{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_11738/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_11738","id":"gutenberg_11738","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11738","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Adventure","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Sanskrit literature -- Translations into English","Tales -- India"],"text":"HINDOO TALES\n\n_OR, THE ADVENTURES OF TEN PRINCES_\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFREELY TRANSLATED FROM THE SANSCRIT OF THE DASAKUMARACHARITAM\n\nBY P. W. JACOB\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTRAHAN & CO. 56 LUDGATE HILL, LONDON\n\n1873\n\n\n\n\nTRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.\n\nThe Sanscrit work entitled \"Dasakumaracharitam, or the Adventures of\nTen Princes,\" though printed more than twenty-five years ago, has not,\nas far as I can ascertain, been translated into any European language.\nMany parts of it are written in such a turgid \"Oriental\" style, that a\nclose translation would be quite unsuitable to the English reader.\nSuch passages have therefore been much condensed; others, which are\nhardly decent--or, as in the speech of the parasite in the last story,\ntedious and uninteresting, have been omitted; but in general the\noriginal has been pretty closely adhered to, and nothing has been\nadded to it.\n\nThe exact date of the composition of the \"Dasakumaracharitam\" is not\nknown. It is supposed to have been written about the end of the\neleventh century, and was left unfinished by the author; but as the\nstory of the last narrator is almost finished, not much could have\nbeen wanting to complete the work, and the reader may easily imagine\nwhat the conclusion would have been.\n\nSome of the incidents correspond with those of the \"Arabian Nights,\"\nbut the stories on the whole are quite different from anything found\nthere, and give a lively picture of Hindoo manners and morals.\nUnscrupulous deception, ready invention, extreme credulity and\nsuperstition, and disregard of human life, are strongly illustrated.\n\nThe belief in the power of penance, which was supposed to confer on\nthe person practising it not merely personal sanctity, but even great\nsupernatural powers, was very generally entertained among the Hindoos,\nand is often alluded to here; as is also transmigration, or the birth\nof the soul after death in a new body, human or brute. Sufferings or\nmisfortunes are attributed to sins committed in a former existence,\nand in more than one story two persons are supposed to recollect\nhaving many years before lived together as husband and wife.\n\nMuch use also is made of the agency of supernatural beings; for\nbesides numerous gods, the Hindoos believe, or at least believed, in\nthe existence of innumerable beings, in some degree immortal, but\nliable to be killed even by men, swarming in the air, generally\ninvisible, but sometimes assuming a human or a more terrible form;\noccasionally beneficent, but more commonly injurious to human beings.\n\nAt the time when the original work was written, India appears to have\nbeen divided into a large number of small kingdoms or principalities,\nthe rulers of which are here termed \"R\u00e2ja,\" a word almost adopted into\nour language, but which. I have rendered by the equivalent and more\nfamiliar term \"King.\"\n\nThe numerous uncouth names, which cannot well be shortened or\ntranslated, will, it is feared, cause some annoyance to the reader. As\nmany as possible have been omitted, and of those which occur a list is\ngiven in the Appendix, together with a few terms which seemed to\nrequire explanation. This will save the reader the trouble of,\nreferring, when a name recurs, to the place where it is first\nmentioned in order to find out to whom it belongs.\n\nThe Appendix also contains a few pages of a very close literal\ntranslation, which will enable the reader to form some idea of the\nnature and style of the original, and to see how far it has been\ndeparted from in the preceding pages.\n\nP. W. J.\n\nGUILDFORD, _December_, 1872.\n\n\n\n\nPRONUNCIATION OF PROPER NAMES.\n\nThe vowel _\u00e2_, is always to be pronounced as in father.\n\nThe vowel _a_, as in America, or as u in dull, i in bird, &c.\n\nThe vowel _e_, always as a in cake.\n\nThe vowel _\u00ed_, as e in cede, or ee in reed.\n\nThe vowel _i_, as in pin.\n\nThe vowel _\u00fa_, as in flute.\n\nThe vowel _u_, as in bull.\n\nPati is therefore pronounced putty, &c.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\nTRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.\n\nADVENTURES OF SOMADATTA.\n\nADVENTURES OF PUSHPODBHAVA.\n\nMARRIAGE OF AVANTISUNDARI.\n\nFURTHER ADVENTURES OF R\u00c2JAV\u00c2HANA.\n\nADVENTURES OF APAH\u00c2RAVARMA.\n\nADVENTURES OF UPAH\u00c2RAVARMA.\n\nADVENTURES OF ARTHAP\u00c2LA.\n\nADVENTURES OF PRAMATI.\n\nADVENTURES OF MITRAGUPTA.\n\nADVENTURES OF MANTRAGUPTA.\n\nADVENTURES OF VISRUTA.\n\nLITERAL TRANSLATIONS.\n\nPROPER NAMES OCCURRING IN THE TALES.\n\n\n\n\nThere was formerly, in the most fertile part of India, a city called\nPushpapuri, the capital of Magadha, magnificent as a mine of jewels,\nabounding in every kind of wealth, surpassing all other cities in\nsplendour and prosperity.\n\nThe sovereign of this city and country was R\u00e2jahansa, whose armies\nwere formidable with countless elephants and horses, whose glory was\nunsullied as the moon in a cloudless sky, or the plumage of the swan,\nand whose fame was sung even by celestial minstrels. Though a terror\nto his enemies, he was beloved by all his subjects, and especially by\nthe learned and pious brahmans, who were continually employed in\nprayers and sacrifices to the gods, for the welfare of the king and\nhis people.\n\nThe queen Vasumati was worthy of such a husband. She was of high birth\nand of a sweet temper, and so great was her beauty that it seemed as\nif the god of love had formed her for his own special delight, by\nuniting in her single person everything that is most beautiful in the\nworld.\n\nAmong the king's counsellors were three appointed to the highest\noffices of state, men of great probity and intelligence, who had been\nlong in his father's service and enjoyed his entire confidence. Their\nnames were, Dharmap\u00e2la, Padmodbhava, and Sitavarma.\n\nThe first of these had three sons, Sumantra, Sumittra, and K\u00e2map\u00e2la;\nthe second, two, Susruta and Ratnodbhava; and the last had also two,\nSumati and Satyavarma.\n\nOf these sons the last-mentioned renounced worldly cares and\nemployments, devoted himself to religious meditation, and leaving home\nas a pilgrim, travelled into many countries in order to visit the holy\nplaces which they contained.\n\nK\u00e2map\u00e2la was of an opposite character; he thought only of present\npleasure, frequented the company of gamblers and harlots, and roamed\nabout the world seeking amusement and dissipation.\n\nRatnodbhava became a merchant, and in the way of traffic made many\nlong journeys by land and sea. The other sons, after their fathers'\ndeath, succeeded to their offices, according to the custom of the\ncountry. When R\u00e2jahansa had reigned some years, war broke out between\nhim and the king of the adjoining country of M\u00e2lwa, the haughty and\nambitious M\u00e2nas\u00e2ra, whom he marched to encounter with a numerous army,\nmaking the earth tremble with the tread of his elephants, and\ndisturbing even the dwellers in the sky with the clang of kettledrums\nlouder than the roar of the stormy ocean.\n\nBoth armies were animated by equal rage, and terrible was the battle;\nthe ground where they met was first turned to dust by the wheels of\nthe chariots and the trampling of men and beasts, and then into mud\nthrough the streams of blood which flowed from the slain and wounded.\n\nAt last R\u00e2jahansa was victorious, the enemy was completely defeated,\ntheir king taken prisoner, and all M\u00e2lwa lay open to the conqueror.\nHe, however, having no wish to enlarge his dominions, released his\nprisoner on very easy terms, and returning to Pushpapuri, thought only\nof governing his own kingdom in peace, not expecting after such\ngenerous treatment any further trouble from his ambitious neighbour.\n\nThough prosperous and happy in every other respect, the King of\nMagadha had one great cause of sorrow and anxiety--he had no son to\nsucceed him. Therefore, at this time he made many prayers and\nofferings to N\u00e2r\u00e2yana the Creator of the World, who, having been thus\npropitiated, signified to the queen in a dream that she would bear a\nson; and not long afterwards her husband was gratified by the news of\nher pregnancy.\n\nWhen the proper time arrived the king celebrated the ceremony called\nSimanta[1] with great magnificence, and invited several of the\nneighbouring kings to be present on the occasion; among them was the\nKing of Mithila, with his queen, a great friend of Vasumati--to\ncongratulate whom she had accompanied her husband.\n\nOne day after this, when the king was sitting in council with his\nministers, he was informed that a certain venerable Yati was desirous\nto see him. On his admission the king perceived that he was one of his\nsecret emissaries; dismissing, therefore, the rest of the counsellors,\nhe withdrew to a private apartment, followed by one or two of his most\nconfidential ministers and the supposed Yati. He, bowing down to the\nground, said in answer to the king's inquiry, \"In order the better to\nperform your Majesty's commands, I have adopted this safe disguise,\nand have resided for some time in the capital of M\u00e2lwa, from whence I\nnow bring very important news. The haughty M\u00e2nas\u00e2ra, brooding over his\ndefeat, unmindful of your generous forbearance, and only anxious to\nwipe off his disgrace, has been for a long time endeavouring to\npropitiate with very severe penance the mighty Siva, whose temple is\nat Mah\u00e2k\u00e2la, and he has so far succeeded that the god has given him a\nmagic club, very destructive of life and conducive to victory.\"\n\n\"Through this weapon, and the favour of Siva, he now thinks himself a\nmatch for you. He has for some time been strengthening his army, and\nwill probably very soon invade this country. Your Majesty having\nreceived this information, will decide what ought to be done.\"\n\nOn hearing this report the ministers consulted together and said to\nthe king, \"This enemy is coming against us favoured by the gods, and\nyou cannot hope to resist him; we therefore advise that you should\navoid fighting, and retire with your family and treasure to a strong\nfortress.\"\n\nAlthough they urged this advice with many reasons, it was not\nacceptable to the king, who determined to march at the head of his\narmy against the invaders. When, however, the enemy had actually\nentered the country, the ministers succeeded in persuading their\nmaster to send away the queen and her attendants, and a part of the\ntreasure, to a strong fortress in the forest of Vindhya, guarded by\nveteran soldiers.\n\nPresently the two armies met, the battle raged furiously, and\nM\u00e2nas\u00e2ra, eagerly seeking out his former conqueror, at last\nencountered his chariot. Wielding the magic club, with one blow he\nslew the charioteer and caused the king to fall down senseless.\n\nThe horses being freed from control, suddenly turned round, dashed off\nat full speed from the field, and never stopped till, utterly\nexhausted, they had dragged the chariot with the still insensible king\nvery near to the fortress to which the queen had retreated.\n\nMeanwhile, some of the fugitives from the battle, having reached the\nfortress, told the queen what had happened, and she, overwhelmed by\ngrief at the death of her husband, determined not to survive him.\nPerceiving her purpose, the old brahmans and faithful counsellors, who\nhad accompanied her, endeavoured, to dissuade her, saying, \"O\nglorious lady, we have no certain information of the king's death:\nmoreover, learned astrologers have declared that the child to be born\nof you is destined to become a mighty sovereign, therefore do not act\nrashly or end so precious a life while the least hope remains.\"\n\nApparently influenced by these reasons, eloquently urged, the queen\nremained silent, and seemed to renounce her purpose, but at midnight,\nunable to sleep, and oppressed by intolerable grief, she rose up, and\nevading her sleeping attendants and the guards outside, went into the\nforest, and there, after many passionate lamentations and prayers that\nshe might rejoin her beloved husband, she formed a rope by twisting a\npart of her dress, and was preparing to hang herself with it from the\nbranch of a tree, very near to the place where the chariot was\nstanding concealed by the thick foliage.\n\nJust then the king, revived by the cool night wind, recovered\nconsciousness, and hearing his wife's voice, softly called her by\nname. She, hardly believing her senses for joy, cried out loudly for\nhelp, and soon brought to her assistance some of the attendants, who\ncarried him gently into the fort, where his wounds were dressed and\nfound not to be dangerous.\n\nAfter a short time, more of those who had escaped joined the king; and\nwhen he was sufficiently recovered, the charming Vasumati, instructed\nby the ministers, said to him, \"All your dominions are lost except\nthis fortress; but such is the power of fate; prosperity, like a\nbubble on the water, or a flash of lightning, appears and disappears\nin a moment. Former kings, R\u00e2machandra and others, at least as great\nas yourself, were deprived of their kingdoms, and suffered for a long\ntime the hardships of adversity; yet, through patience and\nperseverance and the will of fate, they were at last restored to all\ntheir former splendour. Do you therefore imitate them, and, laying\naside all anxiety, devote yourself to prayer and meditation.\"\n\nTo this advice the king gave ear, and went to consult a very\ncelebrated rishi, V\u00e2madeva, intending, under his directions, to engage\nin such penance as might lead to the accomplishment of his wishes.\n\nHaving been well received by the holy man, he said to him: \"O father,\nhaving heard of your great piety and wisdom, I have come hither for\nguidance and help in a great calamity. M\u00e2nas\u00e2ra, King of M\u00e2lwa, has\novercome me, and now holds the kingdom which ought to be mine. I will\nshrink from no penance which you shall advise, if by such means I may\nobtain the favour of the gods, and be restored to my former power.\"\n\nV\u00e2madeva, well acquainted with all past, present, and future events,\nthus answered him: \"O friend, there is no need of penance in your\ncase; only wait patiently; a son will certainly be born to you who\nwill crush all your enemies and restore your fortunes.\" Then a voice\nwas heard in the air, saying, \"This is true.\"\n\nThe king, fully believing the prophecy of the muni, thus miraculously\nconfirmed, returned to the forest, resolved to await patiently the\nfulfilment of the promise; and shortly afterwards the queen brought\nforth a son possessing all good marks,[2] to whom his father gave the\nname of R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana.\n\nAbout the same time also sons were born to his four ministers. They\nwere named severally Pramati, Mitragupta, Mantragupta, and Visruta,\nand were brought up together with the young prince.\n\nSome time after the birth of these children, a certain muni brought a\nvery beautiful boy to the king, and said: \"Having gone lately into the\nforest to collect kusa-grass[3] and fuel, I met a woman, evidently in\ngreat distress. When I questioned her, she wiped away her tears, and\ntold me, with a voice broken by sobs, that she was a servant of\nPrah\u00e2ravarma, King of Mithila--that he, with his family, had gone to\nPushpapuri, to be present at the Simanta festival of the queen, and\nhad stayed there some time after the departure of the other guests;\nthat at that time the King of M\u00e2lwa, furnished with a magic weapon,\nhad invaded the country; that in the battle which ensued, Prah\u00e2ravarma\nhad assisted his friend with the few soldiers who accompanied him, and\nhad been taken prisoner, but had been liberated by the conqueror; that\non his return he had been attacked in the forest by Bheels, and had\nrepulsed them with difficulty. 'I and my daughter,' she continued,\n'who had charge of the king's twin children, were separated from the\nrest in the confusion, and lost our way in the forest. There we\nsuddenly came upon a tiger. In my fright, I stumbled and fell, and\ndropped the child, which I was carrying, on the carcase of a cow with\nwhich the tiger had been engaged. At that moment an arrow struck and\nkilled the tiger. I fainted away, and when I recovered, I found myself\nquite alone; my daughter had disappeared, and the child, as I suppose,\nwas carried off by the Bheels, who shot the beast. After a time I was\nfound by a compassionate cowherd, who took care of me till my wounds\nwere healed; and I am now wandering about in the hope of finding the\nboy, and of hearing some tidings of my daughter and the other child.'\nAfter giving me this account, she went on her way again, and I,\ndistressed that the son of your majesty's friend should be in such\nhands, determined to set out in search of him.\n\n\"After some days I came to a small temple of Durg\u00e2, where a party of\nBheels were about to make the child an offering to the goddess, in\nthe hope of obtaining success through her favour; and they were then\ndeliberating in what manner they should kill him, whether by hanging\nhim on the branch of a tree and cutting him to pieces with swords, or\nby partly burying him in the ground and shooting at him with arrows,\nor by worrying him with young dogs.\n\n\"Then I went up to them very humbly, and said: 'O Kir\u00e2tas, I am an old\nbrahman; having lost my way in the forest, I laid down my child whom I\nwas carrying, while I went away for a moment to try to find an opening\nout of the dense thicket; when I came back he was gone. I have been\nsearching for him ever since; have you seen him?' 'Is this your\nchild?' said they. 'O yes!' I exclaimed. 'Take him, then,' they\nreplied; 'we respect a brahman.' Thus I got possession of the boy,\nand, blessing them for their kindness, took him away as quickly as\npossible, and have now brought him here, thinking he will be best\nunder your majesty's protection.\"\n\nThe king, though grieved at the calamity of his friend, rejoiced that\nthe child was saved from such a death; and giving him the name of\nUpah\u00e2ravarma, had him brought up as his own son.\n\nNot long after this, R\u00e2jahansa went to bathe at a holy place, and in\nreturning, as he passed by a group of Chand\u00e2las, he observed a woman\ncarrying a very beautiful boy. Being struck by the appearance of the\nchild, he said \"Where did you get this beautiful boy, who is like a\nking's son? Surely he is not your own child! pray tell me.\"\n\nShe answered: \"When the Bheels attacked and plundered the King of\nMithila near our village, this child was picked up and brought to me\nby my husband, and I have taken care of him ever since.\"\n\nThe king being convinced that this was the other child of his friend,\nthe King of Mithila, by fair words and gifts induced the woman to give\nhim up, and took him to the queen, giving him the name of\nApah\u00e2ravarma, and begging her to bring him up with her own son.\n\nSoon afterwards, a disciple of V\u00e2madeva brought a beautiful boy to the\nking, and said \"As I was returning from a pilgrimage to R\u00e2matirtha, I\nsaw an old woman carrying this child, and asked her how she came to be\nwandering there. In answer to my questions, she told me her story,\nsaying, 'I was the servant of a rich man, named K\u00e2lagupta, living in\nthe island of K\u00e2layavana, and I waited on his daughter Suvritta. One\nday a young merchant, named Ratnodbhava, son of a minister of the\nKing of Magadha, arrived in the island, and having become acquainted\nwith my master, he married his beautiful daughter.\n\n\"'After some time, he was desirous of visiting his family, and being\nunwilling to leave behind his young wife, who was then not far from\nchildbirth, he took her with him, and me as her nurse.\n\n\"'We embarked on board a ship, and had at first a favourable voyage;\nbut when approaching the land, we were overtaken by a storm, and a\ngreat wave broke over the ship, which went down almost immediately. I\nfound myself in the water near my young mistress, and managed to\nsupport her till we got hold of a plank, by means of which we at last\nreached the shore. Whether my master was saved or not I do not know,\nbut I fear that he perished with the rest of those on board, whom we\nnever saw again.\n\n\"'The coast where we landed appeared to be uninhabited, and the poor\nlady, being unable to walk far, after much suffering of mind and body,\ngave birth to this child under a tree in the forest. I have just left\nher, in the hope of finding some village where I may obtain\nassistance; and by her wish I have brought the child with me, since\nshe is incapable of taking care of it.'\n\n\"The woman had hardly finished speaking when a wild elephant, breaking\nthrough the bushes, came suddenly upon us, and she was so frightened\nthat she let the child fall, and ran away.\n\n\"I hid myself behind a tree, and saw the elephant take up the child\nwith his trunk, as if about to put it into its mouth. At that moment\nhe was attacked by a lion, and let the child fall. When the two beasts\nhad moved from the spot, I came from my hiding-place just in time to\nsee the child taken up by a monkey, who ran up a high tree. Presently\nthe beast let the child drop, and as it fell on a leafy branch, I took\nit up uninjured by the fall, or the other rough treatment which it had\nreceived.\n\n\"After searching for the woman some time in vain, I took the child to\nmy master, the great muni V\u00e2madeva, and I have now brought it to you\nby his command.\"\n\nThe king, astonished at the preservation of the child under such\nadverse circumstances, and hoping that Ratnodbhava might have escaped\nfrom the shipwreck, sent for Susruta to take charge of his brother's\nchild, to whom he gave the name of Pushpodbhava.\n\nSome days after this the queen went up to her husband with a child in\nher arms, and told him, when he expressed his surprise \"Last night I\nwas suddenly awakened from sleep and saw a beautiful lady standing\nbefore me, holding this child. She said to me: 'O queen, I am a\nYaksha, daughter of Manibhadra, and wife of K\u00e2map\u00e2la, the son of your\nhusband's late minister, Dharmap\u00e2la; by command of Kuvera, I have\nbrought this my child to you, that he may enter the service of your\nson, who is destined to become a mighty monarch.'\n\n\"I was too much astonished to ask her any question, and she, having\nlaid down the child near me, disappeared.\"\n\nThe king, greatly surprised, especially that K\u00e2map\u00e2la should have\nmarried a Yaksha, sent for the child's uncle, Sumittra, and committed\nthe boy to his care, giving him the name of Arthap\u00e2la.\n\nNot long after this another disciple of V\u00e2madeva brought a very\nbeautiful child to the king, and said: \"My lord, I have lately been on\na pilgrimage to several holy places, and on my way back, happening to\nbe on the bank of the river K\u00e2vari, I saw a woman carrying this child,\nand evidently in great distress. On being questioned by me, she wiped\naway her tears, and with difficulty told me her story, saying, 'O\nbrahman, Satyavarma, the youngest son of Sitavarma, a minister of the\nKing of Magadha, after travelling about a long time, visiting all holy\nplaces as a pilgrim, came to this country, and here married a\nBrahman's daughter, named K\u00e2li. Having no children by her, he took as\nhis second wife her sister Gaur\u00ed, and by her he had one son, this\nchild.\n\n\"'Then the first wife, envious of her sister, determined to destroy\nthe child; and having, with some false pretence, enticed me, when I\nwas carrying the child, to the bank of the river, she pushed us in. I\ncontrived to hold my charge with one hand, and to swim with the other\ntill I met with an uprooted tree carried down by the rapid current. To\nthis I clung, and after floating a long distance, was able at last to\nland at this place; but in getting away from the tree I disturbed a\nblack serpent which had taken refuge there, and having been bitten by\nit, I now feel that I am dying.' As she spoke, the poison began to\ntake greater effect, and she fell on the ground.\n\n\"After trying in vain the power of charms, I went to look for some\nherb which might serve as an antidote; but when I returned the poor\ncreature was dead.\n\n\"I was much perplexed at this occurrence, especially as she had not\ntold me the name of the village from which she came, nor could I\nconjecture how far off it might be, so that I was unable to take the\nchild to its father.\n\n\"Therefore, after collecting wood and burning the body, I have brought\nthe child to you, thinking that he will be best taken care of under\nyour protection.\"\n\nThe king, astonished that so many children should have been brought in\nsuch a wonderful manner, and distressed at not knowing where to find\nSatyavarma, gave the child the name of Somadatta, and committed him to\nthe care of his uncle, Sumati, who received him with great affection.\n\nThese nine boys, thus wonderfully collected together, became the\nassociates and play-fellows of the young prince, and were educated\ntogether with him.\n\nWhen they were all nearly seventeen, their education was regarded as\ncomplete, for they had not only been taught the vedas and the\ncommentaries on them, several languages, grammar, logic, philosophy,\n&c., but were well acquainted with poetry, plays, and all sorts of\ntales and stories; were accomplished in drawing and music, skilled in\ngames, sleight of hand and various tricks, and practised in the use of\nweapons. They were also bold riders and drivers of horses and\nelephants; and even clever thieves, able to steal without detection;\nso that R\u00e2jahansa was exceedingly delighted at seeing his son\nsurrounded by a band of such brave, active, clever companions and\nfaithful followers. One day about this time V\u00e2madeva came to visit\nthe king, by whom he was received with great respect and reverence.\nSeeing the prince perfect in beauty, strength, and accomplishments,\nand surrounded by such companions, he said to R\u00e2jahansa: \"Your wish\nfor a son has indeed been fully gratified, since you have one who is\nall that you could desire. It is now time for him to go out into the\nworld and prepare himself for the career of conquest to which he is\ndestined.\".\n\nThe king listened respectfully to the advice of the muni, and\ndetermined to be guided by it; having therefore given his son good\nadvice, he sent him forth at a propitious hour, to travel about in\nsearch of adventure, accompanied by his nine friends.\n\nAfter travelling for some days, they entered the forest of Vindhya,\nand when halting there for the night they saw a rough-looking man,\nhaving all the appearance of a Bheel, but wearing the sacred cord\nwhich is the characteristic of a brahman.\n\nThe prince, surprised at such an incongruity, asked him who he was,\nhow he came to be living in such a wild place, and how, with all the\nappearance of a forester, he was wearing the brahminical cord.\n\nThe man, seeming to be aware that his questioner was a person of\nimportance, answered respectfully, \"O prince, there are in this forest\ncertain nominal brahmans, who, having abandoned the study of the\nvedas, religious obligations, and family duties, are devoted to all\nsorts of sinful practices, and act as leaders of robber bands,\nassociating with their followers and living as they live.\n\n\"I, Matanga by name, am the son of one of these, and was brought up\nto be a robber like them. Since I have been grown up I have often\nassisted in plundering expeditions, when they would fall suddenly on\nsome defenceless village, and carry away not only all the property on\nwhich they could lay their hands, but several of the richest of the\ninhabitants, whom they would keep prisoners till a ransom had been\npaid, or till, compelled by torture, they confessed where their money\nwas concealed.\n\n\"On one of these occasions, when my companions were ill-treating a\nbrahman, I was seized by a sudden feeling of compassion and\nremonstrated with them. Finding words of no avail, I stood before him,\nand was killed by my own men while fighting on his behalf.\n\n\"After death I went down to the regions below, and was taken before\nYama, the judge of the dead, sitting on a great throne inlaid with\njewels.\n\n\"When the god saw me prostrate before him he called one of his\nattendants and said: 'The time for this man's death is not arrived,\nand moreover, he was killed in defending a brahman; therefore, after\nshowing him the tortures of the wicked, let him return to his former\nbody, in which he will in future lead a holy life.'\n\n\"By him I was shown some sinners tied to red-hot iron bars, some\nthrown into great tubs of boiling oil, some beaten with clubs, some\ncut to pieces with swords; after which my spirit re-entered the body,\nand I awoke to consciousness, lying alone, grievously wounded, in the\nforest.\n\n\"In this state I was found by some of my relations, who carried me\nhome and took care of me till my wounds were healed.\n\n\"Shortly after this I met with the brahman whom I had rescued, and he,\ngrateful for the service which I had rendered him, read to me some\nreligious books, and taught me the due performance of religious rites,\nespecially the proper way of worshipping Siva.\n\n\"When he considered me sufficiently instructed, he quitted me, giving\nme his blessing, and receiving many thanks from me for his kindness.\n\n\"Since then I have separated myself from all my former associates, and\nhave lived a life of penance and meditation in this forest,\nendeavouring to atone for my past sins, and especially seeking, to\npropitiate the mighty deity who has the half-moon for his crest; and\nnow, having told you my history, I have something to communicate\nwhich concerns you alone, and beg you to withdraw with me to hear it\nin private.\"\n\nThe two then went aside from the rest of the party, and the stranger\nsaid, \"O prince, last night, during sleep, Siva appeared to me and\naddressed me thus: 'Matanga, I am pleased with your devotions; they\nshall now have their reward. North of this place, on the bank of the\nriver which flows through the Dandaka forest, there is a remarkable\nrock, glittering with crystal and marked with the footsteps of Gaur\u00ed.\nGo thither; in the side of the rock you will see a yawning chasm,\nenter it and search till you find a copper plate with letters engraved\non it; follow the directions therein contained, and you will become\nKing of P\u00e2t\u00e2la. That you may know this not to be a mere dream, a\nking's son will come to this place to-morrow, and he will be your\ncompanion in the journey.'\n\n\"I have in consequence anxiously awaited your coming, and now entreat\nyou to go with me to the place pointed out in the vision.\"\n\nThe curiosity of the prince was much excited by Matanga's story, and\nhe readily promised to be his companion; fearing, however, that his\nfriends would be opposed to his purpose, he did not on his return tell\nthem anything of what he had heard, and at midnight, when they were\nall fast asleep, he slipped away without disturbing them, and went to\njoin Matanga, who was waiting for him at a place which had been agreed\non, and the two walked on till they came to the rock indicated by Siva\nin the vision.\n\nMeanwhile, the rest of the party, uneasy at the disappearance of the\nprince, sought for him all over the forest, and not finding him,\ndetermined to disperse, and continue the search in different\ncountries; and having arranged where to meet again, took leave of each\nother, and set out separately in different directions.\n\nMatanga, entirely believing the vision, and rendered still more\nconfident by the companionship of the prince, fearlessly entered the\ncavern, found the copper plate and read the words engraved on it.\nFollowing the directions therein contained, they went on in darkness,\ngroping their way through long passages, till at last they saw light\nbefore them and arrived at the subterranean country of P\u00e2t\u00e2la.\n\nAfter walking some distance further, they came to a small lake,\nsurrounded by trees, with a city in view.\n\nHere they stopped, and Matanga begging the prince to watch and guard\nagainst interruption, collected a quantity of wood and lighted a large\nfire, into which he threw himself with many charms and incantations,\nand presently came forth with a new body full of youth, beauty, and\nvigour, to the great astonishment of his companion.\n\nHardly was this change effected, when they saw coming towards them\nfrom the city a procession, headed by a beautiful young lady\nsplendidly dressed, and adorned with very costly jewels. Approaching\nMatanga, she made a low obeisance, and, without speaking, put a very\nprecious gem into his hand. Being questioned by him, she answered,\nwith tears in her eyes and in a soft musical voice, \"O excellent\nbrahman, I am the daughter of a chief of Asuras, and my name is\nKalind\u00ed; my father, the ruler of this subterranean world, was slain\nby Vishnu whom he had offended, and as he had no son, I was left his\nheir and successor, and suffered great distress and perplexity.\n\n\"Some time ago I consulted a very holy Siddha, who had compassion on\nme, and told me, 'After a time, a certain mortal, having a heavenly\nbody, will come down here from the upper world; he will become your\nhusband, and reign prosperously with you over all P\u00e2t\u00e2la'.\n\n\"Trusting to this prophecy, I have waited impatiently, longing for\nyour coming as a Ch\u00e2taka longs for rain, and am now come, with the\nconsent of my ministers and people, to offer you my hand and kingdom.\"\n\nMatanga, delighted at such a speedy fulfilment of the promise given in\nthe vision, gladly accepted her offer, and with the approbation of\nhis companion, was soon afterwards married to her amid great\nfestivity.\n\nR\u00e2jav\u00e2hana was treated with great respect and kindness by Matanga and\nhis bride; but after seeing all the wonders of the place, his\ncuriosity was satisfied, and he was desirous of returning to the upper\nworld.\n\nAt his departure, a magic jewel was given him by Kalind\u00ed, which had\nthe power of keeping off from the possessor of it hunger, thirst,\nfatigue, and other discomforts; and Matanga accompanied him for a part\nof the way. Walking through darkness as before, the prince at last\nreached the mouth of the cavern and came forth into the open air.\n\nHaving missed all his companions, he was uncertain where to direct his\nsteps, and wandered on till he came to a large park, outside a city,\nwhere a great concourse of people was assembled, and he there sat down\nto rest.\n\nAs he sat watching the various groups, he saw a young man enter the\npark, accompanied by a lady and followed by a numerous retinue, and\nthey both got into one of the swings placed there for the amusement of\nthe festal crowd.\n\nPresently the eye of the new-comer rested on the prince; with signs of\ngreat joy he jumped down, exclaiming, \"O what happiness! That is my\nlord R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana,\" and, running to him, bowed down to his feet, saying\n\"Great is my good fortune in meeting you again.\" R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana, affected\nby equal pleasure, warmly embraced him, saying, \"O my dear friend\nSomadatta, how happy I am to see you once more!\"\n\nThen they sat down together under a shady tree, and the prince\ninquired: \"What have you been doing all this time? Where have you\nbeen? Who is this lady? And how did you get all these attendants?\"\nSomadatta, thus questioned, began the recital of what he had done and\nseen.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\nADVENTURES OF SOMADATTA.\n\n\nMy lord, having great anxiety on your account, I wandered about in\nvarious countries. One day, when stooping to drink from a cool, clear\nstream, near a forest, I saw something bright under the water, and\nhaving taken it up, found it to be a ruby of very great value.\n\nExhausted by fatigue and the scorching heat of the sun, I went into a\nsmall temple to rest, and saw there a brahman with a number of\nchildren, all looking wretched and half-starved. He seemed to regard\nme as a possible benefactor, and when questioned, readily told me his\nstory; how his wife had died, leaving him with the care of all these\nchildren, and how, having no means of subsistence, he had wandered\nabout in the hope of obtaining some employment; but had got nothing\nbetter than the charge of this small temple, where the offerings were\nnot sufficient to support him and his family.\n\nI asked him--\"What is that camp which I see at some distance?\"\n\nHe answered--\"The Lord of L\u00e2ta, Mattak\u00e2la by name, hearing again and\nagain of the great beauty of V\u00e2malochana, daughter of V\u00edraketu,\nsovereign of this country, asked her in marriage, and was refused.