“_Thou art my king, my guide, my only refuge, my divinity._ _It is my fixed resolve to follow thee. If thou must wander forth_ _Through thorny trackless forests, I will go before thee, treading down_ _The prickly brambles to make smooth thy path. Walking before thee, I_ _Shall feel no weariness: the forest thorns will seem like silken robes;_ _The bed of leaves, a couch of down. To me the shelter of thy presence_ _Is better far than stately palaces, and paradise itself._ _Protected by thy arm, gods, demons, men shall have no power to harm me._ _Roaming with thee in desert wastes, a thousand years will be a day;_ _Dwelling with thee, e’en hell itself would be to me a heaven of bliss._” In the second selection Rama is heard answering to the entreaties of Bharata, who has tried in vain to dissuade him from carrying out his design. The following is Rama’s answer to the messenger of Bharata: “The words which you have addressed to me, though they recommend what _seems_ to be right and salutary, advise, in fact, the contrary. The sinful transgressor, who lives according to the rules of heretical systems, obtains no esteem from good men. It is good conduct that marks a man to be noble or ignoble, heroic or a pretender to manliness, pure or impure. Truth and mercy are immemorial characteristics of a king’s conduct. Hence royal rule is in its essence _truth_. On truth the world is based. Both sages and gods have esteemed truth. The man who speaks truth in this world attains the highest imperishable state. Men shrink with fear and horror from a liar as from a serpent. In this world the chief element in virtue is truth; it is called the basis of everything. Truth is lord in the world; virtue always rests on truth. All things are founded on truth; nothing is higher than it. Why, then, should I not be true to my promise, and faithfully observe the truthful injunction given by my father? Neither through covetousness, nor delusion, nor ignorance, will I, overpowered by darkness, break through the barrier of truth, but remain true to my promise to my father. How shall I, having promised to him that I would thus reside in the forests, transgress his injunction, and do what Bharata recommends?” In _Mahabharata_ again we find proof of the high esteem in which the manly virtues of truthfulness, charity, benevolence, and chivalry towards women were held by the ancient Hindus. The most important incident in the drama (Mahabharata), namely, the death of Bhishma, occurred when this brave and virtuous man, in fidelity to his pledge never to hurt a woman, refused to fight, and was killed by a soldier dressed in a woman’s garb. The drama is full of moral maxims, around each one of which the poet has woven a story in a beautiful and elegant manner.