gence,
so doth the king completely root out sin from this earth. Therefore is
the king's greatness reduced from the evidences of the sacred books, and
we are bound to pronounce for that side which hath spoken in favour of
the king."'

"Markandeya continued, 'Then that illustrious prince, highly pleased
with the victorious party, joyfully said to Atri, who had praised him
erewhile. "O regenerate _Rishi_, thou hast made and styled me the
greatest and most excellent of men here, and compared me to the gods;
therefore, shall I give thee vast and various sorts of wealth. My
impression is that thou art omniscient. I give thee, O well-dressed and
well-adorned one, a hundred millions of gold coins and also ten _bharas_
of gold." Then Atri, of high austere virtues and great spiritual powers,
thus welcomed (by the king), accepted all the gifts without any breach
of propriety, and returned home. And then giving his wealth to his sons
and subduing his self, he cheerfully repaired to the forest with the
object of performing penances.'"

SECTION CLXXXV

"Markandeya continued, 'O thou conqueror of hostile cities, in this
connection Saraswati too, when interrogated by that intelligent _Muni_
Tarkshya, had said (this). Do thou listen to her words! Tarkshya had
asked, saying, "Excellent lady, what is the best thing for a man to do
here below, and how must he act so that he may not deviate from (the
path of) virtue. Tell me all this, O beautiful lady, so that instructed
by thee, I may not fall away from the path of virtue! When and how must
one offer oblations to the (sacred) fire and when must he worship so
that virtue may not be compromised? Tell me all this, O excellent lady,
so that I may live without any passions, craving, or desire, in this
world."'

"Markandeya continued, 'Thus questioned by that cheerful _Muni_ and
seeing him eager to learn and endued with high intelligence, Saraswati
addressed these pious and beneficial words to the Brahmana, Tarkshya.'

"'Saraswati said, "He who is engaged in the study of the _Vedas_, and
with sanctity and equanimity perceives the supreme Godhead in his proper
sphere, ascends the celestial regions and attains supreme beatitude with
the Immortals. Many large, beautiful, pellucid and sacred lakes are
there, abounding with fish, flowers, and golden lilies. They are like
shrines and their very sight is calculated to assuage grief. Pious men,
distinctively worshipped by virtuous well-adorned