ula and who was of Bhrigu's race, he said as follows:

"'"Devasarman said, 'I shall leave home (for a while) in order to perform a
sacrifice. The chief of the celestials always covets this Ruchi of mine.
Do thou, during my absence, protect her, putting forth all thy might!
Thou shalt pass thy time heedfully in view of Purandara. O foremost one
of Bhrigu's race, that Indra assumes various disguises.'"

"'Bhishma continued, "Thus addressed by his preceptor, the ascetic Vipula
with senses under control, always engaged in severe penances, possessed
of the splendour, O king, of fire or the sun conversant with all the
duties of righteousness, and ever truthful in speech, answered him,
saying, 'So be it.' Once more, however, as his preceptor was about to set
out Vipula asked him in these words.

"'"Vipula said, 'Tell me, O Muni, what forms does Sakra assume when he
presents himself? Of what kind is his body and what is his energy? It
behoveth thee to say all this to me.'"

"'Bhishma continued, "The illustrious Rishi then truly described unto the
high-souled Vipula all the illusions of Sakra, O Bharata.

"'"Devasarman said, 'The puissant chastiser of Paka, O regenerate Rishi, is
full of illusion. Every moment he assumes those forms that he chooses.
Sometimes he wears a diadem and holds the thunderbolt. Sometimes armed
with the thunderbolt and wearing a crown on his head, he adorns himself
with ear-rings, in a moment he transforms himself into the shape and
aspect of Chandala. Sometimes, he appears with coronal locks on his head:
soon again, O son, he shows himself with matted locks, his person clad
the while in rags. Sometimes, he assumes a goodly and gigantic frame. The
next moment he transforms himself into one of emaciated limbs, and
dressed in rags. Sometimes he becomes fair, sometimes darkish, sometimes
dark of complexion. Sometimes he becomes ugly and sometimes as possessed
of great comeliness of person. Sometimes he shows himself as young and
sometimes as old. Sometimes he appears as a Brahmana, sometimes as a
Kshatriya, sometimes as a Vaisya, and sometimes as a Sudra. Verily, he of
a hundred sacrifices appears at times as a person born of impure order,
that is as the son of a superior father by an inferior mother or of an
inferior father by a superior mother. Sometimes he appears as a parrot,
sometimes as a crow, sometimes as a swan, and sometimes as a cuckoo. He
assumes the forms also of a lion, a tiger, or an eleph