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"Yudhishthira said, 'What men, O chief of Bharata's race, are worthy of reverent homage in the three worlds? Tell me this in |
detail verily. I am never satiated with hearing thee discourse on these topics.' |
"Bhishma said, 'In this connection is cited the old narrative of the discourse between Narada and Vasudeva. Beholding Narada |
on one occasion worshipping many foremost of Brahmanas with joined hands, Kesava addressed him saying, Whom dost thou |
worship? Whom amongst these Brahmanas, O holy one dost thou worship with so great reverence? If it is a matter that I can |
heard of, I then wish to hear it. Do, O foremost of righteous men, tell me this!'[251] |
"Narada said, 'Hear, O Govinda, as to who those are whom I am worshipping, O grinder of foes. Who else is there in this world |
that so much deserves to hear this? I worship the Brahmanas, O puissant one, who constantly worship Varuna and Vayu and |
Aditya and Parjanya and the deity of Fire, and Sthanu and Skanda and Lakshmi and Vishnu and the Brahmanas, and the lord of |
speech, and Chandramas, and the Waters and Earth and the goddess Saraswati. O tiger of Vrishni's race, I always worship those |
Brahmanas that are endued with penances, that are conversant with the Vedas, that are always devoted to Vedic study, and that |
are possessed of high worth. O puissant one, I bow down my head unto those persons who are freed from boastfulness, who |
discharge, with an empty stomach, the rites in honour of the deities, who are always contented with what they have and who |
are endued with forgiveness. I worship them, O Yadava, that are performers of sacrifices, that are of a forgiving disposition, |
and self restrained, that are masters of their own senses, that worship truth and righteousness, and that give away land and kine |
unto good Brahmanas.[252] I bow unto them, O Yadava, that are devoted to the observance of penances, that dwell in forests, |
that subsist upon fruits and roots, that never store anything for the morrow, and that are observant of all the acts and rites laid |
down in the scriptures. I bow unto them, O Yadava, that feed and cherish their servants, that are always hospitable to guests, |
and that eat only the remnants of what is offered to the deities. I worship them that have become irresistible by studying the |
Vedas, that are eloquent in discoursing on the scriptures, that are observant of the vow of Brahmacharyya, and that are always |
devoted to the duties of officiating at the sacrifices of others and of teaching disciples. I worship them that are endued with |
compassion towards all creatures, and that study the Vedas till noon (i.e. till their backs are heated by the sun). I bow unto |
them, O Yadava, that strive to obtain the grace of their preceptors, that labour in the acquisition of their Vedas, that are firm in |
the observance of vows, that wait, with dutiful obedience, upon their preceptors and seniors, and that are free from malice and |
envy. I bow unto them, O Yadava, that are observant of excellent vows, that practice taciturnity, that have knowledge of |
Brahman, that are firm in truth, that are givers of libations of clarified butter and oblations of meat. I bow to them, O Yadava, |
that subsist upon eleemosynary alms, that are emaciated for want of adequate food and drink, that have lived in the abodes of |
their preceptors, that are averse to and destitute of all enjoyments, and that are poor in the goods of this Earth. I bow unto them, |
O Yadava, that have no affection for things of this Earth, that have no quarrels to wage with others, that do not clothe |
themselves, that have no wants, that have become irresistible through the acquisition of the Vedas, that are eloquent in the |
exposition of righteousness, and that are utterers of Brahma, I bow unto them that are devoted to the practice of the duty of |
compassion towards all creatures, that are firm in the observance of truth, that are self-restrained, and that are peaceful in their |
behaviour. I bow unto them, O Yadava, that are devoted to the worship of deities and guests, that are observant of the domestic |
mode of life, and that follow the practice of pigeons in the matter of their subsistence.[253] I always bow unto those persons |
whose aggregate of three exists, without being weakened, in all their acts, and who are observant of truth and righteous |
behaviour,[254] I bow unto them, O Kesava, that are conversant with Brahma, that are endued with knowledge of the Vedas, |
that are attentive to the aggregate of three, that are free from cupidity, and that are righteous in their behaviour. I bow unto |
them, O Madhava, that subsist upon water only, or upon air alone, or upon the remnants of the food that is offered to deities |
and guests, and that are observant of diverse kinds of excellent vows. I always worship them that have no spouses (in |
consequence of the vow of celibacy they observe), that have spouses and the domestic fire (in consequence of the domestic |
mode of life they lead), that are the refuge of the Vedas, and that are the refuge of all creatures in the universe (in consequence |
of the compassion they feel towards them). I always bow unto those Rishis, O Krishna, that are the creators of the universe, |
that are the elders of the universe, that are the eldest members of the race or the family, that are dispellers of the darkness of |
ignorance, and that are the best of all persons in the universe (for righteousness of behaviour and knowledge of the scriptures). |
For these reasons, do thou also, O scion of Vrishni's race, worship every day those regenerate persons of whom I speak. |
