feather of mine whose end thou shalt not attain. Struck with thy thunder I have not felt the slightest pain.' And having said this, the king of birds cast a feather of his. And all creatures became exceedingly glad, beholding that excellent feather of Garuda so cast off by himself. And seeing that the feather was very beautiful, they said, 'Let this bird be called Suparna (having fair feathers). And Purandara of a thousand eyes, witnessing this wonderful incident, thought that bird to be some great being and addessed him thus."
"And Indra said,-'0 best of birds, I desire to know the limit of thy great strength! I also desire eternal friendship with theel"
So ends the thirty-tbird section in the Astika Parva of the Adi Parva.
SECTION XXXIV (Astika Parva continued)
Sauti continued. -"Garuda then said, 'O Purandara, let there be friendship between thee and me as thou desirest. My strength, know chou, is hard to bear. O tbou of a thousand sacrifices, the good never approve of speaking highly of their own strength, nor do they speak of their own merits. But being made a friend, and asked by thee, O friend, I will answer thee, although self.praise without reason is ever improper. I can bear, on a single feather of mine, O Sakra, this Earth, with her mountains and forests and with the waters of the ocean, and with thee also stationed thereon. Know thou, my strength is such that I can bear without fatigue even all the worlds put together, with their mobile and immobile objects.
Sauti continued, "O Saunaka, after Garuda of great courage had thus spoken, Indra the chief of gods, the wearer of the (celestial) crown, bent and ever bent upon the good of the worlds, replied, saying, -'It is as thou sayest. Everything is possible in thee. Accept now my sincere and hearty friendship. And if thou hast no concern with the Soma, return it to me. Those to wbom thou wouldst give it would always oppose us ! Garuda answered, -'There is a certain reason for which the Soma is being carried by me, I shall not give the Soma to any one for drink. But, thou of a thousand eyes, after I have placed it down, thou, O lord of the heavens, canst then, taking it up, instantly bring it away I'! Indra then said,-'O oviparous one, I am bigbly gratified with these words now spoken by thee! O best of all rangers of the skies, accept from me any boon that thou desiresti"
