Section CLXLVII

Vaisampayana said, "And the son of Pandu once more addressed Markandeya, saying,

'Tell us again of the great good fortune of kings.'

And Markandeya said,

'There came unto the horse-sacrifice of king Ashtaka of Visvamitra’s race, many kings. And there came unto that sacrifice the three brothers also of that king, viz., Pratardana, Vasumanas, and Sivi, the son of Usinara.

And after the sacrifice was completed, Ashtaka was proceeding on his car along with his brothers when they all beheld Narada coming that way and they saluted the celestial Rishi and said unto him,

'Ride you on this car with us.'

And Narada, saying, So be it, mounted on the car, and one among those kings having gratified the holy and celestial Rishi Narada, said,

'O Holy One, I desire, to ask you something.'

And the Rishi said, 'Ask.'

And the person, thus permitted, said,

'All four of us are blessed with long lives and have indeed every virtue. We shall, therefore, be permitted to go to a certain heaven and dwell there for a long period. Who amongst us, however, O king, shall fall down first?'

Thus questioned the Rishi said,

'This Ashtaka shall first come down.'

And thereupon the enquirer asked,

'For what cause?'

And the Rishi answered,

'I lived for a few days in the abode of Ashtaka. He carried me (one day) on his car out of the town and there I beheld thousands of kine distinguished from one another by difference of hue.

And beholding those kine I asked Ashtaka whose they were and Ashtaka answered me, saying,

'I have given away these kine.'

By this answer he gave expression to his own praise. It is for this answer of his that Ashtaka shall have to come down.'

And after Narada had said so, one of them again enquired, saying,

'Three of us then will stay in heaven. Amongst us three, who shall fall down first?'

And the Rishi answered,

'Pratardana.'

And the enquirer asked,

'For what cause?'

And the Rishi answered,

'I lived for some days in the abode of Pratardana also. And he carried me on his car one day.

And while doing so, a Brahmana asked him saying, 'Give me a horse!'

And Pratardana replied, 'After returning, I will give you one!'

And thereupon the Brahmana said, 'Let it be given to me soon.'

And as the Brahmana spoke those words, the king gave unto him the steed that had been yoked on the right-hand wheel of the car. And there came unto him another Brahmana desirous of obtaining a steed. And the king having spoken to him in the same way, gave him the steed that had been yoked on the left wheel of his car. And having given away the horse unto him, the king proceeded on his journey.

And then there came unto the king another Brahmana desirous of obtaining a horse. And the king soon gave him the horse on the left front of his car, unyoking the animal. And having done so, the king proceeded on his journey. And then there came unto the king another Brahmana desirous of obtaining a horse.

And the king said unto him, 'Returning, I will give you a horse.'

But the Brahmana said, 'Let the steed be given to me soon.'

And the king gave him the only horse he had. And seizing the yoke of the car himself, the king began to draw it.

And as he did so, he said, 'There is now nothing for the Brahmanas.'

The king had given away, it is true, but he had done so with detraction. And for that speech of his, he shall have to fall down from heaven.

And after the Rishi had said so, of the two that remained, one asked,

'Who amongst us two shall fall down?'

And the Rishi answered,

'Vasumanas.'

And the enquirer asked,

'For what reason?'

And Narada said,

'In course of my wanderings I arrived at the abode of Vasumanas. And at that time the Brahmanas were performing the ceremony of Svastivacana for the sake of a flowery car.^[1] And I approached the king’s presence. And after the Brahmanas had completed the ceremony, the flowery car became visible to them.

And I praised that car, and thereupon the king told me, 'Holy one, by you has this car been praised. Let this car, therefore, be thine.'

And after this I went to Vasumanas another time when I was in need of a (flowery) car.

And I admired the car, and the king said, 'It is thine.'

And I went to the king a third time and admired the car again. And even then the king exhibiting the flowery car to the Brahmanas, cast his eyes on me, and said, 'O holy one, you have praised the flowery car sufficiently."

And the king only said these words, without making me a gift of that car. And for this he will fall down from heaven.'

"And one among them said,

'Of the one who is to go with you, who will go and who will fall down?'

And Narada answered, saying,

’sivi will go, but I will fall down.'

'For what reason?' asked the enquirer.

And Narada said,

'I am not the equal of Sivi. For one day a Brahmana came unto Sivi and addressing him, said,

'O Sivi, I came to you for food.'

And Sivi replied unto him, saying.

'What shall I do? Let me have your orders.'

And the Brahmana answered,

'This your son known by the name of Vrihadgarbha should be killed. And, O king, cook him for my food.'

And hearing this, I waited to see what would follow. And Sivi then killed his son and cooking him duly and placing that food in a vessel and taking it upon his head, he went out in search of the Brahmana and while Sivi was thus seeking, for the Brahmana, some one told him,

'The Brahmana you seeks, having entered your city, is setting fire to your abode and he is also setting fire, in wrath, to your treasury, your arsenal, the apartments of the females and your stables for horses and elephants.'

And Sivi heard all this, without change of colour, and entering his city spoke unto the Brahmana,

'O holy one, the food has been cooked.'

And the Brahmana hearing this spoke not a word and from surprise he stood with downcast looks.

And Sivi with a view to gratifying the Brahmana said,

'O holy one, eat you this.'

And the Brahmana looking at Sivi for a moment said,

'Eat it thyself.'

And thereupon Sivi said,

'Let it be so.'

And Sivi cheerfully taking the vessel from his head desired to eat it and thereupon the Brahmana caught hold of Sivi’s hand and addressing him said,

'You have conquered wrath. There is nothing that you canst not give unto the Brahmanas.'

And saying this, that Brahmana adored Sivi, and then as Sivi cast his eyes before him, he beheld his son standing like a child of the gods, decked in ornaments and yielding a fragrance from his body and the Brahmana, having accomplished all this, made himself visible and it was Vidhatri himself who had thus come in that guise to try that royal sage, and after Vidhatri had disappeared, the counsellors addressed the king, saying,

'You knowest everything. For what didst you do all this?'

And Sivi answered,

'It was not for fame, nor for wealth, nor from desire of acquiring objects of enjoyment that I did all this. This course is not sinful. It is for this that I do all this. The path which is trodden by the virtuous is laudable. My heart always inclines towards such a course. This high instance of Sivi’s blessedness I know, and I have, therefore, narrated it duly!'"