Restraining his heart he considered it improper for him to be
thus agitated. And he said unto himself, "The wives of these great
Brahmanas are chaste and faithful and beyond the reach of other people's
desires. I am filled with desire to possess them. I cannot lawfully cast
my eyes upon them, nor ever touch them when they are not filled with
desire. I shall, therefore, gratify myself daily with only looking at
them by becoming their _Garhapatya_ (house-hold) fire."'
[31] According to the Hindus, the sun rises from and sets behind
two hills respectively. He rises from the _Udaya_ or Sun-rise
hill and sets behind the _Asta_ or sun-set hill.
[32] _Raudra_--belonging to Rudra, the god of fury, violence,
war, &c.
[33] _Devasena_ literally means the celestial army. This fable
seems to be an allegorical representation of the attempts made
by Indra to procure a leader for the celestial host.
"Markandeya continued, 'The _Adbhuta_ fire, thus transforming himself
into a house-hold one, was highly gratified with seeing those
gold-complexioned ladies and touching them with his flames. And
influenced by their charms he dwelt there for a long time, giving them
his heart and filled with an intense love for them. And baffled in all
his efforts to win the hearts of those Brahmana ladies, and his own
heart tortured by love, he repaired to a forest with the certain object
of destroying himself.
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