Mahabharata on Desire

I am a wife devoted to my husband. I have come of my own accord, it is true. But do not, on that account, treat me with disrespect. I am thy wife and, therefore, deserve to be treated respectfully. Wilt thou not treat me so, because I have come hither of my own accord? In the presence of so many, why dost thou treat me like an ordinary woman? I am not certainly crying in the wilderness. Dost thou not hear me? But if thou refuse to do what I supplicate thee for, O Dushmanta, thy head this moment shall burst into a hundred pieces! The husband entering the womb of the wife cometh out himself in the form of the son. Therefore is the wife called by those cognisant of the Vedas as Jaya (she of whom one is born). And the son that is so born unto persons cognisant of the Vedic Mantras rescueth the spirits of deceased ancestors. And because the son rescueth ancestors from the hell call Put, therefore, hath he been called by the Self-create himself as Puttra (the rescuer from Put). By a son one conquereth the three worlds. By a son’s son, one enjoyeth eternity. And by a grandson’s son great-grand-fathers enjoy everlasting happiness. She is a true wife who is skilful in household affairs. She is a true wife who hath borne a son. She is a true wife whose heart is devoted to her lord. She is a true wife who knoweth none but her lord. The wife is a man’s half. The wife is the first of friends. The wife is the root of religion, profit, and desire. The wife is the root of salvation. They that have wives can perform religious acts. They that have wives can lead domestic lives. They that have wives have the means to be cheerful. They that have wives can achieve good fortune. Sweet-speeched wives are friends on occasions of joy. They are as fathers on occasions of religious acts. They are mothers in sickness and woe. Even in the deep woods to a traveller a wife is his refreshment and solace. He that hath a wife is trusted by all. A wife, therefore, is one’s most valuable possession.

“Draupadi said, ‘I shall now indicate to thee, for attracting the heart of thy husbands a way that is free from deceit. By adopting it duly, dear friend, thou will be able to draw away thy lord from other females. In all the worlds, including that of the celestials, there is no god equal, O Satyabhama, unto the husband. When he is gratified with thee, thou mayst have (from thy husband) every object of desire; when he is angry, all these may be lost. It is from her husband that the wife obtaineth offspring and various articles of enjoyment. It is from thy husband that thou mayst have handsome beds and seats, and robes and garlands, and perfumes, and great fame and heaven itself hereafter. One cannot obtain happiness here by means that are easy. Indeed, the woman that is chaste, obtains weal with woe. Always adore Krishna, therefore, with friendship and love physical sufferings. And do thou also act in a way, by offering handsome seats and excellent garlands and various perfumes and prompt service, that he may be devoted to thee, thinking, ‘I am truly loved by her!’ Hearing the voice of thy lord at the gate, rise thou up from thy seat and stay in readiness within the room. And as soon as thou seest him enter thy chamber, worship him by promptly offering him a seat and water to wash his feet. And even when he commands a maidservant to do anything, get thou up and do it thyself. Let Krishna understand this temper of thy mind and know that thou adorest him with all thy heart. And, O Satyabhama, whatever thy lord speaketh before thee, do not blab of it even if it may not deserve concealment,--for if any of thy co-wives were to speak of it unto Vasudeva, he might be irritated with thee. Feed thou by every means in thy power those that are dear and devoted to thy lord and always seek his good. Thou shouldst, however, always keep thyself aloof from those that are hostile to and against thy lord and seek to do him injury, as also from those that are addicted to deceit.

"'Knowing this to be his resolution in consequence of his desire to accomplish his object, a golden altar appeared before the high-souled son of Drona. Upon the altar, O king, appeared a blazing fire, filling all the points of the compass, cardinal and subsidiary, with its splendour. Many mighty beings also, of blazing mouths and eyes, of many feet, heads, and arms, adorned with angadas set with gems, and with uplifted arms, and looking like elephants and mountains, appeared there. Their faces resembled those of hares and boars and camels and horses and jackals and cows and bears and cats and tigers and pards and crows and apes and parrots. And the faces of some were like those of mighty snakes, and others had faces like those of ducks. And all of them were endued with great effulgence. And the faces of some were like those of woodpeckers and jays, O Bharata, and of tortoises and alligators and porpoises and huge sharks and whales, and of lions and cranes and pigeons and elephants and stags. Some had faces like those of ravens and hawks, some had ears on their hands; some had a 1,000 eyes, some had very large stomachs, and some had no flesh, O Bharata! And some, O king, had no heads, and some, O Bharata, had faces like those of bears. The eyes of some were like fire, and some had fiery complexions. The hair on the heads and bodies of some were blazing and some had four arms, and some, O king, had faces like those of sheep and goats. The colour of some was like that of conchs, and some had faces that resembled conchs, and the ears of some were like conchs, some wore garlands made of conchs, and the voices of some resembled the blare of conchs. Some had matted locks on their heads, and some had five tufts of hair, and some had heads that were bald. Some had lean stomachs; some had four teeth, some had four tongues, some had ears straight as arrows and some had diadems on their brows. Some had strings of grass on their bodies, O monarch, and some had curly hair.

