directions and lessons, and offered him their advice with alacrity. Thus am I ready to give thee some instruction, and communicate some precepts of wisdom to thee.” Therefore Rámachander inquired of Visvámiter: “As Saha dèv brought the full measure of wisdom from the body of his mother, and as his nature was endowed with such perfection, my prayer is, that you may favor me with an explicit account of him, and explain to me by what means he procured to himself the advice of the wise, and in what manner the Rakshasas imparted instruction to him.” Visvámiter replied: “O Rama chander, thy condition is as fortunate as that of Saha dèv; such was his dignity and excellence, that men, by listening to his tale, feel themselves emancipated, and are no more subject to be born again. O Ramachander, he too was impressed with the idea that in no condition this world is permanent, but that all that is seen changes every moment, and passes from one state to another. One guest arrives and comes into the world, another dies and goes out of the world; the one is agitated with distress, the other is quiet; the one exulting, the other overcome with grief; in short, whoever and whatever exists in this world is liable to change; there is not the least hope of firmness and steadiness, and nothing is worthy to bind our hearts. But that which is firm and steady, deserves that we attach our hearts to it, and that we perpetually are mindful of, and fix our thoughts and meditate upon it. Nothing however is firm and steady but the pure being of _Brahma_, that is to say, the supreme and true entity of God. Moreover, whoever directs his mind solely towards the divinity, will attain the knowledge of it, and render himself perfectly free from the desires of the heart, and from the pleasures of the body, which tend to swell and to fetter the soul. And like the bird _Pápîhá_,[458] which is fond of the water which falls from the cloud _Náisán_,[459] and does not taste of any other liquid from river or well, but thirsting only for drops from the cloud Náisan, is taken up with the search for them; thus Saha dév, having made himself independent and free from all desires and allurements, was always immersed in the contemplation of Brahma, and having dissolved his own being in the reality of God, he knew Brahma, and attained the state of absolute repose and quietness. When he thus became a master of excellence, and as perfect as other rakshasas, then he felt the desire of his heart accomplished, and with a mind more splendid than the moon of a fortnight, he passed through the troubles of life, according to the words of the prophet: ‘With a heavenly mind upon the carpet of eternity.’”