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all those scriptures which are known by the name of Jaya. The Bharata is cleansing and sacred. In the Bharata are diverse |
topics. The Bharata is worshipped by the very gods. The Bharata is the highest goal. The Bharata, O chief of the Bharatas, is |
the foremost of all scriptures. One attains to Emancipation through the Bharata. This that I tell thee is certain truth. One that |
proclaims the merits of this history called the Mahabharata, of the Earth, of the cow, of Sarasvati (the goddess of speech), of |
Brahmanas, and of Keshava, has never to languish. |
"In the Vedas, in the Ramayana, and in the sacred Bharata, O chief of Bharatas race, Hari is sung in the beginning, the middle, |
and at the end. That in which occur excellent statements relating to Vishnu, and the eternal Srutis, should be listened to by men |
desirous of attaining to the highest goal. This treatise is sanctifying. This is the highest indicator as regards duties; this is |
endued with every merit. One desirous of prosperity should listen to it. Sins committed by means of the body, by means of |
words, and by means of the mind, are all destroyed (through listening to the Bharata) as Darkness at sunrise. One devoted to |
Vishnu acquires (through this) that merit which is acquired by listening to the eighteen Puranas. There is no doubt in this. Men |
and women (by listening to this) would certainly attain to the status of Vishnu. Women desirous of having children should |
certainly listen to this which proclaims the fame of Vishnu. One desirous of attaining to the fruits that attach to a recitation of |
the Bharata should, according to ones power, give unto the reciter Dakshina, as also an honorarium in gold. One desirous of |
ones own good should give unto the reciter a Kapila cow with horns cased in gold and accompanied by her calf, covered with a |
cloth. Ornaments, O chief of Bharatas race, for the arms, as also those for the ears, should be given. Besides these, other kinds |
of wealth should be presented. Unto the reciter, O king of men, gift of land should be made. No gift like that of land could ever |
be or will be. The man that listens (to the Bharata) or that recites it to other people, becomes cleansed of all his sins and attains |
at last to the status of Vishnu. Such a man rescues his ancestors to the eleventh degree, as also himself with his wives and sons, |
O chief of Bharatas race. After concluding a recitation of the Bharata, one should, O king, perform a Homa with all its ten |
parts. |
"I have thus, O chief of men, told everything in thy presence. He that listens with devotion to this Bharata from the beginning |
becomes cleansed of every sin even if he be guilty of Brahmanicide or the violation of his preceptors bed, or even if he be a |
drinker of alcohol or a robber of other peoples wares, or even if he be born in the Chandala order. Destroying all his sins like |
the maker of day destroying darkness, such a man, without doubt, sports in felicity in the region of Vishnu like Vishnu |
himself." |
The End of the Svargarohanika-parva |
The Eighteen parvas of the Mahabharata are thus complete |