e
from! Having called a celestial, it is not, however, proper to send him
away in vain. Thy intention, O blessed one, it is to have from Surya a
son furnished with a coat of mail and ear-rings, and who in point of
prowess would be beyond compare in this world! Do thou, therefore, O
damsel of elephantine gait, surrender thy person to me! Thou shall then
have, O lady, a son after thy wish! O gentle girl, O thou of sweet
smiles, I will go back after having known thee! If thou do not gratify
me to-day by obeying my word, I shall in anger curse thee, thy father
and that Brahmana also. For thy fault, I will surely consume them all,
and I shall inflict condign punishment on that foolish father of thine
that knoweth not this transgression of thine and on that Brahmana who
hath bestowed the _mantras_ on thee without knowing thy disposition and
character! Yonder are all the celestials in heaven, with Purandara at
their head, who are looking at me with derisive smiles at my being
deceived by thee, O lady! Look at those celestials, for thou art now
possessed of celestial sight! Before this I have endued thee with
celestial vision, in consequence of which thou couldst see me!'"

Vaisampayana continued, "Thereupon the princess beheld the celestials
standing in the firmament, each in his proper sphere, even as she saw
before her that highly resplendent deity furnished with rays, viz.,
Surya himself. And beholding them all, the girl became frightened and
her face was suffused with blushes of shame. And then she addressed
Surya, saying, 'O lord of rays, go thou back to thy own region. On
account of my maidenhood, this outrage of thine is fraught with woe to
me! It is only one's father, mother, and other superiors, that are
capable of giving away their daughter's body. Virtue I shall never
sacrifice, seeing that in this world the keeping of their persons
inviolate is deemed as the highest duty of Women, and is held in high
regard! O thou possessed of wealth of splendour, it is only to test the
power of my _mantras_ that I have, from mere childishness, summoned
thee. Considering that this hath been done by a girl offender years, it
behoveth thee, O lord, to forgive her!' Then Surya said, 'It is because
I consider thee a girl that, O Kunti, I am speaking to thee so mildly.
To one that is not so I would not concede this. Do thou, O Kunti,
surrender thyself! Thou shalt surely attain happiness thereby. Since, O
timid maiden, thou hast invoked