Sensitive Inquiry

All the people gathered there addressed the elderly brahmana: "Why are you not fulfilling your promise? You have given your word of honor."

The elderly brahmana said, "My dear friends, I do not exactly remember making a promise like that."

When the old man's son heard this, he took the opportunity to juggle some words. Becoming very impudent, he stood before the assembly and said, "While touring various holy places of pilgrimage, my father carried much money. Seeing the money, this rogue decided to steal it. There was no one besides this man with my father. Giving him an intoxicant known as dhutura to eat, this rogue made my father mad. Then he took all my father's money and claimed that it had been taken by some thief. Now he is claiming that my father has promised to give him my sister in charity. All of you assembled here are gentlemen. Please judge whether it is befitting to offer this poor brahmana my father's daughter."

Hearing these statements, all the people gathered there became a little doubtful. They thought it was quite possible that because of attraction for riches, one might give up his religious principles.

At that time, the young brahmana said, "My dear gentlemen, please hear. Just to gain victory in an argument, this man is lying. Being very satisfied with my service, this brahmana said to me of his own accord, 'I promise to give my daughter to you.' At that time, I forbade him to do this, telling him, 'O best of the brahmanas, I am not a fit husband for your daughter. Whereas you are a learned scholar, a rich man belonging to an aristocratic family, I am a poor man, uneducated and with no claim to aristocracy.'

"Still, this brahmana insisted. Again and again he asked me to accept his proposal, saying, 'I have given you my daughter. Please accept her.' I then said, 'Please hear me. You are a learned brahmana. Your wife, friends and relatives will never agree to this proposal. My dear sir, you will not be able to fulfill your promise. Your promise will be broken.'

"Yet, again and again the brahmana emphasized his promise. 'I have offered you my daughter,' he said. 'Do not hesitate. She is my daughter, and I shall give her to you. Who can forbid me?'

"At that time I concentrated my mind and requested the brahmana to make the promise before the Gopala Deity. When we came before the Deity, this gentleman said, 'My dear Lord, please witness that I have offered my daughter to this brahmana in charity.'

"Accepting the Gopala Deity as my witness, I then submitted the following at His lotus feet: 'My dear Lord, if this brahmana later hesitates to give me his daughter, I shall call on You as a witness. Please note this with care and attention.' Thus I have called upon a great personality in this transaction. I have asked the Supreme Godhead to be my witness. The entire world accepts the words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

Although the young brahmana described himself as having no claims to aristocracy and as being an uneducated common man, still he had some good qualifications: he believed that the Supreme Personality of Godhead was the topmost authority, he accepted the words of Lord Krsna without hesitation, and he had firm faith in the Lord's consistency. When the young brahmana was finished speaking, the elderly brahmana immediately agreed to his statement. He said, "If Gopala personally comes here to serve as a witness, I shall surely give my daughter to the young brahmana." The elderly brahmana's son also immediately agreed, saying, "Yes, this is a very nice settlement."