form and shape, and capable of delighting the heart of every creature by
its splendour. Hearing, O bull of the Bharata race, of the merits of that
Sabha, I became, O king, desirous of beholding it. I then asked Aditya,
saying,--"O exalted one, I desire to behold the sacred Sabha of the
Grandsire. O lord of light, tell me, O exalted one, by what ascetic
penances, or by what acts, or by what charms or by what rites, I may be
enabled to behold that excellent sin-cleaning Sabha."--Hearing these words
of mine, Aditya the god of day, the deity of a thousand rays, answered me,
"O chief of the Bharata race, thus: Observe thou, with mind rapt in
meditation, the Brahma vow extending for a thousand years." Repairing then
to the breast of the Himavat, I commenced that great vow, and after I had
completed it the exalted and sinless deity Surya endued with great energy,
and knowing no fatigue, took me with him to the Sabha of the Grandsire. O
king, it is impossible to describe that Sabha, saying--it is such, for
within a moment it assumes a different form that language fails to paint.
O Bharata, it is impossible to indicate its dimensions or shape. I never
saw anything like it before. Ever contributing to the happiness of those
within it, its atmosphere is neither cold nor warm. Hunger and thirst or
any kind of uneasiness disappear as soon as one goeth thither. It seems to
be made up of brilliant gems of many kinds. It doth not seem to be
supported on columns, it knoweth no deterioration, being eternal. That
self effulgent mansion, by its numerous blazing, celestial indications of
unrivalled splendour, seems to surpass the moon, the sun and the fire in
splendour. Stationed in heaven, it blazes forth, censuring as it were the
maker of the day. In that mansion O king, the Supreme Deity, the Grand-
sire of all created things, having himself created everything by virtue of
his creative illusion, stayeth ever. And Daksha, Prachetas, Pulaha,
Marichi, the master Kasyapa, Bhrigu, Atri, and Vasistha and Gautama, and
also Angiras, and Pulastya, Kraut, Prahlada, and Kardama, these Prajapatis,
and Angirasa of the Atharvan Veda, the Valikhilyas, the Marichipas;