by Bibek Debroy
‘“Namuchi replied, ‘Nothing changes because of sorrow. The body alone is afflicted and enemies are delighted. No help is brought by grieving. O Shakra! I know that everything has an end. Therefore, I am not sorrowing. O lord of the gods! Grief destroys beauty and dharma. One must indeed subdue the sorrow that arises in one’s mind. Knowing what is beneficial, one must meditate on that in one’s mind and in one’s heart. There is no doubt that this is capable of ensuring success in everything. There is one ordainer. There is no second ordainer. The ordainer ordains the man, as he lies down in the womb. I am instructed by him, like water flowing downwards. I flow as I am appointed. I know about existence and non-existence and about that which is superior.199 However, despite knowing what is best, I do not act in that way. Submerged in hopes, dharma and well-wishers, I do good deeds and their reverse. I flow as I am appointed. Whatever can be obtained is what will be obtained. Whatever is meant to happen is what will happen. As has been decided by the creator, one will repeatedly dwell in different wombs. One doesn’t go there because of one’s own wishes. The existence that I have obtained is because of my destiny. A person whose sentiments are like this will never be confused. Respect and the lack of a name occur progressively. Only a person who thinks his own self to be the actor sees unhappiness in this.200 In this world, who is not afflicted by catastrophes—the sages, the gods, the great asuras, the aged ones who know the three Vedas and hermits in the forest? Those who know the supreme are not frightened by this. No anger is generated in a learned person. He does not suffer. Nor is he delighted. He does not sorrow if there is a hardship on account of lack of riches, or some other kind of difficulty. He is established, as naturally immobile as the Himalayas. If riches and success do not delight him and a time of hardship does not confuse him, such a person is superior. A man who can bear the burden when faced with happiness or unhappiness is medium. A man must always be cheerful and must not torment himself, even when he confronts a downfall. He must control the torment that grows in his mind, because that harms the body. If there is an assembly with virtuous people gathered there and if, on entering it, a person is not freed from fear, then that is not a virtuous assembly.201 If an intelligent man immerses himself in dharma and then decides, he is capable of bearing a burden. The deeds of a wise man are difficult to fathom. Even when it is a time for confusion, a wise person is not confused. Even when he is dislodged from his position and faces a hardship and a disaster because of this, like Goutama in his old age, he is not confused.202 In the world of the mortal, one cannot obtain what is not meant to be obtained through mantras, strength, valour, wisdom and manliness. Why should one sorrow on account of that? In ancient times, the creator ordained this, before I was born. What was ordained has happened. What can death do to me? One obtains what was meant to be obtained. One goes where one is meant to go. One gets what is meant to be got, unhappiness or happiness. A man who knows all of this is not confused. He is skilled in the midst of joy and misery and is the lord of all riches.’”’
Chapter 1548(220)
‘Yudhishthira asked, “What is best for a man when he is immersed in hardships and difficulties? O lord of the earth! What about when his relatives are destroyed and his kingdom is destroyed? O bull among the Bharata lineage! In this world, you are the supreme speaker for us. I am asking you about this. You should tell me about it.”
‘Bhishma replied, “O king! If a person has been separated from his sons, wives, happiness and riches and is immersed in hardships and difficulties, fortitude is the best for him. For a person who has patience, the body does not suffer. Because the body is healthy, he again obtains prosperity. If a king or a man resorts to righteous conduct, his patience and steadfastness will manifest themselves in all the tasks he is engaged in. O Yudhishthira! In this connection, an ancient history is recounted, about the conversation that again took place between Bali and Vasava. There was a battle between the gods and the asuras and this lead to a destruction of daityas and danavas. Vishnu obtained the worlds and the kingship of the gods for Shatakratu.203 Sacrifices were performed to the gods and the four varnas were established. The three worlds were prosperous and Svayambhu was filled with delight. Shakra was ascended on Airavata, which had four excellent tusks and was an Indra among elephants. Surrounded by prosperity, the lord travelled through the three worlds. He was surrounded by the Rudras, the Vasus, the Adityas, the Ashvins, the rishis, the gandharvas, the Indras among the serpents, the Siddhas and others. On one such occasion, on the frontiers of the ocean and in a cavern inside a mountain, the wielder of the vajra saw Bali, Virochana’s son, and approached him. Despite seeing Indra, the lord of the gods, seated on Airavata’s shoulder, surrounded by large numbers of gods, the Indra among the daityas was not distressed and did not sorrow. Shatakratu was seated on that best of elephants and saw that Bali was stationed there, without any fear and without any agitation. He asked, ‘O daitya! You are not distressed. Is this because of your valour or is this because you have served your seniors? Is it because you have been cleaned through austerities? In every respect, this is a very difficult state to attain. You have been brought down from a supreme position and are now under the subjugation of your enemies. O Virochana’s son! What is the support that enables you not to grieve, though you should sorrow? With your relatives, you attained the best state possible and enjoyed supreme objects of pleasure. You have now been deprived of your army and your kingdom. Tell me. Why aren’t you mourning? Earlier, you were a god, occupying the seat of your father and grandfather. You have now seen that robbed by your rivals. Why aren’t you mourning? You have been tied down in Varuna’s nooses and have been struck by the vajra. You have been robbed of your wives. You have been robbed of your wealth. Tell me. Why aren’t you mourning? You have been dislodged from your prosperity. You have been dislodged from your riches. Yet, you are not sorrowing, and this is an extremely difficult thing to do. If the kingdom of the three worlds has been destroyed, who else would be interested in remaining alive?’ He spoke these and other harsh words, intending to subdue him.
