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her. The famous and highly blessed maiden of faultless limbs, observing diverse vows, underwent the severest austerities from |
the desire of obtaining Utathya for her lord. After a while, Soma's father Atri, inviting Utathya to his house, bestowed upon |
him the famous maiden. Utathya, who used to give away sacrificial presents in copious measure, duly received the girl for his |
wife. It so happened, however, that the handsome Varuna had, from a long time before, coveted the girl. Coming to the woods |
where Utathya dwelt, Varuna stole away the girl when she had plunged into the Yamuna for a bath. Abducting her thus, the |
Lord of the waters took her to his own abode. That mansion was of a wonderful aspect. It was adorned with six hundred |
thousand lakes. There is no mansion that can be regarded more beautiful than that palace of Varuna. It was adorned with many |
palaces and by the presence of diverse tribes of Apsaras and of diverse excellent articles of enjoyment. There, within that |
palace, the Lord of waters; O king, sported with the damsel. A little while after, the fact of the ravishment of his wife was |
reported to Utathya. Indeed, having heard all the facts from Narada, Utathya addressed' the celestial Rishi, saying, 'Go, O |
Narada, unto Varuna and speak with due severity unto him. Ask him as to why he has abducted my wife, and, indeed, tell him |
in my name that he should yield her up. Thou mayst say to him further, 'Thou are a protector of the worlds, O Varuna, and not |
a destroyer! Why then hast thou abducted Utathya's wife bestowed upon him by Soma?' Thus requested by Utathya, the |
celestial Rishi Narada repaired to where Varuna was and addressing him, said, 'Do thou set free the wife of Utathya. Indeed, |
why hast thou abducted her?' Hearing these words of Narada, Varuna replied unto him, saying, 'This timid girl is exceedingly |
dear to me. I dare not let her go!' Receiving this reply, Narada repaired to Utathya and cheerlessly said, 'O great ascetic, Varuna |
has driven me out from his house, seizing me by the throat. He is unwilling to restore to thee thy spouse. Do thou act as thou |
pleasest.' Hearing these words of Narada, Angiras became inflamed with wrath. Endued with wealth of penances, he solidified |
the waters and drank them off, aided by his energy. When all the waters were thus drunk off, the Lord of that element became |
very cheerless with all his friends and kinsfolk. For all that, he did not still give up Utathya's wife. Then Utathya, that foremost |
of regenerate persons, filled with wrath, commanded Earth, saying, 'O amiable one, do thou show land where there are at |
present the six hundred thousand lakes.' At these words of the Rishi, the Ocean receded from the spot indicated, and land |
appeared which was exceedingly sterile. Unto the rivers that flowed through that region, Utathya said, 'O Saraswati, do thou |
become invisible here. Indeed, O timid lady, leaving this region, go thou to the desert! O auspicious goddess, let this region, |
destitute of thee, cease to become sacred.' When that region (in which the lord of waters dwelt) became dry, he repaired to |
Angiras, taking with him Utathya's spouse, and made her over to him. Getting back his wife, Utathya became cheerful. Then, O |
chief of the Haihaya race, that great Brahmana rescued both the universe and the Lord of waters from the situation of distress |
into which he had brought them. Conversant with every duty, the Rishi Utathya of great energy, after getting back his spouse, |
O king, said so unto Varuna, 'I have recovered my wife, O Lord of waters, with the aid of my penances and after inflicting such |
distress on thee as made thee cry aloud in anguish! Having said this, he went home, with that wife of his. Even such, O king, |
was Utathya, that foremost of Brahmanas. Shall I go on? Or, will you yet persist in thy opinion? What, is there a Kshatriya that |
is superior to Utathya?' |
SECTION CLV |
"Bhishma said, "Thus addressed, king Arjuna remained silent. The god of wind once more spoke to him, 'Listen now, O king, |
to the story of the greatness of the Brahmana Agastya. Once on a time, the gods were subjugated by the Asuras upon which |
they became very cheerless. The sacrifices of the deities were all seized, and the Swadha of the Pitris was also misappropriated. |
Indeed, O Chief of the Haihayas, all the religious acts and observances of human beings also were suspended by the Danavas. |
Divested of their prosperity, the deities wandered over the earth as we have heard. One day, in course of their wandering they |
met Agastya of high vows, that Brahmana, O king, who was endued with great energy and splendour which was as blazing as |
that of the sun. Saluting him duly, the deities made the usual enquiries of politeness. They then, O King, said these words unto |
that high-souled one, 'We have been defeated by the Danavas in battle and have, therefore, fallen off from affluence and |
prosperity. Do thou, therefore, O foremost of ascetics, rescue us from this situation of great fear.' Thus informed of the plight to |
which the deities had been reduced, Agastya became highly incensed (with the Danavas). Possessed of great energy, he at once |
blazed forth like the all-consuming fire at the time of the universal dissolution. With the blazing rays that then emanated from |
the Rishi, the Danavas began to be burnt. Indeed, O king, thousands of them began to drop down from the sky. Burning with |
the energy of Agastya, the Danavas, abandoning both heaven and earth, fled towards the southern direction. At that time the |
Danava king Vali was performing a Horse-sacrifice in the nether regions. Those great Asuras who were with him in those |
