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Mahabharata -Rajagopalachari
5.THE MARRIAGE OF DEVAYANI
She replied in sorrow and anger: "Father,
leave alone my merits and faults, which
are after all my own concern. But tell me
this, was Sarmishtha, the daughter of
Vrishaparva, right when she told me you
were but a minstrel singing the praises of
kings? She called me the daughter of a
mendicant living on the doles won by
flattery. Not content with this arrogant
contumely, she slapped me and threw me
into a pit which was nearby. I cannot stay
in any place within her father's territory."
And Devayani began to weep.
Sukracharya drew himself up proudly:
"Devayani," he said with dignity, "you are
not the daughter of a court minstrel. Your
father does not live on the wages of
flattery. You are the daughter of one who
is reverenced by all the world. Indra, the
king of the gods, knows this, and
Vrishaparva is not ignorant of his debt to
me. But no worthy man extols his own
merits, and I shall say no more about
myself. Arise, you are a peerless gem
among women, bringing prosperity to
your family. Be patient. Let us go home."
In this context Bhagavan Vyasa advises
humanity in general in the following
words of counsel addressed by
Sukracharya to his daughter:
"He conquers the world, who patiently
puts up with the abuse of his neighbors.
He who, controls his anger, as a horseman
breaks an unruly horse, is indeed a
charioteer and not he who merely holds
the reins, but lets the horse go whither it
would. He who sheds his anger just as a
snake its slough, is a real hero.
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