“’As the messenger of the gods was speaking thus, the sage told him, “O divine messenger, I desire that thou mayst describe unto me the attributes of those that reside there.  What are their austerities, and what their purposes?  And, O messenger of the gods, what constitutes happiness in heaven, and what are the disadvantages thereof?  It is declared by virtuous men of good lineage that friendship with pious people is contracted by only walking with them seven paces.  O lord, in the name of that friendship I ask thee, Do thou without hesitation tell me the truth, and that which is good for me now.  Having heard thee, I shall, according to thy words, ascertain the course I ought to follow."’”

SECTION CCLIX

“’The messenger of the gods said, “O great sage, thou art of simple understanding; since, having secured that celestial bliss which bringeth great honour, thou art still deliberating like an unwise person.  O Muni, that region which is known as heaven, existeth there above us.  Those regions tower high, and are furnished with excellent paths, and are, O sage, always ranged by celestial cars.  Atheists, and untruthful persons, those that have not practised ascetic austerities and those that have not performed great sacrifices, cannot repair thither.  Only men of virtuous souls, and those of subdued spirits, and those that have their faculties in subjection, and those that have controlled their senses, and those that are free from malice, and persons intent on the practice of charity; and heroes, and men bearing marks of battle, after having, with subdued senses and faculties, performed the most meritorious rites, attain those regions, O Brahmana, capable of being obtained only by virtuous acts, and inhabited by pious men.  There, O Mudgala, are established separately myriads of beautiful, shining, and resplendent worlds bestowing every object of desire, owned by those celestial beings, the gods, the Sadhyas, and the Vaiswas, the great sages, Yamas, and the Dharmas, and the Gandharvas and the Apsaras.  And there is that monarch of mountains the golden Meru extending over a space of thirty-three thousand Yojanas.  And there, O Mudgala, are the sacred gardens of the celestials, with Nandana at their head, where sport the persons of meritorious acts.  And neither hunger, nor thirst, nor lassitude, nor fear, nor anything that is disgusting or inauspicious is there.  And all the odours of that place are delightful, and all the breezes delicious to the touch.  And all the sounds there are captivating, O sage, to the ear and the heart.  And neither grief, nor decrepitude, nor labour, nor repentance also is there.  That world, O Muni, obtained as the fruit of one’s own acts, is of this nature.  Persons repair thither by virtue of their meritorious deeds.  And the persons of those that dwell there look resplendent, and this, O Mudgala, solely by virtue of their own