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He who giveth without stint food to a fatigued wayfarer never seen before, obtaineth merit that is great, and he who leading a domestic life, followeth such practices, acquireth religious merit that is said to be very great. O Brahmana, what is thy opinion on this?" "Saunaka said, 'Alas, this world is full of contradictions! That which shameth the good, gratifieth the wicked!
Sauti said, "During the continuance of his snake-sacrifice, Janamejaya, the royal son of Parikshit, availing himself of an interval in the sacrificial rites, and when all the learned Brahmanas were resting, O Saunaka, that king of kings, addressed the grandfather of his grandfather, viz., the Island-born Krishna, otherwise called Vyasa, that ocean of Vedic lore, that foremost of ascetics endued with puissance, and said these words.
And he placed Aruna of great splendour in the eastern regions, just at a time when Surya had resolved to burn the worlds with his fierce rays. "Saunaka said, 'When did the revered Surya resolve at the time to burn the worlds? What wrong was done to him by the gods that provoked his ire?
"Saunaka asked, 'What great Rishis became the Ritwiks at the snake- sacrifice of the wise king Janamejaya of the Pandava line? Who also became the Sadasyas in that terrible snake-sacrifice, so frightful to the snakes, and begetting such sorrow in them? It behoveth thee to describe all these in detail, so that, O son of Suta, we may know who were acquainted with the rituals of the snake-sacrifice.
"Saunaka asked, 'What great Rishis became the Ritwiks at the snake-sacrifice of the wise king Janamejaya of the Pandava line? Who also became the Sadasyas in that terrible snake-sacrifice, so frightful to the snakes, and begetting such sorrow in them? It behoveth thee to describe all these in detail, so that, O son of Suta, we may know who were acquainted with the rituals of the snake-sacrifice.
Vaisampayana continued, "Saying this, the weeping king sat himself down upon the ground. Then a learned Brahmana, Saunaka by name versed in self-knowledge and skilled in the Sankhya system of yoga, addressed the king, saying, 'Causes of grief by thousands, and causes of fear by hundreds, day after day, overwhelm the ignorant but not the wise.
Then, the text proceeds, in order to obtain this knowledge of Brahman, which had been handed down through a succession of teachers to Angiras, Saunaka approached Angiras respectfully and asked him: 'What is that through which, if known, all this is known? i.e. since all knowledge is founded on the knowledge of Brahman, he enquires after the nature of Brahman. Up.
And so ends the thirty-fourth section in the Astika Parva of the Adi Parva. "Saunaka said, 'O son of Suta, thou hast told us the reason why the snakes were cursed by their mother, and why Vinata also was cursed by her son. Thou hast also told us about the bestowal of boons, by their husband, on Kadru and Vinata. Thou hast likewise told us the names of Vinata's sons.
Then all the Sadasyas conversant with the Vedas told the king in one voice, 'Let the Brahmana receive his boon!" "Saunaka said, 'O son of a Suta, I desire to hear the names of all those snakes that fell into the fire of this snake-sacrifice! "Sauti replied, 'Many thousands and tens of thousands and billions of snakes fell into the fire.
When therefore at the moment of Release those essential qualities assert themselves, the case is one of manifestation of what already exists, not one of origination. Thus the reverend Saunaka says, 'As the lustre of the gem is not created by the act of polishing, so the essential intelligence of the Self is not created by the putting off of imperfections.
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