Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c8.764

c8.764

The heat of the fire-pit woke him from his day-dream and Gāthi found himself in the pond where he had come to bathe. “What! Who am I? What all roles did I take just now?” These puzzling thoughts filled him and he went back to the āśrama and started life as usual. One day an old friend of his came to the āśrama and after the daily routine they lay down to sleep. During their conversation Gāthi asked his friend why he had become fleshless and so lean. Then his friend narrated a story exactly similar to the experiences which Gāthi had in the country of Kira. He added that to atone for the sin of his association with the Caṇḍālas he was conducting Prayāgasnāna (bath in Prayāga), Japa and Cāndrāyaṇamahāvrata. All those things he explained, made him lean.