said,--"Intoxicated with pride, the son of spake spoke,--'Fie on ! and casting his eyes upon the Pratikamin in attendance, commanded him, in the midst of all those reverend seniors, saying,--'Go Pratikamin, and bring thou you hither here. Thou you hast have no fear from the sons of . It is alone that raveth raves in fear. Besides, he never wisheth wishes our prosperity!'"
continued,--"Thus commanded, the Pratikamin, who was of the Suta caste, hearing the words of the king, proceeded with haste, and entering the abode of the Pandavas, like a dog in a lion's den, approached the queen of the sons of . And he said,--' having been intoxicated with dice, , O , hath has won thee you. Come now, therefore, to the abode of . I will take thee you, O , and put thee you in some menial work.'
said,--'Why, O Pratikamin, dost do thou you say so? What prince is there who playeth plays staking his wife? The king was certainly intoxicated with dice. Else, could he not find any other object to stake?'
"The Pratikamin said,--'When he had nothing else to stake, it was then that , the son of , staked thee you. The king had first staked his brothers, then himself, and then thee you, O princess.'
" said,--'O son of the Suta race, go, and ask that gambler present in the assembly, whom he hath has lost first, himself, or me. Ascertaining this, come hither here, and then take me with thee you, O son of the Suta race.'
continued,--"The messenger coming back to the assembly told all present the words of . And he spoke unto to sitting in the midst of the kings, these words,-- hath has asked thee you, Whose lord wert were thou you at the time thou you lost me in play? Didst did thou you lose thyself first or me? , however sat there like one demented and deprived of reason and gave no answer good or ill to the Suta.
" then said,--'Let the princess of Panchala come hither here and put her question. Let every one hear in this assembly the words that pass between her and .'
continued,--"The messenger, obedient to the command of , going once again to the palace, himself much distressed, said unto to ,--'O princess, they that are in the assembly are summoning thee you. It seemeth seems that the end of the Kauravas is at hand. When , O princess, is for taking thee you before the assembly, this weak-brained king will no longer be able to protect his prosperity.'
" said,--'The great ordainer of the world hath has, indeed, ordained so. Happiness and misery pay their court to both the wise and unwise. Morality, however, it hath has been said, is the one highest object in the world. If cherished, that will certainly dispense blessings to us. Let not that morality now abandon the Kauravas. Going back to those that are present in that assembly, repeat these my words consonant with morality. I am ready to do what those elderly and virtuous persons conversant with morality will definitely tell me.
continued,--"The Suta, hearing these words of , came back to the assembly and repeated the words of . But all sat with faces downwards, uttering not a word, knowing the eagerness and resolution of 's son.
", however, O bull of the Bharata race, hearing of 's intentions, sent a trusted messenger unto to , directing that although she was attired in one piece of cloth with her navel itself exposed, in consequence of her season having come, she should come before her father-in-law weeping bitterly. And that intelligent messenger, O king, having gone to 's abode with speed, informed her of the intentions of . The illustrious Pandavas, meanwhile, distressed and sorrowful, and bound by promise, could not settle what they should do. And casting his eyes upon them, king , glad at heart, addressed the Suta and said,--'O Pratikamin, bring her hither here. Let the Kauravas answer her question before her face. The Suta, then, obedient to his commands, but terrified at the (possible) wrath of the , disregarding his reputation for intelligence, once again said to those that were in the assembly,--what shall I say unto to ?'
