Thus Naraváhanadatta obtained Śaktiyaśas, and besides he had those wives he married before, Ratnaprabhá and others, and his consort the head wife Madanamanchuká, and with them and his friends he led a happy life at the court of his father in Kauśámbí.

Story of the race between the elephant and the horses.

And one day, when he was in the garden, two brothers, who were princes, and who had come from a foreign land, suddenly paid him a visit. He received them cordially, and they bowed before him, and one of them said to him; “We are the sons by different mothers of a king in the city of Vaiśákha. My name is Ruchiradeva and the name of this brother of mine is Potraka. I have a swift female elephant, and he has two horses. And a dispute has arisen between us about them; I say that the elephant is the fleetest, he maintains that his horses are both fleeter. I have agreed that if I lose the race, I am to surrender the elephant, but if he loses, he is to give me both his horses. Now no one but you is fit to be a judge of their relative speed, so come to my house, my lord, and preside over this trial. Accede to our request. For you are the wishing-tree that grants all petitions, and we have come from afar to petition you about this matter.”

The next day Potraka brought that pair of horses equal to the wind in swiftness; but Ruchiradeva, who was skilled in all the secrets of the art of driving, himself mounted the female elephant, and partly by the animal’s natural speed, partly by his dexterity in urging it on, beat them in the race. When Ruchiradeva had beaten those two splendid horses, the son of the king of Vatsa entered the palace, and at that very moment arrived a messenger from his father. The messenger, when he saw the prince, fell at his feet, and said; “The king, hearing from your retinue that you have come here, has sent me to you with this message. ‘How comes it that you have gone so far from the garden without letting me know? I am impatient for your return, so abandon the diversion that occupies your attention, and return quickly.’” When he heard this message from his father’s messenger, Naraváhanadatta, who was also intent on obtaining the object of his flame, was in a state of perplexity.

And at that very moment a merchant, in a great state of delight, came, bowing at a distance, and praised that prince, saying, “Victory to thee, O thou god of love without the flowery bow! Victory to thee, O Lord, the future emperor of the Vidyádharas! Wast thou not seen to be charming as a boy, and when growing up, the terror of thy foes? So surely the gods shall behold thee like Vishṇu, striding victorious over the heaven, conquering Bali.” With these and other praises the great merchant magnified the prince; then having been honoured by him, he proceeded at his request to tell the story of his life.

Story of the merchant and his wife Velá.

There is a city called Lampá, the crown of the earth; in it there was a rich merchant named Kusumasára. I, prince of Vatsa, am the son of that merchant, who lives and moves in religion, and I was gained by the propitiation of Śiva. Once on a time I went with my friends to witness a procession of idols, and I saw other rich men giving to beggars. Then I formed the design of acquiring wealth to give away, as I was not satisfied with the vast fortune accumulated by my father. So I embarked in a ship, laden with many jewels, to go across the sea to another country. And my ship, impelled by a favorable wind, as if by fate, reached that island in a few days. There the king found out that I was an unknown man dealing in valuable jewels, and out of avarice he threw me into prison. While I was remaining in that prison, which resembled hell, on account of its being full of howling criminals, suffering from hunger and thirst, like wicked ghosts, a merchant, named Mahídhara, a resident in that town, who knew my family, went and interceded with the king on my behalf, and said; “King, this is the son of a great merchant, who lives in the city of Lampá, and, as he is innocent, it is not creditable to your majesty to keep him in prison.” On his making representations of this kind, the king ordered me to be released from prison, and summoned me into his presence, and honoured me with a courteous reception. So, by the favour of the king and the support of that merchant, I remained there doing a splendid business.

One day I saw, at a spring festival in a garden, a handsome girl, the daughter of a merchant named Śikhara. I was quite carried off my feet by her, who was like a wave of the sea of Love’s insolence, and when I found out who she was, I demanded her in marriage from her father. Her father reflected for a moment, and at last said to me; “I cannot give her to you myself, there is a reason for my not doing so. But I will send her to her grandfather by the mother’s side, in the island of Ceylon; go there and ask for her again, and marry her. And I will send her there with such instructions that your suit will certainly be accepted.” When Śikhara had said this, and had paid me the usual courtesies, he dismissed me to my own house. And the next day he put the maiden on board ship, with her attendants, and sent her to the island of Ceylon, across the sea.

When that excellent merchant Chandrasára, who had accomplished his object, had gone, after prostrating himself before the prince, and telling his story, Ruchiradeva, pleased at beholding the greatness of his guest, was still more obsequious to him. And in addition to the elephant and the pair of horses, he gave his sister, making the duty of hospitality an excuse for doing so, to the prince who was captivated by her beauty. She was a good match for the prince, and her brother had long desired to bestow her upon him in marriage. Naraváhanadatta then took leave of Ruchiradeva, and with his new wife, the elephant, and the two horses, returned to the city of Kauśámbí. And he remained there, gladdening his father with his presence, living happily with her and his other wives, of whom Madanamanchuká was the chief.

Notes in this chapter

Note 1 · An allusion to the custom of choosing a husband in the Svayamvara ceremony, by throwing a garland on the neck of the favoured suitor.Note 2 · Dr. Kern would read ásata.Note 3 · Compare Book III of the novel of Achilles Tatius, c. 5.Note 4 · Cp. Enmathius’ novel of Hysminias and Hysmine, Book IX, ch. 4. Ἐπὶ δὴ τούτοις πᾶσιν ὀφθαλμὸς ἥλατό μου ὁ δεξιὸς, καὶ ἦν μοι τὸ σημε͂ιον ἀγαθ Note 5 · i. e., under the protection of a Buddha.Note 6 · So Malegis in Die Heimonskinder represents that his blind brother will be freed from his affliction when he comes to a place where the horse Note 7 · When the prince received this invitation from Ruchiradeva, he consented out of good nature, and out of the interest he took in the elephant Note 8 · I was preparing with the utmost eagerness to go there, when this rumour, which was terrible as a lightning-stroke, was spread abroad where I Note 9 · Then I wandered about, not knowing my way, separated from my beloved, and I saw the ground full of lingas of Śiva formed of sand. And daught Note 10 · And immediately I beheld the daughter of the hermit Mátanga, who appeared unexpectedly. She was in brightness like the sun, subject to a vow Note 11 · Speaking thus, the saintly woman refreshed me with her voice as with cloudless rain, and then she took me to the hermitage of her father, th Note 12 · ἅλλεται ὀφθαλμός μευ ὁ δεξιός· ἦ ῥά γ’ ἰδησῶ αὐτάν;Note 13 · Where Fritsche quotes Plant. Pseudol. 1.1.105. Brand in his Popular Antiquities, Vol. III, p. 172, quotes the above passage from Theocritus,