├── .gitignore ├── .gitattributes ├── data ├── art-of-war │ ├── readme.md │ └── clean.txt ├── meditations │ └── readme.md ├── mahabarta │ ├── mahatxt.zip │ ├── cached_lm_1024_clean.txt │ ├── mahabarta.ipynb │ └── mahatxt │ │ ├── maha17.txt │ │ ├── maha16.txt │ │ └── maha18.txt ├── bible │ ├── cached_lm_1024_clean.txt │ └── bible.ipynb ├── tolkien │ ├── readme.md │ └── tolkien.ipynb ├── jules-verne │ └── data.py ├── tao │ └── data.py ├── plato │ └── plato.ipynb ├── asimov │ └── i-robot.ipynb ├── hemingway │ └── old-man.ipynb ├── harry │ └── harry.ipynb └── alan-watts │ └── alan-watts.ipynb ├── assets └── app.png ├── requirements.txt ├── setup.py ├── creative ├── load.py ├── app.py ├── evaluate.py └── fine_tune.py ├── Makefile └── README.md /.gitignore: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | runs 2 | models 3 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /.gitattributes: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | *.ipynb linguist-vendored 2 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/art-of-war/readme.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | http://classics.mit.edu/Tzu/artwar.1b.txt 2 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /assets/app.png: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/XenocodeRCE/gpt2/main/assets/app.png -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/meditations/readme.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | http://classics.mit.edu/Antoninus/meditations.mb.txt 2 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/mahabarta/mahatxt.zip: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/XenocodeRCE/gpt2/main/data/mahabarta/mahatxt.zip -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/bible/cached_lm_1024_clean.txt: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/XenocodeRCE/gpt2/main/data/bible/cached_lm_1024_clean.txt -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /requirements.txt: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | transformers==4.11.3 2 | datasets==1.15.1 3 | awscli==1.25.12 4 | streamlit==1.10.0 5 | black 6 | isort 7 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/mahabarta/cached_lm_1024_clean.txt: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/XenocodeRCE/gpt2/main/data/mahabarta/cached_lm_1024_clean.txt -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/tolkien/readme.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | https://archive.org/stream/TheLordOfTheRing1TheFellowshipOfTheRing/The+Lord+Of+The+Ring+1-The+Fellowship+Of+The+Ring_djvu.txt 2 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /setup.py: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | from setuptools import setup, find_packages 2 | 3 | 4 | setup( 5 | name='creative', 6 | version='0.0.1', 7 | description='', 8 | author='Adam Green', 9 | author_email='adam.green@adgefficiency.com', 10 | url='http://www.adgefficiency.com/', 11 | packages=find_packages(), 12 | ) 13 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/jules-verne/data.py: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | from pathlib import Path 2 | 3 | import requests 4 | 5 | 6 | res = requests.get('https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/164/pg164.txt') 7 | data = str(res.text).replace('\r', '') 8 | data = data.split('PART ONE')[-1].split('End of the Project Gutenberg')[0] 9 | (Path.cwd() / 'data' / 'jules-verne' / 'clean.txt').write_text(data) 10 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/tao/data.py: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | from pathlib import Path 2 | 3 | import requests 4 | 5 | 6 | def scrape_gutenburg(num, start, end, name): 7 | res = requests.get(f'https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/{num}/pg{num}.txt') 8 | data = str(res.text).replace('\r', '') 9 | data = data.split(start)[-1].split(end)[0] 10 | (Path.cwd() / 'data' / name / 'clean.txt').write_text(data) 11 | 12 | scrape_gutenburg(216, 'Translated by James Legge', 'End of the Project Gutenberg', 'tao') 13 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /creative/load.py: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | """load a model checkpoint""" 2 | from pathlib import Path 3 | from typing import List 4 | 5 | 6 | def load_models(base: Path = Path.cwd()) -> List[Path]: 7 | return [p for p in (base / "models").iterdir() if p.is_dir()] 8 | 9 | 10 | def load_last_checkpoint(model) -> List[Path]: 11 | checkpoints = [p for p in model.iterdir() if p.is_dir() and "checkpoint" in str(p)] 12 | assert len(checkpoints) > 0, "No checkpoint found!" 13 | return list(sorted(checkpoints))[-1] 14 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /Makefile: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | app: setup 2 | streamlit run creative/app.py 3 | 4 | setup: 5 | pip3 install -qr requirements.txt 6 | pip3 install -q torch==1.10.0+cu113 torchvision==0.11.1+cu113 torchaudio==0.10.0+cu113 -f https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu113/torch_stable.html 7 | pip3 install -e . 8 | 9 | lint: 10 | black **/*.py 11 | isort **/*.py 12 | 13 | pulls3: 14 | aws s3 sync s3://adgefficiency-public/creative-writing-with-gpt2/models ./models --no-sign-request 15 | 16 | pushs3: 17 | aws s3 sync ./models s3://adgefficiency-public/creative-writing-with-gpt2/models 18 | 19 | suite: 20 | python3 creative/fine_tune.py harry 21 | python3 creative/fine_tune.py tolkien 22 | python3 creative/fine_tune.py asimov 23 | python3 creative/fine_tune.py bible 24 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/plato/plato.ipynb: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "cells": [ 3 | { 4 | "cell_type": "code", 5 | "execution_count": 1, 6 | "metadata": {}, 7 | "outputs": [], 8 | "source": [ 9 | "import requests\n", 10 | "\n", 11 | "res = requests.get('http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.mb.txt')\n", 12 | "\n", 13 | "with open('raw.txt', 'w') as fi:\n", 14 | " fi.write(res.text)" 15 | ] 16 | } 17 | ], 18 | "metadata": { 19 | "kernelspec": { 20 | "display_name": "Python 3", 21 | "language": "python", 22 | "name": "python3" 23 | }, 24 | "language_info": { 25 | "codemirror_mode": { 26 | "name": "ipython", 27 | "version": 3 28 | }, 29 | "file_extension": ".py", 30 | "mimetype": "text/x-python", 31 | "name": "python", 32 | "nbconvert_exporter": "python", 33 | "pygments_lexer": "ipython3", 34 | "version": "3.6.8" 35 | } 36 | }, 37 | "nbformat": 4, 38 | "nbformat_minor": 4 39 | } 40 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/asimov/i-robot.ipynb: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "cells": [ 3 | { 4 | "cell_type": "code", 5 | "execution_count": 1, 6 | "metadata": {}, 7 | "outputs": [], 8 | "source": [ 9 | "import requests\n", 10 | "\n", 11 | "res = requests.get('http://www.angelfire.com/blog2/endovelico/IsaakAsimov-IRobot.txt')\n", 12 | "\n", 13 | "with open('raw.txt', 'w') as fi:\n", 14 | " fi.write(res.text)" 15 | ] 16 | } 17 | ], 18 | "metadata": { 19 | "kernelspec": { 20 | "display_name": "Python 3", 21 | "language": "python", 22 | "name": "python3" 23 | }, 24 | "language_info": { 25 | "codemirror_mode": { 26 | "name": "ipython", 27 | "version": 3 28 | }, 29 | "file_extension": ".py", 30 | "mimetype": "text/x-python", 31 | "name": "python", 32 | "nbconvert_exporter": "python", 33 | "pygments_lexer": "ipython3", 34 | "version": "3.6.8" 35 | } 36 | }, 37 | "nbformat": 4, 38 | "nbformat_minor": 4 39 | } 40 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/bible/bible.ipynb: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "cells": [ 3 | { 4 | "cell_type": "markdown", 5 | "metadata": {}, 6 | "source": [ 7 | "http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10/pg10.txt" 8 | ] 9 | }, 10 | { 11 | "cell_type": "code", 12 | "execution_count": 2, 13 | "metadata": {}, 14 | "outputs": [], 15 | "source": [ 16 | "import requests\n", 17 | "\n", 18 | "res = requests.get('http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10/pg10.txt')\n", 19 | "\n", 20 | "with open('raw.txt', 'w') as fi:\n", 21 | " fi.write(res.text)" 22 | ] 23 | } 24 | ], 25 | "metadata": { 26 | "kernelspec": { 27 | "display_name": "Python 3", 28 | "language": "python", 29 | "name": "python3" 30 | }, 31 | "language_info": { 32 | "codemirror_mode": { 33 | "name": "ipython", 34 | "version": 3 35 | }, 36 | "file_extension": ".py", 37 | "mimetype": "text/x-python", 38 | "name": "python", 39 | "nbconvert_exporter": "python", 40 | "pygments_lexer": "ipython3", 41 | "version": "3.6.8" 42 | } 43 | }, 44 | "nbformat": 4, 45 | "nbformat_minor": 4 46 | } 47 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/tolkien/tolkien.ipynb: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "cells": [ 3 | { 4 | "cell_type": "code", 5 | "execution_count": null, 6 | "metadata": {}, 7 | "outputs": [], 8 | "source": [ 9 | "import requests\n", 10 | "\n", 11 | "from bs4 import BeautifulSoup\n", 12 | "\n", 13 | "res = requests.get('https://archive.org/stream/TheLordOfTheRing1TheFellowshipOfTheRing/The+Lord+Of+The+Ring+1-The+Fellowship+Of+The+Ring_djvu.txt')\n", 14 | "\n", 15 | "soup = BeautifulSoup(res.content)\n", 16 | "\n", 17 | "text = soup.body.find_all('pre')\n", 18 | "\n", 19 | "with open('raw.txt', 'w') as fi:\n", 20 | " fi.write(text[0].text)" 21 | ] 22 | } 23 | ], 24 | "metadata": { 25 | "kernelspec": { 26 | "display_name": "Python 3", 27 | "language": "python", 28 | "name": "python3" 29 | }, 30 | "language_info": { 31 | "codemirror_mode": { 32 | "name": "ipython", 33 | "version": 3 34 | }, 35 | "file_extension": ".py", 36 | "mimetype": "text/x-python", 37 | "name": "python", 38 | "nbconvert_exporter": "python", 39 | "pygments_lexer": "ipython3", 40 | "version": "3.6.8" 41 | } 42 | }, 43 | "nbformat": 4, 44 | "nbformat_minor": 4 45 | } 46 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/hemingway/old-man.ipynb: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "cells": [ 3 | { 4 | "cell_type": "code", 5 | "execution_count": 1, 6 | "metadata": {}, 7 | "outputs": [], 8 | "source": [ 9 | "import requests\n", 10 | "\n", 11 | "from bs4 import BeautifulSoup\n", 12 | "\n", 13 | "res = requests.get('https://archive.org/stream/oldmansea00hemi_1/oldmansea00hemi_1_djvu.txt')\n", 14 | "\n", 15 | "soup = BeautifulSoup(res.content)\n", 16 | "\n", 17 | "text = soup.body.find_all('pre')\n", 18 | "\n", 19 | "with open('raw.txt', 'w') as fi:\n", 20 | " fi.write(text[0].text)" 21 | ] 22 | }, 23 | { 24 | "cell_type": "code", 25 | "execution_count": null, 26 | "metadata": {}, 27 | "outputs": [], 28 | "source": [] 29 | } 30 | ], 31 | "metadata": { 32 | "kernelspec": { 33 | "display_name": "Python 3", 34 | "language": "python", 35 | "name": "python3" 36 | }, 37 | "language_info": { 38 | "codemirror_mode": { 39 | "name": "ipython", 40 | "version": 3 41 | }, 42 | "file_extension": ".py", 43 | "mimetype": "text/x-python", 44 | "name": "python", 45 | "nbconvert_exporter": "python", 46 | "pygments_lexer": "ipython3", 47 | "version": "3.6.8" 48 | } 49 | }, 50 | "nbformat": 4, 51 | "nbformat_minor": 4 52 | } 53 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /creative/app.py: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | """streamlit application to interact with fine-tuned GPT2 models""" 2 | from pathlib import Path 3 | 4 | import streamlit as st 5 | from transformers import GPT2Config, GPT2LMHeadModel, GPT2Model, GPT2Tokenizer 6 | 7 | from creative.evaluate import evaluate, load_checkpoint 8 | from creative.load import load_last_checkpoint, load_models 9 | 10 | 11 | @st.cache(allow_output_mutation=True) 12 | def hist(data=[]): 13 | """cache the history of prompts and responses""" 14 | return data 15 | 16 | 17 | if __name__ == "__main__": 18 | models = load_models() 19 | base = models[0].parent 20 | model_names = [m.name for m in models] 21 | model = st.selectbox("model", model_names) 22 | model = base / model 23 | 24 | checkpoint = load_last_checkpoint(model) 25 | model = load_checkpoint(checkpoint) 26 | tokenizer = model["tokenizer"] 27 | model = model["mdl"] 28 | 29 | history = hist() 30 | max_length = st.sidebar.number_input( 31 | "max-length", value=256, min_value=0, max_value=1024, step=32 32 | ) 33 | 34 | prompt = st.text_input("Prompt") 35 | if prompt: 36 | response = evaluate(tokenizer, model, prompt, max_length=max_length) 37 | history.append({"prompt": prompt, "response": response.replace(prompt, "")}) 38 | 39 | for th in history[::-1]: 40 | st.json(th) 41 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/harry/harry.ipynb: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "cells": [ 3 | { 4 | "cell_type": "code", 5 | "execution_count": 6, 6 | "metadata": {}, 7 | "outputs": [], 8 | "source": [ 9 | "import requests\n", 10 | "\n", 11 | "res = requests.get('https://www.linguistik.uzh.ch/dam/jcr:169bff5c-ac13-457b-9acb-4fe7f1ad5cb0/Harry%20Potter%20and%20the%20Sorcerer.txt')\n", 12 | "\n", 13 | "with open('raw.txt', 'w') as fi:\n", 14 | " fi.write(res.text)" 15 | ] 16 | }, 17 | { 18 | "cell_type": "code", 19 | "execution_count": null, 20 | "metadata": {}, 21 | "outputs": [], 22 | "source": [ 23 | "with open('./harry.txt', 'a') as out:\n", 24 | "\n", 25 | " with open('./Harry Potter and the Sorcerer.txt', 'r') as inp:\n", 26 | " # for c, line in enumerate(inp):\n", 27 | " # print(c)\n", 28 | " # print(line)\n", 29 | " done = False\n", 30 | " data = []\n", 31 | " while not done:\n", 32 | " try:\n", 33 | " o = next(inp)\n", 34 | " data.append(o)\n", 35 | " out.write(o)\n", 36 | " print(o)\n", 37 | " except:\n", 38 | " pass\n" 39 | ] 40 | } 41 | ], 42 | "metadata": { 43 | "kernelspec": { 44 | "display_name": "Python 3", 45 | "language": "python", 46 | "name": "python3" 47 | }, 48 | "language_info": { 49 | "codemirror_mode": { 50 | "name": "ipython", 51 | "version": 3 52 | }, 53 | "file_extension": ".py", 54 | "mimetype": "text/x-python", 55 | "name": "python", 56 | "nbconvert_exporter": "python", 57 | "pygments_lexer": "ipython3", 58 | "version": "3.6.8" 59 | } 60 | }, 61 | "nbformat": 4, 62 | "nbformat_minor": 4 63 | } 64 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /creative/evaluate.py: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | """evaluate a fine-tuned model""" 2 | from pathlib import Path 3 | 4 | import click 5 | import torch 6 | from datasets import Dataset, load_dataset 7 | from transformers import (AutoTokenizer, DataCollatorForLanguageModeling, 8 | GPT2Config, GPT2LMHeadModel, GPT2Model, 9 | GPT2Tokenizer, Trainer, TrainingArguments) 10 | 11 | 12 | def evaluate(tokenizer, model, data, max_length=24): 13 | data = tokenizer(data, return_tensors="pt") 14 | out = model.generate( 15 | data["input_ids"], max_length=max_length, num_beams=5, no_repeat_ngram_size=2 16 | ) 17 | return tokenizer.decode( 18 | out[0], skip_special_tokens=True, clean_up_tokenization_spaces=True 19 | ) 20 | 21 | 22 | def load_checkpoint(output_dir=None): 23 | if output_dir is not None: 24 | output_dir = Path(output_dir) 25 | tokenizer = GPT2Tokenizer.from_pretrained(output_dir.parent / "tokenizer") 26 | tokenizer.pad_token = tokenizer.eos_token 27 | return { 28 | "tokenizer": tokenizer, 29 | "mdl": GPT2LMHeadModel.from_pretrained(output_dir), 30 | "cfg": GPT2Config(), 31 | } 32 | else: 33 | 34 | tokenizer = GPT2Tokenizer.from_pretrained("gpt2") 35 | tokenizer.pad_token = tokenizer.eos_token 36 | return { 37 | "tokenizer": tokenizer, 38 | "mdl": GPT2LMHeadModel.from_pretrained("gpt2"), 39 | "cfg": GPT2Config(), 40 | } 41 | 42 | 43 | @click.command() 44 | @click.argument("output_dir") 45 | def cli(output_dir): 46 | model = load(output_dir) 47 | tokenizer = model["tokenizer"] 48 | model = model["model"] 49 | 50 | while True: 51 | print("Input:") 52 | request = input(">>> ") 53 | response = evaluate(tokenizer, model, request) 54 | print(response) 55 | 56 | 57 | if __name__ == "__main__": 58 | cli() 59 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /creative/fine_tune.py: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | """fine-tune a model""" 2 | from pathlib import Path 3 | 4 | import click 5 | import torch 6 | from datasets import Dataset, load_dataset 7 | from transformers import (AutoTokenizer, DataCollatorForLanguageModeling, 8 | GPT2Config, GPT2LMHeadModel, GPT2Model, 9 | GPT2Tokenizer, Trainer, TrainingArguments) 10 | 11 | from creative.evaluate import evaluate, load_checkpoint 12 | 13 | 14 | def train_gpt2(ds: Dataset, output_dir: Path, epochs: int, base_model:str=None) -> None: 15 | model = load_checkpoint(base_model) 16 | 17 | tokenizer = model["tokenizer"] 18 | cfg = model["cfg"] 19 | mdl = model["mdl"] 20 | 21 | # batched=True actually runs the map in batch - doesn't batch the data (was confusing!) 22 | ds = ds.map(lambda d: tokenizer(d["text"], truncation=True), batched=True) 23 | 24 | # need to use this rather than GPT2Model 25 | # https://huggingface.co/transformers/model_doc/gpt2.html 26 | training_args = TrainingArguments( 27 | output_dir=output_dir, 28 | overwrite_output_dir=True, 29 | per_device_train_batch_size=1, 30 | per_device_eval_batch_size=1, 31 | save_strategy="epoch", 32 | num_train_epochs=epochs, 33 | ) 34 | 35 | # https://github.com/huggingface/notebooks/blob/master/examples/language_modeling.ipynb 36 | dc = DataCollatorForLanguageModeling( 37 | tokenizer=tokenizer, 38 | mlm=False, 39 | pad_to_multiple_of=1024, 40 | ) 41 | 42 | trainer = Trainer(model=mdl, args=training_args, train_dataset=ds, data_collator=dc) 43 | trainer.train() 44 | tokenizer.save_pretrained(output_dir / "tokenizer") 45 | 46 | 47 | def main(author: str, epochs: int, base_model: str = None) -> None: 48 | data = Path(f"./data/{author}/clean.txt").read_text() 49 | data = data.replace("\n", " ") 50 | step = 1024 51 | data = [data[i : i + step] for i in range(0, len(data), step)] 52 | ds = Dataset.from_dict({"text": data}) 53 | output_dir = Path(f"./models/{author}") 54 | train_gpt2(ds, output_dir, epochs=epochs, base_model=base_model) 55 | 56 | 57 | @click.command() 58 | @click.argument("author") 59 | @click.option("--epochs", default=3) 60 | @click.option("--base_model", default=None) 61 | def cli(author:str, epochs:int, base_model:str) -> None: 62 | main(author, epochs, base_model) 63 | 64 | 65 | if __name__ == "__main__": 66 | cli() 67 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/mahabarta/mahabarta.ipynb: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "cells": [ 3 | { 4 | "cell_type": "markdown", 5 | "metadata": {}, 6 | "source": [ 7 | "https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/maha/mahatxt.zip" 8 | ] 9 | }, 10 | { 11 | "cell_type": "code", 12 | "execution_count": null, 13 | "metadata": {}, 14 | "outputs": [], 15 | "source": [ 16 | "len('The object of a translator should ever be to hold the mirror upto his ')" 17 | ] 18 | }, 19 | { 20 | "cell_type": "code", 21 | "execution_count": null, 22 | "metadata": {}, 23 | "outputs": [], 24 | "source": [ 25 | "def clean(s):\n", 26 | "\n", 27 | " s = s.replace('\\n', ' ')\n", 28 | " s = s.replace(' ', '')\n", 29 | "\n", 30 | " s = s.replace(\"' \", \"\")\n", 31 | " s = s.replace(\"\\'\", \"\")\n", 32 | "\n", 33 | " return s\n", 34 | "\n", 35 | "from pathlib import Path\n", 36 | "\n", 37 | "p = Path().cwd() / 'mahatxt'\n", 38 | "\n", 39 | "mahas = p.glob('*.txt')\n", 40 | "\n", 41 | "for fi in mahas:\n", 42 | " print(fi)\n", 43 | "\n", 44 | " with open(fi, 'r') as raw:\n", 45 | " maha = []\n", 46 | " for line in raw.readlines():\n", 47 | "\n", 48 | " if len(line) > 50:\n", 49 | " maha.append(clean(line))" 50 | ] 51 | }, 52 | { 53 | "cell_type": "code", 54 | "execution_count": null, 55 | "metadata": {}, 56 | "outputs": [], 57 | "source": [ 58 | "maha = maha[200:]" 59 | ] 60 | }, 61 | { 62 | "cell_type": "code", 63 | "execution_count": null, 64 | "metadata": {}, 65 | "outputs": [], 66 | "source": [ 67 | "len(maha)" 68 | ] 69 | }, 70 | { 71 | "cell_type": "code", 72 | "execution_count": null, 73 | "metadata": {}, 74 | "outputs": [], 75 | "source": [ 76 | "maha = ''.join(maha)\n", 77 | "\n", 78 | "with open('clean.txt', 'w') as outfile:\n", 79 | " outfile.write(maha)" 80 | ] 81 | }, 82 | { 83 | "cell_type": "code", 84 | "execution_count": null, 85 | "metadata": {}, 86 | "outputs": [], 87 | "source": [] 88 | } 89 | ], 90 | "metadata": { 91 | "kernelspec": { 92 | "display_name": "Python 3", 93 | "language": "python", 94 | "name": "python3" 95 | }, 96 | "language_info": { 97 | "codemirror_mode": { 98 | "name": "ipython", 99 | "version": 3 100 | }, 101 | "file_extension": ".py", 102 | "mimetype": "text/x-python", 103 | "name": "python", 104 | "nbconvert_exporter": "python", 105 | "pygments_lexer": "ipython3", 106 | "version": "3.6.8" 107 | } 108 | }, 109 | "nbformat": 4, 110 | "nbformat_minor": 4 111 | } 112 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /README.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Creative Writing with GPT2 2 | 3 | The GPT series of generative models have revolutionized natural language processing. 4 | 5 | The most advanced models are only available through paid APIs. For GPT2 the model weights are openly available - this means we can fine-tune GPT2 ourselves! 6 | 7 | This repo contains code to fine-tune a base GPT2 model using a single `clean.txt` file, and to interact with the models through a Streamlit app. 8 | 9 | # Use 10 | 11 | ## Generating Text 12 | 13 | A Streamlit app allows text generation with fine-tuned models in `./models`: 14 | 15 | ```shell 16 | $ make app 17 | ``` 18 | 19 | ![](assets/app.png) 20 | 21 | The `make app` command will also pull previously fine-tuned models from S3. 22 | 23 | 24 | ## Fine Tuning 25 | 26 | You can fine tune your own models using the command below - this will train on GPU if available: 27 | 28 | ```shell 29 | $ python creative/train.py harry 30 | ``` 31 | 32 | This will use the text from `./data/harry/clean.txt` and output a model to `./models/harry`: 33 | 34 | ```shell 35 | $ tree ./models/harry 36 | ./models/harry/ 37 | ├── checkpoint-1278 38 | │   ├── config.json 39 | │   ├── optimizer.pt 40 | │   ├── pytorch_model.bin 41 | │   ├── rng_state.pth 42 | │   ├── scheduler.pt 43 | │   ├── trainer_state.json 44 | │   └── training_args.bin 45 | ├── checkpoint-426 46 | │   ├── config.json 47 | │   ├── optimizer.pt 48 | │   ├── pytorch_model.bin 49 | │   ├── rng_state.pth 50 | │   ├── scheduler.pt 51 | │   ├── trainer_state.json 52 | │   └── training_args.bin 53 | ├── checkpoint-852 54 | │   ├── config.json 55 | │   ├── optimizer.pt 56 | │   ├── pytorch_model.bin 57 | │   ├── rng_state.pth 58 | │   ├── scheduler.pt 59 | │   ├── trainer_state.json 60 | │   └── training_args.bin 61 | └── tokenizer 62 | ├── merges.txt 63 | ├── special_tokens_map.json 64 | ├── tokenizer_config.json 65 | └── vocab.json 66 | ``` 67 | 68 | You can then interact with this model through the Streamlit application. 69 | 70 | 71 | # Examples 72 | 73 | All examples below are generated with the model prompt `He opened the door`. 74 | 75 | ## Harry Potter 76 | 77 | > of the bookshop. Inside was a large glass raffle and over it sat a note. It said about Voldemort's defeat of the Dark Lord, and that "most troublesome thing which never occurred to Mr. Malfoy has been my one-night stand against him, in the main, against Voldemort, who always wanted to be chosen the new wizard of the school."Harry stopped and looked out the window at the sky. The sky and sea were now gray and gloomy. "All right," 78 | 79 | ## Tolkien 80 | 81 | > and gasped with delight. The others then followed. 'You have been very generous!' he said. 'But don't you trust that Mr. Aragorn will take your husband as the heir?’ Gandalf was astonished. 'Yes, of course,' he said. 'But would you follow him wherever you went? He will tell you that he would stay in Bag End. And he will.’ He felt uneasy. 'No!’ said Fro 82 | 83 | ## Issac Asimov 84 | 85 | > and roared wildly: "And you all know that up there in the office are forty-three men of our Corporation, and when an employee or a member of one of our subsidiaries turns to one of them, that member may well want to disobey orders." This warning wasn't useful, but we brought it back anyway. As one man put it, "We've moved the doors of the office to the foyer at intervals; therefore, the view is better. And an inside shot 86 | 87 | ## Alan Watts / Art of War / Mahabarta Blend 88 | 89 | > of his house, and beholding a beautiful lady of beautiful features, he addressed her, saying,--Welcome, dear lady, to thy house. Do thou tell me, O son of Kunti, what the merits are that attach to gifts of kine. I shall, therefore, tell thee what is the merit that attaches to the gift of a cow. It behoveth thee to discourse to me on this topic."Bhishma continued, Hearing these words of the illustrious Rishi, the lady became filled with joy. She then addressed him in the following words:--O thou that art conversant with the Vedas, I desire to hear thee discourse on the topic of gifts. In this connection is recited the old narrative of an old discourse between a Brahmana and a Kshatriya. The discourse took place in days of yore between the Rishis of old and the Sudras of modern times. One of them, viz., a Sudra, having obtained a son by the name of Vasishtha, solicited his kinsmen to give him up for adoption into the kingly order. Having obtained his son from the son-in-law of that king who had obtained him from his own kins" 90 | 91 | 92 | # Data 93 | 94 | Training will look for a `clean.txt` file in `data/$AUTHOR/clean.txt` - this file should contain raw text - for example the `harry` dataset: 95 | 96 | ```shell 97 | $ head -n 1 data/harry/clean.txt 98 | Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense. 99 | ``` 100 | 101 | I've included a few authors I like to write with: 102 | 103 | ```shell 104 | $ tree -L 1 data 105 | data 106 | ├── alan-watts 107 | ├── art-of-war 108 | ├── asimov 109 | ├── bible 110 | ├── harry 111 | ├── hemingway 112 | ├── jules-verne 113 | ├── mahabarta 114 | ├── meditations 115 | ├── plato 116 | ├── tao 117 | ├── tolkien 118 | └── watts-war-mahabarta 119 | ``` 120 | 121 | You can also create mixtures and blends by combining multiple authors into a single `clean.txt` file. 122 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/alan-watts/alan-watts.ipynb: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "cells": [ 3 | { 4 | "cell_type": "markdown", 5 | "metadata": {}, 6 | "source": [ 7 | "https://jacobsm.com/deoxy/deoxy.org/w_self.htm" 8 | ] 9 | }, 10 | { 11 | "cell_type": "code", 12 | "execution_count": 1, 13 | "metadata": {}, 14 | "outputs": [], 15 | "source": [ 16 | "import requests\n", 17 | "\n", 18 | "lectures = [\n", 19 | " 'https://jacobsm.com/deoxy/deoxy.org/w_self.htm', \n", 20 | " 'https://jacobsm.com/deoxy/deoxy.org/w_nature.htm', \n", 21 | " 'https://jacobsm.com/deoxy/deoxy.org/w_world.htm', \n", 22 | " 'https://jacobsm.com/deoxy/deoxy.org/w_lectur.htm'\n", 23 | "]\n", 24 | "\n", 25 | "out = ''\n", 26 | "for lct in lectures:\n", 27 | " \n", 28 | " res = requests.get(lct)\n", 29 | " from bs4 import BeautifulSoup\n", 30 | "\n", 31 | " soup = BeautifulSoup(res.content)\n", 32 | " samples = soup.find_all(\"p\")\n", 33 | " \n", 34 | " for s in samples:\n", 35 | " s = s.text.replace('\\n', ' ')\n", 36 | " s = s.replace(' ', '')\n", 37 | "\n", 38 | " s = s.replace(\"' \", \"\")\n", 39 | " s = s.replace(\"\\'\", \"\")\n", 40 | "\n", 41 | " out += s" 42 | ] 43 | }, 44 | { 45 | "cell_type": "markdown", 46 | "metadata": {}, 47 | "source": [ 48 | "https://huggingface.co/transformers/examples.html#language-model-fine-tuning\n", 49 | "\n", 50 | "```bash\n", 51 | "export TRAIN_FILE=alan-watts.txt\n", 52 | "export TEST_FILE=alan-watts.txt\n", 53 | "\n", 54 | "python run_lm_finetuning.py \\\n", 55 | " --output_dir=output \\\n", 56 | " --model_type=gpt2 \\\n", 57 | " --model_name_or_path=gpt2 \\\n", 58 | " --do_train \\\n", 59 | " --train_data_file=$TRAIN_FILE \\\n", 60 | " --do_eval \\\n", 61 | " --eval_data_file=$TEST_FILE \\\n", 62 | " --num_train_epochs=2 \n", 63 | "\n", 64 | "\n", 65 | "python run_generation.py \\\n", 66 | " --model_type=gpt2 \\\n", 67 | " --model_name_or_path=gpt2\n", 68 | "```\n" 69 | ] 70 | }, 71 | { 72 | "cell_type": "code", 73 | "execution_count": 2, 74 | "metadata": {}, 75 | "outputs": [], 76 | "source": [ 77 | "organisms = [\n", 78 | " 'https://www.organism.earth/library/document/03',\n", 79 | " 'https://www.organism.earth/library/document/07',\n", 80 | " 'https://www.organism.earth/library/document/08',\n", 81 | " 'https://www.organism.earth/library/document/98',\n", 82 | " 'https://www.organism.earth/library/document/11',\n", 83 | " 'https://www.organism.earth/library/document/12',\n", 84 | " 'https://www.organism.earth/library/document/13',\n", 85 | " 'https://www.organism.earth/library/document/14',\n", 86 | " 'https://www.organism.earth/library/document/15',\n", 87 | " 'https://www.organism.earth/library/document/23',\n", 88 | " 'https://www.organism.earth/library/document/27'\n", 89 | "]\n", 90 | "\n", 91 | "for lct in organisms:\n", 92 | " \n", 93 | " res = requests.get(lct)\n", 94 | " from bs4 import BeautifulSoup\n", 95 | "\n", 96 | " soup = BeautifulSoup(res.content)\n", 97 | " samples = soup.find_all(\"p\")\n", 98 | " \n", 99 | " for s in samples:\n", 100 | " s = s.text.replace('\\n', ' ')\n", 101 | " s = s.replace(' ', '')\n", 102 | "\n", 103 | " s = s.replace(\"' \", \"\")\n", 104 | " s = s.replace(\"\\'\", \"\")\n", 105 | " s = s.replace(\"\\t\", \"\")\n", 106 | "\n", 107 | " out += s" 108 | ] 109 | }, 110 | { 111 | "cell_type": "code", 112 | "execution_count": 3, 113 | "metadata": {}, 114 | "outputs": [], 115 | "source": [ 116 | "with open('alan-watts.txt', 'w') as alan:\n", 117 | " alan.write(out)" 118 | ] 119 | }, 120 | { 121 | "cell_type": "code", 122 | "execution_count": 4, 123 | "metadata": {}, 124 | "outputs": [ 125 | { 126 | "data": { 127 | "text/plain": [ 128 | "''" 129 | ] 130 | }, 131 | "execution_count": 4, 132 | "metadata": {}, 133 | "output_type": "execute_result" 134 | } 135 | ], 136 | "source": [ 137 | "s" 138 | ] 139 | }, 140 | { 141 | "cell_type": "markdown", 142 | "metadata": {}, 143 | "source": [ 144 | "## Samples from `alan-gpt2`\n", 145 | "\n", 146 | "Model prompt >>> What do you mean\n", 147 | "\n", 148 | " by Im going to give you a lotta credit for anything in life, so that I can use to give you naught more than what you bought with my money?And you know what I mean. Alright, back to the trip. Actually, this is a rather unusual thing. In this particular situation, however, the wishes of one is nothing more than the wishes of all people. Its the mind that makes you feel what your heart is making you feel. People experience everything in a completely other\n", 149 | " \n", 150 | " \n", 151 | " Model prompt >>> The self\n", 152 | "\n", 153 | "-destruct is not something that begins, but rather happens in a certain way. The ego bursts. Its coming out, and you've got an explosion. Then you realize you had always followed it. You forget. We all come back here to our senses and we learn to act in accordance with the self-destruct. But we start from the beginning—you know, just before we hit the primal button, we do our burst. But the ego actually knows when we hit the reset button, and\n", 154 | " \n", 155 | " \n", 156 | " Model prompt >>> The atman\n", 157 | " \n", 158 | "ic trust-system itself is not an aesthetic characteristic of asceticism, for it is strongly influenced by a fundamentally mechanical school of thought, which is based on beliefs rather than styles and opinions. Its followers believe that there is no divine power to govern anything whatsoever; there is only God; but on the other hand, they feel that there is a central omnipotence, named it NOOOOOO, which does anything it wants to do, and it doesn't judge anyone at all. Its simply\n", 159 | "\n", 160 | "Model prompt >>> It was the downfall of Zhou\n", 161 | "\n", 162 | "Guohu. Because he said, By seeing that there was no one to explain it to, that a discipline were only logical to a mind, he had intended it to become meaningless. Even though his philosophy was completely unknown to ordinary people, he believed his discipline would be useful in allowing life to progress, and he made it his aim to do so through the use of hallucinogens and musical instruments. There were various kinds of mushrooms, and he found mushrooms especially fascinating to take on LSD.