“Please do not perform this cruel act”, said Samyamana. “Please do not kill the birds.”

“Who am I to kill the birds?” asked Nishthuraka. “In all these creatures there is the divine soul and how can I be its killer? No man can ever boast of being the doer of any particular task. If he does, he falls victim to egotism and can never hope for liberation. The brahman alone is the doer.”

Nishthuraka now built a fire. He asked Samyamana to choose any one of the tongues of fire and put it out by splashing water on it. As soon as Samyamana tried to do this, the entire fire went out.

“The fire and its several tongues are one and the same,” said Nishthuraka. “How does one distinguish between the two? When you put out one of the tongues of fire, the entire fire went out. The creation all around us is identified with the brahman. The brahman does not suffer or get hurt, no matter what man might do to the individual soul (jivatman). Man must therefore go about his duties free from all self-consciousness or sense of ego. He must do his work, without obtaining any pride from the notion that he is the doer.”

Nishthuraka now bid farewell to Samyamana. A vimana (space vehicle) descended and took Nishthuraka straight up to heaven. As for Raivya and Vasu, their question had been answered and they returned to their respective homes.When he heard the story of Raivya and Vasu, Ashvashira found that his own doubts had been resolved. He handed over the kingdom to his son sthulashira and retired to a forest named Naimisha to meditate. He devoted himself to the worship of Narayana and eventually merged into Narayana.

Raivya also devoted himself to the performing of yajnas.