SHREE SHOOKDEO JEE said,--O great king! Suttrajeet charged Shree Krishnù Chund first with the theft of a jewel; and afterwards, finding his accusation to be false, he was ashamed, and gave his daughter Sutbhama in marriage to Huri. Raja Pureechit enquired from Shree Shookdeo Jee, "O abode of compassion! who was Suttrajeet, where did he obtain the jewel, and how did he accuse Huri of theft, and afterwards finding the charge false, in what manner did he give his daughter in marriage; explain these circumstances to me?" Shree Shookdeo Jee replied,--O great king! be pleased to listen, and I will explain all the circumstances. Suttrajeet belonged to the family of Judoo, who for a long time was engaged in an act of very difficult religious penance in honour of the sun. The sun-god was highly gratified, called him and having given him a jewel, said, "This jewel's name is Soomuntka, it contains an unbounded power of conferring happiness and wealth; Worship it continually, and look upon it as equal to me in power and splendour; if you meditate upon it, having offered up prayers, and performed acts of penance, abstinence and fasting, you shall obtain whatever you ask for; into whatever country, city and house this jewel shall enter, there misery, poverty and O great king! having thus spoken the sun-god allowed Suttrajeet to take leave; who went home with the jewel. After this, rising, early and performing his morning ablutions, and finishing his religious meditations and libations, he was in the habit of offering adoration to the jewel, with unbroken rice, flowers, sandal, perfumes, lamps and consecrated food; and taking away the eight loads of gold, which came from the jewel, he was delighted. One day whilst engaged in worship, beholding the beauty and brilliancy of the jewel, he thought to himself,--"It will be a good act to take this jewel and show it to Shree Krishnù Chund." Having come to this resolution, and fastening the jewel on his arm, Suttrajeet went to the court of the descendants of Judoo. On seeing the brilliancy of the jewel from a distance, the descendants of Judoo stood still with admiration, and began to say to Shree Krishnù Jee, "O great king! the sun is coming here from a longing desire to see you. Brahma, Roodrù, Indrù and all the gods worship you; and meditating upon you during the eight puhurs, sing of your celebrity. You are the immortal first male, Vishnù, Luchmee has become your servant, and constantly waits upon you. You are the god of all the gods. No one knows your nature. Your attributes and qualities of mind are limitless; now, O lord I will you be concealed, having come into the world?" O great king! when the descendants of Judoo began to discourse thus, on seeing Suttrajeet approach, Huri said, "This is not the sun; it is Suttrajeet, one of the family of Judoo, who has obtained a jewel for having performed an act of penance in honour of the sun. Its splendour is equal to that of the sun. He is coming with that jewel, fastened on his arm." O great king! whilst Shree Krishnù Jee was thus speaking, Suttrajeet came and sat down in the court, where the descendants of Judoo were playing at "choupur" and dice. The. minds On hearing this, Shree Krishnù Jee smilingly said to Suttrajeet, "Give this jewel to the Raja, and acquire for yourself a great name and reputation in the world." On hearing this proposal to give the jewel away, he made an obeisance, and rose up; and, engaged in thought, went to his brother, and said, "Shree Krishnù Jee asked me for the jewel to-day, and I did not give it him." When Suttrajeet had thus spoken, his brother, Pursen, was angry, and took the jewel, and threw it on his own neck; and arming himself, and mounting a horse, went out hunting. Having gone into an extensive forest, he began to kill various kinds of deer and antelopes with his bow and arrows. A deer having rushed out before him, he was enraged, and pursued it on horseback; and in the course of the pursuit came alone to a large deep cave, which had existed for ages. On hearing the sound of the deer and horse's feet, a lion came forth from the cave; and killing all three, and carrying off the jewel, went into his cave again. The light was so great in consequence of the jewel coming into the cave, that its rays extended to the infernal regions. A bear, named Jamwunt, that had been with Shree Ramchund in the descent of Ram upon the earth, and had since the Treta age dwelt in the regions below with all his family, seeing that shining light in the cave, rose up; and pursuing his journey came to the lion. Having killed the lion, he carried off the jewel, and went with it to his wife who fastened it in her daughter's cradle. The child constantly played and amused herself with the On hearing this statement, Suttrajeet abstained from all food and drink; and being greatly depressed and troubled in mind began to say to himself, "This is Shree Krishnù's doing, he has killed my brother for the sake of the jewel, and has carried off the jewel to his own home. First of all he asked me for it; but I did not give it, and he has thus carried it off." With these thoughts, he passed his time in great anxiety. One night, he