the sky a speech (uttered) in a grave and solemn voice, ’O king! do thou not be guilty of this hasty act; thou shouldst not abandon thy sons.  Take out the seeds from the gourd and let them be preserved with care in steaming vessels partly filled with clarified butter.  Then thou wilt get, O scion of Bharata’s race! sixty thousand sons.  O ruler of men! the great god (Siva) hath spoken that thy sons are to be born in this manner.  Let not therefore thy mind be turned away therefrom.’”

SECTION CVII

“Lomasa said, ’O most righteous of kings!  When he heard these words (proceeding) from the sky, he had faith therein, and did all that he was directed to do, O chief of the men of Bharata’s race!  Then the ruler of men took separately each of the seeds and then placed these divisions (of the gourd) in vessels filled with clarified butter.  And intent on the preservation of his sons, he provided a nurse for every (receptacle).  Then after a long time there arose sixty thousand exceedingly powerful sons of that same king—­gifted with unmeasured strength, they were born, O ruler of earth! to that saint-like king, by Rudra’s favour.  And they were terrible; and their acts were ruthless.  And they were able to ascend and roam about in the sky; and being numerous themselves, despised everybody, including the gods.  And they would chase even the gods, the Gandharvas, and the Rakshasas and all the born beings, being themselves valiant and addicted to fighting.  Then all people, harassed by the dull-headed sons of Sagara, united with all the gods, went to Brahma as their refuge.  And then addressed the blessed grandfather of all beings (Brahma), ’Go ye your way, ye gods, together with all these men.  In a not very long space of time, there will come about, O gods! a great and exceedingly terrible destruction of Sagara’s sons, caused by the deed perpetrated by them.’  Thus addressed, those same gods, and men, O lord of the sons of Manu! bade adieu to the grandfather, and went back to whence they had come.  Then, O chief of Bharata’s race! after the expiry of very many days, the mighty king Sagara accepted the consecration for performing the rites of a horse-sacrifice.  And his horse began to roam over the world, protected by his sons.  And when the horse reached the sea, waterless and frightful to behold—­although the horse was guarded with very great care—­it (suddenly) vanished at the very spot (it stood upon).  Then, O respected sir! those same sons of Sagara imagined the same fine horse to have been stolen; and returning to their father, narrated how it had been stolen out of sight.  And thereupon he addressed them, saying, ‘Go ye and search for the horse in all the cardinal points.’  Then, O great king! by this command of their father, they began to search for the horse in the cardinal points and throughout the whole surface of the earth.  But all those sons of Sagara, all mutually united,