sidhellman/clean_data.txt · Datasets at Hugging Face

text stringlengths 0 182
Therefore, O daughter-in-law, I shall take thy share of the barley. Thou deservest not to be deceived by me, reckoning all thy
virtues. Thou art truly, O blessed damsel, the foremost of all persons observing the duties of righteousness.' Having said so
unto her, the Brahmana took her share of the barley and gave it unto his guest. At this the guest became gratified with the high-
souled Brahmana endued with great piety. With gratified soul, that first of regenerate person, possessed of great eloquence,
who was none else than the deity of Righteousness in a human form, then addressed that foremost of Brahmanas and said, 'O
best of regenerate ones, I am exceedingly gratified with this pure gift of thine, this gift of what was acquired by lawful means
by thee, and which thou didst freely part with, agreeably to the rules of righteousness. Verily, this gift of thine is being bruited
about in Heaven by the denizens of that happy region. Behold, flowers have been rained down from the firmament on the
Earth. The celestial Rishis, the deities, the Gandharvas, those who walk before the deities, and the celestial messengers, are all
praising thee, struck with wonder at thy gift. The regenerate Rishis who dwell in the regions of Brahma, seated on their cars,
are solicitous of obtaining thy sight. O foremost of regenerate persons, go to Heaven. The Pitris residing in their own region
have all been rescued by thee. Others also who have not attained to the position of Pitris have equally been rescued by thee for
countless Yugas. For thy Brahmacharyya, thy gifts, thy sacrifices, thy penances, and thy acts of piety done with a pure heart,
go thou to Heaven. O thou of excellent vows, thou practisest penances with great devotion. Thy gifts have, therefore, gratified
the deities highly, O best of regenerate ones. Since thou hast made this gift, in a season of great difficulty, with a pure heart,
thou hast, by this act of thine, conquered Heaven. Hunger destroys one's wisdom and drives off one's righteous understanding.
One whose intelligence is overwhelmed by hunger casts off all fortitude. He, therefore, that conquers hunger conquers Heaven
without doubt. One's righteousness is never destroyed as long as one cherishes the inclination of making gifts. Disregarding
filial affection, disregarding the affection one feels for one's wife, and reckoning righteousness as the foremost, thou hast paid
no heed to the cravings of nature. The acquisition of wealth is an act of slight merit. Its gift to a deserving person is fraught
with greater merit. Of still greater merit is the (proper) time. Lastly, devotion (in the matter of gift) is fraught with the highest
merit. The door of Heaven is very difficult to see. Through heedlessness men fail to obtain a sight of it. The bar of Heaven's
door has cupidity for its seed. That bar is kept fastened by desire and affection. Verily, Heaven's door is unapproachable. Those
men who subdued wrath and conquered their passions, those Brahmanas who are endued with penances and who make gifts
according to the measure of their ability, succeed in beholding it. It has been said that he that gives away a hundred, having a
thousand, he that gives away ten, having a hundred, and he that gives a handful of water, having no wealth, are all equal in
respect of the merit they earn. King Rantideva, when divested of all his wealth, gave a small quantity of water with a pure
heart. Through this gift, O learned Brahmana, he went to Heaven. The deity of righteousness is never gratified so much with
large gifts of costly things as with gifts of even things of no value, if acquired lawfully and given away with devotion and faith.
King Nriga had made gifts of thousands of kine unto the regenerate class. By giving away only one cow that did not belong to
him, he fell into Hell. Usinara's son Sivi of excellent vows, by giving away the flesh of his own body, is rejoicing in Heaven,
having attained to the regions of the righteous. Mere wealth is not merit. Good men acquire merit by exerting to the best of
their power and with the aid of pious meals. One does not acquire such merit by means of even diverse sacrifices as with even
a little wealth that has been earned lawfully. Through wrath, the fruits of gifts are destroyed. Through cupidity one fails to go
to Heaven. One conversant with the merits of gift, and leading a just course of conduct succeeds, through penances, in enjoying
Heaven. The fruit, O Brahmana, of this gift made by thee (of a prastha of powdered barley) is much greater than what one
acquires by many Rajasuya sacrifices with profuse gifts or many Horse-sacrifices. With this prastha of powdered barley thou
hast conquered the eternal region of Brahman. Go thou in happiness, O learned Brahmana, to the abode of Brahman that is
without the stain of darkness. O foremost of regenerate persons, a celestial car is here for all of you. Do thou ascend it as
pleasest thee, O Brahmana, I am the deity of Righteousness. Behold me! Thou hast rescued thy body. The fame of thy
achievement will last in the world. With thy wife, thy son, and thy daughter-in-law, go now to Heaven.'--After the deity of
Righteousness had said these words, that Brahmana, with his wife, son and daughter-in-law, proceeded to Heaven. After that
learned Brahmana, conversant with all duties, had thus ascended to Heaven with his son, daughter-in-law, and wife numbering
the fourth, I came out of my hole. There with the scent of that powdered barley, with the mire caused by the water (which the
Brahmana had given to his guest), with the contact (of my body) with the celestial flowers that had been rained down, with the
particles of the barley-powder which that good man had given away, and the penances of that Brahmana, my head became
gold, Behold, in consequence of the gift of that Brahmana who was firm in truth, and his penances, half of this my ample body
has become golden. Ye regenerate ones, for converting the rest of my body into gold I repeatedly repair, with a cheerful heart,
to the retreats of ascetics and the sacrifices performed by kings. Hearing of this sacrifice of the Kuru king endued with great
wisdom, I came hither with high hopes. I have not, however, been made gold. Ye foremost of Brahmanas, it was for this that I
uttered those words, viz., that this sacrifice can by no means compare with (the gift of) that prastha of powdered barley. With
the grains of that prastha of powdered barley, I was made gold on that occasion. This great sacrifice however, is not equal to
those grains. Even this is my opinion.' Having said those words unto all those foremost of Brahmanas, the mongoose
disappeared from their sight. Those Brahmanas then returned to their respective homes.'