"'Bhishma said, "A king should never desire to subjugate the earth by unrighteous means, even if such subjugation would make him the sovereign of the whole earth. What king is there that would rejoice after obtaining victory by unfair means? A victory stained by unrighteousness is uncertain and never leads to heaven. Such a victory, O bull of Bharata's race, weakens both the king and the earth. A warrior whose armour has fallen off, or who begs for quarter, saying, 'I am thine' or joining his hands, or who has laid aside his weapon, may simply be seized but never slain. If a hostile king be vanquished by the troops of the invader, the latter should not himself fight his vanquished foe. On the other hand, he should bring him to his palace and persuade him for a whole year to say, 'I am thy slave!' Whether he says or does not say this, the vanquished foe, by living for a year in the house of his victor, gains a new lease of life.[282] If a king succeeds in bringing by force a maiden from the house of his vanquished foe, he should keep her for a year and ask her whether she would wed him or any one else. If she does not agree, she should then be sent back. He should behave similarly in respect of all other kinds of wealth (such as slaves) that are acquired by force. The king should never appropriate the wealth confiscated from thieves and others awaiting execution. The kine taken from the enemy by force should be given away to the Brahmanas so that they may drink the milk of those animals. The bulls taken from the enemy should be set to agriculture work or returned to the enemy.[283] It is laid down that a king should fight one that is a king. One that is not a king should never strike one that is a king. If a Brahmana, desirous of peace, fearlessly goes between two contending armies, both should immediately abstain from fight. He would break an eternal rule that would slay or wound a Brahmana. If any Kshatriya breaks that rule, he would become a wretch of his order.

The cat is my great foe, but the distress into which he has fallen is very great. Let me try whether I can succeed in making this foolish creature understand his own interests. Having fallen into such distress, he may make peace with me. A person when afflicted by a stronger one should make peace with even an enemy. Professors of the science of policy say that even this should be the conduct of one who having fallen into distress seeks the safety of his life. It is better to have a learned person for an enemy than a fool for a friend. As regards myself, my life now rests entirely in the hands of my enemy the cat. I shall now address the cat on the subject of his own liberation. Perhaps, at this moment, it would not be wrong to take the cat for an intelligent and learned foe.' Even thus did that mouse, surrounded by foes, pursue his reflections. Having reflected in this strain, the mouse, conversant with the science of Profit and well acquainted with occasions when war should be declared and peace made, gently addressed the cat, saying, 'I address thee in friendship, O cat! Art thou alive? I wish thee to live! I desire the good of us both. O amiable one, thou hast no cause for fear. Thou shalt live in happiness. I shall rescue thee, if, indeed, thou dost not slay me. There is an excellent expedient in this case, which suggests itself to me, and by which you may obtain your escape and I may obtain great benefit. By reflecting earnestly I have hit upon that expedient for thy sake and for my sake, for it will benefit both of us. There are the mongoose and the owl, both waiting with evil intent. Only so long, O cat, as they do not attack me, is my life safe. There that wretched owl with restless glances and horrid cries is eyeing me from the branch of that tree. I am exceedingly frightened by it. Friendship, as regards the good, is seven-paced.[409] Possessed of wisdom as thou art, thou art my friend. I shall act towards thee as a friend. Thou needst have no fear now.

Thou knowest it well thyself, O Sakra, that in the great encounter between the gods and the Asuras, the assembled deities were quickly routed by me by the fury of my attack. Mountains with their forests and the denizens that lived in those forests, were repeatedly hurled by us. Many were the mountain summits with craggy edges that I broke on thy head. What, however, can I do now? Time is incapable of being resisted. If it were not so, do not think that I would not have ventured to kill thee with that thunderbolt of thine with even a blow of my fist. The present, however, is not the hour with me for the display of prowess. The hour that hath come is such that I should adopt tranquillity now and tolerate everything. It is for this reason, O Sakra, that I put up with all this insolence of thine. Know, however, that I am less able to bear insolence than even thou. Thou braggest before one who, upon his time having matured, is surrounded on all sides by Time's conflagration and bound strongly in Time's cords. Yonder stands that dark individual who is incapable of being resisted by the world. Of fierce form, he stands there, having bound me like an inferior animal bound with cords. Gain and loss, happiness and misery, lust and wrath, birth and death, captivity and release,--these all one encounters in Time's course. I am not the actor. Thou art not the actor. He is the actor who, indeed, is omnipotent. That Time ripens me (for throwing me down) like a fruit that has appeared on a tree. There are certain acts by doing which one person obtains happiness in Time's course. By doing those very acts another obtains misery in the course of Time. Versed as I am with the virtues of Time, it behoves me not to indulge in grief when it is Time that has assailed me. It is for this reason, O Sakra, that I do not grieve. Grief cannot do us any good. The grief of one that indulges in grief never dispels one's calamity. On the other hand, grief destroys one's power.

"'"'O monarch, I have duly told thee all this that is perfectly true. Candidly have I discoursed to thee on this subject, viz., the Eternal and Stainless and Primeval Brahma. Thou mayst impart this high knowledge, capable of awakening the soul, unto that person, O king, who though not conversant with the Vedas is nevertheless, humble and has a keen desire for acquiring the knowledge of Brahma. It should never be imparted unto one that is wedded to falsehood, or one that is cunning or roguish, or one that is without any strength of mind or one that is of crooked understanding, or one that is jealous of men of knowledge, or one that gives pain to others. Listen to me as I say who they are unto whom this knowledge may safely be communicated. It should be given to one that is endued with faith, or one that is possessed of merit, or one that always abstains from speaking ill of others, or one that is devoted to penances from the purest of motives, or one that is endued with knowledge and wisdom, or one that is conversant of the sacrifices and other rites laid down in the Vedas, or one that is possessed of a forgiving disposition, or one that is inclined to take compassion on and do good to all creatures; or one that is fond of dwelling in privacy and solitude, or one that is fond of discharging all acts laid down in the scriptures, or one that is averse to quarrels and disputes, or one that is possessed of great learning or one endued with wisdom or one possessed of forgiveness and self-restraint and tranquillity of soul. This high knowledge of Brahma should never be communicated to one that is not possessed of such qualifications. It has been said that by imparting this knowledge to one that cannot be regarded as fit receptacle for holding it no advantage or good fruit can arise. Unto one that is not observant of any vows and restraints, this high knowledge should never be communicated even if he gives in exchange the whole Earth full of gems and wealth of every kind.

