both parties were resting
after taking their midday meal and as they smoked they fell into
conversation, and soon found that their meeting was most fortunate;
each party had found the Tery thing they wanted, so they all set off
to the palace of the Kherohuri Raja in order that the Chandmuni Raja's
messengers might see the young men.

The Kherohuri Raja ordered them to be hospitably entertained and food
to be set before them; they however refused to eat anything till they
had seen the five bridegrooms. The five young men were then introduced
and as they appeared to be sound in wind and limb and in all respects
satisfactory, there was no further obstacle to the entertainment. The
next day the Kherohuri Raja sent out officials to visit and inspect the
daughters of the Chandmuni Raja, and as their report was satisfactory,
nothing remained but to fix the day for the wedding.

When the time came for the bridegrooms and their retinue to set off
to the country of the Chandmuni Raja, they and their servants and
followers all started, so that no one was left at home but their
mother. After they had gone a little way the eldest prince stopped
them and said that they could not leave their mother all alone, what
would she do supposing some sudden danger arose? The others agreed
that this was so, but the difficulty was to decide who should stay;
not one of the other brothers would consent to do so. So at last the
eldest brother said that he would stay, and he gave them his shield
and sword and told them to perform his marriage for him by putting
the vermilion on the bride's forehead with his sword.

When they reached the home of the Chandmuni Raja they proceeded at
once to perform the vermilion ceremony, beginning with the eldest
daughter; but when the sword was produced and she was told that she
must go through the ceremony with the sword, as her bridegroom had not
come, she began to cry and make a great to-do. Nothing would induce
her to consent. "Why was her husband the only one who had not come
in person? he must be blind or lame or married;" this resistance put
all the others into a difficulty, for the younger sisters could not
be married before the elder. At last after much talking her father
and mother persuaded the eldest daughter to go through the ceremony;
the women put vermilion on the sword and with the sword the mark
was made on the bride's forehead; and then the younger sisters were
married and after a grand feast t