13.001
Section on the righteousness of giving
The dialogue between Death, Gautamī, and others.
Yudhiṣṭhira said.
O grandsire, tranquility is said to be of many subtle forms. Yet, having done such a thing, there is no peace in my heart. (13-1-1)
O sinless one, in this matter, you have described many kinds of peace; but for one's own actions, what peace could there be, even from many kinds of forbearance? (13-1-2)
O hero, seeing your body covered with arrows and the severe wound, I find no peace, thinking only of evil deeds. (13-1-3)
Seeing you, O tiger among men, with your body soaked in blood and flowing like a mountain, droops like a lotus in the rains. (13-1-4)
Therefore, what could be more difficult than this for my sake, that the grandfather has been brought to this condition by adversaries on the battlefield? In the same way, other kings, along with their sons and relatives, have also been brought to this state. (13-1-5)
O king, we and the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, being followers under the sway of time and anger, having performed this blameworthy deed, what fate shall we attain? (13-1-6)
I am indeed your destroyer, also a friend and slayer; I do not attain peace, seeing you afflicted on the ground. (13-1-7)
Bhishma said.
How do you perceive the self as the cause when it is dependent? O greatly fortunate one, in this action, this is indeed subtle and beyond the senses. (13-1-8)
Here too, they recount this ancient story: the conversation between Death and Gautamī, involving the serpents greedy for time. (13-1-9)
O son of Kunti, Gautamī, an aged and tranquil woman, saw her own son, bitten by a snake and unconscious. (13-1-10)
Then, having bound the serpent with a sinew-cord, the angry hunter named Arjunaka, belonging to Gautamī, brought him near. (13-1-11)
And he said to her: "This one, the son-killer, the lowest of serpents, is yours. Tell me quickly, O greatly fortunate one, for what reason should he be killed?" (13-1-12)
Let this one be thrown into the fire, or let him be cut into pieces; for this sinful child-killer does not deserve to live long. (13-1-13)
Gautamī said.
Let him go, O Arjunaka of little understanding; he is not to be killed by you. For who would make himself the teacher, when the attainable is present, while thinking? (13-1-14)
Those of little virtue float in the world like rafts on water; but those heavy with sin sink like a weapon fallen in water. (13-1-15)
If I am killed, there will certainly not be immortality; nor would there be any destruction for a person if I am not killed. When this living being, endowed with life-breath, departs, who indeed would go to the endless world of death? (13-1-16)
The hunter said.
I know this; here, there are no true judges of merit and demerit; all the elders are merely appointed; these instructions are for the healthy; therefore, I shall kill this mean serpent. (13-1-17)
Those who are eager for gain let opportunities slip by; but the wise abandon grief at once. For those who grieve, destruction is constant; therefore, give up your sorrow for the one slain in this (battle). (13-1-18)
Gautamī said.
There is indeed no affliction for people like us; a good person is always one who delights in dharma. For the eternal, there is no childish person; indeed, I am not the origin of this dharma. (13-1-19)
There is no anger in Brāhmaṇas; how then can torment arise from anger? Out of gentleness, let it be forgiven, O noble one, let this serpent be released. (13-1-20)
The hunter said.
If, by killing, the gain is truly better and imperishable, then such immediate gain is praised by the strong. But a gain that comes only with time, even if immediate, would not be better if it is achieved by killing in such a despicable manner. (13-1-21)
Gautamī said.
What is the gain in seizing and killing the enemy? Or what peace is there in obtaining the enemy without releasing him? Why, O gentle one, O serpent, should I not forgive? Or what reason is there that I should not grant him liberation? (13-1-22)
The hunter said.
From this one, many should be protected; not one for the sake of many, O Gautami, should be protected. The knowers of dharma abandon one who has committed a sin; destroy this evil reptile, you. (13-1-23)
Gautamī said.
O hunter, by killing this serpent, my son will not regain his life. I do not see any other virtue in this killing. Therefore, O hunter, release the serpent alive. (13-1-24)
The hunter said.
Having slain Vṛtra, the king of the gods indeed obtained the best share; having slain the sacrifice, he also obtained his portion. O god with the trident, perform the act of the gods; quickly slay the serpent, do not have any doubt. (13-1-25)
Bhishma said.
Even though the hunter repeatedly spoke to Gautamī about the serpent, the highly blessed lady did not form any intention regarding the sinful one. (13-1-26)
The serpent, barely breathing and struggling, restrained himself and, afflicted by the noose, uttered faint words in human speech. (13-1-27)
O Arjunaka, what fault is there of mine here, O childish one? Death, when I was not independent and helpless, pierced me. (13-1-28)
He was bitten by this one's command, not out of anger nor out of desire. If there is any sin, it belongs to the greedy one. (13-1-29)
The hunter said.
If this evil was done by you, O serpent, under the control of another, then you are also the cause here; therefore, you too are guilty. (13-1-30)
Just as the stick, wheel, and other implements are considered causes in the making of a clay vessel, so too, O serpent, you are also regarded as a cause. (13-1-31)
You are sinful and deserve to be killed by me; you are indeed sinful, O serpent. Here, you yourself declare yourself as the cause, O serpent. (13-1-32)
The serpent said.
Just as all these, such as the staff and the wheel, are not under their own control, so I also, therefore, am not to be considered by you as the cause of this. (13-1-33)
Alternatively, if this is your opinion, then they too are mutually causative; a doubt about cause and effect arises due to mutual prompting. (13-1-34)
Thus, under these circumstances, there is no fault of mine; I am not liable to punishment, nor am I sinful. If you think there is sin, it would be in the conjunction (of circumstances), if indeed it is sin. (13-1-35)
The hunter said:
If there were no cause, you would not be the doer, indeed. In the destruction, you are the cause, and therefore, you are considered by me as deserving to be killed. (13-1-36)
Even if something untrue has been done in this matter, the serpent is not affected here; therefore, there is no cause here itself for killing; why do you speak so much? (13-1-37)
The serpent said.
