601.1 FROM WHERE does Hope arise?king sumitra's deer chase becomes hopeless;asks rishi Rishaba
"Yudhishthira said, 'Thou hast said, O grandsire, that behaviour is the first (of requisites for a man). Whence, however, does Hope arise? Tell me what it is. This great doubt has taken possession of my mind. There is no other person than thee, O subjugator of hostile towns, who can remove it. O grandsire, I had great hope in respect of Suyodhana that when, a battle was about to ensue (in consequence of his own obstinacy), he would, O lord, do what was proper. In every man hope is great. When that hope is destroyed, great is the grief that succeeds, and which, without doubt, is equal to almost death itself. Fool that I am, Dhritarashtra's wicked-souled son, Duryodhana, destroyed the hope I had cherished. Behold, O king, the foolishness of my mind! I think that hope is vaster than a mountain with all its trees. Or, perhaps, it is vaster than the firmament itself. Or, perhaps, O king, it is really immeasurable. Hope, O chief of the Kurus, is exceedingly difficult of being understood and equally difficult of being subdued. Beholding this last attribute of Hope, I ask, what else is so unconquerable as this?'
"Bhishma said, 'I shall narrate to thee, O Yudhishthira, in this connection, the discourse between Sumitra and Rishabha that took place in olden times. Listen to it. A royal sage of the Haihaya race, Sumitra by name, went out a hunting. He pursued a deer, having pierced it with a straight shaft. Possessed of great strength, the deer ran ahead, with the arrow sticking to him. The king was possessed of great strength, and accordingly pursued with great speed his prey. The animal, endued with fleetness, quickly cleared a low ground and then a level plain. The king, young, active and strong, and armed with bow and sword and cased in mail, still pursued it. Unaccompanied by anybody, in chasing the animal through the forest the king crossed many rivers and streams and lakes and copses. Endued with great speed, the animal, at its will, showing itself now and then to the king, ran on with great speed. Pierced with many shafts by the king, that denizen of wilderness, O monarch, as if in sport, repeatedly lessened the distance between itself and the pursuer. Repeatedly putting forth its speed and traversing one forest after another, it now and then showed itself to the king at a near point. At last that crusher of foes, taking a very superior shaft, sharp, terrible, and capable of penetrating into the very vitals, fixed it on his bowstring. The animal then, of huge proportions, as if laughing at the pursuer's efforts suddenly distanced him by reaching a point full four miles ahead of the range of the shaft. That arrow of blazing splendour accordingly fell on the ground. The deer entered a large forest but the king still continued the chase.'"
"Bhishma said, 'The king, having entered that large forest, came upon an asylum of ascetics. Fatigued with the toil he had undergone, he sat himself down for rest. Beholding him armed with bow, worn out with toil, and hungry, the ascetics approached him and honoured him in due form. Accepting the honours offered by the Rishis, the king enquired of them about the progress and advancement of their penances. Having duly answered the enquiries of the king, those Rishis endued with wealth of asceticism asked that tiger among rulers about the reason that led his steps to that retreat. And they said, 'Blessed be thou, in pursuit of what delightful object hast thou, O king, come to this asylum, walking on foot and armed with sword and bow and arrows? We wish to hear whence thou art coming, O giver of honours. Tell us also in what race thou art born and what thy name is.'
Thus addressed, O bull among men, the king proceeded to duly give unto all those Brahmanas an account of himself, O Bharata, saying, 'I am born in the race of the Haihayas. By name I am Sumitra, and I am the son of Mitra. I chase herds of deer, slaying them in thousands with my arrows. Accompanied by a large force and my ministers and the ladies of my household, I came out on a hunting expedition. I pierced a deer with an arrow, but the animal with the shaft sticking to his body ran with great speed. In chasing it I have, without a set purpose, arrived at this forest and find myself in your presence, shorn of splendour, toil-worn, and with hope disappointed. What can be more pitiable than this, viz., that I have arrived at this asylum, spent with fatigue, shorn of the signs of royalty, and disappointed of my hopes. I am not at all sorry, ye ascetics, at my being now shorn of the signs of royalty or at my being now at a distance from my capital. I feel, however, a poignant grief in consequence of my hope having been disappointed. The prince of mountains, viz., Himavat, and that vast receptacle of waters, viz., the ocean, cannot, for its vastness, measure the extent of the firmament. Ye ascetics, similarly, I also cannot discern the limit of hope. Ye that are endued with wealth of penances are omniscient. There is nothing unknown to you. You are also highly blessed. I therefore, solicit you for resolving my doubt. Hope as cherished by man, and the wide firmament, which of these two appears vaster to you? I desire to hear in detail what is so unconquerable to hope. If the topic be one upon which it is not improper for ye to discourse, then tell me all about it without delay. I do not wish, ye foremost of regenerate ones, to hear anything from You that may be a mystery improper to discourse upon. If again the discourse be injurious to your penances, I would not wish you to speak. If the question asked by me be a worthy topic of discourse, I would then wish to hear the cause in detail. Devoted to penances as ye are, do ye all instruct me on the subject.'"