Deserving as they are of reverent worship, they will when worshipped, confer happiness on thee, O sinless one. Those persons |
of whom I speak are always givers of happiness in this world as well as in the next. Reverenced by all, they move about in this |
world, and if worshipped by thee are sure to grant thee happiness. They who are hospitable to all persons that come unto them |
as guests, and who are always devoted to Brahmanas and kine, as also to truth (in speech and behaviour), succeed in crossing |
all calamities and obstacles. They who are always devoted to peacefulness of behaviour, as also they who are freed from malice |
and envy, and they who are always attentive to the study of the Vedas, succeed in crossing all calamities and obstacles. They |
who bow unto all the deities (without showing a preference for any and thereby proving their tolerance), they who betake |
themselves to one Veda as their refuge, they who are possessed of faith and are self-restrained, succeed in crossing all |
calamities and obstacles. They who worship the foremost of Brahmanas with reverence and are firm in the observance of |
excellent vows and practise the virtue of charity, succeed in crossing all calamities and obstacles. They who are engaged in the |
practice of penances, they who are always observant of the vow of celibacy, and they whose souls have been cleansed by |
penances, succeed in crossing all calamities and obstacles. They who are devoted to the worship of the deities and guests and |
dependants, as also of the Pitris, and they who eat the remnant of the food that is offered to deities, Pitris, guests and |
dependants, succeed in crossing all calamities and obstacles. They who, having ignited the domestic fire, duly keep it burning |
and worship it with reverence and they who have duly poured libations (to the deities) in Soma-sacrifices, succeed in crossing |
all calamities and obstacles. They who behave as they should towards their mothers and fathers and preceptors and other |
seniors even as thou, O tiger among the Vrishnis, dost behave, succeed in crossing all calamities and obstacles--Having said |
these words, the celestial Rishi ceased speaking.' |
"Bhishma continued. 'For these reasons, do thou also, O son of Kunti, always worship with reverence the deities, the Pitris, the |
Brahmanas, and guests arrived at thy mansion and as the consequence of such conduct thou art sure to attain to a desirable |
end!'" |
SECTION XXXII |
"Yudhishthira said,--'O grandsire, O thou of great wisdom, O thou that art conversant with all branches of knowledge, I desire |
to hear thee discourse on topics connected with duty and Righteousness. Tell me truly, O chief of Bharata's race, what the |
merits are of those persons that grant protection to living creatures of the four orders when these pray for protection.' |
"Bhishma said, 'O Dharma's son of great wisdom and widespread fame, listen to this old history touching the great merit of |
granting protection to others when protection is humbly sought. Once on a time, a beautiful pigeon, pursued by a hawk, |
dropped down from the skies and sought the protection of the highly-blessed king Vrishadarbha. The pure-souled monarch, |
beholding the pigeon take refuge in his lap from fear, comforted him, saying, Be comforted, O bird; do not fear, Whence hast |
thou taken such great fright? What hast thou done and where hast thou done it in consequence of which thou hast lost thy |
senses in fear and art more dead than alive? Thy colour, beautiful bird, is such as to resemble that which adorns a fresh-blown |
lotus of the blue variety. Thy eyes are of the hue of the pomegranate or the Asoka flower. Do not fear. I bid thee, be comforted. |
When thou hast sought refuge with me, know that no one will have the courage to even think of seizing thee,--thee that hast |
such a protector to take care of thy person. I shall for thy sake, give up today the very kingdom of the Kasi and, if need be, my |
lice too. Be comforted, therefore, and let no fear be thine, O pigeon.' |
"The hawk said, 'This bird has been ordained to be my food. It behoves thee not, O king, to protect him from me. I have |
outcoursed this bird and have got him. Verily, with great effort have I got at him at last. His flesh and blood and marrow and |
fat will be of great good to me. This bird will be the means of gratifying me greatly. Do not, O king, place thyself between him |
and me in this way. Fierce is the thirst that is afflicting me, and hunger is gnawing my bowels. Release the bird and cast him |
off. I am unable to bear the pains of hunger any longer. I pursued him as my prey. Behold, his body is bruised and torn by me |
with my wings and talons. Look, his breath has become very weak. It behoves thee not, O king, to protect him from me. In the |
exercise of that power which properly belongs to thee, thou art, indeed competent to interfere in protecting human beings when |
they are sought to be destroyed by human beings. Thou canst not, however, be admitted to have any power over a sky-ranging |
bird afflicted with thirst. Thy power may extend over thy enemies, thy servants, thy relatives, the disputes that take place |
between thy subjects. Indeed, it may extend over every part of thy dominions and over also thy own senses. Thy power, |
however, does not extend over the welkin. Displaying thy prowess over such foes as act against thy wishes, thou mayst |
establish thy rule over them. Thy rule, however, does not extend over the birds that range the sky. Indeed, if thou hast been |
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