The Sage and the Princess

On their pilgrimage the Pandavas came to a clear and lovely lake, and the sage Lomasha told them it was holy because of a wonder that had happened there long ago, when an aged sage was made young again by the physicians of the gods, all through the faithfulness of a single devoted wife.

"There was once a great sage named Chyavana, of the line of Bhrigu," said Lomasha, "who sat down in one place to perform penance, and sat so long, so still, and so deep in meditation that the world forgot he was there. Years passed over him, and then more years. Creepers grew up and twined about his motionless body; the dust gathered; and at last a great anthill rose around him and covered him entirely, so that nothing of the sage could be seen at all - nothing but his two eyes, glittering faintly through a gap in the mud like two small jewels. He had become, to all appearance, no more than a strange anthill in the forest, with two points of light shining within it."