Anjana, the wife of the slave trader, was sympathetic towards Divya. She had taken for herself Divya’s jewellery, which in value, was worth more than four slaves. And Divya had not uttered a word about it. Anjana could not help feeling touched by this silent generosity on Divya’s part. Divya’s pearl necklaces, jewel-studded armlet and the clothing of silk had convinced Anjana that the girl belonged to some noble family. She also understood that Divya’s pregnancy was the reason behind her choosing the path of suffering and poverty. Out of sympathy as well as curiosity, she tried to find out the secret. All that she could get out of Divya was the brief timid reply, ‘I am an unfortunate deserted woman. In my father’s house there was everything, but I couldn’t stay there. In this condition I couldn’t expect any help from my family. While going about in search of a refuge I fell into the hands of your husband. Now I am at the mercy of fate …’

The slave trader Pratool was hoping to sell Divya to some rich, pleasure-loving customer of Magadh and earn a lot of money. For a slave of such beauty and elegance, even four hundred gold pieces would not be too high a price. However, by the time they reached Mathurapuri, in the kingdom of Shursen, Divya’s condition did not permit her to travel any further. She was not used to rough journeys, and found it uncomfortable even to travel in a chariot. On uneven roads there was always the danger that she might collapse.

If her child could be taken from her after birth and she could be fattened up for four or five months, to bring her back to the bloom of health, then any connoisseur would readily buy her, without thinking twice, and willingly hand over fistfuls of gold. But Pratool could not afford to stay on indefinitely in Shursen for the sake of one female slave. There were no fewer than one hundred and sixty-five slaves in the new batch—male and female—and he would not want to feed them to no purpose for a very long time. Moreover, that would delay him from the slave fair which took place in the month of Chaitra in Dakshinapath.

Since he was an experienced trader in human beings, Pratool was well versed in the subtle qualities of different individuals of different categories, just as a potter understands the quality of clay from different soils, and the characteristics and the value of vessels made from them. In his house in Pataliputra¹ in the kingdom of Magadh, Pratool kept four female slaves. These four did not merely do domestic work or were hired out to make money by their master. Each one of them would produce a child every eighteen months. Instead of selling the women, Pratool would sell their children. After the first few separations, they became inured to the pain of losing their children. Their grief was made more bearable by one or two babies which were left for them to rear. With good food, the debility caused by pregnancy and childbirth disappeared.