"'Yudhishthira said, "O thou that art conversant with the conduct of men,
tell me by what conduct a person may succeed in this world, freed from
grief. How also should a person act in this world so that he may attain
to an excellent end?"
"'Bhishma said, "In this connection is cited the old story of the
discourse between Prahlada and the sage Ajagara. Once on a time king
Prahlada of great intelligence questioned a wandering Brahmana of great
intelligence and a cleansed and tranquil soul.
"'"Prahlada said, 'Freed from desire, with a cleansed soul, possessed of
humility and self-restraint, without desire of action, free from malice,
agreeable in speech, endued with dignity and intelligence and wisdom,
thou livest (in simplicity) like a child. Thou never covetest any kind of
gain, and never grievest at any kind of loss. Thou art always contented,
O Brahmana, and dost not seem to regard anything in the world. While all
other creatures are being borne away in the current of desire and
passion, thou art perfectly indifferent to all acts appertaining to
Religion, Profit, and Pleasure. Thou seemest to be in a state of quietude
(without the possibility of agitation). Disregarding all objects of the
senses, thou movest like an emancipated self, only witnessing everything
(but never taking part in anything). What, O sage, is thy wisdom, what
thy learning, and what thy behaviour (in consequence of which all this
becomes possible)? Tell me this without delay, if, O Brahmana, thou
thinkest it will do me good!'"
"'Bhishma continued, "That intelligent Brahmana who was well-conversant
with the duties of the world, thus questioned by Prahlada, answered him
in sweet words of grave import. 'Behold, O Prahlada, the origin of
creatures, their growth, decay, and death, are traceable to no
(intelligible) cause. It is for this that I do not indulge in either joy
or sorrow.[536] All the propensities (for action) that exist in the
universe may be seen to flow from the very natures of the creatures (to
which they inhere). All things (in the universe) are depended on their
respective natures. Hence, I am not delighted with anything.[537] Behold,
O Prahlada, all kinds of union have an aptitude for disunion. All
acquisitions are certain to end in destruction. Hence I never set my
heart upon the acquisition of any object. All things possessed of
attributes are certain to meet with destruction. What remains there for a
person then to do who (like me) is conversant with both the origin and
the end of things? Of all things, large or small, born in the ocean of
waters, the end is noticeable. I see also the death, which is manifest, O
chief of Asuras, of all things, mobile and immobile, belonging to the
land. O best of Danavas, death comes in season unto even the strongest of
winged creatures which range the sky. I see again that the luminous
bodies, large and small, which move in the firmament, fall down when
their time comes. Beholding all created things Possessed of knowledge, to
be thus liable to be affected by death, and thinking all things to be
possessed of the same nature, I sleep in peace without any anxiety of
heart. If I get without trouble a copious repast, I do not scruple to
enjoy it. On the other hand, I pass many days, together without eating
anything. Sometimes people feed me with costly viands in profusion,
sometimes with a small quantity, sometimes with even less, and sometimes
I get no food whatever. I sometimes eat only a portion of a grain;
sometimes the dry sesame cakes from which the oil has been pressed out, I
sometimes eat rice and other food of the richest kind. Sometimes I sleep
on an elevated bedstead of the best kind. Sometimes I sleep on the bare
ground. Sometimes my bed is made within a fine palace or mansion. I am
sometimes clad in rags, sometimes in sackcloth, sometimes in raiments of
fine texture, sometimes in deer-skins, sometimes in robes of the
costliest kind. I never reject such enjoyments as are consistent with
virtue and as are obtained by me without effort. I do not, at the same
time, strive for attaining such objects as are difficult of acquisition.
The rigid vow I have adopted is called Ajagara.[538] That vow can secure
immortality. It is auspicious and griefless. It is incomparable and pure.
It is consistent with the counsels of the wise. It is disapproved by
persons of foolish understanding who never follow it. With a pure heart I
conduct myself according to it. My mind never swerves from this vow. I
have not swerved from the practices of my order. I am abstemious in
everything. I know the past and the present. Divested of fear and wrath
and cupidity and errors of judgment, I follow this vow with a pure heart.
There are no restrictions in respect of food and drink and other objects
of enjoyment for one practising this vow. As everything is dependent on
destiny, there is no observance of the considerations of time and place
for one like us. The vow I follow contributes to true happiness of the
heart. It is never observed by those that are wicked. I follow it with a
pure heart. Induced by cupidity, men pursue different kinds of wealth. If
baffled in the pursuit, they become depressed by sorrow. Reflecting
properly upon all this by the aid of my intelligence which has penetrated
the truths of things, I follow this vow with a pure heart. I have seen
persons in distress seeking, for the acquisition of wealth, the shelter
of men, good and bad. Devoted to tranquillity, and with my passions under
control, I follow this vow with a pure heart. Beholding, by the aid of
truth, that happiness and misery, loss and gain, attachment and
renunciation, death and life, are all ordained by destiny, I follow this
vow with a pure heart. Divested of fear and attachment and errors of
judgment and pride, and endued with wisdom, intelligence, and
understanding, and devoted to tranquillity and hearing that large snakes
without moving enjoy the fruit that comes to them of itself, I follow
their practice with a pure heart. Without restrictions of any kind in
respect of bed and food, endued by my nature with self-restraint,
abstemiousness, pure vow, truth, and purity of conduct, and without any
desire to store (for future use) the rewards of action, I follow, with a
delighted and pure heart, this vow. All causes of sorrow have fled from
me in consequence of my having driven off the object of desire. Having
received an accession of light, I follow this vow with a pure heart, for
controlling my soul which is thirsty and unrestrained but which is
capable (under proper culture) of depending upon itself (without the
necessity of external objects to keep it engaged). Without paying any
heed to the concerns towards which my heart, mind, words would like to
lead me, and marking that the happiness which is connected with these is
both difficult of acquisition and fleeting in respect of duration, I
follow this vow with a pure heart. Learned men possessed of great
intelligence, desirous of proclaiming their own feats, have while
establishing their own theories and censuring those of others, said this
and that on this topic which is incapable of being settled by
disputation. Foolish men fail to understand this vow in a proper light.
I, however, see it to be destructive of Ignorance. Regarding it also as
fraught with immortality and as a remedy against diverse kinds of evil, I
wander among men, having subdued all faults and having freed myself from
thirst (after worldly goods)!'"
"'Bhishma continued, "That high-souled person who, having freed himself
from attachments and divested himself of fear, cupidity; foolishness, and
wrath, follows this Ajagara vow, or indulges in this sport, as it may be
called, certainly succeeds in passing his days in great delight."'"