regions or who were dwelling in the bowels of the earth, were not burnt. The deities, upon the destruction of their foes, then |
regained their own regions, their fears entirely dispelled. Encouraged by what he accomplished for them, they then solicited the |
Rishi to destroy those Asuras who had taken refuge within the bowels of the earth or in the nether regions. Thus solicited by |
the gods, Agastya replied unto them, saying, 'Yes, I am fully competent to consume those Asuras that are dwelling underneath |
the earth; but if I achieve such a feat, my penances will suffer a diminution. Hence, I shall not exert my power.' Even thus, O |
king, were the Danavas consumed by the illustrious Rishi with his own energy. Even thus did Agastya of cleansed soul, O |
monarch, accomplish that feat with the aid of his penances. O sinless one, even so was Agastya as described by me! Shall I |
continue? Or, will you say anything in reply? Is there any Kshatriya who is greater than Agastya?' |
"Bhishma continued, 'Thus addressed, king Arjuna remained silent. The god of wind once more said, 'Hear, O king, one of the |
great feats of the illustrious Vasishtha. Once on a time the deities were engaged in performing a sacrifice on the shores of the |
lake Vaikhanasa. Knowing of his puissance, the sacrificing gods thought of Vasishtha and made him their priest in |
imagination. Meanwhile, seeing the gods reduced and emaciated in consequence of the Diksha they were undergoing, a race of |
Danavas, of the name of Khalins, of statures as gigantic as mountains, desired to slay them. Those amongst the Danavas that |
were either disabled or slain in the fight were plunged into the waters of the Manasa lake and in consequence of the boon of the |
Grandsire they instantly came back to vigour and life. Taking up huge and terrible mountain summits and maces and trees, they |
agitated the waters of the lake, causing them to swell up to the height of a hundred yojanas. They then ran against the deities |
numbering ten thousand. Afflicted by the Danavas, the gods then sought the protection of their chief, Vasava-Sakra, however, |
was soon afflicted by them. In his distress he sought the protection of Vasishtha. At this, the holy Rishi Vasishtha assured the |
deities, dispelling their fears. Understanding that the gods had become exceedingly cheerless, the ascetic did this through |
compassion. He put forth his energy and burnt, without any exertion, those Danavas called Khalins. Possessed of wealth of |
penances, the Rishi brought the River Ganga, who had gone to Kailasa, to that spot. Indeed, Ganga appeared, piercing through |
the waters of the lake. The lake was penetrated by that river. And as that celestial stream, piercing through the waters of the |
lake, appeared, it flowed on, under the name of Sarayu. The place whereon those Danavas fell came to be called after them. |
Even thus were the denizens of Heaven, with Indra at their head, rescued from great distress by Vasishtha, It was thus that |
those Danavas, who had received boons from Brahman, were slain by that high-souled Rishi. O sinless one, I have narrated to |
thee the feat which Vasishtha accomplished. Shall I go on? Or, will you say anything! Was there a Kshatriya who could be said |
to surpass the Brahmana Vasishtha?' |
SECTION CLVI |
"Bhishma said, 'Thus addressed, Arjuna remained silent. The god of wind once more addressed him, saying, 'Hear me, O |
foremost one of the Haihayas, as I narrate to thee the achievement of the high-souled Atri. Once on a time as the gods and |
Danavas were fighting each other in the dark, Rahu pierced both Surya and Soma with his arrows. The gods, overwhelmed by |
darkness, began to fall before the mighty Danavas, O foremost of kings! Repeatedly struck by the Asuras, the denizens of |
heaven began to lose their strength. They then beheld the learned Brahmana Atri, endued with wealth of penances, engaged in |
the observance of austerities. Addressing that Rishi who had conquered all his senses and in whom wrath had been |
extinguished, they said 'Behold, O Rishi, these two, viz., Soma and Surya, who have both been pierced by the Asuras with their |
arrows! In consequence of this, darkness has overtaken us, and we are being struck down by the foe. We do not see the end of |
our troubles! Do thou, O lord of great puissance, rescue us from this great fear.' |
"The Rishi said, 'How, indeed, shall I protect you? They answered, saying, 'Do thou thyself become Chandramas. Do thou also |
become the sun, and do thou begin to slay these robbers!' Thus solicited by them, Atri assumed the form of the darkness- |
destroying Soma. Indeed, in consequence of his agreeable disposition, he began to look as handsome and delightful as Soma |
himself. Beholding that the real Soma and the real Surya had become darkened by the shafts of the foe, Atri, assuming the |
forms of those luminaries, began to shine forth in splendour over the field of battle, aided by the puissance of his penances. |
Verily Atri made the universe blaze forth in light, dispelling all its darkness. By putting forth his puissance, he also subjugated |
the vast multitudes of those enemies of the deities. Beholding those great Asuras burnt by Atri, the gods also, protected by |
Atri's energy, began to despatch them quickly. Putting forth his prowess and mastering all his energy, it was even in this way |
that Atri illumined the god of day, rescued the deities, and slew the Asuras! Even this was the feat that regenerate one, aided by |
his sacred fire,--that silent reciter of Mantras, that one clad in deer-skins,--accomplished! Behold, O royal sage, that act |
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