"Vaisampayana continued, 'O conquerer of hostile towns, I have now told thee all relating to that wonderful incident which
occurred in that great Horse-sacrifice. Thou shouldst not, O king, think highly of sacrifice. Millions of Rishis have ascended to
Heaven with the aid of only their penances. Abstention from injury as regards all creatures, contentment, conduct, sincerity,
penances, self-restraint, truthfulness, and gifts are each equal in point of merit to sacrifice."'

SECTION XCI

"Janamejaya said, 'O puissant Rishi, kings are attached to sacrifices. The great Rishis are attached to penances. Learned
Brahmanas are observant of tranquillity of mind, peacefulness of behaviour, and self-restraint. Hence it seems that nothing can
be seen in this world which can compare with the fruits of sacrifices. Even this is my conviction. That conviction, again, seems
to be undoubtedly correct. Innumerable kings, O best of regenerate persons, having worshipped the deities in sacrifices, earned
high fame here and obtained Heaven hereafter. Endued with great energy, the puissant chief of the deities viz., Indra of a
thousand eyes, obtained the sovereignty over the deities through the many sacrifices he performed with gifts in profusion and
attained to the fruition of all his wishes. When king Yudhishthira, with Bhima and Arjuna by him, resembled the chief of the
deities himself in prosperity and prowess, why then did that mongoose depreciate that great Horse-sacrifice of the high-souled
monarch?'