If there is no effect, action cannot exist, regardless of whether the cause is real or unreal; therefore, you must specifically tell me the cause in this case. (13-1-38)
If, O hunter, you truly consider me to be the cause, then anyone else engaged here in the act of destroying creatures would also be sinful. (13-1-39)
The hunter said.
You are to be killed, my wicked-minded, child-killing perpetrator of cruelty. Why do you speak so much again, being a vile serpent who deserves death? (13-1-40)
The serpent said.
Just as greedy priests who offer oblations in a sacrifice do not attain the results either here or in the next world, so too am I. (13-1-41)
Bhishma said.
While the serpent, impelled by death, was thus speaking, then Death arrived and spoke these words to the serpent. (13-1-42)
O serpent, impelled by time, I bit you. Neither you nor I are the cause of this child's destruction. (13-1-43)
Just as the wind moves clouds from place to place, so too, O serpent, like a cloud, I am under the control of time. (13-1-44)
All states of sattva, rajas, and tamas, and whichever others there may be, all having time as their essence, indeed arise among beings. (13-1-45)
All moving and stationary beings, whether in the sky or on earth, are of the nature of time; O serpent, this entire world is of the nature of time. (13-1-46)
All manifestations and cessations in the world, as well as all their modifications, are considered to be of the nature of time. (13-1-47)
The Sun, the Moon, Viṣṇu, the waters, wind, Indra, fire, sky, earth, Mitra, herbs, and the Vasus as well. (13-1-48)
O serpent, rivers, oceans, existence and non-existence—all are created and destroyed by time, and so it happens again and again. (13-1-49)
Having understood thus, O serpent, how do you consider me to be at fault? If, in this situation, the fault is with me, then you too are at fault. (13-1-50)
The serpent said.
O Death, whether faultless or having fault, I do not speak to you; I say only this much, that I am prompted by you. (13-1-51)
If there is a fault in the timing, and even if one is led there, the fault is not to be examined by me, for we are not appointed here. (13-1-52)
But the complete removal of this fault should be done by me in such a way. O Death, my purpose is that I may indeed become free from fault in this way. (13-1-53)
Bhishma said.
The serpent then said to Arjunaka: "You have heard the words spoken by Death. You should not torment me, who am innocent, with a noose." (13-1-54)
The greedy person said.
O serpent, I have heard the words of Death and yours as well; so long, O snake, there is no fault in you. (13-1-55)
You are death and indeed the cause for the destruction of this being. I think both are causes, not causeless. (13-1-56)
Condemnation upon death and the wicked, cruel one who causes suffering to the good; you, too, I will slay, evil one, the cause of wickedness. (13-1-57)
Death said.
We two are powerless, subject to the control of time, and act as destined by fate; if you see things properly, you will realize that we are not to be blamed for any fault. (13-1-58)
The hunter said.
If you two, both subject to time, are indeed serpents of death, how could joy and anger exist in you? I wish to know this. (13-1-59)
Death said.
Whatever actions may occur here, all are impelled by time. I have already told you this before, O hunter, that it is due to time. (13-1-60)
Therefore, O hunter, both of us are subject to time and are merely carrying out what is destined; you should never consider either of us to be at fault. (13-1-61)
Bhishma said.
Then, Time himself, having approached during that doubt about dharma and artha, spoke to the serpent, to Death, to the greedy Arjunaka, and to him. (13-1-62)
Time spoke.
Neither I nor this death, nor this hunter serpent, are sinful in the death of the creature; indeed, we are not the cause. (13-1-63)
O Arjunaka, the action which this one did, that is the instigator for us. There is no other cause of destruction for this; this one is slain by his own action. (13-1-64)
Whatever action was performed by him, by that he has met his death. His action is the cause of destruction; all of us are subject to the power of action. (13-1-65)
The worlds that are heirs of action are characterized by connection with action; here, actions impel each other, and so do we. (13-1-66)
Just as a craftsman shapes whatever he wishes from a lump of clay, so too a person experiences the results of actions performed by himself. (13-1-67)
Just as shadow and sunlight are always closely joined without interruption, so too are action and the doer bound together by one's own actions. (13-1-68)
Thus, neither I, nor indeed death, nor the serpent, nor you are the cause; nor is this old brāhmaṇa woman, the child alone is the cause here. (13-1-69)
O king, while he was thus speaking, the brāhmaṇa woman Gautamī, having considered the worlds attained by those whose belief is in their own actions, spoke to Arjunaka. (13-1-70)
Neither time, nor the serpent, nor death itself is the cause here; by his own actions, this boy has met his end through the operation of time. (13-1-71)
It is by me and by that action that my son has died. Let Time and Death, O Arjunaka, release the serpent. (13-1-72)
Bhishma said.
Then, as they had come, Death, Time, and the serpent departed; Arjunaka was no longer angry, and Gautamī was truly free from sorrow. (13-1-73)
After hearing this, attain peace; do not be anxious, O king. Know that the three worlds arise from one's own actions, O best of men. (13-1-74)
But, O Pārtha, it was not done by you, nor indeed by Duryodhana; know that it was done by Time, by whom the kings have been destroyed. (13-1-75)
Vaiśampāyana said.
Having heard these words, Yudhishthira, the highly energetic knower of dharma, became free from fever and asked this as well. (13-1-76)
