

S80 BajendraMla Mitra — An Imperial Assemblage [JSTo. 8, 



tion, for he cannot earn that distinction in the presence of the hoary- 

 headed Dvaipayana (Vyasa). How dare yon raise Krishna to a higher 

 position than that of snch noble personages as the son of Santanu, the 

 noble Bhishma who can command his own death, the valiant hero and highly 

 learned Asvathama, the king of kings Duryodhana, the most learned pro- 

 fessor of Bharata, Kripa, the learned professor of Kimpurusha Drama, 

 king Bukmi, and S'alya, king of Madra ? Is it becoming that yon should 

 set aside the favourite pupil of Jamadagni, one who has, by his own 

 valour, conquered, in fair fight, the whole race of kings, that valiant hero 

 Kama in favour of Krishna ? The son of Vasudeva is not a priest, nor a 

 professor, nor a king, and you have selected him solely because you are 

 partial to him. Besides, if you had made up your mind to honour Krishna, 

 why have you insulted these kings by inviting them to such an assembly ? 

 We did not pay tribute to the honorable son of Kunti from any fear, or 

 flattery, or hopes of favour ; we thought him engaged in a noble act and worthy 

 of the rank of a suzerain, and therefore yielded to him ; and he has failed to 

 treat us with becoming respect. He has in this assembly offered the arghya 

 to Krishna who is in no way deserving of it, and he could not have insulted 

 us more seriously. The claim of the son of Dharma, to be the most 

 virtuous, is false, for what virtuous person offers worship to one who is 

 bereft of all merit ? Yudhishthira has behaved meanly, and resigned all 

 pretention to a sense of justice and duty, by offering the highest honour to 

 that wicked scion of the Vrishni race who nefariously assassinated the noble 

 king Jarasandha. The sons of Kunti are, however, cowards, mean, and wan- 

 dering beggars, and through their meanness they may offer you the honour ; 

 but it was your duty, Krishna, to reflect upon the propriety of the act. 

 How could you, knowing yourself to be unworthy, barefacedly accept the 

 offering ? Even as a dog, having in private tasted a drop of butter, prides 

 itself upon it ; so are you feeling elated by the honour you have got ; but 

 know well that the offering is not an insult to the royal guests, but a 

 ridicule cast on you. Even as the marriage of a eunuch, or the attempt 

 of a blind man to enjoy the pleasures of colour, is absurd, so is the tribute 

 of royalty paid to one who owns no kingdom. This act of to-day fully 

 illustrates the nature of Bhishma and Yudhishthira's claim to good sense, 

 and the character of Krishna."* Saying this, he rose from his seat, and 

 was about to leave the assembly along with some of the guests; when 

 Yudhishthira came forward and tried his best to pacify the irate chief. 

 Bhishma, Bhima, and others also interposed; but to no avail. S'isupala, 

 naturally of an ungovernable temper, spoke in the most violent terms. 

 He inveighed particularly against Bhishma for his advice, and bitterly 

 taunted Krishna for his many shortcomings. Words rose high, and the 

 * Mahabharata, II, chapter 36. 





