In the city of Radschagriha there lived a Brahman by the name of Devasarman. His childless wife wept bitterly whenever she saw the neighbours’ children. One day the Brahman said to her, “Dear one, stop your grieving. Behold, I was offering a sacrifice for the birth os a son when an invisible being said to me in beauty and virtue, and good fortune shall be his.” After hearing this, the Brahman’s wife was overjoyed, and she said, “Such promises must come true.” In the course of time she became pregnant and gave birth to a snake. When her attendants saw it, they all cried out, “Throw it away!” However, she paid no attention to them, but instead picked it up, had it bathed, and filled with a mother’s love toward her son laid it in large, clean container, fed it milk, fresh butter, and the like, so that within a few days it had reached its full growth. ...