Page:Katha sarit sagara, vol2.djvu/388

 said, " Mother, how are we to get a sight of her beauty, which is so surpassing?" When the female ascetic heard this speech of his, she said, " I took such interest in her on that occasion that I painted a picture of her on canvass; and I have it with me in a bag; if you feel any curiosity about it, look at it." When he had said this, she took the picture of the lady out of the bag, and shewed it to the gratified prince. And Sundarasena, when he beheld that maiden, who, though she was present there only in a picture, seemed to be of romantic beauty, and like a flowing forth of joy, immediately felt his limbs covered all over with hairs erect from horripilation, as if he had been pierced with the dense arrows of the god of the flowery bow.* He remained motionless, hearing nothing, speaking nothing, seeing nothing ; and with his whole heart fixed on her, was for a long time as if painted in a picture.

When the prince's ministers saw that, they said to that female ascetic, " Reverend mother, paint prince Sundarasena on this piece of canvass, and let us have a specimen of your skill in catching likenesses." The moment site heard that, she painted the prince on canvass. And when they saw that it was a striking likeness, all, who were present there, said, " The reverend lady's likenesses exactly resemble the originals, for when one looks at this picture, one thinks that one sees the prince himself; so the beauty of the princess Mandáravatí is sure to be such as it is represented in the picture."

When the ministers had said this, prince Sundarasena took the two pictures, and being pleased, honoured that female ascetic. And he dismissed with appropriate honours that dweller in a lonely spot. And he entered the inner part of the palace, carrying with him the picture of his beloved. He flung himself on a bed and said to himself " Can this be my charmer's face, or a moon that has purged away the spot that defiles its beauty?" † In this way he remained examining Mandáravatí, limb by limb, though he had only her painted form before him: and in this state he continued every day, abstaining from meat and drink; and so in the course of a few days he was completely exhausted by the pain of love's fever.

When his parents, Śaśiprabhá and Mahásena, found that out, they came of their own accord and asked his friends the cause of his indisposition. And his companions told them the whole story, as it had happened, how the daughter of the king of Hansadvípa had come to be the cause of his complaint. Then Mahásena said to Sundarasena, " My son, why do you