Reading section 33

O foremost of ascetics, one day while proceeding, Arjuna, the son of Pritha, halted the people he had brought from Dwārakā in the Panchanada country; in a rich and fertile spot; the desires of the neighbouring robbers were excited When they saw a number of widowed females and immense riches in the possession of Arjuna alone. Worked up with their cupidity they assembled their villainous herds and said to them:—"This Arjuna, alone with his bow, is passing amongst us having immense riches and numberless women with him, whose husbands have been slain; cursed is thy strength therefore. His pride hath been increased by the death of Bhishma Drona, Jayadratha, Karna and others; he is not cognisant of the prowess of the simple villagers. Up, up, take your long thick staves; this stupid fellow hates us. Why should we not lift up our arms?" Saying this they rushed armed with cudgels and clods of earth, upon the people who were without their lord. Arjuna met them and said to them in contempt: "Go away, O ye wretches, ignorant of what is right, if you do not wish to die". But they neglected his threats seized his treasures and women, the wives of Viswaksena.

Thereupon Arjuna began to brace his celestial bow Gāndiva, irresistible in encounter, but it was in vain, for in spite of his efforts to lighten it, it continued flaccid; neither could he recollect the incantation of superhuman weapons. Losing all patience he discharged, as best as he could, his arrows upon the foes, but they merely scratched the skin. The shafts that were given him by Agni for certain destruction, were themselves destroyed and proved fatal to Arjuna in his encounter with herdsmen. Thereupon he tried to recall the prowess of Krishna by the strength whereof his shafts had slain many a mighty king; but he tried in vain, for they were either put aside by peasants or they flew at random wide of their marks. His arrows being all exhausted he beat the robbers with the horn of his bow. They laughed at his blows and in the very sight of Arjuna the barbarians carried off all the women of the Vrishni and Andhaka tribes and went their way. Thereupon Jishnu was greatly sorry, and lamented bitterly saying "Alas! Alas! I am deserted by my lord". And immediately the bow, the heavenly arms, his car and steeds perished entirely like a donation to an unlearned Brahmin. "Alas! how powerful is the destiny" said he "deprived of my illustrious friend I have been defeated by the base. These two arms are mine; mine is this fist, this is my place; I am Arjuna, but without that righteous help all these are pithless. The bravery of Arjuna, the strength of Bhima was all his work; without him I am defeated by peasants; it cannot be from any other cause". Saying this, Arjuna went to the city of Mathurā and there installed the Yādava prince Vajra as a king. There he saw Vyāsa who was living in a forest and he approached the sage and saluted him respectfully. The ascetic observed him for some time as he lay prostrate at his feet and said to him. "How is it that I see you shorn of lustre? Have you been guilty of an illicit intercourse with a woman or Brahmincide? Or have you suffered any grievous disappointment that you are so dejected. Have your prayers for offspring or other good gifts proved fruitless? Or have you indulged improper passions that your lustre has been clouded? Or have you devoured the meal given to Brahmanas? Arjuna, say, have you seized upon the property of the poor? Has the wind of a winnowing basket lighted upon you? Or has an evil eye gazed upon you that you look so miserable. Have you been touched by the water of a finger nail? Or has the water of a water-jar sprinkled you? Or, what is most probably the case, have you been beaten by your inferiors in battle?"

Having sighed deeply Arjuna described to Vyāsa all the circumstances of his defeat, and said:—"Hari who was our strength, our heroism, our might, our prowess, our prosperity and brightness, has left us and departed. Deprived of our illustrious friend who was ever kindly speaking we have become as feeble as if made of straw. Excellent Purusha, he, who was the living vigour of my weapon, my arrow, my bow, has departed. When he looked upon us, fortune, fame, wealth and dignity crowded us; but Govinda has departed from our midst. That Krishna has left earth by whose power Bhishma, Drona, the king of Anga, Duryodhana and the rest were slain. Not I alone but earth has grown old, miserable and lustreless in the absence of the holder of the discus. Krishna, through devotion to whom Bhishma and other powerful men perished like moths in the flame of my valour, has departed and I am now vanquished by cow-herds. The bow Gāndiva, that was celebrated all over the three-worlds, has been foiled, on account of his departure, by the sticks of peasants. The numberless women, over whom I was lord, have been carried off from me by thieves armed only with cudgels; the whole household of Krishna, O Krishna, has been forcibly carried off by peasants, who with their staves have put my strength to shame. I do not wonder that I am shorn of my lustre; it is a marvel that I live. Surely grandsire, I am so shameless that I survive the stain of indignity inflicted by the vile".

