13.030
Bhishma said.
Thus addressed, Matanga, deeply absorbed in grief, went to Gaya and remained there, standing on his thumb, for a hundred years. (13-30-1)
We have heard that the righteous-souled one, emaciated, reduced to skin and bone, with only a network of veins, fell while enduring what was very difficult to bear. (13-30-2)
Indra, having rushed towards him as he was falling, seized him. The lord, the giver of boons, is engaged in the welfare of all beings. (13-30-3)
Indra said.
O Mataṅga, your status as a brāhmaṇa is concealed by adversaries; one who honours attains happiness, while one who does not honour attains suffering. (13-30-4)
In the Brāhmaṇa, the welfare and sustenance of all beings is established. Yet, the ancestors and the deities, likewise, are never fully satisfied with the Brāhmaṇas. (13-30-5)
The brāhmaṇa is called the supreme among all beings, O Mataṅga. The brāhmaṇa indeed does that, as and whatever he desires. (13-30-6)
O dear, after being born again and again in many different wombs through the cycles of rebirth, one eventually attains Brahminhood here in some birth. (13-30-7)
Matanga said.
Why do you strike me, who am afflicted by pain and already dead, and kill me again? But I grieve for him who, having obtained Brahminhood, does not wish to live. (13-30-8)
O Indra, if the state of being a Brāhmaṇa is difficult to attain by the three castes, even after attaining that which is very hard to obtain, men do not practice it. (13-30-9)
He who, among sinners, is the most sinful and the lowest, is the one who, having attained Brahminhood—so rare and difficult to obtain—despises it, just as one might scorn a hard-won treasure. (13-30-10)
Indeed, brāhmaṇa-hood is difficult to obtain and, once attained, is hard to maintain; having acquired this difficult status, men do not uphold it. (13-30-11)
O Śakra, I have only one delight, am free from dualities and possessions, and am established in non-violence, self-restraint, and charity. How then am I not worthy of being a Brāhmaṇa? (13-30-12)
May I be a wanderer at will, able to assume any form, a bird; may I receive worship without opposition from brāhmaṇas and kṣatriyas. May my fame be imperishable, O Purandara, as well. (13-30-13)
Indra said.
You will become well-known as "Chandodeva", worthy of worship among women. Bhishma said. (13-30-14)
Thus, having granted the boon to him, Indra disappeared. After giving up his life, Matanga also attained that supreme place. (13-30-15)
Thus, O Bhārata, this supreme state called Brāhmaṇahood is indeed difficult to attain here, as stated by Indra. (13-30-16)
