THE SEVENTH BOOK Chapter IX On the story of Kākutstha and the origin of Māndhātā 1-11. Vyāsa said: O King! Once on a time, the time for Aṣṭaka Śraddhā (the funeral ceremony in honour of the departed) arrived. Seeing this, the King Ikṣāku ordered his son Vikukṣi: “O Child! Go immediately to the forest and bring carefully pure sanctified meat

THE SEVENTH BOOK Chapter X On the story of Satyavrata 1-11. Vyāsa said: O King! That King Māndhātā, true to his promise, conquered one after another the whole world and became the paramount sovereign of all the other emperors and got the title “Sārvabhauma” (Sovereign of all the earth). O King! What more to speak of Māndhātā's influence at that

THE SEVENTH BOOK Chapter XI On the story of Triśanku 1. Janamejaya said: “O Intelligent One! Did the prince Triśanku free himself afterwards of the curse inflicted on him by the Muni Vaṣiṣṭha.” 2-8. Vyāsa said: O King! Satyavrata, cursed by Vaṣiṣṭha, was transformed into a demoniacal state (Piśāchatva); but he became a great devotee of the Devī and passed

THE SEVENTH BOOK Chapter XII On the description of Vaṣiṣṭha’s curse on Triśanku 1-6. Vyāsa said: O King! Thus giving the advice to his son, the King Triśanku was excited with feelings of love and, in a choked voice, said to his father that he would fulfil what he had been ordered. The King then called the Brahmins, versed in

THE SEVENTH BOOK Chapter XIII On the coming of Viśvāmitra to Triśanku 1-3. Janamejaya said: “O Muni! I see that at the command of the King, the ministers installed Hariśchandra on the royal throne; but how Triśanku got rid of his Chāṇḍāla body, kindly say. Was it that he bathed in the holy waters of the Ganges and lived in

THE SEVENTH BOOK Chapter XIV On the going to Heavens of Triśanku and the commencement of Hariśchandra’s narrative 1-8. Vyāsa said: O King! Settling in his mind what to do, the great ascetic Viśvāmitra collected all the materials necessary for the sacrifice and invited all the Munis. Thus invited by Viśvāmitra, the Munis became informed all about the Sacrifice; but,

THE SEVENTH BOOK Chapter XV On the story of the King Hariśchandra 1-7. Vyāsa said: O King! When there was going on in the King’s palace, the grand festivities for the son’s birth ceremonies, Varuṇa Deva came there in the holy Brāhmin’s form: “Let welfare be on you.” Saying this, Varuṇa began to say: “O King! Know me to be

THE SEVENTH BOOK Chapter XVI On the story of Śunahśepha 1-4. Vyāsa said: O King! When Varuṇa went away, the King was very much laid down with that dropsy and daily his pains began to increase and he began to suffer extreme pains. O King! The prince, on the other hand, heard, in the forest, of the illness of his

THE SEVENTH BOOK Chapter XVII On the freeing of Śunahśepha and the curing of Hariśchandra 1-6. Vyāsa said: O King! When Viśvāmitra saw that the boy was crying very pitifully, he went to him with a merciful heart and said: “O Child! I am giving you the Varuṇa Mantra; recollect this within your mind and if you go on repeating