Supreme Lord ever seeking the welfare of all, came unto those great Asuras and asked them to solicit the boon they desired.  Then the brothers Sunda and Upasunda, both of great prowess, beholding the Grandsire, rose from their seats and waited with joined palms.  And the brothers both said unto the God, ’O Grandsire, if thou hast been pleased with these our ascetic austerities, and art, O lord, propitious unto us, then let us have knowledge of all weapons and of all powers of illusion.  Let us be endued with great strength, and let us be able to assume any form at will.  And last of all, let us also be immortal.’  Hearing these words of theirs, Brahman said, ’Except the immortality you ask for, you shall be given all that you desire.  Solicit you some form of death by which you may still be equal unto the immortals.  And since you have undergone these severe ascetic austerities from desire of sovereignty alone I cannot confer on you the boon of immortality.  You have performed your ascetic penances even for the subjugation of the three worlds.  It is for this, O mighty Daityas, that I cannot grant you what you desire.’

“Narada continued, ’Hearing these words of Brahman, Sunda and Upasunda said, ’O Grandsire, let us have no fear then from any created thing, mobile or immobile, in the three worlds, except only from each other!’ The Grandsire then said, ’I grant you what you have asked for, even this your desire’.  And granting them this boon, the Grandsire made them desist from their asceticism, and returned to his own region.  Then the brothers, those mighty Daityas, having received those several boons became incapable of being slain by anybody in the universe.  They then returned to their own abode.  All their friends and relatives, beholding those Daityas of great intelligence, crowned with success in the matter of the boons they had obtained, became exceedingly glad.  And Sunda and Upasunda then cut off their matted locks and wore coronets on their heads.  Attired in costly robes and ornaments, they looked exceedingly handsome.  They caused the moon to rise over their city every night even out of his season.  And friends and relatives gave themselves up to joy and merriment with happy hearts.  Eat, feed, give, make merry, sing, drink—­these were the sounds heard everyday in every house.  And here and there arose loud uproars of hilarity mixed with clappings of hands which filled the whole city of the Daityas, who being capable of assuming any form at will, were engaged in every kind of amusement and sport and scarcely noticed the flight of time, even regarding a whole year as a single day.’”

SECTION CCXII

(Rajya-labha Parva continued)