Vaysa replied to Arjuna and said, "Think no more my son of the indignity; it does not behold you to grieve. Know that time subjects all beings to similar vicissitude: Time brings out the production and dissolution of all creatures. All that exists is founded on time. Know this, Arjuna, and preserve thy fortitude. Rivers, oceans, mountains, the entire earths, celestials, men, animals, trees, are all created and will all be destroyed by time. Be thou sober, knowing that all that is the effect of time. These mighty works of Krishna, whatever they have been, have been performed to relieve earth of her load; for this he has come down. Oppressed by her load earth has had recourse to the assembly of the celestials and Janārddana, who is identical with time, has descended on that account. This object has now been accomplished: all the kings of the earth have been destroyed; no more remained for him to accomplish. Therefore the lord has departed whither he pleased, his ends being all fulfilled. At the period of creation the god of gods creates; in that of duration he preserves, at the end of all he is the powerful destroyer. Now all is done. Therefore O Arjuna, be not pained by thy defeat; the power of mortals is the gift of time. Bhishma, Karna and other kings have been slain by this alone; this was the work of time; and why should not therefore thy defeat by those inferior to thee occur? In the same manner as through thy devotion to Vishnu these were overthrown by thee, so has thy discomfiture by cursed thieves been brought about by time. That divinity, assuming various shapes, preserves the world; and in the end the lord of creatures destroys it. O son of Kunti, on the occasion of thy good fortune, the illustrious Janārddana was thy help; in thy decline thy enemies have been favoured by Kesava. Who will now believe, that thou didst alone defeat Bhishma and other Kauravas. Who would believe peasants have defeated thee? Know it for certain, O son of Pritha, that it is but the sport of the Universal Hari that the Kauravas have been slain by thee and thou hast been vanquished by herdsmen. As regards the women for whom thou dost grieve and who have been carried off by the thieves, hear from me an ancient story that will explain why this has happened.

"In ancient time, a Brāhman, named Ashtāvakra, was pursuing his religious penances, standing in water and meditating on the eternal spirit for many years. On account of the overthrow of the Asuras there was a great festival on the summit of Meru; on their way to which Rambhā, Tilottamā and hundreds of other beautiful nymphs praised and hymned him for his devotions. They bowed unto him and eulogised him when he was immersed in water up to his throat, his hair twisted in a braid. They sang in honour of him whatever they thought would be agreeable to that most eminent of Brāhmanas. Ashtāvakra at last said to them:—'I am well pleased with you, illustrious damsels; ask of me whatever you wish and I will give it however difficult it may be of attainment'. Thereupon all these nymphs, Rambhā, Tillottamā and others mentioned in the Vedas, replied:—'It is enough for us that thou art pleased, what else need we say, O Brāhman?' But some amongst them said:—'If you are indeed pleased with us, O illustrious sire, thou grant us a husband, the best of men and sovereign of Brāhmanas'. Thereupon saying 'so be it,' Ashtāvakra came up from the waters. When the nymphs observed him coming out of the water and saw that he was very ugly and crooked in eight places they could not restrain their merriment and laughed aloud. The Muni was very angry and imprecated them with a curse, saying 'Since you have been so impertinent as to laugh at my deformity, I denounce upon you this curse; through the favour I have shown unto you, you shall obtain the first of males for your husband; and on account of my curse, you shall afterwards fall into the hands of thieves'. When the nymphs heard this imprecation they tried to appease the Muni, and they so far succeeded that he told them that they should finally go to the region of the celestials. It is on account of the curse of the ascetic Ashtāvakra that these women, who were the wives of Kesava, have fallen into the hands of the barbarians; and there is nothing for you, Arjuna to regret it in the least. All this destruction has been brought about by the lord of all, and your end is also near at hand, since he has withdrawn from your strength, splendour, valour and pre-eminence. Death is the doom of every one who is born; fall is the end of exhaltation; union terminates in separation and growth tends only to decay. Knowing all this, wise men are neither subject to grief nor joy; and those who know these ways are equally free from pleasure or joy. Do you therefore, most excellent prince, understand this truth and along with your brothers relinquish everything and repair to the holy forest. Go now and say from me to Yudhishthira that he, to-morrow with his brethren, will tread the path of heroes".

