"'Bhishma said, "Once more, laughing at Vali who was sighing like a snake,
Sakra addressed him for saying something more pointed than what had said
before.[837]
"'"Sakra said, 'Formerly, attended by a train consisting of thousands of
vehicles and kinsmen, thou usedst to make thy progresses, scorching all
the worlds with thy splendour and regarding us as nought. Thou art now,
however, deserted by both kinsmen and friends. Beholding this miserable
plight that has overtaken thee, dost thou or dost thou not indulge in
grief? Formerly, all the worlds were under thy sway and great was thy
joy. I ask, dost thou or dost thou not indulge in grief now, for this
fall of thine in respect of external splendour?'
"'"Vali said, 'Considering all this to be transitory,--due, indeed, to the
course of time,--I do not, O Sakra, indulge in grief. These things have
an end. These bodies that creatures have, O chief of celestials, are all
transitory. For that reason, O Sakra, I do not grieve (for this asinine
form of mine). Nor is this form due to any fault of mine. The animating
principle and the body come into existence together, in consequence of
their own nature. They grow together, and meet with destruction together.
Having obtained this form of existence I have not been permanently
enslaved by it. Since I know this, I have no cause for sorrow in
consequence of that knowledge. As the final resting-place of all rivers
is the ocean, even so the end of all embodied creatures is death. Those
persons that know this well are never stupefied, O wielder of the
thunderbolt! They, however, who are overwhelmed with Passion and loss of
judgment, do not know this, they whose understanding is lost, sink under
the weight of misfortune. A person who acquires a keen understanding
succeeds in destroying all his sins. A sinless person acquires the
attribute of Goodness, and having acquired it becomes cheerful. They,
however, that deviate from the attribute of Goodness, and obtain repeated
rebirths, are obliged to indulge in sorrow and grief, led on by desire
and the objects of the senses. Success or the reverse, in respect of the
attainment of all objects of desire, life or death, the fruits of action
that are represented by pleasure or pain, I neither dislike nor like.
When one slays another, one slays only that other's body. That man, who
thinks that it is he who slays another, is himself slain. Indeed, both of
them are ignorant of the truth, viz., he who slays and he who is
slain.[838] That person, O Maghavat, who having killed or vanquished any
one brags of his manliness, should know that he is not the actor but the
act (of which he boasts) has been accomplished by a real agent (who is
different). When the question comes as to who is it that causes the
creation and the destruction of things in the world, it is generally
regarded that some person (who has himself been caused or created) has
caused the act (of creation or destruction). Know, however, that the
person who is so regarded has (as already said) a creator. Earth, light
or heat, space, water, and wind constituting the fifth--from these do all
creatures spring. (When this is known to me) what sorrow can I feel (for
this change in my condition)? One that is possessed of great learning,
one that has not much of learning, one that is possessed of strength, one
that is destitute of strength, one that is possessed of personal beauty,
and one that is very ugly, one that is fortunate and one that is not
blessed by fortune, are all swept away by Time, which is too deep to be
fathomed, by its own energy. When I know that I have been vanquished by
Time, what sorrow can I feel (for this alteration in my circumstances)?
One that burns anything burns a thing that has been already burnt. One
that slays, only slays a victim already slain. One that is destroyed has
been before destroyed. A thing that is acquired by a person is that which
is already arrived and intended for his acquisition. This Time is like an
ocean. There is no island in it. Where, indeed, is its other shore? Its
boundary cannot be seen. Reflecting even deeply, I do not behold the end
of this continuous stream that is the great ordainer of all things and
that is certainly celestial. If I did not understand that it is Time that
destroys all creatures, then, perhaps, I would have felt the emotions of
joy and pride and wrath, O lord of Sachi! Hast thou come here to condemn
me, having ascertained that I am now bearing the form of an ass that
subsists upon chaff and that is now passing his days in a lonely spot
remote from the habitations of men? If I wish, even now I can assume
various awful forms beholding any one of which thou wouldst beat a hasty
retreat from my presence. It is Time that gives everything and again
takes away everything. It is Time that ordains all things. Do not, O
Sakra, brag of thy manliness. Formerly, O Purandara, on occasions of my
wrath everything used to become agitated. I am acquainted, however, O
Sakra, with the eternal attributes of all things in the world. Do thou
also know the truth. Do not suffer thyself to be filled with wonder.
Affluence and its origin are not under one's control. Thy mind seems to
be like that of a child. It is the same as it was before. Open thy eyes,
O Maghavat, and adopt an understanding established on certitude and
truth. The gods, men, the Pitris, the Gandharvas, the snakes, and the
Rakshasas, were all under my sway in days gone by. Thou knowest this, O
Vasava! Their understandings stupefied by ignorance, all creatures used
to flatter me, saying, "Salutations to that point of the compass whither
Virochana's son Vali may now be staying!" O lord of Sachi, I do not at
all grieve when I think of that honour (which is no longer paid to me). I
feel no sorrow for this fall of mine. My understanding is firm in this
respect, viz., that I will live obedient to the sway of the Ordainer. It
is seen that some one of noble birth, possessed of handsome features, and
endued with great prowess, lives in misery, with all his counsellors and
friends. This happens because of its having been ordained.[839]
Similarly, some one born in an ignoble race, devoid of knowledge, and
with even a stain on his birth, is seen, O Sakra, to live in happiness
with all his counsellors and friends.
