He now verily believes the dream to be a reality. He then puts the
necklace of his dream on the neck of the carved statue.

Finally the lady is herself beheld through the transparent wall of the
pavilion, but runs away on being observed. The king becomes enamoured of
her. He and his friend follow her but in vain. The bards proclaim it at
noon, and the two friends repair to the queen's apartments to perform
the midday ceremonies.

Kuvalayamala, the object of the king's passion before encountering his
new flame, is the daughter of Chandramahasena, the king of Kuntala. She
has been sent to Vidyadhara Malla's queen, as the betrothed bride of the
supposed son of Chandraverma, who is the queen's maternal uncle.
Mekhala, the queen's foster-sister, practises a frolic on Charayana. He
is promised a new bride by the queen, and the ceremony is about to take
place when the spouse proves to be a "lubberly boy"; he is highly
indignant at the trick, and goes off threatening vengeance.

The king having followed and pacified his companion, they go off into
the garden, where they see the damsel Mrigankavali playing with ball:
she still however flies their advance. Presently they overhear a
conversation between her and one of her companions, from which it
appears, that notwithstanding her shyness she is equally enamoured of
the king.

Her dress is the contrivance of the minister, at whose instigation,
Mrigankavali is persuaded by Sulakshana to believe that she is to behold
the present deity of love, and is introduced by a sliding door into the
king's chamber. The consequence of the interview is to render