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pure in soul and body, possessed of animals and vehicles in abundance, and a large progeny. He who passes the month of |
Kartika, confining himself to one meal every day, becomes possessed of heroism, many spouses, and great fame. I have now |
told thee, O chief of men what the fruits are that are obtained by men by observing fasts for the two and ten months in detail. |
Listen now, O king, to me as I tell thee what the rules are in respect of each of the lunar days. The man who, abstaining from it |
every day, takes rice at the expiration of every fortnight, becomes possessed of a great many kine, a large progeny, and a long |
life. He who observes a fast for three nights every month and conducts himself thus for two and ten years, attains to a position |
of supremacy among his kinsmen and associates, without a rival to contest his claim and without any anxiety caused by any |
one endeavouring to rise to the same height. These rules that I speak of, O chief of Bharata's race, should be observed for two |
and ten years. Let the inclination be manifested towards it. That man who eats once in the forenoon and once after evening and |
abstains from drinking (or eating anything) in the interval, and who observes compassion, towards all creatures and pours |
libations of clarified butter on his sacred fire every day, attains to success, O king, in six years. There is no doubt in this. Such a |
man earns the merit that attaches to the performance of the Agnishtoma sacrifice. Endued with merit and freed from every kind |
of stain, he attains to the region of the Apsaras that echo with the sound of songs and dance, and passes his days in the |
company of a thousand damsels of great beauty. He rides on a car of the complexion of melted gold and receives high honours |
in the region of Brahma. After the exhaustion of that merit such a person comes back to earth and attains to pre-eminence of |
position. That man who passes one whole year, confining himself every day to only one meal, attains to the merit of the |
Atiratra sacrifice. He ascends to heaven after death and receives great honours there. Upon the exhaustion of that merit he |
returns to earth and attains to a position of eminence. He who passes one whole year observing fasts for three days in |
succession and taking food on every fourth day, and abstaining from injury from every kind adheres to truthfulness of speech |
and keeps his senses under control, attains to the merit of the Vajapeya sacrifice. Such a person ascends to heaven after death |
and receives high honours there. That man, O son of Kunti, who passes a whole year observing fasts for five days and taking |
food on only the sixth day, acquires the merit of the Horse-sacrifice. The chariot he rides is drawn by Chakravakas. Such a man |
enjoys every kind of happiness in heaven for full forty thousand years. He who passes a whole year observing fasts for seven |
days and taking food on only every eighth day, acquires the merit of the Gavamaya sacrifice. The chariot he rides is drawn by |
swans and cranes. Such a person enjoys all kinds of happiness in Heaven for fifty thousand years. He who passes a whole year, |
O king, eating only at intervals of a fortnight, acquires the merit of a continuous fast for six months. This has been said by the |
illustrious Angiras himself. Such a man dwells in heaven for sixty thousand years. He is roused every morning from his bed by |
the sweet notes of Vinas and Vallakis and flutes, O king. He who passes a whole year, drinking only a little water at the |
expiration of every month, acquires, O monarch, the merit of the Viswajit sacrifice. Such a man rides a chariot drawn by lions |
and tigers. He dwells in heaven for seventy thousand years in the enjoyment of every kind of happiness. No fast for more than |
a month, O chief of men, has been ordained. Even this, O son of Pritha, is the ordinance in respect of fasts that has been |
declared by sages conversant with duties. That man who, unafflicted by disease and free from every malady, observes a fast, |
verily acquires, at every step the merits that attach to Sacrifices. Such a man ascends to Heaven on a car drawn by swans. |
Endued with puissance, he enjoys every kind of happiness in heaven for a hundred years. A hundred Apsaras of the most |
beautiful features wait upon and sport with him. He is roused from his bed every morning by the sound of the Kanchis and the |
Nupuras of those damsels.[489] Such a person rides on a car drawn by a thousand swans. Dwelling, again, in a region teeming |
with hundreds of the most beautiful damsels, he passes his time in great joy. The person who is desirous of heaven does not |
like the accession of strength when he becomes weak, or the cure of wounds when he is wounded, or the administration of |
healing drugs when he is ill, or soothing by others when he is angry, or the mitigation, by the expenditure of wealth, of sorrows |
caused by poverty, Leaving this world where he suffers only privations of every kind, he proceeds to heaven and rides on cars |
adorned with gold, his person embellished with ornaments of every kind. There, in the midst of hundreds of beautiful damsels, |
he enjoys all kinds of pleasure and happiness, cleansed of every sin. Indeed, abstaining from food and enjoyments in this |
world, he takes leave of this body and ascends to heaven as the fruit of his penances. There, freed from all his sins, health and |
happiness become his and whatever wishes arise in his mind become crowned with fruition. Such a person rides on a celestial |
car of golden complexion, of the effulgence of the morning sun, set with pearls and lapis lazuli, resounding with the music of |
Vinas and Murajas, adorned with banners and lamps, and echoing with the tinkle of celestial bells, such a person enjoys all |
kinds of happiness in heaven for as many years as there are pores in his body. There is no Sastra superior to the Veda. There is |
no person more worthy of reverence than the mother. There is no acquisition superior to that of Righteousness, and no penance |
