642 SACCOUNTALA. 



secretly tied, without consulting me is not inconsistent -with our holy 

 laws. The rite Gaudharva, which consists in the secret union of two 

 hearts which burn with mutual love,, without the intervention of a 

 Brahman, is recognized by our divine legislator as most suitable to the 

 caste of the Kchatryas ; and Douchmanta, whom thou hast chosen for 

 thy lawful spouse, besides that he is placed in the highest station among 

 men, is every where renowned for his magnanimity, his justice, and the 

 faithful performance of all his duties. The son to be born of this union 

 will not be less illustrious than his sire. His conquests will extend the 

 limits of the empire, his enemies shall fly before his victorious standards, 

 and he shall give birth to a race of heroes." 



Re-assured by this prediction, which disclosed to her a happy futurity, 

 Saccountala joyfully relieved the holy prophet of the basket of flowers 

 he had gathered, and in a tone of supplication besought him to extend 

 his favours to Douchmanta, her husband, and to herself, his plighted 

 spouse. 



" Speak, oh, my daughter !" replied Canoua. " What can I ever 

 refuse to thy desires, to thee who art the charm of my existence ?" 



" May heaven then yield to thy prayers, that the race of Pourin be 

 for ever distinguished by the rarest virtues, and that their dominion be 

 without bounds !" 



Such, in the purity of her love for Douchmanta, was the wish which 

 Saccountala allowed her heart to express. 



Yet days and months elapsed without the re-appearance of Douch- 

 manta, and Saccountala gave birth to a son of ravishing beauty, whose 

 features already announced the more perfect resemblance to those of his 

 illustrious father. On the palms of his little hands it was easy to per- 

 ceive the well-defined lineament of the tchacra,* a sure token of his high 

 destinies. The pious hermit himself hastened to perform the ceremonies 

 customary at his birth ; and in this peaceful retreat, where heaven 

 seemed to delight in shedding its most genial influences, this offspring of 

 the gods was developed with miraculous rapidity. 



In early youth he evinced an extraordinary degree of strength and 

 intrepidity. When scarcely ten years of age he might be seen pursuing 

 the young elephants and the cubs of the tiger. 



He succeeded in taming the young lions, playing with them, and 

 riding on them, to the utter astonishment of the inhabitants of the 

 sacred forest, who, by common consent, gave him the surname of Sarva- 

 Dumana.f 



Canoua, the witness of these superhuman actions, which revealed the 

 hero, said one day to Saccountala, that the time was now come when her 

 son should be proclaimed Youva-radja, and he gave orders to his dis- 

 ciples to conduct the young woman and her son to the palace of the 

 king, her husband, Douchmanta. He had scarcely said the word, when 

 the zealous brahmatcharis J made ready for their journey, and pro- 

 ceeded with their precious charge towards Gadjasahoriaya, the capital 

 of the kingdom. 



* Tchacra this term is applied in palmistry to an arrangemennt of the lines of 

 the hand in the form of a sun, a sure presage of sovereign dominion to him who is 

 endowed with it. 



f Sarva Dumana he who tames or conquers all. 



Brahmatcharis young Brahmans studying theology under a gouren. 

 Gadjasahoriaya the same town with Hastimapoma, the name of the 



ancient 



