im, saying, "O thou best of mountains! I wish to have a
path given to me by thee, as, for some purpose, I shall have to go to
the southern region. Until my return, do thou wait for me. And when I
have returned, O king of mountains, thou mayst increase in bulk as much
as thou pleasest." And, O slayer of foes! having made this compact with
Vindhya up to the present day Varuna's son doth not return from the
southern region. Thus have I, asked by thee, narrated to thee why
Vindhya doth not increase in bulk, by reason of the power of Agastya.
Now, O king! hear how the Kalakeyas were killed by the gods, after they
had obtained their prayer from Agastya.

"'Having heard the words of the gods, Agastya, the son of Mitra, and
Varuna, said, "Wherefore are ye come? What boon do ye solicit from me?"
Thus addressed by him, the deities then spake to the saint, saying,
"This deed we ask thee to achieve, _viz_., to drink up the great ocean,
O magnanimous (saint)! Then we shall be able to slay those enemies of
the gods, known by the name of Kalakeyas, together with all their
adherents." Having heard the words of the gods, the saint said, "Let it
be so--I shall do even what ye desire, and that which will conduce to
the great happiness of men." Having said this, he then proceeded to the
ocean--the lord of rivers,--accompanied by sages, ripe in the practice
of penances, and also by the deities, O thou who leadest an excellent
life! And men and snakes, celestial choristers, Yakshas and Kinnaras
followed the magnanimous saints,--desirous of witnessing that wonderful
event. Then they came up all together near to the sea, of awful roar,
dancing, as it were, with its billows, bounding with the breeze, and
laughing with masses of froth, and stumbling at the caves, and thronged
with diverse kinds of sharks, and frequented by flocks of various birds.
And the deities accompanied by Agastya and celestial choristers and huge
snakes and highly-gifted saints, approached the immense watery waste.'"

SECTION CV

"Lomasa said, 'That blessed saint, the son of Varuna, having reached the
sea spake unto the assembled gods, and the saints gathered together,
saying "I surely am going to drink up the ocean--that abode of the god
of waters. Be ye quickly ready with those preparations which it devolves
upon you to make." Having spoken these few words, the unswerving
offspring of Mitra and Varuna, full of wrath, began to drink up the sea,
while all the worlds st