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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[OCTOBER, 1887.
themselves and resolved after much delibera- pronounced on them by their mother. Brahma tion to obey their mother in order to avert her advised them to marry their sister Jeratkáru anger.
to a sage having the same name, and told them On the morrow, the two sisters set out on their that her son would be their saviour. The journey to the shores of the Sea of Milk there snakes obeyed the order, and thus Astika, the to examine the much-discussed horse's tail. future deliverer of the snake-tribe was born When they reached the shore, they saw with and bred in snakedom, much honoured and much surprise that Uchchaihśravas' tail was loved by his powerful maternal uncles. covered with coal black hair. Kadrd's trium- Now it happened that when Astiks was phant joy knew no bounds, and poor Vinatå only twelve or thirteen years of age, king Janawas doomed to be a slave and serve her cruel môjaya resolved to burn the whole serpentrival for five long centuries. But she was not tribe in his Serpent-sacrifice to revenge his angry with Kadra, for she at once knew that father's death, which was caused by snakebite. it was the punishment of her own crime, as Thousands upon thousands of the venomous above related.
snakes were dragged out of their hiding-places In the meantime, Vinata's other son hatched. and burnt in the sacrificial fire by the officiatHe was so handsome and had such beautiful ing priests at the request of the king. Vasufeathers and such grand wings that all people ki, the king of snakes, and eldest son of Kadra, agreed to name him Garutmat (Garuda). told the old story to his nephew, and entreated Vinatâ waited till he grew old enough to deliver him to deliver his uncle's tribe from this danger. her, and did not acquaint him with her degrada- Whereupon Astika set out on his journey to tion and sorrow. But he soon found out that Hastinapura to do the great deed for which for his mother was a slave, and won a great victory he was destined by the Creator. On reaching over Indra, the king of gods, thereby obtaining the sacrificial ground, he was refused admittance the nectar necessary to obtain his mother's into the king's presence, but he composed some freedom. After which he was crowned king of ex tempore verses in praise of the great king, all birds by the four-headed Brahmâ.
and sang them so pleasantly that the king was The thousand snakes, Garutmat's cousins, quite pleased with him, and told him to ask had hoped to become immortals by drinking for anything he would like as his reward. the nectar thus procured by the valiant Vaina- Astika, faithful to his uncles, requested the têya, but little did they know how they would king to graciously stop burning any more be defeated by Indra, who thought it danger- snakes. The king tried to tempt him by offering ous to let the terror of mortal beings become him all riches and even his whole kingdom immortal. He stole the vessel containing the if only he would let him burn the snakesnectar which was placed in the midst of the the enemies of his father and of mankind in sacred kuća grass until the snakes could purify | general. But Astika would not listen to this. themselves and be ready to drink it. So they He wished to deliver the snake-tribe, and as found the place empty when they came there, the king was bound to fulfil his promise, he hoping to drink the nectar.
at last yielded to Astika's entreaties, much The poor disappointed snakes licked the against his own wishes, and ordered the priest grass on which the vessel of nectar was placed, to stop sacrificing more snakes. hoping that there might by chance have fallen | Astika's uncles were overjoyed at their a drop or two of the immortals' drink. But nephew's success and desired him to ask for vainly do people try to defeat desting, the anything he liked as the reward of his benesnakes instead of tasting of the nectar by this ficent services. Ho requested that any person means, hurt and disfigured their tongues, which begging for protection in his name should not were torn asunder by the sharp edges of the be hurt by any snake whatsoever, and thus the leusa grass. This is the reason why all snakes, doubly meritorious act of delivering snakes unlike any other creatures, have two tongues ! and at the same time of procuring protection
Being thus defeated on all sides, the snakes for mankind from the dreaded snake-tribe was petitioned to Brahmå to know if there was any accomplished by good Astika. means by which to escape the dreadful doom The following is the prayer by which any
