by S.Nagarajan

Post No 1633; Dated 8th February 2015

In Vana Parva of Mahabharata , Heaven is described very beautifully. (Chapter 262 Mahabharata in Tamil) . Given below is a brief description of the chapter.

Once the great Sage Durvasa came to meet Rishi Mudgala. Mudgala received him with great reverence and offered him food. While they were talking a celestial messanger appeared before Mudgala and invited him to come along with him in his chariot to go to Swarka loka.

Mudgala asked him what constitutes happiness in heaven and what are the disadvantages thereof?

The celestial messenger was wonderstruck with these questions because everybody will jump on to his chariot once they are invited whereas this rishi is asking about the merits and demerits of heaven!

He addressed him as an unwise person and described him about the Heaven as follows:

” The region called Heaven exists there above us. Those regions tower high and are furnished with excellent paths and are always ranged by celestial cars.  Atheists  and untruthful persons and those that have not practiced ascetic austerities and those that have not performed great sacrifices cannot come there.

Only men of virtuous souls and those of subdued spirits and those that have their faculties in subjection and those that have controlled their senses and those that are free from malice and persons intent on practice of charity ; and heroes and men bearing marks of battle after having with subdued senses and faculties, performed the meritorious rites attain those regions.

There are established separately myriads of beautiful shining and replendent worlds bestowing every object of desire owned by those celestial beings, the gods, the sadhyas, the Vaiswas, the great sages, Yamas, the Dharmas, the Gandharvas and the apsaras.

There is that monarch of mountains the golden Meru extending over a space of thirty-three thousand yojanas.

There are sacred gardens of 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 the breezes delicious to the touch.

And all the sounds there are captivating to the ear and heart.

And neither grief, nor decrepitude, nor labour, nor repentance also is there. That world  obtained as the fruit of one’s own acts is of this nature.

Persons come there by virtue of their meritorious deeds. And the persons of those that dwell there look resplendent solely by virtue of their own acts and not owing to the merits of  their father or mothers.

Who are Ribhus?

There is neither  sweat, stench nor urines.

There no one could soils one’s garments. And their excellent garlands redolent of divine fragrance never fade. They yoke such cars as the one I have brought now. Men live very happily there devoid of envy, grief , fatigue, ignorance and  malice.

Higher and higer over such regions there are others endued with higher celestial virtues – of these the beautiful and resplendent regions of Brahma.

Rishis  sanctified  by meritorious acts come to that  Brahma regions .

And there dwell certain beings named Ribhus. They are the gods of the gods themselves.

Their regions are supremely blessed and are adored even by the deities. These shine by their own light and bestow every object of desire.

They sufer no pangs that women might cause and do not possess worldly wealth and are free from guile.

The Ribhus do not subsist on oblations nor yet on ambrosia. They are endued with such celestial forms that they cannot be perceived by the senses. And these eternal gods of the celestials do not desire happiness for happiness’ sake, nor do they change at the revolution of a Kalpa.

For them there is neither ecstacy, nor joy, nor happiness. They have neither happiness nor misery. The number of those deities is thirty-three. Wise men come to these regions, after observing excellent vows or bestowed gifts according to the ordinance.

– Disadvantages of  the Heaven ,in the next article.