67
And he assigned to him as advisers the sons of his own ministers, Vasantaka and Rumanvat and Yaugandharáyana. Then a rain of flowers fell, and a celestial voice was heard " By the help of these excellent ministers, the prince shall obtain dominion over the whole earth." Then the king devolved on his son the cares of empire, and enjoyed in the society of Mrigávatí the long-desired pleasures of the world. At last the desire of earthly enjoyment, beholding suddenly that old age, the harbinger of composure had reached the root of the King's ear,*[1] became enraged and fled far from him. Then that king Sahasráníka established in his throne his excellent son Udayana, †[2] whom the subjects loved so well, to ensure the world's prosperity, and accompanied by his ministers, and his beloved wife, ascended the Himálaya to prepare for the last great journey.
CHAPTER XI.
Then Udayana took the kingdom of Vatsa, which his father had bequeathed to him, and, establishing himself in Kauśámbi, ruled his subjects well. But gradually he began to devolve the cares of empire upon his ministers, Yaugandharáyana and others, and gave himself up entirely to pleasures. He was continually engaged in the chase, and day and night he played on the melodious lute which Vasuki ‡[3] gave him long ago; and he subdued evermore infuriated wild elephants, overpowered by the fascinating spell of its strings' dulcet sound, and, taming them, brought them home. That king of Vatsa drank wine adorned by the reflection of the moon-faces of fair women, and at the same time robbed his minister's faces of their cheerful hue.§[4] Only one anxiety had he to bear, he kept thinking, "No where is a wife found equal to me in birth and personal appearance, the maiden named Vásavadattá alone has a liking for me, but how is she to be obtained?" Chandamahásena also in Ujjayiní thought; " There is no suitable husband to be found for my daughter in the world, except one Udayana by name, and he has ever been my enemy. Then how can I make him my
- ↑ * Alluding to his grey hairs. In all eastern stories the appearance of the first grey hair is a momentous epoch. The point of the whole passage consists in the fact that jará old age, is feminine in form.
- ↑ † There is a pun between the name of the king Udayana and prosperity (udaya).
- ↑ ‡ Not Vásuki, but his oldest brother.
- ↑ § Chháyá means "colour ;" he drank their colour, i.e., made them pale. It also means "reflection in the wine."
