2023-02-26 04:07:19 by ambuda-bot
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INTRODUCTION
vii
and offers worship. In due course she conceives and gives
birth to another son, Rajavāhana. Sons are also born to the
four ministers and the Purohit who accompanied the queen.
Five stray infants who prove to be the sons of the lost minis-
ters and ally of the king are also brought to the hermitage, to
be companions to the prince; and all grow up in amity.
Vāmadeva asks the prince to go out for the conquest of
regions and recover the lost kingdom of his father. The
prince starts with his ten companions and meets a Brahman
Matanga in the Vindhya. The Brahman seeks the aid of the
prince to obtain lordship over the Asura world which is
promised to him by God Šiva. When the companions are
asleep, he takes the prince through a cave to the regions of
Asuras, marries the princess Mandakini and rules over the
realm.
The companions who miss the prince station one among
them, Devarakṣita, to watch at the gate of the cave, and the
others search for him in different directions, where he might
emerge by other exits. Mandakini presents the prince with a
wonderful jem that gives the wearer freedom from hunger and
thirst; and he takes leave of the happy couple and proceeds to
Ujjain. There he meets Puspodbhava his companion who
recounts his story; he falls in love with the princess Avanti-
sundarī, the daughter of Mānasāra. In the temple of Ujjain,
he comes across the Brahman, Vidyeśvara, a magician of
Cidambaram, and then Somadatta another companion who tells
his story. Through the contrivance of the magician, he marries
the princess; and after reverses for two months, meets the other
companions at Campā; they all severally narrate their
adventures.
Dandin mentions Potas¹ in the place of Hauņas or Maunas,
the last of the local dynasties mentioned by the Purāṇas. A few
particulars furnished by the work which are reminiscent of
certain facts of the history of the Pallavas may be set forth
here. After a long exile, says Daṇḍin, Ripuñjaya returns to
Magadha and renounces his kingdom in favour of his son
1. Pota seems to be an abbreviated form of Potarāja (lord of
ships) a title by which the Pallavas of Kanchi were known, and
it is possible that in view of the prominence given to their maritime
activities the Pallavas called themselves Potarājas. It may be
noted here that Dandin calls the merchant-prince who earned
large wealth by overseas trade by the name Potapa.
vii
and offers worship. In due course she conceives and gives
birth to another son, Rajavāhana. Sons are also born to the
four ministers and the Purohit who accompanied the queen.
Five stray infants who prove to be the sons of the lost minis-
ters and ally of the king are also brought to the hermitage, to
be companions to the prince; and all grow up in amity.
Vāmadeva asks the prince to go out for the conquest of
regions and recover the lost kingdom of his father. The
prince starts with his ten companions and meets a Brahman
Matanga in the Vindhya. The Brahman seeks the aid of the
prince to obtain lordship over the Asura world which is
promised to him by God Šiva. When the companions are
asleep, he takes the prince through a cave to the regions of
Asuras, marries the princess Mandakini and rules over the
realm.
The companions who miss the prince station one among
them, Devarakṣita, to watch at the gate of the cave, and the
others search for him in different directions, where he might
emerge by other exits. Mandakini presents the prince with a
wonderful jem that gives the wearer freedom from hunger and
thirst; and he takes leave of the happy couple and proceeds to
Ujjain. There he meets Puspodbhava his companion who
recounts his story; he falls in love with the princess Avanti-
sundarī, the daughter of Mānasāra. In the temple of Ujjain,
he comes across the Brahman, Vidyeśvara, a magician of
Cidambaram, and then Somadatta another companion who tells
his story. Through the contrivance of the magician, he marries
the princess; and after reverses for two months, meets the other
companions at Campā; they all severally narrate their
adventures.
Dandin mentions Potas¹ in the place of Hauņas or Maunas,
the last of the local dynasties mentioned by the Purāṇas. A few
particulars furnished by the work which are reminiscent of
certain facts of the history of the Pallavas may be set forth
here. After a long exile, says Daṇḍin, Ripuñjaya returns to
Magadha and renounces his kingdom in favour of his son
1. Pota seems to be an abbreviated form of Potarāja (lord of
ships) a title by which the Pallavas of Kanchi were known, and
it is possible that in view of the prominence given to their maritime
activities the Pallavas called themselves Potarājas. It may be
noted here that Dandin calls the merchant-prince who earned
large wealth by overseas trade by the name Potapa.