s died, and their relatives stole from them all
their property and then turned them out of the house. The twins
wandered along until they came to a town. It was then noon, and
the boys were weary with walking and were tortured with hunger and
thirst. As they entered the town, a Brahman came out of his door
to throw food to the crows. He saw the two boys and called them in,
fed them, and then made them tell him their story. When he heard it
he resolved to provide for them, and he lodged them in his house and
taught them to recite the Vedas. On Lalita Panchmi Day the Brahman
began to perform certain ceremonies. His pupils asked him why he did
so. The sage replied that by doing so one could attain to wealth,
knowledge, and to the wish of one's heart. The boys begged him to
instruct them, and they quickly learnt how to worship the goddess
Parwati. Not long afterwards the Brahman provided them with wives,
and they returned to their own city, acquired wealth, and were very
happy. A year or two later the twins separated. But the elder was a
wise boy and never forgot to worship the goddess Parwati on Lalita
Panchmi Day. So he retained the riches which he had gained. But the
younger was foolish and forgot all about it, so the goddess began to
dislike him, and he lost all his money. And at last he became so poor
that he and his wife had to give up their house and go and live on
the charity of his elder brother. One day the elder brother's wife
spoke so crossly and said such nasty things to the younger twin,
that he felt that he could not stay in the house any longer. And he
remembered then that of recent years he had entirely forgotten to
worship Parwati. He felt very penitent, and he decided that somehow or
other he would win back the goddess's favour. Taking his wife with him,
he left his brother's house and journeyed to a distant country. At
last he came near a town, and, meeting a cowherd, the younger twin
asked him what its name was. The cowherd said, "The town is called
Upang." "Who is the king?" asked the younger twin. The cowherd replied,
"He also is called Upang." The wanderer then asked whether there was
any place where he and his wife could lodge. The cowherd told him
that in the town there was a temple of Parwati, and close to it
was a rest-house where the wanderer and his wife could lodge. The
cowherd directed them to the rest-house. And before lying down the
younger twin worshipped Parwati in the temple and begged he