superior to fast. There is nothing, more sacred, in heaven or earth, than Brahmanas. After the same manner there is no penance |
that is superior to the observance of fasts. It was by fasts that the deities have succeeded in becoming denizens of heaven. It is |
by fasts that the Rishis have attained to high success. Viswamitra passed a thousand celestial years, confining himself every |
day to only one meal, and as the consequence thereof attained to the status of a Brahmana. Chyavana and Jamadagni and |
Vasishtha and Gautama and Bhrigu--all these great Rishis endued with the virtue of forgiveness, have attained to heaven |
through observance of fasts. In former days Angiras declared so unto the great Rishis. The man who teaches another the merit |
of fasts have never to suffer any kind of misery. The ordinances about fasts, in their due order, O son of Kunti, have flowed |
from the great Rishi Angiras. The man who daily reads these ordinances or hears them read, becomes freed from sins of every |
kind. Not only is such a person freed from every calamity, but his mind becomes incapable of being touched by any kind of |
fault. Such a person succeeds in understanding the sounds of all creatures other than human, and acquiring eternal fame, |
become foremost of his species.'" |
SECTION CVII |
"Yudhishthira said, 'O high-souled grandsire, thou hast duly discoursed to us on the subject of Sacrifices, including the merits |
in detail that attach to them both here and hereafter. It should be remembered, however, O grandsire, that Sacrifices are |
incapable of being performed, by people that are poor, for these require a large store of diverse kinds of articles. Indeed, O |
grandsire, the merit attaching to Sacrifices can be acquired by only kings and princes. That merit is incapable of being acquired |
by those that are destitute of wealth and divested of ability and that live alone and are helpless. Do thou tell us, O grandsire, |
what the ordinances are in respect of those acts that are fraught with merit equal to what attaches to sacrifices and which, |
therefore, are capable of being performed by persons destitute of means.'[490] |
"Bhishma said, 'Listen, O Yudhishthira! Those ordinances that I have told thee of,--those, viz., that were first promulgated by |
the great Rishi Angiras, and that have reference to meritorious facts for their soul,--are regarded as equal to Sacrifices (in |
respect of the fruits they bring about both here and hereafter). That man who takes one meal in the forenoon and one at night, |
without taking any food or drink during the interval, and who observes this regulations for a period of six years in succession, |
abstaining all the while from injuring any creature and regularly pouring libations on his sacred fire every day, attains, without |
doubt, to success. Such a man acquires hereafter a car of the complexion of heated gold, and attains to a residence, for millions |
of years, in the region of Prajapati, in the company of celestial damsels, that ever echoes with the sound of music and dance, |
and blazes with the effulgence of fire. He who passes three years, confining himself every day to one meal and abstaining all |
the while from congress with any other woman save his own wedded wife, attains to the merit of the Agnishtoma sacrifice, |
Such a man is regarded as having performed a Sacrifice, with plenty of gifts in gold, that is dear to Vasava himself. By |
practising truthfulness of speech, making gifts, reverencing the Brahmanas, avoiding malice, becoming forgiving and self- |
restrained, and conquering wrath, a man attains to the highest end. Riding on a car of the complexion of white clouds that is |
drawn by swans, he lives, for millions and million of years, in the company of Apsaras. Fasting for a whole day and eating only |
one meal on the second day, he who pours libations upon his sacred fire for the period of a whole year,--verily, he who |
observes such a fast and attends every day to his fire and rises every day from bed before sunrise, attains to the merit of the |
Agnishtoma sacrifice. Such a man acquires a car drawn by swans and cranes. Surrounded by the most beautiful damsels, he |
resides in the region of Indra. That man who eats only one meal every third day, and pours libations every day on his sacred |
fire for a period of a whole year,--indeed, he who thus attends to his fire every day and wakes up from sleep every morning |
before the sun is up, attains to the high merit of the Atiratra sacrifice. He acquires a car drawn by peacocks and swans and |
cranes. Proceeding to the region of the seven (celestial) Rishis, he takes up his residence there, surrounded by Apsaras of great |
beauty. It is well-known that such residence lasts for full three Padmas of years.[491] Fasting for three days in succession, he |
who takes only one meal every fourth day, and pours libations every day on his sacred fire, acquires the high merit of the |
Vajapeya sacrifice. The car he ac-quires is graced by celestial damsels of great beauty that have Indra for their father. He |
resides in the region of Indra for millions and millions of years and experiences great happiness by witnessing the sports of the |
chief of the deities. Fasting for four days in succession, he who eats only one meal every fifth day, and pours libations on the |
sacred fire every day for the period of a whole year, and who lives without cupidity, telling the truth, reverencing the |
Brahmanas, abstaining from every kind of injury, and avoiding malice and sin, acquires the merit of the Vajapeya sacrifice. |
The car he rides is made of gold and drawn by swans and endued with the effulgence of many suns rising together. He |
acquires, a palatial mansion of pure white. He lives there in great happiness for full one and fifty Padmas of years.[492] Fasting |
for five days, he who takes food on only the sixth day, and pours libations on his sacred fire every day for a whole year, and |
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