aid, 'O exalted one, Swetaki hath (by his sacrifice)
gratified me to excess. Even now I am suffering from surfeit which I
cannot dispel. O Lord of the universe, I am being reduced both in
splendour and strength. I desire to regain, through thy grace, my own
permanent nature.' Hearing these words from Hutavaha, the illustrious
Creator of all things smilingly replied unto him, saying, 'O exalted one,
thou hast eaten, for twelve years, a continuous stream of sacrificial
butter poured into thy mouth! It is for this that illness hath seized
thee. But, O Agni, grieve not for it. Thou shalt soon regain thy own
nature. I shall dispel this surfeit of thine and the time for it is even
come. The dreadful forest Khandava, that abode of the enemies of the
gods, which thou hadst of old once consumed to ashes at the request of
the gods, hath now become the home of numerous creatures. When thou will
have eaten the fat of those creatures, thou shalt regain thy own nature.
Proceed thither in haste to consume that forest with its living
population. Thou wilt then be cured of thy malady.' Hearing the words
that fell from the lips of the Supreme Deity, Hutasana proceeded with
great speed and soon reached the forest of Khandava in great vigour.
Arrived there, he suddenly blazed forth in anger, assisted by Vayu.
Beholding Khandava on fire the dwellers (in the forest) that were there,
made great efforts to extinguish the conflagration. Elephants by hundreds
of thousands, speeding in anger, brought water in their trunks and
scattered it upon the fire. Thousands of many-hooded snakes, mad with
anger, hastily began to scatter upon fire much water from those many
hoods of theirs. And so, O bull of Bharata's race, the other creatures
dwelling in that forest, by various appliances and efforts, soon
extinguished the fire. In this way, Agni blazed forth in Khandava
repeatedly, even for seven times. And it was in this way that the blazing
fire was extinguished there as often by the denizens of that forest.'"

SECTION CCXXVI

(Khandava-daha Parva continued)

"Vaisampayana said, 'Then Havyavahana (Agni) in anger and disappointment,
with his ailment uncured, went back to the Grandsire. And he represented
unto Brahman all that had happened: The illustrious deity, reflecting for
a moment, said unto him, 'O sinless one. I see a way by which thou mayest
consume the forest of Khandava today in the very sight of Indra. Those
old deities, Nara and Narayana