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 the race of such a Brahmana as lives by the profession of
arms. There, in that order, one has to wander for a long period. After a
time measured by multiplying the period last named by three hundred, one
takes birth in the race of a Brahmana that is given to the recitation of
the Gayatri and other sacred Mantras. There, in that order, one has to
wander for a long period. After a time measured by multiplying the period
last named by four hundred, one takes birth in the race of such a
Brahmana as is conversant with the entire Vedas and the scriptures,
There, in that order, one has to wander for a very long period. While
wandering in that status of existence, joy and grief, desire and
aversion, vanity and evil speech, seek to enter into him and make a
wretch of him. If he succeeds in subjugating those foes, he then attains
a high end. If, on the other hand, those enemies succeed in subjugating
him, he falls down from that high status like a person falling down on
the ground from the high top of a palmyra tree. Knowing this for certain,
O Matanga, I say unto thee, do thou name some other boon, for the status
of a Brahmana is incapable of being attained by thee (that hast been born
as a Chandala)!'
