Trembling with fear, she approached her husband. The Rishi, filled with
wrath, repeatedly addressed his fair-faced spouse, saying, 'O Renuka, why
hast thou been so late in returning?'

"'"Renuka said, 'O thou that art endued with wealth of penances, my head
and feet were scorched by the rays of the sun! Oppressed by the heat, I
had betaken myself to the shade of a tree! Just this has been the cause
of the delay! Informed of the cause, do thou, O lord, cease to be angry
with me!'

"'"Jamadagni said, 'O Renuka, this very day shall I destroy, with the fiery
energy of my weapons, the star of day with his blazing rays, that has
afflicted thee in this way!'"

"'Bhishma continued, "Drawing his celestial bow, and taking up many
arrows, Jamadagni stood, turning his face towards the sun and watching
him as he moved (in his diurnal course). Then, O son of Kunti, beholding
him addressed for fight, Surya approached him in the guise of a Brahmana,
and said unto him. 'What has Surya done to displease thee? Coursing
through the firmament, he draws up the moisture from the earth, and in
the form of rains he pours it down once more on her. It is through this,
O regenerate one, that the food of human beings springs up,--food that is
so agreeable to them! The Vedas say that it is food that constitutes the
life-breaths. O Brahmana, hidden in the clouds and encompassed by his
rays, the sun drenches the seven islands with showers of rain. O puissant
one, the moisture, thus poured, diffusing itself into the leaves and
fruits of vegetables and herbs, is transformed into food. O son of
Bhrigu, the rites of nativity, religious observances of every kind,
investiture with the sacred thread, gifts of kine, weddings, all articles
in view of sacrifices, the rules for the governance of men, gifts, all
sorts of union (between man and man), and the acquisition of wealth, have
their origin in food! Thou knowest this well! All the good and agreeable
things in the universe, and all the efforts made by living creatures,
flow from food. I duly recite what is well-known to thee! Indeed, thou
fully knowest all that I have said! Do thou, therefore, O regenerate
Rishi, appease thy anger! What wilt thou gain by annihilating the sun?'"'"

SECTION XCVI

"'Yudhishthira said, "What did that foremost of ascetics, viz., Jamadagni
endued with great energy, do when thus besought by the maker of day?"

"'Bhishma said, "O descendant of Kuru, despite all the suppl