", hearing this, said,--'O , this son of my Suta, of little intelligence, feareth fears . Therefore, go thou you thyself and forcibly bring hither here the daughter of , Our enemies at present are dependent on our will. What can they do thee you?' Hearing the command of his brother, prince rose with blood-red eyes, and entering the abode of those great warriors, spake spoke these words unto to the princess, 'Come, come, O , princess of Panchala, thou you hast have been won by us. And O thou you of eyes large as lotus leaves, come now and accept the Kurus for thy your lords. Thou you hast have been won virtuously, come to the assembly.' At these words, , rising up in great affliction, rubbed her pale face with her hands, and distressed she ran to the place where the ladies of 's household were. At this, roaring in anger, ran after her and seized the queen by her locks, so long and blue and wavy. Alas! those locks that had been sprinkled with water sanctified with mantras in the great Rajasuya sacrifice, were now forcibly seized by the son of disregarding the prowess of the Pandavas. And dragging of long long locks unto to the presence of the assembly--as if she were helpless though having powerful protectors--and pulling at her, made her tremble like the banana plant in a storm. And dragged by him, with body bent, she faintly cried--'Wretch! it ill behoveth behooves thee you to take me before the assembly. My season hath has come, and I am now clad in one piece of attire. But dragging forcibly by her black locks while she was praying piteously unto to and who were and (on earth), said unto to her--'Whether thy your season hath has come or not, whether thou you art attired in one piece of cloth or entirely naked, when thou you hast have been won at dice and made our slave, thou you art to live amongst our serving-women as thou you pleasest please."
continued,--"With hair dishevelled and half her attire loosened, all the while dragged by , the modest consumed with anger, faintly said--"In this assembly are persons conversant with all the branches of learning devoted to the performance of sacrifices and other rites, and all equal unto to , persons some of whom are really my superiors and others who deserve to be respected as such. I can not stay before them in this state. O wretch! O thou you of cruel deeds, drag me not so. Uncover me not so. The princes (my lords) will not pardon thee you, even if thou you hast have the gods themselves with as thy your allies. The illustrious is now bound by the obligations of morality. Morality, however, is subtle. Those only that are possessed of great clearness of vision can ascertain it. In speech even I am unwilling to admit an atom of fault in my lord forgetting his virtues. Thou you draggest me who am in my season before these Kuru heroes. This is truly an unworthy act. But no one here rebuketh rebukes thee you. Assuredly, all these are of the same mind with thee you. O fie! Truly hath has the virtue of the Bharata gone! Truly also hath has the usage of those acquainted with the Kshatriya practice disappeared! Else these Kurus in this assembly would never have looked silently on this act that transgresseth transgresses the limits of their practices. Oh! both and have lost their energy, and so also hath has the high-souled , and so also this king. Else, why do these foremost of the Kuru elders look silently on this great crime?"
continued,--"Thus did of slender waist cry in distress in that assembly. And casting a glance upon her enraged lords--the Pandavas--who were filled with terrible wrath, she inflamed them further with that glance of hers. And they were not so distressed at having been robbed of their kingdom, of their wealth, of their costliest gems, as with that glance of moved by modesty and anger. And , beholding looking at her helpless lords, dragging her still more forcibly, and addressed her, 'Slave, Slave' and laughed aloud. And at those words became very glad and approved of them by laughing aloud. And , the son of , the Gandhara king, similarly applauded . And amongst all those that were in the assembly except these three and , every one was filled with sorrow at beholding thus dragged in sight of that assembly. And beholding it all, said, 'O blessed one, morality is subtle. I therefore am unable to duly decide this point that thou you hast have put, beholding that on the one hand one that hath has no wealth cannot stake the wealth belonging to others, while on the other hand wives are always under the orders and at the disposal of their lords. can abandon the whole world full of wealth, but he will never sacrifice morality. The son of hath has said--'I am won.' Therefore, I am unable to decide this matter. hath has not his equal among men at dice-play. The son of still voluntarily staked with him. The illustrious doth does not himself regard that hath has played with him deceitfully. Therefore, I can not decide this point."
" said,--"The king was summoned to this assembly and though possessing no skill at dice, he was made to play with skilful, wicked, deceitful and desperate gamblers. How can he be said then to have staked voluntarily? The chief of the Pandavas was deprived of his senses by wretches of deceitful conduct and unholy instincts, acting together, and then vanquished. He could not understand their tricks, but he hath has now done so. Here, in this assembly, there are Kurus who are the lords of both their sons and their daughters-in-law! Let all of them, reflecting well upon my words, duly decide the point that I have put.
continued,--'Unto to who was thus weeping and crying piteously, looking at times upon her helpless lord, spake spoke many disagreeable and harsh words. And beholding her who was then in her season thus dragged, and her upper garments loosened, beholding her in that condition which she little deserved, afflicted beyond endurance, his eyes fixed upon , gave way to wrath."
