IT was a night of fear on the southern slopes of the Himalayas—and the prince from Dwarawati sensed it the moment he arrived. Beneath the dim moon, even the serpents hid themselves under the overhanging rocks on the banks. It seemed that nothing of brightness remained.

Rows of hermitages were flattened, brutally destroyed by the forces of King Bhoma who had ravaged the area. On the edge of the forest, “the seed of the dried-up fields was fi