lamps obtains the divine eye after death, and those who give lamps come to be radiant as the full moon.

13.103.37 For as many twinklings of the eye as the lamp burns, for so many years does the giver of the lamp become a man of beauty and of wealth.

13.104.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Those dull men who steal the property of Brāhmaṇas, O bull of the Bhāratas—the cruel-doing, deluded—whither do such men go?

13.104.2 Bhīṣma said: On this too they recount an ancient tale—the colloquy of a Caṇḍāla and a base-born Kṣatriya, O Bhārata.

13.104.3 The man of royal birth said: You are of aged aspect, O Caṇḍāla, yet you behave like a child; you who haunt the dust of dogs and donkeys—why do you shrink from cattle?

13.104.4 "The work assigned to a Caṇḍāla is condemned by the virtuous. Why do you pour into a vessel of water that which has been defiled by the dust raised by cattle?"

13.104.5 The Caṇḍāla said: O king, in a former age the dust raised by a Brahmin's cattle, as they were being driven off, defiled the Soma; and the twice-born who then drank that Soma—

13.104.6 And that consecrated king too, together with all his officiating priests, swiftly entered hell, for they had lived off that property belonging to a Brahmin.

13.104.7 And those men who there drank the milk, the clarified butter, and the curds—Brahmins together with the Kṣatriyas—all of them entered hell.

13.104.8 By that milk the husband and wife, watching over their cattle in righteous conduct, struck down their own sons and grandsons as the cows tossed and shook themselves.

13.104.9 I dwelt there, O king, a celibate student with my senses subdued; and the alms I had gathered, O lord of men, were defiled by the dust of those cows.

13.104.10 Having eaten that, O king, I became a Caṇḍāla when I died; and that king who stole a Brahmin's property came to a state without any foundation.

13.104.11 Therefore let no one ever take anything whatever of a Brahmin's wealth. Look upon me—what I have become—for having eaten what was defiled by the dust of a Brahmin's property.

13.104.12 Therefore even the Soma must not be sold by a discerning man, for the wise here condemn the sale of Soma.

13.104.13 Those people who buy it, O king, and those who sell it, all alike, on reaching the abode of the son of Vivasvat, go to the hell Raurava.

13.104.14 But should a learned reciter of the Veda knowingly sell Soma that has been defiled by dust, becoming a usurer he is ruined for a long night of time; reaching the thirty hells, he subsists upon the dung of dogs.

13.104.15 The life of a dog, excessive pride, and transgression against the wives of friends—Dharma weighed these in the balance, and excessive pride proved the heaviest of all.

13.104.16 Look upon this sinful dog, discolored, tawny, and lean, who through excessive pride toward living beings has come to this condition.

13.104.17 In another birth, O mighty one, I was born into a great family endowed with wealth, having mastered both knowledge and discernment.

13.104.18 Although I knew these faults, I yet acted out of arrogance then; in my fury I devoured the flesh from the backs of living creatures.

13.104.19 And so, by that conduct and by that eating, I have come to this state. Behold the turning of time!

13.104.20 Behold me, as if my garment's hem were ablaze, as if tormented by bees, running about in a frenzy, covered with dust.

13.104.21 By recitation of the sacred texts householders cross over great sin, and likewise by gifts of many kinds, even as the wise have declared.

13.104.22 Even so, O lord of the earth, when a Brahmin who has done evil abides in his hermitage, freed from all attachments, the sacred meters carry him across.

13.104.23 But I, O bull among Kṣatriyas, born in a sinful womb, can reach no certainty as to how I might be set free.

13.104.24 This memory of my former births is mine by reason of some auspicious deed in the past—by that, O king, I desire to attain release.

13.104.25 Tell me, who have come to you and ask, the resolution of this doubt, O best of men: how may I be freed from this state of being a Caṇḍāla?

13.104.26 The Kṣatriya said: Caṇḍāla, resolve upon that by which you shall win release. Laying down your life for the sake of a Brahmin, you shall attain the longed-for goal.

13.104.27 Giving up your body to the flesh-eaters in the fire of battle for the sake of the twice-born, offering up your breath as oblation—that is your release; in no other way can you merit it.

13.104.28 Bhīṣma said: Thus addressed, O king, scorcher of foes, he then offered up his life in the forefront of battle for the sake of a Brahmin's property, and won the goal he had longed for.

13.104.29 Therefore the property of Brahmins must be guarded by you, my son, O bull of the Bhāratas, if you desire, O mighty-armed one, the eternal and supreme goal.

13.105.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Is there but one world for all the doers of good deeds, O grandsire, or is there even there a diversity of worlds? Tell me this, O grandsire.

13.105.2 Bhīṣma said: By their deeds, O Pārtha, men attain a diversity of worlds: the doers of merit go to meritorious worlds, and those who do evil go to evil ones.

13.105.3 On this point too, my son, they recount this ancient tale: the dialogue between the sage Gautama and Vāsava.

13.105.4 A certain Brahmin named Gautama—gentle, self-restrained, his senses subdued—found in the great forest an elephant calf, wasted away and motherless.

13.105.5 Seeing it, that man of firm vows, full of compassion, nursed it back to life; and in the course of a long time it became great and exceedingly strong.

13.105.6 That mighty elephant, its temples split with rut, streaming ichor on every side—Śakra, in the form of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, seized.

13.105.7 Seeing the elephant being carried off, Gautama of stern vows and great austerity addressed the king Dhṛtarāṣṭra:

13.105.8 "Do not steal from me this elephant, my own son, whom I reared up out of hardship, O ungrateful Dhṛtarāṣṭra! The good say that friendship is sealed in seven steps walked together; let not the betrayal of a friend, O king, ever touch you."

13.105.9 "He brings me kindling and water, and guards the hermitage when it is empty; disciplined in the teacher's household, well-engaged in his master's service—"

13.105.10 "—well-trained, tame, grateful, and ever dear to me. While I cry out in protest, O king, you ought not to carry off my elephant."

13.105.11 Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: "I will give to you a thousand cows, a hundred handmaidens, five hundred gold coins, and other wealth of many kinds, great sage. What use here has a Brahmin for an elephant?"

13.105.12 Gautama said: "Let the cows belong to you alone, O king, the handmaidens together with the gold, and gems of many kinds, and other wealth besides, O lord of men. What use here has a Brahmin for riches?"

13.105.13 Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: "Brahmins have no use for elephants; herds of elephants belong to Kṣatriyas, O Brahmin. There is no unrighteousness in one who takes away his own mount. Turn aside, Gautama, from this best of elephants."

13.105.14 Gautama said: "There, in the abode of the great-souled son of Vivasvat, where the departed doer of good deeds rejoices and the departed doer of evil deeds grieves—there will I haul you before judgment over this elephant."

13.105.15 Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: "Those who shun all rites, the unbelievers, and those of false faith, sinful souls sunk in the objects of sense—they meet the torment of Yama; but Dhṛtarāṣṭra, journeying onward, will not go there."

13.105.16 Gautama said: "In the city of restraint belonging to the son of Vivasvat, where no falsehood is spoken but only truth, where the weak haul the strong before judgment—there will I haul you over this elephant."

13.105.17 Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: "Those who go through life honoring an elder sister, a father, a mother, and a teacher as is fitting—to such people belongs this world, great sage; but Dhṛtarāṣṭra, journeying onward, will not go there."

13.105.18 Gautama said: "The Mandākinī of King Vaiśravaṇa, abounding in delights, open only to those who have earned their enjoyments, frequented by Gandharvas, Yakṣas, and Apsarases—there will I haul you over this elephant."

13.105.19 Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: "Those people, firm in vows and devoted to guests, who give shelter to Brahmins, who eat only what is left after sharing, and who provide for their dependents—they too adorn the Mandākinī."

13.105.20 Gautama said: "That lovely forest which shines upon the summit of Meru, richly blossoming, filled with the songs of the Kiṃnaras, where stands the great and fair-to-see Jambū tree—there will I haul you over this elephant."

13.105.21 Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: "Those Brahmins who are gentle, truthful in nature, deeply learned, delighting all beings, who study the Veda together with the Itihāsa and Purāṇa, and who make oblations of honey to the twice-born—"

13.105.22 "—to such men belongs this world, great sage; but Dhṛtarāṣṭra, journeying onward, will not go there. If there is some other known and certain place, name it—for I am in haste, and here I go."

13.105.23 Gautama said: "The richly blossoming, beloved grove of Nārada, frequented by the king of the Kiṃnaras, the dwelling of the Gandharvas and the Apsarases—there will I haul you over this elephant."

13.105.24 Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: "Those people who are ever skilled in dance and song, who go about in fellowship, never begging—to such belongs this world, great sage; but Dhṛtarāṣṭra, journeying onward, will not go there."

13.105.25 Gautama said: "Where the lovely Northern Kurus shine, rejoicing together with the gods, O lord of men, where dwell those Brahmins born of fire, those born of no womb, and those born of the mountains—"

13.105.26 "—where Śakra rains down all that is desired, where women move at the pleasure of their own will, and where there is no jealousy between women and men—there will I haul you over this elephant."

13.105.27 Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: "Those who go through life with their desires turned away from all beings, who eat no flesh and have laid down the rod, who harm neither the moving nor the unmoving, who have become one in self with all creatures—"

13.105.28 "—free of longing, free of the sense of mine, devoid of passion, the same in gain and loss, in blame and in praise—to such men belongs this world, great sage; but Dhṛtarāṣṭra, journeying onward, will not go there."

13.105.29 Gautama said: "Beyond that shine the eternal worlds, fragrant with holiness, stainless, free of sorrow, in the abode of the great-souled King Soma—there will I haul you over this elephant."

13.105.30 Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: "Those of generous nature who never accept gifts, and who take no wealth from others, for whom nothing is too good to give to a worthy man, who are hospitable to all and serene of heart—"

13.105.31 "—who are forbearing and, though able to retaliate, speak no harsh word against others, ever holy in conduct—to such men belongs this world, great sage; but Dhṛtarāṣṭra, journeying onward, will not go there."

13.105.32 Gautama said: "Beyond that shine the eternal worlds, free of dust, free of darkness, free of sorrow, the vast and excellent worlds of Āditya—there will I haul you over this elephant."

13.105.33 Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: "Those devoted to the study of the Veda, delighting in service to their elders, ascetics of firm vows, true to their word, who never speak against their teachers, ever alert and needing no prompting in their masters' tasks—"

13.105.34 "—to such men belongs this world, great sage—to the pure, whose speech and mind are well-refined, who stand firm in truth, knowers of the Veda, great of soul; but Dhṛtarāṣṭra, journeying onward, will not go there."

13.105.35 Gautama said: "Beyond that shine the eternal worlds, fragrant with holiness, free of dust, free of sorrow, in the abode of the great-souled King Varuṇa—there will I haul you over this elephant."

13.105.36 Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: "Those people who ever sacrifice with the four-monthly rites, and so win the fruit of a thousand sacrificial offerings, and those Brahmins who, full of faith, offer the Agnihotra duly for three years—"

13.105.37 "—who are content with their own wives, great-souled, who bear up the yoke of duty, standing firm upon the fitting path, righteous of soul—to their estate Dhṛtarāṣṭra, journeying onward, will not go."

13.105.38 Gautama said: "The worlds of Indra, free of dust, free of sorrow, hard to reach yet longed for by men—in the dwelling of that one of abundant splendor, O king, will I haul you over this elephant."

13.105.39 Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: "The man who lives a hundred years and is a hero, he who studies the Veda, and the sacrificer who is ever vigilant—all these go to the world of Śakra; but Dhṛtarāṣṭra, journeying onward, will not go there."

13.105.40 Gautama said: "There are the great worlds of Prajāpati, upon the vault of heaven, abundant, free of sorrow, longed for by those born into all the worlds—there will I haul you over this elephant."

13.105.41 Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: "Those kings consecrated by the Rājasūya, righteous of soul, protectors of their people, and those whose limbs have been bathed in the concluding ablution of the Aśvamedha—theirs are those worlds; but Dhṛtarāṣṭra will not go there."

13.105.42 Gautama said: "Beyond that shine the eternal worlds, fragrant with holiness, free of dust, free of sorrow; in that world of cows, hard to win and unassailable, will I haul you over this elephant."

13.105.43 Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: "He who, owning a thousand cows, gives away a hundred year after year; he who, owning a hundred, gives ten according to his power; he who has but ten and gives one here, or he of generous nature who has five and gives one—"

13.105.44 "—and those Brahmins who grow old in chastity and ever preserve the sacred speech of Brahman, thoughtful men devoted to pilgrimage to the holy fords—they rejoice there in the celestial car of the cows."

13.105.45 Prabhāsa, the holy Mānasa, the Puṣkara lakes, the great lake, the holy ford of Naimiṣa, the Bāhudā, the Karatoyā,

13.105.46 Gayā and Gayaśiras, the Vipāśā, the Sthūlavālukā, the Tūṣṇīṃgaṅgā, the Daśagaṅgā, and likewise the Mahāhrada,

13.105.47 the Gautamī, the Kauśikī, the Pākā—those great-souled men of firm vows who go to the Sarasvatī, the Dṛṣadvatī, and the Yamunā—

13.105.48 there they go, dwelling in celestial form, wearing celestial garlands, blessed, rich in holy fragrance; but Dhṛtarāṣṭra surely will not go there.

13.105.49 Gautama said: "Where there is no fear of cold nor even the least fear of heat, no hunger or thirst, no weariness, neither pain nor likewise pleasure;"

13.105.50 "where there is none hateful and none dear, no kinsman and no foe, where there is neither old age nor death, neither merit nor sin—"

13.105.51 "—in that dustless, ample realm, established in wisdom and pure being, the holy dwelling of the Self-Existent One, shall my cause concerning the elephant be tried."

13.105.52 Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: "Those freed from all attachments, perfected in soul, restrained in their vows, steadfast in the discipline of the inner Self, have attained the path to heaven."

13.105.53 "Those endowed with goodness here attain the holy dwelling of Brahman; there your Dhṛtarāṣṭra cannot be seen, great sage."

13.105.54 Gautama said: "Where the Rathantara and the Bṛhat hymns are sung, where the altar is strewn with white lotuses, where the drinker of Soma comes drawn by his bay steeds—there will I haul you over this elephant."

13.105.55 I recognize you now as the slayer of Vṛtra, the lord of a hundred sacrifices, who ranges across all the worlds. I trust that I have never, through some seizure of the mind, spoken a single crooked word against you.

13.105.56 Śakra said: Since, on the pretext of this elephant, I have drawn you along the path that creatures travel to the worlds, instruct me, who bow before you; whatever you command, all of it I shall do.

13.105.57 Gautama said: My elephant-son, the white-tusked creature you bore away from me when he was but ten years a calf, who was a second self to me as I dwelt in the forest — that very elephant restore to me, O lord of the gods.

13.105.58 Śakra said: Here is your son, O foremost of the twice-born — the elephant who breathes you in as he gazes upon you, who sniffs at your feet with his trunk. Wish well for me, and may homage be yours.

13.105.59 Gautama said: Always do I wish you well here, O lord of the gods, and ever do I offer you worship. To me too, O Śakra, grant your blessing; the elephant given by you I gladly receive.

13.105.60 Śakra said: Among those wise and steadfast great-souled ones in whose secret heart the Vedas lie hidden, by you alone, great soul, have I been truly understood; and so today I am well pleased with you.

13.105.61 Come then, brāhmaṇa, come quickly, together with your son the elephant, and attain the auspicious worlds, both for the present and for all time to come.

13.105.62 Bhīṣma said: Then the wielder of the thunderbolt, setting Gautama before him along with his son the elephant, ascended with the holy ones to heaven, that realm so hard to reach.

13.106.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: You have spoken of giving in its many forms, of peace, truth, and non-injury, of contentment with one's own wife, and of the fruit that giving bears.

13.106.2 What is known to grandsire that is greater than the power of austerity? If there is anything beyond austerity, you ought to explain it to me today.

13.106.3 Bhīṣma said: As far as men declare austerity to reach, so far do the worlds extend, Yudhiṣṭhira; but my view, son of Kuntī, is that no austerity surpasses fasting.

13.106.4 On this point too they recite an ancient tale: the dialogue of Bhagīratha and the great-souled Brahmā.

13.106.5 Having passed beyond the world of the gods, the world of the cattle, O Bhārata, and the world of the seers, Bhagīratha went onward — so runs the tradition.

13.106.6 Seeing him, Brahmā spoke these words to Bhagīratha, O king: How is it, Bhagīratha, that you have come to this region so hard to reach?

13.106.7 For neither gods nor gandharvas nor men come here, Bhagīratha, if they have not performed austerities. How then have you come to this place?

13.106.8 Bhagīratha said: Without misgiving I gave food to the brāhmaṇas — a hundred thousand gifts, always and unceasingly — ever holding to the sacred brahminical vow; yet know that it was not by the fruit of this that I came here.

13.106.9 Ten single-night rites, ten five-night rites, eleven elevenfold sacrifices, and a hundred Jyotiṣṭoma offerings I performed; yet not even by the fruit of these have I come here.

13.106.10 And though I dwelt ever on the bank of the Jāhnavī, practicing austerity for a hundred years, and there gave a thousand she-mules and a city full of women, not even by that have I come here.

13.106.11 A hundred thousand horses, and twenty times ten thousand more, I gave at Puṣkara to the twice-born, and cattle by the thousands.

13.106.12 Sixty thousand maidens of the finest sort, adorned with garlands and bearing golden ornaments shaped like moon and star, decked in jewelry of pure river-gold, I gave away — yet not by that did I come.

13.106.13 At the Gosava sacrifices I gave a hundred million cattle, ten at a time, O lord of the worlds — each with its calf and rich in milk, milked into vessels of gold and bronze — yet not by that did I come.

13.106.14 At each of the Aptoryāma rites I duly gave ten young red cows that gave plentiful milk — yet not even by that did I come here.

13.106.15 Of milch cows I gave ten million, and ten times that again, O Brahmā — yet not by that have I come here.

13.106.16 Of horses born in Bāhli, white steeds wearing golden chains, I gave a hundred thousand — yet not by that have I come here.

13.106.17 Eighty million pieces of gold, ten times over, I gave, O Brahmā — at each single sacrifice — yet not by that fruit have I come here.

13.106.18 Of tawny horses with dark ears, bearing golden garlands, O grandsire, I gave seventeen times ten million, O Brahmā.

13.106.19 Mighty-bodied elephants with tusks like chariot-poles, decked with golden garlands and accompanied by their mates — these I gave, seventeen thousand of them.

13.106.20 Chariots with golden frames, adorned with divine ornaments of gold, O lord of the gods, I gave away — seventeen thousand of them — and others besides, yoked to richly caparisoned horses.

13.106.21 Whatever portions of sacrificial fee are extolled in the Vedas, at ten Vājapeya rites I bestowed them all — yet not even by that did I come here.

13.106.22 As sacrificial fee I gave a thousand men equal to Śakra in their power of sacrifice and in valor, all wearing golden necklaces.

13.106.23 Having conquered all kings and offered sacrifices, O grandsire, even by eight Rājasūya rites I did not come here by that means.

13.106.24 And though the whole stream of the Gaṅgā was overspread, O lord of the world, by the sacrificial gifts that flowed from my hands, not for the sake of that did I come.

13.106.25 Two thousand horses adorned with a hundred ornaments of gold, and a hundred choice villages for each man, I gave threefold — an ascetic of measured food, abiding in calm and curbed in speech.

13.106.26 For a long age in the Himālaya I dwelt, by whose unbearable torrent of the Gaṅgā — the stream that Mahādeva once bore upon his head — yet not even by that fruit did I come here, O grandsire.

13.106.27 With sacrifices measured by the cast of the yoke-pin I worshiped the gods, and with ten thousand one-day rites, and thirteen- and twelve-day offerings, O god, together with the Pauṇḍarīka — yet not by the fruit of these did I come.

13.106.28 Eight thousand humped white bulls I gave to the brāhmaṇas, each with a single horn cased in gold, and along with them their cows wearing golden necklaces.

13.106.29 Mountains of jewels heaped with gold and gems I gave, and villages rich in wealth and grain, by the hundreds of thousands.

13.106.30 Ten thousand young cows I gave, unwearied, and offered many great sacrifices for the brāhmaṇas — yet not by that did I come here.

13.106.31 With eleven-day rites attended by gifts, with twice-twelve-day rites and horse-sacrifices, O god, and with sixteen Ārkāyaṇa offerings, O Brahmā — yet not by the fruit of these have I come here.

13.106.32 I gave away a whole forest of golden trees, a league in length and breadth — a grove of mango trees adorned with jewels, each bearing a single golden trunk — yet not by the fruit of these have I come.

13.106.33 The unassailable Turāyaṇa vow, free of anger, I kept for thirty years; eight hundred and one cows, day after day, I gave to the brāhmaṇas.

13.106.34 Milch cows, red cows, and likewise draft-oxen, O lord of the worlds, I gave continually to the brāhmaṇas, O lord of the gods — yet not by that fruit have I come here.

13.106.35 For thirty years, O Brahmā, I daily tended the sacred fire and worshiped with eight Sarvamedha rites and seven Naramedha rites.

13.106.36 And with ten Viśvajit rites, and with a hundred and eighteen others — yet not by the fruit of these, O lord of the gods, have I come here.

13.106.37 On the Sarayū, the Bāhudā, the Gaṅgā, and at Naimiṣa I gave a million cattle — yet not by that did I come.

13.106.38 That secret hidden by Indra in a cave, which Bhārgava found here through austerity — blazing here with the splendor of Uśanas — that most excellent and great rite I brought to fulfillment.

13.106.39 Then, when that rite was accomplished, the brāhmaṇas were pleased with me; a thousand seers were there assembled, and by them I was told: Go now to the world of Brahmā, O lord.

13.106.40 Thus addressed by a thousand well-pleased brāhmaṇas, O lord, I have reached this world. Let there be no doubt in you upon this point.

13.106.41 As the Ordainer has duly fixed, so, being asked, must I speak duly; for I hold no austerity other than fasting. Homage be to you, O best of the gods — be gracious.

13.106.42 Bhīṣma said: When King Bhagīratha had spoken thus, Brahmā honored him — worthy of honor as he was — with the rite ordained by sacred law.

13.107.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: In the Vedic teaching man is said to have a span of a hundred years and the strength of a hundred. Why then, grandsire, do men die, even as children?

13.107.2 By what does a man become long-lived, and by what short-lived? By what does he win renown, and by what does he gain prosperity?

13.107.3 Is it by austerity, by chastity, by silent prayer, by oblations, or by herbs; by birth, or rather by conduct? Tell me this, grandsire.

13.107.4 Bhīṣma said: On this I shall instruct you in what you ask of me — by what a man becomes short-lived or long-lived.

13.107.5 And by what he wins renown, and by what he gains prosperity, and how, by conducting himself rightly, a man becomes joined to the good.

13.107.6 For it is from right conduct that a man gains long life, from conduct that he gains prosperity, and from conduct that he wins renown, both here and in the world hereafter.

13.107.7 For a man of evil conduct does not attain a great span of life here; creatures shrink from him, and likewise they hold him in contempt.

13.107.8 Therefore let one who desires his own welfare practice right conduct in this world; even in one whose body bears the marks of sin, good conduct destroys the inauspicious sign.

13.107.9 Dharma has conduct for its mark, and the good are known by their conduct; and whatever is the way of the virtuous, that is the very mark of good conduct.

13.107.10 Even a man unseen or only heard of, if he walks in dharma and performs works of welfare, him people hold dear.

13.107.11 Those who are deniers and idle, who transgress teacher and scripture, who know not dharma and are evil in conduct — these become short of life.

13.107.12 Men of bad character, who break all bounds and are forever promiscuous in their unions, become short-lived here and travelers to hell.

13.107.13 Even a man lacking every auspicious mark, if he is well-conducted, full of faith, and free of envy, lives a hundred years.

13.107.14 Free of anger, speaking the truth, harming no creature, free of envy and of guile — such a man lives a hundred years.

13.107.15 The man who crumbles clods, snaps off blades of grass, gnaws his nails, who is forever unclean from leavings and restless in his ways — he does not attain a great span of life here.

13.107.16 Let him wake in the hour sacred to Brahmā and reflect upon dharma and worldly good; rising and sipping water, let him stand with joined palms through the morning twilight devotion.

13.107.17 In the very same way let him attend the evening twilight devotion with curbed speech; let him never gaze upon the sun as it rises or as it sets.

13.107.18 The seers, through their long twilight devotions, won long life; therefore let one always stand, with curbed speech, through both the morning and the evening twilight.

13.107.19 Those twice-born who attend the morning twilight but not the evening — all such men a righteous king should set to the labors of a śūdra.

13.107.20 The wives of others must never be approached, in any of the four orders; for nothing in the world so shortens a man's life as the resorting to another's wife.

13.107.21 The dressing of the hair, the anointing of the eyes, the cleaning of the teeth, and the worship of the gods — these let him perform in the early part of the day.

13.107.22 Let him never look upon dung or urine, nor ever tread upon them; and let him never hold converse with a woman in her courses.

13.107.23 Let him not void his dung in a field or near a village; and let him never pass either urine or dung into water.

13.107.24 Let him always eat facing the east, with curbed speech, not disparaging the food; let him offer it in mind, and when he has eaten, let him touch the fire.

13.107.25 Facing the east, he eats what brings long life; facing the south, what brings renown; facing the west, what brings wealth; facing the north, he eats in accord with truth.

13.107.26 Let him never tread upon husks of grain, upon hair, ashes, or potsherds; and let him keep far away from the latrine of another.

13.107.27 Let him perform the oblations for peace and have the Sāvitrī rites carried out; and let him eat while seated, never in any wise while walking.

13.107.28 Urine should not be passed while standing, nor upon ashes, nor in a cattle-pen.

13.107.29 Let him eat with feet wetted, but not lie down with feet wet; eating with feet wetted, he lives a hundred years.

13.107.30 Let him never, while unclean from leavings, touch the three sources of splendor — the fire, the cow, and the brāhmaṇa — and thus his life will not be diminished.

13.107.31 One who is ritually unclean should never gaze upon the three luminaries: the sun and moon, and the stars in all their host.

13.107.32 When an elder draws near, the life-breaths of a young man rise up and would depart; but by standing to greet him and offering salutation, he regains them once more.

13.107.33 He should salute his elders and have a seat offered to them; with joined palms he should attend upon them, and when one departs he should follow behind.

13.107.34 He should not sit upon a broken seat, and should avoid a cracked bronze vessel; he should not eat clad in a single garment, nor bathe naked, nor sleep naked, nor lie down to rest while still ritually unclean.

13.107.35 While unclean he should not touch his head, for all the vital breaths have their seat there; and he should shun the seizing of the hair and any blows upon the head.

13.107.36 He should never scratch his head with both hands at once, nor bathe his head too frequently; thus his lifespan will not be diminished.

13.107.37 Having bathed his head with oil, he should touch no other limb with it, nor should he eat ground sesame; thus he attains long life.

13.107.38 While unclean he should never teach nor study; and in a foul-smelling wind he should not even rehearse the texts in his mind.

13.107.39 On this point those who know the ancient lore recite verses chanted by Yama: 'I cut short the lifespan of such a one, and likewise I take away his offspring—'

13.107.40 '—of the twice-born who, while unclean, recites and pursues his private study, and who through delusion practices it even in a forbidden hour.' Therefore, even when intent upon it, one should never study during a time when study is forbidden.

13.107.41 Those who pass water facing the sun, facing the wind, toward a cow, toward the twice-born, or upon a pathway—they become bereft of their lifespan.

13.107.42 He should void both urine and excrement facing north by day and facing south by night; thus his lifespan will not be diminished.

13.107.43 He who wishes to live long should not slight three lean creatures—the brāhmaṇa, the kṣatriya, and the serpent—for all three are venomous as fanged snakes.

13.107.44 The angered fanged serpent burns as far as it can see with its eyes; the kṣatriya too, when angered, burns as far as his ardor can reach.

13.107.45 But the brāhmaṇa can destroy a whole lineage by his meditation and his very gaze; therefore the wise should attend these three with care.

13.107.46 One should never persist in enmity with a teacher; an angered teacher must be appeased and won over, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.107.47 Whether a teacher acts rightly or wrongly, one must still conduct oneself dutifully toward him here; the reviling of a teacher burns away men's lifespan—of this there is no doubt.

13.107.48 One who seeks his own welfare should pass water far from his dwelling, wash his feet far off, and likewise discard food-leavings at a distance.

13.107.49 Not too early at dawn, nor too late at dusk, nor when the sun stands at noon should one set out—nor in the company of strangers, nor alone, nor in the company of the base.

13.107.50 The path should be yielded to a brāhmaṇa, to cattle, and to kings, to an elder, to one burdened with a load, to a pregnant woman, and to the weak.

13.107.51 He should make reverent circumambulation of well-known sacred trees, and keep all crossroads upon his right as he passes.

13.107.52 At noon, in the time of night, and at midnight—always—he should not frequent crossroads, nor at the two twilights either.

13.107.53 He should not wear sandals or a garment that has been worn by others; he should ever remain continent, and should not tread one foot upon the other.

13.107.54 On the new-moon day, the full-moon day, on every fourteenth day, and on the eighth day of both fortnights, he should always remain continent.

13.107.55 He should not eat meat to no sacred purpose, nor the flesh of the back; and he should shun abuse, slander, and malicious talebearing.

13.107.56 He should not be a wounder of others, nor a speaker of cruel words, nor should he by base means seize what belongs to another; the speech by which another would shudder—that searing, hell-winning speech he should never utter.

13.107.57 The arrows of speech fly forth from the mouth, struck by which a man grieves day and night; they fall upon another's tender places—the wise man should never loose them against others.

13.107.58 A forest pierced by arrows grows again, and one felled by the axe; but the foul wound inflicted by an ill-spoken word never heals over.

13.107.59 He should not mock those lacking a limb or bearing one too many, the unlettered, the aged, those bereft of beauty or wealth, or those wanting in spirit.

13.107.60 He should shun disbelief, the reviling of the Vedas, and the disparagement of the gods, as well as hatred, obstinacy, conceit, and harshness.

13.107.61 He should not raise the rod against another, nor in anger strike him down—save in the case of a son or pupil, for whom chastisement for the sake of instruction is sanctioned.

13.107.62 He should not speak ill of brāhmaṇas, nor point out the stars by name, nor declare the lunar day of the fortnight; thus his lifespan will not be diminished.

13.107.63 After voiding urine or excrement, or again after walking upon a highway, he should wash his feet—and likewise before his private study and before eating.

13.107.64 The gods ordained three things as purifiers for the brāhmaṇas: that which is unseen, that which is cleansed with water, and that which is commended by speech.

13.107.65 Wheaten cakes, rice mixed with sesame, meat, fried cakes, and milk-rice should not be prepared for one's own sake, but should be made ready for the gods' sake.

13.107.66 He should daily tend the sacred fire and daily give alms; restraining his speech, he should regularly use the tooth-stick; and he should not be one who sleeps past sunrise, lest he be made to perform an expiation.

13.107.67 On rising he should first salute his mother and father, and then his teacher as well; thus he attains long life.

13.107.68 He should always avoid the tooth-sticks that are forbidden, use those sanctioned by scripture, and avoid them too upon the sacred days.

13.107.69 Facing north and with collected mind, he should always perform his purifications.

13.107.70 Without first performing worship of the gods, he should never go to anyone—save to a teacher, an elder, a righteous man, or one of discernment.

13.107.71 Those of greater wisdom should not look into a soiled mirror, nor should one ever resort to an unknown woman or to a pregnant one.

13.107.72 He should not sleep with his head to the north, nor with his head to the west; the wise man should sleep with his head to the east, or else to the south.

13.107.73 He should not sleep upon a bed that is broken or split, nor in a hidden place, nor upon a coupled one, nor ever lying crosswise.

13.107.74 He should never bathe naked, nor ever bathe by night; and once bathed, the truly discerning man should not wipe down his limbs.

13.107.75 He should not anoint himself before bathing, nor shake out his garment after bathing; a man should always put on his garments while they are still moist; he should not pull off his garlands, nor wear them turned outward.

13.107.76 A red garland should not be worn; the wise should wear a white one, excepting only the lotus and the blue water-lily, O lord.

13.107.77 Yet upon the head a red flower may be worn, and likewise a forest blossom; and a garland of gold is never defiling. To one freshly bathed the unguent should always be applied while moist, O lord of peoples.

13.107.78 The wise man should not put his garment on inverted, nor wear one already worn by another, nor one whose hem is frayed.

13.107.79 One garment should be worn for sleeping, O best of men, another upon the highways, and yet another for the worship of the gods.

13.107.80 With priyaṅgu and sandal, with bilva and tagara, and with saffron the wise man should anoint himself, each used separately.

13.107.81 He should observe the fast, bathed, pure, and adorned; and at all the sacred seasons he should ever remain continent.

13.107.82 He should never eat what has been touched by something licked, nor foods whose essence has been drawn out, nor eat in the sight of onlookers without first offering a share.

13.107.83 The wise man should not eat while crowded close to others, nor while unclean, nor in the company of the good, nor partake of foods forbidden by the sacred laws, nor eat behind another's back.

13.107.84 The best of men who seeks his own welfare should not eat the fruit of the pippala or the banyan, nor the hemp-greens, nor the udumbara.

13.107.85 He should avoid the flesh of the goat, of the cow, and of the peacock; and he should avoid dried meat as well as what has grown stale overnight.

13.107.86 The learned man should not eat salt from his palm, nor curds with barley-meal by night, and he should avoid meat eaten to no sacred purpose.

13.107.87 He should not eat with the hair, nor at another man's funeral feast; the self-controlled man should eat at evening and at morning, but not in the interval between.

13.107.88 Restraining his speech, not clad in a single garment, never standing unseated, he should never eat upon the bare ground, nor seated apart, nor while making noise.

13.107.89 Having first given water and then food to his guests, O lord of peoples, the wise man should eat afterward, and not with his mind elsewhere.

13.107.90 The food set out in a single row is shared in common, O king of men; but he who eats without first offering to his well-disposed companions swallows the deadly hālāhala poison.

13.107.91 Water, milk-rice, clarified butter, curds, barley-meal, and honey—once the remnant of these has been set aside, it should be given to no one.

13.107.92 While eating, O tiger among men, one should harbor no misgivings; and he who seeks his welfare should not take curds as a draught to wash down his food.

13.107.93 Having sipped water and let it flow through his hand, he should then sprinkle water upon the great toe of his right foot.

13.107.94 Placing his hand upon his head and touching the fire with collected mind, the man skilled in proper observance attains pre-eminence among his kinsmen.

13.107.95 Having touched his vital organs with water and his navel with the palm of his hand, he should remain steady, and not so with a wet hand.

13.107.96 At the base of the thumb the sacred ford of Brahmā is declared to lie; and behind the little finger the ford of the gods is here said to be.

13.107.97 And with that which lies between the thumb and the forefinger, O descendant of Bharata, having touched water in due form, he should perform the rites for the ancestors.

13.107.98 He should never utter slander of another, nor anything unkind; the man who seeks his welfare should rouse no wrath in anyone.

13.107.99 He should not wish to converse with the fallen, should shun even the sight of them, and should keep no company with them; thus he attains long life.

13.107.100 He should not engage in intercourse by day, nor with a maiden, nor with a harlot, nor approach an unbathed woman; thus he attains long life.

13.107.101 Sipping water each at its proper sacred point, when the rite is duly prepared, drinking water thrice and wiping the lips twice, a man becomes purified.

13.107.102 Having touched his organs of sense once and sprinkled himself thrice, a man should perform the rites for the ancestors and the gods by the observances revealed in the Veda.

13.107.103 Hear from me too, O Kaurava, the purification that serves the brāhmaṇa's purpose, the conduct that is wholesome, declared for both the beginning and the end of a meal.

13.107.104 In all purifications one should touch with the sacred ford of Brahmā; and after spitting or sneezing, by touching water one becomes pure.

13.107.105 An aged kinsman, a friend, and one who has become poor—these should be given lodging in the house; that brings fortune and long life.

13.107.106 Doves in the house bring fortune, and parrots, and mynah birds; these in the home portend no evil, and likewise the small oil-drinking creatures.

13.107.107 But when birds of ill omen, vultures, pigeons, or bees take up their abode there, one should then perform a rite of appeasement.

13.107.108 These are inauspicious, as is the cursing of the great-souled; and the secrets of the great-souled should never be divulged.

13.107.109 He should not approach forbidden women—the wives of kings, nor their companions, nor those belonging to physicians, to children, to the aged, or to servants, O Yudhiṣṭhira—

13.107.110 —nor those of kinsmen, of brāhmaṇas, of one who has sought refuge, or of relatives by marriage, O lord of kings; thus he attains long life.

13.107.111 A dwelling that has been built by a brāhmaṇa and by a master-builder—in such a one, O lord of men, let the wise man, desiring prosperity, ever take up his abode.

13.107.112 At the twilight hours, O king, the discerning man should not sleep, nor pursue his studies, nor take his meal; thus he wins long life.

13.107.113 By night one should not perform the rites for the ancestors, nor groom oneself after eating; by him who desires prosperity, the offering of water should not be made by night.

13.107.114 Parched barley-meal should ever be avoided by night, O Bhārata, as should be, at a meal, white leavings and water alone.

13.107.115 One should not eat to repletion by night, nor should one practise it; one should not pick one's teeth, nor do so after eating.

13.107.116 A maiden born of a great family, commended, endowed with auspicious marks, and of fitting age—her, O greatly wise one, a man is worthy to wed.

13.107.117 Having begotten offspring and so established his line, a man should give his sons over to the various branches of knowledge and to the duties of the family, O Bhārata.

13.107.118 A daughter, when she is grown, should be given to a wise man of good family; sons should be settled in marriage, and servants should be taken from good households, O Bhārata.

13.107.119 Having bathed his head, a man should then perform the rites to the gods and to the ancestors; he should not perform them under the lunar mansion in which he himself was born, nor under the Proṣṭhapadās, nor under Agni's mansion (Kṛttikā), O Bhārata.

13.107.120 On all the harsh-natured days he should each day forbear; whatever days are named as such in the science of the stars, all of those he should avoid.

13.107.121 Facing the east, with collected mind, one should have the trimming of the beard performed, or else facing the north, O king of kings; thus one wins long life.

13.107.122 One should utter no slander, neither of others nor of oneself; slander, it is declared, conduces not to righteousness, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.107.123 He should avoid a deformed woman, and likewise a deformed maiden, O best of men—and one bearing the same lineage-name (gotra), or one born of his own mother's family.

13.107.124 An aged woman, one who has renounced the world, one devoted to another husband, one of too dark a hue, and one of a higher class than his own—these he should avoid.

13.107.125 The discerning man should approach neither one unfit for wedlock nor one of an alien stock; a tawny-eyed woman or a leprous one you are not worthy to wed.

13.107.126 One born in a family afflicted with the falling-sickness, and one base-born, he should avoid, and one born in a family of those marked with white leprosy—these three, O lord of men.

13.107.127 She who is endowed with auspicious marks and is commended for those marks, who is pleasing to the mind and fair to look upon—her you are worthy to wed.

13.107.128 One should marry into a great family, or into one of like standing, O Yudhiṣṭhira; an inferior woman, or a fallen one, should not be taken by him who desires prosperity.

13.107.129 Having kindled the sacred fires with care, all those rites that are well ordained, that are declared by the brāhmaṇas in the Vedas, he should duly perform.

13.107.130 No jealousy should be harboured toward women, yet one's wife should be guarded in every way; jealousy shortens life, therefore one should put jealousy away.

13.107.131 Sleeping by day shortens life, and so does lying abed when the sun has risen; so too lying down in the early dawn and in the night, and those who sleep while still unclean from food.

13.107.132 Adultery shortens life, and so does eating the barber's leavings; these things one should studiously refrain from, nor make a habit of them, O Bhārata.

13.107.133 At twilight one should not eat, nor bathe, nor void one's bowels; one should remain pure-minded at that hour and perform no other act whatever.

13.107.134 Having bathed, O ruler of men, one should honour the brāhmaṇas, and, being bathed, bow down to the gods and salute one's elders.

13.107.135 Uninvited one should not go to a sacrifice, though one may go merely to behold it; for to go uninvited shortens life, O Bhārata.

13.107.136 One should not wander abroad alone, nor go forth by night; before the evening twilight has come, one should remain within the house.

13.107.137 The command of mother, father, and elders is simply to be carried out; whether it seem beneficial or harmful, it is not to be questioned, O bull among men.

13.107.138 In the science of archery and in the Veda effort should be made, O ruler of men, and on the back of the elephant, on the back of the horse, and in the handling of chariots: be diligent, O king of kings, for the diligent man thrives in happiness.

13.107.139 Unassailable by his foes, by his servants, and by his own kin, and devoted to the protection of his people, such a man suffers harm in no quarter.

13.107.140 The science of reasoning you should master, and the science of grammar, O Bhārata, and the science of music too; the arts, O ruler of men, are to be thoroughly known.

13.107.141 The ancient lore, the histories, and such tales as there are, and the deeds of great-souled men—these you should ever be listening to.

13.107.142 A wife in her courses one should not approach, nor summon; the discerning man should go to her, bathed, on the night of the fourth day.

13.107.143 On the fifth day a female is conceived, and on the sixth day a male; by this rule the learned man should approach his wife.

13.107.144 Kinsmen, connections, and friends are ever to be honoured; sacrifice should be offered to the best of one's power with rites of manifold gifts; and thereafter the forest should be resorted to, O ruler of men.