" said,--'O , gamblers have in their houses many women of loose character. They do not yet stake those women having kindness for them even. Whatever wealth and other excellent articles the king of Kasi gave, whatever, gems, animals, wealth, coats of mail and weapons that other kings of the earth gave, our kingdom, thyself and ourselves, have all been won by the foes. At all this my wrath was not excited for thou you art our lord. This, however, I regard as a highly improper act--this act of staking . This innocent girl deserveth deserves not this treatment. Having obtained the Pandavas as her lords, it is for thee you alone that she is being thus persecuted by the low, despicable, cruel, and mean-minded Kauravas. It is for her sake, O king, that my anger falleth falls on thee you. I shall burn those hands of thine yours. , bring some fire."
' hearing this, said,--'Thou you hast have never, O , before this uttered such words as these. Assuredly thy your high morality hath has been destroyed by these cruel foes. Thou you shouldst should not fulfil the wishes of the enemy. Practise thou you the highest morality. Whom doth does it behave to transgress his virtuous eldest brother? The king was summoned by the foe, and remembering the usage of the Kshatriyas, he played at dice against his will. That is certainly conducive to our great fame.
' said,--'If I had not known, O , that the king had acted according to Kshatriya usage, then I would have, taking his hands together by sheer force, burnt them in a blazing fire."
continued,--"Beholding the Pandavas thus distressed and the princess of Panchala also thus afflicted, the son of said--'Ye you kings, answer ye you the question that hath has been asked by . If we do not judge a matter referred to us, all of us will assuredly have to go to hell without delay. How is that and , both of whom are the oldest of the Kurus, as also the high-souled , do not say anything! The son of who is of us, as also , is here. Why do not these best of regenerate ones answer the question? Let also those other kings assembled here from all directions answer according to their judgment this question, leaving aside all motives of gain and anger. Ye you kings, answer ye you the question that hath has been asked by this blessed daughter of king , and declare after reflection on which side each of ye you is.' Thus did repeatedly appeal to those that were in that assembly. But those kings answered him not one word, good or ill. And having repeatedly appealed to all the kings began to rub his hands and sigh like a snake. And at last the prince said--'Ye you kings of the earth, ye you Kauravas, whether ye you answer this question or not, I will say what I regard as just and proper. Ye you foremost of men, it hath has been said that hunting, drinking, gambling, and too much enjoyment of women, are the four vices of kings. The man, that is addicted to these, liveth lives forsaking virtue. And people do not regard the acts done by a person who is thus improperly engaged, as of any authority. This son of , while deeply engaged in one of these vicious acts, urged thereto by deceitful gamblers, made a stake. The innocent is, besides, the common wife of all the sons of . And the king, having first lost himself offered her as a stake. And himself desirous of a stake, indeed prevailed upon the king to stake this . Reflecting upon all these circumstances, I regard as not won."
