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every kind of benefit to the world, he was the conqueror of the universes. One should also take the name of the royal sage |
Sweta of illustrious fame. He had gratified the great Mahadeva and it was for his sake that Andhaka was slain. One should also |
take the name of the royal sage Bhagiratha of great fame, who, through the grace of Mahadeva, succeeded in bringing down the |
sacred river from heaven (for flowing over the earth and cleansing all human beings of their sins). It was Bhagiratha who |
caused the ashes of the sixty thousand sons of Sagara to be overflowed with the sacred waters of Ganga and thereby rescued |
them from their sin. Indeed, one should take the names of all these that were endued with the blazing effulgence of fire, great |
beauty of person, and high energy. Some of them were of awe-inspiring forms and great might. Verily, one should take the |
names of these deities and Rishis and kings, those lords of the universe,--who are enhancers of fame. Sankhya, and Yoga which |
is highest of the high, and Havya and Kavya and that refuge of all the Srutis, viz., Supreme Brahma, have been declared to be |
the sources of great benefit to all creatures. These are sacred and sin-cleansing and have been spoken of very highly. These are |
the foremost of medicines for allaying all diseases, and are the inducers of the success in respect of all deeds. Restraining one's |
senses, one should, O Bharata, take the names of these, morning and evening. It is these that protect. It is these that shower |
rain. It is these that shine and give light and heat. It is these that blow. It is these that create all things. These are regarded as the |
foremost of all, as the leaders of the universe, as highly clever in the accomplishment of all things, as endued with forgiveness, |
as complete masters of the senses. Indeed, it has been said that they dispel all the evils to which human beings are subject. |
These high-souled ones are the witnesses of all good and bad deeds. Rising up in the morning one should take their names, for |
by this, one is sure to acquire all that is good. He who takes the names of them becomes freed from the fear of fires and of |
thieves. Such a man never finds his way obstructed by any impediment. By taking the names of these high-souled ones, one |
becomes free from bad dreams of every kind. Cleared from every sin, such men take birth in auspicious families. That |
regenerate person who, with restrained senses, recites these names on the occasions of performing the initiatory rites of |
sacrifices and other religious observances, becomes, as the consequence thereof, endued with righteousness, devoted to the |
study of the soul, possessed of forgiveness and self-restraint, and free from malice. If a man that is afflicted with disease recites |
them, he becomes freed from his sin in the form of disease. By reciting them within a house, all evils are dispelled from the |
inmates. By reciting them within a field, the growth is helped of all kinds of crops. Reciting them at the time of setting out on a |
journey, or while one is away from one's home, one meets with good fortune. These names lead to the protection of one's own |
self, of one's children and spouses, of one's wealth, and of one's seeds, and plants. The Kshatriya who recites these names at the |
time of joining a battle sees destruction overtake his foes and good fortune crown him and his party. The man who recites these |
names on the occasions of performing the rites in honour of the deities or the Pitris, helps the Pitris and deities eat the |
sacrificial Havya and Kavya. The man that recites them becomes freed from fear of diseases and beasts of prey, of elephants |
and thieves. His load of anxiety becomes lightened, and he becomes freed from every sin. By reciting these excellent Savitri |
Mantras on board a vessel, or in a vehicle, or in the courts of kings, one attains to high success. There where these Mantras are |
recited, fire does not burn wood. There children do not die, nor snakes dwell. Indeed, at such places, there can be no fear of the |
king, nor of Pisachas and Rakshasas.[607] Verily, the man who recites these Mantras ceases to have any fear of fire or water or |
wind or beasts of prey. These Savitri Mantras, recited duly, contribute to the peace and well-being of all the four orders. Those |
men who recite them with reverence become freed from every sorrow and at last attain to a high end. Even these are the results |
achieved by them that recite these Savitri Mantras which are of the form of Brahma. That man who recites these Mantras in the |
midst of kine sees his kine become fruitful. Whether when setting out on a journey, or entering a house on coming back, one |
should recite these Mantras on every occasion. These Mantras constitute a great mystery of the Rishis and are the very highest |
of those which they silently recite. Even such are these Mantras unto them who practise the duty of recitation and pour |
libations on the sacrificial fire. This that I have said unto thee is the excellent opinion of Parasara. It was recited in former days |
unto Sakra himself. Representing as it does Truth or Eternal Brahman. I have declared it in full to thee. It constitutes that heart |
of all creatures, and is the highest Sruti. All the princes of the race of Soma and of Surya, viz., the Raghavas and the Kauravas, |
recite these Mantras every day after having purified themselves, These constitute the highest end of human creatures. There is |
rescue from every trouble and calamity in the daily recitation of the names of the deities of the seven Rishis, and of Dhruva. |
Indeed, such recitation speedily frees one from distress. The sages of olden times, viz., Kasyapa, Gotama, and others, and |
Bhrigu Angiras and Atri and others, and Sukra, Agastya, and Vrihaspati, and others, all of whom are regenerate Rishis, have |
