Chamberlain, As my lord commands, ( Goes out, and re-enters with Spiritual Contemplation. Contemplation. Alas, this world is ruined by Love, who increases the pride of thoughtless beauty, and by that sinful King Passion, Influenced by Passion, even wise mon beholding woman, who ig the daughter of impurity, address her in tender language:—* O charmer, thy large eyes are like the water-lily; thy hips are full andg round; thy protu- berant breasts toch each other; thy beautiful mouth resembles the lotos, and elegant are thine eye- brows.”"-Viewing her in thig manner, their passions . are inflamed, they are transported with desire, and follow the dictates of lust. Those also who are de- ee * Tutwa:~Thisis a phrase frequently employed in their theologicat writings, and its literal translation is, thoy art he.” which denotes—thou art the Supreme Spirit. ‘The comprehension and belief of this sublime doctrine, is considered the ouly means by which the soul breaks off its material connections. and is elevated to an Union with * the Divinity. In philosophical and popular language, it signifies an element, or principle. + He is named Vedyati 3, one who knows the Veds; Theology. + Wastoo Vichar.
voted to spiritual contemplation, and who possess a quick understanding, are robbed of the fruit of re- tirement* by women, who are a mass of flesh built up with bones, and naturally ill-savoured and dis- agreeable to behold; for decorations give them a beauty which is merely-adventitious; their pendent neck-laces, their numerous tinkling ornaments of gold and precious stones, the saffron, with which they are sprinkled, their garlands of variegated and sweet-scented flowers, their various dresses and shawls, are bestowed upon them by foolish men. But those who examine the interior as well as the exterior of objects, consider women as accursed, and hence they derive their name Marit. ( Aloud. ) Thou wicked fellow, Love, thou chandal, thou pre- sentest thyself unsought, and disorderest the mind, insomuch that one imagines, this young woman lovex me; this moon-faced damsel looks at me; this girl, with eyes like the blue water-lily, desires to press me in her ample bosom.—Fools! who desires or be- holds? Know you not that woman is formed of flesh and bones, and that it is the invisible spirit which beholds 4.
Chamberlain. Weoly man, this is the way.
( They both walk forward.
Chamberlain, This is the King, who is sitting, Approach him.
Contemplation. (Going to him.) Great King, may you bo victorious—Contemplation salutes you. King. Sit down here.
Contemplation. Most illustrious King, your ser- vant attends; fuvour him with your commands, * The presence or recollection of women, excites un— holy ideas in the minds of recluses who have abandoned this world and devote { themselves to spiritual exercises, and thus deprives them of the fruit of their auste: ity.
+ From a word which signites hell.
RISE OF THE MOON OF INTELLECT, 51 King. Passion is.preparing to engage us in battle; his chief hero is Love; and we have appointed you to oppose him.
Contempfiation. I am happy in being thus ho- noured by my lord.
King. With what weapons will. you combat Love?-; Contemplation. I must employ some weapona to conquer Love, who carries a flowery bow, equip- ped with five arrows*. First, I shall closely shtt up the avenues of Sense, and consider hourly that the remembrance or image of woman disturbs the mind; that lust terminates in lassitude; and that women are not naturally attractive. Thus shall extirpate Love.
King. Well.
King. Well.
Contemplation, Again I shall retire to the spa- cious banks of. rivers; to mountains, whose rocks are smoothed by risirg streams; and to forests crowded with trees: seated there in company with the tran- quillizing words of Vyasa, and attended by learned men, who will be mind; subduing Love, or women formed of flesh and nerves. Love's principal weapon is named woman, and if this be destroyed, all the auxiliary weapons will become ineffective. Nights illuminated by the moon’s beams, powdered sandal- wood, female decorations, the spring opening upon woods which are cheered with the bhramer’s. hum- ming noise; the season“ when thunder-bearing clouds begin to collect, and the breeze blows gently through the sweet-scented Kadamb—are the tried friends of Love: when woman, however, is vanquished, they are all defeated. But enough; let my lord now com- mand. I will destroy with the sharp arrows of reason, the enemy’s army, and then cut off their King; ‘cs * Mohan, Sthamban, Unmadan, Soshan, and Tapan; or, fascination, arresting, maddening, attraction, infaming.
52 PRABOD'H CHANDRO'DAYA, OR, Arjan first destroyed the army of the Kurds, and afterwards killed Sindé Raja. ” King. Be assured of my favour, and prepare to engage the enemy.
