(Vaivahika Parva continued)
" said, 'Then the illustrious , addressing prince in the form applicable to Brahmanas, cheerfully enquired of that illustrious son of , saying, 'Are we to know you as Kshatriyas, or Brahamanas, or are we to know you as celestials who disguising themselves as Brahmanas are ranging the earth and come hither here for the hand of ? O tell us truly, for we have great doubts! Shall we not be glad when our doubts have been removed? O chastiser of enemies, have the fates been propitious unto to us? Tell us the truth willingly! Truth becometh becomes monarchs better than sacrifices and dedications of tanks. Therefore, tell us not what is untrue. O thou you of the beauty of a celestial, O chastiser of foes, hearing thy your reply I shall make arrangements for my daughter's wedding according to the order to which ye you belong.'
"Hearing these words of , answered, saying 'Be not cheerless, O king; let joy fill thy your heart! The desire cherished by thee you hath has certainly been accomplished. We are Kshatriyas, O king, and sons of the illustrious . Know me to be the eldest of the sons of and these to be and . By these, O king, was thy your daughter won amid the concourse of monarchs. The twins ( and ) and wait where is. O bull amongst men, let grief be driven from thy your heart, for we are Kshatriyas. Thy your daughter, O monarch, hath has like a lotus been transferred only from one lake into another. O king, thou you art our revered superior and chief refuge. I have told thee you the whole truth.'
" continued, 'Hearing those words, the king 's eyes rolled in ecstasy. And. filled with delight the king could not, for some moments answer . Checking his emotion with great effort, that chastiser of foes at last replied unto to in proper words. The virtuous monarch enquired how the Pandavas had escaped from the town of Varanavata. The son of told the monarch every particular in detail of their escape from the burning palace of lac. Hearing everything that the son of said, king censured , that ruler of men. And the monarch gave every assurance unto to , the son of . And that foremost of eloquent men then and there vowed to restore to his paternal throne.
"Then and and and and the twins, commanded by the king, to reside there, treated by with due respect. Then king with his sons, assured by all that had happened, approaching , said, 'O thou you of mighty arms, let the Kuru prince take with due rites, the hand of my daughter on this auspicious day, and let him, therefore, perform the usual initiatory rites of marriage.'
" continued, 'Hearing these words of , the virtuous king replied, saying, 'O great king, I also shall have to marry.' Hearing him, said, 'If it pleaseth pleases thee you, take thou you the hand of my daughter thyself with due rites. Or, give in marriage unto to whomsoever of thy your brothers thou you likest like.' said, 'Thy your daughter, O king, shall be the common wife of us all! Even thus it hath has been ordered, O monarch, by our mother. I am unmarried still, and also is so amongst the sons of . This thy your jewel of a daughter hath has been won by . This, O king, is the rule with us; to ever enjoy equally a jewel that we may obtain. O best of monarchs, that rule of conduct we cannot now abandon. , therefore, shall become the wedded wife of us all. Let her take our hands, one after another before the fire.'
' answered, 'O scion of Kuru's race, it hath has been directed that one man may have many wives. But it hath has never been heard that one woman may have many husbands! O son of , as thou you art pure and acquainted with the rules of morality, it behoveth behooves thee you not to commit an act that is sinful and opposed both to usage and the Vedas. Why, O prince, hath has thy your understanding become so?' said in reply, 'O monarch, morality is subtle. We do not know its course. Let us follow the way trodden by the illustrious ones of former ages. My tongue never uttered an untruth. My heart also never turneth turns to what is sinful. My mother commandeth commands so; and my heart also approveth approves of it. Therefore, O king, that is quite conformable to virtue. Act according to it, without any scruples. Entertain no fear, O king, about this matter.'
" said, 'O son of thy your mother, and my son and thyself, settle amongst yourselves as to what should be done. Tell me the result of your deliberations and tomorrow I will do what is proper.'
" continued, 'After this, O Bharata, , and discoursed upon this matter. Just at that time, however, the island-born (), O monarch, came there in course of his wanderings.'"
(Vaivahika Parva continued)
" said, 'Then all the Pandavas and the illustrious king of the Panchalas and all others there present stood up and saluted with reverence the illustrious Rishi (). The high-souled Rishi, saluting them in return and enquiring after their welfare, sat down on a carpet of gold. And commanded by () of immeasurable energy, those foremost of men all sat down on costly seats. A little after, O monarch, the son of in sweet accents asked the illustrious Rishi about the wedding of his daughter. And he said, 'How, O illustrious one, can one woman become the wife of many men without being defiled by sin? O, tell me truly all about this.' Hearing these words replied, 'This practice, O king, being opposed to usage and the Vedas, hath has become obsolete. I desire, however, to hear what the opinion of each of you is upon this matter.'
"Hearing these words of the Rishi, spoke first, saying, 'The practice is sinful in my opinion, being opposed to both usage and the Vedas. O best of Brahmanas, nowhere have I seen many men having one wife. The illustrious ones also of former ages never had such a usage amongst them. The wise should never commit a sin. I, therefore, can never make up mind to act in this way. This practice always appeareth appears to me to be of doubtful morality.
"After had ceased, spoke, saying 'O bull amongst Brahmanas, O thou you of ascetic wealth, how can, O Brahmana, the elder brother, if he is of a good disposition, approach the wife of his younger brother? The ways of morality are ever subtle, and, therefore, we know them not. We cannot, therefore, say what is conformable to morality and what not. We cannot do such a deed, therefore, with a safe conscience. Indeed, O Brahmana, I cannot say, 'Let become the common wife of five brothers.'
" then spoke, saying, 'My tongue never uttereth utters an untruth and my heart never inclineth inclines to what is sinful. When my heart approveth approves of it, it can never be sinful. I have heard in the Purana that a lady of name Jatila, the foremost of all virtuous women belonging to the race of Gotama had married seven Rishis. So also an ascetic's daughter, born of a tree, had in former times united herself in marriage with ten brothers all bearing the same name of Prachetas and who were all of souls exalted by asceticism. O foremost of all that are acquainted with the rules of morality, it is said that obedience to superior is ever meritorious. Amongst all superiors, it is well-known that the mother is the foremost. Even she hath has commanded us to enjoy as we do anything obtained as alms. It is for this, O best of Brahmanas, that I regard the (proposed) act as virtuous.'
" then said, 'The act is even so as the virtuous hath has said. I greatly fear, O Brahmana, lest my speech should become untrue. How shall I be saved from untruth?'
"When they had all finished speaking, said, 'O amiable one, how shall thou you be saved from the consequence of untruth? Even this is eternal virtue! I will not, O king of the Panchalas, discourse on this before you all. But thou you alone shalt shall listen to me when I disclose how this practice hath has been established and why it is to be regarded as old and eternal. There is no doubt that what hath has said is quite conformable to virtue.'
" continued, 'Then the illustrious --the master --rose, and taking hold of 's hand led him to a private apartment. The Pandavas and and of 's race sat there, waiting for the return of and . Meanwhile, began his discourse with illustrious monarch for explaining how the practice of polyandry could not be regarded as sinful.'"