Read the previous part here…
She soon departed, led away by her attendants, but she left her heart there, beside the lake, for when she reached home, she lay down on her bed, her mind lost in thoughts of the prince, and stayed there for hours, until her eyes closed, to dream about him.
The prince too, was finally made to return to his palace, feeling like a Vidyādhara who had lost his knowledge, pained and miserable.
सख्या च मन्त्रिपुत्रेण तेन पृष्टस् तदा रहः ।
शंसता ताम् अदुष्प्रापां त्यक्तधैर्यो जगाद सः ॥ १२,८.७८ ॥
यस्या न नाम न ग्रामो नान्वयो वावबुध्यते ।
सा कथं प्राप्यते तन् माम् आश्वासयसि किं मृषा ॥ १२,८.७९ ॥
इत्य् उक्तो राजपुत्रेण मन्त्रिपुत्रस् तम् अभ्यधात् ।
किं न दृष्टं त्वया तद् यत् संज्ञया सूचितं तया ॥ १२,८.८० ॥
न्यस्तं यद् उत्पलं कर्णे तेनैतत् ते तयोदितम् ।
कर्णोत्पलस्य राष्ट्रे ऽहं निवसामि महीभृतः ॥ १२,८.८१ ॥
कृता यद् दन्तरचना तेनैतत् कथितं तया ।
तत्र जानीहि मां दन्तघाटकस्य सुताम् इति ॥ १२,८.८२ ॥
पद्मावतीति नामोक्तं तयोत्तंसितपद्मया ।
त्वयि प्राणा इति प्रोक्तं हृदयार्पितहस्तया ॥ १२,८.८३ ॥
कलिङ्गदेशे ह्य् अस्त्य् अत्र ख्यातः कर्णोत्पलो नृपः ।
तस्य प्रसादवित्तो ऽस्ति महान् यो दन्तघाटकः ॥ १२,८.८४ ॥
सङ्ग्रामवर्धनाख्यस्य तस्याप्य् अस्ति जगत्त्रये ।
रत्नं पद्मावती नाम कन्या प्राणाधिकप्रिया ॥ १२,८.८५ ॥
एतच् च लोकतो देव यथावद् विदितं मम ।
अतो ज्ञाता मया संज्ञा तस्या देशादिशंसिनी ॥ १२,८.८६ ॥
And seeing him distressed this way, Buddhiśarīra spoke to him and told him not to worry, and that he would not have any difficulty in being with her.
“Being with her?” exclaimed Vajramukuṭa. “I know not her name, nor where she is from, her family…nothing. How would I be able to locate her, to see her again? How would I ever be with her? Don’t comfort me and give me false hopes…”
Buddhiśarīra smiled. “You saw her, but you did not observe her. She told you everything that you wanted to know.”
“By placing the lotus (Utpala) in her ear (Karna) , she meant to convey that she lives in the kingdom ruled by King Karṇotpala.”
“She then made it resemble a tooth-leaf ornament, and conveyed to you that she is the daughter of an ivory-carver in that kingdom.”
“By lifting the lotus and placing it on her head, she told you that her name was Padmāvatī...and by placing it on her heart, she told you that it was yours.”
Buddhiśarīra paused, waiting for the smile on his friend’s face to broaden. “Now, I just happen to know a king named Karṇotpala who rules a place called Kaliṅga, and that he has a favorite courtier, a great ivory-carver named Saṅgrāmavardhana, and he has a daughter named Padmāvatī, whose beauty is unrivaled in the three worlds. I haven’t been idle my friend, I keep my ears open and my mind too, and so when she showed you these signs, I was able to put two and two together.”
इत्य् उक्तो मन्त्रिपुत्रेन तेन राजसुतो ऽथ सः ।
तुतोष तस्मै सुधिये लब्धोपायो जहर्ष च ॥ १२,८.८७ ॥
संमन्त्र्य च समं तेन स तद्युक्तः स्वमन्दिरात् ।
प्रियार्थी मृगयाव्याजात् पुनस् ताम् अगमद् दिशम् ॥ १२,८.८८ ॥
अर्धमार्गे च वाताश्ववेगवञ्चितसैनिकः ।
तं मन्त्रिपुत्रैकयुतः कलिङ्गविषयं ययौ ॥ १२,८.८९ ॥
तत्र तौ प्राप्य नगरं कर्णोत्पलमहीभृतः ।
अन्विष्य दृष्ट्वा भवनं दन्तघाटस्य तस्य च ॥ १२,८.९० ॥
तद् अदूरे च वासार्थम् एकस्या वृद्धयोषितः ।
गृहं प्राविशतां मन्त्रिपुत्रराजसुताव् उभौ ॥ १२,८.९१ ॥
दत्ताम्बुयवसौ वाहौ गुप्ते ऽवस्थाप्य चात्र सः ।
राजपुत्रे स्थिते वृद्धां मन्त्रिपुत्रो जगाद ताम् ॥ १२,८.९२ ॥
कच्चिद् वेत्स्य् अम्ब सङ्ग्रामवर्धनं दन्तघाटकम् ।
तच् छ्रुत्वा सा जरद्योषित् सश्रद्धा तम् अभाषत ॥ १२,८.९३ ॥
वेद्म्य् एव धात्री तस्यास्मि स्थापिता तेन चाधुना ।
पद्मावत्याः स्वदुहितुः पार्श्वे ज्येष्ठतरेत्य् अहम् ॥ १२,८.९४ ॥
किं त्व् अहं न सदा तत्र गच्छाम्य् उपहताम्बरा ।
कुपुत्रः कितवो वस्त्रं दृष्ट्वा हि हरते मम ॥ १२,८.९५ ॥
Vajramukuṭa was overjoyed. He got up and hugged his dear friend, and decided to set out immediately, now that he had found a way to get in touch with her.
They set out on the pretext of going on a hunt, but only he and his friend knew the object of the hunting expedition was not an animal. At first, they stayed close to the extended entourage that always accompanied them, but soon, Vajramukuṭa and Buddhiśarīra rode faster and faster, giving their companions the slip and leaving everyone else behind.
In a while, they reached Kaliṅga, and entered the capital city from where King Karṇotpala ruled his kingdom. They searched for the Saṅgrāmavardhana’s mansion, and when they found it, circled around and stopped at a road behind that house. They fed their horses and then hid them out of plain sight…once done, they set out on foot.
There was an old woman’s hut opposite the mansion, and she was sitting outside. Buddhiśarīra approached her, bowed to her and said ” Greeting! Do you know an ivory-carver named Saṅgrāmavardhana?”
The old woman nodded. “Of course I do – he stays in that mansion”, she said, pointing to the house opposite her hut, “and I am an attendant of his daughter. Today however, I have not gone there yet. My wicked good-for-nothing son stole my bag, that also had my sari, and has gone with his wayward friends to gamble it away…”
The minister’s son bowed to her again and said…
to be continued…