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"Yudhishthira said, 'Tell me, O grandsire, how a poor man, desirous of achieving his own good, should bear himself after |
having acquired the status of humanity and come into this region of acts that is so difficult to attain. Tell me also what is the |
best of all gifts, and what should be given under what circumstances. Tell me, O son of Ganga, who art truly deserving of |
honour and worship. It behoveth thee to discourse to us on these mysteries.' |
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Thus questioned by that famous monarch, viz., the son of Pandu, Bhishma explained (in these |
words) unto that king these high mysteries appertaining to duty.' |
"Bhishma said, 'Listen to me with concentrated attention, O king, as I explain to thee, O Bharata, these mysteries appertaining |
to duties, after the same manner in which the holy Vyasa had explained them to me in days of yore. This subject is a mystery to |
the very deities, O monarch. Yama of stainless deeds, with the aid of vows well-observed and Yoga meditation, had acquired |
the knowledge of these mysteries as the high fruits of his penances.[539] What pleases what deity, what pleases the Pitris, the |
Rishis, the Pramathas (associates of Mahadeva), the goddess Sri, Chitragupta (the recording assistant of Yama), and the mighty |
Elephants at the cardinal points of the compass, what constitutes the religion of the Rishis--the religion, which has many |
mysteries and which is productive of high fruits,--the merits of what are called great gifts, and the merits that attach to all the |
sacrifices, he who knows these, O sinless one, and knowing acts according to his knowledge, becomes freed from stains if he |
has stains and acquires the merits indicated. Equal to ten butchers is one oilman. Equal to ten oilmen is one drinker of alcohol. |
Equal to ten drinkers of alcohol is one courtezan. Equal to ten courtezans is a single (territorial) chief.[540] A great king is said |
to be equal to half of these all. Hence, one should not accept, gifts from these. On the other hand, one should attend to the |
science, that is sacred and that has righteousness for its indications, of the aggregate of three (viz., Religion, Wealth, and |
Pleasure). Amongst these, Wealth and Pleasure are naturally attractive. Hence, one should, with concentrated attention, listen |
to the sacred expositions of Religion (in particular), for the fruits are very great of listening to the mysteries of Religion. One |
should certainly hear every topic connected with Religion as ordained by the deities themselves. In it is contained the ritual in |
respect of the Sraddha in which have been declared the mysteries connected with the Pitris. The mysteries connected with all |
the deities have also been explained there. It comprehends the duties and practices, productive of great merit, of the Rishis also, |
together with the mysteries attaching to them. It contains an exposition of the merits o f great sacrifices and those that attach to |
all kinds of gifts. Those men who always read the scriptures bearing on these topics, those who bear them properly in their |
mind, and he who, having listened to them, follows them in practice, are all regarded to be as holy and sinless as the puissant |
Narayana himself. The merits that attach to the gift of kine, those that belong to the performance of ablutions in sacred waters, |
those that are won by the performance of sacrifices,--all these are acquired by that man who treats guests with reverence. They |
who listen to these scriptures, they who are endued with faith, and they who have a pure heart, it is well-known, conquer many |
regions of happiness. Those righteous men who are endued with faith, become cleansed of all stains and no sin can touch them. |
Such men always increase in righteousness and succeed in attaining to heaven. Once on a time, a celestial messenger, coming |
to the court of Indra of his own accord, but remaining invisible, addressed the chief of the deities in these words, 'At the |
command of those two deities who are the foremost of all physicians, and who are endued with every desirable attribute, I have |
come to this place where I behold human beings and Pitris and the deities assembled together. Why, indeed, is sexual congress |
interdicted for the man who performs a Sraddha and for him also who eats at a Sraddha (for the particular day)? Why are three |
rice-balls offered separately at a Sraddha? Unto whom should the first of those balls be offered? Unto whom should the second |
one be offered? And whose has it been said is the third or remaining one? I desire to know all this.' After the celestial |
messenger had said these words connected with righteousness and duty, the deities who were seated towards the east, the Pitris |
also, applauding that ranger of the sky, began as follows.' |
"The Pitris said, 'Welcome art thou, and blessings upon thee! Do thou listen, O best of all rangers of the sky! The question thou |
hast asked is a high one and fraught with deep meaning. The Pitris of that man who indulges in sexual congress on the day he |
performs a Sraddha, or eats at a Sraddha have to lie for the period of a whole month on his vital seed. As regards the |
classification of the rice-balls offered at a Sraddha, we shall explain what should be done with them one after another. The first |
rice-ball should be conceived as thrown into the waters. The second ball should be given to one of the wives to eat. The third |
ball should be cast into the blazing fire. Even this is the ordinance that has been declared in respect of the Sraddha. Even this is |
the ordinance that is followed in practice according to the rites of religion. The Pitris of that man who act according to this |
