Mahabharata: Volume 8

by Debroy, Bibek

  ‘“After some time had passed, rajarshi Srinjaya had a son born to him. He was immensely valorous and blazed in his energy. As time passed, he grew, like a giant lotus in a pond. He became Kanchanashthivi, and not just in name.250 O supreme among the Kuru lineage! This extraordinary fact came to be known throughout the world. Indra of the gods got to know this was because of the boon granted by the great-souled ones.251 The slayer of Bala and Vritra was frightened252 and, listening to the counsel of Brihaspati, sought a weakness in the child. He instructed his divine weapon vajra, which appeared in a personified form. ‘O lord! Become a tiger. Go and slay the prince. O vajra! Parvata gave Srinjaya his son and if he grows up, he may surpass me in valour.’ Having been thus addressed by Shakra, the vajra, the vanquisher of enemy cities, was always near the child, looking for a weakness. Having obtained a son who was the equal of the king of the gods in radiance, Srinjaya was delighted. The king, and all the women belonging to his inner quarters, began to reside in the forest. One day, on the banks of the Bhagirathi, the child was running around near that mountainous stream.253 His nurse was the only other person with him. Though the child was only five years old, he was like a king of elephants in his valour. The immensely strong one suddenly ran into the tiger. The king’s son trembled as he was crushed. He lost his life and fell down on the ground. The nurse screamed. As soon as the prince had been killed, through the maya of the king of the gods, the tiger instantly disappeared.

  ‘“Hearing the screams and weeping of the extremely distressed nurse, the king himself rushed to the spot. He saw the child lying down dead, covered in blood, and was distressed. It was as if the moon had been dislodged. He raised the mangled torso of his son, covered in blood, on his lap and wept in great grief. His mothers254 also rushed to the spot where King Srinjaya was. Afflicted by grief, they also wept. At that time, with an attentive mind, the king remembered me.255 Knowing that he had thought of me, I went and showed myself to him. He was stricken with grief. O lord of the earth! Therefore, I made him hear the words that the brave one from the Yadu lineage has told you about.256 With Vasava’s permission, he was revived by me. It was destiny and it could not have been otherwise. After this, the child, the immensely famous Svarnashthivi, arose. The valiant one delighted the hearts of his father and his mother. When his father went to heaven, the lord ruled the kingdom for one thousand and one hundred years. He was terrible in his valour. He performed many great sacrifices at which large quantities of donations were given. The immensely radiant one satisfied the gods and the ancestors. He generated many sons who were the extenders of the lineage. O king! After a long period, he succumbed to the dharma of time.257 O Indra among kings! Just as Keshava and the immensely ascetic Vyasa have told you, you must stem this sorrow that has been generated in you. Bear the burden of the kingdom that belonged to your father and grandfather. Perform great and auspicious sacrifices and obtain the worlds that are desired.”’

  Chapter 1360(32)

  Vaishampayana said, ‘King Yudhishthira was still silent and immersed in grief. The ascetic Krishna Dvaipayana, who knew about the true nature of dharma, spoke to him. “O one with eyes like a blue lotus! The dharma of kings is to protect subjects. Dharma is the standard used to measure people. One must always follow dharma. O king! Follow in the footsteps of your father and grandfather. The eternal dharma of brahmanas has been determined in the Vedas. O bull among the Bharata lineage! That has been the eternal measuring rod, and the dharma of kshatriyas is to protect all this and any man who acts against this must be punished with the use of arms, since this is against the path indicated for the worlds.258 In one’s confusion, one should not take the measuring rod to be something that is not the measuring rod. Whether it is a servant, a son or an ascetic—all those who act in a wicked way must be punished, even killed. If a king does not act in this way, he will commit a sin, since one who does not prevent dharma from being destroyed is guilty of slaying dharma. They259 were the slayers of dharma and you have killed them and their followers. O Pandava! You were stationed in your own dharma. Why are you sorrowing? According to dharma, the king must kill such people, donate and protect the subjects.”

  ‘Yudhishthira said, “O one rich in austerities! I do not doubt your words. O one who is supreme among all those who uphold dharma! Dharma is always in front of you. For the sake of the kingdom, I have slain many who should not have been killed. O brahmana! Those deeds are burning and tormenting me.”

