Parva 1 Chapter 19: pitṛkalpaḥ (3) - yoga-bhraṁśa- nirūpaṇa - about subsidence of ascetic merit

In earlier era there used to be seven sons of sage bharādvāja who having followed yogic ascesis have became degenerates by virtue of their misconduct... those practitioners of yoga-dharma have obtained a fall from higher abodes onto the banks of lake called mānasa-sarovaram... there they spent time always sighing for their lost virtue, as if one would sigh for chattel personal drowned deep in the well - toya nimagna vastu - till their end-time in that birth has occurred..." so continued mārkanḍeya to bhīṣma, by reporting what sanat-kumāra said to him... tataḥ te yoga-vibhraṣṭā deveṣu sucira uṣitāḥ | jātāḥ kauṣika dāyādāḥ kurukṣetre nararṣabhāḥ || 1-19-4 hiṁsayā vihariṣyanto dharmaṁ pitṛ-kṛtena vai | tataste punarājātiṁ bhraṣṭāḥ prāpsyanti kutsitām || 1-19-5 teṣāṁ pitṝ prasādena pūrvajāti kṛtena vai | smṛtiḥ utpatsyate prāpya tāṁ tāṁ jātiṁ jugupsitām || 1-19-6 Again they ascended to heaven, stayed there for a long time, and then they have now become the progeny of kaushika near at kurukshetra... soon they will commit a cruel crime for the sake of their father, whereby they again fall into the enceinte of lowly beings... however, they retain the memories of their past lives because they adored their fatherly gods, and because of the yogic merit they accrued earlier... te dharmacāriṇo nityaṁ bhaviṣyanti samāhitāḥ | brāhmaṇyaṁ pratilapsyanti tato bhūyaḥ svakarmaṇā|| 1-19-7 tatashcha yogaṁ prāpsyanti pūrvajātikṛtaṁ punaḥ | bhūyaḥ siddhim anuprāptāḥ sthānaṁ prāpsyanti śāśvatam || 1-19-8 Ultimately they acquire brahamaṇa-hood whereby they get redemption, salvation, and an eternal abode in higher worlds... all this is because of their dharma - persistent devotion to fatherly gods... jāti smaratvāt eva dharma parā api janā - knowing one's own roots is a better sanctitude... evaṁ dharme ca te buddhiḥ bhaviṣyati punaḥ punaḥ | yoga-dharme ca nitarāṁ prāpsyase buddhim uttamām || 1-19-9 In this way, if your mind too, oh, mārkanḍeya, is inclined towards dharma constantly, you will be deemed to be an adherent of yoga-tenets and one day wisdom will dawn upon you... yogo hi durlabho nityam alpa prajṣaiḥ kadācana | labdhvā api nāśayanti enaṁ vyasanaiḥ kaṭutāmitāḥ | adharmeṣu eva vartante prārdayante gurūn api || 1-19-10 yoga is an impossible thing for commoners... even if they achieve it, it will ruin them because of their excesses... thus they abide in unrighteousness, even to the maximum of committing treachery towards his mentors... yācante na tu ayācyāni rakṣanti śaraṇāgatān | na avajānanti kṛpaṇānmādyante na dhanoṣmaṇā || 1-19-11 Those who do not tread the path of adharma will not envy the unenviable, will not protect the unprotectable, weigh the pitiable, and will not become money-mongers... yukta āhāra vihārāḥ ca yukta ceṣṭāḥ sva-karmasu | dhyāna ādhyayana yuktāḥ ca na naṣṭa anu gaveṣiṇaḥ || 1-19-12 They will be strict in the regimen of food and activities, comport befitting in their deeds, properly conduct self-study, and impart scriptures, and they do not quest after their lost wealth, for they are self-contented... na upa-bhoga-ratā nityaṁ na māṁsa-madhu-bhakṣaṇāḥ | na ca kāma-parā nityaṁ na vipra asevinaḥ tathā || 1-19-13 na anārya saṁkatha āsaktā na alasya upahatāḥ tathā | na atyanta māna-saṁsaktā goṣṭhīṣu aniratāḥ tathā || 1-19-14 prāpnuvanti narā yogaṁ yogo vai durlabho bhuvi | yogis will neither be indulgent in luxuries, nor partake animal food and wine, nor carnal, nor non-serving the brāhmaṇā-s, nor engrossed in bohemian legends, nor easily whacked out... thus yogis will attain such a state, where yoga itself is not-so-easy practice in this world... praśāntāḥ ca jita-krodhā māna ahaṅkāra varjitāḥ || 1-19-15 kalyāṇa bhājanaṁ ye tu te bhavanti yata-vratāḥ | evaṁ vidhāḥ tu te tāta brāhmaṇā hi abhavan tadā || 1-19-16 smaranti hi ātmano doṣaṁ pramāda-kṛtam eva tu | dhyāna adhyayana yuktāḥ ca śānte vartmani saṁsthitāḥ || 1-19-17 Serene, ire-controlled and above the pairs of opposite like glory and vainglory etc., are the brāhmaṇā-s of yore... those were the industrious people and they were all good-natured... they used to brood on the fault accidentally committed by them, lest it may not be repeated... exiling themselves into the self-study and imparting of scriptures, they eked out a living of peacefulness... yoga dharmāt hi dharmajṣa na dharmo'sti viśeṣavān | variṣṭhaḥ sarva dharmāṇāṁ tam eva ācara bhārgava || 1-19-18 There is nothing whatsoever that surpasseth the strength of character... have that aplomb and practice that alone, since it is the best... This is something like: Di tibi, si qua pios respectant numina, si quid ūsquam iustitia est et mens sibi conscia recti, Praemia digna ferant. If the divine powers take note of the dutiful in any way, if there is any justice anywhere and a mind recognizing in itself what is right, may the gods bring you your earned rewards. āeneid bk. 1, l. 603 [if only you practise them rightly - suffix] kālasya pariṇāmena laghu āhāro jitendriyaḥ | tatparaḥ prayataḥ śrāddhī yoga dharmam avāpsyasi || 1-19-19 Controlling your dietary habits and senses you should earnestly undertake self-discipline in due course of time, whereby you will achieve yoga-dharma..." so said sanat-kumāra to sage mārkanḍeya. iti uktvā bhagavān devaḥ tatra eva ataradhīyata | aṣṭā-daśa eva varṣāṇi tu eka āham iva me'bhavat || 1-19-20 upāsataḥ taṁ deveśaṁ varṣāṇi aṣṭādaśa eva me | prasādāt tasya devasya na glāniḥ abhavat tadā || 1-19-21 na kṣut pipāse kālaṁ vā jānāmi sma tada anagha | paścāt śiṣya sakāśāt tu kālaḥ saṁvidito mayā || 1-19-22 "Saying so to me that godly sanat-kumāra vanished then and there... eighteen years said to have lapsed in his narrating all this to me... but I felt it as one day... I had no hunger, thirst, or fatigue etc humanly traits just because I stayed in the presence of that god sanat-kumāra... later the presence of disciples around me brought my attention to this timelessness..." So said sage mārkanḍeya to bhīṣma. --o)0(o-- iti śrīmahābhārate khileṣu harivaṁśe harivaṁśaparvaṇi pitṛkalpe yoga-bhraṁśa- nirūpaṇa - nāma ekonaviṁśo'dhyāyaḥ Thus, this is the nineteenth chapter of first canto called harivamsha-parva, in harivamśa-purāṇa, the sequel of mahābhārata, narrating about the subsidence of ascetic merit. --o)0(o--