Chapter 259

“The messenger of the gods said, ‘O great sage, thou art of simpleunderstanding; since, having secured that celestial bliss which bringethgreat honour, thou art still deliberating like an unwise person. O Muni,that region which is known as heaven, existeth there above us. Thoseregions tower high, and are furnished with excellent paths, and are, Osage, always ranged by celestial cars. Atheists, and untruthful persons,those that have not practised ascetic austerities and those that have notperformed great sacrifices, cannot repair thither. Only men of virtuoussouls, and those of subdued spirits, and those that have their facultiesin subjection, and those that have controlled their senses, and thosethat are free from malice, and persons intent on the practice of charity;and heroes, and men bearing marks of battle, after having, with subduedsenses and faculties, performed the most meritorious rites, attain thoseregions, O Brahmana, capable of being obtained only by virtuous acts, andinhabited by pious men. There, O Mudgala, are established separatelymyriads of beautiful, shining, and resplendent worlds bestowing everyobject of desire, owned by those celestial beings, the gods, the Sadhyas,and the Vaiswas, the great sages, Yamas, and the Dharmas, and theGandharvas and the Apsaras. And there is that monarch of mountains thegolden Meru extending over a space of thirty-three thousand Yojanas. Andthere, O Mudgala, are the sacred gardens of the celestials, with Nandanaat their head, where sport the persons of meritorious acts. And neitherhunger, nor thirst, nor lassitude, nor fear, nor anything that isdisgusting or inauspicious is there. And all the odours of that place aredelightful, and all the breezes delicious to the touch. And all thesounds there are captivating, O sage, to the ear and the heart. Andneither grief, nor decrepitude, nor labour, nor repentance also is there.That world, O Muni, obtained as the fruit of one’s own acts, is of thisnature. Persons repair thither by virtue of their meritorious deeds. Andthe persons of those that dwell there look resplendent, and this, OMudgala, solely by virtue of their own acts, and not owing to the meritsof father or mothers. And there is neither sweat, nor stench, nor urinethere. And, there, O Muni, dust doth not soils one’s garments. And theirexcellent garlands, redolent of divine fragrance, never fade. And, OBrahmana, they yoke such cars as this (that I have brought). And, Omighty sage, devoid of envy and grief and fatigue and ignorance andmalice, men who have attained heaven, dwell in those regions happily.And, O bull among Munis, higher and higher over such regions there areothers endued with higher celestial virtues. Of these, the beautiful andresplendent regions of Brahma are the foremost. Thither, O Brahmana,repair Rishis that have been sanctified by meritorious acts. And theredwell certain beings named Ribhus. They are the gods of the godsthemselves. Their regions are supremely blessed, and are adored even bythe deities. These shine by their own light, and bestow every object ofdesire. They suffer no pangs that women might cause, do not possessworldly wealth, and are free from guile. The Ribhus do not subsist onoblations, nor yet on ambrosia. And they are endued with such celestialforms that they cannot be perceived by the senses. And these eternal godsof the celestials do not desire happiness for happiness’ sake, nor dothey change at the revolution of a Kalpa. Where, indeed, is theirdecrepitude or dissolution? For them there is neither ecstasy, nor joy,nor happiness. They have neither happiness nor misery. Wherefore shouldthey have anger or aversion then, O Muni? O Mudgala, their supreme stateis coveted even by the gods. And that crowning emancipation, hard toattain, can never be acquired by people subject to desire. The number ofthose deities is thirty-three. To their regions repair wise men, afterhaving observed excellent vows, or bestowed gifts according to theordinance. Thou also hast easily acquired that success by thy charities.Do thou, by effulgence displayed by virtue of thy ascetic austerities,enjoy that condition obtained by thy meritorious acts. Such, O Brahmana,is the bliss of heaven containing various worlds.

“Thus have I described unto thee the blessing of the celestial regions.Do thou now hear from me some of the disadvantages thereof. That in thecelestial regions a person, while reaping the fruit of the acts he hathalready performed, cannot be engaged in any others, and that he mustenjoy the consequences of the former until they are completely exhausted,and, further, that he is subject to fall after he hath entirely exhaustedhis merit, form, in my opinion, the disadvantages of heaven. The fall ofa person whose mind hath been steeped in happiness, must, O Mudgala, bepronounced as a fault. And the discontent and regret that must followone’s stay at an inferior seat after one hath enjoyed more auspicious andbrighter regions, must be hard to bear. And the consciousness of thoseabout to fall is stupefied, and also agitated by emotions. And as thegarlands of those about to fall fade away, fear invadeth their hearts.These mighty drawbacks, O Mudgala, extend even to the regions of Brahma.In the celestial regions, the virtues of men who have performed righteousacts, are countless. And, O Muni, this is another of the attributes ofthe fallen that, by reason of their merits, they take birth among men.And then they attain to high fortune and happiness. If one, however,cannot acquire knowledge here, one cometh by an inferior birth. Thefruits of acts done in this world are reaped in the next. This world, OBrahmana, hath been declared to be one of acts; the others, as one offruit. Thus have I, O Mudgala, asked by thee, described all unto thee.Now, O pious one, with thy favour, we shall easily set out with speed.’

“Vyasa continued, ‘Having heard this speech, Mudgala began to reflect inhis mind. And having deliberated well, that best of Munis spake thus untothe celestial messenger, ‘O messenger of the gods, I bow unto thee. Dothou, O sire, depart in peace. I have nothing to do with eitherhappiness, or heaven having such prominent defects. Persons who enjoyheaven suffer, after all, huge misery and extreme regret in this world.Therefore, I do not desire heaven. I shall seek for that unfailing regionrepairing whither people have not to lament, or to be pained, oragitated. Thou hast described unto me these great defects belonging tothe celestial regions. Do thou now describe unto me a region free fromfaults.’ Thereupon the celestial messenger said, ‘Above the abode ofBrahma, there is the supreme seat of Vishnu, pure, and eternal, andluminous known by the name of Para Brahma. Thither, O Brahmana, cannotrepair persons who are attached to the objects of the senses: nor canthose subject to arrogance, covetousness, ignorance, anger, and envy, goto that place. It is only those that are free from affection, and thosefree from pride, and those free from conflicting emotions, and those thathave restrained their senses, and those given to contemplation and Yoga,that can repair thither.’ Having heard these words, the Muni badefarewell to the celestial messenger, and that virtuous one leading theUnchha mode of life, assumed perfect contentment. And then praise anddispraise became equal unto him; and a brickbat, stone, and gold assumedthe same aspect in his eyes. And availing himself of the means ofattaining Brahma, he became always engaged in meditation. And havingobtained power by means of knowledge, and acquired excellentunderstanding, he attained that supreme state of emancipation which isregarded as Eternal. Therefore, thou also, O Kunti’s son, ought not togrieve. Deprived thou hast truly been of a flourishing kingdom, but thouwilt regain it by thy ascetic austerities. Misery after happiness, andhappiness after misery, revolve by turns round a man even like the pointof a wheel’s circumference round the axle. After the thirteenth year hathpassed away, thou wilt, O thou of immeasurable might, get back thekingdom possessed before thee by thy father and grand-father. Therefore,let the fever of thy heart depart!'”

Vaisampayana continued “Having said this to Pandu’s son, the worshipfulVyasa went back to his hermitage for the purpose of performingausterities.”