Excerpt from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Vol. 9: Translated Into English Prose From the Original Sanskrit Text Yudhishthira said, 'thou hast, O grandsire, discoursed upon the auspicious duties of person in distress connected with the duties of kings. It behoveth thee now, 0 king, to tell me those foremost of duties which belong to those who lead the (four) modes of life.' About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. It is an epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kauravas and the Pandava princes as well as containing philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four goals of life. Here we have Santi Parva, the twelfth, featuring the crowning of Yudhisthira as king of Hastinapura and the instructions of Bhishma for the newly anointed king on society, economics and politics. Vyasa is a revered figure in Hindu traditions. He is a kala-Avatar or part-incarnation of God Vishnu. Vyasa is sometimes conflated by some Vaishnavas with Badarayana, the compiler of the Vedanta Sutras and considered to be one of the seven Chiranjivins. He is also the fourth member of the Rishi Parampara of the Advaita Guru Parampar of which Adi Shankara is the chief proponent.

Excerpt from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Vol. 10: Translated Into English Prose From the Original Sanskrit Text; Santi Parva (Part III), And Anusasana Parva (Part I) The help of that knowledge (which their philosophy imparts). The end that of all perpetrators of wicked acts. And the diverse ends that overtake those who have taken birth among the intermediate orders. Ascertaining the diverse declarations of the Vedas. The courses of seasons. The fading of years. Of months. Of fortnights. And of days. Beholding directly the waxing and the waning of the Moon. Seeing the rising and the ebbing of the seas. And the diminution of wealth and its increase once more. And the separation of united objects. The lapse of Yugas. The destruction of mountains. The drying up of rivers. The deterioration of (the purity of) the several orders and the end also of that deterioration occurring repeatedly beholding the birth. Decrepitude. Death. And sorrows of creatures. Knowing truly the faults attaching to the body and the sorrows to which human beings are subject. And the vicissitudes to which the bodies of creatures are subject. And understanding all the faults that attach to their own souls, and also all the inauspicious faults that attach to their own bodies (the followers of the Sankhya philosophy succeed in attaining to Emancipation). About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.