འཕགས་པ་གསར་འད་དམ་པ་མད་སྡའ་དབང་པའ་རྒྱལ་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 233

233

“Alas! I have lost my beloved sons!”

“ ‘Then the king, in order to reassure the queen, said, “I will diligently search for the boys, so do not distress yourself, Your Majesty.”⁵²³

“ ‘He then went in search of the boys, with many people busily engaged in it. Before long, the king saw the two princes coming in the distance. When he saw them, he cried out, “Those are the boys coming, but not all of them are there! Oh! It seems we have lost a son!” In suffering, he said:

“ ‘ “The happiness that humans have on obtaining a child
Does not equal the unhappiness from losing a child.
Are not those humans in this world happy who die while
Their sons are alive, or who have not given birth to children?”⁵²⁴

“ ‘Then the queen, oppressed by misery like a heart-broken she-camel,⁵²⁵ emitted dreadful cries.

“ ‘ “Thus my three boys, with their servants,
Entered the flower-filled forest
But my lovely youngest child has not returned!
Where is my youngest son, who is like my own heart?”

“ ‘Then the two princes arrived, and the king questioned them. He asked the two youths, “Where is your youngest brother?”

“ ‘They were so devastated by misery, their eyes filled with tears, and their palates, lips, mouths, and teeth having become dry, that they could not say anything.

“ ‘The queen asked:

“ ‘ “Where is my beloved youngest son?
This heart of mine is about to break,
My body is struck by unendurable pain,
And my mind is fainting, so tell me quickly!”

“ ‘The two youths then related in detail what had occurred, and as soon as the king and queen⁵²⁶ heard it, they swooned.⁵²⁷ When they recovered from their swoon, they cried piteously and went to that place.

“ ‘When the king and queen saw those bones with no flesh, blood, or entrails remaining and the hair scattered here and there, they collapsed as if blown over by a wind.

“ ‘When the principal attendants and ministers saw that, they soothed the king’s and queen’s bodies with a balm made of water and Malaya Mountain sandalwood.