s. Tell me, O Indra, the
means that should be adopted so that I may not be burnt by his wrath. He
can burn the three worlds by his splendour, can, by a stamp (of his
foot), cause the earth to quake. He can sever the great Meru from the
earth and hurl it to any distance. He can go round the ten points of the
earth in a moment. How can a woman like me even touch such a one full of
ascetic virtues, like unto a blazing fire, and having his passions under
complete control? His mouth is like unto a blazing fire; the pupils of
his eyes are like the Sun and the Moon; his tongue is like unto Yama
himself. How shall, O chief of the celestials, a woman like me even touch
him? At the thought of his prowess Yama, Soma, the great Rishis, the
Saddhyas, the Viswas, Valakhilyas, are terrified! How can a woman like me
gaze at him without alarm? Commanded, however, by thee, O king of the
celestials, I shall somehow approach that Rishi. But, O chief of the
gods, devise thou some plan whereby protected by thee, I may safely move
about that Rishi. I think that when I begin to play before the Rishi,
Marut (the god of wind) had better go there and rob me of my dress, and
Manmatha (the god of love) had also, at thy command, better help me then.
Let also Marut on that occasion bear thither fragrance from the woods to
tempt the Rishi.' Saying this and seeing that all she had spoken about
had been duly provided, Menaka went to the retreat of the great Kausika.'"

SECTION LXXII

(Sambhava Parva continued)

Kanwa continued, 'And Sakra, thus addressed by her, then commanded him
who could approach every place (viz., the god of the wind) to be present
with Menaka at the time she would be before the Rishi. And the timid and
beautiful Menaka then entered the retreat and saw there Viswamitra who
had burnt, by his penances, all his sins, and was engaged still in
ascetic penances. And saluting the Rishi, she then began to sport before
him. And just at that time Marut robbed her of her garments that were
white as the Moon. And she thereupon ran, as if in great bashfulness, to
catch hold of her attire, and as if she was exceedingly annoyed with
Marut. And she did all this before the very eyes of Viswamitra who was
endued with energy like that of fire. And Viswamitra saw her in that
attitude. And beholding her divested of her robes, he saw that she was of
faultless feature. And that best of Munis saw that she was exceedingly
handsome, with no marks of ag