Thus instructed by Vyāsa, Arjuna went and described to the other sons of Pritha all that he had seen, experienced and heard. When he had related unto them the message of Vyāsa, the sons of Pandu placed Pārikshit on the throne and went to the forest.

I have thus described to you, O Maitreya, in detail the actions of Vāsudeva when he was born in the race of Yadu.

THE END OF PART V.

PART VI.

SECTION I.

Maitreya said:—"Thou hast described unto me in detail, O illustrious sage, the creation of the universe, the genealogies of the Patriarchs, the duration of the Manwantaras and the dynasties of the princes. I am willing to hear from you an account of the dissolution of the universe, the time of total destruction and that which occurs at the expiration of a Kalpa".

Parāçara said:—Hear from me exactly, O Maitreya, the circumstances attending the dissolution of the world either at the expiration of a Kalpa or that which occurs at the close of the life of Brahmā. A month of men constitutes a day and night of the progenitors; a year of men is a day and night of the celestials. Twice a thousand aggregates of the four ages is a day and night of Brahmhā. The four ages are the Krita, Treta, Dwāpara and Kali, comprehending altogether twelve thousand years of the celestials. There are infinite successions of those four ages of a similar description, the first of which is always called Krita and the last the Kali. In the first, the Krita is that age which is created by Brahmā; in the last, which is the Kali age, a dissolution of the universe takes place.

Maitreya said:—"O venerable Sir, It behoves thee to give a description of the nature of the Kali age in which the four-footed virtue suffers total extinction".

Parāçara said:—Hear, O Maitreya, of the nature of the Kali age, regarding which you have enquired and which is now approaching completion.

In the Kali age, people will not serve caste, order and institutes, nor the ceremonial enjoined by the Sāma, Rik and Yayur Vedas. Marriages in this age will be celebrated according to the rituals, nor will the rules that connect the spiritual protector and his disciple be in force; the laws that regulate the conduct of husband and wife will be neglected and oblations to the celestials with fire no longer be offered. A powerful and rich man, in whatever family he may be born, will have right to marry maidens of every tribe. In the Kali age, a Brāhmana will be always regarded as such even if he be not initiated properly, and many forms of penance will be prescribed. O Maitreya, O twice-born one, all texts will be considered as Sastras in the Kali age; all celestials will be considered in equal light and all orders of life will be common alike to all persons. In this Kali age, fasting, austerity, liberality practised according to the pleasures of those by whom they are observed will constitute piety. Every trifling property will make men proud of their wealth. Pride of beauty will be inspired by hair. Gold, jewels, diamonds, clothes will all have perished, and then hair will be the only ornament with which women can decorate themselves. Wives will desert their husbands when they will lose their wealth; and the rich only will be considered by woman as their lords. He who will distribute immense wealth, will be considered as master of men and prestige of birth will no longer be a title to supremacy. Accumulated wealth will be spent on ostentatious dwellings. The minds of men will be wholly occupied with earning money and that even will be spent on the gratification of selfish desires. Women will follow their own inclinations and be given up to pleasure-seeking. Men will endeavour to acquire riches even dishonestly. No man will part with the smallest fraction of his wealth at the sacrifice of his own interest even when requested by his friends. In the Kali age all people will consider themselves as equal with the Brāhmanas; and cows will be held in reverence only because they supply milk. People will be always in fear of dearth and scarcity and will watch accordingly the appearances of the sky. They will all live, like anchorets, upon leaves and roots and fruits and put a period to their lives through fear of famine and want. Deprived of wealth, people will be perpetually subject to famine and other afflictions; and they will never enjoy pleasure and happiness. At the advent of the Kali they will take their food without previous ablutions and without worshipping fire, celestials or guests or offering obsequial libations to their progenitors. The women will be fickle, short of stature, gluttonous; they will all have many children and little means. And scratching their heads with both hands they will pay no attention to the commands of their husbands or parents. They will be selfish, abject and slovenly; they will be scolds and liars; they will be indecent and immoral in their conduct and will ever attach themselves to dissolute men. And disregarding the rules of studentship youths will study the Vedas. Householders will neither sacrifice nor practise becoming liberality. Anchorets will live upon food accepted from rustics and mendicants will be influenced by regard for friends and associates. Princes will plunder their subjects instead of protecting them and under the pretext of levying customs they will rob merchants of their property. In the

