the presence of a maiden that I had killed Kāmanīta.
“‘Your oath alone would not convince her, to be
sure,’ Sātāgira had said, ‘but she must believe in a Rite of
Truth.’
“He explained to me that I was, at the first hour of
the night, to be conducted to a terrace where the maiden
would be found. He would see that the fetters were filed
through so that I could without difficulty burst them, after
which it would be an easy matter for me to swing myself
over the breast‐work of the parapet, climb down into the
ravine and escape; since the gully finally ended in a
narrow watercourse through which a small brook ran
under the city wall and emptied itself into the Gangā. With
a solemn oath he swore that he would do nothing to
hinder my escape from Kosambī.
“It is true I did not trust him overmuch, but I saw
no other way of escape. To perform the Rite of Truth —
and in so doing to utter an absolute falsehood — nothing
whatsoever could have induced me to do that, I acknowl‐
edge, for I should thereby have called down upon myself
the most fearful judgement of the angry and insulted
Goddess. But I saw at once how I could so express my
oath as not to tell an untruth, yet at the same time, every
one hearing would believe I had killed Kāmanīta. And I
trusted that Mother Kālī, who finds pleasure in craftiness
of all kinds, would stand by me with all her power on
account of this masterpiece and would lead me safely
through the snares which the treachery of Sātāgira might
lay for me.
“As a matter of fact, everything now occurred in
the way that we had arranged, and you yourself saw how I
burst the iron chains asunder. But, to this day, I don’t
know whether Sātāgira kept faith with me and had the
chains filed through, as he had promised, or whether the
Dark Mother helped me by a miracle. I am more inclined,
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however, to believe the former, for scarcely had I swum a
few strokes out into the Gangā when I was fallen upon by
a boatload of armed men. So he had evidently relied upon
that ambush. Yet here could be seen what Kālī’s help is
worth — for, although the pieces of chain hanging on my
wrists were my only weapons, I succeeded in killing every
man of them, and on the boat, which had capsized during
the fight, I fortunately reached the safety of the north
bank, though to be sure not without bearing away so
many and such deep wounds that a whole year passed
before I had recovered from them. During that time I often
swore that Sātāgira would pay for what he had done. And
now the time for that payment has come.”
In my heart there raged a storm of indignation at
the shameful deception which had been practised upon
me. I couldn’t blame the robber for saving his life as he
did and, as he hadn’t soiled his hands with the blood of
my belovèd, I forgot for the moment how much other
innocent blood adhered to them, and I felt neither fear nor
disgust in the presence of this man who, whatever else he
might have done, had brought me the message that my
Kāmanīta yet dwelt in this world, even as I did. But a bitter
hatred rose up within me against him whose fault it was
that you and I were obliged to wander apart until the end
of our earth journey; and, when I heard Angulimāla threat‐
en his life, I experienced a deep and involuntary pleasure
which, I imagine, was to be read in the expression of my
face. For, in an excited and passionate tone of voice,
Angulimāla continued:
“I perceive, noble lady, that your lofty spirit thirsts
for revenge, and soon you shall have your desire. For it is
with that end in view that I have come here. For many
weeks I have lain in wait for Sātāgira, just outside of
Kosambī, and at last I have learned from a sure source
that, in the course of the next few days, he will leave the
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town for the valleys lying to the east where a legal dis‐
pute, at present impending between two villages, has to
be settled. My original plan, formed before I knew of this,
was to force him to make a sally against me in order to
take me prisoner again; but this journey of his has greatly
simplified matters. To be sure I have made no secret of my
presence, in accordance with my original intention, but
have let my deeds speak for me — and the report of my
reappearance has for a long time been freely circulated.
“Although most people believe that some impostor
has arisen who gives himself out to be Angulimāla, still
fear has already seized on people to such an extent that
only large and well‐armed bands now venture out into the
wooded region to the east, where I have my headquarters.
To all appearance you have heard nothing of this, prob‐
ably for the reason that, as a woman despoiled of her life’s
happiness, you dwell in solitude with your grief.”
“I have certainly heard of a daring band of robbers,
but as yet without mention of your name; that was why at
first I believed I saw your ghost.”
“But Sātāgira has heard me named,” the robber
went on, “depend on that. And, as he has good reason to
believe that it is the true Angulimāla, and has yet better
reason to fear him, it may be taken for granted that he will
not only travel under a powerful escort but will also take
other precautions and make use of many devices with
intent to conceal his real plans. However, although the
band which I command is not very large, no kind of
precaution will help him, if I only know for certain at what
hour he moves out and what road he takes. And this it is
that I hope to learn from you.”
Although I had up until now listened to what he
had to say — dumb with amazement and as if laid under a
spell, without thinking how much I was already compro‐
mising myself by doing so — at this suggestion, I rose up
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