अवन्तिसुन्दरीकथासारः /44

26
 
AVANTISUNDARIĪ KATHAĀ SĀRA
 

 
away here; and it pains me to abandon him.' I then received

the child from her and took him to Vāmadeva. The

sage asked me to bring him to you, saying that he would prove

a valuable companion to your son.' The king accepted the

child with pleasure and called him Devarakşita as he had
ṣita as he had
been protected all along by god.
 

 
(Av. Saāra IV. 139-56; Av. p. 199)
 

 
Story of Arthapāla
 
"
 

 
Another day queen Vasumatiī appeared before the

king with another child in her arms and said: "This evening

a divine woman came to me with this child on her hips and

said, 'Good lady! Know that I am Tārāvalī, daughter of

Manṇibhadra, a chief of the Yakşṣas. I was roaming about in

search of my husband and came upon this child crying in a

crematory in the city of Kāśiī. With deep affection I took

him to my father, who showed it to Kubera, Lord of Yakşas.
ṣas.
The omniscient Lord asked me, 'How do you feel towards the

child?' 'I feel,' said I, 'as if the child is my own.' Kubera

narrated the following story explaining the cause of my
affection.
 

affection.
 
(Av. Sāra IV. 157-61. Av. portion lost)
 

 
Story of SŚaunaka
 

 
'In the Kosala country there was a Brahman named

Śaunaka, a pupil of Saunaomatrāta. One day the teacher and his
pupil were dining in the ka, a pupil of Somaträta. One day the teacher and his
pupil were dining in the ing's palace when Bandhumatī the
princess served the guests. Śaunaking's palace whena and Bandhumati the
princess serhandhumatī fell in
loved the guests. Sauna with each other and had secret relations. The ka and Bhandhumatī fell in
love with each other and had secret relations. The king of
ing of
(Tri) garta[^¹] to whom Bandhumatiī had been promised came to

woo her, when her companions presented to him the daughter

of a nurse dressed as Bandhumatī. SŚaunaka eloped with

Bandhumatī; and, when they were crossing the river Sarayü
ū
the boat capsised and Bandhumatiī fell into the river and was

lost. He searched for her in vain and found the dead body

of a woman being eaten by vultures. He thought his beloved

had died in the river, and in great sorrow, cremated the body

and immersed the bones in holy waters. He repaired to a

hermitage, told his story to a holy ascetic and started on a

fast unto death. Bandhumati who was listening the story from
 
ī who was listening the story from
 
[^1]. The kingdom of Jaālandhara, a part of the district of

Lahore (N. L. Dey's Geographical Dictionary).
 
D