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vows before Rudra, Skanda, Candi, Kuşmandi and other gods, and eagerly giving various gifts, sat concealed on a highly elevated locality. Gods, celestial musicians, demi-gods, and ghosts desirous of seeing the duel, kept standing in the skies. At this time, Narada Muni with the long braid of his hair hanging loose, with a chatra (an umbrella) in his hand, eagerly desirous of seeing the duel, making a loud laughter, and giving enjoyment to the groups of celestial beings, put in his appearance there.
Prati-vāsudeva Agvagrīva then told Tripriṣṭha Kumāra–“Ah! You are showing the pride of your strength by killing a lion who was distressd by his long continued residence in the cave of a mountain,-who had become worn out by disease and old ageand who was an object of pity! Was I not strong enough to kill him with ease in the first place! I did not kill him simply because a lion may be dishonoured by killing a deer. Perhaps, wise persons may not advise you, thinking you to be a recently--weaned child, however, why do you intentionally become uselessly adverse to moral code ? It is true that the God of Death does not himself give slaps with his own hands, but giving him mean wishes he causes his destruction at the hands of other persons. Whatever greater strength that you possess than other people, is chiefly for your destruction like the appearance of wings to ants at the time of their destruction. O good man! You have really proved your-self as indicative of the destruction of the age-worn King Prajapti, like a Comet, in the form of his son,
Tripristha Kumāra replied-"Is this abusive language a first step to your old age? Or, else, you thus utter such shameless words on account of your cruel nature arising from your imminent association with the God of Death and O old mouth The
man ! You utter your praises with your own superior eminence of a person whose excellent heroism has been tested, like gold on the touch-stone of battle-field, seems elegant when it is being sung by others. You, therefore,
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