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And as soon as the young merchant came to know of that, he returned and to his horror found that dear wife of his a corpse, with pale though lovely complexion, set off by her waving locks, like the spirit of beauty that tenants the moon fallen down to the earth in the day during her sleep.*[1] So he took her in his arms and wept over her, and immediately the vital spirits left his body, which was on fire with the flame of grief, as if they were afraid to remain. So that married couple perished by mutual separation, and therefore we must take care that the king is not separated from the queen." When he had said this, Rumanvat ceased, with his mind full of apprehension, but the wise Yaugandharáyana, that ocean of calm resolution answered him; " I have arranged the whole plan, and the affairs of kings often require such steps to be taken, in proof of it, hear the following tale:"
Story of Punyasena.:— There lived long ago in Ujjayiní a king named Punyasena, and once on a time a powerful sovereign came and attacked him. Then his resolute ministers, seeing that that king was hard to conquer, spread everywhere a false report that their own sovereign Punyasena was dead; and they placed him in concealment, and burnt some other man's corpse with all the ceremonies appropriate to a king, and they proposed to the hostile king through an ambassador that, as they had now no king, he should come and be their king. The hostile monarch was pleased and consented, and then the ministers assembled accompanied by soldiers, and proceeded to storm his camp. And the enemy's army being destroyed, Punyasena's ministers brought him out of concealment, and having recovered their power put that hostile king to death.
" Such necessities will arise in monarch's affairs, therefore let us resolutely accomplish this business of the king's by spreading a report of the queen's having been burnt." When he heard this from Yaugandharáyana, who had made up his mind, Rumanvat said; " If this is resolved upon, let us send for Gopálaka the queen's respected brother, and let us take all our measures duly, after consultation with him." Then Yaugandharáyana said " So be it," and Rumanvat allowed himself to be guided, in determining what was to be done, by the confidence which he placed in his colleague. The next day, these dexterous ministers sent off a messenger of their own to bring Gopálaka, on the pretext that his relations longed to see him. And as he had only departed before on account of urgent business, Gopálaka came at the request of the messenger, seeming like an incarnate festival. And the very day he came, Yaugandharáyana took him by night to his own house together with Rumanvat, and there he told him of that daring scheme which he wished to undertake, all of which he had before deliberated about together with that Rumanvat; and Gopálaka desiring the good
- ↑ * In the original it is intended to compare the locks to the spots in the moon.