‘“However, Virochana’s son, Bali, heard these words cheerfully. Without being frightened, he replied, ‘O Shakra! When I have been severely afflicted, why are you boasting? O Purandara! I see you standing here now, with the vajra upraised. Earlier, you were incapable of doing this. How have you acquired the capacity now? Indeed, who other than you could have spoken such extremely cruel words? The learned say that if someone has brought a brave enemy under his subjugation and control, but has the capacity to show mercy, that person is indeed a man. When two people quarrel and fight, the outcome is uncertain. One of them obtains victory and the other one obtains defeat. O bull among the gods! You should not exhibit such a temperament towards me. Do not think that you have become the lord by defeating all the beings with your valour and strength. O Shakra! This state is not because of anything we have done. O Shakra! Nor is it because of what you have done. O wielder of the vajra! This state is not because of you or because of us. You will become what I am now. You will become like us. Do not think that my state is because of my wicked deeds or because of what you have done. Progressively, a man encounters happiness and unhappiness. O Shakra! You have obtained the state of Shakra because of progression, not because of your deeds. As time elapsed, time conveyed me. It is time again that conveys you. Happiness does not come to a man because of serving the mother and the father, worshipping the gods, or because of following other good qualities. When a man is afflicted by time, learning, austerities, donations, friends and relatives are not capable of saving him. Even if one counters in one hundred different ways, calamities strike back. Men are incapable of fighting them back through intelligence and strength. One is afflicted through this progression and there is no one who is a saviour. O Shakra! This is a reason for sorrow only if you think of yourself as the doer. If the doer is actually the doer, then no one else would have made the doer do anything. However, because someone else makes the doer do things, that other ent
ity is a lord over the apparent doer. I defeated you through the aid of time. It is through the aid of time that you have vanquished me. Time is the force behind all movement. Time drives all beings. O Indra! Your intelligence is ordinary and you do not comprehend the destruction. Some show you a great deal of reverence because of the superiority you have obtained through your own deeds. But there are those like us, who know the progress of the worlds. When we are afflicted by time, why should we grieve? Why should we be confused and frightened? Even when I am constantly afflicted by time and suffer a calamity, shall my intelligence, or that of someone like me, be destroyed, like a shattered boat? O Shakra! I, you, and all the future lords of the gods, will have to traverse the path followed by hundreds of Indras earlier. You are now extremely unassailable and are blazing in supreme prosperity. But when your time comes, time will destroy you, just as it has destroyed me. From one yuga to another yuga, there have been many thousands of Indras and daityas. They have been carried away by time. Time is extremely difficult to cross. Having obtained this state, you have an extremely high opinion of yourself, as if you are the eternal god Brahma, the creator of all beings. But this state is not immobile. Nor is this state eternal. However, because of your foolish intelligence, you think it to be thus. You trust something that should not be trusted. You think that something temporary is permanent. Because of your delusion, you think that the royal prosperity that you desire is yours. Know this to be a fact that this is not yours, nor ours, nor that of others. There are many others who have obtained this state. But they have all passed on. O Vasava! This fickle position will stay with you for some time. Like a cow abandoning one drinking spot for another, it will then go to someone else. There are so many kings who have passed through this world earlier, that I am not even interested in enumerating them. O Purandara! There will be many others after you too. This earth possesses trees, herbs, jewels, rivers and mountains. I no longer see those who have enjoyed it in earlier times. Prithu, Aila, Maya, Bhima, Naraka, Shambara, Asvagriva, Puloma, Svarbhanu, with an infinitely long standard, Prahlada, Namuchi, Daksha, Viprachitti, Virochana, Hrinishedha, Suhotra, Bhuriha, Pushpavan, Vrisha, Satyeshu, Rishabha, Rahu, Kapilashva, Virupaksha, Bana, Kartasvara, Vahni, Vishvadamshtra, Nairrita, Rittha, Ahuttha, Viratamra, Varahashva, Ruchi, Prabhu, Vishvajit, Agratishouri, Vrishanda, Vishkara, Madhu, Hiranyakashipu, the danava Kaitabha, the daitya Kalakhanja, with all the Nairritas—there were these Indras among daityas and Indras among danavas. These came earlier and even before that. We have heard their names and those of others. There were many Indras among daityas earlier. They have abandoned the earth and have gone. They have all been afflicted by time. Time is the strongest. O