The Great Epic of the Bhārata dynasty 13.94: caturnavatitamo'dhyāyaḥ

13.94.1

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
brāhmaṇebhyaḥ prayacchanti dānāni vividhāni ca |
dātṛpratigrahītrorvā ko viśeṣaḥ pitāmaha || 1 ||

"Yudhishthira said, 'People are seen to make diverse kinds of gifts unto the Brahmanas. What, however, is the difference, O grandsire, between the giver and the receiver?'"

13.94.2

bhīṣma uvāca |
sādhoryaḥ pratigṛhṇīyāttathaivāsādhuto dvijaḥ |
guṇavatyalpadoṣaḥ syānnirguṇe tu nimajjati || 2 ||

"Bhishma said, 'The Brahmana accepts gifts from him that is righteous, and from him that is unrighteous. If the giver happens to be righteous, the receiver incurs little fault. If on the other hand, the giver happens to be unrighteous the receiver sinks in hell. In this connection is cited an old history of the conversation between Vrishadarbhi and the seven Rishis, O Bharata. Kasyapa and Atri and Vasishtha and Bharadwaja and Gautama and Viswamitra and Jamadagni, and the chaste Arundhati (the wife of Vasishtha), all had a common maidservant whose name was Ganda. A Sudra of the name of Pasusakha married Ganda and became her husband. Kasyapa and others, in days of old, observed the austerest penances and roved over the world, desirous of attaining to the eternal region of Brahman by the aid of Yoga-meditation. About that time, O delighter of the Kurus, there occurred a severe drought. Afflicted by hunger, the whole world of living creatures became exceedingly weak. At a sacrifice which had been performed in former times by Sivi's son he had given away unto the Ritwiks a son of his as the sacrificial present. About this time, unendued with longevity as the prince was, he died of starvation. The Rishis named, afflicted with hunger, approached the dead prince and sat surrounding him. Indeed, those foremost of Rishis, beholding the son of him at whose sacrifice they had officiated, O Bharata, thus dead of starvation, began to cook the body in a vessel, impelled by the pangs of hunger. All food having disappeared from the world of men, those ascetics, desirous of saving their lives, had recourse, for purposes of sustenance, to such a miserable shift. While they were thus employed. Vrishadarbha's son, viz., king Saivya, in course of his roving, came upon those Rishis. Indeed, he met them on his way, engaged in cooking the dead body, impelled by the pangs of hunger.'"

13.94.3

atrāpyudāharantīmamitihāsaṃ purātanam |
vṛṣādarbheśca saṃvādaṃ saptarṣīṇāṃ ca bhārata || 3 ||

13.94.4

kaśyapo'trirvasiṣṭhaśca bharadvājo'tha gautamaḥ |
viśvāmitro jamadagniḥ sādhvī caivāpyarundhatī || 4 ||

13.94.5

sarveṣāmatha teṣāṃ tu gaṇḍābhūtkarmakārikā |
śūdraḥ paśusakhaścaiva bhartā cāsyā babhūva ha || 5 ||

13.94.6

te vai sarve tapasyantaḥ purā cerurmahīmimām |
samādhinopaśikṣanto brahmalokaṃ sanātanam || 6 ||

13.94.7

athābhavadanāvṛṣṭirmahatī kurunandana |
kṛcchraprāṇo'bhavadyatra loko'yaṃ vai kṣudhānvitaḥ || 7 ||

13.94.8

kasmiṃścicca purā yajñe yājyena śibisūnunā |
dakṣiṇārthe'tha ṛtvigbhyo dattaḥ putro nijaḥ kila || 8 ||

13.94.9

tasminkāle'tha so'lpāyurdiṣṭāntamagamatprabho |
te taṃ kṣudhābhisaṃtaptāḥ parivāryopatasthire || 9 ||

13.94.10

yājyātmajamatho dṛṣṭvā gatāsumṛṣisattamāḥ |
apacanta tadā sthālyāṃ kṣudhārtāḥ kila bhārata || 10 ||

13.94.11

nirādye martyaloke'sminnātmānaṃ te parīpsavaḥ |
kṛcchrāmāpedire vṛttimannahetostapasvinaḥ || 11 ||

13.94.12

aṭamāno'tha tānmārge pacamānānmahīpatiḥ |
rājā śaibyo vṛṣādarbhiḥ kliśyamānāndadarśa ha || 12 ||

