The Wisdom of Raikva

Brahma Knowledge, by L. D. Barnett, [1911], at sacred-texts.com

XI. The Wisdom of Raikva ¹

Jānaśruti Pautrāyaṇa was a devout giver, bestowing much largesse, preparing much food. He caused lodgings to be built everywhere, that he might have men everywhere fed. Now in the night there flew swans by. One swan said to another, "Ho, ho, Dim-eye, Dim-eye! Jānaśruti

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[paragraph continues] Pautrāyaṇa's splendour is outspread like that of the heavens; so touch it not, lest thou burn thyself."

The other answered him, "Who forsooth is he of whom thou speakest as though he were Raikva of the Cart?"

"What meanest thou by Raikva of the Cart?"

"As the lower dice-throws fall under the winning four-throw, so whatsoever good deed the people do falls to him; of him who knows this and of that which he knows do I speak." ¹

Jānaśruti Pautrāyaṇa overheard this. When he rose up, he said to his chamberlain, "Ho, thou speakest as of Raikva of the Cart ²; what meanest thou by Raikva of the Cart?"

"As the lower dice-throws fall under the winning four-throw, so whatsoever good deed the people do falls to him; of him who knows this and of that which he knows do I speak."

The chamberlain sought [Raikva], and came back, saying "I have found him not." [Jānaśruti] said to him, "Ho, go for him in the place where a Brahman is to be sought."

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[Raikva] was under a waggon, scratching his scabs; and he ¹ sat down before him, and said to him, "Art thou Raikva of the Cart, my lord?"

"Yea, I am," he answered.

The chamberlain came back, saying, "I have found him."

Then Jānaśruti Pautrāyaṇa took six hundred kine, a golden chain, and a mule-car, and drew near to him, and said, "Raikva, here are six hundred kine, a golden chain, and a mule-car; my lord, teach me the deity that thou worshippest."

But the other answered, "Fie on thee, base fellow; keep them for thyself, with thy kine!"

Then Jānaśruti Pautrāyaṇa took a thousand kine, a golden chain, a mule-car, and his daughter, and drew near to him, and said, "Raikva, here are a thousand kine, a golden chain, a mule-car, a wife, and the village in which thou art sitting; my lord, teach me!"

He lifted up her face, and said, "He has brought these! Base fellow, with this face alone thou mightest have made me speak."

That is the place called Raikva-parṇa in the land of the Mahāvṛishas where he dwelt at his bidding.

Thus he said to him:

"The Wind in sooth is an ingatherer. When fire goes out, it sinks into the Wind. When the sun goes down, it sinks into the Wind. When

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the moon goes down, it sinks into the Wind. When waters dry up, they sink into the Wind. For the Wind gathers in all these. Thus as to godhead.

Now as to personality. The Breath is an in-gatherer. ¹ When one sleeps, the speech sinks into the Breath, the eye into the Breath, the ear into the Breath, the mind into the Breath. For the Breath gathers in all these. These are the two ingatherers, the Wind among the gods and the Breath among the breaths.

A Brahman-student begged alms of Śaunaka Kāpeya and Abhipratāri Kākshaseni when their meal was set before them. They gave him nothing. He said:

To him forsooth who has this food it is not given."

Then Śaunaka Kāpeya, having pondered, answered him thus:

"So this is what we worship, O Brahman student.

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[paragraph continues] Give him alms!" And they gave to him.

These in sooth are the ten, five and five 1; this is the four-throw. Therefore the ten, the four-throw, are in all parts of the world as food. This is Virāṭ, eater of food; thereby all the world is seen. All the world is seen by him, he becomes an eater of food, who has this knowledge."

Footnotes

80:1 Chhāndogya Upanishad, IV. 1-3.

81:1 The Hindus know of four casts of the dice—the kṛita, counting as four, the tretā, counting as three, the dvāpara, counting as two, and the kali, reckoned as one; the kṛita outweighs all the other throws, and hence has the value of 10. Raikva has universal wisdom; hence the virtues of all other men are merely parts of his excellence, which includes them all.

81:2 The chamberlain, after Hindu custom, had addressed him in strains of panegyric on his rising from bed.

82:1 The chamberlain of Jānaśruti

83:1 See § 18.