after a full year that best of ascetics was unable to find any
fault whatever in Pritha, who was engaged in ministering unto him,
well-pleased he said unto her, 'O gentle maid, I have been well-pleased
with thy attentions, O beautiful girl! Do thou, O blessed girl, ask even
for such boons as are difficult of being obtained by men in this world,
and obtaining which, thou mayst surpass in fame all the women in this
world'. At these words of his, Kunti said, 'Everything hath already been
done in my behalf since thou, O chief of those that are versed in the
Vedas, and my father also, have been pleased with me! As regards the
boons, I consider them as already obtained by me, O Brahmana!' The
Brahmana thereupon said, 'If, O gentle maid, thou dost not, O thou of
sweet smiles, wish to obtain boons from me, do thou then take this mantra
from me for invoking the celestials! Any one amongst the celestials whom
thou mayst invoke by uttering this mantra, will appear before thee and be
under thy power. Willing or not, by virtue of this mantra, that deity in
gentle guise, and assuming the obedient attitude of slave, will become
subject to thy power!'"

Vaisampayana continued, "Thus addressed, that faultless maiden could-not,
O king, from fear of a curse, refuse tor the second time compliance with
the wishes of that best of the twice-born ones. Then, O king, that
Brahmana imparted unto that girl of faultless limbs those mantras which
are recited in the beginning of the Atharvan Veda. And, O king, having
imparted unto her those mantras, he said unto Kuntibhoja. 'I have, O
monarch, dwelt happily in thy house, always worshipped 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