o Vasu for his having set her free from Kolahala's
embraces, gave them both to Vasu. And the son was made the generalissimo
to his forces by Vasu, that best of royal sages and giver of wealth and
punisher of enemies. And the daughter called Girika, was wedded by Vasu.

'And Girika, the wife of Vasu, after her menstrual course, purifying
herself by a bath, represented her state unto her lord. But that very day
the Pitris of Vasu came unto that best of monarchs and foremost of wise
men, and asked him to slay deer (for their Sraddha). And the king,
thinking that the command of the Pitris should not be disobeyed, went
a-hunting thinking of Girika alone who was gifted with great beauty and
like unto another Sri herself. And the season being the spring, the woods
within which the king was roaming, had become delightful like unto the
gardens of the king of the Gandharvas himself. There were Asokas and
Champakas and Chutas and Atimuktas in abundance: and there were Punnagas
and Karnikaras and Vakulas and Divya Patalas and Patalas and Narikelas
and Chandanas and Arjunas and similar other beautiful and sacred trees
resplendent with fragrant flowers and sweet fruits. And the whole forest
was maddened by the sweet notes of the kokila and echoed with the hum of
maddened bees. And the king became possessed with desire, and he saw not
his wife before him. Maddened by desire he was roaming hither and
thither, when he saw a beautiful Asoka decked with dense foliage, its
branches covered with flowers. And the king sat at his ease in the shade
of that tree. And excited by the fragrance of the season and the charming
odours of the flowers around, and excited also by the delicious breeze,
the king could not keep his mind away from the thought of the beautiful
Girika. And beholding that a swift hawk was resting very near to him, the
king, acquainted with the subtle truths of Dharma and Artha, went unto
him and said, 'Amiable one, carry thou this seed (semen) for my wife
Girika and give it unto her. Her season hath arrived.'

"The hawk, swift of speed, took it from the king and rapidly coursed
through the air. While thus passing, the hawk was seen by another of his
species. Thinking that the first one was carrying meat, the second one
flew at him. The two fought with each other in the sky with their beaks.
While they were fighting, the seed fell into the waters of the Yamuna.
And in those waters dwelt an Apsara of the higher rank, known by the