Chapter 94

“Yudhishthira said, ‘O best of celestial Rishis, I do not think that I amwithout merits. Yet am I afflicted with so much sorrow that there neverwas a king like me. I think, however, that my enemies are destitute ofgood qualities and even destitute of morality. Yet why, O Lomasa, do theyprosper in this world?”

“Lomasa said, ‘Grieve not ever, O king, O son of Pritha, that sinful menshould often prosper in consequence of the sins they commit. A man may beseen to prosper by his sins, obtain good therefrom and vanquish his foes.Destruction, however, overtakes him to the roots. O king, I have seenmany Daityas and Danavas prosper by sin but I have also seen destructionovertake them. O exalted one, I have seen all this in the righteous ageof yore. The gods practised virtue, while the Asuras abandoned it. Thegods visited the tirthas, while the Asuras did not visit them. And atfirst the sinful Asuras were possessed with pride. And pride begat vanityand vanity begat wrath. And from wrath arose every kind of evilpropensities, and from these latter sprang shamelessness. And inconsequence of shamelessness, good behaviour disappeared from among them.And because they had become shameless and destitute of virtuouspropensities and good conduct and virtuous vows, forgiveness andprosperity and morality forsook them in no time. And prosperity then, Oking, sought the gods, while adversity sought the Asuras. And when theDaityas and the Danavas, deprived of sense by pride, were possessed byadversity. Kali also sought to possess them. And, O son of Kunti,overwhelmed with pride, and destitute of rites and sacrifices, and devoidof reason and feeling, and their hearts full of vanity, destructionovertook them soon. And covered with infamy, the Daityas were soonexterminated. The gods, however, who were virtuous in their practices,going to the seas, the rivers, the lakes and the holy spots, cleansedthemselves of all sins, O son of Pandu, by means of ascetic penances andsacrifices and gifts and blessings, and obtained prosperity and theconsequence. And because the gods always performed sacrifices and holydeeds abandoning every practice that was evil, and visited the tirthas,as the consequence thereof they acquired great good fortune. Guided bythis, O king, do thou also, with thy brothers, bathe in tirthas, for thenthou wilt obtain prosperity once more. Even this is the eternal road.And, O monarch, as king Nriga and Shivi and Ausinara and Bhagiratha andVasumanas and Gaya and Puru and Pururavas, by practising ascetic penancesand visiting tirthas and touching sacred waters and beholding illustriousascetics, obtained fame and sanctity and merit and wealth, so wilt thoualso obtain prosperity that is great. And as Ikshwaku with his sons,friends and followers, as Muchukunda and Mandhatri and king Marutta, asthe gods through power of asceticism and the celestial Rishis also, hadall obtained fame, so wilt thou also obtain great celebrity. The sons ofDhritarashtra, on the other hand, enslaved by sinfulness and ignorance,will, without doubt, be soon exterminated like the Daityas.'”