SECTION LVII
"Yudhishthira said, 'Hearing thy words I become stupefied, O grandsire!
Reflecting that the earth is now destitute of a very large number of
kings all of whom were possessed of great prosperity, my heart becomes
filled with grief. Having conquered the earth and acquired kingdoms
numbered by hundreds, O Bharata, I turn with grief, O Grandsire, at the
thought of the millions of men I have slaughtered. Alas, what will be the
plight of those foremost ladies who have been deprived by us of husbands
and sons and maternal uncles and brothers? Having slain those Kurus--our
kinsmen, that is, our friends and well-wishers,--we shall have to sink in
hell, beads (hanging) downwards. There is no doubt of this. I desire, O
Bharata, to address my body to severe penances. With that end in view, O
king, I wish to receive instructions from thee.'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'The high-souled Bhishma, hearing these words of
Yudhishthira, reflected upon them acutely with the aid of his
understanding, and addressed Yudhishthira in reply.'
"Bhishma said, 'Hear what I say unto thee. It is exceedingly wonderful,
and constitutes a great mystery. The topic is the object that creatures
obtain after death as the rewards of particular acts or courses of
conduct they follow. One attains to Heaven by penances. By penances one
attains to fame. By penances, O puissant king, one attains to length of
life and all articles of enjoyment. By penances one attains to knowledge,
to science, to health and freedom from disease, beauty of person,
prosperity, and blessedness, O chief of Bharata's race. By penances one
attains to wealth. By observing the vow of taciturnity one succeeds in
bringing the whole world under one's sway. By making gifts one acquires
all kinds of enjoyable articles. By observing the right of Diksha one
acquires birth in a good and high family. Those that spend their lives
subsisting only upon fruits and roots (and avoiding cooked food) succeed
in obtaining kingdom and sovereignty. Those that live upon the leaves of
plants and trees as their food succeed in attaining to heaven. One that
subsists upon water only attains to heaven. By making gifts one simply
increases one's wealth. By serving with reverence one's preceptor one
acquires learning. By performing Sraddhas every day in honour of one's
Pitris (manes), one acquires a large number of children. By observing
Diksha upon potherbs and vegetables, one acquires a large number of kine.
Those that subsist upon grass and straw succeed in attaining to heaven.
By bathing thrice every day with the necessary rites one acquires a large
number of spouses. By drinking water alone one acquires residence in the
regions of Prajapati. The Brahmana, who bathes every day and recites
sacred Mantras in the twilights, becomes possessed of the status of
Daksha himself. By worshipping the deities in a wilderness or desert, one
acquires a kingdom or sovereignty, and by observing the vow of casting
off the body by a long fast, one ascends to Heaven. One possessed of the
wealth of penances and always passing his days in Yoga obtains good beds
and seats and vehicles. Casting off the body by entering a blazing fire,
one becomes an object of reverence in the region of Brahman. Those that
lie on the hard and bare ground acquire houses and beds. Those that
clothe themselves in rags and barks obtain good robes and ornaments. By
avoiding the several agreeable tastes one succeeds in acquiring great
prosperity. By abstaining from meat and fish, one gets long-lived
children. One who passes some time in that mode of life which is called
Udavasa, becomes the very lord of Heaven. The man who speaks the truth, O
best of men, succeeds in sporting happily with the deities themselves. By
making gifts one acquires great fame in consequence of one's high
achievements. By abstention from cruelty one acquires health and freedom
from disease. By serving Brahmanas with reverence one attains to kingdom
and sovereignty, and the high status of a Brahmana. By making gifts of
water and other drinks, one acquires eternal fame in consequence of high
achievements. By making gifts of food one acquires diverse articles of
enjoyment. One who gives peace unto all creatures (by refraining from
doing them any injury), becomes freed from every region. By serving the
deities one obtains a kingdom and celestial beauty. By presenting lights
at places which are dark and frequented by men, one acquires a good
vision. By giving away good and beautiful objects one acquires a good
memory and understanding. By giving away scents and garlands, one
