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world.'"[378] |
SECTION LXXXI |
"Yudhishthira said, 'Tell me, O grandsire, what is that which is the most sacred of all sacred things in the world, other than that |
which has been already mentioned, and which is the highest of all sanctifying objects.' |
"Bhishma said, 'Kine are the foremost of all objects. They are highly sacred and they rescue men (from all kinds of sin and |
distress). With their milk and with the Havi manufactured therefrom, kine uphold all creatures in the universe. O best of the |
Bharatas, there is nothing that is more sacred than kine. The foremost of all things in the three worlds, kine are themselves |
sacred and capable of cleansing others, Kine reside in a region that is even higher than the region of the deities. When given |
away, they rescue their givers. Men of wisdom succeed in attaining to Heaven by making gifts of kine. Yuvanaswa's son |
Mandhatri, Yayati, and (his sire) Nahusha, used always to give away kine in thousands. As the reward of those gifts, they have |
attained to such regions as are unattainable by the very deities. There is, in this connection, O sinless one, a discourse delivered |
of old. I shall recite it to thee. Once on a time, the intelligent Suka, having finished his morning rites, approached with a |
restrained mind his sire, that foremost of Rishis, viz., the Island-born Krishna, who is acquainted with the distinction between |
that which is superior and that which is inferior, and saluting him, said, 'What is that sacrifice which appears to thee as the |
foremost of all sacrifices? What is that act by doing which men of wisdom succeed in attaining to the highest region? What is |
that sacred act by which the deities enjoy the felicity of Heaven? What constitutes the character of sacrifice as sacrifice? What |
is that upon which sacrifice rests? What is that which is regarded as the best by the deities? What is that sacrifice which |
transcends the sacrifices of this world? Do thou also tell me, O sire, what is that which is the most sacred of all things. Having |
heard these words of his son, O chief of Bharata's race, Vyasa, the foremost of all persons conversant with duties, discoursed as |
follows unto him.' |
"Vyasa said, 'Kine constitute the stay of all creatures. Kine are the refuge of all creatures. Kine are the embodiment of merit. |
Kine are sacred, and kine are sanctifiers of all. Formerly kine were hornless as it has been heard by us. For obtaining horns they |
adored the eternal and puissant Brahmana. The puissant, Brahmana, seeing the kine paying their adorations to him and sitting |
in praya, granted unto each of them what each desired. Thereafter their horns grew and each got what each desired. Of diverse |
colours, and endued with horns, they began to shine in beauty, O son! Favoured by Brahman himself with boons, kine are |
auspicious and yielders of Havya and Kavya. They are the embodiments of merit. They are sacred and blessed. They are |
possessed of excellent form and attributes. Kine constitute high and highly excellent energy. The gift of kine is very much |
applauded. Those good men who, freed from pride, make gifts of kine, are regarded as doers of righteous deeds and as givers |
of all articles. Such men, O sinless one, attain to the highly sacred region of kine. The trees there produce sweet fruits. Indeed, |
those trees are always adorned with excellent flowers and fruits. Those flowers, O best of regenerate persons, are endued with |
celestial fragrance. The entire soil of that region is made of gems. The sands there are all gold. The climate there is such that |
the excellencies of every season are felt. There is no more mire, no dust. It is, indeed, highly auspicious. The streams that run |
there shine in resplendence for the red lotuses blooming upon their bosoms, and for the jewels and gems and gold that occur in |
their banks and that display the effulgence of the morning Sun. There are many lakes also in that region on whose breasts are |
many lotuses, mixed here and there with Nymphoea stellata, and having their petals made of costly gems, and their filaments |
adorned with a complexion like that of gold. They are also adorned with flowering forests of the Nerium odorum with |
thousands of beautiful creepers twining round them, as also with forests of Santanakas bearing their flowery burdens. There are |
rivers whose banks are variegated with many bright pearls and resplendent gems and shining gold. Portions of those regions are |
covered with excellent trees that are decked with jewels and gems of every kind. Some of them are made of gold and some |
display the splendour of fire. There stand many mountains made of gold, and many hills and eminences made of jewels and |
gems. These shine in beauty in consequence of their tall summits which are composed of all kinds of gems. The trees that |
adorn those regions always put forth flowers and fruits, and are always covered with dense foliage. The flowers always emit a |
celestial fragrance and the fruits are exceedingly sweet, O chief of Bharata's race. Those persons that are of righteous deeds, O |
Yudhishthira, always sport there in joy. Freed from grief and wrath, they pass their time there, crowned with the fruition of |
every wish. Persons of righteous deeds, possessed of fame, sport there in happiness, moving from place to place, O Bharata, on |
