also adoreth there the Grandsire. Narayana himself, and the celestial
Rishis, and those Rishis called Valakhillyas, and all beings born of
females and all those not born of females, and whatever else is seen in
the three worlds--both mobile and immobile, were all seen by me there,
know O king. And eighty thousand Rishis with vital seed drawn up, and O
Pandu, fifty thousand Rishis having sons, were all seen by me there. And
all the dwellers in heaven repairing thither behold the Supreme Deity when
they please, and worshipping him with a bow of their head return whence
they came. And, O king of men, the Grandsire of all created beings, the
Soul of the universe, the Self create Brahma of immeasurable intelligence
and glory, equally kind unto all creatures, honoureth as they deserve, and
gratifieth with sweet speech and gift of wealth and other enjoyable
articles, the gods, the Daityas, the Nagas, the Brahmanas, the Yakshas,
the Birds, the Kaleyas, the Gandharvas, the Apsaras, and all other exalted
beings that came to him as his guests. And that delicious Sabha, O child,
is always crowded with persons coming and going. Filled with every kind of
energy, and worshipped by Brahmarshis, that celestial Sabha blazes forth
with the graceful possessions of Brahma and looks extremely handsome, O
tiger among kings as this Sabha of yours is unrivalled in the world of men,
so is that Sabha of Brahma, seen by me unrivalled in all the worlds. I
have seen these Sabhas, O Bharata, in regions of the celestials. This thy
Sabha is unquestionably the foremost in the world of men!'


SECTION XII

"Yudhishthira said,--'O thou foremost of eloquent men, as thou hast
described the different Sabhas unto me, it appeareth that almost all the
monarchs of the earth are to be found in the Sabha of Yama. And, O master,
almost all the Nagas, and principal Daityas, and rivers, and oceans, are