And Timma was the people's fav'rite, and
They dearly wished that he should slay the beast,
Win Chandra, and become their future king.
But soon the thought of that mad beast unnerved
Both Bukka and the minister of the state.
The royal Bukka thus to himself said:
"A richer kingdom than this Vijiapore
I own, and why should I now madly stake
My life in this hard feat; 'tis easier far
To gain this Chandra and her father's throne.
I will sit hidden in the thickest bush,
Near yonder stream, by which the pathway runs--
For Timmaraj is sure to pass that way--
And with this arrow I will end his life.
Thereafter Chandra's love for him will fade
And die, and who is there to marry her
But I?" So thought this foolish youth, to whom
A woman's love was as inconstant as
His own resolve to fight a savage beast,
And sat within a bush to watch his prey.
He too, the pilot of the state, deemed it
A mad resolve to try the dang'rous feat,
And silent sat unnoticed and unknown
Upon the other side of that same path,
Within a secret bush by that same stream.
The one knew not the other was concealed
The fatal blow upon the selfsame prey
To deal, but fearless Timma on his horse
Approached the beast, which madly rushed on them,
To force both horse and rider to the ground