( Parva continued)
" said, 'At the very touch by of great might with his feet, the branch of the tree broke as it was caught by . Casting his eyes around in wonder he saw Valakhilya Rishis hanging therefrom with heads downwards and engaged in ascetic penances. Reflecting that if that bough fell down, the Rishis would be slain, the mighty one held the elephant and the tortoise still more firmly with his claws. And from fear of slaying the Rishis and desire of saving them, held that bough in his beaks, and rose on his wings. The great Rishis were struck with wonder at the sight of that act of his which was beyond even the power of the gods, and gave that mighty bird a name. And they said, 'As this ranger of the skies rises on its wings bearing a heavy burden, let this foremost of birds having snakes for his food be called (bearer of heavy weight).'
"And shaking the mountains by his wings, leisurely coursed through the skies. And as he soared with the elephant and the tortoise (in his claws), he beheld various regions underneath. Desiring as he did to save the Valakhilyas, he saw not a spot whereon to sit. At last he went to that foremost of mountains called Gandhamadana. There he saw his father engaged in ascetic devotions. also saw his son, that ranger of the skies, of divine form, possessed of great splendour, and energy and strength, and endued with the speed of the wind or the mind, huge as a mountain peak, a ready smiter like the curse of a Brahmana, inconceivable, indescribable, frightful to all creatures, possessed of great prowess, terrible, of the splendour of himself, and incapable of being overcome by the deities, Danavas, and invincible Rakshasas, capable of splitting mountain summits and sucking the ocean itself and destroying the three worlds, fierce, and looking like himself. The illustrious , seeing him approach and knowing also his motive, spoke unto to him these words:
" said, 'O child, do not commit a rash act, for then thou you wouldst would have to suffer pain. The Valakhilyas, supporting themselves by drinking the rays of the sun, might, if angry, blast thee you.'
" continued, ' then propitiated, for the sake of his son, the Valakhilyas of exceeding good fortune and whose sins had been destroyed by ascetic penances.' And said, 'Ye you whose wealth is asceticism, the essay of is for the good of all creatures. The task is great that he is striving to accomplish. It behoveth behooves you to accord him your permission.'
" continued, 'Those ascetics thus addressed by the illustrious , abandoned that bough and went to the sacred mountain of Himavat for purposes of ascetic penances. After those Rishis had gone away, the son of , with voice obstructed by the bough in his beaks, asked his father saying, 'O illustrious one, where shall I throw this arm of the tree? O illustrious one, indicate to me some region without human beings.' Then spoke of a mountain without human beings with caves and dales always covered with snow and incapable of approach by ordinary creatures even in thought. And the great bird bearing that branch, that elephant, and that tortoise, proceeded with great speed towards that mountain. The great arm of the tree with which that bird of huge body flew away could not be girt round with a cord made of a hundred (cow) hides. , the lord of birds, then flew away for hundreds of thousand of yojanas within--the shortest time. And going according to the directions of his father to that mountain almost in a moment, that ranger of the skies let fall the gigantic bough. And it fell with a great noise. And that Prince of mountains shook, struck with the storm raised by 's wings. And the trees thereon dropped showers of flowers. And the peaks decked with gems and gold adorning that great mountain itself, were loosened and tell down on all sides. And the falling bough struck down numerous trees which, with golden flowers amid dark foliage, shone there like clouds charged with lightning. And those trees, bright as gold, falling down upon the ground and, dyed with mountain metals, shone as if they were bathed in the rays of the sun.
"Then that best of birds, , perching on the summit of that mountain, ate both the elephant and the tortoise, rose on his wings with great speed from the top of the mountain.
"And various omens began to appear among the gods foreboding fear. 's favourite thunderbolt blazed up in a fright. Meteors with flames and smoke, loosened from the welkin, shot down during the day. And the weapons of the Vasus, the Rudras, the Adityas, the Sabhyas, the Maruts, and other gods, began to spend their force against one another. Such a thing had never happened even during the war between the gods and the Asuras. And the winds blew accompanied with thunder, and meteors fell by thousands. And the sky, though cloudless, roared tremendously. And even he who was the god of gods shed showers of blood. And the flowery garlands on the necks of the gods faded and their prowess suffered diminution. And terrible masses of clouds dropped thick showers of blood. And the dust raised by the winds darkened the splendour of the very coronets of the gods. And He of a thousand sacrifices (), with the other gods, perplexed with fear at the sight of those dark forebodings spoke unto to thus, 'Why, O worshipful one, have these natural disturbances suddenly arisen? No foe do I behold who would oppress us in war.' answered, 'O chief of the gods, O thou you of a thousand sacrifices, it is from thy your fault and carelessness, and owing also to the ascetic penance of the high-souled great Rishis, the Valakhilyas, that the son of and , a ranger of the skies endued with great strength and possessing the capacity of assuming at will any form, is approaching to take away the . And that bird, foremost among all endued with great strength, is able to rob you of the . Everything is possible with him; the unachievable he can achieve.'
