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26
Mahapuraanam
Then, at midday, the sun shone brightly, its rays intense. Like a conquering king, it was full of power, its disc pure. ||86|| Birds sought shelter in the shade of trees by the lakes, their feathers ruffled by the scorching sun. ||90|| Swans, gathered in groups, covered their young with their wings, shielding them from the harsh heat. ||91|| Wild elephants, their temples adorned with the red of sindoor, went to the lakes to bathe, their bodies burning from the heat. ||88, 92|| The elephants, scorched by the sun's rays, broke off branches and used them as shade, as if they were rescuing the branches themselves. ||93|| A herd of wild boars entered the muddy pools, piling on top of each other and sleeping. ||94|| Swans, their bodies wrapped in reeds, shone brightly, as if they had entered a cage made of moonlight for protection. ||95|| A young chakravaka, unable to bear the heat, wore a thick, wide seaweed as a garment, making it look like a blue tunic. ||96|| The king of swans, shaded by a white lotus-shaped umbrella in the forest of lotuses, dived into the water with his swans. ||97|| The young swans, fed on pieces of reeds and covered in reed fibers, slept on beds of lotus leaves. ||98|| Thus, in the autumn, the sun's heat was intense, and the birds could not bear it. They sought refuge in the cool pools. ||89, 99||