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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[MARCH, 1903.
those bodies which were burned gnashed their teeth; their eyeballs started out; they writhed and squirmed, groaning, neither dead nor living, panting and gasping for breath, and lying in agony upon the rods. Those who still lived raced their hardest, taking hold of each other by the shoulder, their bodies being exhausted by the heat of the Agnimukhas. All who were pursued by the servants of Yama were taken and laid upon iron pikes which were as thick as an arm, and a fathom and a koh long. In convulsions, they were pierced from chine to crown. Others ran away and sought refuge at the sword-trees, by thousands all together in a crowd. When they were come under the trees, they thought these would give them protection. Then the Yaksha-birds shook the trees, which turned entirely to prickles. All those who sought refuge were cut to pieces. What did they look like? Some had their skulls split, their ribs broken, their stomachs torn open; their bowels were falling out, and their arms were cut off. They were not dead, nor yet living, while undergoing the five states of worldly suffering. Moreover, still another disillusionment was prepared for them: some water babbled with a murmur like the water of a little lake. "That will be very delicious to drink," they thought; so they went up to it in great crowds. When they came there, they trod on the sharp grass; their feet were pierced, and the blood gushed out. They all fell as if they had been struck with all kinds of weapons. Then the birds with Yaksha-faces came; they shook the sword-trees so that the leaves all fell. With all the weapons stuck in them, the wicked men looked like the prickles of a hedgehog. Thereupon, their bodies were racked by the Agnimukh as with a jerk so that they were shrivelled and their brains gushed out. They were neither dead nor living. They writhed and sighed, being continually tortured. Thus did Kunjarakarna behold the evil ones. At the sight, Kunjarakarna felt as if his heart were torn in pieces; aghast, he saw the punishment of the evil ones, which seemed to him to be endless.
Kunjarakarna stood still. When he turned his glance towards the south, he caught sight of the Sanghata-parvatas, two mountains of iron, which, continually moving, closed against each other. There were the evil ones chastised and spurred to go through the yawning opening in the mountains of iron, which turned round like a windmill, resembling Emprit birds in flight. The servants of Yama were not even yet satisfied. So the evil ones were tortured anew and struck with iron clubs as thick as a pinang-tree. Others were pierced with iron spears, ten fathoms long, by hundreds all together. What did they look like? Like strung locusts. In great haste they sought a means of escape, reverently folded their hands, and uttered a loud cry, saying sorrowfully:-"Ah, great Masters, Servants of Yama! have pity upon me; let me live and be born again upon the earth; teach me what is proper and what is improper, so that I may forsake sin, be an obedient servant of the Panditas and perform works of charity; now, on the contrary, I reap the fruits of wickedness."
That was indeed a cry; an outburst of sorrow and woe!"The evil that you have done is altogether too base, is it not? Of that you can be assured in your minds. How can I permit you to be born again? The whole world would go to nought, as also the Sacred Law, the nature of things, the ordinance of time, the abandonment of the world, piety, gentleness, all that is right. Wherefore, then, should you be born again hereafter? The world would certainly be through you as it were set in fire and flames in consequence of your former impiety. Also, you were covetous and have repeatedly killed innocent men. Now the evil that you have done is become an iron spear, which torments your bodies as a payment for the wickedness of which you have made yourselves guilty. All that is your merited reward, you wicked ones!"
Suddenly the sound of stabbing was heard; bang! bang; they are beaten unceasingly with an iron club; suddenly, crash! crash, everywhere could one see the points sticking out. So the servants of Yama went to work while they punished all the evil ones, who shrieked in pain. Afterwards they were hung on high, and under them fire was kindled. When Kunjarakarna espied the evil ones, he stood still, feeling great sorrow at the sight of the evil-doers, who were being chastised by the servants of Yama. Kunjarakarna felt a griping pain at his heart: it was as if the members of his body were being cut in pieces. It was as if he imploringly raised his hands to
