Chapter 197

Vaisampayana said, “And the son of Pandu once more addressed Markandeya,saying, ‘Tell us again of the great good fortune of kings.’ AndMarkandeya said, ‘There came unto the horse-sacrifice of king Ashtaka ofViswamitra’s race, many kings. And there came unto that sacrifice thethree brothers also of that king, viz., Pratardana, Vasumanas, and Sivi,the son of Usinara. And after the sacrifice was completed, Ashtaka wasproceeding on his car along with his brothers when they all beheld Naradacoming that way and they saluted the celestial Rishi and said unto him,’Ride thou on this car with us. And Narada, saying, So be it, mounted onthe car, and one among those kings having gratified the holy andcelestial Rishi Narada, said, O Holy One, I desire, to ask theesomething.’ And the Rishi said, ‘Ask.’ And the person, thus permitted,said, ‘All four of us are blessed with long lives and have indeed everyvirtue. We shall, therefore, be permitted to go to a certain heaven anddwell there for a long period. Who amongst us, however, O king, shallfall down first?’ Thus questioned the Rishi said, ‘This Ashtaka shallfirst come down.’ And thereupon the enquirer asked, ‘For what cause?’ Andthe Rishi answered, ‘I lived for a few days in the abode of Ashtaka. Hecarried me (one day) on his car out of the town and there I beheldthousands of kine distinguished from one another by difference of hue.And beholding those kine I asked Ashtaka whose they were and Ashtakaanswered me, saying, ‘I have given away these kine. By this answer hegave expression to his own praise. It is for this answer of his thatAshtaka shall have to come down.’ And after Narada had said so, one ofthem 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 Rishianswered, ‘I lived for some days in the abode of Pratardana also. And hecarried me on his car one day. And while doing so, a Brahmana asked himsaying, ‘Give me a horse!’ And Pratardana replied, ‘After returning, Iwill give thee one!’ And thereupon the Brahmana said, ‘Let it be given tome soon.’ And as the Brahmana spoke those words, the king gave unto himthe steed that had been yoked on the right-hand wheel of the car. Andthere came unto him another Brahmana desirous of obtaining a steed. Andthe king having spoken to him in the same way, gave him the steed thathad been yoked on the left wheel of his car. And having given away thehorse unto him, the king proceeded on his journey. And then there cameunto the king another Brahmana desirous of obtaining a horse. And theking soon gave him the horse on the left front of his car, unyoking theanimal. And having done so, the king proceeded on his journey. And thenthere came unto the king another Brahmana desirous of obtaining a horse.And the king said unto him, ‘Returning, I will give thee a horse.’ Butthe Brahmana said, ‘Let the steed be given to me soon.’ And the king gavehim the only horse he had. And seizing the yoke of the car himself, theking began to draw it. And as he did so, he said, ‘There is now nothingfor the Brahmanas.’ The king had given away, it is true, but he had doneso with detraction. And for that speech of his, he shall have to falldown from heaven. And after the Rishi had said so, of the two thatremained, one asked, ‘Who amongst us two shall fall down?’ And the Rishianswered, ‘Vasumanas.’ And the enquirer asked, ‘For what reason?’ AndNarada said, ‘In course of my wanderings I arrived at the abode ofVasumanas. And at that time the Brahmanas were performing the ceremony ofSwastivachana for the sake of a flowery car.[51] And I approached theking’s presence. And after the Brahmanas had completed the ceremony, theflowery car became visible to them. And I praised that car, and thereuponthe king told me, ‘Holy one, by thee hath this car been praised. Let thiscar, therefore, be thine.’ And after this I went to Vasumanas anothertime when I was in need of a (flowery) car. And I admired the car, andthe king said, ‘It is thine.’ And I went to the king a third time andadmired the car again. And even then the king exhibiting the flowery carto the Brahmanas, cast his eyes on me, and said, ‘O holy one, thou hastpraised the flowery car sufficiently.” And the king only said thesewords, without making me a gift of that car. And for this he will falldown from heaven.’

“And one among them said, ‘Of the one who is to go with thee, who will goand who will fall down?’ And Narada answered, saying, ‘Sivi will go, butI will fall down.’ ‘For what reason?’ asked the enquirer. And Naradasaid, ‘I am not the equal of Sivi. For one day a Brahmana came unto Siviand addressing him, said, ‘O Sivi, I came to thee for food.’ And Sivireplied unto him, saying. ‘What shall I do? Let me have thy orders.’ Andthe Brahmana answered, ‘This thy son known by the name of Vrihadgarbhashould be killed. And, O king, cook him for my food.’ And hearing this, Iwaited to see what would follow. And Sivi then killed his son and cookinghim 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 thou seekest, havingentered thy city, is setting fire to thy abode and he is also settingfire, in wrath, to thy treasury, thy arsenal, the apartments of thefemales and thy stables for horses and elephants.’ And Sivi heard allthis, without change of colour, and entering his city spoke unto theBrahmana, ‘O holy one, the food has been cooked.’ And the Brahmanahearing this spoke not a word and from surprise he stood with downcastlooks. And Sivi with a view to gratifying the Brahmana said, ‘O holy one,eat thou this.’ And the Brahmana looking at Sivi for a moment said, ‘Eatit thyself.’ And thereupon Sivi said, ‘Let it be so.’ And Sivi cheerfullytaking the vessel from his head desired to eat it and thereupon theBrahmana caught hold of Sivi’s hand and addressing him said, ‘Thou hastconquered wrath. There is nothing that thou canst not give unto theBrahmanas.’ And saying this, that Brahmana adored Sivi, and then as Sivicast his eyes before him, he beheld his son standing like a child of thegods, decked in ornaments and yielding a fragrance from his body and theBrahmana, having accomplished all this, made himself visible and it wasVidhatri himself who had thus come in that guise to try that royal sage,and after Vidhatri had disappeared, the counsellors addressed the king,saying, ‘Thou knowest everything. For what didst thou do all this?’ AndSivi answered, ‘It was not for fame, nor for wealth, nor from desire ofacquiring objects of enjoyment that I did all this. This course is notsinful. It is for this that I do all this. The path which is trodden bythe virtuous is laudable. My heart always inclineth towards such acourse. This high instance of Sivi’s blessedness I know, and I have,therefore, narrated it duly!'”