Mârkandeya Purâna, books 7, 8 | Page 8

While she spoke these words, the king
Made up
the funeral pile, and placed thereon
His son, himself ascending with
his wife.
And then, in meditation wrapt, he thought
Upon Nârâyana,
the lord supreme,
And Vâsudeva, lord of deities,
Šiva, and Brâhma
the eternal god,
And Krish.na clothed in glory. As the king
Was
meditating, all the gods from heaven
Came down headed by Dharma.
And they said:
"Hear us, O king! hear us, O lord! The gods--
Even

the mighty gods have come to earth,
And at their head is Dharma.
Gods, and saints,
And heroes--yea, and Višvâmitra too,
The sage
implacable,--all summon thee--
Ascend! to heaven: receive the due
reward,
That thou hast gained. O king! slay not thyself!
I, perfect
Righteousness, I summon thee
To enter now the heaven that thou hast
gained
By thy transcendant virtues, self-control,
Patience, and
truth." Then Indra spoke, and said:--
"O Harišchandra! King, most
eminent!
In virtue! lo! before you Indra stands--
For I am he. The
everlasting world
Thou hast attained: together with thy wife,
And
son, ascend to heaven;--to that third heav'n--
So difficult to be
attained by men--
The heav'n that thou hast won." Then Indra rained

Life-giving am.rit from the sky, and flowers
That blossomed in the
heavenly courts: while sounds
Of music filled the air, and round him
stood
The gods, a vast assembly. Then the son
Of Harišchandra
rose, restored to life,
And health, his mind and senses whole, his form

More beautiful than ever: and the king
Embraced his wife and son,
with perfect joy
Filled to o'erflowing, crowned with heavenly wreaths.

Then Indra said: "Thou, with thy wife, and son,
Shalt dwell in bliss
supreme: bliss that thyself
Hast purchased, by thy virtues and thy
toils."
Then spoke the king: "Hear me! most holy gods!
Unbidden
by my master, will I not
To heaven itself ascend." Then Dharma
spoke:
"I am thy master. I assumed the form
Of a Cha.n.dâla. All
thy pain and woe
Was brought upon thee by my magic power,
And
thou wast made a slave! I have beheld
Thy truth, and thy uprightness.
Saintly king!
The highest place that heaven accords to men,
Whose
virtue has been tried and proved:--to that
Ascend!" But Harišchandra
answering, said:
"Receive, most mighty lord! my words of praise

And thanksgiving. I offer them to thee
Full of affection. Lo! my
people stand
With grieving hearts, longing for my return.
Can I
ascend to heav'n while they on earth
Lament for me? If they have
ever slain,
Brâhmans, or teachers of the holy law,--
If lust or avarice
have ruled their hearts,--
Then may my labours and my toils atone,

For these their sins. I may not leave my friends.
For neither here, nor

in the world to come,
Can there be peace to one who casts aside

The friend whose love is pure and true--the friend
Who serves him
from the heart. Return!
Return! to heaven! O Indra! If thou grant

My friends to rise with me, to heav'n will I
Ascend; if not, with them
will I descend
To Nâraka." "O king! thy prayer is heard!
Thy
people's sins are pardoned: even for them,
Hard though it be, thy toils
and pains have gained
A place in heaven." Thus mighty Indra spoke.

Replied the king: "Indra! I will not leave
My kinsmen. By his
kinsmen's help a king
His kingdom rules; by them he offers up
The
kingly sacrifice, and for himself
Lays up a store of meritorious deeds.

So have my kinsmen too enabled me
To work whate'er I may of
righteousness.
My actions virtuous, my granted prayers,
Truly I
owe to them, for by their aid
Have these been possible. May the
reward
Thou grantest me, I pray, be shared with them.
My kinsmen,
though I should ascend to heaven,
I will not leave." "So be it!" Indra
said;
"So be it!" said the Brâhman; Dharma, too,
Gave his assent;
and then, in countless hosts,
Appeared the heavenly chariots. Indra
said:
"Men of Ayodhya, ascend to heaven."
The saintly Brâhman,
having heard with joy
The words of Indra, poured the sacred oil

Upon the prince, and with the perfect ones,
The sages, and the gods,
anointed him
"Son of the mighty king." Then all the throng--
The
king, his wife, his son, his followers--
Filled with rejoicing and
delight, ascend
To heaven, surrounding, as they go, the king
Borne
in his chariot. He, too, filled with joy--
The mighty father, who
eternal bliss
Both for his people and himself had gained,
Once more
in form and mien a king--reposed,
Resting from all his toils, his
faithful friends
Surrounding him with a protecting wall.
And Indra
spoke and said: "Upon this earth
Great Harišchandra's equal has not
been
Nor shall be. Whosoe'er may hear his life,
His toils, his
sorrows, and in sympathy
For him lament, transcendant happiness

Shall he attain, and all his heart's desire
Shall be accomplished. Is his
prayer a wife,
Or son, or kingdom, he shall gain them all,
E'en
heaven itself. And he who imitates
The truth, and steadfastness, of

that great king,
Like him shall enter everlasting rest.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Mârkandeya Purâna, Books
VII., VIII. Translated by Rev. B. Hale Wortham
0. END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MâRKANDEYA
PURâNA, BOOKS VII., VIII. ***
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