“Kusika said, ’If thou hast been gratified by me, O holy one, do thou then, O son of Bhrigu, tell me thy object in residing in my palace for sometime, for I desire to hear it.  What was thy object in sleeping on the bed I assigned thee for one and twenty days continuously, without changing sides?  O foremost of ascetics, what also was thy object, again, in going out of the room without speaking a single word?  Why didst thou, again, without any ostensible reason, make thyself invisible, and once more become visible?  Why, O learned Brahmana, didst thou again, lay thyself down on the bed and sleep as before for one and twenty days?  For what reason didst thou go out after thou wert rubbed by us with oil in view of thy bath?  Why also, after having caused diverse kinds of food in my palace to be collected, didst thou consume them with the aid of fire?  What was the cause of thy sudden journey through my city on the car?  What object hadst thou in view in giving away so much wealth?  What was thy motive in showing us the wonders of the forest created by the Yoga-puissance?  What indeed was thy motive for showing, O great ascetic, so many palatial mansions made of gold and so many bedsteads supported on posts of jewels, and gems?  Why also did all these wonders vanish from our sight?  I wish to hear the cause of all this.  In thinking of all these acts of thine, O perpetuator of Bhrigu’s race, I became stupefied repeatedly.  I fail to find what the certain motive was which influenced thee!  O thou, that art endued with wealth of penances, I wish to hear the truth about all those acts of thine in detail.’

“Chyavana said, ’Listen to me as I tell thee in detail the reasons which had impelled me in all these acts of mine.  Asked by thee, O monarch, I cannot refuse to enlighten thee.  In days past, on one occasion, when the deities had assembled together, the Grandsire Brahman said some words I heard them, O king, and shall presently repeat them to thee.’  In consequence of a contention between Brahmana and Kshatriya energy, there will occur an intermixture in my race.[312] Thy grandson, O king, will become endued with great energy and puissance.  Hearing this, I came hither, resolved to exterminate thy race.  Indeed, I came, O Kusika, seeking the utter extermination of thy race,—­in fact, for consuming into ashes all thy descendants.  Impelled by this motive I came to thy palace, O monarch, and said unto thee, ’I shall observe some vow.  Do thou attend upon me and serve me dutifully.  While residing, however, in thy house I failed to find any laches in thee.  It is for that reason, O royal sage, that thou art still alive, for otherwise thou wouldst have by this time been numbered with the dead.  It was with this resolution that I slept for one and twenty days in the hope that somebody would awake me before I arose of my own accord.  Thou, however, with thy wife, didst not awaken me.  Even then, O best of kings, I became pleased with thee.  Rising