Shatakratu! All of them performed hundreds of sacrifices and rites. You are not the only one. All of them were devoted to dharma. All of them always performed sacrifices. All of them could roam around in the sky. All of them never showed their backs in the field of battle. All of them were capable of tolerating. All of them possessed arms like clubs. All of them could show one hundred different kinds of maya. All of them could go wherever they desired. We have not heard of any of them being defeated, once they embarked on a battle. All of them were devoted to the vow of truth. All of them could sport as they willed. All of them were devoted to the vows of the Vedas. All of them were extremely learned. All of them could withstand. All of them obtained riches and lordship. However, none of those great-souled ones who came earlier was proud because of his wealth. All of them were truly generous. All of them were devoid of malice. Each of them behaved towards all beings exactly as they should have. All of them were the sons of Dakshayani and Prajapati.204 All of them were extremely strong. They blazed and scorched. But time carried them away. Once you have enjoyed the earth, you will again have to give it up. O Shakra! You will be incapable of restraining your grief then. Free yourself from this desire for objects of pleasure. Free yourself from this pride that comes from prosperity. If you do that, when your own kingdom is destroyed, you will be able to bear the sorrow. You should not sorrow when it is a time for grief. You should not be delighted when it is a time for joy. Forget the past and the future and act in accordance with what has presented itself. Time never sleeps and it presented itself before me. O Indra! Pardon me. But it will also present itself before you. O Indra of the gods! You have spoken such words to me with the object of piercing and frightening me. Seeing that I am controlled, there is no doubt that you think extremely highly of me. Time struck me first and will follow you later. O Indra of the gods! Who are you roaring at? I have already been struck by time. When I used to rage in battle, who in this world was capable of standing before me? O Vasava! You are stationed here because time has proved to be more powerful. Those one thousand years meant for you will be completed.205 You will then be dislodged from your state and be robbed of your energy, just as all my limbs are now. I am an Indra who has been dislodged from his status and you have naturally become an Indra in heaven. Because of the progress of time, you are now worshipped in this extremely wonderful world of the living. O Indra! But what is it exactly that you have done? And what have we done to be dislodged? Time is the doer and the undoer. There is nothing else that is the cause. Decay, destruction, riches, happiness, unhappiness, existence and non-existence—when a learned person confronts any of these, he is neither delighted, nor distressed. O Indra! You know us. O Vasava! We know you too. I have been disarmed and bound by time. Why are you then boasting before me? You know the manliness that I exhibited earlier. The valour that I exhibited in battle is sufficient proof. O lord of Shachi! The Adityas, the Rudras, the Sadhyas, together with the Vasus, and all the Maruts were vanquished by me. O Shakra! You also know what happened in the encounter between the gods and the asuras. All the assembled gods were swiftly shattered by me in the battle. In that terrible battle, I angrily struck you on the head with mountains, with their forests and those who lived in those forests. I struck with you with summits and peaks. What could I not have done then? But time is impossible to cross. That is the reason I am not interested in killing you, holding that vajra, with my fists. This is not the time for exhibiting valour. The time for showing forgiveness has arrived. O Shakra! That is the reason I am being tolerant, though I am less tolerant than you are. My time has matured and I have been cooked by the flames of time. O Shakra! I have been restrained and bound by the nooses of time and you are boasting before me. This is the dark being whom the worlds find impossible to cross.206 This terrible one has bound me, like an animal with ropes, and is standing here. Gain, loss, happiness, unhappiness, desire, anger, existence, non-existence, slaughter, bondage, freedom—all of these are obtained because of time. I am not the doer. You are not the doer. The doer is always the one who is the lord. Time has cooked me, like a fruit that has appeared on a tree. Despite being yoked to time, there are things a man can do to obtain happiness. Despite being yoked to time, there are again things that can be done to obtain misery. When a person who knows about time has been touched by time, that person should not grieve. O Shakra! That is the reason I am not grieving. That is of no help at a time of sorrow. If one grieves at a time of sorrow, the hardship is not ameliorated. There is no capability in that grief. That is the reason I am not sorrowing now.’ He spoke in this way to the thousand-eyed and illustrious chastiser of Paka.
