Vaisampayana continued, "Dwelling in the woods, O bull of the Bharata
race, the high-souled Pandavas spent one and ten years in a miserable
plight. And although deserving of happiness, those foremost of men,
brooding over their circumstances, passed their days miserably, living
on fruits and roots. And that royal sage, the mighty-armed Yudhishthira,
reflecting that the extremity of misery that had befallen his brothers,
was owing to his own fault, and remembering those sufferings that had
arisen from his act of gambling, could not sleep peacefully. And he felt
as if his heart had been pierced with a lance. And remembering the harsh
words of the Suta's son, the Pandava, repressing the venom of his wrath,
passed his time in humble guise, sighing heavily. And Arjuna and both
the twins and the illustrious Draupadi, and the mighty Bhima--he that
was strongest of all men--experienced the most poignant pain in casting
their eyes on Yudhishthira. And thinking that a short time only remained
(of their exile), those bulls among men, influenced by rage and hope and
by resorting to various exertions and endeavours, made their bodies
assume almost different shapes.
"After a little while, that mighty ascetic, Vyasa, the son of Satyavati,
came there to see the Pandavas. And seeing him approach, Kunti's son,
Yudhishthira, stepped forward, and duly received that high-souled one.
And having gratified Vyasa by bowing down unto him, Pandu's son of
subdued senses, after the _Rishi_ had been seated, sat down before him,
desirous of listening to him. And beholding his grandsons lean and
living in the forest on the produce of the wilderness, that mighty sage,
moved by compassion, said these words, in accents choked in tears, 'O
mighty-armed Yudhishthira, O thou best of virtuous persons, those men
that do not perform ascetic austerities never attain great happiness in
this world. People experience happiness and misery by turns; for surely,
O bull among men, no man ever enjoyeth unbroken happiness. A wise man
endued with high wisdom, knowing that life hath its ups and downs, is
neither filled with joy nor with grief. When happiness cometh, one
should enjoy it; when misery cometh, one should bear it, as a sower of
crops must bide his season. Nothing is superior to asceticism: by
asceticism one acquireth mighty fruit. Do thou know, O Bharata, that
there is nothing that asceticism cannot achieve. Truth, sincerity,
freedom from anger, justice, self-control, restraint of the faculties,
immunity from malice, guilelessness, sanctity, and mortification of the
senses, these, O mighty monarch, purify a person of meritorious acts.
Foolish persons addicted to vice and bestial ways, attain to brutish
births in after life and never enjoy happiness. The fruit of acts done
in this world is reaped in the next. Therefore should one restrain his
body by asceticism and the observance of vows. And, O king, free from
guile and with a cheerful spirit, one should, according to his power,
bestow gifts, after going down to the recipient and paying him homage. A
truth-telling person attaineth a life devoid of trouble. A person void
of anger attaineth sincerity, and one free from malice acquireth supreme
contentment. A person who hath subdued his senses and his inner
faculties, never knoweth tribulation; nor is a person of subdued senses
affected by sorrow at the height of other's prosperity. A man who giveth
everyone his due, and the bestower of boons, attain happiness, and come
by every object of enjoyment; while a man free from envy reapeth perfect
ease. He that honoureth those to whom honour is due, attaineth birth in
an illustrious line; and he that hath subdued his senses, never cometh
by misfortune. A man whose mind followeth good, after having paid his
debt to nature, is on this account, born again endued with a righteous
mind.'
"Yudhishthira said, 'O eminently virtuous one, O mighty sage, of the
bestowal of gifts and the observance of asceticism, which is of greater
efficacy in the next world, and which, harder of practice?'
"Vyasa said, 'There is nothing, O child, in this world harder to
practise than charity. Men greatly thirst after wealth, and wealth also
is gotten with difficulty. Nay, renouncing even dear life itself, heroic
men, O magnanimous one, enter into the depths of the sea and the forest
for the sake of wealth. For wealth, some betake themselves to
agriculture and the tending of kine, and some enter into servitude.
Therefore, it is extremely difficult to part with wealth that is
obtained with such trouble. Since nothing is harder to practise than
charity, therefore, in my opinion, even the bestowal of boons is
superior to everything. Specially is this to be borne in mind that
well-earned gains should, in proper time and place, be given away to
pious men. But the bestowal of ill-gotten gains can never rescue the
giver from the evil of rebirth. It hath been declared, O Yudhishthira,
that by bestowing, in a pure spirit, even a slight gift in due time and
to a fit recipient, a man attaineth inexhaustible fruit in the next
world. In this connection is instanced the old story regarding the fruit
obtained by _Mudgala_, for having given away only a _drona_[45] of
corn.'"
[45] A very small measure.