13.107.145 This summary account of the marks of long-life-giving conduct has been declared to you; what remains is to be learned from the elders versed in the three Vedas, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.107.146 Right conduct is the begetter of prosperity; right conduct is the increaser of renown; from right conduct life itself is prolonged, and right conduct destroys every ill-omened mark.

13.107.147 Of all the scriptural traditions, right conduct is declared the highest; from right conduct springs dharma, and from dharma life is increased.

13.107.148 This, conferring fame, conferring long life, leading to heaven, a great means of well-being, was proclaimed by Brahmā out of compassion for all the classes of men.

13.108.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: How an elder should bear himself toward his juniors, O bull of the Bhāratas, and how juniors should bear themselves toward an elder—that tell me.

13.108.2 Bhīṣma said: Bear yourself as an elder, my son, for you are ever the eldest; weightier is the conduct of the teacher than that of the pupil, O Bhārata.

13.108.3 Toward a teacher of undeveloped wisdom a pupil cannot rightly conduct himself; for the far-sightedness that belongs to the teacher belongs not to the pupil, O Bhārata.

13.108.4 At the time for being blind let even the wise man be as if blind, and at the time for being dull, dull; whatever transgression there be among such matters, he should point it out only with tact.

13.108.5 Men whose hearts are already estranged would, before one's very eyes, deepen what division has been wrought; tormented by another's prosperity, O son of Kuntī, and likewise foes who crave disunion.

13.108.6 The eldest causes a family to flourish, or again brings it to ruin; the eldest may even destroy the whole family in which he is born.

13.108.7 But should an elder brother wrong his younger, he should forfeit his rights as eldest and his share, and he is to be restrained by kings.

13.108.8 For a man given to wrongdoing goes without doubt to evil worlds; like the blossom of the bamboo (vidula), his begetting is remembered as fruitless.

13.108.9 In whatever family a wicked man is born, the source of every calamity, he begets only ill fame and makes good repute vanish away.

13.108.10 And all uterine brothers who follow forbidden courses deserve no share; nor, without first giving to his juniors, should the eldest set aside a portion for himself.

13.108.11 A father's inheritance belongs to the younger as well; but as for the traveller, whose gain is the fruit of his own legs' toil, what he has won by his own striving he need not give away against his will.

13.108.12 When brothers are yet undivided, even if their exertion be in common, a father should in no wise allot to a son an unequal share.

13.108.13 One should not slight one's elders, be one ill-doing or well-doing; whether a woman or a younger-born, if one perceive what is better, let one act accordingly—for the better is dharma, so they say, and so the knowers of dharma understand.

13.108.14 A preceptor outweighs ten instructors, a father ten preceptors, and a mother ten fathers—or even the whole earth.

13.108.15 In claim to reverence she surpasses all; there is no elder equal to a mother. Because the mother is the weightier, therefore do people so honour her.

13.108.16 The eldest brother is equal to a father when the father is dead, O Bhārata; for he should be the provider of livelihood to these others, and he should protect them.

13.108.17 The juniors should all bow down to him, following his will, and they should look to him for their support, just as to a father.

13.108.18 These two, the father and the mother, bring forth the body, O Bhārata; but the birth that the teacher fashions by his instruction—that is the true one, free from age and death.

13.108.19 An elder sister too is the equal of a mother, O bull of the Bhāratas; and a brother's wife is likewise to be esteemed, at whose breast in childhood one may have drunk.

13.109.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Among all the classes, and even among the barbarian peoples, O grandsire, this inclination toward fasting exists; yet its cause we do not understand.

13.109.2 By the brāhmaṇa and the kṣatriya the observances are to be performed—so we have heard; yet how does fasting come to be a duty for them, O grandsire?

13.109.3 Declare the rule of fasts for all, O king, and what destiny he attains who is devoted to fasting.

13.109.4 Fasting is the supreme merit; fasting is the highest refuge. By fasting here, O best of men, what fruit does one obtain?

13.109.5 By what is one freed from unrighteousness, and how does one attain to righteousness? How does one win heaven and merit, O best of the Bhāratas?

13.109.6 And having fasted, what should be given thereafter, O ruler of men, by which, through righteousness, one might gain happiness and wealth—tell me that.

13.109.7 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: To the son of Kuntī, knower of dharma, son of Dharma, as he spoke thus, Bhīṣma the son of Śaṃtanu, knower of the truth of dharma, said these words.

13.109.8 Verily, O great king, this was heard of old—what excellent virtues lie in the practice of fasting, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.109.9 For I once questioned Aṅgiras, descendant of Prajāpati, O Bhārata; just as you question me, so did I question that sage rich in austerity.

13.109.10 Questioned by me with this very question, the blessed one, sprung from fire, set forth the meritorious rule of fasting, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.109.11 Aṅgiras said: For the brāhmaṇa and the kṣatriya a fast of three nights is enjoined, O delight of the Kurus, and here also one of twice three nights is laid down, O bull among men.

13.109.12 But as for the vaiśya and the śūdra who out of delusion undertake a fast of three nights or of twice three nights, for those two no thriving comes of it.

13.109.13 The skipping of every fourth meal is ordained for the vaiśya and the śūdra; the three-night fast is not enjoined for them by the knowers of dharma, the expounders of the Veda.

13.109.14 By fasting on the fifth and the sixth lunar days and on the full-moon day, O Bhārata, a man is born patient, endowed with beauty, and learned.

13.109.15 The wise man who keeps the fifth and the sixth as fast-days and feeds the twice-born, and is given to sacrifice, becomes never childless nor ever poor.

13.109.16 And by fasting on the eighth and on the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight, O son of Kuntī, one is born free from disease and full of vigour.

13.109.17 He who passes the month of Mārgaśīrṣa taking but a single meal a day, and with devotion feeds the twice-born, is freed from diseases and sins.

13.109.18 Filled with every blessing, possessed of all healing herbs, sharing in the fruits of tillage, rich in wealth and rich in sons—so is he born.

13.109.19 He who passes the month of Pauṣa with but a single meal, O son of Kuntī, is born fortunate, fair to look upon, and sharing in renown.

13.109.20 He who, devoted to the ancestors, passes the month of Māgha with a single meal a day attains to greatness in a prosperous family, in the midst of his kinsmen.

13.109.21 He who passes the month presided over by Bhaga (Phālguna) with a single meal a day comes to be beloved among women, and they become devoted to him.

13.109.22 He who, self-controlled, passes the month of Caitra with a single meal a day is born into a great family abounding in gold, gems, and pearls.

13.109.23 Whoever, with senses subdued, passes through the month of Vaiśākha on a single meal a day—be it man or woman—attains pre-eminence among kinsmen.

13.109.24 Whoever passes the month of Jyeṣṭhāmūla taking but a single meal each day—man or woman—is reborn to sovereignty unrivalled and supreme.

13.109.25 He who, unwearying, keeps the month of Āṣāḍha upon a single meal each day is born rich in grain, rich in wealth, and rich in sons.

13.109.26 He who, self-controlled, passes the month of Śrāvaṇa upon a single meal is everywhere joined to royal consecration, and the increaser of his kinsmen.

13.109.27 The man who through the month of Prauṣṭhapada eats but once a day attains a lordship rich in wealth, flourishing, and unshakable.

13.109.28 Likewise he who passes the month of Āśvayuja upon a single meal is born blessed with offspring, rich in conveyances, and abounding in sons.

13.109.29 The man who, through the month of Kārttika, takes but one meal a day is born a hero, with many wives, and crowned with renown.

13.109.30 Thus, O tiger among men, have the months been proclaimed for those who fast through them. Now hear too, O king, the observances reckoned by the lunar days.

13.109.31 He who eats a meal only when each fortnight has run its course, O Bhārata, is born rich in cattle, abounding in sons, and long of life.

13.109.32 He who, month by month for twelve years, fasts through three nights at a stretch attains lordship over hosts, free of rivals and unsullied.

13.109.33 All these observances, O best of the Bhāratas, are to be performed for twelve autumns by one who keeps to the round of active life.

13.109.34 But he who eats at dawn and again at evening, drinking nothing between, ever devoted to non-injury and pouring oblations into Jātavedas the fire—

13.109.35 —that man, O king, is perfected in six years, of this there is no doubt, and gains the fruit of the Agniṣṭoma sacrifice.

13.109.36 He mounts a celestial car bright as molten gold, in the dwelling of the apsarases that resounds with dance and song.

13.109.37 For a full thousand years he is honoured in the world of Brahmā, and when that is spent he returns here to attain greatness.

13.109.38 The man who through a full year takes but a single meal a day enjoys the fruit of the Atirātra sacrifice.

13.109.39 For ten thousand years he is honoured in heaven, and when that is spent he returns here to attain greatness.

13.109.40 He who through a full year eats only every fourth mealtime, ever devoted to non-injury, truthful in speech, his senses curbed—

13.109.41 —he indeed enjoys the fruit of the Vājapeya sacrifice, and for thirty thousand years he is honoured in heaven.

13.109.42 Should a man, O son of Kuntī, pass a whole year eating only at every sixth mealtime, he gains the fruit of the Aśvamedha sacrifice.

13.109.43 He travels in a celestial car yoked with cakravāka birds, and rejoices in heaven for forty thousand years.

13.109.44 Living through a whole year, O king, upon only every eighth meal, a man gains the fruit of the Gavāmayana sacrifice.

13.109.45 He travels in a celestial car yoked with swans and cranes, and rejoices in heaven for fifty thousand years.

13.109.46 He who for a whole year, O king, eats only when each fortnight has passed—of his half-year of abstinence the venerable Aṅgiras has spoken—dwells in heaven for sixty thousand years.

13.109.47 And there, O lord of peoples, as he sleeps he is roused by the sweet, well-tuned notes of vīṇās and lutes and flutes.

13.109.48 And he who through one year here drinks milk only once a month—that man, dear child, O king, gains the fruit of the Viśvajit sacrifice.

13.109.49 He travels in a celestial car yoked with lions and tigers, and rejoices in heaven for seventy thousand years.

13.109.50 Beyond a month, O tiger among men, no fast is ordained; but the rule of utter abstinence from food, O Pārtha, those versed in dharma declare thus.

13.109.51 He who, untroubled and free of disease, undertakes the fast unto death gains, at every step, the fruit of a sacrifice; of this there is no doubt.

13.109.52 He goes to heaven in a celestial car yoked with swans, and a hundred apsaras-maidens delight that man.

13.109.53 And he who, even if afflicted or diseased, undertakes the fast unto death rejoices in heaven, O lord, for a hundred thousand years, and as he sleeps is roused by the sound of girdles and anklets.

13.109.54 Borne in a celestial car yoked with a thousand swans, gleaming like the moon and thronged with a hundred women, he goes and there takes his delight, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.109.55 For the wasted, replenishment is seen as good; for the wounded, the healing of the wound; for the diseased, a wealth of medicines; and for the angry, appeasement.

13.109.56 For the suffering, the bestowal of goods through wealth and honour: yet none of these please the man who longs for heaven and would prosper in happiness.

13.109.57 Therefore that man, his desires fulfilled and richly adorned, takes his delight in a fair celestial car bright as gold and thronged with a hundred women.

13.109.58 Serene, his resolve fulfilled, happy, and purged of every stain, the man who casts off his body by fasting gains this fruit.

13.109.59 In a celestial car gleaming like gold, radiant as the newly risen sun, inlaid with beryl and pearls, resounding with vīṇā and drum,

13.109.60 strewn with banners and lamps, ringing with celestial bells, attended by a thousand women—there that man thrives in bliss.

13.109.61 For as many thousands of years, O Pāṇḍava, as there are pores of hair upon his limbs, even so long does he rejoice in heaven.

13.109.62 There is no scripture higher than the Veda, no teacher like a mother; there is no gain greater than dharma, no austerity beyond fasting.

13.109.63 There is no purifier higher than the brāhmaṇas, in heaven or here below; and no act of austerity is known that is the equal of fasting.

13.109.64 By fasting in due form the gods attained the threefold heaven, and the seers won the highest perfection through fasts.

13.109.65 For a thousand celestial years the wise Viśvāmitra endured upon but a single meal, and thereby came to brāhmaṇahood.

13.109.66 Cyavana and Jamadagni, Vasiṣṭha, Gautama, and Bhṛgu—all these great seers, steadfast in endurance, attained to heaven.

13.109.67 This of old was made known by Aṅgiras to the great seers; he who ever makes it known meets with no sorrow.

13.109.68 And this rule in due order, O son of Kuntī, set forth by the great seer Aṅgiras—whoever recites it or hearkens to it without fail, no sin is found in that man.

13.109.69 He is freed from every defilement, nor is his mind overborne by faults; he comes to understand the cries of creatures born of other wombs, and that best of men attains enduring renown.

13.110.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: The sacrifices have been duly declared by the great-souled grandsire, and their virtues set forth truly, in every respect, both in the next world and in this.

13.110.2 But those sacrifices cannot be attained by a poor man, O grandsire; sacrifices require many appurtenances and a vast array of varied materials.

13.110.3 They can be undertaken by kings or by princes, O grandsire, but not by those wanting in wealth, lacking in means, solitary, and unsupported.

13.110.4 That rule which even the poor might always be able to follow, and which would be equal to these fruits of sacrifice—tell me of it, O grandsire.

13.110.5 Bhīṣma said: This was declared by Aṅgiras, a rule whose essence is the fruit of fasting and which is equal to the fruits of sacrifice; learn it now, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.110.6 He who eats at dawn and again at evening, drinking nothing between, ever devoted to non-injury and pouring oblations into Jātavedas the fire—

13.110.7 —that man is perfected in just six years, of this there is no doubt, and he gains a celestial car of the colour of molten gold.

13.110.8 In the dwelling of the celestial women, resounding with dance and song, blazing like fire, he abides in the realm of Prajāpati for a padma of years.

13.110.9 He who for three years eats but a single meal continually, ever faithful to his wedded wife, gains the fruit of the Agniṣṭoma.

13.110.10 And he who, eating only on every second day a single meal for all twelve months while pouring oblations into Jātavedas the fire, would thereby win the fruit of a Bahusuvarṇa sacrifice, dear to Vāsava—

13.110.11 —truthful in speech, given to charity, devoted to brāhmaṇas, free of malice, patient, self-restrained, his anger conquered—that man attains the highest goal.

13.110.12 In a celestial car bright as a pale white cloud and marked with the sign of the swan, when two padmas are complete he dwells together with the apsarases.

13.110.13 And he who eats only on every third day a single meal, for all twelve months pouring oblations into Jātavedas the fire—

13.110.14 —that man gains the unsurpassed fruit of the Atirātra sacrifice, and obtains a celestial car yoked with peacocks and swans.

13.110.15 In the world of the Seven Seers he dwells ever together with the apsarases, and his term there, they say, is three padmas before his return.

13.110.16 And he who eats only on every fourth day a single meal, for all twelve months pouring oblations into Jātavedas the fire—

13.110.17 —that man gains the unsurpassed fruit of the Vājapeya sacrifice, and obtains a celestial car bestrode by the daughters of Indra.

13.110.18 At the very bounds of the ocean he dwells in the world of Vāsava, and for all time beholds the sport of the king of the gods.

13.110.19 And he who eats only on every fifth day a single meal, for all twelve months pouring oblations into Jātavedas the fire—

13.110.20 —free of greed, truthful, devoted to brāhmaṇas and harming none, without malice and standing clear of sin, he gains the fruit of the Dvādaśāha rite.

13.110.21 He mounts a divine celestial car wrought of pure gold, marked with the sign of the swan and gleaming like a wreath of suns—a pale and shining mansion.

13.110.22 There he dwells in bliss for four returns and twelve padmas, a span measured by the count of the arrows and the fires.

13.110.23 And the sage who eats his meal only on every sixth day, for all twelve months pouring oblations into Jātavedas the fire—

13.110.24 —ever bathing at the three appointed times, chaste, and free of malice, he gains the unsurpassed fruit of the Gavāmayana sacrifice.

13.110.25 He wins a supreme vehicle, fashioned of gold and yoked, bright as the flame of fire and attended by swans and peacocks.

13.110.26 And asleep there in the lap of the apsarases, he is awakened by the chime of anklets and the jingling of girdles.

13.110.27 A thousand koṭis of years, and three hundred koṭis besides, eighteen padmas, and likewise two patākas—

13.110.28 —and fifty myriads more: by a span equal to the number of hairs on a hundred bear-skins, he is honoured in the world of Brahmā.

13.110.29 And he who eats only on every seventh day a single meal, for all twelve months pouring oblations into Jātavedas the fire—

13.110.30 —guarding his speech, practising chastity, and shunning flowers, fragrant unguents, honey, and meat—

13.110.31 —such a man goes to the world of the Maruts and to the world of Indra, and there, his aim achieved, he is borne aloft by the daughters of the gods.

13.110.32 That man gains the fruit of the Bahusuvarṇa sacrifice, and rejoices in those worlds for a span beyond all reckoning.

13.110.33 And the man who, patient through a whole year, eats only on every eighth day, ever intent upon the service of the gods and pouring oblations into Jātavedas the fire—

13.110.34 —gains the unsurpassed fruit of the Pauṇḍarīka sacrifice, and mounts a celestial car of the hue of the lotus.

13.110.35 Women dark of hue, and others golden-fair, and yet others of dusky complexion — graced with youth, beauty, and charm — he wins: of this there is no doubt.

13.110.36 But he who, for a full year, eats only on every ninth day, ever for twelve months pouring oblations into Jātavedas, the fire,

13.110.37 that man gains the fruit of the horse-sacrifice, and obtains a celestial chariot bright as the white lotus.

13.110.38 With the splendor of blazing sun and fire, adorned with heavenly garlands, he is borne aloft by the maidens of Rudra to the eternal firmament.

13.110.39 For eighteen thousand years, indeed for an entire aeon, and for a hundred thousand crores of years, he rejoices in those worlds.

13.110.40 But he who, for a full year, eats only when each tenth day has passed, ever for twelve months pouring oblations into Jātavedas, the fire,

13.110.41 in the dwelling of the maidens of Brahmā, enchanting to all beings, attains the unsurpassed fruit of a thousand horse-sacrifices.

13.110.42 And lovely maidens ever delight that man, some hued like the blue lotus, others like the red lotus.

13.110.43 He wins a supreme celestial chariot, circling in spirals, wreathed in deep whorls, resembling the billows of the ocean.

13.110.44 Resounding with strings of wondrous gems, with conches and lotuses, with pillars of crystal and adamantine essence, its terraces finely wrought — he mounts that great chariot drawn by swans and cranes.

13.110.45 But he who eats his portion only when the eleventh day has come, ever for twelve months pouring oblations into Jātavedas, the fire,

13.110.46 who covets not another's wife in word or even in thought, and speaks no falsehood, not even for the sake of mother or father,

13.110.47 he draws near to Mahādeva the mighty, seated upon his celestial chariot, and beholds the Self-Existent One, his own chariot waiting before him.

13.110.48 Maidens of golden radiance and lovely form bear him to that enchanting heavenly abode of the Rudras in the sky.

13.110.49 For years beyond measure he dwells there, even to the ending of an age — a hundred thousand crores of years, and ten hundred crores besides.

13.110.50 Ever he bows to Rudra, honored by gods and dānavas alike, and day after day he is granted the sight of him.

13.110.51 But he who eats his portion when the twelfth day has come, ever for twelve months, gains the fruit of the all-sacrifice.

13.110.52 For him a celestial chariot is fashioned by the twelve Ādityas, made splendid with precious gems, pearls, and corals.

13.110.53 Encircled by rows of swans, thronged along the elephants' avenue, made beautiful with peacocks and ruddy geese that cry aloud,

13.110.54 furnished with lofty turrets, established in the world of Brahmā — there forever he dwells, O king, surrounded by men and women. Thus did the illustrious sage Aṅgiras, knower of dharma, declare.

13.110.55 But he who eats his portion when the thirteenth day has come, ever for twelve months, gains the fruit of the gods' sacrificial session.

13.110.56 That man wins a celestial chariot named 'Rising of the Red Lotus,' wrought of gold and adorned with heaped-up jewels,

13.110.57 thronged with celestial maidens decked in heavenly ornaments, breathing forth holy fragrances, divine, made fair by gentle breezes.

13.110.58 There, where banners fly upon their staffs, he dwells until the ending of an age, indeed an aeon, a myriad of myriads, a padma of years, even an ocean of them.

13.110.59 Amid songs and the strains of gandharvas, the sound of kettledrums and tabors, ever rejoicing, he is praised by those celestial maidens.

13.110.60 But he who eats his portion when the fourteenth day is full, ever for twelve months, gains the fruit of the great sacrifice.

13.110.61 Celestial maidens of indescribable youth and beauty, finely adorned, wearing armlets of burnished gold, follow him in their chariots.

13.110.62 By the calls of wild geese, the tinkling of anklets, and the swing and chime of girdle-belts, he is roused now here, now there.

13.110.63 And in that dwelling of the celestial maidens, strewn with the sands of the Jāhnavī, that man abides for a full year of such reckoning.

13.110.64 But he who, when a fortnight has passed, takes a single meal, his senses subdued, ever for twelve months pouring oblations into Jātavedas, the fire, attains the unsurpassed fruit of a thousand royal consecrations.

13.110.65 He mounts forever a chariot attended by swans and peacocks, dazzling with circlets of gems, sheathed all in gold,

13.110.66 graced by lovely women radiant in heavenly ornaments — single-pillared, four-gated, seven-storied, most auspicious, made splendid by a thousand banners and the sound of song.

13.110.67 He ascends that celestial chariot endowed with divine qualities, adorned with gems, pearls, and corals, gleaming like lightning, and there he dwells a thousand ages, borne by rhinoceros and elephant.

13.110.68 But he who eats his portion when the sixteenth day has come, ever for twelve months, gains the fruit of the Soma sacrifice.

13.110.69 He dwells forever in the abodes of the daughters of Soma, anointed with gentle fragrances, and moves wherever his will may take him.

13.110.70 Seated upon his chariot, he is honored by women fair to look upon and sweet of speech, and is waited upon with every delight of desire.

13.110.71 His fruit, reckoned as a hundred padmas, lasts a great aeon and ten more; four cycles of the ocean's turning does that man endure.

13.110.72 He who eats his portion when the seventeenth day has come, ever for twelve months pouring oblations into Jātavedas, the fire,

13.110.73 attains the realms of Varuṇa, of Indra, and of Rudra, and reaches the worlds of the Maruts and of Uśanas, and the world of Brahmā.

13.110.74 There he is attended with a seat of honor by the maidens of the gods, and beholds earth and mid-air and the divine sage of universal form.

13.110.75 There the maidens of the God of gods delight him — two-and-thirty in number, of varied forms, sweet of voice and finely adorned.

13.110.76 As long as moon and sun, O lord, journey through the sky, so long does that hero roam, feeding on the nectar-sweet draught of immortality.

13.110.77 But he who eats a single meal on the eighteenth day, ever for twelve months, beholds the seven worlds.

13.110.78 He is followed from behind by chariots ringing with joyous sound, gleaming and finely decked, bearing the maidens of the gods.

13.110.79 Yoked with tigers and lions, resounding like a thundercloud, that supreme celestial chariot he mounts in perfect ease.

13.110.80 There for a thousand aeons he rejoices in the company of his beloveds, and feeds on the nectar-draught, supreme and like the elixir of immortality.

13.110.81 He who takes a single meal on the nineteenth day, ever for twelve months, beholds the seven worlds.

13.110.82 He gains a supreme abode, attended by hosts of apsarases, and a chariot bright as the sun, hymned by the gandharvas.

13.110.83 There, freed from all fever of grief, he rejoices with the fairest women of the immortals, clad in heavenly raiment and full of splendor, for a hundred myriads of years.

13.110.84 And he who takes a single meal when the twentieth day is full, ever for twelve months, speaking truth and steadfast in his vow,

13.110.85 eating no flesh, observing chastity, devoted to the welfare of all beings, attains the vast and heavenly worlds of the Ādityas.

13.110.86 By gandharvas and apsarases, with heavenly garlands and unguents, in celestial chariots of gold, he is followed from behind.

13.110.87 He who takes a single meal on the twenty-first day, ever for twelve months pouring oblations into Jātavedas, the fire,

13.110.88 reaches the heavenly world of Uśanas and the world of Śakra, ever delighting in the joys of the Aśvins and the Maruts.

13.110.89 A stranger to all sorrows, seated upon his choice chariot, served by lovely women, he sports like a lord among the immortals.

13.110.90 He who takes a single meal when the twenty-second day has come, ever for twelve months pouring oblations into Jātavedas, the fire,

13.110.91 steadfast, devoted to non-injury, truthful and free from envy, attains the worlds of the Vasus, radiant as the day-making sun.

13.110.92 Moving where he wills, feeding on nectar, seated upon his choice chariot, he revels with celestial maidens decked in heavenly ornaments.

13.110.93 But he who eats a single meal on the twenty-third day, ever for twelve months, moderate in food and master of his senses,

13.110.94 reaches the worlds of Vāyu, of Uśanas, and of Rudra — moving where he wills, going as he desires, honored by hosts of apsarases.

13.110.95 Seated upon his choice chariot, endowed with manifold excellences, he revels with celestial maidens decked in heavenly ornaments.

13.110.96 He who eats a single meal on the twenty-fourth day, ever for twelve months pouring oblations into Jātavedas, the fire,

13.110.97 dwells long, rejoicing, in the abode of the Ādityas, wearing heavenly garlands and raiment, anointed with celestial fragrances.

13.110.98 In a golden, heavenly chariot, swan-yoked and lovely, he revels with thousands and myriads of celestial maidens.

13.110.99 But he who eats a single meal on the twenty-fifth day, ever for twelve months, ascends an ample chariot.

13.110.100 By chariots yoked with lions and tigers, resounding like thunderclouds and ringing with joyous sound, he is followed from behind.

13.110.101 Mounting a supreme, heavenly, most enchanting chariot, escorted by spotless, shining silver ones bearing the maidens of the gods,

13.110.102 there for a thousand aeons he dwells, encircled by a hundred women, living upon the nectar-draught, supreme and like the elixir of immortality.

13.110.103 But he who eats a single meal on the twenty-sixth day, ever for twelve months, self-restrained and measured in his eating,

13.110.104 his senses subdued and his passions stilled, pouring oblations into Jātavedas, the fire — that illustrious man attains his reward, honored by hosts of apsarases.

13.110.105 He gains the worlds of the seven Maruts and of the Vasus, upon a heavenly chariot of crystal, adorned with every jewel.

13.110.106 Honored by gandharvas and apsarases, he rejoices for two thousand divine ages, radiant with celestial splendor.

13.110.107 He who eats a single meal on the twenty-seventh day, ever for twelve months pouring oblations into Jātavedas, the fire,

13.110.108 attains an abundant reward and is honored in the world of the gods; dwelling there and feeding on nectar, fully content, he rejoices.

13.110.109 That realm trodden by the divine sages, O king, and ruled over by royal sages, the heavenly-souled one inhabits, seated upon his choice chariot.

13.110.110 Revelling with women that ravish the mind, flushed with delight, he dwells in bliss for three thousand age-aeons.

13.110.111 And he who eats a single meal on the twenty-eighth day, ever for twelve months, his self conquered and his senses wholly mastered,

13.110.112 attains the abundant reward of the realm trodden by the divine sages; abounding in delights, he shines with splendor, spotless as the thousand-rayed sun.

13.110.113 And tender, radiant women, full-breasted, with rounded thighs and hips, decked in heavenly ornaments, take their delight with him,

13.110.114 those beloved ones delight his mind upon a chariot bright as the sun, heavenly and going wherever desire may lead, for a hundred myriad aeons of years.

13.110.115 He who on the twenty-ninth day takes but a single meal, doing so steadily for twelve months, devoted to the vow of truth—

13.110.116 his are auspicious, celestial worlds honored by the king of the gods and by royal seers, and he attains a divine chariot radiant with the brightness of the moon.

13.110.117 Wrought of gold, well fashioned, adorned with every jewel, thronged with hosts of apsarases and resounding with the music of gandharvas.

13.110.118 There lovely women decked in divine ornaments, ravishing the mind, sweet and flushed with ardor, give him their delight.

13.110.119 Rich in enjoyment, endowed with splendor, bright as the all-consuming fire, he is divine, shining in a divine form like an immortal.

13.110.120 He attains the worlds of the Vasus and the Maruts, of the Sādhyas and the two Aśvins, of the Rudras as well, and reaches the world of Brahmā.

13.110.121 But he who, when a month has passed, eats a single meal, his nature given to tranquility, doing so for twelve months, shall win the world of Brahmā.

13.110.122 Taking nectar's essence for his food, glorious and altogether enchanting, he shines with splendor, with beauty, and with majesty, like the radiant sun.

13.110.123 Wearing celestial garlands and raiment, anointed with celestial fragrances, the yogin delights in pleasures and knows nothing of sorrows.

13.110.124 Seated in his chariot he is exalted by women luminous of themselves, and is forever worshipped by the daughters of the Rudras and the divine seers.

13.110.125 By women fair in manifold forms, of manifold passions, of manifold sweet speech, and of manifold delights.

13.110.126 In a chariot vast as a city, blazing like the sun and resembling the sun, behind glowing like the moon, and on its northern side like a cloud.

13.110.127 Red-hued on its southern side, with a dark orb below and a many-colored brilliance above—there he dwells, honored and never alone.

13.110.128 For as many years as the rain pours down upon Jambūdvīpa through a thousand years, so long, they say, is his sojourn in the world of the wise Brahmā.

13.110.129 And for as many raindrops as fall from the vault of heaven in the season when it rains, so long does that one, splendid as an immortal, abide there.

13.110.130 He who fasts for a month at a time, after ten years attains the highest heaven, and gaining the rank of a great seer, passes thither in his very body.

13.110.131 A sage, self-controlled, having conquered anger, having mastered the appetites of sex and belly, ever offering oblations to the fires, restrained, and faithful to worship at the twilight hours.

13.110.132 The man who thus, through many observances, takes his food but once a month and lives content under the open sky—of him such a dwelling is declared.

13.110.133 Having gone to heaven in his own body, O king, like an immortal, he enjoys the holy heaven at will, according to the ordinance.

13.110.134 This, O best of the Bhāratas, is the supreme ordinance of sacrifices, expounded to you in due order, which yields the fruit of fasting.

13.110.135 Thus, O Pārtha, the fruit of sacrifice may be won even by men of no means; by performing this fast one shall attain the supreme goal, O best of the Bhāratas, if he delights in the worship of gods and of the twice-born.

13.110.136 This ordinance of fasting has been proclaimed at length, ordained for the restrained, the vigilant, the pure, the great of soul,

13.110.137 for those who have turned from deceit and malice, whose minds are made up, O Bhārata, who are steadfast and unshaken—let no doubt of yours linger here.

13.111.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Which is the best of all sacred bathing-places, O grandsire—tell me that; where the highest purity lies, that you ought to expound to me.

13.111.2 Bhīṣma said: All sacred fords, indeed, hold virtue for the wise; but what is the true ford and what is purity, hear from me with attentive mind.

13.111.3 In the fathomless, stainless, pure ford of the mind, whose waters are truth and whose pool is steadfastness, one must bathe, taking hold of the eternal goodness.

13.111.4 The purity of the ford is freedom from greed, gentleness, truth, uprightness, harmlessness toward all beings, mercy, self-restraint, and tranquility.

13.111.5 They who are free from the sense of mine, free from egoism, beyond the pairs of opposites, free from possessions, and who live upon alms—those are pure and are themselves as sacred fords.

13.111.6 He who knows the truth and is free from the notion of "I" is called the supreme ford; this is the mark of purity for you, to be watched for in all things everywhere.

13.111.7 They from whose self passion, darkness, and even goodness have been washed clean—such men, intent on their own true task, are not bound by the pure and the impure.

13.111.8 Delighting in every renunciation, all-knowing, all-seeing, having achieved purity of conduct through purity itself—those are sacred fords, and those are the pure.

13.111.9 Not he whose limbs are merely wet with water is called bathed; he is the truly bathed who has bathed in self-restraint and is pure both without and within.

13.111.10 They who care nothing for what is past and claim no ownership in the goods that have come to them—theirs is the highest purity, in whom no craving arises.

13.111.11 Wisdom is purity here, especially of the body; so too are utter possessionlessness and serenity of mind.

13.111.12 Purity of conduct, purity of mind, the purity of the ford—a supreme blessing; but the purity born of knowledge, that is held to be the highest purity of all.

13.111.13 They who have bathed in the ford of the mind, by the lamp of the mind and the strength of the knowledge of Brahman—those knowers behold the Knower of the field.

13.111.14 But the man in whom purity is established, ever endowed with right disposition, perfect in virtue alone, is forever pure indeed.

13.111.15 These sacred fords that dwell within the body have been declared, O Bhārata; now hear also of the holy fords that are upon the earth.

13.111.16 As certain regions of the body are fashioned pure, so too are there holy tracts of the earth and holy waters.

13.111.17 By yearning for the sacred ford, by bathing there, and by the offering of water to the ancestors, men shake off their sin at the fords and, purified, go in bliss to heaven.

13.111.18 Through the resort of holy men, through the power of the earth, and through the power of the water, those tracts become exceedingly holy.

13.111.19 There are holy fords of the mind and of the earth alike; and he who has bathed in both shall swiftly attain perfection.

13.111.20 As strength without action, or action without strength, accomplishes nothing here, but joined together they succeed—

13.111.21 so the man endowed with purity of body and with purity of the ford thereby attains perfection; the twofold purity is supreme.

13.112.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: O grandsire, mighty-armed, learned in all the scriptures, I wish to hear the supreme law of the round of births and deaths for mortals.

13.112.2 By what conduct, O lord of kings, do men who live in the world attain the highest heaven, and how, O king, do they come to hell?

13.112.3 Casting off the dead body, like a log or a clod of earth, people pass from here to that other world; who, then, follows after them?

13.112.4 Bhīṣma said: Yonder comes the lord Bṛhaspati, of noble understanding; ask him, that most blessed one, of this eternal mystery.

13.112.5 For this cannot be told by any other man today; nowhere is there found another expounder equal to Bṛhaspati.

13.112.6 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: As the son of Pṛthā and the son of Gaṅgā were thus conversing, the lord Bṛhaspati of utterly pure soul came near.

13.112.7 Then the king, with Dhṛtarāṣṭra at their head, rose up, and all those seated in the assembly paid him honor beyond compare.

13.112.8 Then the king, the son of Dharma, true to his vows, drew near to the lord Bṛhaspati and, in due form, put his question.

13.112.9 Yudhiṣṭhira said: O lord, knower of all duties, learned in all the scriptures, who is the mortal's true companion—father, mother, son, or teacher?

13.112.10 Casting off the dead body, like a log or a clod of earth, people go to that world beyond; who, then, follows him?

13.112.11 Bṛhaspati said: Alone the creature is born, O lord of kings, and alone it perishes; alone it crosses the hard passages, and alone it goes to its evil plight.

13.112.12 No helpmate then is father or mother, brother, son, or teacher, nor the throng of kinsmen and connections, nor the company of friends.

13.112.13 When the body lies dead, like a log or a clod of earth, people stand by it for a moment, then turn their faces away and depart; once that body is forsaken by them, righteousness alone follows after.

13.112.14 Therefore men must ever cultivate righteousness for the sake of a companion; the living being joined with righteousness goes to the supreme path of heaven, and joined with unrighteousness he comes to hell.

13.112.15 Therefore let the wise man practice righteousness with wealth honestly gotten; righteousness alone is the companion of men in the world beyond.

13.112.16 Out of greed, delusion, misplaced pity, or fear, the man of little learning, bewildered by greed, does deeds that ought not to be done for another's sake.

13.112.17 Duty, wealth, and pleasure—this triad is the fruit of life; this triad is to be attained while shunning all unrighteousness.

13.112.18 Yudhiṣṭhira said: I have heard the lord's words, righteous and supremely beneficial; now there arises in me the wish to understand the analysis of the body.

13.112.19 When the dead one is bereft of the body, has grown subtle, passed into the unmanifest, and become no object for the eye, how does righteousness follow after it?

13.112.20 Bṛhaspati said: Earth, air, ether, water, and light as the fifth, together with the intellect and the self, behold righteousness without ceasing.

13.112.21 For all living beings here these are unceasing witnesses, and through these does righteousness itself follow after that living soul.

13.112.22 Skin, bone, flesh, semen, and blood, O greatly wise one—these forsake the body once it is bereft of life.

13.112.23 Then that living soul, joined with righteousness, thrives in happiness both in this world and in the next. What more shall I tell you?

13.112.24 Yudhiṣṭhira said: The lord has shown how righteousness follows after; but this I wish to learn—how does the seed come forth?

13.112.25 Bṛhaspati said: The deities that dwell within the body and consume the food, O ruler of men, are earth, air, ether, water, light, and likewise the mind.

13.112.26 Then, O lord of kings, when those five elements with the mind for a sixth are satisfied, O pure-souled one, the abundant seed is formed.

13.112.27 Thereupon, at the union of woman and man, O Pārtha, the embryo comes into being. All this has been told to you; what more do you wish to hear?

13.112.28 Yudhiṣṭhira said: You have told how the embryo comes to be; now let it be said how, once born, a man fares onward.

13.112.29 Bṛhaspati said: No sooner has it drawn near than it is constantly overpowered by those elements; and when released from those elements it passes again to another state—yet still it is joined with the elements that the living soul attains.

13.112.30 Then the deities seated in the five elements watch over its deeds, whether fair or foul. What more do you wish to hear?

13.112.31 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Casting off skin, bone, and flesh, and forsaken by those elements, where, O lord, does that living soul abide while it tastes of pleasure and pain?

13.112.32 Bṛhaspati said: The living soul, joined with righteousness, swiftly comes into the state of seed and, reaching the flowering of women, is brought to birth in time, O Bhārata.

13.112.33 Torment at the hands of Yama's servants, slaughter at the hands of Yama's servants, sorrow, the wheel of transmigration, and affliction—these the man finds.

13.112.34 And in this world that living being, from birth onward, O king, reaps the deeds it has itself wrought, resting upon the fruit of righteousness.

13.112.35 If from birth onward he practices righteousness to the best of his power, then, becoming a man, he ever after enjoys happiness.

13.112.36 But if in the midst of righteousness he turns to practice unrighteousness, then that living soul attains, hard upon its happiness, to sorrow.

13.112.37 Bound to unrighteousness, he passes into the realm of Yama; and having undergone immense suffering there, he is reborn into the womb of a beast.

13.112.38 By which particular deed, and in which womb, the deluded living being is reborn here—hear that now from me as I declare it.

13.112.39 What is taught in the scriptures, together with the legends and the sacred meters: the mortal world enters the dreadful realm of Yama.

13.112.40 A twice-born who has studied the four Vedas, yet who, possessed by delusion, accepts a gift from a fallen man, is reborn thereafter into the womb of an ass.

13.112.41 As an ass he lives fifteen years, O Bhārata; and the ass, once dead, lives on as an ox for seven years.

13.112.42 And the ox, when it too has died, is born as a brahma-rākṣasa; as a brahma-rākṣasa for three months, and after that he is born a brāhmaṇa.

13.112.43 But one who has performed sacrifices for a fallen man is reborn into the womb of a worm; there he lives fifteen years, O Bhārata.

13.112.44 Released from the condition of a worm, he is then born a donkey; as a donkey for five years, as a boar for five years, and he becomes a dog for one year—after that he is born a man.

13.112.45 A foolish pupil who does evil to his teacher—that soul, beyond all doubt, attains here three rounds of transmigration.

13.112.46 First he becomes a dog, O lord of kings, then a flesh-eating beast, then an ass; then a tormented hungry ghost, and afterwards he is born a brāhmaṇa.

13.112.47 A sinful pupil who approaches his teacher's wife even in his mind—he, through that unrighteous intent, passes here into the basest rounds of rebirth.

13.112.48 Born in the womb of a dog, he lives three years; and meeting his death there too, he is reborn into the womb of a worm.

13.112.49 Having attained the state of a worm, he lives one year; and meeting his death thereafter, he is reborn into the womb of a brāhmaṇa.

13.112.50 If a teacher, without cause and at his own willful whim, should slay a pupil who is like a son to him, he too is reborn as a goose.

13.112.51 And a son who despises his father or his mother—that creature too, O king, when dead, is first born a donkey.

13.112.52 As an ass he lives ten months, as a dog fourteen, and as a cat seven months; after that he is born a man.

13.112.53 Having reviled mother and father, one is born a mynah bird; and having struck those very two, he is born a tortoise, O king.

13.112.54 As a tortoise ten years, as a porcupine three years; and having been a serpent for six months, after that he is born a man.

13.112.55 He who, while eating his master's bread, serves the king's enemies—that man too, sunk in delusion, when dead is born a monkey.

13.112.56 As a monkey ten years, as a rat three years; and having been a dog for six months, after that he is born a man.

13.112.57 But a man who steals a deposit entrusted to him passes into the realm of Yama; having gone through a hundred rounds of rebirth, he is reborn into the womb of a worm.

13.112.58 There he lives fifteen years, O Bhārata; and once his evil deed is exhausted, after that he is born a man.

13.112.59 A spiteful, envious man, when dead, is born a śārṅgaka bird; and the betrayer of trust, that evil-minded man, is born a fish.

13.112.60 Having been a fish for eight years, he is born a deer, O Bhārata; and as a deer for four months, after that he is born a goat.

13.112.61 And the goat, meeting its death at the close of a full year, is then born as an insect; that creature thereafter is born a man.

13.112.62 Grains, barley, sesame, black gram, horse-gram, mustard, chickpeas, peas, green gram, wheat, and linseed too—

13.112.63 the thieving creature who, witless through delusion, steals these or any other crop—he is born, O great king, as a shameless rat.

