Rama Vijaya

46 Ramavijaya,

He covered His .face with His handkerchief and retired to His
•chamber. Marati rolled on the ground and burnt the beards
-and mustaches-of the demons and the hairs of the demon-
esses with his tail in flames. He burnt many of them to
/death, and in a short time one-third part of Lanka was
,on fire. After'burning Lanka -the monkey went to the
Asoka forest and assured Sita that her husband would
take her very soon. Thence he returned to Rama at the
•Painpa Sarovar with her ornament as a mark from her
.and a letter from Bramhadev to the prince stating what
-.the monkey had done in Lanka and that one-third of the
-country burnt by him had become gold. Earna and Lak-
,shuman were very glad to read the contents of the letter
;-and expressed 'their thanks to Maruti for'the trouble he
•had taken for -them. The .story of how Lanka had become
. gpld is as follows:—

" Two Brahmans, who were brothers,, always quarrel-
led about the dqkshana® they had got from their patrons.
Their father-became indignant at their conduct and cursed
them, saying that they would ;be animals, but that the
gpd, Krishna, would release them from the curse. One
jbrother was transformed into a nakr&\ and another into
> gajandra.^ The nakra lived .in water and th<}*
gapndra on a mountain,. One day the gajandra accident-
ally came to t]ie lake in which, the nakra lived; and whilst
.drinking the water, the latter dragged the former in. the
lake, A severe fighting took place between them. The
;nakra severely wounded ,the gajandra and was about to
kill him, when the latter prayed to Krishna . for help.
The god, listening to his prayer,, ro$e on ffaruda§ and
hastened .to the lake* Finding that his devotee, the
gajandra, was wounded by ,thie nakra, Krishna -killed the
crocodile and released him and the elephant from

* A present in hard cash, f A crocodile. J An elephant,
5.An eagle called Qaruda on. which Krishna$1 ways