"Ashtaka said, 'Capable of assuming any form at will, you have lived for a million years in the gardens of Nandana (Nandana is the garden of Lord Indra). O foremost of those that flourished in the Krita yuga, for what cause have you been compelled to leave that region and come here?'
"Yayaati answered, 'In this world, as relations, friends, and relatives leave those whose wealth disappears so, in the other world, the Devas with (Lord) Indra as their chief, forsake him who has lost his Dharma.'
"Ashtaka said, 'I am extremely anxious to know how in the other world men can lose Dharma. Also tell me, O king (Yayaati), what regions are attainable by what courses of action. I know you are familiar with the acts and sayings of great beings."
"Yayaati answered, 'O religious one, they that speak of their own merits (self-praise) are doomed to suffer the hell called Bhauma. Though really thin and lean, they appear to grow on Earth (in the shape of their sons and grandsons) only to become food for vultures, dogs, and jackals. O king (Ashtaka), therefore this highly blameable and wicked immorality should be repressed. O king (Ashtaka), I have now told you all. Tell me what more I shall say.'
"Ashtaka said, 'When life is destroyed with age, vultures, peacocks, insects, and worms eat up the human body. Where does man then reside? How does he also come back to life? I have never heard of any hell called Bhauma on Earth!'
"Yayaati answered, 'After the end of the body, man, according to his acts, reenters the womb of his mother and stays there in an unclear form, and soon after assuming a distinct and visible shape reappears in the world and walks on its surface. This is that Earth-hell (Bhauma) where he falls, for he sees not the termination of his existence and acts not towards his liberation (Moksha in Sanskrit). Some stayed for sixty thousand years, some, for eighty-thousand years in heaven, and then they fall. As they fall, they are attacked by certain Rakshasas in the form of sons, grandsons, and other relatives, that withdraw their hearts from acting for their own liberation (Moksha in Sanskrit).'
"Ashtaka asked, 'For what sin are beings, when they fall from heaven, attacked by these fierce and sharp-toothed Rakshasas? Why are they not reduced to destruction? How do they again enter the womb, furnished with senses?'
"Yayaati answered, 'After falling from heaven, the being becomes a thin substance living in water. This water becomes the semen which is the seed of life. From there, entering the mother's womb in the womanly season, it develops into the embryo and next into visible life like the fruit from the flower. Entering trees, plants, and other vegetable substances, water, air, earth, and space, that same watery seed of life assumes the four-legged or two-legged form. This is the case with all creatures that you see.'
"Ashtaka said, 'O tell me, I ask thee because I have my doubts. Doth a being that hath received a human form enter the womb in its own shape or in some other? How doth it also acquire its distinct and visible shape, eyes and ears and consciousness as well? Questioned by me, O, explain it all! Thou art, O father, one acquainted with the acts and sayings of great beings.'
"Yayaati answered, 'According to the merits of one's acts, the being that in a thin form exists in the seed that is dropped into the (mother's) womb is attracted by the atmospheric force for purposes of rebirth. It then develops there in course of time; first it becomes the embryo, and is next provided with the visible physical organism. Coming out of the womb in due course of time, it becomes conscious of its existence as man, and with his ears becomes sensible of sound; with his eyes, of colour and form; with his nose, of scent; with his tongue, of taste; by his whole body, of touch; and by his mind, of ideas. It is thus, O Ashtaka, that the gross and visible body develops from the thin essence.'
"Ashtaka asked, 'After death, the body is burnt, or otherwise destroyed. Reduced to nothing upon such dissolution, by what principle is one revived?'
"Yayati said, 'O lion among kings (Ashtaka), the person that dies assumes a thin form; and retaining consciousness of all his acts as in a dream, he enters some other form with a speed quicker than that of air itself. The good attain to a superior, and the evil to an inferior form of existence. The evil become worms and insects. I have nothing more to say, O you of great and pure soul! I have told you how beings are born, after development of embryonic forms, as four-footed, six-footed creatures and others with more feet. What more will you ask me?'
"Ashtaka said, 'How, O father (Yayaati), do men attain to those superior regions from where there is no return to earthly life? Is it by Tapas or by knowledge? How also can one gradually attain to fortunate regions? Asked by me, O answer it in full.'
"Yayaati answered, 'The wise say that for men there are seven gates through which admission may be gained into Heaven. There are Tapas, goodwill, peace of mind, self-command, humility, simplicity, and kindness to all creatures. The wise also say that a person loses all these in consequence of ego. That man who having acquired knowledge regards himself as learned, and with his learning destroyed the reputation of others, never attains to regions of indestructible happiness. That knowledge also does not make its possessor fit enough to attain to (Lord) Brahma. Study, silence, worship before fire, and yagnas, these four remove all fear. When, however, these are mixed with ego, instead of removing it, they cause fear. The wise should never be joyful at (receiving) honours nor should they grieve at insults. For it is the wise alone that honour the wise; the wicked never act like the people of Dharma. I have given away so much--I have performed so many yagnas,--I have studied so much,--I have observed these vows,--such ego is the root of fear. Therefore, you must not indulge in such feelings. Those learned men who accept as their support the unchangeable, inconceivable (Lord) Brahma alone that ever showers blessings on persons Dharmic like you, enjoy perfect peace here and hereafter.'"
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