Note 4 — Chapter XCI · (Vetála 17.)
C. H. (Charles Henry) Tawney translation
When the king heard this report from the merchant, he sent off, with due politeness, his own Bráhmans, to see whether she had auspicious marks or not. The Bráhmans went and saw that matchless beauty of the three worlds, and were at once troubled and amazed, but when they had recovered their self-control, they reflected; “If the king gets hold of this maiden the kingdom is ruined, for his mind will be thrown off its balance by her, and he will not regard his kingdom, so we must not tell the king that she possesses auspicious marks.” When they had deliberated to this effect,4 they went to the king, and said falsely to him, “She has inauspicious marks.” Accordingly the king declined to take that merchant’s daughter as his wife.