Donald A. Mackenzie

“ Yet what have I done that ye, O elders, should turn my sire's affection from me? If Yudhishthira loved gambling and staked and lost his throne and freedom, am I to blame? If he played a second time after being set at liberty, and became an exile, why should he now call me a robber? Pallid and inconstant is the star of the Pandavas' destiny: their friends are few, and feeble is their army. Shall we, who fear not Indra even, be threatened and browbeaten by the weak sons of Pandu? No warrior lives who can overcome us. A Kshatriya fears no foeman; he may fall in battle, but he will never yield. ”

“ Another version of the Pʼan Ku myth represents him as the Primeval World-giant, who is destroyed so that the material universe may be formed. From his flesh comes the soil, from his bones the rocks; his blood is the waters of rivers and the ocean; his hair is vegetation; [261] while the wind is his breath, the thunder his voice, the rain his sweat, the dew his tears, the firmament his skull, his right eye the moon, and his left eye the sun. Pʼan Ku’s body was covered with vermin, and the vermin became the races of mankind. ”

“ Her love so bright who danced to-night across the Northern Sky.
Then up will leap the other,
And up will leap his clan—
O the lover and his company
Will fight them man to man—
All shrieking from the conflict
The merry maidens fly—
There's a Battle Royal raging now across the Northern Sky.
Through all the hours of darkness
The fearsome fight will last;
They are leaping white with anger,
And the blows are falling fast—
And where the slain have tumbled
A pool of blood will lie—
O it's dripping on the dark green stones from out the Northern Sky. ”

“ O Sita! thy words scald me, for thou art as a mother unto me. I cannot answer thee. My heart is free from sin.... Alas! that fickle women with poisonous tongues should endeavour to set brother against brother.”
Sita wept, and Lakshmana, repenting that he had spoken harshly, said: “I will obey thee and hasten unto Rama. May the spirits of the forest protect thee against hidden enemies. I am troubled because I behold evil omens. When I return, may I behold Rama by thy side.”
Said Sita: “If Rama is slain I will die by drowning, or by poison, or else by the noose. I cannot live without Rama.” ”

“ What man hath challenged thee to battle?"
Anshar made answer and said: "No man hath challenged me. It is Tiamat, the woman, who hath resolved to wage war against us. But fear not and make merry, for thou shalt bruise the head of Tiamat. O wise god, thou shalt overcome her with thy pure incantation. Tarry not but hasten forth; she cannot wound thee; thou shalt come back again." The words of Anshar delighted the heart of Merodach, who spake, saying: "O lord of the gods, O fate of the high gods, if I, the avenger, am to subdue Tiamat and save all, then proclaim my greatness among the gods. ”

“ The Pandavas are brave in battle, but they are unable to resist thee. If, however, thou dost love them too well to overcome them utterly, let Karna take thy place, so that he may lead the hosts against our enemies.”
Said Bhishma: “Alas! Duryodhana, thy struggle is of no avail. The just cause must win; they who fight for the right are doubly armed. Besides, Krishna is with the Pandavas: he drives Arjuna's car, and not even the gods could strike them down. Thou art confronted by utter ruin, O proud and foolish prince. I will fight as I have fought until the end, which is not now far off.” ”

“ The Egyptian deities had star forms. As stars, they rose from malachite pools and perched in swallow-shape on the branches of the world-tree of the Great Mother. Hathor and Isis were personified as the star Sirius, from which fell the tear, or drop of dew, that caused the low Nile to have increase and rise in flood. As the morning star, the goddess was the mother of the rising sun. Much star-lore surviving from ancient times remains to be gleaned.
When the star-deity’s son, the Chinese Emperor Yu, was born, he had the mouth of a tiger. ”

“ Against those who wronged them they took speedy vengeance. It would appear that on these humanised spirits of his conception the Highlander left, as one would expect him to do, the impress of his own character—his shrewdness and high sense of honour, his love of music and gaiety, his warmth of heart and love of comrades, and his indelible hatred of tyranny and wrong.
The Highland "wee folk" are not so diminutive as the fairies of England—at least that type of fairy, beloved of the poet, which hovers bee-like over flowers and feeds on honey-dew. ”

“ Krishna said unto Yudhishthira: “This monarch of Magadha cannot be vanquished in battle even by gods or by demons. But he may be overcome in a conflict, fighting with bare arms. Now I am ‘Policy’, Bhima is ‘Strength’, and Arjuna is ‘Protector’. Together, O king, we will surely accomplish the death of Jarasandha, who is arrogant and covetous and proud.”
Said Yudhishthira: “Do as it seemeth best unto thee, O lord of the universe; thou art our wise counsellor and guide.” ”

“ And cast his ashen spear bronze-tipp'd and keen
And slew the satirist and nine beside,
Then his fresh onslaught made the host divide
And flee before him clamouring with fear,
The while the stealthy Lugaid seized Cuchullin's spear
"O sons of Calatin," did Lugaid call,
"What falleth by the weapon I hold here?"
Together they acclaim'd, "A King will fall,
For so foretold," they said, "the aged seer."
Then at the chariot he flung the spear,
And Laegh was stricken unto death and fell
Cuchullin drew the spear and bade a last farewell
"The victor I, and eke the charioteer!" ”

