In the city of Candrahṛdaya, there ruled a king named Raṇadhīra. Among his subjects lived a virtuous and wealthy merchant by the name of Dharmadhvaja. One day, a man appeared in that city, notorious for his devotion to eating flesh. This man came into contact with a fearsome rākṣasa named Vāśara, a devourer of men. Pleased with the flesh-eater, the rākṣasa spoke to him, saying, “Grant me a boon, O devourer of men.” Hearing this, the man constructed a pit, cunningly designed to bewilder the mind. By means of theft in the night, he acquired a royal maidservant—a beautiful woman. This flesh-eater had seven wives, women from all four castes. With the rākṣasa’s help, he built a house that resembled a royal fortress. Into the pit, he forcibly placed much wealth, all of it stolen. O king, it was said, “Let us abandon your city, now troubled by thieves; those devoted to violence and theft have established themselves here.” With this order given, they went to the house, and those who heard what had happened acted accordingly. Then, through the rākṣasa’s magic, all the city’s guards were thrown into confusion. Again, the people went to King Raṇadhīra and informed him of these events. At midnight, when darkness had fully fallen, the thief himself came to the king. The king declared, “I am the king, and you, the thief, have come as summoned. Take great wealth with me and be happy.” That night, the thief entered the pit, leaving the king outside. He said to the king, “O king, go quickly to your own house.” With these words, a woman showed the king a different path. She then gathered the army and led them to where the thief was standing. Honoring the thief, she recounted all that had happened. Laughing, she said to the demon, “You have prepared my meal. Today, impelled by fate, I will devour all the men.” Indeed, she devoured the great army; the survivors fled in all directions. The thief, angered, approached and spoke to the king. Hearing this, the king hurried to the spot. In an instant, together with the demon, the pit was reduced to ashes. Thus, with all the wealth and women, she returned. Drums resounded throughout every house, and on that day, the thief was paraded through the city on a donkey. At the sight of him, a woman who delighted in happiness fainted. The thief went to the king and said, “The five hundred thousand in wealth is mine.” Laughing, the king replied, “This is a thief, a plunderer of wealth.” Hearing this, the thief lost all hope and met his death. At that very moment, his daughter was deluded by the divine illusion. Then, pleased, the goddess Durgā granted them long life by her favor. Having spoken thus, he turned to the king again, smiling, and said, “What should I give to her, who is so affectionate toward me? Therefore, I wept afterwards—listen now to the reason for my laughter.