lled with joy at one's own respectability of
birth, one is seen to traduce those that are not high-born. Swelled also
with pride of wealth, one is seen to contemn the poor. One regards others
to be ignorant fools, but seldom takes a survey of one's own self. One
attributes faults to others but is never desirous to punish one's own
self. Since the wise and the ignorant, the rich and the poor, the
high-born and the lowborn, the honoured and the dishonoured, all go to
the place of the dead and sleep there freed from every anxiety, with
bodies divested of flesh and full only of bones united by dried-up
tendons, whom amongst them would the survivors look upon as distinguished
above the others and by what signs would they ascertain the attributes of
birth and beauty? When all, stretched after the same fashion, sleep on
the bare ground, why then should men, taking leave of their senses,
desire to deceive one another? He that, looking at this saying (in the
scriptures) with his own eyes or hearing it from others, practiseth
virtue in this unstable world of life and adhereth to it from early age,
attaineth to the highest end. Learning all this, he that adhereth to
Truth, O king, succeedeth in passing over all paths.'"

5

"Dhritarashtra said, 'Tell me in detail everything about the ways of that
intelligence by which this wilderness of duties may be safely covered.'

"Vidura said, 'Having bowed down to the Self-create, I will obey thy
behest by telling thee how the great sages speak of the wilderness of
life. A certain Brahmana, living in the great world, found himself on one
occasion in a large inaccessible forest teeming with beasts of prey. It
abounded on every side with lions and other animals looking like
elephants, all of which were engaged in roaring aloud. Such was the
aspect of that forest that Yama himself would take fright at it.
Beholding the forest, the heart of the Brahmana became exceedingly
agitated. His hair stood on end, and other signs of fear manifested
themselves, O scorcher of foes! Entering it, he began to run hither and
thither, casting his eyes on every point of the compass for finding out
somebody whose shelter he might seek. Wishing to avoid those terrible
creatures, he ran in fright. He could not succeed, however, in distancing
them or freeing himself from their presence. He then saw that that
terrible forest was surrounded with a net, and that a frightful woman
stood there, stretching her arms.