Chapter 60

“Narada said, ‘Mandhatri’ the son of Yuvanaswa, O Srinjaya, we hear, fella prey to death. That king vanquished the gods, the Asuras and men. Thosecelestials, viz., the twin Aswins, brought him out of his father’s wombby a surgical operations. Once on a time, king Yuvanaswa while chasingthe deer in the forest, became very thirsty and his steeds also becameexceedingly fatigued. Beholding a wreath of smoke, the king (directed byit) went to a sacrifice and drank the sacred sacrificial butter that layscattered there. (The king, thereupon, conceived). Beholding thatYuvanaswa was quick with child, those best of physicians, viz., the twinAswins among the celestials, extracted the child from the king’s womb.Seeing that child of celestial splendour lying on the lap on his father,the gods said unto one another, ‘What shall support this child?’ ThenVasava said, ‘Let the child suck my fingers,’ Thereupon from the fingersof Indra issued milk sweet as nectar. And since Indra from compassion,said, ‘He will draw his sustenance from me,’ and showed him thatkindness, therefore, the gods named that child Mandhatri.[103] Then jetsof milk and clarified butter dropped into the mouth of Yuvanaswa’s sonfrom the hand of the high-souled Indra. The boy continued to suck thehand of Indra and by that means to grow. In twelve days he became twelvecubits in stature and endued with great prowess. And he conquered thewhole of this earth in the course of a single day. Of virtuous soul,possessed of great intelligence, heroic, devoted to truth and a master ofhis passions, Mandhatri vanquished, by his bow Janamejaya and Sudhanwanand Jaya and Suna[104] and Vrihadratha and Nriga. And the lands lyingbetween the hill where the sun rises and the hill where he sets, areknown to this day as the dominion of Mandhatri. Having performed ahundred Horse-sacrifices and a hundred Rajasuya sacrifices also, he gaveaway, O monarch, unto the Brahmanas, some Rohita fish made of gold, thatwere ten Yojanas in length and one Yojana in breadth. Mountains ofsavoury food and comestibles of diverse kinds, after the Brahmanas hadbeen entertained, were eaten by others, (who came at his sacrifices) andcontributed to their gratification. Vast quantities of food and eatablesand drink, and mountains of rice, looked beautiful as they stood. Manyrivers, having lakes of clarified butter, with diverse kinds of soup fortheir mire, curds for their froth and liquid honey for their water,looking beautiful, and wafting honey and milk, encircled mountains ofsolid viands. Gods and Asuras and Men and Yakshas and Gandharvas andSnakes and Birds, and many Brahmanas, accomplished in the Vedas and theirbranches, and many Rishis came to his sacrifices. Amongst those presentthere, none was illiterate. King Mandhatri, having bestowed the earthbounded by the seas and full of wealth upon the Brahmanas, at lastdisappeared like the sun. Filling all the points of the compass with hisfame, he repaired to the regions of the righteous. When he died, OSrinjaya, who excelled thee in the four cardinal virtues and who,superior to thee, was much superior to thy son, thou shouldst not grieve,saying, ‘Oh, Swaitya, Oh, Swaitya’ for the latter who performed nosacrifice and made no sacrificial gift.'”