z:\ ambedkar\vol 011\vol11 02.indd MK SJ+YS 4 10 2013/YS 18 11 2013 20
20 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
objects, even the god Purandara (Indra) wooed in olden times Ahalya, the wife of the saint Gautama.
I
“So too Agastya wooed Rohini, the wife of Soma ; and therefore, as Sruti saith, a like thing befell Lopamudra.
“The great ascetic Brihaspati begot Bharadvaja on Mamata the daughter of the Maruta, the wife of Autathya.
“The Moon, the best of offerers, begat Buda of divine nature on the spouse of Vrihaspati as she was offering a libation.
“So too in old times Parasara, overpowered by passion on the banks of the Yamuna, lay with the maiden Kali who was the daughter of the son of Varuna.
“The sage Vasishtha through lust begot a son Kapinglada on Akshmala, a despised low-caste woman.
“And the seer-king Yayat, even when the vigour of his prime was gone, sported in the Kaitrartha forest with the Apsara Visvaki.
“And the Kaurava king Pandu, though he knew that intercourse with his wife would end in death, yet overcome by the beauty and good qualities of Madri, yielded to the pleasures of love.
“Great heroes such as these, pursued even contemptible desires for the sake of pleasure, how much more so when they are praiseworthy of their kind?
“And yet thou, a young man, possessed of strength and beauty, despisest enjoyments which rightly belong to thee and to which the whole world is devoted.”
§ 12. The Prince’s Reply to the Prime Minister
Having heard these specious words of his, wellsupported by sacred tradition, the prince made reply, in a voice like the thundering of a cloud :
“This speech manifesting affection is wellbefitting in thee ; but I will convince thee as to where