ACCOUNT OF THE SUBSEQUENT LIVES OF THE DEMONS.
Argument. Account of the torments of the Demons in the regions of
Pluto, and their succeeding births.
Vasishtha continued:—Upon destruction of the demons, the gods were
exceedingly joyous; but Dáma and the other leaders of the Daityas,
became immerged in sorrow and grief.
2. Upon this Sambara was full of wrath, and his anger was kindled like
the all destroying fire against his generals, whom he called aloud by
their names and said, where are they?
3. But they fled from their abodes for fear of his ire, and hid
themselves in the seventh sphere of the infernal regions.
4. There dwelt the horrid myrmidons of death, formidable as their lord
Pluto (Yama) himself; and who were glad with their charge of guarding
the abyss of hell.
5. Dauntless warders of the hell-gate received them into their favour,
and having given them shelter in the hell-pit, gave them their three
maiden daughters in marriage.
6. They there passed in their company, a period of ten thousand years,
and gave a free vent to their evil desires up to the end of their
lives. (The evil thoughts being the progeny of hell).
7. Their time passed away in such thoughts as these, that, “this is my
consort and this my daughter, and I am their lord:” and they were bound
together in the ties of mutual affections as strong as the chain of
death.
8. It happened on one occasion that Yama—the god of retributive
justice, gave his call to that spot, in order to survey the state of
affairs in the doleful pits of hell.
9. The three Asuras, being unware of his rank and dignity, (by seeing
him unattended with his ensigns), failed to make their obeisance to the
lord of hell, by taking him to their peril as one of his servants.
10. Then a nod of his eyebrows, assigned to them a place in the burning
furnace of hell; where they were immediately cast by the stern porters
of hell gate.
11. There they lay burning with their wives and children, until they
were consumed to death, like a straw-hut and withered trees.
12. The evil desires and wicked propensities, which they contracted in
the company of the hellish train, caused their transmigration to the
forms of Kirátas, for carrying on their slaughters and atrocities like
the myrmidons of Yama.
13. Getting rid of that birth, they were next born as ravens, and then
as vultures and falcons of mountain caves (preying on the harmless
birds below).
14. They were then transformed to the forms of hogs in the land of
Trigarta, and then as mountain rams in Magadha, and afterwards of
heinous reptiles in caves and holes.
15. Thus after passing successively into a variety of other forms, they
are now lying as fishes in the wood-land lakes of Cashmir.
16. Being burnt in hell fire at first, they have now their respite in
the watery lake, and drink its filthy water, whereby they neither die
nor live to their hearts content.
17. Having thus passed over and over into various births, and being
transformed again and again to be reborn on earth, they are rolling
like waves of the sea to all eternity.
18. Thus like their endless desires, they have been eternally rolling
like weeds in the ocean of the earth; and there is no end of their
pains until the end of their desires.