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

8
CHAPTER II.
King Vickramadetea sets out upon a journey, attended by the
sentinel who had acquired the knowledge of 'transmigration—The
king, anxious to test the efficacy of the hermit's instructions,
causes his own soul to reanimate the body of a dead serpent—The
sentinel enters into the king's body, mounts his horse, and returns to
Oujein, the capital of Vickramadetea's dominions—He personates the
king, and assumes the reins of government, but departing from his
master's policy, he becomes as much hated as Vickram had formerly
been loved—The king discovers the duplicity of his servant, and fearing
to continue in the shape of a serpent, assumes that of a parrot,
and proceeds to the Fort of Sendoornuggry—He falls in with a troop
of Bahooropees—The strange metamorphoses which the king enables
them to effect, and their extraordinary consequences.
KING VICKRAMADETEA'S'mind was racked with anxiety
as to his dreaded fate, as expressed at the end of the last
chapter. In this state he sent for his minister 'and bosom
friend, and gave orders to make preparations for a journey ;
he also consulted with him on the affairs of the state, and
requested him to carry them on during his absence in the
most impartial manner possible, and with strict attention
to justice. He said that he was fully aware of the zeal the
minister displayed in the welfare and well-being of his
kingdom and people, and had therefore no hesitation in
confiding to him the responsible task.
The preparations for the journey being completed, the
tents pitched on the plain, and a propitious hour ascertain-
ed, the king set out with a small retinue towards the north.
Among those who followed in his train 'was Koobjuck the
sentinel, whom the king added to the number of his follow-
ers expressly for his tact and ingenuity. After travelling
a few days they arrived at a stage near the capital city of
Sendoornuggry, which was situated on the banks of a
beautiful lake, surrounded with a variety of large and
spreading trees, which formed a cool and refreshing shade.