"'"This also happens because of its having been ordained. An auspicious
and beautiful woman, O Sakra, is seen to pass her life in misery.
Similarly, an ugly woman with every inauspicious mark is seen to pass her
days in great happiness. That we have now become so is not due to any act
of ours, O Sakra! That thou art now so is not due, O wielder of the
thunderbolt, to any act of thine. Thou hast not done anything, O thou of
hundred sacrifices, in consequence of which thou art now enjoying this
affluence. Nor have I done anything in consequence of which I have now
been divested of affluence. Affluence and its reverse come one after
another. I now behold thee blazing with splendour, endued with
prosperity, possessed of beauty, placed at the head of all the deities,
and thus roaring at me. This would never be but for the fact of Time
standing near after having assailed me. Indeed, if Time had not assailed
me I would have today killed thee with only a blow of my fists
notwithstanding the fact of thy being armed with the thunder. This,
however, is not the time for putting forth my prowess. On the other hand,
the time that has come is for adopting a behaviour of peace and
tranquillity. It is Time that establishes all things. Time works upon all
things and leads them to their final consummation.[840] I was the
worshipped lord of the Danavas. Burning all with my energy, I used to
roar in strength and pride. When Time hath assailed even myself, who is
there whom he will not assail? Formerly, O chief of the deities, singly I
bore the energy of all the twelve illustrious Adityas with thyself
amongst them. It was I that used to bear up water and then to shower it
as rain, O Vasava! It was I that used to give both light and heat unto
the three worlds. It was I that used to protect and it was I that used to
destroy. It was I that gave and it was I that took. It was I that used to
bind and it was I that used to unbind. In all the worlds I was the one
puissant master. That sovereign sway which I had, O chief of the
celestials, is no more. I am now assailed by the forces of Time. Those
things, therefore, are no longer seen to shine in me. I am not the doer
(of acts that are apparently done by me). Thou art not the doer (of acts
done by thee). None else, O lord of Sachi, is the doer (of those acts).
It is Time, O Sakra, that protects or destroys all things.[841] Persons
conversant with the Vedas say that Time (Eternity) is Brahma. The
fortnights and months are his body. That body is invested with days and
nights as its robes. The seasons are his senses. The year is his mouth.
Some people, in consequence of their superior intelligence, say that all
this (the entire universe) should be conceived as Brahma. The Vedas,
however, teach, that the five sheaths that invest the Soul should be
regarded as Brahma. Brahma is deep and inaccessible like a vast ocean of
waters. It hath been said that it hath neither beginning nor end, and
that it is both indestructible and destructible.[842] Though it is
without attributes by itself, yet it enters all existent objects and as
such assumes attributes. Those persons that are conversant with truth
regard Brahma as eternal. Through the action of Ignorance, Brahma causes
the attributes of materiality to invest the Chit or Soul which is
immaterial spirit (having knowledge only for its attribute). That
materiality, however, is not the essential attribute of the Soul, for
upon the appearance of a knowledge of the true cause of everything, that
materiality ceases to invest the Soul.[843] Brahma in the form of Time is
the refuge of all creatures. Where wouldst thou go transcending that
Time? Time or Brahma, indeed, cannot be avoided by running nor by staying
still. All the five senses are incapable of perceiving Brahma. Some have
said that Brahma is Fire; some that he is Prajapati; some that he is the
Seasons; some that he is the Month; some that he is the Fortnight; some
that he is the Days; some that he is the Hours; some that he is the
Morning; some that he is the Noon; some that he is the Evening; and some
that he is the Moment. Thus diverse people speak diversely of him who is
single. Know that he is Eternity, under whose sway are all things. Many
thousands of Indras have passed away, O Vasava, each of whom was
possessed of great strength and prowess. Thou also, O lord of Sachi,
shalt have to pass away after the same manner. Thee, too, O Sakra, that
art possessed of swelling might and that art the chief of the deities,
when thy hour comes, all-powerful Time will extinguish! Time sweeps away
all things. For this reason, O Indra, do not brag. Time is incapable of
being quieted by either thee or me or by those gone before us. This regal
prosperity that thou hast attained and that thou thinkest to be beyond
comparison, had formerly been possessed by me. It is unsubstantial and
unreal. She does not dwell long in one place. Indeed, she had dwelt in
thousands of Indras before thee, all of whom, again, were very much
superior to thee. Unstable as she is, deserting me she hath now
approached thee, O chief of the deities! Do not, O Sakra, indulge in such
brag again. It behoveth thee to become tranquil. Knowing thee to be full
of vanity, she will very soon desert thee.'"'"