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a
 
12.
 

 
Canto: II
 

 
Slöōkäās 1 to 13: Queen Devaāyi conceives. Her longings

during pregnancy are described.
 

 
1. The queen conceived by the king and bore in

her womb, the seed of royal race, as the cosmic waters

held in them the tējas virile of Brahma with which the
three worlds were created.
 

three worlds were created.
 
2. The queen put aside her jewels. Her face was

somewhat pale like the sara reed and her form unusually

slender. She shone like a river in autumn with lotuses
gone and with the globe of the moon reflected on its
watery surface.
 

gone and with the globe of the moon reflected on its
watery surface.
 
3. She who was the beloved consort of the lord of

this earth, indulged in tasting particles of it as if to

teach the responsibility of earth-sway to the infant in
her womb.
 

her womb.
 
4. The very nature of her longings in her

pregnancy which always took a daring turn suggested

that her would-be son would be wedded to heroic

accomplishments.
 

 
5. Without caring for the Tungabhadra which

flowed nearby and which was easily fordable, she desir-

ed to sport in the Tāmraparṇi in company with her army

of elephants that would raise waves in its waters (while

they submerged with their huge bodies).
 

 
6. Though she was physically unable to walk as

far as the pleasure-hill where the deer were quietly