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22
AVANTISUNDARI KATHĀ SĀRA
swans in the Bindusaras.¹ We nibbled at the lotuses gathered
by the sage Närada for the worship of god Acyuta. The sage
got angry and uttered a curse on us to suffer separation for
long years, in another life. Nalakübara, the son of Kubera,
(who was sporting with Rambhã in the garden adjoining the
lake, took pity on us and said to her, The sages are heartless;
they curse even birds of indistinct perception.') Him also the
sage punished by cursing him to take birth as our son on the
earth. Nalakübara fell at his feet and begged for mercy. The
relenting sage ordained that the curse should last for sixteen
years, that we would remember our past life and that our son
would be a friend of an emperor and enjoy all happiness in
the world. I have now taken birth as Ratnodbhava, the son
of Padmodbhava, the merchant prince of Pataliputra. In
accodance with the custom of our family, my father sent me
out on the sea as a trader and asked my two younger brothers
to serve king Rājahamsa as ministers. I set sail in a merchant-
man bound for a distant island. I was shipwrecked and
washed ashore in this Yavana island. The sight of this
garden brings to my mind the store of experience of our
former life. (Here I got Suvrată, an ornament of the Yavana
island, for my wife. Here the ruler of the island defeated his
enemies with my aid and bestowed on me all the royal honors.'
(Av. Sāra IV. 82-100; Av. pp. 187-90)
'When he was recounting the pleasant events of his
former life, my mistress fell at his feet, washed them with
tears of joy and began to weep.) Kālagupta having heard from
me all about the former life of his daughter, took Ratnod-
bhava to his house and gave him Suvrata in marriage.
Ratnodbhava lived happily with his wife for many years (and
became the head of the merchant guild and ruler of the
island).2 He then learnt from a sea trader that his father
had died, that Ripuñjaya had again turned an ascetic having
entrusted his kingdom to his son Räjahaṁsa and that his two
brothers had been appointed ministers. To see his kinsmen
and native land, he embarked on a ship with his pregnant
wife. The ship was caught in a severe tempest and sank in
the sea. My mistress and myself caught hold of a plank,
1. A sacred pool situated on the Rudra-Himālaya, two miles
south of Gangotri (N. L. Dey's Geographical Dictionary).
2. See कालांशश्रेणीप्रामाण्याद् अवस्थितानां तमेवेश्वरमन्वमंस्त, Av. p. 191.
AVANTISUNDARI KATHĀ SĀRA
swans in the Bindusaras.¹ We nibbled at the lotuses gathered
by the sage Närada for the worship of god Acyuta. The sage
got angry and uttered a curse on us to suffer separation for
long years, in another life. Nalakübara, the son of Kubera,
(who was sporting with Rambhã in the garden adjoining the
lake, took pity on us and said to her, The sages are heartless;
they curse even birds of indistinct perception.') Him also the
sage punished by cursing him to take birth as our son on the
earth. Nalakübara fell at his feet and begged for mercy. The
relenting sage ordained that the curse should last for sixteen
years, that we would remember our past life and that our son
would be a friend of an emperor and enjoy all happiness in
the world. I have now taken birth as Ratnodbhava, the son
of Padmodbhava, the merchant prince of Pataliputra. In
accodance with the custom of our family, my father sent me
out on the sea as a trader and asked my two younger brothers
to serve king Rājahamsa as ministers. I set sail in a merchant-
man bound for a distant island. I was shipwrecked and
washed ashore in this Yavana island. The sight of this
garden brings to my mind the store of experience of our
former life. (Here I got Suvrată, an ornament of the Yavana
island, for my wife. Here the ruler of the island defeated his
enemies with my aid and bestowed on me all the royal honors.'
(Av. Sāra IV. 82-100; Av. pp. 187-90)
'When he was recounting the pleasant events of his
former life, my mistress fell at his feet, washed them with
tears of joy and began to weep.) Kālagupta having heard from
me all about the former life of his daughter, took Ratnod-
bhava to his house and gave him Suvrata in marriage.
Ratnodbhava lived happily with his wife for many years (and
became the head of the merchant guild and ruler of the
island).2 He then learnt from a sea trader that his father
had died, that Ripuñjaya had again turned an ascetic having
entrusted his kingdom to his son Räjahaṁsa and that his two
brothers had been appointed ministers. To see his kinsmen
and native land, he embarked on a ship with his pregnant
wife. The ship was caught in a severe tempest and sank in
the sea. My mistress and myself caught hold of a plank,
1. A sacred pool situated on the Rudra-Himālaya, two miles
south of Gangotri (N. L. Dey's Geographical Dictionary).
2. See कालांशश्रेणीप्रामाण्याद् अवस्थितानां तमेवेश्वरमन्वमंस्त, Av. p. 191.