fifty in breadth, and gave it away as the sacrificial fee.  That foremost of men, viz., Gaya, the son of Amurtarayas, gave away as many kine as there are sand grains, O king, in the river Ganga.  When he, O Srinjaya, who far surpassed thee in the four principal attributes and who was purer than thy son, fell a prey to death, do not grieve for thy son that is dead.  We hear, O Srinjaya, that Sankriti’s son Rantideva also fell a prey to death.  Having undergone the austerest of penances and adored him with great reverence, he obtained these boons from Sakra, having solicited them, saying ’Let us have abundant food and numerous guests.  Let not my faith sustain any diminution, and let us not have to ask anything of any person.’  The animals, both domestic and wild, slaughtered in his sacrifice, used to come to him, viz., the high-souled Rantideva of rigid vows and great fame, of their own accord.  The secretions that flowed from the skins of the animals (slaughtered in his sacrifices), produced a mighty and celebrated river which to this day is known by the name of Charmanwati.  King Rantideva used to make gifts unto the Brahmanas in an extensive enclosure.  When the king said, ’Unto thee I give a hundred nishkas!  Unto thee I give a hundred,’ the Brahmanas (without accepting what was offered) made a noise (expressive of refusal).  When, however, the king would say, ‘I give a thousand nishkas,’ the gifts were all accepted.  All the vessels and plates, in Rantideva’s palace, for holding food and other articles, all the jugs and pots, the pans and plates and cups, were of gold.  On those nights during which the guests used to live in Rantideva’s abode, twenty thousand and one hundred kine had to be slaughtered.  Yet even on such occasions, the cooks, decked in ear-rings, used to proclaim (amongst those that sat down to supper):  ’There is abundant soup, take as much as ye wish; but of flesh we have not as much today as on former occasions.’  When he, O Srinjaya, who far surpassed thee in the four principal attributes and who was purer than thy son, fell a prey to death, do not grieve for thy son that is dead.  We hear, O Srinjaya, that the high-souled Sagara also fell a prey to death.  He was of Ikshvaku’s race, a tiger among men, and of superhuman prowess.  Sixty thousand sons used to walk behind him, like myriads upon myriads of stars waiting upon the Moon in the cloudless firmament of autumn.  His sway extended over the whole of this earth.[101] He gratified the gods by performing a thousand Horse-sacrifices.  He gave away unto deserving Brahmanas palatial mansions with columns of gold and (other parts) made entirely of that precious metal, containing costly beds and bevies of beautiful ladies with eyes resembling petals of the lotus, and diverse other kinds of valuable objects.  At his command, the Brahmanas divided those gifts among themselves.  Through anger that king caused the earth to be excavated whereupon she came to have the ocean on her bosom, and for this,