the
domination of covetousness apparently practise the duties of
righteousness, the consequence that results is that the desecrations
committed by them soon become current among men. Pride, anger, arrogance,
insensibility, paroxysms of joy and sorrow, and self-importance, all
these, O descendant of Kuru, are to be seen in persons swayed by
covetousness. Know that they who are always under the influence of
covetousness are wicked. I shall now tell thee of those about whom thou
askest, viz., those who are called good and whose practices are pure.
They who have no fear of an obligation to return to this world (after
death), they who have no fear of the next world, they who are not
addicted to animal food and who have no liking for what is agreeable and
no dislike for what is otherwise, they to whom good behaviour is ever
dear, they in whom there is self-restraint, they to whom pleasure and
pain are equal, they who have truth for their high refuge, they who give
but not take, they who have compassion, they who worship Pitris, gods and
guests, they who are always ready to exert themselves (for the good of
others), they who are universal benefactors, they who are possessed of
great courage (of mind), they who observe all the duties laid down in the
scriptures, they who are devoted to the good of all, they who can give
their all and lay down their very lives for others, are regarded as good
and virtuous, O Bharata! Those promoters of righteousness are incapable
of being forced away from the path of virtue. Their conduct, conformable
to the model set by the righteous men of old, can never be otherwise.
They are perfectly fearless, they are tranquil, they are mild, and they
always adhere to the right path. Full of compassion, they are always
worshipped by the good. They are free from lust and anger. They are not
attached to any worldly object. They have no pride. They are observant of
excellent vows. They are always objects of regard. Do thou, therefore,
always wait upon them and seek instruction from them. They never acquire
virtue, O Yudhishthira, for the sake of wealth or of fame. They acquire
it on the other hand, because it is a duty like that of cherishing the
body. Fear, wrath, restlessness, and sorrow do not dwell in them. There
is not the outward garb of religion for misleading their fellow men. There
is no mystery with them. They are perfectly contented. There is no error
of judgment arising from covetousness. They are