acquires fame that spreads over a large area. Those who abstain from
shaving off their hair and beards succeed in obtaining excellent
children.. By observing fasts and Diksha and baths, O Bharata, for twelve
years (according to the ordinance), one acquires a region that is
superior to that attainable by unreturning heroes. By bestowing one's
daughter on an eligible bridegroom according to the Brahma form, one
obtains, O best of men, male and female slaves and ornaments and fields
and houses. By performing sacrifices and observing fasts, one ascends to
Heaven, O Bharata. The man who gives away fruits and flowers succeeds in
acquiring auspicious knowledge. The man who gives a thousand kine with
horns adorned with gold, succeeds in acquiring heaven. Even this has been
said by the very deities in a conclave in heaven. One who gives away a
Kapila cow with her calf, with a brazen pot of milking with horns adorned
with gold, and possessed of diverse other accomplishments, obtains the
fruition of all his wishes from that cow. Such a person, in consequence
of that act of gift, resides in heaven for as many years as there are
hairs on the body of the cow and rescues in the next world (from the
misery of hell) his sons and grandsons and all his race to the seventh
degree.[314] The regions of the Vasus become attainable to that man who
gives away a cow with horns beautifully decorated with gold, accompanied
with a brazen jar for milking, along with a piece of cloth embroidered
with gold, a measure of sesame and a sum of money as Dakshina. A gift of
kine rescues the giver in the next world then he finds himself falling
into the deep darkness of hell and restrained by his own acts in this
world, like a boat with sails that have caught the air rescuing a person
from being drowned in the sea. He who bestows a daughter according to the
Brahma form upon an eligible person, or who makes a gift of land unto a
Brahmana, or who gives food (to a Brahmana) according to due rites,
succeeds in attaining to the region of Purandara. That man who makes a
gift of a house, equipped with every kind of furniture, unto a Brahmana
given to Vedic studies and possessed of every accomplishment and good
behaviour, acquires residence in the country of the Uttara-Kurus. By
making gifts of draft bullocks, a person acquires the region of the
Vasus. Gifts of gold lead to heaven. Gifts of pure gold lead to greater
merit still. By making a gift of an umbrella one acquires a palatial
mansion. By making a gift of a pair of sandals or shoes one acquires good
vehicles. The reward attached to a gift of cloths is personal beauty, and
by making gifts of scents one becomes a fragrant person in one's next
life. One who gives flowers and fruits and plants and trees unto a
Brahmana, acquires, without any labour, palatial mansion equipped with
beautiful women and full of plenty of wealth. The giver of food and drink
of different tastes and of other articles of enjoyment succeeds in
acquiring a copious supply of such articles. The giver, again, of houses
and cloths gets articles of a similar kind. There is no doubt about it.
That person who makes gifts of garlands and incense and scents and
unguents and the articles needed by men after a bath, and floral wreaths,
unto Brahmanas, becomes freed from every disease and possessed of
personal beauty, sports in joy in the region reserved for great kings.
The man, O king, who makes unto a Brahmana the gift of a house that is
stored with grain, furnished with beds full of much wealth, auspicious,
and delightful, acquires a palatial residence. He who gives unto a
Brahmana a good bed perfumed with fragrant scents, overlaid with an
excellent sheet, and equipped with pillows, wins without any effort on
his part a beautiful wife, belonging to a high family and of agreeable
manners. The man who takes to a hero's bed on the field of battle becomes
the equal of the Grandsire Brahman himself. There is no end higher than
this. Even this is what the great Rishis have declared.'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Hearing these words of his grandfather,
Yudhishthira, the delighter of the Kurus, became desirous of the end that
is reserved for heroes and no longer expressed any disgust at leading a
householder's mode of life. Then, O foremost of men, Yudhishthira,
addressing all the other sons of Pandu, said unto them, 'Let the words
which our grandfather has said command your faith.' At this, all the
Pandavas with the famous Draupadi amongst them, applauded the words of
Yudhishthira and said, 'Yes'.'"
