"In war 'tis the prayer of the brave to annihilate the foe; To see the braids of fallen chiefs scattered like flowers before the wind; To rend their garments, and burn alike their altars and their palaces; Boldly to strike off their heads while seated in their chariots, and thus to obtain renown." The episode of King Salya, one of the Kaurava princes, and Satiavati, his queen, is singularly romantic, and reveals a high ideal of wifely devotion. The poem relates how Salya steals away from his wife, and sacrifices himself on the field of battle. Then Satiavati wanders over this same field of battle by night in quest of his corpse. A flash of lightning is sent to direct her steps, and when she has found the body of her husband, she addresses the corpse in a speech in which she declares her intention of following his spirit. "But earth has lost its fleeting charms for me And, happy spirit, I will follow thee." She continues-- "Though widadaris[26] should obey thy call Reserve for me a place above them all," and finally stabs herself. To her faithful maid Sagandika she says-- "Tell them to think of Satiavati's fate, And oft the story of her love relate." But Sagandika also kills herself. "Then did their happy spirits wing their way To the fair regions of eternal day." I conclude the episode by a quotation from the prose rendering given by Raffles, which keeps more exactly to the original, and gives a characteristically Eastern picture of heaven. "The astonished spirit of Prince Salya quickly said-- "'Uneasy and impatient have I waited for thee among the clouds, with many widadaris, panditas, and diwas.' "Having taken the princess in his arms, he returns with her by the road which leads to heaven. "There arrived, they find it extremely beautiful. "Of silk were the houses, and brilliant were the precious stones. "Amusing herself, the princess was delighted with the abundance of food which was there. "Great being the bounty of the Almighty to mankind. And there was no difference susceptible in the ages of those that were there." [Footnote 25: I am indebted for this and the subsequent versions in the text to Raffles' "History of Java."] [Footnote 26: Angels.]