her chamber on a rich bed, she
beheld the solar orb rising in the east. And both the mind and the eyes
of that maiden of excellent waist became rivetted fast upon the solar
orb. And she gazed and gazed on that orb without being satiated with the
beauty of the morning Sun. And she suddenly became gifted with celestial
sight. And then she beheld that god of divine form accoutred in mail and
adorned with ear-rings. And at sight of the god, O lord of men, she
became curious as to the (potency of the) mantras. And thereupon that
maiden resolved to invoke him. And having recourse to Pranayama, she
invoked the Maker of day. And thus invoked by her, O king, the Maker of
day speedily presented himself. And he was of a yellowish hue like honey,
and was possessed of mighty arms, and his neck was marked with lines like
those of a conchshell. And furnished with armlets, and decked with a
diadem, he came smiling, and illumining all the directions. And it was by
Yoga power that he divided himself in twain, one of which continued to
give heat, and the other appeared before Kunti. And he addressed Kunti in
words that were exceedingly sweet, saying, 'O gentle maiden, over-powered
by the mantras, I come hither obedient to thee. Subject as I am to thy
power, what shall I do, O queen? Tell me, for I shall do whatever thou
mayst command? Hearing these words of the deity, Kunti said, 'O
worshipful one, go thou back to the place thou hast come from! I invoked
thee from curiosity alone. Pardon me, O worshipful one!' Surya then said,
'O damsel of slender waist, I will, even as thou hast said, return to the
place I have come from! Having called a celestial, it is not, however,
proper to send him away in vain. Thy intention, O blessed one, it is to
have from Surya a son furnished with a coat of mail and ear-rings, and
who in point of prowess would be beyond compare in this world! Do thou,
therefore, O damsel of elephantine gait, surrender thy person to me! Thou
shall then have, O lady, a son after thy wish! O gentle girl, O thou of
sweet smiles, I will go back after having known thee! If thou do not
gratify me to-day by obeying my word, I shall in anger curse thee, thy
father and that Brahmana also. For thy fault, I will surely consume them
all, and I shall inflict condign punishment on that foolish father of
thine that knoweth not this transgression of thine and on that Brahmana
who hath bestowed the mantras on thee without knowing thy disposition