Page:The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (1884).djvu/29

 the memory," and I stood in need of "some sweet oblivious antidote to cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous stuff which weighs upon the heart." My purposeless wanderings could be of no avail. At length I mustered determination enough to forget my sorrows. The desire that I had all along cherished of doing something in my humble way towards counteracting the progress of irreligion by a circulation amongst my countrymen of the great religious works of ancient India, and which had been only temporarily suspended during my affliction, returned to me with renewed vigor. Besides, during my purposeless wanderings through the Mofussil, I met with various persons in humble stations of life to whom I was well known by my previous publication of the Mahabharata, many of whom gave me to understand that my edition of the Mahabharata though cheap in all conscience, was still out of the reach of persons of their class. They regretted that no cheaper edition could be brought out to satisfy their thirst. Pondering upon all these circumstances, I retraced my way homewards. Coming back to my office, I took stock and found that after the sales already effected, about one thousand copies, more or less complete, of the Mahabharata I had brought out, remained in my hands unsold. I had nobody to provide for in the world. My only daughter had been disposed of in marriage and she was happy with her husband possessing a decent independence. By that time I had also secured, from the profits of my concern, a sum that could secure me a competence for the rest of my days. Now was the the time, I thought, for making an attempt towards even a partial accomplishment of the desire I had all along cherished. The thousand copies of the Mahabharata that I had in my hands I began to distribute gratis amongst my countrymen.

My ill-digested project, however, soon became a failure. I was not very discriminate in the selection of recipients. My simplicity was taken advantage of by a number of persons whom I should not have trusted. These obtaining copies from me gratis began to sell them for price in the market. Experience made me wise, but the wisdom came too late. The copies I had in my hands had all been exhausted.