United States or Togo ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
And it was adorned with the flowers of every season, and with sacred trees of all kinds. And he beheld also celestial gardens called Nandana the favourite resort of Apsaras. And fanned by the fragrant breezes charged with the farina of sweet-scented flowers, the trees with their lord of celestial blossoms seemed to welcome him amongst them.
That man, O son of Pandu, who reads this narrative at every full moon and new moon, succeeds in attaining to heaven and enjoying great felicity in the woods of Nandana."" "'Yudhishthira said, "Which is of superior efficacy, Conciliation or Gifts? Tell me, O chief of Bharata's race, which of these two is superior in point of efficacy."
Then the chariot yoked with steeds coursed upwards. And I saw the regions, moving anywhere at will, and the splendour also of the highly energetic Gandharvas, Apsaras, and the celestial sages. And Sakra's charioteer, Matali, at once showed me Nandana and other gardens and groves belonging to the celestials.
Delicious and cooling breezes murmuring through forests of tall Mandaras, and bearing fragrance of extensive plantations of jasmine, as also of the lotuses on the bosom of the river Alaka and of the Nandana- gardens, always minister to the pleasure of the King of the Yakshas.
And there, O Mudgala, are the sacred gardens of the celestials, with Nandana at their head, where sport the persons of meritorious acts. And neither hunger, nor thirst, nor lassitude, nor fear, nor anything that is disgusting or inauspicious is there. And all the odours of that place are delightful, and all the breezes delicious to the touch.
And the intelligent Rama also dwelt on the beautiful breast of the Malyavat hill for four months, duly worshipped by Sugriva all the while. "'Meanwhile Ravana excited by lust, having reached his city of Lanka, placed Sita in an abode, resembling Nandana itself, within a forest of Asokas, that looked like an asylum of ascetics.
Capable of assuming any form at will, I lived for a million years in the gardens of Nandana sporting with the Apsaras and beholding numberless beautiful trees clad in flowery vesture and sending forth delicious perfume all round.
And she associated herself here in the pursuit of knowledge with a learned man called Svasar, 'he who is friendly, who considered secret knowledge merely the means to an end, and even spiritual progress valuable only in so far as it could be used to help others; and they studied deep mysteries as brother and sister together and he had been a mahatma or rishi of the highest grade and, owing to the aid he derived from his female associate, he discovered that the subjective conditions of nirvana and devachan were the result of one-sided male imaginings which had their origin in male selfishness; and this conviction grew in him in the degree in which the Parthivi Mutar, or 'Earth Mother, became incarnated in Nandana.
And upon the arrival of the princess of Vidarbha accompanied by her son and daughter, king Nala began to pass his days in joy like the chief of the celestials in the gardens of Nandana. And the king of undying fame, having regained his kingdom and becoming illustrious among monarchs of the island of Jamvu, began once more to rule it.
Bathing in Punaravarta-nanda as also Mahananda, a man of restrained senses and universal compassion repairs to the celestial gardens called Nandana of Indra and is waited upon there by Apsaras of diverse tribes.
Word Of The Day