  ‘Vyasa replied, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The doer may be the Lord, or it may be man. Or, as the learned texts say, the fruits in this world may be the consequence of past deeds. O king! If man performs good and evil deeds because he has been so appointed by the Lord, then the fruits also accrue to the Lord. If a man uses an axe to cut down a tree in the forest, the cause can never be the axe, nor does sin accrue to it. The implement cannot take over the fruits of that action. There is no sin if a man uses a weapon to inflict punishment. O Kounteya! One cannot reap the fruits of something that has been done by others.260 Therefore, vest it on the Lord. Or perhaps it is the case that a man is the doer of both good and bad deeds. In that case, there is nothing like the hereafter. In that case, perform a good deed.261 O king! There is no one who can act against destiny. There is no sin if a man uses a weapon to inflict punishment. O king! If you think that the world is established on past deeds, then there cannot have been an inauspicious deed, nor will there be. In this world, if it is necessary to assign good and bad deeds, then the king’s upraised rod of punishment is the determining factor in this world.262 O descendant of the Bharata lineage! It is my view that in this world, people are whirled around, performing good and bad deeds and reaping the fruits. This is the truth and I am instructing you to perform good deeds because the fruits from deeds are certain. O tiger among kings! Therefore, abandon this fruitless sorrow in your heart. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Resort to your own dharma, even if that brings censure. O king! This abandoning of your soul is not proper. O Kounteya! There are rites of atonement that have been laid down.263 One must perform them while one has this body. Without the body, one will not succeed.264 O king! Therefore, while you are still alive, perform those rites of atonement. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! If you do not perform rites of atonement, you will be tormented after death.”’

  Chapter 1361(33)

  ‘Yudhishthira said, “O grandfather! Because of my greed for the kingdom, sons, grandsons, brothers, fathers, fathers-in-law, preceptors, maternal uncles, grandfathers, great-souled kshatriyas, kin, well-wishers, friends, relatives and many kings who had assembled from many countries have been slain. O grandfather! They have been killed by me alone. O one rich in austerities! Those lords of the earth were always established in dharma. They performed good deeds and drank soma. Having caused such people to be killed, what will I obtain? Thinking repeatedly about this, I am incessantly being burnt. Those kings were prosperous and like lions. The earth is without them now. O grandfather! On seeing this terrible slaughter of relatives, the slaying of hundreds of the enemy and other men in crores, I am being tormented. What will be the plight of those beautiful women? They have been deprived of their sons, husbands and brothers. They are wan and distressed and are falling down on the surface of the ground. They are censuring us, the Pandavas and the Vrishnis, as the perpetrators of terrible deeds. On seeing their fathers, brothers, husbands and sons, all those women are ready to give up their beloved lives and go to Yama’s eternal abode. O best among brahmanas! They are driven by affection. I have no doubt about this. It is evident that because of the subtlety of dharma, we will become the slayers of women. We committed an eternal sin by killing our well-wishers. We will be cast into hell, with our heads hanging downwards. O supreme one! We will perform terrible austerities and free ourselves of our bodies. O grandfather! In particular, tell me about the state of life I should resort to now.”’

  Chapter 1362(34)

