Page:The Katha Sarit Sagara.djvu/465

 " Here there is a great and marvellous wood of bamboo canes; whatever bamboos are cut from it and thrown into this lake, become great and wonderful bows; and these bows have been acquired by several of the gods before yourself, and by Asuras and Gandharvas, and distinguished Vidyádharas. They have various names, but the bows appropriated to emperors are all called Amitabala, and were in old time deposited in the lake by the gods. And they are obtained, through the favour of Śiva, with these exertions, by certain men of virtuous conduct destined to be emperors. Hence it comes that Súryaprabha has to-day procured this great bow, and these companions of his shall procure bows suited to them. For they, being heroes who have acquired the sciences, are appropriate recipients for them, for they are still procured by worthy men, as is right."

When the companions of Súryaprabha, Prabhása and the others, heard this speech of Sumeru's, they went to the bamboo-grove, and after defeating the king Chandradatta, who guarded it, they brought the bamboos, and threw them into the lake. And these heroic men, by fasting on the bank of the lake, and muttering prayers, and sacrificing, obtained bows in seven days. When they returned and told their adventure, Súryaprabha returned with them and Maya and the others to that wood of ascetics, in which Sumeru dwelt. Then Sumeru said to him: " It is strange that your friends have conquered Chandradatta, the king of the bamboo-wood, though he is invincible. He possesses a science called the bewildering science, for that reason he is hard to conquer. Surely he must have been keeping it to use against a more important enemy. For this reason he did not employ it against these companions of yours on the present occasion, for it only can succeed once in his hands, not repeatedly. For he employed it once against his spiritual preceptor to try its force, thereupon he laid upon him this curse. So this matter should be thought upon, for the might of sciences is hard to overcome, and for that reason you should consult the revered Maya. What can I say in his presence? Of what avail is a candle in the face of the sun?" When Sumeru had said this to Súryaprabha, Maya said; " Sumeru has told you the truth in few words, listen to this which I now say— From undeveloped matter there spring in this world various powers, and subordinate powers. Among them the sound expressed by Anusvára arises from the power of breathing, and becomes a spell of force in magic sciences, when accompanied with the doctrine of the highest truth. And of those sciences which deal with spells, and which are acquired by supernatural knowledge, or austerity, or the holy command of holy men, the power is hard to resist. So, my son, you have obtained all the sciences, except two, in which you are deficient, namely, the science of bewildering, and that of counteracting. But Yájnavalkya knows them, therefore go and ask him to bestow them on you. When thus advised by Maya, Súryaprabha went into the presence of that rishi.