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^ A wife is a wife (jSy^) because man is bom (j&yate) again in her. She is a mother (&bh{lti) because she brings forth (llbhMi) ; a germ is hidden in her. ' The gods and the old ages brought great light unto her. The gods said to men : '^ In her you will be bom again." ^ There is no life for him who has no son, this the animals also know. ^ The path which those follow who have sons and no sorrows, is widely praised and happy. Beasts and birds know it, and they have young ones every- where,' Having thus spoken, he said to him : ' Go to Yar runa the king, and say : May a son be bom to me, and I shall sacrifice him to you.* The king assented,, he went to Yarana the king, and said : ^ May a son be bom to me and I shall sacrifice him to you.* Yaruna said, * Yes.* A son was bom to him, called Rohita. Then Yaruna said to HariSchandra : * A son is born to thee, sacrifice him to me.* Hari^handra said : * When an animal is more than ten days old, it can be sacrificed. May he be older than ten daytf and I shall sacrifice him to you.* Yaruna assented. The boy was more than ten days old, and Yaruna said : ^ He is older now than ten days, sacrifice him to me.' Hari^chandra said : ' When an animal's teeth come, then it can be sacrificed. May his teeth now come, and I shall sacrifice him to you.' Yaruna assented. His teeth came^ and Yaruna said : * His teeth have come, sacrifice him to me.' Ilari&^handra said : ^ When an animal's teeth fall bbAhmanab. 411 out, tben it can be sacrificed. May his teeth fall out, and I shall sacrifice him to you/ Yaruna assented; his teeth fell out, and Yaruna said : ^ His teeth have fallen out, sacrifice him to me.' Hari^chandra replied: ^When an *animar9 teeth come again, then it can be sacrificed. May his teeth come again, and I shall sacrifice him to you.' Yaruna assented. His teeth came again, and Yaruna said : ^ His teeth have come again, sacrifice him to me.' Hari^handra said : ^ When a warrior (kshatriya) is girt with his armour, then he can be sacrificed. May he be girt, and I shall sacrifice him to you.' Yaruna assented. He was girt, and Yaruna said : ^ He has been girt, let him be sacrificed to me.' Hari6chandra assented. He addressed his son and said: ^ Child, he gave you to me; Death! that I sacrifice you to him.' The son said, ' No ! ' took his bow, and went to the forest, and lived there for a year. And Yaruna seized Harischandra, and his belly swelled. This Rohita heard and went from the forest to the village (gr&ma). Indra, in the form of a man, went round him, and said : ^ For a man who does not travel about there is no happiness, thus we have heard, 0 Rohita ! A good man who stays at home is a bad man. Indra is the friend of him who travels. Travel.' Rohita thought, a Brahman has told me to travel, and thus he travelled a second year in/ the forest. When he went from the forest to the village, Indra, in the form of a man, went round him, and said : ' A traveller's legs are like blossoming branches, 412 brAhmanas. he himself grows and gathers the frait. All his wrongs vanish, destroyed by his exertion on the road. Travel!' Rohita thought, a Brahman has told me to travel, and thus he travelled a third year in the forest. When he went from the forest to the town, Indra, in the form of a man, went round him, and said : ^ The fortune of a man who sits, sits also] it rises, when he rises ; it sleeps, when he sleeps ; it moves well when he moves. Travel ! ' Rohita thought, a Brahman has told me to travel, and thus he travelled a fourth year in the forest. When he went from the forest to the town, Ihdra, in the form of a man, went round him, and said : ^ A man who sleeps is like the Kali age ^ ; a man who awakes is like the Dvllpara age ; a man who rises is like the Tretd, age ; a man who travels is like the Krita age. Travel ! ' Rohita thought, a Brahman has told me to travel, and thus he travelled a fifth year in the forest. When he went from the forest to the town, Indra, in the form of a man, went round him, and said : ' A traveller finds honey, a traveller finds sweet figs. Look at the happiness of the sun, who travel- ling never tires. Travel I ' Rohita thought, a Brahman has told me to travel^ and thus he travelled a sixth year. He met in the forest a starving Rishi, Ajigarta^ the son of SHyavasa. He had three sons, Sunahpuchhaj Sunahiephaj and SunoldngiUa. Rohita said to him : ^ Rishi, I give you a hundred cows, I ransom myself with one ' This is one of the earliest allusions to the four ages of the world. bbAumakas. 