Besmearing themselves with dirt from head to foot,
living upon air alone, standing on their toes, they threw pieces of the
flesh of their bodies into the fire. Their arms upraised, and eye fixed,
long was the period for which they observed their vows. And during the
course of their ascetic penances, a wonderful incident occurred there. For
the mountains of Vindhya, heated for a long course of years by the power
of their ascetic austerities, began to emit vapour from every part of
their bodies. And beholding the severity of their austerities, the
celestials became alarmed. The gods began to cause numerous obstructions
to impede the progress of their asceticism. The celestials repeatedly
tempted the brothers by means of every precious possession and the most
beautiful girls. The brothers broke not their vows. Then the celestials
once more manifested, before the illustrious brothers, their powers of
illusion. For it seemed their sisters, mothers, wives, and other relatives,
with disordered hair and ornaments and robes, were running towards them in
terror, pursued and struck by a Rakshasa with a lance in hand. And it
seemed that the women implored the help of the brothers crying, 'O save
us!' But all this went for nothing, for firmly wedded thereto, the
brothers did not still break their vows. And when it was found that all
this produced not the slightest impression on any of the two, both the
women and the Rakshasa vanished from sight. At last the Grandsire himself,
the Supreme Lord ever seeking the welfare of all, came unto those great
Asuras and asked them to solicit the boon they desired.
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