The Mahabharata

by Bibek Debroy

  Chapter 1626(298)

  “Yudhishthira said, “There is adharma. There is dharma, which brings emancipation and freedom from all foundations. It frees from birth and death and also frees from good and evil deeds. It is always auspicious and grants freedom from fear. It is always eternal and without decay. It is pure and always brings comfort. You should speak to me about this.”

  ‘Bhishma replied, “O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In this connection, there is the ancient history of a conversation between Yajnavalkya and Janaka. Yajnavalkya was the best among rishis and was supreme among those who knew the answers to all questions. The immensely illustrious King Daivarati, from Janaka’s lineage, asked him this question. ‘O brahmana rishi! How many senses are there? How many kinds of prakriti are there said to be? What is the unmanifest and supreme brahman? What is superior to even that? What is creation and destruction? What is the measurement of time? O Indra among brahmanas! You should tell me about this. I desire to obtain your favours. You are a store of knowledge. I am ignorant and am asking you. On all these doubts, I wish to hear from you.’ Yajnavalkya replied, ‘O protector of the earth! Listen to what you have asked. This is the supreme knowledge of yoga and in particular, that of sankhya. None of this is unknown to you. Nevertheless, you have asked me. It is eternal dharma that one must answer when one has been asked. It is said that there are eight kinds of prakriti and sixteen kinds of transformations. Those who have thought about adhyatma have said that there are seven kinds of the manifest. There are the unmanifest, Mahat, ego, earth, wind, space, water and light as the eight.873 These eight are known as prakriti. Listen to the transformations. These are the ear, the skin, the eye, the tongue, the nose as the fifth, sound, touch, form, taste, scent, speech, the two hands, the two feet, the anus and the penis.874 O Indra among kings! O one from Mithila! Those that originate in the five great elements875 are known as Vishesha and the senses of knowledge are known as Savishesha. Those who have thought about adhyatma say that the mind is the sixteenth. You, and other intelligent ones who know the truth, also hold the same view. O king! The Mahat atman is generated from the unmanifest. The learned say that this is the first and most important creation. O lord of men! Ego876 is created from Mahat. Those who know about adhyatma say that this second creation is that of intelligence. The mind is generated from consciousness and this creates qualities in beings. This is said to be third creation, which results from consciousness. O lord of men! The five great elements are generated from the mind. I say that this fourth creation is from the mind. Those who know about the elements say that sound, touch, form, taste and scent are the fifth creation and concern the elements. The ear, the skin, the eye, the tongue and the nose as the fifth, are said to be sixth creation by those who have thought a lot about the atman. O lord of men! Those that are created after the ear and the other senses are said to be the seventh creation, concerning the senses.877 O lord of men! There are the flows that rise upwards and move diagonally and the learned know these as the eighth and straight creation.878 O lord of men! There are also flows that move directly and diagonally downwards. The learned call these the ninth and straight creation. O lord of men! This is the truth about the nine different kinds of creation. The learned texts speak of these as possessing twenty-four signs. O great king! After this truth about the qualities, the great-souled ones have spoken about the measurement of time. Listen to this.’”’

  Chapter 1627(299)

  ‘“Yajnavalkya said, ‘O best among men! I will tell you about the measurement of time for the unmanifest. Ten thousand kalpas make up a single day for him. O lord of men! His night is said to be of the same duration. When night is over, he awakes and first creates the herbs, which provide sustenance to all living beings. He then creates Brahma, who arises from the golden egg. It has been heard by us that his form is there in all879 living beings. Having dwelt for one year inside the egg, the great sage Prajapati emerged and created the entire earth, heaven above it, and all that is below. O king! Those who have studied the Vedas know that the sky is between earth and heaven. The lord created the sky to lie between them. Those who are learned about the Vedas and the Vedangas say that the duration of his day is seven thousand and five hundred kalpas. Those who have thought about adhyatma say that his night is of an equal duration. From his divine self, he creates Mahat and consciousness. Before creating any other beings, the great rishi created four sons.880 O supreme among kings! We have heard that these were the ancestors of the fathers. O best among men! We have heard that the gods, the ancestors, all those who surround the world of the gods and mobile and immobile objects were their sons. Parameshthi, the consciousness, then created the five elements—the earth, the wind, the sky, the water and the light, as the fifth. This consciousness, which led to the third creation, is said to have five thousand kalpas as his night and his day is said to possess an equal duration. O lord of the earth! Sound, touch, form, taste and scent, as the fifth, are known as Vishesha and adhere to the five great elements. Because they are enveloped by these, beings kill each other. They respect each other, but also rival each other. Overcome by those undecaying qualities, they slaughter each other. They whirl around in this world and are born as inferior species. O lord of men! Their881 day is said to last for three thousand kalpas. Their night is of the same duration and this is also the case with the mind. O Indra among kings! Instigated by the senses, the mind circulates among all of them. The senses do not see anything. It is the mind that sees. The eye perceives form only when it is driven by the mind. The eye doesn’t do this alone. When the mind is distracted, the eye may seem to see, but does not actually see. It is said that all the senses perceive. O king! But this is incorrect. When the mind does not act, the senses do not act either. The mind does not cease to act because the senses cease to act. The mind is the foremost and influences the senses. The mind is said to be the lord of all the senses. O immensely illustrious one! These penetrate all creatures.’”’