\nBeing determined to obtain her, he raised an army and besieged P\u00e2tali,\nthe capital city. V\u00edraketu finding himself unable to resist the enemy,\npurchased peace by giving up his daughter, and Mattak\u00e2la, thinking\nthat the marriage can be celebrated with greater magnificence in his\nown country, has deferred it till his return. He is now on his way\nhome with a small part of his army, the rest having been dismissed;\nand he is staying at present near this forest to enjoy the pleasures\nof the chase. The princess is not with her intended husband, but under\nthe care of M\u00e2nap\u00e2la, one of her father's officers, who is said to be\nvery indignant at the surrender of the lady; you may see his camp at\nno great distance from the other.\"\n\nWhile thanking the poor man for his information, a thought came into\nmy mind--here is a very poor and deserving man, I will give him the\njewel which I have found; and I did so.\n\nHe received the gift with profuse thanks, and set out immediately to\ntry to dispose of it; while I lay down there to sleep.\n\nAfter a time I was awakened by a great clamour, and saw the brahman\ncoming towards me with his hands tied behind him, driven along, with\nblows of a whip and much abuse, by a party of soldiers.\n\nOn seeing me, he called out, \"There is the thief; that is the man who\ngave me the jewel.\"\n\nUpon this the soldiers let him go, and, seizing me, refused to listen\nto my remonstrances, or to my account of the manner in which I had\nfound the ruby. They dragged me along with them, and having put\nfetters on my feet, thrust me into a dungeon, saying, \"There are your\ncompanions,\" pointing at the same time to some other prisoners\nconfined in that place.\n\nWhen I recovered my senses--for I was half stunned by the violence\nwith which I had been pushed in--I said to my fellow-prisoners, \"Who\nare you, and what did the soldiers mean by calling you my companions?\nfor you are quite strangers to me.\"\n\nThose prisoners then told me the story of the King of L\u00e2ta, which I\nhad already heard from the brahman, and further said, \"We were sent by\nM\u00e2nap\u00e2la to assassinate that king, and broke into the place where we\nsupposed him to be. Not finding him, we were unwilling to come away\nempty-handed; we therefore carried off everything of value within our\nreach and made our escape to the forest. The next morning there was an\nactive pursuit, our hiding-place was discovered, we were all captured,\nand the stolen property taken from us, with the exception of one ruby\nof great value, which had disappeared. The king is exceedingly angry\nthat this cannot be found; our assertion that we have lost it is\ndisbelieved, and we are threatened with torture to-morrow, unless we\nsay where it is hidden.\"\n\nHaving heard the robbers' story, I was convinced that the ruby in\nquestion was the one which I had found and given to the brahman, and I\nnow understood why these men were supposed to be my accomplices.\n\nI told them who I was, how I had found the jewel, and had been\nunjustly arrested on account of it, and exhorted them to take courage\nand join me in an attempt to escape that night. To this they agreed,\nand at midnight we managed to overpower the jailors and knock off our\nfetters; and having armed ourselves with weapons which we found in the\nprison, we cut our way through the guards, and reached M\u00e2nap\u00e2la's camp\nin safety. The next day, men sent by the King of L\u00e2ta came to\nM\u00e2nap\u00e2la, and said--\"Some robbers, who were caught after breaking into\nthe king's dwelling, have made their escape, and are known to have\ncome here; give them up immediately, or it will be the worse for you.\"\n\nM\u00e2nap\u00e2la, who only wanted an excuse for a quarrel, having heard this\ninsulting message, his eyes red with anger, answered,--\"Who is the\nKing of L\u00e2ta, that I should bow down to him? What have I to do with\nthat low fellow? Begone!\"\n\nWhen the men returned to their master and told him the reception they\nhad met with, he was in a furious rage, and, disregarding the\nsmallness of the force which was with him, marched out at once to\nattack M\u00e2nap\u00e2la, who was quite prepared to meet him.\n\nWhen I entered the camp, after my escape, M\u00e2nap\u00e2la, who received from\nhis servants an exaggerated account of my coolness, dexterity, and\ncourage, had treated me with great honour, and now I offered my\nservices in the approaching fight. They were gladly accepted, and I\nwas furnished with an excellent chariot and horses guided by a skilful\ncharioteer, a strong coat of mail, a bow and two quivers full of\narrows, as well as with other weapons.\n\nThus equipped, I went forth to meet the enemy, and seeking out the\nleader, soon found myself near him. First confusing him with arrows\npoured upon him in rapid succession, I brought my chariot close to\nhis, and suddenly springing into it, cut off his head at a blow.\n\nSeeing the king fall, his soldiers were discouraged, and fled; the\ncamp was taken, much booty gained, and the princess led back, to her\nfather. He having received an account of the victory, and of my share\nin it, through a messenger sent from M\u00e2nap\u00e2la, came forth to meet us\nwhen we entered the city, and received me with great honour. After a\ntime, as I continued daily to increase in favour with him, he bestowed\non me the hand of his daughter, and declared me his successor.\n\nBeing thus arrived at the height of prosperity and happiness, I had\nbut one cause of sorrow--my absence from you. I am on my way to\nMah\u00e2k\u00e2la, to worship Siva there. I have stopped at this place, hoping,\nat a festival so much frequented, I might at least hear some tidings\nof you, and now the god has favoured his worshipper, and through this\nhappy meeting all my wishes are fulfilled.\n\nR\u00e2jav\u00e2hana, who delighted in valour, having heard Somadatta's story,\nwhile expressing his sorrow for his undeserved imprisonment,\ncongratulated him on the happy result of it, and told him his own\nadventures.\n\nHe had scarcely finished the relation of them when a third person came\nup, and the prince, warmly greeting him, exclaimed, \"O, Somadatta,\nhere is Pushpodbhava.\" Then there were mutual embracings and\nrejoicings, after which they all three sat down again, and R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana\nsaid: \"Somadatta has told me his adventures, but I know nothing of the\nrest of my friends. What did you do when you missed me that morning in\nthe forest?\" Then Pushpodbhava respectfully spoke as follows:--\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\nADVENTURES OF PUSHPODBHAVA.\n\n\nMy lord, your friends being convinced that you had gone on some\nexpedition with the brahman, and knowing nothing of the direction\nwhich you had taken, were greatly perplexed. At last we agreed to\nseparate, each going a different way, and I, like the rest, set out by\nmyself. One day, being unable to bear the heat of the noonday sun, I\nsat down in the shade of a tree at the bottom of a mountain. Happening\nto look up, I saw a man falling from the rock above, and he came to\nthe ground very near me.\n\nOn going up to him, I found that he was still alive, and having\nrevived him by throwing cold water over him, and by other means, I\nfound that he had no bone broken, and did not appear to have received\nany serious injury.\n\nWhen he was sufficiently recovered, I asked him who he was and how he\ncame to fall from the precipice. With tears in his eyes, and a feeble\nvoice, he said: \"My name is Ratnodbhava; I am the son of a minister of\nthe King of Magadha; travelling about as a merchant, I came, many\nyears ago, to the island of K\u00e2layavana. There I married a merchant's\ndaughter, and going with her by sea to visit my relations, was\novertaken by a violent storm, during which the ship sank, and I was\nthe only person saved.\n\n\"After reaching the shore, I wandered about for some time in a strange\ncountry, and, unable to bear my misery, was about to put an end to my\nlife, when I was stopped by a Siddha, who assured me that after\nsixteen years I should find my wife. Trusting to this promise, I have\nendured life through all these years; but the appointed time having\npassed without any sign of the fulfilment of the prophecy, I could\nhold out no longer, and threw myself from the top of this precipice.\"\n\nAt that moment the voice of a woman in distress was heard not far off,\nand saying to him whom I recognised as my father, \"Take courage, I\nhave good news for you; only wait a moment,\" I ran off in the\ndirection of the place whence the voice had proceeded, and soon came\nin sight of a large fire and two women near it, the one trying to\nthrow herself into the flames, the other struggling to prevent her.\nGoing to the help of the latter, I soon got the lady away, and\nbrought her and her companion to the place where my father was lying.\nI then said to the old woman, \"Pray tell me what all this means? How\ncame you to be in such a place, and why did the lady wish to destroy\nherself?\"\n\nWith a voice broken by sobs, she answered me: \"This lady, whose name\nis Suvritta, is the daughter of a merchant in the island of\nK\u00e2layavana, and the wife of Ratnodbhava. While crossing the sea with\nher husband, there was a great storm, the ship sank, and this lady and\nI, her nurse, were the only persons saved. A few days afterwards she\ngave birth to a son in the forest; but through my ill-fortune the\nchild was lost, having been seized by a wild elephant. Afterwards we\ntwo wandered about in great misery, and she would have put an end to\nher life had we not met with a holy man, who comforted her with the\nassurance that after sixteen years she would be reunited with her\nhusband and son. Relying on this prophecy, she consented to wait, and\nwe have spent all these years living near his hermitage; but the\nsixteen years were ended some time ago, and having lost all hope, she\nwas about to end her wretched life by throwing herself into a fire\nwhich she had made, when you so opportunely came to my assistance.\"\n\nHearing this story, my father was unable to speak from astonishment. I\nmade him known to my mother, and myself to both of them, to their very\ngreat joy; and my mother seemed as if she would never weary of kissing\nand embracing me.\n\nAfter a time, when we were all more composed, my father began to\ninquire about the king and his own relations, for during all these\nyears he had heard nothing of them. I told him everything--how the\nking had been defeated, and had been living in the forest; your birth,\nand the wonderful preservation of myself and my companions; how we had\nall set out together; how we had lost you, and how I was now searching\nfor you.\n\nAs soon as my father was able to walk, I placed him and my mother\nunder the care of a certain muni, not very far off, and set out again\non my travels. Just at this time I had heard that under the ruins of\nan ancient city, overgrown by trees, a great treasure was supposed to\nbe concealed; and as I possessed a magic ointment which, when applied\nto the eyes, enabled me to see through the ground, I determined to\ntry to dig it up. I therefore got together some strong young men with\nthe promise of good pay, went to the place, and succeeded in finding a\nlarge quantity of gold and silver coin. While I was thus engaged, a\ncaravan of merchants came to that neighbourhood, and halted there for\na day or two. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I purchased of\nthem sacks for holding the coin, and some strong oxen to carry them. I\nthen dismissed my men, well satisfied with their share, and joined the\ncaravan, where I soon made friends with the leader, the son of a\nmerchant at Oujein, to which place he was then going.\n\nOn our arrival at the city, he introduced me to his father,\nBandhup\u00e2la, by whose means I obtained permission from the King of\nM\u00e2lwa to reside there. When I had taken a house, safely deposited the\nmoney, and established my parents in it, I was anxious to set out\nagain in search of you.\n\nBandhup\u00e2la, seeing this, said to me: \"You have already spent much time\nin searching for your friend, and may spend much more in the same\nmanner to no purpose, if you have no clue to guide you. Now I am\nskilled in augury and the language of birds; it is probable that I may\nobtain some indications for you; wait, therefore, patiently for the\npresent. Meanwhile, my house is always open to you.\"\n\nTo this I agreed, and having great pleasure in his society, was much\nwith him, and soon had other attractions there, for I fell in love\nwith his beautiful daughter, B\u00e2lachandrika.\n\nThough I had not declared my passion, I was convinced, from her looks\nand from many things which I observed, that she was equally in love\nwith me, and therefore anxiously sought an opportunity of speaking to\nher in private.\n\nOne day, Bandhup\u00e2la, wishing to obtain information about you by\nlistening to the voices of birds, went with me into a park near the\ncity, and while he waited under the trees, hearing the birds, I walked\non, and had the good fortune to see my beloved alone, in another part\nof the park.\n\nAlthough she was evidently pleased at seeing me, and did not reject my\nsuit, I observed that she was distressed and dispirited, and inquired\nthe cause.\n\nShe told me, \"Some time ago the old king abdicated in favour of his\nson Darpas\u00e2ra, who is now gone on a pilgrimage to the Him\u00e2laya\nMountains, having first appointed as joint regents the two sons of his\nfather's sister, Charmavarma and D\u00e2ruvarma.\n\n\"The former of these two alone has the management of affairs; for the\nlatter, given up to evil deeds, makes use of his power only for the\nindulgence of his licentious passions.\n\n\"He has seen me during my attendance on the Princess Avantisundari,\nhas endeavoured to seduce me, and I am in constant fear of his\nviolence, for he hesitates at nothing in the indulgence of his wicked\ndesires.\"\n\nShe told me this reluctantly, and with much agitation; but I comforted\nher with the assurance of my love, and the promise of finding some\nmeans to free her from his annoyance.\n\nAfter some reflection, I said to her, \"This is the plan which I\npropose. Your friends must give out in public that a certain Siddha\nhas declared--'B\u00e2lachandrika is guarded by a demon, who will allow no\nman to have intercourse with her without his consent. Whoever,\ntherefore, wishes to marry her, must first pass one night in company\nwith her and one female friend, and if he comes out uninjured, or is\nable to overcome the demon, he may then safely marry her.'\n\n\"If D\u00e2ruvarma, on hearing this, shall be alarmed, and abstain from\nfurther annoyance, so much the better; if, on the other hand, he\npersists in his wicked purpose, do you appear to consent, and say, 'If\nyou think you can overcome the demon, I am willing to meet you, but it\nmust be openly, in your own house; and then, whatever happens, no\nblame can fall on my family.'\n\n\"To this proposal he will be sure to agree, and you may go to his\nhouse without fear, for I will accompany you, disguised as a woman,\nand will manage to kill that wretch, without danger to you or myself,\nafter which there will be no obstacle to our marriage; for, when I ask\nyour father, he will certainly consent, seeing the great love between\nus, for he has shown great regard for me, and knows my property and\nconnections. But you must tell him now what has been arranged between\nus, that he may be induced to spread abroad the report about the\ndemon, and to consent to your going to D\u00e2ruvarma's house.\"\n\nB\u00e2lachandrika was delighted with my plan, and promised to do her best\nto carry it out. She had full confidence in my courage and skill, and\nfelt sure that I should succeed in what I had undertaken. Then,\nreluctantly leaving me, and looking back again and again, she walked\nslowly home.\n\nAfter quitting her I returned to her father, who was well satisfied\nwith the result of his observations, and told me that he had\nascertained that after thirty days I should meet you; and we walked\ntogether to his house, talking over the matter.\n\nAfter a few days, B\u00e2lachandrika informed me that D\u00e2ruvarma, undeterred\nby the report which was now spread about the city, that she was\nhaunted by a demon, had continued his importunities, and that she had\nconsented to go to his house that evening.\n\nMeanwhile I had secretly made my preparations, and concealed in a\nlonely place everything required for my disguise. At the proper time,\nwhen it was quite dark, I went there, changed my dress, met the lady,\nand accompanied her to the house of the prince, who received us with\ngreat respect; and not having the slightest suspicion of my being\nother than what I seemed to be, sent away all his attendants, and\nconducted us to a room in a small detached building. There he seated\nher on a beautiful soft couch, inlaid with jewels, and expressing his\ngreat delight at seeing her, brought forth and offered to us both very\nhandsome presents of dresses, ornaments, perfumes, &c. After some\nconversation--as if no longer able to restrain himself--he sat down\nbeside her, and, regardless of my presence, threw his arms round her,\nand kissed her again and again.\n\nThis was more than I could bear; suddenly seizing him by the throat, I\nthrew him on the ground, and despatched him with blows of hand, foot,\nand knee, before he could call out or give an alarm.\n\nThen we both screamed out loudly, and I rushed forth, as if in a\ngreat fright, calling out, \"Help! help! the horrible demon is killing\nthe prince!\"\n\nHearing this, and seeing my apparent agitation, the attendants and\nguards hastened in great confusion to the room, where they found the\nprince dead, and the lady so agitated that she was unable to give an\naccount of what had happened; the demon had of course disappeared.\n\nSome police were in attendance, suspicious of fraud, but even they did\nnot imagine two women to be capable of such an act of violence, and\nthe general opinion was that the story of the demon was founded on\ntruth, and that the prince well deserved the fate he had met with.\nB\u00e2lachandrika was therefore suffered to leave: I had already escaped\nin the first alarm and confusion, had changed my dress, and reached\nhome in safety.\n\nNo further inquiry was made, and no suspicion fell on me; I duly\nmarried my beloved, and as no harm happened to me, the demon was\nsupposed to have been propitiated.\n\nThe day indicated by my wife's father having arrived, I came here,\nfully expecting to see you, and now my happiness is complete.\n\nWhen R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana had heard this story, he again related his own\nadventures; after which he took leave of Somadatta, saying, \"Come to\nme as soon as possible, when you have paid your devotions at Mah\u00e2k\u00e2la,\nand have taken your wife and her attendants home;\" and he then\naccompanied Pushpodbhava into the city of Avanti.\n\nThere he was hospitably received in the house of his friend, who\nintroduced him by his real name to Bandhup\u00e2la, but gave out in the\ncity that he was a young brahman, worthy of all honour for his\nlearning and ability; and the prince remained for some time in that\ncity, treated with great respect and consideration by all who became\nacquainted with him.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\nMARRIAGE OF AVANTISUNDARI.\n\n\nDuring the stay of R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana at Avanti, the season of spring arrived,\nwhen the great festival of K\u00e2ma is celebrated. The trees, breaking\ninto flower, were filled with the song of birds and the hum of bees,\nand their branches were waved by the soft south wind, blowing, loaded\nwith perfume, from the sandal groves of Malaya. The lakes and pools\nwere thickly covered with lotus blossoms, among which innumerable\nwater-birds were sporting, and the feelings of all were influenced by\nthe charms of the season, and prepared for the worship of the god of\nlove.\n\nOn the day of the festival, the parks and gardens were crowded with\npeople, some engaged in various sports, some walking about or sitting\nunder the trees, looking at the players.\n\nAmong them was the Princess Avantisundari, who was sitting on a sandy\nspot, under a large tree, attended by her women, especially by her\ndear friend B\u00e2lachandrika, and making offerings to the god of various\nperfumes and flowers.\n\nThe prince also walked in the park with his friend Pushpodbhava; and\nwishing to see the princess, of whose grace and beauty he had already\nheard, contrived to approach; and being encouraged by B\u00e2lachandrika\nwith a gesture of the hand, came and stood very near her.\n\nThen, indeed, having an opportunity of observing her, he was struck by\nher exceeding beauty. She seemed to him as if formed by the god of\nlove with everything most beautiful in the world; and, as he gazed, he\nfelt more and more entranced, till almost unconsciously he was deeply\nin love.\n\nShe, indeed, seeing him beautiful as K\u00e2ma himself, was almost equally\naffected, and, pervaded by strong feeling, trembled like the branch of\na creeping plant agitated by a gentle wind.\n\nThen he thought, \"Never have I seen anything so lovely. She must have\nbeen formed by some singular accident, for there is no one like her in\nthe world.\"\n\nShe, indeed, ashamed to look openly at him, and half concealing\nherself among her attendants, looked at him stealthily from time to\ntime, and while he had all his thoughts fixed on her, was saying to\nherself, \"Who can he be? Where does he come from? Happy the maidens\nwhose eyes are delighted with such beauty! happy the mother who has\nsuch a son! What can I do? how can I find out who he is?\"\n\nMeanwhile B\u00e2lachandrika, quick in discrimination, perceived the\nimpression they had made on each other; and not thinking it desirable\nto declare his name and rank before the other attendants, or in such a\npublic place, introduced him to the princess, saying, \"This is a very\nlearned and clever young brahman, a friend of my husband, worthy of\nyour notice. Allow me to recommend him to your favourable\nconsideration.\"\n\nThe princess, delighted at heart, but concealing her feelings,\nmotioned to the prince to sit down near her, and gave him betel,\nflowers, perfumes, &c., through one of her attendants.\n\nThen R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana, more deeply in love even than the princess, thought\nto himself, \"There surely must be some reason for this very sudden\nattraction which I feel towards her. She must have been my beloved\nwife in a former existence. Perhaps a curse was laid upon us; and now\nthat is removed. If so, the recognition ought to be mutual; at all\nevents I will try what I can do to produce the same feeling in her\nwhich exists in my mind.\"\n\nWhile he was considering how this might be accomplished, a swan\napproached the princess, as if expecting to be fed or caressed; and in\nsport, she desired B\u00e2lachandrika to catch it.\n\nInspired by this circumstance with a happy thought, R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana said to\nthe princess, \"Will you allow me to tell you a short story? There was\nformerly a king called Samba. When walking one day together with his\nbeloved wife at the side of a small lake in the pleasure-grounds, he\nsaw a swan asleep, just under the bank. Having caught it, he tied its\nlegs together, put it down again on the ground, and saying to his\nwife, 'This bird sits as quiet as a muni; let him go where he likes,'\namused himself with laughing at its awkward attempts to walk. Then the\nswan suddenly spoke: 'O king, though in the form of a swan, I am a\ndevout brahman; and since you have thus, without cause, ill-treated me\nwhile sitting quiet here, engaged in meditation, I lay my curse upon\nyou, and you shall endure the pain of separation from your beloved\nwife.'\n\n\"Hearing this, the king, alarmed and distressed, bowed respectfully to\nthe ground, and said, 'O mighty sage, forgive an act done through\nignorance.'\n\n\"Then that holy person, having his anger appeased, answered, 'My words\ncannot be made of no effect. I will, however, so far modify the curse\nthat it will not take place during your present existence; but in a\nfuture birth, when you are united to the same lady in another body,\nyou must endure the misery of separation from her for two months,\nthough you will afterwards enjoy very great happiness with her; and I\nwill also confer on you both the power of recognising each other in\nyour next existence,'--I beg of you therefore not to tie this bird\nwhich you were wishing to catch.\"\n\nThe princess, hearing this story, was quite ready to believe it; and\nfrom her own feelings was convinced that it really referred to a\nprevious existence of herself, now brought to her recollection; and\nthat the love which she felt springing up in her heart was directed\ntowards one who had formerly been her husband. With a sweet smile, she\nanswered: \"Doubtless Samba tied the bird in that way on purpose to\nobtain the power of recognition in another birth; and it was very\ncleverly managed by him.\"\n\nFrom that moment they seemed perfectly to understand each other, and\nsat without speaking, their hearts full of happiness.\n\nPresently the mother of the princess--the queen of the ex-king\nM\u00e2nas\u00e2ra, who had also come with her attendants into the park, joined\nher daughter; and B\u00e2lachandrika having seen her approaching, made a\nsign to the prince, upon which he and his friend slipped on one side,\nand hid themselves behind some leafy bushes.\n\nAfter the queen had stayed a short time talking to her daughter and\nlooking at the games, she set out to return, and the princess\naccompanied her.\n\nBefore going, she turned round, as if addressing the swan, but\nintending the speech for the prince, who was anxiously watching her\nfrom his hiding-place, \"Though you came near me so lovingly just now,\nI may not stay longer with you: I must leave you and follow my mother:\ndo not forget me or imagine that I neglect you, for I am still fond of\nyou.\"\n\nWith these words she walked slowly away, looking with longing eyes in\nthe direction of her lover.\n\nOn their return to the palace, the princess heard from B\u00e2lachandrika a\nfull account of R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana and his adventures, through which she was\neven more in love than before; and having no opportunity of seeing him\nagain, became listless and indifferent to her usual occupations, lost\nher appetite, wasted away, and at last lay on her bed, burning with\nfever.\n\nIn vain did her devoted attendants use all their efforts to diminish\nthe heat by means of cold water, fanning, and other remedies; and she,\nseeing their distress, said to her faithful B\u00e2lachandrika: \"Ah, dear\nfriend, all you can do is to no purpose; they call K\u00e2ma the god with\nfive arrows; but surely this is a wrong name, for I feel as if pierced\nby him with hundreds of arrows. They call the wind from Malaya\ncooling; but to me it only increases the fever, as if blowing up the\nfire which consumes me: my own necklace, the contact of which was\nformerly agreeable, now feels as if smeared with the poison of\nserpents. Give up your exertions; the prince is the only physician who\ncan cure me; and how can he come to me here?\"\n\nThen B\u00e2lachandrika thought to herself: \"Something must be done, and\nthat without delay, or this violent passion of love will surely cause\nher death. I will at least see the prince, and try if it is possible\nto bring about a meeting.\"\n\nHaving thus resolved, she begged the princess to write a few lines to\nher lover; and committing her to the care of the other attendants, she\nwent to the house of her husband. There she found R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana almost in\nthe same state as the princess, burning with fever, throwing himself\nabout restlessly on his couch, and bemoaning his hard fate to his\nfriend.\n\nOn seeing B\u00e2lachandrika, he started up, saying, \"Oh, how welcome is\nthe sight of you! I am sure you must be the bearer of good news. Sit\ndown here and tell me about my darling.\"\n\nShe answered: \"The princess is suffering like yourself, longing to see\nyou; and has now sent me with this letter.\"\n\nEagerly opening it, he read--\n\n\"Beloved--Having seen your beauty, delicate as a flower, faultless,\nunrivalled in the world, my heart is full of longing. Do you likewise\nmake your heart soft.\"\n\nHaving read this, he said: \"Your coming here is refreshing to me as\nwater to a withered plant; you are the wife of my very dear friend,\nPushpodbhava, and I know how attached you are to my darling, therefore\nI can speak freely to you. Tell her that when she left the grove that\nday she carried off my heart with her, and that I long to see her even\nmore than she longs for me; tell her only not to despond; the entrance\nto her apartments is indeed difficult, but I will contrive to see her\nby some means or other. Come back soon, and, having thought over the\nmatter, I will tell you what is to be done.\" With this message,\nB\u00e2lachandrika went to rejoice her friend; and the prince, though much\ncomforted, could not remain quiet, but walked to the park, to have the\npleasure of seeing at least the place where he had first met his\ncharmer. There he stayed a long time together with his friend, looking\nat her footsteps in the sand, the withered flowers which she had\ngathered and thrown down, the place where she had sat, and the shrubs\nfrom which he had watched her, and listening to the murmur of the wind\namong the leaves, the hum of the bees and the song of the birds.\nPresently, they saw approaching them a brahman, splendidly dressed,\nfollowed by a servant. He, coming up to the prince, saluted him; and\nthe prince, returning the salute, asked who he was. He answered \"My\nname is Vidyeswara. I am a famous conjurer, and travel about\nexhibiting my skill for the amusement of kings and nobles. I have now\ncome to Oujein, to show off my skill before the king.\" Then, with a\nknowing smile, he added, \"But what makes you look so pale?\"\n\nPushpodbhava, thinking to himself this is just the man to help us,\nanswered, \"There is something in your appearance which induces me to\nlook on you as a friend, and you know how sometimes intimate\nfriendship arises from a very short acquaintance; I will therefore\ntell you why my friend is thus sad. Not long ago, he, the son of a\nking, met the Princess Avantisundari on this very spot, and they fell\nin love with each other. From the impossibility of meeting, both are\nsuffering, and the prince is brought into this condition which you\nsee.\"\n\nVidyeswara, in reply, looking at the prince, said, with a smile, \"To\nsuch as you, with me for an ally, nothing is impossible. I will,\nthrough my skill, contrive that you shall marry the princess in the\npresence of her father and his court; but you must follow my\ndirections exactly, and she must be informed of her part in the affair\nthrough some trusty female friend.\"\n\nThen, having given the necessary directions, the conjurer went his\nway. R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana also returned to the house, and when he had given\nB\u00e2lachandrika, who came again in the evening, the directions received\nfrom the conjurer, and a loving message of encouragement for the\nprincess, he anxiously awaited the morrow, unable to sleep from the\nthought of the expected happiness, and fluctuating between alternate\nhopes and fears. In the morning, Vidyeswara, having collected a large\ntroop of followers, went to the palace and announced himself to the\ndoorkeeper, saying, \"Tell the king the great conjurer is arrived.\"\nM\u00e2nas\u00e2ra, who had heard of his great skill, and was desirous of seeing\nit, ordered him to be immediately admitted, and, after the usual\nsalutations, the performance began.\n\nFirst, while the band was playing, peacocks' tails were waving, and\nsingers imitating the plaintive notes of birds, to excite the feelings\nand distract the attention of the hearers, the conjurer turned round\nviolently several times, with his eyes half-closed, and caused great\nhooded serpents to appear and vultures to come down from the sky to\nseize them.\n\nAfter this, he represented the scene of Vishnu killing Hiranyakasipu,\nchief of the Asuras, to the great astonishment of the spectators;\nthen, turning to the king, he said, \"It is desirable that the\nperformance should end with something auspicious; I propose,\ntherefore, to represent a royal marriage, and one of my people will\nact as your daughter, another as a prince, endowed with all good\nqualities. But first I must apply to your eyes this ointment, which\nwill give you preternatural clearness of vision.\" To all this the king\nconsented.\n\nMeanwhile, the princess had contrived to slip out unobserved, and\nstood among the conjurer's people. R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana also stood ready, and\nthe performance began. Thus, under the disguise of a piece of acting,\nthe conjurer, being a brahman, was able to complete the marriage with\nall proper rites and ceremonies without any suspicion on the part of\nthe king that it was his own daughter whom he saw before him; and the\nothers, also unsuspecting, only admired the skill of the conjurer in\nmaking the actress so like the lady whom she represented. When the\nperformance was ended, the conjurer, having been liberally rewarded by\nthe king, dismissed his hired attendants and departed.\n\nIn the confusion and excitement caused by the conjurer's performance,\nR\u00e2jav\u00e2hana and the princess slipped unnoticed into her apartments,\nwhere he was safe, for the present at least, her attendants being all\ndevoted to her, and careful to keep the secret.\n\nHe was thus able to enjoy the society of his bride without\ninterruption; to give her a full account of his life and adventures,\nand to teach her many things of which she was ignorant; so that she\nbecame more and more attached to him, and admired his knowledge and\neloquence as much as she had before admired his beauty.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\nFURTHER ADVENTURES OF R\u00c2JAV\u00c2HANA.\n\n\nThus the princess, listening with delight and astonishment to the\nsweet and eloquent words of her husband, and he never tired of\ncontemplating her beauty and enjoying her caresses, lived for some\ntime in the greatest happiness, without care or anxiety for the\nfuture.\n\nOne night, when both were sleeping, the prince had a remarkable dream.\nHe seemed to see an old swan, whose legs were tied together with lotus\nfibre, approach the bedside; at that moment he awoke with a feeling of\npressure on his feet, and found himself bound with a slender silver\nchain, bright as the rays of the moon. The princess awoke at the same\ntime, and seeing her husband thus fettered, screamed out loudly in her\nfright. The attendants in the adjoining apartments, hearing the\nscream, thought something dreadful must have happened. They rushed\ninto the room, added their cries to hers, and forgetting all their\nformer precautions, left the doors open, so that the guards outside,\nhearing the clamour, entered and saw the prince.\n\nWhen about to seize him, they were awed by his dignity, and contented\nthemselves with giving information to the regent, Chandavarma, who, on\nreceiving it, came immediately to the place.\n\nLooking at the prince with eyes burning with the fire of anger, he\nbegan to recollect him, and said, \"So! this is that conceited brahman\nwho has been deceiving the people; making them believe that he is\nwonderfully clever; the friend of that fellow the husband of the\nwicked B\u00e2lachandrika, the cause of my brother's death. How is it\npossible that the princess should have fallen in love with such a\npaltry wretch, overlooking a man like me? She is a disgrace to her\nfamily, and shall soon see her husband impaled on a stake.\"\n\nThen, with his forehead disfigured by a fearful frown, he continued to\nabuse the prince; and having tied his hands behind him, dragged him\nfrom the room.\n\nR\u00e2jav\u00e2hana, naturally brave, and encouraged by belief in that former\nexistence the remembrance of which had so wonderfully arisen in his\nmind, bore all the insults with firmness, and saying to the princess,\n\"Remember that speech of the swan, have patience for two months, and\nall will be well,\" submitted quietly to the imprisonment.\n\nWhen the ex-king and queen were informed of what had happened, they\nwere greatly distressed on their daughter's account, and exerted\nthemselves to save the life of their son-in-law; but the regent, in\nwhom all authority was vested, resisted their entreaties; and only on\ncondition of their resigning some of the few privileges which still\nremained to them did he consent to defer the execution till he had\ncommunicated with Darpas\u00e2ra, and learned his pleasure on the subject.\nHe confiscated the property of Pushpodbhava, and threw him and his\nfamily into prison; and being about to march against the King of Anga,\nand unwilling to leave the prince behind, lest he should be liberated\nby the old king, he caused a wooden cage to be made, in which his\nprisoner was shut up and carried with the army.\n\nTreated thus like some wild beast, roughly shaken and neglected,\nR\u00e2jav\u00e2hana would have suffered greatly had he not been protected by\nthe magic jewel given to him in P\u00e2t\u00e2la, and which he had contrived to\nconceal in his hair.