13.112.64 Then, having died, O great king, he is born again as a boar; and the boar, just newly born, dies of disease, O king.

13.112.65 By that deed the deluded soul is then born a dog, O lord of the earth; and having been a dog for five years, after that he is born a man.

13.112.66 Having laid hands upon another's wife, one is indeed born a wolf; then a dog, a jackal, a vulture, a serpent, a heron, and likewise a crane.

13.112.67 The evil-minded man who, deluded, violates his brother's wife attains the state of a male cuckoo, and that for a full year, O king.

13.112.68 He who out of lust violates a friend's wife, his teacher's wife, or likewise the king's wife, when dead is born a boar.

13.112.69 As a boar five years, as a porcupine five years, as an ant six months, and as an insect but a single month; having passed through these rebirths, he is reborn into the womb of a worm.

13.112.70 There in the worm's womb he lives thirteen months; and having then worked off his unrighteousness, he is born a man once more.

13.112.71 When a wedding, a gift-giving, or a sacrifice is at hand, O lord, he who out of delusion raises an obstruction to it is born, when dead, a worm.

13.112.72 As a worm he lives fifteen years, O Bhārata; and having worked off his unrighteousness, after that he is born a man.

13.112.73 He who, having first given his daughter in marriage, then bestows her upon a second suitor—that creature too, O king, when dead, is reborn into the womb of a worm.

13.112.74 There he lives thirteen years, O Yudhiṣṭhira; and when his unrighteousness is fully spent, after that he is born a man.

13.112.75 He who, having begun the rite for the gods and likewise the rite for the ancestors, eats his meal without first making the offerings—after that he is born a crow.

13.112.76 As a crow ten years, then he is born a cock; he is born too a quail for a month, and from that he becomes a man.

13.112.77 He who despises an elder brother, who is the equal of a father—that one too, having met his death, is reborn into the womb of a curlew.

13.112.78 As a curlew he lives ten months, two, seven, and five; and meeting his death thereafter, he attains the state of a man.

13.112.79 A low-born man who consorts with a brāhmaṇa woman is reborn into the womb of a worm; and having there begotten offspring, he is afterwards born a rat.

13.112.80 But the ingrate, O king, when dead, passes into the realm of Yama; and in Yama's realm he suffers a fearful slaughter at the hands of the wrathful.

13.112.81 The spiked club, the mallet, the spear, the dreadful cauldron of fire, the terrible Sword-Leaf Forest, the burning sands, and the thorny Śālmali tree—

13.112.82 these and many other fierce torments he undergoes, having passed into Yama's realm; and there he is put to death, O Bhārata.

13.112.83 Entering the wheel of transmigration, he is reborn into the womb of a worm; as a worm he lives fifteen years, O Bhārata; then, entering a womb, the infant dies there itself.

13.112.84 Thereafter the creature is born through many hundreds of wombs; and having passed through many rounds of rebirth, it is then born as a beast.

13.112.85 Having met his death and undergone suffering here through many sequences of years, deprived of release from rebirth, he is then born a tortoise.

13.112.86 The basest of men who, bearing weapons, slays an unarmed man—whether out of greed for wealth or out of enmity—when dead is born an ass.

13.112.87 As an ass he lives two years and is then slain by a weapon; and he, once dead, is born into the womb of a deer, forever trembling in fear.

13.112.88 As a deer he is killed by a weapon when a year has passed; the slain deer then becomes a fish, and that too is caught in a net.

13.112.89 When the fourth month has come, he is born a beast of prey; as a beast of prey ten years, and as a leopard five years.

13.112.90 Then, meeting his death, driven on by the turning of time, and having worked off his unrighteousness, after that he is born a man.

13.112.91 The evil-minded man who slays a woman passes into the realm of Yama; having undergone many afflictions and twenty rounds of rebirth—

13.112.92 thereafter, O great king, he is reborn into the womb of a worm; and having been a worm for twenty years, he is born a man.

13.112.93 Having stolen food, a man is born a fly; subject to a swarm of flies, he remains so for many months; then, having worked off his sin, he attains the state of a man.

13.112.94 Having stolen a musical instrument, a man is born a mosquito; and the man who steals food mixed with oil-cake is born a dreadful rat, tawny like a mongoose.

13.112.95 Having stolen salt, one is born a cricket; having stolen curds, a heron; and a waterfowl, by stealing fish not dressed for cooking.

13.112.96 And having stolen milk, one is born a crane; he who steals oil is born an oil-drinking insect; and the evil-minded man who steals honey is born a stinging fly.

13.112.97 Having stolen iron, the evil-minded man is born a crow; and having stolen rice-milk pudding, he attains the state of a partridge.

13.112.98 Having stolen a cake of flour, one is born a horned owl; and having stolen fruit, a root, or a cake, an ant.

13.112.99 Having stolen a bronze vessel, the evil-minded man is born a green pigeon; and having stolen a silver vessel, he is born a dove.

13.112.100 Having stolen a vessel of gold, one is reborn into the womb of a worm; having stolen cotton goods, one becomes a curlew, and when dead is born a man.

13.112.101 Having stolen silk cloth, or woolen cloth, O Bhārata, or having taken a garment of fine linen, the creature is born a hare.

13.112.102 Having stolen dyes, a man, when dead, is born a peacock; and having stolen red garments, he is born a jīvajīvaka pheasant.

13.112.103 And the man given over to greed who steals pigments, perfumes, and the like attains the state of a musk-shrew, O king.

13.112.104 The man who denies a deposit placed with him in trust—such a man, when his breath has departed, is reborn into the womb of a fish.

13.112.105 Having attained the womb of a fish, when dead he is born a man; and having attained the human state, he is one whose lifespan is short.

13.112.106 Having committed sins, a man is born a beast, O Bhārata; and such creatures have no measure of themselves, nor do they know anything of dharma.

13.112.107 Those men who, having committed sins, ever cast them off by vows—they become mingled with both pleasure and pain, and afflicted with disease.

13.112.108 Men of sinful conduct, possessed by greed and delusion, are born outcasts beyond fellowship, and barbarians too—of this there is no doubt.

13.112.109 But those men who shun sins from their very birth become free of disease, fair of form, and wealthy as well.

13.112.110 Women too, by this same order, attain the fruit of the sin they commit; they come to be the mates of these very same creatures.

13.112.111 The faults arising from seizing another's property have all been proclaimed; this I have told you, O sinless one, in but the briefest measure; on another occasion of discourse you shall hear of it again, O Bhārata.

13.112.112 This, O great king, I once heard from Brahmā as he spoke in the midst of the divine sages, when he was questioned, exactly as it is.

13.112.113 And by me it has been recounted to you in full, just as it is; having heard this, O great king, set your mind ever upon dharma.

13.113.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: The course of unrighteousness, O holy one, you have recounted to me, O sinless one; but I wish to hear the course of righteousness, O best of speakers. After committing sinful deeds, how do men attain an auspicious destiny?

13.113.2 Bṛhaspati said: Having committed sinful deeds, fallen under the sway of unrighteousness, with a mind gone astray, a man passes into hell.

13.113.3 But he who, having committed unrighteousness through delusion, afterwards feels remorse, and is endowed with composure of mind, will not pursue evil deeds again.

13.113.4 In the measure that a man, with a mind well composed, rightly acknowledges his own unrighteousness, in that same measure he is released from it, as a serpent slips free from the old, worn-out slough it once inhabited.

13.113.5 Even without having bestowed gifts of various kinds, a man who is composed and joined to a steady concentration of mind attains a happy course hereafter.

13.113.6 But I shall tell of those gifts, O Yudhiṣṭhira, by bestowing which a man, though he has done deeds that ought not to be done, is even then made one with righteousness.

13.113.7 Of all gifts whatever, food is declared the most excellent; food first of all should be given by the upright man who desires righteousness.

13.113.8 Food indeed is the very life-breath of men, and from it the living creature is born; the worlds are established upon food, and therefore food shines forth supreme.

13.113.9 The gods, the sages, the ancestral fathers, and men all extol food alike; for by the gift of food a son of the Kuśika line attains heaven.

13.113.10 Food obtained by lawful means should be given, the finest food, to the twice-born who are devoted to the recitation of the Veda, and given with an inmost self made glad.

13.113.11 He upon whose food ten hundred brāhmaṇas feed, food given with a gladdened mind, shall never sink into the course of the beasts.

13.113.12 Feeding ten thousand brāhmaṇas, O bull among men, a man, though ever given to sins, would be set free from unrighteousness.

13.113.13 Having gathered food by begging, a brāhmaṇa who keeps the Veda foremost, and given it here to a brāhmaṇa intent upon his Vedic recitation, thrives in happiness.

13.113.14 The kṣatriya who, never harming a brāhmaṇa and protecting his people by lawful rule, bestows food won by his own strength —

13.113.15 — giving it to the twice-born grown ripe in the Veda, restrained and well composed, by that, O son of Pāṇḍu, the righteous soul wipes away his evil deeds.

13.113.16 And the vaiśya who gives to the twice-born the portion earned from his tillage, purified by the sixth part rendered to the king, is released from his sins.

13.113.17 Having amassed by harsh toil, at the very hazard of his life, the food he has earned, the śūdra who gives it to the twice-born is set free from sin.

13.113.18 He who, doing harm to none, earns food by the strength of his own breast and bestows it upon the brāhmaṇas, never resorts to the realms of hardship.

13.113.19 But the man free from greed who, having won food by lawful means, gives it to the twice-born grown ripe in the Veda, is released from sin.

13.113.20 Food is the giver of vigor in the world; giving it, a man becomes full of vigor, and treading the path of the good, he is freed from every sin.

13.113.21 A road has been laid down by those who make their gifts, along which the wise go their way; they are the givers of life itself, and from them flows the eternal righteousness.

13.113.22 Food earned by lawful means should always, in every condition, be set by a man into a worthy vessel; for food is the supreme goal.

13.113.23 For by the giving of food a man does not resort to the realm of hardship; therefore food should be given, food untainted by unlawful gain.

13.113.24 Let the householder ever strive to eat his food only after the brāhmaṇa has eaten first; thus by the gift of food let a man make no day of his barren.

13.113.25 Feeding a thousand men who know the Veda, O king, who are versed in the law and in righteousness and likewise learned in the ancient lore —

13.113.26 — he does not go to the dreadful hell, nor does he resort to the rounds of rebirth; endowed with all desires fulfilled, he enjoys his reward even after death.

13.113.27 Thus joined to happiness he takes his delight, his fever gone; and he is born again comely of form, renowned, and rich in wealth.

13.113.28 All this great fruit of the gift of food has been declared to you; for this, O descendant of Bharata, is the root of all observances of dharma and of giving.

13.114.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Non-harming, the rites enjoined by the Veda, meditation, the restraint of the senses, austerity, and service to one's elders — which of these is best for a man?

13.114.2 Bṛhaspati said: All these, every one, are separate gateways of dharma; hear them, O bull of the Bhāratas, all six as I proclaim them in full.

13.114.3 Come, I shall declare the unsurpassed and highest good of every creature: the dharma that rests upon non-harming, which a man should indeed bring to fulfillment.

13.114.4 Laying aside ever the three faults toward all beings, and curbing both desire and wrath, a man thereby attains perfection.

13.114.5 He who, seeking his own happiness, strikes down with the rod creatures that do no harm, shall not be happy in the world to come.

13.114.6 But the man who holds all beings as like unto himself, who has laid down the rod and conquered his wrath, thrives in happiness in the world to come.

13.114.7 Of him who has become the self of all beings, who beholds all beings as himself, even the gods lose the trail, as they seek the footprints of one who leaves no footprint.

13.114.8 Let no man do to another what is hateful to himself; this, in brief, is dharma — all else proceeds from desire.

13.114.9 In refusal and in giving, in pleasure and pain, in what is dear and what is hateful, by measuring others against himself a man attains to inner harmony.

13.114.10 As one man behaves toward others, so will another behave toward him; let this be your measure in the world of the living, even as dharma has been skillfully taught to you.

13.114.11 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Having spoken thus to Yudhiṣṭhira, the king of righteousness, the wise preceptor of the gods ascended to heaven, even as we looked on.

13.115.1 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Then King Yudhiṣṭhira of great splendor once more questioned his grandsire, best of all who speak, where he lay upon his bed of arrows.

13.115.2 O greatly wise one, the sages, the brāhmaṇas, and the gods extol the dharma marked by non-harming, since they see the authority of the Veda for it.

13.115.3 O best of kings, a man who works harm by deed, by word, and by thought — how is he set free from sorrow?

13.115.4 Bhīṣma said: This non-harming has been laid down as fourfold by those who expound the sacred word; O slayer of foes, if it falls away even on one side, it ceases to be.

13.115.5 As any four-footed beast cannot stand upon three feet, so too, O lord of the earth, this is said to fail when held by only three of its grounds.

13.115.6 As in the elephant's footprint all other footprints of creatures that go on foot, every kind of footprint, are wholly contained, so in the worlds is non-harming declared the highest by the measure of dharma.

13.115.7 A creature is stained by deed, by word, and by thought alone.

13.115.8 But first renouncing harm in thought, then in word, then in deed — this threefold ground is laid down and is heard so taught by the expounders of the sacred word.

13.115.9 In the mind, in speech, and likewise in the relish of taste — in these the faults are seated; and therefore the wise who are given to austerity do not eat flesh.

13.115.10 But hear from me, O king, the faults in the eating of flesh here below: it is a man bereft of sense who eats it, knowing it to be like the flesh of his own son.

13.115.11 As sonship is born from the union of mother and father, and as awareness of taste is born to the tongue, so too, it is settled in the scriptures, craving arises from the savoring.

13.115.12 Unseasoned and seasoned, salted and saltless — according as such flavors are discerned, so is the mind bound fast to them.

13.115.13 How shall dull men who feed on flesh deserve to enjoy the abundant sounds of the kettledrum, the conch, the tabor, and the strings?

13.115.14 Overcome by greed for its taste, those who seek a reward praise flesh — a thing unthought-of, unprescribed, and unintended; yet the very praise of flesh is bound up with the fruit of sinful deeds.

13.115.15 For many good men, casting aside their very lives, have gone to heaven by shielding the flesh of others with their own flesh.

13.115.16 Thus, O great king, this non-harming, encompassed by its four grounds, has been laid down for you, containing within it the whole aim and meaning of dharma.

13.116.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Non-harming is the highest dharma — so you have said many times; and yet at the rites for the dead you have said that the ancestral fathers long for flesh.

13.116.2 Long ago you set forth the rule of the funeral rite with flesh of many kinds; yet without slaying, whence comes flesh? In this way these teachings stand at odds.

13.116.3 A doubt has arisen in us concerning the dharma of abstaining from flesh: what fault would there be in one who eats it, and what merit in one who does not?

13.116.4 Whether a man slays and then eats, or eats what another has brought, or slays for another's sake, or buys and eats —

13.116.5 — this I wish to have told to me in its very truth by you, O sinless one; with sure resolve I desire to follow out this eternal dharma.

13.116.6 How does a man attain long life? How does he become full of vigor? How does he come to be free of any defect, and how is he born marked with auspicious signs?

13.116.7 Bhīṣma said: O king, O bull of the Kurus, hear from me, even as it truly is, the unrighteousness that lies in the eating of flesh, and what is the highest rule concerning it.

13.116.8 Men of perfected souls, desiring to win beauty, soundness of body, long life, understanding, vigor, strength, and memory, have indeed renounced all harming.

13.116.9 On this matter there has been much discourse among the sages, O bull of the Kurus; hear, O Yudhiṣṭhira, what their settled opinion is.

13.116.10 He who, holding firm to his vows, should offer the horse-sacrifice month after month, and he who renounces wine and flesh — these two, O Yudhiṣṭhira, are reckoned equal.

13.116.11 The Seven Sages, the Vālakhilyas, and likewise the Marīcipas, the wise ones, all extol the eating of no flesh, O king.

13.116.12 He who eats no flesh, who neither slays nor causes to be slain — him Manu, son of the Self-Existent, declared the friend of all beings.

13.116.13 By abstaining from flesh a man becomes unassailable by all beings, trusted among all living creatures, and ever esteemed by the good.

13.116.14 He who would make his own flesh grow by the flesh of another — the righteous-souled Nārada has declared that such a man assuredly comes to ruin.

13.116.15 By turning away from wine and flesh a man both gives and sacrifices and becomes one given to austerity — thus did Bṛhaspati declare it.

13.116.16 He who should offer the horse-sacrifice month after month for a hundred years, and he who eats no flesh — these two I hold to be equal.

13.116.17 By abstaining from wine and flesh a man ever offers the long sacrificial session, ever bestows gifts, and is ever one given to austerity.

13.116.18 Not all the Vedas, O descendant of Bharata, nor all the sacrifices, could achieve what he achieves who, having eaten flesh, thereafter turns away from it.

13.116.19 Hard indeed it is for one who has known its taste to abstain from flesh; yet to keep this most excellent vow is to grant freedom from fear to every living thing.

13.116.20 The wise man who bestows upon all beings the gift of fearlessness becomes in the world a giver of life itself — herein is no doubt.

13.116.21 Thus indeed do the wise extol this highest dharma: as life is dear to oneself, so too is it dear to all beings.

13.116.22 By measuring others against oneself should the wise and great-souled proceed, knowing that there is fear of death even for the learned who long for prosperity.

13.116.23 How much more, then, the terror of creatures violently slain — creatures that long to live, free of disease and free of sin — by the sinful who make their living on flesh!

13.116.24 Therefore know, O great king, that abstaining from flesh is the most excellent abode of dharma, and of heaven, and of happiness.

13.116.25 Non-harming is the highest dharma; non-harming, likewise, is the highest austerity; non-harming is the highest truth, and from it dharma proceeds.

13.116.26 For flesh is not born of grass, nor of wood, nor of stone; flesh comes only from the slaying of a creature, and therein lies the fault of eating it.

13.116.27 The gods, who feed on the offerings of svāhā and svadhā and on the nectar of immortality, love truth and uprightness; but know the flesh-eating rākṣasas to be devoted to crookedness and falsehood.

13.116.28 In dreadful wildernesses, in fastnesses and dense thickets, by night and by day, at the twilights, at the crossroads and in the assembly halls — O king, for one who eats no flesh no fear comes at the last.

13.116.29 If there were no eater, there would be no slayer; it is for the eater's sake that a man has the creature killed.

13.116.30 When one resolves, 'this is not to be eaten,' the killing ceases; it is for the eater's sake that the slaughter of deer and the rest goes forward.

13.116.31 Since it devours the very lifespan of those who do violence, O greatly radiant one, let him who desires his own welfare abstain from flesh.

13.116.32 The cruel ones who do violence to living beings find no protector; they are dreaded by all creatures, just as beasts of prey are.

13.116.33 Out of greed, or delusion of mind, or for the sake of strength and vigor, or through the company of the wicked, men come to take delight in unrighteousness.

13.116.34 He who wishes to fatten his own flesh with the flesh of another dwells in a state of perpetual dread, born again wherever such a fate awaits him.

13.116.35 The disciplined supreme sages declare the abstention from flesh to be auspicious, bringing renown, long life, heaven, and great well-being.

13.116.36 Now this, O son of Kuntī, I once heard long ago from the lips of Mārkaṇḍeya as he spoke of the faults that lie in the eating of flesh.

13.116.37 He who eats the flesh of living creatures that long for life, whether slain or already dead, is just as guilty as the slayer himself.

13.116.38 The buyer kills with his wealth, the eater by his enjoyment, the slayer by killing and binding: thus the killing is threefold.

13.116.39 Even the man who does not eat but approves is stained by the fault of his intent; he who consents that a creature should be slain is likewise tainted by the sin.

13.116.40 The man who eats no flesh and is compassionate toward living beings becomes here unassailable by all creatures, long-lived, free of disease, and happy.

13.116.41 The sacred teaching holds that the merit in abstaining from flesh surpasses in every way the gift of gold, of cattle, and of land.

13.116.42 Let none eat flesh unconsecrated, taken in vain and outside the ordinance; the man who eats it goes to hell—of this there is no doubt.

13.116.43 Flesh consecrated and sprinkled, or eaten at a brāhmaṇa's wish, is to be known as of slight fault here; but in the contrary case one is defiled.

13.116.44 The basest of men who slays a creature for the eater's sake works a great sin there; in such a case it is the eater, not the slayer alone, who bears the guilt.

13.116.45 The witless man, greedy for flesh, who slays a creature under the pretext of sacrifice, ritual, and scripture, is verily one doomed to hell.

13.116.46 Even he who has eaten flesh but afterward turns away from it gains great merit, for he turns back from sin.

13.116.47 The fetcher, the consenter, the butcher, the buyer and seller, the cook, and the consumer—all of these are slayers.

13.116.48 But now I shall tell you another authority, established by ordinance, ancient, honored by the sages, and determined in the Vedas.

13.116.49 This is taught, O tiger among kings, within the dharma marked by ritual action, sought by those who desire its fruits; but it is not for those who long for liberation.

13.116.50 The oblation hallowed by sacred verses, consecrated and sprinkled and pure, by the authority declared in the Veda and used in the rites for the ancestors—anything otherwise is flesh taken in vain and not to be eaten, so Manu has declared.

13.116.51 Such eating bars heaven and renown and is fit for demons, O bull of the Bhāratas; for in former times men ate flesh, O king, only according to the ordinance.

13.116.52 The man who would have himself wholly free from harm should in every way shun the flesh of living beings here.

13.116.53 For we hear that in the ancient age men used a sacrificial victim made of rice, with which the sacrificers, devoted to holy worlds, performed their offerings.

13.116.54 Long ago, when the sages put to Vasu, lord of the Cedis, the doubt whether flesh was not to be eaten, he declared, O lord, that it was to be eaten.

13.116.55 Fallen from the sky to the earth, that lord of the world, having again spoken these very words, sank into the surface of the ground.

13.116.56 But the great-souled Agastya, desiring the good of all creatures, by his austerity consecrated the wild deer of the forest as sacred to all the gods.

13.116.57 Thus the rites that pertain to the ancestors and the gods are not abandoned, and the fathers too are pleased when satisfied with flesh in the proper manner.

13.116.58 But hear this, O lord of kings, as I proclaim it, O sinless one: in the abstention from flesh lies every happiness, O ruler of men.

13.116.59 He who should practice the most severe austerity for a full hundred years, and he who should renounce flesh but once—these two I hold to be equal.

13.116.60 And especially in the bright fortnight of the month of Kārttika, O ruler of men, let one abstain from all flesh, for therein merit is ordained.

13.116.61 He who shuns flesh through the four months of the rainy season obtains the four blessings: renown, long life, fame, and strength.

13.116.62 Or even for a single month abstaining from all flesh, having passed beyond every sorrow, he lives happy and free of disease.

13.116.63 For those who shun flesh by months, or even by fortnights, who have desisted from violence, the world of Brahmā is ordained.

13.116.64 Flesh was shunned during the Kārttika fortnight, O Pārtha, by those kings who looked on all beings as their own self and who knew things high and low.

13.116.65 By Nābhāga, by Ambarīṣa, and by the great-souled Gaya, by Āyus and Anaraṇya, by Dilīpa, Raghu, and Pūru,

13.116.66 by Kārtavīrya and Aniruddha, by Nahuṣa and Yayāti, by Nṛga and Viṣvagaśva, and likewise by Śaśabindu, by Yuvanāśva too, and by Śibi the son of Uśīnara,

13.116.67 by Śyenacitra, O lord of kings, by Somaka and Vṛka, by Raivata, by Rantideva, by Vasu and Sṛñjaya,

13.116.68 by Duḥṣanta, by Karūṣa, by Rāma, Alarka, and Nala, by Virūpāśva, by Nimi, and by the wise Janaka,

13.116.69 by Sila and by Pṛthu, and by Vīrasena too, by Ikṣvāku and Śambhu, by Śveta and Sagara—

13.116.70 by these and others, O lord of kings, no flesh was eaten of old during the autumnal month of Kārttika, and thereby they attained heaven.

13.116.71 And they abide in the world of Brahmā, blazing and endowed with splendor, attended by gandharvas and surrounded by thousands of women.

13.116.72 The great-souled ones who practice this supreme and auspicious dharma, marked by non-violence, dwell upon the vault of heaven.

13.116.73 The righteous who from birth forever shun honey, flesh, and liquor are all reckoned as sages, and they attain eminence among their kinsmen—of this there is no doubt.

13.116.74 One in distress is freed from his distress, the bound is loosed from his bonds, the sick is delivered from disease, and the suffering from his suffering.

13.116.75 Such a man does not pass to the wombs of beasts, but becomes comely and wise, O best of the Kurus, and attains great renown.

13.116.76 This, O king, has been told to you—the ordinance fashioned by the sages concerning the shunning of flesh, both in its practice and in its renunciation.

13.117.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: These men in the world are exceedingly greedy for flesh; forsaking the many other foods, they crave it as the hosts of rākṣasas do.

13.117.2 They do not desire cakes of various shapes, nor the many kinds of vegetables, nor the six-flavored relishes and savory dishes, as they desire meat.

13.117.3 Herein my mind is bewildered upon this very point of renouncing it; for I do not think there is anything in flavor superior to flesh.

13.117.4 Therefore I wish to hear the virtues that lie in the abstention from flesh, and also the faults there are in eating it, O bull among men.

13.117.5 Tell me all of this truly and in accordance with dharma, O knower of dharma: what is to be eaten and what is not to be eaten—declare it all to me.

13.117.6 Bhīṣma said: It is even so, O mighty-armed Bhārata, as you say; there is nothing else on earth that surpasses flesh in flavor.

13.117.7 For those wounded, wasted, and feverish, for those given to the householder's life, and for those worn down by travel, there is nothing better than flesh.

13.117.8 It at once strengthens the vital breath and gives the highest nourishment; there is no food whatever superior to flesh, O scorcher of foes.

13.117.9 Yet many are the virtues that come to men from abstaining from it, O joy of the Kurus; hear these from me as I tell them.

13.117.10 There is no man meaner, none more cruel, than he who wishes to fatten his own flesh with the flesh of others.

13.117.11 For in this world nothing is dearer than one's own life; therefore let a man show compassion to others as he would to himself.

13.117.12 Flesh, my son, arises here from the seed of life—of this there is no doubt; and in eating it there is great fault, joined with killing.

13.117.13 Those who know the Veda understand that dharma is marked by non-violence; whatever deed is free of harm, that let the self-possessed man perform.

13.117.14 In the sacrifices to the ancestors and the gods, the consecrated oblation is so named according to the ordinance seen in the Veda; having eaten that, one is not defiled.

13.117.15 The sacred teaching is also heard that 'animals were created for sacrifice'; for those who act otherwise than this, the rite is called demonic.

13.117.16 But hear from me also the rule prescribed for the kṣatriyas, how one eating flesh won by valor is not defiled.

13.117.17 The wild deer of the forest were of old consecrated as sacred to all the gods by Agastya, O king, by whom the hunt is thus sanctioned.

13.117.18 There is no hunting without staking one's own self; meeting the beast on equal terms, he may slay it or be slain, O king.

13.117.19 Hence all the royal sages go to the hunt, O Bhārata; they are not stained by fault, nor do they reckon this a sin.

13.117.20 For there is nothing higher than this, here or hereafter, in all the worlds—nothing higher than compassion, O joy of the Kurus.

13.117.21 No fear ever befalls a compassionate man here; these worlds belong to the compassionate, and the higher worlds belong to ascetics.

13.117.22 He who, given to compassion, grants freedom from fear to all creatures—to him the creatures in turn grant freedom from fear: so have we heard.

13.117.23 All beings protect him—wounded, stumbling, fallen, afflicted, or struck down—both on even ground and on rough.

13.117.24 Beasts of prey do not slay him, nor piśācas, nor rākṣasas; in times of peril those are set free who set others free.

13.117.25 No gift greater than the gift of life has ever been or shall ever be, for it is certain that nothing is dearer to anyone than one's own self.

13.117.26 Death, O Bhārata, is unwelcome to all beings; for at the hour of death a trembling arises at once in living things.

13.117.27 In the ocean of transmigration, with its ceaseless sorrow of birth, caste, and old age, creatures revolve and shrink in dread from death.

13.117.28 In their dwellings in the womb they are cooked by the briny, sour, and pungent humors, and by the exceedingly grievous touch of urine, phlegm, and excrement.

13.117.29 And even when born, those greedy for flesh are seen there helpless, torn apart again and again, and cut to pieces, powerless.

13.117.30 They are boiled in the Kumbhīpāka hell, and entering one womb after another, set upon and slain, they are made to wander again and again.

13.117.31 Considering well, there is on earth none dearer to a being than its own self; therefore let the self-possessed man be compassionate toward all living creatures.

13.117.32 He who, O king, eats no flesh at all so long as he lives shall obtain a vast abode in heaven—of this there is no doubt.

13.117.33 Those who eat the flesh of creatures that long to live shall themselves be eaten by those very creatures—of this I have no doubt.

13.117.34 "Since he devours me, I too shall devour him"—this is the very flesh-nature of flesh; understand it thus, O Bhārata.

13.117.35 The slayer is ever slain in turn, and the binder is bound; the reviler, O king, is reviled, and the hater becomes an object of hatred.

13.117.36 With whatever body a man performs whatever deed, with that very body he reaps its fruit.

13.117.37 Non-harming is the highest dharma; non-harming is the highest self-restraint; non-harming is the highest gift; non-harming is the highest austerity.

13.117.38 Non-harming is the highest sacrifice; non-harming is the highest strength; non-harming is the highest friend; non-harming is the highest happiness; non-harming is the highest truth; non-harming is the highest sacred lore.

13.117.39 Gifts at all sacrifices, bathing at all sacred fords, the fruit of every act of giving—none of these is equal to non-harming.

13.117.40 The austerity of the harmless one is imperishable; the harmless one sacrifices unceasingly; the harmless one is to all creatures as a mother, as a father.

13.117.41 Such is the fruit of non-harming, and more besides, O bull of the Kurus; its virtues could not be told here even in a hundred years.

13.118.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Those slain in this great battle, whether unwilling or willing—into what wombs have they passed? Tell me that, grandfather.

13.118.2 The surrender of life by men in great combat is a grievous thing; I know the truth of it, O knower of dharma—giving up one's breath is most hard.

13.118.3 Whether in prosperity or in ruin, in fortune or in misfortune, tell me the reason for it; for in my judgment you are all-knowing.

13.118.4 Bhīṣma said: Whether in prosperity or ruin, in fortune or misfortune, living beings are born together into this round of existence, O lord of the earth.

13.118.5 By what disposition they are bound—hear from me the reason for it; and this further question you have asked is well put, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.118.6 On this I shall relate to you an ancient happening, O king—the dialogue of Dvaipāyana and a worm, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.118.7 Of old, the brāhmaṇa Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana, who had become one with Brahman, while wandering, saw a worm running swiftly along a cart-track.

13.118.8 He who knew the ways of all beings and the cries of all embodied creatures, the all-knowing one, seeing the worm before him, spoke these words.

13.118.9 O worm, you seem terrified and you appear to be in haste; where are you running? Tell me that—whence has fear come upon you?

13.118.10 The worm said: Hearing the loud rumble of this great cart, fear has come upon me, O greatly wise one; for this din that is heard is terrible. "Let it not crush me"—therefore I flee away.

13.118.11 And thus I hear close by the panting of the goaded oxen as they haul the mighty load, O lord; and the many sounds of the men driving them are heard.

13.118.12 This cannot be endured by one of my kind, born in a worm's womb; therefore I am fleeing away from this most terrible peril.

13.118.13 Death is grievous for living beings, and life is very hard to win; therefore, in fear, I flee, that I may not pass from comfort into misery.

13.118.14 Bhīṣma said: Thus addressed, the sage replied to it: How can there be any comfort for you, O worm? I deem death to be your comfort, for you dwell in the womb of a beast.

13.118.15 Sound, touch, taste, smell, and the many pleasures high and low—of these, O worm, you have no knowledge; death itself is better for you.

13.118.16 The worm said: A living creature finds delight in every state, and so even here I have my happiness; I am aware of it, O greatly wise one, and therefore I wish to live.

13.118.17 Even here every realm of sense-objects is set in motion according to the body one has; men and beasts have their separate enjoyments, each in its own kind.

13.118.18 I was once a man, a śūdra of great wealth, hostile to brāhmaṇas, cruel, miserly, and living by usury.

13.118.19 Sharp of tongue, cunning of mind, a thief of everything from everyone, a breaker of trusts who hid away his deposits, bent on seizing others' goods.

13.118.20 And the servants and guests in my house I let go hungry through the night, out of grudging spite, craving the dainties for myself, cruel and greedy to keep all for my own.

13.118.21 Food prepared with faith for the gods and for the sacrifice to the ancestors I, greedy for gain, did not give away—yet food that ought to be given purifies indeed.

13.118.22 Those who, seeking safety in their fears, took refuge under my protection I abandoned without cause in their terror, nor did I shelter them who sought refuge.

13.118.23 Seeing men's wealth, their grain, their dear wives, their carriages and splendid dwellings and prosperity, I begrudged it all to no purpose.

13.118.24 Envious at the sight of others' happiness, an aggressor unwilling to let others thrive, a destroyer of the threefold aim of life in others, following only my own desires.

13.118.25 The deeds I did of old were full to overflowing with cruelty; remembering them, I grieve, as one who has lost a beloved son.

13.118.26 Yet I know too the fruit of good deeds I performed: my aged mother I honored, and a brāhmaṇa I revered.

13.118.27 Once, a guest endowed with high birth and virtue came by chance to my house, and I honored him, O brāhmaṇa; for that reason, memory has not forsaken me.

13.118.28 By that deed I look for a hope of happiness even here; I wish to hear from you what is best, O you whose wealth is austerity.

13.119.1 Vyāsa said: That through a good deed you are not bewildered even in the womb of a beast—that, O worm, is my own working, by which you are not led astray.

13.119.2 For by my very sight I deliver you, through the power of austerity; for than the power of austerity there is no other power more mighty.

13.119.3 I know that by your own sins you have come, O worm, to the state of a worm; yet you shall attain the highest dharma, if, abiding in dharma, you so resolve.

13.119.4 The deeds wrought upon earth the gods enjoy, and so do the beasts; even more than dharma, among men, do pleasure and gain accrue according to one's qualities.

13.119.5 What is lacking to a man endowed with speech, intellect, hands, and feet, and with discernment—what is lacking even to a dull man, so long as he lives?

13.119.6 While he lives, the foremost of brāhmaṇas offers worship to the moon and the sun, even by reciting a holy tale; to that estate, O worm, you shall come.

13.119.7 There you shall enjoy creatures of fine quality; there I shall guide you to brāhmaṇa-hood, which you desire.

13.119.8 Saying "So be it" in assent, the worm stood still upon the track, and in all the other births it underwent it came to behold that seer.

13.119.9 In the wombs of the porcupine, the iguana, and the boar, and likewise of deer and birds, of the dog-cooker, the vaiśya, the śūdra, and the kṣatriya.

13.119.10 Addressed as "worm" by the truth-speaking seer, it remembered its past, and with folded hands and bowed head it grasped his feet.

13.119.11 The worm said: This is that incomparable station, longed for with its tenfold excellences, in that I, who had reached worm-hood, have attained the rank of a king's son.

13.119.12 Mighty elephants garlanded with gold bear me, and in my chariots are yoked excellent steeds of the Kāmboja breed.

13.119.13 Carriages yoked with camels and mules bear me, and with my kinsmen and counselors I dine on rice and meat.

13.119.14 In well-appointed houses and on comfortable couches of the costliest sort, O blessed one, I sleep here, held in high honor.

13.119.15 In every last watch of the night the bards, the panegyrists, and the minstrels, sweet-spoken, sing my praises as though I were the god great Indra.

13.119.16 By the grace of you, true to your word and of measureless splendor, I, who had fallen into worm-hood, have attained the rank of a king's son.

13.119.17 Homage be to you, O greatly wise one; what shall I do? Command me. For this estate has been attained by me as decreed by the power of your austerity.

13.119.18 Vyāsa said: I am honored by you, O king, with these unsought words today; today, having passed through worm-hood, an unrevolted memory has arisen in you.

13.119.19 Yet there is no destruction of the evil that you heaped up of old, when you were a śūdra who set wealth above all, cruel and an aggressor.

13.119.20 My sight was gained by you, and that too was a good deed of old; though born in a beast's womb, you yet did me honor.

13.119.21 From this estate of a king's son you shall attain to brāhmaṇa-hood, by offering up your own life in battle for the sake of cows and brāhmaṇas.

13.119.22 Having gained the happiness of a king's son and performed the seasonal rites with their full priestly fees, you shall then rejoice in heaven, become one with Brahman, imperishable and happy.

13.119.23 From the beast's womb one comes to śūdra-hood; the śūdra to vaiśya-hood, and the vaiśya to kṣatriya-hood; the kṣatriya praised for his conduct attains brāhmaṇa-hood, and the brāhmaṇa of righteous conduct attains holy heaven.

13.120.1 Bhīṣma said: Having attained the duty of a kṣatriya, that valiant one, still remembering his past and having cast off worm-hood, O king, practiced abundant austerity.

13.120.2 Seeing that abundant austerity of his, who knew dharma and gain, the best of the twice-born, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana, then came to him.

13.120.3 Vyāsa said: The vow of the kṣatriya, O worm, is the guarding of living beings; meditating on that vow of the kṣatriya, you shall thence come to brāhmaṇa-hood.

13.120.4 Protect all your subjects rightly, knowing good from evil, self-possessed, dispensing wholesome pleasures and purifying the evildoers.

13.120.5 Be self-possessed, well content, delighting in the practice of your own dharma; casting off the kṣatriya body, you shall thence come to brāhmaṇa-hood.

13.120.6 Bhīṣma said: Then, O Yudhiṣṭhira, having heard the great seer's word, and having protected his subjects with dharma, he set his mind once more upon the forest.

13.120.7 In no long time, O best of kings, the worm, by the duty of protecting his subjects, departed this life and came to brāhmaṇa-hood.

13.120.8 Then, seeing him become a brāhmaṇa, the greatly renowned and greatly wise Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana came to him once again.

13.120.9 Vyāsa said: Ho there, O illustrious bull among brāhmaṇas, be not troubled in any way! The doer of good is born into good wombs, the doer of evil into evil wombs, O knower of dharma, each according to his dharma and as the scriptures declare.

13.120.10 Therefore, O worm, be not troubled in any way by the fear of death; let your fear be of the lapse from dharma—therefore practice the highest dharma.

13.120.11 The worm said: I have attained, O blessed one, a happiness happier than happiness, through your doing; having gained prosperity rooted in dharma, my sin is this day destroyed in me.

13.120.12 Bhīṣma said: At the word of the blessed sage, the worm, having attained the hard-won state of a brāhmaṇa, made the earth marked with a hundred sacrificial posts, O king; thereafter, that best of knowers of Brahman went to share the world of Brahman.

13.120.13 And the worm attained, O Pārtha, the supreme eternal Brahman, brought about by the fruit of his own deeds and by the word of Vyāsa.

13.120.14 Since those bulls among kṣatriyas too were slain in accordance with their very nature, they have attained a holy destiny; therefore do not grieve, my son.

13.121.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Sacred learning, austerity, and giving—which of these is the most excellent? I ask you, O best of the good; tell me that, grandfather.

13.121.2 Bhīṣma said: On this too they recount an ancient tale—the dialogue of Maitreya and Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana.

13.121.3 Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana, O king, while wandering in disguise unrecognized, came to attend upon Maitreya at Vārāṇasī, in the dwelling of a wanton woman.

13.121.4 Knowing that best of sages had come and was seated before him, Maitreya honored him and fed him excellent food.

13.121.5 Having eaten that excellent food, of fine quality and satisfying every desire, the great-souled Kṛṣṇa, well pleased, smiled as he made ready to depart.

13.121.6 Beholding him smiling, Maitreya said to Kṛṣṇa: Tell me the reason, O righteous one, why you smiled; and whence has this joy come upon you, an ascetic firm of resolve?

13.121.7 This I ask of you, O learned one, after saluting and bowing low: the blessing of your austerity, and your great good fortune as well.

13.121.8 Though we two practice apart, dear one, and each lives within his own self, I reckon the difference between us small—or, it may be, that you surpass me.

13.121.9 Vyāsa said: This smile of mine arose at excessive cutting-down and excessive speech. False is the word of the Veda?—why should the Veda utter an untruth?

13.121.10 Three steps alone, they say, make up a man's highest vow: he should do no injury, he should give, and he should speak supreme truth. This is our duty now, and it is remembered as the highest hereafter as well.

13.121.11 Even a small gift of such a kind becomes great in its fruit—that which is given to one who craves it, from a heart that bears no grudging.

13.121.12 Yourself hungering, you gave this food of mine to one who hungered, and thereby you have won, O mighty one, vast worlds, as though by great sacrifices. Therefore I am pleased—by the sanctity of your gift, and by your austerity too.

13.121.13 For your very fragrance is that of merit, and the very sight of you is meritorious; meritorious is the scent that breathes from you—and that, I think, comes from the ordering of your deeds.

13.121.14 More than any scrubbing clean, dear one, and more than any anointing—auspicious beyond all purifiers—giving alone becomes the supreme.

13.121.15 Of all those highest things declared in the Veda which you here extol, giving is the most excellent—of this I have no doubt.

13.121.16 The path is made by the givers of gifts, by which the wise go their way; for they are the givers of life itself, and in them dharma stands firm.

