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The Magic Bird-Heart
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ing wealth and other amenities as desired. The Yaksa also taught him the rite that should accompany every act of wishing, and then he disappeared. Next day, the two brothers resumed their journey and after crossing the forest reached Pāțalīpura. While they rested on the bank of a lake, Pravarasena handed over the kingship-gem to Amarasena and instructed him in the essential rite. Both of them duly performed the rite and then asked for boons from their gems. Pravarasena's wish for a sumptuous dinner, dress etc. was im mediately fulfilled by eight Apsarases, that appeared from nowhere. They served them with royal dinner, dress etc. and when the brothers finished their meals, those Apsarases and all disappeared. As they retired for rest under a shady tree five 'divine agents' sought out Amarasena and crowned him king of Pāțalipura, in place of the former one, who had just died childless. Pravarasena, thinking that Amarasena would be too busy with state-affairs to attend to him, moved away unnoticed, and stayed with the courtesan Māgadhikā. Amarasena's efforts could not trace him. Pravarasena spent lavishly. Once, pressed by her mother Lohārgalā, unwilling Māgadhikā extracted from Pravarasena the secret of his boundless liberality that never refused even exhorbitant demands. Lohārgalā, thenceforth always on look out for a chance, at last succeeded in stealing Pravarasena's wonder-gem, when once, while bathing he had left it unattended. First he thought he had lost it somewhere in the house, and Lohārgalā pretended to help him in the search, but finally he realized that Lohārgalā was the thief. He, therefore, secretly left the place in search of some means to take reprisal. Māgadhikā was sorry for losing Pravarasena. Lohārgalā too became quite disappointed when she found that the gem, unaccompanied by proper ceremonial rites, did not fulfil wishes.
Pravarasena went to a cemetary. He proclaimed to the ghosts his readiness to give his flesh as an offering. An aerial voice directed him to the temple of Durgā. There he attacked and killed a Kāpālika, who was on the point of beheading an innocent human victim for an offering to the goddess. As a result he came into possession of the magic shoes of the Kāpālika, that would take him wherever he wanted to go. Using them he used to fetch wealth
