PART III
I
PRINCESS KALABUTTI
THERE was once a Raja who had seven wives. Their names were Burra, the eldest; Meja, the second; Seja, the third; Nau, the fourth; Konai, the extra one; Dua; and Chhota, the youngest. Dua means a woman despised by her husband, and the Rani so called was the eyesore of the Raja.
The Raja was a mighty potentate, dwelling in a vast palace, and possessing innumerable elephants and horses, and an inexhaustible treasury of gems and gold mohurs. In fact he had everything that the heart of man could desire. The palace was full of people, among whom were his ministers, body-guards, and soldiers. But he was not happy. All his Ranis had proved barren, and this he believed to be a calamity that betokened the displeasure of Heaven.
At length, on an auspicious day, a Sanyasi met the Ranis at their bathing ghat, and gave the Rani-in-chief, or the Burra Rani, a certain root, telling her that on returning home she must make a paste of it. She was then instructed to dissolve the paste in water, and having prepared the mixture, to drink a portion of it herself, distributing the remainder among the other Ranis. This, the Sanyasi said, would of a certainty change their barrenness into the blessed state of motherhood.
Language fails to describe the joy of the Ranis at this communication, and they hastened home in an ecstasy of delight. Fate, however, prevented them from doing the
