The colloquy between the Fowler and the Brahmana

The Fowler said: O foremost of the best of Brahmanas, having been thus cursed by the Rishi, I said "Pardon me, O Rishi, I have unconsciously done this wicked act. You should pardon all (my fault). Oexalted Rishi, be graceful (to me).

The Rishi said : The curse that I have pronounced can never be falsified. This is certain. But for kindness I shall do you a favour.

Even taking your birth as a Shudra, you will be virtuous, you shall certainly serve and wait upon your parents.

By (thus) serving them, you will acquire great success. You shall also remember the events of your past life and shall go to heaven.

On the expiration of this curse, you shall again become a Brahmana. I was thus in the days of yore cursed by that greatly effulgent Rishi.

O foremost of men, thus was he propitiated by me. O best of men, I extricated the arrow from his body.

I took him to the hermitage, but he was not deprived of his life, (he recovered from the । wound). I have thus narrated to you all that happened to me before. O foremost of men and also now I can go to heaven hereafter.

The Brahmana said: O greatly intelligent one, all men are thus subject to happiness or misery. You should not therefore grieve for it.

O virtuous man, O man learned in the ways of the world, in obedience to the customs of your present caste (Fowler), you have pursued these wicked ways.

These being the duties of your profession, the stain of evil Karma will not attach to you. After living here for sometime you shall again become a Brahmana.

There is no doubt that even now I consider you to be a Brahmana, for the Brahmana who is vain and haughty who is sinful and evilminded and who is fond of degraded practices, is no better than a Shudra.

The Shudra who is, endued with righteousness, self-control and truthfulness, is considered by me as a Brahmana. A man becomes a Brahmana by his own good act.

By his own evil Karma a man meets with an evil and terrible doom. O foremost of men, 1 believe that all your sin is destroyed.

You must not grieve for it, for men like you, who are so virtuous and learned in the ways and niysteries of the world, can have no cause of grief.

The Fowler said: The bodily disease should be cured with medicines and the mental ones by spiritual wisdom. This is the power of knowledge. Knowing this, the wise should not behave like boys.

Men of low intelligence are overpowered with grief at the occurrence of something which is not agreeable to them or nonoccurrence of something which is good or much desired. Every creature is subject to this (law). It is not merely a single creature or a class, that is subject to misery. Congnisant of this evil people quickly mend their ways, if they perceive it at the very out-set, they succeed in curing it altogether.

Whoever grieves for it, only makes himself miserable. Those wise men whose knowledge has made them happy and contented and who are indifferent to happiness and misery, are really happy. The wise are always contented and the foolish are always discontented.

There is not end to to discontent and contentment is the highest happiness. The man who has attained the highest state does not grieve. They are always conscious of the final destruction of all creatures. One must not give way to discontent, for it is like a virulently poisonous snake. It kills persons of undeveloped intelligence just as a child is killed by an enraged snake.

That man has no manliness whose energies do abandon him and who is overpowered with perplexity, when an occasion for displaying vigour presents itself.

Our actions are with certainty followed by their effects. Whoever merely gives himself up to passive indifference (to worldly affairs) accomplishes no good.

Instead of gruinbling, one must try to find out the means by which he can be freed from all misery.

He who has attained the highest state, being conscious of the great deficiency of all matter and seeing before him the final doom, never grieves.

O excellent man, O learned one, I too do not grieve. I wait abiding my time. For this reason I am not confined (in any way).

The Brahmana said: You are wise great in knowledge and vast in your intelligence; O virtuous one, you are content with your wisdom. I have nothing to complain in you.

O foremost of all virtuous men, (now) farewell. May prosperity come to you, may virtue protect you and may you be ever steady in the practice of virtuc.

Markandeya said : The Fowler with joined hands said to him, "So be it.” That foremost of Brahmanas then walked round him and went away.

When the Brahmana returned home he assiduously and duly began to serve his old father and mother.

O Yudhishthira, O child, O foremost of virtuous men, I have thus told you in detail all that you asked me:

The virtue of women's devotion to their husbands and the filial piety as described to the Brahmana by the virtuous fowler.

Yudhishthira said: O foremost of all virtuous men, O best of Rishis, O Brahmana, wonderful is this excellent moral story.

Listening to you, O learned man, O exalted one, my time has passed away as if it were but a (fleeting) moment. But I am not as yet satiated with hearing about Dharma.