And this will
ensure the welfare of the worlds, of the Rishis, and of the dwellers in
heaven.'
"Sauti continued, 'Aruna, at the behest of the Grandsire, did all that he
was ordered to do. And Surya rose veiled by Aruna's person. I have told
thee now why Surya was in wrath, and how Aruna, the brother of Garuda, was
appointed as his charioteer. Hear next of that other question asked by
thee a little while ago.'"
And so ends the twenty-fourth section in the Astika Parva of the Adi Parva.
SECTION XXV
(Astika Parva continued)
"Sauti said, 'Then that bird of great strength and energy and capable of
going at will to every place repaired to his mother's side on the other
shore of the great ocean. Thither lived Vinata in affliction, defeated in
wager and put into a state of slavery. Once Kadru calling Vinata who had
prostrated herself before the former, addressed her these words in the
presence of her son, 'O gentle Vinata, there is in the midst of the ocean,
in a remote quarter, a delightful and fair region inhabited by the Nagas.
Bear me thither!' At this that mother of the bird of fair feathers bore
(on her shoulders) the mother of the snakes. And Garuda also, directed by
his mother's words, carried (on his back) the snakes. And that ranger of
the skies born of Vinata began to ascend towards the Sun. And thereupon
the snakes, scorched by the rays of the Sun, swooned away. And Kadru
seeing her sons in that state prayed to Indra, saying, 'I bow to thee,
thou Lord of all the gods! I bow to thee, thou slayer of Vritra! I bow to
thee, thou slayer of Namuchi! O thou of a thousand eyes, consort of Sachi!
By thy showers, be thou the protector of the snakes scorched by the Sun.
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