________________
MARCH, 1882.)
CORRESPONDENCE AND MISCELLANEA.
reignty of the kingdom of his lord and patron. As the Brahmans were being fed, he saw this boy in his premises, took him up in his arms, and brought him in to dinner. After dinner, at the time of distributing Pansupári, the Brahmans, as is customary, took rice grains mixed with red powder (Pakshata), repeated Vedic hymns, and threw the grains on the head of this boy, who was still sitting in the lap of the minister, taking him for the minister's son. The minister had a firm belief that the words of the Brahmans were sure of fulfilment, and seeing that the akshatd fell on the head of this beg. gar, he scolded the Brahmaps and sent them away in anger. He then took care to call some Chan. d&las, and ordered them to take the child into the forest a long way off from the town, and there despatch him. They took him accordingly to the forest, and when the young boy saw that his life was in danger, and that he was in a dense forest with none to rescue him, he took out the baligrama, and earnestly prayed to Narahari. The god appeared and routed the Chándalas. One of them took care, however, to cut off the sixth toe which the boy had to convince the minister of the truth of the statement which they were to make, that they had destroyed the child. The boy lay senseless and bleeding. The king of Kulinda had gone to the same forest to hunt. The god Narahari assumed the form of a deer, and led the king to the place where the boy lay. When the king, heard a boy crying, he went in the direction of the voice, and seeing a lovely boy, he wiped his eyes, took him up in his arms, and restored him to his senses. The king then heard an Akdsha Vani (unearthly voice), saying to him, "Oh king, you are blessed with this boy, take him to your capital!" The king's wife Meghêvati suckled him.
His Upanayana and other ceremonies were performed as he grew up. He learnt the Vedas, the Dhanurveda, &c. &c. with the greatest ease, and in his sixteenth year conquered all the kings of the earth. He was then made a Yuvarája by his adoptive father. He was then told to go to Kuntalapura to see the king, and to pay the amount of the annual tribute. The youth requested to be allowed to bring the king a pri- soner, but the old king dissuaded him from such a course. Some servants were sent with the tribute. Dushțabuddhi, the minister of Kunta- lesvara, hearing of the good name the young prince of Kulin da had gained, wanted some pretext to go to Kulinda to see who this prince was. He soon obtained one. The king told him to go and look for a husband for his danghter, who was of marriageable age. He came first to Kulinda, where he saw the self-same boy adopted by the king. The wicked minister then
said to the king "Send your son to the king of Kuntala. I shall give him a note of introduction to my son." In the note he wrote to his son "Oh Ma dana, my behest is you should give poison (visha) to this young prince sent to you. Do not consult any one. Have no scruples about the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness of the day." So he sent him alone and unattended. Chan. drahásy a bowed to his father, and went to Kuntalapura riding a noble horse. When he came near the town he rested in a garden outside. Into the same garden, when he was asleep, came the minister's daughter for amusement. While plucking flowers she saw the young man, and as he was beautiful her heart was captivated. On coming near she saw a letter in his head-drese, she took it, opened it, and read it. She thought within herself - As my father has sent this young man with a note to my brother, he surely means that I (for her name was Vishay A) should be given to him and not (visha) poison. My father must have made a mistake in orthography.' She therefore, by the help of anjana from her eyes, made the necessary alteration with her finger-nail, and went away. The young prince awoke and took the letter to the minister's son. On reading his father's letter, and not doubting that Vishayê was meant, he called the Brahmans and celebrated the marriage. The minister sacked the capital of Kulinda and made the king a prisoner. While returning to his kingdom he me tthe Brahmans, who blessed him, praised the bounty of his son, and gave him a lengthy account of the wedding. He was very angry, but when he saw his own letter produced sanctioning the wedding, he was helpless. Then fearing that the king would be angry with him for getting his own daughter married, and leaving his own unmarried, he told his son to go and inform the king of the celebration of the marriage, to witness which he was not called, but of which be bad heard from some of his servants, who praised the beauty and the qualities of the minister's son-in-law, and recommended him as a fit husband for his daughter Champaka malati. When his own son Madana was gone, the minister's imagination was not idle. He called a Chånd&la and tried his best to make away with his son-in-law. He told the Chånd Ala to station himself unperceived at the threshold of Ambika's temple and let his deadly weapon fall on the first person that came to worship the goddess, managing at the same time that his son-in-law should be that person. As the son-in-law was going towards the temple he met his brother-inlaw, who told him that he was wanted by the king, and said he would go and worship the goddess for
