[1076] To him replied the royal princess Maddī, beautiful in every limb:
"What is this unheard-of thing you say? It is an evil thing indeed that you utter.
It is not right, great king, that you should go alone;
I too will go by that way by which you go, O khattiya.
Whether death together with you, or life without you —
that very death is better than that I should live without you.
Having kindled a fire, gathered into a single blaze,
death² right there is better than that I should live without you.
Just as a she-elephant follows the forest bull-elephant, the tusker,
as he roams through mountain fastnesses, on even and on uneven ground,
even so shall I follow after you, taking the children, following behind;
I shall be easy for you to support; I shall not be hard for you to support."
¹ Burmese edition: "kilittho." ² Burmese edition: "tattha me maraṇaṃ seyyo" ("death there is better for me").
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.