Sexual Life in Ancient India: A Study in the Comparative History of Indian Culture v1.c5.305

v1.c5.305

told that shame was felt towards it in the upper classes. “Then Bhīshma, Çāntanu’s son, he the thinker, bent his mind on a second marriage for the king Pāṇḍu, the glorious. With the old ministers and with Brahmans, great holy men and an army in four divisions he made his way to the city of the king of the Madras. When the leader of the Vāhīkas heard he had come, the prince went to meet him and brought him into the city. When the ruler of Madra had set before him a splendid seat and water for the feet, as also the honorific guest-water and the honey-mixture, he asked about the object of his coming. To the Madra king spoke Bhīshma, the Kuru offspring : ‘Know that I have come to request a maiden, O tamer of foes. It is said thou hast a surpassing sister, Mādrī, the glorious one. I would ask for her for Pāṇḍu. For thou art fitting unto us for an alliance, and we to thee. Bearing this in mind, O prince of the Madras, accept us, as is right and seemly.’ To Bhīshma, thus speaking, made answer the warden of the Madras : ‘For me there is no better wooer than he,¹ that I hold. By my forefathers, the greatest men in this family, something was introduced ; now whether it be good or bad, I cannot set myself above it. It is known to all and also to thee, of that is no doubt. It is indeed, not becoming to say : Lord, give.² That is the wont and custom of our family, and this is our main guiding-thread. Therefore do I speak unto