Page:Tales from the Indian Epics.djvu/51

Rh Puloma was about to bear her lord a son. But before the child's birth the great sage went to bathe in a holy river. In his absence there came to his hermitage a demon king named Paulama. When Puloma was quite a child her father had promised her hand to the demon king. But afterwards, hearing the fame of the rishi Vrigu, he broke his promise and gave her in marriage to the great sage. Paulama in vain urged that he was betrothed to Puloma. But her father treated him with scorn. At last the demon king went away in anger, vowing that his disgrace would one day be avenged. Day after day he hid himself near Vrigu's hermitage, until at last, seeing that Vrigu had gone to a distant river, the demon king boldly entered the hermitage and asked Puloma to give him food. The rishi's beautiful wife suspected no evil and welcoming the betrothed of her childhood, offered him for food the fruits of the forest. But as Paulama ate, his longing for Puloma grew and so also grew his hatred for Vrigu. "I shall carry her off," he muttered to himself, "and thus I shall avenge my dishonour and win for myself the wife whom Vrigu tore away from my arms." But before he did so, he entered an inner room where a sacred fire burnt always day and night. "O fire god Agni," he said, "the lady Puloma was once my affianced bride. Vrigu took her from me by trickery. But she was given to me first, therefore tell me, I pray you, whether she is not now my lawful wife." Agni at first did not answer. He would gladly have said that Paulama had a just claim. But he feared that if he spoke thus, Vrigu's curse would fall upon and destroy him. So after thinking deeply he said, "O demon king, it is true that Puloma was your affianced bride, but she never became your wife. She went