The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 3 Pt. 2 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 629 pages of information about The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 3 Pt. 2.

The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 3 Pt. 2 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 629 pages of information about The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 3 Pt. 2.
of the mind is of all restraints the true one; forgiveness consists in enduring enmity; and shame, in withdrawing from all unworthy acts.’  The Yaksha asked,—­’What, O king is said to be knowledge?  What, tranquillity?  What constitutes mercy?  And what hath been called simplicity?’ Yudhishthira answered,—­’True knowledge is that of Divinity.  True tranquillity is that of the heart.  Mercy consists in wishing happiness to all.  And simplicity is equanimity of heart.’  The Yaksha asked,—­’What enemy is invincible?  What constitutes an incurable disease for man?  What sort of a man is called honest and what dishonest?’ Yudhishthira answered,—­’Anger is an invincible enemy.  Covetousness constitutes an incurable disease.  He is honest that desires the weal of all creatures, and he is dishonest who is unmerciful.’  The Yaksha asked,—­’What, O king, is ignorance?  And what is pride?  What also is to be understood by idleness?  And what hath been spoken of as grief?’ Yudhishthira answered,—­’True ignorance consists in not knowing one’s duties.  Pride is a consciousness of one’s being himself an actor or sufferer in life.  Idleness consists in not discharging one’s duties, and ignorance in grief.’  The Yaksha asked,—­’What hath steadiness been said by the Rishis to be?  And what, patience?  What also is a real ablution?  And what is charity?’ Yudhishthira answered,—­’Steadiness consists in one’s staying in one’s own religion, and true patience consists in the subjugation of the senses.  A true bath consists in washing the mind clean of all impurities, and charity consists in protecting all creatures.’  The Yaksha asked,—­’What man should be regarded as learned, and who should be called an atheist?  Who also is to be called ignorant?  What is called desire and what are the sources of desire?  And what is envy?’ Yudhishthira answered,—­’He is to be called learned who knoweth his duties.  An atheist is he who is ignorant and so also he is ignorant who is an atheist.  Desire is due to objects of possession, and envy is nothing else than grief of heart.’  The Yaksha asked,—­’What is pride, and what is hypocrisy?  What is the grace of the gods, and what is wickedness?’ Yudhishthira answered,—­’Stolid ignorance is pride.  The setting up of a religious standard is hypocrisy.  The grace of the gods is the fruit of our gifts, and wickedness consists in speaking ill of others.’  The Yaksha asked,—­’Virtue, profit, and desire are opposed to one another.  How could things thus antagonistic to one another exist together?’ Yudhishthira answered,—­’When a wife and virtue agree with each other, then all the three thou hast mentioned may exist together.’  The Yaksha asked,—­’O bull of the Bharata race, who is he that is condemned to everlasting hell?  It behoveth thee to soon answer the question that I ask!’ Yudhishthira answered,—­’He that summoneth a poor Brahmana promising to make him a gift and then tells him that he hath nothing to give, goeth to everlasting hell.  He also must
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The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 3 Pt. 2 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.