his life, addressed
the Muni in these words. Listen unto them, O monarch! 'O holy one, this
leopard is a foe of the dogs. It wishes to slay me. O great sage, do thou
act in such a way that all my fears from this animal may be dispelled
through thy grace. O thou of mighty arms, without doubt thou art
possessed of omniscience.' Acquainted with the thoughts of all creatures,
the sage felt that the dog had ample cause for fear. Possessed of the six
attributes and capable of reading the voices of all animals, the sage
said the following words.

"'"The sage said, 'Thou shalt have no fear of death from leopards any
longer. Let thy natural form disappear and be thou a leopard, O son!' At
these words, the dog was transformed into a leopard with skin bright as
gold. With stripes on his body and with large teeth, thenceforth he began
to live in that forest fearlessly. Meanwhile, the leopard, seeing before
him an animal of his own species, immediately forsook all feelings of
animosity towards it. Some time after, there came into the hermitage a
fierce and hungry tiger with open mouth. Licking the corners of his mouth
with the tongue, and eagerly desirous of drinking blood, that tiger began
to approach towards the animal that had been transformed into a leopard.
Beholding the hungry tiger of terrible teeth approach that forest, the
(transformed) leopard sought the Rishi's protection for saving his life.
The sage, who showed great affection for the leopard in consequence of
the latter's living in the same place with him, forthwith transformed his
leopard into a tiger powerful for all foes. The tiger seeing a beast of
his own species did him no injury, O king. The dog, having in course of
time been transformed into a powerful tiger subsisting upon flesh and
blood, abstained from his former food which had consisted of fruit and
roots. Indeed, from that time, O monarch, the transformed tiger lived,
subsisting upon the other animals of the forest, like a true king of
beasts."'"

SECTION CXVII

"'Bhishma said, "The dog transformed into a tiger, gratified with the
flesh of slain beasts, slept at his ease. One day as he lay on the yard
of the hermitage, an infuriated elephant came there, looking like a risen
cloud. Of huge stature, with rent cheeks, having signs of the lotus on
his body, and with broad frontal globes, the animal had long tusks and a
voice deep as that of the clouds. Beholding that infuriated elephant,
proud of his st