seen in the world would never have been seen.  For these reasons, Desire is seen to be the foremost of the triple aggregate.  Approaching beautiful damsels attired in excellent robes, adorned with every ornament, and exhilarated with sweet wines, do thou sport with them.  Desire, O king, should be the foremost of the three with us.  Reflecting upon the question to its very roots, I have come to this conclusion.  Do not hesitate to accept this conclusion, O son of Dharma!  These words of mine are not of hollow import.  Fraught with righteousness as they are they will be acceptable to all good men.  Virtue, Profit, and Desire should all be equally attended to.  That man who devotes himself to only one of them is certainly not a superior person.  He is said to be middling who devotes himself to only two of them.  He, on the other hand, is the best of his species who attends to all the three.  Having said these words in brief as also in detail, unto those heroes, Bhima possessed of wisdom, surrounded by friends, smeared with sandal-paste, and adorned with excellent garlands and ornaments, remained silent.[485] Then king Yudhishthira the just, that foremost of virtuous men, possessed of great learning, properly reflecting for a while upon the words spoken by all of them, and thinking all those speeches to be false philosophy, himself spoke as follows.’

“Yudhishthira said, ’Without doubt, all of you have settled conclusions in respect of the scriptures, and all of you are conversant with authorities.  These words fraught with certainty that you have spoken have been heard by me.  Listen now, with concentrated attention, to what I say unto you.  He who is not employed in merit or in sin, he who does not attend to Profit, or Virtue, or Desire, who is above all faults, who regards gold and a brick-bat with equal eyes, becomes liberated from pleasure and pain and the necessity of accomplishing his purposes.  All creatures are subject to birth and death.  All are liable to waste and change.  Awakened repeatedly by the diverse benefits and evils of life, all of them applaud Emancipation.  We do not know, however, what Emancipation is.  The self-born and divine Brahman has said that there is no Emancipation for him who is bound with ties of attachment and affection.  They, however, that are possessed of learning seek Extinction.  For this reason, one should never regard anything as either agreeable or disagreeable.[486] This view seems to be the best.  No one in this world can act as he pleases.  I act precisely as I am made (by a superior power) to act.  The great Ordainer makes all creatures proceed as He wills.  The Ordainer is Supreme.  Know this, all of you.[487] No one can, by his acts, obtain what is unobtainable.  That which is to be, takes place.  Know this.  And since he who has withdrawn himself from the triple aggregate may succeed in winning Emancipation, it seems, therefore, that Emancipation is productive of the highest good.’