416 ON THE VE'dAS, 



being no king, [nevertheless] subdued by means 

 of that knowledge the whole earth around, and 

 traversed it every way. 



' Sa'tyapiavya, of the race of Vasisht'ha, ad- 

 dressed him, saying, " Thou hast conquered the 

 whole earth around; [now] aggrandize me." At- 

 yara'ti, son of Janantapa, replied; " M^hen 

 I conquer Uttaracuru, then thou shalt be king of 

 the earth, holy man ! and I will be merely thy 

 general." SATrAHAVYA rejoined; "That is the 

 land of the gods ; no mottal can subdue it : -thou 

 hast been ungrateful towards me ; and, therefore, 

 I resume from thee this [power]." Hence the 

 king S'ushmin'a, son of S'lvi, destroyer of foes, 

 slew Atyara'ti, who was [thus] divested of vigour 

 and deprived of strength, 



' Therefore \tt not a soldier be ungrateful to- 

 wards the priest, who is acquainted [with the form], 

 and practises [the celebration, of this ceremony] ; 

 lest he lose his kingdom, and forfeit his life : les^ 

 he forfeit his Hfe.' 



To elucidate this last story, it is necessary to 

 observe, that, before the commencement of the 

 ceremony of inauguration, the priest swears the 

 soldier by a most solemn oath, not to injure him. 

 A similar oath, as is observed in this place by 

 the commentator, had been administered previ- 

 ously to the communication of that knowledge, 

 to which Atyara'ti owed his success. The priest 

 considered his answer as illusory and insulting, 

 because Uttara Curu, being north of Merit, is the 

 land of the gods, and cannot be conquered by 

 men : a^ this ungrateful answer was a breach of 

 his oath, the priest withdrew his power from him ; 

 and, in consequence, he was slain by the foe* 



