Then he beheld himself cast up to earth,
His spirit entering a filthy dog;
Feeding on things all foul and horrible--
Consumed by cold. A month thus passed away.
His spirit changed its dwelling, and he saw
Himself an ass; and after that an ox,
A cow, a goat, a sheep, a bird, a worm.
So day by day he saw his spirit change
Its outward shape. A multitude of forms--
Some moving, others rooted to the ground--
Received his soul. And when the hundred years
Were passed and gone, he saw himself again
Re-occupy his pristine human form--
Once more a king. And then he seemed to lose
His kingdom, casting it away in games
Of chance. Turned from his home a wanderer
Into the forest with his wife and child:
Devoured by a ravening beast, but raised
To life again on earth, he sore bewailed
His wife: "Alas! why hast thou left me thus?
Alas! O Saivya! where hast thou gone?"
Then in his dream he seemed to see his wife
And son lamenting: "What hast thou to do
With gambling? Oh protect us, mighty king!"
The vision faded, and he saw no more
The cherished forms.
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