  Vaishampayana said, ‘On hearing Yudhishthir
a’s words, the intelligent and accomplished rishi, Dvaipayana, thought for some time and then spoke to Pandava. “O king! Remember the dharma of kshatriyas and do not sorrow pointlessly. O bull among the kshatriya lineage! While following their own dharma, those kshatriyas were slain. They desired complete prosperity and great fame on earth. They followed the rules of death and, following time, were killed. They were not killed by you, Bhima, Arjuna, or the twins. Following the dharma of time, those living beings gave up their lives. Time has no mother or father, nor is it partial towards anyone. It is a witness to the deeds committed by people. O bull among men! This265 is an instrument of time. In its form as lord, it uses beings to slay other beings. Know that time is the essence of deeds and is witness to the good and the bad. Time leads to happiness and unhappiness. Time is the one that yields the fruits. O mighty-armed one! Think of the deeds they266 performed. Those led to their destruction and they have come under the subjugation of time. Know your own self and the rules and vows that you observe, and also that these deeds have been ordained by fate. An implement constructed by an artisan is under the control of the one who handles it. In that way, the universe is driven by deeds that are controlled by time. On seeing that the birth and destruction of men have no evident cause, sorrow and delight are both pointless. O king! However, your heart has been ensnared by that which is unreal. Because of that, perform deeds of atonement. O Partha! It has been heard that, in ancient times, the gods and the asuras fought with each other. The asuras were elder brothers and the gods were younger.267 Because of rivalry over prosperity, they fought a great battle that lasted for thirty-two thousand years. The earth became a large ocean of blood. At that time, the gods killed the daityas and obtained possession of heaven. The brahmanas, knowledgeable about the Vedas, obtained the earth. However, because they were confounded by insolence, they began to help the danavas. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They were known in the three worlds as shalavrikas.268 There were eighty-eight thousand of them and they were killed by the gods. Those who destroy dharma, and those who seek the spread of adharma, should be killed, just as the evil-souled daityas were killed by the gods. If by killing a single person the rest of the lineage becomes virtuous and healthy, or if by killing a family the kingdom is saved, then that must be done. O lord of men! Sometimes, dharma has the appearance of adharma. Learned people should know that dharma may assume the form of adharma. O Pandava! Therefore, control yourself. You are learned. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! You have followed a path that has been travelled by the gods. O bull among the Bharata lineage! People like these do not go to hell. O scorcher of enemies! Assure your brothers and well-wishers. A person who begins wicked acts and does not think about it, and, despite continuing to act in this way, does not feel any shame, then it has been said that all the sins accrue to him. There is no atonement for him. Nor are his wicked deeds ever diminished. You have been born in a pure lineage. Your deeds have been caused by someone else’s crimes. You performed those tasks unwillingly. Having performed them, you are repenting. As atonement, a great horse sacrifice is indicated. O great king! Perform that and you will be cleansed of your sin. Having defeated his enemies with the help of the Maruts, Maghavan, the chastiser of Paka, performed one hundred sacrifices one by one and came to be known as Shatakratu.269 He purified himself and won heaven. He obtained worlds that yield happiness. Surrounded by large numbers of the Maruts, Shakra was radiant and illuminated the directions. Shachi’s consort is glorified in heaven by the apsaras. The lord of the gods is worshipped by the rishis and the gods. You have conquered this earth through your valour. O unblemished one! The kings have been defeated through your valour. O king! Surrounded by your well-wishers, go to their cities and kingdoms270 and instate their brothers, sons and grandsons in their respective kingdoms. Assure the children who are still in the wombs. Delight all the citizens and rule the earth. Where there is no male child, instate a maiden. As a class, women are addicted to desire and will laugh away their sorrow. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In this way, assure all the kingdoms. Perform a horse sacrifice, just as the victorious Indra did in ancient times. O bull among the kshatriyas! You should not sorrow about those great-souled kshatriyas. Their destruction has been brought on by their own deeds and they have been confounded by the power of death. You have practised the dharma of kshatriyas and have obtained a kingdom that is free from taint. O Kounteya! Follow dharma and after death, you will obtain the best.”’

  Chapter 1363(35)

  ‘Yudhishthira asked, “After what action does a man need to perform rites of atonement? O grandfather! What must be done to free oneself? Tell me that.”