Though the hand and pot, the pot and milk, and the milk and the fly, exist together, yet are they all distinct from each other. The pot does not partake the nature of the milk. Nor does the milk partake the nature of the fly. The condition of each is dependent on itself, and can never be altered by the condition of that other with which it may temporarily exist. After this manner, colour and practices, though they may exist together with and in a person that is emancipate, do not really attach to him. How then can an intermingling of orders be possible in consequence of this union of myself with thee? Then, again, I am not superior to thee in colour. Nor am I a Vaisya, nor a Sudra. I am, O king, of the same order with thee, born of a pure race. There was a royal sage of the name of Pradhana. It is evident that thou hast heard of him. I am born in his race, and my name is Sulabha. In the sacrifices performed by my ancestors, the foremost of the gods, viz., Indra, used to come, accompanied by Drona and Satasringa, and Chakradwara (and other presiding geniuses of the great mountains). Born in such a race, it was found that no husband could be obtained for me that would be fit for me. Instructed then in the religion of Emancipation, I wander over the Earth alone, observant of the practices of asceticism. I practise no hypocrisy in the matter of the life of Renunciation. I am not a thief that appropriates what belongs to others. I am not a confuser of the practices belonging to the different orders. I am firm in the practices that belong to that mode of life to which I properly belong. I am firm and steady in my vows. I never utter any word without reflecting on its propriety. I did not come to thee, without having deliberated properly, O monarch! Having heard that thy understanding has been purified by the religion of Emancipation, I came here from desire of some benefit. Indeed, it was for enquiring of thee about Emancipation that I had come.

He, however, who though possessed of objects of enjoyment casts them off and engages himself in the practice of penances, succeeds in acquiring everything. The fruits of the penances of such a man are, I think, much higher. Mothers and sires and sons and spouses, by hundreds and thousands, every one had and will have in this world. Who, however, were they and whose are we? I am quite alone. I have no one whom I may call mine. Nor do I belong to any one else. I do not see that person whose I am, nor do I see him whom I may call mine. They have nothing to do with thee. Thou hast nothing to do with them.[1733] All creatures take birth agreeably to their acts of past lives. Thou also shalt have to go hence (for taking birth in a new order) determined by thy own acts. In this world it is seen that the friends and followers of only those that are rich behave towards the rich with devotion. The friends and followers of those, however, that are poor fall away during even the life-time of the poor. Man commits numerous evil acts for the sake of his wife (and children). From those evil acts he derives much distress both here and hereafter. The wise man beholds the world of life devastated by the acts performed by every living being. Do thou, therefore, O son, act according to all the instructions I have given thee! The man possessed of true vision, beholding this world to be only a field of action, should, from desire of felicity in the next world, do acts that are good. Time, exerting his irresistible strength, cooks all creatures (in his own cauldron), with the aid of his ladle constituted by months and seasons, the sun for his fire, and days and nights for his fuel, days and nights, that is that are the witnesses of the fruits of every act done by every creature. For what purpose is that wealth which is not given away and which is not enjoyed? For what purpose is that strength which is not employed in resisting or subjugating one's foes?

Beg of me whatever boon thou desirest,"--Hearing these words of Sakra I did not become glad. Verily, O Krishna, I answered the chief of the celestials in these words.--"I do not desire any boon at thy hands, or from the hands of any other deity. O amiable deity, I tell thee truly, that it is Mahadeva only from whom I have boons to ask. True, true it is, O Sakra, true are these words that I say unto thee. No other words are at all agreeable to me save those which relate to Maheswara. At the command of Pashupati, that Lord of all creatures, I am ready to become a worm or a tree with many branches. If not obtained through the grace represented by Mahadeva's boons, the very sovereignty of the three worlds would not be acceptable to me. Let me be born among the very Chandalas but let me still be devoted to the feet of Hara. Without, again, being devoted to that Lord of all creatures, I would not like to have birth in the palace of Indra himself. If a person be wanting in devotion to that Lord of the universe,--that Master of the deities and the Asuras,--his misery will not end even if from want of food he has to subsist upon only air and water.[47] What is the need of other discourses that are even fraught with other kinds of morality and righteousness, unto those persons who do not like to live even a moment without thinking of feet of Mahadeva? When the unrighteous or sinful Kali Yuga comes, one should never pass a moment without devoting his heart upon Mahadeva. One that has drunk the Amrita constituted by the devotion to Hara, one becomes freed from the fear of the world. One that has not obtained the grace of Mahadeva can never succeed to devote oneself to Mahadeva for a single day or for half a day or for a Muhurta or for a Kshana or for a Lava (very small unit of time). At the command of Mahadeva I shall cheerfully become a worm or an insect, but I have no relish for even the sovereignty of the three worlds, if bestowed by thee, O Sakra.

Thou art the two dots i.e., Visarga (in the Sanskrit alphabet which indicate the sound of the aspirated H). Thou art possessed of an excellent face. Thou art the shaft that is shot by the warrior for encompassing the destruction of his foe. Thou art all the weapons that are used by warriors. Thou art endued with patience capable of bearing all things. Thou art he whose knowledge has arisen from the cessation of all physical and mental functions.[168] Thou art he who has become displayed as Truth in consequence of the cessation of all other faculties. Thou art that note which, arising from the region called Gandhara, is exceedingly sweet to the ear. Thou art he who is armed with the mighty bow (called Pinaka). Thou art he who is the understanding and the desires that exist in all creatures, besides being the supreme upholder of all beings. Thou art he from whom all acts flow. Thou art that wind which rises at the time of the universal dissolution and which is capable of churning the entire universe even as the staff in the hands of the dairy-maid churns the milk in the milkpot. Thou art he that is full. Thou art he that sees all things. Thou art the sound that arises from slapping one palm against another. Thou art he the palm of whose hand serves as the dish or plate whence to take his food. Thou art he who is possessed of an adamantine body. Thou art exceedingly great. Thou art of the form of an umbrella. Thou art he who has an excellent umbrella. Thou art well-known to be identical with all creatures. Thou art he who having put forth three feet covered all the universe with two and wanted space for the remaining one. Thou art he whose head is bald. Thou art he whose form is exceedingly ugly and fierce. Thou art he who has undergone infinite modifications and become all things in the universe. Thou art he who bears the well-known badge of Sanyasa, viz., the stick. Thou art he who has a Kunda. Thou art he who is incapable of being attained to by means of acts.

