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"Pasusakha said, 'Let him who has stolen the lotus-stalks be born of a slave-mother. Let him have many children all of whom |
are worthless! And let him never bow to the deities.'" |
"Sunahsakha said, 'Let him who has removed the lotus-stalks obtain the merit of bestowing his daughter in marriage upon a |
Brahmana, who has studied all the Samans and the Yajuses and who has carefully observed the vow of Brahmacharya, Let him |
perform the final ablutions after having studied all the Atharvans!'" |
"All the Rishis said, 'The oath thou hast taken is no oath at all, for all the acts which thou hast mentioned are very desirable for |
the Brahmanas! It is evident, O Sunahsakha, that thou hast appropriated our lotus-stalks!'" |
"Sunahsakha said, 'The lotus stalks deposited by you not being seen, what you say is perfectly true, for it is I who have actually |
stolen them. In the very sight of all of you I have caused the disappearance of those stalks! Ye sinless ones, the act was done by |
me from desire of testing you! I came hither for protecting you. That woman who lies slain there was called Yatudhani. She |
was of a fierce disposition. Sprung from the incantations of king Vrishadarbhi, she had come here from the desire of slaying all |
of you! You ascetics endued with wealth of penances, egged on by that king, she had come, but I have slain her. That wicked |
and sinful creature, sprung from the sacrificial fire, would otherwise have taken your lives. It was for killing her and saving you |
that I came here, ye learned Brahmanas! Know that I am Vasava! Ye have completely freed yourselves from the influence of |
cupidity. In consequence of this, ye have won many eternal regions fraught with the fruition of every wish as soon as it rises in |
the heart! Do ye rise, without delay, from this place and repair to those regions of beatitude, ye regenerate ones, that are |
reserved for you!' |
"Bhishma continued, 'The great Rishis, highly gratified at this, replied unto Purandara, saying, 'So be it!' They then ascended to |
heaven in company of Indra himself. Even thus, those high-souled persons, though famishing with hunger and though tempted |
at such a time with the offer of diverse kinds of enjoyable articles, refrained from yielding to temptation. As the result of such |
self-denial, they attained to heaven. It seems, therefore, that one should, under all circumstances, cast off cupidity from oneself. |
Even this, O king, is the highest duty. Cupidity should be cast off. The man who recites this account (of the deeds of the |
righteous Rishis) in assemblies of men, succeeds in acquiring wealth. Such a man has never to attain to a distressful end. The |
Pitris, the Rishis, and the deities become all pleased with him. Hereafter, again, he becomes endued with fame and religious |
merit and wealth!'" |
SECTION XCIV |
"Bhishma said, "In this connection is cited the old history of the oaths (taken by many Rishis one after another) on the occasion |
of a sojourn to the sacred waters. O best of the Bharatas, the act of theft had been done by Indra, and the oaths were taken by |
many royal and regenerate Rishis. Once on a time, the Rishis, having assembled together, proceeded to the western Prabhasa. |
They held a consultation there which resulted in a resolve on their part to visit all the sacred waters on earth. There were Sakra |
and Angiras and Kavi of great learning and Agastya and Narada and Pravata; and Bhrigu and Vasishtha and Kasyapa and |
Gautama and Viswamitra and Jamadagni, O king! There were also the Rishi Galava, and Ashtaka and Bharadwaja and |
Arundhati and the Valakhilyas; and Sivi and Dilipa and Nahusha and Amvarisha and the royal Yayati and Dhundhumara and |
Puru. These foremost of men, placing the high-souled Satakratu, the slayer of Vritra, at their head, went to all the sacred waters |
one after another, and at last reached the highly sacred Kausiki on the day of the full moon in the month of Magha. Having |
cleansed themselves of all sins by ablutions performed in all the sacred waters, they at last proceeded to the very sacred |
Brahmasara. Bathing in that lake, those Rishis endued with energy like that of fire began to gather and eat the stalks of the |
lotus. Amongst those Brahmanas, some had extracted the stalks of the lotus and some the stalks of the Nymphoea stellata. Soon |
they found that the stalks extracted by Agastya (and deposited on the bank) had been taken away by somebody. The foremost |
of Rishis, Agastya, addressing them all, said, 'Who has taken away the good stalks which I had extracted and deposited here? I |
