" said--'O thou you of the Kuru race, this one of the Vrishni race doth does not deserve royal worship as if he were a king, in the midst of all these illustrious monarchs. O son of , this conduct of thine yours in thus willingly worshipping him with eyes like lotus-petals is not worthy of the illustrious Pandavas. Ye you sons of . Ye you are children. Ye you know not what morality is, for that is very subtle. , this son also of is of little knowledge and hath has transgressed the rules of morality (by giving ye you such counsel). And, O , if one like thee you, possessed of virtue and morality acteth acts from motives of interest, he is deserving of censure among the honest and the wise. How doth does he of the race, who is not even a king, accept worship before these kings and how is it that he hath has been worshipped by ye you? O bull of the Kuru race, if thou you regardest regard as the oldest in age, here is , and how can his son be said so in his presence? Or, if thou you regardest regard as your well-wisher and supporter, here is ; how then can deserve the (first) worship? Or, O son of Kuru, regardest regard thou you as preceptor? When is here, how hast have thou you worshipped him of the Vrishni race? Or, O son of Kuru, regardest regard thou you as the Ritwija? When old is here, how hath has been worshipped by thee you? Again when old , the , that foremost of men who is not to die save at his own wish is here, why, O king, hath has been worshipped by thee you? When the brave , versed in every branch of knowledge is here, why, O king, hath has , O thou you of the Kuru race, been worshipped by thee you? When that King of kings, , that foremost of men, is here, as also the preceptor of the Bharata princes, why hath has been worshipped by thee you? How, O son of , passing over Druma, the preceptor of the Kimpurusas, hast have thou you worshipped ? When the invincible Bhishmaka and king Pandya possessed of every auspicious mark, and that foremost of kings--Rukmi and and , the king of the Madras, are here, how, O son of , hast have thou you offered the first worship unto to ? Here also is 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 have thou you, passing him over, offered the first worship unto to ? The slayer of Madhu is neither a sacrificial priest nor a preceptor, nor a king. That thou you hast have 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 to the slayer of Madhu, why were these monarchs brought here to be insulted thus? We have not paid tributes to the illustrious son of 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 has been desirous of the imperial dignity from motives of virtue. And yet he it is that thus insulteth insults us. O king, from what else, save motives of insult, could it have been that thou you hast have worshipped , who possesseth possesses not the insignia of royalty, with the Arghya in the midst of the assembled monarchs? Indeed, the reputation for virtue that the hath has acquired, hath has been acquired by him without cause, for who would offer such undue worship unto to one that hath has fallen off from virtue. This wretch born in the race of the Vrishnis unrighteously slew of old the illustrious king . Righteousness hath has today been abandoned by and meanness only hath has been displayed by him in consequence of his having offered the Arghya to . If the helpless sons of were affrighted and disposed to meanness, thou you, O , ought to have enlightened them as to thy your claims to the first worship? Why also, O , didst did thou you accept the worship of which thou you art unworthy, although it was offered unto to thee you by those mean-minded princes? Thou you thinkest think much of the worship unworthily offered unto to thee you, like a dog that lappeth laps in solitude a quantity of clarified butter that it hath has obtained. O , this is really no insult offered unto to the monarchs; on the other hand it is thou you 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 you who art no king. What is, hath has been seen; what is, hath has been seen; and what this is hath has been seen. Indeed, all these have been seen as they are!"
"Having spoken these words, rose from his excellent seat, and accompanied by the kings, went out of that assembly."
" said,--Then the king hastily ran after and spoke unto to him sweetly and in a conciliating tone the following words,--'O lord of earth, what thou you hast have said is scarcely proper for thee you. O king, it is highly sinful and needlessly cruel. Insult not , O king, by saying that he doth does not know what virtue is. Behold, these many kings, older than thou you art, all approve of the worship offered unto to . It behoveth behooves thee you to bear it patiently like them. O ruler of Chedi, knoweth knows truly. Thou you knowest know him not so well as this one of the Kuru race.'"
