विक्रम चरित (उज्जैन सम्राट् विक्रमादित्य - पराक्रम, न्याय एवं ३२ पुतलियों की कथा सटीक)

182
be in proportion to our merits. We doat upon such
temporal enjoyments, and do our utmost to prolong them,
but we cannot expect to be in possession of them for a
moment longer than God wills it.’ ‘Oh my friend!’ said
the king, ‘that is all very true, but listen to me. Were
you capable of procuring for me the object of my love?—
No; it was Shambae who brought her here. The beauty
and charms of that unequalled being have smitten me to
my heart’s core, and I am wholly absorbed in grief and
melancholy. Look what hypocrisy she has resorted to,—
how she has killed my faithful servant, and made away with
all my treasure! And in what way could she have effected
all this? Alas! is there nothing you can propose to
discover her retreat?’ ‘Do not allow yourself to suffer
any more on her account,’ resumed the minister; ‘suppress
your evil desires, and reflect for a moment on the greatness
of God and his power. He has made all these luxuries and
enjoyments for men, but how transient and short-lived are
they! I implore your majesty to divert your mind from
these worldly prizes, and to fix it in the contemplation of
the glory of the Almighty, which will teach you and all of
us how to conduct ourselves in this world. I trust your
majesty will act as becomes your good sense and mature
judgment, and, by adding to the comforts of your subjects,
and ameliorating their condition, give them cause to love you
and acknowledge your merit, and thus call down upon you
the blessing of heaven.’
“Prince Sewdass and his friend Hurridass had by this
time almost wholly forgotten the trials and sufferings they
had undergone; and after living for awhile in ease and
comfort, they contemplated visiting their respective parents,
from whom they had not heard since their elopement.
After some consultation they raised, with great exertion
and at enormous expense, an immense army, like that of
some great and powerful monarch, and, loading a number
of camels with the wealth, riches, and furniture they found
in the cavern, they set out for the city from whence they