413 of these thy sons/ The father embraced the eldest BOD, and said : ^ Not him.' ^ Nor him,' said the mother, embracing the youngest. And the parents bargained to give Sunah6epha, the middle son. Rohita gave a hundred, took him, and went from the forest to the village. And he came to his father, and said: ^Father, Death! I ransom myself by him.' The father went to Varuna, and said : ^ I shall sacri- fice this man to you.' Varuna said, *Yes, for a Brahman is better than a Kshatriya.' And he told him to perform a R&jas&ya sacrifice. Hari^chandra took him to be the victim for the day, when the Soma is spent to the gods. Visvdmiira was his Hotri priest, Jamadagni his Adhvaryu priest, Vasiahtha^ the Brahman, AyAayOj the Udg&tri priest. When I§unah6epha had been pre pared, they found nobody to bind him to the sacri- ficial post. And Ajigarta, the son of S^yavasa said : ^ Give me another hundred, and I shall bind him.'^ They gave him another hundred, and he bound him. When he had been prepared and bound, when the Apii hymns had been sung, and he had been led round the fire, they found nobody to kill him. And Ajigarta, the son of S{lyavasa said : ^ Give me an- other hundred, and I shall kill him.' They gave him another hundred, and he came whetting his sword. Then jdunah6epha thought, ^ They will really kill me, as if I was not a man.^ Death ! I shall pray ' Langloifl^ in his translation of the Harivani^ (i. 124.), takes a different view of this circumstance. According to his translation 6anahitepha ''avait £t6 dans une antre existence nn des coursiers attel^B au char dn soleiK'' Langlois reads in the text Harida^va, which he takes as a name of the sun with green horses. * The commentator observes here, that although at a sacrifice men and wild beasts were bound to the post, jet both beasts 414 bbAhma^as. to the gods/ He went with a hymn to PrajdpaH (Lord of the World), the first of gods. Praj&pati said to him : ^ Agni (fire) is the nearest of gods, go to him/ He went with a hymn to Agni, and Agni said to him: ^ Savitri (the progenitor) rules all creatures, go to him.' He went with a hymn to Savitri, and Savitri said to him : ' Thou art bound for Varuna the king, go to him.' He went with a hymn to Varuna the king, and Yaruna said to him : ^ Agni is the mouth of the gods, the kindest god, praise him, and we shall set thee free.' Thus he praised Agni, and Agni said to him: 'Praise the Vifive Dev&h, and we shall set thee free.' Thus he praised the Vifive Dev&h, and they said to him: ^ Indra is the greatest, mightiest, strongest, and friendliest of the gods, praise him, and we shall set thee free.' Thus he praised Indra, and Indra was pleased, and gave him in his mind a golden car, which Sunahiepha acknowledged by another verse. Indra said to him ; * Praise the AivinaUj and we shall set thee free.' Thus he praised the Aiyinau, and they said to him : * Praise Ushas (dawn), and we shall set thee free.' Thus he praised Ushas with three verses. While each verse was delivered, his fetters were loosed, and Hari^chandra's beUy grew smaller, and when the last verse was said, his fetters were loosed, and Hari^chandra well again." This story is chiefly interesting as revealing to us three distinct elements in the early social life of India. These are represented by the royal or and men were set free immediately after the Par^gni-karanam (purification by fire, carried round), and only animaU like theep^ He, were killed. brAjimanas. 415 reigning family of the Ikshv&kuSy by their priests or ministers belonging to several famous Brah- manical races, and by a third class of men, living in the forests, such as Ajlgarta and his three sons. It is true that Ajigarta is called a Rishi, and one of his sons a Brahman.