‘“Having been thus addressed, Shatakratu controlled his anger and spoke these words. ‘You have seen my upraised arm with the vajra and Varuna’s nooses. Who with intelligence will not be distressed at this, including Death, the destroyer of everything? However, you are not distressed at this. Your intelligence is not fickle and you have seen the truth. O one with truth as his valour! You have spoken words to the effect that you are not distressed. On seeing that everything in this universe is transient, which embodied being in this world will be interested or capable of reposing his faith in anything that pertains to the body? I also know that everything in this world is temporary. Although it cannot be seen, everything is constantly being borne by tim
e’s eternal and terrible fire. When one has been touched by time, there is no salvation. The subtlest and the greatest of beings are cooked. Without any master and without any distraction, it constantly cooks beings. The decay due to time cannot be withdrawn. Once one has attained it, there is no freedom. One may not realize this. But ever attentive, time is awake in beings. No one has earlier been seen to have made efforts and escaped it. It is the ancient and eternal dharma. It looks on all living beings in the same way. Time cannot be avoided and there is no exception to what it does. Like a moneylender computing interest, time calculates days, nights, months, kshanas, kashthas, kalas and lavas for us. There are those who say, “I will do this today. I will do that tomorrow.” Time approaches and bears them away, like a raft on the current of a river. “I saw him just now. How can he be dead?” While men are heard to lament in this way, time robs them. Riches, objects of pleasure, status and prosperity are all temporary and uncertain. It is extremely difficult to conduct oneself. Everything is brought down and so are existence and non-existence. But you are not distressed by this. Your intelligence is not fickle and you have seen the truth. Even in your mind, you are not bothered about what you have been before. Time afflicts this world and being stronger, cooks it. It sweeps away, regardless of whether a person is young or old. Addicted to jealousy, pride, greed, desire, anger, fright, wishes, confusion and pride, people are deluded. But you know the truth about existence. You are learned in wisdom and austerities. You look at time extremely well, as if it was a myrobalan fruit in your hand. You know the truth about the character of time. You are accomplished in all the sacred texts. O son of Virochana! You have cleansed your soul. You are desired by those who know. I think that with your intelligence, you have comprehended all the worlds. You roam around, free in every way. You have not been tainted by anything. You have conquered your senses and the qualities of rajas and tamas do not touch you. You are without affection. You have destroyed all sorrow. You worship your atman alone. You are a well-wisher to all beings. You are without enmity. You are tranquil in your mind. On seeing you in this state, my mind turns to compassion. Because of the progress of time, you are bound in Varuna’s noose and you will be freed from them, because of the evil conduct of subjects. O great asura! May you be safe. When daughters-in-law will engage aged mothers-in-law in work, when deluded sons will send their fathers to work, when vrishalas will make brahmanas wash their feet, when shudras will fearlessly serve brahmana wives, when men will release their seeds into vaginas that should be avoided, when sacrifices will be carried in brass vessels, those made out of mixed metal and other inferior vessels, when the four varnas will transgress all restraints, then, one by one, you will progressively be freed from these bonds. There will be no fear from me. Adhere to this agreement. Be safe and without any restraint. Be hale and healthy.’ Having spoken these words, the illustrious Shatakratu departed, with that king among elephants as his mount. The lord of the gods had vanquished all the asuras. He was delighted and happy and was the single king. The maharshis chanted words of praise in the name of Vrishakapi, the lord of all mobile and immobile objects. The fire god bore all the oblations and the amrita that was offered to the lord. The supreme among brahmanas performed sacrifices in every way. The lord207 lost all his rage and his mind was tranquil. Vasava blazed in his energy and cheerfully returned to his own abode in heaven and found pleasure there.”’