________________
189
heavenly ornaments.
When he saw him such as has been described, astonishment arose in his mind. At that moment the minister of that Vidyadhara, named Buddhiságara, arrived, attended by the Vidyadhara warriors. Buddhiságara bowed before the king and sat down, and all the Vidyadhara warriors sat down in order of dignity. Eight lovely women, all heavenly nymphs, waved chowries. At this moment a Vidyádhara play was begun to be acted. All the people inhabiting the city, when they saw it, were astonished. Támrachúḍa also was astonished. He said with amazement: First a leper, then possessed of such beauty! Who is this? Is it Indra? or the god of love? or Nárayana? or Baladeva ? or the Yaksha named Dhanada ?' While Támrachúḍa and all the people were making these surmises, a Vidyadhara warrior recited this verse:
C
'Hail, lord of the Vaitádya mountain! Hail, thou that by great science hast conquered thy enemies!
Hail, thou that art also kind to thy friends and dependants! Hail, King Kanakaratha !'
When the people heard this verse, they said: 'Of a truth this is a prince of the Vidyadharas, who has come here, having assumed, for some reason, the form of a leper; so this Princess Madanamanjarí is fortunate, and must have accumulated merit, since she has gained as her husband this lord of the Vidyadharas. Then King Kanakaratha rose up, and himself caused a throne to be given to King Támrachúḍa. At this moment the queen Dháriní, the mother of Madanamanjarí, came there. Then Madanamanjarí bowed before her father, King Támrachúḍa, and said to him: 'Father, you gave me to a leper of mean form; but owing to the might of my merit, he has become like a celestial prince.
'Let him go to a foreign land, let him wander about in the forest, let him be whelmed in the sea;
But even in his house a man from merit obtains successions of
blessings.
So, father, was your speech true, or was my speech true?' The king said: 'Your speech was true, without doubt, my daughter for so long a time have I been deceived by my
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org