tials also that
go by the name of Viswedevas always dwell in this region along with the
Pitris. Worshipped in sacrifices in all the worlds, they are equal
sharers with the Pitris. This quarter is called the second door of Yama.
It is here that the periods allotted to men are calculated in Trutis and
Lavas.[15] In this region always dwell the celestial Rishis, the
Pitriloka Rishis, and the royal Rishis, in great happiness. Here are
religion and truth. It is here that the acts (of persons) exhibit their
fruits. This region, O best of the twice-born, is the goal of the acts of
the dead. It is this region, O best of regenerate persons, whither all
must repair. And as creatures are all overwhelmed by darkness, they
cannot, therefore, come hither in bliss. Here, O bull among regenerate
persons, are many thousands of Malevolent Rakshasas in order to be seen
by the sinful. Here, O Brahmana, in the bowers on the breast of Mandara
and in the abodes of regenerate Rishis, the Gandharvas chant psalms,
stealing away both the heart and the intellect. It was here that Raivata
(a Daitya), hearing the Sama hymns sung in a sweet voice, retired to the
woods, leaving his wife and friends and kingdom. In this region, O
Brahmana, Manu and Yavakrita's son together set a limit which Surya can
never overstep. It was here that the illustrious descendant of Pulastya,
Ravana, the king of the Rakshasas, undergoing ascetic austerities,
solicited (the boon of) immortality from the gods. It was here that (the
Asura) Vritra, in consequence of his wicked conduct, incurred the enmity
of Sakra. It is in this region that lives of diverse forms all come and
are then dissociated into their five (constituent) elements. It is in
this region, O Galava, that men of wicked deeds rot (in tortures). It is
here that the river Vaitarani flows, filled with the bodies of persons
condemned to hell. Arrived here, persons attain to the extremes of
happiness and misery. Reaching this region, the sun droppeth sweet waters
and thence proceeding again to the direction named after (Vasishtha),
once more droppeth dew. It was here that I once obtained (for food), a
prodigious elephant battling with an enormous tortoise. It was here that
the great sage Chakradhanu took his birth from Surya. That divine sage
afterwards came to be known by the name of Kapila, and it was by him that
the (sixty thousand) sons of Sagara were afflicted. It was here that a
class of Brahmanas named Sivas, f