विक्रम चरित (उज्जैन सम्राट् विक्रमादित्य - पराक्रम, न्याय एवं ३२ पुतलियों की कथा सटीक)

182 be in proportion to our merits. We doat upon such temporal enjoyments, and do our utmost to prolong them, but we cannot expect to be in possession of them for a moment longer than God wills it.’ ‘Oh my friend!’ said the king, ‘that is all very true, but listen to me. Were you capable of procuring for me the object of my love?— No; it was Shambae who brought her here. The beauty and charms of that unequalled being have smitten me to my heart’s core, and I am wholly absorbed in grief and melancholy. Look what hypocrisy she has resorted to,— how she has killed my faithful servant, and made away with all my treasure! And in what way could she have effected all this? Alas! is there nothing you can propose to discover her retreat?’ ‘Do not allow yourself to suffer any more on her account,’ resumed the minister; ‘suppress your evil desires, and reflect for a moment on the greatness of God and his power. He has made all these luxuries and enjoyments for men, but how transient and short-lived are they! I implore your majesty to divert your mind from these worldly prizes, and to fix it in the contemplation of the glory of the Almighty, which will teach you and all of us how to conduct ourselves in this world. I trust your majesty will act as becomes your good sense and mature judgment, and, by adding to the comforts of your subjects, and ameliorating their condition, give them cause to love you and acknowledge your merit, and thus call down upon you the blessing of heaven.’ “Prince Sewdass and his friend Hurridass had by this time almost wholly forgotten the trials and sufferings they had undergone; and after living for awhile in ease and comfort, they contemplated visiting their respective parents, from whom they had not heard since their elopement. After some consultation they raised, with great exertion and at enormous expense, an immense army, like that of some great and powerful monarch, and, loading a number of camels with the wealth, riches, and furniture they found in the cavern, they set out for the city from whence they