Reading section 14

The chariot of Budha, the son of the moon, is made of the wind and fire and is drawn by eight bay horses gifted with the velocity of the wind. The huge car of Sukra (Venus) is carried by earth-borne horses, equipped with a protecting fender and a floor, armed with arrows and adorned with a pennon. The magnificent car of Bhauma (Mars) is made of gold, of an octagonal shape, drawn by eight steeds of a ruby red originated from fire. Vrihaspati (Jupiter) in a golden car drawn by eight pale-coloured steeds, travels, at the end of the year, from one sign to another. The slow-paced Sani (Saturn) travels in a car drawn by piebald horses. O Maitreya, the chariot of Rāhu are drawn by eight black horses, which once harnessed are attached to it for ever. At the time of lunar and solar eclipses the Rāhu travels from the sun to the moon and comes back again from the moon to the sun. The car of Ketu is is drawn by eight horses having fleetness of the wind and of the dusky red colour of lac or of the smoke of burning straw.

I have thus described to you, O Maitreya, the chariots of the nine planets all of which are fastened to Dhruva by aerial cords. To Dhruva are attached the orbs of all the planets, asterisms and stars. And they all move in their respective orbits being kept in their places by their respective cords of air. As many are the stars so many are the aerial cords by which they are fastened to Dhruva. As they turn round they cause the pole-star to revolve. As the oilman goes round the spindle and makes it revolve, so the planets revolve suspended by the aerial cords which are also whirling round a centre. The air is called Pravāha because it bears along the planets like a disc of fire driven by the aerial wheel.

I have related to you, O foremost of Munis, that Dhruva is fitted to the tail of the celestial porpoise: I shall now describe in detail the constituent parts; hear them as they are of great efficacy. People are freed from the sins committed by them during the day when they behold the celestial porpoise in the hight. And those who behold it live as many years as there are stars in it, in the sky or even more. Uttānpada is the upper jaw and sacrifice the lower jaw of that celestial porpoise. Dhruva is situated on its brow and Nārāyana in its heart. The Aswinis are its two fore-feet and Varuna and Aryamat are its two hinder legs. Samvatsara is its sexual organ and Mitra is its organ of execretion. Agni, Mahendra, Kasyapa and Dhurva are successively placed in its tail; which four stars in this constellation never set.

I have thus related to you the situation of the earth and the stars. I had already described to you the Varshas and rivers and the animals living there. I shall again describe them in short: hear them.

From the waters which constitute the person of Vishnu originated the lotus-shaped earth with its seas and mountains. The stars are Vishnu, the words are Vishnu: forests, mountains, regions, streams, seas are Vishnu—all that is, all that shall be—all that is not are Vishnu. The glorious Vishnu is identical with knowledge. He has got endless forms but is not a substance. All the mountains, oceans and the various divisions of the earth you must consider to be the illusions of the apprehension. When knowledge is pure, real, universal, independent of actions, freed from defect then the varieties of substance, which are the fruits of the tree of desire, cease to exist in matter. What is substance? What thing is that which has got no beginning, no middle and no end? And which is of one uniform nature? How can that object be called real which is subject to change and which reassumes no more its original character? The earth is seen as a jar; the jar is divided into two halves which are again broken into pieces: they again become dust and the dust is again reduced into atoms. Is this reality? And although it is considered so by man it is because his self-knowledge is obstructed by his own acts. Therefore, O Brahman, there is nothing anywhere, or anything real at any time save discriminative knowledge. On account of the diversity of their actions, people, having diverse temperaments, consider that one knowledge as manifold. Knowledge perfect and pure, freed from pains and renouncing attachments towards all these which cause affliction—knowledge, single and eternal is the supreme Vāsudeva, besides whom there is nothing. I have thus communicated to you the truth—the knowledge which is truth; and all that differs from it is false. That which is seen by the knowledge is but illusion of a temporal and worldly nature. I have also described to you the sacrifice, the victim, the fire, the priests, the acid, juce, the celestials, the desire for heaven, the path followed by acts of devotion and the worlds that are their outcome. In this universe which I have described to you only those people travel who are subject to the influence of actions. But he, who knows Vasudeva to be eternal, immutable, and of one unchanging, universal form, should so perform them that he may enter into the deity.

