SECTION VI
"Vyasa said, 'The ancient legend of Vrihaspati and the wise Marutta is
cited in this connection. On hearing of the compact made by Angira's son
Vrihaspati with the lord of the gods (Indra), king Marutta made the
necessary preparations for a great sacrifice. The eloquent grandson of
Karandhama, (Marutta) having conceived the idea of a sacrifice in his
mind, went to Vrihaspati and addressed him thus, 'O worshipful ascetic, I
have intended to perform the sacrifice which thou didst propose to me
once on a previous occasion and in accordance with thy instructions, and
I now desire to appoint thee as officiating priest in this sacrifice, the
materials whereof have also been collected by me.--O excellent one, thou
art our family priest, therefore do thou take those sacrificial things
and perform the sacrifice thyself.'
Vrihaspati said, 'O lord of the earth, I do not desire to perform thy
sacrifice. I have been appointed as priest by the Lord of the gods
(Indra) and I have promised to him to act as such.'
Marutta said, 'Thou art our hereditary family priest, and for this reason
I entertain great regard for thee, and I have acquired the right of being
assisted at sacrifices by thee, and therefore it is meet that thou
shouldst officiate as priest at my sacrifice.'
Vrihaspati said, 'Having, O Marutta, acted as priest to the Immortals,
how can I act as such to mortal men, and whether thou dost depart hence
or stay, I tell thee, I have ceased to act as priest to any but the
Immortals. O thou of mighty arms, I am unable to act as thy priest now.
And according to thy own desire, thou canst appoint any one as thy priest
who will perform thy sacrifice.'
Vyasa said, 'Thus told, king Marutta became confused with shame, and
while returning home with his mind oppressed by anxiety, he met Narada on
his way. And that monarch on seeing the divine Rishi Narada stood before
him with due salutation, with his hands clasped together. Then Narada
addressing him thus said,--O royal sage, thou seemest to be not
well-pleased in thy mind; is all well with thee? Where hast thou been, O
sinless one, and whence the cause of this thy mental disquietude? And, O
king, if there be no objection to thy telling it to me, do thou, O best
of kings, disclose (the cause of thy anxiety) to me, so that, O prince, I
may allay the disquietude of thy mind with all my efforts.'
Vaisampayana continued, 'Thus addressed by the great Rishi Narada, king
Marutta informed him of the rebuff he had received from his religious
preceptor.'
Marutta said, 'Seeking for a priest to officiate at my sacrifice, I went
to that priest of the Immortals, Vrihaspati, the son of Angira, but he
did not choose to accept my offer. Having met with this rebuff from him,
I have no desire to live any longer now, for by his abandoning me thus, I
have, O Narada, become contaminated with sin.'
Vyasa said, 'Thus told by that king, Narada, O mighty prince, made this
reply to him with words which seemed to revive that son of Avikshit.'
Narada said, 'The virtuous son of Angira, Samvarta by name is wandering
over all the quarters of the earth in a naked state to the wonder of all
creatures; do thou, O prince, go to him. If Vrihaspati does not desire to
officiate at thy sacrifice, the powerful Samvarta, if pleased with thee,
will perform thy sacrifice.'
Marutta said, 'I feel as if instilled with new life, by these thy words,
O Narada, but O the best of speakers, do thou tell me where I can find
Samvarta, and how I can remain by his side, and how I am to act so that
he may not abandon me, for I do not desire to live if I meet with a
rebuff from him also.'
Narada said, 'Desirous of seeing Maheswara, O prince, he wanders about at
his pleasure in the city of Varanasi, in the garb of a mad man. And
having reached the gate of that city, thou must place a dead body
somewhere near it, and the man who shall turn away on seeing the corpse,
do thou, O prince, know that man to be Samvarta, and knowing him, do thou
follow his footsteps wheresoever that powerful man chooses to go and
finding him (at length) in a lonely place thou must seek his protection
with thy hands clasped together in supplication to him. And if he
enquires of thee as to the person who has given thee the information
about his own self, do thou tell him that Narada has informed thee about
Samvarta. And if he should ask thee to follow me, thou must tell him
without any hesitation, that I have entered into the fire.'
Vyasa said, 'Having signified his assent to the proposal of Narada, that
royal sage after duly worshipping him, and taking his permission,
repaired to the city of Varanasi, and having reached there, that famous
prince did as he had been told, and remembering the words of Narada, he
placed a corpse at the gate of the city. And by coincidence, that
Brahmana also entered the gate of the city at the same time. Then on
beholding the corpse, he suddenly turned away. And on seeing him turn
back, that prince, the son of Avikshit followed his footsteps with his
hands clasped together, and with the object of receiving instruction from
him. And then finding him in a lonely place, Samvarta covered the king
with mud and ashes and phlegm and spittle. And though thus worried and
oppressed by Samvarta, the king followed that sage with his hands clasped
together in supplication and trying to appease him. At length overcome
with fatigue, and reaching the cool shade of a sacred fig tree with many
branches, Samvarta desisted from his course and sat himself to rest.'
