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"Bhishma continued, 'Hearing these words of his, Purandara said unto him. The status of a Brahmana, O Matanga, which thou |
desirest to acquire is really unattainable by thee. It is true, thou desirest to acquire it, but then it is incapable of acquisition by |
persons begotten on uncleansed souls. O thou of foolish understanding, thou art sure to meet with destruction if thou persistest |
in this pursuit. Desist, therefore, from this vain endeavour without any delay. This object of thy desire, viz., the status of a |
Brahmana, which is the foremost of everything, is incapable of being won by penances. Therefore, by coveting that foremost |
status, thou wilt incur sure destruction. One born as a Chandala can never attain to that status which is regarded as the most |
sacred among the deities and Asuras and human beings!'" |
SECTION XXVIII |
"Bhishma said, 'Thus addressed by Indra, Matanga of restrained vows and well regulated soul, (without hearkening to the |
counsels of the chief of the celestials), stood for a hundred years on one foot, O thou of unfading glory. Sakra of great fame |
once more appeared before him and addressing him, said,--The status of a Brahmana, O child, is unattainable. Although thou |
covetest it, it is impossible for thee to obtain it. O Matanga, by coveting that very high status thou art sure to be destroyed. Do |
not, O son, betray such rashness. This cannot be a righteous path for thee to follow. O thou of foolish understanding, it is |
impossible for thee to obtain it in this world. Verily, by coveting that which is unattainable, thou art sure to meet with |
destruction in no time. I am repeatedly forbidding thee. By striving, however, to attain that high status by the aid of thy |
penances, notwithstanding my repeated admonition, thou art sure to meet with destruction. From the order of brute life one |
attains to the status of humanity. If born as human being, he is sure to take birth as a Pukkasa or a Chandala. Verily, one having |
taken birth in that sinful order of existence, viz., Pukkasa, one, O Matanga, has to wander in it for a very long time. Passing a |
period of one thousand years in that order, one attains next to the status of a Sudra. In the Sudra order, again, one has to wander |
for a long time. After thirty thousand years one acquire the status of a Vaisya. There, in that order, one has to pass a very long |
period. After a time that is sixty times longer than what has been stated as the period of Sudra existence, one becomes a person |
of the fighting order. In the Kshatriya order one has to pass a very long time. After a time that is measured by multiplying the |
period last referred to by sixty, one becomes born as a fallen Brahmana. In this order one has to wander for a long period. After |
a time measured by multiplying the period last named by two hundred, one becomes born in the race of such a Brahmana as |
lives by the profession of arms. There, in that order, one has to wander for a long period. After a time measured by multiplying |
the period last named by three hundred, one takes birth in the race of a Brahmana that is given to the recitation of the Gayatri |
and other sacred Mantras. There, in that order, one has to wander for a long period. After a time measured by multiplying the |
period last named by four hundred, one takes birth in the race of such a Brahmana as is conversant with the entire Vedas and |
the scriptures, There, in that order, one has to wander for a very long period. While wandering in that status of existence, joy |
and grief, desire and aversion, vanity and evil speech, seek to enter into him and make a wretch of him. If he succeeds in |
subjugating those foes, he then attains a high end. If, on the other hand, those enemies succeed in subjugating him, he falls |
down from that high status like a person falling down on the ground from the high top of a palmyra tree. Knowing this for |
certain, O Matanga, I say unto thee, do thou name some other boon, for the status of a Brahmana is incapable of being attained |
by thee (that hast been born as a Chandala)!' |
SECTION XXIX |
"Bhishma said, 'Thus advised by Indra, Matanga, observant of vows, refused, to hear what he was bid. On the other hand, with |
regulated vows and cleansed soul, he practised austere penances by standing on one foot for a thousand years, and was deeply |
engaged in Yoga-meditation. After a thousand years had passed away, Sakra once more came to see him. Indeed, the slayer of |
Vala and Vritra said unto him the same words.' |
'Matanga said, 'I have passed these thousand years, standing on one foot, in deep meditation, observing of the vow of |
Brahmacharyya. Why is it that I have not yet succeeded in acquiring the status of a Brahmana?' |
'Sakra said, 'One born on a Chandala cannot, by any means acquire the status of a Brahmana. Do thou, therefore name some |
boon so that all this labour of thine may not prove fruitless--Thus addressed by the chief of the celestials, Matanga became |
