________________
442
MAHA PURANA
| XIV. 1
accordingly. When he struck it the cave burst open causing great excitement among its residents. The guardian deity of the mountain came out with presents to Bharata who stayed there for six months. He then directed his disc to proceed through the cave and the army to follow it, but it was very difficult to pass through it because of darkness. The general of the army then took the Kāgapi gem and wrote out on the walls of the cave the sun and the moon. With their light the army proceeded further and came to the region of snakes or Nágas. Two rivers stood on the way of the army but the Sthapati or the engineer prepared a bridge or dam and the army went further. Avarta and Kiráta, two Mleccha kings, finding that their region was invaded, invoked the aid of the king of the Nagas called Meghamukha ( Clouds in the Mouth ), who began to pour down rain the army continuously for day and night. The priest of Bharata brought to the notice of the king how the army was troubled by heavy rain, when he asked his general to use Carma gem to act as an umbrella for the whole army. The army then attacked Āvarta and Kirāta who then offered tribute to Bharata. Bharata then proceeded towards Himavanta mountain along the course of the river Sindhu, the guardian deity of which offered him a wreath of flowers ]
1. 126 ETETE teu affas, the son of Jasaval, i. e. king Bharata, then gave orders to his general who is one of the fourteen gems of a Cakravartin.
2. Note that the four lines of the Dandaka have a 144.
3. 56 afofurat, bearing the name of that mountain, viz. faruref. 26 u fg3, sparkling with a hundred spokes.
5. 3 ou fafafa etc. The general then took up the #Torfor gem, and with it wrote out the moon and the sun.
6. 86 afaconforort shui huu, with the help of a dam ( **, *) or bridge built by the clever engineer, i. e., Fufact.
a
XV
[Thereafter Bharata proceeded along the Hima vanta mountain. Sitting on a seat of darbha grass he observed a fast and at the end discharged his arrow at the guardian deity of that mountain. The deity at first was inclined to wage war with the warrior who discharged the arrow, but on reading the name of Bharata decided to pay tribute to him. He came to Bharata and offered him presents. Bharata a lso, in return, made some presents to him and sent him away. Proceeding further Bharata came to Vrşabha
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
