| YouTube Channel

ब्राह्मणमाहात्म्यकथन (brAhmaNamAhAtmyakathana)

 
Mahabharata
English
Brāhmaṇa-māhātmya-kathana. § 454 (Mārk.): Questioned by the Pāṇḍavas about the greatness of the brahmans, Mārkaṇḍeya told: A prince of the Haihayas killed a brahman, whom he took for a deer, as he was enveloped in the skin of a black antelope. The Haihayas, very afflicted, set out inquiring as to whose son the muni might be. Arriving at the hermitage of Tārkshya Arishṭanemi, they told him the matter, and learnt that it was his son, and that he had been revived, because these munis had no fear of death, as they spoke well of brahmans, etc. (III, 184).--§ 455: Mārkaṇḍeya continued: When the rājarshi Vainya was performing the horse-sacrifice, Atri desired to go and ask him for alms, but gave up his desire of wealth and proposed to his wife and sons that they should all retire to the woods. His wife prevailed upon him that (though he had heard from Gautama that there were brahmans about Vainya who were jealous of him) he should first acquire riches and distribute them to his sons and servants, and so he went to Vainya and praised him as the foremost of sovereigns and the ruler of their destinies (vidhātṛ). The ṛshi Gautama blamed him for thus flattering the king, and said that it was Indra who was the foremost of sovereigns and ruler of their destinies (vidhātṛ). The munis (having let the pious Kāśyapa inquire about the matter) applied to Sanatkumāra, who said that the brahmans and kshattriyas ought to act together, and that the king (enumeration of honourable appellations) might rightly be styled as Atri had done. Vainya then gave to Atri 1000 maidservants and 100 millions of gold [coins]
and ten bhāras of gold. Having given this to his sons Atri retired to the forest (III, 185).