13.121.17 As the Vedas well studied, as the restraint of the senses, as total renunciation here—even so is giving unsurpassed.

13.121.18 For you, dear one, will pass from happiness to lovely happiness; from happiness to the gaining of a greater happiness does the wise man attain.

13.121.19 This is plain to our very sight, grasped beyond doubt: riches attain the man of fortune, and so do giving, and sacrifice, and ease.

13.121.20 From happiness comes a further sorrow, and from sorrow another, higher happiness; for so it is seen, O greatly wise one, fixed by its very nature.

13.121.21 Threefold, the wise declare, are the courses of a man's conduct here: one is meritorious, another sinful, and one neither meritorious nor sinful.

13.121.22 He approves not the conduct of one man, and deems another's sinful; so too, that which arises from one's own appointed work is neither meritorious nor sinful.

13.121.23 Delight, prosper, rejoice, and give, and sacrifice too: neither the learned in lore nor the practisers of austerity shall overmaster you.

13.122.1 Bhīṣma said: Thus addressed, Maitreya, who honored action—born in a most illustrious family, wise and deeply learned—made reply.

13.122.2 Beyond doubt, O greatly wise one, it is just as you have said; yet with your leave, mighty one, I would say a word.

13.122.3 Vyāsa said: Whatever you wish, Maitreya, however much and in whatever way—speak it, O greatly wise one; I would gladly hear your words.

13.122.4 Maitreya said: Faultless and unblemished is your speech, charged with the praise of giving; for by learning and austerity your self is purified—of this there is no doubt.

13.122.5 Because your self is so purified, this gift of mine becomes very great; the more I consider it with my mind, the more it seems like the fruit of richly accomplished austerity.

13.122.6 From the mere sight of you, indeed, great prosperity comes to me; I deem this your grace—for such is action by its very nature.

13.122.7 Austerity, sacred learning, and high birth—these are the grounds of brahmanhood; endowed with these three qualities, a man then becomes a twice-born indeed.

13.122.8 When such a one is satisfied, the ancestors and the gods are satisfied too; for among those rich in learning there is nothing higher than a brāhmaṇa.

13.122.9 For just as a man reaps fruit from a well-tilled field, so the giver, having given to one rich in learning, enjoys his fruit.

13.122.10 Were there no brāhmaṇa endowed with learning and good conduct to be the receiver of a gift, the wealth of the wealthy would be in vain.

13.122.11 For an ignorant man, eating, destroys the food, and the food being eaten destroys him; and he destroys the one whose food it was—thus destroying, the fool is himself destroyed.

13.122.12 But the learned man, the master, eating food, the capable one, brings it forth again; and he himself is born of food—hence the transition between them is a subtle one.

13.122.13 The very merit of the giver is the merit of the receiver; for a single wheel cannot roll—thus the seers have understood.

13.122.14 Where there are brāhmaṇas endowed with learning and good conduct, there the giver enjoys the meritorious fruit of his gift, both here and in the world beyond.

13.122.15 Those who are pure in birth, ever ardently devoted to austerity, accomplished in giving and in study—they indeed are most worthy of worship always.

13.122.16 For the path made by those good men—he who is mindful of it does not go astray; for they are the guides to heaven, the eternal bearers of sacrifice.

13.123.1 Bhīṣma said: Thus addressed, the venerable one answered Maitreya in turn: Happily do you understand things thus; happily is your understanding such! For this world, for the most part, praises only the virtues.

13.123.2 Pride of beauty, pride of age, and pride of fortune—undoubtedly, happily, these do not overmaster you; this is heaven's grace upon you. Now hear what I shall set forth as even higher than giving.

13.123.3 Whatever scriptures of tradition there are here, and whatever undertakings of any kind, these have all proceeded, each in its order, with the Veda set before them.

13.123.4 I extol giving, and you extol austerity and sacred learning; austerity is the sanctifier of the Veda, austerity is the means to heaven.

13.123.5 By austerity one attains greatness, and by knowledge—so we have heard; and by austerity alone one may wipe away whatever other evil has been done.

13.123.6 For whatever a man, fixing his aim, performs austerity for, all this the brāhmaṇa who has crossed to the far shore of the Veda attains.

13.123.7 What is hard to follow, hard to assail, hard to win, hard to overcome—all of it one reaches through austerity; for austerity is the mightier power.

13.123.8 The drinker of liquor, the taker of what was not granted, the slayer of an embryo, the defiler of his teacher's bed—through austerity he crosses over all, and is released from his sin.

13.123.9 The man of all knowledge, the man of clear sight, of whatever rank he be—both these they call ascetics, and to both reverence should ever be made.

13.123.10 All who are rich in sacred learning are worthy of worship, and so too the ascetics; the givers of gifts attain happiness after death, and fortune here below.

13.123.11 This world, and the world of Brahmā, and the mightier world beyond—by gifts of food the well-doing folk of this world attain them all.

13.123.12 Being honored, men honor these in return; being esteemed, they give esteem; but the non-giver, wherever he goes, is on every side thrust away.

13.123.13 The doer and the non-doer alike obtain each what his deeds deserve; whether you go upward or downward to your world hereafter—

13.123.14 —you will obtain such food and drink as you may give. You are wise, nobly born, learned, and free from cruelty.

13.123.15 Holding the vow of taking a wife in your youth, O Maitreya, be devoted to it; embrace this first, the course commended for householders.

13.123.16 Where the husband is content with his wife and the wife content with her husband—in that household where it is so, all that is good prevails.

13.123.17 As dirt is washed from the limbs by water, as darkness is dispelled by the light of fire, so by giving and by austerity all sin is driven away.

13.123.18 Fare you well, Maitreya; I now take my leave and go to my dwelling. Keep this in mind, and so your welfare shall come to be.

13.123.19 Then Maitreya bowed to him and walked round him keeping him to the right, and with hands joined in reverence said, "May the venerable one fare well."

13.124.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: The course of conduct of virtuous women, O best of all upholders of dharma, I wish to hear from you; tell it to me, grandfather.

13.124.2 Bhīṣma said: In the world of the gods, a Kaikeyī princess named Sumanā questioned Śāṇḍilī—the all-knowing, the knower of every dharma, the high-minded woman.

13.124.3 By what conduct, O fair one, or by what course of life, having shaken off all sins, have you come to the world of the gods?

13.124.4 Blazing with your own splendor like the tongue of the fire-god, you have come to heaven by your radiance, as though you were the daughter of the moon, the lord of stars.

13.124.5 Wearing spotless garments, free of all weariness, seated in your celestial car, you shine, O lovely one, with a thousandfold strength of light.

13.124.6 Not by any small austerity, nor giving, nor self-restraint have you attained this world; therefore tell me the truth of it.

13.124.7 Thus questioned by Sumanā, Śāṇḍilī of the sweet and lovely smile spoke this measured word to Sumanā:

13.124.8 Not by becoming a wearer of ochre robes, nor of bark garments, nor shaven-headed, nor matted-haired did I attain to godhood.

13.124.9 Words unkind, and all words that were harsh—heedful, I never at any time spoke them to my husband.

13.124.10 In the worship of the gods, the ancestors, and the brāhmaṇas I was ever heedful and intent, devoted to my mother-in-law and father-in-law.

13.124.11 I never engaged in slander, nor did such a thing enter my mind; I did not loiter where there was no doorway, nor talk for long.

13.124.12 Any unseemly laughter, or anything hurtful in deed, secret or open—in this I never engaged at all.

13.124.13 And my husband, gone out on some errand and returned home, I would settle on a seat and honor with collected mind.

13.124.14 And whatever he did not recognize, whatever food he did not relish, whether to be chewed or to be licked—all that I would set aside.

13.124.15 Whatever task there was, brought together for the household's sake, rising at dawn I would have all of it done, and did it myself.

13.124.16 If my husband went abroad on some business, I would devote myself, ever restrained, to many auspicious observances.

13.124.17 Eye-salve and yellow pigment, bathing, garlands and unguents, and adornment—when my husband had gone out, in none of these did I take delight.

13.124.18 I never roused my husband when he was sleeping at ease, even in pressing tasks; and by that my mind found contentment.

13.124.19 I never wearied my husband over household matters at any time; ever I kept secrets well-guarded, and my dwelling well-swept and clean.

13.124.20 A woman who guards this path of dharma with a collected mind is exalted in heaven among women, like Arundhatī.

13.124.21 Bhīṣma said: Having declared to Sumanā this dharma of devotion to one's husband, that goddess, the ascetic and greatly blessed lady, then passed from sight.

13.124.22 And whoever reads this tale told to the Pāṇḍava, at each parva-juncture, will reach the world of the gods and dwell in supreme bliss in the Nandana grove.

13.125.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: By conciliation or by giving—which do you hold the better? Declare to me, O best of the Bhāratas, which of the two prevails here.

13.125.2 Bhīṣma said: One man is won over by conciliation, and another by a gift; having understood a man's nature, one should resort to one of these two.

13.125.3 But hear from me, O king, the virtues of gentle speech, O bull of the Bhāratas—how even fierce creatures may be propitiated by gentleness.

13.125.4 On this they cite an ancient tale: how a twice-born man, seized by a rākṣasa in the forest, was set free.

13.125.5 A certain brāhmaṇa, endowed with intelligence, in a lonely wood was seized and brought to a sore strait by a rākṣasa about to devour him.

13.125.6 He, endowed with intelligence and learning, beholding that exceedingly terrible being, employed gentle speech upon him; he neither lost his wits nor trembled.

13.125.7 But the demon, honoring him with courteous speech, put a question to the brāhmaṇa: "You shall go free—answer me my question: by what cause am I so green and gaunt?"

13.125.8 Then the brāhmaṇa, having reflected for a moment, calmly answered that demon's question with these verses.

13.125.9 "Living abroad, dwelling apart, surely cut off from your friends, you enjoy peerless pleasures all alone—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.10 Surely your friends, O demon, though well treated by you, are estranged through your own fault—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.11 Surely men richer in wealth and power, arrogant, yet in worth far beneath you, look down upon you—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.12 Being yourself a man of merit, you surely see others without merit being honored; wise and disciplined, you see the unwise so treated—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.13 Though afflicted by lack of livelihood, you scorn the means of getting one, and out of high-mindedness you suffer—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.14 Out of nobility you pressed yourself hard to oblige someone, and he, good sir, thinks he has bested you—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.15 I think you brood over people who, their hearts shrouded in lust and anger, torment themselves on wrong paths—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.16 Honored by the wise but not befriended by fools, you—modest yet impatient under the ill-conducted—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.17 Surely some enemy with a friend's face, behaving as a noble man would, has deceived you and gone his way—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.18 Open in your dealings, yet skilled in counsel and accomplished, you are surely not honored by those who should know your worth—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.19 When you speak your settled conviction among the wicked who are bent on their own way, your virtues do not shine—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.20 Lacking wealth, cleverness, and learning, possessed only of inner fire, you surely strive after some great thing—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.21 I think your kinsfolk will not accept you, for your heart is fixed on austerity and you long for the forest—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.22 Surely among men of wealth your speech, though faultless and uttered in good season, finds no luster—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.23 A fool dear to your heart, fixed in his old beliefs and now angered, you are unable to win back—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.24 Surely, having entangled you in some task he desired, someone now presses you exceedingly hard—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.25 A friend whom you honor for his own qualities surely takes it for granted, "This man's purpose is served through me"—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.26 Surely, out of shame, you do not wish to disclose the intention hidden within you, slack as you are in pursuing gain—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.27 Surely you wish to win over by your own virtues all the men of the world, with their differing minds and tastes—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.28 Unlearned, timid, and poor, you yet long for the fame born of learning, valor, and giving—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.29 Some fruit long desired you have not won at all; what you wrought, others have carried off—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.30 Surely, seeing no fault of your own making within yourself, you have been blamed without cause—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.31 You feel, untainted by gain or means, the grief, born of irreparable loss, of vigilant friends—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.32 Seeing virtuous householders and unvirtuous forest-dwellers, the freed still bound to their dwelling—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.33 A righteous and profitable word, spoken by you in the right time and place, surely takes no hold—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.34 Wise yet wishing to live, you surely subsist on wealth given by the inept—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.35 Seeing the wicked flourish and the good sink down, you surely search for what is fitting—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.36 Surely you wish to do good to friends who are at odds with one another, yet without setting them against each other—that is why you are green and gaunt.

13.125.37 I think you brood over people—learned men engaged in wrongful acts, and wise men who have not conquered their senses—that is why you are green and gaunt."

13.125.38 The demon, thus honored, honored that brāhmaṇa in return; he made him his friend, and, having endowed him with wealth, set him free.

13.126.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: O grandfather, greatly wise, versed in all the scriptures, abounding in many traditions, you are renowned in our line.

13.126.2 From you, O tamer of foes, I wish to hear what is joined with dharma and artha, bringing happiness in time to come, and a wonder to the world.

13.126.3 This time has come upon us when kinsmen and friends are hard to keep, and there is no teacher for us but you, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.126.4 If I, together with my brothers, am worthy of your grace, O sinless one, then deign, O king, to answer us the question that I ask you.

13.126.5 This glorious Nārāyaṇa, honored by all kings, waits upon you with great regard and with reverence.

13.126.6 In his presence, and before all the kings and my brothers, you should, out of affection, speak for my pleasure.

13.126.7 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Having heard that speech of his, Bhīṣma, son of Bhāgīrathī, moved with affection and eager joy, spoke these words.

13.126.8 "Come now, I shall tell you a most delightful tale; long ago, O king, I heard of this power of Viṣṇu.

13.126.9 Hear from me too the power of the god marked with the bull, and hear from me the doubt of Rudrāṇī, the doubt that arose between that divine pair.

13.126.10 The righteous Kṛṣṇa undertook a vow of twelve years, and the two seers Nārada and Parvata came to behold him at his consecration.

13.126.11 And Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana too, and Dhaumya, best of those who murmur prayers, and Devala, and Kāśyapa, and Hastikāśyapa as well,

13.126.12 and other holy sages, endowed with consecration and self-restraint, all followed by their pupils, ascetics rich in penance, godlike.

13.126.13 For them the son of Devakī, well pleased, prepared a godlike welcome, the worshipful honoring of guests befitting his line.

13.126.14 Upon fresh green seats of gold strewn with kuśa grass the great seers, well pleased, took their places.

13.126.15 Then those ascetics who dwell apart, rich in penance, made sweet discourses bound up with dharma, concerning royal sages and the gods.

13.126.16 Then the divine energy of Nārāyaṇa, kindled as fuel by the practice of his vow, issued forth as fire from the mouth of Kṛṣṇa of wondrous deeds.

13.126.17 That fire burned up the mountain with its trees, its creepers and shrubs, with its throngs of birds and beasts, with its predators and creeping things,

13.126.18 and with deer of many shapes; the peak of that mountain, churned and blazing to behold, was rendered senseless, filled with cries of woe.

13.126.19 But that great-flamed fire, having burned everything utterly, came near to Viṣṇu and touched his feet like a pupil.

13.126.20 Then Viṣṇu, scourge of foes, seeing the forest burned away, by gentle castings of his gaze restored it to its natural state.

13.126.21 And so that mountain once more had its creepers and trees in full flower, resounding with flocks of birds, with predators and creeping things.

13.126.22 Seeing that wonder, beyond thought, the company of sages then became amazed, their hair bristling and their eyes wet with tears.

13.126.23 Then Nārāyaṇa, best of speakers, seeing those seers filled with amazement, asked them modestly, sweetly, and tenderly:

13.126.24 "Why has amazement come upon this throng of seers, who have forever renounced attachment, who are free of 'mine' and versed in sacred lore?

13.126.25 This whole doubt of mine the blameless seers, rich in penance, ought to resolve for me truly and with certainty."

13.126.26 The seers said: "You send forth the worlds, and you withdraw them again; you are the cold, you are the heat, and it is you yourself who send down the rain.

13.126.27 Of all beings upon the earth, the unmoving and the moving, you are the father and the mother, the lord, and the very source.

13.126.28 Explain to us this thing that fills us with wonder, O slayer of Madhu; you alone, O blessed one, are fit to tell of the issuing-forth of that fire.

13.126.29 Then we too, our terror gone, O scourge of foes, O Hari, shall tell you what we have heard and what we have seen."

13.126.30 Vāsudeva said: "This is that Vaiṣṇava energy that issued from my mouth—the dark-tracked fire, bright as the world's end, by which this mountain was churned.

13.126.31 And you seers, who have conquered anger and subdued your senses, godlike, rich in penance, fell into distress and were shaken.

13.126.32 From me, wholly absorbed in the practice of my vow through the keeping of ascetic observances, this fire arose; you should not be troubled at all.

13.126.33 I have come to this fair mountain to perform my vow, and I have come to bring forth by penance a son equal to myself in valor.

13.126.34 Then my own self that dwells in this body, becoming fire, issued forth and went to behold the boon-giving grandfather of all the worlds.

13.126.35 And by him, O best of sages, I was instructed regarding sonship: the bull-bannered god said, 'A son shall be yours from half of this energy.'

13.126.36 That fire, drawing near to me, to the soles of my feet, attended me like a pupil and then, grown calm, returned to its natural state.

13.126.37 This secret of the wise lotus-naveled one I have told you out of love; let no fear be felt, O you rich in penance.

13.126.38 Yours is an untroubled passage everywhere, O far-seeing ones, blazing with ascetic vows, resplendent with knowledge and discernment.

13.126.39 Whatever you have heard or seen, in heaven or upon earth, that is some surpassing wonder—that, I pray, you tell to me.

13.126.40 I have a longing for that honeyed speech, like nectar, spoken here by you who dwell in the penance-grove."

13.126.41 "Even though I, O you of stainless vision, may see something divine and wondrous to behold, unseen before, whether in heaven or on earth,

13.126.42 that supreme nature of mine is nowhere thwarted, and the sovereign power that abides within myself appears no wonder to me.

13.126.43 For a matter that is credible, once told and reaching the ears of the good, abides long upon the earth, like a writing graven on rock.

13.126.44 Therefore, in that gathering, I shall day after day repeat what has come from the mouths of the good, which kindles the understanding of men."

13.126.45 Then all the throngs of sages, reverent in the presence of Kṛṣṇa, gazed upon Janārdana with eyes like lotus petals.

13.126.46 Some, in like manner, exalted him; others honored him; and they praised the slayer of Madhu with words whose meanings were adorned with verses of the Ṛg.

13.126.47 Then all the throngs of sages appointed to the discourse Nārada, who beholds the gods and is skilled in speech.

13.126.48 "That wonder, beyond thought, O lord, which was experienced upon the Himālaya mountain by the throngs of sages intent on pilgrimage to the holy fords—

13.126.49 Therefore, urged by all, you should relate everything for the welfare of the assembly of sages, just as you witnessed it concerning Hṛṣīkeśa.

13.126.50 Thus addressed by the sages, the blessed seer Nārada, the divine sage, narrated an auspicious tale of what had happened of old.

13.127.1 Bhīṣma said: Then the blessed seer Nārada, friend of Nārāyaṇa, recounted the dialogue of Śaṃkara with Umā.

13.127.2 The righteous lord of the gods, marked with the bull, practised austerities upon the holy mountain Himavat, frequented by Siddhas and Cāraṇas.

13.127.3 Upon that lovely mountain, rich with manifold healing herbs, thronged with flowers of every kind, crowded with troops of Apsarases, and attended by hosts of spirits.

13.127.4 There the god, filled with delight, was surrounded by hundreds of bands of spirits, of various forms and misshapen, divine and wondrous to behold.

13.127.5 Some resembling lions, tigers, and elephants, drawn from every species, some with the faces of jackals and leopards, others with the heads of bears and bulls.

13.127.6 With terrible owl-faced ones, and others with the faces of hawks and vultures, resembling beasts of every hue and gathered from all kinds, together with Kiṃnaras, divine Gandharvas, and hosts of Yakṣas and spirits.

13.127.7 That assembly-hall of the bull-bannered god was strewn with divine flowers, adorned with divine garlands, anointed with divine sandal, fumed with divine incense, and resounding with divine music.

13.127.8 It rang with the beat of drums and tabors and the blare of conches and kettledrums, with troops of spirits and peacocks dancing on every side.

13.127.9 There the Apsarases danced; the divine place was attended by throngs of celestial women, lovely to the eye, indescribable, divine, and wondrous to behold.

13.127.10 By the austerity of that lord of beings, the mountain shone resplendent.

13.127.11 Resounding with the Vedic chants of brahmins devoted to recitation, and with the humming of bees, the mountain was matchless as the springtime.

13.127.12 Beholding that place, resembling a great festival yet bearing a terrible aspect, the host of sages was filled with supreme delight, O Janārdana.

13.127.13 The illustrious sages, and the Siddhas of unbroken chastity, the Maruts, the Vasus, the Sādhyas, and the eternal Viśvedevas;

13.127.14 The Yakṣas, Nāgas, and Piśācas, the guardians of the worlds, the fires, and all the elemental beings, humbled, were gathered there together.

13.127.15 The seasons scattered all their flowers, marvellous beyond measure, and the herbs, blazing with light, illumined that forest.

13.127.16 And the birds, filled with joy, danced and sang, calling out upon the lovely mountain slopes, beloved of all.

13.127.17 There upon the mountain-slope, adorned with divine minerals, the high-souled god sat, shining as upon a couch.

13.127.18 Clad in a tiger's skin, with a lion's hide for an upper garment, wearing a serpent for his sacred thread, and adorned with red armlets.

13.127.19 Tawny-bearded, matted-haired, terrible, a striker of fear into the foes of the gods, yet the giver of safety to all beings and to his devotees—he, the bull-bannered one.

13.127.20 Beholding him, all the seers touched the earth with their heads, and were released from every sin, made patient and freed from impurity.

13.127.21 The abode of that lord of beings shone, bearing a terrible aspect, utterly unassailable, and teeming with great serpents.

13.127.22 In a single moment, O slayer of Madhu, all became wondrous; that assembly of the bull-bannered god shone, bearing its terrible form.

13.127.23 To him approached the daughter of the mountain, surrounded by troops of spirit-women, clad in raiment like Hara's own, observing the selfsame vow.

13.127.24 Bearing a golden pitcher brimming with the waters of all sacred fords, the fair goddess came, followed on every side by the holy mountain-streams.

13.127.25 Raining down showers of flowers and manifold fragrances, frequenting the slopes of Himavat, she drew near to Hara's side.

13.127.26 Then, smiling, the fair-faced goddess, in sport, suddenly covered Hara's beautiful eyes with her two hands.

13.127.27 But with his eyes thus covered, that whole assembly was at once plunged into darkness, senseless, void of oblation and of the cry of vaṣaṭ.

13.127.28 And all the people grew disheartened, seized with terror and dread; with the lord of beings' eyes shut, the world became as though the sun had perished.

13.127.29 Then in an instant the world grew free of darkness, for a great blazing flame issued forth from his forehead.

13.127.30 And there arose upon him a third eye, like unto the sun, blazing as at the end of an age, by which that mountain was scorched.

13.127.31 Then the mountain's daughter, beholding Hara whose eye was like blazing fire, bowed to him with her head and gazed with her wide eyes.

13.127.32 As that forest burned, with its sāla and pine trees, its lovely groves of sandal, lit up with divine herbs;

13.127.33 That assembly grew crowded with herds of deer, fleeing in terror, drawing close to Hara's side, finding no refuge anywhere.

13.127.34 Then with flames touching the sky, brilliant with quivering lightning-rays, like the twelve suns, like a second fire of the age's end—

13.127.35 By that fire in a moment Himavat the mountain was scorched, its peaks and mineral expanses laid bare, its forests and herbs piteously burned.

13.127.36 Seeing the mountain thus ravaged, the daughter of the king of mountains took refuge in the lord, standing with joined hands.

13.127.37 Then Śarva, beholding Umā softened by her womanly nature, unwilling to see her father's distress, looked with affection upon the mountain.

13.127.38 Then all became restored to its natural state, fair to behold, with its birds rejoicing and the forest trees in full flower.

13.127.39 Seeing the mountain restored, the blameless goddess, well pleased, addressed Maheśvara, the lord of all beings, her own lord.

13.127.40 O blessed lord of all beings, trident-bearer, of mighty vows, a great doubt has arisen in me; deign to explain it to me.

13.127.41 For what reason did a third eye arise upon your forehead? And for what reason was the mountain burned, with its flocks of birds and its forests?

13.127.42 And for what reason, O god, was it again in a moment restored to its natural state, and clothed once more with trees by you, O Maheśvara?

13.127.43 Maheśvara said: When my eyes were covered by you in childish play, O blameless goddess, the world at once lost its light and was plunged in an instant into darkness.

13.127.44 When thus the sun was lost and the world turned to darkness, O daughter of the mountain, a blazing third eye was created by me, guarding the creatures for your sake.

13.127.45 Great was the splendour of that eye, by which this mountain was scorched; and to please you, O goddess, it was in a moment restored to its natural state.

13.127.46 Umā said: O blessed one, by what cause is your eastern face like the moon, lovely to behold, and likewise the northern, the western so beautiful?

13.127.47 And by what cause is the southern face terrible? Why upward stand your tawny matted locks? And by what cause was your throat made blue like a peacock's plume?

13.127.48 And by what cause does this Pināka ever rest in your hand? And why are you forever matted-haired and a celibate?

13.127.49 Resolve for me all this doubt, O sinless lord of beings; for I am your companion in dharma and your devotee, O bull-bannered one.

13.127.50 Thus addressed by the mountain's daughter, the blessed wielder of Pināka, the lord, was pleased by her conduct and her wisdom.

13.127.51 Then the god said to her: "O fair one, listen: by what reasons these forms of mine arose, O lovely-faced one."

13.128.1 Maheśvara said: Of old, an excellent woman named Tilottamā, fair of form, was fashioned by Brahmā, who took up sesame-grain by sesame-grain from among precious things.

13.128.2 She approached me, O goddess, peerless in beauty upon the earth, circling me reverently, alluring me, O fair and lovely-faced one.

13.128.3 From whichever side that fair-toothed one drew near to me, from that side, O goddess, a lovely face came forth upon me.

13.128.4 Wishing to behold her, by my yoga I attained a fourfold form and became four-faced, displaying the power of my yoga.

13.128.5 With my eastern face I rule over Indra's domain; with the northern I take my delight together with you, O blameless one.

13.128.6 My western face is benign, bringing happiness to all living beings; the southern, terrible to look upon and fierce, destroys the creatures.

13.128.7 Matted-haired and celibate am I, out of desire for the welfare of the worlds; and for the accomplishment of the gods' purposes the Pināka rests in my hand.

13.128.8 Of old, Indra, coveting glory, hurled his thunderbolt at me; it scorched my throat and passed away, and thence came my name Śrīkaṇṭha.

13.128.9 Umā said: When there are many other splendid mounts to be had, O god, how did the bull come to be your vehicle?

13.128.10 Maheśvara said: Brahmā created Surabhī, the cow of nectar, the giver of milk; once created, she multiplied manifold, streaming forth milk like nectar.

13.128.11 The foam dropped from the mouth of her calf fell upon my body; then in anger I scorched the cows, and they took on their many colours.

13.128.12 Then I was brought to peace by the world's teacher, who knew what was fitting; and he gave me this bull for my banner and for my mount.

13.128.13 Umā said: Your dwellings are of many forms, endowed with every kind of quality; forsaking these, O blessed one, how is it that you delight in the cremation-ground?

13.128.14 Terrible, strewn with hair and bones, crowded with skulls like potsherds, teeming with vultures and jackals, thronged with the fires of a hundred pyres;

13.128.15 Unclean, strewn with flesh, miry with marrow and blood, littered with heaps of carrion, resounding with the howls of jackals.

13.128.16 Maheśvara said: Seeking the pure, I roam the whole earth by night, and nothing more pure than the cremation-ground is to be found here.

13.128.17 Therefore, of all dwellings, my mind delights in the cremation-ground, shaded by the branches of the banyan, adorned with cast-off garlands.

13.128.18 And there too my hosts of spirits take their delight, O fair-faced one; nor can I, O goddess, bear to dwell apart from my spirit-troops.

13.128.19 This dwelling I hold to be pure and heavenly; holy and supreme, it is frequented by those who seek purity.

13.128.20 Umā said: O blessed lord of all beings, foremost of all upholders of dharma, Pināka-handed giver of boons, this great doubt is mine.

13.128.21 This whole host of sages, O lord, crying "Austerity! Austerity!", wanders through the world seeking austerity in manifold forms.

13.128.22 For the sake of this assembly of seers, and to please me, O subduer of foes, deign to resolve this doubt of mine here.

13.128.23 By what marks is dharma declared? And how can it be practised by men who have not found dharma? O knower of dharma, tell me, O lord.

13.128.24 Nārada said: Then the whole host of sages honoured the goddess in return with words adorned by the meaning of Ṛc-verses and with hymns, O best of those who know the truth.

13.128.25 Maheśvara said: Non-injury, truthful speech, compassion for all beings, self-control, and giving according to one's power—this is the highest dharma of the householder.

13.128.26 No thought toward another's wife, protection of women left in trust, abstaining from taking what is not given, and shunning honey-wine and meat;

13.128.27 This fivefold dharma, of many branches, yielding happiness, is the store of merit to be heaped up by embodied beings devoted to dharma.

13.128.28 Umā said: O Lord, having been asked of my doubt, you should explain it to me — the dharma proper to the four orders, that which brings merit to each in its own order.

13.128.29 What kind of dharma belongs to the brāhmaṇa, what kind to the kṣatriya? What is the mark of dharma for the vaiśya, and what its mark for the śūdra?

13.128.30 Maheśvara said: Justly, O greatly blessed one, has your doubt been raised. The twice-born in this world are ever the highly honored gods upon earth.

13.128.31 Fasting is ever the dharma of the brāhmaṇa — of this there is no doubt; for he is born for the sake of dharma and is fit to attain unto Brahman.

13.128.32 For him, O goddess, the performance of dharmic rites, the observance of vows according to rule, and likewise the sacred initiation — these befit the twice-born alone.

13.128.33 For the honoring of teacher and deity, consisting in the practice of self-study — this wellspring of dharma must be observed by embodied beings devoted to dharma.

13.128.34 Umā said: O Lord, herein lies my doubt; you should explain it to me. Proclaim with precision the dharma of the four orders.

13.128.35 Maheśvara said: The hearing of the secret teachings is dharma, and the keeping of the Vedic vows; devotion to the observance of vows is dharma, and the gracious service of the teacher's feet.

13.128.36 Devotion to the gathering of alms is dharma; constant fasting is dharma; constant self-study is dharma, and likewise the stage of chaste studentship.

13.128.37 And when permitted by his teacher, the twice-born should return home; thereafter he should take a fitting wife according to the rule.

13.128.38 The shunning of a śūdra's food is dharma, and the following of the good path; constant fasting is dharma, and likewise continence.

13.128.39 Having kindled the sacred fires, studying, offering oblation, with senses restrained, eating the remnants of sacrifice, moderate in food, truthful of speech and pure — such is the householder.

13.128.40 Devotion to the vow of hospitality is dharma, and the maintaining of the three fires is dharma; the iṣṭi-rites and the animal sacrifices he should perform in due order.

13.128.41 Sacrifice is the highest dharma, and likewise non-injury toward embodied beings; not to eat before others is dharma, and the eating of the sacrificial remnants.

13.128.42 To eat afterward, once the household has eaten, is declared to be dharma — especially for the brāhmaṇa householder learned in the Veda.

13.128.43 Harmony of character between husband and wife is the dharma of householders, and the constant offering of flowers and oblations to the household deities.

13.128.44 Daily anointing of the dwelling is dharma, and likewise constant fasting — in a house well-swept and freshly smeared, where the smoke of ghee rises up.

13.128.45 This is the householder's dharma among the twice-born, the sustainer of the world; among the good twice-born it ever holds sway, always.

13.128.46 But that dharma pertaining to the kṣatriya, which you have raised, O goddess — that I shall declare to you; hear it from me with attentive mind.

13.128.47 The dharma of the kṣatriya is held to be, first of all, the protection of the people; for the king who enjoys his appointed reward is thereby joined with dharma.

13.128.48 The lord of men who protects his people in accordance with dharma — for him there are worlds won by dharma, accumulated through the protection of his people.

13.128.49 Therein the king's foremost dharma is self-restraint and self-study, the busy tending of the sacred fire, and likewise giving and learning.

13.128.50 The wearing of the sacred thread, sacrifice, and the performance of dharmic rites; the maintenance of his dependents is dharma, and unfailingness when a deed is to be done.

13.128.51 Standing firm in just punishment is dharma; the performance of Vedic sacrifices is dharma; abiding by lawful judgment is dharma, and likewise delight in truthful speech.

13.128.52 The king who lends a hand to the distressed is exalted both here and hereafter; and one who, valiant for the sake of cattle and brāhmaṇas, meets his death in battle, attains the worlds won by the horse-sacrifice, in the abode of the third heaven.

13.128.53 The constant dharma of the vaiśya is the tending of cattle and tillage, the busy tending of the sacred fire, and likewise giving and learning.

13.128.54 Trade conducted upon the honest path, hospitality, tranquility, self-restraint, the welcoming of brāhmaṇas, and liberality — this is the eternal dharma of the vaiśya.

13.128.55 Sesame, perfumes, and liquids he should never sell anywhere; following the merchant's calling, the vaiśya keeps to the honest path.

13.128.56 Full hospitality to the three orders, according to his means and as is fitting — and the highest constant dharma of the śūdra is service rendered to the twice-born.

13.128.57 That śūdra, steadfast in austerity, true to his word, with senses conquered, who serves the guest that has arrived, accumulates great austerity.

13.128.58 Having abandoned violence, of pure conduct, a worshipper of the deities and the twice-born — such a wise śūdra is united with the cherished fruits of dharma.

13.128.59 All this has been told to you, O lovely one, concerning each of the four orders here. What else, O blessed one, do you wish to hear?

13.129.1 Umā said: You have told the separate, auspicious dharmas befitting the four orders. But that dharma which is all-pervading, O Lord — that one tell me.

13.129.2 Maheśvara said: The brāhmaṇas were created by the Maker, seeking virtue, out of the very essence of the world, to ferry all the worlds across — gods upon earth among mortals.

13.129.3 Of them I shall declare this arising of the fruit of dharmic deeds; for the dharma that is among the brāhmaṇas is held to be the supreme dharma.

13.129.4 But these three were created by the Self-Born for the sake of the world's dharma, ever created for the bringing forth of the earth; hear of them too from me.

13.129.5 The supreme dharma is that declared in the Veda; another is that found in the smṛti-treatises; another, it is said, is that practiced by the cultured — these three are the eternal dharmas.

13.129.6 A brāhmaṇa learned in the three Vedas, yet not living merely by recitation, performing the three duties, having gone through the three stages, friendly toward all — such a one is held to be a true twice-born.

13.129.7 These six duties the Lord of the world declared for the livelihood of the brāhmaṇas; hear them, O attentive one.

13.129.8 Sacrificing and officiating at sacrifice, likewise giving and receiving gifts, teaching and being taught — the twice-born of the six duties is a sharer in dharma.

13.129.9 Constant self-study is dharma; sacrifice is the eternal dharma; and giving, according to his means and according to rule, is praised in him.

13.129.10 But this is the supreme dharma, ever practiced among the good: the householder's life of the wholly pure is a great treasury of dharma.

13.129.11 His self purified by the five sacrifices, truthful of speech, free of malice, a giver, an honorer of brāhmaṇas, his dwelling well-swept —

13.129.12 free of pride and ever upright, speaking words made gentle, delighting in the guest who has come, making his meal of the remnants of food —

13.129.13 who offers, as is right, water for the feet, the welcome-offering, a seat, a bed, a lamp, and shelter too — he is the righteous one.

13.129.14 Rising at dawn and sipping water for purification, inviting the guest with food, and who, having honored him, walks after him a way in farewell — his is the eternal dharma.

13.129.15 Full hospitality to the three orders, according to means, by day and night — the dharma of the śūdra has been declared to be service to the three orders.

13.129.16 The dharma marked by active engagement is ordained among householders; that one I shall proclaim — auspicious and for the welfare of all beings.

13.129.17 Gifts should be given again and again, according to one's power, and likewise sacrifice should be offered again and again; and the rites that bring increase should be performed by one who desires prosperity.

13.129.18 Wealth should be gathered by dharma; the riches gained through dharma are threefold; a man should make dharma supreme with diligent effort.

13.129.19 With one portion the aim of dharma should be served by one who desires prosperity; with one portion the aim of pleasure; and one portion he should make to grow.

13.129.20 But another dharma, marked by withdrawal, is remembered as liberation; its way of life I shall declare — hear it from me, O goddess, in its truth.

13.129.21 Compassion for all beings is dharma, and not dwelling in a single village; and release from the bonds of craving is praised for those who long for liberation.

13.129.22 No attachment to a water-pot, nor to water, nor to clothing, nor to a seat, nor to the triple staff, nor to a bed, nor to fire, nor to a place of shelter.

13.129.23 He whose mind is fixed on the Supreme Self, whose thought is on That, devoted to That, ever intent upon yoga and likewise upon discriminating reflection —

13.129.24 sleeping ever at the root of a tree, dwelling in an empty house, lying upon the sandbanks of a river, and delighting on a river's bank —

13.129.25 the twice-born freed from all attachments and from the bonds of affection — fixing the being of the self in the Self alone, the twice-born wanders.

13.129.26 Become motionless as a post, fasting, by deeds directed toward liberation — he who, disciplined, goes forth as a wandering mendicant, his is the eternal dharma.

13.129.27 Not long attached in any one place, nor ranging within a single village, disciplined and released he wanders, not sleeping always on one sandbank.

13.129.28 This is the dharma of those who know liberation, the good path of the good, declared in the Veda; for one who follows this road, no further state of rebirth exists.

13.129.29 The mendicants are of four kinds: the kuṭīcara, the kṛtodaka, the haṃsa, and the paramahaṃsa; and whichever comes later, that one is the higher.

13.129.30 Beyond this there is nothing higher, nothing lower, nothing aside or in front — that which is without sorrow, without pleasure, gentle, free of age, deathless, and imperishable.

13.129.31 Umā said: The dharma of the householder and the dharma of liberation, practiced by the good, you have set forth — the great and beneficial road for the world of mortals.

13.129.32 But the dharma of the seers, O knower of dharma, I wish to hear — that unsurpassed dharma; for I have a constant longing toward those who dwell in the groves of austerity.

13.129.33 The fragrance arising from the smoke of ghee seems to fill the whole grove of austerity; beholding it, my mind, O Maheśvara, would ever be glad.

13.129.34 This doubt of mine concerning the dharma of the sages, O God, O mighty one, O knower of the truth of all dharma and its aims, O God of gods, tell me in full — O Mahādeva, as I have asked, just as it is.

13.129.35 Maheśvara said: Behold, I shall declare to you the unsurpassed dharma of the sages, by following which the sages attain perfection through their own austerity, O lovely one.

13.129.36 The dharma that belongs ever to the foam-drinking seers, the knowers of dharma — hear it from me, O greatly blessed one, O knower of dharma, that dharma from the beginning.

13.129.37 Therein they ever glean the holy, auspicious mass of foam — that sweet nectar drunk by Brahmā, spread abroad in heaven.

13.129.38 This is the road wrought by the practice of dharma for those wholly pure foam-drinkers, O you whose wealth is austerity; now hear of the host of the Vālakhilyas.

13.129.39 The Vālakhilyas, sages perfected in austerity, within the orb of the sun — knowers of dharma, they glean the gleanings, abiding by the way of life of the birds.

13.129.40 Clothed in deerskins, garbed in rags and bark, beyond the pairs of opposites, having reached the good path — such are the Vālakhilyas, whose wealth is austerity.

13.129.41 No larger than a thumb-joint, settled firmly within their own bodies, they strive at the practice of austerity; great is the fruit of their dharma.

13.129.42 They attain equality with the gods, for the accomplishing of the gods' purposes, illumining all the quarters, their sins burned away by austerity.

13.129.43 And those others, pure of mind, devoted to compassion and dharma, the good who move in companies, the holy ones who range the world of Soma —

13.129.44 dwelling near the world of the fathers, they glean according to rule — the saṃprakṣālas and the aśmakuṭṭas, and likewise the dantolūkhalins.

13.129.45 And those who, dwelling near the soma-drinking gods and likewise the vapor-drinking ones, glean their food, their senses restrained by their very nature —

13.129.46 for them the tending of the sacred fire, the worship of the fathers and the gods, and likewise the offering of the five sacrifices is declared to be dharma.

13.129.47 This is the dharma of the seers, O goddess, ever practiced by the twice-born who move in companies and range the world of the gods; now hear from me that other dharma as well.

13.129.48 In all the dharmas of the seers, the self is first to be conquered, the senses subdued; and thereafter desire and anger are to be conquered — such is my conviction.

13.129.49 Diligent tending of the sacred fire-offering, the keeping of the holy night-vigil, sanction for the soma-sacrifice, and the sacrificial fee as the fifth duty—

13.129.50 the constant performance of sacrifice is dharma, delight in the worship of the ancestors and the gods, and hospitality to all must be offered with food gathered by gleaning.

13.129.51 Abstention from enjoyment of pleasures, contentment with the milk of the cow, sleeping upon the bare ground, the practice of yoga, and subsisting on herbs and leaves;

13.129.52 eating fruits and roots, living on air and water, and feeding on moss—these indeed are the observances of the sages, by which they win the goal that none else attains.

13.129.53 When the smoke has cleared, the pestle is laid aside, the embers are gone, the household has finished eating, the round of the serving-vessels is past, and the hour for begging is over—

13.129.54 awaiting a guest, taking his meal of what food remains, delighting in truth and dharma, patient and serene—such a man is joined to the law of the sage.

