अनुशासनिक पर्व — लक्ष्मी कस्तो पुरुषमा बस्छिन्; रुक्मिणी र श्रीको संवाद

Yudhishthira said Tell me, O grandfather, in what kind of man or woman, O chief of the Bharatas, does the goddess of Prosperity always live.

Bhishma said About it, I shall describe to you what took place and what I have heard. Once on a time, the princess Rukmini put this question in the presence of Devaki's son.

Seeing ihe goddess of Prosperity, shining with beauty and gifted with the hue of the lotus, the mother of Pradyumna having the emblem of Makara on his banner, filled with curiosity, said these words.

Who are those beings whom you help and whom you serve? Who, again, are those whom you do not serve? O you who are dear to him who is the lord of all creatures, tell me this truly, O you who are equal to a great Rishi in penances and power.

Thus addressed by the princess, the goddess of Prosperity, with a face beautiful like the moon, and, actuated by grace in the presence of the deity having the emblem of Garuda on his banner, said these words in reply which were sweet and charming.

Shree said O blessed lady, I always live with him who is eloquent, active, attentive to business, free from anger, given to the adoration of the gods, endued with gratitude, has his passions under complete restraint, and is highminded in everything.

I never live with one who does not attend to business, who is an unbeliever, who causes an intermixture by his lustful habit, who is ungrateful, who is of impure deeds, who uses harsh and cruel words, who is a thief, and who cherishes malice towards his preceptors and other elders.

I never live in those persons who are gifted with little energy, strength, life, and honour, who are distressed at every, trifle, and who always indulge in anger. Nor do I ever live with those who think in one way and act in a different way.

I never live also with him who never wishes for any acquisition for imself, or him who is so blinded as to rest satisfied with the lot in which he finds himself without any exertion, or with those who are contented with small gains.

I live with those who perform the duties of their own order, or those who are conversant with the duties of virtue, or those who are given to the service of the aged, or those who have their passions under restraint, or those that are gifted with purified souls, or those who observe the virtue of forgiveness, or those who are able and prompt in action, or with such women as are forgiving and self-controlled.

I live with those women also who are given to truth and sincerity and who adore the gods. I do not live with those women also who do not look after household furniture and provisions scattered all around the house, and who always ulter words against the wishes of their husbands.

I always avoid those women who are fond of the houses of other people and who have no modesty. On the other hand, I live with those women who are devoted to their husbands, who are blessed in conduct, and who are always adorned with ornaments and well-clad.

I always live with those women who are truthful in words, who are handsome and lovely in appearance, who are blessed and whe are gifted with all accomplishments. I always avoid such women who are sinful and unclean or impure, who always lick the corners of their mouths, who have no patience or fortitude, and who are fond of dispute and quarrelling; who are indolent and sleepy and always inclined to lie down. I always live in conveyances and the animals that drag them, in maidens, in ornaments and good dresses, in sacrifices, in clouds charged with rain, in full-blown lotises. and in those stars that covers the autumnal sky. I live in elephants, in the cowpeng in good seats, and in lakes adorned with full-bloun lotuses.

I live also in such rivers as pass by with sweet murinurs, melodious with the music of cranes, having banks adorned with row of various trees, and resorted to by Brahmanas and ascetics.

I always live in those rivers also which havo deep and extensive waters rendered turbid by lions and elephants plunging into them for bathing or satisfying their thirst. I live also in angry elephants, in bulls, in kings, on the throne, and in good men.

I always live in that house in which the inmate pours libations on the sacrificial fire and adore kine, Brahmanas, and the gods. I live in that house where at the proper time offerings are made, to the gods, of flowers in course of worship.

I always live in such Brahmanas as are given to the study of the Vedas, in Kshatriyas devoted to the observance of virtue, in Vaishyas devoted to cultivation, and in Shudras devoted to the service of the three upper castes.

I live, with a heart firm and unshaken, in Narayana, in my embodied self. In Him exists virtue, full and perfect, devotion to the Brahmanas, and the quality of goodness.

Can I not say, O lady, that I do not live in my embodied form? That person in whom I live in spirit increases in virtue and fame and wealth and object of desire.