who wept; so he threw himself on the ground, and, rising up, exclaimed:—
“O, my mother!—Kali!—Sambhavi!—Mahamayi![1] Why should you thus weep?” quoth Kali.
“What is the use of my revealing it to thee? Canst thou render any assistance?”
The minister said that, if he had but her favour, there was nothing he could not do. Then the goddess told him that a calamity was about to come upon the king, and fearing that such a good monarch was soon to disappear from the world, she wept.
The thought of such a misfortune caused the minister to tremble; he fell down before the goddess, and with tears streaming from his eyes besought her to save him. Kali was much gratified to observe his devotion to his master, and thus addressed him:—
“Know, then, that your king will be in danger of three calamities to-morrow, any one of which will be sufficient to cause his death. First of all, early in the morning, there will come to the palace several carts containing newly-reaped paddy grains. The king will be delighted at this, and immediately order
- ↑ The night-watch hearing the tutelary goddess of the village mourning, is a very ancient idea. It also occurs, for example, in the story of Viravara, in the Sanskrit book of fables entitled “Hitopadesa.” Sambhavi and Mahamayi are different name of Kali—a fierce goddess, much worshipped as the presiding deity of cholera and smallpox.—T.
