Thou hast brought me grief when I was
happy. So shall grief come to thee when thou art in happiness.'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Saying this, that deer, afflicted with grief
gave up the ghost; and Pandu also was plunged in woe at the sight.'"
SECTION CXIX
(Sambhava Parva continued)
"Vaisampayana said, 'After the death of that deer, king Pandu with his
wives was deeply afflicted and wept bitterly. And he exclaimed, 'The
wicked, even if born in virtuous families, deluded by their own passions,
become overwhelmed with misery as the fruit of their own deeds. I have
heard that my father, though begotten by Santanu of virtuous soul, was cut
off while still a youth, only because he had become a slave to his lust.
In the soil of that lustful king, the illustrious Rishi Krishna-Dwaipayana
himself, of truthful speech, begot me. A son though I am of such a being,
with my wicked heart wedded to vice, I am yet leading a wandering life in
the woods in the chase of the deer. Oh, the very gods have forsaken me! I
shall seek salvation now. The great impediments to salvation are the
desire to beget children, and other concerns of the world. I shall now
adopt the Brahmacharya mode of life and follow in the imperishable wake of
my father. I shall certainly bring my passions under complete control by
severe ascetic penances. Forsaking my wives and other relatives and
shaving my head, alone shall I wander over the earth, begging for my
subsistence from each of these trees standing here.
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