13.94.13

vṛṣādarbhiruvāca |
pratigrahastārayati puṣṭirvai pratigṛhṇatām |
mayi yadvidyate vittaṃ tacchṛṇudhvaṃ tapodhanāḥ || 13 ||

"The son of Vrishadarbha said, 'The acceptance of a gift (from me) will immediately relieve you all. Do you, therefore, accept a gift for the support of your bodies! Ye ascetics endued with wealth of penances, listen to me as I declare what wealth I have! That Brahmana who solicits me (for gifts) is ever dear to me. Verily, I shall give unto you a thousand mules. Unto each of you I shall give a thousand kine of white hair, foremost in speed, each accompanied by a bull, and each having a well-born calf, and, therefore, yielding milk. I shall also give unto you a thousand bulls of white complexion and of the best breed and capable of bearing heavy burdens. I shall also give you a large number of kine, of good disposition, the foremost of their kind, all fat, and each of which, having brought forth her first calf, is quick with her second. Tell me what else I shall give of foremost villages, of grain, of barley, and of even the rarer and costly jewels. Do not seek to eat this food that is inedible. Tell me what I should give unto you for the support of your bodies!'

13.94.14

priyo hi me brāhmaṇo yācamāno dadyāmahaṃ vo'śvatarīsahasram |
ekaikaśaḥ savṛṣāḥ saṃprasūtāḥ sarveṣāṃ vai śīghragāḥ śvetalomāḥ || 14 ||

13.94.15

kulaṃbharānanaḍuhaḥ śataṃśatāndhuryāñśubhānsarvaśo'haṃ dadāni |
pṛthvīvāhānpīvarāṃścaiva tāvadagryā gṛṣṭyo dhenavaḥ suvratāśca || 15 ||

13.94.16

varāngrāmānvrīhiyavaṃ rasāṃśca ratnaṃ cānyaddurlabhaṃ kiṃ dadāni |
mā smābhakṣye bhāvamevaṃ kurudhvaṃ puṣṭyarthaṃ vai kiṃ prayacchāmyahaṃ vaḥ || 16 ||

13.94.17

ṛṣaya ūcuḥ |
rājanpratigraho rājño madhvāsvādo viṣopamaḥ |
tajjānamānaḥ kasmāttvaṃ kuruṣe naḥ pralobhanam || 17 ||

"The Rishis said, 'O king, an acceptance of gifts from a monarch is very sweet at first but it is poison in the end. Knowing this well, why do you, O king, tempt us then with these offers? The body of the Brahmana is the field of the deities. By penance, it is purified. Then again, by gratifying the Brahmana, one gratifies the deities. If a Brahmana accepts the gifts made to him by the king, he loses, by such acceptance, the merit that he would otherwise acquire by his penances that day. Indeed, such acceptance consumes that merit even as a blazing conflagration consumes a forest. Let happiness be thine, O king, as the result of the gifts thou makest to those that solicit thee!' Saying these words unto them, they left the spot, proceeding by another way. The flesh those high-souled ones had intended to cook remained uncooked. Indeed, abandoning that flesh, they went away, and entered the woods in search of food. After this, the ministers of the king, urged by their master, entered those woods and plucking certain figs endeavoured to give them away unto those Rishis. The officers of the king filled some of those figs with gold and mixing them with others sought to induce those ascetics to accept them. Atri took up some of those figs, and finding them heavy refused to take them. He said, 'We are not destitute of knowledge. We are not fools! We know that there is gold within these figs. We have our senses about us. Indeed, we are awake instead of being asleep. If accepted in this world, those will produce bitter consequence hereafter. He who seeks happiness both here and hereafter should never accept these.'"

13.94.18

kṣatraṃ hi daivatamiva brāhmaṇaṃ samupāśritam |
amalo hyeṣa tapasā prītaḥ prīṇāti devatāḥ || 18 ||

13.94.19

ahnāpīha tapo jātu brāhmaṇasyopajāyate |
taddāva iva nirdahyātprāpto rājapratigrahaḥ || 19 ||

13.94.20

kuśalaṃ saha dānena rājannastu sadā tava |
arthibhyo dīyatāṃ sarvamityuktvā te tato yayuḥ || 20 ||

13.94.21

apakvameva tanmāṃsamabhūtteṣāṃ ca dhīmatām |
atha hitvā yayuḥ sarve vanamāhārakāṅkṣiṇaḥ || 21 ||