was sitting on his wife's bed, emaciated, low-spirited, silent and deeply engaged in thought, when his wife said to him, "Why are you so thoughtful, husband! tell me your secret anxieties?" Suttrajeet replied, "It is not right to reveal important secrets to a wife, as she cannot keep them; what she hears at home, she publishes abroad; she is ignorant, and without knowledge of any thing, good or bad." Suttrajeet's wife was angry at this speech, and said, "When did I ever publish abroad any thing I heard at home, as you state? Are all women alike?" She added, "Until you mention to me, what is preying upon your mind I will abstain from all sustenance." Suttrajeet replied, "Truth and falsehood are known to Bhugwan; but I will inform you of what I am thinking, provided you will not tell any one." His wife assented. Suttrajeet began to say, "One day Shree Krishnù Jee asked me for the jewel, and I did not give it, I, therefore, think that he has killed my brother in the forest, and taken away the jewel; this must have been done by him, as no one else has the power to perform such an act." Having thus spoken, Shree Krishnù Jee went thence to the forest, taking with him several of the descendants of Judoo, and the companions of Pursen. When they had gone some distance, they saw marks of horse's feet, on tracing which, they reached the spot where a lion had devoured Pursen and his horse. On seeing the remains of their bodies, and the marks of a lion's feet, they were all of opinion, that the lion must have killed them. Thinking thus, and not having obtained the jewel, Shree Krishnù Chund went, accompanied by them all, to that Having narrated thus much of the history, Shree Shookdeo Jee said to the Raja Pureechit,--Raja! When Jamwunt, having recognised Krishnù, spoke thus, Shree Moorari, the friend of his worshippers, beholding the attachment of Jamwunt, was delighted; and assuming the appearance of Ram, appeared to him with a bow and arrows, and Jamwunt, having prostrated himself so as to touch the ground with the eight principal parts of his body, stood up; and joining his hands said, with the greatest humility, "O sea of compassion and brother of the "poor! with your permission, I will explain my wishes." Krishnù granted permission. Then Jamwunt said, "O purifier of the guilty and lord of the poor! it is the wish of my mind to give you this damsel, Jamwutee, in marriage, and obtain celebrity and greatness in the world by so doing." Bhugwan replied, "If such is your desire, it is acceptable to me." When Krishnù had thus spoken, Jamwunt took sandal, unbroken rice, flowers, perfumes, lamps and consecrated food, and worshipped him; and afterwards married his daughter to him in the manner, and with the ceremonies prescribed by the Vedas, giving her the jewel as a part of her dowry. Having related thus much of the history, Shree Shookdeo, the sage, said,--Raja! Shree Krishnù Chund, the root of joy, taking with him Jamwutee and the jewel, came forth from the cave. And now be pleased to listen to what befel the descendants of Judoo, and companions of Pursen and Shree Krishnù, who were standing at the mouth of the cave. When twenty-eight days had elapsed and Huri did not return, they went thence, devoid of all hope; and came to Dwarka, troubled with all kinds of perplexing thoughts, and shedding tears. The affliction, they began to weep and lament; and there was mourning in all the female apartments. At length, all the women being much agitated, emaciated and in low spirits, went forth from the palace, and weeping violently came to a temple of Devee, distant about a toss outside the city. Having worshipped and propitiated Devee, joining their hands and bowing their heads, they began to say, "O Devee! gods, men and sages, all meditate upon thee, and receive from thee whatever boon they ask, tell us, when will Shree Krishnù Chund, the root of joy, come?" O great king! all the women sat down at the entrance of the temple, and continued imploring Devee; Oogursen, Basoodeo, Buldeo and the other descendants of Judoo were sitting in a state of great anxiety, when Shree Krishnù, the immortal, the dweller in Dwarka, smiling and bringing Jamwutee with him, came and stood in the royal court; all were delighted at beholding the moon-like face of Krishnù. And on hearing the good news of his arrival, all the women having worshipped Devee, returned home; and began to engage in festive rejoicings. Having narrated thus much, Shree Shookdeo Jee said,--O great king! Shree Krishnù Jee, sitting in the court, sent for Suttrajeet, and, having given him the jewel, said, "I did not take away this jewel, and you suspected me falsely. Jamwunt took away this jewel, and has given it to me, together with his daughter." Taking the jewel, Suttrajeet went away, bowing his head, and thoughtful:--"I have committed a great crime against Huri, and ignorantly abused his family; I have cast a slur and suspicion on the lord of the Judoos, and have shown great enmity to him for the sake of the jewel. I must now endeavour to atone for my fault, and give the jewel, Sutbhama, to Krishnù." With these thoughts in his mind, Suttrajeet went home with the jewel,
