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sacred. By reciting the names of the Tirthas, by performing ablutions there, and by offering oblations to the Pitris in those |
places, one's sins are washed off. Verily, those men whose sins are thus washed off succeed in attaining to heaven when they |
leave this world. In consequence of their association with persons that are righteous, through the especial efficacy of the earth |
itself of those spots and of particular waters, there are certain portions of the earth that have come to be regarded as sacred. The |
Tirthas of the mind are separate and distinct from those of the earth. That person who bathes in both attains to success without |
any delay. As strength without exertion, or exertion without strength can never accomplish anything, singly, and as these, when |
combined, can accomplish all things, even so one that becomes endued with the purity that is contributed by the Tirthas in the |
body as also by that which is contributed by the Tirthas on the earth, becomes truly pure and attains to success. That purity |
which is derived from both sources is the best.'" |
SECTION CIX |
"Yudhishthira said, 'It behoveth thee, O grandsire, to tell me what are the highest, the most beneficial, and the most certain fruit |
of all hinds of fasts k this world.' |
"Bhishma said, 'Listen, O king, to what was sung by the Self-born himself and by accomplishing which a person, without |
doubt, attains to the highest happiness. That man who fasts on the twelfth day of the moon in the month called Margasirsha and |
worships Krishna as Kesava for the whole day and night, attains to the merit of the Horse-sacrifice and becomes cleansed of all |
his sins. He who; after the same manner, fasts on the twelfth day of the moon in the month of Pausha and worships Krishna as |
Narayana, for the whole day and night, attains to the merits of the Vajapeya sacrifice and the highest success. He who fasts on |
the twelfth day of the moon in the month of Magha and worships Krishna as Madhava, for the whole day and night, attains to |
the merits of the Rajasuya sacrifice, and rescues his own race (from misery).[504] He who fasts on the twelfth day of the moon |
in the month of Phalguna and worships Krishna as Govinda, for the whole day and night, attains to the merit of the Atiratra |
sacrifice and goes to the region of Soma. He who fasts on the twelfth day of the moon in the month of Chaitra and worship |
Krishna as Vishnu, for the whole day and night, attains to the merit of the Pundarika sacrifice and proceeds to the region of the |
deities. By observing a similar fast on the twelfth day of the month of Vaisakha and worshipping Krishna as the slayer of |
Madhu for the whole day and night, one attains to the merits of the Agnishtoma sacrifice and proceeds to the region of Soma. |
By observing a fast on the twelfth lunar day in the month of Jyaishtha and worshipping Krishna as him who had (in Vali's |
sacrifice) covered the universe with three steps of his, one attains to the merits of the Gomedha sacrifice and sports with the |
Apsaras in great happiness. By observing a fast on the twelfth day of the moon in the month of Ashadha and worshipping |
Krishna as the dwarf (who beguiled the Asura king Vali), one attains to the merits of the Naramedha[505] sacrifice and sports |
in happiness with the Apsaras. By observing a fast for the twelfth lunar day of the month Sravana and worshipping Krishna for |
day and night as Sridhara, one attains to the merits of the sacrifice called Panchayajna and acquires a beautiful car in Heaven |
whereon he sports in joy. By observing a fast on the twelfth day of the moon in the month of Bhadrapada and worshipping |
Krishna as Hrishikesa for the whole day and night, one attains to the merits of the Sautramani sacrifice and becomes cleansed |
of all sins. By observing a fast for the twelfth day of the moon in the month of Aswin and worship-ping Krishna as |
Padmanabha, one attains without doubt, to the merits of the sacrifice in which a thousand kine are given away. By observing a |
fast for the twelfth day of the moon in the month of Kartika and worshipping Krishna as Damodara, one attains, without doubt, |
to the combined merits of all the sacrifices. He who, in this way, adores Krishna for a whole year as Pundarikaksha, acquires |
the power of recollecting the incidents of his past births and wins much wealth in gold. Similarly, he who worships Krishna |
every day as Upendra attains to identity with him. After Krishna has been worshipped in this way, one should, at the |
conclusion of one's vow, feed a number of Brahmanas or make gifts unto them of ghee. The illustrious Vishnu, that ancient |
Being, has himself said that there is no fast that possesses merits superior to what attach to fast of this kind.'" |
SECTION CX |
"Vaisampayana said, 'Approaching the Kuru grandsire, venerable in years, viz., Bhishma, who was then lying on his bed of |
arrows, Yudhishthira possessed of great wisdom put the following question.' |
