again acquire prosperity. That wise man, O sire,
who adheres to a course of righteous conduct (while
afflicted by distress) succeeds in acquiring prosperity,
patience, and perseverance in the accomplishment of
all his objects. In this connection is once more
cited the old narrative of the discourse between Vali
and Vasava, O Yudhishthira! After the battle between
the gods and the Asuras, in which a large number of
Daityas and Danavas fell, had come to an end.
Vali became king. He was deceived by Vishnu who
once more established his sway over all the worlds.
He, of a hundred sacrifices was once more invested
with the sovereignty of the deities. After the
rule of the deities had thus been re-established, and
the four orders of men had been re-established in
the practice of their respective courses of duty,
the three worlds once more swelled with prosperity,
and the Self-born became glad at heart. At that
time, accompanied by the Rudras, the Vasus, the Adityas,
the Aswins, the celestial Rishis, the Gandharvas,
the Siddhas, and other superior orders of beings, the
puissant Sakra, seated in splendour on his four-tusked
prince of elephants, called Airavata, made a progress
through all the worlds. One day, while thus engaged,
the wielder of the thunderbolt beheld Virochana’s
son Vali within a certain mountain cave on the sea-shore.
Seeing the prince of Danavas, he approached him.
Beholding the chief of the deities, viz., Indra,
thus seated on the back of Airavata and surrounded
by the several orders of the celestials, the prince
of the Daityas showed no signs of sorrow or agitation.
Indra also, seeing Vali staying unmoved and fearless,
addressed him from the back of his foremost of elephants,
saying, ’How is it, O Daitya, that thou art so
unmoved? Is it due to thy heroism or thy having
waited with reverence upon aged persons? Is it
due to thy mind having been cleansed by penances?
To whatever cause it may be due, this frame of mind
is certainly very difficult of attainment. Hurled
from a position that was certainly the highest, thou
art now divested of all thy possessions, and thou hast
been brought under the sway of thy foes. O son
of Virochana, what is that by having recourse to which
thou dost not grieve although the occasion is for
grief? Formerly, when thou wert invested with
the sovereignty of thy own order, unrivalled pleasures
were thine. Now, however, thou art divested of
thy wealth and jewels and sovereignty. Tell us
why thou art so unmoved. Thou wert before this
a god, seated on the throne of thy sire and grandsires.
Beholding thyself stripped today by thy foes, why dost
thou not grieve? Thou art bound in Varuna’s
noose and hast been struck with my thunderbolt.
Thy wives have been taken away and thy wealth also.
Tell us why thou dost not indulge in grief. Divested
of prosperity and fallen away from affluence, thou
indulgest not in grief. This, indeed, is something
that is very remarkable. Who else, O Vali, than
one like thee, could venture to bear the burthen of
existence after being shorn of the sovereignty of
the three worlds?’ Hearing without any pain these
and other cutting speeches that Indra addressed to
him, asserting the while his own superiority over
him, Vali, the son of Virochana, fearlessly answered
his interrogator, saying the following words.’