And so ends the ninety-seventh Section in the Sambhava of the Adi parva.
Section LXLVIII.
( Sambhava Parva continued. )
Vaisampayana said, "The maiden then, hearing those soft and sweet words of the smiling monarch, and remembering her promise to the Vasus, then addressed the king in reply. Of faultless features and sending a thrill of pleasure into the heart by every word she uttered, the damsel said, 'O king, I shall become thy wife and obey thy commands. But, O monarch, thou must not interfere with me in anything I do, be it agreeable or disagreeable. Nor shalt thou ever address me unkindly. As long as thou shalt behave kindly, I promise to live with thee. But I shall certainly leave thee the moment thou interferest with me or speakest to me an unkind word.' The king answered, 'Let it be.' And thereupon the damsel obtaining that excellent monarch—the foremost of the Bharata race—for her husband, became highly pleased. And king Shantanu also obtaining her for wife enjoyed to his fill the pleasures of her company. And adhering to his promise he refrained from asking her anything. And the lord of earth, Shantanu, became exceedingly gratified with her conduct, beauty, magnanimity, and attention to his comforts. And the goddess Ganga also, of three courses (celestial—terrestrial—and subterranean) assuming a human form of superior complexion and endued with celestial beauty, lived happily as the wife of Shantanu, having obtained for her husband, as the fruit of her virtuous acts, that tiger among kings equal unto Indra himself in splendour. And she gratified the king by her attractiveness and affection, her wiles and love, her music and dance, and became gratified herself. And the monarch was so enraptured with his beautiful wife that months, seasons, and years rolled away without his being conscious of them. And the king, while thus enjoying himself with his wife, had eight children born unto him who in beauty were like the very celestials themselves. But, O Bharata, these children one after
