Vol. VII, No. 9.] Note on the Dark Monday Somavati. 633 
[NV.S.] 
himself go to Ceylon, and bring Soma who could save his 
daughter from the impending danger. 
At these angry words, his youngest son Shivaswami rose 
and said most reverently: ‘O father, do not be so angry. 
As long as I am alive, who else has the courage to undertake 
the voyage ?’ 
He then bowed unto his father and started forthwith with 
his sister. He reached the sea, He was thinking of swimming 
tree. The vulture turned towards the pilgrims and asked 
them to name their desire. One of them, the brother, replied 
that they wanted to cross the ocean to prevent his sister from 
oming a widow. The vulture promised to take them to 
the island the next morning, and did so. They went to Soma’s 
house and swept and mud-washed the frontage [of her house] 
every morning for a year. Seeing this Soma enquired of her 
open space in front of her house. She asked them who they 
were, and when they told her that they were the children of a 
Brahman, she expressed her horror at seeing those sacred 
people doing such menial work for her—a low caste woman. 
She cried, ‘O Brahman! The daughter of the impure washer- 
man’s caste that I am, what makes you do a thing that will 
hurl me down to hell?’ Shivaswami replied: ‘ This, madam, 
is my unmarried sister. She is destined to become a widow 
while performing the Saptapadi or fire worship in her own 
marriage. But [ am assured that the evil can be evaded 
through yorr kindness, and therefore we have volunteered to 
serve you as menials.” Soma told them to desist. She said: 
‘I will obey you O sacred Brahman! and accompany you to 
your house.’ She then addressed her daughters-in-law and 
told them to preserve the body of any one that may die in her 
Raj, during her absence. No one should, on any account, be 
cremated. She took the Brahman pilgrims across the ocean, 
through the sky, and reached Kantipur in the twinkling of an 
eye. 
Dhanavati the Brahman woman was delighted. She wore 
shipped the Dhobi woman. Shivaswaimi the dutiful son left 
for Ujjein in search of a suitable husband for his sister, 
selected Rudra and brought him down. Soma the washer- 
