rise; no shock betokened
Our contact with the earth; we seem to glide
Above the ground, so lightly do we touch it.

MATALI.

Such is the difference between the car of Indra and that of your
Majesty.

KING.

In which direction, Matali, is Ka[s']yapa's sacred retreat?

MATALI. [_Pointing_.

Where stands yon anchorite, towards the orb
Of the meridian sun, immovable
As a tree's stem, his body half-concealed
By a huge ant-hill. Bound about his breast
No sacred cord is twined[115], but in its stead
A hideous serpent's skin. In place of necklace,
The tendrils of a withered creeper chafe
His wasted neck. His matted hair depends
In thick entanglement about his shoulders,
And birds construct their nests within its folds[116].

KING.

I salute thee, thou man of austere devotion.

MATALI. [_Holding in the reins of the car_.

Great Prince, we are now in the sacred grove of the holy
Ka[s']yapa--the grove that boasts as its ornament one of the five
trees of Indra's heaven, reared by Aditi.

KING.

This sacred retreat is more delightful than heaven itself. I
could almost fancy myself bathing in a pool of nectar.

MATALI. [_Stopping the chariot_.

Descend, mighty Prince.

KING. [_Descending_.

And what will you do, Matali?

MATALI.

The chariot will remain where I have stopped it. We may both
descend.

[_Doing so_.]

This way, great King.

[_Walking on_.]

You see around you the celebrated region where the holiest sages
devote themselves to penitential rites.

KING.

I am filled with awe and wonder as I gaze.

In such a place as this do saints of earth
Long to complete their acts of penance; here,
Beneath the shade of everlasting trees.
Transplanted from the groves of Paradise,
May they inhale the balmy air, and need
No other nourishment[117]; here may they bathe
In fountains sparkling with the golden dust
Of lilies; here, on jewelled slabs of marble,
In meditation rapt, may they recline;
Here, in the presence of celestial nymphs,
E'en passion's voice is powerless to move them.

MATALI.

So true is it that the aspirations of the good and great are ever
soaring upwards.

[_Turning round and speaking off the stage_.]

Tell me, Vriddha-[S']akalya, how is the divine son of Marichi now
engaged? What sayes