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And while they were thus engaged, the hermit Nárada arrived, descending from the sky, illuminating the whole horizon with brightness. And after he had received the argha, he sat down and said to Chandraprabha, " I am sent here by Indra, and he sends this message to your Highness— ' I have learned that, by the instigation of Śiva, you purpose, with the assistance of the Asura Maya, being all of you deluded by ignorance, to obtain for this Súryaprabha, of mortal frame, the great dignity of emperor of all the chiefs of the Vidyádharas: that is improper, for I have conferred it on Śrutaśarman, and besides it is the hereditary right of that moon of the sea of the Vidyádhara race. And as for what you are doing in a spirit of opposition to me, and contrary to what is right, it will certainly result in your destruction. Moreover, before, when your Highness was offering a sacrifice to Rudra, I told you first to offer an Aśvamedha sacrifice, but you did not do it. So the haughty enterprise you are engaged in, without regard to the gods, relying upon Śiva alone, will not turn out to your happiness.' " When Nárada had delivered in these words the message of Indra, Maya laughed and said to him; " Great hermit, the king of gods has not spoken well. For what he says about the fact of Súryaprabha being a mortal is beside the point; for who was not aware of that fact, when he met Dámodara in fight? For mortals who possess courage can obtain all powers. Did not Nahusha and others of old time obtain the dignity of Indra? And as for his saying that he bestowed the empire on Śrutaśarman, and that it is his hereditary right, that also is absurd, for where Śiva is the giver, who has any authority? Besides, did not he himself take away the sovereignty of the gods from Hiranyáksha, though it descended to him as the elder? And as for his other remark about opposition, and our acting contrary to what is right, that is false, for he violently puts himself in opposition to us out of selfish motives, and wherein, pray, are we acting contrary to what is right, for we are only striving to conquer our rival, we are not carrying off a hermit's wife, we are not killing Bráhmans? And what he says about the necessity of first performing an Asvamedha sacrifice, and about contempt of the gods, is untrue, for when sacrifice to Śiva has been performed, what need is there of other sacrifices?*[1] And when Śiva the god of gods is worshipped, what god is not worshipped? And as for his remark that exclusive attention to Rudra †[2] is not becoming, I answer of what importance are 'the hosts of the other gods, where Śiva is in arms? When the sun has risen, do the other luminaries give light? So you must tell all this to the king of the gods, O hermit, and we shall continue to carry out what
