Within that wondrous forest, O King, flourished an abundance of trees and plants of every kind. There stood groves of pilu and dhataki, thick with ciribilva, tamarind, lodhra, and vidanga, their branches heavy with milky sap. Ashmantaka and kala trees grew alongside jambira and white kadamba, while bhallataka, indrayava, and valguja added their presence, each believed to bring success. There, too, blossomed nagakesara trees, their beautiful flowers filling the air with delight. Karamarda, kasamarda, arishtaka, varishtaka, and rudraksha grew nearby, as did vines of grapes, saptahva, and putrajivaka. The forest was rich with kankola, cloves, cinnamon, and the heavenly parijata, with creepers of long pepper and fragrant nagavalli winding through the undergrowth. Maricha vines and fresh jasmine flourished, and splendid pavilions of grapes and atimukta created shaded retreats. Trellises of trapusha and nartika bore beautiful fruits, while kushmanda and sometimes alabu climbed their supports. Chirbhita, patola, and karavella twined up their own trellises, and canopies of karkoṭaki and large-fruited eggplants spread wide. Among the thickets grew plants with thorns, radishes, and a variety of root vegetables—kahlaras, vidari, ruruṭa, and sweet-thorned plants. The ground shone with diverse medicinal herbs, radiant and potent, granting long life, fame, and strength. There were herbs to dispel old age, death, and fear, to remove hunger and bestow good fortune, and countless others besides. Cane creepers and kīcaka bamboo mingled with kāśa grass, its moon-like plumes waving, and thickets of reeds. Delightful kusa grass abounded, as did pleasing stands of sugarcane and rare, auspicious cotton plants. Clusters of charming bananas grew in regions that glowed like emerald, adorned with lush green turf. Flowers of irā, saffron, tagara, ativiṣa, māṃsī, granthika, and fragrant surāgada filled the air with their scents. Golden flowers and other terrestrial blossoms mingled with jambira, ground grasses, and lakes alive with parrots. Ginger grew beside ajamoda, kuberaka, and priyāla, while aquatic plants and many fragrant, multicolored creepers wove through the scene. Some flowers gleamed with the colors of the rising sun, shining like the radiance of the sun and moon, golden in hue, and reminiscent of the flax blossom. Leaves of every sort abounded—some like those of the śūka plant, others of many shapes and shades, adorned with five or more colors. Lotuses, pleasing to the eye, floated upon the water, with water lilies luminous as the moon. Blossoms shaped like tongues of fire and auspicious elephant-faced lotuses added to the marvel. Blue lotuses and kahlāra flowers grew alongside guñjā, ataka, and keseru plants; śṛṅgāṭaka reeds, mṛṇāla stalks, karaṭa fruits, and silver lotuses abounded. Roots, fruits, and especially flowers—both aquatic and terrestrial—were plentiful, and various nīvāra grains suitable for ascetics grew in abundance. In truth, O King, there was no grain, crop, vegetable, fruit, root, tuber, or flower that could not be found there. All divine produce from the realms of the nāgas, all that grows in the world of men, all that arises in marshes or forests—nothing was lacking in that place. Everything bore flowers and fruits perpetually, never fading, each according to its season. All this the lord of Madra beheld, blessed by the power of his austerity. He also saw birds of every form and color: peacocks, lotuses, the melodious kalaviṅkas, and cuckoos. Kādambaka birds, swans, koyaṣṭī, khañjarīṭa, kurara, kālakūṭa, khaṭvāṅga, and even hunters filled the air. Gokṣveḍaka, kumbha, dhārtarāṣṭra, śuka parrots, baka cranes, ghātuka, chakravāka ducks, kaṭuka, ṭiṭṭibha, and bhaṭa birds were all present. He beheld putrapriya, lohapṛṣṭha, gocarma, girivartaka, pigeons, kamala, sārikā, and jīvajīvika birds. Lāvaka, vartaka, vārtāka, raktavartma, prabhadraka, copper-crested, golden-crested, domestic fowl, and wooden fowl—all these he saw. There were kapiñjala, kalaviṅka, kuṅkuma-crested, bhṛṅgarāja, sīrapāda, bhūliṅga, and the new ḍiṇḍima birds as well. He witnessed flocks of mañjulītaka, dātyūha, bhāradvāja, caṣa, and many other delightful birds. Among the animals, he saw carnivores of every form, herds of deer and great deer, tigers, lions with flowing manes, leopards, śarabha beasts, and wolves. Bears, hyenas, monkeys with tails, hares, kādamba birds, cats, and swift creatures of every kind roamed freely. Mice, mongooses, jackals, lions delighting in trees, intoxicated elephants, buffaloes, wild oxen, bulls, camels, deer, gaur, and donkeys all dwelled there. Rams, sheep, dogs, blue-colored animals, mighty serpents, and fierce animal-mothers were also present. Boars with tusks, sarabhas, cranes, birds resembling kashambaras, fierce ones, those adorned with garlands, and those with black tails stood as guardians at the gateways. Tusked animals, rhinoceroses, boars, horses, mules, and donkeys—all these, O King of Madra, lived together in harmony, though by nature they are usually opposed. Seeing these creatures—who are ordinarily hostile—dwelling together peacefully in the forest, the king was filled with wonder. That sacred hermitage had once been the abode of the sage Atri. By Atri’s grace, the place shone with radiance, filled with all manner of beings, both immobile and mobile. Though by nature they might harm one another, here they lived in peace. In that place, even the carnivorous animals subsisted only on milk and fruits, for the great-souled Atri had created them thus by his extraordinary power.