One
day, while thus engaged, the wielder of the thunderbolt beheld
Virochana's son Vali within a certain mountain cave on the sea-shore.
Seeing the prince of Danavas, he approached him. Beholding the chief of
the deities, viz., Indra, thus seated on the back of Airavata and
surrounded by the several orders of the celestials, the prince of the
Daityas showed no signs of sorrow or agitation. Indra also, seeing Vali
staying unmoved and fearless, addressed him from the back of his foremost
of elephants, saying, 'How is it, O Daitya, that thou art so unmoved? Is
it due to thy heroism or thy having waited with reverence upon aged
persons? Is it due to thy mind having been cleansed by penances? To
whatever cause it may be due, this frame of mind is certainly very
difficult of attainment. Hurled from a position that was certainly the
highest, thou art now divested of all thy possessions, and thou hast been
brought under the sway of thy foes. O son of Virochana, what is that by
having recourse to which thou dost not grieve although the occasion is
for grief? Formerly, when thou wert invested with the sovereignty of thy
own order, unrivalled pleasures were thine. Now, however, thou art
divested of thy wealth and jewels and sovereignty. Tell us why thou art
so unmoved. Thou wert before this a god, seated on the throne of thy sire
and grandsires. Beholding thyself stripped today by thy foes, why dost
thou not grieve? Thou art bound in Varuna's noose and hast been struck
with my thunderbolt.
Pages:
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969