Contemplation. Your orders shall be obeyed.
(Salutes him and goes out.
King. (To Theology, the Chamberlain.) Cali Patience”, that he may overcome Anger.
Chamberlain, As you order. (Goes out, and . returns along with Patience. ) Patience. The equanimity of rational men, is steady as the clear unrufiled ocean, so that they bear with reproach from persons whose eyebrows gathered up in black anger, present a fearful appear- ance, and whose eyes are red as the setting sun. ( Confidently.) alone can overcome Anger; [ shall not fatigue myself with words; my head shall not ache, nor shall my mind be heated; my body shall not be jostled, and there shall be no shedding of blood, or foolish war. ( They both walk forward, Chamberlain. This is the King; go to him.
Patience. ( Goes to him.) Great King, may you be victorious—Fatience, your slave prostrates him- self at your feet.
King. Patience, sit down here.
Patience. O, great King, what are your com- mands? On what account has your slave been + called?
King. In this conflict, you must conquer that wicked spirit Anger.
Patience. Through your divine favour, I can conquer Passion; it will therefore be easy to subdue Anger, who is only one of his followers. As Katyai slew the demon Mahish, so will I slay Anger, who is the author of crimes, whose eyes dart forth fire, and who causelessly obstructs devotion and duties, the * Kshema.
RISE OF THE MOON OF INTELLECT. 53 xeading of the Veds, and the offering of oblations to the gods, and the progenitors of men.
King. I wish to hear in what manner you will overcome Anger.
Patience. How can he,feel anger whose heart is softened by the water of pity? Unhappy is he, who, impelled by fate, has not his padsions under restraint; he endures misery most difficult to be temoved: wherefore let him regard an angry man with a smiling countenance, speak benignly to one who is much enraged, consider reviling as a bless- ing, and submit to injuries as a punishment for his sing, King. Extremely well!
Patience. My lord, when Anger is subdued, the defeat of Murder, Contumely, Pride, and Envy, will naturally follow. King. You will make ready for the battle. Patience. As my lord commands. ( Goes out.
King. (To the Chamberlain.) Call Content ment”, the conqueror of Avarice. Chamberlain. I obey. ( Goes out, and returns with Contentment. Contentment. _{ Meditating compassionately. ) Forests spontaneously yield their productions, which may be gathered whenever we desire; holy rivers furnish cool refreshing water; the plants bear young leaves, with which soft beds may be made: why, then, do people suffer distress at rich men’s doors? ( Aloud. ) Fools and avaricious, ye are unable to throw off your delusion. Thoughiless men! how often have not your hopes been disappointed? and yet ye continue to drink the waters of this insigni- ficant, deceitful sea of wealth, by which ye are never satisfied. Surely your hearts must have burst an hundred times, had they not been formed of the * Santosh.
hardest stone; but such is the operation of blind avarice, which produces strange effects on the mind. Stupid people, ye accumulate gain upon gain in endless succession, and thus ye are everlastingly grasping at riches. Yg, who are enveloped in the darkness of Avarice, know ye not that the demon Hope* will sometime urge you on to instant de- struction? Besides, after wealth has by some means been xoquired, it is either lost suddenly, or gradually spent; for in one of these two ways it ceaiey dis- appears. ~ Say, then, is it better that wealth should not be acquired, or that after it is acquired it should be lost? But the loss of wealth grieves the mind, and the want of it does not. Death, likewise, sits continually upon your head, rejoicing; old age, like a frightful serpent, swallows you a/ive; and the world is devoured by wives, children, dc. who resemble a collection of vultures. Wash off, therefore, with the water of Knowledge, the impurities which arise from avarice and ignorance; bathe yourselves one moment only in the ambrosial sea of: Content, and you will experience bliss., Chamberlain. This is our lord; 0, holy man, approach him.: Contentment. ( Approaches hint.) My lord, may you be victorious; Contentment salutes you.
King, Sit down here. ( Pluces Contentment beside him.
Contentment. { Sitting down humbly beside him. ) Let my lord command his servant.
King. You are acquainted with the news: but enough; do you speedily repair to the city Varanasi, and defeat Avarice.
Contentment. I am ready to obey your orders- Having routed Avarice, who rules the inhabitants of * Hope, or the expectativh of wealth, wili lead you to some enterprize in which you will perish.
