her by the name of Pramadvara. And the pious Ruru having seen Pramadvara
in the hermitage of Sthulakesa became one whose heart was pierced by the
god of love. And Ruru by means of his companions made his father Pramati,
the son of Bhrigu, acquainted with his passion. And Pramati demanded her
of the far-famed Sthulakesa for his son. And her foster-father betrothed
the virgin Pramadvara to Ruru, fixing the nuptials for the day when the
star Varga-Daivata (Purva-phalguni) would be ascendant.

"Then within a few days of the time fixed for the nuptials, the beautiful
virgin while at play with companions of her own sex, her time having come,
impelled by fate, trod upon a serpent which she did not perceive as it lay
in coil. And the reptile, urged to execute the will of Fate, violently
darted its envenomed fangs into the body of the heedless maiden. And stung
by that serpent, she instantly dropped senseless on the ground, her colour
faded and all the graces of her person went off. And with dishevelled hair
she became a spectacle of woe to her companions and friends. And she who
was so agreeable to behold became on her death what was too painful to
look at. And the girl of slender waist lying on the ground like one asleep--
being overcome with the poison of the snake--once more became more
beautiful than in life. And her foster-father and the other holy ascetics
who were there, all saw her lying motionless upon the ground with the
splendour of a lotus. And then there came many noted Brahmanas filled with
compassion, and they sat around her. And Swastyatreya, Mahajana, Kushika,
Sankhamekhala, Uddalaka, Katha, and Sweta of great renown, Bharadwaja,
Kaunakutsya, Arshtishena, Gautama, Pramati, and Pramati's son Ruru, and
other inhabitants of the forest, came there. And when they saw that maiden
lying dead on the ground overcome with the poison of the reptile that had
bitten her, they all wept filled with compassion. But Ruru, mortified
beyond measure, retired from the scene.'"