The Brahman followed their advice, and caused three additional images to be prepared. The young Brahmans took the four images, and began wandering through villages, market-towns, cities, and other places, and in them as they went they played upon divers musical [[192]]instruments. The Brahman Nyagrodha had given them directions not to choose a likeness to the image out of an inferior caste and family. As they considered it would be impossible for them to go from house to house, they determined to find out some other way of proceeding. In the villages, market-towns, cities, and other places at which they arrived, they always set up the image in the central point, and paid it reverence, offering up incense, perfumes, flowers, and so forth, and letting music resound, and they gave notice that it was the Goddess of Virgins who had arrived. To virgins who paid her honour would she grant five wishes: birth in an exalted race, marriage into an exalted race, residence in a fully provided house, submission on the part of the husband, and the possession of children. When these words of theirs had become known, crowds of maidens arrived, and with sacrifices and testimonies of honour they addressed their prayers to the image.
After some time, the young Brahmans who had gone towards the east, the north and the south, came back without having met with any success. When the Brahman Nyagrodha saw them return, he remained sitting where he was absorbed in thought. But his son Nyagrodhaja was exceedingly joyful and said, “It is good that ye have found nothing.”
Meanwhile the young Brahmans who had travelled westwards went on wandering through villages, towns, lands, and capitals, till at length they came to the city of Kapila, situated in the land of Kapila. In it lived a very rich Brahman named Kapila, to whom there had been born, after he had married in his own degree, an extremely beautiful daughter. To her, in accordance with the custom prevailing in Madhyadeśa, the name of Bhadrā was given on account of her beauty; and so, as her father’s name was Kapila, she was called Kapilabhadrā. She had grown up by the time when those young Brahmans [[193]]happened to arrive with their image, and set it up with all marks of honour in the middle of the market-place, and the maidens of Kapila drew near to the Goddess of Virgins, and prayed to her and brought her offerings. Among others, the wife of the Brahman Kapila heard of this, and told her daughter to go and make an offering to the Goddess of Virgins. She replied, “Of what use will it be if I make an offering to the Goddess of Virgins?”
“If you beseech her,” said her mother, “five kinds of things may be vouchsafed: birth in an exalted race, marriage into an exalted race, residence in a fully provided house, submission on the part of the husband, and possession of children.”
To these words spoken by her mother Kapilabhadrā replied, “O mother, I come of an exalted race and I am endowed with beauty. As I have no longing after any kind of love, I do not see what I have to desire.”
However, as her mother repeatedly urged her to go, Kapilabhadrā, in order to fulfil her mother’s wishes, set out to visit the Goddess of Virgins, taking with her flowers, incense, powders, robes, and the like. As she drew near to the image it became less and less brilliant, so that by the time when she came up to it, it seemed as if it were made of iron. When the young Brahmans had considered the question as to what sort of change it was that had taken place, and by whose power it had been brought about, they perceived that the brilliance [which had caused the change] proceeded from that maiden. So they inquired of her whose daughter she was. “The Brahman Kapila’s daughter Bhadrā,” she replied.
Having learnt this, they betook themselves to the Brahman Kapila’s house, and remained standing at its door asking for the bestowal of a gift. The Brahman Kapila thought they were asking alms, so he gave orders that the young Brahmans should be presented with meal of the [[194]]colour of māluta flowers, oil, grapes, pomegranates, and tamarinds. Now it is the custom in Madhyadeśa for gifts from a father’s house to be distributed by his daughters. This is done because people suppose that they obtain what is costliest by means of the gift from the father’s house. So Kapilabhadrā came with the gifts to the spot where the young Brahmans were begging, and offered them the gifts. But the young Brahmans refused to accept them. Hearing this, the Brahman Kapila asked the young Brahmans what it was they desired. They replied, “You should give us your daughter; we do not want the gift of meal.” Then the Brahman Kapila angrily told those young Brahmans that he would not give them his daughter. They explained that it was not for themselves that they had requested the bestowal of his daughter. Thereupon the Brahman Kapila declared that he could not understand the matter. Then the young Brahmans asked him if he had never heard of the extremely rich and respected Brahman Nyagrodha, and his exceedingly handsome and intelligent son, versed in all sciences, and said that it was in that son’s behalf that they had asked for the daughter’s hand. Kapila replied that he had in truth heard a full account of the virtues and attributes of the respected Brahman, but that he did not see how an alliance could be entered into at such a distance. The young Brahmans said in reply to this, “Honoured sir, have you never heard what men are wont to say, ‘Fire, wind, a horse, a poison that runs along the veins, and a Brahman of firm resolution, do not allow themselves to be stopped.’ That Brahman is very rich, and you too are the same. You both have men and beasts for coming and going. Moreover, enduring is the friendship which is contracted afar off.”
When the Brahman youths had succeeded in rendering the Brahman Kapila well disposed towards the Brahman Nyagrodha, he bestowed upon all of them towels, bricks [[195]]powder, sesamum-oil, combs, and other things used in bathing. The youths set out with these things for the bathing pools outside the city of Kapila.
While they were bathing, the Brahman Kapila bethought himself of taking counsel with his friends and relations. So he went back into his house and told these things to his wife and his kinsmen. They said, “This Brahman is highly distinguished, and therefore we should be ready to take great pains in order to give him the daughter, even if he had no desire to obtain her. All the more unreservedly, therefore, ought she to be given to him now that he himself asks for her. If he enters into an alliance with us and becomes her husband, the daughter also will be fortunate.”
Thereupon the parents betrothed their daughter to the Brahman youth Nyagrodhaja, having previously bathed and put on white garments, and the prayers for good fortune and happy results having been uttered by the Brahmans. The Brahman youths then informed the maiden’s parents of the month, day, hour, and constellation at which the youth would appear; and then, having completely attained their end, they joyfully set out for Nyagrodhika.