RISE OF THE MOON. OF INTELLECT. 55 the three regions of the universe, and who has be- come old in murdering gods and Brahmans, and in binding them with the fetters of passion; I will afterwards grind him to powder, as Dasharatha did the prince of Rakshases, a( Goes out.)
[ A man enters ina humble manner, ] Man. The auspicious rites have been performed, to ensure victory; and the moment fixed on by the astrologers for your departure is arrived.
King. Then let the generals order the army to march.
Man, As your Majesty commands. ( Goes out.
{ Behind the scenes. } Prepare the elephants, whose moistened foreheads are sucked by the Bhramer 3 harness to the chariots horses whose speed far outstrips the wind; let the cavalry ‘advance with their swords in their hands, and let the foot soldiers march, raising their scimitars, and cover the face of the country like water-lilies, King. Well, as every thing is prepared, I shall begin the march. ({ Zo his attendants.) Order the charioteer t> make ready the war-chariot, and bring it.
Attendants. Your orders shall be obeyed, ( They go out. [ The charioteer brings the chariot. ] " Charioteer, Great King, the chariot is ready; he pleased to ascend.
[ The King, after performing auspicious rites, ascends the chariot, ] -Charioteer. ( Boasting of the rapid motion of his chariot. ) Behold, great King, how the horses earry the chariot to the borders of the sky; our course 38 traced from the cloud of dust raised by their feet, which kiss the ground; and the noise of the chariot bounding along resembles the churning of the ocean, The distance does not seem great to the city Varanasi, which purifies the three worlds. Behold the tops of its lofty buildings, resplendent as the moon; the fountains of water are playing with a bubbling noise, and num- berless flags, of various eolours, swim in the air like streams of lightning issuing from the clouds at the end of the rains. Not far off, and surrounding the city are gardens perfumed with fragrant plants, in which the thick green foliage of trees affords a cool shade, and in whieh the bee sipping honey from the flowers, expands their petals by’ its buzzing wings, and the pollen dispersed by the wind resembles mist. The wind, loaded with dust, is an emblem of a devotee of Siv*; the waving tendrils seem to be the motion of its arms; it is moistened with the waters of the Ganges, and is impregnated with pollen; it worships Siv by scattering the flowerst, and sings his praises in the Bhramers” song.
King. (Looking with joy.) This city, the abode of him who bears the crescent, has an at- tractive power; it is equal to divine knowledge for the removal of ignorance; it fills the mind with joy, and releases the soul from corporeal confinement. Here also the Ganges winds its wreath-like course, and with its banks whitened by circles of foam, laughs at the phases of the moon.
Charioteer. ( Driving on.) Renowned King, behold this temple of the eternal Vishni, which de- corates the banks of the river of the gods, * Who covers his body with ashes.
+ By blowing the flowers towards the image, the wind is represented as performing an act of worship; because the images of the gods are worshipped by sprinkling them with flowers.
RISE OF THE MOON OF INTELLECT. a7 King. (Joyfully.) This is the god who is de- nominated the soul of this place of pilgrimage by those who know its virtues; here devout men lay aside the hody, and are absorbed in the universal ~ spirit, Charioteer. Behold, renowned King, how Love, Anger, Avarice, ée. at the mere sight of us withdraw themselves from the country.
King. It is so. ( Entering the city. } O Lord, mayest thou be victorious: I supplicate thee that my happiness may be perfected. ( Descending from the chariot, he enters the city, and looks round. J Vie. tory, O Lord; 0 thou, whose lotos feet are irradiated by beams reflected from the crests of the assembled gods and their armies, and whose bright nails, shin- ing like a fire-fly, throw a variegated lustre on thy throne of gold: O thow, who alone canst break the sleep of mortal existence, during which good men ave disturbed by a succession of illusive objects: O thou, upon whose tusks was beheld the mass of mountains, when those raised up the earth, and its hills were confounded together; thou who at three strides didst encompass the three regions of the uni- verse; who, with thy powerful arm, didst uphold the mountain Goverd’han, which, as an umbrella, re- ceived the deluge of rain poured down from the cloud sent by Indra, when the destruction of the world was not nigh, and who, by thus saving the ter- tified shepherds, didst amaze the universe: O thou who art renowned by washing off the Sindor*, red as the setting sun, which adorns the brows of the consorts of those who are enemies to the gods; thou whose bright sharp nails tore open the breast of the * Minium, or red lead.—When a man dies, his widow lays aside her ornaments, and ceases to mark her forehead with this substance; accordihgly the meaning is, that he destroyed the enemies of the gods.
