test in this pursuit. Desist, therefore, from
this vain endeavour without any delay. This object of thy desire, viz.,
the status of a Brahmana, which is the foremost of everything, is
incapable of being won by penances. Therefore, by coveting that foremost
status, thou wilt incur sure destruction. One born as a Chandala can
never attain to that status which is regarded as the most sacred among
the deities and Asuras and human beings!'"'"

SECTION XXVIII

"'Bhishma said, "Thus addressed by Indra, Matanga of restrained vows and
well regulated soul, (without hearkening to the counsels of the chief of
the celestials), stood for a hundred years on one foot, O thou of
unfading glory. Sakra of great fame once more appeared before him and
addressing him, said,--'The status of a Brahmana, O child, is
unattainable. Although thou covetest it, it is impossible for thee to
obtain it. O Matanga, by coveting that very high status thou art sure to
be destroyed. Do not, O son, betray such rashness. This cannot be a
righteous path for thee to follow. O thou of foolish understanding, it is
impossible for thee to obtain it in this world. Verily, by coveting that
which is unattainable, thou art sure to meet with destruction in no time.
I am repeatedly forbidding thee. By striving, however, to attain that
high status by the aid of thy penances, notwithstanding my repeated
admonition, thou art sure to meet with destruction. From the order of
brute life one attains to the status of humanity. If born as human being,
he is sure to take birth as a Pukkasa or a Chandala. Verily, one having
taken birth in that sinful order of existence, viz., Pukkasa, one, O
Matanga, has to wander in it for a very long time. Passing a period of
one thousand years in that order, one attains next to the status of a
Sudra. In the Sudra order, again, one has to wander for a long time.
After thirty thousand years one acquire the status of a Vaisya. There, in
that order, one has to pass a very long period. After a time that is
sixty times longer than what has been stated as the period of Sudra
existence, one becomes a person of the fighting order. In the Kshatriya
order one has to pass a very long time. After a time that is measured by
multiplying the period last referred to by sixty, one becomes born as a
fallen Brahmana. In this order one has to wander for a long period. After
a time measured by multiplying the period last named by two hundred, one
becomes born in