SECTION XIII.

Maitreya said:—"O respected Sir, all that I ask of you, has been perfectly related by you, namely the situation of the earth, seas, mountains, rivers, and planets, the system of the three worlds of which Vishnu is the support; you have also related that the holy knowledge is pre-eminent. You said that you would relate the story of Bharata, the lord of the earth: it becomes you now to relate that. Bharata, the protector of the earth, lived at the holy pilgrimage of Sālagrām. And he was engaged in devotion with his mind ever attached to Vāsudeva. Living at a sacred place he was always devoted to Hari: Why then he failed to obtain final liberation, O twice-born one? And why was he born again as a Brahmin, O foremost of Munis? It becomes you to relate this".

Parāçara said:—The illustrious lord of the earth, O Maitreya, lived for a long time at Sālagrām having his mind wholly devoted to the glorious God. And having been considered, on account of his kindness and other virtues, the foremost of the virtuous, he secured in the highest degree, the entire control over his mind. The Raja was ever repeating the names Yajnesa, Achyuta, Govinda, Mādhava, Ananta, Keshava, Krishna, Vishnu, Hrishikesa. And nothing else than this did he utter even in his dreams: nor did he meditate upon anything, but those names and their significance. He accepted fuel, flowers and holy grass for the worship of the deity and did he celebrate no other religious observance being entirely given to disinterested abstract devotion.

One day he went to the river Mahānadi for the purpose of ablution. And having bathed there he engaged in after ceremonies. Whilst thus engaged there came to the same spot a doe big with young who had come out of the forest to drink of the stream. Whilst the doe was drinking there was audible a dreadful uproar of a lion capable of striking terror into all creatures. Thereupon, the doe, greatly terrified, jumped out of the water on the banks; on account of this great leap her fawn was suddenly brought forth and fell into the river. And beholding it carried away by the stream the king suddenly caught hold of the young one and saved it from being drowned. The injury which the doe had received on account of the violent exertion proved fatal. She lay down and died. Having observed this the royal ascetic took the fawn in his arms and came back to the hermitage. There he fed it and nursed it every day: and under his fostering care it throve and grew up. It frolicked about the hermitage and grazed upon the grass in its neighbourhood. And sometimes afraid of a tiger it used to come to the ascetic. In this wise the young one sometimes wandered far away in the morning and came back to the hermitage in the evening and frolicked in the leafy bower of Bharata.

His mind, O twice-born one, was thus attached to that animal, playing either in the neighbourhood or at some distance and he was unable to think of anything else. And the king, although he had severed all bonds of attachments towards his friends, his kingdom, his son and wife, grew inordinately attached to this fawn. When absent for an unusually long time he would think that it had been carried away by wolves, devoured by a tiger or slain by a lion. He used to cry out,—'The earth is embrowned with the prints of its hoofs. What has become of the fawn that was born for my delight? How happy I should become if he had come back from the forest. I felt his budding antlers rubbing against my arm. These tufts, of sacred grass, the heads of which have been nibbed by his new teeth, look like pious lads chanting the Shama-Veda.'

Whenever this fawn used to absent itself for a long time from the hermitage the ascetic would think thus. And he was delighted and his countenance grew animated whenever it neared him. His mind being thus engrossed by the fawn his abstraction was interrupted although he had renounced family, wealth and kingdom. His mind became unsettled with the wanderings of the fawn. Whenever it wandered away to a great distance the king's mind followed it and when it was silent his mind became settled. Thus in the course of time the king became subject to its influences and was watched by the deer with tearful eyes like a son mourning for the father. And the king, when he died, saw the young fawn only before him; and having his mind engrossed by him, O Maitreya, he did not see anything else.

