"Yudhishthira said, 'O grandsire, O wisest of men, O thou that art learned in all the scriptures, I have listened

to this great story, O foremost of intelligent men. I am desirous of again hearing the recital of some history full of religious instruction, and it behoves thee to gratify me. O lord of Earth, tell me if any householder has ever succeeded in conquering rityu by the practice of virtue. !o thou recite this to me with all details"' "#hishma said, '$his ancient history is recited as an illustration of the sub%ect of the conquest by a householder, over rityu, through the practice of virtue. $he &ra%apati anu had a son, O 'ing, of the name of the I'shwa'u. Of that 'ing, illustrious as (urya, were born a hundred sons. )is tenth son, O #harata, was named !asaswa, and this virtuous prince of infallible prowess became the 'ing of ahismati. !asaswa's son, O 'ing, was a righteous prince whose mind was constantly devoted to the practice of truth and charity and devotion. )e was 'nown by the name of adiraswa and ruled over the Earth as her lord. )e was constantly devoted to the study of the *edas as also of the science of arms. adiraswa's son was the 'ing named !yutimat who possessed great good fortune and power and strength and energy. !yutimat's son was the highly devout and pious 'ing who was famous in all the worlds under the name of (uvira. )is soul was intent on religion and he possessed wealth li'e another Indra, the lord of the deities. (uvira too had a son who was invincible in battle, and who was the best of all warriors and 'nown by the name of (udur%aya. +nd !ur%ya too, possessed of a body li'e that of Indra, had a son who beamed with splendour li'e that of fire. )e was the great monarch named !uryodhana who was one of the foremost of royal sages. Indra used to pour rain profusely in the 'ingdom of this monarch, who never fled from the battlefield and was possessed of valour li'e unto Indra himself. $he cities and the 'ingdom of this 'ing were filled with riches and gems and cattle and grain of various 'inds. $here was no miser in his 'ingdom nor any person afflicted with distress or poverty. ,or was there in his 'ingdom any person that was wea' in body or afflicted with disease. $hat 'ing was very clever, smooth in speech, without envy, a p. master of his passions, of a righteous soul, full of compassion, endued with prowess, and not given to boasting. )e performed sacrifices, and was self.restrained and intelligent, devoted to #rahmanas and $ruth. )e never humiliated others, and was charitable, and learned in the *edas and the *edanta. $he celestial river ,armada, auspicious and sacred and of cool waters, in her own nature, O #harata, courted him. )e begot upon that river, a lotus.eyed daughter, by name (udarsana, who was, O 'ing, endued with great beauty. ,o creature, O Yudhisthira, had ever been born before among woman'ind, that was, possessed of such beauty as that e/cellent damsel who was the daughter of !uryodhana. $he god +gni himself courted the beautiful princess (udarsana, and ta'ing the shape of a #rahmana, O monarch, sought her hand from the 'ing. $he 'ing was unwilling to give his daughter in marriage to the #rahmana who was poor and not of the same ran' with himself. $hereupon +gni vanished from his great sacrifice. $he 'ing, grieved at heart, then addressed the #rahmanas, saying,..Of what sin have I, ye e/cellent #rahmanas, or you, been guilty, that +gni should disappear from this sacrifice, even as good done unto wic'ed men disappears from their estimation. 0reat, indeed, must that sin of ours be for

which +gni has thus disappeared. Either must the sin be yours, or, it must be mine. !o you fully investigate the matter...$hen hearing the 'ing's words, O foremost prince of #harata's race, the #rahmanas, restraining speech, sought with concentrated faculties the protection of the god of fire. $he divine carrier of oblations, resplendent as the autumnal (un, appeared before them, enveloping his self in glorious refulgence. $he high.souled +gni then addressed those e/cellent #rahmanas, saying,..I see' the daughter of !uryodhana for my own self. +t this all those #rahmanas were struc' with wonder, and rising on the morrow, they related to the 'ing what had been said by the fire.god. $he wise monarch, hearing the words of those utterers of #rahma, was delighted at heart, and said,..#e it so...$he 'ing craved a boon of the illustrious fire.god as the marriage dower,..!o thou, O +gni, deign to remain always with us here...#e it so..said the divine +gni to that lord of Earth. 