Chapter 200

“Yudhishthira said, ‘Tell me, O grandsire, what reply was given by eitherthe Brahmana or the monarch to Virupa after the conclusion of thelatter’s speech. What kind of end was it, amongst those described bythee, that they obtained? What, indeed, was the discourse that happenedbetween them, and what did they do there?’

“Bhishma said, ‘The Brahmana, saying, ‘Let it be as thou hast said,’worshipped Dharma and Yama and Time and Mrityu and Heaven, all of whomwere worthy of worship. He also worshipped all those foremost ofBrahmanas that had come there by bending his head unto them. Addressingthe monarch then, he said, ‘Endued with the reward of my recitations, Oroyal sage, attain thou to a position of eminence. With thy leave I shallset myself to my recitations again. O thou of great might, the goddessSavitri gave me a boon, saying, ‘Let thy devotion to recitations becontinuous.’

“The king said, ‘If thy success (in recitation) has b.-come fruitless (inconsequence of thy having given away those fruits unto me), and if thyheart be set upon practising again, go, O learned Brahmana, half and halfwith me, and let the reward of thy recitations themselves be thine.'[648]

“The Brahmana said, ‘Thou hast made strenuous efforts before all thesepersons (for making me a sharer of the rewards in store for thee as theconsequences of thy own acts). Let us then become equal in respect of ourrewards (in next life), and let us go to receive that end which is ours.’Knowing the resolve to which they came there, the chief of the gods cameto that spot, accompanied by the deities and the Regents of the world.The Sadhyas, the Viswas, the Mantras, diverse kinds of loud and sweetmusic, the Rivers, the Mountains, the Seas, the Sacred Waters, thePenances, the Ordinances about yoga, the Vedas, the Sounds that accompanythe singing of the Samans, Saraswati, Narada, Parvata, Viswavasu, theHahas, the Huhus, the Gandharva Chitrasena with all the members of hisfamily, the Nagas, the Sadhyas, the Munis, the god of gods, viz.,Prajapati, and the inconceivable and thousand-headed Vishnu himself, camethere. Drums and trumpets were beat and blown in the firmament. Celestialflowers were rained down upon those high-souled beings. Bands of Apsarasdanced all around. Heaven, in his embodied form, came there. Addressingthe Brahmana, he said, ‘Thou hast attained to success. Thou art highlyblessed.’ Next addressing the monarch, he said, ‘Thou also, O king, hastattained to success.’ Those two persons then, O monarch (viz., theBrahmana and the king), having done good to each other, withdrew theirsenses from the objects of the world. Fixing the vital breaths Prana,Apana, Samana, Udana and Vyana in the heart, they concentrated the mindin Prana and Apana united together. They then placed the two unitedbreaths in the abdomen, and directed their gaze to the tip of the noseand then immediately below the two eye-brows. They next held the twobreaths, with the aid of the mind, in the spot that intervenes betweenthe two eye-brows, bringing them there very gradually. With bodiesperfectly inactive, they were absorbed with fixed gaze. Having controlover their souls, they then placed the soul within the brain. Thenpiercing the crown of the high-souled Brahmana a fiery flame of greatsplendour ascended to heaven. Loud exclamations of woe, uttered by allcreatures, were then heard on all sides. Its praises hymned by all, thatsplendour then entered Brahman’s self. The Great grandsire, advancingforward, addressed that splendour which had assumed a form of thetallness of a span, saying, ‘Welcome!’ And once more he uttered thesewords, ‘Verily, Reciters attain to the same end with the yogins. Theattainment by the yogin of his end is an object of direct vision unto allthese (here assembled). As regards Reciters, there is this distinction,that the honour is ordained for them of Brahman’s advancing forward toreceive them (after their departure from earth).[649] Dwell thou in me.’Thus spoke Brahman and once more imparted consciousness into thatsplendour. Indeed, the Brahmana then, freed from all anxieties, enteredthe mouth of the Creator. The monarch (Ikshvaku) also, after the samemanner, entered the divine Grandsire like that foremost of Brahmanas. The(assembled) deities saluted the self-born and said, ‘A very superior endis, indeed, ordained for Reciters. This exertion (that we have seen theeput forth) is for Reciters. As regards ourselves, we came hither forbeholding it. Thou hast made these two equal, rendered them equal honour,and bestowed upon them an equal end. The high end that is reserved forboth yogins and Reciters has been seen by us today. Transcending allregions (of felicity), these two are capable of going whithersoever theywish.’

“Brahman said, ‘He also that would read the great Smriti (viz., theVeda), and he too, who would read the other auspicious Smritis thatfollow the former (viz., Manu’s and the rest), would, in this way, attainto the same region with me. He also who is devoted to yoga, will, withoutdoubt, acquire in this manner, after death, the regions that are mine. Igo hence. Go ye all to your respective places for the accomplishment ofyour ends.’

“Bhishma continued, ‘Having said these words, that foremost of godsdisappeared there and then. The assembled deities, having previouslytaken his leave, returned to their respective abodes. All thosehigh-souled beings, having honoured Dharma, proceeded with well-pleasedhearts, O monarch, walking behind that great deity. These are the rewardsof reciters and this their end. I have described them to thee as I myselfhad heard of them. What else, O monarch, dost thou wish to hear of?'”