  Chapter 1628(300)

  ‘“Yajnavalkya said, ‘I have enumerated the truth about the different types of creation and about the measurement of time. I have progressively described them. Now hear about destruction. Beings are repeatedly created and destroyed. The eternal and undecaying Brahma, without a beginning and without an end, does this. When his day is over and he realizes that it is night, he makes up his mind to sleep. The illustrious and unmanifest one urges the creation of a being from his consciousness and this manifests itself as a sun with a hundred thousand rays. It then divides itself into twelve suns that blaze like fire. O lord of men! With this energy, the four kinds of beings are swiftly consumed—those born from wombs, those born from eggs, those born from sweat882 and herbs. In a short instant, all mobile and immobile objects are destroyed and, in every direction, the earth becomes as plain as the back of a tortoise. When everything in the universe has been destroyed with this great force, in every direction, it is filled up with the great force of water. At this, the fire of destruction dries up the water. O Indra among kings! When the water has been destroyed, a great fire begins to rage. An immeasurable and extremely powerful fire continues to blaze. The energy of those seven flames is infused with the heat from all creatures. But it is devoured by an extremely powerful wind that has its own inner strength. This courses upwards, downwards and diagonally. However, that extremely strong and terrible wind is devoured by space. But mind cheerfully and swiftly swallows up space. Consciousness, the Prajapati and the atman of everything, devours mind. Consciousness is devoured by the soul of Mahat, who knows about the past, the present and the future. The soul of the universe, Shambhu Prajapati, swallows up Mahat. This is the radiant and undecaying Ishana, with the properties of anima, laghima and prapti. His hands and feet extend in every direction. His eyes, head and face are everywhere. His ears are everywhere. He is established, enveloping all the worlds. He is in the heart of all creatures and his size is only that of a thumb. The infinite and great-souled lord of the universe devours everythin
g. With everything swallowed, what is left is the immutable and the undecaying. This is the unblemished one, the creator of the past and the future of humans. O Indra among kings! I have thus described all this to you accurately. Now I will make you hear about adhyatma, adbibbuta and adhidaiva.’”’

  Chapter 1629(301)

  ‘“Yajnavalkya said, ‘Brahmanas who have seen the truth speak of the two feet as adhyatma, the act of motion as adhibhuta and Vishnu as adhidaiva. Those who have seen the truth exactly say that the anus is adhyatma, the releasing is adhibhuta and Mitra is adhidaiva.883 Those who know the indications of yoga say that the penis is adhyatma, its pleasure is adhibhuta and Prajapati is adhidaiva. Those who know the indications of sankhya say that the hands are adhyatma, tasks are adhibhuta and Indra is adhidaiva there. Those who know the indications of the sacred texts say that speech is adhyatma, what is spoken is adhibhuta and Agni is adhidaiva there. Those who know the indications of the sacred texts correctly say that the eyes are adhyatma, form is adhibhuta and Surya is adhidaiva there. Those who know the indications of the sacred texts correctly say that the ears are adhyatma, sound is adhibhuta and the directions are adhidaiva there. Those who know the truth correctly say that the tongue is adhyatma, taste is adhibhuta and water is adhidaiva there. Those who know the indications of the sacred texts correctly say that the nose is adhyatma, smell is adhibhuta and the earth is adhidaiva there. Those who are accomplished in their learning say that the skin is adhyatma, touch is adhibhuta and the wind is adhidaiva. Those who know the indications of the sacred texts say that the mind is adhyatma, the object of the mind is adhibhuta and the moon is adhidaiva. Those who know the true indications say that consciousness is adhyatma, pride is adhibhuta and Bhava is adhidaiva there. Those who know the indications of the Vedas correctly say that intelligence is adhyatma, what is understood is adhibhuta and the kshetrajna is adhidaiva. O king! O one who knows about the truth! I have thus described to you the power of the manifest and the truth about the beginning, the middle and the end. O great king! As if in sport and easily according to her desire, Prakriti brings about hundreds and thousands of transformations in her qualities. It is like a man lighting thousands of lamps from a single lamp. In that way, Prakriti creates many qualities in Purusha. Spirit, joy, prosperity, contentment, radiance, happiness, purity, lack of disease, satisfaction, devotion, generosity, lack of hatred, forgiveness, fortitude, lack of injury, equanimity, truthfulness, repayment of debts, mildness, humility, lack of fickleness, cleanliness, uprightness, observance of conduct, lack of passion, lack of fear in the heart, indifference at separation from good and bad things, lack of boasting about acts performed, receiving when given, lack of desire for riches, the welfare of others and compassion towards all beings—these are said to be the qualities of sattva. The qualities of rajas are manifested in quarrels over beauty and prosperity, lack of generosity, lack of compassion, the enjoyment of happiness and unhappiness, attachment towards speaking ill of others, fondness for disputes, insolence, thoughts that show no respect, the practice of enmity, repentance, seizing the property of others, lack of humility, lack of uprightness, strife, harshness, desire, anger, intoxication, pride, hatred and excessive speech. These are said to be the qualities of rajas. I will now tell you about the accumulations that tamas leads to—delusion, lack of radiance, darkness and darkness that makes one blind. Darkness is said to be anger and darkness that makes one blind is death. The signs of tamas are gluttony in eating, lack of satisfaction even though one has enough to eat and drink, attachment towards fragrances, garments, sporting, beds, seats, sleeping during the day, quarrels and distraction, taking pleasure in singing, music and dancing, ignorance, lack of faith and hatred of dharma. In particular, these are the qualities of tamas.’”’