1or this reason +gni has always been present in the 'ingdom of ahismati to this day, and was seen by (ahadeva in course of his conquering e/pedition to the south. $hen the 'ing gave his daughter, dressed in new garments and dec'ed with %ewels, to the high.souled deity, and +gni too accepted, according to *edic rites, the princess (udarsana as his bride, even as he accepts libations of clarified butter at sacrifices, +gni was well pleased with her appearance, her beauty, grace, character, and nobility of birth, and was minded to beget offspring upon her. +nd a son by +gni, of the name of (udarsana, was soon born of her. (udarsana also was, in appearance, as beautiful as the full moon, and even in his childhood he attained to a 'nowledge of the supreme and everlasting #rahma. $here was also a 'ing of the name of Oghavat, who was the grandfather of ,riga. )e had a daughter of the name of Oghavati, and a son too of the name of Ogharatha born unto him. 2ing Oghavat gave his daughter Oghavati, p. 3 beautiful as a goddess, to the learned (udarsana for wife. (udarsana, O 'ing, leading the life of a householder with Oghavati, used to dwell in 2uru'shetra with her. $his intelligent prince of bla4ing energy too' the vow, O lord, of conquering !eath by leading the life of even a householder. $he son of +gni, O 'ing, said to Oghavati,..!o thou never act contrary to 5the wishes of6 those that see' our hospitality. $hou shouldst ma'e no scruple about the means by which guests are to be welcomed, even if thou have to offer thy own person. O beautiful one, this vow is always present in the mind, since for householders, there is no higher virtue than hospitality accorded to guests. !o thou always bear this in mind without ever doubting it, if my words be any authority with thee. O sinless and blessed one, if thou hast any faith in me, do thou never disregard a guest whether I be at thy side or at a distance from thee" 7nto him, with hands clasped and placed on her head, Oghavati replied, saying,..'I shall leave nothing undone of what thou commandest me...$hen rityu, O 'ing, desiring to over.reach (udarsana, began to watch him for finding out his lathes. On a certain occasion, when the son of +gni went out to fetch firewood from the forest, a graceful #rahmana sought the hospitality of Oghavati with these words8..O beautiful lady, if thou hast any faith in the virtue of hospitality as prescribed for householders, then I would request thee to e/tend the rites of hospitality to me to.day...$he princess of great fame, thus addressed by that #rahmana, O 'ing, welcomed him according to the rites prescribed in the *edas. )aving offered him a seat, and water to wash his feet, she enquired, saying,..9hat is thy business: 9hat can I offer

thee: $he #rahmana said unto her,.. y business is with thy person, O blessed one. !o thou act accordingly without any hesitation in thy mind. If the duties prescribed for householders be acceptable to thee, do thou, O princess, gratify me by offering up thy person to me...$hough tempted by the princess with offers of diverse other things, the #rahmana, however, did not as' for any other gift than the offer of her own person. (eeing him resolved, that lady, remembering the directions which had before been given to her by her husband, but overcome with shame, said, to that e/cellent #rahmana,..#e it so...;emembering the words of her husband who was desirous of acquiring the virtue of householders, she cheerfully approached the regenerate ;ishi. eanwhile, the son of +gni, having collected his firewood, returned to his home. rityu, with his fierce and ine/orable nature, was constantly by his side, even, as one attends upon one's devoted friend. 9hen the son of &ava'a returned to his own hermitage, he called Oghavati by name, and 5receiving no answer6 repeatedly, e/claimed,..9hether art thou gone:..#ut the chaste lady, devoted to her husband, being then loc'ed in the arms of that #rahmana, gave no reply to her husband. Indeed, that chaste woman, considering herself contaminated became speechless, overcome with shame. (udarsana, addressing her again, e/claimed,..9here can my chaste wife be: 9hither has she gone: ,othing can be of greater moment to me than this 5her disappearance6. 