"Hearing these words, a loud uproar rose from among those present in that assembly. And they all applauded and censured the son of . And at that sound, the , deprived of his senses by anger, waving his well-shaped arms, said these words,--'O , many opposite and inconsistent conditions are noticeable in this assembly. Like fire produced from a faggot, consuming the faggot itself, this thy your ire will consume thee you. These personages here, though urged by , have not uttered a word. They all regard the to have been properly won. Thou you alone, O son of in consequence of thy your immature years, art bursting with wrath, for though but a boy thou you speakest speak in the assembly as if thou you wert were old. O younger brother of , thou you dost do not know what morality truly is, for thou you sayest say like a fool that this who hath has been (justly) won as not won at all. O son of , how dost do thou you regard as not won, when the eldest of the Pandavas before this assembly staked all his possessions? O bull of the Bharata race, is included in all the possessions (of ). Therefore, why regardest regard thou you who hath has been justly won as not won? had been mentioned (by ) and approved of as a stake by the Pandavas. For what reason then dost do thou you yet regard her as not won? Or, if thou you thinkest think that bringing her hither here attired in a single piece of cloth, is an action of impropriety, listen to certain excellent reasons I will give. O son of the Kuru race, the gods have ordained only one husband for one woman. This , however, hath has many husbands. Therefore, certain it is that she is an unchaste woman. To bring her, therefore, into this assembly attired though she be in one piece of cloth--even to uncover her is not at all an act that may cause surprise. Whatever wealth the Pandavas had--she herself and these Pandavas themselves,--have all been justly won by the son of . O , this speaking words of (apparent) wisdom is but a boy. Take off the robes of the Pandavas as also the attire of . Hearing these words the Pandavas, O Bharata, took of their upper garments and throwing them down sat in that assembly. Then , O king, forcibly seizing 's attire before the eyes of all, began to drag it off her person."
continued,--"When the attire of was being thus dragged, the thought of , (And she herself cried aloud, saying), 'O , O thou you who dwellest in Dwaraka, O , O thou you who art fond of cow-herdesses (of Vrindavana). O , seest see thou you not that the Kauravas are humiliating me. O Lord, O husband of Lakshmi, O Lord of Vraja (Vrindavana), O destroyer of all afflictions, O , rescue me who am sinking in the Kaurava Ocean. O , O , O thou you great yogin, thou you soul of the universe, Thou you creator of all things, O , save me who am distressed,--who am losing my senses in the midst of the Kurus.' Thus did that afflicted lady resplendent still in her beauty, O king covering her face cried aloud, thinking of , of , of the lord of the three worlds. Hearing the words of , was deeply moved. And leaving his seat, the benevolent one from compassion, arrived there on foot. And while was crying aloud to , also called and and for protection, the illustrious , remaining unseen, covered her with excellent clothes of many hues. And, O monarch as the attire of was being dragged, after one was taken off, another of the same kind, appeared covering her. And thus did it continue till many clothes were seen. And, O exalted on, owing to the protection of , hundreds upon hundreds of robes of many hues came off 's person. And there arose then a deep uproar of many many voices. And the kings present in that assembly beholding that most extraordinary of all sights in the world, began to applaud and censure the son of . And then, squeezing his hands, with lips quivering in rage, swore in the midst of all those kings a terrible oath in a loud voice.
"And said,--Hear these words of mine, ye you Kshatriyas of the world. Words such as these were never before uttered by other men, nor will anybody in the future ever utter them. Ye you lords of earth, if having spoken these words I do not accomplish them hereafter, let me not obtain the region of my deceased ancestors. Tearing open in battle, by sheer force, the breast of this wretch, this wicked-minded scoundrel of the Bharata race, if I do not drink his life-blood, let me not obtain the region of my ancestors."
continued,--"Hearing these terrible words of that made the down of the auditors to stand on end, everybody present there applauded him and censured the son of . And when a mass of clothes had been gathered in that assembly, all dragged from the person of , , tired and ashamed, sat down. And beholding the sons of in that state, the persons--those gods among men--that were in that assembly all uttered the word 'Fie!'(on the son of ). And the united voices of all became so loud that they made the down of anybody who heard them stand on end. And all the honest men that were in that assembly began to say,--'Alas! the Kauravas answer not the question that hath has been put to them by . And all censuring together, made a loud clamour. Then , that master of the science of morality, waving his hands and silencing every one, spake spoke these words;--'Ye you that are in this assembly, having put her question is weeping helplessly. Ye you are not answering her. Virtue and morality are being persecuted by such conduct. An afflicted person approacheth approaches an assembly of good men, like one that is being consumed by fire. They that are in the assembly quench that fire and cool him by means of truth and morality. The afflicted person asketh asks the assembly about his rights, as sanctioned by morality. They that are in the assembly should, unmoved by interest and anger, answer the question. Ye you kings, hath has answered the question, according to his own knowledge and judgment. Ye you should also answer it as ye you think proper. Knowing the rules of morality, and having attended an assembly, he that doth does not answer a query that is put, incurreth incurs half the demerit that attacheth attaches to a lie. He, on the other hand, who, knowing the rules of morality and having joined an assembly answereth answers falsely, assuredly incurreth incurs the sin of a lie. The learned quote as an example in this connection the old history of and the son of .
