Mahabharata Anushasna Parva (Dana Dharma Parva) Chapter 10
"'Yudhisthira said, "I wish to know, O royal sage, whether any fault is incurred by one who from interested or disinterested friendship imparts instructions unto a person belonging to a low order of birth! O grandsire, I desire to hear this, expounded to me in detail. The course of duty is exceedingly subtile. Men are often seen to be stupefied in respect of that course.
"'Bhishma said, "In this connection, O king, I shall recite to thee, in due order, what I heard certain Rishis say in days of yore. Instruction should not be imparted unto one that belongs to a low or mean caste. It is said that the preceptor who imparts instruction to such a person incurs great fault. Listen to me, O chief of Bharata's race, as I recite to thee, O Yudhishthira, this instance that occurred in days of old, O monarch, of the evil consequences of the imparting of instruction unto a low-born person fallen into distress. The incident which I shall relate occurred in the asylum of certain regenerate sages that stood on the auspicious breast of Himavat. There, on the breast of that prince of mountains, was a sacred asylum adorned with trees of diverse kinds. Overgrown also with diverse species of creepers and plants, it was the resort of many animals and birds. Inhabited by Siddhas and Charanas also, it was exceedingly delightful in consequence of the woods that flowered these at every season. Many were the Brahmacharins that dwelt there, and many belonging to the forest mode of life. |
References
- ↑ Tapasye is Tapah karishye. There being no indirect narration in Sanskrit, such forms cannot be helped. A Kulapati is an ascetic that owns ten thousand ascetics for his disciples. Kanwa, the foster-father of Sakuntala, was a Kulapati.
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