As he was walking
back, Utanka came across a nude beggar.The beggar too walked along,but to his
utter dismay Utanka found that the beggar
vanished suddenly from his view.He reappeared after a moment. Utanka spotted
a lake by the side of the road, and decided to have a bath. He kept those pair
of ear-rings on the ground and went for the water.The beggar appeared suddenly
and ran away with the pair .Utanka chased him and overpowered the thief soon.
The beggar soon metamorphosed into Takshaka or the serpent and entered into a large hole that appeared
out of the blue in the earth. He proceeded to his own abode, the region of the
serpents. Utanka tried to dig in the hole to get hold of the serpent. But he
was unable to make much progress. Indra took pity on him and sent
Vajra-thunderbolt to his assistance. Thunderbolt struck and the hole was
enlarged.Utanka entered through the hole and reached the land of the serpents
or the Nagaloka underneath the surface of the earth.
Oh! What a glorious place it was!Hundreds of palaces,
elegant mansions and entertainment parks were strewn all around. Utanka tried
to appease the serpents with glorifying verses to get the ring back. But his
efforts went futile. He took a closer look around. He beheld two women weaving
a piece of cloth on a loom with black and white coloured threads. Simultaneously
he witnessed a wheel with twelve spokes,turned by six boys.There was also a
handsome man with a horse. Utanka eulogized everything that he saw for he was
desparate to get back the ring. The man was pleased with his veneration. He
asked Utanka,’’My dear child, how can I help you’’? He answered,’’I want to bring the serpents
under my control.’’The man asked Utanka to blow into that horse.And as he did
there emanated terrible fire and smoke from every aperture of the beast’s body.
The flames consumed every cranny of the Nagaloka. Terrified,Takshaka hastily
came out of his abode with those earrings in his hand.He immediately handed
them over to Utanka.
But Utanka was anxious to reach the hermitage of his guru
soon. It was the auspicious day when his preceptress was supposed to attend the
ceremony where she wished to deck herself with those rings.The man with the
horse sensed his anxiety.He said,’’Ride this horse,Utanka,and he will take you
wherever you desire within a moment.’’
Veda’s wife,that is Utanka’s preceptress was getting ready
for the ceremony.She was about to curse Utanka as the boy wasn’t still able to
reach there.At that moment he arrived and handed her over those rings. She was
extremely pleased and blessed him with her heart.
Utanka then met his
master and narrated him the happenings.The guru said,’’The ladies that you had met
in Nagaloka were Dhata and Vidhata, the
black and white threads denote night and day,the twelve spokes of the
wheel signify the twelve months and the six boys the six seasons of the year.The handsome man
that you had met was Indra and the horse Agni.The bull that you had encountered
on your way was Airavat and the man surmounting the bull was Indra himself.The
excreta that you had consumed was Amrita.It was because of this Amrita you
could avert death in the terrifying crevices of the Nagaloka.Indra my friend has kept an eye on you throughout
your journey.’’’’My dearest,’’ Veda continued,’’I grant you leave now.Please
depart to your own abode.’’
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