"There was of old a chief of the Daityas of the name . He had a son named Virochana. And Virochana, for the sake of obtaining a bride, quarrelled with , the son of . It hath has been heard by us that they mutually wagered their lives, saying--I am superior,--I am superior,--for the sake of obtaining a bride. And after they had thus quarrelled with each other, they both made the arbitrator to decide between them. And they asked him, saying;--Who amongst us is superior (to the other)? Answer this question. Speak not falsely. Frightened at this quarrel, cast his eyes upon . And in rage, burning like unto to the mace of , told him,--If thou you answerest falsely, or dost do not answer at all thy your head will then be split into a hundred pieces by the wielder of the thunderbolt with that bolt of his.--Thus addressed by , the Daitya, trembling like a leaf of the fig tree, went to of great energy, for taking counsel with him. And said,--'Thou you art, O illustrious and exalted one, fully conversant with the rules of morality that should guide both the gods and the Asuras and the Brahmanas as well. Here, however, is a situation of great difficulty in respect of duty. Tell me, I ask thee you, what regions are obtainable by them who upon being asked a question, answer it not, or answer it falsely. thus asked answered.--'He that knoweth knows, but answereth answers not a question from temptation, anger or fear, casteth casts upon himself a thousand nooses of . And the person who, cited as a witness with respect to any matter of ocular or auricular knowledge, speaketh speaks carelessly, casteth casts a thousand nooses of upon his own person. On the completion of one full year, one such noose is loosened. Therefore, he that knoweth knows, should speak the truth without concealment. If virtue, pierced by sin, repaireth repairs to an assembly (for aid), it is the duty of every body in the assembly to take off the dart, otherwise they themselves would be pierced with it. In an assembly where a truly censurable act is not rebuked, half the demerit of that act attacheth attaches to the head of that assembly, a fourth to the person acting censurably and a fourth unto to those others that are there. In that assembly, on the other hand, when he that deserveth deserves censure is rebuked, the head of the assembly becometh becomes freed from all sins, and the other members also incur none. It is only the perpetrator himself of the act that becometh becomes responsible for it. O , they who answer falsely those that ask them about morality destroy the meritorious acts of their seven upper and seven lower generations. The grief of one who hath has lost all his wealth, of one who hath has lost a son, of one who is in debt, of one who is separated from his companions, of a woman who hath has lost her husband, of one that hath has lost his all in consequence of the king's demand, of a woman who is sterile, of one who hath has been devoured by a tiger (during his last struggles in the tiger's claws), of one who is a co-wife, and of one who hath has been deprived of his property by false witnesses, have been said by the gods to be uniform in degree. These different sorts of grief are his who speaketh speaks false. A person becometh becomes a witness in consequence of his having seen, heard, and understood a thing. Therefore, a witness should always tell the truth. A truth-telling witness never loseth loses his religious merits and earthly possessions also.' Hearing these words of , told his son, " is superior to thee you, as indeed, (his father) is superior to me. The mother also of is superior to thy your mother. Therefore, O Virochana, this is now the lord of the life." At these words of , said, "Since unmoved by affection for thy your child, thou you hast have adhered to virtue, I command, let this son of thine yours live for a hundred years."
" continued,--Let all the persons, therefore, present in this assembly hearing these high truths of morality, reflect upon what should be the answer to the question asked by ".
continued,--"The kings that were there hearing these words of , answered not a word, yet alone spoke unto to , telling him. Take away this serving-woman into the inner apartments. And thereupon then began to drag before all the spectators the helpless and modest , trembling and crying piteously unto to the Pandavas her lords."