f a wicked woman is seen in thee. Desirous of asserting
thy victory as thou art, it is not myself alone whom thou wishest to
defeat, for it is plain that thou wishest to obtain a victory over even
the whole of my court (consisting of these learned and very superior
Brahmanas), by casting thy eyes in this way towards all these meritorious
Brahmanas, it is evident that thou desirest to humiliate them all and
glorify thyself (at their expense). Stupefied by thy pride of
Yoga-puissance that has been born of thy jealousy (at sight of my power,)
thou hast caused a union of thy understanding with mine and thereby hast
really mingled together nectar with poison. That union, again, of man and
woman, when each covets the other, is sweet as nectar. That association,
however, of man and woman when the latter, herself coveting, fails to
obtain an individual of the opposite sex that does not covet her, is,
instead of being a merit, only a fault that is as noxious as poison. Do
not continue to touch me. Know that I am righteous. Do thou act according
to thy own scriptures. The enquiry thou hadst wished to make, viz.,
whether I am or I am not emancipated, has been finished. It behoves thee
not to conceal from me all thy secret motives. It behoves thee not, that
thus disguisest thyself, to conceal from me what thy object is, that is
whether this call of thine has been prompted by the desire of
accomplishing some object of thy own or whether thou hast come for
accomplishing the object of some other king (that is hostile to me). One
should never appear deceitfully before a king; nor before a Brahmana; nor
before one's wife when that wife is possessed of every wifely virtue.
Those who appear in deceitful guise before these three very soon meet
with destruction. The power of kings consists in their sovereignty. The
power of Brahmanas conversant with the Vedas is in the Vedas. Women wield
a high power in consequence of their beauty and youth and blessedness.
These then are powerful in the possession of these powers. He, therefore,
that is desirous of accomplishing his own object should always approach
these three with sincerity and candour, insincerity and deceit fail to
produce success (in these three quarters). It behoveth thee, therefore,
to apprise me of the order to which thou belongest by birth, of thy
learning and conduct and disposition and nature, as also of the object
thou hast in view in coming to this place.'"

"'Bhishma continued