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526 Dr. Charlotte Krause: Her Life & Literature
his affairs, and after he has given his commands to the messengers (all this is described with full particulars ). In answering Nārada's question, Yama tells him about King Janaka's faithful wife Satyavati, who, on account of her virtue, was taken upto heaven in a celestial car, and revered by all the gods. He concludes with the confession that he has no power whatever over virtuous people, of whose tejas his messengers also were greatly afraid. After learning this story (which, in the beginning, Yama had called a great secret), Nārada returns to heaven. And now follows the conclusion of all the Näsiketopākhyāna: Näsiketu has finished his story, the ascetics return home, and Vaiśampāyana adds a śravaṇaphala :
śrutvā ce'mam kathām divyam pavitrāṁ pāpanāśinīm / sarvāṁllokān atikramya yānti te ca'marāvatīṁ //
Sadala Miśra agrees with BeFi.
Now, Belloni Filippi has drawn attention to the older recension of this episode in the V.P. There, we do not hear anything about Indra, but there appear heavenly cars, in which ascetics are sitting with their wives and kindred, passing across Yama's head, tearing down his wreaths. Yama becomes pale with anger and fear, and being questioned by Nārada, confesses that he has no power to resist the mighty ascetics who were jeering at him. At this very moment, a beautiful woman appears, in a heavenly car, and bids Yama not to be angry with those powerful and virtuous people, who ought to be revered in all submissiveness. Yama shows his reverence to the beautiful ‘pativrata', falling at her feet. Asked by Nārada, why he had turned pale, and why he had revered the 'pativrata', he tells him of Janaka's virtuous wife, whose name, in V.P., is Rūpavati, and who was a pativrata too, whom all the gods were serving and revering for her virtue. Her story is told with all particulars.
This recension must also be taken into consideration. For, with regard to certain features, our Rājasthānī text shows a closer relationship to V.P. than to BeFi. Thus, Si XVI.22-23, a passage
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