Mahabharata 05 (eng)..

UDYOGA PARAVA
SECTION XII
and visit me at my house.' Saddened at hearing this, the goddess said to Vrihaspati, 'Protect me, O
Brahmana, from this Nahusha. I come to you as my refuge. You always say, O Brahmana, that I
have got on my person all the auspicious marks, being the favourite of the divine king; that I am
chaste, devoted to my lord, and destined never to become a widow. All this about me you have said
before. Let your words be made true. O possessor of great powers, O lord, you never spoke words
that were vain. Therefore, O best of Brahmanas, this that you have said ought to be true.' Then Vrihaspati
said to the queen of Indra who was beside herself through fear, 'What thou hast been told by
me will come to be true, be sure, O goddess. Thou shalt see Indra, the lord of the gods, who will
soon come back here. I tell thee truly, thou hast no fear from Nahusha; I shall soon unite thee with
Indra.' Now Nahusha came to hear that Indra's queen had taken refuge with Vrihaspati, the son of
Angiras. And at this, the king became highly enraged.'
SECTION XII
Salya said, 'Seeing Nahusha enraged, the gods led by the saints spoke unto him, 'Who was now their
king of awful mien? O king of gods, quit thy wrath. When thou art in wrath, O lord, the Universe,
with its Asuras and Gandharvas, its Kinnaras, and great snakes, quaketh. Quit this wrath, thou righteous
being. Persons like thee do not put themselves out. That goddess is another person's wife. Be
pacified, O lord of gods! Turn back thy inclination from the sin of outraging another's wife. Thou
art the king of gods, prosperity to thee! Protect thy subjects in all righteousness?' So addressed, he
heeded not the saying rendered senseless by lust. And the king spoke to the gods, in allusion to Indra,
'Ahalya of spotless fame, the wife of a saint, was outraged by Indra while her husband was
alive. Why did ye not prevent him? Many were the deeds of inhumanity, of unrighteousness, of deceit,
committed by Indra in former times. Why did ye not prevent him? Let the goddess do my
pleasure; that would be her permanent good. And so the same will ever more rebound to your
safety, ye gods!'
The gods said, 'We shall bring to thee the queen of Indra even as thou hast laid the command, 'O
lord of heaven! Quit this wrath, thou valiant soul! Be pacified, O lord of gods!'
Salya continued, 'Thus having spoken to him, the gods with the saint went to inform Vrihaspati and
the queen of Indra of the said news. And they said, 'We know, O foremost of Brahmanas, that the
queen of Indra hath betaken herself to thy house, for protection, and that thou hast promised her
protection, O best of divine saints! But we, the gods and Gandharvas and saints, beseech thee, O
thou of great lustre, to give up the queen of Indra to Nahusha. Nahusha, the king of gods, of great
effulgence, is superior to Indra. Let her, that lady of choice figure and complexion, choose him as
her lord!' Thus addressed, the goddess gave vent to tears; and sobbing audibly, she mourned in piteous
accents. And she spoke to Vrihaspati, 'O best of divine saints, I do not desire Nahusha to be my
lord. I have betaken myself to thy protection, O Brahmana! Deliver me from this great peril!'
Vrihaspati said, 'My resolution is this, I shall not abandon one that hath sought my protection. O
thou of unblamable life, I shall not abandon thee, virtuous as thou art and of a truthful disposition! I
do not desire to do an improper act, specially as I am a Brahmana knowing what righteousness is,
having a regard for truth, and aware also of the precepts of virtue. I shall never do it. Go your ways,
ye best of gods. Hear what hath formerly been sung by Brahma with regard to the matter at hand.
He that delivereth up to a foe of a person terrified and asking for protection obtaineth no protection
when he himself is in need of it. His seed doth not grow at seed-time and rain doth not come to him
in the season of rains. He that delivereth up to a foe a person terrified and asking for protection
never succeedeth in anything that he undertaketh; senseless as he is, he droppeth paralysed from
heaven; the god refuse offerings made by him. His progeny die an untimely death and his forefathers
always quarrel (among themselves). The gods with Indra and their head dart the thunderbolt at
him. Know it to be so, I shall not deliver up this Sachi here, the queen of Indra, famous in the world
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