SECTION CLIX

“Yudhishthira said, ’Do thou tell us, O slayer of Madhu, what the prosperity is that attaches to the worship of the Brahmanas.  Thou art well-conversant with this topic.  Verily, our grandsire knows thee.’

“Vasudeva said, ’Hear, O king, with rapt attention to me, O chief of Bharata’s race, as I recite to thee what the merits of the Brahmanas are, in accordance with truth, O foremost one of Kuru’s race!  Once on a time while I was seated at Dwaravati, O delighter of the Kurus, my son Pradyumna, enraged by certain Brahmanas, came to me and said, ’O slayer of Madhu, what merit attaches to the worship of the Brahmanas?  Whence is their lordship derived both here and hereafter?  O giver of honours, what rewards are won by constantly Worshipping the Brahmanas?  Do thou kindly explain this clearly to me, for my mind is disturbed by doubts in respect of this.’  When these words were addressed to me by Pradyumna, I answered him as follows, Do thou hear, O king, with close attention, what those words were, ’O child of Rukmin, listen to me as I tell thee what the prosperity is that one may win by worshipping the Brahmanas.  When one sets oneself to the acquisition of the well-known aggregate of three (viz., Righteousness, Wealth, and Pleasure), or to the achievement of Emancipation, or to that of fame and prosperity, or to the treatment and cure of disease, or to the worship of the deities and the Pitris, one should take care to gratify the regenerate ones.  They are each a king Soma (that sheds such agreeable light in the firmament.) They are dispensers of happiness and misery.  O child of Rukmini, whether in this or in the next world, O son, everything agreeable has its origin in the Brahmanas.  I have no doubt in this!  From the worship of the Brahmanas flow mighty achievements and fame and strength.  The denizens of all the worlds, and the Regents of the universe, are all worshippers of Brahmanas.  How then, O son, can we disregard them, filled with the idea that we are lords of the earth?  O mighty-armed one, do not suffer thy wrath to embrace the Brahmanas as its object.  In this as also in the next world, Brahmanas are regarded as beings.  They have direct knowledge of everything in the universe.  Verily, they are capable of reducing everything into ashes, if angry.  They are capable of creating other worlds and other Regents of worlds (than those that exist).  Why then should not persons who are possessed of energy and correct knowledge behave with obedience and respect towards them?  Formerly, in my house, O son, dwelt the Brahmana Durvasa whose complexion was green and tawny.  Clad in rags, he had a stick made of the Vilwa tree.[615] His beard was long and he was exceedingly emaciated.  He was taller in stature than the tallest man on earth.  Wandering over all the worlds, viz., that which belongs to human beings and those that are for the deities and other superior beings, even this was the