32. The sage related:—The king being thus remonstrated by his minister, was resolved to resign the burthen of his state, and to renounce his realm and royalty even at that very moment.
33. He wished to retire to some far distant forest, and prayed his ministers to support his realm; but he declined to take the charge, though the state was free from all its enemies (i.e. though it was a peaceful realm).
34. He then remained in the company of wisemen, and was enlightened by their discourses; as the sesame seeds became odorous by being placed amidst a heap of flowers.
35. Then from his inquiries into the mysteries of his life and birth, and into the causes of his confinement in this world, he obtained the knowledge of his liberation from it.
36. It was thus by means of his continued inquiries into truth, and his continual association with the wise and good, that the soul of Sindhu attained a holy sanctity in comparison with which, the prosperity of Brahma even, is as a straw or the dried leaf of a withered tree, which the winds of the sky toss about to and fro.
CHAPTER CLVIII.
Fall of the Huge Body of the Hunter.
Argument:—The aerial body of the Hunter, and its downfall from the high heaven.
The sage resumed and said:—I have thus related these future events, as if they were past accounts unto thee; do now, O huntsman what thou wishest and thinkest best for thyself.
2. Agni the god of fire said:—Hearing these words of the sage, the huntsman remained aghast in wonder for a while; and then rising with the sage, went to bathe themselves to the nearest pool.
3. In this manner they continued together, to conduct their religious austerities and discussions at the same spot; and remained in terms of disinterested friendship with one another.