\n\nChandavarma had some time before this asked in marriage Amb\u00e2lika, the\ndaughter of Sinhavarma, King of Anga, and, indignant at a refusal, was\nnow marching against him, to take vengeance for the insult, and get\npossession of the princess. Advancing therefore with a large army, he\nprepared to besiege Champa, the capital city.\n\nSinhavarma, being of a very impatient and impetuous disposition, would\nnot wait for the arrival of the allies who had been summoned to his\nassistance, and were then on the march; but throwing open the gates,\nwent forth to meet the enemy.\n\nA terrible battle ensued, in which both kings performed prodigies of\nvalour. At last Sinhavarma was taken prisoner, and his army so\ncompletely defeated, that the conqueror entered and took possession of\nthe city without opposition.\n\nChandavarma, having now the princess in his power, determined to make\nher his wife at once: he therefore treated her father with more\nconsideration than he would otherwise have done, though he put him in\nconfinement, and caused it to be proclaimed throughout the city that\nthe wedding would be celebrated with much splendour the next morning.\n\nJust then a messenger arrived from Kail\u00e2sa, bringing a letter from\nDarpas\u00e2ra, in which he had written, \"O fool! should there be any pity\nfor the violator of the harem? If the old king, my father, now in his\ndotage, was foolish enough to favour the criminal for the sake of his\nworthless daughter, you had no need of his permission, and ought not\nto have been influenced by him. Let that vile seducer be immediately\nput to death by torture, and his paramour be shut up in prison till I\ncome.\"\n\nChandavarma, who had intended to march against the allies advancing\nfor the assistance of his captive, on receiving these commands, gave\norders to his attendants, saying, \"To-morrow morning take that vile\nwretch from his cage, and set him at the palace gate. Have ready,\nalso, a fierce elephant, suitably equipped, which I shall mount\nimmediately after the wedding, to overtake my army in march against\nthe enemy; and as I set out, I will make the elephant trample the\nlife out of that criminal.\"\n\nAccordingly, the next morning, the prince was brought by the guards to\nthe gate of the palace, and the elephant placed near him.\n\nWhile he stood there, calmly awaiting death, which now seemed\ninevitable, he suddenly felt his feet free, and a beautiful lady\nappeared before him.\n\nShe humbly bowing down said: \"Let my lord pardon his servant for the\ninjury which she has unconsciously caused. I am an Apsaras, born from\nthe rays of the moon. One day, as I was flying through the air,\nwearing a white dress, a swan, mistaking me for a lotus flower,\nattacked me. While struggling to keep off the bird, the string of my\nnecklace broke, and the pearls fell on the grey head of a very holy\nrishi, bathing, in the clear water of a Him\u00e2layan lake.\n\n\"In his anger, he cursed me, saying: 'O wicked one, for this offence\nyou are condemned to be changed into a piece of unconscious metal.'\n\n\"When, however, I entreated forgiveness, he was so far appeased, that\nhe modified the curse, and granted that I should still retain\nconsciousness, and remain as a fetter on your feet for two months\nonly.\n\n\"The change took place immediately, and I fell to the ground, turned\ninto a silver chain.\n\n\"About this time, V\u00edrasekhara, a Vidy\u00e2dhara, partly of human descent,\nhad become acquainted with Darpas\u00e2ra, then performing penance on the\ngreat mountain; and thinking he might get assistance from him in a\nfeud in which he was involved, had made an alliance with him, and\nengaged to marry his sister, the Princess Avantisundari.\n\n\"Being desirous of visiting his intended bride, he flew through the\nair to Avanti. On his way he saw the silver fetter, descended to the\nground, picked it up, and continued his flight.\n\n\"Having made himself invisible, he entered without difficulty the\napartment of the princess, and was astonished and enraged on finding\nher lying in your arms. His first impulse was to kill you; but some\nirresistible influence restrained him, so that he contented himself\nwith putting the silver fetter on your feet, and departed without\notherwise disturbing you.\n\n\"You have, in consequence, suffered all this misery. Now my\ntransformation is ended, and you are so far free; tell me what I can\ndo for you in atonement for the suffering which I have caused?\"\n\nThe prince, not thinking of himself, said only, \"Go at once to her who\nis dearer to me than life, and comfort her with news of me.\"\n\nAt that moment a great clamour was heard, and some persons, rushing\nfrom the interior of the palace, called out, loudly, \"Help! help!\nChandavarma is murdered! killed by an assassin, who stabbed him as he\nwas about to take the hand of the princess; and that man is now moving\nabout the palace, cutting down all who attempt to seize him.\"\n\nR\u00e2jav\u00e2hana, when he heard this, without losing a moment, and before\nthe guards had perceived his feet to be unfettered, with a sudden\nspring leapt on the elephant intended for his destruction; and having\nthrust off the driver, urged the beast at a rapid pace, pushing aside\nthe crowd right and left as he went.\n\nHaving got into the courtyard, he shouted with a loud voice, \"Who is\nthe brave man that has done this great deed, hardly to be accomplished\nby a mere mortal? Let him come forth and join me; we two united are a\nmatch for a whole army.\"\n\nThe slayer of Chandavarma hearing this, came out of the palace, and\nquickly mounting the elephant, who held down his trunk to receive him,\nplaced himself behind the prince.\n\nGreat was their mutual astonishment and joy when they recognised each\nother, the prince exclaiming, \"Is it possible? Is it really you, my\ndear friend Apah\u00e2ravarma, who have done this deed?\" and the other\nsaying, \"Do I indeed see my Lord R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana?\" Having thus recognised\nand embraced each other, they turned the elephant round, and passing\nthrough the crowd in the courtyard, went into the main street, now\nthronged by soldiers. Through these they forced their way, employing\nwith good effect the weapons placed on the elephant for the use of\nChandavarma.\n\nBefore, however, they had gone far, they heard the noise of battle at\na distance, and saw the soldiers in front of them scattered in all\ndirections.\n\nSoon they saw coming towards them a very well-dressed, handsome man,\nriding on a swift elephant. On reaching them, he made obeisance to the\nprince, saying, \"I am sure this is my Lord R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana;\" and then\nturning to Apah\u00e2ravarma, said, \"I have followed your directions\nexactly, and hastened on the advancing allies. We have just now\nencountered and utterly defeated the enemy, so that there is no fear\nof any further resistance.\"\n\nThen Apah\u00e2ravarma introduced the stranger to the prince, saying, \"This\nis my dear friend Dhanamittra, well worthy of your respect and\nconsideration; for he is as brave and clever as he is handsome. With\nyour permission, he will liberate the King of Anga, and re-establish\nthe former authorities; meanwhile, we will go on to a quiet place, and\nwait there for him and the princes who have come so opportunely to our\nassistance.\"\n\nR\u00e2jav\u00e2hana agreed to this. They went a little further, and dismounted\nat a pleasant cool bank, shaded by a large banian tree, and close to\nthe Ganges.\n\nWhen they had been for some time seated there, Dhanamittra returned,\naccompanied by Upah\u00e2ravarma, Pramati, Mitragupta, Mantragupta,\nVisruta, Prah\u00e2ravarma King of Mithila, K\u00e2map\u00e2la lord of Ben\u00e2res, and\nSinhavarma King of Anga.\n\nThe prince, astonished and delighted at such an unexpected meeting,\nwarmly embraced his young friends, and very respectfully saluted, as a\nson, the elder men introduced by them. Many questions were asked on\nboth sides. After some conversation, R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana told them his own\nadventures, and those of Somadatta and Pushpodbhava, and then begged\nhis friends to relate theirs.\n\nApah\u00e2ravarma spoke first.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\nADVENTURES OF APAH\u00c2RAVARMA.\n\n\nMy Lord, when you had gone away with the brahman, and we were unable\nto find you, I wandered about searching for you like the rest of your\nfriends.\n\nOne day I heard by chance of a very famous muni, living in a forest on\nthe banks of the Ganges, not far from Champa, who was said to have\nsupernatural knowledge of past and future events.\n\nHoping to obtain some information about you, I determined to seek him\nout, and accordingly came here for that purpose. Having found the way\nto his dwelling, I saw there a miserable-looking man, very unlike the\nholy devotee whom I had pictured to myself. Sitting down, however,\nbeside this person, I said, \"I have come a long way to consult the\ncelebrated rishi M\u00e2r\u00edchi, having heard that he is possessed of very\nwonderful knowledge. Can you tell me where to find him?\"\n\nDeeply sighing, he answered: \"There was, not long ago, such a person\nin this place; but he is changed--he is no longer what he was.\"\n\n\"How can that be?\" I asked.\n\n\"One day,\" he replied, \"while that muni was engaged in prayer and\nmeditation, he was interrupted by the sudden arrival of a famous\nactress and dancer, called K\u00e2mamanjari, who, with dishevelled hair and\neyes full of tears, threw herself at his feet.\n\n\"Before he had time to ask the meaning of this, a confused crowd of\nher companions came up, headed by an old woman, the mother of\nK\u00e2mamanjari, apparently in great agitation and distress.\n\n\"When they were all a little quieted, he asked the girl the meaning of\nher tears, and for what purpose she had come to him.\n\n\"She answered, apparently with great respect and bashfulness, 'O\nreverend sir, I have heard of your great wisdom, and your kindness to\nthose who are willing to give up the pleasures of this world for the\nsake of the next. I am tired of the disgraceful life I am leading, and\nwish to renounce it.' Upon this, her mother, with her loose grey hairs\ntouching the ground, interrupted her, and said, 'Worthy sir, this\ndaughter of mine would make it appear that I am to blame, but indeed I\nhave done my duty, and have carefully prepared her for that profession\nfor which, by birth, she was intended. From earliest childhood I have\nbestowed the greatest care upon her, doing everything in my power to\npromote her health and beauty. As soon as she was old enough, I had\nher carefully instructed in the arts of dancing, acting, playing on\nmusical instruments, singing, painting, preparing perfumes and\nflowers, in writing and conversation, and even to some extent in\ngrammar, logic, and philosophy. She was taught to play various games\nwith skill and dexterity, and how to dress well, and show herself off\nto the greatest advantage in public; I hired persons to go about\npraising her skill and beauty, and to applaud her when she performed\nin public, and I did many other things to promote her success, and to\nsecure for her liberal remuneration; yet, after all the time, trouble,\nand money which I have spent upon her, just when I was beginning to\nreap the fruit of my labours, the ungrateful girl has fallen in love\nwith a stranger, a young brahman, without property, and wishes to\nmarry him and give up her profession, notwithstanding all my\nentreaties, and representations of the poverty and distress to which\nall her family will be reduced if she persists in her purpose; and\nbecause I oppose this marriage, she declares that she will renounce\nthe world, and become a devotee.'\n\n\"The muni compassionately said to the girl: 'You will never be able to\nendure the hardships of such a life as you propose to lead--a life so\ndifferent from that to which you have been accustomed. Heaven may be\nattained by all who duly perform the duties of their station; take my\nadvice then, give up all thoughts of an undertaking which you will\nnever accomplish, comply with your mother's wishes, return with her,\nand be content with that way of life in which you have been brought\nup.'\n\n\"With many tears, she replied: 'If you will not receive me I will put\nan end to my wretched life.'\n\n\"Finding her so determined, the muni, after some reflection, said to\nthe mother and her companions: 'Go away for the present; come back\nafter a few days; I will give her good advice, and you will no doubt\nfind her tired of living here, and quite ready to return.'\n\n\"Thereupon they all went away, and she was left alone with the muni.\nAt first she kept at a distance from him, taking care not to interrupt\nhim in his meditations, but waiting on him unobtrusively, rendering\nhim many little services, watering his favourite trees, and gathering\nsacred grass, and flowers for offerings to the gods. Then, as he\nbecame more accustomed to her, she would amuse him with songs and\ndances, and at last began to sit near him and talk of the pleasures of\nlove.\n\n\"One day, as if in all simplicity, she said 'Surely people are very\nwrong in reckoning virtue, wealth and pleasure as the three great\nobjects of life?'\n\n\"'Tell me,' he answered, 'how far do you regard virtue as superior to\nthe other two?'\n\n\"'A very wise man like you,' she replied, 'can hardly learn anything\nfrom an ignorant woman like me; but since you ask, I will tell you\nwhat I think. There is no real acquisition of happiness or wealth\nwithout virtue; but the latter is quite independent of the other two.\nWithout it, a man is nothing; but if he fully possesses it, he is so\npurified by it that he may indulge in pleasures occasionally, and any\nsin connected with them will no more adhere to him than dust to a\ncloud. Look at all the stories of the amours of the gods. Are they the\nless worshipped on that account? I think, therefore, that virtue is a\nhundred times superior to the other two.' With many such specious\narguments as these, and by her winning ways, she contrived to make him\nmadly in love; so that, forgetting all his religious duties and former\nausterities, he thought only how to please her.\n\n\"When she perceived this, she said to him 'Let us stay no longer in\nthe forest, but go to my house in the town, where we can have many\nmore enjoyments.' Utterly infatuated, he was ready to do her\nbidding; and she, having procured a covered carriage, took him in the\nevening to her own house.\n\n\"The next day there was a great festival, at which the king was\naccustomed to appear in public and converse familiarly with his\nsubjects. On such occasions he would often be surrounded by actresses\nand dancing girls.\n\n\"On that day K\u00e2mamanjari persuaded the muni to put on a gay dress and\naccompany her to the park where the festival was held; and he,\nthinking only of her, and miserable if she were away from him even for\na short time, consented to go. On their arrival there, she walked with\nhim towards the king, who, seeing her, said, with a smile: 'Sit down\nhere with that reverend man.' And all eyes were directed towards him.\n\n\"Presently one of the ladies rose up, and, making a low obeisance to\nthe king, said: 'My lord; I must confess myself beaten by that lady; I\nhave lost my wager and must now pay the penalty.'\n\n\"Then a great shout of laughter arose; the king congratulated\nK\u00e2mamanjari, and presented her with handsome ornaments.\n\n\"After this she walked away with the astonished muni, followed by a\ngreat crowd, shouting applause.\n\n\"Before reaching her own house, she turned round to him with a low\nobeisance, and said: 'Reverend sir, you have favoured me with your\ncompany a long time; it will be well for you to attend now to your own\naffairs.'\n\n\"Not having his eyes yet opened, he started as if thunderstruck, and\nsaid: 'My dear, what does all this mean? What has become of the great\nlove which you professed for me?'\n\n\"She smilingly answered: 'I will explain it all.'\n\n\"'One day, that lady whom you saw in the park had a dispute with me as\nto which was the most attractive. At last she said: \"You boast of your\npowers, forsooth; go and try them on M\u00e2r\u00edchi. If you can persuade him\nto accompany you here, then indeed you may triumph; I will acknowledge\nmyself your inferior.\"\n\n\"'This was the reason of my coming to you; the trick has been\nsuccessful; I have won my wager, and have now no further occasion for\nyou.'\n\n\"Bowed down by shame and remorse, the unhappy man slunk back to his\nhermitage, miserable and degraded, bitterly lamenting his folly and\ninfatuation, but resolved to atone for it by deep repentance and\nsevere penance.\n\n\"I am that wretched man; you see, therefore, that I am now quite\nunable to assist you. But do not go away; remain in Champa. After a\ntime I shall recover my former power.\"\n\nWhile he was telling me this sad story, the sun set, and I remained\nwith him that night. The next morning, at sunrise, I took leave of\nhim, and walked towards the city. On my way thither, as I passed a\nBuddhist monastery, I was struck by the appearance of a man sitting at\nthe side of the road near it. He was extraordinarily ugly; his body\nnaked, with the exception of a rag round his waist; and his face so\ncovered with dirt, that the tears he was shedding left furrows as\nthey rolled down his cheeks.\n\nMoved by compassion, I sat down near him, and inquired the reason of\nhis distress, at the same time adding, \"If it is a secret, I do not\nwish to intrude upon you.\"\n\n\"'My misfortunes are well known,' he answered; 'I can have no\nobjection to telling you if you wish to hear them.' Then he began:\n\n\"My name is Vasup\u00e2lika; but from my ugliness I am generally known as\nVir\u00fapaka,--the deformed. I am the son of a man of some importance\nhere, who left me a large fortune.\n\n\"Among my acquaintance there was a person called Sundaraka, remarkably\nhandsome, but poor. Between us two some mischievous persons strove to\nexcite a rivalry, pitting my money against his beauty and\naccomplishments.\n\n\"One day, in a large assembly, having got up a dispute between us,\nthey said: 'It is not beauty or wealth, but the approbation of the\nladies, which stamps the worth of a man; therefore, let the famous\nactress, K\u00e2mamanjari, decide between you, and agree that she shall say\nwho is the best man.' To this we both assented, and she, having been\npreviously prepared for the part which she was to perform, was brought\ninto the room, and passing by my rival with scorn, sat down by my\nside, and, taking a garland from her own head, placed it on mine.\n\n\"Greatly flattered and delighted by this preference, and blinded by a\nmad love for her, which I had not ventured to express, I most readily\ngave myself up to her seductions, and in a very short time she\nobtained such an influence over me that everything I possessed was at\nher disposal. Before long, she had so plundered me, and led me into\nsuch extravagance, that I was reduced to the most abject poverty, and\nhad nothing I could call my own but this miserable rag which you now\nsee me wear.\n\n\"Cast off by her, blamed and reproached by the elder men, laughed at\nand despised by those who had been my companions in prosperity, I knew\nnot where to turn; and as a last resource I entered this Buddhist\nmonastery, where I obtain a bare subsistence.\n\n\"Distressed by the cutting off of my long hair, and by numerous\nrestrictions as to eating, drinking, and sleeping, like a newly-caught\nelephant; and hearing every day abuse of those gods whom I used to\nworship; filled with remorse for my departure from the religion of my\nancestors; I am utterly miserable and only wish for death.\"\n\nHaving heard this pitiable story, I did what I could to comfort him,\nand said, \"Do not despair; I have heard already of that wicked woman,\nand think I shall be able to find some means of making her restore to\nyou a part at least of your property.\"\n\nAfter leaving him, I went into the city, and finding, from popular\nreport, that it was full of rich misers, I resolved to bring them to\ntheir proper condition by taking away their useless wealth.\n\nOccupied by this thought, I went into a gaming-house, where I was much\ninterested and amused by watching the players and observing their\ntricks, their sleight-of-hand, their bullying or cringing behaviour to\neach other; the reckless profusion of the winners, the muttering\ndespair of those who had lost.\n\nWhile overlooking a game of chess, I smiled and made some remark about\na bad move of one of the players, upon which his opponent, turning to\nme with a sneer, said \"No doubt you think yourself very clever, but\nwait till I have finished off this stupid fellow, and I will play you\nfor any stake you like.\"\n\nWhen the game was over, accepting his challenge, I sat down to play,\nand won altogether sixteen thousand d\u00ednars. Half of this sum I kept\nfor myself, and half I divided between the gaming-house keeper and the\nplayers who were present. The latter were loud in praise of my\ngenerosity, and of the skill which I had shown in beating that\nboaster; the former asked me to dine with him, and I often went to\nhis house and became very intimate with him, and obtained from him\nmuch information, especially such as had reference to my purpose.\n\nOne very dark night, fully directed by him, I set out, determined on\nrobbery, equipped with a dark dress, a short sword, a spade, a\ncrowbar, a pair of pincers, a wooden man's head,[4] a magic candle, a\nrope and grappling-iron, a box with a bee in it,[5] and some other\nimplements.\n\nSelecting a house where I knew there was much money, I made a hole in\nthe wall, and finding all quiet, enlarged it, entered boldly, and\ncarried off much booty.\n\nAs I was returning, looking cautiously about me, I came suddenly upon\na young woman, who was much alarmed at seeing me. Perceiving her\nagitation, I spoke to her kindly, and assured her that I would much\nrather assist than injure her.\n\nEncouraged by my words, she told me her story: \"My name is Kulap\u00e2lika;\nI am the daughter of a rich merchant in this city, and was from\nchildhood engaged to the son of another rich man, named Dhanamittra:\nhe, however, being of a very generous disposition, when he had\nsucceeded to his father's property was preyed on by pretended friends\nand reduced to comparative poverty. Seeing this, my father refused his\nconsent to our marriage, and, in spite of my reluctance, is determined\nto give me to a rich man, called Arthapati. To escape this marriage, I\nhave slipped out from home by a secret passage, rarely used, and am\ngoing to the house of my lover, who is expecting me and will take me\naway to some other country; pray do not detain me, but accept this.\"\nSo saying, she put one of her ornaments into my hand. I did not refuse\nit, but walked by her side, intending to escort her to her\ndestination.\n\nWe had, however, only gone a few steps, when I saw coming towards us,\nat no great distance, a large body of the citizen guard. Without\nlosing a moment, I said to the trembling girl, \"Don't be alarmed; say\nthat I have been bitten by a serpent, and I will manage the rest.\"\n\nBy the time they reached us I had thrown myself on the ground, and lay\nas if insensible, and she stood over me, crying. On being questioned,\nshe answered, with many tears, and in evident distress: \"My husband\nand I, coming from the country, lost our way, and have only lately\nentered the city. Just now he was bitten by a serpent, and is all but\ndead. Is there any one among you skilled in charms who can recover\nhim?\"\n\nAmong the guard there chanced to be a very conceited man, who had\noften boasted of his skill, and was now delighted to have an\nopportunity of displaying it. He stood over me while the others\nwaited, and, with many gesticulations, muttered various charms\nsupposed to be efficacious in such a case; but finding all of no\navail, said at last, \"Ah! it is too late; the poor man is past all\nremedies: what a pity I did not see him sooner!\" Then, joining his\ncompanions, who were impatient to be off, he turned to the sobbing\ngirl and said: \"He was evidently fated to die; who can prevail over\nfate? It is useless to lament; nothing more can be done now; wait a\nlittle while, and when we come back we will remove the body.\"\n\nAs soon as they were out of sight I rose up, took her to the house of\nDhanamittra, and said to him: \"I met this lady just now; I have\nbrought her safely here, and now restore the ornament which she gave\nme in her fright; for, though I am a robber, I would not steal from\none like her.\"\n\nDelighted at seeing her, he answered: \"O, sir, you have indeed\nrendered me a great service in bringing this dear one in safety here;\nsuch conduct is very extraordinary in a man of your way of life, and I\nam quite unable to understand your motives for acting thus. At all\nevents, I am under very great obligation to you; command my services\nin future.\"\n\nAfter some further talk, I asked him: \"Friend, what do you now intend\nto do?\"\n\n\"It will be impossible,\" he answered, \"for me to live here if I marry\nher without her father's consent; I propose, therefore, to leave the\ntown with her this very night.\"\n\n\"A clever man,\" I replied, \"is at home in any place. Wherever he goes\nhe may say this is my country. But, in travelling, many hardships must\nbe endured--hunger, thirst, fatigue, and dangers from men and wild\nbeasts;--how will this tender girl be able to bear them?\n\n\"You seem to be wanting in wisdom and forethought in thus abandoning\nhome and country. Take courage! be guided by me, and you shall marry\nher and live comfortably here. But first we must take her back to her\nfather's house.\"\n\nTo this he consented without hesitation, and we set out at once.\nGuided by her, we entered through the secret passage, carried off\neverything of value, and got away without exciting alarm.\n\nHaving hidden our booty in some old ruins, we were going home, when we\nfell in with some of the city guard. Fortunately, there chanced to be\nan elephant tied up at the side of the road. We quickly, therefore,\nunfastened the rope, mounted him, and urged him at full speed; and\nbefore the watchmen could recover from their confusion, were out of\nsight. Halting the elephant close to the wall of a deserted garden, we\ngot over it with the help of the trees growing there, escaped on the\nother side, and reached home undetected, where we bathed and went to\nbed.\n\nThe next day we walked out carefully dressed, and were amused at\nhearing an exaggerated account of our adventures of the preceding\nnight, which had caused much alarm and excitement in the city.\n\nI had hoped, by robbing the old man, to prevent the marriage of his\ndaughter with Arthapati. But this hope was frustrated; for the latter\nwas not only willing to take Kulap\u00e2lika without a dowry, but even made\npresents to her father; and it was settled that the marriage should\ntake place at the end of a month.\n\nFinding this to be the case, I felt that something more must be done;\nand having hit upon a plan which I thought would be effectual, I gave\nDhanamittra directions how to act.\n\nAccordingly, a few days afterwards, he went to the king, to whom he\nwas previously known, and having asked for a private audience, said:\n\"A very wonderful thing has happened to me, of which it seems right\nthat your majesty should be informed. You have known me as\nDhanamittra, the son of a very rich man. During my prosperity, I was\nengaged to the daughter of a wealthy merchant; but when I was reduced\nto poverty, he refused his consent to our marriage, and is now about\nto give her to another.\n\n\"Driven to despair by the double loss of fortune and wife, I went into\na wood near the city, intending to put an end to my wretched life.\n\n\"There, when in the act of cutting my throat, I was stopped by a very\naged devotee, who asked the cause of the rash act.\n\n\"'Poverty, and contempt,' I answered.\n\n\"'There is nothing more foolish and sinful than suicide,' he replied.\n'A man of sense will endure adversity rather than escape from it in\nsuch a manner. Wealth, when lost, may be regained in many ways; but\nlife in none. A broken fortune may be repaired; a cut throat can never\nbe joined again. But why should I preach to you thus? Here is a remedy\nfor your misfortunes. This leather bag will give you abundant wealth.\nI have used it for assisting the deserving; but now I am old and\ninfirm, and am not long for this world. I give it to you.\n\n\"'Go home; if you possess anything wrongfully acquired, restore it to\nthe right owner, and give away the rest of your property to brahmans\nand the poor. When this has been done, put away the purse carefully;\nand in the morning it will be found full of gold. Remember that\nwhoever possesses it must comply with these conditions, and that it\nwill yield its treasures only to a merchant like yourself, or to an\nactress.'\n\n\"With these words, he handed me the purse, and immediately\ndisappeared.\n\n\"I have now brought the purse to your majesty, to know your pleasure\nconcerning it.\"\n\nThe king, though much astonished, believing the story, told him to\nkeep and enjoy it; and in answer to his entreaty, promised that any\none attempting to steal it should be severely punished.\n\nAfter this, Dhanamittra, making no secret of his acquisition of the\npurse, disposed of all his property somewhat ostentatiously, leaving\nhimself absolutely nothing but the clothes which he wore; and in the\nmorning, having filled the purse with gold--the proceeds of the\nrobbery--he showed it to his neighbours, who were fully convinced of\nits magic powers.\n\nThe fame of the purse was thus spread abroad; and we were able to\naccount for our newly-acquired wealth, without incurring any suspicion\nas to the manner of obtaining it.\n\nAt this time; for reasons which will presently appear, I induced\nVimardaka to enter the service of Arthapati; and directed him to use\nall possible means to excite his master against Dhanamittra. In this\nhe had no difficulty; for the father of Kulap\u00e2lika, hearing of his\nsudden acquisition of wealth, did not even wait to be asked, but of\nhis own accord renewed the former engagement, and rejected Arthapati.\n\nAbout that time it was publicly announced that a younger sister of\nK\u00e2mamanjari--R\u00e2gamanjari by name--would make her first appearance as a\ndancer and singer. Great expectations having been raised, a large\nnumber of spectators, including myself and my friend Dhanamittra, were\npresent at the performance.\n\nI was struck by her beauty the instant she appeared on the stage; but\nwhen I heard her sweet voice, and saw her graceful movements, I was\nperfectly enchanted, and unable to take my eyes off her for a moment.\n\nThe performance being ended, she withdrew, followed by the longing\neyes and loud applause of the spectators; and giving, as I fancied, a\nsignificant look at me.\n\nThe next day I was anxious, restless, and unable to eat; and could do\nnothing but roam about listlessly, or lie on the couch, thinking of\nher, and making the excuse of a bad headache.\n\nMy friend, seeing me in this state, easily guessed the reason of it,\nand said to me in private: \"I know the cause of your uneasiness, and\ncan give you good hopes. That girl is virtuous, whatever her mother\nand sister may be; and having watched her closely at the performance,\nI am convinced that she was much struck with you; therefore, if you\nare willing to make her your wife, there will be no great difficulties\nto overcome as far as she is concerned; for, resisting all seductions\nand the persuasions of her wicked mother and sister, she has declared:\n'No man shall have me except as a wife; and I must be won by merit,\nnot by money.'\n\n\"On the other hand, her mother and sister, fearing lest she should be\nwithdrawn from the stage, have gone to the king, and obtained, through\nmany tears and entreaties, a decree that if any man shall take the\ngirl, either in marriage or not, without her mother's consent, he\nshall be put to death like a robber. Therefore, when you have gained\nher love, you must also obtain the mother's consent; and that can only\nbe done by means of a large bribe; she will not listen to any other\ninducement.\"\n\n\"I am equal to all this,\" I answered; \"I will win the young lady, and\nfind means to satisfy the old one.\" And I lost no time in\naccomplishing my purpose. It was first necessary to make acquaintance\nwith K\u00e2mamanjari, and to this end I found out a woman often employed\nby her as a messenger, and having gained her over by bribes, sent,\nthrough her, a number of small presents, till at last K\u00e2mamanjari was\ndisposed in my favour, and received me at her house. Meanwhile I\ncontrived to have secret interviews with her beautiful sister, who\nconsented to be my wife. As soon as this was settled, I said to\nK\u00e2mamanjari, \"I am desirous of obtaining your mother's consent to my\nmarriage with your sister, who has accepted me. I know that if she\nceases to perform, you will lose a large income; and, therefore, offer\nyou in return something better and more certain. Procure for me the\ndesired permission, and you shall have Dhanamittra's magic purse,\nwhich I will safely steal for you.\"\n\nDelighted at the thought of possessing inexhaustible wealth, she\nagreed to this; the mother's consent was formally given; and on the\nday of my marriage I secretly handed over the promised purse.\n\nVery soon after, Vimardaka, by my directions, in a large assembly,\nbegan to abuse and insult Dhanamittra, who, as if much astonished,\nsaid: \"What does all this mean? Why should you annoy me? I am not\naware that I have ever given you offence.\"\n\nHe answered furiously: \"You purse-proud wretch, do you think I will\nnot take my master's part? Have you not robbed him of his intended\nwife, by bribing her father? Do you think he has no cause for anger\nagainst you? His interests are mine; I am ready to risk my life for\nhim, and I will pay you off. Some day you shall miss that purse, the\nsource of the riches with which you are so puffed up.\" Saying this, he\nrushed out of the place in a rage; and though nothing was done at the\ntime, his words were not forgotten.\n\nThen Dhanamittra went to the king, and declaring that he had lost the\npurse, mentioned his suspicion of Arthapati, and the reason for it.\nHe, having heard nothing of what his servant had said, when summoned\nand asked \"Have you a confidential servant named Vimardaka?\" answered\nwithout hesitation, \"Certainly; he is a very trustworthy man, entirely\ndevoted to my interest.\"\n\n\"Bring him here to me.\"\n\nThus commanded, he searched everywhere for his servant, but was unable\nto find him; and for a good reason, for I had furnished the man with\nmoney, and sent him to Oujein, to look for you.\n\nThe supposed thief having disappeared, his master was put in prison\ntill further evidence could be procured, for no one but those in the\nsecret doubted that he was the instigator of the theft.\n\nMeanwhile K\u00e2mamanjari, anxious to make use of the magic purse,\nproceeded to fulfil the conditions attached to its use. She went\nsecretly to Vir\u00fapaka, and restored the money of which she had robbed\nhim, and then gave away all her furniture, clothes, and ornaments.\nThis, however, she did so incautiously, that attention was drawn to\nit; upon which Dhanamittra went again to the king, saying: \"I suspect\nthat the actress, K\u00e2mamanjari, has got my purse; for though\nnotoriously avaricious, she is giving away everything she possesses,\nand there must be some strong reason for such a proceeding.\"\n\nIn consequence of this information, she was summoned to appear the\nnext day, together with her mother; and the two women came in great\nalarm to consult me.\n\nI said to K\u00e2mamanjari: \"No doubt you are suspected of having the\npurse. This suspicion has arisen from your own imprudence, in giving\naway your property so openly. I much fear that you will have to give\nit up, and you will be fortunate if you escape without worse\nconsequences. But you must on no account implicate me; for then I\nshould be put to death, all my property would be confiscated, your\nsister would die of grief, and you would be utterly ruined.\"\n\nShe answered, with many tears: \"It is indeed my own fault, but you\nshall be safe. That niggardly wretch, Arthapati, is known to be\nintimate with me. I will say that I received it from him; and, as he\nis already suspected of stealing it, I shall probably be believed.\"\n\nTo this I agreed, and the next day, when questioned, she at first\ndenied all knowledge of the purse, then admitted having received it,\nbut refused to say from whom, and at last, when threatened with\ntorture, confessed, apparently with great reluctance, that Arthapati\nwas the giver; and this being considered sufficient evidence against\nhim, he was condemned to death.\n\nThen Dhanamittra interceded for him, saying. \"A decree was formerly\nmade by one of your ancestors, that no merchant or trader should be\nput to death for theft. I humbly entreat, therefore, that his life may\nbe spared.\"\n\nTo this the king consented, the poor wretch was banished, and all his\nproperty confiscated, a portion of it being given to K\u00e2mamanjari, at\nthe earnest entreaty of Dhanamittra, who got back his purse, and\nshortly afterwards married Kulap\u00e2lika.