Hopeful Plea

When he heard his son's statement, the mind of the elderly brahmana became very agitated. Feeling helpless, he simply turned his attention to the lotus feet of Gopala and prayed, "My dear Lord Gopala, I have taken shelter of Your lotus feet, and therefore I request You to please protect my religious principles from disturbance and at the same time save my kinsmen from dying."

The next day, while the elderly brahmana was thinking deeply about this matter, the young brahmana came to his house. After coming before the old man and offering respectful obeisances, he very humbly folded his hands and spoke as follows: "You have promised to give your daughter to me, but now you do not say anything. What is your conclusion?"

The elderly brahmana remained silent. Taking this opportunity, his son immediately came out of the house with a stick to strike the younger man. The son said, "Oh, you are most degraded! You want to marry my sister, just like a dwarf who wants to catch the moon!"

Seeing the stick in the hand of the son, the younger brahmana fled. The next day, however, he gathered together all the people of the village. They called for the elderly brahmana and brought him to their meeting place. The young brahmana then began to speak before them as follows: "This gentleman has promised to give his daughter to me, yet now he does not keep his promise. Please ask him about his behavior."