(From an Indian Folk Tale)
Retold by Christopher Leeson
Long, long ago, a hero captured a vampire that had been haunting a lonely graveyard. The creature, held firmly by King Trivikramasena, sought to stay his captor from destroying him immediately by distracting him with a diverting story: He said: "In the city of Sivapura there was, once upon a time, a king named Yasahketu. This ruler had placed the burdens of government on the shoulders of his councilor Prajnasagara and, with his queen, lived a life of pleasing self-indulgence. In the course of time, the king sired upon his consort a daughter whom they named Sasiprabha, which means Moon-Lustre. From the day of her birth the child had displayed the pale beauty of the moon. In due time she grew to nubile young womanhood and fascinated all the men who beheld her".
One day the princess came out into the palace garden to watch the festival of spring. Many young men were there and their eyes followed the princess wherever she went. As she was picking flowers to offer to the goddess, Moon-Lustre unknowingly bent in such a way as to reveal one charming breast. Her indiscretion was observed by the son of a rich Brahmin, Manahsvamin. The instant that he set eyes on her forbidden fruit he was smitten. His name meant "Mind's Master," but, bewitched with passion, he ceased to be the master of his own mind in any way.