On account of such feeling at such an hour he was born again in Jambumarga forest as a deer with the faculty of recollecting his former life. Cherishing a distaste for the world on account of this recollection he left his mother and again repaired to holy place of Salagram. Living there upon dry grass and leaves he expatiated the acts which had led to his being born in such a condition: and upon his death he was born as a Brahmin still retaining the recollection of his former life. He was born in a devout and illustrious family of ascetics who rigidly observed devotional practices. Having been gifted with true knowledge and acquainted with the spirit of all sacred writings he observed soul as contra-distinguished from Prakriti (matter). And acquainted with the knowledge of self he observed the celestial and all other beings as the same. When he was invested with the Brahminical thread he did not read the Vedas with a preceptor, did not perform the ceremonies nor did he read the scriptures. And requested again and again he replied incoherently in ungrammatical and unpolished speech. His body was unclean and he used to wear dirty clothes. Saliva dribbled from his mouth and he was treated with hatred by the people. Undue respect from the people obstructs abstraction and hence the ascetics, disregarded by people, attain to the consummation of their asceticism. Without polluting the way treaded by the saints the ascetics should so behave that the ordinary folk might hate them and not come in their company. Having thus thought of this saying (Bharata) gifted with high intellect assumed the appearance of a crazy idiot in the eyes of the people. He used to live on raw pulse, potherbs, wild fruit and grains of corn and whatever came in his way as a part of necessary but temporary infliction.

On the death of his father he was set to work in the field by his brothers and nephews and fed by them with wretched food. He was firm and stout like a bull and used to act like a simpleton and people used to make him work and give him food only as his wages.

Once on a time the gate-keeper of the king of Sauvira, regarding him as an idle uneducated Brahmin, considered him a worthy person to work without pay and took him into his master's service to assist in carrying the palanquin. One day O Brahman, the king wished to go in palanquin to the hermitage of the great sage Kapila, situated on the banks of the river Ikshumati, to consult the sage, who was conversant with the virtues leading to liberation, what as most desirable in a world abounding with care and sorrow. And he was one of those, who had, at the order of the head servant, been compelled to carry the palanquin gratuitously. And that Brahman, gifted with the only universal knowledge and recollecting former birth, although compelled to do this, bore the burden as the means of expatiating the sins for which was desirous to atone. While the other bearers proceeded with alacrity, he, fixing his eyes upon the pole, moved tardily. And perceiving the palanquin carried unevenly the king exclaimed 'Ho bearers! what is this? keep equal space.' Still it went on unsteadily and the king again cried out. ‘What is this? How irregularly are you going?' When this had again and again taken place the palanquin bearers at last replied to the king, 'It is this man who lags in his space.' ‘How is this' said the king to the Brahmin, 'Are you exhausted? You have carried your burden only a little way. Are you unable to bear exhaustion? But you look very robust' To which the Brahmin replied—‘It is not I, O king, who am robust nor is it I who carry your palanquin. I am not exhausted, O king! nor am I capable of fatigue.' The king said, ‘I distinctly perceive that you are stout and the palanquin is carried by you, and a heavy burden is wearisome to all persons.' The Brahmin said: ‘Tell me first what you have distinctly seen of me and then you may distinguish my properties as strong or weak. The statement, that you behold the palanquin borne by me or placed on me, is unreal. Listen, O king, to my arguments about it. Both the feet are placed on the ground: the legs are supported by the feet; the thighs rest upon the legs; and the belly rests upon the thighs; the chest is supported by the belly and the arms and shoulders are supported by the chest; the palanquin is carried by the shoulders and then how can it be considered as my burden? This body which is seated in the palanquin is known as "thou" thence what is elsewhere called this is here distinguished as thou and I. I and thou and others are made of elements and elements, influenced by qualities, assume a bodily shape. Qualities depend on acts, and acts perpetrated in ignorance influence the condition of all beings. The soul is pure, imperishable, tranquil, devoid of qualities, distinct from nature and is without increase or diminution; and if it is freed from increase or diminution then with what prosperity you say to me, ‘I see that you are robust? If the palanquin is placed on the body, the body on the feet, the feet the ground, then the burden is carried as much by you as by me. Why are not others, O king, feeling the burden of this palanquin. If I am exhausted with a burden that is being carried on another's shoulder, then why with the weight of this palanquin, people may be worn out with the weight of mountains, trees, houses and even of the earth, When the nature of men is different, either in its essence or its cause, then it may be said that fatigue is to be undergone by me. The material, with which

