say is that there is no special
time for a Sraddha. It is to be performed whenever a good and
able priest may be secured.

SECTION CCCXII

Vaisampayana continued,--"Then agreeable to the words of the Yaksha the
Pandavas rose up; and in a moment their hunger and thirst left them.
Thereupon Yudhishthira said, 'I ask thee that art incapable of being
vanquished and that standest on one leg in the tank, what god art thou,
for I cannot take thee for a Yaksha! Art thou the foremost of the Vasus,
or of the Rudras, or of the chief of the Maruts? Or art thou the lord
himself of the celestials, wielder of the thunder-bolt! Each of these my
brothers is capable of fighting as hundred thousand warriors, and I see
not the warrior that can slay them all! I see also that their senses
have refreshed, as if they have sweetly awaked from slumber. Art thou a
friend of ours, or even our father himself?' At this the Yaksha
replied,--'O child, I am even thy father, the Lord of justice, possessed
of great prowess! Know, bull of the Bharata race, that I came hither
desirous of beholding thee! Fame, truth, self-restraint, purity,
candour, modesty, steadiness, charity, austerities and _Brahmacharya_,
these are my body! And abstention from injury, impartiality, peace,
penances, sanctity, and freedom from malice are the doors (through which
I am accessible). Thou art always dear to me! By good luck thou art
devoted to the five;[77] and by good luck also thou hast conquered the
six.[78] Of the six, two appear in the first part of life; two in the
middle part thereof; and the remaining two at the end, in order to make
men repair to the next world. I am, good betide thee, the lord of
justice! I came hither to test thy merit. I am well-pleased to witness
thy harmlessness; and, O sinless one, I will confer boons on thee. Do
thou, O foremost of kings, ask of me boons. I shall surely confer them,
O sinless one! Those that revere me, never come by distress!'
Yudhishthira said,--'A deer was carrying away the Brahmana's
fire-sticks. Therefore, the first boon that I shall ask, is, may that
Brahmana's adorations to _Agni_ be not interrupted!' The Yaksha
said,--'O Kunti's son endued with splendour, it was I who for examining
thee, was carrying away, in the guise of a deer, that Brahmana's
fire-sticks!'"

[77] That is, tranquillity of mind, self-restraint, abstention
from sensual pleasures, resignation, and Yoga meditation.

[78] That