\n", 163 | " \n", 164 | " \n" 165 | ] 166 | } 167 | ], 168 | "metadata": { 169 | "kernelspec": { 170 | "display_name": "Python 3", 171 | "language": "python", 172 | "name": "python3" 173 | }, 174 | "language_info": { 175 | "codemirror_mode": { 176 | "name": "ipython", 177 | "version": 3 178 | }, 179 | "file_extension": ".py", 180 | "mimetype": "text/x-python", 181 | "name": "python", 182 | "nbconvert_exporter": "python", 183 | "pygments_lexer": "ipython3", 184 | "version": "3.6.8" 185 | } 186 | }, 187 | "nbformat": 4, 188 | "nbformat_minor": 4 189 | } 190 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/mahabarta/mahatxt/maha17.txt: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | The Mahabharata 6 | 7 | of 8 | 9 | Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa 10 | 11 | BOOK 17 12 | 13 | Mahaprasthanika-parva 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Translated into English Prose from the Original Sanskrit Text 18 | 19 | by 20 | 21 | Kisari Mohan Ganguli 22 | 23 | [1883-1896] 24 | 25 | Scanned and Proofed by Mantra Caitanya. Additional proofing and 26 | formatting at sacred-texts.com, by J. B. Hare, October 2003. 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 1 33 | 34 | Om! Having bowed down unto Narayana, and to Nara, the foremost of men, as 35 | also to the goddess Sarasvati, should the word "Jaya" be uttered. 36 | 37 | Janamejaya said: "Having heard of that encounter with iron bolts between 38 | the heroes of the Vrishni and the Andhaka races, and having been informed 39 | also of Krishnas ascension to Heaven, what did the Pandavas do?" 40 | 41 | Vaishampayana said: "Having heard the particulars of the great slaughter 42 | of the Vrishnis, the Kaurava king set his heart on leaving the world. He 43 | addressed Arjuna, saying, O thou of great intelligence, it is Time that 44 | cooks every creature (in his cauldron). I think that what has happened is 45 | due to the cords of Time (with which he binds us all). It behoveth thee 46 | also to see it. 47 | 48 | "Thus addressed by his brother, the son of Kunti only repeated the word 49 | Time, Time! and fully endorsed the view of his eldest brother gifted with 50 | great intelligence. Ascertaining the resolution of Arjuna, Bhimasena and 51 | the twins fully endorsed the words that Arjuna had said. Resolved to 52 | retire from the world for earning merit, they brought Yuyutsu before 53 | them. Yudhishthira made over the kingdom to the son of his uncle by his 54 | Vaisya wife. Installing Parikshit also on their throne, as king, the 55 | eldest brother of the Pandavas, filled with sorrow, addressed Subhadra, 56 | saying, This son of thy son will be the king of the Kurus. The survivor 57 | of the Yadus, Vajra, has been made a king. Parikshit will rule in 58 | Hastinapura, while the Yadava prince, Vajra, will rule in Shakraprastha. 59 | He should be protected by thee. Never set thy heart on unrighteousness. 60 | 61 | "Having said these words, king Yudhishthira the just, along with his 62 | brothers, promptly offered oblations of water unto Vasudeva of great 63 | intelligence, as also unto his old maternal uncle and Rama and others. He 64 | then duly performed the Sraddhas of all those deceased kinsmen of his. 65 | The king, in honour of Hari and naming him repeatedly, fed the 66 | Island-born Vyasa, and Narada, and Markandeya possessed of wealth of 67 | penances, and Yajnavalkya of Bharadwajas race, with many delicious 68 | viands. In honour of Krishna, he also gave away many jewels and gems, and 69 | robes and clothes, and villages, and horses and cars, and female slaves 70 | by hundreds and thousands unto foremost of Brahmanas. Summoning the 71 | citizens. Kripa was installed as the preceptor and Parikshit was made 72 | over to him as his disciple, O chief of Bharatas race. 73 | 74 | "Then Yudhishthira once more summoned all his subjects. The royal sage 75 | informed them of his intentions. The citizens and the inhabitants of the 76 | provinces, hearing the kings words, became filled with anxiety and 77 | disapproved of them. This should never be done, said they unto the king. 78 | The monarch, well versed with the changes brought about by time, did not 79 | listen to their counsels. Possessed of righteous soul, he persuaded the 80 | people to sanction his views. He then set his heart on leaving the world. 81 | His brothers also formed the same resolution. Then Dharmas son, 82 | Yudhishthira, the king of the Kurus, casting off his ornaments, wore 83 | barks of trees. Bhima and Arjuna and the twins, and Draupadi also of 84 | great fame, similarly clad themselves in bark of trees, O king. Having 85 | caused the preliminary rites of religion, O chief of Bharatas race, which 86 | were to bless them in the accomplishment of their design, those foremost 87 | of men cast off their sacred fires into the water. The ladies, beholding 88 | the princes in that guise, wept aloud. They seemed to look as they had 89 | looked in days before, when with Draupadi forming the sixth in number 90 | they set out from the capital after their defeat at dice. The brothers, 91 | however, were all very cheerful at the prospect of retirement. 92 | Ascertaining the intentions of Yudhishthira and seeing the destruction of 93 | the Vrishnis, no other course of action could please them then. 94 | 95 | "The five brothers, with Draupadi forming the sixth, and a dog forming 96 | the seventh, set out on their journey. Indeed, even thus did king 97 | Yudhishthira depart, himself the head of a party of seven, from the city 98 | named after the elephant. The citizen and the ladies of the royal 99 | household followed them for some distance. None of them, however, could 100 | venture to address the king for persuading him to give up his intention. 101 | The denizens of the city then returned; Kripa and others stood around 102 | Yuyutsu as their centre. Ulupi, the daughter of the Naga chief, O thou of 103 | Kuntis race, entered the waters of Ganga. The princess Chitrangada set 104 | out for the capital of Manipura. The other ladies who were the 105 | grandmothers of Parikshit centered around him. Meanwhile the high-souled 106 | Pandavas, O thou of Kurus race, and Draupadi of great fame, having 107 | observed the preliminary fast, set out with their faces towards the east. 108 | Setting themselves on Yoga, those high-souled ones, resolved to observe 109 | the religion of Renunciation, traversed through various countries and 110 | reached diverse rivers and seas. Yudhishthira, proceeded first. Behind 111 | him was Bhima; next walked Arjuna; after him were the twins in the order 112 | of their birth; behind them all, O foremost one of Bharatas race, 113 | proceeded Draupadi, that first of women, possessed of great beauty, of 114 | dark complexion, and endued with eyes resembling lotus petals. While the 115 | Pandavas set out for the forest, a dog followed them. 116 | 117 | "Proceeding on, those heroes reached the sea of red waters. Dhananjaya 118 | had not cast off his celestial bow Gandiva, nor his couple of 119 | inexhaustible quivers, actuated, O king, by the cupidity that attaches 120 | one to things of great value. The Pandavas there beheld the deity of fire 121 | standing before them like a hill. Closing their way, the god stood there 122 | in his embodied form. The deity of seven flames then addressed the 123 | Pandavas, saying, Ye heroic sons of Pandu, know me for the deity of fire. 124 | O mighty-armed Yudhishthira, O Bhimasena that art a scorcher of foes, O 125 | Arjuna, and ye twins of great courage, listen to what I say! Ye foremost 126 | ones of Kurus race, I am the god of fire. The forest of Khandava was 127 | burnt by me, through the puissance of Arjuna and of Narayana himself. Let 128 | your brother Phalguna proceed to the woods after casting off Gandiva, 129 | that high weapon. He has no longer any need of it. That precious discus, 130 | which was with the high-souled Krishna, has disappeared (from the world). 131 | When the time again comes, it will come back into his hands. This 132 | foremost of bows, Gandiva, was procured by me from Varuna for the use of 133 | Partha. Let it be made over to Varuna himself. 134 | 135 | "At this, all the brothers urged Dhananjaya to do what the deity said. He 136 | then threw into the waters (of the sea) both the bow and the couple of 137 | inexhaustible quivers. After this, O chief of Bharatas race, the god of 138 | the fire disappeared then and there. The heroic sons of Pandu next 139 | proceeded with their faces turned towards the south. Then, by the 140 | northern coast of the salt sea, those princes of Bharatas race proceeded 141 | to the south-west. Turning next towards the west, they beheld the city of 142 | Dwaraka covered by the ocean. Turning next to the north, those foremost 143 | ones proceeded on. Observant of Yoga, they were desirous of making a 144 | round of the whole Earth." 145 | 146 | 147 | 148 | 2 149 | 150 | Vaishampayana said: "Those princes of restrained souls and devoted to 151 | Yoga, proceeding to the north, beheld Himavat, that very large mountain. 152 | Crossing the Himavat, they beheld a vast desert of sand. They then saw 153 | the mighty mountain Meru, the foremost of all high-peaked mountains. As 154 | those mighty ones were proceeding quickly, all rapt in Yoga, Yajnaseni, 155 | falling of from Yoga, dropped down on the Earth. Beholding her fallen 156 | down, Bhimasena of great strength addressed king Yudhishthira the just, 157 | saying, O scorcher of foes, this princess never did any sinful act. Tell 158 | us what the cause is for which Krishna has fallen down on the Earth! 159 | 160 | "Yudhishthira said: O best of men, though we were all equal unto her she 161 | had great partiality for Dhananjaya. She obtains the fruit of that 162 | conduct today, O best of men." 163 | 164 | Vaishampayana continued: "Having said this, that foremost one of Bharatas 165 | race proceeded on. Of righteous soul, that foremost of men, endued with 166 | great intelligence, went on, with mind intent on itself. Then Sahadeva of 167 | great learning fell down on the Earth. Beholding him drop down, Bhima 168 | addressed the king, saying, He who with great humility used to serve us 169 | all, alas, why is that son of Madravati fallen down on the Earth? 170 | 171 | "Yudhishthira said, He never thought anybody his equal in wisdom. It is 172 | for that fault that this prince has fallen down. 173 | 174 | Vaishampayana continued: "Having said this, the king proceeded, leaving 175 | Sahadeva there. Indeed, Kuntis son Yudhishthira went on, with his 176 | brothers and with the dog. Beholding both Krishna and the Pandava 177 | Sahadeva fallen down, the brave Nakula, whose love for kinsmen was very 178 | great, fell down himself. Upon the falling down of the heroic Nakula of 179 | great personal beauty, Bhima once more addressed the king, saying, This 180 | brother of ours who was endued with righteousness without incompleteness, 181 | and who always obeyed our behests, this Nakula who was unrivalled for 182 | beauty, has fallen down. 183 | 184 | "Thus addressed by Bhimasena, Yudhishthira, said, with respect to Nakula, 185 | these words: He was of righteous soul and the foremost of all persons 186 | endued with intelligence. He, however, thought that there was nobody that 187 | equalled him in beauty of person. Indeed, he regarded himself as superior 188 | to all in that respect. It is for this that Nakula has fallen down. Know 189 | this, O Vrikodara. What has been ordained for a person, O hero, must have 190 | to be endured by him. 191 | 192 | "Beholding Nakula and the others fall down, Pandus son Arjuna of white 193 | steeds, that slayer of hostile heroes, fell down in great grief of heart. 194 | When that foremost of men, who was endued with the energy of Shakra, had 195 | fallen down, indeed, when that invincible hero was on the point of death, 196 | Bhima said unto the king, I do not recollect any untruth uttered by this 197 | high-souled one. Indeed, not even in jest did he say anything false. What 198 | then is that for whose evil consequence this one has fallen down on the 199 | Earth? 200 | 201 | "Yudhishthira said, Arjuna had said that he would consume all our foes in 202 | a single day. Proud of his heroism, he did not, however, accomplish what 203 | he had said. Hence has he fallen down. This Phalguna disregarded all 204 | wielders of bows. One desirous of prosperity should never indulge in such 205 | sentiments." 206 | 207 | Vaishampayana continued: "Having said so, the king proceeded on. Then 208 | Bhima fell down. Having fallen down, Bhima addressed king Yudhishthira 209 | the just, saying, O king, behold, I who am thy darling have fallen down. 210 | For what reason have I dropped down? Tell me if thou knowest it. 211 | 212 | "Yudhishthira said, Thou wert a great eater, and thou didst use to boast 213 | of thy strength. Thou never didst attend, O Bhima, to the wants of others 214 | while eating. It is for that, O Bhima, that thou hast fallen down. 215 | 216 | "Having said these words, the mighty-armed Yudhishthira proceeded on, 217 | without looking back. He had only one companion, the dog of which I have 218 | repeatedly spoken to thee, that followed him now. 219 | 220 | 221 | 222 | 3 223 | 224 | Vaishampayana said: "Then Shakra, causing the firmament and the Earth to 225 | be filled by a loud sound, came to the son of Pritha on a car and asked 226 | him to ascend it. Beholding his brothers fallen on the Earth, king 227 | Yudhishthira the just said unto that deity of a 1,000 eyes these words: 228 | My brothers have all dropped down here. They must go with me. Without 229 | them by me I do not wish to go to Heaven, O lord of all the deities. The 230 | delicate princess (Draupadi) deserving of every comfort, O Purandara, 231 | should go with us. It behoveth thee to permit this. 232 | 233 | "Shakra said, Thou shalt behold thy brothers in Heaven. They have reached 234 | it before thee. Indeed, thou shalt see all of them there, with Krishna. 235 | Do not yield to grief, O chief of the Bharatas. Having cast off their 236 | human bodies they have gone there, O chief of Bharatas race. As regards 237 | thee, it is ordained that thou shalt go thither in this very body of 238 | thine. 239 | 240 | "Yudhishthira said, This dog, O lord of the Past and the Present, is 241 | exceedingly devoted to me. He should go with me. My heart is full of 242 | compassion for him. 243 | 244 | "Shakra said, Immortality and a condition equal to mine, O king, 245 | prosperity extending in all directions, and high success, and all the 246 | felicities of Heaven, thou hast won today. Do thou cast off this dog. In 247 | this there will be no cruelty. 248 | 249 | "Yudhishthira said, O thou of a 1,000 eyes. O thou that art of righteous 250 | behaviour, it is exceedingly difficult for one that is of righteous 251 | behaviour to perpetrate an act that is unrighteous. I do not desire that 252 | union with prosperity for which I shall have to cast off one that is 253 | devoted to me. 254 | 255 | "Indra said, There is no place in Heaven for persons with dogs. Besides, 256 | the (deities called) Krodhavasas take away all the merits of such 257 | persons. Reflecting on this, act, O king Yudhishthira the just. Do thou 258 | abandon this dog. There is no cruelty in this. 259 | 260 | "Yudhishthira said, It has been said that the abandonment of one that is 261 | devoted is infinitely sinful. It is equal to the sin that one incurs by 262 | slaying a Brahmana. Hence, O great Indra, I shall not abandon this dog 263 | today from desire of my happiness. Even this is my vow steadily pursued, 264 | that I never give up a person that is terrified, nor one that is devoted 265 | to me, nor one that seeks my protection, saying that he is destitute, nor 266 | one that is afflicted, nor one that has come to me, nor one that is weak 267 | in protecting oneself, nor one that is solicitous of life. I shall never 268 | give up such a one till my own life is at an end. 269 | 270 | "Indra said, Whatever gifts, or sacrifices spread out, or libations 271 | poured on the sacred fire, are seen by a dog, are taken away by the 272 | Krodhavasas. Do thou, therefore, abandon this dog. By abandoning this dog 273 | thou wilt attain to the region of the deities. Having abandoned thy 274 | brothers and Krishna, thou hast, O hero, acquired a region of felicity by 275 | thy own deeds. Why art thou so stupefied? Thou hast renounced everything. 276 | Why then dost thou not renounce this dog? "Yudhishthira said, This is 277 | well known in all the worlds that there is neither friendship nor enmity 278 | with those that are dead. When my brothers and Krishna died, I was unable 279 | to revive them. Hence it was that I abandoned them. I did not, however, 280 | abandon them as long as they were alive. To frighten one that has sought 281 | protection, the slaying of a woman, the theft of what belongs to a 282 | Brahmana, and injuring a friend, each of these four, O Shakra, is I think 283 | equal to the abandonment of one that is devoted." 284 | 285 | Vaishampayana continued: "Hearing these words of king Yudhishthira the 286 | just, (the dog became transformed into) the deity of Righteousness, who, 287 | well pleased, said these words unto him in a sweet voice fraught with 288 | praise. 289 | 290 | "Dharma said: Thou art well born, O king of kings, and possessed of the 291 | intelligence and the good conduct of Pandu. Thou hast compassion for all 292 | creatures, O Bharata, of which this is a bright example. Formerly, O son, 293 | thou wert once examined by me in the woods of Dwaita, where thy brothers 294 | of great prowess met with (an appearance of) death. Disregarding both thy 295 | brothers Bhima and Arjuna, thou didst wish for the revival of Nakula from 296 | thy desire of doing good to thy (step-) mother. On the present occasion, 297 | thinking the dog to be devoted to thee, thou hast renounced the very car 298 | of the celestials instead of renouncing him. Hence. O king, there is no 299 | one in Heaven that is equal to thee. Hence, O Bharata, regions of 300 | inexhaustible felicity are thine. Thou hast won them, O chief of the 301 | Bharatas, and thine is a celestial and high goal." 302 | 303 | Vaishampayana continued: "Then Dharma, and Shakra, and the Maruts, and 304 | the Ashvinis, and other deities, and the celestial Rishis, causing 305 | Yudhishthira to ascend on a car, proceeded to Heaven. Those beings 306 | crowned with success and capable of going everywhere at will, rode their 307 | respective cars. King Yudhishthira, that perpetuator of Kurus race, 308 | riding on that car, ascended quickly, causing the entire welkin to blaze 309 | with his effulgence. Then Narada, that foremost of all speakers, endued 310 | with penances, and conversant with all the worlds, from amidst that 311 | concourse of deities, said these words: All those royal sages that are 312 | here have their achievements transcended by those of Yudhishthira. 313 | Covering all the worlds by his fame and splendour and by his wealth of 314 | conduct, he has attained to Heaven in his own (human) body. None else 315 | than the son of Pandu has been heard to achieve this. 316 | 317 | "Hearing these words of Narada, the righteous-souled king, saluting the 318 | deities and all the royal sages there present, said, Happy or miserable, 319 | whatever the region be that is now my brothers, I desire to proceed to. I 320 | do not wish to go anywhere else. 321 | 322 | "Hearing this speech of the king, the chief of the deities, Purandara, 323 | said these words fraught with noble sense: Do thou live in this place, O 324 | king of kings, which thou hast won by thy meritorious deeds. Why dost 325 | thou still cherish human affections? Thou hast attained to great success, 326 | the like of which no other man has ever been able to attain. Thy 327 | brothers, O delighter of the Kurus, have succeeded in winning regions of 328 | felicity. Human affections still touch thee. This is Heaven. Behold these 329 | celestial Rishis and Siddhas who have attained to the region of the gods. 330 | 331 | "Gifted with great intelligence, Yudhishthira answered the chief of the 332 | deities once more, saying, O conqueror of Daityas, I venture not to dwell 333 | anywhere separated from them. I desire to go there, where my brothers 334 | have gone. I wish to go there where that foremost of women, Draupadi, of 335 | ample proportions and darkish complexion and endued with great 336 | intelligence and righteous of conduct, has gone." 337 | 338 | The end of Mahaprasthanika-parv 339 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/mahabarta/mahatxt/maha16.txt: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | The Mahabharata 6 | 7 | of 8 | 9 | Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa 10 | 11 | BOOK 16 12 | 13 | Mausala-parva 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Translated into English Prose from the Original Sanskrit Text 18 | 19 | by 20 | 21 | Kisari Mohan Ganguli 22 | 23 | [1883-1896] 24 | 25 | Scanned and Proofed by Mantra Caitanya. Additional proofing and 26 | formatting at sacred-texts.com, by J. B. Hare, October 2003. 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 1 31 | 32 | Om! Having bowed down unto Narayana, and to Nara, the foremost of men, as 33 | also to the goddess Sarasvati, should the word "Jaya" be uttered. 34 | 35 | Vaishampayana said: "When the thirty-sixth year (after the battle) was 36 | reached, the delighter of the Kurus, Yudhishthira, beheld many unusual 37 | portents. Winds, dry and strong, and showering gravels, blew from every 38 | side. Birds began to wheel, making circles from right to left. The great 39 | rivers ran in opposite directions. The horizon on every side seemed to be 40 | always covered with fog. Meteors, showering (blazing) coals, fell on the 41 | Earth from the sky. The Suns disc, O king, seemed to be always covered 42 | with dust. At its rise, the great luminary of day was shorn of splendour 43 | and seemed to be crossed by headless trunks (of human beings). Fierce 44 | circles of light were seen every day around both the Sun and the Moon. 45 | These circles showed three hues. Their edges seemed to be black and rough 46 | and ashy-red in colour. These and many other omens, foreshadowing fear 47 | and danger, were seen, O king, and filled the hearts of men with anxiety. 48 | A little while after, the Kuru king Yudhishthira heard of the wholesale 49 | carnage of the Vrishnis in consequence of the iron bolt. The son of 50 | Pandu, hearing that only Vasudeva and Rama had escaped with life, 51 | summoned his brothers and took counsel with them as to what they should 52 | do. Meeting with one another, they became greatly distressed upon hearing 53 | that the Vrishnis had met with destruction through the Brahmanas rod of 54 | chastisement. The death of Vasudeva, like the drying up of the ocean, 55 | those heroes could not believe. In fact the destruction of the wielder of 56 | Saranga was incredible to them. Informed of the incident about the iron 57 | bolt, the Pandavas became filled with grief and sorrow. In fact, they sat 58 | down, utterly cheerless and penetrated with blank despair." 59 | 60 | Janamejaya said: "Indeed, O holy one, how was it that the Andhakas along 61 | with Vrishnis, and those great car-warriors, the Bhojas, met with 62 | destruction in the very sight of Vasudeva?" 63 | 64 | Vaishampayana continued: "When the thirty-sixth year was reached (after 65 | the great battle) a great calamity overtook the Vrishnis. Impelled by 66 | Time, they all met with destruction in consequence of the iron bolt." 67 | 68 | Janamejaya said: "Cursed by whom did those heroes, the Vrishnis, the 69 | Andhakas, and the Bhojas, met with destruction? O foremost regenerate 70 | persons, do thou tell me this in detail. 71 | 72 | Vaishampayana continued: "One day, the Vrishni heroes numbering Sarana 73 | amongst them, saw Vishvamitra and Kanwa and Narada arrived at Dwaraka. 74 | Afflicted by the rod of chastisement wielded by the deities, those 75 | heroes, causing Samva to be disguised like a woman, approached those 76 | ascetics and said, This one is the wife of Vabhru of immeasurable energy 77 | who is desirous of having a son. Ye Rishis, do you know for certain what 78 | this one will bring forth? 