oods. That Brahmana who eateth in silence
from a plate, keeping his hands between his knees, succeedeth in
rescuing others. And those Brahmanas that abstain from drink and who are
never spoken of by others as having any faults and who daily read the
_Samhitas_, are capable of rescuing others. Libations of butter and
edible offerings should all be presented to a Brahmana who is learned in
the _Vedas_. And as libations of clarified butter poured into fire never
go in vain, so gift to virtuous Brahmanas learned in the _Vedas_ can
never go in vain. The Brahmanas have anger for their weapon; they never
fight with arms of iron and steel. Indeed the Brahmanas slay with anger
like Indra slaying the Asuras with his thunder-bolt. Thus prelection
appertaining to virtue and morality is now over. Hearing this, the
_Munis_ of the forest of _Naimisha_ were filled with delight. And those
ascetics were also freed from grief and anger by listening to it. And
they were also purged of all their sins in consequence of this. And, O
king, those human beings that listen to it become freed from the
obligation of rebirth.'

"Yudhishthira said, 'O thou of great wisdom, what purification is there
by which a Brahmana may always keep himself pure? I desire to hear of it
from thee, O thou foremost of all virtuous men!'

"Markandeya answered, 'There are three kinds of purity, viz., purity in
speech, purity in deed, and purity achieved by use of water. He that has
recourse to these three different kinds of purity, attains, without
doubt, to heaven. That Brahmana who adoreth the goddess _Sandhya_ in the
morning and the evening, and who recites meditatively the sacred goddess
_Gayairi_ who is the mother of the _Vedas_, sanctified by the latter, is
freed from all his sins. Even if he accepts in gift the entire earth
with her oceans, he doth not, on that account, suffer the least
unhappiness. And those heavenly bodies in the sky including the sun that
may be inauspicious and hostile towards him soon become auspicious and
favourable towards him in consequence of these acts of his, while those
stars that are auspicious and favourable become more auspicious and more
favourable in consequence of such conduct of his. And terrible Rakshasas
subsisting on animal food, of gigantic and fierce mien, all become
unable to prevail over a Brahmana who practiseth these purifications.
The Brahmanas are even like blazing fires. They incur no fault in
consequence of teachi