Mahabharata: Volume 8

by Debroy, Bibek

  ‘“There may be a person who has not eaten six meals. And there may be another person who does not care for tomorrow and does not perform deeds. For the seventh meal, one should take away from such a person.197 This can be taken from the place for husking, the field, the store, or from anywhere. However, this must be told to the king, irrespective of whether he asks or does not ask. The king who knows about dharma will not follow dharma and punish him. Brahmanas suffer from hunger because of the folly of kshatriyas. Having ascertained about the conduct of a learned person, he must think of a means of sustenance.198 He must protect him, the way a father protects a son born from his loins. At the end of every year, he199 must always perform the sacrifice to the fire.200 In ancient times, there was no alternative to dharma. What was spoken about in dharma was sufficient. However, because they were scared of death in times of catastrophe, the vishvadevas, the sadhyas, the brahmanas and the maharshis allowed for many kinds of substitution. But an evil-minded person who does not follow the primary course and follows the secondary course instead, does not obtain any fruits in the world hereafter. A man must not tell the king about brahmanas.201 When he is told, he should know that he has no energy, compared to their learning and excellent energy. Their energy is superior. That is the reason the king can never withstand the energy of those who know about the brahman. As a creator, ruler and ordainer, a brahmana is said to be god. Therefore, nothing harmful should be spoken to them. Nor must dry words be spoken. A kshatriya tides over his difficulties through the valour of his arms. A vaishya and a shudra use riches. A brahmana uses mantras and offerings. Mantras are not for maidens, young women, or stupid people. Stupid people cannot serve at agnihotra sacrifices. Nor can those who have not been cleansed. If such a person offers oblations there, he is flung into hell. Those who know about dharma say that if an officiating priest who ignites the sacrificial fire at a prajapatya sacrifice is not given a horse as dakshina, it is as if the sacrificial fire has not been ignited at all. There are others who perform auspicious deeds. They are faithful and have conquered their senses. However, they can never perform sacrifices without offering dakshina at those sacrifices. If dakshina is not offered at a sacrifice, this destroys the offspring, the animals and heaven for the performer and diminishes his senses, fame, deeds and span of life.

  ‘“All these follow the dharma of shudras—those who cohabit with menstruating women, those who are without the sacrificial fire and those whose families lack knowledge of the Vedas. There may be a village with its supply of water coming from a well.202 A brahmana may be the husband of a shudra woman and dwell there for twelve years. In that case, he has become a shudra through his deeds. A brahmana who is married, but sleeps with a woman who is not an arya and whom he has not married, is not thought of as a brahmana. He must sit on grass and at the rear.203 O king! Hear my words about how he may be purified. If he performs that sin for a single night, the brahmana assumes a black complexion.204 He can pacify his own sin by observing the vow of standing during the day and sitting during the night for a period of three years. O king! It is said that five kinds of lies are not sin—words of jest that cause no harm, those spoken to women, those at the time of marriage, those for the sake of one’s preceptor and those for the sake of protecting one’s own life. One who is faithful can obtain sacred learning even from someone who is inferior. It has been determined that gold can be picked up, even from a filthy place. If a woman is a gem, she may be taken from an inferior lineage. This is like drinking amrita from poison. According to dharma, women, gems and water are not tainted. For the welfare of cattle and brahmanas and to protect himself, when there is a mixing of varnas, a vaishya can take up the bow. The drinking of liquor, the killing of a brahmana and the violation of the preceptor’s bed—it is thought that these cannot be atoned for, as long as one bears life. The stealing of gold, the theft of a brahmana’s property, living a life of pleasure, the drinking of liquor205 and sexual intercourse with women one should not have intercourse with are sins. O great king! If one associates with those who have fallen, even if they have been born as brahmanas, one soon becomes like them. If one associates with those who have fallen, acts as an officiating priest for them, teaches them, travels with them, sits with them or eats with them, one also falls within a year. For these and other things, atonement has been determined. By following the rites of atonement, one is freed from the calamity within a period of time, as long as one does not indulge in them again. At the funeral rites of someone who has committed the afore-mentioned three, unlike the funeral rites of those who have not fallen down, one need not bother about whether the funeral oblations are offered sideways.206 A person who follows dharma should abandon advisers and preceptors if they follow adharma. If they do not perform rites of atonement, he must not even speak to them. A person who performs adharma can destroy the sin by following dharma and performing austerities. If one addresses a ‘thief’, one incurs a sin. However, if one addresses a person who is not a thief as a ‘thief’, one incurs double that sin.