Know, O best of regenerate person, that Dharma is my eldest-born offspring, sprung from my mind, O learned Brahmana, whose essence is compassion for all creatures. Constantly transforming myself, I take birth in diverse wombs, O best of men, for upholding that son of mine, with the aid of men now existing in or departed from the world. Indeed, I do this for protecting Righteousness and for establishing it. In those forms that I assume for the purpose, I am known, O son of Bhrigu's race, in the three worlds as Vishnu and Brahman and Sakra. I am the origin and I am the destruction of all things. I am the creator of all existent objects and I am their destroyer. Knowing no change myself, I am the destroyer of all those creatures that live in sinfulness. In every Yuga I have to repair the causeway of Righteousness, entering into diverse kinds of wombs from desire of doing good to my creatures. When, O son of Bhrigu's race, I live in the order of the deities, I then verily act in every respect as a deity. When I live in the order of the Gandharvas, I then, O son of Bhrigu's race, act in every respect as a Gandharva. When I live in the order of the Nagas, I then act as a Naga, and when I live in the order of Yakshas or that of Rakshasas, I act after the manner of that order. Born now in the order of humanity, I must act as a human being. I appealed to them (the Kauravas) most piteously. But stupefied as they were and deprived of their senses, they refused to accept my words. I frightened them, filled with wrath, referring to some great fear (as the consequence of their slighting my message). But once more I showed themselves my usual (human) form. Possessed as they were of unrighteousness, and assailed by the virtue of Time, all of them have been righteously slain in battle, and have, without doubt, gone to Heaven. The Pandavas also, O best of Brahmanas, have acquired great fame. I have thus told thee all that thou hadst asked me."'"

Upon the exhaustion of his great demerit in this way, he succeeds in regaining his status of humanity. That man who harbours malice towards others has, after death, to take birth as a Sarngaka. That man of wicked understanding who becomes guilty of breach of trust has to take birth as a fish. Living as a fish for eight years, he takes birth, O Bharata, as a deer. Living as a deer for four months, he has next to take birth as a goat. After the expiration of a full year he casts off his goatish body, he takes birth then as a worm. After that he succeeds in regaining his status of humanity. That shameless insensate man who, through stupefaction, steals paddy, barley, sesame, Masha, Kulattha, oil-seeds, oats, Kalaya, Mudga, wheat, Atasi, and other kinds of corn, has to take birth as a mouse[511]. After leading the life for some time he has to take birth as a hog. As soon as he takes birth as a hog he has to die of disease. In consequence of his sin, that foolish man has next to take birth as a dog, O king. Living as a dog for five years, he then regains his status of humanity. Having committed an act of adultery with the spouse of another man, one has to take birth as a wolf. After that he has to assume the forms of a dog and jackal and vulture. He has next to take birth as a snake and then as a Kanka and then as a crane.[512] That man of sinful soul who, stupefied by folly, commits an act of sexual congress with the spouse of a brother, has to take birth as a male Kokila and to live in that form for a whole year, O king. He who, through lust, commits an act of sexual congress with the wife of a friend, or the wife of preceptor, or the wife of his king, has, after death, to take the form of a hog. He has to live in his porcine form for five years and then to assume that of a wolf for ten years. For the next five years he has to assume that of a wolf for ten years. For the next five years he has to live as a cat and then for the next ten years as a cock.

“Yudhishthira asked, ‘O snake, tell me truly and without confusion how that dissociated spirit becomes cognisant of sound, touch, form, flavour, and taste. O great-minded one, dost thou not perceive them, simultaneously by the senses? Do thou, O best of snakes, answer all these queries!’ The snake replied, ‘O long-lived one, the thing called Atman (spirit), betaking itself to corporeal tenement and manifesting itself through the organs of sense, becomes duly cognisant of perceptible objects. O prince of Bharata’s race, know that the senses, the mind, and the intellect, assisting the soul in its perception of objects, are called Karanas. O my son, the eternal spirit, going out of its sphere, and aided by the mind, acting through the senses, the receptacles of all perceptions, successively perceives these things (sound, form, flavour, &c). O most valiant of men, the mind of living creatures is the cause of all perception, and, therefore, it cannot be cognisant of more than one thing at a time. That spirit, O foremost of men, betaking itself to the space between the eyebrows, sends the high and low intellect to different objects. What the Yogins perceive after the action of the intelligent principle by that is manifested the action of the soul.’

The tongue, loving delicacies, attracteth men towards them. Life is sustained by food. The mind, moreover, is fickle, and it is hard to keep it in subjection. The concentration of the mind and of the senses surely constitutes ascetic austerities. It must be hard to renounce in a pure spirit a thing earned by pains. Yet, O pious one, all this hath been duly achieved by thee. In thy company we feel obliged and gratified. Self-restraint, fortitude, justice, control of the senses and of faculties, mercy, and virtue, all these are established in thee. Thou hast by the deeds conquered the different worlds and have thereby obtained admission into paths of beautitude. Ah! even the dwellers of heaven are proclaiming thy mighty deeds of charity. O thou observant of vows, thou shalt go to heaven even in thine own body.

