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 of my preceptor, and not because thou hast any fault. Nor hath my preceptor in this respect issued any command. Curse me if it please thee! I have told thee what the behaviour should be of Rishis. I do not desef've thy curse, O Devayānī! But yet hast thou cursed me. Thou hast acted under the influence of passion, and not from a sense of duty. Therefore thy desire shall not be fulfilled. No Rishi’s son shall ever accept thy hand in marriage. Thou hast said that my Knowledge shall not bear fruit. Let it be so. But in him it shall bear fruit to whom I shall impart it.’

“That first of Brāhmanas, Kacha, having said so unto Devayānī!, speedily wended unto the abode of the chief of the Celestials. And, beholding him arrived, the Celestials, with Indra at their head, having first worshipped, spoke unto him as follows: ‘Thou hast indeed performed an act of great good for us. Wonderful hath been thy achievement! Thy fame shall never die. And thou shalt be a sharer with us in sacrificial offerings.’ Mahābhārata, Ādī Parvan, Section.