Yudhishthira descended into the pool,
in his turn drawn to the water by a consuming thirst.
At once the voice without form (Yaksa) warned as before:
"Your brothers died because they did not heed my
words. Do not follow them.( all his four brothers were
sent to fetch water one after the other..all died
as they did not heed the warning of the yaksa)
Answer my questions first and then quench your thirst.
This pool is mine."
Yudhishthira knew that these could be none other
than the words of a Yaksha and guessed what had
happened to his brothers. He saw a possible way
of redeeming the situation.
He said to the bodiless voice: "Please ask your
questions."
The voice put questions rapidly one
after another.
The Yaksha asked: "What makes sun shine every day?"
Yudhishthira replied: "The power of Brahman.(God)"
The Yaksha asked: "What rescues man in danger?"
Yudhishthira replied: "Courage is man’s salvation in danger."
The Yaksha asked: "By the study of which science does man become wise?"
Yudhishthira replied: "Not by studying any sastra(scriptures)
does man become wise. It is by association with
those great in wisdom that he gets wisdom."
The Yaksha asked: "What is more nobly sustaining than the earth?"
Yudhishthira replied: "The mother who brings up
the children she has borne is nobler and more sustaining than the earth."
The Yaksha asked: "What is higher than the sky?"
Yudhishthira replied: "The father."
The Yaksha asked: "What is fleeter than wind?"
Yudhishthira replied: "Mind."
The Yaksha asked: "What is more blighted than withered straw?"
Yudhishthira replied: "A sorrow-stricken heart."
The Yaksha asked: "What befriends a traveller?"
Yudhishthira replied: "Learning."
The Yaksha asked: "Who is the friend of one who stays at home?"
Yudhishthira replied: "The wife."
The Yaksha asked: "Who accompanies a man in death?"
Yudhishthira replied: "Dharma. That alone
accompanies the soul in its solitary journey
after death."
The Yaksha asked: "Which is the biggest vessel?"
Yudhishthira replied: "The earth, which contains all within itself is the greatest vessel."
The Yaksha asked: "What is happiness?"
Yudhishthira replied: "Happiness is the result of
good conduct."
The Yaksha asked: "What is that, abandoning which
man becomes loved by all?"
Yudhishthira replied: "Pride, for abandoning that
man will be loved by all."
The Yaksha asked: "What is the loss which yields
joy and not sorrow?"
Yudhishthira replied: "Anger, giving it up, we will no longer subject to sorrow."
The Yaksha asked: "What is that, by giving up which, man becomes rich?"
Yudhishthira replied: "Desire, getting rid of it, man becomes wealthy."
The Yaksha asked: "What makes one a real brahmana(realized soul)? Is it birth, good conduct or learning? Answer decisively."
Yudhishthira replied: "Birth and learning do not make one a brahmana. Good conduct alone does. However learned a person may be he will not be a
brahmana if he is a slave to bad habits. Even though he may be learned in the four Vedas(hindu scriptures) , a man of bad conduct falls to a lower class."
The Yaksha asked: "What is the greatest wonder in
the world?"
Yudhishthira replied: "Every day, men see
creatures depart to Yama’s(God of death) abode and yet,
those who remain seek to live forever. This verily is
the greatest wonder."
Thus, the Yaksha posed many questions and
Yudhishthira answered them all.
In the end the Yaksha asked: "O king, one of your
dead brothers can now be revived. Whom do you
want revived? He shall come back to life."
Yudhishthira thought for a moment and then
replied: "May the cloud-complexioned, lotus-eyed,
broad-chested and long-armed Nakula, lying like a
fallen ebony tree, arise."
The Yaksha was pleased at this and asked
Yudhishthira: "Why did you choose Nakula in
preference to Bhima who has the strength of
sixteen thousand elephants? I have heard that
Bhima is most dear to you. And why not Arjuna,
whose prowess in arms is your protection? Tell me
why you chose Nakula rather than either of these
two."
Yudhishthira replied: "O Yaksha, dharma is the
only shield of man and not Bhima or Arjuna. If
dharma is set at naught, man will be ruined.
Kunti and Madri were the two wives of my father.
I am surviving, a son of Kunti, and so, she is
not completely bereaved. In order that the scales
of justice may be even, I ask that Madri’s son
Nakula may revive." The Yaksha was pleased with
Yudhishthira’s impartiality and granted that all
his brothers would come back to life.
It was Yama, the Lord of Death, who had taken the
form of the deer and the Yaksha so that he might
see his son Yudhishthira and test him. He
embraced Yudhishthira and blessed him.
Contributed by Bro.Raghu ( California,USA)
Namaskar
BABA NAM KEVALAM
Ragavan
