"Utathya said, 'If the deity of the clouds pours rain seasonably
and the king acts virtuously, the prosperity that ensues
maintain the subjects in felicity. That washerman who does not
know how to wash away the filth of cloth without taking away its
dye, is very unskilful in his profession. That person among
Brahmanas or Kshatriyas or Vaisyas who, having fallen away from
the proper duties of his order, has become a Sudra, is truly to
be compared to such a washerman. Menial service attaches to the
Sudra; agriculture to the Vaisya; the science of chastisement to
the Kshatriya, and Brahmacharya, penances, mantras, and truth,
attach, to the Brahmana. That Kshatriya who knows how to correct
the faults of behaviour of the other orders and to wash them
clean like a washerman is really their father and deserve to be
their king. The respective ages called Krita, Treta, Dwapara and
Kali, O bull of Bharata's race, are all dependent on the conduct
of the king. It is the king who constitutes the age. 1 The four
orders, th