Vaisampayana said, “And the son of Pandu once more addressed Markandeya,
saying, ‘Tell us again of the great good fortune of kings.’ And
Markandeya said, ‘There came unto the horse-sacrifice of king Ashtaka of
Viswamitra’s race, many kings. And there came unto that sacrifice the
three brothers also of that king, viz., Pratardana, Vasumanas, and Sivi,
the son of Usinara. And after the sacrifice was completed, Ashtaka was
proceeding on his car along with his brothers when they all beheld Narada
coming that way and they saluted the celestial Rishi and said unto him,
‘Ride thou on this car with us. And Narada, saying, So be it, mounted on
the car, and one among those kings having gratified the holy and
celestial Rishi Narada, said, O Holy One, I desire, to ask thee
something.’ And the Rishi said, ‘Ask.’ And the person, thus permitted,
said, ‘All four of us are blessed with long lives and have indeed every
virtue. We shall, therefore, be permitted to go to a certain heaven and
dwell there for a long period. Who amongst us, however, O king, shall
fall down first?’ Thus questioned the Rishi said, ‘This Ashtaka shall
first come down.’ And thereupon the enquirer asked, ‘For what cause?’ And
the Rishi answered, ‘I lived for a few days in the abode of Ashtaka. He
carried me (one day) on his car out of the town and there I beheld
thousands of kine distinguished from one another by difference of hue.
And beholding those kine I asked Ashtaka whose they were and Ashtaka
answered me, saying, ‘I have given away these kine. By this answer he
gave expression to his own praise. It is for this answer of his that
Ashtaka shall have to come down.’ And after Narada had said so, one of
them again enquired, saying, ‘Three of us then will stay in heaven.
Amongst us three, who shall fall down first?’ And the Rishi answered,
Pratardana.’ And the enquirer asked, ‘For what cause?’ And the Rishi
answered, ‘I lived for some days in the abode of Pratardana also. And he
carried me on his car one day. And while doing so, a Brahmana asked him
saying, ‘Give me a horse!’ And Pratardana replied, ‘After returning, I
will give thee one!’ And thereupon the Brahmana said, ‘Let it be given to
me soon.’ And as the Brahmana spoke those words, the king gave unto him
the steed that had been yoked on the right-hand wheel of the car. And
there came unto him another Brahmana desirous of obtaining a steed. And
the king having spoken to him in the same way, gave him the steed that
had been yoked on the left wheel of his car. And having given away the
horse unto him, the king proceeded on his journey. And then there came
unto the king another Brahmana desirous of obtaining a horse. And the
king soon gave him the horse on the left front of his car, unyoking the
animal. And having done so, the king proceeded on his journey. And then
there came unto the king another Brahmana desirous of obtaining a horse.
And the king said unto him, ‘Returning, I will give thee a horse.’ But
the Brahmana said, ‘Let the steed be given to me soon.’ And the king gave
him the only horse he had. And seizing the yoke of the car himself, the
king began to draw it. And as he did so, he said, ‘There is now nothing
for the Brahmanas.’ The king had given away, it is true, but he had done
so with detraction. And for that speech of his, he shall have to fall
down from heaven. And after the Rishi had said so, of the two that
remained, one asked, ‘Who amongst us two shall fall down?’ And the Rishi
answered, ‘Vasumanas.’ And the enquirer asked, ‘For what reason?’ And
Narada said, ‘In course of my wanderings I arrived at the abode of
Vasumanas. And at that time the Brahmanas were performing the ceremony of
Swastivachana for the sake of a flowery car.[51] And I approached the
king’s presence. And after the Brahmanas had completed the ceremony, the
flowery car became visible to them. And I praised that car, and thereupon
the king told me, ‘Holy one, by thee hath this car been praised. Let this
car, therefore, be thine.’ And after this I went to Vasumanas another
time when I was in need of a (flowery) car. And I admired the car, and
the king said, ‘It is thine.’ And I went to the king a third time and
admired the car again. And even then the king exhibiting the flowery car
to the Brahmanas, cast his eyes on me, and said, ‘O holy one, thou hast
praised the flowery car sufficiently.” And the king only said these
words, without making me a gift of that car. And for this he will fall
down from heaven.’
“And one among them said, ‘Of the one who is to go with thee, who will go
and who will fall down?’ And Narada answered, saying, ‘Sivi will go, but
I will fall down.’ ‘For what reason?’ asked the enquirer. And Narada
said, ‘I am not the equal of Sivi. For one day a Brahmana came unto Sivi
and addressing him, said, ‘O Sivi, I came to thee for food.’ And Sivi
replied unto him, saying. ‘What shall I do? Let me have thy orders.’ And
the Brahmana answered, ‘This thy son known by the name of Vrihadgarbha
should be killed. And, O king, cook him for my food.’ And hearing this, I
waited to see what would follow. And Sivi then killed his son and cooking
him duly and placing that food in a vessel and taking it upon his head,
he went out in search of the Brahmana and while Sivi was thus seeking,
for the Brahmana, some one told him, The Brahmana thou seekest, having
entered thy city, is setting fire to thy abode and he is also setting
fire, in wrath, to thy treasury, thy arsenal, the apartments of the
females and thy stables for horses and elephants.’ And Sivi heard all
this, without change of colour, and entering his city spoke unto the
Brahmana, ‘O holy one, the food has been cooked.’ And the Brahmana
hearing this spoke not a word and from surprise he stood with downcast
looks. And Sivi with a view to gratifying the Brahmana said, ‘O holy one,
eat thou this.’ And the Brahmana looking at Sivi for a moment said, ‘Eat
it thyself.’ And thereupon Sivi said, ‘Let it be so.’ And Sivi cheerfully
taking the vessel from his head desired to eat it and thereupon the
Brahmana caught hold of Sivi’s hand and addressing him said, ‘Thou hast
conquered wrath. There is nothing that thou canst not give unto the
Brahmanas.’ And saying this, that Brahmana adored Sivi, and then as Sivi
cast his eyes before him, he beheld his son standing like a child of the
gods, decked in ornaments and yielding a fragrance from his body and the
Brahmana, having accomplished all this, made himself visible and it was
Vidhatri himself who had thus come in that guise to try that royal sage,
and after Vidhatri had disappeared, the counsellors addressed the king,
saying, ‘Thou knowest everything. For what didst thou do all this?’ And
Sivi answered, ‘It was not for fame, nor for wealth, nor from desire of
acquiring objects of enjoyment that I did all this. This course is not
sinful. It is for this that I do all this. The path which is trodden by
the virtuous is laudable. My heart always inclineth towards such a
course. This high instance of Sivi’s blessedness I know, and I have,
therefore, narrated it duly!’”