SHREE SHOOKDEO, the sage, said,--Raja! the wives of Kuns and his brothers' wives, having completed the necessary ablutions, returned in tears to the royal palace: and Shree Krishnù and Bulram, having come to Basoodeo and Dewukee, and knocked off their handcuffs and fetters, making obeisance, stood before them with joined hands. Whilst beholding the countenance of Krishnù, Basoodeo and Dewukee became possessed of knowledge, and had a firm belief in their minds, "That both brothers were deities; and that they had descended upon the earth to destroy evil spirits, and remove the burthens of the world." Whilst these thoughts were passing in the minds of Basoodeo and Dewukee, Huri, acquainted with the secrets of the heart, sent forth his delusive power, which deprived them both of understanding; and they looked upon them both again as their children. In the mean while, Shree Krishnù Chund said, with very great humility, "You have for a long time past suffered great afflictions, and have retained a constant recollection of us both. It has not been any fault of ours, because since you placed us under charge of Nund, at Gokool, we have been under the authority of others, and have had no power of our own. But this thought was constantly in our minds, that we had not contributed in any O lord of the earth! when Shree Krishnù Jee had thus given expression to his mental grief, Basoodeo and Dewukee embraced the two brothers with the greatest affection, and forgot all their former affliction in their present joy. Having thus made their parents happy, the two brothers went thence to Oogursen, and joining their hands said, "Grandfather! be pleased to assume the regal power: this is a favourable constellation and a propitious day for doing so." When the Raja Oogursen had heard these words of Huri, he rose up, and having come and thrown himself at the feet of Shree Krishnù Chund, began to say, "O lord of compassion! be pleased to listen to my humble petition; that, as you have destroyed the great sinner, Kuns, and all evil spirits, and thereby conferred happiness on your worshippers, you should yourself ascend the throne and rule over Muttra, and grant protection to your subjects." Krishnù replied,--"O great king! the members of the family of Judoo have not any right of inheritance to the kingly power, a circumstance which is universally known. When the Raja Jujat was in his old age, he called his son Judoo, and said to him, 'Give me your youth, and take my old age.' On hearing this, Judoo thought to himself, 'If I give my father my present youth, he, being young again, will have sexual connexion, the sin of which will fall on me: wherefore, it is better I should not do so.' Having thus reflected and considered, he said to his father, 'I cannot comply with your request.' On hearing these words, the Raja Jujat was Having narrated thus much, Shree Shookdeo, the sage, said, O incarnation of justice! Shree Krishnù Chund, the king of kings and the benefactor of his worshippers, knowing Oogursen to be one who offered devotion to him, having thus advised and seated him on the throne, made the marks of sovereignty on his forehead; and having raised the royal canopy over his head, both the brothers began to fan him. All the inhabitants of the city were highly delighted, and began to shout forth exclamations of joyful praise, and the gods to rain flowers. O great king! having thus seated Oogursen upon the throne, the brothers brought away with them many rich dresses and jewels, and went thence to On these words coming from Shree Krishnù's mouth, Nund Rae was very sad, and began to heave deep sighs; and the cowherds' children said to themselves, reflecting on what Krishnù had said, "This is a very strange speech he has made, we are inclined to infer from it, that he is about to deceive us, and go away, otherwise he would not have spoken so unkindly." O great king! after a short time, one of their companions, named Soodamù, said, "Brother Krishnù! what business have you now at Muttra, that you thus unfeelingly abandon your father? You have done well in destroying Kuns, and completing the work you came to accomplish. Unite now with Nund, and come and rule over Brindabun; be not eagerly desirous to reign here, you will not be so happy as Having proceeded thus far in his recitation, Shree Shookdeo, the sage, said to the Raja Pureechit,--O great king! when they had made many speeches to the above effect, ten or twenty of their companions remained with Shree Krishnù and Bulram; and they suggested to Nund Rae to go on, without any anxiety, with all others, and that they would come afterwards with Krishnù and Bulram. On hearing these words, the cowherds were in great agitation, as though they had been bitten by snakes; gazing on the face of Krishnù, and losing all resolution, they stood like pictures. Buldeo Jee, perceiving that Nund Rae was deeply grieved, said to him, "Father! why are you so sad? We will return in a few days, after having accomplished what we have to do here. We send you on in advance of us, because our mother must be much disquieted by being left alone; she will, in a measure, be restored to confidence by your going." Nund Jee replied, "Son! come once with us, and return after the interview." When Krishnù had thus explained to Nund, his confidence was restored, and joining his hands, he said, "Krishnù! if these are your sentiments, I have no power to gainsay them. I will depart, as I cannot refuse compliance with your expressed wishes." When Nund Jee