2023-02-26 04:07:38 by ambuda-bot
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30
AVANTISUNDARĪ KATHĀ SĀRA
the man. One day the gods went to pay homage to Indra and
so came to the man late. When he came to know the reason
for their delay, he desired to get into the position of Indra and
began to perform penance. Indra despatched a divine damsel
(apsaras) to spoil the penance of his rival and the man gave
up his penance and dallied with her. He then realised his folly
and cursed the damsel to be born as a roe; and she, in her
turn, uttered a curse that he should be born as an owl. From
the egg of the roe and the owl were produced hundreds of
winged horses¹, which became the vehicle of the gods. Since
they destroyed the crops of the gods, sage Salihotra accepted
them as his disciples, and cut off their wings. Indignant at
the loss of their wings the horses began to bite the sage at which
divine damsels laughed. The sage cursed them to turn
into mares. At this Indra intervened and cursed the sage to
take birth as their breeding horse. Here we see, before us the
sage Sälihotra born as the horse Bhadravahana and the divine
damsels as mares. The curse of the animals will come to
an end when they bear young ones. The kid of Airāvata (the
elephant of Indra) is now born by a curse on the earth as
Hemakuta and it had been wandering in this forest, after the
war against the Malavas." Having narrated this story the
sage entered the hermitage and the king accepted with
pleasure, the elephant and the horses.
(Av. Sāra V. 1-16; Av. pp. 203-204).
Departure of Rajavāḥana for conquest of the world
Prince Rajavahana and his companions were duly invested
with the sacred thread and they obtained mastery in archery and
other arts. When they were sixteen the minister submitted to
the king that it was time for the prince to set out on an expedi-
tion of conquest. The king remembered the divine command
and agreed, though the very thought of parting with his son
pained his heart. On the eve of departure, the prince fell at
the feet of sage Vāmadeva. The sage gave him counsel
regarding the proper conduct of a ruler and added: 'Dear
Prince! Mänasāra who gained victory over your father with
divine help has renounced his sovereignty in favour of his son
Darpasāra with a view to retiring to the forest. He is now
seeking a suitable husband for his daughter Avantisundari.
Darpasāra has entrusted the government to Caṇḍavarman, his
1. Cf. the winged horse 'Pegasos' of Greek mythology.
AVANTISUNDARĪ KATHĀ SĀRA
the man. One day the gods went to pay homage to Indra and
so came to the man late. When he came to know the reason
for their delay, he desired to get into the position of Indra and
began to perform penance. Indra despatched a divine damsel
(apsaras) to spoil the penance of his rival and the man gave
up his penance and dallied with her. He then realised his folly
and cursed the damsel to be born as a roe; and she, in her
turn, uttered a curse that he should be born as an owl. From
the egg of the roe and the owl were produced hundreds of
winged horses¹, which became the vehicle of the gods. Since
they destroyed the crops of the gods, sage Salihotra accepted
them as his disciples, and cut off their wings. Indignant at
the loss of their wings the horses began to bite the sage at which
divine damsels laughed. The sage cursed them to turn
into mares. At this Indra intervened and cursed the sage to
take birth as their breeding horse. Here we see, before us the
sage Sälihotra born as the horse Bhadravahana and the divine
damsels as mares. The curse of the animals will come to
an end when they bear young ones. The kid of Airāvata (the
elephant of Indra) is now born by a curse on the earth as
Hemakuta and it had been wandering in this forest, after the
war against the Malavas." Having narrated this story the
sage entered the hermitage and the king accepted with
pleasure, the elephant and the horses.
(Av. Sāra V. 1-16; Av. pp. 203-204).
Departure of Rajavāḥana for conquest of the world
Prince Rajavahana and his companions were duly invested
with the sacred thread and they obtained mastery in archery and
other arts. When they were sixteen the minister submitted to
the king that it was time for the prince to set out on an expedi-
tion of conquest. The king remembered the divine command
and agreed, though the very thought of parting with his son
pained his heart. On the eve of departure, the prince fell at
the feet of sage Vāmadeva. The sage gave him counsel
regarding the proper conduct of a ruler and added: 'Dear
Prince! Mänasāra who gained victory over your father with
divine help has renounced his sovereignty in favour of his son
Darpasāra with a view to retiring to the forest. He is now
seeking a suitable husband for his daughter Avantisundari.
Darpasāra has entrusted the government to Caṇḍavarman, his
1. Cf. the winged horse 'Pegasos' of Greek mythology.