13.129.55 He who is neither stiff with pride nor vain, neither heedless nor bewildered, friendly and the same toward friend and foe alike—he is the highest knower of dharma.

13.130.1 Umā said: In delightful regions, by the cascades of the mountains, in the bowers along the flowing streams, and in the groves upon the hills,

13.130.2 and in varied lands abounding in fruit and rich in roots, there dwell those of steadfast vows, their minds collected.

13.130.3 I wish to hear, O Śaṃkara, the holy rule of these too—of the forest-dwellers, O lord of gods, who live by the labor of their own bodies.

13.130.4 Maheśvara said: Hear from me, with mind composed, the dharma that belongs to the forest-hermits; and having heard it single-mindedly, O goddess, let your thought be set wholly upon dharma.

13.130.5 By the accomplished, the disciplined, the good who have taken up dwelling in the forest—by such forest-hermits this rite is to be performed; hear of what kind it is.

13.130.6 Bathing thrice at the three times of day, the rite of worshipping ancestors and gods, diligent tending of the fire-offering, and the procedure of sacrifice and oblation;

13.130.7 the gathering of wild rice, the eating of fruits and roots, and the use of oils pressed from the seeds of the iṅgudī for their unctuous nourishment;

13.130.8 by the perfected who follow the practice of yoga, the casting off of desire and anger; by those who keep the hero's couch and resort to the hero's posture;

13.130.9 by the steadfast yoked in yoga, the good, who in summer endure the five fires, who keep the frog-posture of yoga and observe each rule according to the ordinance;

13.130.10 by those ever seated in the hero's pose and sleeping upon the bare ground, the discipline of cold and the discipline of fire are to be practiced by minds bent upon dharma.

13.130.11 By those who feed on water and on air, whose chief food is moss; by the self-restrained who pound their grain with stones, and by others who wash and cleanse their food;

13.130.12 by those clad in bark-cloth and wearing the skins of deer—the round of life is to be carried out according to the season, according to dharma, according to the ordinance.

13.130.13 By those constant to the forest, who roam the forest, who guard it and range within it, the forest is to be approached as though it were a guru, and there the forest-dwellers must abide.

13.130.14 For them the rite of oblation is dharma, the observance of the five great sacrifices, and the keeping of the Veda-ordained sacrifice on the fifth day sacred to the serpents.

13.130.15 Devotion to the sacrifice on the eighth day, the observance of the four-monthly rites, the sacrifice performed at the full moon, and likewise the perpetual sacrifice—

13.130.16 freed from union with wives, freed from all defilement, and freed from every sin, the sages wander in the forest.

13.130.17 Holding the sacrificial ladle and vessels as their highest treasure, ever taking refuge in the three sacred fires, the good who keep always to the path of the good—they attain the supreme goal.

13.130.18 To the world of Brahmā, of great merit, and to the eternal world of Soma the perfected sages go, by their reliance upon the dharma of the seers.

13.130.19 This auspicious dharma resting upon the forest-hermits, O goddess, rich in meaning, I have set forth to you at length in its broad outline.

13.130.20 Umā said: O blessed one, lord of the lords of gods, to whom all beings bow, tell me the dharma of the company of sages who dwell amid the teachings of perfection.

13.130.21 Those perfected in the teachings of perfection and likewise dwelling in the forest, who live freely and yet keep the company of wives—how is their dharma declared?

13.130.22 Maheśvara said: Those ascetics who live freely, O goddess, all of whom take their pleasure with wives—for them the shaven head, the ochre robe, and the measured division of day and night are the means.

13.130.23 Bathing at the three times of day, the great oblation performed as the seers ordained, deep meditation, standing fast upon the path of the good, and observance as has been declared;

13.130.24 and those duties of the forest-dwellers spoken of before—if they observe these duties, they obtain the fruit of austerity.

13.130.25 And those who keep the dharma of the married pair, their senses restrained to their own wives, who approach them only in the fertile season as the ordinance prescribes,

13.130.26 for them, righteous as they are, the dharma laid down by the seers is fulfilled; for no other desire arising from mere lust is to be indulged by those who behold dharma.

13.130.27 He who rightly grants to all beings the gift of fearlessness, his self freed from violence and anger—he indeed is joined with dharma.

13.130.28 He who is compassionate toward all beings, vowed to uprightness toward all beings, and who has become one in spirit with all beings—he indeed is joined with dharma.

13.130.29 Bathing at all the sacred waters, and uprightness toward all beings—these two might be held equal, or else uprightness is the greater.

13.130.30 Uprightness, they say, is dharma; crookedness is called unrighteousness. A man here endowed with uprightness is joined with dharma.

13.130.31 The upright man dwells forever in the world near the immortals; therefore let him be constant in uprightness who desires dharma for himself.

13.130.32 Patient, self-controlled, having conquered anger, become the very embodiment of dharma, doing no harm, his mind ever delighting in dharma—such a man is joined with dharma.

13.130.33 Free of sloth, righteous in soul, capable, holding to the path of the good, supreme in conduct and awakened, he becomes fit for union with Brahman.

13.130.34 Umā said: O god, the ascetics who delight in the hermitage, those rich in austerity and radiant with splendor—by what observance do they become so?

13.130.35 Kings and the sons of kings, the poor or the greatly wealthy—by what deed, O blessed one, do they obtain the great fruit?

13.130.36 Having reached the eternal abode, anointed with celestial sandal—by what deed, O god, do they become rangers of the forest?

13.130.37 Resolve for me this doubt of mine, O god, concerning the holy practice of austerity; declare it all without remainder, O three-eyed one, destroyer of the Three Cities.

13.130.38 Maheśvara said: Tamed by vows of fasting, doing no harm, speaking the truth, and made perfect, after death they rejoice free of all ill in the company of the gandharvas.

13.130.39 He of righteous soul who, lying in the frog-posture of yoga, keeps his consecration according to place and ordinance, rejoices in the company of the serpent-nāgas.

13.130.40 He who, consecrated and filled with joy, feeds among the deer on the grass cast off from their mouths, goes to Amarāvatī, the city of the immortals.

13.130.41 He who, bound to that vow, feeds on moss or on fallen leaves, ever bearing the discipline of cold, may attain the supreme goal.

13.130.42 He who lives on air or on water, or who eats fruits and roots, attains lordship among the yakṣas and rejoices amid the troops of apsarases.

13.130.43 He who in summer bears the discipline of fire, performing for twelve years the rite seen in the ordinance, becomes a king who rules the earth.

13.130.44 The sage who, observing restraint of food for twelve years and with effort mastering the desert wastes, becomes a king who rules the earth.

13.130.45 He who, upon the bare ground, taking the pure open sky as his shelter on every side, and entering with joy upon the twelve-year consecration—

13.130.46 the fruits of this couch on the bare ground, they say, O lovely one, are chariots and couches and houses of great worth, white as the moon.

13.130.47 He who, living by his own self, restrained and restrained in food, casts off his body by fasting, attains to heaven.

13.130.48 He who, living by his own self through the twelve-year consecration, casts off his body in the great ocean, attains the world of Varuṇa.

13.130.49 He who, living by his own self through the twelve-year consecration, breaks his feet upon a stone, rejoices among the guhyakas.

13.130.50 Having perfected the self by the self, beyond the pairs of opposites and free of possessions, having kept for twelve years the one consecration fixed in his mind, he attains the world of heaven and rejoices in the company of the gods.

13.130.51 He who, living by his own self through the twelve-year consecration, offers himself in the fire and casts off his body, is exalted in the world of Agni.

13.130.52 But the twice-born who, O goddess, consecrated as the ordinance requires and restrained, having set the self within the self, beyond the pairs of opposites and free of possessions,

13.130.53 having kept for twelve years the one consecration fixed in his mind, and bound the fire-sticks upon his shoulder, wanders forth uncovered—

13.130.54 his mind ever set on the hero's road, delighting in the hero's posture, and standing fast in the hero's place—he attains the goal of heroes.

13.130.55 Gone forever to the world of Śakra, attended by every desire fulfilled, strewn with celestial flowers and adorned with celestial sandal, the righteous one dwells in bliss in heaven among the hosts of the gods.

13.130.56 The hero gone to the world of heroes, ever bearing the hero's discipline, steadfast in goodness, who renounces all and, consecrated, restrained, and pure, takes up the hero's road—for him the worlds are everlasting.

13.130.57 In a sky-chariot that goes where it wills he ranges at his pleasure, and gone to the world of Śakra, glorious and free of all ill, he rejoices.

13.131.1 Umā said: O blessed one, slayer of Bhaga's eye, who struck out the teeth of Pūṣan, who ruined the sacrifice of Dakṣa, O three-eyed god, great is this doubt of mine.

13.131.2 The four orders were of old created by the blessed Self-Existent One; by what ripening of deeds does a vaiśya pass into the state of a śūdra?

13.131.3 By what means does a vaiśya become a kṣatriya, or a twice-born become a kṣatriya? And how, O god, can dharma be observed against the natural order?

13.131.4 By what deed is a brāhmaṇa born in the womb of a śūdra, and by what deed, O mighty one, does a kṣatriya pass into the state of a śūdra?

13.131.5 Resolve for me this doubt, O god, lord of beings, sinless one: how may the three orders by their very nature attain to brāhmaṇa-hood?

13.131.6 Maheśvara said: Brāhmaṇa-hood, O goddess, is hard to win. By his very nature, O fair one, a brāhmaṇa is a brāhmaṇa; so too the kṣatriya, the vaiśya, and the śūdra are such by nature—this is my judgment.

13.131.7 By an evil deed here the twice-born falls from his station; therefore, having attained the highest order, let the twice-born guard it well.

13.131.8 Whether a kṣatriya or a vaiśya, he who stands firm in the brāhmaṇa's dharma and lives by brāhmaṇa-hood goes toward union with Brahman.

13.131.9 But he who, abandoning his brāhmaṇa-state, practices the dharma of the warrior, falls from brāhmaṇa-hood and is born in the womb of a kṣatriya.

13.131.10 And the brāhmaṇa of little understanding who, given over to greed and delusion, having attained brāhmaṇa-hood so hard to win, ever does the work of a vaiśya—

13.131.11 that twice-born passes into the state of a vaiśya, and a vaiśya likewise into the state of a śūdra; the brāhmaṇa fallen from his own dharma thereby attains the state of a śūdra.

13.131.12 Then, fallen from his order and cast out, he comes to hell; fallen from the world of Brahman, he is born again as a śūdra.

13.131.13 And the kṣatriya, O greatly blessed one, or the vaiśya, O practiser of dharma, who casts aside his own duties and follows the works of a śūdra—

13.131.14 fallen from his own station, he sinks into the confusion of the orders; such a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, or vaiśya passes into the state of a śūdra.

13.131.15 But he who is purified by his own dharma, possessed of knowledge and discernment, pure, knowing dharma and devoted to it—he enjoys the fruit of dharma.

13.131.16 And there is this further teaching, O goddess, proclaimed by Brahmā: the highest spiritual doctrine, observed by the good who long for dharma.

13.131.17 The food of a cruel man is condemned, O goddess, as is the food of a horde, the food connected with a śrāddha or a birth-impurity. Food announced by a public crier must never be eaten, and a Śūdra's food never at all.

13.131.18 The food of a Śūdra is condemned, O goddess, by the great-souled gods of gods; uttered from the mouth of the Grandsire himself, this is authoritative — such is my conviction.

13.131.19 He in whose belly a remnant of a Śūdra's food remains when he dies — though he be one who has kindled the sacred fires and offered sacrifices — shares the destiny of a Śūdra.

13.131.20 By that remnant of a Śūdra's food a Brāhmaṇa is cast down from the station of Brahman and becomes a Śūdra — of this there is no question.

13.131.21 A Brāhmaṇa in whose belly a remnant of another's food remains when he dies, whose food he has lived upon, passes into that very womb.

13.131.22 He who, having attained the auspicious and hard-won state of a Brāhmaṇa, holds it in contempt and eats forbidden food, surely falls from his twice-born estate.

13.131.23 The drinker of liquor, the slayer of a Brāhmaṇa, the base man, the thief, the breaker of vows, the impure, he who has abandoned his sacred study, the sinful, the greedy, the deceitful, the crooked —

13.131.24 the man without vows, the keeper of a Śūdra woman, the eater of an adulterer's food, the seller of Soma, the servant of the lowly — such a Brāhmaṇa falls from his Brahman-born nature.

13.131.25 He who defiles his teacher's bed, who hates his teacher, who delights in reviling his teacher, and who hates Brahman — such a Brāhmaṇa, too, falls from his Brahman-born nature.

13.131.26 But by these auspicious deeds duly performed, O goddess, a Śūdra may attain Brāhmaṇahood, and a Vaiśya may attain Kṣatriyahood.

13.131.27 All the duties of a Śūdra, rightly and according to rule, with service and attendance upon the highest class — these let the Śūdra perform diligently and ungrudgingly, standing ever upon the good path.

13.131.28 Honouring the gods and the twice-born, holding to the vow of hospitality toward all, approaching his wife only in season, self-restrained and temperate in food —

13.131.29 clean and seeking the company of the clean, making his meal of the food that remains, never eating meat got in vain — such a Śūdra attains to Vaiśyahood.

13.131.30 Truthful in speech, free of self-assertion, beyond the pairs of opposites, skilled in tranquillity, performing the daily sacrifices, devoted above all to sacred study, and pure —

13.131.31 self-controlled, honouring Brāhmaṇas, wishing well to all the classes, holding to the householder's vow, taking food at the two appointed times —

13.131.32 eating the remnant, having conquered his appetite, free of craving, free of self-assertion, tending the sacred fire and making oblations according to rule —

13.131.33 showing hospitality to all, making his meal of the food that remains, ordained to the three fires and their mantras — if a Vaiśya lives thus, he is born into a pure and great Kṣatriya family.

13.131.34 That Vaiśya, born now a Kṣatriya, sanctified from birth, invested with the sacred thread and devoted to his vows, becomes an honoured twice-born man.

13.131.35 He gives, he sacrifices with consecrated rites and ample fees, he studies, ever seeking heaven, taking refuge in the three fires.

13.131.36 Ever stretching out a giving hand to the afflicted, protecting his subjects by dharma, truthful, fulfilling his promises, and ever pleasant to behold —

13.131.37 wielding the rod for justice and yet not without restraint, directing the works of dharma, governed in the discharge of his duties, taking the sixth part as his appointed due —

13.131.38 let him not indulge the ways of carnal pleasure at his own whim, though skilled in worldly gain; rather, righteous in soul, let him approach his wife only in season.

13.131.39 Practising all the fasts, self-restrained, devoted above all to sacred study, pure, ever sleeping upon the strewn sacrificial grass within the fire-chamber —

13.131.40 showing hospitality to the three classes with a gracious mind always, and ever saying to Śūdras who desire food, 'It is ready' —

13.131.41 who notices nothing for his own gain or for his own desire, and who makes his every effort for the sake of the ancestors, the gods, and his guests —

13.131.42 who in his own house duly partakes even of alms, and who offers the fire-oblation thrice a day according to rule —

13.131.43 and who, for the good of cows and Brāhmaṇas, is slain facing the foe in battle — or one purified by the three fires and their mantras — enters and becomes a twice-born man.

13.131.44 Endowed with knowledge and discernment, sanctified, having mastered the Vedas, a righteous-souled Kṣatriya becomes a Brāhmaṇa by his own deeds.

13.131.45 By these fruits of action, O goddess, even a Śūdra sprung from a lowly birth and family, if endowed with sacred learning and sanctified, becomes a twice-born man.

13.131.46 And a Brāhmaṇa, too, of evil conduct, who eats every defiled mixture of food, casting off his holy Brāhmaṇahood, becomes such a one — a Śūdra.

13.131.47 By pure deeds, O goddess, even a Śūdra of cleansed soul, his senses conquered, is to be honoured like a twice-born man — so Brahmā himself declared.

13.131.48 Where an auspicious nature and conduct dwell even in a Śūdra, that purified man is to be known indeed as twice-born — such is my conviction.

13.131.49 Neither birth, nor the sacraments, nor learning, nor lineage are the causes of being twice-born; conduct alone is the cause.

13.131.50 Every Brāhmaṇa in this world is ordained such by his conduct; and one who stands firm in good conduct, O fair-hipped lady, attains to Brāhmaṇahood.

13.131.51 The Brahman-nature, O blessed one, is the same everywhere — such is my conviction; where the qualityless, stainless Brahman abides, there is the twice-born man.

13.131.52 These are the fruits of birth, O goddess, indicating one's portion and station, declared by the boon-granting Brahmā himself as he created creatures.

13.131.53 The Brāhmaṇa is a great field that moves about in the world on foot; the seed he sows there is the tillage that bears fruit in the world beyond.

13.131.54 He must ever be moderate in eating and ever cleave to the good path; one who wishes to flourish must not transgress, but conduct himself upon the way of Brahman.

13.131.55 As a householder in his home he must be a reciter of the sacred texts, ever given to study, living by giving and learning.

13.131.56 A Brāhmaṇa who is thus, standing ever upon the good path, having kindled the sacred fire and ever studying, becomes fit to be one with Brahman.

13.131.57 Having attained Brāhmaṇahood, it must be guarded by the self-restrained — guarded in marriage, in the acceptance of gifts, and in deeds, O lady of the bright smile.

13.131.58 All this I have told you — how a Śūdra may become twice-born, and how a Brāhmaṇa, fallen from dharma, comes to the state of a Śūdra.

13.132.1 Umā said: O Lord, ruler of all beings, worshipped by gods and demons, regarding the right and the wrong conduct of men, O god, resolve my doubt for me, O all-pervading one.

13.132.2 By deed, by thought, and by word — threefold — a man is ever bound by fetters and snares, or else is set free again.

13.132.3 By what character, O god, or by what kind of deed, by what conduct, what virtues, what words, do men attain heaven here?

13.132.4 Maheśvara said: O goddess, knower of the truth of dharma and artha, ever devoted to truth and to self-restraint — your question is for the welfare of all living beings; let it be heard, for it increases wisdom.

13.132.5 The good, devoted to truth and dharma, free of all craving, their doubts cut away, are bound neither by unrighteousness nor by righteousness.

13.132.6 Those who know the truth of dissolution and origination, the all-knowing, the even-eyed, free of passion — such men are released from all bonds.

13.132.7 Those who by deed, thought, or word injure nothing whatever, who cling to nothing — they are not bound by their actions.

13.132.8 Refraining from the destruction of life, virtuous, full of compassion, regarding the hated and the loved alike, self-controlled — they are freed from the bonds of action.

13.132.9 Compassionate toward all beings, trusted by every creature, who have renounced all violent conduct — those men go to heaven.

13.132.10 Free of all greed for another's wealth, ever shunning another's wife, enjoying only riches gained by righteous means — those men go to heaven.

13.132.11 Those who ever look upon other men's wives as upon a mother, a sister, or a daughter — those men go to heaven.

13.132.12 Those who refrain ever from theft, content with their own wealth, and who live upon their own portion — those men go to heaven.

13.132.13 Those who are devoted to their own wives, approaching them only in season, and who do not give themselves to vulgar pleasures — those men go to heaven.

13.132.14 Those whose eyes are ever veiled by virtue in the presence of other men's wives, restrained in their senses, devoted to good character — those men go to heaven.

13.132.15 This is the path made by the gods, always to be followed by men; and the path freed of the taints of passion is ever to be followed by the wise.

13.132.16 Endowed with charity, righteousness, and austerity, made of good character, purity, and compassion — this path, whether for one's livelihood or for the sake of dharma, must ever be followed by men who long to dwell in heaven; but that which is beyond it should not be followed.

13.132.17 Umā said: Those deeds of speech by which a man is bound, or again is set free — tell me of them, O god, lord of beings, O sinless one.

13.132.18 Maheśvara said: Those who, whether for their own sake or another's, or out of jest and laughter, never speak falsehood here — those men go to heaven.

13.132.19 Those who, whether for livelihood or for the sake of dharma, or even at the bidding of desire, do not utter untruth — those men go to heaven.

13.132.20 Those who address others with a smooth speech, free of harm, sweet, free of evil, and with words of welcome — those men go to heaven.

13.132.21 Those who never speak a bitter, harsh, or cruel word, the good who delight in the absence of slander — those men go to heaven.

13.132.22 Those who never speak a slanderous word that sets friends at variance, but utter true and friendly speech — those men go to heaven.

13.132.23 Those men who ever shun tale-bearing and treachery against others, even toward all beings and self-controlled — those men go to heaven.

13.132.24 Those who refrain from deceitful prattle, who shun what is hostile, and who ever speak gently — those men go to heaven.

13.132.25 Those who, even in anger, do not utter a speech that tears the heart, but speak conciliating words though provoked — those men go to heaven.

13.132.26 This dharma wrought of speech, O goddess, auspicious and ever endowed with the quality of truth, is always to be followed by men; falsehood must ever be shunned by the wise.

13.132.27 Umā said: By what deed of the mind a man is ever bound — tell me that, O greatly blessed one, god of gods, wielder of the Pināka bow.

13.132.28 Maheśvara said: Men ever joined with the dharma of the mind go to heaven, O blessed one; hear it as I recount it to you.

13.132.29 By a mind ill-directed a man becomes of even more ill-directed form, and is bound by it; hear, moreover, of the other side, O fair-faced one.

13.132.30 Those men who, beholding another's wealth left in a forest or a lonely place, do not lay hold of it even in thought — those men go to heaven.

13.132.31 Whatever goods of another are left unguarded in a village or a house, those who never covet them — those men go to heaven.

13.132.32 And those who, even toward another's wife given to passion and met in a secret place, do no harm even in thought — those men go to heaven.

13.132.33 Those men who ever regard foe and friend with an equal mind, and meeting them deal with both in friendship — those men go to heaven.

13.132.34 Learned, compassionate, pure, true to their pledges, fully content with their own wealth — those men go to heaven.

13.132.35 Those who bear no enmity, are free of agitation, ever devoted to a friendly mind, compassionate toward all beings — those men go to heaven.

13.132.36 Full of faith, compassionate, clean and dear to clean folk, ever knowing right from wrong — those men go to heaven.

13.132.37 And those who know the ripening of the gathered fruits of deeds both good and evil, O goddess — those men go to heaven.

13.132.38 Endowed with justice, endowed with virtue, ever devoted to the gods and the twice-born, having attained to equanimity — those men go to heaven.

13.132.39 By the fruits of their good deeds, O goddess, these have been proclaimed by me as travellers upon the road to heaven. What else do you wish to hear?

13.132.40 Umā said: A great doubt of mine concerns mortals, O Maheśvara; therefore it behoves you to expound it to me today with precision.

13.132.41 By what deed does a man obtain long life, O Lord? By what austerity, O Lord of the gods, does he obtain a great span of years?

13.132.42 By what deed does a man on earth become short-lived? Be pleased to declare the ripening of deeds, O blameless god.

13.132.43 Some men enjoy great wealth, while others enjoy but little; some are of low birth, and yet others are of noble birth.

13.132.44 Some men appear ill-favoured to look upon, as though carved of wood, while other men are pleasing at the very first sight.

13.132.45 Some appear dull of wit, some appear learned, and others again are of great wisdom, perceivers of knowledge and discernment.

13.132.46 Some men are seen to suffer little affliction and others great affliction, O god; it behoves you to explain this to me.

13.132.47 Maheśvara said: Come then, I shall declare to you, O goddess, the arising of the fruit of deeds, whereby all men in the world of mortals reap each his own reward.

13.132.48 The man who is a slayer of living things, cruel, ever with rod uplifted in hand, and ever ready to strike, who kills the hosts of creatures—

13.132.49 merciless toward all beings, ever a maker of terror, offering no refuge even to worms and ants, utterly without pity—

13.132.50 such a man, O goddess, comes to hell; but his opposite, the righteous-souled, is born handsome of form.

13.132.51 The cruel-souled goes to hell, the harmless goes to heaven; and in hell that man obtains fierce and grievous torment.

13.132.52 And if at length he rises up out of that hell and obtains human birth, even then he is born there short-lived.

13.132.53 Bound by his sinful deed, O goddess, the man who delighted in violence is born hateful to all beings and short of life.

13.132.54 But he who is of pure nature, abstaining from the slaying of living things, who has laid down the rod and bears no rod, who never does harm—

13.132.55 who neither causes slaughter nor slays, nor approves of one who slays, but is loving toward all beings, regarding others as he regards himself—

13.132.56 such an excellent man, O goddess, attains to godhood, and joyfully enjoys the happy delights that fall to his lot.

13.132.57 And if at some time he is reborn in the world of men, that man, born long-lived, flourishes there in happiness.

13.132.58 Thus the path of the long-lived, of those of good conduct and good deeds, lies through the renunciation of harm to living things—so it was declared by Brahmā.

13.133.1 Umā said: Of what character, of what conduct, and by what deeds do men attain to heaven, and by what kind of giving?

13.133.2 Maheśvara said: The giver, the honourer of brāhmaṇas, the bestower of foods to be chewed and eaten, of grain, of drink, and of garments upon the poor, the blind, the wretched, and the like—

13.133.3 who gives shelters, assembly-halls, wells, watering-stations, and lotus-pools, and all the daily necessaries, and abundantly whatever is desired—

13.133.4 seats, beds, vehicles, wealth, jewels, and houses, all kinds of crops, cattle, fields, and even women—

13.133.5 the man who gives these ever with a glad and trusting heart—such a one, O goddess, when he dies is born in the world of the gods.

13.133.6 Dwelling there a very long time, enjoying delights unsurpassed, rejoicing and sporting with the apsarases in Nandana and the other groves,

13.133.7 and fallen from that heaven, he is reborn among the worlds of men, O goddess, in a family of great wealth, well furnished with riches and grain.

13.133.8 There, endowed with every quality that the heart desires and filled with joy, the man becomes one of great enjoyment, of great treasure, and rich.

13.133.9 These beings of great enjoyment, O goddess, given to charity, were declared of old by Brahmā to be pleasing to the sight of all.

13.133.10 Other men, O goddess, are miserly in giving, and though they possess the means, when entreated by the twice-born they do not give, being foolish.

13.133.11 Seeing the poor, the blind, the wretched, beggars, and even guests entreating them, they turn away, possessed by greed of the palate.

13.133.12 Neither wealth nor garments nor enjoyments nor gold, neither cattle nor any dish of food do they ever give.

13.133.13 Those who are inactive in good, greedy, unbelieving, and devoid of charity—such men, O goddess, the foolish, go to hell.

13.133.14 And if in the course of time they come again to human birth, those of little understanding obtain birth in a family empty of wealth.

13.133.15 Beset by hunger and thirst, cast out from all enjoyments, hopeless of every pleasure, they live the meanest of lives.

13.133.16 Born in a family of meagre means, men content with meagre enjoyments—by this deed, O goddess, men become destitute of wealth.

13.133.17 Others, ever stiff with pride, vain, delighting in sin, the senseless who do not offer a seat to one who deserves a seat—

13.133.18 who, of little wit, do not yield the way to one who deserves the way, and who, of little wit, do not offer water for the feet to one who deserves it—

13.133.19 who do not honour with due rites those worthy of honour, and who, of little wit, do not offer the welcome-offering or water for rinsing the mouth—

13.133.20 who do not wish to honour as a teacher the teacher come in love, but are settled in greed driven by arrogance—

13.133.21 who slight those worthy of respect and despise their elders—such men, O goddess, all go to hell.

13.133.22 And if those men rise up at last from that hell, then after a long succession of years they obtain birth in a despised family.

13.133.23 In the families of the despised and senseless—dog-cookers, pulkasas, and the like—are born those who had slighted their teachers and elders.

13.133.24 He who is neither stiff with pride nor vain, a worshipper of gods and brāhmaṇas, honoured by the world, a maker of reverence, modest, sweet of speech,

13.133.25 who does what is pleasing to all the varṇas, ever intent on the welfare of all beings, free from malice, of pleasant countenance, gentle, ever uttering affectionate words,

13.133.26 who harms no being and greets all with welcome, and who waits upon them, honouring each with the courtesy he deserves,

13.133.27 yielding the way to one who deserves the way, honouring the teacher as a teacher, delighting to receive guests, and a worshipper of those who come—

13.133.28 such a man, O goddess, attains to heaven, and thereafter, gaining human birth, is born in a distinguished family.

13.133.29 There, possessed of ample enjoyments and furnished with every jewel, he becomes a giver to the worthy according to their deserts and devoted to the practice of dharma.

13.133.30 Esteemed by all beings and honoured by all the world, the man himself ever obtains the fruit of his own deeds.

13.133.31 Born of an exalted family and ever of exalted lineage—this is the law I have declared, the very law set forth by the Ordainer himself.

13.133.32 But he who is of cruel conduct, a terror to all creatures, who with his hands or his feet, or again with rope or rod,

13.133.33 with clods or posts or by other devices torments living beings, O lovely one—who, with a mind bent on cunning and cruelty, terrifies them,

13.133.34 and assails creatures, ever a maker of terror—such a one, of such character and conduct, comes to hell.

13.133.35 And if in the course of time he should come to human birth, he is born in a low family, sorely afflicted with many ailments.

13.133.36 Hated by the world, the lowest of men through the fruits wrought by his own deeds—this, O goddess, is to be understood among men and among kinsmen and relations.

13.133.37 Another, full of compassion, looks upon all beings with a friendly eye, like a father, free from enmity, with senses restrained;

13.133.38 he neither frightens beings nor does them harm, and with hands and feet well controlled he is trusted among all creatures.

13.133.39 Neither with rope nor with rod, nor with clods nor with weapon does he terrify beings—gentle in his deeds and given to compassion.

13.133.40 One of such character and conduct is born in heaven, and there in a divine mansion he dwells in joy, like a god.

13.133.41 And if, when his merit is spent, the mortal is reborn among men, he, born free from ailment and from calamity, flourishes in happiness.

13.133.42 A partaker of happiness, untoiling, and ever free from agitation is that man. This, O goddess, is the path of the good, where no affliction is found.

13.133.43 Umā said: These men are seen skilled in reasoning for and against, endowed with knowledge and discernment, wise and versed in affairs; while others, O god, are dull of wit, devoid of knowledge and discernment.

13.133.44 By the ripening of what deed does a man become wise? How does a man come to be of little wisdom, O three-eyed one? Cut away this doubt of mine, O best of all who know dharma.

13.133.45 And some men, O god, are seen blind from birth, others afflicted with disease, and others impotent; tell me the cause therein.

13.133.46 Maheśvara said: Those who day by day inquire of brāhmaṇas learned in the Vedas, of the perfected, and of those who know dharma, concerning what is right and wrong,

13.133.47 who shun the unwholesome deed and cleave to the wholesome, ever obtain heaven and happiness here in this world.

13.133.48 And if such a one comes to human birth, he is born there of keen intellect, and learning, attended by wisdom and blessedness, arises in him.

13.133.49 Those fools who cast a wicked eye upon the wives of others—by that wicked disposition they become blind from birth.

13.133.50 And those who with corrupted mind gaze upon a naked woman—such men, doers of evil deeds, become afflicted with disease here.

13.133.51 But those deluded, ill-conducted, very foolish men who delight in unnatural intercourse with men come to impotence.

13.133.52 Those who couple beasts, those who defile the bed of their teacher, and those of promiscuous intercourse—such men are born impotent.

13.133.53 Umā said: What deed is blameworthy, and what is blameless, and what is the higher good that a man obtains by doing it, O best of the gods?

13.133.54 Maheśvara said: He who, keeping ever to the better path, inquires of the twice-born, a seeker of dharma and a yearner after virtue, attains to heaven.

13.133.55 And if at some time, O goddess, he comes to human birth, he is born there of keen intellect, endowed with retentive memory, and wise.

13.133.56 This, O goddess, is the law of the good, to be deemed a maker of prosperity; for the welfare of men it has been declared by me to you.

13.133.57 Umā said: Other men, of scant understanding and haters of dharma, do not wish to wait attentively upon brāhmaṇas learned in the Vedas.

13.133.58 Some men hold to vows, devoted to faith and self-restraint; others are without vows, fallen from the rules, and like rākṣasas.

13.133.59 Some, again, are performers of sacrifice, and others offer no oblations; by the ripening of what deed do they become so here? Tell me.

13.133.60 Maheśvara said: From the tradition of the laws of the world, the bounds were established of old; through their authority men follow them, and so the firm in vows are seen.

13.133.61 Those who, fallen under the sway of delusion, call unrighteousness righteousness — men devoid of vows, who have cast off all bounds of conduct — they are declared to be brahma-rākṣasas.

13.133.62 And if, through the working of time, such ones are born here as human beings, they become the lowest of men, performing no oblations and uttering no sacred vaṣaṭ-calls.

13.133.63 Thus, O goddess, to resolve your doubt I have expounded to you in full this ocean of dharma — the good and the evil deeds of men.

13.134.1 Maheśvara said: O knower of high and low, O knower of dharma, O dweller in the penance-grove, O virtuous one of lovely brows and beautiful tresses, O daughter of the Himavat mountain —

13.134.2 O skillful one, endowed with calm and self-restraint, free of selfishness, walker in the path of dharma — I ask you, O fair-hipped one; being asked, tell me what I desire to know.

13.134.3 Sāvitrī is the chaste wife of Brahmā, Śacī the faithful wife of Kauśika (Indra), Dhūmorṇā of Yama the son of Mārtaṇḍa, and Ṛddhi of Vaiśravaṇa (Kubera);

13.134.4 Gaurī is the wife of Varuṇa, Suvarcalā of Sūrya, the faithful Rohiṇī of the Moon, and Svāhā of Agni the radiant;

13.134.5 and Aditi of Kaśyapa — all of these revere their husbands as gods, and all of them, O goddess, you have ever questioned and waited upon.

13.134.6 Therefore I question you, O knower of dharma, O speaker of dharma: I wish to hear the duty of women, expounded by you from the beginning.

13.134.7 You are my partner in dharma, equal to me in conduct, equal in vows, equal in essence and might, and fierce penance has been performed by you; therefore what is spoken by you in particular will attain the standing of authority.

13.134.8 And women in particular are ever the refuge of womankind: as a cow goes after a cow, O fair-hipped one, such is forever the way of things in the worlds.

13.134.9 You are half of my body, and from my half you came forth; you are the doer of the gods' work and the continuer of the world's lineage.

13.134.10 The whole of the eternal duty of women is well known to you, O auspicious one; therefore declare to me the duty of women fully and in detail.

13.134.11 Umā said: O Lord, O sovereign of all beings, O source of what has been, what shall be, and what is — by your power alone, O god, does this speech rise up within me.

13.134.12 But these rivers, O lord of gods, charged with the waters of all sacred fords, stand near and wait upon you for the sake of their cleansing touch.

13.134.13 Having taken counsel together with these, I shall declare it in due order; for he who, though powerful, speaks without egotism — he indeed is called a true man.

13.134.14 And a woman, O lord of beings, ever follows after a woman; moreover these foremost rivers will be honored by my doing so.

13.134.15 This holy Sarasvatī is the highest of rivers, first among all streams, a river that flows to the sea;

13.134.16 and the Vipāśā, the Vitastā, the Candrabhāgā, the Irāvatī, the Śatadru, the Devikā, the Sindhu, the Kauśikī, and the Gomatī as well;

13.134.17 and this divine river too, encompassed by all sacred fords, the goddess Gaṅgā who descended from heaven to earth, the foremost of all streams.

13.134.18 Having spoken thus, the consort of the God of gods, foremost of the upholders of dharma, then addressed all those rivers as if with a smile,

13.134.19 and the queen of the god, devoted to dharma, asked them of the duty of women — those foremost streams, Gaṅgā and the rest, who were skilled in the duty of women.

13.134.20 "This question concerning the duty of women has been put by the Lord; having taken counsel with you, I wish to answer it to Śaṃkara."

13.134.21 "For I see that perfect knowledge is to be attained by no single being's effort alone, on earth or in heaven, O ocean-going ones; therefore do I honor you."

13.134.22 Bhīṣma said: When all those most holy and auspicious rivers, foremost of streams, had thus been questioned, the divine river Gaṅgā, being charged with the answer, after honoring the goddess,

13.134.23 abounding in many insights, knowing the duty of women, of pure smile — that holy one, remover of sin, auspicious — addressed the goddess, daughter of the king of mountains;

13.134.24 endowed with intellect and modesty, accomplished in all branches of knowledge, rich in much wisdom, Gaṅgā spoke these words with a smile.

13.134.25 "Blessed are we, favored are we, O goddess devoted to dharma, that you, honored by the whole world, should honor mere rivers, O sinless one."

13.134.26 "He who, though powerful, questions others or shows them honor — such a one, surely of untainted heart, attains the name of a wise man."

13.134.27 "He who questions others — men endowed with knowledge and discernment, skilled in reasoning and refutation, fit to expound — he indeed attains the highest station."

13.134.28 "In one way the man rich in much wisdom speaks his word in the assembly; in quite another the egotist utters feeble speech."

13.134.29 "O you of divine knowledge, supreme in heaven, of divine merit, ever exalted — you alone, O goddess, are fit to instruct us in the duty of women."

13.134.30 Bhīṣma said: Then the goddess, propitiated by Gaṅgā with her many virtues — that fairest of the celestials — declared in full and without omission the whole duty of women.

13.134.31 "As the duty of women appears to me according to the ordinance, that I shall proclaim, that it may be made widely known just so."

13.134.32 "This duty of a woman is first laid upon her by her kinsmen at the wedding: in the presence of the sacred fire she becomes her husband's partner in dharma."

13.134.33 "Of good nature, gentle of speech, of good conduct, pleasant to behold, with mind fixed on none but her husband, fair of face — such a one is a woman walking in dharma."

13.134.34 "She becomes supreme in dharma, she becomes a partaker of dharma — that virtuous one who ever looks upon her husband as upon a god."

13.134.35 "She who renders service and attendance to him as to a god, with no other feeling, untroubled in mind, steadfast in her vows, pleasant to behold —"

13.134.36 "she who gazes upon her husband's face again and again as upon the face of her son, virtuous and disciplined in conduct — she is a woman walking in dharma."

13.134.37 "Having heard the auspicious duty of husband and wife, ordained as their shared dharma, she who is single-minded and fair of face toward her husband is a woman walking in dharma."

13.134.38 "The woman who, even when addressed with harsh words or looked upon with a cruel eye, keeps a serene face toward her husband — she is devoted to her lord."

13.134.39 "She who, save her husband, gazes not upon the moon, the sun, or a tree bearing a masculine name — that fair-hipped one is a woman walking in dharma."

13.134.40 "The woman who tends a husband poor, sick, wretched, or worn out by the road, as though he were her son — she is a partaker of dharma."

13.134.41 "The woman who is pure and capable, the woman who bears sons, who holds her husband dear and makes him her very life — she is a partaker of dharma."

13.134.42 "She who renders service and attendance ever with untroubled mind, of good cheer and modest bearing — she is a partaker of dharma."

13.134.43 "She whose longing is set not on pleasures, nor on enjoyments, nor on lordship, nor on comfort, but upon her husband alone — she is a partaker of dharma."

13.134.44 "Devoted ever to rising at dawn, intent upon the service of her elders, keeping her dwelling well swept and plastered with cow-dung,"

13.134.45 "ever intent upon the fire-rite, always offering flowers and oblations, and having set apart, together with her husband, food for the gods, guests, and dependents,"

13.134.46 "the woman who eats what remains, as is right and ordained, keeping her household ever content and well-nourished — she is joined with dharma."

13.134.47 "The woman endowed with virtue who gladdens the feet of her mother-in-law and father-in-law, and is ever devoted to mother and father — she is rich in penance."

13.134.48 "The woman who nourishes with food the brāhmaṇas, the weak and helpless, the wretched, the blind and the destitute — she partakes of the merit of a faithful wife."

13.134.49 "She who ever keeps a vow hard for the frail of nature to perform, her thoughts upon her husband and devoted to his welfare — she partakes of the merit of a faithful wife."

13.134.50 "This is merit, this is penance, and this is the eternal heaven — for the woman who holds her husband supreme, vowed to her husband, and auspicious."

13.134.51 "For the husband is the god of women, the husband their kinsman, the husband their refuge; there is no refuge equal to the husband, nor any deity like unto him."

13.134.52 "For a woman the favor of her husband and heaven itself may be of equal worth — or rather, I would not even desire heaven if you were displeased, O Maheśvara."

13.134.53 "Should a husband, whether poor or sick, ever in any wise command what ought not be done, or what is contrary to dharma, or even what would destroy life —"

13.134.54 "or if he be in distress, fallen into enemy hands, or even afflicted by a brāhmaṇa's curse — then, regarding the duties proper to times of calamity, that is to be done without hesitation."

13.134.55 "Thus, O god, at your bidding I have declared the duty of women; and the woman who is of such a disposition becomes a partaker of dharma."

13.134.56 Bhīṣma said: Thus addressed, the lord of gods, having honored the daughter of the mountain, dismissed the worlds together with all their attendants.

13.134.57 Then the hosts of beings and the rivers departed as they had come, and the gandharvas and apsarases too, bowing their heads to Bhava (Śiva).

13.135.1 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Having heard the duties in full and all the means of purification, Yudhiṣṭhira spoke once again to the son of Śaṃtanu.

13.135.2 "What is the one deity in the world? What too is the one supreme refuge? By praising whom, by worshipping whom, may men attain blessedness?"

13.135.3 "What dharma, of all dharmas, do you hold to be the highest? By murmuring what may a creature be freed from the bondage of birth and the round of existence?"

