Persuaded by the brahmins, the king, chief of charioteers, performed horse sacrifice, human sacrifice, the sacrifices of the ‘casting of the yoke-pin’, <j>the ‘royal soma drinking’, and the ‘unimpeded’. When he had carried out these sacrifices, he gave riches to the brahmins.

There were cattle, bedding, and clothes, and ladies in all their finery; chariots harnessed with thoroughbreds, well-made with bright canopies;

and lovely homes, nicely divided section by section. Having furnished them with different grains, he gave riches to the brahmins.

When they got hold of that wealth, they arranged to store it up. Falling under the sway of desire, their craving grew and grew. They compiled hymns to that end, approached King Okkāka once more and said,

‘Like water and earth, gold coin, riches, and grain, are cows for humankind, as they are essential for creatures. Sacrifice! For you have much treasure. Sacrifice! For you have much money.’

Persuaded by the brahmins, the king, chief of charioteers, had many hundred thousand cows slain at the sacrifice.

Neither with feet nor with horns do cows harm anyone at all. Cows meek as lambs supply buckets of milk. But taking them by the horns, the king slew them with a sword.

At that the gods and the ancestors, with Indra, the titans and monsters, roared out: ‘This is a crime against nature!’ as the sword fell on the cows.

There used to be three kinds of illness: greed, starvation, and old age. But due to the slaughter of cows, this grew to be ninety-eight.