Chapter 79

“Yudhishthira said, ‘What, O grandsire, should be the acts and what thebehaviour of persons employed as priests in our sacrifices? What sort ofpersons should they be, O king? Tell me all this, O foremost of speakers.’

“Bhishma said, ‘It is laid down from those Brahmanas that are eligible aspriests that they should be conversant with the Chhandas including theSamans, and all the rites inculcated in the Srutis, and that they shouldbe able to perform all such religious acts as lead to the prosperity ofthe king. They should be devotedly loyal and utter agreeable speeches inaddressing kings. They should also be friendly towards one another, andcast equal eyes on all. They should be devoid of cruelty, and truthful inspeech. They should never be usurers, and should always be simple andsincere. One that is peaceful in temper, destitute of vanity, modest,charitable, self-restrained, and contented, possessed of intelligence,truthful, observant of vows, and harmless to all creatures, without lustand malice, and endued with the three excellent qualities, devoid of envyand possessed of knowledge, deserves the seat of Brahman himself. Personswith such qualities, O sire, are the best of priests and deserve everyrespect.’

“Yudhishthira said, ‘There are Vedic texts about the gift of Dakshina insacrifices. There is no ordinance, however, which lays down that so muchshould be given. This ordinance (about the gift of Dakshina) has notproceeded from motives connected with the distribution of wealth. Thecommand of the ordinance, in consequence of the provision in cases ofincapacity, is terrible. That command is blind to the competence of thesacrificer.[237] The audition occurs in the Vedas that a person should,with devotion, perform a sacrifice. But what can devotion do when thesacrificer is stained by falsehood?[238]

“Bhishma said, ‘No man acquires blessedness or merit by disregarding theVedas or by deceit or falsehood. Never think that it is otherwise.Dakshina constitutes one of the limbs of sacrifice and conduces to thenourishment of the Vedas. A sacrifice without Dakshina can never lead tosalvation. The efficacy, however, of a single Purnapatra is equal to thatof any Dakshina, however rich. Therefore, O sire, everyone belonging tothe three orders should perform sacrifices.[239] The Vedas have settledthat Soma is as the king himself to the Brahmanas. Yet they desire tosell it for the sake of performing sacrifices, though they never wish tosell it for gaining a livelihood. Rishis of righteous behaviour havedeclared, agreeably to the dictates of morality, that a sacrificeperformed with the proceeds of the sale of Soma serves to extendsacrifices.[240] These three, viz., a person, a sacrifice and Soma, mustbe of good character. A person that is of bad character is neither forthis nor for the other world. This audition has been heard by us that thesacrifice which high-souled Brahmanas perform by wealth earned byexcessive physical labour, is not productive of great merit. There is adeclaration in the Vedas that penances are higher than sacrifices. Ishall now speak to thee of penances. O learned prince, listen to me.Abstention from injury, truthfulness of speech, benevolence,compassion,–these are regarded as penances by the wise and not theemaciation of the body. Disregard of the Vedas, disobedience to thedictates of the scriptures, and violation of all wholesome restraints,are productive of self-destruction. Listen, O son of Pritha, to what hasbeen laid down by those that pour ten libations upon the fire at tentimes of the day.–For them that perform the sacrifice of penance, theYoga they endeavour to effect with Brahma is their ladle; the heart istheir clarified butter; and high knowledge constitutes theirPavitra.[241] All kinds of crookedness mean death, and all kinds ofsincerity are called Brahma. This constitutes the subject of knowledge.The rhapsodies of system-builders cannot affect this.–‘”