03.113
Vibhāṇḍaka said.
Son, these demons with their most wonderful appearance move about; with incomparable, extremely terrible forms, they are always plotting obstacles to austerity. (03-113-1)
Those beautiful forms, dear one, entice (even sages) in the forests by various means; and by their fierce actions, they cause sages to fall from happiness and from their spiritual world. (03-113-2)
A self-disciplined sage should not pursue such things: in longing for the realms belonging to the virtuous by any means, the vicious delight in obstructing the ascetics' austerities, but those worlds are not for the wicked. (03-113-3)
O son, acts performed by bad people are to be shunned like honey tainted by evil; and these garlands, however wonderfully and brightly fragrant they may be, are not considered worthy by sages. (03-113-4)
Lomaśa said.
Having thus warded off those evil beings from his son, Vibhāṇḍaka engaged in that hunt. When he did not obtain (his object) in three days, he then returned to the āśrama. (03-113-5)
When Kashyapa once again went, like an ascetic, to collect fruits according to the rule, then the courtesan again went to entice the sage Rishyashringa. (03-113-6)
Seeing her, Ṛśyaśṛṅga, delighted yet appearing agitated, approached her then. And he said to her, 'Let us go to your hermitage before my father learns of this.' (03-113-7)
Then, O king, after making the only son of Kāśyapa get aboard by some method and releasing the boat, those who were enticing with various means went to the presence of the lord of Aṅga. (03-113-8)
But after establishing her at the hermitage view, and having caused the exceedingly bright boat to cross, taking it from the bank, he likewise made the wondrous forest named King’s Hermitage. (03-113-9)
Having settled him in the inner apartments, the king saw the only son of Vibhāṇḍaka as a god, and suddenly saw the world being filled with pouring water. (03-113-10)
Lomapada, his desires fulfilled, gave his daughter Śāntā to R̥ṣyaśr̥ṅga. He also performed acts to avert wrath, including leading cows along the roads. (03-113-11)
When Vibhāṇḍaka arrives, the king ordered many animals, herdsmen, and heroes. If the great sage Vibhāṇḍaka, eager for his son, asks you, (do as instructed). (03-113-12)
You should address him with joined palms; your son's cattle and the ploughing (are at your disposal). Whatever is dear to you, O great sage, let it be done. We are all your servants, indeed bound by your word. (03-113-13)
Then the sage, fiercely angry, approached his own hermitage carrying roots and fruits; searching but not finding his son there, he saw this and became intensely enraged. (03-113-14)
Then, being torn apart with anger and suspecting the king's plan, he went to Campā, intending to burn the king of Aṅga and his kingdom. (03-113-15)
Kāśyapa, being tired and hungry, reached those prosperous settlements. There, being duly honored by the cowherds like a king, he spent the night there. (03-113-16)
After receiving great honor from them, he asked, "Gentle ones, whose fame do you belong to?" Then they all approached and said, "This wealth of yours has been allotted to your son." (03-113-17)
But in each region, as he, being honored, heard their sweet utterances, with most of the dust settled, delighted, he approached the lord of Aṅga, who stood before him. (03-113-18)
Having been honored by that bull among men, he saw his son in heaven, a god like Indra. There, too, he saw the tranquil daughter-in-law, shining just like lightning. (03-113-19)
O king, Vibhāṇḍaka, having seen the villages, livestock settlements, and his son, and when his great anger was calmed, bestowed his supreme favor upon the lord of the earth. (03-113-20)
He placed his son there and said to the great sage, who had power equal to the sun and fire: "When a son is born, you should go to the forest after having done all that is dear to the king." (03-113-21)
Ṛśyaśṛṅga did as he was told and went where his father was. Śāntā served him, devotedly, just as Rohiṇī attends to the Moon. (03-113-22)
Just as Arundhatī was devoted to Vasiṣṭha with good fortune; or as Lopāmudrā certainly was to Agastya; or just as Damayantī was to Nala; and as Śacī was to the wielder of the thunderbolt, Indra. (03-113-23)
Just as Nāḍāyanī and Indrasenā were always obedient to Mudgala, O king, so Śāntā with affection and devotion served Ṛṣyaśṛṅga, who was dwelling in the forest. (3-113-24)
This auspicious hermitage shines, beautifying the great lake of the one of auspicious fame. Here, having bathed, one who has accomplished all duties is purified—O king, proceed to the other holy places in succession. (03-113-25)
