Page:The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (1884).djvu/266

232 his own decrepitude. And giving him back his youth though his appetites were unsatiated, and installing him on the throne, he spoke unto Puru thus:—'Thou art my true heir, thou art my true son in whom my race is to continue! In the world shall my race be known after thy name!

Vaisampayana continued, "Then that tiger among kings, having installed his son Puru on the throne, went away to the mount of Bhrigu for devoting himself to asceticism. And having acquired great ascetic merit, after long years he succumbed to the inevitable influence of Time. He left his human body by observing the vow of fasting, and ascended to heaven with his wives."

And thus ends the seventy-fifth Section in the Sambhava of the Adi Parva.

 

( Sambhava Parva continued. )

Janamejaya said, "O thou whose wealth is asceticism, tell me how our ancestor Yayāti who is the tenth from Prajapati obtained for wife the unobtainable daughter of Sukra. I desire to hear of it in detail. Tell me also, one after another, of those monarchs separately who have been the founders of dynasties."

Vaisampayana said, "The monarch Yayati was in splendour like unto Indra himself. I will tell thee, in reply to thy question, O Janamejaya, how both Sukra and Vrishaparvã bestowed upon him with due rites their daughters, and how his union took place with Devayãni in especial.

"Between the celestials and the Asuras there happened frequent encounters of yore for the sovereignty of the three worlds with everything in them. The gods then, from desire of victory, installed the son of Angira (Vrihaspati) as their priest to conduct their sacrifices; while their opponents installed the learned Usana as their priest for the same purpose. And between those two Brahmanas there was always much boastful rivalry. Those Danavas assembled for encounter that were slain by the gods were all revived by Kavya (Sukra) by aid of the power of his knowledge. And then starting again 