79 | 80 | "Hear now, O king, what those ascetics, attempted to be thus deceived, 81 | said: This heir of Vasudeva, by name Samva, will bring forth a fierce 82 | iron bolt for the destruction of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas. Ye wicked 83 | and cruel ones, intoxicated with pride, through that iron bolt ye will 84 | become the exterminators of your race with the exception of Rama and 85 | Janarddana. The blessed hero armed with the plough will enter the ocean, 86 | casting off his body, while a hunter of the name of Jara will pierce the 87 | high-souled Krishna while lying on the ground. 88 | 89 | "Endeavoured to be deceived by those wicked ones, those ascetics, with 90 | eyes red in wrath, looked at each other and uttered those words. Having 91 | said so they then proceeded to see Keshava. The slayer of Madhu, informed 92 | of what had taken place, summoned all the Vrishnis and told them of it. 93 | Possessed of great intelligence and fully acquainted with what the end of 94 | his race would be, he simply said that that which was destined would 95 | surely happen. Hrishikesa having said so, entered his mansion. The Lord 96 | of the universe did not wish to ordain otherwise. When the next day came, 97 | Samva actually brought forth an iron bolt through which all the 98 | individuals in the race of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas became consumed 99 | into ashes. Indeed, for the destruction of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas, 100 | Samva brought forth, through that curse, a fierce iron bolt that looked 101 | like a gigantic messenger of death. The fact was duly reported to the 102 | king. In great distress of mind, the king (Ugrasena) caused that iron 103 | bolt to be reduced into fine powder. Men were employed, O king, to cast 104 | that powder into the sea. At the command of Ahuka, of Janarddana, of 105 | Rama, and of the high-souled Vabhru, it was, again, proclaimed throughout 106 | the city that from that day, among all the Vrishnis and the Andhakas no 107 | one should manufacture wines and intoxicating spirits of any kind, and 108 | that whoever would secretly manufacture wines and spirits should be 109 | impaled alive with all his kinsmen. Through fear of the king, and knowing 110 | that it was the command of Rama also of unimpeachable deeds, all the 111 | citizens bound themselves by a rule and abstained from manufacturing 112 | wines and spirits." 113 | 114 | 115 | 116 | 2 117 | 118 | Vaishampayana said: "While the Vrishnis and the Andhakas were thus 119 | endeavouring (to avoid the impending calamity), the embodied form of Time 120 | (death) every day wandered about their houses. He looked like a man of 121 | terrible and fierce aspect. Of bald head, he was black and of tawny 122 | complexion. Sometimes he was seen by the Vrishnis as he peered into their 123 | houses. The mighty bowmen among the Vrishnis shot hundreds and thousands 124 | of shafts at him, but none of these succeeded in piercing him, for he was 125 | none else than the Destroyer of all creatures. Day by day strong winds 126 | blew, and many were the evil omens that arose, awful and foreboding the 127 | destruction of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas. The streets swarmed with 128 | rats and mice. Earthen pots showed cracks or broke from no apparent 129 | cause. At night, the rats and mice ate away the hair and nails of 130 | slumbering men. Sarikas chirped, sitting within the houses of the 131 | Vrishnis. The noise made by those birds ceased not for even a short while 132 | by day or by night. The Sarashas were heard to imitate the hooting of the 133 | owl, and goats imitated the cries, O Bharata, of jackals. Many birds 134 | appeared, impelled by Death, that were pale of complexion but that had 135 | legs red of hue. Pigeons were seen to always disport in the houses of the 136 | Vrishnis. Asses were born of kine, and elephants of mules. Cats were born 137 | of bitches, and mouse of the mongoose. The Vrishnis, committing sinful 138 | acts, were not seen to feel any shame. They showed disregard for 139 | Brahmanas and the Pitris and the deities, They insulted and humiliated 140 | their preceptors and seniors. Only Rama and Janardana acted differently. 141 | Wives deceived their husbands, and husbands deceived their wives. Fires, 142 | when ignited, cast their flames towards the left. Sometimes they threw 143 | out flames whose splendour was blue and red. The Sun, whether when rising 144 | or setting over the city, seemed to be surrounded by headless trunks of 145 | human form. In cook rooms, upon food that was clean and well-boiled, were 146 | seen, when it was served out for eating, innumerable worms of diverse 147 | kinds. When Brahmanas, receiving gifts, blessed the day or the hour 148 | (fixed for this or that undertaking) or when high-souled men were engaged 149 | in silent recitations, the heavy tread was heard of innumerable men 150 | running about, but no one could be seen to whom the sound of such tread 151 | could be ascribed. The constellations were repeatedly seen to be struck 152 | by the planets. None amongst the Yadavas could, however, obtain a sight 153 | of the constellation of his birth. When the Panchajanya was blown in 154 | their houses, asses of dissonant and awful voice brayed aloud from every 155 | direction. "Beholding these signs that indicated the perverse course of 156 | Time, and seeing that the day of the new moon coincided with the 157 | thirteenth (and the fourteenth) lunation, Hrishikesa, summoning the 158 | Yadavas, said unto them these words: The fourteenth lunation has been 159 | made the fifteenth by Rahu once more. Such a day had happened at the time 160 | of the great battle of the Bharatas. It has once more appeared, it seems, 161 | for our destruction. "The slayer of Keshi, Janardana, thinking upon the 162 | omens that Time showed, understood that the thirty-sixth year had come, 163 | and that what Gandhari, burning with grief on account of the death of her 164 | sons, and deprived of all her kinsmen, had said was about to transpire. 165 | The present is exactly similar to that time when Yudhishthira noted at 166 | such awful omens when the two armies had been arrayed in order of battle. 167 | Vasudeva, having said so, endeavoured to bring about those occurrences 168 | which would make Gandharis words true. That chastiser of foes commanded 169 | the Vrishnis to make a pilgrimage to some sacred water. The messengers 170 | forthwith proclaimed at the command of Keshava that the Vrishnis should 171 | make a journey to the sea-coast for bathing in the sacred waters of the 172 | ocean." 173 | 174 | 175 | 176 | 3 177 | 178 | Vaishampayana said: "At that time the Vrishni ladies dreamed every night 179 | that a woman of black complexion and white teeth, entering their abodes, 180 | laughed aloud and ran through Dvaraka, snatching from them the auspicious 181 | threads in their wrists. The men dreamt that terrible vultures, entering 182 | their houses and fire-chambers, gorged themselves on their bodies. Their 183 | ornaments and umbrellas and standards and armour were seen to be taken 184 | away by terrible Rakshasas. In the very sight of the Vrishnis, the discus 185 | of Krishna, given by Agni, made of iron and having its nave composed of 186 | hardest adamant, ascended into the firmament. In the very sight of 187 | Daruka, the excellent car of Vasudeva, of solar effulgence, and properly 188 | equipped, was taken away by the horses yoked unto it. Those foremost of 189 | steeds, numbering four, (Saivya, Sugriva, Meghapushpa and Valahaka), and 190 | endued with the speed of thought, fled away, dragging the car after them 191 | along the surface of the ocean. The two great standards of Krishnas car 192 | and Valadevas car, that with the device of Garuda and that bearing the 193 | device of the palmyra, which were reverently worshipped by those two 194 | heroes, were taken away by Apsaras who, day and night, called upon the 195 | Vrishnis and the Andhakas to set out on a pilgrimage to some sacred 196 | water. When these omens were seen and heard, those foremost of men, the 197 | mighty car-warriors of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas, became desirous of 198 | setting out, with their whole families, on a pilgrimage to some sacred 199 | water. They prepared diverse kinds of viands and edibles and diverse 200 | kinds of wines and meat. The troops of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas, 201 | blazing with beauty and endued with fierce energy, then set out from the 202 | city on cars and steeds and elephants. The Yadavas, then, with their 203 | wives, proceeded to Prabhasa and took up their residence there, each in 204 | the (temporary) habitation that was assigned to him, and all having an 205 | abundance of provisions consisting of edibles and drink. 206 | 207 | "Hearing that they had taken up their abode on the sea-coast, Uddhava, 208 | the wisest of men, who was, besides, well-versed in Yoga, proceeded there 209 | and took his leave (for departing). Krishna, with joined hands, saluted 210 | Uddhava, and seeing him bent on departing (from the world) and knowing 211 | that the destructions of the Vrishnis was at hand, did not feel any 212 | disposition to prevent him. The mighty car-warriors among the Vrishnis 213 | and the Andhakas, whose hour had come, then saw Uddhava proceed on his 214 | great journey, filling the whole welkin with his splendour. The Vrishnis, 215 | mixing with wine the food that had been cooked for high-souled Brahmanas, 216 | gave it away unto monkeys and apes. Those heroes of fierce energy then 217 | began their high revels, of which drinking formed the chief feature, at 218 | Prabhasa. The entire field echoed with the blare of hundreds of trumpets 219 | and abounded with actors and dancers plying their vocations. In the very 220 | sight of Krishna, Rama began to drink, with Kritavarma, Yuyudhana and 221 | Gada; and Vabhru also did the same. Then Yuyudhana, inebriated with wine, 222 | derisively laughing at and insulting Kritavarma in the midst of that 223 | assembly, said, What Kshatriya is there who, armed with weapons, will 224 | slay men locked in the embraces of sleep and, therefore, already dead? 225 | Hence, O son of Hridika, the Yadavas will never tolerate what thou hast 226 | done. When Yuyudhana had said these words, Pradyumna, that foremost of 227 | car-warriors, applauded them, expressing his disregard for the son of 228 | Hridika. 229 | 230 | "Highly incensed at this, Kritavarma, emphasising his disregard for 231 | Satyaki, by pointing to him with his left hand, said these words: 232 | Professing thyself to be a hero, how couldst thou so cruelly slay the 233 | armless Bhurishrava who, on the field of battle, ( gave up all hostile 234 | intentions and) sat in praya? 235 | 236 | "Hearing these words of his, Keshava, that slayer of hostile heroes, 237 | giving way to wrath, cast an angry glance at Kritavarma. Then Satyaki 238 | informed the slayer of Madhu as to how Kritavarma had behaved towards 239 | Satrajit for taking away from him the celebrated gem Syamantaka. Hearing 240 | the narrative, Satyabhama, giving way to wrath and tears, approached 241 | Keshava and sitting on his lap enhanced his anger (for Kritavarma). Then 242 | rising up in a rage, Satyaki said, I swear to thee by Truth that I shall 243 | soon cause this one to follow in the wake of the five sons of Draupadi, 244 | and of Dhrishtadyumna and Shikhandithey that were slain by this sinful 245 | wretch, while they were asleep, with the assistance of Dronas son. O thou 246 | of slender waist, Kritavarmas period of life and fame have come to their 247 | end. 248 | 249 | "Having said these words, Satyaki rushed at Kritavarma and severed his 250 | head with a sword in the very sight of Keshava. Yuyudhana, having 251 | achieved this feat, began to strike down others there present. Hrishikesa 252 | ran to prevent him from doing further mischief. At that time, however, O 253 | monarch, the Bhojas and Andhakas, impelled by the perverseness of the 254 | hour that had come upon them, all became as one man and surrounded the 255 | son of Sini. Janardana of mighty energy, knowing the character of the 256 | hour, stood unmoved without giving way to anger at the sight of those 257 | heroes rushing in wrath at Satyaki from every side. Urged by fate and 258 | inebriated with drink, they began to strike Yuyudhana with the pots from 259 | which they had been eating. When the son of Sini was being thus 260 | assaulted, Rukminis son became highly enraged. He rushed forward for 261 | rescuing Satyaki who was engaged with the Bhojas and the Andhakas. Endued 262 | with might of arms and wealth of energy, those two heroes exerted 263 | themselves with great courage. But as the odds were overwhelming, both of 264 | them were slain in the very sight of Krishna. The delighter of the Yadus, 265 | beholding his own son, and the son of Sini too, slain, took up, in wrath, 266 | a handful of the Eraka grass that grew there. That handful of grass 267 | became a terrible bolt of iron endued with the energy of the thunderbolt. 268 | With it Krishna slew all those that came before him. Then the Andhakas 269 | and the Bhojas, the Saineyas and the Vrishnis, urged by Time, struck one 270 | another in that fearful melee. Indeed, O king, whoever amongst them took 271 | up in wrath a few blades of the Eraka grass, these, in his hands, became 272 | soon converted into a thunderbolt, O puissant one. Every blade of grass 273 | there was seen to be converted into a terrible iron bolt. All this, know, 274 | O king, was due to the curse denounced by Brahmanas. He who hurled a 275 | blade of grass saw that it pierced through even such things as were 276 | utterly impenetrable. In fact, every blade was seen to become a terrible 277 | bolt having the force of thunder. Son killed sire, and sire killed son, O 278 | Bharata. Inebriated with wine, they rushed and fell upon one another. The 279 | Kukuras and the Andhakas met with destruction like insects rushing at a 280 | blazing fire. As they were thus being slaughtered, no one among them 281 | thought of escaping by fight. Knowing that the hour of destruction had 282 | come, the mighty-armed Keshava stood there, eyeing everything. Indeed, 283 | the slayer of Madhu stood, raising a bolt of iron formed of a blade of 284 | grass. Beholding that Samva was slain, as also Charudeshna and Pradyumna 285 | and Aniruddha, Madhava became filled with rage. Beholding Gada lying dead 286 | on the ground, his wrath became enhanced. The wielder of Sarnga and the 287 | discus and the mace then exterminated the Vrishnis and the Andhakas. 288 | Hear, O king, what that conquerer of hostile towns, Vabhru of mighty 289 | energy and Daruka then said to Krishna, O holy one, a very large number 290 | of men has been slain by thee. Turn now to where Rama has gone. We wish 291 | to go there where he has proceeded." 292 | 293 | 294 | 295 | 4 296 | 297 | Vaishampayana said: "Then Daruka and Keshava and Vabhru left that spot, 298 | following in the wake of Rama (for discovering his retreat). They beheld 299 | that hero of infinite energy sitting thoughtfully, reclining his back 300 | against a tree, in a solitary spot of earth. Finding Rama of great soul, 301 | Krishna commanded Daruka, saying, Going to the Kurus, inform Partha of 302 | this great slaughter of the Yadus. Let Arjuna come here quickly, hearing 303 | of the destruction of the Yadavas through the Brahmanas curse. 304 | 305 | "Thus addressed, Daruka, deprived of his senses by grief, proceeded on a 306 | car to the (capital of the) Kurus. After Daruka had gone away, Keshava, 307 | seeing Vabhru waiting on him, told him these words: Do thou go quickly 308 | for protecting the ladies. Let not robbers do them any injury, tempted by 309 | the wealth (that is with them). Thus commanded by Keshava, Vabhru, still 310 | helpless with wine but cheerless at the slaughter of his kinsmen, 311 | departed. He had rested for a while by the side of Keshava, but as soon 312 | as he had proceeded to a distance, the iron-bolt, attaching itself to a 313 | mallet in the hands of a hunter, suddenly sprang of itself upon that 314 | solitary survivor of the Yadava race and slew him, who also had been 315 | included in the curse of the Brahmanas. Beholding Vabhru slain, Keshava 316 | of great energy addressed his elder brother and said, Do thou, O Rama 317 | wait for me here till I place the ladies under the care of kinsmen. 318 | 319 | "Entering the city of Dwaravati, Janardana said these words unto his 320 | father, Do thou protect all the ladies of our house, till Dhananjaya 321 | comes. At the skirts of the forest Rama is waiting for me. I shall meet 322 | him today. This great carnage of the Yadus has been beheld by me even as 323 | I beheld before the carnage of those Kshatriyas who were the foremost 324 | ones of Kurus race. It is impossible for me to see this city of the 325 | Yadavas without the Yadus beside me. Know that proceeding to the woods I 326 | shall practise penances with Rama in my company. Having said these words, 327 | Krishna touched the feet of his father with his head, and quickly left 328 | his presence. Then a loud wail of sorrow arose from the ladies and 329 | children of his house. Hearing that loud sound of wailing uttered by the 330 | weeping ladies, Keshava retraced his foot-steps and said unto them, 331 | Arjuna will come here. That foremost of man will relieve you of your 332 | grief. 333 | 334 | "Proceeding then to the forest, Keshava beheld Rama sitting in a solitary 335 | spot thereof. He also saw that Rama had set himself to Yoga and that from 336 | out his mouth was issuing a mighty snake. The colour of that snake was 337 | white. Leaving the human body (in which he had dwelt so long), that 338 | high-souled naga of a 1,000 heads and having a form as large as that of a 339 | mountain, endued besides with red eyes, proceeded along that way which 340 | led to the ocean. Ocean himself, and many celestial snakes, and many 341 | sacred Rivers were there, for receiving him with honour. There were 342 | Karkotaka and Vasuki and Takshaka and Prithusravas and Varuna and 343 | Kunjara, and Misri and Sankha and Kumuda and Pundarika, and the 344 | high-souled Dhritarashtra, and Hrada and Kratha and Sitikantha of fierce 345 | energy, and Chakramanda and Atishanda, and that foremost of Nagas called 346 | Durmukha, and Amvarisha, and king Varuna himself, O monarch. Advancing 347 | forward and offering him the Arghya and water to wash his feet, and with 348 | diverse other rites, they all worshipped the mighty Naga and saluted him 349 | by making the usual enquiries. 350 | 351 | "After his brother had thus departed from the (human) world, Vasudeva of 352 | celestial vision, who was fully acquainted with the end of all things, 353 | wandered for some time in that lonely forest thoughtfully. Endued with 354 | great energy he then sat down on the bare earth. He had thought before 355 | this of everything that had been fore-shadowed by the words uttered by 356 | Gandhari in former days. He also recollected the words that Durvasas had 357 | spoken at the time his body was smeared by that Rishi with the remnant of 358 | the Payasa he had eaten (while a guest at Krishnas house). The 359 | high-souled one, thinking of the destruction of the Vrishnis and the 360 | Andhakas, as also of the previous slaughter of the Kurus, concluded that 361 | the hour (for his own departure from the world) had come. He then 362 | restrained his senses (in Yoga). Conversant with the truth of every 363 | topic, Vasudeva, though he was the Supreme Deity, wished to die, for 364 | dispelling all doubts and establishing a certainty of results (in the 365 | matter of human existence), simply for upholding the three worlds and for 366 | making the words of Atris son true. Having restrained all his senses, 367 | speech, and mind, Krishna laid himself down in high Yoga. 368 | 369 | "A fierce hunter of the name of Jara then came there, desirous of deer. 370 | The hunter, mistaking Keshava, who was stretched on the earth in high 371 | Yoga, for a deer, pierced him at the heel with a shaft and quickly came 372 | to that spot for capturing his prey. Coming up, Jara beheld a man dressed 373 | in yellow robes, rapt in Yoga and endued with many arms. Regarding 374 | himself an offender, and filled with fear, he touched the feet of 375 | Keshava. The high-souled one comforted him and then ascended upwards, 376 | filling the entire welkin with splendour. When he reached Heaven, Vasava 377 | and the twin Ashvinis and Rudra and the Adityas and the Vasus and the 378 | Viswedevas, and Munis and Siddhas and many foremost ones among the 379 | Gandharvas, with the Apsaras, advanced to receive him. Then, O king, the 380 | illustrious Narayana of fierce energy, the Creator and Destroyer of all, 381 | that preceptor of Yoga, filling Heaven with his splendour, reached his 382 | own inconceivable region. Krishna then met the deities and (celestial) 383 | Rishis and Charanas, O king, and the foremost ones among the Gandharvas 384 | and many beautiful Apsaras and Siddhas and Saddhyas. All of them, bending 385 | in humility, worshipped him. The deities all saluted him, O monarch, and 386 | many foremost of Munis and Rishis worshipped him who was the Lord of all. 387 | The Gandharvas waited on him, hymning his praises, and Indra also 388 | joyfully praised him." 389 | 390 | 391 | 392 | 5 393 | 394 | Vaishampayana said: "Meanwhile Daruka, going to the Kurus and seeing 395 | those mighty car-warriors, the son of Pritha, informed them of how the 396 | Vrishnis had slain one another with iron bolts. Hearing that the Vrishnis 397 | along with the Bhojas and Andhakas and Kukuras had all been slain, the 398 | Pandavas, burning with grief, became highly agitated. Then Arjuna, the 399 | dear friend of Keshava, bidding them farewell, set out for seeing his 400 | maternal uncle. He said that destruction would soon overtake everything. 401 | Proceeding to the city of the Vrishnis with Daruka in his company, O 402 | puissant king, that hero beheld that the city of Dwaraka looked like a 403 | woman bereft of her husband. Those ladies who had, before this, the very 404 | Lord of the universe for their protector, were now lordless. Seeing that 405 | Partha had come for protecting them, they all set up a loud wail. 16,000 406 | ladies had been wedded to Vasudeva. Indeed, as soon as they saw Arjuna 407 | arrive, they uttered a loud cry of sorrow. As soon as the Kuru prince met 408 | those beauteous ones deprived of the protection of Krishna and of their 409 | sons as well, he was unable to look at them, his vision being obstructed 410 | by tears. The Dwaraka river had the Vrishnis and the Andhakas for its 411 | water, steeds for its fishes, cars for its rafts, the sound of musical 412 | instruments and the rattle of cars for its waves, houses and mansions and 413 | public squares for its lakes. Gems and precious stones were its abundant 414 | moss. The walls of adamant were the garlands of flowers that floated on 415 | it. The streets and roads were the strong currents running in eddies 416 | along its surface. The great open squares were the still large lakes in 417 | its course. Rama and Krishna were its two mighty alligators. That 418 | agreeable river now seemed to Arjuna to be the fierce Vaitarani bound up 419 | with Times net. Indeed, the son of Vasava, endued with great 420 | intelligence, beheld the city to look even thus, reft as it was of the 421 | Vrishni heroes. Shorn of beauty, and perfectly cheerless, it presented 422 | the aspect of a lotus flower in the season of winter. Beholding the sight 423 | that Dwaraka presented, and seeing the numerous wives of Krishna, Arjuna 424 | wailed aloud with eyes bathed in tears and fell down on the earth. Then 425 | Satya, the daughter of Satrajit, and Rukmini too, O king, fell down 426 | beside Dhananjaya and uttered loud wails of grief. Raising him then they 427 | caused him to be seated on a golden seat. The ladies sat around that 428 | high-souled one, giving expression to their feelings. Praising Govinda 429 | and talking with the ladies, the son of Pandu comforted them and then 430 | proceeded to see his maternal uncle." 431 | 432 | 433 | 434 | 6 435 | 436 | Vaishampayana said: "The Kuru prince beheld the heroic and high-souled 437 | Anakadundubhi lying on the ground and burning with grief on account of 438 | his sons. The broad-chested and mighty-armed son of Pritha, more 439 | afflicted than his uncle, with eyes bathed in tears, touched his uncles 440 | feet, O Bharata. The mighty-armed Anakadundubhi wished to smell the head 441 | of his sisters son but failed to do it, O slayer of foes. The old man of 442 | mighty arms, deeply afflicted, embraced Partha with his arms and wept 443 | aloud, remembering his sons, brothers, grandsons, daughters sons, and 444 | friends. 445 | 446 | "Vasudeva said, Without beholding those heroes, O Arjuna, who had 447 | subjugated all the kings of the Earth and the Daityas a hundred times, I 448 | am still alive! Methinks, I have no death! Through the fault of those two 449 | heroes who were thy dear disciples and who were much regarded by thee, 450 | also, O Partha, the Vrishnis have been destroyed. Those two who were 451 | regarded as Atirathas amongst the foremost of the Vrishnis, and referring 452 | to whom in course of conversation thou wert wont to indulge in pride, and 453 | who, O chief of Kurus race, were ever dear to Krishna himselfalas, those 454 | two, O Dhananjaya, have been the chief causes of the destruction of the 455 | Vrishnis! I do not censure the son of Sini or the son of Hridika, O 456 | Arjuna. I do not censure Akrura or the son of Rukmini. No doubt, the 457 | curse (of the Rishis) is the sole cause. How is it that that lord of the 458 | universe, the slayer of Madhu, who had put forth his prowess for 459 | achieving the destruction of Kesin and Kansa, and Chaidya swelling with 460 | pride, and Ekalavya, the son of the ruler of the Nishadas, and the 461 | Kalingas and the Magadhas, and the Gandharas and the king of Kasi, and 462 | many rulers assembled together in the midst of the desert, many heroes 463 | belonging to the East and the South, and many kings of the mountainous 464 | regionsalas, how could he remain indifferent to such a calamity as the 465 | curse denounced by the Rishis? Thyself, Narada, and the Munis, knew him 466 | to be the eternal and sinless Govinda, the Deity of unfading glory. Alas, 467 | being puissant Vishnu himself, he witnessed, without interfering, the 468 | destruction of his kinsmen! My son must have himself allowed all this to 469 | happen. He was the Lord of the universe. He did not, however, wish to 470 | falsify the words of Gandhari and the Rishis, O scorcher of foes. In thy 471 | very sight, O hero, thy grandson, who had been slain by Ashvatthama, was 472 | revived through his energy. That friend, however, of yours did not wish 473 | to protect his kinsmen. Beholding his sons and grandsons and brothers and 474 | friends lying dead, he said unto me these words, O chief of Bharatas 475 | race, "The destruction of this our race has at last come. Vibhatsu will 476 | come to this city, Dwaravati. Tell him what has occurred, this great 477 | carnage of the Vrishnis. I have no doubt that as soon as he will hear of 478 | the destruction of the Yadus, that hero of mighty energy will come here 479 | without any loss of time. Know, O father, that I am Arjuna and Arjuna is 480 | myself. That should be done by thee which he would say. The son of Pandu 481 | will do what is best for the women and the children. Even he will perform 482 | thy funeral rites. This city of Dwaravati, after Arjunas departure, will, 483 | with its walls and edifices, be swallowed up by the ocean without any 484 | delay. As regards myself, retiring to some sacred place, I shall bide my 485 | hour, with the intelligent Rama in my company, observing strict vows all 486 | the while." Having said these words unto me, Hrishikesa of inconceivable 487 | prowess, leaving me with the children, has gone away to some spot which I 488 | do not know. Thinking of those two high-souled brothers of thine, as also 489 | of the terrible carnage of my kinsmen, I have abstained from all food, 490 | and am emaciated with grief. I shall neither eat, nor live. By good luck 491 | thou meetest me, O son of Pandu. Do thou accomplish all, O Partha, that 492 | Krishna has said. This kingdom, with all these women, and all the wealth 493 | here, is thine now, O son of Pritha. As regards myself, O slayer of foes, 494 | I shall cast off my life-breaths dear though they be." 495 | 496 | 497 | 498 | 7 499 | 500 | Vaishampayana said: "That scorcher of foes, Vibhatsu, thus addressed by 501 | his maternal uncle, replied, with great cheerlessness of heart, unto 502 | Vasudeva who was equally cheerless, saying, O uncle, I am unable to look 503 | at this Earth when she is reft of that hero of Vrishnis race and those my 504 | other kinsmen. The king and Bhimasena and Sahadeva and Nakula and 505 | Yajnaseni, numbering the sixth, are of the same mind with myself in this 506 | matter. The time has come for the departure of the king also. Know this, 507 | that the hour of our departure too is at hand. Thou art the foremost of 508 | those that are well conversant with the course of time. I shall, however, 509 | O chastiser of foes, first remove to Indraprastha the women of the 510 | Vrishni race as also the children and the aged. Having said so unto his 511 | uncle, Arjuna next addressed Daruka, saying, I wish to see without any 512 | delay the chief officers of the Vrishni heroes. Having uttered these 513 | words, the heroic Arjuna, grieving for those great car-warriors (who had 514 | been slain), entered the great hall of the Yadavas (where they used to 515 | hold their court), called Sudharma. When he had taken his seat there, all 516 | the citizens, including the Brahmanas, and all the ministers of state 517 | came and stood surrounding him. Then Partha, more grieved than they, 518 | addressed those grieving and cheerless citizens and officers who were 519 | more dead than alive, and said these words that were well suited to the 520 | occasion: I shall take away with me the remnants of the Vrishnis and the 521 | Andhakas. The sea will soon engulf this city. Equip all your cars and 522 | place on them all your wealth. This Vajra (the grandson of Krishna) will 523 | be your king at Shakraprastha. On the seventh day from this, at sunrise, 524 | we shall set out. Make your preparations without delay. 