"Yudhishthira said, 'How, O grandsire, does one acquire beauty of form and prosperity and agreeableness of disposition? How, |
indeed, does one become possessed of religious merit and wealth and pleasure? How does one become endued with happiness?' |
"Bhishma said, 'In the month of Margasirsha, when the moon comes in conjunction with the asterism called Mula, when his |
two feet are united with that very asterism, O king, when Rohini is in his calf, when his knee-joints are in Aswini, and his shins |
are in the two Ashadhas, when Phalguni makes his anus, and Krittika his waist, when his navel is in Bhadrapada, his ocular |
region in. Revati, and his back on the Dhanishthas, when Anuradha makes his belly, when with his two arms he reaches the |
Visakhas, when his two hands are indicated by Hasta, when Punarvasu, O king, makes his fingers, Aslesha his nails, when |
Jyeshtha is known for his neck, when by Sravana is pointed out his ears, and his mouth by Pushya, when Swati is said to |
constitute his teeth and lips, when Satabhisha is his smile and Magha his nose, when Mrigasiras is known to be in his eye, and |
Chitra in his forehead, when his head is in Bharani, when Ardra constitutes his hair, O king, the vow called Chandravrata |
should be commenced. Upon the completion of that vow, gift of ghee should be made unto Brahmanas conversant with the |
Vedas. As the fruit of that vow, one becomes possessed about knowledge. Indeed, one becomes, in consequence of such a vow, |
as full (of every blessed attribute) as the moon himself when he is at full.'" |
SECTION CXI |
"Yudhishthira said, 'O grandsire, O thou that art possessed of great wisdom and conversant with all the scriptures. I desire to |
know those excellent ordinances in consequence of which mortal creatures have to travel through their rounds of rebirth. What |
is that conduct by following which, O king, men succeed in attaining to high heaven, and what is that conduct by which one |
sinks in Hell? When, abandoning the dead body that is as inert as a piece of wood or clod of earth, people proceed to the other |
world, what are those that follow them thither?' |
"Bhishma said, 'Yonder comes the illustrious Vrihaspati of great intelligence! Do thou ask his blessed self. The subject is an |
eternal mystery. None else is capable of explaining the matter. There is no speaker like Vrihaspati.' |
"Vaisampayana said, 'While the son of Pritha and the son of Ganga were thus speaking with each other, there came to that spot |
from the firmament the illustrious Vrihaspati of cleansed soul. King Yudhishthira, and all others, with Dhritarashtra at their |
head, stood up and received Vrihaspati with proper honours. Verily, the worship they offered to the preceptor of the celestials |
was excellent. Then Dharma's royal son, Yudhishthira, approaching the illustrious Vrihaspati, asked him the question in proper |
form, desirous of knowing the truth.' |
"Yudhishthira said, 'O illustrious one, thou art conversant with all duties and all the scriptures. Do thou tell me, what is truly |
the friend of mortal creatures? Is the father, or mother, or son, or preceptor, or kinsmen, or relatives, or those called friends, |
that may be said to truly constitute the friend of a mortal creature? One goes to the next world, leaving one's dead body that is |
like a piece of wood or a clod of earth. Who is it that follows him thither?' |
"Vrihaspati said, 'One is born alone, O king, and one dies alone; one crosses alone the difficulties one meets with, and one |
alone encounters whatever misery falls to one's lot. One has really no companion in these acts. The father, the mother, the |
brother, the son, the preceptor, kinsmen, relatives, and friends, leaving the dead body as if it were a piece of wood or a clod of |
earth, after having mourned for only a moment, all turn away from it and proceed to their own concerns. Only Righteousness |
follows the body that is thus abandoned by them all. Hence, it is plain, that Righteousness is the only friend and that |
Righteousness only should be sought by all. One endued with righteousness would attain to that high end which is constituted |
by heaven. If endued with unrighteousness, he goes to Hell. Hence, the man of intelligence should always seek to acquire |
religious merit through wealth won by lawful means. Piety is the one only friend which creatures have in the world hereafter. |
Let by cupidity, or stupefaction, or compassion, or fear, one destitute of much knowledge is seen to do improper acts, for the |
sake of even another, his judgment thus stupefied by cupidity.[506] Piety, wealth and pleasure,--these three constitute the fruit |
of life. One should acquire these three by means of being free from impropriety and sin.' |
"Yudhishthira, said, 'I have carefully heard the words spoken by thy illustrious self,--these words that are fraught with |
righteousness, and that are highly beneficial. I wish now to know of the existence of the body (after death).[507] The dead |
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