MAHABHARATA Bk 12:Santi Parva-P 1-CXXVII Rajadharmanusasana

[Anne Terri]

"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]

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THE MAHABHARATA
Book 12: Santi Parva
Part 1 Rajadharmanusasana Parva
SECTIONS I-CXXX

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p. 276

SECTION CXXVII

"Bhishma said, 'Then that best of Rishis, viz., the regenerate Rishabha, sitting in the midst of all those Rishis, smiled a little and said these words: 'Formerly, O tiger among kings, while travelling among sacred places, I arrived, O lord, at the beautiful asylum of Nara and Narayana. There lies the delightful spot called Vadri, and there also is that lake in the firmament (whence the sacred Ganga takes her rise). 1 There the sage Aswasiras, O king, (always) reads the eternal Vedas. Having performed my ablutions in that lake and offered with due rites oblations of water unto the Pitris and the dogs, I entered the asylum. Within that retreat the Rishis Nara and Narayana always pass their time in true pleasure. 2 Not far from that spot I repaired to another retreat for taking up my abode. While seated there I beheld a very tall and emaciated Rishi, clad in rags and skins, approaching towards me. Possessed of the wealth of penances, he was named Tanu. Compared, O mighty-armed one, with other men, his height seemed to be eight times greater. As regards his leanness, O royal sage, I can say that I have never beheld its like. His body, O king, was as thin as one's little finger. His neck and arms and legs and hair were all of extra-ordinary aspect. His head was proportionate to his body, and his cars and eyes also were the same. His speech, O best of kings, and his movements were exceedingly feeble. Beholding that exceedingly emaciated Brahmana I became very cheerless and frightened. Saluting his feet, I stood before him with joined hands. Having informed him of my name and family, and having told him also the name of my father, O bull among men, I slowly sat myself down on a seat that was indicated by him. Then, O monarch, that foremost of virtuous men, viz., Tanu, began to discourse in the midst of the Rishis dwelling in that asylum upon topics connected with Righteousness and Profit. While engaged in discourse, a king, possessed of eyes like lotus petals and accompanied by his forces and the ladies of his household, came to that spot on a car drawn by fleet steeds. The name of that king was Viradyumna. Of handsome features, he was possessed of great fame. His son's name was Bhuridyumna. The child had been missing, and the sire, exceedingly cheerless, came there in course of his wanderings amid the forest in pursuit of the missing one. 'I shall find my son here!' 'I shall find my son here!' Dragged on by hope in this way, the king wandered through that forest in those days. Addressing the emaciated Rishi he said, 'Without doubt that highly virtuous son of mine is exceedingly difficult to be traced by me. Alas he was my only child. He is lost and can nowhere be found! Though incapable of being found out, my hope, however, of finding him is very great. Filled with that hope (which is being constantly disappointed), I am verily on the point of death.' Hearing these words of the

p. 277

king, that foremost of Munis, viz., the holy Tanu, remained for a short while with head hanging down and himself buried in contemplation. Beholding him buried in contemplation, the king became exceedingly cheerless. In great grief he began to say slowly and softly, 'What, O celestial Rishi, is unconquerable and what is greater than hope? O holy one, tell me this if I may hear it without impropriety.'

"The Muni said, 'A holy and great Rishi had been insulted by thy son. He had done it through ill-luck, moved by his foolish understanding. The Rishi had asked thy son for a golden jar and vegetable barks. Thy son contemptuously refused to gratify the ascetic. Thus treated by thy son, the great sage became disappointed. Thus addressed, the king worshipped that ascetic who was worshipped by all the world. Of virtuous soul, Viradyumna sat there, spent with fatigue even as thou, O best of men, now art. The great Rishi, in return, offered the king according to the rites observed by the dwellers of the forests water to wash his feet and the usual ingredients that make up the Arghya. Then all the Rishis, O tiger among kings, sat there, surrounding that bull among men like the stars of the constellation of Ursa Major surrounding the Pole star. And they asked the unvanquished king as to the cause of his arrival at that asylum.'"

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Footnotes

276:1 This lake is at a great height on the Himalayas.

276:2 The spirits of those two immortal sages are supposed to dwell for ever, in that retreat in the enjoyment of true happiness.


NEXT SECTION CXXVIII

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.

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“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.