Chapter 13

“Salya said, ‘Now then Nahusha, the king of the gods, looked at her andsaid, ‘O thou of sweet smiles, I am the Indra of all the three worlds. Othou of beautiful thighs and fair complexion, accept me as thy lord!’That chaste goddess, thus addressed by Nahusha, was terrified and quakedlike a plantain-stalk at a breezy spot. She bowed her head to Brahma, andjoining her hands spoke to Nahusha, the king of the gods, of awful mien,said, ‘O lord of the deities, I desire to obtain time. It is not knownwhat hath become of Indra, or where he is. Having enquired into the truthregarding him, if, O lord, I obtain no news of him, then I shall visitthee; this tell I thee for truth.’ Thus addressed by Indra’s queen,Nahusha was pleased. And Nahusha said, ‘Let it be so, O lady of lovelyhips, even as thou art telling me. Thou wilt come, after havingascertained the news. I hope thou wilt remember thy plighted truth.’Dismissed by Nahusha, she of auspicious looks stepped out; and thatfamous lady went to the abode of Vrihaspati. And, O best of kings, thegods with Agni at their head, when they heard her words, deliberated,intent upon what would promote the interests of Indra. And they thenjoined the powerful Vishnu, the God of gods. And skilled in makingspeeches, the uneasy gods spoke the following words to him, ‘Indra, thelord of all the gods, hath been overpowered by the sin of Brahmanicide.Thou, O lord of the gods, art the first-born, the ruler of the universe,and our refuge. Thou hadst assumed the form of Vishnu for the protectionof all beings. When Vritra was killed through thy energy, Indra wasoverwhelmed by the sin of Brahmanicide. O best of all the gods, prescribethe means of setting him free.’ Having heard these words of the gods,Vishnu said, ‘Let Indra. offer sacrifice to me. Even I shall purify theholder of the thunderbolt. The chastiser of Paka, having performed theholy horse-sacrifice, will fearlessly regain his dignity as lord of thegods. And the wicked-minded Nahusha will be led to destruction by hisevil deeds. For a certain period, ye gods, ye must be patient, beingvigilant at the same time.’ Having heard these words of Vishnu, wordsthat were true, and pleasant like ambrosia to their ears, the gods, withtheir preceptor, and with the Rishis proceeded to that spot where Indrawas uneasy with fear. And there, O king, was performed a greathorse-sacrifice, capable of removing the sin of Brahmanicide, for thepurification of the high-minded and great Indra. And the lord of thegods,–O Yudhishthira, divided the sin of Brahmanicide among trees andrivers and mountains and the earth and women. And having distributed itthus among those beings and parted with it, Indra was free from fever.And rid of his sin, he came to himself. And at that place, the slayer ofthe Asura Vala, quaked when he looked at Nahusha, before whom allanimated beings felt cowed, and who was unapproachable by virtue of theboon the Rishis had granted to him. And the divine husband of Sachivanished from sight once again. And invisible to all beings, he wanderedbiding his time. And Indra having disappeared, Sachi fell into grief. Andexceedingly miserable, she bewailed, ‘Alas! O Indra, if ever I have madea gift, or made offering to the gods, or have propitiated my spiritualguides, if there is any truth in me, then I pray that my chastity mayremain inviolate. I bow myself to this goddess Night,–holy, pure,running her course during this the northern journey of the sun,[1] let mydesire be fulfilled.’ Saying this, she, in a purified condition of bodyand soul, worshipped the goddess Night. And in the name of her chastityand truth she had recourse to divination.[2] And she asked, ‘Show me theplace where the king of the gods is. Let truth be verified by truth.’ Andit was thus that she addressed the goddess of Divination.’