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KAMAGHATA
165
but largest in number are those who are jealous of their friends' good fortune Merchant Sagardatta was in the last group. When he saw the esteem in which his own assistant, the minister, was being held at the court and in the whole city, and the vast amount of wealth he had amassed within such a short time, he felt jealous of him One day, he sold out the remainder of his wares and announced his decision to leave the city The minister also welcomed the idea, since he was now keen to return home So the ship was filled up with local specialities The king bestowed on his son-in-law the money-value of half kingdom, which was as large as eight ship-loads, These, added to the minister's own, made a total of 40 ships As against these, the merchant had only one vessel Then on one fine day the ships set sail,
One day the merchant called his friend from his own ship and said,
"My friend ! Our intimacy does not grow when we are moving in two separate ships Let us be on board the same ship, dine together, live together and play together In this manner alone we can have a good time"
The minister was a simpleton and he apprehended no danger from the merchant So be accepted the invitation and came to Sagardatta's ship Throughout the day, they talked of various things In the evening, they sat on the roof to enjoy the sun-set The night was now advanced and the entire sea-scape was covered with a pitchy darkness Only the stars were twinkling in the far-off sky. The two friends were still absorbed in deep conversation Sagardatta took advantage of the situation and pushed the minister down into the sea But even in the midst of this great calamity, the minister did not forget to utter the holy nanokar and soon he felt something floating near at hand. It was a big log of wood The minister held it fast and kept afloat.
