Page:The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (1884).djvu/505

Dhrita-rashtra and acquired this earth with all her wealth, upon what considerations, O mother, hast thou resolved upon his abandonment? Hast thou been deprived of thy reason? Hath thy understanding been clouded by the calamities thou hast undergone?'

"Hearing these words of, her son, Kunti said, 'O Yudhish-thira, thou needst not be at all anxious on account of Vrikodara. Nor have I come to this resolve owing to any weakness of understanding. Respected by him and our sorrows assuaged, we have, O son, been living in the house of this Brahmana, unknown to the sons of Dhrita-rashtra! For requiting, O son, that Brahmana I have resolved to do this! He, indeed, is a man upon whom good offices are never lost. The measure of his requital also becometh greater than the measure of the services he receiveth. Beholding the prowess of Bhima on the occasion of (our escape from) the house of lac, and from the destruction also of Hidimva, my confidence in Vrikodara is great. The might of Bhima's arm is equal unto that of ten thousand elephants. It was, therefore, that he succeeded in carrying ye all, each heavy as an elephant, from Varanavata. There is no one (on earth) equal unto Bhima in might. He may even overcome that foremost of warriors—the holder of the thunder-bolt himself. Soon after his birth he fell from my lap on the breast of the mountain. By the weight of his body the mass of stone on which he fell broke into pieces. From this also, O son of Pandu, I have come to kuow Bhima's might. For this reason have I resolved to set him against the Brahmana's foe. I have not in this acted from foolishness or ignorance or motives of gain. I have deliberately resolved to do this deed of virtue. By this act, O Yudhish-thira, two objects will be accomplished; one is a requital of the services rendered by the Brahmana and the other is the acquisition of high religious merit. It is my conviction that the Kshatriya who rendereth help unto a Brahmana in anything acquireth regions of bliss hereafter. So also a Kshatriya who saveth the life of a Kshatriya achieveth great fame in this as well as the other world. A Kshatriya rendering help unto a Vaisya also on this earth, certainly