The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 2,393 pages of information about The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2.

The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 2,393 pages of information about The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2.

“Sanat-sujata said, ’O king, the twelve, including anger, as also the thirteen kinds of wickedness, are the faults of asceticism that is stained.  Anger, lust, avarice, ignorance of right and wrong, discontent, cruelty, malice, vanity, grief, love of pleasure, envy, and speaking ill of others, are generally the faults of human beings.  These twelve should always be avoided by men.  Any one amongst these can singly effect the destruction of men, O bull among men.  Indeed, every one of these wait for opportunity in respect of men, like a hunter expectant of opportunities in respect of deer.  Assertion of one’s own superiority, desire of enjoying others’ wives, humiliating others from excess of pride, wrathfulness, fickleness, and refusing to maintain those worthy of being maintained, these six acts of wickedness are always practised by sinful men defying all dangers here and hereafter.  He that regards the gratification of lust to be one of life’s aims, he that is exceedingly proud, he that grieves having given away, he that never spends money, he that persecutes his subjects by exacting hateful taxes, he that delights in the humiliation of others, and he that hates his own wives,—­these seven are others that are also called wicked.  Righteousness, truth (abstention from injury and truthfulness of speech), self-restraint, asceticism, delight in the happiness of others, modesty, forbearance, love of others, sacrifices, gifts, perseverance, knowledge of the scriptures,—­these twelve constitute the practices of Brahmanas.  He that succeeds in acquiring these twelve, becomes competent to sway the entire earth.  He that is endued with three, two, or even one, of these, should be regarded of heavenly prosperity.  Self-restraint, renunciation, and knowledge of Self,—­in these are emancipation.  Those Brahmanas that are endued with wisdom, say, that these are attributes in which truth predominates.  Self-restraint is constituted by eighteen virtues.  Breaches and non-observance of ordained acts and omissions, falsehood, malice, lust, wealth, love of (sensual) pleasure, anger, grief, thirst, avarice, deceit, joy in the misery of others, envy, injuring others, regret, aversion from pious acts, forgetfulness of duty, calumniating others, and vanity-he that is freed from these (eighteen) vices; is said by the righteous to be self-restrained.  The eighteen faults (that have been enumerated) constitute what is called mada or pride.  Renunciation is of six kinds.  The reverse of those six again are faults called mada. (The faults, therefore, that go by the name of mada are eighteen and six).  The six kinds of renunciation are all commendable.  The third only is difficult of practice, but by that all sorrow is overcome.  Indeed, if that kind of renunciation be accomplished in practice, he that accomplishes it overcomes all the pairs of contraries in the world.

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The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.