He then carried off the king’s family priest, and depriving him of his senses by his supernatural power, set him in a mountain cave.

He himself assumed the form of the family priest and went and lay down on his luxurious couch. The king awoke before dawn and was much astonished to find himself at home.

Attributing the miracle to the supernatural power of the sage, he got up quietly unperceived by the queen and mounted the same horse and rode off to the woods without any man or woman in the city knowing it.

In the afternoon the king returned, and there was rejoicing, with welcoming strains of music, in every house. When the king saw his family priest, he recalled all that had happened and began to look at him in amazement.

The interval of three days seemed for the king like an age; so fixed were his thoughts on the false anchorite’s feet. At the appointed time the priest came and explained to him the scheme they had earlier devised.

The king was delighted to recognize his guru, for his mind was too clouded to have any sense left, and at once invited a hundred thousand chosen Brahmans with their families.

The priest cooked food of the four kinds and the six different flavours, in accordance with sacred prescription. He prepared an illusory banquet, with more dainty dishes than one could count.