220
impregnated with the nectar of the moon, from dwelling on the head of
Śiva, and ho bathed in them, and felt refreshed. And he ate, by way of
sustenance, some venison, which they had bought from a hunter whom they happened to meet, and which Śankhadatta brought to him roasted. And seeing that the Ganges was full and difficult to cross, for with its waves uplifted like hands it seemed again and again to warn him back, he proceeded to roam along the bank of the river. And there he saw a young Bráhman in the court of an out-of-the-way hut, engaged in the study of the Vedas. So he went up to him and said, " Who are you, and what are you doing in this solitary place?" Then the young Bráhman answered him:
" I am Nílakanțha, the son of a Bráhman named Śríkantha, who lived at Váránasí, and after all the ceremonies had been performed for me, and I had learnt knowledge in the family of my spiritual preceptor, I returned home and found all my relations dead. That left me helpless and poor, and as I was not in a position to carry on the duties of a householder, I became despondent, and repaired to this place, and had recourse to severe asceticism. Then the goddess Gangá gave me some fruits in a dream, and said to me, ' Remain here living on these fruits, until you obtain your desire.' Then I woke up and went and bathed, and when the morning came, I found in the water some fruits, that had been washed here by the stream of the Ganges. I brought those fruits, delicious as nectar, into my hut, and ate them there, and so I remain here engaged in asceticism, receiving these fruits day by day."
When he said this, Bhímabhața said to Śankhadatta, " I will give this virtuous youth enough wealth to enable him to enter the householder- state." Śankhadatta approved his speech; whereupon the prince gave the Bráhman the wealth that his mother gave him. For what is the use of the greatness of great ones, who have abundant courage and wealth, if they do not put a stop to the sufferings of their neighbour as soon as they hear of them?
And after he had made the fortune of the Brahman, Bhímabhața searched in every direction for some means of crossing the Ganges, but could not find any. Then he tied his ornaments and sword on his head, and plunged in with Śankhadatta to swim across it.
And in the middle of the river the current carried his friend to a distance from him, and he himself was swept away by the waves, and reached the bank with difficulty. When he reached the other side, he could not see his friend Śankhadatta, and while he was looking for him along the bank, the sun set. Then he began to despair, and he exclaimed in bitter grief, " Alas my friend !" and it being now the beginning of the night, he prepared to drown himself in the waters of the Ganges. He said, " Goddess Jáhnaví, you have taken from me my life in the form of my friend, so now
