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.[11] 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."
[11] The ceremony of _Swastivachana_ is described to be "a
religious rite, preparatory to any important observance, in
which the Brahmanas strew boiled rice on the ground, and invoke
the blessings of the gods on the ceremony about to commence"
(_Vide_ Wilson's Diet).
A flowery car was, probably, one of celestial make that the
kings procured from heaven by performing costly rites and
ceremonies. These were sometimes exhibited to the people, and
prior to these exhibitions, the ceremony of _Swastivachana_ was
performed.
"'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!'"'"