YAKSHA PRASNA –PART1 Dear friends,
During the time when the Pandavas were living in theforest, a deer took away the stick used to make fire from the sage’s home inthe forest in its antlers. The saint tried to recover it but could not. He then requested the Pandavas (sons of Pandu) to trace the deer by itshoof marks and recover it. The Pandavas followed the hoof marks of the deerthroughout the day and reached deep in the forest. Dharma Puthra the eldestof the Pandavas became very tired and wanted to drink some water beforecarrying on the chase any further. Sahadeva the youngest brother volunteered to bring the water. He spotteda lake near by. The lake wasbare of any living beings except a crane. When Sahadeva tried to drink water from the lake, the crane spoke to him,Oh Sahadeva, the water of this lake is poisonous, if you drink it withoutanswering my questions. Sahadeva did not bother and drank the water from the lake and died. Aftersome time Nakula came in search. He was surprised at seeing the dead Sahadeva.He too decided to drink water and was warned by the crane and he too died ondrinking the water. The same thing happened to Arjuna and Bheema. Seeing that all his fourbrothers are missing, Dharma Puthra came in search. Since he was very thirsty,he too tried to drink the water from the lake. But when the crane warned him, he decided to answer the questions of thecrane. Before asking questions, thecrane revealed himself as a Yaksha. All the questions asked by the Yaksha wereanswered by Dharma Puthra to the Yaksha’s satisfaction. Then the Yaksha gave a boon to Dharma Puthra to bring back alive one ofhis dead brothers. Dharma wanted, Nakula to be made alive. The surprised Yaksha asked him,Oh king, why did you choose Nakula, when you could have chosen Bheema andArjuna? Dharma Puthrareplied, I am alive and so my mother Kunthi has one son. I wanted myother mother Madhri also to have a son alive, The Yakshawas very much pleased and gave life back to all the Pandavas. Given below are the pointed questions asked by the Yaksha and very directreplies given by Dharma Puthra. These are astore house of knowledge and termed as Yaksha Prasna (Questions of Yaksha). I have not been able to get the Sanskrit originals for doing thetranslation but depended on a Tamil book called Yaksha Prasna compiled by Sri P. N.Parsuraman and published by General Publications, Madras (2001). This is the first time the translation of the entire Yaksha Prasna isbeing uploaded in the web. *Yaksha Prasna* [Questions of Yaksha] /Translated by P.R. Ramachander / I had stored it in my computer. I am FORWARDING the same intwo parts. Sincerely, Gopala Krishnan 20-2-2021 QUESTIONS BY YAKSHA ANDANSWER BY DHARMAPUTHRA 1. Who makes the Sun rise? The Brahmam (the formless, all pervading God) makes the sun rise. 2. Who travel on both sidesof the Sun? Devas travel on both sides of the Sun. (Sun travels in the sky,frequented by celestial beings called Devas.) 3. Who makes the Sun to set? Dharma makes the Sun to set. 4. Where does the Sunestablish himself? Sun establishes himself in truth. 5. How does a man become expertin reciting Vedas? He becomes an expert in reciting by learning it. 6. How does a man becomegreat? Man becomes great by Tapas (austerities). 7. How does a man becomesecure? Man becomes secure by courage. 8. How does a man becomeswise? He becomes wise by living with learned wise men. 9. What is godliness toBrahmanas? Learning of Vedas is Godliness to the Brahmanas (people with knowledge asvocation) 10. What is the duty ofBrahmanas? Tapas (Austerity) is the duty of Brahmanas. 11. What is the human side ofBrahmanas? Pride and selfishness is the human side of Brahmanas. 12. What is sinful actionfor the Brahmanas? Finding fault with others is the sinful action to Brahmanas. 13. What is godliness toKshathriyas? Weapons are the Godliness to Kshatriyas (Fighters and defenders) 14. What is he Dharma forKshatriyas? Carrying out Yagna (fire sacrifices) is the Dharma of Kshatriyas. 15. What is the human side ofKshatriyas? Fear is the human side of Kshatriyas. 16. What is sinful action toKshatriyas? Not giving protection to those who seek it from them is sin forKshatriyas. 17. Which is the Sama Vedafor fire sacrifices? Soul is the Sama Veda of fire sacrifices. 18. Which is the mostimportant Rik Vedic chant for fire sacrifice? Mind is the most important Rik for fire sacrifice. 19. How do you propose to make a fire sacrifice? Rik Veda is the one which proposes the fire sacrifice. 20. What does Fire sacrificeobey always? It always obeys the tenets of Rik Veda. 21. What is the best forfarmers? Rain is the best for farmers. 22 What is the best forthose who sow seeds? Quality seed is the best for them. 23. What wealth is the bestfor those who want to live stable lives? Growing cows is the best that gives stable wealth. 24. What is the best forthose who give birth? Son is the best for those who give birth. 25. Which strong, rich andclever man is considered as not breathing, even if he breaths? The one who does not look after Gods, guests, servants, ancestors and hisown self is considered as not breathing, even if he breaths. 26. Which is heavier thanearth? Mother is heavier than earth. 27. Which is taller than thesky? Father is taller than the sky. 28. Which is faster thanwind? Mind is faster than wind. 29. Which is more in number thangrasses? Worries outnumber grasses. 30. Which does not close itseyes even while sleeping? Fish does not close its eyes while sleeping. 31. What does not move even afterbirth? Eggs do not move even after birth. 32. What does not have aheart? A stone does not have a heart. 33. What grows further withspeed? The river grows further with speed. 34. Who is the friend, forone goes abroad? Education is the only friend of people who grow abroad. 35. Who keeps company to theone who stays with in his house? Only his wife keeps company to such a person. 36. Who is the friend forthe sick person? Doctor is the friend of the sick person. 37. Who is the friend of theone who is going to die? Charity is the only friend to such a person. 38. Who is the welcome guestto all? Fire is the welcome guest to all. 39. What is the good deedwhich is stable? That deed which leads to salvation is the stable good deed. 40. What is nectar? Milk of the cow called Somam, is the nectar. 41. How is the entire world? The entire world is filled with air. 42. Who travels alone? Sun travels alone. 43. Who takes birth againand again? The moon takes birth again and again. 44. What is the antidote formist? Fire is the antidote for mist. 45. Which is the vessel thatcan contain everything? Earth is the vessel which can contain everything. 46. Where does Dharma (just action)normally reside? Just action resides mainly in cleverness. 47. Where does fame normallyreside? Fame resides mainly in charity. 48. Where does heaven normallyreside? Heaven normally resides in truth. 49. Where does pleasurenormally reside? Pleasure normally resides in good conduct. 50. What is the soul forman? Son (athmaja-born out of soul) is the soul for man. Total 123 questionswere asked by Yaksha. Remainingquestions and answers by Dharmaputhra will be told in next part of the posting -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/289336070.412760.1613803418155%40mail.yahoo.com.
