Kalingas, the
Videhas, the Tamraliptakas, the Rakshovahas, the Vitahotras, the
Trigartas, the Martikavatas, counting by thousand, slew them all by means
of his whetted shafts. Proceeding from province to province, he thus
slew thousands of crores of Kshatriyas. Creating a deluge of blood and
filling many lakes also with blood as red as Indrajopakas or the wild
fruit called Vandujiva, and bringing all the eighteen islands (of which
the earth is composed) under his subjection, that son of Bhrigu's race
performed a hundred sacrifices of great merit, all of which he completed
and in all of which the presents he made unto the Brahmanas were profuse.
The sacrificial altar, eighteen nalas high made entirely of gold, and
constructed according to the ordinance, full of diverse kinds of jewels
and gems, and decked with hundreds of standards, and this earth abounding
in domestic and wild animals, were accepted by Kasyapa as sacrificial
present made unto him by Rama, the son of Jamadagni. And Rama also gave
him many thousand prodigious elephants, all adorned with gold. Indeed,
freeing the earth from all robbers, and making her teem with honest and
graceful inhabitants, Rama gave her away to Kasyapa at his great
Horse-sacrifice. Having divested the earth of Kshatriyas for one and
twenty times, and having performed hundreds of sacrifices, the puissant
hero gave away the earth to the Brahmanas. And it was Marichi (Kasyapa)
who accepted from him the earth with her seven islands. Then Kasyapa said
unto Rama, "Go out of the earth, at my command." At the word of Kasyapa,
the foremost of warriors, desirous of obeying the Brahmana's behest,
caused by his arrows the very ocean to stand aside, and repairing to that
best of mountains called Mahendra, continued to live there. Even that
enhancer of the fame of the Bhrigus, possessed of such numberless
virtues, that famous son of Jamadagni, of great splendour, will die.
Superior to thy son, (even he will die). Do not, therefore, grieve for
thy son who performed no sacrifice and made no sacrificial present. All
these, superior to thee as regards the four cardinal virtues and as
regards also a hundred other merits, all these foremost of men, have
died, O Srinjaya, and they that are like them will also die.'"'"

SECTION LXXI

"'Vyasa said, "Hearing this sacred history of sixteen kings, capable of
enhancing the period of life (of the listener), king Srinjaya remained
silent without saying anythi