\n\nHaving thus performed the promise to my friend, I increased my own\nwealth, and kept up the reputation of the purse by going on with my\nrobberies, and so impoverished the rich misers, that some of them were\nglad to receive a morsel of food from the beggars to whom they had\nformerly refused help, and who were now enriched by my liberality.\n\nStill no suspicion fell on me; but fate is all-powerful, and it was\ndecreed that I should be caught at last.\n\nOne night, sitting with my charming wife, intoxicated, partly with\nwine and partly with her sweet caresses, I was seized with madness,\nand started up, saying: \"All the wealth in the city is not too much\nfor you; I will fill the house with jewels for your sake.\" Then, like\na furious elephant who has broken his chain, I rushed out, in spite of\nher remonstrances, with a drawn sword, and attacked a body of police,\nwho happened to be passing. Shouting out, \"This is the robber!\" they\nsoon overpowered me, and I fell to the ground.\n\nThe shock sobered me at once, and all the horror of the situation into\nwhich I had brought myself by my folly came into my mind. I thought to\nmyself, my intimacy with Dhanamittra is well known; suspicion will\nfall on him; and unless I can turn it off, he, as well as my wife,\nwill be arrested to-morrow; and I quickly formed a plan by which they,\nand perhaps I myself, might be saved. But no time was to be lost; and\nas they were about to take me away, I called out to my wife's nurse,\nSring\u00e2lika, who had followed me, \"Begone, old wretch! and tell that\nvile harlot your mistress, and her paramour, Dhanamittra, that she\nwill never see her ornaments, nor he his magic purse again. I care not\nfor life, if I am revenged on those two wretches.\"\n\nThe old woman being remarkably quick-witted, at once understood my\nobject in speaking thus, and very humbly accosting the police said:\n\"Worthy sir, I entreat you to wait a moment, while I ask your prisoner\nwhere he has hid the ornaments of my mistress.\"\n\nTo, this they assented, and coming to me, she said: \"O, sir, your\njealousy is without cause; whatever attentions that man may have paid\nmy mistress, she is not to blame. Now that you are taken from her, she\nwill have no means of support, and must go on the stage again. How\ncan she do this without her ornaments? Take compassion on her, and say\nwhere you have hid them.\"\n\nThen, as if my anger were appeased, I answered: \"Why should I, who am\nabout to die, harbour resentment? Come close, and I will whisper where\nI have put them.\" In this manner I managed to give her a few hurried\ninstructions. She went away, with many blessings on me, and thanks to\nthe men for their kindness; and I was taken to the king's prison.\n\nAt that time the governor of the prison was a very conceited young\nman, named Kantaka, who had lately succeeded to the office by the\ndeath of his father. When I was brought in, looking at me in a very\ncontemptuous manner, he said: \"So you are the thief who has committed\nso many robberies. If you do not give up the stolen property, and\nespecially the magic purse, you shall suffer every possible variety of\ntorture before you are put to death.\"\n\nI answered, smiling, \"Even though I should give up all the other\nstolen property, I will never let the purse go back to that wretch\nDhanamittra, my greatest enemy. You may try all your tortures; you\nwill never get this secret out of me.\"\n\nFinding the fear of torture to have no effect, the next day he tried\npromises; and so went on from day to day, with alternate soothing and\nthreatening.\n\nMeanwhile, my wounds were attended to, and I was well fed; so that I\nhad regained my strength when, one day, Sring\u00e2lika made her\nappearance, well dressed, and with cheerful countenance.\n\nTo my surprise, she was allowed to speak to me in private. She said to\nme, joyfully \"Your plan has succeeded. As you directed, I went to\nDhanamittra and told him, from you: 'You must go to the king, and say,\n\"The magic purse so lately restored has again been stolen by one whom\nI regarded as a friend--a certain gambler, the husband of the actress\nR\u00e2gamanjari. He has taken it from spite, being jealous of his wife, to\nwhom, from kindness, I often made presents. He is now in prison for\nother offences; and if, he is put to death immediately, as he\ndeserves, I fear that I shall never recover my purse. I pray,\ntherefore, that he may not be executed before he has confessed where\nit is concealed. For he admits having taken it; but declares that he\nwill not give it up, unless his life is spared.\" Your friend,\nadmiring your ingenuity, and having full confidence in your resources,\nimmediately went to the king and obtained his request, so that your\nlife is safe for the present.'\n\n\"Meanwhile, with the help of gifts furnished by my mistress, I have\nformed an intimacy with the nurse of the Princess Amb\u00e2lika, and have\nbeen introduced by her to the princess, whose favour I have gained by\ntelling her amusing stories, and whom I have induced to feel an\ninterest in the misfortune of my mistress.\n\n\"One day, when I was standing near her in the gallery round the\ncourt-yard of the palace, Kantaka, having some business or other,\npassed through below us. Picking up a flower which the princess had\ndropped, I let it fall on his head; and when he looked up to see from\nwhose hand it came, I managed to make the princess laugh at something\nwhich I said; and the conceited fool, thinking that it was she who had\ndropped it to attract his attention, went away looking quite pleased\nand confused.\n\n\"That same evening I received a present for my mistress, a small\nbasket marked with the signet of the princess, and containing articles\nof no great value. This I took to Kantaka; and begging him to observe\nthe strictest secrecy, made him believe that the princess had sent it\nto him. He was even delighted when, another day, I brought him a dirty\ndress, telling him that she had worn it.\n\n\"Finding him quite ready to believe this, and convinced that she was\nin love with him, I kept up an imaginary correspondence, bringing\nvery loving messages from her, which I invented, and receiving many\nfrom him in return, which I took care not to deliver. His presents, of\ncourse, I kept for myself.\n\n\"In this manner I have raised his hopes very high; and to encourage\nhim still further, I said: 'I have heard from a learned astrologer,\nwith whom I am acquainted, that you have certain marks upon you which\nindicate that you will one day be a king. This love on the part of the\nprincess tends to the fulfilment of the prediction. You are therefore\non the high road to fortune. If you have spirit enough to pursue it,\nall you have to do now is to obtain a secret interview with the lady;\nthe rest will follow in due time.'\n\n\"'But how can I manage this?' he asked. 'The wall of the garden,' I\nreplied, 'communicating with the princess's apartments, is separated\nfrom those of the gaol by a space of a few yards only. You could not\nget over these walls; but you might make an underground passage, and\nslip in unobserved; and I will take care that there shall be some one\nto receive and conduct you to the princess. When once with her, you\nare safe; for all her attendants are attached to her; not one would\nbetray the secret.'\n\n\"'But how can I make this underground passage?' he asked. 'I cannot\ndig it myself, or employ workmen.'\n\n\"'Have you no clever thief here,' I replied, 'accustomed to such\nwork?'\n\n\"'Well suggested,' he answered. 'I have just the right man.'\n\n\"'Who is he?' I said.\n\n\"'That man who has stolen the magic purse,' said he. 'If he will set\nto work with a good will he will soon dig his way through.'\n\n\"'Very good,' I answered. 'You must persuade him by promising to let\nhim go when the work is done. But it would never do for him to be in\nthe secret; therefore, when he has finished, put on his fetters again,\nand report to the king that he is exceedingly obstinate; that you have\ntried all other means to make him confess, and that nothing remains\nbut to put him to torture. No doubt the king will give orders\naccordingly; and you can easily manage so to inflict it that he shall\ndie under it. When he is dead, your secret will be safe; you can visit\nthe princess as often as you like; and, doubtless, in the end the\nking, rather than disgrace his daughter, will consent to your\nmarriage; and as he has no other child, will make you his successor.'\n\n\"With this proposal he was quite delighted; and has been treating you\nwell, that you may have strength for the work. He intends to ask you\nto begin to-night; and has sent me to persuade you, believing me to be\ndevoted to his interests, and looking forward to some great reward\nwhen he has got his wish.\"\n\nHaving heard this from the old woman, I gave her great praise, and\nsaid: \"Lose no time. Tell him I am quite ready to do the work.\"\n\nAfter this, Kantaka came to me, told me what he wanted, and swore a\nsolemn oath that I should be liberated when the work was done; and I,\nin return, swore to keep his secret.\n\nThen he took off my fetters; I got a bath and a good dinner, and\npresently set to work in a dark corner, under the wall. Soon after\nmidnight the work was done, and an opening made into the courtyard of\nthe women's apartments.\n\nBefore returning, I thought to myself \"This man has sworn an oath\nwhich he intends to break: for the preservation of my own life,\ntherefore, I shall be justified in killing him.\"\n\nHaving formed this resolution, I went back to the prison, where\nKantaka was waiting for me. He told me it was necessary to replace my\nfetters for the present; and I appeared to acquiesce. But as he was\nstooping to fasten them, I gave him a violent kick; and before he\ncould recover himself, I had snatched a short sword which he wore, and\ncut off his head.\n\nI then returned to Sring\u00e2lika, who had remained in the prison, and\nsaid to her: \"I am not disposed to have had all this toil for nothing.\nTell me the way into the ladies' rooms. I will go there and steal\nsomething before I make my escape.\"\n\nHaving received her directions, I passed again through the tunnel\nwhich I had made, came up into the court-yard; and from thence entered\na large, lofty room lighted by jewelled lamps, where a number of women\nwere sleeping.\n\nThere, on a couch ornamented with beautifully carved flowers and\nresting on lions' feet, I saw the princess, covered only by a thin\nsilken petticoat, half sunk into a soft white feather-bed, like\nlightning on an autumn cloud.\n\nFast asleep, as if wearied by much play, she lay in a very graceful\nattitude, with her delicate ancles crossed, her knees slightly drawn\nup; one lovely hand laid loosely on her side, the other beneath her\nhead; her full bosom, slowly heaved by gentle breathing, illuminated\nby the ruby necklace strung on burnished gold; the top-knot of her\nloosened hair hanging down like some graceful flower; her lips so\nbright that the opening of the mouth could hardly be distinguished;\nher features in calm repose, shaded by her lovely ringlets.\n\nI had entered so softly that no one was disturbed; and I stood gazing\nfor some time lost in admiration of her beauty, quite forgetting the\npurpose for which I had come.\n\nI thought, she is, after all, the lady of my heart. If I do not obtain\nher, K\u00e2ma will not suffer me to live; but how can I make known my love\nto her? Were I now to wake her, she would start up with a cry of\nalarm, and I should probably lose my life. I must think of some other\nway of letting her know my love.\n\nThen, looking round, I saw laid on a shelf a thin board prepared for\npainting, and a box of paints and brushes. With these I made a hasty\nsketch of the princess as she lay, and of myself kneeling at her feet,\nand underneath it I wrote this verse:--\n\n  \"Of thee thy slave in humble attitude thus prays:\n   Sleep on, not worn like me by pervading love.\"\n\nI then painted on the wall near her a pair of chakrav\u00e2kas in loving\nattitude, gently took off her ring, replacing it with mine, and\nslipped out without disturbing any of the sleepers.\n\nThere was at that time among the prisoners a man named Sinhaghosha,\nformerly a chief officer of police, but now imprisoned through a\nfalse accusation made by Kantaka.\n\nWith this man I had already made acquaintance, and I now went to him\nand told him how I had killed Kantaka. With his consent I went forth\nfrom the prison, and walked away with Sring\u00e2lika. We had not gone far\nwhen we fell in with a patrol. I thought to myself I could easily run\naway from them; but what would become of the poor old woman? she would\ncertainly be caught. Hastily determining, therefore, on what was best\nto be done, I walked right up to them with unsteady gait and idiotic\nlook, and said: \"Sirs, if I am a thief kill me, but you have no right\nto touch this old woman.\"\n\nShe, perceiving my intention, came up, and very humbly said: \"Honoured\nsirs, this young man is my son. He has been for some time confined as\na lunatic; but was supposed to be cured, and I brought him home\nyesterday. In the middle of the night, however, he started up, and\ncalling out: 'I will kill Kantaka and make love to the king's\ndaughter,' rushed out into the street. I have at last overtaken him,\nand am trying to take him home. Will you be so good as to help me, and\ntie his hands behind him that he may not get away again?\"\n\nAs she said this, I called out: \"O old woman, who ever bound a god or\nthe wind, Shall these crows catch an eagle?\" and started off at full\nspeed. She, renewing her entreaties, begged them to pursue me; but\nthey only laughed at her, and said: \"Do you think we have nothing to\ndo but to run after madmen? You must be as mad as he is to have taken\nhim out;\" and so they went on their way.\n\nI stopped when I found I was not pursued. She soon overtook me, and\nwe went to my house, to the great joy of my wife, who had scarcely\nhoped for my deliverance.\n\nIn the morning I saw Dhanamittra, told him all that had happened, and\nthanked him for following my directions so punctually.\n\nAfter this I went to the forest, to see M\u00e2r\u00edchi. I found him restored\nto his former condition, and able to give me the desired information.\nFrom him I learnt that you would be here about this time.\n\nIn the morning after my escape, Sinhaghosha informed the king of what\nhad happened, and how Kantaka had been killed when about to enter the\nprincess's apartments. Being found to be innocent of the crime of\nwhich he was accused, he was appointed governor of the prison in\nKantaka's place.\n\nBefore the underground passage was filled up, he permitted me to pass\nthrough it more than once to the princess, who was favourably disposed\ntowards me through the picture and verse, and still more by all that\nSring\u00e2lika had said in my favour.\n\nNo great search was made after me, and by keeping quiet and going out\nonly at night I escaped further arrest.\n\nYou know how Chandavarma besieged Champa, and how Sinhavarma was\ndefeated and taken prisoner. When I heard this, and how the conqueror\nintended to force the princess to marry him, I went to Dhanamittra and\nsaid: \"Do you go about among the ministers and officers of the\nimprisoned king and the principal citizens, and tell them to be ready\nto attack the enemy as soon as they hear of the death of Chandavarma.\nI will engage to kill him to-morrow.\"\n\nHow Dhanamittra has performed his part you have just seen. As to\nmyself, I put on a dress suitable for the occasion, and, as many\npersons were going in and out of the palace, managed to slip in\nunobserved and get very near the intending bridegroom. Suddenly\nstretching out my arm as he was about to take the hand of the\nprincess, I gave him a mortal wound with a sword; then saying a few\nhasty words of encouragement to her, I defended myself against those\nwho endeavoured to seize me, till I heard your welcome voice, deep as\nthe sound of thunder, and had the happiness of embracing you.\n\nR\u00e2jav\u00e2hana, having heard this story, said \"You have indeed shown\nwonderful ingenuity and courage;\" then he turned to Upah\u00e2ravarma, and\nsaid: \"It is now your turn;\" and he, having made due salutation, thus\nbegan:--\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\nADVENTURES OF UPAH\u00c2RAVARMA.\n\n\nWhile wandering about like the others, I cams one day into the country\nof Videha. Before entering into Mithila, the capital, I stopped to\nrest at a small temple, and found there an old woman, who gave me\nwater for my feet.\n\nObserving that she looked at me very hard, and that tears came into\nher eyes, I asked her: \"O, mother, what is the cause of your grief?\"\n\n\"You bring to my mind,\" she answered, the remembrance of my lost\nfoster-child, who, if he lives, is just about your age. But I will\ntell you how he was lost.\n\n\"Prah\u00e2ravarma was formerly king of this country. His queen was a very\ndear friend of Vasumati; wife of R\u00e2jahansa, King of Magadha, and he\nwent with her and his twin sons to visit that king. How he was\nconquered and driven from his dominions by the King of M\u00e2lwa you have\ndoubtless heard. It was shortly before that invasion that the visit\nwas made. In the battle which was fought, Prah\u00e2ravarma assisted his\nfriend, and was taken prisoner, but was subsequently liberated.\n\n\"When returning to his own kingdom, he heard that a rebellion had\nbroken out, headed by his brother's son, Vikatavarma. He therefore\nturned aside through a forest road, in the direction of Suhma, hoping\nto obtain assistance from his sister's son, the king of that country.\nOn the march, he was attacked and plundered by Bheels; and I, having\ncharge of one of his children, was separated from the party, and left\nbehind in the forest.\n\n\"There I was attacked, by a tiger, and dropped the child. The tiger\nwas killed by an arrow; but I fainted away, and when I recovered, the\nchild was gone, taken away, I suppose, by the Bheels. Having been\nfound and taken care of by a compassionate cowherd, I stayed at his\ncottage till my wounds were healed.\n\n\"Longing to get back to my friends, and to hear some tidings of my\nmistress, I was surprised one day by the appearance of my daughter,\nwho had been, with me, in charge of the other child.\n\n\"After mutual congratulations and embraces, she told me her story as\nfollows: 'After we were parted, I was wounded by the robbers, lost\nthe child, and was found wandering about by one of the foresters, who\ntook care of me, and afterwards wished to make me his wife. I was too\nmuch disgusted with him and his way of life to consent; and, after\nmany threats, he would at last have killed me, but for the opportune\narrival of a young man who happened to be passing, and rescued me from\nhis hands. That young man has since become my husband. We have been\nsearching for you, and have now happily found you.'\n\n\"I asked who the man was. He answered: 'I am a servant of the King of\nMithila, to whom I am now going.' Then we all three went to Mithila,\nand told the king and queen the sad news of the loss of their\nchildren.\n\n\"The war was still going on, and at last the king was overcome and\nimprisoned, together with his queen, by his wicked nephew.\n\n\"Since then I have been living as a mendicant. My daughter, whose\nhusband was killed in the war, being destitute like myself, has\nentered the service of Kalpasundari, queen of the usurper. Ah! if\nthose princes had lived, they would have rescued their father from\nsuch degradation.\"\n\nShe began then to weep and lament; but I comforted her, and said: \"Do\nyou not remember speaking to a certain muni, and telling him of the\nloss of the child? That boy was found by him. I am he, and I will\ncontrive some means for killing that wicked usurper, and setting my\nparents free. No one can recognise me here, not even my own mother,\nwere she to see me; therefore I shall be able at my leisure to\nconsider what is best to be done.\"\n\nExceedingly delighted at hearing this, she kissed me again and again,\nand said, with tears of joy: \"O, darling! a glorious fortune is before\nyou. Now you are here, all will be well; you will soon lift up your\nparents from the sea of sorrow which has engulfed them. Happy is Queen\nPriyamvada in having such a son!\"\n\nThen she gave me such food as she had, and I stayed with her, and\npassed the night in that temple.\n\nAs I lay awake, I turned over in my mind every plan that suggested\nitself to me for the accomplishment of my purpose. Knowing how\nready-witted women are in general, and their fondness for tricks and\nintrigues, it occurred to me that my foster-sister, from her position\nnear the queen, might be able to give me material assistance.\n\nIn the morning, after worshipping the gods, I began to question the\nold woman as to her knowledge of the interior of the palace, and asked\nwhether she had frequent opportunities of seeing her daughter.\nScarcely had she begun to answer my questions when I saw some one\ncoming towards us, and she exclaimed: \"O, Pushkarika, behold our\nmaster's son; that dear child whom I so carelessly lost in the forest\nwas found and preserved, and is now restored to us.\"\n\nGreat was the daughter's delight at seeing me; and, when her agitation\nhad subsided, her mother said to her: \"I was just beginning to tell my\ndear son something of the arrangement of the palace, and the habits of\nthe inmates; but you can give him the required information much better\nthan I can.\"\n\nIn answer to this she told me all the arrangements of the palace, and\nadded: \"The Queen Kalpasundari, the daughter of the sovereign of\nKum\u00e2ra, is exceedingly beautiful and accomplished. She despises her\nhusband, who is exceedingly ugly; but though unkindly treated, and\nneglected, she has hitherto been faithful to him.\"\n\nHearing this, I said to her: \"Whenever you have an opportunity, dwell\non the king's licentiousness; find out, if possible, his scandalous\namours; make much of them; tell her how other women have behaved in\nsimilar circumstances; in short, do everything to stir up her\nindignation and jealousy against him; and, as soon as possible, let me\nknow what she says. You may help me greatly in this affair; therefore\nbe diligent and observant, and be as much as possible with your\nmistress.\"\n\nThen I said to the old woman: \"You must also play your part. You can\nbe introduced to the queen as a woman skilled in charms and\nfortune-telling. When you get her to listen to you, make the most of\nthe opportunity, and second your daughter's endeavours.\"\n\nThey both promised to do their utmost. After they were gone I took a\nsmall house, close to the wall of the royal gardens, and waited\npatiently for the result.\n\nAfter some days the old woman came to me, and said: \"Darling, we have\ndone exactly as you wished. The queen has taken a great fancy to me,\nis very indignant with her husband, and thinks herself greatly to be\npitied. What is now to be done?\"\n\nI then painted a portrait of myself, and said: \"Show this to the\nqueen; she will no doubt admire it, and say: 'Is this a portrait or a\nfancy picture?' Then do you answer: 'Suppose it should be a portrait\nof some living person; what then?' And whatever she says in reply let\nme know as soon as possible.\"\n\nThe next day she came to me again, and said: \"When I showed your\nportrait to the queen, she gazed at it a long time, and seemed lost in\nadmiration; then she exclaimed, 'Who can have painted this? Is it\npossible that such a handsome man can exist in the world? Surely there\nis no one here like this!' I answered, 'O lady, your admiration is\nquite natural, such a handsome man is very rarely to be found, but\nstill there might be such a one; and if this should be really the\nportrait of a young man, longing to see you--not only thus handsome,\nbut of good birth, very learned, accomplished, and good-tempered\n--what would you say then?' 'What would I say? I say, that if he will\nbe mine, all that I can give him in return, myself, my heart, my body,\nmy life, will be all too little. But surely you are only deceiving me;\nthere never can be such a charming person as this picture represents.'\n\n\"In answer to this, I said: 'I am not deceiving you. There is really\nsuch a person, a young prince, who is staying here in disguise; he saw\nyou when you were walking in the public park, at the feast of Spring,\nand immediately became a mark for the arrows of K\u00e2ma. Moved by his\nentreaties, and seeing how suited you are to each other, I have\nventured to take this means of making his passion known to you. If you\nwill but consent to see him, however difficult access to you may be,\nhis courage, prudence, and ingenuity are so great, that he will\ncertainly effect it; only say what your pleasure is.' Then, finding\nher quite disposed to see you, I told her your real name and birth.\nAfter reflecting some time, she said, 'Mother, I will not conceal from\nyou a circumstance which his name brings to my memory. My father was a\ngreat friend of the deposed king, and their queens were very much\nattached to each other. It was settled between them, that if the one\nhad a son, and the other a daughter, the two children should be\nengaged for marriage; but when the Queen Priyamvada had lost her sons,\nmy father gave me in marriage to Vikatavarma. This young prince was\nreally destined to be my husband, and I ought to have had him, instead\nof that ugly wretch, who is stupid, ignorant of all the arts of\npleasing, brutal, rebellious, cruel, boastful, false, and, above all,\nmost insulting in his behaviour to me; only yesterday he ill-treated\nmy favourite attendant, Pushkarika, and gathered flowers from a plant\nwhich I had especially cherished, to give to one of his paramours, a\nlow vulgar woman, who is trying to put herself on an equality with me.\nHe is in every way unsuited to me, and my misery is so great, that I\nam ready to catch at any means of escape from it. It was wretched\nenough while I thought on no one else, but now that I have heard of\nthis charming young man, and seen his portrait, I will endure it no\nlonger, whatever the consequences may be. Therefore, let him come\nto-morrow evening to the Madhavi bower in the garden. I am impatient\nto see him; even the hearing of him has filled my heart with love.'\"\n\nWhen the old nurse had given me this account, I determined to risk the\nadventure, and obtained from her a minute description of the garden,\nthe direction of the road and paths, the exact situation of the\nsummerhouse where I was to meet the queen, and where the guards were\nstationed.\n\nHaving carefully impressed all these details on my memory, I waited\nimpatiently for the following night, and lay down to rest. As I lay I\nthought on the difficulty of the enterprise, of the sin of seducing\nthe wife of another, and of what R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana and my other friends would\nsay to such conduct. On the other hand, I seemed to be justified by\nthe object I had in view; the liberation of my parents.\n\nPerplexed with these conflicting thoughts I fell asleep, and dreamed\nthat Vishnu appeared to me, and said: \"Go on boldly, without\nhesitation; what you are about to do, though it may seem sinful, is\napproved of by me.\" Encouraged by this vision, I rose in the morning,\nfully confirmed in my purpose. The tedious day came at last to an end,\nand darkness set in.\n\nWhen the proper time arrived, I put on a close-fitting dark dress,\ngirded on my sword, and set out on the dangerous enterprise.\n\nConcealed at the edge of the ditch, I found a long bamboo, which the\nold woman had procured for me. This I laid across, and so got to the\nbottom of the wall. Then, cautiously raising it, I climbed to the top,\njust where a large heap of bricks had been piled up inside. Using\nthese as steps, I got safely to the ground, and walked northward,\nthrough an avenue of champaka trees, where, as a favourable omen, I\nheard the low murmuring cry of a pair of chakrav\u00e2kas. Taking an\nalmost opposite direction, I saw before me what appeared to be a great\nbuilding, and it was only by touching it that I found it to be a clump\nof trees. Going eastward, and turning once more to the south, I passed\nthrough some mango trees, and saw the light of a lantern shining among\nthe leaves. I then knew that I was right, and went straight up to the\nbower, inside of which was a summer-house, with steps leading up to\nit, and spread with soft twigs and flowers for a carpet. The room was\nfurnished with a handsome couch, a golden water-jar, trays of flowers,\nfans, &c. After I had been seated a short time, I heard the tinkling\nof ornaments and smelt a powerful perfume. Rising up hastily, I\nslipped out, and stood concealed by the shrubs outside. Presently I\nsaw the lady enter; she looked about her, and not seeing me, was\nevidently disappointed and distressed. I heard her say, with a sad low\nvoice, \"Alas! I am deceived, he is not coming; O my heart, how can\nthis be borne? O adorable K\u00e2ma, what have I done to offend thee, that\nthou thus burnest me and dost not reduce me to ashes?\"\n\nHaving heard this, I made my appearance, and said: \"O lovely lady, do\nyou ask how you have offended K\u00e2ma? You have given him great offence,\nsince you disparage his beloved Rati by your form, his bow by your\narched eyebrows, his arrows by your glances, his great friend, the\nperfumed wind of Malaya, by your sweet breath, the notes of his\nfavourite bird by your voice. For all this K\u00e2ma justly torments you.\nBut I have done nothing to offend him; why should he so distress me?\nHave pity on me, and cure the wound inflicted by the serpent of love,\nwith the life-giving antidote of an affectionate look.\"\n\nDelighted at seeing me, she required no entreaty on my part, and\nreadily yielded to my embrace; and, sitting down on the couch, we\nconversed as though we had been long acquainted.\n\nAt last the time for separation arrived, and I rose up to go; but she\nwith tears detained me, saying: \"When you depart, my life seems to\nfollow. If you go, let me go with you.\"\n\nI answered: \"O my beloved, that is impossible. If you love me, be\nguided by me, and we shall soon meet again, not to be parted.\"\n\nThis she readily promised, and I told her exactly what was to be done.\nThen quitting her with reluctance, I returned safely by the way I had\ncome, and she went back to the palace.\n\nThe next day she showed the picture to the king, who greatly admired\nit, and asked her where she had got it. She told him: \"I have lately\nmade acquaintance with a very wonderful old woman, who has travelled\nover many countries and seen many strange things; she is very skilful\nin charms, and has brought me this picture, saying: 'It has very great\nmagical powers, and so confident am I in their efficacy that I ask for\nno payment or reward until you have fully proved them.' She tells me\nthat if certain ceremonies are performed, and mantras which she has\ntaught me, are recited in a retired spot at midnight, I shall be\nchanged to a person exactly resembling the portrait, and shall have\nthe power of transferring that form to you while I regain my own\nshape. I have thought it right to tell you this; but do not act\nhastily: show the picture to your ministers and consult them.\"\n\nThe king, greatly astonished, but very desirous of obtaining such a\nhandsome body, asked the opinion of his counsellors and younger\nbrothers, and they saw no reason why the experiment should not be\ntried.\n\nThe hour of midnight on the day of full moon was therefore appointed\nfor the ceremony, and there was much talk in the city about it.\n\n\"O the wonderful power of magic! Through the skill of the queen, the\nking will obtain a new body fit for a god.\"\n\n\"But is there no danger?\"\n\n\"How can there be danger when the ceremony is to be performed by his\nown queen, in his own private gardens, where no stranger can enter?\nBesides, have not the learned and clever ministers and counsellors\napproved of it, and is it likely that they would be deceived?\"\n\nThe city was full of such talk as this, and the people awaited with\nimpatience the night appointed for the working of the miracle.\n\nWhen the time arrived a great heap was made in a part of the garden\nwhere four roads met, not far from the summer-house, with large\nquantities of sandal-wood, lignaloes, and other sweet-smelling woods,\ncamphor, silk dresses, sesamum, saffron, and various spices; and\nseveral animals, duly slaughtered by the priests, were laid upon it;\nand the fire having been lighted, every one withdrew except the king\nand queen. She then said to him: \"You know how faithless you have been\nto me, and with this handsome body you will be a much greater\nattraction to other women. I know the fickleness of your disposition.\nCan you expect that I will confer on you this beauty for the sake of\nmy rivals?\"\n\nThen he threw himself at her feet, and said \"O my darling, forgive my\ntransgressions. I swear by everything solemn that in future I will\nkeep to you only, and not even think of any other woman.\"\n\nAfter these and many other protestations, she appeared to be\nsatisfied, and said: \"Now withdraw to that clump of trees, and stay\nthere till I ring the bell; then you may come again to the fire and\nsee the wonderful change in me.\"\n\nMeanwhile, under cover of the thick smoke arising from the burning of\nall those substances, I had climbed the wall as before, and was\nstanding in the summer-house when the queen came in. She said:\n\"Everything is ready. I regard myself now as entirely yours; nothing\nshall part us any more;\" and, throwing her arms round my neck, she\nkissed me again and again.\n\nSaying to her, \"Stay here concealed while I finish the work,\" I\nquitted her, went to the place of sacrifice, and rang a bell hanging\non a neighbouring tree; and the sound summoned the king, like a\nmessenger of death.\n\nHe found me standing by the fire, throwing on it more sandal-wood,\nlignaloes, and other precious things; and as he stood gazing in fear\nand astonishment, and hardly believing his eyes, I said to him:\n\"Remember what you have promised, and now swear to me again, taking\nthis sacred fire as a witness, that you will renounce all other women,\nand keep to me only.\"\n\nHe answered: \"O queen, there is no deceit in me. I will do all that I\nhave promised,\" and he repeated his former oaths.\n\nBut as if not satisfied with this, I said: \"I must have some other\nproof of your sincerity. Tell me some of your state secrets.\"\n\nThen he told me: \"My father's brother, Prah\u00e2ravarma, has been for a\nlong time in prison; with the consent of my ministers, I intend to\npoison him, and give out that he has died of old age and infirmities.\n\n\"I am preparing an army, to be commanded by my brother, for the\ninvasion of Pundra without any declaration of war.\n\n\"There is a merchant here possessed of a diamond of immense value. I\n'am contriving a plan by which I shall get it from him at a tenth of\nits worth.\n\n\"There is a man of wealth and influence very displeasing to me. I have\nengaged a certain person, named Satahali, the governor of the\ndistrict, to bring a false accusation against him, and by that means\nto stir up the people, and so cause his death in a popular tumult,\nwhich will take away all blame or suspicion from me.\"\n\nWhen I had heard all these things, saying, \"Die the death which your\nwicked deeds deserve,\" I suddenly seized him by the throat, stabbed\nhim in a moment to the heart, and threw the body into the great fire,\nwhere it was quickly consumed; after which I went back to the queen,\nwho was anxiously awaiting me. Though much agitated, she was more\nrelieved at having got rid of that wretch than shocked at the manner\nof his death; and having quieted and consoled her without much\ndifficulty, I went at once with her to her apartments.\n\nOn seeing him, whom they believed to be the king, so changed, the\nwomen and attendants who met us were evidently much astonished, but so\nmuch had been said beforehand about the wonderful transformation to be\nexpected, that no one seemed to doubt that I was really the king with\na new body; and having said a few words of encouragement to them, I\nwas received with great respect.\n\nThe rest of the night was passed in hearing from the queen as much as\npossible about the court, the ministers, &c., so that I might not\nappear to be ignorant of what the king must have known, when I should\nmeet them on the morrow.\n\nIn the morning, after the performance of due worship of the gods, I\nmet the ministers in council, and they also were so convinced of the\npower of magic that they did not hesitate to acknowledge me as their\nmaster, expressing their delight at the happy change.\n\nThen I said to them: \"With this new body I have new feelings and\npurposes. I repent of my cruelty to my uncle, and instead of getting\nrid of him as I had intended, it is my pleasure that he shall be taken\nfrom prison and treated with all proper respect.\n\n\"That diamond, of which I had intended to get possession, must not be\nobtained by fraudulent means. If I should decide on having it, I will\npay the full price.\"\n\nTo the brother who had been appointed to command the army, I said:\n\"Dear brother, our purpose is changed with regard to that invasion.\nYou will only watch the frontier; and if there is any beginning of war\non the part of the Pundras, attack them vigorously; but not\notherwise.