Kali Vuga every one, possessing cars and elephants and horses, will be a Raja; every one who is feeble will be a slave. Vaiçyas will abandon agriculture and commerce and gain a livelihood by servitude or exercise of mechanical arts; Sudras, seeking a subsistence by begging and assuming outward marks of religious mendicants, will become the impure followers of impious and heretical doctrines.

Oppressed by famine and taxation men will desert their native countries and repair to the lands which are fit for coarser grains. The path of the Vedas being obliterated and people having deviated into heresy, iniquity will flourish and the duration of life will therefore decrease. On account of the horrible penances enjoined by scripture and of the vices of the rulers, children will die in their infancy. Women will bear children at the age of five, six or seven years and men will beget them when they are eight, nine or ten. Men will grow old at the age of twelve and no one will live more than twenty years. Men will possess little sense, vigour virtue and will therefore die in a short time. O Maitreya, the wise then estimate the approach of Kali when the number of heretics increases. Whenever, O Maitreya, number of the pious devoted to the lessons of the Vedas, diminishes, the efforts, of the individuals who cultivate virtue, become relax; the first of males becomes no longer the object of sacrifice; respect for the teachers of the Vedas declines and regard is cherished for the disseminators of heresy, the wise estimate the augmented influence of the Kali.

O Maitreya, in the Kali age corrupted by unbelievers, men will refrain from adoring Vishnu, the lord of sacrifice and the creator and sovereign of all and will say "Of what authority are the Vedas? What are the celestials or Brahmanas? What need there is of purification with water?" At the approach of the Kali, O Vipra, the clouds will yield scanty rain; the corn will be light in ear and the grain will be poor and of little sap: garments will be mostly made of the fibres of the San: the principal of trees will be the Sami; principle caste will be the Sudra; millet will be the more common grain; the milk in use will be chiefly that of goats; unguents will be made of Ushira grass. The mother and father-in-law will be venerated in the place of parents; and a man's friend will be his brother-in-law or one who has a wanton wife. Men will say "Who has a father? Who has a mother? Every one is born according to his deeds"; therefore they will regard the wife's or the husband's parents as their own. Gifted with little sense they will be subject to all sorts of infirmities of mind, speech and body and will daily commit sins; and every thing that is likely to afflict beings, vicious, impure and wretched will be generated in the Kali Yuga. Thus, O Brahman, when holy study, oblations to fire and convocations of the celestials shall be stopped some few people shall live at a holy place. And at this place with the least trouble that piety shall be accumulated which could be acquired with the greatest exertions in the Krita age.

SECTION II.

Parāçara said:—Hear, O highly illustrious one, I shall describe fully what the great Vyāsa has related upon the subject.

