He answered--"The Lord of Lâta, Mattakâla by name, hearing again and
again of the great beauty of Vâmalochana, daughter of Víraketu,
sovereign of this country, asked her in marriage, and was refused.
Being determined to obtain her, he raised an army and besieged Pâtali,
the capital city. Víraketu finding himself unable to resist the enemy,
purchased peace by giving up his daughter, and Mattakâla, thinking
that the marriage can be celebrated with greater magnificence in his
own country, has deferred it till his return. He is now on his way
home with a small part of his army, the rest having been dismissed;
and he is staying at present near this forest to enjoy the pleasures
of the chase. The princess is not with her intended husband, but under
the care of Mânapâla, one of her father's officers, who is said to be
very indignant at the surrender of the lady; you may see his camp at
no great distance from the other."
While thanking the poor man for his information, a thought came into
my mind--here is a very poor and deserving man, I will give him the
jewel which I have found; and I did so.
He received the gift with profuse thanks, and set out immediately to
try to dispose of it; while I lay down there to sleep.
After a time I was awakened by a great clamour, and saw the brahman
coming towards me with his hands tied behind him, driven along, with
blows of a whip and much abuse, by a party of soldiers.
On seeing me, he called out, "There is the thief; that is the man who
gave me the jewel."
Upon this the soldiers let him go, and, seizing me, refused to listen
to my remonstrances, or to my account of the manner in which I had
found the ruby. They dragged me along with them, and having put
fetters on my feet, thrust me into a dungeon, saying, "There are your
companions," pointing at the same time to some other prisoners
confined in that place.
When I recovered my senses--for I was half stunned by the violence
with which I had been pushed in--I said to my fellow-prisoners, "Who
are you, and what did the soldiers mean by calling you my companions?
for you are quite strangers to me."
Those prisoners then told me the story of the King of Lâta, which I
had already heard from the brahman, and further said, "We were sent by
Mânapâla to assassinate that king, and broke into the place where we
supposed him to be. Not finding him, we were unwilling to come away
empty-handed; we therefore carried off everything of value within our
reach and made our escape to the forest. The next morning there was an
active pursuit, our hiding-place was discovered, we were all captured,
and the stolen property taken from us, with the exception of one ruby
of great value, which had disappeared. The king is exceedingly angry
that this cannot be found; our assertion that we have lost it is
disbelieved, and we are threatened with torture to-morrow, unless we
say where it is hidden."
Having heard the robbers' story, I was convinced that the ruby in
question was the one which I had found and given to the brahman, and I
now understood why these men were supposed to be my accomplices.
I told them who I was, how I had found the jewel, and had been
unjustly arrested on account of it, and exhorted them to take courage
and join me in an attempt to escape that night. To this they agreed,
and at midnight we managed to overpower the jailors and knock off our
fetters; and having armed ourselves with weapons which we found in the
prison, we cut our way through the guards, and reached Mânapâla's camp
in safety. The next day, men sent by the King of Lâta came to
Mânapâla, and said--"Some robbers, who were caught after breaking into
the king's dwelling, have made their escape, and are known to have
come here; give them up immediately, or it will be the worse for you."
Mânapâla, who only wanted an excuse for a quarrel, having heard this
insulting message, his eyes red with anger, answered,--"Who is the
King of Lâta, that I should bow down to him? What have I to do with
that low fellow? Begone!"
When the men returned to their master and told him the reception they
had met with, he was in a furious rage, and, disregarding the
smallness of the force which was with him, marched out at once to
attack Mânapâla, who was quite prepared to meet him.
When I entered the camp, after my escape, Mânapâla, who received from
his servants an exaggerated account of my coolness, dexterity, and
courage, had treated me with great honour, and now I offered my
services in the approaching fight. They were gladly accepted, and I
was furnished with an excellent chariot and horses guided by a skilful
charioteer, a strong coat of mail, a bow and two quivers full of
arrows, as well as with other weapons.
Thus equipped, I went forth to meet the enemy, and seeking out the
leader, soon found myself near him. First confusing him with arrows
poured upon him in rapid succession, I brought my chariot close to
his, and suddenly springing into it, cut off his head at a blow.
Seeing the king fall, his soldiers were discouraged, and fled; the
camp was taken, much booty gained, and the princess led back, to her
father. He having received an account of the victory, and of my share
in it, through a messenger sent from Mânapâla, came forth to meet us
when we entered the city, and received me with great honour. After a
time, as I continued daily to increase in favour with him, he bestowed
on me the hand of his daughter, and declared me his successor.
Being thus arrived at the height of prosperity and happiness, I had
but one cause of sorrow--my absence from you. I am on my way to
Mahâkâla, to worship Siva there. I have stopped at this place, hoping,
at a festival so much frequented, I might at least hear some tidings
of you, and now the god has favoured his worshipper, and through this
happy meeting all my wishes are fulfilled.
Râjavâhana, who delighted in valour, having heard Somadatta's story,
while expressing his sorrow for his undeserved imprisonment,
congratulated him on the happy result of it, and told him his own
adventures.
He had scarcely finished the relation of them when a third person came
up, and the prince, warmly greeting him, exclaimed, "O, Somadatta,
here is Pushpodbhava." Then there were mutual embracings and
rejoicings, after which they all three sat down again, and Râjavâhana
said: "Somadatta has told me his adventures, but I know nothing of the
rest of my friends. What did you do when you missed me that morning in
the forest?" Then Pushpodbhava respectfully spoke as follows:--
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