SECTION XII
(Lokapala
Sabhakhayana Parva Continued)
"Yudhishthira said,--'O thou foremost of
eloquent men, as thou hast described the different Sabhas unto me, it appeareth
that almost all the monarchs of the earth are to be found in the Sabha of Yama.
And, O master, almost all the Nagas, and principal Daityas, and rivers, and
oceans, are to be found in the Sabha of Varuna. And so the Yakshas, the
Guhyakas, the Rakshasas, the Gandharvas and Apsaras and the Deity (Yama) having
the bull for his vehicle, are to be found in the Sabha of the lord of
treasures. Thou hast said that in the Sabha of the Grandsire are to be seen all
the great Rishis, all the gods, all the branches of learning. As regards the
Sabha of Sakra, however, thou hast named, O Muni, all the gods, the Gandharvas,
and various Rishis. But, O great Muni, thou hast mentioned one and only one
king, viz., the royal Rishi Harishchandra as living in the Sabha of the
illustrious chief of the gods. What act was performed by that celebrated king,
or what ascetic penances with steady vows, in consequence of which he hath been
equal to Indra himself? O Brahmana, how didst thou also meet with my father,
the exalted Pandu, now a guest in the region of the Pitris? O exalted one of
excellent vows hath he told thee anything? O tell me all as I am exceedingly
curious to hear all this from thee."
"Narada said,--'O king of kings, I shall
tell thee all that thou askest me about Harischandra, I shall presently tell
thee of his high excellence. He was a powerful king, in fact, an emperor over
all the kings of the earth. Indeed, all the kings of the earth obeyed his sway.
O monarch, mounted alone upon a victorious car adorned with gold, that king by
the prowess of his weapons brought the whole earth with her seven islands under
his sway. And, O monarch, having subjugated the whole earth with her mountains,
forests, and woods, he made preparations for the great sacrifice called the
Rajasuya. And all the kings of the earth brought at his command wealth unto
that sacrifice. All of them consented to become distributors of food and gifts
unto the Brahmanas that were fed on the occasion. At that sacrifice king
Harishchandra gave away unto all who asked, wealth that was five times what
each had solicited. At the conclusion of the sacrifice, the king gratified the
Brahmanas that came from various countries with large presents of various kinds
of wealth. The Brahmanas gratified with various kinds of food and enjoyable
articles, given away unto them to the extent of their desires, and with the
heaps of jewels distributed amongst them, began to say,--King Harischandra is
superior to all kings in energy and renown.--And know, O monarch, O bull of the
Bharata race, it was for this reason that Harischandra shone more brightly than
thousands of other kings. The powerful Harischandra having concluded his great
sacrifice, became installed, O king, in the sovereignty of the earth and looked
resplendent on his throne. O bull of the Bharata race, all those monarchs that
perform the sacrifice of Rajasuya, (attaining to the region of Indra) pass
their time in felicity in Indra's company. And, O bull of the Bharata race,
those kings also that yield up their lives without turning their backs on the
field of battle attain to the mansion of Indra and live in joy with him. Those
again that yield up their bodies after severe ascetic penances also attain to
the same region and shine brightly there for ages. O king of the Kuru race, O
son of Kunti, thy father Pandu, beholding the good fortune of Harischandra and
wondering much thereat, hath told thee something. Knowing that I was coming to
the world of men, he bowed unto me and said,--Thou shouldst tell Yudhishthira,
O Rishi, that he can subjugate the whole Earth inasmuch as his brothers are all
obedient to him. And having done this let him commence the grand sacrifice
called Rajasuya. He is my son; if he performeth that sacrifice, I may, like
Harischandra, soon attain to the region of Indra, and there in his Sabha pass
countless years in continuous joy. I told him in reply,--O King, I shall tell
thy son all this, if I go to the world of man. I have now told thee what he
said, O tiger among men. Accomplish then, O son of Pandu, the desires of thy
father. If thou performest that sacrifice, thou shall then be able to go, along
with thy deceased ancestors, into the same region that is inhabited by the
chief of the immortals. It hath been said,--O king, that the performance of
this great sacrifice is attended with many obstacles. A class of Rakshasas called
Brahma Rakshasas, employed in obstructing all sacrifices, always search for
loop-holes when this great sacrifice is commenced. On the commencement of such
a sacrifice a war may take place destroying the Kshatriyas and even furnishing
occasion for the destruction of the whole Earth. A slight obstacle may involve
the whole Earth in ruin. Reflecting upon all this, O king of kings do what is
for thy good. Be thou watchful and ready in protecting the four orders of thy
subjects. Grow, thou in prosperity, and enjoy thou felicity. Gratify thou the
Brahmanas with gifts of wealth. I have now answered in detail all that thou
hast asked me. With thy leave I will now go to the city (Dwaravati) of that
Dasarhas."
Vaisampayana said,--'O Janamejaya, having said
this unto the son of Pritha, Narada went away, accompanied by those Rishis with
whom he had come. And after Narada had gone away, king Yudhishthira, O thou of
the Kuru race, began to think, along with his brothers, of that foremost of
sacrifices called Rajasuya.'
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