being highly sinful and unspeakable, are sure to terminate in misery, it seemeth to me that one of thy nature winneth praise only so long as his able foe bideth his time.  Renouncing all sin, even as a serpent casteth off its worn out slough which it cannot any longer retain, the heroic Ajatasatru shineth in his natural perfection, leaving his load of sins to be borne by thee.  Consider, O king, thy own acts which are contrary to both religion and profit, and to the behaviour of those that are righteous.  Thou hast, O king, earned a bad repute in this world, and wilt reap misery in the next.  Obeying the counsels of thy son thou hopest to enjoy this doubtful property, keeping them aloof.  This unrighteous deed is loudly bruited about in the world, Therefore, O foremost of the Bharatas, this deed is unworthy of thee.  Calamity overtaketh him who is deficient in wisdom, or who is of low birth, or who is cruel, or who cherisheth hostility for a long time, or who is not steady in Kshatriya virtues, or is devoid of energy, or is of a bad disposition, in fact, him who hath such marks.  It is by virtue of luck that a person taketh his birth in good race, or becometh strong, or famous, or versed in various lore, or possesseth the comforts of life, or becometh capable of subduing his senses, or discriminating virtue and vice that are always linked together.  What person is there, who, attended upon by foremost of counsellors, possessed of intelligence, capable of discriminating between virtue and vice in times of distress, not destitute of the rituals of religion, and retaining the use of all his faculties, would commit cruel deeds.  These counsellors, ever devoted to thy work, wait here united together.  Even this is their firm determination (viz., that the Pandavas are not to get back their share).  The destruction of the Kurus, therefore, is certain to be brought about by the force of circumstances.  If, provoked by the offences, Yudhishthira wisheth for misery to thee, then Kurus will be destroyed prematurely, while, imparting all his sins to thee, the blame of that deed will be thine in this world.  Indeed, what else is there save the will of the Gods, for Arjuna, the son of Pritha, leaving this world ascended to the very heavens and was honoured there very greatly.  This proves that individual exertion is nothing.  There is, no doubt, as to this.  Seeing that the attributes of high birth, bravery, etc., depended for their development or otherwise on acts, and beholding also prosperity and adversity and stability and instability (in persons and their possessions), king Vali, in his search after causes, having failed to discover a beginning (in the chain of acts of former lives one before another), regarded the eternal Essence to be the cause of everything.  The eye, the ear, the nose, the touch, and the tongue, these are the doors of a person’s knowledge.  If desire be curbed, these would be gratified by themselves.  Therefore, cheerfully and without repining one should control