"'"Bhrigu said, 'Without doubt, though possessed of density, trees have space within them. The putting forth of flowers and fruits is always taking place in them. They have heat within them in consequence of which leaf, bark, fruit, and flower, are seen to droop. They sicken and dry up. That shows they have perception of touch. Through sound of wind and fire and thunder, their fruits and flowers drop down. Sound is perceived through the ear. Trees have, therefore, ears and do hear. A creeper winds round a tree and goes about all its sides. A blind thing cannot find its way. For this reason it is evident that trees have vision. Then again trees recover vigour and put forth flowers in consequence of odours, good and bad, of the sacred perfume of diverse kinds of dhupas. It is plain that trees have scent.[555] They drink water by their roots. They catch diseases of diverse kinds. Those diseases again are cured by different operations. From this it is evident that trees have perceptions of taste. As one can suck up water through a bent lotus-stalk, trees also, with the aid of the wind, drink through their roots. They are susceptible of pleasure and pain, and grow when cut or lopped off. From these circumstances I see that trees have life. They are not inanimate. Fire and wind cause the water thus sucked up to be digested. According, again, to the quantity of the water taken up, the tree advances in growth and becomes humid. In the bodies of all mobile things the five elements occur. In each the proportions are different. It is in consequence of these five elements that mobile objects can move their bodies. Skin, flesh, bones, marrow, and arteries and veins, that exist together in the body are made of earth. Energy, wrath, eyes, internal heat, and that other heat which digest the food that is taken, these five, constitute the fire that occurs in all embodied creatures.

[556] The ears, nostrils, mouth, heart, and stomach, these five, constitute the element of space that occurs in the bodies of living creatures. Phlegm, bile, sweat, fat, blood, are the five kinds of water that occur in mobile bodies. Through the breath called Prana a living creature is enabled to move. Through that called Vyana, they put forth strength for action. That called Apana moves downwards. That called Samana resides within the heart. Through that called Udana one eructates and is enabled to speak in consequence of its piercing through (the lungs, the throat, and the mouth). These are the five kinds of wind that cause an embodied creature to live and move. The properties of scent an embodied creature knows through the earth-element in him. From the water-element he perceives taste. From the fire-element represented by the eyes, he perceives forms, and from the wind-element he obtains the perception of touch. Scent, touch, taste, vision, and sound, are regarded as the (general) properties of every mobile and immobile object. I shall first speak of the several kinds of scent. They are agreeable, disagreeable, sweet, pungent, far-going, varied, dry, indifferent. All these nine kinds of scent are founded upon the earth-element. Light is seen by the eyes and touch through the wind-element. Sound, touch, vision and taste are the properties of water. I shall speak (in detail) now of the perception of taste. Listen to me. High-souled Rishis have spoken of diverse kinds of taste. They are sweet, saltish, bitter, astringent, sour, and pungent. These are the six kinds of taste appertaining to the water-element. Light contributes to the vision of form. Form is of diverse kinds. Short, tall, thick, four-cornered, round, white, black, red, blue, yellow, reddish, hard, bright, smooth, oily, soft, and terrible. These are the sixteen different kinds of form which constitute the property of light or vision. The property of the wind-element is touch.

"'Bhishma said, "This Adhyatma, O son of Pritha, that thou askest me about, I will presently discourse upon. It is highly agreeable and productive of great felicity. Great teachers have (before this) shown the truths about Creation and the Destruction (of the universe). Knowing those truths, a person may obtain, even in this world, great satisfaction and felicity. Such knowledge may lead also to the acquisition of great fruits, and it is highly beneficial to all creatures. Earth, air, space, water, and light numbered as the fifth, are regarded as Great Creatures. These constitute both the origin and the destruction of all created objects. Unto him from whom these great primal elements take their origin, they return repeatedly, severing themselves from all creatures (into whose compositions they enter), even like the waves of the ocean (subsiding into that from which they seem to take their rise). As the tortoise stretches its limbs and withdraws them again, even so the Supreme Soul creates all objects and again withdraws into Himself. The Creator places the five primal elements in all created objects in different proportions. The living creature, however, does not see it (through ignorance). Sound, the organs of hearing, and all holes,--these three,--spring from Space as their progenitor. Touch, action, and skin are the triple attributes of the Wind. Form, eye, and digestion are the triple attributes of Fire or Energy. Taste, all liquid secretions, and the tongue represent the three attributes of Water. Scents, the nose, and the body are the triple properties of Earth. The great (primal) elements are five. The mind is the sixth. The senses and the mind, O Bharata, are (the sources of all) the perceptions of a living creature.[602] The seventh is called the understanding; and the eighth is the soul.[603] The senses are for perceiving; the mind (unable to deal with those perceptions) produces uncertainty. The understanding reduces all perceptions to certainty.

It is the embodied creature that enjoys those fruits.[658] All excellent kinds of sound, form, taste, touch, and scent, are the fruits of acts, being attainable in the region of acts (i.e., heaven). As regards, however, the fruits of knowledge, man acquires them even here before death.[659] Whatever acts are accomplished by means of the body, one enjoys the fruits thereof in a state of physical existence. The body is, indeed, the framework to which happiness inheres, as also the framework to which misery inheres.[660] Whatever acts are accomplished by means of words, their fruits are to be enjoyed in a state in which words can be spoken. Similarly, whatever acts are accomplished by the mind, their fruits are enjoyed in a state in which one is not freed from the mind.[661] Devoted to the fruits of acts, whatever kind of acts (Sattwika or Rajasika or Tamasika) a person covetous of fruits accomplishes, the fruits, good or bad, that he actually enjoys partake of their character. Like fishes going against a current of water, the acts of a past life come to the actor. The embodied creature experiences happiness for his good acts, and misery for his evil ones. Him from whom this universe hath sprung, Him by knowing whom persons of cleansed souls transgress this world, Him who has not been expressed by Vedic mantras and words, I will now indicate. Listen to me as I speak of that highest of the high. Himself liberated from the several kinds of taste and scent, and sound and touch and form, He is incapable of being grasped by the senses, unmanifest, without colour, the One, and He has created the five kinds of objects[662] for His creatures. He is neither female, nor male, nor of the neuter sex. He is neither existent, nor non-existent, nor existent-nonexistent.[663] Only those that are acquainted with Brahma behold Him. He knoweth no direction.'"'"

