brothers fallen on the Earth, king Yudhishthira the just said unto that deity of a thousand eyes these words:2—'My brothers have all dropped down here! They must go with me. Without them by me I do not wish to go to Heaven, O lord of all the deities!3 The delicate princess (Draupadi) deserving of every comfort, O Purandara, should go with us. It behooveth thee to permit this!'4
"Cakra said,—'Thou shalt behold thy brothers in Heaven. They have reached it before thee! Indeed, thou shalt see all of them there, with Krishnā. Do not yield to grief, O chief of the Bharatas!5 Having cast off their human bodies they have gone there, O chief of Bharata's race! As regards thee, it is ordained that thou shalt go thither in this very body of thine!'6
"Yudhishthira said,—'This dog, O lord of the Past and the Present, is exceedingly devoted to me. He should go with me. My heart is full of compassion for him!'7
"Cakra said,—'Immortality and a condition equal to mine, O king, prosperity extending in all directions, and high success, and all the felicities of Heaven, thou hast won today! Do thou cast off this dog. In this there will be no cruelty.'8
"Yudhishthira said,—'O thou of a thousand eyes, O thou that art of righteous behaviour, it is exceedingly difficult for one that is of righteous behaviour to perpetrate an act that is unrighteous. I do not desire that union with prosperity for which I shall have to cast off one that is devoted to me!'[1]9
"Indra said,—'There is no place in Heaven for persons with dogs. Besides, the (deities called) Krodhavaças take away all the merits of such persons. Reflecting on this act, O king Yudhishthira the just! Do thou abandon this dog. There is no cruelty in this!'10
"Yudhishthira said,—'It has been said that the abandonment of one that is devoted is infinitely sinful. It is equal
- ↑ The first line, rendered literally, would run, 'An Arya feels great difficulty in doing an act that is not worthy of an Arya.' Of course, 'Arya' here implies a person of respectable birth and righteous conduct.—T.
