nised. And he lay concealed in water, just like a writhing snake.
And when the lord of celestials, oppressed with the dread of
Brahmanicide, had vanished from sight, the earth looked as if a havoc had
passed over it. And it became treeless, and its woods withered; and the
course of rivers was interrupted; and the reservoirs lost all their
water; and there was distress among animals on account of cessation of
rains. And the deities and all the great Rishis were in exceeding fear;
and the world had no king, and was overtaken by disasters. Then the
deities and the divine saints in heaven, separated from the chief of the
gods, became terrified, and wondered who was to be their king. And nobody
had any inclination to act as the king of the gods.'"

SECTION XI

"Salya said, 'Then all the Rishis and the superior gods said, "Let the
handsome Nahusha be crowned as king of the gods. He is powerful and
renowned, and devoted to virtue ever more." And they all went and said to
him, "O lord of the earth, be thou our king." And Nahusha intent on his
welfare, spoke to those gods and saints accompanied by the progenitors
(of mankind), "I am feeble; I am not capable of protecting you; it is a
powerful person who should be your king; it is Indra who hath always been
possessed of strength." And all the gods, led by the saints, spoke again
to him, "Aided by the virtue of our austerities, rule thou the kingdom of
heaven. There is no doubt that we have all our respective fears. Be
crowned, O lord of monarchs, as the king of heaven. Whatever being may
stand within thy sight, whether he be a god, an Asura, a Yaksha, a saint,
a Pitri, or a Gandharva, thou shalt absorb his power and (thereby) wax
strong. Always placing virtue before (all other things), be thou the
ruler of the worlds. Protect also the Brahmarsis (Brahmana saints) and
the gods in heaven." Then, O lord of monarchs, Nahusha was crowned king
in heaven. And placing virtue before (everything else), he became the
ruler of all the worlds. And though always of a virtuous disposition, yet
when he obtained that precious boon and the kingdom of heaven, Nahusha
assumed a sensual turn of mind. And when Nahusha became the king of the
gods, he surrounded himself with celestial nymphs, and with damsels of
celestial birth, and took to enjoyments of various kinds, in the Nandana
groves, on mount Kailasa, on the crest of Himavat, on Mandara, the White
hill Sahya, Mahendra and Malaya, as, also up