SECTION XXXVI
(Arghyaharana Parva Continued)
"Sisupala said--'O thou of the Kuru race,
this one of the Vrishni race doth not deserve royal worship as if he were a
king, in the midst of all these illustrious monarchs. O son of Pandu, this
conduct of thine in thus willingly worshipping him with eyes like lotus-petals
is not worthy of the illustrious Pandavas. Ye sons of Pandu. Ye are children.
Ye know not what morality is, for that is very subtle. Bhishma, this son also
of Ganga is of little knowledge and hath transgressed the rules of morality (by
giving ye such counsel). And, O Bhishma, if one like thee, possessed of virtue
and morality acteth from motives of interest, he is deserving of censure among
the honest and the wise. How doth he of the Dasarha race, who is not even a
king, accept worship before these kings and how is it that he hath been
worshipped by ye? O bull of the Kuru race, if thou regardest Krishna as the
oldest in age, here is Vasudeva, and how can his son be said so in his
presence? Or, if thou regardest Vasudeva as your well-wisher and supporter,
here is Drupada; how then can Madhava deserve the (first) worship? Or, O son of
Kuru, regardest thou Krishna as preceptor? When Drona is here, how hast thou
worshipped him of the Vrishni race? Or, O son of Kuru, regardest thou Krishna
as the Ritwija? When old Dwaipayana is here, how hath Krishna been worshipped
by thee? Again when old Bhishma, the son of Santanu, that foremost of men who
is not to die save at his own wish is here, why, O king, hath Krishna been
worshipped by thee? When the brave Aswatthaman, versed in every branch of
knowledge is here, why, O king, hath Krishna, O thou of the Kuru race, been
worshipped by thee? When that King of kings, Duryyodhana, that foremost of men,
is here, as also Kripa the preceptor of the Bharata princes, why hath Krishna
been worshipped by thee? How, O son of Pandu, passing over Druma, the preceptor
of the Kimpurusas, hast thou worshipped Krishna? When the invincible Bhishmaka
and king Pandya possessed of every auspicious mark, and that foremost of
kings--Rukmi and Ekalavya and Salya, the king of the Madras, are here, how, O
son of Pandu, hast thou offered the first worship unto Krishna? Here also is
Karna ever boasting of his strength amongst all kings, and (really) endued with
great might, the favourite disciple of the Brahmana Jamadagnya, the hero who
vanquished in battle all monarchs by his own strength alone. How, O Bharata,
hast thou, passing him over, offered the first worship unto Krishna? The slayer
of Madhu is neither a sacrificial priest nor a preceptor, nor a king. That thou
hast notwithstanding all these worshipped him, O chief of the Kurus, could only
have been from motives of gain. If, O Bharata, it was your wish to offer the first
worship unto the slayer of Madhu, why were these monarchs brought here to be
insulted thus? We have not paid tributes to the illustrious son of Kunti from
fear, from desire of gain, or from having been won over by conciliation. On the
other hand, we have paid him tribute simply because he hath been desirous of
the imperial dignity from motives of virtue. And yet he it is that thus
insulteth us. O king, from what else, save motives of insult, could it have
been that thou hast worshipped Krishna, who possesseth not the insignia of
royalty, with the Arghya in the midst of the assembled monarchs? Indeed, the
reputation for virtue that the son of Dharma hath acquired, hath been acquired
by him without cause, for who would offer such undue worship unto one that hath
fallen off from virtue. This wretch born in the race of the Vrishnis
unrighteously slew of old the illustrious king Jarasandha. Righteousness hath
today been abandoned by Yudhishthira and meanness only hath been displayed by
him in consequence of his having offered the Arghya to Krishna. If the helpless
sons of Kunti were affrighted and disposed to meanness, thou, O Madhava, ought
to have enlightened them as to thy claims to the first worship? Why also, O
Janarddana, didst thou accept the worship of which thou art unworthy, although
it was offered unto thee by those mean-minded princes? Thou thinkest much of
the worship unworthily offered unto thee, like a dog that lappeth in solitude a
quantity of clarified butter that it hath obtained. O Janarddana, this is
really no insult offered unto the monarchs; on the other hand it is thou whom
the Kurus have insulted. Indeed, O slayer of Madhu, as a wife is to one that is
without virile power, as a fine show is to one that is blind, so is this royal
worship to thee who art no king. What Yudhishthira is, hath been seen; what
Bhishma is, hath been seen; and what this Vasudeva is hath been seen. Indeed,
all these have been seen as they are!"
"Having spoken these words, Sisupala rose
from his excellent seat, and accompanied by the kings, went out of that
assembly."
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