Disclaimer: This translation does not guarantee complete accuracy, please confirm with the original page text.
The Thirty-Fourth Chapter
381. Thus, adorned with praiseworthy qualities, good fortune, beauty, and other attributes, she, like a cow, approached the Swayamvara hall. ||299||
Some, considering the two types of victory - the victory of excellence and the victory of defeat - wondered which of these two would be hers. A mixture of joy and sorrow filled the hearts of the kings. ||300||
Mahendradatta, the Kanchuki, adorned with a garland of jewels, sat on the chariot and drove it towards the rulers of the Vidyadharas. ||301||
He said to Sulochana, "These are the sons of Nami and Vinami, the kings of the southern and northern ranks of the victorious. This is Sunami, the lord of Lakshmi, and this is Suvinami, over there." ||302||
"These are other rulers of the Vidyadharas, adorned with knowledge and valor. Choose one of them as your husband and fulfill your desire in him alone." ||303||
Thus, the Kanchuki, having announced their names separately, she, ignoring them all, moved forward. This is natural, for the desires of beings are diverse. ||304||
Seeing that she was going to choose someone later, the Vidyadharas remained seated. This is also natural, for hope does not abandon anyone. ||305||
Just as lotuses bloom at sunrise and wither at sunset, so too, the faces of the kings, like lotuses, bloomed at the sight of Sulochana's chariot, but withered after it passed. This is the nature of the world. ||306||
Then, the chariot descended from the high ground of the Vidyadharas towards the earth-dwellers. The Kanchuki, holding the reins, announced the names of the kings. ||307||
Just as a cuckoo in spring abandons all trees and goes to the mango tree, so too, the invincible Sulochana, abandoning kings like Arka Kirti, went to Jayakumar. ||308||