"'Bhishma said, "Beholding his disciple returned from his mission,
Devasarman of great energy addressed him in words which I shall recite to
thee O king!
"'"Davasarman said, 'What hast thou seen, O Vipula, in course of thy
progress, O disciple, through the great forest? They whom thou hast seen
knew thee, O Vipula. I, as also my spouse Ruchi, know how thou hadst
acted in the matter of protecting Ruchi.'
"'"Vipula said, 'O regenerate Rishi, who are those two whom I first saw?
Who also are those other six whom I saw subsequently? All of them know
me: who, indeed, are they to whom thou alludest in thy speech to me?'
"'"Devasarman said, 'The first couple, O regenerate one, whom thou sawest,
are Day and Night. They are ceaselessly moving like a circle. Both of
them know the transgression of which thou hast been guilty, those other
men (six in number) whom, O learned Brahmana, thou sawest playing
cheerfully at dice, are the six Seasons. They also are acquainted with
thy transgressions. Having committed a sin in secrecy, no sinful man
should cherish the assuring thought that his transgression is known only
to himself and not to any one else. When a man perpetrates a sinful deed
in secret, the Seasons as also Day and Night behold it always. Those
regions that are reserved for the sinful shall be thine (for what thou
hast done). What thou hadst done thou didst not tell me. That thy sin was
not known to any one, was thy belief, and this conviction had filled thee
with joy. Thou didst not inform the preceptor of the whole truth,
choosing to hide from him a material portion. The Seasons, and Day and
Night, whom thou hast heard speak in that strain, thought it proper to
remind thee of thy transgression. Day and Night and the Seasons are ever
conversant of all the good and the bad deeds that are in a man. They
spoke to thee in that way, O regenerate one, because they have full
knowledge of what thou hadst done but which thou hadst not the courage to
inform me of, fearing thou hadst done wrong. For this reason those
regions that are reserved for the sinful will be thine as much. Thou
didst not tell me what thou hadst done. Thou wert fully capable, O
regenerate one, of protecting my spouse whose disposition by nature is
sinful. In doing what thou didst, thou didst not commit any sin. I was,
for this, gratified with thee! O best of Brahmanas, if I had known thee
to have acted wickedly, I would without hesitation, have cursed thee.
Women become united with men. Such union is very desirable with men. Thou
hadst, however, protected my wife in a different spirit. If thou hadst
acted otherwise, a curse would have been uttered upon thee. Even this is
what I think. Thou hadst O son, protected my spouse. The manner in which
thou didst it hath now become known to me as if thou hadst thyself
informed me of it. I have, O son, become gratified with thee. Relieved of
all anxiety, thou shalt go to heaven!' Having said these words unto
Vipula, the great Rishi Devasarman, ascended to heaven with his wife and
his disciple and began to pass his time there in great happiness. In
course of conversation, O king, on a former occasion, the great ascetic
Markandeya had narrated to me this history on the banks of the Ganga. I,
therefore, recite to thee. Women should always be protected by thee (from
temptations and opportunities of every kind). Amongst them both kinds are
to be seen, that is, those that are virtuous and those that are not so.
Those women that are virtuous are highly blessed. They are the mothers of
the universe (for they it is that cherish all creatures on every side).
They it is, O king, that uphold the earth with all her waters and
forests. Those women that are sinful, that are of wicked behaviour, that
are the destroyers of their races, and that are wedded to sinful
resolves, are capable of being ascertained by indications, expressive of
the evil that is in them, which appear, O king, on their bodies. It is
even thus that high-souled persons are capable of protecting women. They
cannot, O tiger among kings, be protected in any other way. Women, O
chief of men, are fierce. They are endued with fierce prowess. They have
none whom they love or like so much as they that have sexual congress
with them. Women are like those (Atharvan) incantations that are
destructive of life. Even after they have consented to live with one,
they are prepared to abandon him for entering into engagements with
others. They are never satisfied with one person of the opposite sex, O
son of Pandu! Men should feel no affection for them. Nor should they
entertain any jealousy on account of them. O king, having a regard only
for the considerations of virtue, men should enjoy their society, not
with enthusiasm and attachment but with reluctance and absence of
attachment. By acting otherwise, a man is sure to meet with destruction,
O delighter of the Kurus. Reason is respected at all times and under all
circumstances. Only one man, viz., Vipula, had succeeded in protecting
woman. There is none else, O king, in the three worlds who is capable of
protecting women."'"