  ‘“A maiden who allows herself to be spoilt acquires three-fourths of the sin of killing a brahmana. The one who does the spoiling acquires the remainder of the sin. Abusing a brahmana is a sin that removes one’s status for one hundred years. Touching207 is even more serious. For killing him, one dwells in hell for one thousand years. Therefore, one must not abuse him and never kill him. O king! As many particles of dust are needed to soak up a brahmana’s wound, for that number of years one is whirled around in hell. If a person kills a foetus, he is purified if he is slain through a weapon in the midst of a battle. Or one must offer oneself as kindling into a blazing fire and thereby purify oneself. If one drinks liquor, one is freed from that sin by drinking hot varuni liquor.208 That act burns him. Once he dies, he is purified after death. A brahmana then obtains the worlds. Indeed, there is no other way that he can obtain them. A person who violates his preceptor’s bed is evil in his soul and wicked in his intelligence. He must embrace a blazing surmi209 and death will purify him. Or he may himself sever his penis and testicles and holding them in his hands, walk straight in the southwest direction,210 until he dies and falls down. If he211 gives up his life for the sake of a brahmana, he will be purified. Or he may perform a horse sacrifice, a cow sacrifice or an agnishtoma sacrifice well and be purified in this world and in the next. A person who has killed a brahmana can hold a skull in his hand for twelve years. He begs and lives as a brahmachari hermit, loudly proclaiming his deed. In this way, the slayer of a brahmana retires to the forest and performs austerities. Not knowing whether she is pregnant or not, one may have intercourse with and kill an atreyi woman.212 Killing an atreyi is double the sin of killing a brahmana. A person who drinks liquor must be restrained in his food and observe brahmacharya. He must sleep on the ground for three years and perform an agnishtoma sacrifice. Finally, when he has given away one thousand cows and a bull, he will obtain purification. Someone who has killed a vaishya must live in that way for two years and then give away one hundred cows and a bull. Someone who has killed a shudra must live in that way for one year and then give away ten cows and a bull. If one has killed a dog, a barbarian213 or a donkey, one must observe the same vow as for a shudra. This is also true of a cat, a blue jay, a frog, a crow, a vulture, or a rat. O king! For killing any other living being, the same dharma as for killing an animal must be observed.

  ‘“In due order, I will now tell you about the other kinds of atonement. If one violates another person’s bed or indulges in theft, one must live separately for one year. This is said to be three years for the wife of a brahmana who is learned in the Vedas and two years for someone else’s wife.214 A person who makes the sacred fire impure must follow the vow of a brahmachari and only eat during the fourth quarter of the day. He must stand during the day and remain seated at night. For three days, he must arise and not sip any water. O Kouravya! If someone abandons his father or his mother without a valid reason, he becomes fallen. That is the determination o
f dharma. It has been determined that only food and garments need to be given to wives who are guilty of adultery, especially those who have been imprisoned. Vows imposed on men who violate other men’s wives must also be imposed on them. If a woman abandons the bed of someone superior and desires that of someone wicked, the king must feed her to the dogs in a place that is frequented by many people. A wise person215 binds down such a man on an iron bed that has been heated. Wood must be kindled underneath and the perpetrator of wicked deeds burnt there. O great king! This is also the punishment for women who transgress their husbands. If a wicked person is accused for one year,216 the sin is doubled. If someone associates with such a person for two, three or four years, he must lead a difficult existence for five years. He must beg and observe the vow of a hermit. A man whose younger brother marries though he is yet unmarried, a man who marries before his elder brother has married, the woman who marries the younger brother and the one who conducts the marriage—under dharma, all of them are said to have fallen. All of them must observe the vow meant for someone who kills a hero.217 Or they may observe chandrayana218 or some other kind of fasting and thereby cleanse their sin. The younger brother who has married must offer his wife to his elder brother, who has not married, as a daughter-in-law. Having obtained the permission of the elder, he then takes her back again. Following dharma, this is the way she is freed and so are the other two.

