Chapter 174

“The Gandharva continued, ‘When that maiden disappeared, that feller ofhostile ranks deprived of his senses by Kama (concupiscence) himself felldown on the earth.

And as the monarch fell down, that maiden of sweetsmiles and prominent and round hips appeared again before him, andsmiling sweetly, said unto that perpetuator of Kuru’s race these honeyedwords, ‘Rise, rise, O chastiser of foes! Blest be thou; it behoveth theenot, O tiger among kings, to lose thy reason, a celebrated man as thouart in the world.’ Addressed in these honeyed words, the king opened hiseyes and saw before him that selfsame girl of swelling hips. The monarchwho was burning with the flame of desire then addressed that black-eyeddamsel in accents, weak with emotion, and said, ‘Blest be thou Oexcellent woman of black eyes! As I am burning with desire and payingthee court, O, accept me! My life is ebbing away. O thou of large eyes,for thy sake it is, O thou of the splendour of the filaments of thelotus, that Kama is incessantly piercing me with his keen shafts withoutstopping for a moment! O amiable and cheerful girl, I have been bitten byKama who is even like a venomous viper. O thou of swelling and largehips, have mercy on me! O thou of handsome and faultless features, O thouof face like unto the lotus-petal or the moon, O thou of voice sweet asthat of singing Kinnaras, my life now depends on thee! Without thee, Otimid one, I am unable to live! O thou of eyes like lotus-petals, Kama ispiercing me incessantly! O large-eyed girl, be merciful unto me! Itbecometh thee not, O black-eyed maid, to cast me off; O handsome girl, itbehoveth thee to relieve me from such affliction by giving me thy love!At first sight thou hast attracted my heart. My mind wandereth! Beholdingthee I like not to cast my eyes on any other woman! Be merciful! I am thyobedient slave–thy adorer! O, accept me! O beautiful lady, O large-eyedgirl at the sight of thee, the god of desire hath entered my heart, andis piercing me with his shafts! O thou of lotus-eyes, the flame of desireburneth within me! O, extinguish that flame with the water of thy lovepoured on it! O beautiful lady, by becoming mine, pacify thou theirrepressible god of desire that hath appeared here armed with his deadlybow and arrows and that is piercing me incessantly with those keen shaftsof his! O thou of the fairest complexion, wed me according to theGandharva form, for, O thou of tapering hips, of all forms of marriagethe Gandharva hath been said to be the best.’

“The Gandharva continued, ‘Hearing those words of the monarch, Tapatimade answer, ‘O king, I am not the mistress of my own self! Be it knownthat I am a maiden under the control of my father. If thou reallyentertainest an affection for me, demand me of my father. Thou sayest, Oking, that thy heart hath been robbed by me. But thou also hast, at firstsight, robbed me of my heart; I am not the mistress of my body, andtherefore, O best of kings, I do not approach thee; women are neverindependent. What girl is there in the three worlds that would not desirethee for her husband, as thou art kind unto all thy dependents and asthou art born in a pure race? Therefore, when the opportunity comes, askmy father Aditya for my hand with worship, ascetic penances, and vows. Ifmy father bestoweth me upon thee, then, O king, I shall ever be thyobedient wife. My name is Tapati and I am the younger sister of Savitri,and the daughter, O bull amongst Kshatriyas of Savitri, of (Sun) theilluminator of the universe.'”