SECTION CCXCV
"Parasara said, 'In the Brahmana, wealth acquired by acceptance of gifts,
in the Kshatriya that won by victory in battle, in the Vaisya that
obtained by following the duties laid down for his order, and in the
Sudra that earned by serving the three other orders, however small its
measure, is worthy of praise, and spent for the acquisition of virtue is
productive of great benefits. The Sudra is said to be the constant
servitor of the three other classes. If the Brahmana, pressed for a
living, betakes himself to the duties of either the Kshatriya or the
Vaisya, he does not fall off from righteousness. When, however, the
Brahmana betakes himself to the duties of the lowest order, then does he
certainly fall off. When the Sudra is unable to obtain his living by
service of the three other orders, then trade, rearing of cattle, and the
practice of the mechanical arts are lawful for him to follow. Appearance
on the boards of a theatre and disguising oneself in various forms,
exhibition of puppets, the sale of spirits and meat, and trading in iron
and leather, should never be taken up for purposes of a living by one who
had never before been engaged in those professions every one of which is
regarded as censurable in the world. It hath been heard by us that if one
engaged in them can abandon them, one then acquires great merit. When one
that has become successful in life behaves sinfully in consequence of
one's mind being filled with arrogance, one's acts under such
circumstances can never pass for authority. It is heard in the Puranas
that formerly mankind were self-restrained; that they held righteousness
in great esteem; that the practices they followed for livelihood were all
consistent with propriety and the injunctions laid down in the
scriptures: and that the only punishment that was required for chastising
them when they went wrong was the crying of fie on them.[1525] At the
time of which we speak, O king, Righteousness, and nothing else, was much
applauded among men. Having achieved great progress in righteousness, men
in those days worshipped only all good qualities that they saw. The
Asuras, however, O child, could not bear that righteousness which
prevailed in the world. Multiplying (in both number and energy), the
Asuras (in the form of Lust and Wrath) entered the bodies of men. Then
was pride generated in men that is so destructive of righteousness. From
pride arose arrogance, and from arrogance arose wrath. When men thus
became overwhelmed with wrath, conduct implying modesty and shame
disappeared from them, and then they were overcome by heedlessness.
Afflicted by heedlessness, they could no longer see as before, and as the
consequence thereof they began to oppress one another and thereby acquire
wealth without any compunction. When men became such, the punishment of
only crying fie on offenders failed to be of any effect. Men, showing no
reverence for either the gods or Brahmanas, began to indulge their senses
to their fill.[1526] At that time the deities repaired to that foremost
of gods, viz., Siva, possessed of patience, of multiform aspect, and
endued with the foremost of attributes, and sought his protection. The
deities imparted unto him their conjoined energy, and thereupon the great
god, with a single shaft, felled on the earth those three Asuras, viz.,
Desire, Wrath, and Cupidity, who were staying in the firmament, along
with their very habitations.[1527] The fierce chief of those Asuras
possessed of fierce, prowess, who had struck the Devas with terror, was
also slain by Mahadeva armed with the lance.[1528] When this chief of the
Asuras was slain, men once more obtained their proper natures, and once
more began to study the Vedas and the other scriptures as was in former
times. Then the seven ancient Rishis came forward and installed Vasava as
the chief of the gods and the ruler of heaven. And they took upon
themselves the task of holding the rod of chastisement over mankind.
After the seven Rishis came king Viprithu (to rule mankind), and many
other kings, all belonging to the Kshatriya order for separately ruling
separate groups of human beings. (When Mahadeva dispelled all evil
passions from the minds of creatures) there were, in those ancient times,
certain elderly men from whose minds all wicked feelings did not fly
away. Hence, in consequence of that wicked state of their minds and of
those incidents that were connected with it, there appeared many kings of
terrible prowess who began to indulge in only such acts as were fit for
Asuras. Those human beings that are exceedingly foolish adhere to those
wicked acts, establish them as authorities, and follow them in practice
to this day.[1529] For this reason, O king, I say unto thee, having
reflected properly with the aid of the scriptures, that one should
abstain from all acts that are fraught with injury or malice and seek to
acquire a knowledge of the Soul.[1530]The man possessed of wisdom would
not seek wealth for the performance of religious rites by ways that are
unrighteous and that involve an abandonment of morality. Wealth earned by
such means can never prove beneficial. Do thou then become a Kshatriya of
this kind. Do thou restrain thy senses, be agreeable to thy friends, and
cherish, according to the duties of thy order, thy subjects, servants,
and children. Through the union of both prosperity and adversity (in
man's life), there arise friendships and animosities. Thousands and
thousands of existences are continually revolving (in respect of every
Jiva), and in every mode of Jiva's existence these must occur.[1531] For
this reason, be thou attached to good qualities of every kind, but never
to faults. Such is the character of good qualities that if the most
foolish person, bereft of every virtue, hears himself praised for any
good quality, he becomes filled with joy. Virtue and sin exist, O king,
only among men. These do not exist among creatures other than man. One
should therefore, whether in need of food and other necessaries of life
or transcending such need, be of virtuous disposition, acquire knowledge,
always look upon all creatures as one's own self, and abstain totally
from inflicting any kind of injury. When one's mind becomes divested of
desire, and when all Darkness is dispelled from it, it is then that one
succeeds in obtaining what is auspicious.'"