13.135.4 Bhīṣma said: The Lord of the universe, the God of gods, the infinite, the Supreme Person — praising him with his thousand names, a man ever vigilant,

13.135.5 and worshipping that same imperishable Person constantly with devotion, meditating, praising, bowing down, and offering sacrifice to him alone —

13.135.6 praising forever Viṣṇu, without beginning or end, the great Lord of all worlds, the overseer of the worlds — he passes beyond all sorrow.

13.135.7 He who is devoted to the brahman, who knows all dharmas, the increaser of the renown of the worlds, the Lord of the worlds, the Great Being, the origin of the becoming of all beings —

13.135.8 this I hold to be the highest of all dharmas — that a man should ever worship with hymns, in devotion, the lotus-eyed one.

13.135.9 He who is the supreme great splendor, who is the supreme great penance, who is the supreme great brahman, who is the supreme refuge;

13.135.10 who is the purifier of things pure and the auspiciousness of things auspicious, the deity of deities, and the imperishable father of all beings;

13.135.11 from whom all beings come into being at the dawn of the first age, and into whom they pass to their dissolution again at the ending of the age —

13.135.12 hear from me, O lord of the earth, the thousand names of that Viṣṇu, the foremost of the worlds, the Lord of the universe — names that drive away sin and fear.

13.135.13 Those descriptive names of the great-souled one that are renowned and have been sung by the seers — those I shall declare for your welfare.

13.135.14 The Universe; Viṣṇu; the Vaṣaṭ-utterance; Lord of what has been, shall be, and now is; Maker of beings; Sustainer of beings; pure Being; the Self of beings; the Nurturer of beings;

13.135.15 the Purified Self, and the Supreme Self; the highest goal of the liberated; the Imperishable; the Person; the Witness; the Knower of the field; and the Indestructible;

13.135.16 Yoga; the Leader of those who know yoga; the Lord of primal matter and spirit; he whose body is the Man-Lion; the Glorious; Keśava; the Supreme Person;

13.135.17 the All; Śarva; the Auspicious; the Steadfast Pillar; the Origin of beings; the imperishable Treasure; the Source; the Bringer-into-being; the Sustainer; the Wellspring; the Lord; the Sovereign;

13.135.18 the Self-existent; Śambhu; the Sun; the Lotus-eyed; the Mighty-voiced; he without beginning or end; the Upholder; the Ordainer; the Highest of supports;

13.135.19 the Immeasurable; Hṛṣīkeśa, lord of the senses; the Lotus-naveled; Lord of the immortals; the All-maker; Manu; Tvaṣṭṛ the shaper; the Most Massive; the Ancient; the Fixed;

13.135.20 the Ungraspable; the Eternal; Kṛṣṇa; the Red-eyed; the Destroyer; the Abundant; he whose abode is the three quarters; the Pure; the supreme Auspiciousness.

13.135.21 He is Īśāna, the supreme ruler; Prāṇada, giver of life; Prāṇa, the breath of life; Jyeṣṭha, the eldest; Śreṣṭha, the most excellent; Prajāpati, lord of creatures; Hiraṇyagarbha, the golden womb; Bhūgarbha, in whose womb the earth abides; Mādhava, lord of fortune; and Madhusūdana, slayer of Madhu.

13.135.22 He is Īśvara, the lord; Vikramī, the valiant; Dhanvī, the bearer of the bow; Medhāvī, the wise; Vikrama, valor itself; Krama, the strider; Anuttama, than whom none is higher; Durādharṣa, unassailable; Kṛtajña, knower of all that is done; Kṛti, the doer of deeds; and Ātmavān, master of himself.

13.135.23 He is Sureśa, lord of the gods; Śaraṇa, the refuge; Śarma, supreme bliss; Viśvaretas, the seed of the universe; Prajābhava, the source of all beings; Aha, the day; Saṃvatsara, the year; Vyāla, the elusive serpent; Pratyaya, the ground of certainty; and Sarvadarśana, the all-seeing.

13.135.24 He is Aja, the unborn; Sarveśvara, lord of all; Siddha, the perfected; Siddhi, attainment itself; Sarvādi, the beginning of all; Acyuta, the unfallen; Vṛṣākapi, the boar of righteousness; Ameyātmā, of immeasurable being; and Sarvayogaviniḥsṛta, who issues forth from all union.

13.135.25 He is Vasu, the abode of all; Vasumanas, of generous mind; Satya, the truth; Samātmā, even-souled; Saṃmita, well-measured; Sama, the impartial; Amogha, whose deeds are never in vain; Puṇḍarīkākṣa, the lotus-eyed; Vṛṣakarmā, whose deeds are righteous; and Vṛṣākṛti, the very form of dharma.

13.135.26 He is Rudra, the terrible; Bahuśiras, the many-headed; Babhru, the upholder; Viśvayoni, the womb of the universe; Śuciśravas, of pure renown; Amṛta, the immortal; Śāśvata, the everlasting; Sthāṇu, the firm and unmoving; Varāroha, the supreme ascent; and Mahātapas, of mighty austerity.

13.135.27 He is Sarvaga, the all-pervading; Sarvavid, the all-knowing; Bhānu, the radiant; Viṣvaksena, before whose marshalled hosts the foe scatters; Janārdana, who afflicts the wicked; Veda, the sacred knowledge; Vedavid, the knower of the Vedas; Avyaṅga, the flawless; Vedāṅga, whose limbs are the Vedas; Vedavit, the knower of the Veda; and Kavi, the seer-poet.

13.135.28 He is Lokādhyakṣa, overseer of the worlds; Surādhyakṣa, overseer of the gods; Dharmādhyakṣa, overseer of dharma; Kṛtākṛta, both the effect and its cause; Caturātmā, of fourfold self; Caturvyūha, of fourfold manifestation; Caturdaṃṣṭra, the four-tusked; and Caturbhuja, the four-armed.

13.135.29 He is Bhrājiṣṇu, the ever-shining; Bhojana, the object of enjoyment; Bhoktā, the enjoyer; Sahiṣṇu, the all-enduring; Jagadādija, born at the beginning of the world; Anagha, the sinless; Vijaya, victory itself; Jetā, the conqueror; Viśvayoni, the womb of the universe; and Punarvasu, who dwells again and again within all.

13.135.30 He is Upendra, the younger of Indra; Vāmana, the dwarf; Prāṃśu, the towering; Amogha, the unerring; Śuci, the pure; Ūrjita, of mighty strength; Atīndra, who surpasses Indra; Saṃgraha, the gatherer of all; Sarga, creation itself; Dhṛtātmā, the self-sustained; Niyama, the appointing power; and Yama, the restrainer.

13.135.31 He is Vedya, the one to be known; Vaidya, the wise physician; Sadāyogī, ever united in yoga; Vīrahā, slayer of mighty foes; Mādhava, lord of knowledge; Madhu, the sweetness of nectar; Atīndriya, beyond the senses; Mahāmāya, of great wondrous power; Mahotsāha, of mighty energy; and Mahābala, of great strength.

13.135.32 He is Mahābuddhi, of great intelligence; Mahāvīrya, of great virility; Mahāśakti, of great power; Mahādyuti, of great splendor; Anirdeśyavapus, whose form cannot be defined; Śrīmān, the glorious; Ameyātmā, of immeasurable being; and Mahādridhṛk, who upheld the great mountain.

13.135.33 He is Maheṣvāsa, the mighty archer; Mahībhartā, the upholder of the earth; Śrīnivāsa, the abode of Śrī; Satāṃ gati, the refuge of the good; Aniruddha, the unobstructed; Surānanda, the joy of the gods; Govinda, the keeper of cows and finder of the earth; and Govidāṃ pati, lord of those who know the words of wisdom.

13.135.34 He is Marīci, the ray of light; Damana, the subduer; Haṃsa, the swan of the soul; Suparṇa, the fair-winged; Bhujagottama, best of serpents; Hiraṇyanābha, the golden-naveled; Sutapas, of perfect austerity; Padmanābha, the lotus-naveled; and Prajāpati, lord of creatures.

13.135.35 He is Amṛtyu, the deathless; Sarvadṛk, the all-seeing; Siṃha, the lion; Saṃdhātā, who joins and ordains; Saṃdhimān, who abides by his bonds; Sthira, the steadfast; Aja, the unborn; Durmarṣaṇa, who cannot be borne by foes; Śāstā, the chastiser and teacher; Viśrutātmā, of famed renown; and Surārihā, slayer of the enemies of the gods.

13.135.36 He is Guru, the teacher; Gurutama, the highest of teachers; Dhāma, the supreme abode; Satya, the true; Satyaparākrama, of true and tireless valor; Nimiṣa, who closes his eyes in cosmic sleep; Animiṣa, the ever-wakeful; Sragvī, garlanded; Vācaspati, lord of speech; and Udāradhī, of noble intellect.

13.135.37 He is Agraṇī, the foremost leader; Grāmaṇī, the guide of the multitude; Śrīmān, the glorious; Nyāya, justice itself; Netā, the leader; Samīraṇa, the moving wind; Sahasramūrdhā, the thousand-headed; Viśvātmā, the soul of the universe; Sahasrākṣa, the thousand-eyed; and Sahasrapāt, the thousand-footed.

13.135.38 He is Āvartana, who turns the wheel of being; Nivṛttātmā, the soul turned away from the world; Saṃvṛta, the enveloped and hidden; Saṃpramardana, the great crusher of foes; Ahassaṃvartaka, who sets the days revolving; Vahni, the bearer of oblations as fire; Anila, the wind; and Dharaṇīdhara, the upholder of the earth.

13.135.39 He is Suprasāda, the gracious; Prasannātmā, of serene soul; Viśvadhṛk, who upholds the universe; Viśvabhuk, who enjoys all worlds; Vibhu, the omnipresent; Satkartā, the honorer of the good; Satkṛta, who is honored; Sādhu, the righteous; Jahnu, who withdraws all beings; Nārāyaṇa, who dwells upon the waters; and Nara, the eternal Man.

13.135.40 He is Asaṃkhyeya, the innumerable; Aprameyātmā, of immeasurable being; Viśiṣṭa, the most excellent; Śiṣṭakṛt, who lays down the law for the righteous; Śuci, the pure; Siddhārtha, whose every purpose is fulfilled; Siddhasaṃkalpa, whose resolves come to pass; Siddhida, the giver of perfection; and Siddhisādhana, the means to all attainment.

13.135.41 He is Vṛṣāhī, whose days are righteousness; Vṛṣabha, the bull of dharma; Viṣṇu, the all-pervading; Vṛṣaparvā, the ladder of righteousness; Vṛṣodara, from whose belly all beings spring; Vardhana, who makes all flourish; Vardhamāna, the ever-increasing; Vivikta, the unmingled and aloof; and Śrutisāgara, the ocean of sacred scripture.

13.135.42 He is Subhuja, the fair-armed; Durdhara, hard to hold or bear; Vāgmī, the eloquent; Mahendra, the great lord; Vasuda, the giver of wealth; Vasu, wealth itself; Naikarūpa, of manifold forms; Bṛhadrūpa, of vast form; Śipiviṣṭa, who dwells within the rays; and Prakāśana, the illuminator.

13.135.43 He is Ojastejodyutidhara, who holds vital force, splendor, and brilliance; Prakāśātmā, of luminous self; Pratāpana, who blazes forth heat; Ṛddha, the abounding; Spaṣṭākṣara, made manifest in the syllable Oṃ; Mantra, the sacred utterance; Candrāṃśu, ray of the moon; and Bhāskaradyuti, with the radiance of the sun.

13.135.44 He is Amṛtāṃśūdbhava, from whom the nectar-rayed moon arose; Bhānu, the shining; Śaśabindu, the hare-marked moon; Sureśvara, lord of the gods; Auṣadha, the healing herb; Jagataḥsetu, the bridge across the world; and Satyadharmaparākrama, whose valor is truth and righteousness.

13.135.45 He is Bhūtabhavyabhavannātha, lord of past, future, and present; Pavana, the wind; Pāvana, the purifier; Anila, the breath that needs no support; Kāmahā, destroyer of desire; Kāmakṛt, fulfiller of desire; Kānta, the beautiful and beloved; Kāma, desire itself; Kāmaprada, the granter of wishes; and Prabhu, the lord.

13.135.46 He is Yugādikṛt, the maker of the ages' beginning; Yugāvarta, who turns the cycle of yugas; Naikamāya, of manifold illusion; Mahāśana, the great devourer; Adṛśya, the invisible; Vyaktarūpa, of manifest form; Sahasrajit, conqueror of thousands; and Anantajit, the ever-victorious.

13.135.47 He is Iṣṭa, the beloved; Viśiṣṭa, the most excellent; Śiṣṭeṣṭa, dear to the righteous; Śikhaṇḍī, the crested one; Nahuṣa, who binds all beings; Vṛṣa, the embodiment of dharma; Krodhahā, slayer of wrath; Krodhakṛt, who rouses wrath against the wicked; Kartā, the doer; Viśvabāhu, of universal arms; and Mahīdhara, the upholder of the earth.

13.135.48 He is Acyuta, the unfallen; Prathita, the renowned; Prāṇa, the breath of life; Prāṇada, giver of life; Vāsavānuja, the younger brother of Indra; Apāṃ nidhi, the treasure-house of the waters; Adhiṣṭhāna, the foundation of all; Apramatta, the ever-vigilant; and Pratiṣṭhita, the self-established.

13.135.49 He is Skanda, who flows forth as nectar; Skandadhara, upholder of the path of dharma; Dhurya, who bears the yoke of creation; Varada, the granter of boons; Vāyuvāhana, who drives the winds; Vāsudeva, the indwelling and all-pervading; Bṛhadbhānu, of vast radiance; Ādideva, the primeval god; and Puraṃdara, the breaker of strongholds.

13.135.50 He is Aśoka, the sorrowless; Tāraṇa, who ferries beings across; Tāra, the deliverer; Śūra, the hero; Śauri, born in the line of Śūra; Janeśvara, lord of men; Anukūla, the ever-favorable; Śatāvarta, of a hundred manifestations; Padmī, the lotus-holder; and Padmanibhekṣaṇa, whose eyes resemble lotuses.

13.135.51 He is Padmanābha, the lotus-naveled; Aravindākṣa, the lotus-eyed; Padmagarbha, who is contemplated in the lotus of the heart; Śarīrabhṛt, the sustainer of bodies; Maharddhi, of great prosperity; Ṛddha, the abounding; Vṛddhātmā, the ancient soul; Mahākṣa, the great-eyed; and Garuḍadhvaja, who bears Garuḍa on his banner.

13.135.52 He is Atula, the incomparable; Śarabha, who dwells within the body; Bhīma, the terrible; Samayajña, knower of the proper occasions; Havis, the oblation; Hari, the tawny and the remover of sin; Sarvalakṣaṇalakṣaṇya, known by every auspicious mark; Lakṣmīvān, the consort of Lakṣmī; and Samitiṃjaya, the victor in battle.

13.135.53 He is Vikṣara, the imperishable; Rohita, the assumer of forms like the fish; Mārga, the path; Hetu, the cause; Dāmodara, bound at the waist with a cord; Saha, the all-enduring; Mahīdhara, upholder of the earth; Mahābhāga, of great fortune; Vegavān, the swift; and Amitāśana, of boundless appetite.

13.135.54 He is Udbhava, the source of all; Kṣobhaṇa, who stirred creation into being; Deva, the resplendent; Śrīgarbha, in whose womb all glory abides; Parameśvara, the supreme lord; Karaṇa, the instrument; Kāraṇa, the cause; Kartā, the doer; Vikartā, the maker of manifold worlds; Gahana, the unfathomable; and Guha, the hidden one.

13.135.55 He is Vyavasāya, resolute knowledge; Vyavasthāna, the ordainer of order; Saṃsthāna, the final dissolution; Sthānada, the giver of abodes; Dhruva, the immovable; Pararddhi, of supreme prosperity; Parama, the highest; Spaṣṭa, the manifest; Tuṣṭa, the contented; Puṣṭa, the full; and Śubhekṣaṇa, of auspicious gaze.

13.135.56 He is Rāma, the delightful; Virāma, the end and cessation; Virāṭa, the desireless; Mārga, the path; Neya, who is to be guided to by wisdom; Naya, the guide; Anaya, who needs no guide; Vīra, the hero; Śaktimatāṃ śreṣṭha, foremost of the powerful; Dharma, righteousness; Dharmavid uttama, the highest knower of dharma.

13.135.57 He is Vaikuṇṭha, who unites the scattered worlds; Puruṣa, the cosmic Person; Prāṇa, the breath of life; Prāṇada, the giver of life; Praṇava, the sacred Oṃ; Pṛthu, the vast and expanded; Hiraṇyagarbha, the golden womb; Śatrughna, slayer of foes; Vyāpta, the all-pervading; Vāyu, the wind; and Adhokṣaja, who never declines from his own nature.

13.135.58 He is Ṛtu, the season; Sudarśana, of fair vision; Kāla, time itself; Parameṣṭhī, established on high; Parigraha, the receiver and embracer of all; Ugra, the formidable; Saṃvatsara, the year; Dakṣa, the able and swift; Viśrāma, the place of rest; and Viśvadakṣiṇa, skillful in all things and most liberal.

13.135.59 He is Vistāra, the expanse in which all worlds abide; Sthāvarasthāṇu, the firm and unmoving ground; Pramāṇa, the measure and proof of all; Bīja avyaya, the imperishable seed; Artha, the goal of all desire; Anartha, who has no want of his own; Mahākośa, the great treasury; Mahābhoga, of great enjoyment; and Mahādhana, of great wealth.

13.135.60 He is Anirviṇṇa, the never-despondent; Sthaviṣṭha, the most massive; Bhū, the abode of being; Dharmayūpa, the sacrificial post of righteousness; Mahāmakha, the great sacrifice; Nakṣatranemi, the hub of the stars; Nakṣatrī, the lord of constellations; Kṣama, the all-capable; Kṣāma, who abides when all is dissolved; and Samīhana, who wills the good of all.

13.135.61 He is Yajña, the sacrifice; Ijya, the one to be worshipped; Mahejya, supremely worshipped; Kratu, the rite; Satra, the prolonged offering; Satāṃ gati, the refuge of the good; Sarvadarśī, the all-seeing; Vimuktātmā, the ever-liberated soul; Sarvajña, the omniscient; and Jñānam uttamam, the highest knowledge.

13.135.62 He is Suvrata, of holy vows; Sumukha, of fair countenance; Sūkṣma, the subtle; Sughoṣa, of auspicious sound; Sukhada, the giver of joy; Suhṛt, the true friend; Manohara, the captivator of the mind; Jitakrodha, conqueror of wrath; Vīrabāhu, of heroic arms; and Vidāraṇa, the render of the wicked.

13.135.63 He is Svāpana, who casts beings into the sleep of ignorance; Svavaśa, subject to none but himself; Vyāpī, the all-pervading; Naikātmā, of manifold selves; Naikakarmakṛt, the doer of countless deeds; Vatsara, the abode of all; Vatsala, the affectionate; Vatsī, the loving father; Ratnagarbha, in whose womb lie all jewels; and Dhaneśvara, lord of wealth.

13.135.64 He is Dharmagub, the protector of dharma; Dharmakṛt, the doer of righteousness; Dharmī, the upholder of dharma; Sat, the existent; Asat, the non-existent; Kṣara, the perishable; Akṣara, the imperishable; Avijñātā, who is beyond all knowing; Sahasrāṃśu, the thousand-rayed; Vidhātā, the ordainer; and Kṛtalakṣaṇa, who has fixed the marks of all.

13.135.65 He is Gabhastinemi, the hub at the center of the rays; Sattvastha, abiding in the heart of all beings; Siṃha, the lion; Bhūtamaheśvara, the great lord of beings; Ādideva, the primeval god; Mahādeva, the great god; Deveśa, lord of the gods; Devabhṛt, the upholder of the gods; and Guru, the teacher.

13.135.66 He is Uttara, who lifts beings out of the ocean of being; Gopati, lord of the earth and of cows; Goptā, the protector; Jñānagamya, to be reached by wisdom; Purātana, the ancient; Śarīrabhūtabhṛt, who upholds the elements of the body; Bhoktā, the enjoyer; Kapīndra, lord of monkeys as Rāma; and Bhūridakṣiṇa, of abundant sacrificial gifts.

13.135.67 He is Somapa, the drinker of soma; Amṛtapa, the drinker of nectar; Soma, the moon that nourishes the herbs; Purujit, conqueror of many; Purusattama, supreme among beings; Vinaya, who humbles the proud; Jaya, victory; Satyasaṃdha, true to his word; Dāśārha, worthy of all offerings; and Sātvatāṃ pati, lord of the Sātvatas.

13.135.68 He is Jīva, the living soul; Vinayitā, the bestower of discipline; Sākṣī, the witness; Mukunda, the giver of liberation; Amitavikrama, of measureless valor; Ambhonidhi, the treasure-house of waters; Anantātmā, of infinite being; Mahodadhiśaya, who reposes upon the great ocean; and Antaka, the maker of the end.

13.135.69 He is Aja, the unborn; Mahārha, supremely worthy of worship; Svābhāvya, established in his own nature; Jitāmitra, conqueror of foes; Pramodana, the giver of joy; Ānanda, bliss itself; Nandana, the delighter; Nanda, the abounding in joy; Satyadharmā, whose dharma is truth; and Trivikrama, who strode across the three worlds.

13.135.70 He is Maharṣi Kapilācārya, the great seer who taught as Kapila; Kṛtajña, knower of all that is wrought; Medinīpati, lord of the earth; Tripada, the three-stepped; Tridaśādhyakṣa, overseer of the thirty gods; Mahāśṛṅga, the great-horned who saved the Vedas; and Kṛtāntakṛt, the maker of all ends.

13.135.71 He is Mahāvarāha, the great boar; Govinda, the finder of the earth; Suṣeṇa, of goodly hosts; Kanakāṅgadī, adorned with golden armlets; Guhya, the secret one; Gabhīra, the profound; Gahana, the unfathomable; Gupta, the hidden; and Cakragadādhara, the bearer of discus and mace.

13.135.72 He is Vedhā, the creator; Svāṅga, who is his own instrument; Ajita, the unconquered; Kṛṣṇa, the dark and all-attracting; Dṛḍha, the firm; Saṃkarṣaṇa, who draws all beings into himself; Acyuta, the unfallen; Varuṇa, who gathers his rays at evening; Varuṇa, son of Varuṇa as Vasiṣṭha; Vṛkṣa, the tree that stands unshaken; Puṣkarākṣa, the lotus-eyed; and Mahāmanas, of vast mind.

13.135.73 He is Bhagavān, the blessed lord of the six excellences; Bhagahā, who withdraws those powers at dissolution; Nandī, ever joyful; Vanamālī, wearer of the forest garland; Halāyudha, who wields the plow as Balarāma; Āditya, the son of Aditi; Jyotirāditya, the radiance within the orb of the sun; Sahiṣṇu, the all-enduring; and Gatisattama, the supreme refuge.

13.135.74 He is Sudhanvā, of the goodly bow; Khaṇḍaparaśu, who bore the battle-axe as Rāma Jāmadagnya; Dāruṇa, the merciless to the wicked; Draviṇaprada, the giver of riches; Divaḥspṛk, who touches the heavens; Sarvadṛk, the all-seeing; Vyāsa, the arranger of the Vedas; Vācaspati, lord of speech; and Ayonija, who is born of no womb.

13.135.75 He is Trisāmā, hymned by the three Sāmans; Sāmaga, the singer of the Sāman; Sāma, the chant itself; Nirvāṇa, supreme extinction in bliss; Bheṣaja, the medicine; Bhiṣak, the physician; Saṃnyāsakṛt, who ordained renunciation; Śama, tranquility; Śānta, the peaceful; Niṣṭhā, the final ground; Śānti, peace itself; and Parāyaṇa, the supreme goal.

13.135.76 He is Śubhāṅga, of beautiful form; Śāntida, the giver of peace; Sraṣṭā, the creator; Kumuda, who delights in the earth; Kuvaleśaya, who reposes upon the waters; Gohita, the well-doer of the earth and cattle; Gopati, lord of the earth; Goptā, the protector; Vṛṣabhākṣa, whose eyes rain down all desires; and Vṛṣapriya, the lover of righteousness.

13.135.77 He is Anivartī, who never turns back from righteousness; Nivṛttātmā, the soul withdrawn from the world; Saṃkṣeptā, who draws the vast worlds together; Kṣemakṛt, the bestower of welfare; Śiva, the auspicious; Śrīvatsavakṣas, who bears the Śrīvatsa mark upon his breast; Śrīvāsa, the dwelling-place of Śrī; Śrīpati, lord of Śrī; and Śrīmatāṃ vara, foremost of the glorious.

13.135.78 He is Śrīda, the giver of fortune; Śrīśa, lord of Śrī; Śrīnivāsa, the abode of Śrī; Śrīnidhi, the treasury of glory; Śrīvibhāvana, the dispenser of fortune to all; Śrīdhara, who bears Śrī upon his breast; Śrīkara, the maker of prosperity; Śreyas, the highest good; Śrīmān, the glorious; and Lokatrayāśraya, the refuge of the three worlds.

13.135.79 He is Svakṣa, of beautiful eyes; Svaṅga, of fair limbs; Śatānanda, of a hundred joys; Nandī, supreme bliss; Jyotirgaṇeśvara, lord of the host of luminaries; Vijitātmā, who has conquered the self; Vidheyātmā, ever at his own command; Satkīrti, of true renown; and Chinnasaṃśaya, in whom all doubt is severed.

13.135.80 He is Udīrṇa, who transcends all beings; Sarvataścakṣus, whose eyes are turned in every direction; Anīśa, over whom there is no lord; Śāśvata, the everlasting; Sthira, the steadfast; Bhūśaya, who reposes upon the earth and the waters; Bhūṣaṇa, the ornament of the worlds; Bhūti, pure existence and prosperity; Viśoka, the sorrowless; and Śokanāśana, the destroyer of grief.

13.135.81 He is Arciṣmān, the effulgent; Arcita, the worshipped; Kumbha, the vessel in which all abides; Viśuddhātmā, of utterly pure self; Viśodhana, the purifier; Aniruddha, the unobstructed; Apratiratha, who has no equal foe; Pradyumna, of surpassing wealth; and Amitavikrama, of measureless valor.

13.135.82 He is Kālaneminihā, slayer of the demon Kālanemi; Vīra, the hero; Śūra, the valiant; Śauri, born in the line of Śūra; Janeśvara, lord of men; Trilokātmā, the soul of the three worlds; Trilokeśa, lord of the three worlds; Keśava, of beautiful locks and lord of Brahmā and Śiva; Keśihā, slayer of the demon Keśin; and Hari, the remover of sin.

13.135.83 He is Kāmadeva, the god of love and the object of all desire; Kāmapāla, the guardian of desires fulfilled; Kāmī, in whom all wishes are complete; Kānta, the beautiful; Kṛtāgama, the author of the sacred scriptures; Anirdeśyavapus, of indefinable form; Viṣṇu, the all-pervading; Vīra, the hero; Ananta, the infinite; and Dhanaṃjaya, the winner of wealth.

13.135.84 He is Brahmaṇya, the well-wisher of Brahman and the brāhmaṇas; Brahmakṛt, the maker of sacred austerity; Brahmā, the creator; Brahmā, the absolute itself; Brahmavivardhana, who increases all that is holy; Brahmavid, the knower of Brahman; Brāhmaṇa, the proclaimer of the Veda; Brahmī, who possesses all sacred power; Brahmajña, the knower of Brahman; and Brāhmaṇapriya, dear to the brāhmaṇas.

13.135.85 He is Mahākrama, of mighty stride; Mahākarmā, of great deeds; Mahātejas, of great splendor; Mahoraga, the great serpent; Mahākratu, the great sacrifice; Mahāyajvā, the great performer of rites; Mahāyajña, the great offering; and Mahāhavis, the great oblation.

13.135.86 He is Stavya, the one to be praised; Stavapriya, who loves the hymns of praise; Stotra, the hymn itself; Stuti, the praise; Stotā, the praiser; Raṇapriya, who delights in battle; Pūrṇa, the all-complete; Pūrayitā, the fulfiller; Puṇya, the holy; Puṇyakīrti, of sacred renown; and Anāmaya, free from all affliction.

13.135.87 He is Manojava, swift as thought; Tīrthakara, the maker of sacred fords of knowledge; Vasuretas, whose essence is golden; Vasuprada, the giver of wealth; again Vasuprada, the bestower of riches; Vāsudeva, the indwelling and all-pervading; Vasu, the abode of all; Vasumanas, of generous mind; and Havis, the oblation.

13.135.88 He is Sadgati, the refuge of the good; Satkṛti, of righteous deeds; Sattā, pure existence; Sadbhūti, the abundance of being; Satparāyaṇa, the supreme goal of the virtuous; Śūrasena, of valiant armies; Yaduśreṣṭha, foremost of the Yadus; Sannivāsa, the abode of the good; and Suyāmuna, attended by the dwellers along the Yamunā.

13.135.89 He is Bhūtāvāsa, the dwelling-place of all beings; Vāsudeva, who veils the worlds with his māyā; Sarvāsunilaya, the resting-place of all life-breaths; Anala, the fire and the never-sufficient; Darpahā, destroyer of the pride of the wicked; Darpada, who grants just pride to the righteous; Dṛpta, the ever-content; Durdhara, the hard to hold; and Aparājita, the unvanquished.

13.135.90 He is Viśvamūrti, whose form is the universe; Mahāmūrti, of vast form; Dīptamūrti, of blazing form; Amūrtimān, the formless; Anekamūrti, of countless forms; Avyakta, the unmanifest; Śatamūrti, of a hundred forms; and Śatānana, the hundred-faced.

13.135.91 He is Eka, the one; Naika, the manifold; Sava, the sacrifice of soma; Ka, who is bliss; Kim, the one worthy to be inquired after; Yat, the self-existent; Tat, the That of which all is; Padam anuttamam, the supreme abode beyond which there is none; Lokabandhu, the kinsman of all the worlds; Lokanātha, lord of the worlds; Mādhava, lord of fortune; and Bhaktavatsala, tender toward his devotees.

13.135.92 He is Suvarṇavarṇa, of golden hue; Hemāṅga, of golden body; Varāṅga, of beautiful limbs; Candanāṅgadī, adorned with sandal-scented armlets; Vīrahā, slayer of heroes among the foe; Viṣama, who has no equal; Śūnya, the void devoid of all attributes; Ghṛtāśīs, whose blessings never fail; Acala, the immovable; and Cala, the ever-moving.

13.135.93 He is Amānī, free from all conceit; Mānada, who bestows honor and humbles the proud; Mānya, the venerable; Lokasvāmī, lord of the worlds; Trilokadhṛk, upholder of the three worlds; Sumedhā, of fine intelligence; Medhaja, born of sacrifice; Dhanya, the blessed; Satyamedhā, of unfailing wisdom; and Dharādhara, the bearer of the earth.

13.135.94 He is Tejovṛṣa, who showers down splendor; Dyutidhara, the bearer of brilliance; Sarvaśastrabhṛtāṃ vara, foremost of all who bear arms; Pragraha, the receiver of his devotees' offerings; Nigraha, who holds all in his grasp; Avyagra, the undistracted; Naikaśṛṅga, of manifold horns; and Gadāgraja, the elder brother of Gada, made manifest by the sacred syllable.

13.135.95 He is Caturmūrti, of fourfold form; Caturbāhu, the four-armed; Caturvyūha, of fourfold manifestation; Caturgati, the fourfold goal of beings; Caturātmā, of fourfold self; Caturbhāva, the source of the four orders of life; Caturvedavid, knower of the four Vedas; and Ekapāt, the single-footed who stands above all with the rest of his being.

13.135.96 He is Samāvarta, the skilled turner of the wheel of being; Nivṛttātmā, the soul withdrawn from the world; Durjaya, hard to conquer; Duratikrama, hard to transgress; Durlabha, hard to attain; Durgama, hard to approach; Durgā, the impassable; Durāvāsa, hard for the yogins to enshrine within; and Durārihā, slayer of dangerous foes.

13.135.97 He is Śubhāṅga, of auspicious form; Lokasāraṅga, who draws forth the essence of the worlds; Sutantu, of beautiful weave who spread out the universe; Tantuvardhana, who extends or withdraws that weave; Indrakarmā, whose deeds are like Indra's; Mahākarmā, of mighty deeds; Kṛtakarmā, whose work is accomplished; and Kṛtāgama, the author of the sacred lore.

13.135.98 He is Udbhava, the supreme source; Sundara, the beautiful; Sunda, of tender compassion; Ratnanābha, of jewel-like navel; Sulocana, of lovely eyes; Arka, the worshipful sun; Vājasana, the giver of food and sustenance; Śṛṅgī, the horned one who became the fish; Jayanta, the all-victorious; Sarvavid, the all-knowing; and Jayī, the ever-conquering.

13.135.99 He is Suvarṇabindu, of golden-hued limbs; Akṣobhya, the unshakable; Sarvavāgīśvareśvara, lord of all lords of speech; Mahāhrada, the great deep wherein the yogins find delight; Mahāgarta, the great chasm and ground of all; Mahābhūta, the great being beyond all elements; and Mahānidhi, the great treasure in which the worlds repose.

13.135.100 He is Kumuda, who gladdens the earth; Kuṃdara, who cleaves the earth as the boar; Kunda, fair as the jasmine; Parjanya, the rain-cloud that quenches all thirst; Pavana, the purifying wind; Anila, the breath that needs no prompting; Amṛtāṃśa, whose portion is nectar; Amṛtavapus, of immortal body; Sarvajña, the omniscient; and Sarvatomukha, whose faces are turned in every direction.

13.135.101 He is easily attained, of noble vows, the Perfected One, vanquisher of foes, scorcher of foes; the banyan, the fig, the holy aśvattha tree, the slayer of Cāṇūra of the Andhras.

13.135.102 Of a thousand rays, seven-tongued, seven-fuelled, borne by seven steeds; formless, sinless, inconceivable, maker of fear and destroyer of fear.

13.135.103 The atom and the vast, the slender and the gross, bearer of the qualities yet beyond all qualities, the great; unsupported yet self-supported, fair of face, ancient of lineage, increaser of lineage.

13.135.104 Bearer of the burden, the proclaimed one, the yogin, lord of yogins, granter of every desire; the resting-place, the toiler, the patient, the fair-winged, borne upon the wind.

13.135.105 Bearer of the bow, the science of archery, the rod of chastisement, the subduer, restraint itself; unconquered, all-enduring, the controller, discipline, the curber.

13.135.106 Endowed with goodness, of the nature of sattva, the True, devoted to truth and righteousness; the goal of intention, worthy of love, the worshipful, doer of what is dear, increaser of delight.

13.135.107 He whose path is the sky, the Light, of fair radiance, the eater of oblations, the all-pervading; the sun, the shining one, Sūrya, the impeller, whose eye is the sun.

13.135.108 The endless, eater of oblations, the enjoyer, giver of bliss, the manifold giver, the first-born; never wearied, ever forbearing, the wondrous foundation of the worlds.

13.135.109 The eternal, most ancient of the ancient, Kapila, the tawny one, the imperishable; giver of weal, maker of weal, weal itself, enjoyer of weal, bestower of weal as his largesse.

13.135.110 Free of fury, wearer of earrings, bearer of the discus, the valiant, of mighty command; beyond the reach of words, enduring all sound, the cool one, maker of the night.

13.135.111 The gentle, the graceful, the able, the dexterous, best among the forbearing; most learned, free of fear, the hearing and proclaiming of whom is holy.

13.135.112 The deliverer, destroyer of evil deeds, the holy, dispeller of evil dreams; slayer of heroes, the protector, the existent, the life, the all-abiding.

13.135.113 Of endless forms, of endless splendour, conqueror of wrath, remover of fear; foursquare, of profound nature, the intermediate quarters, the commander, the directions themselves.

13.135.114 The beginningless, the earth, the splendour of the firmament, the valiant, wearer of gleaming armlets; the begetter, origin of the birth of creatures, the terrible, of terrible prowess.

13.135.115 The abode of all support, the ordainer, whose laughter is the bursting of blossoms, the ever-wakeful; the upward-mover, treader of the path of the good, giver of breath, the sacred Oṃ, the pledge.

13.135.116 The measure, the resting-place of life-breath, maker of breath, the life of the breath; the Reality, knower of Reality, the one Self, who transcends birth, death, and old age.

13.135.117 Earth, mid-air, and heaven, the tree, the deliverer, the impeller, the great-grandsire; the sacrifice, lord of the sacrifice, the sacrificer, the limb of sacrifice, the vehicle of sacrifice.

13.135.118 Upholder of sacrifice, performer of sacrifice, the sacrificer, enjoyer of sacrifice, the means of sacrifice; bringer of sacrifice to its end, the mystery of sacrifice, the food, and the eater of food as well.

13.135.119 Self-originated, self-born, the digger-forth, the singer of the Sāman chants; the joy of Devakī, the creator, lord of the earth, destroyer of sin.

13.135.120 Bearer of the conch, wielder of the Nandaka sword, holder of the discus, armed with the Śārṅga bow, bearer of the mace; whose hand holds the chariot-wheel, the unshakable, armed with every weapon of war.

13.135.121 Thus has this thousand of the divine names of the praiseworthy and great-souled Keśava been wholly proclaimed.

13.135.122 The man who listens to this daily, and who also recites it, shall meet with nothing inauspicious, neither here nor in the world beyond.

13.135.123 A brāhmaṇa shall reach the end of the Veda, a kṣatriya shall become victorious, a vaiśya shall grow rich in wealth, and a śūdra shall attain happiness.

13.135.124 He who seeks righteousness shall gain righteousness, he who seeks wealth shall obtain wealth, he who desires shall win his desires, and he who longs for offspring shall obtain offspring.

13.135.125 The devoted man who, ever rising at dawn, purified and with his mind fixed upon Him, recites this thousand of the names of Vāsudeva—

13.135.126 —attains abundant fame and preeminence among his kinsmen; he gains unshaken fortune and the highest, unsurpassed welfare.

13.135.127 He meets with fear nowhere, and gains valour and lustre; he becomes free of disease, radiant, endowed with strength, beauty, and virtue.

13.135.128 One afflicted by disease is freed from disease, one bound is freed from bondage, the frightened is freed from fear, and one in distress is freed from his distress.

13.135.129 A man swiftly crosses over all hardships who, with this thousand of names, praises the Supreme Person daily and full of devotion.

13.135.130 The mortal who takes refuge in Vāsudeva, who is wholly devoted to Vāsudeva, his soul cleansed of every sin, attains to the eternal Brahman.

13.135.131 For the devotees of Vāsudeva there exists nothing inauspicious anywhere; nor does there arise in them any fear of birth, death, old age, or disease.

13.135.132 He who recites this hymn, endowed with faith and devotion, shall be joined with inner happiness, patience, fortune, steadfastness, memory, and renown.

13.135.133 Neither anger, nor envy, nor greed, nor any base intent arises in those of accumulated merit who are devoted to the Supreme Person.

13.135.134 The heaven with its moon, sun, and stars, the sky, the quarters, the earth, and the great ocean—all are upheld by the might of the great-souled Vāsudeva.

13.135.135 This whole world, with its gods, asuras, and gandharvas, with its yakṣas, serpents, and rākṣasas, with all that moves and moves not, abides under the sway of Kṛṣṇa.

13.135.136 The senses, the mind, the intellect, goodness, lustre, strength, and steadfastness—these they declare to have Vāsudeva for their essence, as too the field and the knower of the field.

13.135.137 Right conduct is reckoned the foremost of all the scriptures; righteousness springs from conduct, and the lord of righteousness is Acyuta, the Imperishable.

13.135.138 The seers, the ancestors, the gods, the great elements, the bodily constituents, and this whole world of the moving and the unmoving—all spring from Nārāyaṇa.

13.135.139 Yoga, knowledge, and Sāṃkhya, the sciences, the crafts, and ritual action, the Vedas, the treatises, and discernment—all this comes forth from Janārdana.

13.135.140 Viṣṇu is the one great Being, yet the beings are manifold and severally apart; pervading the three worlds, the Soul of all beings, the imperishable enjoyer of the universe, He enjoys them all.

13.135.141 This hymn of the Lord Viṣṇu, proclaimed by Vyāsa, let that man recite who wishes to attain welfare and happiness.

13.135.142 Those who worship the lotus-eyed Lord of the universe, the unborn god, the origin and dissolution of the world, never come to defeat.

13.136.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Who are to be honoured, who are to be saluted, how should one conduct oneself, and toward whom? What conduct, and toward what sort of men, O grandsire, brings no harm?

13.136.2 Bhīṣma said: Contempt of the brāhmaṇas would lay low even the gods; he who salutes the brāhmaṇas, O Yudhiṣṭhira, comes to no harm.

13.136.3 They are to be honoured, they are to be saluted; conduct yourself toward them as a son, for those wise ones uphold all these worlds.

13.136.4 The brāhmaṇas are the great ones of all the worlds, the bridges of righteousness, delighting in the renunciation of wealth and devoted to restraint of speech.

13.136.5 Delightful to all beings and their treasure-house, firm in their vows, the guides of the worlds, and the renowned masters of the scriptures.

13.136.6 Those whose wealth is ever their austerity and whose speech is their abundant strength, who are the source of all duties, knowers of righteousness, and seers of the subtle.

13.136.7 Lovers of righteousness, established in righteousness, bridges of righteousness by their good deeds, upon whom all creatures of the four kinds depend for their living.

