"Oh villain! Do not trifle with me. You have all this time been
pretending that you want buyers. As soon as a buyer appears in the
field, you feel ashamed to be sold to a Chandal! I cannot brook any more
delay. I take up water to destroy you."
The king begs his pardon, sells himself to the Chandal and pays down the
fee to the sage, who then retires.
The king now puts on the dress of a Chandal and is appointed with two
others to collect rags in a burning-ground. Hideous is the
burning-ground. Dogs and jackals are tearing up carcasses which lie
scattered all round. Vultures are quarrelling among themselves. These
sights unloosen the bonds that bind him to the world. The king is
trembling with fear. His two colleagues have left him. But he will not
leave his station. He must do his duty. The night deepens. The
burning-ground becomes still more hideous. To try the king's sense of
duty, Virtue once more becomes incarnate and this time appears before
the king in a horrible form. The king has never before seen such a
terrible sight, but still he will not leave his station. Not one or two
but myriads of such forms dance before him, but in vain. The king
exclaims, "No one shall be allowed to burn any corpse without depositing
rags and couches with me. I am the agent of the lord of this
burning-ground. I make this proclamation by order of my lord."
No one responds. No voice is heard; only horrible figures are seen
playing around him. After a while, a hermit comes and says.
"I am a hermit. I have resolved to practise some _mantras_. I have come
to know everything about you by my powers of _yoga_. You are a king and
you should protect me from the demons that disturb my meditations."
The king most humbly submits, "My body is not my own; I have sold it to
the lord of the Chandals. How can I forsake my duty to my lord to save
you?"