Page:The Katha Sarit Sagara.djvu/161

 her speech as if it were a dream, he reflected,— " Before she left, she assigned as a place of meeting the mountain of the sun-rising; so I must quickly go there to find her: but if I am seen by the people in this state, the king will not let me go: so I will employ a stratagem in this matter, in order that I may accomplish my object." So reflecting, the wise man assumed another appearance, and went out from that temple with tattered clothes, begrimed with dust, exclaiming, "Ah Bhadráa! Ah Bhadrá !" And immediately the people, who lived in that place, beholding him, raised a shout; "Here is Vidúshaka found!" And the king hearing of it came out from his palace in person, and seeing Vidúshaka in such a state, conducting himself like a madman, he laid hold on him and took him back to his palace. When he was there, whatever his servants and connexions, who were full of affection, said to him, he answered only by exclaiming. " All Bhadrá! Ah Bhadrá!" And when he was anointed with unguents prescribed by the physicians, he immediately defiled his body with much cinder-dust; and the food which the princess out of love offered to him with her own hands, he instantly threw down and trampled under foot. And in this condition Vidúshaka remained there some days, without taking interest in anything, tearing his own clothes, and playing the madman. And Ádityasena thought to himself; " His condition is past cure, so what is the use of torturing him? He may perhaps die, and then I should be guilty of the death of a Bráhman, whereas if he roams about at his will, he may possibly recover in course of time." So he let him go. Then the hero Vidúshaka, being allowed to roam where he liked, set out the next day at his leisure to find Bhadrá, taking with him the ring. And as he journeyed on day by day towards the East, he at last reached a city named Paundravardhana, which lay in his way as he travelled on; there he entered the house of a certain aged Bráhman woman, saying to her— " Mother, I wish to stop here one night." And she gave him a lodging and entertained him, and shortly after, she approached him, full of inward sorrow, and said to him— " My son, I hereby give thee all this house, therefore receive it, since I cannot now live any longer." He, astonished, said to her— " Why do you speak thus?" Then she said "Listen, I will tell you the whole story," and so continued as follows " My son, in this city there is a king named Devasena, and to him there was born one daughter, the ornament of the earth. The affectionate king said— 'I have with, difficulty obtained this one daughter',— so he gave her the name of Duhkalabdhiká.

" In course of time when she had grown up, the king gave her in marriage to the king of Kachchhapa, whom he had brought to his own palace. The king of Kachchhapa entered at night the private apartments of his bride, and died the very first time he entered them. Then the king much distressed, again gave his daughter in marriage to another king; he also