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

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knowledge; he was also learned in divine law. When he
presented himself at court, the king, perceiving him, hastily
descended from his throne, and prostrating himself before
the withered creature, besought him to take his place on the
throne, which, from the well-known qualities he possessed,
the king said, he was most fitted to adorn. The hermit
consented, whereupon the king (according to the Hindoo
practice) worshipped the holy man. He then dismissed the
officials of his court, save a few belonging to his household,
and sent for the queen, after having first introduced the
hermit into the private apartments of his palace. The queen
approached the hermit with the same respectful demeanour
that the king had observed, and in like manner paid her
obeisance at the hermit's feet. The king and queen, as may
well be supposed, consulted the hermit chiefly on the
subject uppermost in their hearts, and in all their intercourse
paid a marked deference to the sage. The hermit, observ-
ing the disinterested homage paid to him by them, bestowed
his blessing upon both with great solemnity, and assured
them they would speedily see their wish realised. The son
that should be born to them would prove, he said, worthy of
their exalted rank and position; his name would be handed
down to distant ages for his brilliant conquests and many
eminent virtues, and finally, he would enjoy long life, health,
and happiness. After this, the time for their afternoon
meal had arrived, and the hermit was invited to partake of
every possible delicacy that the palace could afford. At the
conclusion of this entertainment, the king perfumed the
person of the hermit with choice scents, and entreated
him, in the most affectionate and flattering terms, to give
him some advice regarding the subject nearest his heart
—that of obtaining male issue, to hand down his name
and virtues to posterity. The hermit replied that such
things were at the disposal of God alone, and that it was in
the power of no man to give any advice by which such a
consummation could be effected. The Divine Power above, he
said, for reasons not known to us, often deprives us of this