  ‘“If one has inhuman intercourse,219 provided it is not a cow, one is not stained, as long as one has not ejaculated.220 It is known that man is the lord of animals and their eater. However, one must don a hide with the hair on the outside. One must take an earthen bowl in one’s hand. With this, one must beg at seven houses, recounting one’s deed. If he eats what he has thus obtained, he is purified in twelve days. If he performs the vow without displaying the signs,221 he must observe it for one year. Even for men,222 this is the supreme form of atonement. For all those who are addicted to giving and receiving, that223 is recommended. Among non-believers, it is said that giving a cow is like giving up a breath of life. If one has eaten the meat of dogs, boars, men, cocks or donkeys, or has drunk urine or eaten excrement, one must perform the atonement of being cleansed again. If a brahmana who drinks soma inhales the breath of someone who has drunk liquor, he can drink hot water for three days, or drink hot milk for three days. He can also drink hot ghee for three days or only subsist on air for three days. These are the eternal modes of atonement that have been indicated. This is especially true for brahmanas and has originated from those who possess true knowledge.”’

  Chapter 1488(160)

  Vaishampayana said, ‘Nakula was accomplished in fighting with the sword. During a break in the conversation, he spoke to the grandfather, who was lying down on a bed of arrows. “O grandfather! It is said that the bow is the best weapon. O one who knows about dharma! But it is my view that a well-fashioned sword is the best. O king! When the bow has been severed and when the horses have been killed in a battle, a person is capable of successfully protecting himself with a sword. A brave person wielding a sword is single-handedly capable of warding off those who wield bows and those who wield clubs and spears. I have a doubt and curiosity about this. O king! What is the best weapon for battles? How did a sword arise? Who fashioned it and why? O grandfather!224 Tell me about the first person who instructed about the use of the sword.” He heard the words of Madri’s intelligent son. He knew about all the techniques. He spoke auspicious words that were subtle, colourful and full of purport. He replied to him in words that had vowels and accents. The great-souled Nakula, Drona’s son, was skilled in learning and policy. Bhishma was accomplished in dhanurveda and was knowledgeable about all forms of dharma.

  ‘Lying down on the bed of arrows, he said, “O Madri’s son! Concerning what you have asked me, listen to the truth. I look like a mountain with minerals flowing from it225 and you have stirred me. O son!226 In ancient times, everything was in an ocean of water. There was no sky and the surface of the earth could not be discerned. It was enveloped in darkness. It was enveloped in darkness and it was extremely deep to look at. There was no sound. It was immeasurable. The grandfather227 was born there. He created wind and fire and the energetic sun. He created the sky above and below it, the earth and the nether regions. He created the sky, with the moon, the stars, the nakshatras and the planets, the year, day and night, the seasons, lava and kshana. The grandfather established his body in the worlds. The illustrious one generated supreme and energetic sons—the rishis Marichi, Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Vasishtha, Angiras and the lord god Rudra. There was Daksha Prachetasa, who gave birth to sixty daughters. All the brahmarshis accepted them for the sake of offspring. All the beings in the universe resulted from them—the gods, the large numbers of ancestors, the gandharvas, the apsaras, the many kinds of rakshasas, the birds, the animals, the fish, the apes, the giant serpents and many others that had different forms and strengths, travelling in the water or on the land. O son! There were plants, those born from sweat, those born from eggs and those born from wombs. Everything in the universe was born, mobile and immobile. The grandfather of all the worlds created all these categories of beings. He then again united them to the eternal dharma that is laid down in the Vedas. The gods, with their preceptors and their priests, remained within the fold of dharma—the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the Sadhyas, the Maruts and the Ashvins. So did Bhrigu, Atri, Angiras, the Siddhas, Kashyapa, rich in austerities, Vasishtha, Goutama, Agastya, Narada, Parvata, the Valakhilya rishis, the Prabhasas, the Sikatas, the Ghritachas, the Somavayavyas, the Vaikhanasas, the Marichipas, the Akrishtas, the Hamsas, the rishis who were born from the fire, the Vanaprasthas and the Prishnis. All of them based themselves on Brahma’s instructions.

