Indian Antiquary Vol 23

SR No.: 032515
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications
Publication Year: 1984
Total Pages: 412
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 16 MB

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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[NOVEMBER, 1994.
wherever you like. I shall contrive to live in the humble house selected, for me by my lord as happily as in this palace. It is the mind that makes the house bappy."
Thus said Ambika, without in the least fearing her change of dwelling. Her husband admired her perseverance, but firmly made up his mind to put her to this most severe test. With his mind thus made up, le approached his father the next morning, and disclosed to him the secret about his wife's conduct, which he had till then kept to himself. He never told the old man a word about the talisman, nor his conditions to his wife, but proposed a pilgrimage to Banams with the double object of forgetting his past miseries and of searching for a better wife. The father tried his best to dissuade tho son from his project.
"Remain at home, and I sball find you a better wife," said he.
But the son was already resolved. He sent Ambika that very morning to the choultry with four maid-servants to attend npon her, and every morning one of them had to come to the palace to ieceive the dole of rice.
Ambika bravely faced her new life, hopeful of successfully performing all her husband's conditions; but for a time she was wholly at a loss as to how to do it. She was now very raiser. Rble, - an out-cast of womaukind, a suspected woman, - living on the charity of the prince. So the outer world took her to be. She had neither money, nor friends, nor influence and she feared that she might be closely watched without in the least knowing it.
As for the priuce, the greater the distance he travelled the more his heart turned back to his wife, for the talisman, whiclı he daily examined, indicated his wife's chastity. Now and then a strong desire came over him to turn back and embrace his loyal and faithful wife; but at other times a hondstrong stupidity to see how his wife would execute his hard conditions impelled liim on his course. Thus he travelled for a month and reached Vijayanagara.
The king of Vijayanagara was a bad man. His pride was in having many wives, and his motto was that no woman in the world was chaste. The Pandiya prince reached the court, and, in a conversation about the chastity of the women of different parts of India, dwelt at length on the fidelity of his wife, and produced the talisman as a proof of it. The king of Viin yanngara called him a great fool for putting so much trust in womankind, and promised to send one of his ministers to Madura to ruin the woman he extolled so much, and whose talisnan he possessed.
Agreed," said the prince; and a minister was at once despatched to Madura. Now he was one of the most depraved of human beings, whose sole object of life was to gain the favour of his master by doing his dirty work for him. He attired himself like a vendor of pearls and precious stones, and with a good quantity of these articles proceeded to Madura, which he reached soon. He took up his abode in tne eastern canrter, and in a small house le opened his shop for rending gems and pearls. Crowds began to collect, and these goods, which were very valuable, were purchased now and then by the few rich people in the place. The news spread throughout the town that a merchant with a fine stock had arrived from the north, and that he was exposing good stuff for sale. Few bought, for the articles were of high valuc, but the whole town congregated there to see the fine goods.
About a month after the arrival of the merchant, the people, ceased to pour into the shop to take a look at the goods, and only those who really wanted to purchase went there. So on a certain day, when there was no one there except Davi, a maid-servant of Ambika, who had come out of curiosity, the pretended merchant thus spoke to her :
"Good woman, may I know who you are ?"
She replied :-"I am a poor woman. Servant to the princess of Akhanda ka vêri, who is undergoing punishment."