\"\n\nI sent also for Satahali, and said: \"You know that I wished to get\nrid of Anantas\u00edra, because he was suspected of being a partisan of the\ndeposed king. Now that I am reconciled to my uncle, there is no\noccasion for anything to be done to him; you will therefore take no\nfurther steps in that affair.\"\n\nWhen the ministers heard all this, and perceived me to be acquainted\nwith secrets known only to the king and themselves, they were quite\nconfirmed in their first impression; and while congratulating me and\nthe queen, were loud in their praise of the power of magic.\n\nMy parents were immediately liberated from prison; and having been\ninformed by the old nurse of what had been done by me, were quite\nprepared when I went to them in public; and afterwards, when we met\nin private, were able to give way to their feelings of affection and\ndelight at seeing me again.\n\nAfter a short time, with the consent of my wife, I resigned the crown,\nand reinstated my parents in their former position; retaining for\nmyself the dignity of heir-apparent.\n\nSoon afterwards, a letter arrived from Sinhavarma, an old friend of my\nfather's, congratulating him on his restoration, and asking for help\nagainst Chandavarma, who was marching to attack him. Upon which I\nhastily equipped an army, and marched to his assistance; and have now\nhad the great happiness of meeting with you, as well as of helping to\ndefeat the enemy.\n\nR\u00e2jav\u00e2hana having heard this story, smiled, and said: \"Truly, our\nfriend here has committed great sins; but how can I blame him when\nhis motives were so good, and he had the praiseworthy object of\nliberating from a long imprisonment those who are so dear to him, and\nof punishing the usurper and oppressor? His courage and ingenuity have\nbeen great; and I congratulate him on his success.\"\n\nThen turning to Arthap\u00e2la, he said: \"Do you relate your adventures.\"\nAnd he immediately began his story in the following manner:--\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\nADVENTURES OF ARTHAP\u00c2LA.\n\n\nMy Lord, having the same object as your other friends, I wandered\nabout over various countries in search of you. In the course of my\ntravels, I arrived one day at the sacred city of Ben\u00e2res. There I\nbathed in the pure crystal water of the river; and duly worshipped the\nmighty god, the slayer of Andhaka, at his temple outside the city.\nAfter finishing my devotions, I was going on my way, when I saw a\ntall, stout man, carrying an iron club, with his eyes red and swelled\nfrom weeping, and engaged in making a noose with his sash.\n\nI thought to myself: \"This man has fallen into some great calamity.\nHe is thinking of doing violence to himself or to others. I will see\nif I can assist him.\" I therefore went up to him, and said: \"This\nconduct of yours seems to indicate some rash purpose. May I know the\ncause of your grief? Perhaps I may be able to help you.\"\n\nHe hesitated for a moment, and looked very hard at me; but at last he\nsaid: \"What harm can there be in telling you? You shall know my\ntroubles, if you wish to learn them.\"\n\nThen we sat down together under a shady tree, and he began his tale as\nfollows: \"O, fortunate sir, I was once as happy as you appear to be.\nMy father was in good circumstances, and brought me up carefully; but\nI preferred a wild, dissipated life, and at last became a robber. One\nnight I broke into the house of a rich man in this city, was caught\nin the act, and condemned to death.\n\n\"My hands were fettered by being passed through holes in a heavy piece\nof wood; and in this state I was led out for execution into a public\nsquare, where a furious elephant was brought forward to trample me to\ndeath. When he came near me, I shouted as loudly as possible, in order\nto frighten him; and lifting up my arms, gave him a violent blow on\nthe trunk. Upon this, he turned away; and as I continued to shout out\nand abuse him, all the efforts of the driver to make him attack me\nwere in vain.\n\n\"Again and again, with much difficulty, the driver brought him in\nfront of me; but each time, instead of attacking me, he turned back,\nalarmed by my menacing appearance and loud shouts; and at last ran\nright away, leaving me uninjured.\n\n\"The courage which I had shown was observed by the king's chief\nminister, K\u00e2map\u00e2la, who was looking on from one of the towers of the\npalace; and he sent for me, and said: 'You seem to be a very strong,\nbrave man. I did not think that elephant could have been so cowed by\nany one. It is a pity that such qualities should not be better\nemployed. Are you willing, if you are pardoned, to forsake your evil\nways, and lead an honest life? If you will give me a promise to this\neffect, I will take you into my service.'\n\n\"I gladly gave the promise which he required; and he obtained my\npardon, and became my protector and master; and I have served him\nfaithfully ever since. After some years, seeing my devotion to him, he\nplaced great confidence in me, and one day told me his own history.\n\n\"'There was,' said he, 'formerly at Pushpapuri a very learned and\npious man, named Dharmap\u00e2la, one of the king's ministers. His eldest\nson was like him; but I, the youngest, was of a very different\ndisposition. I had no inclination for work or study; but thought only\nof amusement, and spent my time among gamblers and disreputable\ncharacters. My father and brother did all they could to restrain me;\nbut, impatient of their control, I left my home and friends, and\nwandered about the world. One day I came to this city, Ben\u00e2res, and\nnot long after my arrival, I made acquaintance with the king's\ndaughter, who, with her female friends, was playing at ball in a park\noutside the town. We fell in love with each other; and I contrived, by\ndisguising myself as a woman, to enter her private apartments and to\nhave many secret meetings with her; the result of which was the birth\nof a child.\n\n\"'The devoted attendants kept the whole affair secret, removed the\ninfant as soon as it was born, and telling the mother it was dead,\ngave it to a savari woman, who carried it to the public cemetery and\nleft it there.\n\n\"'As she was returning; she was stopped by the watchmen, and in her\nfright told them what she had done. Information was given to the king,\nand further inquiry being made, my offence was discovered, and one\nnight I was arrested, while quietly sleeping unsuspicious of danger.\nBeing condemned to death, I was led to execution outside the city. By\na fortunate chance I got my hands free, and snatching the sword from\nthe executioner, laid about me so vigorously that all the men fell\nback, and I made my escape to the forest. There I wandered about for\nsome time, subsisting on wild fruits and roots, and sleeping in the\ntrees.\n\n\"'While living this precarious life, I was one day astonished at\nmeeting a young lady, with many female attendants. She addressed me by\nmy name, and desired me to sit down with her, under a large tree.\n\n\"'When, with much surprise, I asked who she was, and how she came to\nbe in that wild forest, with such a retinue, and why I was so favoured\nby her, she told me the reason of her coming, saying: My name is\nT\u00e2r\u00e2vali. I am the daughter of a chief Yaksha. A short time ago I\nwent to visit a friend, living on the Malaya Mountains, and while\nflying through the air on my return, as I passed over the cemetery of\nBen\u00e2res, I heard the cry of a child.\n\n\"'Moved with compassion, I alighted on the ground, took it up and\ncarried it to my father. He took it to our master, the god Kuvera, who\nsent for me, and asked, \"What induced you to bring this child?\" \"A\nstrong feeling of compassion,\" I answered, as if it had been my own.\n\n\"'You are right,' he replied; 'there is good reason for what you have\ndone;' and he showed me how, in a former existence, when you were\nSudraka and I Aryad\u00e2si, the child, now born of the Princess Kantimati,\nwas ours; therefore, I am really your wife, and it was indeed a\nmaternal instinct which prompted me to save the infant. Kuvera,\nhowever, would not allow me to keep the boy, but ordered me to take\nhim to the Queen Vasumati, that he might be brought up together with\nher son, who will one day become a great monarch.\n\n\"Having performed the command of the god, I am permitted by him to\nfind you out, and relieve you from your present distress.\"\n\n\"So saying, she embraced me, and afterwards took me to a fairy palace\nin the forest, furnished with all comforts and luxuries, where I\npassed some time with her in great happiness.\n\n\"One day, when she was expressing her great love for me, I said: 'I\nhave a strong desire to take some vengeance on the king who would have\nput me to death.' Upon which, with a smile, she said, 'Ah! you wish\nto see Kantimati; I am not jealous, I will take you to her.'\n\n\"Then lifting me up, she bore me through the air to the palace, and\nwithout disturbing the guards, placed me at the bedside of the king.\n\n\"Grasping a sword lying near him, I awakened him, and said: 'I am,\nyour son-in-law; I took your daughter without your consent, and am now\ncome to make submission and atone for my fault.\"\n\n\"Seeing the drawn sword held over him he was much alarmed, and said:\n'I must have been mad to act as I did and reject such a son-in-law; I\nwill now acknowledge you, and you shall duly marry my daughter.'\n\n\"He kept his word, the next day announced the intended marriage to all\nthe court, and shortly afterwards publicly gave me his daughter.\n\n\"T\u00e2r\u00e2vali remained with me, became great friends with her fellow-wife,\ntold her the story which she had related to me, and how her son had\nbeen preserved and was taken care of by Queen Vasumati.\n\n\"Thus I have for some years lived happily, holding, as you know, a\nvery important office.\"\n\n[End of the story of K\u00e2map\u00e2la as told to his servant.]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\"Some time after this, the death of the old king occurred, and as the\neldest son had died during his father's lifetime, of consumption\nbrought on by dissipation and debauchery; my master, together with the\nother ministers, placed Sinhaghosha, a boy about five years old, on\nthe throne, and had him carefully educated.\n\n\"As the young king grew older, he was surrounded by companions nearer\nhis own age, and they not liking the restraint put upon them by the\nwise and prudent K\u00e2map\u00e2la, endeavoured secretly to excite a prejudice\nagainst him, saying, 'This fellow, who sets himself up to be so wise\nand virtuous, is a wicked wretch, who first seduced the princess, and\nthen, having escaped the death he so well deserved, managed to get to\nthe bedside of the sleeping king, and to frighten him into compliance\nwith his demands. This K\u00e2map\u00e2la intends to make himself king; he\npoisoned your eldest brother, and only spared you in order to obtain\nthe support of the people, knowing that the real power would remain in\nhis own hands. Depend on it you will not be suffered to live when you\nare old enough to shake off his authority. If you wish to be safe you\nshould get rid of him at once.'\n\n\"With these, and other similar speeches, they so prejudiced the young\nking against his guardian and minister, that he would gladly have got\nrid of him at once, but was deterred by fear of the power of his\nYaksha wife.\n\n\"One day the queen, seeing the Princess Kantimati very sad, asked her\nthe reason of her sadness, saying, 'Tell me the truth; you cannot\ndeceive me; what is the cause of this depression?' 'Did I ever deceive\nyou?' she answered; 'my friend and fellow-wife, T\u00e2r\u00e2vali, has taken\noffence at something done or said by our husband, and though we tried\nto soothe her, she went away, and has not returned; this is the cause\nof my distress.'\n\n\"The queen hearing this, immediately told her husband, 'K\u00e2map\u00e2la has\nquarrelled with his fairy wife, and she has left him. There is nothing\nnow to prevent your proceeding against him as you please.'\n\n\"Sinhaghosha, longing to be freed from restraint, caused his minister\nto be arrested, when he came the next day to the palace, as usual,\nunsuspicious of danger. This very day he will be led round the city,\nbe proclaimed a traitor, and have his eyes put out.\n\n\"I, having lost my only friend and protector, have no wish to live,\nand was fastening my sash to hang myself, when you interrupted me.\"\n\nWhen Purnabhadra had finished this story, I said to him, \"I am that\nchild who was exposed in the cemetery, and saved by the fairy. My\ncoming here is indeed opportune, and with your assistance I will\nengage to deliver my father. I would boldly attack the guards as they\nlead him round the city, but fear, lest in the confusion he might be\nkilled, when all my exertions would have been in vain; some other plan\nmust therefore be thought of.\"\n\nWhile I was thus speaking to him a serpent put out his head from a\nhole near me, and, knowing how to charm serpents, I made it come\nforth, and secured it.\n\nThen I said to Purnabhadra: \"O friend, this is just what I wanted. I\nwill mix with the crowd when my father is led round, let this serpent\nfall on him as if by chance, and then run up to him and say that I am\nskilled in charms, and can save his life. No doubt they will allow me\nto try, and I will stop the effect of the poison in such a manner that\nhe will not die, and yet remain insensible, as if dead. Meanwhile, do\nyou go to my mother, ask to see her in private, and tell her that the\nson whom she had lost is now here. Explain to her my plan for saving\nmy father, and say that when she hears of the death of her husband,\nshe must go to the king as if in the greatest grief, and ask for\npermission to burn herself together with the dead body. When this\nrequest is granted, as no doubt it will be, she must prepare the\nfuneral pile, and make ready for self-immolation, laying the\napparently dead body on a couch in a private room till I come, when I\nwill tell her what is further to be done.\"\n\nPurnabhadra, delighted with the plan which I proposed, no longer\nwished to destroy himself. He set out at once to do as I had directed\nhim, and I went immediately into the city. There I saw great crowds\nalready collected, and ascertained where the executioner would stand\nwhen the proclamation was made.\n\nOverhanging the place, there happened to be a large tree, with thick\nfoliage. Into this I climbed, and waited patiently, listening to the\ntalk of the people collected underneath.\n\nPresently the executioner and his men came, bringing the prisoner, and\nthe proclamation was made three times.\n\n\"Know all men that this traitor, K\u00e2map\u00e2la, has not only poisoned the\nlate king and his eldest son, but has been convicted of plotting\nagainst the life of his present majesty; he endeavoured to persuade\ntwo of the king's faithful attendants to administer poison, but they\nhave given information, and his life is justly forfeited; the king,\nhowever, in consideration of his being a brahman, and nearly\nconnected with himself, has spared his life, and only sentenced him to\nhave his eyes put out. Let all evil-doers take warning by his\npunishment.\"\n\nWhile this proclamation was being read, I climbed to a branch of the\ntree just over my father, and dropped on him the poisonous serpent,\nwhich immediately bit him. In the confusion which ensued, I slipped\ndown from the tree, and, having mixed with the crowd, managed, while\nshouting out \"This is a just punishment from heaven; so may all\ntraitors perish,\" to get close to my father, and quickly applied a\ncharm in such a manner that, though he fell down apparently dead, the\neffect of the poison was stopped. The executioner being also bitten;\nand his assistants, as well as the crowd of spectators, being alarmed\nand dispersed from dread of the poisonous serpent; this act of mine\nwas not noticed.\n\nMeanwhile, my mother, who had been prepared by Purnabhadra to hear of\nher husband's death, went immediately to the king, attended by a large\nnumber of friends, and said; \"The gods know if my husband was your\nenemy or not; I will not now attempt to defend him; but, whether he\nwas innocent or guilty, your anger should cease now he is dead. I pray\nyou to allow me to burn his body, and according to the custom of\nwidows of my rank, to ascend the funeral pile together with him. Were\nI not to perform this duty, disgrace would fall on you and on the\nwhole family, as well as on myself.\"\n\nThe king, well pleased to have got rid of the obnoxious minister,\nwithout incurring the sin of killing him, exclaimed: \"This death is\nindeed the act of fate!\" And, immediately granting her request,\npermitted the body of K\u00e2map\u00e2la to be taken to his own house, where I\nhad by that time arrived, and was ready to receive it.\n\nMeanwhile, my mother prepared for death, and, resisting all the\nentreaties of her friends and servants, expressed her determination to\nbe burnt together with her husband.\n\nWhen everything for the funeral was arranged, she came into the\nprivate room, where the body had been laid, and there saw her husband\nfully recovered, and me sitting by him. Great was her delight and\nastonishment at this wonderful and sudden change; and having first\nembraced her husband, she threw her arms round me, and, with a voice\nbroken by sobs of joy, said: \"O, my darling son, how can I deserve\nsuch happiness?--I, who so cruelly abandoned you at your birth, and\nsuffered you to be taken away, as if dead? but your father was not to\nblame for that; he, indeed, deserves to have been restored to life by\nyou, and to have the happiness of seeing you. Cruel, indeed, was\nT\u00e2r\u00e2vali, who, when she had received you again from Kuvera, did not\nbring you at once to me; but what could I expect from her? It is\nthrough her unkindness in leaving us that all this misfortune has\nhappened; but I must not complain; I was not worthy, without previous\nsuffering, to enjoy such great happiness. Come and embrace me.\"\n\nSaying this, she again threw her arms round me, and kissed me\nrepeatedly, trembling with emotion, and shedding many tears of joy.\nMy father's feelings were scarcely less excited. He seemed to have\nrisen from the lowest depth of misery to the summit of felicity, and\nesteemed himself more fortunate than even Indra the King of the Gods.\n\nWhen we were all somewhat calmed, and I had explained to my father all\nthat had occurred, I said: \"There is much yet to be done; the king\nwill soon find out the deception which has been practised, and send to\narrest you again; so we must consider how we can defend ourselves.\"\n\nMy father answered: \"This house is a very large one; the walls are\nstrong; there are many secret passages; I have a great store of\nweapons; my servants are brave and faithful, so that we could hold out\nfor several days. Besides this I have many friends in the city; most\nof the authorities will favour me; many of the soldiers will be on my\nside, and there are many persons discontented and ready to rebel\nagainst the king. Therefore, if we act prudently, we shall have much\nassistance, and be able to cut off that tyrant.\"\n\nWith this I entirely agreed, and we prepared for defence. As I had\nexpected, the king, finding how he had been deceived, sent soldiers to\ntake us; but, though they made many attempts, we drove them back day\nafter day, with very small loss to ourselves.\n\nMeanwhile, fearing lest we should at last be overpowered, if something\nmore were not done, I determined, if possible, to seize the person of\nthe king; and, as my father's house was not far from the palace, I\nbegan to make an underground passage inside, in order to reach his\nsleeping-room, the exact position of which I had learnt from my\nfather. After digging for some distance, I came, to my great\nastonishment, into a large, lofty, well-lighted room, occupied by a\nnumber of women, among whom was a young lady of surpassing beauty,\nresembling the wife of K\u00e2ma, or the tutelary goddess of the city, who\nhad hidden herself here to avoid the sight of so much wickedness\nabove.\n\nThe women were equally astonished at seeing me, and ran away, alarmed,\ninto other adjoining rooms. One old woman, however, remained behind,\nand, falling at my feet, said \"Have pity on us poor helpless women;\nsurely thou art a god, for no mortal could have thus found his way\nhither. O tell us why thou art come.\"\n\n\"Calm yourself,\" I answered, \"You have nothing to fear from me. I am\nArthap\u00e2la, the son of the minister K\u00e2map\u00e2la and the Princess\nKantimati, and have come thus unexpectedly on you while making an\nunderground passage from my father's house to the palace; but tell me\nwho you all are, and how you come to be living here.\"\n\n\"O prince,\" she answered, \"I had heard of your birth, but not of your\npreservation, and happy am I now to see you. Know that the young lady\nwhom you have just seen is the granddaughter of your maternal\ngrandfather, Chandasinha. The eldest son of that king died before his\nfather, leaving his wife pregnant, and she lost her life in giving\nbirth to this daughter, who was committed to my care. One day the king\nsent for me, and said: 'I intend this child when grown up to be given\nin marriage to Darpas\u00e2ra, son of the King of M\u00e2lwa; and, remembering\nthe misconduct of her aunt, I am determined that nothing of the kind\nshall happen with her. I have therefore caused a spacious palace to be\nmade underground, and have furnished it with provisions and all other\nnecessaries for even a hundred years. I have great confidence in you;\nyou will therefore go down into this subterranean dwelling, taking\nwith you the princess and such attendants as you may think desirable,\nand will remain there until she is grown up, when I shall fetch you\nfrom below, and give her in marriage as I have intended.' So saying,\nhe lifted up a small trap-door in the court-yard close to his own\napartment, and showed me the steps leading to this place. The next day\nwe all came down, and have remained here ever since. Twelve years have\nnow passed, and the king seems to have forgotten us. I must tell you\nalso that the princess, though destined by her grandfather for\nDarpas\u00e2ra, was originally intended for you; for her mother, while the\nchild was as yet unborn, promised that her daughter should become the\nwife of the son of Kantimati if he should ever return. Look on her,\ntherefore, as your intended, and do what is best for us.\"\n\nHaving received this account from the old woman, I told her to have no\nfear on the princess's account, but to trust entirely in me, and that\nI would soon liberate them from their long and tedious imprisonment.\n\nShe then took a lamp and showed me the steps leading to the trap-door,\nwhich I forced open, and soon found my way into the king's bed-room.\nThere, before he was sufficiently awake to call for help, I seized,\ngagged, and bound him, and dragging him along, as an ichneumon drags a\nserpent, past the astonished women and through the tunnel which I had\nmade, I brought him, trembling with fear and bowed down by shame, to\nmy father's house, and showed him to my parents, telling them how I\nhad captured him, and how I had discovered the princess in the\nsubterranean palace.\n\nWhen the seizure of the king was known, those who were previously\nwell-disposed to my father immediately joined us, and all opposition\nceased.\n\nSoon afterwards I married the princess, who looked on me as her\ndeliverer from the dungeon; Sinhaghosha was deposed; and I, having\ndouble claim to the throne, was acknowledged king in his stead.\n\nHearing that the King of Anga, a devoted friend of your father, was at\nwar, and attacked by a strong enemy, we have marched hither with an\narmy to his assistance, and I have had the pleasure of helping to\ndeliver him from his enemies, and the still greater happiness of\nmeeting with you. I now beg of you to decide what shall be done with\nthe deposed king, our prisoner, whom we have brought with us. My\nmother is very anxious to liberate him, but hitherto it has not been\nthought safe to do so.\n\nThe prince answered: \"Let that unworthy young man be freed, on\ncondition of giving up all claim to the throne and leading a private\nlife; and let him devote himself to pious meditation, which is the\npurifier of evil deeds.\" Then turning with a kind look to Pramati, he\nsaid: \"Do you now relate your adventures,\" with which request he at\nonce complied:--\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\nADVENTURES OF PRAMATI.\n\n\nMy lord, while wandering like the rest of your friends in search of\nyou, I found myself one evening in a large forest, far from any\nhabitation. Thinking it useless to attempt to go further in an unknown\ncountry and in darkness, I prepared to sleep there. Having bathed in\nthe water of a small lake, and made myself a bed of leaves, I lay down\nunder a large tree, commending myself to the deities presiding over\nthe place, and was very soon asleep.\n\nPresently a strange and delightful feeling came over me, gladdening my\ninmost soul; and I awoke, hardly knowing whether what I saw was a\nreality or a dream, for on looking round me I saw that I was no longer\nin the forest, but in a very large and lofty room, lying on a soft\ncouch with white muslin curtains; all around me were a number of\nsleeping women. Among them my eyes were especially attracted towards a\nyoung lady of exceeding beauty, lying in a very graceful attitude,\ncovered only by a silken petticoat, her bosom slowly rising and\nfalling, and her bud-like lower lip quivering with the soft movement\nof the breath in quiet sleep.\n\nLost in astonishment, I said to myself; \"What has become of that great\nforest wrapt in darkness? How is my bed of leaves exchanged for this\nsoft couch? Whence is this dome above me, lofty as the great temple of\nSiva? Who are all these lovely women, like a troop of Apsaras lying\ndown wearied with play? And who can this beautiful lady be? She\ncannot be a goddess, for the gods do not sleep thus, nor do they\nperspire, and I see the drops breaking forth on her forehead. She must\nthen be a mortal; but O how lovely! how peacefully she sleeps, as if\nshe had never known the anxieties of love! My heart is drawn towards\nher.\"\n\nWith these thoughts I rose up and approached the bed where she lay,\nand stood looking at her as if entranced, becoming every moment more\nenamoured, longing to touch her, but held back by the fear of\ndisturbing her.\n\nWhile I was thus gazing, she gradually awoke, and raising herself into\na sitting posture, looked at me attentively with eyes more than half\nclosed. At first her lips were opened, as if she were about to cry\nout; but, apparently restrained by some secret power, she remained\nsilent, trembling all over, and showing in her countenance the signs\nof mingled doubt, fear, astonishment, bashfulness, and love; till at\nlast, overcome again by sleep, she slowly sank down again on the bed.\n\nAlmost at the same time I felt myself irresistibly overcome by\ndrowsiness, and was very soon fast asleep.\n\nWhen I awoke, I found myself on the bed of leaves once more, alone in\nthe gloomy forest, and day was beginning to appear.\n\nWhen I was quite awake I had some difficulty in collecting my\nthoughts, and I said to myself: \"Can all this of which I have such a\nvivid impression be other than a reality, or was it only a dream, a\nmagical delusion? Whatever it may be, I will not quit this place till\nI find out the truth, and I will place myself under the protection of\nthe deity who sent the vision.\"\n\nHaving formed this resolution, I was waiting where I had slept, when I\nsaw approaching me a female form faded like a flower scorched by the\nsun, with eyes red from weeping, lips parched by the hot breath of\nsighs, wearing a scanty black dress, without ornaments, and with her\nhair in a single braid, like an affectionate wife mourning for the\nabsence of her husband;[6] and with all this having an air of divine\ndignity, which made me regard her with reverence, and think that she\nmight be the tutelary goddess of the place, to whom I had commended\nmyself; and I prostrated myself before her. But she raised me up with\nher arms, and after kissing me again and again, said, with a voice\nbroken by tears and sobs, \"O, my darling, surely you have heard from\nthe Queen Vasumati how one night a fairy appeared to her, and placing\nthe child Arthap\u00e2la[7] in her arms, told her husband's name and her\nown; and how the child was brought by order of Kuvera; and then\ndisappeared. I am that fairy--your mother. Bewildered by unreasonable\njealousy and anger, I abandoned my husband, your father, K\u00e2map\u00e2la; and\nfor that sin I was cursed by Durg\u00e2, who condemned me to be possessed\nby an evil spirit for a year. That year, which seemed to me like a\nthousand years, is ended; and I am now come from the great festival\nof Siva, where I have met my relations, who had assembled there, and\nhave received full pardon from the goddess.\n\n\"In my way thither, I passed by this place, saw you about to lie down,\nand heard your prayer to the local deity.\n\n\"Being still partly under the influence of the curse, I did not\nrecognise you as my son. Yet even as a stranger I felt an interest in\nyou, and could not bear the thought of leaving you exposed to danger\nin such a wild place. I therefore waited till you were fast asleep;\nand having considered where I could deposit you while I was gone to\nmeet the goddess, since I could not take you with me, it occurred to\nme to carry you to the palace of the King of Sravasti, and leave you\nto sleep there till my return. I therefore carried you through the\nair, and placed you in the sleeping apartment of the Princess\nNavam\u00e2lika, feeling sure that no one would disturb you there. I then\nwent to the temple; and after paying due worship to Siva, and\nreceiving the congratulations of my assembled friends, I was dismissed\nby the goddess, who said: 'You are forgiven; the curse is ended; go\nand be happy with your husband.' After which I returned to the palace;\nand taking you up, brought you to this place, and laid you, still\nsleeping, on your bed of leaves. Since then, I have been watching for\nyour awaking; for as soon as the curse was removed, I knew you to be\nmy son.\n\n\"I must now leave you, and go to your father. I know what passed in\nthe palace; how you have fallen in love with the princess, and her\nfeelings towards you. Do not despond; before long you will see her\nagain.\"\n\nShe then warmly embraced me; and saying: \"I go with reluctance,\nfarewell for the present,\" she departed.\n\nHaving thus found the supposed dream to be a reality, and that the\nlady whom I had seen was the Princess Navam\u00e2lika, I was confirmed in\nmy love, and set out for Sravasti, determined, if possible, to see her\nagain.\n\nOn the road, I came to a village where there was a large fair and a\ngreat concourse of traders. Various amusements were going on; among\nothers, a cock-fight, which I stopped to look at, and sat down near an\nold brahman, who was watching the fight with great interest. On seeing\nme smile, he asked the reason; and I answered: \"What simpletons some\nof the breeders here must be to pit a Bal\u00e2ka cock against one of the\nN\u00e2rikela breed, which is sure to win.\"\n\nWith a knowing look, he whispered to me: \"Hush! these blockheads know\nno better. I see you are a sharp fellow; sit quiet and say nothing.\"\nThen he offered me betel and pawn from his box; and we got into\nconversation.\n\nMeanwhile, the birds fought furiously; and there was much vociferation\non both sides; but, as I had predicted, the Bal\u00e2ka cock was beaten.\nThe old man was delighted at the victory of the other, which was his\nown. He seemed to have taken a great liking to me, though our ages\nwere so different, and invited me to his house, where I was very\nhospitably treated, and passed the night.\n\nThe next morning he accompanied me some distance on the way to\nSravasti; and said, at parting: \"Remember, I am your friend; do not\nhesitate to apply to me if there is anything in which I can help you.\"\n\nAfter he had left me, I continued my journey; and arriving late and\nvery tired at Sravasti, I lay down to sleep in an arbour in one part\nof the park outside the city. There I slept soundly till awakened by\nthe noise of the swans and other birds in a lake not far off.\n\nSoon after I had risen, I heard the tinkling of anklets, and saw a\nyoung lady walking towards me, with a painted canvas in her hand. When\nshe came near, she looked first at me, and then at the painting. This\nshe did several times, and was evidently surprised and pleased at the\ncomparison On casting an eye on the picture, I also was much\nsurprised, finding it to be a portrait of myself.\n\nFeeling sure that the likeness could not be accidental, and that there\nmust be some reason for her making the comparison and seeming so\npleased at the result, I would not at first make any inquiry of her,\nbut merely said: \"This is a public place; we need not stand on\nceremony; pray sit down with me.\" This she did; and we got into\nconversation about the news of the town.\n\nAt last she said to me: \"You seem to be quite a stranger here, and\nlook as if you were travel-tired. Will you be offended if I ask you to\ncome and rest at my house?\"\n\n\"Offended!\" I answered. \"You do me a very great favour; I shall be\nmost delighted to accept your invitation.\" Upon this, she rose, and I\nfollowed her to her house, where I was most kindly entertained. When I\nwas refreshed with bathing and food, she said to me: \"You have been\ntravelling about in various countries. Have you, in your travels, met\nwith any very extraordinary adventure?\"\n\nOn hearing this question, I thought: \"I have now good ground for hope.\nThe picture represents that very room which I saw, with its lofty\nceiling and white canopies--even the bed where the princess was lying.\nInstigated by love, she has doubtless painted my portrait from\nrecollection; and, in the hope that I may be discovered through the\nlikeness, has entrusted it to this lady who has now invited me to her\nhouse. She evidently thinks that I am the person; but hesitates to\nput a direct question to me. If I am right, I will soon remove her\ndoubt.\"\n\nI asked her, therefore: \"Will you allow me to examine that picture?\"\nShe put it into my hand; and I drew on it the princess lying as I had\nseen her; and giving it back, said: \"One night, while sleeping in a\nforest, I had a very wonderful dream. I found myself lying in just\nsuch a room as that which is represented in this painting; and saw\nthere a very beautiful young lady, such as I have painted here; could\nthat have been anything more than a dream?\"\n\nWhen she heard this, her face lighted up, and she answered: \"That was\nno dream, but a reality; and you are indeed the person I was looking\nfor.\" Then she told me the whole story; how the princess had seen and\nfallen in love with me; and how she had painted that picture and\ngiven it to her friend, that it might be the means of discovering me;\nand how delighted she would now be to hear that I was found at last.\n\nI begged her to assure the princess that I was even more anxious to\nsee her, and had come to Sravasti solely from the hope of finding her.\n\n\"If your friend is disposed to favour me,\" I continued, \"beg her to\nwait patiently a few days; I will arrange a plan which will enable us\nto be together in her apartments, without danger to either of us.\" To\nthis she agreed, and having taken leave of her, I went back to the\nvillage where the old brahman lived, whom I had met at the cock-fight.\nI found him at home, and delighted to see me. After I was rested and\nrefreshed, he asked me, \"What has brought you back so soon? is there\nanything in which you require my assistance?\"\n\n\"There is,\"' I answered, \"a very important affair, in which you can\nmaterially assist me. The King of the Sravastans, Dharmavardhana,[8]\nwhose character corresponds with his name, has a very beautiful\ndaughter. By an extraordinary chance, I have seen and fallen in love\nwith her. I have reason to believe that she was equally struck by me,\nbut know not how to contrive a meeting between us without your help;\nwill you therefore assist me?\"\n\n\"What is your plan?\" he asked, \"and how can I be of service in\ncarrying it out?\"\n\n\"My plan is this,\" I replied. \"I will dress as a woman, and pass for\nyour daughter; and you are so clever and ready-witted, that I think\nyou will be able to get me into the palace as a companion to the\nprincess, and even to manage so that she shall become my wife.\" Then I\ntold him how I thought this might be accomplished; and he quite\napproved of what I proposed, entered into it with great spirit, and\npromised his ready co-operation.\n\nAccordingly, the first day that the king was sitting in public to\nadminister justice, the old man approached, followed by me dressed as\na woman, walking modestly behind him, and bowing down to the king, he\nsaid: \"My lord, I have heard of your great beneficence, and how you\nare the father of all your subjects, the protector and friend of the\nhelpless; I am therefore come to ask a great favour. This girl is my\nonly daughter. Her mother died soon after her birth. I have brought\nher up, and she has never left me; but I am desirous now to be\nrelieved of this charge and to see her well married. A long time ago,\nshe was engaged to a young brahman, who went to Oujein, to study\nthere, and acquire the means of supporting a wife and family. I have\nbeen expecting his return for some time, but have heard nothing of\nhim; I am, therefore, very uneasy on my daughter's account, and\npurpose to go to Oujein, and find out whether he is alive or dead. I\ncannot leave my daughter alone, and have no friend or near relation\nwith whom I can place her. Will your majesty deign to allow her to\nremain under your protection until my return?