  ‘“However, the lords of the danavas transgressed the grandfather’s instructions.228 They were full of anger and avarice and diminished dharma. Hiranyakashipu, Hiranyaksha, Virochana, Shambara, Viprachitti, Prahrada, Namuchi, Bali—these and many other large numbers of daityas and danavas crossed the boundaries set by dharma and enjoyed themselves, having determined to follow adharma. ‘All of us are their equals. We are just like the gods are.’ Having reasoned in this way, they challenged the gods and the rishis. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They showed no favour or compassion to any of the beings. They disregarded the three methods and punished the subjects with danda.229 Because of their insolence, those supreme among the asuras entered into an agreement with them.230 At this, the brahmarshis presented themselves before the illustrious Brahma. At that time, he was on the beautiful slopes of the Himalayas, in Padmataraka.231 It was one hundred yojanas in area and was decorated with jewels and pearls. O son! In that supreme mountain, there were groves with blossoming trees. Brahma, the best of the gods, was there, engaged in the success and welfare of the worlds. At the end of one thousand years, the lord made arrangements for a grand sacrifice there, following the rites instructed in the kalpas.232 Rishis who were accomplished in performing sacrifices were there. As required, they were capable of undertaking all the acts. The Maruts covered the place and there were blazing fires. The place was radiant and seemed to be decorated with the golden sacrificial vessels. The circle of the sacrifice was resplendent, because it was surrounded by gods.

  ‘“I have heard that the rishis suffered something terrible there. The sparkling moon arises in the sky and surpasses the stars. Like that, it has been heard that a being broke through the fire and arose there. Its complexion was like that of a blue lotus. It possessed sharp teeth and a lean stomach. It was tall and difficult to behold because of its great energy. When it arose, the earth began to tremble. Large waves and whirlpools agitated the great ocean. Meteors showered down and there were grave portents. Branches fell down from the trees. All the directions were disturbed. Inauspicious winds began to blow. All the beings were continuously frightened and afflicted. On witnessing the tumult and the being that had arisen, the grandfather told the maharshis, the gods and the gandharvas,
‘This valiant being is known as a sword and I have thought of it. This is for the protection of the worlds and for slaying those who hate the gods.’ The sword then abandoned that form and became sharp-edged. It sparkled and was sharp at the edges. It was as if the Destroyer had arisen. Brahma gave the blazing sword to Shitikantha233 Rudra, the one with the bull on his banner. This was for the purpose of countering adharma. At this, the illustrious Rudra was worshipped by the large number of brahmarshis. The one who was immeasurable in his soul accepted the sword and assumed another form. He was four-armed. Though he stood on the ground, he touched the firmament with his head. Mahalinga234 glanced upwards and released flames from his mouth. He assumed many different complexions—blue, pale and red. His garment was made out of black antelope skin and was decorated with stars made out of the best gold. There was a giant eye on his forehead and it was like the sun. He was beautiful with two other sparkling eyes and they were dark brown. The god Mahadeva wielded the trident in his hand and he was the one who plucked out Bhaga’s eyes.235 He grasped the sword, which was like the Destroyer, the sun, or the fire. He grasped a shield that was embossed in three places and it looked like a cloud tinged with lightning. The immensely strong and valorous one roamed around in many different kinds of paths. He waved the sword around in the sky, wishing to bring an end to the danavas.