MAHABHARATA Bk 12:Santi Parva-Part 1-XCII Rajadharmanusasana
Jan 13, 2018 14:41:03 GMT 1
Post by Anne Terri on Jan 13, 2018 14:41:03 GMT 1
"GOD'S LIVING BIBLE ---- THE THIRD TESTAMENT ----- RESEARCH LIBRARY" ©*
The Mahabharata
of
Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa
BOOK 12 SANTI PARVA
Translated into English Prose from the Original Sanskrit Text
by
Kisari Mohan Ganguli
[1883-1896]
THE MAHABHARATA
Book 12: Santi Parva
Part 1 Rajadharmanusasana Parva
SECTIONS I-CXXX
Book 12: Santi Parva
Part 1 Rajadharmanusasana Parva
SECTIONS I-CXXX
p. 202
SECTION XCII
"Yudhishthira said, 'How should a righteous king, who is desirous of adhering to a course of righteousness, behave? I ask thee this, O foremost of men! Answer me, O Grandsire!'
"Bhishma said, 'In this connection is cited the old story of what Vamadeva gifted with great intelligence and acquainted with the true import of everything sang in ancient time. Once upon a time, king Vasumanas, possessed of knowledge and fortitude and purity of behaviour, asked the great Rishi Vamadeva of high ascetic merit, saying, 'Instruct me, O holy one, in words fraught with righteousness and of grave impart, as to the conduct to be observed by me so that I may not fall away from the duties prescribed for me.' Unto him of a golden complexion and seated at his ease like Yayati, son of Nahusha, that foremost of ascetics, viz., Vamadeva, of great energy, said as follows:
"Vamadeva said, 'Do thou act righteously. There is nothing superior to righteousness. Those kings that are observant of righteousness, succeed in conquering the whole earth. That king who regards righteousness to be the most efficacious means for accomplishing his objects, and who acts according to the counsels of those that are righteous, blazes forth with righteousness. That king who disregards righteousness and desires to act with brute force, soon falls away from righteousness and loses both Righteousness and Profit. That king who acts according to the counsels of a vicious and sinful minister becomes a destroyer of righteousness and deserves to be slain by his subjects with all his family. Indeed, he very soon meets with destruction. That king who is incompetent to discharge the duties of state-craft, who is governed by caprice in all his acts, and who indulges in brag, soon meets with destruction even if he happens to be ruler of the whole earth. That king, on the other hand, who is desirous of prosperity, who is free from malice, who has his senses under control, and who is gifted with intelligence, thrives in affluence like the ocean swelling with the waters discharged into it by a hundred streams. He should never consider himself to have a sufficiency of virtue, enjoyments, wealth, intelligence, and friends. Upon these depends the conduct of the world. By listening to these counsels, a king obtains fame', achievements, prosperity, and subjects. Devoted to virtue, that king who seeks the acquisition of virtue and wealth by such means, and who begins all his measures after reflecting upon their objects, succeeds in obtaining great prosperity. That king who is illiberal, and without affection, who afflicts his subjects by undue chastisements, and who is rash in his acts, soon meets with destruction. That king who is not gifted with intelligence fails to see his own faults. Covered with infamy here, he sinks into hell hereafter. If the king gives proper honour to them that deserve it, makes gifts, and recognises the value of sweet speeches by himself uttering them on all occasions, his subjects then dispel the calamities that overtake him, as if these had fallen upon themselves. That king who has no instructor in the ways of righteousness and who never asks others for counsels, and who seeks to acquire wealth by means that caprice suggests, never succeeds in enjoying
p. 203
happiness long. That king, on the other hand, who listens to the instructions of his preceptors in matters connected with virtue, who supervises the affairs of his kingdom himself, and who in all his acquisitions is guided by considerations of virtue, succeed in enjoying happiness for a long time.'" 1
Footnotes
203:1 K.P. Singh, I think, translates this verse erroneously. The Burdwan version is correct. The speaker, in this verse, desires to illustrate the force of righteous conduct. Transcribers' note: There was no corresponding footnote reference in the text, so I have assigned this footnote to an arbitrary location on the page--JBH.
NEXT SECTION XCIII
THE MAHABHARATA of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa
The Santi Parva is a huge interpolation in the Mahabharata, in the genre known as 'wisdom literature.' The narrative progression is placed on hold almost from the first page. Instead we get a long and winding recapitulation of Brahmanic lore, including weighty treatises on topics such as kingcraft, metaphysics, cosmology, geography, and mythology. There are discussions of the Sankya and Yoga philosophical schools, and mentions of Buddhism. It is apparent that the Santi Parva was added to the Mahabharata at a later time than the main body of the epic.
PRODUCTION NOTES: (11/30/2004) The printed edition we used divides this book into three (apparently arbitrary) parts. Note that each part's page numbering starts at page one, so if you cite a page number in this etext for some reason, you will also need to cite the part. There was no 'Section CCCCLXIV' in the source edition I used. --John Bruno Hare.
“God / Brahman Speaking To Anne Terri Through The Holy Spirit: This will be an ongoing endeavor, which will take many hours to build. I Begin this new section within The Third Testament - Research Library, to Bring forward one of the most important ancient texts of Hinduism, The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa as translated into English from Sanskrit. by Kisari Mohan Ganguli [1883-1896] In doing so, I have Asked of Anne to begin advanced studies on this, for the purposes of future links with other Hindu Study Guides currently in process. It is important to note that
The Mahabharata was written between 540 and 300 B.C. Most credit has been given to Vyasa. The Bhagavad Gita appears in Book 6. .... Juliet Sutherland, Project Manager. at sacred-texts.com, 2003, has asked that the Attribution appear with this public domain work as it is written below. AMEN”
*© NOTICE OF ATTRIBUTION
Scanned at sacred-texts.com, 2003. Proofed at Distributed Proofing, Juliet Sutherland, Project Manager. Additional proofing and formatting at sacred-texts.com, by J. B. Hare. This text is in the public domain. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice of attribution is left intact.
Scanned at sacred-texts.com, 2003. Proofed at Distributed Proofing, Juliet Sutherland, Project Manager. Additional proofing and formatting at sacred-texts.com, by J. B. Hare. This text is in the public domain. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice of attribution is left intact.