' O best of monarchs, hearing this, the slender-waisted goddess of
faultless features then addressed her lord of blazing splendour and said,
'There is on earth a friend of mine, Jitavati by name, possessed of great
beauty and youth. She is the daughter of that god among men, the royal
sage Usinara, endued with intelligence and devoted to truth. I desire to
have this cow, O illustrious one, with her calf for that friend of mine.
Therefore, O best of celestials, bring that cow so that my friend drinking
of her milk may alone become on earth free from disease and decrepitude. O
illustrious and blameless one, it behoveth thee to grant me this desire of
mine. There is nothing that would be more agreeable to me.' On hearing
these words of his wife, Dyu, moved by the desire of humouring her, stole
that cow, aided by his brothers Prithu and the others. Indeed, Dyu,
commanded by his lotus-eyed wife, did her bidding, forgetting at the
moment the high ascetic merits of the Rishi who owned her. He did not
think at the time that he was going to fall by committing the sin of
stealing the cow.
"When the son of Varuna returned to his asylum in the evening with fruits
he had collected, he beheld not the cow with her calf there. He began to
search for them in the woods, but when the great ascetic of superior
intelligence found not his cow on search, he saw by his ascetic vision
that she had been stolen by the Vasus. His wrath was instantly kindled and
he cursed the Vasus, saying, 'Because the Vasus have stolen my cow of
sweet milk and handsome tail, therefore, shall they certainly be born on
earth!'
"O thou bull of Bharata's race, the illustrious Rishi Apava thus cursed
the Vasus in wrath.
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