As the days went by, Vāsavadattā’s love for the king of the Vatsas increased; her affection and respect towards her parents decreased; she was ready to defy them, then Yaugandharāyaṇa arrived, and making himself visible only to Vatsarāja and Vasantaka, exclaimed, “Mahārāja! Caṇḍamahāsena has deceitfully captured you; he desires to send you home only after getting his daughter married off to you; but if we ourselves abduct her now and go away...
Lohajaṅgha kept composure even as he entered Lanka and met King Vibhīṣaṇa at his palace. The king treated him with respect and asked: ‘O great brāhmaṇa, what brings you here?’ The cunning Lohajaṅgha answered: ‘O king, my hometown is Mathura. Being afflicted by poverty, I observed severe austerities without partaking of any food, in a temple there, to please Nārāyaṇa. One night, he came to me in my dreams and said: ‘Go to my devotee Vibhīṣaṇa. He...
Learning of his capture, Caṇḍamahāsena came by himself to the main entrance to the city and escorted him [i.e. Udayana] with great respect into the city. The citizens were thrilled looking at Vatsarāja. "If our king plans to kill this person, by any chance, we will all give up our lives too!" they said. The king Caṇḍamahāsena declared, "I will not get Vatsarāja killed" and with these words, the crowd was brought under control.
Caṇḍamahāsena...
Udayana started reigning over the kingdom which he inherited from his father on a prosperous note. However, he gradually handed it over to Yaugandharāyaṇa and the other ministers and became preoccupied with hunting and playing the vīṇā. The vīṇā playing used to take place every day, all day. Also, with the enthralling power of the vīṇā, he used to ensnare rut elephants. He did have this constant refrain though: ‘I don’t see anywhere a bride who...
Śrīdatta went in search of water for her. As he looked for a source of water, it got dark. While he found water roaming around the forest, he had lost his way. The next morning, anxious to see his beloved, he arrived at the spot where the dead horse lay. He however, did not find Mṛṅgākavatī or his friends at the spot. Therefore, distracted, he placed his sword down and he climbed up a tree looking around when the leader of a Śabara clan came to...
The story of Śrīdatta
In the past, there lived a brāhmaṇa by name Yajñasoma in the Mālava kingdom. He had two sons by name Kālanemī and Vigatabhaya. After the death of their father, they headed to Pāṭalīputra, got educated there under Devaśarmā. Devaśarmā was pleased enough to give away his daughters by marriage to them. A snake swallowed Vigatabhaya’s wife and grief-stricken, he exiled himself desirous of pilgrimage. Kālanemī pleased Lakṣmī by...
गौरीनवपरिष्वङ्गे विभोः स्वेदाम्बु पातु वः |
नेत्राग्निभीत्या कामेन वारुणास्त्रमिवाहितं ||
May the sweat beads adorning Shiva, brought about by his embrace of Gauri, protect you. It seems as though Kāma, fearful of Shiva’s fiery third eye, released Varuna-astra!
There is a big city called Kauśāmbi in the kingdom of Vatsa, which was created as an earthly competitor to the heavens by the creator, as though to keep the pride of the heavens in...
The next day, early in the morning, King Śātavāhana left the place. Deciding not to consume any food, he performed rigorous tapas to appease Kumāra-svamī.[1] [2] Because of the Deity's blessings, Śātavāhana turned into a scholar in a split second. Śarva-varma was paid reverence befitting kings and was given rulership of the province of Maru-kaccha on the banks of the river Narmadā. The queen, the daughter of Viṣṇu-śakti, who was the reason for...
Disobeying the king’s order, Śakaṭālana secretly hid me in his house; he had someone else killed and informed the king that I had been executed. It would not have been possible for them to kill me in any case because I had befriended a rākṣasa. [1]
I had once invoked him, beckoned him to come, and had subsequently shown him to Śakaṭālana too. Similarly, upon a mere thought Gaṅgā would appear before me. I had demonstrated that as well. Śakaṭālana...
Vararuci's narration continues...
Once, when I had gone out to watch the Indradhvajotsava, I happened to spot Upavarṣa’s daughter Upakośā. We fell in love with each other. I got married to her, invited my mother and lead my family life with them. I won over Pāṇini in a debate. Parameśvara uttered a ‘huṅkāra’ when this happened and I forgot the Aindra-vyākaraṇa that I had mastered. Pāṇini then won over us in the debate. I made arrangements for...