"Bhishma said, 'I shall narrate to thee, O Yudhishthira, in this connection, the discourse between Sumitra and Rishabha that took place in olden times. Listen to it. A royal sage of the Haihaya race, Sumitra by name, went out a hunting. He pursued a deer, having pierced it with a straight shaft. Possessed of great strength, the deer ran ahead, with the arrow sticking to him. The king was possessed of great strength, and accordingly pursued with great speed his prey. The animal, endued with fleetness, quickly cleared a low ground and then a level plain. The king, young, active and strong, and armed with bow and sword and cased in mail, still pursued it. Unaccompanied by anybody, in chasing the animal through the forest the king crossed many rivers and streams and lakes and copses. Endued with great speed, the animal, at its will, showing itself now and then to the king, ran on with great speed. Pierced with many shafts by the king, that denizen of wilderness, O monarch, as if in sport, repeatedly lessened the distance between itself and the pursuer. Repeatedly putting forth its speed and traversing one forest after another, it now and then showed itself to the king at a near point. At last that crusher of foes, taking a very superior shaft, sharp, terrible, and capable of penetrating into the very vitals, fixed it on his bowstring. The animal then, of huge proportions, as if laughing at the pursuer's efforts suddenly distanced him by reaching a point full four miles ahead of the range of the shaft. That arrow of blazing splendour accordingly fell on the ground. The deer entered a large forest but the king still continued the chase.'"
"Bhishma said, 'The king, having entered that large forest, came upon an asylum of ascetics. Fatigued with the toil he had undergone, he sat himself down for rest. Beholding him armed with bow, worn out with toil, and hungry, the ascetics approached him and honoured him in due form. Accepting the honours offered by the Rishis, the king enquired of them about the progress and advancement of their penances. Having duly answered the enquiries of the king, those Rishis endued with wealth of asceticism asked that tiger among rulers about the reason that led his steps to that retreat. And they said, 'Blessed be thou, in pursuit of what delightful object hast thou, O king, come to this asylum, walking on foot and armed with sword and bow and arrows? We wish to hear whence thou art coming, O giver of honours. Tell us also in what race thou art born and what thy name is.'
Thus addressed, O bull among men, the king proceeded to duly give unto all those Brahmanas an account of himself, O Bharata, saying, 'I am born in the race of the Haihayas. By name I am Sumitra, and I am the son of Mitra. I chase herds of deer, slaying them in thousands with my arrows. Accompanied by a large force and my ministers and the ladies of my household, I came out on a hunting expedition. I pierced a deer with an arrow, but the animal with the shaft sticking to his body ran with great speed. In chasing it I have, without a set purpose, arrived at this forest and find myself in your presence, shorn of splendour, toil-worn, and with hope disappointed. What can be more pitiable than this, viz., that I have arrived at this asylum, spent with fatigue, shorn of the signs of royalty, and disappointed of my hopes. I am not at all sorry, ye ascetics, at my being now shorn of the signs of royalty or at my being now at a distance from my capital. I feel, however, a poignant grief in consequence of my hope having been disappointed. The prince of mountains, viz., Himavat, and that vast receptacle of waters, viz., the ocean, cannot, for its vastness, measure the extent of the firmament. Ye ascetics, similarly, I also cannot discern the limit of hope. Ye that are endued with wealth of penances are omniscient. There is nothing unknown to you. You are also highly blessed. I therefore, solicit you for resolving my doubt. Hope as cherished by man, and the wide firmament, which of these two appears vaster to you? I desire to hear in detail what is so unconquerable to hope. If the topic be one upon which it is not improper for ye to discourse, then tell me all about it without delay. I do not wish, ye foremost of regenerate ones, to hear anything from You that may be a mystery improper to discourse upon. If again the discourse be injurious to your penances, I would not wish you to speak. If the question asked by me be a worthy topic of discourse, I would then wish to hear the cause in detail. Devoted to penances as ye are, do ye all instruct me on the subject.'"