recovered. He thinks of committing suicide, but the body is not his
own. He thinks of pacifying the queen by introducing himself, but his
present costume will perhaps aggravate her sorrows. The queen, looking
up to the skies, exclaims; "It is high time for me to return to the
house of my master. I forget I am a slave. My master will be angry if I
am late. My husband will incur blame if my master is angry. Let me go at
once."

The king reflects, "If my queen is so mindful of her duties to her
master in the midst of such calamities, I must never forget my duty to
my master."

Then he approaches the queen and addresses her thus:--

"Who are you? You are not allowed to burn the corpse before you give up
its clothes to me, the slave of the lord of this place." She replies,

"Please wait a little. I will take off the clothes."

As the queen delivers the clothes into the hands of the slave, she
notices signs of royalty in his hands and is surprised that such a hand
is engaged in so low an office.

"She looks attentively and exclaims in a wild voice, Oh my lord! Oh
Maharaja! you a slave in this burning-ground! Oh lord Kausika! are you
not yet satisfied?" The queen rushes to embrace the king. The king
starts away from her and forbids her saying, "Oh my queen! do not touch
me, I am the slave of a Chandal. Be patient." She faints again.

The king cannot touch her as he is in the garb of a Chandal. After a