, the senses), the Soul accomplishes no act. The senses do not approach the Soul. The Soul, however, apprehends them all. As anything, placed in a blazing fire before a spectator, assumes a certain colour in consequence of the light and heat that operates upon it, without taking any other hue or attribute, even so the Soul's form is seen to take its colour from the body. After the same manner, man, casting off one body, enters another, unseen by all. Indeed, casting off his body to the (five) great primal elements, he assumes a form that is similarly made of the same (five) elements. The embodied creature (upon the destruction of his body) enters space, wind, fire, water, and earth in such a way that each particular element in his body mingles with the particular element (out of his body) with whose nature it is consonant. The senses also, which are engaged in diverse occupations and dependent on the five elements (for the exercise of their functions), enter these five elements that call forth their functions. The ear derives its capacity from space; and the sense of scent from the earth. Form, which is the property of the eye, is the consequence of light or fire. Fire or heat has been said to be the dependent cause of water. The tongue which has for its property taste becomes merged into water. The skin which has touch for its property becomes lost in the wind whose nature it partakes. The fivefold attributes, (viz., sound, etc.) dwell in the (five) great creatures (viz., the five primal elements). Those fivefold objects of the senses (viz., space, etc.) dwell in the (five) senses. All these again (viz., the fivefold attributes, the fivefold elements, and the five senses) follow the lead of the mind. The mind follows the lead of the Understanding, and the Understanding follows the lead of That which exists in its true and undefiled nature (viz., the Supreme Soul).

"'"Manu said, 'The mind united with the senses, recollects after a long time the impressions of the objects received in the past. When the senses are all suspended (in respect of their functions),[675] the Supreme (the Soul), in the form of the Understanding, exists in its own true nature. When the Soul (at such a time) does not in the least regard all those objects of the senses in respect of their simultaneity or the reverse in point of time but mustering them from all directions holds them before it together, it necessarily happens that he wanders among all things that are incongruous. He is, therefore, the (silent) Witness. Hence the Soul encased in body is something having a distinct and independent existence.[676] There is Rajas, there is Tamas, and there is Sattwa, the third. There are again three states of the understanding, viz., waking, dreaming, and sound sleep. The Soul has knowledge of the pleasures and pains, which are all contradictory, of those states, and which partake of the nature of the threefold attributes first mentioned.[677] The Soul enters the senses like the wind entering the fire in a piece of wood.[678] One cannot behold the form of the Soul by one's eye, nor can the sense of touch, amongst the senses, apprehend it. The Soul is not, again, an object of apprehension by the ear. It may, however, be seen by the aid of the Srutis and the instructions of the wise. As regards the senses, that particular sense which apprehends it loses upon such apprehension its existence as a sense.[679] The senses cannot themselves apprehend their respective forms by themselves. The Soul is omniscient (inasmuch as it apprehends both the knower and the known). It beholds all things. Being omniscient, it is the Soul that beholds the senses (without, as already said, the senses being able to apprehend it). Nobody has seen the other side of the Himavat mountains, nor the reverse of the moon's disc. Yet it cannot be said that these do not exist.

All objects that the mind apprehends through the senses are capable of being withdrawn into the mind; the mind can be withdrawn into the understanding; the Understanding can be withdrawn into the Soul, and the Soul into the Supreme.[690] The senses cannot contribute to the success of the mind. The mind cannot apprehend the Understanding. The Understanding cannot apprehend the manifested Soul. The Soul, however, which is subtile, beholds those all.'"'"

"'Bhishma continued, "Beholding the king enveloped in thick darkness, stupefied by error, and become helpless, the learned Panchasikha tranquillised him by once more addressing him in the following words, 'In this (Emancipation) the consummation is not Extinction. Nor is that consummation any kind of Existence (that one can readily conceive). This that we see is a union of body, senses, and mind. Existing independently as also controlling one another, these go on acting. The materials that constitute the body are water, space, wind, heat, and earth. These exist together (forming the body) according to their own nature. They disunite again according to their own nature. Space and wind and heat and water and earth,--these five objects in a state of union constitute the body. The body is not one element. Intelligence, stomachic heat, and the vital breaths, called Prana, etc., that are all wind,--these three are said to be organs of action. The senses, the objects of the senses (viz., sound, form, etc.), the power (dwelling in those objects) in consequence of which they become capable of being perceived, the faculties (dwelling in the senses) in consequence of which they succeed in perceiving them, the mind, the vital breaths called Prana, Apana and the rest, and the various juices and humours that are the results of the digestive organs, flow from the three organs already named.[814] Hearing, touch, taste, vision, and scent,--these are the five senses. They have derived their attributes from the mind which, indeed, is their cause. The mind, existing as an attribute of Chit has three states, viz., pleasure, pain, and absence of both pleasure and pain. Sound, touch, form, taste, scent, and the objects to which they inhere,--these till the moment of one's death are causes for the production of one's knowledge.

