Such, O Brahmana,
is the bliss of heaven containing various worlds.
"'"Thus have I described unto thee the blessing of the celestial
regions. Do thou now hear from me some of the disadvantages thereof.
That in the celestial regions a person, while reaping the fruit of the
acts he hath already performed, cannot be engaged in any others, and
that he must enjoy the consequences of the former until they are
completely exhausted, and, further, that he is subject to fall after he
hath entirely exhausted his merit, form, in my opinion, the
disadvantages of heaven. The fall of a person whose mind hath been
steeped in happiness, must, O Mudgala, be pronounced as a fault. And the
discontent and regret that must follow one's stay at an inferior seat
after one hath enjoyed more auspicious and brighter regions, must be
hard to bear. And the consciousness of those about to fall is stupefied,
and also agitated by emotions. And as the garlands of those about to
fall fade away, fear invadeth their hearts. These mighty drawbacks, O
Mudgala, extend even to the regions of Brahma. In the celestial regions,
the virtues of men who have performed righteous acts, are countless.
And, O _Muni_, this is another of the attributes of the fallen that, by
reason of their merits, they take birth among men. And then they attain
to high fortune and happiness. If one, however, cannot acquire knowledge
here, one cometh by an inferior birth. The fruits of acts done in this
world are reaped in the next.
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