Vaishampayana said: 'Hearing these words spoken by the great-souled Keshava, all the people seated in that assembly fell silent, their hair standing on end. And all the kings thought to themselves that there was no one who would dare answer this speech... take that as an example, and seek your own good, if my words suit you. There once lived a king named Dambhodbhava, who was lord of the earth. We have heard that his dominion extended over the whole world, and this mighty warrior on his chariot, rising each morning after the night had passed, would summon brahmins and kshatriyas to himself and ask them: "Be he a shudra, a vaishya, a kshatriya, or a brahmin, is there anyone who surpasses me, or is even equal to me, in battle?" And, speaking these words, the king wandered over the earth, intoxicated with pride and thinking of nothing else. And it happened that certain brahmins, endowed with lofty souls, learned in the Vedas and fearing nothing on earth, counseled the king, who repeatedly boasted of his prowess, to curb his pride. The king went on asking the brahmins the same question as before, day after day, until certain brahmins of exalted soul, endowed with ascetic merit and versed in the proofs set forth by the Vedas, blazed up with anger and, turning to that proud and boastful king, intoxicated with prosperity, said to him: "There are two men who are the best of all men and who are ever victorious in battle."'