Page:The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago.djvu/184

Rh my soul which did not quit this body the moment I heard of the unhappy fate of my lover. The married women of this land will, on the death of their husbands, die instantly unable to bear their grief, or willingly give up their lives on their husbands' funeral pyre, or by fasts and prayers seek to rejoin their husbands in their future births. Unlike them, the saintly widow of my lover, furious with wrath at the unjust execution of her husband, devoted to the flames the great city of Madura. My daughter Mani-mêkalai, who stands in the relation of a daughter to that. chaste widow, shall never lead a wicked or worthless life, but all her lifetime she shall he a zealous devotee to virtue. Listen to me further, my maid! I visited the Buddhist monastery in this city, and falling at the feet of the venerable abbot, related to him the sad story of my lover. He consoled my afflicted mind, revealing to me the noble truths that:


 * Those who are born suffer endless sorrow,
 * Those who are not born rest in bliss
 * It is desire that causeth birth.
 * Those who have no desire cease to be born.

He explained to me, besides, the five kinds of purity which lead to salvation. Tell my mother Chitrâpati and her friends that I have resolved to follow his advice.” Hearing these words, Vayantamâlai returned home with a heavy heart, like one who had dropped a precious gem in the sea.

Mani-mêkalai who had been closely listening to the conversation between her mother and her maid, was moved to tears when she thought of the tragical fate of her father and stepmother. Her tears flowed fast, and falling on the garland which she was preparing, spoilt its brilliancy. Mâthavi, who saw that her daughter was weeping, comforted her, and wiping the tears from her eyes with her faint fingers, observed, "This garland is now unfit for an offering, as it is bedewed with your tears. I wish you will go and gather fresh flowers.” “Will you allow Manimêkalai to go out alone?” enquired Sutamati who was also making a garland to be offered at the monastery. “Her pretty faces and dark eyes will surely attract every one who sees her. Beyond the royal park, she may meet the princes of the