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2024-03-28, 7:45 PM |
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Chapter 21: Instructions
by
Prithu
Mahârâja
(1)
Maitreya said [when King Prithu returned to
his
capital]: 'The city at the golden gates and everywhere around was
decorated with pearls, flower garlands and cloth and
there was also highly fragrant incense. (2)
The streets, the parks and the lanes that
were sprinkled with water scented with sandalwood and aguru [a fragrant
herb] were decorated with unbroken rice, flowers, fruits in their peel,
precious stones, parched grains and lamps. (3) With everything
being cleansed and festooned with leaves of various trees like fresh mango
leaves and the
flowers and
fruits hanging down from pillars of banana trees and betel nut trees, it all looked very nice. (4)
The citizens and many a
beautiful radiating virgin decorated with tinkling earrings, came to
welcome him equipped with lamps and countless articles of worship. (5) Even though the king when he entered the
palace was honored with the sounds of kettledrums, conch shells and the
Vedic chants of the priests, he took no pride in it. (6)
With the great glory of thus
being revered and pleased everywhere by the nobles and the
commoners, he on his turn wished them all the best. (7)
He had been so from the beginning: magnanimous in all his actions and
doing great works regularly. He had become the greatest of the great
and thus ruling with the achievement of a repute that had spread all over the world, he [finally] was elevated to the Supreme lotus
feet.' "
(8) Sûta said: "Oh greatest of the devotees,
oh leader of the sages [S'aunaka], after Maitreya thus befittingly had
expounded on the high reputation of that ideal king so qualified
because of his countless qualities, Vidura proved his great respect and addressed him. (9)
Vidura said: 'When he [Prithu] was enthroned by the great ones of
learning, he realized the full respect of the enlightened community and
by that grace of Vishnu he could
expand to the strength of rule
by dint of which he managed to break open [and exploit] the earth. (10) Who wouldn't enjoy to hear about his
glories, about his intelligence and his chivalry to the example of
which even to this day so many kings and their local rulers proceed in
procuring what they desire for their livelihood? Please tell me [more]
about those good deeds.'
(11) Maitreya proceeded: 'Living in the land
between the two rivers the Ganges and the Yamunâ, he who was destined to enjoy the fortune of his pious deeds exhausted his merits. (12)
Except for the brahmin culture and the ones in succession devoted to
the Infallible One [the Vaishnavas], there was for everyone on the seven continents his irrevocable order as the one ruler
holding the scepter. (13) And so he once upon a time took a vow
to initiate a great sacrifice to the occasion of which the
authorities
of God assembled: the brahmin sages, the wise kings and all the
great
devotees. (14) To
that occasion he offered his obeisances to
all those respectable souls who deserved it according to their
respective
positions, standing in their
midst like the moon
between the stars. (15-16) He was a
tall man, well built with strong arms and a lotuslike fair complexion,
eyes as bright as a sunrise, a straight nose and a beautiful face with
a grave expression, high shoulders and teeth brilliant at the smile. He
had a broad chest, a firm waist
with beautiful
folds in his abdomen like the leaf of a banana tree, a coiled
navel, thighs of a golden hue and an arched instep. (17) With fine, curly, slick black hair on his
head and a neck like a conch he was dressed in a very valuable dhotî
with over his upper body a wrapper worn like a
sacred
thread. (18) He
with all the beauty of his
physique was
the one appointed to give up his garments according to the regulations.
Nicely covered by a black deerskin and with a ring of kus'a grass
around his
finger he then performed as was required. (19)
With starry eyes as moist as the dew he glanced over all the ones
around him and then, for the purpose of pleasing the assembly,
began to speak in terms of the following elevating discourse. (20) What he reminded
them of was of a great importance and beauty, and flowery, crystal
clear and free from doubt spoken to the benefit of all.
(21) The king addressing the ones
present said: 'Listen carefully oh great souls present here, how I
as an inquisitive man feel obliged to present to you dear nobles, my conclusions
concerning the principles of dharma. (22) I,
carrying
the
scepter
as
the
king
of
all
the
citizens,
am
engaged
in
this
world
as
the protector and employer of
each person the way he is born in the context of his own [Vedically]
established, separate social
order. (23) By executing of Him, the Seer of all destiny, that
what the
experts
in Vedic knowledge speak about, I expect to fulfill all the objectives
as desired
everywhere by everyone. (24) Anyone
who
as
a
king
exacts
taxes
from
the
citizens
without
reminding
them
of
their
respective
[varnâs'rama]
duties,
will
according
to
the
impiety
of
his citizens, also have
to relinquish the enjoyment of his own fortune. (25)
Therefore my dear citizens it
suffers no doubt that whatever you without grumbling do in
accord with [the varnâs'rama
system of] Him beyond the senses, [not only serves your own interest,
but also] constitutes a great service unto me. That way you serve the
interest of the welfare of me your protector. (26) All of you present here as people faithful to the
forefathers, the gods,
the sages and the sinless, please take this at heart: in the
hereafter the results of one's actions are equally shared by the
performer, the director and the supporter of the deeds. (27) Oh
respectable
ones,
there
must
be someone like Him who by some [scriptures] is called
the Lord of Sacrifice, for one evidently in this material world and in the hereafter sometimes is
faced with embodiments of [great] power and beauty. (28-29) Manu,
Uttânapâda [Dhruva's
father], Dhruva and no doubt the great king Priyavrata and my
grandfather Anga, these great and saintly personalities and also others
of the Unborn Soul like Prahlâda and Bali
Mahârâja, give evidence of the existence of the One holding
the
Club. (30)
Except for descendants like
my
father who abominably acting like death personified had lost his way on
the path of
religion, one as good as always ascribes the elevation to higher worlds
and class to the [in dharmic action] being liberated from the material motive for the sake of the One Supreme Soul. (31)
Persons of penance destroy, because
of their inclination to serve at the lotus feet, immediately the dirt that accumulated in their minds in
countless births. Just
like the [Ganges] water that emanating from His toes vanquishes all
dirt, they, day after
day, see their purity increasing. (32)
By particularly time
and again gathering strength in seeking in a systematic, scientific way
refuge at His lotus feet, the person disgusted with the endless
ruminations will purify himself. But if he surrenders to a
materially
motivated life full of hindrances, he will never achieve such a thing. (33)
All you citizens, in order to
be satisfied, be sure
of being devoted at His lotus feet according to your personal sense of
duty. Be in your thoughts,
your words and in a physical sense of the particular
qualities of your own type of
work and answer with an open mind
in the full of your
conviction to all that is wanted
as far as your
talents allow. (34) He
who is present in this world
with His various qualities and transcendence is in the science of being
free from contaminations in relation to His form worshiped with
different
kinds of sacrifices that are performed with the physical means and the
practicing of mantras, for the purpose of which there are the forms and
names upon which one concentrates.
