hom the two (weal and woe) are equal? Tell us, O great Rishi,
what the fruits of righteousness are, and how does a righteous person
dispels his sins."

"'"Vrihaspati answered, 'If having committed sin through folly, one does
meritorious acts understanding their nature, one succeeds, by such
righteousness, in cleansing one's self from sin even as a piece of dirty
cloth is washed clean by means of some saline substance. One should not
boast after having committed sin. By having recourse to faith and by
freeing one's self from malice, one succeeds in obtaining blessedness.
That person who covers the faults, even when exposed, of good men,
obtains blessedness even after committing faults. As the sun rising at
morn dispels darkness, one dispels all ones sins by acting righteously.'"

"'Bhishma continued, "Indrota, the son of Sunaka, having said these words
unto king Janamejaya, assisted him, by his ministrations, in the
performance of the horse-sacrifice. The king, cleansed of his sins and
regaining blessedness, shone with splendour like a blazing fire, and that
slayer of foes then entered his kingdom like Soma in his full form
entering heaven."'"

SECTION CLIII

"'Yudhishthira said, "Hast thou, O grandsire, ever seen or heard of any
mortal restored to life after having succumbed to death?"

"'Bhishma said, "Listen, O king, to this story of the discourse between a
vulture and a jackal as happened of old. Indeed, the occurrence took
place in the forest of Naimisha. Once upon a time a Brahmana had, after
great difficulties, obtained a son of large expansive eyes. The child
died of infantile convulsions. Some (amongst his kinsmen), exceedingly
agitated by grief and indulging in loud lamentations, took up the boy of
tender years, that sole wealth of his family. Taking the deceased child
they proceeded in the direction of the crematorium. Arrived there, they
began to take the child from one another's breast and cry more bitterly
in grief. Recollecting with heavy hearts the former speeches of their
darling again and again, they were unable to return home casting the body
on the bare ground. Summoned by their cries, a vulture came there and
said these words: 'Go ye away and do not tarry, ye that have to cast off
but one child. Kinsmen always go away leaving on this spot thousands of
men and thousands of women brought here in course of time. Behold, the
whole universe is subject to weal and woe. Union and disunion may be see