the welfare and unabated prosperity of Vyasa's son. The
monarch then asked his guest the object of his visit.

"'"Suka said, 'Blessed be thou, my sire said unto me that his Yajamana, the
ruler of the Videhas, known all over the world by the name of Janaka, is
well-versed in the religion of Emancipation. He commanded me to come to
him without delay, if I had any doubts requiring solution in the matter
of the religion of either Pravritti or Nivritti. He gave me to understand
that the king of Mithila would dispel all my doubts. I have, therefore,
come hither, at the command of my sire, for the purpose of taking lessons
from thee. It behoveth thee, O foremost of all righteous persons, to
instruct me! What are the duties of a Brahmana, and what is the essence
of those duties that have Emancipation for their object. How also is
Emancipation to be obtained? Is it obtainable by the aid of knowledge or
by that of penances?'

"'"Janaka said, 'Hear what the duties are of a Brahmana from the time of
his birth. After his investiture, O son, with the sacred-thread, he should
devote his attention to the study of the Vedas. By practising penances
and dutifully serving his preceptor and observing the duties of
Brahmacharyya, O puissant one, he should pay off the debt he owes to the
deities and the Pitris, and cast off all malice. Having studied the Vedas
with close attention and subjugated his senses, and having given his
preceptor the tuition fee, he should, with the permission of his
preceptor, return home. Returning home, he should betake himself to the
domestic mode of life and wedding a spouse confine himself to her, and
live freeing himself from every kind of malice, and having established
his domestic fire. Living in the domestic mode, he should procreate sons
and grandsons. After that, he should retire to the forest, and continue
to worship the same fires and entertain guests with cordial hospitality.
Living righteously in the forest, he should at last establish his fire in
his soul, and freed from all pairs of opposites, and casting off all
attachments from the soul, he should pass his days in the mode called
Sannyasa which is otherwise called the mode of Brahma.'

"'"Suka said, 'If one succeeds in attaining to an understanding cleansed by
study of the scriptures and to true conceptions of all things, and if the
heart succeeds in freeing itself permanently from the effects of all
pairs of opposites, is it still necessary for