  Chapter 1630(302)

  ‘“Yajnavalkya said, ‘O supreme among men! These are the foremost signs of the three qualities. They always attach themselves to everything in the universe and are established there. He884 divides himself into hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands and crores of different selves. Those who have thought about adhyatma say that sattva has a superior spot, rajas a medium one and tamas an inferior one. Through auspicious deeds alone, one heads towards an upwards destination. As a result of both good and wicked deeds, one becomes human. Through adharma, one obtains a destination that is downwards.885 There is also the truth about what happens if two or three of the qualities are mixed. Sattva may exist with rajas or tamas. Listen to me. Sattva can be seen with rajas and rajas with tamas. Sattva can exist with tamas and sattva may exist with the unmanifest.886 When sattva is united with the unmanifest, one obtains the world of the gods. When rajas is united with sattva, one becomes human. When rajas is united with tamas, one is born as inferior species. When rajas, tamas and sattva are united, one becomes human. It is said that learned ones obtain a region that is separated from both good deeds and wicked ones. It is eternal and immutable. It is without decay and there is no fear there. Learned ones obtain births in that best of places, without faults and without decay. They go beyond the senses. That does not lead to any generation and is beyond birth and death. O lord of men! You asked me about the supreme and the unmanifest.887 He is established in his own nature. O lord of the earth! It is the view that he resides in Prakriti, without any consciousness. She can create and destroy only when she is presided over by him.’

  ‘“Janaka replied, ‘O great sage! Both of them are without beginning and without end. They are without form and without change. They are without blemish and without decay. O tiger among rishis! They cannot be comprehended. How can one of them be without consciousness? How can one have consciousness? Why is one called kshetrajna? O Indra among brahmanas! You are the one who has practised everything about the dharma of emancipation. It is my resolution that I wish to hear the truth about the dharma of emancipation, about the existence of the absolute and about non-existence, about the regions that creatures progressively go to and about their separation from those. With the progress of time, what regions do they obtain? O brahmana! Tell me this. Tell me the truth about the knowledge of sankhya and separately about yoga. O supreme one! You should also tell me the truth about misfortune. You know everything about these, like a myrobalan that is held in your hand.’”’

