cording to thy words, ascertain the course I ought to follow.'"

SECTION CCLIX

"The messenger of the gods said, 'O great sage, thou art of simple
understanding; since, having secured that celestial bliss which bringeth
great honour, thou art still deliberating like an unwise person. O Muni,
that region which is known as heaven, existeth there above us. Those
regions tower high, and are furnished with excellent paths, and are, O
sage, always ranged by celestial cars. Atheists, and untruthful persons,
those that have not practised ascetic austerities and those that have not
performed great sacrifices, cannot repair thither. Only men of virtuous
souls, and those of subdued spirits, and those that have their faculties
in subjection, and those that have controlled their senses, and those
that are free from malice, and persons intent on the practice of charity;
and heroes, and men bearing marks of battle, after having, with subdued
senses and faculties, performed the most meritorious rites, attain those
regions, O Brahmana, capable of being obtained only by virtuous acts, and
inhabited by pious men. There, O Mudgala, are established separately
myriads of beautiful, shining, and resplendent worlds bestowing every
object of desire, owned by those celestial beings, the gods, the Sadhyas,
and the Vaiswas, the great sages, Yamas, and the Dharmas, and the
Gandharvas and the Apsaras. And there is that monarch of mountains the
golden Meru extending over a space of thirty-three thousand Yojanas. And
there, O Mudgala, are the sacred gardens of the celestials, with Nandana
at their head, where sport the persons of meritorious acts. And neither
hunger, nor thirst, nor lassitude, nor fear, nor anything that is
disgusting or inauspicious is there. And all the odours of that place are
delightful, and all the breezes delicious to the touch. And all the
sounds there are captivating, O sage, to the ear and the heart. And
neither grief, nor decrepitude, nor labour, nor repentance also is there.
That world, O Muni, obtained as the fruit of one's own acts, is of this
nature. Persons repair thither by virtue of their meritorious deeds. And
the persons of those that dwell there look resplendent, and this, O
Mudgala, solely by virtue of their own acts, and not owing to the merits
of father or mothers. And there is neither sweat, nor stench, nor urine
there. And, there, O Muni, dust doth not soils one's garments. And their
excellent garlands, re