Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists

The Resolve of Shikhandimroot of trouble and fault alike was in herself. Oh, howworthless she must be ! What a itgood thing would beif she could wander off and never be heard of again !Even if she died, what matter ?Losing her would onlyrid her unhappy parents of a burden that might possiblycost them, in any case, their lives and kingdom.Thinking thus in heavy despondency, she rode out of thecityand wandered on and on alone till she came to theedge of a dark and lonely forest. Now this forest had thereputation of being haunted. There stood in it an abandoned grange, with high walls and gateway, and rich withfragrance of smoke and grain. But though one mightwander through this house day after day, one would nevermeet the owner of the house, and yet never feel that it hadno owner. It was, in fact, the abode of a powerful spirit,^yaksha, known as Sthuna. He was full of kindness, andyet the name of the house was a word of dread amongstthe peasant folk in the country-side because of the emptiness and mystery that hung about it.But of all this Shikhandim had no idea when she enteredthe place.She was attracted by the open door and thepeace and silence; and having entered, she sat down onthe floor plunged in sorrow, and remained so for hours anddays, forgetting to eat.The kind-heartedjx#/.$v# saw her, and grew more and moredisturbed at her evident distress. Nothing would distracthis visitor from her depth of thought, and her forgetfulnessof herself seemed endless. At last the friendly yaksha,unable to comfort her, could do nothing but show himselfto her, and urged her to tell him what it was she wanted.So he did this, begging her at the same time to tell himher trouble, and encouraging her to trust him by everymeans in his power. He was a follower, he said, of Kuvera,171