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16. JAINA RELIGIOUS AND MORAL STORIES
The nurse visited Padma's house, delighted her with her conversation, and became very intimate with the young woman. One day after some preliminary remarks on free love, she described to her the young man's ardent love for her and the suffering caused by his passion. Padma pretended to agree to the bawd's proposal, and the chances of the minister's son looked bright indeed.
Meanwhile, the minister Ugrasena who favoured the criminal intentions of his son devised a scheme to ensure the absence of Padma's husband from the city, on a prolonged mission. He told the king that, in a cave near the Ratnasikhanda peak of the Himalayas, there was a marvellous bird called Kimjalpa, variegated in colour, and capable of talking like a man, the possession of which had a magic effect on the fortunes of the lucky owner. He further suggested that he and the priest Puşya who knew the place might be sent in quest of the bird. The king dissuaded the minister from going owing to his great age, and ordered that the priest should undertake the journey alone.
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While Puşya was preparing to start, Padma explained to him the real motive behind the proposed expedition, and asked him to make a show of departure and return secretly at night and remain concealed at home. He followed the instructions of his wife; and one night, according to a pre-arranged plan, the bawd brought over the minister's son to Padma's house and introduced the young man to her. She asked both of them to seat themselves on a sofa, cunningly placed over a deep pit; and as soon as they sat down, they fell headlong to the bottom of the pit, and there they remained imprisoned, living on the remains of boiled rice left over by the household.
After some time, Padma made it known that her husband would arrive in a few days with the Kimjalpa bird and the female spirit, its mother. She then caused the young man and the bawd to be put in a cage, after their bodies had been painted with various colours and decked with the feathers of diverse kinds of birds. The cage was then removed to a wood near the city and left in charge of Puşya, who was dressed in travelling attire, as if he had returned from a journey. Padma, meanwhile, dressed herself in a manner becoming a woman whose husband was abroad, and set out to receive Puşya in company with her girl friends, who were all talking about the 'exploit' of her husband. On the following day Puşya accompanied by his wife, proceeded to the royal palace with the precious load and asked the king to behold the Kimjalpa and the mother bird. The king scrutinized the pair, and saying that he could see only Kaḍarapinga and the bawd Taḍillata in the cage, demanded an explanation of the mystery. Padma then recounted the whole story, and the king praised and honoured her with rich presents, and sent her home in a chariot drawn by Brahmaņas, expert in Vedic lore. As for Kaḍarapinga and
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