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Bhīṣma said.
Once again, Janaka, the lord of Mithilā, asked the great-souled Parāśara about the supreme certainty in dharma.
O Brahman, what is the highest good? Which is the path? What action performed does not perish? Where does one go and not return? O great sage, tell me that.
Parāśara said.
Detachment is the root of the highest good; knowledge is the supreme attainment. Austerity that has been performed does not perish, just as a seed sown in a field does not perish.
When one severs the bonds of unrighteousness and becomes devoted to righteousness, and gives a gift that grants fearlessness, then one attains perfection.
The gift of fearlessness to all beings surpasses even the giving of thousands of cows and hundreds of horses.
Even while living amidst sense-objects, the wise does not truly dwell in them; but the foolish, even among the wicked, remains attached to sense-objects.
Unrighteousness does not adhere to the wise, just as water does not stick to a lotus leaf. But to the unwise, sin attaches itself greatly, just as resin sticks to wood.
Unrighteousness, which depends on causes, does not release the doer. The doer, indeed, attains all that at the proper time. Those whose self is accomplished, who perceive the certainty of the self, are not disturbed.
One who is negligent of the intellect and organs of action, who does not discern, and whose mind is attached to both good and bad things, comes to great danger.
He who is free from passions, has conquered anger, and always acts rightly, even while living amidst sense objects, is not tainted by sin.
When accumulation is bound within the limits of righteousness, it does not collapse; like a collection dependent on a strong current, it flourishes.
O best of kings, just as a pure gem, when sunlight enters it, receives radiance through concentration, so too does yoga progress.
Just as the quality of extreme gentleness arises separately in sesame seeds here from association with a flower, so too, on earth, the quality of sattva operates in men whose minds are cultivated, according to their support.
When a man's mind is set on heaven, then his intellect becomes divided among worldly objects; even if his wife is slain, his wealth, chariots, and various actions are not abandoned.
A man whose mind is attached to sense objects and who never realizes what is truly beneficial for himself is, with a mind swayed by all desires, drawn away just like a fish is caught by the king's bait.
The mortal world, being an aggregate and mutually dependent, is without real substance like the core of a plantain tree, and, like a boat in water, it sinks.
There is no fixed time for a person to perform dharma; nor does death wait for anyone. Righteous action is always auspicious, especially when a man approaches the jaws of death.
Just as a blind man, by habit, moves about his own house, so too does the wise one, with a controlled mind, reach that ultimate state.
It is said that death is inherent in birth, and birth is always dependent on death. The ignorant person, bound by the laws of liberation, keeps wandering in the cycle of existence like a wheel.
Just as a lotus-stalk swiftly lets go of the mud that clings to it, so too, here, a person's self is freed by the mind. The mind directs the self, and he sets it to action.
But one who lives for the sake of others yet thinks of his own interests, and who is attached to sense-objects, strays from his own duties.
The self, by its own actions, attains movement below, across, or the supreme state in heaven—whether of the wise here or of the other.
Just as liquid is placed in a cooked earthen vessel, so too the body, heated by austerity, enjoys sense objects.
He who enjoys sense-objects will not truly enjoy, without doubt; but he who, with self-control, abandons enjoyments, he indeed is determined to enjoy (true happiness).
Just as a congenitally blind person, enveloped in fog, cannot perceive the path, so too one whose mind is covered and who is devoted only to bodily pleasures does not recognize the right way.
Just as a merchant truly obtains wealth from the ocean, so too, in the ocean of mortals, a being's destination is determined by action and knowledge.
In this world of day and night, death, in the form of old age, moves about and devours all beings, just as a serpent swallows the wind.
Every creature attains the results of actions performed by itself upon birth. No one obtains here anything dear or not dear that was not done by oneself.
Whether lying down, going, sitting, or engaged in sense objects, auspicious and inauspicious actions always befall a man.
Indeed, once one has reached another shore, one does not resolve to cross again. It is rare to see such a fall into the great ocean.
Just as a boat tied to a weight in deep water by a thread is pulled, so too the mind, by its attachments, draws the body along.
Just as various rivers merge and become one with the ocean, so too the primordial nature is always united through union.
Men, bound by various ties of affection and with minds attached, remaining in their natural state, sink in the world like a house of sand sinks in water.
For the embodied being who dwells in the body as a house, for whom purity is a sacred place, and who follows the path of intellect, happiness is found both in this world and the next.
Elaborate explanations are associated with affliction, while concise summaries bring happiness. All elaborations are for the sake of others; they knew renunciation as beneficial for oneself.
Those who are born of intention, friends, relatives, wife, servants, and sons, all act according to their own interests.
Neither mother nor father can obtain anything for anyone; each creature who eats food given as a gift experiences the results of his own actions.
Mother, son, father, brother, wife, and friend—on the squares of the aṣṭāpada board, only your own piece is placed.
All actions performed in the past, whether auspicious or inauspicious, follow the being. Recognizing the present result of actions, the inner self thus urges the intellect.
One who, relying on effort, gains helpers, never sees any of his undertakings fail at any time.
Prosperity always remains with a person who is disciplined, courageous, steadfast, wise, and single-minded, just as rays never leave the sun.
A purpose undertaken by one whose self is blameless, with faith, determination, proper means, wonder, and intellect, does not fail.
Every creature is born with its own destined good and bad deeds, carrying both the results of what was done before. Death is inevitable and comes to all, separating by the force of time; the wife, like powder ground by stone, is ultimately brought to the end of her actions.
A person's nature, self-made status and its expansion, family lineage, and accumulation of wealth are all obtained by everyone according to their own actions—by good and bad deeds performed by themselves.
Bhīṣma said.
O king, thus when Janaka was addressed truthfully by the wise one, having heard, the best among the knowers of dharma attained supreme joy.
