which influenced
thee! O thou, that art endued with wealth of penances, I wish to hear the
truth about all those acts of thine in detail.'

"'"Chyavana said, 'Listen to me as I tell thee in detail the reasons which
had impelled me in all these acts of mine. Asked by thee, O monarch, I
cannot refuse to enlighten thee. In days past, on one occasion, when the
deities had assembled together, the Grandsire Brahman said some words. I
heard them, O king, and shall presently repeat them to thee. "In
consequence of a contention between Brahmana and Kshatriya energy, there
will occur an intermixture in my race.[312] Thy grandson, O king, will
become endued with great energy and puissance." Hearing this, I came
hither, resolved to exterminate thy race. Indeed, I came, O Kusika,
seeking the utter extermination of thy race,--in fact, for consuming into
ashes all thy descendants. Impelled by this motive I came to thy palace,
O monarch, and said unto thee, "I shall observe some vow. Do thou attend
upon me and serve me dutifully." While residing, however, in thy house I
failed to find any laches in thee. It is for that reason, O royal sage,
that thou art still alive, for otherwise thou wouldst have by this time
been numbered with the dead. It was with this resolution that I slept for
one and twenty days in the hope that somebody would awake me before I
arose of my own accord. Thou, however, with thy wife, didst not awaken
me. Even then, O best of kings, I became pleased with thee. Rising from
my bed I went out of the chamber without accosting any of you. I did
this, O monarch, in the hope that thou wouldst ask me and thus I would
have an opportunity of cursing thee. I then made myself invisible, and
again showed myself in the room of thy palace, and, once more betaking
myself to Yoga, slept for one and twenty days. The motive that impelled
me was this. Worn out with toil and hunger you two would be angry with me
and do what would be unpleasant to me. It was from this intention that I
caused thyself and thy spouse to be afflicted with hunger. In thy heart
however, O king, the slightest feeling of wrath or vexation did not rise.
For this, O monarch, I became highly delighted with thee. When I caused
diverse kinds of food to be brought and then set fire to them, I hoped
that thyself with thy wife wouldst give way to wrath at the sight. Even
that act however, of mine was tolerated by thee. I then ascended the car,
O monarch, and addressed