VETRAVATÍ.
Heaven forbid!
KING.
Fool that I was to reject such happiness when it offered itself for my acceptance!
SÁNUMATÍ. [Aside.
He may well blame his own folly when he calls to mind his treatment of my beloved [S']akoontalá.
KING.
Ah! woe is me! when I forsook my wife—
My lawful wife—concealed within her breast
There lay my second self, a child unborn,
Hope of my race, e'en as the choicest fruit
Lies hidden in the bosom of the earth.
SÁNUMATÍ. [Aside.
There is no fear of your race being cut off for want of a son.