mouths, Kaksha, Kuthimukha, Danti, and Vijaya of great ascetic merit, and the mighty white bull of Siva roaring deep, all wait in that mansion.  Besides these many other Rakshasas and Pisachas (devils) worship Kuvera in that assembly house.  The son of Pulastya (Kuvera) formerly used always to worship in all the modes and sit, with permission obtained, beside the god of gods, Siva, the creator of the three worlds, that supreme Deity surrounded by his attendants.  One day the exalted Bhava (Siva) made friendship with Kuvera.  From that time, O king, Mahadeva always sitteth on the mansion of his friend, the lord of treasures.  Those best of all jewels, those princes of all gems in the three worlds, viz., Sankha and Padma, in their personified forms, accompanied by all the jewels of the earth (also in their personified forms) worship Kuvera.”

“This delightful assembly house of Kuvera that I have seen, attached to the firmament and capable of moving along it, is such, O king.  Listen now to the Sabha I describe unto thee, belonging to Brahma the Grandsire.”

SECTION XI

“Narada said,—­Listen to me, O child, as I tell thee of the assembly house of the Grandsire, that house which none can describe, saying it is such.  In the Krita (golden) age of old, O king, the exalted deity Aditya (once) came down from heaven into the world of men.  Having seen before the assembly-house of Brahma the Self-created, Aditya was cheerfully wandering over the Earth in human form, desirous of beholding what could be seen here.  It was on that occasion, O son of Pandu, that the god of day spoke unto me, O bull of the Bharata race, of that celestial Sabha (assembly) of the Grandsire, immeasurable and immaterial and indescribable, as regards form and shape, and capable of delighting the heart of every creature by its splendour.  Hearing, O bull of the Bharata race, of the merits of that Sabha, I became, O king, desirous of beholding it.  I then asked Aditya, saying,—­O exalted one, I desire to behold the sacred Sabha of the Grandsire.  O lord of light, tell me, O exalted one, by what ascetic penances, or by what acts, or by what charms or by what rites, I may be enabled to behold that excellent sin-cleaning Sabha.”—­Hearing these words of mine, Aditya the god of day, the deity of a thousand rays, answered me, O chief of the Bharata race, thus:  Observe thou, with mind rapt in meditation, the Brahma vow extending for a thousand years.  Repairing then to the breast of the Himavat, I commenced that great vow, and after I had completed it the exalted and sinless deity Surya endued with great energy, and knowing no fatigue, took me with him to the Sabha of the Grandsire.  O king, it is impossible to describe that Sabha, saying—­it is such, for within a moment it assumes a different form that language fails to paint.  O Bharata, it is impossible to indicate its dimensions or shape.  I never saw