\"\n\nTo this the king graciously assented, and I was received into the\npalace, where I soon found means of letting the princess know of my\ndisguise, and was taken into her apartments as one of her immediate\nattendants.\n\nThus our wishes were gratified, and we enjoyed uninterrupted\nintercourse with each other. But more was yet to be done, and when the\ntime was nearly arrived at which it had been arranged between me and\nthe old brahman that he was to come to fetch me, I said to my darling:\n\"To-morrow, as you know, there will be a procession to a certain holy\nplace near the river; you and your attendants will join in it and have\nan opportunity of bathing there. While we are in the water, I will\nscream out, as if drowning, and, diving underneath the surface, will\ncome up among the bushes a long way off, without being seen. Do you\nappear greatly distressed at my death; but fear nothing, I shall soon\ncome to you again.\"\n\nAccordingly, the next day, while bathing in the Ganges, I made it\nappear as if I were accidentally carried out of my depth and drawn in\nby one of the eddies of the river, and screamed out loudly for help.\nMy cries and screams and subsequent disappearance caused a great\ncommotion, and long search was made for my body; but of course in\nvain, for I had dived under, and come to the surface unobserved among\nthe thick bushes at the place which had been agreed upon. There,\nhaving gone on shore, I soon found the old brahman, who was waiting\nfor me with a suit of men's clothes, and, putting them on, I walked\nquietly with him into the town.\n\nThe next day, as if he had heard nothing of the loss of his pretended\ndaughter, he went to the king, accompanied by me, and said \"My lord, I\nhave returned from Oujein, and have brought with me this young man,\nthe intended husband of my daughter, with whom I am much pleased, and\nwhom I can confidently recommend to your favour, for I have heard an\nexceedingly good report of him there. He is not only very learned in\nthe vedas and commentaries, advanced in science and arts, well\ninstructed in politics and history, clever in reciting stories and\npoetry, but is a bold and skilful rider, a good archer and swordsman.\nThere is scarcely anything that a young man should know, with which he\nis not familiar; and, with all this, he is free from conceit,\ngood-tempered, gentle, and kind; in short, he seems to me almost\nperfect, and more fit to marry a princess than the daughter of such a\nman as I am. When I have seen my child happily married to him, I shall\nnot trouble them with my society, but withdraw from the world, and\nend my days in a hermitage. I have now come to take back my daughter,\nwith the most humble and heartfelt gratitude for the gracious\nprotection which you have so kindly afforded her.\" With these words he\nbowed himself to the ground in humble obeisance.\n\nOn hearing this the king was greatly perplexed, and obliged to admit\nthat the girl had been drowned while bathing, and that her body had\nnot been found.\n\nThen the old man began to tear his hair, beat his breast, and show\nsigns of the most extravagant grief, calling on the king to restore\nhis dear daughter, and reproaching him with having caused her death.\nIn vain did the king make him large offers of compensation; he refused\nthem all, declaring it to be his firm intention to put himself to\ndeath at the gate of the palace, and so cause the sin to fall on the\nking's head.[9]\n\nHe, despairing of finding any other way of appeasing the old man,\nafter some consideration and consultation with his ministers, said to\nhim: \"You have told me that your intended son-in-law is a young man of\nrare abilities, and more fit to be the husband of a princess than of\nyour daughter, and his appearance is very prepossessing; I offer him\nthen my daughter in the place of yours. Will this satisfy you?\" Then\nat last the old man professed to be contented; I was treated with much\nhonour, in due time became the husband of the princess, and reached\nthe summit of my wishes.\n\nAfter a time, an army was sent by my father-in-law to the assistance\nof the King of Anga, and, thinking of the possibility of meeting you\nhere, I solicited and obtained the command of it, and my hopes have\nbeen fulfilled, since I have now the great pleasure of seeing you.\n\nHaving heard this story, the prince remarked: \"You have done no deeds\nof blood, but have gained your ends by gentleness and ingenuity. This\nis the way approved of by the wise.\" Then turning to Mitragupta, he\nsaid \"It is now your turn,\" and he immediately began his story thus:--\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\nADVENTURES OF MITRAGUPTA.\n\n\nMy lord, I set out on my travels in search of you, like the rest, and\narriving one day at Damalipta, I saw a great crowd collected in a\nlarge park outside the city. While looking about me to find some one\nof whom I might inquire what this festival was, I espied a young man,\nsitting alone in an arbour, amusing himself with playing on a lute.\nGoing up to him, I asked \"What is this concourse of people? Why do you\nsit here alone, away from the others?\"\n\nHe answered: \"A long time ago, the king of this country, having no\nchildren, made many prayers and offerings to the goddess Durg\u00e2, in\nthe hope of propitiating her. At last she appeared to him in a dream,\nand said: 'Your prayer is granted; your wife shall bear twins--a\ndaughter who must be your successor, and a son who must be subject to\nher and to her husband when she marries. Further, it is my will and\npleasure that, beginning from her seventh year, you shall make, every\nmonth when the moon is in the constellation Krittika (or the\nPleiades), a great festival, to be called the Festival of the Ball\nDance, at which she shall publicly exhibit her skill before the\npeople. I also will, that in reference to a husband, she shall have\nfree choice without any pressure on your part, and that he whom she\nmarries shall have equal power with her, and reign after your death.'\n\n\"The promise given in the dream was fulfilled. The queen bore\ntwins--a son and a daughter. The king has duly obeyed the commands of\nthe goddess, and to-day the princess, whose name is Kandukavati, will\nagain perform the ball dance for the propitiation of Durg\u00e2 in the\nsight of the people here assembled.\n\n\"You asked me also why I am sitting here alone. I will tell you. The\nPrincess Kandukavati has a dear friend and foster-sister, who is\nengaged to me.\n\n\"Of late, Bhimadhanwa, the brother of the princess, has cast his eyes\non her, and persecuted her with his importunities. Knowing his\ncharacter, I have great fear lest some day he should use violence\ntowards her. This is why I am so anxious and uneasy, and have no\ninclination to join in the festivities.\"\n\nJust then I heard the tinkling of anklets, and a young lady came to\nthe place where we were sitting.\n\nOn seeing her, my companion started up with great delight, and, taking\nher by the hand, introduced her to me, saying: \"This is the lady whom\nI have told you of, dearer to me than life, the thought of separation\nfrom whom, through the wickedness of that wretch, burns me like fire,\nand causes me to suffer misery greater than death. I have no loyalty\nor respect towards him, and will lose my life rather than suffer him\nto accomplish his wicked purpose.\"\n\nBut she, with tears in her eyes, said: \"O my beloved, do not on my\naccount engage in any act of violence; whatever might be the result,\nyour own life would, certainly be forfeited. You have continually\nprofessed your great love for me; be guided now by my advice. I am\nready to follow you wherever you go; let us then fly from this\ncountry, and go where we shall be safe from my persecutor.\"\n\nMy new acquaintance then turned to me, and said: \"You seem to have\nbeen a great traveller; tell us in what country we may be most in\nsafety and best able to live.\"\n\nI smiled at this, and answered: \"The world is wide, and there are\nplenty of countries pleasant to live in; but, after all, one's own\ncountry is the best; why should you banish yourselves? I think I can\ncontrive some means by which you will be enabled to remain here in\nsafety and comfort. Wait then a while, and if I cannot do this I will\ntell you where it will be best for you to go.\"\n\nBefore we had time to say more, the young girl started up, saying: \"I\ndare not stay a moment longer. I have stopped away from my mistress\nto see you, and now I hear her coming, and must join her directly. Any\none may see the princess at this festival; I hope you will have a good\nview of her.\" Saying this to me, she ran off, and we both followed her\nto the place where the princess was to perform--an open stage which\nhad been erected in the park.\n\nPresently she made her appearance, followed by a train of female\nattendants, and the moment I saw her my heart was drawn towards her. I\nalmost doubted whether she were a goddess or a mortal; but when she\nbegan to play, I was even more captivated by her graceful movements\nthan I had been by her beauty.\n\nFirst she made a low obeisance in honour of the goddess; then taking\nup the bright red ball with her slender fingers, she let it drop as\nif accidentally, and striking it as it rebounded, caught it on the\nback of her hand and sent it high into the air; then she made it rise\nand fall, at first slowly, then faster, and then very rapidly, keeping\ntime to it by graceful movements of the feet. Sometimes it seemed to\nstand still, sometimes to fly up like a bird; at one time she would\nstrike it alternately with her right hand and left hand; at another\nsend it high into the air, dancing meanwhile to her own singing; then\nthe ball would go quite away, and come back as if of itself. Thus she\nwent on a long time amidst the applause of the surrounding spectators,\nperforming various graceful movements, striking the ball with feet as\nwell as hands, and even making it whirl round and round her so rapidly\nthat she seemed to be enclosed in a fiery red cage; now with one hand\nholding up her dress or replacing her hair which had fallen down, and\nkeeping the ball in motion with the other; now taking several balls\nand keeping them all in the air at once.\n\nAt last the performance was ended; and, after again making a low\nobeisance in honour of the goddess, she walked slowly round the stage,\nleaning on the arm of her foster-sister Chandrasena, and followed by\nher maidens, casting several significant glances at me, and especially\ngiving me one long lingering look as she withdrew.\n\nMy new friend, Kosad\u00e2sa, who had stood near me all the time, invited\nme to his house, where I was most hospitably entertained.\n\nIn the evening, Chandrasena, the lady to whom he had introduced me,\ncame to see him. I said to her: \"I promised to find some means of\nfreeing you from the importunities of the prince; this is what I have\nthought of. I have a magic ointment, a small quantity of which applied\nto your face will make you look like a monkey in the eyes of all who\nsee you. Your persecutor will certainly then be disgusted, and give\nyou no more annoyance.\"\n\n\"Truly I am exceedingly obliged to you,\" she answered, \"for such a\ncharming proposal. But whatever I may be in a future birth, I have no\ninclination to be turned into a monkey now. If you have nothing better\nthan this to propose, we shall not esteem your wisdom very highly.\nHappily, I have thought of something much better. You have heard that,\naccording to the word of Durg\u00e2, the princess is to be allowed free\nchoice of a husband. You are greatly in love with her, and she is\nfavourably disposed towards you, from your appearance. My mother, of\nwhom she is very fond, will do everything in her power to promote your\ninterests; and no doubt she will choose you. The king and queen will\nof course give their consent; and the marriage once completed, there\nwill be no further danger, since Bhimadhanwa will be subject to you,\nand you will be able easily to protect me. Wait, therefore, a few\ndays, and I and my mother will do our best on your behalf. But I must\nnot stay longer; my mistress will be waiting for me.\"\n\nAfter she was gone, Kosad\u00e2sa and I got into conversation about that\nwhich so greatly concerned us both; and so much interested were we,\nthat we never thought of going to bed, but sat up talking all the\nnight. In the morning, I went to the park, and stood for some time\nnear the stage on which I had seen the princess; and in imagination\nsaw her there again, in some of those graceful attitudes which she had\ndisplayed. While I was thus deep in thought, I was accosted by\nBhimadhanwa, who introduced himself to me, appeared very friendly, sat\ndown with me, and, after some conversation, invited me to his house.\n\nHaving no suspicion of treachery, I accompanied him to the palace,\nwhere I was most hospitably entertained. After dinner, not having\nslept the night before, I lay down, and was soon fast asleep, and\ndreaming of my beloved princess. Presently, I was suddenly awakened,\nand found my arms bound with an iron chain, and Bhimadhanwa, with\nangry countenance, standing near me. \"Vile wretch!\" he said. \"You\nfancied you could plot in safety; and little thought that all which\nthat girl said was overheard, and brought to me by one of my spies,\nwho heard it through the open window. My silly sister, forsooth, is in\nlove with you! You are to marry her, and make me your subject; and you\nwill order me to give up Chandrasena, that she may marry her lover!\nYou are much mistaken. I am not so easily managed as that. We shall\nsoon see how all your fine projects will end.\" Then calling two strong\nmen, his servants, at his command they lifted me up, carried me down\nto the sea, and threw me in as I was.\n\nNotwithstanding the chain which confined my arms, I managed to keep\nafloat, till by a lucky chance I fell in with a piece of wood, and by\nthrowing myself across it, managed to hold on, and was carried out to\nsea. After floating all night, in the morning I was seen from a ship\nsailing that way, and taken on board.\n\nThe captain, however, who was a foreigner, had not much compassion on\nme; and only thought, as I was young and strong, how much he could get\nby selling me as a slave; and did not even release my hands. I had not\nbeen long on board, however, when the ship was attacked by pirates,\nwho surrounded it with their boats, and poured in a shower of arrows\nand other missiles.\n\nSeeing that the crew of the merchant-ship were being defeated, I\ncalled out to the captain: \"Take off my chain; set me free; and I will\nsoon drive away the enemy.\"\n\nHe did as I asked; and furnished me with a good bow and arrows, which\nI used so effectually, that a large number of the enemy were killed\nor wounded; and the boats began to draw off.\n\nMeanwhile, our ship had drifted close to the pirates' galley. I leapt\non board, and most of the crew being disabled, took prisoner the\ncaptain, who turned out to be Bhimadhanwa, the very man who had so\ntreacherously ill-used me. He was utterly astonished at seeing, me;\nand hung down his head ashamed, unable to answer a word, when I said\nto him: \"Where are all your threats and boastings? You are now as\ncompletely in my power as I was in yours.\"\n\nThen the sailors, shouting for joy at the victory, bound him with the\nchain with which I had been confined; and after taking possession of\nthe pirate ship, we continued the voyage; but being driven out of our\ncourse by a contrary wind, landed on an uninhabited island, to get\nwater and wild fruits, and attend to the wounded.\n\nThe merchant-captain and crew, delighted at my bravery, and the timely\nassistance I had rendered them, treated me with the greatest respect.\nWhile they were engaged, I walked about to explore the island; and\ncame to a large quantity of stones which had fallen from a high rock.\nThese I crossed over, and going round to the other side, found a\ngentle slope, covered with trees and flowers. Walking slowly among\nthem, admiring the beautiful scenery and enjoying the cool shade, I\narrived, almost imperceptibly and without fatigue, at the summit,\nwhere I found a small lake, surrounded with ruby-coloured, variegated\nrocks, and partly covered with bright lotuses. In this I bathed, and\npulled up some of the lotus-plants, the young shoots of which were\nunusually sweet and good.\n\nAs I came out of the water, carrying a large root on my shoulder, I\nsaw standing on the bank a terrible Rakshas in human form, who called\nout, in an angry tone \"Who are you? Where do you come from? What are\nyou doing here, destroying my flowers?\"\n\nWithout showing any sign of fear, I walked boldly up to him, and said:\n\"I am a brahman, who has just escaped many dangers. I was\ntreacherously thrown into the sea, rescued by a merchant-ship, then\nattacked by pirates; and now, after conquering them, we have put into\nthis island for water. I have much enjoyed my bathe, and wish you good\nmorning.\"\n\n\"Stop!\" said he. \"You will not get off so easily. You seem a bold\nfellow, however, and I will give you a chance for life. I shall ask\nyou four questions. If you can answer them, you are free; if not, I\nshall devour you immediately.\"\n\n\"Very good,\" I answered; \"I am ready to hear them.\" Then he began:\n\n\"What is cruel?\"\n\n\"A wicked woman's heart.\"\n\n\"What is most to the advantage of a householder?\"\n\n\"Good qualities in a wife.\"\n\n\"What is love?\"\n\n\"Imagination.\"\n\n\"What best accomplishes difficult things?\"\n\n\"Cunning. Dhumini, Gomini, Ratnavati, and Nitambavati,\" I added, \"are\nexamples of what I have said.\"\n\n\"Tell me,\" said he, \"who they were, and how they prove the truth of\nyour answers?\"\n\n\"Certainly,\" I replied; \"you shall judge for yourself.\n\n\"There were formerly in the country of Trigarta three brothers, all\nwealthy, having several wives, many servants and slaves, and numerous\nflocks and herds. In their time it happened that there was a great\ndrought; no rain fell for several years; the streams and fountains\nceased to flow; the pools and lakes were turned to mud, the beds of\nrivers almost dry, plants burned up, trees withered; all mirth and\nfestivity were at an end; bands of thieves roamed about; the dead lay\nunburied or unburnt, and their bodies were scattered over the fields.\nAt last the famine was so great that men began to devour each other.\nThe three brothers, from their great wealth, were able to hold out a\nlong time; but when their stores of corn and rice were all consumed,\nand their cattle all slaughtered, they, like the rest, were driven to\ncannibalism. First they killed and ate their slaves; then, even their\nwives and children, till all were gone but themselves and their three\nfavourite wives. The famine still continuing, they were driven to eat\nthem also, and drew lots which should be killed first. The lot fell on\nDhumini, the wife of the youngest brother, who, unable to bear the\nthought of devouring her, escaped with her in the night. After walking\na long way, till they were quite exhausted, they came to a large\nforest, where they found a well of water, and many fruits and roots,\nbesides deer and other animals, on which they were able to live\nwithout difficulty; and they built a hut there.\n\n\"One day when the husband of Dhumini was going about in search of\ngame, he found a man who had been cruelly treated by robbers; they had\ncut off his hands, feet, and nose, and left him to perish. Having\ncompassion on the poor wretch, he bound up his wounds as well as he\nwas able, and carried him with much difficulty to his hut. There he\nand his wife nursed him till his wounds were healed, and took care of\nhim afterwards.\n\n\"Now such is the depravity of women, that Dhumini fell in love with\nthis poor mutilated wretch, and determined to have him whether he\nwould or no.\n\n\"One day her husband came home from hunting, tired and thirsty, and\nasked her for water. She answered: 'I have a very bad headache, you\nmust go and draw for yourself.' Then walking softly behind him as he\nwent, she waited till he stooped down over the well, and pushed him\nin.\n\n\"Having thus, as she thought, got rid of her husband, she took the\nmaimed man on her back and carried him till she reached an inhabited\ncountry, where there was no famine, telling those who asked her, that\nthis man was her husband, and had been mutilated in that manner by a\nspiteful enemy.\n\n\"She thus became the object of much compassion, and praise, for\ndevotion to her husband, and the king of the country bestowed on her a\nsmall pension on which she lived in the city of Avanti. Meanwhile her\nreal husband had managed to climb up from the well, and wandered about\na long time, not knowing where his wife was gone. At last he came to\nAvanti in great distress, and was begging for food when she chanced to\nsee him. Going at once to the king, she said, 'That wicked wretch who\nmutilated my husband is now here; I have seen him going about as a\nbeggar.'\n\n\"Upon this he was immediately seized, and, notwithstanding his\nprotestations of innocence, condemned to death, and led away to\nexecution.\n\n\"On the way, with but faint hopes of saving his life, he said to the\nexecutioner, 'I have been condemned on the evidence of one witness\nonly; let that man whom I am accused of injuring be questioned; if he\nsays I am guilty, then indeed I deserve to die.'\n\n\"The executioner saying, 'Perhaps he may be innocent--a few minutes'\ndelay can do no harm,' took him at once to the house of his wife, and\nthere the poor mutilated wretch, with many tears, declared the\nkindness with which he had been treated by the supposed criminal, and\nthe wickedness of the woman who had forced him to live with her as her\nhusband.\n\n\"Thereupon the execution was stayed, and the king, having been made\nacquainted with the whole affair, ordered her to be cut in pieces and\ngiven to the dogs, and showed much favour and kindness to her husband.\n\n\"I say, therefore, there is nothing so cruel as the heart of a wicked\nwoman.\"\n\nThe Rakshas appeared to be satisfied with this story, and said: \"Go\non, tell me about Gomini.\" I continued therefore:\n\n\"There was formerly in the country of the Dravidas a young brahman of\ngreat wealth. Somehow he was not married when a mere boy, as is often\nthe case, and when he grew up he thought to himself: 'Those who have\nno wives and those who have bad wives are equally unfortunate, I will\nnot let my friends choose for me, but travel about and look out for\nmyself till I find a girl who may suit me.'\n\n\"Having formed this resolution, and changed his name, he set out alone,\ntaking very little with him, but a small bag containing two or three\npounds of rice in the husk.\n\n\"Whenever he saw a maiden of his own caste whose appearance he liked,\neither in the houses where he was admitted or elsewhere, he would say\nto her: 'My dear, could you make me a good dinner with this rice?'\nThis he did many times, but though parents in general would have been\nwilling to give him their daughters, he was always laughed at, and\noften treated with contempt. One day, while sitting in a public\nplace in a town which he had lately entered, he observed a young girl\nwhose parents had fallen into poverty, which was shown by her scanty\ndress and slender ornaments. She passed by him accompanied by an old\nwoman, and stood for a time very near him.\n\n\"The more he looked at her the more he was pleased, and thought to\nhimself: 'This is just the wife to suit me; she is neither too tall\nnor too short, too stout or too thin; her limbs are rounded and well\nknit; her back is straight, with a slight hollow; her shoulders are\nlow; her arms plump and soft; the lines of her hands indicate good\nfortune; her fingers are long and slender; her nails are like polished\ngems; her neck is smooth and rounded as a slender shell; her bosom\nfull and well shaped; her face has a sweet expression; her lips are\nfull and red; her chin small and compact; her cheeks plump; her\neyebrows glossy black, gracefully curved, meeting in the middle; her\neyes are long and languishing, very black and very white; her\nforehead, adorned by beautiful curls, resembles a piece of the moon;\nher ears are delicately formed, and well set off by the ear-rings; her\nhair is glossy black, brown at the ends--long, thick, and not too much\ncurled. My heart seems to be drawn towards her; if she is what she\nseems to be, I will certainly marry her; but I must not act rashly; I\nwill first try her with my test. Then approaching her with a polite\nsalutation, he said: 'My dear, are you clever enough to make a good\ndinner out of this bag of rice;' Without answering a word, she looked\nsignificantly at her old nurse, and taking the rice from his hand,\nsigned him to sit down on a terrace close by; and sat down herself\nnear him. Then, first spreading out the rice in the, sun that it might\nbe quite dry, she rubbed it gently between her hands, so as to get off\nthe husk unbroken, and giving it to the nurse, she said: 'Take this to\nsome goldsmith; they use it when prepared in this way for polishing\ntheir gold, and you will get a few pence for it--with them buy a\nlittle firewood, a few cheap dishes, and an earthen pipkin, and bring\nalso a wooden mortar with a long pestle.' On this errand the old woman\ndeparted, and soon returned, bringing the things required.\n\n\"Then the girl put the rice into the mortar, and very gracefully\nmoving the pestle up and down, separated the rice thoroughly from the\nremaining particles of husk and awns; which she carefully winnowed\naway.\n\n\"After this she washed the rice thoroughly, and the old woman having\nmeanwhile lighted a fire and placed the pipkin full of water on it,\nshe threw the rice into the water as soon as it boiled, in such a\nmanner that the grains lay loose and separate. When they began to\nswell and burst, she took the pot from the fire, which she raked\ntogether, and set it with the lid downwards near the embers, first\ncarefully draining off the rice liquor, and stirring the grains\nseveral times with a spoon to prevent their sticking together.\n\n\"After this she put out the fire by throwing water on it, and taking\nthe charcoal, sent the old woman to sell it, and with the money to\nprocure some herbs, ghee, curds, tamarind fruit, spices, salt,\nmyrobalan, and sesamum oil. When these things were brought, she mixed\nthe myrobalan, finely pounded, with salt, and desired the nurse to\ngive it with the sesamum oil to the young brahman, and tell him to go\nand bathe and anoint himself; and he having received these things,\nwent to bathe.\n\n\"When he was returned and comfortably seated, she gave him to drink\nrice liquor, mixed with spices and cooled by fanning, and he was much\nrefreshed by it; afterwards, soup made with some of the liquor, a few\nspoonfuls of rice, butter, and spices; and, lastly, the rest of the\nrice mixed with curds, buttermilk, and several condiments, and he had\nplenty, though some was left.\n\n\"When he had finished, he asked for drink. She gave him water in a new\ncooler, sweetened and perfumed with lotus and other flowers; and it\nlooked and felt so cool, gurgled so pleasantly, and tasted so sweet,\nthat all his senses were gratified, and he drank eagerly again and\nagain.\n\n\"After waiting on him in this manner, as soon as the dishes and the\nremains of the meal had been removed by the old nurse, she sat down\nbeside him, arranging her scanty patched dress as well as she was\nable.\n\n\"The young brahman having thus satisfied himself of the capabilities\nof the maiden, made known his real name and position to her parents,\nand they having gladly accepted him, he married the girl in due form,\nand took her home to his own house.\n\n\"Not very long afterwards, with very little consideration for her, he\ntook to himself another wife, a woman of bad character; yet such was\nthe sweetness of temper of the first, that she showed no anger at\nthis, but continued to treat her husband with all due honour and\nrespect, and so gained over her fellow-wife that she became her\ndearest friend. At the same time she managed the household admirably,\nkeeping everything in order, yet making all the servants attached to\nher. In short, she acted in such a manner that she entirely gained the\nrespect and affection of her husband, and he enjoyed great happiness,\nand trusted and consulted her in all affairs.\n\n\"Therefore I say that the best thing for a householder is to have a\ngood wife.\"\n\nThen, in illustration of the third answer, I related the story of\nRatnavati. \"There was, in a town in the country of Surat, a rich\nship-captain who had a daughter named Ratnavati. She was married to\nBalabhadra, the son of a merchant living in another town. For some\nreason he took a sudden dislike to his bride on the very day of the\nwedding, and though she continued to live in his house, avoided her\nas much as possible, and would never speak to her, notwithstanding the\nremonstrances of his friends. The rest of the family and the servants,\nseeing this, treated her with neglect and contempt, so that she led a\nmost wretched life.\n\n\"One day, wandering about disconsolate, she met with an old woman, a\nbuddhist mendicant, who, seeing her weeping and looking miserable,\nasked her the reason. She, thinking that this woman might possibly be\npossessed of some charm capable of bringing back her husband's\naffections, half unwillingly told her the cause of her grief.\n\n\"'On the very day of our marriage my husband, from some cause or\nother, took a sudden dislike to me, and since then he has treated me\nwith neglect and contempt, so that I hardly ever see his face, and\nthen only by chance for a moment, for he avoids me as much as\npossible; his family also, following his example, behave to me with\ngreat unkindness. I have no comfort or happiness, and only wish for\ndeath. But you must not tell this to any one; I would not on any\naccount have my misfortune talked about.'\n\n\"The old woman answered: 'Surely this must be a punishment for some\ngreat sin committed in a former existence, or such a charming person\nas yourself would never be thus treated by your husband. I recommend.\nyou to practise penance and prayer; perhaps the gods may be appeased,\nand a favourable change produced. Meanwhile, if there is any way in\nwhich I can help you, I will gladly do so. You seem very intelligent;\ncannot you think of some stratagem which may have the desired effect?'\n\n\"After reflecting for some time, she said Though my husband so\nneglects me, I know that he is very fond of women in general, and\nready to be captivated by any one, especially respectable woman who\nwill give him a little encouragement. Acting on this propensity, I\nthink, with your help, that something may be done. There is a young\nlady, a neighbour, the daughter of a very rich man, in great favour\nwith the Rajah; she is a friend of mine, and is very like me. As my\nhusband hardly knows her by sight, and scarcely ever sees me, it might\nbe possible to pass myself off for her. Do you, therefore, go to him\nand say that that young lady is in love with him, and that you will\nintroduce him to her, only he must not give a hint that you have told\nhim anything. Meanwhile I will arrange with my friend, and will be\nwalking in her father's garden some evening, when you can bring him\nin.' The old woman was delighted with this contrivance, and promised\nto perform her part. She went, therefore, soon afterwards with a\npretended message of love from the merchant's daughter to Balabhadra,\nwho was delighted at having attracted the attention of such a charming\nyoung lady, and took care to be at the appointed time in the garden,\nwhere he saw his neglected wife playing at ball. As if by accident,\nshe threw the ball towards him, and the old woman said: This is an\ninvitation; pick up the ball, and take it to her with a pretty speech,\nand you will get acquainted with her.' In this way an intimacy began,\nand he often met his wife in the same place in the evening without in\nthe least suspecting the deception. At last she gave him a hint that\nshe was ready to run away with him. Madly in love, he eagerly caught\nat the proposal, and one night, having collected what money he could\ncarry, he eloped with her, saying nothing to any of his friends. They\nwere much astonished by his sudden disappearance; but when they found\nthat Ratnavati was gone also, they readily believed the story told by\nthe old woman, that he had fallen in love with his own wife; but was\nashamed to acknowledge this after having so long neglected her, and\nwas therefore gone to live in another place, where he was not known.\nBelieving this story, her relations and his thought it best to take no\nsteps in the matter, and abstained from making inquiry after him.\n\n\"Meanwhile Balabhadra went to a town at some distance, and there by\nhis skill and energy, though beginning with a small capital, amassed\nin a few years a considerable fortune, and was much respected in the\nplace.\n\n\"When Ratnavati eloped under another name, she engaged a woman to\naccompany her as a servant; and this woman one day having committed\nsome fault, was beaten by her master, who scolded her and told her she\nwas lazy, thievish, and impudent. Smarting under the punishment, she\ndetermined to be revenged, and going to the magistrate told him: 'This\nman, who seems to you so respectable, is a wicked wretch who has\nabandoned his own wife, and run away in the night with the daughter of\none of his neighbours, with whom he is now living.'\n\n\"The magistrate having heard this, and being very covetous, thought:\n'If this man is convicted, his property will be confiscated, and I\nshall get a share of it.' He therefore began to take proceedings\nagainst Balabhadra, who was greatly alarmed. But his wife said to him,\n'Do not be frightened; put a good face on the matter, and say: \"This\nis not Kanakavati, the daughter of Niddhipatidatta; this is my own\nlawful wife, the daughter of Grihagupta, who lives at Valabhi. She was\nmarried to me with the proper ceremony and with the full consent of\nher parents. This woman's accusation is altogether false; but if you\nwill not believe my assertion, send to Valabhi, to my wife's father,\nand hear what he will say--or send to the town where I formerly lived,\nand make inquiries there.\"'\n\n\"This was done, he was admitted to bail, and a letter was written to\nthe father of Ratnavati, who answered it in person, and declared that\nthe lady in question was really his daughter. Thus the matter was\nsettled; but the husband, thinking that the old man was deceived by\nthe likeness, held to his former belief, and continued to live happily\nwith his wife, without ever discovering the delusion. Therefore I say\nthat love is only imagination.\"\n\nThe Rakshas, though appearing to be satisfied with these stories,\nrequired me to relate that of Nitambavati, which I proceeded to do.\n\n\"In a city called Madhura, there dwelt a man named Kalahakantaka, of\ngreat strength and vigour, ready at any time to take up the quarrel of\na friend, famed for deeds of violence, and devoted to pleasures and\namusements.\n\n\"One day he saw a picture exhibited by a painter, a new-comer, and\nstopped to look at it. It was the portrait of a lady so beautiful\nthat he fell in love with her at once. Desirous of finding out whom it\nrepresented, he praised the picture exceedingly, and having put the\nartist in good humour, got him to say who the lady was. 'Her name,'\nsaid he, 'is Nitambavati; she is the wife of a merchant living at\nAvanti or Oujein, and I was so struck by her beauty that I sought and\nobtained permission to paint her portrait.'\n\n\"On hearing this, Kalahakantaka, taking another name, went to Oujein;\nand there, having disguised himself as a mendicant, got admission to\nthe merchant's house, saw the lady, whose beauty exceeded even his\nexpectation, and was confirmed in his wicked purpose.\n\n\"At this time a guardian or watchman was wanted for the public\ncemetery, and he applied for and obtained the office.\n\n\"With the clothes which he took from the bodies brought to be burnt\nthere, he bribed an old woman to take a message from him. She went to\nNitambavati, and said: 'A very handsome young man is much in love with\nyou--pray let him see you if only for once.' On receiving this\nmessage, the merchant's wife was very indignant, and sent the old\nwoman away with angry words. Kalahakantaka, however, was not\ndiscouraged, and said to his messenger: 'Go again, and say to the\nlady: \"Do you imagine that a person like me devoted to religious\nmeditation, who have passed so many years in pilgrimages to holy\nplaces, would wish to lead you into sin? Far from it. I had heard that\nyou were childless, and wishing for children, and I know of means\nthrough which your wish may be accomplished; but I thought it right to\nfind out first whether you were worthy of such a service, and now\nthat I have ascertained you to be virtuous and true to your husband, I\nwill gladly assist you.