art thou bent on behaving insolently to this lady?  Know that I am the god who wields the thunderbolt.  Refrain thou from doing any violence to this lady.”  To him Kesin replied, “Do thou, O Sakra, leave her alone.  I desire to possess her.  Thinkest thou, O slayer of Paka, that thou shalt be able to return home with thy life?” With these words Kesin hurled his mace for slaying Indra.  Vasava cut it up in its course with his thunderbolt.  Then Kesin, furious with rage, hurled a huge mass of rock at him.  Beholding that, he of a hundred sacrifices rent it asunder with his thunderbolt, and it fell down upon the ground.  And Kesin himself was wounded by that falling mass of rock.  Thus sorely afflicted, he fled leaving the lady behind.  And when the Asura was gone, Indra said to that lady, “Who and whose wife art thou, O lady with a beautiful face, and what has brought thee here?"’”

SECTION CCXXIII

“’The lady replied, “I am a daughter of Prajapati (the lord of all creatures, Brahma) and my name is Devasena.  My sister Daityasena has ere this been ravished by Kesin.  We two sisters with our maids habitually used to come to these Manasa mountains for pleasures with the permission of Prajapati.  And the great Asura Kesin used daily to pay his court to us.  Daityasena, O conqueror of Paka, listened to him, but I did not.  Daityasena was, therefore, taken away by him, but, O illustrious one, thou hast rescued me with thy might.  And now, O lord of the celestials, I desire that thou shouldst select an invincible husband for me.”  To this Indra replied, “Thou art a cousin of mine, thy mother being a sister of my mother Dakshayani, and now I desire to hear thee relate thine own prowess.”  The lady replied, “O hero with long arms, I am Avala[30] (weak) but my husband must be powerful.  And by the potency of my father’s boon, he will be respected by gods and Asuras alike.”  Indra said, “O blameless creature, I wish to hear from thee, what sort of power thou wishest thy husband to possess.”  The lady replied, “That manly and famous and powerful being devoted to Brahma, who is able to conquer all the celestials, Asuras, Yakshas, Kinnaras, Uragas, Rakshasas, and the evil-minded Daityas and to subdue all the worlds with thee, shall be my husband."’

    [30] Avala is a common name of women.  It means one who has no
    vala or strength or power.  The word is also used as an
    adjective.

“Markandeya continued, ’On hearing her speech, Indra was grieved and deeply thought within himself, “There is no husband for this lady, answering to her own description.”  And that god adorned with sun-like effulgence, then perceived the Sun rising on the Udaya hill,[31] and the great Soma (Moon) gliding into the Sun.  It being the time of the new Moon, he of a hundred sacrifices, at the Raudra[32] moment, observed the gods