do not grieve for thy son. There was another
king of the name of Suhotra the son of Atithi.
We hear, O Srinjaya, that even he fell a prey to death.
During his rule, Maghavat showered gold for one whole
year upon his kingdom. Obtaining that king for
her lord, the earth became in reality (and not in
name only as before) Vasumati.[87] The rivers, during
the sway of that king, bore golden tortoises, crabs,
alligators, sharks, and porpoises, for the adorable
Indra, O king, had showered these upon them. Beholding
those golden fishes and sharks and tortoises in hundreds
and thousands, Atithi’s son became filled with
wonder. Collecting that vast wealth of gold that
covered the earth, Suhotra performed a sacrifice at
Kurujangala and gave it away unto the Brahmanas, When
that king, O Srinjaya, who transcended thee in the
four attributes of religious merit, knowledge, renunciation,
and affluence, and who was purer than thy son, felt
a prey to death, do not grieve for thy son (that is
dead). Thy son never performed a sacrifice and
never made gifts. Knowing this, pacify thy mind
and do not give away to grief.[88] We hear also, O
Srinjaya, that Vrihadratha the king of the Angas,
fell a prey to death. He gave away I hundred
thousand steeds. A hundred thousand maidens also,
adorned with golden ornaments, he gave away as presents
in a sacrifice he performed. A hundred thousand
elephants also of the best breed, he gave away as
presents in another sacrifice performed by him.
A hundred millions also of bulls, adorned with golden
chains, with thousands of kine accompanying them,
he gave away as sacrificial presents. While the
king of Anga performed his sacrifice by the hill called
Vishnupada, Indra became intoxicated with the Soma
he drank, and the Brahmanas with the presents they
received. In the sacrifices, O monarch, numbering
by hundreds, that this king performed of old, the
presents he made far surpassed those ever made by
the gods, the Gandharvas, and men. No other man
was born, or will ever be born, that gave or will
give away so much wealth as was given away by the
king of the Angas in the seven sacrifices he performed,
each of which was characterised by the consecration
of the Soma.[89] When, O Srinjaya, this Vrihadratha
even, who was thy superior in the four attributes
and who was purer than thy son, fell a prey to death,
do not grieve for thy son that is dead. We hear
also, O Srinjaya, that Sivi, the son of Usinara, fell
a prey to death. That king swayed the whole earth
as one sways the leathern shield in his hand.
Riding on a single car that proved victorious in every
battle, king Sivi caused the whole earth to resound
with the rattle of his wheels and subjugated all monarchs.[90]
Usinara’s son Sivi gave away, in a sacrifice,
all the kine and horses he had, both domestic and
wild. The Creator himself thought that no one
amongst the kings of the past or the future had or
would have the ability to bear the burthen, O Srinjaya,
that Usinara’s son Sivi, that foremost of kings,