" also, after this, said,--He that approveth approves not the worship offered unto to , the oldest one in the universe, deserveth deserves neither soft words nor conciliation. The chief of warriors of the Kshatriya rare who having overcome a Kshatriya in battle and brought him under his power, setteth sets him free, becometh becomes the guru (preceptor or master) of the vanquished one. I do not behold in this assembly of kings even one ruler of men who hath has not been vanquished in battle by the energy of this son of the Satwata race. This one (meaning ) here, of undefiled glory, deserveth deserves to be worshipped not by ourselves alone, but being of mighty arms, he deserveth deserves to be worshipped by the three worlds also. Innumerable warriors among Kshatriyas have been vanquished in battle by . The whole universe without limit is established in him of the Vrishni race. Therefore do we worship amongst the best and the oldest, and not others. It behoveth behooves thee you not to say so. Let thy your understanding be never so. I have, O king, waited upon many persons that are old in knowledge. I have heard from all those wise men, while talking; of the numerous much-regarded attributes of the accomplished . I have also heard many times all the acts recited by people that of great intelligence hath has performed since his birth. And, O , we do not from caprice, or keeping in view our relationship or the benefits he may confer on us, worship who is worshipped by the good on earth and who is the source of the happiness of every creature. We have offered unto to him the first worship because of his fame, his heroism, his success. There is none here of even tender years whom we have not taken into consideration. Passing over many persons that are foremost for their virtues, we have regarded as deserving of the first worship. Amongst the Brahmanas one that is superior in knowledge, amongst the Kshatriyas one that is superior in strength, amongst the Vaisyas one that is superior in possessions and wealth, and amongst the Sudras one that is superior in years, deserveth deserves to be worshipped. In the matter of the worship offered unto to , there are two reason, viz., knowledge of the Vedas and their branches, and also excess of strength. Who else is there in the world of men save that is so distinguished? Indeed, liberality, cleverness, knowledge of the Vedas, bravery, modesty, achievements, excellent intelligence, humility, beauty, firmness, contentment and prosperity--all dwell for ever in . Therefore, ye you kings; it behoveth behooves ye you to approve of the worship that hath has been offered unto to who is of great accomplishments, who as the preceptor, the father, the guru, is worthy of the Arghya and deserving of (everybody's) worship. is the sacrificial priest, the guru, worthy of being solicited to accept one's daughter in marriage, the Snataka, the king, the friend: therefore hath has been worshipped by us. is the origin of the universe and that in which the universe is to dissolve. Indeed, this universe of mobile and immobile creatures hath has sprung into existence from only. He is the unmanifest primal cause (Avyakta Prakriti), the creator, the eternal, and beyond the ken of all creatures. Therefore doth does he of unfading glory deserve highest worship. The intellect, the seat of sensibility, the five elements, air, heat, water, ether, earth, and the four species of beings (oviparous, viviparous, born of filthy damp and vegetal) are all established in . The sun, the moon, the constellations, the planets, all the principal directions, the intermediate directions, are all established in . As the Agnihotra is the foremost among all Vedic sacrifices, as the Gayatri is the foremost among metres, as the king is the foremost among men, as the ocean is the foremost among all rivers, as the moon is the foremost among all constellations, as the sun is the foremost among all luminous bodies, as the Meru is the foremost among all mountains, as is the foremost among all birds, so as long as the upward, downward, and sideway course of the universe lasteth lasts, is the foremost in all the worlds including the regions of the celestials. This is a mere boy and hence he knoweth knows not , and ever and everywhere speaketh speaks of thus. This ruler of Chedi will never see virtue in that light in which one that is desirous of acquiring high merit will see it. Who is there among the old and the young or among these illustrious lords of earth that doth does not regard as deserving of worship or that doth does not worship ? If regardeth regards this worship as undeserved, it behoveth behooves him to do what is proper in this matter.'"