The Mahabharata, of, Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, BOOK 3, (Tirtha-yatra Parva), SECTION CLXXIX

 

The Mahabharata, of, Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, BOOK 3, (Tirtha-yatra Parva), 

SECTION CLXXIX

Vaisampayana continued, "Yudhishthira, finding his beloved brother coiled

by the body of the serpent, said these words: 'O son of Kunti, how hast

thou come by this misfortune! And who is this best of serpents having a

body like unto a mountain mass?' Bhimasena said, 'O worshipful one, this

mighty being hath caught me for food. He is the royal sage Nahusha living

in the form of a serpent.' Yudhishthira said, 'O longlived one, do thou

free my brother of immeasurable prowess; we will give thee some other

food which will appease thy hunger.' The serpent said, 'I have got for

diet even this son of a king, come to my mouth of himself. Do thou go

away. Thou shouldst not stay here. (If thou remainest here) thou too

shall be my fare to-morrow. O mighty-armed one, this is ordained in

respect of me, that he that cometh unto my place, becometh my food and

thou too art in my quarter. After a long time have I got thy younger

brother as my food; I will not let him off; neither do I like to have any

other food.' Thereat Yudhishthira said, 'O serpent, whether thou art a

god, or a demon, or an Uraga, do thou tell me truly, it is Yudhishthira

that asketh thee, wherefore, O snake, hast thou taken Bhimasena? By

obtaining which, or by knowing what wilt thou receive satisfaction, O

snake, and what food shall I give thee? And how mayst thou free him.' The

serpent said, 'O sinless one, I was thy ancestor, the son of Ayu and

fifth in descent from the Moon. And I was a king celebrated under the

name of Nahusha. And by sacrifices and asceticism and study of the Vedas

and self-restraint and prowess I had acquired a permanent dominion over

the three worlds. And when I had obtained such dominion, haughtiness

possessed me. And thousands of Brahmanas were engaged in carrying my

chair. And intoxicated by supremacy, I insulted those Brahmanas. And, O

lord of the earth, by Agastya have I been reduced to this pass! Yet, O

Pandava, to this day the memory (of my former birth) hath not forsaken

me! And, O king, even by the favour of that high-souled Agastya, during

the sixth division of the day have I got for meal thy younger brother.

Neither will I set him free, nor do I wish for any other food. But if

to-day thou answerest the questions put by me, then, I shall deliver

Vrikodara!" At this Yudhishthira said, 'O serpent, ask whatever thou

listest! I shall, if I can, answer thy questions with the view of

gratifying thee, O snake! Thou knowest fully what should be known by

Brahmanas. Therefore, O king of snakes, hearing (thee) I shall answer thy

queries!'

The serpent said, 'O Yudhishthira, say--Who is a Brahmana and what should

be known? By thy speech I infer thee to be highly intelligent.'

"Yudhishthira said, 'O foremost of serpents, he, it is asserted by the

wise, in whom are seen truth, charity, forgiveness, good conduct,

benevolence, observance of the rites of his order and mercy is a

Brahmana. And, O serpent, that which should be known is even the supreme

Brahma, in which is neither happiness nor misery--and attaining which

beings are not affected with misery; what is thy opinion?'

"The serpent said, 'O Yudhishthira, truth, charity, forgiveness,

benevolence, benignity, kindness and the Veda[42] which worketh the

benefit of the four orders, which is the authority in matters of religion

and which is true, are seen even in the Sudra. As regards the object to

be known and which thou allegest is without both happiness and misery, I

do not see any such that is devoid of these.'

"Yudhishthira said, Those characteristics that are present in a Sudra, do

not exist in a Brahmana; nor do those that are in a Brahmana exist in a

Sudra. And a Sudra is not a Sudra by birth alone--nor a Brahmana is

Brahmana by birth alone. He, it is said by the wise, in whom are seen

those virtues is a Brahmana. And people term him a Sudra in whom those

qualities do not exist, even though he be a Brahmana by birth. And again,

as for thy assertion that the object to be known (as asserted by me) doth

not exist, because nothing exists that is devoid of both (happiness and

misery), such indeed is the opinion, O serpent, that nothing exists that

is without (them) both. But as in cold, heat doth not exist, nor in heat,

cold, so there cannot exist an object in which both (happiness and

misery) cannot exist?"

