Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 3 1885.djvu/82

74 When she had thus spoken, frightened to death she made her way to her husband with great haste, and taking him with her fled away, and never dared to visit that place again.

In days gone by, when Brahmadatta reigned at Benares, a certain world-renowned teacher in Benares, imparting learning to five hundred brâhman-youths, thought to himself—"while dwelling here I find obstacles arising that quite prevent these youths from attaining to proficiency (in reciting the Vedas, &c.) I will go into the forest in the neighbourhood of the Himâlaya, and, there taking up my abode, I'll give them instruction."

After mentioning the matter to his pupils, he made them take sesamum, rice, oil, garments, &c., and they all went into the forest.

In a place not far from the high road he caused a hermitage to be made for himself, and there he took up his residence. Each of the brâhman-youths also made a hermitage for himself. The friends of these youths sent them rice, &c.: the peasants and the foresters also made presents of rice to the "instructor," saying,—"We hear that a famous teacher, dwelling in a certain place in the forest, causes his pupils to pick up the art of reciting Vedas and the rest." Moreover, a certain person made him a present of a cow (for the supply of milk), and its calf as well. Now in the neighbourhood of the teacher's hermitage a certain lizard took up her quarters, along with her two young ones. A certain partridge also made its fixed abode there, and, by listening to the teacher as he was reciting "texts" to his pupils, it acquired a knowledge of the three Vedas. The young students lived on terms of great intimacy with the partridge. After a time, even before these youths had attained to a complete mastery of their sciences, their teacher died. The students, having burnt his body,