अवन्तिसुन्दरीकथासारः /35

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
 
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avert the evil, if any, of being mated with a blockhead in her

next birth. [The ceremony was to be completed by feasting a

fool and presenting him a new cloth.] She found in Upavarşṣa,

her husband's brother, a fit recipient of her gift; and when he

returned home feasted and clothed, his wife felt disgraced and

rebuked him bitterly for his illiteracy. Shame and sorrow

stung him to the quick. He went to the temple of

Subrahmanṇya, planted the seeds of priyanṅgu (millet) and

observed fast until an offering was made to the god from the

yield of the plantation. An ox consumed the crop when it

was ripe. He went through the process once again and com-

pleted the fast. The god appeared before him, made a cut in his
tongue
and in his bleeding mouth put something

tongue with a chisel and in his bleeding mouth put something
from his own mouth. The God asked him not to reveal the

knowledge until he got a SŚrutadhara (Ekasandha) and

vanished. 'I am that Upavarşṣa' said he, 'and here is the

Ekasandha (Brahma-dāraka). Let us begin our studies.'
 
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"Then the three pupils saluted the teacher and began to

learn. In the course of instruction, Vararuci grasped when he

heard once, Vyādḍi twice, and Indradatta thrice. Thus the

three students obtained mastery over the entire field of learning.

When the study was finished, they asked their teacher what

dakṣiṇā (remuneration) he would accept from them. Upa-

varşṣa desired a bit of gold with which to give his daughter in

marriage. As the king Mahāpadma had drained all the gold

in the land, they approached him with the request for a bit of

gold for gurudakṣinaṇā. The king brought his daughter to his

court and proclaimed that he would give her in marriage to

anyone who fetched him a bit of gold. Hearing this, a boy,

went home, returned with a little gold and asked the king for

his daughter. The king was astonished and enquired of the

boy where he got the gold from. ('Oh King!' said the boy,

'my father was an expert in finding out treasures buried under

ground. You had put him in prison, and there he died.

This piece of gold was obtained when his ashes were washed

off.') Mahāpadma was satisfied that he had stripped the earth

of all its gold; he fainted in a fit of joy and died.
 

(Av. Sāra IV. 48-58; Av. pp. 182-83)

"Indradatta who learned the art of transmigration from

Vyādḍi entered the body of the king and issued an order that a

crore of gold be granted to Vararuci for gurudakṣiṇā. Āryaka,

the minister, learnt the truth of the change in the king; (and
 

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