Page:Katha sarit sagara, vol2.djvu/274

 and Víravara rose up alive and unwounded, with his sun. his daughter, and his wife. When the king, who quickly concealed himself again, saw that marvel, ho was never tired of looking at them with an eye full of tears of joy.

And Víravara quickly awoke as if from sleep, and, beholding his children and wife alive, and also himself, he was confused in mind. And he asked his wife and children, addressing them severally by name, " How have you returned to life after having been reduced to ashes? I too cut off my head: what is the meaning of my being now alive? Is this a delusion, or the manifest favour of the goddess?" When he said this, his wife and children answered him, " Our being alive is due to a merciful interposition of the goddess, of which we were not conscious." Then Víravara came to the conclusion that it was so, and after worshipping the goddess, he returned home with his wife and children, having accomplished his object. And after he had left his son, wife, and daughter there, he returned that very night to the palace-gate of the king, and stood there as before. King Śúdraka, for his part, who had beheld all unobserved, again went up to the roof of his palace. And he cried out from the roof, " Who is in attendance at the palace-gate?" Then Víravara said, " I myself am in waiting here, your Majesty. And in accordance with your orders I went in search of that woman, but she disappeared somewhere as soon as seen, like a Rákshasí." When the king heard the speech of that Víravara, he was very much astonished, as he had himself seen what took place, and he said to himself, " Indeed people of noble spirit are deep and self-contained of soul as the sea, for when they have performed an unparalleled exploit, they do not utter any description of it." Thus reflecting, the king silently descended from the roof of the palace, and entered his private apartments, and there spent the rest of the night. And the next morning, Víravara came to present himself at the time of audience, and then the delighted king related to the ministers all that Víravara had gone through during the night, so that they were all, as it were, thunderstruck with wonder. Then the king gave to Víravara and his son the sovereignty over the provinces of Láța and Karnáta, as a token of his regard. Then the two kings, Víravara and Śúdraka, being equal in power, lived happily in the interchange of mutual good offices.

When the Vetála had told this exceedingly wonderful story, he went on to say to king Trivikramasena, " So tell me, king, who was the bravest of all these, and if you know and do not tell, the curse, which I before mentioned, shall descend upon you."

When the king heard this, he answered the Vetála, " King Śúdraka was the greatest hero of them all." Then the Vetála said, " Was not Víravara greater, for his equal is not found on this earth? And was not