Lord Indra then appeared.

"Arise, Bharadwaja. Here I am!"

"God of Gods, at last you have appeared!"

Bharadwaja rose slowly and folded his hands.

Indra blessed him and said:

"Bharadwaja, you have been a staunch bachelor. You had observed penance like this even in your two previous lives. For the same purpose you have worn out your body now. If I give you one more life, how will you use your body?"

"0, God, even then I will remain a bachelor and wear out my body for the sake of knowledge!"

What a statement of devotion! This is indeed the path of knowledge – said Indra in appreciation. He drew Bharadwaja's attention, "Look here."

Bharadwaja saw before him three mountain-sized masses of radiance. From each of the three heaps Indra picked up a handful and placed them in Bharadwaja's hands. Immediately the three radiant objects melted in Bharadwaja's body and he felt a new vigor. Bharadwaja could not understand what was happening and asked: "Lord, what is this?"

Said Indra laughing: "Bharadwaja, can education be measured? Vedic knowledge is boundless. The three mounds you saw are the three Vedas. Your educational attainments during the last three lives are the three handfuls you have picked up. But it is not a little. Even with this, your radiance has exceeded the brilliance of the gods."

"God, if that is so, what should I do next?"

"Bharadwaja, attaining knowledge is not the sole purpose of existence; spreading that knowledge in the world is important too. That is what you have to do. Let the world attain bliss at your hands."