Page:The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (1884).djvu/173

Rh is a Rishi of soul highly virtuous, and a master of the Vedas and the Vedangas.'

"And having said so, the great Rishi Jaratkaru, of virtuous soul, went away, his heart firmly fixed on practising again the severest of penances."

And so ends the forty-seventh Section in the Astika of the Adi Parva.

 

( Astika Parva continued. )

Sauti said, "O thou. of ascetic wealth, as soon as her lord left her, Jaratkaru went to her brother. And she told him everything as it transpired. And the first of snakes, hearing the calamitous news, spake unto his miserable sister, himself more miserable still.

"And he said, 'Thou knowest, amiable one, what the purpose of thy bestowal, what the reason thereof. If from that, for the welfare of the snakes, a son be born, he of energy shall save us all from the snake sacrifice! The Grand-father had said so of old in the midst of the gods. O thou fortunate one, hast thou conceived from thy union with that best of Rishis? My heart's desire is that my bestowal of thee on that wise one may not be fruitless. Truly, it is not proper for me to ask thee about such a business. But from the gravity of that business do I ask thee. Knowing also the obstinacy of thy lord ever engaged in severe penances, I shall not follow him, for he may curse me. Tell me in detail all that thy lord, O amiable one, hath done, and extract the terribly afflicting dart that is implanted, from a long time past, in my heart.'

"Jaratkaru, thus addressed, consoling Vasuki, the king of the snakes, at length replied, saying, 'Asked by me about offspring, the high-souled and mighty ascetic said—There is, and then he went away. I do not remember him to have ever before spoken even in jest aught that is false. Why should he, O king, speak a falsehood at such a serious occasion? He said,—Thou shouldst not grieve, O daughter of the snake-race, with 