Thou art the very Ruru and the son of Pramati. On regaining my native form,
I will tell thee something for thy good.'
"And that illustrious man and the best of Brahmanas then left his snake-
body, and attained his own form and original brightness. He then addressed
the following words to Ruru of incomparable power, 'O thou first of
created beings, verily the highest virtue of man is sparing the life of
others. Therefore a Brahmana should never take the life of any creature. A
Brahmana should ever be mild. This is the most sacred injunction of the
Vedas. A Brahmana should be versed in the Vedas and Vedangas, and should
inspire all creatures with belief in God. He should be benevolent to all
creatures, truthful, and forgiving, even as it is his paramount duty to
retain the Vedas in his memory. The duties of the Kshatriya are not thine.
To be stern, to wield the sceptre and to rule the subjects properly are
the duties of the Kshatriya. Listen, O Ruru, to the account of the
destruction of snakes at the sacrifice of Janamejaya in days of yore, and
the deliverance of the terrified reptiles by that best of Dwijas, Astika,
profound in Vedic lore and might in spiritual energy.'"
And so ends the eleventh section of the Pauloma Parva of the Adi Parva.
SECTION XII
(Pauloma Parva continued)
"Sauti continued, 'Ruru then asked, 'O best of Dwijas, why was king
Janamejaya bent upon destroying the serpents?--And why and how were they
saved by the wise Astika? I am anxious to hear all this in detail.
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