The
monarch ate only fruits and roots sometimes at the twelfth and sometimes
at the sixteenth hour of the whole day. King Swetaki stood for six months,
rapt in attention, with arms upraised and steadfast eyes, like the trunk
of a tree or a column rooted to the ground. And, O Bharata, Sankara at
last gratified with that tiger among kings, who was undergoing such hard
penances, showed himself unto him. And the god spake unto the monarch in a
calm and grave voice, saying, 'O tiger among kings, O chastiser of foes, I
have been gratified with thee for thy asceticism! Blest be thou! Ask now
the boon that thou, O king, desirest.' Hearing these words of Rudra of
immeasurable energy, the royal sage bowed unto that deity and replied,
saying, 'O illustrious one, O thou that art worshipped by the three worlds,
if thou hast been gratified with me, then, O god of gods, assist me
thyself, O lord of the celestials, in my sacrifice!' Hearing these words
spoken by the monarch, the illustrious god was gratified, and smilingly
said, 'We do not ourselves assist at sacrifices: but as thou, O king, hast
undergone severe penances, desirous of obtaining a boon, I will, O
chastiser of foes, assist at thy sacrifice, upon, O king, this condition.'
And Rudra continued, 'If, O king of kings, thou canst, for twelve years,
pour without intermission libations of clarified butter into the fire,
thyself leading all the while the life of a Brahmacharin with rapt
attention, then thou shalt obtain from me what thou askest.
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