adored these Mantras. Approved of by the son of Bharadwaja, these Mantras were attained by the sons of Richika. Verily, |
having acquired them again from Vasishtha, Sakra and the Vasus went forth to battle and succeeded in subjugating the |
Danavas. That man who makes a present of a hundred kine with their horns covered with plates of gold unto a Brahmana |
possessed of much learning and well-conversant with the Vedas, and he who causes the excellent Bharata story to be recited in |
his house every day, are said to acquire equal merits. By reciting the name of Bhrigu one's righteousness becomes enhanced. |
By bowing to Vasishtha one's energy become enhanced. By bowing unto Raghu, one becomes victorious in battle. By reciting |
the praises of the Aswins, one becomes freed from diseases. I have thus, O king, told thee of the Savitri Mantras which are |
identical with eternal Brahman. If thou wishest to question me on any other topic thou mayst do so. I shall, O Bharata, answer |
thee.'" |
SECTION CLI |
"Yudhishthira said, 'Who deserve to be worshipped? Who are they unto whom we should bow? How, indeed, should we |
behave towards whom? What course of conduct, O grandsire, towards what classes of persons is regarded faultless?' |
"Bhishma said, 'The humiliation of Brahmanas would humiliate the very deities. By bowing unto Brahmanas one does not, O |
Yudhishthira, incur any fault. They, deserve to be worshipped. They deserve to have our Salutations. Thou shouldst behave |
towards them as if they are thy sons. Indeed, it is those men endued with great wisdom that uphold all the worlds. The |
Brahmanas are the great causeways of Righteousness in respect of all the worlds. Their happiness consists in renouncing all |
kinds of wealth. They are devoted to the vow of restraining speech. They are agreeable to all creatures, and observant of |
diverse excellent vows. They are the refuge of all creatures in the universe. They are the authors of all the regulations which |
govern the worlds. They are possessed of great fame Penances are always their great wealth. Their power consists in speech. |
Their energy flows from the duties they observe. Conversant with all duties, they are possessed of minute vision, so that they |
are cognizant of the subtlest considerations. They are of righteous desires. They live the observance of well-performed duties. |
They are the causeways of Righteousness. The four kinds of living creatures exist, depending upon them as their refuge. They |
are the path or road along which all should go. They are the guides of all. They are the eternal upholders of all the sacrifices. |
They always uphold the heavy burdens of sires and grandsires. They never droop under heavy weights even when passing |
along difficult-roads like strong cattle. They are attentive to the requirements of Piths and deities and guests. They are entitled |
to eat the first portions of Havya and Kavya. By the very food they eat, they rescue the three worlds from great fear. They are |
as it were, the Island (for refuge) for all worlds. They are the eyes of all persons endued with sight. The wealth they possess |
consists of all the branches of knowledge known by the name of Siksha and all the Srutis. Endued with great skill, they are |
conversant with the most subtle relations of things. They are well-acquainted with the end of all things, and their thoughts are |
always employed upon the science of the soul. They are endued with the knowledge of the beginning, the middle, and the end |
of all things, and they are persons in whom doubts no longer exist in consequence of feeling certain of their knowledge. They |
are fully aware of the distinctions between what is superior and what is inferior. They it is who attain to the highest end. Freed |
from all attachments, cleansed of all sins, transcending all pairs of opposites (such as heat and cold, happiness and misery, |
etc.), they are unconnected with all worldly things. Deserving of every honour, they are always held in great esteem by persons |
endued with knowledge and high souls. They cast equal eyes on sandal-paste and filth or dirt, on what is food and what is not |
rood. They see with an equal eye their brown vestments of coarse cloth and fabrics of silk and animal skins. They would live |
for many days together without eating any food, and dry up their limbs by such abstention from all sustenance. They devote |
themselves earnestly to the study of the Vedas, restraining their senses. They would make gods of those that are not gods, and |
not gods of those that are gods. Enraged, they can create other worlds and other Regents of the worlds than those that exist. |
Through the course of those high-souled ones, the ocean became so saline as to be undrinkable. The fire of their wrath yet |
burns in the forest of Dandaka, unquenched by time. They are the gods of the gods, and the cause of all cause. They are the |
authority of all authorities. What man of intelligence and wisdom is there that would seek to humiliate them? Amongst them |
the young and the old all deserve honours. They honour one another (not in consequence of distinctions of age but) in |
consequence of distinctions in respect of penances and knowledge. Even the Brahmana that is destitute of knowledge is a god |
and is a high instrument for cleansing others. He amongst them, then, that is possessed of knowledge is a much higher god and |
like unto the ocean when full (to the brim). Learned or unlearned, Brahmana is always a high deity. Sanctified or unsanctified |
(with the aid of Mantras), Fire is ever a great deity. A blazing fire even when it burns on a crematorium, is not regarded as |
tainted in consequence of the character of the spot whereon it burns. Clarified butter looks beautiful whether kept on the |
sacrificial altar or in a chamber. So, if a Brahmana be always engaged in evil acts, he is still to be regarded as deserving of |
honour. Indeed, know that the Brahmana is always a high deity.'" |
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