, that thou shalt be able to return home with thy life?' With
these words Kesin hurled his mace for slaying Indra. Vasava cut it up in
its course with his thunderbolt. Then Kesin, furious with rage, hurled a
huge mass of rock at him. Beholding that, he of a hundred sacrifices rent
it asunder with his thunderbolt, and it fell down upon the ground. And
Kesin himself was wounded by that falling mass of rock. Thus sorely
afflicted, he fled leaving the lady behind. And when the Asura was gone,
Indra said to that lady, 'Who and whose wife art thou, O lady with a
beautiful face, and what has brought thee here?'"

SECTION CCXXIII

"The lady replied, 'I am a daughter of Prajapati (the lord of all
creatures, Brahma) and my name is Devasena. My sister Daityasena has ere
this been ravished by Kesin. We two sisters with our maids habitually
used to come to these Manasa mountains for pleasures with the permission
of Prajapati. And the great Asura Kesin used daily to pay his court to
us. Daityasena, O conqueror of Paka, listened to him, but I did not.
Daityasena was, therefore, taken away by him, but, O illustrious one,
thou hast rescued me with thy might. And now, O lord of the celestials, I
desire that thou shouldst select an invincible husband for me.' To this
Indra replied, 'Thou art a cousin of mine, thy mother being a sister of
my mother Dakshayani, and now I desire to hear thee relate thine own
prowess.' The lady replied, 'O hero with long arms, I am Avala[70] (weak)
but my husband must be powerful. And by the potency of my father's boon,
he will be respected by gods and Asuras alike.' Indra said, 'O blameless
creature, I wish to hear from thee, what sort of power thou wishest thy
husband to possess.' The lady replied, 'That manly and famous and
powerful being devoted to Brahma, who is able to conquer all the
celestials, Asuras, Yakshas, Kinnaras, Uragas, Rakshasas, and the
evil-minded Daityas and to subdue all the worlds with thee, shall be my
husband.'

"Markandeya continued, 'On hearing her speech, Indra was grieved and
deeply thought within himself, 'There is no husband for this lady,
answering to her own description.' And that god adorned with sun-like
effulgence, then perceived the Sun rising on the Udaya hill,[71] and the
great Soma (Moon) gliding into the Sun. It being the time of the new
Moon, he of a hundred sacrifices, at the Raudra[72] moment, observed the
gods and Asuras fighting on the Sunrise hill. And he s