13.136.8 They are the paths, the leaders of all, the eternal bearers of sacrifice, who ever carry the heavy yoke handed down from fathers and forefathers.

13.136.9 Who, like good oxen, do not sink beneath the yoke on rough ground, who set the ancestors, the gods, and guests foremost, and eat only after the offerings to gods and ancestors.

13.136.10 Who by that very eating save the worlds from great peril; they are the lamps of all the world, the very eye even of those who have eyes.

13.136.11 Treasuries of all crafts and lore, skilled, seers of the subtle, knowers of the courses of all beings, ponderers of the path of the inner Self.

13.136.12 Knowers of the beginning, the middle, and the end, their doubts cut away, discerners of the distinction between the high and the low, travellers to the supreme goal.

13.136.13 Liberated, their sins shaken off, beyond the pairs of opposites, free of possessions, worthy of honour and ever honoured by the great-souled knowers of wisdom.

13.136.14 The same toward sandal-paste and toward foul mire, the same in eating and in fasting; to whom fine silk and coarse hemp, linen, and skins are all alike.

13.136.15 They can abide without eating even for many days, and with senses controlled they wear down their bodies by the study of the sacred texts.

13.136.16 They could make a god of what is no god and a no-god of a god; when angered they could create other worlds and other world-guardians.

13.136.17 By whose curse, great-souled as they are, the ocean became undrinkable, and whose fire of wrath even to this day is not quenched in the Daṇḍaka forest.

13.136.18 They who are gods even of the gods, the cause of the cause, and the authority of authority itself—what wise man could overpower them?

13.136.19 Among whom both the old and the young, every one of them, deserves honour; yet according to the distinction in austerity and learning they honour one another.

13.136.20 Even an unlearned brāhmaṇa is a god, a worthy and greatly purifying vessel; but the learned brāhmaṇa is a god yet greater, like the brimming ocean.

13.136.21 Whether unlearned or learned, the brāhmaṇa is a great deity, just as fire, whether consecrated or unconsecrated, is a great deity.

13.136.22 For even in the cremation-ground the blazing fire is not defiled; and bearing the oblation in sacrifices it shines forth still more.

13.136.23 So too, even if a brāhmaṇa engages in all manner of unworthy deeds, he is in every way to be honoured; know him to be the highest deity.

13.137.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: What reward, O lord of men, did you behold in the honouring of brāhmaṇas, and what outcome of deeds did you reckon, that you, O greatly wise one, worship them?

13.137.2 Bhīṣma said: On this point too they recount this ancient tale, the dialogue of the Wind-god and of Arjuna, O Bhārata.

13.137.3 There was a glorious lord, Kārtavīrya, bearer of a thousand arms, sovereign over all this world, the mighty one who ruled from Māhiṣmatī.

13.137.4 That Haihaya of true valour ruled the entire earth, rich with the ocean's gems, with its islands, girdled by the sea.

13.137.5 For a purpose he gave his own wealth to Dattātreya, setting foremost the duty of a kṣatriya, with humility and sacred learning.

13.137.6 And the son of Kṛtavīrya propitiated that sage, and the well-pleased twice-born one offered him three boons.

13.137.7 Pressed by him to choose boons, the king spoke these words: "May I become thousand-armed in the midst of an army, yet otherwise but two-armed at home."

13.137.8 "Let the soldiers behold my thousand arms in battle; by my prowess may I conquer the whole earth, O man of great vows, and having won it by righteousness, may I guard it untiringly."

13.137.9 "A fourth boon I ask of you, O best of the twice-born; deign to grant it for my favour, O blameless one: let the good men reproach me, should I, who lean upon them, act falsely."

13.137.10 Thus addressed, the twice-born one said to the king, "So be it," and thus came to pass for that king of blazing splendour those boons.

13.137.11 Then, mounting his chariot, radiant as fire and the sun, in the bewilderment of his strength he said: "Who indeed is equal to me in valour, in steadfastness, in fame and purity, in prowess, or in might?"

13.137.12 At the end of his speech, a bodiless voice spoke from the sky: "O fool, you do not understand that the brāhmaṇa is greater than the kṣatriya; only joined with the brāhmaṇa does the kṣatriya protect the people here."

13.137.13 Arjuna said: When pleased, I can bring beings into being; when angered, I likewise lead them to destruction. In deed, in thought, and in word there is no twice-born one greater than I.

13.137.14 The first claim sets the brāhmaṇa above, the second sets the kṣatriya above; both grounds have been stated by you, yet a distinction is seen here.

13.137.15 The brāhmaṇas lean upon the kṣatriya power; the kṣatriya power does not lean upon the brāhmaṇas. The brāhmaṇas, under the pretext of sacred lore, devour the kṣatriyas of the earth who give them shelter.

13.137.16 In the Kṣatriyas resides dharma — the protection of the people; and from the Kṣatriya comes the livelihood of the Brāhmaṇas. By what reckoning, then, is the Brāhmaṇa the greater?

13.137.17 Those Brāhmaṇas who deem themselves the foremost of all beings, yet live by begging and are puffed up with their own conceit — them I ever hold in subjection to my will.

13.137.18 For the truth has been spoken in heaven by this maiden, the Gāyatrī: I shall conquer all the unruly Brāhmaṇas, those clad in hides.

13.137.19 In the three worlds no one could cast me out from my realm — neither god nor man. Therefore am I superior to the twice-born.

13.137.20 This day I shall make the world, which holds the Brāhmaṇa supreme, a world in which the Kṣatriya is supreme; for no one in battle has the power to withstand my might.

13.137.21 Hearing Arjuna's words, the night-ranging spirit was struck with terror. Then Vāyu, abiding in the sky, addressed him.

13.137.22 Cast off this defiled disposition and bow before the Brāhmaṇas; for if you do them wrong, ruin will come upon your kingdom.

13.137.23 Else, O lord of the earth, the twice-born, mighty in power, will subdue you, or will drive you from your realm, your spirit broken.

13.137.24 The king said to him, 'Who are you?' Then the Wind-god replied to him: 'I am Vāyu, the messenger of the gods; I speak to you for your good.'

13.137.25 Arjuna said: Ah, what devoted attachment to the Brāhmaṇas you have shown this day! Tell me, then — to what created thing is the Brāhmaṇa like? Is he as the earth?

13.137.26 Or tell me, is the best of Brāhmaṇas in any way like the wind? Tell me — is he like the waters, or like the sun, or like the sky?

13.138.1 Vāyu said: Hear, O fool, some of the virtues of the high-souled Brāhmaṇas. By those very things you have named, O king, the Brāhmaṇa is shown to be the greater.

13.138.2 When the Earth, through rivalry with king Aṅga, forsook her own earthhood and went to ruin, the Brāhmaṇa Kaśyapa upheld her once again.

13.138.3 Imperishable are the Brāhmaṇas, O king, in heaven and on earth forever. Of old, Aṅgiras himself drank up the waters by his own fiery power.

13.138.4 Drinking them as though they were milk, the great ascetic was not sated; and then with a mighty flood he filled the whole earth again, O son of Pṛthā.

13.138.5 When he was wroth, I too forsook the world and departed, and for a long while took refuge in the agnihotra fire, in fear of Aṅgiras.

13.138.6 Even the lord Purandara was cursed by Gautama when he lusted after Ahalyā; yet for the sake of dharma he was not slain.

13.138.7 So too the ocean, O king, once full of sweet water, was cursed by the Brāhmaṇas and made into a sea of salt, O mighty one.

13.138.8 Fire — gold-hued, smokeless, its flame leaping upward in a single mass, the wise one — was cursed by the wrathful Aṅgiras and stripped of these very qualities.

13.138.9 Behold the Maruts ground to dust, who once laughed at the great ocean — cursed forever by the gold-bearing twice-born one.

13.138.10 You are not the equal of the twice-born; know them to be supreme, O ruler of men. The Lord himself, they say, duly does reverence to Brāhmaṇas while they are yet in the womb.

13.138.11 The great kingdom of the Daṇḍakas was destroyed by a Brāhmaṇa; the great Kṣatriya host of the Tālajaṅghas was destroyed by Aurva alone.

13.138.12 And by you a vast kingdom, strength, dharma, and learning — gifts most hard to win — were obtained through the grace of Dattātreya.

13.138.13 You ever worship Fire, O Arjuna — and what is Fire but a Brāhmaṇa? For he is the bearer of oblations for all the world. Do you not know him?

13.138.14 Or, knowing him to be the foremost of Brāhmaṇas, the protector of beings, the maker of the world of the living — why are you, knowing this, so bewildered?

13.138.15 So too is Brahmā, the Lord of creatures, the Unmanifest, the source and the dissolution of all, by whom this entire universe, moving and unmoving, was brought forth.

13.138.16 Some, the unlearned, hold that Brahmā was born from an egg, and that from the egg, when it split, came the mountains, the quarters, the waters, the earth, and the sky.

13.138.17 But it is not to be regarded thus — for how could he, the very greatest, be so born? Space itself is remembered as the egg, and from it the Grandsire came forth.

13.138.18 Tell me — on what could it have rested? At that time nothing whatever existed. He is named Ego (ahaṃkāra), the Lord in whom all radiance dwells.

13.138.19 There is no egg; there is only Brahmā, O king, the maker of the worlds. Thus addressed, the king then fell silent, and Vāyu spoke to him again.

13.139.1 Vāyu said: Long ago a king named Aṅga wished to give this earth as a sacrificial gift to the Brāhmaṇas; and at that, O king, the Earth fell into anxious thought.

13.139.2 'Having obtained me, the bearer of all beings — how does this best of kings desire to give me, the daughter of Brahmā, away to the twice-born?'

13.139.3 'Forsaking my earthhood, I shall go to the abode of Brahmā — let not this king keep his realm.' And so she departed.

13.139.4 Then Kaśyapa, seeing the Earth thus departing, at once entered into her, releasing his own self, his mind composed.

13.139.5 Held fast on every side, she came forth again endowed with grass and herbs; and the Earth, O king, became rich in dharma and free from fear.

13.139.6 Thus for thirty thousand divine years, O king, Kaśyapa of vast vows was the Earth, untiring.

13.139.7 Then, O great king, the Earth came and made obeisance to Kaśyapa, and so became Kāśyapī, the daughter of that high-souled one.

13.139.8 Such, O king, was that Brāhmaṇa Kaśyapa. Now name me, if you can, any Kṣatriya greater than Kaśyapa.

13.139.9 The king fell silent, and the Wind-god spoke again: Hear now, O king, of Utathya, born in the line of Aṅgiras.

13.139.10 Bhadrā, the daughter of Soma, was deemed peerless in beauty; and Soma saw in Utathya a husband worthy of her.

13.139.11 And that illustrious, glorious lady practised fierce austerities, and for that end she chose the great-souled Utathya.

13.139.12 Then Soma summoned Utathya and gave the glorious maiden to him to wife; and he, the giver of bounteous gifts, received her duly.

13.139.13 But the glorious Varuṇa had desired her even before; and coming to the forest-dwelling, he carried her off at the Yamunā.

13.139.14 The lord of waters, having seized her, bore her away toward his own city — a city of utmost wonder, with six hundred thousand lakes.

13.139.15 There was no lovelier place than that finest of cities, adorned with palaces, with apsarases, and with divine delights; and there the god, the lord of waters, took his pleasure with her, O king.

13.139.16 Then the violation of his wife was made known to Utathya.

13.139.17 Hearing all this from Nārada, Utathya said to Nārada: 'Go and speak harsh words to Varuṇa — by my command, release my wife! Why have you carried her off?'

13.139.18 'You are a guardian of the worlds, not a despoiler of the world. My wife was given me by Soma, and this day you have stolen her away.'

13.139.19 Thus addressed by Nārada in Utathya's words — 'Release Utathya's wife!' — Varuṇa replied: 'She is my own dear wife; I cannot bring myself to give her up.'

13.139.20 So answered by Varuṇa, Nārada came back to the sage Utathya and spoke to him, his heart none too glad.

13.139.21 'Seizing me by the throat, Varuṇa has flung me out, O great sage. He will not give you your wife — do what you must.'

13.139.22 Hearing Nārada's words, the descendant of Aṅgiras blazed up in wrath; and that mighty ascetic, holding them fast, drank up the waters by his fiery power.

13.139.23 And as all the waters were being drunk up, the lord of the waters, though pressed by his friends, would still not release her then.

13.139.24 Then Utathya, best of Brāhmaṇas, wrathfully commanded the Earth: 'Show me dry ground, O gentle one, where now there are six hundred thousand lakes!'

13.139.25 Then that place became a barren waste, and the sea drew back; and from that region the best of the twice-born addressed the river as well.

13.139.26 'Vanish from sight, O timid Sarasvatī, and flow toward the desert; let this region, forsaken by you, O fair one, become unholy.'

13.139.27 When that region was thus laid waste, the lord of waters, taking up Bhadrā, came seeking refuge and gave the wife back to the son of Aṅgiras.

13.139.28 Receiving his wife again, Utathya was glad at heart, and he freed the world — and Varuṇa with it — from its distress, O Haihaya.

13.139.29 Then, having recovered his wife, Utathya — knower of dharma, of mighty splendor — spoke to Varuṇa; hear what he said, O ruler of men.

13.139.30 'By my austerity I have won her back, O lord of waters, while you cried out in vain.' So saying, he took her up and went to his own dwelling.

13.139.31 Such, O king, was that Utathya, that bull among Brāhmaṇas. So I declare — now name me, if you can, any Kṣatriya greater than Utathya.

13.140.1 Bhīṣma said: Thus addressed, the king fell silent, and Vāyu then spoke: Hear, O king, the greatness of the Brāhmaṇa Agastya.

13.140.2 The gods, vanquished by the Asuras, were robbed of their spirit; all their sacrifices were carried off, and likewise the svadhā offering to the ancestors.

13.140.3 And the rites and sacrifices of men were seized by the Dānavas, O bull of the Haihayas. Then the gods, fallen from their sovereignty, wandered the earth — so says the sacred tradition.

13.140.4 Then once, O king, they beheld Agastya of vast vows, blazing with the splendor of the sun, endowed with fiery glory.

13.140.5 And the gods, having saluted him and seen him girt with glory, spoke this word to the high-souled one at the fitting time, O ruler of men.

13.140.6 'We have been broken in battle by the Dānavas and cast down from our sovereignty. Deliver us, therefore, from this dire fear, O foremost of sages!'

13.140.7 Thus addressed by the gods, Agastya then grew wroth, and the resplendent one blazed up like the fire of Time at the world's dissolution.

13.140.8 By that web of blazing rays the Dānavas were then consumed, and from the sky, O great king, they fell in their thousands.

13.140.9 Burning in the fiery power of Agastya, those Daityas forsook both worlds and fled to the southern quarter.

13.140.10 But Bali, having gone into the earth, was performing the horse-sacrifice; and the other great Asuras who were at ease and dwelt within the earth were not consumed.

13.140.11 Then the worlds were regained by the gods, and that turmoil was stilled. Thereupon the gods said to him: 'Slay also the Asuras who dwell within the earth.'

13.140.12 So addressed, he answered the gods: 'I cannot burn those who have gone into the earth, for were I to burn them, my austerity would be spent,' O son of Pṛthā.

13.140.13 Thus, O king, were the Dānavas burnt by the lord Agastya through his own fiery power, by him whose soul was perfected through austerity.

13.140.14 Such, O sinless one, was Agastya, of whom I have told you. So I declare — now name me, if you can, any Kṣatriya greater than Agastya.

13.140.15 Thus addressed, the king fell silent, and Vāyu then spoke: Hear, O king, of the chief deed of the glorious Vasiṣṭha.

13.140.16 The Ādityas were holding a sacrificial session near the Mānasa lake, having approached Vasiṣṭha in their minds and learned that the place lay within his domain.

13.140.17 But seeing them sacrificing, intent and worn thin by their consecration, certain Dānavas called the Khalins, huge as mountains, desired to slay them.

13.140.18 Not far from there was a lake granted as a boon by Brahmā; and those Dānavas, slain again and again, would yet live, plunging into it and rising up.

13.140.19 Seizing dreadful mountains, iron clubs, and trees, churning up the waters, they rose to a height of a hundred yojanas.

13.140.20 Ten thousand of them rushed upon the gods; and the gods, sorely afflicted by them, went for refuge to Vāsava.

13.140.21 And Śakra too, harried by them, went for refuge to Vasiṣṭha; then the blessed sage Vasiṣṭha granted them safety.

13.140.22 Perceiving them thus in distress, the sage, devoted to compassion, effortlessly burned up all the Khalins with his own radiant power.

13.140.23 And that great ascetic led the river Gaṅgā, which had set out toward Kailāsa, to that celestial lake, and by her the lake was cleft open.

13.140.24 The lake cleft by that river became the Sarayū; and the region where the Khalins were slain came to be known as Khalina.

13.140.25 Thus were the dwellers of heaven, with Indra, protected by Vasiṣṭha; and the great-souled one slew the Daityas who had been granted a boon by Brahmā.

13.140.26 This deed of Vasiṣṭha I have recounted to you, O sinless one. I say to you—or do you name to me a Kṣatriya superior to Vasiṣṭha.

13.141.1 Bhīṣma said: Thus addressed, Arjuna fell silent, and the Wind said to him: Hear from me, O best of the Haihayas, the deed of the exceedingly great-souled Atri.

13.141.2 In dread darkness the gods and the Dānavas fought together; there Svarbhānu pierced both Soma and the Sun with his shafts.

13.141.3 Then, seized by darkness, the gods were being slain by the Dānavas, O tiger among kings, together with the mighty ones at that time.

13.141.4 Slaughtered by the Asuras, their vital force ebbing away, the dwellers of heaven beheld the brahmin Atri practising austerities in the great forest.

13.141.5 Then the gods said to him, whose anger was stilled and whose senses were mastered: These two, the Moon and the Sun, have been pierced by the arrows of the Asuras.

13.141.6 And we too are being slain by our foes in the enveloping darkness, and we find no peace; deliver us from our fear, O lord.

13.141.7 "How shall I protect you?" he asked. They said: "Become the Moon, and be for us the Sun that dispels darkness and the slayer of our robber-foes."

13.141.8 Thus addressed, Atri then became the Moon that drives away darkness, and he beheld the gentle aspect and the reappearing of the Sun's light.

13.141.9 Seeing the Moon dim in lustre and likewise the Sun, O king, Atri by his own austerity made light in the battle.

13.141.10 He made the world free of darkness and ablaze with light, and by his own radiant power he vanquished the hosts of the gods' enemies.

13.141.11 Seeing those great Asuras burning under Atri's power, the gods too, protected by Atri, slew them in turn by their valour.

13.141.12 The Sun was made to shine forth, the gods were rescued, and the Asuras slain; and the office of the Moon was assumed by Atri of supreme radiance.

13.141.13 By the peerless sage, murmuring his prayers, clad in deerskin, living on fruit—behold, O royal sage, the deed done by Atri.

13.141.14 The deed of that exceedingly great-souled Atri too has been told you in full. I say to you—or do you name a Kṣatriya superior to Atri.

13.141.15 Thus addressed, Arjuna fell silent, and the Wind said to him: Hear, O king, the great deed of the great-souled Cyavana.

13.141.16 Having made a promise to the Aśvins, Cyavana said to the Chastiser of Pāka, in company with the gods: "Make the two Aśvins drinkers of Soma."

13.141.17 Indra said: These two, excluded by us, how should they become drinkers of Soma? They are not reckoned the equals of the gods; therefore speak not thus to us.

13.141.18 We do not wish to drink Soma together with the Aśvins, O great in vows. Let others drink at will; I cannot bring myself to drink here with them.

13.141.19 Cyavana said: If you will not do as I have bidden, O slayer of Bala, then, overpowered by me, you shall this very moment drink Soma at the sacrifice.

13.141.20 Then the rite was begun at once for the benefit of the Aśvins; and thereupon the gods were overpowered by Cyavana through his sacred spells.

13.141.21 But when Indra saw that rite begun, faint with wrath, lifting up a vast mountain, the lord rushed upon Cyavana, his eyes troubled with fury, the thunderbolt also in hand.

13.141.22 Seeing him swooping down, Cyavana, endowed with the power of austerity, sprinkled him with water and paralysed him, thunderbolt, mountain, and all.

13.141.23 Then the great sage created for Indra a most terrible foe, Mada, born of spells and oblations, his maw gaping wide.

13.141.24 His thousand teeth were a hundred yojanas long, his fangs, most fearsome, two hundred yojanas; one jaw of his rested upon the earth and one touched the heavens.

13.141.25 All the gods, with Vāsava, stood at the root of his tongue, fallen into his mouth as fish into the maw of a great whale in the vast ocean.

13.141.26 Then the gods, gone into the mouth of Mada, took counsel together and said to Śakra: "Bow down to this twice-born one, and freed of our distress let us drink Soma together with the Aśvins."

13.141.27 Then Śakra, bowing low, did as Cyavana wished, and Cyavana made the two Aśvins drinkers of Soma.

13.141.28 Then the mighty sage withdrew his rite and distributed Mada among dice, hunting, drink, and women.

13.141.29 By these vices a man comes to ruin, O king—of this there is no doubt; therefore a man should ever keep them far from himself.

13.141.30 This deed of Cyavana too has been proclaimed to you, O king. I say to you—or do you name a Kṣatriya superior to Cyavana.

13.142.1 Bhīṣma said: Arjuna remained silent, and the Wind spoke again: Hear from me, O lord of men, a foremost deed among the brahmins.

13.142.2 When the dwellers of heaven, with Indra, had fallen into the mouth of Mada, then their earth was here seized away by Cyavana.

13.142.3 Deeming both worlds taken from them, the gods grew sorrowful, and afflicted with grief they went for refuge to the great-souled Brahmā.

13.142.4 The gods said: O you whom the worlds revere, from us who were cast into the mouth of Mada the earth has been seized by Cyavana, and heaven too by the Kapas, O lord.

13.142.5 Brahmā said: Go quickly for refuge to the brahmins, O dwellers of heaven with Indra; by winning their grace you shall regain both worlds as before.

13.142.6 They went for refuge to the brahmins, who asked: "Whom shall we conquer?" Thus addressed, they said to the twice-born: "Conquer here the Kapas"—for, O son of Pṛthā, the brahmins said, "We shall be the conquerors of those who dwell upon the earth."

13.142.7 Then a rite for the destruction of the Kapas was begun by the brahmins; hearing of it, the Kapas sent Dhanin as their envoy to the brahmins.

13.142.8 And Dhanin said to those brahmins, as the Kapas had bidden: "All the Kapas are the equals of yourselves; what then is afoot here?

13.142.9 All are knowers of the Veda and wise; all are performers of sacrifices; all are vowed to truth; all are the equals of the great sages.

13.142.10 Prosperity delights in them and they uphold prosperity; they do not approach wives in vain, nor do they eat flesh in vain.

13.142.11 They make oblation to the blazing fire and abide by the word of their elders; all are self-controlled and share their portion with children.

13.142.12 They travel by approaching with carts, they do not consort with a woman in her courses, they do not eat while others remain unfed, and by day they do not sleep.

13.142.13 How then will you conquer the Kapas, endowed with these and many other virtues? Turn back; for those who desist, all shall be well."

13.142.14 The brahmins said: We shall conquer the Kapas; they who are the gods, those are reckoned to be we ourselves. Therefore the Kapas are to be slain by us; go, Dhanin, the way you came.

13.142.15 Dhanin went and told the Kapas: "The brahmins mean you no kindness." Then, taking up their weapons, all the Kapas charged upon the brahmins.

13.142.16 Seeing the Kapas with their banners raised high, all the twice-born loosed blazing fires that destroyed the lives of the Kapas.

13.142.17 The eternal fire-gods, created by Brahmā, eaters of oblations, having devoured the Kapas, shone like clouds in the sky, O lord of men, and praised the twice-born and the illustrious Brahmā.

13.142.18 Then the radiance and might of those gods waxed great, and they attained immortality, honoured throughout the three worlds.

13.142.19 To the Wind who had spoken thus Arjuna replied, having paid him honour; hear, O mighty-armed lord of men, what he said.

13.142.20 I live always and in every way for the sake of the brahmins, O lord; to Brahman and to the brahmins I bow down perpetually.

13.142.21 And by the grace of Dattātreya this glory was won by me, and supreme renown in the world, and great dharma practised.

13.142.22 Ah, O Wind, the deeds of the brahmins, just as they truly are, told by you in full, have been heard by me with diligent care.

13.142.23 The Wind said: Protect the brahmins by the law of the Kṣatriya, and protect your senses; a dread peril to you shall come from the Bhṛgus, but that shall arise in due time.

13.143.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: You ever honour the brahmins of firm vows, O king; but seeing what fruit of their deeds do you honour them, O lord of men?

13.143.2 Or what reward in the worship of brahmins have you seen, O great in vows, that you honour them, O mighty-armed one? Tell me all this.

13.143.3 Bhīṣma said: This Keśava of great wisdom will declare it all to you—the reward in the worship of brahmins, he of great vows who has himself seen its fruit.

13.143.4 My strength, my hearing, my speech, my mind, my eyes, and my knowledge are no longer clear in me this day; the laying down of my body is, I think, not far off, and yet the Sun does not pass too swiftly today.

13.143.5 The great duties that are told in ancient lore, of brahmins, of Kṣatriyas, and of Vaiśyas, and the ancient rule of governance which men observe—the rest learn from Kṛṣṇa, O son of Pṛthā.

13.143.6 For I know this Kṛṣṇa in truth—who he is and what his ancient might is; Keśava of immeasurable spirit, O lord of the Kurus, he it is who will declare dharma where doubts arise.

13.143.7 Kṛṣṇa created the earth, the sky, and the heavens; this is the ancient Boar of dreadful strength. From him came the lower region, the firmament, and heaven, the four quarters and the four intermediate quarters; this creation too was brought forth from him—he it was who fashioned this ancient universe.

13.143.8 From his navel sprang the lotus, wherein arose, of himself, the one of boundless power, by whom that dread darkness was cleft, O son of Pṛthā, the darkness that abides menacing over the ocean.

13.143.9 In the Kṛta age dharma was entire; in the Tretā age knowledge took its course; strength prevailed in the Dvāpara, O son of Pṛthā—Kṛṣṇa; and in the Kali age unrighteousness came upon the earth.

13.143.10 He, the primeval god, slew the Daityas; he, the primeval god, became sovereign; he is the nourisher of beings, who has been and shall be; and he is the protector of all this universe.

13.143.11 When the dharma of the gods grows faint, then Kṛṣṇa is born among men; and he, of disciplined spirit, abiding in dharma, passes to the higher worlds and the lower.

13.143.12 Forsaking what is to be forsaken, for the slaying of the Asuras, he is the cause of what should and should not be done, O son of Pṛthā; the god is what has been done, what shall be done, and what is being done; know him too to be again and again Soma and Śakra.

13.143.13 He is the maker of all, and he is the all-formed; he is the upholder of all, the creator of all, and the conqueror of all; he is the bearer of the trident, the bearer of blood, the terrible one; him, known by his deeds, they praise.

13.143.14 Him the Gandharvas and the Apsarases attend continually, and hundreds of the wise gods; the Rākṣasas too bear him about; he alone is the increase of wealth and the seeker of conquest.

13.143.15 Him the reciters praise at the sacrifice, and the singers of the Sāman praise him in the Rathantara; the brahmins praise him with the spells of Brahman, and for him the Adhvaryus prepare the oblation.

13.143.16 Having entered the ancient cave of Brahman, he beheld at the dawn of the Bhārata age the great sacrificial session of the earth; and he, of foremost deeds, lifted up the earth, having confounded the Daityas, the serpents, and the Dānavas.

13.143.17 They declare his many foods; him alone they declare to be the conveyance in battle; the firmament, the earth, and heaven—all stands in the power of the eternal one.

13.143.18 He, whose seed was held in the pot, created in ancient time that wherein, they say, was born the sage Vasiṣṭha; he is Mātariśvan, the all-pervading, swift as a steed; he is the radiant Sun, the primeval god.

13.143.19 By him all the Asuras were vanquished; by his strides the three worlds here were won; the worlds of the gods, of men, and of the fathers—him alone the knowers of sacrifice call the spreading of the sacrificial fires.

13.143.20 He it is who rises, apportioning time; his are the two courses, the northern and the southern; his are the rays that move upward, sideways, and downward, scorching the earth.

13.143.21 The Brāhmaṇas learned in the Veda delight in him, and the sun, drawing its radiance from him, shines forth. Month after month he, the performer of sacrifice, ordains the rite, and those versed in the Veda chant of him at the sacrifice.

13.143.22 Yoked to a single steed, he drives this wheel of three naves, drawn by seven horses, he of the three abodes. Of mighty splendor, all-pervading, conqueror of all, Kṛṣṇa alone upholds the worlds. Eating and yet not eating, steadfast as ever—know Kṛṣṇa, O Pārtha, to be forever the Maker; come to him.

13.143.23 Once that great-souled, all-pervading lord, entering the thicket of the Khāṇḍava as smoke-bannered fire, was sated; vanquishing the Rākṣasas and serpents, he who goes everywhere offered all things into the flame.

13.143.24 He himself, as the white horse, bestowed the steed; he himself fashioned all the horses. His chariot has three frames and three wheels, its top is threefold, and its body four-square.

13.143.25 He fashioned the sky with its five hubs; he formed the earth, the heaven, and the firmament; thus he created the lovely mountains—Hṛṣīkeśa, blazing with the boundless splendor of fire.

13.143.26 Leaping over the rivers and seeking to slay, he flung back the very thunderbolt that struck at him. He, as great Indra, is praised at the mighty sacrifice; the Brāhmaṇas alone extol him with thousands of ancient hymns.

13.143.27 By none other than him, O king, could the mighty Durvāsas be lodged in one's house; and him alone they call the one ancient sage. The maker of all, he ordains the modes of his own being.

13.143.28 He, the supreme deity, who reveals the Vedas and who upholds the ancient ordinances—whatever fruit there is in desire, in the Veda, and in worldly life, know all this to reside in Viṣvaksena.

13.143.29 The shining lights throughout all the world, the three worlds and the three world-guardians, the three sacred fires and the three sacred utterances—all the gods are none other than the son of Devakī.

13.143.30 He is the year, the season, the fortnight; he is day and night, the kalā and the kāṣṭhā; the moments, the muhūrtas, the instants and the seconds—know all this to reside in Viṣvaksena.

13.143.31 Moon and sun, the planets, lunar mansions, and stars, all the new-moon and full-moon days, the conjunctions of the constellations and the seasons, O Pārtha—all this is sprung forth from Viṣvaksena.

13.143.32 The Rudras, the Ādityas, the Vasus, and the two Aśvins, the Sādhyas, the Viśvedevas, and the six hosts of the Maruts, Prajāpati and Aditi the mother of the gods—all these, and the seven seers too, are from Kṛṣṇa.

13.143.33 Becoming the wind, he sweeps through the universe; becoming fire, he of every form consumes it; becoming the waters, he submerges all; becoming Brahmā, he creates the assembled hosts of the world.

13.143.34 What is to be known and the Vedas that he reveals, the ordinance and the things that it ordains—in dharma, in the Veda, and in might, all that moves and is unmoving—know it all to be Keśava.

13.143.35 That supreme one, become very light, was there before all, illumining with his radiance, he of universal form. Self-born, the source of himself, having created the waters, he of old made this entire universe.

13.143.36 The seasons, the portents, the manifold marvels, the clouds, the lightning, and all the rainbow—every moving and unmoving thing—are from Kṛṣṇa; know this Viṣṇu, called the All.

13.143.37 They call him Vāsudeva, the abode of all, devoid of qualities; Saṃkarṣaṇa, who has become the living soul; then Pradyumna, and fourth Aniruddha—and the great-souled, self-born one commands them all.

13.143.38 Impelling fivefold this universe peopled with the five kinds of beings, desiring to create, he then made earth and wind, ether, light, and the waters too, O Pārtha.

13.143.39 Having thus fashioned this world of four kinds, both the unmoving and the moving, he then established the earth with its five seeds, that heaven might pour abundant waters upon her. By him, O king, this universe was made, and he, the source of himself, gives it life by himself alone.

13.143.40 Then the lord of beings, ever desiring to create the gods, the Asuras, and men, the worlds, the seers, the ancestors, and the creatures—in short, the manifold worlds of living things, all of them.

13.143.41 The good and the evil, the unmoving and the moving—know all this to be from Viṣvaksena; what exists now and what shall come to be here—know all this to be Keśava.

13.143.42 And death itself for living beings at their final hour is the eternal Kṛṣṇa made manifest, the bearer of dharma; and whatever being here we do not know at all—know all this to be from Viṣvaksena.

13.143.43 Whatever is esteemed in the worlds, and whatever is meritorious, whatever is good and evil—all that is the inconceivable Keśava, and whatever stands opposed to this proceeds from him as well.

13.143.44 Such is this Keśava, the self-existent, Nārāyaṇa, supreme and imperishable; he is the middle of this world both moving and still, and the origin and the dissolution of all beings.

13.144.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Tell me the fruit of honoring the Brāhmaṇas, O Madhusūdana; you are the knower of this matter, for the grandsire knows you well.

13.144.2 Vāsudeva said: Listen attentively, O king, bull of the Bhāratas, as I tell truly of the virtues of the twice-born, O best of the Kurus.

13.144.3 Pradyumna, vexed by certain Brāhmaṇas, once asked me: What fruit is there, O Madhusūdana, in honoring the Brāhmaṇas, for one who is himself a lord, both here and in the world beyond?

13.144.4 By ever honoring the twice-born, what is the fruit therein, O giver of honor? Tell me all this, father, for great is my doubt in this matter.

13.144.5 Thus addressed by Pradyumna with these words, I then made answer, O great king; hear now, with mind composed, what I said.

13.144.6 Learn from me, O son of Rukmiṇī, the fruit of honoring the Brāhmaṇas; for these are kings among the soma-drinkers, lords over joy and sorrow.

13.144.7 In this world, O son of Rukmiṇī, and likewise in the world beyond, my child, all happiness has the Brāhmaṇa at its head—of this I have no doubt.

13.144.8 Valor has the Brāhmaṇa at its head, and so do long life, renown, glory, and strength; the worlds and the lords of the worlds—all have the Brāhmaṇa first among them.

13.144.9 How then should I fail to honor them, saying, 'I am a lord,' my child? Let no anger arise in you, O mighty-armed one, against the twice-born.

13.144.10 For the Brāhmaṇa is a mighty being in this world and the next; in their wrath, those who see directly could reduce this whole world to ashes.

13.144.11 They could create other worlds as well, and lords of the worlds besides; how then, knowing this well, should I not conduct myself rightly toward those of mighty splendor?

13.144.12 There dwelt in my house, my son, a Brāhmaṇa tawny as a lion, clad in bark, bearing a bilva staff, with long beard and nails and the rest, taller in stature on earth than even the tallest of men.

13.144.13 He would roam through the worlds, both the divine and the human, singing these verses in the courtyards and in the assemblies.

13.144.14 'Who would lodge Durvāsas, the honored Brāhmaṇa, in his house? And who, hearing my reproaches, would yet grant me shelter? Whoever should lodge me—let him not provoke me to anger here.'

13.144.15 No one would receive him; so it was I who gave him lodging.

13.144.16 At one time he would eat food enough for many thousands; at another he would eat but a little, and would not return again to the house.

13.144.17 Without cause he would laugh aloud, and without cause he would weep; nor was there then upon the earth any equal to him in years.

13.144.18 Going into our dwelling, he burned the couches and the coverings and the bedecked maidens, and then departed of his own accord.

13.144.19 Then again that sage of stern vows said to me in haste: 'Kṛṣṇa, I wish to eat milk-rice porridge.'

13.144.20 But I, ever reading his mind, had already directed the household: 'Let all manner of food and drink and viands, high and low, be kept ready and well prepared.'

13.144.21 Then I presented to him the porridge while it was still steaming hot; and having eaten it, he straightway spoke these words: 'Quickly, smear your limbs with this porridge.'

13.144.22 And without a moment's hesitation I did just so, smearing my limbs and my head with the leavings of his meal.

13.144.23 Then he saw nearby your mother of lovely face, and smiling, he smeared her too with the porridge.

13.144.24 Her limbs now anointed with the porridge, the sage swiftly yoked her to a chariot, and mounting that car he drove forth from my house.

13.144.25 Fire-colored and blazing, that wise Brāhmaṇa, as though she were a draft-beast yoked to the car, goaded the young Rukmiṇī with his whip before my very eyes.

13.144.26 Yet not the slightest grief born of jealousy arose in me then; and so he passed out along the great royal highway.

13.144.27 Seeing this great marvel, the Dāśārhas were filled with wrath, and some spoke among themselves, conferring with one another there.

13.144.28 'Brāhmaṇas alone should be born, and no other caste at all; for what other man here could mount this chariot and yet live?'

13.144.29 'Sharp is the venom of the fanged serpent, but sharper still is this venom; for one burned by the serpent-venom of a Brāhmaṇa there is no physician whatsoever.'

13.144.30 As that unassailable one went on his way, Rukmiṇī stumbled on the path; the glorious sage brooked it not, and at once urged her sharply on.

13.144.31 Then, exceedingly enraged, that Brāhmaṇa leapt down from the chariot and ran off on foot by an untrodden path, facing southward.

13.144.32 I ran after that best of the twice-born as he sped along the trackless way, still smeared with the porridge, crying, 'Be gracious, O blessed one!'

13.144.33 Then the resplendent Brāhmaṇa, looking upon me, said: 'You have conquered anger, Kṛṣṇa, by your very nature, O mighty-armed one.'

13.144.34 'In no respect have I seen a fault in you, O man of good vows; I am pleased with you, Govinda—choose the boons you desire. And see, my son, the due reward of my being well pleased.'

13.144.35 'As long as men shall feel love toward food, so long shall their love toward you be even as toward food.'

13.144.36 'And as long as holy renown of you shall endure in the worlds, so long shall you hold pre-eminence in the three worlds; you shall be dearly beloved of all the world, O Janārdana.'

13.144.37 'Whatever of yours was broken and burned and in any way destroyed, all that you shall behold restored even as before, or finer still, O Janārdana.'

13.144.38 'As long as this is smeared upon your limbs, O Madhusūdana, there is no fear of death for you, O Acyuta, for as long as you wish.'

13.144.39 'But the soles of your feet you did not anoint—why not, my child, today?' For this did not please me, he said to me, well pleased; and being thus addressed, I beheld my own body endowed with splendor.

13.144.40 And well pleased he said to Rukmiṇī: 'You shall attain the foremost glory among all women, and renown unsurpassed in the world, O lovely one.'

13.144.41 'Neither age nor disease nor pallor shall touch you, O fair-faced one; fragrant with holiness, you shall do honor to Kṛṣṇa.'

13.144.42 'Of the sixteen thousand wives of Keśava you shall be the highest, and you shall share the same world with Keśava.'

13.144.43 Having spoken thus to your mother, Durvāsas of mighty splendor, blazing like fire, then setting forth, said to me once more:

13.144.44 'Let just this be your disposition toward the Brāhmaṇas, O Keśava.' And so saying, my son, he then and there vanished from sight.

13.144.45 When he had vanished, I laid upon myself a silent vow: that whatever a Brāhmaṇa might bid me, all of it I would do, O lord.

13.144.46 Having undertaken this vow together with your mother, my child, then, with heart exceedingly glad, I entered the house once more.

13.144.47 And the moment I entered the house, I saw it all made new—whatever had been broken and whatever had been burned by that Brāhmaṇa, my child.

13.144.48 Then I was filled with wonder, seeing it all renewed and whole, and in my mind, O son of Rukmiṇī, I rendered homage to that Brāhmaṇa.

13.144.49 Thus, O bull of the Bhāratas, when the son of Rukmiṇī inquired, I then recounted in full the greatness of that foremost of the twice-born.

13.144.50 So you too, O son of Kuntī, O lord, ever honor the highly blessed Brāhmaṇas always, with words and with gifts.

13.144.51 Thus did I obtain the reward born of the grace of the Brāhmaṇas; and what this Bhīṣma has told you is the truth, O bull of the Bhāratas.

13.145.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: That knowledge which you then gained, O Madhusūdana, by the grace of Durvāsas—this you ought to expound to me.

13.145.2 And the great glory of that exalted one, and the names of the great-souled god—all this I wish to know truly, O best of the wise.

13.145.3 Vāsudeva said: Come then, I shall tell you—having first made obeisance to the matted-haired god—what good I gained and what renown I won, O great king.

13.145.4 Purified, rising at dawn, with hands joined in reverence, I recite the Śatarudrīya, O lord of peoples; hear it now as I declare it.

13.145.5 Prajāpati of great austerity created it at the end of his penance; but it was Śaṃkara, my son, who created the creatures, the unmoving and the moving.

13.145.6 There is no being higher than Mahādeva, O lord of peoples; for here in all three worlds he is the source from which all beings arise.

13.145.7 No one dares to stand before that great-souled one, for no being equal to him is found in the three worlds.

13.145.8 In battle, by his very scent when he is enraged, his enemies lose their senses, are all but slain, tremble, and fall.

13.145.9 Hearing his terrible roar, like the thundercloud's thunder, in battle the very heart of the gods would burst asunder.

13.145.10 Those whom the wielder of the Pināka, enraged, looks upon with his terrible form—neither gods nor demons in this world, neither gandharvas nor serpents thrive in ease when he is wrathful, even if they have fled into a cave.

13.145.11 When the Prajāpati Dakṣa was performing his far-extended sacrifice, Bhava, enraged and fearless, pierced the sacrifice through; releasing an arrow from his bow, he roared aloud with a great cry.

