OM!

I bow to Lord Narayana,

To Nara, the best of men,

And to Saraswati,

The Goddess of words and writing:

JAYA!

Victory!

1: A Mine of Jewels & Gems

Sauti the storyteller told this tale to his friend Saunaka in Naimisha Forest. Bending with humility, Sauti came wandering through the wood in the evening and saw before him the glowing fire that burnt by day and night to guard Saunaka's forest home.

Saunaka asked him, "Lotus-eyed Sauti, from where do you wander?"

Sauti answered, "From Hastinapura, from the snake sacrifice of the Kuku king Janemejaya. There I heard Vyasa's Mahabharata, that was first written down for the poet by the elephant god Ganesha."

"How was that?"

Sauti answered, "I will tell you what happened."