“Yudhishthira said, ‘O great saint! I am desirous of hearing in detail
why it was that Vindhya, made senseless with wrath, suddenly began to
increase his bulk.’”
“Lomasa said, ‘The sun between his rising and setting used to revolve
round that monarch of mountains--the great Meru of golden lustre. And
seeing this the mountain Vindhya spake to Surya saying, ‘As thou every
day goest round Meru and honourest him by thy circumambulations, do thou
even the same by me, O maker of light!’ Thus addressed, the sun replied
to the great mountain, saying, ‘I do not of my own will honour this
mountain by my circumambulations. By those who have built this universe
hath that path been assigned to me.’ Thus addressed the mountain suddenly
began to increase from wrath, desirous, O chastiser of foes, of
obstructing the path of the Sun and the Moon. And all the assembled gods
came to Vindhya, the mighty king of mountains, and tried to dissuade him
from his course. But he heeded not what they said. And then all the
assembled gods went to the saint, living in the hermitage, engaged in the
practice of austerities, and the very best of persons devoted to virtue;
and stated all that happened to Agastya, possessed of exceeding
marvellous power.
“The gods said, ‘This king of hills, Vindhya, giving way to wrath, is
stopping the path of the Sun and the Moon, and also the course of the
stars. O foremost of Brahmanas! O thou great in gifts! excepting thyself,
there is none who can prevent him; therefore do thou make him desist.’
Hearing these words of the gods the Brahmana came to the mountain. And he
with his wife, having arrived there, came near Vindhya and spake to him,
saying, ‘O thou best of mountains! I wish to have a path given to me by
thee, as, for some purpose, I shall have to go to the southern region.
Until my return, do thou wait for me. And when I have returned, O king of
mountains, thou mayst increase in bulk as much as thou pleasest.’ And, O
slayer of foes! having made this compact with Vindhya up to the present
day Varuna’s son doth not return from the southern region. Thus have I,
asked by thee, narrated to thee why Vindhya doth not increase in bulk, by
reason of the power of Agastya. Now, O king! hear how the Kalakeyas were
killed by the gods, after they had obtained their prayer from Agastya.
“Having heard the words of the gods, Agastya, the son of Mitra, and
Varuna, said, ‘Wherefore are ye come? What boon do ye solicit from me?’
Thus addressed by him, the deities then spake to the saint, saying, ‘This
deed we ask thee to achieve, viz., to drink up the great ocean. O
magnanimous (saint)! Then we shall be able to slay those enemies of the
gods, known by the name of Kalakeyas, together with all their adherents.’
Having heard the words of the gods, the saint said, ‘Let it be so--I
shall do even what ye desire, and that which will conduce to the great
happiness of men.’ Having said this, he then proceeded to the ocean--the
lord of rivers,--accompanied by sages, ripe in the practice of penances,
and also by the deities, O thou who leadest an excellent life! And men
and snakes, celestial choristers, Yakshas and Kinnaras followed the
magnanimous saints,--desirous of witnessing that wonderful event. Then
they came up all together near to the sea, of awful roar, dancing, as it
were, with its billows, bounding with the breeze, and laughing with
masses of froth, and stumbling at the caves, and thronged with diverse
kinds of sharks, and frequented by flocks of various birds. And the
deities accompanied by Agastya and celestial choristers and huge snakes
and highly-gifted saints, approached the immense watery waste.”