Mahabharata Anushasna Parva Chapter 104

Mahabharata Anushasna Parva (Dana Dharma Parva) Chapter 104 "'Yudhishthira said, "Man, it is said, is endued with a period of life extending for a hundred years, and with energy and might that are considerable. Why then, O grandsire, do human beings die even when they are very young? By what does a man become endued with longevity, and by what is his life shortened? Through what does a man acquire the fame that rests upon great achievements? Through what does one attain to wealth and prosperity? Is it by penances, or Brahmacharya, or silent recitation of sacred Mantras, or drugs? Is it by his acts, or speech? Do thou explain to me this, O grandsire!" "'Bhishma said, "I shall tell thee what thou askest me. In fact, I shall tell thee what the reason is for which one becomes shortlived, and what the reason is for which one becomes endued with longevity. I shall also explain to thee the reason for which one succeeds in acquiring the fame that rests on great achievements, and the reason for which one succeeds in acquiring wealth and prosperity. Indeed, I shall enlighten thee as to the manner in which one must live in order to be endued with all that is beneficial for him. It is by conduct that one acquires longevity, and it is by conduct that one acquires wealth and prosperity. Indeed, it is by conduct that one acquires the fame that rests upon great achievements both here and hereafter. The man whose conduct is improper or wicked never acquires a long life. All creatures become afraid of such a man and are oppressed by him. If, therefore, one wishes one's own advancement and prosperity, one should, in this world, betake to conduct that is proper and good. Good conduct succeeds in dispelling the inauspiciousness and misery of even one that is sinful.[] Righteousness has conduct for its indication. They that are good and righteous are so in consequence of the conduct they follow. The indications, again, of good conduct are afforded by the acts of those that are good or righteous. People esteem that man who acts righteously and who does good acts even if they only hear of him without actually seeing him. They that are atheists, they that are destitute of all acts, they that are disobedient to preceptors and transgress the injunctions of the scriptures, they that are unacquainted with and, therefore, unobservant of duties, and they that are wicked of conduct, become shortlived. They that are of improper behaviour, they that transgress all restraints, they that are unscrupulous in respect of sexual congress, become shortlived here and have to go to Hell hereafter. Even those men live for a hundred years who, though destitute of all accomplishments, betake themselves to propriety and righteousness of conduct and become endued with faith and freed from malice. He that is free from wrath, that is truthful in speech, that never does any injury to any creature in the universe, that is divested of malice and crookedness and insincerity, succeeds in living for a hundred years. He who always breaks little clods of earth, or tears up the grass that grows under his feet, or cuts off his nails with his teeth, or is always impure, or very restless, never succeeds in acquiring a long life.[]