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entered into me, and to be forcing me to speak. And I seem to hear a voice uttering these words from heaven— ' This daughter of Kalingasená is the appointed wife of Naraváhanadatta.' Moreover, that Kalingasená is a faithful wife, of good family; and her reproach of unchastitv has arisen from the influence of her actions in a former birth." When the king had said this, the minister Yaugandharáyana spoke— " We hear, king, that when the god of Love was consumed, Rati performed asceticism. And Śiva granted to Rati, who wished to recover her husband, the following boon: ' Thou shalt assume the condition of a mortal, and be reunited to thy husband, who has been born with a body in the world of mortals.' Now, your son has long ago been declared by a heavenly voice to be an incarnation of Káma, and Rati by the order of Śiva has to become incarnate in mortal form. And the midwife said to me to-day— ' I inspected previously the fetus when contained in the uterus, and then I saw one quite different from what has now appeared. Having beheld this marvel I have come here to tell you.' This is what that woman told me, and now this inspiration has come to you. So I am persuaded that the gods have stolen the real child of Kalingasená and substituted this daughter not born in the ordinary way, who is no other than Rati, ordained beforehand to be the wife of your son, who is an incarnation of Káma, O king. To illustrate this, hear the following story concerning a Yaksha."
Story of the Yaksha Virúpáksha.:— The god of wealth had for servant a Yaksha, named Virúpáksha, who had been appointed chief guardian of lacs of treasure.*[1] And he delegated a certain Yaksha to guard a treasure lying outside the town of Mathurá, posted there like an immovable pillar of marble. And once on a time a certain Bráhman, a votary of Paśupati, who made it his business to exhume treasures, went there in search of hidden wealth. While he was examining that place, with a candle made of human fat in his hand, the candle fell from his grasp. By that sign he knew that treasure was concealed there; and he attempted to dig it up with the help of some other Bráhmans his friends. Then the Yaksha, who was told off to guard that treasure, beholding that, came and related the whole circumstance to Virúpáksha. And Virúpáksha in his wrath gave the following command to the Yaksha— " Go and slay immediately those mean treasure-hunters." Then the Yaksha went and slow by his power those Bráhmans, who were digging for treasure, before they had attained their object. Then the god of wealth came to hear of it, and being angry he said to Virúpáksha,
- ↑ * For treasures and their guardians see Veekenstedt's Wendische Sagen. pp. 356- 374 and p. 394. For the candle of human fat see Benfey in Orient Occident Vol. I, p. 383.
