170 Rajendralala Mitra — Beef in Ancient India. [No. 2, 
Upon unusual fragments, and the air 
Is tilled with savoury odours. 
Saudhataki. There must he 
Some wondrous cause, to make our grey beards lay 
Their lectures by to-day. 
Bhan. There is a cause, 
And that of no mean import. 
Saw. Tell me I pray you, 
What venerable ox may we expect 
To visit us ? 
Bhan. For shame ! refrain from jests : 
The great Vas'ishtha hither brings the queens 
Of Das'arntha, with Arundhati, 
From Risbyas'ringa to our master’s dwelling. 
Sau. Vas'ishtha is it ? 
Blidn. The same. 
Sau. I crave his pardon. I had thought, at least, 
It was a wolf or tiger we should look for. 
Bhan. How so ? 
Saw. Why else was there provided 
The fatted calf for his regale ? 
Bhan. Why, know you not, 
The Vedas, which enshrine our holy law, 
Direct the householder shall offer those 
Who in the law are skilled, the honied meal 
And with it flesh of ox, or calf, or goat, 
And the like treatment shall the householder 
Receive from Brahmans learned in the Vedas.*” 
Vas'ishtha, in his turn likewise, slaughtered the “ fatted calf” when 
entertaining Vis'vamitra, Janaka, S'atananda, Jamadagnya and other sages 
and friends, and in the Mahdvira Gharita, when pacifying Jamadagnya, tempt- 
ed him by saying : “ The heifer is ready for sacrifice, and the food is cooked 
in ghee. Thou art a learned man, come to the house of the learned, favour 
us (by joining in the entertainment). ”t 
These are, doubtless, examples quoted from avowed fictions, but it is not 
to be supposed for a moment that their authors would have alluded to such 
* Hindu Theatre I, 339. This rendering is a little too free, but the main facts 
remain unaltered. For a literal translation of the passage, see Mr. Tawney’s version 
of the work, Act IY. 
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