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17. KARAKANDU
Padmavati, the queen of Campă once had a strong longing during her pregnancy to wander around in a park on a well decorated elephant, dressed in the king's garments, with her husband, the king Dadhivahana holding the royal parasol over her. The king agreed to arrange the picnic to the park but as they were riding, the elephant got excited may be on account of the fine rainy weather and strayed away and went towards a thick forest. The king suggested that when the elephant passed under a big banyan tree they should catch hold of a branch and get away from further trouble. When a big tree came the king was quick enough to get hold of a branch but the queen was carried away. She reached a lake in which the elephant entered for a cool bath. The queen managed to escape but would not know where to go. In her desperation she said her last few prayers and did the usual salutations. Luckily she saw an ascetic who comforted her, gave her some food and directed her to a nearby village. As she went into the village she saw a place where some nuns lived; she thought they could give her shelter. She saw the senior of the nuns who willingly lodged her there. Soon enough she was initiated as a nun inspite of her pregnancy which she would conceal for the time being. She had already taken the senior nun into confidence and told her whole story and she had agreed to manage things till the child was born. When the child came the queen abandoned it in a nearby cemetery where the watchman chanced to pick it up. His wife and he were kind enough to look after the foundling. In fact the
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