\"'\n\n\"With this story the old cheat went again to the lady, who, believing\nher to be sincere, gladly accepted the offer, and she went on to say:\n'The reason of your being childless is that a spell has been laid upon\nyour husband, which can only be removed by the means which I will\nindicate to you. You must go at night to a clump of trees in the park.\nI will come to you there, and will bring with me a man skilled in\nincantations. You have only to stand for a moment, putting your foot\ninto his hand while he utters certain charms, then go home, and, as if\nin play, strike your husband on the breast. This will dissolve the\nspell, and by-and-by you will have children.' Anxious to have the\nspell removed from her husband, Nitambavati consented to this, and\nwent at night to the appointed place. There she found Kalahakantaka\nwaiting, and as the old woman had directed, put her foot into his hand\nwhile he knelt before her.\n\n\"No sooner had he got hold of it than he took off her anklet, and\nslipping his hand up her leg, inflicted a slight wound above the knee,\nand ran away.\n\n\"The poor lady, dreadfully frightened, blaming herself, and enraged\nwith the old woman, who had so cruelly deceived her, got home as well\nas she could, washed and bound up the cut, and kept her bed for\nseveral days, having taken off the other anklet, that the loss might\nnot be observed.\n\n\"Meanwhile the rascal took the anklet he had stolen to the husband,\nsaying: 'I wish to dispose of this, will you buy it?'\n\n\"Recognising the ornament as having been his wife's, he asked: 'Where\ndid you get this?'\n\n\"The man answered: 'I will not tell you now, but if you are not\nsatisfied that it is honestly mine, take me before the magistrates,\nand I will then declare how I came by it.'\n\n\"Upon this the merchant went to his wife and said: 'Let me see your\nanklets.'\n\n\"With some confusion and alarm, she answered: 'I have only one of\nthem, the other being, as I suppose, loosely fastened, dropped off a\nfew days ago when I was walking in the evening in the garden, and I\nhave not been able to find it.'\n\n\"Dissatisfied with this answer, the husband went before the\nmagistrates with the man who had offered the anklet for sale, and he\nbeing there questioned, said: 'You know I was appointed not long ago\nto the care of the public cemetery, and as people come sometimes after\ndark to steal the clothes, or to lay a dead body on a pile prepared\nfor another, and so cheat me of my fees, I have lately kept watch\nthere at night.'\n\n\"'A short time ago I saw a woman in a dark dress dragging away part of\na half-burnt body, and ran to seize her. In the struggle her anklet\ncame off, and I gave her a slight wound on the leg, but she got away,\nand I could not overtake her; this is how the ornament came into my\npossession. I leave it to you to say whether I have done wrong or no.'\n\n\"Then the magistrates and citizens who were assembled were\nunanimously of opinion that the woman was a S\u00e2kini.[10]\n\n\"She was therefore divorced from her husband, and condemned to be tied\nto a stake in the cemetery, and left there.\n\n\"In this state she was found by Kalahakantaka, who cut the cords which\nfastened her, and, falling at her feet, confessed all that he had\ndone, alleging his great love for her as an excuse for his cruel\nconduct: 'And now,' said he, 'consent to be my wife, and I will carry\nyou away to my own home in a distant country, where you will not be\nknown. I will do everything in my power to make your life happy, and\natone for the suffering which I have caused you.'\n\n\"For a long time the unhappy lady refused; but at last, overcome by\nhis earnest entreaties, and feeling how unjustly she had been\ndisgraced and ill-treated, she consented to accompany him. Thus, by\ncunning, he gained his end, which he could not have accomplished by\nany other means. Therefore I say cunning best accomplishes difficult\nthings.\"\n\nHaving heard these stories, the Rakshas was much pleased, and offered\nme his assistance if I should require it. At that moment several\npearls fell close beside us. Looking up to see whence they came, I\nperceived a Rakshas flying through the air, carrying a woman who was\nstruggling with him.\n\n\"Shall that monster carry off the lady before our eyes? O that I could\nfly to rescue her!\"\n\nAs I exclaimed thus, my new ally, without waiting to be entreated,\nsprang into the air, and calling out \"Stop! stop! wicked wretch!\"\nattacked and dragged down the other Rakshas. He, in defending himself,\nwhen only a short distance from the ground, let the lady fall, and I\ncaught her with outstretched arms in such a manner that, though much\nshaken and alarmed, she was not seriously injured. I held her for a\nmoment insensible in my arms, while I gazed at the combatants. Their\nflight was of short duration, for they attacked each other so\nfuriously that both were killed.\n\nThen laying my burden on the soft grass in a shady place, and\nsprinkling her with water, I soon had the happiness of seeing her open\nher eyes, and of recognising the beloved of my heart, the Princess\nKandukavati, who was equally delighted on finding who was her\ndeliverer.\n\nWhen sufficiently recovered, she said to me: \"On returning home after\nthe ball dance, longing to see you, and sad with the thought that we\nmight never meet again, I was filled with great happiness by the\nreport which Chandrasena brought me of your love; but when I heard\nthat you had been bound and thrown into the sea by my wicked brother,\nI fell into the deepest despair, and wished for death. Wandering in\nthis state of mind about the gardens, I was espied by that vile\nRakshas, who, having assumed a human form, first made love to me, and\nthen, when rejected, forcibly carried me off. He is, happily, now\ndead, and all that I have suffered is as nothing now that I am with\nyou; let us return as soon as possible to my parents, who will have\nbeen greatly distressed at my disappearance.\"\n\nWithout delay I carried her down to the shore, embarked, set sail at\nonce, and the wind being favourable, we soon reached Damalipta. Here\nwe found great confusion and grief among the people, and were told on\ninquiring: \"The king and queen, utterly broken down by the loss of\ntheir son and daughter, have determined to abandon life, and have just\nset out for a holy place on the bank of the Ganges, with the intention\nof fasting to death there; and several of the old citizens have\naccompanied them with the same purpose.\"\n\nOn hearing this I immediately went after them, and having soon\novertaken them, was able to give them great happiness, by telling them\nof all that had occurred, and how both their son and daughter were\nsafely returned; and they went back with me to the city, to the great\njoy of the people. The king treated me with great honour, and not long\nafterwards the princess became my wife. Her brother was reconciled to\nme, and at my request, though very reluctantly, gave up all further\nattention to Chandrasena, who was happily united with her lover.\n\nWhen King Sinhavarma was attacked as you know, I marched with an army\nto his assistance; and have thus the great pleasure of meeting with\nyou.\n\nThe prince having heard this story said \"Your adventures have indeed\nbeen strange, and your escape from death wonderful. Great is the power\nof fate, but excellent also is courage and presence of mind such as\nyou have shown.\" Then turning to Mantragupta, he desired him to relate\nhis adventures, which he immediately began to do:--\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\nADVENTURES OF MANTRAGUPTA.\n\n\nMy Lord, I also, in my anxiety to find you, wandered about like the\nothers.\n\nLate one evening I came to a wood, a few miles from the city of\nKalinga, and very near a public cemetery. Seeing no dwelling near, I\nmade myself a bed of leaves, and lay down under a large tree, where I\nwas soon asleep. About midnight, when evil spirits are wont to roam,\nand everything was quiet around me, I awoke, and fancied I heard a\nwhispering conversation going on among the branches of the tree\nimmediately above me. Listening very attentively, I was able to\ndistinguish these words: \"We are powerless to resist that vile Siddha\nwhenever he chooses to command us; could not some person be found\npowerful enough to counteract the designs of that vile magician?\"\n\nAfter this the voices ceased, and I thought I could hear a rustling\namong the branches as if the speakers were moving from tree to tree.\nThis strange occurrence greatly excited my curiosity. I said to\nmyself: \"Who are these creatures whose voices I have heard? who can\nthat magician be, and what dreadful thing is it which he is about to\ndo?\" With these thoughts, I determined if possible to discover the\nmystery, and followed, as well as I was able, the direction which the\ndemons, or whatever they were whom I had heard conversing, had taken.\nGuided by the rustling sound which I still heard above me, I made my\nway through the darkness, till at last I thought I saw a light in the\ndistance, and going a little further, I perceived a fire shining\nthrough the thick foliage. Approaching very cautiously, I saw a Siddha\nstanding near it, his head covered with a large mass of tangled hair,\nhis body begrimed with the dust of charcoal, and a girdle of human\nbones round his waist. He was throwing at intervals handfuls of\nsesamum and mustard-seed into the fire, causing flickering flames to\nrise up and dispel the surrounding darkness. Before him, in humble\nattitude, stood two Rakshas, male and female, whom I supposed to be\nthose whose voices I had heard in the tree. They said to him, \"We\nawait your commands. What are we now to do?\"\n\n\"Go,\" he answered in a stern voice, \"immediately to the palace of the\nKing of Kalinga, and bring here his daughter Kanakalekha.\" This they\ndid in an incredibly short time. As soon as she was brought he seized\nher by the hair, and disregarding her tears and entreaties and screams\nfor help, was about to cut off her head with a sword.\n\nMeanwhile I had cautiously crept nearer, and perceiving the danger of\nthe princess, I made a sudden rush at him, snatched the sword from his\nhand and cut off his head.\n\nSeeing this, the two Rakshas approached me, and showing great delight\nat the death of their cruel master, said to me: \"That wicked man has\nfor a long time had power over us; we have continually been compelled\nto go on his vile errands, and have had no rest night or day. You have\ndone a truly good deed in killing him; your valour has freed us from\nthis slavery; he is gone to the kingdom of Yama, where he will receive\nthe reward of his evil deeds, and we are ready to serve you; say only\nwhat is to be done.\"\n\nI thanked them for their grateful offer, and said: \"I have only done\nwhat every good man would have done under the circumstances; but if\nyou are willing to serve me, all that I require of you is to carry\nthis lady again to her father's house, from which she was so cruelly\ntaken.\"\n\nThe princess hearing this, stood for a moment irresolute, with her\nhead bent down, her eyes half closed, her eyebrows quivering, her\nbosom agitated by hurried breathing and wetted by tears of joy,\nrestlessly moving one foot, as if scratching the ground, and betraying\nthe struggle between bashfulness and love by alternate blushes and\npaleness. Then, in a low sweet gentle voice, she uttered these words:\n\"O gracious sir, why do you, having just delivered me from a terrible\ndeath, now overwhelm me in a sea of love whose waves are the\nagitations of anxiety driven by the wind of passion? My life, saved by\nyou, is entirely at your disposal. Take pity on me; regard me as your\nown. Let me be your servant, your slave; I would endure anything\nrather than separation from you. Come with me to my father's palace;\nyou need not fear discovery; all my friends and attendants are\nfaithful and devoted to me; they will carefully keep the secret.\"\n\nPierced to the heart by the arrows of K\u00e2ma, tied and bound by her\nlooks and words as if with chains of iron, I had no power to refuse,\nand turning to the two Rakshas, I said: \"I have no choice here.\nWhatever this fair lady commands must be done. Take us both,\ntherefore, to the place from which you brought her.\"\n\nBowing down in submission, they lifted us from the ground, carried us\nthrough the air, and placed us while it was yet night in the\napartments of the princess. There she introduced me to her attendants,\nassigned me a room in the upper story where I might most easily escape\ndetection, and appointed them to keep watch so that no one might enter\nher apartments without notice. I had thus abundant opportunities of\nbeing with the princess; but though my love daily increased, I made no\nfurther advances to her.\n\nOne day some of her women came with tears in their eyes, and bowing\ndown to my feet, said, with whispering timid voice, \"O gracious sir,\nour lady is doubly yours, since she was gained by your own valour\nwhen you rescued her from death, and is assigned to you by the\nall-powerful God of Love. Do not let her languish in vain. Make her\nyour wife without delay.\" With this request I could not refuse to\ncomply, and taking the hand of the princess, I declared our solemn\nunion.\n\nFor a time we enjoyed the greatest happiness. It was destined,\nhowever, to be of no long duration; our separation was at hand, for\nnow was the time of spring, when the trees were covered with blossoms\nbent down by the eager bees, and the song of birds was resounding\namong their branches waved by the soft south wind, bearing perfume\nfrom the sandal groves of Malaya; at which season the king was\naccustomed to go with all his court to the sea-shore, and there, in\ntents under the shade of lofty trees, to enjoy the cool sea breezes.\n\nMy bride of course went with the rest; and as there was no possibility\nof concealing me in such a place, I was obliged, though reluctantly,\nto let her depart alone, consoling myself by looking forward to her\nreturn.\n\nThe royal party had not long been gone, when news was brought to the\ncity that the king and all his court, thinking only of enjoyment, and\nunsuspicious of danger, had been captured by Jayasinha, King of\nAndhra, who, sailing with a large fleet, had suddenly landed and taken\nthem by surprise.\n\nThis news caused me the greatest consternation. \"Jayasinha,\" I\nthought, \"will certainly be captivated by the beauty of the princess;\nshe will take poison rather than submit to his embraces; and I could\nnot long survive her, for how could I live without her?\"\n\nWhile perplexed with this thought, and not knowing what to do, I heard\nof a brahman just arrived from Andhra, who was full of a strange event\nwhich had lately happened there.\n\n\"The King of Andhra,\" he said, \"has long been a bitter enemy of the\nKing of Kalinga, and having taken him prisoner, was about to kill him,\nbut he has fallen in love with the princess Kanakalekha, and wishing\nto marry her, not only spares her father's life, but treats him with\nkindness for her sake.\n\n\"An unexpected obstacle to the accomplishment of his wishes has,\nhowever, arisen; the lady has suddenly become possessed by an evil\nspirit, whose rage is greatest whenever the king visits her.\n\n\"Anxious for her recovery, he has offered a large reward to any one\nwho shall succeed in driving out the demon, but as yet no one has been\nable to effect her cure.\"\n\nThis information filled me with hope, for I was well aware of the\nnature of the princess's disease, and knew that no one but myself\ncould cure it. I was able, therefore, to form a plan for her\ndeliverance, and quickly decided on the disguise to be adopted. At the\ntime when I killed the magician, I had taken off his scalp, with all\nthe mass of tangled hair, and had hid it in a hollow tree. I now went\nto the place, and taking out this scalp, fitted it on my own head;\nthen rubbing over my whole body with dirt and charcoal dust, and\ndressing myself in old rags, I was completely disguised as an\nascetic--and when I went into the neighbouring villages I was regarded\nas a very holy devotee, and had many applications from persons\nwishing for advice or seeking to be cured of diseases. This belief I\nencouraged to the utmost, and took care to keep up my credit by means\nof various tricks and contrivances.\n\nIn this manner I was soon able to collect a number of disciples, glad\nto live in idleness on the offerings continually brought to me, fully\nbelieving in my sanctity, entirely devoted to me, and ready to obey\nall my commands.\n\nHaving got together this troop of followers, I went to the side of a\ntank or small lake not far from the city of Andhra, built myself a\nhut, and made known that I intended to stay there for a time.\n\nThe news of my arrival was soon spread abroad by my disciples, who\nwere loud in their praises of my miraculous powers, and the wonderful\ncures which I had effected; and great numbers of people came from the\ncity to see me, either from curiosity or from the hope of receiving\nsome benefit.\n\nIn a very short time wonderful stories about me were brought to the\nR\u00e2ja. \"There is now a very holy devotee sleeping on the ground near\nthe lake; he is possessed of the most marvellous knowledge. There is\nno question which he cannot answer, no difficulty which he cannot\nsolve. His power of healing is beyond belief; a few grains of dust\nfallen from his feet, when sprinkled on the head of the sick, are more\nefficacious than any medicine; and water in which his feet have been\nwashed has cured in a moment diseases, and driven out evil spirits\nwhich have resisted for a long time all the efforts of physicians and\nexorcists. Yet with all this he is exceedingly kind and\ncondescending, and free from pride.\"\n\nThe king, hearing all this, thought: \"This is just the person I am in\nneed of; no doubt he will be able to cure the princess.\" He therefore\ndetermined to apply to me; but so great was his respect for my dignity\nand supernatural powers, that he did not venture to send for me, but\ncame several times to see me, distributing each time money among my\nfollowers, before mentioning his request that I would drive out the\nevil spirit from the princess.\n\nAfter hearing his statement, I looked very grave, and appeared for\nsome time to be wrapped in profound meditation. At last I said: \"Sir,\nyou have done very right to apply to me; I will undertake that the\nlady shall be cured, but it would be useless for me to see her at\npresent. The case is a very peculiar one, and the cure requires much\nthought and consideration; wait therefore for three days, then come\nagain, and I will tell you what is to be done.\" On receiving this\nanswer, the king went away very well satisfied.\n\nThat night, as soon as it was dark, telling my followers on no account\nto disturb me, I went, as if for private meditation, to one side of\nthe tank, at some distance from the steps, and there dug a large hole\nin the bank sloping upwards, with the opening partly under water and\nconcealed by loose stones above; taking care to throw the excavated\nearth into the tank.\n\nOn the third day, at dawn, I rearranged my dress as before, and having\nworshipped the all-seeing sun as he rose, returned to my followers.\n\nI had not long been settled in my usual place when the king made his\nappearance, and bowing down to my feet, he awaited my pleasure.\n\nHaving kept him a short time in suspense, I thus addressed him:\n\"Success does not come to the careless, but all advantages are\nattainable by the energetic; being devoted to your service, I have\ngiven my whole mind to the consideration of this difficult affair, and\ncan now point out a certain way to success.\n\n\"The evil spirit by whom the princess is possessed cannot bear the\nsight of you in your present form, and therefore breaks out into fury\nwhen you appear. If your body can be changed, he will no longer be\noffended, and will immediately depart; there is no other way by which\nhe can be driven out. I have therefore so prepared this lake that if\nyou bathe in it in accordance with my directions, you will acquire a\nnew and beautiful body acceptable to the lady, and she will no more be\ntroubled with the evil spirit.\n\n\"You must therefore come here at midnight, and having stripped\nentirely, swim out into the middle of the tank, and there float on\nyour back as long as possible. Presently a rushing noise will be\nheard, and the water will be troubled, and dash against the bank. As\nsoon as the commotion has subsided, come forth; you will find that\nyour body has become younger, stronger, and improved in every respect;\nand when you return to the palace there will be no further difficulty\nor obstacle on the part of the princess, who will immediately undergo\na change in her feelings, and will long for your society as much as\nshe now abhors it. All this is quite certain; you need not have the\nsmallest doubt; but if you think proper, before deciding, consult your\nministers, and be guided by their advice. If they consent, first\nworship the gods and propitiate them with offerings, make large\ndonations to the brahmans and the poor, and come here to-night at the\nappointed time. That there may be no danger from alligators or\nconcealed enemies, let the tank be thoroughly dragged with nets by a\nhundred fishermen, and place a line of soldiers all round it with\ntorches in their hands a few steps from the water; with these\nprecautions no possible harm can happen to you.\"\n\nThe enamoured king, very anxious for the expulsion of the supposed\ndemon, and fully believing that I had the power to perform what I had\npromised, went away well pleased, and immediately consulted his\nministers. They seeing how eager he was, and not anticipating any\npossibility of danger, readily approved of the proceeding.\n\nHaving obtained their consent the king returned to me, and finding\nthat I was about to depart, earnestly entreated me to stay, saying\nthat half the pleasure of success would be taken away if I were not\nthere to witness it; but I answered that there were urgent reasons for\nmy immediate departure, and that I had already remained longer than I\nhad intended to do, solely on his account. I assured him that I had so\nprepared everything that my presence was now quite unnecessary, that I\nwas about to disappear from the world, and that he would see me no\nmore. Finding me quite determined, he took leave of me with many\nexpressions of respect, and went back to his palace to give orders for\nthe performance of all that I had directed.\n\nAccordingly, a large number of fishermen with nets were engaged, by\nwhom the lake was thoroughly dragged, and large donations were made to\nthe brahmans and the poor. Towards evening, soldiers with torches were\nplaced, all round the tank, and at midnight the king, attended by a\nnumerous retinue, and followed by a great crowd anxious to witness the\nexpected miracle, came to the steps leading down to the water, and\nhaving undressed there in a tent which had been pitched for that\npurpose, plunged in and swam out to the middle.\n\nMeanwhile I had said to my followers: \"I have no further need of you;\nI am about to retire to a lonely place to practise meditation; you may\nnow leave me; go, and my blessing be upon you.\" Well satisfied with\nthe gifts they had received, they departed; and when they were gone I\nslipped unobserved into the lake, and entered the hole which I had\nprepared. There I remained till I heard the noise of the crowd who\ncame with the king, and perceived him floating on the surface. Diving\ncautiously under him, I pulled him down, strangled him, and dragged\nthe body into the hole; then swimming to the steps, I boldly came\nforth, to the astonishment of the attendants, who, though they had\nexpected a miracle, were scarcely prepared for such a great change. No\none, however, doubted that I was really their sovereign, and having\ndressed and mounted an elephant, I entered the city, escorted by the\nsoldiers and followed by a great crowd of people, who had come forth\nfrom curiosity, and were loud in their praises of the pious man who\nhad wrought such a miracle.\n\nThat night I was unable to sleep. In the morning I summoned all the\nministers and counsellors, and said: \"Behold the power of piety and\npenance. That holy man has performed a great miracle, and bestowed on\nme this new body, which you see, by means of the tank which he has\nconsecrated, and through the favour of the gods, whom he had long\npropitiated; after such a manifestation, who shall doubt their power?\nLet the faces of all unbelievers be bowed down by shame; let a great\nand solemn festival be made with song and dance in honour of Brahma,\nSiva, Yama, and the other deities, the rulers of the world, and\ndistribute much money among the poor.\"\n\nThis speech was received with great approbation, and all,\ncongratulating me and praising the gods, performed the duties imposed\nupon them.\n\nAfter this I went to the women's apartments, and there the first\nperson whom I met was a very devoted servant of the princess, who had\nbeen especially attentive to me. She, not imagining what had occurred,\nwould have let me pass without especial notice; but I called her, and\nsaid: \"Have you never seen me before?\"\n\nThen indeed she opened her eyes wide with joy and astonishment,\nsaying: \"Can it be possible? is not this a delusion? Tell me what it\nall means.\"\n\nI gave her a brief account of what had happened, and sent her to\nprepare my wife. How glad she was to see me you may well imagine.\n\nSo well did we manage, that the secret was kept, no suspicion even\narose, and all the people were rejoiced at the favourable change, not\nonly in the person, but in the temper and disposition of their\nsovereign.\n\nIn due time I was publicly married to the princess, and reinstated her\nfather in his kingdom.\n\nI have now come here with an army to assist the King of Anga, and have\nthus obtained the great happiness of seeing you again.\n\nThe prince, having heard this story, said \"Your cleverness has indeed\nbeen great, and your personation of the Siddha wonderful. May you\nlong continue to possess such wisdom and prudence, combined with wit\nand cheerfulness.\" Then, looking at Visruta, he said: \"It is now your\nturn;\" and he forthwith began:--\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\nADVENTURES OF VISRUTA.\n\n\nMy Lord, as I was wandering one day in the forest of Vindhya, I met\nwith a very handsome boy, standing by the side of a well, crying\nbitterly. When I asked what was the matter, he said: \"The old man who\nwas with me, when trying to get water from this well, fell in, and I\nam unable to help him. What will become of me?\"\n\nHearing this, I looked down the well, which was not very deep, and saw\nthe old man standing at the bottom, the water not being sufficient to\ncover him. By means of a long and tough stem of a creeper, I pulled\nhim up safely; then using it again as a rope, with a cup made from\nthe hollow stem of a bamboo, I drew water for the poor child, who was\nhalf dead with thirst; and finding that he was suffering from hunger\nalso, I knocked down some nuts from the top of a high tree with a\nwell-aimed blow of a stone.\n\nThe old man was very grateful for my timely assistance; and when we\nwere all comfortably seated in the shade, he gave me, at my request, a\nlong account of the circumstances which had brought him there,\nsaying:--\n\n\"There was formerly a King of Vidarba remarkable for wisdom and\njustice, learned in the Scriptures, a protector of his subjects (by\nwhom he was much beloved), a terror to his enemies, wise in political\nscience, upright and honest in all his actions, kind to his\ndependents, grateful for even small services, and gracious to all.\nHaving lived the full age of man, he died, leaving a prosperous\nkingdom to his son Anantavarma, a young man of great abilities, but\ncaring more for the mechanical arts, music, and poetry, than for his\nduties as a ruler.\n\n\"One day, one of his father's old counsellors in private addressed him\nthus: 'Sire, your majesty, with the advantage of royal birth, has\nalmost every good quality that can be desired; your intelligence is\nvery great; your knowledge superior to that of others; but all this,\nwithout instruction in political science and attention to public\naffairs, is insufficient for a king; void of such knowledge, he is\ndespised, not only by foreigners, but by his own subjects, who,\ndisregarding all laws, human and divine, at last perish miserably, and\ndrag down their sovereign in their fall. A king who has not political\nwisdom, however good his eyesight may be, is regarded by the wise as a\nblind man, unable to see things as they are. I entreat you, therefore,\nto give up the pursuits to which you are so devoted, and to study the\nart of government. Your power will then be strengthened, and you may\nlong reign over a happy and prosperous people.'\n\n\"To this exhortation the young king appeared to listen attentively;\nand said: 'Such is the teaching of the wise; it ought to be followed.'\n\n\"After dismissing the old counsellor, the king went into the women's\napartments, and began to talk to them of the exhortation which he had\njust received. His observations were attentively listened to by one of\nhis constant attendants, who determined, if possible, to turn the\nking's thoughts in another direction, and prevent him from being\ninfluenced by the good advice which had been given. This man had many\naccomplishments; he was skilled in dancing, music, and singing; quick\nat repartee; a good story-teller; full of fun and jokes; but devoid of\nhonour and honesty; false, slanderous, a receiver of bribes, a bad man\nin every way; yet, from his wit and humour, very acceptable to the\nking, whom he now thus addressed: 'Wherever there is a person of\nexalted position, there are always clever rogues ready to prey upon\nhim, and, while degrading him, to accomplish their own base purposes.\nSome, under the guise of religion, will tell him: \"The happiness of\nthis world is shortlived and fleeting; eternal happiness can only be\nobtained by prayer and penance;\" and so they persuade him to shave\nhis head, wear a dress of skins, gird himself with a rope of sacred\ngrass, and, renouncing all pleasures and luxuries, to betake himself\nto fasting and penance, and give away his riches to the poor, meaning,\nof course, themselves; some of these religious impostors will even\npersuade their dupes to renounce children, wife--nay, even life\nitself.\n\n\"'But suppose a man to have too much sense to be deluded in this way,\nthey will try a different plan; to one they will say: \"We can make\ngold; only furnish us with the means, and your riches shall be\nincreased a thousandfold;\" to another: \"We can show you how to destroy\nall your enemies without a weapon;\" to another: \"Follow our advice,\nand, though you are nobody now, you shall soon become a great man.\"\n\n\"'If their victim is a sovereign, they will say to him: \"Four\nbranches of study are said to be proper for kings--the vedas, the\npur\u00e2nas, metaphysics, and political science;--but the first three are\nof very little advantage; they may safely be neglected, and he should\ngive up his mind to the last only. Are there not the six thousand\nverses composed for the use of kings, and containing the whole\nscience? Learn these by heart, and you will be prepared for all\nemergencies.\" So then he must set to work to learn all these crabbed\nrules. He must; according to them, distrust every one, even wife or\nson. He must rise early, take a very scanty meal, and immediately\nproceed to business.\n\n\"'First he must go over accounts, and balance income and expenditure;\nand while his rascally ministers pretend to have everything very\nexact, they have forty thousand ways of cheating him, and take good\ncare of themselves.\n\n\"'Then he must sit in public, and be tired to death with receiving\nfrivolous complaints and petitions, and will not even have the\nsatisfaction of doing justice; for, whether a cause be just or not,\nhis ministers will take care that the decision shall be according to\ntheir own interests.\n\n\"'Then he is allowed a short time for bathing, dressing, and dining;\nif, indeed, the poor wretch can venture to dine, with the constant\nfear of poison in his mind.\n\n\"'After this he must remain a long time in council with his ministers,\nperplexed with their conflicting arguments, and unable to understand\neven the half of them; while they, pretending to act impartially, get\neverything settled as they had previously agreed and by twisting and\ndistorting the reports of spies and emissaries, manage to serve\nthemselves and their friends, and to get credit for putting down\ndisturbances which they themselves had excited.\n\n\"'He is now allowed to take a little amusement, but the time for this\nis restricted to an hour and a half.\n\n\"'Then he must review his army; hear the reports of the commander of\nhis forces; give orders for peace or war; and act upon the accounts\nbrought by spies and emissaries.\n\n\"'However weary he maybe with all this, he must sit down and read\ndiligently, like some poor student, for several hours. Then at last he\nmay retire to rest; but before he has had half enough sleep, he will\nbe awaked in the early morning; and the priests will come to him, and\nsay: \"There is an unfavourable conjunction of the planets; evil omens\nhave appeared; there is danger impending; the gods must be\npropitiated; let a great sacrifice be made to-day. The brahmans are\ncontinually engaged in supplicating the gods on your behalf; your\nprosperity is dependent on their prayers; they are miserably poor, and\nhave many children to support; let large donations be made.\" Thus the\ngreedy wretches, under the pretence of religion, are continually\nrobbing the king and enriching themselves.\n\n\"'This is the sort of life which you will have to lead, if you give\nyourself up to the guidance of those greybeards; and, after all,\nthough you may have studied and studied, pored over their musty\nvolumes, and listened to their tedious lectures, you are not sure of\ndoing right.\n\n\"'And who are these fellows who set themselves up for wise men? Do\nthey always do right? Are they not often themselves cheated by the\nunlearned? Common sense is far better than all this learning; instinct\nand feeling will guide us in the right way; even an infant without\nteaching finds out how to draw nourishment from the mother's breast.\nCast aside, then, the rules and restrictions with which these old\nfools would bind you. Follow your natural inclinations, and enjoy life\nwhile you can. You possess youth, beauty, and strength. You have a\nlarge army, ten thousand elephants, and three hundred thousand horses;\nyour treasury is full of gold and jewels, and would not be emptied in\na thousand years. What more would you have? Life is short, and those\nwho are always thinking of adding to their possessions, go on toiling\nto the last, and never really enjoy them.\n\n\"'But why should I waste your time with needless arguments? I see you\nare already convinced. Commit, then, the cares of government to your\nministers; spend your time with your ladies, and congenial friends\nlike me; enjoy drinking, music, and dancing, and trouble yourself no\nmore with affairs of state.'\n\n\"Having thus spoken, he prostrated himself in very humble attitude at\nthe feet of his master, who remained for a time silent, as if\nundecided.\n\n\"The women, who had been listening with delight to all that was said,\nseeing his hesitation, assembled round him, and, with sweet words and\ncaresses, easily persuaded him to follow his own inclination and\ntheirs.\n\n\"From that time the young king, given up entirely to pleasures and\namusements, left the affairs of the kingdom to his ministers; and,\nwhile allowing them to manage as they pleased, provided they did not\ntrouble him, openly treated them with insolence and neglect, and even\ntook pleasure in hearing them ridiculed by the worthless parasites who\nsurrounded him, so that even the wisest of his ministers, while\nlamenting the sad state of affairs, could only acknowledge their\ninability to remedy it, and wait till some great public calamity, or\nthe invasion of the country by a neighbouring sovereign, who was\ngradually extending his dominions by force or cunning, should bring\nthe young king to his senses.\n\n\"Ere long, what they had expected came to pass; for the King of\nAsmaka, who had for some time coveted the country, but did not dare\nopenly to invade it while it was strong and prosperous, took measures\nin secret to weaken the authority of Anantavarma, and diminish his\nresources; and, lest he should perchance see the error of his ways and\nabandon his vicious courses, he secretly gave a commission to the son\nof one of his ministers, a young man of great abilities and agreeable\nmanners, an eloquent flatterer and amusing companion, who arrived at\nthe court of Anantavarma, attended by a numerous retinue, as if\ntravelling about for his own pleasure.\n\n\"This man soon became intimate with the king, and took care to fall in\nwith all his tastes, and to justify and praise every pursuit which he\nengaged in.\n\n\"Thus, if he saw the king fond of hunting, he would say: 'What a fine\nmanly sport this is! How it strengthens the body, braces the spirits,\nand quickens the intelligence! While roaming over hill and dale, you\nbecome acquainted with the country; by destroying the deer and wild\nbuffaloes, you benefit the husbandmen; by killing the tigers and other\nwild beasts, you make travelling safer.' And he would go on in this\nway, without any allusion to the damage and destruction caused by the\nking's hunting expeditions.