Chief of the affrighted Deityas, from which there flowed a sea of blood; thou, who holdest the discus which was burnished by dividing the large bones of Keitab’h, the enemy of the three worlds; thou who att beloved by the god whose eye reflects the lunar tays; thou whose bosum bears the marks of small leaves*, impressed by the swelling breasts of Lak- shine, who sprung from the sea of milk, when it was churned with the mountain Achal, whirled by thy mighty arm; thou who art decorated with a neck~ lace of large, beautiful pearls; O, Veiktnt, I adore thee.—Grant me that intellect which bursts asunder the chains of carnal affections. ( Makes a sign to proceed, and looks round.) This is a delightful country.—I shall remain here, and encamp my army. ( They go out.
* Hindoo women sometimes decerate their breasts with «mall leaves, which are made to adhere by an vdoriferous cement; hence the above vilusion.
BND o¥ THR FOURTH AOT.
RISH OF THE MOON OF INTELLECT. 59 ACT V.
RELIGION entcr's.
Religion. ( Thoughtfully. ) It is a fact univer- sally known, that the anger which is excited by hatred amongest kinsmen consumes the whole family, as a violent wind causing friction amongest the trees. kindles a fire which burns up the forest. ( Weeping. ) Alas, to suppress the fierce fire of grief caused by ‘death of brothers, is impossible; the waters of one hundred clouds of reason cannot quench it,—We may reason thus: the seas, earth, mountains, rivers, will certainly perish; what, then, is the death of insignificant animals who are like mowed down grass? but reason is overwhelmed in the depths of , distreas, and the fire of grief consumes the heart. Thus it has happened to me on the death of my re- lations Love, Anger, &c. who were of a fierce dispo- sition*; the flame of grief divides my mortal parts, it withers up my frame, and burns my inmost soul, { Musing.) The goddess Devotion commanded me, saying, “ My child Religion, I abhor the sight of nurderous battles; I shall depart from Varanasi, and go to Shalagramt, the abode of God, where I shal! remain a short time, and do you come and inform me what is done.” I shall therefore proceed to the goddess, and give her an account of the battle. ( De- parts, and looks round. ) This is the Chakra Tirthay; * Alluding to the relationship between the family ef Reason and that of Passion.
+ A place of pilgrimage near Benares.
t A circular reservoir of water, in the middle of which is placed the image of some divinity.
here lari himself dwells, the pilot who guides the bark in which we are carried over the sea of life. ( Prostrating herself.) This is the goddess Devotion, who is reverenced by the Ménis—Tranquillity is conversing with her; I shall go to them.
( Goes to them.
DEVOTION and TRANQUILLITY enter.
Tranquillity. O goddess, deep thought seems to occupy your mind.
Devotion. My child, during this terrible war, Thave heard no tidings of my son Reason, who is opposed to that mighty warrior Passion: on this ac-~ count my heart is troubled.
. Pranquillity. Why should you be uneasy? If you vouchsafe your favour, victory will assuredly attend Reason.
Devotion. My child, 1 feel confident of victory; but it is natural to be anxious about a friend; and Tam ‘a more apprehensive as Religion has not yet arrived, ( Religion comes forward and salutes them. ) Devotion, Religion, are you safely arrived?
Religion. By your favour, I am.
Tranquillity. My mother, I greet thee!
Religion. Embrace me, my daughter!
( They embrace.
Religion, My child, by the kind regard of the goddess Devotion, may you occupy a place in the hearts of Munis.
Devotion. What are the news from:-the field of battle 4 Religion, Correspondent to the demerits of thine enemies. z Devotion. Relate the particulars.
RISE OF THE MOON OF INTELLECT. 61 Religion, Listen; after you retired from the abode of Keshav, and the sun laying aside his purple, began to appear in white, our army drew up in array; the four quarters of the world were deafened by the lion-like shouts of heroes, who were summoned ‘together by the sound of victory; the sun was obscured with the dust raised by" the horses’ feet, and chariots pounding the ground; the ten divisions of the earth were darkened by the sender brushed off from the elephants foreheads by the flapping of their ‘huge ears; and the army was terrible as thunder bursting from the clouds amidst the universal ruin. Then the King Reason sent Logic to Passion with this message: “ Depart from the abodes of Vishni, from _ the banks of holy rivers, from consecrated spots in ‘the forests, and from the hearts of holy men, and re- tire along with your companions into the country of the Mlenchas, if you do not, you shall be hewn down by the sword, and the blood flowing from your mangled corpse will redden the mouth of the howling jackal.”
