animals.  Give also unto me, O foremost of all deities, eternal power.—­The puissant lord, thus addressed by him, said unto him,—­So be it.—­The Self-born Brahma, concentrating his mind in Yoga,[41] in days of yore, made a sacrifice for three hundred years, with the object of obtaining children.  Mahadeva granted him a thousand sons possessed of qualifications commensurate with the merits of the sacrifice.  Without doubt, thou knowest, O Krishna, the lord of Yoga, him that is, who is sung by the deities.  The Rishi known by the name of Yajnavalkya is exceedingly virtuous.  By adoring Mahadeva he has acquired great fame.  The great ascetic who is Parasara’s son, viz., Vyasa, of soul set on Yoga, has obtained great celebrity by adoring Sankara.  The Valikhilyas were on a former occasion disregarded by Maghavat.  Filled with wrath at this, they gratified the illustrious Rudra.  That lord of the universe, that foremost one of all the deities, thus gratified by the Valikhilyas, said unto them,—­Ye shall succeed by your penances in creating a bird that will rob Indra of the Amrita.  Through the wrath of Mahadeva on a former occasion, all the waters disappeared.  The deities gratified him by performing a sacrifice called Saptakapala, and caused, through his grace, other waters to flow into the worlds.  Verily, when the three-eyed deity became gratified, water once more appeared in the world.  The wife of Atri, who was conversant with the Vedas, abandoned her husband in a huff and said,—­I shall no longer live in subjection to that ascetic.—­Having said these words, she sought the protection of Mahadeva.  Through fear of her lord, Atri, passed three hundred years, abstaining from all food.  And all this time she slept on wooden clubs for the purpose of gratifying Bhava.  The great deity then appeared unto her and then smilingly addressed her, saying—­Thou shalt obtain a son.  And thou shalt get that son without the need of a husband, simply through the grace of Rudra.  Without doubt that son, born in the race of his father, shall become celebrated for his worth, and assume a name after thee.  The illustrious Vikarna also, O slayer of Madhu, full of devotion to Mahadeva, gratified him with severe penances and obtained high and happy success.  Sakalya, too, of restrained soul, adored Bhava in a mental sacrifice that he performed for nine hundred years, O Kesava.  Gratified with him the illustrious deity said unto him,—­Thou shalt become a great author.  O son, inexhaustible shall thy fame be in the three worlds.  Thy race also shall never come to an end and shall be adorned by many great Rishis that shall take birth in it.  Thy son will become the foremost of Brahmanas and will make the Sutras of thy work.  There was a celebrated Rishi of the name of Savarni in the Krita age.  Here, in this asylum, he underwent severe penances for six thousand years.  The illustrious Rudra said,—­I am gratified with thee, O sinless one!  Without being subject to decrepitude