" continued, ', having heard these words, then spoke unto to those that guarded the amrita, saying, 'A bird endued with great strength and energy has set his heart on taking away the amrita. I warn you beforehand so that he may not succeed in taking it away by force. has told me that his strength is immeasurable.' And the gods hearing of it were amazed and took precautions. And they stood surrounding the amrita and also of great prowess, the wielder of the thunder, stood with them. And the gods wore curious breastplates of gold, of great value, and set with gems, and bright leathern armour of great toughness. And the mighty deities wielded various sharp-edged weapons of terrible shapes, countless in number, emitting, even all of them, sparks of fire with smoke. And they were also armed with many a discus and iron mace furnished with spikes, and trident, battle-axe, and various kinds of sharp-pointed missiles and polished swords and maces of terrible form, all befitting their respective bodies. And decked with celestial ornaments and resplendent with those bright arms, the gods waited there, their fears allayed. And the gods, of incomparable strength, energy, and splendour, resolved to protect the amrita. Capable of splitting the towns of the Asuras, all displayed themselves in forms resplendent as the fire. And in consequence of the gods standing there, that (would be) battle-field, owing to hundreds of thousands of maces furnished with iron spikes, shone like another firmament illumined by the rays of the Sun.'"
So ends the thirtieth section in the Parva of the Adi Parva.
( Parva continued)
" said, 'O son of Suta, what was 's fault, what his act of carelessness? How was born in consequence of the ascetic penances of the Valakhilyas? Why also --a Brahman--had the king of birds for a son? Why, too, was he invincible of all creatures and unslayable of all? Why also was that ranger of the skies capable of going into every place at will and of mustering at will any measure of energy? If these are described in the Purana, I should like to hear them.'
" said, 'What thou you askest ask me is, indeed, the subject of the Purana. O twice-born one, listen as I briefly recite it all.
"Once upon a time, when the lord of creation, , was engaged in a sacrifice from desire of offspring, the Rishis, the gods, and the Gandharvas, all gave him help. And was appointed by to bring the sacrificial fuel; and with him those ascetics the Valakhilyas, and all the other deities. And the lord , taking up according to his own strength, a weight that was mountain-like, brought it without any fatigue. And he saw on the way some Rishis, of bodies of the measure of the thumb, all together carrying one single stalk of a Palasa (Butea frondosa) leaf. And those Rishis were, from want of food, very lean and almost merged in their own bodies. And they were so weak that they were much afflicted when sunk in the water that collected in an indentation on the road produced by the hoof of a cow. And , proud of his strength, beheld them with surprise, and laughing at them in derision soon left them behind insulting them, besides, by passing over their heads. And those Rishis being thus insulted were filled with rage and sorrow. And they made preparations for a great sacrifice at which was terrified. Hear, O , of the wish for accomplishment of which those vow-observing wise, and excellent ascetics poured clarified butter of the sacrificial fire with loudly uttered mantras, 'There shall be another of all gods, capable of going everywhere at will, and of mustering at will any measure of energy, and striking tear into the (present) . By the fruit of our ascetic penance, let one arise, fleet as the mind, and fierce withal.' And the lord of the celestials of a hundred sacrifices, having come to know of this, became very much alarmed and sought the protection of the vow-observing . And the , hearing everything from , went to the Valakhilyas and asked them if their sacrifice had been successful. And those truth-speaking Rishis replied to him, saying, 'Let it be as thou you sayest say!' And the pacifying them, spake spoke unto to them as follows, 'By the word of Brahman, this one () hath has been made the Lord of the three worlds. Ye you ascetics, ye you also are striving to create another ! Ye you excellent ones, it behoveth behooves you not to falsify the word of Brahman. Let not also this purpose, for (accomplishing) which ye you are striving, be rendered futile. Let there spring an (Lord) of winged creatures, endued with excess of strength! Be gracious unto to who is a suppliant before you.' And the Valakhilyas, thus addressed by , after offering reverence to that first of the Munis, viz., the , spake spoke unto to him:
"The Valakhilyas said, 'O , this sacrifice of us all is for an ! Indeed this hath has also been meant for a son being born unto to thee you! Let this task be now left to thee you. And in this matter do whatsoever thou you seest see to be good and proper.'
" continued, 'Meanwhile, moved by the desire of offspring, the good daughter of , the vow-observing, amiable, and fortunate , her ascetic penances over, having purified herself with a bath in that season when connubial companionship might prove fruitful, approached her lord. And spake spoke unto to her, 'Respected one, the sacrifice commenced by me hath has borne fruit. What hath has been desired by thee you shall come to pass. Two heroic sons, shall be born unto to thee you, who shall be the lords of the three worlds. By the penances of the Valakhilyas and by virtue of the desire with which I commenced my sacrifice, those sons shall be of exceedingly good fortune and worshipped in the three worlds!' And the illustrious spake spoke unto to her again, 'Bear thou you these auspicious seeds with great care. These two will be the lords of all winged creatures. These heroic rangers of the skies will be respected in all the worlds, and capable of assuming any form at will.
"And the , gratified with all that took place, then addressed of a hundred sacrifices, saying, 'Thou you shalt shall have two brothers of great energy and prowess, who shall be to thee you even as the helpmates. From them no injury shall result unto to thee you. Let thy your sorrow cease; thou you shalt shall continue as the lord of all. Let not, however, the utterers of the name of be ever again slighted by thee you. Nor let the very wrathful ones, whose words are even the thunderbolt, be ever again insulted by thee you. , thus addressed, went to heaven, his fears dispelled. And also, her purpose fulfilled, was exceedingly glad. And she gave birth to two sons, and . And , of undeveloped body, became the fore-runner of . And was vested with the lordship over the birds. O thou you of 's race, hearken now to the mighty achievement of .'"
"So ends the thirty-first section in the Parva of the Adi Parva.