"'"Vyasa said, 'No man ever attains to success by means other than the acquisition of knowledge, the practice of penances, the subjugation of the senses, and renunciation of everything.[950] The great entities (five in number) represent the first (or initial) creation of the Self-born. They have been very largely placed in embodied creatures included in the world of life.[951] The bodies of all embodied creatures are derived from earth. The humours are from water. Their eyes are said to be derived from light. Prana, Apana (and the three other vital breaths) have the wind for their refuge. And, lastly, all unoccupied apertures within them (such as the nostrils, the cavities of the ear, etc.) are of Space. In the feet (of living creatures) is Vishnu. In their arms is Indra. Within the stomach is Agni desirous of eating. In the ears are the points of the horizon (or the compass) representing the sense of hearing. In the tongue is speech which is Saraswati.[952] The ears, skin, eyes, tongue and nose forming the fifth, are said to be the sense of knowledge. These exist for the purposes of apprehension of their respective objects. Sound, touch, form, taste and scent forming the fifth, are the objects of the (five) senses. These should always be regarded as separate from (or independent of) the senses. Like the charioteer setting his well-broken steeds along the paths he pleases, the mind sets the senses (along directions it pleases). The mind, in its turn, is employed by the knowledge sitting in the heart.[953] The mind is the lord of all these senses in respect of employing them in their functions and guiding or restraining them. Similarly, the knowledge is the lord of the mind (in employing, and guiding or restraining it).[954] The senses, the objects of the senses, the attributes of those objects represented by the word nature, knowledge, mind, the vital breaths, and Jiva dwell in the bodies of all embodied creatures.

"'"Vyasa said, 'I shall explain thee this duly one after another. Listen with concentrated attention to the subject as I expound how what I have said actually happens. Sound, the sense of hearing, and all the cavities within the body,--these three--have space for their origin. The vital breaths, the action of the limbs and touch form the attributes of the wind. Form, eyes, and the digestive fire within the stomach, are originated by light. Taste, tongue, and all the humours,--these three,--are from water. Scent, nose, and the body,--these three,--are the attributes of earth. These, then, as I have expounded to thee, are the transformations of the five (great) entities with senses. Touch is said to be the attribute of the wind; taste of water; form of light. Sound is said to have its origin in space, and scent is said to be the property of earth. Mind, Understanding, and Nature,--these three,--spring from their own previous states, and attaining (at each rebirth) to a position higher than the attributes (which form their respective objects), do not transcend those attributes.[1043] As the tortoise stretches out its limbs and withdraws them once again within itself, even so the Understanding creates the senses and once again withdraws them into itself.[1044] The consciousness of personal identity that arises in respect of that which is above the soles of the feet and below the crown of the head, is principally due to the action of the Understanding.[1045] It is the understanding that is transformed into the (five) attributes (of form, scent, etc.) It is understanding also that is transformed into the (five) senses with the mind for the sixth. When the Understanding is absent, where are the attributes?[1046] In man there are five senses. The mind is called the sixth (sense). The Understanding is called the seventh. The Soul is the eighth. The eyes (and the other senses) are for only receiving impressions of form (and scent, etc.)

"'"Vyasa said, 'Unto a disciple that wishes to enquire after Emancipation after having transcended all pairs of opposites and accomplished the concerns of both profit and religion, an accomplished preceptor should first recount all that has been said in the foregoing section, which is elaborate, on the topic of Adhyatma.[1081] Space, wind, light, water and earth counted as the fifth, and bhava and abhava and time, exist in all living creatures having the five for their constituent ingredients.[1082] Space is unoccupied interval. The organs of hearing consist of space. One conversant with the science of entities endued with form should know that space has sound for its attribute. The feet (that assist at locomotion) have wind for their essence. The vital breaths are made of wind. The sense of touch (skin) has wind for its essence, and touch is the attribute of wind. Heat, the digestive fire in the stomach, light that discovers all things, the warmth that is in the body, and eye counted as the fifth, are all of light which has form of diverse colours for its attribute. Liquefied discharges, solubility, and all kinds of liquid matter are of water. Blood, marrow, and all else (in the body) that is cool, should be known to have water for their essence. The tongue is the sense of taste, and taste is regarded as the attribute of water. All solid substances are of earth, as also bones, teeth, nails, beard, the bristles on the body, hair, nerves, sinews, and skin. The nose is called the sense of scent. The object of that sense, viz., scent, should be known as the attribute of earth. Each subsequent element possesses the attribute or attributes of the preceding one besides its own. [1083] In all living creatures again are the (three) supplementary entities (viz., avidya, kama, and karma).[1084] The Rishis thus declared the five elements and the effects and attributes flowing from or belonging to them.

"'Yudhishthira said, "How can the understanding be said to have five properties? How again, can the five senses be spoken of as properties (of the five elementary entities)? Expound to me, O grandsire, all this that seems to be very abstruse."

Comprehending with the aid of knowledge that all objects exist with faults, indeed, understanding that the objects--so difficult to cast off--with which human beings and Pisachas and Rakshasas and Yakshas and snakes and Gandharvas and pitris and those that are wandering in the intermediate orders of beings (such as birds and animals) and great birds (such as Garuda and others) and the Maruts and royal sages and regenerate sages and Asuras and Viswedevas and the celestial Rishis and Yogins invested with supreme puissance and the Prajapatis and Brahman himself are engaged, and understanding truly what the highest limit is of one's period of existence in this world, and apprehending also the great truth, O foremost of eloquent men, about what is called felicity here, having a clear knowledge of what the sorrows are that overtake when the hour comes all those that are concerned with (transitory) objects and knowing full well the sorrows of those that have fallen into the intermediate orders of being and of those that have sunk into hell, perceiving all the merits and all the faults of heaven, O Bharta, and all the demerits that attach to the declarations of the Vedas and all the excellencies that are connected with them recognising the faults and merits of the Yoga and the Sankhya systems of philosophy, realizing also that the quality of Sattwa has ten properties, that of Rajas has nine, and that of Tamas has eight, that the Understanding has seven properties, the Mind has six, and Space has five, and once more conceiving that the Understanding has four properties and Tamas has three, and the Rajas has two and Sattwa has one, and truly apprehending the path that is followed by all objects when destruction overtakes them and what the course is of self knowledge, the Sankhyas, possessed of knowledge and experience and exalted by their perceptions of causes, and acquiring thorough auspiciousness, attain to the felicity of Emancipation like the rays of the Sun, or the Wind

