Vaisampayana said, “When that foremost of Brahmanas had gone away on some
other errand, the maiden began to ponder over the virtue of those
mantras. And she said to herself, ‘Of what nature are those mantras that
have been bestowed on me by that high-souled one? I shall without delay
test their power’. And as she was thinking in this way, she suddenly
perceived indications of the approach of her season. And her season
having arrived, while she was yet unmarried, she blushed in shame. And it
came to pass that as she was seated in her chamber on a rich bed, she
beheld the solar orb rising in the east. And both the mind and the eyes
of that maiden of excellent waist became rivetted fast upon the solar
orb. And she gazed and gazed on that orb without being satiated with the
beauty of the morning Sun. And she suddenly became gifted with celestial
sight. And then she beheld that god of divine form accoutred in mail and
adorned with ear-rings. And at sight of the god, O lord of men, she
became curious as to the (potency of the) mantras. And thereupon that
maiden resolved to invoke him. And having recourse to Pranayama, she
invoked the Maker of day. And thus invoked by her, O king, the Maker of
day speedily presented himself. And he was of a yellowish hue like honey,
and was possessed of mighty arms, and his neck was marked with lines like
those of a conchshell. And furnished with armlets, and decked with a
diadem, he came smiling, and illumining all the directions. And it was by
Yoga power that he divided himself in twain, one of which continued to
give heat, and the other appeared before Kunti. And he addressed Kunti in
words that were exceedingly sweet, saying, ‘O gentle maiden, over-powered
by the mantras, I come hither obedient to thee. Subject as I am to thy
power, what shall I do, O queen? Tell me, for I shall do whatever thou
mayst command? Hearing these words of the deity, Kunti said, ‘O
worshipful one, go thou back to the place thou hast come from! I invoked
thee from curiosity alone. Pardon me, O worshipful one!’ Surya then said,
‘O damsel of slender waist, I will, even as thou hast said, return to the
place I have come from! Having called a celestial, it is not, however,
proper to send him away in vain. Thy intention, O blessed one, it is to
have from Surya a son furnished with a coat of mail and ear-rings, and
who in point of prowess would be beyond compare in this world! Do thou,
therefore, O damsel of elephantine gait, surrender thy person to me! Thou
shall then have, O lady, a son after thy wish! O gentle girl, O thou of
sweet smiles, I will go back after having known thee! If thou do not
gratify me to-day by obeying my word, I shall in anger curse thee, thy
father and that Brahmana also. For thy fault, I will surely consume them
all, and I shall inflict condign punishment on that foolish father of
thine that knoweth not this transgression of thine and on that Brahmana
who hath bestowed the mantras on thee without knowing thy disposition and
character! Yonder are all the celestials in heaven, with Purandara at
their head, who are looking at me with derisive smiles at my being
deceived by thee, O lady! Look at those celestials, for thou art now
possessed of celestial sight! Before this I have endued thee with
celestial vision, in consequence of which thou couldst see me!’”
Vaisampayana continued, “Thereupon the princess beheld the celestials
standing in the firmament, each in his proper sphere[107], even as she
saw before her that highly resplendent deity furnished with rays, viz.,
Surya himself. And beholding them all, the girl became frightened and her
face was suffused with blushes of shame. And then she addressed Surya,
saying, ‘O lord of rays, go thou back to thy own region. On account of my
maidenhood, this outrage of thine is fraught with woe to me! It is only
one’s father, mother, and other superiors, that are capable of giving
away their daughter’s body. Virtue I shall never sacrifice, seeing that
in this world the keeping of their persons inviolate is deemed as the
highest duty of women, and is held in high regard! O thou possessed of
wealth of splendour, it is only to test the power of my mantras that I
have, from mere childishness, summoned thee. Considering that this hath
been done by a girl of tender years, it behoveth thee, O lord, to forgive
her!’ Then Surya said, ‘It is because I consider thee a girl that, O
Kunti, I am speaking to thee so mildly. To one that is not so I would not
concede this. Do thou, O Kunti, surrender thyself! Thou shalt surely
attain happiness thereby. Since, O timid maiden, thou hast invoked me
with mantras, it is not proper for me to go away without any purpose
being attained, for, if I do so I shall then. O thou of faultless limbs,
be the object of laughter in the world, and, O beauteous damsel, a
bye-word with all the celestials. Do thou, therefore, yield to me! By
that thou shalt obtain a son even like myself, and thou shalt also be
much praised in all the world.’”