Chapter 15
Sanjaya said,–“Deserving as thou art, this question is, indeed, worthyof thee, O great king. It behoveth thee not, however, to impute thisfault to Duryodhana.
Sanjaya said,–“Deserving as thou art, this question is, indeed, worthyof thee, O great king. It behoveth thee not, however, to impute thisfault to Duryodhana.
Vaisampayana said,–“Vidura then, thus commanded against his will by kingDhritarashtra, set out, with the help of horses of high mettle and enduedwith great speed and strength, and quiet and patient, for the abode ofthe wise sons of Pandu.
“‘Karna continued, “Thou shouldst know all this, O Shalya. I shallhowever, again speak unto thee. Listen with close attention to what Isay. Once on a time a brahmana came to our house as a guest.
“Yudhishthira said, ‘Tell me, O grandsire, in what kind of man or woman,O chief of the Bharatas, does the goddess of prosperity always reside?’
“Yudhishthira said, ‘O grandsire, O thou that art possessed of greatwisdom, I shall ask thee a question.
Sanjaya said,–“When the night had passed away, loud became the noisemade by the kings, all exclaiming, Array! Array!
Vaisampayana said,–“The sons of Pritha with Yudhishthira at their head,having entered that assembly house, approached all the kings that werepresent there.
“‘Shalya said, “These, O Karna, are ravings that thou utterest regardingthe foe. As regards myself without a 1,000 Karnas I am able to vanquishthe foe in battle.'”
“Yudhisthira said, ‘I wish to know, O royal sage, whether any fault isincurred by one who from interested or disinterested friendship impartsinstructions unto a person belonging to a low order of birth! Ograndsire, I desire to hear this, expounded to me in detail.
“Bhishma said, ‘After that night had passed away and that best ofBrahmanas had left the house, Gautama, issuing from his abode, began toproceed towards the sea, O Bharata!