to them duly, O king! 'Thou
hast taken thy rise, O highly blessed one, from the lake of Brahman in
days of old. All ascetics of rigid vows know thee, O foremost of rivers!
Always of agreeable features, thou hast done me great good! This thy
great child, O thou of the fairest complexion, will be known by the name
of Sarasvata! This thy son, capable of creating new worlds, will become
known after thy name! Indeed, that great ascetic will be known by the
name of Sarasvata! During a drought extending for twelve years, this
Sarasvata, O blessed one, will teach the Vedas unto many foremost of
Brahmanas! O blessed Sarasvati, through my grace, thou shalt, O beautiful
one, always become the foremost of all sacred rivers!' Even thus was the
great River praised by the sage after the latter had granted her boons.
The River then, in great joy, went away, O bull of Bharata's race, taking
with her that child.
"Meanwhile, on the occasion of a war between the gods and the Danavas,
Shakra wandered through the three worlds in search of weapons. The great
god, however, failed to find such weapons as were fit to slay the foes of
the celestials. Shakra then said unto the gods. 'The great Asuras are
incapable of being dealt with by me! Indeed, without the bones of
Dadhica, our foes could not be slain! Ye best of celestials, repair,
therefore, to that foremost of Rishis and solicit him, saying, "Grant us,
O Dadhica, thy bones! With them we will slay our foes!"'
"Besought by them for his bones, that foremost of Rishis, O chief of
Kuru's race, unhesitatingly gave up his life. Having done what was
agreeable to the gods, the sage obtained many regions of inexhaustible
merit. With his bones, meanwhile, Shakra joyfully caused to be made many
kinds of weapons, such as thunderbolts, discs, heavy maces, and many
kinds of clubs and bludgeons. Equal unto the Creator himself, Dadhica,
had been begotten by the great rishi Bhrigu, the son of the Lord of all
creatures, with the aid of his austere penances. Of stout limbs and
possessed of great energy, Dadhica had been made the strongest of
creatures in the world. The puissant Dadhica, celebrated for his glory,
became tall like the king of mountains. The chastiser of Paka had always
been anxious on account of his energy. With the thunderbolt born of
brahma energy, and inspired with mantras, O Bharata, Indra made a loud
noise when he hurled it, and slew nine and ninety heroes among the
Daityas. After a lon
|