Arjuna takes a vow and during that process
lists “sinful” acts worthy of punishment. This is in book 7, section 73.
On learning that Abhimanyu was
killed by Jayadratha, Arjuna says that if he does not kill Jayadratha the next
day, he will undergo the punishments that are reserved for the following acts of
“sin”. (Buddhists will call these as “unwholesome acts” – not “sinful”).
The list of sins and sinners
include: the wicked ones who are capable of slaying one’s own parents; violating
the wife of the preceptor; those who speak ill of others; taking over of the property left in confidence for
safe-keeping; betrayers of trusts; those
who eat sugared milk and rice and cakes or meat, without having dedicated the
same to the gods; they who insult people
worthy of respect, or their preceptor; touching brahmins or fire with the
feet; spitting and passing urine into
water; bathing nude; accepting bribe, speaking falsehood, deceiving and cheating,
and falsely praising others; eating in the presence of others, particularly the
dependents without sharing with them and giving to those who do not deserve and
not to those who deserve.
Later when Subhadra is lamenting at
the loss of her son, she prays that her son attain heaven reserved for those
who perform virtuous acts. She prays that Abhimanyu goes to a place which is
reserved for those who speak the truth, who share their food, who keep the
trust etc. This list is the opposite of the list of Arjuna.
When Krishna is consoling Arjuna and
Subhadra, He says: “Time
cannot be conquered. It forces all creatures to the inevitable end” and “Grief
that makes a person forgo all efforts is an enemy of that person. A person, by
indulging in grief, gladdens his foes and saddens his friends, while the person
is himself weakened. Therefore, do not yield yourself to grief”.
In Section 80 and 81, Arjuna and
Kesava go to Lord Mahadeva to obtain His special weapon – pasupata astram. In that episode, when they pray to the Lord,
several names are used to address Him. Two most used names are Bhava and
Mahadeva. All other names attributed to Lord Shiva are there, such as pinakapani, trinetri, nilakanta, khabhardin,
Shiva and Rudra. Shiva is also described as having thousand eyes and
thousand arms, very much like how Lord Vishnu is described elsewhere.
In His consolation of Subhadra,
Draupadi and Uttara, Krishna says: “Abhimanyu is destined to go to Heaven since
he died in a battle performing his duty as a Kshatriya and therefore a warrior.
Therefore, do not grieve for him”.
I cannot help inserting my personal
bias here. Belief in the assurance of a special place (heaven) after death is certainly
an effective way for handling the grief of losing one’s kith and kin. I am for
it from that point of view. But, it is fooling oneself. At the approach of
death, all of us mortals, are afraid. We do not know what happens at death or
after. As my mother said once: “No one who died came back to tell us what is
out there”. Therefore, we create our own narrative of a heaven full of gardens, flowers
and damsels (what about women!) if we behave well (do punyam etc)
and to a place full of snakes and beasts and boiling oil if we don’t. This has
the additional motivation for behaving “good” and perform virtuous acts during
this life. If such belief leads people into “good” behavior, why not?
My personal bias is to go beyond
“blind faith” in imaginary abodes after death and accept the inevitable. I
would rather perform “wholesome, helpful” acts (not good and bad; not virtue
and sin) here and now, just because it is the right thing to do, not because I
am assured of a place in “heaven” or am afraid of a place called “hell”.
To use a modern-day example, I would
rather drive on a highway within the posted speed limits because it is the safe
thing to do, not because I am afraid of getting a traffic ticket. An internal-“policeman”
is far superior to an external one, particularly an imaginary one.
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