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56
CHAPTER TWO Sulasă and Yajñavalkya came to debate with him. He defeated them both in debate and, when he learned that they were his own parents, he became exceedingly angry at the thought, “I was abandoned by them.” He established firmly sacrifices, the mātsmedha, pitsmedha, 58 et cetera and killed his parents in the pitřmedha and mātsmedha.
At that time I was a disciple of Pippalāda, Vāgbali by name, and I went to a terrible hell, because I had sacrificed animals, et cetera. After getting out of hell, I was born an animal five times and was killed by cruel Brāhmans in a sacrifice again and again. Then I was born as a goat in Țankaņa and, after having religion taught me by this Cārudatta and being killed by Rudra, I went to Saudharma. Hence Cārudatta, an ocean of compassion, is my teacher of religion and homage was paid to him first. I did not transgress the proper order.'
Thus informed by the god, they said, 'He saved our father's life as well as helped you.' The god then said to me, 'Speak, blameless Cārudatta. What earthly reward can I make you?' I told the god, ' Come at the right time,' and he departed.
I was brought to Sivamandira by the two Khecaras. I remained there, treated with respect by them and their mother; and honored to a very high degree by Khecaras, their relatives. They showed me this Gandharvasenā, their sister, and said,
When our father took the vow, he instructed us: “An astrologer predicted that Prince Vasudeva would marry your sister, after defeating her in the arts. Hence, entrust her to my brother, Cārudatta, an earth-dweller, that Vasudeva, an earthdweller, may marry her happily.” Take her as your own daughter and go.'
Just as I was leaving, after these instructions from them, -the god came. The god, the two Khecaras and other Khecaras, their adherents, brought me here easily in the aerial car without delay. After giving me crores and crores of gold, rubies, and
58 285. I have still found no explanation for Hemacandra's accusation of killing in the mātsmedha and pitsmedha. See IV, p. 149, n. 121; Appendix I,
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