Mahabharata 05 (eng)..

UDYOGA PARAVA
SECTION XIV
again. And invisible to all beings, he wandered biding his time. And Indra having disappeared, Sachi
fell into grief. And exceedingly miserable, she bewailed, 'Alas! O Indra, if ever I have made a
gift, or made offering to the gods, or have propitiated my spiritual guides, if there is any truth in me,
then I pray that my chastity may remain inviolate. I bow myself to this goddess Night, – holy, pure,
running her course during this the northern journey of the sun,[1] let my desire be fulfilled.' Saying
this, she, in a purified condition of body and soul, worshipped the goddess Night. And in the name
of her chastity and truth she had recourse to divination.[2] And she asked, 'Show me the place
where the king of the gods is. Let truth be verified by truth.' And it was thus that she addressed the
goddess of Divination.'
SECTION XIV
Salya said, 'Then the goddess of Divination stood near that chaste and beautiful lady. And having
beheld that goddess, youthful and lovely, standing before her, Indra's queen, glad at heart, paid respects
to them and said, 'I desire to know who thou art, O thou of lovely face.' And Divination said,
'I am Divination, O goddess, come near thee. Since thou art truthful, therefore, O high-minded lady,
do I appear in thy sight. Since thou art devoted to thy lord, employed in controlling thyself, and engaged
in the practice of religious rites, I shall show thee the god Indra, the slayer of Vritra. Quickly
come after me, so may good betide thee! Thou shalt see that best of gods.' Then Divination proceeded
and the divine queen of Indra went after her. And she crossed the heavenly groves, and
many mountains; and then having crossed the Himavat mountains, she came to its northern side.
And having reached the sea, extending over many yojanas, she came upon a large island covered
with various trees and plants. And there she saw a beautiful lake, of heavenly appearance, covered
with birds, eight hundred miles in length, and as many in breadth. And upon it, O descendant of
Bharata, were full-blown lotuses of heavenly appearance, of five colours, hummed round by bees,
and counting by thousands. And in the middle of that lake, there was a large and beautiful assemblage
of lotuses having in its midst a large white lotus standing on a lofty stalk. And penetrating
into the lotus-stalk, along with Sachi, she saw Indra there who had entered into its fibres. And seeing
her lord lying there in a minute form, Sachi also assumed a minute form, so did the goddess of
divination too. And Indra's queen began to glorify him by reciting his celebrated deeds of yore. And
thus glorified, the divine Purandara spoke to Sachi, 'For what purpose hast thou come? How also
have I been found out?' Then the goddess spoke of the acts of Nahusha. And she said, 'O performer
of a hundred sacrifices, having obtained the sovereignty of the three worlds, powerful and haughty
and of a vicious soul, he hath commanded me to visit him, and the cruel wretch hath even assigned
me a definite time. If thou wilt not protect me, O lord, he will bring me under his power. For this
reason, O Indra, have I come to thee in alarm. O thou of powerful arms, slay the terrible Nahusha of
vicious soul. Discover thyself, O slayer of Daityas and Danavas. O lord, assume thy own strength
and rule the celestial kingdom.'"
SECTION XV
Salya said, 'Thus addressed by Sachi, the illustrious god said to her again, 'This is not the time for
putting forth valour. Nahusha is stronger than I am. O beautiful lady, he hath been strengthened by
the Rishis with the merits of offerings to the gods and the Pitris. I shall have recourse to policy now.
Thou wilt have to carry it out, O goddess. O lady, thou must do it secretly and must not disclose it
to any person. O lady of a beautiful waist, going to Nahusha in private, tell him, O lord of the Universe,
thou must visit me mounted on a nice vehicle borne by Rishis. In that case I shall be pleased
and shall place myself at thy disposal. This shouldst thou tell him.' And thus addressed by the king
of the gods, his lotus-eyed consort expressed her consent and went to Nahusha. And Nahusha, having
seen her, smilingly addressed her, saying, 'I welcome thee, O lady of lovely thighs. What is thy
pleasure, O thou of sweet smiles. Accept me, O lady of propitious looks, who am devoted to thee.
What is thy will, O spirited dame. I shall do thy wish, O lady of propitious looks and slender waist.
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