“Yudhishthira said, ‘It behoveth thee, O slayer of Madhu, to expound tome that knowledge which thou hast acquired through the grace of Durvasa!O foremost of all persons endued with intelligence, I desire to knoweverything about the high blessedness and all the names of thathigh-souled one truly and in detail![616]
“Yudhishthira said, ‘Do thou tell us, O slayer of Madhu, what theprosperity is that attaches to the worship of the Brahmanas. Thou artwell-conversant with this topic. Verily, our grandsire knows thee.’
“Yudhishthira said, ‘Thou always worshippest, O king, Brahmanas ofpraiseworthy, vows. Whatever, however is that fruit seeing which thouworshippest them, O king? O thou of high vows, beholding what prosperityattaching to the worship of the Brahmanas dost thou worship them? Tell meall this, O thou of mighty arms!
“Bhishma said, ‘Hearing these words of the god of wind, Arjuna remainedsilent. At this, the god of wind once more addressed him, saying, ‘Whenthe denizens of heaven, with Indra at their head, found themselves withinthe mouth of the Asura Mada, at that time Chyavana took away from themthe earth.
“Bhishma said, ‘Thus addressed, Arjuna remained silent. The god of windonce more addressed him, saying, ‘Hear me, O foremost one of theHaihayas, as I narrate to thee the achievement of the high-souled Atri.
“Bhishma said, “Thus addressed, king Arjuna remained silent. The god ofwind once more spoke to him, ‘Listen now, O king, to the story of thegreatness of the Brahmana Agastya.
“The god of wind said, ‘Once on a time, O king, a ruler of the name ofAnga desired to give away the whole earth as sacrificial present unto theBrahmanas.
“The god of wind said, ‘Hear, O deluded man, what the attributes are thatbelong to Brahmanas all of whom are endued with high souls.
“Yudhishthira said, ‘Tell us, O king, what is that reward attached to theworship of Brahmanas, seeing which thou worshippest them, O thou ofsuperior intelligence! Indeed, what is that success, flowing from theirworship, guided by which thou worshippest them?’
“Yudhishthira said, ‘Who deserve to be worshipped? Who are they unto whomwe should bow? How, indeed, should we behave towards whom? What course ofconduct, O grandsire, towards what classes of persons is regardedfaultless?’
