In plain words
Then the king asked her, "Why are you shedding streams of tears?" Having no courage at all to tell him, she hesitated a while. At last, under the king's pressing, she told him. "Your age is growing day by day. How long shall we live in this world? I was thinking of your life," she said. The moment he knew this, a fierce Vairāgya was born in the king too. "How long are we to live in pleasures and riches like this? Eating, wandering about, sleeping, enjoying: is this all the goal of our life? Enough, enough now of this life of ours. Let us now make the rest of our life worth while with the thought of God," he thought. The two of them decided then and there. They had the ministers called. They handed the kingdom over to them. The two of them went to the forest. When the two had gone, the people thought, "We will never find such sacred rulers again; we are putting such rulers far from ourselves," and they too went to the forest and prayed to the king; they pleaded with him earnestly, "Without you we cannot live in that kingdom." They prayed, "Why have you left the kingdom and come here? Has some aversion to the people arisen in you? Has anyone among the people hurt you? Has anyone among the people blamed you? Tell us the reason for it." The mahārāja, with great calm and Prema, called the people close: "My children! For some time we have ruled over you. We have cared for you in every way. I have fulfilled my duty. I must make the rest of my life worth while with prayer to God," he said. How much longer can I live? Who knows when? This body wastes away day by day. On hearing these words they all burst out weeping at once. These people too went off to one side and sat doing tapas. One day Brahmā appeared before the people. He asked, "People, what do you want?" The people of those days, free of selfishness: "Svāmī! Grant our king a long life," they prayed. "Tathāstu," said Brahmā. These people went leaping for joy and told the mahārāja. "Brahmā has granted you a great deal more life. You will live for ever. You will be long-lived. So you must come back to the kingdom," they prayed. The king set out. He was coming back to the kingdom. But the queen said, "I will not come; I will stay right here." Then the people misunderstood somewhat. "We asked Brahmā that our mahārāja should be long-lived, but we did not ask for the queen. Perhaps that is why she is angry," they thought. That queen was not like that; she had a large heart. "Well, then! The king, after all, is what matters to us," the people thought, and the king came. She did tapas for a long time. To her too Brahmā appeared. He asked, "Mother, what are you longing for? What do you want?"