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love. He too embraced her, and now that he Lad obtained the joy of meeting her after enduring many hardships, he could not be contained in his own body, and as it were entered hers. So Anurágapará was made his wife by the Gándharva ceremony of marriage, and she immediately by her magic skill created a city. In that city, which was outside the metropolis, he dwelt with her, without her parents suspecting it, as their eyes were blinded by her skill. And when, on her questioning him, he told her those strange and painful adventures of his journey, she respected him much, and bestowed on him all the enjoyments that heart could wish.
Then Niśchayadatta told that Vidyádhari the strange story of Somasvámin, who had been transformed into a monkey, and said to her, " If this friend of mine could by any endeavour on your part be freed from his monkey condition, then my beloved, you would have done a good deed." When he told her this, Anurágapará said to him— " This is in the way of witches' spells, but it is not our province. Nevertheless I will accomplish this desire of yours, by asking a friend of mine, a skilful witch named Bhadrarúpá. When the merchant's son heard that, he was delighted, and said to that beloved of his— " So come and see my friend, let us go to visit him." She consented, and the next day, carried in her lap, Niśchayadatta went through the air to the wood, which was the residence of his friend. When he saw his friend there in monkey form, he went up to him with his wife, who bowed before him, and asked after his welfare. And the monkey Somasvámin welcomed him, saying— " It is well with me to-day, in that I have beheld you united to Anurágapará," and he gave his blessing to Niśchayadatta's wife. Then all three sat down on a charming slab of rock there, and held a conversation*[1] about his story, the various adventures of that ape, previously discussed by Niśchayadatta with his beloved. Then Niśchayadatta took leave of that monkey, and went to the house of his beloved, flying up into the air, carried by her in her arms.
And the next day he again said to that Anurágapará, " Come, let us go for a moment to visit that ape our friend;" then she said to him— " Go to-day yourself, receive from me the science of flying up, and also that of descending." When she had said this to him, he took those two sciences, and flew through the air to his friend the ape. And as he remained long conversing with him, Anurágapará went out of the house into the garden. While she was seated there, a certain Vidyádhara youth, who was wandering at will through the air, came there. The Vidyádhara, knowing by his art that she was a Vidyádharí who had a mortal husband, the moment he beheld her, was overpowered with a paroxysm of love, and approached her. And she, with face bent on the ground, beheld that he was handsome and
- ↑ * I adopt kritam the reading of a MS. lent me from the Sanskrit College. I should put a comma after álápam, as that word is used in the masculine.
