"Yudhishthira said,--'O thou foremost of eloquent men, as thou hast
described the different Sabhas unto me, it appeareth that almost all
the monarchs of the earth are to be found in the Sabha of Yama. And, O
master, almost all the Nagas, and principal Daityas, and rivers, and
oceans, are to be found in the Sabha of Varuna. And so the Yakshas, the
Guhyakas, the Rakshasas, the Gandharvas and Apsaras and the Deity
(Yama) having the bull for his vehicle, are to be found in the Sabha of
the lord of treasures. Thou hast said that in the Sabha of the
Grandsire are to be seen all the great Rishis, all the gods, all the
branches of learning. As regards the Sabha of Sakra, however, thou hast
named, O Muni, all the gods, the Gandharvas, and various Rishis. But, O
great Muni, thou hast mentioned one and only one king, viz., the royal
Rishi Harishchandra as living in the Sabha of the illustrious chief of
the gods. What act was performed by that celebrated king, or what
ascetic penances with steady vows, in consequence of which he hath been
equal to Indra himself? O Brahmana, how didst thou also meet with my
father, the exalted Pandu, now a guest in the region of the Pitris? O
exalted one of excellent vows hath he told thee anything? O tell me all
as I am exceedingly curious to hear all this from thee.'
"Narada said,--'O king of kings, I shall tell thee all that thou askest
me about Harischandra, I shall presently tell thee of his high
excellence. He was a powerful king, in fact, an emperor over all the
kings of the earth. Indeed, all the kings of the earth obeyed his sway.
O monarch, mounted alone upon a victorious car adorned with gold, that
king by the prowess of his weapons brought the whole earth with her
seven islands under his sway. And, O monarch, having subjugated the
whole earth with her mountains, forests, and woods, he made
preparations for the great sacrifice called the Rajasuya. And all the
kings of the earth brought at his command wealth unto that sacrifice.
All of them consented to become distributors of food and gifts unto the
Brahmanas that were fed on the occasion. At that sacrifice king
Harishchandra gave away unto all who asked, wealth that was five times
what each had solicited. At the conclusion of the sacrifice, the king
gratified the Brahmanas that came from various countries with large
presents of various kinds of wealth. The Brahmanas gratified with
various kinds of food and enjoyable articles, given away unto them to
the extent of their desires, and with the heaps of jewels distributed
amongst them, began to say,--"King Harischandra is superior to all
kings in energy and renown."--And know, O monarch, O bull of the
Bharata race, it was for this reason that Harischandra shone more
brightly than thousands of other kings. The powerful Harischandra
having concluded his great sacrifice, became installed, O king, in the
sovereignty of the earth and looked resplendent on his throne. O bull
of the Bharata race, all those monarchs that perform the sacrifice of
Rajasuya, (attaining to the region of Indra) pass their time in
felicity in Indra's company. And, O bull of the Bharata race, those
kings also that yield up their lives without turning their backs on the
field of battle attain to the mansion of Indra and live in joy with
him. Those again that yield up their bodies after severe ascetic
penances also attain to the same region and shine brightly there for
ages. O king of the Kuru race, O son of Kunti, thy father Pandu,
beholding the good fortune of Harischandra and wondering much thereat,
hath told thee something. Knowing that I was coming to the world of
men, he bowed unto me and said,--"Thou shouldst tell Yudhishthira, O
Rishi, that he can subjugate the whole Earth inasmuch as his brothers
are all obedient to him. And having done this let him commence the
grand sacrifice called Rajasuya. He is my son; if he performeth that
sacrifice, I may, like Harischandra, soon attain to the region of
Indra, and there in his Sabha pass countless years in continuous joy."
I told him in reply,--"O King, I shall tell thy son all this, if I go
to the world of man." I have now told thee what he said, O tiger among
men. Accomplish then, O son of Pandu, the desires of thy father. If
thou performest that sacrifice, thou shall then be able to go, along
with thy deceased ancestors, into the same region that is inhabited by
the chief of the immortals. It hath been said,--O king, that the
performance of this great sacrifice is attended with many obstacles. A
class of Rakshasas called Brahma Rakshasas, employed in obstructing all
sacrifices, always search for loop-holes when this great sacrifice is
commenced. On the commencement of such a sacrifice a war may take place
destroying the Kshatriyas and even furnishing occasion for the
destruction of the whole Earth. A slight obstacle may involve the whole
Earth in ruin. Reflecting upon all this, O king of kings do what is for
thy good. Be thou watchful and ready in protecting the four orders of
thy subjects. Grow, thou in prosperity, and enjoy thou felicity.
Gratify thou the Brahmanas with gifts of wealth. I have now answered in
detail all that thou hast asked me. With thy leave I will now go to the
city (Dwaravati) of that Dasarhas.'"
Vaisampayana said,--"O Janamejaya, having said this unto the son of
Pritha, Narada went away, accompanied by those Rishis with whom he had
come. And after Narada had gone away, king Yudhishthira, O thou of the
Kuru race, began to think, along with his brothers, of that foremost of
sacrifices called Rajasuya."