ordinance become gratified with him and remain always cheerful. The progeny of such a man increases and inexhaustible |
wealth always remains at his command.' |
"The celestial messenger said, 'Thou hast explained the division of the rice-balls and their consignment one after another to the |
three (viz., water, the spouse, and the blazing fire), together with the reasons thereof.[541] Whom does that rice-tall which is |
consigned to the waters reach? How does it, by being so consigned, gratify the deities and how does it rescue the Pitris? The |
second ball is eaten by the spouse. That has been laid down in ordinance. How do the Pitris of that man (whose spouse eats the |
ball) become the eaters thereof? The last ball goes into the blazing fire. How does that ball succeed in finding its way to thee, |
or who is he unto whom it goes? I desire to bear this,--that is, what are the ends attained by the rice-balls offered at Sraddhas |
when thus disposed of by being cast into the water, given to the spouse, and thrown into the blazing fire! |
"The Pitris said, 'Great is this question which thou hast asked. It involves a mystery and is fraught with wonder. We have been |
exceedingly gratified with thee, O ranger of the sky! The very deities and the Munis applaud acts done in honour of the Pitris. |
Even they do not know what the certain conclusions are of the ordinances in respect of the acts done in honour of the Pitris. |
Excepting the high souled, immortal, and excellent Markandeya, that learned Brahmana of great fame, who is ever devoted to |
the Pitris, none amongst them is conversant with the mysteries of the ordinances in respect of the Pitris. Having heard from the |
holy Vyasa what the end is of the three rice-balls offered at the Sraddha, as explained by the Pitris themselves in reply to the |
question of the celestial messenger, I shall explain the same to thee. Do thou hear, O monarch, what the conclusions are with |
respect to the ordinances about the Sraddha. Listen with rapt attention, O Bharata, to me as I explain what the end is of the |
three rice-balls. That rice-ball which goes into water is regarded as gratifying the deity of the moon. That deity, thus gratified, |
O thou of great intelligence, gratifies in return the other deities and the Pitris also with them. It has been laid down that the |
second rice-ball should be eaten by the spouse (of the man that performs the Sraddha). The Pitris, who are ever desirous of |
progeny, confer children on the woman of the house. Listen now to me as I tell thee what becomes of the rice-ball that is cast |
into the blazing fire. With that ball the Pitris are gratified and as the result thereof they grant the fruition of all wishes unto the |
person offering it. I have thus told thee everything about the end of the three rice-balls offered at the Sraddha and consigned to |
the three (viz., water, the spouse, and the fire). That Brahmana who becomes the Ritwik at a Sraddha constitutes himself, by |
that act, the Pitri of the person performing the Sraddha. Hence, he should abstain that day from sexual intercourse with even his |
own spouse[542]. O best of all rangers of the sky, the man who eats at Sraddha should bear himself with purity for that day. By |
acting otherwise, one surely incurs the faults I have indicated. It cannot be otherwise. Hence, the Brahmana who is invited to a |
Sraddha for eating the offerings should eat them after purifying himself by a bath and bear himself piously for that day by |
abstaining from every kind of injury or evil. The progeny of such a person multiply and he also who feeds him reaps the same |
reward.' |
"Bhishma continued, 'After the Pitris said so, a Rishi of austere penances, named Vidyutprabha, whose form shone with |
splendour like that of the sun, spoke. Having heard those mysteries of religion as propounded by the Pitris, he addressed Sakra, |
saying, 'Stupefied by folly, men slay numerous creatures born in the intermediate orders, such as worms and ants and snakes |
and sheep and deer and birds. Heavy is the measure of sin they incur by these acts. What, however, is the remedy? When this |
question was asked, all the gods and Rishis endued with wealth of penances and the highly blessed Pitris, applauded that |
ascetic.' |
"Sakra said, 'Thinking in one's mind of Kurukshetra and Gaya and Ganga and Prabhasa and the lakes of Pushkara, one should |
dip one's head in water. By so doing one becomes cleansed of all one's sins like Chandramas freed from Rahu. One should |
bathe in this way for three days in succession and then fast for every day. Besides this, one should touch (after bathing) the |
back of a cow and bow one's head to her tail. Vidyutprabha, after this, once more addressing Vasava, said, 'I shall declare a rite |
that is more subtle. Listen to me, O thou of a hundred sacrifices. Rubbed with the astringent powder of the hanging roots of the |
banian and anointed with the oil of Priyangu, one should eat the Shashtika paddy mixed with milk. By so doing one becomes |
cleansed of all one's sins[543]. Listen now to another mystery unknown to many but which was discovered by the Rishis with |
the aid of meditation. I heard it from Vrihaspati while he recited it in the presence of Mahadeva. O chief of the deities, do thou |
hear it with Rudra in thy company, O lord of Sachi! If a person, ascending a mountain, stands there on one foot, with arms |
upraised and joined together, and abstaining from food looks at a blazing fire, he acquires the merits of severe penances and |
obtains the rewards that attach to fasts. Heated by the rays of the sun, he becomes cleansed of all his sins. One who acts in this |
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