to the family, propitiate with sacrifices the holder of the great bow Pinaka, in the month of Chaitra.  And persons of devotion having passions under control, performing their ablutions in this lake, become free from sins and, without doubt, attain to the holy regions.  Here is the sacred tirtha called Vijanaka. where the holy sage Vasistha with his wife Arundhati and also the sage Yavakri obtained tranquillity.  Yonder is the lake Kausava, where grown the lotuses called Kausesaya, and here also is the sacred hermitage of Rukmini, where she attained peace, after conquering that evil passion, anger.  I think, O prince, that thou hast heard something about that man of meditations, Bhrigutunga.  There, O king, before thee is that lofty peak.  And, O foremost of kings, yonder is Vitasta, the sacred stream that absolveth men from all sins.  The water of this stream is extremely cool and limpid, and it is largely used by the great sages.  O prince, behold the holy rivers Jala and Upajala, on either side of the Yamuna.  By performing a sacrifice here, king Usinara surpassed in greatness Indra himself.  And, O descendant of Bharata, desirous of testing Usinara’s merit and also of bestowing boons on him, Indra and Agni presented themselves at his sacrificial ground.  And Indra assuming the shape of a hawk, and Agni that of a pigeon, came up to that king.  And the pigeon in fear of the hawk, fell upon the king’s thigh, seeking his protection.’”

SECTION CXXXI

“’The hawk said, “All the kings of the earth represent thee as a pious ruler.  Wherefore, O prince, has thou then stopped to perpetrate a deed not sanctioned by the ordinance?  I have been sore afflicted with hunger.  Do thou not withhold from me that which hath been appointed by the Diety for my food,—­under the impression that thereby thou servest the interests of virtue, whereas in reality, thou wilt forsake it, (by committing thyself to this act).”  Thereupon, the king said, “O best of the feathered race, afflicted with fear of thee, and desirous of escaping from thy hands, this bird, all in a hurry, hath come up to me asking for life.  When this pigeon hath in such a manner sought my protection, why dost thou not see that the highest merit is even in my not surrendering it unto thee?  And it is trembling with fear, and is agitated, and is seeking its life from me.  It is therefore certainly blameworthy to forsake it.  He that slayeth a Brahmana, he that slaughtered a cow—­the common mother of all the worlds—­and he that forsaketh one seeking for protection are equally sinful.”  Thereat the hawk replied, “O lord of earth, it is from food that all beings derive their life, and it is food also that nourisheth and sustaineth them.  A man can live long even after forsaking what is dearest to him, but he cannot do so, after abstaining from food.  Being deprived of food, my life, O ruler of men, will surely leave this body, and will attain to regions unknown to such