(35) Just
like fire
manifests differently depending the
shape and quality of the firewood, the Almighty One manifests
differently with a body in which He accepts a consciousness and engages
in
activities that are the result of a certain combination of
undifferentiated
matter [see also 3.26: 10], the
time, the mental disposition and the dutifulness. (36)
Oh all of you who together with me abide by the Lord, you who enjoy the
Supreme Spiritual Master His mercy, and who by
dint of the godly who are of sacrifice, the Supreme Controller Himself
and
the occupational duties incessantly on this earth
with firm determination are
occupied with worship, with these activities you are relating to me. (37) Never
at any time those
who are of great opulence [the rulers] should exercise power over the
blessed ones who
are of devotion to the Unconquerable One [Vishnu], nor over the ones
who exercise tolerance, do
penance and are highly educated, for they personally constitute the
ruling class of the twice-born ones in society. (38) The Original
Personality, the oldest and
eternal Lord
and godhead of the brahminical culture acquired the opulence of the eternal
fame of being
the great elevated leader that
purifies the entire universe, by exercising respect for their lotus feet.
(39)
The unlimited,
independent Lord dwelling in each his
heart is very satisfied when one wants to be of service at the feet of
the learned ones who are very dear to Him, when one humbly following in
His footsteps in every respect tries to be constantly engaged in
serving the brahmin class. (40) A person automatically without delay achieves the greatest peace and the
satisfaction of his soul when he regularly relates to them by means of
delivering service, for who would be a better mouth and hand for the
ghee that is offered? (41) Ananta,
the
Lord
of
the
Snake
bed
is
never
as
pleased
to
eat
from sacrifices in
the fire that with faith are performed by the knowers of the
Absolute, as
much as He is satisfied with the life force [of the offerings] that, by
the different names of the demigods, is not withheld from the mouth of
a devotee, for He will never abandon those transcendental swans. (42) Everything that the constant, pure
and original brahminical culture is reflecting with faith, austerity,
auspicious actions, silence, an absorbed mind and sense control,
is carried for the sake of the true meaning and purpose of the Vedic
vision in which this world appears as clear as in a mirror. (43)
Oh people of culture, I will carry the dust of the lotus feet of all of
them on my helmet until the end of my life. Everyone who always engages
this way will soon vanquish his sins and be blessed with all qualities.
(44)
He whose wealth consists of
good conduct and gratitude, he who seeks refuge with the learned and acquired all the good qualities, will achieve all the fortune of God. May
the Maintainer of the three worlds as also His
devotees be pleased with the brahmin class, the cows and with me.'
(45) Maitreya said: 'The king speaking thus was
congratulated by all the saintly people: the elderly, the godly
and the twice-born who satisfied and happy minded exclaimed 'sâdhu, sâdhu!' ['well done, well spoken!' They said:] (46) 'The Vedic teaching which says that someone
becomes victorious in all
the worlds through his son has become true now that he [Prithu] in a
grand manner has delivered his most sinful father Vena from the darkness [in which he landed] after being cursed by the brahmins. (47) Also
Hiranyakas'ipu, who because of repeatedly blaspheming the Supreme Lord
entered the darkest regions,
was delivered by the actions of his son Prahlâda. (48)
Best of all warriors, dear
father of the earth whose
devotion unto the Infallible One, the one Maintainer of all the worlds,
is so exemplary, may you life
forever. (49) Today,
oh
Supreme
One
of
Purity,
we
because
of
you
are
under
the rule of the Lord
of Liberation
Mukunda, of Him, Vishnu who appearing in the stories of the scriptures
is glorified as the worshipable Lord of the brahmins. (50)
It is a common thing oh lord, to rule over citizens for one's income.
What is of greatness is
the nature of your affection and mercy for all living beings. (51) Today it
is, because of you, more likely
for
us, who by the will of God are wandering and have lost their goal of
life because of our past deeds, to reach the other side of the darkness
of material existence. (52) Our obeisances to you whom we honor
as a personality moved by the quality of goodness, as someone who by
dint of his personal prowess inspires the brahmin culture and maintains
[the honor of] the ruling class.'
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