in their lands. Deer ate away the sprouting crops. Peacock and other birds ruined corn stalks. There was severe shortage of food for the people. They were terror- stricken. They supplicated to the king for instant redress '0 mighty monarch! Sofar we were not plagued by such tyranny, we feared no enemy-, we suffered no indebtedness; we hardly ever knew what was thirst and starvation. But the present condition is terrific. The seeds have dried up. The crops have failed and the streams have petered out. The menace bird and beast is unbearable" - they cried in agony. The king assured them of immediate relief and set out to hunt the wild animals. He pursues the quarry all day long and slew them. When he was pressing, forward in the. jungles, he suddenly came upon a sanctuary in which the wild animals were living together in peaceful abandon. The king went on and on and approached the precincts of a hermitage. Much to his surprise, he learnt that it was the hermitage of his family teacher, the sage Vasishta. The calmness of the place gave immense relief to the king, exhausted by the hunting exercise. He met his teacher and took his blessings. He told him of his errand and proceeded into the forest.