18. She advanced towards the son of Bhrigu, as a peahen comes out to meet the rising cloud; and thought she beheld there a white washed edifice, with a couch placed in the midst. 19. Bhárgava entered the white hall, as when Vishnu enters into hoary sea, accompanied by his beloved Lakshmí; who held him by the hand with her down-cast countenance. 20. She graced his person, as the lotus-stalk graces the bosom of the elephant; and then spoke to him sweetly with her words mixed with tender affection. 21. She told him in a sweet and delightsome speech fraught with expressions of endearment: Behold, O my moon-faced lover! I see the curve of thy bow as a bow bent for my destruction. 22. Cupid is thence darting his arrows to destroy this lovelorn maid; therefore protect me from him, that am so helpless and have come under thy protection from his rage. 23. Know my good friend, that it is the duty of good people, to relieve the wretched from their distress; and those that do not look upon them with a compassionate eye, are reckoned as the basest of men. 24. Love is never vilified by those, who are acquainted with erotics; because the true love of faithful lovers, have endured to the last without any fear of separation. 25. Know my dear, that the delightful draught of love, defies the dewy beams distilled by the moon; and the sovereignty of the three worlds, is never so pleasing to the soul, as the love of the beloved. 26. I derive the same bliss from the touch of thy feet, as it attends on mutual lovers on their first attachment to one another. 27. I live by the nectarious draught of thy touch, as the _kumuda_ blooms by night, imbibing the ambrosial beams of the moon. 28. As the fluttering Chakora, is delighted with drinking the moonbeams, so is this suppliant at thy feet, blessed by the touch of the leaf-like palm of thy hand. 29. Embrace me now to thy bosom, which is filled with ambrosial bliss. Saying so, the damsel fell upon his bosom with her body soft as a flower, and her eyes turning as a leaflet at the gentle breeze. 30. The loving pair fell into their trance of love in that happy grove, as a couple of playful bees creeps into the lotus cup, under the fair filaments of the flower, shaking by the gentle breeze. CHAPTER VIII. TRANSMIGRATIONS OF SUKRA. Argument. Sukra fancies his fall from heaven, and passing through many imaginary births. Vasishtha related:—Thus the son of Bhrigu, believed himself to be in the enjoyment of heavenly pleasures, in his ideal reveries. 2. He thought of enjoying the company of his beloved, bedecked with garlands of _mandara_ flowers, and inebriated with the drink of ambrosial draughts, like the full-moon accompanied by the evening star.