  ‘Vyasa replied, “Having not done deeds that must be performed, having done what is forbidden and having acted in a false way, a man must perform rites of atonement. O Kounteya! A brahmachari who is asleep when the sun rises, one who goes to sleep before the sun sets, one with malformed nails, one with discoloured teeth, one whose younger brother gets married first, one who marries before his elder brother, one who maligns the brahman, one who is guilty of slander, one who is the husband of a didhishu, one whose first wife is a didhishu,271 one who has violated his vow of chastity, one who kills a brahmana, one who teaches the brahman to an undeserving person, one who does not teach the brahman to a deserving person, one who performs a sacrifice for ordinary people, one who sells the king,272 one who slays a shudra or a woman, one whose ancestors were contemptible, one who slays an animal without a good reason,273 one who sets fire to a forest, one who subsists through deceit, one who goes against his preceptor, one who abandons the sacred fire, one who sells the brahman274 and one who violates an agreement—all of these are sinners.275 O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Listen attentively as I tell you about deeds that must not be done. Abandoning one’s own dharma, following the dharma of another, officiating at the sacrifice of someone who is not entitled to sacrifice, eating something that should not be eaten, abandoning those who have sought refuge, not supporting servants, selling liquor,276 the killing of inferior species,277 not performing tasks that one is capable of undertaking, not giving the gifts that must be given every day, not giving dakshina to brahmanas and humiliating them—those who know about dharma say that these are deeds that must not be done. A son who quarrels with his father, one who has intercourse with his preceptor’s wife and one who does not procreate according to dharma—these are people who follow adharma. These are deeds that should not be done and men must perform atonement for them. However, even when men perform these deeds, there are some situations when they are not tainted. If a brahmana who knows about the Vedas picks up a weapon and attacks you in a battle, wishing to kill you, then you are allowed to kill him. O Kounteya! On this, there is a mantra in the Vedas. This is dharma, as proved by the Vedas, and I am telling you this. ‘If a brahmana has deviated from his conduct and attacks like an assassin, killing him does not amount to the sin of killing a brahmana. This is said to be rage countering rage.’ If a person drinks liquor in ignorance, or because he has been instructed that this will save his life,278 he should thereafter be brought back to dharma through purification. O Kounteya! I have also told you everything about what should be eaten and what should not be eaten. For all this, purification through rites of atonement is prescribed.

  ‘“A man incurs no sin if intercourse with the preceptor’s wife is for the sake of the preceptor. Through a disciple, Uddalaka had Shvetaketu as a son.279 If one steals for the sake of imparting prosperity to one’s preceptor, one is not bound down. That happens if one steals a lot because of desire, or if it is for one’s own sake. If one takes from those who are not brahmanas, there is no sin and one is not touched by the crime, as long as it is not for one’s own self. Lying is allowed provided it is for the sake of saving one’s own life or that of someone else, for the sake of one’s preceptor, when it is among women and in connection with a marriage. A vow is not broken if semen is released through a wet dream. Offering oblations into a blazing fire a
re prescribed as atonement. If the elder brother has become an outcast or has renounced the world, there is no sin from marrying before him. When someone else’s wife solicits you, there is no taint or adharma from indulging her. One should never kill an animal without good reason or cause such an act to be done. Animals deserve kindness and a violation requires due purification. If one gives to an undeserving brahmana in ignorance, there is no sin, nor if one gives to an undeserving person or does not give to a deserving person, provided there is a reason for this. There is no crime in casting off a wife who is of bad conduct.280 If such a woman is purified, the husband is not to be blamed. There is no crime in selling soma if one knows the truth about it.281 If an incompetent servant is discarded, there is no crime. There is no crime if a forest is burnt for the sake of cattle.282 I have told you about deeds that do not lead to sin when they are done. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! I will now tell you in detail about rites of atonement.”’

  Chapter 1364(36)283

  ‘Vyasa said, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Through austerities, deeds and donations, a man is purified, as long as he does not commit wicked deeds again. A person who has killed a brahmana can free himself of the crime of killing a brahmana by eating once a day, roaming around for alms, performing all his tasks himself, holding a skull in one hand and a bedpost in the other,284 following brahmacharya, by always being enterprising, showing no malice, sleeping on the bare ground and disclosing his deed to the worlds. He has to do this for a full twelve years. If he lives on a diet of hardship, a man who kills a brahmana can be purified in six years.285 If he eats from one month to another, he is freed in three years. If he eats only once a month, there is no doubt that he is freed in one year. O king! If one does not eat at all, one is freed very soon. There is no doubt that one is purified through a horse sacrifice. In this way, there are men who have bathed after a horse sacrifice. There are supreme learned texts which say that all their souls have been cleansed. If one is killed in a battle for the sake of a brahmana, one is freed from the sin of killing a brahmana. If the slayer of a brahmana gives one hundred thousand cows to deserving recipients, he is freed from all sin. If one gives away twenty-five thousand milk-yielding brown cows, one is freed from all sin. At the time of death, if one gives one thousand milk-yielding cows with calves to virtuous and poor people, one is freed from sin. O protector of the earth! If one gives away one hundred horses from Kamboja to self-restrained brahmanas, one is freed from sin. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! If someone gives something that another person wishes for and does not brag about his generosity, he is freed from sin.