"Naran-Chatun! being he who hath induced thee to open thy lips to
speak these two times to man, give me my guerdon that thou accompany
me home to be my wife."
Very willingly coming down from her altar, Tegrijin Naran Dâkinî at
these words gave herself to Vikramâditja to accompany him home to be
his wife.
Vikramâditja having then given back to Schalû and to his three
far-seeing and experienced ministers their natural shapes, and to the
five hundred sons of kings who had failed in winning Naran-Dâkinî
theirs, with Naran-Dâkinî by his side, and all the rest in a long
procession behind him, the King arrived at his capital. Here he called
together all his people Tai-tsing (11) to a great assembly, where
he promulgated rules of faith and religion. By his good government
he made all his people so happy as no other sovereign ever did,
sitting upon his throne with his consort Tegrijin Naran as the
fate-appointed rulers.
When the Sûta had made an end of this narration of Vikramâditja's
deeds, he addressed himself to Ardschi-Bordschi, saying,--
"If thou canst boast, of being such a King as Vikramâditja, then
come and ascend this throne, but if not, then beware at thy peril
that thou approach it not."
Now Ardschi-Bordschi had seventy-one wives; taking by the hand the
chief of them therefore, he bid her make obeisance before the throne
and ascend it with him. Ere they had set foot on the first step two
other of the sculptured figures came forward, forsaking their guardant
attitude, and warned him back, the warrior smiting him in the breast,
and the Sûta thus addressing him,--
"Halt! O Ardschi-Bordschi, and thou his wife! nor touch so much as
with thy prostrate heads the sacred steps. But first know what manner
of woman was the chief wife of Vikramâditja.
"The chief wife of Vikramâditja was Tsetsen Budschiktschi (12), and
she never had a word, or look, or thought but for her husband. If thy
wife be such a princess as she, then draw near to ascend the throne
together, but if otherwise, then at your peril draw not near it.
"But," he said furthermore, "hearken, and I will tell you, who have
seventy-one wives, the story of what befell seventy-one parrots and
the wife of another high King to whom one of them was counsellor."