The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2: Books 4, 5, 6 and 7
General
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 2: Books 4, 5, 6 and 7
Epic literature, Sanskrit
They should, therefore, be respectively employed in
that kind of work for which they may be fit. These three, O king, cannot
have wealth of their own, viz., the wife, the slave, and the son, and
whatever may be earned by them would be his to whom they belong. Great
fear springeth from these three crimes, viz., theft of other’s property,
outrage on other’s wives, and breach with friend. These three, besides
being destructive to one’s own self, are the gates of hell, viz., lust,
anger, and covetousness. Therefore, every one should renounce them. These
three should never be forsaken even in imminent danger, viz., a follower,
one who seeks protection, saying,--I am thine,--and lastly one who hath
come to your abode. Verily, O Bharata, liberating a foe from distress,
alone amounteth in point of merit, to these three taken together, viz.,
conferring a boon, acquiring a kingdom, and obtaining a son. Learned men
have declared that a king, although powerful, should never consult with
these four, viz., men of small sense, men that are procrastinating, men
that are indolent, and men that are flatterers. O sire, crowned with
prosperity and leading the life of a householder, let these four dwell
with thee, viz., old consanguineous relatives, high-born persons fallen
into adversity, poor friends, and issueless sisters. On being asked by
the chief of the celestials, Vrihaspati, O mighty king declared four
things capable of fructifying or occurring within a single day, viz., the
resolve of the gods, the comprehensions of intelligent persons, the
humility of learned men, and the destruction of the sinful. These four
that are calculated to remove fear, bring on fear when they are
improperly performed, viz., the Agni-hotra, the vow of silence, study,
and sacrifice (in general). O bull of the Bharata race, these five fires,
should be worshipped with regard by a person, viz., father, mother, fire
(proper), soul and preceptor. By serving these five, men attain great
fame in this world, viz., the gods, the Pitris, men, beggars, and guests.
These five follow thee wherever thou goest, viz., friends, foes, those
that are indifferent, dependants, and those that are entitled to
maintenance. Of the five senses beholding to man, if one springeth a
leak, then from that single hole runneth out all his intelligence, even
like water running out from a perforated leathern vessel. The six faults
should be avoided by a person who wisheth to attain prosperity, viz.,
sleep, drowsiness, fear, anger, indolence and procrastination. These six
should be renounced like a splitting vessel in the sea, viz., a preceptor
that cannot expound the scriptures, a priest that is illiterate, a king
that is unable to protect, a wife that speaketh disagreeable words, a
cow-herd that doth not wish to go to the fields, and a barber that
wisheth to renounce a village for the woods. Verily, those six qualities
should never be forsaken by men, viz., truth, charity, diligence,
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