Page:The Katha Sarit Sagara.djvu/417

 the senses. He, for his part, seeing that that hero Naraváhanadatta was of noble form, rose up arid welcomed him, and made him sit down on his own seat, and sitting in front of him, he thus questioned him, " Who are you; how and why have you come to this uninhabited land with one companion?" Then Naraváhanadatta told his own story from the beginning, and asked that hero, who was prostrating himself before him,— " Who are you, my good sir, and what is this wonderful city of yours? Tell me." That man, when he heard that, began to tell his own story.

Story of the two brothers Pránadhara, and Rájyadhara.:— There is a city named Kánchi possessed of great excellences,* which, like a girdle, well adorns the earth-bride. In it there was a famous king of the name of Báhubala, who won fortune by the might of his arm, and imprisoned her in his treasury, though she is a gadding dame. We were two brothers in his kingdom, carpenters by trade, skilful in making ingenious automata of wood and other materials, such as Maya † first invented. My elder brother was by name Pránadhara, and he was infatuated with love for a fickle dame, and I, my lord, am named Rájyadhara, and I was ever devoted to him. That brother of mine consumed all my father's property and his own, and some portion of what I had acquired, which melted by affection I made over to him. Then he, being much infatuated about the lady, out of desire to steal wealth for her sake, made a couple of swans of wood with mechanism and strings attached to them. That pair of swans was sent out at night by pulling the strings, and entering by means of the mechanical contrivance into the king's treasury through a window, they took from it with their beaks jewels placed in a basket, and returned to the house of my brother. And my elder brother sold the jewels and spent the money so acquired with his paramour, and in that way he robbed the king's treasury every night, and though I tried to prevent him, he would not give up that improper proceeding, for who, when blinded by passion, distinguishes between right and wrong? And then the keeper of the treasury, as the king's treasure-house was plundered night after night without the bolt being moved, though there were no mice in it, for several days in succession enquired into the matter, without saying anything, out of fear, and then being exceedingly vexed, went and told the whole matter plainly to the king. Then the king posted him and some other guards in the treasure-house at night, with orders to keep awake in order to find out the truth of it. Those guards went into the treasure-house at midnight, and while there, saw my brother's two swans entering there