________________
The
· Fall
of Nahusha
Y now, tell me, what would be our ruler's reputation in Heaven?" queried a voice from the hysterically jubilant multitude surging towards Nahusha's palace. The gates remained open, as usual, but his birthday being an occasion for national rejoicing, the fort had been magnificently decorated by every citizen who knew anything about an art or a craft. "There, in Heaven, they must be feeling jealous of him," answered a retired soldier. "You know, he can defeat any combination of divine forces, if the battle is fairly fought." "No," asserted a pious third voice, "you know nothing about the devas. Nahusha needs their blessings. So let us speak well of the givers of our beloved monarch's supremacy and splendour.” “Are you," demanded a credulous fourth, "wiser than our rishis and gurus who have unanimously declared that the Emperor Nahusha is today the envy of all the gods including the Trimurthis?” “I think you are right," agreed a fifth. "For I hear his glory sung everywhere."
Indeed everything in Creation seemed to chant Nahusha's
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