"Vaisampayana said, 'Do thou listen to me, O king, as I discourse to thee duly, O Bharata, on the excellent ordinances relating
to sacrifice and the fruits also, O ruler of men, that sacrifice yields. Formerly, on one occasion Sakra performed a particular
sacrifice. While the limbs of the sacrifice were spread out, the Ritwijas became busy in accomplishing the diverse rites
ordained in the scriptures. The pourer of libations, possessed of every qualification, became engaged in pouring libations of
clarified butter. The great Rishis were seated around. The deities were summoned one by one by contented Brahmanas of great
learning uttering scriptural Mantras in sweet voices. Those foremost of Adhwaryyus, not fatigued with what they did, recited
the Mantras of the Yajurveda in soft accents. The time came for slaughtering the animals. When the animals selected for
sacrifice were seized, the great Rishis, O king, felt compassion for them. Beholding that the animals had all become cheerless,
those Rishis, endued with wealth of penances, approached Sakra and said unto him, 'This method of sacrifice is not auspicious.
Desirous of acquiring great merit as thou art, this is verily an indication of thy unacquaintance with sacrifice. O Purandara,
animals have not been ordained to be slaughtered in sacrifices. O puissant one, these preparations of thine are destructive of
merit. This sacrifice is not consistent with righteousness. The destruction of creatures can never be said to be an act of
righteousness. If thou wishest it, let thy priests perform thy sacrifice according to the Agama. By performing a sacrifice
according to the (true import of the) scriptural ordinances, great will be the merit achieved by thee. O thou of a hundred eyes,
do thou perform the sacrifice with seeds of grain that have been kept for three years. Even this, O Sakra, would be fraught with
great righteousness and productive of fruits of high efficacy.' The deity of a hundred sacrifices, however, influenced by pride
and overwhelmed by stupefaction, did not accept these words uttered by the Rishis. Then, O Bharata, a great dispute arose in
that sacrifice of Sakra between the ascetics as to how sacrifices should be performed, that is, should they be performed with
mobile creatures or with immobile objects. All of them were worn out with disputation. The Rishis then, those beholders of
truth, having made an understanding with Sakra (about referring the matter to arbitration) asked king Vasu, 'O highly blessed
one, what is the Vedic declaration about sacrifices? Is it preferable to perform sacrifices with animals or with steeds and juices?
Hearing the question, king Vasu, without all judging of the strength or weakness of the arguments on the two sides, at once
answered, saying, 'Sacrifices may be performed with whichever of the two kinds of objects is ready.' Having answered the
question thus, he had to enter the nether regions. Indeed the puissant ruler of the Chedis had to undergo that misery for having
answered falsely. Therefore, when a doubt arises, no person, however wise, should singly decide the matter, unless he be the
puissant and self-born Lord himself of creatures. Gifts made by a sinner with an impure understanding, even when they are
very large, become lost. Such gifts go for nothing. By the gifts made by a person of unrighteous conduct,--one, that is, who is
of sinful soul and who is a destroyer, just fame is never acquired either here or hereafter. That person of little intelligence who,

Therefore, O daughter-in-law, I shall take thy share of the barley. Thou deservest not to be deceived by me, reckoning all thy

virtues. Thou art truly, O blessed damsel, the foremost of all persons observing the duties of righteousness.' Having said so

unto her, the Brahmana took her share of the barley and gave it unto his guest. At this the guest became gratified with the high-

souled Brahmana endued with great piety. With gratified soul, that first of regenerate person, possessed of great eloquence,

who was none else than the deity of Righteousness in a human form, then addressed that foremost of Brahmanas and said, 'O

best of regenerate ones, I am exceedingly gratified with this pure gift of thine, this gift of what was acquired by lawful means

by thee, and which thou didst freely part with, agreeably to the rules of righteousness. Verily, this gift of thine is being bruited

about in Heaven by the denizens of that happy region. Behold, flowers have been rained down from the firmament on the

Earth. The celestial Rishis, the deities, the Gandharvas, those who walk before the deities, and the celestial messengers, are all

praising thee, struck with wonder at thy gift. The regenerate Rishis who dwell in the regions of Brahma, seated on their cars,

are solicitous of obtaining thy sight. O foremost of regenerate persons, go to Heaven. The Pitris residing in their own region

have all been rescued by thee. Others also who have not attained to the position of Pitris have equally been rescued by thee for

countless Yugas. For thy Brahmacharyya, thy gifts, thy sacrifices, thy penances, and thy acts of piety done with a pure heart,

go thou to Heaven. O thou of excellent vows, thou practisest penances with great devotion. Thy gifts have, therefore, gratified

the deities highly, O best of regenerate ones. Since thou hast made this gift, in a season of great difficulty, with a pure heart,

thou hast, by this act of thine, conquered Heaven. Hunger destroys one's wisdom and drives off one's righteous understanding.

