Query

[Patrick Olivelle]

Friends:

A colleague of my in Persian literature has a question regarding a
Persian translation of a Sanskrit work -- actually the 16th section
of a work. The Persian is named "Mahpareh", and it was translated not
directly from Sanskrit but from an English translation done one Bean
[the spelling is uncertain] in 1898. The Persian translates something
like "the essence of the ocean of time." Here is a brief synopsis
given by my colleague:

Here is a sort of the synopsis of this "love" story with all of my
misspellings of names:  Suryakanta is a king who after seeing a
portrait of Rasakusha decides to find her and finally arrives at her
court.  As a part of some sort of ceremony, he sends her some story
every day and receives an answer.  After the seventh day, the king
realizes that he can no longer console himself with the portrait, and
that he has a long way to go to attain his true love which is
manifested in the princess. On the 19th day, the king throws the
portrait away and does not look at it until next day.  On the same
day Rasakusha tells him the story of "Krita-Krita."

Any guesses? Thanks.

Patrick