Page:Katha sarit sagara, vol2.djvu/488

 And as the emperor was sitting in the hall of audience in that city surrounded by Vidyádhara kings, an old woman of the royal harem came and said to him, " Since Mandaradeva has gone to the forest, having been conquered by you, his wives desire to enter the fire; your Highness has now been informed and will decide upon the proper course." When this had been announced, the emperor sent those kings to them, and dissuaded them from suicide, and bestowed upon them dwelling-houses and other gifts, treating them like sisters. By that step he caused the whole race of the Vidyádhara chiefs to be bound to him with bonds of affection.

And then the grateful monarch anointed Amitagati, who had been designated beforehand by Śiva, king over the realm of Mandaradeva, since he was loyal and could bo trusted not to fall away, and he placed under him the princes who had followed Mandaradeva, namely, Kánchanadanshțra and his fellows. And he diverted himself there in splendid gardens for seven days, being caressed by the fortune of the northern side of Kailása, as by a newly-married bride.

And then, though ho had acquired the imperial authority over the Vidyádhara kings of both divisions, he began to long for more. He set out, though his ministers tried to dissuade him, to conquer the inaccessible fields of Meru situated in the northern region, the home of the gods. For high- spirited men, though abundantly loaded with possessions, cannot rest without acquiring something still more glorious, advancing like blazing forest fires. Then the hermit Nárada came and said to the king, " Prince, what means this striving alter things out of your reach, though you know policy? For one who out of overweening self-confidence attempts the impossible, is disgraced like Havana, who, in his pride, endeavoured to uproot Kailása. For even the sun and moon find Meru hard to overstep; moreover, Śiva has not bestowed on you the sway over the gods, but the sway over the Vidyádharas. You have already conquered the Himálayas, the home of the Vidyádharas, so what need have you of Meru the home of the gods? Dismiss from your mind this chimerical scheme. Moreover, if you desire good fortune, you must go and visit the father of Mandaradeva, Akampana by name, in the forest, where he is residing." When the hermit Nárada had said this, the emperor consented to do as he directed, and so he took leave of him, and returned whence he came.

And the politic emperor, having been advised by Nárada to relinquish his enterprise,* and remembering the destruction of Rishabha, of which he