Vaisampayana continued, "Yudhishthira, finding his beloved brother
coiled by the body of the serpent, said these words: 'O son of Kunti,
how hast thou come by this misfortune! And who is this best of serpents
having a body like unto a mountain mass?' Bhimasena said, 'O worshipful
one, this mighty being hath caught me for food. He is the royal sage
Nahusha living in the form of a serpent.' Yudhishthira said, 'O
longlived one, do thou free my brother of immeasurable prowess; we will
give thee some other food which will appease thy hunger.' The serpent
said, 'I have got for diet even this son of a king, come to my mouth of
himself. Do thou go away. Thou shouldst not stay here. (If thou
remainest here) thou too shall be my fare to-morrow. O mighty-armed one,
this is ordained in respect of me, that he that cometh unto my place,
becometh my food and thou too art in my quarter. After a long time have
I got thy younger brother as my food; I will not let him off; neither do
I like to have any other food.' Thereat Yudhishthira said, 'O serpent,
whether thou art a god, or a demon, or an _Uraga_, do thou tell me
truly, it is Yudhishthira that asketh thee, wherefore, O snake, hast
thou taken Bhimasena? By obtaining which, or by knowing what wilt thou
receive satisfaction, O snake, and what food shall I give thee? And how
mayst thou free him.' The serpent said, 'O sinless one, I was thy
ancestor, the son of Ayu and fifth in descent from the Moon. And I was a
king celebrated under the name of Nahusha. And by sacrifices and
asceticism and study of the Vedas and self-restraint and prowess I had
acquired a permanent dominion over the three worlds. And when I had
obtained such dominion, haughtiness possessed me. And thousands of
_Brahmanas_ were engaged in carrying my chair. And intoxicated by
supremacy, I insulted those _Brahmanas_. And, O lord of the earth, by
Agastya have I been reduced to this pass! Yet, O Pandava, to this day
the memory (of my former birth) hath not forsaken me! And, O king, even
by the favour of that high-souled Agastya, during the sixth division of
the day have I got for meal thy younger brother. Neither will I set him
free, nor do I wish for any other food. But if to-day thou answerest the
questions put by me, then, I shall deliver Vrikodara!' At this
Yudhishthira said, 'O serpent, ask whatever thou listest! I shall, if I
can, answer thy questions with the view of gratifying thee, O snake!
Thou knowest fully what should be known by _Brahmanas_. Therefore, O
king of snakes, hearing (thee) I shall answer thy queries!'
"The serpent said, 'O Yudhishthira, say--Who is a _Brahmana_ and what
should be known? By thy speech I infer thee to be highly intelligent.'
"Yudhishthira said, 'O foremost of serpents, he, it is asserted by the
wise, in whom are seen truth, charity, forgiveness, good conduct,
benevolence, observance of the rites of his order and mercy is a
_Brahmana_. And, O serpent, that which should be known is even the
supreme _Brahma_, in which is neither happiness nor misery--and
attaining which beings are not affected with misery; what is thy
opinion?'
"The serpent said, 'O Yudhishthira, truth, charity, forgiveness,
benevolence, benignity, kindness and the _Veda_[2] which worketh the
benefit of the four orders, which is the authority in matters of
religion and which is true, are seen even in the _Sudra_. As regards the
object to be known and which thou allegest is without both happiness and
misery, I do not see any such that is devoid of these.'
[2] In as much as the rites performed by the Sudras have their
origin in the Vedas.
"Yudhishthira said, 'Those characteristics that are present in a
_Sudra_, do not exist in a _Brahmana_; nor do those that are in a
_Brahmana_ exist in a _Sudra_. And a _Sudra_ is not a _Sudra_ by birth
alone--nor a _Brahmana_ is _Brahmana_ by birth alone. He, it is said by
the wise, in whom are seen those virtues is a _Brahmana_. And people
term him a Sudra in whom those qualities do not exist, even though he be
a _Brahmana_ by birth. And again, as for thy assertion that the object
to be known (as asserted by me) doth not exist, because nothing exists
that is devoid of both (happiness and misery), such indeed is the
opinion, O serpent, that nothing exists that is without (them) both. But
as in cold, heat doth not exist, nor in heat, cold, so there cannot
exist an object in which both (happiness and misery) cannot exist?'
"The serpent said, 'O king, if thou recognise him as a Brahmana by
characteristics, then, O long-lived one, the distinction of caste
becometh futile as long as conduct doth not come into play.'
"Yudhishthira said, 'In human society, O mighty and highly intelligent
serpent, it is difficult to ascertain one's caste, because of
promiscuous intercourse among the four orders. This is my opinion. Men
belonging to all orders (promiscuously) beget offspring upon women of
all the orders. And of men, speech, sexual intercourse, birth and death
are common. And to this the Rishis have borne testimony by using as the
beginning of a sacrifice such expressions as--_of what caste so ever we
may be, we celebrate the sacrifice_. Therefore, those that are wise have
asserted that character is the chief essential requisite. The natal
ceremony of a person is performed before division of the umbilical cord.
His mother then acts as its _Savitri_ and his father officiates as
priest. He is considered as a _Sudra_ as long as he is not initiated in
the _Vedas_. Doubts having arisen on this point, O prince of serpents,
Swayambhuba Manu has declared, that the mixed castes are to be regarded
as better than the (other) classes, if having gone through the
ceremonies of purification, the latter do not conform to the rules of
good conduct, O excellent snake! Whosoever now conforms to the rules of
pure and virtuous conduct, him have I, ere now, designated as a
_Brahmana_.' The serpent replied, 'O Yudhishthira, thou art acquainted
with all that is fit to be known and having listened to thy words, how
can I (now) eat up thy brother Vrikodara!'"