SACCOUNTALA. 



641 



as be united ascbrding to the rite of Gaudharva ; * there is none which 

 presages greater happiness." 



" I have told my lord/' replied Saccountala, with a trembling voice, 

 " that my father, who has but gone to gather fruit in the forest, will 

 shortly return. Wait, I pray you, his return, that my holy protector 

 may himself dispose of my hand." 



" But what need is there of his consent ?" demanded Douchmanta 

 with animation. " Is it not the soul which gives itself to the soul who 

 loves it, and serves it as a refuge amidst the vicissitudes of life ? Be- 

 sides, the divine Manou,t our great lawgiver, in regulating the different 

 modes of union suited to the various castes, has specified this one for the 

 noble race of the Kchatryas. Fear not then, dear Saccountala, to give 

 me thy hand of thy own free will, or that thou wilt thereby commit an 

 act at which thy virtue need ever. blush." 



" Well, then," replied the virgin, her cheeks suffused with blushes ; 

 " if it be true that in yielding to your wishes, I am not against the holy 

 law of duty ; if it be true that I may, as you tell me, (and surely you 

 would not deceive me), dispose of my heart according to its own dic- 

 tates, listen, oh king, to the conditions which a timid maiden would 

 venture to impose on you. If of the union we should contract, a son 

 should be born, pledge me your royal word to give him the title of 

 Youva-radja,* and to have him recognized by your people as your legi- 

 timate successor." 



Intoxicated with passion, Douchmanta pronounced the oath without 

 farther reflection. 



" Receive, then, your spouse/' exclaimed Saecountala, her eyes wet 

 with tears. 



And the king taking her two hands in his, they thus contracted the 

 alliance of mutual love. 



At the moment of their separation, Saccountala, who could no longer 

 be saluted by the gentle name of virgin, had need of being re-assured 

 in the midst of her astonishment, by the caressing voice of her husband, 

 that he would not leave her long, but that in a very few days he would 

 send a cortege worthy of a queen to conduct her to his palace. He then 

 bade her farewell, rejoined his retinue, and took the road to his capital, 

 thinking of Canoua's astonishment when he learned from Saccountala 

 what had occurred on his return to the hermitage. 



Scarcely had Douchmanta retired, when the holy anchorite returned ; 

 but Saccountala was in such confusion, that she did not advance, as was 

 her wont, to meet her venerable father. Canoua, however, who by the 

 prophetic spirit with which he was endowed, knew already all that 

 passed in his absence, was not surprised at the confusion in which his 

 cherished pupil was plunged, but casting on her a look which beamed 

 with affection, he hastened to tranquilize her mind with these consoling 

 words : 



Ct Oh, woman ! a thousand times blessed ! the knot which thou hast 



f- The rite Gaudharva, that is, according to the manner of the Gaudharvas, who 

 probably required the consent of the nymph without any other ceremony. 



: Manou the first Indian lawgiver whose code we possess : a monument of the 

 highest antiquity, the composition of which was referred by the celebrated Jones 

 to the year 1250 before our era. 



Youva-radja literally young king. It is by this title that the presumptive 

 heir to the crown is distinguished. 



M. M. No. 84. 2 U 



