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“ O Sire ! if you are not able to protect us from the ravages of this death-like lion, you have your fields tilled by other people. We shall go away to another locality.” The king said, “ Why do you become so timid ? I shall so arrange that the wicked animal will not harass you in the least » To prevent the lion from doing harm to the ci ltivators, the king seat orders to his sixteen thousand feudatory chiefs. The cultivators, rejoicing immensely, went home.
One day, King Ašvagriva becoming infatuated and covetous with females of the harem as charming as celestial damsels with treasure of wealth more than that of Kuber, with excellent elephants and horses and other paraphelia of dominionship, and with the prosperity of the king of gods, thought within himself :--"What should I now surmise ? Is there any body powerful enough to to destroy me although I am fully-equipped with the completeness of all materials, un-overwhelmed even mentally by any enemy. well-protected always very carefully by body-guardo, and I am competent to grasp irresistibly the discus only on recollecting it? If I am able to know it by any means, I may resist him and protect my-sell in every way ! He accordingly called in a fortune-teller and giving him a suitable seat in a private room, respectfully said, “O worthy man ! Carefully think over my question and let me know whether there is any body who will kill me.” Meditating well the fortune-teller said : " O lord ! May your mishap disappear ! Why do you talk of a calamity ?" The king said, “O worthy man! Do not be disturbed. Give an accurate answer to my question." The fortune-teller said “O king! If it be so, there is one man who will kill you. The king said :--"How can I know it?' He replied “Olord ? The man, who will kill the lion devastating your rice-fields and who will insult your messenger Candavéga respected by all your feudatory chiefs, will positively kill you, and he must be avoided by all means." On hearing this, the king sent away the fortune-teller, and coming into the assembly-hall, he asked his councillors thus
Who is now-a-days heard to be of unequalled valour among
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