"'Yudhishthira said, "I have heard the discourse regarding the ordinance
about the gift of food. Do thou discourse to me now about the conjunction
of the planets and the stars in relation to the subject of making
gifts."[334]
"'Bhishma said, "In this connection is recited this ancient narrative of
the discourse between Devaki and Narada, that foremost of Rishis. Once on
a time when Narada of godlike feature and conversant with every duty
arrived at Dwaraka, Devaki asked him this question. Unto her that had
asked him, the celestial Rishi Narada duly answered in the following
words. Do thou hear as I recite them.
"'"Narada said, 'By gratifying, O blessed lady, deserving Brahmanas with
Payasa mixed with ghee, under the constellation Krittika one attains to
regions of great happiness.[335] Under the constellation Rohini, one
should for freeing oneself from the debt one owes to the Brahmanas make
gift unto them of many handfuls of venison along with rice and ghee and
milk, and other kinds of edibles and drinks. One giving away a cow with a
calf under the constellation called Somadaivata (or Mrigasiras), proceeds
from this region of human beings to a region in heaven of great felicity.
One undergoing a fast and giving away Krisara mixed with sesame,
transcends all difficulties in the next world, including those mountains
with rocks sharp as razors. By making gifts, O beautiful lady, of cakes
and other food under the constellation Punarvasu one becomes possessed of
personal beauty and great fame and takes birth in one's next life in a
family in which there is abundance of food. Making a gift of wrought or
unwrought gold, under the constellation Pushya, one shines in effulgence
like Soma himself in regions of surrounding gloom. He who makes a gift,
under the constellation Aslesha, of silver or a bull, becomes freed from
every fear and attains to great affluence and prosperity. By making a
gift, under the constellation Magha, of earthen dishes filled with
sesame, one becomes possessed of children and animals in this world and
attains to felicity in the next.[336] For making gifts unto Brahmanas,
under the constellation called Purva-Phalguni of food mixed with Phanita
the giver observing a fast the while, reward is great prosperity both
here and hereafter.[337] By making a gift, under the constellation called
Uttara-Phalguni, of ghee and milk with rice called Shashthika, one
attains to great honours in heaven. Whatever gifts are made by men under
the constellation of Uttara-Phalguni produce great merit, which, again,
becomes inexhaustible. This is very certain. Observing a fast the while,
the person that makes, under the constellation Hasta, a gift of a car
with four elephants, attains to regions of great felicity that are
capable of granting the fruition of every wish. By making a gift, under
the constellation Chitra, of a bull and of good perfumes, one sports in
bliss in regions of Apsaras like the deities sporting in the woods of
Nandana. By making gifts of wealth under the constellation Swati, one
attains to such excellent regions as one desires and wins besides great
fame. By making gifts, under constellation Visakha, of a bull, and a cow
that yields a copious measure of milk, a cart full of paddy, with a
Prasanga for covering the same, and also cloths for wear,[338] a person
never meets with any calamity and certainly reaches heaven. By
making gifts unto the Brahmanas of whatever articles they solicit,
one attains to such means of subsistence as one desires, and
becomes rescued from hell and every calamity that visits a sinner
after death. This is the certain conclusion of the scriptures. By
making gifts, under the constellation Anuradha of embroidered cloth and
other vestments and of food, observing a fast the while, one becomes
honoured in heaven for a hundred Yugas. By making a gift under the
constellation Jyeshtha, of the potherb called Kalasaka with the roots,
one attains to great prosperity as also to such an end as is desirable.
By making unto Brahmanas a gift under the constellation Mula, of fruits
and roots, with a restrained soul, one gratifies the Pitris and attains
to a desirable end. By making under the constellation Purvashadha, a
gift, unto a Brahmana conversant with the Vedas and of good family and
conduct, of cups filled with curds, while one is in the observance of a
fast, one takes birth in one's next life in a family possessed of
abundant kine. One obtains the fruition of every wish, by making gifts,
under the constellation Uttarashadha, of jugs full of barley-water, with
ghee and inspissated juice of sugarcane in abundance. By making a gift
under the conjunction called Abhijit, of milk with honey and ghee unto
men of wisdom, a righteous person attains to heaven and becomes an object
of attention and honour there. By making under the conjunction Sravana, a
gift of blankets or other cloth of thick texture, one roves freely
through every region of felicity, riding on a white car of pure
resplendence. By making with a restrained soul, under the constellation
Dhanishtha, a gift of a vehicle with bulls yoked thereto, or heaps of
cloths and wealth, one at once attains to heaven in one's next life. By
making gifts, under the constellation Satabhisha, of perfumes with
Aquilaria Agallocha and sandalwood, one attains in the next world to the
companionship of Apsaras as also eternal perfumes of diverse kinds. By
making gifts, under the constellation Purva-Bhadrapada, or Rajamasha, one
attains to great happiness in the next life and becomes possessed of an
abundant stock of every kind of edibles and fruits.[339] One who makes,
under the constellation Uttara, a gift of mutton, gratifies the Pitris by
such an act attains to inexhaustible merit in the next world. Unto one
who makes a gift, under the constellation Revati, of a cow with a vessel
of white copper for milking her, the cow so given away approaches in the
next world, ready to grant the fruition of every wish. By making a gift,
under the constellation Aswini, of a car with steeds yoked thereto, one
is born in one's next life in a family possessed of numerous elephants
and steeds and cars, and becomes endued with great energy. By making,
under the constellation Bharani, a gift unto the Brahmanas of kine and
sesame, one acquires in one's next life great fame and an abundance of
kine.'"
"'Bhishma continued, "Even thus did Narada discourse unto Devaki upon the
subject of what gifts should be made under what constellations. Devaki
herself, having listened to this discourse, recited it in her turn unto
her daughters-in-law (viz., the spouses of Krishna)."'"