Page:Katha sarit sagara, vol2.djvu/413

 Karmasena in Ujjayiní, who is the moon of the sea of his own race, with all due respect; You have a daughter, and you must without fail give her to another, so give her to me; for she has been declared by the gods a suitable wife for me. In this way we shall become allies, and our former enmity will be at an end; if you do not consent, I will appeal to my own strong arms to give me this object of my desires." When the letter had been thus read by the minister Prajnákośa, king Karmasena, inflamed with rage, said to his ministers, " Those people are always hostile to us; and observe, this man, not knowing his place, has on the present occasion worded his communication in an objectionable form. He has pat himself first and me last, out of contempt; and at the end the conceited fellow has bragged of the might of his arm. So, I do not consider that I ought to send any reply; as for giving him my daughter, that is out of the question. Depart, ambassador; let your master do what he can."*

When king Karmasena said this, that Bráhman ambassador Suvigraha, being a man of spirit, gave him an answer well-suited to the occasion, " Fool, you boast now, because you have not seen that prince; make ready; when he arrives, you will learn the difference between yourself and your opponent." When the ambassador said this, the whole court was in a state of excitement ; but the king, though in wrath, said, " Away with you ! Your person is inviolable, so what can we do?" Then some of those present, biting their lips, and wringing their hands together, said one to another, " Why do we not follow him and kill him this moment." But others, being masters of themselves, said, " Let the young fool of a Bráhman go ! why do you trouble yourselves about the speech of this babbler? We will shew what we can do." Others again, appearing to foreshadow by their frowns the speedy bending of their bows, remained silent, with faces red with rage.

The whole court being thus incensed, the ambassador Suvigraha went out, and repaired to Mŗigankádatta in his camp. He told him and his friends what Karmasena had said; and the prince, when he heard it, ordered the army to march. Then the sea of soldiers, set in motion by the order of the commander, as by a violent gust of wind, in which men, horses, and elephants moved like bounding sea-monsters, exciting satisfaction in the mind of the allied monarchs,† assumed an agitation terrifying to the minds of timid men. Then Mŗigánkadatta, making the earth miry with the foam of high-mettled horses, and the frontal ichor of elephants,