Lalit Vistara

Author(s): Rajendralala Mitra
Publisher: Asiatic Society

Page 37

CHAPTER IT
How does a Chakravartí rájá attain unto the Aéva-ratna or the most precious horse? In the same way as the elephant: -a horse of a docile temper, having a dark blue head, a noble face, and silvery inane; decked with golden banners and ornaments, housed in networks of gold, capable of travelling through the atmosphere, and named BALAHAKA, the noblest steed. Its merit may be tried in the same way as that of the elephant.
How does a Chakravartí rájá attain unto the most precious jewel? In the same way as the horse and the rest. The jewel is of the purest dark blue colour, having elegantly cut eight facets; its brilliancy-dazzling the interior of the palace. Should the king desire to test the value of this jewel, let him, at midnight, when all things are involved in darkness, proceed to observe the beauty of his garden, with the jewel raised on the top of a pole, when the whole of his fourfold army, the defenders of his people, will all become manifest, and the whole neighbourhood. within four miles of the jewel, glowing in the light, will, rejoicing, say to each other, "Arise, O ye good men, open your shops--attend to your works-the sun has risen, and the daylight does appear."
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How does a Chakravartí rájú obtain the most precious wife? In the same way as the jewel and the rest :-a woman of an equal Kshatrica race, neither very tall, nor short, neither corpulent nor lean, noither very fair nor dark; but exquisitely beautiful and delightfully handsome; every pore of her body emits the odour of sandal-wood, and her mouth is redolent with the aroma of the lotus: her body is soft as the down on the pod of the Kuchinchina (Abrus precatorious), and feels warm during the winter, and cold during the summer months. Such a woman never can have affection for any her than a Chakravartí rájá.
How does a Chakravartí rájá obtain a precious steward? In the same way as the wheel and the rest :-a steward, intelligent, learned and wise, and possessed of great penetration, whereby he can ascertain within four miles of the place wherever bo the existence of claimed treasures. These soon
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