9hy does not that simple and truthful lady, p. < devoted to her husband, alas, answer to my call today as she used to do before with sweet smiles: $hen that #rahmana, who was within the hut, thus replied to (udarsana,..!o thou learn, O son of &ava'a, that a #rahmana guest has arrived, and though tempted by this thy wife with diverse other offers of welcome, I have, O best of #rahmanas, desired only her person, and this fair.faced lady is engaged in welcoming me with due rites. $hou art at liberty to do whatever thou thin'est to be suitable to this occasion. rityu, armed with the iron club, pursued the ;ishi at that moment, desirous of compassing the destruction of one that would, he thought, deviate from his promise. (udarsana was struc' with wonder, but casting off all %ealousy and anger by loo', word, deed, or thought, said,..!o thou en%oy thyself, O #rahmana. It is a great pleasure to me. + householder obtain the highest merit by honouring a guest. It is said by the learned that, as regards the householder, there is no higher merit than what results unto him from a guest departing from his house after having been duly honoured by him. y life, my wife, and whatever other worldly possessions I have, are all dedicated to the use of my guests. Even this is the vow that I have ta'en. +s I have truly made this statement, by that truth, O #rahmana, I shall attain to the 'nowledge of (elf. O foremost of virtuous men, the five elements, vi4., fire, air, earth, water, and s'y, and the mind, the intellect and the (oul, and time and space and the ten organs of sense, are all present in the bodies of men, and always witness the good and evil deeds that men do. $his truth has today been uttered by me, and let the gods bless me for it or destroy me if I have spo'en falsely. +t this, O #harata, there arose in all directions, in repeated echoes, a voice, crying,..$his is true, this is not false. $hen that #rahmana came out of the hovel, and li'e the wind rising and encompassing both Earth and s'y, and ma'ing the three worlds echo with *edic sounds, and calling that virtuous man by name, and congratulating him said,..O sinless one, I am !harma= +ll glory to

thee. I came here, O truth.loving one, to try thee, and I am well pleased with thee by 'nowing thee to be virtuous. $hou hast subdued and conquered rityu who always has pursued thee, see'ing thy laches: O best of men, no one in the three worlds has the ability to insult, even with loo's, this chaste lady devoted to her husband, far less to touch her person. (he has been protected from defilement by thy virtue and by her own chastity. $here can be nothing contrary to what this proud lady will say. $his utterer of #rahma, endued with austere penances, shall, for the salvation of the world, be metamorphosed into a mighty river. +nd thou shalt attain to all the worlds in this thy body, and as truly as the science of Yoga is within her control, this highly blessed lady will follow thee with only half of her corporeal self, and with the other half will she be celebrated as the river Oghavati" +nd thou shalt attain with her to all the worlds that acquired through penances, $hose eternal and everlasting worlds from which none cometh bac' will be attained by thee even in this gross body of thine. $hou hast conquered !eath, and attained to the highest of all felicities, and by thy own power p. >? @paragraph continuesA 5of mind6, attaining to the speed of thought, thou hast risen above the power of the five elements" #y thus adhering to the duties of a householder, thou hast conquered thy passions, desires, and anger, and this princess, O prince of virtuous men has, by serving thee, conquered affliction, desire, illusion, enmity and lassitude of mind"' "#hishma continued, '$hen the glorious *asava 5the lord of the gods6, riding in a fine chariot drawn by a thousand white horses, approached that #rahmana. !eath and (oul, all the worlds, all the elements, intellect, mind, time, and space as also desire and wrath, were all conquered. $here.fore, O best of men, do thou bear this in mind, that to a householder there is no higher divinity than the guest. It is said by the learned that the blessings of an honoured guest are more efficacious than the merit of a hundred sacrifices. 9henever a deserving guest see's the hospitality of a householder and is not honoured by him, he ta'es away 5with him6 all the virtues of the latter giving him his sins 5in return6. I have now recited to thee, my son, this e/cellent story as to how !eath was conquered of old by a householder. $he recital of this e/cellent story confers glory, fame, and longevity 5upon those that listen to it6. $he man that see's worldly prosperity should consider it as efficacious in removing all evil. +nd, O #harata, the learned man that daily recites this story of the life of (udarsana attains to the regions of the blessed.'"