  Chapter 1631(303)888

  ‘“Yajnavalkya said, ‘O son! O lord of the earth! One cannot describe something without qualities by ascribing qualities to it. I will tell you the truth about what possesses qualities and what doesn’t have qualities. Listen to me. The great-souled sages who have seen the truth have spoken about the qualities obtained by the one with qualities and the qualities not obtained by the one without qualities. The unmanifest one889 naturally has qualities and cannot surpass those qualities. Because she is united with those, she naturally lacks knowledge. The unmanifest Purusha is naturally the one who knows and always thinks, “There is nothing superior to me.” It is because of this reason that this unmanifest one is without consciousness. He is always spoken of as indestructible. But it is also true that he combines with the destructible.890 It is because of the repeated association with various categories of qualities that one becomes ignorant. When he does not know his own atman, he is spoken of as the manifest. When he assumes lordship over those principles,891 he is said to follow the dharma of those attributes. Because he has lordship over wombs, he is said to follow the dharma of wombs. Because he has lordship over Prakriti, he is said to follow the dharma of Prakriti. Because he has lordship over seeds, he is said to follow the dharma of seeds. Because he is associated with birth, he observes the dharma of birth.892 Because he has lordship over destruction, he follows the dharma of destruction. Because of association with Prakriti, he follows creation and destruction. This is despite the absolute knowing that he is indifferent and distinct. Ascetics who are pure, devoid of anxiety and knowledgeable about adhyatma, think of him in this way. We have heard of him as permanent and unmanifest, but also as unstable.893 However, those who depend o
nly on knowledge and are compassionate towards all beings say that the unmanifest is one and Purusha is many.894 There are others who hold that the unmanifest Purusha, even though apparently unstable, has all the signs of stability. He is distinct, just as a blade of grass is different from its sheath. The gnat that is inside a fig should be known of as distinct. Despite being associated with the fig, the gnat doesn’t get attached to it. The fish is said to be different from the water it is in. Though the fish is touched by the water, it isn’t in any way attached to it. The fire in a boiler is always known to be distinct. Though the fire touches the boiler, it isn’t attached to it. A lotus is said to be different from the water. Though it touches the water, the lotus isn’t attached to it. In this way, there is always separation, even when one dwells together. This can never be understood by people who are always ordinary. Those who cannot see it in this way, do not see properly. It is evident that they will repeatedly be submerged in a terrible hell. I have enumerated the supreme philosophy of sankhya. Enumerating it in this way, those who follow sankhya obtain the absolute. I have also told you about the others who are accomplished and know the truth about the manifestations. I will now tell you about the philosophy of yoga.’”’

  Chapter 1632(304)

  ‘“Yajnavalkya said, ‘I have already spoken to you about the knowledge of sankhya. Now hear about the knowledge of yoga. O supreme among kings! This is the truth about what I have learnt and what I have seen. There is no knowledge that is equal to sankhya. There is no strength that is equal to yoga. They prescribe similar practices and both are said to lead to prosperity. However, men who possess limited intelligence perceive them as distinct. O king! We see them as identical and have arrived at this determination. Whatever is seen through yoga is exactly the same as whatever is seen through sankhya. A person who sees yoga and sankhya as identical actually sees the truth. O scorcher of enemies! Know that restraining the breath895 is the foremost and supreme aspect of yoga. Through this, they wander around in the ten directions in their bodies.896 O son! O unblemished one! When the body is destroyed, one cheerfully abandons it and, in subtle form, uses the eight qualities of yoga897 to roam around in the worlds. Those who are learned about yoga speak of these eight qualities. O supreme among kings! They also speak about the eight other subtle qualities.898 The practice of yoga has been said to be excellent and these are the two kinds of qualities that are practised in yoga. The sacred texts have given indications about how this is to be done, with qualities and without qualities.899 O lord of the earth! Together with pranayama, there has to be dharana in the mind. Pranayama can be with qualities. Without qualities, dharana occurs in the mind. O supreme among those from Mithila! The breath of life is seen to be released. However, one should not act so as to have an excess of the breath.900 In the first quarter of the night, twelve principles of breathing have been prescribed. Having slept in the middle, in the last quarter of the night, there are another twelve principles of breathing. One must practise these, self-controlled and satisfied with one’s own self. One must turn one’s intelligence towards finding pleasure in one’s own atman. There is no doubt that one must join oneself with the atman.901 The five taints associated with the five senses—sound, touch, form, taste and scent—must be flung away. O lord of Mithila! One must withdraw from thoughts of what can be obtained through action. All the objects of the senses must be immersed in the mind. O lord of men! The mind must be established in the consciousness, consciousness in intelligence and intelligence in prakriti. Having merged in this way, one must meditate on the absolute. He is radiant and without blemish. He is eternal and infinite. He is pure and without decay. He is the purusha of sattva, beyond mortality and destruction. He is eternal and unmanifest. He is Ishana and the unmanifest Brahma. O great king! Listen to the signs of someone who has been united in this fashion. The signs are of satisfaction, contentment and cheerful sleep. He is like a lamp ignited with oil, but burning in a place where there is no wind, with straight flames rising upwards. The learned speak of him in this way. He is like a rock that does not move, even when it has been struck by the rain. He is incapable of being moved in any way. Those are the signs of a person who is united. The sounds of conch shells, drums and many kinds of singing and the playing of musical instruments do not make him tremble. These are the signs of a person who is united. It is like a man who climbs a flight of steps with a full vessel of oil in his hand, not spilling any, even if he is frightened. A person who has controlled his atman is like that, not spilling a drop from the vessel, though scared. He ascends, single-minded. He calms his senses and is immobile. These are the signs of a sage who has been united in this way. Having been united in this way, he sees the supreme and unmanifest Brahma, blazing, as if located in the midst of a great darkness. O great king! The eternal sacred texts say that, after a long period of time, he is like a witness and abandons this body, advancing to the absolute. This is the yoga of yogis. What other signs can there be of yoga? Knowing this, the learned ones think themselves to have been successful.’”’