Having performed all the customary acts of purification, they went and finished their ablutions; and having gone through their daily routine of devotions etc., they bowed before the sage. When the time came, the two brothers took leave of the preceptor and went out to gather flowers. Having gone out they saw the lovely royal garden, enamoured of whose beauty the vernal season had taken its permanent abode there. It was planted with charming trees of various kinds and overhung with beautiful creepers of different colours. Rich in fresh leaf, fruit and flower they put to shame even celestial trees by their wealth. The feathered choir of the CŒtakas, cuckoos, parrots and Cakoras warbled and peacocks beautifully danced. In the centre of the garden a lovely lake shone bright with flights of steps made of many-coloured gems. Its limpid water contained lotuses of various colours and was vocal with the cooing of aquatic birds and the humming of bees. (1—4)