So, then, when his funeral obsequies were over, and the due time
prescribed by the _shastras_ had elapsed, his son Arunodaya mounted the
throne, and became king in his room.
And no sooner was the crown placed upon his head, and the water
sprinkled over him, than the prime minister, who was named Gangadhara,
came to him privately, and said: Maharaj, now there is yet another
ceremony which remains as it were crying to be performed, with the least
possible delay; and that is thy own marriage. And now it is for thee and
me to seek out some maiden that will make a royal match for thee, and
lead her round the fire, and so let thy father's spirit rest. And there
cannot be any difficulty at all. For all the neighbouring kings, who
possess daughters, are watching thee like clouds around a mountain top,
ready to rain daughters as it were upon thy head; since thou art
superior in power to them all. And as for the daughters, the painters,
and the rumours of thy beauty, have turned them all into so many
_abhisarikas_, dying to run into thy arms without waiting to be asked;
and the only danger is, that all but the one on whom thy choice shall
fall will immediately abandon the body, out of jealousy and despair, as
soon as it is made. For everybody knows that even Ananga and Rati[15]
were envious of thy father and thy mother; of whom thou art compounded
into an essence twice as powerful as either was alone, so that not a day
passes but my spies bring me news of miserable women who have deserted
the body of their own accord, finding themselves, by reason of their
caste or condition, cut off from all hope of ever becoming thy wife.
[Footnote 15: _i.e._ the God of Love and his principal wife.]
Then said Arunodaya: O Gangadhara, I am ready to marry in a moment any
one of them: and yet, as I think, I shall never marry anyone at all. And
Gangadhara said: Maharaj, thou speakest riddles, and I am slow to
understand. And Arunodaya looked at him with a smile. And he said:
Gangadhara, it is proper that a minister should know all his master's
secrets, and now that thou art my minister, I will tell thee mine, and
make thee my confidant in everything, as expediency demands. For then
only will the business of our policy run on smoothly, when we pull
exactly together, like a pair of bullocks in a cart. And whether it be
with the women as thou sayest, or not, there is a difficulty, unknown to
thee, on my part. Then said the minister: What is that? And Arunodaya
said: I am already more than half married, and, as it were, bound, by an
indissoluble pledge, to an undiscoverable beauty; and unless she can be
found, I am, as I told thee, likely to remain unmarried for the
remainder of my life.
Then said the prime minister: Maharaj, everything can be found by one
who looks for it in the proper place. And if thy beauty be discoverable,
I will undertake to find her, at the forfeit of my head. And who, then,
is she? Give me at least a clue; and thou shalt see, that maybe she is
not hidden so very far away, after all.
And Arunodaya said: I will marry no other woman but the wife of my
former birth. For I dream of her, and as it seems to me, have dreamed of
her, and nothing else, ever since I was born. And so, now, I have
revealed to thee a secret, which I never told to anyone but thee: and I
leave thee to judge, whether she is able to be found, or not. And if
thou canst show me that any one of these kings' daughters was my wife
before, I will marry her again: but this is the indispensable condition;
and no matter who she may be, the woman who does not fulfil it must
marry some one other than myself. And now, go: and when thou hast
meditated sufficiently on the matter, return to me at dawn, and take
counsel with me, as to what is to be done. For, as thou seest, this
marriage of mine is not likely to be easily achieved. And I resemble one
searching on the seashore for a grain of sand, dropped there in the dead
of night, a hundred years ago.