Chapter 16
“Vrihaspati said, ‘Thou art the mouth, O Agni, of all the gods. Thou artthe carrier of sacred offerings. Thou, like a witness, hast access to theinner souls of all creatures. The poets call thee single, and againthree-fold. O eater of burnt offerings, abandoned by thee the Universewould forthwith cease to be. The Brahmanas by bowing to thee, win withtheir wives and sons an eternal region, the reward of their ownmeritorious deeds. O Agni, it is thou who art the bearer of sacredofferings. Thou, O Agni, art thyself the best offering. In a sacrificialceremony of the supreme order, it is thee that they worship withincessant gifts and offerings. O bearer of offerings, having created thethree worlds, thou when the hour cometh, consumeth them in thy unkindledform. Thou art the mother of the whole Universe; and thou again, O Agni,art its termination. The wise call thee identical with the clouds andwith the lightning; flames issuing from thee, support all creatures. Allthe waters are deposited in thee; so is this entire world. To thee, Opurifier, nothing is unknown in the three worlds. Every body takethkindly to his progenitor; do thou enter the waters without fear. I shallrender thee strong with the eternal hymns of the Veda. Thus glorified,the bearer of burnt offerings, that best of poets, well-pleased, spokelaudable words to Vrihaspati. And he said, ‘I shall show Indra to thee.This I tell thee for truth.’
“Salya continued, ‘Then Agni entered the waters including seas and tinyponds, and came to that reservoir, where, O best of Bharata’s race, whilesearching the lotus flowers, he saw the king of the gods lying within thefibres of a lotus-stalk. And soon coming back, he informed Vrihaspati howIndra had taken refuge in the fibres of a lotus-stalk, assuming a minuteform. Then Vrihaspati, accompanied by the gods, the saints and theGandharvas, went and glorified the slayer of Vala by referring to hisformer deeds. And he said, ‘O Indra, the great Asura Namuchi was killedby thee; and those two Asuras also of terrible strength, viz., Samvaraand Vala. Wax strong, O performer of a hundred sacrifices, and slay allthy foes. Rise, O Indra! Behold, here are assembled the gods and thesaints. O Indra, O great lord, by slaying Asuras, thou hast delivered theworlds. Having got the froth of waters, strengthened with Vishnu’senergy, thou formerly slew Vritra. Thou art the refuge of all creaturesand art adorable. There is no being equal to thee. All the creatures, OIndra, are supported by thee, Thou didst build the greatness of the gods.Deliver all, together with the worlds by assuming thy strength, O greatIndra.’ And thus glorified, Indra increased little by little; and havingassumed his own form, he waxed strong and spoke to the preceptorVrihaspati standing before. And he said, ‘What business of yours yetremaineth; the great Asuras, son of Twashtri, hath been killed; andVritra also, whose form was exceedingly big and who destroyed the worlds.’
“Vrihaspati said, ‘The human Nahusha, a king, having, obtained the throneof heaven by virtue of the power of the divine saints, is giving usexceeding trouble.’
“Indra said, ‘How hath Nahusha obtained the throne of heaven, difficultto get? What austerities did he practise? How great is his power, OVrihaspati!’
“Vrihaspati said, ‘The gods having been frightened, wished for a king ofheaven, for thou hadst given up the high dignity of heaven’s ruler. Thenthe gods, the Pitris of the universe, the saints, and the principalGandharvas, all met together, O Indra, and went to Nahusha and said, ‘Bethou our king, and the defender of the Universe!’ To them said Nahusha,’I am not able; fill me with your power and with the virtue of yourausterities!’ So told, the deities strengthened him, O king of the gods!And thereupon Nahusha became a person of terrible strength, and becomingthus the ruler of the three worlds, he hath put the great saints inharness, and the wretch is thus journeying from world to world. Maystthou never see Nahusha who is terrible. He emitteth poison from his eyes,and absorbeth the energy of all. All the gods are exceedingly frightened;they go about concealed and do not cast a glance at him!’
“Salya continued, While that best of Angira’s race was thus speaking,there came that guardian of the world, Kuvera, and also Yama the son ofSurya, and the old god Soma, and Varuna. And arrived there they said tothe great Indra, ‘How lucky that the son of Twashtri hath been killed,and Vritra also! How lucky, O Indra, that we are beholding thee safe andsound, while all thy enemies have been killed!’ Indra received all thoseguardians of the worlds, and with a glad heart greeted them in properform with a view to requesting them in connection with Nahusha. And hesaid, ‘Nahusha of terrible mien is the king of the gods; therein lend meyour assistance.’ They replied, ‘Nahusha is of awful mien; his sight ispoison; we are afraid of him, O God. If thou overthrowest Nahusha, thenwe shall be entitled to our shares of sacrificial offerings, O Indra.’Indra said, ‘Let it be so. You and the ruler of the waters, and Yama, andKuvera shall this day be crowned along with me. Aided by all the gods,let us overthrow the foe Nahusha of terrible gaze.’ Then Agni also saidto Indra, ‘Give me a share in sacrificial offerings. I also shall lendyou my assistance.’ Indra said to him, ‘O Agni, thou also shalt get ashare in great sacrifices,–there will be a single share (in such) forboth Indra and Agni.’
“Salya continued, ‘Thus did the illustrious lord Indra, the chastiser ofPaka, the giver of boons, bestow, after deliberation upon Kuvera thesovereignty over the Yakshas, and all the wealth of the world; upon Yama,the sovereignty over the Pitris; and upon Varuna, that over the waters.’
