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into a pipe the other end of which was put into the reservoir. It was thus filled with ghee The horses of the royal stable were then washed by it, and ghee was then given to the Brāhmins. The ministers of Kanyakubja were surprised to see this. Taking this to be the right opportunity to remark, the King said, “ We never allow even a drop of oil to be wasted but on occasions we do not at all care to use hundreds of maunds of ghee The shrewdness of the King pleased them, and after performing the marriage ceremony of the princess they returned
The King had suggested that the ghee should be obtained from the citizens, but when he knew that Péthad had used the whole quantity that belonged to him he was greatly pleased. Pé. thad's work was highly appreciated in the presence of the courtiers. The result was that as the owl cannot tolerate the light of the Sun, in the same way, Gogāde a landlord of the place called Shakambhari, could not hear the praises given to Péthada. He was an enemy of Péthad and hence he could not bear the increasing influence of Péthad over the King. Jealousy arose in him and he misled the King. He said to him, "Your Majesty, there is the creeper called the black Citralatā and it was due to its power that the reservoir was filled with ghee. Such a divine object should have its place no where else but in the royal palace" Without the least idea either of justice or injustice, the King sent for Péthad and demanded the creeper. Thinking that it was unbecoming to refuse. Péthad handed over the creeper to the King Now the King was eager to test the power of the creeper and hence went to the river. Even a fibre of the creeper has the power of crossing a flooded river and of reaching the opposite bank. The moment the creeper was placed into the river it turned into a serpent, and it was then impossible to catch hold of it. Thus the King lost 'C'itralatā'
Still however, the luck of Péthad was powerful, the knowledge of Sûvarņa-siddhi' (the method of obtaining gold) taught to him by his father was still fresh in his mind. He went to mount Ābu for the purpose with the permission of the King, and
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