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

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knowledge; he was also learned in divine law. When he presented himself at court, the king, perceiving him, hastily descended from his throne, and prostrating himself before the withered creature, besought him to take his place on the throne, which, from the well-known qualities he possessed, the king said, he was most fitted to adorn. The hermit consented, whereupon the king (according to the Hindoo practice) worshipped the holy man. He then dismissed the officials of his court, save a few belonging to his household, and sent for the queen, after having first introduced the hermit into the private apartments of his palace. The queen approached the hermit with the same respectful demeanour that the king had observed, and in like manner paid her obeisance at the hermit's feet. The king and queen, as may well be supposed, consulted the hermit chiefly on the subject uppermost in their hearts, and in all their intercourse paid a marked deference to the sage. The hermit, observ- ing the disinterested homage paid to him by them, bestowed his blessing upon both with great solemnity, and assured them they would speedily see their wish realised. The son that should be born to them would prove, he said, worthy of their exalted rank and position; his name would be handed down to distant ages for his brilliant conquests and many eminent virtues, and finally, he would enjoy long life, health, and happiness. After this, the time for their afternoon meal had arrived, and the hermit was invited to partake of every possible delicacy that the palace could afford. At the conclusion of this entertainment, the king perfumed the person of the hermit with choice scents, and entreated him, in the most affectionate and flattering terms, to give him some advice regarding the subject nearest his heart —that of obtaining male issue, to hand down his name and virtues to posterity. The hermit replied that such things were at the disposal of God alone, and that it was in the power of no man to give any advice by which such a consummation could be effected. The Divine Power above, he said, for reasons not known to us, often deprives us of this