Page:The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (1884).djvu/489

duty than the protection of life! Hidimva who had come with the object of slaying us thou hast already slain. This woman is the sister of that Rakshasa. What can she de to us even if she were angry?'"

Vaisampayana continued, "Then Hidimvā, reverentially saluting Kunti and her son Yudhish-thira also, said, with joined palms, 'O reverend lady, thou knowest the pangs that women are made to feel at the hands of Ananga (the deity of love)! Blessed dame, those pangs, of which Bhima-sena hath been the cause, are torturing me! I had hitherto borne those insufferable pangs, waiting for the time (when thy son could assuage them). That time is now come, when I expected I would be made happy! Casting off my friends and relatives and the usages of my race, I have, ○ blessed lady, chosen this son of thine—this tiger among men—as my husband! I tell thee truly, O illustrious lady, that if I am cast off by that hero or by thee either, I will no longer bear this life of mine! Therefore, O thou of the fairest complexion, it behoveth thee to show me mercy, thinking me either as very silly or thy obedient slave! O illustrious dame, unite me with this thy son and my husband! Endued as he is with the form of a celestial, taking him with me, let me go wherever I like. Trust me, O blessed lady, I will again bring him back unto ye all! When ye think of me I will come to ye immediately and convey ye whithersoever ye may command! I will rescue ye from all dangers and carry ye across inaccessible and uneven regions! I will carry ye on my back whenever ye desire to proceed with swiftness. O be graceful unto me and make Bhima accept me! It hath been said that in a season of distress one should protect his life by any means. He that seeketh to discharge that duty should not scruple about the means. He that in a season of distress keepeth his virtue is the foremost of virtuous men. Indeed, distress is the greatest danger to virtue and virtuous men. It is virtue that protecteth life, therefore, is virtue called the giver of life. Hence, the means by which virtue or the observance of a duty is secured can never be censurable.'