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CHAPTER XXXII.
Then the artful minister Yaugandharáyana came the next morning to the king of Vatsa, who was expecting him, and made the following representation— " O king, why do you not immediately enquire about an auspicious moment for celebrating the happy marriage of your highness with Kalingasená, the daughter of Kalingadatta, the king of Takshaśilá ?"*[1] When the king heard that, he said— " The same desire is fixed in my heart, for my mind cannot endure to remain a moment without her " Having said this, the simple-hearted monarch gave orders to a warder, who stood before him, and summoned the astrologers. When he questioned them, they, having had their cue previously given them by the prime minister, said, " For the king there will be a favourable moment in six months from this time."
When Yaugandharáyana heard this, he pretended to be angry, and the cunning fellow said to the king, " Out on these blockheads ! That astrologer, whom your highness previously honoured on the ground of his cleverness, has not come to-day, ask him, and then do what is proper " When he heard this speech of his minister's, the king of Vatsa immediately summoned that very astrologer with mind in an agony of suspense. He also stuck to his agreement, and in order to put off the day of the marriage he named when asked, after some reflection, a moment six months off. Then
- ↑ * Takshaśilá has been identified by General Cunningham with the ruins of an ancient city near Shah-deri one mile to the north-east of Kala-ka-serai. Mr. Growse has pointed out to me that I made a mistake in stating (after Wilson) in a note on p. 5 of this translation, that the precise site of Kauśámbí, the capital of the king of Vatsa, which Kalingasená reached in one day in the magic chariot, has not been ascertained. He says: " It has been discovered by General Cunningham. The place is still called Kosam, and is on the Yamuná, about 30 miles above Allahabad. The ruins consist of an immense fortress, with earthen ramparts from 30 to 35 feet high, and bastions considerably higher, forming a circuit of 23,100 feet, or exactly four miles and 3 furlongs. The parapets were of brick and stone, some of the bricks measuring 19 in. x 12½ x 2½, which is proof of their great antiquity. In the midst of these ruins is a large stone monolith, similar to those at Allahabad and Delhi, but without any inscription. The portion of the shaft above ground is 14 feet in length, and an excavation made at the base for a depth of 20 feet did not come to the end of it. Its total length probably exceeds 40 feet. There was I believe, some talk of removing it to Allahabad and setting it up there; but it was found to be too expensive an undertaking." Śrívastí, which Kalingasená passed on the way from Takshaśilá, has been identified by General Cunningham with Sahot-Mahet on the south bank of tho Rapti in Oudh.
