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SAGARCHANDRA
Amitchandra was the king of Malaypur His queen's name was Chandrakala and that of his son Sagarchandra. The prince had a manly physique and was wholly undaunted of elephants and demons alike. One day, while roaming in the city, he met a man with a bamboo pole in his hand, atop which there was a piece of paper, on which was scribbled something When he asked the man what it could be, he said,
"The paper has a nice couplet written on it He who pays five hundred gold coins gets it."
The prince paid the money and bought the couplet which was as follows :
"Without notice to living beings come pleasure and pain
Delay not thy religious practice to tranquilise 'em."
The couplet created a stir in the prince and was henceforth uppermost in his mind
One day, some invisible power picked up the prince and dropped him into the sea. He caught a floating log and was in that state struggling for life for eight days On the nineth day, he was washed ashore an island named Amar Once on the shore, he rubbed himself with cocoanut water to allay his fatigue Though alone on the island, the couplet was his companion and he did not feel stranded and lonely His first task now was to pluck some fruits and appease his hunger. Then he started to survey the island Suddenly, he heard a lady crying at a distance and he hurried his steps in that direction As he drew near the spot, he could distinctly hear the lady's voice,
"In my next birth, at least, I must have Sagarchandra as my husband"