13.94.22

tataḥ pracoditā rājñā vanaṃ gatvāsya mantriṇaḥ |
pracīyodumbarāṇi sma dānaṃ dātuṃ pracakramuḥ || 22 ||

13.94.23

udumbarāṇyathānyāni hemagarbhāṇyupāharan |
bhṛtyāsteṣāṃ tatastāni pragrāhitumupādravan || 23 ||

13.94.24

gurūṇīti viditvātha na grāhyāṇyatrirabravīt |
na sma he mūḍhavijñānā na sma he mandabuddhayaḥ |
haimānīmāni jānīmaḥ pratibuddhāḥ sma jāgṛmaḥ || 24 ||

13.94.25

iha hyetadupādattaṃ pretya syātkaṭukodayam |
apratigrāhyamevaitatpretya ceha sukhepsunā || 25 ||

13.94.26

vasiṣṭha uvāca |
śatena niṣkaṃ gaṇitaṃ sahasreṇa ca saṃmitam |
yathā bahu pratīcchanhi pāpiṣṭhāṃ labhate gatim || 26 ||

"Vasishtha said, 'If we accept even one gold coin, it will be counted as a hundred or even a thousand (in assigning the demerit that attaches to acceptance). If, therefore, we accept many coins, we shall surely attain to an unhappy end hereafter!'"

13.94.27

kaśyapa uvāca |
yatpṛthivyāṃ vrīhiyavaṃ hiraṇyaṃ paśavaḥ striyaḥ |
sarvaṃ tannālamekasya tasmādvidvāñśamaṃ vrajet || 27 ||

Kasyapa said, 'All the paddy and barley on earth, all the gold and animals and women that occur in the world, are incapable of gratifying the desire of a single person. Hence, one possessed of wisdom should dispelling cupidity, adopt tranquillity!'"

13.94.28

bharadvāja uvāca |
utpannasya ruroḥ śṛṅgaṃ vardhamānasya vardhate |
prārthanā puruṣasyeva tasya mātrā na vidyate || 28 ||

"Bharadwaja said, 'The horns of a Ruru, after their first appearance, begin to grow with the growth of the animal. The cupidity of man is even like this. It has no measure!'"

13.94.29

gautama uvāca |
na talloke dravyamasti yallokaṃ pratipūrayet |
samudrakalpaḥ puruṣo na kadācana pūryate || 29 ||

"Gautama said, 'All the objects that exist in the world are incapable of gratifying even a single person. Man is even like the ocean, for he can never be filled (even as the ocean can never be filled by all the waters that are discharged into it by the rivers).'"

13.94.30

viśvāmitra uvāca |
kāmaṃ kāmayamānasya yadā kāmaḥ samṛdhyate |
athainamaparaḥ kāmastṛṣṇā vidhyati bāṇavat || 30 ||

"Viswamitra said, 'When one desire cherished by a person becomes gratified, there springs up immediately another whose gratification is sought and which pierces him like a shaft.'"

13.94.31

jamadagniruvāca |
pratigrahe saṃyamo vai tapo dhārayate dhruvam |
taddhanaṃ brāhmaṇasyeha lubhyamānasya visravet || 31 ||

"Jamadagni said, 'Abstention from accepting guts supports penances as their foundation. Acceptance, however, destroys that wealth (viz., the merit of penances).'"

13.94.32

arundhatyuvāca |
dharmārthaṃ saṃcayo yo vai dravyāṇāṃ pakṣasaṃmataḥ |
tapaḥsaṃcaya eveha viśiṣṭo dravyasaṃcayāt || 32 ||

"Arundhati said, 'Some people are of opinion that things of the world may be stored with a view to spend them upon the acquisition of righteousness (by gifts and sacrifices). I think, however, that the acquisition of righteousness is better than that of worldly wealth.'"

13.94.33

gaṇḍovāca |
ugrādito bhayādyasmādbibhyatīme mameśvarāḥ |
balīyāṃso durbalavadbibhemyahamataḥ param || 33 ||

"Ganda said, 'When these my lords, who are endued with great energy, are so very much afraid of this which seems to be a great terror a weak man as I am fear it the more.'"

