A History of Sanskrit Literature c13.38

c13.38

‘Then, as he fared along, the son of the king of men delighted the heart of (the sage) of flaming hue and senses controlled, son of Dīrghatamas (Gotama) by releasing his spouse from her misfortune (of being reduced to a stone).’ In the case of the *Mahābhārata* we must read *tamaḥsu tasya*, and render: ‘Then, as he fared on ways where darkness long lingers (near the Ganges), the son of the king of men delighted the heart of (the Gandharva) Aṅgāravarṇa, whom he defeated, by releasing him at the prayer of his wife from peril of death.’ The commentator adds ingenuously that there is a variant of Aṅgāraparṇa in the *Bhārata* whence the tale alluded to is derived, and in that case suggests a different rendering for the term as applied to the *Rāmāyaṇa*.