hall
be glad to give unto thee anything that thou mayst like. Let me know
what I shall have to do for the deliverance of this bird. But this I
shall not return to thee on any condition whatever."

"'The hawk said, "O great ruler of men, if thou hast conceived an
affection for this pigeon, then cut off a portion of thine own flesh,
and weigh it in a balance, against this pigeon. And when thou hast found
it equal (in weight) to the pigeon, then do thou give it unto me, and
that will be to my satisfaction." Then the king replied, "This request
of thine, O hawk, I consider as a favour unto me, and, therefore, I will
give unto thee even my own flesh, after weighing it in a balance."'

"Lomasa said, 'Saying this, O mighty son of Kunti, the highly virtuous
king cut off a portion of his own flesh, and placed it in a balance,
against the pigeon. But when he found that pigeon exceeded his flesh in
weight, he once more cut off another portion of his flesh, and added it
to the former. When portion after portion had been repeatedly added to
weigh against the pigeon, and no more flesh was left on his body, he
mounted the scale himself, utterly devoid of flesh.

"'The hawk then said, "I am Indra, O virtuous king, and this pigeon is
Agni, the carrier of the sacrificial clarified butter. We had come unto
thy sacrificial ground, desirous of testing thy merit. Since thou hast
cut off thy own flesh from thy body, thy glory shall be resplendent, and
shall surpass that of all others in the world. As long as men, O king,
shall speak of thee, so long shall thy glory endure, and thou shalt
inhabit the holy regions." Saying this to the king, Indra ascended to
heaven. And the virtuous king Usinara, after having filled heaven and
earth with the merit of his pious deeds, ascended to heaven in a radiant
shape. Behold, O king, the residence of that noble-hearted monarch.
Here, O king, are seen holy sages and gods, together with virtuous and
highsouled Brahmanas.'"

SECTION CXXXII

"Lomasa said, 'See here, O lord of men, the sacred hermitage of
Swetaketu, son of Uddalaka, whose fame as an expert in the sacred
_mantras_ is so widely spread on earth. This hermitage is graced with
cocoanut trees. Here Swetaketu beheld the goddess Saraswati in her human
shape, and spake unto her, saying, "May I be endowed with the gift of
speech!" In that _yuga_, Swetaketu, the son of Uddalaka, and Ashtavakra,
the son of Kahoda, who stood to each other in the relat