525 | 526 | "Thus addressed by Prithas son of pure deeds, all of them hastened their 527 | preparations with eagerness for achieving their safety. Arjuna passed 528 | that night in the mansion of Keshava. He was suddenly overwhelmed with 529 | great grief and stupefaction. When morning dawned, Vasudeva of great 530 | energy and prowess attained, through the aid of Yoga, to the highest 531 | goal. A loud and heart-rending sound of wailing was heard in Vasudevas 532 | mansion, uttered by the weeping ladies. They were seen with dishevelled 533 | hair and divested of ornaments and floral wreaths. Beating their breasts 534 | with their hands, they indulged in heart-rending lamentations. Those 535 | foremost of women, Devaki and Bhadra and Rohini and Madira threw 536 | themselves on the bodies of their lord. Then Partha caused the body of 537 | his uncle to be carried out on a costly vehicle borne on the shoulders of 538 | men. It was followed by all the citizens of Dwaraka and the people of the 539 | provinces, all of whom, deeply afflicted by grief, had been well-affected 540 | towards the deceased hero. Before that vehicle were borne the umbrella 541 | which had been held over his head at the conclusion of the 542 | horse-sacrifice he had achieved while living, and also the blazing fires 543 | he had daily worshipped, with the priests that had used to attend to 544 | them. The body of the hero was followed by his wives decked in ornaments 545 | and surrounded by thousands of women and thousands of their 546 | daughters-in-law. The last rites were then performed at that spot which 547 | had been agreeable to him while he was alive. The four wives of that 548 | heroic son of Sura ascended the funeral pyre and were consumed with the 549 | body of their lord. All of them attained to those regions of felicity 550 | which were his. The son of Pandu burnt the body of his uncle together 551 | with those four wives of his, using diverse kinds of scents and perfumed 552 | wood. As the funeral pyre blazed up, a loud sound was heard of the 553 | burning wood and other combustible materials, along with the clear chant 554 | of Samans and the wailing of the citizens and others who witnessed the 555 | rite. After it was all over, the boys of the Vrishni and Andhaka races, 556 | headed by Vajra, as also the ladies, offered oblations of water to the 557 | high-souled hero. 558 | 559 | "Phalguna, who was careful in observing every duty, having caused this 560 | duty to be performed, proceeded, O chief of Bharatas race, next to the 561 | place where the Vrishnis were slaughtered. The Kuru prince, beholding 562 | them lying slaughtered all around, became exceedingly cheerless. He, 563 | however, did what was required to be done in view of that which had 564 | happened. The last rites were performed, according to the order of 565 | seniority, unto the bodies of those heroes slain by the iron bolts born, 566 | by virtue of the curse denounced by the Brahmanas, of the blades of Eraka 567 | grass. Searching out the bodies then of Rama and Vasudeva, Arjuna caused 568 | them to be burnt by persons skilled in that act. The son of Pandu, having 569 | next performed duly those sraddha rites that are done to the dead, 570 | quickly set out on the seventh day, mounting on his car. The widows of 571 | the Vrishni heroes, wailing aloud, followed the high-souled son of Pandu. 572 | Dhananjaya, on cars drawn by bullocks and mules and camels. All were in 573 | deep affliction. The servants of the Vrishnis, their horsemen, and their 574 | car-warriors too, followed the procession. The citizens and the 575 | inhabitants of the country, at the command of Prithas son, set out at the 576 | same time and proceeded, surrounding that cavalcade destitute of heroes 577 | and numbering only women and the aged and the children. The warriors who 578 | fought from the backs of elephants proceeded on elephants as huge as 579 | hills. The foot-soldiers also set out, together with the reserves. The 580 | children of the Andhaka and the Vrishni races, all followed Arjuna. The 581 | Brahmanas and Kshatriyas, and Vaisyas, and wealthy Sudras, set out, 582 | keeping before them the 16,000 women that had formed Vasudevas harem, and 583 | Vajra, the grandson of the intelligent Krishna. The widows of the other 584 | heroes of the Bhoja, the Vrishni, and the Andhaka races, lordless now, 585 | that set out with Arjuna, numbered many millions. That foremost of 586 | car-warriors, that conqueror of hostile towns, the son of Pritha, 587 | escorted this vast procession of Vrishnis, which still abounded with 588 | wealth, and which looked like a veritable ocean. 589 | 590 | "After all the people had set out, the ocean, that home of sharks and 591 | alligators, flooded Dvaraka, which still teemed with wealth of every 592 | kind, with its waters. Whatever portion of the ground was passed over, 593 | ocean immediately flooded over with his waters. Beholding this wonderful 594 | sight, the inhabitants of Dvaraka walked faster and faster, saying, 595 | Wonderful is the course of fate! Dhananjaya, after abandoning Dvaraka, 596 | proceeded by slow marches, causing the Vrishni women to rest in pleasant 597 | forests and mountains and by the sides of delightful streams. Arrived at 598 | the country of the five waters, the puissant Dhananjaya planted a rich 599 | encampment in the midst of a land that abounded with corn and kine and 600 | other animals. Beholding those lordless widows escorted by Prithas son 601 | alone O Bharata, the robbers felt a great temptation (for plunder). Then 602 | those sinful wretches, with hearts overwhelmed by cupidity, those Abhiras 603 | of ill omen, assembled together and held a consultation. They said, Here 604 | there is only one bowman, Arjuna. The cavalcade consists of children and 605 | the old. He escorts them, transgressing us. The warriors (of the 606 | Vrishnis) are without energy. Then those robbers, numbering by thousands, 607 | and armed with clubs, rushed towards the procession of the Vrishnis, 608 | desirous of plunder. Urged by the perverse course of time they fell upon 609 | that vast concourse, frightening it with loud leonine shouts and desirous 610 | of slaughter. The son of Kunti, suddenly ceasing to advance along the 611 | path, turned, with his followers, towards the place where the robbers had 612 | attacked the procession. Smiling the while, that mighty-armed warrior 613 | addressed the assailants, saying, You sinful wretches, forbear, if ye 614 | love your lives. Ye will rue this when I pierce your bodies with my 615 | shafts and take your lives. Though thus addressed by that hero, they 616 | disregarded his words, and though repeatedly dissuaded, they fell upon 617 | Arjuna. Then Arjuna endeavoured to string his large, indestructible, 618 | celestial bow with some effort. He succeeded with great difficulty in 619 | stringing it, when the battle had become furious. He then began to think 620 | of his celestial weapons but they would not come to his mind. Beholding 621 | that furious battle, the loss of the might of his arm, and the 622 | non-appearance of his celestial weapons, Arjuna became greatly ashamed. 623 | The Vrishni warriors including the foot-soldiers, the elephant-warriors, 624 | and the car-men, failed to rescue those Vrishni women that were being 625 | snatched away by the robbers. The concourse was very large. The robbers 626 | assailed it at different points. Arjuna tried his best to protect it, but 627 | could not succeed. In the very sightof all the warriors, many foremost of 628 | ladies were dragged away, while others went away with the robbers of 629 | their own accord. The puissant Arjuna, supported by the servants of the 630 | Vrishnis, struck the robbers with shafts sped from Gandiva. Soon, 631 | however. O king, his shafts were exhausted. In former days his shafts had 632 | been inexhaustible. Now, however, they proved otherwise. Finding his 633 | shafts exhausted, he became deeply afflicted with grief. The son of Indra 634 | then began to strike the robbers with the horns of his bow. Those 635 | Mlecchas, however, O Janamejaya, in the very sight of Partha, retreated, 636 | taking away with them many foremost ladies of the Vrishnis and Andhakas. 637 | The puissant Dhananjaya regarded it all as the work of destiny. Filled 638 | with sorrow he breathed heavy sighs at the thought of the non-appearance 639 | of his (celestial) weapons, the loss of the might of his arms, the 640 | refusal of his bow to obey him, and the exhaustion of his shafts. 641 | Regarding it all as the work of destiny, he became exceedingly cheerless. 642 | He then ceased, O king, to make further efforts, saying, he had not the 643 | power which he had before. The high-souled one, taking with him the 644 | remnant of the Vrishni women, and the wealth that was still with them, 645 | reached Kurukshetra. Thus bringing with him the remnant of the Vrishnis. 646 | he established them at different places. He established the son of 647 | Kritavarma at the city called Marttikavat, with the remnant of the women 648 | of the Bhoja king. Escorting the remainder, with children and old men and 649 | women, the son of Pandu established them, who were reft of heroes, in the 650 | city of Indraprastha. The dear son of Yuyudhana, with a company of old 651 | men and children and women, the righteous-souled Arjuna established on 652 | the banks of the Sarasvati. The rule of Indraprastha was given to Vajra. 653 | The widows of Akrura then desired to retire into the woods. Vajra asked 654 | them repeatedly to desist, but they did not listen to him. Rukmini, the 655 | princess of Gandhara, Saivya, Haimavati, and queen Jamvabati ascended the 656 | funeral pyre. Satyabhama and other dear wives of Krishna entered the 657 | woods, O king, resolved to set themselves to the practice of penances. 658 | They began to live on fruits and roots and pass their time in the 659 | contemplation of Hari. Going beyond the Himavat, they took up their abode 660 | in a place called Kalpa. Those men who had followed Arjuna from 661 | Dwaravati, were distributed into groups, and bestowed upon Vajra. Having 662 | done all these acts suited to the occasion, Arjuna, with eyes bathed in 663 | tears, then entered the retreat of Vyasa. There he beheld the Island-born 664 | Rishi seated at his ease." 665 | 666 | 667 | 668 | 8 669 | 670 | Vaishampayana said: "As Arjuna entered the asylum of the truthful Rishi, 671 | he beheld the son of Satyavati seated in a secluded spot. 672 | 673 | "Approaching that Rishi of high vows and endued with a knowledge of all 674 | duties, he said, I am Arjuna, and then awaited his pleasure. Satyavatis 675 | son, endued with high penances, answered, saying Welcome! Of tranquil 676 | soul, the great Muni further said, Take thy seat. Seeing that the son of 677 | Pritha was exceedingly cheerless and breathing heavy sighs repeatedly and 678 | filled with despair, Vyasa addressed him, saying, "Hast thou been 679 | sprinkled with water from anybodys nails or hair, or the end of anybodys 680 | cloth, or from the mouth of a jar? Hast thou had sexual congress with any 681 | woman before the cessation of her functional flow? Hast thou slain a 682 | Brahmana? Hast thou been vanquished in battle? Thou lookest like one 683 | shorn of prosperity. I do not know that thou hast been defeated by 684 | anyone. Why then, O chief of Bharatas race, this exceedingly dejected 685 | aspect? It behoveth thee, O son of Pritha, to tell me all, if, indeed, 686 | there be no harm in telling it." 687 | 688 | "Arjuna said, He whose complexion was like that of a (newly-risen) cloud, 689 | he whose eyes were like a pair of large lotus petals, Krishna, has, with 690 | Rama, cast off his body and ascended to Heaven. At Prabhasa, through iron 691 | bolts generated by the curse denounced by Brahmanas, the destruction has 692 | taken place of the Vrishni heroes. Awful hath that carnage been, and not 693 | even a single hero has escaped. The heroes of the Bhoja, the Andhaka, and 694 | the Vrishni races, O Brahmana, who were all endued with high souls, great 695 | might, and leonine pride, have slaughtered one another in battle. 696 | Possessed of arms that looked like maces of iron, and capable of bearing 697 | the strokes of heavy clubs and darts, alas, they have all been slain with 698 | blades of Eraka grass. Behold the perverse course of Time. 500,000 699 | mighty-armed warriors have thus been laid low. Encountering one another, 700 | they have met with destruction. Thinking repeatedly of this carnage of 701 | the Yadava warriors of immeasurable energy and of the illustrious 702 | Krishna, I fail to derive peace of mind. The death of the wielder of 703 | Sarnga is as incredible as the drying up of the ocean, the displacement 704 | of a mountain, the falling down of the vault of heaven, or the cooling 705 | property of fire. Deprived of the company of the Vrishni heroes, I desire 706 | not to live in this world. Another incident has happened that is more 707 | painful than this, O thou that art possessed of wealth of penances. 708 | Repeatedly thinking of it, my heart is breaking. In my very sight, O 709 | Brahmana, thousands of Vrishni ladies were carried away by the Abhiras of 710 | the country of the five waters, who assailed us. Taking up my bow I found 711 | myself unequal to even string it. The might that had existed in my arms 712 | seemed to have disappeared on that occasion. O great ascetic, my weapons 713 | of diverse kinds failed to make their appearance. Soon, again, my shafts 714 | became exhausted. That person of immeasurable soul, of four arms, 715 | wielding the conch, the discus, and the mace, clad in yellow robes, dark 716 | of complexion, and possessing eyes resembling lotus-petals, is no longer 717 | seen by me. Alas, reft of Govinda, what have I to live for, dragging my 718 | life in sorrow? He who used to stalk in advance of my car, that divine 719 | form endued with great splendour and unfading puissance, consuming as he 720 | proceeded all hostile warriors, can no longer be seen by me. No longer 721 | beholding him who by his energy first burnt all hostile troops whom I 722 | afterwards despatched with shafts sped from Gandiva, I am filled with 723 | grief and my head swims, O best of men. Penetrated with cheerlessness and 724 | despair, I fail to obtain peace of mind. I dare not live, reft of the 725 | heroic Janardana. As soon as I heard that Vishnu had left the Earth, my 726 | eyes became dim and all things disappeared from my vision. O best of men, 727 | it behoveth thee to tell me what is good for me now, for I am now a 728 | wanderer with an empty heart, despoiled of my kinsmen and of my 729 | possession. 730 | 731 | "Vyasa said, The mighty car-warriors of the Vrishni and the Andhaka races 732 | have all been consumed by the Brahmanas curse. O chief of Kurus race, it 733 | behoveth thee not to grieve for their destruction. That which has 734 | happened had been ordained. It was the destiny of those high-souled 735 | warriors. Krishna suffered it to take place although he was fully 736 | competent to baffle it. Govinda was able to alter the very course of the 737 | universe with all its mobile and immobile creatures. What need then be 738 | said of the curse of even high-souled Brahmanas? He who used to proceed 739 | in front of thy car, armed with discus and mace, through affection for 740 | thee, was the four-armed Vasudeva, that ancient rishi. That high-souled 741 | one of expansive eyes, Krishna, having lightened the burthen of the Earth 742 | and cast off his (human) body, has attained to his own high seat. By thee 743 | also, O foremost of men, with Bhima for thy helpmate and the twins, O 744 | mighty-armed hero, has the great work of the gods been accomplished. O 745 | foremost one of Kurus race, I regard thee and thy brothers as crowned 746 | with success, for ye have accomplished the great purpose of your lives. 747 | The time has come for your departure from the world. Even this, O 748 | puissant one, is what is beneficial for you now. Even thus, understanding 749 | and prowess and foresight, O Bharata, arise when days of prosperity have 750 | not outrun. These very acquisitions disappear when the hour of adversity 751 | comes. All this has Time for its root. Time is, indeed, the seed of the 752 | universe, O Dhananjaya. It is Time, again, that withdraws everything at 753 | its pleasure. One becomes mighty, and, again, losing that might, becomes 754 | weak. One becomes a master and rules others, and, again, losing that 755 | position, becomes a servant for obeying the behests of others. Thy 756 | weapons, having achieved success, have gone away to the place they came 757 | from. They will, again, come into thy hands when the Time for their 758 | coming approaches. The time has come, O Bharata, for you all to attain to 759 | the highest goal. Even this is what I regard to be highly beneficial for 760 | you all, O chief of Bharatas race." 761 | 762 | Vaishampayana continued: "Having heard these words of Vyasa of 763 | immeasurable energy, the son of Pritha, receiving his permission, 764 | returned to the city named after the elephant. Entering it, the hero 765 | approached Yudhishthira and informed him of all that had taken place with 766 | reference to the Vrishnis." 767 | 768 | The end of Mausala-parv 769 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/mahabarta/mahatxt/maha18.txt: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | The Mahabharata 6 | 7 | of 8 | 9 | Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa 10 | 11 | BOOK 18 12 | 13 | Svargarohanika-parva 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Translated into English Prose from the Original Sanskrit Text 18 | 19 | by 20 | 21 | Kisari Mohan Ganguli 22 | 23 | [1883-1896] 24 | 25 | Scanned and Proofed by Mantra Caitanya. Additional proofing and 26 | formatting at sacred-texts.com, by J. B. Hare, October 2003. 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 1 31 | 32 | Om! Having bowed down into Narayana, and to Nara, the foremost of men, as 33 | also to the goddess Sarasvati, should the word "Jaya" be uttered. 34 | 35 | Janamejaya said, "Having attained to Heaven, what regions were 36 | respectively attained by my grandsires of old, viz., the Pandavas and the 37 | sons of Dhritarashtra? I desire to hear this. I think that thou art 38 | conversant with everything, having been taught by the great Rishi Vyasa 39 | of wonderful feats. 40 | 41 | Vaishampayana said, "Listen now to what thy grandsires, Yudhishthira and 42 | others, did after having attained to Heaven, that place of the deities. 43 | Arrived at Heaven, king Yudhishthira the just, beheld Duryodhana endued 44 | with prosperity and seated on an excellent seat. He blazed with 45 | effulgence like the sun and wore all those signs of glory which belong to 46 | heroes. And he was in the company of many deities of blazing effulgence 47 | and of Sadhyas of righteous deeds. Yudhishthira, beholding Duryodhana and 48 | his prosperity, became suddenly filled with rage and turned back from the 49 | sight. 50 | 51 | "He loudly addressed his companions, saying, I do not desire to share 52 | regions of felicity with Duryodhana who was stained by cupidity and 53 | possessed of little foresight. It was for him that friends, and kinsmen, 54 | over the whole Earth were slaughtered by us whom he had afflicted greatly 55 | in the deep forest. It was for him that the virtuous princess of Pancala, 56 | Draupadi of faultless features, our wife, was dragged into the midst of 57 | the assembly before all our seniors. Ye gods, I have no desire to even 58 | behold Suyodhana. I wish to go there where my brothers are. 59 | 60 | "Narada, smiling, told him, It should not be so, O king of kings. While 61 | residing in Heaven, all enmities cease. O mighty-armed Yudhishthira, do 62 | not say so about king Duryodhana. Hear my words. Here is king Duryodhana. 63 | He is worshipped with the gods by those righteous men and those foremost 64 | of kings who are now denizens of Heaven. By causing his body to be poured 65 | as a libation on the fire of battle, he has obtained the end that 66 | consists in attainment of the region for heroes. You and your brothers, 67 | who were veritable gods on Earth, were always persecuted by this one. Yet 68 | through his observance of Kshatriya practices he has attained to this 69 | region. This lord of Earth was not terrified in a situation fraught with 70 | terror. 71 | 72 | "O son, thou shouldst not bear in mind the woes inflicted on thee on 73 | account of the match at dice. It behoveth thee not to remember the 74 | afflictions of Draupadi. It behoveth thee not to remember the other woes 75 | which were yours in consequence of the acts of your kinsmen,the woes, 76 | viz., that were due to battle or to other situations. Do thou meet 77 | Duryodhana now according to the ordinances of polite intercourse. This is 78 | Heaven, O lord of men. There can be no enmities here. 79 | 80 | "Though thus addressed by Narada, the Kuru king Yudhishthira, endued with 81 | great intelligence, enquired about his brothers and said, If these 82 | eternal regions reserved for heroes be Duryodhanas, that unrighteous and 83 | sinful wight, that man who was the destroyer of friends and of the whole 84 | world, that man for whose sake the entire Earth was devastated with all 85 | her horses and elephants and human beings, that wight for whose sake we 86 | were burnt with wrath in thinking of how best we might remedy our wrongs, 87 | I desire to see what regions have been attained by those high-souled 88 | heroes, my brothers of high vows, steady achievers of promises, truthful 89 | in speech, and distinguished for courage. The high-souled Karna, the son 90 | of Kunti, incapable of being baffled in battle, Dhrishtadyumna, Satyaki, 91 | the sons of Dhrishtadyumna and those other Kshatriyas who met with death 92 | in the observance of Kshatriya practices, where are those lords of Earth, 93 | O Brahmana? I do not see them here, O Narada. I desire to see, O Narada, 94 | Virata and Drupada and the other great Kshatriyas headed by Dhrishtaketu, 95 | as also Shikhandi, the Pancala prince, the sons of Draupadi, and 96 | Abhimanyu, irresistible in battle. 97 | 98 | 99 | 100 | 2 101 | 102 | "Yudhishthira said, Ye deities, I do not see here Radhas son of 103 | immeasurable prowess, as also my high-souled brothers, and Yudhamanyu and 104 | Uttamaujas, those great car-warriors that poured their bodies (as 105 | libations) on the fire of battle, those kings and princes that met with 106 | death for my sake in battle. Where are those great car-warriors that 107 | possessed the prowess of tigers? Have those foremost of men acquired this 108 | region? If those great car-warriors have obtained these regions, then 109 | only do you know, ye gods, that I shall reside here with those 110 | high-souled ones. If this auspicious and eternal region has not been 111 | acquired by those kings, then know, ye gods, that without those brothers 112 | and kinsmen of mine, I shall not live here. At the time of performing the 113 | water rites (after the battle), I heard my mother say, Do thou offer 114 | oblations of water unto Karna. Since hearing those words of my mother, I 115 | am burning with grief. I grieve also incessantly at this, ye gods, that 116 | when I marked the resemblance between the feet of my mother and those of 117 | Karna of immeasurable soul, I did not immediately place myself under 118 | orders of that afflicter of hostile ranks. Ourselves joined with Karna, 119 | Shakra himself would have been unable to vanquish in battle. Wherever may 120 | that child of Surya be, I desire to see him. Alas, his relationship with 121 | us being unknown, I caused him to be slain by Arjuna. Bhima also of 122 | terrible prowess and dearer to me than my life-breaths, Arjuna too, 123 | resembling Indra himself, the twins also that resembled the Destroyer 124 | himself in prowess, I desire to behold. I wish to see the princess of 125 | Pancala, whose conduct was always righteous. I wish not to stay here. I 126 | tell you the truth. Ye foremost ones among the deities, what is Heaven to 127 | me if I am dissociated from my brothers? That is Heaven where those 128 | brothers of mine are. This, in my opinion, is not Heaven. 129 | 130 | "The gods said, If thou longest to be there, go then, O son, without 131 | delay. At the command of the chief of the deities, we are ready to do 132 | what is agreeable to thee. 133 | 134 | Vaishampayana continued: Having said so, the gods then ordered the 135 | celestial messenger, O scorcher of foes, saying, Do thou show unto 136 | Yudhishthira his friends and kinsmen. Then the royal son of Kunti and the 137 | celestial messenger proceeded together, O foremost of kings, to that 138 | place where those chiefs of men (whom Yudhishthira had wished to see) 139 | were. The celestial messenger proceeded first, the king followed him 140 | behind. The path was inauspicious and difficult and trodden by men of 141 | sinful deeds. It was enveloped in thick darkness, and covered with hair 142 | and moss forming its grassy vesture. Polluted with the stench of sinners, 143 | and miry with flesh and blood, it abounded with gadflies and stinging 144 | bees and gnats and was endangered by the inroads of grisly bears. Rotting 145 | corpses lay here and there. Overspread with bones and hair, it was 146 | noisome with worms and insects. It was skirted all along with a blazing 147 | fire. It was infested by crows and other birds and vultures, all having 148 | beaks of iron, as also by evil spirits with long mouths pointed like 149 | needles. And it abounded with inaccessible fastnesses like the Vindhya 150 | mountains. Human corpses were scattered over it, smeared with fat and 151 | blood, with arms and thighs cut off, or with entrails torn out and legs 152 | severed. 