Devotion. Well.
Devotion. Well.
Religion. Then, O goddess, the King Passion contracting the eyebrows upon his broad forehead, replied in wrath, “ May Reason reap the reward of his iniquitous acts,” Saying this, he advanced to battle at the head of the Heretical Theologies*, and the Heretical Metaphysicians, Meanwhile there sud- denly appeared over the head of our army Saras- watit, who is intimately acquainted with the Veds, the Upaveds, Purans, D’harm Shaster, and the Ttchas, holding in her hand a water-lily, and shining like the “moon.
Devotion. Well...Religion. Then the worshippers of Vishnu, of Siv, and of the Sun, assembled around the goddess, * Agam, t The goddess of learning and eloquence.
Devotion. Go on.
Religion. Mimangs then presented himself eager “for the fight, and accompanied with Sankyha, Nyayai, and the Mahabhashya of Kanad*. Logic was the thousand hands of the goddess with which. she threw light over the world; religious duties were her Lips, the three VedS were her eyes, and she seemed another Parvati.
Tranquillity. But how came such an union to be effected with the Logical Shasters, which maintain the doctrine of different beings and substancest. 7 Religion. My daughter, when a common enemy attacks the Shasters, which, though descended from the same source, are at mutual variance, they form an auspicious coalescence; and thus notwithstanding the internal disagreement of the Shasters, which pro- eoeded from the Veds, they all unite ‘in defending the Veds, and in repelling the Materialists. Besides, those who know the First Principle perceive that there is no contrariety among the Shasters; but that they celebrate by various epithets one glorious, tran- quil, eternal, indivisible, uncreated Being, according to the attribute under which he is announced; hence he is named Brimhat, Achyata{, and Umapati§. Thus the Supreme Lord is revealed in the diversified de- scriptions of the Shasters, as the ocean is known by the conflux of waters.
Devotion. Proceed in your account of the battle.
Religion. A dreadful engagement took place between the two armies, in which were mutually * See the Appendix, in which some account is given of these philosophical sects.
+ ‘The Logiciane maintain that matter and spirit are two distinct and eternal substances, and also that the vital soul as a separate, individual, though dependent existence. Ny He who proceeded from the navel.
‘The eternal, unchangeabie. g The jord of euergy, oc of Uma, a name of Parvati.
RISE OF THE MOON OF INTELLECT. 65 spposed elephants, horses, chariots, and footmen. Thick showers of arrows darkened the air; thes blood + flowed like a lake, the mud of which were the car- cases of the slain; the wounded elephants resembled « rocks, and the fragments of painted umbrellas floated like hungs birds*. “When the fight had become ter- rible by their contending rage, the Heretics placed the Materialists in the front, and they perished in the *vonflict, After this defeat the Heretical books were «carried off by the flow of the sea of orthodoxy. The “Saugatas fled into Sindhée, Gandhar, Magad,ha, Andra, Hoon, Wanga, Kaling, &e. the countries of the Mlenchas. 3 and the Heretics, Digambars, Kapa- likas, &c. concealed themselves among the most ab- ject men in the countries of Panchal, Maliva, Ab,hira, and Awart, which lie near the sea. The Mimangs supported by the Logicians, completely routed the Materialists, who after their defeat retreated to their 4 own country, Devotion. Procecd.
Devotion. Procecd.
Religion, ove was slain by Spiritual Contem- tplation; Patience slew Anger, Contumely, and In- jury; Contentment destroyed Avarice, Insatiableness, Miseryt, Falsehood, Slander, Theft, and Violence; Candourt slew Envy; Magnanimity{ conquered " Waughtiness, and Glory§ subdued Pride.
‘ Devotion. ( Joyfully.) Well and bravely done: Vhat has become of Passion?
Religion. Passion has concealed himself along with the enemy of Yog, though I do not know where.