"The serpent said, 'O king, if thou recognise him as a Brahmana by

characteristics, then, O long-lived one, the distinction of caste

becometh futile as long as conduct doth not come into play.'

"Yudhishthira said, 'In human society, O mighty and highly intelligent

serpent, it is difficult to ascertain one's caste, because of promiscuous

intercourse among the four orders. This is my opinion. Men belonging to

all orders (promiscuously) beget offspring upon women of all the orders.

And of men, speech, sexual intercourse, birth and death are common. And

to this the Rishis have borne testimony by using as the beginning of a

sacrifice such expressions as--of what caste so ever we may be, we

celebrate the sacrifice. Therefore, those that are wise have asserted

that character is the chief essential requisite. The natal ceremony of a

person is performed before division of the umbilical cord. His mother

then acts as its Savitri and his father officiates as priest. He is

considered as a Sudra as long as he is not initiated in the Vedas. Doubts

having arisen on this point, O prince; of serpents, Swayambhuba Manu has

declared, that the mixed castes are to be regarded as better than the

(other) classes, if having gone through the ceremonies of purification,

the latter do not conform to the rules of good conduct, O excellent

snake! Whosoever now conforms to the rules of pure and virtuous conduct,

him have I, ere now, designated as a Brahmana.' The serpent replied, 'O

Yudhishthira, thou art acquainted with all that is fit to be known and

having listened to thy words, how can I (now) eat up thy brother

Vrikodara!"

SECTION CLXXX

"Yudhishthira said, 'In this world, you are so learned in the Vedas and

Vedangas; tell me (then), what one should do to attain salvation?'

"The serpent replied, 'O scion of the Bharata's race, my belief is that

the man who bestows alms on proper objects, speaks kind words and tells

the truth and abstains from doing injury to any creature goes to heaven.'

"Yudhishthira enquired, 'Which, O snake, is the higher of the two, truth

or alms-giving? Tell me also the greater or less importance of kind

behaviour and of doing injury to no creature.'

"The snake replied, 'The relative merits of these virtues, truth and

alms-giving, kind speech and abstention from injury to any creature, are

known (measured) by their objective gravity (utility). Truth is

(sometimes) more praiseworthy than some acts of charity; some of the

latter again are more commendable than true speech. Similarly, O mighty

king, and lord of the earth, abstention from doing injury to any creature

is seen to be important than good speech and vice-versa. Even so it is, O

king, depending on effects. And now, if thou hast anything else to ask,

say it all, I shall enlighten thee!' Yudhishthira said, 'Tell me, O

snake, how the incorporal being's translation to heaven, its perception

by the senses and its enjoyment of the immutable fruits of its actions

(here below), can be comprehended.' The snake replied, 'By his own acts,

man is seen to attain to one of the three conditions of human existence,

of heavenly life, or of birth in the lower animal kingdom. Among these,

the man who is not slothful, who injures no one and who is endowed with

charity and other virtues, goes to heaven, after leaving this world of

men. By doing the very contrary, O king, people are again born as men or

as lower animals. O my son, it is particularly said in this connection,

that the man who is swayed by anger and lust and who is given to avarice

and malice falls away from his human state and is born again as a lower

animal, and the lower animals too are ordained to be transformed into the

human state; and the cow, the horse and other animals are observed to

attain to even the divine state.'[43] O my son, the sentient being,

reaping the fruits of his actions, thus transmigrates through these

conditions; but the regenerate and wise man reposes his soul in the

everlasting Supreme Spirit. The embodied spirit, enchained by destiny and

reaping the fruits of its own actions, thus undergoes birth after birth

but he that has lost touch of his actions, is conscious of the immutable

destiny of all born beings.[44]