Once on a time, the sages assembled and discussed at what season the least morality obtained the greatest reward and by whom it was most easily displayed. In order to terminate the discussion they went to Veda Vyāsa to remove their doubts. They saw the illustrious sage, my son, immersed in the water of the Ganges, and awaiting the close of his ablutions, the sages remained on the banks of the sacred river under the shelter of a grove of trees. As my son plunged into the water and rose up from it the sages heard him exclaim. "Excellent is the Kali age". Again dived he and again did he exclaim in their hearing. "Well done, well done, Sudra, thou art happy". Again he sank down and again did they hear him say "Well done, well done, women, they are happy who are more fortunate than they". After this my son finished his bathing and the sages met him as he approached to welcome them. After they had been seated and offered their respects the son of Satyavati said to them "For what you have come here?" The Rishis said. "Having entertained some doubts regarding a subject we have come here to consult thee; but let that remain at present; explain to us some thing else. We heard you say 'Excellent is the Kali Yuga!' We are anxious to learn why this was said and why you repeatedly called them happy. Explain to us the meaning of it if it be not a mystery. We will then place before you the question that engages our thoughts".

Being thus accosted by the ascetics Vyāsa smiled and said to them "Hear excellent sages, why I said 'Well done Well done!' The fruit of penance of continence, of silent prayer and the like, practised in the Krita age for ten years, in the Treta for one year, in the Dwāpara for a month is obtained in the Kali age in a day and night; therefore I did say 'Excellent, excellent is the Kali age'. The reward, which a man obtains in the Krita age by abstract meditation in the Treta by sacrifice, in the Dwāpara by adoration, he receives, in the Kali Yuga by merely reciting the names of Kesava. O pious and great ascetics, in the Kali age, by very little exertion men attain to exalted virtue and it is for this reason I speak highly of the Kali Yuga. Formerly the Vedas were to be acquired by the twice-Born through the diligent observance of self-denial and it was their duty to celebrate sacrifices in accordance with the ritual. Thereafter, idle prayers, idle feats, fruitless ceremonies were performed, only to mislead the twice-born; for although observed by them devoutly, yet in consequence of some irregularity in their celebration sin was incurred in all these works and what they ate or what they drank did not bring about the fulfilment of their desires. In all their objects the twice-born enjoyed no independence and attained their respective spheres only with exceeding pain. On the other hand, the Sudra, more fortunate than they, attains to his assigned station by rendering their service and performing merely the sacrifice of preparing food in which no rules determine what may or may not be eaten, what may or may not be drunk. Therefore, excellent sages, the Sudra is fortunate.

"Men should acquire wealth by means not incompatible with their religious duties and it should be given to the worthy and spent upon sacrifices. There is great trouble in their acquisition as well as their preservation. And it is equally difficult for them to spend them on pious observances. O excellent Brāhmanas, by undergoing these troubles and other diverse ones people attain to the holy region of Prajāpati. A woman has only to honour her husband in act, thought and speech to reach the same region to which he is elevated and she thus accomplishes her object without any great exertion. This was the meaning of my exclamation ‘Well done' the third time. I have thus related to you what you asked. Now put to me in any way you please the question for which you came and I will make you a clear reply".

The ascetics then said to Vyāsa. "The question that we purposed to put to you has already been answered by you in your reply to our subsequent enquiry". Hearing this Krishna-Daipāyana laughed and said to the pious sages who had come to see him whose eyes were wide open with surprise. "By virtue of my divine knowledge I perceived the question you intended to put to me and in reference to this I uttered the expressions 'Well done! Well done!' In fact in the Kali age duty is performed by the mortals with very little trouble, whose sins are all washed away by the water of their individual piety—by Sudras through the diligent service of the twice-born ones and by women through the slight effort of obedience to their husbands. It is for this reason O Brāhmanas, that I did thrice express my admiration of their happiness; for in the Krita and other ages great were the toils of the regenerate to perform their duty. I did not wait for your enquiry but replied at once to the question you wanted to put. Now what do ye, conversant with virtue, wish me to tell you?"

Thereupon the ascetics saluted and praised Vyasa and freed by him from uncertainty departed as they came. I have also communicated to you. O excellent Maitreya, the secret—this one great virtue of the otherwise vicious Kali age. I shall now describe to you the dissolution of the world and the aggregation of the elements.