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46
shall start." All, having decided [to act] in accordance [with this advice],
went home, and having placed the bulk of their possessions on ox-drawn
vehicles, departed in the night.'
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
But Kalidasa, who, as noted above, was still in the city, heard
the noise of their passing wagons, and having learned who the
fugitives were, determined to find out the reason for their flight.
So, putting on a disguise, he ran ahead, taking a roundabout
course, and met them face to face. Having ascertained the
trouble, he supplied them with the missing half-stanza, and left
them. They, believing they had met the goddess Sarasvati in-
carnate, returned joyfully, and recited the missing part of the
troublesome stanza to Bhoja. The latter was convinced that no
one but Kālidāsa could have supplied the missing part, and con-
cluded that that poet must be somewhere at hand. He accord-
ingly made further, and this time successful, efforts to find his
favorite, with the result that Kalidasa was soon found and re-
stored to his former position at court.
The poet Sukadeva joins the court circle of Bhoja. One
day, when Bhoja was sitting on his lion-throne, a poverty-
stricken poet, who announced his name as Sukadeva, requested
admission to the court. Bhoja asked his poet-friends what they
knew of Sukadeva's reputation. Kālidāsa and the poetess Sītā
spoke of Sukadeva in the highest terms, and then Mayūra uttered
the following śloka, which is evidently an adaptation of Pañcatan-
tra 1. 32, or, more probably, a quotation with variant readings¹ :-
aprstas tu naraḥ kimcid yo brüte rajasamsadi
na kevalam asammānam labhate ca viḍambanām²
'The man who, unasked, says anything in the assembly of the king,
Gets not only dishonor, but also mockery.'
This śloka Mayūra immediately follows up by the recitation
of another, and concludes by urging the admission of Sukadeva
to the assembly :-
1 See edition of the Pañcatantra by F. Kielhorn, Bombay, 1885. Cf. also
Indische Sprüche, vol. 1, no. 453, 2d ed., St. Petersburg, 1870.
2 Parab's 2d edition, p. 42, stanza 193.
shall start." All, having decided [to act] in accordance [with this advice],
went home, and having placed the bulk of their possessions on ox-drawn
vehicles, departed in the night.'
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
But Kalidasa, who, as noted above, was still in the city, heard
the noise of their passing wagons, and having learned who the
fugitives were, determined to find out the reason for their flight.
So, putting on a disguise, he ran ahead, taking a roundabout
course, and met them face to face. Having ascertained the
trouble, he supplied them with the missing half-stanza, and left
them. They, believing they had met the goddess Sarasvati in-
carnate, returned joyfully, and recited the missing part of the
troublesome stanza to Bhoja. The latter was convinced that no
one but Kālidāsa could have supplied the missing part, and con-
cluded that that poet must be somewhere at hand. He accord-
ingly made further, and this time successful, efforts to find his
favorite, with the result that Kalidasa was soon found and re-
stored to his former position at court.
The poet Sukadeva joins the court circle of Bhoja. One
day, when Bhoja was sitting on his lion-throne, a poverty-
stricken poet, who announced his name as Sukadeva, requested
admission to the court. Bhoja asked his poet-friends what they
knew of Sukadeva's reputation. Kālidāsa and the poetess Sītā
spoke of Sukadeva in the highest terms, and then Mayūra uttered
the following śloka, which is evidently an adaptation of Pañcatan-
tra 1. 32, or, more probably, a quotation with variant readings¹ :-
aprstas tu naraḥ kimcid yo brüte rajasamsadi
na kevalam asammānam labhate ca viḍambanām²
'The man who, unasked, says anything in the assembly of the king,
Gets not only dishonor, but also mockery.'
This śloka Mayūra immediately follows up by the recitation
of another, and concludes by urging the admission of Sukadeva
to the assembly :-
1 See edition of the Pañcatantra by F. Kielhorn, Bombay, 1885. Cf. also
Indische Sprüche, vol. 1, no. 453, 2d ed., St. Petersburg, 1870.
2 Parab's 2d edition, p. 42, stanza 193.