tly and in a conciliating tone the
following words,--'O lord of earth, what thou hast said is scarcely
proper for thee. O king, it is highly sinful and needlessly cruel. Insult
not Bhishma, O king, by saying that he doth not know what virtue is.
Behold, these many kings, older than thou art, all approve of the worship
offered unto Krishna. It behoveth thee to bear it patiently like them. O
ruler of Chedi, Bhishma knoweth Krishna truly. Thou knowest him not so
well as this one of the Kuru race.'"

"Bhishma also, after this, said,--He that approveth not the worship
offered unto Krishna, the oldest one in the universe, deserveth neither
soft words nor conciliation. The chief of warriors of the Kshatriya rare
who having overcome a Kshatriya in battle and brought him under his
power, setteth him free, becometh the guru (preceptor or master) of the
vanquished one. I do not behold in this assembly of kings even one ruler
of men who hath not been vanquished in battle by the energy of this son
of the Satwata race. This one (meaning Krishna) here, of undefiled glory,
deserveth to be worshipped not by ourselves alone, but being of mighty
arms, he deserveth to be worshipped by the three worlds also. Innumerable
warriors among Kshatriyas have been vanquished in battle by Krishna. The
whole universe without limit is established in him of the Vrishni race.
Therefore do we worship Krishna amongst the best and the oldest, and not
others. It behoveth thee not to say so. Let thy understanding be never
so. I have, O king, waited upon many persons that are old in knowledge. I
have heard from all those wise men, while talking; of the numerous
much-regarded attributes of the accomplished Sauri. I have also heard
many times all the acts recited by people that Krishna of great
intelligence hath performed since his birth. And, O king of Chedi, we do
not from caprice, or keeping in view our relationship or the benefits he
may confer on us, worship Janarddana who is worshipped by the good on
earth and who is the source of the happiness of every creature. We have
offered unto him the first worship because of his fame, his heroism, his
success. There is none here of even tender years whom we have not taken
into consideration. Passing over many persons that are foremost for their
virtues, we have regarded Hari as deserving of the first worship. Amongst
the Brahmanas one that is superior in knowledge, amongst the Kshatriyas
one that is superior in stre