"Yudhishthira asked, 'O snake, tell me truly and without confusion how

that dissociated spirit becomes cognisant of sound, touch, form, flavour,

and taste. O great-minded one, dost thou not perceive them,

simultaneously by the senses? Do thou, O best of snakes, answer all these

queries!' The snake replied, 'O long-lived one, the thing called Atman

(spirit), betaking itself to corporeal tenement and manifesting itself

through the organs of sense, becomes duly cognisant of perceptible

objects. O prince of Bharata's race, know that the senses, the mind, and

the intellect, assisting the soul in its perception of objects, are

called Karanas. O my son, the eternal spirit, going out of its sphere,

and aided by the mind, acting through the senses, the receptacles of all

perceptions, successively perceives these things (sound, form, flavour,

&c). O most valiant of men, the mind of living creatures is the cause of

all perception, and, therefore, it cannot be cognisant of more than one

thing at a time. That spirit, O foremost of men, betaking itself to the

space between the eyebrows, sends the high and low intellect to different

objects. What the Yogins perceive after the action of the intelligent

principle by that is manifested the action of the soul.'

"Yudhishthira said, 'Tell me the distinguishing characteristics of the

mind and the intellect. The knowledge of it is ordained as the chief duty

of persons meditating on the Supreme Spirit.'

"The snake replied, 'Through illusion, the soul becomes subservient to

the intellect. The intellect, though known to be subservient to the soul,

becomes (then) the director of the latter. The intellect is brought into

play by acts of perception; the mind is self-existent. The Intellect does

not cause the sensation (as of pain, pleasure, &c), but the mind does.

This, my son, is the difference between the mind and the intellect. You

too are learned in this matter, what is your opinion?'

"Yudhishthira said, 'O most intelligent one, you have fine intelligence

and you know all that is fit to be known. Why do you ask me that

question? You knew all and you performed such wonderful deeds and you

lived in heaven. How could then illusion overpower you? Great is my doubt

on this point.' The snake replied, 'Prosperity intoxicates even the wise

and valiant men. Those who live in luxury, (soon) lose their reason. So,

I too, O Yudhishthira, overpowered by the infatuation of prosperity, have

fallen from my high state and having recovered my self-consciousness, am

enlightening thee thus! O victorious king, thou hast done me a good turn.

By conversing with thy pious self, my painful curse has been expiated. In

days of yore, while I used to sojourn in heaven in a celestial chariot,

revelling in my pride, I did not think of anything else, I used to exact

tribute from Brahmarshis, Devas, Yakshas, Gandharvas, Rakshasas, Pannagas

and all other dwellers of the three worlds. O lord of earth, such was the

spell of my eyes, that on whatever creature, I fixed them, I instantly

destroyed his power. Thousands of Brahmarshis used to draw my chariot.

The delinquency, O king, was the cause of my fall from my high

prosperity. Among them, Agastya was one day drawing my conveyance, and my

feet came in contact with his body; Agastya then pronounced (this curse)

on me, in anger, 'Ruin seize thee, do thou become a snake.' So, losing my

glory, I fell down from that excellent car and while falling, I beheld

myself turned into a snake, with head downwards. I thus implored that

Brahmana, 'May this curse be extinguished, O adorable one! You ought to

forgive one who has been so foolish from infatuation.' Then he kindly

told me this, as I was being hurled down (from heaven), "The virtuous

king Yudhishthira will save thee from this curse, and when, O king,

horrible sin of pride will be extinguished in thee; thou shalt attain

salvation.' And I was struck with wonder on seeing (this) power of his

austere virtues; and therefore, have I questioned thee about the

attributes of the Supreme Spirit and of Brahmanas. Truth, charity,

self-restraint, penance, abstention from doing injury to any creature,

and constancy in virtue, these, O king, and not his race of family

connections, are the means, by which a man must always secure salvation.

May this brother of thine, the mighty Bhimasena, meet with good luck and

may happiness abide with thee! I must go to Heaven again.'"

Vaisampayana continued, "So saying, that king, Nahusha, quitted his

serpentine form, and assuming his celestial shape he went back to Heaven.

The glorious and pious Yudhishthira, too, returned to his hermitage with

Dhaumya and his brother Bhima. Then the virtuous Yudhishthira narrated

all that, in detail, to the Brahmanas who had assembled (there). On

hearing that, his three brothers and all the Brahmanas and the renowned

Draupadi too were covered with shame. And all those excellent Brahmanas

desiring the welfare of the Pandavas, admonished Bhima for his

foolhardiness, telling him not to attempt such things again, and the

Pandavas too were greatly pleased at seeing the mighty Bhima out of

danger, and continued to live there pleasantly."