“ My son, I am the chief queen, but Kaikeyi hath supplanted me, and I am disliked and neglected by my husband.... I am old and unable to endure the loss of thee, my son.... Hath my heart grown hard as rock that it will not break now? Is Yama's mansions so full that I am not called away? I have no desire to live any longer.... Can a son obey a sire in his dotage?... Rama, Rama, the people will rise in revolt; seize thou the throne, and if thy father remaineth hostile slay him, because he hath become contemptible before all men, being but a woman's slave. ”

“ Now the children of thy younger brother are to succeed thee. The kingdom is thine own by right of birth, and thy sons are thine heirs. Why, then, hast thou lowered us in the eyes of thy subjects?”
Said the blind Dhritarashtra: “Duryodhana, my son, know thou that Pandu, my brother, was the mightiest ruler in the world. Could I, who have ever been blind, have set him aside? His sons have great wisdom and worth, and are loved by the people. How, then, could I pass them over? Yudhishthira hath greater accomplishments for governing than thou dost possess, my son. ”

“ What folly maketh thee heedless of the gulf of sorrow which awaiteth thee and thy son? I am older than thou art, and have seen dark deeds committed in royal houses. Can Bharata become the slave of Rama? Well I know that jealous Rama will drive thy lordly son into exile and mayhap slay him.... Arise, thou heedless queen, and save Bharata, lest he be sent to wander alone in the fearsome jungle. Speak thy mandate to the Maharajah, whose heart hath been captivated by thy beauty.... Any other woman but thee would rather die than suffer a rival wife to triumph over her. ”

“ On the third day the army of the Pandavas advanced in crescent formation and drove back the Kaurava army. Many were slain, and rivers of blood laid down the dust; horses writhed in agony, and the air was filled with the shrieking and moaning of wounded men. Terrible were the omens, for headless men rose up and fought against one another; then the people feared that all who contended in that dread battle would be slain. ”

“ The earth is ravaged by fire, cows give little milk, fruit trees no longer blossom, Indra sends no rain; the world of men becomes filled with sin and immorality.... Then the earth is swept by fire, and heavy rains fall until the forests and mountains are covered over by the rising flood. All the winds pass away; they are absorbed by the Lotus floating on the breast of the waters, in which the Creator sleeps; the whole Universe is a dark expanse of water.
Although even the gods and demons have been destroyed at the eventide of the last Yuga, Markandeya survives. ”

“ He yoked them in haste, spake to them soothingly, and then set forth with Rituparna and Varshneya also at full speed. The rajah sat in silent wonder as the chariot went swiftly, and to himself he said: “Vahuka hath the god-like skill of the charioteer of heaven.... Can he be Nala, who hath taken himself another body? If he is not Nala, he is one who hath equal skill. Great men are wandering at times to and fro in disguise—gods who are hidden in human form.” ”

“ Said Sita: “A wife must ever accompany her husband and share his sufferings. If thou must depart to the forest, it is my duty to go before thee and smooth the thorns in thy path. So long as I am with thee I will be happy even in the jungle. Dearer to me than the palace is the place where I can hold sweet converse with my husband. I will lighten thy burden of sorrow, O Rama, but if thou wilt leave me here alone I will surely die.” ”

“ He who is forgiving shall attain to eternal bliss; he who is foolish and cannot forgive is destroyed both in this world and in the next. Forgiveness is the greatest virtue; it is sacrifice; it is tradition; it is inspiration. Forgiveness, O beautiful one! is holiness; it is Truth; it is Brahma. By forgiveness the universe is made steadfast.... The wise man who learns how to forgive attaineth to Brahma (the highest god) . O Draupadi, remember thou the verses of the sage—
‘Let not thy wrath possess thee,
But worship peace with joy ”

“ Giants and fairies are creations of fancy. Just as a highly imaginative child symbolizes his fears and peoples darkness with terrifying monsters, so, it may be inferred, did primitive man who crouched in his cave, or spent sleepless nights in tempest-stricken forests, conceive with childlike mind of demons thirsting for his blood and giants of wind and fire intent on destroying the Universe.
In India, as elsewhere, the folk of the spirit world might woo or be wooed by impressionable mortals. ”

“ Then, weeping bitterly, she set the basket afloat on the river, saying: “O my babe, be thou protected by all who are on land, and in the water, and in the sky, and in the celestial regions! May all who see thee love thee! May Varuna, god of the waters, shield thee from harm. May thy father, the sun, give thee warmth!... I shall know thee in days to come, wherever thou mayst be, by thy coat of golden mail.... She who will find thee and adopt thee will be surely blessed.... O my son, she who will cherish thee will behold thee in youthful prime like to a maned lion in Himalayan forests.” ”