Note 4 — Chapter CVIII

And there I saw a certain great palace, which seemed to say to me with its open door, “Come in.” So I fled into it bewildered with fear, and I beheld a lady of wonderful beauty, surrounded with a hundred ladies-in-waiting, gleaming with brightness, like a protecting herb4 that shines in the night, made by the Creator out of pity for me. I immediately recovered my spirits and questioned her, and she said to me, “I am a Yakshiṇí named Sumitrá, and I am thus here owing to a curse. And in order that my curse may come to an end, I have been directed to marry a mortal: so marry me, as you have unexpectedly arrived here; fear not.” When she had said this, she quickly gave orders to her servants; and she provided me, to my great delight, with baths and unguents, food and drink, and garments. Strange was the contrast between the terror caused by those witches and the happiness that immediately followed! Even fate itself cannot comprehend the principle that makes men fall into happiness or misery.