One whose intelligence is overwhelmed by hunger casts off all fortitude. He, therefore, that conquers hunger conquers Heaven

without doubt. One's righteousness is never destroyed as long as one cherishes the inclination of making gifts. Disregarding

filial affection, disregarding the affection one feels for one's wife, and reckoning righteousness as the foremost, thou hast paid

no heed to the cravings of nature. The acquisition of wealth is an act of slight merit. Its gift to a deserving person is fraught

with greater merit. Of still greater merit is the (proper) time. Lastly, devotion (in the matter of gift) is fraught with the highest

merit. The door of Heaven is very difficult to see. Through heedlessness men fail to obtain a sight of it. The bar of Heaven's

door has cupidity for its seed. That bar is kept fastened by desire and affection. Verily, Heaven's door is unapproachable. Those

men who subdued wrath and conquered their passions, those Brahmanas who are endued with penances and who make gifts

according to the measure of their ability, succeed in beholding it. It has been said that he that gives away a hundred, having a

thousand, he that gives away ten, having a hundred, and he that gives a handful of water, having no wealth, are all equal in

respect of the merit they earn. King Rantideva, when divested of all his wealth, gave a small quantity of water with a pure

heart. Through this gift, O learned Brahmana, he went to Heaven. The deity of righteousness is never gratified so much with

large gifts of costly things as with gifts of even things of no value, if acquired lawfully and given away with devotion and faith.

King Nriga had made gifts of thousands of kine unto the regenerate class. By giving away only one cow that did not belong to

him, he fell into Hell. Usinara's son Sivi of excellent vows, by giving away the flesh of his own body, is rejoicing in Heaven,

having attained to the regions of the righteous. Mere wealth is not merit. Good men acquire merit by exerting to the best of

their power and with the aid of pious meals. One does not acquire such merit by means of even diverse sacrifices as with even

a little wealth that has been earned lawfully. Through wrath, the fruits of gifts are destroyed. Through cupidity one fails to go

to Heaven. One conversant with the merits of gift, and leading a just course of conduct succeeds, through penances, in enjoying

Heaven. The fruit, O Brahmana, of this gift made by thee (of a prastha of powdered barley) is much greater than what one

acquires by many Rajasuya sacrifices with profuse gifts or many Horse-sacrifices. With this prastha of powdered barley thou

hast conquered the eternal region of Brahman. Go thou in happiness, O learned Brahmana, to the abode of Brahman that is

without the stain of darkness. O foremost of regenerate persons, a celestial car is here for all of you. Do thou ascend it as

pleasest thee, O Brahmana, I am the deity of Righteousness. Behold me! Thou hast rescued thy body. The fame of thy

achievement will last in the world. With thy wife, thy son, and thy daughter-in-law, go now to Heaven.'--After the deity of

Righteousness had said these words, that Brahmana, with his wife, son and daughter-in-law, proceeded to Heaven. After that

learned Brahmana, conversant with all duties, had thus ascended to Heaven with his son, daughter-in-law, and wife numbering

the fourth, I came out of my hole. There with the scent of that powdered barley, with the mire caused by the water (which the

Brahmana had given to his guest), with the contact (of my body) with the celestial flowers that had been rained down, with the

particles of the barley-powder which that good man had given away, and the penances of that Brahmana, my head became

gold, Behold, in consequence of the gift of that Brahmana who was firm in truth, and his penances, half of this my ample body

has become golden. Ye regenerate ones, for converting the rest of my body into gold I repeatedly repair, with a cheerful heart,

to the retreats of ascetics and the sacrifices performed by kings. Hearing of this sacrifice of the Kuru king endued with great

wisdom, I came hither with high hopes. I have not, however, been made gold. Ye foremost of Brahmanas, it was for this that I

uttered those words, viz., that this sacrifice can by no means compare with (the gift of) that prastha of powdered barley. With

the grains of that prastha of powdered barley, I was made gold on that occasion. This great sacrifice however, is not equal to

those grains. Even this is my opinion.' Having said those words unto all those foremost of Brahmanas, the mongoose

disappeared from their sight. Those Brahmanas then returned to their respective homes.'

"Vaisampayana continued, 'O conquerer of hostile towns, I have now told thee all relating to that wonderful incident which

occurred in that great Horse-sacrifice. Thou shouldst not, O king, think highly of sacrifice. Millions of Rishis have ascended to

Heaven with the aid of only their penances. Abstention from injury as regards all creatures, contentment, conduct, sincerity,

penances, self-restraint, truthfulness, and gifts are each equal in point of merit to sacrifice."'

