Atondido Stories
meanwhile asked his friend to rest himself for a while to have
his bath and meals; and Gangazara, who was very observant of
his religious ceremonies, went direct to the river to bathe.
How came the crown in the jaws of the tiger? The king of Ujjaini
had a week before gone with all his hunters on a hunting expedi-
tion. All of a sudden the tiger-king started from the wood, seized
the king, and vanished.
When the king's attendants informed the prince about the
death of his father he wept and wailed, and gave notice that he
would give half of his kingdom to any one who should bring
him news about the murderer of his father. The goldsmith knew
full well that it was a tiger that killed the king, and not any
hunter's hands, since he had heard from Gangazara how he ob-
tained the crown. Still, he resolved to denounce Gangazara as
the king's murderer, so, hiding the crown under his garments, he
flew to the palace. He went before the prince and informed him
that the assassin was caught, and placed the crown before him.
The prince took it into his hands, examined it, and at once
gave half the kingdom to Manikkasari, and then inquired about
the murderer. "He is bathing in the river, and is of such and such
appearance," was the reply. At once four armed soldiers flew to
the river, and bound the poor Brahman hand and foot, while he,
sitting in meditation, was without any knowledge of the fate that
hung over him. They brought Gangazara to the presence of the
prince, who turned his face away from the supposed murderer,
and asked his soldiers to throw him into a dungeon. In a minute,
without knowing the cause, the poor Brahman found himself in
the dark dungeon.
It was a dark cellar underground, built with strong stone
walls, into which any criminal guilty of a capital offence was
ushered to breathe his last there without food and drink. Such
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