knight eats fruit for one month; water for one month; and for
the third month, nothing (III. 33. 73; 38. 22-26; 167). One may
compare with these ascetic practices, which are not so exaggerated, in
fact, as might be supposed,[32] the 'one-leg' practice of virtue,
consisting in standing on one leg, _ekap[=a]dena_, for six months or
longer, as one is able (I. 170. 46; III. 12. 13-16). Since learning
the Vedas is a tiresome task, and ascetic practice makes it possible
to acquire anything, one is not surprised to find that a devotee
undertakes penance with this in view, and is only surprised when
Indra, who, to be sure has a personal interest in the Vedas, breaks in
on the scene and rebukes the ascetic with the words: "Asceticism
cannot teach the Vedas; go and be tutored by a teacher" (III. 135.
22).

One finds in the epic the old belief that the stars are the souls of
the departed,[33] and this occurs so often that it is another sign of
the comparative newness of the pantheistic doctrine. When the hero,
Arjuna, goes to heaven he approaches the stars, "which seen from earth
look small on account of their distance," and finds them to be
self-luminous refulgent saints, royal seers, and heroes slain in
battle, some of them also being nymphs and celestial singers. All of
this is in contradiction both to the older and to the newer systems of
eschatology; but it is an ancient belief, and therefore it is
preserved. Indra's heaven,[34] Amar[=a]vati, lies above these
stars[35]] No less than five distinct beliefs are thus enunciated in
regard to the fate of 'good men after death. If they believe in the
All-god they unite with him at once. Or they have a higher course,
becoming gradually more elevated, as gods, etc, and ultimately 'enter'
the All-god. Again they go to the world of Brahm[=a]. Again they go to
Indra's heaven. Again they become stars. The two last beliefs are the
oldest, the _brahmaloka_ belief is the next in order of time, and the
first-mentioned are the latest to be adopted. The hero of the epic
just walks up to heaven, but his case is exceptional.

While angels and spirits swarm about the world in every shape from
mischievous or helpful fairies to R[=a]hu, whose head still swallows
the sun, causing eclipses (I. 19. 9), there are a few that are
especially conspicuous. Chief of the good spirits, attendants of
Indra, are the Siddhas[36] 'saints,' who occasionally appear to bless
a hero in conjunction with 'beings invisi