The sage Bhavabhuti —— Eastern teller of these tales —— after making his initiatory and propitiatory conge to Ganesha， Lord of Incepts， informs the reader that this book is a string of fine pearls to be hung round the neck of human intelligence； a fragrant flower to be borne on the turband of mental wisdom； a jewel of pure gold， which becomes the brow of all supreme minds； and a handful of powdered rubies， whose tonic effects will appear palpably upon the mental digestion of every patient. Finally， that by aid of the lessons inculcated in the following pages， man will pass happily through this world into the state of absorption， where fables will be no longer required.
He then teaches us how Vikramaditya the Brave became King of Ujjayani.
Some nineteen centuries ago， the renowned city of Ujjayani witnessed the birth of a prince to whom was given the gigantic name Vikramaditya. Even the Sanskrit-speaking people， who are not usually pressed for time， shortened it to "Vikram"， and a little further West it would infallibly have been docked down to "Vik".
Vikram was the second son of an old king Gandharba-Sena， concerning whom little favourable has reached posterity， except that he became an ass， married four queens， and had by them six sons， each of whom was more learned and powerful than the other. It so happened that in course of time the father died. Thereupon his eldest heir， who was known as Shank， succeeded to the carpet of Rajaship， and was instantly murdered by Vikram， his "scorpion"， the hero of the following pages.[FN#15]
[FN#15] History tells us another tale. The god Indra and the King of Dhara gave the kingdom to Bhartari-hari， another son of Gandhar-ba-Sena， by a handmaiden. For some time， the brothers lived together； but presently they quarrelled. Vikram being dismissed from court， wandered from place to place in abject poverty， and at one time hired himself as a servant to a merchant living in Guzerat. At length， Bhartari-hari， disgusted with the world on account of the infidelity of his wife， to whom he was ardently attached， became a religious devotee， and left the kingdom to its fate. In the course of his travels， Vikram came to Ujjayani， and finding it without a head， assumed the sovereignty. He reigned with great splendour， conquering by his arms Utkala， Vanga， Kuch-bahar， Guzerat， Somnat， Delhi， and other places； until， in his turn， he was conquered， and slain by Shalivahan.
By this act of vigour and manly decision， which all younger-brother princes should devoutly imitate， Vikram having obtained the title of Bir， or the Brave， made himself Raja. He began to rule well， and the gods so favoured him that day by day his dominions increased. At length he became lord of all India， and having firmly established his government， he instituted an era——an uncommon feat for a mere monarch， especially when hereditary.
The steps，[FN#16] says the historian， which he took to arrive at that pinnacle of grandeur， were these：
[FN#16] The words are found， says Mr. Ward， in the Hindu History compiled by Mrityungaya.
The old King calling his two grandsons Bhartari-hari and Vikramaditya， gave them good counsel respecting their future learning. They were told to master everything， a certain way not to succeed in anything. They were diligently to learn grammar， the Scriptures， and all the religious sciences. They were to become familiar with military tactics， international law， and music， the riding of horses and elephants—— especially the latter——the driving of chariots， and the use of the broadsword， the bow， and the mogdars or Indian clubs. They were ordered to be skilful in all kinds of games， in leaping and running， in besieging forts， in forming and breaking bodies of troops； they were to endeavour to excel in every princely quality， to be cunning in ascertaining the power of an enemy， how to make war， to perform journeys， to sit in the presence of the nobles， to separate the different sides of a question， to form alliances， to distinguish between the innocent and the guilty， to assign proper punishments to the wicked， to exercise authority with perfect justice， and to be liberal. The boys were then sent to school， and were placed under the care of excellent teachers， where they became truly famous. Whilst under pupilage， the eldest was allowed all the power necessary to obtain a knowledge of royal affairs， and he was not invested with the regal office till in these preparatory steps he had given full satisfaction to his subjects， who expressed high approval of his conduct.
The two brothers often conversed on the duties of kings， when the great Vikramaditya gave the great Bhartari-hari the following valuable advice[FN#17]：
[FN#17] These duties of kings are thus laid down in the Rajtarangini. It is evident， as Professor H. H. Wilson says， that the royal status was by no means a sinecure. But the rules are evidently the closet work of some pedantic， dogmatic Brahman， teaching kingcraft to kings. He directs his instructions， not to subordinate judges， but to the Raja as the chief magistrate， and through him to all appointed for the administration of his justice.