13.145.12 The gods found no refuge—how then peace?—but only despair, when the sacrifice was suddenly scattered and Maheśvara was enraged.

13.145.13 By that twang of the bowstring against the wristguard all the worlds were thrown into turmoil and grew helpless, O Pārtha, and gods and demons alike sank in despair.

13.145.14 The waters were churned up, the earth quaked, the mountains ran loose, and the heavens split apart on every side.

13.145.15 Shrouded in blinding darkness, the worlds shone no longer, and the radiance of the luminaries, along with the sun, was lost, O Bhārata.

13.145.16 Then, sorely afraid, the sages, seeking the welfare of all beings and of themselves, performed rites of appeasement and benediction.

13.145.17 Then he, of terrible prowess, in his fury rushed upon the gods, and in his wrath struck out Bhaga's eyes with a single blow.

13.145.18 Endowed with a transcendent form, he charged upon Pūṣan, and as he was eating the sacrificial cake he knocked out his teeth.

13.145.19 Then those gods, trembling, bowed down to Śaṃkara; yet Rudra fitted again to his bow a blazing, keen-edged arrow.

13.145.20 Beholding Rudra's might, the gods together with the sages grew afraid; then those foremost of the wise sought to propitiate Śarva.

13.145.21 With folded hands the gods then murmured the Śatarudrīya, and, praised by the thirty, Maheśvara was appeased.

13.145.22 They assigned to Rudra a special share in the sacrifice, and in their fear, O king, the thirty took refuge in him.

13.145.23 Through that very excess of his wrath the sacrifice was made whole again, and whatever had been destroyed there was restored just as it had been.

13.145.24 The mighty asuras had three cities in the sky: one of iron, one of silver, and yet another of gold.

13.145.25 Maghavan could not breach them even with all his weapons; then all the immortals, sore beset, went to Rudra for refuge.

13.145.26 Then all the great-souled gods, assembled together, spoke: 'Rudra, in every rite the sacrificial victims shall be yours; slay the daityas together with their cities and save the worlds, O giver of honor!'

13.145.27 Thus addressed, he answered 'So be it,' and making Viṣṇu his choicest shaft, Agni its barb, and Yama son of Vivasvat its feathered tip, making all the Vedas his bow and the supreme Sāvitrī its string,

13.145.28 and making the gods his excellent chariot, and yoking them all together, with that three-jointed, three-barbed arrow he pierced those cities through.

13.145.29 By that arrow, sun-colored and blazing like the fire of doom, those asuras together with their cities were burned up there by Rudra, O Bhārata.

13.145.30 And when she saw him seated on her lap as a child with five locks of hair, Umā, wishing to know, then asked, 'Who is this?'

13.145.31 And when Śakra, resentful, made ready to strike with his thunderbolt, he froze fast that arm, club-like, together with its thunderbolt.

13.145.32 The gods did not recognize him, that lord of the worlds; all of them, together with the Prajāpatis, were bewildered before that Lord.

13.145.33 Then the lord Brahmā, meditating, knew that one of boundless energy: realizing 'This is the supreme one,' he bowed down to that consort of Umā.

13.145.34 Then those gods propitiated Umā and Rudra, and the arm of the slayer of Bala became then as it was before.

13.145.35 And that same one, becoming a brāhmaṇa, the mighty Durvāsas by name, dwelt for a long while in my house at Dvāravatī.

13.145.36 He inflicted many vexations within my dwelling, and out of magnanimity I bore patiently with him things hard to bear and beyond his deserving.

13.145.37 He is Indra lord of gods, and Vāyu; he is the two Aśvins, and he is the lightnings; he is the moon, he is Īśāna, he is the sun and Varuṇa.

13.145.38 He is Time, he is the Ender, Death; he is darkness, the nights and the days, the months and the half-months, the seasons, the twilights, and the year.

13.145.39 He is Dhātṛ and Vidhātṛ, he is Viśvakarman the all-knowing; the constellations, the quarters and intermediate quarters, and likewise the planets—he, whose form is the universe, whose self is immeasurable, the lord of boundless splendor.

13.145.40 He is onefold, and twofold, and manifold; he becomes a hundredfold, and a thousandfold, and likewise a hundred-thousandfold.

13.145.41 Such is that Mahādeva, and the lord is yet more than this; for his virtues cannot be told even in a hundred years.

13.146.1 Vāsudeva said: O mighty-armed Yudhiṣṭhira, learn from me the great glory of the great-souled one, of Rudra of many forms and many names.

13.146.2 They call him Agni, Mahādeva, and Sthāṇu, Maheśvara, the One-Eyed, the Three-Eyed, and the All-Formed, and Śiva.

13.146.3 The brāhmaṇas learned in the Veda know that god to have two bodies—the one terrible, the other benign; and these two bodies are again of many kinds.

13.146.4 His fierce and terrible body is Agni, the lightning, the sun; while his benign and gentle one is Dharma, the waters, and the moon.

13.146.5 Half of his self is said to be Agni, O bull of the Bhāratas; and that benign body of his practices chastity.

13.146.6 His most terrible form, by which he dissolves the world—because of his lordship and his greatness he is therefore remembered as Maheśvara, the Great Lord.

13.146.7 Because he burns wholly, because he is fierce, because he is dreadful, because he is full of fiery power, and because he devours flesh, blood, and marrow—therefore he is called Rudra.

13.146.8 Because he is the greatest of the gods, because his domain is great, and because he guards the whole great universe, he is therefore remembered as Mahādeva, the Great God.

13.146.9 Because he ever prospers all aims through all rites, desiring the welfare of men, he is therefore remembered as Śiva, the Auspicious.

13.146.10 Because, standing erect, he burns, because he is the origin and continuance of life, and because his emblem stands ever firm, he is therefore remembered as Sthāṇu, the Steadfast.

13.146.11 Because his form is manifold—the past, the future, and the present, the unmoving and the moving alike—he is therefore remembered as Bahurūpa, the One of Many Forms.

13.146.12 Because his form is smoke-gray, he is therefore called Dhūrjaṭi, the Smoke-Matted; and because the All-Gods are within him, he is therefore remembered as Viśvarūpa, the All-Formed.

13.146.13 Thousand-eyed, or ten-thousand-eyed, or made of eyes on every side—he is the source of sight, the radiance of vision, and there is no end to his eyes.

13.146.14 Because in every way he protects the creatures, and again because he sports with them, and because he is their overlord, he is therefore remembered as Paśupati, Lord of Creatures.

13.146.15 Because his emblem stands firm through perpetual chastity, and because the worlds magnify him, he is therefore remembered as Maheśvara, the Great Lord.

13.146.16 Whoever worships the image of that great-souled one, or his emblem—he who ever worships the emblem attains to great prosperity.

13.146.17 And the sages too, and the gods, and the gandharvas and apsarases, worship that very emblem which stands erect on high.

13.146.18 When it is being worshipped, Maheśvara rejoices, and with gladdened heart he grants happiness to his devotees, he who cherishes those who love him.

13.146.19 This same god dwells perpetually in the cremation grounds, and there men worship him, the haunter of heroes' places.

13.146.20 Lodged in the body's disorders, he is the death of living creatures here; and he is the breath within bodies, the prāṇa and apāna of the embodied.

13.146.21 His many forms, terrible and blazing, which are worshipped in the world—the wise brāhmaṇas know them.

13.146.22 His many names in the Vedas are derived according to their meaning—from his greatness, his all-pervading power, and his deeds.

13.146.23 And in the Veda the brāhmaṇas know his supreme Śatarudrīya, and the worship of that great-souled one that follows immediately upon the dispersion.

13.146.24 He is the bestower upon all the worlds, and he is called the great universe; the brāhmaṇas and other sages declare him to be the eldest-born of beings.

13.146.25 For he is the first of the gods; Agni was born from his mouth; and though life-breaths are held fast by manifold seizures, he sets them free.

13.146.26 That holy-souled one, the giver of refuge, delivers those who come to him for refuge, granting them long life, health, lordship, wealth, and abundant desires.

13.146.27 These he gives to men, and these again he takes away; and his lordship is declared to abide in Śakra and the other gods.

13.146.28 He alone is ever supreme in the weal and woe of the three worlds; and because he is sovereign over all desires, he is again called Īśvara, the Lord.

13.146.29 He is Maheśvara, the great lord of the worlds, and the lord of the mighty ones; by his many and various forms this whole universe is pervaded; and the mouth of that god is the mare's-mouth fire within the ocean.

13.147.1 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: When Kṛṣṇa, the son of Devakī, had spoken this discourse, Yudhiṣṭhira once more questioned Bhīṣma, the son of Śaṃtanu.

13.147.2 O greatly wise one, foremost of all upholders of dharma, in reaching a certain conclusion, which of the two—direct perception or scriptural tradition—should be the authority?

13.147.3 Bhīṣma said: My judgment holds that there is no doubt at all in this matter. Listen, O wise one; I shall tell you, for you ask rightly.

13.147.4 Doubt is easy to reach, O king, but certainty here is hard to attain; for where doubt appears, the seen and the heard are without end.

13.147.5 The reasoners, who fancy themselves wise, hold direct perception to be the seen authority and conclude 'it does not exist,' thus turning truth itself into mere doubt; childish men who deem themselves learned conclude what is unfitting.

13.147.6 But if you ask which one might be the true authority, that can be reached, O Bhārata, only over a long time, by one who is disciplined and untiring and who has provided for the sustenance of many lives.

13.147.7 This authority can be grasped only by one wholly devoted to it and by no other; reaching the limit of all causes, he attains vast and supreme knowledge, the boundless light of all the world.

13.147.8 Arriving at the truth, O king, and so reaching the end of causes, one must shun all speech that is ungraspable and unfounded.

13.147.9 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Direct perception is established from the world, and the worlds rest upon scriptural tradition; the conduct of the cultivated is of many kinds—explain this to me, O grandsire.

13.147.10 Bhīṣma said: When dharma is being carried off by the powerful and the wicked, even the order established by great efforts is broken down by time.

13.147.11 Unrighteous deeds, wearing the guise of dharma, are like wells hidden over with grass; by these, right conduct is broken—hear this, O Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.147.12 Those who, by their misconduct, break down right conduct—who are bent on abandoning the sacred lore, who hate dharma, and who are dull-witted—about such men doubt has been declared to arise.

13.147.13 But those whose minds rest upon scripture, who are never sated of the company of the good, and who are content saying 'This is supreme'—wait upon such men and question them.

13.147.14 Those who, casting behind them desire and gain—which follow upon greed and delusion—are awakened to dharma alone: wait upon such men and question them.

13.147.15 Their conduct is never broken by the rites of sacrifice and Vedic study; and these three again—right practice, scriptural authority, and dharma—stand firm.

13.147.16 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Once again my mind is bewildered here, sunk in doubt, like one searching across a shoreless flood who can see no farther bank.

13.147.17 The Vedas, direct perception, and established custom—these three are authoritative. If a difference is found among them, yet dharma is one, how can it be threefold?

13.147.18 Bhīṣma said: O king, when dharma is being carried off by the powerful and evil-minded, if you think thus, then the inquiry into dharma proceeds along three paths.

13.147.19 Know it to be but one; its display is threefold. And my judgment too holds the same about the distinctness of these three.

13.147.20 The path of the three has been declared; act accordingly. No quibbling inquiry should be made by over-reasoning about dharma.

13.147.21 Always, O best of the Bhāratas, let there be no doubt in you here. Trusting like a blind, dull man, do what I tell you.

13.147.22 Non-violence, truth, freedom from anger, and giving—cultivate this fourfold practice, O Ajātaśatru; this is the eternal dharma.

13.147.23 And the conduct toward Brāhmaṇas that befits your fathers and forefathers—follow that, O mighty-armed one; for these are the guides to heaven.

13.147.24 The foolish man who would make the authoritative unauthoritative does not deserve to be deemed authoritative himself, for he is a breeder of dispute.

13.147.25 Serve the Brāhmaṇas alone, honoring and esteeming them greatly; know that in them rest all these worlds entire.

13.148.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: Those who revile dharma and those who wait upon it—let your reverence tell me this: where do such men go?

13.148.2 Bhīṣma said: Men whose minds are wholly overspread by passion and darkness, who hate dharma, fall into hell.

13.148.3 But those, O great king, who ever attend upon dharma, devoted to truth and uprightness—those good men are the enjoyers of heaven.

13.148.4 Their delight is in dharma itself, arising from service to the teacher; those who wait upon dharma attain the world of the gods.

13.148.5 Whether men or gods, the righteous who have mortified the body and are freed from greed and hatred flourish in happiness.

13.148.6 The wise call Dharma the firstborn son of Brahmā; the righteous attend upon it as the storehouse cherishes ripened fruit.

13.148.7 Yudhiṣṭhira said: What is the character of the wicked, and what do the good do? Let your honor tell me this: of what sort are the good and the bad?

13.148.8 Bhīṣma said: The wicked are ill-behaved, unapproachable, and foul-mouthed; the good are endowed with virtue—such is the mark of cultivated conduct.

13.148.9 On the highway, amid cattle, and within the cow-pen the righteous do not, O lord of kings, indulge in the discharge of urine and excrement.

13.148.10 Having given food to the five, the good eat what remains; while eating they do not chatter, nor do they sleep with hands still wet.

13.148.11 The fire, the ox, a deity, the cow-pen, a crossroads, a righteous Brāhmaṇa, and a sacred shrine—these they circumambulate to the right.

13.148.12 To the aged, to the burdened, to women, to the child and the sick, to Brāhmaṇas, to cattle, and to kings they yield the path.

13.148.13 Of all guests, of servants, and of one's own kin, and of those who seek refuge, one should be a protector and a bestower of welcome.

13.148.14 Evening and morning is the meal of men ordained by the gods; no eating between is prescribed—that indeed is the rule of fasting.

13.148.15 As fire at the time of oblation awaits only its due time, so a wife awaits only her season; and he who goes to no other woman—that is remembered as celibacy.

13.148.16 The nectar of immortality, Brāhmaṇas, and cows—these three are as one; therefore one should always honor cow and Brāhmaṇa according to the rule.

13.148.17 One does not sin by eating flesh consecrated with the sacrificial formula; but flesh from the back, flesh taken in vain, and the flesh of one's son are all alike.

13.148.18 Whether in one's own land or in a foreign land, one should not let a guest go fasting; having performed an act fruitfully, one should dedicate it to the elders.

13.148.19 A seat should be offered to elders, with salutation and honor; by worshiping elders men increase in life, in fame, and in fortune.

13.148.20 One should never speak harshly to elders, nor send them on errands, nor remain seated while they stand—thus his life is not diminished.

13.148.21 The wise man does not gaze upon a naked woman, nor even upon naked men; he should keep both union and eating ever private.

13.148.22 Among sacred fords, the elders are the holy ford; among the pure, the heart is the purifier; among insights, knowledge is supreme; contentment is the highest happiness.

13.148.23 Evening and morning one should listen to the abundant words of elders; for a man attains learning by constant service to elders.

13.148.24 In recitation and in eating one should raise the right hand; one should ever restrain speech and mind and the wandering of the senses.

13.148.25 Consecrated milk-rice, gruel, sesame-and-rice, and oblation, the Aṣṭaka rites belonging to the ancestral deities, and the honoring of elders—these are duties.

13.148.26 There is auspicious blessing at the trimming of the beard, a greeting for those who sneeze, and for all the sick a wish of long life in return.

13.148.27 One should never say 'thou' to a greater man, even when in distress; among the learned, the familiar 'thou' is reckoned no better than a blow. Such address one may use toward inferiors, equals, and pupils.

13.148.28 The heart of evildoers ever betrays their sin; knowingly they perish, though they conceal it before the multitude.

13.148.29 The wicked conceal a deed done knowingly, thinking 'men do not see me, the gods do not see me'; but the sinner, struck down by his sin, is reborn only as sin.

13.148.30 As a usurer awaits his increase until the breaking of the body, so sin concealed beneath dharma only makes dharma itself grow.

13.148.31 As salt drenched in water dissolves away, so sin, struck down by expiation, at once perishes.

13.148.32 Therefore one should not hide a sin, for when hidden it increases; having committed it, one should confess it among the good, and they indeed allay it.

13.148.33 The wealth heaped up in hope that is not enjoyed in its time—others come to possess it at the embodied one's parting.

13.148.34 The wise call dharma the inner disposition of all beings; therefore all beings rest in dharma alone.

13.148.35 Alone one should practice dharma, and not become a parader of dharma; for they are traffickers in dharma who make a living off it.

13.148.36 One should worship the gods without ostentation and serve elders without deceit; one should lay up a treasure for the world beyond—called charity—for the sake of the onward journey.

13.149.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: A man without his portion of fate gains no wealth, however strong he be; but one blessed with his destined share, though feeble and a child, comes by riches.

13.149.2 In a time of non-gain one gains nothing even when effort is made; in a time of gain, without effort, one obtains abundant wealth. And by the hundreds men are seen whose efforts bear no fruit.

13.149.3 If effort were decisive, a mortal would gain every fruit, and nothing unattainable would remain unattained for men, O best of the Bhāratas.

13.149.4 For one man is seen fruitless though he has made effort, seeking wealth by a hundred prudent ways; while another, taking no proper course at all, is happy.

13.149.5 Some men are seen poor though they have done forbidden deeds again and again; while others, set in unrighteousness, are seen possessed of wealth.

13.149.6 One who has studied statecraft is not seen acting by its precepts, while the ignorant has been raised to a minister's post—by what cause? And the learned is destitute, while the unlearned is rich.

13.149.7 If a man could win happiness by leaning on knowledge, then the learned would not, for a livelihood, attach himself to one devoid of learning.

13.149.8 As a man conquers thirst when he has found water, so a man whose aim is fulfilled by knowledge should cast off ignorance.

13.149.9 He whose time has not come does not die, though pierced by a hundred arrows; but he whose time has come, though touched by only the tip of a blade of grass, does not live.

13.149.10 Bhīṣma said: If, striving through his undertakings, a man does not win wealth, let him mount to fierce austerity; for what is unsown does not sprout.

13.149.11 By giving one becomes an enjoyer, by service to elders wise, and by non-violence long-lived—so the sages have declared.

13.149.12 Therefore one should give and not beg, and should honor the righteous, being fair-spoken, doing what is dear, pure, and harming no living creature.

13.149.13 Since the measure and the inborn nature in pleasure and pain are common even to gnats, worms, and ants, be steadfast, Yudhiṣṭhira.

13.150.1 Bhīṣma said: What is caused to be done and what is done may be good or bad in the doing; therefore, having done good, let one feel assured, but having done evil, let one not feel secure.

13.150.2 It is Time alone here that, granting through time both punishment and grace, enters the minds of beings and sets them moving toward dharma and gain.

13.150.3 But when a man's mind becomes righteous and revealing of true gain, then let the righteous-souled one feel assured; one of unsteady mind should not feel secure.

13.150.4 This much alone is the mark of wisdom in beings: even when bound by time, one who knows both should yet carry out the remaining aim.

13.150.5 For just as men whose lordship has arrived honor other men, so here the righteous honor their own self by their own self.

13.150.6 For Time can in no way render dharma into unrighteousness; therefore one should know the self of a practicer of dharma to be wholly pure.

13.150.7 Unrighteousness is unable so much as to touch dharma—ever guarded by Time—as one cannot touch a blazing fire.

13.150.8 Both these are to be wrought by Time; for dharma is the bringer of victory, and it becomes the light-maker of all the three worlds.

13.150.9 Therein some wise man may lead another, taking him by the very hand; himself borne along by dharma, in dharma full of many fears and deceits.

13.151.1 Yudhiṣṭhira said: What is best for a man here? By doing what does he flourish in happiness? By what does he become free of evil, and what is the destroyer of sin?

13.151.2 Bhīṣma said: This lineage of the gods, joined with the lineage of seers, recited at the two twilights, my son, is the supreme remover of sin.

13.151.3 The god who is teacher of gods and Asuras, revered by all beings, unthinkable and indefinable, the life of all, born of no womb—

13.151.4 the Grandsire, Lord of the world; Sāvitrī, the true consort of Brahmā; the womb of the Vedas, and the Maker; and Viṣṇu, Lord Nārāyaṇa—

13.151.5 Umā's lord, the odd-eyed one; Skanda the army-commander likewise; Viśākha, the fire that consumes oblations, Vāyu, and the moon and sun, makers of light—

13.151.6 Śakra the god, lord of Śacī; Yama together with Dhūmorṇā; Varuṇa, and with Gaurī, and with Ṛddhi the lord of wealth—

13.151.7 the gentle cow, the goddess Surabhī; and Viśravas the great seer; the six seasons, the ocean, the Gaṅgā, the rivers, and then the host of the Maruts—

13.151.8 the Vālakhilyas, perfected in austerity; Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana likewise; Nārada, and Parvata too; Viśvāvasu, Hāhā and Hūhū—

13.151.9 Tumbaru and Citrasena, and the renowned messenger of the gods; the blessed daughters of the gods, and the divine hosts of Apsarases—

13.151.10 Urvaśī, Menakā, Rambhā, Miśrakeśī, Alambuṣā, and Viśvācī, and Ghṛtācī, Pañcacūḍā, Tilottamā—

13.151.11 the Ādityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, with the Aśvins, and the ancestors too; Dharma, Truth, Austerity, Consecration, Resolve, the Grandsire—

13.151.12 the nights and the days; Mārīca and Kaśyapa likewise; Śukra, Bṛhaspati, Mars, Mercury, Rāhu, and Saturn—

13.151.13 The lunar mansions, the seasons, the months, the twilights, and the years; the sons of Vinatā, the oceans, and the serpents born of Kadrū—

13.151.14 the Śatadru and the Vipāśā, the Candrabhāgā and the Sarasvatī, the Sindhu and the Devikā, and the holy ford of Puṣkara—

13.151.15 the Gaṅgā, the great river, the Kapilā and the Narmadā, the Kampunā and the Viśalyā, and the water-bearing Karatoyā—

13.151.16 the Sarayū and the Gaṇḍakī, and the Lohitya, that mighty stream, the Tāmrāruṇā, the Vetravatī, the Parṇāśā, and the Gautamī—

13.151.17 the Godāvarī and the Veṇṇā, the Kṛṣṇaveṇā and the mountain-born streams, the Dṛṣadvatī and the Kāverī, the Vaṃkṣu and the Mandākinī—

13.151.18 Prayāga and Prabhāsa, and the holy Naimiṣa forest, and that abode of Viśveśvara where lies that spotless lake—

13.151.19 and Kurukṣetra, renowned and dense with holy fords, the supreme Sindhu, the ground of austerity and almsgiving, and the Jambūmārga as well—

13.151.20 the Hiraṇvatī and the Vitastā, and likewise the river Ikṣumatī, the Vedasmṛti, the Vaidasinī, and the river Malavāsā too—

13.151.21 the holy tracts of earth, and the Gate of the Gaṅgā as well, the streams of the sages, the sacred rivers, and the Citrapathā—

13.151.22 the Kauśikī, the Yamunā, the Sītā, and the river Carmaṇvatī, the river Bhīmarathī and the Bāhudā, that great stream, the Mahendravāṇī, the Tridivā, the Nīlikā, and the Sarasvatī—

13.151.23 the Nandā and the Aparanandā, and that ford, the Great Lake, then Gayā and the ford of the Phalgu, and the Dharmāraṇya frequented by the gods—

13.151.24 and the holy river of the gods, and the lake fashioned by Brahmā, sacred, famed throughout the three worlds, auspicious, the remover of every sin—

13.151.25 the Himavān, that mountain endowed with divine herbs, the Vindhya whose flanks are bright with minerals, rich in fords and abounding in healing plants—

13.151.26 the Meru, the Mahendra, the Malaya, and the Śveta heaped with silver, the Śṛṅgavān, the Mandara, the Nīla, the Niṣadha, and the Dardura—

13.151.27 the Citrakūṭa and the collyrium-hued mountain, the Gandhamādana, the holy Somagiri, and all the other upholders of the earth, the quarters and the intermediate quarters, the soil, and all that grows from it—

13.151.28 the All-Gods, the firmament, the lunar mansions, and the planets—may these deities, named and unnamed by me, ever protect you all.

13.151.29 The man who recites these names is freed from all his sins; praising and rejoicing in them, the one who delights in the praise of the deities is delivered from every fear and from all the sins of confusion.

13.151.30 After the deities, I shall now proclaim the renowned brāhmaṇas, perfected through austerity and abounding in penance, who release one from every sin.

13.151.31 Yavakrīta and Raibhya, Kakṣīvān the son of Uśij, Bhṛgu and Aṅgiras, then Kaṇva, the mighty Medhātithi, and Barhin endowed with every virtue—these have taken their stand in the eastern quarter.

13.151.32 In the auspicious southern quarter dwell the greatly blessed Ulmuca and Pramuca, the high-souled Mumuca, and the valiant Svastyātreya.

13.151.33 And the majestic Agastya, son of Mitra and Varuṇa, and Dṛḍhāyu and Ūrdhvabāhu, those two most eminent and renowned sages.

13.151.34 Learn now of those who flourish, resting in the western quarter: Uṣadgu together with his brothers, and the valiant Parivyādha—

13.151.35 the sage Dīrghatamas, Gautama, and Kaśyapa, the great seers Ekata, Dvita, and Trita, the righteous son of Atri, and the mighty Sārasvata.

13.151.36 Learn now of those who flourish, resting in the northern quarter: Atri, Vasiṣṭha, Śakti, and the valiant son of Parāśara—

13.151.37 Viśvāmitra, Bharadvāja, and Jamadagni likewise, Rāma the grandson of Ṛcīka, and the sage son of Uddālaka—

13.151.38 Śvetaketu and Kohala, Vipula and Devala, Devaśarman and Dhaumya, and Hastikāśyapa too—

13.151.39 Lomaśa and Nāciketa, and Lomaharṣaṇa as well, the sage Ugraśravas, and Cyavana of the line of Bhṛgu.

13.151.40 This, O king, is the foremost gathering, made up of sages and gods, which I have proclaimed to you—the deliverer from every sin.

13.151.41 Nṛga, Yayāti, Nahuṣa, Yadu, and the valiant Pūru, Dhundhumāra and Dilīpa, and the majestic Sagara—

13.151.42 Kṛśāśva and Yauvanāśva, Citrāśva and the truthful one, Duḥṣanta and Bharata, that emperor of mighty fame—

13.151.43 Yavana and Janaka, and the king Dṛḍharatha, Raghu, that best of men, and the king Daśaratha—

13.151.44 Rāma the hero, slayer of the rākṣasas, Śaśabindu, Bhagīratha, Hariścandra and Marutta, and Jahnu attended by the daughter of Jāhnavī—

13.151.45 Mahodaya and Alarka, and the king Aila, Karaṃdhama, best of men, and the king Kadhmora—

13.151.46 Dakṣa, Ambarīṣa, Kukura, and Ravata of great renown, the royal sage Mucukunda, and Mitrabhānu the kindly—

13.151.47 and king Trasadasyu, Śveta the most eminent royal sage, the renowned Mahābhiṣa, king Nimi, and Aṣṭaka—

13.151.48 Āyu, the royal sage Kṣupa, and the king Kakṣeyu, Śibi the son of Uśīnara, and king Gaya—

13.151.49 Pratardana, Divodāsa, Saudāsa lord of Kosala, Aila, the royal sage Nala, and Manu the Lord of Creatures—

13.151.50 Havidhra and Pṛṣadhra, Pratīpa and Śaṃtanu, the royal sage Kakṣasena, and others who have not been named one by one—

13.151.51 may there be for me no obstacle, no sin, and no adversaries; may victory be ever steadfast for me, and in the world beyond, the supreme goal.

13.152.1 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: When Bhīṣma had fallen silent, like a figure painted upon a canvas, Vyāsa the son of Satyavatī, having pondered for a moment, then spoke these words to the recumbent king, the son of Gaṅgā:

13.152.2 "O king, Yudhiṣṭhira, the lord of the Kurus, has regained his composure, together with all his brothers and the princes who follow him.

13.152.3 He waits upon you, O tiger among men, together with the wise Kṛṣṇa; it is fitting that you grant him leave to return to the city."

13.152.4 Thus addressed by the venerable Vyāsa, the lord of the earth, the son of the river, gave Yudhiṣṭhira leave together with his counselors.

13.152.5 And the king, the son of Śaṃtanu, then spoke to him sweetly: "Enter the city, O king; let the fever of your mind depart.

13.152.6 Offer sacrifice with rites of many kinds, abounding in food and rich in well-earned gifts to the priests, O lord of kings, like Yayāti, with faith and self-restraint going before you.

13.152.7 Devoted to the dharma of the warrior, O Pārtha, gratify the ancestors and the gods; you shall be joined with good fortune—let the fever of your mind depart.

13.152.8 Bring delight to all your subjects, console the people of your realm, and honor your well-wishers with fitting rewards, each according to his due.

13.152.9 May your friends and well-wishers live in your shelter, my son, even as the twice-born find shelter beneath a fruit-laden tree standing in a sacred place.

13.152.10 And you must come to me at the appointed time, O prince, when the maker of day has turned back and the northern course of the sun has begun."

13.152.11 Saying "So be it," the son of Kuntī saluted the grandsire and set out with his retinue for the city named after the elephant.

13.152.12 Placing Dhṛtarāṣṭra at the head, with Gāndhārī faithful to her lord, together with all those sages, with his brothers and with Keśava—

13.152.13 and with the townsfolk and country-folk and the aged counselors, the prince, O best of the Kurus, entered the city named after the elephant.

13.153.1 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Then the king, the son of Kuntī, having honored the people of the town and the countryside as was right, dismissed them to their homes.

13.153.2 And the king, the son of Pāṇḍu, consoled the women whose heroes were slain, whose lords were slain, with abundant gifts of wealth.

13.153.3 Consecrated and having gained the kingdom, the deeply wise Yudhiṣṭhira, that best of men, then set all his subjects firmly in their places.

13.153.4 Receiving the foremost blessings from the brāhmaṇas, the chief warriors, and the townsmen on every side, that best of the upholders of dharma—

13.153.5 the illustrious bull among men, having passed fifty nights in that finest of cities, called to mind the appointed time of the foremost of the Kurus.

13.153.6 Seeing that the sun had turned and the northern course had begun, he set forth from the City of the Elephant, surrounded by his officiating priests.

13.153.7 Clarified butter, garlands and perfumes, garments of fine linen, choice sandalwood and aloe, and black aloe-wood besides—

13.153.8 the son of Kuntī sent on ahead for the honoring of Bhīṣma, together with precious garlands and jewels of many kinds.

13.153.9 Placing at his head Dhṛtarāṣṭra and the renowned Gāndhārī, and his mother Pṛthā, the wise bull among men, with his brothers—

13.153.10 followed by Janārdana and the wise Vidura, by Yuyutsu and by Yuyudhāna, O lord, the Kaurava—

13.153.11 surrounded by a great train of kingly splendor and praised, O great king, set out, leading after him the fires for Bhīṣma's rite.

13.153.12 He went forth from that city even as the lord of the gods would go, and then on Kurukṣetra he came upon the king, the son of Śaṃtanu—

13.153.13 attended by the wise Vyāsa the son of Parāśara, and by Nārada, O royal sage, and by Devala and Asita—

13.153.14 and by the other kings who had survived the slaughter, gathered from many lands, and that great soul guarded all around by his protectors.

13.153.15 Then the king beheld him lying upon his bed of a hero, and the King of Dharma alighted from his chariot together with his brothers.

13.153.16 The son of Kuntī then saluted the grandsire, that subduer of foes, and the brāhmaṇas led by Dvaipāyana, and he was greeted in return by them.

13.153.17 With the officiating priests, who were like Brahmā himself, and with his brothers and with the imperishable Kṛṣṇa, he approached the one who lay upon the bed of arrows, encircled by sages—

13.153.18 and the King of Dharma, Yudhiṣṭhira, together with his brothers, O Kaurava, spoke to that best of the Bhāratas, the recumbent son of the river:

13.153.19 "I am Yudhiṣṭhira, O king; homage to you, son of Jāhnavī. If you can hear me, O mighty-armed one, tell me—what may I do for you?

13.153.20 I have come at the appointed time, O king, bringing your fires, O lord; the teachers and the brāhmaṇas, the officiating priests, and my brothers are here—

13.153.21 and your son, the mighty-splendored Dhṛtarāṣṭra, lord of men, stands present with his counselors, and the valiant Vāsudeva as well.

13.153.22 And the kings who survived the slaughter, and all the people of the Kuru lands—behold them, O tiger of the Kurus; open wide your eyes."

13.153.23 "Whatever was to be done here, all of it has been accomplished by me; just as you bade me at the time, all of it indeed has been done."

13.153.24 Thus addressed by the wise son of Kuntī, the son of Gaṅgā beheld all the Bhāratas standing gathered around him.

13.153.25 Then Bhīṣma, the wrinkles of his brow trembling, raising his mighty arm, the eloquent one with a voice like the roar of flooding storm-clouds, spoke these timely words:

13.153.26 "By good fortune you have come, O son of Kuntī, with your counselors, Yudhiṣṭhira; for the blessed maker of day, the thousand-rayed one, has indeed turned upon his course.

13.153.27 Fifty-eight nights have now passed for me as I have lain upon the keen-pointed arrows, and they have seemed to me as long as a hundred years.

13.153.28 This holy month of Māgha has now arrived, O Yudhiṣṭhira; a third part of it remains, and this fortnight ought now to be the bright one."

13.153.29 Having spoken thus to Yudhiṣṭhira, the son of Dharma, the son of Gaṅgā then addressed Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and at that fitting hour he spoke these words.

13.153.30 O king, you are versed in dharma, and you have well resolved every doubt of meaning; for many deeply learned brāhmaṇas have you served and attended upon.

13.153.31 All the Vedas and the śāstras and the laws of dharma, O lord of men, and the four Vedas with their ancillary limbs, you comprehend entirely.

13.153.32 You must not grieve, O scion of the Kurus, for what was destined had to come to pass; the secret of the gods you have heard even from Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana himself.

13.153.33 As the sons of Pāṇḍu are, O king, even so are they yours in dharma; cherish them, abiding in dharma, for they delight in serving their elders.

13.153.34 For the king of dharma, pure of soul, will abide by your command; I know him to be devoted above all to gentleness and tender toward his elders.

13.153.35 Your own sons were evil of soul, given over to wrath and greed, overcome by envy and wicked in conduct; for them you ought not to grieve.

13.153.36 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Having spoken these words to the wise Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the Kaurava then addressed the mighty-armed Vāsudeva.

13.153.37 O blessed Lord, god of gods and ruler of gods, honored by gods and demons alike, O Trivikrama, homage be to you, wielder of conch, discus, and mace.

13.153.38 Grant me leave to depart, O Kṛṣṇa, dweller in Vaikuṇṭha, supreme among men; the sons of Pāṇḍu are to be guarded by you, for you are their final refuge.

13.153.39 Of old I told the foolish, dull-witted Duryodhana: where Kṛṣṇa is, there is dharma; and where dharma is, there is victory.

13.153.40 Again and again I said: through Vāsudeva as your means of approach, my son, make peace with the Pāṇḍavas; this is the supreme hour for your reconciliation.

13.153.41 But that deluded one, exceedingly dull of mind, did not act upon my word; having brought slaughter upon the earth, he thereafter went to his destruction.

13.153.42 And I know you, O hero, to be the ancient god, the highest of seers, who together with Nara dwelt long ages at Badarī.

13.153.43 So Nārada told me, and Vyāsa of great austerities as well: these two, Nara and Nārāyaṇa, have been born among men.

13.153.44 Vāsudeva said: I grant you leave, Bhīṣma; attain the Vasus, O king. No taint of sin in you have I ever beheld, O greatly resplendent one.

13.153.45 You are devoted to your father, O royal seer, like a second Mārkaṇḍeya; and for that reason death stands subject to your will, bowed low like a servant.

13.153.46 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Thus addressed, the son of Gaṅgā spoke this to the Pāṇḍavas and to all those led by Dhṛtarāṣṭra, together with their friends.

13.153.47 I wish now to release my life-breaths; grant me leave for this. You must strive after truth, for truth is the supreme strength.

13.153.48 You must ever be devoted to gentleness, self-controlled, reverent toward the brāhmaṇas, righteous in conduct, and guided by austerity and wise policy, O Bhārata.

13.153.49 Having spoken thus and embraced all his loved ones, the wise one once more addressed to Yudhiṣṭhira these words.

13.153.50 The brāhmaṇas, and the wise especially, the teachers and the officiating priests, are ever to be honored by you, O lord of men.

13.154.1 Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Having spoken thus to all the Kurus, Bhīṣma the son of Śaṃtanu, that scion of the Kurus, then fell silent for a moment, O subduer of foes.

13.154.2 He held his self steady in the fixations of yoga, each in due order; and the life-breaths of that great soul, drawn together and held in check, rose upward.

13.154.3 And this wonder occurred in the midst of those great souls: whatever part of his limbs the son of Śaṃtanu then released, that very part, as he was joined in yoga, became free of its arrows.

13.154.4 In an instant, before their watching eyes, he became wholly free of arrows; and seeing this, all were amazed, led by Vāsudeva, together with all those sages headed by Vyāsa, O king.

13.154.5 His self, held fast by him in all its seats, then broke through the crown of his head and sprang up into heaven.

13.154.6 Like a great meteor, O lord of men, it issued forth from the region of Bhīṣma's head, entered the sky, and in a moment vanished from sight.

13.154.7 Thus, O tiger among kings, the king, the son of Śaṃtanu, upholder of the line of the Bhāratas, was then united with his own worlds.

13.154.8 Then, taking timber and many varied fragrances, the great-souled Pāṇḍavas, and Vidura, and Yuyutsu the Kaurava, built the funeral pyre; the others stood by as onlookers.

13.154.9 Yudhiṣṭhira and the deeply wise Vidura, both of them, covered the Kaurava son of Gaṅgā with fine linen and garlands.

13.154.10 Then Yuyutsu held over him a splendid royal parasol; Bhīmasena and Arjuna, the two of them, plied the bright yak-tail fans; and the two sons of Mādrī took up the place at the headdress.

13.154.11 The women of the lord of the Kauravas, taking up palm-leaf fans, fanned Bhīṣma, born of the Kuru line, on every side.

13.154.12 Then they performed for that great soul the funeral rites according to ordinance; the officiating priests poured oblations into the fire, and the singers of the Sāman chanted the Sāman hymns.

13.154.13 Then with billets of sandalwood, and with kāleyaka aloeswood, and with black aloe and other fragrances, high and low alike,

13.154.14 having covered over the son of Gaṅgā and kindled the fire, the kings led by Dhṛtarāṣṭra made the rightward circumambulation around him.

13.154.15 And having performed the rites for the best of the Kurus, the son of Gaṅgā, those foremost of the Kurus, upholders of the Kuru line, went to the bank of the Bhāgīrathī, frequented by sages.

13.154.16 Followed by Vyāsa, by Nārada and Asita, by Kṛṣṇa, by the women of the Bhāratas, and by such townsfolk as had gathered there,

13.154.17 those best of kṣatriyas, and all that assembled folk, then offered the water-libation for the great-souled son of Gaṅgā, according to ordinance.

13.154.18 Then the goddess Bhāgīrathī, when the water-rite for her son had been performed, rose up out of those waters, weeping, lost in grief.

13.154.19 Lamenting there, she addressed the Kauravas: Hear, O sinless ones, what truly came to pass, as I now tell it.

13.154.20 Endowed with royal conduct, with wisdom and noble birth, an honorer of the Kuru elders, devoted to his father, firm in his vows—

13.154.21 he whom of old Rāma, son of Jamadagni, could not vanquish even with his celestial weapons—that one of mighty valor has today been slain by Śikhaṇḍin.

13.154.22 Surely, O kings, this heart of mine is wrought of iron-hard stone, that even now it does not burst within me, beholding no more my beloved son.

13.154.23 He who, single-charioted, in battle defeated the whole assembled royal warrior-host at the bride-choosing in the city of Kāśi, and carried off those maidens—

13.154.24 he who in strength had not one equal anywhere on earth—hearing that he has been slain by Śikhaṇḍin, how is it that my mind does not break apart?

13.154.25 He, that great soul, by whom the son of Jamadagni was hard-pressed in battle on Kurukṣetra—he has been slain, and with no great effort, by Śikhaṇḍin.

13.154.26 As the great river thus lamented at length in such wise, the mighty Dāmodara then consoled her with gentle words.

13.154.27 Take comfort, gentle lady; do not grieve, O fair to behold. Your son has attained the supreme perfection—of this there is no doubt.

13.154.28 This one of great splendor was a Vasu, O lovely one, who through the blemish of a curse had come to dwell in the state of a man; for him you ought not to grieve.

13.154.29 This very one, fighting by the dharma of the kṣatriya on the field of battle, was slain by Dhanaṃjaya; it was not he who was struck down by Śikhaṇḍin.

13.154.30 For Bhīṣma, that tiger among the Kurus, with weapon raised in the great battle, not even Śatakratu himself could have slain in combat face to face.

13.154.31 By his own free will your son has gone to heaven, O fair of face; for not all the gods together could have slain him in battle.

13.154.32 Therefore, O best of rivers, do not grieve for the delight of the Kurus; to the Vasus has this son of yours gone, O goddess—be free of your fever of sorrow.

13.154.33 Thus addressed by Kṛṣṇa and by Vyāsa, that best of rivers, O great king, cast off her grief and descended back into her own waters.

13.154.34 Having honored that river, the kings led by Kṛṣṇa, all those lords of men, took their leave of her and then turned back homeward.