The man who attends to that duty here,
succeeds in acquiring great fame and many regions of felicity. Worshipped
with respect by thee, whatever they will command thee, be it consistent
with righteousness or in consistent with it, should be done
unhesitatingly, O Yudhishthira! One should never do what they forbid.
Without doubt, that which they command should always be done.[332] They
are the three worlds. They are the three modes of life. They are the
three Vedas. They are the three sacred fires. The father is said to be
the Garhapatya fire; the mother, the Dakshina fire, and the preceptor is
that fire upon which libations are poured. These three fires are, of
course, the most eminent. If thou attendest with heedfulness to these
three fires, thou wilt succeed in conquering the three worlds. By serving
the father with regularity, one may cross this world. By serving the
mother in the same way, one may attain to regions of felicity in the
next. By serving the preceptor with regularity one may obtain the region
of Brahma. Behave properly towards these three, O Bharata, thou shalt
then obtain great fame in the three worlds, and blessed be thou, great
will be thy merit and reward. Never transgress them in any act. Never eat
before they eat, nor eat anything that is better than what thy eat. Never
impute any fault to them. One should always serve them with humility.
That is an act of high merit. By acting in that way, O best of kings,
thou mayst obtain fame, merit, honour, and regions of felicity hereafter.
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