Storia do Mogor 248.7

248.7

After the malediction, Rudra married the river Ganges, described by the Hindus as a very handsome woman ; but with her he was impotent, and had no children. He had to content himself with carrying her always on his head. But she was not satisfied, and without the knowledge of the god, her husband, she sought someone else, devoid of the defect of Rudra as above stated. Thus, in the course of several adventures, Vishnu delivered Rudra from the greatest peril he had yet undergone; for a giant, called Pasmevram (Bhasmasura) — that is, ' Lord of Ashes ' — after having done penance for several years in honour of Rudra, came to him one day to ask reward for so many hardships. Rudra conferred on him the power of reducing to ashes anyone on whose head he placed his hand. As the giant was eager to know if the gift were a veritable one, he wanted to test it upon Rudra himself. The latter became conscious of his mistake, and seeing himself in greater straits than ever before, he resorted to magic, and became invisible within a fruit. It was the size of a filbert or hazel.