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me! Indeed, thou shouldst not bear it away, disregarding my protestations and cries!' |
"Dhritarashtra said, 'I shall give thee a thousand kine, a hundred maid-servants, and five hundred pieces of gold. I shall also, O |
great Rishi, give thee diverse other kinds of wealth. What use can Brahmanas have with elephants?' |
"Gautama said, Keep, O king, thy kine and maid-servants and coins of gold and various gems and diverse other kinds of |
wealth! What, O monarch, have Brahmanas to do with wealth?' |
"Dhritarashtra said, 'Brahmana, have no use for elephants. Verily, O learned Brahmana, elephants are meant for persons of the |
royal order. In taking away an animal, viz., this foremost of elephants, for my use as vehicle, I cannot be regarded as |
committing any sin. Do thou cease obstructing me in this way, O Gautama!' |
"Gautama said, 'O illustrious king, repairing even to that region of Yama where the righteous live in joy and the sinful in grief, |
I shall take from thee this my elephant!' |
"Dhritarashtra said, 'They that are destitute of (religious) acts, they that have no faith and are atheists, they that are of sinful |
souls and are always engaged in gratifying their senses, only they have to go to the region of Yama and endure the misery he |
inflicts. Dhritarashtra shall go to a higher region, and not thither!' |
"Gautama said, 'The region of Yama is such that men are there controlled. No untruth can be told there. Only truth prevails in |
that place. There the weak persecute the strong. Repairing. thither I shall force thee to yield up this elephant to me!' |
"Dhritarashtra said, 'Only those persons, that intoxicated with pride, conduct themselves towards their eldest sister and father |
and mother as towards foes, have to repair, O great ascetic, to such a region. I shall repair to a higher region. Indeed, |
Dhritarashtra shall not have to go thither!' |
"Gautama said, 'The region, called Mandakini, of king Vaisravana is attained by those highly blessed persons for whom are |
every joy and comfort. There Gandharvas and Yakshas and Apsaras live (gladdening all the denizens with enchanting dances |
and music). Repairing even thither, O king, I shall force thee to yield up this elephant to me!' |
"Dhritarashtra said, 'Those persons who regard hospitality to guests as a vow, who are observant of good vows (having other |
objects), who give shelter to Brahmanas, and who eat what remains after distribution among all those that are dependent upon |
them, adorn the region called Mandakini of Kuvera. (I shall not go thither, for a higher region is reserved for me)!' |
"Gautama said, 'If thou repairest to those delightful woods decked with flowers, that stand on the summit of Meru, that echo |
with melodious voice of Kinnaris, and that are graced with beautiful Jamvus of wide-spreading branches, I shall proceed even |
thither and force thee to yield up this elephant to me!' |
'Dhritarashtra said, 'Those Brahmanas that are endued with mild dispositions, that are devoted to truth, that are possessed of |
great learning in the scriptures, that are compassionate unto all creatures, that study the Puranas with all the histories, that pour |
libations on the sacred fire and make gifts of honey unto the Brahmanas, repair to such regions, O great Rishi! I shall repair to a |
region that is higher. Indeed Dhritarashtra shall not go thither. If thou art acquainted with any other well-known region of |
felicity, speak unto me, for I shall repair even thither!' |
"Gautama said, 'If thou proceedest to the woods owned by Narada and held dear by him, that are adorned with flowers and that |
echo with the melodious songs of the prince of Kinnaras, and that are the eternal abode of Gandharvas and Apsaras, I shall |
follow thee thither and force thee to yield up this elephant to me!' |
"Dhritarashtra said, 'They who never solicit alms, they who cultivate music and dancing, and always rove about in joy, proceed |
to such regions. O great Rishi, I shall repair to a region that is higher. Indeed, Dhritarashtra shall not have to go thither!' |
"Gautama said, 'If thou goest to that region where the Uttara-Kurus blaze in beauty and pass their days in gladness, O king, in |
the company of the very deities, where those beings that have their origin in fire, those that have their origin in water, and those |
having their origin in mountains, reside in happiness, and where Sakra raineth down the fruition of every wish, and where |
women live in perfect freedom, unrestrained by rules of any kind regulating their conduct of motions, and where there is no |
feeling of jealousy between the sexes,--if thou repairest thither, even thither shall I proceed and force thee to yield up this |
elephant to me!' |
"Dhritarashtra said, 'Those men that are freed from desire with respect to all articles of enjoyment, that abstain from meat, that |
never take up the rod of chastisement, and never inflict the least harm on mobile and immobile creatures, that have constituted |
themselves the soul of all creatures, that are entirely freed from the idea of meum, that have cast off attachments of every kind, |
that regard gain and loss as also praise and blame as equal,--only those men, O great Rishi, repair to such regions. I shall repair |
to a higher region. Verily, Dhritarashtra shall not go thither!' |
"Gautama said, 'Next to these blaze in beauty those eternal regions, redolent with excellent perfumes, that are free from |
passions of every kind and that are destitute of sorrow. These constitute the abode of the high-souled king Soma. If thou |
repairest thither, even thither shall I proceed and force thee to yield up this elephant to me!' |
"Dhritarashtra said, 'Those men that always make gifts without receiving any gift, who never accept any service from others, |
who own nothing which they cannot give to a deserving person, who are hospitable to all creatures, who are inclined to show |
grace to every one, who are endued with forgiving dispositions, who never speak ill of others, who protect all creatures by |
throwing over them the shroud of compassion, and who are always righteous in their behaviour,--only those men, O great |
Rishi, proceed to such regions. I shall proceed to a higher region. Verily, Dhritarashtra shall not go there!' |
"Gautama said, 'Next to these blaze in beauty other regions that are eternal, free from passion and darkness and sorrow, and |
that lie at the foot of the high-souled deity of the Sun. If thou repairest thither, even thither shall I go and force thee to yield up |
this elephant to me!' |
"Dhritarashtra said, 'Those men that are attentive to the study of the Vedas, that are devoted to the service of their preceptors, |
that are observant of penances and excellent vows, that are firm in truth, that never utter anything that smacks of disobedience |
or enmity to their preceptors, that are always alert, and ever ready in service of seniors and preceptors,--they repair, O great |
Rishi, to such regions, they that are pure (of mind and body), that are endued with cleansed souls, that are of restrained speech, |
that are firm in truth, and that are well-versed in the Vedas. I shall proceed to a higher region! Verily, Dhritarashtra shall not go |
thither!' |
"Gautama said, 'Next to those are the eternal regions that blaze in beauty, that are redolent with excellent perfumes, that are |
free from passion, and that are free from every sorrow. They constitute the abode of the high-souled king Varuna. If thou |
proceedest thither, even thither shall I go and force thee to yield up this elephant to me!' |
"Dhritarashtra said, 'Those men who worship the deities by observing the vow called Chaturmasya, that perform a hundred and |
ten sacrifices, that pour libations every day on their sacred fire with devotion and faith for three years agreeably with the |
ordinances declared in the Vedas, that bear without flinching the burden of all duties, that walk steadily along the way trod by |
the righteous, that steadily sustain the course of conduct followed by the righteous-souled,--only they repair to such regions. I |
shall repair to a higher region. Verily, Dhritarashtra shall not go thither!' |
"Gautama said, 'Above them are the regions of Indra, free from passion and sorrow, that are difficult of access and coveted by |
all men. Proceeding even to the abode of Indra himself of mighty energy, I shall, O king, force thee to yield up this elephant to |
me!' |
"Dhritarashtra said, 'He who lives for a hundred years, who is endued with heroism, who studies the Vedas, and who performs |
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