he is never to be slain by thee even in anger 1 Hostility with Brahmanas, therefore, would not be proper under any circumstances. O sinless one. neither Agni nor Surya truly can consume so much as does a Brahmana of rigid vows, when angryBy these various indications must thou know a good Brahmana. Indeed, a Brabmana is the first-born of all creatures, the foremost of the four orders, the father and the master of all."
"Garuda then asked,-'O mother, of what form is a Brahmana, of what behaviour, and of what prowess? Doth he shine like fire, or is be of tranquil mien? And, O mother, it behoveth thee to tell my inquiring self, those auspicious signs by which I may recognise a Brahmana l"
"Vinata replied, saying, 'O child, him shouldst thou know as the best amongst Brahmanas who having entered thy throat would torture thee as a fish-hook or burn thee as blazing charcoal. A Brahmana must never be slain by thee even in anger ! And Vinata out of affection for her son, again told him these words,-'Him shouldst thou know as a good Brahmana who would not be digested in thy stomach ! Although she knew the incomparable strength of her son, yet she blessed him heartily, for, deceived by the snakes, she was very much afflicted by woe. And she said-'Let Marut (the god of the winds) protect thy wings, and Surya and Soma thy vertabral regions ; let Agni protect thy head, and the Vasus thy whole body! I also, O child, (engaged in beneficial ceremonies), shall sit here for your welfare. Go tben, O child, in safety to accomplish thy purpose !" |
Sauti continued, -"Then Garuda. having heard the words of his mother, stretched his wings and ascended the skies. And endued with great strength, he soon fell upon the Nishadas, hungry and like another Yama. And bent upon slaying the Nishadas, he raised a great quantity of dust that overspread the firmament, and sucking up water from amid the ocean, shook the trees growing on the adjacent mountains. And then that lord of birds obstructed the principal thorough-fares of the town of the Nishadas by his mouth, increasing its cleft at will. And the Nishadas began to fly in great haste in the direction of the open mouth of the great serpent-eater. And as birds in great affliction ascend by thousands into the skies when the trees in a forest are shaken by the winds, so those Nishadas blinded by the dust raised by the storm entered the wideextending cleft of Garuda's mouth open to receive them. And then the hungry lord of all rangers of the skies, that oppressor of enemies, endued with great strength, and moving with greatest celerity to achieve his end, closed his mouth, killing innumerable Nishadas following the occupation of fisbermen."
So ends the twenty-eightb section in the Astika Parva of the Adi Parva.
