25 - The story of Kuvalayáśhva and Madálasá (continued).

Kuvalayáshva, returning home, lives in perfect happiness with Madalasa-He succeeds his father Shatru-jit-A son is born to them, Vi-krata-Madálasa prattles to the infant. 

Jada spoke.

 1 Reaching then his city ho narrated the whole story fully his parents, how he had regained his slender-limbed one who

2 had died. And the beautiful, slonder-limbed lady bowed the feet of her father and mother-in-law, and did honour as

 3 before to her kindred with obeisance, embraces and such

 4 greetings, according to propriety, and their ages. Then the citizens held a great festival there in the city. 

And Rita-dhvaja long enjoyed himself with his beautiful- waisted

5 wife, both among mountain torrents, and on rive sand-banks, and amid pleasant woods, and in groves. She also, longing to consume her merit by the delights of love

6 enjoyed herself with him, her greatly-beloved, in please places. 

7 A long time afterwards the king Shatru-jit, having ruled earth worthily, underwent the law of Death. Then the citizens inaugurated as king his high-souled son Rita-dhvaja, noble in conduct and action. 

While he duly protected his subjects as if they were his

9 own sons, Madálasá gave birth to her first-born son: The

10 father gave that clever child the name Vi-kránta. The retainers were pleased thereat and Madálasá laughed. Madálasá spoke to her infant boy in the way of prattle, * as he lay on his back crying not unmelodiously. 

*Ullápana: not in the dictionary. Ullápa is said to mean “calling out in oud voice,” “change of voice in grief, sickness, &c.;” but no such meaning admissible here.

11      “Perfect art thou, darling, nor has thy name been given thee now in mero fancy. This very body of thine is composed of the five elements, not indeed for this reason dost thou cry 

12 - wherefore then? Nor indeed does your highness (this title is thy birth-right) cry because thou art a king’s son. Doubtful are the various good and bad qualities, that are connected

13 with the elements, in all thy organs. Since in a man here the elements, extremely weak, increase by the means of the elements, namely, by means of the food and water and other nutriments given, of what hast Thou no gain, of what hast

14 thou no loss? Do not grow infatuated at this thy bodice which is already decaying, and in that thy body; thy body is given thee by good and bad deeds; the bodice is fastened on thee by persons infatuated with prido and othor passions.

15 Do thou greatly esteem each aggregate of elemonts- some one aggregate as a dear father, some other as a child, some other as a mother, some other as a loved wife, some other as thy own property, some other as not thy own. A man beguiled in mind thinks that evils tend to assuage evils, that enjoyments tend to happiness. Again the unwise man, greatly beguiled in mind, thinks that theso very evils are pleasures.

17 Laughter, gazing at the bones, † a pair of excessively bright mocking eyes, firm plump flesh in the breasts and elsewhere, in a woman that is Love’s abode; is not woman 

† Asthi-sandarshana; this seems meaningless. Akshi-sandarśhana seems superflnous. 

18 hell? The carriage rests on the earth; and the body seated in the carriage; and even in the body there is another seated, the soul. There is not the same perception of ownership in one’s body, as there is this excessive infatuation with it.”