As evidence of the exalted nature of the early ideals of womanhood and of man's faithfulness to the dictates of true love, we may turn to the words of Prince Nala, who even when about to ingloriously forsake his unprotected wife, sleeping in a dangerous wood, spoke thus:
"Ah, sweetheart, whom not sun nor wind before,
Hath even rudely touched, thou to be couched
In this poor hut, its floor thy bed, and I,
Thy lord, deserting thee, stealing from thee
Thy last robe, O my love with bright smile,
My slender waisted queen. Will she not wake
To madness? Yea, and when she wanders lone
In the dark road, haunted with beasts and snakes,
How will it fare with Bhima's tender child--