153 | 154 | "Along that path so disagreeable with the stench of corpses and awful 155 | with other incidents, the righteous-souled king proceeded, filled with 156 | diverse thoughts. He beheld a river full of boiling water and, therefore, 157 | difficult to cross, as also a forest of trees whose leaves were sharp 158 | swords and razors. There were plains full of fine white sand exceedingly 159 | heated, and rocks and stones made of iron. There were many jars of iron 160 | all around, with boiling oil in them. Many a Kuta-salmalika was there, 161 | with sharp thorns and, therefore, exceedingly painful to the touch. The 162 | son of Kunti beheld also the tortures inflicted upon sinful men. 163 | 164 | "Beholding that inauspicious region abounding with every sort of 165 | foulness, Yudhishthira asked the celestial messenger, saying, How far 166 | shall we proceed along a path like this? It behoveth thee to tell me 167 | where those brothers of mine are. I desire also to know what region is 168 | this of the gods? 169 | 170 | 171 | 172 | "Hearing these words of king Yudhishthira the just, the celestial 173 | messenger stopped in his course and replied, saying, Thus far is your 174 | way. The denizens of Heaven commanded me that having come thus far, I am 175 | to stop. If thou art tired, O king of kings, thou mayst return with me. 176 | 177 | "Yudhishthira, however, was exceedingly disconsolate and stupefied by the 178 | foul odour. Resolved to return, O Bharata, he retraced his steps. 179 | Afflicted by sorrow and grief, the righteous-souled monarch turned back. 180 | Just at that moment he heard piteous lamentations all around, O son of 181 | Dharma, O royal sage, O thou of sacred origin, O son of Pandu, do thou 182 | stay a moment for favouring us. At thy approach, O invincible one, a 183 | delightful breeze hath begun to blow, bearing the sweet scent of thy 184 | person. Great hath been our relief at this. O foremost of kings, 185 | beholding thee, O first of men, great hath been our happiness. O son of 186 | Pritha, let that happiness last longer through thy stay here, for a few 187 | moments more. Do thou remain here, O Bharata, for even a short while. As 188 | long as thou art here, O thou of Kurus race, torments cease to afflict 189 | us. These and many similar words, uttered in piteous voices by persons in 190 | pain, the king heard in that region, wafted to his ears from every side. 191 | 192 | "Hearing those words of beings in woe, Yudhishthira of compassionate 193 | heart exclaimed aloud, Alas, how painful! And the king stood still. The 194 | speeches of those woe-begone and afflicted persons seemed to the son of 195 | Pandu to be uttered in voices that he had heard before although he could 196 | not recognise them on that occasion. 197 | 198 | "Unable to recognise voices, Dharmas son, Yudhishthira, enquired, saying, 199 | Who are you? Why also do you stay here? 200 | 201 | "Thus addressed, they answered him from all sides, saying, I am Karna! I 202 | am Bhimasena! I am Arjuna! I am Nakula! I am Sahadeva! I am 203 | Dhrishtadyumna! I am Draupadi! We are the sons of Draupadi! Even thus, O 204 | king, did those voices speak. 205 | 206 | "Hearing those exclamations, O king, uttered in voices of pain suitable 207 | to that place, the royal Yudhishthira asked himself What perverse destiny 208 | is this? What are those sinful acts which were committed by those 209 | high-souled beings, Karna and the sons of Draupadi, and the 210 | slender-waisted princess of Pancala, so that their residence has been 211 | assigned in this region of foetid smell and great woe? I am not aware of 212 | any transgression that can be attributed to these persons of righteous 213 | deeds. What is that act by doing which Dhritarashtras son, king 214 | Suyodhana, with all his sinful followers, has become invested with such 215 | prosperity? Endued with prosperity like that of the great Indra himself, 216 | he is highly adored. What is that act through the consequence of which 217 | these (high-souled ones) have fallen into Hell? All of them were 218 | conversant with every duty, were heroes, were devoted to truth and the 219 | Vedas; were observant of Kshatriya practices; were righteous in their 220 | acts; were performers of sacrifices; and givers of large presents unto 221 | brahmanas. Am I asleep or awake? Am I conscious or unconscious? Or, is 222 | all this a mental delusion due to disorders of the brain? 223 | 224 | "Overwhelmed by sorrow and grief, and with his senses agitated by 225 | anxiety, king Yudhishthira indulged in such reflections for a long time. 226 | The royal son of Dharma then gave way to great wrath. Indeed, 227 | Yudhishthira then censured the gods, as also Dharma himself. Afflicted by 228 | the very foul odour, he addressed the celestial messenger, saying, Return 229 | to the presence of those whose messenger thou art. Tell them that I shall 230 | not go back to where they are, but shall stay even here, since, in 231 | consequence of my companionship, these afflicted brothers of mine have 232 | become comforted. Thus addressed by the intelligent son of Pandu, the 233 | celestial messenger returned to the place where the chief of the deities 234 | was, viz., he of a hundred sacrifices. He represented unto him the acts 235 | of Yudhishthira. Indeed, O ruler of men, he informed Indra of all that 236 | Dharmas son had said! 237 | 238 | 239 | 240 | 3 241 | 242 | Vaishampayana said, "King Yudhishthira the just, the son of Pritha, had 243 | not stayed there for more than a moment when, O thou of Kurus race, all 244 | the gods with Indra at their head came to that spot. The deity of 245 | Righteousness in his embodied form also came to that place where the Kuru 246 | king was, for seeing that monarch. Upon the advent of those deities of 247 | resplendent bodies and sanctified and noble deeds, the darkness that had 248 | overwhelmed that region immediately disappeared. The torments undergone 249 | by beings of sinful deeds were no longer seen. The river Vaitarani, the 250 | thorny Salmali, the iron jars, and the boulders of rock, so terrible to 251 | behold, also vanished from sight. The diverse repulsive corpses also, 252 | which the Kuru king had seen, disappeared at the same time. Then a 253 | breeze, delicious and fraught with pleasant perfumes, perfectly pure and 254 | delightfully cool, O Bharata, began to blow on that spot in consequence 255 | of the presence of the gods. The Maruts, with Indra, the Vasus with the 256 | twin Ashvinis, the Sadhyas, the Rudras, the Adityas, and the other 257 | denizens of Heaven, as also the Siddhas and the great Rishis, all came 258 | there where Dharmas royal son of great energy was. 259 | 260 | "Then Shakra, the lord of the deities, endued with blazing prosperity, 261 | addressed Yudhishthira and comforting him, said, O Yudhishthira of mighty 262 | arms, come, come, O chief of men. These illusions have ended, O puissant 263 | one. Success has been attained by thee, O mighty-armed one, and eternal 264 | regions (of felicity) have become thine. Thou shouldst not yield to 265 | wrath. Listen to these words of mine. Hell, O son, should without doubt 266 | be beheld by every king. Of both good and bad there is abundance, O chief 267 | of men. He who enjoys first the fruits of his good acts must afterwards 268 | endure Hell. He, on the other hand, who first endures Hell, must 269 | afterwards enjoy Heaven. He whose sinful acts are many enjoys Heaven 270 | first. It is for this, O king, that desirous of doing thee good, I caused 271 | thee to be sent for having a view of Hell. Thou hadst, by a pretence, 272 | deceived Drona in the matter of his son. Thou hast, in consequence 273 | thereof, been shown Hell by an act of deception. After the manner of 274 | thyself, Bhima and Arjuna, and Draupadi, have all been shown the place of 275 | sinners by an act of deception. Come, O chief of men, all of them have 276 | been cleansed of their sins. All those kings who had aided thee and who 277 | have been slain in battle, have all attained to Heaven. Come and behold 278 | them, O foremost one of Bharatas race. 279 | 280 | "Karna, the mighty bowman, that foremost of all wielders of weapons for 281 | whom thou art grieving, has also attained to high success. Behold, O 282 | puissant one, that foremost of men, viz., the son of Surya. He is in that 283 | place which is his own, O mighty-armed one. Kill this grief of thine, O 284 | chief of men. Behold thy brothers and others, those kings, that is, who 285 | had espoused thy side. They have all attained to their respective places 286 | (of felicity). Let the fever of thy heart be dispelled. Having endured a 287 | little misery first, from this time, O son of Kurus race, do thou sport 288 | with me in happiness, divested of grief and all thy ailments dispelled. O 289 | mighty-armed one, do thou now enjoy, O king, the rewards of all thy deeds 290 | of righteousness of those regions which thou hast acquired thyself by thy 291 | penances and of all thy gifts. Let deities and Gandharvas, and celestial 292 | Apsaras, decked in pure robes and excellent ornaments, wait upon and 293 | serve thee for thy happiness. Do thou, O mighty-armed one, enjoy now 294 | those regions (of felicity) which have become thine through the Rajasuya 295 | sacrifice performed by thee and whose felicities have been enhanced by 296 | the sacrificial scimitar employed by thee. Let the high fruits of thy 297 | penances be enjoyed by thee. Thy regions, O Yudhishthira, are above, 298 | those of kings. They are equal to those of Hariscandra, O son of Pritha. 299 | Come, and sport there in bliss. There where the royal sage Mandhatri is, 300 | there where king Bhagiratha is, there where Dushmantas son Bharata is, 301 | there wilt thou sport in bliss. Here is the celestial river, sacred and 302 | sanctifying the three worlds. It is called Heavenly Ganga. Plunging into 303 | it, thou wilt go to thy own regions. Having bathed in this stream, thou 304 | wilt be divested of thy human nature. Indeed, thy grief dispelled, thy 305 | ailments conquered, thou wilt be freed from all enmities. 306 | 307 | "While, O Kuru king, the chief of the gods was saying so unto 308 | Yudhishthira, the deity of Righteousness, in his embodied form, then 309 | addressed his own son and said, O king, I am greatly pleased, O thou of 310 | great wisdom, with thee, O son, by thy devotion to me, by thy 311 | truthfulness of speech, and forgiveness, and self-restraint. This, 312 | indeed, is the third test, O king, to which I put thee. Thou art 313 | incapable, O son of Pritha, of being swerved from thy nature or reason. 314 | Before this, I had examined thee in the Dwaita woods by my questions, 315 | when thou hadst come to that lake for recovering a couple of fire sticks. 316 | Thou stoodst it well. Assuming the shape of a dog, I examined thee once 317 | more, O son, when thy brothers with Draupadi had fallen down. This has 318 | been thy third test; thou hast expressed thy wish to stay at Hell for the 319 | sake of thy brothers. Thou hast become cleansed, O highly blessed one. 320 | Purified of sin, be thou happy. 321 | 322 | O son of Pritha, thy brothers, O king, were not such as to deserve Hell. 323 | All this has been an illusion created by the chief of the gods. Without 324 | doubt, all kings, O son, must once behold Hell. Hence hast thou for a 325 | little while been subjected to this great affliction. O king, neither 326 | Arjuna, nor Bhima, nor any of those foremost of men, viz., the twins, nor 327 | Karna, ever truthful in speech and possessed of great courage, could be 328 | deserving of Hell for a long time. The princess Krishna too, O 329 | Yudhishthira, could not be deserving of that place of sinners. Come, 330 | come, O foremost one of the Bharatas, behold Ganga who spreads her 331 | current over the three worlds. 332 | 333 | "Thus addressed, that royal sage, viz., thy grandsire, proceeded with 334 | Dharma and all the other gods. Having bathed in the celestial river 335 | Ganga, sacred and sanctifying and ever adored by the Rishis, he cast off 336 | his human body. Assuming then a celestial form, king Yudhishthira the 337 | just, in consequence of that bath, became divested of all his enmities 338 | and grief. Surrounded by the deities, the Kuru king Yudhishthira then 339 | proceeded from that spot. He was accompanied by Dharma, and the great 340 | Rishis uttered his praises. Indeed, he reached that place where those 341 | foremost of men, those heroes, viz., the Pandavas and the Dhartarashtras, 342 | freed from (human) wrath, were enjoying each his respective status. 343 | 344 | 345 | 346 | 4 347 | 348 | Vaishampayana said, "King Yudhishthira, thus praised by the gods, the 349 | Maruts and the Rishis, proceeded to that place where those foremost ones 350 | of Kurus race were. He beheld Govinda endued with his Brahma-form. It 351 | resembled that form of his which had been seen before and which, 352 | therefore, helped the recognition. Blazing forth in that form of his, he 353 | was adorned with celestial weapons, such as the terrible discus and 354 | others in their respective embodied forms. He was being adored by the 355 | heroic Phalguna, who also was endued with a blazing effulgence. The son 356 | of Kunti beheld the slayer of Madhu also in his own form. Those two 357 | foremost of Beings, adored by all the gods, beholding Yudhishthira, 358 | received him with proper honours. 359 | 360 | "In another place, the delighter of the Kurus beheld Karna, that foremost 361 | one among all wielders of weapons, resembling a dozen Suryas in 362 | splendour. In another part he beheld Bhimasena of great puissance, 363 | sitting in the midst of the Maruts, and endued with a blazing form. He 364 | was sitting by the side of the God of Wind in his embodied form. Indeed, 365 | he was then in a celestial form endued with great beauty, and had 366 | attained to the highest success. In place belonging to the Ashvinis, the 367 | delighter of the Kurus beheld Nakula and Sahadeva, each blazing with his 368 | own effulgence. 369 | 370 | "He also beheld the princess of Pancala, decked in garlands of lotuses. 371 | Having attained to Heaven, she was sitting there, endued with a form 372 | possessed of solar splendour. King Yudhishthira suddenly wished to 373 | question her. Then the illustrious Indra, the chief of the gods, spoke to 374 | him, This one is Sree herself. It was for your sake that she took birth, 375 | as the daughter of Drupada, among human beings, issuing not from any 376 | mothers womb, O Yudhishthira, endued with agreeable perfume and capable 377 | of delighting the whole world. For your pleasure, she was created by the 378 | wielder of the trident. She was born in the race of Drupada and was 379 | enjoyed by you all. These five highly blessed Gandharvas endued with the 380 | effulgence of fire, and possessed of great energy, were, O king, the sons 381 | of Draupadi and yourself. 382 | 383 | "Behold Dhritarashtra, the king of the Gandharvas, possessed of great 384 | wisdom. Know that this one was the eldest brother of thy sire. This one 385 | is thy eldest brother, the son of Kunti, endued with effulgence of fire. 386 | The son of Surya, thy eldest brother, the foremost of men, even this one 387 | was known as the son of Radha. He moves in the company of Surya. Behold 388 | this foremost of Beings. Among the tribes of the Saddhyas, the gods, the 389 | Viswedevas, and the Maruts, behold, O king of kings, the mighty 390 | car-warriors of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas, viz., those heroes having 391 | Satyaki for their first, and those mighty ones among the Bhojas. Behold 392 | the son of Subhadra, invincible in battle, now staying with Soma. Even he 393 | is the mighty bowman Abhimanyu, now endued with the gentle effulgence of 394 | the great luminary of the night. Here is the mighty bowman Pandu, now 395 | united with Kunti and Madri. Thy sire frequently comes to me on his 396 | excellent car. Behold the royal Bhishma, the son of Santanu, now in the 397 | midst of the Vasus. Know that this one by the side of Brihaspati is thy 398 | preceptor Drona. These and other kings, O son of Pandu, who had warred on 399 | thy side now walk with the Gandharvas or Yakshas or other sacred beings. 400 | Some have attained to the status of Guhyakas, O king. Having cast off 401 | their bodies, they have conquered Heaven by the merit they had acquired 402 | through word, thought and deed. 403 | 404 | 405 | 406 | 5 407 | 408 | Janamejaya said, "Bhishma and Drona, those two high-souled persons, king 409 | Dhritarashtra, and Virata and Drupada, and Sankha and Uttara. 410 | Dhrishtaketu and Jayatsena and king Satyajit, the sons of Duryodhana, and 411 | Shakuni the son of Subala, Karnas sons of great prowess, king Jayadratha, 412 | Ghatotkaca and others whom thou hast not mentioned, the other heroic 413 | kings of blazing formstell me for what period they remained in Heaven. O 414 | foremost of regenerate persons, was theirs an eternal place in Heaven? 415 | What was the end attained to by those foremost of men when their acts 416 | came to an end? I desire to hear this, O foremost of regenerate persons, 417 | and therefore have I asked thee. Through thy blazing penances thou seest 418 | all things. 419 | 420 | Sauti said: Thus questioned, that regenerate Rishi, receiving the 421 | permission of the high-souled Vyasa, set himself to answer the question 422 | of the king. 423 | 424 | Vaishampayana said, "Every one, O king of men, is not capable of 425 | returning to his own nature at the end of his deeds. Whether this is so 426 | or not, is, indeed a good question asked by thee. Hear, O king, this 427 | which is a mystery of the gods, O chief of Bharatas race. It was 428 | explained (to us) by Vyasa of mighty energy, celestial vision and great 429 | prowess, that ancient ascetic, O Kauravya, who is the son of Parasara and 430 | who always observes high vows, who is of immeasurable understanding, who 431 | is omniscient, and who, therefore knows the end attached to all acts. 432 | 433 | "Bhishma of mighty energy and great effulgence attained to the status of 434 | the Vasus. Eight Vasus, O chief of Bharatas race, are now seen. Drona 435 | entered into Brihaspati, that foremost one of Angirasas descendants. 436 | Hridikas son Kritavarma entered the Maruts. Pradyumna entered Sanatkumara 437 | whence he had issued. Dhritarashtra obtained the regions, so difficult of 438 | acquisition, that belong to the Lord of treasures. The famous Gandhari 439 | obtained the same regions with her husband Dhritarashtra. With his two 440 | wives, Pandu proceeded to the abode of the great Indra. Both Virata and 441 | Drupada, the king Dhrishtaketu, as also Nishatha, Akrura, Samva, 442 | Bhanukampa, and Viduratha, and Bhurishrava and Sala and king Bhuri, and 443 | Kansa, and Ugrasena, and Vasudeva, and Uttara, that foremost of men, with 444 | his brother Sankhaall these foremost of persons entered the deities. 445 | Somas son of great prowess, named Varchas of mighty energy, became 446 | Abhimanyu, the son of Phalguna, that lion among men. Having fought, 447 | agreeably to Kshatriya practices, with bravery such as none else had ever 448 | been able to show, that mighty-armed and righteous-souled being entered 449 | Soma. Slain on the field of battle, O foremost of men, Karna entered 450 | Surya. Shakuni obtained absorption into Dwapara, and Dhrishtadyumna into 451 | the deity of fire. The sons of Dhritarashtra were all Rakshasas of fierce 452 | might. Sanctified by death caused by weapons, those high-souled beings of 453 | prosperity all succeeded in attaining to Heaven. Both Kshattri and king 454 | Yudhishthira entered into the god of Righteousness. The holy and 455 | illustrious Ananta (who had taken birth as Balarama) proceeded to the 456 | region below the Earth. Through the command of the Grandsire, he, aided 457 | by his Yoga power, supported the Earth. Vasudeva was a portion of that 458 | eternal god of gods called Narayana. Accordingly, he entered into 459 | Narayana. 16,000 women had been married to Vasudeva as his wives. When 460 | the time came, O Janamejaya, they, plunged into the Sarasvati. Casting 461 | off their (human) bodies there, they re-ascended to Heaven. Transformed 462 | into Apsaras, they approached the presence of Vasudeva. Those heroic and 463 | mighty car-warriors, Ghatotkaca and others, who were slain in the great 464 | battle, attained to the status, some of gods and some of Yakshas. Those 465 | that had fought on the side of Duryodhana are said to have been 466 | Rakshasas. Gradually, O king, they have all attained to excellent regions 467 | of felicity. Those foremost of men have proceeded, some to the abode of 468 | Indra, some to that of Kuvera of great intelligence, and some to that of 469 | Varuna. I have now told thee, O thou of great splendour, everything about 470 | the acts, O Bharata, of both the Kurus and the Pandavas. 471 | 472 | Sauti said: Hearing this, ye foremost of regenerate ones, at the 473 | intervals of sacrificial rites, king Janamejaya became filled with 474 | wonder. The sacrificial priests then finished the rites that remained to 475 | be gone through. Astika, having rescued the snakes (from fiery death), 476 | became filled with joy. King Janamejaya then gratified all the Brahmanas 477 | with copious presents. Thus worshipped by the king, they returned to 478 | their respective abodes. Having dismissed those learned Brahmanas, king 479 | Janamejaya came back from Takshasila to the city named after the elephant. 480 | 481 | I have now told everything that Vaishampayana narrated, at the command of 482 | Vyasa, unto the king at his snake sacrifice. Called a history, it is 483 | sacred, sanctifying and excellent. It has been composed by the ascetic 484 | Krishna, O Brahmana, of truthful speech. He is omniscient, conversant 485 | with all ordinances, possessed of a knowledge of all duties, endued with 486 | piety, capable of perceiving what is beyond the ken of the senses, pure, 487 | having a soul cleansed by penances, possessed of the six high attributes, 488 | and devoted to Sankhya Yoga. He has composed this, beholding everything 489 | with a celestial eye that has been cleansed (strengthened) by varied 490 | lore. He has done this, desiring to spread the fame, throughout the 491 | world, of the high-souled Pandavas, as also of other Kshatriyas possessed 492 | of abundant wealth of energy. 493 | 494 | That learned man who recites this history of sacred days in the midst of 495 | a listening auditory becomes cleansed of every sin, conquers Heaven, and 496 | attains to the status of Brahma. Of that man who listens with rapt 497 | attention to the recitation of the whole of this Veda composed by (the 498 | Island-born) Krishna, a million sins, numbering such grave ones as 499 | Brahmanicide and the rest, are washed off. The Pitris of that man who 500 | recites even a small portion of this history at a Sraddha, obtain 501 | inexhaustible food and drink. The sins that one commits during the day by 502 | ones senses or the mind are all washed off before evening by reciting a 503 | portion of the Mahabharata. Whatever sins a Brahmana may commit at night 504 | in the midst of women are all washed off before dawn by reciting a 505 | portion of the Mahabharata. 506 | 507 | The high race of the Bharatas is its topic. Hence it is called Bharata. 508 | And because of its grave import, as also of the Bharatas being its topic, 509 | it is called Mahabharata. He who is versed in interpretations of this 510 | great treatise, becomes cleansed of every sin. Such a man lives in 511 | righteousness, wealth, and pleasure, and attains to Emancipation also, O 512 | chief of Bharatas race. 513 | 514 | That which occurs here occurs elsewhere. That which does not occur here 515 | occurs nowhere else. This history is known by the name of Jaya. It should 516 | be heard by every one desirous of Emancipation. It should be read by 517 | Brahmanas, by kings, and by women quick with children. He that desires 518 | Heaven attains to Heaven; and he that desires victory attains to victory. 519 | The woman quick with child gets either a son or a daughter highly 520 | blessed. The puissant Island-born Krishna, who will not have to come 521 | back, and who is Emancipation incarnate, made an abstract of the Bharata, 522 | moved by the desire of aiding the cause of righteousness. He made another 523 | compilation consisting of sixty lakhs of verses. Thirty lakhs of these 524 | were placed in the region of the deities. In the region of the Pitris 525 | fifteen lakhs, it should be known, are current; while in that of the 526 | Yakshas fourteen lakhs are in vogue. One lakh is current among human 527 | beings. 528 | 529 | Narada recited the Mahabharata to the gods; Asita-Devala to the Pitris; 530 | Suka to the Rakshasas and the Yakshas; and Vaishampayana to human beings. 531 | This history is sacred, and of high import, and regarded as equal to the 532 | Vedas. That man, O Saunaka, who hears this history, placing a Brahmana 533 | before him, acquires both fame and the fruition of all his wishes. He 534 | who, with fervid devotion, listens to a recitation of the Mahabharata, 535 | attains (hereafter) to high success in consequence of the merit that 536 | becomes his through understanding even a very small portion thereof. All 537 | the sins of that man who recites or listens to this history with devotion 538 | are washed off. 539 | 540 | In former times, the great Rishi Vyasa, having composed this treatise, 541 | caused his son Suka to read it with him, along with these four Verses. 542 | Thousands of mothers and fathers, and hundreds of sons and wives arise in 543 | the world and depart from it. Others will (arise and) similarly depart. 544 | There are thousands of occasions for joy and hundreds of occasions for 545 | fear. These affect only him that is ignorant but never him that is wise. 546 | With uplifted arms I am crying aloud but nobody hears me. From 547 | Righteousness is Wealth as also Pleasure. Why should not Righteousness, 548 | therefore, be courted? For the sake neither of pleasure, nor of fear, nor 549 | of cupidity should any one cast off Righteousness. Indeed, for the sake 550 | of even life one should not cast off Righteousness. Righteousness is 551 | eternal. Pleasure and Pain are not eternal. Jiva is eternal. The cause, 552 | however, of Jivas being invested with a body is not so. 553 | 554 | That man who, waking up at dawn, reads this Savittri of the Bharata, 555 | acquires all the rewards attached to a recitation of this history and 556 | ultimately attains to the highest Brahma. As the sacred Ocean, as the 557 | Himavat mountain, are both regarded as mines of precious gems, even so is 558 | this Bharata (regarded as a mine of precious gems). The man of learning, 559 | by reciting to others this Veda or Agama composed by (the Island-born) 560 | Krishna, earns wealth. There is no doubt in this that he who, with rapt 561 | attention, recites this history called Bharata, attains to high success. 562 | What need has that man of a sprinkling of the waters of Pushkara who 563 | attentively listens to this Bharata, while it is recited to him? It 564 | represents the nectar that fell from the lips of the Island-born. It is 565 | immeasurable, sacred, sanctifying, sin-cleansing, and auspicious. 566 | 567 | 568 | 569 | 6 570 | 571 | Janamejaya said, "O holy one, according to what rites should the learned 572 | listen to the Bharata? What are the fruits (acquirable by hearing it)? 573 | What deities are to be worshipped during the several paranas? What should 574 | be the gifts that one should make, O holy one, at every parva or sacred 575 | day (during the continuance of the recitation)? What should be the 576 | qualification of the reciter to be engaged? Tell me all this! 577 | 578 | Vaishampayana said, "Hear, O king, what the procedure is, and what the 579 | fruits, O Bharata, are that will spring from ones listening (to a 580 | recitation of the Bharata). Even this, O king of kings, is what thou 581 | askest me. The deities of Heaven, O ruler of Earth, came to this world 582 | for sport. Having achieved their task, they ascended once more to Heaven. 