After telling his tale to King Bhoja, the minister added: ‘O King, the monarch who listens to his minister will have a long and happy life.’ Bhoja praised the minister, and honoured him with robes, decorations and other gifts.
The king then proceeded to Dhārā, his capital, with the throne. He brought it into the city, and installed it at an auspicious moment in a thousand-pillared pavilion he had had erected. There he swiftly assembled all the things which are declared to be propitious for the consecration of kings: orpiment powder, turmeric, white mustard, sandalwood, flowers and sprouts of dūrvā grass, and other such articles. He had the earth with its seven continents depicted on a tiger skin, and a moon-white parasol put up before it with two fine jewelled maces and a pair of bright fly-whisks. Various kinds of swords and other weapons were placed on the side.
Brahmins versed in the four Vedas gathered from every side for the great occasion, as did the bards and the balladeers skilled in genealogy. Matrons who had living sons carried lamps in golden vessels for blessing Bhoja with lights. A variety of musical instruments were played repeatedly. All the citizens came dressed in their best for Bhoja’s festival, and astrologers learned in the three branches of the science arrived to determine an auspicious moment for his enthronement.
Bhoja on his part was anointed and bathed without delay. He put on gleaming white garments and took a most beautiful sword in his hand. After meditating on his family gods and touching lucky objects, the king then went forth to mount the throne at the auspicious moment. A multitude of brahmins acclaimed him, and the bards sang his praises, as he awarded gifts and honours to all the four castes, and distributed various alms to the poor, the blind and the maimed. Escorted with the royal parasol and fly whisk, as he then placed his noble foot upon the head of the first statuette, she spoke to him in a human voice: ‘O King! Do you possess valour, magnanimity, daring, nobility and other such qualities like him? If so, then mount this throne. Not otherwise!’
‘O statue!’ exclaimed the king, ‘I too have magnanimity and all the other virtues of which you, speak. Which one do I lack? I too give whatever befits the occasion to all who come to me.’
‘That itself is a shortcoming in you,’ the statuette replied with a smile. ‘What you have given, you proclaim with your own mouth. Only villains talk of their own virtues and the defects of others. The good never speak like that. It is said:
It is the wicked of this world
who talk of other’s faults
as if they were their own virtues.
The good will never speak of others’
defects or their own merits.
‘And further,
These nine should never be made public:
One’s age, wealth, family secrets, magic spells,
medicaments, sexual liaisons, gifts,
and times of honour or disgrace.
‘Therefore one should neither praise one’s virtues or run down others. The mere mention of these cheapens a man.’
King Bhoja marvelled at the words of the statuette. ‘What you say is true,’ he said, ‘one who makes much of his merits is no more than a fool. What I said was certainly inappropriate. But tell me now of the magnanimity of the man to whom this throne belonged.’
The statuette replied: ‘O King, this is the throne of Vikramaditya. When he was satisfied he would give a million pieces of gold to supplicants:
One received a thousand pieces
of gold at a look from the king,
ten thousand at a word,
a hundred thousand when the king smiled,
and a million when he was satisfied.
‘Such was the innate magnanimity of the emperor Vikramaditya. If you are capable of acting thus, then mount this throne.’