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CHAPTER THREE
the desert ? Does some anxiety torment you, or is there any new ailment ? Has anyone transgressed your command? Or have you seen an evil vision ? Has there been external or internal evil omen ? Tell me the cause of your depression. Surely there is no secret between you and me.”
Sudarśanā sighed and said in a choking voice : “ By your favor no one has broken a command of mine any more than one of yours. There is no anxiety nor illness, no bad dream nor evil omen, nor anything else like this which is the cause of my distress ; but one thing, O lord, grieves me. In vain is all royal wealth ; in vain all worldly pleasure ; in vain is the love of those who have not seen the face of a son. Just as the poor man is greedy when he sees the wealth of the rich, so I, too, am greedy when I see the sons of women who have sons, alas! Put on one side all pleasures, on the other side put the pleasure of obtaining a son ; the second weighs the more when weighed in the scale of the mind. The deer, etc. in the forest who are surrounded by their offspring are better off than we without offspring. Alas for even their little happiness !"
The King fasts to obtain a son (34-43) Then the King said, “O Queen, be firm. Soon I will fulfill your wish by prayer to the gods. That which is not accomplished by power, which is inaccessible to the wise, which is out of the sphere of sacred charms, to say nothing of spells, which can not be obtained by other means, O Queen, the gracious gods are able to accomplish for men's sake. Therefore, know that desire of yours already accomplished, honored lady. Enough of grief. I shall remain fasting in the presence of the family-goddess for the sake of a son.”
After so comforting the Queen, the King went from his own house, after he had purified himself and put on pure garments, to the temple of the family-goddess. There the King worshipped the goddess and sat down, firmly
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