And in
due time that beauteous maiden, by the grace of deity, brought forth a
son resembling a very god. And even like his father, the child was
equipped in a coat of mail, and decked with brilliant ear-rings. And he
was possessed of leonine eyes and shoulders like those of a bull. And no
sooner was the beauteous girl delivered of a child, then she consulted
with her nurse and placed the infant in a commodious and smooth box made
of wicker work and spread over with soft sheets and furnished with a
costly pillow. And its surface was laid over with wax, and it was
encased in a rich cover. And with tears in her eyes, she carried the
infant to the river Aswa, and consigned the basket to its waters. And
although she knew it to be improper for an unmarried girl to bear
offspring, yet from parental affection, O foremost of kings, she wept
piteously. Do thou listen to the words Kunti weepingly uttered, while
consigning the box to the waters of the river Aswa, 'O child, may good
betide thee at the hands of all that inhabit the land, the water, the
sky, and the celestial regions. May all thy paths be auspicious! May no
one obstruct thy way! And, O son, may all that come across thee have
their hearts divested of hostility towards thee: And may that lord of
waters, Varuna, protect thee in water! And may the deity that rangeth
the skies completely protect thee in the sky. And may, O son, that best
of those that impart heat, viz.
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