“Come, let us go to that holy place of Śiva on the Tridaśa mountain, rightly named Siddhíśvara,[19] where the gods performed asceticism in order to bring about the destruction of the Asura Vidyuddhvaja. And they slew that Asura in fight, with the help of Muktáphalaketu, the head of all the Vidyádhara princes, who had been obtained by the favour of Śiva. And that Muktáphalaketu, having passed through the state of humanity brought upon him by a curse, obtained reunion with Padmávatí by the favour of the same god. Let us go to that holy place, which has such splendid associations connected with it, and there propitiate Śiva, and then we will return to our own home, for such was the end of the curse appointed to all of us by the goddess, to take place at the same time.” When the two heavenly swans said this to king Brahmadatta, he was at once excited with curiosity to hear the tale of Muktáphalaketu.
[1] An allusion to the Arddhanárísa form of Śiva.
[2] Pitámaháḥ must be a misprint for pitámahaḥ, as is apparent from the India Office MSS.
[3] This story is in the original prefaced by “Iti Padmávatí kathá.” It continues to the end of the book, but properly speaking, the story of Padmávatí does not commence until chapter 115.
[4] There is a reference to the sectaries of Śiva in Benares, and the Gaṇas of Śiva on mount Kailása.
[5] Here we have a longer form of the story of Brahmadatta found on pp. 12 and 13 of Vol. I. Dr. Rajendralál Mitra informs me that it is also found in a MS. called the Bodhisattva Avadána, one of the Hodgson MSS.
[6] i. e., moonlight.
[7] There is probably a double meaning. The clouds are compared to the Ganges, and it is obvious that geese would cluster round lotuses.
[8] The sárasa is a large crane; the chakraváka the Brahmany duck.