Chapter 67

"Vaisampayana said, 'While that king of kings dwelt in heaven--the home of the celestials, he was reverenced by the gods, the

Sadhyas, the Maruts, and the Vasus. Of sacred deeds, and mind under complete control, the monarch used to repair now and

then from the abode of the celestials unto the region of Brahman. And it hath been heard by me that he dwelt for a long time in heaven.

"One day that best of kings. Yayati, went to Indra and there in course of conversation the lord of Earth was asked by Indra as

follows:

What didst thou say, O king, when thy son Puru took thy decrepitude on Earth and when thou gavest him thy kingdom?

"Yayati answered, "I told him that the whole country between the rivers Ganga and Yamuna was his. That is, indeed, the central region of the Earth, while the out-lying regions are to be the dominions of thy brothers. I also told him that those without anger were ever superior to those under its sway, those disposed to forgive were ever superior to the unforgiving. Man is superior to the lower animals. Among men again the learned are superior to the un-learned. If wronged, thou shouldst not wrong in return. One's wrath, if disregarded, burneth one's own self; but he that regardeth it not taketh away all the virtues of him that exhibiteh it. Never shouldst thou pain others by cruel speeches. Never subdue thy foes by despicable means; and never utter such scorching and sinful words as may torture others. He that pricketh as if with thorns men by means of hard and cruel words, thou must know, ever currieth in his mouth the Rakshasas. Prosperity and luck fly away at his very sight. Thou shouldst ever keep the virtuous before thee as thy models; thou shouldst ever with retrospective eye compare thy acts with those of the virtuous; thou shouldst ever disregard the hard words of the wicked. Thou shouldst ever make the conduct of the wise the model upon which thou art to act thyself. The man hurt by the arrows of cruel speech hurled from one's lips, weepeth day and night. Indeed, these strike at the core of the body. Therefore the wise never fling these arrows at others. There is nothing in the three worlds by which thou canst worship and adore the deities better than by kindness, friendship, charity and sweet speeches unto all. Therefore, shouldst thou always utter words that soothe, and not those that scorch. And thou shouldst regard those that deserve, thy regards, and shouldst always give but never beg!"

(Sambhava Parva continued)

"Vaisampayana said, 'Alter this Indra again asked Yayati, Thou didst retire into the woods, O king, after accomplishing all thy duties, O Yayati, son of Nahusha, I would ask thee to whom thou art equal in ascetic austerities. Yayati answered, O Vasava, 1 do not, in the matter of ascetic austerities, behold my equal among men, the celestials, the Gandharvas, and the great Rishis. Indra then said. 'O monarch, because thou disregardest those that are thy superiors, thy equals, and even thy inferiors, without, in fact, knowing their real merits, thy virtues have suffered diminution and thou must fall from heaven. Yayati then said, 'O Sakra, if, indeed, my virtues have really sustained diminution and I must on that account fall down from heaven, I desire, O chief of the celestials, that I may at least fall among the virtuous and the honest. Indra replied, 'O king, thou shall fall among those that are virtuous and wise, and thou shall acquire also much renown. And after this experience of thine, O Yayati, never

again disregard those that are thy superions or even thy equals. "Vaisampayana continued, 'Upon this, Yayati fell from the region of the celestials. And as he was falling, he was beheld by that foremost of royal sages, viz., Ashtaka, the protector of his own religion. Ashtaka beholding him, enquired. Who art thou, O youth of a beauty equal to that of Indra, in splendour blazing as the fire, thus falling from on high? Art thou that foremost of sky-ranging bodies--the sun-emerging from, dark masses of clouds? Beholding thee falling from the solar course, possessed of immeasurable energy and the splendour of fire or the sun, every one is curious as to what it is that is so falling, and is, besides, deprived of consciousness! Beholding thee in the path of the celestials, possessed of energy like that of Sakra, or Surya, or Vishnu, we have approached thee to ascertain the truth. If thou hast first asked us who we were, we would never have been guilty of the incivility of asking thee first. We now ask thee who thou art and why thou approachest hither. Let thy fears he dispelled; let thy woes and afflictions cease. Thou art now in the presence of the virtuous and the wise. Even Sakra himself--the slayer of Vala-cannot here do thee any injury, O thou of the prowess of the chief of the celestials, the wise and the virtuous are the support of their brethren in grief. Here there are none but the wise and virtuous like thee assembled together. Therefore, stay thou here in peace. Fire alone hath power to give heat. The Earth alone hath power to infuse life into the seed. The sun alone hath power to illuminate everything. So the guest alone hath power to command the virtuous and the wise."

(Sambhava Parva continued)

"Yayati said, I am Yayati, the son of Nahusha and the father of Puru. Cast off from the region of the celestials and of Siddhas and Rishis for having disregarded every creature. I am falling down, my righteousness having sustained diminution. In years I

um older than you, therefore, I have not saluted you first. Indeed, the Brahmanas always reverence him who is older in years or superior in learning or in ascetic merit

"Ashtaka then replied. Thou sayest, O monarch, that he who is older in years is worthy of regard. But it is said that he is truly

worthy of worship who is superior in learning and ascetic merit."

"Yayati replied to this, "It is said that sin destroyeth the merits of four virtuous acts. Vanity containeth the element of that which

leadeth to hell. The virtuous never follow in the footsteps of the vicious. They act in such a way that their religious merit

always increaseth. I myself had great religious merit, but all that, however, is gone. I will scarcely be able to regain it even by

my best exertions. Beholding my fate, he that is bent upon (achieving) his own good, will certainly suppress vanity. He who

having acquired great wealth performeth meritorious sacrifices, who having acquired all kinds of learning remaineth humble.

and who having studied the entire Vedas devoteth himself to asceticism with a heart withdrawn from all mundane enjoyments,

goeth to heaven. None should exult in having acquired great wealth. None should be vain of having studied the entire Vedas. In

the world men are of different disposititans. Destiny is supreme. Both power and exertion are all fruitless. Knowing Destiny in

be all-powerful, the wise, whatever their portions may be, should neither exult nor grieve. When creatures know that their weal

and we are dependent on Destiny and not on their own exertion or power, they should neither grieve nor exult, remembering

that Destiny is all powerful. The wise should ever live contented, neither grieving at woe nor exulting at weal. When Destiny is

supreme, both grief and exultation are unbecoming. O Ashtaka, I never suffer myself to be overcome by fear, nor do I ever

entertain grief, knowing for certain that I shall be in the world what the great disposer of all hath ordained. Insects and worms.

all oviparous creatures, vegetable existences, all crawling animals, vermin, the fish in the water, stones, grass, wood--in fact, all

created things, when they are freed from the effects of their acts, are united with the Supreme Soul. Happiness and misery are

both transient. Therefore, O Ashtaka, why should I grieve? We can never know how we are to act in order to avoid misery.

Therefore, none should grieve for misery."