O Agni,
the flames put forth by thee consume every creature. O thou of great
splendour, this universe hath been created by thee. The Vedas are thy word.
All creatures, mobile and immobile, depend upon thee. Water primarily
dependeth on thee, so also the whole of this universe. All offerings of
clarified butter and oblations of food to the pitris have been established
in thee. O god, thou art the consumer, and thou art the creator and thou
art Vrihaspati himself (in intelligence). Thou art the twin Aswins; thou
art Surya; thou art Soma; thou art Vayu.
"Vaisampayana continued, 'O monarch, thus praised by Mandapala, Agni was
gratified with that Rishi of immeasurable energy; and the god, well-
pleased, replied, 'What good can I do to thee?' Then Mandapala with joined
palms said unto the carrier of clarified butter, 'While thou burnest the
forest of Khandava, spare my children.' The illustrious bearer of
clarified butter replied, 'So be it.' It was, therefore, O monarch, that
he blazed not forth, while consuming the forest of Khandava, for the
destruction of Mandapala's children.'"
SECTION CCXXXII
(Khandava-daha Parva continued)
"Vaisampayana said, 'When the fire blazed forth in the forest of Khandava,
the infant birds became very much distressed and afflicted. Filled with
anxiety, they saw not any means of escape. Their mother, the helpless
Jarita, knowing that they were too young to escape, was filled with sorrow
and wept aloud.
Pages:
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865