hen went home in the gladness of heart. O
amiable one, summoned by the high-souled Bhargava, I after all come
before thee fully revived.'

"On another occasion, asked by Devayani, the Brahmana Kacha went into the
woods. And as he was roving about for gathering flowers, the Danavas
beheld him. They again slew him, and pounding him into a paste they mixed
it with the water of the ocean. Finding him long still (in coming), the
maiden again represented the matter unto her father. And summoned again
by the Brahmana with the aid of his science, Kacha appearing before his
preceptor and his daughter told everything as it had happened. Then
slaying him for the third time and burning him and reducing him to ashes,
the Asuras gave those ashes to the preceptor himself, mixing them with
his wine. And Devayani again spoke unto her father, saying, 'O father,
Kacha was sent to gather flowers. But he is not to be seen. It is plain
he hath been lost, or has died. I tell thee truly, I would not live
without him.'

"Sukra hearing this said, 'O daughter, the son of Vrihaspati hath gone to
the region of the dead. Though revived by my science, he is thus slain
frequently. What, indeed, am I to do? O Devayani, do not grieve, do not
cry. One like thee should not grieve for one that is mortal. Thou art
indeed, O daughter, in consequence of my prowess, worshipped thrice a day
during the ordained hours of prayer, by Brahmanas, the gods with Indra,
the Vasus, the Aswins, the Asuras, in fact, by the whole universe. It is
impossible to keep him alive, for revived by me he is often killed.' To
all this Devayani replied, 'Why shall I, O father, not grieve for him
whose grandfather is old Angiras himself, whose father is Vrihaspati who
is an ocean of ascetic merit, who is the grandson of a Rishi and the son
also of a Rishi? He himself too was a Brahmacharin and an ascetic; always
wakeful and skilled in everything. I will starve and follow the way Kacha
has gone. The handsome Kacha is, O father, dear unto me.'

"Vaisampayana continued, 'The great Rishi Kavya, then, afflicted by what
Devayani said, cried in anger, 'Certainly, the Asuras seek to injure me,
for they slay my disciple that stayeth with me. These followers of Rudra
desire to divest me of my character as a Brahmana by making me
participate in their crime. Truly, this crime hath a terrible end. The
crime of slaying a Brahmana would even burn Indra himself.' Having said
this, the Brahmana Sukra