“Yet, O storehouse of compassion, I make bold to make one submission, I being Your servant and You the delight of Your devotees. The glory of the saints, O Lord of the Raghus, has been sung in various ways by the Vedas and PurŒ˜as. You too have exalted them by Your own graceful mouth and my lord bears great affection for them. I would fain hear, my lord, their distinctive marks, O Ocean of compassion, conspicuous as You are by Your excellences and wisdom. O protector of the suppliant, tell me clearly and severally the distinguishing traits of the good and the wicked.” “Hear, brother, the characteristics of saints, which as told in the Vedas and PurŒ˜as are innumerable. The conduct of saints and the wicked is analogous to that of sandalwood and the axe. Mark, brother : the axe cuts down a sandal-tree, while the latter in its turn perfumes the axe by imparting its virtue (fragrance) to it.” (1—4)