suspect some one amongst you must have done the act. Let him who has taken them away give them back to me. It behoves |
you not thus to misappropriate my stalks! It is heard that Time assails the energy of Righteousness. That Time has come upon |
us. Hence, Righteousness is afflicted. It is meet that I should go to heaven for good, before unrighteousness assails the world |
and establishes itself here![427] Before the time comes when Brahmanas, loudly uttering the fully Vedas, within the precincts |
of villages and inhabited places, cause the Sudras to hear them, before the time comes when kings often against the rules of |
Righteousness from motives of policy, I shall go to heaven for good! Before men cease to regard the distinctions between the |
lower, the middle, and the higher classes, I shall go to heaven for good. Before Ignorance assails the world and envelops all |
things in darkness, I shall go to heaven for good.[428] Before the time comes when the strong begin to lord it over the weak |
and treat them as slaves, I shall go to heaven for good. Indeed, I dare not remain on earth for witnessing these things.' The |
Rishis, much concerned at what he said, addressed that great ascetic and said, 'We have not stolen thy stalks! Thou shouldst not |
harbour these suspicions against us. O great Rishi, we shall take the most frightful oaths!' Having said these words, conscious |
of their own innocence, and desirous of upholding the cause of righteousness, those Rishis and sages of royal descent then |
began to swear, one after another, the following oaths.'" |
"Bhrigu said, 'Let him who has stolen thy stalks censure when censured, assail when assailed, and eat the flesh that is attached |
to the back-bone of animals (slaughtered in sacrifice)!'"[429] |
"Vasishtha said, 'Let him who has stolen thy stalks neglect his Vedic studies, leash hounds, and having, taken himself to the |
mendicant order live in a city or town!'[430] |
"Kasyapa said, 'Let him who has stolen thy stalks sell all things in all places, misappropriate deposits, and give false evidence!' |
"Gautama said, 'Let him who has stolen thy stalks live, displaying pride in all things, with an understanding that does not see |
all creatures with an equal eye, and always yielding himself to the influence of desire and wrath! Let him be a cultivator of the |
soil, and let him be inspired by malice!'[431] |
"Angiras said, 'Let him who has stolen thy stalks be always impure! Let him be a censurable Brahmana (for his misdeeds). Let |
him leash hounds. Let him be guilty of Brahmanicide. Let him be averse to expiations after having committed transgressions!'" |
"Dhundhumara said, 'Let him who has stolen thy stalks be ungrateful to his friends! Let him take birth in a Sudra woman! Let |
him eat alone any good food (coming to the house), without sharing it with others!'"[432] |
"Dilipa said, 'Let him who has stolen thy stalks descend to those regions of misery and infamy which are reserved for that |
Brahmana who re-sides in a village having but one well and who has sexual congress with a Sudra woman!'"[433] |
"Puru said, 'Let him who has stolen thy stalks adopt the occupation of a physician! Let him be supported by the earnings of his |
wife! Let him draw his sustenance from his father-in-law!'" |
"Sukra said, 'Let him who has stolen thy stalks eat the flesh of animals not slain in sacrifices! Let him have sexual congress at |
day-time! Let him be a servant of the king!'" |
"Jamadagni said, 'Let him who has stolen thy stalks study the Vedas on forbidden days or occasions. Let him feed friends at |
Sraddhas performed by him! Let him eat at the Sraddha of a Sudra!' |
"Sivi said, 'Let him who has stolen thy stalks die without having established a fire (for daily worship)! Let him be guilty of |
obstructing the performance of sacrifices by others! Let him quarrel with those that are observant of penances!'" |
"Yayati said, 'Let him who has stolen thy stalks be guilty of having sexual congress with his wife when she is not in her season |
and when he is himself in the observance of a vow and bears matted locks on his head! Let him also disregard the Vedas!'" |
"Nahusha said, 'Let him who has stolen thy stalks live in domesticity after having betaken himself to the vow of mendicancy! |
Let him act in whatever way he pleases (and without restraint of any kind), after having undergone the initiatory rites in view |
of a sacrifice or some solemn observance! Let him take pecuniary gratification for prelections to disciples (on any branch of |
knowledge that the latter come to learn)!' |
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