Vyasa said, ’Thus told, king Marutta became confused with shame, and while returning home with his mind oppressed by anxiety, he met Narada on his way.  And that monarch on seeing the divine Rishi Narada stood before him with due salutation, with his hands clasped together.  Then Narada addressing him thus said,—­O royal sage, thou seemest to be not well-pleased in thy mind; is all well with thee?  Where hast thou been, O sinless one, and whence the cause of this thy mental disquietude?  And, O king, if there be no objection to thy telling it to me, do thou, O best of kings, disclose (the cause of thy anxiety) to me, so that, O prince, I may allay the disquietude of thy mind with all my efforts.’

Vaisampayana continued, ’Thus addressed by the great Rishi Narada, king Marutta informed him of the rebuff he had received from his religious preceptor.’

Marutta said, ’Seeking for a priest to officiate at my sacrifice, I went to that priest of the Immortals, Vrihaspati, the son of Angira, but he did not choose to accept my offer.  Having met with this rebuff from him, I have no desire to live any longer now, for by his abandoning me thus, I have, O Narada, become contaminated with sin.’

Vyasa said, ’Thus told by that king, Narada, O mighty prince, made this reply to him with words which seemed to revive that son of Avikshit.’

Narada said, ’The virtuous son of Angira, Samvarta by name is wandering over all the quarters of the earth in a naked state to the wonder of all creatures; do thou, O prince, go to him.  If Vrihaspati does not desire to officiate at thy sacrifice, the powerful Samvarta, if pleased with thee, will perform thy sacrifice.’

Marutta said, ’I feel as if instilled with new life, by these thy words, O Narada, but O the best of speakers, do thou tell me where I can find Samvarta, and how I can remain by his side, and how I am to act so that he may not abandon me, for I do not desire to live if I meet with a rebuff from him also.’

Narada said, ’Desirous of seeing Maheswara, O prince, he wanders about at his pleasure in the city of Varanasi, in the garb of a mad man.  And having reached the gate of that city, thou must place a dead body somewhere near it, and the man who shall turn away on seeing the corpse, do thou, O prince, know that man to be Samvarta, and knowing him, do thou follow his footsteps wheresoever that powerful man chooses to go and finding him (at length) in a lonely place thou must seek his protection with thy hands clasped together in supplication to him.  And if he enquires of thee as to the person who has given thee the information about his own self, do thou tell him that Narada has informed thee about Samvarta.  And if he should ask thee to follow me, thou must tell him without any hesitation, that I have entered into the fire.’