Chapter 115

“Narada said, ‘Thus addressed by Suparna in excellent words fraught withtruth, that performer of thousand sacrifices, that foremost of givers,that liberal ruler of all the Kasis, the lord Yayati, revolving thosewords in his mind and reflecting on them coolly, and seeing before himhis dear friend, Tarkshya, and that bull among Brahmanas, Galava, andregarding the alms sought as an indication, highly praiseworthy, of(Galava’s) ascetic merit, and in view particularly of the fact that thosetwo came to him having passed over all the kings of the Solar race, said,’Blessed is my life today, and the race also in which I am born, hath,indeed, been blessed today. This very province also of mine hath equallybeen blessed by thee, O sinless Tarkshya. There is one thing, however, Ofriend, that I desire to say unto thee, and that is, I am not so rich nowas thou thinkest, for my wealth hath suffered a great diminution. Icannot, however, O ranger of the skies, make thy advent here a fruitlessone. Nor can I venture to frustrate the hopes entertained by thisregenerate Rishi. I shall, therefore, give him that which will accomplishhis purpose. If one having come for alms, returneth disappointed, he mayconsume the (host’s) race. O son of Vinata, it is said that there is noact more sinful than that of saying, ‘I have nothing’–and thusdestroying the hope of one that cometh, saying, ‘Give.’ The disappointedman whose hopes have been killed and his object not accomplished, candestroy the sons and grandsons of the person that faileth to do him good.Therefore, O Galava, take thou this daughter of mine, this perpetrator offour families. In beauty, she resembleth a daughter of the celestials.She is capable of prompting every virtue. Indeed, owing to her beauty,she is always solicited (at my hands) by gods and men, and Asuras. Letalone twice four hundred steeds each with a black ear, the kings of theearth will give away their whole kingdoms as her dower. Take thou,therefore, this daughter of mine, named Madhavi. My sole desire is that Imay have a daughter’s son by her. Accepting that daughter in gift, Galavathen, with Garuda, went away, saying, ‘We will again see thee’. And theytook that maiden with them. And Galava’s oviparous friend addressed him,saying, ‘The means have at last been obtained whereby the steeds may beobtained.’ And saying this, Garuda went away to his own abode, havingobtained Galava’s permission. And after the prince of birds had gone,Galava, with that maiden in his company, began to think of going to someone among the kings who would be able to give (fit) dower for the maiden.And he first thought of that best of kings, Haryyaswa of Ikshaku’s race,who ruled at Ayodhya, was endued with great energy, possessed of a largearmy consisting of four kinds of forces, had a well-filled treasury andabundance of corn, and who was dearly loved by his subjects, and wholoved the Brahmanas well. Desirous of offspring, he was living in quietand peace, and engaged in excellent austerities. And the Brahmana Galava,repairing unto Haryyaswa, said, ‘This maiden, O king of kings, willincrease the family of her husband by bringing forth offspring. Accepther from me, O Haryyaswa, as thy wife, by giving me a dower. I will tellthee what dower thou shalt have to give. Hearing it, settle what thoushalt do.'”