21
In the meanwhile, by performing a very severe penance on the snowy mountain, I propitiated the god, the husband of Párvatí, the great giver of all good things; he revealed to me that same treatise of Pánini; and in accordance with his wish I completed it: then I returned home without feeling the fatigue of the journey, full of the nectar of the favour of that god who wears on his crest a digit of the moon; then I worshipped the feet of my mother and of my spiritual teachers, and heard from them the wonderful achievement of Upakośá, thereupon joy and astonishment swelled to the upmost height in my breast, together with natural affection and great respect for my wife.
Now Varsha expressed a desire to hear from my lips the new grammar, and thereupon the god Kártikeya himself revealed it to him. And it came to pass that Vyádi and Indradatta asked their preceptor Varsha what fee they should give him? He replied, " Give me ten millions of gold pieces." So they, consenting to the preceptor's demand, said to me; " Come with us, friend, to ask the king Nanda to give us the sum required for our teacher's fee; we cannot obtain so much gold from any other quarter: for he possesses nine hundred and ninety millions, and long ago he declared your wife Upakośá, his sister in the faith, therefore you are his brother-in-law; we shall obtain something for the sake of your virtues." Having formed this resolution, we three fellow-students*[1] went to the camp of king Nanda in Ayodhya, and the very moment we arrived, the king died; accordingly an outburst of lamentation arose in the kingdom, and we were reduced to despair. Immediately Indradatta, who was an adept in magic, said, " I will enter the body of this dead king †[2]; let Vararuchi prefer the petition to me, and I will give him the gold, and let Vyádi guard my body until I return." Saying this, Indradatta entered into the body of king Nanda, and when the king came to life again, there was great rejoicing in the kingdom. While Vyádi remained in an empty temple to guard the body of Indradatta, I went to the king's palace. I entered, and after making the usual salutation, I asked the supposed Nanda for ten million gold pieces as my instructor's fee. Then he ordered a man named Śakatála, the minister of the real Nanda, to give me ten million of gold pieces. That minister, when he saw that the dead king had come to life, and that the petitioner immediately got what he asked, guessed the real state of the case. What is there that the wise cannot understand? That minister said— " It shall be given, your Highness," and reflected with himself; " Nanda's son is but a child, and our realm is menaced by many enemies, so I will do my best for the present to
