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SECTION CXVIII |
"Vyasa said, 'It is in consequence of a meritorious act, O worm, that thou, though born in the intermediate order of being, art |
not stupefied. That act is mine, O worm, in consequence of which thou art not stupefied.[527] In consequence of the puissance |
of my penances, I am able to rescue a being of demerit by granting him a sight only of my person. There is no stronger might |
than the might that attaches to penances, I know, O worm, that thou hast taken birth in the order of worms through the evil acts |
of thy past life. If, however, thou thinkest of attaining to righteousness and merit, thou mayst again attain to it. Deities as well |
as beings crowned with ascetic success, enjoy or endure the consequence of acts done by them in this field of action. Amongst |
men also, when acts of merit are performed, they are performed from desire of fruit (and not with disregard for fruit). The very |
accomplishment that one seeks to acquire are sought from desire of the happiness they will bring.[528] Learned or ignorant (in |
a former life) the creature that is, in this life, destitute of speech and understanding and hands and feet, is really destitute of |
everything.[529] He that becomes a superior Brahmana adores, while alive, the deities of the sun and the moon, uttering |
diverse sacred Mantras. O worm, thou shalt attain to that state of existence. Attaining to that status, thou wilt enjoy all the |
elements converted into articles of enjoyment. When thou hast attained to that state, I shall impart to thee Brahma. Or, if thou |
wishest, I may place thee in any other status!' The worm, agreeing to the words of Vyasa, did not leave the road, but remained |
on it. Meanwhile, the large vehicle which was coming in that direction came to that spot.[530] Torn to pieces by the assault of |
the wheels, the worm gave up his life-breath. Born at last in the Kshatriya order through the grace of Vyasa of immeasurable |
puissance, he proceeded to see the great Rishi. He had, before becoming a Kshatriya, to pass through diverse orders of being, |
such as hedgehog and Iguana and boar and deer and bird, and Chandala and Sudra and Vaisya. Having given an account of his |
various transformations unto the truth-telling Rishi, and remembering the Rishi's kindness for him, the worm (now transformed |
into a Kshatriya) with joined palms fell at the Rishi's feet and touched them with his head.' |
"The worm said, 'My present status is that high one which is coveted by all and which is attainable by the possession of the ten |
well-known attributes. Indeed, I who was formerly a worm have thus attained to the status of a prince. Elephants of great |
strength, decked with golden chains, bear me on their backs. Unto my cars are yoked Kamvoja steeds of high mettle. Numerous |
vehicles, unto which are attached camels and mules, bear me. With all my relatives and friends I now eat food rich with meat. |
Worshipped by all, sleep, O highly blessed one, on costly beds in delightful rooms into which disagreeable winds cannot blow. |
Towards the small hours of every night, Sutas and Magadhas and encomiasts utter my praises even as the deities utter the |
agreeable praises of Indra, their chief. Through the grace of thyself that art firm in truth and endued with immeasurable energy, |
I who was before a worm have now become a person of the royal order. I bow my head to thee, O thou of great wisdom. Do |
thou command me as to what I should do now. Ordained by the puissance of thy penances, even this happy status hath now |
become mine!' |
"Vyasa said, 'I have today been worshipped by thee, O king, with diverse words expressive of reverence. Transformed into a |
worm, thy memory had become clouded. That memory has again appeared. The sin thou committed in a former life has not yet |
been destroyed,--that sin, viz., which was earned by thee while thou wert a Sudra covetous of wealth and cruel in behaviour |
and hostile to the Brahmanas. Thou wert able to obtain a sight of my person. That was an act of merit to thee while thou wert a |
worm. In consequence of thy having saluted and worshipped me thou shalt rise higher, for, from the Kshatriya order thou shalt |
rise to the status of a Brahmana, if only thou castest off thy life-breaths on the field of battle for the sake of kine or Brahmanas. |
O prince, enjoying much felicity and performing many sacrifices with copious presents, thou shalt attain to heaven and |
transformed into eternal Brahma, thou wilt have perfect beatitude. Those that take birth in the intermediate order (of animals) |
become (when they rise) Sudras. The Sudra rises to the status of the Vaisya; and the Vaisya to that of the Kshatriya. The |
Kshatriya who takes pride in the discharge of the duties of his order, succeeds in attaining to the status of a Brahmana. The |
