MAHABHARATA Bk 12:Santi Parva-P1-CXIV Rajadharmanusasana
Feb 3, 2018 14:30:08 GMT 1
Post by Anne Terri on Feb 3, 2018 14:30:08 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
SECTION CXIV
"Yudhishthira said, 'How, O Bharata, should a learned man adorned with modesty behave, O chastiser of foes, when assailed with harsh speeches in the midst of assemblies by an ignorant person swelling with conceit?' 2
"Bhishma said, 'Listen, O lord of earth, how the subject has been treated of (in the scriptures), how a person of good soul should endure in this world the abusive speeches of persons of little intelligence. If a person, when abused by another, do not yield to wrath, he is then sure to take away (the merit of) all the good deeds that have been done by the abuser. The endurer, in such a case, communicates the demerit of all his own bad acts to the person who under the influence of wrath indulges in abuse. An intelligent man should disregard an abusive language who resembles, after all, only a Tittibha uttering dissonant cries. 3 One who yields to hate is said to live in vain. A fool may often be heard to say, 'Such a respectable man was addressed by me in such words amid such an assembly of men,' and to even boast of that wicked act. He would add, 'Abused by me, the man remained silent as if dead with shame. Even thus does a shameless man boast of an act about which no one should boast. Such a wretch among men should carefully be disregarded. The man of wisdom should endure everything that such a person of little intelligence may say. What can a vulgar fellow do by either his praise or his blame? He is even like a crow that caws uselessly in the woods. If those who accuse others by only their words could establish those accusations by such means, then, perhaps, their words would have been regarded to be of some value. As a fact, however, these words are as effective as those uttered by fools invoking death upon them with whom they quarrel. 4 That man simply proclaims his bastardy who indulges in such conduct and words. Indeed, he is even like a peacock that
p. 249
dances while showing such a part of his body as should be ever concealed from the view. 1 A person of pure conduct should never even speak with that wight of sinful conduct who does not scruple to utter anything or do anything. That man who speak of one's merits when one's eye is upon him and who speaks ill of one when one's eye is withdrawn from him, is really like a dog. Such a person loses all his regions in heaven and the fruits of any knowledge and virtue that he may have. 2 The man who speaks ill of one when one's eye is not upon him, loses without delay the fruits of all his libations on fire and of the gifts he may make unto even a hundred persons. A man of wisdom, therefore, should unhesitatingly avoid a person of such sinful heart who deserves to be avoided by all honest men, as he would avoid the flesh of the dog. That wicked-souled wretch who proclaims the faults of a high-souled person, really publishes (by that act) his own evil nature even as a snake displays his hood (when interfered with by others). The man of sense who seeks to counteract such a back-biter ever engaged in an occupation congenial to himself, finds himself in the painful condition of a stupid ass sunk in a heap of ashes. A man who is ever engaged in speaking ill of others should be avoided like a furious wolf, or an infuriated elephant roaring in madness, or a fierce dog. Fie on that sinful wretch who has betaken himself to the path of the foolish and has fallen away from all wholesome restraints and modesty, who is always engaged in doing what is injurious to others, and who is regardless of his own prosperity. If an honest man wishes to exchange words with such wretches when they seek to humiliate him, he should be counselled in these words: Do not suffer thyself to be afflicted. A wordy encounter between a high and a low person is always disapproved by persons of tranquil intelligence. A slanderous wretch, when enraged, may strike another with his palms, or throw dust or chaff at another, or frighten another by showing or grinding his teeth. All this is well known. That man who endures the reproaches and slanders of wicked-souled wights uttered in assemblies, or who reads frequently these instructions, never suffers any pain occasioned by speech.'
Footnotes
248:2 Mridustikshnena is better than Mridutikshnena.
248:3 A bird that is identified by Dr. Wilson with the Parra Jacana.
248:4 In India, the commonest form of verbal abuse among ignorant men and women is 'Do thou meet with death,' or, 'Go thou to Yama's house.' What Bhishma says is that as these words are uttered in vain, even so the verbal accusations of wicked men prove perfectly abortive.
249:1 The Burdwan Pundits have totally misunderstood the first line of this verse. K.P. Singha has rendered it correctly.
249:2 A dog is an unclean animal in Hindu estimation.
NEXT SECTION CXV
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.