Chapter 126

“Bhishma said, ‘The king, having entered that large forest, came upon anasylum of ascetics. Fatigued with the toil he had undergone, he sathimself down for rest. Beholding him armed with bow, worn out with toil,and hungry, the ascetics approached him and honoured him in due form.Accepting the honours offered by the Rishis, the king enquired of themabout the progress and advancement of their penances. Having dulyanswered the enquiries of the king, those Rishis endued with wealth ofasceticism asked that tiger among rulers about the reason that led hissteps to that retreat. And they said, ‘Blessed be thou, in pursuit ofwhat delightful object hast thou, O king, come to this asylum, walking onfoot and armed with sword and bow and arrows? We wish to hear whence thouart coming, O giver of honours. Tell us also in what race thou art bornand what thy name is.’ Thus addressed, O bull among men, the kingproceeded to duly give unto all those Brahmanas an account of himself, OBharata, saying, ‘I am born in the race of the Haihayas. By name I amSumitra, and I am the son of Mitra. I chase herds of deer, slaying themin thousands with my arrows. Accompanied by a large force and myministers and the ladies of my household, I came out on a huntingexpedition. I pierced a deer with an arrow, but the animal with the shaftsticking to his body ran with great speed. In chasing it I have, withouta set purpose, arrived at this forest and find myself in your presence,shorn of splendour, toil-worn, and with hope disappointed. What can bemore pitiable than this, viz., that I have arrived at this asylum, spentwith fatigue, shorn of the signs of royalty, and disappointed of myhopes. I am not at all sorry, ye ascetics, at my being now shorn of thesigns of royalty or at my being now at a distance from my capital. Ifeel, however, a poignant grief in consequence of my hope having beendisappointed. The prince of mountains, viz., Himavat, and that vastreceptacle of waters, viz., the ocean, cannot, for its vastness, measurethe extent of the firmament. Ye ascetics, similarly, I also cannotdiscern the limit of hope. Ye that are endued with wealth of penances areomniscient. There is nothing unknown to you. You are also highly blessed.I therefore, solicit you for resolving my doubt. Hope as cherished byman, and the wide firmament, which of these two appears vaster to you? Idesire to hear in detail what is so unconquerable to hope. If the topicbe one upon which it is not improper for ye to discourse, then tell meall about it without delay. I do not wish, ye foremost of regenerateones, to hear anything from You that may be a mystery improper todiscourse upon. If again the discourse be injurious to your penances, Iwould not wish you to speak. If the question asked by me be a worthytopic of discourse, I would then wish to hear the cause in detail.Devoted to penances as ye are, do ye all instruct me on the subject.'”