d with due
regard and gratified by thy daughter. I shall now depart.' And saying
this, he vanished there and then. And beholding that Brahmana vanish
there and then, the king was struck with amazement. And the monarch then
treated his daughter Pritha with proper regard."

SECTION CCCIV

Vaisampayana said, "When that foremost of Brahmanas had gone away on
some other errand, the maiden began to ponder over the virtue of those
_mantras_. And she said to herself, 'Of what nature are those _mantras_
that have been bestowed on me by that high-souled one? I shall without
delay test their power.' And as she was thinking in this way, she
suddenly perceived indications of the approach of her season. And her
season having arrived, while she was yet unmarried, she blushed in
shame. And it came to pass that as she was seated in her chamber on a
rich bed, she beheld the solar orb rising in the east. And both the mind
and the eyes of that maiden of excellent waist became rivetted fast upon
the solar orb. And she gazed and gazed on that orb without being
satiated with the beauty of the morning Sun. And she suddenly became
gifted with celestial sight. And then she beheld that god of divine form
accoutred in mail and adorned with ear-rings. And at sight of the god, O
lord of men, she became curious as to the (potency of the) _mantras_.
And thereupon that maiden resolved to invoke him. And having recourse to
_Pranayama_, she invoked the Maker of day. And thus invoked by her, O
king, the Maker of day speedily presented himself. And he was of a
yellowish hue like honey, and was possessed of mighty arms, and his neck
was marked with lines like those of a conchshell. And furnished with
armlets, and decked with a diadem, he came smiling, and illumining all
the directions. And it was by _Yoga_ power that he divided himself in
twain, one of which continued to give heat, and the other appeared
before Kunti. And he addressed Kunti in words that were exceedingly
sweet, saying, 'O gentle maiden, over-powered by the _mantras_, I come
hither obedient to thee. Subject as I am to thy power, what shall I do,
O queen? Tell me, for I shall do whatever thou mayst command.' Hearing
these words of the deity, Kunti said, 'O worshipful one, go thou back to
the place thou hast come from! I invoked thee from curiosity alone.
Pardon me, O worshipful one!' Surya then said, 'O damsel of slender
waist, I will, even as thou hast said, return to the place I have com