Page:Tales from the Indian Epics.djvu/34

28 fight with each other incessantly. Go therefore, my son, and eat their flesh and drink the waters of the lake; so you will be able to journey to Amravati and win from Indra the golden jar of ambrosia. For the gods placed it in his keeping from the day that Dhanwantari brought it up from the depths of the churned ocean." With these words King Kashyapa blessed Garuda. And the great bird rising high into the air soon vanished from his father's sight.

As Garuda flew to the ends of the earth, he heard a great noise and looking down saw a wide stretch of water. By its banks an elephant and a tortoise were roaring as they fought each other. Garuda swooped swiftly down and seizing the elephant and tortoise in his talons, alighted on a mountain. There he devoured their flesh, and after quenching his thirst in the waters of the lake, flew strongly towards Amravati, the god Indra's heaven.

Now the god Indra had built many strong works and defences to guard the ambrosia jar. And he had posted Vayu the wind god to blow dust into the eyes of any coming foeman. Inside the outer works he had built a great circle of fire, which died down neither by night nor by day. Within the circle of fire he had built a great wheel with edged spokes, which turned without stopping. And inside the wheel were two poisonous snakes, which never slept, but day and night watched the sky for the coming of enemies. For some days past meteors had been racing through the skies, lightning had flashed from the cloudless blue heaven and bloody rain had fallen in torrents upon Amravati. Because of these portents the god Indra and his guards were keeping a close watch. But their vigilance availed them