the palanquin is made, is the substance of you and me and of all others being a collection of Elements collected by individuality.'

Parāçara said:—Having said this the Brahman became silent and went on carrying the palanquin; the king too speedily got down from it and touched his feet. The king said: O Brahman, leave off the palanquin and be propitiated with me. Tell me who art thou under the disguise of a fool? The Brahman replied "Hear me, king. Who I am it is not possible to say; I go anywhere for receiving the fruits of good and bad luck. The body is produced for the enjoyment of pleasure and endurance of pain. Pleasure and pain originate from virtue and vice; therefore the soul assumes bodily shape for enjoying pleasure and enduring pain consequent upon virtue and vice. The universal cause of all living creatures is virtue or vice, why therefore enquire after the cause of my coming to this earth."

The king said:—"That virtue and vice are the causes of all actions and that people migrate into various bodies for receiving their consequences, there is not the least doubt about it; but as regards what you have said that it is not possible for you to say who you are, it is a matter which I wish to have explained. O Brahman, how cannot a man declare himself to be that which he (really) is: there can be no harm to one's self from applying to it the word 'I'".

The Brahmana said:—"To use the word ‘I' undoubtedly is detrimental; but it is not improperly used if it is applied merely to the soul. But the term is erroneous in as much as it conceives that to be the self or soul which is not self or soul. The tongue articulates the word ‘I' assisted by the lips, the teeth and the palate; and these are the origin of the expression, as they are the causes of the production of speech.

"If by these instruments speech can utter the word 'I' it is not at all proper to say that speech itself is ‘I.' O king, the body of a man having hands, feet and other limbs is composed of various parts: to what part shall we apply the word ‘I'? If another being had existed in this body quite different from me, then it may be said, O king, that this is I, that is the other; while one soul inhabits the whole body, then such questions as 'Who are you? Who am I?' are useless. Thou art a monarch; this is a palanquin: these are the bearers: these are thy followers; yet it is untrue that these are thine. This palanquin, in which thou art seated, is made of timber got from trees. Then tell me, what name, tree, timber or palanquin, shall be applied to it, O king. The people shall not say that their monarch is seated on a tree or on a timber but they shall say that he is in the palanquin. The artificial assemblage of the pieces of timber is called the palanquin: judge yourself, therefore, O king, in what the palanquin differs from the wood. Again consider the sticks of the umbrella, in their separate state. What then is the umbrella? Apply this argument to thee and to me. A man, a woman, a cow, a goat, a horse, an elephant, a bird, a tree, are names given to various bodies, which they assume on account of their primitive actions. Man is neither a god, nor a man, nor a beast, nor a tree: these are the various shapes which he assumes on account of his acts. O king, your name is Vasuraja and another name is Rajabhat—besides you have got various other names—but none of these names is real and is nothing but the work of imagination. And what thing is there in the world, O king, which being subject to changes, does not in the course of time, go by different names? You are called the king of the world, the son of your father, the enemy of your foes, the husband of your wife, the father of your children, what name the shall I apply to you? What is your situation? Are you the head or the belly? Or are they yours? Are you the feet or are they yours? You are, O king, separate in nature from the members of your body. Then considering properly, do you think who I am. And since the truth has been got at, how is it possible for me to recognize the distinction and to apply to my individual the expression 'I'".