583 | Listen to what I shall tell thee in brief. In the Mahabharata is to be 584 | found the births of Rishis and deities on the Earth. In this treatise, 585 | called Bharata, O foremost one of Bharatas race, are to be seen in one 586 | place the eternal Rudras, the Saddhyas, and the Viswedevas; the Adityas, 587 | the two deities named the Ashvinis, the regents of the World, the great 588 | Rishis, the Guhyakas, the Gandharvas, the Nagas, the Vidyadharas, the 589 | Siddhas, the diverse deities, the Self-born visible in a body, with many 590 | ascetics; the Hills and Mountains, Oceans and Seas and Rivers, the 591 | diverse tribes of Apsaras; the Planets, the Years, the Half-years, and 592 | the Seasons; and the whole universe of mobile and immobile entities, with 593 | all the gods and Asuras. 594 | 595 | "Hearing their celebrity, and in consequence of a recitation of their 596 | names and achievements, a man that has committed even terrible sins, will 597 | be cleansed. Having, with a concentrated soul and cleansed body, heard 598 | this history duly, from the beginning, and having reached its end, one 599 | should make Sraddha offerings, O Bharata, unto those (foremost of persons 600 | who have been mentioned in it). Unto the Brahmanas also, O chief of 601 | Bharatas race, should, with due devotion and according to ones power, be 602 | made large gifts and diverse kinds of gems, and kine, and vessels of 603 | white brass for milking kine, and maidens decked with every ornament, and 604 | possessed of every accomplishment suited to enjoyment, as also diverse 605 | kinds of conveyances, beautiful mansions, plots of land, and cloths. 606 | Animals also should be given, such as horses and elephants in rage, and 607 | beds, and covered conveyances borne on the shoulders of men, and 608 | well-decked cars. Whatever objects occur in the house, of the foremost 609 | kind, whatever wealth of great value occurs in it, should be given away 610 | unto Brahmanas. Indeed, one should give away ones own self, wives, and 611 | children. 612 | 613 | "One desirous of hearing the Bharata, should hear it without a doubting 614 | heart, with cheerfulness and joy; and as, he proceeds listening to its 615 | recitation, he should according to the extent of his power, make gifts 616 | with great devotion. 617 | 618 | "Hear how a person that is devoted to truth and sincerity, that is 619 | self-restrained, pure (in mind), and observant of those acts which lead 620 | to purity of body, that is endued with faith, and that has subjugated 621 | wrath, attains to success (in the matter of a recitation of the Bharata). 622 | He should appoint as reciter one that is pure (of body), that is endued 623 | with good and pious conduct, that should be robed in white, that should 624 | have a complete mastery over his passions, that is cleansed of all 625 | offences, that is conversant with every branch of learning, that is 626 | endued with faith, that is free from malice, that is possessed of 627 | handsome features, that is blessed, self-restrained, truthful, and with 628 | passions under control, and that is beloved of all for the gifts he makes 629 | and the honours of which he is the possessor. 630 | 631 | "The reciter, seated at his ease, free from all bodily complaints, and 632 | with rapt attention, should recite the text without too much slowness, 633 | without a labouring voice, without being fast or quick, quietly, with 634 | sufficient energy, without confusing the letters and words together, in a 635 | sweet intonation and with such accent and emphasis as would indicate the 636 | sense giving full utterance to the three and sixty letters of the 637 | alphabet from the eight places of their formation. Bowing unto Narayana, 638 | and to Nara, that foremost of men, as also to the goddess Sarasvati, 639 | should the word Jaya be uttered. 640 | 641 | "Listening to the Bharata, O king, when recited, O thou of Bharatas race, 642 | by a reader of this kind, the listener, observant of vows all the while 643 | and cleansed by purificatory rites, acquires valuable fruits. When the 644 | first Parana is reached, the hearer should gratify Brahmanas with 645 | presents of all desirable objects. By doing this, one obtains the fruits 646 | of the Agnishtoma sacrifice. He acquires a large (celestial) car teeming 647 | with diverse orders of Apsaras (that wait upon him). With a glad heart, 648 | and with the deities in his company, he proceeds to Heaven, his heart 649 | rapt (in felicity). 650 | 651 | "When the second Parana is reached, the hearer acquires the fruits of the 652 | Atiratra vow. Indeed, he ascends a celestial car made entirely of 653 | precious gems. Wearing celestial garlands and robes, and decked with 654 | celestial unguents and always shedding a celestial fragrance around, he 655 | receives high honours in Heaven. 656 | 657 | "When the third Parana is reached, he acquires the fruits of the 658 | Dwadasaha vow. Indeed be resides in Heaven for myriads of years, like a 659 | god. 660 | 661 | "At the fourth Parana he acquires the fruits of the Vajapeya sacrifice. 662 | 663 | "At the fifth, twice those fruits are his. Ascending a celestial car that 664 | resembles the rising sun or a blazing fire, and with the deities for his 665 | companions, he goes to Heaven and sports in felicity for myriads of years 666 | in the abode of Indra. 667 | 668 | "At the sixth Parana, twice, and at the seventh, thrice those fruits 669 | become his. Ascending a celestial car that resembles the summit of the 670 | Kailasa mountains (in beauty), that is equipt with an altar made of 671 | stones of lapis lazuli and other precious gems, that is surrounded by 672 | beautiful objects of diverse kinds, that is decked with gems and corals, 673 | that moves at the will of the rider, and that teems with waiting Apsaras, 674 | he roves through all the regions of felicity, like a second deity of the 675 | Sun. 676 | 677 | "At the eight Parana, he acquires the fruits of the Rajasuya sacrifice. 678 | He ascends a car as beautiful as the rising moon, and unto which are 679 | yoked steeds white as the rays of the moon and endued with the speed of 680 | thought. He is served by women of the foremost beauty and whose faces are 681 | more charming than the moon. He hears the music of the garlands that 682 | encircle their waists and the Nupuras encircling their ankles. Sleeping 683 | with his head resting on the laps of women of transcendent beauty, he 684 | awakes greatly refreshed. 685 | 686 | "At the ninth Parana, he acquires, O Bharata, the fruits of that foremost 687 | of sacrifices, viz., the Horse-sacrifice. Ascending on a car equipt with 688 | a chamber consisting of a top supported by columns of gold, furnished 689 | with a seat made of stones of lapis lazuli, with windows on all sides 690 | made of pure gold, and teeming with waiting Apsaras and Gandharvas and 691 | other celestials, he blazes forth in splendour. Wearing celestial 692 | garlands and robes, and decked with celestial unguents, he sports in 693 | bliss, with deities for his companions, in Heaven, like a second deity 694 | himself. 695 | 696 | "Reaching the tenth Parana and gratifying Brahmanas, he acquires a car 697 | which tinkles with innumerable bells, which is decked with flags and 698 | banners, which is equipt with a seat made of precious gems, which has 699 | many arches made of lapis lazuli, which has a net-work of gold all round, 700 | which has turrets made of corals, which is adorned with Gandharvas and 701 | Apsaras well-skilled in singing, and which is fit for the residence of 702 | the Righteous. Crowned with a diadem of the complexion of fire, decked 703 | with ornaments of gold, his person smeared with celestial sandalpaste, 704 | garnished with celestial wreaths, he roves through all celestial regions, 705 | enjoying all celestial objects of enjoyment, and endued with great 706 | splendour, through the grace of the deities. 707 | 708 | "Thus accoutred, he receives high honours in Heaven for many long years. 709 | With Gandharvas in his company, for full 21,000 years, he sports in bliss 710 | with Indra himself in abode of Indra. He roves at pleasure every day 711 | through the diverse regions of the gods, riding on celestial cars and 712 | conveyances, and surrounded by celestial damsels of transcendent beauty. 713 | He is able to go to the abode of the solar deity, of the lunar deity, and 714 | of Siva, O king. Indeed, he succeeds in living in the same region with 715 | Vishnu himself. It is even so, O monarch. There is no doubt in this. A 716 | person listening with faith, becomes even so. My preceptor has said this. 717 | Unto the reciter should be given all such objects as he may wish. 718 | Elephants and steeds and cars and conveyances, especially animals and the 719 | vehicles they draw, a bracelet of gold, a pair of ear-rings, sacred 720 | threads, beautiful robes, and perfumes in especial (should be given). By 721 | worshipping him as a deity one attains to the regions of Vishnu. 722 | 723 | "After this I shall declare what should be given away, as each parva is 724 | reached of the Bharata in course of its recitation, unto brahmanas, after 725 | ascertaining their birth, country, truthfulness, and greatness, O chief 726 | of Bharatas race, as also their inclination for piety, and unto 727 | kshatriyas too, O king, after ascertainment of similar particulars. 728 | Causing the Brahmanas to utter benedictions, the business of recitation 729 | should be begun. When a parva is finished, the brahmanas should be 730 | worshipped to the best of ones power. At first, the reciter, clad in good 731 | robes and smeared with perfumed paste, should, O king, be duly fed with 732 | honey and frumenty of the best kind. 733 | 734 | "When the Astika-parva is being recited, brahmanas should be entertained 735 | with fruits and roots, and frumenty, and honey and clarified butter, and 736 | rice boiled with raw sugar. 737 | 738 | "When the Sabha-parva is being recited, brahmanas should be fed with 739 | habisya along with apupas and pupas and modakas, O king. 740 | 741 | "When the Aranyaka-parva is being recited, superior brahmanas should be 742 | fed with fruits and roots. 743 | 744 | "When the Arani-parva is reached, water-pots full of water should be 745 | given away. Many superior kinds of delicious food, also rice and fruits 746 | and roots, and food possessed of every agreeable attribute, should be 747 | presented unto the brahmanas. 748 | 749 | "During the recitation of the Virata-parva diverse kinds of robes should 750 | be given away; and during that of the Udyoga-parva, O chief of the 751 | Bharatas, the twice-born ones, after being decked with perfumes and 752 | garlands, should be entertained with food possessed of every agreeable 753 | quality. 754 | 755 | "During the recitation of the Bhishma-parva, O king of kings, after 756 | giving them excellent cars and conveyances, food should be given that is 757 | pure and well-cooked and possessed of every desirable attribute. 758 | 759 | "During the Drona-parva food of very superior kind should be given to 760 | learned brahmanas, as also beds, O monarch, and bows and good swords. 761 | 762 | "During the recitation of the Karna-parva, food of the foremost kind, 763 | besides being pure and well-cooked, should be presented unto the 764 | brahmanas by the house-holder with rapt mind. 765 | 766 | "During the recitation of the Shalya-parva, O king of kings, food with 767 | confectionery and rice boiled with raw sugar, as also cakes of wheat and 768 | soothing and nutritive viands and drinks should be presented. 769 | 770 | "During the recitation of the Gada-parva, brahmanas should be entertained 771 | with food mixed with mudga. 772 | 773 | "During the recitation of the Stri-parva, foremost of brahmanas should be 774 | entertained with gems and precious stones; and during the recitation of 775 | the Aishika-parva, rice boiled in ghee should first be given, and then 776 | food pure and well-cooked, and possessed of every desirable quality, 777 | should be presented. 778 | 779 | "During the recitation of the Shanti-parva, the brahmanas should be fed 780 | with havisya. 781 | 782 | "When the Asvamedhika-parva is reached, food possessed of every agreeable 783 | quality should be given; and when the Asramvasika is reached, brahmanas 784 | should be entertained with havisya. 785 | 786 | "When the Mausala is reached, scents and garlands possessed of agreeable 787 | qualities should be given away. 788 | 789 | "During the Mahaprasthanika, similar presents should be made, possessed 790 | of every quality of an agreeable kind. 791 | 792 | "When the Svarga-parva is reached, the brahmanas should be fed with 793 | havisya. 794 | 795 | "Upon the conclusion of the Harivansa, a 1,000 brahmanas should be fed. 796 | Unto each of them should be presented a cow accompanied with a piece of 797 | gold. Half of this should be presented to each poor man, O king. 798 | 799 | "Upon the conclusion of all the Parvas, the house-holder of wisdom should 800 | give unto the reciter a copy of the Mahabharata with a piece of gold. 801 | When the Harivansa Parva is being recited, Brahmanas should be fed with 802 | frumenty at each successive Parana, O king. Having finished all the 803 | Parvas, one versed in the scriptures, robing himself in white, wearing 804 | garlands, decked with ornaments, and properly purified, should place a 805 | copy of the Mahabharata on an auspicious spot and cover it with a piece 806 | of silken cloth and worship it, according to due rites, with scents and 807 | garlands, offering each at a time. Indeed, O king, the several volumes of 808 | this treatise should be worshipped by one with devotion and concentrated 809 | mind. Offerings should be made unto them of diverse kinds of food and 810 | garlands and drinks and diverse auspicious articles of enjoyment. Gold 811 | and other precious metals should be given as Dakshina. The names should 812 | then be taken of all the deities as also of Nara and Narayana. Then, 813 | adorning the persons of some foremost of Brahmanas with scents and 814 | garlands, they should be gratified with diverse kinds of gifts of 815 | enjoyable and very superior or costly articles. By doing this, one 816 | attains to the merits of the Atiratra sacrifice. Indeed, at each 817 | successive Parva, he acquires the merits that attach to the performance 818 | of a sacrifice. The reciter, O chief of the Bharatas, should be possessed 819 | of learning and endued with a good voice and a clear utterance respecting 820 | both letters and words. Even such a man should, O chief of the Bharatas, 821 | recite the Bharata. After entertaining a number of foremost Brahmanas, 822 | presents should be made unto them according to the ordinances. The 823 | reciter also, O chief of the Bharatas, should be decked with ornaments 824 | and fed sumptuously. The reciter being gratified, the house-holder 825 | attains to an excellent and auspicious contentment. If the Brahmanas are 826 | gratified, all the deities are gratified. After this, O chief of the 827 | Bharatas, Brahmanas should be duly entertained with diverse kinds of 828 | enjoyable articles and superior things. 829 | 830 | "I have thus indicated the ordinances, O foremost of men, (about the 831 | manner of reciting these scriptures) in answer to thy enquiries. Thou 832 | shouldst observe them with faith. In listening to a recitation of the 833 | Bharata and at each Parana, O best of kings, one that desires to attain 834 | to the highest good should listen with the greatest care and attention. 835 | One should listen to the Bharata every day. One should proclaim the 836 | merits of the Bharata every day. One in whose house the Bharata occurs, 837 | has in his hands all those scriptures which are known by the name of 838 | Jaya. The Bharata is cleansing and sacred. In the Bharata are diverse 839 | topics. The Bharata is worshipped by the very gods. The Bharata is the 840 | highest goal. The Bharata, O chief of the Bharatas, is the foremost of 841 | all scriptures. One attains to Emancipation through the Bharata. This 842 | that I tell thee is certain truth. One that proclaims the merits of this 843 | history called the Mahabharata, of the Earth, of the cow, of Sarasvati 844 | (the goddess of speech), of Brahmanas, and of Keshava, has never to 845 | languish. 846 | 847 | "In the Vedas, in the Ramayana, and in the sacred Bharata, O chief of 848 | Bharatas race, Hari is sung in the beginning, the middle, and at the end. 849 | That in which occur excellent statements relating to Vishnu, and the 850 | eternal Srutis, should be listened to by men desirous of attaining to the 851 | highest goal. This treatise is sanctifying. This is the highest indicator 852 | as regards duties; this is endued with every merit. One desirous of 853 | prosperity should listen to it. Sins committed by means of the body, by 854 | means of words, and by means of the mind, are all destroyed (through 855 | listening to the Bharata) as Darkness at sunrise. One devoted to Vishnu 856 | acquires (through this) that merit which is acquired by listening to the 857 | eighteen Puranas. There is no doubt in this. Men and women (by listening 858 | to this) would certainly attain to the status of Vishnu. Women desirous 859 | of having children should certainly listen to this which proclaims the 860 | fame of Vishnu. One desirous of attaining to the fruits that attach to a 861 | recitation of the Bharata should, according to ones power, give unto the 862 | reciter Dakshina, as also an honorarium in gold. One desirous of ones own 863 | good should give unto the reciter a Kapila cow with horns cased in gold 864 | and accompanied by her calf, covered with a cloth. Ornaments, O chief of 865 | Bharatas race, for the arms, as also those for the ears, should be given. 866 | Besides these, other kinds of wealth should be presented. Unto the 867 | reciter, O king of men, gift of land should be made. No gift like that of 868 | land could ever be or will be. The man that listens (to the Bharata) or 869 | that recites it to other people, becomes cleansed of all his sins and 870 | attains at last to the status of Vishnu. Such a man rescues his ancestors 871 | to the eleventh degree, as also himself with his wives and sons, O chief 872 | of Bharatas race. After concluding a recitation of the Bharata, one 873 | should, O king, perform a Homa with all its ten parts. 874 | 875 | "I have thus, O chief of men, told everything in thy presence. He that 876 | listens with devotion to this Bharata from the beginning becomes cleansed 877 | of every sin even if he be guilty of Brahmanicide or the violation of his 878 | preceptors bed, or even if he be a drinker of alcohol or a robber of 879 | other peoples wares, or even if he be born in the Chandala order. 880 | Destroying all his sins like the maker of day destroying darkness, such a 881 | man, without doubt, sports in felicity in the region of Vishnu like 882 | Vishnu himself." 883 | 884 | The End of the Svargarohanika-parva 885 | 886 | The Eighteen parvas of the Mahabharata are thus complete 887 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /data/art-of-war/clean.txt: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | I. Laying Plans 2 | 1. Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State. 3 | 2. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to 4 | ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be 5 | neglected. 6 | 3. The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to 7 | be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine 8 | the conditions obtaining in the field. 9 | 4. These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; 10 | (5) Method and discipline. 11 | 5,6. The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with 12 | their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, 13 | undismayed by any danger. 14 | 7. Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons. 15 | 8. Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; 16 | open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death. 17 | 9. The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerely, benevolence, 18 | courage and strictness. 19 | 10. By method and discipline are to be understood the marshaling of 20 | the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among 21 | the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach 22 | the army, and the control of military expenditure. 23 | 11. These five heads should be familiar to every general: he who knows 24 | them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail. 25 | 12. Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the 26 | military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in 27 | this wise:-- 28 | 13. (1) Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law? 29 | (2) Which of the two generals has most ability? (3) With whom lie 30 | the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth? (4) On which side is 31 | discipline most rigorously enforced? (5) Which army is stronger? (6) 32 | On which side are officers and men more highly trained? (7) In which 33 | army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment? 34 | 14. By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory 35 | or defeat. 36 | 15. The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will 37 | conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens 38 | not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat:--let such 39 | a one be dismissed! 40 | 16. While heading the profit of my counsel, avail yourself also of 41 | any helpful circumstances over and beyond the ordinary rules. 42 | 17. According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's 43 | plans. 44 | 18. All warfare is based on deception. 45 | 19. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our 46 | forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the 47 | enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe 48 | we are near. 49 | 20. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush 50 | him. 51 | 21. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in 52 | superior strength, evade him. 53 | 22. If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. 54 | Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. 55 | 23. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are 56 | united, separate them. 57 | 24. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected. 58 | 25. These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged 59 | beforehand. 60 | 26. Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his 61 | temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes 62 | but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to 63 | victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation 64 | at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is 65 | likely to win or lose. 66 | II. Waging War 67 | 1. Sun Tzu said: In the operations of war, where there are in the 68 | field a thousand swift chariots, as many heavy chariots, and a hundred 69 | thousand mail-clad soldiers, with provisions enough to carry them 70 | a thousand li, the expenditure at home and at the front, including 71 | entertainment of guests, small items such as glue and paint, and sums 72 | spent on chariots and armor, will reach the total of a thousand ounces 73 | of silver per day. Such is the cost of raising an army of 100,000 74 | men. 75 | 2. When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, 76 | then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be damped. 77 | If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength. 78 | 3. Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the State 79 | will not be equal to the strain. 80 | 4. Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor damped, your strength 81 | exhausted and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up 82 | to take advantage of your extremity. Then no man, however wise, will 83 | be able to avert the consequences that must ensue. 84 | 5. Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has 85 | never been seen associated with long delays. 86 | 6. There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged 87 | warfare. 88 | 7. It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war 89 | that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on. 90 | 8. The skillful soldier does not raise a second levy, neither are 91 | his supply-wagons loaded more than twice. 92 | 9. Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy. 93 | Thus the army will have food enough for its needs. 94 | 10. Poverty of the State exchequer causes an army to be maintained 95 | by contributions from a distance. Contributing to maintain an army 96 | at a distance causes the people to be impoverished. 97 | 11. On the other hand, the proximity of an army causes prices to go 98 | up; and high prices cause the people's substance to be drained away. 99 | 12. When their substance is drained away, the peasantry will be afflicted 100 | by heavy exactions. 101 | 13,14. With this loss of substance and exhaustion of strength, the 102 | homes of the people will be stripped bare, and three-tenths of their 103 | income will be dissipated; while government expenses for broken chariots, 104 | worn-out horses, breast-plates and helmets, bows and arrows, spears 105 | and shields, protective mantles, draught-oxen and heavy wagons, will 106 | amount to four-tenths of its total revenue. 107 | 15. Hence a wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy. One 108 | cartload of the enemy's provisions is equivalent to twenty of one's 109 | own, and likewise a single picul of his provender is equivalent to 110 | twenty from one's own store. 111 | 16. Now in order to kill the enemy, our men must be roused to anger; 112 | that there may be advantage from defeating the enemy, they must have 113 | their rewards. 114 | 17. Therefore in chariot fighting, when ten or more chariots have 115 | been taken, those should be rewarded who took the first. Our own flags 116 | should be substituted for those of the enemy, and the chariots mingled 117 | and used in conjunction with ours. The captured soldiers should be 118 | kindly treated and kept. 119 | 18. This is called, using the conquered foe to augment one's own strength. 120 | 19. In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns. 121 | 20. Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter 122 | of the people's fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation 123 | shall be in peace or in peril. 124 | III. Attack by Stratagem 125 | 1. Sun Tzu said: In the practical art of war, the best thing of all 126 | is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy 127 | it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire 128 | than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company 129 | entire than to destroy them. 130 | 2. Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; 131 | supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without 132 | fighting. 133 | 3. Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans; 134 | the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces; the 135 | next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field; and the 136 | worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities. 137 | 4. The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it can possibly be 138 | avoided. The preparation of mantlets, movable shelters, and various 139 | implements of war, will take up three whole months; and the piling 140 | up of mounds over against the walls will take three months more. 141 | 5. The general, unable to control his irritation, will launch his 142 | men to the assault like swarming ants, with the result that one-third 143 | of his men are slain, while the town still remains untaken. Such are 144 | the disastrous effects of a siege. 145 | 6. Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without 146 | any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; 147 | he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field. 148 | 7. With his forces intact he will dispute the mastery of the Empire, 149 | and thus, without losing a man, his triumph will be complete. This 150 | is the method of attacking by stratagem. 