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as of the moonlight and the moon." When the king heard this from the chamberlain, he welcomed him, saying— " I consent," and being delighted, he honoured him with gold and garments. And summoning his chief minister Yaugandharáyana, he said to him, " The daughter of king Kalingadatta, who is called Kalingasená, and whose beauty is famed on the earth, has come of her own accord to choose me as a husband; so tell me quickly, when shall I marry her, for she is not to be rejected?" The minister Yaugandharáyana, when the king of Vatsa said this to him, regarding what would be best for his master in the long run, reflected for a moment as follows:*[1] " Kalingasená is certainly famed for beauty in the three worlds, there is no other like her; even the gods are in love with her. If this king of Vatsa obtain her, he will abandon everything else, and then the queen Vásavadattá will lose her life, and then the prince Naraváhanadatta will perish, and Padmávatí out of love for him will find life hard to retain: and then Chandamahásena and Pradyota, the fathers of the two queens, will lose their lives or become hostile; and thus utter ruin will follow. On the other hand it will not do to forbid the match, since the vicious passion of this king will increase if he is thwarted. So I will put off the time of his marriage in order to attain a favourable issue." Having thus reflected, Yaugandharáyana said to the king of Vatsa, " king, you are fortunate in that this Kalingasená has of her own accord come to your house, and the king, her father, has become your servant. So you must consult the astrologers, and marry her in accordance with good custom at an auspicious time, for she is the daughter of a great king. To-day give her a suitable palace to dwell in by herself, and send her male and female slaves, and robes and ornaments." When his chief minister gave him this advice, the king of Vatsa approved it, and with glad heart performed it all with special attention. Then Kalingasená entered the palace assigned her for residence, and considering her desire attained, was exceedingly delighted.
The wise Yaugandharáyana, for his part, immediately left the king's court, went to his own house, and reflected— " Often procrastination serves to avert an inauspicious measure. For long ago, when Indra had fled on account of having caused the death of a Bráhman, and Nahusha obtained the sovereignty over the gods, he fell in love with Śachí, †[2] and she was saved by the preceptor of the gods ‡[3], to whom she had fled for refuge. For in order to gain time, he kept saying— ' She will come to you today' or to-morrow,'— until Nahusha was destroyed by the curse of a Bráhman, uttered with an angry roar, and Indra regained the sovereignty
