thou, who art one with the Supreme, beguile us? Blinded by delusion, I thought
thee my son, and for thee, who art beyond all fear, I dreaded the anger of Kamsa;
and, therefore, did I take thee, in my turn, to Gokula, where thou hast grown up.
But I no longer claim thee as mine own. Thou, Vishnu,—the sovereign lord of
all, whose actions Rudra, Maruts, the Aswins, Indra, and the gods cannot equal,
although they behold them; thou, who hast come amongst us, for the benefit of
the world,—art recognised; and delusion is no more.”
We shall furnish but one other specimen:—
Anecdotes of Khandikya and Kesidhwaja.Maitreya, addressing Parasara, says: “Reverend teacher, I am desirous of being
informed what is meant by the term meditation (yoga), by understanding which I
may behold the Supreme Being, the upholder of the universe.”
Parasara, in reply, says that he will repeat the explanation formerly given by
Kesidhwaja to the magnanimous Khandikya, also called Janaka.
Whereupon Maitreya replies: “Tell me, first, Brahman, who Kandikya was and
who Kesidhwaja; and how it happened that a conversation relating to the
practice of Yoga occurred between them.”
Thereupon follows Parasara’s narrative:
There was Janaka, named Dharmadhwaja, who had two sons, Mitadhwaja and
Kritadhwaja; and the latter was a king ever intent upon existent supreme spirit:
his son was the celebrated Kesidhwaja. The son of Mitadhwaja was Janaka,
called Khandikya. Khandikya was diligent in the way of works, and was
renowned, on earth, for religious rites. Kesidhwaja, on the other hand, was
endowed with spiritual knowledge. These two were engaged in hostilities; and
Khandikya was driven from his principality by Kesidhwaja. Expelled from his
dominions, he wandered, with a few followers, his priest, and his counsellors,
amidst woods and mountains, where, destitute of true wisdom, he performed
many sacrifices, expecting, thereby, to obtain divine truth, and to escape from
death by ignorance.
Once, while the best of those who are skilled in devotion (Kesidhwaja) was
engaged in devout exercises, a fierce tiger slew his milch-cow, in the lonely
forest. When the Raja heard that the cow had been killed, he asked the