Kuntibhoja Instructs Pritha to Serve the Brahmana
Pritha arrives before her father with wide-eyed wonder, and Kuntibhoja places a great burden upon her: she must satisfy the angry brahmana without hesitation. He reminds her of her noble lineage — born to Shura of the Vrishnis, sister to Vasudeva — and warns that if she angers the brahmana, he will burn down the entire royal lineage.
Pritha arrived before her father, her eyes wide with wonder.
Kuntibhoja spoke to her. "O daughter! This immensely fortunate brahmana wishes to reside here. I have promised him that he can live in my house. I have confidently told him that you know how to satisfy a brahmana. Act in a way so that my words are not falsified."
He told her what the brahmana was: an ascetic, devoted to studying. Whatever the immensely ascetic one asked for, she was to give without hesitation.
Then he told her what brahmanas were.
"Brahmanas are supreme energy. Brahmanas are supreme austerities. It is because of the worship of brahmanas that the sun shines in the sky." He gave her examples: the great asuras Vatapi and Talajangha — both killed through the curse of a brahmana, because they had disrespected those who deserved to be honoured.
"A great burden is being placed on you," he said. "With self-control, always seek to satisfy the brahmana."
He told her he knew her character. From childhood, she had been attentive to brahmanas, to elders, to servants, to friends, to kin, to mothers, to him — in the appropriate way, with due honour. There was no one among the subjects, in the city, in the inner quarters, or among the servants, who was dissatisfied with her. "I therefore think that you can handle this brahmana, who is prone to anger."
Then he reminded her who she was.
"You became my daughter in your childhood. You were born in the lineage of the Vrishnis and are Shura's beloved daughter. Earlier, when you were still a child, your father affectionately handed you over to me. You are Vasudeva's sister and the foremost among my daughters. You became my daughter because he promised his firstborn child to me."
She had been born in such a lineage and raised in such a lineage. She had moved from one kind of happiness to another kind of happiness — like a lotus that has moved from one pond to another.
"Those who are born in low lineages, even if they are kept under check when they are children, often become deviants later. But you have been born in the lineage of a king and possess extraordinary beauty. You have all the qualities."
He told her to discard her pride, insolence and vanity. "Worship the brahmana, the granter of boons. That will ensure your welfare. Through this, you are certain to obtain good fortune."
And then he told her what was at stake.
"But if you anger the foremost among brahmanas, he will burn down my entire lineage." Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 584