151 | 8. It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, 152 | to surround him; if five to one, to attack him; if twice as numerous, 153 | to divide our army into two. 154 | 9. If equally matched, we can offer battle; if slightly inferior in 155 | numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal in every way, we 156 | can flee from him. 157 | 10. Hence, though an obstinate fight may be made by a small force, 158 | in the end it must be captured by the larger force. 159 | 11. Now the general is the bulwark of the State; if the bulwark is 160 | complete at all points; the State will be strong; if the bulwark is 161 | defective, the State will be weak. 162 | 12. There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon 163 | his army:-- 164 | 13. (1) By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant 165 | of the fact that it cannot obey. This is called hobbling the army. 166 | 14. (2) By attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers 167 | a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army. 168 | This causes restlessness in the soldier's minds. 169 | 15. (3) By employing the officers of his army without discrimination, 170 | through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances. 171 | This shakes the confidence of the soldiers. 172 | 16. But when the army is restless and distrustful, trouble is sure 173 | to come from the other feudal princes. This is simply bringing anarchy 174 | into the army, and flinging victory away. 175 | 17. Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory: (1) 176 | He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. (2) He 177 | will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces. 178 | (3) He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout 179 | all its ranks. (4) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take 180 | the enemy unprepared. (5) He will win who has military capacity and 181 | is not interfered with by the sovereign. 182 | 18. Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you 183 | need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself 184 | but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a 185 | defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb 186 | in every battle. 187 | IV. Tactical Dispositions 188 | 1. Sun Tzu said: The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond 189 | the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating 190 | the enemy. 191 | 2. To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the 192 | opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. 193 | 3. Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, 194 | but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy. 195 | 4. Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able 196 | to do it. 197 | 5. Security against defeat implies defensive tactics; ability to defeat 198 | the enemy means taking the offensive. 199 | 6. Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, 200 | a superabundance of strength. 201 | 7. The general who is skilled in defense hides in the most secret 202 | recesses of the earth; he who is skilled in attack flashes forth from 203 | the topmost heights of heaven. Thus on the one hand we have ability 204 | to protect ourselves; on the other, a victory that is complete. 205 | 8. To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd 206 | is not the acme of excellence. 207 | 9. Neither is it the acme of excellence if you fight and conquer and 208 | the whole Empire says, "Well done!" 209 | 10. To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength; to see the 210 | sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight; to hear the noise of thunder 211 | is no sign of a quick ear. 212 | 11. What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only 213 | wins, but excels in winning with ease. 214 | 12. Hence his victories bring him neither reputation for wisdom nor 215 | credit for courage. 216 | 13. He wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes 217 | is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering 218 | an enemy that is already defeated. 219 | 14. Hence the skillful fighter puts himself into a position which 220 | makes defeat impossible, and does not miss the moment for defeating 221 | the enemy. 222 | 15. Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle 223 | after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat 224 | first fights and afterwards looks for victory. 225 | 16. The consummate leader cultivates the moral law, and strictly adheres 226 | to method and discipline; thus it is in his power to control success. 227 | 17. In respect of military method, we have, firstly, Measurement; 228 | secondly, Estimation of quantity; thirdly, Calculation; fourthly, 229 | Balancing of chances; fifthly, Victory. 230 | 18. Measurement owes its existence to Earth; Estimation of quantity 231 | to Measurement; Calculation to Estimation of quantity; Balancing of 232 | chances to Calculation; and Victory to Balancing of chances. 233 | 19. A victorious army opposed to a routed one, is as a pound's weight 234 | placed in the scale against a single grain. 235 | 20. The onrush of a conquering force is like the bursting of pent-up 236 | waters into a chasm a thousand fathoms deep. 237 | V. Energy 238 | 1. Sun Tzu said: The control of a large force is the same principle 239 | as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up 240 | their numbers. 241 | 2. Fighting with a large army under your command is nowise different 242 | from fighting with a small one: it is merely a question of instituting 243 | signs and signals. 244 | 3. To ensure that your whole host may withstand the brunt of the enemy's 245 | attack and remain unshaken-- this is effected by maneuvers direct 246 | and indirect. 247 | 4. That the impact of your army may be like a grindstone dashed against 248 | an egg--this is effected by the science of weak points and strong. 249 | 5. In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, 250 | but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory. 251 | 6. Indirect tactics, efficiently applied, are inexhaustible as Heaven 252 | and Earth, unending as the flow of rivers and streams; like the sun 253 | and moon, they end but to begin anew; like the four seasons, they 254 | pass away to return once more. 255 | 7. There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations 256 | of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard. 257 | 8. There are not more than five primary colors (blue, yellow, red, 258 | white, and black), yet in combination they produce more hues than 259 | can ever been seen. 260 | 9. There are not more than five cardinal tastes (sour, acrid, salt, 261 | sweet, bitter), yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can 262 | ever be tasted. 263 | 10. In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack--the 264 | direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination give rise to 265 | an endless series of maneuvers. 266 | 11. The direct and the indirect lead on to each other in turn. It 267 | is like moving in a circle--you never come to an end. Who can exhaust 268 | the possibilities of their combination? 269 | 12. The onset of troops is like the rush of a torrent which will even 270 | roll stones along in its course. 271 | 13. The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon 272 | which enables it to strike and destroy its victim. 273 | 14. Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and 274 | prompt in his decision. 275 | 15. Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, 276 | to the releasing of a trigger. 277 | 16. Amid the turmoil and tumult of battle, there may be seeming disorder 278 | and yet no real disorder at all; amid confusion and chaos, your array 279 | may be without head or tail, yet it will be proof against defeat. 280 | 17. Simulated disorder postulates perfect discipline, simulated fear 281 | postulates courage; simulated weakness postulates strength. 282 | 18. Hiding order beneath the cloak of disorder is simply a question 283 | of subdivision; concealing courage under a show of timidity presupposes 284 | a fund of latent energy; masking strength with weakness is to be effected 285 | by tactical dispositions. 286 | 19. Thus one who is skillful at keeping the enemy on the move maintains 287 | deceitful appearances, according to which the enemy will act. He sacrifices 288 | something, that the enemy may snatch at it. 289 | 20. By holding out baits, he keeps him on the march; then with a body 290 | of picked men he lies in wait for him. 291 | 21. The clever combatant looks to the effect of combined energy, and 292 | does not require too much from individuals. Hence his ability to pick 293 | out the right men and utilize combined energy. 294 | 22. When he utilizes combined energy, his fighting men become as it 295 | were like unto rolling logs or stones. For it is the nature of a log 296 | or stone to remain motionless on level ground, and to move when on 297 | a slope; if four-cornered, to come to a standstill, but if round-shaped, 298 | to go rolling down. 299 | 23. Thus the energy developed by good fighting men is as the momentum 300 | of a round stone rolled down a mountain thousands of feet in height. 301 | So much on the subject of energy. 302 | VI. Weak Points and Strong 303 | 1. Sun Tzu said: Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming 304 | of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the 305 | field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted. 306 | 2. Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but 307 | does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him. 308 | 3. By holding out advantages to him, he can cause the enemy to approach 309 | of his own accord; or, by inflicting damage, he can make it impossible 310 | for the enemy to draw near. 311 | 4. If the enemy is taking his ease, he can harass him; if well supplied 312 | with food, he can starve him out; if quietly encamped, he can force 313 | him to move. 314 | 5. Appear at points which the enemy must hasten to defend; march swiftly 315 | to places where you are not expected. 316 | 6. An army may march great distances without distress, if it marches 317 | through country where the enemy is not. 318 | 7. You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack 319 | places which are undefended.You can ensure the safety of your defense 320 | if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked. 321 | 8. Hence that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not 322 | know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent 323 | does not know what to attack. 324 | 9. O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be 325 | invisible, through you inaudible; and hence we can hold the enemy's 326 | fate in our hands. 327 | 10. You may advance and be absolutely irresistible, if you make for 328 | the enemy's weak points; you may retire and be safe from pursuit if 329 | your movements are more rapid than those of the enemy. 330 | 11. If we wish to fight, the enemy can be forced to an engagement 331 | even though he be sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep ditch. 332 | All we need do is attack some other place that he will be obliged 333 | to relieve. 334 | 12. If we do not wish to fight, we can prevent the enemy from engaging 335 | us even though the lines of our encampment be merely traced out on 336 | the ground. All we need do is to throw something odd and unaccountable 337 | in his way. 338 | 13. By discovering the enemy's dispositions and remaining invisible 339 | ourselves, we can keep our forces concentrated, while the enemy's 340 | must be divided. 341 | 14. We can form a single united body, while the enemy must split up 342 | into fractions. Hence there will be a whole pitted against separate 343 | parts of a whole, which means that we shall be many to the enemy's 344 | few. 345 | 15. And if we are able thus to attack an inferior force with a superior 346 | one, our opponents will be in dire straits. 347 | 16. The spot where we intend to fight must not be made known; for 348 | then the enemy will have to prepare against a possible attack at several 349 | different points; and his forces being thus distributed in many directions, 350 | the numbers we shall have to face at any given point will be proportionately 351 | few. 352 | 17. For should the enemy strengthen his van, he will weaken his rear; 353 | should he strengthen his rear, he will weaken his van; should he strengthen 354 | his left, he will weaken his right; should he strengthen his right, 355 | he will weaken his left. If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he 356 | will everywhere be weak. 357 | 18. Numerical weakness comes from having to prepare against possible 358 | attacks; numerical strength, from compelling our adversary to make 359 | these preparations against us. 360 | 19. Knowing the place and the time of the coming battle, we may concentrate 361 | from the greatest distances in order to fight. 362 | 20. But if neither time nor place be known, then the left wing will 363 | be impotent to succor the right, the right equally impotent to succor 364 | the left, the van unable to relieve the rear, or the rear to support 365 | the van. How much more so if the furthest portions of the army are 366 | anything under a hundred LI apart, and even the nearest are separated 367 | by several LI! 368 | 21. Though according to my estimate the soldiers of Yueh exceed our 369 | own in number, that shall advantage them nothing in the matter of 370 | victory. I say then that victory can be achieved. 371 | 22. Though the enemy be stronger in numbers, we may prevent him from 372 | fighting. Scheme so as to discover his plans and the likelihood of 373 | their success. 374 | 23. Rouse him, and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity. 375 | Force him to reveal himself, so as to find out his vulnerable spots. 376 | 24. Carefully compare the opposing army with your own, so that you 377 | may know where strength is superabundant and where it is deficient. 378 | 25. In making tactical dispositions, the highest pitch you can attain 379 | is to conceal them; conceal your dispositions, and you will be safe 380 | from the prying of the subtlest spies, from the machinations of the 381 | wisest brains. 382 | 26. How victory may be produced for them out of the enemy's own tactics--that 383 | is what the multitude cannot comprehend. 384 | 27. All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can 385 | see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved. 386 | 28. Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but 387 | let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances. 388 | 29. Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural 389 | course runs away from high places and hastens downwards. 390 | 30. So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at 391 | what is weak. 392 | 31. Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground 393 | over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation 394 | to the foe whom he is facing. 395 | 32. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare 396 | there are no constant conditions. 397 | 33. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and 398 | thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain. 399 | 34. The five elements (water, fire, wood, metal, earth) are not always 400 | equally predominant; the four seasons make way for each other in turn. 401 | There are short days and long; the moon has its periods of waning 402 | and waxing. 403 | VII. Maneuvering 404 | 1. Sun Tzu said: In war, the general receives his commands from the 405 | sovereign. 406 | 2. Having collected an army and concentrated his forces, he must blend 407 | and harmonize the different elements thereof before pitching his camp. 408 | 3. After that, comes tactical maneuvering, than which there is nothing 409 | more difficult. The difficulty of tactical maneuvering consists in 410 | turning the devious into the direct, and misfortune into gain. 411 | 4. Thus, to take a long and circuitous route, after enticing the enemy 412 | out of the way, and though starting after him, to contrive to reach 413 | the goal before him, shows knowledge of the artifice of deviation. 414 | 5. Maneuvering with an army is advantageous; with an undisciplined 415 | multitude, most dangerous. 416 | 6. If you set a fully equipped army in march in order to snatch an 417 | advantage, the chances are that you will be too late. On the other 418 | hand, to detach a flying column for the purpose involves the sacrifice 419 | of its baggage and stores. 420 | 7. Thus, if you order your men to roll up their buff-coats, and make 421 | forced marches without halting day or night, covering double the usual 422 | distance at a stretch, doing a hundred LI in order to wrest an advantage, 423 | the leaders of all your three divisions will fall into the hands of 424 | the enemy. 425 | 8. The stronger men will be in front, the jaded ones will fall behind, 426 | and on this plan only one-tenth of your army will reach its destination. 427 | 9. If you march fifty LI in order to outmaneuver the enemy, you will 428 | lose the leader of your first division, and only half your force will 429 | reach the goal. 430 | 10. If you march thirty LI with the same object, two-thirds of your 431 | army will arrive. 432 | 11. We may take it then that an army without its baggage-train is 433 | lost; without provisions it is lost; without bases of supply it is 434 | lost. 435 | 12. We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the 436 | designs of our neighbors. 437 | 13. We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar 438 | with the face of the country--its mountains and forests, its pitfalls 439 | and precipices, its marshes and swamps. 440 | 14. We shall be unable to turn natural advantage to account unless 441 | we make use of local guides. 442 | 15. In war, practice dissimulation, and you will succeed. 443 | 16. Whether to concentrate or to divide your troops, must be decided 444 | by circumstances. 445 | 17. Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your compactness that of 446 | the forest. 447 | 18. In raiding and plundering be like fire, is immovability like a 448 | mountain. 449 | 19. Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you 450 | move, fall like a thunderbolt. 451 | 20. When you plunder a countryside, let the spoil be divided amongst 452 | your men; when you capture new territory, cut it up into allotments 453 | for the benefit of the soldiery. 454 | 21. Ponder and deliberate before you make a move. 455 | 22. He will conquer who has learnt the artifice of deviation. Such 456 | is the art of maneuvering. 457 | 23. The Book of Army Management says: On the field of battle, the 458 | spoken word does not carry far enough: hence the institution of gongs 459 | and drums. Nor can ordinary objects be seen clearly enough: hence 460 | the institution of banners and flags. 461 | 24. Gongs and drums, banners and flags, are means whereby the ears 462 | and eyes of the host may be focused on one particular point. 463 | 25. The host thus forming a single united body, is it impossible either 464 | for the brave to advance alone, or for the cowardly to retreat alone. 465 | This is the art of handling large masses of men. 466 | 26. In night-fighting, then, make much use of signal-fires and drums, 467 | and in fighting by day, of flags and banners, as a means of influencing 468 | the ears and eyes of your army. 469 | 27. A whole army may be robbed of its spirit; a commander-in-chief 470 | may be robbed of his presence of mind. 471 | 28. Now a soldier's spirit is keenest in the morning; by noonday it 472 | has begun to flag; and in the evening, his mind is bent only on returning 473 | to camp. 474 | 29. A clever general, therefore, avoids an army when its spirit is 475 | keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return. This 476 | is the art of studying moods. 477 | 30. Disciplined and calm, to await the appearance of disorder and 478 | hubbub amongst the enemy:--this is the art of retaining self-possession. 479 | 31. To be near the goal while the enemy is still far from it, to wait 480 | at ease while the enemy is toiling and struggling, to be well-fed 481 | while the enemy is famished:--this is the art of husbanding one's 482 | strength. 483 | 32. To refrain from intercepting an enemy whose banners are in perfect 484 | order, to refrain from attacking an army drawn up in calm and confident 485 | array:--this is the art of studying circumstances. 486 | 33. It is a military axiom not to advance uphill against the enemy, 487 | nor to oppose him when he comes downhill. 488 | 34. Do not pursue an enemy who simulates flight; do not attack soldiers 489 | whose temper is keen. 490 | 35. Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with 491 | an army that is returning home. 492 | 36. When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press 493 | a desperate foe too hard. 494 | 37. Such is the art of warfare. 495 | VIII. Variation in Tactics 496 | 1. Sun Tzu said: In war, the general receives his commands from the 497 | sovereign, collects his army and concentrates his forces 498 | 2. When in difficult country, do not encamp. In country where high 499 | roads intersect, join hands with your allies. Do not linger in dangerously 500 | isolated positions. In hemmed-in situations, you must resort to stratagem. 501 | In desperate position, you must fight. 502 | 3. There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must be 503 | not attacked, towns which must be besieged, positions which must not 504 | be contested, commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed. 505 | 4. The general who thoroughly understands the advantages that accompany 506 | variation of tactics knows how to handle his troops. 507 | 5. The general who does not understand these, may be well acquainted 508 | with the configuration of the country, yet he will not be able to 509 | turn his knowledge to practical account. 510 | 6. So, the student of war who is unversed in the art of war of varying 511 | his plans, even though he be acquainted with the Five Advantages, 512 | will fail to make the best use of his men. 513 | 7. Hence in the wise leader's plans, considerations of advantage and 514 | of disadvantage will be blended together. 515 | 8. If our expectation of advantage be tempered in this way, we may 516 | succeed in accomplishing the essential part of our schemes. 517 | 9. If, on the other hand, in the midst of difficulties we are always 518 | ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves from misfortune. 519 | 10. Reduce the hostile chiefs by inflicting damage on them; and make 520 | trouble for them, and keep them constantly engaged; hold out specious 521 | allurements, and make them rush to any given point. 522 | 11. The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the 523 | enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on 524 | the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have 525 | made our position unassailable. 526 | 12. There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general: (1) 527 | Recklessness, which leads to destruction; (2) cowardice, which leads 528 | to capture; (3) a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults; 529 | (4) a delicacy of honor which is sensitive to shame; (5) over-solicitude 530 | for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble. 531 | 13. These are the five besetting sins of a general, ruinous to the 532 | conduct of war. 533 | 14. When an army is overthrown and its leader slain, the cause will 534 | surely be found among these five dangerous faults. Let them be a subject 535 | of meditation. 536 | IX. The Army on the March 537 | 1. Sun Tzu said: We come now to the question of encamping the army, 538 | and observing signs of the enemy. Pass quickly over mountains, and 539 | keep in the neighborhood of valleys. 540 | 2. Camp in high places, facing the sun. Do not climb heights in order 541 | to fight. So much for mountain warfare. 542 | 3. After crossing a river, you should get far away from it. 543 | 4. When an invading force crosses a river in its onward march, do 544 | not advance to meet it in mid-stream. It will be best to let half 545 | the army get across, and then deliver your attack. 546 | 5. If you are anxious to fight, you should not go to meet the invader 547 | near a river which he has to cross. 548 | 6. Moor your craft higher up than the enemy, and facing the sun. Do 549 | not move up-stream to meet the enemy. So much for river warfare. 550 | 7. In crossing salt-marshes, your sole concern should be to get over 551 | them quickly, without any delay. 552 | 8. If forced to fight in a salt-marsh, you should have water and grass 553 | near you, and get your back to a clump of trees. So much for operations 554 | in salt-marches. 555 | 9. In dry, level country, take up an easily accessible position with 556 | rising ground to your right and on your rear, so that the danger may 557 | be in front, and safety lie behind. So much for campaigning in flat 558 | country. 559 | 10. These are the four useful branches of military knowledge which 560 | enabled the Yellow Emperor to vanquish four several sovereigns. 561 | 11. All armies prefer high ground to low and sunny places to dark. 562 | 12. If you are careful of your men, and camp on hard ground, the army 563 | will be free from disease of every kind, and this will spell victory. 564 | 13. When you come to a hill or a bank, occupy the sunny side, with 565 | the slope on your right rear. Thus you will at once act for the benefit 566 | of your soldiers and utilize the natural advantages of the ground. 567 | 14. When, in consequence of heavy rains up-country, a river which 568 | you wish to ford is swollen and flecked with foam, you must wait until 569 | it subsides. 570 | 15. Country in which there are precipitous cliffs with torrents running 571 | between, deep natural hollows, confined places, tangled thickets, 572 | quagmires and crevasses, should be left with all possible speed and 573 | not approached. 574 | 16. While we keep away from such places, we should get the enemy to 575 | approach them; while we face them, we should let the enemy have them 576 | on his rear. 577 | 17. If in the neighborhood of your camp there should be any hilly 578 | country, ponds surrounded by aquatic grass, hollow basins filled with 579 | reeds, or woods with thick undergrowth, they must be carefully routed 580 | out and searched; for these are places where men in ambush or insidious 581 | spies are likely to be lurking. 582 | 18. When the enemy is close at hand and remains quiet, he is relying 583 | on the natural strength of his position. 584 | 19. When he keeps aloof and tries to provoke a battle, he is anxious 585 | for the other side to advance. 586 | 20. If his place of encampment is easy of access, he is tendering 587 | a bait. 588 | 21. Movement amongst the trees of a forest shows that the enemy is 589 | advancing. The appearance of a number of screens in the midst of thick 590 | grass means that the enemy wants to make us suspicious. 591 | 22. The rising of birds in their flight is the sign of an ambuscade. 592 | Startled beasts indicate that a sudden attack is coming. 593 | 23. When there is dust rising in a high column, it is the sign of 594 | chariots advancing; when the dust is low, but spread over a wide area, 595 | it betokens the approach of infantry. When it branches out in different 596 | directions, it shows that parties have been sent to collect firewood. 597 | A few clouds of dust moving to and fro signify that the army is encamping. 598 | 24. Humble words and increased preparations are signs that the enemy 599 | is about to advance. Violent language and driving forward as if to 600 | the attack are signs that he will retreat. 601 | 25. When the light chariots come out first and take up a position 602 | on the wings, it is a sign that the enemy is forming for battle. 603 | 26. Peace proposals unaccompanied by a sworn covenant indicate a plot. 604 | 27. When there is much running about and the soldiers fall into rank, 605 | it means that the critical moment has come. 606 | 28. When some are seen advancing and some retreating, it is a lure. 607 | 29. When the soldiers stand leaning on their spears, they are faint 608 | from want of food. 609 | 30. If those who are sent to draw water begin by drinking themselves, 610 | the army is suffering from thirst. 