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## Chapter 122: The Scattering of the Eager Refusal
No one, not even the great kings, has spoken of the special nature of his [the king's] path. The king, with his fierce nature, cannot be questioned again. ||16||
All of them, thinking, "Where should we go?", were unable to stay or go, as long as they remained on the path. ||17||
Shiva-bhooti then arrived there and said to them, "Why are you standing here, as if you have stumbled upon an inauspicious omen?" ||18||
When they told him about the situation, he said, "We will take both cities equally." ||19||
They said, "Friend, with the army divided into two parts, we cannot take even one city!" ||20||
"The time will come when it will be even more difficult to conquer even one. After conquering one, conquering the other will be extremely difficult." ||21||
Shiva-bhooti then said, "If that is the case, then, O warriors! Give me the one that is more difficult to conquer immediately." ||22||
They said, "The one that is more difficult to conquer among the two, go to that one." He, having won with the strength of his intellect, went to Mathura. ||23||
He himself fortified the villages and other settlements on the outskirts of that country. He captured all the forts and gradually the city as well. ||24||
Shiva-bhooti, the great intellect, having subdued that kingdom, went to the king of Abhyarna and spoke to him about everything. ||25||
The king, pleased, said, "What do you desire? I will give it to you." After thinking for a while, he said, "O Lord, give me independence!" ||26||
"Just as I am free to play with my friends, let no one stop me from taking whatever I want." ||27||
"So be it," said the king, who was true to his word. He then wandered about the city, engaging in various kinds of play. ||28||
He sometimes enjoyed himself with gamblers, day and night. Sometimes, after drinking liquor, he would revel with the intoxicated. ||29||
Sometimes he would serve beautiful courtesans. Sometimes he would play in the water like an aquatic elephant. ||30||
Sometimes he would wander in the forest, like a Nandana garden, playing with flowers, surrounded by a crowd of rogues. ||31||
Wandering like this, he would return to his palace even at midnight. People who are fearless often transgress boundaries. ||32||
As long as he was not at home, his wife would not eat or sleep, as if she were observing a vow. ||33||
She was always tormented by hunger and sleeplessness. She said to her mother-in-law with a trembling voice, "My son comes home every night at midnight. Until he arrives, I do not eat or sleep." ||34||
"I am always tormented by hunger and sleeplessness because of this. Mother, I am your servant, I will do as you command." ||35||
"My dear daughter-in-law, sleep peacefully. I will stay awake tonight." Having been told this, the daughter-in-law went to sleep. ||37||
His mother stood guarding the door of the house. He arrived and immediately said, "Open the door." ||38||
His mother said, "The door will not be opened now. Go away, the door will not be opened now." ||39||