[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Epic, Poetry, Drama & Narrative](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit) › [The Mahābhārata and its versions](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata) › [The Great Epic of the Bhārata dynasty](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa) › 3.181.3 # The Great Epic of the Bhārata dynasty 3.181.3 Mahābhārata 3.181.3 - **Language:** Sanskrit ### [3.181.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.181.3) sevyaścopāsitavyaśca mato naḥ kāṅkṣitaściram | ayaṃ ca devakīputraḥ prāpto'smānavalokakaḥ || 3 || > Vaisampayana continued, "Pandu's son, the king of the Kuru tribe, having observed that the great saint as willing to speak, questioned him with a view to suggesting topics to speak upon, saying, 'You who are ancient (in years), know the deeds of gods and demons, and illustrious saints, and of all the royal ones. We consider you as worthy of being worshipped and honoured; and we have long yearned after your company. And here is this son of Devaki, Krishna, who has come to us on a visit. Verily, when I look at myself, fallen away from happiness, and when I contemplate the sons of Dhritarashtra, of evil life, flourishing in every way, the idea arises in me that it is man who does all acts, good or bad, and that it is he that enjoys the fruit the acts bring forth. How then is god the agent? And, O best of those that are proficient in the knowledge of God, how is it that men's actions follow them? Is it in this world? Or is it in some subsequent existence? And, O best of righteous men among the twice-born, in what way is an embodied animated being joined by his good and evil deeds that seek him out? Is it after death? Or is it in this world? And, O descendant of Bhrigu, is what we experience in this world the result of the acts of this very life? Or will the acts of this life bear fruit in the world to come? And where do the actions of an animated being who is dead find their resting place?" > — Kisari Mohan Ganguli 1883, The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa - [Previous: 3.181.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.181.2) - [Next: 3.181.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.181.4) - [Up: 3.181](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.181) ## Translations (1) - [The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa~en-ganguli.3.182.5) — Kisari Mohan Ganguli 1883, English ## Other recensions (2) - [Southern recension](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa*southern.3.186.3) — Sanskrit - [Vulgate (Nīlakaṇṭha's text)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa*vulgate.3.183.55) — Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.181.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.lit.mahabharata.vyasa.3.181.3) · Pramāṇa