STORY OF THE WONDERFUL CARCASS. Argument:--Description of a carcass falling from above, and covering the whole surface of the Earth. Vipaschit said:--I saw another great wonder, in some part of some other world, which I will now rehearse unto you; it was a horrible sight that attends on sin, and which I had to see by my blind attachment to ignorance. 2. There is somewhere amidst the vast vacuum, a wonderfully bright sphere, which is quite impassable by you; it is situated in a vacuity like this of ours, and so different from it, as a city in dream differs from one in sight. (Because the romantic view of the vision is not realizable to ocular sight). 3. As I saw rambling in that sphere, in search of the object that I have in my heart, and looking to all sides of the void; I saw a huge and unmoving shadow, like that of a body of locusts spread over the earth. 4. I saw astonished at the sight, and cast my eyes on all sides to see what it was; I came to find the mountainous form of a man, falling fast from the sky; and hurling down like a whirlpool upon the earth. 5. Who can be this person? said I, is it the lord Virát with his mountainous body, or a mountain falling from the clouds? It fills the sky and the whole space of heaven, and hides the light of the day under its all developing shadow? 6. As I saw pondering in me what might this portent mean; (as whether it was the figure of Virát or the form of Brahmá himself); I saw soon after, the bulky body of the sun falling down from heaven, it seemed to be hurled down by the hurricane of desolation and dashing with a hideous crash against the backbone or great belt of the mundane egg of Brahmá. 7. Soon as this hideous and prodigious body, fell down upon the earth, it filled its whole surface, and covered the face of the seven continents and oceans. 8. I dreaded my imminent destruction, together with that of whole earth under its blow; and determined to enter into the ever burning fire by my side. 9. Then the lord fire--the source of vedas, and my adored divinity in a hundred repeated births, appeared manifest before me in his cooling moon-like form, and said, fear not, no evil will betide thee. 10. I then addressed the god, saying: be victorious, O my lord and adored one in repeated births; save me from this untimely desolation, which is now impending on all. 11. Thus invoked by me, the god responded again saying the same words: “Fear thou not, but rise, O sinless one, and follow me to my region of the empyrean”. 12. Saying so, he made me sit on the back of his parrot, and flew with me up to heaven; by burning athwart a part of the falling body. 13. Getting to the upper sky, I found the body as if it were made of wood, and it was this which struck so much terror below, as it is attended with the falling of a portent--a comet or meteor from above.