Meanwhile the beautiful Rani Amli, the wife of Amba, had continued to refuse the merchant Kundan’s reiterated proffers of love.  At length he said to her, “Many days have passed over thee, live now in my house as my wife.”  And she replied, “Let me bathe in the Ganges, and then I will dwell in thy house.”  So he took elephants and horses and lakhs of coin, and set the rani in a litter and started on the journey.  When he reached the city of Ujjain, he made a halt and pitched his tents.  Then he went before Raja Amba and said, “Give me a guard, for the nights are dark.  Hitherto I have had much trouble and no ease at nights.  I am going to bathe in the Ganges, to give alms and much food to Brahmans.  I am come, raja, to salute thee, bringing many things from my house.”

The raja sent Sarwar and Nir as guards.  They watched the tents, and while the rain was falling the two brothers began talking over their sorrows, saying “What can our mother be doing?  Whither hath our father gone?” Their mother overheard them talking, and by the will of God she recognised the princes; then she tore open the tent, and cried aloud, “All my property is gone!  Who brought this thief to my tent?” The rani had both Sarwar and Nir seized, and brought before Raja Amba on the charge of having stolen her property.  The raja held a court, and began to ask questions, saying, “Tell me what hath passed during the night.  How much of thy property hath gone, my friend?  I will do thee justice, according to thy desire:  my heart is grieved that thy goods are gone.”  Then said the rani, “Be careful of the young elephant!  The lightning flashes and the heavy rain is falling.  Said Nir, ’Hear, brother Sarwar, who knows whither our mother hath gone?’ And I recognised my son; so I made all this disturbance, raja [in order to get access to thee]”. [FN#519] Hearing this, Raja Amba rose up and took her to his breast—­Amli and Amba met again through the mercy of God.  The raja gave orders to have Kundan hanged, saving, “Do it at once, he is a scoundrel; undo him that he may not live.”  They quickly fetched the executioners and put on the noose; and then was Kundan strangled.  The rani dwelt in the palace and all her troubles passed far away.  She fulfilled all her obligations, and obtained great happiness through her virtue.

Tibetanversion.

Under the title of “Krisa Gautami” in the collection of “Tibetan Tales from Indian Sources,” translated by Mr. Ralston from the German of Von Schiefner, we have what appears to be a very much garbled form of an old Buddhist version of our story.  The heroine is married to a young merchant, whose father gives him some arable land in a hill district, where he resides with Krisa Guatami his wife.