Page:The Katha Sarit Sagara.djvu/448

 third under-world to visit king Bali. In that world, which surpassed even heaven, they all beheld Bali, adorned with chain and tiara, surrounded with Daityas and Dánavas. Sunítha and his companions fell at his feet in due order, and he honoured them with appropriate welcome. And Bali was delighted with the tidings related by Maya, and he quickly had summoned Prahláda and the other Dánavas. Sunítha and the others honoured them also by falling at their feet, and they, being full of joy, congratulated them, as they bent before them. Then Bali said, " Sunítha became Chandraprabha on the earth, and now is restored to life for us by regaining his body. And we have also gained Súryaprabha, who is an incarnation of Sumundíka. And he has been appointed by Śiva the future emperor of the Vidyádharas: and by the power of the sacrifice offered by Chandraprabha my bonds have been relaxed. So without doubt we have gained prosperity by recovering these." When Śukra, the spiritual adviser of the Dánavas, heard this speech of Bali's, he said, " In truth those who act according to right never fail of prosperity in any matter; so act according to right, and do on this occasion also what I bid you." When the Dánavas, the princes of the seven under-worlds, who were assembled there, heard that, they agreed to it and bound themselves so to act. And Bali made a feast there, out of joy at the recovery of Sunítha. In the meanwhile the hermit Nárada arrived there again, and after taking the argha, he sat down, and said to those Dánavas, " I have been sent here by Indra, and he in truth says this to you, ' I am exceedingly delighted at the fact that Sunítha has come back to life ; so you must not take up a causeless enmity against me, and you must not fight against my ally Śrutaśarman.' " When the hermit had thus delivered Indra's message, Prahláda said to him, " Of course Indra is pleased that Sunítha has come back to life, how could it be otherwise? But we at any rate are not taking up causeless hostility. This very day we all took an engagement that we would not do so, in the presence of our spiritual adviser. But if Indra makes himself a partizan* of Śrutaśarman, and violently opposes us, how are we to be blamed for it? For Súryaprabha's ally, Śiva, the god of gods, has long ago appointed him, because he propitiated him first. So what have we to do with this matter which has been settled by the lord Śiva? It is clear that this, which Indra says, is without cause, and not right." When Prahláda, the king of the Dánavas said this to Nárada, he blamed Indra by expressing his agreement with it, and disappeared. When he had gone, Uśanas † said to the kings of the Dánavas "Indra is evidently determined to oppose us in this matter. But, as Śiva has decidedly girded up his loins to shew us favour, what is his power, or what will his