sacred literature dealing with the history of the entire cosmos and wrongly supposed by modern critics both in India and abroad to be works on mythology) declare that the different species of living beings from celestials down to the tiniest insect took their common descent from the sage KaÜyapa through different mothers. Of them Kadrµu gave birth to the race of serpents, while VinatŒ brought forth the winged creation. Once there was a controversy between the two ladies about the colour of the tail of the celestial horse Uccai‹ÜravŒ. VinatŒ insisted that the horse was white in colour while Kadrµu maintained that it was dark. It was mutually agreed that the lady whose version proved untrue should serve the other as a handmaid for the rest of her life. When Kadrµu came to know that the horses were really white in colour, she managed to hoodwink the guileless VinatŒ by asking her sons (the cobra race) to cover the tail of Uccai‹ÜravŒ by their own dark forms and thus lending it a dark hue. VinatŒ was thus made to serve her co-wife for a number of years and suffered great persecution at her hands, till she was liberated by Garu˛a (VinatŒ’s powerful son and the celebrated vehicle of BhagavŒn Viƒ˜u). The story is told at length in the diparva of the MahŒbhŒrata. Hearing these unpleasant remarks, Kekaya’s daughter (Kaikey¶) shrivelled with fear and could not utter a word. Her body was wet with perspiration and shook like a plantain stalk. The humpback then bit her tongue (for fear lest the gloomy picture drawn by her might break Kaikey¶’s heart). Telling her one after another many a story of wiles MantharŒ comforted the queen and asked her to be of good cheer. At last the tide turned and Kaikey¶ conceived a fondness for mischief; she applauded a heron mistaking it for a swan. “Listen, O MantharŒ; what you say is quite true. My right eye ever throbs and I have an evil dream every night; but in my folly I did not tell you. I cannot help it, my friend; I am so guileless by nature. I cannot distinguish a friend from a foe.” (1—4)