SOURCE OF THE PLOT
Tuese are the relevant extracts from the Aahd- bhdrata :
- “Between the Celestials and the Asuras! there
happened frequent encounters of yore for the sovereignty of the three worlds, with everything in them. The Gods, then, from desire of victory installed the son of Arigiras® as their priest to con- duct their sacrifices ; while their opponents in- stalled the learned Usana 5 as their priest for the same purpose. And between those two learned Brahmanas‘ there was always much boastful rivalry. Those Dinavas* assembled for en- counter that were slain by the Gods were all revived by Kavya,’ by aid of the power of his knowledge. And then, starting again into life, these fought with the Gods. “The Asuras also slew on the field of battle many of the Celestials, But the open-minded Brhaspati could not revive them, because he knew not the science called Saijtvani,’ which Kavya, endued with great energy, knew so well. And the Gods were,
1 Demons or Titans.
- One of the seven chief Rishis. Brhaspati was his son,
- Sukra. * Brahmins.
- Another name for the Daityas.
® Son of Kavi, ‘the Poet ® (Sukra). 7 ¢Life-giving.’
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