SECTION –CLXXIX
(Tirtha-yatra Parva Continued)
Vaisampayana continued, "Yudhishthira,
finding his beloved brother coiled by the body of the serpent, said these
words: 'O son of Kunti, how hast thou come by this misfortune! And who is this
best of serpents having a body like unto a mountain mass?' Bhimasena said, 'O
worshipful one, this mighty being hath caught me for food. He is the royal sage
Nahusha living in the form of a serpent.' Yudhishthira said, 'O longlived one,
do thou free my brother of immeasurable prowess; we will give thee some other
food which will appease thy hunger.' The serpent said, 'I have got for diet
even this son of a king, come to my mouth of himself. Do thou go away. Thou
shouldst not stay here. (If thou remainest here) thou too shall be my fare
to-morrow. O mighty-armed one, this is ordained in respect of me, that he that
cometh unto my place, becometh my food and thou too art in my quarter. After a
long time have I got thy younger brother as my food; I will not let him off;
neither do I like to have any other food.' Thereat Yudhishthira said, 'O
serpent, whether thou art a god, or a demon, or an Uraga, do thou tell me
truly, it is Yudhishthira that asketh thee, wherefore, O snake, hast thou taken
Bhimasena? By obtaining which, or by knowing what wilt thou receive
satisfaction, O snake, and what food shall I give thee? And how mayst thou free
him.' The serpent said, 'O sinless one, I was thy ancestor, the son of Ayu and
fifth in descent from the Moon. And I was a king celebrated under the name of
Nahusha. And by sacrifices and asceticism and study of the Vedas and
self-restraint and prowess I had acquired a permanent dominion over the three
worlds. And when I had obtained such dominion, haughtiness possessed me. And
thousands of Brahmanas were engaged in carrying my chair. And intoxicated by
supremacy, I insulted those Brahmanas. And, O lord of the earth, by Agastya
have I been reduced to this pass! Yet, O Pandava, to this day the memory (of my
former birth) hath not forsaken me! And, O king, even by the favour of that
high-souled Agastya, during the sixth division of the day have I got for meal
thy younger brother. Neither will I set him free, nor do I wish for any other
food. But if to-day thou answerest the questions put by me, then, I shall
deliver Vrikodara!" At this Yudhishthira said, 'O serpent, ask whatever
thou listest! I shall, if I can, answer thy questions with the view of
gratifying thee, O snake! Thou knowest fully what should be known by Brahmanas.
Therefore, O king of snakes, hearing (thee) I shall answer thy queries!'
The serpent said, 'O Yudhishthira, say--Who is a
Brahmana and what should be known? By thy speech I infer thee to be highly
intelligent.'
"Yudhishthira said, 'O foremost of serpents,
he, it is asserted by the wise, in whom are seen truth, charity, forgiveness,
good conduct, benevolence, observance of the rites of his order and mercy is a
Brahmana. And, O serpent, that which should be known is even the supreme
Brahma, in which is neither happiness nor misery--and attaining which beings
are not affected with misery; what is thy opinion?'
"The serpent said, 'O Yudhishthira, truth,
charity, forgiveness, benevolence, benignity, kindness and the Veda 1 which
worketh the benefit of the four orders, which is the authority in matters of
religion and which is true, are seen even in the Sudra. As regards the object
to be known and which thou allegest is without both happiness and misery, I do
not see any such that is devoid of these.'
"Yudhishthira said, Those characteristics
that are present in a Sudra, do not exist in a Brahmana; nor do those that are
in a Brahmana exist in a Sudra. And a Sudra is not a Sudra by birth alone--nor
a Brahmana is Brahmana by birth alone. He, it is said by the wise, in whom are
seen those virtues is a Brahmana. And people term him a Sudra in whom those
qualities do not exist, even though he be a Brahmana by birth. And again, as
for thy assertion that the object to be known (as asserted by me) doth not
exist, because nothing exists that is devoid of both (happiness and misery),
such indeed is the opinion, O serpent, that nothing exists that is without (them)
both. But as in cold, heat doth not exist, nor in heat, cold, so there cannot
exist an object in which both (happiness and misery) cannot exist?"
"The serpent said, 'O king, if thou
recognise him as a Brahmana by characteristics, then, O long-lived one, the
distinction of caste becometh futile as long as conduct doth not come into
play.'
"Yudhishthira said, 'In human society, O
mighty and highly intelligent serpent, it is difficult to ascertain one's
caste, because of promiscuous intercourse among the four orders. This is my
opinion. Men belonging to all orders (promiscuously) beget offspring upon women
of all the orders. And of men, speech, sexual intercourse, birth and death are
common. And to this the Rishis have borne testimony by using as the beginning
of a sacrifice such expressions as--of what caste so ever we may be, we
celebrate the sacrifice. Therefore, those that are wise have asserted that
character is the chief essential requisite. The natal ceremony of a person is
performed before division of the umbilical cord. His mother then acts as its
Savitri and his father officiates as priest. He is considered as a Sudra as
long as he is not initiated in the Vedas. Doubts having arisen on this point, O
prince; of serpents, Swayambhuba Manu has declared, that the mixed castes are
to be regarded as better than the (other) classes, if having gone through the
ceremonies of purification, the latter do not conform to the rules of good
conduct, O excellent snake! Whosoever now conforms to the rules of pure and
virtuous conduct, him have I, ere now, designated as a Brahmana.' The serpent
replied, 'O Yudhishthira, thou art acquainted with all that is fit to be known
and having listened to thy words, how can I (now) eat up thy brother
Vrikodara!"
Footnotes
360:1 In as much as the rites performed by the
Sudras have their origin in the Vedas.
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