These are the duties of Indra; his
capacities are immense. Thou too art mighty; therefore great hero, do
thou become our Indra."
"'Sakra said, "O mighty being, do thou make us happy, by becoming our
lord. Excellent being, thou art worthy of the honour; therefore shall we
anoint thee this very day."
"'Skanda replied, "Do thou continue to rule the three worlds with
self-possession, and with thy heart bent on conquest. I shall remain thy
humble servant. I covet not thy sovereignty."
"'Sakra replied, "Thy prowess is unrivalled, O hero, do thou therefore
vanquish the enemies of the gods. People have been struck with wonder at
thy prowess. More specially as I have been bereft of my prowess, and
defeated by thee, now if I were to act as Indra, I should not command
the respect of all creatures, and they would be busy in bringing about
dissensions between us; and then, my lord, they would become the
partisans of one or other of us. And when they formed themselves into
two distinct factions, war as before would be the result of that
defection. And in that war, thou wouldst undoubtedly defeat me without
difficulty and thyself become the lord of all worlds."
"'Skanda replied, "Thou, O Sakra, art my sovereign, as also of the three
worlds; mayst thou be prosperous! Tell me if I can obey any commands of
thine."
"'Indra replied, "At thy bidding, O powerful being, I shall continue to
act as Indra. And if thou hast said this deliberately and in earnest,
then hear me how thou canst gratify thy desire of serving me.
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