Page:The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (1884).djvu/308

274 "Yayati answered, 'O king, there are many regions for thee to enjoy in heaven as there are kine and horses in the earth with the animals in the wilderness and the hills!'

"Ashtaka then said, 'If there are worlds for me to enjoy, as fruits of my religious merits, in heaven, O king, I give them all unto thee! Therefore, though falling, thou shalt not fall. O take thou soon all these, wherever they be, in heaven or in the firmament! Let thy sorrows cease!'

"Yayati answered, 'O thou best of kings, a Brahma-knowing Brahmana alone can take in gift, but not one like ourselves! And, O monarch, I myself have given away to Brahmanas as one should. Let no man not a Brahmana and let not the wife of a learned Brahmana ever live in infamy by accepting gifts! On Earth I have ever desired to perform virtuous acts! Having never done so before, how shall I now accept a gift?'

"Pratarddana who was amongst them asked, 'O thou of the handsomest form, I am Pratarddana by name. I ask thee, are there any worlds for me to enjoy as fruits of my religious merits, in heaven or in the firmament? Answer me, thou art acquainted with everything!'

"Yayati said, 'O king, numberless worlds full of felicity, effulgent like the solar surface, and where woe can never be, await thee. It thou dwellest in each but for seven days, they would not yet be exhausted.'

"Pratarddana then said, 'These then I give unto thee! Therefore though falling thou must not fall! Let the worlds that are mine be thine! Whether they be in the firmament or in heaven, O soon take them! Let thy woes cease!'

"Yayati answered, 'O monarch, no king of equal energy should ever desire to receive in gift the religious merits of another king acquired by yoga austerities. And no king who is afflicted with calamity by the fates should, if wise, yet act in a censurable way. A king keeping his eye ever fixed on virtue should walk in the path of virtue and increase his fame thereby. A person of virtue like myself and knowing what are his duties should not act so meanly as thou directest. When others desirous of acquiring religious merit do not