med. And the Brahmanas will become good and honest, and the
regenerate ones, devoted to ascetic austerities, will become _Munis_ and
the asylums of ascetics, which had before been filled with wretches will
once more be homes of men devoted to truth, and men in general will
begin to honour and practise truth. And all seeds, sown on earth, will
grow, and, O monarch, every kind of crop will grow in every season. And
men will devotedly practise charity and vows and observances, and the
Brahmanas devoted to meditation and sacrifices will be of virtuous soul
and always cheerful, and the rulers of the earth will govern their
kingdoms virtuously, and in the _Krita_ age, the Vaisyas will be devoted
to the practices of their order. And the Brahmanas will be devoted to
their six-fold duties (of study, teaching, performance of sacrifices on
their own account, officiating at sacrifices performed by others,
charity and acceptance of gifts), and the Kshatriyas will be devoted to
feats of prowess. And Sudras will be devoted to service of the three
(high) orders.

"'These, O Yudhishthira, are the courses of the _Krita_, the _Treta_,
the _Dwapara_ and the succeeding age. I have now narrated to thee
everything. I have also told thee, O son of Pandu, the periods embraced
by the several _Yugas_ as generally known. I have now told thee
everything appertaining to both the past and the future as narrated by
_Vayu_ in the _Parana_ (which goes by his name and) which is adored by
the _Rishis_. Being immortal I have many a time beheld and otherwise
ascertained the courses of the world. Indeed, all I have seen and felt I
have now told thee. And, O thou of unfading glory, listen now with thy
brothers to something else I will presently tell thee for clearing thy
doubts about religion! O thou foremost of virtuous men, thou shouldst
always fix thy soul on virtue, for, O monarch, a person of virtuous soul
obtaineth bliss both here and hereafter. And, O sinless one, listen to
the auspicious words that I will now speak to thee. _Never do thou
humiliate a Brahmana, for a Brahmana, if angry, may by his vow destroy
the three worlds._'"

Vaisampayana continued, "Hearing these words of Markandeya, the royal
head of the Kurus, endued with intelligence and possessed of great
lustre, spoke these words of great wisdom, 'O _muni_, if I am to protect
my subjects, to what course of conduct should I adhere? And how should I
behave so that I may not fall away from the