Text 21
evam uktaḥ sa vai devān
abhivandya mahā-yaśāḥ
aśayiṣṭa guhā-viṣṭo
nidrayā deva-dattayā
evam — thus; uktaḥ — addressed; saḥ — he; vai — indeed; devān — the demigods; abhivandya — saluting; mahā — great; yaśāḥ — whose fame; aśayiṣṭa — he lay down; guhā-viṣṭaḥ — entering a cave; nidrayā — in sleep; deva — by the demigods; dattayā — given.
Addressed thus, King Mucukunda took his respectful leave of the demigods and went to a cave, where he lay down to enjoy the sleep they had granted him.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura gives the following lines from an alternate reading of this chapter. These lines are to be inserted between the two halves of this verse:
nidrām eva tato vavre
sa rājā śrama-karṣitaḥ
yaḥ kaścin mama nidrāyā
bhaṅgaṁ kuryād surottamāḥ
sa hi bhasmī-bhaved āśu
tathoktaś ca surais tadā
svāpaṁ yātaṁ yo madhye tu
bodhayet tvām acetanaḥ
sa tvayā dṛṣṭa-mātras tu
bhasmī-bhavatu tat-kṣaṇāt
“The King, exhausted by his labor, then chose sleep as his benediction. He further stated, ‘O best of the demigods, may whoever disturbs my sleep be immediately burned to ashes.’ The demigods replied, ‘So be it,’ and told him, ‘That insensitive person who wakes you in the middle of your sleep will immediately turn to ashes simply by your seeing him.’”