Page:The Dravidian Nights Entertainments.djvu/148

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The God Agni or fire spared Jagatalapratâpa only and all others were burnt to ashes. Thus was the vile minister, the still vile king who was giving a ready ear to all his advices, and all the avaricious inhabitants of the town were consumed by the flames. Jagatalapratrâpa alone rose up. He took possession of the kingdom of Visvarañjitanagara and ruled over it for sometime. He then gave it over to a poor man who had been waiting under him and set out with his four wives in search of new adventures.

They all journeyed for a few days and found themselves in the midst of a thick wood where there was not even a drop of water to drink. The daughter of Indra spoke to her husband Jagatalapratâpa as follows:—

"My dearest husband. We now see before us a vast forest in which we cannot find even a single drop of water. I shall by my powers turn this into a city fairer than Amarâvatî,[1] the capital of my father". Here she ended and her husband replied, "My dearest wife. As fate had so written on my forehead, I became your husband. You are a heaven-born woman. Nothing is impossible to you in this world. Do as you say and make me your lord, the lord of that city also". Indra's daughter was elated at the words of Jagatalapra-

  1. ↑ Amarâvatî—The capital of the divine world of Indra.
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