helpless and the distressed, sealed his eyes and brought him oblivion. Night came, and passed away, and at dawn a hermit happened to come to the spot, and saw him. The sage could perceive by certain signs that the youth lying prostrate before him was a prince, so taking him up in his arms he carried him away to his retreat.
Basanta passed his days in the hermit's abode in as much peace and happiness as circumstances permitted. He fed on fruits, bathed in fresh water, and served his protector in the best way he could. In the evening he sat up to a late hour, drinking in the spiritual instructions that dropped from the hermit's lips.
Leaving him here, we must follow the fortunes of his father and stepmother. As soon as their conduct to the Duo queen's sons became widely known, they became very unpopular. The subjects hated their king, and invited a stranger to dispossess him of his throne. Bereft of his kingdom and estates, he sought refuge in the forests, leaving the Suo queen with her three sons to beg from door to door. But her troubles did not end here. One day, while wandering about as a mendicant, she came near the seashore, and the waves rushing towards the land carried away her sons at one swoop to a watery grave. She rent the air with her lamentations, beating her breast and tearing her hair; and at length, taking up a big stone, hit herself on the head so as to extinguish the flame of life. There was none to mourn her loss.
We left the Duo queen changed by her rival into a parrot, and placed in a golden cage for the amusement of a young and beautiful princess. This princess, at the time which we have now reached in our story, was in the first stage of womanhood, and numerous suitors for her hand were invited by her father to try their luck at the Sayambara[1] that was to be
- ↑ Sayambara signifies a girl's selection of her husband. It was the custom with Indian kings to dispose of their daughters' hands in this way. He among them who had a marriageable daughter, invited numerous kings and princes, and on a certain previously appointed day made them sit in rows in an open place. The princess was