[1585] Vision is attached to form, the sense of scent to smell, the ear to sound, the tongue to juices, and the skin (or body) to touch. The wind has for its refuge Space. Stupefaction has Tamas (Darkness) for its refuge. Cupidity has the objects of the senses for its refuge. Vishnu is attached to (the organs of) motion. Sakra is attached to (the organs of) strength. The deity of fire is attached to the stomach, Earth is attached to the Waters. The Waters have Heat (or fire) for their refuge. Heat attaches itself to the Wind; and the wind has Space for its refuge; and Space has Mahat for its refuge, and Mahat has the Understanding for its foundation. The Understanding has its refuge in Tamas; Tamas has Rajas for its refuge; Rajas is founded upon Sattwa; and Sattwa is attached to the Soul. The soul has the glorious and puissant Narayana for its refuge. That glorious deity has Emancipation for his refuge. Emancipation is independent of all refuge. Knowing that this body, that is endued with six and ten possessions, is the result of the quality of Sattwa, understanding fully the nature of the physical organism and the character of the Chetana that dwells within it, recognising the one existent Being that lives in the body viz., the Soul, which stands aloof from every concern of the body and in which no sin can attach, realising the nature of that second object, viz., the acts of persons attached to the objects of the senses, understanding also the character of the senses and the sensual objects which have their refuge in the Soul, appreciating the difficulty of Emancipation and the scriptures that bear upon it knowing fully the nature of the vital breaths called Prana, Apana, Samana, Vyana, and Udana, as also the two other breaths, viz.

It behoveth thee, therefore, O king, to hear with concentrated attention these words of mine, fraught with meaning and endued with wealth of vocables. Thou hast asked me who I am, whose I am, whence I am coming, etc. Listen to me, O king, with undivided mind, as I answer these questions of thine. As lac and wood, as grains of dust and drops of water, exist commingled when brought together, even so are the existences of all creatures.[1696] Sound, touch, taste, form, and scent, these and the senses, though diverse in respect of their essences, exist yet in a state of commingling like lac and wood. It is again well known that nobody asks any of these, saying, who art thou? Each of them also has no knowledge either of itself or of the others. The eye cannot see itself. The ear cannot hear itself. The eye, again, cannot discharge the functions of any of the other senses, nor can any of the senses discharge the functions of any sense save its own. If all of them even combine together, even they fail to know their own selves as dust and water mingled together cannot know each other though existing in a state of union. In order to discharge their respective functions, they await the contact of objects that are external to them. The eye, form, and light, constitute the three requisites of the operation called seeing. The same, as in this case, happens in respect of the operations of the other senses and the ideas which is their result. Then, again, between the functions of the senses (called vision, hearing, etc.,) and the ideas which are their result (viz., form, sound, etc.), the mind is an entity other than the senses and is regarded to have an action of its own. With its help one distinguishes what is existent from what is non-existent for arriving at certainty (in the matter of all ideas derived from the senses). With the five senses of knowledge and five senses of action, the mind makes a total of eleven. The twelfth is the Understanding.

"'"The Brahmana said, 'Not knowing the qualities (of any object) is ignorance (of that object); while knowledge of the qualities is (called) knowledge (of the object which possesses those qualities). These seven never succeed in apprehending or knowing the qualities of one another. The tongue, the eye, the ear too, the skin, the mind, and the understanding, do not succeed in apprehending smells. It is the nose alone that apprehends them. The nose, the tongue, the ear also, the skin, the mind, and the understanding, never succeed in apprehending colours. It is the eye alone that apprehends them. The nose, the tongue, the eye too, the ear, the understanding, and the mind, never succeed in apprehending sensations of touch. It is the skin alone that apprehends them. The nose, the tongue, the eye, the skin, the mind, and the understanding, never succeed in apprehending sounds. It is the ear alone that apprehends them. The nose, the tongue, the eye, the skin, the ear, and the understanding never succeed in apprehending doubt. It is the mind that apprehends it. The nose, the tongue, the eye, the skin, the ear, and the mind, never succeed in apprehending determination (certainty in respect of knowledge). It is the understanding alone that apprehends it. In this connection, is cited, O beautiful lady, this ancient narrative of a discourse between the senses and the mind.'

And of the great elements respectively, the objects of sense are said to be the developments. The unmanifest is of the nature of seed. It is productive in its essence. It has been heard by us that the great soul has the virtues of a seed, and that is a product. Egoism is of the nature of seed and is a product again and again. And the five great elements are of the nature of seed and products. The objects of the five great elements are endued with the nature of seed, and yield products. These have Chitta for their property. Among them, space has one quality; wind is said to have two. Light, it is said, is endued with three qualities; and water as possessed of four qualities. Earth, teeming with mobiles and immobiles, should be known as possessed of five qualities. She is a goddess that is the source of all entities and abounds with examples of the agreeable and the disagreeable. Sound, likewise touch, colour, taste, and smell numbering the fifth,--these are the five qualities of earth, ye foremost of regenerate persons. Smell always belongs to earth, and smell is said to be of various kinds. I shall state at length the numerous qualities of smell. Smell is agreeable or disagreeable, sweet, sour, pungent, diffusive and compact, oily and dry, and clear. Thus smell, which belongs to the earth, should be known as of ten kinds.[154] Sound, touch, likewise colour, and taste have been said to be the qualities of water. I shall now speak of the qualities of taste. Taste has been said to be of various kinds. Sweet, sour, pungent, bitter, astringent, and saline likewise. Taste, which has been said to appertain to water, is thus of six varieties. Sound, touch, and likewise colour,--these are the three qualities which light is said to be possessed of. Colour is the quality of light, and colour is said to be of various kinds.