Devotion. If so, the principal thing is left un- done; he must be slain; for a wise man who is so- licitovs about his property, will not suffer to exist any remnant of fire, of debt, or of an enemy.—But what are the news respecting Mind?
* Geese. t From Miser. ¢ Anusuya. Parotkarsh Sambbavana. § Para goon ad,hiki.
64 FRABODH CHANDRO’DAYA, OR, Religion. O goddess! overcome with grief for the loss of his children and grandchildren, he has resolved to abandon life.: Devotion. ( Smiling.) Our work is then accom-, plished, and spirits will be delivered from this man- ’ sion of desires*; but can he abandon life ¢ Religion. The goddess Revelation having re- solved that Intellect shall shine forth in him, Mind, will not forsake his corporeal dwelling, but will de- yote himself to Retirement. = Devotion. Well, I must send Vyasaka Saraswati to induce him to renounce carnal affections. [ Zhey go out.
sensEt and voutriont enter.
Sense. ( Weeping.) Alas! my sons, where have you gone; let me look on your beloved countenance. ’mbrace me, O my children, Anger, Enmity, Haugh- tiness, Pride, and Envy;—my members are full of pain; 1 am old and destitute, and no one helps me., —-Where are my daughters Malice, &.; where are my daughters-in-law Desire, Injury, and Insatiable- ness, How have they been slainin a moment through the evil stars of wretched me!—The fever of grief like a fiery poison rans in my veins, it bums my mortal parts, and consumes me with universal pain;7 it wounds my already wounded frame, it deprives me of reason, disorders my mind, and devours my whole hedy. ( Falls down in a swoon. ) * If mind, which is the seat of passion, perish, our passions will consequently cease. Zs + Mem. This word is generally translated Mind, but it properly denotes the seat of affection. As the word: Sense includes both the intellectual faculties, aud the principles of feeling and passiou, I have adopted it asthe one which most nearly expresses the meaning of the original. - } Sankalp; a resolye or determination.
RISE OF THE MOON OF INTELLECT. 65 Volitiow& -O King, be comforted..
Sense. { Recovering.) Why does not my consort Action* aid nie‘in this forlorn condition?
Volition. ( Weeping.) Alas! my lord, where is Action!—She heard the destruction of her children, and the fire of grief rose in her heart, and consumed it to ashes. 5 Sense. O my beloved, console me with one kind word,—Absent from me, you can neither enjoy hap- piness nor repose even in a dream; and separated from you I am asa lifeless corpse; but though parted from you by inauspicious destiny, know that I still continue to live, for life refuses to depart.
( He again faints, Volition. O King, be comforted, be comforted, Sense. ( Recovering, ) I have already lived long enough.
Volition. Be not troubled, for the fire of grief will be extinguished when you ascend the funeral pilet.
VYASAKA SARASWATI enters.
Saraswati. The goddess Devotion commanded me in these words: “My dear Saraswati, proceed to the dwelling of Sense, who mourns the death of his children, and raise in him the light of Intellect, and use such persuasion as may incline him to forsake this world.”-Well, I shall go to him. ( Goes towards him.) My child, why are you so afflicted; did you not formerly know that this is a transitory state? You have read the-Itihas and the legends. Brimha, In- dra, gods, demons, mantis, and sages; the earth, seas, and millions besides whose ages are 100 Kulps, do all cease to exist. Is it not strange then that af- * And so on. t-In this maaner it is said the Hindoos console » person in distress. e feotion should cause people to mourn the death of friends, whose being is like a bubble of water, and whose bodies are formed of perishable materials }— Reflect ‘often on the instability of this world—He who ‘meditates on what is eternal*, and on what is perishablet, does not experience sorrow.—How can he be subject to passion or grief, who believes that there is but one Being, the eternal Brimh, and who beholds no other existences?
Sense. O goddess, reason ‘cannot find space in my heart, which is filled with insupportable grief 3.- Saraswati, This is the fault of affectiont, which, it is well known, upholds this state of vanity, Man plants ‘the poisonous seed of sorrow under the name of love, ‘from ‘which there quickly spring up shoots of affection, which contain a fire dangerous as light- ning: and from these shoots grow trees of sorrow with innumerable branches, which burning like a heap of covered straw, slowly consume the body.
