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fore, O King! you kindly accept this excellent house, this wealth,treasure, these horses, and domestics"
When Somadatta was uttering these loving words, I told him :-0 good friend! why do you thus become overwhelmed with sorrow? Or, why do you give away your house, wealth etc to me? Will your unique affection towards me become manifest by doing so? Is there any other person more affectionate to you than any one else? Or what other object have I in coming here except your darśana? Now, have courage. Leaving aside your gist of all your belongings, even your life depends on me :-" Then he had a bath, anointing, and dinner, ready for me After a moment, I asked him :-o dear friend. Dow, tell me what I should do." Somadatta said :-O Lord! What else can I say? Except myself, all the ministers and feudatary princes have strong partialily towards Vijayasena They do not even like to utter your name." Besides, they also say :-Even if he comes, the government of the kingdom will rest with Vijayaséna because his dull-witted intellect is always dependent on us and he never contradicts our slightest advice. But Vijayaséna is constantly distressed on account of your separation from me, and he says :-" If my elder brother comes here, I will certainly entrust the entire management of the kingdom into his bands, because it is our family-custom that the elder prince in. variably governs the kingdom," Such being the existing circumstances, one cannot decide what is proper and what is not. In order that I may be able to under-stand the motive of the king and of his ministers, you remain here a few days, unnoticed by any one." I told him :-Alright, let it be so." Then Somadatta tried to win over ministers, feudal princes etc. by any one or all of the four strategems Viz-1. Samun- Conciliatory words ) 2. danda (Corporeal chastisement ), 3. Bhéda (sowing dissension) and 4. Upa-pradāna ( donation ) but like a firm adamantine kuot, they could not be won over by any means. However, they came to know that, I had recretly put up at the house of Somadatta, and they had, therefore, ordered the gate-keepers of the palace :-"Do not allow Somadatta to enter the royal palace."
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