SACCOUNTALA. 



" My son!" replied Douchmanta, with barbarous indifference; " and 

 for what should I recognize him ? It is in the nature of woman to de- 

 ceive ; and mad would he be, who believed in their assertions. What 

 was thy mother Menaca., who so inhumanly abandoned thee at the mo- 

 ment of thy birth, but a vile courtesan ? And this Visonametra, of 

 whom you boast as your father, as long as he belonged to the caste of 

 the Kchatryas, was nothing but a ferocious warrior ; and when he made 

 himself a Brahman, he only dishonoured the holy brotherhood, by his 

 licentious behaviour. 



." But suppose that this Menaca was indeed the queen of the Aptaras, 

 and that thy father was the chief of the Maharichis,* it would ill become 

 thee to appear in public, like a woman who has lost every sentiment of 

 modesty. Are you not ashamed to circulate a fable so unworthy of be- 

 lief, and in my presence too ? Yes, I recognize in you the fruit of the 

 amours of the shameless Menaca ; but as to the union with me, that you 

 speak of, I have not the slightest remembrance of it ; and I have already 

 listened too long to your idle tale. Leave me then, deceitful woman, 

 and seek elsewhere for more credulous auditors." 



" Oh, king," once more replied Saccountala, inspired with a noble 

 pride, " with what art dost thou seek to discover the slightest faults of 

 others, were they not equal in magnitude to the smallest of seeds, al- 

 though thy own, more palpable than the fruit of the bilva,t seems to 

 escape thy view. Know that Menaca inhabits the heavens, and that a 

 thousand devas think it an honour to serve her. My birth, oh, Douch- 

 manta, is more illustrious than thy own. To compare them, would be 

 to compare together Mount Meron and the imperceptible seed of the 

 sarchapaj. I have but to desire it, and I traverse in my flight all ethe- 

 real space, whilst thou art condemned to tread the earth. I visit, when 

 it pleases me, the celestial residence of the powerful India; the brilliant 

 palace of Couvera; and the regions subject to the sceptre of Yana and 

 Varouna.|| Judge then, O king, of my power, and consider whether I 

 deserve the injurious apostrophe with which "thou hast not feared to 

 address me. But, dazzled by the lustre which surrounds thee, and ac- 

 customed to think only of thyself, thou treadest all others under foot in 

 thy pride, and deignest not to examine the merit of those who are wil- 

 ling to submit themselves to thy will. So ill divided are the gifts of 

 nature, that such a man may think himself, for a time, the most beau- 

 tiful of mortals; but if a faithful mirror be presented to him, to exhibit 

 his features, he recognizes his error, and corrects his foolish pride. Let 

 my words, O Douchmanta, in which there is no lustre but that of truth, 

 convey to thy mind the effect of this beneficent mirror. Blush for thy 

 ingratitude towards me, and for the unjust reproaches thou hast heaped 

 upon me ; and, far from imitating the wretch who delights in the mis- 

 chief he has done, make for thyself a model of the virtuous being who, 



* Maharichis that is, great richis. Great richis are holy personages deified ; a 

 sort of inspired prophets of the highest order. 



-f- Bilva (Af/le Marmelos.} The fruit of this tree, the vulgar name of which is 

 Tapier, consists of a round berry, remarkable for its size, filled with a yellowish 



fulp ; the taste and smell of which are delicious, and much sought after by the 

 ndians. 



$ Sarchapa A sort of mustard ; Sinapis dichotoma.) 

 Couvera The god of riches; the Indian Pluto. 

 R Varouna. The god of waters ; the Indian Neptune. 



