began to eat all food (that was offered in sacrifices).  With his third mouth he began to drink up the energy of all the deities with Indra at their head.  Beholding him swelling with energy in every part of his body that was strengthened by the Soma he was drinking, all the deities, then, with Indra in their company, proceeded to the Grandsire Brahma.  Arrived at his presence, they addressed him and said,—­All the Soma that is duly offered in the sacrifices performed everywhere is being drunk by Viswarupa.  We no longer obtain our shares.  The Asuras are being aggrandised, while we are being weakened.  It behoveth thee, therefore, to ordain what is for our good.—­After the deities ceased, the Grandsire replied,—­The great Rishi Dadhichi of Bhrigu’s race is now engaged in performing severe austerities.  Go, ye deities, unto him and solicit a boon from him.  Do ye so arrange that he may cast off his body.  With his bones let a new weapon be created called the Thunderbolt.  Thus instructed by the Grandsire, the deities proceeded to that place where the holy Rishi Dadhichi was engaged in his austerities.  The deities with Indra at their head addressed the sage, saying,—­O holy one, your austerities, we hope, are being well performed and uninterrupted.—­Unto them the sage Dadhichi said,—­Welcome to all of you.  Tell me what I should do for you.  I shall certainly do what you will say.  They then told him,—­It behoveth thee to cast off thy body for benefiting all the worlds.  Thus solicited, the sage Dadhichi, who was a great Yogin and who regarded happiness and misery in the same light, without being at all cheerless, concentrated his Soul by his Yoga power and cast off his body.  When his Soul left its temporary tenement of clay, Dhatri, taking his bones, created an irresistible weapon called the Thunder-bolt.  With the Thunder-bolt thus made with the bones of a Brahmana, which was impenetrable by other weapons and irresistible and pervaded by the energy of Vishnu, Indra struck Viswarupa the son of Tashtri.  Having slain the son of Tashtri thus, Indra severed his head from the body.  From the lifeless body, however, of Viswarupa, when it was pressed, the energy that was still residing in it gave birth to a mighty Asura of the name of Vritra.  Vritra became the foe of Indra, but Indra slew him also with the Thunder-bolt.  In consequence of the sin of Brahmanicide, being thus doubled Indra became overcome with a great fear and as the consequence thereof he had to abandon the sovereignty of heaven.  He entered a cool lotus stalk that grew in the Manas lake.  In consequence of the Yoga attribute of Anima, he became very minute and entered the fibres of that lotus stalk.[1860] When the lord of the three worlds, the husband of Sachi, had thus disappeared from sight through fear of the sin of Brahmanicide, the universe became lordless.  The attributes of Rajas and Tamas assailed the deities.  The Mantras uttered by the great Rishis lost all efficacy.  Rakshasas appeared everywhere The Vedas were about