Hindoo Tales | Page 4

to await patiently the fulfilment of the promise; and shortly afterwards the queen brought forth a son possessing all good marks,[2] to whom his father gave the name of Rajavahana.
About the same time also sons were born to his four ministers. They were named severally Pramati, Mitragupta, Mantragupta, and Visruta, and were brought up together with the young prince.
Some time after the birth of these children, a certain muni brought a very beautiful boy to the king, and said: "Having gone lately into the forest to collect kusa-grass[3] and fuel, I met a woman, evidently in great distress. When I questioned her, she wiped away her tears, and told me, with a voice broken by sobs, that she was a servant of Praharavarma, King of Mithila--that he, with his family, had gone to Pushpapuri, to be present at the Simanta festival of the queen, and had stayed there some time after the departure of the other guests; that at that time the King of Malwa, furnished with a magic weapon, had invaded the country; that in the battle which ensued, Praharavarma had assisted his friend with the few soldiers who accompanied him, and had been taken prisoner, but had been liberated by the conqueror; that on his return he had been attacked in the forest by Bheels, and had repulsed them with difficulty. 'I and my daughter,' she continued, 'who had charge of the king's twin children, were separated from the rest in the confusion, and lost our way in the forest. There we suddenly came upon a tiger. In my fright, I stumbled and fell, and dropped the child, which I was carrying, on the carcase of a cow with which the tiger had been engaged. At that moment an arrow struck and killed the tiger. I fainted away, and when I recovered, I found myself quite alone; my daughter had disappeared, and the child, as I suppose, was carried off by the Bheels, who shot the beast. After a time I was found by a compassionate cowherd, who took care of me till my wounds were healed; and I am now wandering about in the hope of finding the boy, and of hearing some tidings of my daughter and the other child.' After giving me this account, she went on her way again, and I, distressed that the son of your majesty's friend should be in such hands, determined to set out in search of him.
"After some days I came to a small temple of Durga, where a party of Bheels were about to make the child an offering to the goddess, in the hope of obtaining success through her favour; and they were then deliberating in what manner they should kill him, whether by hanging him on the branch of a tree and cutting him to pieces with swords, or by partly burying him in the ground and shooting at him with arrows, or by worrying him with young dogs.
"Then I went up to them very humbly, and said: 'O Kiratas, I am an old brahman; having lost my way in the forest, I laid down my child whom I was carrying, while I went away for a moment to try to find an opening out of the dense thicket; when I came back he was gone. I have been searching for him ever since; have you seen him?' 'Is this your child?' said they. 'O yes!' I exclaimed. 'Take him, then,' they replied; 'we respect a brahman.' Thus I got possession of the boy, and, blessing them for their kindness, took him away as quickly as possible, and have now brought him here, thinking he will be best under your majesty's protection."
The king, though grieved at the calamity of his friend, rejoiced that the child was saved from such a death; and giving him the name of Upaharavarma, had him brought up as his own son.
Not long after this, Rajahansa went to bathe at a holy place, and in returning, as he passed by a group of Chandalas, he observed a woman carrying a very beautiful boy. Being struck by the appearance of the child, he said "Where did you get this beautiful boy, who is like a king's son? Surely he is not your own child! pray tell me."
She answered: "When the Bheels attacked and plundered the King of Mithila near our village, this child was picked up and brought to me by my husband, and I have taken care of him ever since."
The king being convinced that this was the other child of his friend, the King of Mithila, by fair words and gifts induced the woman to give him up, and took him to the queen, giving him the name of Apaharavarma, and begging her to bring him up with her own son.
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