Part 6: Departure of the princes

When they had bathed and had made the propitiatory rite of the tilaka, etc., and auspicious things,^[1] the princes set out with the Cakrin’s whole army. The King sent all the jewels, except the woman-jewel, with his sons. For the soul itself has the form of a son. Some, mounted on the best elephants, had the appearance of Dikpālas; others, mounted on horses, had forms surpassing Revanta;^[2] others, seated in chariots, were like the planets, the sun, etc.; all, wearing crowns, were like over-lords of the gods. With long necklaces rolling on their chests, like mountains with rivers; their hands filled with manifold weapons like divinities come to the earth; their heads characterized by umbrellas like Vyantaras by trees;^[3] surrounded by body-guards like oceans by the Velādhāras;^[4] praised by clever bards with uplifted hands; splitting open the earth with the sharp hooves of the horses; deafening the skies in all directions by the noise of musical instruments and blinding them by much dust stirred up; beautiful as divinities of the gardens in various gardens and as mountain-gods on mountain-plateaux; like sons of the river on beautiful sandy beaches of the river, enjoying themselves at will, they wandered in the land of Bharata.

Wandering they made worship of the Jina in villages, mines, cities, towns accessible by land and water, earth-walled towns, etc., like Vidyādharas making a series of offerings to obtain desires. Enjoying many pleasures, giving much money, delighting their friends, slaying their enemies, showing on the road their skill in hitting moving targets, and often their skill in seizing the falling weapon of another, composing various tales of weapon against weapon and also humorous tales with their companion-kings seated in the vehicles, they arrived one day at Aṣṭāpada, which is an herb for removing hunger and thirst merely by its sight, the abode of a wealth of puṇya.