Now having read thy mind by well-known signs, they have sent to
thy presence. I have come here to gratify my desire. Be thou quick, O
Agni, to encompass the object of thy desire, my sisters-in-law are
awaiting me. I must return soon."
"Markandeya continued, 'Then Agni, filled with great joy and delight,
married Swaha in the guise of Siva, and that lady joyfully cohabiting
with him, held the _semen virile_ in her hands. And then she thought
within herself that those who would observe her in that disguise in the
forest, would cast an unmerited slur upon the conduct of those Brahmana
ladies in connection with Agni. Therefore, to prevent this, she should
assume the disguise of a bird, and in that state she should more easily
get out of the forest.'
"Markandeya continued, 'Then assuming the disguise of a winged creature,
she went out of the forest and reached the White Mountain begirt with
clumps of heath and other plants and trees, and guarded by strange
seven-headed serpents with poison in their very looks, and abounding
with _Rakshasas_, male and female _Pisachas_, terrible spirits, and
various kinds of birds and animals. That excellent lady quickly
ascending a peak of those mountains, threw that _semen_ into a golden
lake. And then assuming successively the forms of the wives of the
high-souled seven _Rishis_, she continued to dally with Agni. But on
account of the great ascetic merit of Arundhati and her devotion to her
husband (Vasishtha), she was unable to assume her form.
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