Sense. This may be true; but it is impossible that I should live who am consumed with the fire of affliction, O Saraswati, I am fortunate to behold you at the moment of death. nos Saraswati, To attempt selfmurder is a dreadful crime.—Besides, why should such respect be paid to those who are a source of misery? Can wives, chil- dren, or relations confer happiness? Has it ever shappened in times past, or will it in ages to come, that they relieve a person in distress? but when ab. sent, they often wound you in the tenderest part; and yet for their sakes men submit to ‘painful labour; this is indeed astonishing. Of how many difficul- ties and troubles are they the cause? To support, them how many rivers are crossed, how many moun- tains are travelled over, how many dangerous forests * God, the universal being. + The word; every thing besides G. a. < Sneh.
RISE OF THE MOON OF INTELLECT. 67 are traversed, and how many people are beheld with countenances pale through disappointment.
Sense. Q goddess, it may be so; but to be de- prived of those whom we begat, whom we long ten- derly cherished as life itself, and who fill the heart, gives greater agony than a mortal wound.
Saraswati. My child, this delusion proceeds from affection; it is a common observation that a person is distressed if the cat eats his domestic fowl; but when his affections are not interested, as if the cat eats a sparrow or a mouse, he expresses no degree of sorrow; you must therefore root out affection, which is the cause of vain attachments. The body generates numerous animals which people are anxious to remove, but to one description they give the name of.children, for which their lives are wasted away; such is the dehision: of:this world.
Sense. ‘What you say is true; but it is difficult to unite the knot of affection. Do you know any means by which one may disentangle himself from the net of affection, which, strengthened by long indulgence, has entwined its threads around his heart.
Saraswati. My child, the principa] means is to consider that this is a fleeting existence. In this wide world, how many millions of parents, wives, chil- dren, uncles, and grandfathers have passed away? -You should consider the society of friends as a mo- mentary flash of lightning, and revolving this often in your mind, enjoy felicity.
Sense. O goddess, you have dispelled the illu- sion; but the waves of affliction again defile my heart after it is cleansed by the nectareous instruc- tion flowing from yeur lips beautiful as the moon; - therefore, O celestial goddess, command some medi- cine for these fresh wounds of grief.
Saraswati. My child, the sages have said, that oblivion is the only medicine for those severe strokes of grief, which wound, unseen, the mortal parts.
Sense. True; but it is difficult to suppress thought; and after it is once suppressed, a new suc- cession of thoughts arise which overpower the mind as the moon’s rays are intercepted every moment by“ broken clouds. 3 Saraswati. My child, this is the unsteadiness of thought, but you ought to fix it on some tranqeil- object*. ‘ Sense. Be gracious, and inform me what is this tranquil object.
Saraswati, It is a mystery; I may, however, re- veal it. to the distressed. Enter into the ever-blessed Brimht, and collect thy thoughts in Spirit; as a per-« son cools himself by going into a pook of water in the hot season. Meslitate continually on Hari, who is of azure hue, and who wears an invaluable necklace, and is adorned with ornaments on his arms, in his ears, - and oa his head.
Sense. ( Thoughtfully and sighing.) O my preserver! I prostrate myself at thy feet! ae Sarasweti. My child, you have a docile dispo- sition, for which reason I shall unfold to you still more. Those who are void of understanding are ex- ceedingly grieved by the death of parents, children, and relations, and beat their breasts; but this event+ secures to the wise a happy repose, and induces them to seize, more ardently, retirement from this miser- able world, whose end is without fruit.
RETIREMENT enters. 3 Retirement. ( Meditating.) The Lord of Bein; does not renewt this body, which is. formed of flesh * What is free fr'm sorrow, passion, &e. Shes + Eubrace the doctrine of one Being, and thon shalt consider thyself one with God.
+ The meaning, 1 understand, is this; That the humaa RISE OF THE MOON OF INTELLECT. 69 surrounded with skin, and is tender as the leaves of the puple lotos. Who drives away vultures, crows, wolves, dogs, or curlews, from carcases on which they > seize and devour the ftesh mixed with blood. The pleasures arising from exterral objects, which are changeable as the fluctuations of fortune, terminate _ in vanity; the body is an abode of trouble; much wealth endangers the life of the possessor; sorrow springs from every connection, and women are a per- petual source of vexation; but, alas! people prefer this path of misery to that which leads to spiritual enjoyment. Saraswati. ( To Mind.) Retirement has come ~ to see you; do you receive him.
Sense. My son, where are you.
Retirement. ( Going to him.) I am here, and . desire to salate you.