had thus spoken, Huri permitted him and the cowherds and their children to depart to Brindabun; and the two brothers remained at Muttra with some of their companions. The cowherds, who accompanied Nund were all during the whole journey, perplexed with heavy thoughts, like gamblers, who have lost every thing. Some retained their senses, but others had lost them entirely; they fell down on the road, tripping over each other. Although going to Brindabun they continued looking towards Muttra; and were greatly distressed by the pain of separation. In this state, they managed, by some means or other, to arrive at Brindabun. Hearing of their arrival, the Ranee Jusodha came running forth in a state of great perturbation; and being greatly disquieted in mind, at not seeing Bulram and Krishnù, she said to Nund Jee, "Husband! where have you lost our sons, that you have only brought back dresses and jewels? Nund Jee was much grieved at these words, and replied, with downcast looks, "It is true Krishnù gave me these dresses and jewels; but I know not who brought them here. How shall I mention what Krishnù said to me? You will also be grieved, when you hear his words. He returned to me after having killed Kuns, and made use of most unkind expressions. They have become the sons of Basoodeo; and have gone away from us, after having completely gained our affections. When I was astonished at what they said, they talked of remuneration to us for bringing them up. Do not call Huri, Nund's son; look upon and worship him as a deity. I thought, that he was Narayun from the very first; but being under the power of delusion, regarded him as a son." O great king! when Nund Rae Jee had repeated truly all Shree Krishnù had said to him, Jusodha, being under the influence of delusion, at one time looked upon Krishnù as her son, and was sorrowful and disturbed in mind, and shed tears. At another time, recovering her reason, she regarded him as a deity; and meditating upon him, and celebrating with songs his excellent attributes, she dissipated the grief of her mind. And in this manner all the inhabitants of Bruj, both men and women, being deeply imbued with love for Huri, held various discourses regarding him, which I have not power to describe. When the family priest had thus spoken, Basoodeo sent an invitation into the city, and invited all Brahmins, and all descendants of Judoo. They came, and were received with the greatest respect, and offered seats. Basoodeo, first of all, having gone through all the ceremonies of initiation into caste, and caused their nativities to be written, presented to the Brahmins ten thousand cows with horns of gold, backs of copper, and feet of silver, dressed out in silken cloths, which cows he had made a vow to give at the birth of Krishnù. He afterwards caused festive rejoicings to be made, and having observed all the customs and ordinances of the Vedas, bestowed Brahminical threads on Bulram and Krishnù; and, having made presents to the two brothers, sent them forth to acquire knowledge. They departed and came to the house of a learned sage and great pundit, named Sandeepun, of the city of Awuntika, who was then residing at Benares, and possessed of great knowledge; and approaching him with an obeisance, and joined When Shree Krishnù and Bulram had thus spoken, Sandeepun, the sage, rose up, and engaged in thought and reflection returned home. He explained to his wife, "That the two children, Bulram and Krishnù, are immortal deities, and have descended upon the earth for the sake of their worshippers, and to remove the burthens of the world. I have discovered this secret by witnessing their sports; because they, who read continually in several successive births, cannot fathom the depths of sea-like knowledge, and behold they have, in this state of infancy, passed over this limitless and unfordable sea in a few days: they can accomplish whatever they wish in a single second." The sage added, "What boon shall we ask of them, wife?" On hearing these words, she thought for a short time and said "Go and ask them for our deceased son's corpse; they will bring it to us, if they possess the powers of Huri." On hearing these words, Shree Krishnù and Bulram, having made obeisance to their spiritual preceptor and his wife, and having ascended their ruth, went towards the sea for the purpose of bringing their son; and, having proceeded on their journey for some time, arrived on the shore. Seeing them approach in angry mood, the sea was alarmed, and assuming mortal shape came forth with many presents from her own element, and stood on the shore before them trembling, and greatly agitated with fear; placing her presents before them, and bowing her head, and making submissive salutations, she said with joined hands, and in a tone of supplication, "Great is my good fortune, that Krishnù has appeared to me, for what purpose have you come here?" Shree Krishnù Chund said, "My spiritual preceptor came here with his relatives to bathe; whose son you swept away with a wave; bring him here, and give him up to us. This is the purpose for which we have come." The sea replied, bowing her head, "I have not overwhelmed him with a wave. You are the spiritual guide of all, and lord of the universe, and are the deity under the form of Ramù. I have been very much afraid since this circumstance occurred, and have continued to live with a regard to the dignity of my character and my limits." Huri replied, "If you did not take him off, who else did so?" The sea said,
