and.' On hearing from the Sudra of this great calamity,
Bharadwaja, sorely afflicted with grief, began to lament, embracing his
dead son. And he said, 'O my son, it is for the good of the Brahmanas
that thou didst practise penances, with the intention that the Vedas
unstudied by any Brahmana whatever might be manifest unto thee. Thy
behaviour towards the Brahmanas had always been for their good, and thou
hadst also been innocent in regard to all creatures. But, alas! (at last)
thou didst lapse into rudeness. I had prohibited thee, O my son, from
visiting the residence of Raivya; but alas! to that very hermitage,
(destructive to thee) as the god of death himself, Yama, didst thou
repair. Evil-minded is that man, who, (knowing that I am an old man), and
also that (Yavakri) was my only son, had given way to wrath. It is
through the agency of Raivya that I have sustained the loss of my child.
Without thee, O my son, I shall give up my life, the most precious thing
in the world. In grief for the death of my son, I renounce my life; but
this I say that Raivya's eldest son shall in a short time kill him
although he be innocent. Blessed are those to whom children have never
been born, for they lead a happy life, without having to experience the
grief (incident to the death of a child). Who in this world can be more
wicked than those who from affliction, and deprived of their sense by
sorrow consequent upon the death of a child, curse even their dearest
friend! I found my son dead, and, therefore, have cursed my dearest
friend. Ah! what second man can there be in this world, destined to
suffer so grievous a misfortune!' Having lamented long Bharadwaja
cremated his son and then himself entered into a full-blazing fire.'"

SECTION CXXXVIII

"Lomasa said, 'At that very time, the mighty king, Vrihadyumna, of high
fortune, who was the Yajamana of Raivya, commenced a sacrifice. And the
two sons of Raivya, Arvavasu and Paravasu, were engaged by that
intelligent monarch, to assist him in the performance of the ceremony.
And, O son of Kunti, taking the permission of their father, they two went
to the sacrifice, while Raivya with Paravasu's wife remained in the
hermitage. And it came to pass that one day, desirous of seeing his wife.
Paravasu returned home alone. And he met his father in the wood, wrapped
in the skin of a black antelope. And the night was far advanced and dark;
and Paravasu, blinded by drowsiness in that deep wood, mi