Page:The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (1884).djvu/186

152 Sauti continued, "Thus addressed, Astika said unto his mother, 'Yea, I shall.' And he then spake unto the afflicted Vasuki, as if infusing life into him, saying, 'O Vasuki, thou best of snakes, thou great being, truly do I say, I shall relieve thee from that curse. Be easy, O snake! There is no fear any longer. I shall strive earnestly so that good may come. Nobody hath ever said that my speech even in jest hath been false. As to serious occasions I need not say anything. O uncle, going thither to-day, I shall gratify, with words mixed with blessings, the monarch Janamejaya installed in the sacrifice, so that, O excellent one, the sacrifice may stop. O thou high-minded one, thou king of the snakes, believe all that I say. Believe me, my resolve can never be unfulfilled.'

"And Vasuki then said, 'O Astika, my head swims and my heart breaks! I cannot discern the points of the Earth, afflicted as I am with a mother's curse!'

"And Astika said, 'Thou best of snakes, it behoveth thee not to grieve any longer. I shall dispell this fear of thine from the blazing fire. This terrible punishment, capable of burning like the fire at the end of the yuga, shall I extinguish. Nurse not thy fear any longer!

Sauti continued, "Then that best of Brahmanas, Astika, dispelling the terrible fever of Vasuki's heart, and taking it, as it were, on himself, wended, for the relief of the king of the snakes, with speed to Janamejaya's sacrifice blessed with every merit. And Astika having gone thither, beheld the excellent sacrificial compound covered with numerous Sadasyas of splendour like unto that of the Sun or of Agni. But that best of Brahmanas was denied admittance by the door-keepers. And the mighty ascetic gratified them, being desirous of entering the sacrificial compound. And the best of Brahmanas,—the foremost of all virtuous men, having entered the excellent sacrificial compound began to adore the king of infinite achievements, the Ritwigas, the Sadasyas, and also the sacred fire."

And so ends the fifty-fourth Section in the Astika of the Adi Parva.