\n\n\"If gambling was the favourite amusement, or there was excessive\ndevotion to women, or to drinking, he would very ingeniously bring\nforward everything that could be said in favour of them, passing over\ntheir disadvantages in silence. If the king was lavish to his\ndependants, he would praise his generosity; if cruel, he would say:\n'Such severity is good; you maintain your own dignity by it; a king\nought not to be like a patient devotee, submitting to insults, and\nready to forgive.\n\n\"In this manner that wicked wretch obtained great influence over the\nking, and employed it to lead him into all sorts of excesses.\n\n\"With such an example before them, all classes gradually became\ncorrupted. The magistrates neglected their duties, and thought only\nhow they might enrich themselves; great criminals, who could bribe,\nescaped with impunity; the weak were oppressed by the strong; violence\nand robbery were rampant; disturbances broke out on all sides; and\nsevere and indiscriminating punishments only stirred up indignation,\nwithout repressing crime. The revenue diminished, while expenditure\nwas increasing; everywhere loud complaints were heard, and great\ndistress prevailed.\n\n\"As if all this were not sufficient, the cruel King of Asmaka sent\nemissaries in all directions to mix unsuspectedly with the inhabitants\nof Vidarba, and do as much mischief as possible.\n\n\"Some would distribute subtle poisons in various ways; some would stir\nup quarrels between neighbouring villages, and so cause party fights;\nsome contrived to let loose a furious elephant into a crowd, or get up\nan alarm by other means, and so cause a sudden panic, in which the\npeople trampled down each other, and many lives were lost; others,\ndisguised as hunters, promising abundance of game, would tempt men\ninto some narrow valley, between high mountains, where they were\ndevoured by tigers, or, unable to find their way out again, perished\nof hunger and thirst.\n\n\"By these and many other devices, they succeeded in destroying life\nand weakening the country, so that less resistance might be offered to\nthe invader.\n\n\"Then, thinking the time to be arrived, the King of Asmaka prepared\nfor war. Meanwhile, his emissary was leading on the foolish young king\nto destruction; and at this very time, as if in perfect security, he\nwas amusing himself with the performances of a celebrated actress and\ndancer, having, at the instigation of his treacherous friend,\npersuaded her, by large donations, to leave the King of Kuntala, with\nwhom she was a great favourite.\n\n\"Indignant at such an insult, that king was easily persuaded to join\nthe King of Asmaka, who had already obtained several other allies\neager to have a share in the expected conquest and plunder.\n\n\"Thus, when the country was actually invaded, no effectual resistance\nwas made; Anantavarma was easily defeated, and fell into the power of\nhis cruel enemy.\n\n\"The cunning King of Asmaka, who had gained his allies by many liberal\npromises, had no intention of sharing the conquered country with any\none; he professed, however, great disinterestedness; declared that he\nshould be contented with a very small part; and, having desired his\nallies to arrange between themselves what each should take, contrived,\nby his intrigues, to make them quarrel over the division. The result\nwas that they fought with, and so weakened each other, that he was\nable to disregard their claims, and to annex the whole of the\nconquered country to his own dominions.\n\n\"After the defeat and death of Anantavarma, an old and faithful\nminister escaped with the queen and her two children, this boy and his\nelder sister Manjuv\u00e2dini, together with a few faithful followers,\nincluding myself; and though the old minister was taken ill and died\non the road, the rest arrived safely at Mahishmati, where the queen\nwas well received by the king Amittravarma, a half-brother of her\nhusband, and where she devoted herself to the education of her son,\nhoping that he might one day recover his father's kingdom.\n\n\"After a time, however, that king sought to marry his brother's widow;\nand, having been rejected by her, determined to take revenge by\nkilling her son.\n\n\"The queen, having discovered his intentions, sent for me, and said:\n'My life is wrapped up in this boy; I can endure any thing, so long as\nhe is safe; take him and make your escape at once; I know not where to\nsend you, but if you can find a safe refuge, let me know, and I will\ncome to you, if possible.'\n\n\"In obedience to her commands, I took the boy, succeeded in escaping\nwith him, and reached a shepherd's hut on the borders of this forest.\nThere we stayed a few days till I saw a man whom I suspected to be\nsearching for us. Fearing discovery, I left the cottage, and entered\nthe forest. Here, while trying to get water to quench the poor child's\nburning thirst, I slipped into the well, where I should have perished\nbut for your timely assistance; and now, having done us this kindness,\nwill you add to it by protecting the boy, and helping us to reach a\nplace of safety?\"\n\n\"Who was his mother,\" I asked. \"Of what family was she?\"\n\n\"She is the daughter of the King of Oude,\" he answered, \"and her\nmother was Sagaradatta, daughter of Vaisravana, a merchant of\nP\u00e2taliputra.\"\n\n\"If so,\" I replied, \"she and my father are cousins by the mother's\nside; this boy is therefore my relation, and has a right to my\nprotection.\"\n\nThe old man was much pleased at hearing this, and I promised not only\nto protect the boy, but to contrive some means for reinstating him in\nhis proper position, and overcoming that wicked King of Asmaka with\ncunning equal to his own.\n\nFor the present, however, the most needful thing was to procure food.\nWhile I was considering how to obtain this, two deer passed, pursued\nby a forester, who shot three arrows and missed them, and, in despair,\nlet fall his bow and two remaining arrows. Hastily snatching up these,\nI discharged the arrows in rapid succession, and killed both the deer;\none of them I gave to the hunter, the other I prepared, and roasted a\npart of it for ourselves.\n\nThe forester was astonished by my skill, and delighted at the\nacquisition of so much food; and it occurred to me that I might get\nsome information from him. I asked him therefore: \"Do you know\nanything of what is going on at Mahishmati?\"\n\n\"I was there early this morning,\" he answered, \"for I had a tiger skin\nand other skins to sell, and great festivities were in preparation;\nthe Prince Prachandavarma, the king's younger brother, is about to\nmarry the Princess Manjuv\u00e2dini, and the rejoicings are on this\naccount.\"\n\nAfter the forester was gone, I said to the old man (whose name was\nN\u00e2lijangha): \"That wretch Amittravarma is trying to make it up with\nhis sister-in-law by promoting a good marriage for her daughter; no\ndoubt he thinks to persuade her to recall her son, that he may have\nhim in his power. Do you therefore leave the boy with me, and go back\nat once to his mother. Tell her how you have met with me, and that the\nchild is quite safe under my protection; but give out in public that\nhe has been carried off and devoured by a tiger. I shall come to the\ncity disguised as a beggar; do you wait for me near the cemetery.\"\n\nAll this he promised to do, and set off immediately, having first\nreceived further directions for the guidance of the queen.\n\nAfter some days, it was generally understood at Mahishmati that the\nboy who had escaped into the forest had been killed by a tiger; and\nthe king, secretly rejoicing, went to condole with the mother. She\nappeared as if greatly distressed by the news, and said to him: \"I\nlook upon the death of my son as a judgment upon me for not complying\nwith your wishes, and am therefore now ready to become your wife.\"\n\nThe old wretch was delighted at her compliance, and preparations were\nmade for the marriage.\n\nOn the appointed day, in the presence of a numerous assembly, she took\na small leafy branch, and dipping it in what appeared to be water, but\nwhich really contained a deadly poison, struck him gently with it on\nthe face, saying: \"If you are acting right, this will not injure you;\nif you are sinning in taking me, your brother's wife, and I am\nfaithful to my husband, may this be like the blow of a sword to you.\"\n\nSuch was the strength of the poison that he fell dead almost\ninstantaneously. Then dipping the same branch into other water\ncontaining an antidote, she struck her daughter in a similar manner;\nand, as no injury followed, the spectators were fully convinced that\nthe death of Amittravarma was a punishment from heaven.\n\nSoon after this (by my directions, and in order to throw him off his\nguard), she said to Prachandavarma: \"The throne is now vacant; you\nshould occupy it at once, and make my daughter your queen.\"\n\nHe listened to the suggestion; and, as the young boy, the nephew of\nthe late king, was supposed to be dead, no opposition was made by the\npeople.\n\nThen the Queen Vasundhara (also by my directions) sent for some of the\nlate king's ministers, and of the elders of the city, whom she knew to\nbe ill-affected towards Prachandavarma, and said to them: \"Last night\nthe goddess Durg\u00e2 appeared to me in a vision, and said: 'Your child is\nsafe; I myself, in the form of a tigress, carried him away, to save\nhim from his enemies. In four days from this time Prachandavarma will\nsuddenly die; on the fifth day let all the authorities assemble round\nmy temple on the bank of the river, and close the doors, after having\nascertained that no one is concealed inside. After waiting one hour,\nthe door will open and a young brahman will come forth, holding your\nson by the hand. That boy will become King of Vidarba, and that\nbrahman is to marry your daughter.'\"\n\nAfter the divine manifestation in favour of the queen when\nAmittravarma was struck dead, this account of the vision was readily\nbelieved by her hearers, who promised to keep the secret and to be\nguided by her directions.\n\nWhen the fourth day arrived I entered the city, disguised as a beggar,\nand brought the boy to his delighted mother, who introduced me to her\ndaughter, whom I greatly admired, and she, though agitated, was\nevidently pleased with me, even under such a disguise.\n\nI did not venture to stay long, and after receiving an alms and\nassuring the queen that the imagined dream would prove true, I went\naway, taking the boy with me, and at parting, in order to deceive her\nattendants, she said aloud: \"Your application shall not have been in\nvain; I will take care to protect your boy.\"\n\nN\u00e2lijangha, the old servant whom I had rescued in the forest, met me\non my arrival, and was waiting at the place which I had appointed. I\nwent to him there and asked him for information as to the movements\nand occupations of the new king. \"That doomed man,\" he answered,\n\"thinking all obstacles removed, and rejoicing at his accession to\npower, is now amusing himself in the palace gardens, with a number of\nactors, tumblers, and dancing girls.\"\n\n\"I could not have a better opportunity,\" I replied; \"do you therefore\nstay here with the boy, and wait for me in this old ruin. I shall not\nbe long gone.\"\n\nI then dressed myself in the clothes of a tumbler, which I had brought\nwith me for the purpose, went boldly into the garden, presented myself\nto the king, and asked for permission to exhibit my skill before him.\nThis was readily granted; an opportunity was soon given me of showing\nwhat I could do, and I obtained much applause from the spectators.\nAfter a time I begged some of those present to lend me their knives,\nand I caused much astonishment by the way in which I appeared to\nbalance myself on the points. Then, still, holding one of the knives,\nI imitated the pouncing of a hawk and an eagle, and having by degrees\ngot near the king, I threw the knife with such good aim, that it\npierced him to the heart, and I shouted out at the same time, \"Long\nlive Vasantabh\u00e2nu!\" that it might be supposed I had been sent by him.\nAfter this, dashing by the guards, who tried to stop me, I suddenly\nleaped over the wall, and before any of my pursuers could cross it, I\nhad run a long way on the other side. Doubling back, I got behind a\ngreat heap of bricks, and from thence, concealed by the trees,\nsucceeded in reaching the ruins unobserved. Here I changed my clothes\nand went back to the city, as if nothing had happened.\n\nIn order to have everything ready for my intended concealment, I had\ngone secretly the day before to the Temple of Durg\u00e2, and had there\nmade an underground chamber, communicating with the interior through\nan opening in the wall, which was carefully closed with a large stone,\nand now, taking the boy with me, I entered the hiding place, having\nbeen furnished with suitable dresses and ornaments, sent by the queen,\nthrough N\u00e2lijangha.\n\nThe assassination of Prachandavarma was universally attributed to his\nenemy, the King of Asmaka, and the first part of the prophecy of\nDurg\u00e2, as told by the queen, being thus accomplished, there was no\ndoubt, on the part of those who were in the secret, as to the\nfulfilment of the remainder.\n\nIn the morning a great crowd was assembled round the temple; for\nalthough the secret of the queen's vision had been kept, it was\ngenerally understood that something wonderful was to take place there.\n\nPresently the queen and her attendants arrived, entered the building,\nand paid their devotions to the goddess, after which the whole temple\nwas carefully searched, to make sure that no one was concealed there,\nand all having withdrawn, the doors were closed, and the people stood\nwithout in silence, anxiously awaiting the pleasure of the goddess.\n\nA band then began to play and the kettledrums were loudly struck, so\nthat the sound reached me in the hiding-place. At this, which was the\npreconcerted signal, I made a great effort, moved the large stone, and\ncame forth with the boy into the temple. Having changed our dresses, I\nplaced the old ones in the hole, carefully refitted the stone, and\nthrowing the temple door wide open, stood in front of the astonished\nmultitude, holding the young prince by the hand.\n\nWhile they were gazing in bewilderment, I thus addressed them: \"The\ngreat goddess Durg\u00e2, who lately showed herself in a vision to the\nqueen, has been pleased to restore to his longing mother this child,\nwhom she, in the form of a tigress, had carried away, and she commands\nyou, by my mouth, to accept him as your sovereign.\"\n\nThen turning to the queen, I said:--\"Receive your child from the hands\nof Durg\u00e2, who will henceforth protect him as her own son; and by her\ncommand accept me as the husband of your daughter.\"\n\nTo the ministers and elders I said:--\"The goddess has brought me here,\nnot merely as a messenger of her will, but as a defender of your\ncountry from that wicked King of Asmaka, whose cruel and unscrupulous\nintrigues are well known; accept me, therefore, as your deliverer, and\nas the guardian of the young king appointed by Durg\u00e2.\"\n\nUpon this all broke out into loud acclamations, saying: \"Great is the\npower of the glorious Durg\u00e2! happy the country of which you are the\nprotector!\" and I was conducted in triumph to the palace, together\nwith the queen, who could now openly show her joy at the recovery of\nher son.\n\nSo well had I managed, that no suspicion arose of the deception which\nhad been practised, and all the people venerated the young king as\nbeing especially under the protection of the goddess, and me as the\nagent chosen by her for his restoration.\n\nThus my authority was well established. I caused, in due time, the\nyoung prince to be formally proclaimed king, and had him carefully\neducated; and I myself received the hand of the lovely Manjuv\u00e2dini, as\nthe reward of my services and in obedience to the commands of Durg\u00e2.\n\nAfter some time, however, I began to reflect: \"Though my position now\nseems quite secure, yet, after all, I am a foreigner here, and when\nthe first burst of admiration is over, people may perhaps begin to\nask, 'Who is this stranger who has come among us in such a mysterious\nmanner? and what is he that he should thus lord it over us?' And it\noccurred to me that if I could make friends with an old and\nmuch-respected minister, named Aryaketu, so as to trust him entirely,\nhe might be of great assistance to me.\"\n\nBefore, however, making any overtures to him, I desired N\u00e2lijangha to\ntry him secretly and ascertain his feelings towards me.\n\nMy agent, therefore, had many interviews with him, and tried to\npersuade him that it was not for the good of the country that a\nstranger and foreigner should occupy such an important position,\nwhich ought rather to be held by a native, and that it would be very\ndesirable to get rid of me.\n\nTo all this Aryaketu answered: \"Do not speak against so good a man,\nand one of such wonderful ability, endowed with such great courage,\ngenerosity, and kindness. So many good qualities are rarely found\nunited in one person. I esteem the country very fortunate in having\nsuch a ruler, and am convinced, that through him the King of Asmaka\nwill one day be driven out, and our prince established on his father's\nthrone. Nothing shall induce me to plot against such a man.\"\n\nAfter hearing this from N\u00e2lijangha, I tried the old minister in\nvarious ways, and seeing no reason to doubt his fidelity and\nattachment, I gave him my full confidence, and found him a most useful\nfriend.\n\nWith his advice and assistance, I was able to appoint efficient\nofficers in every department. I encouraged religion and punished\nheresy; I kept each of the four castes in their proper sphere, and\nwithout oppressing the people, I collected a large revenue, for there\nis nothing worse than weakness in a ruler, and without money he cannot\nbe strong.\n\n[Here the story breaks off abruptly.]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\nLITERAL TRANSLATIONS.\n\n\nPage 244.\n\nMy Lord, I, having a common cause with my friends of wandering, saw\namong the Suhmans, in the outer park of a city called Damalipta, a\ngreat festal crowd. There, in a bower of Atimukta creepers, I saw a\ncertain young man amusing himself with the sound of a lute. I asked\nhim \"Worthy sir, what is this festival called? on what account is this\nbeginning, through what cause do you stand in solitude, accompanied\n(only) by your lute, as if out of spirits, not having done honour to\nthe festival?\"\n\nHe replied: \"The King of Suhma, called Tungadhanwa, being without\noffspring, begged from the feet of Durg\u00e2, called Vindhyav\u00e2sin\u00ed,[11]\ndwelling in this abode, having her love for the abode in Vindhya\nforgotten, two children, and by her in a vision to him sleeping near\n(her temple) direction was given: 'There shall be produced of thee one\nson, and one daughter shall be born; but he shall be in subjection to\nher husband. But let her, beginning from the seventh year till her\nmarriage, propitiate me every month while the moon is in Krittika (the\nconstellation of the Pleiades), with the ball-dance, for the obtaining\nan excellent husband; and whom she likes, to him she is to be given\nand let this festival be called the Ball Festival.' So she said.\n\n\"Then in a very short time the beloved queen of the king, named\nMedin\u00ed, bore a son, and a daughter was born at the same time. That\ndamsel, called Kandukavati, will to-day propitiate the goddess having\nthe moon as a diadem.\n\n\"But her friend, Chandrasena by name, her foster-sister, was beloved\nof me; and in these days she has been violently besieged by the king's\nson Bhimadhanwa. Therefore I, distressed, perplexed at heart by the\npain of the arrow-darts of K\u00e2ma, somewhat consoling myself with the\nsoft tones of the lute, occupy a solitary place.\"\n\nAnd at that moment there came near a certain sound of anklets, and a\ncertain lady came up. He indeed having seen her, with eyes opened\nwide, having risen up, having been embraced by her, sat down; and he\nsaid \"This is the (lady) dear as my life, separation from whom,\nburning as it were, burns me up; and by that prince the robber of\nthis, my life, I am brought to a state of coldness, as if by death;\nand I shall not be able, saying he is the king's son, to practise\nloyalty towards him; therefore, having caused myself to be favourably\nregarded by her, I will abandon a life which has no remedy.\"\n\nBut she, with her face full of tears, said \"O beloved, do not, on my\naccount, engage in violence. Thou, who having been born of a worthy\nmerchant, Arthad\u00e2sa, wast called Kosad\u00e2sa by thy parents, art called\nby thy enemies V\u00e8sad\u00e2sa (slave of a girl), from thy excessive\nattachment to me. Thou thyself being dead, I should imagine the\npopular saying would be (he was) Nrisansa-Vesa--the slave of a wicked\none. But now take me to any place you will.\"\n\nBut he said to me: \"Friend, in the regions seen by you, which was\n(the most) prosperous, abounding in corn, and having the greatest\nnumber of good men?\"\n\nTo him, having laughed a little, I said \"Wide is this (world bounded\nby) ocean and sky. There is no end of pleasant regions in one place or\nanother. But, indeed, if I should not be able to produce some plan\ncausing you to live comfortably here, then, indeed, I will show you\nthe way.\"\n\nMeanwhile, the sounds of jewel-anklets arose. Now she, in a hurry,\nsaid: \"My lord's daughter Kandukavati is come to propitiate Durg\u00e2 with\nplaying at ball; and she is of unforbidden sight in this Kanduka\n(ball) festival. May the eye of you going to see her be successful; I\nmust be keeping near her.\" So saying, she went away, and we two\nfollowed her.\n\nI first saw the red-lipped (lady) standing on the floor of a jewelled\nstage; and she, seen by me a stranger and at a distance, immediately\nsettled in my heart. And I, having my mind occupied by astonishment,\nthought: \"Is this Lakshmi? for the lotus is not placed in her hand;\nbut in her (Lakshmi's) hand there is a lotus, and she (the goddess)\nhas been all enjoyed by Vishnu, and by former kings; but in this\n(lady) there is unimpaired faultless youth.\"\n\nWhile I was thus reflecting, she, faultless in every limb, touching\nthe ground with the tips of her stretched-out fingers, having her dark\ncurled locks shaken, having with agitation saluted the mighty goddess,\ntook hold of the ball, resembling (in colour) the god without a body\n(_i.e._ K\u00e2ma) having his eye reddened by no slight passion; and having\ndropped it with graceful languor to the ground, having struck it,\ngently rising, with her bud-like hand having the delicate fingers\nstretched out, the thumb a little bent; having thrown, it up with the\nback of the hand, she caught it observed with active grace, in the air\nas it fell like a bunch of flowers joined with a circle of bees; and\nshe discharged it in middling slow and quick musical time, throwing it\nvery gently; and at that moment she displayed a quick movement with\nher feet; and when it stopped, she caused it to rise up with numerous\nblows; and, contrarywise, she caused it to rest; and she made it rise\nup like a bird, striking it regularly with her left and right hands\nwhen it was come straight to her side, and having caught it fallen\nwhen it had risen to a very great height, she practised a song-step;\nand having caused it to go up in various directions, she made it come\nback again. Thus sporting sweetly in various ways, accepting the words\nof praise loudly spoken at every moment by the people with their\nfeelings interested come near to the stage, she stands turned towards\nme (who was) leaning on the shoulder of Kosada\u00e2sa, having just then\nconfidence produced in me, with flushed cheek and wide expanded eye.\nThen she being caused to have a glancing look like that of Kandarpa\nwhen first descended to earth, corresponding therewith having her\ngracefully-curved creeper[12] eyebrows sportively playing; with the\nnetwork of the rays of light of her lips oscillated by the waves of\nthe wind of her breath, like twigs moved in sport, as if beating off\nthe bees eager to catch the perfume of heir lotus-face. In the\ncircular whirlings of the ball (caused) by very rapid striking,\nentering, as it were, a flowery cage, through bashfulness at sight of\nme; in the Panchavindhu movement shaking off, as if through fear, the\nfive arrows of K\u00e2ma simultaneously falling (on her); in the Gomuttrika\nsteps quivering like the brightness shown in the cloud imitating\nforked lightning; in the harmonious movements of her feet, having the\ntime kept by the sound of the jewelled ornaments; with her lower lip\nsuffused with the brightness of a furtive smile; with the mass of her\nlocks put up again when fallen down; with her jewelled girdle-belt\nsounding by knocking together; with the brightness of her muslin\ndress, agitated as it rested on her gracefully prominent full hips;\nwith the beautiful ball, struck by the quivering, bent, and extended\narms; with the arms like a loop, turned downwards; with her graceful\nhair reaching to the end of the back, rolled round upwards; with the\ngame continued (and) not neglected from her rapidity in putting up the\nfallen-down golden leaf of the ear-ring; with the ball whirled inwards\nand outwards by the feet and hands throwing it up repeatedly; with the\nnecklace lost to sight through bending down and rising up; the pearls\nwithout separation in falling and rising; with the wind of the little\nbranch (stuck) in (or behind) the ear engaged in drying up the paint\nof the cheek spoilt by the perspiration breaking forth; with one hand\nengaged in holding back on the surface of her bosom the falling\nmuslin dress; sitting down and rising up, closing and opening her\neyes, striking on the ground or in the air, with one ball or more than\none, she showed various sorts of play worth looking at.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nPAGE 36.\n\nAfter that, a certain damsel, adorned with a quantity of ornaments,\nmade of jewels, who had become the chief of the whole race of women in\nthe world, attended by a numerous train of modest female friends,\nhaving the gait of a swan, having come up softly, having made an\noffering to the most excellent brahman, of one jewel of the form\n(colour) of flame, being asked by him: \"Who art thou?\"\n\nSorrowfully, with a low murmuring voice, very gently, in a submissive\nattitude, said: \"O excellent brahman, I am the daughter of a chief of\nAsuras, Kalindi by name. My father, the ruler of this world, great in\ndignity, in a battle in which the immortals were removed to a\ndistance, was made a guest of the city of Yama by Vishnu, impatient of\nhis own valour. Me, immersed in an ocean of grief at separation from\nhim, a certain compassionate perfected devotee told: 'Damsel, a\ncertain mortal, bearing a divine body, having become thy new husband,\nshall rule over the whole of P\u00e2t\u00e2la.'\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nPAGE 309.\n\nHaving propitiated with clasped hands, put together in the form of the\nred lotus; the mass of rays coloured by the red sandalwood body of the\nthousand-eyed elephant of the eastern quarter having a thousand\nflames, the witness of things (which ought) to be done and not to be\ndone, the unique sea-monster leaping over the row of cloud-waves of\nthe celestial ocean, the graceful actor dancing on the stage of the\ngolden rock, the one lion the tearer of the scented elephant of\nnocturnal darkness, the jewel arranged at the top of the pearl\nnecklace the canopy of the stars; I went to my own dwelling. And three\ndays being gone, when the lord of day had a splendour of colour common\nto it with the red chalk side of the peak of the western mountain, and\nwas looking like the orb of one bosom of the Goddess of Twilight,\nunited with the body of Siva, under the name of atmosphere, for the\ndisparagement of the daughter of the king of mountains; that king also\nhaving come, stood in humble attitude, having his diadem eclipsed by\nthe rays from the nails of the feet of this person placed on the\nground; and he was thus addressed:--\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nPROPER NAMES, ETC., OCCURRING IN THE TALES.\n\n\n_Alaka_, a mountain inhabited by Kuvera and the Yakshas.\n\n_Amb\u00e2lika_, the daughter of Sinhavarma, wife of Mantragupta.\n\n_Amittravarma_, King or Governor of Mahishmati.\n\n_Anantavarma_, King of Vidarba.\n\n_Apah\u00e2ravarma_, son of Prah\u00e2ravarma, and one of the nine companions of\n  R\u00e2jahansa.\n\n_Apsaras_, heavenly females, nearly corresponding with the houris of\n  the Mahometans.\n\n_Arthap\u00e2la_, son of K\u00e2map\u00e2la, one of the nine companions of R\u00e2jahansa.\n\n_Arthapati_, a merchant at Champa, who wished to marry Kulap\u00e2lika.\n\n_Aryaketu_, a minister and friend of Visruta.\n\n_Asura_, a general term for various supernatural beings not regarded\n  as gods, but in general hostile to them, nearly the same as the jins\n  or genii of the \"Arabian Nights.\"\n\n_Avantisundari_, daughter of M\u00e2nas\u00e2ra, wife of R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana.\n\n_Balabhadra_, a merchant, husband of Ratnavati.\n\n_B\u00e2lachandrika_, wife of Pushpodbhava, and friend of Avantisundari.\n\n_Bandhup\u00e2la_, a merchant, father of B\u00e2lachandrika.\n\n_Betel and pawn_, a mixture for chewing, frequently offered in\n  politeness, as snuff with us.\n\n\n_Bheels_, savages, wild tribes, robbers.\n\n_Bhimadhanwa_, brother of Kandukavati.\n\n_Buddhist_, a disciple of Buddha. Buddha was a Hindoo reformer, whose\n  followers were once very numerous in India, but at the date of these\n  stories had been much diminished in number, through the persecutions\n  of the brahmans. They still, however, form a large part of the\n  population of Ceylon, Thibet, China, and some other countries, though\n  the comparatively pure religion of the founder has for the most part\n  degenerated into gross idolatry and unmeaning ceremonies.\n\n_Chakrav\u00e2ka_, name of a bird quoted for affection, as turtle-doves by\n  us.\n\n_Chand\u00e2la_, a pariah, outcast.\n\n_Chandrasena_, foster-sister of the Princess Kandukavati.\n\n_Ch\u00e2taka_, a bird supposed to be very fond of rain, and to make a loud\n  noise at its approach.\n\n_Dhanamittra_, husband of Kulap\u00e2lika, friend of Apah\u00e2ravarma.\n\n_Dharmap\u00e2la_, one of R\u00e2jahansa's ministers.\n\n_Dharmavardhana_, King of Sravasti.\n\n_Durga_ or _K\u00e2li_, wife of Siva, a terrific goddess, delighting in\n  human sacrifices.\n\n_Gaur\u00ed_, wife of Siva.\n\n_Ghee_, liquid butter, or butter which has been liquefied.\n\n_Indra_, the chief of the inferior gods, presiding over the clouds,\n  rain, thunder, &c.\n\n_Kail\u00e2sa_, a mountain, part of the Him\u00e2laya chain.\n\n_Kalahakantaka_, the man who fell in love with a portrait.\n\n_Kalind\u00ed_, Queen of P\u00e2t\u00e2la, wife of Matanga.\n\n_Kalpasundari_, wife of Vikatavarma, afterwards of Upah\u00e2ravarma.\n\n_K\u00e2ma_ or _Kandarpa_, the God of Love.\n\n_K\u00e2mamanjari_, the actress who seduced the Muni.\n\n_K\u00e2map\u00e2la_, son of Dharmap\u00e2la, minister and son-in-law of the King of\n  Ben\u00e2res.\n\n_Kanakalekha_, daughter of the King of Kalinga, wife of Mantragupta.\n\n_Kandukavati_, the princess who performed the ball-dance.\n\n_Kantaka_, the gaoler killed by Upah\u00e2ravarma.\n\n_Kantimati_, the wife of K\u00e2map\u00e2la, mother of Arthap\u00e2la.\n\n_Kir\u00e2ta_, a savage, forester, Bheel.\n\n_Kosad\u00e2sa_, lover of Chandrasena.\n\n_Kusa-grass_, a scented grass, much used at sacrifices for laying\n  offerings on, &c.\n\n_Kuvera_, the God of Wealth, whose attendants were the Yakshas.\n\n_Magadha_, the kingdom of R\u00e2jahansa.\n\n_Mah\u00e2k\u00e2la_, a famous temple of Siva, the object of many pilgrimages.\n\n_Mahishmati_, name of a city.\n\n_Malaya_, a mountain, or range of mountains, having many sandal trees,\n  the perfume from which was supposed to be carried a long distance by\n  the wind.\n\n_M\u00e2lwa_, the kingdom of M\u00e2nas\u00e2ra.\n\n_M\u00e2nap\u00e2la_, the officer who guarded V\u00e2malochana.\n\n_M\u00e2nas\u00e2ra_, King of M\u00e2lwa, conqueror of R\u00e2jahansa.\n\n_Manibhadra_, a Yaksha, father of T\u00e2r\u00e2vali.\n\n_Manjuv\u00e2din\u00ed_, daughter of Anantavarma, wife of Visruta.\n\n_Mantra_, a verse or chapter in the vedas, any prayer or words recited\n  as a charm.\n\n_M\u00e2r\u00edchi_, a great muni seduced by K\u00e2mamanjari.\n\n_Matanga_, a brahman who went down to P\u00e2t\u00e2la together with R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana.\n\n_Mithila_, a city or country, called also Videha.\n\n_Mitragupta_, one of the nine companions of R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana.\n\n_Muni_, a holy man devoted to study, meditation, and penance.\n\n_N\u00e2lijangha_, the old man whom Visruta rescued from the well.\n\n_N\u00e2r\u00e2yana_, a name of Vishnu, an incarnation of the three principal\n  gods, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva.\n\n_Navam\u00e2lika_, daughter of the King of Sravasti, wife of Pramati.\n\n_Padmodbhava_, one of R\u00e2jahansa's ministers.\n\n_P\u00e2t\u00e2la_, a fabulous subterranean country.\n\n_Prachandavarma_, King or Governor of Mahishmati, killed by Visruta.\n\n_Prah\u00e2ravarma_, King of Mithila, father of Apah\u00e2ravarma and\n  Upah\u00e2ravarma.\n\n_Priyamvada_, Queen of Prah\u00e2ravarma.\n\n_Purnabhadra_, the reformed robber, servant of K\u00e2map\u00e2la.\n\n_Pushpapuri_, the capital of Magadha.\n\n_R\u00e2gamanjari_, an actress, sister of K\u00e2mamanjari.\n\n_R\u00e2jahansa_, king of Magadha, father of R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana, the hero of the\n  story.\n\n_Rakshas_ or _Rakshasas_, evil spirits or ogres, hostile to men, whom\n  they used to devour.\n\n_Rati_, a goddess, wife of K\u00e2ma.\n\n_Rishi_, nearly the same as Muni, a holy man retired from the world,\n  devoted to prayer and meditation.\n\n_Satyavarma_, son of a minister of R\u00e2jahansa, and father of Somadatta.\n\n_Savara_, fem. _Savari_, a savage, not a Hindoo.\n\n_Siddha_ (literally perfected), a very holy devotee.\n\n_Simanta_, a religious ceremony performed on behalf of a woman at a\n  certain period of pregnancy.\n\n_Sinhaghosha_, the deposed King of Ben\u00e2res.\n\n_Sinhavarma_, King of Anga, father of Amb\u00e2lika.\n\n_Sitavarma_, one of R\u00e2jahansa's ministers.\n\n_Sring\u00e2lika_, the nurse of R\u00e2gamanjari.\n\n_Siva_, one of the three chief gods or triad of the Hindoos, Brahma,\n  Siva, and Vishnu, who are sometimes regarded as one, sometimes\n  confounded with each other.\n\n_Sumantra_, son of Dharmap\u00e2la.\n\n_Susruta_, son of Padmodbhava.\n\n_T\u00e2r\u00e2vali_, a Yaksha lady, wife of K\u00e2map\u00e2la.\n\n_V\u00e2madeva_, a holy man consulted by R\u00e2jahansa.\n\n_V\u00e2malochana_, daughter of V\u00edraketu, wife of Somadatta.\n\n_Vasumati_, Queen of R\u00e2jahansa.\n\n_Vasundhara_, Queen of Anantavarma the King of Vidarba.\n\n_Vidarba_, name of a country.\n\n_Videha_, a country called also Mithila.\n\n_Vidy\u00e2dhara_, one of the numerous demigods.\n\n_Vidyeswara_, the conjuror who married R\u00e2jav\u00e2hana to Avantisundari.\n\n_Vikatavarma_, King of Mithila, husband of Kalpasundari.\n\n_Vimardaka_, a keeper of a gaming house, employed by Apah\u00e2ravarma.\n\n_V\u00edraketu_, King of P\u00e2tali, father of V\u00e2malochana.\n\n_Yaksha_, a sort of demigod or fairy, a servant of Kuvera.\n\n_Yama_, God and Judge of the Infernal Regions.\n\n_Yati_, an ascetic, a devotee.\n\n_Yavana_, a Greek, an Arabian--any foreigner.\n\n\nTHE END.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 1: A religious ceremony on behalf of a woman at a certain\nperiod of pregnancy.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The Hindoos attach much importance to certain marks on\nthe body, such as the lines on the hands, &c.]\n\n[Footnote 3: Kusa-grass, or kuskus, is used for strewing the floor of\na sacrificial enclosure, for laying offerings on, and for other sacred\nuses.]\n\n[Footnote 4: To be pushed in through opening in a wall, so as to\nreceive any blow which might be given.]\n\n[Footnote 5: To be let loose that it might put out the lights.]\n\n[Footnote 6: Hindoo women, when absent from their husbands, always\nwear, or used to wear, their hair done up into a single braid.]\n\n[Footnote 7: The author has here made a mistake which cannot be\nexplained. In the introductory chapter Pramati is the son of Sumati,\nand there is nowhere mention of a second son of K\u00e2map\u00e2la. The\nconfusion of names is, however, of little importance, since the\nadventures of Arthap\u00e2la and Pramati are quite distinct.]\n\n[Footnote 8: Increaser of virtue.]\n\n[Footnote 9: It was considered a very great sin to be, even\nindirectly, the cause of the death of a brahman.]\n\n[Footnote 10: An evil spirit, the ghoul of the \"Arabian Nights,\" the\nreaders of which will remember the story of Amina, who goes out at\nnight to feast on dead bodies.]\n\n[Footnote 11: The inhabitant of Vindhya.]\n\n[Footnote 12: Resembling tendrils.]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *","title":"Hindoo Tales; Or, the Adventures of Ten Princes","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":52763}