delightful vehicles of great beauty. Auspicious deed, bands of Apsaras always amuse them there, with music and dance. Indeed |
O Yudhishthira, a person goes to such regions as the reward of his making gifts of kine. Those regions which have for their |
lords Pushan, and the Maruts of great puissance, are attained to by givers of kine. In affluence the royal Varuna is regarded as |
pre-eminent. The giver of kine attains to affluence like that of Varuna himself. One should, with the steadiness of a vow, daily |
recite these Mantras declared by Prajapati himself (in respect of kine). Viswarupa and viz.,--Yugandharah, Surupah, |
Vahurupah, and Matara.[379]--He who serves kine with reverence and who follows them with humility, succeeds in obtaining |
many invaluable boons from kine who become gratified with him. One should never, in even one's heart, do an injury to kine. |
One should, indeed, always confer happiness on them. One should, always reverence kine and worship them, with bends of |
one's head. He who does this, restraining his senses the while and filled with cheerfulness, succeeds in attaining to that felicity |
which is enjoyed by kine (and which kine alone can confer). One should for three days drink the hot urine of the cow. For the |
next three days one should drink the hot milk of the cow. Having thus drunk for three days hot milk, one should next drink hot |
ghee for three days. Having in this way drunk hot ghee for three days, one should subsist for the next three days on air only. |
That sacred thing by whose aid the deities enjoy regions of felicity, that which is the most sacred of all sacred things, viz., ghee |
should then be borne on the head.[380] With the aid of ghee one should pour libations on the sacred fire. By making gifts of |
ghee, one should cause the Brahman to utter benedictions on oneself. One should eat ghee and make gifts of ghee. As the |
reward of this conduct, one may then attain to that prosperity which belongs to kine. That man who, for a month, subsists upon |
the gruel of barley picked up every day from cow dung becomes cleansed of sins as grave as the slaughter of a Brahman. After |
their defeat at the hands of the Daityas, the deities practised this expiation. It was in consequence of this expiation that they |
succeeded in regaining their position as deities. Verily, it was through this that they regained their strength and became |
crowned with success. Kine are sacred. They are embodiments of merit. They are high and most efficacious cleansers of all. By |
making gifts of kine unto the Brahmanas one attains to Heaven. Living in a pure state, in the midst of kine, one should mentally |
recite those sacred Mantras that are known by the name of Gomati, after touching pure water. By doing this, one becomes |
purified and cleansed (of all sins). Brahmanas of righteous deeds, who have been cleansed by knowledge, study of the Vedas, |
and observance of vows, should, only in the midst of sacred fires or kine or assemblies of Brahmanas, impart unto their |
disciples a knowledge of the Gomati Mantras which are every way like unto a sacrifice (for the merit they produce). One |
should observe a fast for three nights for receiving the boon constituted by a knowledge of the import of the Gomati Mantras. |
The man who is desirous of obtaining a son may obtain one by adoring these Mantras. He who desires the possession of wealth |
may have his desire gratified by adoring these Mantras. The girl desirous of having a good husband may have her wish fulfilled |
by the same means. In fact, one may acquire the fruition of every wish one may cherish, by adoring these sacred Mantras. |
When kine are gratified with the service one renders them, they are, without doubt, capable of granting the fruition of every |
wish. Even so, kine are highly blessed. They are the essential requisites of sacrifices. They are grantors of every wish. Know |
that there is nothing superior to kine.' |
"Bhishma continued, 'Thus addressed by his high-souled sire, Suka, endued with great energy, began from that time to worship |
kine every day. Do thou also, O son, conduct thyself in the same way.'" |
SECTION LXXXII |
"Yudhishthira said, 'I have heard that the dung of the cow is endued with Sree. I desire to hear how this has been brought about. |
I have doubts, O grandsire, which thou shouldst dispel.'[381] |
"Bhishma said, 'In this connection is cited the old story, O monarch, of the conversation between kine and Sree, O best of the |
Bharatas! Once on a time the goddess Sree, assuming a very beautiful form, entered a herd of kine. The kine, beholding her |
wealth of beauty, became filled with wonder.' |
"The kine said, 'Who art thou, O goddess? Whence hast thou become unrivalled on earth for beauty? O highly blessed goddess, |
we have been filled with wonder at thy wealth of beauty. We desire to know who thou art. Who, indeed, art thou? Whither wilt |
thou proceed? O thou of very superior splendour of complexion, do tell us in detail all we wish to know.' |
"Sri said, 'Blessed be ye, I am dear unto all creatures. Indeed, I am known by the name of Sri. Forsaken by me, the Daityas |
have been lost for ever. The deities, viz., Indra, Vivaswat, Soma, Vishnu, Varuna, and Agni, having obtained me, are sporting |
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