filled with grief. He repaired to Prayaga, and passed there a hundred years, standing all the while on his toes. In consequence of |
the observance of such Yoga which was extremely difficult to bear, he became very much emaciated and his arteries and veins |
became swollen and visible. He was reduced to only skin and bones. Indeed, it has been heard by us that the righteous-souled |
Matanga, while practising those austerities at Gaya, dropped down on the ground from sheer exhaustion. The lord and giver of |
boons, engaged in the good of all creatures, viz., Vasava beholding him falling down, quickly came to that spot and held him |
fast.' |
"Sakra said, 'It seems, O Matanga, that the status of a Brahmana which thou seekest is ill-suited to thee. That status is incapable |
of being attained by thee. Verily, in thy case, it is surrounded by many dangers. A person by worshipping a Brahmana obtains |
happiness; while by abstaining from such worship, he obtains grief and misery. The Brahmana is, with respect to all creatures, |
the giver of what they prize or covet and the protector of what they already have. It is through the Brahmanas that the Pitris and |
the deities become gratified. The Brahmana, O Matanga, is said to be foremost of all created Beings. The Brahmana grants all |
objects that are desired and in the way they are desired?[248] Wandering through innumerable orders of Being and undergoing |
repeated rebirths, one succeeds in some subsequent birth in acquiring the status of a Brahmana. That status is really incapable |
of being obtained by persons of uncleansed souls. Do thou, therefore, give up the idea. Do thou name some other boon. The |
particular boon which thou seekest is incapable of being granted to thee.' |
"Matanga said, 'Afflicted as I am with grief, why, O Sakra, dost thou afflict me further (with such speeches as these)? Thou art |
striking one that is already dead, by this behaviour. I do not pity thee for having acquired the status of a Brahmana thou now |
failest to retain it (for thou hast no compassion to show for one like me). O thou of a hundred sacrifices, the status of a |
Brahmana as thou sayest be really unattainable by any of the three other orders, yet, men that have succeeded in acquiring |
(through natural means) that high status do not adhere to it (for what sins do net even Brahmanas commit). Those who having |
acquired the status of a Brahmana that, like affluence, is so difficult to acquire, do not seek to keep it up (by practising the |
necessary duties), must be regarded to be the lowest of wretches in this world. Indeed, they are the most sinful of all creatures. |
Without doubt, the status of a Brahmana is exceedingly difficult to attain, and once being attained, it is difficult to maintain it. |
It is capable of dispelling every kind of grief. Alas, having attained to it, men do not always seek to keep it up (by practising |
righteousness and the other duties that attach to it). When even such persons are regarded as Brahmanas why is it that I, who |
am contented with my own self, who am above all couples of opposites, who am dissociated from all worldly objects, who am |
observant of the duty of compassion towards all creatures and of self-restraint of conduct, should not be regarded as deserving |
of that status.[249] How unfortunate I am, O Purandara, that through the fault of my mother I have been reduced to this |
condition, although I am not unrighteous in my behaviour? Without doubt, Destiny is incapable of being warded off or |
conquered by individual exertion, since, O lord, I am unable to acquire, notwithstanding these persistent efforts of mine, the |
object, upon the acquisition of which I have set my heart. When such is the case, O righteous one, it behoves thee to grant me |
some other boon if, indeed, I have become worthy of thy grace or if I have a little of merit.' |
"Bhishma continued, 'The slayer of Vala and Vritra then said unto him,--Do thou name the boon.--Thus urged by the great |
Indra, Matanga said the following words: |
"Matanga said, 'Let me be possessed of the power of assuming any form at will, and journeying through the skies and let me |
enjoy whatever pleasures I may set my heart upon. And let me also have the willing adorations of both Brahmanas and |
Kshatriyas. I bow to thee by bending my head, O god. It behoveth thee to do that also by which my fame, O Purandara, May |
live for ever in the world.' |
"Sakra said, 'Thou shalt be celebrated as the deity of a particular measure of verse and thou shalt obtain the worship of all |
woman. Thy fame, O son, shall become unrivalled in the three worlds.'--Having granted him these boons, Vasava disappeared |
there and then. Matanga also, casting off his life-breaths, attained to a high place. Thou mayst thus see, O Bharata, that the |
status of a Brahmana is very high. That status is incapable of being acquired here (except in the natural way of birth) as said by |
the great Indra himself.' |
SECTION XXX |
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