Brahmanas, cease to earn demerit by reading so faultily, and with the aid of thy understanding do thou read the Samans correctly.  O thou of wicked understanding, why dost thou perpetrate such sin that is destructive of sacrifice.—­Having said these words, the Rishi Varishtha, who was very wrathful, gave way to that passion and addressing me once more, said,—­Be thou an animal divested of intelligence, subject to grief, ever filled with fear, and a denizen of trackless forests destitute of both wind and water and abandoned by other animals.  Do thou thus pass ten thousand years with ten and eight hundred years in addition.  That forest in which thou shalt have to pass this period will be destitute of all holy trees and will, besides, be the haunt of Rurus and lions.  Verily, thou shalt have to become a cruel deer plunged in excess of grief.—­As soon as he had said these words, O son of Pritha, I immediately became transformed into a deer.  I then sought the protection of Maheswara.  The great Deity said unto me,—­Thou shalt be freed from disease of every kind, and besides immortality shall be thine.  Grief shall never afflict thee.  Thy friendship with Indra shall remain unchanged, and let the sacrifices of both Indra and thyself Increase.  The illustrious and puissant Mahadeva favours all creatures in this way.  He is always the great dispenser and ordainer in the matter of the happiness and sorrow of all living creatures.  That illustrious Deity is incapable of being comprehended in thought, word, or deed.  O son, O thou that are the best of warriors (through the grace of Mahadeva), there is none that is equal to me in learning.—­After this, Vasudeva, that foremost of all intelligent men, once more said,—­Mahadeva of golden eyes was gratified by me with my penances.  Gratified with me, O Yudhishthira, the illustrious Deity said unto me,—­Thou shalt, O Krishna, through my grace, become dearer to all persons than wealth which is coveted by all.  Thou shalt be invincible in battle.  Thy energy shall be equal to that of Fire.  Thousands of other boons Mahadeva gave unto me on that occasion.  In a former incarnation I adored Mahadeva on the Manimantha mountain for millions of years.  Gratified with me, the illustrious Deity said unto me these words:—­Blessed be thou, do thou solicit boons as thou wishest.  Bowing unto him with a bend of my head, I said these words,—­If the puissant Mahadeva has been gratified with me, then let my devotion to him be unchanged, O Isana!  Even this is the boon that I solicit.—­The great God said unto me,—­Be it so—­and disappeared there and then.’

“Jaigishavya said, ’O Yudhishthira, formerly in the city of Varanasi, the puissant Mahadeva searching me out, conferred upon me the eight attributes of sovereignty.’”

“Garga said,—­’O son of Pandu, gratified with me in consequence of mental sacrifice which I had performed, the great God bestowed upon me, on the banks of the sacred stream Saraswati, that wonderful science, viz., the knowledge of Time with its four and sixty branches.  He also, bestowed upon me, a thousand sons, all possessed of equal merit and fully conversant with the Vedas.  Through his grace, their periods of life as also that of mine have become extended to ten millions of years.’”