Brahmana, by following a righteous conduct, attains to heaven that is fraught with great felicity.'" |
SECTION CXIX |
"Bhishma said, 'Having cast off the status of a worm and taken birth as a Kshatriya of great energy, the person (of whom I am |
speaking), remembering his previous transformations, O monarch, began to undergo severe austerities. Beholding those severe |
austerities of the Kshatriya who was well-conversant with religion and wealth, the Island-born Krishna, that foremost of |
Brahmanas, went to him.' |
"Vyasa said, The penances that appertain, O worm, to the Kshatriya order consist of the protection of all creatures. Do thou |
regard these duties of the Kshatriya order to be the penances laid down for thee. Thou shalt then attain to the status of a |
Brahmana. Ascertaining what is right and what is wrong, and cleansing thy soul, do thou duly cherish and protect all creatures, |
judiciously gratifying all good desires and correcting all that is unholy. Be thou of cleansed soul, be thou contented and be thou |
devoted to the practice of righteousness. Conducting thyself in this way, thou wilt then, when thou castest off thy life-breaths, |
become a Brahmana!' |
"Bhishma continued, 'Although he had retired into the woods, yet, O Yudhishthira, having heard the words of the great Rishi |
he began to cherish and protect his subjects righteously. Soon, O best of kings, that worm, in consequence of the due discharge |
of the duty of protecting his subjects, became a Brahmana after casting off his Kshatriya body. Beholding him transformed into |
a Brahmana, the celebrated Rishi, viz., the Island-born Krishna of great wisdom, came to him.' |
"Vyasa said, 'O chief of Brahmanas, O blessed one, be not troubled (through fear of death)! He who acts righteously attains to |
respectable birth. He, on the other hand, who acts unrighteously attains to a low and vile birth, O thou that art conversant with |
righteousness, one attains to misery agreeably the measure of one's sin. Therefore, O worm, do not be troubled through fear of |
death. The only fear thou shouldst entertain is about the loss of righteousness. Do thou, therefore, go on practising |
righteousness.' |
"The worm said, 'Through thy grace, O holy one, I have attained from happy to happier positions! Having obtained such |
prosperity as has its roots in righteousness, I think, my demerits have been lost.' |
"Bhishma said, 'The worm having, at the command of the holy Rishi, attained to the status of a Brahmana that is so difficult to |
attain, caused the earth to be marked with a thousand sacrificial stakes. That foremost of all persons conversant with Brahma |
then obtained a residence in the region of Brahman himself. Indeed, O son of Pritha, the worm attained to the highest status, |
viz., that of eternal Brahma, as the result of his own acts done in obedience to the counsels of Vyasa. Those bulls among |
Kshatriyas, also, who have cast off their life-breaths (on the field of Kurukshetra) exerting their energy the while, have all |
attained to a meritorious end. Therefore O king, do not mourn on their account.'" |
SECTION CXX |
"Yudhishthira said, 'Which amongst these three is superior, viz., knowledge, penances, and gifts? I ask thee, O foremost of |
righteous persons! Do tell me this, O grandsire!' |
"Bhishma said, 'In this connection is cited the old narrative of the conversation between Maitreya and the Island-born Krishna. |
Once on a time, the Island-born Krishna, O king, while wandering over the world in disguise, proceeded to Baranasi and |
waited upon Maitreya who belonged by birth to a race of Munis[531]. Seeing Vyasa arrive, that foremost of Rishis, viz., |
Maitreya, gave him a seat and after worshipping him with due rites, fed him with excellent food. Having eaten that good food |
which was very wholesome and which produced every kind of gratification, the high-souled Krishna became exceedingly |
delighted and as he sat there, he even laughed aloud. Seeing Krishna laugh, Maitreya addressed him, saying, 'Tell me, O |
righteous-souled one, what the reason is of thy laughter! Thou art an ascetic, endued with capacity to control thy emotions. |
Great joy, it seems, has come over thee! Saluting thee, and worshipping thee with bent head, I ask thee this, viz., what the |
puissance is of my penances and what the high blessedness is that is thine! The acts I do are different from those which thou |
doest. Thou art already emancipated though still owning life-breaths. I, however, am not yet freed. For all that I think that there |
is not much difference between thee and me. I am again, distinguished by birth.'[532] |
"Vyasa said, 'This wonder that has filled me hath arisen from an ordinance that looks like a hyperbole, and from its paradoxical |
statement for the comprehension of the people. The declaration of the Vedas seems to be untrue. But why should the Vedas say |
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