he contrary, thou
stirest up the anger of this best of the twice-born ones, my entire race
will be consumed by him!'"

SECTION CCCII

"Kunti said, 'According to thy promise, I will, O king, with concentrated
mind, serve that Brahmana. O foremost of kings, I do not say this
falsely. It is my nature to worship Brahmanas. And, as in the present
case, my doing so would be agreeable to thee, even this would be highly
conducive to my welfare. Whether that worshipful one cometh in the
evening, or in morning, or at night or even at midnight, he will have no
reason to be angry with me! O foremost of kings, to do good by serving
the twice-born ones, observing all thy commands, is what I consider to be
highly profitable to me, O best of men! Do thou, therefore, O foremost of
monarchs rely on me! That best of Brahmanas, while residing in thy house,
shall never have cause for dissatisfaction. I tell thee truly. I shall, O
king, be always attentive to that which is agreeable to this Brahmana,
and what is fraught also with good to thee. O sinless one! I know full
well that Brahmanas that are eminently virtuous, when propitiated bestow
salvation, and when displeased, are capable of bringing about destruction
upon the offender. Therefore, I shall please this foremost of Brahmanas.
Thou wilt not, O monarch, come to any grief from that best of regenerate
persons, owing to any act of mine. In consequence of the transgressions
of monarchs, Brahmanas, O foremost of kings, became the cause of evil to
them, as Chyavana had become, in consequence of the act of Sukanya. I
will, therefore, O king, with great regularity, wait upon that best of
Brahmanas according to thy instructions in that respect!' And when she
had thus spoken at length, the king embraced and cheered her, and
instructed her in detail as to what should be done by her. And the king
said, 'Thou shall, O gentle maid, act even thus, without fear, for my
good as also thy own, and for the good of thy race also, O thou of
faultless limbs!' And having said this the illustrious Kuntibhoja, who
was devoted to the Brahmanas, made over the girl Pritha to that Brahmana,
saying, 'This my daughter, O Brahmana, is of tender age and brought up in
luxury. If, therefore, she transgresses at any time, do thou not take
that to heart! Illustrious Brahmanas are never angry with old men,
children, and ascetics, even if these transgress frequently. In respect
of even a great wrong forgiveness is due