Mahabharata VOL I2 - HolyBooks.com

and disappearing amid darkness,ASWAMEDHA PABVA 81men possessed of the eye of knowledgeand crowned with success of penances, behold, with spiritual vision,Jiva as he leaves the body, as he is reborn, and as he enters the womb.It is seen that Jiva has three regions assigned to him eternally. Thisworld where creatures dwell is called the field of action.Accomplishingacts good or bad, all embodied creatures attain to the fruits thereof.In consequence of their own acts, creatures acquire even here superioror inferior enjoyments. Doers of evil deeds here, in consequence ofthose acts of theirs, attain to Hell.This condition of sinking with headdownwards, in which creatures are cooked, is one of great misery. Itis such that a rescue therefrom is exceedingly difficult. Indeed,one should strive hard for saving oneself from this misery. Thoseregions where creatures dwell when they ascend from this worldI shall now declare truly. Do thou listen to me with attention. Bylistening to what I say, thou shalt attain to firmness of understandingand a clear apprehension of (good and bad) acts. Know that eventhose are the regions of all creatures of righteous deeds, viz., the stellarworlds that shine in the firmament, the lunar disc, and the solar discas well that shines in the universe in its own light. Upon the exhaustion,again of their merits, they fall away from those regions repeatedly.There, in Heaven itself, is distinction of inferior, superior, and middlingfelicity. There, in Heaven itself, is discontent at sight of prosperitymore blazing than one's own. Even these are the goals which I havementioned in detail. I shall, after this, discourse to you on the attainmentby Jiva of the condition of residence in the womb. Do thou hearme, with concentrated attention, O regenerate one, as I speak to thee !'"SECTION XVIIIThe Brahmana said, The acts, good and bad, that a Jiva doesare not subject to destruction. Upon attainment of body after body,those acts produce fruits corresponding with them. 1 As a fruit-bearingtree, when the season comes of productivity, yields a large quantity offruit, similarly merit, achieved with a pure heart, yields a large corp(of felicity), After the same fashion, sin, done with a sinful heart, producesa large crop of misery. The Soul (or Jiva), placing the mindahead, addresses himself to action. Hear then how Jiva, equipt with allhis acts and overwhelmed with lust and wrath, enters the womb, Thevital seed, mixed with blood, enters the womb of females and becomesthe field (of Jiva), good or bad, born of (his) acts. In consequence ofhis subtlety and the condition of being unmanifest, Jiva does not becomeattached to anything even after attaining to a body. Therefore,1 'Pachante* is 'phalam prayaohhanti.' T.