13.94.34

paśusakha uvāca |
yadvai dharme paraṃ nāsti brāhmaṇāstaddhanaṃ viduḥ |
vinayārthaṃ suvidvāṃsamupāseyaṃ yathātatham || 34 ||

"Pasusakha said, 'The wealth there is in righteousness is very superior. There is nothing superior to it. That wealth is known to the Brahmans. I wait upon them as their servant, only for learning to value that wealth.'"

13.94.35

ṛṣaya ūcuḥ |
kuśalaṃ saha dānāya tasmai yasya prajā imāḥ |
phalānyupadhiyuktāni ya evaṃ naḥ prayacchasi || 35 ||

"The Rishis (all together) said, 'Let happiness be his, as the result of the gifts he makes, who is the king of the people of this land. Let his gift be successful who has sent these fruits to us, enclosing gold within them.'"

13.94.36

bhīṣma uvāca |
ityuktvā hemagarbhāṇi hitvā tāni phalāni te |
ṛṣayo jagmuranyatra sarva eva dhṛtavratāḥ || 36 ||

"Bhishma continued, 'Having said these words, those Rishis of steadfast vows, abandoning the figs having gold within them, left that spot and proceeded to whatever destination they liked.'"

13.94.37

mantriṇaḥ ūcuḥ |
upadhiṃ śaṅkamānāste hitvemāni phalāni vai |
tato'nyenaiva gacchanti viditaṃ te'stu pārthiva || 37 ||

"The ministers said, 'O king, coming to know of the existence of gold within the figs, the Rishis have gone away! Let this be known to thee!'

13.94.38

ityuktaḥ sa tu bhṛtyaistairvṛṣādarbhiścukopa ha |
teṣāṃ saṃpratikartuṃ ca sarveṣāmagamadgṛham || 38 ||

"Bhishma continued, 'Thus addressed by his ministers, king Vrishadarbhi became filled with wrath against all those Rishis. Indeed, to take vengeance upon them, the monarch entered his own chamber. Observing the austerest of penances, he poured on his sacred fire libations of ghee, accompanying each with Mantras uttered by him. From that fire there then arose as the result of the incantation, a form capable of striking every one with fear. Vrishadarbhi named her as Yatudhani. That form which had been from the incantations of the king, looking as terrible as the Last Night, appeared with joined hands before the monarch. Addressing king Vrishadarbhi, she said, 'What shall I accomplish?'"

13.94.39

sa gatvāhavanīye'gnau tīvraṃ niyamamāsthitaḥ |
juhāva saṃskṛtāṃ mantrairekaikāmāhutiṃ nṛpaḥ || 39 ||

13.94.40

tasmādagneḥ samuttasthau kṛtyā lokabhayaṃkarī |
tasyā nāma vṛṣādarbhiryātudhānītyathākarot || 40 ||

13.94.41

sā kṛtyā kālarātrīva kṛtāñjalirupasthitā |
vṛṣādarbhiṃ narapatiṃ kiṃ karomīti cābravīt || 41 ||

13.94.42

vṛṣādarbhiruvāca |
ṛṣīṇāṃ gaccha saptānāmarundhatyāstathaiva ca |
dāsībhartuśca dāsyāśca manasā nāma dhāraya || 42 ||

"Vrishadarbhi said, 'Go and follow the seven Rishis, as also Arundhati, and the husband of their maid-servant, and the maid-servant herself, and comprehend what the meanings are of their names. Having ascertained their names, do thou slay all of them. After slaying them thou mayst go whatever destination thou likest.'"

13.94.43

jñātvā nāmāni caiteṣāṃ sarvānetānvināśaya |
vinaṣṭeṣu yathā svairaṃ gaccha yatrepsitaṃ tava || 43 ||

13.94.44

sā tatheti pratiśrutya yātudhānī svarūpiṇī |
jagāma tadvanaṃ yatra viceruste maharṣayaḥ || 44 ||

"Bhishma continued, 'Saying, 'So be it! the Rakshasi who had been named Yatudhani, in her proper form, proceeded to that forest in which the great Rishis wandered in search of food. Indeed, O king, those great Rishis, with Atri among them, roved within the forest, subsisting upon fruits and roots. In course of their wanderings they saw a mendicant of broad shoulders, and plump arms and legs and well-nourished face and abdomen. Of limbs that were all adipose, he was wandering with a dog in his company. Beholding that mendicant whose limbs were all well-developed and handsome, Arundhati exclaimed, addressing the Rishis, 'None of you will ever be able to show such well-developed features!'"