persons conversant with ancient history repeat the
following verses sung of old respecting how in ancient times the Creator,
after having created the Brahmanas, ordained their duties.--'A Brahmana
should never do anything else than what has been ordained for him.
Protected, they should protect others. By conducting themselves in this
way, they are sure to attain to what is mightily advantageous for them.
By doing those acts that are ordained for them, they are sure to obtain
Brahma-prosperity. Ye shall become the exemplars of all creatures, and
reins for restraining them. A Brahmana possessed of learning should never
do that which is laid down for the Sudras. By doing such acts, a Brahmana
loses merit[262]. By Vedic study he is sure to obtain prosperity and
intelligence and energy and puissance competent to scorch all things, as
also glory of the most exalted kind. By offering oblations of clarified
butter unto the deities, the Brahmanas attain to high blessedness and
become worthy of taking the precedence of even children in the matter of
all kinds of cooked food, and endued with Brahma-prosperity.[263] Endued
with faith that is fraught with compassion towards all creatures, and
devoted to self-restraint and the study of the Vedas, ye shall attain to
the fruition of all your wishes. Whatever things exist in the world of
men, whatever things occur in the region of the deities, can all be
achieved and acquired with the aid of penances and knowledge and the
observance of vows and restraints.' I have thus recited to thee, O sinless
one, the verses that were sung by Brahma himself. Endued with supreme
intelligence and wisdom, the Creator himself ordained this, through
compassion for the Brahmanas. The puissance of those among them that are
devoted to penances is equal to the might of kings. They are verily
irresistible, fierce, possessed of the speed of lightning, and
exceedingly quick in what they do. There are amongst them those that are
possessed of the might of lions and those that are possessed of the might
of tigers. Some of them are endued with the might of boars, some with
that of the deer, and some with that of crocodiles. Some there are
amongst them whose touch resembles that of snakes of virulent poison, and
some whose bite resembles that of sharks. Some amongst them are capable
of compassing by speech alone the destruction of those that are opposed
to them; and some are competent to destroy by a glance only of thei