Note 10 — Chapter LXXIII

“When the god had said this, he disappeared, and by his favour I acquired all knowledge at once, and now I have come to this land of Kaśmíra. So come with us, king, to that seat of Śáriká, in order that I may conduct you to Pátála, to the maid that you love.” When the ascetic had said this to king Bhúnandana, the latter consented and went with him to that seat of Śáriká. There he bathed in the Vitastá, and worshipped Gaṇeśa, and honoured the goddess Śáriká, and performed the ceremony of averting evil spirits from all quarters by waving the hand round the head,10 and other ceremonies. And then the great ascetic, triumphing by the favour of the boon of Śiva, revealed the opening by scattering mustard-seeds in the prescribed manner, and the king entered with him and his pupils, and marched along the road to Pátála for five days and five nights.11 And on the sixth day they all crossed the Ganges of the lower regions, and they beheld a heavenly grove on a silver plain. It had splendid coral, camphor, sandal, and aloes trees, and was perfumed with the fragrance of large full-blown golden lotuses. And in the middle of it they saw a lofty temple of Śiva. It was of vast extent, adorned with stairs of jewels; its walls were of gold, it glittered with many pillars of precious stone; and the spacious translucent body of the edifice was built of blocks of the moon-gem.