SECTION XIV.

Parāçara said:—Having heard his words pregnant with the true essence of things the king humbly said to the twice-born one; "What you have said, O revered sir, is undoubtedly the truth—but in hearing this my mind has been greatly worked up. What you have shown, O twice-born one, in various creatures to be understanding and discriminative knowledge, is very grand and distinct from plastic nature. I have not carried the palanquin nor is it placed on my shoulders. The body, which has carried the palanquin, is different from me. The three qualities influence the actions of the animals and these three qualities are again influenced by destiny. This reaching my ears, O thou conversant with profound truth, my mind has been greatly disturbed for knowing that real and holy truth. O twice-born, I had already addressed myself for going to the great ascetic Kapila, to learn of him what in this life is the most desirable object. But what you have said in the interim has attracted my mind towards you for being acquainted with the profound truth. O Brahmin, the great ascetic Kapila is a portion of the glorious Vishnu, who is at one with all elements. He is born on earth to remove the illusions of the world. But what you have said convinces me that the great Kapala, for my well-being, has appeared within my vision. To me, who am thus asking, O twice-born one, explain what is the best of things, for you are an ocean overflowing with the waters of the divine wisdom". The Brāhmana said—"You ask me, O lord of earth, what is the best of all things, not the great end of life. There are many things which are best in the world and there are many truths of life. O king, some worshipping the gods desire for wealth, prosperity, children or kingdom: these are the best things in their estimation. A sacrifice that gives heavenly pleasures is also the best. That, which gives best rewards though not asked for, is also the best. To him, who with concentration meditates upon the great soul, union with it is the best. Thus there are hundreds and thousands of best things but these are not profound truths. Hear, I shall describe to you what is the profound truth. If wealth is the end of life then why do people spend it for the acquisition of piety and for acquiring desired-for objects? O lord of men, if son is the end of life then the father of that son is another's end of life and he again is another's. If then every action becomes the end of every cause then there exists no supreme or final truth in this world. And if the acquirement of sovereignty be characterized as the great end of life then finite ends would sometimes be and some times cease to be. If you consider the rites laid down by Rik, Yayur and Shāma Vedas as the ends of life, hear what I have got to say on that head. Anything, that is the outcome of the instrumentality of earth, partakes of its character and consists of clay. So any act, that is performed by such perishable things as fuel, clarified butter and Kusha grass, must be in nature perishable. The great end of life must be considered by wise men as eternal and it would be transient if it were accomplished through transitory things. If you consider that which gives no reward to be the true end of life then that which brings on final liberation is not the true end of life. If the union of the individual soul with the Great soul is considered as the supreme end of life then this becomes false: for one substance cannot become substantially another. Thus

there are undoubtedly very many best things in this world: hear from me, in short O king, the true end of life. It is soul, one, all-pervading, uniform, perfect supreme over nature, freed from birth, growth and destruction, omnipresent undecaying, made up of true knowledge, independent and not connected with unreal things, with name, species and the rest and in time, present, past and future. The spirit, which is essentially one in one's own and in all other bodies, is the true wisdom of one who knows the unity and the true principles of things. As air spreading all over the world going through the perforation of a flute is distinguished as the notes of the scale so the (true) nature of the great spirit is one though it assumes various forms consequent upon the fruits of actions. When the difference, between the various forms, such as that of god and man, is destroyed then the distinction of things ceases".

SECTION XV.

Parāçara said—Having heard those words the king became speechless and engaged in meditation and the Brahmin told a tale illustrating the principles of unity.

The Brahmin said—"Hear O great king what in the days of yore Ribhu said for the instruction of illustrious Nidagka. The great patriarch Brahmā had a son by Ribhu, who was by nature, O king, conversant with true wisdom. A son of Pulastya by name Nidagha became his disciple and (Ribhu) greatly delighted gave him various instructions. O lord of men, he being thus instructed, Ribhu did not doubt of his being fully confirmed in the doctrines of unity.