611 | 31. If the enemy sees an advantage to be gained and makes no effort 612 | to secure it, the soldiers are exhausted. 613 | 32. If birds gather on any spot, it is unoccupied. Clamor by night 614 | betokens nervousness. 615 | 33. If there is disturbance in the camp, the general's authority is 616 | weak. If the banners and flags are shifted about, sedition is afoot. 617 | If the officers are angry, it means that the men are weary. 618 | 34. When an army feeds its horses with grain and kills its cattle 619 | for food, and when the men do not hang their cooking-pots over the 620 | camp-fires, showing that they will not return to their tents, you 621 | may know that they are determined to fight to the death. 622 | 35. The sight of men whispering together in small knots or speaking 623 | in subdued tones points to disaffection amongst the rank and file. 624 | 36. Too frequent rewards signify that the enemy is at the end of his 625 | resources; too many punishments betray a condition of dire distress. 626 | 37. To begin by bluster, but afterwards to take fright at the enemy's 627 | numbers, shows a supreme lack of intelligence. 628 | 38. When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a 629 | sign that the enemy wishes for a truce. 630 | 39. If the enemy's troops march up angrily and remain facing ours 631 | for a long time without either joining battle or taking themselves 632 | off again, the situation is one that demands great vigilance and circumspection. 633 | 40. If our troops are no more in number than the enemy, that is amply 634 | sufficient; it only means that no direct attack can be made. What 635 | we can do is simply to concentrate all our available strength, keep 636 | a close watch on the enemy, and obtain reinforcements. 637 | 41. He who exercises no forethought but makes light of his opponents 638 | is sure to be captured by them. 639 | 42. If soldiers are punished before they have grown attached to you, 640 | they will not prove submissive; and, unless submissive, then will 641 | be practically useless. If, when the soldiers have become attached 642 | to you, punishments are not enforced, they will still be unless. 643 | 43. Therefore soldiers must be treated in the first instance with 644 | humanity, but kept under control by means of iron discipline. This 645 | is a certain road to victory. 646 | 44. If in training soldiers commands are habitually enforced, the 647 | army will be well-disciplined; if not, its discipline will be bad. 648 | 45. If a general shows confidence in his men but always insists on 649 | his orders being obeyed, the gain will be mutual. 650 | X. Terrain 651 | 1. Sun Tzu said: We may distinguish six kinds of terrain, to wit: 652 | (1) Accessible ground; (2) entangling ground; (3) temporizing ground; 653 | (4) narrow passes; (5) precipitous heights; (6) positions at a great 654 | distance from the enemy. 655 | 2. Ground which can be freely traversed by both sides is called accessible. 656 | 3. With regard to ground of this nature, be before the enemy in occupying 657 | the raised and sunny spots, and carefully guard your line of supplies. 658 | Then you will be able to fight with advantage. 659 | 4. Ground which can be abandoned but is hard to re-occupy is called 660 | entangling. 661 | 5. From a position of this sort, if the enemy is unprepared, you may 662 | sally forth and defeat him. But if the enemy is prepared for your 663 | coming, and you fail to defeat him, then, return being impossible, 664 | disaster will ensue. 665 | 6. When the position is such that neither side will gain by making 666 | the first move, it is called temporizing ground. 667 | 7. In a position of this sort, even though the enemy should offer 668 | us an attractive bait, it will be advisable not to stir forth, but 669 | rather to retreat, thus enticing the enemy in his turn; then, when 670 | part of his army has come out, we may deliver our attack with advantage. 671 | 8. With regard to narrow passes, if you can occupy them first, let 672 | them be strongly garrisoned and await the advent of the enemy. 673 | 9. Should the army forestall you in occupying a pass, do not go after 674 | him if the pass is fully garrisoned, but only if it is weakly garrisoned. 675 | 10. With regard to precipitous heights, if you are beforehand with 676 | your adversary, you should occupy the raised and sunny spots, and 677 | there wait for him to come up. 678 | 11. If the enemy has occupied them before you, do not follow him, 679 | but retreat and try to entice him away. 680 | 12. If you are situated at a great distance from the enemy, and the 681 | strength of the two armies is equal, it is not easy to provoke a battle, 682 | and fighting will be to your disadvantage. 683 | 13. These six are the principles connected with Earth. The general 684 | who has attained a responsible post must be careful to study them. 685 | 14. Now an army is exposed to six several calamities, not arising 686 | from natural causes, but from faults for which the general is responsible. 687 | These are: (1) Flight; (2) insubordination; (3) collapse; (4) ruin; 688 | (5) disorganization; (6) rout. 689 | 15. Other conditions being equal, if one force is hurled against another 690 | ten times its size, the result will be the flight of the former. 691 | 16. When the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too 692 | weak, the result is insubordination. When the officers are too strong 693 | and the common soldiers too weak, the result is collapse. 694 | 17. When the higher officers are angry and insubordinate, and on meeting 695 | the enemy give battle on their own account from a feeling of resentment, 696 | before the commander-in-chief can tell whether or no he is in a position 697 | to fight, the result is ruin. 698 | 18. When the general is weak and without authority; when his orders 699 | are not clear and distinct; when there are no fixes duties assigned 700 | to officers and men, and the ranks are formed in a slovenly haphazard 701 | manner, the result is utter disorganization. 702 | 19. When a general, unable to estimate the enemy's strength, allows 703 | an inferior force to engage a larger one, or hurls a weak detachment 704 | against a powerful one, and neglects to place picked soldiers in the 705 | front rank, the result must be rout. 706 | 20. These are six ways of courting defeat, which must be carefully 707 | noted by the general who has attained a responsible post. 708 | 21. The natural formation of the country is the soldier's best ally; 709 | but a power of estimating the adversary, of controlling the forces 710 | of victory, and of shrewdly calculating difficulties, dangers and 711 | distances, constitutes the test of a great general. 712 | 22. He who knows these things, and in fighting puts his knowledge 713 | into practice, will win his battles. He who knows them not, nor practices 714 | them, will surely be defeated. 715 | 23. If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight, 716 | even though the ruler forbid it; if fighting will not result in victory, 717 | then you must not fight even at the ruler's bidding. 718 | 24. The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without 719 | fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and 720 | do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom. 721 | 25. Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you 722 | into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, 723 | and they will stand by you even unto death. 724 | 26. If, however, you are indulgent, but unable to make your authority 725 | felt; kind-hearted, but unable to enforce your commands; and incapable, 726 | moreover, of quelling disorder: then your soldiers must be likened 727 | to spoilt children; they are useless for any practical purpose. 728 | 27. If we know that our own men are in a condition to attack, but 729 | are unaware that the enemy is not open to attack, we have gone only 730 | halfway towards victory. 731 | 28. If we know that the enemy is open to attack, but are unaware that 732 | our own men are not in a condition to attack, we have gone only halfway 733 | towards victory. 734 | 29. If we know that the enemy is open to attack, and also know that 735 | our men are in a condition to attack, but are unaware that the nature 736 | of the ground makes fighting impracticable, we have still gone only 737 | halfway towards victory. 738 | 30. Hence the experienced soldier, once in motion, is never bewildered; 739 | once he has broken camp, he is never at a loss. 740 | 31. Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, your 741 | victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, 742 | you may make your victory complete. 743 | XI. The Nine Situations 744 | 1. Sun Tzu said: The art of war recognizes nine varieties of ground: 745 | (1) Dispersive ground; (2) facile ground; (3) contentious ground; 746 | (4) open ground; (5) ground of intersecting highways; (6) serious 747 | ground; (7) difficult ground; (8) hemmed-in ground; (9) desperate 748 | ground. 749 | 2. When a chieftain is fighting in his own territory, it is dispersive 750 | ground. 751 | 3. When he has penetrated into hostile territory, but to no great 752 | distance, it is facile ground. 753 | 4. Ground the possession of which imports great advantage to either 754 | side, is contentious ground. 755 | 5. Ground on which each side has liberty of movement is open ground. 756 | 6. Ground which forms the key to three contiguous states, so that 757 | he who occupies it first has most of the Empire at his command, is 758 | a ground of intersecting highways. 759 | 7. When an army has penetrated into the heart of a hostile country, 760 | leaving a number of fortified cities in its rear, it is serious ground. 761 | 8. Mountain forests, rugged steeps, marshes and fens--all country 762 | that is hard to traverse: this is difficult ground. 763 | 9. Ground which is reached through narrow gorges, and from which we 764 | can only retire by tortuous paths, so that a small number of the enemy 765 | would suffice to crush a large body of our men: this is hemmed in 766 | ground. 767 | 10. Ground on which we can only be saved from destruction by fighting 768 | without delay, is desperate ground. 769 | 11. On dispersive ground, therefore, fight not. On facile ground, 770 | halt not. On contentious ground, attack not. 771 | 12. On open ground, do not try to block the enemy's way. On the ground 772 | of intersecting highways, join hands with your allies. 773 | 13. On serious ground, gather in plunder. In difficult ground, keep 774 | steadily on the march. 775 | 14. On hemmed-in ground, resort to stratagem. On desperate ground, 776 | fight. 777 | 15. Those who were called skillful leaders of old knew how to drive 778 | a wedge between the enemy's front and rear; to prevent co-operation 779 | between his large and small divisions; to hinder the good troops from 780 | rescuing the bad, the officers from rallying their men. 781 | 16. When the enemy's men were united, they managed to keep them in 782 | disorder. 783 | 17. When it was to their advantage, they made a forward move; when 784 | otherwise, they stopped still. 785 | 18. If asked how to cope with a great host of the enemy in orderly 786 | array and on the point of marching to the attack, I should say: "Begin 787 | by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will 788 | be amenable to your will." 789 | 19. Rapidity is the essence of war: take advantage of the enemy's 790 | unreadiness, make your way by unexpected routes, and attack unguarded 791 | spots. 792 | 20. The following are the principles to be observed by an invading 793 | force: The further you penetrate into a country, the greater will 794 | be the solidarity of your troops, and thus the defenders will not 795 | prevail against you. 796 | 21. Make forays in fertile country in order to supply your army with 797 | food. 798 | 22. Carefully study the well-being of your men, and do not overtax 799 | them. Concentrate your energy and hoard your strength. Keep your army 800 | continually on the move, and devise unfathomable plans. 801 | 23. Throw your soldiers into positions whence there is no escape, 802 | and they will prefer death to flight. If they will face death, there 803 | is nothing they may not achieve. Officers and men alike will put forth 804 | their uttermost strength. 805 | 24. Soldiers when in desperate straits lose the sense of fear. If 806 | there is no place of refuge, they will stand firm. If they are in 807 | hostile country, they will show a stubborn front. If there is no help 808 | for it, they will fight hard. 809 | 25. Thus, without waiting to be marshaled, the soldiers will be constantly 810 | on the qui vive; without waiting to be asked, they will do your will; 811 | without restrictions, they will be faithful; without giving orders, 812 | they can be trusted. 813 | 26. Prohibit the taking of omens, and do away with superstitious doubts. 814 | Then, until death itself comes, no calamity need be feared. 815 | 27. If our soldiers are not overburdened with money, it is not because 816 | they have a distaste for riches; if their lives are not unduly long, 817 | it is not because they are disinclined to longevity. 818 | 28. On the day they are ordered out to battle, your soldiers may weep, 819 | those sitting up bedewing their garments, and those lying down letting 820 | the tears run down their cheeks. But let them once be brought to bay, 821 | and they will display the courage of a Chu or a Kuei. 822 | 29. The skillful tactician may be likened to the shuai-jan. Now the 823 | shuai-jan is a snake that is found in the ChUng mountains. Strike 824 | at its head, and you will be attacked by its tail; strike at its tail, 825 | and you will be attacked by its head; strike at its middle, and you 826 | will be attacked by head and tail both. 827 | 30. Asked if an army can be made to imitate the shuai-jan, I should 828 | answer, Yes. For the men of Wu and the men of Yueh are enemies; yet 829 | if they are crossing a river in the same boat and are caught by a 830 | storm, they will come to each other's assistance just as the left 831 | hand helps the right. 832 | 31. Hence it is not enough to put one's trust in the tethering of 833 | horses, and the burying of chariot wheels in the ground 834 | 32. The principle on which to manage an army is to set up one standard 835 | of courage which all must reach. 836 | 33. How to make the best of both strong and weak--that is a question 837 | involving the proper use of ground. 838 | 34. Thus the skillful general conducts his army just as though he 839 | were leading a single man, willy-nilly, by the hand. 840 | 35. It is the business of a general to be quiet and thus ensure secrecy; 841 | upright and just, and thus maintain order. 842 | 36. He must be able to mystify his officers and men by false reports 843 | and appearances, and thus keep them in total ignorance. 844 | 37. By altering his arrangements and changing his plans, he keeps 845 | the enemy without definite knowledge. By shifting his camp and taking 846 | circuitous routes, he prevents the enemy from anticipating his purpose. 847 | 38. At the critical moment, the leader of an army acts like one who 848 | has climbed up a height and then kicks away the ladder behind him. 849 | He carries his men deep into hostile territory before he shows his 850 | hand. 851 | 39. He burns his boats and breaks his cooking-pots; like a shepherd 852 | driving a flock of sheep, he drives his men this way and that, and 853 | nothing knows whither he is going. 854 | 40. To muster his host and bring it into danger:--this may be termed 855 | the business of the general. 856 | 41. The different measures suited to the nine varieties of ground; 857 | the expediency of aggressive or defensive tactics; and the fundamental 858 | laws of human nature: these are things that must most certainly be 859 | studied. 860 | 42. When invading hostile territory, the general principle is, that 861 | penetrating deeply brings cohesion; penetrating but a short way means 862 | dispersion. 863 | 43. When you leave your own country behind, and take your army across 864 | neighborhood territory, you find yourself on critical ground. When 865 | there are means of communication on all four sides, the ground is 866 | one of intersecting highways. 867 | 44. When you penetrate deeply into a country, it is serious ground. 868 | When you penetrate but a little way, it is facile ground. 869 | 45. When you have the enemy's strongholds on your rear, and narrow 870 | passes in front, it is hemmed-in ground. When there is no place of 871 | refuge at all, it is desperate ground. 872 | 46. Therefore, on dispersive ground, I would inspire my men with unity 873 | of purpose. On facile ground, I would see that there is close connection 874 | between all parts of my army. 875 | 47. On contentious ground, I would hurry up my rear. 876 | 48. On open ground, I would keep a vigilant eye on my defenses. On 877 | ground of intersecting highways, I would consolidate my alliances. 878 | 49. On serious ground, I would try to ensure a continuous stream of 879 | supplies. On difficult ground, I would keep pushing on along the road. 880 | 50. On hemmed-in ground, I would block any way of retreat. On desperate 881 | ground, I would proclaim to my soldiers the hopelessness of saving 882 | their lives. 883 | 51. For it is the soldier's disposition to offer an obstinate resistance 884 | when surrounded, to fight hard when he cannot help himself, and to 885 | obey promptly when he has fallen into danger. 886 | 52. We cannot enter into alliance with neighboring princes until we 887 | are acquainted with their designs. We are not fit to lead an army 888 | on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country--its 889 | mountains and forests, its pitfalls and precipices, its marshes and 890 | swamps. We shall be unable to turn natural advantages to account unless 891 | we make use of local guides. 892 | 53. To be ignored of any one of the following four or five principles 893 | does not befit a warlike prince. 894 | 54. When a warlike prince attacks a powerful state, his generalship 895 | shows itself in preventing the concentration of the enemy's forces. 896 | He overawes his opponents, and their allies are prevented from joining 897 | against him. 898 | 55. Hence he does not strive to ally himself with all and sundry, 899 | nor does he foster the power of other states. He carries out his own 900 | secret designs, keeping his antagonists in awe. Thus he is able to 901 | capture their cities and overthrow their kingdoms. 902 | 56. Bestow rewards without regard to rule, issue orders without regard 903 | to previous arrangements; and you will be able to handle a whole army 904 | as though you had to do with but a single man. 905 | 57. Confront your soldiers with the deed itself; never let them know 906 | your design. When the outlook is bright, bring it before their eyes; 907 | but tell them nothing when the situation is gloomy. 908 | 58. Place your army in deadly peril, and it will survive; plunge it 909 | into desperate straits, and it will come off in safety. 910 | 59. For it is precisely when a force has fallen into harm's way that 911 | is capable of striking a blow for victory. 912 | 60. Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves 913 | to the enemy's purpose. 914 | 61. By persistently hanging on the enemy's flank, we shall succeed 915 | in the long run in killing the commander-in-chief. 916 | 62. This is called ability to accomplish a thing by sheer cunning. 917 | 63. On the day that you take up your command, block the frontier passes, 918 | destroy the official tallies, and stop the passage of all emissaries. 919 | 64. Be stern in the council-chamber, so that you may control the situation. 920 | 65. If the enemy leaves a door open, you must rush in. 921 | 66. Forestall your opponent by seizing what he holds dear, and subtly 922 | contrive to time his arrival on the ground. 923 | 67. Walk in the path defined by rule, and accommodate yourself to 924 | the enemy until you can fight a decisive battle. 925 | 68. At first, then, exhibit the coyness of a maiden, until the enemy 926 | gives you an opening; afterwards emulate the rapidity of a running 927 | hare, and it will be too late for the enemy to oppose you. 928 | XII. The Attack by Fire 929 | 1. Sun Tzu said: There are five ways of attacking with fire. The first 930 | is to burn soldiers in their camp; the second is to burn stores; the 931 | third is to burn baggage trains; the fourth is to burn arsenals and 932 | magazines; the fifth is to hurl dropping fire amongst the enemy. 933 | 2. In order to carry out an attack, we must have means available. 934 | The material for raising fire should always be kept in readiness. 935 | 3. There is a proper season for making attacks with fire, and special 936 | days for starting a conflagration. 937 | 4. The proper season is when the weather is very dry; the special 938 | days are those when the moon is in the constellations of the Sieve, 939 | the Wall, the Wing or the Cross-bar; for these four are all days of 940 | rising wind. 941 | 5. In attacking with fire, one should be prepared to meet five possible 942 | developments: 943 | 6. (1) When fire breaks out inside to enemy's camp, respond at once 944 | with an attack from without. 945 | 7. (2) If there is an outbreak of fire, but the enemy's soldiers remain 946 | quiet, bide your time and do not attack. 947 | 8. (3) When the force of the flames has reached its height, follow 948 | it up with an attack, if that is practicable; if not, stay where you 949 | are. 950 | 9. (4) If it is possible to make an assault with fire from without, 951 | do not wait for it to break out within, but deliver your attack at 952 | a favorable moment. 953 | 10. (5) When you start a fire, be to windward of it. Do not attack 954 | from the leeward. 955 | 11. A wind that rises in the daytime lasts long, but a night breeze 956 | soon falls. 957 | 12. In every army, the five developments connected with fire must 958 | be known, the movements of the stars calculated, and a watch kept 959 | for the proper days. 960 | 13. Hence those who use fire as an aid to the attack show intelligence; 961 | those who use water as an aid to the attack gain an accession of strength. 962 | 14. By means of water, an enemy may be intercepted, but not robbed 963 | of all his belongings. 964 | 15. Unhappy is the fate of one who tries to win his battles and succeed 965 | in his attacks without cultivating the spirit of enterprise; for the 966 | result is waste of time and general stagnation. 967 | 16. Hence the saying: The enlightened ruler lays his plans well ahead; 968 | the good general cultivates his resources. 969 | 17. Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless 970 | there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is 971 | critical. 972 | 18. No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his 973 | own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique. 974 | 19. If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay 975 | where you are. 976 | 20. Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded 977 | by content. 978 | 21. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again 979 | into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life. 980 | 22. Hence the enlightened ruler is heedful, and the good general full 981 | of caution. This is the way to keep a country at peace and an army 982 | intact. 983 | XIII. The Use of Spies 984 | 1. Sun Tzu said: Raising a host of a hundred thousand men and marching 985 | them great distances entails heavy loss on the people and a drain 986 | on the resources of the State. The daily expenditure will amount to 987 | a thousand ounces of silver. There will be commotion at home and abroad, 988 | and men will drop down exhausted on the highways. As many as seven 989 | hundred thousand families will be impeded in their labor. 990 | 2. Hostile armies may face each other for years, striving for the 991 | victory which is decided in a single day. This being so, to remain 992 | in ignorance of the enemy's condition simply because one grudges the 993 | outlay of a hundred ounces of silver in honors and emoluments, is 994 | the height of inhumanity. 995 | 3. One who acts thus is no leader of men, no present help to his sovereign, 996 | no master of victory. 997 | 4. Thus, what enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike 998 | and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, 999 | is foreknowledge. 1000 | 5. Now this foreknowledge cannot be elicited from spirits; it cannot 1001 | be obtained inductively from experience, nor by any deductive calculation. 1002 | 6. Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can only be obtained from 1003 | other men. 1004 | 7. Hence the use of spies, of whom there are five classes: (1) Local 1005 | spies; (2) inward spies; (3) converted spies; (4) doomed spies; (5) 1006 | surviving spies. 1007 | 8. When these five kinds of spy are all at work, none can discover 1008 | the secret system. This is called "divine manipulation of the threads." 1009 | It is the sovereign's most precious faculty. 1010 | 9. Having local spies means employing the services of the inhabitants 1011 | of a district. 1012 | 10. Having inward spies, making use of officials of the enemy. 1013 | 11. Having converted spies, getting hold of the enemy's spies and 1014 | using them for our own purposes. 1015 | 12. Having doomed spies, doing certain things openly for purposes 1016 | of deception, and allowing our spies to know of them and report them 1017 | to the enemy. 1018 | 13. Surviving spies, finally, are those who bring back news from the 1019 | enemy's camp. 1020 | 14. Hence it is that which none in the whole army are more intimate 1021 | relations to be maintained than with spies. None should be more liberally 1022 | rewarded. In no other business should greater secrecy be preserved. 1023 | 15. Spies cannot be usefully employed without a certain intuitive 1024 | sagacity. 1025 | 16. They cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straightforwardness. 1026 | 17. Without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain of the 1027 | truth of their reports. 1028 | 18. Be subtle! be subtle! and use your spies for every kind of business. 1029 | 19. If a secret piece of news is divulged by a spy before the time 1030 | is ripe, he must be put to death together with the man to whom the 1031 | secret was told. 1032 | 20. Whether the object be to crush an army, to storm a city, or to 1033 | assassinate an individual, it is always necessary to begin by finding 1034 | out the names of the attendants, the aides-de-camp, and door-keepers 1035 | and sentries of the general in command. Our spies must be commissioned 1036 | to ascertain these. 1037 | 21. The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, 1038 | tempted with bribes, led away and comfortably housed. Thus they will 1039 | become converted spies and available for our service. 1040 | 22. It is through the information brought by the converted spy that 1041 | we are able to acquire and employ local and inward spies. 1042 | 23. It is owing to his information, again, that we can cause the doomed 1043 | spy to carry false tidings to the enemy. 1044 | 24. Lastly, it is by his information that the surviving spy can be 1045 | used on appointed occasions. 1046 | 25. The end and aim of spying in all its five varieties is knowledge 1047 | of the enemy; and this knowledge can only be derived, in the first 1048 | instance, from the converted spy. Hence it is essential that the converted 1049 | spy be treated with the utmost liberality. 1050 | 26. Of old, the rise of the Yin dynasty was due to I Chih who had 1051 | served under the Hsia. Likewise, the rise of the Chou dynasty was 1052 | due to Lu Ya who had served under the Yin. 1053 | 27. Hence it is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who 1054 | will use the highest intelligence of the army for purposes of spying 1055 | and thereby they achieve great results. Spies are a most important 1056 | element in water, because on them depends an army's ability to move. 1057 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------