SECTION XCI

"Janamejaya said, 'O puissant Rishi, kings are attached to sacrifices. The great Rishis are attached to penances. Learned

Brahmanas are observant of tranquillity of mind, peacefulness of behaviour, and self-restraint. Hence it seems that nothing can

be seen in this world which can compare with the fruits of sacrifices. Even this is my conviction. That conviction, again, seems

to be undoubtedly correct. Innumerable kings, O best of regenerate persons, having worshipped the deities in sacrifices, earned

high fame here and obtained Heaven hereafter. Endued with great energy, the puissant chief of the deities viz., Indra of a

thousand eyes, obtained the sovereignty over the deities through the many sacrifices he performed with gifts in profusion and

attained to the fruition of all his wishes. When king Yudhishthira, with Bhima and Arjuna by him, resembled the chief of the

deities himself in prosperity and prowess, why then did that mongoose depreciate that great Horse-sacrifice of the high-souled

monarch?'

"Vaisampayana said, 'Do thou listen to me, O king, as I discourse to thee duly, O Bharata, on the excellent ordinances relating

to sacrifice and the fruits also, O ruler of men, that sacrifice yields. Formerly, on one occasion Sakra performed a particular

sacrifice. While the limbs of the sacrifice were spread out, the Ritwijas became busy in accomplishing the diverse rites

ordained in the scriptures. The pourer of libations, possessed of every qualification, became engaged in pouring libations of

clarified butter. The great Rishis were seated around. The deities were summoned one by one by contented Brahmanas of great

learning uttering scriptural Mantras in sweet voices. Those foremost of Adhwaryyus, not fatigued with what they did, recited

the Mantras of the Yajurveda in soft accents. The time came for slaughtering the animals. When the animals selected for

sacrifice were seized, the great Rishis, O king, felt compassion for them. Beholding that the animals had all become cheerless,

those Rishis, endued with wealth of penances, approached Sakra and said unto him, 'This method of sacrifice is not auspicious.

Desirous of acquiring great merit as thou art, this is verily an indication of thy unacquaintance with sacrifice. O Purandara,

animals have not been ordained to be slaughtered in sacrifices. O puissant one, these preparations of thine are destructive of

merit. This sacrifice is not consistent with righteousness. The destruction of creatures can never be said to be an act of

righteousness. If thou wishest it, let thy priests perform thy sacrifice according to the Agama. By performing a sacrifice

according to the (true import of the) scriptural ordinances, great will be the merit achieved by thee. O thou of a hundred eyes,

do thou perform the sacrifice with seeds of grain that have been kept for three years. Even this, O Sakra, would be fraught with

great righteousness and productive of fruits of high efficacy.' The deity of a hundred sacrifices, however, influenced by pride

and overwhelmed by stupefaction, did not accept these words uttered by the Rishis. Then, O Bharata, a great dispute arose in

that sacrifice of Sakra between the ascetics as to how sacrifices should be performed, that is, should they be performed with

mobile creatures or with immobile objects. All of them were worn out with disputation. The Rishis then, those beholders of

truth, having made an understanding with Sakra (about referring the matter to arbitration) asked king Vasu, 'O highly blessed

one, what is the Vedic declaration about sacrifices? Is it preferable to perform sacrifices with animals or with steeds and juices?

Hearing the question, king Vasu, without all judging of the strength or weakness of the arguments on the two sides, at once

answered, saying, 'Sacrifices may be performed with whichever of the two kinds of objects is ready.' Having answered the

question thus, he had to enter the nether regions. Indeed the puissant ruler of the Chedis had to undergo that misery for having

answered falsely. Therefore, when a doubt arises, no person, however wise, should singly decide the matter, unless he be the

puissant and self-born Lord himself of creatures. Gifts made by a sinner with an impure understanding, even when they are

very large, become lost. Such gifts go for nothing. By the gifts made by a person of unrighteous conduct,--one, that is, who is

of sinful soul and who is a destroyer, just fame is never acquired either here or hereafter. That person of little intelligence who,