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Library: Arjuna, quoting the conversation between King Janaka and his wife, says by protecting the people and practicing the highest charity, being devoted to Brahman and speaking the truth, we shall attain the desired worlds.
Vaiśampāyana said:
But when the king fell silent, Arjuna, deeply afflicted by grief and sorrow and overwhelmed by affection for the king, spoke again.
O Bhārata, people recount this ancient history: the conversation between the king of Videha and his wife.
The queen, distressed, addressed the king of Videha, who had resolved to abandon his kingdom for the life of alms.
Janaka, having abandoned wealth, offspring, friends, and various kinds of gems, resorted to the pure path of silence.
His beloved wife saw him, who lived by begging, possessed nothing, sat with a handful of grains, was without effort, and free from envy.
The high-minded wife, angry, approached her fearless husband in private and spoke to him words full of reason.
How did you, after giving up your own kingdom and all your accumulated wealth and grain, adopt the life of a skull-bearing ascetic and live in the forest on just a handful of grain?
O king, your vow and your actions are at odds; having given up a great kingdom, you are content with little, O ruler.
O king, by this, neither the guests, nor the divine sages, nor the ancestors can be satisfied by you today; your effort is in vain.
O king, you have been abandoned by all—deities, guests, and ancestors—and now you wander about, inactive.
You, who have been the protector of thousands of Brāhmaṇas learned in the three Vedas and of the world, now today desire sustenance from others.
Having given up your radiant prosperity, you are now regarded like a dog. Today, your mother Kausalya is without a son, and because of you, also without a husband.
Eighty kṣatriyas who desire dharma worship you; pitiable ones, seeking results, long for your favor.
And you, performing those fruitless acts, to which worlds will you go? O king, when liberation is uncertain and you are dependent on others in embodied forms.
For you, there is neither another world nor is there for the evil-doer; having abandoned righteous wives, you desire to live.
Having given up garlands, fragrances, ornaments, clothes, and various other things, for what reason do you wander as an inactive ascetic?
Having become the watering place for all beings, you are the great purifier. Today, having become the rich tree, you serve others.
When even the dead body of an elephant is eaten by many flesh-eaters and by many worms, what then to say of you, who are useless?
If someone were to break this water-pot, take away your firmly placed vessel, and also steal your garment there, how would your mind react to that?
Whoever, having abandoned everything, accepts only a fistful of grain—whatever is given to me by this equally as all, what is this? If the fistful of grain here is the purpose, your vow is destroyed.
Who am I to you, and who are you to me? What is your favor to me today? O king, rule the earth wherever your favor may be. The palace, bed, vehicle, garments, and ornaments are yours.
What indeed is that wealth, accumulated by prosperity, by hopeless, poor, friendless, destitute, and pleasure-seeking people, which you abandon?
Whoever always receives excessively and whoever always gives—know the difference between those two; who among them is considered superior?
A gift given always to those who ask, among the virtuous and free from hypocrisy, is, in these cases, like an offering poorly made in a forest fire.
O king, just as fire does not subside without consuming, so too, a Brāhmaṇa who is always begging does not cease.
For the virtuous, the Vedas and food are ever-present in this world by their very nature. If there were no giver, how could there be seekers of liberation?
In this world, both householders and mendicants depend on food; from food, life arises; one who gives food becomes the giver of life.
Those who have originated from householders and have resorted to householders, the self-restrained, censure both origin and foundation, and remain seated.
Do not think one is a mendicant merely by renunciation, shaving the head, or begging; rather, know that person to be a true and happy mendicant who, being upright, gives up wealth.
O king, he who is unattached, moves about as if attached, is free from association and released from bondage, and who is equal towards both enemy and friend, he indeed is liberated.
Shaven-headed ascetics, clad in ochre robes, wander for the sake of gifts; the white one, with many kinds of snares, gathers useless bait.
Those who, abandoning the three Vedas and worldly occupations, also forsake their sons—such unwise people accept heaven and residence.
Know that here the ochre-robe is for those not purified; in my opinion, it is for the livelihood of the so-called banners of dharma, the shaven-headed.
O great king, you bear ascetics who wear ochre robes, animal skins, bark garments, who are naked, shaven-headed, or matted-haired; victory to the worlds, O conqueror of the senses.
He daily gives offerings for the fire, for the teacher, and sacrifices with animals and gifts; who, then, can be more righteous than he?
King Janaka, renowned as a knower of truth in this world, was also once overcome by delusion. Therefore, do not let yourself be led by delusion.
Thus, dharma was always followed by men devoted to charity, endowed with compassion, and free from desire and anger.
By protecting the people and practicing the highest charity, being devoted to Brahman and speaking the truth, we shall attain the desired worlds.
