“Having thus spoken, he prostrated himself in very humble attitude at the feet of his master, who remained for a time silent, as if undecided.

“The women, who had been listening with delight to all that was said, seeing his hesitation, assembled round him, and, with sweet words and caresses, easily persuaded him to follow his own inclination and theirs.

“From that time the young king, given up entirely to pleasures and amusements, left the affairs of the kingdom to his ministers; and, while allowing them to manage as they pleased, provided they did not trouble him, openly treated them with insolence and neglect, and even took pleasure in hearing them ridiculed by the worthless parasites who surrounded him, so that even the wisest of his ministers, while lamenting the sad state of affairs, could only acknowledge their inability to remedy it, and wait till some great public calamity, or the invasion of the country by a neighbouring sovereign, who was gradually extending his dominions by force or cunning, should bring the young king to his senses.

“Ere long, what they had expected came to pass; for the King of Asmaka, who had for some time coveted the country, but did not dare openly to invade it while it was strong and prosperous, took measures in secret to weaken the authority of Anantavarma, and diminish his resources; and, lest he should perchance see the error of his ways and abandon his vicious courses, he secretly gave a commission to the son of one of his ministers, a young man of great abilities and agreeable manners, an eloquent flatterer and amusing companion, who arrived at the court of Anantavarma, attended by a numerous retinue, as if travelling about for his own pleasure.

“This man soon became intimate with the king, and took care to fall in with all his tastes, and to justify and praise every pursuit which he engaged in.

“Thus, if he saw the king fond of hunting, he would say:  ’What a fine manly sport this is!  How it strengthens the body, braces the spirits, and quickens the intelligence!  While roaming over hill and dale, you become acquainted with the country; by destroying the deer and wild buffaloes, you benefit the husbandmen; by killing the tigers and other wild beasts, you make travelling safer.’  And he would go on in this way, without any allusion to the damage and destruction caused by the king’s hunting expeditions.

“If gambling was the favourite amusement, or there was excessive devotion to women, or to drinking, he would very ingeniously bring forward everything that could be said in favour of them, passing over their disadvantages in silence.  If the king was lavish to his dependants, he would praise his generosity; if cruel, he would say:  ’Such severity is good; you maintain your own dignity by it; a king ought not to be like a patient devotee, submitting to insults, and ready to forgive.

“In this manner that wicked wretch obtained great influence over the king, and employed it to lead him into all sorts of excesses.